Essential French Grammar Read online

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  INTRODUCTION TO HAWAIIAN GRAMMAR, W. D. Alexander. (0-486-43432-X)

  FIVE GREAT GERMAN SHORT STORIES/FÜNF DEUTSCHE MEISTERERZÄHLUNGEN: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BooK. Stanley Appelbaum (ed.). (0-486-27619-8)

  GREAT GERMAN POETS OF THE ROMANTIC ERA/BERÜHMTE GEDICHTE DER DEUTSCHEN ROMANTIK, Stanley Appelbaum (ed.). (0-486-28497-2)

  INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH POETRY: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Stanley Appelbaum (ed.). (0-486-26711-3)

  SPANISH STORIES OF THE ROMANTIC ERA, Stanley Appelbaum (ed.). (0-486-44715-4)

  INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE PHRASE BOOK IN SIX LANGUAGES, Joseph W. Bator. (0-486-22017-6)

  FLOWERS OF EVIL AND OTHER WORKS/LES FLEURS DU MAL, Charles Baudelaire (edited and translated by Wallace Fowlie). (0-486-27092-0)

  EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE: EASY LESSONS IN EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS, E. A. Wallis Budge. (0-486-21394-3)

  FIRST STEPS IN EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS: A BOOK FOR BEGINNERS, E. A. Wallis Budge. (0-486-43099-5)

  FRENCH WORD GAMES AND PUZZLES, Sister Chantal. (0-486-28481-6)

  FALLACIES AND PITFALLS OF LANGUAGE, Morris S. Engel. (0-486-28274-0)

  FIRST SPANISH READER: A BEGINNER’S DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Angel Flores (ed.). (0-486-25810-6)

  SPANISH POETRY/POESIA ESPANOLA: A DUAL-LANGUAGE ANTHOLOGY, Angel Flores (ed.). (0-486-40171-5)

  SPANISH STORIES/CUENTOS ESPAÑOLES: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Angel Flores (ed.). (0-486-25399-6)

  INTRODUCTION TO SPANISH POETRY: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Eugenio Florit (ed.). (0-486-26712-1)

  FRENCH STORIES/CONTES FRANÇAIS: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Wallace Fowlie (ed.). (0-486-26443-2)

  MODERN FRENCH POETS: SELECTIONS WITH TRANSLATES, Wallace Fowlie (ed.). (0-486-27323-7)

  LATIN SELECTIONS/FLORILEGIUM LATINUM, Moses Hadas and Thomas Suits (eds.). (0-486-27059-9)

  ITALIAN STORIES/NOVELLE ITALIANE: A DUAL.-LANGUAGE BOOK, Robert A. Hall, Jr. (ed.). (0-486-26180-8)

  A TIBETAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY, H. A. Jaschke. (0-486-42697-1)

  EVERYDAY ENGLISH-RUSSIAN CONVERSATIONS, Leonid Kossman. (0-486-29877-9)

  FRENCH: HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE IT, Joseph Lemaitre. (0-486-20268-2)

  INTRODUCTION TO GERMAN POETRY: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Gustave Mathieu and Guy Stern (eds.). (0-486-26713-X)

  BEST SHORT STORIES/LES MEILLEURS CONTES, Guy de Maupassant. (0-486-28918-4)

  Copyright © 1961 by DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

  Copyright © 1965 by DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

  All rights reserved under Pan American and

  International Copyright Conventions.

  Standard Book Number: 486-20419-7

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 63-1378

  9780486113418

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Dover Publications, Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, N.Y 11501

  Table of Contents

  DOVER BOOKS ON LANGUAGE

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Introduction

  Suggestions for Vocabulary Building

  Written Accents

  Word Order

  How to Form Questions

  Nouns and the Definite and Indefinite Articles

  Adjectives

  Adverbs

  Verbs

  Personal Pronouns

  Expressing Possession

  Contraction of à or de and the Definite Article

  The Partitive Construction

  Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns

  Comparisons of Adjectives and Adverbs

  The Relative Pronouns Qui and Que

  Negative Expressions

  Idiomatic Verbs

  Telling Time

  Some Useful Expressions

  Vocabulary Tips

  Vocabulary Building with Cognates

  Table of Common Equivalents

  LIST OF COGNATES

  A Glossary of Grammatical Terms

  INDEX

  A CATALOG OF SELECTED - DOVER BOOKS

  Introduction

  Essential French Grammar assumes that you will be spending a limited number of hours studying French grammar and that your objective is simple everyday communication. It is offered not as a condensed outline of all aspects of French grammar, but as a series of hints which will enable you to use more effectively and with greater versatility phrases and vocabulary that you have previously learned. You will become familiar with the more common structures and patterns of the language and learn a selected number of the most useful rules and forms.

  How to Study Essential French Grammar

  If you have studied French in a conventional manner, you will probably understand everything in Essential French Grammar, which can then serve as a refresher even though it uses a different approach than conventional grammars. You may want to glance through the book and then pay attention to those areas in which you are weak.

