{"id":415,"date":"2022-05-06T12:01:54","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T10:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/?p=415"},"modified":"2024-09-12T14:15:52","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T12:15:52","slug":"common-mistake-made-when-writing-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/common-mistake-made-when-writing-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Common mistake made when writing in French"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Many people make the mistake of thinking that writing in French is difficult. This, however, is not always the case. Not always&#8230; \ud83d\ude12\ud83d\ude06<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a bit of practice and attention to detail, you can write in French properly and without any difficulty. The basic rule to remember when writing in French is <strong>to conjugate the verb correctly to its subject<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, if you want your French writing to be correct, <strong>you need to make sure that the verb is conjugated according to who or what is performing the action<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This can seem tricky at first, but with a bit of practice, you should be well on your way to writing French properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"3 CONSEILS pour REUSSIR un EXAMEN \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9crit en fran\u00e7ais.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yoF6PL8aVNA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-af8c0edc alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-35a8548f\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french-300x250.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-64fd7e53\">\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>PDF Bonus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have prepared a <strong>free PDF<\/strong> to help you <strong>with 3 TIPS for A SUCCESSFUL WRITTEN EXAM in French.<\/strong> <br>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3iVpltr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Download it for free<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end, you will have <strong>exercises <\/strong>to practice with the <strong>correction<\/strong>. \ud83d\udc4d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>To conjugate the verb correctly to its subject<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>For more than 10 years that I have been teaching French to foreigners, I have noticed that students too often forget to grant the verb with the subject!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet, this is the basis for writing a correct sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Find the <strong>verb<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Find the <strong>subject<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Conjugate properly the verb with the subject<\/strong>, in the right tense<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>And in this procedure, you have to pay attention to 3 things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Multiple subjects in the singular = plural verb in French!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example<\/strong>: <em>The <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">salt<\/span> <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and<\/span><\/strong> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">pepper<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">are<\/span> on the table.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2192 What is the subject of the verb \u00ab\u00a0to be\u00a0\u00bb? Salt and pepper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2 subjects in the singular&#8230; But still 2!!! So the <strong>verb is plural<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#60bceb\"><strong>Do you like learning French with videos?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Receive <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">our free video newsletter<\/a> every Friday in your e-mail box. You will get <strong>3 \u00ab\u00a0Tips &amp; Tricks\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong> on <strong>grammar<\/strong>, <strong>vocabulary<\/strong>, <strong>phonetics <\/strong>or <strong>French culture<\/strong>.<br>\ud83d\udc49\ud83d\udc49 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sign up now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter.jpg\" alt=\"Every Friday afternoon, a French-language video delivered straight to your inbox, with three tips and tricks on the French language.\" class=\"wp-image-1882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. The position of the subject in the French sentence!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In general, the subject is <strong>before <\/strong>the verb, but <strong>not always<\/strong>! The subject can be after the verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example<\/strong>: <em>\u00ab\u00a0Allez les Bleus ! Allez les Bleus !\u00a0\u00bb <\/em><em>chantaient<\/em><em> les <\/em><em>supporters<\/em>. (shouted the fans.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2192 What is the subject of the verb \u00ab\u00a0to shout\u00a0\u00bb? The fans !<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And you see that the subject is <strong>after <\/strong>the verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. In a French sentence, the subject may be far from the verb.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example<\/strong>: <em>Les <\/em><em>joueurs<\/em><em>, press\u00e9s d\u2019entrer sur le terrain pour la finale, <\/em><em>\u00e9taient<\/em><em> en train de s&rsquo;\u00e9chauffer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(The players, in a hurry to get on the field for the final, were warming up.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2192 What is the subject of the verb \u00ab\u00a0to be\u00a0\u00bb? The players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is at the very beginning of the sentence. But of course, you must conjugate the verb according to the gender and number of the subject. It doesn&rsquo;t matter where the subject is in the sentence!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to practice these three points to avoid this common mistake made when writing in French?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That&rsquo;s why, in the video you can see at the beginning of this article, I suggest you do a dictation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I know, a dictation is never fun \ud83d\ude02<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in this dictation, you will be able to practice the three points we have just seen and which too often cause difficulties to students when they write in French.