Principles Governing the Structure and

Contents & notes: what this topic covers

Under Principles Governing the Structure and, the JAMB French syllabus expects you to study:

• 2. Principles Governing the Structure and Use of Written French: I. Identification of basic form classes:
• (a) Nouns: simple/compound, Singular/plural, masculine/feminine.
• (b) Pronouns: personal, impersonal, demonstrative, possessive and relative.
• (c) Verbs: reflexive and non-reflexive, their moods and tenses.
• (d) Adjectives: qualifying, possessive, interrogative, demonstrative, indefinite (e.g.
• nul), numeral (e.g., dix) and ordinal (e.g., dixième.)
• (e) Adverbs: - common forms i) with-ment (e.g., lentement) ii) with préposition + noun (e.g. par avion, à cheval, en voiture, par bateau.) - special forms (e.g. bien, vite, mal, mieux, le mieux, pire, le pis, ne…que.) - types - manner (e.g. debout, facilement.) - purpose (e.g., pour + infinitive, afin de + infinitive.) - cause and consequence (e.g. pour+ infinitive perfect, à cause de + noun.) - concession (e.g. malgré +noun.) - place (e.g. y, en, ici, là, là-haut, partout.) - time (e.g. hier, aujourd’hui, avant-hier, après, demain, la veille, le matin, dans un mois.)
• (f) Prépositions: - simple (e.g. à, de, avec, avant, sur, dans.) - compound (e.g. à côté de, au milieu de.)
• (g) Conjunctions: - of co-ordination (e.g. mais, ou, et, donc, car, cependant, ne…ni.) -of subordination (e.g. afin que, quoique, à condition que, pour que, parce que.)
• (h) Articles: - definite, indefinite and partitive.
• (i) contraction e.g. à+le = au, à+les= aux etc.
• II. Assessment of vocabulary span:
• (a) words in contemporary contexts - meaning, use, opposites, synonyms
• (b) faux amis (e.g.librairie/library, rester/to rest, blesser/to bless.) III. Importance of word order in: Can
• (a) affirmative sentences
• (b) interrogative sentences
• (c) imperative sentences
• (d) passive voice formation IV. Identification and application iii of basic processes in language structure, e.g.
• (a) conjugation - in all tenses except l’imparfait du subjonctif, le passé composé du subjonctif, et…le plus-que-parfait du subjonctif.
• (b) negation (e.g. ne…pas, ne…plus, ne…rien, nul ne, ne…ni..ni, ne…personne, personne…ne, aucun….ne, rien ne….etc.)
• (c) agreement (e.g. les beaux arts, il les a vues, les photos.)
• (d) pluralisation (e.g. cheval/chevaux, beau/beaux, belle/belles.)
• (e) derivation: -from adj, to adv – e.g., lent-lentement, -from adj. to adj. e.g.
• un – premier, -from adj. to noun – e.g.
• bon-bonté, riche-richesse, etc -from one degree of comparison to another (using plus…que, moins…que, aussi….que e.g. plus grand que.) NB –special forms- (e.g. bon, meilleur, le meilleur, la meilleure, mauvais, pire, le pire.) V. Use of French in set Candidate expressions such as in proverbs, i. com idioms and conventional Fre structures as provided for in ii.ded common speech acts: Fre
• (a) proverbs (e.g. tel père iii. m tel fils, petit à petit l’oiseau fait son nid.)
• (b) idioms (e.g. avoir une faim de loup, crier sur le toit, mourir de peur.)
• (c) conventional stretches (e.g. enchanté, c’est dommage, c’est formidable, stationnement interdit, etc.)
• (d) Common figures of speech eg métaphore, simile, hyperbole.
• Métaphore – Mon père est un lion.
• Simile – Elle est maigre comme un clou.
• Hyberbole – Il avait tellement faim qu’il a mangé toute une Vache.
• (e) speech acts (e.g.
• proposer, conseiller, regretter, admirer, espérer, interroger, reprocher, s’accorder, etc.)

Study notes & guidance

Study Principles Governing the Structure and using a recommended French textbook that follows the JAMB syllabus. Work through the contents listed above one by one, make brief notes in your own words, and then practise as many questions on this topic as you can — in French, understanding and steady practice matter far more than memorising. Use the objectives below as a checklist: if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Objectives — candidates should be able to

After studying Principles Governing the Structure and, you should be able to:

1. Identify what constitutes the basic structures of written French,
2. Use the principles governing the structure of written French to determine acceptability, e.g., to transform one form; one class into another,
3. Apply the structure to convey diverse messages. didates should be able to: identify meaning of words identify meaningful constructed sentences.
4. Apply communicative skills s should be able to: plete common proverbs and idioms in nch uce the meaning of idioms and proverbs in nch ake appropriate use of these special terms

These objectives are from the official JAMB syllabus. Use them as a checklist — if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Source: official JAMB UTME French syllabus (IBASS, jamb.gov.ng). Reproduced for study use. Last checked: 17 Sept 2026. Always confirm the current syllabus on the official portal.