PC 2109 .M54 Copy 1 \1 s ^ m S3 1 iP^r *L/i W r.". '.\ 'S. •.'.'. %'IX WA' .'. -\ -.•; ;•; }♦; j»J ;?; ;-. ;-; ;•; .-. ;% .V J*. iV i'i , S LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. * .•:•: ^ \ _J — 1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / NEW FRENCH GRAMMAR, EXERCISES ADAPTED TO THE RULES; COMPREHENDING. IX A HOST SIMPLE, EAST, AND CONCISE MAMER, EYERT THING NECESSARY. Bt f. c. meadows, m.a. OP TH^VxiTERSITT OF PARIS,' ACTHOR OF TEE SEW FRENCH PRONOUNCING, ITALIAN, AND SPANISH DICTIONARIES, AND SPANISH GRAMMAR, ETC. LONDON: PRINTED FOR WILLIAM TEGG & CO., CHEAPSIDE. MDCCCXLVIII. TCsuH PREFACE This Introduction, which by the nature of this work cannot be very extended, will be sufficient to contain and supersede any Grammar, particularly as the Articles, Pronouns, &c, are classed differently from the general ungrammatical custom adopted in elementary books, either English, French, &c. The Forma- tion of Verbs will be a still greater advantage, as, except in the irregularity of some verbs, which is confined to few tenses, the student will have only three tenses to learn, and by that means overcome in a short time every difficulty attendant on a language. The Elucidation at the head of the Exercises will explain and comprehend every Rule. Should this useful Grammar meet with the approbation, encouragement, and the same success which have attended for many years past the exertions of the Author and Teacher, his long and anxious labours will be amply compensated. CONTENTS. PART FIRST. PAGE Short and long sounds of the vowels, 5 Property of final consonants, 5 Soft and hard sounds of ca, ga, &c 5 Names and definition of the parts of speech, 6 Of nouns, and their irregularities, 6 Of articles, and their number, 7 Of the formation of the cases of nouns, ... 7 Of pronouns and their number, 8 1. Disjunctive pronouns and their rule, ... 8 2. Preconjunctive pronouns, their divisions, and rules, 9 First table of the preconjunctive pronouns, with examples, 9 Second table of the preconjunctive, there to thee. s'y, there to one's self. i'y> him, her, it there. ] uiy, there to him, to her. il m'y oblige, l'y menerez-vous ? vous ne nous-y forcerez pas, ne vous y virent-elles pas ? " je ne l'y ai pas conduit, m. ne l'y avez-vous pas vue, /. je les y ai recontres, m.p. nous les y avons admises, f.p. ivill you take him there ? you ivill not force us to it. did not they see you there ? I have not conducted him there. have not you seen her there ? I have met them there. we have admitted them in it. En, some, &c. SINGULAR. PLURAL. m'en, some to me, nous en, some to us. t'en, some to thee. vous en, some to you. s'en, some to one's self. s'en, some to themselves, Ten, him, her, it some. les en, them some. lui en, some to him, to her. leur en, some to them. il m'en blame, ne vous en parle-t-il point ? vous ne nous en dites rien, ne l'en recompensa-t-il point ? ne les en avertites vous pas? je lui en ai envoye, il ne leur en a rien dit, il ne s'en souvient pas, je les en ai pourvus, m.p. nous les en avions remerciees, f.p. Examples on En. he blames me for it. does not he speak to you about it 1 you say nothing to us about it. did not he reward him or her for it ? have not you warned them of it ? I have sent some to him. he has said nothing to them about it. he does not remember it. I have provided them with it or them. we had thanked them for it or them. 3d Table is formed of Y, and En, combined with the simple or compound preconjunctive pronouns. Examples. SINGULAPt. me l'y, him, her, it there to me. me les y, them there to me. PLURAL. nous l'y, nous les y, vous l'y, vous les y, te l'y, him, her, it there to thee. te les y, them there to thee. se l'y, him, her, it there to one's self, se l'y, se les y, them there to one's self. se les y, le lui y, him, it to him, to her there. le leur y, la lui y, her, it to him, to her there, la leur y, les lui y, them to him, to her there. les leur y him, her, it to us there. them to us there. him, her, it to you there. them to you there. him, her, it to themselves there. them to themselves there. him, it to them there. her, it to them there. them to them there. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 11 Examples on 3d Table. il me l'y enverra, he will send it to me there. me les y apportera-t-il ? w ill he bring them to me there ? ]e ne vous l'y promets pas, I do not promise it to you there. ne vous les y procureront-ils pas ? will not they procure them for you there ? je le lui y presenterai, I shall present him to him there. le lui v enverrez vous ? will you send him, it, to him, to her there ? il ne les leur y introduira point, he will not introduce them to them there. je vous l'y aurais remise, /. I shoidd have remitted it to you there. nemelesyaurait-ilpasenvoyes? m.p. should not he have sent them to me there ? Y, and En. SINGULAR. PLURAL. m'y en, some there to me. nous y en, some there to us. t V en, some there to thee. vous y en, some there to you. s'y en, some there to one's self. s'y en, some there to themselves. l'y en, him, her, it some there. les y en, them some there. lui-y-en, some to him, to Jier there, leur-y-en, some to them there. Examples on Y, and En. ie vous v en parlerai, I shall speak to you about it there. m'y en "enverrez -vous ? will you send me some there ? [there. nous ne lui-y en dirons rien, we shall say nothing to him, to her, about it ne pourriez vous pas nous yen faire tenir? could not you send some to us there ? nous leur-y en avons parle, we have spoken to them about it there. il l'y en recompensera, he will reward him for it there. ils ne les y en ont pas informes, m.p. they have not informed them of it there. ne les y-en ont-elles pas informees ? f.p. have not they informed them of it there ? Exception to the preconjunctive pronouns being placed before the verb. "When the imperative mood is affirmative, they are placed after the governing, or reflective verb, changing me, te, into moi, toi ; but should two imperatives come together united by the conjunction and or or, the second preconjunctive pronoun is placed immediately after the conjunction, before the second verb. When the imperative mood is negative, the pronouns follow the general rule. IMPERATIVE MOOD. AFFIRMATIVE. NEGATIVE. donnez moi {instead of me), give me. ne me donnez pas, do not give me. leve-toi {instead of te), rise or raise thyself, ne te leve pas, do not rise. renvoyez le, la, or les, send him, her, or ne le, la, les renvoyez pas, do not send him, them aivay. her, it, them away. montrez le moi, shoiv it to me. ne me le montrez pas, do not show it to me. apportez la moi, bring her or it to me. ne me l'apportez pas, do not bring him, her, it to me. amenez les moi, bring them to me. ne me les amenez pas, do not bring them to me. confiez le, la, les lui, trust him or her ne le, la, les lui confiez pas, do not trust with him, her, it, them. him, her, ivith him, her, it, them. vendez m'en or vendez en moi, sell me ne m'en vendez pas, do not sell me any. some. blamez Ten, blame him, her for it. ne l'en blamez pas, do not blame him, her for it. blamez les en, blame them for it. neles en blamez pas, donot blame them for it. menez-y-moi, conduct me thither. ne m'y menez pas, do not take me thither. 12 GRAMMAS OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. AFFIRMATIVE. NEGATIVE. accoutumes-y-toi, inure thyself to it. ne t'y accoutume point, do not use thyself to it. conduisez-y-moi et m'y attendez, conduct ne le lui y envoyez pas, do not send kim, it, me thither and ivait for me there. to him or to her there. pretez moi ce livre, ou me le donnez, lend ne nous les y procurez pas, do not procure me this book, or give it to me. them for us there. The preconjunctive pronouns, Y, and En, are the oblique cases of le, it, them, so. En, it, them, so, is the genitive case of le, &c, it contains in, and expresses by itself, the preposition de, and le, la, les, the definite preconjunctive pronoun of the accusative case. Any preposition, particularly, of, for, to, from, with, at, about, coming before these preconjunctive pronouns, him, her, it, them; also any of these relative words, so, some, any, thence, implying the above pronouns must be expressed by en, placed immediately before the verb, if the French noun, adjective, past participle or verb, be followed by the preposition de. En, generally relates to inanimate objects, but under some modifications it may be applied to rational. Y, it, them, so, is the dative case of le, &c. ; it contains in, and expresses by itself the preposition a, and le, la, les (vide en). Any preposition, particularly, of, to, at, for, by, in, on, with, coming before these pronouns, him, her, it, them ; also any of these relative adverbs, so, there, thither, &c, implying the above pronouns must be expressed by y, placed immediately before the verb, if the French verb, adjective, past participle, &c, be followed by the pre- position, a. Y, relates to things, places, &c. ; but in some circumstances it is applicable to rational objects, and is generally governed by a verb, or word, that requires after it the dative case. Y, and en, are always placed after the personal preconjunctive pronouns, and when y and en meet together, y comes before en. * Le, it, them, so, is the nominative and accusative case of the above two preconjunctive pronouns, employed to represent either a part of a sentence, a whole phrase, an adjective, a past participle, or a noun, in English generally expressed by it, &c. so, and often understood. Le, relating to a noun, agrees in gender and number with the noun which it represents ; but remains undeclined when it refers to any other part of speech. Examples on le. 7 . , r (do they deceive you ? I believe so. le, expressing part of a sentence,. . . j vous £ ompent 4 or elles ? je u crois . 7 , , , ( can you prove it to me ? Jean. le, a whole phrase, jpouvez-vous me le prouver ? je le puis. 7 ,. ,. (are you sure? lam. le, an adjective,.... jetes-vous certain? je le suis. 7 . . . , ( tvill she be married ? yes. le, a past participle, j gera . t ^ m ^ e ? elle le sera. , C are you the gentleman ? I am. le, a noun, \ etes-vous le monsieur ? je le suis. j ( are you his sister ? I am. le, a noun, \ etes-vous sa sceur? je la suis. 7 c are these your papers ? they are. le, a noun, |sont-ce la vos papiers? ce les sont. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 13 Should the English word, it, they, them, so, &c, either expressed or understood, fall upon the third person singular or plural of a rational object in answer to a question, the word, it, they, them, so, &c, must be rendered by the disjunctive pro- nouns, lui, elle, eux, dies, according to gender and number, instead of le, la, les. , , , . , 7 . i is it i/our brother ? it is. le changed into lui, ^^ votre Mre ? c?est lul . , . , 77 i was it his sister 1 it was. le changed into elle, |6tait-ce sa sceur? c'etait elle. ■,-,., ( are these your friends ? they are. le changed into eux, j 8(mt _ ce ^ vos ^ ? ce ^ ^ , . . , 77 ( are these the qirls ? they are. le changed into elles, j sont , ce ^ ^ ^ ? ^^ ^ Observation. The general and idiomatical use of the preconjunctive pronouns, le,y, and en, is to supply the ellipsis, which in English takes place after an interrogative sentence, in answer to which the same French verb, preceded by le, y, or en, must be repeated according to the person. Examples. do you do it ? I do. le faites-vous ? je le fais. do you see them ? I do. les voyez-vous ? je les vois. y and en refer to persons in answer to a disjunctive pronoun or noun immediately going before, and require after them the repetition of the same verb. Examples. do you speak of Mrs. Brown ? I do. parlez-vous de Made, le Brun ? j ' en parle. people speak of you, what do they say of me ? on parle de vous, qu' en dit-on? do you complain of them ? I do. vous plaignez-vous d'elles ? je m'en plains. do you think of me ? J do. pensez-vous a moi ? j'y pense. do you aim at Miss S. ? I do. visez-vous a Mademoiselle B. ? j'y vise. But should the sentence be affirmative, and something said in opposition to, or in confirmation of it, le, &c. is changed into a disjunctive pronoun, applicable to the person. This concludes this most essential and somewhat intricate Gallicism, which I have endeavoured to explain as clearly and fully as possible, to enable the student to surmount a difficulty, which, unremoved, would at every step obstruct his way and render his labours abortive. (3.) Relative Pronouns, simple and compound. The simple relative pronoun qui, who, which, that, is employed for both genders, numbers, and all objects. When preceded by de or a, it is applicable only to rational or personified objects. sing. & plcr. m.f. qui, who, which, that for every object. / de qui, of, from which, that, whose.... for persons only. \ dont, of whom, which, that, whose. . .for every object. j a qui, to whom, which, that for persons only. [tion. \ auquel, &c. to whom, which, that for every object, and the sake of distinc- que, whom, which, that for every object. u qui, f. repeated, 14 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. Qui is used and repeated before every verb coming after a noun, a disjunctive, or a demonstrative pronoun, of any case. Also idiomatically after a preconjunctive pronoun placed before the present participle of an English verb, which, if not rendered by the present of the infinitive of the French verb, is expressed by the present, or the imperfect of the indicative, according to time. Examples. f l'homme, qui promet et qui ne tient pas sa parole, est qui, m. repeated, \ +1 indi S ne de foi « . ' 7 7 . « the man who promises and does not keep his word, is un- ivorthy of belief. il a perdu une place, qui lui aurait bien valu, et qui l'aurait remis dans ses affaires. he has lost a place, which would have been very advantageous ^ to him, and reinstated him in his affairs. fee sont des gens, qui sont bien polis, et qui font les hon- qui, m. p. repeated, J #I neurs de le 7 ur ^ aison avec ^eaucoup de grace r J they are people who are very polite, and do the honours of ^ their house with much grace. ( les fleurs, qui sont belles, et qui sentent bon, me plaisent qui, f. p. repeated, <( le plus. yjlowers, which are beautiful and smell sweet, please me most. f est-ce lui qui a succede a son pere, et qui va continuer qui, after a disjunctives . ?. a 7 c a ^ 6 7* -, ■, -,. , j7 7 . 2 J I is it he who has succeeded his father, and is going to carry \_ on his office ? f celle, qui vous l'a dit, et qui vous en a assure, s'est fort '"^ she who has told it, and assured you of it, is very much mistaken. For the sake of Distinction. l'homme dont or de qui vous parlez, the man of whom you speak. la maison dont vous parlez, the house of which you speak. l'homme a qui vous vous adressez, the man to whom you address yourself. Thomme auquel vous vous adressez, the man to whom you address yourself. le travail auquel vous vous appliquez, the labour to which you apply yourself. 1 'etude a laquelle vous vous appliquez, the study to which you apply yourself. les travaux auxquels vous vous appliquez, the labours to which you apply yourself. les etudes auxquelles vous vous appliquez, the studies to which you apply yourself. l'homme que vous voyez, the man whom you see. le livre que vous avez, the book which you have. ne les voyez vous pas qui viennent ? > d ^ m . ? ne les voyez vous pas vemr { $ je les trouvai qui se regalaient et qui buvaient a l'ordinaire, } I found them feasting je les trouvai se regaler et boire a l'ordinaire, 5 and drinking as usual. The Interrogative Kelative Pronoun, qui, who? which? Is of both genders and numbers, and can only refer to a rational object, which it precedes. It is modified by de, a, and any other preposition without any change of termination in familiar conversation, or to express surprise, admiration, &c. qui est-ce ^misused, preceded by the same prepositions; de qui est-ce dont before a verb used affirmatively followed by the preposition de. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 15 m f. quit de qui ? a qui? qui? who? of, from, &c. wlwm ? to, for, whom ? wlwm ? Familiar Conversation, &c;, in m. f. qui est-ce qui ? who ? ( de qui est-ce que ? > , f &CtWhom \ \ de qui est-ce dont i } a qui est-ce que ? qui est-ce que ? to whom ? wlwm ? qui vous l'a dit ? who told it to you ? qui en parle ? ivho speaks of it ? de qui parlez-vous ? of whom do you speak ? a qui le donnerez-vous ? to whom will you give it? qui cherchez-vous ? whom do you seek ? pour qui le faites-vous ? for whom are you doing it ? Examples. qui est-ce qui vous l'a dit ? who told it to you ? qui est-ce qui en parle ? who speaks of it ? de qui est-ce dont vous-parlez ? of whom do you speak ? a qui est-ce que vous le donnerez ? to wlwm will you give it ? qui est-ce que vous cherchez ? whom do you seek ? pour qui est-ce que vous le faites ? for wJtom are you doing it ? The Interrogative Indefinite Pronoun, quoi ? what ? Of both genders and numbers, is applicable to things only. Its nominative is never placed before a verb as a governing person, but merely as an interjection. Que supplies the place of the nominative, and generally of the accusative. Quoi I before a verb or alone, implies surpi*ise, doubt, admiration, &c. like the interrogative qui ? its idiomatical and familiar use in conversation is qu' 'est-ce qui for the nominative, and qu'est ce que for the other cases. quoi ! que ' de quoi? a quoi ? que? quoi, interjection, que, interrogation idiomatical, &c. ivhat! what? of what ? to what ? wJiat? what ? of wliat ? to what ? what ? qu 'est-ce qui? de quoi est-ce que ? a quoi est-ce que ? qu'est-ce que ? quoi ! en etes-vous sur, -e ? what ! are you sure of it? quUt°-ce quTvoul plait ? } what wiU V ou P lease t0 have ? dequoi, interrogation, de quoi vous plaignez-vous ! ) of what do you idiomatical, &c. de quoi est-ce que vous vous plaignez ? } complain ? a quoi, interrogation, a quoi passez-vous votre temps ? > in what do you idiomatical, &c. a quoi est-ce que vous passez votre temps ? ) spend your time ? que, interrogation, que souhaitez-vous ? \ 7 „ j • r . , Q idiomatical, &c. qu'est-ce que vous souhaitez ? \ what do V ou msh t0 have ? Qu'est-ce que c'est? what or what is it ? is a complete answer to a question. Qu'est-ce que c'est que? what or what is it that? is an idiomatical question. Examples. Eendez moi un service — qu'est-ce que c'est ? do me a service — what or what is it? Qu'est-ce que c'est que vous souhaitez ? what do you wish or what is it you wish ? Quoi is sometimes used for the compound relative pronoun lequel, &c. which. Examples. Le chagrin a quoi vous vous abandonnez (a quoi for auquel, m.), the grief to which you abandon yourself. La place a quoi il aspire (a quoi for a laquelle, /.), the place at which he aspires. B 16 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. Les maux a quoi je (/.) fus exposee (/.) (a quoi for auxquels, m.p.) f the evils to which I was exposed. Les choses a quoi je m'occupe (a quoi for auxquelles,/.^.), the things in which I employ myself. (3.) Ou. This relative pronoun and adverb is used either affirmatively or interrogatively, for both genders and numbers. It denotes time, place, condition, end, &c, and may be expressed in English, by any one of the following prepositions placed before ; which, to, at, in, on, into, with ; also by where, whence ; in French by the compound relative pronoun lequel, &c, agreeing m gender and number with the preceding noun. This pronoun cannot be preceded by any other prepositions than d[ and par, thus declined, ofi, where; in, to, &c. which d' ou, whence ; to, at, &c. ivhich. par ou, through, into, &c. which. Examples. L'etat ou je suis (ou for dans lequel, m.), the situation in which lam. La maison ou vous demeurez (ou for dans laquelle, /.), the house where you live. Les pays ou nous irons (oii for dans lesquels, m.p.), the countries to which we shall go. Les batailles oii nous fumes engages (ou for dans lesquelles, f.p.), the battles in which we were engaged. (3.) Lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles, who, ivhich? This compound relative and interrogative pronoun is formed of the definite and of the interrogative articles, and, like both, declined in composition, agreeing invariably in gender and number with the nouu, which it represents. It is generally used for those objects to which qui could not relate without ambiguity, particularly after two nouns of different natures. Lequel, &c. employed as a relative pronoun,^ refers to the first of two successive nouns. tuho, which, of whom, which, to whom, which, whom, which. Examples. C'est le fils de l'homme qui l'a pris, it is the son of the man who lias taken it. Qui, is here ambiguous, referring equally to the son or to the man, which is contrary to the meaning, as it refers solely to the son ; therefore it must be lequel, as, C'est le fils de l'homme, lequel l'a pris, it is the man's son wlio has taken it. {Ambiguous.) Vous voyez la mere de la fille, qui est si bonne, you see the mother of the girl, who is so good. ♦ Vous voyes la mere de la fille, laquelle est si bonne, you see the girVs mother, who is so good. {Ambiguous .«) Ce ne sont pas les amis de mes freres, qui le firent, it is not the friends of my brothers, ivJio did it. Ce ne sont pas les amis de mes freres, lesquels le firent, it is not my brothers' friends, ivho did it. {Ambiguous.) Ne sont-ce pas les compagnes de vos soeurs, qui dansent? are not these the companions of your sisters, who are dancing ? Ne sont-ce pas les compagnes de vos soeurs, lesquelles dansent ? are not these your sisters' companions, who are dancing? SINGULAR. PLURAL. m. f. lequel, laquelle, du quel, de laquelle, auquel, a laquelle, lequel, laquelle, m. p. f. p. lesquels, lesquelles, desquels, desquelles, auxquels, auxquelles, lesquels, lesquelles, GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 17 Lequel, &c, is also employed in interrogations implying choice, comparison, doubt, &c, and generally for those cases wherein qui cannot be adopted, when referring to irrational and inanimate objects ; it may be preceded by any pre- position. Lequel, &c, as an interrogative pronoun, is placed before the noun to which it refers, and with which it agrees in gender and number, but it may also be elegantly placed after. Examples. Lequel de ces deux livres prendrez-vous? which of tJiese two books will you take 1 ? De laquelle de ces dames parliez-vous ? of which of these ladies ivere you speaking ? De vos etudes auxquelles vous appliquez vous le plus ? to which of your studies do you most apply yourself ? De ces souhers lequel vous gene ? which of these shoes hurts you ? Dans lequel de ces vaisseaux etes vous venu ? in which of these ships did you come ? Pour laquelle de vos sceurs le faites-vous ? for which of your sisters do you do it ? (3.) Ce qui, ce que, what, that luhich. This compound relative demonstrative pronoun, refers always to two verbs, of which either ce or qui may be the nominative or accusative ; qui is used for the nominative or subject; que for the accusative or object. This very irregular pronoun is applicable to things only, and thus declined, m. ce qui, what ; that which, payez moi ce qui m'est du, pay me what is due to me. ce dont, of what ; that of which, j 'ai oublie ce dont vou3 me parlez, I have forgot that [of which you are speaking to me. ce a quoi, to what ; that to which, ce a quoi vous pensez ne reussira point, that of which [you are thinking will not succeed. ce que, what ; that which, ce que vous proposez m'obligera beaucoup, ivhat you # [propose will oblige me much. Ce qui or ce que, followed in the second part of a sentence by the third person singular or plural of any tense of the verb etre, requires ce "before that person, unless it should be followed by an adjective, also, de after it, before an infinitive, and que before the persons of the subjunctive mood. Examples. Ce qui fait plaisir aux dames, c'est d'etre admirees, what gives pleasure to the ladies is to be admired. Ce qui m'enchante, c'est de 1 'entendre chanter, what cliarms me, is to hear lier sing. Ce que j'aime le plus, ce sont les comedies, what Hike best are comedies. Ce que je deteste beaucoup ce sont les calomnies, what I detest much are calumnies. Ce qui la flatte, c'est qu'on lui dise des douceurs, what flatters her, is to be com- plimented. Ce qui le met en colere, c'est qu'on lui reponde, what makes him angry, is to be answered. Ce que vous dites est juste et vrai, what you say is just and true. Ce qui brille aux yeux est sou vent trompeur, what dazzles the eyes is often deceitful. Ce may be omitted or expressed before etre followed by a noun ; it is left out before a verb. Ce qui lui deplait, est (or c'est,) son avarice, what displeases him or lier, is his or her avarice. Ce qui nous amuse, sont (or ce sont,) les journaux, what amuses us are the news- papers. Ce qui me plait vous deplait, what pleases me displeases you. Ce qui me fait rire vous fache, what makes me laugh, makes you angry. 18 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. (3.) Qui que ce soit, qui que ce fut, whoever, whosoever. Quoi que ce soit, quoi que ce fut, whatever, whatsoever. These compound indefinite pronouns are derived from qui and que, quoi and que ; the first is applicable to persons, the second to inanimate objects ; soit marks the present time, fut the past ; these pronouns are modified by de, a, and any preposition. Qui que ce soit, with a negative before the verb, implies nobody, no person living, &c. Quoi que ce soit, with a negative before the verb, implies nothing in the world, &c. Qui que ce soit, &c, followed by qui, as the nominative case to the verb placed after it, requires il before the second verb if it should be its nominative case, better described by the following modification of all the cases. Observe qui, que, &c, govern the subjunctive mood after them. Examples. Qui que ce soit qui le dise, il vous en impose, whoever says it, imposes upon you. Qui que ce soit qui le dise, ne le croyez pas, whoever says it, do not believe him. Qui que ce fut qui vint le voir, il ne fut pas admis, wlwever came to see him was not admitted. De qui que ce soit dont vous parliez, vous n'en dites rien de bon, of whomsoever you speak, you say no good of him. ~A qui que ce soit que vous vous adressiez, vous reussissez toujours, to wlwmsoever you apply, you ever succeed. Qui que ce soit que vous engagiez, il faut le payer, with whomsoever you engage, you must pay him, &c. II n'y a qui que ce soit, there is nobody. Je ne me mefie de qui que ce soit, I mistrust nobody in the world. Elle n' ecrivit a qui que ce fut, she wrote to no living soul. Je ne connaissais qui que ce fut dans cette ville, I knew no one in that town. Quoi que ce soit qui arrive, faites le moi savoir, whatever happens, let me know it. 11 ne me parla de quoi que ce fut, he spoke. to one of nothing whatever. , A quoi que ce soit qu'il s'applique, il y est tres assidu, to whatever he applies himself, he is very assiduous. Quoi que ce soit qu'il mande, donnez m'en avis, about whatever he writes, give me notice of it. II ne fait quoi que ce soit, he does nothing at all. Je ne me soucie de quoi que ce soit, 1 care for nothing in the world. Elle ne prend plaisir a quoi que ce soit, she takes not pleasure in any thing. II n'apporta quoi que ce fut, he brought nothing whatever. (4.) The Possessive Pronouns, mine, thine, &c, are thus declined, SINGULAR. PLURAL. m. /• m. /• le mien, la mienne, les miens, les miennes, mine. du mien, de la mienne, des miens, des miennes, of mine. au mien, a la mienne, aux miens, aux miennes, to mine, { le tien, These five are | le sien, la tienne, les tiens, les tiennes, thine. la sienne, les siens, les siennes, his, hers. declined like<( le notre, la notre, les notres, les notres, ours. le mien, &c. j le votre, la votre, les votres, les votres, yours. * I le leur, la leur, les leurs.. les leurs, theirs. These pronouns relate to a preceding noun, with which they agree in gender and number. They cannot be used without the definite article placed immediately before them. ' Examples. Voici votre chapeau, mais ou est le mien, here is your hat, but where is mine, Je ne sais rien de leur histoire ni de la tienne, I know nothing either of their history, or of thine. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 19 Cela cause beaucoup d'embarras a mon pere et au sien, that gives much uneasi- ness to my father, and to his or hers. Vos habits et les notres sont uses, pour clothes and ours are worn out. Je ne crois pas que j'en aie des votres, I do not think that I have any of yours. Personne n'ajoute foi a vos discours, ou aux leurs, nobody gives belief either to your discourses or to theirs. Mine, thine, &c, coming after to be, denoting possession, are changed into the disjunctive pronouns, a, moi, a toi, &c. Examples. Ce livre est-il k vous ? non, il est a moi, is this booh yours ? no, it is mine. Donnez-lui ce qui est a lui, give him what is his. Je ne savais pas que c 'etait a elle, I did not know that it was hers. lis sont a nous a present, they are now ours. Xous croyions qu'elle etait a vous, ice thought that it was yours. Ces magasins et ces boutiques sont a eux, these warehouses and shops are theirs. Ces manchons et ces mantelets sont ils a elles? are these muffs and cloaks theirs ? Non, ils sont & mes soeurs, no, they are my sisters'. Mine, thine, &c, after a noun with of between them, are expressed by the plural of the possessive articles, mon, ma, mes, &c, placed before the noun, also put in the plural, with which they agree in gender. Examples. Un de mes amis y etait, a friend of mine ivas there. Un de ses amis le protegea, a friend of his protected him. Un de ses amis la justifia, a friend of hers justified her. Un de nos generaux fut tue, a general of ours was killed. Je l'ai re^ue d'un de vos domestiques, I have received it from a servant of yours. Un de leurs parens vient de mourir, a relation of theirs is just dead. Une de leurs parentes vient de mourir, a female relation of theirs is just dead. (5.) The Demonstrative Pronouns celui, celle, that, ceux, celles, those, compounded of ce, and the disjunctive pronouns lui, elle, eux, elles, by cutting off the vowel of ce before elle, eux, elles, refer to all objects, and must agree in gender and number with the noun which they represent. Should another noun follow and be governed by one of these demonstrative pronouns, that noun must be preceded by the definite article, du, de la, de V, des, according to gender, &c, but by de only, if it be a proper name, a pronoun, a demonstrative, or possessive article. Examples. Est-ce votre tour? non. C'est celui de votre frere, is it your turn? no. It is tfiat of your brother. Quelle maison avez-vous a vendre ? celle de ma mere, what house have you to sell- that of my mother. On ne peut comparer ses talents a ceux de son feu pere, his talents cannot be compared with those of his late father. Les plus belles annees sont celles de la jeunesse, the happiest years are those of youth. Quel chemin prenez vous? celui de Londres, what road do you take? that of JLondon. Qu'il recompense celui de nous, qui l'a fait, let him reward the one among us, who has done it. Celui, celle, ceux, celles, this, thai, these, those, joined to either of these two adverbs, ci and la, express an absolute and pointed meaning ; thus combined, ci denotes proximity, la. distance. 20 grammar of the french tongue. Examples. Jaime mieux celui-ci, I like this better. Avez-vous vu celui-la? have you seen that? Ceux-ci sont tres beaux, these are very fine. Ceux-la sont a meilleur marche, these are cheaper. Montrez moi celle-ci, show me this. J'ai achete celle-la, I have bought that. Je prendrai celles-ci, I shall take these. Celles-la me reviennent mieux, those please me better Celui-la, celle-la, ceux-la, celles-la, he, she, they, or him, her, them who, or whom, referring to an indefinite object and followed by qui or que, require qui or que to constitute the second part of the sentence. Examples. Celui-la est heureux, qui se contente de peu, he is happy, who is contented with little. Celle-la est digne d'estime, qui se comporte avec modestie, she is worthy of esteem t who behaves with modesty. Ceux-la sont heureux, qui cultivent la vertu, they are happy, who practise virtue. Celles-la sont extravag antes, qui suivent de pres les modes, they are extravagant, who follow closely the fashions. Nous admirons ceux-la, que ni la naissance, la fortune, ni les honneurs ne rendent arrogans, we admire those whom neitfier birth, fortune, nor honours make haughty. Celui-ci, celle-ci, ceux-ci, celles-ci, latter, Celui-la, celle-la, ceux-la, celles-la, former, refer to nouns mentioned before. Celui-ci, &c, refers to the last, celui-la, &c, to the first, with which both must agree in gender and number. Examples, L'hiver et le printemps sont l'image de la vie, celui-ci est l'embleme de la jeunesse, celui-la de la vieillesse, winter and spring are the image of life, the latter is the emblem of youth, the former of old age. II y a beaucoup de difference entre le vice et la vertu, celle-ci nous rend heureux, celui-la nous rend mal-heureux, there is a great difference between vice and virtue, the latter makes us happy, the former wretched. L'ivrognerie et le jeu sont deux passions terribles, celui-ci ruine l'homme, ou Pagite continuellement, celle-la le prive de ses sens et l'abrutit, drunkenness and gaming are two terrible passions, the latter ruins or disquiets man continually, the former deprives him of his senses and levels him with the brute. Les infortunes ou ies bons succes sont egalement utiles, ceux-ci nous apprennent a moderer nos transports, celles-la a reprimer nos murmures, misfortunes or lucky events are equally useful, the latter teach us how to moderate our transports, the former how to repress our repinings. Ci and Id are often joined to nouns preceded by the demonstrative article ce, &c, either for the sake of emphasis,' proximity, or distance. Examples. donnez-moi ce Jivre-ci, give me this book. je prendrai cet avis la, I shall follow that advice. j 'admire cette voiture-ci, I admire this car- je n'aime point cette action la, I do not riage. like that action. montrez moi ces papiers-ci, show me these avez vous achete ces choses la? have you papers. ' bought these things ? Ci and Id are also joined immediately to ce, which thus combined form the two pronouns ceci, cela, this; that. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 21 Examples. ceci vous concerne, this concerns you. je n'ai pas besoin de ceci, I do not want this. faites lui present de ceci, make him, her a present of this. je dorme la preference a ceci, I give the preference to this. voulez-vous dire ceci? do you mean this? cela vous fache-t-il ? does that make you angry? que pensez-vous de cela ? what do you think of that ? je suis bien-aise de cela, lam glad of that. faites attention a cela, pay attention to that. je n'aime pas cela, i" do not like that. (6.) The Indefinite Pronouns constitute such a mass of anomalous parts as to be scarcely reducible to a proper form. In this heterogeneous class, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs, are con- fusedly mixed together to represent no original. However, if, embodied as they are, they are properly applied to their right use, no further inquiries need to be made into their proper denomination. With the exception of on, one, any body, &c, which is indeclinable, and l'un I'autre, &c, one another, declined in a peculiar manner, all the other pronouns are preceded by de, a, and any other preposition. Of these supposed pronouns the following may be called numeral pronouns : — chacun, -e, m.f., every body, every one, &c, is masc. as a collective noun; m.f. as a distributive. chaque, m.f., each, every, has no plural; an adjective always preceding a singular noun. personne, m., nobody, &c, no plural; it requires ne before the verb, whether it precedes or follows it ; in interrogations it is omitted. aucun, -e, m.f., no, none, &c, negative pronoun, \ requiring ne before the pas-un, -e, m.f., none, not any, negative pronoun, > verb, whether it pre- nul, -le, m.f, not one, none, no, negative pronoun, j cedes or follows it. plusieurs, m.f, plur., several, is both a noun and an adjective collective and dis- tributive. tout, -e, m.f, all, every, any, is a collective noun and adjective. peu de, m. /., few, is a collective noun. Indefinite Pronouns. on, m., indeclinable, one, any body, is used with the third person singular of any verb or tense. somebody, is both an absolute and a relative noun. one another,} are used with the plural persons of verbs either both, j* placed before or after. either, ") require the singular number if they be placed before neither,) a verb, and the plural if after. people, &c, is masculine before an adjective, and feminine after. quelqu'un, -e, m.f., l'un I'autre, m.f., l'un et I'autre, m.f, l'un ou I'autre, m.f., ni l'un ni I'autre, m.f gens, m.f., plural, tout le monde, m., every body, &c, has no plural, it is used with the third person singular of any tense. la plupart, /., the greatest number, has no plural ; before a noun, it is fol- lowed by des, with that noun plural; before a verb, it requires the third person plural. autrui, m., others, has no plural ; it is only used as a collective noun for the genitive and dative. quiconque, m., any body, &c, has no plural ; used as a nominative, it requires the third person singular of two verbs. 22 GRAMMAR OP THE FRENCH TONGUE. rien, m., nothing, has no plural ; it requires ne before the verb, whether it precedes or follows it ; in interrogations ne is omitted. tel, -le, m.f., such, &c , used as a noun has no plural, as a relative adjec- tive it has both numbers. certain, -e, m.f., certain, such, is an adjective agreeing in gender and number with the noun, which it either precedes or follows. meme, m.f., the same, &c, is generally an adjective before a noun, after a noun it is a pronoun, expressed by Mmself, herself, itself, themselves, or very. quelque, m.f., whatever, as an adjective, agrees in gender and number with the noun it precedes, but it is indeclinable before an adjec- tive, which must be followed by que, before the verb in the subjunctive mood. Quel-que, quelle-que, &c, m.f. luhatever, &c, is declined in the first part undi- vided from que, and agrees in gender and number with the persons of the verb to be, or with the noun governing that verb, which must be in the subjunctive mood followed by its governing noun. Some of the above pronouns are thus declined : SINGULAR. PLURAL. m. f. m. f. quelqu'un, quelqu'une, quelque3 uns, quelques unes, somebody, some one, some people. de quelqu'un, de quelqu'une, de quelques uns, de quelques unes, of 'somebody, some one,some people. a quelqu'un, a quelqu'une, a quelques uns, a quelques unes, to somebody, some one, somepeople. SINGULAR. PLURAL. i.f. m. m.f. les uns les autres, les uns des autres, les uns aux autres, les uns et les autres, des uns et des autres, aux uns et aux autres, les uns ou les autres, des uns ou des autres, aux uns ou aux autres : ni les uns ni les autres, ni de l'un ni del'autre, ni de l'une ni de l'autre, ni des uns ni des autres, ni des unes ni des autres, of neither, ni a l'un ni a l'autre, ni a l'une ni £ l'autre, ni aux uns ni aux autres, ni aux unes ni aux autres, to neither. in. m.f. l'un l'autre, l'un de l'autre, l'un a l'autre, l'un et l'autre, de l'un et de l'autre, a l'un et a" l'autre, l'un ou l'autre, l'une l'autre, l'une de l'autre, l'une a l'autre, l'une et l'autre, de l'une et de l'autre, a l'une et a l'autre, l'une ou l'autre. de l'un ou de l'autre, de l'une ou de l'autre, a l'un ou a l'autre, a l'une ou a l'autre, ni l'un ni l'autre, ni l'une ni l'autre, / rn.f. les unes les autres, one another. les unes des autres, of one another. les unes aux autres, to one another. les unes et les autres, both. des unes et des autres, of both. aux unes et aux autres, to both. les unes ou les autres, either. des unes ou des autres, of either. aux unes ou aux autres, to either. ni les unes ni les autres, neither. NO PLURAL. masculine. tout le monde, any body, every body. de tout le monde, of any body, every body. a tout le monde, to any body, every body. SINGULAR. NO PLURAL. m. f. un tel, une telle, such a one. d'un tel, d'une telle, of such a one. a un tel, a une telle, to such a one. PLURAL. m.f. les gens, people. des gens, of people. aux gens, to PLURAL. /. des certaines gens, de certaines gens, a des ceftaines gens, INDEFINITE. certain people or men, &c. of certain people or men, &c. to certain people or men, &c. The first of these two pronouns is often preceded by the following idiomatical adjectives, &c. „ gens du roi, gens de lettres, gens d'affaires, gens de cour, gens de robe les bonnes gens, les grandes gens, les petites gens, les pauvres gens, les vieilles gens, les jeunes gens, good people, great people, common people, poor people, old people, young people. law officers. learned rden or people. people of business, &c. courtiers. lawyers, gownsmen. les honnetes gens r civil people. gens (d'une maison), servants (family). mauvaises gens, bad people. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 23 OF ADJECTIVES AND THEIR MODIFICATIONS. An adjective, in French, agrees in gender and number with the noun it qualifies, by adding e mute to its final syllable ; as, SINGULAR. SINGULAR. masc. fern. homme savant, learned man. femme savante, learned luovnan. grand bruit, great noise. grande renommee, great fame. petit livre, small booh. petite chambre, small room. The plural of adjectives is formed by adding s to the final syllable of each singular gender; as, ^^ ^^ masc. fern. hommes savants, learned men. femmes savantes, learned ivomen. grands generaux, great generals. grandes maisons, great houses. petits ornemens, small ornaments. petites villes, small towns. Adjectives ending in e mute, being of both genders, form their plural with s only ; as, SINGULAR. PLURAL. homme sage, wise man. hommes sages, wise men. femme modeste, modest woman. femmes modestes, modest women. Some adjectives ending in al, form their plural masculine in aux, and their plu- ral feminine with es, according to rule ; as, SINGULAR. PLURAL. homme liberal, liberal man. hommes liberaux, liberal men. femme liberale, liberal woman. femmes liberales, liberal ivomen. Adjectives in eux and eur, masculine, form the feminine singular by changing oc and r final into se. Adjectives in eux are the same in the plural, but those in eur take s only. The plural feminine follows the general rule ; as, SINGULAR. PLURAL. masc. masc. homme vertueux, virtuous man. hommes vertueux, virtuous men. homme trompeur, deceitful man. hommes trompeurs, deceitful men. fern. fern. femme vertueuse, virtuous woman. femmes vertueuses, virtuous women. femme trompeuse, deceitful woman. femmes trompeuses, deceitful women. From this rule are excepted those adjectives ending in ieur, derived from the Latin comparative degree in ior, which follow the general rule both in the singu- lar and plural. Adjectives that end in /, change / into ve, for the feminine singular. Their plural is formed according to rule ; as, SINGULAR. PLURAL. homme vif, lively man. hommes vifs, lively men. femme vive, lively ivoman. femmes vives, lively women. Adjectives and nouns in on, ien, double n before e final for the feminine. The plural follows the general rule ; as, SINGULAR. PLURAL. bon chretien, good christian. bons chretiens, good christians. bonne chretienne, good christian. bonnes chretiennes, good christians. Adjectives ending in nt, also present participles used adjectively, may retain or lose t before s final in the plural. Nouns, except monosyllables, follow the same 1*11 Ip * a ^ ' ' SINGULAR. PLURAL. mechant enfant, bad child. medians enfans, bad children. homme surprenant, surprising man. hommes surprenans, surprising men. mechante dent, bad tooth. mechantes dents, bad teeth. 