English / Français
The two languages rarely match one word to one word. Some English words have no French partner, and some French words have no English one. A dashed outline with no line attached marks a word the other language does without.
do
A spoken question needs no helper verb. The voice rises, and that is all. Est-ce que tu parles français ? and Parles-tu français ? also work, and neither has a word for “do”. Parles-tu puts the verb before the subject, joined with a hyphen. It is common in writing and textbooks, and sounds more formal in speech.
do
A negative needs no helper verb either. “Not” becomes ne … pas, wrapped around the verb itself. See Negation.
am, is, are
The plain present covers “I eat” and “I am eating”. Use je suis en train de manger to stress that the action is happening right now.
will
The future is an ending on the verb, not a separate word: partir + -ons. In speech nous allons partir is just as common. See Tenses.
to
The French infinitive is one word. After vouloir, pouvoir, devoir, aimer nothing links the two verbs. Other verbs need à or de: see Infinitives.
a, an
A job or role after être takes no article. With c’est it comes back: C’est un professeur.
up, out, off
English often adds a particle such as “up” to a verb. French uses a single verb. Here that verb is reflexive, so French has me where English has nothing.
le, la, les
A noun meant in general takes the article. Children as a group are les enfants, and chocolate as a whole is le chocolat.
du, de la, des
An unspecified amount takes du, de la or des. English says nothing, or sometimes “some”. Without the article, je veux pain is wrong.
en
A number used without its noun needs en (“of them”). English usually omits it. See Y and en.
y
When the place has already been mentioned, y stands in for it: Tu vas au marché ? — Oui, j’y vais. English just says “Yes, I’m going”.
me, te, se
Many everyday verbs are reflexive in French and plain in English. See Reflexives.
ne
French keeps ne alongside rien, jamais, personne. A double negative is correct here. In casual speech the ne is often dropped: Je vois rien.
à
Some verbs need a preposition that English does not use: téléphoner à, demander à, répondre à. It works the other way too: écouter, regarder, chercher take none where English says “listen to”, “look at”, “look for”.