French's => French people

French→English errors are predictable: articles, prepositions, small-word confusions, verb forms, punctuation, and hyphenation. Fix these first to make your writing clearer.

Short, example-rich guidance follows: wrong→right pairs, ready-to-copy rewrites for work, school, and casual use, memory tricks, and a 5-step checklist to fix sentences fast.

Quick answer - the top things to check first

When in doubt, check four areas: small words (its/it's, your/you're), verb forms (have gone vs. have went), articles (a/an/the vs. none), and prepositions (married to, arrive at).

Expand contractions: you're → you are; it's → it is. If the expanded form makes sense, keep the apostrophe.
Use have + past participle for perfect tenses (have gone, has eaten), not have + simple past.
Use a/an for one nonspecific countable thing, the for a specific one, and no article for general uncountable nouns.
Learn common verb+preposition pairs: interested in, arrive at, depend on.

Core explanation: where French habits create errors

Tackle meaning first: wrong verb forms, articles, or prepositions change what you say. Fix those before polishing punctuation or hyphens.

Meaning-changing errors: wrong verb tense/participle, wrong article, wrong preposition.
Surface errors: missing hyphen, extra space before punctuation - fix after meaning is clear.

Wrong: I have 25 years.
Right: I am 25 years old.
Wrong: I am actually living in Lyon.
Right: I am currently living in Lyon.

Homophones and apostrophes: its/it's, your/you're, there/their/they're

Test contractions by expanding them. For possession, use possessive adjectives (my, our, their) or noun+'s for ownership.

Expand to test: you're → you are; it's → it is / it has.
Possession: the girl's book or their book; do not use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns (its, yours, ours).

Wrong: Its a pleasure to meet you.
Right: It's a pleasure to meet you.
Wrong: Your the best person for this task.
Right: You're the best person for this task.
Wrong: Their coming to the party tonight.
Right: They're coming to the party tonight.
Casual - Usage: You're really good at this game. (Contractions are fine in chat.)

Subject-verb agreement and verb forms (including irregulars)

Match verb form to the subject: he/she/it + -s in present. Use have/has + past participle for perfect tenses. Memorize common irregular past participles.

Third person singular: he goes, she knows, it works.
Perfect tense: have/has + past participle (I have gone; she has eaten).

Wrong: I have went to the store.
Right: I have gone to the store.
Wrong: People is friendly here.
Right: People are friendly here.
Wrong: He study every night.
Right: He studies every night.
School - Usage: The experiment was conducted over two weeks and the results are shown in Table 2. (Passive is OK in reports; check tense consistency.)

Articles: a, an, the - simple rules and templates

A few templates remove most doubt: a/an = one nonspecific countable item; the = a specific or previously mentioned item; no article = general or uncountable noun.

Template: a + singular countable = one of many: a meeting, a doctor.
The points to a specific item: the meeting we planned.
Zero article for general activities or uncountable nouns: I like music; she studies history.

Wrong: She is dentist.
Right: She is a dentist.
Wrong: I have meeting this afternoon.
Right: I have a meeting this afternoon.
Work - Usage: Please send me the revised budget. (The = the specific document both parties know.)

Prepositions and word order - common traps

French prepositions don't map one-to-one to English. Learn common verb+preposition pairs and read sentences aloud to check naturalness.

Common pairs: arrive at (a building) / arrive in (a city), depend on, interested in, married to.
Avoid literal translations of French à/de-try the English options and pick the one that sounds right.

Wrong: He arrived to the office at nine.
Right: He arrived at the office at nine.
Wrong: She is married with a lawyer.
Right: She is married to a lawyer.
Casual - Usage: I'm tired of waiting for the bus. (Tired of + noun / verb-ing.)
Work - Usage: We agreed on the new timeline in yesterday's meeting. (Agree on = correct preposition.)

Try your own sentence

Test the full sentence in context rather than an isolated phrase-context often decides the right article, tense, or preposition.

Hyphenation, punctuation and spacing (visual fixes)

Use no space before punctuation and one space after periods. Hyphenate compound adjectives before nouns: well-known author, two-week course.

When the modifier follows the noun, drop the hyphen: the author is well known.

