Le français moderne

Learn about Modern French in part five of our series of bilingual articles on the development of French over the centuries.* Click any phrase for the English translation and related grammar lessons.

Note: Some of the tenses in this French article and its English translation don't match! In French, we use the present tense to describe historical events like this to evoke a sense of immediacy, whereas in English, we commonly use the past tense - learn more about historical French tenses.

*The Development of French

  1. Birth of the French language
  2. Dialects and regional languages
  3. Middle French
  4. *Classical French
  5. Modern French

** The Status of French in the World

Click any word in the text to see its translation and related grammar lessons.

Clever stuff happening!