Customer Reviews

Speaking Better French: Still More Faux Amis

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Just love these Faux Amis series. The author really writes in an intersting, yet comprehensive manner. This not your usual dull French grammar book. He does manage to make the language come alive. Along the way, you will pick up additional vocabulary (other than the faux amis) and get more insight into French customs and culture - never a bad idea since language and culture go together.

The fact that a third of English vocabulary is of French origin is a help in learning French but the lurking monster is all those words that look familiar but are hazardous to use the way you would like. This book is the latest in his series on taming that monster. The words are at random with the index at the end. Makes it more interesting. Who likes to feel they are reading a dictionary from beginning to end?

Take canapé, for example; it isn't something you eat, instead you find it in the typical American living room - it is the SOFA. I'm going to dig out my copy of his previous versions of this series and go over them again, it's that enjoyable to read and so useful. Don't just take my word, as a terrified late-in-life learner of French. Many university professors have praised it and use it in their classes. Saul makes a wonderful contribution to learning French.