Their webpage is here or see this capture

French conjugation is hard when you have to learn them in one go, there are near 20 different tenses, 3 groups of verbs, and even more subgroups. Today, I'll write a bit (in english) about the basics of the french conjugation in order to help you all understand how it works.

conjugation 101

Verbs in french are oftenly put in their infinitive form (Manger, courir, boire, aller,...) which is composed of a radical with the infinitive termination (mange-[e]r, cour-ir) except the many exceptions of the verbs with an irregular radical (boire, aller,...).
To conjugate a verb, most of the time, you have to choose the verb, the subject and the tense (ex: louer [to rent], tu, imparfait de l'indicatif). Then you take the radical of your verb to which you add the termination of the tense for the subject you picked (ex: the termination for "louer" in the imparfait for "tu" is "-ais" so the conjugation is "tu louais" -> tu + lou[er] + ais)

The groups:

French verbs are divided in 3 groups, each one of them can be separated in various sub-groups. But to put it simply, what are those groups, what is their use and where do they come from?
A conjugation group is a group of verbs that have similar conjugation
The three french groups are simply called Premier groupe (first group), deuxième groupe (second group) and troisème groupe (third group). In this post, I'll use a more obvious name for them "-er" group (1° group), "-ir" group (2° group), and irregular group (3° group)
The "-er" group only have verbs that ends with "-er", but not every verb that ends with "-er" are in the second group.
Same with the "-ir" group, not every "-ir" verbs are in the "-ir" group, but every verb of the "-ir" group ends with "-ir".
For the irregular group, it simply have every other verbs (including être and avoir which are really important to know). There are no thumb rule for this group, so you have to learn the 3rd group verb by heart.
I also mentionned earlier that there are some sub groups in french. Not every french verb of the first group will conjugate exactly like the other, but they are classified in sub-groups, usually refered by one of the most common verb of that sub-group. For example:
Venir is conjugated like devenir and prévenir, so they will usually be put in the same sub-group and in the third group.
Manger is conjugated like ranger, langer, manager,... so they will all be put in the "manger" sub group.
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Historically speaking, there are no "origin" of those groups, as they are just "tools" to learn the conjugation laws. But why do the french verbs are conjugated in 3 ways? Well it's a matter of debate. Latin already had different ways to conjugate certain verbs, so we could say it comes from that, but it could also come from spontaneous evolution.

The tenses:

As I said earlier, there are roughly 20 french tenses, divided in 5 modes: l'indicatif, le subjonctif, l'imperatif, l'infinitif and le participe. Each mode have its own use:
L'indicatif is to indicate that something happened, is happening or will happen.
The subjonctif is there for the wishes, the fears or everything that might or could happen.
The imperatfif is there for orders, advices or indications.
The infinitif is the "base" form of the verb
The participe are either for composed tenses (participe passé) or to create adverbs and adjectives (participe présent)
Each mode have its own amount of tenses for different uses. However, it should be noted that not every tense of every mode is used on a regular basis. the passé simple of the indicative for example is almost never used in day to day french (we rather use imparfait or passé composé).
Why do french have so many tenses? Well for precision. French is a very precise language when it comes to conjugation. If you tell a story that will happen, and that in that future story, you have to mention an action that happened before the story but still in the future, you will use the "futur antérieur" (ex: I'll buy some milk before we'll run out of stock -> j'aurai acheté du lait avant qu'on n'en ait plus). So it's primordial for a french speaker to know how and when to use each tense!
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Since I'll got some free time for the week, I'll try to post a few more posts about french conjugation during the week. I'll try my best to link them together so you won't have trouble finding them.

In my last post, I exposed the very basics of the french conjugation, but today, I'll write about something more specific and problematic: how french conjugation really works?
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In my last post, I already said that french conjugation is simply made like that: subject + verb + termination, so if you want to say "I'll eat", you take "Je" + mange" (radical of "manger") + rai (termination for "Je" in the "futur de l'indicatif" tense) which makes "je mangerai".
I also explained that verbs are divided in 3 groups (1er groupe -> -er group + 2ème groupe -> -ir group + 3° groupe -> irregular group) and each group can be divided in many sub groups (the group of the verbs that are conjugated like "manger", the group of verb that are conjugated like "venir",...)
A comment in my previous post also mentionned the Bescherelle which is a book for french conjugation. You should definitively check it (online version of it) as it will help you find how to conjugate a verb properly.
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So with that in mind, you should be able to conjugate the regular verbs in french with the simple tenses. But, if there are "regular" verbs, there are also irregular verbs. Here is a good list of the irregular verbs for you all. Also, if there are "simple" tenses, there are tenses that are not simple. But dont worry, they are easy if you master the conjugation of "être" and "avoir". Let me explain:
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Composed tense are tenses where the verbal group is like that: "subject + auxiliary + verb (in its participe passé form)". You are probably familiar with that syntax as it is also how the english verbs are conjugated in their composed tenses, and the similarities don't stop there. In french, the auxiliaries are "être" (to be) and "avoir" (to have). The verbs are always in their participe passé form which is made of the radical of the verb and with the termination "é" (-er verbs, not only of the 1rst group), "u" (-ir and -ire verbs) or are irregular (like "être" which becomes "été" or "avoir" which becomes "eu").
In the composed tenses, the auxiliary is the only verb that is conjugated, and in order to master the composed tenses, you will need to master the conjugations of "être" and "avoir" in the following tenses: présent, imparfait, passé simple and futur simple of the indicatif mode; présent and imparfait of the subjonctif mode and présent of the conditionel mode.
There are no thumb rule to know if a verb have "avoir" or "être" as an auxiliary, except for that one "it's almost always "avoir" except for some verbs (that you should know by heart) and even then, it's "avoir" if the verb is followed by a complément d'objet direct".
finaly, the verb in its participe passé form is accorded in gender and in number of the subject if the auxiliary is "être" but not if it's "avoir". For example: "Elles ont mangé du pain" (mangé is still "mangé" even though the subject is feminine and plural) and "Elles étaient parties au restaurant" ("parti" have an "être" auxiliary, so it take the "e" because the subject is feminine and an "s" because the subject is plural)
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And while we're at it, let's talk a bit about when to use the composed tenses, because if you remember from my last post, I said that french aimed for precision when it comes to conjugation, hence the numerous tenses and the importance of knowing when to use them. So here we go:
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Passé composé (auxiliary in its present conjugation) is the most commonly used composed tense in french. It is used as a way to talk about a past action that has ended. ex: j'ai été malade toute la semaine. tu as vu le dernier Avenger? Nous sommes allés ("allé" takes the "s" because the auxiliary is "être" and the subject is plural) en Norvège cet été.
The conditionnel passé (auxiliary in its conditionel présent conjugation) is also oftenly used, so you should know it aswell. It is used to talk about an action that would have happened if a condition was checked (usually a regret or a charge). ex: si j'avais eu un peu plus de jugeotte, je n'aurais pas fait ça. Elle était abrutie ("abruti" takes an "e" because the auxiliary is "être" and the subject is feminine) par le vin hier soir!
The plus que parfait (auxiliary in its imparfait conjugation) is to refer to an action that happen before the narrative time if the narrative tense is already in the past (it's the past of the past). ex: J'étais aux courses et je ne me suis pas rendu compte que j'avais oublié ma liste! Tu avais perdu ton portable.
The futur antérieur (auxiliary in its futur simple conjugation) is as used as the plus que parfait. It is used for an action that happened before the narative time if the narative time is in the future. For example: Tu seras déjà couchée quand je sortirai du travail. (the narrative time is given by "when I'll be out of work").
The futur antérieur can also be used to talk about an action that will happen at a given time (so the time must be given). ex: les travaux seront finis en Janvier.
The subjonctif passé (auxiliary in its subjonctif présent conjugation) is used to talk about an action that might (or might not) have happened. ex: Il faut que tu aies passé ton bac pour aller à l'université.
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And now, we get on the rarely used tenses of french.
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The passé antérieur (auxiliary in its passé simple conjugation) is like the plus que parfait, but only used when you use the "passé simple" tense (which is not commonly used). example: "Quand il eut fini, elle hurla"
The subjonctif plus que parfait (auxiliary in its subjonctif imparfait conjugation) is to talk about an action that might (or might not) have happened in the time of the naration if the time is the past. It is almost only used in litterature. example: Quand je les ai lu, je doutais qu'il eût écris ces lettres.
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And here you have it! One of the most boring part of french conjugation, but a part that you should know. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts or ask for a question :)
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EDIT: L'ironie de faire un post sur la conjugaison sans penser à la vérifier. J'ai corrigé ça grâce aux commentaires de lackaisicalquokka et de Deathletterblues et un peu de relecture.