24 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. These few principal rules on the adjectives, &c, will be sufficient, as all minor deviations on gender, &c, are regularly inserted in the Dictionary. POSITION OF ADJECTIVES. Adjectives are generally placed after the noun, but there are some, which must absolutely precede, and others follow the noun, whilst some may indifferently come before or after, harmony in such a case being the best guide. The following adjectives must be placed after the noun : 1. Adjectives derived from present and past participles ; as, homme desobligeant, disobliging man ; homme connu, known man. 2. Adjectives of nations ; as, Francais, -e, French : Anglais, -e, English : Ecossais, -e, Scottish, &c. 3. Adjectives of colour; as, blanc, -he, white: rouge, red : noir, -e, black : brun, -e, brown, &c. 4. Adjectives of figure ; as, rond, -e, round : carre, -e, square : oval, -e, oval, &c. 5. Adjectives denoting natural properties ; as, chaud, -e, hot ; froid, -e, cold : tiede, lukewarm, &c. 6. Adjectives ending in esque, ic, -que, if, -ive, il, -He, and ule ; as, grotesque, grotesque : public, -que, public, &c. Adjectives ending in e mute or feminine, may precede or follow the noun ; as, ami fidele or fidele ami, faithful friend : femme charmante or charmante femme, charming ivoman. Monosyllable adjectives and the following are generally placed before the noun, unless two or more should be joined with the conjunction et or ou, when they must be put after ; as, m. m. f. beau, bel, belle, fine. mauvais, -e, bad, ill. bon, bonne, good. mechant, -e, wicked. brave, brave. meilleur, -e, better. cher, -e, dear. moindre, least, less. chetif, -ve, sorry, pitiful. petit, -e, little, small. grand, -e, great, tall. saint, -e, holy. gros, -se, big, bulky. vieux, vieil, vieille, old. jeune, young. vrai, -e, true. COMPARISON OR MODIFICATION OF ADJECTIVES. An adjective in its simple state is a positive qualification of the noun with which it is combined, but to raise, depress, or equal that qualification, the following adverbs expressive of superiority, inferiority, or equality, are prefixed to the adjective : Superiority, — plus, more ; mieux, better : plus is used before an adjective, a past participle, and an adverb ; mieux before a past participle or a radical tense. Inferiority, — moins, less, is used before an adjective, a past participle, an infini- tive, adverb, and after a radical tense. • Equality, — si, so ; aussi, as ; tant, so much, so many ; autant, as much, as many. Adjectives increased, decreased, or» equalled with any of the above adverbs, require tJian to be expressed by Examples. Que before a noun or pronoun ; as, plus dur que le fer, harder than iron ; moins fort que moi, less strong than I. Que de before an infinitive ; as, plutot mourir que d'agir honteusenftnt, rather die than act shamefully. Que ne before a radical tense ; as, elle est moins belle que je ne croyais, she is less handsome than I thought. De before a word of number ; as, plu3 de deux cents livres, more than two hun- dred pounds. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 25 De is often put before beaucoup and pen preceding plus, moins, mieux, to increase or decrease the comparison, in which case it may be expressed by, by much, by little, before the usual adverbs or mode of comparison. Examples. il est de beaucoup plus riche que son frere, he is by much richer than his brother. vous etes de peu moins grand que moi, you are by little less tall than I am. cella est de beaucoup mieux fait, that is by much better done. But these and similar sentences may be expressed without de. Si, so, and aussi, as, are used and repeated in a sentence before every adjective and past participle. Tant, so much, and autant, as much, with de before nouns, and que before pro- nouns, verbs, and adverbs. Si and tant are used for negative | sentenc and ated as mle< Aussi and autant for affirmative ) » r r As or that in the second part of a sentence in answer to so, as, so much, so many, as much, as many, is expressed by que. Examples. elle est si belle et si affable qu'elle gagne she is so beautiful and so affable, that she tous les cceurs, wins every heart. il est aussi instruit et aussi bien eleve he is as much instructed, and as well qu'on peut l'etre, brought up as one can be. je n'ai pas tant d'argent que vous croyez, I have not so much money as you think. il a autant d'amis et autant de ressources he has as many friends and as many re- que vous, sources as you have. THE SUPERLATIVE COMPARISON, which denotes either the greatest or the least quality of an adjective, is general and relative. Relative Comparison is expressed by the definite article le, &c, the, or the pos- sessive article mon, &c, my, joined to plus, moins, mieux, both the article and adjective agreeing in gender and number with the noun placed either before or after the adjective. Should another noun follow, it must be preceded by du, de la, de V, des, accord- ing to gender and number, and by de, if a proper name. In the, after a superla- tive comparison, is rendered by du, de la, &c. The conjunction que, or relative pronoun qui, que, after a superlative comparison, governs the subjunctive mood. Examples. c'est la plus grande merveille du monde, it is the greatest wonder in the world. c'est le crime le plus enorme, or \ .. . lt „■>„**. i~ i „' a • > it is the most enormous crime. c est le plus enorme des crimes, / l'homme est le plus parfait des etres, man is the most perfect of beings. c'est le livre le mieux ecrit qui soit, it is the best book that can be written. vous verrez la plus belle ville que vou3 \you will see the finest town iliat you ever avez jamais vue, f saw. kpuisL 1 ? P ' US at ' igneU3ement 1 Ue T0US } do it the most carefidly that you can. parlez le plus doucement possible, speak in tJie most gentle manner possible. General comparison is an indefinite qualification of the adjective, past participle, or adverb, expressed by these following adverbs : — bien, tres, fort, very, much ; infiniment, infinitely ; extremement, extremely ; prodigieusement, prodigiously. 26 grammar of the french tongue. Examples. c'est un homme tres habile, he is a very clever man. je suis bien malade, lam very ill. vous etes fort curieux, -se, you are very curious. elle vous est infiniment obligee, she is infinitely obliged to you. ils, elles sont extr£mement riches, they are extremely rich. vous avez fait tres sagement, you have done very wisely. il travaille fort habilement, he works very skilfully. il parle bien elegamment, he speaks very elegantly. elles agirent moins prudemment, they acted less prudently. These three adjectives, petit, mauvais, and bon, deviate in part from the general rule of comparison ; petit and mauvais may follow the general modifications, but bon is invariable. POSITIVE QUALITY. COMPARATIVE QUALITY. SUPERLATIVE QUALITY. m. f. m. f. m. f. bon, bonne, good. meilleur, -e, better. le meilleur, la meilleure, best. petit, petite, little. J *<*"!«. U ss . ijemoindre la moindre K pent, pcntu, ictoui,. }pi US p et]tj -e,/ ( le plus petit, la plus petite, j"** 36 * mauvais, -e, bad. j p j re ' . X worse. I j e Pj re ' } a P} re ' . \ worst. ' 3 \plus mauvais, -e,/ ( le plus mauvais, la plus mauvaise, ( These four adverbs are also excepted from the general rule of comparison, Bien, well, containing in its positive form both quality and quantity, i3 thus divided: Quality, — bien, well. mieux, better. le mieux, the best. Quantity, — bien, well. plus, more. le plus, the most. mid » Ul { plus mal, } worse ' { le plus mal, } the worst ' peu, little. moins, less. . le moins, the least. These two English superlative nouns and adverbs, the more, plus ; the less, moins, repeated in a sentence, whether placed before nouns, pronouns, adjectives, or adverbs, cannot be preceded by the definite article le, &c, the, expressed in English. So much the more, d'autant plus ; so much the less, d'autant moins, follow the above rule. Examples. plus vous parlez, plus vous vous em- the more you speak, the more you bewilder brouillez, yourself. plus je converse avec cet homme, moins the more I converse with tfiat man, the less je l'estime, I esteem him. plus on est riche, moins on est heureux, the more rich we are, the less happy we are. moins d'embarras nous avons, plus nous } ., 7 . x „ +r n i •„„ „„„ „ sommes heureux, \ the ^ care we have > tU ha ^ ur we are ' j'en suis d'autant plus content que je I am so much the more pleased with it, as I ne m'y attendais pas, ♦ did not expect it. vous en etes d'autant moins blamable, you are so much the less blameable for it, as que vous ne le saviez pas, you did not know it. « THE NUMBERS being extremely irregular, both in pronunciation and use, to render them easy, their pronunciation and deviations have been described as fully as the contracted limits of this introduction could allow. The cardinal numbers are used as adjectives and substantives, and, except un, are indeclinable. Quatre-vingt, cent, and million, take s, placed before a noun in the plural : before an adjective or another number they remain the same. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 27 m, an, / /• CARDINAL NUMBERS. deux, < trois, < quatre,... < cinq, { sept, huit, 9, neuf,. 10, dix, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, A 9 ' 20, onze, douze, .... treize, quatorze, quinze,.... seize, dix-sept, . dix-huit, . dix-neuf,., ringt, duke, before a consonant. duhze, before a vowel. troo-au, before a consonant. troo-auz, before a vowel. khah-tr, final and before a vowel. Matt, before a consonant. saingke, final and before a vowel. saing, before a consonant. siss, final. seze, before a vowel. see, before a consonant. sett, final and before a vowel. sect, before a consonant. oo-itt, final and before a vowel. oo-e, before a consonant, nuff, final. nuv, before a vowel. nuh, before a consonant. diss, final. deze, before a vowel. dee, before a consonant. ongze. dooze. treize. kJiah-torze. kyaingze. seize. diss-sett (vid. sept). deze-oo-itt (vid. huit). deze-nuff (vid. neuf). vaing. 21, vingt-et-un, -e, vaing-tai-ung, -unn. 22, vingt-deux, vaingte-dulte. 23, vingt-trois, i)aingte-troo-au. 24, vingt-quatre, vaingte-khah-tr 25, vingt-cinq, vaingte-saingke, 26, vingt-six, vaingte-siss. 27, vingt-sept, vaingte-sett. 28, vingt-huit, vaingte-oo-it. 29, vingt-neuf, vaingte-nuff. 30, trente, trangie. 31, trente-et-un, -e, trangte-ai-ung; -unn. 32, trente-deux, trangte-duhe. 40, quarante, Miak-rangte. 41, quarante-et-un, -e, ...khah-rangte-ai, -ung. 42, quarante-deux, hliali-rangte-duhe. 50, cinquante, saing-hhangte. 51, cinquante-et-un, -Q,...saing-1changte-ai-ung, 52, cinquante-deux, saing-hhangte-duhe. 60, soixante, soo-ah-sa 61, soixante-et-un, -e, soo-ah-sangte-ai-ung. 62, soixante-et-deux, soo-ah-sangte-ai-duhe. 70, soixante-et-dix, soo-ah-sangte-ai-diss. 71, soixante-et-onze, soo-ah-sangte-ai-ongze. 80, quatre-vingt, Tchali-truh-vaing. 81, quatre-vingt-un, -e,...Jchah-truh-vaing-ung. 82, quatre-vingt- deux, ...Jchah-truh-vaing-duJie. 90, quatre-vingt-dix, Mah-truh-vaing-diss. 91, quatre-vingt-onze, Jchah-truh-vaing-ongze. 100, cent, sang. 101, cent-un, -e, sang-ung, -unn. 1000, mille, mill. 1000, mil, mill (Christian era). THE ORDINAL NUMBERS are formed by adding the termination -time of both genders to the cardinal numbers. Unieme is generally used after twenty, thirty, &c. ; neuf makes neuvieme. Premier, -e, second, -e, and deuxieme are used after nouns not preceded by articles ; also, after pronouns and proper names. first, premier, -e, prah-myai, -re, vingt-et-unieme, second, second, -e, deuxieme, suh-hong, -de, duhe-zyemm, trente-et-unieme, tJiird, troisieme, troo-au-zyemm, quarente-et-unieme, quatrieme, klmh-tree-yemm. cinquante-et-unieme, cinquieme, &c. saing-hyemm, &c. soixante-et-unieme, &c. Except premier and second, used after the names of sovereigns, the cardinal numbers, without article, must invariably be placed after the proper name, instead of the ordinal, adopted in English ; as, fourth 'fifth, George Trois, Guillaume- Quatre, Louis Seize, Charles Second, George the Third. William the Fourth. Lewis the Sixteenth. Charles the Second. The cardinal numbers, preceded by the masculine definite article le, the, are also employed for the date of the month, expressed in* English by the ordinal num- bers ; as, le douze du mois, the twelfth of the month. le premier de Janvier, the first of January, 28 GRAMMAR OP THE FRENCH TONGUE. PART SECOND. OP VERBS. FORMATION OF VERBS. The letter preceding any of the four terminations of the infinitive, is called the radical or characteristic letter, to which, throughout every mood and tense, must be affixed the terminations of persons ; for example, verbs in er before e, in ir before i, in evoir before e, in re before r. 1st. From the present participle of the verb by changing ant into ons, is formed the first person plural of the present of the indicative ; as, punisstmZ, punissows, and the imperfect tense, by changing ons into ais ; as punissorcs punissais. 2d. From the third person plural of the indicative ending in ent, except four, namely, ont, sont, vont, and font, is formed the present of the subjunctive mood, by cutting off nt, and prefixing the persons with que ; as, que je punisse from punissenZ. It also requires i before ons, and ez, the first and second persons plural. 3d. The imperative mood is formed from the second person singular, the first and second persons plural of the present of the indicative, by suppressing the pre- ceding persons, and from the third persons singular and plural of the present of the subjunctive. The second person singular loses s final in verbs of the first conjugation, unless that person should be followed by one of these two preconjunctive pronouns y and en, when s is retained ; as, parle, speak thou; parles-en, speak of it ; v&, go; vas-y, go there. 4th. From the past participle, by adding s final to the terminating vowel, the first conjugation excepted, which changes e into ai, is formed the perfect of the indicative, and from the second person singular of that tense, by adding se to it, is formed the perfect of the subjunctive, by prefixing que; as, parlas, que je parlasse. 5th. The future and conditional tenses are formed from the present of the infini- tive, the future by adding the terminations of the present of the indicative of avoir, and the conditional by those of the imperfect tense, both terminations being pur- posely marked in italics. Nine verbs only are excepted from this general rule : — namely, avoir, to have. faire, to do or make. s avoir, to know. etre, to be. falloir, to be requisite, &c. valoir, to be worth. aller, to go. pouvoir, to be able. vouloir, to be willing. CONJUGATION of the irregular-active, and auxilliary verb avoir, to have ; with its affirmative and interrogative inflections. INFINITIVE MOOD AFFIRMATIVE. Present, avoir, to have. Present participle, ayant, having. Past participle, eu, -e, had. Affirmative Inflection. indicative mood. imperative mood. subjunctive mood. Present Tense, • Present Tense. [have. sing, 'fai, I have. sing. No first person. sing, que j'aie, that 1 may can tu as, thou hast. aie, liave (thou). que tu aies, thou mayest- il, elle a, he, she has. qu'il,elle,ait, let him/her have. qu'il, elle ait, he, she - • plur. nous avows, we have. plur. ayons, let us have. plur, que nous ayons, we may - vous avez, you have. ayez, have (you). que vous ayez, you may - ils, elles ont, tlvey have. qu , i\s,e\\esaiQnt,letthemhave. qu'ils, elles aient, they-" GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 29 PART SECOND. OF VERBS. By the present disposition of the moods and tenses entirely original, not for the sake of innovation but of greater simplicity, the author trusts that he has rendered their attainment more easy and speedy, it being of no consequence in what manner they are arranged, (being already out of their natural order,) provided their powers be well understood, and their use readily applied : long practice has proved, without fear of contradiction, that the present order derived from primitive roots, has most successfully fulfilled the object in view, both on account of its sim- plicity and natural divisions. The formations of the subjunctive and imperative moods from the present of the indicative, the two perfect tenses from the past-participle, the future and condi- tional from the present of the infinitive, must evidently prove that whoever knows the rules of their formation, also the infinitive and the present tense, must know every part of any verb. OF INTERROGATION. Verbs are followed (as in English) by the persons, and adopt nearly the same rules, if we except the English compound manner of interrogation, which in French is simply performed by transposing the person after the verb : as, je punis, I pun- ish ; punis-je ? do I punish ? Therefore, the following modes of interrogation must be carefully avoided, as by their habitual idiom, French students are apt to fall into an error by using corre- sponding French auxiliaries, &c. ; for example, I love, do love, lam loving, can only be expressed bj j'aime, and its absolute and energetic interrogative, do I love, am I loving? by aime-je ? and not according to the English phraseology, fais-je aimer, or suis-je aimant, which would be, and is totally foreign to the French lan- guage. Yet aime-je is a simple interrogation ; there is another manner, which is expressed by est-ce que for affirmations, and n'est-ce pas que for negations, employed to mark energy, surprise, admiration, doubt, &c. ; this latter generally implies the meaning of ivhat, as it were prefixed to the English person of a verb ; as, I speak? est-ce que je parle ? equivalent to, what! do I speak ? n'est-ce pas que je parle ? w hat ! do not I speak ? Besides this idiomatical turn used with every verb and person, est-ce que, n'est-ce pas que, must absolutely be used before the first interrogative person of the present of the indicative of every verb, particularly of those of one syllable ending with two or more consonants ; as, je vends, I sell, est-ce que je vends ? do I sell? je ne dors pas, I do not sleep ; n'est-ce pas que je dors ? do not I sleep ? words of two syllables, &c, are sometimes used according to the general rule, but it is better to avoid that manner of speaking. CONJUGATION of the irregular-active, and auxiliary verb, avoir, to have ; with its negative, and negative-interrogative inflections. infinitive mood negative. Present, ne pas avoir, not to have. Present participle, n'ayant pas, not having. Past participle ne-pas eu, -e, not had. Negative Inflection, indicative mood. imperative mood. subjunctive mood. Present Tense. Present Tense, [not have. s*r,g. je n'ai pas, / have not. sing. No first person. sing, que je na'ie pas, that I may tu n'as pas. n'aie pas, have not (thou). que tu n'aies pas. il, elle^n'a pas. qu''i\,eUen'a.itj>SisJet him, her. qu'il, elle n'ait pas. pluT. nous n'avcws pas. plur. n'ayons pasjet us not have. plur. que nous n'ayons pas. yous n'aver pas. n'ayez pas, tare not {you). que vous n'ayez pas. ils, elles n'oni pas. quHls, elles n'aient pas, let them. qu'ils, elles n'aient pas. 30 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. Imperfect Tense, sing, j'a vais, Iliad. tu avais, thou hadst. il, elle &\ait, lie, she had. plur. nous avions, we had. vous aviez, you had. ils, elles axaient, they had. Perfect Tense, sing, yens, I had. tu eus, thou hadst. il, elle eut, he, she had. plur. nous eumes, we had. vous eutes, you had. ils, elles eurent, they liad. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. ai-je ? have II as-tu ? Aastf thou ? a-t-il, elle ? has he, she ? &c. &c. Imperfect Tense, sing, avais-je ? had I? avais-tu % hadst thou ? avait-il, elle ? had he, she ? &c. &G, Perfect Tense, sing, eus-je? had II eus-tu % hadst thou ? eut-il, elle ? had lie, she ? Future Tense, sing, j'aurai, I shall or willhave. tu auras, thou wilt have. il, elle aura, he, she will - plur. nous auroras, we shall have. vous aurez, y I it X it ) [• it icill be, .perfect, , .future,.. Interrogative, &c. est-ce? ) • est-il? j ls etait-ce? \ etait-il ? j fut-ce ? } fut-il ? | will it it? was it? was it? ( sera-ce? > \ sera-t-il ? > S sera ^ e v ? l should it be? { serait-il r ) GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 33 NEGATIVE-INTERROGATIVE INFLECTION. INDICATIVE MOOD. NO IMPERATIVE MOOD. NO SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense, sing, ne suis-je pas I am not I? n'es-tu pas I art not thuu? n'est-il, elle pas ? 1 n est-il pas ? j ce n'e'tait pas, ) .. , c ( n'etait-ce pas ? ) •„ „. 9 ., ,, .. l ' y it was not, imperf., < ,^ •. -i o y was it not? il n etait pas, > ' (. n etait-il pas ? j ce ne fut pas, > .. . r , C ne fut-ce pas? ) . , M -. ,.„ il ne fut pas, \ " was "<"' P erfect > { ne fut-il pas? } was " not? n^se^' } »•»""* "*™ {SSStff }-"—»" =S * °"° M " *- «»*< { n°e Z2S& } <»° M * ** ^ 34 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. Affirmative, &c. quVsritT'} tkat * mmj b6 > pVeSent ' SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Negative, &c. } ( que ce, ne soit pas, \ that it may \ qu'il ne soit pas, not COMPOUND TENSES. Affirmative, &c. ,-i „ X4.x r it h as been, ll a ete, ) ' &c. present,. &c Interrogative, &c. has it been ? ( a-ce-e'te ? ) \ a-t-il ete? j &c. THE FIRST REGULAR CONJUGATION ENDS IN ER. INFINITIVE MOOD AFFIRMATIVE. Present, parkr, to speak. Present participle, parlcmZ, speaking. Past participle, parle, -e, spoken.... {e changed into m'for the perfect tense.) AFFIRMATIVE INFLECTION. IMPERATIVE MOOD. sing. No first person. parle, speak thou. qu'il, elle-parle. plur. parlons. parlez. qu'ils, elles parlent. Future Tense. sing, je parlera?, / shall speak. tu parleras. il, elle partem. plur. nous parlerorcs. vous parleres. ils, elles parlerow^. Compound Tenses, pres. j'ai parle', -e,Ihave spoken, imp. j'avais parle, -e, I had, &c. per/. j'eusparle',-e,2 had spoken. Jut. j'aurai ipa,r\e,-e, I shall,&c. con. j 'aurais parle -e, I should. jo» , s.p?/.quej'aiej , eusseparle,-e. INTERROGATIVE INFLECTION. NO IMPERATIVE MOOD. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense, sing, je parle, I speak, do speak, tu paries, [am speaking. il, elle parle. plur. nous parlors. vous paries. ils, elles parley. Imperfect Tense. [ing, &c. sing, je partem, / was speak- tu partem. il, elle pariah. plur. nous park'ows. vous parleez. ils, elles \>ax\aient. Perfect Tense, sing, je parlai, I spoke. tu parlas, th< il, elle parla, he, she spoke, plur. nous parlances, ice spolce. vous parlafes, you spoke. ils, elles parlera^/ie^&c. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense, [speaking? sing, parle-je ? do Ispeak? ami parles-tu % dost thou speak? parle-t-il, elle % does he,&c. &c. &c. Imperfect Tense. sing, parlaz's-je? was I speaking ? parlou's-tu ? wast thou, &c. parWMl, elle ? icashe, &e. &c. &c. Perfect Tense, sing, parlcw-je % did I speak? parlas-tu ? dMst thou speak ? parla-t-il, elle \ did he, &c. &c. &c. THE SECOND REGULAR CONJUGATION ENDS IN 1R. INFINITIVE MOOD AFFIRMATIVE. Present, _ pumr, to punish. ( Verbs in ir, that have not the syllabic Present participle, punissant, punishing. < augment iss, between the radical letter of Past participle, puni, -e. punished. ( the present participle and ant, are irreeular. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense, sing, que je parle, that I may que tu paries. [speak. qu'il, elle parle. plur. que nous parh'ons. que vous parliez. qu'ils, elles parlent. Conditional Tense, sing, jeparleraz's, I sliould speak. tu parlerasis. il, elle parlera#. plur. nous parlerebras. vous parlenez. ils, elles parlera^/tf. Perfect Tense. [speak, sing, queje p&r\a,$se,thatlmight que tu parlasses,^ow, &c. qu'il, elle parlat,&e she,&c. plur. que nous parlassions,tt?e, that it might he qU ll flit, ) ^ SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Negative, &c. < que ce ne fat pas,) ^ .j miM & I qu ll ne fufr pas, j ^ ...perfect, COMPOUND TENSES. Negative, &c. ias ete il n'a pas ete, cen'apasete, \ ithaamthun ^ ete, j &c. .present &c (n'a-ce pas ete? ' "" ( n'a-t il pas ete ? Negative-Interrogative, &c y has it not been? &c. THE FIRST REGULAR CONJUGATION ENDS IN ER. INFINITIVE MOOD NEGATIVE. Present, Present participle, Past participle, ne pas parler, ne parlant pas, ne pas parle, -e, INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense, sing, je ne parle pas, / do not tu ne paries pas. [speak. il, elle ne parle pas. plur. nous ne parlons pas. vous ne parlez pas. ils, elles ne parlent pas. Impei feet Tense, [speaking, sing, je ne parlaw pas, I was not tu ne parla/s pas. il, elle ne pariah pas. plur. nous ne parh'ows pas. vous ne parkas pas. ils, elles ne pa.r\aient pas. Perfect Tense. [speak. sing, je ne parlai pas, I did not tu ne parlas pas. il, elle ne parla pas. plur. nous ne parlames pas. vous ne parlates pas. ils, elles ne parlerent pas. NEGATIVE INFLECTION. IMPERATIVE MOOD. sing. No first person. • ne parle pas, s/)e« A- 7io^ow. qu'il, elle ne parle pas. plur. ne parlons pas. ne parlez pas. qu'ils, elles ne parlent pas. Future Tense, [not speak. sing, je ne parlerae pas, / shall tu ne parleras pas. il, elle ne parlera pas. plur. nous ne parlerows pas. vous ne parlerez pas. ils, elles ne parleroratf pas. Compound Tenses, [not spoken, pres. je n'ai pas parle, / liave imp. je n'avais pas parle. perf. je n'eus pas parle. fut. je n'aurai pas parle\ con. je n'aurais pas parle. swi/.quejen'aiejn'eussepasparle, not to speaJc. not speaking. not spoken. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense, [may not speak, sing, que je ne parle pas, that I que tu ne paries pas. qu'il, elle ne parle pas. plur. que nous ne parh'ons pas. que vous ne park'ez pas. qu'ils, elles ne parlent pas. Conditional Tense, [not speak, sing, je ne parlercm pas, I should tu ne parleraz's pas. il, elle ne parleraeY pas. plur. nous ne parlenbrcs pas. vous ne parlen'ez pas. ils, elles ne parleraient pas. Per. Tense. [I might not speak, sing, que je ne parlasse pas, that que tu ne parlasses pas. qu'il, elle ne parlat pas. plur. que nous neparlassions pas que vous ne parlassiez pas. qu'ils, elles ne parlassent pas. NEGATIVE AND INTERROGATIVE INFLECTION. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. [speak, sing, ne parle-je pas I do not I ne parles-tu pas \ ne parle-t-il, elle pas ? \\nltes,you punished. ils, elles punirent, they - INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. [1 punishing ? sing, punis-je 1 do I punish, am punis-tu? dost thou punish! punit-il, elle % does he - - &C. &G. Perfect Tense. [ing? sing, punissais-je ? was Ipunish- punissais-tu ? wast thou - punissait-il, elle ? ivas - - &c. &c. Perfect Tense, sing, punis-je? did I punish ? punis-tu ? didst thou punish? punit-il, elle ? did he, she - - &c. &c. AFFIRMATIVE INFLECTION IMPERATIVE MOOD. sing. No first person, punis, punish thou. qu'il,elle punisse, let him,- plur. punissons, let us punish. punissez, punish {you). qu'ils, elles punissent, let - Future Tense. [punish, sing.je punira?', 1 shall, will tu puniras, thou wilt il, elle punira, he, she, - - plur. nous punirons, we shall - - vous punirez, you will - - ils, elles puniront, they - - Compound Tenses, [ished. pres. j'ai puni, -e, i" have pun- imp, j'avais puni, -e, 1 had - perf. j'eus puni, -e, I had - fut . j 'aurai puni, -e, 1 shall - con. j'aurais puni, -e, I should - su/jj. quej'aie, j 'eusse puni,-e, INTERROGATIVE INFLECTION. NO IMPERATIVE MOOD. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense, [punish. sing, que je punisse, that I may que tu punisses, thou - - qu'il, elle punisse, he, she - plur. que nous punissions, we - - que vous punissiez, you - - qu'ils, elles punissent, they Conditional Tense. [punish. sing, je puniraw, / should, &c. tu punirais, thou shouldst - il, elle punirait, he, she, - - plur. nous punirions, we should - vous puniriez, you should - ils, elles puniraient, they - Perfect Tense. [punish. sing, que je punisse, that 1 might que tu punisses, thou - - qu'il, elle punit, he, she - - plur. que nous punissions, ice - - que vous punissiez, you - - qu'ils, elles punissent, they NO SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. ( Est-ce que must be used before the persons of any tense < or verb, with the affirmative inflection of the verb, to express (surprise, admiration, doubt, &c. Future Tense, sing, punirai-je? shall I punish? puniras-tu % wilt thou punira-t-il, elle \ will lie, - &c. &c. Compound Tenses, pres. ai-je puni, -e? have I punished? imp. avais-je puni, -e? had 1 punished? perf. eus-je puni, -e? had I punished? &c. &c. Conditional Tense, [ish? sing, punirais-je ? should I puu- punirais-tu ? shouldst thou - punirait-il, elle ? should - - &c. Ac. No Perfect Suhj. THE THIRD REGULAR CONJUGATION ENDS IN EVOIR. INFINITIVE MOOD AFFIRMATIVE. Present, devoir, to owe, J' This conjugation requires the suppression of the Present participle, devant, owing. < diphthong oi of the infinitive, in the formation Past participle, du, -e, owed. ( of the future and conditional tenses. u masculine is accented for the sake of distinction. INDICATIVE MOOD, Present Tense, sing, je den's, I owe or must, tu dois, thou oviest, must. il, elle doit, he, she owes, must, plur. nous devons, we owe, must, vous devez, you owe, must. il, elles doi\ent^ they owe, must. Imperfect Tense, sing, je devais, I ivas owing, &c. tu devais, thou wast owing. il, elle devait, he, she was owing, plur. nous devions,ive were owing. vous deviez, you ivere owing. ils, elles deva ient, theyivere owing. AFFIRMATIVE INFLECTION. IMPERATIVE MOOD. sing. No first person. dois, owe {thou). qu'il, elle doive, lethim, her owe. plur. devons, let us owe. devez, owe {you). qu'ils, elles doivent, let themowe. Fidure Tense. sing, je devvai, I shall, will owe. tu devras, thou wilt owe. il, elle devra, he, she will owe. plur. nous devrons, we shall owe. vous devrez, you ivill owe. ils, elles devront, they willowe. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. sing, que je doiv e, that 1 may oive. que tu doives, thou mayest owe. qu'il, elle doive, he, she may owe. plur. que nous devz'ons, we may - que vous deviez, you may - qu'ils, elles doivent, they may - Conditional Tense. [ought. sing, je devrcm, / should owe, - tu devrais, thou shouldst - il, elle devvait, he, she should - plur. nous devrions, we should - vous devriez, you should - ils, elles devraient, they should - GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 37 INDICATIVE MOOD. Pres. Tense, [am not punishing. s. je ne punis pas,/c/o not punish, tu ne punis pas. il, elle ne punit pas. plur. nous ne punissons pas. bobs ne punissez pas. ils, elles ne punisse/tf pas. Imperfect Tense, [punishing, sing.jene pxmissais'pa.s,Iwa$not tu ne punissais pas. il, elle ne punissatZ pas. plur. nous ne punisszbtfs pas. rous ne puniss&z pas. ils, elles ne punissaz'e/^ pas. Perfect Tense. je ne punis pas, I did not tu ne punis pas [punish. il, elle ne punit pas, plur. nous ne punimes pas. vous ne punites pas. ils, eiles ne punirent pas. NEGATIVE INFLECTION. IMPERATIVE MOOD. sing. No first person. ne punis pas, punish not thou. qu'il, elle ne punisse pas. plur. ne punissons pas. ne punissez pas. qu'ils, elles na punissent pas. Future Tense, [icill not punish, sing.je ne punirczi pas, I shall, tu ne puniras pas. il, elle ne punira pas. plur. nous ne punirews pas. vous ne puni;-/.nous — nous etre blesses, -e, we — have - - vous — vous etre blesses, -e, you — have - - ils, elles s'etre blesses, -e, Interrogative, verb. — je m'etre blesse, -e ? — tu t'etre blesse, -e ? — il, elle s'etre blesse, -e ? '. — nous etre blesses, -e ? — vous etre blesses, -e ? — ils, elles s'etre blesses, -e ? — have Infinitive Mood Negative. verb. [have hurt myself? sing, je ne — pas m'etre blesse, -e, / — not tu ne — pas t'etre blesse, -e, thou — not il, elle ne — pas s'etre blesse, -e, he, she — not pi. nousne — pas nous etre blesses,-e, we — not vous ne — pas vous etreblesses,-e, you — not ils, elles ne — pas s'etre blesses, -e, they — not Negative and Interrogative. verb. [have hurt myself? — we you erb. [myself? — / have hurt ne — je pas m'etre blesse, -e, ■ — I not — tlwu have - ne — tu pas t'etre blesse, -e, — thou ■ — he, she - ■ — we have - — you have ■ — they have - ne — ils, elles pas s'etre blesses, -e, — tliey Examples. je puis m'etre blesse, -e, 1 may have hurt myself, je ne puis pas m'etre blesse, -e, I cannot have puis-je m'etre blesse', -e \ can I have hurt myself? ne puis-je pas m'etre blesse, -e % may not I - The present participle follows the same rule : — NO IMPERATIVE MOOD ne — je pas m'etre blesse, -e, ne — tu pas t'etre blesse, -e, ne — il, elle pas s'etre blesse, -e, ne — nous pas nous etre blesses, -e, ne — vous pas vous etre blesses, -e, ne — ils, elles pas s'etre blesses, -e, INDICATIVE MOOD AFFIRM. Present Tense, [hurt myself, sing, je me suis blesse, -e, / have tu t'es blesse, -e. il, elle s'est blesse, -e. plur. nous nous sommes blesses, -e. vous vous etes blesses, -e. ils, elles se sont blesses, -e. The other tenses follow the same order. interrogative inflection has neither imperative nor subjunctive mood. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD AFFIRM. Pre. T. [I may have hurt myself, sing, que je me sois blesse,-e, that que tu te soi3 blesse, -e. qu'il, elle se soit blesse, -e. plur. quenousnoussoyonsblesses,-e. que vous vous soyez blesses, -e. qu'ils se soient blesse's. -e. INDICATIVE MOOD INTERROGATIVE. Present Tense. ne suis-je blesse, -e? have I hurt myself? s'es-tu blesse, -e ? Jiast thou hurt thyself? s'e?t-il, elle blesse, -e ? has he, she, hurt himself? nous sommes-nous blesses, -e ? have ice hurt - vous etes-vous blesses ? have you hurt yourselves? se sont-ils, elles blesses, -e? have they hurt - SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD NEGATIVE. Present Tense. [hurt myself. que je ne me sois pas blesse', -e, that I may not have que tu ne te sois pas blesse, -e, thou mayest not - qu'il, elle ne se soit pas blesse, -e, he, she may - que nous ne nous soyons pas blesses, -e, ice - - que vous ne vous soyez pas blesses, -e, you - - qu'ils, elles ne se soient pas blesses, -e, they - - The other tenses are conjugated after the same manner. 42 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. The following preconjunctive pronouns are used after the same manner : Neg. and Interrogative. ne m'en je pas ? ne m'y en je pas ? ne me l'y je pas? ne m'y en je pas? Affirmative. Interrogat ive. Negative. je m'en, m'en ..jell je ne m'en, je m'y, m'y ■je? je ne m'y, je me l'y, me l'y -je? je ne me l'y, je m'y en, m'y en .... -je? Ex je ne m'y en, MIPLES. je m'en passe, I do without it. je m'y accoutume, i" use myself to it. je me l'y procure, I procure it for me there. je m'y en amuse, I amuse myself with it there. Interrogative. m'en passe-je ? do I do ivithout it ? m'y aecoutume-je ? do I use myself to it? me l'y procure-je? do I procure it for me there ? m'y en amuse-je ? do 1 amuse myself with it there ? Negative. je ne m'en souviens pas, / do not remember it. je ne m'y accoutume pas, I do not use myself to it. je ne me l'y procure pas, I do not procure it for - je ne m'y en amuse pas, I do not amuse myself- - Negative and Interrogative. ne m'en passe'-je pas? do not I do ivithout it? ne m'y accoutume-je pas ? do not I use myself to it ? ne me l'y procure-je pas ? do not I procure it/or - ne m'y en amuse-je pas? do not I amuse myself - THE FIRST IRREGULAR CONJUGATION ENDS IN ER. Present, Present participle, Past participle, INDICATIVE MOOD, Present Tense, [going away. sing, je m'en vais or vas, I go, am tu fen vas, thou art going. il, elle s'en va, he, she is - plur. nous nous en allows, we are - vous vous en allez, you are - ils, elles s'en vont, (irr.) - Imperfect Tense. [away. sing, je m'en allais, I ivas going tu fen allais, thou wast - - il, elle s'en aWait, he, she - plur. nous nous en aWions, we - - vous vous en aWiez, you - - ils, elles s'en aWaient, they Perfect Tense. sing, je m'en allai, I went. tu fen alias, thou wentest. il, elle s'en, alia, he, she - - plur.nous nous en allames, we - vous vous en allates, you - ils, elles s'en allerent, they - INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. [I going away? sing, m'en vais-je ? or vas-je ? am fen vas-tu ? art thou - - s'en va-t-il, elle ? is he, - - &c. &c. Imperfect Tense. [away ? sing, m'en allcm-je ? was I going fen allcra-tu ? wast thou - s'en a\\ait-i\, elle ? was he - &c. &c. Perfect Tense, [away? sing, m'en allai-je? did I go fen allas-tu ? didst thou go? s'en alla-t-il, elie ? did lie - INFINITIVE MOOD AFFIRMATIVE. s'en aller, to go away. ( This verb deviates from the general rule s'en allant, going away. < in the present of the indicative and sub- alle -e, gone away. (junctive, the imperative and future. AFFIRMATIVE INFLECTION. IMPERATIVE MOOD. sing. No first person. \a-fen, go thou away. qu'il, elle s'en aille, let - - plur. &l\ons-nous-en, let us go. ailez-vous-en, go (you) away. qu'ils, elles s'en ailleht, - - Future Tense, sing, je m'en irai, I shall, will go. tu fen iras, thou wilt -go. il, elle s'en ira, he, she - - plur. nous nous en irons, we - - vous vous en irez, you will - ils, elles s'en iront, they - - Compound Tenses, [gone away, pres. je m'en suis alle, -e, Ihave imp. je m'en etais alle, -e, I had. perf.je m'en fus all6, -e, I had. fut. je m'en serai alle, -e, I - - con. je m'en serais alle, -e, I - - sidy, que je m'en sois, fusse alle INTERROGATIVE INFLECTION. NO IMPERATIVE MOOD. NO SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. J Observation. — The simple verb aller, may be used readily by leaving out all the preconjunctive pronouns marked in italics. Aller, to go away, denotes indefinitely the going or future intention of going from one place to another, or of doing something. Example. — Je vais cbez moi tous les jours, lam going to my house every day. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. [go. sing, que je m'enaille,that I may que tu fen ailles, thou - - qu'il, elle s'en aille, he - - plur. que nous nous en alh'ons, que vous vous en alh'ez, - - qu'il, elles s'en aillent, - - Conditional Tense. [go. sing, je m'en irais, I should, &c, tu fen irais, thou shouldst - il, elle s'en irait, he, she - - plur. nous nous en irions, we - - vous vous en iriez, you - - ils, elles s'en iraient, they - Perfect Tense. sing, que je m'en allasse, that que tu fen allasses, thou - qu'il, elle s'en allat, he, - - plur. que nous nous en ailassions, que vous vous en allassiez, qu'ils, elles s'en allassent, tliey - Future Tense, sing, m'en irai-je? shall I go? fen iras-tu ? wilt thou go ? s'en ira-t-il, elle ? will he &c. &c. Compound Tenses, pres. m'en suis-je alle, -e? have I gone away? imp. m'en etais-je alle, -e ? had I gone away? perf. m'en fus-je alle, -e? had I gone away? &c. &c. Conditional Tense, [away? sing, m'en ira?s-je ? should I go fen irafs-tu ? shouldst thou - s'ettira#-il,eHe? shouldhe- &c. &c. No Perfect Subj. GRAMMAR OF TIIE FRENCH TONGUE. 43 Exception to the position and formation of these preconjunctive pronouns, which must be placed after the second person singular, the first and second persons plural of the imperative mood affirmative. Examples. accoutumes-y toi, use thyself to it. apportez les-y moi, bring them to me there. procure les-y toi, procure them for thyself there. ecrivez-y lui, write to him or to her there. Affirmative. Examples. Negative. je nren-suis passe', -e, I have done without it. je ne m'en suis pas passe, -e ? I have not done - je m'y suis accoutume', -e, I have used myself to it. je ne m'y suis pas accoutume, -e, / have not - - je me l'y suis procure, -e, / have procured it. je ne me l'y suis pas procure, -e, I have not - je m'y en suis amuse, -e, I have amused myself - Interrogative. m'en suis-je passe, -e? have I done without it? m'y suis-je accoutume, -e I have I used myself - me l'y suis-je procure, -e ? have I procured it - ■ ra'v en suis-je amuse, -e ? have I amused myself- THE FIRST IRREGULAR CONJUGATION ENDS IN ER. je ne m'y en suis pas amuse, -e, 1 have not - - Negative and Interrogative. ne m'en suis-je pas passe ? have not I done - - ne m'y suis-je pas accoutume, -e ? have not I used ne me l'y suis-je pas procure, -e ? have not I - ne m'y en suis-je pas amuse, -e 1 have not I - - Present, Present participle, Past participle, IMPERATIVE MOOD. INFINITIVE MOOD NEGATIVE. ne pas s'en aller, 7iot to go away. ( Every verb attended with two or ne s'en allant pas, not going away. < three preconjunctive pronouns, is ne — pas alle, -e, not gone away. (conjugated after the same manner. NEGATIVE INFLECTION. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Pres. Tense, [may not go away, s. que je ne me'n aille pas, that I que tu ne fen ailles pas. qu'il, elle ne s'en aille pas. p. que nous ne nous en allions - que vous ne rows en alliez pas. qu'ils, elles ne s'en ailient pas. Conditional Tense, [not go away, single ne m'en irais pas,/ should tu ne t'en irais pas. il, elle ne s'en irait pas. plur. nous ne nous en irions pas. vous ne vous en iriez pas. ils, elles ne s'en iraient pas. Perf Ten. [might not go axvay. : ? il *i,„i T INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense, [not going away. sing.je ne m'en vais,vaspas,/a//i sing. No first person. tu ne t'en vas pas. ne t'en va pas. il, elle ne s'en va pas. qu'il, ellene s'en aille pas. plur.nous ne nous en allows pas. plur, ne nous en allons pas. vous ne vous en allez pas. ne vous en allez pas. ils, elles ne s'en vont pas. qu'ils, elles ne s'en ailient pas. Imper. Tense, [not going away. Future Tense, [not go away, sing, je ne me'n allots pas, I was sing, je ne m'en irai pas, I shall tu ne fen allais pas. tu ne t'en iras pas. il, elle ne s'en ailait pas. il, elle ne s'en ira pas. plur. nous nenous en aWions pas. plur. nous ne nous en irons pas. vous ne vous en aWiez pas. ils, elles ne s'en aWawnt pas. Perfect Tense, [not go au-ay. Comp. Ten. [have not gone away vous ne vous en irez pas. ils, elles ne s'en iront pas. sing, je ne m'en allai pas, / did pres. jenem'ensuispas alle,-e,/ s.que je ne m'en aUasse pas Jhat I tu ne t'en alias pas. imp. je ne m'en etais pas alle,-e. que tu ne t'en allasses pas. il, elle ne s'en alia pas. perfje ne m'en fus pas alle, -e. qu'il, elle ne s'en allat pas. pi. nous ne hows e« allames pas. fut. je ne m'en serai pas alle,-e. pl.que nous newowsewallassions vous ne vous en allatespas. cowa*.jenem'enseraispasalle,-e. que vous ne vous en allassiez - ils, elles ne s'en allerent pas. s. que je ne m'en sois, fusse - - qu'ils, elles ne s'en allassent - NEGATIVE-INTERROGATIVE INFLECTION. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. [I going away? sing, ne m'en vais je pas ? am not ne t'en vas-tu pas ? ne s'en va-t-il, elle pas? for interrogations, — the rest according to rule, n'est-cepasquej acquiers. J & ' s 2. Bouillir, to boil. hoxaWant, boiling. bouilli, -e, boiled. INDICATIVE. IMPERATIVE. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, je bous. sing. sing, que je bouille. tu bous. bous. que tu bouilles. il, elle bout. qu'il bouille. qu'il bouille. plur. nous bouillons. plur. bouillons. plur. que nous bouillons. vous bouillez. bouillez. que vous boullies. . ils, elles bouillent qu'ils bouillent. qu'ils bouillent. GRAMMAR OF TIES FRENCH TONGUE. 45 Imperfect Future. Conditional. je bouiUots. je bouillirai. je bouillircws. Perfect. Compound Tenses. Perfect. je bouillis. j'ai bouilli, -e. que je bouillisse. The other inflections according to rule. 3. Cueillir, to gather. cueillant, gathering INDICATIVE. sing, je cueille. tu cueilles. il, elle cueille. nous cueillorcs. vous cueille z. ils, elles cueillent Imperfect. je cueillafs. Perfect. je cueillis. P 1 sing. pit IMPERATIVE. sing. cueille. . qu'il cueille. plur. cueillons. cueillez. qu'ils cueillent. Future. je cueillercu. Compound Tenses. j'ai cueilli, -e. The other inflections according to the formation of verbs, &c. Derivatives. accueillir, to welcome, little used. recueillir, to collect together cueilli, -e, gathered. SUBJUNCTIVE. que je cueille. que tu cueilles. qu'il cueille. que nous cueilh'ons. que vous cueilliez. qu'ils cueillent. Conditional. je cueillerais. Perfect que je cueillisse. faire accueil, to welcome. sing. plur, courant, running INDICATIVE. sing, je cours. tu cours. il, elle court. plur. nous courons. vous courez. ils, elles courenf. Imperfect. je courais. Perfect. je courus. est-ce que je cours n'est-ce pas que je cours se recueillir, to meditate. 4. Gourir, to run. couru, -e, run. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je coure. que tu coures. qu'il, elle coure. plur. que nous courions. que vous couriez. qu'ils courent. Conditional. je courrais. Perfect. que je courusse. IMPERATIVE. No first person, cours. qu'il, elle coure. courons. courez. qu'ils courent. Future. je courrai. Compound Tenses. j'ai couru, -e. for interrogations, — the rest according to rule. Derivatives. accourir, to run to. parcourir, to run over, encourir, to incur, secourir, to succour. concourir, to concur, recourir, to recur. accourirforms its compound tenses with discourir, to discourse. etre. 5. Faillir, to fail, is a defective verb, seldom used except in its perfect and compound tenses ; defaillir, to faint away, is used only in the infinitive ; manquer supplies faillir, and tomber en defaillance is used in the place of defaillir or s'evanouir. 6. Ferir, to strike, is used only in this phrase, sans coup ferir, without striking a blow; frapper, to strike, supplies the rest. 7. Fleurir, to flourish, is a regular verb, but in speaking of the arts, sciences, and of empires, &c, floris- sait, florissaient, florissant, -e, are used instead of fleurissait, &c. ; for example, — le royaume florissait, the kingdom was flourishing. les lettres florissaient, letters tcere flourishing. un regne florissant, a prosperous reign. une sante florissante, a perfect health. 46 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. fnjant. INDICATIVE. sing, je fuis. tu fuis. il, elle fuit. plur. nous fuyons. vous fuyez. ils, elles fuient Imperfect. je fajais. Perfect. je fuis. 8. Fuir, to run away, shun, avoid. fui, -e. