All languages have their oddities and quirks which learners find difficult to come to terms with, forgetting that their language causes the same puzzlement to its learners. English is remarkably free of such things, being a fairly straightforward language with
Remembering French Words
In our last post we talked about the many words that are the same or similar in French and English. These can be a great bonus when learning French but, of course, there are many more words that are totally
French Word Order
French word order is, with very few exceptions, the same as in English. There are no horrendous rules to learn such as verb positions which cause so much trouble to those learning German. In fact, if you spoke French using
Cognates or words that are the same or similar in French and English
There are literally thousands of words that are the same or similar in French and English. These are called cognates and many of them follow simple rules that will give you a ready-made vocabulary of hundreds of words. Only the
Which Nouns are Masculine or Feminine in French?
As speakers of English, we often have difficulty in deciding which nouns are masculine or feminine in French. The gender of some things is obvious – king, husband, prince, brother, boar etc. are obviously masculine while sister, ex-wife, cow, mother-in-law,
French Pronunciation
In our last post we talked about how a poor accent shouldn’t hold you back from trying to speak French. Your standard of French pronunciation should be commensurate with your ability to speak the language. As we said before, too
“My poor French accent is holding me back!”
Too many people are hesitant to start speaking because they feel they have a poor French accent. Unless you have been brought up to be bi-lingual or have devoted a great deal of time to its study, you will speak