The French verbs apprendre, enseigner, instruire, and éduquer
all mean to teach,
but have different uses and nuances. Learn how to recognize and use these four verbs
correctly with this lesson.
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Apprendre means to teach a technique. It can only be used in the
following constructions:
- apprendre quelque
chose à quelqu'un - to teach someone something
- apprendre à quelqu'un à faire quelque chose - to teach someone
(how) to do something
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Chantal apprend la guitare à mon fils. |
Chantal is teaching my son (to play the) guitar. |
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Il apprend aux enfants à skier. |
He teaches children to ski. |
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Pouvez-vous m'apprendre à lire ? |
Can you teach me to read? |
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| Apprendre also means to learn and can be
used in two constructions: apprendre + noun and apprendre à + infinitive |
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Mon fils apprend la guitare. |
My son is learning (to play the) guitar. |
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Les enfants apprennent à skier. |
The children are learning to ski. |
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Je veux apprendre à lire. |
I want to learn to read. |
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| Enseigner means to teach in general or to teach a
subject.
It is used in the following construction: |
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enseigner [quelque chose] [à quelqu'un] The items in
[brackets] are optional. |
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J'enseigne le français aux adultes. |
I teach French to adults. |
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Mon mari enseigne la chimie en France. |
My husband teaches chemistry in France. |
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Nous enseignons depuis 5 ans. |
We've been teaching for five years. |
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| Instruire means to teach
someone. It cannot be used to specify what is
being taught and is used only in the construction
instruire quelqu'un |
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Elle instruit les étudiants étrangers. |
She teaches foreign students. |
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Il faut instruire les enfants par exemple. |
You have to teach children by example. |
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| Éduquer is used just like instruire, except that
it is very general: it can refer to vague
concepts, particularly morals and manners. |
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L'église doit éduquer son peuple. |
The church must educate its people. |
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Ces enfants sont bien éduqués. |
These children are well educated (well-mannered). |