to preface: in the assignment i have to include these 5 verbs: avoir, être, parler, faire, devoir - and the verbs have to be conjugated in le présent, le passé composé, le futule futur proche (not individually but all conjugations have to be incorporated) I am not sure if i have done that, so if you could help with where i missing verbs could be inserted it would be a BIG help!
here is the english text:
hello social-comitee!
I have a suggestion for a school event, which is probably a little out of the ordinary: my idea is a school dance, but where cellphones aren't allowed. Because our phones occupy a huge part of our lives, i thought that it would be interesting to remove them. It's a little ironic because it's called social media anyway. Well, i was inspired by an article about a woman that had travelled in south america for 5 months, and without connection to the internet. Her experience was positive! After the journey, her opinion on social media had changed, for her it was superficial. so, i think it's a good idea with a party without connection.
I watched a short film yesterday, which also had the theme of social media; our priorities have become twisted and one forgets what is really important: to live in the now.
The party would be approx. like a normal school dance - a dj, a bar and a dancefloor. You show your ticket and leave your phone at the entrance. But, of course the success of the party depends on the willingness of the students, and it's probably going to be irritating and weird, and it's certainly not for everyone - but if there is a teacher with a phone for emergencies, i think it will be fine. All in all, i think it's an idea worth trying, for getting out of our comfort zones!
and here is my french translation:
Bonjour comité de communauté!
J'ai une proposition pour une arrangement d'école, qu'il probablement est quelque chose qui sort de l’ordinaire: Ma idée est que faire la fête d'école, mais où des cellulaires n'est sont permettent. En raison de notre cellulaires occupent une grande place dans notre vie, je pense que se serait intéressant qu'on enlève. Bref, c'est un peu ironique parce qu'il s'appelle les réseaux sociaux.
Donc, j'ai été inspiré d'un article qui a parlé d'une femme qui était voyagé dans l'Amérique du sud dans cinq mois - et sans connexion de l'internet. Son événement était positive! Après le voyage, sa opinion sur les réseaux sociaux à changé, pour elle, c'était superficiel. Alors, je trouve c'est une bonne idée avec une fête sans connexion!
J'ai vu un film de court métrage hier, qui aussi à le thème de les réseaux sociaux; Votre priorités avez été défiguré, et on à oublié qu'est ce que est vraiment important - vivre dans le présent.
La fête se faire assez bon un fête normale dans une école - un DJ, un bar et une piste. On remettre son billet et son cellulaire dans l'entrée. Donc, bien sur - la success de la fête, cela dépend de la volonté des élèves, et il sera probablement irritant et étrange, et bien sûr n'est pas pour tout - mais s'il y a un professeur avec un cellulaire au besoin, je trouve qu'il serait bien. Bref, je pense que c'est un idée qui doit essayer, pour sortir de notre zone de confort!

Passer is a special verb because in the past it can either be conjugated with être ou avoir. From what I understand knowing which one to use depends on the context, and an extra bit of goodluck.
My french teacher told us that it should be "le film a passé", which started a conversation in class, because she said when it comes to anything related to "diffusion", you should use avoir. For example, a common expression in french that most of us know, is when you tell, say your brother, that his missed his show, you'd say "Ton émission a passé!", which seems correct because I knew it to be like that in my entire life. So, what do you think? With avoir ou être?

I’m a sophomore and I’m taking French 2 at school.
We learned how to conjugate lots of verbs (être, avoir, aller, suivre, -er verbs, etc.) in French 1 and recently started learning about the passé compose.
To say I was, you were, he was, she was, etc, would you use the passé compose? If so, what is the auxiliary verb and the form of être to use, and if not, why can’t you?
Also, to say I had, you have, he has, she has, etc, can you use the passé compose for that? I did some looking online and found that you can use the subject, present conjugation of avoir, and then eu, like:
J’ai eu Tu as eu Il/elle/on a eu Nous avons eu Vous avez eu Ils/elles ont eu
Can someone please confirm if this is correct to say I had, you had, etc.

