English modals may be followed by "have" plus a past participle to express perfect (completed) actions. Translating this construction usually requires a French verb in a perfect tense/mood followed by an infinitive.

What does the French word fabuler mean? How is it pronounced and used?

Here are 10 quick editing tips for on-the-job writers.

Hypocorism is a nickname or pet name--often a shortened form of a word or name. Adjective: "hypocoristic."

What does the French word usine mean? How is it pronounced and used?

One of the most entertaining sections of William S. Walsh's "Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities" (1892) is his discussion of hyperbole, with some wonderfully outsized examples drawn from literature, history, and journalism.

Learn why Miguel de Cervantes' novel about Don Quijote has remained so popular.

The commonly confused words whose and who's: answers to practice exercises.

The commonly confused words "have" and "of": definitions, examples, usage notes, and practice exercises.

The French preposition en is required after certain French verbs when they are followed by a noun.

Learn the Mandarin names of common birds with this vocabulary list of birds. Each entry has an audio file for pronunciation and listening practice.

Looking 100 years into the future, Henry Adams imagined a world in which people would "think in complexities unimaginable to an earlier mind."

Definition of "conjunction" with examples in Spanish and English.

Learn about important dates in French and francophone history: famous birthdays, holidays and celebrations, and other milestones.

China is one of the world's leading economies.Wilfred Y Wong/Photodisc/Getty ImagesChinese solar companies are on a huge upswing. Around the world, renewable energy is taking hold as not only an environmentally intelligent option, but also an economically intelligent one. As less energy...

Learn a new Japanese word every day.

This Mandarin Chinese joke is about a student named Dai Sui Tong. His name is confused with a similar-sounding command - can you guess what it is?

Learn how reflexive pronouns are used in Spanish. Example sentences are included.

An alternative question is a type of question (or interrogative) that offers the listener a closed choice between two or more answers.

What does the French word rompre mean? How is it pronounced and used?