The verb “faire” is one of the most used verbs in French! It is also one of the first verbs you learn in French. That's why it's very important to know how to use this verb! It will allow you to avoid making small grammatical mistakes when you express yourself in French and to be better understood!
 

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Today, we will see how to use the verb "faire" in French and also how to use the verb "rendre" in French. 


The verb "faire" is the translation, in many cases, of "to make/to do". But, you will see that it's not always good to translate English into French, especially in grammar!


Let's see, in which cases, we can use the verb "faire" in French :
 

 

FAIRE = EXECUTE AN ACTION:

We mainly use the verb "faire" to describe an action we perform.

Je fais à manger
= I'm making dinner
 

Tu fais le ménage
= You do the cleaning
 

 

FAIRE = TRAVEL A DISTANCE

We use the verb "faire" to indicate a course, a journey:

J’ai fait 10 km à vélo.
= I rode my bike 10 km.
 

Elle a fait 30 minutes de route
= She drove 30 minutes
 

 

FAIRE = DO A SPORTS OR MUSICAL ACTIVITY

We can use the verb "faire" to indicate that we perform a sport or that we play music:
 

Je fais du tennis chaque samedi.
= I play tennis every Saturday.
 

Vous faites de la guitare ?
= Do you play guitar?
 

 

FAIRE = TO ACT OR TO APPEAR :

The verb "faire" can be used as a synonym for to act or to appear:
 

Il ne fait pas du tout son âge !
= He doesn't look his age at all!
 

Elle fait mine de rien.
= She pretends not to care.
 

 

FAIRE = ASK FOR THE PROFESSION :

We also often use the verb "faire" when we ask for someone's profession:
 

Tu fais quoi dans la vie ?
= What do you do for a living?
 

⚠️ But, be careful, we do not answer with the verb "faire", but être + profession :
 

Je suis professeure de français.
= I am a French teacher.
 

 

There is also the pronominal form of the verb "faire": se faire. Let's see the uses of the verb "se faire". As a reminder, the pronominal form always refers to the subject.
 

 

SE FAIRE = CREATE OR OBTAIN SOMETHING

We use the verb "se faire" when we create something:
 

Je me fais du thé.
= I make myself some tea.
I do it for me, I specify it with the pronominal form.
 

Elle s’est fait de l’argent.
= She made money.
 

 

SE FAIRE = BECOME OR FEEL :

And we use the verb "se faire" when we change state or when there is a feeling If there is no adjective after
 

Elle s’est fait relooker.
= She got a makeover.
 

Il s’est fait mal en courant.
= He hurt himself while running.
 

 

FAIRE OR RENDRE ?

Small test, if I may say so “It makes me so happy”, how I say it in French ? Ça me _____ tellement heureus(e)

 

👉 Ça me rend tellement heureuse !
 

If I want to talk about a change of state using an adjective, I won't use the verb "faire", but the verb "rendre".
 

Rendre in French generally means “to give back”.
 

Je te rends ton livre = I give you back your book
 

But, we will also use this verb when we talk about a change of state linked to an adjective:
 

Il me rend triste.
= He makes me sad
 

Le lait me rend malade.
= Milk makes me sick.
 

L’été me rend joyeux(euse).
= Summer makes me happy.
 

And yes, here, don't translate from English to French in your head.


I'll give you my little trick to remember the difference between faire and rendre... Actually, it's to practice them! Make personal sentences with the verbs faire and rendre :


Take some writing materials and answer these questions (in French of course):
 

Tu fais quoi ce weekend ?
 

Tu fais combien de kilomètre pour aller à ton travail ?
 

Tu fais quoi comme sport ?
 

Tu fais plus jeune ou vieux que ton âge ?
 

Tu fais quoi dans la vie ?
 

Tu t’es fait quoi au petit déj’ ?
 

C’est quand la dernière fois que tu t’es fait mal ?
 

Qu’est-ce qui te rend heureux(euse) dans la vie ?