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. fuis. qu'il, elle fuie. plur. fuyons. fuyez. qu'ils, elles fuient. Future. je fuirm. Compound Tenses. j'ai fui. hai'ssant, hating, INDICATIVE. sing, je hais. tu hais. il, elle hait. plur. nous haissons. vous ha'issez. ils, elles hai'ssenf. Imperfect. je hai'ssais. 9. Hair, to hate. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. hais. qu'il, elle haisse. plur. haissons. ha'issez. qu'ils, elles hai'ssent. Future. je hai'rai. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je fuie. que tu fuies. qu'il, elle fuie. plur. que nous fuy^ons. que vous fuy^ez. qu'ils, elles fuient. Conditional. je fuirai's. Perfect. ' que je fuisse. ha'i, hated. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je haisse. que tu haisses. qu'il, elle haisse. plur. que nous haissz'ons. que vous hai'ss^ez. qu'ils, elles hai'ssent. Conditional. je hai'rais. The perfect and compound tenses are seldom used. 10. Gesir or gir, to lie, a neuter and defective verb, used only in the third persons singular and plural ; as, il, git, he lies or rests. le tout git en cela, the whole point lies in that. ils gisent, tlwy lie or rest. il gisait, he was lying, or lay. ci, or cy git, here lies. il gisait malade, he was lying sick in bed. 11. Mourir, to die. mort, -e, dead, perfect mourus. SUBJUNCTIVE. mourant, dying. INDICATIVE. sing, je meurs. tu meurs. il, elle meurt. plur. nous mourons. vous raonrez. ils, elles meurenf. Imperfect. je mourcws. Perfect. je mourus. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. meurs. qu'il, elle meure. plur. mourons. mourez. qu'ils, elles meurent. Future. je mourrea". Compound Tenses. je suis mort, -e. When this verb expresses the passion or suffering of the agent, it is used reflec- tively. It is also used figuratively, to express great desire, fear, and physical proper- ties ; as, je meurs d'envie, I am very desirous, je meurs de froid, I am dying with cold. sing, que je meure. que tu meures. qu'il, elle meure. plur. que nous moun'ons. que vous mouriez. qu'ils, elles meurent. Conditional. je mourrais. Perfect. que je mourusse. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 47 12. Ouir, to hear, is used only in the compound tenses with dire ; as, j'ai oui" dire, I have heard. This verb is supplied in its simple tenses by entendre or apprendre ; as, j'apprens que vous allez a Londres, I hear that you are going to London. 13. Ouvrir, to open. ouvrant, opening. ouvert, -e, open, perfect ouvris. INDICATIVE. sing, j 'ouvre. tu ouvres. il, elle ouvre. plur. nous ouvrons. vous ouvrez. ils, elles ouvrent. Imperfect. j'ouvra/s. Perfect. j'ouvris. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person, ouvre. qu'il, elle ouvre. plur. ouvrons. ouvrez. qu'ils, elles ouvrent. Future. j 'ouvrirai. Compound Tenses. j'ai ouvert, -e. The following verbs are conjugated like ouvrir : — couvrir, to cover. entrouvrir, to open a little. decouvrir, to discover. recouvrir, to cover again. m^soffrir, to underbid. r'ouvrir, to open again. 14. Revetir, to invest with. revetant, investing. revetu, -e, invested [with, perf. revetis. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que j'ouvre. que tu ouvres. qu'il, elle ouvre. plur. que nous ouvrions. que vous ouvn'ez. qu'ils, elles ouvrent. Conditional. j'ouvrirais. Perfect. que j'ouvrisse. offrir, to offer, souffrir, to suffer. INDICATIVE. sing, revets. tu revets il, elle revet. plur. nous reve'tons. vous revfitez. ils, elles revetent. Imperfect. je revetais. Perfect. je revetis. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. revets. qu'il, elle revete. plur. revetons. revetez. qu'ils, elles revetent. Future, je revetirai Compound Tense, j'ai revetu, -e. The primitive verb vetir, to clothe, is used only in the infinitive and past parti- ciple vetu, -e, clothed; habiller, to dress, supplies all the other tenses. Se revetir, to put on, is conjugated the same. InvGstir to i/ivDP^t ) Travestir, to disguise, \ are of the second regal" conjugation. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je revete. que tu revetes. qu'il, elle revete. plur. que nous revefa'ons. ' que vous reveta'ez. qu'ils, elles revetent. Conditional. je revetircw's. (. Perfect. que je revetisse. sing. 15. Sentir sentant, feeling. INDICATIVE. sing, je sens. tu sens, il, elle sent. plur. nous sen tons. vous sente.?. ils, elles sentent. Imperfect. je aentais. to feel, smell, &c. IMPERATIVE. No first person, sens. qu'il, elle sente. plur. sentons. sentez. qu'ils, elles sentent. Future. je sentiroi. D senti, -e, felt, &c. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je sente. que tu sentes. qu'il, elle sente. plur. que nous sentoons. que vous sentiez. qu'ils, elles sentent. Conditional. je sentirais. 48 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. Compound Tenses. j'ai senti, -e. for interrogations,- Perfect. que je sentisse. -the rest according to rule. Perfect. je sentis. est-ce que je sens ? n'est-ce pas que je sens ? $ Verbs in tir, vir, and mir, lose their radical letter in the three persons singular of the present indicative. The following verbs are conjugated the same : — consentir, to consent. mentir, to tell a lie. dementir, to give the lie. se repentir de, to repent pressentir ressentir, dormir, redormir, endormir, ressortir, r assortir, repartir, asservir, to foresee. to resent. to sleep. to sleep again. to lull to sleep. to be under the jurisdiction of, to match, sort, &c. to divide, &c. to enslave, &c. CC s'endormir, to fall asleep. se rendormir, to fall asleep again SI partir, to set out. repartir, to set out again. if «3 sortir-de, to go out. ressortir de, to go out again. se servir de, to make use of. servir, to serve. desservir, to clear the table. are regular, and conjugated like punir. 16. Tressaillir, to start. tressaillemf, starting. tressailli, -e, started. INDICATIVE. sing, je tressaille. tu tressailles. il, elle tressaille. plur. nous tressaillows. vous tressaillez. ils, elles tressailles^. Imperfect. je tressaillais. Perfect. je tressaillis. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. sing. •tressaille. qu'il, elle tressaille. plur. tressaillons. plur. tressaillez. qu'ils, elles tressaillent. Future. je tressaillirm. Compound Tenses. j'ai tressailli, -e. SUBJUNCTIVE. que je tressaille. que tu tressailles. qu'il, elle tressaille que nous tressailk'ons. que vous tressailhez. qu'ils, elles tressaillent. Conditional. je tressaillirais. Perfect. que je tressaillisse. The following verbs are conjugated like tressaillir : — saillir, to jut out, project. assaillir, to assail. Assaillir is seldom used but in the perfect, in the infinitive, and past participle. Saillir, to gush out, rush, is regular. 17. Venir, to come. Tenant, coming. INDICATIVE. sing, je viens. tu viens. il, elle vient. plur. nous venons. vous venez. ils, elles vienneni. Imperfect. je venais. IMPERATIVE. No first person, viens. qu'il, elle vienne. plur. venons. venez. qu'ils, elles viennent. Future. je viendrai. sing. , come. SUBJUNCTIVE. que je vienne. que tu vienne s. qu'il, elle vienne. que nous vemons. que vous vem'ez. qu'ils, elles viennent. Conditional. je viendrai s. GRAMMAR OP THE FRENCH TONGUE. 49 Perfect. sing, je vins. tu vins. il, elle vint. plur. nous vinraes. vous vintes. ils, elles vinrent. Compound Tenses. pres. je suis venu, -e. imp. j'etais venu, -e. perf. je fus venu, -e. fut. je serai venu, -e. cond. je serais venu, -e. subj. que je sois, fusse venu. Perfect, sing, que je vinsse. que tu vinsse s. qu'il, elle vint. plur. que nous vinss/ons. que vous vinsszez. qu'ils, elles vinssent. 3 s The following verbs are conjugated the same : — revenir, to come back. devenir, to become. disconvenir. to deny. convenir, to agree. parvenir, to attain. provenir, to come from. § survenir, to come unexpectedly. g se souvenir, to remember. |* j se ressouvenir, to recollect. avenir, to happen. contrevenir, to oppose. intervenir, to intervene. J> subvenir, prevenir, tenir, s'abstenir, appartenir, contenir, detenir, entretenir, maintenir, obtenir, retenir, soutenir, to relieve, to anticipate to liold. to abstain, to belong, to contain, to detain. to keep up. to maintain, to obtain, to retain, to support. irregular verbs of the third conjugation, asseoir, to sit down. falloir, to be requisite. savoir, to Jcnoiv. vouloir, to be willing. seoir, to sit, fit, become, mouvoir, to move. voir, to see. choir, to fall. pouvoir, to be able. valoir, to be worth. 1. S'asseoir, to sit down. s'assoycmi, sitting. assis, INDICATIVE. sing, je m'assois. tu t'assois. il, elle s'assoit. plur. nous nous assoyons vous vous assoyez. ils, elles s'assoient Imperfect. je m'assoyais. Perfect. je m'assis. -e, sat down. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je m'assoie. que tu t'assoies. qu'il, elle s'assoie. plur. que nous nous assoye'ons que vous vous assoyz'ez. quils, elles s'assoient. Conditional. je m'assoirews. Perfect. que je m'assisse. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. assois-toi. qu'il, elle s'assoie. plur. assoyons-nous. assoyez-vous. qu'ils, elles s'assoient. Future. je m'assoircw. Compound Tenses. je me suis assis, -e. This verb is used simple and reflective. The regular conjugation of this verb has been adopted here as being more elegant, and attended with less difficulty, particularly when many writers consider- ably differ upon the propriety of the spelling and pronunciation of its future, &c. tenses, and of other irregularities. 2. Seoir, to sit. seant, sitting. sis, -e, seated, situated. This primitive verb, implying to sit, sitting, seated, or situated, is used only in the infinitive and participles, — for example : — le parlement va bientot seoir, parliament is going soon to sit. le roi etait alors seant, the king was then sitting. sa terre est sise en Ecosse, Ms, her, estate is situated in Scotland. Seoir, to become, ft, suit, cannot be used in the infinitive, participles, &c. This verb is used both personally and monopersonally. 50 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. The following tenses and persons, expressing manners, dr'ess, colour, persons, &c. are the only ones in use : — will become, it will become, will become, Jit. i sied, il sied, fits, it becomes, pres. | s ;£ en ^ jn 9 become, suit. ( seyait, il seyait, became, it became, imp- | seyaient, became, suited. fut. f siera, il siera, "I sieront, ( sierait, il sierait, would become, it would become. \ sieraient, would become, fit, &c. 3. Choir, to fall, and its derivatives dechoir and echoir, are chiefly used in the past participles, chu, -e, dechu, -e, echu, -e. Echoir, to befall, fall out, is still used in the third person singular of the present and future, echoit ; as, votre loyer echoit aujourd'hui, your rent becomes due to-day. echait ; — rien ne lui echait de cette succession, nothing comes to him of that succession. echerra ; — son terme echerra demain, his or her term will be out to-morrow. 4. Falloir, to be necessary, requisite, (vid. monopersonal verbs.) 5. Mouvoir, to move. moixvant, moving. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person, meus. qu'il, elle meuve. plur. mouvons. mouvez. qu'ils, elles meuvent. Future. je mouvrai. Compound Tenses. j'ai mu, -e. The following derivatives are little used, — demouvoir, to desist. promouvoir, emouvoir, to excite. s'emouvoir de, has the third person singular of the indicative and the past participle in use. 6. Pouvoir, to be able. INDICATIVE. sing, je meus. tu meus. il, elle, on meut. plur. nous mouvonz. vous mouvez. ils, elles meuvent. Imperfect. je mouvois. Perfect. je mus. sing. -e, moved. SUBJUNCTIVE. que je meuve. que tu meuves. qu'il, elle meuve. plur. que nous mouvzons. que vous mouviez. qu'ils, elles meuvent. Conditional. je mouvrafs. Perfect. que je musse. to promote, to be concerned, pouvanZ, being able. INDICATIVE. sing, je puis or peux. tu peux. il, elle, on peut. plur. nous pou vons. vous pouvez. ils, elles peuvent. Imperfect. je pouvais. Perfect. je pus, NO IMPERATIVE. Future. je pourrai. Compound Tenses. j'ai pu. Observation, might, could, resolvable into to be able, are expressed by the verb pu, been able. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je puisse. que tu puisses. qu'il, elle, on puisse. plur. que nous puissions. que vous puissiez. qu'ils, elles puissent. Conditional. je pourrais. Perfect. que je pusse. May, can pouvoir. May, can, in the sense of possibility, require the present or conditional of pouvoir. Might, could, denoting a past time, require the imperfect or perfect tenses, simple or compound, as, je pouvais, je pus ; j'ai pu, j'avais pu. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 51 May, expressing a wish, is rendered by the present of the subjunctive of pouvoir, used interrogatively, as, — grant that I may. plur. puissions-nous ? may ive be. una. puisse-je, puisses-tu ? mayest thou be. puisse-t-il, elle ? may he, she be. puissiez-vous ? may you be. puissent-ils, elles ? may they be. sachant, knowing. INDICATIVE. sing, je sais. tu sais. il, elle, on sait. plur. nous savons. vous savez. ils, elles savent. Imperfect. je savtu's. Perfect. ja sus. 7. S avoir, to know. 3, known. SUBJUNCTIVE. que je sache. sing. que tu saches. qu'il, elle, on sache. plur. que nous sachions. que vous sachiez. qu'ils, elles sachent. Conditional. je saura/s. Perfect. que je susse. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person, sache. qu'il, elle sache. plur. sachons. sachez. qu'ils, elles sachent. Future. je saurm. Compound Tenses. j'ai su, -e. Observation. Savoir, is used in speaking of arts and sciences, properly the object of intellectual senses. The conditional tense of savoir, is generally and elegantly used instead of pouvoir, with the conjunction ne, placed before it, as, — je ne saurais le voir, I cannot see him. ne sauriez vous venir ? could not you come ? This verb is idiomatically used with gre, as, savoir gre, to take it well ; savoir bon-gre, to take it kindly ; savoir mauvais gre, to take it unkindly ; also, with faire, as, faire savoir, to inform, let know. 8. "Voir, to see. vu, -e, seen, (w, changed into i, for the perfect. xojant, seeing INDICATIVE. sing, je vois. tu vois. il, elle, on voit. . nous vojons. vous xojez. ils, elles roient. Imperfect. je \ojais. Perfect. je vis. plur IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. vois. qu'il, elle, on voie. plur. voyons. voyez. qu'ils, elles voient. Future. je verrai. Compound Tenses. j'ai vu, -e. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je voie. que tu voies. qu'il, elle, on voie. plur. que nous voyions. que vous voyiez. qu'ils, elles voient. Conditional. je verrais. Perfect. que je visse. The following verbs are conjugated like voir. revoir, to see aaain. entrevoir, prevoir, pourvoir, to foresee, to provide. valanf, being worth. INDICATIVE. sing, je vaux. sing, tu vaux. il, elle, on vaut. to have a glimpse of. ( Fut., and Cond., prevoirai, prevoirais. < Fut., and Cond., pourvoirai, pourvoirais. ( Perfect, pourvus. Valoir, to be worth. valu, been worth. IMPERATIVE. No first person, vaux. qu'il, elle, on vaille. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je vaille. que tu vailles. qu'il, elle, on vaille. 52 GRAMMAR OP THE FRENCH TONGUE. plur. valons. valez. qu'ils, elles vaillent. Future. je vaudrai. Compound Tenses. j'ai valu. The following verbs are conjugated like valoir. equivaloir, to be equivalent. pr^valoir, to prevail. revaloir, to be equal in value. se prevaloir, to pride one^s self. valoir mieux, to be better, (vid. monopersonal verbs.) pfot/r, nous vsblons. vous valez. ils, elles valent Imperfect. je valais. Perfect. je valus. plur. que nous vab'ons. que vous valiez. qu'ils, elles vaillent. Conditional. je vaudrais. Perfect. que je valusse. \ Subj. prevale, instead J of prevaille. voulant, being willing. INDICATIVE. sing, je veux. tu veux. il, elle, on veut. plur. nous voulons. vous voulez. ils, elles veulent. Imperfect. je voukw's. Perfect. je voulus. 10. Vouloir, to be willing. NO IMPERATIVE. Future. je voudroM. Compound Tenses. j'ai voulu. Observation. voulu, been w, SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, queje veuille. que tu veuilles. qu'il, elle, on veuille. plur. que nous vouhons. que vous vouliez. qu'ils, elles veuillent. Conditional. je voudraz's. Perfect. que je voulusse. Will or will have, resolvable into to be willing, is expressed by the present of the indicative of vouloir, and would or would have, by the imperfect. The conditional tense of vouloir is used to express the present of the indicative of the verb, to wish, — for example, — ivill you dine with us?\ are you willing to, / he would go there, } he iuos willing to, ) I ivish to begin it now, voulez vous diner avec nous. il voulait y aller. je voudrais le commencer a present THE FOURTH IRREGULAR CONJUGATION contains twenty-four verbs, under which are classed their derivatives, or verbs of similar inflections ; these are divided into two classes. The first class forms the past participle with a final consonant ; the second with final u, i, and e. Every irregular verb ending in re, preceded either by vowels or consonants, belongs to this conjugation. First Class. Infinitive. Past Participle. Infinitive. Past Participle. 1. dire dit, -e, to say. 6. traire trait, -e, to milk. 2. ecrire ecrit, -e, to write. 7. craindre craint, -e to fear. 8. frire frit, -e, to fry. 8. prendre pris, -e, to take. 4. produire produit, e, to produce. 9. mettre mis, -e, to put. 5. faire fait, -e, to do. 10. clorre clos, -e, to close. GRAMMAR OP TIIE FRENCH TONGUE. 53 Second Class. Infinitive. Past Participle. In finitive. Past Participle. 11. conclure, conclu, -e, to conclude. 18.' coudre, consu, -e. 12. plaire, plu, to please. 19. connaitre, connu, -e. 13. boire, bu, -e, to drink. 20. vaincre, vaincu, -e. 14. croire, cru, -e, to believe. 21. vivre, vecu. 15. lire, lu, -e, to read. 22. rire, ri. 16. moudre, moulu, -e, to grind. 23. suivre, suivi, -e. 17. resoudre, resolu, -e, to resolve. 1. dire, to say, tell. 24. naitre, ne, -e. disant, saying. dit, -e, said, told. INDICATIVE. IMPERATIVE. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, je dis. sing r. No first person. sing, que je dise. tu dis. dis. que tu dises. il, elle, on dit. qu'il, elle, on dise. qu'il, elle, on dise. plur. nous disons. plu\ r. disons. plur. que nous diszons. vous dites. dites. que vous disiez. ils, elles disen* qu'ils, elles disent qu'ils, elles disent. Imperfect. Future. Conditional. je disows. je dirai. je dirms. Perfect. Compound Tenses. Perfect. je dis. j'ai dit, -e. que je disse. Observation. The following verbs, except redire, form the second person plural of the present of the indicative in isez, maudire, doubles s through all its tenses. The past parti- ciple of circoncire is circoncis, and of suffire, suffi. circoncire, to circumcise. medire de, to slander. comfire, to confect. maudire, to curse. contredire, to contradict. predire a, to foretel. dedire, to disown. redire, to say again. se dedire de, to retract. suffire, to suffice. interdire a, to interdict. ecrivant, indicative. sing, j 'ecris. tu ecris. il, elle, on ecrit. plur. nous ecriyons. vous ecrivez. ils, elles ecrivent Imperfect. j 'ecri vaz's. Perfect. j 'ecrivis. circonscnre, decrire, inscrire, prescrire, 2. ecrire, to write, writing. ecrit, IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. ecris. qu'il, elle, on ecrive. plur. ecrivons. ecrivez. qu'ils, elles ecrivent. Future. j'ecrirai. Compound Tenses. j'ai ecrit, -e. Derivatives, to circumscribe. proscrire, to describe. recrire, to inscribe. souscrire, to prescribe. transcrire, -e, written. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que j 'ecrive. que tu ecrives. qu'il, elle, on ecrive. plur. que nous ecrmons. que vous ecriviez. qu'ils, elles ecrivent. Conditional. j'ecrirae's. Perfect. que j'ecrivisse. to proscribe, to ivrite again, to subscribe, to transcribe. 54 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. Past participle, frit INDICATIVE. sing, je fris. tu fris. il, elle, on frit. 3. Frire, to fry. e, fried, is used only in the following persons. FUTURE. sing, je frirai. The other tenses and tu friras. persons are formed "with il, elle, on frira, &c. faire before frire. Compound Tenses, < *7 ' > frit, -e. 4. Produire, to produce. produiscm£, producing. produit, -e, produced. INDICATIVE. IMPERATIVE. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, je produis. sing. No first person. sing, que je produise. tu produis. produis. que tu produises. il, elle, on produit qu'il, elle, on produise. qu'il, elle produise. plur. nous produisons. plur. produisons. plur. que nous produisfons. vous produisez. produisez. que vous produis^ez. ils, elles produisenZ. qu'ils, elles produisent. qu'ils, elles produisent. Imperfect. Future. Conditional. je produisms. je produirm. je produirais. Perfect. Compound Tenses. Perfect. je produisis. j'ai produit, -e. que je produisisse. The following verbs are conjugated the same : — conduire, to conduct. traduire, to translate. deduire, to deduct. construire, to construct. econduire, to refuse. detruire, to destroy. enduire, to plaster, do over. instruire, to instruct. induire, to induce. cuire, to boil, &c. introduire, to introduce. recuire, to roast, &c. again. reconduire, to reconduct. luire* to shine. reduire, to reduce. reluire, to shine again. reproduire, to reproduce. nuire, to hurt, &c. seduire, to seduce. Bruire, to rage, roar, &c, is used only in the i nfinitive, present participle bruissant, and third persons singular and plural of the imperfect bruyait, bruyaient. Observe — luire, reluio *e, and nuire form their past participle without t, lui, relui, nui. 5. Faire, to do, make. faisant, doing, &c. fait, -i 5, done, made. INDICATIVE. IMPERATIVE. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, je fais. sing. No first person. sing, que je fasse. tu fais. fais. que tu fasses. il, elle, on fait. qu'il, elle, on fasse. qu'il, elle fasse. plur. nous faisons. plur. faisons. plur. que nous fassions. vous faites. faites. x que vous fassfez. ils, elles font. qu'ils elles fassent. qu'ils, elles fassent. Imperfect. Future. Conditional. je faisais. je ferai. je ferais. Perfect. Compound Tenses. Perfect. je fis. j'ai fait, -e. que je fisse. Its derivatives are,— contrefaire, to counterfeit, satisfaire, to satisfy defaire, to undo. surfaire, to exact. redefaire, to undo again, forfaire-a, to forfeit. ) These two verbs are seldom used refaire, to do again. parfaire, to perfect. £ but in the Comp. Tenses. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 55 1. Faire before faire, or before the infinitive of another verb without a preposition between them, signifies to bespeak, get, bid, order, or cause ; as, je fais faire une montre, I bespoke a watch, &c. 2. Faire signifies idiomatically, to pretend, counterfeit, set up, act, personate ; as, il fait le bel esprit, he pretends to be a wit, &c. 3. Faire, to do, to be, as in English, repeats a sentence, particularly after a comparison ; as elle joue mieux qu'elle ne faisait, she plays better than she did. 4. Faire, associated with the following words, &c, forms an extensive link of idioms. faire ensorte que, to see or do in such a manner se faire a, to use, inure, accustom one's self faire cas or etat de, to value, esteem, n clorra. nous clorrons. vous clorrez. ils, elles clorront. The following derivatives are seldom used but in the infinitive and compound tenses, with both etre and avoir, eclorre, to be hatched, blow. declorre, enclorre, enclose. forclorre, Three derivatives of the above verb change o, into u, as ; 11. Conclure, to conclude. conducing concluding. conclu, -e, concluded Present, sing, je clos. tu clos. il, elle, on clot. plur. ils, elles closent. Conditional, sing, je clorrais. tu clorrais. il, elle, on clorrait. plur. nous clorrions. vous clorriez. ils, elles clorraient. INDICATIVE. sing, je conclus. tu conclus. il, elle, on conclut. plur. nous concluons. vous concluez. il, elles concluez. Imperfect. je conduces. Perfect. je conclus. exclure, to exclude. reclure, to shut up. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. conclus. qu'il, elle, on conclue, plur. concluons concluez. qu'ils, elles concluent. Future. je conclurciw. Compound Tenses. j'ai conclu, -e. V make i exclus ' _e ' or exclu ' f \ reclus, -e. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je conclue. que tu conclues. qu'il, elle, on conclue. plur. que nous conclm'ons. que vous conclmez. qu'ils, elles concluent. Conditional. je conclurcM's. Perfect. que je conclusse. > in the past participle. Reclure is chiefly used reflected, in the infinitive and compound tenses. 12. Plaire, to please. plaisantf, pleasing. INDICATIVE. IMPERATIVE. sing, je plais. sing. No first person. tu plais. plais. il, elle, on plait. qu'il, elle, on plaise. plu, pleased. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je plaise. que tu plaises. qu'l, elle, on plaise. 58 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. plur. nous plaisons. vous plaisez. il elles plaisent Imperfect. je plaisaw's. Perfect. je plus. complaire a, deplaire a, se plaire a, plur. plaisons. plaisez. qu'ils, elles plaisent. Future. je plairm. Compound Tenses. j'ai plu. Its derivatives are, — to comply with. se deplaire dans to displease. taire, to delight in. se taire, se complaire en, to take pleasure in. faire taire, 13. Boire, to drink. buyant , drinking. INDICATIVE. sing. plur. que nous plaiswns. que vous plaisiez. qu'ils, elles plaisent. Conditional. je plairais. Perfect. que je plusse. to be weary, to conceal, to be silent, to silence. sing, je bois. tu bois. il, elle, on boit. plur. nous bu vons. vous buvez. ils, elles boivent Imperfect. je buva?s. Perfect, je bus. IMPERATIVE. No first person, bois. qu'il, elle, on boive. plur. buvons. buvez. qu'ils, elles boivent. Future. je boirai. Compound Tenses. j'ai bu, -e. 14. Croire, to believe. croyant, believing- sing. bu, -e, drunk. SUBJUNCTIVE. que je boive. que tu boives. qu'il, elle, on boive. plur. que nous buv^ons. que vous buvzez. qu'ils, elles boivent. Conditional. je boircMs. Perfect. que je busse. INDICATIVE. sing, je crois. tu crois. il, elle, on croit. plur. nous crojons. vous croyez. ils, elles croient Imperfect. je croycu's. Perfect. je crus. -e, believed. SUBJUNCTIVE. que je croie. que tu croies. qu'il, elle, on croie. que nous croy^ons. que vous croyiez. qu'ils, elles croient. Conditional. je croirm's. Perfect. que je crusse. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. • sing. crois. qu'il, elle, on croie. plur. croyons. plur croyez. qu'ils, elles croient. Future. je croirai. Compound Tenses. j'ai cru, -e. Its derivative, accroire, is used only in the infinitive, preceded by faire, as ; faire accroire, to make one believe. \ en faire accroire, impose upon. V Faire alone is conjugated (vid faire). s'en faire accroire, be self-conceited. ) 15. Lire, to read, lisant, reading. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. lis. qu'il, elle, on lise. plur. lisons. lisez. qu'ils, elles lisent. Future. je lirai. lu, -e, INDICATIVE. sing, je lis. tu lis. il, elle, on lit. plur. nous lisons. vous lisez. ils, elles lisent. Imperfect. je \\sais. sing. read. SUBJUNCTIVE. que je lise. que tu lises. qu'il, elle, on lise. plur. que nous lisions. que vous lis2ez. qu'ils, elles lisent. Conditional. je lirais. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 59 Perfect. je lus. Its derivatives are elire, Compound Tense. j'ai lu, -e. Perfect. que je lusse. to elect. relire, to read again. sing. inoulant, grinding. INDICATIVE. je mouds. tu mouds. il, elle, on moud. plur. nous moulons. vous moulez. ils, elles moulewf. Imperfect. je moula/s. Perfect. je moulus. Its derivatives are ; eruoudre, 16. Moudre, to grind. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. mouds. qu'il, elle, on moule. plur. moulons. moulez. qu'ils, elles moulent, Future. je moudrm. Compound Tenses. j'ai moulu, -e. moulu, -e, ground. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je moule. que tu moules. qu'il, elle, on moule. plur. que nous mouh'ons. que vous mouKez. qu'ils, elles moulent Conditional. je moudrais. Perfect. que je moulusse. to whet. remoudre, 17- Resoudre, to resolve. to grind again. resolvant, resolving. INDICATIVE. sing, je resouds. tu resouds. il, elle, on resoud. plur. nous resolvons. vous resolvez. ils, elles resolvent Imperfect. je resolvais. Perfect. je resolus. resolu, -e, resolved. IMPERATIVE. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing. No first person. sing, que je resolve. resouds. que tu resolves. qu'il, elle, on resolve. qu'il, elle, on resolve. plur. resolvons. plur. que nous resolvions. que vous resoiviez. qu'ils, elles resolvent. Conditional. je resoudrm's. Perfect. que je resolusse. resolvez, qu'ils, elles resolvent. Future. je resoudrai. Compound Tenses. j'ai resolu, -e. Its derivatives are, — soudre, to solder, used only in the infinitive, absoudre, to absolve, ) ( absous, or absout, -e. dissoudre, to dissolve, )> Past participle, < dissous, -te. resoudre, to dissolve, J ^resous, no fern, absoudre and dissoudre have no perfect tenses. 18. Coudre, to sew. cousu, -e, sewed ; u changed into i for perfect cousant, sewing INDICATIVE. sing, je couds. tu couds. il, elle, on coud. plur. nous cousons. vous cousez. ils, elles consent. Imperfect. je cousais. Perfect. je cousis. sing. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person, couds. qu*il, elle, on couse. plur. cousons. cousez. qu'ils, elles cousent. Future. je coudroa. Compound Tenses. j'ai cousu, -e. Its derivatives are, — decoudre, to unsew. recoudre, to sew again SUBJUNCTIVE que je couse. que tu couses. qu'il, elle, on couse. plur. que nous cous^ons. que vous cousiez. qu'ils, elles cousent. Conditional. je coudrais. Perfect. - que je cousisse. 60 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 19. Connaitre, to know. connaissan£, knowing. connu, -e INDICATIVE. sing, je connais. tu connais. il, elle, on connait. plur. nous connaissons. vous connaissez. ils, elles connaisse^. Imperfect. je connais sais. Perfect. je connus. IMPERATIVE. sing. No first person. connais. qu'il, elle, on connaisse. plur. connaissons. p connaissez. qu'ils, elles connaissent Future. je connaitrm. Compound Tenses. j'ai connu, -e. known. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je connaisse. que tu connaisses. qu'il, elle, on connaisse. ur. que nous commissions, que vous connaissz'ez. qu'ils,elles connaissent. Conditional. je connaitrazs. Perfect. que je connusse. The following verbs are conjugated like connaitre : meconnaitre, to disown, forget. paitre, to feed. se meconnaitre, to forget one's self. se paitre, to entertain. reconnaitre, to know again. repaitre, to feed. se reconnaitre, to repent. se repaitre, to delight in. reconnaitre, to examine. croitre, to grow. paraitre, to appear. accroitre, to increase. apparaitre, to appear. decroitre, to decrease. comparaitre, to appear. recroitre, to grow again. disparaitre, to disappear. faire paraitre, to show. reparaitre, to re-appear. envoyer paitre, to send a packing. Connaitre used idiomatically : se connaitre en, to understand. se connaitre a, to have skill in. se connaitre a, to know hoiu. 20. vainquaw£, conquering. INDICATIVE. sing, je vaincs. tu vaincs. il, elle, on vainct. plur. nous vainquons. vous vainquez. ils, elles vainquent Imperfect. je vainquais. Perfect. je vainquis. Vaincre, to conquer. vaincu, -e, conquered ; u into i for perfect. IMPERATIVE. SUBJUNCTIVE. No first person. sing, que je vainque. vaincs. que tu vainques. qu'il, elle, on vainque. qu'il, elle, on vainque. plur. vainquons. plur. que nous vainqm'ons. sing. vainquez. qu'ils, elles vainquent. Future. je vaincrai. Compound Tenses. j'ai vaincu, -e. Convaincre, to convince, is conjugated the same. sink under, is idiomatical. 21. Vivre, to live, vivant, living. vecu, IMPERATIVE. que vous vamqmez. qu'ils, elles vainquent. Conditional. je vaincrais. Perfect. que je vainqnisse. Se laisser vaincre, to yield. sing. plur. INDICATIVE. je vis. tu vis. il, elle, on vit. nous vivons. vous vivez. ils, elles vivew£. Imperfect. je vivais. sing. No first person. vis. qu'il, elle, on vive. plur. vivons. vivez. qu'ils, elles vivent. Future. je vivrai. lived. SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je vive. que tu vives. qu'il, elle, on vive. plur. que nous vivz'ons. que vous vrviez. qu'ils, elles vivent. Conditional. je vivims. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 61 sing. SUBJUNCTIVE. que je rie. Perfect. Compound Tenses. Perfect. je vecus. j'ai vecu. que je vecusse. Its derivatives are, — revivre, to revive, live again. survivre, to survive, outlive, 22. Hire, to laugh, riant, laughing. ri, laughed. INDICATIVE. IMPERATIVE. sing, je ris. sing. No first person. tu ris. ris. il, elle, on rit. qu'il, elle, on rie. plur. nous rions. plur. rions. vous riez. riez. ils, elles rient. qu'ils, elles rient. Imperfect. Future. je riais. je rir ai. Perfect. Compound Tenses. je ris. j 'ai ri. Its derivatives are, — sourire, to smile upon. se rire de, to make sport of, laugh at. que tu nes. qu'il, elle, on rie. plur. que nous riions. que vous riiez. qu'ils rient. Conditional. je rirais. Perfect. que je risse. 23. Suivre, to follow. suivan£, following. suivi, -e, followed. INDICATIVE. sing, je suis. tu suis. il, elle, on suit. plur. nous suivons. vous suivez. ils, elles suiventf Imperfect. je sui yais. Perfect. je suivis. sing. plur, SUBJUNCTIVE. sing, que je suive. que tu suives. qu'il, elle, on suive. plur. que nous suivions. que vous suiviez. qu'ils, elles suivent. Conditioned. je suivrm's. Perfect. que je suivisse. IMPERATIVE. No first person. suis. qu'il, elle, on suive. , suivons. suivez. qu'ils, elles suivent. Future. je suivrai. Compound Tenses. j'ai suivi, -e. Its derivatives are, — poursuivre, to pursue. s'ensuivre, to follow from that. This last verb is used only in the third persons singular and plural of every tense, also monopersonally. Naitre, to be born. ne, -e, born ; IMPERATIVE. No first person, nais. qu'il, elle, on naisse. plur. nais sons, naissez. qu'ils, elles naissent. Future. je naitrai. Compound Tenses. je suis ne, -e. So is conjugated renaitre, to be born again, spring anew. Faire renaitre, to revive, is idiomatical (vide faire). sing. 24. naissanf, being born INDICATIVE. sing, je nais. tu nais. il, elle, on nait. plur. nous naissons. vous naissez. ils, elles naissenf. Imperfect. je naissais. Perfect. je naquis. naquis, the perfect. SUBJUNCTIVE. que je naisse. que tu naisses. qu'il, elle, on naisse. que nous naissz'ons. que vous naissiez. qu'ils, elles naissent. Conditional. je naitrais. Perfect. que je naquisse. sing. plur, 62 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. MONOPERSONAL VERBS. The most essential and idiomatical verbs, il-y-a, c'est, and il est, having been conjugated at full length next to their primitives, where their constant and early- use rendered them both necessary and more easy of reference, the following will include the others, arranged according to the four conjugations. Monopersonal verbs are either absolute or personal. Absolute monopersonal verbs always denote an action, which cannot be pre- vented ; they are expressed by il, either placed before or after the third person singular of every tense, according to the inflection ; as, il pleut, it rains ; pleut il ? does it rain ? il ne pleut pas, it does not rain ; ne pleut-il pas ? does not it rain ? Personal monopersonal verbs generally refer to the actions and manners of men. They are also expressed by il, with or without these preconjunctive pronouns, me, te, se, lui, nous, vous, leur, &c. placed before the third person singular of the verb, with the following verb in the infinitive, or by the nominative of the pronoun, according to the person placed after que, with the verb after it in the subjunctive mood, if it be not an affirmative inflection ; as, il me faut parler a ces messieurs, \ T . 7 . j7 i7 il faut que je parle a ces messieurs, f Jmust s P eak t0 these ^ntlemen. On is sometimes used before verbs that are personal in a monopersonal form, to express indefinitely the actions and manners of men ; as, on dit, people say ; on travaille bien fort, the men work very hard. The compound tenses of monopersonal verbs are formed with the third person singular of either of the auxiliaries, according to action or passion, tense and inflection. THE FIRST CONJUGATION REGULAR OF MONOPERSONAL VERBS IN ER. ABSOLUTE. infin. prt. prt. pst.prt. indie, imperf, perft. future, condi. prest. s. perf. s. interr. neg. neg. int. to freeze. geler., gelant, to snow. neiger, neigeant, neige, il neige, il neigeait, il neigea, il neigera, il neigerait. qu'il neige, qu'il neigeat,gelat, neige-t-il ? gele-t-il ? il ne neige pas, ne gel ne neige-t-il pas % ne to thaw, to hail, to drizzle, to lighten. degeler, greler, bruiner, eclairer, degelant, grelant, bruinant, eclairant, degele, grele, gele, degele, grele, gelait, degelait, grelait gela, degela, grela, gelera, de'gelera, grelera, gelerait gele to thunder, to begin. tonner, commencer. tonnant, commenqant. tonne, commence. tonne, commence. tonnait, commenqait. tonna, commenca. bruin e, eclaire, bruine, eclaire, bruinait, eclairait, brui'na, eclaira, bruinera, eclairera, tonnera, commencera. degeleraitjgrelerait,brui'nerait,eclairerait,tonnerait,commencerait. degele, grele, bruine, eclaire, tonne, commence, degelat, grelat, bruinat, eclairat, tonnat, commenqat. degele-t-il? grele-t-il ? bruine-t-il ? eclaire-t-il ? tonne-t-il? rmisque,j save thaL De crainte que, de peur que, and a moins que, take ne before the verb in the sub- junctive. OF ADVERBS. Adverbs are generally formed from feminine adjectives by adding ment to the last syllable ; but of adjectives ending in e, i, u, they are formed from the mascu- line termination. From adjectives ending in ent, ant, except present, lent, by changing nt into m before ment, all follow the sounds of their primitives, except a very few derived from adjectives ending in e mute, which are pronounced e acute accented. Adverbs are generally placed after a simple verb, between the auxiliary and past participle, and before adjectives. This will be sufficient for the formation of adverbs. The following list compre- hends those adverbs most in use : bien, well, very. tres, most, very. fort, much, very. plus-de, more. moins-de, less. peu-de, little. assez-de, enough. trop-de, too much. beaucoup-de, much. tant de, so much. autant de, as much as. combien-de ? how much ? gueres de, very little. jamais-de, never. point-de, no, not. pas-de, no, not. que-de! what! how much i tou jours, always. alors, then. depuis, since. encore, yet. quand, when. ailleurs, elsewhere. nulle part, nowhere. partout, everywhere. ensemble, together. enfin, in slwrt. presque, almost. ainsi, thus, so. pis, icorse. mieux, better. autrement, otherwise. de memo, so, tlte same. mais, but . oui, yes. non, no. en verite, indeed. comment ? hoio ? comme, as, like. (yet, for all toute fois, ) thatjiowever, cependant, j in the mean- awhile. parceque, because. puisque, since. pourquoi? why? car, for. volon tiers, willingly. quelquefois, sometimes. souvent, often. expres, on purpose. tout-a-fait, quite. plutot, sooner. vite, quick. tot, soon. bientot, very soon. tard, late. d'abord, at first. auparavant, before. desormais, hereafter. a pre'sent, now. autrefois, formerly. ou, where. ici, here. a temps, in good time. a prop os, seasonably. nullement, not at all. tout a coup, all at once. d'ordinaire, mostly. a Pordinaire, as usual. Obs. — Those adverbs followed by de are substantives before nouns, before adjec- tives are adverbs ; as, more money, plus d'argent ; more rich, plus riche, &c. GQ GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. PART FOURTH. SYNTAX. DEFINITE ARTICLE. Le, &c, the, is used before every definite noun ; also before numbers, adjectives, infinitives, &c. used as substantives ; before the names of kingdoms, provinces, rivers, few excepted. Le, &c, the, is used before nouns denoting substances, elements, virtues, vices, metals, sciences, arts, professions, or the whole species not preceded by the, in English ; also before nouns of weights, measures, &c, generally expressed, in English, by a, an. PARTITIVE ARTICLE. Du, de, la, &c, some, any, always denotes a part of a whole ; it must invariably agree in gender and number with the noun before which it is placed ; coming between two nouns, it is expressed only by de, d\ INDEFINITE ARTICLE. Un, une, a, an, is used before every indefinite noun, but is omitted before the title of a work, &c, before a noun in the middle of a sentence characterised by the first or in apposition to it, and after the interrogative article quel, &c. what ? as, discours sur la chimie, a discourse on chemistry ; le Due d'York, prince du sang, the DuJce of York, a prince of the blood ; quel nuage, what a cloud. The other articles and all the pronouns are fully explained and exemplified in their proper place. ADJECTIVES, with all their modifications and deviations, need no reference, being set down with their rules and examples. VERBS, . regular, irregular, simple, compounded, and reflected, with their formation and their four inflections, arranged at full length in their natural order, with examples, where necessary, require no further illustrations, being sufficient to guide to their perfect knowledge and use. NE PAS, NE POINT, no, not. The first part of these negatives always precedes the verb, and the second is placed after, as shown in the four inflections, but coming before the infinitive it must be used undivided. Pas denotes something actual and casual,£>om£ something habitual and permanent. Pas, placed before, is used to modify these adverbs. beaucoup, much. souvent, often. trop, too much. peu, little. toujours, always. fort, very. mieux, better. tant, so much. tres, very. plus, more. autant, as much. infiniment, infinitely. moins, less. si, so, as. extremement, extremely. The following words, implying a negative, require ne before the verb : — personne, nobody. nullement, by no means. pas un, -e, not one. gueres, but little. aucun, -e, none, not any. jamais, never. nul, -le, none. rien, nothing. Neither, nor, ni, repeated in a sentence, requires ne before the verb. Either, or, coming before nouns, are rendered by soit, the first, ou, the second, or by soit only before every noun, which is more energetic. Whether, or, soit que, ou que, may be used the same as above, or by soit que before the two parts of the sentence, or ou que in a similar way. