Grammar ♥︎ Practice en Français: 3 Sweet Grammar Tricks for Learning French

Get out the macaroons for some sweet sweet grammaire française. Yes, I've got a treat for those of you wanting to take grammar ♥︎ to the next level with a dip into the grammar of a language I've learnt for 20 years: French!

In this post, you're going to learn the essentials of the French language, explained in simple terms that will have you creating your own sentences in minutes. It is a collaboration with Shannon from Eurolinguiste, who is covering how to use the past, present and future tenses in French on Monday.

I have selected 2 topics for beginners and 1 bonus for improvers, meaning that you can study French and crack on with this post at any level.

Beginner Step 1: Using French Nouns

Sentences are made up of different components, but only two of them are absolutely essential:

• the verbs, telling you about an action
• the nouns, telling you who is acting and what they're acting with

French nouns come in two gender variations, feminine and masculine. The gender isn't really visible in a word itself, but it has an impact on the kinds of words you have to use around it.

Firstly, make sure you use the right article with your noun. There are definite articles (like the English the) and indefinite articles (like a or an). You have to choose the right one according to the gender, so here it matters if your noun is feminine or masculine.

Quick Guide to French Articles

New French learners find themselves frustrated when they realize that the gender of a noun is impossible to predict. I agree - it's tricky! There are a few good rules, however, that you can use to spot helpful patterns. For example, words ending in -ment are always masculine, words ending in -tion are always feminine, and according to my French teacher in secretary school "all the bad things are masculine" (divorce being her example!).

What If You Get The Gender Wrong?

There is no big penalty for getting the gender of a French noun wrong as you are learning the language. In fact, it happens all the time! Native speakers will not think that you are bad at speaking French because even after decades it's still difficult to assign every gender correctly.

###Easiest "language hack"?

Just ask: ...c'est féminin où masculin, s'il vous plaît?" (is that feminine or masculine, please?).

Beginner Step 2: Using French Adjectives

Adjectives are descriptive words (for example grand meaning big), and you can just pick those out of the dictionary...and then you've got to change them according to the gender of the noun. So in other words, the adjective will always be looking to its big noun brother.

A bit like that kid who hangs out with the stronger kid in the playground and shouts "yeah right!" every time the big kid does some thing. The agreement also covers if the words are in singular and plural

Here is a Quick Reference List of the Rules

• When the adjective usually ends in a consonant, the feminine version will take an extra -e at the end. For example, grand and grande.
• When the adjective ends in -eux, the feminine version will be -euse. For example, heureux and heureuse.
• When it ends in -ien, the feminine version is -ienne, like in ancien and ancienne.
• When the adjective already ends in an -e, it doesn't change. Bonus! For example, jeune stays the same.

Here are a few helpful words that you can use to describe yourself. The French for "I am" is Je suis. Try it!

Quelle est ta nationalité? - Je suis..

• anglais, -e - English
• allemand, -e - German
• américain, -e - American
• canadien, -ne - Canadian
• autrichien, -ne - Austrian

French Grammar for Improvers: Contracted Articles

Shortly after learning the essentials such as nouns, verbs and adjectives, it's time to get into details. French has so many little details that make it sound prettier!

In fact, I have a French textbook from 1948 at home which was owned by my grandfather during the French occupation of Germany. And this book starts with some ground rules of French. Rule number one: Wohlklang, the principle that everything in French has to sound nice. Hah!

Here's what that has to do with French articles. You already know how to say articles from the table above. But here's something you might not realize. Every time the article connects with the words de (of/from) or à (at/to), the two little words try to connect and form a contracted article.

French Contracted Articles in 7 Minutes

Learn the details of how this works in the following video, featuring Kerstin in the summer!

So as you can see, the French grammar really strongly revolves around this idea of sounding nice...well no, actually it's all about your noun being feminine and masculine and this concept determines how the words around it are arranged. Check out Shannon's partner post to learn about the other essential in a French sentence: the verb!

