Essential French Grammar Essential French Grammar is a student-friendly French grammar designed to give learners a fi rm foundation on which to build a real understanding of both spoken and written French. Clear explanations of grammar are supported by contemporary examples, lively cartoon drawings and a variety of exercises. Key features of each chapter: � each grammar point explained initially with reference to English � parallels between English and French provided where relevant � ‘key points’ box and tables that summarize grammar concepts � real-life language examples in French, with English translations � a variety of exercises to reinforce learning � a contemporary primary source or literary extract to illustrate grammar in context. A glossary of grammatical terms in French and English, useful verb tables, and a key to the exercises are also provided, making this an ideal resource for both independent and class-based learners. Essential French Grammar is an innovative reference grammar and workbook for intermediate and advanced undergraduate students of French (CEFR levels B2 to C1, ACTFL Intermediate to Advanced). Mike Thacker was Director of the Language Centre at the University of Surrey from 1991 to 2005 and has taught at all degree levels. He is co-author of several coursebooks for Spanish A level, A Spanish Learning Grammar and Friday Afternoon French (with Casimir d’Angelo). Casimir d’Angelo is Director of the Language Unit in the Engineering Department of the University of Cambridge. He is co-author of Friday Afternoon French (with Mike Thacker). Essential Language Grammars Essential Language Grammars are available for the following languages: French German ESSENTIAL FRENCH GRAMMAR Mike Thacker • Casimir d’Angelo First published 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2013 Mike Thacker and Casimir d’Angelo The right of the authors to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Thacker, Mike, author. Essential French Grammar / Mike Thacker and Casimir d’Angelo. pages cm Text in French and English. Includes index. 1. French language--Grammar. 2. French language--Textbooks for foreign speakers--English. 3. French language--Spoken French. 4. French language--Study and teaching--English speakers. I. d’Angelo, Casimir, author. II. Title. PC2112.T49 2013 448.2’421--dc23 2012044322 ISBN: 978-0-415-82596-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-4441-6689-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-78453-2 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby CONTENTS v Acknowledgements xi Introduction xiii Glossary of grammatical terms xv 1 NOUNS 1 1.1 Types of nouns 3 1.2 Gender 7 1.3 Number 27 Nouns in context 36 Exercises 39 2 DETERMINERS 43 2.1 The three types of article 44 2.2 Forms of the articles 44 2.3 The defi nite article 45 2.4 The indefi nite article 47 2.5 The partitive article 49 2.6 Omission of the article 50 2.7 Demonstrative determiners 51 2.8 Possessive determiners 53 Determiners in context 55 Exercises 57 3 PRONOUNS 61 3.1 Subject pronouns 63 3.2 Direct and indirect object pronouns 68 3.3 y 71 3.4 en 72 3.5 Refl exive pronouns 73 3.6 Order of object pronouns 75 3.7 Stressed pronouns 77 3.8 Coordination of personal pronouns 78 3.9 Demonstrative pronouns 79 3.10 Possessive pronouns 80 3.11 Indefi nite pronouns 81 Pronouns in context 83 Exercises 85 4 ADJECTIVES 88 4.1 The position of adjectives 90 4.2 The feminine of adjectives 95 4.3 Adjectives with a second masculine form 103 4.4 The plural of adjectives 103 4.5 Compound adjectives 105 4.6 Agreement of adjectives with on 106 4.7 Agreement of adjectives according to meaning 106 CONTENTS vi 4.8 Adjectives of colour 107 4.9 Foreign borrowings 108 4.10 Special cases 109 4.11 Adjectival expressions 110 4.12 Comparison of adjectives 111 4.13 Verbal adjectives 113 Adjectives in context 115 Exercises 117 5 NUMBERS 121 5.1 Cardinal numbers 122 5.2 Ordinal numbers 126 5.3 Word order when a cardinal and ordinal number are together 128 5.4 Approximate numbers 128 5.5 Time 129 5.6 Dates 129 5.7 Measurements 130 5.8 Fractions and