''Le Bon Usage'' (, ''Good Usage''), informally called ''Le Grevisse'', is a descriptive book about
French grammar first published in 1936 by
Maurice Grevisse
Maurice Grevisse (;Maurice Grevisse about the pronunciation of his name, http://www.ina.fr/video/CPB08008704/maurice-grevisse-video.html 7 October 1895 – 4 July 1980) was a Belgian grammarian.
Biography
Born in Rulles, a small village in the p ...
, and periodically revised since. It describes the usage of the
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
, primarily in its written literary form.
Description
Quite extensive (1600 pages), it includes numerous examples and counter-examples taken from Francophone literature of various periods, including newspapers, to form a reference for teachers of French, and in particular, authors and editors.
Editions
In 1936, the first edition was published by De Boeck Supérieur (then named Duculot). A new edition was published in 1939, and another in 1946. The book was awarded the gold medal of the
Académie française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
. The high praise of
André Gide in the literary supplement of ''
Le Figaro'' in February 1947 contributed to its success.
After the death of Grevisse in 1980, his son-in-law
André Goosse
André Goosse (16 April 1926, Liège – 4 August 2019) was a Belgian grammarian. The son-in-law of Maurice Grevisse, he took over editing and updating Grevisse's last book, ''Le Bon Usage''. In 1988, he married the Belgian writer France Bastia. ...
, also a grammarian, took over and published the 12th and 13th (1993) editions. The 14th edition was published in August 2007 in a completely new format. The 15th edition appeared in 2011. Since then there has been a 16th edition.
Online Copy
''Le Bon Usage'' is available on-line by paid subscription.
See also
*
French grammar
References
External links
*
Official website*
Biographical notice from the 13th edition*
Guy Lemaire raconte: Maurice GrevisseRTBF
The ''Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française'' (RTBF, ''Belgian Radio-television of the French Community'', branded as rtbf.be) is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Commu ...
journalist Guy Lemaire on Grevisse, 2005
French grammar
Belgian books
Grammar books
Style guides
1936 non-fiction books
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