It is perfectly natural for learners of French to rely sometimes on their first language when mastering the new grammatical system. As a student progresses, however, French rules and forms should be used at all times. Some of the most common anglicisms to avoid are presented below.
Some expressions that use the verb "be" in English require the verb "have" (avoir) in French. For example, English uses expressions like:
However, these use the verb avoir in French, e.g.:
We find this same pattern when indicating a person's age. For example, in English you would write:
However, in French this would be expressed as:
Another important verbal difference concerns passive sentences (where the agent of the action is not explicit), e.g.:
French uses a different structure than English:
Here we see that on is the subject and the person receiving is represented with an object pronoun.
The verb jouer is not followed by a preposition in English, but one is required in French. If the following word is a sport or a game, use au or à la, e.g.:
If the following word is a musical instrument, use du or de la, e.g.:
One important difference between pronouns in English and French is that object pronouns precede the verb in French, but follow it in English, e.g.:
Be careful not to use the English order in French, i.e.: do not write:
English places all adjectives before nouns, e.g.:
However, the vast majority of French adjectives must follow the noun, e.g.:
The French preposition sur is used primarily with the literal meaning "on" or "on top of". As such, it cannot be used everywhere English uses "on". For example,
There are also many instances where a verb is followed by a preposition in English, but not French, e.g.:
False friends are words that look the same in English and French, but have different meanings. When writing, be sure to choose the correct French equivalent for the meaning you wish to express. In the following tables, we've indicated the most common problems:
