Exclamative Sentences in French
Exclamative sentences (les phrases à la forme exclamative) allow us to express strong emotions like surprise, anger, joy, or fear in French.
What is la forme exclamative?
Always end with an exclamation mark ( ! )
Often start with an exclamative word (que, comme, quel...)
Have rising intonation in spoken language
Info:
In French punctuation, there is always a space before the exclamation mark !
Exclamative Adverbs and Determiners
Comme / Que + sentence
Translates to "How ...!"Comme c'est triste !
Que c'est triste !
Quel (quelle, quels, quelles) + noun
Translates to "What (a) ...!" Must agree fully with the noun.Quel dommage !
Quelle belle veste !
Si + adjective
Translates to "So ...!"Elle est si compatissante !
Si seulement + imparfait/plus-que-parfait
Expresses regret ("If only ...!")Si seulement j'avais su !
Tant de / Tellement de + noun
"So many/much ...!"Il y a tellement d'occasions !
Pourvu que + subjunctive
Expresses wish/hope/fear ("Let's hope that...")Pourvu qu'elle ne soit pas partie !
Common French Interjections
Ah ! / Oh !
Surprise
Aïe !
Pain
Chut !
Silence
Hé !
Attention
Tiens !
Surprise
Tant pis !
Regret
Allez !
Courage
Ouf !
Relief
Master French Exclamations
Learn to express strong emotions, surprise, and emphasis using native-like exclamatory structures.
1
Emotion Basics2
Quel Agreement3
Advanced If only4
Common Interjections