Living French - Forgotten Books

LIV ING FRENCH

A NEW COURSE IN

READ ING, WR IT ING,AND SPEAKING

THE F RENCH LANGUAGE

RICHARD T. HOLBROOK

GINN AND COMPANYBOSTON NEW YORK CH ICAGO LONDON

ATLANTA DALLAS COLUM BUS SAN F RANC I SCO

(77a;

ENTERED AT STAT IONERS’HALL

COPYRI GHT, 1917, BY

RICHARD T. HOLBROOK

ALL RlGHTS RESERVED

C hi fi t t emzum bu t :

G INN AND COM PANY o PRO

PR IETORS o BOSTON U .S.A.

PREFACE

The names of scholars among my friends and acquaintances who

he lped me ungrudgingly during th e years in which this book wasbeing written would in themse lves fill a preface , but two men, LucienF oulet and Louis Cons, though never directly quoted , advised me so

often that they might ahriost be called collaborators.

My chief printed sources are recorded in their place , but again Imust mention, and here must emphasize , my indebtedness to myfriend E. C . Armstrong of Princeton University.

The sources of my exammes are given only when there might beroom for doubt.

For generous he lp when he lp was most needed I have to thankM rs. E. C . Forman of Haverford , Pennsylvania ; and through all the

stages of proof-correction M r. Steven T. Byington of the Ath enae um

Press rendered an invaluable service by convincing me often that his

views were sounder, or his English clearer, than mine .

I f, after all my endeavors to avoid them, this book still contains

misprints, or errors about which no jury of competent F renchmen

cou ld disagree , correction will be made gratefully.

The me thod of presentation is based upon several assumptions.

I t is not in F rance that our students are learning French . H owever

eager they may be to learn F rench , however fortunate their background, however competent their teachers, only a few hours a weekat most can be devoted by them to their study of French . Finally,they cannot learn the unknown through the still less known ,

z'

gnotum

This book deals almost exclusive ly with phenomena that are to bemet on nearly every page of the simplest texts, and with facts of

pronunciation which must be mastered because they are encountered

at every turn. Let us dispose of the fallacious view that muses an

V

vi PREFACE

e lementary book to be regarded as an advanced work because it

attempts to apply an unusual thoroughness to the study of e lementary facts.

To be able to translate F rench correc tly is a valuable attainment ;to be able to read it

_

aloud correctly, with a full appreciation of its

meaning, implies additional skill ; to endeavor to learn to speak it is

to recogniz e without reserve that it is a living language , and that is

the idea] which this book , though only a printed guide , upholds on itstitle page . With what case or difficu lty this ideal may be attained

the advantage of having such an ideal I take for granted was com

petently stated long ago by Philip Gilbert Hamerton in essays on

T/ze I ntellectual Life and in other writings devoted particularly to

interpre tations of F rance .

l

R . T . H .

1 F or anoth e r important phase of our studie s se e Remarks on th e

Editing of F rench Te xts for Schools and College s in the Alodem Langu age

j ou rnal for October, 19 16.

CONTENTS

PART IPAGE

INTRODUCTORY SURVEY ; THE PRON UNC IATION OF F RENCH

LESSON

I . THE ARTICLES. THE PLURAL OF NOUNS . S Ix FORM S O F

avoir. THE UNSTRESSED NOM INATIVE FORM S OF THE

PERSONAL PRONOUN

UNSTRESSED PERSONAL PRONOUNS (Continued). NOM INA

T IYES . ACCUSATIVES . DATIVES . PRESENT IND ICATIVE OF

étre , OF trouver, OF priver, OF parler

THE ARTICLES WITH do AND I

THE DEFI N ITE AND INDEFIN ITE ARTICLES (Continued).

FORM S OF INTERROGATION . THE TYPE libre

THE ARTICLES (Continued). POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

THE COM PAR ISON OF ADJECT IVES AND ADVERBS. THE POS

SESSIVE PRONOUNS . INTERROGATION (Continued)FORMS F OR THE IM PERFECT OR PAST DESCR I PTI V E TENSE

THE PAST ABSOLUTE TENSE (GRO UP C). THE DEMONSTRA

T IVE ADJECTIVES

THE TYPES j ’ai parlé, j ’avais parlé, je suis arrive, j’étais

arrivé . FORM S OF PAST PARTIC IPLES AND PURE ADJEC

TIYES. THE NE UTER PRONOUN cc

Ce , cebi, cela (9a) (Continued). Celui, cello, e tc .

THE F UTURE TENSE : GROUP 1)

GROUP D (Continued). SOM E N EGATI VES

THE COND ITIONAL : GROUP E . TENSE AND M OOD

THE CONDITIONAL (Continued)vii

viii

LESSON

CONTENTS

PAG E

THE PLUPERFECT TENSES (THREE GROUPs)

ALL THE IND ICATIVE TENSE-GROUPS OP parlor, avoir,

AND étre

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

THE RELATIVE PRONOUN (Continued) C’est moi

REGULAR VERBS IN -ir. TYPE finlr. INDICATIVE GROUPS.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS (Continued). SOME IRREGULARNOUNS

RELATIVE PRONOUNS (Continued)

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS ANDINTERROGATIVE ADVERBS

PECULIARITIES OR THE VERBS IN -e r

F URTHER PECULIAR ITIES OF VERBS IN -e r. THE TYPESmanor ‘

(To) LEAD ,

’céder

'

(To) YIELD,

’réver

'

(To)DREAM ,

’ jeter ‘

(To) THROW

GROUPS A - E OF aller, envoyer, pouvoir, vouloir

GROUPS A - E OF mourir, mouvoir, pleuvoir. Aucun-e etc .

INDEFI N ITE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES (Continued)INDEFIN I TE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES (Continued)

Tel, tout, 1111, ml, personne , rien

THE TYPE devoir (GROUPS A- E ). WORK IN REV I EW

VERBS IN «Indra (as répandre), a ndre (as rendre), -ondre

(as fondre); also mordre and perdre . GROUPS A - E

THE IMPERATIVE MOOD

THE IMPERATIVE (Concluded)

THE SUBJUNCTIVE (MOOD)THE F UNCTI ON S (SYNTAx) OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE

THE SUBJUNCTIVE IN NOUN CLAUSES (Continued).

Craindre

L E S SON

XXXV I I .

CONTENTS

THE SUBJUNCTIVE I N NOUN CLAUSES (Continued).

THE SUBJUNCTIVE (Continued)

INDEFINITE RELATIVES : Qui que ce soit e tc . THE

SUBJUNCT IVE IN ADVERB IAL CLAUSES

ADVERB IAL CLAUSES (Continued). CLAUSES OF PUR

XLV .

POSE AND RESULT , OF T IME A ND MANNER

THE PAST SUBJUNCTIVE I N CONDITIONS . TENSE

VALUES OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE

THE INF IN ITIVE

VO ICE OF THE INFIN ITIVE

PURE INFIN I TIVES AND PREPOSITIONAL INFI N ITIVES

(Continued)

THE PURE INFIN ITIVE (Continued). THE INFIN ITIVEWITH 5 OR de

THE IN‘

FIN ITIVE WITH A(Continued)THE INFIN ITIVE WI TH de . M I SCELLANEOUS NOTES

VERB- FORMS IN -ant : ADJECTIVE,PARTICI PLE, GER

UND

PARTICI PLE AND GERUND (Concluded)

THE VARIAT IONS OF THE PAST PARTICI PLE .

THE PAST PARTICIPLE (Continued)

THE PAST PARTICIPLE (Concluded)

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

PERSONAL PRONOUNS (Continued)




COMBINATIONS OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS .

11 AND 10 NEUTER

CONTENTS

LESSON PA G E

On , y , en (Continued)

THE DEF IN ITE AN

'

D INDEF I N ITE ARTICLES

THE DEFIN ITE ART ICLE

THE ARTICLES (Continued)

THE DEFIN ITE ARTICLE (Continued)THE OEF I N ITE ART I CLE (Continued)

Le AND la BEFORE NAMES OF COUNTR I ES

THE VARIAB ILITY AND SUHSTANTIVE U SE ADJEC

TIVES

THE POSIT I ON O F DESCRI PT IVE ADJECTIVES

THE POSIT ION O F DESCR I PTI VE A l) j EC’

l‘

lVES (Continued)

CARD INAL AND ORD INAL N UM BERS

CARD INAL AND ORD INAL NUMBERS (Concluded)

ADVERBS .

ADVERBS IN NEGATION

NBOATI ON (Continued)

NEGATION (Continued)

NEGAT ION (Continued)

NEGATION (Concluded)

PART I I

TYP ICAL F RENCH VERBS : F UNDAMENTAL FACTS PR INCI PLES 343

TABLES O F TYPICAL V ERBS 365

THE GENDER AND NUM BER OF NOUNS 394

ENGL I SH - F RENCH VOCABULARY

F RENCH-ENGI . ISH VOCABULARY

GENERAL INDEX

A STATEMENT TO THE TEACHER

A grammar that does not explicitly consider the pronunciation of

the language with which it deals almost inevitably gives to its un

skilled users the lasting impression that‘grammar ’ is essentially a

matter of good and bad words or forms, and of syntax (see the quo

tation from Gaston Paris in Lesson XLIV) : a sufficient reason for

the chapter on pronunciation,with which this book begins . But that

chapter also offers bases for various important principles which couldnot have been made clear without it, and it seemed that however

skilled in phonetics the teacher might be , the pupil should have abrieftreatise on F rench pronunciation, convenient to study and to consu lt.My expe rience in various classrooms leads me to think that nearly

all students, undergraduate or younger, might profit most by learningfirst how to pronounce the five se lections from [ es P ew ees de R e

'

guet

in Lessons I—V ,in connection with those lessons in their entire ty.

Better me thods may quickly suggest themse lves after an examination

of 1 —32 and the Lessons immediate ly following.

The chapter on pronunciation is necessarily of the simplest character, first

,because the science of phonetics has not ye t brought

forth convincing de tailed conclusions as to the phenomena of articu

lation (a final result which , if attained, will be far beyond the scope

of e lementary teaching); secondly (and this is the truly compe llingreason), because beginners Would be befogged rather than enlightened by detailed desCriptions of the complicated operations now

known or be lieved to occur whenever any speech-sound is produced.

A few e lementary facts of physics (acoustics) and of anatomy, a few

highly typical physiological facts characteriz ing the production of a

given speech-sound (where and how it is produced), will suffice at

X!

xii A STATEMENT TO THE TEACHER

least for approximate identifications, should not be excessive ly difficultfor an attentive beginner, and should give him what seems to me the

foundation of all linguistic studies an accurate realization of the

nature of speech- sounds. I t is to be hoped that in the fo llowing

pages 1 —32) this endeavor to explain simply will prove to meana judicious se lection and will not be regarded as a futile pedagogicaldevice . Whoever may desire to go deeper into F rench phonologycan make use of Professor Paul Passy

’

s P etite P /zonétz'

gue comparée,

or of his Sounds qf F renelt , or of various other easily obtainableworks, including phonetic readers and charts.

1 F inally, teachersfamiliar with scientific phonetics and with F rench pronunciation willfind no difficulty in deve loping the extreme ly e lementary matter contained in this bookf The importance which it attache s to pronuncia

tion is not to be measured by the brevity of I —32 .

The phone tic symbols used here are those of the InternationalPhonetic Association

,now adopted by thousands of teachers. The

ve lar voiced plosive is represented by [g], and it is assumed that

Standard F rench employs the uvular r [R] .

Besides the many F rench words or locutions whose sounds are

considered in 1 —32 , and in various Lessons, several passage s are

represented both in their conventional formand by phone tic symbols ,and scores of paradigms are printed in both forms whenever the

question of pronunciation seems Vital. Phonetic exercises are out

lined in the Remarks and Suggestions in 5.

