Learn French for Beginners — grammar basics, explained simply
French has a few core building blocks that make the rest of the language click faster: grammatical gender and articles, present-tense conjugation of être and avoir, and basic sentence order (which is closer to English than Tamil or Hindi). This page covers the essentials with examples.
Gender and articles (le/la, un/une)
Every French noun is masculine or feminine — le chat (the cat, masculine), la table (the table, feminine). The indefinite article follows the same split: un livre (a book), une pomme (an apple). There's no reliable shortcut for every word, but noun endings give hints (words ending in -tion, -té are usually feminine).
Être vs avoir (to be vs to have)
être (to be) and avoir (to have) are the two most important irregular verbs — they're used constantly and as helper verbs for other tenses. Present tense: je suis / j'ai (I am / I have), tu es / tu as (you are / you have), il est / il a (he is / he has). Learn these two before anything else.
Regular verb conjugation (present tense)
Most French verbs end in -er, -ir, or -re, and each group conjugates by a predictable pattern. For -er verbs like parler (to speak): je parle, tu parles, il/elle parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils/elles parlent — learn one -er verb's pattern and you can conjugate hundreds of others.
Basic sentence order
French word order is Subject–Verb–Object, like English: 'Je mange une pomme' (I eat an apple). The main differences from English are adjective placement (often after the noun: une voiture rouge — a red car) and question formation.
Examples
- Je suis étudiant. — I am a student. (être)
- Elle a un chat. — She has a cat. (avoir)
- Nous parlons français. — We speak French. (-er verb, nous form)
Common mistakes
- Guessing gender randomly instead of learning le/la together with each new noun.
- Mixing up être and avoir — French uses avoir for age ('j'ai 20 ans' = I have 20 years, not 'I am 20').
- Applying English adjective order (before the noun) to every French adjective.
Try it yourself
Conjugate 'parler' (to speak) for 'nous' (we).
Show answer
nous parlons — regular -er verbs take -ons for the 'nous' form.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need any French background to start here?
No — this page and Learn2Plus AI's French lessons start from zero: alphabet-adjacent basics, gender, articles, and the two core verbs first.
Can Learn2Plus AI give me a French quiz?
Yes — ask for a beginner French quiz on any topic covered here (articles, être/avoir, -er verbs) and you'll get one question at a time with feedback.
Does Learn2Plus AI teach French pronunciation or audio?
Learn2Plus AI explains spelling, grammar and usage patterns in text — it does not generate audio or claim to teach spoken pronunciation.
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