French English Frequency Dictionary - Essential Vocabulary: 2500 Most Used Words & 548 Most Common Verbs PDF
Preview French English Frequency Dictionary - Essential Vocabulary: 2500 Most Used Words & 548 Most Common Verbs
Title Page Most Used Words.com French English Frequency Dictionary Essential Vocabulary 2.500 most used words & 548 most common verbs Copyright © 2016 by MostUsedWords.com All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. First Printing, 2016 Jolie Laide LTD 12/F, 67 Percival Street, Hong Kong www.MostUsedWords.com Index Index ............................................................................... 3 1. Why this dictionary was created ............................. 5 2. Study tips ................................................................... 7 3. How to use this dictionary ..................................... 10 4. French – English Frequency Dictionary ................ 12 A. Adjectives ............................................................ 206 B. Adverbs ................................................................ 215 C. Conjunctions ....................................................... 220 D. Determiners ......................................................... 221 E. Interjections ........................................................ 222 F. Nouns ................................................................... 223 G. Numerals.............................................................. 257 H. Prepositions ......................................................... 258 I. Pronouns .............................................................. 259 J. Verbs .................................................................... 261 5. French – English Alphabetical Dictionary .......... 271 6. Further Reading & Resources .............................. 320 1. Why this dictionary was created This dictionary was created because I needed a word list of the most frequent used words & verbs in Spanish, to help me learn that language in the shortest amount of time possible. I started passing it around to friends and got great feedback on it, so I decided to turn it into a book. I applied the same principals to different languages, and aim to create series of all major languages. This way everyone is able to learn a new language in a fast and efficient way. I hope you find this book as useful as it was for my friends and me. Why study by frequency? If you´re not familiar with the importance of frequency word lists when it comes to language learning, here is a short summary: Language learning is fun, but can be overwhelming. Almost every language as hundreds of thousands different words, but most of them you will rarely use. That’s why it makes sense to study only the words you actually need to know to have conversations and read in your desired language. Frequency dictionaries are usually either text based, or speech based. The unique advantage of using subtitles as a method of frequency sorting is that it covers both speaking and reading (73% and 83% respectively). By only studying the words you will actually use, it is possible to gain a good grasp of a language in a short amount of time. By knowing 2500 words, you can express yourself in everyday situations and be fluent enough have conversations with locals. On average, you only use 1000 words in any language on a daily spoken basis. This translates to roughly 95% of all words you use daily speech. When it comes to reading, 2500 words will get you to understand around 85% of all words used in written text. This is idea is based on the Pareto Principle. You might have heard about it. Pareto was an Italian economist who discovered that 80% of the output comes from only 20% of the input (or material, or effort). It also applies to language learning. To understand 95% of a foreign language, and become fluent enough in everyday speaking and reading, it might take 3 months of applied learning. But to get to a 98% understanding might take 10 years. Talk about diminishing returns! I´m not promising you to speak like a native. That is completely up to you. But, in my opinion, it´s a waste of time. The goal of acquiring a new language is to be able to communicate. Not to speak without errors. Most natives don’t even speak without making mistakes. When you acquired your first language as an infant, did your parents give you hours and hours of detailed grammar study? (I hope not) Build your vocabulary, learn basic grammar and go out there and speak. Make mistakes, have a laugh and learn from them. Good luck! 2. Study tips While you are free to do whatever you want with this dictionary, I would like to give you some pointers. By learning just 28 new words a day, you can build up your vocabulary to fluency in three months. If you dedicate yourself and learn 43 new words daily, two months is possible. Here are a couple of tips to build up your vocabulary fast, and to keep remembering what you previously learned. Spaced repetition Hack your brains ability to store and recall information. The most efficient way of studying is by incorporating the system of spaced repetition. This way you can