Common Confusions — taught, question by question.
A master lesson, then every question explained in full with a worked example, a Remember box, and 5 fresh self-grading drills each.
Common Confusions
Les confusions fréquentesWhen two French words map onto one English word, you must choose by FOCUS, not translation. This category gathers the most frequent French-vs-French confusions for anglophones: a unit vs a lived span (an/année), a fact vs an acquaintance (savoir/connaître), things vs people (apporter/amener, visiter/rendre visite à), the family of “leave” verbs (partir/quitter/sortir/laisser), adjective vs adverb (bon/bien, meilleur/mieux), and a few fixed constructions (jouer à/de, penser à/de, poser une question, manquer).
an/jour/matin/soir name a point or unit; année/journée/matinée/soirée stress the whole filled span. Use the -ée form for duration or when the word is qualified (toute la journée, bonne année).
savoir = a fact, a how-to skill, or anything before a clause (que/où/comment). connaître = be familiar with a NOUN (a person, place or thing) and never precedes a clause.
apporter/emporter move THINGS; amener/emmener move PEOPLE. visiter is for PLACES; rendre visite à is for PEOPLE.
bon and meilleur describe nouns; bien and mieux modify verbs. “un bon café” but “il travaille bien”; “un meilleur résultat” but “il va mieux”.
| Word | Focus | Example |
|---|---|---|
| an | the unit / number | j’ai vingt ans |
| année | the span / quality | toute l’année, bonne année |
| jour | the day-unit | trois jours |
| journée | the day’s span | toute la journée |
| Construction | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| savoir + que/où/comment | a fact | je sais où il habite |
| savoir + infinitive | a skill | je sais nager |
| connaître + noun | familiarity | je connais Paris |
| Word | Role | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bon | adjective (describes a noun) | un bon café |
| bien | adverb (modifies a verb) | il travaille bien |
| meilleur | comparative of bon (adj.) | un meilleur café |
| mieux | comparative of bien (adv.) | il va mieux |
- Choose by meaning, not by the shared English word.
- savoir = facts & skills (and before a clause); connaître = be acquainted with a noun.
- apporter/emporter for things; amener/emmener for people; visiter places, rendre visite à people.
- bon / meilleur go with nouns; bien / mieux go with verbs.
Q32an / année▸
année = the year as a span or when qualified.
Q33an / année▸
A plain number of years → ans.
Q34jour / journée▸
jour = unit; journée = the day’s span.
Q35matin / matinée▸
matin = a point; matinée = the morning as a span.
Q36savoir / connaître▸
savoir + que / où / si / comment …
Q37savoir / connaître▸
connaître + a noun (person, place, thing).
Q38savoir / pouvoir▸
savoir = acquired know-how; pouvoir = able/allowed now.
Q39apporter / amener▸
apporter = bring a thing; emporter = take a thing away.
Q40amener / apporter▸
amener = bring a person; emmener = take a person away.
Q41entendre / écouter▸
entendre = hear (passive); écouter = listen (active).
Q42regarder / voir▸
regarder = watch/look at (active); voir = see (perceive).
Q43rendre visite à / visiter▸
People → rendre visite à; places → visiter.
Q44visiter / rendre visite▸
visiter + a place (direct object).
Q45quitter / partir / laisser▸
quitter + direct object; partir has no object.
Q46partir / sortir▸
partir = depart; sortir = go out / exit (de).
Q47laisser / quitter▸
laisser = leave something behind; quitter = leave a place/person.
Q48manquer (to miss someone)▸
The person who is missed is the SUBJECT of manquer.
Q49manquer (to be lacking)▸
il manque (always singular) = is/are missing; manquer de = to lack.
Q50jouer de (instrument)▸
jouer de + instrument; jouer à + game/sport.
Q51jouer à (sport)▸
jouer à + game/sport; jouer de + instrument.
Q52penser de (opinion)▸
penser de = opinion (Que penses-tu de … ?).
Q53penser à (have in mind)▸
penser à = think about / remember to.
Q54poser / demander (a question)▸
poser une question — never “demander une question”.
Q55prochain (after noun = next)▸
la semaine prochaine — prochain after the noun, agreeing.
Q56prochain (before noun = upcoming)▸
le prochain arrêt — prochain before the noun = the coming one.
Q57bon / bien (adjective)▸
bon describes a noun and agrees with it.
Q58bien / bon (adverb)▸
bien modifies a verb.
Q59meilleur (better, adjective)▸
meilleur = comparative of bon; agrees with the noun.
Q60mieux (better, adverb)▸
mieux = comparative of bien (modifies a verb).
Q61neuf / nouveau▸
neuf = brand-new (0 km); nouveau = new to me (maybe used).