Many French expressions ending in que are followed by the subjunctive. These include expressions of condition, purpose, doubt, necessity, emotion, concession and events that have not yet happened. Other expressions ending in que take the indicative instead. The word que itself does not determine the mood. Expressions that take the subjunctive Here is an alphabetised…
Both enfin and finalement can mean “finally” or “at last” in English. French speakers use them daily, often without thinking. But they do not always mean the same thing, and swapping one for the other can change the feel of a sentence. This article breaks down how each word works, where they overlap, and where…
“However” does two different jobs in English. It can introduce a contrast, meaning roughly “but” or “nevertheless.” It can also show degree, meaning “no matter how.” French uses separate words for each job, so picking the right one depends on which sense of “however” is meant. However meaning “nevertheless” This is the more common use,…
French has one clean, closed vowel sound that English speakers usually associate with “ay,” as in the English word “day.” What makes it tricky is that French writes this single sound in several different ways, and in most of these spellings, a final consonant is written but not pronounced. Recognising the pattern makes reading French…
In French, the letters c and g change sound depending on the vowel that follows them. Both letters have a “hard” sound and a “soft” sound, and the choice between the two is decided by whether the next letter is a, o, u, or e, i, y. French spelling also has three tools, a silent…
Many French words end in the letters “-er,” yet this ending is not pronounced the same way every time. In most cases it sounds like “ay,” as in parler – “to speak.” In a smaller group of words, the final r is actually pronounced, giving a sound closer to “air,” as in hier – “yesterday.”…
Nous avons bien fait is a common French phrase used to say that a past action was the right one. It shows up after decisions, choices and actions of all kinds, from small everyday matters to major life choices. This article looks at what the phrase means and how it is used. Meaning Literally, nous…
English speakers learning French often confuse à l’heure and à temps. Both relate to time, but they serve distinct purposes. This article explains their meanings, gives many examples, and lists synonyms. Core meanings À l’heure literally translates as “at the hour.” Figuratively, it means “on time” or “punctual.” It refers to a fixed point on…
Quoi d’autre is a short question used constantly in spoken French, usually to ask for more information after something has already been mentioned. It appears in shops, in offices, in casual chats and in written French too. This article looks at what the phrase means, why it is built the way it is, and how…
Pas grand-chose is one of the most common phrases in everyday French. It turns up in casual conversation, in answers to simple questions, and in complaints about weather, food, work and just about everything else. Despite its frequency, the phrase hides an odd bit of grammar: the word grand stays masculine even though it sits…
