In our last post, we discussed books for adults learning French. But what about kids? Unlike adults, kids are visual learners. They like to watch photos or videos when they study. A book without pictures is boring. That’s why it’s important to come up with creative ways to teach kids something, in this case, French.

One of the best ways to teach kids French is through storybooks. But which ones should you try? There must be a plethora of them, right? Don’t worry! Here we will show you a list of the best French storybooks for kids. Let’s get started!

10 Bilingual Fairy Tales in French and English

Average Amazon rating: 4.4/5

Fairy tales are a favorite classic. Kids love hearing about magic, elves, fairies, and the like. Who would have thought kids can learn a language by just reading some fairy tales?

Not only will kids be able to read about fantastical characters, but they will also learn vocabulary and basic grammar structures. It all comes naturally as they turn page after page.

The book includes access to audio so kids can listen to native French speakers and learn the correct pronunciation and develop their listening skills.

Each story comes in French and English. I highly recommend this book for parents raising bilingual kids and adult beginners looking for something easy.

The Fabulous Lost and Found and the little French mouse

Average Amazon rating: 4.7/5

Can you imagine going to another country and not being able to speak the local language? Well, that’s what happens to the main character of this book. A French mouse goes to the Lost & Found, but the problem is, he doesn’t speak English!

Kids will love this book and I can assure you they will have a good laugh as well. Although the book is short and simple, it is entertaining and is a great learning tool. Kids will learn over forty words and phrases to build their vocabulary.

It is recommended for kids ages 2-7. Although the author claims the book is bilingual, some people argue it is not for non-French speakers as they have to guess the meaning of some words. Still, it’s worth a try.

Children’s Stories in Dual Language French & English

Average Amazon rating: 4.4./5

This book was designed with kids ages 7-12 in mind and is the first part of a series of three bilingual books. It has ten fantasy stories in total. Each paragraph is written first in French, and it’s immediately followed by the English translation.

Kids will engagingly learn vocabulary, but the best of all is, they will have access to the audio version as well. This way they can listen to a native speaker at the same time they look at the text.

Most reviews are positive, except for a couple where they think the topics are inappropriate for kids. Other than that, I think you should give it a try and decide for yourself.

10 Bed-time Stories

Average Amazon rating: 4.3/5

How about a book with bedtime stories in French and English for kids? This book is great for kids ages 8-12. They will learn vocabulary and develop their imagination and a passion for reading. A great way to form a bond with your kids.

Unlike the books above, this one is written in parallel text. That means there are two columns so kids can choose whether they want to read just in French or in English as well.

Kids also have access to the audio version so they can listen to native speakers.

The major con has to do with the lack of images. Yes, unbelievably, this book does not have any images. Other than that, it’s a good learning tool for kids and adult beginners.

100 First Words for Toddlers

Average Amazon rating: 4.7/5

Although this is not a storybook per se, kids will love this book. It is beautifully illustrated and will capture their attention. They will learn lots of vocabulary that are commonly used in French.

Adults will find some useful tips from teaching experts to teach their kids properly. Both kids and adults will love it!

This book is recommended for kids ages 0-3. If you want to expose your toddlers to another language besides English, this is the book you should get.

Cool Kids Speak French

Average Amazon rating: 4.6/5

Kids of all ages will love this book. It is beautifully illustrated and is divided into shorter sections like greetings, numbers, colors, animals, etc. Each section starts with vocabulary learning and then some games to reinforce the concept taught therein.

Kids will be gradually exposed to new words and grammar structures. The book comes with many activities like coloring pages, filling in the blanks, word searches, counting, etc. A great way to learn and brush up what they learned in previous sections.

This book is also a great learning tool for beginners. Highly recommended.

French for Kids

Average Amazon rating: 4.6/5

This book is great for kids ages 3-8. Well, it’s not just one book but rather ten short books. Each book is 16 pages long and focuses on one story. The author believes that kids learn more effectively when the words are in context rather than just showing them flashcards.

Kids will have access to a French-English chart, English translations at the back, downloadable activity sheets, and audio recordings.

Repetition is key, and it shows here. The concepts are repeated over and over in different ways so they stick in kids’ heads.

The books are simple enough for the youngest ones, yet challenging for older kids. A must have.

Fly, Little Bird – Vole, petit oiseau

Average Amazon rating: 4.6/5

Kids are like little birds that need to learn how to fly. It’s scary, but we have to overcome our fears to succeed in life.

This book is a powerful tool for bilingual kids (French-English). It comes with cute illustrations and short sentences telling a story. Each line is both in French and English.

The book also includes extra pages with coloring and drawing activities. Kids will love it!

Not only will kids learn vocabulary and phrases, but they will also learn important principles like teamwork and problem-solving.

As with most kids’ books, this can also be used by adult beginners. Of course, they can skip some activities, but it’s a good starting point nonetheless.

Conclusion

Kids learn fast, but they tend to get bored. We as adults have to look for creative ways to help them learn. French storybooks for kids are great at that.

There are way more books we could include here, but the post would be endless. Feel free to leave your recommendations in the section below.

I hope you found this useful. If you did, please don’t forget to share it with others. Au revoir, les amis!

Let's Learn French!

Are you ready to take your French to the next level? I'm glad you are! Whether you are a beginner or an intermediate/advanced learner, I can recommend a few options for you.
For starters, if you're someone who likes to study on his own, I recommend the following programs:
Busuu
Mondly
Rocket Languages

However, if you would like to hire a teacher/tutor, I recommend you try the following:
italki
Lingoda
Preply

Feel free to check my site to learn about more resources. Don't forget to check back often to learn more about the French language and culture. Salut!

Are you looking to learn French, but you don’t know where to start? There are so many resources out there that it becomes an overwhelming task…more overwhelming than it should be. Online courses, French lessons, books… What should you choose? If you’re old school like me, then you might be thinking of buying some French learning books.

If you would like to learn more about this, then keep on reading. Please note that the books in this post are meant for learning French. If you’re looking for French novels and other forms of literature, I recommend you check out this post instead. Otherwise, let’s continue.

Pronounce it Perfectly in French

Average Amazon rating: 4.1/5

We all know that mastering pronunciation is the key to speaking any language. This book will help you achieve that.

Pronounce it Perfectly in French comes with three CDs for your convenience. You will learn how to tell sounds apart and how to use the correct intonation when speaking. The book includes lots of exercises based on French proverbs, jokes, tongue twisters, and quotes.

It is perfect for beginners and all those looking to improve their pronunciation. The few complaints I’ve seen are regarding the quality of the CDs (not readable), the fast pace of the speaker, and the simplicity of the book.

