French 3100
Grammar and Textual Analysis
Is the plural of "festival" "festivals" or "festivaux"? What new feminine forms of nouns designating common occupations and functions have become current in French during the last few years? In the ordinary, everyday French sentence "Il est parti sans que je m’en aperçoive," how do we know to put the second verb in the subjunctive, to put it in the present tense, and to attach to it the pronoun "en"? These questions and many others like them are studied in French 3100, always with one goal in mind: helping students attain a level of proficiency in French that will enable them to speak, write and understand the language with confidence and with a reasonable degree of fluency and accuracy.
Course content
Advanced-level study of grammar, concentrating on the use of nouns and verbs: forms; number and gender; tense; expression of duration, repetition, completion, etc.; expression of commands, wishes, possibility, etc. Careful study of texts (short passages of different types: journalistic, literary, commercial, etc.). Vocabulary enrichment and study of idiom. Exercises in writing sentences and longer passages, and possibly, depending on the instructor, some translation exercises. Emphasis is on using the language, rather than learning about the language as in linguistics courses.
Prerequisites
French 2101 or 2160 and at least one other 2000-level French course.
Textbooks
An intermediate/advanced-level French grammar with exercises (for example, Denise Rochat, Contrastes and its workbook). French passages for study may be in a book of such passages, or may be provided by the instructor.
Assessment
This varies according to the instructor. Class tests, written assignments and oral presentations are given a total weight of 35% to 60%, and the remaining percentage is determined by a written final examination.
Frequency
French 3100 is normally offered in the Fall and Winter Semesters.
Along with 3100
Students registering for 3100 who are majoring or minoring in French should also consider registering for one or more of the following if they have the necessary prerequisites: one of the group 3302, 3310 , 3311 ; one of the group 3500 , 3501 , 3502 , 3503 , 3504 , 3506 ; one of the group 3650 , 3651 , 3653. In any given semester there will not normally be more than one course offered in each group.
After 3100
Students who have completed French 3100 may register for French 3101 and any of the above-mentioned courses for which they have the necessary prerequisites. Students who have completed both 3100 and 3101 may register for 4100, 4101, 4120 to 4129, 4301, and 4310.
