Les faux-amis or false cognates are a common pitfall among language students. The following are some common words that you may be deceived by:
Abus is used to mean excess or overindulgence, and usually not abuse.
Disposer means to arrange or to have available, not to dispose of.
Une injure is an insult, not an injury.
Actuel and actuellement mean current and currently.
Avertissement is a warning, not an advertisement.
Une recette is a recipe, not a receipt.
Fournitures refers to supplies, not furniture.
Original means new or innovative, while originel refers to origins.
Humeur means mood, not humor.
Formel is used to mean strict, not formal.
Adverbs
| bien |
well |
|
quelquefois |
sometimes |
| mieux |
better |
|
toujours |
always |
| mal |
badly |
|
vite |
quickly |
| peu |
little |
|
donc |
therefore |
| déjà |
already |
|
encore |
yet |
| bientôt |
soon |
|
quelque part |
somewhere |
| ici |
here |
|
maintenant |
now |
| là |
there |
|
tôt |
early |
| dedans |
inside |
|
tard |
late |
| dehors |
outside |
|
peut-être |
maybe |
| souvent |
often |
|
jamais |
(n)ever |
| d'habitude |
usually |
|
nulle part |
nowhere |
To form an adverb, simply take the feminine form of an adjective and add -ment to the end. If the masculine form ends in -e, you just add the -ment to that. Adjectives ending in -ent or -ant take the endings -emment and -amment.
| Masculine |
Feminine |
Adverb |
| naturel |
naturelle |
naturellement |
| heureux |
heureuse |
heureusement |
| lent |
lente |
lentement |
| facile |
facile |
facilement |
| probable |
probable |
probablement |
| intelligent |
inelligente |
intelligemment |
| brillant |
brillante |
brillamment |
| récent |
récente |
récemment |
Note: Some adverbs such as actuellement (currently, now) and éventuellement (possibly, perhaps) can be deceiving.
A Few Irregular Adverbs
| vrai |
vraiment |
| gentil |
gentiment |
| profond |
profondément |
| bref |
brièvement |
| précis |
précisément |
Note: Adverbs are placed right after the verb in a simple tense. Adverbs of opinion and time usually go at the beginning or end of the sentence. When peut-être and sans doute begin a sentence or clause, they are usually followed by que. With the passé composé, most adverbs are placed between the auxiliary verb and past participle. In negative sentences, pas precedes the adverb, except with peut-être, sans doute, sûrement, and probablement. Adverbs of time and place generally follow the past participle.
Forms of Tout
As an adjective, tout precedes and agrees with the noun.
| masc. sing. |
tout le train |
the whole train |
| fem. sing. |
toute la journée |
the whole day |
| masc. pl. |
tous les enfants |
all the kids |
| fem. pl. |
toutes les mères |
all the moms |
As a pronoun, tout can be used alone; it then means everything and is invariable.
Tout va bien. Everything's fine.
Je ne peux pas tout faire. I can't do everything.
It can also reinforce the subject as in: Ils sont tous là. They are all here.
Tout can also be used with direct object pronouns. The forms of tout follow the verb in a simple tense and go between the auxiliary and past participle in a compound tense.
Je les ai toutes. I have them all.
Je ne les ai pas tous eu. I didn't have them all.
Note: The s of tous is pronounced when tous is a pronoun.
Idiomatic Expressions with Tout
| en tout cas |
in any case |
| tout le monde |
everyone |
| tout de suite |
right away |
| de toute façon |
anyway |
| tout à fait |
completely |
| toutes sortes de |
all kinds of |
| pas du tout |
not at all |
| malgré tout |
in spite of it all |
| tout à l'heure |
in a little while |
