French and English share thousands of words and a partly common history. That similarity is helpful — but it also creates very specific traps that French speakers fall into repeatedly. The good news: these mistakes are predictable, which means they are fixable.
Here are the 10 most common English errors made by French learners, with clear explanations and corrections.
1. False Friends (Faux Amis)
French and English share many words that look similar but mean different things. These are the most dangerous mistakes because they feel right.
- Actuellement does not mean “actually” — it means “currently”. Say “currently” or “at the moment”.
- Éventuellement does not mean “eventually” — it means “possibly”. Say “possibly” or “perhaps”.
- Sensible does not mean “sensible” — it means “sensitive”. Say “reasonable” or “logical” instead.
- Prétendre does not mean “to pretend” — it means “to claim”. Say “to claim” or “to assert”.
Fix: Keep a personal list of false friends you encounter. Review it once a week.
2. Missing Articles (A, An, The)
French uses un/une/le/la/les with clear grammatical rules. English articles follow different logic, and French speakers often drop them entirely or use the wrong one.
❌ “I have meeting at three.” ✅ “I have a meeting at three.”
❌ “Life is short.” ✅ “Life is short.” (correct — no article with general abstract nouns)
❌ “I play the tennis.” ✅ “I play tennis.” (no article with sports)
Fix: Learn the three main rules: use a/an for first mention, the for specific reference, and no article for general concepts and most sports/languages.
3. Confusing “Make” and “Do”
French uses faire for both “make” and “do”. In English they are separate verbs with different collocations.
❌ “I did a mistake.” ✅ “I made a mistake.”
❌ “She made her homework.” ✅ “She did her homework.”
Fix: Learn fixed collocations. Make: a decision, an effort, a suggestion, progress, a mistake. Do: homework, business, your best, research, damage.
4. Wrong Word Order with Adverbs
In French, adverbs often follow the verb directly. In English, frequency adverbs go before the main verb (but after “to be”).
❌ “I go always to work by train.” ✅ “I always go to work by train.”
❌ “She is never late.” ✅ Correct — “is” + adverb is right here.
5. Overusing “Since” for Duration
Depuis translates to both “since” and “for” in English, but the two words work differently.
❌ “I have been working here since three years.” ✅ “I have been working here for three years.”
✅ “I have been working here since 2021.” (since = a point in time)
Fix: Use for with a duration (three years, two months). Use since with a specific point in time (Monday, 2019, last week).
6. Using “Assist” to Mean “Attend”
A classic false friend. Assister à means to attend, but “to assist” in English means to help.
❌ “I assisted the conference.” ✅ “I attended the conference.”
7. Forgetting the Third-Person “S”
French verbs do not always change form in the third person singular. English does, and missing this “s” is one of the most common errors at A2–B1 level.
❌ “She work in Paris.” ✅ “She works in Paris.”
Fix: When proofreading, specifically check every third-person singular verb. Build it as a habit until it becomes automatic.
8. Translating “On” Directly
The French pronoun on (meaning “we”, “people in general” or “someone”) has no direct equivalent in English and causes awkward constructions.
❌ “On can say that…” ✅ “You could say that…” or “It could be argued that…”
❌ “On has to work hard.” ✅ “You have to work hard.” or “One has to work hard.” (formal)
9. Wrong Prepositions with Time Expressions
French uses en for months, years and seasons. English uses different prepositions for each.
- In + month, year, season: in July, in 2023, in summer
- On + day or date: on Monday, on 14 April
- At + specific time: at 3pm, at noon, at night
❌ “I was born in 12 March.” ✅ “I was born on 12 March.”
10. Translating “Il Faut” Too Literally
Il faut is one of the most used French constructions. French learners translate it as “it is necessary” in all contexts, which sounds very formal in everyday English.
❌ “It is necessary to send this email today.” ✅ “You need to send this email today.” or “This email needs to go out today.”
Fix: Use “need to”, “have to” or “must” depending on the degree of obligation. Save “it is necessary” for formal written English.
The Fastest Way to Fix These Mistakes
Awareness is the first step. Now that you know these patterns, you will notice them in your own writing and speech. The next step is practice — specifically, writing in English regularly and getting feedback on exactly these error types.
WritingMentor AI and IA Teacher are both built to catch these kinds of errors and explain the rule behind each correction — making them ideal tools for French speakers working to improve their English accuracy. The AI Toolkit for English Teachers
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