Grammar is Key

I interviewed a professor in the French department. He stressed that the importance of grammar within a French major, as well as with any foreign language, is paramount. Grammar is the basic component and without mastering this aspect, the student can’t write properly or fully express their ideas. As we saw in Chapter 3 of our grammar books, French verbs have more than seventy different forms to express variations in person, number, tense and mood, as well as several additional tenses that are not used in the English language. The professor explained that French derived from Latin and that this is why French grammar is more complex than that of English.

In regards to writing within the French major, there are firm guidelines to follow. The writing is expected to be clear and concise and always include an Introduction, Body and Conclusion. The professor reiterated that grammar is the key to writing in French and concluded by saying that a student never looses points for proper grammar usage.