HARDEST ENGLISH GRAMMAR TOPICS FOR FRENCH-SPEAKING LEARNERS

For French-speaking learners, several aspects of English grammar are particularly challenging. These include the use of tense and aspect (especially the progressive), auxiliary verbs such as do, phrasal verbs and prepositions, and article usage. Fixed word order and differences in relative clauses can also cause difficulty, as these features function differently from their French counterparts. Here is a collection of some potential problem areas:

FALSE FRIENDS

French and English share tons of cognates, which is both helpful and dangerous.

Examples:
❌ Actually, I am tired (to mean 'currently')
✅ Right now / Currently, I am tired
❌ I will assist the meeting
✅ I will attend the meeting
❌ I want to demand a question
✅ I want to ask a question

ADVERBS VS. ADJECTIVES

French often uses the same form or allows adjectives where English requires adverbs.

Examples:
❌ She speaks very good.
✅ She speaks very well.
❌ He did it perfect.
✅ He did it perfectly.

ARTICLES

French relies heavily on definite articles in general statements.

Examples:
❌ The love is important.
✅ Love is important.
❌ The nature is beautiful.
✅ Nature is beautiful.

PRESENT SIMPLE VS. PRESENT CONTINUOUS

French often uses the present tense where English distinguishes between two.

Examples:
❌ I work right now.
✅ I am working right now.
❌ She eats at the moment.
✅ She is eating at the moment.

PREPOSITIONS

Direct translation from French prepositions (especially time and movement prepositions) causes persistent errors.

Examples:
❌ Married with
✅ Married to
❌ I go in France
✅ I go to France

WORD ORDER (ESPECIALLY WITH ADVERBS)

French allows more flexibility with adverb placement.

Examples:
❌ I eat often vegetables.
✅ I often eat vegetables.
❌ I have seen already this movie.
✅ I have already seen this movie.

QUESTION FORMATION

French allows rising intonation or est-ce que without inversion.

Examples:
❌ You are coming tomorrow?
✅ Are you coming tomorrow?
❌ Why you are late?
✅ Why are you late?

COUNTABLE VS. UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Some nouns that are uncountable in English are countable in French.

Examples:
❌ Many equipments
✅ A lot of equipment
❌ Furnitures
✅ Furniture

AUXILIARY VERBS

French switches between 'avoir' (to have) and 'être' (to be) to form the perfect tense, which might lead to confusion when translating to English.

Examples:
❌ I am arrived yesterday.
✅ I arrived yesterday.
❌ I am lived here for five years.
✅ I have lived here for five years.

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