Are you learning French? Here are 15 mistakes 90% of foreigners make — and how to fix them quickly. These frequent mistakes are detrimental to clarity and confidence: identify them to progress quickly.
1) Confuse “good” and “good”. Tip: “good” = adjective (a good book), “good” = adverb (I speak well).
2) Forget the agreements of the past participle. Tip: with the auxiliary be, tune; with have, agree if the COD is before the verb.
3) Neglecting the gender of nouns. Tip: memorize the word with the article (the table, the book).
4) To be mistaken about the prepositions (à, de, en). Tip: learn common verbs+prepositions (think about, dream about).
5) Using fake friends (actually ≠ currently). Tip: Create a personal list of frequent fake friends.
6) Mispronouncing nasal vowels. Tip: listen to native speakers and repeat (on, an, in) in minimal evens.
7) Use “you” instead of “you” in a formal context. Tip: when in doubt, focus on “you”.
8) Omit important links. Tip: Repeat pattern sentences to incorporate common connections.
9) Conjugating irregular verbs wrongly. Tip: revise the 50 most used verbs (to be, to have, to go, to do, etc.).
10) Translate literally from the mother tongue. Tip: think in French, learn idiomatic expressions.
11) Misuse the adverbs of quantity (little, little). Tip: study the rules and concrete examples.
12) Confuse “since”, “during”, “there is”. Tip: “since” = action that continues; “during” = duration; “there is” = past moment.
13) Forget object pronouns (me, te, le, la, les). Tip: practice with drills with holes.
14) Too much hesitation in speaking. Tip: train with exchange partners, podcasts, shadowing.
15) Ignoring language registers (colloquial vs. sustained). Tip: adapt your vocabulary according to the context.
Correcting these 15 mistakes increases your fluency and credibility. To progress, combine active listening, targeted repetitions and regular corrections by a teacher or a linguistic tandem. Practice every day, and turn your mistakes into visible progress.
