Abbreviations
adj. adjective m. pl. masculine plural
f. or fem. feminine pl. plural
fam. familiar, colloquial pol. polite
inf. infinitive s. or sing. singular
inv. invariable s.o./qqun someone/quelqu'un
m. or masc. masculine s.th./qqch something/quelque
f. pl. feminine plural chose
Acknowledgments
Warm thanks to my editors Garret Lemoi and Christopher Brown, as well
as to Jenn Tust, Debbie Anderson, Maki Wiering, and Pamela Juárez at
McGraw-Hill Professional, and to Barbara Bregstein, who initiated the Easy
series. To Leon, I'm more grateful than I can express, for your patient sup-
port and tech help.
Guide to Pronunciation
Easy French Step-by-Step occasionally includes guides to help you pronounce certain word combinations. When you read them out loud, pronounce them as you would words and syllables in English.
French has several sounds not found in English. They are what make French sound like French! You will see the symbols that represent these special sounds in the Pronunciation columns below, in brackets. Some are printed in capital letters, which will help you spot them easily.
xiv Preface
Vowels
Vowels are shown here both with and without accent marks, an important part of French spelling.
The sounds of French vowels are clear and short, generally placed for-
ward in the mouth. With few exceptions, final consonants of French words
are silent.
Letters
and Combinations Pronunciation
a, à, â [ah]
ai [ay]
eau, au, aux [oh]
é, er, ez, es, et [ay]
(closed e)
è, ê, e followed by [eh]
double consonants,
and final -et (open e)
e in one-syllable words, [uh]
and in eu, œu (cf. œufs)
eur, œu, œur [ERR]
i, î, and y as a pronoun [ee]
ill (with double ll) [eel]
Final o, o before s, [oh]
and ô (closed o)
o before consonants [uh]
(not s) (open o)
ou, où, oû [oo]
Examples and Tips
sa, là, pâte
j'ai, mais
eau, auto, jaune, aux, bateaux pré, parler, parlez, mes, et
