Do you want to be more efficient with your French verbs? VerbSquirt French

Here is an app one of my students loves:

A fun and rewarding activity app to practise your French verbs:

http://www.lifehack.org/377243/science-says-silence-much-more-important-our-brains-than-thought

Have you tried it? What do you think? Reply in the comments section.

French common mistakes for English learners

These are my notes from a lesson I had on Friday with an advanced student, who has such fluency and speed that she can make basic mistakes.

un criminel = un délinquant
Un criminel is someone who has killed somebody

J'espère qu'il n'attend pas....(I hope he's not waiting): I hope he doesn't expect...
J'espère qu'il ne s'attend pas à ce que...+ subjonctif
J'espère qu'il ne s'attend pas à ce que j'arrive demain.
I hope he doesn't expect me to arrive tomorrow.

Dans tout le monde = dans le monde entier

extra = un supplément
On m'a demandé un supplément = I was charged extra.

Contente avec = contente de
Je suis contente de mon choix

Il est un caméraman - there is no article before professions.
Elle est prof
Elle est avocate
Elle est juge

un plan = un projet
un plan = une carte = a map

Elle a pris l'examen = elle a passé l'examen
She took the exam
Elle a réussi/eu l'examen = she passed the exam (school)

Il  n'y a pas de parking = il n'y a pas de place (de parking)
Le stationnement = parking
un parking = a car-park

Rester is ‘to stay’, but it’s also…

My students are always at a loss when they’re trying to say:
‘How much time have we got left?’ ’We didn’t have time left’ etc.
The structure is very different in French:
Il me restera du temps: I will have time left
Il te restera 2 heures: you will have 2 hours left
Il lui restera 100 euros: he/she will have 100 euros left
Il leur reste 2 billets: they have 2 tickets left
Il nous restera un peu de crème: we'll have a bit of cream left
Il vous restera un peu d'énergie: you will have a bit of energy left.

It always starts with 'il' and depending on who is talking, you amend the pronoun preceeding the 'rester' verb.

A few examples in the past:
Il me restait 1h pour prendre le train. I had 1 hour left to take the train.
Combien il vous restait de temps? How much time did you have left?
Combien il vous restait (d'argent)? How much money did you have left?
Combien il vous restait de kilomètres? How many miles did you have left?

Others examples:
Il te reste de la peinture? Do you have paint left?
Il nous reste 3 exercices à faire. We have 3 exercises to do.
Il vous reste 3 mois à faire. You have 3 months left to do. 
Il t’en reste combien? How many have you got left?
Il nous reste combien de temps? How much time have we got left?
If you hear someone French start a sentence with ‘du reste’, it means: besides/moreover.
And ‘des restes’: means ‘leftovers’. We know the difference because of the articles – ‘du’ and ‘des’ sound very different to a French person.
Last but not least, ‘to rest’ is ‘se reposer’.
At the weekend, I rested: Ce weekend, je me suis reposé(e).
Se reposer is a reflexive verb, hence ‘je me suis…’