Sentence Architecture — building a correct French sentence

1 · What a French sentence is

A written French sentence is not just "some words." It is a small machine with required parts. If a required part is missing, it is not yet a sentence — and the exam cannot give it marks.

The minimum: a subject and a conjugated verb

The smallest complete French sentence has two things: a subject (who/what does it) and a conjugated verb (what happens). That is the non-negotiable core.

Two words, and it is already a complete sentence: "I eat." Everything else you add — an object, a time, a place — hangs off this core.

Growing the sentence: Subject → Verb → Object → Complement

French, like English, has a basic order of S-V-O (subject–verb–object). You extend a sentence by adding pieces in a predictable order:

Three things every French sentence needs

Doubt-clearing FAQ

2 · The subject — French never drops it

The subject tells us who or what performs the verb. In French it is compulsory in almost every sentence. This is the single biggest difference from Hindi and a very common beginner error.

Subject pronouns — memorise the full set

French	English	note
je (j')	I	→ j' before a vowel/h: j'ai, j'habite
tu	you (informal, one person)	friends, family
il / elle / on	he / she / one·we	on = "we" in speech, "people" in general
nous	we	formal/written "we"
vous	you (formal, or plural)	polite; also several people — key for Section B letters
ils / elles	they (m. / f.)	elles only if the group is all-feminine

Noun subjects — a person, a thing, a group

The subject can also be a noun phrase. It still sits before the verb:

The "empty" subjects: il and on

French uses a subject even when English feels like it has none. Two you must know:

• il as an impersonal subject: il pleut (it rains), il y a (there is/are), il faut (it is necessary / one must), il est important de…
• on for "we"/"people": on parle français ici (we / people speak French here). Very useful and always takes the il/elle verb form.

3 · The verb — conjugated and agreed

The verb is the engine of the sentence. Two rules decide most of your grammar marks: the verb must be conjugated (not left in the dictionary form), and it must agree with its subject.

Rule 1 — conjugate, never leave the infinitive

The infinitive is the dictionary form: parler (to speak), finir (to finish), attendre (to wait). You cannot use it as the main verb of a sentence — you must change its ending to match the subject.

subject	parler (-er)	finir (-ir)	attendre (-re)
je	parle	finis	attends
tu	parles	finis	attends
il/elle/on	parle	finit	attend
nous	parlons	finissons	attendons
vous	parlez	finissez	attendez
ils/elles	parlent	finissent	attendent

You don't need to master every verb today — you need the reflex: a main verb is always conjugated to its subject. Full conjugation is drilled across Phase 1.

The two verbs you cannot avoid: être & avoir

subject	être (to be)	avoir (to have)
je	suis	ai
tu	es	as
il/elle/on	est	a
nous	sommes	avons
vous	êtes	avez
ils/elles	sont	ont

Rule 2 — the verb agrees with the subject

Singular subject → singular verb form; plural subject → plural verb form. The endings are often silent when spoken but visible in writing, and the assessor reads your writing.

One conjugated verb per simple sentence

A simple sentence has exactly one conjugated verb. When two verbs meet, the second one stays in the infinitive:

4 · Word order — where each piece goes

French word order is fixed in ways English is not. If you translate word-for-word from English or Hindi, adjectives, adverbs, objects and pronouns land in the wrong slot. Learn the rules once and stop guessing.

The default frame

Place and time complements are flexible — a time phrase can also open the sentence (Le soir, Marie lit…), which is very natural in Section A narration.

Adjectives — usually after the noun

This is the opposite of English. In English the adjective comes before ("a red car"); in French it usually comes after the noun, and it agrees in gender/number.

Adverbs — right after the conjugated verb

Short adverbs (souvent, toujours, beaucoup, bien, déjà, aussi) sit directly after the verb, not between subject and verb like in English.

Object pronouns — before the verb

When you replace an object with a pronoun (le, la, les, me, te, lui, leur…), it goes before the conjugated verb — again the opposite of English.

5 · Negation & questions

Two sentence operations you need from day one: making a sentence negative and turning it into a question. Both have fixed French patterns that don't match English.

