Top 10 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.

French Mistake 6 - Relative pronouns

The French relative pronouns are qui, que, lequel, dont, and où, and depending on context can mean who, whom, that, which, whose, where, or when. They are difficult for various reasons, including not having standard English equivalents and being required in French but often optional in English. The pronoun dont in particular causes major problems for French students, so be sure to learn about French relative pronouns.
Relative pronouns


French Mistake 7 - Temporal prepositions

Temporal prepositions introduce an amount of time, and the French ones are often confused. There is a correct time to use each of the prepositions à, en, dans, depuis, pendant, and pour, so take the time to learn the difference.
Temporal prepositions


French Mistake 8 - Depuis and Il y a

Depuis and il y a are both used to describe time in the past, but depuis means "since" or "for" while il y a means "ago." If you had studied this lesson one year ago (il y a un an), you would have already known how to use these expressions correctly for a year (depuis un an). It's not too late - allez-y !
Depuis vs Il y a


French Mistake 9 - "Ce homme"

French adjectives usually have to agree with the nouns they modify in gender and number, but there are several that have a special form used when they precede a word that begins with a vowel or mute H. For example, to say "this man," you might be tempted to say ce homme because ce is the masculine demonstrative article. But because French likes to maintain euphony, ce changes to cet in front of a vowel or mute H: cet homme.
Adjectives with special forms | Euphony | Demonstrative adjectives | Mute H


French Mistake 10 - Pronominal verbs and reflexive pronouns

Pronominal verbs (including reflexive verbs) cause lots of problems, especially when they are used in the infinitive. You probably know that "I'm getting up" is je me lève, but what about "I have to get up" or "I'm going to get up"? Should you say je dois/vais me lever or je dois/vais se lever? Look at this lesson for the answer to that question as well as all kinds of other good info about pronominal verbs.
Pronominal verbs | Infinitives


Beginning French Mistakes 1 - 5 | Beginning French Mistakes 6 - 10
Intermediate French Mistakes 1 - 5 | Intermediate French Mistakes 6 - 10
High-Intermediate French Mistakes 1 - 5 | High-Intermediate French Mistakes 6 - 10
Advanced French Mistakes 1 - 5 | Advanced French Mistakes 6 - 10

Previous

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Next