How to Know if You Should Use à or de with a verb

While grammar has many rules that help us avoid memorizing, the case of "how the verb connects to the next word" has to be learnt with a good verb list or table. Those little connecting words are called prepositions, and they cannot be translated directly. When you look up one of the little ones in the dictionary, you're likely to find about 5 meanings.

So for example, "be interested in" is s'intéresser à but "look forward to" is s'attendre à, giving the French word à two different meanings. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I was lucky to have a teacher who put a lot of stress on learning the verbs with their connectors right from the start, so that I never developed a big gap. The verbs that connect directly to the next verb are called "pure infinitive", and the other groups are "infinitive with de" and "infinitive with à". If you're a self-teaching French learner at an early stage, do yourself a favour and study them too.

My go-to reference for everything about French verbs is the Bescherelle L'Art de Conjuguer. In my version (the German one), the relevant lists are in section 164 of the grammar part. Very handy!

Like This Post? Check Out The Full Course

If you loved this blog post, you will undoubtedly enjoy learning French with me in Easy French Grammar for Beginners.

This course contains all the explanations that I wish I had had when I first started out. It's plain and simple, putting things in straightforward terms that just make sense.

Several learners have already written to me with gratitude because the course finally helped them understand complicated concepts.

I'd love for you to try it out, and you can do so right here.

Inspired by 5 years of Women in Language? Change the world with us this weekend!

Have you ever been told that project you're working on is not going to work? Ever doubted if your idea is not perhaps TOO bold or TOO radical or TOO this and that?

5 years ago, I had those doubts and I could feel them burning up inside of me. At the end of 2017, my friends Lindsay and Shannon started cooking up a new event together with me.

An online conference about languages, with expert speakers who are inspiring and impressive. So far so good.

And we were only going to have female speakers. Maybe we'd sat in the audience for one too many one-token-woman-panels...I don't know.

But I clearly remember that the idea of saying "this one's a stage for women in our field" felt kinda scary. I never want to not-please people, so taking a stand can feel risky.

And you bet that we heard as much from a few doubting voices. Those were quickly drowned out by the other side: LOTS of people, hundreds of people rejoicing and joining in with us to hear from the first batch of speakers.

The next year, we were back. Then the year after. Then through the pandemic. And this year it's time to celebrate: 5 years of Women in Language!! Have you ever been? If not, make sure you read this post as an introduction.

So This Changes the WORLD?!

Yes, yes it does. World-changing doesn't have to transform the entire face of the earth. This one's about showing many people like us that it's worth believing in your ideas and believing in yourself.

You might have an idea like this, like us. You might want to speak at an event or start a podcast. You might want to go into a "prestigious" career or learn 10 languages.

The Women in Language message to you is that there's NO ONE who can tell you not to try. And if you're still doing it 5 years later, well then that's success.

It’s a Language Learning Festival!

This year, we are delighted to bring you 22 expert speakers, a panel on Feminism in Our Language World, and a bunch of live language exchange sessions. So you'll be inspired, educated, AND you'll practice your language too.

The Women in Language conference is a great experience and we’d love to have you join us. The tickets are just $29, and that price includes all conference recordings.

And just in case you’re wondering: YES men can come too! Of course!!

Supporting a Good Cause and Standing With Ukraine 🇺🇦

I am not going to lie and say I'm not feeling bittersweet this year. I'm proud and delighted of our achievements with Women in Language. I'm also deeply affected by the war in Ukraine. 💙💛 It's making me feel heartbroken, scared, and relieved my grandma isn't here to see this.

When you buy your Women in Language ticket, we give 10% to a good cause every year. This year, the funds will go to Women for Women International. They don't currently run programmes in Ukraine but they do help fund-raise for organisations who do.

This week I've donated money to the Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal on behalf of my podcast and company. Thank you for making this possible.

