"As with your previous book, I am amazed at how fun to read, as well as incredibly informative the book is. It's a wonderful tool" --- Professor Brigitte Humbert, Middlebury College
"I think your books are wonderful. You have made a fantastic contribution to the French language profession." --- Professor Judy Baughin, Raymond Walters College
"I just wanted to let you know that the copy of Key Words and Expressions arrived yesterday. I looked through it last night, and I have to say it is just the kind of book I would have liked to have had when I was teaching myself French oh-so-many years ago." --- Professor John Moran, Director of Language Programs, NYU
"I very much like what you have done with the latest book. The expressions you introduce are so much a part of everyday conversational life in France. Too bad that more French texts don't teach them." --- Professor John Romeiser, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
"Your little books are great!" ---- Professor AG Fralin, Washington and Lee University
"I love your books! They are easy to navigate, and they are extremely useful to non-native French speakers. Maybe I'm odd, but I actually enjoy reading them at night in bed before falling to sleep, they're that entertaining." ---- Professor John Turvaville, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
"I've been perusing Key Words for the past couple of days and it's great fun. A feature I'm really liking is the focus on the day-to-day spoken language, which doesn't always follow grammar rules. I'm going to think how I could implement some of your expressions into my fall class. What a great idea for a book!" --- Professor Herta Rodina, Ohio University
This book was originally made up of two separate books entitled:
Speaking Better French, The Key Words and Expressions You'll Need Every Day
and
Speaking Better French, More Key Words and Expressions
Since there were many important and even essential words in each of them, I felt that it would be much more convenient for you if I were to combine them into one book, so that you'd have all the terms in one place. Well this is the book, and this is the place!
I also updated, edited, and rewrote the key words, and added additional words and expressions that weren't in either of the first two books.
You may well ask, "Why a book of key words at all?" Well, living in France a part of each year I learned two things about speaking French in conversation. First that there are a group of words and expressions that are the glue of French conversation, but that in general aren't emphasized in class. And second, that the way French people talk isn't the same as the written French you learn in books.
I felt that this colloquial conversation was a neglected area in French teaching and thus I tried to write a book that would give you what you need to really speak colloquial French.
Let me start my response by quoting from a reviewer, on amazon.com, of the first of the above books:
"Perhaps the most amazing thing about this book is that it took until 2007 for anyone to think of writing it! This book fills a huge and inexplicable gap in the otherwise very crowded market for books on learning French. (Come to think of it, I haven't found such books in any of the three foreign languages I've studied besides French.)"
Here's what this book isn't. It isn't a book about learning vocabulary - about learning nouns and verbs. Okay, then what is it? It's a book to help you understand and talk more fluent, colloquial French, the French that French people use.
It gives you the key words and little expressions that are used all the time in day-to-day conversation. These are the words that make the language flow. I discuss each one separately and tell you how to use it. For each key word or expression I also usually give you a number of examples using it in phrases, sentences, or mini-conversations, so you can see how it's normally used. That way, it won't be just a meaningless term for you to memorize.
There are thousands of idioms in French, but many of them are used just occasionally and for very specific occasions. Take, for instance, the English expression "He's sowing his wild oats". It's nice to know but you could get along very well without it.
French has lots of idioms like that too. Il fait les quatre cent coups is pretty close to "He's sowing his wild oats". It's nice if you know it, but it's an idiom that you might encounter just once or twice in your lifetime.
However there are other key words and expressions in French that are used all the time. They are the French equivalents of English expressions like in spite of, just in case, as soon as, on the other hand, by the way, all the same, Who knows!, No way!, So what?, and many, many more.
As opposed to once in a lifetime idioms like "sowing his wild oats" these expressions are multipurpose. They serve in an infinite number of daily situations. You not only need to recognize them, you need to use them yourself in daily speech.
These key words are the subjects of this book. Some of them are actual short idioms. Most are simply the words that grease the wheels of French conversation. While the first goal of the book is to give you these little words and expressions that make the language flow, the second goal of the book is to help you talk and understand spoken French.
When I say spoken French, I mean the way people really talk. Some expressions that French people use are very informal, they use shortcuts, and they are not what you would call standard or proper French. It's similar to the same informal devices we use in English.When we say "See you tomorrow!" there is no subject in that sentence. The "I will" has been dropped. We know it's not proper English and we wouldn't use it in a formal letter or a formal interview, but that's the way we often talk.
Most French people use the same kind of abbreviations in casual speech. Most of my French friends think of it as "spoken French", as opposed to "written French", and they accept it as normal, depending on the circumstances.
Consider the expression "C'est pas vrai !" It's not standard French because the "ne" is dropped, which often happens in spoken French. In standard written French it would be: "Ce n'est pas vrai". However, in practice almost no one says Ce n'est pas vrai ! The usual spoken expression is: C'est pas vrai ! When an expression like "C'est pas vrai" is in common use, and when this is the primary way that it's used orally, I include it that way in the book.
You must be aware however that in formal situations, and when you are writing something formal, you must use standard French. To help you remember, where I use informal spoken French like this in the book, I call it to your attention in the text with a little reminder that this is spoken French, and that it should not be used in more formal situations.
I hope that you will find this book remarkable. My goal has been not only to make it a great resource, but also to make it enjoyable to read. I hope that it'll be fun for you. You might think that fun is an odd word to use for a book that you will use for learning, but this book will be fun!
