French and English share a lot of vocabulary, but false friends and grammar differences often trip up our French students. Here are the most common "Franglais" mistakes!
1
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"Actually, I am working in a bank." (Meaning 'Right now')
🤔 Why learners say this:
FALSE FRIEND! French 'Actuellement' means 'Currently'. English 'Actually' means 'In reality'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you are correcting me or revealing a surprising secret about your job.
✅ Natural English version:
"Currently, I am working in a bank."
2
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I am agree."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Just like Spanish/Italian, French uses 'Je suis d'accord', leading to the extra 'am'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like 'Agree' is your name.
✅ Natural English version:
"I agree."
3
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I have 30 years."
🤔 Why learners say this:
French uses 'avoir' (to have) for age ('J'ai 30 ans'). English uses 'to be'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you are collecting years in a bag.
✅ Natural English version:
"I am 30 years old."
🎯 Practice: Which Word?
You want to say what you are doing RIGHT NOW. You say:
4
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I went to visit my parents." (Meaning a place)
🤔 Why learners say this:
In English, we visit PLACES, but we 'go to see' or 'visit with' PEOPLE.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Slightly formal, like you inspected them like a museum!
✅ Natural English version:
"I went to see my parents."
5
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I 'ave an 'ouse in the 'ills." (H-dropping)
🤔 Why learners say this:
The letter 'H' is usually silent in French, so learners drop it in English too.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
It sounds very Cockney (old London working class)! You must exhale on the H!
✅ Natural English version:
"I Have an House in the Hills." (Breath out!)
6
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"It makes 5 years that I live here."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Direct translation of 'Ça fait 5 ans...'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Very confusing. We don't use 'make' for time.
✅ Natural English version:
"I have lived here for 5 years."
🎯 Practice: Fix the Sentence
"Actually I work here since 2 years."
7
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I explained him the problem."
🤔 Why learners say this:
French 'lui expliquer' allows the object right after. English requires 'TO'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you described what he looks like!
✅ Natural English version:
"I explained the problem TO him."
8
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I am boring." (Meaning bored)
🤔 Why learners say this:
Confusing 'ennuyeux' (boring) and 'ennuyé' (bored).
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
You are telling me that you are not an interesting person!
✅ Natural English version:
"I am bored."
9
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I want to know the nature."
🤔 Why learners say this:
French uses 'connaître' for both people/places and facts. English uses 'know' for facts/people, but 'get to know' or 'explore' for places/concepts.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you want to be introduced to Mother Nature personally.
✅ Natural English version:
"I want to learn about nature."
10
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"Do you like the sport–
🤔 Why learners say this:
French uses the definite article ('le sport') for general concepts. English drops 'the'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you are talking about one specific sport we mentioned earlier.
✅ Natural English version:
"Do you like sport–
🎯 Practice: Fix the Sentence
"I like the chocolate."
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