  But if this is the first time you have studied French grammar, the following suggestions will be helpful.

  Don’t approach Essential French Grammar until you have mastered several hundred useful phrases and expressions such as you will find in any good phrase book or the Listen & Learn course. Everything will be more comprehensible and usable after you have achieved some simple, working knowledge of the language. The purpose of this book is to enable you to achieve greater fluency with the phrase approach, not to teach you to construct sentences from rules and vocabulary.

  Read Essential French Grammar through at least once in its entirety. Don’t be concerned if sections are not immediately clear to you; on second or third reading, they will make better sense. This first reading is necessary to give you a better understanding of certain terms and concepts used at the beginning. What may appear discouragingly difficult at first will become more understandable as your studies progress. As you use the language and hear it spoken, many aspects of French grammar will begin to form recognizable patterns. Essential French Grammar will acquaint you with the structure and some of the peculiarities of the language, and will be helpful to you in developing your vocabulary and in generally improving your comprehension.

  Go back to Essential French Grammar periodically. Sections which seem difficult or of doubtful benefit to you now may prove extremely helpful later.

  For the most part, Essential French Grammar is presented in a logical order, especially for the major divisions of grammar, and you will do best to follow its sequence in your studies. However, the author is aware that some students learn best when they study to answer their immediate questions or needs (e.g., how to form the comparative; the conjugation of the verb to be, etc.). If you prefer this approach, study entire sections, not only individual remarks.

  Examples are given for every rule. You may find it helpful to memorize the examples. If you learn every example in this supplement and its literal translation, you will have been exposed to the most basic problems of French grammar and to models for their solution.

  One cannot study French systematically without an understanding of its grammar, and the use and understanding of grammatical terms is as essential as a knowledge of certain mechanical terms when you learn to drive a car. If your knowledge of grammatical terms is weak, read the Glossary of Grammatical Terms (p.131) and refer to it whenever necessary.

  There are many ways to express the same thought. Every language has several different constructions to convey a single idea; some simple, others difficult. An involved verb conjugation may well be a more sophisticated way of expressing a thought and one which you may ultimately wish to master, but during your first experiments in communication you can achieve your aim by using a simple construction. Throughout this grammar you will find helpful hints on how to avoid di
fficult constructions.

  As you begin to speak French, you will be your own best judge of the areas in which you need help in grammatical construction. If there is no one with whom to practice, speak mentally to yourself. In the course of a day see how many of the simple thoughts you’ve expressed in English can be stated in some manner in French. This kind of experimental self-testing will give direction to your study of grammar. Remember that you are studying this course in French not to pass an examination or receive a certificate, but to communicate with others on a simple but useful level. Essential French Grammar is not the equivalent of a formal course of study at a university. Although it could serve as a supplement to such a course, its primary aim is to help the adult study on his own. Indeed, no self-study or academic course or series could ever be offered that is ideally suited to every student. You must therefore rely on and be guided by your own rate of learning and your own requirements and interests.

  If this grammar or any other grammar tends to inhibit your use of the language you may have learned through a simple phrase approach as taught in some schools and the Listen & Learn records, curtail your study of grammar until you feel it will really assist rather than hinder your speaking. Your objective is speaking, and you can learn to speak a language without formal grammatical training. The fundamental purpose of Essential French Grammar is to enable you to learn more rapidly and to eliminate hit and miss memorization. For those who prefer a more systematic approach, grammar does enable them to learn more quickly.

  At the risk of being repetitious, the author must again urge you not to be afraid of making mistakes. The purpose of this grammar is not to teach you to speak like a native but to communicate and make yourself understood. If its goal is achieved, you will be speaking French and making mistakes rather than maintaining an inhibited silence. You will most certainly make errors in verb forms which are difficult for the English-speaking student to master, but don’t let fear of errors deter you from speaking. On apprend h parler en parlant—One learns to speak by speaking. Sooner or later you’ll review Essential French Grammar or a more detailed grammar at a time that is appropriate for polishing your speech.

  Suggestions for Vocabulary Building

  The following suggestions may be helpful to you in building your vocabulary:

  Study words and word lists that answer real and preferably immediate personal needs. If you are planning to travel in the near future your motivation and orientation is clear cut and Listen & Learn French or a good travel phrase book will give you the material you need. Select material according to your personal interests and requirements. If you don’t plan to motor, don’t spend time studying the parts of the car. If you like foreign foods, study the supplementary foreign food list in Listen & Learn French. Even if you do not plan to travel in the near future, you will probably learn more quickly by imagining a travel or real life situation.

  Use the association technique for memorization. For the most part, Listen & Learn French or travel phrase books give you associated word lists. If you continue to build your vocabulary by memorization, don’t use a dictionary for this purpose. Select such grammars or books that have lists of word families.

  Study the specialized vocabulary of your profession, business, or hobby. If you are interested in real estate, learn the many terms associated with property, buying, selling, leasing, etc. An interest in mathematics should lead you to a wide vocabulary in this science. Words in your specialty will be learned quickly and a surprising number will be applicable or transferable to other areas. Although these specialized vocabularies may not always be readily available, an active interest and a good dictionary will help you get started.

