What natives actually say
A free quiz on native French expressions and register: every option is grammatically correct, only one is what a French speaker would actually say. C1 level, scored on the page.
Grammatical is not the same as French
Every option in this game is grammatically fine. Your job is to spot the one a native would actually say, because the other versions are what makes a French colleague switch to English.
Step 1 / 3
Sound natural in French: the collocation quiz
This quiz tests register and collocation: which of several correct sentences a native would actually produce. This is the hardest gap to close, because nobody corrects you. Say « je suis trÚs fatigué » at the bar instead of « je suis crevé » and everyone understands; you just sound like a subtitle. Textbook French passes exams and marks you as foreign in the first sentence. The quiz forces you to choose between correct and natural, which is the choice natives make automatically.
Free, scored on the page, retake it as often as you want. The answer key explains why the natural option wins: register, frequency, or a collocation the alternatives break. Expect to score lower than your level suggests; that is the point. To build the reflex, the Learning Center has guides on spoken French and register, and The French Briefing gives you daily reading written the way French is actually used.
Why do I sound unnatural in French even without mistakes?
Because natural French is about collocation and register, not just grammar. Natives say « prendre une décision », « ça marche », « je suis crevé » : fixed pairings and frequency choices. A correct sentence built word by word from English often selects options a native would never pick.
What is a collocation in French?
A habitual word pairing natives use without thinking: « poser une question », never « demander une question » ; « pluie battante », not « pluie forte ». Both versions may be understandable, but only one sounds French. Learning collocations as blocks matters more at C1 than learning new isolated words.
How do French registers differ in everyday speech?
Spoken French routinely drops ne in negation, prefers on to nous, uses truncations like ciné and resto, and reaches for familiar vocabulary: bouffer, bosser, un truc. Written and formal French keeps the full forms. Using written register in conversation is correct but immediately marks you as a learner.