store information faster, and for a longer amount of time. Paul Pimsleur published a paper in 1968 on spaced repetition. He came up with the following intervals: 5 seconds, 25 seconds, 2 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 5 hours, 1 day, 5 days, 25 days, 4 months, and 2 years. You do not need to time yourself with a stopwatch, as there are upper and lower bounds to the intervals. Just revisited the words you have previously learned from time to timey. (Interactive language learning software and audio courses are based on this principle, and they can work really well. To see which ones are great investments, and which ones are terrible, read our reviews of different 3rd party language learning methods, audio courses, software and apps on www.mostusedwords.com/reviews ) Mnemonics By giving creating a little story with a word, it’s easier to remember. The more visual it is, the easier it is to remember. My favorite is , caber. Caber means to fit. Now picture in your mind a bear and a cab. The bear wants to get in the cab, but it’s having difficulties. After all, it’s really hard to fit a bear in a cab. By creating little visual stories like these, it’s much easier to remember vocabulary. Cognates Instant vocabulary doesn’t get any better than this. Cognates are words that share a common etymological origin. French and English, fortunately, share a lot of these words. “absolute, to abuse, major” would be “absolute, abuser , mayor” . Use these word to your advantage. We listed some rule of thumbs on the nex page. English French English French notes words words ending in: ending in: 1 —al = —al e.g. animal animal Words ending in—al are usually the same in French. Words ending in —al are usually adjectives 2 —ance = —ance e.g. distance distance Words ending in —ance are usually the same in French. Often feminine nouns. 3 —ary —> —aire e.g. anniversary anniversaire Words can be adjectives or nouns 4 —ist —> —iste e.g. tourist touriset Nouns that keep the same ending for masculine and feminine 5 —ble = —ble e.g. adorable adorable These words are generally adjectives 6 —tion = —tion e.g. conversation conversation Generally the same in French. Usually feminine nouns 7 —ct = —ct e.g. correct correct Usually the same. Can be nouns or adjectives 8 —ent = —ent e.g. different different Usually the same in French. Words can be nouns or adjectives 9 —ical —> —ique e.g. practical pratique These words are often adjectives 10 —ence = —ence e.g. violence violence Same ending in French. Usually feminine nouns Read What also helps greatly with building your vocabulary AND developing a sense of grammar, is by actively reading. Read out loud. Hear what you’re reading. Get used to the way the language sounds, and you will also get a grasp for the endings of verb conjugations this way. Reading helps solidify your vocabulary, because you are using the method of spaced repetition while reading. When you read, and don´t know a word, you can usually discover it by the context. For some reason, words discovered through context are more easily remembered than when you study them from a list. Anyway, you can get bilingual books from either a bookstore or from www.mostusedwords.com/parallel- texts. Our selection is ever expanding, so check for updates regularly. It currently spans the range from English to French, Portuguese, French, Italian Dutch and German etc. Listen Turn on the French (internet) radio, download songs in French, and watch French series. Conversing along with your favorite soap opera is a great way of getting around a new language. Watch Change your phone and/or computer into French. Nothing helps you acquire a new language as much as necessity. 3. How to use this dictionary Adverb = adv Article = art Conjunction = conj Determiners = adj Interjection = int Feminine = f Masculine = m Intervariable = i Noun, masculine and = nmf feminine (same meaning) Noun, feminine = nf Noun, masculine = nm Noun, invariable = ni Noun, masculine and = nm/f feminine (different meanings, (masc form given)) Numeral = num Plural = pl Singular = sg Informal = fam Formal = form Preposition = prep Pronoun = pron Subject = subj Object = obj Direct object = dir-obj Indirect object = indir-obj Verb = v On Part of Speech definitions We made the decision to give the most common use(s) of a word as the part of speech. It does however, not mean that this is the only part of speech the word can be used for. Certain verbs (or conjugations thereof) can be used as adjectives, and certain words can be verbs as well as nouns. Some words can be adverbs, adjectives and pronouns, etc. International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) In the beginning, pronouncution can be tricky. The IPA entries for each term can help you, by telling you how to pronounce a word the right way. For more information and instructions on pronunciation of the IPA, visit www.internationalphoneticalphabet.org. It’s quick to gain an understanding of the IPA pronunciations if you are already familiar with the sounds and way of speech of the language you’re learning.
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