«This is not serious», you say. «It happens to everyone in the world make mistakes!» It is true that the subtleties of the French language make us fall into his little traps. No one is infallible. But there are spelling errors that, frankly, irritate the eye. That are squeaking in our ears and twist our mouth. Do you? Le Figaro offers an overview of these errors of the French to the eradication of any emergency.

● «If I would have known»

«If I would have known, I wouldn’t come,» complained Gibus in War of The buttons. The fame of this sentence does not grammatically correct. It is quite the opposite! Remember the rule: when we use the conjunction «if», which translated is a condition, there is no need to add a verb conjugated in the conditional. Thus, it is necessary to write: «If I had known, I wouldn’t have come.»

● «As well»

The formula was replaced, wrongly, the phrase «when even»: «I don’t like this writer but I have even read his book.» Strange mutation isn’t it? In any case, its use here is incorrect. As we explained in the French Academy in the section to Say/ not to say, the phrase conjunctiva may occur in this single case: «when it comes to the succession of the conjunction of subordination as, and to the adverb itself.» Example: «As even his family could not come, he cancelled the ceremony». But, apart from this case, it is «still necessary». You should write «I don’t like this writer but I still read her last book».

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● «I’m going to the doctor».

The correct sentence is: «I go to the doctor». The rule is the following: the preposition «to» is used when the complement is a name of a place inanimate, denoting a place. For example: «I’m going to the market» or «I’m going to the bakery». You should use the preposition «in» when the add-in refers to one or more persons: «I’m going to the butcher» or «I’m going to the hairdresser».

● «Ride on Paris»

«Ah, I’m happy! I am on Bordeaux this weekend!». This sentence is incorrect. As recalled by the French Academy, the preposition «on» is used «to express an idea of position, of superiority or of direction». As well, it can’t replace the prepositions «to» and «in» to introduce an additional place such as a city name or region. When you say «I climb up on Bordeaux» you say you are wanting to ride «above» the city in question. Thus does it say: «I’m in Bordeaux, this week-end».

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● «cause»

The phrase conjunctiva, although malsonnante today, has belonged to the classical language. «On the bed, between others, with Pascal,» recalls the French Academy. «It was still defended by the great lexicographers Bescherelle and Littré, who believed that it should be retained, because it was for it the support good authors, such as Baudelaire or Sand, but it was already considered obsolete by the eighth edition of the Dictionary of the French Academy.» Now, «because that» is used by the authors «by affection of triviality». And is it necessary to prefer the formula «because». Example: «I only go because it’s too far away» and not «I will not go, because it is too far away».

● The addition of letters and apostrophes.

These are all small errors. Additions discrete but oh so annoying! A fault recurring is the spelling of «advantage». Even if, according to The Treasury of the French language, this spelling can be found in old French, it is necessary today to write «more». Similarly, the word «among» does not take «s». In fact, the etymology of this word reveals that it is the result of the association of «by» and «mi» («middle»). In contrast, the «except» makes an «s» because here, the «put» is the past participle of the verb «put off» in the sense of»exclude».

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