Top French Language Mistakes

There’s a lot to remember when you first start studying a foreign language. It can get a lot overwhelming. It’s natural to make mistakes, but you should try to identify them and avoid them as soon as possible.

Gender

There are two genders for nouns in French: masculine and feminine. To learn the gender of each word, you must memorize vocabulary with either a definite or indefinite article. Using accurate gender is important since, for example, some words bear different meanings based on their gender.

To Be

Even though ĂȘtre is the exact French equivalent of “to be,” many French idioms employ the verb avoir (to have), such as avoir soif – “to be thirsty,” and some that use faire (to do, make), such as faire chaud – “to be hot weather.”

Accents

When needed, accents in French are necessary because they are indicators of the proper pronunciation of a word. As a result, you should make an effort to learn what they imply, where they appear in words, and how to type them.

Contractions

Contractions are important in French. When a small word like je, me, te, le, la, or ne is placed next to a word that begins with a vowel or H muet,  the small word drops the last vowel, an apostrophe is added, and the next word is joined. In French, contractions are never used in front of a consonant (except H muet).

The French H

The French H is available in two types: aspiré and muet. Even though they sound the same (i.e., they are both silent), there is a significant difference: one operates as a consonant, while the other acts as a vowel. The H aspiré (aspirated H) functions like a consonant, preventing contractions and liaisons. The H muet (silent H) needs contractions and liaisons.

Auxiliary Verbs 

The past tense in French, le passĂ© composĂ©, is conjugated with either an auxiliary verb, avoir or ĂȘtre. This shouldn’t be too tough because the verbs that take ĂȘtre include both reflexive and non-reflexive verbs.

Tu and Vous

The difference between the two terms for “you” in French is significant. You should always use vous for plural.

Que

In French sentences with a subordinate clause, you need to use que (that). Que must connect the two clauses in every sentence when one subject introduces another. This is referred to as conjunction and, unlike English, it is not optional.

“Cettes”

Beginners frequently make the mistake of mistaking “cettes” for the plural feminine form of the demonstrative adjective ce (ce garçon – “this boy,” cette fille – “this girl”), but this term does not exist. Ces is the plural form of both masculine and feminine nouns.

Capitalization

In French, capitalization is far less used than in English. French does not capitalize the first person singular subject pronoun (je), days of the week, months of the year, or languages.

France is a fantastic study destination. Discover more about the country through MSM Unify.