Speed Up Your French: Strategies to avoid common errors (2016)

Although the following verbs look like English verbs, they often mean something very different. The first list consists of false friends that have a completely different meaning from their English lookalikes. The second list features verbs where there is some overlap of meaning with English, but an overlap that is only partial. Study the examples in the contexts given to help you remember the meanings of these verbs.

False friends

1 Achever

Achever means ‘to complete’, ‘to put down (an animal)’ or ‘to finish off (a person)’.

Je me demande s’il va jamais achever sa thèse.

(I wonder if he is ever going to complete his thesis.)

Le vétérinaire a décidé d’achever le vieux chat malade.

(The vet decided to put down the sick old cat.)

Cette corvée administrative m’a achevée.

(That administrative task finished me off.)

* Learn also the pronominal intransitive verb, s’achever (to end / draw to a close). Le jour s’achève. (The day is ending / drawing to a close.)

However, if you want to say ‘to achieve’, use atteindre, arriver à or obtenir.

Nous avons atteint tous ces objectifs.

(We have achieved all these goals.)

Ils sont arrivés à un large consensus.

(They have achieved a broad consensus.)

Elles ont obtenu des résultats époustouflants.

(They have achieved some amazing results.)

Note the difference between the following:

Son raisonnement a achevé de me convaincre.

(His argument finally convinced me.)

Son raisonnement a réussi à me convaincre.

(His argument managed to convince me.)

2 Agoniser

Agoniser is used in literary and / or figurative contexts to mean ‘to be dying’ or ‘to be in the throes of death’.

Deux soldats blessés agonisaient dans le char abandonné.

(Two wounded soldiers were dying in the abandoned tank.)

Cette entreprise n’est plus ce qu’elle était; à vrai dire elle agonise.

(This company is no longer what it was; in fact it is in its death throes.)

However, if you want to say ‘to agonise’, use être au supplice or se tourmenter (à propos de quelque chose).

Si je dois parler en public je suis au supplice.

(If I have to speak in public, it is agony for me.)

Il ne faut pas vous tourmenter à propos de cette décision.

(You mustn’t agonise over this decision.)

3 Agréer

Agréer is used in formal style with a direct object to mean ‘to accept’, ‘to approve’ or followed by à + person to mean ‘to suit’.

Le comité a agréé leur demande.

(The committee accepted / approved their request.)

Ce projet agréait parfaitement à leur collègue.

(This project suited their colleague perfectly.)

However, if you want to say ‘to agree to do something’, use s’accorder à or convenir de. For ‘to agree’ about something, use être d’accord.

Nous nous accordons à accepter votre proposition.

(We agree to accept your proposal.)

Ils ont convenu à l’unanimité d’accepter sa démission.

(They agreed unanimously to accept his resignation.)

Nous sommes d’accord avec vous là-dessus.

(We agree with you on that.)

* Note the use of agréer in formal letter-closing formulae, such as:

Veuillez agréer, Monsieur / Madame, mes sentiments distingués.

(Please accept my distinguished regards, i.e. Yours faithfully.)

4 Altérer

Altérer means ‘to change something for the worse’, in other words ‘to spoil’ or ‘to impair’. It can also mean ‘to falsify’.

Le soleil a altéré les couleurs des étoffes.

(The sun has faded the colours of the fabrics.)

Le neveu cupide a altéré le testament de sa tante.

(The grasping nephew falsified his aunt’s will.)

* Note also the pronominal intransitive verb s’altérer (to change for the worse, to become impaired). Sa santé commence à s’altérer. (His / her health is beginning to decline.)

However, if you want to say ‘to alter’ (not for the worse), use changer, modifier or transformer.

Ils ont changé / modifié / transformé l’aspect extérieur de la maison.

(They have altered the outside appearance of the house.)

* Note that in formal usage, altérer can mean ‘to make thirsty’. You are unlikely to meet this very frequently, but you will come across its semantic opposite, désaltérer (to quench thirst). Le thé désaltère mieux que le café. (Tea is more thirst-quenching than coffee.) You will also find the pronominal verb se désaltérer (to quench one’s thirst). J’ai bu de l’eau fraîche pour me désaltérer. (I drank some cold water to quench my thirst.)

5 Balancer

Balancer means ‘to rock’, ‘to sway’, ‘to hesitate / be torn between’ or, colloquially, ‘to chuck (out)’.

