French Sentence Structure – Word Order and Sentence Building Explained

Key takeaways

• French sentences generally follow Subject – Verb – Object order, like English.
• Adjectives usually come after nouns, unlike English.
• Questions can be formed by inversion, est-ce que, or intonation.
• Negatives are formed with ne… pas around the verb.
• Mastering sentence patterns helps you build both simple and complex French sentences.

What Makes French Sentences Different?

French and English share many similarities in sentence order, but there are key differences. For example, in French the verb almost always comes right after the subject, and adjectives usually follow the noun (un livre intéressant → an interesting book).

Basic French Sentence Structure

The most common structure is:

Subject + Verb + Object (SVO)

Examples:

• Je mange une pomme. → I eat an apple.
• Elle regarde la télévision. → She watches television.

This looks similar to English. However, modifiers like adjectives and adverbs follow different rules.

Word Order Rules in French

1. Placement of Adjectives

Most adjectives follow the noun: 

• Un chat noir → A black cat.

Some adjectives (beauty, age, goodness, size) come before the noun: 

• Un grand homme → A great man.

2. Placement of Adverbs

Adverbs usually come right after the verb: 

• Je parle bien français. → I speak French well.

In compound tenses, they go between the auxiliary and the past participle: 

• J’ai déjà mangé. → I have already eaten.

3. Negative Sentences

Negation is formed with ne… pas around the verb.

• Je ne mange pas de viande. → I don’t eat meat.

How to Ask Questions in French

There are three main ways to form questions:

1. Intonation (informal, spoken) 

• Tu viens? → Are you coming?

2. Est-ce que (neutral, common in writing and speech) 

• Est-ce que tu viens? → Are you coming?

3. Inversion (formal or written) 

• Viens-tu? → Are you coming?

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French Sentence Structure vs English

Key differences:

• French adjectives often follow the noun.
• Negation uses two parts: ne… pas.
• Question structure offers more variation than in English.

Examples of Simple French Sentences

• Je suis étudiant. → I am a student.
• Il fait froid aujourd’hui. → It’s cold today.
• Nous habitons à Paris. → We live in Paris.
• Tu parles anglais? → Do you speak English?
• Ils aiment la musique classique. → They like classical music.

Building More Complex Sentences

Using conjunctions

• J’aime le café mais je préfère le thé. → I like coffee but I prefer tea.

Using relative clauses

• C’est le livre que j’ai acheté hier. → That’s the book I bought yesterday.

Using subordinate clauses with the subjunctive

• Il faut que tu sois prêt. → You must be ready.

Exercises: Practice Sentence Structure

1. Put the words in the correct order

• (parle / bien / français / il)
• (ne / nous / pas / aimons / café / le)

2. Translate into French

• I am learning French.
• Are you going to the cinema?
• They don’t understand the question.

3. Change into a question

• Tu habites à Londres. → ________
• Vous aimez la musique. → ________

Answers

1. Il parle bien français | Nous n’aimons pas le café
2. J’apprends le français | Est-ce que tu vas au cinéma ? | Ils ne comprennent pas la question
3. Habites-tu à Londres ? | Est-ce que vous aimez la musique ?

Tips for Mastering French Sentence Structure

• Start with Subject–Verb–Object basics before tackling complex forms.
• Pay attention to adjective and adverb placement — these differ from English.
• Practice building negative sentences with ne… pas until it feels natural.
• Learn question forms progressively: start with intonation, then move to est-ce que and inversion.

For more context, explore our French verb tenses overview. To study effectively, see learning French effectively. And if you’re curious about progress speed, read how long it might take to learn French fluently.

Summary

French sentence structure is usually Subject–Verb–Object, but differences with English appear in adjectives, adverbs, negation, and questions. By practicing simple sentences first, then moving to complex structures, you’ll gradually gain fluency.

As you practice building French sentence structure through word order and examples of sentences, you’ll notice patterns that make forming new phrases easier. Over time, you’ll confidently create both simple and complex sentences while you learn French with Promova.