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French regular -RE verbs are a small group of French verbs which share a conjugation pattern. Here are the most common regular -RE verbs:
attendre to wait (for)
défendre to defend
descendre to descend
entendre to to hear
étendre to stretch
fondre to melt
pendre to hang, suspend
perdre to lose
prétendre to claim
rendre to give back, return
répandre to spread, scatter
répondre to answer
vendre to sell
Irregular verbs are so named because they do not follow any of the regular conjugation patterns. But that doesn't mean that every irregular French verb is unique; many of them share a conjugation pattern with at least one other verb. By learning how to conjugate one verb in a group and memorizing the list of similar verbs, you'll be able to conjugate all the verbs in that group.
French has five irregular -RE verb patterns - see examples at the bottom of the page:
1.The first group includes prendre and all of its derivations (comprendre, etc). These verbsdrop the din all three plural forms and alsodouble the nin the third person plural.
2.The second group includes battre and all of its derivations (débattre, etc). These verbsdrop the stem's final tin the singular forms.
3.The third group includes mettre and all of its derivations (promettre, etc). These verbs are conjugated just like battre verbs in the present tense, but I consider them a separate group because they are conjugated differently in the passé simple, imperfect subjunctive, and past participle.
(As you can see in the table below, the first three groups take the same present tense verb endings.)
4.The fourth group of irregular -RE verbs includes rompre and its derivations (corrompre, etc). These verbs are conjugated exactly like regular -RE verbs with the single exception of the third person singular present tense, which adds atafter the stem.
5.The fifth group of irregular -RE verbs includes all verbs that end in -aindre (e.g., craindre), -eindre(like peindre), and -oindre (such as joindre). These verbsdrop the din the root in all forms, andadd a g in front of the nin the plural forms.
The rest of the irregular -RE verbs have unique or unwieldy conjugations, so you have to memorize each one separately. Try working on one verb a day until you've mastered them all: absoudre, boire, clore, conclure, conduire, confire, connaître, coudre, croire, dire, écrire, faire,inscrire, lire, moudre, naître, plaire, rire, suivre, vivre.
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French imperfect conjugations are very easy, as the imperfect of virtually all verbs—regular and irregular—is formed the same way: drop the -ons ending from the present indicative nous form of the verb and adding the imperfect endings.
Être is the only irregular verb in the imperfect, because the present tense nous sommeshas no -ons to drop. So it has the irregular stem ét- and uses the same endings as all other verbs.
As in many other tenses, spelling change verbs, that is, verb which end in -cer and -ger, have minor spelling changes in the imperfect.
Verbs that end in -ier have an imperfect root that ends in i, so end with double i in thenous and vous form of the imperfect. This isn't irregular, but it looks kind of weird.
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There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -ER, -IR, -RE; stem-changing; and irregular. Once you've learned the rules of conjugation for each of the first three kinds of verbs, you should have no problem conjugating regular verbs in each of those categories. The majority of French verbs are regular -ER verbs - see the next page for a list of some common -ER verbs.
The verb form that ends in -ER is called the infinitive (in English, the infinitive is the verb preceded by the word "to"), and -ER is the infinitive ending. The verb with the infinitive ending removed is called the stem or radical. To conjugate -ER verbs, remove the infinitive ending to find the stem and add the endings in the table below.
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French regular -ER verbs, by far the largest group of French verbs, share a conjugation pattern. Here are just a few of the most common regular -ER verbs:
aimer to like, to love
arriver to arrive, to happen
chanter to sing
chercher to look for
commencer* to begin
danser to dance
demander to ask for
dépenser to spend (money)
détester to hate
donner to give
écouter to listen to
étudier** to study
fermer to close
goûter to taste
jouer to play
laver to wash
manger* to eat
nager* to swim
parler to talk, to speak
passer to pass, spend (time)
penser to think
porter to wear, to carry
regarder to watch, to look at
rêver to dream
sembler to seem
skier* to ski
travailler to work
trouver to find
visiter to visit (a place)
voler to fly, to steal
There are a lot of French verbs that end in -ER and there are a lot of irregular French verbs, but there is only one irregular -ER verb. However, there are three groups of -ER verbs that have some irregularities.
Aller Aller (to go) is the only truly irregular -er verb in French - its conjugations are unique and, according to some, very odd.
Spelling change verbs Spelling change verbs are verbs that end in -cer or -ger. Their stem formation and verb endings are the same as for regular -er verbs, but there is a slight spelling change for pronunciation purposes in certain conjugations.
Stem-changing verbs Stem-changing verbs are -er verbs that take the regular endings but have two different radicals. There are five categories of French stem-changing verbs: -yer, -eler, -eter, -e_er, and -é_er.
-IER verbs There is nothing actually irregular about the conjugation of -ier verbs - they are conjugated like regular -er verbs, but some of their forms look strange.
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French regular -IR verbs, the second largest group of French verbs, share a conjugation pattern. Here are just a few of the most common regular -IR verbs:
abolir to abolish
agir to act
avertir to warn
bâtir to build
bénir to bless
choisir to choose
établir to establish
étourdir to stun, deafen, make dizzy
finir to finish
grossir to gain weight, get fat
guérir to cure, heal, recover
maigrir to lose weight, get thin
nourrir to feed, nourish
obéir to obey
punir to punish
réfléchir to reflect, think
remplir to to fill
réussir to succeed
rougir to blush, turn red
vieillir to grow old
Irregular verbs are the bane of every French student's existence, but there is some good news. There are some patterns in the irregularities - once you learn the conjugations for one verb in a group, you shouldn't have any trouble with the other verbs in that group.
There are two groups of irregular -IR verbs:
1.The first group of irregular verbs includes dormir, mentir, partir, sentir, servir, sortir, and all of their derivatives (repartir, etc). These verbs drop the last letter of the radical in the singular conjugations - see example in table below.
2.The second group of verbs includes couvrir, cueillir, découvrir, offrir, ouvrir, souffrir, and their derivatives (recouvrir, etc). These verbs are conjugated like regular -ER verbs - see example in table below.
The rest of the irregular -IR verbs don't follow a pattern - you have to memorize the conjugations for each one separately: asseoir, courir, devoir, falloir, mourir, pleuvoir, pouvoir, recevoir, savoir,tenir, valoir, venir, voir, vouloir
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The passé composé is the most common French past tense, often used in conjunction with the imperfect. The passé composé can express any of the following:
I. An action completed in the past
As-tu étudié ce weekend ? Did you study this weekend?
Ils ont déjà mangé. They have already eaten.
II. An action repeated a number of times in the past
Oui, j'ai mangé cinq fois hier. Yes, I did eat five times yesterday.
Nous avons visité Paris plusieurs fois. We've visited Paris several times.
III. A series of actions completed in the past
Quand je suis arrivé, j'ai vu les fleurs. When I arrived, I saw the flowers.
Samedi, il a vu sa mère, a parlé au médicin et a trouvé un chat. Saturday he saw his mother, talked to the doctor, and found a cat.
The passé composé is a compound conjugation, which means it has two parts:

1. present tense of the auxiliary verb (either avoir or être)
   
