English for French speakers
French and English share tens of thousands of words, which is exactly the trap. The two are close enough that French speakers read English quickly, then get caught by false friends, silent-letter spelling, and sounds French doesn’t have (the English "th", the "h" you must pronounce). These guides target the specific places French interferes with English, with the natural fix for each.
Animal Idioms in English: The Ones French Speakers Mix Up
You walk into a London pub and hear someone say they are feeling under the weather. You nod, but your brain immediately translates it to…
How French Speakers Mess Up Do/Does Questions
You walk into a shop in London. You want to ask the price. Your brain defaults to French word order. You say 'How much costs it?' The…
I Tink Dat: French Speakers Fix TH Pronunciation
You hear the word 'think' and your tongue instinctively slams into your teeth to make a /t/. You hear 'this' and you push out a /z/ like…
Adjective Order: French Speakers' English Trap
French speakers often place adjectives after nouns in French (e.g., une voiture rouge). In English, adjectives precede nouns (e.g., a red…
English Business Idioms French Speakers Get Wrong
You can run a meeting in English. Your grammar is solid, your vocabulary is wide, and then someone says 'let's touch base next week' and…
Why French Speakers Stress the Wrong English Syllable
Say the word 'information' out loud. If you just said 'inforMAtion', pushing the stress onto the end and giving every syllable a full clear…
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel French Speakers Can't Hear
You are in a meeting, you want to say 'we'll ship it tomorrow', and your English colleague looks confused. Why? Because you said 'we'll…
French Email Phrases That Sound Wrong in English
Your English is good. Your grammar is clean, your vocabulary is wide, and then you sign off an email with 'I remain at your disposal' and…
French Idioms You Translate Too Literally in English
You speak English well enough to make jokes now, and that is exactly where the trap is waiting. French idioms feel so natural inside your…
French Speakers and the Silent H Problem in English
In French, the letter h is mute. You write 'hôtel', 'heure', 'homme', and you say none of those h's. That is fine in French. The problem is…
Since vs For for French Speakers: Depuis Is a Trap
In French you have one tidy little word, depuis, and it does two jobs without complaining. 'Depuis 2020' marks a starting point. 'Depuis…
How Much Costs It? Why French Speakers Forget Do and Does in English Questions
French forms questions by inversion or intonation, with no do/does. That's why French speakers say 'How much costs it?'. Here's the…
8 False Friends That Trip Up French Speakers in English Business Meetings
In English, the agenda isn't your diary. French speakers: 8 faux amis that quietly derail business meetings, with the natural fix for each,…
Make or Do? The Choice French Speakers Get Wrong Because Faire Is One Verb
French faire covers both make and do, so French speakers say 'do a mistake' and 'make my homework'. A collocation map of the high-frequency…
Present Perfect vs Passé Composé for French Speakers
One sentence many French speakers produce is 'I have seen him yesterday.' It feels correct because in French you would say 'Je l'ai vu…
15 False Friends That Make French Professionals Sound Wrong in English Interviews
Actuellement doesn't mean 'actually'. 15 French false friends that quietly sabotage English interviews, with the natural fix for each, from…