2000 Most Common French Words in Context

Average Amazon rating: 4.5/5

Besides pronunciation, you need to build a lot of vocabulary to express your ideas. As the name implies, it contains a list of the 2,000 most common French words. You will expand your vocabulary in no time.

This book is recommended for beginners and/or intermediate learners. Words are listed by frequency instead of topics or parts of speech. Some people claim they have to get a dictionary or look something up online to understand. The format might not suit everyone, but it’s a good supplementary learning tool nonetheless.

Among the negative reviews, some people say translations are wrong/minimal, the list order doesn’t make sense, and the book can’t be used by itself.

Easy French Step-by-Step

Average Amazon rating: 4.5/5

This is one of the first books I used to learn French, and I highly recommend it. Once you master pronunciation and have expanded your vocabulary, the next step is understanding French grammar, which is not easy by any means.

Here you will learn how to conjugate over 300 verbs and learn the basic grammar rules and concepts of the French language. You will also be presented with many exercises to practice what you learned.

The book is concise, straight to the point, and easy to follow. I highly recommend it for absolute beginners. Some people say it’s not beginner-friendly because it doesn’t have any illustrations or come with an audio CD. I beg to differ, but I guess that depends on your learning style more than anything else.

Learn French: 6 Books in 1: The Complete French Language Books Collection to Learn Starting from Zero, Have Fun and Become Fluent like a Native Speaker

Average Amazon rating: 4.4/5

If you were to buy just one book, I’d recommend this one without hesitation. I don’t know how they fit so much information into just one book. As the name implies, they crammed the content of six books into this book.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an absolute beginner, an intermediate learner, or an advanced learner. You will learn something by reading this book.

Here you will learn French basics like the alphabet, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. It also comes with lots of examples and quizzes. The material progresses gradually from easy to advanced.

By buying this book, you also get a free Audible trial and a credit to download a 33-hour audio guide. Isn’t this great?

French All-in-One For Dummies

Average Amazon rating: 4.6/5

You can never go wrong with the Dummies series. Whether you’re looking to improve your math, Excel, music, or languages, you’ll most likely find a book to help you. French is no exception.
This extensive guide is 800 pages long and comes with an audio CD to practice pronunciation and improve your listening skills.

I recommend this book if you’re a beginner or at an intermediate level. If you’re an advanced learner, then this book is not for you.

Another thing I like about this book is that it includes French Canadian content. As we have seen previously, it’s somewhat different from European French. A great bonus indeed.

Living Language French

Average Amazon rating: 4.6/5

Based upon one of the most thorough language learning methods ever, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in learning French. Your level doesn’t matter as you can progress from beginner to intermediate and finally advanced.

It’s not just one book but rather a complete immersive course that consists of three books, nine audio CDs, and free access to downloadable content. Expand your vocabulary, grasp the concepts of French grammar, improve your listening skills, master French pronunciation, and have fun while learning!

According to many users, it’s excellent value for money, although some claim it’s too repetitive. Give it a try and decide for yourself.

Learn Canadian French

Average Amazon rating: 4.6/5

Most of the material you find in books or online is about Metro (France) French, but what about Canadian French? If you would like to concentrate on the latter, then this book is for you. It’s an excellent resource to learn French Canadian vocabulary and grammar.

Just one word of caution. This book is not for beginners. You need to know some French. Also, please consider this book doesn’t focus on teaching Canadian French but rather helping you understand the differences between Canadian French and France French. It doesn’t hurt to give it a try, though.

Conclusion

Today we discussed some of the best French-learning books on Amazon. The list is endless, so we just focused on some bestsellers for your convenience. All the books mentioned in this post are hard copies, but many of them have digital versions as well. The best of both worlds.

Have you studied any of the books mentioned above? Which one was your favorite? Let me know in the comments below. Au revoir, les amis!

Let's Learn French!

Are you ready to take your French to the next level? I'm glad you are! Whether you are a beginner or an intermediate/advanced learner, I can recommend a few options for you.
For starters, if you're someone who likes to study on his own, I recommend the following programs:
Busuu
Mondly
Rocket Languages

However, if you would like to hire a teacher/tutor, I recommend you try the following:
italki
Lingoda
Preply

Feel free to check my site to learn about more resources. Don't forget to check back often to learn more about the French language and culture. Salut!

Many people struggle with French, while others say it’s one of the easiest languages to learn. Why is that? Who is right and who is wrong? Realistically and objectively speaking, is French hard to learn? Which factors come into play?

French is one of the most popular languages worldwide, but despite that, some people are in a love-hate relationship with it. If this is your case or if you’d simply like to know what learning French is like before diving in, then you’ve come to the right place! The truth might surprise you. Allons-y!

Is French Hard to Learn?

You can ask people all over the world the same question, and you will get different answers depending on whom you ask. Spanish speakers will tell you it’s easy, while Chinese speakers will probably tell you otherwise. But why is that? Well, the key factor here is their native language.

It’s true that those who speak Romance languages (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese) natively have an advantage over, let’s say, Chinese or Russian speakers when it comes to learning French. Romance languages share similar vocabulary and grammar rules making French easier to learn.

It’s a different story when non-Romance language speakers try to learn French. Their languages don’t resemble French, so it’s logical that it’s harder for them to learn it.

In the case of English speakers, French is classified by linguists as a Category I language to learn, meaning it’s easy, even though some people don’t agree with that.

How Long Does It Take to Learn French?

Again, the answer here will vary, but for the sake of simplicity, we will focus on English speakers learning French. According to the U.S. FSI (Foreign Service Institute), it takes English speakers between 24 and 30 weeks to learn French, provided they study between 600 and 750 hours. That means the minimum time is around 25 hours per week. Does that sound like a lot?

The difficulty level of French is the same as that of Danish, Dutch, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Swedish. If you would like to see the full FSI list, you can check out this link.

As you can see, it largely depends on how much time you dedicate to studying French. Realistically speaking, it takes the average English speaker between six months and one year.

What Is Hard About French?

There’s this joke about French that says it’s hard because half of the letters of every word are not pronounced. Even though French is classified as an easy language for English speakers, there are several things they struggle with when learning it. Some of them include:

• Pronunciation.
• Spelling.
• Gender and number agreement.
• False friends.
• COD/COI.
• Verb conjugations.
• Passé composé.

Let’s explain each one of them in more detail.

Pronunciation

For starters, French, unlike English, is a nasal language. Those an/en/in/un sounds don’t exist in English. I would say these sounds are probably the hardest to master.

