French words with an h aspiré often come from foreign languages where the initial h was truly pronounced. Foreign languages mean non-Latin languages. They include: 1. Germanic languages Many h aspiré nouns and adjectives entered French from Frankish, Old High German, or Dutch during the early medieval period. Examples: 2. Ancient Greek While most French…
In English, “let’s go” is usually an informal way to suggest beginning an action, especially leaving or starting a journey. It is an exhortation, a call to act together. On the other hand, “let us go” can be a request or demand to be allowed to leave, and it has a more literal or formal…
Some French nouns have both a masculine and a feminine form, but each form means something different. This can confuse learners, so it helps to see clear examples. Here is a list of common nouns that change meaning with gender, in alphabetical order. Critique Le critique means the critic. La critique means the critique or…
The French word “dont” is a relative pronoun. It is used to link two clauses together, just like “who,” “whom,” “which,” or “whose” in English. “Dont” specifically replaces a phrase with “de.” This makes it different from other relative pronouns like “qui,” “que,” “lequel,” or “où.” “Dont” usually means “whose,” “of whom,” “of which,” or…
Adjectives are describing words that modify nouns. French adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Most adjectives are placed after the noun, though some common ones go before. Adjectives have regular and irregular forms, and many can be used in comparisons. Basic adjective agreement A typical masculine adjective adds -e for…
In English, the phrase “on time” can refer to something happening at the expected or scheduled time, without delay. In French, there are two main ways to translate “on time”: à temps and à l’heure. They are not interchangeable. The correct choice depends on the context. À l’heure The phrase à l’heure is used when…
The English words somewhere, elsewhere, anywhere, nowhere and everywhere all refer to places in a vague or general way. In French, each has its own equivalent. Sometimes more than one translation is possible, depending on context. Somewhere The most common French word for somewhere is quelque part. example:Il doit être quelque part ici.He must be…
In French, there are two ways to say “you”: tu and vous. Choosing between them is not just a matter of grammar, but also of culture, etiquette, and social context. The distinction can feel unfamiliar to English speakers, where “you” is used in nearly every situation, but in French, the choice between tu and vous…
In French, there are two types of “h”: the h muet (mute h) and the h aspiré (aspirated h). Both are silent in pronunciation, but they behave differently in grammar. This distinction is important for correct French grammar and pronunciation and must be learned word by word. Words starting with an h aspiré come from…
In French, a common construction is avoir followed by a noun or pronoun, then à, and finally a verb in the infinitive. This structure is used when the verb in the infinitive serves to explain or describe the noun or pronoun that comes after avoir. In this case, the à functions like a relative connector,…