French Language Books

Here are some suggestions for books to help you learn French.

 

Beginner's French (Teach Yourself Languages)
by Catrine Carpenter

A good course to help you start speaking and communicating.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
Beginner's French (Teach Yourself Languages) (Audio CD)
by Catrine Carpenter

The audio for the course.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
French (Teach Yourself Languages)
by Gaelle Graham

This one also starts from the beginning. Up-to-date and comprehensive.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
French (Teach Yourself Languages) (Audio CD)
by Gaelle Graham

And the audio for this course.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
Teach Yourself Improve Your French (Book + CD Pack)
by Jean-Claude Arragon

A good second-level course.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 

French Grammar and Usage
by Roger Hawkins and Richard Towell

An excellent reference book for intermediate students. Clear explanations and examples.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
Practising French Grammar
by Roger Hawkins, Marie-Noelle Lamy and Richard Towell

A useful workbook to accompany French Grammar and Usage.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
Harrap's French Grammar Revision: Mille Et Un Points
by Neil Creighton

A fantastic little book that tells you, very concisely, everything you need to know about French grammar. It's not designed as a course in itself, just as a dip-in reference, but it is amazingly useful.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
501 French Verbs
by Christopher Kendris

Handy conjugations clearly laid out.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 

Bescherelle Complete Guide to Conjugating 12000 French Verbs (English Edition)

An even more comprehensive book of conjugations.

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French Verb Drills
by Richard de Roussy de Sales

Sometimes you just have to go over and over something until it sticks… Handy to have a book to guide you through this.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
La Grammaire en Clair
by Paul Rogers and Jeremy Long

An excellent grammar book with lots of exercises (and the answers at the back), illustrated with cartoons.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
101 French Idioms
by Jean-Marie Cassagne and Lucques Nesset- Raidon (Illustrator)

A very entertaining way to expand and improve your French.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
101 French Proverbs
by Jean-Marie Cassagne and Lucques Nesset- Raidon (Illustrator)

Similar to the Idioms; another great book.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
Easy French Crossword Puzzles
by Richard de Roussy de Sales

Learn and practise while having fun.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
It is very useful, when learning any language, to read as much as possible in that language. In my view, the most satisfactory way of doing this is to read books adapted for students of the language, the graded readers. We can enjoy the stories without having to spend too much time looking up words in the dictionary and we absorb vocabulary, phrases and structures as we go along. I have learnt a great deal from easy-reading books and highly recommend them as a learning tool, as well as an interesting pastime.

The following one is a good example and you can browse the others that are available on Amazon by clicking here.

 
Easy French Reader: A Three-part Text for Beginning Students
by Richard de Roussy de Sales

Useful for learning a bit of French history as well as the language.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
Collins Easy Learning French Grammar

The key points of French grammar explained simply, with lots of examples. Very user-friendly.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.


 
Collins Easy Learning French Dictionary

A good, clear reference dictionary that facilitates your learning the vocabulary you need.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.


 
Collins Robert French Dictionary

An excellent, comprehensive, up-to-date dictionary.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.

 
French Dictionary (Collins GEM)

It is always useful to have a pocket-sized dictionary.

Click here to buy this now from Amazon.



Interested in reading more about France?

Check out our recommended books about and set in France.


Total beginner?

Have a look at our introduction to the French language.


Back to Recommended Reading




   

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