Eliane Kurbegov - Practice Makes Perfect: French Sentence Builder

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
French Sentence Builder

Eliane Kurbegov

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ISBN: 978-0-07-160038-5

MHID: 0-07-160038-8

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English and French have many similarities such as common vocabulary words derived from Latin. Knowing these words makes it easier for a speaker of English to learn and remember French words. However, when it comes to word order, French and English sentences may sometimes differ. For example, adverbs are usually placed before a verb in English but after the verb in French.

This book will help you compare the syntax of French and English sentences, allow you to revisit grammatical concepts such as object pronouns (focusing on their position in the French sentence), and provide you with many opportunities to write the least as well as the most complex sentences. This book and a little determination will undoubtedly make you a better writer.

A step-by-step approach to analyzing the components of a sentence paired with a guided structuring of phrases, sentences, and ultimately paragraphs will allow you to hone your writing skills.

The structures that are explained and practiced in this book progress from basic phrases, such as demain (See you tomorrow), to increasingly complex sentences including relative and subjunctive clauses. Many diagrams accompany information to illustrate the functions and positions of the various parts of a sentence.

This book provides an abundance of exercises to help you practice building and structuring a great variety of sentences. Some exercises aim at helping you understand structures by identifying or matching components, while others require restructuring, modifying, and writing new sentences. The ultimate goal is to write full sentences independently. The last few chapters of this book allow you to progress from writing sentences to writing paragraphs, e-mails, and letters.

An answer key is provided with actual or suggested answers for all exercises or with models for such activities as letter writing.

Writing can be challenging in any language, but rest assured that close attention to the rules of sentence building combined with regular practice will make you a better writer. This book will provide you with ample opportunities to build sentences while at the same time building your confidence as a writer.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
French Sentence Builder

It is important to understand the difference between a phrase and a sentence. They are different in nature and serve different purposes.

A phrase consists of more than one word but does not have the subject + verb organization of a sentence.

one or more words excluding a verb phrase
subject + predicate (including verb) sentence

Some phrases are formulas used frequently in social situations. Other phrases are common sayings or proverbs. Notice that they do not have a subject + verb structure:

Unlike a phrase, a sentence is defined as a grammatical unit. To build this unit in French, you need nouns, verbal structures, object pronouns, adverbs, etc.elements you may have previously learned. Think of these elements as the blocks that help you build a structure, the sum of the pieces of a whole that has a meaning of its own. A sentence includes a subjecta word or a group of words that tell you what or whom the sentence is aboutand a predicatea word or words that tell us something about the subject. Spelling and punctuation require a capital letter to start a sentence and a period to indicate the end of the message.

This is a sentence because there is a subject (on) and a predicate (se verra ce soir), as well as the verb