Je suis fini - French Mistake

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

Wrong: Je suis fini

Right: J'ai fini

Explanation: This mistake is caused in part by the fact that in the English translation, "finished" is an adjective, while in French it's a verb. So when you want to say "I am finished," it seems logical to translate that as "je suis fini." Unfortunately, this means "I am dead." To avoid this problem, think of the English as "I have finished" instead, and this will remind you that you need to use the passé composé, and that the auxiliary verb for finir is avoir, not être.

Related lessons: Auxiliary verbs | Passé composé