French Grammar - Word Order

Word Order

The components of a declarative clause are typically arranged in the following order (though not all components are always present):

1. Adverb(s)
2. Subject
3. ne (usually a marker for negation, though it has some other uses)
4. First- and second-person object pronoun, or the third-person reflexive pronoun (any of me, te, nous, vous, se)
5. Third-person human direct-object pronoun (any of le, la, les)
6. Third-person human indirect-object pronoun (either lui or leur)
7. The pronoun y
8. The pronoun en
9. Finite verb (may be an auxiliary)
10. Adverb(s)
11. The pronoun rien (if not subject)
12. Main verb (if the finite verb is an auxiliary)
13. Adverb(s) and object(s)

French basic word order is thus subject–verb–object (Je lisais un livre: I was reading a book), although if the object is a pronoun, it precedes the verb (Je le lisais: I was reading it). Some types of sentences allow for or require different word orders, in particular inversion of the subject and verb. For example, some adverbial expressions placed at the beginning of a sentence trigger inversion of pronominal subjects: Peut-être est-elle partie (Maybe she has left).

Word order can be an indicator of stylistic register. For instance, inversion of nominal subjects is possible in many relative clauses:

• C'est le livre . (Object–subject–verb)
• C'est le livre . (Object–verb–subject)

"That's the book my cousin gave her."

The second version of the sentence, with inversion, is more formal.

Since the 16th century, some grammarians, such as Louis Meigret or Dominique Bouhours, have claimed that the strict rules governing French word order ensure that the language conforms more closely to a natural order of thinking than Latin, for example. According to Bouhours, only the French language exactly reflects the natural way of thinking, with the words expressing thoughts in the order in which they arise in the mind. According to these grammarians, variations in word order are considered to be a question of "poetic elegance".