Grammaire Anglaise Complète
Les 10 chapitres essentiels — temps, modaux, phrasal verbs, structures avancées et quiz de révision
Les temps du présent
Formation : Sujet + base verbale (+s à la 3e personne du singulier)
Négation : do not / does not + base verbale — Interrogation : Do/Does + sujet + BV ?
| Usage | Exemple |
|---|---|
| Habitude, routine | I drink coffee every morning. |
| Vérité générale, fait permanent | Water boils at 100°C. |
| Horaires, programmes fixés | The train leaves at 8:15. |
| Avec les adverbes de fréquence | She always arrives on time. |
Piège : Les verbes en -s/-sh/-ch/-x/-o prennent -es à la 3e personne : he watches, she goes, it fixes. Les verbes en consonne + y → -ies : he studies (mais he plays car voyelle + y).
Formation : Sujet + am/is/are + verbe-ing
| Usage | Exemple |
|---|---|
| Action en cours maintenant | I am reading a book right now. |
| Situation temporaire | She is staying with her parents this week. |
| Projet futur planifié (agenda) | We are meeting Tom tomorrow at 3. |
| Tendance, changement en cours | The climate is getting warmer. |
| Irritation (avec always) | He is always losing his keys! |
Stative verbs : Certains verbes ne se mettent normalement PAS au continuous car ils décrivent un état, pas une action : know, believe, want, need, love, hate, prefer, understand, belong, own, seem, mean. On dit I know et non I am knowing.
| Present Simple | Present Continuous |
|---|---|
| Habitude permanente | Action temporaire / en cours |
| I work in Paris. (emploi permanent) | I’m working in Paris this month. (temporaire) |
| He speaks French. (capacité générale) | He’s speaking French right now. (en ce moment) |
Les temps du passé
Formation : Sujet + verbe-ed (régulier) ou 2e colonne (irrégulier)
Négation : did not + BV — Interrogation : Did + sujet + BV ?
| Usage | Exemple |
|---|---|
| Action terminée dans le passé (date/moment précis) | I visited London last summer. |
| Suite d’actions passées | She opened the door, walked in, and sat down. |
| Habitude passée révolue | When I was young, I played football every day. |
Marqueurs temporels : yesterday, last week/month/year, ago, in 2019, when I was…, at that time.
Formation : Sujet + was/were + verbe-ing
| Usage | Exemple |
|---|---|
| Action en cours à un moment du passé | At 8 pm, I was watching TV. |
| Action interrompue par une autre (while/when) | I was cooking when the phone rang. |
| Deux actions simultanées dans le passé | While she was reading, he was sleeping. |
| Contexte / décor d’un récit | The sun was shining and birds were singing. |
Règle clé : WHEN + past simple (action courte) / WHILE + past continuous (action longue). While I was walking, I found a coin.
| Structure | Usage | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| used to + BV | Habitude passée OU état passé révolu | I used to live in London. / I used to like chocolate. |
| would + BV | Habitude passée UNIQUEMENT (pas les états) | Every summer, we would go to the beach. |
Piège : On ne peut PAS dire « I would live in London » pour un état passé. Seul used to fonctionne avec les verbes d’état. Would = actions répétées uniquement.
Les temps du futur
| Forme | Formation | Usage principal | Exemple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will | will + BV | Décision spontanée, prédiction, promesse, offre | I’ll help you. / It will rain tomorrow. |
| Be going to | am/is/are going to + BV | Intention déjà décidée, prédiction basée sur des indices | I’m going to study medicine. / Look at the sky — it’s going to rain. |
| Present Continuous | am/is/are + V-ing | Arrangement personnel futur (agenda) | I’m meeting Sarah at 5. |
| Present Simple | BV (+s) | Horaire, programme officiel | The flight departs at 7:30. |
| Future Continuous | will be + V-ing | Action en cours à un moment futur | At 8 pm, I’ll be watching the match. |
| Future Perfect | will have + past participle | Action terminée avant un moment futur | By 2030, I will have finished my degree. |
| Will | Be going to |
|---|---|
| Décision prise à l’instant | Décision déjà prise avant |
| « It’s cold. » — « I’ll close the window. » | « I’m going to visit Japan next year. » (planifié) |
| Prédiction = opinion/croyance | Prédiction = indices visibles |
| I think he will win. | He’s going to fall! (on le voit perdre l’équilibre) |
Après when, as soon as, before, after, until, by the time (subordonnées temporelles) → on utilise le present simple, jamais will. I’ll call you when I arrive. (pas when I will arrive)
Present Perfect & Past Perfect
Formation : Sujet + have/has + past participle (3e colonne ou -ed)
| Usage | Exemple | Marqueur |
|---|---|---|
| Expérience de vie (sans date précise) | I have visited Japan. | ever, never, before |
| Action passée avec résultat présent | She has lost her keys. (elle ne les a toujours pas) | just, already, yet |
| Action commencée dans le passé, toujours en cours | I have lived here since 2010. | since, for |
| Nombre de fois | I’ve been to Rome three times. | — |
Erreur classique des francophones : Ne JAMAIS utiliser le present perfect avec un marqueur de temps passé précis. I have visited London last year. ❌ → I visited London last year. ✅
Formation : Sujet + have/has been + verbe-ing
| Usage | Exemple |
|---|---|
| Action commencée dans le passé, toujours en cours (accent sur la durée) | I have been waiting for 2 hours. |
| Action récente dont on voit le résultat | You’re sweating — have you been running? |
Simple vs. Continuous : I’ve read 3 books this month. (résultat, nombre) vs. I’ve been reading a lot this month. (activité en cours, durée). Le simple insiste sur le résultat, le continuous sur le processus/durée.