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 67 QUE, besides being the accusative case of qui and quoi, is used as an adverb and a con- junction. Que, as an adverb, implies comment, pourquoi ; in the sense of comment, how, it begins the sentence ; of pourquoi, why, it requires ne before the verb. Que, in the sense of si, if, in the second part of a sentence, requires the subjunc- tive mood. Que, in the sense of comme, as, lorsque, when, is used with the indicative. Que, implying a moins que, avant que, sans que, de peur que, de crainte que, unless, before, without, lest, for fear of, governs the subjunctive mood with ne before the verb. Que, in the sense of how ? what ? must begin the sentence ; before a noun it requires the preposition de between it and the noun. TABLE OF SOUNDS. Pronunciation of the simple and combined French vowels, represented by the approximate sounds of similar or of different English characters. The grave accent Q set over any vowel except e, is a simple distinctive mark, without any modification of sound. SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS. Fr. short long acute or close grave or open long or circum- . flex mute short guttu- ral Ions English. at. caul aid, Fr. pronunciation. ( ah, pa-pa, pah-pah. \ ah, a-vo-cat, ah-vo-khah. Fr. short English. { ee played, I ei ■{ et eight. lai I ait e et ey. gelee, /. fruit, fruit, m. honey, miel, m. cucumber, concombre, m. sweetmeats, confitures, /. p. salad, salade, /. marmalade, marmelade, /. nut, noix, /. eggs, ceufs, m. p. lemon, citron, m. salt, sel, m. apple, pomme, /. sauce, sauce, /. pear, poire, /. mustard, moutarde, /. plum, prune, /. pepper, poivre, m. gooseberry, groseille, /. ginger, gingembre, m. currant, gadelle, /. oil, huile, /. strawberry, fraise, /. vinegar, vinaigre, m. raspberry, framboise, /. . capers, capres, m. p. grapes, raisin, m. breakfast, dejeuner, m. cherries, cerises, /. p. dinner, diner m. orange, orange, /. supper, souper, m. green gage, reine claude, /. oread and cheese, collation, /. h> figue, /. Time, le temps. time, terns, temps, m. three lueeks, trois semaines, /. p. moment, moment, m. month, mois, m. second, &econde,f. January, Janvier, m. minute, minute, j£ February, Fevrier, m. hour, lieure, f. March, Mars, m. quarter of an hour, quart d'heure, m. April, Avril, m. half-an-hour, demi-heure, f. May, Mai, rn. three quarters of, trois quarts d'heure. June, Juin, m. morning (time), matin, m. July, Juillet, m. morning (contin), matinee, f. August, Aoiit, m. mid-day, midi, m. September, Septembre, m. afternoon (time), apres-midi, f. October, Octobre, m. afternoon (contin), apres-diner,^ November, Novembre, m. evening {time), soir, m. December, Decembre, m. evening (contin), soiree, f. year (time), an, m. night, nuit, f. year (contin), annee,/ night (at an inn), nxiitee,f. quarter of a year, quartier d'annee, m. midnight, minuit, m. half -a-y ear, demi-annee,,/! day (time), jour, m. season, saison,/! day (contin), journee,^ spring, printems, m. yesterday, hier, rn. summer, ete, m. day before, avant-hier, m. autumn, automne,^ m. to-day, aujourd'hui, m. winter, hiver, m. to-morrow, demain, m. beginning, commencement, m. after to-morrow, apres-demain, m. middle, milieu, m. Monday, Lundi, m. end, fin,/ Tuesday, Mardi, m. elements, elemens, m. p. Wednesday, Mercredi, m. fire, feu, m. Thursday, Jeudi, m. air, air, m. Friday, Vendredi, m. earth, terre,f. Saturday, Samedi, m. light, lumiere, f. Sunday, Dimanche, m. break of day, point du jour, m. week (time), semaine,/! sun, soleil, m. week (contin), huit jours, m. p. sunrise, lever du soleil, m. fortnight, quinze jours, f. p. sunset, coucher du soleil, m 74 GRAMMAR OF THE TRENCH TONGUE. moon, crescent, first quarter, full moon, last quarter, star, comet, eaten, drunk, swallowed, dined, tasted, supped, slept, tuatched, sung, wept, sneezed, heard, spit, seen, looked, trembled, sweated, wiped, rubbed, coughed, studied, read, written, learned, folded, sealed, begun, finished, corrected, blotted out, been able, been willing, spoken, said, related, called, cried out, interrogated, answered, warned, ordered. lune,/ croissant, m. premier quartier, pleine lune, j£ dernier quartier. etoile,/ planete,^ comete,^ mange. avale. dejeune. dine. goute. soupe. dormi. veille. ri. chante. pleure. eternue. entendu. crache. vu. regarde. tremble. sue. essuye. frotte. tousse. etudie. lu. . ecrit. appris. plie. cachete. commence. fini. corrige. efface. pu. voulu. parle. dit. raconte. appele. crie. interroge. repondu. averti. ordonne. holiday, christmas, new year, Lent, Easter, Whitsunday, flesh day, fast day, Past Participles. chid, confessed, assured, obeyed, denied, forbid, disputed, known, thought, believed, doubted, suspected, observed, wished, hoped, feared, feigned, made believe, tried, resolved, loved, caressed, kissed, praised, threatened, blamed, accused, excused, condemned, punished, turned away, killed, stifled, robbed, played, won, lost, cut, broken, destroyed, adorned, spoiled, mended, jour de fete, m. noel, m. jour de l'an, m. Careme, m. Paque, m. Pentecote, f. tour gras, m. tour maigre, m. gronde. avoue. assure. obei. nie. defendu. dispute. connu. pense. cru. doute. soupconne. observe. souhaite. espere. craint. feint. fait semblant. essaye. resolu. aime. caresse. baise. loue. menace. blame. accuse. excuse. condamne. puni. chasse. tue. etouffe. vole. joue. gagne. perdu. coupe. casse. detruit. embelli. gate. raccommode. GRAMMAR OP THE FRENCH TONGUE. Adjectives. good, bon, bonne, m. f. dear, cher, -e, m.f. bad, mauvais, -e, m.f. hateful. odieux, odieuse, m.f. little, petit, -e, m.f. better, meilleur, -e, m.f big, gros, grosse, m.f. worse, pire, m.f. thick, epais, epaisse, m.f. dainty, friand, -e, m.f. thin, mince, m.f. nasty, vilain, -e, m. f. high, haut, -e, m.f. ripe, mur, -e, m.f. low, bas, basse, m.f. acid, aigre, m.f long, long, longue, m.f. fresh, frais, fraiche, m.f. short, court, -e, m.f. musty, moisi, -e, m. f. broad, large, m.f. sharp, poignant, -e,m.f. narrow, etroit, -e, m.f. blunt, emousse, -e, m.f •right, droit, -e, m.f. savoury, savoureu.r, -se, m.f. left, gauche, m. f. tasteless, insipide, m.f. new {not used), neuf, neuve, m.f mischievous, malin, maligne. new, nouveau, nouvel-le, m. f. harmless, innocent, -e, m.f. old, vieux, vieil, m., vieille,/! heady, fumeua?, -se, m.f. fat, gras, grasse, m.f. flat, fade, m.f lean, maigre, m.f lucky, heureu*, -se, m.f light, leger, -e, m.f. unfortunate. malheureuaj, -se, heavy, lourd, -e, m.f. decent, decent, -e, m.f. full, plein, -e, m.f. unbecoming, mal-seant, -e. empty, vide, m.f wholesome, sain, -e, m.f. soft, mou, mol, m., molle, /. unhealthy, malsain, -e, m.f. hard. dur, -e, m.f bracing, fortifiant, -e, m.f. sweet, doux, douce, m.f laxative, laxati/J -ve, m.f. bitter, amer, -e, m.f benign, benin, benigne. clean, propre, m.f. unkind, desobligeant, -e. dirty, sale, m.f pleasant, plaisant, -e. hot, chaud, -e, m.f. disagreeable, desagreable. cold, froid, -e, m.f. bold, hardi, -e. dry, sec, seche, m.f. fearful, timide, m.f wet, moaille, -e, m.f gentle, doux, douce, m.f. strong, fort, -e, m. f. rude, grossier, -e, m.f. tueak, faible, m.f. quiet, paisible. fine, beau, bel, m., belie, f boisterous, violent. ugly, laid, -e, m.f. quick, prompt, -e, m.f. rich, riche, m.f. slow, lent, -e, m.f. pow, pauvre, m.f. charming, charmant, -e. sincere, sincere, m.f dreadful, terrible, m. f deceitful, trompeur-se, m.f civil, complaisant, -e, m.f true, vrai, -e, m.f uncourteous, impoli, -e, m.f. false, faux, fausse, m.f. clownish, mal-honnete, m.f. Man and his I Dependencies. man, homme, m. eldest, elder, aine, -e, m. f. woman, femme, /. youngest, younger, cadet, -te, m.f. father, pere, m. kinsman, parent, m. mother, mere, f kinswoman, parente,^ son, boy, lad, fils, garcon. uncle, oncle, m. daughter, girl,maid, fille, /.' aunt, tante,^ child, enfant, m.f nephew, neveu, m. brother, frere, m. niece, mece,f. sister, sceur,/ cousin. cousin, cousine, m.f. 76 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. husband, spouse, mari, epoux. darling, mignon, -ne, m.f wife, spouse, femrae, epouse. neighbour, voisin, -e, m.f. father-in-law, beau-pere, m. companion, compagnon, m. mother-in-law, belle-mere, /. companion, eompagne,jf! son-in-law, gendre, m. master, maitre, m. daughter-in-law, bra,/ mistress, maitresse, f brother-in-law, beau-frere, m. host, hostess, hote, hotesse, m.f. sister -in-law, belle-soeur,/! steward, maitre d'hotel, m. heir, heiress, heritier, -e, m.f. housekeeper, femme de charge, f. widower, widow, veuf, veuve, m.f. servant, serviteur, domestique, m. orphan, orphelin, -e, m.f servant, servante, domestique, f relations, parents, m. pi. lady's maid, femme de chambre,£ god-father, parrain, m. chamber-maid, fille de chambre,,/ god-motlier, marraine, f. cook, cuisinier, -e, m.f god-son, daughter filleul, -e, m.f. ostler, valet d'ecurie, m. foster-father, nourricier, m. laundress, blanchisseuse,/.' foster-mother, nourrice,^ coachman, cocher, m. foster-child, nourrisson, m. door-keeper, portier, suisse, m. foster-brother, frere de lait, m. messenger, messager, -e, m.f. lover, sweetheart, amant, -e, m.f. errand-boy, man, galopin, m. friend, enemy, ami, ennemi, -e. scullion, marmiton, m. Titles. emperor, empereur, m. my lord, monseigneur, m. empress, imperatrice, /. my lady, madame, /. king, roi, souverain, m. miss, mademoiselle,/. queen, reine, souveraine, /. young lady, demoiselle, /. piince royal, prince du sang, m. gentlemen, gentilshommes, m.p. princess royal, princesse du sang, /. lord lieutenant, vice-roi, m. duke, duchess, due, duchess, m. f. ambassador, ambassadeur, m. marquis, marchioness, marquis, -e, m. f. ambassadress, ambassadrice, f count, countess, comte, comtesse,m/. archbishop, archeveque, m. viscount, vicomte, m. bishop, eveque, m. viscountess, vicomtesse, /.. sir, monsieur. sirs, messieurs. baron, baroness, baron, baronne, m.f. ladies, mesdames,/!^?. baronet, baronnet, m. young ladies, mesdemoiselles, f p. lord, lady, seigneur, dame,m./. esquire, ecuyer, m. nobleman, gentilhomme, m. mayor, maire, m. Adjectives f ollowed by de. contented with, content, -e, de. sorrowful for, contrit, -e, de. discontented, mecontent, -e, de. satisfied with, satisfait, -e, de. glad, aise, de. different from, different, -e, de. overjoyed at, ravi, -e, de. surprised at, surpris, -e, de. joyful, joyeua?, -se, de. uneasy at, inquiet, -e, de. tired, las, lasse, de. afraid, effraye, -e, de. fatigued, fatigue, -e, de. obliged with, by, oblige, -e, de. rejoiced at, rejoui, -e, de. greedy, avide, de. weary, ennuye, -e, de. lavish, prodigue, de. enraged at, enrage, -e, de. full, plein, -e, de. accused, accuse, -e, de. void, depourvu, -e, de. excused, excuse, -e, de. puffed up with, enfle, -e, de. charged with, taxe, -e, de. mortified at, mortifie, -e, de. sorry for, fache, -e, de. proud of, fier, -e, de. delighted with, charme, -e, de. loaded with, comble, -e, de. GRAMMAR OF TUE FRENCH TONGUE. 77 destitute of, denue, -e, de. supplied with, fourni, -e, de. attended with, suivi, -e, de. able to, capable, de. astonished at, etonne, -e, de. unable to, incapable, de. ashamed of, honteucr, -se, de. desirous, desireu#, -se, de acquainted with, informe, -e, de. struck with, epris, -e, de. Adjectives, &c followed by a. skilful in, adroit, -e, a. easy, aise, -e, a. awkward, mal-adroit, -e, a. prone, porte, -e, a. nimble at, alerte, a. subject, apt, sujet, sujette, a, slow at, lent, -e, a. suitable, propre, a. agreeable to, agreable, a. ardent, ardent, -o, a. disagreeable, desagreable, a. eager, apre, a. comparable with, comparable, a. busy, occupe, -e, a. incomparable, incomparable, a. hurtful, nuisible, a. agile at, agile, a. ready, pret, -e, a. clumsy at, gauche, a. quick, prompt, -e, a. ingenious, ingenieutf, -se, a. sensible of, sensible, a. didl at, stupide, a. insensible of, insensible, a. like to, pareil, pareille, a. facile, facile, a. similar to, semblable, a. difficult, difficile, a. contrary to, contraire, a. admirable, admirable, a. inclined, enclin, -e, a. assiduous, assidu, -e, a. opposed, oppose, -e, a. diligent, diligent, -e, a. conformable, conforme, a. necessary, necessaire, a. averse to, repugnant, -e, a. exact, exact, -e, a. addicted, adonne, -e, a. expert, expert, -e, a. Continuation of Primitive I wish you good day, I wish you good evening, how do you do to-day ? I am very well, I am much obliged to you, and you, how are you 1 have you been very well ? very well, exceedingly well, I am rejoiced at it, it gives me pleasure to hear it, how extraordinary it is I I was thinking of you when ice met, it is a long time since we have seen each other, have you been very busy ? no, not very much, but I iv as in the country, when I went there, I was not well, what was the matter with you ? (idiom) I cannot exactly tell, but I Jiad not a good appetite, (idiom) now I eat heartily, I have a very good appetite, (idiom) I relish my victuals, and Idiomatic al Phrases. je vous souhaite le bon jour. je vous souhaite le bon soir. comment vous portez-vous aujour d'hui ? je me porte fort bien. je vous suis bien oblige, -e, m.f. et vous, comment vous portez-vous ? vous etes-vous bien porte, -e ? a merveilles, parfaitement bien. j'en suis rejoui, -e. ce me fait plaisir de l'entendre. que c'est singulier ! je pensais a vous quand nous nous ren- contrames. il ya long temps depuis que nous ne nous sommes vus. avez-vous ete bien occupe, -el m.f. non, pas beaucoup. mais j'etais a la campagne. quand j'y allai, je ne me portais pas bien. qu'aviez vous? je ne saurais dire exactement. mais je n'avais pas bon appetit. a present je mange tres bien. j'ai tres bon appetit. j'ai du gout pour mon manger. 78 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. my exercise during much to it, the day contributes mon exercice pendant la journee y con- tribue beaucoup. je n'ai pas raison de me plaindre. ma sante est tout-a-fait retablie. je vaque a mes affaires avec plaisir. je fais deux ou trois promenades tous les jours, le temps me parait tres court, certainement les jours sont bien courts a present, mais ils seront bientot plus longs, il fera alors plus doux. il fait toujours plus ou moins sombre dans l'hiver. cependant il fait quelquefois tres beau. I have no reason to complain, my health is quite restored, I attend to my business with pleasure, 1 take two or three walks every day, time appears to me very short, to be sure the days are very short now, but they will soon be longer, the weather will then be milder, (idiom) the weather is always more or less gloomy in winter, (idiom) however, it is sometimes very fine, particularly when it is a hard frost, (idiom) particulierement quand il fait une forte gelee. tous les patineurs sont alors en train. c'est un bon exercice pour la sante. je l'aime beaucoup, et moi aussi. tout le monde l'aime, je pense. je n'en suis pas surpris, -e, c'est un plaisant amusement. il fortifie le corps et donne de l'appetit. c'est a dire, pris moderement. eh bien ! vous avez votre souhait. il a fait une forte gelee. toutes les rivieres et tous les etangs sont geles et portent. le temps est tres froid, il fait tres froid ce matin. venez pres du feu. approchez-vous du feu. chauffez-vous. etes vous a votre aise ? nous avons eu beaucoup de neige. all the skaters are then on the go, it is a good exercise for the health, I am very fond of it, and so am I; so do I, every body likes it, I think, I am not surprised at it, it is a pleasing amusement, it braces the body, and promotes appetite, that is, taken with moderation, well I you have your wish, it has been a hard frost, (idiom) all the rivers and ponds are frozen and bear, the weather is cold, very cold this morn- ing, (idiom) come near the fire, draw near the fire, warm yourself, are you comfortable ? we have had a great deal of snow, yes, but the weather is pretty fair now, (idiom )oui, mais il fait assez beau a present. the frost is melting, for my part, I must confess I like frosty weather, it is a wholesome weather, particularly when one lives at a little dis- tance from the town, the air is so pure and bracing, the walking to and fro is very agreeable, the way is not tiresome, one tualks it with pleasure, time passes away without perceiving it, every object around attracts our attention, nature unfolds all its beauties and gifts, we are insensibly led to a deep medita- tion, (idiom) la neige sen va. quant a moi, il faut avouer, j' aime la gelee. c'est un temps sain, particulierement quand on demeure a une petite distance de la ville. l'air est si pur et fortifiant. Taller et venir sont ties agreables. le chemin n'est point ennuyeux. on en fait la promenade avec plaisir. le temps se passe sans sen appercevoir. tous les objets d'alentour attirent notre attention. la nature deploie toutes ses beautes et tous ses dons, on tombe insensiblement dans une pro- fonde reverie. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. '9 but the fall of a single leaf makes the whole disappear, yet ice do not lose sight of every thing around us, the fields, the meadoius,tJie trees, the flowers, the streams, the dales, the cottages en- chant us, we go on our way, we do it without thinking, we arrive too soon for our pleasure, and too late for our business, we begin to work with ardour, zue try to recover the loss of time, by that means we are always employed, time does not lie heavy on our hands, (idiom) when at leisure we read the papers, jour- nals, fyc. I am glad to see you, have you been long in town ? since last week, how long will you remain ? till the end of next week, I hope we shall have the pleasure of see- ing you, come and take pot luck with us, we are always at home, make no ceremonies, we hate ceremonies, particularly among friends, indeed, I thank you most heartily, but I cannot promise it to you positively, I have so much to do whilst lam here, believe me I shall be very sorry if I can- not do it, it would give us great pleasure, at all events we shall see one another again before you go back, I can assure you of it, what a crowd of people I what is the cause of it ? do you know ? (for intellectual objects), indeed I do not (know), who is that gentleman in the middle of them 1 do you know him . ? (for visual objects), I do not (know him), he appears to be « stranger, he has much the appearance of one by his dress, mais la chute d'une seule feuille fait le tout disparaitre. cependant nous ne perdons pas de vue tout autour de nous, les champs, les prairies, les arbres, les fleurs, les rivulets, les vallees, les chaumieres nous enchantent. nous allons notre chemin. nous le faisons sans y penser. nous arrivons trop tot pour no'tre plaisir et trop tard pour nos affaires, on se met alors a travailler avec ardeur. nous essayons de regagner la perte du temps, par ce moyen nous sommes toujours employes, nous ne connaissons point 1 'ennui, on ne connait point l'ennui. quand nous sommes a loisir nous lisons lespapiers, &c. je suis Men aise de vous voir, y a-t-il long temps que vous etes en ville ? depuis la semaine passee. combien de temps y resterez-vous ? jusqu' a la fin de la semaine prochaine. j'espere que nous aurons le plaisir de vous voir, venez prendre la fortune du pot avec nous, nous sommes toujours chez nous, ne faites point de ceremonies, nous n'aimons pas les facons. particulierement entre amis, en verite je vous remercie de bien bon coeur. mais je ne puis vous le promettre posi- tivement. j'ai tant a faire tandis que je serai ici. croyez moi j'en serai bien fache (e) si je ne puis le faire. ce nous ferait grand plaisir. entout cas nous nous reverrons avant que vous repartiez. je puis vous en assurer, quelle multitude de monde ! quelle en est la cause ? savez vous ? vraiment je ne sais pas. qui est ce monsieur, qui est an milieu d'eux? le connaissez-vous ? je ne le connais pas. il parait etre etranger. il en a beaucoup l'apparence par son costume. 80 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. where are they going ? let us follow them a little way, they stop at the town hall, it must be something of importance, pray tell me what 6 ''clock it is ? tell me, pray, ivhat o'clock it is ? I cannot tell it to you, why ? because my tuatch gains (or) loses much, I think it is one o'clock, perhaps a quarter past one, more or less, I did not think that it was so late, do you hear the clock strike ? it strikes the half hour past one, I must go away quickly, or else I shall be too late, have you any thing of importance to do ? I am to meet somebody at the exchange, should I fail it ivould be a great loss to me, well I set off quickly, lose no time, moments are precious in such a case, indeed they are in these hard times, one must seize every fit opportunity, it is my opinion and maxim, you are much in the right, I assure you, (id.) diligence and industry are necessary to man, I know it, therefore I employ them, society and our comfort require them, ou vont-ils ? suivons les mi peu du chemra. ils s'arretent a la maison de ville. il faut que ce soit quelque chose d 'im- portance, je vous prie de me dire quelle heure il ^est? dites moi, je vous prie, quelle heure il est? je ne saurais vous le dire, pourquoi ? parceque ma montre avance, perd beaucoup. je pense qu'il est une heure. peut-etre une heure et un quart, plus on moins. je ne pensais pas qu'il fut si tard. entendez-vous l'horloge sonner ? elle sonne une heure et demie. il faut que je m'en aille vite, ou bien je serai trop tard. avez vous quelquechose d'importance a faire ? je dois rencontrer quelqu'un a la bourse, si j'y manquais ce me serait une grande perte. eh bien ! partez vite ; ne perdez pas de temps, les momens sont precieux en tel cas. en verite ils le sont en ces temps dimciles. il faut saisir la balle an bond. c'est mon opinion et ma maxime. vous avez bien raison je vous assure. la diligence et l'industrie sont necessaires a l'homme. je le sais, c'est pourquoi je les emploie. la societe et notre aise les requierent. Parts of the Body. head, face, forehead, eye, eyes, eye-brows, eye-lids, eye-ball, ears, hair of the head, temple, cheeks, nose, nostrils, mouth, teeth, tongue, tete,/ lips, visage, m. palate, front, m. throat, oeil, m. gums, yeux, m. p. jaws, sourcils, m. p. chin, paupieres, j£ j?. neck, prunelle de l'oeil,/ throat, oreilles,/ p. bosom, cheveux, m. p. breast, tempe,/ breast, joues, /.' p. shoulders, nez, m. arms, narines, f. p. arm-pit, bouche,/ elbow, dents,/ p. fist, wrist, langue, /. hand, levres,//?. palais, m. gosier, m. gencives,/ p. machoire, /. menton, m. cou, or col, m. gorge,/, sein, m. poitrine, / mammelle, f. epaules,/ p. bras, m. p. aisselle,/ coude, m. poignet, poing, m. main,/ GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 81 finger, thumb, nail, joint, knuckle, belly, ■navel, back, back-bone, side, rib, waist, loins, hip, groin, backside, thigh, knee, doigt, in. calf of the leg, gras de la jambe, m. pouce, m. ankle, cheville du pie, /. ongle, m. foot, pie, m. jointure, f. instep, cou de pie, m. noeud, m. heel, talon, m. ventre, m. toe, orteil du pie, m. nonibril, m. sole of the foot, plante du pie, /. dos, m. skull, crane, m. epine du dos,^ brain, cerveau, m. cote, m. stomach, estomac, m. cote,f. entrails, entrailles, /. p. ceinture, f. bowels, boyaux, m. p. reins, m. p. heart, coeur, m. hanche,^ blood, sang, m. aine, f. flesh, chair, /. derriere, m. fat, gras, m. cuisse,^ bone, os, m. genou, m. member, membre, m. jambe,/ skin, peau, /. EXERCISES ON THE SIX ARTICLES. Every article must agree in gender and number with the noun placed after it. Obs. The first sentence will exemplify the mode of proceeding with the following 1. Definite article of totality, le, &c, the. the plan of the palace was submitted io the king. le plan du palais fat soumis au roi. give the paper of the day to the gentleman. papier jour monsieur. | send the carpet of the hall to the upholsterer. ^ tapis vestibule tapissier. Article masculine before a consonant. Article feminine before a consonant. have you given the key of the house to the woman ? cle maison femme ? show the chimney of the parlour to the lady. cheminee salle dame, the size of the town is not equal to the population. ^ grandeur ville egale population. U before a mascu- line and feminine noun beginning with h mute. r the inheritance was beneficial to the heir of the man. heritage. heritier. the homage of the man was more to the coat. hommage plus habit, the tip-staff laid hold of the man at the hotel. huissier se saisit hotel. "the civility of the hostess was at the hour of departure. honnetete hotesse heure du depart, the landlady of the inn served the dinner at the hour. hotesse hotellerie servit diner heure. the habit of tlie swallow is little known. habitude herondelle peu connue. 82 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. f the order of the officer was executed at the instant. ordre ■ ofjicier execute instant. -^ J the interest of the money was paid to the usurer. interet argent paye usurier. the advice of the advocate was useful to the culprit. avis avocat utile accuse. with a vowel. £' before a mascu- line and feminine n °2? ^ e J> inmn g j f the address of the actress tothe audience was well delivered. g | addresse actrice audience delivree. •§ J the opinion of the assembly concurred to the election. 'g )• assemblee concourut. ^ the issue of the affair was favourable to the enterprise. (^ issue affaire enterprise. f / the danger of the hero raised him to the summit of glory. Le, &c. before 7i as- J ' \ hazard heros Veleva haut de la. pirate. i / / ^ ie ne i» n * °f ^ ie hedge was proper for the halt. ^ J ' \ hauteur haie propre halte. Les, des, aux, are placed before all plural nouns of either gender when used in a definite sense. Examples. give the horses of the gentlemen to the stablemen. messieurs valets d'ecurie. the improvements of the young people did credit to the teachers. progres jeunes gens firent honneur maitre. the rights of the people are intrusted to the guardians of the laws. droits peuples confies gardiens his. the victories of the allied powers have restored peace to the nations. victoires puissances alliees rendu la paix. the amusements of the ancients led to the efforts of genius. anciens conduisaient clu genie, the shouts of tlie people were heard at tlie extremities of the town. acclamations gens retentirent extremites. Le, the, is used undeclined before a cardinal number, expressed in English by an ordinal, to denote time, or the days of the month ; the preposition on, upon, before the ordinal, is omitted in French. Examples. he will be in London on the second of January. a, Londres Janvier, the review will be on the twelfth of June. revue, f. Juin. he died on the eighth of October. il mourut Octdbre. Les, the, preceded by sur, denote the space of time, or the hours of the day, expressed in English by about placed before the cardinal number. Examples. we supped about ten o'clock in the evening. nous soupdmes sur les dix heures du soir. I went to bed about two o'clock in the morning. je me couchai du matin. there was a fire about one o'clock in the day. il y avait un feu du. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 83 Le, &c. is declined before an ordinal number agreeing in gender and number with the noun which it represents ; as, he was the first in the parlour, it fat le premier dans la salle. she sang the third, elle chanta. they were the fourth, m. they came the last, f., elles vinrent. Le, &c, is placed before adjectives used as substantives. This rule, which is also adopted in English, requires the verb governed by the adjective to be in the plural ; but in French it is chiefly applied to the singular, although sometimes les f &c, is put before the adjective in the plural. Examples. the lavish and avaricious know not the value of money. le prodigue et V avaricieux ne connaissent point le prix de V argent. the table of the rich is always surrounded with parasites. riche entouree de . the victory is not always favourable to the brave, nothing prospers to the unfortunate. rien ne reussit malheureux. the foolish have no resources within themselves. les sots n'ont nulles ressources en eux memes. the labours of the thoughtless are often disadvantageous. inconsideres. Le, &c, is used before the infinitive of some French verbs expressed in English by the present participle ; also before some adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions, which custom has established as substantives, and which, as such, follow the rules of nouns in their modifications. Obs. The adjective is generally put after the infinitive, acting as a noun. Examples. immoderate sleeping benumbs the faculties of the mind, le dormir immodere hebete les facultes de V esprit, the regular living of that man makes him robust. vivre cet le rend. excessive drinking destroys the health. boire detruit. early rising contributes to the appetite. lever contribute. the continual talking of the woman stuns me. parler m'etourdit. the saying of the man is not to be believed. dire . a croire. the passion of gaming is very dangerous. jouer. eating and drinking are necessary to the animal creation. manger boire necessaires. Le, &c, before adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions used as nouns, tell me the why and how of the business ? dites moi le pourquoi et le comment de V affaire ? have you heard the for and against (pro and con) ? entendu pour contre ? leave out the but and come to the fact. laissez le mais et en venez. 84 GRAMMAR OE THE FRENCH TONGUE. the if and the but are superfluous in this phrase. superflus dans cette. say the yes rather than the no. elites plutot que. Le, &c., the, omitted in English, is placed before the names of kingdoms, pro- vinces, rivers, and mountains, except those countries, republics, of which the capi- tal bears the same name. Examples. England is not so large as France, L'angleterre nest pas sigrande que la France. Scotland, Ireland, and England, compose Great Britain. composent Sweden, Denmark, and Norway are the northerly kingdoms of Europe. Poland is divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Germany has nine great divisions. Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, are the four parts of the globe. Lakes and mountains are necessary beauties. Have you been to Sicily, Malta, Leghorn, Genoa, and Venice ? Italy is now a heap of ruins and the temple of superstition. Spain and Portugal, rich in foreign possessions, are poor at home. Holland is not large, but very commercial. Le, &c, is used before the names of men and women, to express their eminent virtues or vices. what do you think of Tasso or Ariosto ? que pensez-vous clu Tasse ou de VArioste ? he is the Byron of the day, e'est le Byron cV a present. she is the Siddons of the stage, e'est la Siddons du theatre. Le, &c, the, is used before nouns denoting substances, elements, actions and passions, virtues, vices, metals, sciences, arts, professions, and generally before all nouns taken in the widest sense, or implying the whole species, often not preceded by the English definite article, the. Obs. The adjective is generally placed after the noun or nouns with which it agrees in gender and number. Examples. honey and vinegar mixed together are good for the sore throat. miel vinaigre miles ensemble pour mat de gorge. fruit is very plentiful and good this year. cette annee. home-made lace is much in vogue now. dentelle faite dans le pays bien en vogue a present. provisions are dearer every day. plus cheres de jour en jour. fire is absolutely necessary to existence, without air every thing should be soon corrupted. sans tout bientot corrompu. water contains in itself the three other elements. contient en elle mime. earth is the material substance of man. the four vital elements are fire, air, water, and earth. de la vie. labour and sobriety contribute chiefly to health. contribuent principalement a. excessive drinking and sleep destroy the constitution. detruisent temperament, m. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 85 murder and rapine are the ordinary companions of idleness. war is a crime against the laws of creation. peace restores rest and contentment to nations. genius and taste are the gifts of nature. gaming and extravagance are the ruin of man. courage is nothing without wisdom and clemency. true greatness never commits a mean action. ne commet jamais. virtue alone renders man happy here below. rend ici-bas. hypocrisy and lying are abominable, jealousy and pride are predominant passions, ingratitude is the effect of insensibility, ambition is the cause of pride and extravagance, gold is a precious metal, but often misemployed, silver is a valuable metal and of great use. iron is absolutely necessary to the wants of man. money alone is insufficient for happiness, geography and navigation are very useful to commerce, sciences are the ornament of the human mind, liberal arts introduce every where good manners. introduisent bonnes moeurs. dancing and music are the pleasures of society. painting and poetry are fine productions of genius. titles and dignities cannot make man happy. ne peuvent rendre. riches and honours are frail ; but science and virtue are lasting, man will be answerable for the errors of his life, animals have a natural instinct equal to reason, the casualties of life are unforeseen to man. adversity and prosperity are the casualties of human life. Le, the, expressed in English after a proper name before an ordinal number, is omitted in French ; as, Henry the Fourth of France was a great prince. Henry Quatre de France etait un grand prince. Charles the First of England, and Lewis the Sixteenth of France, were the victims of rebellion. William the Fourth was a good king. Le , the, is not expressed before, the more, plus ; the less, moins ; so much the more, d'autant plus ; so much the less, d' 'autant moins ; repeated in a sentence ; as, The more you have, the more you wish to have. plus plus vous voulez. The less care we have, the more happy we are. de souci. The more one plays, the more one likes gaming. on joue on aime. She is so much the more to be pitied, as she has no friends. Elle est d 'autant plus a plaindre qu'elle n'a pas d'amis. the situation of the man is so much the less enviable, as it is very pre- carious and laborious, he is so much the more happy, as he did not expect the good luck. qu'il n'attendait p>as. 86 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE, Le, &c., is used before nouns of measure, weight, and number, generally pre- ceded in English by the indefinite article, a, an. this woollen cloth is eighteen shillings an ell. ce drap est dix-huit chelins la verge. I have bought the calico at ninepence a yard. coals cost now nine shillings a chaldron. le charbon de terre coute. meat sells at ninepence a pound, se vend neuf sols. wine costs half-a-crown a bottle, undemi-ecu. he pays the men once a month, il paie. we go to London three times a year, nous allons fois. we meet at the theatre once a week, nous nous rencontrons. she writes once a month, elle ecrit. I pass the door three times a day. je passe devant. we walk generally three miles an hour, nous marchons. they work ten hours a day. Us travaillent. it is nearly eightpence a foot, cest presque. Le, &c, is also used in such French idiomatical phrases expressed in English by a or an — believe me, one knows with difficulty a friend in prosperity. croyez moi, on reconnait difficilement Yami dans la prosperity. a good disposition in women has more charms than beauty. Le bon naturel dans les femmes a plus d'attraits que la beaut e. a sprightly mien in men makes often their fortune. Voir spirituel dans les liommes fait souvent leur fortune. in opulence and want the dog is a friend to his master. dans Vopulence et la misere le ehien est Yami de son maltre. he has become very proud since he wears a sword. il est devenu Men orgueilleux depuis quHl porte Yepee. 2. Partitive Article, some, any. This article, derived from the genitive of the definite article of totality, implying part of it, varies according to the gender of the noun before which it is placed, and is thus modified : — m. f. m.f. m.f. -\ du, de la, de V des, some, any. I vide partitive de, d', — — — of some, any. r article. (Gram.) a du, a de la, a de 1', a des, to some, amy. J 1st, As a general rule, this article must be used before every successive noun, according to gender and number, although placed only before the first in English. Obs.— De V is used before a masculine or feminine noun beginning with a vowel of h mute. Examples. bring me some bread, meat, water, wine, and oranges. apportez moi du pain, de la viande, de Yeau, du vin, et des oranges. give the man some money to buy some old clothes, (to, pour). put some tea, coffee, brown sugar, rolls, and butter on the table. I have ordered some roast beef, soup, pie, brandy, and apples. waiter, bring some ham, eggs, cheese, bread, and water. put on the table some paper, ink, and sealing-wax or wafers. I have had some letters and newspapers from Paris to-day. have you any instructions to give to the man? go to the town and buy me some pears and apples. send us some fruit from the country when it is ripe. will you have some eggs, herrings, or jelly ? voulez-vous. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 87 2d, Of, placed between two nouns, is invariably expressed byde or d\ according to the initial letter of the noun after it, if used indefinitely. "Words in English compounded of two nouns expressive of one meaning, the first of which qualifies the second, as, gold watch, analyzed by ivatch of gold, follow the same rule. Examples. give me a bit of bread. donnez mioi un morceau de pain. will you have a slice of lamb ? voulez vous une tranche d'agneau. take a bit of salmon and then after a slice of roast meat. we have brought a dozen of oranges and apples. there is a great number of men and women in the square. it is a mark of honour due to the Queen and Prince Albert. we shall have a couple of fowls and a dish of potatoes. there was a great number of huntsmen at the chase. he has a great number of workmen employed daily. there are some sorts of plants very beautiful in the parlour. have you had a list of books lately published ? some papers of consequence have been sent to the man. De, between words compounded of two or three nouns : — are you going to buy a gold watch ? allez vous acheter une montre d'or ? she has a gold diamond-ring, die a une bague d'or de diamant. give to Maria the gold chain which you have found. the silver spoons and brass candlesticks are on the table. iron mines are more valuable than gold or silver mines. iron tools are necessary to the wants of man. show me some silk stockings and leather gloves. dine with us, we have some veal cutlets and a pigeon pie. tell the housekeeper to come up and bring two silver forks. have you any ginger-bread or winter apples ? we shall have tea in the summer-house to-day. Obs. — "When the qualifying noun can be preceded by the preposition for, instead of of, then the preposition a is used between the two nouns ; as, dining- room, room for dining, salle a manger ; bed-room, room for sleeping, chambre a coucher ; tea table, table for tea, table a the ; dancing-room, room for dancing, salle a danser ; butter print, print for butter, estampe a beurre, &c. Two nouns, having the letter s between them, with an apostrophe as the mark of the genitive or possessive case, follow the same rule, provided the first noun be not preceded by the definite article. Examples. taste some of this calf's head, goutez de cette tete de veau. some calf's foot jelly is good for con- de la gelee de pie de veau est bonne pour la valescency, convalescence. there is a man's hat with a dog's collar in the lobby. have you bought some sheep's trotters and plover's eggs ? cut me a bit of this neat's tongue. she drinks every morning ass's milk, die boit tous les matins. a friend's letter is always comfortable in adversity. a sailor's life is exposed to continual dangers. But when the first noun is preceded by the definite article the, the French definite article le, &c, must be used before the second noun agreeing in gender and number. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. Examples. is this the provost's house, (rendered by est-ce Id la maison du prevot ? the house of the proyost) ? pay the woman's account, show me the journeyman's work, you should not blame the girl's conduct without hearing her, payez le memoire de la femme. montrez moi Vouvrage de Vouvrier. vous ne devriez pas blamer la conduit e de lafille sans V entendre. Some placed or understood before an adjective preceding the noun, is expressed according to the definite or indefinite quality of the noun. The definite quality is expressed by du, &c. The indefinite by de, for both genders and numbers. When the quality of the noun is definite, the adjective may be placed either before or after the noun, unless it should be one of those requiring to be before, but which being modified by one of these three adverbs {Men, tres, fort), may be put after, (vide position of adjectives, page 15, Gram.) The indefinite quality of the noun is expressed by de or d' placed before the adjective, which must absolutely precede the noun, and cannot stand after, as by Rule Second of the partitive article, de or d' can be placed only between two nouns depending upon one another, or expressive of one idea, de or d> qualifies only in a general sense, without reference to the particular quality of the object. Examples of the definite and indefinite quality. def. here is some excellent cheese, indef. def. indef. def. indef. def. indef. def. indef. def. indef. def. here is some excellent cheese, indeed, they are charming girls, void du fromage excellent, or de V excellent frontage. void d' 'excellent fromage. en verite ce sont des files charmantes, or des charmantes files. en verite -ce sont de charmantes files. def. indef. indeed, they are charming girls, he has powerful friends. he has powerful friends. have not they (/.) rich relations ? have not they rich relations ? there are strange reports in the town. there are strange reports in the town. have you some good books ? have you some good books ? he always has some curious anecdotes to tell. he always has some curious anecdotes to tell. you made ingenious remarks, vous fites. you made ingenious remarks. 3. Indefinite Article, or Article of Unity. Un, (m.) une, (f.) a, or an, is used before every noun denoting a numerical and complete part of a whole in an indefinite manner. It agrees invariably with the noun in gender, and is modified by d' and a, or any other preposition. The plural of this article, implying numerical and indefinite parts, adopts the plural modifications of the partitive article, representing parts of a whole. It is thus declined : — sing. plur. masc. fem* m.f. un, une, a or an, des, some, any. d'un, d'une, of, from a, an, de or d\ of some, any. a un, a une, to a, an, a des, to some, any. erammae of tile french tongue.. 89 Examples. bring me a knife, a fork, some glasses and spoons. apportez moi un couteau, line fourchette, des verves, ct des drillers. a man, a woman, and some children were at the door, there was a bust of the queen, with a statue of the prince. an excessive desire of riches is often the ruin of a man. murder is a transgression of the divine laws, the suspense of an uneasy mind is very painful. a speculation is often the ruin of a man. the sympathy of a friend in adversity is a great relief. a bad action is the effect of a depraved mind. a number of men were at the door with petitions. a gun was discharged from a window by a man. a traveller is exposed to excessive extortions, it is an imposition practised only by some rogues. it is a collection of foolish things by a would-be author. a sentence of death is a painful act of justice. a country without a king and laws, is like a being without head and limbs. a mayor is the guardian of the peace of a town. I was at a concert of eminent singers, men and women, he has bought a good collection of books at a public sale. Exceptions. The indefinite article, or article of unity, un, une, a, an, which in the singular refers only to one object unqualified, except it is followed by an adjective preceding the noun, is omitted in French. 1st, Before the title of a work, &c. ; in the middle of a sentence when the first noun characterises the rank, office, &c, or property of the second noun, or when it is used in apposition to the first noun. 2d, When a or an comes after the interrogative article what, quel, &c, denoting any passion of the mind, as surprise, pleasure, grief, &c. ; or before these two numeral adjectives, hundred, cent ; thousand, niille, preceding a noun, 3d, After these verbs, etre, to be ; etre estime, to be reckoned ; etre pris pour, to be taken for ; devenir, to become ; passer pour, to pass for ; unless the noun be followed by an adjective, or any word employed to qualify it, in which case a or an must be expressed before the noun according to gender. 1st, a or an before the title of a work, &c, not expressed in French. Examples. buy me a discourse upon natural religion, lately published. achetez moi discours sur la religion naturelle publie dernierement. have you an introduction to the practice of chemistry ? avez-vous introduction a la pratique de la chimie ? he spared his life, an instance of courage and virtue. il lui donna la vie. he is guilty of murder, a crime against the laws of God. a or an in the middle of a sentence is not expressed. who is that gentleman ? he is a colonel of dragoons. qui est ce monsieur ? il est colonel de dragons. it is the palace of the Duke of Gloucester, a prince of the blood. it is his father, an officer of great merit. he has married the sister, a daughter of the Duke D. he was banished from court, although a duke and peer. she is very elegant, although a commoner's daughter. 