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HarperCollins Pocket French Dictionary, 3rd Edition Introduction
We are delighted that you have decided to buy this dictionary and hope you will enjoy and benefit from using it at school, at home, on holiday or at work.
This introduction gives you a few tips on how to get the most out of your dictionary—not simply from its comprehensive wordlist but also from the information provided in each entry. This will help you to read and understand modem French, as well as communicate and express yourself in the language. This dictionary begins by listing the abbreviations used in the text and illustrating the sounds shown by the phonetic symbols. You will also find French verb tables, followed by a final section on numbers and time expressions.
Using your dictionary
A wealth of information is presented in the dictionary, using various typefaces, sizes of type, symbols, abbreviations and brackets. The various conventions and symbols used are explained in the following sections.
Headwords
The words you look up in a dictionary—'headwords'—are listed alphabetically. They are printed in colour for rapid identification. The headwords appearing at the top of each page indicate the first (if it appears on a left-hand page) and last word (if it appears on a right-hand page) dealt with on the page in question.
Information about the usage or form of certain headwords is given in brackets after the phonetic spelling. This usually appears in abbreviated form and in italics (e.g. (fam), (Comm)).
Where appropriate, words related to headwords are grouped in the same entry (ronger,rongeur; accept, acceptance) and are also in colour. Common expressions in which the headword appears are shown in a bold roman type (e.g. retard: [...] avoir du ~).
Phonetic spellings
The phonetic spelling of each headword (indicating its pronunciation) is given in square brackets immediately after the headword (e.g. fumer [fyme]; knee [ni:]). A list of these symbols is given on page xiii.
Translations
Headword translations are given in ordinary type and, where more than one meaning or usage exists, these are separated by a semi-colon. You will often find other words in italics in brackets before the translations. These offer suggested contexts in which the headword might appear (e.g. rough (voice), [...] (weather)) or provide synonyms (e.g. rough (violent)). The gender of the translation also appears in italics immediately following the key element of the translation.
Key words
Special status is given to certain French and English words which are considered as 'key' words in each language. They may, for example, occur very frequently or have several types of usage (e.g. vouloir, plus; get, that). A combination of triangles and numbers helps you to distinguish different parts of speech and different meanings. Further helpful information is provided in brackets and italics.
Grammatical information
Parts of speech are given in abbreviated form in italics after the phonetic spellings of headwords (e.g. vt, adv, conj). Genders of French nouns are indicated as follows: nm for a masculine and nf for a feminine noun. Feminine and irregular plural forms of nouns are also shown (directeur.—trice; cheva,—aux).
Adjectives are given in both masculine and feminine forms where these forms are different (e.g. flair, e). Clear information is provided where adjectives have an irregular feminine or plural form (e.g. net. nette).
HarperCollins Pocket French Dictionary, 3rd Edition. Copyright © by Tim HarperCollins. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
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