Certain features of the seventy- seven lessons intoWhich I have en

'

deavored to put a use fu l portion of the essentials ’

justify comment.

I . With rare exceptions, words do not occur singly in nature .

H ence the absence of those‘

vocabularies ’with which it has been

customary to begin each lesson in textbooks comparable with this.

Words are in general more easily remembered from a connected

1 Phone tic treatise s for all stage s of studyare re corded in th e bibliograph ies of

J. Geddes,W. Victor, and G . Panconce lli-Calzia. See also Le Illattre phonltz‘

que.

A STATEMENT TO THE TEACHER xiii

passage than when exhibited as elzZr/eeta membra . Why offer fragments when

,a moment later, they must all be assembled in a

natural, or supposedly natural, combination which might have been

given at once , without loss of space? Besides, it is we ll to make

acquaintance at the outset with some good author.

2 . Having been taken, in most cases, from modern plays, nove ls,ske tches

,e tc. ,

our examples should not sme ll of the lamp. However,

they are mostly brief, and each conspicuously illustrates some fact

under discussion : I ] faut qu’il me parle does not conspicuously or

instructive ly illustrate either the dative or the subjunctive ; such

examples are avoided. All examples, except those intended to set

off archaisms, illustrate living usage , the usage of unaffected con

versation and of unaffected writing. H ence the absence , or the

special criticism, of (for example) I] efit fallu que nous en parlassions ,of Etes-vous malade Je le suis

, of Chanté je e tc .

1

3 . Certain rather difficult phases of syntax which are bound to

occur on every page of even the easiest F rench texts have not been

evaded and have not been treated with that nonchalance of manner

and of method which has done so much to confirm the widespread

be lie f that F rench is an easy language’

;but such phases are de

ferred as long as possible ; for example , the subjunctive , the positionof descriptive adjectives, etc.

4. My treatment of the verb-groups and their tenses requires a

detailed explanation in this Statement ; for the confusion of terms

which now prevails and makes this phase so obscure has obliged meto take a new course : in accordance with the method of all scientific

works, I have endeavored to distinguish everywhere between formsand their functions .

The present state of the nomenclature question ,in its bearing on

tenses, is displayed by the following table , a representative form

from each six-form verb-group suflicing to Show what group of

forms is referred to by each Of the many supposedly defining names

now current, or destined to be current if certain new terms triumph .

1 Se e the Index under Archaisms.

’

xiv A STATEMENT TO THE TEACHER

The following table is based on the R eport of tile j oint Committee on

Grammatical N omenclature (a pamph let, December I 9 I 3 ; the com

ple te report is contained also in the annual volume of the National

Educational Society for 1 9 1 3 , published in‘

JV. S.

’ marks th enew styles recommended by this Committee .

A TABLE OF REPRESENTATIVE VERB- FORM S WITH

TH EIR NAMES

IND ICATIVE

Representative F orm Supposedly D efining Name

[ I ] écrit Present I ndicative (present do l’indicctlf)

[z ] écrivait Impe rfe ct I ndicative (Impala-felt )

Impe rfe ct

M S . Past DescriptiveTh e Narrative Tense (inf requ ent name)Past Definite (passe déflni)Pre terit (prétérit )Past Historical

M S . Past Absolute

Future Indicative (futur)Conditional (condition al)Simple Conditional (oonditionnel simple )JV. S . (wit/z reference to ten sej

’

u ncte'

on ) Past F uture

[6] a écrit Past Indefinite (passe indéfini, or parfalt indéflni)N . S . (not really in novating) Pre sent Pe rfe ct

[7] avait écrit Plupe rfe ct (pluc-que-parfait )M S. Past Pe rfe ct

[8] out écrit Past Ante rior (passe anterieur, or parfait antéd eur)N . S. Se cond Past Pe rfect

[9] aura écrit F uture Pe rfe ct (futur antérieur)

[ I o] aurait écrit Past Conditional (passe du conditionnel, or con

ditionnel antérieur)Perfe ct Conditional

Compound Conditional

IV. S . (wit/z re, erence to ten sef u nction ) Past F uturePe rfect

[1 I ]'

a on écrit a . Compound Past Ante rior (plus-que-parfait sarcom

posé , or temps surcomposé). (N ot mentioned in

Me Report)

A STATEMENT T0 THE TEACHER

SU BJUNCTIVE

Pre sent Subjunctive (present du subjonctif)Impe rfe ct Subjunctive (imparfait da subjonctif)M S. (not really innovating) Past [Subjunctive ] .

See 14

[ 14] ait écrit Past Subjunctive (parfait du subjonctif). See I 3

N S . (n ot really innovating ) Pre sent Perfect [Sub

junctive ][ 1 5] efit 6crit a . Plupe rfect Subjunctive (plus-que-parfait da sub

jonctif)5. M S . Past Pe rfe ct [Subjunctive ]

These tables Show that there are now current,in English form,

not less than twenty- two supposedly defining name s for the e leven

possible groups‘

exemplified under‘

indicative ,’including écrirait and

aurait écrit , and not less than seven supposedly defining names for

the four possible groups exemplified under subjunctive ,’of which

two (I 3 and though wholly different, have occasionally the same

name (‘

past

All these twenty-nine or more names have arisen ,

of course , from

impressions due to the commonest, or supposedly commonest, func

tions or function of each group of forms ; but, with the possibleexception of the

‘

past definite’

(or‘

preterit,’or

‘

past historical,’or

‘

past not one of these names is always correct a'

s a group

identifier and simultaneously as a defining name , and most of themare commonly misnomers in respect to functions.

Thus, to reenforce later examples, Je pars may be not only‘

present,’

but‘future

’and

‘

past absolute’

; ll sort 3 l’instant might be called a

present perfect’

;11 sets malnde need not be ‘future ,’and I l serait malnde

need not be either ‘conditional

’or

‘

past future’

; similarly Il aura écrit

and I l aurait écrit . Again, Elle a écrit (‘

past indefinite’or

‘

present per

fect’

) is the living equivalent for the purely literary Elle écrivit . In S ’il

écrivait tout de suite (or leur écrivait domain) the form écrivait is neither‘imperfect

’nor

‘

past’nor perceptibly

‘descriptive .

’ In Bien qu’il sit

écrit eithe r a‘

past absolute’or a pre sent perfect

’ may be the true tense .

In Bien que j ’eness pu ls voir the subjunctive form eusse pu may conceal

xvi A STATEMENT TO THE TEACHER

either j’avais pu or j

’aurais pu (the context would not always enable one

to decide). In 11 fallut que nous partissions (in spoken F rench , only 11 a

fallu que nous partions) the form partissions is traditionally called‘impe r

feet,’though it obviously may express an instantaneous act ; now

‘

past

is recommended. In Je no ferai rien qui pfit nuire , en quoi que os soit , 3

cos deux hommes, the form pfit obviously conceals or expels pourrait , or

possibly pourra. Is this pat in the‘imperfect

’

(or past’

) subjunctive‘tense

’? And is it advisable to tell students, e .g. , that

‘the past indefinite

is often used to express past definite ideas’or

‘in a past definite sense

’?

How shall we ge t out of this maze and avoid misnomers (often

gross) in teaching F rench ?Ale j nclice, there is only one way, and that way is as practical as

it is simple , clear, and logical : it is to identify each of the five non

subjunctive groups containing (commonly) Six forms by a brief and

easily leamable designation which shall conce rn only the forms as

forms , and contain no intimation as to functions. Therefore the

simple‘indicative

’

groups are designated with the le tte rs A B CD E,

following the conventional order of conjugating. H e nce A for the

group represented by écrit , B for that represented by écrivait , e tc .

Containing a past participle , the groups represented by a écrit,by

avait écrit,e tc. ,

are designated by A AA, B AA , etc. The subjunc

tive forms are designated as be longing to the living groups, withL S. (living subjunctive) for écrive e tc. and L S. AA for sit écrit

etc ., while the obsolete or obsolescent forms are designated with 0. S .

for the group represented by écrivit , and with O S. AA for the

group represented by eut écrit .

The se abbreviations are to be regarded pure ly as non-defining

identifiers of groups of forms ; the f unctions of those forms (fifteen

possible groups)may be described by any of the twenty-nine or more

defining names now current or like ly to become so . H owever, our

use of the se non-committal abbreviations is not Such as to force any

one to employ them against his will, and it will be seen that the

memory is not taxed undu ly, though tests have shown that they

can be learned in a few hours at most, much more readily than the

conventional names.

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PART I

SOME ESSENTIALS OF GRAMMAR

AN INTRODUCTORY SURVEY

THE PRON UNC IAT ION OF F RENCH

1 . Grammar deals with the sounds and forms of words and with

the principles underlying the idiomatic expression of ideas . Ideas can

be idiomatically expressed in one word, as‘

yes,’

or in a combination

of words called aA}: rase, clause, or sentence .

0. The study of syeeclz-sounds, in general , is called pkoneties ; thestudy of the sounds of a particular language , as F rench , is calledAnonology. The study of wordforms is called morpltology ;morphologydeals with prefixes, suffixes, inflectional endings, etc . The study of

the re lations that words assume when they are combined is calledsyntax , and we apply this name also to a given arrangement requiredfor the idiomatic expression of a given thought, just as by phonologyand morphology we often understand a given state of sounds or a

given state of forms, as something that we may study if we will . A

language is of course intangible , but can be seen or heard and has an

anatomy whose character and functions it is the business of grammarto describe . For those who have not been enabled to acquire a foreignlanguage naturally , by the long and slow process that we go throughin acquiring ourmother tongue , a know ledge of grammar should affordsystematic and convenient means of avoiding many mistakes ;and itserves to deve lop whatever linguistic talent we happen to possess.

1

ILLUSTRATION . Quelles villes as-tu vues means, What cities have

you seen ?’Here we have a series of visible symbols representing a series

1I is amplified by th e passage s quoted in 1 57, 249, 254.

4 int-EiP‘R’

GNUNCIA-TION OF FRENCH

of sounds whose character may be examined (phonology); also a se ries o f

forms, for Queues is the feminine plural form of the inte rrogative adjec tiv e

quel, while villes is the plural of ville (feminine) and vase is one of th e

four forms of the past participle of voir, a verbmeaning see,

’as-tu be ing

the form of the second person singular, present indicative , of avoir hav e ,

’

whereas the form for the second pe rson plural is avez-vous . The idiomatic

arrangement Quelles villes ae -tu vues producing an intelligible idea , is

syntax , and our analysis of this arrangement belongs to the branch of stu dycalled syntax.

The sounds of a language are described as vowels and consona nts ;

its words are classified as parts of speed: (nouns, pronouns,defined according to their several functions. We shall deal first withthe production of sounds .

