10 French Grammar Mistakes Youre Probably Making

10 French Grammar Mistakes Youre Probably Making Suzy S. Mastering all of the French grammar rules can be tricky for beginner students. Below, French teacher Carol Beth L. shares 10 French grammar mistakes youre probably making Making mistakes is inevitable when youre learning a new language. After all, youre learning  complex grammar rules, difficult pronunciation, and long lists of vocabulary words. Students  often make the same French grammar mistakes over and over again. Being aware of these common grammar mistakes will help you  avoid them in the future. Below are some of the  most common French grammar mistakes students  find themselves making, even when they are familiar with the rules. The first few mistakes relate to specific phrases that students have a tendency to misuse, while the rest deal with grammatical patterns that are quite  complex. 1. Greetings In English, when you greet someone in the early morning hours, you typically say “Good morning.” This English greeting doesnt translate literally in French. In fact, the phrase “Bon matin” does not actually exist in the French language. Rather, one would simply say “Bonjour!” when greeting someone. 2. Translations A number of other literal translations can also be tempting. For example, you might want to  express your interest in hobbies, people, and activities. Be careful not to  literally translate the English phrase “I am interested in” into French (eg, Je suis interessée dans). Instead, say “Ça minteresse” (That interests me) or “____ minteresse” (____ interests me). 3. Subject/Object To correctly state that you  miss someone, use the verb “se manquer.” If you want to say “I miss you,” say “Tu me manques.” To say “He misses us,” say “Nous lui manquons.”  Remember that  the English subject and object switch places when translated into French. 4. Agreement Remember to make adjectives properly agree with feminine or plural nouns. For example, the adjective amusant (funny) would be changed to amusante in the feminine singular and amusantes in the feminine plural. In English,  adjectives dont usually change based on the gender or number, so its easy for students  to forget this important French grammar rule. 5. Articles French has more articles than English. Both languages use a and the, but French has separate articles to denote masculine, feminine, and plural of each one. Recall, however, that no neuter exists among French pronouns or articles. For example, a table is most definitely feminine, whereas the wall beside it is quite masculine. In addition to having more articles, French also uses articles more frequently than English. In English, for example, you  would say that We meet regularly on Mondays, but French-speakers would use the appropriate article, saying on se rencontre régulièrement le lundi. 6. Prepositions Remember to use the  correct preposition and  include the appropriate article contraction when necessary. In theory, French prepositions are easier than English prepositions because there are fewer of the most common ones. For example, De translates to of or from, and à  translates to to, at, and sometimes other related location or movement prepositions. A few places to watch out are when youre talking about playing musical instruments (Je joue dun instrument) and sports (Je joue à un sport). Also, be extra careful with those  pesky articles! Relevant contractions include du (de + le), des (de + les), au (à + le) and aux (à + les). De, la, and à la do not contract. 7. Negative Articles Use “il ny a pas de” rather than  â€œil y a pas de”. When using “de” or “de” + an article in the negative, remember that French has lots of exceptions! This is one of them. If there is zero  of something, take out the article. For example, someone could say “Il y a du pain sur la table” (There is bread on the table). In the negative, this would become “Il ny a pas de pain sur la table,” not “Il ny a pas du pain sur la table.” 8. Conjugated Verbs Remember to conjugate your verbs. While we do this  in the English language, its  not as much or in as much detail as French-speakers. This is especially important when youre writing because all those silent final consonants and vowels need attention. The singular forms are the most similar in present tense, but are not always spelled the same, so watch out! 9. Passé composé/ Imparfait The  English distinction between the present perfect and the simple past isnt exactly the same as the French distinction between these two tenses. The passé composé is very commonly used for one-time events in the past. For example, Jai fait mes devoirs hier soir. (I did my homework last night.) The imperfect is used more often for something a person used to do over a period of time in the past. For example, Je faisais mes devoirs tous les jours. (I did my homework every day.) 10. Subjunctive The subjunctive is one of the most difficult verbs in French, if not the most difficult because we dont use it often in English. Many of us anglophones arent even aware of the fact that we use it at all. The first step is to understand the situations in which it is used, and then practice, observe, and correct oneself. Then practice some more, and observe some more, and correct oneself more. Give yourself time to perfect this French grammar rule, but also insist on understanding and using it correctly. Gradually, you will be able to use it successfully. These  arent  the only French grammar mistakes out there, but they are certainly worthy of attention. Keep your eyes open and your ears peeled for other mistakes, and correct them when you can. In no time, you will  be well on your way to excellent (and impressive) French usage! Post Author:  Carol Beth L. Carol Beth L. teaches  French lessons in San Francisco, CA. She has her Masters in French language education from the Sorbonne University in Paris and has been teaching since 2009.  Learn more about Carol Beth here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher