The top 5 mistakes French speakers should correct in their English

It's normal to make mistakes and I am always telling people that you shouldn't be ashamed of them. Everyone has to learn and speaking 100% perfect English like someone who grew up in the UK is an impossible goal. (Even my husband, who has always worked only in English and who speaks English to me at home all the time, still makes some mistakes with prepositions or the present perfect.)

Not only that, but if you are using English as an international business language, you are probably communicating with a lot of other non-native English speakers and it's important to communicate clearly.

You don't need to speak perfect English to communicate internationally.

Most mistakes are not so bad and people can usually understand what you want to say. However, some mistakes can cause real communication problems. Here are my top 5 mistakes that French-speakers need to correct:

1. Using don't have to when you mean mustn't.

If I tell you, you don't have to arrive at work after 9am, it means you can arrive before or after 9am, as you wish. If I tell you you mustn't arrive at work after 9am, it means that you have to arrive before 9am.

2. Using be used to to talk about habits.

We have the expression be used to verb-ing in English, but it means to become accustomed to. If you want to translate j'ai l'habitude de déjeuner avec mes collègues, just use the present simple. I eat with my colleagues. The present simple in English means it's a habit. (And if you say I'm used to eating with my colleagues, we understand that at the beginning it was very difficult for you to eat with your colleagues!)

3. It's the best presentation I never saw.

A direct translation from French, that makes no sense in English because you never saw it...change never for ever.

4. g or j? i or e? When you're trying to spell your name or place of birth, or someone is telling you how to spell their name, you need to understand which letter is which. How? If any of these are in your name or another word you often use, learn it off by heart and use it to help you remember (that's what I do in French for g and j).

5. hungry vs angry

Your lunch meeting clients might be very confused if you tell them you're very angry! You need some pronunciation coaching on how to say or not say h and the difference between u and a.

Of course there are plenty of other mistakes French speakers make in English, especially when it comes to false friends, but the important ones are the ones that prevent other people from understanding you. Generally, your mistakes - especially your grammar mistakes - will not stop anyone from understanding you.

Do you wonder if you're making mistakes? Are you communicating clearly? If you'd like some help with your English, we can offer you communication coaching to give you more confidence, to correct the important mistakes and to help you stop worrying about the not important mistakes. Have a look at our CPF eligible training here.

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