Now if you have the capacity to join our event this weekend, allowing lesser-heard voices to ring out for a few days, then here is the link to buy your ticket. Come and hear these AMAZING speakers who deserve your attention: www.womeninlanguage.com

How to Flirt in German (Plus: A bit of German Romance)

In celebration of Valentine's Day, Fluent is in love today and I want to teach you some fun little expressions to tell your loved one. German is not often considered a romantic language, so you may find it surprising that Germany actually had a whole romantic period in history! As a country of castles, hills and walkers this was a great time for poetry and passionate writing. You can check out more about them in Caspar David Friedrich's paintings and love letters from Goethe, a beloved German writer. You might have heard of Goethe? He wrote Faust and came out with some excellent one liners - a bit like a German Shakespeare.

Your Free Speaking Guide

Matching this topic, I've created the new guide Make Your German Sound Amazing, featuring 26 Key Phrases For Conversations with German Speakers. Pop your details into the form below to join my email list and get the guide immediately!

Set the scene for a German romance and get to know some useful expressions. I'm pretty loved up this year, so for me these three words will never get old.

3 Ways to Say "I Love You" in German

1) Ich liebe dich (I love you)

A classic - with these three words you won't put a foot wrong.

2) Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (my entire heart is yours)

No matter if you are romancing a woman or a man, this wonderful line is guaranteed to stir up happy emotions - My Whole Heart is Yours should be said over the soundtrack of this Youtube clip so that you know you'll definitely score the full romance points.

3) Ich möchte für immer bei dir sein (I want to be with you forever)

"I want to be with you forever." Ahh, that's the start of a great proposal..<3

3 Loving Nicknames to call your partner in German

1) Mein Schatz (My treasure) - it’s what I call my husband!

2) Mein Schneckchen (My little snail!)

3) Meine Herzallerliebste/Mein Herzallerliebster (My heart's favourite - adapt for feminine or masculine)

And if you're currently on the lookout for a new date, there is something I can do to help you. Try these:

The Top 3 German Conversation Starters (for Singles)

1) Ich spreche normalerweise keine Frauen/Männer an, aber.. (I don’t usually chat up women/men, but…)

The greatest way of humbling yourself and bringing in a compliment at the same time is to say "I would never do this, but for YOU it's a different story." Complimenting the person should come next, for example "du siehst so nett aus!" (you look so nice!).

2) Komm, wir brennen zusammen durch! (Let’s run away together!)

For the adventurous among you, this call for your love to run away with you could bring up romantic images of freedom, open road and romance. Perfect for suggesting a wild date...er...in the park.

3) Hi, sag mal, was hältst du denn vom Essen/Design/Kaffee hier? (Say, what do you think about the food/design/coffee here?)

Asking the other person's opinion is guaranteed to get you a response, and also some natural German language practice!

No matter where you are or if you're single or in love, I wish you a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Recommended German Courses

German Uncovered: Learn German the natural way without complex grammar explanations and boring lessons. This course is based on a story, so you’ll be reading and having fun as you progress to level A2 at high speed.

Speak German Like a Native: If you want to sound 💯 or you find spoken German hard to understand, you need this course. This  is my masterclass on every sound of German (and word stress!), suitable for all levels. No other course digs into the sounds of the German language, giving you the confidence to even say Eichhörnchen and Wechselstrom like a native.

5 Steps for Planning a Productive and Successful Language Learning Week

The weekend is a great time to spend an hour looking to the week ahead by mapping out goals and intentions.

Many people plan ahead for business goals, upcoming deadlines, events, meetings at work, fitness or meals. But did you know that making a language learning plan can actually help you learn a language faster?

When you plan, set goals, and know what’s coming up, it’s like winding up a little engine so you can hit “GO” and learn in the most effective, productive way.

To celebrate the brand new weekly language planner in the Language Habit Toolkit, here are some steps to help you get the ball rolling.

