In this article
French and English share a huge amount of vocabulary, so French speakers start with a head start. That head start is also the trap: many mistakes happen because a French structure feels so natural that it slips through in English. Below are the ten most common patterns, each with the French source and the fix.
1. “I am agree”: the verb that is not an adjective
French says je suis d’accord, “I am in agreement”, so the word agree seems to need am. In English, agree is a verb.
- Wrong: I am agree with you.
- Correct: I agree with you.
2. “I have 30 years”: age is a state, not a possession
French uses avoir: j’ai 30 ans. English uses be.
- Wrong: I have 30 years.
- Correct: I am 30 years old.
The same pattern shows up with have hunger, have cold, and have right: English uses be hungry, be cold, be right.
3. “I live here since 2020”: present perfect, not present
French uses the present tense with depuis: j’habite ici depuis 2020. English needs the present perfect with since or for.
- Wrong: I live here since 2020.
- Correct: I have lived here since 2020.
- Correct: I have lived here for six years.
4. Prepositions copied from French
Several English verbs take a different preposition (or none) than the French verb you are translating.
| French pattern | Common error | Correct English |
|---|---|---|
| dépendre de | depend of | depend on |
| marié avec | married with | married to |
| expliquer quelque chose à quelqu’un | explain me the rule | explain the rule to me |
| discuter de | discuss about the plan | discuss the plan |
| penser à | think to | think about |
5. Uncountable nouns made plural
In French, informations, conseils and meubles are all countable. In English, information, advice and furniture are uncountable.
- Wrong: I need some informations and advices.
- Correct: I need some information and advice.
- Correct: I need a piece of advice.
6. Lowercase days, months and languages
French writes lundi, janvier, français in lowercase. English capitalizes days, months, languages and nationalities.
- Wrong: On monday I speak french with my english colleague.
- Correct: On Monday I speak French with my English colleague.
French also puts a space before ?, !, : and ;. In English there is no space: Really? not Really ?.
7. Adjective position and noun stacks
French usually puts the adjective after the noun (une voiture rouge). English puts it before.
- Wrong: a car red
- Correct: a red car
English also stacks nouns where French uses de: la chambre de l’hôtel becomes the hotel room, not the room of the hotel.
8. Make versus do
French has one verb, faire, for both. English splits them.
- Wrong: I did a mistake and made my homework late.
- Correct: I made a mistake and did my homework late.
Rough rule: make is for creating or producing something (a mistake, a decision, a plan); do is for tasks and activities (homework, the dishes, research).
9. False friends
The most common are:
| French word | Looks like | Actually means in English |
|---|---|---|
| actuellement | actually | currently |
| librairie | library | bookshop |
| demander | demand | to ask |
| éventuellement | eventually | possibly |
| assister | assist | to attend |
| sensible | sensible | sensitive |
For 20 pairs with the exact error each one causes, see our page on French–English false friends, or check a draft with the free false friends checker.
10. French-shaped spellings
Many English words are spelled close to their French cousins, but not identically.
| French-shaped spelling | Correct English |
|---|---|
| adress | address |
| apartement | apartment |
| developement | development |
| responsability | responsibility |
| occurence | occurrence |
| comitee | committee |
A spell checker will catch most of these, but it will not catch a real English word used with the wrong meaning, such as actually for currently. That is why a French speaker’s draft can pass a spell check and still sound off.
A quick self-check before you send
- Search for am agree, have … years, since with a present-tense verb, and informations.
- Check that days, months and languages are capitalized.
- Look at every word that looks French: does it mean the same in English?
- Read each long sentence aloud. If you hear French rhythm, split it.
If you think in French first
A reliable trick is to draft the idea in French first, then write the English from that idea instead of translating word by word. Diglot’s weave method is built for this: you draft in the mix of languages you actually think in, then resolve it into clean English. For a checker that is tuned to the mistakes in this list, see our grammar checker for French speakers. If you work with Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking colleagues, the same guide exists for Spanish speakers and Portuguese speakers.
