C1 Grammar
Complete list of C1 Grammar points with meaning, formation, examples and audio. Tap any point for a full explanation.
- Passé simple — literary past tense (recognition) Passé simple: the literary narrative past (for recognition)
- Conditional of unconfirmed information (journalistic) Conditional to report unverified news/rumor: 'reportedly, allegedly'
- The expletive ne — ne explétif ne explétif = a meaningless ne in formal French (not a negation)
- Passé antérieur — literary anterior past (recognition) Literary anterior past: eut/fut + past participle, marking action just before a passé simple
- Subjonctif imparfait — literary (recognition) Literary imperfect subjunctive: qu'il parlât, qu'elle fît, qu'ils vinssent
- Participle agreement — special cases (fait, laissé, duré, coûté) Special no-agreement cases: fait/laissé + infinitive, and measure/price/duration objects
- Subjunctive after a superlative / le seul / le premier After a superlative or le seul / le premier / le dernier + relative, use the subjunctive
- Subjunctive in relative clauses (sought/indefinite antecedent) Subjunctive in a relative clause when the antecedent is sought or hypothetical (vs indicative for a real one)
- quoi que / qui que / où que / quel que + subjunctive Concessive indefinites + subjunctive: quoi que (whatever), où que (wherever), qui que (whoever); quel que + être agrees with its subject
- de peur que / de crainte que + subjunctive (+ ne) de peur que / de crainte que + (expletive ne) + subjunctive = for fear that; same subject → de peur de + infinitive
- ce à quoi / ce dont / ce pour quoi neutral relatives with prepositional verbs: ce à quoi, ce dont, ce pour quoi
- dont — advanced uses (la façon dont, l'homme dont…) dont replacing de + noun: de-verb object, possession, partitive, la façon dont
- quiconque / qui que ce soit / quoi que ce soit 'anyone who / anyone at all / anything at all': quiconque, qui que ce soit, quoi que ce soit
- aucun / nul / pas un — nuances of negation negation nuances: ne…aucun, ne…nul (formal), ne…pas un (not a single one)
- Compound adjectives — agreement In a compound adjective, if both parts are adjectives both agree; if the first part modifies the second (adverb or noun-like), it stays invariable.
- quitte à / au risque de / quand bien même even if it means; at the risk of; even if / even though
- en effet / en fait / d'ailleurs / or — nuances indeed; in fact; besides; now/yet
- ainsi / aussi / à peine + inversion thus / so; therefore; hardly … (when) — with inversion
- Subject-verb inversion — cases and register Subject-verb inversion in formal questions, reported speech and after certain head adverbs
- Nominalisation — from verb to noun Turning a verb or clause into a noun for concise, formal style
- Ellipsis and noun phrases Omitting verbs or subjects for concision: headlines, signs, short answers
- tout en + present participle — simultaneity & concession tout en + present participle = while doing / even though (same subject)