Idioms, fixed expressions and verb-noun collocations

These three labels all describe chunks of language you learn as one unit, because the words go together in a way you cannot predict from English.

• A collocation is a habitual partnership of words — most often a verb + noun. French says faire du sport (to do/play sport), prendre une douche (to take/have a shower). The verb is fixed by custom: you cannot swap in a logical-sounding alternative.
• A fixed expression is a set phrase used the same way every time: à mon avis (in my opinion), de temps en temps (from time to time), s'il vous plaît (please). You memorise the whole thing.
• An idiom is the trickiest: its meaning is not the sum of the individual words. Il pleut des cordes literally reads 'it is raining ropes', but it means it is pouring with rain.

The single most important habit is this: translate the chunk, not the words. A beginner who meets faire la queue and translates word by word gets the nonsense 'to make the tail'. A skilled candidate recognises the fixed expression and reads it correctly as to queue / to stand in line.

Chunk	Word-for-word (wrong)	Real meaning
faire la queue	to make the tail	to queue / stand in line
avoir faim	to have hunger	to be hungry
prendre une décision	to take a decision	to make a decision
il y a	it there has	there is / there are

Worked mini-example. You meet Nous avons fait la grasse matinée. word by word it looks like 'we made the fat morning' — meaningless. Recognise faire la grasse matinée as a fixed expression and it becomes We had a lie-in / We slept in (a-VWAR fay la grass ma-tee-NAY).

faire (FAIR — to do/make) is the most productive verb in French. Learn its collocation families and you can talk about sport, chores, weather and daily life with native-sounding phrasing.

Sport and activities — faire + de + activity.

French	Pronunciation	English
faire du sport	fair dew spor	to do/play sport
faire de la natation	fair duh la na-ta-SYON	to go swimming
faire **de l'**équitation	fair duh lay-kee-ta-SYON	to go horse-riding
faire des randonnées	fair day ron-do-NAY	to go hiking

Notice the little word changes with the gender/number of the noun: du (masculine), de la (feminine), de l' (before a vowel), des (plural). The verb stays faire.

Chores and tasks.

French	English
faire la cuisine	to do the cooking / cook
faire le ménage	to do the housework
faire la vaisselle	to do the washing-up
faire les courses	to do the (food) shopping
faire ses devoirs	to do one's homework

Weather — always il fait + adjective. French describes weather with faire, not 'to be': il fait beau (it's fine), il fait froid (it's cold), il fait chaud (it's hot), il fait mauvais (the weather's bad).

Useful fixed expressions with faire. faire la queue (to queue), faire attention (to pay attention / be careful), faire un voyage (to take a trip), faire la grasse matinée (to have a lie-in), faire de son mieux (to do one's best).

Worked mini-example. To say 'In winter I go skiing and I do my homework in the evening', combine two faire-collocations: En hiver, je fais du ski et je fais mes devoirs le soir. Note fais is the je form of faire.

Here is a pattern that English speakers get wrong constantly. For many physical states and feelings, French uses avoir (to have) where English uses 'to be'. You literally have hunger, have 15 years, have fear.

French	Word-for-word	Real meaning
avoir faim	to have hunger	to be hungry
avoir soif	to have thirst	to be thirsty
avoir chaud	to have heat	to be hot
avoir froid	to have cold	to be cold
avoir peur (de)	to have fear (of)	to be afraid (of)
avoir sommeil	to have sleep	to be sleepy
avoir raison	to have reason	to be right
avoir tort	to have wrong	to be wrong
avoir ... ans	to have ... years	to be ... years old
avoir besoin de	to have need of	to need
avoir envie de	to have desire of	to want / feel like
avoir mal à	to have pain at	to have an ache in / hurt

Because the verb is avoir, you conjugate avoir, and the state word does not change like an adjective: j'ai faim (I'm hungry), tu as faim (you're hungry), nous avons faim (we're hungry) — faim stays the same.

The age trap. To give your age you must say J'ai quinze ans. (literally 'I have fifteen years' = I am fifteen). Saying Je suis quinze (I am fifteen, with 'to be') is a classic and heavily-penalised beginner error. Never forget the word ans (years).

avoir mal à — talking about pain. Combine avoir mal à with a body part, and remember à contracts: à + le = au, à + les = aux.

• J'ai mal à la tête. — I have a headache (lit. pain at the head).
• J'ai mal au ventre. — I have a stomach ache (à + le ventre).
• J'ai mal aux dents. — I have toothache (à + les dents).

Worked mini-example. 'I'm hungry and thirsty, and I'm afraid of dogs.' Use avoir three times: J'ai faim et soif, et j'ai peur des chiens. (des = de + les). Three states, one verb — avoir.

