Common Grammar Mistakes That Lower Your TEF Canada Score — and How to Fix Them

The ultimate 2026 guide by LearnFLE.fr

Preparing for the TEF Canada is about much more than memorizing vocabulary. While many candidates focus on listening and speaking practice, grammar remains one of the biggest reasons students lose valuable points in Expression Écrite (Writing) and Expression Orale (Speaking). Even candidates with a good vocabulary often fail to reach CLB 7 or CLB 9 because of repeated grammatical errors that affect clarity, accuracy, and coherence.

In this complete guide from LearnFLE.fr, you’ll discover the most common grammar mistakes in TEF Canada, understand why they reduce your score, and learn practical techniques to eliminate them before exam day.

Why grammar matters in TEF Canada

TEF Canada evaluates your ability to communicate naturally in French across four skills:

Reading comprehension
Listening comprehension
Written expression
Oral expression

Grammar is especially important in the writing and speaking sections because examiners assess the accuracy of sentence structure, verb usage, agreements, and your ability to express ideas using appropriate language. Strong grammar helps you produce clear, sophisticated responses instead of simple or incorrect sentences.

Mistake 1: Incorrect verb conjugation

This is the most frequent error among TEF candidates.

Incorrect:

Je travaille hier.

Correct:

J’ai travaillé hier.

The TEF writing tasks often require you to describe past experiences, future plans, and hypothetical situations. Using the wrong tense immediately lowers grammatical accuracy.

How to fix it

Practice these five essential tenses every day:

Tense	TEF Use
Présent	Daily life
Passé composé	Completed actions
Imparfait	Background descriptions
Futur simple	Future plans
Conditionnel	Opinions & politeness

Instead of memorizing rules, write 10 original sentences using one tense daily.

Mistake 2: Subject–verb agreement

Many learners forget that French verbs must agree with the subject.

Incorrect	Correct
Les étudiants est intelligents.	Les étudiants sont intelligents.
Nous va au travail.	Nous allons au travail.

This mistake appears frequently during spontaneous speaking because candidates think faster than they conjugate.

How to fix it

Create a habit of identifying the subject before choosing the verb. During speaking practice, slow down slightly rather than speaking too fast. Natural pacing improves grammatical accuracy.

Mistake 3: Gender and adjective agreement

French adjectives change according to gender and number.

Incorrect	Correct
Une voiture blanc	Une voiture blanche
Les filles gentil	Les filles gentilles

Although this seems basic, repeated agreement errors can significantly reduce your writing score.

Memory trick

Ask yourself two questions:

Is the noun masculine or feminine?
Is it singular or plural?

Then modify the adjective accordingly.

Mistake 4: Confusing Passé Composé and Imparfait

This grammar point is essential for TEF Canada.

Passé composé	Imparfait
Specific completed action	Habit or background
J’ai terminé le projet.	Je travaillais chaque soir.

Many candidates write:

Quand j’étais enfant, j’ai joué au football.

Better:

Quand j’étais enfant, je jouais au football.

How to fix it

Remember:

Imparfait = ongoing or repeated past
Passé composé = finished event

Practice by rewriting diary entries using both tenses.

Mistake 5: Wrong use of prepositions

French prepositions rarely match English.

Incorrect	Correct
Je vais à Canada.	Je vais au Canada.
Je dépend de toi.	Je dépends de toi.

Preposition mistakes make otherwise strong sentences sound unnatural.

How to improve

Learn vocabulary together with its preposition:

penser à
dépendre de
participer à
parler de

Never memorize verbs alone.

Mistake 6: Literal translation from English

Many Indian learners translate directly.

Incorrect:

Je suis intéressé dans le sport.

Correct:

Je m’intéresse au sport.

Another example:

Je fais une décision ❌

Je prends une décision ✅

French uses different collocations, and literal translation often sounds unnatural.

Solution

Read authentic French articles daily instead of translating from English.

Mistake 7: Missing pronouns

Pronouns make French more natural and avoid repetition.

Incorrect:

Je vois Marie. Je parle à Marie.

Correct:

Je la vois. Je lui parle.

The TEF oral exam rewards smooth, natural communication rather than repetitive sentence structures.

Mistake 8: Poor sentence connectors

Many candidates write short disconnected sentences.

Weak response:

J’aime le télétravail. C’est pratique. Les employés gagnent du temps.

Better response:

J’aime le télétravail car il est pratique. De plus, les employés gagnent du temps. Cependant, certaines personnes préfèrent travailler au bureau.

Useful connectors include:

Function	Connector
Addition	De plus
Cause	Car / Parce que
Contrast	Cependant
Result	Donc
Conclusion	En conclusion

Using connectors improves coherence and lexical range.

Mistake 9: Incorrect conditional mood

The conditional appears frequently when expressing opinions politely.

Incorrect:

Je veux travailler au Canada.

Better:

J’aimerais travailler au Canada.

Similarly:

Il faudrait…
Je souhaiterais…
Nous pourrions…

These structures sound more formal and are ideal for TEF writing.

Mistake 10: Word order mistakes

French sentence order differs from English.

Incorrect:

Je mange souvent des pommes rouges.

Better:

Je mange souvent des pommes rouges.

But with object pronouns:

Incorrect:

Je vois le.

Correct:

Je le vois.

Pronoun placement is tested regularly in both speaking and writing.

A 15-minute daily grammar routine

Consistency is more effective than occasional long study sessions.

Time	Activity
3 min	Review yesterday’s mistakes
4 min	Conjugate one verb in five tenses
3 min	Write three complex sentences
3 min	Practice connectors
2 min	Read aloud for fluency

Just 15 minutes every day can dramatically improve grammatical accuracy over 8–10 weeks.

Grammar checklist before submitting your writing

Before finishing the TEF writing section, check these quickly:

Verb tense consistency
Subject–verb agreement
Gender agreement
Articles (le, la, les, un, une)
Prepositions
Connectors
Pronouns
Spelling of common verbs

A two-minute review often catches several avoidable errors.

How LearnFLE.fr helps you improve TEF grammar

A structured TEF preparation course is often the fastest way to eliminate recurring mistakes. At LearnFLE.fr, students receive grammar-focused training designed specifically for Canadian immigration goals.

The preparation includes:

Live online TEF Canada classes
Grammar correction for every writing task
Speaking feedback from certified French trainers
Weekly mock tests
CLB-oriented writing practice
Personalized error analysis
Vocabulary and connector worksheets

Rather than learning grammar in isolation, students apply every rule in real TEF exam situations.

Final thoughts

Grammar is the foundation of a high TEF Canada score. The difference between B2 and C1, or CLB 7 and CLB 9, often comes down to eliminating small but repeated errors—not learning thousands of new words. Focus on verb conjugation, agreements, pronouns, connectors, and conditional structures. Practice consistently, review your mistakes, and write in French every day.

With the right strategy and expert guidance from LearnFLE.fr, you can transform grammar from your weakest area into your greatest scoring advantage and confidently achieve your target TEF Canada results.

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