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french-300x250.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french-300x250.png 300w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>And to check if you made mistakes in your dictation,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>to remind you of the rules we have just seen<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and to have all the explanations on all the complicated words,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udc49\ud83d\udc49 you can download the free<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3iVpltr\" target=\"_blank\"> PDF Bonus<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Punctuation in French<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before letting you start with the dictation, here is a little reminder of the punctuation in French.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the dictation, when I say : \u00ab\u00a0virgule\u00a0\u00bb (comma), you should not write the word \u00ab\u00a0virgule\u00a0\u00bb&#8230; but the symbol : [ , ] \ud83d\ude06\ud83d\ude06<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reminder of the punctuation words:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>,<\/strong> virgule<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>.<\/strong> point<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>;<\/strong> point-virgule&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>(<\/strong> ouvrir la parenth\u00e8se<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>)<\/strong> fermer la parenth\u00e8se<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>:<\/strong> deux points<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u00ab\u00a0<\/strong> ouvrir les guillemets<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u00ab\u00a0<\/strong> fermer les guillemets<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8230;<\/strong> points de suspension<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>!<\/strong> point d&rsquo;exclamation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>?<\/strong> point d&rsquo;interrogation&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u00ab\u00a0\u00e0 la ligne\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong> \u2192 you start the new sentence below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>So, the next time you are writing in French and you find yourself struggling, remember these common mistakes and avoid them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a little practice and some guidance from this post, your writing skills will improve in no time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bonne chance et \u00e9crivez bien !<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buymeacoffee.com\/learnfrenchfun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1885\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog.png 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Articles that might interest you: <\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"lcp_catlist\" id=\"lcp_instance_0\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/how-do-you-practice-french-writing\/\">How do you practice French writing?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/french-figure-of-speech-periphrase\/\">French figure of speech: Periphrase<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/figure-of-speech-in-french-pleonasm\/\">Figure of speech in French : Pleonasm<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-best-tips-for-passing-your-next-french-writing-exam\/\">The best tips for passing your next French writing exam<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/5-common-french-writing-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them\/\">5 Common French Writing mistakes and how to avoid them<\/a><\/li><li class=\"current\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/common-mistake-made-when-writing-in-french\/\">Common mistake made when writing in French<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/12-top-tips-for-better-french-writing\/\">12 top tips for better French writing<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/learning-french-from-textbooks\/\">Learning French from Textbooks<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you&rsquo;re learning a new language, it&rsquo;s important to make sure that you don&rsquo;t make any common mistakes.<br \/>\nUnfortunately, French students often make the same mistake when they start writing in their new language &#8211; they forget to conjugate the verb correctly to its subject.<br \/>\nSo today, we&rsquo;re going to take a look at the most common mistakes made with verb and its subject, and teach you how to avoid them. Let&rsquo;s get started!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-french-writing"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/angry-french-teacher-because-of-writing-common-mistake.jpg",1200,755,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/angry-french-teacher-because-of-writing-common-mistake-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/angry-french-teacher-because-of-writing-common-mistake-300x189.jpg",300,189,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/angry-french-teacher-because-of-writing-common-mistake-768x483.jpg",768,483,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/angry-french-teacher-because-of-writing-common-mistake-1024x644.jpg",1024,644,true],"hd_qu_size2":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/angry-french-teacher-because-of-writing-common-mistake.jpg",400,252,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/angry-french-teacher-because-of-writing-common-mistake.jpg",1200,755,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/angry-french-teacher-because-of-writing-common-mistake.jpg",1200,755,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Christian","author_link":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/author\/christian\/"},"uagb_comment_info":7,"uagb_excerpt":"When you're learning a new language, it's important to make sure that you don't make any common mistakes. Unfortunately, French students often make the same mistake when they start writing in their new language - they forget to conjugate the verb correctly to its subject. So today, we're going to take a look at the\u2026","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2472,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415\/revisions\/2472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}