The influence of others is apparent in all forms of writing, but it is particularly pervasive in the writing of a grammar of French. So much has been said and written about French grammar over the centuries. The influence of the work of those who have gone before, the views of our colleagues and contemporaries who teach French or are interested in the structure of French, have shaped the presentation of nearly every item we discuss.
It would therefore be impossible for us to cite all the sources of ideas and examples on which we have drawn in writing French Grammar and Usage. Nevertheless, we would like to single out some sources, and some friends and colleagues, for making a direct and significant contribution. A list of the main works referred to is given in the bibliography. The following friends and colleagues have taken time to comment on drafts of various chapters: Marie-Anne Hintze, Tony Lodge, Chris Lyons, Jean-Pierre Mailhac, Annie Rouxeville, Raphael Salkie and Carol Sanders. John Butt, co- author of A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish (London, Arnold, 1988) provided us with valuable feedback on an early draft, as did several anonymous readers. Elaine Murphy, supported by the secretarial staff in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Salford, skilfully typed and copied countless drafts of the book. We would like to thank all of these for their interest and their help, and also Lesley Riddle at Arnold for waiting patiently for the final version while we juggled writing with the demands of running large university departments during difficult times.
We have discovered in undertaking this work that there are as many views about how a point of grammar should be presented and exemplified as there are people who are consulted. Those who have given us the benefit of their advice may not agree with the way we have finally decided to present the grammar of French. But we are certain that the end product is far better than it would have been without their advice.
Roger Hawkins and Richard Towell
Colchester and Salford,
January 1996