French Language Learning — Glossary¶
This glossary defines the key linguistic and grammatical terms used throughout this curriculum. When you encounter a term you don't know, look it up here first. Add new terms as you encounter them — this file grows as you study.
Linguistic Terms¶
accord (agreement)¶
In French grammar, accord is the process by which adjectives, past participles, and other elements change their form to match the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun they relate to. For example, un livre intéressant (an interesting book, masculine) vs. une histoire intéressante (an interesting story, feminine). Unlike English, which mostly dropped agreement, French retained it from Latin and applies it pervasively — making it one of the central challenges for learners.
accord du participe (past participle agreement)¶
A specific and complex subset of accord: the rule that determines whether a past participle (e.g., mangé, prise, faits) changes its ending to agree with a noun or pronoun. The rules differ depending on the auxiliary verb used (avoir vs. être) and the position of the direct object. See Module 06 for full treatment.
CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)¶
The CEFR is an international standard for describing language ability, published by the Council of Europe. It defines six proficiency levels: A1 (Breakthrough), A2 (Waystage), B1 (Threshold), B2 (Vantage), C1 (Effective Operational Proficiency), C2 (Mastery). Each level is described in terms of "can-do" statements — what a learner at that level can actually do with the language. The CEFR is used by language schools, certification bodies (DELF/DALF), and employers worldwide as a common reference point.
COD (complément d'objet direct — direct object complement)¶
The COD is the grammatical term for the direct object of a verb — the noun or pronoun that directly receives the action of the verb, without a preposition. In Je mange une pomme (I eat an apple), une pomme is the COD. In French, the COD is important for understanding pronoun placement (Je la mange — I eat it) and past participle agreement (La pomme que j'ai mangée — The apple that I ate, where mangée agrees with the feminine COD pomme).
COI (complément d'objet indirect — indirect object complement)¶
The COI is the indirect object of a verb — the noun or pronoun that receives the action indirectly, typically introduced by the preposition à (to/at). In Je parle à Marie (I speak to Marie), Marie is the COI. COI pronouns (lui, leur) behave differently from COD pronouns and have different rules for placement and agreement.
conjugation (conjugaison)¶
Conjugation is the systematic modification of a verb's form to express grammatical information: the person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and number (singular, plural) of the subject, the tense (present, past, future), the mood (indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative), and the voice (active, passive). French verbs are highly conjugated: the verb parler (to speak) has over 50 distinct conjugated forms across all tenses and moods. Mastering conjugation is the central technical challenge of learning French.
élision (elision)¶
Élision is the suppression of a final vowel in certain monosyllabic words when followed by a word beginning with a vowel or a mute h, replacing the dropped vowel with an apostrophe. For example: le + ami → l'ami, je + ai → j'ai, de + eau → d'eau. Élision is mandatory (not optional) with the words le, la, je, me, te, se, ce, de, ne, que. It is one of the most visible features of written French.
genre grammatical (grammatical gender)¶
In French, all nouns have a gender — they are either masculine (masculin) or feminine (féminin). This gender is a grammatical property of the word, not necessarily a reflection of biological sex or physical reality. Le soleil (the sun) is masculine; la lune (the moon) is feminine. Un livre (a book) is masculine; une table (a table) is feminine. Gender affects the form of articles (le/la), adjectives, pronouns, and past participles. See Module 03 for patterns and strategies.
indicatif (indicative mood)¶
The indicatif is the default mood of French verbs, used to state facts, make assertions, ask questions, and describe events that the speaker presents as real or certain. The indicative encompasses all the basic tenses: présent, passé composé, imparfait, plus-que-parfait, futur simple, futur antérieur, etc. It contrasts with the subjunctive (used for doubt, desire, emotion) and the conditional (used for hypothetical situations).
infinitif (infinitive)¶
The infinitif is the base, unconjugated form of a French verb — the form you find in a dictionary. French infinitives end in -er (parler, manger), -ir (finir, partir), or -re (vendre, prendre), plus a small group of -oir verbs (voir, vouloir, pouvoir). The infinitive is used after modal verbs (je veux parler — I want to speak), as verbal nouns (parler est difficile — speaking is difficult), and in many fixed constructions.
liaison¶
Liaison is the pronunciation of a normally silent final consonant in a word when the following word begins with a vowel or mute h, creating a phonetic link between the two words. For example: les amis is pronounced /lez‿ami/, not /le ami/, because the silent s of les is pronounced before the vowel a of amis. Liaison is a complex feature of spoken French with three categories: obligatory (always made), optional (style-dependent), and forbidden (never made). See Module 01 for the rules.
locution (set phrase / fixed expression)¶
A locution is a fixed multi-word expression that functions as a single grammatical unit and whose meaning cannot always be predicted from its individual parts. Examples: tout à coup (suddenly), bien entendu (of course), à peu près (approximately), en train de (in the process of, used with an infinitive to express ongoing action). Mastering common locutions is essential for natural-sounding French.
participe passé (past participle)¶
The participe passé is the verbal form used to build compound tenses. In the passé composé, it combines with an auxiliary verb: j'ai mangé (I ate/have eaten), il est parti (he left/has left). Regular past participles follow predictable patterns: -er verbs → -é (mangé), -ir verbs → -i (fini), -re verbs → -u (vendu). Many common verbs have irregular past participles that must be memorized: avoir → eu, être → été, faire → fait, prendre → pris, voir → vu.
register (registre)¶
Registre refers to the level of formality of language — the social and stylistic variety appropriate to a given context. French traditionally distinguishes three registers: soutenu (elevated, literary, formal), courant (standard, educated everyday language), and familier/populaire (informal, colloquial, slang). Choosing the wrong register — being too formal in a casual conversation, or too colloquial in a formal document — is a significant communicative error even when the grammar is correct. See Module 10 for detailed treatment.
subjonctif (subjunctive mood)¶
The subjonctif is a verb mood used to express subjectivity: doubt, desire, emotion, necessity, possibility, and other states that are not presented as objective facts. It is triggered by specific expressions and conjunctions: il faut que (it is necessary that), je veux que (I want), bien que (although), à moins que (unless), pour que (so that). The subjunctive is one of the most conceptually challenging features for English speakers, as English has largely lost its own subjunctive. See Module 09 for full treatment.
subordonnée (subordinate clause)¶
A subordonnée (subordinate clause) is a clause that depends on a main clause — it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. Subordinate clauses are introduced by conjunctions (que, parce que, bien que, si) and serve various grammatical functions (subject, object, adverbial modifier). In French, the choice of mood in a subordinate clause (indicative vs. subjunctive) is a crucial grammatical decision. Je sais qu'il vient (indicative — I know he is coming) vs. Je veux qu'il vienne (subjunctive — I want him to come).
Add new glossary entries alphabetically as you encounter new terms.