Living French: A Grammar-Based Course (with key) [4 ed.] 0340371102, 9780340371107

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Living French T.W. KNIGHT

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z LIVING FRENCH

T. W. KNIGHT,

M.A. (Oxon.)

Formerly Lecturer at the City of Westminster College and The Polytechnic, Regent Street, London

With revisions and new material by

JOSIANE PARRY

HODDER AND STOUGHTON LONDON SYDNEY AUCKLAND TORONTO

Tape-recordings of Living French are available from Tutor-Tape Company Ltd, Central London Demonstration Room, 102 Great Russell Street, London WC1. 01-580 7552.

ISBN 0 340 37110 2 First published 1952 Fourth edition 1985 Third Impression 1987 Copyright © 1985 T. W. Knight All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permis¬ sion in writing from the publisher. Printed in Great Britain for Hodder and Stoughton Educational, a division of Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, Mill Road, Dunton Green, Sevenoaks, Kent, by Richard Clay Ltd, Bungay, Suffolk

PREFACE

This book is intended primarily for day and evening students in commercial and technical colleges, particularly for those who have not studied French previously, and who require a rapid general course. It is also suitable for private students, including those who wish to “brush up” their French for pleasure rather than for examination purposes. It covers all the main points of French grammar, while providing varied reading material and exercises; and it lays a solid foundation for more advanced work. The resultant knowledge, if this course is supplemented in the later stages by some suitable readers, should be adequate for such examinations as the General Certificate of Education (Ordinary Level), the preliminary examinations of the Royal Society of Arts, the College of Preceptors, and the Institute of Linguists. Each chapter is divided into five sections: grammar, vocabulary, reading pieces, questions for oral work, and exercises. The grammar covers fully but simply all the basic points, and includes an optional chapter on the Subjunctive. The reading material has been chosen to provide variety of theme and vocabulary, and includes stories, letters, and conversations. The exercises are based partly on the direct and partly on the indirect method. There are revision exercises after each fifth chapter. Spoken French can soon be perfected by a visit to France after a basic knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary has been acquired. The reverse procedure, often recommended, is not an unqualified success. This fourth edition is fully updated and includes a key to all the exercises. T. W. K.

CONTENTS PREFACE . 3 ACCENTS, ELISION, PUNCTUATION 9 PRONUNCIATION.11 THE FRENCH ALPHABET.14 LESSON I.15 Gender of Nouns; the Definite Article; the Inde¬ finite Article; Plural of Nouns; Present Tense of avoir, etre. ‘‘Le Salon” LESSON II.20 The Partitive Article; Agreement of Adjectives; Use of il y a\ Use of est-ce que for Questions. ‘‘La Salle a Manger” LESSON III.25 Present Tense of Regular Verbs (Group I, -er); Possession; to + Definite Article; Present Tense of aller.

“En Ville” LESSON IV.31 Interrogative Form of Verbs; Negative Form of Verbs; Use of de after Negatives and Expressions of Quantity; Possessive Adjectives; Present Tense of dire, lire, partir, prendre. ‘‘Au Bureau” LESSON V.38 Present Tense of Regular Verbs (Group II, -/>); Position of Adjectives; Use of de when Adjective precedes Noun; Formation of Feminine of Adjectives; Use of on\ Present Tense of jeter. ‘‘La Maison et le Jardin” 4

CONTENTS

REVISION: Lessons I-V.46 LESSON VI.48 Present Tense of Regular Verbs (Group III, -re); Irregular Plural Forms of Nouns and Adjectives; Use of tout; the Demonstrative Adjective; Present Tense of boire, faire. “Au Parc” LESSON VII.55 Personal Pronoun Objects of a Verb (Conjunctives); The Imperative (Orders); Position of Personal Pronoun Objects after Imperative; Present Tense of venir, voir. ‘‘Les Collectionneurs de Timbres” LESSON VIII.62 Reflexive Verbs; Formation and Position of Adverbs; Present Tense of ouvrir, mettre. ‘‘Le Cambrioieur” LESSON IX.69 Numerals 1-60; Telling the Time; Seasons, Months, Days; Present Tense of s'asseoir. “Les Habitudes des Dubois” LESSON X.76 Countries, Inhabitants, Languages, Towns; Phrases with avoir; Omission of Article; Irregularities of some -er Verbs (payer, appeler). “Au Restaurant” REVISION: Lessons VI-X.83 LESSON XI.85 Numerals from 60 onwards; Collective Numerals, Fractions, Measurements; Comparative and Superlative of Adjectives; Present Tense of connaitre, savoir.

‘‘La France”

CONTENTS

LESSON XII .94 The Relative Pronouns; the Conjunction que. “Une Erreur d’ldentite” LESSON XIII.101 Use of quel and lequel\ the Demonstrative Pronouns; Comparative and Superlative of Adverbs; Present Tense of vouloir, pouvoir. “Au Magasin” LESSON XIV.110 The Future Tense; Emphatic Pronouns; Present Tense of ecrire, recevoir. “Une Lettre de Paris” LESSON XV.118 The Perfect Tense with avoir; Agreement of Past Participle; Position of Adverbs. “Une Lettre de Londres” REVISION: Lessons XI-XV.125 LESSON XVI.127 The Perfect Tense with etre; Insertion of the Definite Article. “Le Tour de France” LESSON XVII.133 Interrogative Pronouns; Possessive Pronouns; Present Tense of croire, devoir. “Les Vendanges” LESSON XVIII.140 The Imperfect Tense; the Present Participle; Prepositions plus Gerund; Present Tense of con¬ duce, rire.

