https://youtu.be/-uigSY9jyIo?si=w4J338rCdksP1Gzf Why settle for an intermediate level when you can reach the summits of advanced French? It sure takes guts, dedication, and a lot of brainpower, but once you pull it off, there is nothing as rewarding as using your limitless fluency with your French-speaking friends! Improving at an advanced level is no small feat, and few people have gone as far as you have. At this level, you’re getting hit pretty hard with diminishing returns: The more you learn and add to your vocabulary, the more difficult it becomes. It can also be difficult to find educational content advanced enough to challenge your skills, and this is where we come in! In this article, you’ll find a large collection of... Show more

Have you ever paid attention to all those books about The Gentle Art of Saying No, The Power of a Positive No, How to Say No Without Feeling Guilty, and many more?  Based on these titles, it would seem that there’s something inherently difficult about saying no. In fact, it could even be considered rude, insensitive, or socially disruptive......unless you happen to be in France! Here, you can safely say no to most questions without the need to carefully sugarcoat it.  Negation in French is rather similar to that in English, and once you’ve mastered the most basic structures, it shouldn’t give you any trouble. In this guide, you’ll learn how to do negation in French. We’ll cover everything from the fundamentals to the more advanced... Show more

https://youtu.be/2jEWwkaxM6Q?si=Pesf5UBXUpAo1knO Do you get tense when looking at French conjugation tables? Handling verbs in French can seem quite overwhelming at first: There are distinct endings for each pronoun, six different moods, and soooo many tenses! But of course, there’s a trick. Once you take a closer look, it’s not nearly as complicated as you might think. These verb endings follow rules, only a fraction of French tenses are used in real life, and even fewer are useful in spoken French. In this article, you’ll find a quick overview of the general rules concerning French verb conjugation. Then, we’ll dive right into the list of French tenses: present, past, and future. Oh, and there will be lots of cats involved... Show more

This is the most frequently asked question about the language, and yet it has no definite answer. It depends on many things, such as your native language, education, experience with languages, exposure, and motivation. Beyond that, how long it takes to learn French depends heavily on the proficiency level you want to achieve. Do you want to...  ...reach a beginner level? ...be able to make and understand very basic phrases related to everyday life? ...achieve an intermediate level that would allow you to get by in simple conversations on familiar topics? ...get to an advanced level, so you could have meaningful interactions and read or listen to virtually anything?  As you can imagine, these are very different goals with different... Show more

Why are proverbs so popular? As old-fashioned as they can be, you read, hear, and use them on a daily basis. They reflect who we are and the values we stand for. They’re timeless and comforting, never seem to age, and always bring this old magical wisdom that helps us go through life.Personally, what I find fascinating about proverbs is how they serve as a window to different cultures. When I hear Chinese, Russian, or Indian proverbs, I feel like I’m entering a whole new world with a wildly different culture and mindset to learn from. French proverbs are no different, and this is what I’m offering you in this article: a window to popular French wisdom, made up of common proverbs and old sayings. They might not instantly make you wiser,... Show more

Are you starting out in French and wondering what to study first? Or maybe you’re already learning French and getting a bit lost in French grammar?  Regardless of your experience or background, you’ve come to the right place. You’ll always need a concise summary of French grammar at hand as you explore the language’s ins and outs, and that’s exactly what this guide is about. In this article, you’ll find a general overview of French grammar, from basic sentence structure to conjugation, agreement rules, and negation. Table of Contents Vocabulary Sentence Structure Verbs & Tenses Nouns & Articles Adjectives Negation Le mot de la fin 1. Vocabulary Let’s start with some good news: French has a lot in... Show more

Is French hard to learn, or is it easy? Which parts are harder for foreign learners, and which are easier?   Whether you’re just contemplating the idea of learning French, or are struggling with something and looking for comfort, you’ve come to the right place. With 230 million speakers, French is the official language of twenty-eight countries. It’s also a very prominent language in the international business and cultural scenes, making it a must-learn language for anybody interested in foreign cultures. Overall, French is generally considered to be mildly challenging, but to be honest, it greatly depends on your native language. Students from English-speaking countries will enjoy a big headstart for many reasons that... Show more

Did you know that even native French speakers make lots of mistakes when using their own language? Some grammatical mistakes are so common that they become the new normal. Idiomatic expressions such as au temps pour moi have been incorrectly spelled autant pour moi for so many decades that most people don’t even know they’re doing it wrong. And don’t get me started on speakers improperly using the conditional case instead of the indicative.  My point is that it’s no big deal to make French mistakes, as long as you can express yourself. As you come closer to fluency, you’ll have time to figure out what mistakes you’re still making and how to address them. And this is exactly what this guide is about. In this article, we’ll list the... Show more

https://youtu.be/TJUGZ8-e6gc?si=eQj4A1KPJRd05Of5 Just imagine: You’re going out with a group of native French-speakers. This is the perfect opportunity to make friends and practice your French in a real-life situation! But how do you break the ice? What should you say if you run out of topics, or if your French isn’t solid enough to fuel the conversation? The universal answer is: ask questions! Among countless benefits, being able to ask questions in French will help you avoid awkward silences by keeping the conversation going. It will also make the other person feel like you want to know more about them or value their opinion, thus making you more likeable. Asking questions you’re genuinely interested in opens a world of new... Show more

What’s the best way to learn a foreign language? To speak it as early as you can! Are you going to achieve this by stuffing yourself with tedious grammar rules, barren conjugation tables, or endless vocabulary lists? Not likely.A smarter approach is to quickly pick up on the most common and useful French sentence patterns—the kind that will allow you to communicate effectively in most day-to-day situations with your local friends or colleagues. Sure, it won’t allow you to express subtle thoughts on complicated topics. But it should cover a wide range of interactions and help you practice on a regular basis without being frustrated when you can’t say something as vital as "I like cheese." In this article, you’ll learn everything about... Show more