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109 pages

Common mistakes

Common mistakes for learners of French, from A1 to C2.

All page types 29

Grammar & usageCommon mistakesB1
Quelque chose de nouveau: five French mistakes to fix
Say something new, interesting or cheaper with quelque chose de. Fix five common errors, compare noun agreement and try four questions.
Culture & registerCommon mistakesB1
Flic or policier: “cop”, “police officer” and the word police
Recognise flic in casual French and use policier or policière in a neutral account. Practise person, institution and detective-story meanings.
Verbs & tensesCommon mistakesB2
Passé simple or passé composé? Four traps when retelling a story
Compare literary narration with an everyday account. Fix four common tense assumptions, rewrite a short scene and check your choices.
Pronunciation & listeningCommon mistakesB1
Je suis, j’suis and chuis: recognise the same French phrase
See how je suis becomes j’suis or chuis in casual French. Compare sounds and spellings, keep the full meaning, and practise choosing standard written forms.
Words & expressionsCommon mistakesA2
Recette is not a receipt: shopping and cooking false friends
Une recette is a recipe; a receipt is un ticket de caisse or un reçu. Learn the false friends you meet when shopping and cooking, with examples.
Grammar & usageCommon mistakesB2
Ce à quoi or ce que? French corrections with penser à and tenir à
See why ce à quoi keeps the à in penser à, répondre à and tenir à. Compare what you think with what you think about, then test the distinction.
Culture & registerCommon mistakesC1
Sanctionner in French: punish, approve or formally recognise?
Use the object and institutional context to interpret sanctionner: punishment, formal assent or recognition. Compare six extracts and repair misleading readings.
Verbs & tensesCommon mistakesA2
Mangeais, mangions, commençais: fix French imparfait spelling
Fix four common imparfait spelling mistakes with manger and commencer. See the six-form table and apply the same pattern to nager and placer.
Pronunciation & listeningCommon mistakesB1
Un enfant adorable: where French liaison stops
Compare un enfant adorable with petit enfant. Find the singular-noun boundary, avoid an extra t, and keep consonants already pronounced in livre or table.
Words & expressionsCommon mistakesA2
Dos or dossier? A person’s back, a chair back and a folder
Match le dos and le dossier to six pictures. Learn a person’s back, a chair back, a book’s spine and the back of a sheet, then check your choices.
Grammar & usageCommon mistakesA2
12 common French grammar mistakes English speakers make
Fix 12 French grammar mistakes: age with avoir, en France, aimer plus an infinitive, articles, agreement and more. Examples and a four-question quiz.
Culture & registerCommon mistakesB1
J’en ai marre or je suis fatigué: fed up, tired or both?
Tell frustration from tiredness in French. Compare j’en ai marre, fatigué and fatigant, then practise de, du and adjective agreement in short situations.
Verbs & tensesCommon mistakesB1
Reflexive passé composé: six mistakes to fix
Fix pronouns, être and agreement in elle s’est levée, elle s’est lavé les mains and elles se sont parlé. Six contrasts and four quiz questions.
Pronunciation & listeningCommon mistakesA2
French et vs est: never add a linking t after et
Keep et alors and Léa et Alice free of a linking t. Compare est ouvert, read a short meeting scene and check both pronunciation and spelling.
Words & expressionsCommon mistakesB1
Personnage or personne? Characters and ordinary people in French
Use personne for a person and personnage for a narrative role or striking figure. Correct everyday headcounts, film reviews and descriptions.
Grammar & usageCommon mistakesB1
Même si or bien que? Four concession mistakes to fix
Use même si c’est and bien que ce soit, distinguish even if from although, and check French elision with four corrections and a short quiz.
Culture & registerCommon mistakesB2
Requérir or demander: what a task needs and what a person asks
Compare requérir and demander through task requirements and everyday requests. Fix four English-led mix-ups and practise requiert, requièrent and requis.
Verbs & tensesCommon mistakesB1
French infinitive or conjugated verb? Six patterns to fix
Choose French infinitives after modals and prepositions, then compare je veux partir with je veux qu’elle parte. Six fixes and four questions.
