The Ultimate French Review and Practice: Mastering French Grammar for Confident Communication [Paperback]

David Stillman (Author), Ronni Gordon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0658000748 | ISBN-13: 978-0658000744 | Publication Date: September 1, 1999 | Edition: 1

A good grasp of grammar enables the foreign-language learner to build skill and confidence in communication. Here's the "ultimate," painless way for intermediate and advanced learners to brush up on the rules. Each grammatical concept is explained and then illustrated with lively sentence examples; extensive exercises offer practice at applying this knowledge in everyday conversation. Also included are "culture notes," authentic documents, vocabulary boxes, and verb charts, as well as a full answer key and index.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French

About the Author

McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0658000748
• ISBN-13: 978-0658000744
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > French
  • #18 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > French
  • #21 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > French > Instruction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

324 of 325 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly What I Needed, March 27, 2001

By 

David W. Bernard (Rolla, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate French Review and Practice: Mastering French Grammar for Confident Communication (Paperback)

I bought this book to relearn all the grammar I used to know. Having had six years of French (last class was ten years ago), I needed something that would take me through grammar lessons fairly quickly. This book does that.

This is a handbook on grammar and conjugations. It follows a simple pattern for presenting material--it provides short lessons with examples, and then gives 8-12 practice exercises (with answers in the back of book), and so on.

This book emphasizes grammar over vocabulary, but translations are provided for the words that are used in examples and exercises. Translations also appear for idiomatic phrases.

I learned of this book by researching the materials used in upper level French composition classes at various universities. This one came up several times as a companion to the literature that students were required to obtain.

Here are the contents of Ultimate French Review and Practice:

Part I, Verbs--Basic Forms and Uses: 1. Present tense, 2. Present tense of irregular verbs, 3. Negative sentences, 4. Interrogative sentences, 5. Imperative, 6. Passe compose, 7. Imperfect; imperfect versus passe compose, 8. Reflexive verbs, 9. Future and conditional; conditional sentences, 10. Pluperperfect, future perfect, and past conditional; conditional sentences, 11. Passe simple, 12. Present participles; uses of the infinitive.

Part II, Nouns and Their Modifiers Pronouns: 13. Nouns: gender, number, and articles; uses of articles, 14. Stress pronouns; subject-verb agreement, 15. Possessive and demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, 16. Interrogative adjectives and pronouns, 17. Adjectives; comparative and superlative, 18. Object pronouns.

Part III, Other Elements of the Sentence: 19. Numbers; time; dates, 20. Adverbs, 21. Negative and indefinites, 22. Prepositions; prepositions with geographical names.

Part IV, Verbs in Two-Clause Sentences: 23. Relative clauses, 24. The present subjunctive, 25. The past subjunctive; literary subjunctives, 26. The subjunctive (continued).

Part V, Idiomatic Usage: 27. The passive voice and substitutes for the passive, 28. Important idioms and proverbs.

Don't be fooled by the price. This is a great resource.

142 of 143 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Matchless Combo of Grammar and Practical Everyday French, July 14, 2002

By 

Eds Word (El Paso, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate French Review and Practice: Mastering French Grammar for Confident Communication (Paperback)

This book is the best self-contained source for French grammar to come around in a long time. It is particularly good if you learned French through self-study from a variety of sources and want a single volume that encompasses all the essential grammar you need to know. There are lots of exercises (all with answers provided), culture notes, examples from newspaper advertisements, and a section on idiomatic usage. The only caveat is that you should already know French at least to the two-year level. The book is also a bit weak on composition, i.e. letters, essays, and the like. In a formal correspondence, for example, you may want to write using the conditional instead of the present indicative (e.g. je pourrais rather than je peux) and more of this sort of information would have been helpful in a review such as this one.

This is not introductory material so if you are just starting out and want a similar volume try Cassell's Contemporary French by Valerie Worth-Stylianou. Its out of print but frequently available through Amazon's Marketplace sellers. The Cassell's book is geared for beginner and intermediate French learners and is every bit as comprehensive as the Ultimate French Review. The Cassell's book is better at building a vocabulary, idioms, and writing in French, but if you've been there before and just want an in-depth review without the burden of too much "French 101" stuff the Ultimate French Review and Practice is definitely the way to go.

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for a "refresher" in French, August 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ultimate French Review and Practice: Mastering French Grammar for Confident Communication (Paperback)

Having taken over 10 years of French lessons through elementary and secondary school, I learned the grammar and had a decent vocabulary. However, after 5 years off of French lessons while attending university, I found myself struggling to form even simple sentences.

I bought this book because of its many (many!) exercises and complete "answer key" for instant feedback. It is organized almost exactly the way I learned it in school which I find very helpful. This book would be very difficult, however, for people with absolutely no background in French. It truly is for the intermediate level.

The book does not have much help for people with poor vocabulary skills in French, but it will drill the grammar into you, if you're diligent about regularly doing the exercises. That being said, if you own a dictionary and a verb conjugation book, the combination of those plus "The Ultimate French Review and Practice" would be a ***** combination.