French Grammar: A Complete Reference Guide

by Daniel Calvez

French Grammar helps language learners at every level navigate the intricacies of the French language. Designed to help you speak and write in French with greater confidence and precision, it avoids... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 007144498X
• ISBN13: 9780071444989
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 8.4" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

a great French reference grammar

This is a review of French Grammar: A Complete Reference Guide, 2nd edition, by Daniel Calvez. McGraw-Hill, 2005. ISBN 007144498X. As the title indicates, this book is a reference grammar. It's a great book to have when you need to know how to say something or refresh your memory about the particular placement of "que" in a "ne . . . que" phrase, because the material is very logically arranged. Between the index and the very thorough table of contents, if your question is answered somewhere in the book, you can find it. This book is not, however, a great thing to have if you know little or no French and want to teach yourself more of the language. In that case, buy a basic French course, not this book. True, it has a few exercises in the back, but they're best used selectively to reinforce a grammar concept you know you're weak on. The book has way too much information in it for someone to work straight through. A note on the difference between the first and second editions: the second edition's text does not appear to have been reset from the first edition. The exercises in the back appear after the index and in a slightly different typeface. The inference I draw is that McGraw-Hill wanted to add exercises for the second edition, but didn't want to reset the entire book. They accordingly decided to stick the exercises in after the index, which is illogical, but it saved them from repaginating. It seems, then, that the only difference between the first and second editions is the addition of the exercises. The grammar itself is clearly written, it's well-organized, and as the title indicates, it seems to be very complete. I haven't had a question yet it hasn't answered. In fact, I generally spend more time with the book than I intend: after I find the answer to whatever question I have, I begin browsing through the grammar. As previous reviewers have noted, however, make sure you know your grammatical terminology. The publisher's blurb is not quite accurate in claiming that the book defines all grammatical terms clearly: it does define them, but not very clearly. Don't come to this book to find out what a relative pronoun is. If you know what it is in English, then you'll find out how it's done in French. But if you don't know what it is at all, this book won't help you much. If you're an intermediate or above French student, this book should be very helpful. But know your grammatical terminology.

A great reference book for French grammar

I am taking a course in French and have found this book extremely useful, even for a beginning student like me. The book is organized to be used as a grammar REFERENCE book. If you need clarification on French possessive adjectives, you will go to that section. If you need clarification on possessive pronouns, you will flip to that page. This book is NOT organized like a course material; you do not advance from easy to difficult grammatical constructions as you progress through the book. Thus, if you are thinking about buying a French grammar COURSE book, this is not the book to buy. The book assumes that the reader already possesses sophisticated knowledge of grammatical terminologies. Explanations are given in English but they can be quite confusing if you do not understand English grammar construction and terminologies in the first place. This book is definitely not for an English-speaker who has a poor grasp of English grammar. I would suggest the "Berlitz French Grammar Handbook" instead. The only quibble that I have regarding "French Grammar: A Complete Reference Guide" is the paper stock that McGraw-Hill used. The paper feels rough and cheap to the hand and ink from felt-tipped pens will instantly bleed on the pages.

Great professor, great book

I had Dr. Calvez for advanced French grammar at Clemson University. He is a great professor and his text lives up to its title as "A Complete Handbook of the French Language."

A well-organized, comprehensive, large-print reference work

Indexed in both French and English, this reference work is for all levels of students, including self-learners, who either need to or wish to review constantly the essential French grammar structures, with examples, details, exceptions, and many tables, which organize and present each grammatical element. It uses a comparative approach so that the English speaker can relate quickly to the nuances of the french grammar being presented. It is the only textbook being used in the French to English translation class at Sacramento State University, Sacramento.