90 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. a or an, used by apposition to the first noun, is not expressed. of what profession is he ? he is a merchant, he was an officer. de quelle profession est-il ? il est marcliand, il etait officier. his son is captain of the Bellerophon, a seventy-four gun ship. she is now the Countess of — , but she was an actress at Drury-lane. 2d, a or an after the interrogative article, what, quel, &c, denoting surprise, pleasure, &c, is not expressed in French. what a crowd of people there is at the door ! quelle foule de monde il ya a la porte I what a storm we have had to-day ! what a quantity of plums we have had in the garden ! what a havoc the inundation has caused ! in what a sad condition I am at present ! what a house, and what a strange family ! what a man and what a woman were in the steam-boat ! a or an before hundred and thousand is not expressed in French. He received from Mr. B. a hundred guineas for his trouble. il regut de Monsieur B. cent guinees pour sa peine. he makes a thousand promises which he never keeps. il fait mille promesses quHl ne tient jamais. he has a hundred thousand pounds a-year. they had had a thousand pounds sterling from government, fifty against a hundred, the match is not equal, he took the place with a thousand soldiers, il prit. 3d, a or an is not expressed after the following verbs : Stre, to be ; estimer, etre estime', to reckon, be reckoned ; prendre, etre pris pour, to take, be taken for ; passer pour, to pass for ; devenir, to become ; preceded by any person of verbs. A noun is also omitted after an adjective. Obs. — That every adjective and past participle must agree in gender and num- ber with the person before a passive or neuter verb, trust to me, i" am a man of honour. fiez vous a moi, je suis homme dlionneur. be not afraid, Jam not a woman to deceive you. n'ayez pas peur, je ne suis pas femme a vous trmnper. thou art a friend of the family, tell me the story, address yourself to him, he is a man of probity. he is not a man to insult intentionally. she is a woman of spirit, she will resent the affront. she is a very troublesome woman, difficult to please, when one is a poor man, one is despised, quand on. I am reckoned to be a rich man, yet I am a very poor man. I am reckoned a happy mother in my children. I was taken for a sailor because I had a jacket. I was taken for a wife, because I had a ring, if thou art caught there, thou wilt be taken for a thief, wast not thou taken for a Frenchwoman when in France ? by his look he is generally taken for an officer. I always took him for a colonel, je le pris. I am passing for an advocate, although only an attorney. I often pass for a madcap, because of a lively humour, thou passest for a rogue deservedly, she passes for a modest woman, yet she is not so. , GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 91 one easily passes for a rich person, when one cuts a figure. O) i passe quand on fait figure. I hope to become a master in process of time. from an extravagant thou hast become a stingy woman. he will become a Master of Arts next year. il deviendra Maitre is Arts Vannee prochaine. she became a wife and a mother before she was sixteen. elle devint avant quelle eut seize ans. one cannot become a learned man all at once. on ne pent devenir. by dint of labour one becomes a learned man. a force d , etude on devient savant (literally). d force de forger on devient forger on (proverbially). This last phrase is figurative, and may be applied to any profession or business ; the literal translation is — by dint of working at a forge one becomes an expert smith (taken from a Latin alliteration and quotation, " Frabicando fit Faber"); it is introduced here on account of its frequent use in conversation. 4. Demonstrative Article, ce, &c, this, that, Like the other articles, cannot be used without a noun after it, with which it agrees in gender and number. Ce is used before a masculine noun beginning with a consonant. Cet before a masculine noun beginning with a vowel, or k not aspirate. For the sake of emphasis, the noun placed after this article is often attended with one of these two adverbs, ci, here, la, there, to characterise it more particularly. Ci, here, denotes a near object. La, there, denotes a distant object. Tins article is qualified with de, a, or any preposition. masc. fern. sing. m. f. plur. ce, cet, cette, this, that. ces, these, those. de ce, cet, de cette, of this, that. de ces, of these those. a ce, cet, a cette, to this, that. a ces, to these, those. Examples. this hat is too small for that man. give a glass of that wine to this child, this event has been beneficial to that man and woman, this murder has caused a great sensation in this town. that divine spirit is incomprehensible to man. the vicissitudes of this life are unforeseen and sudden, these changes are the work of a supreme cause, this state of uncertainty is worse than reality, that happiness so much desired is not in this world, that argument appears strange to those men fond of money, do not you admire this picture, and that fine prospect ? to this lucky effort of genius he owes the fortune which he has. these people are much engaged in those occupations, the sale of these articles is very precarious at this time. I have not at this instant the half of that sum. the amount of these debts is very considerable. from that salary he pays twenty pounds to those agents, these taxes are paid at that office before the end of the year, the annual expense of this establishment is very great, that money is paid weekly to these workmen, he has given three shillings to that woman for her trouble. 92 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. these men are accustomed to that work betime. these continual demands are very tiresome, it is one of those misfortunes common in these offices, this present family is the progeny of that alliance, these circumstances were very painful to that family. Ce, cet, cette, ces, attended with ci and let. Examples. this young man takes liberties, and makes himself easy. ce jeune homme-ci s'emancipe et se met a son aise. that young man is diligent, and takes a great deal of pains. ce jeune homme-la est diligent, et prend beaucoup de peine. take this arm-chair, it is very comfortable, that wine is a little sour, and not good to drink, this apartment is very cold in winter, that room has a pleasant view of the country. the work of this workman is well finished, the moral of that work is a great recommendation, this woman is a good worker, and very attentive, that girl is a lazy slut, and a great talker, these shoes are too large, and those half boots too small, these goods will have a good sale in England, the height of those houses is not in proportion. the issue of those adventures was the ruin of that family, it was a great loss to those poor honest people. the labours of these men are very painful. 5. Possessive Article, mon, ma mon, mes, &c. This article being used often idiomatically, requires some attention to the fol- lowing rules : — 1st, It must invariably agree in gender and number with the noun which it pre- cedes and modifies ; ' but when the following noun or adjective is feminine, and begins with a vowel or h not aspirate, mon, ton, son must be used before the noun or adjective in the singular number. 2d, This article must be used and repeated according to gender and number before names of relations and friends, generally omitted in English when speak- ing to, or answering them. 3d, My, thy, his, her, our, your, their, preceding a part of the body, or an action of the mind, coming after an active or a reflected verb, are expressed by the French definite article, le, &c, placed before the noun agreeing in gender and number, and by me, te, &c, before the verb, according to the rule of the preconjunctive pronouns ; as, you have hurt my arm, would be rendered, you to me have hurt the arm, vous m' avez blesse'le bras. But when the person of the verb, and the verb itself, so define the part of the body or action of the mind, as to leave no ambiguity about the agent or object acted upon, me, te, &c, is omitted before the verb, retain- ing only the definite article le, &c, before the noun. 4th, My, thy, &c, joined to a noun referring to a part of the body or to an action of the mind, acting as a nominative case to the verb to be, is expressed only by the definite article, le, &c, before the noun, and the English verb, to be, is changed into avoir. The verb, to be, preceded by my, thy, &c, and a noun, is rendered idiomatically by avoir mal au, a la, al\ aux, according to the gender and number of the follow- ing noun. The idiomatical verb, avoir mal an, a la, a l\ aux, may be expressed by these GRAMMAR OF TILE FRENCH TONGUE. 93 English verbs, to have a sore, be sore, be hurt, be wounded, ail, ache, and other verbs of a similar nature. Obs. "When the pain or disorder is of some duration, or a distinction requires to be made between two objects, to avoid ambiguity, my, &c, is expressed by mon, &c. oth, The possessive article of the third persons singular and plural, son sa, ses, its ; leur, lews, their, cannot be used before inanimate objects when resolvable into of it, of them, thereof. It must be changed into the preconjunctive pronoun, en, immediately placed before the second verb. The possessive article is modified by de, a, and any other preposition. SINGULAR. PLURAL, mas. fern. m. /. mon, ton, son, ma, mon, ta, ton, sa, son, mes, tes, ses, my, thy, his, her, its, notre, notre, nos, our. votre, leur, votre, leur, vos, leurs, your, their. 1st, This article must be repeated before every noun, although not expressed in English, and agree in gender and number. Examples. my father, mother, brother, and sister are in the country. mon pere, ma mere, mon frere, et ma sazur sont a la campagne. put my slippers, night-cap, and morning-gown in my room. mettez mes pantoufles, mon bonnet de nuit, et ma robe de chambre dans ma chambre. my mother and sister wait for the mantua maker with their dresses. I have received a letter from my friends to-day. tell my tailor, hatter, and shoemaker to come immediately, you have not done this to my mind, it was my intention to go with you to London, the cause of my affair of honour was soon circulated. his elevation was imputed to my friendship, thy intention is praise-worthy and honourable. it was a proof of thy affection and obligation, every body gave sanction to thy opinion unanimously, her attention to her occupation is incessant, indeed I am proud of her esteem and good opinion, speak, my money is at thy service most heartily, to thy attentions I owe all my prosperity and success, my affairs are at present in a sad confusion, our time is short, our horses will soon be here, the cleanness of our street is of great advantage to our houses, send this letter and these goods to our partner in England, the safe arrival of our ships will be profitable to our agents, our friends have not yet arrived from Glasgow, your expense is too great for your income. the unexpected bank note from your friend was of great service, give this note to your banker, and you shall have the money, your connections and resources are very extensive, the subject of your conversations was very interesting. I have sent the news of your arrival to your cousins and friends, their good luck was very unexpected and of great service. I have had many proofs of their kindness before. 94 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. lie has been very obedient and attentive to their order, their reasons for that expedient are not very good, yet I have a very good opinion of their counsels. It is to their means that I owe my success (que je dois). 2d, This article must be repeated before the names of relations and friends, generally omitted in English. brother, how wet you are ! monfrere, que vous etes mouille! cousin, what is the matter with you ? sister, this nosegay is for you. dear aunt, I thank you most heartily. good woman, is it far from here to the first village ? dear mother, how kind you are ! daughter, be wise and prudent. dear children, be good and industrious. friends and companions, we have great difficulties to surmount. 3d, My, thy, &c, preceding a part of the body (vide Rule) ; my, thy, &c, after an active or a reflected verb. you make so much noise that you split my head. vous faites tant de bruit que vous me fendez la tete. In his fall he has broken all his bones. dans sa chute il &'est casse tous les os. thou hast hurt thy finger. tu Ves blesse le doigt. the surgeon has just set Ms arm and leg. le chirurgien vient de lui remettre le bras et la jambe. the pain makes her gnash her teeth. le mal lui fait grincer les dents. she squeezed my hand very affectionately. elle me serra la main bien affectueusement. I have sprained my foot in jumping from this ladder. je me suis foule le pie en sautant de cette echelle. you have grazed my instep. vous voUavez effleure le cou de pie. she has dislocated her ankle bone in making a false step. elle s'est disloque la cheville du pie enfesant un faux pas. they cut their fingers in pealing the apples. elles se couperent les doigts enpelant les pommes. But when the person of the verb, and the verb itself, so define the part of the body or action of the mind as to leave no ambiguity, the preconjunctive pronoun is omitted. Examples. I could not shut my eyes the whole night. je ne pus fermer Voeil de toute la nuit. give me thy hand, and the bargain is made. has he not lost his teeth in that illness ? he has shut his ears at that question. she has not lost her tongue, I assure you (je vous assure). we shall perhaps lose our life in this dangerous excursion. they lost their reason, and shortly after that their life. you shrug up your shoulders, and. laugh at our fear. 4th, My, thy, &c, joined to a noun referring to a part of the body or an action of the mind, acting as the nominative case to the verb, to be, is expressed only by GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 95 the definite article, U, &c, before the noun, and the English verb, to be, is changed into avoir. Examples. my mind is very uneasy since he is at sea. j'ai Vesprit Men inquiet depuis quHl est sur mer. my body is quite disordered since that illness. thy eyes are red and heavy for want of sleep. his imagination is very inventive and superstitious. our soul is endowed with wonderful qualities more or less. your memory is a little dull of apprehension to-day. their limbs are well proportioned, but their mind is uncultivated. her understanding is well cultivated and good. my intention was to try the experiment once more. their spirits are much depressed by that failure. her shape and figure are elegant, but her temper is fractious. his back is much distorted by that dangerous fall. his face is pleasing and open, yet his heart is deceitful. The verb, to be, preceded by my, thy, &c, and a noun denoting a pain or dis- order, is rendered idiomatically by avoir mal au, a la, a l\ aux, according to the gender and number of the following noun. Examples. my face is sore since yesterday. j'ai mal au visage depuis hier. is thy leg hurt, that thou limpest ? his left ear is very sore, he cannot hear (il ne peut pas). how long is it since her eyes were sore ? (depuis quand.) our arms and hands are very sore, is your nose sore ? it is very red and swelled. your eye-ball is much inflamed, your eyes are sore. their mouth and lips are very sore. his fingers have been very sore since yesterday. my back is so sore that I cannot stand upright. j'ai si mal au dos que je ne puis me tenir droit. our feet are not sore, we can run pretty fast. her legs have been so sore that she could not walk. elle a eu si mal aux jambes qu'elle ne pouvait marcher. Obs. — "When the pain or disorder is of some duration, or a distinction requires to be made between two objects to avoid ambiguity, my, &c, is expressed by mon, &c. -r. Examples. my headach does not diminish, mon mal de tete ne diminue point. my cheek has swelled more and more since yesterday. my fingers are benumbed with cold (de froid). one of my feet is always cold since my illness, thy fever consumes thy body daily, poor child, put thy arms round my neck, dear Maria, he loses all his blood, make haste, run for a surgeon ! we have left our legs on the field of battle, at Waterloo, take care, your teeth begin to decay. have you lost entirely the use of your hands ? their blood was frozen in their veins, they will light again on their feet. they were introduced to their majesties, and kissed their hands. G 96 grammar of the french tongue. 5. The Possessive Article. Son, sa, ses, its ; leur, leurs, their ; cannot be used for inanimate objects when resolvable into of it, of them, thereof. It must be changed into the preconjunctive pronoun en, immediately placed before the second verb. Examples. your house is pretty convenient, but its rooms are too small. votre maison est assez convenable, metis les chambres en sont trop petites. this town is well built, but its streets are too narrow. this book is well printed, but its types are too small. the subject of this picture is good, but its execution is bad. I have seen his coffin, its ornaments are superb. I have drunk of that wine, I know its strength. this is the new exchange, how do you like its appearance ? you have read this newspaper, how do you like its order ? here is a beautiful edifice, do you like its construction ? this fruit is beautiful, but I do not like its flavour. your law- suit is very ticklish, its success is very doubtful. I see his design, but I know what will be its issue. that play is tolerable, but its catastrophe is very bad. Obs. — But when the whole or part of the sentence is governed by the same verb, son, &c. is used before the noun inanimate. Examples. this tree extends its branches very far. cet arbre etend ses branches bien loin. the sea has its ebb and flow twice in twenty-four hours. he knows the cause of all disorders, their symptoms and effects. this house has it conveniencies and inconveniencies. money has its advantages and disadvantages. life has its happy and unhappy events." countries have their peculiar products. 6. The Interrogative Article. The interrogative article, quel, quelle, what, which, who, must always be placed before the noun with which it agrees in gender and number, and be repeated before every successive noun. Should that noun be preceded or followed by an adjective or past participle, they must all agree together. In sentences of interrogation, the French feminine adjective may generally be placed before the noun, but the masculine is restricted to the rule, (vide Position of Adjectives.) In sentences of exclamation, the indefinite article a, an, placed either before a noun or an adjective after ivhat, must be suppressed. In sentences answering a question, quel, &c, what ? is sometimes used as in English, before the verb, the noun or person of the verb coming last. Examples. what master do you serve now ? quel maitre servez-vous a present ? what book have you bought, and what price have you given ? of what accident are you speaking ? of what trick have you been the dupe ? from what old book have you torn this page ? to what man are you going to give this letter ? to what lucky chance must I impute your arrival? what reason has he given you for this undertaking ? what noble action has he done that his name is so exalted ? GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 97 of what stupidity is he accused and blamed ? of what place has he been deprived through his misconduct ?■ from what person have you received this letter ? to what lady were you speaking in the street ? to what dreadful necessity has he reduced his wife ? to what town have you been with your sisters ? what bills have they paid this week ? what great profits have you had on these goods ? what means have you employed for that discovery ? of what friends have you had the assistance ? of what papers is he the editor and publisher ? from what dangers was he timely delivered ? to what labours have you devoted all your time ? to what beggarly rogues have you lent your money ? to what expensive amusements have you devoted your time ? what riches has he acquired by his industry ? what beautiful country-houses has she lately sold ? what expenses have you incurred in that journey ? of what exorbitant demands have they to complain ? of what pleasant adventures were they speaking? of what rogueries was he guilty ? to what resources will you have recourse in the present case ? to what bad habits are they addicted incessantly ? to what dreadful miseries was she exposed ? In sentences of exclamation, a or an is not expressed after quel, &c, what. Examples. what a riot there is in the street ! quel tumulte il y a dans la rue I what a number of children here is at the door ! what a fine picture you have bought ! what a generous man he is ! what a good man ! what an unexpected misfortune ! what a dreadful disaster ! what a good dinner we had ! what a number of people ! what a beautiful edifice ! what an ornament to the town ! what a woman ! she is always scolding and quarrelling, what a strange thing has happened to the man ! what an afflicting letter I have received to-day ! what an uneasiness and what a death he suffered ! what a foolish thing you have said without thinking ! what an amiable family, and what a pretty girl ! what evils there are in this life incident to man ! what happy moments are the moments of innocence ! what great news you have brought ! what rejoicings there are in the town ! In answer to a question, quel, &c, what ? is sometimes used as in English, before the verb, the noun or person of the verb coming last. Examples. what is the object you have in view ? quel est Vobjet que vous avez en vue ? what is your advice on this important subject \ what was the success of his first attempt ? who is that man ? what is his message ? which is the money that he wants? (qu'il veut.) which is the coat he has brought ? what is the price ? 98 GRAMB1AR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. which is the horse you have bought ? what will be the end of your expenses ? your ruin. what was the issue of all your projects ? disappointment. tell me, what will be your conduct after marriage ? what is your resolution in this case ? what was your occupation when in the country ? what will be the end of all these quarrels ? separation. which are the estates of his father ? what great progress have they made in their studies ? what are the happy advantages of his situation? what were their reasons for that conduct ? what are the sums of money which they have brought ? what are their connections in that business ? what measures have they adopted for their success ? "What, quel, &c, before to be, in answer to a noun, with which it agrees in gen- der and number. Examples. there is some mystery in this affair : what is it ? il y a du mystere dans cette affaire : quel est-il ? you have given scandal to some persons : what is it ? there is some profit to make : what is it ? a great accident has happened : what is it ? there is some danger in the undertaking : what is it ? it is a desirable place, you say : what is it ? she has told me a good news : what is it ? the adventure was cunning enough : ivhat was it ? I have had a good windfall : what is it ? he has given orders about that : what are they ? I have great projects in view : what are they ? there are strange reports in the town : what are they ? there were many people here to-day : who were they ? there are many curiosities in London : what are they ? they have said many pleasant things : what are they ? there are good news in town : what are they ? have other things in view : iv hat are they ? PRONOUNS, As implied by their denomination, are words employed to fill the place of nouns, of which they singly represent the nature and attributes. As such representatives they must agree in gender and number with the object to which they refer, there- fore they never can be used both together. This class of words, the most general in use, requires a particular attention and study to distinguish, and be acquainted with the peculiar and distinct character of each. They are so developed and elucidated by familiar exercises, that it is hoped their knowledge will be easily attained through practice. The persons of a verb are, je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, Us, elles. I, thou, he, she, one, &c. we, you, they, they. These placed either before or after the verb, acting necessarily as the nomina- tive case or subject, and remaining undeclined, are simply called persons, to render more plain the nature of the following pronouns, and remove the confused anomalies of similar names applied to different objects. SINGULAR. moi, I, me, toi, thou, thee, soi, one's self, lui, he, him, elle, she, her, GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 99 These pronouns, like the articles, are classed into six kinds, namely, 1st, Disjunctive Pronouns, moi, &c. I, me. 2d, Preconjunctive, me, &c. me, &c. 3d, Relative, simple and compound, qui, quoi, oic, lequel, who, &c. 4th, Possessive, le mien, &c. mine, &c. 5th, Demonstrative, celui, &c. he, &c. 6th, Indefinite, on, Vun, V autre, one, both, &c. 1. Disjunctive Pronouns. PLURAL. nous, we, us. vous, you. soi, themselves. eux, they, them. elles, they, them. These pronouns are modified by de, a, or any preposition. The disjunctive pronouns cannot be governed by a verb, unless that verb, by an elliptical government, should be followed by the preposition de or a, which is some- times put after reflected verbs. (For other Pules, vide page 8, Gram.) These disjunctive pronouns are often combined with mime, self; seul, alone; and autres, joined to the first and second persons plural. Examples. have you brought this for me ? avez-vous apporte ceci pour moi ? have you need of me ? speak, I am ready. it was to me to whom he wished to speak. it is to me to whom the letter was directed. I will do that for thee with great pleasure. we were speaking of thee this moment. the letter was for thee and not for me. they will soon be accustomed to thee. every one thinks and acts for one's self. nobody speaks ill of one's self, but often of others. every one must think of one's self. he is always speaking against him : what is the cause of that ? I have received this parcel and papers from him to-day. when you are in the country, think sometimes of him. he danced with her the whole evening. he continually spoke of her to his friends in the room. he devotes himself entirely to her, who is betrothed to another. what will they think of us after that ? que penseront Us de nous apres cela ? pray, tell me, have you done that for us ? they never think of us now ; we are forgotten. there are many things for you sent by them. we were speaking of you just now. to you, and to you only, he was very attentive. have you heard lately from them, or from them If. it was from them we have received the parcel. what visiters are with them now in the country ? two young ladies are with them in London,/ they are poor ; lovers do not think of them now,/ yet they speak often of them, and praise their accomplishments. 100 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 2. Disjunctive Pronouns after c'est, &c, and before qui, or que, it was I" who have mentioned the affair to the brother. was it not from me that you had the intelligence ? it was not to me to whom the message was sent. it is thou, who wilt be sent there with them, f. I should not have expected that from thee, whom I thought honest. it is for one's self that one must practise virtue. it is from one's self that one possesses happiness. it is to one's self that it is absolutely necessary. it is he who will be appointed to that lucrative situation. was it of him of whom they were speaking yesterday ? it will not be to him to whom it will be given. it was she whom, you have seen last night at our house, is it not from her from whom you have had this ring ? yes, it is to her to tvhom I have given my promise of marriage. it is ive who have had the sole management of the affair. it is of its of tvhom they speak most scandalously. it was to us who were in France that they sent the letter. every body says that it is you ivho have caused the quarrel. it was not from you, who were then travelling abroad. it is to you to whom the application will be made. it was they who have brought the news of your coming. it is of them of whom you are always speaking ill. it was to them to whom he applied for relief. it was with them with whom we went hovae,f. it was from them we received the intelligence,^ is it to them to whom people give a bad character ? f. 3. Before the relative, qui, who, which, that, would you think me unfaithful, I who love you more than myself? me croiriez-vous perfide moi qui vous aime plus que moi-meme ? to say that of me, who am innocent, is very unjust. why apply to me, who am always engaged ? to intrust that to thee, who art not skilled in those things. he reckons upon thee, who art his intimate friend, make haste thou, who passest thy time idly. I should not have thought that of thee, who art so exact. yes, he who has plenty of money can relieve the poor. ! have that from him, who was then present, what ! to him, who has acted so generously. she, vjho knows that, will tell the whole affair, do not speak ill of her, who was always good to your mother, be kind to her, who loves you tenderly. tue, who were strangers in the town, lost our way. people said of us, who were poor, that we were rogues, to us, who were in great trouble, it was cruel. you, who are always engaged, cannot undertake that, they had the story from you, who were then present. he has dedicated his work to you, who are his protector. they, tuho have so much to do, ought not to play, we had the news from them, who were then in England, they had recourse to them, tuho had many friends. they, who were ignorant of the circumstances, were there. why do you speak ill of them, who are so modest ? /. why not apply to them, who are always so obliging ? /. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 101 4. Moi, &c, after que, than ; as, ne — que, only, he has greater advantages than I. il a plus (Tavantoges que moi. he does not speak better of him than of me. you give more money to her than to me. you are not so fit for that as she. if he is not as rich as thou, he has more abilities than thou. I am less astonished at them than at you. he is no more partial to her sister than to her. we are less satisfied with them than with you. he referred the business only to us. you are much more lucky than they. yet they are more \rise and attentive than we. we have visited only him and his family in town, we received more attentions from the others than from him. 5. In answer to a question. Examples. who has done this ? I, mother, qui a fait ceci ? moi, ma mere. from whom had he received the order? from me. to whom has he given that ? to me, sister, who shall do that ? thou and the man. of whom are you speaking ? of thee. to whom will you give that ? to thee. whom will you send to the town ? him and you. from whom have you the news? from him. to whom are you writing a letter ? to him. whom have you seen? her and her mother, from whom have you this letter ? from her. to whom have you directed the parcel ? to her. who had seen the man ? we, sir. from whom had they the money ? from us. to whom have they mentioned that ? to us. who shall accompany the lady ? you, daughter, of whom were they speaking so long? of you. to whom will you give that ? to you, children, whom will you take with you ? them. of whom were they the acquaintance ? of them. to whom have you spoken ? to them. ■who has told you that news ? they,/. from whom have they had that money ? from them, f. to whom are you so much obliged ? to them, f. 6. Emphatically before or after a nominative case of the same person ; also before or after an infinitive at the beginning or end of a sentence. Examples. (what) I think so ! moi, je pense comme cela ! je pense comme cela, moi ! (what) I to think so ! moi, penser comme cela ! penser comme cela, moi ! no, I assure you, you do me a great injustice. nonje vous assure, vous me faites grand tart. (what) she is guilty of levity! it is unjust to say that. she to be guilty of levity ! 102 GRAMMAR OF TILE FRENCH TONGUE. (what) they should deceive their friends ! impossible ! they to deceive their friends ! I have seen that myself, j'ai vu cela moi-meme. he spoke to me alone, when we were in the room, it was to him alone that I wished to speak, the reward was due to her alone, she alone merited that. hast thou an opinion so bad of thyself ? he did that himself when I was in the room, the fault was imputed to us alone, because we were there, what can they do, they alone little used to those things ? what do you think of yourselves after such an action ? that discourse was applied to you alone. have you given the papers and books to themselves ? he speaks of himself incessantly when in company. I was with her alone the whole evening. they alone remained there the whole night, /. they were there themselves (/.-) with them, m. he alone submitted to that willingly, the choice was left to you alone entirely. Obs. — Autres has no equivalent expression in English, being a pure expressive Gallicism. The few following Examples are merely introduced in both languages to enable the student to understand that idiom. because ive fine fellows are fond of no- parceque nous autres, nous aimons la velty, nouveaute. nobody is uneasy about us, personne ne s'inquietes de nous autres. nobody likes to have any thing to do personne vCaime a se jouer, a nous autres. with us, you have no cares, you, vous autres n'avez point de souci. we have heard of you, nous avons entendu de vous autres. nothing gives any uneasiness to you, rien ne donne de Vinquietude a vous autres. you riot at the expense of us, vous faites bonne chere auoa depens de nous autres. nothing daunts you, rien ne vous intimide vous autres. Obs. — Besides the above construction of these disjunctive pronouns, when two or more of them are joined either together or to nouns coming before the verb which they govern, the verb must also be preceded by the person plural of the respective disjunctive pronouns according to priority and the Rules of Syntax ; that is to say, moi requires nous, toi vous ; but should the pronouns be of the third per- sons, Us, elles, need not be expressed, unless it be for the sake of emphasis. But when the pronouns or nouns are put in apposition to each other, and each governs a different verb, tense, or person, the disjunctive pronoun must be followed by its corresponding person to govern the verb, except as above in the third persons singular and plural, when the disjunctive pronouns alone are sufficient. Examples. you and /have been very busy, vous et moi nous avons ete bien occupes. you and he are very lucky in your pursuits. you and she are not satisfied, you are never contented. -we and they are ready to begin the work. he and I are very fatigued, we have had no rest. slie and he are engaged from morning till night. he, she, and I were then in the country. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 103 your brother, he, and J, have dined together to-day. Mr. Thompson, your sisters, and I, were of the party. our friends, you and we shall go to the theatre. my sisters and they are very great friends, f. my uncle and he have arrived this morning. her mother and she are very ill after their journey. Obs. — All these sentences may be expressed by beginning the phrase with the persons of the verb, and finishing it with the disjunctive pronouns or nouns ; but the third disjunctive pronouns require their corresponding persons before the verb ; as, they and he quarrelled together. its se querellerent eux et lui. my uncle and he have arrived to-day. ils sont arrives mon oncle et lui aujouroVhui. my mother and she are ill. elles sont malades ma mere et elle. you and I shall go and see them. nous irons les voir, vous et moi. But when the pronouns or nouns are put in apposition to each other, each governs a different verb ; as, they dance, and J look on. ils dansent, et moi^e regarde. I shall set out, but thou wilt remain, je partirai, mais toi tu resteras. you are drinking, and he is eating the whole day. they are rich, and we are poor. you are idle, but they are very industrious. she is happy, and I am miserable. The disjunctive pronouns, lui, elle, eux, elles, are also used for inanimate objects personified, generally preceded by a preposition. Examples. I do not complain of her (justice personified). je ne me plains pas d'elle (justice, &c.) without it nothing can be done (judgment), sans lui on ne pent run fair e (jugement). from it we possess our greatest happiness (virtue). nous possedons d'elle notre plus grande felicite {vertu). most men look for tliem only (pleasures). la plupart des hommes ne cherchent qu'' eux (i^laisirs). In speaking of rational or personified objects, lui, elle, eux, elles, are often joined to mime to prevent ambiguity. he has said nothing for himself, il n'a run dit pour lid meme. she would not take that step for herself. they ought to take more care of themselves. these young ladies think a great deal of themselves. virtue has in itself all that can make it lovely. the mind possesses in itself many more charms than beauty. Soi, one's self, himself, herself, itself, one, &c, is used when nouns or pronouns are indeterminate, and may be employed for the plural when referring to plural nouns or pronouns ; but soi must be preceded by a preposition. When meme is joined to it, it has no plural. Examples. Man is not born for himself. Vhomme n* est pas ne pour soi. this woman is neat in herself, cette femme est propre sur soi. 101 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. the counsel is good of itself, if properly followed. religion is consoling of itself in troubles of mind. afflictions are useful of themselves. the loadstone attracts iron to itself. their reasons are good of themselves. one ought not to praise one's self. it is the duty of man to be accountable to himself. death has something dreadful in itself. one ought to speak of one's self with great modesty. it is natural for every one to think of one's self. Soi, in sentences like the following, refers to things about one's person. Examples. he does not spend much money upon himself, il ne depense pas beaucoup d' argent sur soi. she wears no jewels about herself, elle ne porte point de joyaux sur soi. they have none about themselves. Us n'en ont point sur soi. 2. PPECONJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS. These pronouns, so called on account of their continual union with one another, and their being always placed before the verb which governs them, demand both the earliest and most particular study, constituting, as it were, the soul of the French language. These pronouns can only be used with, and placed before an active or reflected verb, by which they are governed as its object. They are, therefore, divided into two kinds, namely, preconjunctive pronouns of the accusative, and preconjunctive pronouns of the dative, suitable to the government of the verb acting upon them. (For Rules and Tables of Pronouns, vide pages 9, 10, 11, Gram.) In the initiation of these pronouns, it would be of great advantage to either teacher or student, to take, for instance, a sentence like the present or any other out of the Grammar, and by altering the preconjunctive pronoun into any other, change the meaning. For example, you blame me ; instead of me, to put him, her, us, them : also to use the negative inflection ; as, you do not blame me, &c, equi- valent to, you not me blame ; or, do you blame me ? equivalent to, me blame you ? do not you blame me ? equivalent to, not me blame you ? and so on with any of the pronouns. By that means a practical knowledge will be acquired by very few exercises of that kind, and greatly facilitate the proper use of them. Obs. — The negative ne-pas, not, ne must always precede the preconjunctive, which cannot be parted from the verb, and pas after the verb, if a simple tense, and pas after the auxiliary, if a compound tense. 1st Table — Preconjunctives of the Accusative. Examples. do not blame me without hearing me. ne me blamez pas sans nv 'entendre. they had invited me before, (me, m.) had not you seen me with them ? (me,/) I take thee in my service, if thy master speaks well of thee. I will encourage thee, if thou deservest it. have not I rewarded thee pretty well? (thee,/!) where did you meet him the first time ? I have known him in France ; he was in Paris, you expect her this evening, you say. I know her well, she is very amiable and good. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 105 had not you entreated her to wait for us ? you ought to have done it to oblige her. 1 shall send it as soon as possible. I received it this morning by the post, (it, /.) we have sent it last night by a steam-boat, (it, f.) they will come shortly to see us, and stay a week with us. they have expected us for a long time. that has vexed us very much, (us,/) you had forgotten us altogether seemingly, (us, f.) well ! we come to visit you, and invite you to dinner. we have surprised yon in coming to see you so early. we have not forgotten you during our absence, (you./) he says that he had met you in the street, (you, /. pi.) you see them often walking in the town. have you thanked them for their kindness ? (them,/) have not you seen them since that time? (them,/) you have bought them too dear, (them,/) if you have not brought them, go and fetch them. we have not received them yet, (them,/.) 1st Table — Preconjunctives of the Dative. Examples. what you told me diverts me much. ce que vous vtiavez clit, me divertit beaucoup. do you promise me to come this evening ? they have told me many very strange things, we shall speak to thee of that another time, she has many things to tell thee on that subject, they will be of great service to thee, (they,/) I shall show thee the errors which thou hast made. I will speak to him, and mention to him the case, this situation might be very profitable to him. have not you told her yet your intentions ? you should have communicated to her my views, she did not wish to give him pain, he had written to us before on that subject, these news had given us a great deal of trouble, they imputed many things to us without reason, we shall show you the letter ; it is not very civil, they ought to have written to you themselves, the report would have done you less harm, you could have proved to them that it was false, that would have shown them your friendship, have you mentioned to them all the circumstances ? their late aunt has left them a large fortune. 2d Table (vide page 9). Examples. if you lend it to me, you will do me a great service. si vous me le pretez, vous me rendrez un grand service. will you return it to me soon, for I want it ? if you had told it to me before, I could do it then, they have sent it to me by the post, (it,/) you had promised them to me long ago. you have sold them to me too dear, (them,/) 106 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. I shall give it to thee with the greatest pleasure. they have brought h to thee early this morning, (it,/!) they will not refuse it to thee, as thou art careful, (it, /'.) we shall send them to thee as soon as possible. I recommend them to thee, being very good, (them, f.) I shall tell it to him when I am. in town. he will carry it to her with great pleasure, (it, f.) we have sent it to her yesterday morning, (it, /.) shall not we pay them to him before that time ? have you ordered them to him ? (them, /.) they have brought them to her to day, (them,/!) he recommended him to us most powerfully. he also presented her to us on her arrival in this town. when he had his bill, he paid it to us immediately. they mentioned it to us as a thing of consequence, (it, /!) have not they sent them to us yet ? then it will be too late. they have sold them to us at a very high price, (them,/!) they have recommended them to us very highly, (them,/!) I will show it to you this moment if I find it. he refused to lend it to you for fear of losing it, (it, /.) we recommend him to you as a very honest man. he will give her to you in marriage, I am sure. he has promised her to you long ago. shall I send them to you this afternoon ? have they brought them to you yesterday ? (them,/!) I would have sent them to you before easily. they have not sold them to you very cheap, (them,/!) I carried it to them as soon as possible. he showed it to them on the same day, (it,/.) we had said it to them many times before. had not you directed it to them at their lodgings, (it,/!) I offered them to them at a very low price. I returned them to them by the carrier. we had not refused them to them for all that. he had shown them to them on purpose, (them,/!) I had entirely forgotten to send them to them. To the preconjunctive pronouns, either of the accusative or dative, are also joined the preconjunctives y and en, forming the complement of the Second Table. y. Examples. (For definition of y, vide page 12, Gram.) you force me to it against my will, I assure you. vous m'y forcez contre mon gre, je vous assure. it is you who have reduced me to it, (me,/.) you have not determined me to it yet, (me, /.) they had prepared me for it by degrees, (me,/!) they admitted me into it without opposition, they used me to it little by little, you will not see me there this evening, I am too busy, he wishes to carry me thither with her to-day. I shall recommend thee to it most willingly, they will receive thee into it for the sake of thy friends. I could introduce thee there easily, if thou art inclined to it. that will cause thee there much trouble. I cannot encourage thee in it for fear of ill success. I should not think thee there in safety. GRAMMAR OF THE ERENUII TONGUE. 