THE ORGANS or SPEECH

2. Speech is produced by the various vocal organs which govern ou r

breath as it issues from our lungs and passes through our mouth o r

nose, or through both . These organs are the lungs , the windpipe, th e

larynx , the lower j aw , every part of the moutlz, and the nasalpassages .

a. The larynx is the uppe r part of the windpipe ; it forms what w e

call Adam’s apple . Across the larynx , from front to back , and forming

part of its walls, run two e lastic bands called the vocal cords. Whe nwe are mere ly breathing, these two she lflike folds are lax and are

drawn back so as to make a wide opening, the glottis ;but whe n

we are speaking, they are in constant action . Their free edges the napproach each other so as almost to close the glottis, and they vibrateso rapidly as to produce the musical effect called voice. In speech ,

they cease to vibrate audibly only when we happen to form a voiceless

consonant (as k , t , or p), or when we whisper.

b. The back of the mouth , just above the larynx and large lyvisible , is called the pnarynx . Above the Visible part of the pharynxis a cavity from whose top proceed the nasalpassages. These begin ,

internally, at two openings called the posterior nares (rear nostrils),pass over the roof of the mouth

, and end in the nostrils proper ,

through which a good deal of their structure can be seen with the

TH E PRONUNC IATION OF FRENCH 5

he lp of an e lectric light. In front of the pharynx ,and joined to its

sides, begins the roof of the mouth . The roof of the mouth

, calledthe palate, is hard and ribbed from the front portion of the gums toan area whose limits can be most satisfactorily ascertained by touch

ing all its accessible parts. This rear area, called the sof t palate, ter

minates in a flexible , easily Visible appendage , called the uvula,which

hangs rather loose when the rear of the nasal passages is open , but

has swung backward and upward when this opening is closed . Whenwe are speaking, the uvula is coristantly in motion ,

now raised and

thrust back against the pharynx ,now lowered ;with the he lp of an

e lectric light, some of itsmovements may be advantageously observed.

c. The lower j aw , the tongue, gums, teetlz, clzeeks , and lips are alsocontinually at work in the formation of speech . Every part of the

mouth h as its function , and , like the larynx and the nasal passages,the wh ole mouth acts as a resonance chamber , thus being part of a

wonde rful musical instrument which has many sound-boards and in

a we ll-built speaker or singer can produce an almost limitless varietyof sounds or noises. When language observe s certain regular intervals that is, regular variations of pitch and when it followsa particular beat, called time ,

’it is song ; when no such marked

regularity is Observed, it is simply speecn.

SPEECH -SOUNDS

3 . When our vocal cords are made to vibrate we hear a sound

which is called a vowel if this sound is duly modified by the tongue ,

lips , etc ., and if there is no distinctly audible friction or stopping of

the breath . When the breath is so checked or hindered in its passage

as to produce a noise,we get various effects called consonants.

’

1 Recent inve stigations have revealed that‘th e diffe rence be twe en noise

and [musical] tone is one of degre e . Noise is a sound of too short dura

tion or too complex in structure to be analyz ed or unde rstood by th e ear.

In some instance s noise s are due to a changing period , producing th e e ffect

of non-

pe riodicity but by far th e greate r numbe r of noise s which are contin

uous are me re ly complex and only apparently irregular, th eir analysis beingmore or less difficult. ’ (D . C . Miller.)

6 THE PRONUNCIATION OF FRENCH

a. The Terms Vowel and Consonant Defined. Sounds with a max i

mum of voice (or musical resonance) are vowels ;those with no voic e,

or mere ly supported by voice , are consonants.

For example , a, o, e, are called vowe ls because , whether we giv ethem an English or a F rench value , they are due to definite modifications of the breath, to the shape of the sound-wave which strikes ou r

car, and are not accompanied by any distinctly audible e lement O f

noise . On the other hand, band d, for example , are consonants , fo r

neither can be produced without closing some part of the mouth

p and t differ from b and (I only in that they are voice less,— that is,

pure noises,— whereas band d are accompanied by musical sound .

b. Pronounce vigorously the vowe ls, but not the consonants, that

you near in the words‘

boot,’ ‘

boat,’ ‘

dog,’ ‘

arm,

’ ‘at,

’ ‘

bet,’ ‘

fate ,’

‘it,

’ meet,’holding the tips of your fingers gently against your throat

so as to fee l the vibrations of your larynx ; in each case the reso

nance should be pure ly musical, the e lement of noise being too slightto be perceived if present. Now pronounce vigorously the pairs of

voiced and voice less consonants, bp, d t g k , z s,v f

,as they sound

in‘bib,

’ ‘

piA’ ‘

did,’ ‘trot

,

’ ‘

gag, kick,

zoo ,’ ‘

sissy ,’ ‘

valve ,’and

‘

f if e ,’isolating them comple te ly from the vowels, not giving them

their conventional alphabe tical names but pure ly and simply the

character which they have in the words quoted, and noting carefullyhow vibration occurs, or does no t occur, in each pair;note also how

each of these consonants is due to an audible stopping or rubbingof the breath , according to whether the consonant is explosive or

fricative . Now pronounce , in the same experimental manner, 1, m,n,

and a well- trilled r [rrrr] , giving to each of these consonants not its

conventional alphabetical name but the character it has as the first

or last element of any word — for example , in‘lull

,

’ ‘mum,

’ ‘nun ,

’

at’

: you will observe that these four consonants are

more or less vocalic,‘musical ’ ; whereas p , t , k , are pure noises,

commonly known as stops’

;and whereas f and s, though capable of

being pro longed until the breath is exhausted, are not accompaniedby vibration of the vocal cords,

THE PRONUNCIATION OF FRENCH

ideal , for we find the close vowe l [0] represented by 0 in mot word ,

’

but by an in saut‘leap,

’and by can in can

‘water.

’So t has tw o

different values in petition and is silent in mot , whereas 0 and q h av ethe same value in coq

‘

cock ,’i.e . [k] , and symbo lize [s] and [k] in

cinq‘five ,

’except when cinq is pronounced [Se] e tc . , e tc .

A thorouglzly good alpizabet Izas one symbol for eacn sound,and

’only one .

REMARK . To be wholly accurate , a phone tic system would have to be

extremely complicated ,far too complicated for general use ;but we can

satisfy ourselves with close approximations.

As we must deal scientifically with F rench pronunciation, not onlyfor its own sake but also because pronunciation is often involved inthe discussion of other matters, and as the sounds of F rench can be

represented and explained far more simply if we use one symbol , andonly one , for each sound, that is, if we spe ll scientifically, we shallemploy henceforward an accurate system of phone tic symbols, andour system will be that of the International Phonetic Association ;for this system is the most accurate in general use , is Simple , clear,and is being used by an increasingly large number of language stu

dents throughout the world. Furthermore , by frequently substituting

phonetic Spelling for the conventional symbols by which F rench isrepresented and misrepresented we may soon deve lop a keen appre

elation of the true nature of speech- sounds. To learn to pronounce

any language correctly we must hear it spoken by an educated native

or by some one who‘speaks like a native

’

; or, if this privilege isbeyond our reach , good phonographic records, when not too stagy,

are exce llent guides.

l H owever varied ,the sounds of F rench are

limited to a few score of marked types, and once these have been

learned, a phonetic alphabe t offers us a consistent system which is

easy to understand and easy to apply not only to F rench but to

other languages.

1 F rench phonographic re cords, with corre sponding printed texts, canbe

obtained from the various agents . Realistic prose is pre fe rable to verse, and

song- records should not be used in elementary work.

TH E PRONUNCIATION OF FRENCH

THE CONVENTIONAL SYM BOLS

5 . In F rench books and in F rench handwriting we find nearly thesame conventional symbols or

‘ letters ’ as in our own that is,our

alphabet. But these symbols have not the same values as our sym

bo ls , though they often have very similar values, and the F rench

give to each letter a name differing more or less from our conven

tional name . Furthermore , the F rench constantly employ various

diam'

tical marks which are foreign to us .

ini té‘

beemhndir‘a teS E d nsu I Q];Wh

tre A circumflex accent, as in hate‘host,

’ indicates a long close vowe l, if 0, or a long open vowe l,if e

,

as in téte head etc., though exceptions must be noted . A cedilla, as

in go‘that,

’

gives 0 the valuheroine, means

ia L‘law ,

’but two separate vowe ls. All the diacritics employed

in F rench are adequate ly represented in our various F rench texts,

and should be studied in connection with our phone tic transcriptions .

REMARKS AND SUGGESTIONS . Orthography (‘correct writing

l’orthogrsphe — is the art of spe lling (of‘writing in the manner pre

scribed by authoritative dictionaries compiled from books whose authors,

in nearly all cases, have followed old traditions . Therefore to spell cor

rectly is to know how to reproduce traditional ways of representing

present sounds . How can one learn the almost endless inconsistencies and

eccentricities of this system? In part, by memoriz ing them through the

eye a process which may be shortened somewhat by studying lists of

orthographic variants ; be tter, by making such lists onese lf. Here the

following suggestions are offered :

1 . First, make sure of the phonetic symbols in 6. Examples to be

memoriz ed are given in 6,and elsewhere in this book .

2 . Retranscribe , phonetically, the passages repre sented both convention

ally and phonetically in our Lessons or elsewh ere , verifying your results.

3. Transcribe phone tically other passage s for which no phonetic tran

scription is offered , and have your independent transcriptions verified .

4. Note care fully how all phone tic transcriptions differ from their con

ventionally printed sources . In the source strike out all silent letters and

encircle all indivisible groups which represent only one sound.

10 THE PRONUNC IATION OF FRENCH

TABLE OF PHONETIC SYMBOLS

6 . The names of these symbols are merely what we hear in a give n

word. The various conventional ways of representing these phone tic

symbols can be illustrated with only one or two examples in this Table .

[3 ][O][m] as in Engl.

‘add

’

lb][4][e][8]

[9]

[h ][3][1][k][l][K][m][n][n]

[08 ][9 ]

b‘to,

’chat

‘cat

’

mdt ‘mast,’

pas‘step

’

am (

beak ,

do‘of the

’

st‘and,

’été

‘been’

met ‘

puts,’ laid

‘ugly

’

dctof’

a

10«I

,

f il‘thread

’

ge l‘merry

’

Engl.‘he

’

si‘if ’

yak‘

yak,’bills

‘ball

’

M(M k

,

lit‘bed

’

South . F r . bills ball

mou ‘soft

’

116‘born

’

diam‘worthy

'

hate‘host,

’as

‘to the

’

robe‘dress

’

pear‘fear,

’

fcu‘fire

’

f‘egsb

[P] in step’

[If] rit‘laughs

”(tip of tongue)

r—flr—eN—t

[R][8][S][t][u][ 11][V][Y][W][2][3][0][5][6][G ]

'

ll

rit laughs’

(uvular )31

‘if

’

d Iou cabbage

tu‘thou,

’ ‘

you’

on or

ni‘Ot‘night,

’in“ )

‘killed ’

m e with

dur hard p"

on“)‘m’

zéro z ero

j .(

L,m c

age

an‘

year,’an

‘in’

(nasal )boa good

’

(nasal )main ‘

hand,’fin

‘end

’

(nasal

an‘one

’

(nasal )means that the vowel (or con

sonant)preceding is longr

means half-longmarks a tense vowel

marks a lax vowel

(souare brackets) enclose all

phonetic transcriptions

means that of twopronuncia

tions either is possible , ar

cording to circumstances

a. Other synfbols which are occasionally required

[5][n][1 ]

Eng] .

Engl.

and East .

as in‘red

’

voice -murmur, the

faintest and vaguest type ofvowel

, merely voice

[9][ f

Engl thin

rising infl ection

falling inflection

of [0] means voiceless

l'] indicates that the sy llable im

mediately f o l low ing is

to he stressed

THE PRONUNC IATION OF FRENCH I I

VOWELS

7. French has eight normal vowels. These are formed in the

mouth only. They represent eight well-defined qualities of sound,

subject to slight variations of quality (vowe l-color) which we maygenerally disregard. Each may be either short or long

,or half-long.

a. The following diagram, corresponding to a sagittal (verticallengthwise) section of the mouth, indicates whether the tongue isarched in the back of the mouth , as for [u] , lying comparative ly flat,as for [a], or raised toward the front of the hard palate , as for [i],etc . Vowe ls are called hack vo wels or f ront vowels

,high vowels or

low vowels, according to the most striking position that the tonguetakes in their formation.

b. For [u] the lips must be protruded and rounded so as to form

a small circular opening ; the back of the tongue is raised toward thesoft palate , but not so high as to produce audible friction .

Examples : tout [tu]‘all,

’court [kq ]

‘short .