Step 1: Set Path Goals for your Language Learning Week

To start your plan, focus on what’s right in front of you and answer the question “What should I do next?”. Look for Path Goals: specific, achievable, relevant actions that will help you learn a language right now.

With Path Goals, smaller is better. It’s better to meet all your “not so difficult” goals than to aim high and miss the target.

For example, in a week my Language Learning Goals might include

• Completing 2 pages in my grammar book
• Watching an episode of a TV show in my new language
• Writing 10 texts or sentences in my target language

Don’t overload the week. Keep it simple and focus on your system. If you want to go deeper with goal setting, use the Language Goals and Vision Goals worksheets from the Language Habit Toolkit.

Step 2: Check Your Schedule

After you have set your initial goals, it’s helpful to look ahead at what’s on your schedule every day. Have you been realistic? Will you be able to fit in all the sessions you are hoping to complete?

Sometimes, you may find that your list of goals and tasks feels like it might give you a heart attack. Remember that it is okay to aim for what you know you can do, and move some goals to the “not this week” zone.

Productivity does not mean having to do everything all at once.

When I’m thinking about running, it can be hard to motivate myself because doing less than 5k feels lazy. But then I remember this line:

Even when you run 10 steps, you are still faster than everyone on the couch.

It is ABSOLUTELY OKAY to aim for the minimum, because everything you do builds on each other. In the next step, you’ll learn how to make progress even when you don’t have a massive goal in mind.

Step 3: Ensure Daily Contact with Your Target Language

In the Language Habit method, it is not critical to count how many minutes or hours you spend with your language learning materials each day. The first aim should be contact with your target language on a daily basis.

The Golden Rules of Daily Language Learning:

• Aim for contact with your target language on a daily basis
• You have to find a convenient way of finding contact - the easier, the better.
• You should prioritise fun and find something you enjoy in your target language

For example, here are a few easy ways that I incorporate Welsh language into my daily routine:

• Following Welsh language accounts on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, so all I need to do is scroll through my feed

• Watching a new TV series or subscribing to a podcast, so I always have a next episode queued up

• Downloading different language learning apps, so I can follow my mood and spend a few minutes doing Duolingo, Clozemaster, Memrise, etc

• Leaving a magazine or book open on my breakfast table or setting the Welsh news website as my browser homepage

None of these activities are designed to take many hours of study, but they all do their part and keep my brain engaged with what Welsh looks and sounds like.

Step 4: Choose a Reward

Try writing down how you will reward yourself at the end of the week.

No matter how many minutes or hours you study, you will be working hard (even procrastination is work, right?). For ideas and thoughts on the psychology of reviewing, check out my recent podcast episode.

Great rewards can be small and low-cost like borrowing a new book from the library, enjoying a drink with friends, or going to a concert. It’s your call whether you want to make these related to your target language. Just make sure it’s something you’ll enjoy, and that you know you earned it with a great week of study.

Step 5: Raise the Bar with Bigger Language Sessions

Every day, you have the opportunity to grow your language learning routine through bigger study sessions. These are focused, dedicated times when your focus shifts to improving your language skills.

Take speaking practice for example: These are usually around an hour long and challenge you to be 100% engaged, think on your feet, speak the language, understand native speakers, and get over the mistakes you’re making. A session like that is an intense learning experience, doing wonders for your level.

Sometimes you may not have a chance to practice speaking, but your big sessions might involve working through a textbook chapter or listening and summarising a piece of audio.

Remember: You are Building a Habit

Habits have to be built over time, little by little. Just like you don’t train for a marathon by running one marathon once a month, your brain will adjust to your new language learning practice and help you get better with time.

Try to banish perfectionism, especially when you are working with the perspective of setting a weekly goal. You don’t have to be the best in order to be good.

For me, it’s rare to find time and focus for more than three big sessions in an average week. When I’m in a phase where I work on more languages, I may vary the contact days or determine that Thursdays are for French, for example. You can read more about learning more than one language in this article.

