In this video I explain 4 expressions that you often confuse! 0:00 - Introduction

• 1:42 - A fact
• 2:25 - Indeed
• 3:05 - In fact
• 3:46 - By the way
• 4:17 - Conclusion

Transcript

Hello to all of you. I hope that you are well and that your learning of French is going well.

So today we're going to look at four French expressions that are very similar and can easily be confused. Here are the four expressions: un fait, en fait, au fait, en effet. For example, I could say: "French is not an easy language, that's a fact. Indeed, there are many complicated rules. Often, we think that once we have learned all these rules, it is very easy to speak French. But in fact, there are also many exceptions to these rules.

By the way, are you doing well with your French learning? I can help you!" You may not have understood anything. Indeed, there are many very similar expressions, so en effet, au fait, en fait and un fait. Now we will see together each of these expressions, their meaning and I will give you concrete examples so that you can understand them if a French person uses them, but also use them yourself. The first one we have seen is "un fait".

I said "French is a complicated language, it's a fact". So a fact is an event, it is something that cannot be disputed, that is true for everybody. For example, I could say "Michael Schumacher is the best Formula 1 driver in the world, it's a fact, he is the only one to have won the world championship seven times". I could also say "The older I get, the more wrinkles I get, that's a fact". Or you could say "he ate the whole cake, it's a fact, there's not a crumb left".

The next expression is: indeed. So, we use en effet to confirm what someone has just said or to justify what we have just said. For example, we could say "Mathieu is very nice, indeed, he is always available to help me learn French".

We could also say "Aren't you cold in a t-shirt?" "Indeed, I'm very cold, I forgot my coat" or we could say "I'm very very hungry, indeed, I didn't eat anything all day".

The next phrase is "in fact". We use "in fact" to say "in reality, contrary to what you might think". So, for example, I could say, "I keep saying I have to study, but in fact I just watch TV." Or you could say, "I have a degree in fashion design, but I'm actually a waitress in a restaurant". To say contrary to what one might have thought, I do another job.

Another example might be, "I ate all that chocolate cake but I actually prefer fruit pies.

Finally, the last expression is "by the way". So, we use by the way to say "by the way". For example, I might say, "I ran into stone. He looks good. By the way, how is his wife?" Another example might be, if I say to someone, "I'm going shopping this afternoon." He might say to me, "By the way, will you think about buying some more pasta?". And finally, a last example could be: "I watched a James Bond movie yesterday, by the way, do you know when the next one is coming out?".

 That's all for today, I hope you have understood the difference between these four expressions and that you can now understand and use them. If there are other words or expressions in French that you find very similar and that you have difficulty understanding, don't hesitate to put them in the comments so that I can explain them to you in a future video.

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