| Since | For |
|---|---|
| Point de départ précis | Durée |
| since 2010, since Monday, since I was a child | for 5 years, for 3 hours, for a long time |
Formation : Sujet + had + past participle
Le past perfect exprime une action antérieure à une autre action passée. C’est le « passé du passé ».
| Usage | Exemple |
|---|---|
| Action antérieure à un moment passé | When I arrived, the film had already started. |
| Avec after / before / by the time | After she had finished, she went home. |
| Regret (avec wish) | I wish I had studied harder. |
| 3e conditionnel (irréel du passé) | If I had known, I would have helped. |
Mnémotechnique : 2 événements passés → le plus ancien = past perfect, le plus récent = past simple. He had left (1er) before I arrived (2e).
Les Phrasal Verbs
Un verbe + une ou deux particules (préposition/adverbe) dont le sens est souvent différent du verbe seul. C’est le cauchemar des apprenants mais ils sont omniprésents en anglais courant.
Séparables — le COD peut se placer entre le verbe et la particule :
Turn off the light = Turn the light off = Turn it off
⚠️ Avec un pronom → obligatoirement séparé : Turn it off ✅ Turn off it ❌
Inséparables — le verbe et la particule restent collés :
Look after the children ✅
Look the children after ❌
| Phrasal verb | Sens | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| break down | tomber en panne / s’effondrer | My car broke down on the highway. |
| break up | rompre (relation) | They broke up last month. |
| bring up | élever (un enfant) / mentionner | She was brought up in France. |
| call off | annuler | The meeting was called off. |
| carry on | continuer | Carry on working, please. |
| come across | tomber sur (par hasard) | I came across an old photo. |
| come up with | trouver (idée/solution) | She came up with a great plan. |
| cut down on | réduire (consommation) | I’m cutting down on sugar. |
| end up | finir par | We ended up staying until midnight. |
| figure out | comprendre / résoudre | I can’t figure out this problem. |
| find out | découvrir | I just found out the truth. |
| get along (with) | bien s’entendre | Do you get along with your boss? |
| get over | surmonter / se remettre de | It took months to get over the flu. |
| get rid of | se débarrasser de | I need to get rid of these old clothes. |
| give up | abandonner / arrêter | Don’t give up! / He gave up smoking. |
| go on | continuer / se passer | What’s going on? |
| grow up | grandir | I grew up in a small town. |
| hold on | attendre / patienter | Hold on, I’ll check. |
| keep up with | suivre le rythme | I can’t keep up with all the changes. |
| let down | décevoir | He really let me down. |
| look after | s’occuper de | Who looks after your dog? |
| look for | chercher | I’m looking for my glasses. |
| look forward to | avoir hâte de (+ V-ing) | I look forward to meeting you. |
| look into | enquêter / examiner | The police are looking into it. |
| look up | chercher (dans un dictionnaire) | Look up this word in the dictionary. |
| make up | inventer / se réconcilier / se maquiller | She made up an excuse. |
| pass away | décéder (euphémisme) | My grandmother passed away last year. |
| pick up | ramasser / aller chercher / apprendre | I’ll pick you up at 7. |
| point out | signaler / faire remarquer | He pointed out the mistake. |
| put off | reporter / repousser | Stop putting off your homework! |
| put up with | supporter / tolérer | I can’t put up with this noise. |
| run out of | manquer de / épuiser | We’ve run out of milk. |
| set up | installer / créer / organiser | They set up a new company. |
| show up | se présenter / arriver | He didn’t show up to the meeting. |
| sort out | régler / résoudre | I need to sort out this problem. |
| take off | décoller / enlever (vêtement) | The plane took off at noon. |
| take over | reprendre / prendre le contrôle | A new CEO took over the company. |
| turn down | refuser / baisser (volume) | She turned down the job offer. |
| turn out | s’avérer | It turned out he was right. |
| work out | faire du sport / résoudre / fonctionner | Things will work out in the end. |
Les modaux
- Toujours suivis de la base verbale (sans « to ») : She can swim.
