- •About the Authors
- •Dedication
- •Acknowledgments
- •Table of Contents
- •Introduction
- •About This Book
- •Conventions Used in This Book
- •Foolish Assumptions
- •How This Book Is Organized
- •Icons Used in This Book
- •Where to Go from Here
- •The French You’re Familiar With
- •Idioms and Popular Expressions
- •Key Parts of Speech
- •Cavorting with Verbs
- •Forming Sentences and Questions
- •The French Alphabet
- •Uttering Vowel and Consonant Sounds
- •Greetings: Formal and Friendly
- •Asking Questions to Get to Know People
- •Counting Your Lucky Stars: Numbers
- •Using the Calendar and Dates
- •Telling Time in French
- •Discussing Where You Live with the Verb “Habiter”
- •Discussing Daily Routine with Reflexive Verbs
- •Using Possessive Adjectives to Introduce Your Family Members
- •Basic Questions and Polite Expressions
- •Stating Your Preferences
- •Talking about Your Livelihood
- •Chatting about the Weather
- •Deciding to Keep in Touch
- •Getting Direction about Directions
- •Dining Out
- •Going to the Market
- •Going Shopping
- •Going Out with the Verb “Sortir”
- •Having Fun with the Verb “S’amuser”
- •Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
- •Making Plans with Friends
- •Making a Phone Call
- •Livin’ in the Past: Using the Past Tense
- •Playing Sports and Games
- •Going to the Beach
- •Setting Up Camp
- •Enjoying Quieter Pursuits
- •Where Do You Want to Go?
- •Getting Ready for Your Trip
- •Getting Current with Currency
- •Going to the Bank
- •Using Credit Cards and ATMs
- •Getting through the Airport
- •Navigating Buses, Trains, and Subways
- •Getting Around by Car
- •Finding Accommodations
- •Checking In to a Hotel
- •Checking Out of a Hotel
- •Getting Help Fast
- •Getting Medical Help
- •Handling Legal Matters
- •Label the Things in Your House
- •Write Your Shopping Lists in French
- •Listen to French Music
- •Watch French Movies
- •Tune in to TV5
- •Read French Publications
- •Take a Class
- •Join a French Association
- •Join an Online Chat or Pen Pal Forum
- •Using “Tu” When You Mean “Vous”
- •Using “Bonne nuit!” for Good-Bye
- •Using “Garçon” or “Porteur” to Address Service Staff
- •Saying “Je suis excité(e)” to Indicate Excitement
- •Saying “Je suis chaud(e)/froid(e)” to Say You’re Hot or Cold
- •Saying “Je suis plein/e” to Mean You’re Full
- •Using “de la glace” to Request Ice
- •Using “Je suis . . . ans” to Tell Your Age
- •Asking for Change with “J’ai besoin de change”
- •Using the Verb “Visiter” in Reference to People
- •“À mon avis”
- •“C’est pas vrai”
- •“Avec plaisir”
- •“C’est génial”
- •“À votre santé”
- •“À vos souhaits”
- •“Quelle horreur!”
- •“À bientôt”
- •“Passez-moi un coup de fil!”
- •“On y va!” or “Allons-y!”
- •“Je n’en sais rien”
- •“Je n’en reviens pas”
- •“Ça vaut la peine”
- •“C’est pas grave”
- •“N’importe”
- •“Tu cherches midi à 14h”
- •“Prenons un pot!”
- •Regular French Verbs
- •Auxiliary French Verbs
- •Track Listing
- •Customer Care
- •Index
Making
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French
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Dodi-Katrin Schmidt
Michelle M. Williams
Dominique Wenzel
Zoe Erotopoulos, PhD
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French
FOR
DUMmIES‰
2ND EDITION
by Dodi-Katrin Schmidt, Michelle M. Williams, Dominique Wenzel, and Zoe Erotopoulos
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French For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011932271
ISBN 978-1-118-00464-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-13864-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-13865-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-13866-3 (ebk)
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About the Authors
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 also 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, NJ.
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 in 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.
Dr. Zoe Erotopoulos was born in Greece and immigrated to the United States at a young age. Her love of the French language, literature, and culture inspired her to pursue her academic studies in these areas. She holds an MA, MPhil, and PhD in French and Romance Philology from Columbia University in New York, NY. Dr. Erotopoulos has also studied in Aix-en-Provence, at the Sorbonne, and at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris.
