Differences in French and Spanish Syntax

French and Spanish share many similarities. They can be observed in vocabulary, grammar and syntax. However, the rules of French and Spanish syntax are not identical. Let us look at a few examples.

In Spanish negation is expressed with no before the verb phrase. The sentence Mi hijo no patina bien means My son doesn't skate well. The same sentence in French is Mon fils ne patine pas bien. French uses ne and pas to negate the verb phrase. However, in spoken French, the word ne is often dropped.

The sentence Ma soeur veut me voir means My sister wants to see me. French places the object pronoun before the infinitive. In Spanish, however, this sentence can be expressed in two ways. They are Mi hermana me quiere ver and Mi hermana quiere verme. The object pronoun can come before the main verb or after the infinitive. When it comes after the infinitive, it functions as a suffix. Both sentences are possible, but placing the object pronoun after the infinitive is considered more formal.

Another difference can be observed in the position of the subject. For example, the sentence My cousin is here is Mon cousin est ici in French. The word order is the same as in English. In Spanish, however, two sentences are possible. They are Mi primo está aquí and Está aquí mi primo. The subject can be placed at the beginning or the end of the sentence. The normal word order is at the beginning of the sentence, but to give more emphasis to the subject, it can also be placed at the end.

Though Spanish and French are related languages, they also differ in many respects. One of the big differences between them is in pronunciation. However, they also differ in their rules of syntax. French places the direct object pronoun before the infinitive, but Spanish places it before the main verb or after the infinitive.