107 why have you persuaded him to it in his present state ? we had invited her there before that. she found him there by chance, not knowing it. you have introduced her to it against her will. if you conduct him thither, take well your measures. I should carry it there with me to be secure. will you send him there this letter from me ? we shall remit to him there the money shortly. if you have not recourse to him there, you will not succeed. have you sent to him there all the papers which he wants? they were not delivered to him there in time. I shall speak to him there about that affair. you will see its there next week without fail, take care to bring your friends to us there. you will find us in it at the end of the week. they have left us in it all alone, (us, /.) you ought to have come to see us there in safety. it'is you who have engaged us in it, (us, /.) why did not you recommend us to it ? you would have rendered us there a great service. I promise you to send you there all the news. I hope they wall employ you in it immediately. had not they invited you there for a long time past ? I shall send you there no more after this. wait a moment, he will conduct you there. at last I have surprised you at it, (you,/!) you will see them there all assembled together. we shall encourage them in it for their advantage. I shall send them thither immediately. did not you receive them there before this time ? if you do not urge them to it, they will take no trouble. I was not a little surprised to meet them there. he had recommended them for it as very clever. I pray you to send to them there these letters. we shall deliver ourselves the letters to them there. they will procure them there more friends. you will render them there a very great service. have not you written to them there on that subject ? we wish them there a great success, they deserve it. it is unnecessary to cause any pain to them there. En, some, &c. Examples. (For definition of en, vide page 12, Gram.) he has promised me some, il nx'en a promis. he has not sent me any yet, but I expect it hourly, you have tired me quite with it, (me,f.) has he said when he would procure some for me ? tell them to keep some for me when they have some. do not speak any more to me about it, I am tired with it. I will not say any thing to thee about it, as thou art not sure, go to my house, they will give thee some. if they speak to thee about it, pretend not to hear, nobody will suspect thee of it after so many years. I shall prevent him of it, lest he should speak of it. I informed him of it before his departure from this town, we thanked him for it most heartily. 108 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. we have entrusted her with it, being very honest. I have warned her of it several times before. have not they rewarded Mm for it ? I would send him some willingly, if I had any. I shall remit some to him as soon as possible. go to speak to her about it and return quickly. you ought not to have done it without speaking to her about it. we have fully shown our gratitude to her for it. do not ask her for any now, her refusal would be painful. they informed us of it as soon as they arrived there. I suppose that they thought us ignorant of it. you had informed us of it before, (us, f.) you explained to us the consequences of it. you gave us a tolerable fine description of it. I shall tell you the cause of it another time. I hope that I do not deprive you of it, for I should be sorry for it. shall I help you to some ? there is plenty of it. they ought not to have blamed you for it. they should have spoken to you about it before. I blame them for it much more than you. if you charge them with it they will forget it. you should have warned them of it in due time, (them,/.) they suspect them of it after their strange conduct. but we have sent information of it to them. take care not to speak to them about it. if you promise some to them, be careful to send some. we shall send them some certainly as soon as possible. you should have said nothing about it to them. he has kindly spared the expense of it to them. the best way is to speak no more about it' to them. pray, do not make mention of it to them at present. • 3d Table, (vide pagelO,Gram.) see if you cannot procure it for me there, voyez si vous ne sauriez me Vy procurer. why have not you sent her to me there ? he has brought him to me there unexpectedly, they will send them to me there. should not they have directed them to me there ? (them, /.) we shall show it to thee there, when thou art with us. he will be very glad to introduce him to thee there. has not he shown her to thee there ? we shall procure them for thee there, if possible, they will give them to thee there without fail. I shall send it to him (or her) there as soon as possible. I shall bring her to him there myself next week, do not fail to deliver it to her there on your arrival, (it,/.) is it not possible to convey them to him (or Iter) there ? they will tell them to him (or her) there, I am sure of it. have the goodness to show him to us there. the post will remit it to us with greater safety. when will you send them to us there ? they have promised them to us there long ago, (them,/) I shall send him to you there to-morrow morning, have not they delivered it to you there ? (it,/) GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 109 the servant said that they had brought it to you there. ■when did they send them to you there ? I addressed them to you there, thinking you were still there. you ought to mention it to them there before that time. I hope that you have recommended him to them there. I intend to carry her to them there in my coach. have not you delivered it to them there ? (it, /'.) why do not you send them to them there ? I cannot very well introduce them to them there. Union of y and en to the personal preconjunctive pronouns, (vide pp. 10, 11,, Gr.) I wish very much that you should have some conveyed to me there. jt souhatte beaucoup que vous m'y en fassiez tenir. I cannot procure any for me there, there are no shops, well, I shall send thee some there in a few days, in the meantime thou mayest amuse thyself with it there. tell him that I shall reward him for it there. I will give him (or her) some there, if in my power. when at leisure he will inform himself of it there. take care not to speak of it to us there before them. shall I not bring you some there ? mind, they will not send you any there. they can easily procure any for themselves there. they amused themselves with it there very much, how will you reward them for it there ? I shall remit them some there without fail, had not you promised them some there ? you ought to send them some there as soon as possible. For the exception to the position of the preconjunctive pronouns before the verb, vide page 11, Gram., where a full elucidation is demonstrated by Examples. But as these preconjunctive pronouns placed after the imperative mood affirma- tive deviate from the order of the three Tables, the following are introduced here to remove any difficulty attending their changes, observing, that when two impera- tive moods are joined together by the conjunctions, and, or, et, ou, the preconjunc- tives governed by the second imperative must be placed before it after the con- junction, without any alteration from the Tables, pages 9, 10, 11, Gram.) Preconjunctive Pronouns after the Imperative Mood Affirmative. mot (instead me. Vy toi, it to thyself there. of me), les y toi, them to thyself there. le moi, him, or, it to me. y en toi, thyself some there. her, or, it to me. 0'» him, her, it there. them to me. lesy, them there. :\en 'mo , some, &c, to me. y lui, to him, her there. me there, &c. les y lui, them to him, her there. him, &c, to me there. y en lui, some to him, her there. moi, them there to me. y en la, her with it there. noi, some there to me. y en les, them for it there. toi (instead thyself, thee. le nous, him, it to us. ofte), la nous, her, it to us. It toi, him, or, it to thee. les nous, them to us. la toi, her, or, it to thee. Vy nous, him, her, it to us there. them to thee. les y nous, them to us there. thyself some, &c. y en nous, us some there. y toi, thyself to it. le vous, him, it to you. 110 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. la vous, her, it to you. y leur, to them there. les vous, them for you. Vy leur, him, her, it to them there. Vy vous, him, her, it to you there. les y leur, them to them there. les y vous, them to you there. y en leur, of it to them there. y en vous, you of it there. y en les, them for it there. Obs. — The English meanings affixed to these pronouns may be expressed several different ways, according to the prepositions belonging to the English words. Le, en, y, these three preconjunctive pronouns constitutiug a most essential part of the French language, will be found comprehensively elucidated by the follow- ing examples and exercises, and show the various modes of expression belonging to these pronouns connected with the second and third Tables. 1st. Le, it, them, so, &c, (vide page!2,Gram.) can you give it to me? I can (or, yes). pouvez vous me le donner ? je le puis. you say it to amuse yourself: I do (or, yes). do you expect to hear from them ? I do (or, yes). you seem to be very comfortable here : I am so. I hope she will be happy : she will be so. are you tired ? indeed I am very much. is not he married now ? he is (or, yes). do you think so ? indeed I do. is he now very much engaged ? he is (or, yes). you are, I imagine, the gentleman ? I am (or, yes). you are a relation of Mr. B. ? I am. you are, I think, the sister of Mrs. B. ? yes, sir. you are the eldest daughter of Mrs. T. ? I am. do you read sometimes the newspapers ? yes. are these your books and pens ? they are. are these your portmanteaux and trunks? they are. Obs. — Le, &c, relating to the third person singular or plural of a rational object, is changed into the disjunctive pronouns, il, elle, eux, elles, according to gender and number. is this your friend? it is. est-ce Id voire ami? c'est lui. was it your brother who came this morning ? it was. is not this your sister speaking to that gentleman ? it is. are these the men engaged in that work ? they are. are not these your friends speaking to them? they are. are these your servants before the door ? they are. are these the girls of the inn ? they are. 2d. En, of it, of them, always expresses part of a whole ; as, some of it, of them, any, none, much, many, &c. ; motion from a place, thence ; also, one, of an indefi- nite totality ; as, one, (of them, understood,) en preceding the verb, and one, un, une, after the verb, agreeing in gender with the noun it represents ; for example — have you an umbrella ? I have one (or, yes). avez-vous un parapluie ? j 'en ai un. have you a good house ? I have (one of them, understood). avez vous une bonne maison ? fen ai une. Therefore these English pronouns, it, them, either preceded by an English pre- position or not, acted upon by French verbs, adjectives, &c, followed by de, must invariably be expressed' by en. Examples. if you do it, I shall complain of it. si vous le faites je m'en plaindrai. what ! have not you heard speak of it before now ? GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. Ill I have bought you some books, take great care of them. pray, tell me what is the price of them without binding ? thev asked me three shillings and sixpence for it. it is a sad accident ; I am indeed very sorry for it. how much have you paid for them, such as they are ? I agreed to pay five guineas for them and no more. she differs very much from it by her conduct. however, for the present they are released from it. they are delivered altogether from them. I am not entirely free from them yet. gaming is a dreadful passion ; he is a slave to it. you cannot do it, do not pretend to it. here are fine things, what do you say to them ? I cannot say any thing to them, as things are. we have charged him with it, as being very suspicious. but I am not at all satisfied with it. how do you like the sports ? we are charmed with them. we were highly contented with them ; they were praiseworthy. I am not all surprised at it ; it is what I expected. you seem to be astonished at it ; why are you so ? the news were such that they were overjoyed at them. yet we laughed most heartily at them as being strange. pray, do not be uneasy about it, it is of no consequence. be not afraid, I have inquired about it this morning. we had some strange suspicions about them till to-day. however, Ave do not care any thing about them now. read it attentively, and try to profit by it. do me that service, I shall be much obliged by it. these are fine promises, be not deceived by them. how much money and profit did he gain by them ? pray, bring it back this evening, for I cannot do without it. couid not you do without them for a few days ? I have some at home ; shall I send you some ? after many inquiries, I found some in the town. many of the shoopkeepers assured me that there was none. however, at last I have found one much to my taste. well, I do not want any now ; I have plenty (of it). here is good roast meat ; will you taste any ? I have had enough, I do not want any more. have you been to the park ? I come thence this moment. I am going to the Exchange, but shall soon return thence. have you seen Edinburgh ? I come thence to-day. Obs. — En. This relative preconjunctive pronoun, the genitive case of le, cannot refer to persons, unless it be in answer to, or in confirmation of a disjunctive pro- noun, noun, or proper name, preceded by de, and immediately mentioned before, when it requires the same verb to be repeated in the second part of the sentence. Examples. do not you remember me ? yes, I remember you very well. ne vous souvenez-vous pas de moi? ouije m'en sow/lens tres bien. you are laughing at him : I cannot help laughing at him. well, what have you to say about lier ? I have nothing to say about her. he seems to care little about us, yet he says he does. I do not mistrust you, although warned to do it. H 112 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. you have no great cause to complain of them : indeed I have, if you go to the play, take care of them : I will, with pleasure. Disjunctive pronouns governed by adjectives or past participles requiring the preposition de after them, by repeating the verb, are changed into en. Examples. are you pleased with me ? yes, I am very much. etes-vous content de moi ? ouij'en suis tres content. do you think him worthy of her ? yes, he is very much, tell me, is he ashamed of us ? yes, he is very much, are not they afraid of you ? yes, they are ; it is that which stops them, what have you said of them ? we have said nothing of them, are you answerable for them? yes, I am, (them,/.) 3d. Y, to it, to them, &c, so, there, thither, within, &c, must invariably precede the French verb, (vide Rule, page 12, Gram.) Examples. you have a fine picture, you should put a frame to it. vous avez un beau tableau, vous devriez y mettre un cadre. it is useless, she never will consent to it. you speak of these riots ; I was exposed to them. do not play at that game, you are always unlucky at it. I know it well, I was present at it by chance. they are thinking only of riches, they are incessantly aiming at them. do not take that place, you are not fit for it. they had prepared themselves for it long before, they had provided for them amply, I assure you. if you do it, you will gain nothing by it. for want of skill, he lost much money by it. I am sure you will ruin yourselves by them. if you take pains you will succeed in it. do you love reading ? indeed I take great pleasure in it. he is always more or less involved in them. it should be a good house, he has spent much money on it. he likes fishing, he bestows all his time on it. they are very uncertain, you cannot depend on them. your demand is unjust, I cannot comply with it. since he learns drawing, he is much taken up ivith it. he studies the belles lettres, he is quite taken up with them. is your master at home ? yes, sir, he is within. come in, pray, there is nobody within for the present, have you thought of that business ? I have done so. yes, I have been there, and there I have seen his son. we are going to the country, will you come thither to see us ? Obs. — This relative preconjunctive pronoun, the dative case of le, very seldom can refer to persons, unless it be in answer to or in confirmation of a disjunctive pronoun, noun, or a proper name preceded by a, and immediately mentioned before, when it requires the same verb to be repeated in the second part of the sentence, especially after the following French verbs : — penser, to think ; songer, to think ; viser, to aim at ; alter, to go ; venir, to come ; courir, to run ; accourir, to run to ; boire, to drink ; and all verbs, either simple or reflected, followed by the preposi- tion a. does that gentleman apply to me ? yes, he does. ce monsieur s'addresse-t-il a moi ? oui, il s'y GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 113 well, have you thought of me ? I have, sir. I shall think of thee, be sure that I will. will you think of her when you are in the country ? I will. I fancy that he aims at her ? you are right, he does. you will soon be accustomed to us : we are already. are not they coming to us? I think they do. tell me, did they trust to you ? yes, they did. do these gentlemen drink to you ? yes, they do. I think they are running to you: yes, they are, (they,/.) have you applied to them ? yes, we have. are they attached to them ? they are, very strongly, (them, /.) are you now going to them ? yes, I am going. have they gone to her ? yes, they have. be not afraid, trust to him : I do. does your brother go to her father ? yes, very often. is he running to the doctor's ? yes, he is. do you aim at Miss B. ? she has a good fortune : yes, I do. are you thinking of your friends sometimes ? yes, I am. Y and en, some, there, &c, are often combined together, as in the following Examples : — I shall put some there immediately, j'y en mettrai tout a llieure. shall I carry some there ? I am afraid to find none there. shall I not want some there ? thou shalt carry some there. wilt thou send any there ? if thou sendest any there, mind the payment. he has ordered some there for a long time past. I knew very well that he would not find any there to his liking. she will speak of it there certainly ; tell her not to speak of it there. should she say any thing about it there, we shall be suspected of it. we saw some there of all sorts, but they were very dear, (they,/.) be assured that we shall not buy any there at that price. I am surprised at it, because we have agreed about it there. you seek for some there in vain, there are none there. do you think you will find some there ? I do not think it. if you do not see any there, go elsewhere. why have not you carried some there before ? they will send some thither next week, if they can. should they have seen some there they would have said it. but they said that they had seen none there. did not they buy any there when there were so many of them ? This concludes and represents the most essential and somewhat intricate Galli- cism, the importance of which is evident. It is therefore necessary that the student should make himself perfectly master of the Rules and Exercises, upon the model of which he will easily form similar sentences, according to the case of the governing verb. I have sedulously, and with much labour, studied to bring into action all the simple and combined pronouns in their respective order, to exhibit their anomalous use and position. Their attainment must solely depend upon the exertions of the student or teacher. 3d, Relative Pronouns, Simple and Compound. Qui, who, which, that, the simple relative pronoun, is of both genders and num- bers. When preceded by de, a, or any other preposition, it is only applicable to rational or personified objects, but dont and auquel, &c, the dative case of lequel, 114 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. are employed according to gender and number for every object. It is also used for rational objects for the sake of distinction, and to remove the ambiguity arising from two nouns preceding qui, (vide page 13, Gram.) Kules. 1st, Qui is used and repeated before every verb coming after a noun; a disjunc- tive pronoun of any case ; also, idiomatically after a preconjunctive pronoun followed by the present participle of an English verb, which, if not rendered by the present of the infinitive of the French verb, is expressed by the present or the im- perfect of the indicative according to time ; also, after void, here is, voila, there is. Examples. there is a man at the door who wishes to speak to you. il y aun homme a la porte, qui souhaite vous parler. have you sent for the woman who is to clean the house ? avez-vous envoy e chercher la femme, qui doit nettoyer la maison 't have you delivered the papers which were sent this morning? where is the parcel which was left here for them ? (them,/.') is this the man who brought your trunks ? that house which is on the hill has a beautiful view of the country. the streets of a town, which are narrow, are not wholesome. the carriage of this box, which is small, was very expensive. the man who brought and delivered it was an impostor. the letter that was directed and brought to him was a mistake. the book which pleases, and conveys good instructions, is the best. a wife who is not extravagant, and loves her family, is a precious gift. the time that flies, and never returns, should not be spent idly. here is the gentleman of whom I spoke to you. void le monsieur de qui (dont) je vous ai parte. you will see the lady from ivhom I have received so many favours. vous verrez la dame de qui (dont)j'm regu tant de bienfaits. I shall employ the man of whom you speak and praise the industry. I name to you the person from whom I have the news. have you paid the man from whom 1 received the parcel ? I have employed the girl of whom you spoke to me. I saw the boy with whom you are so dissatisfied. Obs. — Whose, before a noun, expressed either by de qui or dont, requires the following verb to precede the noun ; as, the man whose place you envy. Vhomme de qui (dont) vous enviez la place. the woman tvhose beauty you admire is very modest, he is the only poet whose poetry I admire, the artist ivhose talents you were praising is dead, the house of ivhich you speak is very convenient, remember the things of which you have need, are these the books of which I have heard you speak ? he enjoys the fortune from ivhich she abstained. I know not to whom I am to send it. je ne sais a qui r envoy er. I know to whom this house belongs ; I have been in it. is not this the man to whom you have lent some money ? are not you the girl to whom I gave the order yesterday ? the man to whom you speak and give this is not trusty, these are the branches to which I have applied myself, this is the town to which I give the preference. the country to which you are going is very beautiful. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 115 the amusements to which you devote your time are frivolous. I have seen this morning the lady with whom we dined yesterday. I am waiting for a person without whom I cannot go. the young man for whom you interest yourself has obtained the place. go to the tailor's whom I employ, allez chez le tailleur que femploie. it is a lady whom I have known for many years. Jest une dame, que fai connue depuis bien des annees. is not this the horse which you have bought last week ? this is the house which he has hired for the season. do you know the misfortunes which I have had? the young men whom you see are very learned. the profession which he has embraced is not profitable. the play which they have acted is not liked. Qui after a disjunctive or demonstrative pronoun. Examples. to refuse you, J who have so many times assisted you ! vous refuser, moi qui vous ai tant de fois assiste I it is thou who dost always put the family in disorder. is it he who has succeeded his father, and is going to carry on his trade ? she who has told it you, and assured you of it, is much mistaken. we who live in the country, and see nobody, know nothing of it. you who come from it, and have seen it, what do you think of it ? it is they who have told it to me, and have seen the whole affair, it is they who were averse to it, and had reason to be so, (they, /.) she who is good to others, deserves to be happy, let us be grateful to those who serve us in time of need. let us give it to him who shall do his best to obtain it. of all the sciences, let us learn that which teaches us to be good. I see him coming with a lady, je le vois venir {qui vient) avec une dame. I saw him passing through the street in great haste. I found them reading and writing letters to their friends. I found her singing and playing on the piano, here he is dancing and singing with joy. le void qui danse et qui chante de joie. there was she, scolding as usual. la voila qui grondait a V ordinaire. Qui, proper names, and nouns having the preposition de or a before them excepted, cannot be employed after a noun which has not before it an article, or any of these words, quelque, plusieurs, tout, nul, aucun, and en, implying as, like. Examples. I live in Glasgow, which is a very commercial city. je demeure a Glasgow, qui est une ville tres commercante. I have been to Edinburgh, which is the capital of Scotland, he is endowed with virtues which render him very estimable. Qui is placed after a noun having the interjection ! expressed or under- stood ; as, friends ! who have followed me, share my joy. amis ! qui nCavez suivi, partagez ma joie. men ! who live for yourselves, you will have much to answer for. hommes ! qui vivez pour vous memes, vous aurez beaucoup « repondre. Qui is sometimes placed before a verb, the noun being understood. It is also elegantly inserted between two verbs ; as, 116 GRAMMAR 0E THE FRENCH TONGUE. who is security, must pay. qui repond, paie. they eat, who could, mangeait qui pouvait. they danced, who chose, dansa qui voulut. Qui after rien, nothing ; person, nobody ; a superlative comparison, a negative, or interrogative person of a verb ; after verbs or nouns denoting desire, want, necessity, fear, doubt, &c, requires the subjunctive mood of the verb coming after it. Examples. there is nothing but the ill conduct of a man that makes him contemptible. il rCy a rien que, la mauvaise conduite d'un homme, qui le rende meprisable. there is nobody that does not grant it. il n'y a personne qui n'en convienne. he says nothing that should offend you. I know nobody who complains of it, or has reason to do it. there is nothing that is preferable to virtue in this world. is there any thing that is finer than this ? I do nothing that can hurt you, at least I hope not to do it. I know no man who is more clever and industrious than he. marry not a woman who is extravagant and imprudent. choose one who is virtuous, modest, and domestic. it is the finest city that 1 ever saw in any country. there is no work that is better finished and more complete. he has the best friends that are, they can assist him. they are the greatest friends that I have in this town. there is no pleasure that is not accompanied with pain, are there any people who are more agreeable ? there are few people who are of your opinion. there is no condition that has not its pleasures and displeasures. there is nothing but adversity that can try friends. he is the only one who spoke to me about it. where will you find a man who is completely happy ? that is indeed the most conceited man that can be. this is the only friend who has remained faithful to me. is there any body that does it, or is willing to do it ? there is no science that does not require attention. there is no truth that can be told at all times. there is no argument that can convince him. there are few adventures that are more curious than his. Dont and que, like qui, placed between two verbs denoting desire, &c, govern the subjunctive mood, (vide Rule of qui.) it is the only error that I have observed. c'est la seule erreur dont je me sois appergu. he is the only man of whom I have reason to complain. there is nothing in the world of which the duration is not uncertain. he does nothing with which I am not well satisfied. there is nobody whom he does not mistrust. there is no company from which they are not excluded. there are no pleasures with which we are not soon cloyed. there is no subject of which he is not thoroughly master. it is the only mark of attention that I have received from her, choose a wife whom you love for her good qualities. it is the best wine that I have in my cellar. it is the finest lace that I ever saw in this country. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 117 I have met the handsomest -woman that can be seen. she had the finest jewels that could be had. Obs. — a qui, referring either to two rational or irrational objects, and other substances, is changed into auquel, &c, made to agree with the noun which it represents, (vide lequel, page 16, Gram.) Qui ? who ? whom ? which ? This interrogative pronoun of both genders and numbers, always precedes the noun to which it refers. In familiar conversation, or to express surprise, &c, qui est-ce qui is used, modified by de a, &c, (vide Rule, page 14, Gram.) Examples. who has done this ? qui a fait ceci ? (question.) (idiom) qui est-ce qui a fait ceci! (surprise.) who will come this evening ? qui viendra ce soir ? (idiom) qui est-ce qui viendra ce soir! (surprise.) who had carried them away ? (them,/.) who will send the things ? who will take the trouble of it ? from whom have you the news ? de qui tenez-voits la nouvelle ? (idiom) de qui est-ce que vous tenez la nouvelle! (surprise.) from whom have you heard it ? from whom do you know it ? of whom are you talking ? whom do you mean ? of whom do you complain ? whom will you employ then ? to whom will you give it ? of whom are you sure ? to whom do you recommend me ? to whom shall I apply ? to whom have you told it? to whom can you expose us? in whom can you place so much confidence ? whom do you know here ? whom do you mean ? whom shall we see then ? whom shall we take with us ? whom does he suspect to have done it ? whom have you invited so pressingly to come to see us ? Quoi? what? This interrogative pronoun is applicable to things only ; quoi, the nominative, is used as an interjection before a verb, and que as its nominative and accusative. Que, like qui, is idiomatically employed to express surprise, &c, by qu' est-ce qui for the nominative, and qu'est-ce que for the accusative, and quoi est-ce que for other cases, preceded by de, a, or any preposition. Examples. what ! do you believe it ? quoi ! le croyez vous ? what ! the fire has consumed his house, quoi ! le feu a consume sa maison. what ! were they all drowned ? what ! have you seen them ? , what ! have these merchants failed for so much 1 what ! have they lost all their property by this failure ? what ! I shall see her no more ! what ! is she dead ? Que, and its idiomatical compound, qiCest-ce que, expressing an interrogation, surprise, &c, are always placed before the verb. Examples. what have you done to-day ? qu 'avez-vous fait aujourdliui ? (idiom) qui 'est-ce que vous avez fait aujourdliui ? what do you say ? I do not hear you. que dites-vous ? je ne vous entends pas. what do you say ? I do not understand you. (idiom) qu'est-ce que vous dites 1 je ne vous entends pas. 118 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. what have you said to him on this subject? what shall I say to you to excuse him ? what were you doing just now ? you were very busy. what have you to give us to eat ? what do you wish ? what do the Reviews say about it ? I do not know. But when the que, of qu' est-ce que is the nominative case to the following verb, it is changed into qui ; as, what has happened ? qu'est-il arrive, qu'est-ce qui est arrive? what has happened to you ? que vous est-il arrive ? (idiom) qu' est-ce qui vous est arrive? what is going on in France? que se passe-t-il en France ? (idiom) qu'est-ce qui se passe en France ? what will you please to have ? que vous plait-il ? (idiom) qu'est-ce qui vous plait? what is said now ? que se dit-il a present ? (idiom) qu'est-ce qui se dit a present ? Quoi, what, in all interrogative sentences, may be followed by est-ce que, or est- ce dont, according to the preposition, placed before the following verb used affir- matively. Examples. of what do you complain now ? de quoi vous plaignez-vous a present. (idiom) de quoi est~ce dont vous vous plaignez a present ? of what are you speaking to them ? de quoi leur parlez-vous ? (idiom) dequoi est-ce dont vous leur parlez? have you wherewith to pay me ? est-ce que vous avez de quoi me payer ? of what have you made use to bring it about ? with what is he is so much displeased? of what can he complain in his good situation ? from what can he derive a greater advantage ? to what does he apply himself? a quoi s'applique-t-il? (idiom) a quoi est-ce quHl s' applique ? at what are you amusing yourself, when you have so much to do ? at what shall we employ our time to-day ? to what are we reduced by this sudden failure ? (we, /.) to what can riches contribute without health ? But in affirmative or negative sentences, quoi cannot be followed by est-ce que. . Examples. it is what I did not remember, c'est de quoije ne me souvenais pas. she has not wherewith to support herself. honours have wherewith to gratify the ambitious. it is of what I had not the least idea till now. wait a moment, 1 have enough to satisfy you. it is to what I paid no attention, c'est a quoi je ne fis pas attention. it is to what I exhort him incessantly for his welfare. it is to what all human passions tend. it is to what you impute their want of success. it is to what I shall contribute with all my heart. it is in what he is well versed, and deeply learned. Quoi is sometimes used in the second part of a sentence, in the sense of which, lequel ; as, it is a thing of which I was thinking. c'est une chose, a quoi je pensais, (a quoi for a laquelle.) GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 119 the pleasures to which he addicts himself will be his ruin. les plaisirs, a quoi il s' adonne, seront sa mine. the things of which you speak are of importance. les choses, de quoi vous parlez, sont d* importance. the report, of which I am the subject, is very unjust. le rapport, de quoi je suis le sujet, est tres injuste. This concludes all the rules on quoi. Ou, where, &c, (vide page 16, Gram.) Examples. they came in the place in which we were. Us vinrent dans Vendroit ou nous etions (dans lequel). are not you coming from the house tvhere she was ? in the age in which we live, we know not whom to trust. it is an affair in which I have had much trouble, the condition in which I found them was truly deplorable, that' is the danger to which you and I are exposed, the misfortunes into which he is plunged afflict me much, you are returning from a town where I intend to go. it is the aim to which tend all my wishes, you have engaged in a business in luhich you will not succeed. it is a deceit in which I will not be concerned, he has obtained a situation in which his talents will be useful! this is the state in which we have left them. lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles, who, which, that, (vide page 1G, Gram.) was it not my father's servant who was here just now? n'etait-ce pas le domestique de mon pere, lequel e'tait ici tout-a Vheure? is not this your friend's daughter, who is so beautiful ? n'est-ce pas la la file de votre amie, laquelle est si belle ? is not this my sister's diamond-ring that was lost ? is it Mrs. A.'s son who has told it to you ? are not these your sister's friends who are dancing ? it is not my brother's companions who have done it. do you mean my brother's horse which is lame ? somebody has taken your father's book which was in the room, was it your mother's letter that was not delivered in time ? this is the lady's sister of whom we were speaking, are not these the man's sons of whom he complains so much ? these are the keys of the drawers, of which I have need, this is the man's horse of ivhich you were speaking. it is an amusement to which I am not much disposed, it is a fault to which we are very subject, these are pleasures to which she is not prone, these are things of which we must not think. Lequel, &c, in interrogations, generally precedes the noun to which it refers, and with which it agrees in gender and number ; it may also be placed after ; but in either position the adjective or past participle must agree together. Examples. ivhich of these two roads shall we take ? lequel de ces deux chemins prendrons nous ? which of these two young ladies has he insulted ? laquelle de ces deux demoiselles a-t-il insultee ? which of your uncles is in the army ? 120 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. which of these two pictures have you painted ? which of these dogs has bitten you so severely ? which of these houses have you bought ? which of these women has robbed you ? which of these pears do you like best ? of which of the two are you speaking so highly ? from which of them have you received the parcel ? from which of these ships did you receive the intelligence ? from which of the towns are you returning now ? of which of these rings would you make choice ? from which of these plants did you cut off a slip ? from which of these ladies did you receive that present ? to which of the men did you give the keys of the office '{ to which of the amusements are you going to-night ? to which of the papers have you put your name ? to which of the towns are you going first ? to which of these ladies did you speak last night ? to which of the houses have you left the card ? Ce qui, ce que, what, that, which, (vide page 17, Gram.) what is pleasant to taste, is often very unwholesome. ce qui est plaisant au gout est souvent tres malsain. what dazzles the eyes is often deceitful and trifling, what amuses us is not always commendable, what wounds modesty is unworthy to be done or said, what pleases her, is to be praised and admired, what tires me, is to live in the country in winter, what charms me, is to hear her sing and play on the piano, what displeases me, is to be often interrupted, what makes her angry, is falsehood with boldness. what makes him despicable, is his avarice, what displeases me, are their bad actions, what induces them to it, is the love of money, what afflicts me, is his (or her) death. what pleases me displeases you, and what diverts you tires me. bring what is necessary, and put it in the room, she has done what was to be done, according to your orders, tell me what caused their dispute, and the result. I am going to tell you what disturbed them so much, that of which you are speaking is very extraordinary. ce dont vous parlez est tres extraordinaire. I do not remember that of which you are speaking to me. what you enjoy is very uncertain and precarious, that of which you accuse me is very unjust and untrue, it is of what I never heard speak before, that to which you have recourse, will do you no good, ce a quoi vous avez recours, ne vous fera point de bien. that to which he applies himself is little profitable. what I was thinking of, was to write you. what they accustom themselves to will cause their ruin, that to which he devotes his time, is the study of the mathematics. what I say is true ; what you hear is the truth. ce que je dis est vrai ; ce que vous entendez estlaverite. what she asks of you, is a reciprocal friendship, what you have told me is very melancholic. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. •what you are saying is done to frighten me. what you wish to have is money, always money. what I feared has unluckily happened this morning. what we commend most is often superficial. go and fetch me what I told you yesterday. I cannot tell you now what I think of that affair. have you given him what you have promised him ? confess frankly what you have said about it. indeed we are not always what we appear to be. do what you like with it, I give it to you freely. he told me what he knew about the matter : I believe him. why do you speak of that which you do not know ? qui que ce soit, qui que ce fut, whoever, whosoever, (vide page 18, Gram.) whosoever speaks to you about it, answer nothing. qui que ce soit qui vous en parle, ne repondez rien. whoever knocks at the door, do not open it. whoever robs me, I shall have him punished, nobody in the world has reason to complain of me. I found nobody at all, who would accompany me. whoever tells me a story, he will repent it afterwards, whoever spoke to him, he did not answer at all, I have seen nobody at all, who knew any thing about it. nobody at all speaks of it now, it is all hushed up. I am acquainted with nobody whatever in this town. I do not mistrust any body in the world. I do not care for any body whatever, I assure you. he wrote to nobody at all, for fear of being betrayed, of whomsoever he speaks, he is very cautious in what he says, to whomsoever you mention it, tell him not to repeat it. try to borrow it of whomsoever you think will lend it. since that affair, I will not trust any body whatever. quoi que ce soit, quoi que ce fut, whatever, whatsoever, whatever it is that you tell me, I shall keep it secret, I assure you. whatever he may ask, grant it to him without fear, he complained of nothing whatever, although much distressed. when he went away he gave him nothing in the world, of whatsoever he speaks, be attentive to what he says. he takes no pleasure in any thing whatever, to whatever you devote your time, let it be to some advantage, to whatsoever you apply yourself, be always diligent. to whatsoever he applied himself, he was always very assiduous. of whatever you spoke, I hope it was for her good. 4. Possessive Pronouns, mine, thine, &c, (vide page 18, Gram.) you give me your advice, and I will give you mine. vous me donnez voire avis, et je vous donnerai le mien. if such be your sentiment, it is not mine, I assure you. you have shown me your drawing, now see mine. I like your horse much more than I do mine, your journey will not be quite so long as mine, the object of your visit is more for pleasure than mine, your family is not so expensive as mine, the rent of your house is not so great as mine. 121 "122 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. his relations and mine are very intimate. his horses and mine were put to the carriage together. his affairs and mine are in great disorder. his daily occupations are as laborious as mine. if your horse be lame, make use of mine, it is at your service. the man will take care of your trunk and mine. he is always speaking of his extraction and of mine. this is the portion of his fortune and of mine. this fire was the destruction of his goods and of mine. now, you know the cause of his misfortunes and of mine. hear the story of his adventures and of mine. his losses were the consequence of mine. put this to his account, and that to mine. give some water to that gentleman's horse and to mine. your house is good, but not equal to mine in size. your opinion on this subject is similar to mine. he immediately joined all his men to mine to finish it. his friends were much superior to mine in power. your abilities and resources are much superior to mine. your ideas on this point are contrary to mine. this is my umbrella, and that is thine. I have told thee my story, now tell me thine. he has been speaking much to me of his new horse and of thine. the servant has brought the keys of his house and of thine. leave my pencils, and make use of thine. he is astonished that he has received no news from my sisters or thine. thou dost forget my interest, but thou thinkest always of thine. this table- clock is not at all similar to thine. that causes much trouble to my friends and to thine. why not join all these things to thine in one parcel ? my garden is a little larger than his (or hers). but our house is not so commodious as his (or hers). my friends are as powerful as his (or hers). my expenses are not so great as his (or hers). I have lost all my money, but part of his (or hers) has been recovered. if your room be too small, make use of his (or hers). my friends have received many favours from his (or hers). I can depend more on your promises than on his (or hers). give it to my man servant, and not to his (or hers). I prefer this house to his (or hers) for its conveniencies. give something to eat to my dogs and his. he brought a nosegay to my sisters and his (or hers). your baggage and ours is in the coach-office. your surprise was as great as ours at this news. their rights are not greater than ours, not even so great. do not you remember his accident and ours ? it was the effect of his imprudence and of ours. their views of the subject were very different from ours. your accompt does not correspond with ours. their opinion is quite contrary to ours. they sent presents to their friends and to ours. I assure you that his employ is more difficult than yours. I value more his opinion than yours in such a case. you know that my family is allied to yours. see if you have none of his letters among yours. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 123 I do not think that I have any of yours. he is always comparing his things to yours. I do not remember to have ever seen theirs. this is my opinion, and that is theirs. you may make use of our credit and of theirs. I should be unworthy of your goodness and of theirs. I am entirely devoted to your service and theirs. this I owe to your generosity and to theirs. nothing can alleviate our sorrows and theirs. I remember neither his pretences nor theirs. I give no credit to your promises and to theirs. Mine, thine, &c, after a noun, with of between them, are expressed by the plural of the possessive articles, mes, tes, &c, placed before the noun ; also put in the plural with which they agree in gender and number. Examples. a friend of mine has told it to me lately, (equivalent to) one of my friends has told it to me lately. un de mes amis me Va dit dernierement. a servant of thine has spread the report of it through the town. he lost a vessel of his in that storm, which caused his ruin. it was a child of his, who first gave the alarm. in coming I saw an old acquaintance of mine. several relations of mine are on a visit at my house. we will inform you of it by a clerk of ours. a general of ours was killed in this battle. have not you lost a horse of yours at the races ? had it not been for the assistance of a servant of ours they would have died. they have hanged yesterday an accomplice of theirs. a mill of theirs is quite destroyed by that fire. a daughter of theirs, they say, is going to be married. Mine, thine, &c, coming after to be, denoting possession, implying to belong, are changed into the disjunctive pronouns, a moi, a toi, &c. Examples. is this hat box yours ? no, it is not mine, it is his. cet etui a chapeau est-il a vons ? non il n' est pas a moi, il est a lui. is not this coach yours ? no, it is my aunt's, did not you know that this estate was her's ? this gun is not yours, it is my father's, they have told me that these meadows were theirs, is this watch his, yours, or my brother's ? no, but this cloak and hat are mine, all these beautiful things that you see are theirs, this ring, which you admire, was my poor mother's, these gloves are mine, and those are yours, these fields and woods, which you see, are ours, the children, to whom you were speaking, are ours, friend, is this dog thine ? yes, it is mine, this shop, so well customed and profitable, is theirs, they will be theirs to-morrow, if they pay me ready money. oth, Celui, celle, that ; ceux, celles, those, (vide page 19, Gram.) Examples. the labour of the body is less hard than that of the mind. le travail du corps est moins penible que celui de V esprit. 124 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. he has made his fortune and thai of his relations. the greatest pleasures are those of infancy. the most pleasant recollections are those of youth. the opinion of a sensible man is preferable to that of a fool. one cannot compare his talents to those of similar writers. her fortune is not equal to that of her married sister. this watch does not go so well as that of my brother. he has increased his income and that of his children. this horse is better than that of the postilion. these paintings are not so fine as those of the exhibition. these houses are better built than those of the square. my entertainments are as good as those of Mr. B, I was at their weddings, and he was at those of my sisters. Celui, celle, ceux, celles, this, that, these, those. To these pronouns are often added either of these two adverbs, ci or la : ci denotes proximity, la distance. Examples. take this, it is the best, prenez celui-ci, c'est le rneilleur. I do not think this one better than that, (this, that, m.) I will buy neither this nor that, I do not like them, well, see whether this one will please you better. I thought that you were speaking of that one. these suit me well enough, but those are more in the fashion. I have only these to give you, the others are sold, (these, /.) these are too dear, I shall buy those, they are cheaper, give it to this and not to that, (this, that, m.) celui-la, celle-la, ceux-la, celles-la, qui, he, him, she, her, they, them, they* them, who, whom. Referring to an indefinite object, require qui or que before the second verb. Examples. he is wretched, who has no friends. celui-la est miserable, qui n' 'a point d'amis. he is to be pitied, who is forsaken by every body. she is happy, who has a good husband and dutiful children. they are good, who are charitable to the poor, (they, m.) they will be rewarded, who do best and quickest, (they, /.) they were punished, who had committed the crime, (they, m.) they repented it, who had meddled with it, (they, /.) celui qui, celle qui, ceux qui, celles qui (or que), he, him, who, she, her, who, they, them, who, they, them, who (or whom). did not you see that he, who was speaking to you, was a little deranged ? ne vites vous pas que celui, qui vous parlait, etait un peu derange. he, who speaks much, is not always the wisest. he, who loves pleasures, often runs to his perdition in the world. he, who flatters us, is not always our friend. this prize is for him, who has studied most. it is not for him, whom you see standing up. she, who is too fashionable, does not at all suit me. I do not speak of her, who served you so essentially. she, of whom you speak, is very prudent and modest. will you take her, whom I have shown you ? I will send it to her, who has done me so many good turns. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 125 they, who speak thus, are madmen or idiots, we do not always love them, who are partial to us. one of them, who were with him, told it to me. they, who saw it, were frightened at it, (they, /.) let them, who want it, take it, I can do without. I shall take them, which you have left, prudence requires it of them, who value their honour, he, who has no friends, is truly wretched in this world, they, who practise virtue, are the only one happy, they, who content themselves with little, are happy, they, who betray the secrets of others, are to be feared, do you mean her, whom I see yonder sitting on the grass ? Ci and la are often joined to nouns preceded by the demonstrative article ce, cet, &c., either for the sake of emphasis, proximity, or distance. Examples. I recommend you this man, but not that one. je vous recommande cet liomme-ci, mais pas celui-la. shelter yourself under that tree till the rain is over, give it to this man, that man does not want it. who has broken the blade of this pen-knife ? pray, put some ink in that ink-stand, I want to write, this bed is not so soft as that sofa. will you have this pear or that apricot ? they are both good, this woman has gathered them, and that girl has brought them, these shades are very pleasant in a hot summer day. this plate is not of the same pattern of that dish, do you remember that adventure ? it is curious enough, how much have you given for that stuff? what are you doing with those trifles ? they are of no use. what do you think of this table clock and of that watch ? those people have given me a great fright, give those men something to drink, they deserve it. see how these trees are covered with fruit ! • those orange trees are full of blossoms and fruit, those girls appear to me to be a little giddy and wild. celui-ci, celle-ci, ceux-ci, celles-ci, latter, celui-la, celle-ld, ceux-la, celles-ld, former, Are connected with preceding nouns. Celui-ci, &c, refers to the last ; celui-la, &c, to the first, with which both must agree in gender and number. Examples. industry and idleness are two opposite qualities, the latter leads to vice, the former to virtue. Cindustrie et la paresse sont deux qualiUs opposees ; celle-ci conduit au vice, celle-la a la vertu. prosperity and adversity are incident to man ; the latter teaches him resignation, the former gratitude.to his Maker, poverty and riches have two different effects ; the latter tend to oppression, the former leads to degradation, pure pleasures and afflictions are equally useful : the latter make us enjoy sudden happiness, the former the blessings of life, education and riches are worldly acquirements ; the latter often desert us, but the former remains with us even in adversity, music and poetry are human productions ; the latter unfolds man's enthusiastic thoughts, the former the harmony of the heavens. 126 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. Ceci, this ; cela, that. These two demonstrative pronouns are used only with the third person singular, when acting as the nominative case, having no plural. Examples. does this please you ? that pleases me much more, ceci vous plait il ? cela me plait Men davantage. this gives you much pain, I am truly sorry for it. that will just serve my turn : that is very lucky. this is much in vogue now : well, take this or that. I do not want this : this does not become me. they have talked much of that : what did he think of that ? make him a present of this : remember this. I am truly glad of that : pray, speak no more of that. send me this as soon as possible : I cannot do without this. what will you do with that ? take care of that, I tell you. pay attention to this, it is of consequence : think of this. join it to that, it will do very well : to that ? yes, to that. I will tell you that by and by : you do not believe that. take away all this, but leave all that, as it will be wanted, go and carry that immediately to my sister's. 6. Indefinite Pronouns. Chacun, every body, every one, used as a collective noun, is masculine singular. Examples. every body was well satisfied with the reward. chacun fut Men satisfait de la recompense. every body was speaking of it with the greatest pleasure. every body was ready to give assistance, if necessary. every body went away, after having waited for a long time. when he returned he gave to every body what he had promised. every body complained of it, but without reason. in fact, every body cannot be happy : every one is selfish'. Chacun, chacune, every one, each, as a distributive noun, agrees in gender and number with the noun to which it refers. Examples. every one of them did what he pleased. chacun d'eux fesait cequi lui plaisait. every one of them kissed the king's hand, (them,/.) every one of these pictures is very valuable. each of these ladies was elegantly attired, and covered with diamonds. each of them had on a different dress, (them, /. ) each of his children will have ten thousand pounds. they danced every one in turn, not to give offence. each of these two painters has his merit in his style. each of us is happy in his situation, and ought to be so. I will give you each your money to-morrow morning. come, let each of us go to his own house, it is now late. then each of them went back to their own house. put each of these bottles in its place, take care of that. they have all contributed to it, each according to his means. Chaque, each, every, is a distributive adjective of both genders, always preceding a noun of the singular number. Examples. every country has its customs, to which travellers must submit. chaque pays a ses coutumes, auxquelles les voyageurs duivent se soumettre. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 127 every town made rejoicings on that occasion. every inhabitant contributed towards the raising of the obelisk. every girl had her lover by her side in the procession. every day, every moment increases our happiness. he has the vote of every citizen in his favour. every time he comes, he brings me something. each sailor had his share of the prize. have you put back every book in its place ? indeed, I meet with difficulties at every step. every period of life has its pleasures and pains. every shriek she uttered pierced my heart. I expected it every moment, but it did not come. Personne, nobody, any body, is a pronoun masculine of the singular number. Nobody requires ne before the French verb ; but ne is omitted in interrogations, also -when expressed by any body. Any adjective qualifying it must be masculine, although relating to a woman, unless nobody, any body can be changed into the word person, which being in French feminine, will then require the adjective to agree with it. Examples. nobody knows any thing about it. personne n'en salt rien. nobody has spoken of it yet : nobody has seen it. nobody has yet arrived : I have seen nobody. nobody was foolish enough to believe him. nobody speaks of him but with great respect. nobody has ever discovered the cause of it. you know that nobody sees things as you see them. nobody is to be pitied so much as he in his present situation. nobody is so happy as I am in that respect. any body will tell you where your friend lives, he is well known. tell me, is there any body in the parlour ? did ever any body doubt the existence of God ? do you know any body more unlucky than she is? has any body informed you that I had not succeeded ? I doubt whether any body cares more about it. I found nobody there who was willing to assist me. I know nobody who does not wish him well. there was nobody who was not very sorry for it. Personne, used as a feminine noun, is idiomatically applied to both sexes in the singular and plural, implving man, woman, folks, people, &c. In both numbers any adjective placed before or after it must agree in gender and number ; but should a pronoun, participle, or another adjective constitute a second part of the sentence, it must then be masculine. Examples. you cannot employ a more judicious person. vous ne pouvez employer une personne plus judicieuse. you will see next week the man of whom I have spoken to you. you see the gentleman who has assisted us in our distress. that icoman is more brazen-faced than I thought. it is a lady who is very good to the poor. they are very learned men, yet they often commit blunders. they are people, who like to settle matters quietly. the man, whom you have sent, has not yet returned. I know no man more happy than he : he is always content. I 128 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. some people are so generous, that in bestowing a favour they rather seem to receive than grant it. this is a man whom you should mistrust, he is crafty and dishonest. Aucun-e, pas un~e, nul-le, none, not one, no, &c. Negative pronouns and adjectives, requiring ne before the verb, without pas after it ; but ne must be omitted in sentences of interrogation, surprise, doubt, &c. Examples. no one believes it, no one dares to say it. aucun ne le croit, aucun n'ose le dire. not one of the judges has opposed it. he has accepted of none of the terms I offered to him. of all the women he sees, he keeps company with none, he has seen none that pleases him, (none,/.') is there any one of you that would do it without reward ? was there any one of them who complained of it ? I was apprehensive of no misfortune, he has no consideration for his reputation. I have no difficulty to believe it, I assure you. fortune has favoured you more than any other man. I applied myself to it without any intermission, these things have no relation with one another, he is so prejudiced that he yields to no reason, have you given no order to your people touching that ? that loss makes no impression on his (or her) mind. I have no more hopes now : I have no friend to assist me. Pas un, pas une, not one, none, not any, no, not one would tell it to him (or to her) for fear of giving pain. pas un ne voulut lui annoncer de peur de faire de la peine. none of them was willing to undertake it. not one of his friends was inclined to do it for him. not one of the ladies would dance with him after that, not one of the books was sent back and put in its place, you will see that not one of your schemes will succeed. I have not one of them that can be of any use to you, (not one, /.) not one of his friends came there since that day. not one of them went away dissatisfied. Nul, nulle, none, no, not one, &c. no one can boast of it with any propriety. nul nepeut s'en vanter avec propriete. not one of us is free from faults, not one of these pieces of cloth is free from defects. not one of you can blame me without injustice, none of his partners joined him in it. no reason can convince you of it : it is surprising, you have no idea of what I am going to do. you will derive no profit from it, I am afraid, have you no acquaintances in this town ? no hinderance will prevent me from it. there is no science, which has not its principles. I have no objection to it : I have no need for it (or them), you do not pay attention to what I say to you. do you not take any interest in that affair ? have you no resource, of which you can make use ? GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 1 29 Plusieurs, many people, several, m. /. plur. is both a noun and an adjective, collective and distributive. Examples. many people came to see him. plusieurs vinrent le voir. many of them went there, and many of them were ill-treated, (them, /.) there are several people below, who ask for you. there are several ladies up stairs, who are dancing. I sent him several books to read, which will amuse him. he has received from me marks of attention, several men were killed in that quarrel, there came several soldiers, who dispersed the mob. many of my friends accompanied me as far as the place, you know that you have deceived me several times. Tout, all, every, preceding a noun, requires the article to be put between it and the noun, both agreeing in gender and number with the latter. Examples. have you finished all your business in the town ? uvez-vous fini toutes vos affaires dans la ville ? he has not succeeded in all his projects, all his family was much afflicted with it. all your remonstrances will have no effect, at what o'clock do you rise every morning ? do not you play at cards every evening ? of all the days of my life, this is the happiest, of all our years, those of childhood are the happiest, we must love G-od with all our heart, our soul, and all our strength, we go to church every Sunday morning and evening, how do you spend every evening after your labours ? they want rest after having worked the whole day. were not you. writing letters the whole morning ? Tout, &c, any, every, is used without the article before a noun indefinitely taken in a most general sense, and repeated before every substantive agreeing in gender and number - Examples. every man is liable to error, tout homme est sujet a se tromper. every being must fill up his destiny. he is void of every sense of honour. we had lost every hope to see you again. he has broken off all correspondence with her. any virtue renders estimable him who possesses it. he has always served me on every occasion. several coaches pass this way every hour. to avoid all disputes, let us drop the subject. you know that every body who pays, is welcome. be not so sure, every enterprise does not always succeed. you incessantly say it every moment. any good is desirable, when he who possesses it uses it well. any habit in man is a second nature. Tout, all, in the sense of every body, before the name of a town of the feminine gender, remains masculine, with which any adjective or past participle following- must agree. „ & Examples. all London was alarmed during the late riots. tout Londres fut alarme durant les demieres ententes. 130 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. all Rime was pillaged, and almost reduced to ashes by the croths. all the Hague was almost inundated. all Venice was present at the ceremony. all La Rochel is much taken up. all Vienna saw the arrival of the kings, ambassadors, and strangers. all Lisbon went to meet him. Tout, all, every thing, is often used as a masculine noun indefinite, unpreceded by an article, before etre, and other verbs ; but when it denotes a particular object, implying the whole, it must be preceded by the definite or possessive article. Examples. every thing is subject to a perpetual change. tout est sujet d une vicissitude perpetuelle. I am ready to do every thing to serve you. honours, riches, are uncertain ; every thing is perishable here below. we often lose every thing, when we wish to possess too much. these young ladies do every thing gracefully. when I arrived I found every thing in good order. he has promised me to do every thing for you. every thing well considered, I think you cannot do better. all is in God, and God is in every thing. why are you always meddling with every thing ? I should not like to distrust every thing, as you do. Tout, whole, preceded by an article, he has done the whole to compass his aim. il a fait le tout pour parvenir a son but. how much have you given for the whole ? the tuhole together is not worth the trouble. I know the wliole, and will tell it to you by and by. take the ivhole, it would be a pity to divide it. I cannot remember the whole of the affair now. how much do you ask for the whole, at the lowest price ? the ivhole stands me in a hundred guineas, if you have paid for the ivhole, you have had some discount, when we are in private, I will tell you the whole. Tout, expressed in English by, as, though, although, quite, entirely, before a substantive, or an adjective feminine beginning with a consonant or h aspirate, agrees in gender and number ; but before an adjective feminine beginning with a vowel of h mute, it remains undeclined. Examples. deceitful as hope is, it alleviates our pains. toute trompeuse, qu'est Vesperance, elle soulage nos maux. ill as she was, she rose to speak to him. beautiful as she is, nobody comes to marry her. considerable as was his fortune, he has spent it all. shameful as is his action, he does not seem to mind it. hateful as they are, we cannot help pitying them. deserving as this woman is, her husband uses her ill. ungrateful as they are, he is always ready to serve them, (they,/) worn out as these clothes are, they are useful to me. innocent as this little girl appears, she is very malicious. cast down as she was, she soon recovered herself. ignorant as she was, she pretended to know the cause of it. agreeable as is life, yet it is more or less full of events. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 131 Tout, as, &c, before an adjective masculine, is indeclinable, learned as your brother is, he does not succeed in the world. tout savant" oifest voire frere, il ne reussit point dans le monde. wise as they are, they often do foolish things. tout sages qu'ils sont, Us font souvent des folies. courageous as they are, they were defeated, foolish as he is, he sometimes gives very judicious answers, troublesome as they are, I cannot live without them, surprised as they were, they defended themselves bravely, good players as they are, they do not always win. cunning as your artifices are, they are easily detected. Tout, before autre, an adjective masculine, a vowel, or 7i mute, is indeclinable. Examples. they are quite different men since their misfortunes. Us sont tout autres depuis leurs disgraces. they are quite different women since they are married, they were quite surprised to see us at that hour, they were quite surprised to hear him speak thus, (they,/!) they are entirely devoted to your service, (they, m.) they are quite devoted to the whims of fashion, (they, /.) they are quite transported with joy, (they, m.) they were quite raptured with joy at the sight of the jewels, (they, f.) he is quite another man from what he was. she is quite another woman since his (or her) death, we are quite ashamed that you should have waited so long, they were quite ashamed to be surprised in doing nothing, (they,^) they were quite astonished to find him in so bad a condition, they were quite astonished at his boldness, (they,^) Tout, before aussi, autrement, is indeclinable, his house is quite as fine and as commodious as yours. sa maison est tout aussi belle et aussi commode que la voire. these flowers are quite as fresh as if just gathered, the youngest is quite as handsome as the eldest. your precious stones are quite as handsome as theirs, their troops are quite as well disciplined as ours, his death is related quite differently from what it happened. on rapporte sa mort tout autrement qu'elle rfarriva. you have done that quite differently from what I would, they conducted themselves quite differently from what I thought, you speak of it quite otherwise than you should. I should live quite differently from what he does. Tout, expletive, used to give more energy. Examples. his life was full of misery, sa vie fut toute pleine de misere. I am truly ready to do what you wish to oblige you. pray, speak aloud, I do not hear you plainly, when you are in the room, speak in a low voice, and softly, she said to him coldly, do just as you please, you should at least take it kindly of them. he sat by her the whole evening, and was very attentive to her. leave the doors and windows wide open. I am going to tell you the story at mil length, we live just hard by, why do you stop short ? 132 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. JPeu, few, little, some, not, preceding a noun, requires de after it ; as, few men, peu d'hommes ; few books, peu de livres ; few resources, peu de ressources, &c. Peu before an adjective generally implies a negative ; as, little learned, peu savant ; little known, peu connu, (equivalent to ignorant, unknown). Peu preceded by an article, as a noun, implies a small quantity, number ; . as, I have a little money, j'ai un peu a" argent ; he has spent the little money he had, il a depense le peu d'argent quHl avait ; he has much offended the few friends he had, il a beaucoup offense le peu d'amis quHl avait. Peu, little, not, after a verb, generally implies a negative ; as, he eats little, il mange peu, or il ne mange pas ; I read little the newspapers, je lis peu les papiers, (equivalent to) I do not read the papers, je ne lis pas les papiers. From these easy Rules, the student will readily form sentences appropriate to his meanings. Indefinite Pronouns. On, constituting so principal an idiom of the French language, and represented in English by these nouns and pronouns, one, any body, man, we, people, they, men, &c, is always placed before the third person singular of the verb in its various moods, tenses, and inflections ; as, one believes, on croit ; people do not believe, on ne croit pas. When a noun or pronoun precedes an English verb in the passive voice as its nominative case, by using on before the French verb in the active, it becomes the accusative governed by the verb ; as, a council will be held, on tiendra un conseil. By this turn the nominative, council, becomes the accusative, governed by the French verb tenir. On is repeated before every verb, and the letter I is interposed between a vowel final and on, for the sake of harmony. Obs. — This idiom being used every moment, the student should be careful to express his own meanings, or those of these Exercises, whether in the active or passive voice, by one, on, placed at the beginning of the French sentence ; as, for example : it is not yet known what the ministers, &c, (turned into, one does not know yet, &c.) ; he has been promised, (one has promised him, &c.) ; and so on with the rest. Examples. one ought never to promise that which he cannot do. on ne devrait jamais promettre ce ay? on ne peut faire. when one is well, one commonly laughs at doctors. is one sick ? one submits willingly to their prescriptions. how can any one give credit to such false reports ? somebody told me that he was quite out of danger. people often flatter themselves too much in such cases. he has been promised a reward if he could find it out. it is not yet known what the ministers intend to do. it has been resolved in the king's council to send troops to China. they have added twenty more men of war to the navy. a man has been sent to inquire after what has been done. we hear on all sides that we are going to war with China. nobody shall ever persuade me to the contrary. well, ivhat is said of you may be said of them. tliey tried every thing to make him consent to it. it has been forcedly taken from him in the king's name. we take often the liberty to censure the faults of others. plenipotentiaries will be sent to ratify the peace. all the necessary measures ivere taken to succeed. they knew besides that the affair was of great moment. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 133 can more convincing proofs be given of it ? he (or she) is received agreeably every where. ive cannot express how great was his (or her) joy. they concealed from us the knowledge of it. they conducted us and the lady into a room. people expected to see him appear every moment. it has never been done before, for which it is most admired. one may say that it is a master-piece, in every point. people found on the coast many wrecks of vessels. Quelqu'un, quelqu'une, somebody, any body, one, used indefinitely, is applicable only to persons, and of the singular number ; but expressing some relation to any other objects, it takes both genders and numbers with the preposition de before the following noun, pronoun, and article with which it agrees. Examples. somebody calls you ; do not you hear ? quelquhm vov.s appele ; n'entendez-vous pas ? somebody told it to me, and it is one whom I believe. has any body come to see me this morning ? I hope that somebody will make the trial of it. if I see any body, I will send him to you immediately, she applied to somebody, whom she had never seen. give it to some one of your children, it is of no use to me. we have heard it said by one of your friends, who saw it. I know it from one, who was present at the time. I have given it to some one of them, (them, /.) I shall have some of my friends to dine with me. I see some of our companions coming here to join us. some of her friends came to meet her in London, lend me some of your books, I shall take care of them, some of these peaches are spoiled, they are not eatable, take some of those, which are good, there are some, some of those merchants, whom you see, are very rich, some of these people are very uncivil and blunt. I know some of them, who justly deserve that title. L'un Vautre, Vune V autre, les uns les autres, les unes les autres, one another, both, require generally a reflected, or any verb, with which one another can be joined. This pronoun, when referring to two persons only, is singular ; to several, plural ; but must always be used with one of the three persons plural in both numbers. Examples. they love one another, and yet they quarrel with one another. Us s'aiment Vun Vautre, et neanmoins Us se querellent Vun Vautre. they are enemies to each other, they speak ill of one another, they are at high words with one another, {plur. ) they make faces to one another through spite, {plur.) in times of need we must assist one another, {plur.) it may happen that they may meet with one another, (plur.) they cannot live without one another, (sing.) they knew one another from their infancy, (plur.) we see sometimes one another in winter-parties, (pjlur.) Lhin et Vautre, &c, both, may precede or follow the verb, used only in the three persons plural. 134 grammar of the french tongue. Examples. both are in the parlour waiting for you. Vun et V autre vous attendent dans la salle, or — ils vous attendent Vun et V autre dans la salle. both have much sense and judgment, '(/. sing.) yet both often judge very wrong, (/. sing.) they are both of that opinion, (m. plur.) they have both said the same thing, both related the same circumstance word for word, both manage their matters badly, (both, /.) they have been both dismissed after that, (they,^) both were put to death without any real proof, (m. s.) But Vun et V autre, &c, governed by a verb, follow the general rule, repeating any preposition preceding the first pronoun after the conjunction et, before the second pronoun. Examples. I have reason to complain of both after their conduct. fai raison de me plaindre de Vun et de V autre apres leur conduite. do it, since you are the friend of both. have you said it to both ? have you seen them both ? the same adventure happened to both of us. what can be said of the one, may be said of the other. you have not told me yet what you think of both. for my part, I blame both very much for acting so. he has travelled over both hemispheres, and knows the world. we have paid both, and discharged both from our service. Ni Vun, ni V autre, ni Vune, ni V autre, neither, coming before the verb, requires the third person singular ; but placed after the third person plural, must be used agreeing in gender with its relative subject. Examples. neither of them consents to it. ni Vun ni V autre n'y consent, or — ils rHy consentent ni Vun ni V autre, m. neither of them consents to it. ni Vune ni Vautre n'y consent, or — elles n'y consentent ni Vune ni Vautre, f. neither of them seems inclined to tell it. neither of them has reason to rejoice at it. neither of these two ladies will come to the ball, neither of them appeared sorry for it. neither of them relates the story such as it is. they are satisfied with neither of them, neither of them revealed the secret to any one. I believe neither of them capable of doing that, neither of them will succeed in the undertaking. Vun ou Vautre, Vune ou Vautre, either, follows the same rule of ni Vun ni Vautre, neither - Examples. either will tell it to you. Vun ou Vautre vous le dira, or — ils vous le diront Vun ou Vautre. either of them will lend it to me willingly. either of them will go, you may rely upon either, f. I shall employ either of them, both are very honest. it was from either of them that I heard the news. I shall write to either of them about this business. GRAMMAK OF THE FRENCH TOXGUE. 185 Gens, people, men, persons, servants, &c, plural, requires a preceding adjective to be feminine, and masculine after it. Should tout precede the feminine adjective, it must agree in gender, but tout alone before gens remains masculine. Examples. -we do not know people at first, ou ne connait pas d'abord les gens. they are people too sharp and crafty for you. do not rely too much upon people, there are some very dishonest. why are you always going with these foolish people ? I can assure you that they are cunning people. there are certain people who are very foolish. I never saw people more polite and attentive. there is pleasure in encouraging diligent people. all these wicked people will be your ruin. all good people are convinced of it. all people of respectability have forsaken him. all good people blame very much his follies. these young people are too indiscreet to be intrusted with a secret. common people are often more happy than great people. that is often done among common people. old people are subject to many infirmities incidental to age. I discovered among them my people amusing themselves. he and his people spent a great deal of money. where are all my people ? tell them to come to me. all your people have left my house before day-break. Gens, by a pecular idiom, represents these compound nouns : — gens du roi, law-officers. gensdelettresA ™n of letters. 9 ' I learned men. gens d'affaires, people of business. gens de robe, lawyers. gens de cour, courtiers. gens aVeglise, churchmen. gens de guerre, military men. gens de condition, quality people. the law-officers had a consultation on that subject. all the law-officers are much engaged now. without the labours of men of letters, what should we be ? men of letters impart to the mind more refined feelings. yet men of letters are always neglected, and die often very poor. unfortunate men of letters ! how much I pity you ! people of business are more punctual in their payments. in civil intercourse, men of business are the most important. through their industry, people of business diffuse wealth. I met many lawyers going to the court with their budget. this cause will give some employment to the gentlemen of the long robe. you know the lawyers are dear lovers of mischief. all the courtiers will not fail to be at the coronation. the king was surrounded by his nobles and courtiers. courtiers are not very scrupulous on that head. churchmen are very numerous in catholic countries. I know no country where one sees so many churchmen. none but military men are to be seen every where. the frontiers are lined with military men. pleasures and sports always follow military men. people of condition are not always the richest or proudest. the good conduct of people of condition is their greatest title. worldly honours alone cannot make people of condition happy. 136 GRAMMAR 01 THE FRENCH TONGUE. Monde, world, people, men. Beau monde, fashionable people. Tout le monde, every body, &c. Grand monde, people of quality. thus goes the world, every one for one's self. ainsi va le monde, chacun pour soi. do not you know people better than that ? study men before you give implicit faith to any thing. every body is of that opinion, every body rejoices at it. every body came there in crowds, every body allows it. it was so visible that the whole company perceived it. every body does not think as you do. one cannot please every body in the present world. every body loves to appropriate to himself the property of others. every body has need of money, every body tries to get it. every body blames him for it, every body laughs at him. this street is now the rendezvous of people of fashion. he follows the ways of fashionable people. fashionable people are more swayed by appearances than true merit. he frequents much people of quality in his situation. the purest pleasures are not always enjoyed among people of quality. there are few people of quality who know the wretchedness of the poor. La plupart, most, greatest part, number, has no plural. Before a plural noun, it requires de, or des, and the third person plural of the verb, and du, &c, before a singular noun with the third person singular. Examples. most of them went away, la plupart s>en allerent. most of them returned from it very satisfied. most of the people were of the common class. most of the women were richly dressed and adorned. most of the women are too credulous and easily deceived. he has recovered the greatest part of his debts. the generality of his friends forsook him in his need. most of my brethren were present at the meeting. he has delivered most of his letters of recommendation. but he is idle most of his time reclining on a sofa. most people think that he will succeed in his undertaking. Autrui, others, has no plural ; it is used only with the prepositions de, a. Examples. our greatest happiness is not to depend upon others. notre plus grand borilieur est de ne dependre d'autrui. do to others as you wish to be done by. he is a man who has never wronged others. we must not covet other people's goods. she is always sorry for another's troubles. the misfortunes of others are a living image of what may befal us, he who relies upon others is often disappointed. a true Christian never will hurt others wilfully. Quiconque, any body, whoever, &c, is a compound relative pronoun, which, con- taining in itself the relative with its antecedent, necessarily requires after it two verbs, of which either part may be the subject or object. Examples. whoever says it, is mistaken, quiconque le dit se trompe. any body who speaks so, has not common sense. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 137 whoever is offended at a joke, is -wrong-headed. ■whoever fears God, loves his neighbour. whoever gives alms to the poor, will be rewarded for it. pay handsomely whomsoever brings it safe. he did it in spite of any body that wished to oppose it. bring with you whomsoever you like, we shall be glad of it. whomsoever you meet, will tell you the street. this reproach is addressed to any one who is guilty. whoever is bold enough to do it, shall have a good reward. Rien, nothing, must be preceded or followed by ne before the verb without pas or point after it. In interrogations, ne is omitted, and il put after the verb. Examples. I do nothing for the present, je ne fais rien a present. I have said nothing that can offend him any ways, what you say signifies nothing, proves nothing, there is nothing like speaking to the purpose, do not you answer any thing ? nothing pleases you. I reckon that for nothing ; I delight in nothing at all. do you count for nothing all the favours he has bestowed upon you ? can any thing be more ungrateful ? rien peut-il etre plus ingrat. can there be any thing finer than these buildings ? is there any thing more wonderful than the motion of the stars ? has any thing transpired of your intention ? is there any thing that patience does not overcome ? has religion nothing in itself that mitigates afflictions ? does any thing displease you so much as to hear them speak ill of others ? has any thing happened to prevent him from coming? is there any thing in the world greater than virtue ? Tel, telle, such ; certain-e, certain, such ; meme, self ; although chiefly employed as common adjectives, yet they are ranked with the indefinite pronouns. Meme is often used as an adverb, and tet, telle, as a noun. Examples. show yourself such as you should be. montrez vous tel que vous devriez etre. we have never seen any thing like it in London, have you spoken to Mr. such-a-one when you were out ? you must call upon Mrs. such-a-one this morning, there was such a multitude that we could not pass through the crowd, he is such a harebrained fellow that one cannot rely upon him. now return it such as I lend it to you, mind that, he held nearly such a discourse to us before he went, is she such as she is said to be ? est-elle telle qiCon la dit. such was his life, such was his death, they made such efforts, that at last they succeeded, such was at that time the state of his affairs. I have been walking with a certain man, whom you know. je me suis promene avec un certain hoinme que vous connaissez. a certain woman has related it to me minutely, certain friends acquainted me with it before. he goes with certain people, who make him spend much money, they have certain reasons not to tell it, for fear of dispute, you have certain manners, which are very disagreeable. 138 GRAMMAR OE THE FRENCH TONGUE. he brought me certain news, which gave me great pleasure. he possesses certain qualities very uncommon. a certain man came here, who asked me how you were. Observe, that certain, placed after its noun, implies something which cannot be doubted ; as, a certain friend, un ami certain, upon whom you can rely ; whereas, placed before, it always means some, quelque. Mime, self, very, even, virtue itself is not screened from slander. la vertu mime n'est point a Vabri de la calomnie. man himself often sacrifices his real happiness to ambition, the rich themselves are not free from human infirmities, science itself is too often despised by ignorant upstarts, our virtues themselves are often turned into ridicule, the welfare even of his family ought to make him more prudent, health itself is preferable to riches or dignities, calamities themselves tend to our improvement, pleasures themselves soon become tiresome and insipid, the subject itself is not one of the most agreeable, his very wife does not know where he lives, life itself is a heavy burden sometimes in opulence, money itself cannot make us happy without virtue. Quelque, some, as an adjective before a noun, agrees with it in number. Examples. some sad accidents have lately befallen me. quelques evenemens facheux me sont arrives dernierement. some persons came here last night to see you. some days after that they came to see us again, some reasons of importance have determined me to it. some authors have maintained it without reason, some animals are gifted with much reason. I relate it on the assertion of some great travellers, it is some years since I have seen them. Quelque, however, whatever, whatsoever, though, although, is undeclined before an adjective preceding the verb etre, to be, followed by a noun, and requires que between the adjective and the verb in the subjunctive. Examples. however great may be his efforts, he will not succeed without friends. quelque grands que soient ses efforts, il ne reussira point sans amis. however good may be your reasons, they will avail you nothing. however fair may be their promises, be on your guard. however wicked they may have been, they have been forgiven. however great may be his actions, he has not been rewarded. however foolish be his enterprises, he will not desist from them. however judicious be his observations, they are little thought of. Quelque, however, &c, is declined before an adjective followed immediately by the noun, or before a noun only governed by any verb, (except etre, to be,) and requires the subjunctive mood after que or qui. Examples. whatever bad habits he may have, he will soon break himself of them. quelques mauvaises habitudes quHl ait, il s'en defer a bientot. whatever riches we may have, we are never satisfied, whatever bad events befal you, bear them with fortitude, whatever news you have received, communicate them to me. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 139 whatever services you have done me, I have been grateful for them. whatever great hopes he may entertain, he will be disappointed. whatever misfortunes befal him, he is always the same. Quelque, whatever, is sometimes so used that quel only is declined, although fol- lowed by que, which, as above, governs the subjunctive mood. This declension of quel, &c, takes places only when quelque is followed by any one of these persons, je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, Us, elles, or by a noun. The persons always precede the verb, but the noun is placed after, with which person or noun quel, &c, must agree in gender and number. Examples. whatever we may be here below, rich or poor, we shall be all equal. quels que nous soyons ici bas, nous serons tous egaux. whatever it may be, I shall follow your advice. whatever she may be, handsome or ugly, I shall make her my wife. whatever women may be, we cannot live without them. whatever may be your motives, you will be blamed for it. whatever may be the fashions, people always follow them. whatever may be his talents, he will not obtain the place. whatever his friends may be, they have not sufficient interest. whatever life may be, there are few of us who are not attached to it. whatever may be your fate, I will share it with you. whatever may be the afflictions of life, we must resign to them. whatever they may be, we shall receive them heartily, (they, /.) whatever her disposition may be, I shall accustom myself to it. ADJECTIVES. The position and modification of Adjectives being fully explained, (page 24, Gram.,) the following, expressing qualities different when placed before a noun from those they have after, are introduced here to familiarize the student with their idiomatical sense and use. air grand, grand air, air mauvais, mauvais air, honnete homme, homrne honnete, brave homme, homme brave, gentilhomme, homme gentil, 2?auvre homme, luomme pauvre, galant homme, homme galant, plaisant homme, homme plaisant, vUain homme, Iiomme vilain. sage femme, femme sage, cruelle femme, femme cruelle, grosse femme, femme grosse, malin esprit, noble countenance, fashionable ways, wicked aspect, mean appearance, honest man. civil man. excellent man. brave man. nobleman, genteel man. simple, dull man. poor, needy man. well-bred man. lover of ladies, ridiculous man. merry man. disagreeable man. niggardly man. midwife, discreet woman, unkind woman, cruel, hard-hearted, big fat woman, pregnant woman, evil spirit. malin vouloir, homme malin, vrai homme, vrai charlatan, homme vrai, bon homme, homme bon, grand homme, homme grand, habit neuf. habit nouveau, nouvel habit, vin nouveau, nouveau vin, fausse clef, or cle, clef, cle fausse, certaine nouvelle, nouvelle certaine, morle eau, eau morte, commune voix, voix commune, dernier e annee, anne'e derniere. ill-will, spite, wicked man. true man, &c. mere quack, sincere man. honest, &c, fellow, good, worthy man. great man. tall man. new coat, another coat, different coat, new made wine, different wine, false key. wrong key. certain news, true, sure news. low tide, stagnant water, unanimous voice, ordinary voice, the last year, last year. 140 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. Oes. — When qualities of the body are combined with grand, as un grand komme blond, a tall fair man, grand Jiomme means only a man of high stature, because grand is qualified by blond, fair. But in general, all these adjectives, varying their meaning by preceding or fol- lowing their substantives, resume their primitive quality when attended by these adverbs, fort, tr£s, Men. Examples. bon Jiomme, honest fellow. fort bon Jiomme, very good man. pauvre Jiomme, simple man. tres pauvre Jiomme, very poor man. grand air, fashionable way. fort grand air, very noble countenance, plaisant Jiomme, ridiculous man. bien plaisant Jiomme, very pleasant man. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. Adjectives of dimension require the preposition de before the following numeral and noun ; or, if expressed by the correlative noun of the adjective, the verb to be must be changed into have, also the noun prec'eded by de. Examples. a house seventy feet high, une maison Jiaute de soixante et dix pieds, or — une maison de soixante et dix pieds de Jiauteur. the man is six feet high. V Jiomme est Jiaut de six pieds, or — V Jiomme a six pieds de Jiauteur. a street six thousand feet long, une rue tongue de six mille pieds, or — une rue de six mille pieds de longueur. VERBS. Every verb followed by another requires that verb to be placed in the infinitive mood ; but if followed by que, the second verb must be put in the indicative or subjunctive mood, according to the subsequent Rules. All verbs used interrogatively, negatively, or negatively-interrogatively, require the subjunctive mood after que, unless the person who asks the question entertains no doubt of the thing, in which case the verb after que is put in the indicative. The prepositions generally preceding the infinitive are de, a, pour ; sometimes par, apres, sans ; and every conjunction compounded of de or a. The preposition to, preceding the infinitive of an English verb, is expressed by pour, or afin de, if it can be changed into in order to ; as, fortune is not sufficient to make us happy, (to in order to). la fortune n'est pas suffsante pour nous rendre Jieureux. If the preposition to before the infinitive can be changed into of, with, from, &c, and the infinitive into the present participle, it must be expressed by de ; as, I shall have the pleasure to see her to-night, (of seeeing). jfaurai le plaisir de la voir ce coir. he was overjoyed to meet him in town, (with meeting). il fut ravi de le rencontrer en ville. nothing could prevent him to speak to them, (from speaking). rien ne put VempecJier de leur parler. Generally all verbs must be preceded by the preposition a, if to before the English verb can be changed into in, for, before the present participle ; as, he kindly assisted me to do it, (in doing). il m'aida de bon cozur a le faire. she has prepared herself to go to the ball, (for going). elle s'est preparee a oiler au bal. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 141 Every noun necessary to form the meaning tion de before the infinitive ; as, of a first verb, requires the preposi- I have the honour to be your very humble servant, (of being). fai Vhonneur d'etre voire tres humble serviteur, {servante, f.) I have given him permission to go, (of going). je lui at donne permission dialler. I have a fit opportunity to send her the letter, (of sending). j'ai une favorable occasion de lui envoy er la lettre. But when the noun implies inclination, aptness, unfitness, conveniency, reluc- tancy, &c, preceded by some; or a, an, the preposition a is put before the verb in the infinitive ; as, I have some, or an inclination to see it, (for seeing). j'ai de V inclination, or une inclination a le voir. The verb avoir, to have, and its derivative monopersonal verb, il y a, there is, there are, require the preposition a before the following infinitive. C'est, it is : this monopersonal, when followed by a disjunctive pronoun or noun, may have the preposition a or de before the infinitive. Examples. I have to speak to you on this subject. j'ai a vous parler sur ce sujet. there is a difficulty to surmount in this affair. il y a une diffculte a surmonter dans cette affaire. there is true pleasure in relieving the poor. il y a du vrai plaisir a secourir les pauvres. it is your interest to do it as soon as you can. c>est a vous a le faire aussi tot que vous pourrez. it is his office to decide the question without partiality. e'est a lui de decider la question sans partialite. The following verbs are used without a preposition before the second verb in the infinitive : — aimer mieua \ to choose, pre- entendre, hear. pouvoir, be able. aller, compter, confesser, to go. [fer. expect. confess. envoyer, esperer, faire, send, hope, make, do. pretendre, reconnaitre, savoir, pretend. acknowledge know. croire, believe. falloir, must. sembler, seem. do ioner, declarer, deign, declare. laisser, oser, leave, let. dare. s'imaginer, souhaiter, imagine, wish. deposer, desirer, depose, desire. ouir, paraitre, hear, appear. venir, voir, come, see. devoir, owe, must. penser, think. vouloir, be willing. Obs. — Desirer, esperer, souhaiter, require de, when used in the infinitive before another infinitive ; as, you cannot hope to see them this year. vous ne pouvez esperer de les voir cette annee. sure the woman cannot wish to marry such a man. la femme certainement ne peut desirer d s epouser un tel homme. what can you wish to do besides ? que pouvez vous souhaiter de faire de plus ? manquer de, to fail, want. manquer a, to forget, omit. prier de, to ask, beg, desire. prier u, to invite formally. This concludes the most essential part in reference to those prepositions required before the infinitive. { 142 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. MONOPERSONAL VERBS. 11 y a, there is, there are, (vide page 33, Gram.) This monopersonal verb is sometimes expressed in English by some, before a plural noun indefinite, followed by persons of the verb to be ; by ago, after a noun denoting time ; how long is it since, in reference to time ; hoiu far, applied to dis- tance ; by it is, referring to a casualty. Examples. some pleasures are necessary to the studious mind. il y a des plaisirs qui sont necessaires a V 'esprit studieux. some unforeseen events make us sometimes very happy. il y a des evenemens imprevus qui nous rendent quelquefois Men heureux. some men are very deceitful in their transactions. il y a des liommes Men trompeurs dans leurs affaires. some habits are very hurtful to man's constitution. il y a des habitudes Men nuisibles au temperament de Vhomme. he built this house fifteen years ago. il a bdti cette maison il y a quinze ans. he has built this house these fifteen years. il y a quinze ans qvJil a bdti cette maison. he has been gone to India these three and twenty years. il y a vingt trots ans qu>il est alle aux Indes. he has gone to India twenty-three years ago. il est alle aux Indes il y a vingt trois ans. how long is it since he has been married ? these thirty years. combien y-a-t-il qu'il est marie ? il y a trente ans. how long have you lived in Scotland? these seven years. combien y a-t-il que vous demeurez en JEcosse ? il y a sept ans. how far is London from Edinburgh ? combien y a-t-il d'Edinbourg a Londres ? ■ he has kept his bed for these ten months. il y a dix mois quHl garde le lit, or, il garde le lit il y a dix mois. The above sentences will elucidate the various modes of expression adopted in English, which are all rendered by the monopersonal verb y-avoir, there to be, according to mood, tense, person, and inflection. Monopersonal verbs, c'est, ilest, it is. Cest. This monopersonal verb demonstrates an object definitely. It may be applied to every object animate and inanimate, and must always be followed by a noun, disjunctive pronoun, and even an adjective qualifying ce, implying ceci, cela. Often after the noun or pronoun following cest, &c, que is used before a noun or the person of a tense, and que de before an infinitive. Cest with a before the following noun or pronoun, requires a or de before the infinitive. Examples. it is my horse that you see. c'est mon ^cheval que vous voyez. it is my father's house, c'est la maison de rnon pere. it is a present which I have received from them. it was a very painful thing at that moment, was it not the cause of his ruin, and then of his death ? it will be a great advantage to his children, that it may be a profitable situation, is very probable, it was yesterday that I met him in the square, it is I, who discovered first the imposition of the man. it is thou, who hast divulged it over the town. GRAMMAR OF THE FREXCH TONGUE. 143 it was he, who fastened the doors and windows. it will he she, who will inherit all the property. should it be we, who are accused of it ? for what reason ? it is possible that it may be you, who are appointed. I wished that it might be they, who had obtained it. it is true, but we were not then aware of it. it is very unpleasant to hare to deal with such people. it is enough for the present : we shall see by and by. it is good for people to be always on their guard in all cases. it is just to act uprightly in prosperity and adversity. it is a charitable action to relieve the poor. c'est une action charitable que de secourir les pauvres. friendship is a great comfort in adversity. Jest v.ne grande consolation dans Vadversite que I'amitie. it is a great pleasure to have real friends in affliction. dishonesty is a most abominable action in any case. prudence is a necessary virtue to man. it is a good thing to have many endowments. you are to begin, every thing is ready : come ! begin. c'est a vous a commencer, tout est pret : allons I commences. he is to do it ; let him make haste ; I am in a hurry. they are to pay you, have they not done it yet ? I am to see if all things are in good order and ready. she is to satisfy you for all the expenses you have been at. C'est, it is, &c, may also be used in the third persons plural of any tense of etre, to be, followed by eux, elles, or a plural noun, but it is only for the sake of harmony. Examples. it is I, who have said it to them, c'est moi, qui le leur ai dit. it is thou, who hast made the blunder, c'est toi, qui as fait la meprise. it is he, who is coming yonder, c'est ltd, qui vient la-bas. it is she, who has sent it. c'est elle, qui Va envoyee, {it, f.) it is we, who are answerable for it. c'est nous, qui en sommes responsibles. it is you, who are in the wrong, c'est vous, qui avez tort. ( it is they, who have done it. c'est eux (or elles) qui Vont fait. \ it is they, who have done it. ce sont eux (or elles) qui Vont fait. i it is the men, who have seen it. c'est les hommes, qui Vont vu. \ it is the men, who have seen it. ce sont les hommes, qui Vont vu. The third person plural may be used after the same manner in the four inflec- tions, except the third person plural interrogative of the perfect tense. Examples. it is I, who assisted him in all his difficulties, was it not thou, who hadst brought all these parcels ? it is she, who is going to be married next week, was it not her sister, who was dancing with that officer ? it will be he, who will obtain that situation certainly, was it the effect of real merit or of influence ? it will not be we, who will take charge of it. should it be you, who would undertake it ? should it be our men, who have robbed the warehouse, is it his scholars, who have made him that present ? was it the women, who acted so generously? surely it is not he, who is now knocking at the door, if it should be he, tell him that I am not at home. K 144 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. it was we, who saw the whole transaction, it is possible that it may not be he, who has done it. should it be they, who have said it, they did not speak the truth, was it not she, who brought the money this morning ? it will be I, who will deliver it to them for greater safety. Obs. — Cest que is sometimes used as a conjunction, implying because. Cest in all its tenses may be followed by de before the verb in the infinitive, or que before the subjunctive. II est, &c, it is, must be used in all its tenses and inflections, when it cannot be changed into this, or that. 11 est, &c, presents an absolute and indefinite time ; as, for instance, it is time to set out, il est temps de partir. It, resolved into its primitive article le, placed before its noun time, shows the absolute moment of setting out, analysed thus, le temps de partir est, (yenu understood,) if you wish to go, or else you cannot go. Examples. it is time to rise, it is six o'clock, il est temps de se lever il est six heures. it is past seven, you did not think that it was so late. is it day-light ? not yet : it is breakfast-time. what o'clock was it when you went to bed ? I think it was about two o'clock in the morning. what o'clock do you think it is ? it is midnight. II est takes de before the infinitive, when the adjective following il est, being used in a substantive manner, conveys a general meaning, or is attended by a pronoun, but used in a definite sense it requires que before the verb in the sub- junctive mood. 11 est, implying duty, obligation, &c, requires de to be placed before either the noun or the verb ; also, before a noun or an adjective, when en combined with it expresses a comparison, or an accidental effect, in which case en, as usual, is placed immediately before the verb. Examples. it is generous to confess one's faults. il est genereux de confesser ses f antes. it is not very difficult to please him in any thing. is it not grievous to be sick, and without friends and money ? it was useless to argue the case with him, (or her.) was it prudent to let such a useful work be destroyed ? was it not proper to stand upon one's guard ? it was impossible to dissuade him (or her) from it. it was not an easy matter to reconcile so many adverse parties. was it not unfair to take such measures, as things are ? it will be very dangerous to do it at this time of the year. will it be convenient for you to pay me to-day ? it will not be difficult to succeed in this business. it would be but just to let him know it instantly. although it may be disagreeable to inform him of it. it is right that you should know it before any one. il est juste que vous le sachiez avant tout autre. it is not prudent for you to do such foolish things. it was unlucky that you were not here present at the time. was it not surprising that he had abandoned his project? it was impossible for any one to prevent it in time. it was not surprising that he should be a little embarrassed. it will be impossible for you to persuade him to do it. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 145 it will not be proper to send them there alone, would it not be proper for us to write to them on that subject ? should it be certain that he would remember it, I should not care, though it may be dangerous for one to make the trial, though it might not be necessary to tell it to him or her. U est, it is, used definitely, requires after que the indicative mood, but employed interrogatively, negatively, or in a doubtful manner, the subjunctive mood. Examples. it is certain that he has paid all his debts. il est certain qu'il a paye toutes ses dettes. it was evident that he could not have committed the crime, it was clear that the thing was not such as had been said, is it not manifest that an almighty power rules the world ? was it not probable that he would endeavour to do it ? is it not obvious that we are not made for ourselves ? it is impossible for her to come this afternoon, it was fit that we should see her immediately, it is in vain for you to argue the case with them, it is necessary for us to elucidate this matter. it was unlucky that things should have taken such a turn. # it is very grievous that you should have to deal with such people. it is proper that you should take your measures well, it is unlucky that you should have come so late, it was dark when we reached the city, it is lucky that we have not met them in the wood, it would be cruel for you to be ill-used a second time, it is necessary for us to be good for our own sake. All the above sentences may generally be rendered as in English, by using the preposition de before the infinitive, instead of que before the subjunctive, and the English preposition for, by pour, before the disjunctive pronoun ; as, it is necessary for us to be good for our own sake. il est necessaire que nous soyons bons pour V amour de nous mimes. il est necessaire pour nous d^etre bons pour V amour de nous mimes. II est, it is, in all its tenses and moods, may be followed by the prepositions, a before a verb denoting probability. de before a verb implying duty, obligation, &c. ; du, &c, before a noun. de before a verb denoting ability, character, with the preposition en before a dis- junctive pronoun or noun. Examples. it is to be supposed that this will not take place. il est a supposer que cela n'aura point lieu. could it be thought that such a thing could happen ? it never will be believed that he is capable of it. was it not to be judged that he was the author of it ? is it to be imagined that he is worthy of it ? it is of a generous mind to forgive one's enemies. is it not of a good citizen to defend his country \ it is humanity's office to comfort the afflicted. is it not prudence's duty to act with precaution? it is true friendship's part to excuse the faults of a friend. is it not honesty's duty to pay one's debt3? it is the duty of a pious mind to be always prepared for death. it is bravery's nature to be merciful to a fallen enemy. 146 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. it is not in my nature to be hurtful to him. il n* est pas enmoi de lui nuire. it is in my power to be of great service to him, (or her.) it is no longer in their power to oppose you. is it in your power to lend me twenty pounds to-day ? is it not in our nature to fear death ? it is not in any one's power to prolong our days. it is not in a guilty person's power to be happy. it is not in our choice to do as we like in another's house. was it in your father's nature to be so arbitrary ? it is in my sister's disposition to be industrious and saving. should it be in your brother's character to be ungrateful ? II est, it is, before nouns compared with one another, requires en before the verb, and the preposition de, or the definite article du, &c, according to gender, before every compared object, generally preceded by with in English. Examples. it is with the diseases of the mind as with those of the body. il en est des maladies de V esprit comme de celles du corps. it is with you as with me, we have both a right to it. it is with life as with the shadow, they vanish away swiftly, it is with the coward as with the brave, they both die in one moment, it will be with you and with me as it pleases God. it was with your brother as with my father, they were both robbed, it is with painters as with poets, they are at liberty to feign. The following monopersonal verbs, Compounded of il est, it is, and adjectives employed idiomatically to represent nouns, or used with nouns, are introduced here, that the students may, without any further reference, be able to apply them with their Rules. II est, in the first series, followed by que, requires the subjunctive ; but preceded or followed by a pronoun, and even a noun, it may have the second verb in the infinitive with de before it. II est, in the second series, with que, governs the indicative, provided il est is used neither interrogatively, negatively, nor negatively-interrogatively, in which case que would require the verb after it in the subjunctive. It may also take de after the adjective before the verb in the infinitive mood. FIRST SERIES, With que and the subjuncti ve, or de and infinitive. il est a propos, it is fit. i 1 est divertissant, it il est agreable, it is agreeable. % I est doux, it il est aise, it is easy. \ I est douloureux, it il est affligeant, it is afflicting. i I est dur, it il est beau, it is fine. i I est disgracieux, it il est bien seant, it is becoming. i I est ennuyeux, it il est bon, it is good. i I est expedient, it il est de la bienseance , it is seemly. j I est etonnant, it il est cruel, it is cruel. \ I est facile, it il est chagrinant, it is vexatious. % I est facheux, it il est convenable, it is suitable. s I est glorieux, it il est dangereux, it is dangerous. « I est gracieux, it il est decent, it is decent. I est heureux, it il est de la decence, it is comely. I est honteux, it il est difficile, it is difficult. 1 est impossible, it is diverting. is sweet, &c. is painful. is hard. is unpleasant. is tedious. ; is expedient. is astonishing. is easy. is sorrowful. is glorious. is graceful. is happy, lucky. , is shameful. is impossible. GRAMMAR OP THE FRENCH TONGUE. 147 il est indecent, it is indecent. il est plaisant, il est indifferent, it is indifferent. il est sensible, il est malheuretuv, it is unlucky, &c. il est surprenant, il est mal-aise, it is difficult. il est triste, il est mortifiant, it is mortifying. il est vilain, il est necessaire, it is necessary. il est juste, ilestd'unenecessite,'\t isof an absolutene- il est injuste, il est possible, it is possible, [cessity. il est drole, Obs. — All these adjectives, used as nouns, may be made to agree with the word chose, thing ; and il est changed into c'est, it is, still following the same Rules. it is pleasant, odd. it is sensible. it is surprising. it is sad. it is ugly. it is just, fair. it is unjust, unfair. it is comical. SECOND SERIES, With que before the verb in the indicative, or de before the infinitive. il est avere, it is averred. il est notoire, it is notorious. il est clair, it is clear. il est palpable, it is palpable. il est certain, it is certain. il est sensible, it is sensible. il est evident, it is evident. il est sur, it is sure. il est constant, it is constant. il est vrai, it is true. il est indubitable, it is unquestionable. il est vraisemblable, it is very likely. il est manifesle, it is manifest. il est visible, it is visible. Let it be generally observed, that the negative, interrogative, and negatively- interrogative inflections of verbs require the second verb following them to be put in the subjunctive mood, preceded by que ; also the affirmative inflection of verbs denoting an affection of the mind ; as, I hope he will come, j'espere qu'il viendra. do you hope he will come ? esperez-vous qu'il vienne ? I do not hope he will come, je n'espere pas qu'il vienne. do not you hope that he will come ? n'espere z-vous pas qu'il vienne ? II fait, it is. This monopersonal verb is also expressed in French, idiomatically, by the third person singular of /aire, in all its tenses and inflections, (vide /aire, pages 54 and 64, Gram.,) to denote the air, or weather, advantages, disadvantages of places, &c. Good, bad, better, dangerous, before a present participle preceding the noun of a place, is rendered by ilfait, with the following verb in the infinitive ; as, it is good travelling in summer. il fait bon voyager dans I'ete. &c. &c. &c. &c. II faut, must, &c. This monopersonal verb, implying necessity, want, duty, &c, generally expressed in English by, must, shall, should, it is necessary, &c, either must be followed by que before the following verb in the subjunctive mood, or by the infinitive with a preconjunctive pronoun, according to person, placed between il and faut. But if il faut denotes the necessity of doing something without being applied to any definite person, the infinitive is simply put after it followed by the object. Examples. the men must carry the goods to the ship. ils faut que les hommes portent les marchandises au vaisseau. many merchants must have suffered by this failure, the man must have been very cruel to do such a thing, the women must have been sadly frightened, the workmen must have -worked very hard during the day. the women must clean the house when we are gone. 148 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGTO. lawyers must have had much to do this winter, children must be religiously brought up and educated, masters must pay attention to the morals of their servants, pastors must guide their flocks in the right path, judges must be impartial in causes of justice and truth. you must be more attentive to your studies now. ( il vous faut etre plus attentif a vos etudes a present. I il faut que vous soyez plus attentif a vos etudes a present. they must act with more prudence, if they wish to succeed. she must be more exact in her conduct after this. we must send them another order for a fresh supply of goods. he should not neglect to do it, for his own advantage. thou must consider all the services they have done thee. we should not speak ill of others, when we are not free from faults. you must not lay the blame upon me, I had nothing to do with it. I must try to convince them of their unjust prejudice. he must not go there without letters of recommendation. she must prepare every thing as soon as possible. they must return to town by the end of the week, without fail. 11 faut is often used before the infinitive, followed by its object without any definite person, expressed in English by the past participle after to be. Examples. this must be done immediately, il faut faire ceci tout de suite, or — il faut que ceci soit fait tout de suite. the rulers and laws of a country must be obeyed, sciences must be learned in youth to enjoy life in old age. travelling is necessary to know the various manners of countries, attention must be paid to the instructions of teachers, the path of virtue must be followed in all reverses, worldly afflictions must be endured with resignation. 11 faut is sometimes used with a noun immediately after it ; as, money is wanted to supply the wants of life. il faut de V argent pour supplier aux hesoins de la vie. activity is wanted to succeed in the commercial world. a long time will be necessary to finish this work, much study will be required to acquire that branch of education, friends are necessary to rise and prosper in the world, energy and assiduity are wanted in all undertakings. Comme il faut, as it should be, very well, &c. ; ce qiCil faut, what is necessary, are often used idiomatically at the end of a sentence ; as, you do not do it as it should be. vous ne le faites pas comme il faut. you have spoken very properly, vous avez parle comme il faut. you have set the things in good order, vous avez mis les choses comme il faut. he has acted very well, il a agi comme il faut. do, pray, what is necessary, faites, je vous prie, ce qu'il faut. For the other monopersonal verbs, vide pages, 62 — 64. Gram. Verbs used idiomatically. Aller, to be going, is often used in the present and imperfect before its own infi- nitive, to denote a future action ; as, I am going away, je vais m'en aller, (indefinitely.) I am going to the theatre, je m'en vais aller au theatre. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 149 I am going there, je vais y aller, (denotes futurity.) I am going there, je m'en vais y aller, (immediate departure.) I was going there when you came, j'allais y aller quand vous vintes. Aller, to go, to fit, suit, &c., is also applied to dress, health, arts, sciences, &c. ; as this coat fits you, becomes you well, cet habit vous va Men. how i3 your health ? how do you do ? comment va la sante? how do you come on with the French? comment va le Frangais ? Y aller de, to he at stake, (vide page 63, Gram.) The following verbs, with the same meaning in English, are very differently applied in French ; the first four are used for beings that can walk, the other four for objects without natural motion. mener, to carry, lead : take my horse to the stable, menez mon cheval a Vecurie. amener, to bring : bring my horse, amenez mon cheval. remmener, to take back : take back my horse, remmenez mon cheval. ramener, to bring back : bring back my horse, ramenez mon cheval. porter, to carry : carry my letter, portez ma lettre. apporter, to bring : bring my letter, apportez ma lettre, remporter, to carry back : carry back my letter, remportez ma lettre. rapporter, to bring back : bring back my letter, rapportez ma lettre. bring the man with you. amenez Vhomme avec vous. take the gentleman to the inn. menez le monsieur a Vauberge. bring back the children, ramenez les enfans. take back the dogs to the kennel, remmenez les chiens au chenil. bring my cloak and trunk, apportez mon manteau et ma malle. carry back these books to my room, remportez ces livres a ma chambre. Marcher, to walk, is used only to express the going from one place to another through business ; as, I have walked twenty miles to-day. j'ai marche vingt milles avjourdlmi. he has walked from London to Edinburgh in ten days. il a marche de Londres a Edinbourg en dix jours. marcher droit, to act uprightly. marclier a grandes journees, to make great marches. .Se promener, to walk, is applied only to the exercise of walking for pleasure ; as, I walk every day for my health, je me promene tous les jours pour ma sante. he walks two hours every day. il se promene deux heures par jour. Se promener is also used in the following idiomatical manner : — se promener a cheval, to take a ride on horseback se promener en carosse, to take a ride in a coach. se promener en bateau, to take a sail in a boat. promener (quelqu'un), to take one a walking. promener la vue sur, to cast one's eyes upon. Donner is used idiomatically with main, hand ; as, donner, preter la main a, to help (one). donner les mains a (quelque chose), to consent to (a thing). donner de main en main, to hand about. lever la main, to take one's oath, swear, (before a judge). se donner garde de (quelqu'un), to beware of (one). 150 GRAMMAR OP THE F3EXCH TONGUE. Jouer, to play for. This verb is used to express several different meanings. Examples. jouer une guinee la partie, to play for a guinea the game. jouer aux cartes, au piquet, &c, to play at cards, piquet, &c. jouer du piano-forte, violon, &c., to play upon the piano, violin, &c. jouer gros jeu, to play high, deep. jouer une piece de theatre, to act a play. jouer une piece, un tour a, to serve (one) a trick. jouer de la prunelle, to ogle, leer, look slily. jouer (quelquhm), to make a fool of (one). jouer a quitte ou double, to run all hazards. jouer a, to run the hazard of ; to venture. se jouer, to sport ; se jouer de, to make a fool of. ne pas se jouer a, not to meddle with. Venir, to come, takes no preposition before the following verb in the infinitive ; but its present or imperfect, with de before the infinitive, expressed in English by either, to have just, or be just, before the past participle, constitutes an important idiom of the French language. Examples. I have just seen the man. je viens de voir Vhomme. we had just arrived from London, nous venions d'ar river de Londres. she had just been married, elle venait d'etre mariee. This same idiom is expressed also by nefaire que de ; as, I have just seen the man. je ne fais que de voir Vhomme. we had just arrived from London, nous ne faisions que d'arriver de Lon- she had just been married, elle ne faisait que d'etre mariee. [dies. Venir, with a before the following verb in the infinitive, implies, to happen, chance, or a conditional tense ; as, if he should happen to know it. si il venait a. le savoir. if I should lose my money, si je venais a perdre man argent. Devoir is used, idiomatically, to denote an absolute future action, expressed by any persons of the verb, to be, must, shall, will, should, &c, (vide page 39, Gram.) ; as, I am to write a letter to-day. je dois ecrire une lettre aujourdlmi. I ought to have done it this morning, j'aurais du le faire ce matin. he is to pay you to-morrow, il dait vous payer demain. she will be coming next week, elle doit venir la semaine prochaine. Savoir, to know, is applied only to mental powers, sciences ; as, he knows what you mean, il salt ce que vous voulez dire. do you know any news ? savez vous des nouvelles ? they know mathematics. Us savent les mathematiques. Connaitre, to know, refers to visual and substantial objects ; as, you know the street where he lives, vous connaissez la rue du il demeure. yes, I know the man well, oui, je connais bien Vhomme. I have known him many years, je Vai connu bien des annees. we know each other very well, nous nous cannaissons tres bien. Penser, Sanger, to think of, consider, require the preposition a before the follow- ing noun, pronoun, or infinitive ; but it is also used actively ; as, people think this of you, on pense ceci de vous. penser a mal, to have some bad design, intention. ne pas penser a mat, to mean no harm. GRAMMAR OP TIIE FRENCH TONGUE. 151 Penser, used in the preterite, simple, or compound, without a preposition before the following verb in the infinitive, implies, was near, like, ready, had like, &c. Examples, he was near being killed, il pensa etre tue. we had like to be drowned, nous pensdmes etre noyes. they had like to ruin themselves. Us penserent se miner. she had been near being married, elle avait pense etre mariee . Avoir, combined with the following nouns, forms an extensive link of idioms, which are expressed by any of the persons or inflections of that verb ; the article a, or an, preceding the English noun, must be omitted in French. The verb, to be, before the following adjectives, is also expressed by avoir, and the adjective changed into its correlative noun. to have an appetite, avoir appetit. to have a good appetite, avoir bon appetit. to have a very good appetite, avoir grand appetit. to have a bad appetite, avoir mauvais appetit. to have a very bad appetite, avoir tres mauvais appetit. to have a care, avoir soin, de. to have a great care, avoir grand soin, de. to have a very great care, avoir tres grand soin, de. to have a special care, avoir bien grand soin, de. to have a mind, avoir envie, de. to have a great mind, avoir grand'' envie, de. to have need of, avoir affaire, de. to have great need of, avoir grande affaire, de. to have a dealing with, avoir affaire, a. to have a design, avoir dessein, de. to have a right, avoir droit, de. to have a regard, avoir egard, a. to have compassion, avoir compassion, de. to have pity, avoir pitie, de. to have attention, avoir attention, a. to have a share, avoir part, de. to have patience, avoir patience. to have confidence, avoir confiance, en. to have notice, avoir connaissance, de. to have leave, avoir permission, de. to have full power, avoir carte blanche, de. to have liberty, avoir plein pouvoir, de. to have room, avoir lieu, de. to have cause, avoir sujet, de. to have order, avoir ordre, de. to have justice, avoir justice, de. to have occasion for, avoir occasion, de. to have no occasion for, n 'avoir affaire, de. to have horror, avoir horreur, de. to have a report, avoir rapport, a. to have wind and tide. avoir vent et maree. to have a quarrel, avoir querelle. to have no need of. n^ avoir que faire, de. to have a sore, avoir mal, a, &c. 152 GRAMMAR OF TIIE FRENCH TONGUE. This last requires the dative of the definite article, au, a, la, al', aux, according to gender and number, before the parts of the body. to be hungry, avoir f aim. to be very hungry, avoir grand* faim. to be thirsty, avoir soif. to be very thirsty, avoir grand' soif. to be hot, avoir chaud. to be very hot, avoir grand chaud. to be cold, avoir froid. to be very cold, avoir grand froid. to be in the right, avoir raison. to be much in the right, avoir grand' raison. to be in the wrong, avoir tort, to be much in the wrong, avoir grand tort. to be afraid, avoir peur, de. to be much afraid, avoir grand' peur, de. to be in need of, avoir besoin, de. to be in great need of, avoir grand besoin, de. to be in vogue, avoir cours. to be in great vogue, avoir grand cours. to be accustomed, avoir coutume, de. to be much accustomed, avoir grand' coutume, de. to be in hopes, avoir esperance, de. to be ashamed of, avoir honte, de. to be much ashamed of, avoir grand honte, de. to be obliged, avoir obligation, de. to be much obliged, avoir grand' obligation, de. to be old, (for questions) avoir age. to be very old, (for answers) avoir grand' age. to be years old, (for ans, with numbers) avoir ans. to be so good as, avoir la bonte, de. to be far from doing, n' avoir garde de faire. to look well, avoir bon visage. to look ill, avoir mauvais visage. to be courageous, avoir courage. to be in vain for, (with pron.) avoir beau. Exposition of the necessary Auxiliary Words used in the Formation of the Persons of the English Verbs not required in French. Do, &c, used for the sake of energy in the affirmative inflection of the present of the indicative, is absolutely necessary in the other three inflections, namely, the interrogative, negative, and negatively-interrogative ; for though I do give may be simply expressed by I give, jet give I, I give not, give not I, could not be used in common language. Therefore, when do, &c, is prefixed to a verb, it cannot be expressed in French. The same rule is applicable to Did, &c, is not required before the perfect affirmative ; for example, I gave expresses the past, but its interrogative, negative, and negatively-interrogative inflections must be expressed by, did I give, I did not give, did not I give ; for gave I, I gave not, gave not I, could not be used with propriety of language. Imperfect, by its definition implying the interruption of a continuing action, should always be formed of the present participle, and was, &c, the imperfect of to be. By this formation every ambiguity attending did for the imperfect and per- fect is removed. GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. 153 Will, used as auxiliary in the formation of the future, when resolvable into I am, &c, willing, is expressed by the present of vouloir, vide page 52, Gram. Can or may, resolvable into I am, &c, able, by the present of pouvoir, vide page 50, Gram. Would, resolvable into was or would be willing, by the imperfect or conditional of vouloir. Should, resolvable into ought or must by the conditional of devoir, vide pages 38, 39, Gram. Could, might, resolvable into was or might be able, by the imperfect or conditional of pouvoir, vide page 50, Gram. Obs. — Shall or will, used alone in answer to a question, must be expressed in French by the future of the preceding verb. Example : — will you do it ? (answer,) I will. Le ferez vous ? (ans.) je le ferai. Do or did have, &c, in answer to a question, must be expressed by the present or imperfect of the preceding verb ; as, do you walk every day ? yes, I do. vous promenez vous tous les jours ? oui, je me promene tous les jours. did you go to the theatre last night ? yes, I did. allates vous au theatre hier au soir ? oui, jy allai. have you seen the town ? yes, I have. avez-vous vu la ville ? oui, je /'ai vue. are you satisfied with him ? yes, I am. etes vous satis fait de lui ? oui, j'en suis satisfait. The continuance of action expressed in English by the verb to be before the present participle, is also adopted in French with the verb itre before the present of the infinitive, preceded by a ; as, I am reading the papers, je suis a lire les papiers. what was she doing ? qu'est-ce quelle etait a faire ? when I shall be going to London, quand je serai a aller a Londres. Obs. — Vouloir, used as a verb active, implying to ivish, want, &c, requires have, take, get, coming after it, followed by a noun not to be expressed in French. Examples. will you have some wine ? voulez-vous du vin ? will he have some money? veut-il de V argent ? will you take ten shillings for it ? en voulez-vous dix chelins ? will you take some snuff? voulez-vous du tabac ? will you have any more ? en voulez-vous davantage ? I will have no more, je n'en veux pas davantage, or, je n'en veux plus. No more, may be expressed by ne before the verb ; plus or pas davantage after, exemplified above. This concludes the most essential idioms both in French and English. ADVERBS. (Vide page 65, Gram.) Among these, some have the property of nouns and adverbs. When they qualify adjectives, past participles, verbs, and adverbs, they certainly are adverbs ; but when they are governed by a verb or preposition, they are nouns, requiring de before the following noun. Such are the following, denoting quantity, &c. 154 GRAMMAR OF THE FRENCH TONGUE. autant, de. combien, de ? gueres, de. jamais, de. point, de. pas, de. what ! how much, que, de ? more, plus, de. as much as, less, moins, de. how much ? little, feu, de. very little, enough, assez, de. never, too much, trop, de. no, not, much, beaucoup, de. no, not, so much, many, tant, de. The few following Examples will show their application : — bring us more wine, apportez-nous plus de vin. come ! take no more of it. allons I rCen prenez plus. have you enough money ? avez-vous assez d'argent? I give you much trouble, je vous donne beaucoup de peine. he has so many friends, il a tant d'amis. how much money has he received? combien Sargent a-t-il recu. they have no money now. Us n'ont point <¥ argent a present. they live with much difficulty. Us vivent avec beaucoup de peine. Before adjectives, &c, after verbs, he is more assiduous now. il est plus assidu a present. they are less engaged at this time. Us sont moins engages maintenant. you are not lucky in your undertakings, vous n'etes pas heureux dans vos entreprises. he works much every day. il travaille beaucoup tous les jours. he eats little, but drinks much, il mange peu, mais il boit beaucoup. Obs. — Plus, moins, mieux, autre, autrement, require ne before the following verb, without pas after it. Examples. he is more liberal than I thought. il est plus liberal que je ne pensais. they are less attentive than they were. Us sont moins attentifs quHls n'etaient. you act better than you did. vous vous conduisez mieux que vous ne faisiez. they are quite different now from what they were. Us sont tout autres a present quHls vCetaient. you act quite differently from what I should. vous faites tout autrement queje ne ferais. These few examples will be sufficient to familiarise that idiom, either in speak- ing or reading,