French Foes

Selected lessons on grammar and other language issues that are particularly difficult for students of French.

Accents
There are four different meanings of "accent" which are relevant to anyone studying French: the accent marks on letters, non-native accents, regional accents, and the accentuation of French words. This page on French accents includes links to resources pertaining to all of these meanings.

Adjectives with special forms
Since French adjectives usually have to agree with the nouns they modify in gender and number, most of them have up to four forms. But there are several French adjectives that have an additional variation: a special form that is used when the adjective precedes a word that begins with a vowel or mute H.

Advanced French Mistakes
If you speak French at an advanced level, congratulations! You may not be fluent yet, but you're definitely on your way. Nonetheless, there are probably a few concepts you can use a bit of help with. Oftentimes these are small details that don't affect your listener's comprehension, but mistakes are mistakes and if you want to be fluent you need to avoid them. Here are the ten most common French mistakes and difficulties for advanced speakers, with links to lessons.

Agreement
Agreement is arguably one of the most difficult aspects of the French language. This summary of the different types of agreement includes links to detailed lessons on each grammatical point.

Beginning French Mistakes
When you start learning French, there's a lot to remember - new vocabulary, all kinds of verb conjugations, strange spelling... just about everything is different. It's normal to make mistakes, but it's in your best interest to try to fix them as soon as possible. The longer you make the same mistake, the harder it will be for you to get it right later on. With this in mind, this article discusses ten of the most common French mistakes made by beginners, so that you can fix these problems right from the beginning.

Confusing Pairs
Lessons to help you distinguish between oft-confused groups of French verbs, expressions, and grammatical structures, including passé composé vs imparfait, jour vs journée, amener vs emmener vs apporter vs emporter, quand vs lorsque, c'est vs il est, and many more.

En and Y - Adverbial Pronouns
The adverbial pronouns y and en are so tiny that one might think their role in a sentence is not very important, but in fact quite the opposite is true. They are both extremely important in French.

False Cognates - Faux amis
False cognates are words that look similar (or even identical) in French and English, but that have different meanings. Study the 5 new ones listed every few weeks or just browse through the archives.

Fickle French Adjectives
There are a number of French adjectives which have different meanings depending on where they are placed. Generally speaking, when the adjective precedes the noun, it has a figurative or subjective meaning, whereas the adjective which follows the noun has a literal or objective meaning.

Gender Patterns 
French gender is a constant headache for many students of French. There's no simple way to know the gender of every noun other than just learning the gender with each word. There are, however, some patterns in suffixes and word endings - certain endings tend to indicate masculine nouns, while other endings favor feminine nouns. These gender patterns are not fool-proof, but they can help you to figure out the gender of many French nouns.

H muet vs H aspiré
There are two different kinds of H's in French, and neither one is pronounced. However, one requires contractions and liaisons, while the other forbids them. Which is which?

How to Pronounce the French R
The letter R is arguably the most difficult sound in the French language, but it doesn't have to be.

How to Pronounce the French U
The letter U is another extremely difficult sound for many students - take a look at this step-by-step explanation.

Intermediate French Mistakes
After learning French for a while, whether in a class or on your own, you've probably found that there are some things you just can't figure out how to say, or that people are always correcting you on. These may be issues that you haven't been taught yet, or concepts that you've studied but just don't get. As an intermediate French speaker, there is still plenty of time to fix these mistakes before they fossilize in your mind. Here are ten of the most common intermediate-level French mistakes with links to lessons.

Lequel
Lequel is arguably the most difficult French pronoun. In addition to the fact that it belongs to two different categories of pronouns, lequel has to agree with its antecedent and contract with certain prepositions. Learn everything you need to know about this troublesome pronoun with this lesson.

To Make
To make is a very general, very useful verb in English. Its French translations vary wildly, so take a look at this lesson to learn how to translate various meanings of "make" into French.

Manquer
Manquer means to miss, but can cause confusion because it is sometimes used in an unusual construction. Does "Tu me manques" mean I miss you or You miss me? The answer and explanation is here - don't miss this lesson on the confusing French verb "to miss."

Noms avec deux genres - Nouns with Two Genders
The gender of nouns tends to be a sticky grammar point for French students, and there are a number of French nouns which are identical in pronunciation (and often spelling as well) but which have different meanings depending on whether they are masculine or feminine.

Passé composé vs Imparfait
Lesson and quiz on distinguising between the French imparfait and passé composé.

Règles d'écriture
Just for fun - a list of French grammar rules whose descriptions break the very rule they are describing (en français).

Se
Se is one of the most often misused French pronouns. It can only be used in two kinds of constructions, so check out this lesson to get "unconfused."  :-)

Si Clauses
Detailed lesson and quiz on if ... then... clauses.

Silent Letters
One of the difficulties in French pronunciation is all of the silent letters. This lesson gives you some tips for memorizing which letters are silent... and why.

Soi
Soi is another oft-confused French pronoun. It is used only for unspecified persons. Need more info? See the lesson!

Spanish is Easier than French... Not!
There is a common myth among English speakers that Spanish is much easier to learn than French. When asked for more information, perpetrators of this urban legend invariably mention how difficult French pronunciation and spelling are, in comparison to Spanish. While there is some truth to this, there are also things in Spanish that are more difficult than French. This article is a detailed comparison of the two languages so that you can decide for yourself if one of them is more difficult.

Subjunctive - Le Subjonctif
Students of French tend to agree that the subjunctive is the most difficult verb form. The subjunctive mood is used to express actions which are subjective: will/wanting, emotion, doubt, possibility, necessity, judgment, etc., and is is nearly always found in dependent clauses introduced by que. Take a look at this lesson for conjugations and uses of the tricky French subjunctive.

"Then" in French
The English word "then" has two distinct meanings: one related to consequence and the other to time. These two meanings translate differently into French, and the various synonyms further complicate matters. The French words ainsi, alors, and donc are commonly used to explain the consequences or effect of an action. In contrast, après, ensuite and puis are used to indicate the order of events. This lesson should help you to understand the difference between all of these terms and thus use them correctly.

Verbs with Prepositions
Many French verbs require a certain preposition in order for the meaning of the verb to be complete, and unfortunately the prepositions required for French verbs are often not the same as the ones required by their English counterparts. In addition, some verbs that do require a preposition in English don't take one in French, and vice versa. Learn all about French verbs with prepositions and then take the test.

"What" in French
French learners often have trouble deciding how to translate "what" into French. Should it be que or quoi, or maybe that pesky quel? Understanding the difference between these terms is critical to knowing how to use them correctly.

Word Order
Dual-verb constructions, object and adverbial pronouns, inversion, adverbs, negative structures.... Learn how to string them all together.

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