More Common Mistakes New French Students Make By Anthony Mcgarry At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

In my last article, we discussed the top five mistakes new students of French were likely to make. In this one, we are going to explore five more mistakes that are commonly made.

Mistake Six: Que

All French sentences with a subordinate clause ( that is, any sentence that has one subject introducing another) is required to use the word “Que, or “that”. Que is known as the conjunction of the sentence. For example: Il pense que j'aime les chiens - "He thinks (that) I like dogs."

Mistake Seven: Auxiliary Verbs

The French past tense is conjugated with an auxiliary verb, which can be either avoir or être. This is not as difficult as it at first seems, because all verbs, which take être, use reflexive verbs, and the list of those is relatively short. So learn the list of those reflexive verbs, and all of your auxiliary verb problems will be fixed.

Mistake Eight: Tu and Vous

In French, there are two words for “you”, and the difference is fairly simple. Vous is plural. If there is more than one (of anything) use Vous. Other than that, the difference has a lot to do with closeness and distance and respect. Vous is the more formal use of the word, and shows more respect. Tu can be used with your friends, family, etc…

Mistake Nine: Capitalization

Capitalization is less common in French than in English. In French, the fist person singular (days of the week, months of the year, languages, etc…) are NOT capitalized in French. Out of habit, English speakers often automatically capitalize these things, and while it is not a serious error, it is still a mistake and will leave native French speakers wondering why it’s capitalized.

Mistake Ten: “Cettes”

Beginners often think “cettes” is a word, when in fact, it is not. Cette is the singular feminine form of the demonstrative adjective “ce”. ( example, ce livre or ce maison). Ces is the plural form for both masculine and feminine (ces livres, ces maisons).

French is a beautiful language, the language of love, but it can be difficult to learn all the nuances of this fine language. Even experienced French students make these mistakes, but with vigilant study and concentration, using the language correctly will come naturally to you. Conjugations and other grammatical habits you start when you are first learning the language will follow you throughout your use of the language. So by taking the extra time to learn French correctly, you will be more fluent and have more respect by native French speakers when you communicate with them.

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=186549&ca=Education

Important Notice DISCLAIMER: All information, content, and data in this article are sole opinions and/or findings of the individual user or organization that registered and submitted this article at Isnare.com without any fee. The article is strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any way, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional. We at Isnare.com do not, in anyway, contribute or include our own findings, facts and opinions in any articles presented in this site. Publishing this article does not constitute Isnare.com's support or sponsorship for this article. Isnare.com is an article publishing service. Please read our Terms of Service for more information.