- Pas de -s à la 3e personne : He can (pas he cans)
- Pas d’auxiliaire do pour la négation/question : Can you…? / She can’t…
- Pas d’infinitif ni de participe (*to can, *canning n’existent pas)
| Modal | Sens principal | Exemple | Équivalent / Passé |
|---|---|---|---|
| can | Capacité, permission, possibilité | I can speak English. / Can I leave? | could (passé) / be able to |
| could | Capacité passée, possibilité, politesse | I could swim when I was 5. / Could you help me? | — |
| may | Permission formelle, possibilité | May I sit here? / It may rain. | might (plus incertain) |
| might | Possibilité faible | She might come tonight. | — |
| must | Obligation forte, déduction logique | You must wear a seatbelt. / He must be tired. | had to (passé obligation) |
| shall | Suggestion, offre (1re personne) | Shall we go? / Shall I help you? | — |
| should | Conseil, recommandation | You should see a doctor. | ought to (synonyme formel) |
| will | Futur, volonté, promesse | I will help you. / He won’t listen. | would |
| would | Conditionnel, habitude passée, politesse | I would go if I could. / Would you like tea? | — |
| Modal | Force | Négation | Nuance |
|---|---|---|---|
| must | Obligation forte (interne/loi) | must not = interdiction | You mustn’t smoke here. |
| have to | Obligation (externe/règle) | don’t have to = pas nécessaire | You don’t have to come. (tu n’es pas obligé) |
| should | Conseil / recommandation | shouldn’t = déconseillé | You shouldn’t eat that. |
Piège crucial : mustn’t = INTERDICTION (≠ « pas obligé »). don’t have to = pas nécessaire / pas obligé. C’est l’inverse du français « ne pas devoir » qui peut signifier les deux.
| Certitude | Affirmatif | Négatif |
|---|---|---|
| 100% sûr | He is tired. | He isn’t tired. |
| ~95% — quasi certain | He must be tired. | He can’t be tired. |
| ~50% — possible | He may/might/could be tired. | He may not / might not be tired. |
Déduction au passé : modal + have + past participle. He must have left. (il est certainement parti) / She can’t have known. (elle ne pouvait pas savoir)
La voix passive
Structure : Sujet + be (conjugué au temps voulu) + past participle (+ by agent)
| Temps | Actif | Passif |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | They make cars in Germany. | Cars are made in Germany. |
| Past simple | Someone stole my bike. | My bike was stolen. |
| Present perfect | They have built a bridge. | A bridge has been built. |
| Future (will) | They will announce the results. | The results will be announced. |
| Modal | You must complete the form. | The form must be completed. |
| Present continuous | They are repairing the road. | The road is being repaired. |
| Past continuous | They were painting the house. | The house was being painted. |
- L’agent est inconnu : My wallet was stolen. (on ne sait pas par qui)
- L’agent est évident ou non important : The bridge was built in 1950.
- Pour mettre en avant le résultat ou l’objet : English is spoken worldwide.
- Dans un contexte formel, scientifique ou journalistique : The experiment was conducted in three phases.
By + agent : On ne mentionne l’agent que s’il apporte une information utile. The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. (info utile) vs. The road is being repaired. (on s’en fiche par qui)
Le discours indirect (Reported Speech)
Quand le verbe introducteur est au passé (said, told, asked…), les temps reculent d’un cran :
| Discours direct | → | Discours indirect |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | → | Past simple |
| Present continuous | → | Past continuous |
| Past simple | → | Past perfect |
| Present perfect | → | Past perfect |
| Will | → | Would |
| Can | → | Could |
| May | → | Might |
| Must (obligation) | → | Had to |
| Type | Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmation | « I am tired, » she said. | She said (that) she was tired. |
| Question (yes/no) | « Are you coming? » he asked. | He asked if/whether I was coming. |
| Question (Wh-) | « Where do you live? » she asked. | She asked where I lived. |
| Ordre | « Close the door, » he said. | He told me to close the door. |
| Interdiction | « Don’t touch that, » she said. | She told me not to touch that. |
Changements de référence : I → he/she, my → his/her, today → that day, yesterday → the day before, tomorrow → the next day, here → there, this → that, now → then, ago → before.
- say — sans complément d’objet indirect : He said (that) he was tired.
