Dictionnaire des verbes du français actuel: constructions, emplois, synonymes by Ligia Stela Florea, et al (review)

FLOREA, LIGIA STELA, CATHERINE FUCHS, et FRÉDÉRIQUE MÉLANIE-BECQUET. Dictionnaire des verbes du français actuel: constructions, emplois, synonymes. Paris: Ophrys, 2010. ISBN 978-2-7080-1245-5. Pp. xxiii + 269. 20 a. This volume touts detailed information about 2,500 of the most frequent verbs of modern spoken French. Given that its contents reflect current usage of the language, as the authors note, the volume will appeal to a wide audience: native speakers and second language learners, students and teachers, even linguists and translators—in other words, all users of the French language. Although other verbal dictionaries may be considered too complex and technical for the casual learner, Florea, Fuchs, and Mélanie-Becquet have striven to create a dictionary that is accessible to all. The goal is not to provide exhaustive information but to paint a representative picture of current verb usage in French. The authors point out that whereas traditional dictionaries provide decontextualized information about the pronunciation, definitions, and etymological details of all categories of words, a dictionary of verbs provides additional comprehensive and relevant information about all aspects of each verb, including its combination with other constituents, its use in discourse, and its synonyms. The introduction lays out the motivation for creating such a dictionary. Given that the verb is the backbone of any sentence, it is important to know how to construct a sentence around this key constituent and how to understand and interpret the nuanced meanings that so many verbs contain. Thus, this dictionary contributes to achieving a better mastery of the language. The introduction also provides a fairly comprehensive how-to guide for using the volume and somewhat repetitive explanations of the elements of each entry. Included in each entry are the pronunciation in IPA, selection of either avoir or être as the auxiliary, details on how to construct a sentence with the verb, complete with examples, and synonyms. The presentation is straightforward and easily accessible. Examples are preceded by a small black square, and synonyms and paraphrases are marked by a gray arrow. Any additional elements required appear in red font. For example , replacing the verb escalader with grimper requires inclusion of the preposition sur. Each synonym or example is presented on a new line, in more of a list format, which represents a welcome change from the cramped presentation of a more traditional dictionary. Despite these features, the dictionary fails to deliver on its promise of providing a complete picture of how verbs are used. For example, this resource does not offer any information whatsoever with respect to conjugation. This omission is striking, as the authors have quite painstakingly noted so many important features of each verb with the goal of enabling readers to express themselves more eloquently. With such an emphasis on actually being able to produce the language , the absence of any indication as to the general conjugation patterns of the different verbs is rather puzzling. Auxiliary choice is the only information provided with respect to conjugation. Past participles are not even provided (although in some entries, this information can be gleaned from the example sentences). The volume would thus benefit from the inclusion of representative conjugation tables, co-indexed with the verb entries, as one finds in most other dictionaries (even monolingual pocket dictionaries include this kind of conjugation information ). Therefore, this resource seems to fall a bit short in its promise to demonstrate verb use. However, readers seeking to apply their knowledge gained from the dictionary could supplement it with a French verb conjugation guide. This resource does indeed provide a great deal of detailed and clearly organized information 606 FRENCH REVIEW 85.3 about each of its 2,500 verbs, and, at only a20, would be a worthwhile addition to any interested French speaker’s library. Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis A. Kate Miller GOSSELIN, LAURENT. Les modalités en français: la validation des représentations. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2010. ISBN 978-90-420-2756-5. Pp. 470. 100 a. As teachers of French to a general student population, we might want to avoid following the example of Gosselin, who apologizes in advance for “une analyse quasi complète—forcément longue et...