Grammar awareness provides the rules needed to write accurate sentences in Junior Cycle French. In the examination, marks are awarded for correct verb tenses, noun-adjective agreements, articles, and linking words.
Nouns, Articles, and Personal Details
French nouns are masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Most nouns add a silent -s in the plural (le livre → les livres).
| Article | Masculine | Feminine | Plural | Before vowel / silent h |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definite (the) | le | la | les | l' (l'école) |
| Indefinite (a / an / some) | un | une | des | — |
| Partitive (some) | du | de la | des | de l' (de l'eau) |
Plural articles stay les or des before vowels (les écoles). Keep definite articles with preferences: J'aime le sport.
Put ne…pas around the verb: je ne joue pas. Indefinite and partitive articles become de or d': je n'ai pas de vélo (keep them after être: ce n'est pas un hôtel).
To say something happens on a date, use le: il est né le 8 septembre. On forms, nom means surname and prénom means first name (Nom: Murphy; Prénom: Aoife).
Adjective Agreement and Spelling Rules
Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.
| When describing… | Ending Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Feminine | Usually add -e | un ami content → une amie contente |
| Plural | Usually add -s | des amis contents / des amies contentes |
| Adjective already ends in -e | No extra -e added | un sac rouge → une trousse rouge |
Common irregular patterns: -if → -ive (sportif → sportive), -eux → -euse (heureux → heureuse), and -on → -onne (bon → bonne).
Most adjectives follow the noun (une voiture rouge). Some common adjectives go before the noun: un beau village, une petite ville. BAGS (beauty, age, goodness, size) is a memory aid.
Possessives match the noun described: mon père, ma mère, mes parents. Use mon, ton, or son before feminine vowels: mon amie.
Accents change meaning: a (has) / à (at/to); ou (or) / où (where). Days, months, and languages do not take capitals: lundi, janvier, le français.
Core Verb Tenses and Reflexives
Present Tense and Reflexives
| Subject | -er (parler) | -ir (finir) | -re (vendre) | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | -e (parle) | -is (finis) | -s (vends) | me (je me lève) |
| tu | -es (parles) | -is (finis) | -s (vends) | te (tu te lèves) |
| il / elle / on | -e (parle) | -it (finit) | — (vend) | se (il se lève) |
| nous | -ons (parlons) | -issons (finissons) | -ons (vendons) | nous (nous nous levons) |
| vous | -ez (parlez) | -issez (finissez) | -ez (vendez) | vous (vous vous levez) |
| ils / elles | -ent (parlent) | -issent (finissent) | -ent (vendent) | se (ils se lèvent) |
Je joue means "I play" and "I am playing" (never je suis joue).
Past and Future Actions
The passé composé uses present avoir or être plus a past participle (parlé, fini, vendu). Most verbs use avoir. Learn être with aller and partir: elle est allée, ils sont partis. Negatives surround the auxiliary: je n'ai pas joué.
The futur proche uses present aller plus an infinitive: je vais voyager.
Connectors, Audience, and Digital Text
Linking words connect sentences smoothly and show relationships between ideas.
| Purpose | Connectors | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Joining ideas | et (and), mais (but), ou (or) | Il est sympa mais timide. |
| Giving reasons | parce que / car (because) | J'aime l'école parce que c'est utile. |
| Showing result | donc / alors (so, therefore) | Il pleut, donc je reste chez moi. |
| Sequencing | d'abord (first), puis (then) | D'abord je mange, puis je sors. |
Parce que gives reasons, while pourquoi asks questions. Parce que shortens to parce qu' before vowels.
Qui acts as subject (followed by a verb): un ami qui habite ici. Que acts as object: le film que Paul regarde (qu' before vowels).
Match register to audience: use tu with a friend and vous for polite address or groups (Tu aimes le sport ? / Vous aimez le sport ?). In digital texts like emails and blogs, address every prompt directly (Merci pour ton message).
Key terms
- Agreement (l'accord)
- The rule where adjectives, articles, and certain past participles adjust their endings to match the gender and number of a noun.
- Auxiliary verb
- A helping verb: avoir or être. In the passé composé, the auxiliary is in the present tense.
- Past participle
- The verb form used with an auxiliary to express completed past action, ending regularly in -é, -i, or -u.
- Futur proche
- The near future tense formed by conjugating aller in the present tense followed by an unchanged infinitive verb.
- Reflexive verb
- A verb whose subject and object are the same person, used with a matching reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se).
- Elision
- Dropping a final vowel from short words like le, la, ne, or que and replacing it with an apostrophe before a vowel sound.
Check yourself
What happens to the indefinite article in 'Elle mange une pomme' when made negative?
It changes to 'de': 'Elle ne mange pas de pomme'.
Complete the phrase with the correct form of the adjective: 'une voiture ___ (rouge)'.
'une voiture rouge' (no extra -e is added because rouge already ends in a silent -e).
Complete: Il est né ___ 15 mai.
'le'.
How do you choose between 'qui' and 'que' as relative pronouns?
Use 'qui' when the relative pronoun is the subject doing the action, and 'que' (or 'qu'') when it is the direct object receiving the action.