’ Close English equivalents

in‘toot

’and

‘moon ’

(Northern English or American pronunciation. This

vowel does not regularly occur in the south of England).

c. For close 0, the lips are protruded as for [u] , but witha slightly larger opening ;the back of the tongue is arched toward

the soft palate , but not quite so high as for [u] .

Examples : mot [mo] word,’

3 9m [tRozn] throne ,’ j

_

au_

ne [30m] yellow.

’

Close English equivalents in‘noté ’ and ‘

bone ,’ but the English vowel is

not always well rounded (cf. 5, above)and is usually followed by a feeble [u].


d. For open 0, the back of the tongue is lowered still mo reand the lip

-opening is further enlarged.

Examples : dot [dot] dowry,’fort [fazR]

‘strong.

’

Approximated bythe vowel of hub (American pronunciation), but a little nearer the vow e l

of cord.

’Out of rubber

’

(in whist) the F rench have made robre [RobR] .

e. For [a], close a, the tongue lies a little lower than for [o] and is

not quite so far forward as for [a] , but its tip may touch the base o f

the lower front teeth ; the lips are almost neutral ; the mouth is wide ropen in front than for [a] , but less open toward the back . Experi

ment : Hold your hollowed palm loose ly over your mouth while youare producing [a] , as in

‘father.

’Now, without making any othe r

movement, keep removing and replacing it ; the result will be alternately [a] and [a], [a] being exemplified by pas [pa] step and by

pdte [pazt]‘dough ,

’

[a] by h‘

to’

and by art [azR]‘art,

’with a vowe l

midway be tween our a in‘

add’

and our a in‘father,

’

(which isapproximate ly the [a] of pas and pdte). This expe riment, which

should be repeated with every type of vowe l, will Show us that th e‘

[o] of cor‘

horn’is less Open than the [a] of pas and pdte.

f . For [a] the tongue must rest against the lower front teeth , andmay even be thrust out over them; the corners of the lipS are spread

a little further apart than for [a] . See e and repeat the experiment

the rein suggested .

Examples : Ya [vaj‘

goes,’ mare [mazR]

‘

pool.’ This vowe l does not

occur in Standard English .

REMARK . The vowel [a ], as in‘add,

’ is articulated between [a] andNote the character of [E], 10, c.

9 . For [a] , open e , raise the blade (front) of the tongue slightlytoward the front of the hard palate , making a somewhat longe r andtherefore narrower lip

-opening than for [a] .Examples : est [e]

‘is,

’aise [ezz ]

‘ease .

’ Approximated by our e in‘bet ’

and in held,’but not so open .

It. For [e], close e, the blade of the tongue should be raIsed still

further toward . the front of the hard palate and the lips must bespread somewhatmore than for [e] .

THE PRONUNCIATION OF FRENCH 1 3

Examples : été [e te ]‘been ,

’ maison [me'

zfi]‘house .

’ Approximated byour a in fate but fate ,

’as usually pronounced, does not contain a pure [e ].

REMARK . [e ] is almost never long, for it always occurs in unstressed

syllables 24, b) or is final 24, a). Opinions differ as to the relative

heights of th e tongue in articulating [e]

i. For [i] the tip of the tongue is raised toward the front of the

hard palate so close as almost to touch it, but is bent downward

toward or against the lower teeth ; the lips form a somewhat longer,narrower opening than for [e] the opening characteristic of a smile .

Examples : vie [vi]‘life ,

’ machine [majin]‘machine ,

’tige [tiz3]

‘stem.

’

.. Closely akin to so in‘mee t ’ or to i in ‘machine ,

’ but always pure .

Abnormal Vowels

8 . F rench has three abnormal or mix ed vowels . These , like the

normal vowe ls are formed in the mouth ; but, unlike the

normal vowe ls, they result from a conflict of positions . In passingfrom one normal vowe l to another the respective positions of the

tongue and the lips are adjusted so that they both raise or both lowerthe pitch [which Iises as we pass from u to i] . In the case of the

abnormal vowe ls,on the other hand, these two actions tend to

counteract one another.

’

(P . Passy .)

a. The following diagram adds the abnormal or mixed vowels to

the normal or unmixed vowe ls . See 7, a .

b. F or [as] place the tongue as for [e] and spread the lips as for

Examples : neuf [nccf] new,

’

f eminine neuve [noezv].


c. For [a] place the tongue as for [e ] and round the lips as for

Examples : fameux [fame ] famous,’

f eminine fameuse [fame zz ].

d. For [y ] place the tongue as for [i] and round the lips as for [u] .

Examples : nu [ny]‘naked

,

’dur-e [dyzR]

‘hard .

’

REMARK . The German i , as in F liisse‘rivers,

’arises from a mixing

of the two lax vowels [i] and [it ]. See § 32, b.

Wéak Vowels

9 . The e leven vowels just described are tense ;hence their exact

quality is unmistakable and they may be called strong vowels . I f we

re lax somewhat in pronouncing [o] , [a] , [e] , and [a] or we ge t

four weak vowels which occur only in unstressed syllables .

a. Examples : coteau [kbto]‘hillock, ’ promis [pRémi] promised .

”

REMARK . [b] is often heard in our word‘obey.

’

b. [a]. Examples : mari [mhRi] husband,’chateau [ [hto]

‘castle .

’

c. [it]. Exammes : efiort [éfoza] ‘effort, ’ esprit [éspRi] ‘wit, ’ e tc .

REMARK . [é] hovers be tween [e] and [s].

d . Examples : petit [potior pti] (commonly printed p’tit in realistic

novels e tc .)‘small

,

’ mesure [mozyzR or mzy:R]‘measure ,

’

je me le dis [3am(o) l(o) di or 3mldi]

‘I say it to myself,

’

votre train [votRo tRé]‘

your train,

’

monsieur [mssjo or Ipsjo ]‘sir,

’

is ne résiste pas [39 no Rezisto pa or

3(s)n Rez ista pa]‘I don

’t resist,

’

peut-étre pas [potsztRa pd or pteztRs pa ]‘

perhaps not,’

etc .

REMARK . [a] is one of the most frequent of French sounds and is also

extremely common in English , as in M cClintock’

[mokllntok],‘fanatic

’

[fanae tlk],

‘elephant

’

[clofant],‘athle tic ’

(mispronounced) [a oletlk], e tc . In

French , a so-called mute e ’e muet is silent except where it is required

to ease the pronunciation of a difficult group of consonants , as in maitreclerc [me

'tRsklczn]‘head clerk , ’ tournesol [tuRnosol] e tc . For

the same reason , an [a] is occasionally pronounced where no e muet iswritten, as in lorsque [loRsoka]

‘when

’etc . Such an [a] is called an acces

sory vowel, or a glide .


nasal tone , or produce a bad nasal tone , by not allowing the stream

of air to flow free ly through the nose , just as we may ruin or mar any

.

other vowe l or consonant by bad articulation . A violin with frayed

strings or a cracked sound-board cannot produce swee t tones.

Diphthongs

11 . A diphthong is a sound containing two vowe ls pronounced inone syllable (5 Our English words

‘

I,

’ ‘my,’ ‘boy,

’ ‘day,

’ ‘low

,

’

and‘oar

’seem to untrained ears to contain only one vowe l, but each

of them is characterized by a fluctuation of vowe l-quality. I f we try

to prolong for a second or two What is incorrectly called a‘ long i

(e .g. I we perceive that it consists of a stressed vowe l like [a] o r

[0] followed by an unstressed vowe l resembling [l] or [b] . The o the r

sounds noted above show similar fluctuations. In all cases,a diph

f

thong is such a compound of two sounds, whe ther we write it with

only one letter or with more than one . Thus‘

vane ,’ ‘

vain,’

and‘

vein’are commonly pronounced not [ve zn] but [Vé

in] , and we tend

to diphthongize most of our stressed vowe ls, especially before non

explosive consonants.

a. F rench has various symbols which once represented true diph

thongs, as cu in fleur [floe zR]‘flower

,

’on in four [fq ]

‘oven,

’on in

saut [so]‘leap,

’at in m i [me] May,

’e tc .

,but these various digraphs

now represent only one sound . Similarly, the trigraph eau in beau

‘beautiful,

’

etc .,no longer represents a triphthong but mere ly [o].

b. In F rench , diphthongs may occur in rapid utterance when words

having contiguous vowe ls join them in a single syllable : 011 as- tu

été A Orange et h Orléans (‘Where have you been In Orange

and in Orleans ’) may be [uvatqete aORd zgevagRléjd] , with two

diphthongs and a triphthong. Also , a diph thong occurs occasionallyinside words ; thus, [pigjzd] represents a frequent pronunciation of

paysan peasant,’

and pays‘

country’ may be pronounced either [phvI]

or [peji] etc . But such case s are exceptional.


CONSONANTS

12. As we have said all consonants contain an e lement of

noise , produced by friction or stoppage . H ence each consonant maybe called a continuant orplosive, according to its formation . Further

more , each consonant may be voiced or voiceless 3, b).

a. The following diagram shows the place and the manner of

articu lation of the F rench consonants.

P losives

13 . The F rench plosives differ from ours in some important

gespects.

a. For [k g] the back of the tongue is pressed against the front ofthe soft palate , somewhat further forward than in English , and no

puff of air or blowing (off-glide) should be heard after the explosion.

Examples :'

qui [ki]‘who

,

’

quoi [kwa]‘

what,’cacao [kakao]

‘cocoa,

’bac

[bak]‘ferry,

’

guide [gizd]‘

guide ,’zigzag [z igzag]

‘zigzag.

’

NOTE . Before a front vowel, as [i], this consonant is articulated further .

forward than before a back vowel, as [u]. Other consonants are subject toanalogous shifts of position .

1 8 THE PRONUNC IATION OF FRENCH

REMARKS. English -speaking persons may learn to pronounce this v ela r

plosive correctly thus : Hold in your palm, close to your lips and lev e l

with them,a bit of tissue-

paper about one inch square ; then pronounc e

vigorously qui, quoi, and other words containing [k], or merely [kikiki,kakaha] and the like . If the bit of paper merely flutters, as a rule th e

right consonant has been produced, though a good French [k] can be pro

duced with a puff that will blow the paper out of the hand. The same

experiment may be applied to [t] and [p].English

-speaking persons (also Germans) generally fail to pronounce

French [k t p] correctly because they allow the glottis 2, a) to remain

open after the explosion has occurred, so that breath [h ], without vibrationof the vocal cords , is heard before the following sound, usually a vowel,

becomes audible . Hence a German, pronouncing the syllable pa, for

example , close to a lighted candle , will extinguish the flame ; not so a

Frenchman .

’ 1

The candle is extinguished during the voiceless off-glide which incor

rectly follows the voiceless plosive (here [p]) before the voiced on-

glide of

the vowel (here [d l) has begun. Voiceless off-glides are properly audible in

French only when they follow a voiceless consonant and are truly final. To

French cars they are very disagreeable if heard where they do not belong.

b. The dental plosive [t d] is commonly formed by pressing thewhole rim of the tongue against the gums, so as to make a contact in

the form of a half-e llipse , the tip being curved downward toward or

against the lower front tee th . The puff or blowing alreadymentionedI 3, a) and explained (Remarks) must be avoided.

Examples : titre [titR]‘title ,

’ton [ta]

‘tone ,

’téte [tezt]

‘head

,

’dite [dit]

said,’dada [dada]

‘hobby,

’vide [vi

'd]‘empty.

’

c. For the labial plosive [p b] close the lips firmly, then produce a

sharp explosion , again avoiding the voice less medial off-glide which is

so ofte n heard after our English p before vowe ls.

Examfles : papa [papa]‘father,

’cap [kap]

‘cape

’

(of land), cape [kap]‘hood,

’bis [bi

'

s]‘twice ,

’bébé [bebe ]

‘baby,

’nabab [nabab]

‘nabob.