But that’s not all. H is silent. English speakers tend to pronounce it, but in French, we don’t pronounce it.

The sound of French U doesn’t exist in English. English speakers sometimes forget this and try to pronounce it the way they do in English.

Probably, the most peculiar French sound is that of R. To make this sound, you have to gargle. The problem comes when you want to speak at a faster speed.

Last but not least, pronunciation varies between European French and Canadian French. European French is more standardized, but Canadian French is a different story. Sounds complicated?

Spelling

French has several accent marks that you have to memorize. They are listed below:

• ç, la cédille
• é, l’accent aigu
• â/ê/î/ô/û, l’accent circonflexe
• à/è/ì/ò/ù, l’accent grave
• ë/ï/ü, l’accent tréma

Do they matter? Yes, they do! Not only do they matter in writing but in spoken French, too. They will determine the way you have to pronounce a word.

Gender and Number Agreement

In French, everything is either masculine or feminine. For example, a man is heureux (happy), but a woman is heureuse (happy). Countries, days of the week, and even things have genders. You have to understand this because spelling varies depending on the gender of the word.

English has the article the, but French has le, la, l’, and les. You have to know the gender of a noun to decide which article you will use before it.

Nouns also have to agree in number. For example, in English, we say the green car/the green cars, but in French, we say la voiture verte/les voitures vertes. Unlike English, French adjectives can be singular or plural.

Gender/number agreement also applies to verbs. Thus, a man would write Je suis allé (I went), but a woman would write Je suis allée. The pronunciation is the same, but the spelling is not.

False Friends

It is estimated that about 45% of all English words have a French origin. Even though they share a lot of vocabulary, some words can mean different things in each language. These are known as false friends or false cognates.

For example, assister means “to attend”, not “to assist/help”; attendre means “to wait”, not to attend; blesser means “to hurt”, not to bless. The list of false friends goes on and on. You have to be careful with those.

COD and COI

Direct and indirect objects, simply known as COD and COI, are some of the hardest things to learn in French. You have to consider genders, numbers, and tenses when using them. Not only that, but their position in a sentence also varies.

For example, I showed it to him would translate as Je le lui ai montré or Je la lui ai montré depending on whether the thing you showed is masculine or feminine.

Mastering COD and COI takes a lot of practice.

Verb Conjugations

Each grammatical person (I, you, he, etc.) has a different verb conjugation. You have to memorize the endings for each one of them. For example, in English, the conjugations of to eat in the present tense are eat and eats. However, in French, we conjugate manger as je mange (I eat), tu manges (you eat, singular), vous mangez (you eat, plural), il/elle mange (he/she eats), nous mangeons (we eat), and ils/elles mangent (they eat).

The same concept applies to conjugations for past, future, and other tenses. You have to memorize the endings for each grammatical person.

To further complicate things, there are approximately 350 irregular French verbs. These verbs don’t follow the same conjugation patterns that regular verbs do.

Passé Composé

Talking about the past in French is not easy. For some verbs, we use the auxiliary verb avoir, while for others we use être. And don’t forget (again!) about the gender/number agreement!

Generally speaking, we use the auxiliary être with verbs of movement. However, some verbs can use either one depending on the context. For example, sortir can either mean “to go out” or “to take out”. Thus you can say Je suis sorti ( I went out), but you can’t say Je suis sorti la poubelle (I took out the trash). In this case, the correct form is J’ai sorti la poubelle.

Overcome the Difficulties

Now that we discussed some of the most common things English speakers struggle with, you must be asking yourself what you can do to overcome the difficulties of learning French. Here are a few tips that will help you:

• Expose yourself to the language as much as possible. Watch videos, listen to podcasts, read books. Make French part of your everyday life. In no time, it will become second nature.
• Practice is key. If you are serious about learning French, you have to practice as much as possible. It doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make. There is no turnaround to that.
• Find a motivation. Why do you want to learn French? Would you like to date a French guy/girl? Would you like to visit France or even move there? If you aren’t motivated, you won’t go far.
• Make a plan. You will be more successful if you have a goal and a plan to reach that goal. A teacher can help you do that.
• Don’t give up. Learning is a journey. Enjoy every single part of it.

Final Thoughts

So, is French hard to learn? The answer to this question is subjective and will depend on each person’s background.

Even though English and French share a lot of things, some things about French are hard for English speakers. However, through practice and a detailed plan, you can make it happen.

French may not be as hard as Chinese or Russian, but it can be challenging for English speakers. Don’t let others tell you it’s not hard. We all speak from experience.

If you struggle with French, there are several things you can do. It may be hard but not impossible to learn.

What do you think? Is French hard for you? Let me know in the comments below. Au revoir, les amis!

Let's Learn French!

Are you ready to take your French to the next level? I'm glad you are! Whether you are a beginner or an intermediate/advanced learner, I can recommend a few options for you.
For starters, if you're someone who likes to study on his own, I recommend the following programs:
Busuu
Mondly
Rocket Languages

However, if you would like to hire a teacher/tutor, I recommend you try the following:
italki
Lingoda
Preply

Feel free to check my site to learn about more resources. Don't forget to check back often to learn more about the French language and culture. Salut!

When learning a new language, it’s a common practice to rely too much on our native languages. We feel more confident when something is familiar. It has happened to me many times. I see a familiar word in a foreign language and then try to use it the way I would in my language.

English and French share a lot of vocabulary. Sometimes it’s only the pronunciation that changes, but at other times, it’s more complicated than that. We have to be careful with these words if we want to master the French language. That’s why today we will talk about some of the most common French false friends in English. Allons-y!

What Are False Friends?

For starters, we need to understand this concept. What are false friends? To answer this question, let me ask you something first. Have you ever seen familiar words in other languages that turned out to mean something different from your native language? Well, those are false friends.

False friends are words in different languages that have identical or similar spellings but different meanings. For example, let’s take a look at the word bras. Bras means arm in French, but it’s the plural form of bra (female underwear) in English.

False friends are known as faux amis in French. You might also have heard about cognates. That’s another term commonly used. All false friends are false cognates, but not all cognates are false friends. There are true cognates as well.

Why Are They Important?

You may be wondering why it is important to know about the existence of false friends. Well, for starters, you might be saving yourself from embarrassing situations. For example, French President Macron called the Australian Prime Minister’s wife “delicious” during a public speech. In French, a woman who is good, charming, or delightful can be described as délicieuse. While this word can also mean delicious in English, you have to use it carefully. Context is crucial.

Below is the video of that embarrassing moment.