calculations 130 5.9 Quantifi ers 131 Numbers in context 133 Exercises 135 6 ADVERBS 138 6.1 Adverbs and adverbials 140 6.2 Formation of adverbs ending in -ment 140 6.3 Different types of adverbs 143 6.4 Comparison of adverbs 146 6.5 Position of adverbs 148 6.6 Inversion after certain adverbs 150 Adverbs in context 151 Exercises 153 7 NEGATION 157 7.1 Position of negative expressions 158 7.2 Order of negative expressions 159 7.3 de with a direct object in negative sentences 159 7.4 ne … aucun 160 7.5 ne … guère 160 7.6 ne … jamais 160 7.7 ne … ni … ni 161 7.8 ne … nul(le); ne … nulle part; ne … nullement 161 7.9 ne … pas 161 7.10 ne … personne 162 7.11 ne … plus 162 7.12 ne … que 163 CONTENTS CONTENTS vii 7.13 ne … rien 163 7.14 Omission of ne in speech 164 7.15 Use of non and si 164 7.16 n’est-ce pas ? 164 7.17 Use of ne without a negative sense 164 7.18 Negative words with sans 165 Negation in context 166 Exercises 168 8 VERBS 1 171 8.1 The verb 171 8.2 Characteristics of the verb 171 8.3 Transitive and intransitive verbs 185 8.4 Pronominal verbs 186 8.5 Impersonal verbs 191 8.6 Verbal aspect 191 Verbs in context 198 Exercises 200 9 VERBS 2 : TENSES OF THE INDICATIVE 204 9.1 Tenses 204 9.2 The radical and verb endings 207 9.3 The present tense 210 9.4 The imperfect tense 215 9.5 The compound past 220 9.6 The simple past 223 9.7 The imperfect and the simple past contrasted 226 9.8 The pluperfect tense 227 9.9 The past anterior 230 9.10 The future tense 232 9.11 The compound future 236 9.12 The conditional tense 239 9.13 The compound conditional 242 9.14 Summary of the sequence of tenses in conditional clauses 245 Indicative tenses in context 246 Exercises 247 10 VERBS 3 : THE IMPERATIVE, THE INFINITIVE, PARTICIPLES 250 10.1 The imperative 250 10.2 The infi nitive 255 10.3 Participles 265 10.4 The present participle 266 10.5 The gerund 271 10.6 The past participle 272 Imperatives, infi nitives and participles in context 282 Exercises 284 CONTENTS viii 11 VERBS 4 : THE SUBJUNCTIVE 287 11.1 The present subjunctive 289 11.2 The compound past subjunctive 290 11.3 The imperfect subjunctive 290 11.4 The pluperfect subjunctive 292 11.5 The double compound past subjunctive 293 11.6 Examples of the fi ve subjunctive tenses 294 11.7 Uses of the subjunctive 294 The subjunctive in context 302 Exercises 304 12 PREPOSITIONS 307 12.1 Coordination of prepositions 309 12.2 Verb + preposition constructions 310 12.3 Adjectives and adverbs + prepositions 310 12.4 Differentiating between prepositions and adverbs 311 12.5 Prepositions and their uses 311 12.6 Prepositions meaning ‘in’ and ‘to’ before geographical names 328 Prepositions in context 329 Exercises 333 13 CONJUNCTIONS 337 13.1 Coordinating conjunctions 338 13.2 Subordinating conjunctions 341 13.3 Subordinating conjunctions followed by the indicative 341 13.4 Subordinating conjunctions followed by the subjunctive 344 13.5 Subordinating conjunctions followed by the indicative or subjunctive, depending on meaning 345 Conjunctions in context 347 Exercises 349 14 RELATIVE PRONOUNS 352 14.1 Agreement with the past participle (see also 10.6.4) 353 14.2 The invariable relatives, qui, que, quoi, dont, où 354 14.3 Qui 355 14.4 Que / qu’ 355 14.5 Quoi 356 14.6 Dont 357 14.7 Où 357 14.8 Lequel 358 14.9 Restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses 359 Relative pronouns in context 360 Exercises 362 CONTENTS CONTENTS ix 15 QUESTIONS AND EXCLAMATIONS 365 15.1 Questions 365 15.2 Exclamations 372 Questions and exclamations in context 375 Exercises 377 Appendix: Punctuation, accents and the French phonetic alphabet 381 Verb tables 393 Answers to exercises 418 Index 432 ���������������������������������� xi Acknowledgements We wish to express our gratitude to Bianca Knights and Lucy Winder, for their encouragement and guidance during the writing of this book, and to Andrea Hartill and Samantha Vale Noya, of Routledge, for their help and advice in its fi nal stages. We would also like to thank a number of anonymous reviewers for their feedback on several chapters. We owe a special debt of gratitude to our colleague