Just the core concepts you need to write and speak French correctly

If you have some knowledge of French and want to polish your skills, French Essentials For Dummies focuses on just the core concepts you need to communicate effectively. From conjugating verbs to understanding tenses, this easy-to-follow guide lets you skip the suffering and score high at exam time.



French 101 — get the lowdown on the basics, from expressing dates and times to identifying parts of speech
Gender matters — see how a noun’s gender determines the articles, adjectives, and pronouns you have to use
The here and now — learn how to conjugate verbs in the present tense, choose subject pronouns, and form the present participle
Way back when — get guidance on working with the past tense, including hints about when to use the compound past (passé composé) and when to use the imperfect
What lies ahead — discover the different ways to express the future

Open the book and find:



A review of numbers, dates, and times



The parts of speech



How to determine a noun’s gender



How to select the correct preposition



Rules for making adjectives agree



Tips for asking and answering yes/no questions



Ways to spice up your descriptions



Ten important verb distinctions