The Australian Prime Minister seemed to ignore it, but imagine what would’ve happened at a different place with no cameras or other people present.

While some people will understand what you’re trying to say and even correct you, not everyone will understand. Your luck might be different. To be on the safe side, it’s better to be sure about the meaning of the words you use when speaking.

False Friends Examples

Okay, without much further ado, here are some of the most common French false friends in English:

Attendre/Attend

Now, imagine you have a date with a French girl, but you’re running late. On your way to the restaurant, you receive a text message that reads, “Je t’attends“. You’re confused. What does she mean? Well, it means she is waiting for you! You’d better hurry!

attendre ≠ attend

attendre = wait

Blessé/Blessed

You run toward the door, but someone opens it at that very moment and hits your face. Then you head to the table while covering your nose, and your date asks, “Tu es blessé?” Is she blessing you or what? No, she’s simply asking if you’re hurt.

blessé ≠ blessed

blessé = hurt/wounded

Pain/Pain

You sit down and then the waiter comes to your table. You’d like a glass of wine and some bread, but the waiter doesn’t seem to understand the last part of your order. “Oh, he’d like some pain,” chimes in your date. You then realized you had been pronouncing it wrong! Oh, well…

pain ≠ pain

pain = bread

Envie/Envy

You start talking about your jobs, and it turns out your date has a fantastic job with a good salary and lots of vacation time. You’d like to say you envy her (in a good way, of course) and say “J’ai envie de toi“. The girl blushes. After an uncomfortable silence, she explains to you that you just told her you desired her. Oops!

envie ≠ envy

envie = usually avoir envie de, which means feel like (doing)

Préservatif/Preservative

It’s time to order the main course. You’ve been looking after your health, so you try to avoid preservatives. It’s just natural to ask if the dish you want has any preservatives in it, right? So you ask the waiter, “Y-a-t-il des préservatifs?” Your date bursts out laughing and corrects conservateurs. You were asking if there were any condoms in the food. Yikes!

préservatif ≠ preservative

préservatif = condom

Sale/Sale

You excuse yourself to go to the restroom. There is only one booth with a sign that reads SALE on the door. Hmm, is it on sale? You ignore it and open the door. What do you find inside? A dirty toilet. Gross!

sale ≠ sale

sale = dirty

Excité/Excited

You go back to your table and try to retake the conversation. You then find out that both of you like the same band, which by the way, will perform in town next weekend. “Je suis très excité!” you say. The girl looks puzzled for a moment and then says, “Oh, you mean you’re excited!” Why is French so complicated!?

excité ≠ excited

excité = sexually aroused

Introduire/Introduce

You don’t know what else to say. Think fast! Oh, right, tell her you would like to introduce some friends to her. Then you say, “J’aimerais t’introduire des amis“. The girl holds a laugh and says “Présenter pas introduire!” You start thinking your French is not that good after all.

introduire ≠ introduce

introduire = penetrate, insert

Déception/Disappointment

After a long night, you finally get to your apartment. Your roomie asks you how the date went and you say it was a deception. But how did she deceive you?” he asks. You then explain that she didn’t deceive you. You meant it was a disappointment. Enough French for today.

déception ≠ deception

déception = disappointment

Conclusion

There are many more French false friends we could talk about, but the post would never end. What about you? Have you ever been a victim of false friends?

False friends are tricky and easy to confuse with words in English and other languages. You will have to memorize them to avoid embarrassing situations like the one we saw above. Poor guy, right?

Which false friends would you add to the list? Let me know in the comments section below. Au revoir, les amis!

Each language is different. We may be used to ours and not question words or expressions we use every day, but when someone who studies it tells us something doesn’t make sense or asks us why we say certain things, we start thinking about it and maybe we don’t have the answer. We just say it like that. Everybody does. But it doesn’t make sense, right? Well, French is no exception.

The French language is full of words and expressions that confuse us and may not make sense in English or other languages. Well, today we will take a look at some commonly confused words in French. This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but rather a list of some of the most common words non-native speakers have a hard time with. Let’s get started, shall we?

Au vs Chez

Some words in French change their spelling when combined. Such is the case of au. Au is the combination of à + le. We use it before masculine singular nouns. Remember all nouns in French have a gender, that is, they’re either masculine or feminine.

Examples:

au magasin (to the store)

au supermarché (to the supermarket)

Based on this logic, we could say “au médecin ” (to the doctor’s), right? Wrong! We go chez le médecin, not au médecin .

French learners commonly confuse au and chez. Look at the following examples:

au salon/chez le coiffeur (to the salon / to the hairdresser’s)

au boulangerie/chez le boulanger (to the bakery / to the baker’s)

So, when do we use which? It’s simple. When we mention a person, we use chez. For the rest, we use au or its variations.

Matin vs Matinée, Jour vs Journée, Soir vs Soirée, An vs Année

All these pairs are confusing. I don’t blame you. When do we use which? Why do both have a masculine and feminine form? They all have something in common. Look at the examples below:

Je vais à l’école le matin. I go to school in the morning.

J’etudié toute la matinée. I studied the entire morning.

Le vendredi est mon jour préféré. Friday is my favorite day.

Le musée est ouvert pendant la journée. The museum is open during the day.

Ce soir j’irai chez mon ami. Tonight I’m going to my friend’s.

Je me suis ennuyé toute la soirée. I was bored the whole evening.

J’habite en France depuis 5 ans. I have lived in France for 5 years.

J’ai habité à Paris pendant ma première année. I lived in Paris during my first year.

Did you notice any patterns? No? The key to telling them apart has to do with two concepts: time unit and duration. Look at the examples above again. We use the masculine forms to talk about general time units, but when we want to emphasize the duration of something, we use the feminine forms. It’s tricky, so all we can do is practice.

Emmener vs Emporter vs Ammener vs Apporter

These two pairs of verbs are tricky, too. Emmener and emporter mean “to take”, while ammener and apporter mean “to bring”. Examples:

J’emmène mon fils à l’école tous les jours. I take my son to school every day.

J’ai emporté un cadeau pour mon cousin. I brought a present for my cousin.

Mon frère a amené sa petite amie à la fête. My brother brought his girlfriend to the party.

Tu vas apporter les sodas demain? Are you going to bring the sodas tomorrow?

Did you notice the difference? If not, I’ll explain. We use emmener/ammener with people, animals, and vehicles. On the other hand, we use emporter/apporter with inanimate objects. In practice, though, these verb pairs are used interchangeably, but you will get the hang of it the more you speak with natives.

