21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Verb Coverage, January 27, 2005
This review is from: 2000+ Essential French Verbs: Learn the Forms, Master the Tenses, and Speak Fluently! (Essential Vocabulary) (Paperback)
Whether you're a student of French, travelling abroad, or just want to learn to speak it, this book has got everything you need to know about verbs. It has practically every verb you can think of, tons that you never would think of, and all the tenses and conjugations of every single one. This is the essential French verb book.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
French verb conjugation made simple, January 11, 2007
This review is from: 2000+ Essential French Verbs: Learn the Forms, Master the Tenses, and Speak Fluently! (Essential Vocabulary) (Paperback)
This book will help you to master French verbs without doubt. This book achieves to present the intricate tense formation and use in a clear and simple format. It presents French tenses with clear definitions and well-created guided exercises. The book provides plenty of examples and practice exercises to master French verbs. The interactive CD is an excellent supplement to the text; it allows you to personalize the activities for specific needs. I use the CD to create my own flash cards and quizzes to practice words, and structures that were a challenge to me. I have one small problem with this book, even though the exercises are excellent and follow a clear format in the second part "French Verbs in Action" some tenses are presented in groups, which can be confusing and there are not practice exercises for some tenses. Since this is just a minor problem and the book goes well and beyond in presenting French verbs I will give it five stars.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Look elsewhere, December 29, 2007
This review is from: 2000+ Essential French Verbs: Learn the Forms, Master the Tenses, and Speak Fluently! (Essential Vocabulary) (Paperback)
First, the CD with Before You Know It software: It works, which is about as much as one can say in its favor. If you're using a Mac with an up to date OS, be prepared for a hassle. The vocabulary list files will not work unless you first email customer support at the company. They'll send you a link that allows you to download an updated version of the software. (The download is very slow. If you're using a dial up connection, be prepared to pack it in for the night.) Once installed you may yet fall into a minor trap--that of having vocabulary lists you've already spent time creating, being completely deleted without warning by the updated software.
The lists that eventually do work are relatively small in size. Hence, the option for you to do the lion's share of the work in creating your own.
The usability of the software is below average in terms of intuitiveness, convenience and efficiency. Opening new lists, switching out of the list you're already in and more, is not done from an easy to use master menu, but is discovered over time by clicking through illogically organized windows and wordy options. It comes close but doesn't quite win the ignoble label of geek-ware.
The book's contents are well-designed but spare. And, unless I'm missing something, there are not 2000 verbs in this book.
I purchased this book out of a desire to replace an aging copy of
501 French Verbs: with CD-ROM (Barron's Foreign Language Guides). My copy of this contains many more verbs and more explanatory content. I should have purchased a newer version of it.
My advice--skip this book and CD. Go for the 501 French Verbs. You can easily make your own flashcards. For pronunciation, explore the growing number of French language podcasts on iTunes and elsewhere.
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