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French Basic Grammar and Vocabulary Syllabus

The Basic Grammar and Vocabulary syllabus for French in full: 3 chapters and 9 topics, every one listed below, plus 50 Basic Grammar and Vocabulary flashcards with answers.

3Chapters
9Topics
50Flashcards

Basic Grammar and Vocabulary syllabus: all 3 chapters

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics.

  1. Nouns and Articles

     3 topics
    • Understand gender of nouns
    • Learn definite and indefinite articles
    • Practice with simple sentences

  2. Pronouns and Verbs

     3 topics
    • Learn subject pronouns
    • Introduction to regular verbs
    • Practice conjugation in present tense

  3. Basic Vocabulary

     3 topics
    • Learn numbers 1-100
    • Familiarize with days of the week
    • Learn common colors

French Basic Grammar and Vocabulary flashcards — 50 questions with answers

  1. In French, what grammatical feature does every noun have, and what are the two possibilities?

    Every French noun has a grammatical gender: it is either masculine (masculin) or feminine (feminin), regardless of whether it refers to a living thing.

  2. What is the typical ending that often signals a feminine noun in French?

    Nouns ending in -e are often feminine (e.g., la table, la porte), though this is a tendency, not an absolute rule.

  3. Give the gender of these nouns: 'livre' (book), 'maison' (house), 'chat' (cat).

    le livre = masculine; la maison = feminine; le chat = masculine (feminine form: la chatte).

  4. Why is it important to learn a French noun together with its article?

    Because the article (le/la/un/une) reveals the noun's gender, which determines agreement of articles, adjectives, and pronouns. Memorizing 'la table' rather than just 'table' encodes the gender.

  5. What are common noun endings that usually indicate a masculine noun in French?

    Endings such as -age, -ment, -eau, -isme, and -eur (for things) are usually masculine (e.g., le fromage, le gouvernement, le bureau).

  6. What are the three French definite articles (meaning 'the'), and when is each used?

    le (masculine singular), la (feminine singular), and l' (before a vowel or silent h). The plural definite article for all genders is les.

  7. What are the French indefinite articles (meaning 'a/an' and 'some')?

    un (masculine singular), une (feminine singular), and des (plural, meaning 'some' or unspecified plural).

  8. Translate using correct articles: 'the friend (m.)', 'a friend (f.)', 'the students'.

    the friend (m.) = l'ami; a friend (f.) = une amie; the students = les etudiants.

  9. What happens to the definite articles le and la before a word starting with a vowel or silent h?

    Both le and la contract to l' (e.g., l'ami, l'ecole, l'homme). This process is called elision.

  10. What is the difference in meaning between 'le chat' and 'un chat'?

    'le chat' = 'the cat' (a specific, known cat, definite article); 'un chat' = 'a cat' (any unspecified cat, indefinite article).

  11. What is the basic word order of a simple French declarative sentence?

    Subject + Verb + Object (SVO), the same basic order as English (e.g., Je mange une pomme = I eat an apple).

  12. Translate the simple sentence: 'The girl has a dog.'

    La fille a un chien.

  13. How do you form a simple negative sentence in French?

    Place 'ne' before the verb and 'pas' after it: sujet + ne + verbe + pas (e.g., Je ne parle pas = I do not speak). Before a vowel, ne becomes n'.

  14. Make this sentence negative: 'Il mange une pomme.'

    Il ne mange pas de pomme. (Note: in the negative, the indefinite article un/une/des typically becomes 'de'.)

  15. What are the French subject pronouns for the singular persons (I, you, he, she, one)?

    je (I), tu (you, informal), il (he/it), elle (she/it), on (one/we, informal).

  16. What are the French subject pronouns for the plural persons (we, you, they)?

    nous (we), vous (you, formal or plural), ils (they, masculine or mixed), elles (they, all feminine).

  17. What is the difference between 'tu' and 'vous' in French?

    'tu' is informal singular 'you' (used with friends, family, children). 'vous' is formal singular 'you' OR plural 'you' (used for politeness or addressing more than one person).

  18. When do you use 'ils' versus 'elles' for 'they'?

    Use 'elles' only when every member of the group is feminine. Use 'ils' for an all-masculine group OR any mixed-gender group (even one male makes it 'ils').

  19. What does the pronoun 'on' mean and how is it commonly used?

    'on' means 'one', 'people', or informally 'we'. It always takes the same verb form as il/elle (third-person singular), e.g., On parle francais = We speak French.

  20. What are the three groups (conjugation classes) of French regular verbs, identified by their infinitive endings?

    1st group: verbs ending in -er (e.g., parler); 2nd group: verbs ending in -ir like finir; 3rd group is irregular. Most French verbs are -er verbs.

Show the other 30 Basic Grammar and Vocabulary flashcards

  1. What is an infinitive, and give an example in French?

    An infinitive is the base, unconjugated form of a verb (the 'to ___' form in English). Examples: parler (to speak), finir (to finish), aimer (to like/love).

  2. To conjugate a regular -er verb in the present tense, what do you do with the infinitive?

    Remove the -er ending to find the stem, then add the endings: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent for je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles.

  3. List the present-tense endings for regular -er verbs for all six persons.

    je -e, tu -es, il/elle -e, nous -ons, vous -ez, ils/elles -ent.