’

d. QUERY . Why are [k g], [t d], and [p b] given in pairs ? What ismeant by

‘voiced

’and by

‘voiceless

’? See 3, a and b.

1 Rousselot and Laclotte , P récis de prononciation f rancaise, p . 63.

THE PRONUNC IATION OF FRENCH

N asal Consonants

14. The three nasal consonants [m n p] are formed by three

different mouth -closures, each of which coincides with a free escape

of air through the nose .

a. For [In] the closure is the same as for [p b], but there is no

explosion .

Examples : méme [mezm]‘same ,

’immense ‘immense ,

’hymns

[imn]‘hymn ,

’automnal [Otomnal]

‘autumnal. ’

REMARK . A bad cold in the head stops the nasal passages and thus

transforms [m] into [b], and it is often dubious whether a sheep’s bleat is

[mzees] or [mzbees ]‘

or [bees].

b. For [n] the closure . is the same as for [d], but there is no

explosion , and the air passes free ly through the nose .

Examples : nid [ni] nest,’étonné [etone ] astonished,

’ fine [azn] donkey.

’

c. For [p] , called n mouillée,

1the front of the tongue must be

arched firmly against the hard palate , the uvula being we ll lowered so

as to allow the breath to escape free ly through the nose as for [n].This consonant, called palatal because it is due to a very marked

contact with the hard palate , may end a syllable .

Examples : mignon [mipfi]‘darling,

’digne [di

’

p]‘worthy,

’champagne

[[dpwp] champagne (wine).

REMARK . In his General Phonetics (p . I M r. G. Noel-Armfield says

The passage of the air through the nose may be easily demonstrated bysmokers who inhale . If

,after inhaling, they pronounce [m], [n], or [p]

they will see that the nasal passage is open ,whilst the oral is closed . Nou

smokersmay prove the passage of the air through the nose with th e aid of a

visiting card and a piece of cold glass. One edge of the card should be

placed horizontally under the nose , against the uppe r lip ; the other should

be pressed against the glass. When these nasal consonants are uttered it

willbe found that only the portion of the glass above the card willbe dimmed

by condensation of the moist breath .

’ Try this experiment and see I o .

1 Past participle feminine of mouiller [muje ] (to ) we t , moisten ,

’a popular

description having no scientific value ;‘hard ,

’ ‘soft,

’and oth e r like designa

tions are likewise to be avoided .


[l] and [A]

15 . In the case of L the soft side edges of the tongue are move d

by the stream of air, and , without complete ly interrupting the tone ,

produce inequalities in its strength .

’

(H e lmholtz .) H ence the name

‘ lateral . ’ We must add that for a F rench 1 [l] the tongue is placed as

for [t d that it is much more like our English initial 1 than lik eour 1 after a vowe l ; furthermore , F rench [1] is formed nearer th e

teeth than is our 1 in, say,‘

lee’

or‘milk ,

’

the l of‘

lee’

(initial 1)beingcloser to the F rench type . Of course [1] is accompanied by a fre e

outstreaming of air along either side , or both sides, of the tongue . I t

should be as clear as possible ; note how many persons make all

right’sound like aw right.

Examples : lit [Ii]‘bed,

’ville [vil]

‘city,

’aLille [a lizl]

‘at Lille ,

’ illégal

[illegal]‘illegal.

’

a. For [A], called 1mouillée , the F rench that we are studying, thatis, Northern French , substitutes [j], as in saying

‘1mouillée ’

[l muje] ,a consonant differing little from our y in

‘

you .

’A true [A] is pro

duced by pressing the front of the tongue against the hard palateapproximate ly as for [p] , but its tip should rest against the lowe rteeth and its soft edges should vibrate as for Though still recommended by various authorities , [A] is wholly obsolete in Northern

F rance and attempts to pronounce it usually result in [lj] ; thu s

[mulje] for [muje]‘

(to) we t.’Compare [miljo] or, commonly, [mijn]

for milieu ‘middle ,’and [milj5] or [mij5] for million

‘million .

’

[r] and [R]

16 . Instead of the m’

lled r [r] , formed by a rapid, plainly visibleVibration of the tip of the tongue , Parisians and most City F renchmen

employ a glottal r [15] or a uvular r [R] . The uvular r [R] is producedby the vibration of the uvula against the back of the tongue .

Examples of each type : rire [rizr]‘

(to) laugh ,’rouge [ruz3]

‘red,

’terrible

better [RizR], [Ruz3],

THE PRONUNC IATION OF FRENCH 2 1

REMARKS . The trilled r [r] is almost universal outside the larger cities ,and is preferred by singers and actors when

‘realism’

does not call for [R]or [K], for [r] was formerly universal and is easier, less wearing, to

’

pro

nounce . [r] is frequent in England when a vowe l immediate ly follows ;in

the United States [r] is used in te lephone central offices .

In Southe rn England, and generally in the United States, we use a

fricative r [i],‘ formed by raising the tip of the tongue toward the gums,

without, however, raising the blade as for [j and also (in the Middle

V V‘

est, by twisting the tip of th e tongue backward against the hard

palate . Either F rench r,but especially the uvular type [R], is hard for most

of us to acquire ;but our r is as foreign to a F renchman as is his morevigorous [r] or [R] to us.

[h]

17. In F rench , h is seen far oftener than it is heard . M any words

are Spe lled with an aitch (h) simply because they were so spe lled inLatin, although for nearly two thousand years this symbol has rep

resented hardly anything save a waste of ink . Thus we find l’honime

[lam]‘

the man,

’ because medieval writers were aware that homme

comes from homine(m) ;but, not realizing so clearly that on [5]‘

one’

(indefinite pronoun) comes from homo, nominative of homine(m), theyse ldom spe lled it hom. The words habitude [abityd]

‘habit,

’heure

[oezR]‘

hour,’

compréhensif [k5pRedsif]‘

comprehensive ,’and many

others are to be explained like homme . The two or three hundred

words whose initial h causes hiatus are nearly all of Germanic or of

unknown origin .

[h] is produced by breathing audibly through a wide-open glottisand (for speech) through the mouth .

Examples showing how an‘aspirate h

’ merely causes hiatus : la honte

[la Ext]‘the shame ,

’la herse [la ers]

‘the harrow,

’ls hibou [lo ibu]

‘the

owl,’en Hollands [d old zd]

‘in Holland,

’etc .

REMARK . A true [h ] is seldom heard, except on the stage , where it

pres erves an archaic usage dating back to the Germanic invasions of

about 450—950 A .D . I t may occur also where no h is written ,between

two vowels of which the second is stressed : fléan [fleo or occasionallyfieho] plague .

’


[j ]

18 . [j] , often called a semivowe l, occurs when the tongue is raise d

above the position for [i] so as close ly to approach the hard pala teand produce audible friction. [j] has supplanted [A]. See r5, a .

Examfles : briller [bRije ]‘

(to) shine ,’brille [bRizj]

‘shines.

’

[q]

19 . For [q] the lips are shaped almost as for [y], but the openingis somewhat narrower ; the tongue approaches the hard palate as

for [a] or, less often, as for [y] .

Examples : hnit huitres [ui qitR]‘eight oysters,

‘

une tulle [yn tqizl]‘a

tile ,’fuyant [fuija]

‘fleeing,’suer [sue ]

‘

(to) sweat.’

20. This bilabial fricative [w] resembles our voiced w , as in woo ,

’

but results rather from a swift passing through [u] to the vowe lfollowing.

Examples : oui [wi]‘

yes,’

ouest [west]‘west,

’doit [dwa]

‘owes ,

’trois

[tRwa]‘three .

’

NOTE . The lips are more rounded for French oui than for English we .

’

[S 2]

21 . [s] is nearly identical with our, voice less s in

‘sin,

’ ’hiss,

’e tc .

,

but our voiceless sibilant is often pronounced with the tip of the

tongue close to the upper gums, whereas for F rench [5] the blade isarched so as close ly to approach the front of the hard palate while itstip is bent down against the lower front teeth and its lateral edgesrest against the upper back tee th . [2] is mere ly a voiced

Examples : si [si]‘if,

’ fosse [fozs]‘ditch ,

’fils [fizs or fis]

‘son,

’ fine

[zozn]‘zone ,

’la rose [la Rozz ] the rose

,

’le gaz [19

‘the gas.

’

24 THE PRONUNC I AT ION OF FRENCH

neutral vowel [a] (be , so, do, e tc . ) - which results in confusion , for is is a

bad name to give to g— ar an attempt is made to pronounce each symbo laccording to the value it is supposed to have in a given word.

3 ,Evidently, the conventional names given above do not regularly co r

respond to phone tic facts ; for, as we have already seen, and as we sh all

se e further, one le tter may represent various sounds, whereas in a good

phone tic alphabe t one symbol represen ts one sound (or audible e ffec t),

and on ly one . Furthermore , in a phone tic alphabe t no symbol is ev e r

silent ; whereas conventional French spelling, like our own , contains manysilent le tters.

Q UANTITY

24. In F rench , as in English , sounds may be short or long, or th esame sound may vary according to a momentary importance or lackof importance , e tc . Thus [p], being a plosive , is necessarily alwaysshort, whereas [n] and other continuants may be very marked lyprolonged ;but the car more readily observes the length of vowe ls

,

e specially in stressed syllables. F re nch vowe ls may be decidedly long ,of medial length , or decidedly short. F or our purposes it will gene rally suffice to recognize mere ly two quantitie s, short and long , as in

mettre [mom]‘

(to) put and maitre [mcztR]‘master.

’

a. In a final open syllable (a syllable ending in a vowe l-sound) avowe l is normally always short.

Examples : Jo l’ai vuo aujourd’hui [3(o) le vy O3uq i]

‘ I ’ve seen h e r

to-day.

’

b. In unstressed syllables vowe ls are almost always short.

Examples : 11 m’en a assuré [il mc

’

ma asyRe ] H e has assured me of it,

’

but 11 m’en assure [il mc

‘

inasyzR]‘H e assures me of it.

’So la této [la te zt]

‘the head

,

’

but nu téte-a-téte [o‘

étetate zt]‘a confidential talk.

’

0. In a final syllable closed by [V] , [Z ] , [J] : [I1] , and [r] or [R ] ,which are voiced fricative s

,a vowe l is almost always long ; therefo re

these are length -

giving consonants .

Examples : j’achéve mon plan de la cave [3ajezv m5 p16 do la kazv ]

‘J’mfinishing my plan of the cellar,

’

Jo vois la plago et la met [39 vwa la

THE PRONUNC IATION OF FRENCH 25

plaz3 e la mom]‘ I see the shore and the sea,

’Voilamon travail [vwala mo

tRavazj] There ismywork,’En Espagne [dnéspazp]

‘In Spain ,

’11 est heureux

et ello est houreuse [iletoeRo e eletOERo zz ]‘He is happy and she is happy.

’

REMARK . A non-final [R] or [r] does not lengthen a preceding stre ssed

vowel 1a part [lamm] ‘the share ,’but la ports [la poRt] the door .

’

d. Stressed vowe ls bearing a circumflex accent are usually long.

Examples : male [mo zl]‘male ,

’l’ilo [lizl]

‘the island,

’la c6te [la kozt]

‘th e coast,

’l’ame [lo zm]

‘the soul.

’

A

REMARK . The generally means that a consonant which once fol

lowed the vowe l marked with A

has been lost ; hence usually indicates

compensative lengthening.

e . In a closed stressed syllable [o], [o] , [d] , [c] , and [6c] arealways long, whatever consonant follows, and theymust not be muchshorter in unstressed closed syllables.

