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,…
In French, most verbs in the present tense conjugate with -ez in the vous form, such as vous parlez or vous finissez. However, there is a small group of irregular verbs where the vous form ends in -tes instead. These verbs do not follow regular patterns and must be memorised individually. Here are the main…
The French pronoun en can be translated in many ways depending on the context. It often means “some,” “any,” “some of it,” “some of them,” “of it,” “of them,” “from it,” “from them,” or even “about it” or “about them.” It replaces a phrase introduced by de and is used to avoid repetition. En usually…
In French, the structure en followed by the present participle (le participe présent) is used to express actions happening simultaneously, means of doing something, or cause and effect. The English equivalents are often “while,” “by,” or “in.” The present participle is formed by taking the nous form of the verb in the present tense, removing…
The English word “what” can be translated into French in several ways, depending on the context. The most common translations are quel, quelle, qu’est-ce que, que, ce que, ce qui and quoi. Interrogative expressions with “quel” and “quelle” “Quel” (masculine) and “quelle” (feminine) are used when “what” functions as an adjective modifying a noun. Here,…
The French phrase j’y vais means “I’m going” or “I’m going there.” It contains the subject je (I), the verb vais (am going), and the pronoun y, which replaces a previously mentioned location or destination. Without y, the sentence je vais simply means “I go” or “I am going,” but it does not say where….
The French expression à la fois means “at the same time” or “both.” It is used to describe actions, qualities or states that occur or apply simultaneously. The phrase is versatile and appears often in both spoken and written French. One common use of à la fois is to describe someone or something with multiple…
The French verbs asseoir and s’asseoir both mean “to seat” or “to sit.” The verb asseoir is mostly used in the reflexive form s’asseoir, which means “to sit down.” It is an irregular verb with more than one accepted conjugation pattern. In modern French, the most commonly used form is based on the root assié-…