Rentrer vs Retourner vs Revenir

This is one of my favorites. I still make mistakes using them now and then.  Look at the following examples:

Je suis rentré chez moi il y a 2 heures. I came back/returned home 2 hours ago.

Je voudrais retourner en Espagne un jour. I would like to return to Spain one day.

Je reviens tout de suite. I’ll be/come right back.

Wait a minute! Are they all the same? No! The problem is they don’t have exact equivalences in English. They can all be translated as “return”, but they can’t be used interchangeably. You will have to learn how to use them properly.

Now, the verb rentrer is pretty straightforward. We only use it to imply that we’re coming back to our place of residence such as our home or hometown.

So, how do we tell retourner and revenir apart? We use retourner to talk about a place we were in and we would like to go back to. Imagine you visited Spain last year, and you’re talking about how much you’d like to go back. Which verb would you use? Retourner, right? Right!

On the other hand, we use revenir to imply we left/will leave but will come back. Imagine you are at a party talking to someone, and then you need to go to the bathroom. In this case, you would use revenir to let the other person know you’ll come back.

Entendre vs Écouter

French learners tend to confuse these two verbs, but there is a subtle difference. Entendre means “to hear”, while écouter means “to listen to”. It’s just like English in this case. We use entendre to imply we hear or are aware of some sound close to us, and we use écouter to imply we listen to something or someone.  Écouter is deeper as it requires our full attention. Examples:

J’écoute de la musique classique. I listen to classical music.

As-tu entendu ce bruit? Did you hear that noise?

Écoute moi! Listen to me!

Je ne t’entends pas. I don’t hear you.

Entendre vs Comprendre

These verbs can be tricky for some learners, especially native Spanish and Portuguese speakers. For instance, in Spanish, we could confuse entendre (hear) with entender (understand), but they’re false cognates. To mean we understand something/someone, we use the verb comprendre instead.

This shouldn’t surprise us since French shares Latin roots with other languages like Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. There are more cognates I could mention here, but I will do it in a future post.

Conclusion

As we saw today, there are many commonly confused words in French. Each language has its peculiarities, and French is no exception.

We tend to confuse some words because we translate them literally or we try to use them like we would in our native languages. Remember all languages are different, and that means there will always be exceptions.

Some languages share similarities due to their Latin origin, but we have to pay close attention to avoid making mistakes when using certain words.

I hope you enjoyed today’s lesson. As always, feel free to leave your questions and comments in the section below, and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Au revoir, les amis!

If you have been studying French for some time, you must have come across a peculiar concept: verlan. But what is verlan? All French teachers teach it at some point. It must be important then, right?

There seems to be some confusion around verlan. How does it work? Do the French really use it? Are there any exceptions to it? How can I learn it? What are some good examples?

Don’t worry. Today we will answer all the questions above. By the end of this post, you should have a better understanding of verlan. Are you ready? C’est parti!

What Is Verlan?

Let’s start by answering this question. Simply put, verlan is a type of French argot or slang. The first documented cases of verlan date back to the 19th century. More specifically, it was a language code among criminals.

Verlan has evolved over the years and is the product of a love-hate relationship between the French and immigrants in France. It has become an important part of the French national identity.

Many verlan words refer to sex or drugs, but not all of them. The idea was to speak in codes so those in authority wouldn’t understand, but some words have become mainstream and have been adopted as new words.

How Does Verlan Work?

The principle behind verlan is inversion. The order of the syllables in a word is switched, thus forming a new word. By the way, verlan is a verlan word itself (verlan=l’envers “the inverse”).

The pronunciation of the syllables is basically the same, save for a few exceptions. Other than that, all you do is invert the syllables.

It’s relatively easy to “verlanize” one-syllable words but not so longer words. The problem is that verlan is not standardized, so some words can have more than one alternate form. There are no strict grammar rules around verlan. It’s mostly used in oral form. For all these reasons, non-native French speakers may find it hard to use.

Verlan Examples

Now that we know a little more about verlan, let’s take a look at some examples. Meuf (femme=meuf), meaning woman or wife, is probably one of the most common verlan words, but there are way many more. Other common verlan words include:

Bizarre=Zarbi (Weird)

Bonjour=Jourbon (Hello)

Bus=Sub (Bus)

Café=Feca (Cafe)

Cool=Looc (Cool)

Fou=Ouf (Crazy)

Français=Céfran (French)

Mec=Keum (man, guy)

Merci=Cimer (Thank you)

Moi=Oim (Me)

Piscine=Cinepi (Swimming pool)

Truc=Keutru (Stuff)

Can All Words Become Verlan Then?

In theory, you could “verlanize” any French word, right? You may feel tempted to do this, but it doesn’t work that way. Even though there are loose rules for verlan, the French don’t invert every single word they speak. As a matter of fact, they rarely invent new verlan words. They only use the ones that already exist.

Verlan continues to evolve, so at some point, somebody must invent the new words. Who does that? We don’t know, but it’s certainly not us. In the meantime, stick to the words that the French already use.

Why Is the Spelling Different?

You may have noticed that the spelling of some words changes when we invert the syllables. Most experts agree that pronunciation is more important than spelling when it comes to verlan. So, it sometimes becomes necessary to alter the spelling to keep the pronunciation of the original syllables. This is especially true when a word ends in an e muet or a pronounced consonant.

Take femme as an example. If we just inverted the syllables, it should be mmefe. How do you pronounce that, though? It’s easier if we drop the final e and add a u. Thus, femme becomes meuf. The pronunciation of the original syllables is similar. The only difference is their order.

The same thing happens with l’envers. It should be verslen, right? Again, difficult to pronounce. It’s easier if we drop the s. Thus, we should have verlen, but for some reason, the French replaced the e with an a. Remember that en and an are pronounced the same way in French. Thus, l’envers becomes verlan.

Does Everyone Speak Verlan in France?

Although verlan is very common in France, not everyone there uses it. It’s mostly used among those below 30. Yes, it’s not exclusive to them. I have a few friends over 30 who still use it, although sparingly. However, it’s not as common outside of teenagers and twenty-somethings.

Having said that, it’s not always appropriate to use verlan. It’s not something you would use in a formal setting, even if you’re young. Remember what we said earlier about it being used among criminals? Verlan came out of the people’s necessity to communicate among themselves in such a way that those in authority wouldn’t understand. It’s their way of setting themselves apart from the rest. It’s their identity.

Verlan was mostly used among young people in big cities and banlieues (the suburbs), but it’s gaining popularity among members of the upper class, too.

Should I Learn Verlan Then?

Most definitely. It’s a part of French culture, and as such, we can’t ignore it. Remember languages are much more than vocabulary and grammar. They have to do with the local culture. They go hand in hand.

