Table Of ContentSTEP BY STEP
A unique, short-cut method to learn
and speak French fluently by one of
the worlds master language teachers
CHARLES BERLITZ
Charles Berlitz, world-famous linguist and author of more
'than 100 language teaching books, is the grandson of the
founder of the Berlitz Schools. Since 1967, Mr. Berlitz has
not been connected with the Berlitz Schools in any way.
Lll
STEP BY STEP
STEP BY STEP
CHARLES BERLITZ
Charles Berlitz, world-famous linguist and author of more
than 100 language teaching books, is the grandson of the
founder of the Berlitz Schools. Since 1967, Mr. Berlitz has
not been connected with the Berlitz Schools in any way.
V?
Wynwood
A D 1 V 1 S I O N Q~F
Baker Book House
Grand Rapids, MI
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Berlitz, Charles Frambach, 1914—
French step-by-step / by Charles Berlitz,
p. cm.
ISBN 0-922066-33-7
I. French language—Textbooks for foreign speakers—English.
I. Title.
PC2129.E5B4 1990
448.3'421—dc20 89-25106
CIP
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—
except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior
permission of the publisher.
Copyright © 1979 by Charles Berlitz
Published by Wynwood® Press
a division of Baker Book House Company
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
Seventeenth printing, October 2004
Printed in the United States of America
For current information about all releases from
Baker Book House, visit our web site:
http://www.bakerbooks.com
PREFACE
French Step-By-Step is the first book of its kind and vastly different from
other books designed to teach or review French.
This book will guide you to a knowledge of French step by easy step from
first contact with the language to advanced conversation, including explana¬
tions that anyone can understand and conversational material that you can
immediately use.
It will teach you to speak correct, colloquial French as it is spoken today
and will teach you easily, without lengthy and involved explanations. From
the first page you will learn instant communication in French.
This is because of the logical and unusual way that French is presented in
the Step-By-Step approach. Every phrase of French construction, every use
of French verbs, every turn of modem French idiom, and all sorts of situa¬
tions that apply to everyday living and emotions are presented in short,
easy-to-follow conversational patterns. These dialogues will not only hold
your interest, but they will also stay in your memory, once you have used
them, since it is relatively easy to remember words and phrases that you can
readily use in conversations with French-speaking people.
If you are a beginner, you will be surprised at the ease with which you can
leam to speak French and pronounce it so that French people can under¬
stand you. If you already know some French, you will find that this book
will increase your understanding, your fluency, your ability to use the
French vocabulary you already know, and, above all, your confidence in
speaking French.
There are 26 steps to French in this book which, with a vocabulary se¬
lected on the basis of frequency in conversation, will take you from simple
ordering in a cafd to an ability to understand what is said to you by French-
speaking people you may meet and, better still, to reply; and finally, to be
able to discuss books, politics, art, science, business, history, and any general
topic of conversation. In addition, these conversational teaching selections
constitute an excursion into the culture patterns of the French-speaking
world—so that you will know not only what to say, but also when to say it.
v
Preface
You will learn how to start conversations with people—how to tell a story—
how people speak when they are excited—and you will even acquire the
language of romance.
Along the way you will absorb a vocabulary of several thousand words—
actually more than most people use in speaking any language. You will be
taught the verb forms and idiomatic constructions through the situational
dialogues mentioned above; in other words, you will develop an instinct for
correct use according to the situation—the same way you did when you
learned your own language.
Explanations of these special constructions are given at the very spot
where they are needed. These easy-to-understand explanations on the right
side of each page refer directly to each new point of French idiom or
construction.
At the end of each step, there is a section of instant conversation in the
form of a short dialogue, the reading of which serves not only as a re-im¬
pression of the previous step, but shows French people talking naturally in
situations that use the new material you have just learned in a normal, cor¬
rect way. And, as you approach French in this natural Step-By-Step way,
you will find yourself speaking it fluently and understanding it easily and,
most important, you will enjoy the experience of learning it.
vi
CONTENTS
PREFACE v
HOW TO PRONOUNCE FRENCH xv
INSTANT CONVERSATION: IN A CAF£ 3
STEP 1: PLACES AND THINGS 7
Gender — demonstratives — asking questions —
the negative — pronunciation hints — prepositions
combined with the article
INSTANT CONVERSATION: A RIDE IN A TAXI 11
STEP 2: THE PRESENT TENSE OF VERBS 15
Subject pronouns — infinitives — plural of
nouns — adjectives of nationality — agreement of
adjectives — present tense — lack of progressive
mood
INSTANT CONVERSATION: IN AN OFFICE 22
STEP 3: NUMBERS AND HOW TO USE THEM 26
How much and how many — asking prices — tele¬
phone numbers — telling time — making appoint¬
ments — cardinal and ordinal numbers —
idiomatic speech
INSTANT CONVERSATION: AT A UNIVERSITY 33
STEP 4: LOCATING THINGS AND PLACES 38
“There is” and “there are” — use of the partitive
for “some” or “any” — the double negative for
“nothing” and “nobody” — the partitive in nega¬
tive construction
vii
O
Contents
INSTANT CONVERSATION: GETTING MAIL
AND MESSAGES
STEP 5: HOW TO USE THE RIGHT VERB FORM
The present tense of the three conjugations — regu¬
lar and irregular verbs — the imperative — names
of countries — conversational bridge words — use
of the impersonal pronoun
INSTANT CONVERSATION: AN INVITATION
TO THE MOVIES
STEP 6: FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
“To have” and “to do” — uses of “de” (“of’) as a
descriptive and with infinitives — demonstrative
pronouns — substitution of “en” for phrases
INSTANT CONVERSATION: TALKING ABOUT
ONE’S FAMILY
STEP 7: HOW TO READ, WRITE, SPELL, AND
PRONOUNCE FRENCH
Letters and their pronunciation — spelling and
written accents — the impersonal pronoun — intro¬
duction to reflexive verbs
INSTANT CORRESPONDENCE: A THANK-YOU
NOTE AND A POSTCARD
STEP 8: BASIC VERBS RELATING TO SENSES
Direct and indirect object pronouns — their posi¬
tion — comparison of adverbs — idiomatic use of
“to have” — interrogative pronouns — use of “4”
(“to”) as a descriptive — irregular verbs — equiva¬
lent use of the progressive