L’enfant balançait la tête de droite à gauche.

(The child was rocking his head from right to left.)

Les branches balançaient au vent.

(The branches were swaying in the wind.)

Je balance entre les deux candidats.

(I am hesitating / am torn between the two candidates.)

Tu devrais balancer ces saletés.

(You should chuck out this rubbish.)

However, if you want to say ‘to balance’, use équilibrer (with a direct object) or se tenir en équilibre (intransitive).

Il faut équilibrer son emploi du temps.

(You need to balance your schedule.)

Il tient à équilibrer les comptes.

(He is anxious to balance the books.)

Elle se tient en équilibre sur la pointe des pieds.

(She is balancing on tiptoe.)

* Learn the colloquial expression: je m’en balance (I don’t give a damn)

6 Blinder

Blinder means ‘to reinforce’, ‘to armour’ or, in familiar language, ‘to harden’.

Ils ont blindé la porte de l’abri.

(They reinforced the door of the shelter.)

Son expérience dans l’armée l’a blindé contre les horreurs de la guerre.

(His experience in the army has hardened him to the horrors of war.)

However, if you want to say ‘to be blinded’ or ‘to blind’, use perdre la vue, aveugler or éblouir.

Elle a perdu la vue dans un incendie.

(She was blinded in a fire.)

Il est aveuglé par l’amour.

(He is blinded by love.)

Le soleil m’éblouit.

(The sun is blinding me.)

* Learn the expressions: une porte blindée (a security door); une voiture blindée (an armoured car)

7 Conforter

Conforter means ‘to consolidate’ or ‘to confirm’.

Ces événements l’ont conforté dans son opinion.

(These events confirmed him in his opinion.)

However, if you want to say ‘to comfort’, use consoler or, more strongly, réconforter.

Tu as failli réussir, si ça peut te consoler.

(You almost passed, if that is any comfort to you.)

Cette bonne nouvelle l’a réconfortée.

(This good news comforted her / cheered her up.)

8 Crier

Crier means ‘to shout’, ‘to cry out’ or ‘to protest’.

Ne criez pas, nous vous entendons!

(There’s no need to shout, we can hear you!)

Le malade a crié de douleur.

(The patient cried out in pain.)

Dreyfus a crié son innocence.

(Dreyfus protested his innocence.)

However, if you want to say ‘to cry’ or ‘to weep’, use pleurer.

Elle a pleuré de joie.

(She cried / wept for joy.)

* Learn the expression: pleurer à chaudes larmes (to cry one’s eyes / heart out)

9 Demander

Demander means ‘to ask for’ or ‘to expect’.

Il a demandé un conseil à son frère.

(He asked his brother for a piece of advice.)

Elle demande beaucoup de son assistant.

(She expects a lot of her assistant.)

However, if you want to say ‘to demand (forcefully)’ or ‘to require as essential’, use exiger.

Elle a exigé qu’ils partent tout de suite.

(She demanded that they should leave immediately.)

Les prématurés exigent des soins constants.

(Premature babies require constant care.)

* Learn the expressions: comme l’exige la loi (as required by law); permis de conduire exigé (driving licence essential)

10 Disposer

Disposer de means ‘to have at one’s disposal’ or ‘to use’.

Je ne dispose que d’une demi-heure pour terminer ce travail.

(I have only half an hour to complete this work.)

Il nous a invité à disposer de son appartement à Cannes cet été.

(He has invited us to use his flat in Cannes this summer.)

However, if you want to say ‘to dispose of’, use se débarrasser de, vendre or expédier.

Nous voulons nous débarrasser de ces vieux livres.

(We want to dispose of these old books.)

Il voulait vendre la maison de ses parents le plus tôt possible.

(He wanted to dispose of his parents’ house as soon as possible.)

Elle a expédié ce problème en un clin d’œil.

(She disposed of / dealt with this problem in a flash.)

* Learn the expressions: Disposez de moi comme vous voudrez (You can employ me as you like); le droit des peuples à disposer d’eux-mêmes (the right of peoples to self-determination); merci, vous pouvez disposer (thank you, you may go)

11 Exténuer

Exténuer means ‘to exhaust’.

Ce long voyage les avait exténués.

(This long journey had exhausted them.)

However, if you want to say ‘to extenuate’, use atténuer, found most commonly in the expression: circonstances atténuantes (extenuating or mitigating circumstances).

