“Regarde cette vidéo!” (Watch this video!) a friend from Quebec told me, holding up her phone. “Tu vas rire!” (You’re going to laugh!) But I didn’t laugh. I didn’t understand a word of what was being said, even though the people on the screen were speaking French. The problem was, they weren’t speaking the French … Read More
When you learn a new French word, it’s tempting to read it before you hear it pronounced. Unfortunately, most French words sound nothing like the way they are written and reading them before hearing their pronunciation is a recipe for disaster because you’ll naturally pronounce French words the way you think they should be pronounced … Read More
Have you ever pronounced a French sentence only to realise that native speakers can’t understand a word you say? Frustrating, right? Luckily, mastering French pronunciation isn’t that complicated. All you need to do is follow these 7 tips! 1.Avoid simplified French pronunciations Lots of textbooks and French courses show you how to pronounce French words … Read More
French pronunciation is tricky and there is nothing more frustrating than to spend time learning French and then hear “désolé, je ne comprends pas” (sorry I don’t understand) as soon as you speak. That’s why I recommend you to work on your pronunciation as soon as you start learning French. A great way to do that is … Read More
Could a language have a sentence meaning both “I want more” and I want less”? Yup, the French language. Confusing, isn’t it? Luckily, you don’t need to learn grammar rules by heart, and you shouldn’t. Your focus should be to get exposure to the language so you automatically learn grammar as you expand your vocabulary. But sometimes, … Read More
There is no way to know whether you should pronounce the final letter of a French word or not. That’s at least what most French textbooks say. Luckily, this isn’t entirely true. It turns out there is a formula that can help you know whether you should pronounce the last letter of a word or … Read More