French All-in-One For Dummies

695 Pages·2012·18.16 MB·english

by  Eliane Kurbegov

French
ALL-IN-ONE
FOR

DUMmIES‰
by Eliane Kurbegov with Dodi-Katrin Schmidt,
Michelle M. Williams, Dominique Wenzel, Zoe
Erotopoulos, and Laura K. Lawless
French All-in-One For Dummies®
Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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About the Authors
Eliane Kurbegov has been teaching French at secondary and post-secondary
levels in Florida and is currently serving as Campus Curriculum Coordinator
and High School World Language Chair at Discovery Canyon Campus in
Colorado. Eliane is a French native speaker who was twice honored by
the French government with the prestigious Palmes académiques for her
contributions to the promotion of the French language and culture. Eliane
has authored many publications for a variety of educational purposes and
thoroughly enjoys sharing her love of the French language and francophone
cultures.
Dodi-Katrin Schmidt has been a writer, translator, and editor for over a
decade. Aside from translating German, French, and English texts of various
kinds, including linguistic handbooks, film reviews, travel guides, and
children’s books, she has been involved in developing language textbooks,
language courses, teachers’ handbooks, and grammar companions for video
language courses. Dodi has been teaching for more than two decades at high
school, adult education, and college levels in Europe as well as the United
States. She also writes test items for various national language tests and
recorded textbook and test material. Together with her husband, she travels
a great deal, and they continually house and entertain foreign students and
former students in their home in Princeton, New Jersey.
Michelle M. Williams is an editor at a major educational publisher. A former
French teacher, she has taught students ranging from 2 years old to adults
in both the public and private sectors. She is a firm believer in making the
language fun and accessible to all who want to learn. Her most rewarding
experience, however, is watching and listening to her son Nathaniel learn to
speak and sing in French.
Dominique Wenzel has been a freelance teacher of French and a translator
for 15 years. Born and raised in France, she received a master’s degree from
the University of Paris-Sorbonne and studied at the University of Chicago
on a postgraduate Fulbright scholarship. Her students include business
professionals, children, and adults of all levels and interests. She travels
regularly to France. Dominique raised two bicultural, bilingual children who
are both active in the international field.
Zoe Erotopoulos holds an MA, MPhil, and PhD in French and Romance
Philology from Columbia University. Her French teaching experience ranges
from elementary to advanced level courses, including literature and theater.
Dr. Erotopoulos has taught at a number of institutions, including Columbia
University, Reid Hall in Paris, and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
For the past 15 years, she has been teaching in the Department of Modern
Languages and Literatures at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Laura K. Lawless is the author of seven language instruction books (four
French and three Spanish). She also teaches French, Spanish, and English on
the Internet and has a website of vegetarian recipes and information.
Dedication
I dedicate this work to all those who love French, including my colleagues all
over the United States who work hard to share their passion for the French
language and cultures, and also to my wonderful American family who
wholeheartedly espoused my French legacy as a means to enrich their own
lives. —Eliane Kurbegov
Author’s Acknowledgments
I extend my greatest thanks to Senior Project Editor Alissa Schwipps for her
patient, supportive, and professional guidance in the writing of this book.
Her probing questions for clarification have undoubtedly improved the
quality and depth of the explanations and examples I provided. I also thank
Copy Editors Danielle Voirol and Megan Knoll and Technical Editors Carrie
Klaus and Jenny Darnall whose suggestions consistently presented the
learners’ perspective and helped me focus on their needs rather than on my
understanding of the language and culture. —Eliane Kurbegov
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
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Cover Photo: © iStockphoto.com/
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Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction ................................................................ 1
Book I: Speaking in Everyday Settings .......................... 7
Chapter 1: Warming Up with Some French Fundamentals ...........................................9
Chapter 2: Un, Deux, Trois: Numbers, Dates, and Times............................................27
Chapter 3: Greetings, Goodbyes, and Small Talk .........................................................45
Chapter 4: Getting Personal: Discussing Your Home, Family, and Daily Routine ...63
Chapter 5: Talking Business and Politics ......................................................................85
Chapter 6: Shopping at a Store and Online ................................................................101
Chapter 7: Buying, Preparing, and Tasting Foods .....................................................121
Book II: Exploring and Wandering About ................... 143
Chapter 1: Making Plans and Discovering New Places .............................................145
Chapter 2: Enjoying a Night on the Town ...................................................................179
Chapter 3: Money Matters ............................................................................................201
Chapter 4: Home Is Where Your Suitcase Is: Looking for Accommodations .........213
Chapter 5: Getting Around............................................................................................229
Chapter 6: Dealing with Emergencies..........................................................................249
Book III: Building the Grammatical
Foundation for Communication ................................. 265
Chapter 1: Building Strong Sentences with the Parts of Speech .............................267
Chapter 2: All Agreed? Matching Gender and Number of Nouns and Articles ......289
Chapter 3: Dealing with the Here and Now: The Present Tense ..............................305
Chapter 4: Commanding and Instructing with the Imperative Mood .....................331
Chapter 5: Asking and Answering Questions .............................................................349
Chapter 6: Communicating Clearly with Infinitives and Present Participles .........369
Book IV: Getting Down to Detail and
Precision in Your Communication .............................. 379
Chapter 1: Specifying Relationships with Prepositions ............................................381
Chapter 2: Describing with Flair: Adjectives and Adverbs .......................................401
Chapter 3: Taking Shortcuts with Object Pronouns .................................................419
Chapter 4: Tying Ideas Together with Conjunctions and Relative Pronouns ........439
Chapter 5: Getting That Subjunctive Feeling..............................................................453
Chapter 6: What Lies Ahead and What Could Happen:
Simple Future and Present Conditional ....................................................................471
Book V: Going Back in Time ..................................... 485
Chapter 1: Been There, Done That: Passé Proche and Passé Composé .................487
Chapter 2: How Was It? What Was Going On? The Imparfait ...................................503
Chapter 3: To the Past and Beyond: Other Past Tenses ...........................................515
Book VI: Appendixes ................................................ 529
Appendix A: Verb Tables ..............................................................................................531
Appendix B: French-English Mini-Dictionary .............................................................587
Appendix C: English-French Mini Dictionary .............................................................607
Appendix D: Fun & Games ............................................................................................627
Appendix E: About the CD ............................................................................................665
Index ...................................................................... 669