Don’t obsess over it, though. Some young people don’t use it, and some French people never used it in their lives. However, it’s important to at least try to understand it.

Even if you’re not in your teens or twenties anymore, it doesn’t hurt to learn. You will be able to communicate with more people in different settings. You can even try to impress your French friends! But be careful where you use it or you might come across as silly or disrespectful.

Oh, and there is another good reason you should learn it. Outside of the general population, verlan is also used in music (particularly hip hop and rap) and movies, so it’s important to learn it if you don’t want to feel left out.

Conclusion

Now you know what verlan is about. Summarizing:

1. It’s French slang.
2. It works by inverting the syllables in a word.
3. Pronunciation is more important than spelling.
4. Not all French words can be “verlanized”.
5. It’s mostly used among those below 30.
6. It’s only used in informal settings.

There you have it. As always, feel free to leave your questions and comments below. I will get back to you as soon as possible. Au revoir, les amis!

Regardless of the French level you’re at, it’s always a good idea to have some French language YouTube channels on hand. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced learner. There is something in store for you. It’s just a matter of searching.

Today I will share with you some of my favorite channels in French. They’re not the typical channels with an academic approach. In fact, some of them are vloggers and people that don’t have anything to do with teaching French. This way, you will never feel bored.

There are channels with varying types of content for all levels. I recommend you take a look at them and see which one(s) works best for you. Don’t limit yourself to just one channel. Are you ready? C’est parti!

Inner French

This is one of my favorite channels to learn French. I highly recommend it for beginners. Hugo, the channel’s creator, does an excellent job at diversifying his topics to keep the content interesting.

Yes, Hugo, will get into some grammar and vocabulary, but it’s not your typical, boring French lesson. In fact, it doesn’t even feel like one. He explains everything in detail, concisely, and with lots of examples.

But it doesn’t stop there. You will get to learn a lot about French culture, too. He explains interesting facts like why the French come across as rude and why there is trouble with Airbnb in Paris. He covers a lot of interesting, current events, which is a great plus.

One of the things I like most is that he speaks slowly and always in French. He doesn’t switch to English as other teachers do.

Easy French

I’ve been following this channel for quite some time, and it has undergone several changes since its creation. I prefer the original creators, but the current ones do a good job nonetheless.

Easy French is a channel focused on street interviews. The premise is simple: a group of young people approaches random people on the street and ask them questions about a specific subject. Everything is in French, but you get to read both French and English subtitles.

It may seem French people speak too fast, and you may miss one or two things (maybe more) while watching the video, but don’t worry. You can replay the video as many times as you want.

Alternatively, they have another channel called Super Easy French. As the name implies, this is aimed at beginners, so don’t hesitate to check it out if you fall under that category.

Street French

This channel was created by Maïa and Charlie, an international couple living in Paris. She is French, and he’s American.

The content of their channel is varied and covers lots of interesting subjects such as tips for learning French, French culture, movie recommendations, music recommendations, book recommendations, reactions to celebrities speaking French, and even a few vlogs.

Besides the YouTube channel, they’re also very active on Instagram. I recommend you follow them there, too, to keep up with any new content.

The only thing I don’t like about this channel is that they speak too much English for my liking. Other than that, I think it’s a great resource for all French learners out there, mostly beginners and those at an intermediate level.

Le Fossoyeur de Films

If you love French movies or movies in general, you have to check out this channel. Le Fossoyeur de Films (translated as The Film Gravedigger) is a channel focused on international movies, both old and new.

What stands out about this channel is the creator’s sense of humor. François is extremely sarcastic and funny and has the best timing for expressing his opinion about a scene and any movie in general.

This channel is not for beginners. You have to be at least at an intermediate/upper-intermediate level. They do have subtitles in case you want to give it a try.

Hervé Cuisine

Hervé Cuisine claims to be the first French cooking channel on YouTube. Be it true or not, it’s a great option if you want to learn French and love cooking.

Hervé cooks a lot of delicious dishes, especially desserts. He has a blog and a podcast where you can follow what he’s up to, too.

He doesn’t speak too fast, but his videos include English subtitles, so don’t worry about not understanding.

Macarons au chocolat, anyone?

Échappées belles

Looking to learn French while learning about travel destinations? Then this is your channel! You will learn about lots of different destinations both in France and abroad. What’s even better, everything is in French!

The videos have superb quality. They’re filmed in a documentary style. Now, let me warn you. They don’t have any subtitles, not even in French. The good thing is, most hosts don’t speak that fast, so someone at an intermediate level should be able to understand something of what’s being said.

Cyprien

Cyprien is one of the most famous French YouTubers there are. No wonder his channel has 14 million subscribers and near 3 billion views.

His videos are more on the comic side. He tells jokes based on his personal experiences. They include random things like the body, love, languages, adulthood, his Romanian ancestry, etc.

His videos are very funny, and you get a good chance to learn real French. Not only will you learn something, but you will have lots of fun.

Cyprien’s videos are not for beginners, but the good thing is, there are subtitles in many languages. So, regardless of your level, I highly recommend you check it out.

Conclusion

Today we went over some French-language YouTube channels you should check out if you want to step up your game in your learning process. As you can see, the options are endless! We learned about some lifestyle, travel, cooking, movie, and comedy channels, but there are way many more for you. If you’re interested in science, there are French channels for that. Music? No problem. Beauty tutorials? There are many of them to choose from. It shouldn’t surprise us since French is one of the most spoken languages worldwide.

What about you? Which channels would you recommend? Feel free to share them in the section below. If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments section, and I will be more than glad to answer. Au revoir, les amis!

Many people have asked me the following question: “How do adjectives work in French?” They’re a little bit different from adjectives in English. Since adjectives are one of the parts of speech, it’s essential to understand and master them.

Where do French adjectives go in a sentence? Are there any exceptions? What should I keep in mind when using French adjectives?

This may seem a little bit complicated, but some rules can help you better understand. Let’s answer the most common questions that French learners have about adjectives such as placement and gender. By the end of this post, you should have a better understanding of French adjectives. C’est parti!

Where Do Adjectives Go in a Sentence?

Let’s answer the most common question we get. Unlike English, French adjectives follow the noun they modify in most cases. In English, the adjective precedes the noun, but in French, it’s the opposite.

Examples:

voiture rouge –> red car

garçon intelligent –> intelligent/smart boy

vêtements chers –> expensive clothes

film ennuyeux –> boring movie

livre intéressant –> interesting book

Placement Exceptions

As with all French things, there are always exceptions to the rule. We mentioned that French adjectives go after the noun they modify most of the time. That means it’s not always the case.

