Use this page as a diagnosis desk after real output. The goal is not to hoard rules, but to find out why a sentence failed and rebuild it with cleaner agreement, tense choice, word order, or connector logic.
Grammar quick reference
Resources
Grammar quick reference
A working grammar desk for articles, agreement, tense control, pronouns, and sentence repair.
Anchor grammar in agreement
Articles, noun gender, adjective agreement, and subject-verb agreement create the skeleton of even very simple French. Beginners often know the main noun but forget the article or ending that tells the reader how the sentence fits together. Returning to those anchors regularly prevents many later errors.
A fast review method is to scan a text and underline the agreement signals before looking at more advanced structures. This is especially useful after lessons on family, home, description, or professional writing, where the grammar often looks simple but still carries a lot of meaning.
- Learn nouns with their article, not as isolated dictionary labels.
- Check adjective endings in the same sentence where the noun appears.
- When revising, ask whether the subject and verb still agree after you add a detail.
Study tense by function, not by table only
French tense review becomes easier when you connect each tense to a communicative purpose. Use the present for habit, description, and current comment. Use the passe compose for completed events and practical narratives. Use the imperfect or contrastive framing when you need background or repeated past action. Use the future or conditionnel when the task asks for plans, hypotheses, or politeness.
This approach helps you revise faster after a lesson because you can ask a practical question first: Am I describing a routine, narrating an event, comparing situations, or making a careful request? Once the purpose is clear, the tense choice becomes more teachable and easier to remember.
- Link tense choice to the communicative aim before you worry about every irregular form.
- Keep one model sentence for each tense you are currently using often.
- Compare two nearby tenses by meaning, such as routine versus completed event.
Check sentence architecture during revision
When a sentence feels weak, the problem is not always vocabulary. Sometimes the clause order, pronoun placement, or connector choice is making the idea harder to follow. A useful grammar review therefore includes sentence architecture: what comes first, what is linked, and which information deserves the final position in the line.
During revision, simplify before you decorate. Keep the clause order stable, make sure the connector really matches the logic, and only then add nuance or longer detail. This habit is useful from A0 all the way into B2 and beyond because clarity remains part of advanced control.
- Read one sentence aloud to hear whether the structure still feels balanced.
- If a sentence becomes confusing, remove one detail and rebuild it in a clearer order.
- Use connectors that match the job you need: sequence, contrast, cause, conclusion, or concession.
Use grammar review after production, not only before it
Grammar reference pages become much more valuable after you have already tried to speak or write. Once you have a real sentence in front of you, you can see whether the agreement, tense, pronoun order, or connector choice actually helped the message or confused it.
This is especially effective after emails, summaries, and speaking outlines. Instead of rereading whole tables, bring one weak sentence back to the grammar page, identify the structural problem, and rebuild the line in a cleaner form.
- Save one imperfect sentence from each writing session for grammar-based repair.
- Check whether the revision improved the message, not only the rule display.
- Use the linked lessons below when you want to reactivate the same structure in guided practice.
Build an error bank, not a guilt list
Most grammar problems repeat in families: articles and gender, tense choice, prepositions, pronoun placement, negation, or clause order. If you only say "my grammar is weak," the page stays too broad to help. If you collect the actual family that keeps returning, the repair becomes much faster.
This is why a grammar desk should also function as a diagnosis tool. Save one sentence for each repeated error family, rewrite it once correctly, then note what signal should warn you next time. Over time, that bank becomes more useful than passively rereading rules you do not currently need.
- Label the family first: agreement, tense, preposition, pronoun, or connector.
- Keep one bad sentence and one repaired sentence side by side.
- Return to the matching lesson only after the error family is clear.
Related lessons
A0 Foundation
Articles and gender basics
Start noticing le, la, un, and une so nouns arrive with useful grammar attached.
- Recognize definite and indefinite articles in beginner phrases.
- Learn nouns with article partners instead of isolated word lists.
A2
Object pronouns in context
Use direct object pronouns in short practical sentences and replies.
- Talk about object pronouns and practical speech in short complete French rather than isolated words.
- Use direct object pronouns to add one clear detail about object pronouns and practical speech without losing control.
B1
Tense contrast: past and present
Move between what usually happens and what happened in one specific event.
- Narrate or explain tense contrast and narration with sequence, hierarchy, and enough detail to sound independent rather than fragmentary.
- Use contrasting habitual and completed actions to connect events, turning points, or plans without losing the main thread of the task.
B2
Passive voice in context
Recognize and use passive structures when the action matters more than the actor.
- Frame passive voice and formal language as a practical communication task with a clear purpose, an appropriate tone, and a result the other person can act on.
- Use passive voice for formal explanation to organize the problem, request, or expectation so the message stays easy to follow and easy to answer.
DELF B1
DELF B1 format and first practice
Start DELF B1 with a simple format overview and first timed practice plan.
- Understand what DELF B1 asks you to do across its main exam tasks.
- Know how to combine core lessons, resources, and first timed practice in DELF B1.
Resources
Resources
Pronunciation roadmap
A working pronunciation desk for French sounds, rhythm, liaison, and repeat-after-listening repair habits.
Resources
Core verbs and patterns
Keep essential verb patterns visible as you move from beginner to advanced use.
Resources
Phrasebank and connectors
A function-based phrasebank for opinion, comparison, agreement, disagreement, hedging, clarification, and formal transitions.
Resources
Writing models and structure
A writing-model desk for messages, formal responses, syntheses, and revision-aware genre planning.