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How to Teach Depuis, Pendant, Pour & Il y a – A French Teacher’s Guide When I teach students how to talk about time and duration in French, depuis, pendant, pour, and il y a are four expressions that I like to teach together. They can be confusing for English-speaking

How to Teach French Double Pronouns – A French Teacher’s Guide When students begin using French pronouns, they quickly realize how useful they are. Pronouns keep them from having to repeat the same nouns over and over again and make their French sound much more natural. By the time I

How to Teach French Adverb Placement – A French Teacher’s Guide French adverb placement can be confusing for English speaking students because the position of an adverb isn’t always the same in French and English. Students often know what an adverb means but aren’t sure where to put it in

How to Teach Advanced French Negation – A French Teacher’s Guide Once students understand basic French negation with ne…pas, I like to move them on to the other negative expressions they need in order to communicate more precisely. These include ne…jamais, ne…rien, ne…personne, ne…plus, ne…pas encore, and ne…que, as well

How to Teach the French Passé Composé with Être – A French Teacher’s Guide When I teach the French passé composé, I introduce avoir as the helping verb first because it is used with most French verbs. Once students are comfortable forming the passé composé with avoir, I introduce the

How to Teach French Pronouns Y and EN – A French Teacher’s Guide The French pronouns y and en can be challenging for English-speaking students because there isn’t always a direct English translation for them. I find that the best way to teach these pronouns is to focus first on

How to Teach French Disjunctive Pronouns – A French Teacher’s Guide French disjunctive pronouns, also called stress pronouns, are one of those grammar topics where students already understand the basic idea in English, but the French structures don’t always work the way they expect. I teach these pronouns by focusing

How to Teach French Verb Falloir – A French Teacher’s Guide If your students already know the expression il faut + infinitive, they have already learned one of the most useful ways to use the French verb falloir. The next step is helping them understand what happens when falloir is

How to Teach French Direct vs Indirect Object Pronouns – A French Teacher’s Guide Direct and indirect object pronouns are often one of the first French grammar topics where students start saying, “Wait… which one do I use?” The individual pronouns aren’t necessarily difficult. The real challenge is understanding why

How to Teach French Indirect Object Pronouns – A French Teacher’s Guide French indirect object pronouns can seem complicated at first, especially for English-speaking students. I find that the easiest way to introduce them is to start with one simple question: To whom? Once students can identify the person receiving

How to Teach French Direct Object Pronouns – A French Teacher’s Guide French direct object pronouns can be challenging for English-speaking students because the word order is different. In English, we usually put the object pronoun after the verb: I see her.We invite them. In French, the direct object pronoun

How to Teach Tout as an Adjective – A French Teacher’s Guide The French word tout is one of those words that students encounter constantly, but its meaning can change depending on what comes after it. When I introduce tout to beginners, I don’t try to teach every possible use