The Bescherelle Series

Verbs, Grammar and Spelling Made Easy

Jan 8, 2009 Melissa Morelli Lacroix

Long seen as essential tools for studying and writing French, the Bescherelle reference books have become helpful tools in eight languages.

In the 1840's, Louis-Nicolas Bescherelle became the most well known French conjugator of his day with the publication of two French language manuals. Today his name has become synonymous with French conjugation dictionaries used in schools, offices and homes throughout France and abroad.

The books Louis-Nicolas Bescherelle published were massive volumes. His 1846 Dictionnaire de la langue française contained 3 000 pages and more than 130 000 entries. If all of the columns of the dictionary were lined up in a row, they would stretch over more than 3 kilometers. The common Bescherelle dictionaries now used are slim 5" by 8" volumes that easily fit into school bags and brief cases.

The French Bescherelles

The three most common Bescherelles are L'Orthographe pour tous, La Conjugaison pour tous, and La Grammaire pour tous (Spelling, Conjugating and Grammar for All). These books are well organised and offer comprehensive and comprehensible linguistic explanations of French grammar in French. The conjugation book is also published in English under the name Bescherelle: Complete Guide to Conjugating 12000 French Verbs. In this version, published by Hurtubise, the list of verbs is in French with English translation and the grammar is explained in English.

Verb Books

Verb books for German, English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese are published by Hatier with all grammatical concerns explained in French. In general, the books are divided into 4 colour-coded sections:

1. numbered tables of conjugations
2. a discussion on the grammar of verbs
3. a guide to prepositional verbs or phrasal verbs
4. a dictionary of verbs

The Spanish verb book is also available with the grammar explained in Spanish.

Exercise Books

Writing exercise books are available for students of English and Spanish. The books are designed to help students integrate the second language grammar into their thinking, writing and speaking. Answers to the exercises are contained within the book. The exercises can be used individually, with tutors or in classrooms.

Grammar Books

Hatier publishes Bescherelles that explain German, English, Spanish and Latin grammar in French. The first three are between 416 and 432 pages. The sections are colour-coded and points are numbered for easy reference. An index is also included to help users find the information they require. Key grammatical concepts are defined, explained and illustrated with annotated examples.

The Latin grammar is a 288 page volume that provides information on Latin morphology and syntax. It compares and contrasts Latin and French and includes summaries and charts of grammatical concepts. A section to assist people read Latin is also included. It contains information on the development of Latin pronunciation, original literary examples and commentaries on the texts that are aimed to help readers understand the language and interpret the texts.

Vocabulary Books

Three Bescherelle vocabulary books are also in print: English, German and Spanish. The first contains 6000 words and expression with French equivalents while the other two contain 5000. The books are divided into two parts: a themed glossary of words and expressions and a communication guide with suggested phrases for a variety of situations. Divergent cultural expressions and meanings are featured as well.

Books for Everyone

Bescherelles for children (Mon Premier Bescherelle illustré ) and for students (Bescherelle école and Bescherelle collège, Le Bescherelle Pratique and Bescherelle - l'Anglais pour tous) are available as well. They, like the other Bescherelles, are common reference books in French homes and schools. They are also common throughout the Francophone world.

While the majority of the Bescherlle series is only available in French, the books can nonetheless provide useful information to native speakers or second langugae students and teachers of Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Portuguese or Spanish.

The copyright of the article The Bescherelle Series in Reference Books is owned by Melissa Morelli Lacroix. Permission to republish The Bescherelle Series in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

1991 Canadian Edition of L'art de conjuguer

1991 Canadian Edition of L'art de conjuguer

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