12 Hurler

Hurler means ‘to yell’ or ‘to howl’.

Il a hurlé des injures à son adversaire.

(He yelled insults at his opponent.)

L’animal hurlait de frayeur.

(The animal was howling with fear.)

However, if you want to say ‘to hurl’, use lancer.

Il a lancé la balle par-dessus la barrière.

(He hurled the ball over the fence.)

For ‘to hurl oneself’, use se lancer or se jeter.

Il s’est lancé / jeté dans le vide.

(He hurled himself into space.)

13 Intoxiquer

Intoxiquer means ‘to poison’ or, figuratively, ‘to brainwash’.

La femme avait essayé d’intoxiquer son mari.

(The woman had tried to poison her husband.)

Cet homme politique cherche à intoxiquer le public.

(This politician seeks to brainwash the public.)

See Chapter 3 for the expression intoxication alimentaire (food poisoning).

However, if you want to say ‘to intoxicate’, use enivrer, soûler or griser.

Ses camarades de classe essayaient de l’enivrer / de le soûler à la bière.

(His classmates were trying to intoxicate him / get him drunk on beer.)

Le dictateur s’est laissé griser par le pouvoir.

(The dictator let power intoxicate him / go to his head.)

14 Molester

Molester means ‘to manhandle’ or, more familiarly, ‘to rough someone up’.

Les responsables de la sécurité ont molesté les intrus.

(The security officers manhandled the intruders.)

However, if you want to say ‘to molest’, use agresser sexuellement for sexual abuse, or importuner for ‘bothering’ someone in an importunate and unacceptable way.

Le professeur a été reconnu coupable d’avoir agressé sexuellement deux enfants.

(The teacher has been found guilty of having molested two children.)

Il n’est pas acceptable d’importuner les gens à cette heure de la nuit.

(It is not acceptable to bother / disturb people at this time of night.)

15 Passer (un examen / un test)

Passer un examen ou un test means ‘to sit’ or ‘to take an examination / a test’. There is no presumption of success.

Demain elle doit passer son examen final.

(Tomorrow she has to take her final examination.)

However, if you want to say ‘to pass an examination’, use réussir à or être reçu à un examen.

Elle a réussi à son examen de rattrapage.

(She passed her re-sit examination.)

Il a été reçu à son examen d’entrée.

(He passed his entrance examination.)

* Learn the expressions: passer son permis de conduire (to take one’s driving test); faire passer un test / des tests à quelqu’un (to give someone a test / tests in a learning context); passer des tests (to have tests done in a medical context); faire passer des tests à quelqu’un (to carry out tests on someone in a medical context)

16 Pondre

Pondre means ‘to lay’ (an egg). Colloquially, it means ‘to produce’ or ‘to churn out’.

Les poulent pondent bien en ce moment.

(The hens are laying well just now.)

J’ai pondu ma disserte en deux heures.

(I produced / churned out my essay in two hours.)

However, if you want to say ‘to ponder’, use considérer, réfléchir à or méditer sur.

Nous avons considéré toutes les options avant de décider.

(We pondered all the options before deciding.)

Il faut réfléchir à ses motifs avant de le juger.

(You must ponder on his motives before judging him.)

Il a médité longtemps sur ce problème.

(He pondered for a long time over this problem.)

17 Prétendre

Prétendre means ‘to claim’ or ‘to aspire to’.

Il n’est pas aussi intelligent qu’on le prétend.

(He is not as bright as they claim.)

Elle prétend à un poste supérieur.

(She aspires to a higher post.)

It is only possible to use prétendre à to translate ‘pretend’ in the sense of ‘lay claim to’.

Je crains que le prince ne prétende au trône.

(I fear that the prince may pretend / lay claim to the throne.)

However, if you want to say ‘to pretend’, meaning ‘to make believe’, use faire semblant de + infinitive.

L’enfant fait semblant d’être malade.

(The child is pretending to be ill.)

18 Remarquer

Remarquer means ‘to notice’ or ‘to observe’.

J’ai remarqué qu’elle avait beaucoup maigri.

(I noticed that she had lost a lot of weight.)

Vous remarquerez que ses papiers sont dans le plus grand désordre.

(You will observe that his papers are in a complete mess.)

However, if you want to say ‘to remark’, use faire remarquer à quelqu’un.

Elle a fait remarquer à l’étudiant qu’il avait mal orienté ses efforts.