Examples : La chose est longuo et creuse [la [oz 8 lz‘

Szg e kRo zz ]‘The

thing is long and hollow,

’Elle so poncho contro la ramps [cl so pd :j k5 :tR

la Rd zp] She leans against the railing,’Cola semble bien mince [sola sd zbl

bjé mas]‘That seems very thin ,

’ Mon bon F ranpois est trop humble [mobe fRd '

swa e tRopé zbl]‘My good Francis is too humble .

’

STRESS

25 . I f we pronounce any phrase naturally, we can easily perceivethat some parts of it are louder than others. Such parts are said to

be stressed .

a. In English , we stress words some time s on their first syllable ,sometimes not. In F rench

,the stress usually falls upon the last

syllable of a word ,unless that word happens to be itse lf so unem

phatic as to be mere ly touched. H ence F rench is essentially an

oxy tonic language , whereas English is e ssentially paroxytonic (e .g.

‘mother or proparoxytonic (e .g. and has thrown backthe original stresses of most of the F rench words which it has

borrowed : fameux [fa'mo]

‘famous,

’bureau [by

'Ro]

‘bureau ,

’e tc .

NOTE . I f the last written syllable contains an e muet as in notre‘our

,

’

this

e is always merely a supporting vowel, if pronounced , and is never stressed.


b. The explanation of the oxytonic character of F rench is that as

F rench deve loped out of Latin, of which it is one of the still livingforms, all syllables following the last stressed syllable were graduallyweakened so as to become either bare ly audible or wholly silent. A

Frenchman says Notro cheval est fort , Our horse is strong,’ because

the Romans said'Noster ca

'ballus est {for

-tic. A Frenchman, pro

nouncing this Latin sentence , would naturally follow the analogy o f

F rench accentuation and say Nos'ter cabal'lus est for

'tis [nos

'teR ka

bal'ly:s est stressing the final syllable in each case . Of Shake

speare’ he makes

F rench versification is based on this oxytonic systemof accentuation .

c. U sually, French syllabic stress is not quite so strong (loud) asEnglish syllabic stress, and a series of words leading to a word or to

words of greater importance may get an almost uniform loudness .

Ex. Est-cc que vous allez aCalais , on eu Havre [esko vuzalezakale

u 0mm ‘

Are you going to Calais or to Havre gives us percep

tible stresses only on Calais [ka'le] and on Havre

d. F rench has a tendency to shift the stress back in enumerations

On pout voir cola dans Corneille , dans Moliére , dans Racine [5 pavwa:R sola dc'i 'koRnczj , dd

'moljezR , dd'Rasin]

‘

One can see that in

Corneille , in Moliére , in Racine’

(normally mol'jezR ,

e. Emotional words may become paroxytonic, se ldom proparoxy

tonic : C’est degoutant [se de'

gutc'

I] I t’s disgusting ’

; Incroyable i

[é'k ajabl] Incredible ! Oui, beaucoup [wi,

'bo :ku] Yes, much’

;e tc .

l

REMARK. French cannot be spoken idiomatically without such occasional

shifts of stress ;but they must be learned by observation ,the rules that

govern them being uncertain and complicated .

f . Strong contrasts lead to shifts,as in English : Aujourd

’hui tout

lomonde pose . L’homme propose , la femme dispose , l’industrie expose ,

1 ‘Un e xce llent moyen de s’en convaincre , c

’e st d

’obse rve r de s enfants qui

se disputent e t se disent de s sottise s : ils s’

appe llent”an imal, cochon . Puis

on on prend un apart, e t on lui demande , comme pour lo gronde r, cc qu’il

vient de dire ; il répétera, ave c accentuation normals , «Jo lui ai dit co’

chon

P . Passy, Petite Phonltioue comparle , p . 33.

THE PRONUNC IATION OF FRENCH 27

lo commerce dépose , les sciences composent , et les grands h ommesreposent [oguq i tu lo m5:d po zz . lom '

pROpo zz , la fam'dispo zz ,

lédystRi'skspozz , lo komeRs '

depo zz , le'kfipo zz , e le n zom

'Ropozz] Nowadays e verybody poses . proposes , woman dis

poses, industry exposes [exhibits] , commerce deposes [deposits], the

sciences compose , and the great men repose .

’

(Commerson. )REMARKS . As in English , the stressed syllables of important words

are more vigorously stressed (are loude r) than the stressed syllables of

unimportant words . Shifts of stress often markedly change the quality and

quantity of F rench sounds . Thus je meurs (‘I die

’

) [3omoezR], but nonemourons (

‘we die

’

) in extremely colloquial F rench , bonjour

(‘

good morning, ’ ‘

good afternoon ,

’hastily pronounced, may become

b’jour [bn3uzn] ;likewise mademoisolle may become mamsello [mamz el], and we find madame [madam] realistically represented

by mame [mam]. See 9, also 162 , 1 65- 169, 1 87- 1 88 , 224, 278 , 280,

29 1- 294, and the Index , under Stress.

’

I NTONATION OR IN FLECTION

26 . In speaking F rench , as in speaking English , there are innumer

able changes ofpitch . These changes are generally glides rather than

jumps, jumps occurring,as a rule , only between breath-groups

that is, when we pass through a perceptible pause (silence) from one

division of a connected thought to the next division. I n speech there

are no regu lar intervals, that is, nofix ed notes and no key-note ; the

pitch almost always rises or falls by imperceptible stages (risinginflection and falling inflection).In F rench

,as in English , variations of pitch correspond , more or

less conventionally, to the character of the idea that we wish to

express ;but even the most typical differ according to the speaker,and no variation of pitch can be satisfactorily represented, save by

continuous curves ; such curvesmay accurate ly plot given intonationsbut are difl‘icult to interpret corre ctly. A series of musical notes can

indicate mere ly certain points in the changing pitch . F rench intona

tions often differ marked ly from English (still more , from American)intonations. In general , F rench changes of pitch are greater.


SYLLABLEs AND SYLLABIFICATION

27. In F rench , as in English , a syllable is a sound, or a group o f

sounds, individualiz ed to our hearing by a sudden increase in th e

force of our outgoing breath . After the increase comes a diminu tion,

then another increase , and so on,until we have ceased speaking .

Thus sentence -stress depends upon syllabification .

a. Syllable s are marked by the moments of least intensity ; th e yare wave s in the stream of air out of which we are forming words ;only when we pause , then begin another breath-group, have they any

necessary correspondence with the visibly separated units called words .

Pronounce naturally to a roomful of people the sounds Take an

aim’

; some of them will understand‘Take a name .

’ ’Tis

’and

’

twas’

Show natural divisions, and [ze t !al] is a pedantic pronuncia

tion of‘

at all,’

phone tically identical with‘

a tall . ’

b. When a consonant comes be tween two vowe ls it be longs to thesecond vowe l ;atrois heures ,

’

at three o’clock ,

’contains the syllable s

[a tRwa zoézR] ;if a F rench printer had to divide douleur‘

pain,

’or

fumée smoke,

’or recevoir (to) receive ,

’he would divide thus : dou

leur,tu-mée , re-cevoir or reco-voir.

REMARK . The digraphs ch, ph , th , and gn represent the simple con

sonants [j , f, t, p], as in chic, mdchor‘

(to) chew,

’éléphant, athéo

‘atheist,

’

and peigner [ps'

pe ]‘

(to) comb.

’Note also that many consonants which

are graphically double are phonetically single : accord [akozn] agreement,’

attend [ate]‘awaits,

’e tc . True double consonants are rare in F rench ;

they occur either in learnéd words , such as illegal [illegal], or in excep

tional combinations, such as cher Robert [ je:R RobezR]‘dear Robert,

’une

belle languo [belld zg]‘a beautiful language ,

’e tc.

’

c. Compound consonants (two different consonants M rhbination)begin a syllable if the second is l or r (except l-r, which se ldomoccurs, or r

-l,as in parler Speak

’

;and a few other groups must beseparated like parlor). I ll case s where two or more consonants

come together, the first commonly ends ihe syllable preceding thatbegun by the

—second: 6

—

1

,

by the second and third, e tc.

TH E PRONUNCIATION OF FRENCH 29

REMARKS. The divisions made in English printing often give a wholly

erroneous idea as to syllables. Thus‘floating

’would be divided into

'float-ing,’though its second syllable is begun by its t , e tc . The divisions

made by F rench printers correspond much oftener to natural syllabifica

tion ;yet some false divisions are made , and conventional spe lling renders

many of them unavoidable . Examples : difiere [difeza],‘differs,

’becomes

dit- fete ; bonheur [bonoem],'happiness,

’becomes bon-heur ; inhabitable

[inabitabl], uninhabitable ,’ becomes ih—habitable ; e tc . The rule of F rench

printers forbids dividing a word either before or after x or y be tween

vowels, because each of th ese lette rs is sounded half with one syllable and

half with the oth er ;yet they freely divide be tween x and h , though the

second half of the x (in this case x [gz ]) sounds with the syllable in which

the h is printed . Thus exhaler'exhale

’

[égz ale ] and foyer'h earth ’

[fwaje ]. Further de tails will be found in F rench manuals for printers and

authors .

BREATH -GROUPS

28 . In speaking, we may need only part of a given exhalation ,or

our idea may be just long enough to require a whole exhalation, or it

may be so long as”to require us to take a fresh breath . Not knowing

how to adjust speech to breath , children (especially when attemptingto recite) sometimes take a fresh breath at the wrong points when

an idea is rather long and complex , and thus produce a series of

gasps. But trained speakers and singers instinctive ly utiliz e each

exhalation to good advantage , so that we are se ldom disturbed by thenoise of inhalation (gasping).

a. If an idea is absolute ly simple (indivisible) and short,it requires

only a small part of a normal deliberate exhalation . I l vient [il vjé] ,‘H e

’

s coming,

’is a simple (indivisible) idea. I ts two syllables make

two waves on one larger wave which constitutes a breath -

group. I f

now to I I vient we add aujourd’hui [ogundqi]

‘to-day,

’the first large

wave in our single exhalation is fo llowed by a second large wave

composed of three small waves (three syllables), unless aujourd’hui is

so close ly connected with 11 vient that we naturally force it into the

first breath-

group, in which case we have not two breath -

groups (Ilvient , aujourd

’hui) making five small waves on two larger wave s, butone large wave on which there are five small waves .


b. In verse (French or English) the unnatural interruption o f a

breath-

group, ca lled overflow and enjambement striding ove r

often produces the hiccup or. gasp described above , and, if flagran t,unduly distracts us from the tlzouglzt which the verse -maker is e x

pre ssing to the abnormal mani c of the language which he is abusing .

On the other hand, a series of natural pause s be tween breath -

grou ps

may be so marked and so uniformas to make one fee l that the ve rse

maker must have counted on his fingers, or we may be impressed by

a mechanically jingling effect. Fashions have varied ;at the pre se nt

time the most admired poe ts, both F rench and English , make th e ir

language seem as natural as possible in respe ct to the agreement o f

breath-

groups with the logical divisions of thoughts.

c. In F rench , as in English , breath-groups are generally markedby punctuation ,

though the less important divisions are gene ra llydisregarded.

d. F rench punctuation uses the same signs as ours, but not in

the same manner, and in each language great inconsistency prevails .

To prove this to be the truth , one would have mere ly to submit to a

group of educated pe rsons, English or F rench , a page of manuscript

devoid of punctuation marks. Each individual would punctuate diffe rently , and no author would be like ly to punctuate twice in

’

the same

manner a given page of his own work .

Often the F rench employ a comma (une virgule) where we use a

semicolon (un point et virgule). (deux points), the point or period

(le point), and l (les points d’interrogation et d’exclamation), are

used nearly as in English ; (les points suspensifs)mark an unfin

ished emotional utterance or an interrupted thought. and l

occur where 1, might have been expected. In dialogue an

initial (nu tiret) marks each change of Speaker ;other kinds of

quotations are enclosed in or in (guillemets) quotations with in

quotations (e .g. H e said,

” ‘Vile ” is too strong

’

) are indicated in

F rench only when or follows a dash , never as in English ;

a (some times and may occur on the same page to diffe renti

ate quotations. Note also (la parenthese) and (les crochets).