A good rule of thumb to remember is the acronym BAGS:

Beauty: beau (handsome), belle (beautiful)

Age: jeune (young), vieux (old), nouveau (new)

Goodness: bon (good), mauvais (bad), meilleur (better)

Size: petit (small), gros (fat), haut (high)

A few adjectives don’t follow the rule: laid (ugly), affreux (atrocious), âgé (old), and méchant (mean).

In addition to the adjectives under BAGS, the following adjectives also go before the noun they modify: tout (all), autre (other), même (same), faux (false), tel (such).

Ordinal numbers such as premier (first), deuxième (second), troisième (third), etc., also precede nouns.

Before or After the Noun

Adjectives are not always black and white. The placement of some of them depends on the idea you want to express. Look at the following examples:

Jim est mon cher ami. Jim is my dear friend.

J’ai acheté un portable cher. I bought an expensive phone.

Tim est un homme pauvre. Tim is a poor man.

Ma pauvre soeur a beaucoup de travail. My poor sister has a lot of work.

Did you see the difference? In the examples above, we used the adjectives cher and pauvre. Cher can either mean dear or expensive, while pauvre can mean poor as in penniless or poor as in miserable. When you describe something or someone in a figurative or subjective way, you place the adjective before the noun. On the contrary, when your description is literal or objective, you place the adjective after the noun. This principle applies to the following adjectives:

ancien (former, old)

certain (some, sure)

cher (dear, expensive)

dernier (final, previous)

grand (great, tall)

pauvre (miserable, poor)

prochain [next (in a sequence), next/following]

propre (own, clean)

seul (only, alone)

simple (mere, simple)

All of the adjectives listed above can be placed either before or after the adjective depending on the idea/concept you want to express. The translations in parentheses include the two meanings: the first one is the figurative/subjective meaning, while the second one is the literal/objective meaning.

Making Masculine Adjectives Feminine

Do you remember that gender plays a big role in French? Practically everything in French is either masculine or feminine, and adjectives are no exception. How do we make masculine adjectives feminine? There are several rules we have to remember.

In most cases, we simply add -e to a masculine adjective to make it feminine. Examples:

intelligent –> intelligente (smart, intelligent)

vert –> verte (green)

amusant –> amusante (fun)

fort –> forte (strong)

If an adjective ends in -er, we change the ending to -ère. Examples:

fier –> fière (proud)

étranger –> étrangère (foreign)

léger –> légère (light)

If an adjective ends in é, we add e. Examples:

âgé –> âgée (old)

fatigué –> fatiguée (tired)

occupé –> occupée (busy)

When an adjective ends in -eux, we change the ending to -euse. Examples:

ambitieux –> ambitieuse (ambitious)

dangereux –> dangereuse (dangerous)

heureux –> heureuse (happy)

sérieux –> sérieuse (serious)

When an adjective ends in f, we change the ending to -ve. Examples:

actif –> active (active)

naïf –> naïve (naive)

neuf –> neuve (new)

If an adjective ends in a consonant, we double the consonant and add -e. Examples:

canadien –> canadienne (Canadian)*

bon –> bonne (good)

gentil –> gentille (kind)

gros –> grosse (fat)

*Nationalities are not capitalized in French.

The following adjectives are irregular:

Three masculine singular adjectives change their spelling when preceding a noun starting with a vowel sound: beau, nouveau, and vieux. They become bel, nouvel, and vieil, respectively. Therefore, we have un bel homme (a handsome man), un nouvel article (a new article), and un vieil avion (an old plane).

Those adjectives ending in -e are used with both masculine and feminine nouns. Examples:

aimable (kind)

faible (weak)

maigre (thing)

moderne (modern)

pauvre (poor)

sale (dirty)

triste (sad)

Gender and Number Agreement

Adjectives have to agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. In English, adjectives are invariable and don’t change if the noun is masculine/feminine or singular/plural. That is not the case with French. In French, adjectives can be masculine or feminine and singular or plural. Look at the following examples:

le portable bleu –> les portables bleus (the blue cell phone, the blue cell phones)

la petite voiture –> les petites voitures (the small car, the small cars)

la vue incroyable –> les vues incroyables (the incredible view, the incredible views)

l’homme intelligent, la femme intelligente–> les hommes intelligents, les femmes intelligentes (the intelligent man, the intelligent men, the intelligent woman, the intelligent women)

la robe chère –> les robes chères (the expensive dress, the expensive dresses)

Conclusion

As you can see, French adjectives are not that simple. They go after the noun most of the time, but in other cases, they precede them. Don’t forget that some adjectives can either precede or follow a noun depending on the concept you want to express.

Most adjectives have masculine and feminine forms, while a few can be used with both genders indistinctly. Remember adjectives have to agree with nouns in gender and number.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions. Au revoir, les amis!

In our most recent post, we talked about the differences between past tenses, namely, le passé composé vs l’imparfait. Today, we will talk about expressing the future. Fortunately, the French future tenses are not as complicated as their cousins.

Talking about the future is much simpler. We use two structures: le futur simple (simple future) and le futur proche (the near future, also known as idiomatic future).

Let’s describe each one of them and see a few examples. Can they be used interchangeably? Do they express the same idea? Are there any exceptions to them? Let’s answer these questions as in much detail as possible. C’est parti!

Le Futur Simple

Le futur simple is used to talk about actions or events that will take place sometime in the future. it’s the equivalent of the English future tense (will + main verb).

We use this structure to express:

• Intentions
• Predictions or suppositions
• Cause and effect

To form le futur proche, we don’t use any auxiliaries. We simply add one of the following suffixes to the main verb: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, and -ont. Thus, to conjugate penser (to think), we have je penserai, tu penseras, il/elle pensera, nous penserons, vous penserez, and ils/elles penseront.

Let’s look at some examples.

Je nettoierai la maison demain. I will clean the house tomorrow. (future intention)

Tu ne pourras pas terminer la pizza toi-même. You will not be able to finish the pizza by yourself. (prediction)

Si vous n’étudiez pas, vous échouerez à votre examen. If you don’t study, you will fail your exam. (cause-effect)

Le Futur Proche

By contrast, le futur proche is used to talk about actions or events that will happen or are anticipated in the very near future. This structure is formed by using the corresponding conjugation of aller + an infinitive verb. It’s the same as the English going to + verb.

Do you remember the conjugations of aller? Don’t worry. Let’s review them quickly.

je vais

tu vas

il/elle va

nous allons

vous allez

ils/elles vont

Let’s look at some examples.