Her teaching experience in French ranges from elementary to advanced level courses, including literature and theater. Dr. Erotopoulos’s area of expertise is 17th-century French theater. Throughout her academic career, she has taught at a number of institutions, including Columbia University, Reid Hall in Paris, and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She is presently teaching in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Dr. Erotopoulos is the author of French Verbs For Dummies and French For Dummies, Audio Set. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, Steve, and three children, Despina, Olga, and Stathi.
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Berlitz has meant excellence in language services for more than 120 years. At more than 400 locations and in 50 countries worldwide, Berlitz offers a full range of language and language-related services, including instruction, crosscultural training, document translation, software localization, and interpretation services. Berlitz also offers a wide array of publishing products, such as self-study language courses, phrase books, travel guides, and dictionaries.
The world-famous Berlitz Method® is the core of all Berlitz language instruction. From the time of its introduction in 1878, millions have used this method to learn new languages. For more information about Berlitz classes and products, please consult your local telephone directory for the Language Center nearest you or visit the Berlitz website at www.berlitz.com, where you can enroll in classes or shop directly for products online.
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Dedication
Zoe: To my family.
Acknowledgments
Zoe: I am very grateful to my family for their unwavering love and support, especially to my children who are my personal cheering squad. I would like to wholeheartedly thank my editor, Tracy Barr, for her professionalism, her insightful comments and suggestions, and her expertise. A special thank you goes to Michael Lewis for entrusting me with this project and to the technical reviewers, Eric Laird and Lydia de Faveri, for their expertise and careful attention to detail. I must also thank Dodi Schmidt, Michelle Williams, and Dominique Wenzel, who put so much time, effort, and knowledge into the first edition of this book. Last, but certainly not least, a heartfelt thank you to my colleagues in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Fairfield University and Cynthia Nadal for their friendship, encouragement, and sound advice.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
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Assistant Editor: David Lutton |
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Proofreaders: Rebecca Denoncour, |
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Technical Editors: Eric H. Laird, |
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CD Producer: Her Voice Unlimited, LLC |
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Cover Photos: ©iStockphoto.com/Lisa F. Young |
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Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
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Composition Services
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Contents at a Glance |
|
Introduction ................................................................ |
1 |
Part I: Getting Started................................................. |
7 |
Chapter 1: The French You Already Know ..................................................................... |
9 |
Chapter 2: Laying the Foundation: Basic French Grammar ....................................... |
17 |
Chapter 3: Getting Started with Pronunciation and Basic Expressions ................... |
35 |
Chapter 4: Getting Your Numbers, Dates, and Times Straight .................................. |
53 |
Chapter 5: Talking about Your Home, Family, and Daily Routine ............................. |
67 |
Part II: French in Action ............................................ |
87 |
Chapter 6: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk................................................... |
89 |
Chapter 7: Asking Directions and Finding Your Way ................................................ |
103 |
Chapter 8: Bon Appétit! Dining Out and Going to the Market.................................. |
117 |
Chapter 9: Shopping Made Easy .................................................................................. |
137 |
Chapter 10: Going Out on the Town............................................................................ |
155 |
Chapter 11: Taking Care of Business and Telecommunicating................................ |
171 |
Chapter 12: Recreation and the Outdoors.................................................................. |
189 |
Part III: French on the Go......................................... |
207 |
Chapter 13: Planning a Trip.......................................................................................... |
209 |
Chapter 14: Dealing with Money in a Foreign Land................................................... |
225 |
Chapter 15: Getting Around: Planes, Trains, Taxis, and More................................. |
239 |
Chapter 16: Finding a Place to Stay ............................................................................. |
261 |
Chapter 17: Handling Emergencies.............................................................................. |
275 |
Part IV: The Part of Tens .......................................... |
291 |
Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Pick Up French Quickly ..................................................... |
293 |
Chapter 19: Ten Things Never to Say in French ........................................................ |
297 |
Chapter 20: Ten Favorite French Expressions ........................................................... |
301 |
Chapter 21: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound French .......................................... |
305 |
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Part V: Appendixes .................................................. |
309 |
Appendix A: Mini-Dictionaries ..................................................................................... |
311 |
Appendix B: Verb Tables .............................................................................................. |
333 |
Appendix C: Answer Key............................................................................................... |
349 |
Appendix D: On the CD ................................................................................................. |
351 |
Index ...................................................................... |
353 |
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