What is the basic word order in a French sentence?

Subject, verb, object, as in English: Marie lit un livre. Adverbs and time expressions come after the verb or at the ends of the sentence, and adjectives usually follow their noun. Object pronouns are the main exception, because they move in front of the verb.

Why does French put the adjective after the noun?

It is simply the default position: une maison blanche, un problème difficile. A short set of frequent adjectives comes first instead, including beau, bon, grand, petit, jeune, vieux, and nouveau. A few, such as ancien and cher, change meaning according to where they sit.

Where do I put adverbs in French?

Directly after the conjugated verb: je mange souvent au restaurant. In a compound tense a short adverb goes between the auxiliary and the participle: j'ai souvent mangé là. Longer adverbs of time can also begin or end the sentence.

What are the four types of French sentence?

Declarative, which states something; interrogative, which asks; imperative, which instructs; and exclamative, which reacts. The same content can appear in all four: tu viens, viens-tu, viens, and comme tu viens vite.

Can I leave out que the way English leaves out that?

No. Je pense qu'il a raison always needs the que, even though I think he's right does not need that. Que elides to qu' in front of a vowel, which is why it can be hard to hear in speech.

French grammar · Beginner

French Sentence Structure: Word Order and Sentence Types

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

A French sentence follows the same subject-verb-object backbone as English, so most of what you already know transfers. The differences are concentrated in a few places: object pronouns move in front of the verb, negation wraps around it, adjectives usually follow their noun, and adverbs cannot come between the subject and the verb.

Ma sœur a acheté une voiture rouge hier.

My sister bought a red car yesterday.

What it is

French builds sentences out of the same parts as English and lines them up in broadly the same order, which is why a sentence like Paul mange une pomme needs no explanation. The work of learning French word order is really the work of learning the handful of elements that refuse to sit where English puts them.

Paul mange une pomme. Paul la mange. Paul ne la mange pas. — Paul is eating an apple. Paul is eating it. Paul isn't eating it.

How to spot it

Find the conjugated verb first. Almost everything unusual about French order is defined relative to that one word: pronouns before it, ne before it, pas after it, adverbs just after it.

Nous regardons un film. — We're watching a film. (plain subject-verb-object)
Nous le regardons. — We're watching it. (pronoun moves forward)
Nous ne le regardons pas. — We aren't watching it. (negation wraps the verb)
Nous regardons souvent des films. — We often watch films. (adverb after the verb)

A written French sentence needs a conjugated verb to be complete. Fragments are much rarer in French prose than in English.

Sentences Quick Reference

Sentence types and sentence shapes

Category	What it does	Example	English
déclarative	states something	Il pleut depuis ce matin.	It's been raining since this morning.
interrogative	asks something	Est-ce qu'il pleut ?	Is it raining?
impérative	gives an instruction	Ferme la fenêtre.	Close the window.
exclamative	expresses a reaction	Comme il pleut !	How it's raining!
simple	one clause	Je lis un roman.	I'm reading a novel.
compound	two clauses of equal weight	Je lis et elle écrit.	I read and she writes.
complex	a main clause plus a subordinate one	Je lis quand j'ai le temps.	I read when I have time.

Common Sentences Examples in French

The building blocks in order:

The Default: Subject, Verb, Object

Les enfants mangent une pomme.: The children are eating an apple.
Paul écrit une lettre à sa grand-mère.: Paul is writing a letter to his grandmother.
Ma mère prépare le dîner.: My mother is making dinner.
Le train arrive à dix heures.: The train arrives at ten.

French depends heavily on this order, because nouns carry no case endings to show who does what to whom.

Pronouns Break the Order

Je le vois tous les jours.: I see him every day.
Elle me l'a donné ce matin.: She gave it to me this morning.
Tu y vas à pied ?: Are you walking there?
Nous en parlerons demain.: We'll talk about it tomorrow.

An object pronoun goes in front of the verb it belongs to, which is the biggest single departure from English order.

Negation Wraps the Verb

Je ne comprends pas.: I don't understand.
Il n'a rien dit.: He didn't say anything.
Elle ne vient jamais le samedi.: She never comes on Saturdays.
On ne le sait pas encore.: We don't know yet.

Ne goes in front of the verb and the second half, pas or rien or jamais, goes after it.

Joining Clauses Together

Il pleut, donc je reste chez moi.: It's raining, so I'm staying home.
Je pense qu'elle a raison.: I think she's right.
Bien qu'il soit tard, je continue.: Even though it's late, I'm carrying on.
Le livre que tu m'as prêté est excellent.: The book you lent me is excellent.

Que introduces the clause and cannot be dropped, unlike the that of I think she's right.

How French Word Order Works

Five habits cover almost every difference between a French sentence and its English translation.

Order Carries the Grammar

French nouns look the same whether they are the subject or the object, so position is what tells you who acts on whom. Le chien mord l'homme and l'homme mord le chien use identical words and mean opposite things.

Le chat regarde la souris.

The cat is watching the mouse.

Position, not endings.

Object Pronouns Move in Front of the Verb

Replace a noun object with a pronoun and it jumps to just before the conjugated verb. Je vois Marie becomes je la vois, not je vois la. In a compound tense the pronoun goes before the auxiliary: je l'ai vue.

Je lui ai déjà répondu.

I've already answered him.

Pronoun, then verb.

Negation Is a Sandwich

Ne comes before the verb and its partner comes after. In a compound tense both halves close around the auxiliary, leaving the participle outside: il n'a pas compris. Before an infinitive the two halves stay together: pour ne pas oublier.

Je n'ai pas encore fini mon travail.

I haven't finished my work yet.

ne + verb + pas.

Adjectives Normally Follow the Noun

The default position for a French adjective is after the noun it describes: une voiture rouge, un film intéressant. A short list of very common adjectives comes before instead, and a few change meaning depending on where they sit.

C'est une histoire vraie et un beau roman.

It's a true story and a fine novel.

Noun first, description second.

Nothing Comes Between Subject and Verb

English happily inserts an adverb there: I often go. French does not, so the adverb goes after the verb instead: je vais souvent. In a compound tense a short adverb slips between the auxiliary and the participle: j'ai bien dormi.

Elle va souvent au marché le samedi.

She often goes to the market on Saturdays.

Subject, verb, then adverb.

Common Mistakes with Sentences

Incorrect: Je vois la tous les jours. — I see her every day.

Correct: Je la vois tous les jours. — I see her every day.

English keeps the object after the verb even when it becomes a pronoun. French moves the pronoun in front of the verb, which leaves the verb at the end of its little group.

Incorrect: Je souvent vais au cinéma. — I often go to the cinema.

Correct: Je vais souvent au cinéma. — I often go to the cinema.

Nothing may stand between the subject and its verb in French. The adverb has to wait until after the verb.

Incorrect: Elle conduit une rouge voiture. — She drives a red car.

Correct: Elle conduit une voiture rouge. — She drives a red car.

Colours, shapes, nationalities, and most other descriptive adjectives follow the noun in French. Only a small group of common adjectives precede it.

Incorrect: Je pense elle a raison. — I think she's right.

Correct: Je pense qu'elle a raison. — I think she's right.

English allows that to disappear. French requires que to introduce the clause, and it elides to qu' before a vowel.

The Places French Order Surprises English Speakers

Three patterns are worth practising deliberately, because intuition from English pushes you the wrong way every time.

Where adverbs go

Short adverbs of frequency and manner follow the conjugated verb, and in compound tenses they slot between the auxiliary and the past participle.

Je vais souvent au cinéma.: I often go to the cinema.
Il a beaucoup travaillé cette semaine.: He worked a lot this week.
Elle parle très bien français.: She speaks French very well.
Nous avons déjà mangé.: We've already eaten.

Longer adverbs and time expressions are freer and often open or close the sentence: hier, il a beaucoup travaillé.

Stacking two pronouns

When two object pronouns meet, they follow a fixed order regardless of which is the direct object: me, te, se, nous, vous, then le, la, les, then lui, leur, then y, then en.

Il me l'a dit hier.: He told me yesterday.
Je leur en ai parlé.: I spoke to them about it.
Elle nous y a emmenés.: She took us there.
Donne-le-moi.: Give it to me.

In a positive command the order flips and hyphens appear: donne-le-moi, but ne me le donne pas.

Inversion

Turning the verb in front of the subject marks a formal question, and after certain opening adverbs it is required in careful writing.

Avez-vous compris la question ?: Did you understand the question?
Peut-être a-t-il raison.: Perhaps he's right.
Sans doute viendra-t-elle plus tard.: No doubt she'll come later.

In speech, peut-être qu'il a raison is far more common than the inverted version.

Sentences FAQs

What is the basic word order in a French sentence?: Subject, verb, object, as in English: Marie lit un livre. Adverbs and time expressions come after the verb or at the ends of the sentence, and adjectives usually follow their noun. Object pronouns are the main exception, because they move in front of the verb.
Why does French put the adjective after the noun?: It is simply the default position: une maison blanche, un problème difficile. A short set of frequent adjectives comes first instead, including beau, bon, grand, petit, jeune, vieux, and nouveau. A few, such as ancien and cher, change meaning according to where they sit.
Where do I put adverbs in French?: Directly after the conjugated verb: je mange souvent au restaurant. In a compound tense a short adverb goes between the auxiliary and the participle: j'ai souvent mangé là. Longer adverbs of time can also begin or end the sentence.
What are the four types of French sentence?: Declarative, which states something; interrogative, which asks; imperative, which instructs; and exclamative, which reacts. The same content can appear in all four: tu viens, viens-tu, viens, and comme tu viens vite.
Can I leave out que the way English leaves out that?: No. Je pense qu'il a raison always needs the que, even though I think he's right does not need that. Que elides to qu' in front of a vowel, which is why it can be hard to hear in speech.