Thomas Godard for his valuable comments on several chapters, which helped us to clarify a number of complex points of grammar. The publishers would like to thank Editions Gallimard and the Estate of Jacques Prévert for their permission to reproduce ‘Inventaire’ by Jacques Prévert and Nino Ferrer for permission to reproduce the lyrics to ‘Les Cornichons’. ���������������������������������� xiii Introduction Essential French Grammar was written out of a conviction that grammar is the key to attaining a real understanding of both spoken and written French. While it is possible to communicate with native speakers at a basic phrase book level using a limited number of structures, knowledge of the grammar of the language is essential to hold a conversation of any complexity, or write a letter or an essay successfully. In our long experience of teaching and examining, grammar plays a fundamental part in the learning process of students who aspire to higher levels of competence. Our aim in writing Essential French Grammar is to provide a clear description of French grammar, together with practice exercises, for English-speaking undergraduate students of French and for those who are studying French in preparation to go to university. University students of French will benefi t from using this book, whether they are specialist linguists or non-specialists studying a module in French as part of another degree. In terms of the commonly accepted European system for assessing achievement in a language, the book corresponds approximately to levels B1 to C1 of the Common European Framework Reference for Languages (Independent User to Profi cient User). In each of the 15 chapters we explain briefl y how grammar works in English and then in French. This method enables students to grasp the fact that French has different ways of creating its grammatical rules, which derive from a distinctive cultural and linguistic tradition. The structure of each chapter follows a sequence: � each grammar point is explained initially with reference to English � parallels between English and French are then pointed out in a contrastive way � Key points relating the grammar in question are explained � a description of how the grammar is formed, where appropriate, and its main uses are then explored, with translated examples � in the fi nal section of each chapter, � the grammar point is exemplifi ed in passages that show how it works in context � a sequence of fi ve exercises gives ample practice for students to test themselves. In chapters where several different grammar areas are covered, the above sequence is followed for each point. Occasional illustrations show grammar ‘in action’. The book also includes: � a Glossary, provided at the beginning of the book, for those who are less familiar with grammar terms � an Appendix describing Punctuation, accents and the French phonetic alphabet � Verb tables � Answers to the exercises INTRODUCTION xiv � an Index In general, we have followed the conventions for explaining French grammar found in English grammars of French, pointing out some conceptual differences where appropriate (e.g. in Chapter 8, Verbs 1). In 1990, new rules for spelling were agreed by Francophone countries, which are set out in the Rectifi cations orthographiques du français (1990). These rules, which we have summarized in the Appendix, affect such aspects as the hyphenation of numbers, the use of the circumfl ex accent and compound words. Since this reform of spelling is not prescriptive, and has not yet taken hold in France, we have chosen to follow the traditional rules. It is often the case that incorrect usage of a given structure in the spoken language has become so widespread it is generally accepted. In cases of this kind we have pointed out that the structure is confi ned to speech. Similarly, we have indicated language that is employed only in formal circumstances or used in a literary or legal register. Where we feel the need to point to language that is ungrammatical, an asterisk is placed before the example. Casimir d’Angelo Mike Thacker March 2013