👉 See also: Avoir conjugation chart (to have) »
Today we’ll focus on a simple yet extremely useful French expression: “avoir du mal à”, which means to have difficulty/trouble or to find it hard to do something.
avoir du mal à
to have difficulty doing something
Explanation
This is how the the expression works: Conjugated form of avoir (to have) + du mal à + infinitive. For example, j’ai du mal à prononcer ce mot (I have a hard time pronouncing this word).
Example sentences
This first example sentence makes use of reflexive verbs, which are “to myself verbs” in French.
J’ai du mal à me lever tôt le matin parce que je me couche trop tard.
I have a hard time getting up early in the morning because I go to bed too late.
This second example makes reference to the French -r, which is very difficult for many students.
John a du mal à prononcer le “r” français. C’est trop difficile pour lui.
John struggles to pronounce the French -r. It’s too hard for him.
Sylvie a du mal à chanter la chanson parce que sa voix est trop aiguë.
Sylvie is having difficulty sining the song because her voice is too high.
Nous avons du mal à comprendre pourquoi vous arrivez toujours en retard.
We’re having a hard time understanding why you always arrive late.
Related lessons
References
