Intermediate French » (Bilingual)

Laura K. Lawless is a French fanatic. From the day she learned her first French words (the numbers 1–10 at age 10), she has been obsessed with the language of love. Her first trip to France, at 15, further convinced her that French would always be an essential part of her life. Laura has a BA in International Studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and she has done graduate work in French and Spanish translation, interpretation, linguistics, and literature. She also studied French at Institut de formation internationale in Mont-St-Aignan, France, and at the Alliance française in Toulouse, France.
In 1999, after a year of teaching French and Spanish to adults, Laura became the French Language Guide at About.com (http://french.about.com), where she continues to create lessons, quizzes, listening exercises, and games for French students and teachers around the world. Her fascination with all things French guarantees that she will never run out of ideas for her French site or books (this is her fourth). Laura has lived in France, Morocco, and Costa Rica, and after scheming and dreaming for more than half her life, she and her husband will be moving to France in 2008.

Planning a trip to a French-speaking country? Starting a business with a French connection? Looking to ace your next French test? Intermediate French For Dummies is the book for you. It offers all the help you need to improve your writing skills and become a better French speaker, listener, and reader, as well.

This friendly, hands-on workbook gives you practical examples and useful exercises so you can practice how native speakers use the language. From vocabulary and numbers to juggling tenses, you’ll get a clear understanding of the nuances of French style and usage that will have you writing better in no time. Plus, you’ll find multiple charts that provide the conjugations for all types of French verbs. Discover how to:

• Use fundamental French grammar — from nouns, adjectives, and adverbs to pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions
• Select and conjugate the correct French verbs
• Understand the importance of grammatical gender in French
• Ask and respond to questions
• Use a bilingual dictionary correctly
• Get a handle on French negatives
• Know whether to use the infinitive or the present participle
• Add descriptive flair to your writing
• Sort out pronominal verbs
• Avoid the most common French writing mistakes

Complete with plenty of room to practice you skills with exercises right in the workbook Intermediate French For Dummies helps you get your French writing up to speed toute suite!

Introduction.

Part I: The Building Blocks of French.

Chapter 1: Understanding Parts of Speech and Bilingual Dictionaries.

Chapter 2: Figuring Out Nouns, Articles, and Possession.

Chapter 3: The 4-1-1 on Numbers, Dates, and Time.

Part II: The Here and Now: Writing in the Present.

Chapter 4: Right Here, Right Now: The Present Tense.

Chapter 5: Asking and Answering Questions.

Chapter 6: Just Say No: The Negative.

Chapter 7: “To Be” or “Being” Is the Question: Infinitives and Present Participles.

Chapter 8: Deciphering the Subjunctive Mood.

Part III: Writing with Panache: Dressing Up Your Sentences.

Chapter 9: Describing with Flair: Adjectives and Adverbs.

Chapter 10: I Command You: The Imperative.

Chapter 11: Sorting Out Pronominal Verbs: Idioms, Oneself, and Each Other.

Chapter 12: An Ode to Prepositions.

Chapter 13: Getting a Hold on Pronouns.

Chapter 14: Grasping Conjunctions and Relative Pronouns.

Part IV: That Was Then, and What Will Be, Will Be: The Past and Future Tenses.

Chapter 15: It’s All in the Past: Passé Composé.

Chapter 16: What Was Happening? The Imparfait Tense.

Chapter 17: It’s All Over! Other Past Tenses.

Chapter 18: What’ll You Do? The Future.

Chapter 19: What Would You Do? The Conditional Mood.

Part V: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 20: Ten Common French Mistakes and How to Avoid ’Em.

Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Begin a Letter inFrench.

Part VI: Appendixes.

Appendix A: Verb Charts.

Appendix B: English-French Dictionary.

Appendix C: French-English Dictionary.

Index.