Heather McCoy - 1001 Easy French Phrases

1001 EASY FRENCH PHRASES Heather McCoy, Ph.D. DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC., Mineola, New York Copyright Copyright 2010 by Heather McCoy All rights reserved. Bibliographical Note1001 Easy French Phrases is a new work, first published by Dover Publications, Inc., in 2010. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McCoy, Heather. 1001 easy French phrases / Heather McCoy. cm. cm.

Text in English and French. Includes bibliographical references and index. eISBN-13: 978-0-486-11402-6 1. French languageConversation and phrase booksEnglish. I. II. II.

Title: One thousand and one easy French phrases. PC2121M53 2010 448.3'421dc22 2010034729 Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporation 47620001 www.doverpublications.com Table of ContentsIntroduction This book is designed for the traveler or casual user of French who is looking for a handy and manageable guide to basic French phrases. The phrases included in this convenient volume are some of the basic tools for communication and comprehension that you are likely to need in a variety of French-speaking contexts. The primary focus of 1001 Easy French Phrases is daily communication. You will find linguistic structures that focus on describing yourself and others; asking simple questions that one might need when traveling; and interacting in a variety of situations. The phrases have been organized thematically so that you can easily find vocabulary and sentence structures that apply to a specific context.

Special attention has been paid to organizing phrases so that you can substitute the vocabulary you need in order to create your own meaning, such as in the following example: Je voudrais prendre... (Id like to have... ) ... une bire (a beer) ... un caf (a coffee) You will be able to use this book in a variety of ways, either by preparing for a trip by reading a few sections a day, or by using it on-the-spot by flipping to the section that is most pertinent at that moment. Our hope is that you will find the phrases useful and flexible, enabling you to effectively create your own meanings.

If you are interested in going beyond the phrases presented in this book, please refer to the Appendix on page 95, which includes verb conjugations, an outline of several key grammatical points, and resources for continued learning. French Pronunciation1001 Easy French Phrases uses a phonetic transcription as an aid to correct pronunciation. (See Scheme of Pronunciation, below.) This transcription is located directly beneath the French entry in the text. Here are some general principles of pronunciation: Nasalization In French, a vowel is nasalized when it is followed by a single m or n in the same syllable. The transcription of these nasalized vowels appears as: -an, -am, -em, -en -> ahn, ehn -in, -im -> ihn, ihm -on, -om -> ohn, ohm -um, -un -> uhn To produce a nasalized vowel, quickly pass the air through both the nose and the mouth at the same time. The m or n isnt pronounced after the nasal vowel, as follows: franais -> frahn-say; temps -> tahn pain -> pihn; printemps -> prihn-tehn bon -> bohn quelquun -> kell-kuhn Silent Final Consonants In French, most consonants at the end of a word are silent, although there are exceptions to this rule: c, f, and l.

The consonant r also is pronounced, but is silent when occurring in the endings -er and -ier. The French r The French r can be one of the most challenging sounds for English speakers to pronounce. Pronunciation of the r will depend upon the region of the French-speaking world that you are visiting. In some areas, the French r can resemble the Italian or Spanish rproduced by rolling it on the tip of the tongue. The Parisian r is a more gutteral sound: its helpful to imagine the sound being produced in the back of the throat, the same place that produces the h in ahoy. The Plural s As mentioned above, consonants at the end of words normally are not pronounced. The Plural s As mentioned above, consonants at the end of words normally are not pronounced.

Make special note of this when pronouncing the s that denotes the plural: Le chat -> luh-shah Les chats -> lay-shah Notice how the pronunciation of the noun chat does not change between the singular and the plural. This is quite different from English, and is important for English speakers to remember. Liaison A final consonant that is normally silent is pronounced when it comes before a vowel or h. This phenomenon is called liaison. Note the following change: A final s before a consonant: des livres -> day-leev-ruh A final s before a vowel: des animaux -> daze-ehn-ee-moh The rules for liaison can be somewhat complex, so simply pay attention to the phonetic transcriptions in order to get a feel for when its usage is appropriate. -> zhuh swee za -mary- kihn ay tra-vy oh moo- zay dar cohn- tehn -por- ihn. Scheme of Pronunciation