2. past participle of the main verb
   

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Imperfect
Quand j'avais 15 ans, je voulais être psychiatre. Je m'intéressais à la psychologie parce que je connaissais beaucoup de gens très bizarres. Le week-end, j'allais à la bibliothèque et j'étudiais pendant toute la journée.
When I was 15, I wanted to be a psychiatrist. I was interested in psychology because I knew a lot of really weird people. On the weekends, I used to go to the library and study all day.
Passé composé
Un jour, je suis tombé malade et j'ai découvert les miracles de la médecine. J'ai fait la connaissance d'un médecin et j'ai commencé à étudier avec lui. Quand la faculté de médecine m'a accepté, je n'ai plus pensé à la psychologie.
One day, I got sick and discovered the wonders of medicine. I met a doctor and started studying with him. After the medical school accepted me, I didn't think about psychology any more.
Indicators
The following key words and phrases tend to be used with either the imperfect or the passé composé, so when you see any of them, you know which tense you need:
The imperative, called l'impératif in French, is a verb mood which is used to
· give an order
· express a desire
· make a request
· offer advice
· recommend something
Unlike all other French verb tenses and personal moods, the subject pronoun is not used with the imperative:
Fermez la porte. Close the door.
Mangeons maintenant. Let's eat now.
Ayez la bonté de m'attendre. Please wait for me.
Veuillez m'excuser. Please excuse me.
The above are called "affirmative commands," because they are telling someone to do something. "Negative commands," which tell someonenotto do something, are made by placing ne in front of the verb and the appropriate negative adverb after the verb:
Ne parle pas ! Don't speak!
N'oublions pas les livres. Let's not forget the books.
N'ayez jamais peur. Never be afraid.
-ER verbs (regular, stem-changing, spelling change, and irregular) The imperative conjugations for nous and vous are the same as the present indicative, and the tu form of the imperative is the indicative minus the final s (but see item 4 on this page):
parler (tu) parle (nous) parlons (vous) parlez
lever (tu) lève (nous) levons (vous) levez
aller (tu) va (nous) allons (vous) allez
Verbs which are conjugated like -ER verbs (meaning that in the indicative the tu form ends in -es), such as ouvrir and souffrir, follow the same rules as -ER verbs.
ouvrir (tu) ouvre (nous) ouvrons (vous) ouvrez
-IR verbs and -RE verbs The imperative conjugations for all regular and most* irregular -IR and -RE verbs are the same as the present indicative conjugations.
finir (tu) finis (nous) finissons (vous) finissez
attendre (tu) attends (nous) attendons (vous) attendez
faire (tu) fais (nous) faisons (vous) faites
*Except for verbs conjugated like -ER verbs and the following four irregular imperative verbs:
avoir (tu) aie (nous) ayons (vous) ayez
être (tu) sois (nous) soyons (vous) soyez
savoir (tu) sache (nous) sachons (vous) sachez
vouloir (tu) veuille (nous) n/a (vous) veuillez
The order of words in a French sentence can be very confusing due to affirmative and negative imperative constructions and object and adverbial pronouns. This lesson will teach you exactly how to order your sentences when using the imperative. Remember that there are two kinds of imperatives, affirmative and negative, and the word order is different for each of them.
Negative imperatives are easier, because their word order is the same as that of all other simple verb conjugations: any object, reflexive, and/or adverbial pronouns precede the verb and the negative structure surrounds the pronoun(s) + verb:
Finis ! - Finish! Ne finis pas ! - Don't finish! Ne le finis pas ! - Don't finish it!
Lisez ! - Read! Ne lisez pas ! - Don't read! Ne le lisez pas ! - Don't read it! Ne me le lisez pas ! - Don't read it to me!
Affirmative commands are more complicated, for several reasons.
1.The word order is for affirmative commands is different from that of all other verb tenses/moods: any pronouns follow the verb and are connected to it and to each other with hyphens.
Finis-le ! - Finish it! Allons-y ! - Let's go! Mangez-les ! - Eat them! Donne-lui-en ! - Give him some!
2.The order of the pronouns in affirmative commands is slightly different from all other verb tenses/moods (see table at the bottom of the page):
Envoie-le-nous ! - Send it to us! Expliquons-la-leur ! - Let's explain it to them! Donnez-nous-en ! - Give us some! Donne-le-moi ! - Give it to me!
3.The pronouns me and te change to the stressed pronouns moi and toi...
Lève-toi ! - Get up! Parlez-moi ! - Talk to me! Dis-moi ! - Tell me!
...unless they are followed by y or en, in which case they contract to m' and t'
Va-t'en ! - Go away!
Faites-m'y penser. - Remind me about it.
4.When a tu command is followed by the pronouns y or en, the final s is not dropped from the verb conjugation:
Vas-y ! - Go away! Parles-en. - Talk about it.
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I'm a bit confused on how verbs and the conjugations work in French. Like the whole er, ir, re, etre, avoir, aller, past tense and stuff like that. I makes absolutely no sense and after like 8 years of taking French class I’m school I still don’t get it.

Je pense qu'il y a des différences subtiles.
Merci d'avance.

J'ai répondu ça à des anglos sur Canada alors j'me dis ça pourrait intéresser certain de comprendre le processus linguistique, ou faire taire un quelqu'un qui pense que c'est par manque d'éducation qu'on a cet accent, ou pour avoir un copié-collé vraiment démesuré à portée de main (J'ai pas la patience de traduire désolé) :
Tldr; Tokébakicitte means 'MURICA for Québec.
It parodies a stereotyped rural ignorant asshole who says "This is Québec so this is how it works" every time he faces some change or evolution. It's also very much an older generation problem, so quite similar to the irony of "ok boomer".
Also, skipping the pronoun when not neeeded, in casual oral speech, is quite common in French. We do it more in Québec but it's not unique to here. it's just something Latin languages allow because vern conjugation makes pronouns redundant. Like it's Spanish, you're supposed to do it. For us it almost only works when the sentence begins with it. it's doable in English too, when the context allows it. "am good, you?" is just as clear as "I am good, what about you?".
As for how we came up with that sentence, you have to understand that the opposite happened with French in Québec than with English in North America. France decided to reform and simplify a lot of pronunciation, and some spelling, that didn't sound nice or proper. But French isn't a phonetically written language, its grammar is etymological and rule based off Latin. So although it simplified it, it created some inconsistencies. We didn't follow with all these changes because we disagreed with them, and they came from a very arrogant Parisian upper class that we don't relate too. And no one thinks the British are wrong for not following the American language simplifications. It's the same thing.
Our accent and spelling seen as slang or. wrong even by our own people, is actually just the same French that was used in Europe before those rather recent reforms. For example, we have 2 different A's, (a and à, or tache vs tâche are pronounced differently here but not in France. They removed the "open a"). We still have some diphthongs, and we still soften T and D before before I and U, like most languages do actually. But they removed it. It makes pronunciation much harder, it feels less smooth an natural. Obviously we can totally speak with their accent, we choose not to. (For example, poutine is pronounced with an S between T and I. ti/tu are tsi/tsu, and di/du are dzi/dzu)
So you have
"On est au Québec ici"
On is removed, pronoun not needed in casual oral speech.
"Est au Québec ici"
Then, the rural boomer accent turns final "eh" sounds into "ah". This was actually a rule in old French. It's arguably correct, but no one does that and it sounds backwards af. For French Canadians, think of words like "balais", we still hear "Bala" from older people.
"Est au Québac ici"
Ici, in Québec casual slang, is often pronounced icitte. This is the old French spelling and is incorrect, but is one of the most common and typical old French word we keep around, when we want to sound more casual
So now we have
"Est au Quebac icitte"
To parody the excessive contractions, we go as far as taking the verb to be out with pronouns. The verb to be is actually not needed in most situations in any language. In Russian for example, there is no verb to be at all.
However, in French, you rarely say two vowels in a row. It's awkward because we make almost no gluttal stops. French supposed to flow from one word to the other and be very smooth. This is what our silent consonnants are for at the end of words, to chain with a vowel from the next word.
For example "On" has a silent N, but we say the N in "on est". This is proper and universal in French. When we skip or contract over a word, we generally keep the linking consonnants, as they're there to facilitate pronunciation and smoothness, which we want in casual speech.
So pronunciation wise we had "n'est tau Quebac icitte"
take out est
"tau Quebac icitte"
Now, French works with combinations of letters, because we have way more sounds than characters in the alphabet. English does that too, to a lesser extent (oo, th, au, gh make different sounds in English)
AU is a combination that makes "oh"
QU is a combination that makes K
so we have
"To Kébac icitte"
Remove spaces, which aren't needed in the pronunciation since it's all linkable with vowel and consonnant alternance. Switch the C for a K to avoid ambiguity with "S" sounding C's and to ironically look more retarded and you get :
"Tokébakicitte"
Voilà.

