Common Grammar Mistakes French Speakers Make (B2–C1) - Answers and Explanations

1. I ____ him since yesterday.
didn’t see
haven’t seen

2. It depends ____ the situation.
on
of

3. I am married ____ a teacher.
to
with

4. I explained ____.
the problem to him
him the problem

Explain is followed by a noun (what thing or information?)
Pattern: explain + what + to whom
I explained to him the problem (explain + to whom + what) is informal

 

5. He has ____ in finance.
experiences
some experience

*The noun “experience” is uncountable.

We only use “experiences” when we talk about specific life events such as trips, festivals, concerts, workshops, hikes, and cultural events, but this is informal. (“Many or several experiences” is informal.)

Compare
I have had many experiences in my life. – many separate life events (informal)

(Better: I have had a lot of experience in my life. OR – I have experience (verb) many things in my life.)

I have some (extensive/a lot of/little) experience in marketing. – overall skill (formal and correct)

6. I ____ the meeting.
attended
assisted to

*In French, the verb assister à means “to attend”- J’ai assisté à la réunion. = I attended the meeting. But in English, “assist” means to help and “attend” means to be present.

Help: I assisted my boss during the meeting.
Be present or join: I attended the meeting.

7. The ___ proposal is better than the last one.
actual [French: réel] *
current [French: actuel] *

8. I ____ an interview this morning.
had
passed [réussir]

Compare:
I will have an interview next week and I hope I can pass it.
I had a test yesterday, and I passed the test.

9. I ____ a decision.
take (more formal, British English, not common) *
make (more common, more correct) *

10. We ____ sport.
make
do
play

We “play sports.” (General) To be specific: play tennis, play basketball, etc.

“Practice sports” refers to preparation: “We will practice football on Saturday because we will have a game on Sunday.”

“Do” is used for exercises: “We do yoga.” “I do Pilates.” “When I was young, I could do many push-ups.”

For sports that doesn’t require a ball or something similar (swimming, skiing, kayaking, etc.) we use “go” or the specific verb: “I go skiing” or “I ski.” “We went swimming last week” or “We swam last week.”

11. I am used to ____ late.
work
working

* Be used to (be accustomed to) [être habitué à]: usually followed by a noun or -ing.
“I am used to hot weather (noun).” “I am used to talking to customers.”

Used to [avoir l’habitude de (dans le passé)]
“I used to be rugby player, but I am retired now.” “I used to live in Madrid, but not anymore.”

12. Employees must ____.
do a formation
take a training course

13. I suggested ____ earlier.
to go
going

SUBJUNCTIVE SENTENCES:

Special pattern for the verbs SUGGEST (RECOMMEND, PROPOSE, ADVISE, INSIST, ETC.)

Pattern 1: suggest + that + subject + base verb (example: go, not goes, not should go): Use: You are recommending that another person take an action. [Formal or neutral English, especially American English]

I recommend that she revise the report.

Pattern 2 -Shortcut: suggest + gerund (-ing): You’re recommending an action in general, without specifying who should do it or you already know who the person is. [More informal and conversational.]

I recommend (that she revise) revising the report.

14. He made me ____ it.
to do
do
does

Causative MAKE: Pattern – subject + make + who + base verb (not conjugated). This means someone forces another to do something.

Compare:
Force [forcer]: His father forced him to clean his room.
Make: His father made him (to) clean his room.
 
15. He said he ____ tired.
is
was

*Reported Speech: When we report or repeat what another person said, we usually change the verb tense by moving it one step back in time.

Present tense becomes past tense (is becomes was). 
Past tense becomes past perfect (worked becomes had worked).  
Present perfect becomes past perfect (has been becomes had been).
Future tense becomes conditional (will/may/can go becomes would/might/could go), etc.

Original statement – Jean: “I am tired.”
Reporting: Jean said that he WAS tired.

16. She told me she ____come.
will
would

17. He ____ that he would be here early.
told me
said me
said to me

*SAY and TELL
Pattern: tell + who: I told her.
Pattern: say + what: I said (to her) “hello.” He says, “It is sunny today.”