(She remarked to the student that he had misdirected his efforts.)

Mnemonic device

Remember that by remarking (saying) something, you are drawing something to someone’s attention, pointing it out to them and making them notice it.

* Learn the expression: se faire remarquer (to get oneself noticed, to draw attention to oneself)

19 Replacer

Replacer means ‘to put back (again)’ or, figuratively, ‘to set (back) in context’.

On m’a demandé de replacer ces livres dans les rayons.

(I was asked to put the books back on the shelves.)

Le professeur a replacé ces événements dans leur contexte international.

(The teacher set these events back in their international context.)

However, if you want to say ‘to replace’, meaning ‘to take over from’ or ‘to replace with’, use remplacer.

M. Dupont remplace M. Dumas à la direction.

(M. Dupont is replacing / taking over from M. Dumas as director.)

Ils ont remplacé leur piano par un clavier.

(They have replaced their piano with a keyboard.)

20 Reporter

Reporter means ‘to postpone’, ‘to copy out’, ‘to take back’ or ‘to take back in time’.

Nous avons reporté notre départ d’une semaine.

(We have postponed our departure by a week.)

J’ai reporté les noms des candidats sur une nouvelle liste.

(I copied out the names of the candidates in a new list.)

Il faut reporter ces livres à la bibliothèque avant la fin du trimestre.

(You must take these books back to the library before the end of term.)

Parler de ces choses-là me reporte longtemps en arrière.

(Speaking about those things takes me back a long time.)

However, if you want to say ‘to report’, use rapporter or signaler.

Il m’a demandé de rapporter leurs propos.

(He asked me to report what they said.)

Il n’y a rien à signaler.

(There is nothing to report.)

21 Ressentir

Ressentir means ‘to feel’ (an emotion).

Je ressens de la sympathie pour elle.

(I feel sympathy for her.)

However, if you want to say ‘to resent’, use en vouloir à quelqu’un or ne pas supporter quelque chose.

Il lui en veut pour son succès.

(He resents her success.)

Elle ne supporte pas qu’ils soient mieux payés qu’elle.

(She resents their being better paid than her.)

However, the noun ressentiment does have the meaning of ‘resentment’.

J’éprouve un vif ressentiment à leur égard.

(I feel deeply resentful towards them.)

22 Rester

Rester means ‘to stay’ or ‘to remain’.

Je suis restée un an à Paris.

(I stayed in Paris for a year.)

Il est resté six mois au chômage.

(He remained unemployed for six months.)

However, if you want to say ‘to rest’, use se reposer.

Va te reposer.

(Go and rest.)

* Learn the expressions: rester assis / debout (to remain sitting / standing); reste tranquille! (keep still)

23 Résumer

Résumer means ‘to summarise’ or ‘sum up’.

Il nous fallait résumer le texte en 300 mots.

(We had to summarise the text in 300 words.)

However, if you want to say ‘to resume’, use reprendre or se remettre à.

Il a repris son travail après le déjeuner.

(He resumed work after lunch.)

Elle s’est remise aux études à l’âge de trente ans.

(She resumed her studies at the age of thirty.)

24 User

User means ‘to wear out’.

Il a usé l’embrayage en conduisant mal.

(He has worn out the clutch by driving badly.)

However, if you want to say ‘to use’ or ‘to make use of’, use employer, se servir de or utiliser.

Il nous faudra employer une nouvelle méthode pour résoudre ce problème.

(We will have to use a different method to resolve the problem.)

Il s’est servi d’une pince-monseigneur pour ouvrir la fenêtre.

(He used a crowbar to open the window.)

Il ne faut pas utiliser ce produit pour nettoyer le PVC.

(You must not use this product to clean PVC.)

However, note that in a formal register, user followed by de does mean ‘to use’ or ‘to exercise’.

Il faut user de diplomatie dans une telle situation.

(You must use / exercise diplomacy in such a situation.)

* Learn the expressions: user ses vêtements jusqu’à la corde (to wear one’s clothes out); une guerre d’usure (war of attrition); avoir quelqu’un à l’usure (to wear someone down); des semelles inusables (hardwearing soles).

Mnemonic device

The adjective inusable, meaning ‘hardwearing’ or ‘impossible to wear out’, will help you to remember the meaning of the verb user (to wear out). It does not mean ‘unusable’! To say ‘unusable’, you need inutilisable. See Chapter 4.