Negation — ne … pas wraps the verb

To make a sentence negative, put ne before the conjugated verb and pas after it. The verb sits inside the sandwich.

The other negatives — same sandwich, different second word

Questions — three ways, easiest to most formal

Question words

6 · Sentence-pattern bank — by function

These are ready-made, correct sentence frames, sorted by what you want to do with the sentence. Fill the blanks with your own words. Master these and you can build a correct sentence for almost any exam idea. Keep this tab open while you write.

① Identify / describe someone or something être

② Say something exists / is there il y a

③ Possess / feel a state avoir

④ Express likes, opinion, thought Section B core

⑤ Express necessity / obligation Section B core

⑥ Locate in place

⑦ Locate in time Section A core

⑧ Connect ideas — cause, consequence, contrast, addition

⑨ Say how often frequency

⑩ Compare

⑪ Give an example / add detail

⑫ Say what you want / will do soon futur proche

7 · The model ladder — weak → exam-ready

The same idea can be written at four levels. See exactly what separates a weak sentence from an exam-ready one, so you can climb the ladder deliberately. Read the why under each — that is where the marks are.

Ladder A — one sentence: "I live in Montréal and I like it"

① Weak	Moi Montréal bien.	No verb, no structure. Not a sentence → 0 clarity.
② Basic	Je habite Montréal. C'est bien.	Two real sentences, but je habite should elide and "bien" is vague.
③ Strong	J'habite à Montréal et j'aime cette ville.	Elision j'habite, preposition à, joined with et, specific.
④ Exam-ready	J'habite à Montréal depuis deux ans et j'apprécie beaucoup cette ville dynamique.	Adds duration, a precise verb, and an agreed adjective — controlled and rich, still correct.

Ladder B — an opinion: "We must protect the environment"

① Weak	Environnement important protéger.	Word list, no subject, no conjugated verb.
② Basic	L'environnement est important.	Correct sentence, but doesn't say the action.
③ Strong	Il faut protéger l'environnement.	Uses the necessity frame — clear and exam-appropriate.
④ Exam-ready	À mon avis, il est important de protéger l'environnement, car c'est notre responsabilité.	Opinion marker + necessity + a reason with car. This is a Section-B-quality sentence.

Ladder C — paragraph level (Section A opener)

Rewrite bank — turn 10 weak sentences into strong ones

The exact moves an assessor rewards. Cover the right column and fix the left yourself first.

weak	exam-ready
Moi étudiant.	Je suis étudiant.
Je habite Toronto.	J'habite à Toronto.
Je manger à midi.	Je mange à midi.
Les gens est gentil.	Les gens sont gentils.
Je suis 30 ans.	J'ai trente ans.
une rouge voiture	une voiture rouge
Je bien parle français.	Je parle bien français.
Je n'ai pas une voiture.	Je n'ai pas de voiture.
Il y a beaucoup circulation.	Il y a beaucoup de circulation.
Ma mère elle travaille.	Ma mère travaille.

8 · Examiner traps & the mistakes Indian students make

The TEF assessors count concrete errors. Most sentence-level errors from English/Hindi/Punjabi speakers fall into a short list of predictable patterns. Learn to spot each one in your own writing — that is what the error codes in Section 12 are for.

What the assessor is actually checking, sentence by sentence

• Is there a conjugated verb? No verb = no sentence = no marks for that idea.
• Does the verb agree with the subject? Every mismatch is one counted grammar error.
• Is the word order French? Adjective after the noun, adverb after the verb, pronoun before the verb.
• Are articles and agreement present? le/la/les, un/une/des, adjective endings.
• Spelling & accents & punctuation. Missing accents and the space before ? ! : are counted.

The interference mistakes — wrong → right → why → fix

9 · Paragraph Lab — from sentences to a paragraph

The exam wants connected paragraphs, not a list of separate sentences. Here is the method: build each sentence correctly, then link them with connectors so the paragraph flows. Same skeletons — now chained.