18. Marie ____ that she was late.
told
said
said to me

19. I don’t know ____.
where he is
where is he

*QUESTION AND CLAUSE
Question pattern: relative pronoun (wh) + verb + subject – Who are you
Clause pattern: relative pronoun (wh) + subject + verb – I don’t know who you are.

20. I didn’t see ____.
anybody [not specific, usually used in negative sentences] *
nobody [not a single person, no person] *
somebody [not specific, usually used in positive sentences] *

21. I ____ escargot so I don’t how it tastes.
didn’t ever try
have never tried

EVER is only used in questions
Have you ever been to Norway? – Yes, I have ever been to Norway. 

22. Can you tell me ____?
what does it mean
what it means

23. I ____.
don’t have any idea
don’t have no idea
have no idea

ANY is often used for negative verbs – “He doesn’t have any friends.”
The rule is not to have double negatives.

I don’t (-) have any (+) idea.
I have (+) no (-) idea.
I don’t (-) have no (-) idea. = double negatives (informal)

24. The new software is ____ than the previous one.
more easier
easier
more easily

25. I don’t have ____ to say.
anything
nothing
something

26. Taking the subway is ____ than the bus.
better
more better

27. Choose the correct option(s). There may be more than one correct answer, or none at all.

The more you practice, the better you speak.
The more you practice, you speak better.
You speak better the more you practice

Pattern:

comparative adjective (more or -er)	+ subject	+ verb	comparative adjective (more or -er)	+ subject	+ verb
The more	I	study,	the more	I	learn.
The bigger	they	are,	the harder	they	fall.

28. The technician ____ yesterday moved to a different department.
whom I talked to
who I talk to

*The technician is the object, so we use WHOM. (This is very formal)

WHO - to describe the person: “A man who was wearing a black hat was looking for you.”
WHOM - to describe our interaction with the people: “Did you see the man whom I spoke with yesterday?”  or “Did you see the man with whom I spoke yesterday?”

For informal or conversational English, we just use WHO.

29. The manager ____ called me didn’t leave a message.
that
which
who

THAT, WHO, WHICH

THAT (for objects): The car that is parked at Level 2 is mine. [We can also use " which " in conversational English)

WHO (for people): The man who wears a red hat is my friend. [We can also use “that” for people, but it’s informal).

WHICH (for object, usually if the information is not important):
The black Peugeot 208, which runs on petrol (gas), belongs to my boss.

Compare:

The project that will be managed by John’s team will begin next week. (“that will be managed by John’s team” is important information)

Project 4A, which will be managed by John’s team, will begin next week. (“Which will be managed by John’s team” is just an additional information but not crucial).

30. She has ____ as a manager.
two year experience
two years of experience
two year’s experience

31. Five ___ were absent.
persons
people

32. Choose the correct option(s). There may be more than one correct answer, or none at all.

It’s important that he be on time. [formal]*
It’s important that he is on time. [informal, conversations only] *
It’s important for him to be on time. [informal]*
It’s important that he should be on time. [more common in British English] *

Subjunctive case: Sentences that begin with “it’s important ((essential, necessary, vital, crucial, imperative) that…”uses the base form of the verb (no -s for third person) but this is very FORMAL.

Example: It’s important  that…  (Example: It’s essential that she arrive early.) Not she arrives, or she should arrive.

For conversations or informal English, these patterns are acceptable:
ACTION VERB: It is important + FOR WHO + infinitive (to + v):
It is essential FOR HER to ARRIVE early.

BE VERB (am, is, are, was, were):
It is important + FOR WHO + infinitive (to + v):  It is important for them to be included.
It is important + THAT + SUBJECT + BE + adjective, noun, past participle: It is important that they be included.

33. Choose the correct option(s). There may be more than one correct answer, or none at all.

I prefer to drink coffee to drink tea.
I prefer drinking coffee to drinking tea.
I would rather drink coffee to tea.
I prefer coffee over tea.

*PREFER AND WOULD RATHER
Prefer to and Prefer +ing are almost the same, except for one subtle difference:

When indicating a choice using “prefer”, use the -ing form: I prefer driving my car to/over taking the Metro.

It is better to use “prefer to” when the other choices are not mentioned: I prefer to drive my car.

Prefer to is better when it is only followed by a noun: I prefer rugby to football.

“Than” is used for “Would rather”: I would rather drink coffee than tea.
 rather