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Faire, prendre, mettre and avoir beau

CEFR B2 · part 28 minInstant feedback

edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.

  1. 1Try
  2. 2Learn
  3. 3Practise
  4. 4Check
The rule, in three lines

Some combinations are learnt whole, not word by word: faire la queue, prendre une décision, mettre du temps, avoir beau essayer, en vouloir à quelqu'un. The verb is not chosen for its meaning: it comes with the noun.

The usual slip. Picking the verb from the translation instead of the combination: «faire une décision» instead of «prendre une décision».

Why it catches you out. English says make a decision and stand in a queue, so both verbs are wrong in French: it is prendre une décision and faire la queue. Each of these has to be memorised as a block, because the logic does not carry over.