Step 1 — write the bare correct sentences

Topic: my neighbourhood. Start with short, correct S-V-O sentences:

Step 2 — link them with connectors

Now join the ideas so they read as one paragraph. Use connectors from frame ⑧:

Step 3 — the three moves that build a paragraph

Guided build — your turn (fill the blanks)

Model paragraph bank — study these exam-ready mini-texts

Six short paragraphs on the topics you'll actually be asked about. Each is fully correct and uses only Chapter 1 tools. Read them aloud, then imitate the structure with your own content.

10 · Drill engine — 300 items

Deliberate practice, sorted by skill. Pick a category, answer, and get instant feedback with a one-line explanation. Do a little every day; the goal is automatic correctness, not one-time understanding.

Correct: 0

11 · Write — build the reflex

Six levels of writing, from controlled sentences to a timed free paragraph. Do them in order. After each, run the 30-second self-check (subject · one conjugated verb · agreement · word order · articles/accents/punctuation).

Level 1 — controlled sentences (fill the verb)

Level 2 — build the sentence from parts

Level 3 — make it negative / a question

Level 4 — guided paragraph (my daily routine)

Level 5 — semi-free (5 sentences about your city)

Write five connected sentences about the place you live. Use: one être sentence, one il y a sentence, one opinion (à mon avis / je pense que), one connector (donc / car / mais), and one negative sentence.

Level 6 — timed mini-write (10 minutes)

12 · Mini-mock & the error-code correction system

This is how you turn practice into a score. Write the mock, then correct it with the error-code system — the same codes used in the mistake cards throughout this chapter — and finally check it with the auto-correction for a second opinion.

The mock task

The error-code system — mark every mistake with its code

When you re-read your writing, don't just "feel" that something is wrong — label it. Each label tells you the rule to fix and lets you track which errors you repeat.

code	meaning	fix
SUBJ-MISS	missing subject	add je/il/on/etc.
VERB-INF	main verb left in infinitive	conjugate to the subject
SV-AGR	subject–verb disagreement	match verb ending to subject
ETRE-AVOIR	wrong être/avoir (age, states)	age/hunger/etc. → avoir
ORDER-ADJ	adjective in wrong place	after noun (except BAGS)
ORDER-ADV	adverb in wrong place	after the conjugated verb
ORDER-PRO	object pronoun misplaced	before the verb
NEG-ORDER	ne/pas misplaced	ne + verb + pas
NEG-DE	un/une/des/du after negative	→ de
DE-QTY	quantity without de	beaucoup/peu + de
ART	wrong/missing article	check le/la/les/un/une + job rule
ELISION	je/le/la + vowel not elided	j'/l' before a vowel
PREP	wrong preposition	visiter (no à), aller à, venir de…
PONCT	punctuation/space/accent	space before ? ! : ; and accents
DBL-SUBJ	doubled subject (noun + pronoun)	keep one subject
RUN-ON	two clauses, no boundary	split or join with a connector

Worked correction — a real learner paragraph

Your correction protocol (do this every time)

• Pass 1 — verbs: underline every conjugated verb. One per sentence? Agrees with its subject? (catches VERB-INF, SV-AGR, RUN-ON)
• Pass 2 — subjects & articles: subject present and single? articles correct? (SUBJ-MISS, DBL-SUBJ, ART, ELISION)
• Pass 3 — order & negation: adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, ne…pas in place? (ORDER-*, NEG-*)
• Pass 4 — surface: accents, spaces before ? ! :, final punctuation. (PONCT)

13 · Chapter quiz

Twenty questions across everything in this chapter. Aim for 18/20 before you move to Chapter 2. If you miss one, re-read the matching section.

Score: 0 / 20

15 · Progress & mastery checkpoint

Don't move on until you can honestly tick every box. Sentence control is the foundation of every later chapter — a weak foundation here caps your whole score.

Can-do statements (tick when true)

Rate yourself

What comes next

• Chapter 2 takes these correct simple sentences and teaches you to combine them — coordinating with et / mais / donc / car and building longer, still-correct sentences.
• Then Phase 1 continues into articles, gender/agreement, and the present tense in depth, before Section A narration (past tenses) in Phase 2.