Reference
Grammar
One page per thing people get wrong, in the language they are learning. Each one answers the question it is named after in the first paragraph, then shows the rule working in ordinary sentences.
Every explanation has an exercise attached. Reading a rule and being able to apply it are different skills, and only one of them shows up when you speak.
Which one to use22
A1Beginner
A2Elementary
- Do vs makeDo covers tasks, jobs and unspecified activity: do the washing up, do your homework, do something.
- In, on or at (place)In is for enclosed spaces: in the box, in Lisbon.
- In, on or at (time)The three narrow from large to small.
- Past simple vs past continuousThe past continuous describes what was already going on; the past simple reports what happened.
- Present simple vs present continuousThe present simple is for things that are generally true: habits, facts, routines.
- Say vs tellTell is followed straight away by the person: tell me, tell her, tell the police.
- Since vs forFor takes a length of time: for three years, for ten minutes.
- Some vs anyThe usual rule is some in positive statements, any in negatives and questions.
- Will vs going toAsk when the decision was made.
B1Intermediate
- Been vs goneBeen means the person went and came back: she’s been to Japan describes an experience.
- Bring vs takeBring moves something towards where the speaker is or will be; take moves it away.
- Can vs could vs be able toCan covers present ability, could covers general past ability, and be able to fills every gap the two modals cannot reach: the future, the perfect, and any position after another modal.
- Few, a few, little, a littleThe article decides the attitude.
- Gerund vs infinitiveThere is no rule that predicts it: the first verb decides.
- Must vs have toMust is obligation you impose on yourself; have to is obligation imposed from outside.
- Other vs anotherAnother is one more from an open set: another coffee, another two days.
- Past simple vs present perfectLook at the time, not the event.
- So vs suchSo goes with an adjective or adverb on its own: it was so cold.
B2Upper intermediate
Reference15
A1Beginner
- Possessive adjectives and pronounsA possessive adjective comes before a noun: my car, their house.
- The past simpleThe past simple reports something finished, usually at a stated time.
- The present continuousThe present continuous is am, is or are plus a verb ending in -ing.
- The present simpleThe present simple describes what is generally true: habits, routines, facts and permanent situations.
A2Elementary
- Comparatives and superlativesSyllable count decides.
- English articlesUse a or an when you mention a countable thing for the first time, or when any one of a kind will do.
- English irregular verbsEnglish has around 180 irregular verbs, but roughly sixty carry almost all ordinary use.
- English prepositionsIn, on and at narrow in the same order for both time and place.
- English pronounsEnglish has five pronoun sets: subject (I, he, they), object (me, him, them), possessive adjectives (my, his, their), possessive pronouns (mine, his, theirs) and reflexives (myself, himself, themselves).
B1Intermediate
- English conditionalsFour patterns, chosen by how likely the situation is.
- English relative clausesA relative clause adds information about a noun.
- Reported speechWhen the reporting verb is in the past, the reported tense moves one step back: present becomes past, past becomes past perfect, will becomes would.
- The passive voiceThe passive is a form of be plus a past participle: the report was written.
- The past perfectThe past perfect is had plus a past participle.
- The present perfectThe present perfect is have or has plus a past participle.
Which one to use5
A2Elementary
- Saber vs conocerSaber is for facts, information and skills: things you could state or do.
- Ser vs estarSer says what something is: identity, origin, profession, material, time.
- Tú vs ustedUsted is the polite form for someone you have just met, someone older, or anyone in a professional role, and it takes third-person verb endings.
B1Intermediate
Which one to use22
A1Beginner
A2Elementary
- Avoir or être in the passé composéAlmost every French verb forms the passé composé with avoir.
- Bon vs bienBon is an adjective and describes a noun, so it changes shape: bon, bonne, bons, bonnes.
- C’est vs il estLook at the word that follows.
- Futur simple vs futur procheThe futur proche is aller plus an infinitive and covers what is about to happen or already decided.
- Qui vs queLook at what comes straight after the word, not at what it means.
- Savoir vs connaîtreSavoir is for facts, information and skills: things you could state or do.
- Très vs beaucoupTrès goes with adjectives and adverbs: très content, très vite.
B1Intermediate
- Amener vs apporter vs emmener vs emporterTwo questions decide it.
- An vs année (and jour, soir, matin)The short form counts, the long form describes.
- Ce qui vs ce queExactly the test you already use for qui and que.
- Dans vs en (time expressions)En measures how long something takes to complete: je l’ai fait en dix minutes.
- Depuis vs pendant vs pourDepuis is for something that started in the past and is still going on, and it takes the present tense.
- Devoir vs falloirDevoir conjugates and names who is obliged: je dois partir.
- Imparfait vs passé composéUse the passé composé for a completed event that moves the story forward, and the imparfait for the situation around it: descriptions, states, and habits.
- Neuf vs nouveauNeuf means newly made, never used, fresh from the factory, and goes after the noun: une voiture neuve.
- Passé composé vs plus-que-parfaitThe passé composé reports an event in the past.
- Penser à vs penser dePenser à means to have something on your mind: j’y pense souvent.
- Quel vs lequelQuel comes before a noun: quel livre ?
- Y vs enY replaces a phrase introduced by à: a place you are going to, or a thing you are thinking about.
B2Upper intermediate
Reference15
A1Beginner
A2Elementary
- Adjective agreement and placementFrench adjectives agree with their noun in gender and number, usually by adding -e, -s or -es.
- French noun gender rulesGender is far more predictable than it is usually taught to be.
- Partitive articles (du, de la, des)The partitive means “some” or “any”, and French requires it where English leaves the noun bare.
- Prepositions with countries and citiesCities take à: à Paris, à Tokyo.
- Reflexive verbs (verbes pronominaux)A reflexive verb carries a pronoun that matches its subject: je me lève, tu te lèves.
- The futur simpleThe futur simple adds -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive: je parlerai, tu finiras.
- The imparfaitThe imparfait describes rather than reports: the weather, someone’s mood, what was already going on, what used to happen.
- The passé composéThe passé composé is the everyday past tense of spoken French.
B1Intermediate
- French relative pronounsFive pronouns, each with one job.
- Object pronouns (COD and COI)Direct objects take me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les.
- The conditionnelThe conditionnel is the futur simple stem with imparfait endings, so it costs almost nothing once you know those two.
- The plus-que-parfaitThe plus-que-parfait is the imparfait of avoir or être plus a past participle: j’avais fini, elle était partie.
B2Upper intermediate
Which one to use3
A2Elementary
B1Intermediate