Words & expressionsCommon mistakesB1
Support, soutien or assistance? Translating "support" in French
Un support is a physical support or medium; emotional support is le soutien; tech support is l'assistance or le support technique. Choose the right word.
Grammar & usageCommon mistakesB1
Un autre, l’autre, d’autres: five French choices to get right
Choose another item or the other one with un autre, l’autre, d’autres and les autres. Five fixes, illustrated object cards and a four-question check.
Culture & registerCommon mistakesC1
Une apologie is not an apology: praise, defence and excuses
Distinguish apologie from an apology in French criticism and public statements. Read the author’s stance, repair translations and answer six context questions.
Words & expressionsCommon mistakesA2
French false friends in context: read the whole sentence
Choose the French meaning of actuellement, sensible, librairie and other lookalikes. Learn the word you need instead, with pictures and a quiz.
Grammar & usageCommon mistakesB2
En effet or donc? Four connector mistakes to fix
Use en effet to explain a claim and donc to draw a conclusion. Compare both directions, avoid the en fait trap and test four short French passages.
Culture & registerCommon mistakesB1
Étiquette or savoir-vivre? Labels and manners in French
Une étiquette is mostly a label or price tag; good manners are le savoir-vivre or la politesse. Learn when étiquette means etiquette, with examples.
Words & expressionsCommon mistakesB1
Une caution is not caution: deposits, guarantors and care
In French, une caution is a deposit or a guarantee (rent, bike hire). Caution in English is la prudence. Learn caution, garant, dépôt de garantie and prudence.
Grammar & usageCommon mistakesB2
French purpose or result? Five mistakes that change the message
Compare pour que, pour and si bien que through five common meaning traps. Check the actors, the subjunctive and whether the text reports success.
Culture & registerCommon mistakesB1
Nana or femme: casual labels, women and partners in French
Understand une nana, une femme, ma nana and ma femme through short scenes. Check the register, the relationship and the feminine agreements.
Words & expressionsCommon mistakesA2
Patron or chef? French job titles English speakers mix up
Read French workplace and kitchen roles correctly: patron, patronne, chef de projet and cheffe d’équipe, plus a sewing-pattern surprise and a quiz.
Grammar & usageCommon mistakesA2
Le livre or la livre? Four French nouns with two genders
Learn livre, tour, manche and mode through meaning pairs, picture cards and a short quiz. The article can change the meaning of the whole phrase.
Culture & registerCommon mistakesA2
Je vous écoute or je vous entends: listening, hearing and replying
Use je vous écoute to invite someone to speak and je vous entends to confirm sound. Compare three common mix-ups and practise a short French phone call.
Words & expressionsCommon mistakesB1
Formation or éducation: what goes on your French CV?
Choose formation for training and your CV’s study history. Compare education, upbringing and qualifications through examples and a short B1 quiz.
Grammar & usageCommon mistakesA2
Elle est médecin or c’est une médecin? Five profession patterns
Choose between elle est médecin and c’est une médecin. Fix five common profession patterns, including plural jobs, feminine titles and specific roles.
Culture & registerCommon mistakesB1
Mec or homme: “guy”, “man” and “my boyfriend” in French
Choose between familiar mec and neutral homme. Follow a lost-wallet scene, recognise mon mec as a partner phrase and practise cet homme versus ce mec.
Words & expressionsCommon mistakesA2
Goûter or sentir: taste it, smell it or say how you feel
Practise goûter, sentir and se sentir with kitchen examples, present-tense forms, picture cards and a quiz on four common sensory-verb mistakes.
Grammar & usageCommon mistakesB2
Le fait de or le fait que? Four French patterns to keep apart
Choose le fait de + infinitive or le fait que + a full clause. Fix four common mix-ups, keep earlier actions clear and check which verb agrees with fait.
Words & expressionsCommon mistakesA2
French false friends: 16 words that don’t mean what you think
Sixteen French false friends — actuellement, librairie, sensible, location, éventuellement and more — with real meanings, example sentences and the word to use instead.