Top 10 High-Intermediate French Mistakes

High-intermediate means your French is pretty good - you excel in everyday situations, and can even hold your own in long discussions, but there are still some issues that you can't seem to get the hang of, or that you simply don't remember five minutes after looking them up. I've found that reading several explanations of the same issue can help cement understanding of these sticky issues, so here are ten of the most common high-intermediate French mistakes with links to my lessons - maybe this time it will finally make sense.

French Mistake 6 - Final Letters

French pronunciation is tricky when it comes to final letters. Many words end in silent consonants, but some of those normally silent consonants are pronounced when followed by a word that begins with a vowel or mute H. This is often difficult for French learners, but with study and practice you really can master it, and these lessons are the place to start.
Silent letters | Liaisons


French Mistake 7 - Subjunctive

A high-intermediate French speaker is certainly aware of the subjunctive and knows to use it after things like il faut que and je veux que, but there are probably still some expressions or verbs that you're not sure about. Do you use the subjunctive after espérer, and what about il est possible/probable? Take a look at these pages for help with all of your subjunctive questions.
Using the subjunctive | Subjunctivator!


French Mistake 8 - Negation

Obviously a high-intermediate speaker knows how to use ne... pas and many other negative forms, but there might be a few issues you still find tricky, like ne pas in front of an infinitive, ne without pas, and pas without ne. Whatever your question about negation, you'll find answers in these lessons.
French negation


French Mistake 9 - Two or More Verbs

There are several different types of French verb constructions with two or more verbs: compound moods/tenses (e.g., j'ai mangé), dual verbs (je veux manger), modals (je dois manger), passive voice (il est mangé), and the causative construction (je fais manger). Many of these do not translate literally from English and thus can be difficult for French students. Your best bet is to review the lesson on each structure to make sure you understand, and then practice whenever you can to remember it.
Compound verbs | Dual-verbs | Modals | Passive voice | Causative


French Mistake 10 - Word Order

Last but not least, word order can be a problem, especially when dealing with negation, various pronouns, and more than one verb all in the same sentence. This is another area where practice makes perfect - review the lessons and then put them to work.
Position of object pronouns | Position of adverbs | Word order index


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

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