Hey everyone,
C'est moi.. encore!
So, I'm focusing on verbs now and decided to use Becherelle's guide to conjugation. I got my hands on a 1995 version of the book and I was surprised to see the conjugation of "etre aimé" and "se méfier" immediately after "etre" and "avoir" and before the first group of verbs.
I went through the French-English index at the end to see if these verbs were reference anywhere but to no avail - I did notice though that the majority of the verbs in the index were referenced to "aimer" (I'll memorize hell of "aimer" if it's used that often). Anyhoo, unless I missed it, the author seems to have forgotten to mention the significance of these two conjugations and I'm quite confused.
The only reasons I see for putting these two is to show that "etre" can be used as auxiliary and that there is the concept of reflexive verbs in French conjugation (but then, can't "avoir" also be used as auxiliary). Am I missing something else?

I am struggling to understand this, and I was wondering if you could help me please, also with the possessive adjectives please

I've been teaching intermediate French through conversation-based classes for about 5 years now but I'm starting to seriously question an aspect of my work. Even though all my students improve their fluency and overall French language skills, I would say that about 75% of them keep making the same small mistakes over and over again even if I correct them often.
The way I correct is as follows: I either 1) Wait for them to finish their sentence and then mention their mistake and provide explanation if necessary or 2) If it's an important or repetitive mistake, I write it down in the "Corrections" section of their class notes. Like this: https://ibb.co/m0BMskQ
I try not to overcorrect and only focus on some mistakes so that it's not too overwhelming for them.
But I'm realizing more and more that it all seems quite useless as so many of them just can't seem to unlearn some mistake habits. Common mistakes includes saying "de le" instead of "du", saying "beaucoup des" instead of "beaucoup de", using the infinitive form a verb when it should be conjugated and vice-versa, forgetting to use an auxiliary verb with the passé composé, using the verb avoir (to have) when it should be être (to be) etc...
Of course, none of these mistakes makes their sentences unintelligible, but I've always thought that I was doing them a favour by correcting these common mistakes so that they wouldn't keep making them for the rest of their life. But now, I'm questioning if it's even effective and if I should just ignore the small mistakes?
Or maybe, do you know a more effective way to make students truly remember their mistakes and to unlearn them? I'm open to any suggestions.

French beginner here
I know "comment" means how, and vas-tu is inverted from tu vas. But why is vas used? As far as I am aware, vas is a conjugation of "aller", which means to "go" rather than how you are. Wouldn't a better verb be avoir?
Thanks.

hi, i just wanted to point out three mistakes in the french version of the game:

1. one anointment is very bad translated. "gain 300% increased Weapon Damage against enemies above 90% Health" is translated as "augmentation de 300% des dégâts des armes contre les ennemis en hauteur. Santé à 90%." (image) literally, it means "gain 300% increased Weapon Damage against high ennemies. Health at 90%." also, the sentence "Santé à 90%." doesn't make sense here.

i think the confusion here is coming from "above" meaning "au-dessus". here is the good translation: "augmentation de 300% des dégâts des armes contre les ennemis ayant plus de 90% de santé"
2) When you read the "Back Ham" shield description, in french, you can see that "40% chance to Reflect projectiles while shielded" is not translated (image)
3) the Plaguebearer red text is grammatically incorrect : "content que tu es pu venir" (original, with the verbs "être" and "pouvoir") is wrong, it should be "content que tu aies pu venir" (with the verbs "avoir" and "pouvoir") because, in french, "pouvoir" cannot be conjugate with "être", in any tense (image)
for 1) and 2) i know it's in the game since day one but for 3) it might have been "patched" but i hella doubt it...
EDIT: correction of some mistakes (how ironic.....), english is not my mother tongue

If you are a French learner with an A2-B2 level, this post will be very useful to you. I’ve been working as a French tutor for 5 years and I’ve compiled a list of the 10 most common speaking mistakes I hear my students make. These are SO common that I truly believe that if a learner stops making all 10 of them, their French would already improve by like 50%. If you have any questions or if you don't understand some of the mistakes, feel free to comment and I will gladly give a more detailed explanation.
** Also, please note: Almost every single grammar rule in French has exceptions. But the rules listed below work 95%+ of the time.
...........................................................................................
#1: When saying “to the” or “at the”, you cannot say “à le”. The preposition “À” + the masculine article “le” merge and become “au”.
CORRECT: Je veux aller au cinéma
WRONG: Je veux aller à le cinéma.
ALSO WRONG: Je veux aller au le cinéma. (I hear “au le” a lot but that literally means “to the the”)
Same thing for “de” + “le” and “de” + “les”. “De” + “le” merge and become “du”, and “de” + “les” become “des”.
CORRECT: Le nom du chanteur du groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité des pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol.
WRONG: Le nom de le chanteur de le groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité de les pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol.
.........................................................................................
#2: To say “A lot of…” you have to say “Beaucoup de” or “Beaucoup d’” (if the next word starts with a vowel). “Beaucoup” can NEVER be followed by des or du or de la.
CORRECT: Il y a beaucoup de personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup d’amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup de chocolat.
WRONG: Il y a beaucoup des personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup des amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup du chocolat.
.........................................................................................
#3: Sometimes, people don’t know where to place the negation “ne” in the sentence. But it’s actually very simple. “Ne” comes right after the subject or the subject pronoun.
CORRECT: Je ne suis pas fatigué / Je n’ai pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants ne veulent pas aller à l’école.
WRONG: Je suis ne pas fatigué / J’ai ne pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants veulent ne pas aller à l’école.
Another important thing to remember is that when the sentence has another negation word like “rien” or “jamais” or “personne”, these words will replace the “pas”.
CORRECT: Je ne suis jamais allé en France / Il n’y a rien à manger / Personne n’aime faire des devoirs.
WRONG: Je ne suis pas jamais allé en France / Il n’y a pas rien à manger / Personne n’aime pas faire des devoirs.
..........................................................................................
#4: This one is extremely common. Learners often use the conjugated form of the verb when it should be the infinitive or they use the infinitive form when it should be the conjugated form.
When to use the infinitive?: When the verb is used with what I call a “connector verb” (vouloir, aimer, aller, pouvoir, devoir…) or right after prepositions like “à”, “de”, and “pour”.
CORRECT: Je veux manger une pomme / J’aime prendre l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demander quelque chose? / Tu dois faire tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménager au Canada. / Pour apprendre une langue, il faut étudier souvent.
WRONG: Je veux mange une pomme / J’aime prend l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demande quelque chose? / Tu dois fais tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménage au Canada. / Pour apprend une langue, il faut étudie souvent.
Now, when to use the conjugated form of a verb?: When it comes after a subject or a subject pronoun, or after “qui”.
CORRECT: Ça prend beaucoup de temps / Mes parents ont une grande maison / C’est un film qui parle de l’Égypte / Je te vois.
WRONG: Ça prendre beaucoup de temps / Mes parents avoir une grande maison / C’est un film qui parler de l’Égypte / Je te voir
You can understand why it’s wrong by comparing it to English. You wouldn’t say “It to take a lot of time”. You would say “It takes a lot of time”.
...........................................................................................
#5: In French, the verb "connaître" and "savoir" both mean "to know", but they are used differently.
“Connaître” means “to know” with the idea to be personally familiar with, to have experienced it yourself. It is used with books, movies, cities, people...
CORRECT: Je ne connais pas le film Titanic / Connais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu les connais?
WRONG: Je ne sais pas le film Titanic / Sais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu les sais?
"Savoir" has to do with acquired knowledge. It is followed by interrogative expressions (où, pourquoi, qui, avec qui, quand, etc…), or by verbs.
CORRECT: Sais-tu où il habite? / Je ne sais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je sais parler français.
WRONG: Connais-tu où il habite? / Je ne connais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je connais parler français.
....................................................................................
#6: This mistake is fairly easy to fix. Pronouns “je”, “te”, “me”, “le”, “la”, and "se" have to be attached to words that start with a vowel or with an “h”.
CORRECT: J’habite à Montréal / J'apprends le français / Je ne t’entends pas / Il m’a demandé si j’étais célibataire / Je l’ai vu au restaurant. / Il s'est réveillé tôt.
WRONG: Je habite à Montréal / Je apprends le français / Je ne te entends pas / Il me a demandé si je étais célibataire / Je le ai vu au restaurant. / Il se est réveillé tôt.
...........................................................................................
#7: Most French verbs in the past tense (passé composé) use the auxiliary verb “avoir”. But some use the auxiliary verb “être”. Here are the most important ones to remember:
CORRECT: Je suis allé au casino / Il est devenu pilote / Je suis revenu à la maison / Nous sommes retournés dans notre ville natale / Chantal est venue à mon anniversaire / Ils sont arrivés à Montréal ce matin / Je suis resté chez moi toute la journée.
WRONG: J'ai allé au casino / Il a devenu pilote / J’ai revenu à la maison / Nous avons retourné dans notre ville natale / Chantal a venu à mon anniversaire / Ils ont arrivé à Montréal ce matin / J’ai resté chez moi toute la journée.
Also, useful tip: Every single reflexive verbs (se + verb) use the auxiliary “être” in the passé composé. For example: Je me suis réveillé / Nous nous sommes promenés / etc...
................................................................................................
#8: In English, words like “sometimes, never, always, often, already…”, usually come right after the subject or subject pronoun. But in French, it isn’t so. They must come after the verb.
CORRECT: François va souvent au parc / Je ne mange jamais de viande / J’ai déjà fini mon projet / Nous passons toujours du temps ensemble.
WRONG: François souvent va au parc / Je ne jamais mange de viande / Je déjà ai fini mon projet / Nous toujours passons du temps ensemble.
.............................................................................................
#9: In French, “que” and “qui” can both mean “that”, but they are used differently. “Que” is used before subjects or subject pronouns whereas “qui” is used before verbs.
CORRECT: La robe que tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens qui n’aiment pas voyager. / Aimes-tu le plat que j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film qui a gagné un oscar.
WRONG: La robe qui tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens que n’aiment pas voyager / Aimes-tu le plat qui j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film que a gagné un oscar.
.............................................................................................
#10: In English, you can express the present tense by saying for example “I eat” or “I am eating”. But in French, the “I am eating” tense does not exist. We only use 1 present tense. You can NEVER say “I am + infinitive verb” to express the present tense in French.
CORRECT: Je mange une pomme / Marie fait ses devoirs / Je cuisine / Il prend une douche
WRONG: Je suis manger une pomme / Marie est faire ses devoirs / Je suis cuisiner / Il est prendre une douche.
Saying “Je suis manger une pomme” would literally mean “I am to eat an apple”. It does not make sense in French.
However, there is one thing that we sometimes say. It’s “Je suis en train de + infinitive verb”. It means “I am in the process of…”. So, you could actually say “Je suis en train de manger”, which technically means I’m eating / I’m in the process of eating.
...................................................................................................

