CM2 students make twice as many mistakes as in 1987 according to National Education. Proficiency in French is therefore a difficult skill to obtain. Here are some common mistakes and solutions to avoid them.
The French language contains a number of subtleties that can quickly turn into traps. Often, common expressions turn out to be misspelled or agreements are not respected. Whether in the area of vocabulary, conjugation or syntax, French can be a real headache.
These nuances often make the difference for a jury or a recruiter when they have to select an application. For example, the word “traffic” is frequently spelled with two “F’s” by many people. Certainly, the word “traffic” does exist, but its English spelling has no place in a French writing.
Here is a selection of very common faults and advice on how to avoid them:
- “I’m going to visit my parents“: this expression is now obsolete. If before, the verb to visit could mean “to go to someone by paying them a visit”, now it is only used for places such as a city, a country or a monument. It is therefore necessary to favor the terms “to visit” or “to go and see someone”.
- “We will fix this problem”: used wrongly and through to replace “to settle” or “to remedy”, often with the intention of using a somewhat chic verb, “to compensate” etymologically means “to hide” or “to mask” more than “to solve” . But there is something more serious: it is never used with the preposition “à”. We “fix a problem”, full stop.
- “Can I ask a question?“: here, the fault lies in the verb used. We do not ask a question but we ask it. The solution is therefore: “Can I ask a question?”
- “It’s my son’s coat”: in this sentence on the belonging of an object, a common confusion is made with the expression “to give to” or the question “to whom is”. But in this specific case, it is the preposition “of” which marks the membership: “it is my son’s coat”.
- “I go to the doctor“: this definite article is the contraction of the preposition “à” and the definite article “le”. The error of this sentence is to use “au” to designate a person because “à” is devoted to the names of inanimate places. Two solutions: use the preposition “chez” or indicate the place. “I’m going to the doctor” and “I’m going to the doctor’s office” are thus correct.
- “It’s me who’s right“: this sentence presents a problem of agreement. The pronoun “me” (I) must be in agreement with the verb to have in the first person. Therefore, after correction, the sentence must say “It is I who am right” .
- “Many thanks“: this expression of thanks has an extra letter. The word “thank you” does agree if there are several “thanks” but “a thousand” is an invariable numeral adjective. The answer is therefore “A thousand thanks” .
Did you know these faults? They underline the extent to which French is a complex language to master. This is particularly striking for non-French speakers trying to learn it.