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Essential French Grammar – Formal vs. Informal

Informal French is used primarily in oral communication between friends, peers, and family members, whereas formal French is typical of official and polite situations. The two uses each have their own characteristics in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, and, of course, grammar. Some of the main grammatical points are below, which can help you distinguish between formal and informal French.

Presence or absence of ne in negative sentences

Ne is present in almost all negative expressions in formal French:

• Il ne fume jamais. "He never smokes."
• Sa mère ne viendra pas demain. "Her/His mother will not come tomorrow."
• Elle n'est plus là.  "She is not there anymore."

In colloquial usage though, ne frequently is omitted, as you can see in this chart:

Ne also is usually absent from negative commands in informal French. Therefore, Ne pleure pas! ('don't cry') becomes Pleure pas! in informal French. Here are some other examples:

• Ne le mange pas! > Le mange pas! (Don't eat it!)
• Ne faites pas ça!> Faites pas ça! (Don't do that!)

Interrogative sentences

There is more than one way of asking questions. Inverting the subject and the verb is one of the grammatical processes used to ask a question. Inversion happens frequently in formal French, but happens less often in informal speech. Thus, Où allez-vous? ("Where are you going?") is formal and very polite, while Tu vas où?, without inversion, is typical of informal French.

Pronouns

Some pronouns are not used in informal French, whereas others are absent from le français soutenu. The chart below shows the informal equivalent of formal pronouns.