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Clear explanations of grammar, words and common mistakes. With examples and a mini-practice after each article.
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French numbers 70, 80 and 90: the soixante-dix pattern
French numbers from 70 to 99 look strange because they reuse earlier numbers. 70 is soixante-dix (“sixty-ten”), 80 is quatre-vingts (“four twenties”), and 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (“four-twenty-ten”) ...
Dates in French: days, months and how to say the date
To say a date in French, use le + number + month: le 14 juillet (“July 14”). The first day of the month is the exception: say le premier (“the first”), not le un. Days and months are written in ...
Chez in French: meaning, uses and common mistakes
Chez means “at the home/place of” a person, family, professional or business: chez moi (“at my place”), chez Marie (“at Marie’s“), chez le médecin (“at the doctor’s“). It is followed by a person ...
Ce, cet, cette, ces: this and these in French
French uses ce, cet, cette, ces before a noun to mean “this”, “that”, “these” or “those”. The form depends on the noun: ce before a masculine singular noun, cet before a masculine singular noun ...
À vs de in French: how to choose after verbs and nouns
There is no single English shortcut for à vs de. Very often, à points toward a place, person, use or target, while de points from a source, topic, content or possession. But after many verbs and ...
Voir vs regarder in French: see or look at
Use voir when sight happens: you see a person, a place, a film, a problem, or something in front of you. Use regarder when you look at or watch something on purpose. Je vois un oiseau means “I see a ...
Venir de in French: how to say just did something
Venir de + infinitive means to have just done something. The verb venir is conjugated for the subject, then de introduces the infinitive: je viens de finir = “I have just finished”, elle vient ...
Partir vs sortir in French: leaving or going out
Use partir when someone leaves, departs or goes away from a place. Use sortir when someone goes out, exits, goes out socially, or takes something out. Je pars demain means “I’m leaving tomorrow”; je ...
Ne... jamais in French: how to say never
Ne... jamais means “never”. It uses the same frame as ne... pas: put ne before the conjugated verb and jamais after it. Je mange ici becomes je ne mange jamais ici (“I never eat here”). In the passé ...
Manquer in French: why tu me manques means I miss you
Manquer looks like “to miss”, but the sentence structure is reversed. In French, the person or thing missed is the subject, and the person who feels the absence is an indirect object. So tu me manques ...
Jour vs journée, an vs année: French time words with -ée
French often has two words where English has one: jour and journée both mean “day”, while an and année both mean “year”. The shorter word usually counts the unit or names it on the calendar. The -ée ...
Il y a in French: there is, there are and ago
Il y a has two common meanings. Before a noun, it means “there is” or “there are”: il y a un café ici (“there is a café here”). With a time expression after a past event, it means “ago”: je suis ...
Futur proche in French: aller + infinitive for the near future
The futur proche says what someone is going to do. Build it with the present tense of aller + an infinitive: je vais partir (“I’m going to leave”), elle va appeler (“she is going to call”). Only aller ...
French present tense conjugation: regular verbs and key patterns
The French present tense is used for what someone does, is doing, or does regularly: je parle can mean “I speak”, “I am speaking” or “I do speak”. Regular verbs fall into three main groups: -er, -ir ...
French noun gender endings: masculine and feminine patterns
French noun gender is not fully predictable, but endings give useful hints. Many -tion, -sion, -té, -ette, -ie and -ure nouns are feminine. Many -age, -ment, -eau, -isme and -oir nouns are masculine ...
Vieux, vieil, vieille in French: the forms of old
Vieux, vieil, vieille, vieux and vieilles are forms of the French adjective for “old”. Use vieux before a masculine singular noun that starts with a consonant, vieil before a masculine singular noun ...
Trop vs beaucoup in French: too much or a lot
Use beaucoup when you mean “a lot” or “very much” without saying it is a problem. Use trop when you mean “too much”, “too many” or “too” in a negative or excessive sense. Il travaille beaucoup means ...
Passé composé vs imparfait: choosing the French past tense
Use the passé composé for completed past events: what happened, started, ended or moved the story forward. Use the imparfait for background, habits, descriptions and ongoing situations in the past ...
Nouveau, nouvel, nouvelle in French: choosing the right form
Nouveau, nouvel, nouvelle, nouveaux and nouvelles are forms of the French adjective for “new”. Use nouveau before a masculine singular noun, nouvelle before a feminine singular noun, nouveaux before ...
French body parts: head, hands, eyes and basic health words
Start French body-part vocabulary with le corps (body), la tête (head), le bras (arm), la jambe (leg), le pied (foot), la main (hand), l'œil (eye), l'oreille (ear), la bouche (mouth), le nez (nose) ...
French avoir expressions: besoin, envie, peur and more
French uses avoir (“to have”) in many everyday expressions where English does not say “have”. The three most useful patterns are avoir besoin de (“to need”), avoir envie de (“to feel like / want”) and ...
Faire vs rendre in French: two ways to say make
Use faire for “make/do” when someone performs an action, creates something or causes an action: faire un gâteau, faire les devoirs, faire rire quelqu'un. Use rendre when “make” means “make someone or ...
Beau, bel, belle in French: which form means beautiful
Beau, bel, belle, beaux and belles are forms of the same French adjective. They mean “beautiful”, “handsome”, “nice” or sometimes “lovely”. Use beau before a masculine singular noun, belle before a ...
Amener, emmener, apporter, emporter: bring and take in French
French splits English “bring” and “take” into two decisions. First ask: is it a person/animal or a thing? Use amener or emmener for people and animals; use apporter or emporter for objects. Then ask ...