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Easy Learning French Conversation
Published by Collins
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Westerhill Road
Bishopbriggs
Glasgow G64 2QT
Second Edition 2015
© HarperCollins Publishers 2006, 2015
eBook Edition © May 2015 ISBN 978-0-00-811882-2
Version: 2015-03-30
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank those authors and publishers who kindly gave permission for copyright material to be used in the Collins Corpus. We would also like to thank Times Newspapers Ltd for providing valuable data.
MANAGING EDITOR
Janice McNeillie
CONTRIBUTOR
Laurence Larroche
FOR THE PUBLISHER
Gerry Breslin
Hannah Dove
Contents
Cover
Title page
Copyright
Introduction
What is it?
Why do you need it?
How is it structured?
How does it work?
Why choose Collins Easy Learning French Conversation?
The Collins Easy Learning range
French pronunciation
Silent letters
French vowels
Vowel combinations
French consonants
Stress
Liaison
Units
Small talk
Comment ça va? – How are things?
Greetings
Introducing people
Talking about yourself
Asking for information
Saying what you want to do
Making suggestions
Expressing opinions
Talking about your plans
Making arrangements
Saying what you have to do
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Getting there
Bon voyage! – Have a good trip!
Talking about your plans
Saying what you have to do
Saying what you want to do
Making suggestions
Asking for information
Asking for things
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Home from home
Dors bien! – Sleep well!
Asking for things
Talking about yourself
Asking for information
Asking for permission
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Expressing opinions
Making suggestions
Asking for suggestions
Saying what you have to do
Talking about your plans
Complaining
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Wining and dining
Bon appétit! – Enjoy your meal!
Making arrangements
Asking for information
Asking for things
Saying what you want to do
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Asking for suggestions
Making suggestions
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Hitting the town
Amusez-vous bien! – Enjoy yourselves!
Making suggestions
Talking about your plans
Asking for information
Asking for things
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Expressing opinions
Asking for permission
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Museums, monuments and much more
Passez une bonne journée! – Have a nice day!
Saying what you want to do
Talking about your plans
Making suggestions
Asking for information
Asking for things
Asking for permission
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Complaining
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Retail therapy
Je peux vous aider? – Can I help you?
Asking for things
Saying what you have to do
Talking about your plans
Expressing opinions
Asking for information
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Making suggestions
Asking for permission
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Service with a smile
Service irréprochable! – Excellent service!
Greetings
Talking about yourself
Saying what you have to do
Saying what you want to do
Asking for information
Asking for things
Asking for suggestions
Making suggestions
Making arrangements
Talking about your plans
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Ouch!
Rétablis-toi vite! – Get well soon!
Describing the problem
Saying what happened
Asking for information
Asking for things
Saying what you want to do
Making suggestions
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Help!
Ne vous en faites pas! – Don’t worry!
Describing the problem
Saying what happened
Describing people and things
Asking for information
Asking for things
Saying what you want to do
Saying what you have to do
Making suggestions
Talking about your plans
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Getting in touch
Qui est à l’appareil? – Who’s calling, please?
Making a telephone call
When the person you’re calling answers
Saying why you’re calling
Giving information
Answering the telephone
Ending a telephone call
Listen out for
Writing emails and letters
Texting
Social media
Lifestyle Tips
Time, numbers, date
Trois, deux, un… Partez! – Three, two, one… Go!
Les nombres – Numbers
L’heure – The time
Listen out for
La durée – Saying how long
Les saisons – The seasons
Les mois de l’année – The months of the year
Les dates – Dates
Les jours de la semaine – The days of the week
L’alphabet – The alphabet
Listen out for
Interesting days and dates
In summary…
Bon, résumons… – So, to sum up…
Apologizing
Asking for and giving explanations
Asking for information
Asking for permission
Asking for things
Complaining
Describing people and things
Explaining a problem
Expressing opinions
Making suggestions
Saying what’s happened
Saying what you have to do
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Saying what you want to do
Talking about your plans
One-stop phrase shop
Je vous demande pardon? – I beg your pardon?
