BASIC GRAMMAR
In French, the verb agrees in subject and
number. When the subject is singular, the verb is also
singular. And when the subject is plural, the verb is also
plural.
Example
| Subjbects | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st pronoun | je mange | nous mangeons |
| 2nd pronoun | tu manges | vous mangez |
| 3rd pronoun | il / elle mange | ils / elles mangent |
Meaning
Je mange
: I
eat.
tu
manges
: you
eat.
il
mange
: he
eats.
elle
mange
: she
eats.
nous
mangeons
: we
eat.
vous
mangez
: you
eat.
ils
mangent
: they
eat.
elles
mangent
: they
eat.
Important !!!
The subject pronoun can be the name of person (s) or animal
(s). It will be used the same.
Rule 01 : the past
participle agrees in subject
In French, the past participle agrees in subject and
number when the compound tense is formed with
auxiliary être (to be). By the way :
when the subject is male, we add
"nothing" to the past participl.
when the subject is female, we add
"e" at the end of the past participl.
when the subject is male in
plural, we add
"s" at the end of the past participl.
and when the subject is female in
plural, we add
"es" at the end of the past participl.
Example
| Gender | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Male | il est parti | ils sont partis |
| Female | elle est partie | elles sont parties |
Meaning
il est parti
: he has gone.
elle est partie
: she has gone.
ils sont partis
: they have gone.
elles sont parties
: they have gone.
Important !!!
This rule is applied to all past participals conjugated with auxiliary
"être" (to be).
If you don't know how to form past participle, clique here : french
conjugation. For auxiliaries, clique here : conjugation of
auxiliaries.
Rule 02 : the past
participle doesn't agree in subject
In French, the past participle doesn't agree in subject and
number when the compound tense is formed with
auxiliary avoir (to avoir). By the way, we
nothing at the end of the past participal, be it
male or female.
Example
| Gender | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Male | il a vu une femme | ils ont acheté des voitures |
| Female | elle a vu une femme | elles ont acheté des voitures |
Meaning
il a vu une femme
: he saw a woman.
elle a vu une femme
: she saw a woman.
ils ont acheté des
voitures
: they bought cars.
elles ont acheté
: they bought cars.
Rule 03 : Exception with
"avoir" (to have) :
When there is a direct of the verb, the past participle
conjugated with auxiliary "avoir" (to avoir),
agrees in subject and number.
Example
| Gender | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Male | la femme qu'il a vue | les voitures qu'ils ont achetées |
| Female | la femme qu'elle a vue | les voitures qu'elles ont achetées |
Meaning
la femme qu'il a vue
: the woman that he saw.
la femme qu'elle a vue
: the woman that she saw.
les voitures qu'ils ont
achetées
: the cars that they bought.
les voitures qu'elles ont
achetées
: the cars that they bought .