I understand that in French there can be sentences with the compound tenses, for example: I have done it/ I have given it to him = Je l'ai fait / Je le lui ai donné.(These have the conjugated avoir, and the past participle)
and sentences with 2-verbs, for example: I want to do it = Je veux le faire. (This has a conjugated vouloir, and an infinitive)
But what kind of sentence is : "He could not do it" When translated to French, it will have the conjugated Avoir(a), the past participle (pu) , and an infinitive( Faire). [[[ Il n'a pas pu le faire ]]]
I think I am super-confused rn. Thanks for your help !

Bonjour, j’apprends le français depuis presque deux ans et j’ai voulu vous dire les ressources qui m’a aidé. J’ai des leçons avec une tutrice et cette année j’ai commencé à faire un cours de français à l’école, mais je pense que vous pouvez bien vous améliorer avec ces cahiers et ces sites. Clairement j’utilise Duolingo, il est très bon pour connaître des mots et il est facile à utiliser et gratuit! Deuxièmement j’utilise conjugaison, c’est une application pour la grammaire, elle est gratuit mais si vous voulez avoir tous les verbes et tous les temps elle coûte environ $11 AUD, £5-6 ou $7 USD. Larousse est un dictionnaire français que j’utilise beaucoup, en fait je l’ai utilisé pour m’aider à écrire ce texte. Alors les cahier, quand j’étais moins avancé j’ai utilisé un cahier de grammaire qui s’appelle « oxford easy learning french grammar, » il explique toutes les règles en anglais alors c’est plus facile a comprendre pour les débutants. Maintenant j’ai un cahier qui s’appelle « grammaire progressif du français » par clé international. Ce cahier est pour les gens un peu plus avancé dans leurs études. Il est aussi assez cher. Finalement le site TV5 Monde est génial, il y plus de 2000 exercices pour les niveaux de A1 à B2 et c’est complètement gratuit. Je suis sûre que vous apprendrez vite si vous utilisez ces ressources. Désolé s’il y a des erreurs et j’espère que je vous ai aidé. Je mettrai aussi des chaînes sur YouTube que vous pouvez regarder. Bonne chance avec vos études!
Hello, I have been learning french since almost two years and i wanted to tell you the ressources that have helped me. I have lessons with a tutor and this year i started doing a french course at school but i think that you can improve well with these textbooks and these sites. Obviously i use duolingo, it is very good for learning words and its easy to use and free. Secondly i use conjugaison, it is an application for grammar, it is free but you can have all of the verbs and all of the tenses for $11AUS, £5-6 or $7USD. Larousse is a french dictionary app that i use a lot, in fact i used it to help me write this text. So the notebooks, when i was less advanced i used a grammar textbook called “oxford easy learning french grammar” it explains all the rules in English so it is easy to understand for beginners. Now i have a textbook called “grammaire progressif du français” by clé international. This textbook is for people who are a bit more advanced in their studies. It is also quite expensive. Finally the website TV5 Monde is awesome, there are over 2000 exercises for all the levels from A1 to B2 and its completely free. I am sure that you will learn quickly if you use these ressources. I hope i have helped you. I will also put some YouTube channels that you can look at. Good luck with your studies!
duolingo
conjugaison
Larousse
oxford easy learning french grammar
grammaire progressif du français clé internationale
TV5 Monde
YouTube channel- easy french
YouTube channel -damonandjo
YouTube channel- inner french
J’ai décidé de vous montrer des chanteurs et chanteuses que j’écoute souvent, ce n’est pas tres bien pour apprendre le français mais les chansons sont bonnes et vous pourriez apprendre quelques choses. I decided to show you some singers i listen to a lot, its not very good for learning french but the songs are good and you could learn some things. Angèle Pomme Roméo Elvis Arcadienne Louane
Here is my french playlist too french playlist (Spotify)

Can someone tell me when I'm supposed to use the different kinds of have/has? I'm using Duolingo and it's great but it doesn't really explain grammar and word use very well.
P.S: If someone has some site or something to teach me the word order, that'd be awesome.

