TEACH YOURSELF / FRENCH t A BOOK OF SELF-INSTRUCTION IN FRENCH BASED. ; ON THE WORK BY SIR JOHN ADAMS, MA., LL.D., COMPLETELY REVISED AND ENLARGED BY NORMAN : SCARLYN WILSON, M.A. ' THE ENGLISH UNIVERSITIES PRESS LTD 102 NEWGATE STREET LONDON E.G.First published in this form April 1938 This impression 1965 This volume is published in the U.S.A. by David McKay Company Inc., 750 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 Printed in Great Britain for the English Universities Press, Limited, by Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press), Lid., Bungay, SuffolkPREFACE Nor long ago a witty foreigner wrote a book called: The English, are they Human? to which question he gave a qualified assent. Students learning French forty years back might equally well have entertained doubts of the human qualities of a nation which, to judge from the sentences provided for translation, displayed such inordinate interest in the whereabouts of the gardener’s cat, and waxed so disputatious about the ownership of a pencil. We have progressed since then. Such works as that brilliant anonymous volume Brighter French reveal very clearly the idiomatic raciness of the French language and the essential humanity of those that speak it. But there is a reservation to be borne in mind. The full title of that book is Brighter French—for bright young people who already know some.* Teach Yourself French is not intended for such readers. Those who use this book do not need any previous acquaintanceship with French. They do not even need to be particularly bright. But they will find it useful. It steers a middle course between the old fatuity and the modern slang. It contains all the essential points of grammar, which are illustrated by the sentences. Anyone who studies it conscientiously should be able at the end to read any novel or newspaper, to write understandable French, though it won’t be faultless, * This book is now out of print but may be obtained from libraries. v