Understanding Core French Grammar by Andrew J Betts

"This lucid, accessible and user-friendly book fills an unfortunate gap in the literature on French grammar.

I have no doubt that generations of students will be grateful to Andrew Betts for making their language-learning so much easier and more enjoyable."

Neil Smith is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at University College London.

He is a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) and an Honorary Member of the Linguistic Society of America.

"'Understanding Core French Grammar' by Andrew Betts is a very useful addition to the tools available for English-speaking learners of French. In a very short space, the author manages to introduce the reader to the central areas of French grammar: the main structures of sentences, verb constructions, moods and tenses, the use of pronouns, adjectives, adverbs and articles. Grammatical terminology is carefully defined without presupposing that readers have years of grammatical training behind them. The book also includes an interesting overview of some of the differences between written and spoken usage. This book offers an important resource to learners of French at various levels. Despite the dreams entertained by some that French can be learned in a totally spontaneous way, it is necessary to know its grammar to function adequately in writing and speaking."

Jacques Durand

Emeritus Professor of Linguistics

University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès

"Understanding Core French Grammar does exactly what it says on the tin. It provides students of French with all the essential grammar points, broken down into bite sized chunks and conveyed in a simplistic yet thorough way. From the simple future to the subjunctive, it covers everything you need to know. My students from GCSE upwards have enjoyed learning from this book and have affectionately named it their ‘grammar bible'. Sometimes the trickier grammar points need a couple of different explanations and I have found that Dr Betts's is often the one where they finally experience that "light bulb moment". The translation exercises which accompany each chapter enable students and teachers alike to check understanding and ensure the grammar point has been fully grasped before moving on. As a firm believer that translation is one of the best ways of getting to grips with grammatical structures, I have found these activities most useful.

"I will definitely be using it as a staple and have already incorporated it into my schemes of work. Even the most reticent of linguists can't fail to learn the ins and outs of the subjunctive from this book! "

Laura Fryer, Head of French at Lancing College

"The book is not intended for the complete beginner, but it might be useful for a beginning teacher who is looking for exact words to help explain to students 'why it is like that in French.'”

Leonard Marsh, The French Review, Vol. 91, No. 1, October 2017