Basic Sentence Structure

Now that you know subject pronouns, articles, and the verbs être and avoir, it is time to understand how French sentences are constructed. French sentence structure shares similarities with English but has some important differences, particularly regarding word order, negation, and the placement of adjectives and adverbs.

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The Basic Pattern: Subject + Verb + Object/Complement

The most common French sentence follows the same SVO (Subject–Verb–Object) order as English.

French	Analysis	English
Je mange une pomme.	S + V + O	I eat an apple.
Elle parle français.	S + V + O	She speaks French.
Nous aimons la musique.	S + V + O	We like music.
Il regarde la télévision.	S + V + O	He watches television.
Tu lis un livre.	S + V + O	You read a book.

This is the most natural and common word order in French. If you follow this pattern, you will produce correct sentences most of the time.

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Sentences with Être (Subject + Verb + Complement)