What's your bête noire of French grammar?

Dear all,

I'm looking to expand the site's French grammar section so am looking for suggestions of new topics to include. So in a nutshell my question is:

What are the things that you find difficult/confusing about French?!

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Permalink Reply by Veronica on June 1, 2010 at 2:50pm

thank you, Isabelle. if it is as easy as that, I don't know why it has bothered me so much!

Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on June 1, 2010 at 2:53pm

Isabelle -- unfortunately, that's not quite true and it's not as simple as that.

Either meilleur or mieux is genearlly translated as "better", and le meilleur or le mieux as "best". It can be difficult for English speakers to choose between meilleur and mieux because they essentially have the same translation in English.

In general, what happens is that French chooses meilleur as a comparative/superlative of bon, and mieux as a comparative/superlative of bien. But, you ned to remember that both bon and bien can be adjectives, and whether meilleur or mieux depends largely on whether bon or bien would have been used.

So:
- if if't definitely an adverb, meaning "in a better manner", "in the best manner", then mieux is used;
- if it's definitely an adjective coming before the noun "un _____ livre", then meilleur will generally be used;
- otherwise, either is potentially possible as mentioned above.

I think you're right that this is quite a complicated area and needs expanding on.

Permalink Reply by Veronica on June 1, 2010 at 3:25pm

thank you, Neil - unfortunately, I also have a problem with bon and bien and I am often corrected when I use them!

Permalink Reply by Isabelle75Paris on June 1, 2010 at 3:52pm

Thanks Neil! It's more complicated than I thought ^^

Veronica, to make it "simple": BON is an adjective and BIEN is an adverb. They are often used with the verb "être" and in that case, BON will be use as a sensorial and affective judgment whereas BIEN will be use as an intellectual and moral judgment. So the difference is pretty subtil, that's why it can be difficult to know whether to use one or the other! They can also both be names: LE BON (≠ le mauvais), LE BIEN (≠ le mal).

Permalink Reply by Veronica on June 1, 2010 at 6:13pm

Thank you, Isabelle. Not sure that that helps when I'm trying to think quickly whilst talking! That's part of the problem. When I'm writing, there is time to think about the grammar, but in conversation, it can become quite tricky.

Permalink Reply by Isabelle75Paris on June 1, 2010 at 6:26pm

Lol I know what you mean! Well then just remember that BON will be use as an adjective (as well as MEILLEUR) and BIEN as an adverb (as well as MIEUX) in a sentence. Hope you are good in grammar ^^
Cheers!

Permalink Reply by Ryan Kelly on June 4, 2010 at 4:29am

I find the most difficult things to be idioms and colloquialisms.

Permalink Reply by jamie on June 11, 2010 at 12:18pm

Word order. I think quite logically and translate word by word (from my own knowledge) what I want to say in french so am melancholy when I realise this is not correct and 'auhentic'

Permalink Reply by Michael Dalke-Windley on June 11, 2010 at 4:55pm

My Bete Noire is the fact that the object pronoun comes before the verb. And how can you tell by listening to someone speak with all the l' s and the like before the verb?

Permalink Reply by James H Smith on July 14, 2010 at 9:06am

I am finding that the choice/usage of "les petits mots" not "les grands mots" is confusing. Whereas, in English, one word is used whatever the context, in French there is a choice of several, and choosing the wrong one can alter the context of the sentence. My current confusion is the choice of words for "it". I have found explanations, but they tend to be confusing in themselves ! A useful section would be, When to use " c'est...." and When to use "il est...."
(it is....), written in "idiot-proof" language !!

Permalink Reply by maouAOÛT on July 29, 2010 at 8:29pm

When to use elision is often an issue for me, so some guidance would be very welcome.

Permalink Reply by Kawaliniku Marlafka on November 2, 2010 at 1:12pm

When saying not, is it hard to know weather it is ''ne ... pas'' or ''ne ... plus.''

I hope anyone understood me.

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