- tell — toujours suivi d’un COI (à qui on parle) : He told me (that) he was tired.
Erreurs fréquentes : He said me… ❌ → He told me… ✅ ou He said to me… ✅ — He told that… ❌ → He said that… ✅
Les conditionnelles (If clauses)
| Type | Structure | Usage | Exemple |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | If + present simple, present simple | Vérité générale, résultat automatique | If you heat water to 100°C, it boils. |
| 1 | If + present simple, will + BV | Condition réelle/probable (futur) | If it rains, I will stay home. |
| 2 | If + past simple, would + BV | Hypothèse irréelle (présent/futur) | If I had more time, I would travel. |
| 3 | If + past perfect, would have + PP | Regret, irréel du passé | If I had studied, I would have passed. |
| Mixed | If + past perfect, would + BV | Cause passée → conséquence présente | If I had taken that job, I would be rich now. |
- 2e conditionnel avec « be » : on utilise were pour toutes les personnes (subjonctif). If I were you, I would accept. (« was » est courant à l’oral mais « were » est grammaticalement correct)
- Unless = if…not : Unless you hurry, you’ll miss the bus. = If you don’t hurry…
- Provided (that) / As long as : alternatives à « if » (sens de « à condition que »)
- Wish / If only : wish + past simple = regret présent. Wish + past perfect = regret passé. Wish + would = souhait de changement.
Wish : I wish I were taller. (regret présent) / I wish I had studied harder. (regret passé) / I wish he would stop talking. (souhait de changement)
Structures avancées
| Pronom | Usage | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| who | Personnes (sujet) | The man who called you is my brother. |
| whom | Personnes (objet, formel) | The person whom I met was friendly. |
| which | Choses / animaux | The book which I read was great. |
| that | Personnes ou choses (defining only) | The car that I bought is red. |
| whose | Possession | The girl whose mother is a doctor won. |
| where | Lieu | The restaurant where we ate was expensive. |
| when | Temps | I remember the day when we met. |
Defining vs. Non-defining : Defining = essentielle, pas de virgules, « that » possible. The man that lives next door… Non-defining = info supplémentaire, entre virgules, « that » INTERDIT. My brother, who lives in London, is a doctor.
Verbes + Gerund (-ing) :
- enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, suggest, deny, admit, consider, imagine, keep, practise, risk, miss, can’t help, give up, put off
- I enjoy reading.
- She avoids eating sugar.
Verbes + Infinitive (to) :
- want, need, decide, hope, expect, plan, agree, refuse, promise, offer, learn, seem, pretend, manage, afford, fail
- I want to travel.
- She decided to leave.
Verbes qui changent de sens : stop : stop smoking (arrêter de fumer) vs. stop to smoke (s’arrêter pour fumer). remember : remember doing (se souvenir d’avoir fait) vs. remember to do (penser à faire). try : try doing (essayer pour voir) vs. try to do (faire un effort pour).
Petites questions ajoutées à la fin d’une phrase pour confirmer. La règle : phrase affirmative → tag négatif, et inversement.
| Phrase | Tag |
|---|---|
| You are French, | aren’t you? |
| She doesn’t like coffee, | does she? |
| They’ve been to Japan, | haven’t they? |
| He can swim, | can’t he? |
| Let’s go, | shall we? |
| I am late, | aren’t I? (exception !) |
| Type | Adjectif court (1 syllabe) | Adjectif long (2+ syllabes) |
|---|---|---|
| Comparatif | adj + -er + than | more + adj + than |
| taller than, faster than | more expensive than, more interesting than | |
| Superlatif | the + adj + -est | the most + adj |
| the tallest, the fastest | the most expensive, the most interesting |
Irréguliers : good → better → the best / bad → worse → the worst / far → further/farther → the furthest/farthest / little → less → the least / much/many → more → the most
Structures utiles : The more I study, the more I learn. (plus…plus) / He is as tall as his brother. (aussi…que) / She is not as fast as her sister. (pas aussi…que)
| +thing | +body / +one | +where | |
|---|---|---|---|
| some (affirmatif / offres) | something | somebody / someone | somewhere |
| any (négatif / interrogatif) | anything | anybody / anyone | anywhere |
| no (négatif sans « not ») | nothing | nobody / no one | nowhere |
| every (totalité) | everything | everybody / everyone | everywhere |
Some en question : On utilise some (et non any) dans les questions quand on propose / offre quelque chose ou qu’on attend une réponse positive : Would you like some coffee? / Can I have some water?
Grammaire anglaise complète — De A1 à C2
Pour aller plus loin : pratiquez avec des exercices et de la lecture en anglais au quotidien.