  Abbreviations and Note

  Abbreviations used in Essential French Grammar

  MASC. Masculine

  FEM. Feminine

  SING. Singular

  PL. Plural

  LIT. Literally

  FAM. Familiar

  CONJ. Conjugation

  INFIN. Infinitive

  PART. Participle

  ADJ. Adjective

  Note: Whenever the French construction is basically different from the construction in English, a literal translation enclosed in brackets is given to help you analyze and understand the French syntax. This literal translation is immediately followed by a translation into idiomatic English.

  Written Accents

  There are three written accents which are placed on vowels in French. The most common is the acute accent (l‘accent aigu)’ which is used only over the vowel e. The é has the sound of English a as in ABC: la vérité (the truth), parlé (spoken).

  The grave accent (l’accent grave) is used mainly over e, which then has the sound of e in met: le père (the father), il lève (he raises). The grave accent is also used over a and u (without affecting their pronunciation) in a few words to distinguish them from other words with the same spelling: à (to, at), a (has); là (there), la (the, it, her); où (where), ou (or).

  The circumflex accent (l‘accent circonflexe) may be used over any vowel (â, ê, î, ô, û), and generally lengthens the sound of the vowel: l’âge (the age), être (to be), l’île (the isle), le Rhône (the Rhone River), sûr (sure).

  The above accents do not indicate any special voice stress on the syllable where they occur.

  The cedilla (la cédille), is placed under the letter c to give it the sound of s before a, o or u: français (French), le garçon (the boy, waiter), reçu (received).

  Word Order

  Normal word order

  Word order in French is frequently the same as in English. Since many words in French are obviously related in appearance and derivation to English words, it is often easy to understand a French sentence even if you know only a minimum of grammar. Compare the following French sentences and their English translations:

  Mon cousin et sa fiancée arrivent à six heures.

  My cousin and his fiancee arrive at six o‘clock.

  La premiére leçon est très importante.

  The first lesson is very important.

  Negative Word Order1

  To make a sentence negative, place ne before the verb and pas after it. (The ne becomes n’ before a vowel or a silent h.)

  Je ne parle pas très bien.

  I do not speak very well.

  Cette ville n’est pas très grande.

  This city is not very large.

  How to Form Questions

  Three Common Question Forms

  There are several ways of turning simple statements into questions in French.

  The simplest way is to place Est-ce que in front of the original sentence. (The que becomes qu’ if the next word begins with a vowel.) Study the following examples: POSITIVE INTERROGATIVE

  Vous parlez anglais.

  Est-ce que vous parlez anglais?

  You speak English.

  Do you speak English?

  La cuisine est bonne ici.

  Est-ce que la cuisine est bonne ici ?

  The food is good here.

  Is the the food good here?

  La première leçon est importante.

  Est-ce qu’elle est importante?

  The first lesson is important.

  Is it (the lesson) important?

  If the subject of the sentence is a second or third person pronoun—vous (you), il (he), elle (she), ils (they, MASC.), elles (they, FEM.)—the verb may be placed in front of the pronoun and joined to it by a hyphen. Parlez-aous anglais?

  Est-elle Américaine?

  Do you speak English?

  Is she American?

  Est-il fatigué?

  Is he tired?

  However, if the verb ends in a vowel, a -t- must be inserted between the vowel and the third person singular pronouns (il and elle). This is done simply for ease of pronunciation.

  Parle-t-il bien?

  Va-t-elle aujourd’hui?

  Does he speak well?

  Is she going today?

  A third common
way of turning a simple statement into a question is by adding n‘est-ce pas? to the end of the statement. This corresponds to the English phrases “isn’t it?,” “don’t you?,” “aren’t we?,” “won’t you?,” etc. Paris est une ville intéressante, n’est-ce pas?

  Paris is an interesting city, isn’t it?

  Vous resterez ici, n‘est-ce pas?

  You will stay here, won’t you?

  Interrogative Adjectives and Pronouns

  The interrogative adjective “which” is translated by quel (MASC. SING.), quelle (FEM. SING.), quels (MASC. PL.) and quelles (FEM. PL.). The corresponding pronouns (which one, which ones) are lequel, laquelle, lesquels and lesquelles.

  The form of the adjective or pronoun used depends on the gender and number of the noun concerned. For instance, in the first sentence below, le livre (the book) is a masculine singular noun, and the proper adjective and pronoun is, therefore, quel and lequel. This concept of agreement of adjective and pronouns with nouns is further discussed on page 24. See also the Glossary of Grammatical Terms on page 131.

  Quel livre préférez-vous?

  Quelles cravates préfèrent-ils?

  Which book do you prefer?

  Which ties do they prefer?

  Lequel préférez-vous?

  Lesquelles préfèrent-ils?

  Which one do you prefer?

  Which ones do they prefer?

  Study the following explanations and examples of the other interrogative pronouns: