A Comprehensive French Grammar

Title Page
......Page 5
Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 13
Selective bibliography
......Page 15
Technical terms and abbreviations
......Page 19
Alphabet......Page 23
Phonetic transcriptions......Page 24
The two varieties of ‘H’ in French......Page 25
Capitals......Page 26
Punctuation......Page 28
Division into syllables......Page 30
Hyphens......Page 32
Accents and the cedilla......Page 34
Elision......Page 35
Medium and register......Page 37
Introduction......Page 40
Determiners......Page 44
Introduction......Page 45
Definite article......Page 46
Indefinite article......Page 53
Partitive article......Page 56
Introduction......Page 60
Gender and sex......Page 61
other categories......Page 64
The gender of place-names......Page 66
Masculine endings......Page 68
Feminine endings......Page 76
Problematic endings......Page 86
The gender of compound nouns......Page 94
Words that are identical in form but different in gender......Page 97
Some anomalies of gender......Page 100
Gender of other parts of speech used as nouns......Page 101
Introduction......Page 102
Spoken French......Page 103
Written French......Page 104
Spoken French......Page 112
Written French......Page 114
Compound nouns......Page 116
Miscellaneous......Page 122
The plural of adjectives......Page 125
Agreement of adjectives......Page 126
The position of adjectives......Page 132
The comparison of adjectives and adverbs......Page 139
Adjectives used as nouns......Page 150
Numerals......Page 151
Fractions......Page 157
Introduction......Page 160
Conjunctive personal pronouns......Page 162
Disjunctive personal pronouns......Page 173
Introduction......Page 179
Possessive determiners......Page 180
Possessive pronouns......Page 184
Demonstrative determiners......Page 185
Demonstrative pronouns......Page 187
The neuter demonstrative pronouns......Page 188
The simple demonstrative pronouns......Page 190
C’est and il est
......Page 192
Relative pronouns......Page 205
Interrogative determiners......Page 215
Interrogative pronouns......Page 216
Indefinite adjectives, adverbs, determiners and pronouns......Page 223
Quantifiers......Page 256
Introduction......Page 271
A The conjugations......Page 272
B Names of moods and tenses......Page 273
C The persons of the verb......Page 275
D Defective verbs......Page 278
The endings......Page 279
The stems......Page 280
A note on the subjunctive......Page 281
Avoir
......Page 282
Être
......Page 284
First Conjugation – verbs in -er
......Page 285
Second Conjugation – verbs in -ir
......Page 291
Third Conjugation –  verbs in -re
......Page 295
Verbs in -oir......Page 302
Irregular verbs......Page 303
F Reflexive verbs......Page 321
G The passive......Page 324
H Negative and interrogative conjugations......Page 326
Introduction......Page 329
Coordinate subjects......Page 330
Collective nouns......Page 332
Introduction......Page 336
The imperfect, the preterite, and the perfect......Page 338
The pluperfect and the past anterior......Page 343
Tenses with depuis (que), il y a (voici, voilà) . . . que......Page 344
The future, aller faire, etc.......Page 346
The conditional......Page 348
Tenses in conditional sentences with si ‘if’......Page 349
K The Infinitive......Page 353
L The present participle......Page 363
Introduction......Page 370
Compound tenses with être......Page 371
Verbs compounded with avoir or être......Page 373
The absolute use of the past participle......Page 375
The agreement of the past participle......Page 376
N The moods......Page 384
Introduction......Page 385
Constructions allowing a minimum of variation
......Page 386
Constructions allowing a greater degree of variation
......Page 387
The subjunctive in independent clauses......Page 388
The subjunctive in dependent que-clauses......Page 390
The subjunctive after conjunctions formed on the basis of que......Page 397
The subjunctive in relative clauses......Page 401
The tenses of the subjunctive......Page 405
P ‘May, might, must, ought, should, would’......Page 409
Q The imperative......Page 413
R The complement of verbs......Page 414
S Idioms with avoir, être, faire......Page 448
Introduction......Page 455
Ne and another element......Page 456
Negation without ne......Page 464
Ne alone......Page 466
De, du, etc., un(e) and the direct object of negative verbs......Page 475
B The negative conjunction ni ‘neither, nor’......Page 477
C Negation of an element other than a verb......Page 479
Introduction......Page 483
A Direct questions – total interrogation......Page 484
B Direct questions – partial interrogation......Page 486
C Indirect questions......Page 489
Inversion......Page 491
Dislocation and fronting......Page 495
A Adverbs of manner......Page 499
B Adverbs of time......Page 507
D Adverbs of quantity......Page 515
E Adverbs of affirmation or doubt......Page 516
G Interrogative adverbs......Page 517
The position of adverbs......Page 518
Simple prepositions......Page 524
Complex prepositions......Page 525
Government of verbs by prepositions......Page 527
Repetition of prepositions......Page 528
The meaning and use of individual prepositions......Page 529
Prepositions used with adjectives or past participles......Page 558
Introduction......Page 561
Compound conjunctions not requiring the subjunctive......Page 564
Que as a subordinating conjunction......Page 566
Age......Page 571
Time......Page 572
Price......Page 577
Dimensions......Page 578
Speed......Page 579
Fuel consumption......Page 580
Index......Page 581