French false friends
CEFR A2 · part 1
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
le, la, les or lui, leurDeciding whether the verb takes a direct or an indirect object, and placing the pronoun…The pronouns en and yReplacing de + something with en, and à + place or thing with y.Imparfait or passé composéChoosing the tense by what it does: setting the scene, or moving the story forward.The imperative and its pronounsForming the imperative in its three persons, placing the pronoun after in the…The verbs that are not -er verbsConjugating in the present the -ir verbs with -iss- and the frequent irregulars…Savoir or connaîtreChoosing between savoir and connaître: a fact, a clause or a skill need savoir; a…The rule, in three lines
Some French words look almost identical to English ones and mean something else. librairie is a bookshop, actuellement means «right now», and sensible means «sensitive».
The usual slip. Trusting the look of a word instead of checking what it means.
Why it catches you out. English borrowed thousands of words from French and many drifted: librairie is not a library, actuellement is not «actually», sensible is not «sensible», and assister à means «to attend».