Elements of a Sentence | Les éléments d’une phrase

Types of Sentences | Les types de phrases

In French, as in English, there are four types of sentences:

• a declarative sentence | une phrase déclarative,
• an interrogative sentence | une phrase interrogative,
• an exclamatory sentence | une phrase exclamative,
• and an imperative sentence | une phrase impérative.

Declarative Sentence | La phrase déclarative

A declarative sentence makes a statement. A declarative sentence ends with a period [.].

• The snow falls gently on the rooftops. | La neige tombe doucement sur les toits.
• The sun shines in the (mostly) clear sky. | Le soleil brille dans le ciel peu nuageux.
• Paul plays in the pile of multicoloured leaves. | Paul joue dans le tas de feuilles multicolores.
• The water in the pool is warm. | L’eau dans la piscine est tiède.

Interrogative Sentence | La phrase interrogative

An interrogative sentence asks a question. An interrogative sentence ends with a question mark [?].

In French an interrogative sentence may be created in different ways:

• by placing the interrogative expression << Est–ce que >> at the beginning of the question
  • Will it be sunny tomorrow? | Est-ce qu’il fera soleil demain?
  • Are the children playing in the snow? | Est-ce que les enfants jouent dans la neige?
    
• by inverting the subject/pronoun and the verb
  • Will it be sunny tomorrow? | Fera-t-il soleil demain?
  • Are they playing in the snow? | Jouent-ils dans la neige?

*Note: A hyphen is used when a subject pronoun follows a verb. When the French verb ends with an e or an a and the subject pronoun is either il, elle or on, the letter t is inserted between the verb and the pronoun. A hyphen is placed before and after the t (e.g., fera-t-il, mange-t-elle, regarde-t-on).

• by adding a personal pronoun (which agrees in number and gender with the subject of the verb) after the verb
  • Is Paul playing in the pile of leaves? | Paul joue-t-il dans le tas de feuilles?
  • Is the water warm? | L’eau est-elle tiède?
• by using interrogative expressions/question words at the beginning of the question
  • Whom did you invite? | Qui as-tu invité?
  • What do you want? | Que voulez-vous?
  • What are you thinking about? | À quoi penses-tu?
  • Which book do you want? / Which one do you want? | Quel livre veux-tu? Lequel veux-tu?
  • Which apple do you want? / Which one do you want? | Quelle pomme veux-tu? Laquelle veux-tu?
  • Which pencils do you like? / Which ones do you like? | Quels crayons aimes-tu? Lesquels aimes-tu?
  • Which programs do you prefer? / Which ones do you prefer? | Quelles émissions préfères-tu? Lesquelles préfères-tu?
  • How are you? | Comment allez-vous? , Comment ça va?
  • Where does she live? | Où habite-t-elle?
  • Why is the sky blue? | Pourquoi le ciel est-il bleu?
  • When are you leaving? | Quand partez-vous?
  • How many tickets does he want? | Combien de billets veut-il?
  • How many team mates have you invited? | Combien d’équipiers as-tu invités?

Exclamatory Sentence | La phrase exclamative

An exclamatory sentence conveys a strong feeling. An exclamatory sentence ends with an exclamation mark [!].

• The weather is so nice today! | Comme il fait beau aujourd’hui!
• Pierre-Oh and Pierrette are so funny! | Pierre-Oh et Pierrette sont tellement drôles!

Imperative Sentence | La phrase impérative

An imperative sentence gives a command. An imperative sentence may end with a period [.] or an exclamation mark [!] .

• Close the door, please. | Fermez la porte, s’il vous plaît.
• Be careful! | Fais attention!
• Let’s go see the event. | Allons voir l’évènement.

*Note: An imperative sentence is formed with the imperative tense of a verb. The subject or subject pronoun is implied but not used in the imperative.

The four types of sentences may be in a positive form or in a negative form.

A Negative Sentence | La phrase négative

A negative sentence expresses a negative opinion or states that something is not true or incorrect. In French, a negative sentence is usually created by adding two negation words with ne or n’ placed in front of the verb.