Beyond faire and avoir, two more verbs power a large number of everyday collocations.

prendre (PRON-druh — to take), often where English says 'have'. French takes meals, showers and decisions.

French	English
prendre le petit déjeuner	to have breakfast
prendre une douche	to have/take a shower
prendre le bus / le train	to take the bus / train
prendre un café	to have a coffee
prendre une décision	to make a decision
prendre rendez-vous	to make an appointment
prendre des photos	to take photos

Note that French prend une décision — it takes a decision, while English makes one. This is a pure collocation you must memorise.

aller (a-LAY — to go), for movement and for the near future. Beyond simple movement, aller builds the futur proche (near future): aller + infinitive = 'going to do something'.

• Je vais manger. — I'm going to eat.
• Nous allons visiter Paris. — We're going to visit Paris.
• aller à pied — to go on foot / walk; aller en ville — to go into town.

Useful fixed expressions: aller mieux (to feel/get better), Comment ça va ? (How's it going?), Ça va bien (It's going well / I'm fine).

Worked mini-example. 'Tomorrow I'm going to take the train and have a coffee in town.' Combine aller (near future) with two prendre-collocations: Demain, je vais prendre le train et prendre un café en ville. The first prendre is driven by aller (futur proche); the second is understood after et.

An idiom carries a meaning you cannot guess from the individual words. You do not need a huge stock at Standard level, but knowing a few common ones helps you understand Paper 2 Reading texts and lets you shine in Paper 3 and Paper 4.

Idiom	Literal	Real meaning
il pleut des cordes	it's raining ropes	it's pouring with rain
coûter les yeux de la tête	to cost the eyes of the head	to cost a fortune
avoir le cafard	to have the cockroach	to feel down / blue
poser un lapin (à quelqu'un)	to put down a rabbit	to stand someone up
donner un coup de main	to give a blow of hand	to give a hand / help
avoir un poil dans la main	to have a hair in the hand	to be very lazy
ça marche	that walks	that works / OK, deal
tomber dans les pommes	to fall in the apples	to faint

Use idioms sparingly and accurately. One well-placed idiom in a speaking or writing answer signals strong command of French and lifts your Range mark. But an idiom used wrongly, or stuffed in where it doesn't fit, looks worse than plain correct language. Quality over quantity.

Safe, high-value idioms to actually use. A few are natural in everyday answers and very low-risk:

• Ça marche ! — Great / It's a deal / That works.
• Donner un coup de main — to lend a hand: Je donne un coup de main à ma mère. (I help my mum out.)
• Avoir le cafard — to feel down: Quand il pleut, j'ai le cafard. (When it rains, I feel a bit blue.)

Worked mini-example. A Reading text says Le voyage a coûté les yeux de la tête. Word by word this is nonsense ('the trip cost the eyes of the head'). Recognise the idiom: it means the trip cost a fortune / was very expensive. Reading comprehension questions often hinge on spotting exactly this kind of figurative phrase.

The fastest way to raise your Paper 3 and Paper 4 marks is to memorise a small bank of fixed expressions you can reuse in nearly every answer. These are pre-built, examiner-pleasing chunks for opinions, time, frequency and linking ideas.

Opinions (almost every answer needs one).

French	English
à mon avis	in my opinion
je pense que	I think that
je trouve que	I find that
selon moi	according to me / in my view
je suis d'accord (avec)	I agree (with)
ce qui me plaît, c'est…	what I like is…

Time and frequency.

French	English
de temps en temps	from time to time
tous les jours	every day
une fois par semaine	once a week
en ce moment	at the moment
d'habitude	usually
tout à coup	suddenly

Linking words (to connect ideas and add Range). d'abord (first), ensuite (next/then), puis (then), enfin (finally), parce que (because), car (for/because), donc (so/therefore), cependant (however), par contre (on the other hand), par exemple (for example).

A ready-made opinion template. Glue these chunks together: [opinion] + [reason] + [example/frequency].

À mon avis, le sport est important *parce qu'*il garde la forme. Par exemple, je fais du sport trois fois par semaine. (In my opinion, sport is important because it keeps you fit. For example, I play sport three times a week.)

Notice this single sentence uses an opinion phrase, a linking word, a faire-collocation and a frequency expression — four chunks, all reusable, all band-boosting.

Worked mini-example. Asked 'Do you like your town?' build the answer from chunks: À mon avis, ma ville est agréable, car il y a beaucoup à faire. Par contre, de temps en temps, c'est un peu bruyant. (In my opinion my town is pleasant, because there's a lot to do. On the other hand, from time to time it's a bit noisy.) Every underlined idea is a memorised fixed expression.