False friends — the expensive category
These cost the most, because the sentence does not sound broken. It reads fluently and means something you did not intend, and the examiner has no way of knowing you meant something else.
| You write | You mean | It actually means |
|---|---|---|
| Eventually | possibly, perhaps (éventuellement) | in the end, finally. This one inverts your certainty — see below. |
| Actually | currently (actuellement) | in fact. For actuellement, say currently / at present. |
| Important | large, considerable (important) | significant, mattering. An important number of people → a large number. |
| Sensible | sensitive (sensible) | practical, showing good judgement. |
| Deceive | to disappoint (décevoir) | to trick, to lie to. Say disappoint. |
| Demand | to ask (demander) | to insist forcefully. Say ask / request. |
| Delay | deadline (délai) | a postponement. Say deadline / time limit. |
| Library | bookshop (librairie) | a place you borrow books. Say bookshop. |
| Assist | to attend (assister à) | to help. Say attend. |
| Control | to check (contrôler) | to direct or command. Say check / inspect. |
| Interesting | financially attractive (intéressant) | only not boring. Say attractive / good value. |
| Achieve | to finish (achever) | to accomplish successfully. Say complete / finish. |
The tense error: 'I have seen him yesterday'
This is the signature French mistake. The passé composé looks exactly like the English present perfect — j'ai vu / I have seen — but it does the job of the English past simple.
In English, the present perfect is incompatible with a finished time. If you say yesterday, last year, in 2010 or when I was young, the verb must be the past simple.
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| I have seen him yesterday. | I saw him yesterday. |
| I have visited Paris in 2019. | I visited Paris in 2019. |
| Last year I have studied English. | Last year I studied English. |
And the present perfect is correct when the time is unfinished or unstated:
- I have already seen that film. (no time given)
- I have lived here since 2010. (still true now)
- She has never been to Japan. (up to now)
Word order: where the adverb goes
French allows an adverb between the verb and its object. English does not — the object comes straight after the verb, and the adverb goes elsewhere.
- I like very much this book. → I like this book very much. / I really like this book.
- He speaks well English. → He speaks English well.
- I read often the newspaper. → I often read the newspaper.
The rule: do not separate a verb from its object. Frequency adverbs (often, always, never, sometimes) go before the main verb; manner adverbs (well, quickly, carefully) go after the object.
Other structures that transfer badly
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| I am agree with you. | I agree with you. (être d'accord — but agree is a verb in English) |
| I have 20 years. | I am 20 years old. |
| It depends of | It depends on |
| informations, advices, researches | information, advice, research — uncountable |
| The people is friendly. | People are friendly. |
| The life is hard. | Life is hard. (no article on general statements) |
| Explain me the problem. | Explain the problem to me. |
| How do you call this? | What is this called? / What do you call this? |
| I have the possibility to go. | I have the opportunity to go. / I can go. |
| He said me that… | He told me that… |
| I am here since one hour. | I have been here for an hour. |
Two sounds that leak into your writing
These are pronunciation issues, and they matter here because they surface in spelling and in the endings you drop.
- /h/ does not exist in French. So have becomes 'ave, house becomes 'ouse. In speech this is usually harmless; the risk is that words beginning with h start to feel optional, and an hotel / a hour errors follow. (It is a hotel and an hour — the rule follows the sound, not the letter.)
- The th sounds do not exist either, and tend to become z or s (zis for this, sink for think). This one is cheap in terms of marks — no English word competes with zis — so do not spend your preparation on it. It costs far less than the tense errors above.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'eventually' mean in English?
It means 'in the end' or 'finally' — it expresses certainty. French 'éventuellement' means 'possibly', which expresses doubt, so the word inverts your meaning entirely. 'The government will eventually solve this problem' does not hedge your claim; it guarantees it. Use 'possibly', 'perhaps' or 'potentially' instead — this is the most dangerous false friend French speakers have.
Why is 'I have seen him yesterday' wrong?
Because the French passé composé looks like the English present perfect but does the job of the English past simple. In English the present perfect is incompatible with a finished time, so once you say 'yesterday', 'last year' or 'in 2010', the verb must be the past simple: 'I saw him yesterday'. The present perfect is correct when the time is unfinished or unstated — 'I have already seen that film'.
Why can't I say 'I like very much this book'?
Because English does not allow an adverb between a verb and its object, while French does. Write 'I like this book very much' or 'I really like this book'. The general rule is not to separate a verb from its object: frequency adverbs like 'often' and 'always' go before the main verb, and manner adverbs like 'well' go after the object.
Which French false friends are most dangerous in an essay?
'Eventually' (which means 'in the end', not 'possibly'), 'actually' (which means 'in fact', not 'currently'), and 'important' (which means significant, not large — 'an important number of people' should be 'a large number'). Also watch 'demand' (to insist, not to ask), 'deceive' (to trick, not to disappoint) and 'delay' (a postponement, not a deadline).
Should French speakers work on the 'th' sound?
It is a poor use of your preparation time. Pronouncing 'this' as 'zis' is cheap in terms of marks, because no English word competes with it and listeners understand you immediately. Your pronunciation marks are going somewhere else: word stress. French stresses phrases evenly at the end, while English leans hard on one syllable per word — and a stress error makes a word unrecognisable even when every sound in it is correct.