If you are a French learner with an A2-B2 level, this post will be very useful to you. I’ve been working as a French tutor for 5 years and I’ve compiled a list of the 10 most common speaking mistakes I hear my students make. These are SO common that I truly believe that if a learner stops making all 10 of them, their French would already improve by like 50%. If you have any questions or if you don't understand some of the mistakes below, feel free to comment and I will gladly give a more detailed explanation.
** Also, please note: Almost every single grammar rule in French has exceptions. But the rules listed below work 95%+ of the time.
...........................................................................................
#1: When saying “to the” or “at the”, you cannot say “à le”. The preposition “À” + the masculine article “le” merge and become “au”.
CORRECT: Je veux aller au cinéma
WRONG: Je veux aller à le cinéma.
ALSO WRONG: Je veux aller au le cinéma. (I hear “au le” a lot but that literally means “to the the”)
Same thing for “de” + “le” and “de” + “les”. “De” + “le” merge and become “du”, and “de” + “les” become “des”.
CORRECT: Le nom du chanteur du groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité des pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol.
WRONG: Le nom de le chanteur de le groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité de les pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol.
.........................................................................................
#2: To say “A lot of…” you have to say “Beaucoup de” or “Beaucoup d’” (if the next word starts with a vowel). “Beaucoup” can NEVER be followed by des or du or de la.
CORRECT: Il y a beaucoup de personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup d’amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup de chocolat.
WRONG: Il y a beaucoup des personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup des amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup du chocolat.
.........................................................................................
#3: Sometimes, people don’t know where to place the negation “ne” in the sentence. But it’s actually very simple. “Ne” always comes right after the subject or the subject pronoun.
CORRECT: Je ne suis pas fatigué / Je n’ai pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants ne veulent pas aller à l’école.
WRONG: Je suis ne pas fatigué / J’ai ne pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants veulent ne pas aller à l’école.
Another important thing to remember is that when the sentence has another negation word like “rien” or “jamais” or “personne”, these words will replace the “pas”.
CORRECT: Je ne suis jamais allé en France / Il n’y a rien à manger / Personne n’aime faire des devoirs.
WRONG: Je ne suis pas jamais allé en France / Il n’y a pas rien à manger / Personne n’aime pas faire des devoirs.
..........................................................................................
#4: This one is extremely common. Learners often use the conjugated form of the verb when it should be the infinitive or they use the infinitive form when it should be the conjugated form.
When to use the infinitive?: When the verb is used with what I call a “connector verb” (vouloir, aimer, aller, pouvoir, devoir…) or right after prepositions like “à”, “de”, and “pour”.
CORRECT: Je veux manger une pomme / J’aime prendre l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demander quelque chose? / Tu dois faire tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménager au Canada. / Pour apprendre une langue, il faut étudier souvent.
WRONG: Je veux mange une pomme / J’aime prend l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demande quelque chose? / Tu dois fais tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménage au Canada. / Pour apprend une langue, il faut étudie souvent.
Now, when to use the conjugated form of a verb?: When it comes after a subject or a subject pronoun, or after “qui”.
CORRECT: Ça prend beaucoup de temps / Mes parents ont une grande maison / C’est un film qui parle de l’Égypte / Je te vois.
WRONG: Ça prendre beaucoup de temps / Mes parents avoir une grande maison / C’est un film qui parler de l’Égypte / Je te voir
You can understand why it’s wrong by comparing it to English. You wouldn’t say “It to take a lot of time”. You would say “It takes a lot of time”.
...........................................................................................
#5: In French, the verb "connaître" and "savoir" both mean "to know", but they are used differently.
“Connaître” means “to know” with the idea to be personally familiar with, to have experienced it yourself. It is used with books, movies, cities, people...
CORRECT: Je ne connais pas le film Titanic / Connais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu connais?
WRONG: Je ne sais pas le film Titanic / Sais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu sais?
"Savoir" has to do with acquired knowledge. It is followed by interrogative expressions (où, pourquoi, qui, avec qui, quand, etc…), or by verbs.
CORRECT: Sais-tu où il habite? / Je ne sais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je sais parler français.
WRONG: Connais-tu où il habite? / Je ne connais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je connais parler français.
....................................................................................
#6: This mistake is fairly easy to fix. Pronouns “je”, “te”, “me”, “le” and “la” have to be attached to words that start with a vowel or with an “h”.
CORRECT: J’habite à Montréal / J'apprends le français / Je ne t’entends pas / Il m’a demandé si j’étais célibataire / Je l’ai vu au restaurant.
WRONG: Je habite à Montréal / Je apprends le français / Je ne te entends pas / Il me a demandé si je étais célibataire / Je le ai vu au restaurant.
...........................................................................................
#7: Most French verbs in the past tense (passé composé) use the auxiliary verb “avoir”. But some use the auxiliary verb “être”. Here are the most important ones to remember:
CORRECT: Je suis allé au casino / Il est devenu pilote / Je suis revenu à la maison / Nous sommes retournés dans notre ville natale / Chantal est venue à mon anniversaire / Ils sont arrivés à Montréal ce matin / Je suis resté chez moi toute la journée.
WRONG: J'ai allé au casino / Il a devenu pilote / J’ai revenu à la maison / Nous avons retourné dans notre ville natale / Chantal a venu à mon anniversaire / Ils ont arrivé à Montréal ce matin / J’ai resté chez moi toute la journée.
................................................................................................
#8: In English, words like “sometimes, never, always, often, already…”, usually come right after the subject or subject pronoun. But in French, it isn’t so. They must come after the verb.
CORRECT: François va souvent au parc / Je ne mange jamais de viande / J’ai déjà fini mon projet / Nous passons toujours du temps ensemble.
WRONG: François souvent va au parc / Je ne jamais mange de viande / Je déjà ai fini mon projet / Nous toujours passons du temps ensemble.
.............................................................................................
#9: In French, “que” and “qui” can both mean “that”, but they are used differently. “Que” is used before subjects or subject pronouns whereas “qui” is used before verbs.
CORRECT: La robe que tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens qui n’aiment pas voyager. / Aimes-tu le plat que j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film qui a gagné un oscar.
WRONG: La robe qui tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens que n’aiment pas voyager / Aimes-tu le plat qui j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film que a gagné un oscar.
.............................................................................................
#10: In English, you can express the present tense by saying for example “I eat” or “I am eating”. But in French, the “I am eating” tense does not exist. We only use 1 present tense. You can NEVER say “I am + infinitive verb” to express the present tense in French.
CORRECT: Je mange une pomme / Marie fait ses devoirs / Je cuisine / Il prend une douche
WRONG: Je suis manger une pomme / Marie est faire ses devoirs / Je suis cuisiner / Il est prendre une douche.
Saying “Je suis manger une pomme” would literally mean “I am to eat an apple”. It does not make sense in French.
However, there is one thing that we sometimes say. It’s “Je suis en train de + infinitive verb”. It means “I am in the process of…”. So, you could actually say “Je suis en train de manger”, which technically means I’m eating / I’m in the process of eating.
