Complete French Grammar

317 Pages·2016·2.64 MB·English

by  Annie Heminway

PRACTICE
MAKES
PERFECT™
Complete
French
Grammar
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PRACTICE
MAK E S
PERFECT™
Complete
French
Grammar
Premium Third ediTion
Annie heminway
New York Chicago San Francisco Athens London Madrid
Mexico City Milan New Delhi Singapore Sydney Toronto
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Copyright © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be
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Contents
Introduction ix
1 The present tense of regular -er verbs 1
Regular -er verbs in the present 1
-er verbs with spelling and stem changes 4
When is the present tense used in French? 9
2 The present tense of -ir and -re verbs 13
-ir verbs in the present 13
-re verbs in the present 16
The interrogative form 19
The negative form 21
3 To be and to have 24
The verb être (to be) 24
The verb avoir (to have) 26
The -oir verbs 28
4 More irregular verbs 34
The verb aller (to go) 34
The immediate future tense 35
The verb venir (to come) 36
The immediate past 37
The verb faire (to do, to make) 40
The causative form 41
5 Devoir and its many facets 43
The verb devoir (to have to, must) 43
Il y a (there is, there are) 46
Il s’agit de (it is a matter of, it’s about) 46
Verbs ending in -eindre and -aindre 46
v
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6 Pronominal verbs 49
Refl exive verbs 49
Reciprocal verbs 50
Passive pronominals 51
Subjective pronominals 51
Pronominals in the imperative and the infi nitive 52
7 The passé composé 55
The past participle of regular verbs 55
The passé composé with avoir 56
Irregular past participles 58
The passé composé with être 60
Pronominal verbs in the passé composé 62
Verbs conjugated with avoir and être 63
8 The imparfait 65
The imparfait 65
The imparfait versus the passé composé 67
The imparfait with special constructions 70
9 The futur simple and the futur antérieur 72
The futur simple 72
The futur antérieur 77
Conjunctions used with the indicative mood 79
10 The plus-que-parfait 81
Formation of the plus-que-parfait 81
Use of the plus-que-parfait 83
11 The present conditional and the past conditional 87
The present conditional 87
The past conditional 92
12 Could, should, would? 97
Could 97
Should 99
Would 100
13 The present subjunctive and the past subjunctive 104
The present subjunctive 104
Uses of the subjunctive 106
The past subjunctive 112
vi Contents
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14 The infi nitive mood 115
The infi nitif présent 115
The infi nitif passé 118
Verbs with their prepositions 120
15 The present participle and the gerund 126
The present participle 126
The gerund 129
16 The passé simple 131
Formation of the passé simple 131
The passé simple of irregular verbs 132
17 The passive voice 136
Formation of the passive voice 136
Uses of the passive voice 139
Avoiding the passive voice in French 139
18 Indirect speech 141
Direct speech versus indirect speech 141
Balancing tenses: la concordance des temps 142
19 The imperative mood 147
Formation of the imperative 147
The imperative of pronominal verbs 150
20 Articles and nouns 152
The defi nite article with nouns 152
The indefi nite and partitive articles with nouns 153
The gender of nouns 155
The plural of nouns 158
The gender of countries 160
Geographical names with prepositions 161
21 All the pronouns 166
Subject pronouns 166
Direct object pronouns 167
Indirect object pronouns 170
The order of object pronouns 176
Disjunctive pronouns 178
22 Adjectives and comparisons 183
Agreement of adjectives 183
The placement of adjectives 184
Adjectives of color 185
Comparatives and superlatives 187
Contents vii
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23 Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns 191
Demonstrative adjectives 191
Possessive adjectives 193
Possessive pronouns 195
Demonstrative pronouns 198
24 Relative pronouns 202
Qui 202
Que 203
Lequel 205
Où 206
Dont 207
Ce que, ce qui, ce dont, ce à quoi 209
25 Adverbs and expressions of time, frequency, and location 212
Adverbs and expressions of time 212
Interrogative forms; question words 219
Adverbs and expressions of location 219
26 Numbers 221
The numbers 0 to 50 221
Ordinal numbers 222
The numbers 50 to 99 224
The numbers 100 to 999 225
The numbers 1,000 and greater 227
27 Pot pourri 230
Verbs that use different prepositions 230
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever 233
Avoir beau and quitte à 234
Subordinate clauses 235
28 Review exercises 239
Verb tables 263
Regular verbs 263
Verbs with spelling changes 265
Verbs with stem changes 265
Irregular verbs 266
French-English glossary 267
English-French glossary 277
Answer key 287
viii Contents
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Introduction
Practice Makes Perfect: Complete French Grammar is designed as a review and
study tool for the advanced beginner and intermediate student of French. The
grammar explanations given in each unit include comparisons that provide ample
practice of the material along with appropriate, useful vocabulary. Instructions
for each exercise are given in French, enabling the student to anticipate the task
that follows while, at the same time, practicing vocabulary in context. The variety
of exercises makes them suitable for a range of different learning styles; open-
ended exercises are included to encourage creative answers and to increase confi-
dence in using French for normal everyday communication.
Each unit can be studied independently to suit individual needs in a specific
area. For the student seeking additional practice at the high school or college level,
these units, taken individually or as a whole, provide an opportunity to learn and
review French grammar using contemporary language and examples.
New vocabulary is incorporated within the exercises or is highlighted in
boxes. The glossaries include words appropriate to this level and make it easy to
quickly review or learn new vocabulary. Finally, the verb charts serve as a quick
grammar reference.
Learning another language requires dedication, time, and ultimately, fre-
quent practice. By using what the students already know, by making connections
with their first language, and by building on that base, the foundation for their
future learning is strengthened. By including a number of cognates of English
words in the vocabulary, both advanced beginners and intermediate students are
given numerous opportunities to reinforce what they already know as they con-
tinue to advance their knowledge of French. Finally, the verb charts serve as a
quick grammar reference. And this Premium Third Edition is enhanced with
digital resources via app and online: audio recordings of answer key; flashcards of
all vocabulary lists throughout the book; and an auto-fill glossary for quick
reference.
ix
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