Customer Reviews

1001 Pitfalls in French

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This study aid is from Barron's Educational Series which produced 501 FRENCH VERBS (an innvaluable source for the beggining and advanced student alike). However unlike 501 FRENCH VERBS, 1001 PITFALLS IN FRENCH is NOT for beginning students.

Nearly two-thirds of the explanations are in French. Example sentences are not translated.

That said for the intermediate or advanced student this book has a veritable trove of information. In its pages you will find lists of false cognants, French words which are often confused, French words misspelled or misprounced by English speakers, adjectives which change meaning when placed before the noun, nouns with different meanings in masculine and feminine forms, etc. Also included are cautions on non-linguistic matters: the use of slang, differences in ettiquette, US/metric conversion charts, the long and flowery formule de politesse required for correspondance, etc.

What 1001 PITFALLS is not is a grammar guide. If you are in the market for a comprehensive grammar guide, then Schaum's Outline on French Grammar is one of the best and can be used by any level of student.

For students above the elementary level, this book will clear up doubts left by other textbooks and explain points that never appear in them. In fact, the more French the student knows the more useful this book will be. It is cherished by advanced students as well as by teachers--I have been a teacher of French. This is one of those books that address points that are simply not mentioned in standard courses. If you have learned to love the French language but are not sure which nouns end in consonants that must be pronounced or you have other niggling, gnawing doubts that spoil your enjoyment of the language, buy this book. You too will love it.

I ordered the book on Jan 5th for school but did not receive it until Feb 1st. I'm not sure what happened but the sellers were very kind and responsible about it. The book was also in very good condition.