Hellos and goodbyes
Please and thank you
Attracting someone’s attention
Making sure you’ve understood
Checking facts
Wishing someone something
Apologizing
Reassuring someone
Opinions
Agreeing, disagreeing and declining
Congratulating someone
Reacting to good and bad news
Exclamations
Surprise
Encouraging someone
Handing someone something
Dangers and emergencies
Speaking your mind
Conversational words
Grammar
Nouns
Articles
Pronouns
Adjectives
Questions
Negatives
Some common translation difficulties
Verbs
Verb tenses
Verb tables
Aimer: to love
Finir: to finish
Attendre: to wait
S’asseoir: to sit down
Aller: to go
Avoir: to have
Devoir: to have, to owe
Être: to be
Faire: to do, to make
Pouvoir: to be able
Vouloir: to want
Vocabulary builder
About the publisher
Introduction
What is it?
Collins Easy Learning French Conversation is a book for learners of French of all ages. It will increase your confidence in holding a conversation in French, whether you are just starting to learn French, studying at school or at an evening class, or brushing up your language skills. You may be going on holiday or planning to go travelling in a French-speaking country, go there on business, or live there. Whatever your situation, you’ll want to be able to communicate effectively and naturally in French.
Why do you need it?
Becoming proficient in a foreign language means being able to use and understand a number of different aspects – vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and so on. However, it takes a while to be able to put all these elements together and be sure that what you are saying sounds like natural French. The Easy Learning French Conversation has been carefully designed to bring these aspects together and give you language structures which you can use in conversation with confidence, knowing that you will be speaking French as spoken by French speakers.
How is it structured?
Collins Easy Learning French Conversation is made up of 12 units, each illustrating the language used in a particular situation, followed by a summary which brings together the key phrases covered throughout the units. You’ll also find the One-stop phrase shop – a unit which contains all the important expressions and turns of phrase that help you to sound more natural in French.
A short grammar and verbs supplement gives you additional language support, ensuring that you have everything at your fingertips. Finally, the English-French glossary covers the most important vocabulary you may need to personalize your conversation.
How does it work?
Language allows us to express ourselves and interact with others. In any given situation, we perform different language tasks, such as asking for information, agreeing and disagreeing, complaining, making suggestions and so forth. To do this, we use linguistic structures (How…?, When…?, Could I…?, I’d like… and so on) which can be used in a variety of contexts. Each unit in Collins Easy Learning French Conversation gives you all the phrases you might need in a given situation, grouped by structure. English headings help you navigate through the structures to enable you to find what you want quickly and easily. Throughout the units, there are also tips headed Bon à savoir! which highlight important differences in the way English and French work.
A conversation, by definition, is a two-way process. It is as important to understand what is being said to you as it is to be able to respond. At the end of each unit, there is a section headed Listen out for. Each of these sections gives you a variety of the most typical phrases you might hear in a given situation. Becoming familiar with these will allow you to have a successful conversation with a French speaker. For further help with pronunciation, a free download with all the important structures recorded is available on www.collins.co.uk/easylearningresources.
Communicating effectively in French isn’t just about linguistic competence – it’s also about cultural knowledge. For you to feel confident in a French-speaking country, it is useful to know more about French culture and lifestyle. At the end of each unit, the Lifestyle Tips will give you the information you need to gain a deeper insight into the language, the country and its people.
Why choose Collins Easy Learning French Conversation?
• easy to use all the key language structures you need to give you the confidence to hold a conversation in natural French
• easy to read a clear, modern layout which allows you to find what you need quickly and easily
• easy to understand the language you may hear from French speakers in a given situation
• easy to speak free audio download available on www.collins.co.uk/easylearningresources
The Collins Easy Learning range
The Collins Easy Learning French Conversation is part of the best-selling Collins Easy Learning range, which includes the highly acclaimed Collins Easy Learning French Dictionary. Collins Easy Learning French Grammar and Collins Easy Learning French Verbs support you with all your grammatical needs, and the Collins Easy Learning French Words allows you to learn and practise your French vocabulary. The Collins Easy Learning series is the ideal language reference range to help you learn French.
French pronunciation
There are some sounds in French which need a bit of practice, such as the French r, which is much more noticeable than an English r, and the very sharp u sound to be heard in words like rue and plu, which is different from the oo sound in an English word like ruin.
Silent letters
As in English, not all the letters in French words are pronounced – especially final consonants. The final consonant is not sounded in the following, for example: vert (green), grand (tall), petit (small), and ouvert (open). However, if the final consonant is followed by an e, for example in the feminine form of the adjective, the consonant is pronounced. The feminine forms verte, grande, petite, and ouverte all end with consonant sounds.
French vowels
These are the main ways in which French vowels are pronounced:
a– a as in fat (patte, casserole) aw (bas, cas) followed by n: en as in encore (dans, sans, plan)e– uh (le, premier, repas) e as in set (merci, restaurant) followed by n: en as in encore (vent, entrer, cent) followed by r: ay (parler, dîner)é– ay (occupé, région)è– ai as in air (père, règle)i– ee (il, billet, vie, samedi) followed by n: a as in sang (matin, fin, vin)o– o as in spot (donner, mort) oh (mot, poser)u– followed by n: u as in sung (lundi, brun)To make the u sound for words like rue and pure, place your lips as if you were going to whistle and make a sharp ee sound at the front of your mouth.
Vowel combinations
ai– e as in set (mais, lait) followed by n: a as in sang (pain, copain)au– o as in gosh (gauche)eu– euh (peu, deux)eau– oh (couteau)ou– oo (genou, couscous)BON À SAVOIR!
Two words you will often hear – oui (yes) and lui (him) are examples of a breathy w sound – they’re pronounced rather like hwee and lwhee.
French consonants
Most French consonants are pronounced the same as their English equivalents. Some consonants, however, are pronounced differently depending on which vowel follows:
c– k as in keen when it is followed by a, o or u (cadeau, couteau, cumin) – note that when a cedilla (ç) is added to the c, it will sound like s in sit (ça, garçon, déçu)– s as in ceiling when it is followed by e, i or y (séance, citron, cyprès)ch– sh as in shop (chemise, mouchoir)g– g as in gate when it is followed by a, o or u (gaz, égouter, aigu)– s as in leisure when it is followed by e, i or y (juge, gilet, gym)gn– ni as in onion (oignon, campagne)j– s as in leisure (jeter, Jules)q, qu– k as in keen (chaque, question)s– z as in zoo when it is between vowels (heureuse, oiseau)– s as in sit when it isn’t (cassé, sauce, désastre)th– t as in take (maths, thermostat, théâtre)t in -tion– s as in sit (natation, national)Some consonants are pronounced differently to English:
h– when it begins a word, it can be ‘silent’ (l’homme, un hôtel) or ‘aspirate’ (les haricots, le hall). When the h is silent, the word behaves as though it starts with a vowel and forms a liaison with the preceding word where appropriate (see below). When the h is aspirate, no liaison is made.r– rr: a raspy sound in the back of the throat (rue, rouge, rare)ll– y as in yes (fille, paille)BON À SAVOIR!
Note, however, that mille (one thousand) is pronounced to rhyme with peel.
Stress
In English words, a particular syllable is stressed (concert, dentist), whereas in French each syllable has its own length and each is pronounced with the same intensity.
Liaison
Liaison is what happens when a French word ending in a consonant which would usually be silent, for example, petit (small), les (the), precedes a word starting with a vowel or a ‘silent’ h. The silent consonant is sounded to make the words flow more easily.
petit ami (boyfriend) is pronounced puh-teet-ah-mee (the t at the end of petit is sounded)
les hôtels (hotels) is pronounced layz-oh-tel (the s at the end of les sounds like a z)
Small talk
Comment ça va? – How are things?
Whether you’re going to be working in a French-speaking country or you’re going to spend some time with your French-speaking friends, you’ll want to be able to chat with people and get to know them better. The phrases in this unit will help you talk naturally to friends, family and colleagues in a number of everyday situations.
GREETINGS
Just as in English, there are several ways of greeting people in French, depending on who you are addressing, and whether you want to be formal or not. Say bonjour, madame/mademoiselle/monsieur if you want to sound polite and just bonjour to someone you know a little. If you’re on friendly terms with someone, you can say salut! (hi!).
