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Les bases — 100 questions

100 questions 4 topics · les bases 16 jumbled sentences Full explanation on every question 🌐 300 bilingual sentences

Four topics, twenty-five questions each. Noun gender and the words that go in front of a noun, être and avoir and the expressions built on them, the -ER verbs in the present tense, and the order the pieces of a French sentence go in. Every question carries a full explanation, the tempting wrong answer explained, two extra examples and a one-line takeaway.

0 / 200 answered

Mini-chapter — the rules this quiz tests

Four foundations: the words in front of a noun, être and avoir, the -ER verbs, and the order a French sentence goes in. The rule, a table, the trap that catches people, and two examples each. Read it, take the quiz, then come back to whichever topic went badly.

Verdict right wrong

B1 · Gender & articles B2 · Être & avoir B3 · -ER verbs B4 · Sentence structure

B1 Noun gender and the articles

Rule: a French noun almost never stands bare. Something goes in front of it, and that little word has to match the noun in gender and number.

The three families, and what they do
Family	Forms	Used for
Definite	le · la · l’ · les	a specific thing, or a whole category
Indefinite	un · une · des	one of many, not yet identified
Partitive	du · de la · de l’	some of something you do not count

Endings that usually predict gender
Usually feminine	Usually masculine
-tion, -sion, -té, -ette, -ance, -ence, -ure	-age, -ment, -eau, -isme, -ier

Trap

Before a vowel both le and la shrink to l’, which hides the gender completely. l’étudiant is masculine and l’étudiante is feminine — you cannot hear the difference, only the adjective shows it.

Trap

The ending rules have famous exceptions: le musée, le lycée, la page, la plage, le problème.

Trap

After a negative, un · une · des · du · de la all collapse to de: Je n’ai pas de voiture. Je n’ai pas une voiture. The exception is être: Ce n’est pas un problème.

Nous cherchons un appartement dans le quartier.

We’re looking for a flat in the neighbourhood.

Elle achète du pain et de la confiture.

She buys some bread and some jam.

B2 Être and avoir

Rule: these two carry most of the language. Learn them cold — and learn which one French picks where English would pick the other.

The two conjugations
	être	avoir
je	suis	ai
tu	es	as
il / elle / on	est	a
nous	sommes	avons
vous	êtes	avez
ils / elles	sont	ont

Trap

English says "I am hungry"; French says "I have hunger". J’ai faim, j’ai soif, j’ai froid, j’ai chaud, j’ai peur, j’ai raison, j’ai sommeil. Je suis faim.

Trap

Age uses avoir too: J’ai vingt ans. Je suis vingt ans. And the word ans can never be left out.

Trap

With a job, the little word disappears: Elle est médecin. Elle est une médecin. But with c’est it comes back: C’est une bonne médecin.

Nous avons faim, mais le restaurant est fermé.

We’re hungry, but the restaurant is closed.

Il y a trois chambres et la cuisine est très grande.

There are three bedrooms and the kitchen is very big.

B3 The -ER verbs in the present

Rule: cut the -er off the infinitive and add the ending. This one pattern covers the large majority of French verbs.

parler → parl-
Person	Ending	Form	Sound
je	-e	je parle	silent
tu	-es	tu parles	silent
il / elle / on	-e	il parle	silent
nous	-ons	nous parlons	heard
vous	-ez	vous parlez	heard
ils / elles	-ent	ils parlent	silent

Trap

Four of the six forms sound identical. je parle, tu parles, il parle and ils parlent are the same noise — only the subject tells you what to write. Listen for the subject, not the ending.

Trap

Spelling changes exist only to protect the sound. -ger keeps the e: nous mangeons. -cer takes a cedilla: nous commençons. Both only in the nous form.

Trap

Accent and doubling families change in the singular and third plural but not in nous/vous: j’achète but nous achetons; je préfère but nous préférons; j’appelle but nous appelons.

Nous commençons à huit heures et nous mangeons à midi.

We start at eight and we eat at noon.

Ils travaillent beaucoup, mais ils préfèrent le week-end.

They work a lot, but they prefer the weekend.

B4 How a French sentence is built

Rule: subject, then verb, then the rest. French keeps the subject even when English would drop it, and the small words sit in fixed places.

Asking a question — three ways, same meaning
Way	Example	Formality
Voice rises	Tu habites ici ?	everyday speech
est-ce que	Est-ce que tu habites ici ?	safe everywhere
Inversion	Habites-tu ici ?	careful or written

Trap

Most adjectives go after the noun — une voiture rouge — but a short common set goes before: beau, joli, jeune, vieux, grand, petit, bon, mauvais, nouveau. une petite maison blanche.

Trap

ne … pas wraps the verb, one part on each side: Je ne travaille pas le dimanche. Before a vowel ne becomes n’: Il n’habite pas ici.

Trap

à + le is always au, and à + les is always aux. à le parc does not exist — say au parc.

Est-ce que vous habitez dans ce quartier depuis longtemps ?

Have you lived in this area long?

Elle n’aime pas le café, mais elle adore le thé vert.

She doesn’t like coffee, but she loves green tea.

French With Guri · Phase 1 + Phase 2 Advanced Quiz · 200 questions · English explanations, French practice.

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