Verb drill
Build your first French sentences: subject, verb, complement
Put scrambled beginner sentences in order, then build your own about where you live, what you do and what you like. Typed answers with instant checking.
- A1
- 10 answers
- Checked all at once
- Accents count
- Learn this in the A1 notebook →
In short
A basic French sentence follows the English order: subject + verb + complement. J'habite à Leeds. Je travaille dans une école. J'aime le cinéma. Two differences: most adjectives come after the noun, and ne… pas wraps around the verb.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
| Subject | Verb | Complement |
|---|---|---|
| Je | m'appelle | Sara. |
| J' | habite | à Glasgow. |
| Je | travaille | dans un hôtel. |
| Ma sœur | aime | le tennis. |
| Nous | ne parlons pas | chinois. |
1 · Put the words in order (type the whole sentence)
- (à / j'habite / Lyon) → (subject + verb + place)
- (aime / le / Paul / football) → (who + verb + what)
- (une / dans / travaille / banque / elle) → (where she works)
- (anglais / parlons / nous) → (language)
- (ne / pas / je / fume) → (negative)
- (rouge / une / j'ai / voiture) → (adjective after noun)
2 · Complete with the right verb
- Je Tom. (s'appeler)
- Tu où ? (habiter)
- Nous la musique. (aimer)
- Ils le samedi. (travailler)
What is the basic word order of a French sentence?
- Ne… pas surrounds the conjugated verb: je ne parle pas.
- Most adjectives follow the noun: une voiture rouge, un livre intéressant. A few short ones come first: un petit café, une grande maison.
- Questions can keep the same order with a rising voice: Tu habites à Paris ?
- Time words go at the start or the end: Le samedi, je travaille. / Je travaille le samedi.
Once you have these patterns, you can already introduce yourself in five sentences: name, where you live, your work, a language you speak and something you like. That's exactly what the first DELF A1 speaking task asks you to do.