French For Dummies Audio Set

by Zoe Erotopoulos

Overview

You want to learn French but you’re not looking to spend hours in front of a textbook becoming fluent. Maybe you took French in school, but remember nothing but boring grammar rules and useless words. Or perhaps you just want to know some words and phrases so that you can communicate on a basic level. Whatever your reason for taking up French, you want a starter course that’s fun yet effective.

Now you can enjoy practicing with French For Dummies Audio Set! This 3-CD package will enable you to quickly familiarize yourself with the French language and begin communicating with French speakers. With this audio set ,you can learn at your own pace about topics that interest you. Some of the subjects you’ll be able to talk about include:

• Greetings and introductions
• Work, jobs, and office life
• Making small talk
• Traveling and making arrangements
• Asking for directions
• Getting help and assistance
• Ordering at a restaurant
• Booking a room in a hotel
• Exchanging money at the bank
• Shopping in a store or boutique

Along with all these topics, these CDs cover essential rules and building blocks of the French language, such as verb conjugation and tenses, sentence structure, and vocabulary. It also includes a list of essential words that are used indispensably by French speakers. With this beginner audio set, you can pop any of the CDs in your CD player or computer and discover the joy and fun of the French language!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470095874
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	05/07/2007
Series:	For Dummies Books
Edition description:	Includes CD-ROM
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	391,822
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Zoe Erotopoulos, PhD, has taught French at a number of institutions, including Columbia University and Reid Hall in Paris. Her experience ranges from elementary to advanced courses, including literature and theater.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

About This Audio Set 1

Conventions Used in This Audio Set 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

How This Audio Set Is Organized 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Lesson 1:1: Introduction and Overview of CD1: The Basics 5

Lesson 1:2: Personal Pronouns and Formalities 6

Personal pronouns 6

Formalities 6

Lesson 1:3: Saying “Hello” and “Goodbye” 7

Greetings 7

Goodbyes 7

Lesson 1:4: Saying and Replying to “How Are You?” 9

Lesson 1:5: Introducing Yourself and Talking about Where You’re From 10

Lesson 1:6: Indispensable Words and Phrases. 12

Pleasantries 12

Asking for help 12

Places 13

People 13

Lesson 1:7: Useful Expressions and Phrases 15

Lesson 1:8: Introducing Question Words 16

Lesson 1:9: Useful Questions and Answers. 17

Lesson 1:10: You Can Count on Me: An Overview of Numbers. 19

Lesson 1:11: Talking about Time 22

Time-related terms 22

Time questions and answers 22

Lesson 1:12: Going through the Calendar and Forming Dates 24

Days of the week 24

Months of the year 25

Common questions and answers 25

Lesson 1:13: Directions 26

Lesson 2:1: Welcome and Overview of CD2: The Nitty-Gritty: Language Structure 29

Lesson 2:2: Singular Nouns. 30

School 30

Downtown 30

Occupations 31

Lesson 2:3: Plural Nouns 32

Lesson 2:4: Articles 33

A/An 33

The 33

Lesson 2:5: Demonstrative Pronouns 34

This/That 34

These/Those 34

Lesson 2:6: Adjectives 35

Colors 36

Common adjectives 36

Lesson 2:7: Degrees of Adjectives. 37

Lesson 2:8: To Be or Not to Be: A Very Important Verb. 38

Lesson 2:9: Verbs. 39

-er Verbs 40

-ir Verbs 40

-re Verbs 41

Common irregular verbs 41

Lesson 2:10: Verbs and Tenses 43

The past tense 43

The future tense using aller 44

Present, past, and future examples 44

Lesson 2:11: Negatives 45

Lesson 2:12: Prepositions 46

Common prepositions 46

Example phrases 47

Lesson 2:13: Conjunctions. 48

Example sentences 48

Lesson 2:14: Forming Simple Sentences 49

Lesson 2:15: Introducing More Complete Sentences. 50

Lesson 2:16: Forming Questions. 51

Lesson 3:1: Welcome and Overview of CD3: Real-World Situations 53

Lesson 3:2: At the Office 54

Office equipment and supplies 54

Meetings 54

Business departments 55

Colleagues 55

Verbs 55

Example sentences 56

Lesson 3:3: On the Job 57

Professions 57

Verbs 58

Lesson 3:4: Making Small Talk. 59

Lesson 3:5: Making Appointments. 60

Lesson 3:6: Making Travel Arrangements 61

Vocabulary 61

Verbs 61

Example phrases 62

Lesson 3:7: Asking for Directions 63

Vocabulary 63

Example phrases 64

Lesson 3:8: Asking for and Getting Help. 65

Vocabulary 65

Example phrases 65

Lesson 3:9: At the Restaurant 67

Lesson 3:10: At the Hotel 68

Lesson 3:11: At the Bank 69

Lesson 3:12: At the Store 70

Verbs 70

Example phrases 70

Shopping for groceries 71

Mini-Dictionaries 73

French-English Mini-Dictionary 73

English-French Mini-Dictionary 81