Je vais finir mes devoirs ce soir. I’m going to finish my homework tonight.

Qu’est-ce que tu vas commander? What are you going to order?

Il va pleuvoir demain. It’s going to rain tomorrow.

What’s the Difference?

You may now be wondering if both structures can be used interchangeably, right? Well, in many cases, the answer is yes. Look at the following examples:

Cet hiver, je vais aller au Mexique = Cet hiver, j’irai au Mexique. This winter I’m going to go/will go to Mexico.

Tu vas téléphoner à ta copine? = Tu téléphoneras à ta copine? Are you going to call/Will you call your girfriend?

Ce soir, on va aller au cinema = Ce soir, on ira au cinema. This evening we’re going to go to the movies.

However, in some cases, we can only use one structure. For example, we only use le futur simple in the following cases:

After quand, lorsque, dès que.

Quand je serai grand, je serai astronaute. When I grow up, I’ll be an astronaut.

With expressions like un jour, dans 5 ans, etc.

Un jour, j’aurai ma propre maison. I will have my own house one day.

When expressing a condition.

S’il ne pleut pas demain, on ira au parc. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, we will go to the park.

The key is immediacy. If something will happen or is expected to happen soon, then you should use le futur proche instead.

Keep in mind that in everyday life, most people use le futur proche. You could use either structure in many cases as we mentioned above, but if you want to sound more French, stick to le futur proche as much as possible.

Present or Future?

In some cases, you can use the simple present tense to talk about the future, just like you would do in English.

Ce soir, on danse! We’re dancing tonight!

Je travaille ce week-end. I’m working this weekend.

Note that we need to specify a time when doing this. If you don’t, then it’s understood you’re talking about the present and not the future. Context is everything!

Negative and Interrogative Sentences

The same rules we saw in a previous post apply here. For negative sentences, we have to use ne + pas (or some other negative word depending on the idea being expressed). Example: Je n‘irai pas à la fête/Je ne vais pas aller à la fête (I won’t go to the party/I’m not going to go to the party).

The order of the words in future questions is the same as questions in other tenses. Examples: Est-ce que tu vas aller à la fête?/Est-ce que tu iras à la fête?/Vas-tu aller à la fête?/Iras-tu à la fête? All of these questions mean Will you go/Are you going to go to the party?

Exercises

Here are a few exercises so you can practice. The verb you have to use is in parentheses.

On ____________ un film ce soir. (regarder)

Un jour j’/je _____________ en France. (habiter)

Je _______________ à 21h. (se coucher)

Si elle va en Espagne, elle ______________ l’espagnol. (apprendre)

Nous n’____________ au parc. (aller)

Dans deux ans j’/je ____________ une voiture. (acheter)

Correct answers:

va regarder

habiterai

vais me coucher

apprendra

allons pas aller/irons pas

acheterai

For more exercises, you can visit the following sites:

https://francais.lingolia.com/en/grammar/tenses/le-futur-simple/exercises

https://francais.lingolia.com/en/grammar/tenses/le-futur-compose/exercises

Conclusion

There you have it. To talk about future actions, we normally use either le futur simple or le futur proche. In many cases, they’re interchangeable, but in others, you have to prefer one over the other depending on the context. Also, keep in mind le futur proche is more commonly used, so I recommend you stick to it when possible.

What do you think? Which structure do you prefer? Let me know in the comments section below. Au revoir, les amis!

When talking about the past in French, we normally use one of two grammatical structures: le passé composé and l’imparfait. French learners tend to confuse them in the beginning. Both tenses are used to talk about the past after all. When do you use each?

That’s why today we will talk about le passé composé vs l’imparfait. There are some guidelines that can help you determine when to use each. In French, it may not be a straightforward process as compared to English. But don’t worry.  We will give you some tips as well as several examples so you know what the difference is. C’est parti!

Le Passé Composé

Let’s start with le passé composé. We use this structure to talk about completed actions at a definite time in the past and past actions at an indefinite time. To form it, we use the verbs avoir or être + the past participle of the main verb. Examples:

J’ai acheté une nouvelle voiture l’année dernière. I bought a new car last year. (definite time)

Il est allé à Paris. He has been to Paris. (indefinite time since we don’t know when that happened)

Nous nous sommes mariés il y a deux mois. We got married two months ago. (definite time)

Elle n’a jamais mangé de sushi. She has never eaten sushi. (indefinite time)

Although this structure is used to express the two concepts mentioned above, it is more commonly used to talk about completed actions at a definite time in the past. In other words, it’s the equivalent of the English simple past tense.

L’Imparfait

We use l’imparfait to talk about repetitive or continuous past actions/states of being. It is the rough equivalent of the past progressive tense in English.

To form this structure, we simply change the ending of the main verb. Such endings are -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, and -aient. These will vary depending on the subject.

Examples:

Tim était un garçon timide à l’école. Tim was a shy boy in school.

Quand j’étais petit, je détestais le brocoli. When I was little, I hated broccoli.

J’allais au gymnase après le travail. I used to go to the gym after work.

Le Passé Composé vs L’Imparfait

How do we tell them apart, though? In a nutshell, the main difference between them is that we use le passé composé with completed actions, while l’imparfait is used with incomplete actions or actions at an indefinite time in the past.

The three main uses of l’imparfait are to talk about:

• Descriptions
• Habits
• Continuous past actions

On the other hand, a key concept with le passé composé is the presence of an action that is precise and completed.

In some cases, it’s easier to know which one to use by discarding your available options. You may not remember all the uses of X structure, but you might remember it’s not used in certain cases. For instance, if what you want to express doesn’t fall under a description, a habit, or a continuous past action, more than likely you will have to use le passé composé.

Using Both Structures Together

The best way to understand something is by looking at several examples. Below is a story that uses both tenses. Note the differences between them and the different concepts being expressed.

Did you notice the difference between the two structures? The more you practice them, the faster you will get used to them.

Indicators

Another thing you can look for is certain words or indicators that will help you determine which structure to use. Some of these words are normally used with le passé composé, while others are used with l’imparfait.

Conclusion

As you can see, using le passé composé and l’imparfait is not that complicated. They may intertwine at times and telling them apart will not be that straightforward. That’s normal. Just keep practicing, and you will master them in no time.

You will have to rely on context in many cases. Never ignore the context when deciding between these two structures as that is key to deciding which one you should choose over the other.

Well, folks, that’s all for today. I hope you enjoyed the lesson. Let me know your comments and questions below, and I will be more than glad to help. Au revoir!