French Grammar – French Verbs that Look the Same But Are Different

Our students and all French learners are often confused by a few French verbs that look quite similar, but have a different meaning. Here are a few of these pairs that are very commonly used in French.

I. Penser vs Croire

Penser mainly means “to think”, whether it is followed or not with the conjunction “que”. There are slight nuances when it is followed by the preposition “à”: then, it may mean “to think of”, “to consider”, “to remember (to do something)”.

Examples:
Je pense que tu as raison. = I think you’re right.
Il pense avoir compris l’origine du problème. = He thinks he has understood the origin of the problem.
Mon fils m’a dit qu’il pense souvent à moi. = My son told me that he was often thinking of me.
Parfois je pense à changer totalement de travail. = Sometimes, I consider totally changing my job.
Il faut que je pense à changer mes dates de congé. = I have to remember to change my holiday dates.

The verb croire definitely means “to believe,” and has this meaning mainly when talking about religion or when you want to express that you’re very convinced of something.
But in everyday language, the French use it much more to express an idea, a thought, a reflection. Then it means “to think”. When French people talk among themselves, a very usual reply to someone who says something unexpected or surprising is: Tu crois ? = Do you think so?”

Examples:
Je crois en Dieu. = I believe in God.
Je crois qu’il dit la vérité. = I believe he says the truth.
Il croit qu’il n’arrivera jamais à me faire changer d’avis. = He believes he’ll never get me to change my mind.
Tu crois qu’il va réussir ? = Do you think he’ll succeed?
On croirait qu’il va neiger. = It would seem it’s going to snow.

II. Regarder vs Voir

Regarder essentially means “to look”. It’s an active and voluntary action. For example: Je regarde par la fenêtre = I’m looking out the window.
We also use it sometimes to say “to watch”, “to check”, among its more usual meanings.

Examples:
Regarde derrière toi avant de reculer ! = Look behind you before backing up!
Nous avons regardé tous les matches à la télé ! = We watched all the games on the TV!
Je vais regarder s’il reste du fromage dans le frigo. = I’ll check if there is some cheese left in the fridge.

Voir is used when something enters in your field of view while you aren’t looking specifically for something. It’s a passive and not a voluntary action, meaning “to see”. Another very frequent meaning is “to visit”.

Examples:
J’ai vu passer une voiture rouge, ce n’était pas la tienne ? = I saw a red car passing by, is wasn’t yours?
Il faut que tu changes de lunettes, tu n’y vois rien ! = You should change your glasses, you don’t see anything!
Chaque fois que je vais à Paris, je vais voir ma tante. = Each time I go to Paris, I go visit my aunt.

III. Ecouter vs Entendre

Confusing these two verbs is one of the most common mistakes that students make! Entendre means “to hear”; it is a passive action, while écouter means “to listen to”, which is a voluntary one. Frequently, when we start a Skype session, the students say Vous m’écoutez bien ? (Are you really listening to me?) while they really mean Vous m’entendez bien ? (Can you hear me well?)
Note that both verbs are transitive: Il entend sa mère, il écoute sa mère. = He hears his mother, he listens to his mother

As for all verbs, they can have other meanings. For example, s’entendre (reflexive) means “to get along well”.

Examples:
Peux-tu monter le son de la radio ? Je n’entends rien ! = Could you turn up the radio? I can’t hear anything!
Tu m’écoutes quand je te parle ? = Do you listen to me when I’m talking to you?
J’ai essayé d’écouter ce qu’ils ont dit mais j’entendais très mal. = I tried to listen to what they said, but I couldn’t
hear very well.
Mes enfants s’entendent très bien ! = My kids get along very well (with each other)!

IV. Sentir vs Ressentir

The distinction between these two verbs isn’t as easy to figure out as for the previous ones. Ressentir and sentir are usually translated in the same way in English: “to feel.” So it’s a bit difficult to know which one to use.
To be specific, ressentir expresses a deeper emotion, and a longer lasting one, while senƟr expresses a more physical feeling or sensation; we also use it when we have a feeling that something will happen. We feel (ressentir) emotions, but we have the feeling (sentir) of a presence
close by… And when you wish to explain to someone how you feel, you use se sentir. It can also mean “to feel up to (doing something).”
Note also that the more common meaning of sentir is “to smell.”

Examples:
Vous sentez le froid qui arrive ? C’est déjà l’hiver. = Do you feel the cold that is coming? It’s winter already.
Je me sens bien aujourd’hui ! = I feel good today!
Tu te sens de venir courir avec moi ? = Do you feel up to going running with me?
Anne a ressenti beaucoup de chagrin quand son père est parti. =Ann felt a lot of sorrow when her dad left.
Ces roses sentent si bon ! = These roses smell so good!

V. Prêter vs Emprunter

The difficulty with these two verbs is that while they are very similar when you pronounce them, they mean exactly the contrary! Prêter is “to lend something to someone”, “to let someone use something that belongs to you”, while emprunter mainly means “to borrow something from someone”, or money from a bank…

Examples:
Je te prête ma valise pour le voyage si tu veux ! = I can lend you my suitcase for the trip if you want!
Ah merci, j’allais te demander si je pouvais te l’emprunter ! = Oh thanks, I was going to ask you if I could borrow it from you!
Je peux emprunter votre perceuse pour quelques minutes ? = Can I borrow your drill for a few minutes?
Bien sûr, je vous la prête pour la journée si vous voulez ! = Of course, I can lend it to you for the day if you want!
Tu as emprunté combien pour ta voiture ? = How much did you borrow for (the purchase of) your car?
La banque ne m’a prêté que 8000 euros. = The bank only lent me 8000 euros.

Annick Stevenson