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If you are a French learner with an A2-B2 level, this post will be very useful to you. I’ve been working as a French tutor for 5 years and I’ve compiled a list of the 10 most common speaking mistakes I hear my students make. These are SO common that I truly believe that if a learner stops making all 10 of them, their French would already improve by like 50%. If you have any questions or if you don't understand some of the mistakes below, feel free to comment and I will gladly give a more detailed explanation.
** Also, please note: Almost every single grammar rule in French has exceptions. But the rules listed below work 95%+ of the time.
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#1: When saying “to the” or “at the”, you cannot say “à le”. The preposition “À” + the masculine article “le” merge and become “au”.
CORRECT: Je veux aller au cinéma
WRONG: Je veux aller à le cinéma.
ALSO WRONG: Je veux aller au le cinéma. (I hear “au le” a lot but that literally means “to the the”)
Same thing for “de” + “le” and “de” + “les”. “De” + “le” merge and become “du”, and “de” + “les” become “des”.
CORRECT: Le nom du chanteur du groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité des pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol.
WRONG: Le nom de le chanteur de le groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité de les pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol.
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#2: To say “A lot of…” you have to say “Beaucoup de” or “Beaucoup d’” (if the next word starts with a vowel). “Beaucoup” can NEVER be followed by des or du or de la.
CORRECT: Il y a beaucoup de personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup d’amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup de chocolat.
WRONG: Il y a beaucoup des personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup des amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup du chocolat.
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#3: Sometimes, people don’t know where to place the negation “ne” in the sentence. But it’s actually very simple. “Ne” comes right after the subject or the subject pronoun. (There are exceptions, but this rule works 95% of the time)
CORRECT: Je ne suis pas fatigué / Je n’ai pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants ne veulent pas aller à l’école.
WRONG: Je suis ne pas fatigué / J’ai ne pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants veulent ne pas aller à l’école.
Another important thing to remember is that when the sentence has another negation word like “rien” or “jamais” or “personne”, these words will replace the “pas”.
CORRECT: Je ne suis jamais allé en France / Il n’y a rien à manger / Personne n’aime faire des devoirs.
WRONG: Je ne suis pas jamais allé en France / Il n’y a pas rien à manger / Personne n’aime pas faire des devoirs.
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#4: This one is extremely common. Learners often use the conjugated form of the verb when it should be the infinitive or they use the infinitive form when it should be the conjugated form.
When to use the infinitive?: When the verb is used with what I call a “connector verb” (vouloir, aimer, aller, pouvoir, devoir…) or right after prepositions like “à”, “de”, and “pour”.
CORRECT: Je veux manger une pomme / J’aime prendre l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demander quelque chose? / Tu dois faire tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménager au Canada. / Pour apprendre une langue, il faut étudier souvent.
WRONG: Je veux mange une pomme / J’aime prend l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demande quelque chose? / Tu dois fais tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménage au Canada. / Pour apprend une langue, il faut étudie souvent.
Now, when to use the conjugated form of a verb?: When it comes after a subject or a subject pronoun, or after “qui”.
CORRECT: Ça prend beaucoup de temps / Mes parents ont une grande maison / C’est un film qui parle de l’Égypte / Je te vois.
WRONG: Ça prendre beaucoup de temps / Mes parents avoir une grande maison / C’est un film qui parler de l’Égypte / Je te voir
You can understand why it’s wrong by comparing it to English. You wouldn’t say “It to take a lot of time”. You would say “It takes a lot of time”.
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#5: In French, the verb "connaître" and "savoir" both mean "to know", but they are used differently.
“Connaître” means “to know” with the idea to be personally familiar with, to have experienced it yourself. It is used with books, movies, cities, people...
CORRECT: Je ne connais pas le film Titanic / Connais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu connais?
WRONG: Je ne sais pas le film Titanic / Sais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu sais?
"Savoir" has to do with acquired knowledge. It is followed by interrogative expressions (où, pourquoi, qui, avec qui, quand, etc…), or by verbs.
CORRECT: Sais-tu où il habite? / Je ne sais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je sais parler français.
WRONG: Connais-tu où il habite? / Je ne connais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je connais parler français.
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#6: This mistake is fairly easy to fix. Pronouns “je”, “te”, “me”, “le”, “la”, and "se" have to be attached to words that start with a vowel or with an “h”.
CORRECT: J’habite à Montréal / J'apprends le français / Je ne t’entends pas / Il m’a demandé si j’étais célibataire / Je l’ai vu au restaurant. / Il s'est réveillé tôt.
WRONG: Je habite à Montréal / Je apprends le français / Je ne te entends pas / Il me a demandé si je étais célibataire / Je le ai vu au restaurant. / Il se est réveillé tôt.
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#7: Most French verbs in the past tense (passé composé) use the auxiliary verb “avoir”. But some use the auxiliary verb “être”. Here are the most important ones to remember:
CORRECT: Je suis allé au casino / Il est devenu pilote / Je suis revenu à la maison / Nous sommes retournés dans notre ville natale / Chantal est venue à mon anniversaire / Ils sont arrivés à Montréal ce matin / Je suis resté chez moi toute la journée.
WRONG: J'ai allé au casino / Il a devenu pilote / J’ai revenu à la maison / Nous avons retourné dans notre ville natale / Chantal a venu à mon anniversaire / Ils ont arrivé à Montréal ce matin / J’ai resté chez moi toute la journée.
Also, useful tip: Every single reflexive verbs (se + verb) use the auxiliary “être” in the passé composé. For example: Je me suis réveillé / Nous nous sommes promenés / etc...
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#8: In English, words like “sometimes, never, always, often, already…”, usually come right after the subject or subject pronoun. But in French, it isn’t so. They must come after the verb.
CORRECT: François va souvent au parc / Je ne mange jamais de viande / J’ai déjà fini mon projet / Nous passons toujours du temps ensemble.
WRONG: François souvent va au parc / Je ne jamais mange de viande / Je déjà ai fini mon projet / Nous toujours passons du temps ensemble.
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#9: In French, “que” and “qui” can both mean “that”, but they are used differently. “Que” is used before subjects or subject pronouns whereas “qui” is used before verbs.
CORRECT: La robe que tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens qui n’aiment pas voyager. / Aimes-tu le plat que j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film qui a gagné un oscar.
WRONG: La robe qui tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens que n’aiment pas voyager / Aimes-tu le plat qui j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film que a gagné un oscar.
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#10: In English, you can express the present tense by saying for example “I eat” or “I am eating”. But in French, the “I am eating” tense does not exist. We only use 1 present tense. You can NEVER say “I am + infinitive verb” to express the present tense in French.
CORRECT: Je mange une pomme / Marie fait ses devoirs / Je cuisine / Il prend une douche
WRONG: Je suis manger une pomme / Marie est faire ses devoirs / Je suis cuisiner / Il est prendre une douche.
Saying “Je suis manger une pomme” would literally mean “I am to eat an apple”. It does not make sense in French.
However, there is one thing that we sometimes say. It’s “Je suis en train de + infinitive verb”. It means “I am in the process of…”. So, you could actually say “Je suis en train de manger”, which technically means I’m eating / I’m in the process of eating.
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