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Constantly sticking to easy vocabulary in French? Always using ‘très’? If it’s getting a bit repetitive. Let’s talk about adverbs.

In this mini-lesson, you’ll discover:

• Adverbs: what are they?

• Let’s look beyond ‘very, very’ in French

• A couple of examples of where our English brai...

Not sure how to handle irregular verbs in the conditional form in French? Let’s get a bit more technical than usual . . . with would/could/should in French.

You’d be forgiven for looking up these words in the dictionary and then still end up lost! They aren’t the easiest words to handle. 

Let m...

So you’ve learnt to use NE/PAS but then it starts floating all over the place once you start using the past tense! 

You’re not alone - you learn the rule that it goes after the verb, so that’s where you place it when you’re learning the present, and even past perfect  (as in “I have or had done”...

So you’re probably getting pretty proficient at recognising how to manage your computer.  Well, at least on the surface of it. 

The screen freezes, the internet is slow, the colourwheel won’t stop turning . . . groan! 

But what if you’re in a French conversation class and something happen...

So you can use the past tense and say “I have eaten” or “I have been” for example. 

Then somehow it all goes haywire and you start saying “I have” instead of “I have” with your fingers crossed that you’re being understood.

Until you are using these tenses regularly, they’re naturally going to t...

Words don’t come easy, to me…

“Words” sung by F.R.Davi, who, in 198,2 sings how it’s not always easy to find the right word in our native language, let alone in French. 

Don’t we just know that!!

Many of my students have asked how they can boost their recall of French words in spontaneous con...

 Have you ever noticed that WELCOME (BIENVENUE) in French changes its spelling? 

In this mini-lesson, you’ll discover how to say the word WELCOME (BIENVENUE) in French: 

• How to pronounce the word BIENVENUE in French
• How Bienvenue changes its spelling and why
• Great examples to help you get a...

Learning a word in isolation can be quite challenging when you want instant recall for it in a real conversation. It happens all the time - you learn a list of new vocabulary you want to use, but it just won’t pop out when you most want it. 

That’s because the way you learnt it is not effective....

Are you really a good listener?

Listening to French and being able to keep understanding as people speak is quite a challenge.  Many of you are telling me that listening practice is something you need.  As a friend recently visited this historical site, it came to my attention that you, too, cou...

 Do you mix up your French have and had?

And does it blow your mind when you realise there are three ways to say HAD in French depending on what kind of verb is following it? 

Well, join the heaving multitudes of people in the same boat.  It’s the past perfect boat! 

(Or the pluperfect . . . e...

Do you say “D’accord” a lot? I mean in situations like this:

“C’est d’accord si je t’appelle maintenant ?” Is it OK to call you now?

This is a common error many of us make. 

Fortunately, we will be understood, but we want more than that - we want to use the right words in the right situa...

To be or NOT to be . . . negatives are a big part of our daily life.  Not negative feelings, but those phrases we need to use in French to say NOT, NEVER, NO MORE, and so on! 

But when it comes to doing the ‘wrap it around the verb’ thing, don’t we just get it all messed up?

It’s ok - eve...