Il faut is one of the most common and useful constructions in French: it’s an impersonal verb that expresses necessity. This lesson covers all three ways to use it: with a noun, with an infinitive, and with the subjunctive.
French demonstrative pronouns (celui, celle, ceux, celles) replace nouns to mean “this one” or “that one.” This lesson covers all four forms, how to attach -ci and -là, how to use them with relative clauses, and the indefinite forms ceci, cela, and ça.
French relative pronouns (qui, que, dont, and où) link dependent clauses to the nouns they describe. This lesson explains the logic behind each one and how to choose the right pronoun based on the grammatical role of the head noun.
Depuis, pendant, and il y a all mean “for” or “ago” in English, but each one signals a different relationship between an action and time, and each requires a different French verb tense. This lesson explains the differences with clear examples.
When one French verb is followed by another in infinitive form, you often need à or de in between. Which one depends entirely on the main verb. This lesson covers the key verbs in each category, with tables and examples throughout.
The French futur antérieur (future perfect) is how you say what will have happened by a certain point in the future. If you know the futur simple and the passé composé, you already have all the pieces you need.
The French past conditional (le conditionnel passé) is how you talk about what would have happened if things had gone differently. If you already know the passé composé and the present conditional, you have everything you need to learn it
French verb tenses can seem overwhelming. Here’s an overview, all on one page, of what to expect when you’re learning the tenses and moods, plus which ones you should prioritize on your French learning journey.
The four core French verbs (être, avoir, aller, and faire) are the most important verbs to learn and will dramatically increase your French proficiency.
Using il est versus c’est is a subtle nuance of French that native speakers use effortlessly but can require conscious effort on non-native French learners’ parts. There are some consistent rules to using these French grammar structures, and we cover some notable exceptions, as well as when using either structure implies different meanings.
Pronouns ‘y’ and ‘en’ are commonly taught later than direct and indirect object pronouns in French, and they have multiple meanings. They replace something and have different placements in sentences compared to English.
Talking about time and dates in French can be challenging for English speakers due to the different verb tenses and idiomatic expressions. Learning the vocabulary words and sentence structures for expressing time in French is necessary for more advanced speakers, and may require some practice and time to learn.
