Hello French speakers. As you know, we speak a language that is not so easy to learn, and there is a risk that we will make mistakes in French more or less all our lives. But, despite everything, that’s no reason not to try to do a little better. So today here is a little good-natured lesson that risks correcting a lot of us since it concerns words that we should not use together. In French, we sometimes talk about “lexical incompatibilities”, but said like that it’s not super sexy, so let’s get down to business right away for more fun.
1. The verb “to pour” is only used with liquids
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We sometimes hear phrases like “pour the chocolate pieces into the saucepan”, but this is an error. We only pour liquids (or dough, not liquid for once).
Example : “Listen to me Sylvie, at my best you will pour the milk in preparation, okay? Thank you Sylvie, I always knew I could count on you, you are a good element. Not always very smart, but always loyal and good-humored, and I really like that. »
2. The verb “to bring” is followed by a person
It’s simple, we don’t bring something somewhere, but we bring someone somewhere. You just have to remember it once and for all.
Example : ” Yes honey, I take Lucas to his class tennis tonight. But hey, I saw him play the last time, and we clearly won’t make him a champion. He’s not ready to pay our retirement, the Lucas. What if we had a second child? »
3. The verb “bring” is followed by something
This is the verb that we use too often instead of “bring”. We bring something, not someone. Once you know the difference between the two, you become a better person.
Example : ” I have brought a bottle of Villageoise to accompany your foie gras, you will tell me the news! »
4. The verb “to start” is never followed by a noun
This is called an intransitive verb, which means that it has no object. We cannot say that we are “starting something”, basically. If you hear someone say “I start my yoga class at 4 p.m.”you can tell him that he is wrong.
Example : “I love yoga. I begin, but I can already bear the smell of incense in the classroom, it’s encouraging. »
5. The verb “to alleviate” is never followed by “to”
Palliate is a direct transitive verb, which means that it has a direct object (unlike “remedy”, which always has an indirect object; we “remedy something”). In short, we too often hear sentences of the type “to alleviate the situation…”which is an error.
Example : ” For compensate for the lack of motivation of my employees, I decided to offer them a pizza. No, not to everyone, are you crazy or what? A pizza for eight. I’m not Abbé Pierre either. »
6. The verb “ogle” is never followed by “on”
Like “palliate”, leer is a direct transitive, so when someone says “stop ogling at my girl”it crashes (and surely confuses with the expression “to have views on…”).
Example : “Michel, you spent the evening at ogle Monique, so I can tell you that tonight you’re sleeping on the couch. »
7. The verb “to remember” is never followed by “to”
Hop, another direct transitive, which means that we remember something, and that we don’t remember OF something.
Example : ” I remember my years middle school, they threw balls of paper at little Rémy and made fun of him because he had pimples. Oh how mischievous we could be! »
8. The verb “to worsen” never takes the pronominal form
Translation: we don’t say that something “gets worse”, but that something “gets worse”.
Example : ” Marianne’s condition worsens since she has been living in Paris: two days ago she told me that she was going to taste an organic beer at an “event” with a thrift store stand and a tattoo stand. I worry about her. »
9. The verb “to show” is never preceded by “to do”
We know them, the guys who tell you “come, I’ll show you the sound system I installed in my car”. They have no respect for good taste.
Example : “Come, follow me, I will show you the new installation car audio. She sends steak. »
10. The verb “to prove” is never followed by true
We often hear it said “It turned out to be true”, but “to prove” already means by itself that it has “turned out to be true”. It is therefore a pleonasm which makes the sentences a little clumsy (even if it is not a big deal, let’s face it.)
Example : “You were telling me I was going to miss my license?” well it turned out. I’m a big sucker, thank you for pointing out Pascal. »
11. Bonus: “Despite” is never followed by “that”
Yes, we’re giving it to you as a bonus because, normally, you’re supposed to know for a long time, but a little reminder never hurts. We still hear too often the “even though he did that” and our ears still hurt, so let’s try to teach that to the last diehards who don’t want to speak good French.
Example : ” Despite your excellent numbers last month, you’re fired, Jocelyne. Indeed, our company applies a very strict policy regarding people who wear capri pants. »