10 mistakes anglophones make in French
When learning French as an English speaker, it’s easy to make mistakes by directly translating phrases and expressions. The logic of English doesn’t always align with French, leading to common errors.
In this new series, I’ll highlight some of these pitfalls and guide you through the correct usage, helping you improve your understanding of French in a more natural and accurate way. Let’s dive in!
An issue
In English, you can say:
It’s not an issue, we can go tomorrow
He has a lot of issues
In both cases, issue translates best as problème.
Ce n’est pas un problème, on peut y aller demain
Il a beaucoup de problèmes
In French, une issue means an outcome, or an exit.
Nous ne connaissons pas l’issue de ce conflit
We don’t know the outcome of this conflict
L’issue de secours est par là-bas
The exit is over there
For the most part
I feel that this expression may be a bit overused in English, so the tendency is to translate it literally as pour la plupart, which doesn’t mean anything when used to start a sentence. Instead, you can say, la plupart du temps, which means most of the time.
La plupart du temps, je parle français quand je suis à Montréal
For the most part (most of the time), I speak French when I am in Montreal
There is also an expression in French that you can used to mean for the most part, when the meaning is overall: dans l’ensemble.
J’ai encore un peu de douleur depuis mon accident. Mais dans l’ensemble, tout se passe bien
I still have some pain from my accident. But overall (for the most part), everything is going well
Dans l’ensemble, nous constatons que les Canadiens sont encore très inquiets par rapport à l’économie
For the most part, we see that Canadians are still very concerned about the economy
Fluently
Fluently translates as couramment but the adjective fluent doesn’t exist, when referring to languages.
I want to speak fluent French
Je veux parler couramment le français
I speak fluently
Je parle couramment
I don’t feel very fluent at this point
Je sens que je ne parle pas couramment
Je sens que je ne maîtrise pas la langue
Maybe I’ll change
Be careful about not starting a phrase with peut-être without adding que.
In English, you can say:
Maybe I’ll change
In French, you’ll have to say:
Peut-être que je vais changer
If you want to skip the que, place peut-être after the verb.
Je vais peut-être changer
The day before
French has a word for the day before, so use it!
The day before, we went to visit the Louvre Museum
La veille, on est allés visiter le musée du Louvre!
The day before I left, I was sick
La veille de mon départ, j’étais malade
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The day after
Likewise, we say le lendemain for the day after or the next day.
Je vais rester jusqu’au lendemain
I’ll stay until the next day
Elle est venue nous voir le lendemain de son arrivée
She came to see us the day after she arrived
A concern
To be concerned translates as être inquiet.
To have concerns can translate as avoir des inquiétudes, des problèmes.
As interest rates rise, so do homeowners’ concerns
Les taux d’intérêt augmentent, tout comme les inquiétudes des propriétaires
I’m not really concerned
Ça ne m’inquiète pas trop
This restaurant is closing 3 locations due to safety concerns
Ce restaurant ferme 3 établissements en raison de problèmes de sécurité
In French, concerner means to be relevant to, which is also a meaning that exists in English.
J’ai reçu un appel te concernant
I’ve received a call about you (concerning you)
Typically
If you want to say:
The quality of her work is typically very high
You can say:
La qualité de son travail est généralement très élevée
But:
Typically, I get up at 6
D’habitude, je me lève à 6 heures
En général, je me lève à 6 heures
Typiquement, in French, means in a way that is characteristic of a particular person or thing.
For example:
C’est une famille typiquement américaine
It’s a typical American family
I can tell
It’s common in English to say “I can tell” when something is obvious to you.
– I haven’t slept since Tuesday!
– I can tell!
This expression doesn’t translate as je peux le voir.
You would say instead:
– Je n’ai pas dormi depuis mardi!
– Ça se voit! (It can be seen)
J’ai perdu quatre kilos!
– J’ai remarqué (I noticed)
I can tell that this author is French-Canadian
Il est clair que l’auteur de ce livre est québécois
L’auteur est clairement québécois
The expression c’est clair is used a lot in conversation!
A location
You know the saying in real estate? Location, location, location. Well, how do you say that in French?
A location is:
Un emplacement
Un endroit
Une situation
Let’s look at a few examples.
This apartment is in a great location
Cet appartement est très bien situé
What makes this apartment great? Its location, and its affordable rent
Qu’est-ce qui rend cet appartement génial? Son emplacement (sa situation), et son loyer abordable
I love the location!
J’aime l’endroit!
C’est tellement bien situé!
Don’t say une location to mean a location. Une location means a rental. Louer means to rent.
Louer une voiture
To rent a car
Une location de voiture
A car rental
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