30. Six or seven centurie s ago the many final consonants whichare now silent were always pronounced, whether followed by a con

sonant or by a vowe l . Gradually, however, the tendency of F rench to

prefer open syllable s (syllables ending in a vowe l) to closed syllable s

(syllables ending in a consonant), and a tendency to avoid more or

less difficult groups of consonants , led to a general dropping of finalconsonants unless they happened to be followed habitually by a

vowe l. This explains why we say tout enfant [tutd'fd] every child ,

’

but tout pets [tu pe zR]‘

every father.

’In general, linking causes u s

to restore to pronunciation sounds which have become silent incertain combinations .

a. I f a final consonant is linked there must be no pause between

the two words that it binds . Any infringement of this rule indicate sthat the speaker is a foreigner, or that he lacks the normal control o fhis articu lation : Jean est aimable [gdetema

'bl]‘John is likable ,

’

pro

nounced [36 would be unnatural and absurd. In our

phone tic transcriptions words which are naturally to be linked or

close ly joined are commonly printed as typographical units ;but forvarious reasons this practice is not advisable in all cases.

b. H owever they may be conventionally printed or written , the

sounds or‘

noises’

[k g, t d, p b] , and the remaining consonants, a s

expressed by plzonetie symbols, have exactly the same value betweenwords as inside words.

31 . When liaison occurs, the conventional symbols are pronouncedthus

a. c,k, g, and q as [k] .

Examples : 00 lac anglais'this English lake ,

’un yak éton

nant ‘an astonishing yak ,

’un long hiver [O

'

elbkive zR]'a long

winte r,’cinq hommes [sekom]

‘five men .

b. Whether ordinarily silent or not,in linking l

,r,m

,n are

[l, R ,m

,

‘

n] .

Exm ples -s s’il est vrai [siICVRe]

'if it

’s true ,

’whe reas be fore a conso

nant the l of il is commonly silent, as in s’il vous plait [sivuple]

'if you

THE PRONUNCIATION OF FRENCH 33

please’

; pour aimer nu voleur in a stagy pronunciation be comes [puRet RC

’

I'

EVOICE R]'

(to) love a thief,’colloquially [puRemecTevoloeza] ; on aime

'one loves

’

[5nezm], nu enfant"a child

’ but nu chien'a dog

’

— [o‘

e fit ] ; the m of claim, essaim, faim,

nom, parfum is never linked .

c. Occasionally, f becomes [v].

Examples : 31 neuf heures [anovoezR]'at nine o

’

clock ,’ but neuf fois

[nafwa] nine times ’

; nu vif intérét a lively intere st’keeps its f as [f].

REM ARK . a neuf heures is derived from the Vulgar Latin ad not/4m)liaras

d . The conventional symbo ls 8,x,z all become unless

, when

not linked, they are pronounced [s] , [ks], and

Examples : les hommes [lez om] the men ,

’deux ailes [doz el]

'two wings,

’

allez -

y [alez i]'

go there .

’

REMARK . In many words, x (final), as in deux

'two

’and animaux

[animo]'animals,

’ is merely a remnant of a medieval symbol which stood

for us : deux , chevaux'horse s,

’heureux [oeRo]

'happy,

’and many other

words were once written dens , chevaus , e tc .

F inal Observations

$2. 0. Those of us who have not been in a position to acquire a cor

rect pronunciation of F rench by early and constant intercourse with F rench

people can acquire it only by the closest observation,aided by a good

memory and by the power of accurately imitating sounds . I f we have not

begun the study of F rench till we are , say, fifteen or sixteen years of age ,

our vocal organs adapt themselves only with a noticeable and constant

e ffort to the foreign sounds . This effort will become gradually less trying,and in some cases will disappearfif we practice the F rench sounds just asconscientiously as we should practice to attain great skill in playing a musi

eal instrument or in singing. Our vocal organs are in truth a musical

instrument , and if the sounds that we have been producing with them

have always been English , we must necessarily make a wholly different

series of adjustments when we undertake to produce or to reproduce

F rench sounds .

b. Whatevermay be the language whose sounds we are trying to under

stand and to acquire , we can vastly increase our knowledge and our powers


of performance by frequent expe rimentation. Thus, for example , if [y] ,represented conventionally in F rench by u

, prove difficult one of'those

impossible sounds’

! the student can easily ge t the right result as follows :

Let him enclose be tween his lips at their middle , complying with 8,d, a

short glass tube about three eigh ths of an inch in diame ter ; if now h e

tries to say [di], the only result should be [dy], as in (111‘of the .

’Othe r

easy and use ful experiments many of them requiring only the simple st

instruments , or none at all, and adequately explained in various modern

treatises on phone tics— can be tried for othe r sounds .

c. The author of this book once knew a F rench medical student who ,

being ambitious and thorough , used to study English works on his subjec t

as well as F rench . This student would walk up and down his room reading

his English aloud, and he understood every word of it, but hardly a syllable

of his pronunciation was English . Giving to our chaotic conventional sym

bols the values which they would usually have in French conventional

spelling, he evolved a species of gibberish which an uninformed listener

might have mistaken for patois or thieves’

jargon . Possibly none of us has

ever heard French treated in quite the same manner, but many of us have

heard it strangely mocked . Unless we study F rench as a living language

we shall necessarily miss nearly all its physical beauty and sacrifice

much of its utility.

LES PENSEES DE [noUET 35

PREM IERE LECON

THE ARTICLES . THE PLURAL OF NOUNS . SIX FORMS OF

4mm. THE UNSTRESSED NOMINATIVE FORMS OF'

TI

PERSONAL PRONOUN

33 Texts francais (Les Pensées dc Riquet), avec une transcription

phonétique , une traduction et une analyse grammaticale [tekst fRe se

(le pd'

se do Rike), avek-

yn t '

SkRipsjz‘

) fone tik, yn

-

tRadyksj5, e yn

analizz gRamatikal] . F rench text (The Thong/its of Riquet), with a

phonetic transcription , a translation, and a grammatical analysis.

’

LOO hommeg ’ les anim ux ’ leg 1 Tbc skew: where caclz corresf onding

[lez om lezanimo le line of F f efw/temit

pierres , grandissent en s’appro 2 (The) men, (the) animals, (the)/

pjezn n-dis a sapRo

stones, become larger as they draw

chant et deviennent énormes quand 3 near [lit 0“ approachingl/and be

jfi e dgvjentengkm kd come. enormous when they are

ils sont sur moi. Moi non. 10 4 [close ] upon me . NOt 1 I remain

til 35 syR mwa mwa 115 asalways of the same siz e [lit. equally

demeure toujours aussi grand 5 131:83 , as [4728 as ”f 07

”

e]/wherever

dgmoegk tuguza o'

si n [lzt . everywhere where ] I am.

partout oh je suis . M ake titis literal translation

paRtu u 39 sui] more idiomatic:

NOTES. (a) The common nouns hommes , animaux , and pierres are here

generic ;hence , contrary to English usage , the definite article les, used before

plural nouns of either gender. (b) approchant is a gerund, here united with

the reflexive pronoun se,elided . (c) Moi non (word for word,

'I not

’

) gives

us the stressed form of the nominative personal pronoun ; je non would be

incorrect, for is cannot be stressed. (a’

) For this passage , and for those

immediately following, a formal’ style of pronunciation is indicated, though

the speaker, Rique t, is a dog, the dog of M . [mesjo] Bergere t. (e) LesP ense

'

es a’e Riquet are quoted from Crainquebille , Putois , Riquet, etc. ,

by

Anatole F rance,i.e . Anatole Thibaut, 1 844 Anatole F rance is also

the author of Le Crime a’e Sy lvestre Bonnard, 188 1 and of many other

deligh tful books .

36 THE FORMS OF THE ARTICLE

34. As written , the F rench definite article has the forms le , la, l’ , andles

,illustrated,with their usual pronunciation ,

by the following examp le s :

1 . Is. texte [la tekst] the text 9 . la pierre [la pjeza] the stone

2. l’animal [lanimal] the animal 10. l’dme [lo zm] the soul

3 . l’homme [13m] the man 1 1 . l’heure [loam] the hour4. le hangar [la d

’

gazx] the shed 12. la horde [la ORd] the horde5 . les textes [le tckst] 13 . les pierres [le pjeza]6 . les animaux [lezanimo] Plural 14. les imes [lezazm] Plura l

7. les hommes [lezom]‘

orms 15 . les heures [lez oezn] F orms

8 . les hangars 16 . les hordes [le R d]

35 . F rench nouns are either masculine (1—8) or feminine (9In F rench , grammatical gende r usually does, not correspond to natu

ral sex, thoughfi

fl

natural sex is generally recogniz ed grammaticallywhere we

‘

sayfl

‘

he’and

‘

she .

’

36 . Most F rench nouns form their plural by adding 8, pronounce d

[2] when united with a following vowe l ; but, as such linking com

monly does not occur, the number of a given noun ,in spoken F rench ,

must commonly be learned from the context.

37. As shown in 34, the definite article is 1’ before any singularbeginning with a vowe l. See examples 2

, 3 , I O ,1 1 . (The h of homme

and of bears is pure ly graphic , i. e . it has no phone tic value ; it has

not been audible since Roman times .)0. Before a vowe l les is pronounced [lez ] . See examples 6, 7, 14, I 5 .

b. Before a consonant or a SO-called ‘

aspirate h ,

’le [la] or ofte n

'

mere ly [l] 13 [la] les [le]. See examples I, 4, 5, 8 , 9 , 1 2 , 1 3 , 1 6 .

REMARK . In everyday F rench ,no initial h is ever audible ; the so-calle d

'aspirate h

’ merely prevents educated persons from saying e .g . l’angar ,

and changes [yn], une , to [yne] z une horde e tc . See 38 .

38 . The indefinite article is written nu before masculines, une beforefeminines : un texte [cs tekst]

‘

a text,’nu homme [o

‘

énom]‘

a man ,

’

nu hangar [Ge fi-

gazR]‘

a Shed,

’

an animal [Genanimal]‘

an animal,

’

une pierre [yn pje zn]‘a stone

,

’

une horde [yna and not ynORd] a

horde,

’

une honte [yna 51t]‘

a shame .

’

A VO/R . DES. PRONOUNS. EST- CE Q UE 37

Note that an and une must not be linked to words beginning with'aspi

rate h .

’See the Remark in 37.

Write nu before nouns 1 - 4in 34, une be fore nouns 9— 1 2

, and note

how each resulting group is pronounced.

a. The indefinite article has the plural des (derived from de les),varying in pronunciation like les . Examples of des with the present

indicative of the verbavoir‘

(to) have’

1 . j’ai des chiens [3e de i ] I have (some) dogs j

’ai

2. Tu as des dmis [ ty a dez ami] You have (Thou hast) friends tu as

3 . II a des homards [ila de omaza] H e has (somellghsmts il a

3 . Elle a des livres [cla de lizvx] She has (some) books elle a

4. Nous avons des se ars [nuz avfi de soezR] We have sisters nous avons

5 . Vous avez des meres [vuz ave de meza] You have mothers vous avez

6 . Ha ont des poires [ilz 5 de pwazn] They have (some) pears ils out

6 . Elles ont des dettes [clz 5 de det] They have (some) debts elles ont

NOTE . This des must not be stressed, and, if'Some ’

or'any

’be used

to translate it, neither may be stressed : J’ai des dettes

'I have debts

’or

'I have some debts ’

(not'sorn e As- tu des poires Have you

any pears ? Si elles ont des dettes If they have any debts’

(or simply'have debts

39 . The forms of the personal pronouns used as subjects are hereillustrated with the sounds they have before vowe ls : j

’ is je e lided.