“Le Professeur Distrait” LESSON XIX.148 The Past Historic Tense. “La Cage au Tigre”

CONTENTS

LESSON XX.154 Negatives; Inversion of Verb and Subject. “Un Chien Intelligent” REVISION: Lessons XVI-XX

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161

LESSON XXI.163 The Conditional Tense; Use of si (if). ‘‘Le Choix d'une Carriere” LESSON XXII.168 The Infinitive after Verbs, Adjectives and Nouns. “La Mort du Canard” LESSON XXIII.175 Compound Tenses of Verbs (Pluperfect, Past Anterior, Future Perfect, Conditional Perfect); the Passive; Uses of devoir. “Une Histoire de Lion” LESSON XXIV.182 Verb + Preposition + Noun. “Le Perroquet” LESSON XXV.188 Some Problem Prepositions; Notes on some Pronouns, Adjectives and Adverbs. “Le Cimetiere Hante” REVISION: Lessons XXI-XXV

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196

APPENDIX A: The Subjunctive: Formation and Uses

199

APPENDIX B: Commercial and Personal Corres¬ pondence . . . . . . . .210 TABLE OF REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS

215

IDIOMS AND PHRASES

224

CONTENTS

USEFUL WORD-LISTS.229 KEY TO EXERCISES.24! VOCABULARY: FRENCH-ENGLISH, ENGLISH -FRENCH.274

ACCENTS, ELISION, PUNCTUATION Accents

1. The Circumflex: This accent is used (a) to show the lengthening of the vowel owing to the dropping of “s”: fenetre (Latin: fenestra); (b) to show some other contraction: sur (Latin: securus); (c) to distinguish two words spelt alike: “cru” (believed), and “cru” (grown). 2. The Acute Accent: This indicates a closed, sharp “e” and occurs when the next syllable is sounded. e.g. emu and always on a final “e,” if accented. e.g. donne, fatigue 3. The Grave Accent: This indicates an open “e,” and occurs before a silent or mute “e” or “-ent.” e.g. le pere, ils donnerent This is also always used on “ a ” and “ u ” to show differences in meaning. e.g. a—has, a—to, ou—or, ou—where Note also the grave accent on: tres—very, pres—near, apres—after. (Initial capital letters do not, as a rule, take the accent, except “E.”) 4. The Cedilla: , This is used to make the letter “c” soft (like an “s”) before the letters “a, o, u.” e.g. le gargon Note.—“c” is naturally soft before “i, e.” e.g. ici, ce

10

LIVING FRENCH

5, The Trema: This is used over the second of two vowels, when it is not to be merged with the preceding vowel in a diphthong, but is to be pronounced separately. e.g. hair—-to hate (“a” and 44i” pronounced separately—not as in “j’ai”—1 have). Elision

In French the final vowel of the following words is elided and replaced by an apostrophe when it comes before another word beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u and y) or44 h” mute. 1. -e in “je, me, te, se, le, ce, de, ne, que” always; and in “lorsque, puisque, quoique” before “il, elle, on, un, une” only; and in “quelque” before 44un, une” only. 2. -a in 44la.” 3. -i is elided only before another “i,” hence only in “si” before 44il, its.” e.g. ~e j’ai, l’enfant, 1’homme lorsqu’il quelqu’un -a I'amie 4 s’il The Letter “H” The letter 44 h” is generally mute or silent in French, but in certain cases it is aspirate or breathed and this is indicated by absence of elision. e.g. la haie (the hedge) Punctuation

le point « » les guillemets , la virgule ( ) la parenthese : les deux points — le tiret ; le point et virgule le trait d’union ? le point d’interrogation ... les points de suspension; ! le point d’exclamation les points suspensifs Note: To conform with the usual practice in examination papers, and for simplification, English quotation marks are used in this book.

LIVING FRENCH

11

PRONUNCIATION The following notes are for the benefit of students working on their

own. The English sounds given as a guide are in many cases only approximately similar. The French alphabet consists of the same twenty-six letters as the English alphabet, but certain accents and other signs are used in French with some letters (see pp. 13-14). “W” iscalled “double v” and “y” is “ ‘i’ grec” (i.e. Greek “i”), while “g” is “ge” (zhay) and “j” is “gi” (zhee). French cannot be spoken without opening the mouth and moving the lips—though English often is! Syllables and Stress

Stress on each syllable of a word is practically equal, but the last syllable of words of more than one syllable is slightly stressed—not unstressed and almost unheard as is often the case in English. Note.—Division into Syllables

1. A single consonant between two vowels always belongs to the syllable following it, e.g. cafe = ca-fe (not caf-e). 2. Combinations of consonants between vowels are divided: e.g. im/por/tant—but if the last of a group of consonants is “1” or “r” it counts as one with the preceding consonant, e.g. ta/bleau, ven/dre/di. For “mm” and “nn” see “Nasal Vowels” 3. “gn” always begins its syllable, e.g. compa/gnon. Consonants

When a consonant ends a word in French it is usually not pronounced, though final “c,” “f,” “1” and “r” in words of one syllable are generally pronounced. Most consonants, except when final, are pronounced as in English, but note the following points: c before “e,” “i,” “y” I =

jn „sea„

f (ce, ici, cygne)

before “a,” “o,” “u”J 1 (9a, gar