To help you with thorough proofreading of your French essays, I have created a proofreading checklist so you can correct most of your mistakes yourself. If you prepare for a French exam (DELF, DALF) or for any written French assignment, I strongly recommend you get into the habit of using the following proofreading checklist so that you are familiar with it when you need it most: on exam day! You can download my free proofreading checklist from my website: https://frenchyourway.com.au/proofreading-checklist-french-essay-writing Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this … Read More →
My 5 core beliefs about language learning
When I used to teach in various traditional French schools and centres, I noticed some problems and inconsistencies which made me increasingly frustrated (that’s actually how I became independent and created French Your way and my two podcasts!). I observed, listened and tried to address these issues so I could make the whole experience of learning French more relevant and meaningful: What wasn’t being done in bigger schools that should be? What did students complain about? So, here are my 5 core beliefs about language learning (not just French!) 1. Confidence is key I met Robbie … Read More →
FYW 070 : Introduction to French Grammar (Part 2): adjectives, adverbs, pronouns
This second episode about French grammar will explain what adjectives, adverbs and pronouns are in order to make learning French easier for you ...and you may find that you’re starting to reflect on how English language works too! Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode Check out my article (and get the free worksheet) LINKS and RESOURCES My article + free worksheet - “Introduction to French grammar: what type of word is this?” Introduction to French Grammar (Part 1): articles, nouns and verbs: frenchyourway.com.au/podcast69 My article - “Challenge: Can I … Read More →
FYW 069 : Introduction to French Grammar (Part 1): articles, nouns and verbs
This episode about French grammar will be divided into 2 parts. It's an audio version of an article I wrote and published on my website (www.frenchyourway.com.au ) which has helped many students cover the basics of French grammar, that is to say: what's an article, a noun, a verb. (some of you haven’t learnt it at school). Believe me, this will help you with your French…and you may find that you’re starting to reflect on how English language works too! If you are a grammar-phobic person, I suggest you start by listening to episode 61 of this podcast, where I explain why it is important to … Read More →
Emmener, amener, emporter, apporter ?
Emmener, amener, emporter, apporter ? Emmener, amener, emporter, apporter are four French verbs which trigger nightmares for some of my students…but also for some French people! In this article, I hope to clarify things enough for you to feel confident about using them properly :-) So, keep reading then test yourself with my free practice exercises! “Porter” vs “-mener” “Porter” means “to carry” (and, when referring to clothes, “to wear”). Example: un porte-clé (= a keyring, literally “a key-carrier/holder”) It’s used with things, because things can’t walk or move themselves and need to … Read More →
Why you can’t say “very delicious” in French – and other examples
What’s wrong with saying “Yum, this is very delicious!” or “Wow, this is very beautiful!” ? Nothing…in English. However, a literal translation of these expressions -along with a few others- doesn’t work in French. Here’s why. "Very delicious": the basic explanation Some words such as “délicieux”, “magnifique” already include the idea of a superlative/of “something very high degree”, therefore using “très” with these words is really redundant and sounds very awkward. The more detailed explanation Here’s what the online dictionary of the CNRTL says about “très” (it’s a bit grammatical, but … Read More →
Meilleur and mieux in French
What's the difference between meilleur and mieux ? In a previous article, I explained the difference between bon and bien in French. You’ll need to understand it in order to make the difference between meilleur and mieux as well. Indeed, meilleur and mieux are no other than irregular comparative forms of bon and bien. Note: comparatives are used to compare things (makes sense!), in terms of: less (= comparative of inferiority) examples: late → later ; expensive → less expensive; quickly → less quickly equal/same/as… (= comparative of equality) examples: late → as late ; expensive → as … Read More →
How to know when to use bon / bien in French?
Stuart, a listener of my French Your Way Podcast, emailed me with a question: “I did have one idea for a future podcast or blog post. The difference between bien and bon(ne). I'm never quite sure. In English we would say 'very good' for a good piece of work, but in French you would say 'très bien' (I think), which would directly translate to 'very well'. Bien seems to pop up quite a lot in other places too. For example “J'aime bien”... As you can see I'm a bit confused.” (It’s really nice when the articles and podcast ideas come from you, so don’t hesitate to contact me if you have a … Read More →
Masculine or Feminine? Telling the Gender of French Nouns
New learners of French are often unsettled or scared when they find out –very early- that every noun had a gender: masculine or feminine. I hear you say: How to know whether a word is masculine or feminine? How the hell am I supposed to tell the gender of French nouns, to guess that the word” telephone” is masculine whereas the word “television” is feminine?? Well, the bad news is that you’ll need to learn/memorise it. And therefore you’ll need to set good learning habits from the start by memorising the gender of French nouns as part as your vocabulary! The good news (because there’s … Read More →
The French cedilla (“cédille”)
I received the following suggestion from Oska: I would enjoy if you could also perhaps do a lesson or two in the future on other French diacritics and ligatures, e.g. the French cedilla, the diaeresis (or tréma), the ligature ‘œ’. As speakers and writers of a language which does not mostly possess such ‘baroque’ written adornments, I think Anglophones (= English speakers) find them quite fascinating. And perhaps a little bit of a barrier, which explication can help overcome. Thanks Oska, these are very interesting questions! I will actually dedicate three articles to them: Part 1 : la … Read More →