Overview

A Bescherelle is a French language grammar reference book best known for its verb conjugations volumes. It is named after the 19th century French lexicographer and grammarian Louis-Nicolas Bescherelle. There are millions of them in Canada. It is often used as a general term, though it is in fact a brand name. The series is made up of three volumes dealing with various aspects of French grammar. The first volume, L'art de conjuguer (The art of conjugation) presents the conjugation of every type of verb in the French language in every verb tense. Each verb type is numbered, so that multiple verbs with identical conjugation (such as chanter and enchanter) can be grouped under one basic verb of that type. L'art de conjuguer also offers all of the rules concerning grammar within verb conjugation as well as a detailed guide on the purpose of each verb tense. The most recent versions contain 12,000 verbs. The second volume, L'orthographe pour tous (Spelling for everyone) explains how to convert spoken sounds in French into writing. The third volume, Grammaire pour tous (Grammar for everyone) is a guide on French syntax, sentence structure, the application of proper grammar to sentences, and punctuation. Each of the three volumes use example sentences to demonstrate proper French grammar. The term Bescherelle is usually used to refer to the first book, L'art de conjuguer. Bescherelles (L'art de conjugeur in particular) are commonly used in French immersion schools and it is often required that students purchase one for class. Bescherelles also exist for German, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic and Latin, although they do not have the popularity of the original French