Countdown to French: Learn to Communicate in 24 Hours

324 Pages·2003·1.559 MB·English

by  Gail Stein

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GAIL STEIN
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DOI: 10.1036/0071428631
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This book is dedicated to:
My wonderfully patient and supportive husband, Douglas
My incredibly loving, understanding, and proud sons, Eric and Michael
My proud parents, Jack and Sara Bernstein
My creative sister and her family, Susan, Jay, and Zachary Opperman
My superior consultant and advisor, Roger H. Herz
My good friend and supporter, Christina Levy
My seventh-grade buddy, who kept my interest in French alive, Ray Elias
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For more information about this title, click here.
Contents
Introduction
xiii
24:00
Focusing on Pronunciation
1
Master These Skills 1
Perfecting Your Pronunciation 2
Stress 2
Liaison 2
Elision 2
Accents 3
Vowels 4
Nasals 6
Non-Nasal Combinations 9
Consonants 9
A Final Suggestion 13
Time’s Up! 13
23:00
Recognizing and Using Nouns
15
Master These Skills 15
Gender 16
Noun Markers 16
Nouns 19
Cognates 26
Time’s Up! 28
22:00
Working with Present-Tense Verbs
29
Master These Skills 29
Subject Nouns and Pronouns 30
Verbs 31
Shoe Verbs 36
v
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CONTENTS
Irregular Verbs 39
Uses of the Present Tense 45
Time’s Up! 45
21:00
The Past Tense (The Passé Composé)
47
Master These Skills 47
Forming the Passé Composé with Avoir 48
Using the Passé Composé with Être 50
Forming the Passé Composé with Être 51
Special Verbs 52
The Imperfect 53
Deciding When to Use the Passé Composé or
the Imperfect 55
The Pluperfect 58
The Passé Simple (The Past Definite) 59
Time’s Up! 61
20:00
Back to the Future:
Speaking Conditionally
63
Master These Skills 63
The Future 64
The Future Perfect 67
The Conditional 67
The Past Conditional 69
Conditional Sentences 70
Time’s Up! 72
19:00
Using Adjectives and Adverbs
73
Master These Skills 73
Making Adjectives Feminine 74
Past Participles Used as Adjectives 76
Forming Irregular Adjectives 76
Special Forms 79
Making Adjectives Plural 79
Position of Adjectives 80
Adjectives with Different Meanings 81
Adverbs 83
Exceptions to the Rules 84
Adverbs Not Formed from Adjectives 85
vi
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CONTENTS
Adverbs of Quantity 87
Position of Adverbs 87
Time’s Up! 88
18:00
Making Acquaintances
89
Master These Skills 89
Greetings and Good-Byes 90
Reflexive Verbs 91
Origins 95
Nationalities 97
The Family 98
Showing Possession 99
Time’s Up! 102
17:00
Inviting and Replying with Verbs
and Prepositions
103
Master These Skills 103
Verbs for Invitations 104
Prepositions 105
Places 107
Stress Pronouns 108
Extending an Invitation 109
Accepting an Invitation 110
Refusing an Invitation 111
Expressing Indecision and Indifference 111
No 112
Ne . . . pas with Reflexive Verbs 112
Time’s Up! 113
16:00
Working with Numbers
115
Master These Skills 115
Cardinal Numbers 116
Nouns of Number 117
Pronunciation Guide 118
Ordinal Numbers 118
Days, Months, and Seasons 119
Telling Time 122
Time’s Up! 125
vii
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CONTENTS
15:00
Offering Ideas and Issuing Commands
127
Master These Skills 127
Making Proposals 128
Giving Commands 129
Giving and Receiving Directions 130
Using the Pronoun Y 133
Using Idioms 135
Positive Reinforcement 135
Complaints 136
Using Ce + Être or Il Est 136
Time’s Up! 138
14:00
Using French Around the Home
139
Master These Skills 139
House and Home 140
Chores 141
Getting Help in a Store 142
Devoir—to Have to 143
Impersonal Expressions 144
Understanding and Forming the Present Subjunctive 144
The Past Subjunctive 149
Offering Encouragement 149
Time’s Up! 150
13:00
Asking Questions
151
Master These Skills 151
Asking Yes/No Questions 152
Information Questions 155
Using Il Y A 159
Asking for Directions 159
Asking for a Price 160
Questioning New Acquaintances 160
Lack of Communication 161
Time’s Up! 162
viii
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CONTENTS
12:00
Answering Questions
163
Master These Skills 163
Answering Yes 164
Answering No 164
Negative Expressions 167
Answering Information Questions 168
On the Phone 172
Phone Problems 173
Time’s Up! 174
11:00
Seeking Help
175
Master These Skills 175
Getting Help Anywhere 176
At the Post Office 176
At the Hair Salon 178
At the Dry Cleaner’s 179
At the Optician’s 179
At the Camera Store 180
At the Jeweler’s 181
Special Services and Needs 181
Time’s Up! 183
10:00
Working with Pronouns
185
Master These Skills 185
Making Suggestions 186
Leisure Activities 186
Going to the Movies and Watching Television 187
Invariable Demonstrative Pronouns
(Ceci, Cela, Ce, and Ça) 188
Object Pronouns 188
Positive Feelings 194
Using the Subjunctive to Express Emotions
and Feelings 195
Time’s Up! 196
ix
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CONTENTS
09:00
Planning Outdoor Activities
197
Master These Skills 197
Sports 198
The Weather 199
Expressing Negative Opinions 201
Expressing Indifference 201
The Subjunctive with Expressions of Doubt 202
The Subjunctive After Impersonal Expressions 203
The Subjunctive After Verbs of Opinion
or Knowledge 204
Time’s Up! 204
08:00
Making Comparisons
205
Master These Skills 205
Animals 206
In the Classroom 206
Comparisons of Inequality 207
Comparisons of Equality 214
Comparative and Superlative Expressions 215
The Subjunctive After Superlative Expressions 215
Time’s Up! 216
07:00
Meeting Your Needs on the Road
and Elsewhere
217
Master These Skills 217
Hotel Accommodations and Amenities 218
Exclamations 219
More Uses of the Subjunctive 220
Relative Pronouns 223
Time’s Up! 226
06:00
Speaking of Food
227
Master These Skills 227
Quantities 228
The Partitive 229
Eating Establishments 230
x
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CONTENTS
Foods 231
En 239
Time’s Up! 242
05:00
Medically Speaking
243
Master These Skills 243
At the Pharmacy 244
Prepositional Modifiers 245
Parts of the Body 246
Medical Problems 247
At the Doctor’s Office 248
Asking and Answering “How Long?” 249
Time’s Up! 250
04:00
Choosing and Buying Clothing
251
Master These Skills 251
Clothing 252
Selecting Sizes and Getting Alterations 253
Problems 255
Colors 256
Fabrics 257
Patterns 257
Sales 258
Making a Purchase 258
Variable Demonstrative Pronouns 258
Time’s Up! 259
03:00
Taking Care of Travel Needs
261
Master These Skills 261
At the Airport 262
At the Train Station 264
Travel by Car 264
The Passive Voice 267
Time’s Up! 268
xi