To Make – Faire vs Rendre

Faire vs rendreWhen someone is made to feel a certain way, that feeling is always expressed in English with an adjective: happy, ashamed, thirsty, etc. In French, however, some feelings are adjectives while others are nouns - and these two different parts of speech require different verbs. When it comes to feelings, the French equivalent of "to make" may be rendre, faire, or donner, depending on whether the feeling is an adjective or a noun.

   

To Take, To Bring

Amener, emmener, apporter, emporter
The English verbs "bring" and "take" have four French equivalents: amener, emmener, apporter, and emporter. This causes all kinds of confusion, but it really is very simple once you understand the differences.

   

To Teach

French verbs to teach
French has five different verbs that can mean "to teach," depending on the who, the what, and the how of the teaching in question.

   

Tongue Twisters

French tongue twistersThink you've mastered French pronunciation? See how well you can twist your tongue around some virelangues. Repeat these alliterative and/or rhyming and/or confusing phrases as quickly as possible to put your French pronunciation to a test that even native speakers have trouble with.

   

Tout – Adverb

French adverbThe French adverb tout modifies various parts of speech, including adjectives and other adverbs. It can be a little strange, adverbially speaking.

   

Tout – toute – tous – toutes

French grammarTout is one of the most common words in the French language. It has five different forms and a number of possible meanings, which vary depending on which of four different parts of speech it's used as.

Tu Imperative

French imperativeThe majority of imperative conjugations are identical to their present tense conjugations - the only difference is that there's no subject pronoun. The exception is the tu form of some verbs, in some constructions.

   

Tu vs Vous – Subject Pronouns

Tu vs vousThe distinction between tu and vous is one of the most confounding aspects of French, and one of the most basic. The influence it has on verb conjugations, adjectives, and pronouns is considerable, but more than that, the choice of tu or vous is a matter of etiquette.

   

Un vs l’un

Un vs l'un - French grammarDo you know the difference between un and l'un? If you answered, "Huh? Why would you ever put l' in front of un?" then this is the lesson for you.

   

Using Impersonal Expressions

Using French impersonal expressionsImpersonal expressions use an impersonal subject: "it" in English, and il or ce in French. The meaning of the two French pronouns is identical, but ce is a bit informal and therefore more common when speaking, whereas il is more common in writing.

   

Variable Auxiliary Verbs

Variable French auxiliary verbsAbout two dozen intransitive French verbs require être as their auxiliary in the compound tenses and moods. Of these, eight can be used transitively, and when they are, two things happen.

   

Variable Subjunctive

French subjunctiveObviousness, knowledge, certainty, and hope are considered real - at least to the speaker - and therefore do not call for the subjunctive. Using these verbs and expressions in the negative or interrogative, however, indicates doubt: thus the subjunctive is required.