A first mistake that you should absolutely not make is not discovering your free gift in the description. I offer you my ebook “Comment maitriser le français parlé ?” with plenty of advice on how to better understand the French and speak a bit more like them!
MISTAKE 1
Do NOT say: "J’ai visité mes amis"
You can't "visit" someone in French. You "visit" a place.
You should say: "J’ai RENDU visite à mes amis."
We use the verb "RENDRE VISITE" when we go see someone, we pay a visit to someone.
"Rendre visite à quelqu’un."
"Visiter un endroit."
We most often visit a tourist place. In any case, when we visit, we see this place often for the first time.
"J’ai rendu visite à ma famille."
"J’ai visité Madrid pour la première fois."
MISTAKE 2
"J’ai visité cette ville. C’était très … beau ou belle ?"
"J’ai visité cette ville. C’était très beau."
So, we're talking about a city, that's true. But, in my sentence: "C’était très beau". I will match the adjective “beau” with the subject "C’" which is masculine singular.
However, I can perfectly say: "C’était une très belle ville."
Here, I match “belle” with the noun "ville" that is in my sentence.
"J’ai visité cette ville. C’était très beau. / Elle était très belle. / This ville was very belle."
If I have a sentence with “C’est” or “C’était” and there are no other nouns, then I match the adjective with the "C’" which is always masculine singular.
"J’aime Paris. C’est beau."
"J’aime Paris. C’est une belle ville."
MISTAKE 3
Don't confuse "Connaitre" and "Savoir" anymore!
The verb “connaitre” is usually followed by a noun or a pronoun.
"Je connais cette chanson."
"Je le connais."
"Je connais Éric."
The verb “savoir” is usually followed by an action, by a verb.
"Je sais parler français."
MISTAKE 4
"Il y a beaucoup ___ fleurs dans son jardin." What do I put here right after "beaucoup"?
I put "de".
"Il y a beaucoup de fleurs dans son jardin."
After "beaucoup", we cannot put "des" or "du" or "de la".
After "beaucoup" as a quantity adverb, I will always have "de" or "d’".
"Il y a beaucoup de bruit."
"J’ai beaucoup d’animaux."
"J’ai acheté beaucoup de fraises."
Even if the following word is plural, I put "de" or "d’". The fact that it is plural is indicated by "beaucoup". No need for "des" then.
MISTAKE 5
If I have a question, do I "demander" or "poser" it to the teacher?
I "pose" it to the teacher.
In French, we "pose a question". We do not "ask a question".
We "ask for something" or we "ask for help", but we "pose a question".
"Est-ce que je peux te poser une question?"
"Est-ce que je peux te demander quelque chose?"
"Il pose toujours trop de questions à ses amis."
"Elle demande de l’aide à ses parents."
MISTAKE 6
"C’est quelque chose de nouvelle ou de nouveau?"
"It’s something new."
So, yes, you're going to tell me: "But, "chose" is feminine, we should put "nouvelle".
Yes, "chose" is feminine. "Une chose". However, "quelque chose" is masculine.
Therefore, the adjective after "quelque chose" will be masculine.
"Quelque chose de nouveau, quelque chose de beau, quelque chose d’intéressant, etc."
MISTAKE 7
"J’ai resté or Je suis resté chez moi ce weekend?"
"Je suis resté(e) chez moi ce weekend."
The verb "rester" is a verb that uses the auxiliary "être" in the compound past.
You know that movement and state verbs are conjugated with the auxiliary “être” in the compound past.
And “rester” is one of them. I like to remember it as “rester” is a passive movement verb.
"I stayed 2 days in Nice."
"She remained standing throughout the movie."
"We were stuck in the elevator for 15 minutes."
MISTAKE 8
How do you translate "I miss you" into French?
"Je te …" no!
"Tu me manques!"
I miss you = "Tu me manques"
You miss me = "Je te manque"
It's the opposite! The subject and the object are reversed.
"I missed my cat all day."
"I miss the southern sun."
"She always misses her family when she leaves."
MISTAKE 9
Another very common error I hear from English speakers: how would you translate "I introduce myself" into French?
"Je me présente!"
And not "Je m’introduis"!
The verb “introduire” exists in French, but has a different meaning. "Introduire" means to enter something or to infiltrate.
"Je m’introduis dans la maison" = I enter the house.
To talk about ourselves to others, we use the verb “se présenter”.
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Manon."
"He's afraid to introduce himself in front of everyone."
"To introduce oneself well, one must be clear and concise."
MISTAKE 10
"I like to do sports ____ in the morning."
What's missing here?
"I like to do sports … IN the morning!"
Nothing more, nothing less.
I don't want to hear “in the morning”. No, no.
"In the morning."
In other contexts, you might say “in the morning”, but we always say “in the morning” when speaking generally.
"In the morning, I like to wake up early."
"He likes to walk by the sea in the morning."