Compound modifier before noun: a two-week course, a well-known brand.
No space before commas/periods/colons; use one space after them.
Use commas to join independent clauses with conjunctions: I wrote it, and she approved it.

Wrong: She is a well known author.
Right: She is a well-known author.
Wrong: Hello : thank you.
Right: Hello: thank you.
Work - Usage: Submit a two-week plan for the rollout. (Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun.)

Memory tricks and quick tests

Use three quick tests to catch most errors: expand contractions, swap the subject to he/she/they to check -s endings, and try alternate prepositions to see which sounds natural.

Start with the simplest correct sentence, then add details back.

Contraction test: replace with full words - if it still makes sense, keep the apostrophe.
Third-person test: swap to he/she/they to check the -s form.
Article template: a/an = one of many; the = specific; Ø = general/uncountable.

Wrong: Your going to love this new process.
Right: You're going to love this new process.
Wrong: He don't have the file.
Right: He doesn't have the file.

Fix your sentence - a 5-step rewrite checklist with examples

Use this checklist, then simplify into two sentences if anything still sounds odd.

1) Read aloud and expand contractions; 2) Check subject-verb agreement; 3) Check verb tense/participle; 4) Check article and preposition; 5) Check apostrophes, hyphens, and spacing.
If stuck, reduce to subject + verb + object, then add modifiers back.

Rewrite:
Wrong: I send you the file yesterday. →
Right: I sent you the file yesterday.
Rewrite:
Wrong: I am agree with your idea. →
Right: I agree with your idea.
Rewrite:
Wrong: He explained me the problem. →
Right: He explained the problem to me.
Rewrite:
Wrong: We will discuss about the budget tomorrow. →
Right: We will discuss the budget tomorrow.
Rewrite:
Wrong: I have 3 children and a dog. → Right (formal): I have three children and a dog. → Right (casual): I've got three kids and a dog.

Real usage and tone: work, school and casual examples

Match tone to context: full forms and precise wording at work, consistent tense and citation in school, contractions OK in casual chat-small words still matter everywhere.

Work: Please find attached the revised report. Let me know if you have any questions.
Work: Could you confirm receipt of the invoice by Friday?
Work: I will be on leave next week and will set an out-of-office message.
School: In this essay, I argue that social policies changed in the 1980s.
School: The experiment was conducted over two weeks; results are shown in Table 2.
School: Smith (2019) found similar results - cite accordingly.
Casual: I'm tired - let's grab coffee later.
Casual: Did you watch the game last night?
Casual: That's awesome! Congrats on the new job.

Similar mistakes to watch for (false friends, word order, passive overuse)

After the basics, check related issues that often appear together. Keep a short list of your recurring errors and practice two sample sentences each week.

False friends: actually ≠ actuellement; library ≠ librairie.
Word order: adjectives come before nouns in English (a large house).
Passive voice: useful in academic writing but can weaken business messages-prefer active voice for clarity.

Wrong: I am agree to your proposal.
Right: I agree with your proposal.
Wrong: She is interesting in history.
Right: She is interested in history.
Wrong: I will discuss about the results.
Right: I will discuss the results.

FAQ

Why do French speakers use "actually" when they mean "currently"?

French "actuellement" means "currently." In English, "actually" means "in fact." Use "currently" or "at the moment" for en ce moment.

How can I quickly choose a/an/the?

Rule of thumb: a/an = one nonspecific item; the = a specific item known to the reader; Ø = general or uncountable nouns.

When should I use the past participle instead of the simple past?

Use have/has + past participle to link past actions to the present (I have gone). Use simple past for a completed action with a past time marker (I went yesterday).

Is "in hospital" correct?

Both forms appear: British English commonly uses "in hospital" for being a patient; American English uses "in the hospital." Match the variety you're writing in.

What quick tests catch most mistakes?

Expand contractions, replace the subject with he/she/they to check -s endings, and swap prepositions. If stuck, reduce the sentence to subject + verb + object.

Want a fast sentence check?

Copy one sentence into your editor, run the 5-step checklist above, and try the rewrite templates. Paste a sentence into a grammar checker for suggested rewrites and explanations if you want extra feedback.