Alphabet and Vocabulary
There are many important similarities between English and French. Both are based on the same twenty-six-letter alphabet.
There are many French words in English, accepted as standard English (although pronunciation may differ). Some examples include bon voyage, bon vivant, and bon appétit.
There are many cognates between French and English; that is, words derived from a common root whose form and meaning are the same. There are also partial cognates, which are not quite identical. Some examples of cognates include route (road) and dessert (the last course of a meal).
However, you must watch out for false cognates. These are French words that look like English words but have different meanings. Here are some examples of these faux amis:
| Faux ami |
Actual Translation |
| actuellement |
now |
| assister à |
to attend |
| la lecture |
reading |
| blesser |
to wound |
| la chair |
flesh |
Syntax and Grammar
French and English use the same eight parts of speech:
| English |
French |
Examples |
| noun |
le nom / le substantif |
man (l'homme), woman (la femme) |
| pronoun |
le pronom |
I (je), you (tu), he (il), she (elle) |
| verb |
le verbe |
to speak (parler), to be (être) |
| adjective |
l'adjectif |
rich (riche), smart (intelligent) |
| adverb |
l'adverbe |
well (bien), slowly (lentement) |
| preposition |
la préposition |
at, to, on (à), from, of (de) |
| conjunction |
la conjonction |
and (et), but (mais), then (puis) |
| article |
l'article |
the (le / la / les / l'), a (un / une / des) |
The interjection (l'interjection) is sometimes also considered a part of speech. Examples of interjections in English include Well! and Oops! A common French interjection is Alors!
The parts of speech are the building blocks that, when placed in a certain order, form language. This order is called syntax. French and English also have similar syntax. The simplest sentence is written as subject-verb-object:
John buys a car. Jean achète une voiture.
In both sentences above, "John" (Jean) is the subject, "buys" (achète) is the verb, and "a car" (une voiture) is the direct object.
Sentences can be made more complex as phrases and clauses are added. Consider the following sentence:
She goes to the sweets shop where she buys a cake and gives it to her friend.
Elle va à la pâtisserie où elle achète un gâteau et l'offre à son ami.
The subject of this sentence is "she" (elle). The verbal part includes…
- a prepositional phrase, "to the sweets shop" (à la pâtisserie);
- a coordinating conjunction, "and" (et), which combines…
- two separate verbs, "goes" and "gives" (va and achète);
- a direct object, "a cake" (un gâteau), which she buys and gives;
- and an indirect object, "her friend" (son ami), the recipient of the cake.
You are working on the mastery of another language to add to your English. In French, la langue may mean either "tongue" or "language." Amusez-vous bien! Enjoy!
