{{Short description|French grammar book}} {{italic title}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox book | name = Le Bon Usage | orig_lang_code = fr | image = Le Bon usage (15e édition).jpg | caption = 15th edition (2011) | author = Maurice Grevisse | country = Belgium | language = French | subject = French grammar | genre = Reference work | publisher = Duculot / De Boeck Supérieur | pub_date = 1936 | pages = 1,760 {{small|(16th ed.)}} }} '''''Le Bon Usage''''' ({{IPA|fr|lə bɔn‿yzaʒ}}, ''Correct Usage''), informally called '''''Le Grevisse''''', is a descriptive grammar of French first published in 1936 by Maurice Grevisse, and periodically revised since.<ref name="grevisse-history">{{cite web |url=https://www.grevisse.fr/etudiants-professionnels/actualite/grevisse-une-reference-historique-en-langue-francaise |title=Grevisse : une référence historique en langue française |website=Grevisse.fr |date=5 April 2018 |access-date=26 January 2026 |language=fr}}</ref> It describes the usage of the French language, primarily in its written literary form.
== Description == Quite extensive (1,760 pages in the 16th edition), it includes numerous examples and counter-examples (40,000 citations) taken from Francophone literature of various periods, including newspapers, forming a reference for teachers of French, and in particular, authors, translators, and editors.<ref name="grevisse-history"/>
== Editions == thumb|13th edition (1993) In 1936, the first edition was published by Duculot (later De Boeck Supérieur).<ref name="grevisse-history"/> A new edition was published in 1939, and another in 1946. In 1946, the book was awarded the gold medal of the Académie française.<ref name="deboeck">{{cite web |url=https://www.deboecksuperieur.com/auteur/maurice-grevisse |title=Maurice Grevisse |website=De Boeck Supérieur |access-date=26 January 2026 |language=fr}}</ref> The high praise of André Gide in the literary supplement of ''Le Figaro'' in February 1947 contributed to its success.<ref>"M. Grevisse répond à toutes les questions flottantes; y répond si pertinemment que je n'aurais qu'à le copier pour satisfaire aux inquiétudes et aux doutes de mes plus scrupuleux correspondants. Je les invite à s'adresser directement à ce remarquable ouvrage." André Gide, ''Figaro littéraire'', 8 February 1947</ref> In 1980, Bernard Pivot dedicated an episode of ''Apostrophes'' to the book following Grevisse's death.<ref name="grevisse-history"/>
After Grevisse's death in 1980, his son-in-law André Goosse, also a grammarian, took over and published the 12th and 13th (1993) editions.<ref name="grevisse-history"/><ref name="deboeck"/> The 14th edition was published in August 2007 in a new format. The 15th edition appeared in 2011. The 16th edition was published in 2016 to mark the 80th anniversary of the book.<ref name="grevisse-history"/>
=== Online === As of 1 January 2023, ''Le Bon Usage'' is no longer available online.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grevisse.fr/node/559 |title=Bienvenue sur la page du Bon Usage |website=Grevisse.fr |language=fr |access-date=8 March 2024 |archive-date=3 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203053225/https://www.grevisse.fr/node/559 |url-status=live}}</ref>
== See also == {{Portal|Books|Linguistics}} * French grammar
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.lebonusage.com/ Official website] * {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.langue-fr.net/spip.php?article42 Biographical notice from the 13th edition] * {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930200246/http://old.rtbf.be/rtbf_2000/bin/view_something.cgi?type=sac&id=0177279_sac&menu=default&pub=RTBF.WALL%2FWALL.FR.la_taille.SP.BONB Guy Lemaire raconte: Maurice Grevisse] RTBF journalist Guy Lemaire on Grevisse, 2005
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bon Usage}} Category:French grammar Category:Belgian books Category:Grammar books Category:Style guides Category:1936 non-fiction books Category:Books about the French language