GRAMMAR CLINIC // PREMIUM CONTENT

Grammar Clinic: The French Correction

Table of Contents

1. The Diagnosis: Why We Make Mistakes
2. The Article Trap: The, A, or Zero?
3. The Countable vs. Uncountable Battle
4. Sentence Structure: The SVO Mandate
5. Relative Clauses: Who, Which, & That
6. Tense Trouble: The “Ing” Trap
7. Preposition Perfection (In, On, At)
8. False Friends: Actuellement vs. Actually
9. Word Order: Questions & Negatives
10. The 10-Day Grammar Polish Routine

1. The Diagnosis

Most Algerian students don’t make “random” mistakes. They make Systemic Mistakes. Because we are raised in a Francophone education system and speak Darja at home, our brains try to translate French or Arabic rules directly into English.

Example:

• French: “J’ai fini mes devoirs.”
• Wrong English: “I have finish my homeworks.” (Adding an ‘s’ to homework because of ‘devoirs’).
• Fix the System, Fix the Score.

2. The Article Trap: The, A, or Zero?

This is the #1 error for Algerian students. In French and Arabic, we use articles almost everywhere. In English, we use “Zero Article” for general concepts.

The Golden Rules:

1. General Concepts = No Article.

• Wrong: “The education is important.”
• Right: “Education is important.” (General idea of education).

2. Specific Things = “The”.

• Right: “The education I received in Oran was excellent.” (Specific education).

3. Countable Singular = “A/An”.

• Right: “A university degree is essential.”

3. The Countable vs. Uncountable Battle

French has many plural nouns that are Uncountable in English. You must memorize these four “Enemies”:

• Information: Never “Informations.”
• Advice: Never “Advices.”
• Research: Never “Researches.”
• Homework: Never “Homeworks.”
• Knowledge: Never “Knowledges.”

How to use them:

• “I need some advice.” (Not ‘an advice’).
• “The research is ongoing.” (Not ‘the researches are’).

4. Sentence Structure: The SVO Mandate

In Arabic/Darja, we can skip the subject. In English, Subject + Verb + Object is a law.

• The “It” Rule: If you don’t have a person or thing as a subject, use “It” or “There.”
• French: “Est nécessaire d’étudier.”
• Wrong: “Is necessary to study.”
• Right: “It is necessary to study.”
• The “There” Rule:
• Wrong: “Have many people in the park.”
• Right: “There are many people in the park.”

5. Relative Clauses: Who, Which, & That

Francophone students often confuse Qui and Que.

• Who: For people. (“The student who works hard…”)
• Which: For things. (“The car which I bought…”)
• That: For both (In informal English).

The Trap: Don’t repeat the pronoun!

• Wrong: “The book which I read it was good.”
• Right: “The book which I read was good.” (The ‘which’ replaces ‘it’).

6. Tense Trouble: The “Ing” Trap

French uses the Present tense for almost everything. English splits it into Routine and Now.

• Present Simple (Routine/Fact): “I live in Algiers.” (Always true).
• Present Continuous (Now): “I am studying for IELTS.” (Right now).

The State Verb Rule: Some verbs NEVER take “-ing.”

• Wrong: “I am knowing the answer.”
• Right: “I know the answer.” (Other verbs: Believe, Understand, Like, Hate, Want).

7. Preposition Perfection

• In: Use for big spaces (In Algeria, In a box) and months/years.
• On: Use for surfaces (On the table, On the wall) and days (On Friday).
• At: Use for specific points (At the station, At 5 PM).

Common Algerian Error:

• Wrong: “I am interested by sport.”
• Right: “I am interested in sport.”
• Wrong: “It depends of the weather.”
• Right: “It depends on the weather.”

8. False Friends (Les Faux Amis)

These words look like French but mean something different!

9. Word Order: Questions & Negatives

• Questions: You MUST swap the subject and verb (or use ‘do’).
• Wrong: “You like coffee?”
• Right: “Do you like coffee?”
• Negatives:
• Wrong: “I not like coffee.”
• Right: “I do not like coffee.”

10. The 10-Day Grammar Polish

1. Day 1-2: Circle every “The” in your old essays. Delete 50% of them.
2. Day 3-4: Practice “Subject + Verb” drills. Ensure every sentence starts with a noun or ‘It/There’.
3. Day 5-6: Focus on Uncountable nouns. Write 10 sentences using ‘Information’ and ‘Research’.
4. Day 7-8: Preposition Hunt. Read a page of English and circle every In, On, At.
5. Day 9-10: Proofreading. Read your own writing backwards (last sentence first). This helps you see grammar errors instead of the story.

Keep Going, Champion!

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