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Beaucoup d'entre vous êtes - French Mistake

French mistakes analyzed and explained

By , About.com Guide

Mistakes will always be made in French, and now you can learn from them.

Wrong: Beaucoup d'entre vous êtes

Right: Beaucoup d'entre vous sont

Explanation: Most of the time, the subject of the verb is obvious in French, which makes it easy to figure out which conjugation to use. Then there are expressions like beaucoup d'entre vous and certains d'entre nous. Many French learners want to conjugate the verb for the pronouns vous and nous, but "beaucoup d'entre vous êtes" and "certains d'entre nous avons" are grammatically incorrect.

Instead, you have to conjugate the verb for the adverb of quantity beaucoup and the indefinite pronoun certains, so the correct phrases are beaucoup d'entre vous sont (many of you are) and certains d'entre nous ont (some of us have).

More: Advanced verb conjugation

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