  4. Fully conjugate the -er verb 'parler' (to speak) in the present tense.

    je parle, tu parles, il/elle parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils/elles parlent.

  5. Conjugate 'aimer' (to like/love) for 'nous' and 'vous' in the present tense.

    nous aimons, vous aimez.

  6. What are the present-tense endings for regular -ir verbs (like finir)?

    -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent (je finis, tu finis, il finit, nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent).

  7. Conjugate 'finir' (to finish) for 'je', 'nous', and 'ils' in the present tense.

    je finis, nous finissons, ils finissent.

  8. Which present-tense -er endings are silent (pronounced the same) and which are pronounced differently?

    The endings -e, -es, -ent are all silent, so je parle, tu parles, and ils parlent sound identical. Only the -ons (nous) and -ez (vous) endings are clearly pronounced.

  9. How do you say the numbers 1 to 5 in French?

    1 = un, 2 = deux, 3 = trois, 4 = quatre, 5 = cinq.

  10. How do you say the numbers 6 to 10 in French?

    6 = six, 7 = sept, 8 = huit, 9 = neuf, 10 = dix.

  11. How do you say the numbers 11 to 16 in French?

    11 = onze, 12 = douze, 13 = treize, 14 = quatorze, 15 = quinze, 16 = seize.

  12. How do you say 17, 18, and 19 in French, and what pattern do they follow?

    17 = dix-sept, 18 = dix-huit, 19 = dix-neuf. They follow a 'ten + unit' pattern (10+7, 10+8, 10+9).

  13. How do you say the tens: 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 in French?

    20 = vingt, 30 = trente, 40 = quarante, 50 = cinquante, 60 = soixante.

  14. How is 70 expressed in standard French, and why is it unusual?

    70 = soixante-dix, literally 'sixty-ten'. Standard French counts 70-79 as 60 plus 10-19 (e.g., 71 = soixante et onze, 75 = soixante-quinze).

  15. How are 80 and 90 formed in standard French?

    80 = quatre-vingts ('four-twenties', 4x20); 90 = quatre-vingt-dix ('four-twenty-ten', 80+10). So 91 = quatre-vingt-onze, 99 = quatre-vingt-dix-neuf.

  16. How do you say 21, 31, and 41 in French, and what special word appears?

    21 = vingt et un, 31 = trente et un, 41 = quarante et un. The word 'et' (and) is inserted before 'un' for numbers ending in 1 (from 21 to 71).

  17. How do you say 100 in French?

    100 = cent.

  18. Write the number 76 in French.

    soixante-seize (60 + 16).

  19. What are the seven days of the week in French, starting with Monday?

    lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi, dimanche.

  20. Which day is considered the first day of the week in the French calendar, and how are day names capitalized?

    Monday (lundi) is the first day of the week. Days of the week are NOT capitalized in French (written in lowercase).

  21. How do you say 'the weekend' in French, and which two days does it cover?

    'le week-end', covering samedi (Saturday) and dimanche (Sunday).

  22. How do you say 'on Mondays' (every Monday, habitually) versus 'on Monday' (this coming Monday) in French?

    'le lundi' (with the definite article) means 'on Mondays' habitually; 'lundi' alone means 'on Monday' (a specific one).

  23. What is the French word for 'today', 'tomorrow', and 'yesterday'?

    today = aujourd'hui; tomorrow = demain; yesterday = hier.

  24. How do you say the colors red, blue, and green in French?

    red = rouge, blue = bleu (m.) / bleue (f.), green = vert (m.) / verte (f.).

  25. How do you say the colors yellow, black, and white in French?

    yellow = jaune, black = noir (m.) / noire (f.), white = blanc (m.) / blanche (f.).

  26. How do you say the colors orange, pink, and purple in French?

    orange = orange, pink = rose, purple = violet (m.) / violette (f.).

  27. Where do French color adjectives usually go relative to the noun, and how do they agree?

    Color adjectives generally come AFTER the noun and agree in gender and number with it (e.g., une voiture rouge, des chats noirs, une maison blanche).

  28. Which common French color adjectives are invariable (do not change form)?

    'orange' and 'marron' (brown) are invariable—they never add -e or -s (e.g., des chaussures marron, des robes orange).

  29. Translate: 'The green apples' and 'a black cat (feminine).'

    The green apples = les pommes vertes; a black cat (f.) = une chatte noire.

  30. Complete the pattern: to make the feminine of most color adjectives like 'vert' or 'noir', what do you add?

    You add a silent -e to the masculine form: vert -> verte, noir -> noire, bleu -> bleue. Colors already ending in -e (rouge, jaune, rose, orange) stay the same.

French Basic Grammar and Vocabulary FAQ

What is in the French Basic Grammar and Vocabulary syllabus?

French Basic Grammar and Vocabulary is split into 3 chapters: Nouns and Articles, Pronouns and Verbs and Basic Vocabulary. Together they contain 9 topics.

How many chapters are in French Basic Grammar and Vocabulary?

3 chapters, containing 9 topics. The largest chapter is Nouns and Articles, with 3 topics.

Are there flashcards for French Basic Grammar and Vocabulary?

Yes — a 50-card Basic Grammar and Vocabulary deck, printed in full in the flashcards section of this page and available in the Examius app with spaced repetition. The free plan covers one exam of your choice, including its flashcards; Examius Pro, a one-time purchase, unlocks every other exam and deck.