Exclamatory phrases express all sorts of emotion like surprise, admiration, fright, or anger. One of the things that makes a sentence exclamatory is the exclamation mark.
However, not all sentences with an exclamation mark are exclamatory sentences. For example, greetings, such as Bonjour meaning Hello ! are not, and neither are commands in the French imperative mood. Remember, exclamatory sentences must convey a feeling.
Some grammatical rules need to be memorized to use French exclamations like a native. In this post we’ll learn some special words like comme meaning how or quel meaning what that often introduce exclamations. We’ll also study word order, which can be quite different from English, agreement of adjectives, and use of prepositions, among others. The best thing about exclamatory sentences is that you can have a say in all kinds of situations!
How to form exclamatory sentences in French?
In French, there are lots of ways to form exclamations. However they broadly fall into two main groups:
Exclamations with a conjugated verb → verbal exclamations
Quels enfants polis vous avez !Translation: What polite children you have!In French, this verb is most often in the present tense but it can also be followed by other tenses, like the perfect and future tenses.
Exclamations without a conjugated verb → nominal exclamations
Quel temps!Translation: What weather!Let’s look at some of the main phrases and sentence structures that are used to create French exclamatory sentences!
Exclamations with ‘quel’ + noun
You can use quel + noun at the beginning of an exclamation about a noun or noun phrase. The adjective quel meaning what will agree in gender and number with the noun it introduces.
| Number/gender | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
Singular | quel | quelle |
Plural | quels | quelles |
→ Learn our useful French exclamatory phrases for everyday life!
Quel can be used to introduce nominal or verbal exclamations
Nominal (no verb)
Verbal (with a verb)
In a verbal exclamation, the subject is placed differently depending on whether it is a pronoun or a noun phrase:
If the subject of the verb is a subject pronoun, it will come before the verb:
subjectQuels enfants polis vous avez !Translation: What polite children you have!If the subject is a noun (or noun phrase) the it will most naturally come after the verb instead:
Quel chien énorme ont les voisins !Translation: What an enormous dog the neighbors have!
Exclamations with ‘combien de’ or ‘que de’ + noun
Combien de and que de can be used before a noun to exclaim about the size of the amount of that noun. For example:
Often, you can use a modifying clause after de + noun. Here, the word order is the same as in English.
Exclamations with ‘comme,’ ‘q’est-ce que,’ ‘(ce) que,’ or ‘combien’
Comme meaning how, qu’est-ce que meaning what is it that, (ce) que meaning what, which, and combien meaning how much, how many can all be used to create exclamations by placing them before a full declarative sentence. For example:
| French Exclamation | Translation |
|---|---|
Comme je suis contente de te voir ! | How happy I am to see you! |
Qu’est-ce que je suis contente de te voir | |
Combien je suis contente de te voir ! | |
(Ce) que je suis contente de te voir ! |
Do you see the difference between the English and French word order?
English order: How happy I am → “how” comes right before the adjective
French order: How I am happy. → “how” comes before a full sentence
Let’s talk about a couple of these words/phrases in particular:
You may recognize that qu’est-ce que and combien, because they are commonly used in French questions. In exclamatory sentences they express a rather strong emotion.
Combien is not used as much nowadays.
Que can introduce exclamations, but can also come at the beginning of a non-exclamative sentence. When que is followed by the French subjunctive, the sentence will express a wish or indirect command instead.
subjunctiveQu’il s’en aille s’il n’est pas content !Translation: He can leave if he’s unhappy!
Exclamations with ‘mais’
The conjunction mais meaning but can be used at the start of an exclamatory sentence to express intensity. It can be translated as “but” and also “literally” in English.
Expressing encouragement with ‘vive’ and ‘allez’
When you are elated and want to scream and show support, vive meaning long live and allez meaning go are the perfect words for the situation!
Vive + noun
The phrase vive, followed by a noun, is the equivalent of “long live” + noun or “hurray for” + noun.Vive l’amitié!Translation: Hurray for friendship!Vive is invariable, so its form is not affected by whether the noun that follows is singular or plural.
Vive les mariés !Translation: Long live the bride and groom!Allez + noun/name
The invariable phrase allez (which is technically the vous conjugation of the verb aller), followed by a name or noun, is a way to encourage someone.Allez Simon !Translation: Go Simon!Allez les filles !Translation: You go girls!
Exclamations with ‘et dire que’
The phrase et dire que meaning to think that is usually followed by a past tense phrase and is a way of expressing hindsight, regret, and disappointment.
Exclamations that use subject-verb inversion
Sometimes you can form an exclamation by using changing the position of the subject and the verb in a sentence, as if you are creating a French formal question.
subject
verb
object
↓
verb
subject
object
If you put an exclamation mark at the end instead of a question mark, you’ll have an exclamation that expresses feelings like admiration or frustration.
Exclamations with a subject + descriptor
Using a subject + a descriptive phrase (usually an adjective or French infinitive) expresses disbelief or surprise at the unlikelihood of a situation.
→ subject + infinitive
The subject can be a stressed pronoun, a name, or a noun. Adding jamais meaning never after these types of exclamations adds a bit of drama or determination.
→ subject + adjective
‘Bref’: What you need to remember about exclamatory phrases in French‘Bref’: What you need to remember about exclamatory phrases in French
When making exclamations in French, keep the following tips in mind:
All sentences with an exclamation mark are not necessarily exclamatory. Exclamatory sentences must express a feeling.
Exclamatory sentences often start with introductory words like the adjective quel meaning what or the adverbs combien, qu’est-ce que, ce que, comme, which all express “how.”
When using an adverb, just add a declarative sentence followed by an exclamation mark.
Now you can practice these various ways of expressing feelings and add a bit of emphasis to your French speaking skills! Try heading to our activities about French exclamatory sentences!
:quality(80))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))