French Grammar: Sentence

Definition: A sentence is a group of words including at minimum a subject and a verb, and may also include any or all of the parts of speech.

Sentences can be separated into a subject (un sujet), which may be stated or implied, and a predicate (un prédicat). The subject is the person or thing performing the action, and the predicate is the rest of the sentence, which usually begins with the verb.

Sentence Parts

The Person who or the thing which does the action: It is referred to as the SUBJECT of the sentence.

The Action: This is the VERB.

The person who or the object which is affected by the Action: This element is usually called the accusative or complément d'objet direct in French grammar. (abbreviation: ACC).

The circumtances under which the action takes place (the time, the location, etc.): This element is known as the complément circonstanciel in French. (abbreviation: CIR)

Sentence Types

Normal Sentences

Statements, the most common type of sentence, state something:

Examples in French:

Tu	chantes	une chanson	dans la rue
Subject	VERB	ACC	CIR
To English: You sing a song in the street

Le boulanger	vend	le pain	dans la boulangerie
Subject	VERB	ACC	CIR
To English: You sing a song in the street

Exclamative Sentences

Exclamatives express a strong reaction such as surprise or indignation.

They look just like statements except for the exclamation point, and for this reason may be considered a subcategory of statements, rather than a different type of sentence:

Examples in French
Je veux y aller ! I want to go!
J'espère que oui ! I hope so!
Il est très beau ! He's very handsome!
C'est une bonne idée ! That's a great idea!
Interrogative Sentences

Interrogatives, more commonly known as questions, ask for or about something:

Examples in French
As-tu mon livre ? Do you have my book?
Sont-ils prêts ? Are they ready?
Où est-il ? Where is he?
Peux-tu nous aider ? Can you help us?
Command Sentences

Commands are the only kind of sentence without an explicit subject; instead, the subject is implied by the conjugation of the verb, which is in the imperative:

Examples in French

Va t'en ! Go away!
Sois sage Be good
Faites la vaisselle Do the dishes