Finally, remember that you can do this! Every day spent in contact with your target language is helping you learn it.

Want to learn more about creating a productive language learning plan for yourself? Don't miss my free video training! You can sign up to watch it right here

4 Techniques for Switching Your Brain into Language Mode

Have you ever heard of a phenomenon called "Priming"? Priming is what psychologists call it when your brain adapts to the environment around it without you realising. For example, you might automatically walk slower in a nursing home than you do in a gym. The brain helps your body to adjust, and this also affects your memory and even your confidence and the whole way you interpret situations.

How Priming Helps You Turn on Your Brain

Priming is largely unconscious, but now that you’re aware of it you can also use it to your advantage when learning languages. The idea is to switch your brain into “language mode” and use cues from your environment to help you get into the right zone.

Want to learn more about how to be a productive language learner?

©morethanmaths on Flickr

How Subtle Prompts Help You Stay in The “Language Learning Zone”

When I was a German tutor, I’d teach many people in their lunch hour. They would stay in the office at their English-speaking workplace, close the door and open up Skype to start chatting German with me.

In those situations, I’d commonly noticed that it took them a lot of time to warm up, relax, and start chatting away. Having thought about the learning environment and what it means for your performance, I came to the conclusion that these students need to make a brain switch from work mode to learning mode.

In this article on Wired, the author describes how a mere glance at the native speaker will prompt them to blurt out native words.

The different role you need to play as a language learner.

And there’s more at play than just the language you’re speaking.

Many people who work in management or office-based roles are in an environment that looks a bit like school, but demands a completely different behaviour. “Professionals” don't just go out and try things. They are expected to control their creativity and maintain a professional image at all times.

When you think about the good mindset for language learners, it's a contrast: You'll do well if you can combine curiosity, discipline and a complete disregard for embarrassment!

How to Start Switching Your Brain Into a Different Mode

Switching up a part of your environment can help you become a better learner, with simple prompts that take seconds to implement.

Try out some ideas that learners and teachers can use to make priming work in the right way:

1. Listen to Target Language Songs and Watch Movies

I will not promise you that watching an awful lot of films in a foreign language will magically beam fluency into your mind.

The real benefit of surrounding yourself with the target language is that you stay engaged with it and develop knowledge of the country. In terms of the priming benefit, it will work magic. Plus, you get to do it while putting your feet up or driving.

2. Find a Suitable Slot in Your Schedule

Schedule your learning sessions for the right times. For example, I like doing my chatting in Spanish on the drive back from Zumba - partly because the Spanish lady is captive in my car, partly because we've just spent an hour having fun and dancing around. Others also swear by having a nice glass of wine to relax or using breathing exercises.

Another great tip is to create a learning corner in your home - somewhere quiet, free from distractions and full of positive associations. 

©zazzle.co.uk

3. Visualise Your Life as a Successful Language Learner

School classroom teachers have known for a long time that putting up posters and displays around the classroom can get pupils in the right state of mind for learning. They don't have to be written in the foreign language, but just reminders of what's great about the country you're learning about.

Take a tip from this and create your own language learning displays full of things that interest you about your language. They could be recipes, tickets from old trips, tourist brochures or printouts from the internet. I particularly love vintage posters.

You can find more inspiration on my Pinterest boards for German, French and Russian. 

4. Warm Up in Your Target Language

In my teaching role, I try to start my lessons off easily with some smaller warm-up activities like asking students how they are or offering them a drink.

Recently, I received the great tip that using the same warm-up activity every time for regular students is actually helpful - here I was worrying people would get bored, but the learner's perspective was that knowing "what's coming" allowed them to prepare and feel confident at the start of the lesson. That puts every learner in the right state of mind for success.

A Festive Take on Using Your Environment as a Study Aid

Click here for my article on learning a language at Christmas (even if you don’t celebrate it)

First published July 2013. Last updated December 2021.