Note that in example 6, with elles F rench has a feminine pluralcorresponding to elle she

’

(or‘it ) in exarnple 3 . A masculine

antecedent requires il or ils ; a feminine antecedent requires elle or

elles ; an antecedent of mixed gender requires ils .

40. Examples of il, elle , ils , and elles , in connection with the inter

rogative formula Est -cc que [ask or asks], a Shortened form of Est-cc

vrai que [esvRe ks] , meaning I S it true that

1 . Est-cc que l’homme grandit [n

'di] ('becomes I l grandit .

2. Est-cs qu’ane pierre grandit Oui [wi], elle grandit .

'Yes ,

it does.

’

3 . Est-cc que la dette grandit Oui, elle grandit . Yes, it’sbecoming larger.

’

4. Est-cs que les hommes et les pierres grandissent Oui, ils deviennent

énormee.

3s EXERCISES AND QUERIES

Referring to all 33- 4o , translate , then pronounce

I . I . Has M . Bergeret (any) friends ? 2 . M . Bergeret has Riquet.

3. Riquet is the friend of M . Be rgeret. 4. When a man has a doghe has a friend. 5. Have dogs any thoughts ? 6 . Yes, dogs have

thoughts . 7. Have you thoughts ? 8 . We have thoughts and we

have books. 9 . I f I have debts have I friends ? Not I ! 10. If you

have friends have you debts ? Yes. I 1 . Does a debt become large rasm osehes ? I Yes, debts become larger as they approach .

They become enormous. I 3 . Do men become larger ? I4. Wh enthey are close upon me they become enormous. I 5. Have you (p l.and sg.) any thoughts ? I have (We have) some books. I 6. Have

you a F rench text ? I 7. Yes, we have a F rench text,a phone tic

transcription, and a grammatical analysis.

I I . Additional Exercise. Combine each of the eight groups in

538 , a ,with the next, so as to make the verb in the : first take the

object in the second, but in its singular form, e tc. Use Oil est'Where is and Oil sont

‘Where are . with each o f

the sixteen nouns in 34, pronouncing each resulting group .

Q UERI ES. 1 . Why isn'

t animaux called a'regular plural

’ ? What ad

vantage may a plural like anim ux (sg . animal) have over a p lu ral lik a

hommes ? 2 . Wherein does the gender of 10 pm the father diffe r fro r.

that of la mere the mother,’and that of lo 11m from that o f la p ie rr e

Does les enable us to determine gender ? 3. Do il, ils , elle , an d e ll e

necessarily reveal sex ? If not, why not ? Have we in English any p e

sonal pronoun exactly equivalent to elles ? If not, why not ? H ow sh :

we translate this ?'Where are the mother and the father ? T h e y are

Paris [h 4. In tu [ty] the F rench have a true singular p ro n o u n

the se cond person, used by intimate friends, by adults to little c h ild r e

etc . ; have we any exact equivalent in living English ? 5. H ow d id ytranslate I l grandit in example I

, 40 ? What is the true me an in g o f

does in example 2 ? Did you note the progressive form it’s be c om il

in examme 3 ? 6. Did you note the ordinal numeral Premiere (f em . ) a t

beginning of this lesson ? 7. Are you sufficiently familiar with t h e min

,this lesson to be able to utiliz e it all in Lesson I I ?

40 FORMS OF Ema AND OF TR OUVER

1 . l am2 t“ 0° ltr GM] you are

3 . 11 est he is

4.

5 . was an. you are

6 they are

u isp je ? [sqiz3] am I ?

eo-tll ? [ety] are you ?est-ii ? [stil] is he ?

commas-nous [somnu ] are w e ?

Gtes—vous [ezt vu] are yo u ?sont-ils [sbtil] are they ?

NOTE . The symbol in indimtes pronunciation in linking, as in Je

nous sommes [nu n m(z )] we are

a

p

p

ea

rs

suis 1 Paris [39 sqiza paai]'I am in Paris .

’The s of nous, vous, ils ,

elles [2] if linked (53 1 , d ,

a. AS indicated by suis-je e tc . , a question may be expre ssed simp ly

by reversing pronoun and verb. A hyphen (nu trait d’union [tRe

dynj5]) is always inse rted when is, e tc. f ollow their verb.

EXERCISE

Using the interrogative group first, put each of the twe lve forms

je suis etc. before 1 Paris in Paris ,’or before other simple phrase s ,

e .g. the following groups, all of them meaning‘

at home ,’

according

to the person : chez moi [je mwa], chez toi [twa], chez nous [nu] ,chez vous [vu] .

43 . Unstressed Accusative P ronouns, P roclitic. I llustrations

11 me trouve [ilme tRuzv] He finds me

Elle te trouve [cl ta tauzv] She finds you (thee)Jo ls trouve [39 la tRuzv] I find him (or it)Tu la trouves [ty la tRuzv] You find her (or it)On nous trouve [5 nu tauzv] One finds us

Nous vous trouvons [nu vu tRU'

VO]We find you (pl. or sg .)Vous les trouvez [vu le tRu

'

ve ] You find themI ls nous trouvent [il nu tRuzv] They find us

Q UER IES. How many different f orms and how many different sound s

has this verb in its present tense (indicative) as here exemplified ? Wh atdoes proclitic

’ mean ?

a Except is , la, les , for which we must substitute se [so] , th eaccusative proclitics in the seven illustrations just given may be u sed

SE PRI VER . mu m WITH DATIVE 41

j e me prive [33 ma pRizv] I deprive myselfTu to privos [ty to print] You deprive yourse lf 2. Tu to

11 so prive [il so pRizv] He deprives himself 3 . 11 so

Elle so prive [pRizv] She deprives herself 3 . Elle so

On so prive [pRizv] One deprives oneself 3. On so

Nous nous privons [pRi'

vo] We deprive ourselves 4. Nous nous

Vous vous privez [pRi'

ve] You deprive yourselves (s elf) 5 . Vous vous

lie so privent [pRizv] They (m.) deprive themselves 6 . lie so

Ellos so privent [paizv] They (f ) deprive themselves 6 . Elisa so

b. Except le, la,les

,for which we must substitute lui [lui] to

him,

’ ‘

to her,’and leur [loan]

‘to them

,

’these objective proclitics may

be used as datives, i.e . as.indirect obj ects without a pr¢osition. Thus :

(Dative)11mo parle [paRl] He speaks to me 1 . me

Jo to parlo [paRl] I speak to you (sg .) 2. to

Tu lui parles [paRl] You Speak to him(or her) 3 . lui

Vous nous parlez [paRle] You speak to us 4. nous

Nous vous parlons [paRIO] We speak to you (pl. or sg .) 5 . vous

I ls leur parlent [paRl] They Speak to them 6 . leur

REMARK . After any subject of the third person so may likewise be used

as a dative .

Q UERIES. How many Objective forms (or sounds) do these three sets of

examples give us in all ? Which forms have only one function ?

c. Stress . All these proclitic pronouns, nominative or objectivemust be liglztly stressed : Jo lo trouve means

‘I find him,

’ Ifind it,not I find lzim

,

’I find it.

’So Tu me parlesmeans You speak tome ,

’

not You speak to me.

’

(I I and I I I to be done in class)

I . As succomber (to) succumb and tenter (to) tempt’are con

jugated like trouver, the following sentences can now be translated :

1 . Dogs succumb if men Speak to them and tempt them. 2 . Whenthe master tempts me I succumb. 3 . M en succumb to a temptation,and animals succumb to a temptation. 4. Do you (vous) succumb

0

42 EXERC ISES

when a man tempts you ? 5. I always succumb (I succumb always)when M . Bergeret holds out food to me under the table . 6. M . Be r

geret is the master. 7. I am Riquet, M . Bergere t’

s dog (the dog of

M . Bergeret). 8 . Does M . Bergeret deprive himse lf for me ? 9 . D o

men deprive themse lves for animals ? 1 o . I cannot be lieve that th eydeprive themse lves for -dogs. I I . We deprive ourse lves for a friend .

1 2 . Wherever you find us you tempt us . 1 3 . When I am unde r th e

table you tempt me . 14. I f you tempt us we succumb. I 5. You

have a dog ;you tempt him. 1 6. If you tempt him it is to punish

him if he succumbs. (Note : si 11 becomes s’il

, as si ils becomes s’ils ;

but before oils and elles , si is not elided.)

I I . U se the whole present indicative of chercher [jeaje]‘

(to)seek ,

’ ‘

(to) look for’

(conjugated‘ like trouver) with each form o f

the accusative proclitic pronoun as an object, and i Paris‘in Paris ,

’

or chez moi ‘

at my house ,’

chez toi (sg.)‘

at your house ,’chez nou s

‘

at our house ,’and chez vous (pl )

’

at your house ,’as complements .

See 542 , exercise .

I I I . On trouve tout co qu’on cherche [5 tRu :v tus k5 jeRj] means ,

literally , One finds everything that one looks for.

’ Make six othe r

combinations of this saying. Word for word, tout os que‘

all that

which’

;que is accusative .

IV . U se the whole present indicative of montrer [md'tRe]

‘

(to)Show

’

(conjugated like trouver) with six of the masculine nouns in

34 as direct Objects (accusative) and six proclitic datives 43, b),in turn , as indirect Objects. Order : nominative , dative , verb, accusative noun-object.

V . Use the whole present indicative of s ’approcher [sapRoje] (to)approach (conjugated like so priver, 43, b), with domoi [do mwa] ,do toi [do twa] , do nous [do nu] , do w as [do vu] , and do In table [dola tabl] , as complements . Note that here do moi Simply

‘me,

’do

toi Simply‘

you’

(or e tc .; for s’approcher requires do before

the fo llowing object.

Mode l : 11 s ’approche domoi.

LES PENSEES DE R I QUET 43

TROISIEME LECON

TI ARTICLES WITH DE AND A

44 Suite dos Pensées do Riquet, avec transcription phonétique , etc.

H on maitre me tiont'

chaud quand jo

[m5 meztR mo'

tje [0 kn 39

suis couché derrioro lui dans son fauteuil .

sqi kuje deRje'

R lui dd so fotoe :jEt cola vient do co qu

’il est un dieu .

e s(o)la vjé do s(o) kiletti dje

11 y a aussi devant la cheminée uno dalle

ilja O‘

SI d(o)vd la jomine yn dal

chaude . Cette dalle est divine

jozd set dal e divizn]Je parlo quand is veux . De la boucho

[39 part] kd 39 var d(o)la bujdumaitre il sprtaussidos sons quitormentdy me ztR il soza O

'

si do so.

ki foam

dos sens . Mais cos sons sont bien moins

do sd zs me so sd zs so bjé mwe

distincts quo coux que j’oxprimo par les

distakt ko so ko gekspRizmpaR lo

sons do ma voix . Dans ma bouche tout a85 d(o)ma vwa dd

(

ma buj tuta

nn sons . Dans cello du maitre,

il y a

m sd zs dd sol dy msztR ilja

beaucoup dovains bruits . Il est dificilo ot

boku d(o)vs q i ils difisil e

necessairo do deviner la pensée dumaitro.

neseseza dod(o)vino la pd zse dy meztR]

1

2

10

1 1

12

13

Mymasterkeepsme warmwhen I amlyingbehind himin his easy

-chair. And that

comes from the fact that he

is a god . here is also in

front of thgfimph ee awarmW e . That hearth;

stone is divine .

I speak when I wish to .

F rom the mouth of the

maste r there eome fe rth also

sounds which form meanings. But these meaningsare much less/distinct thanthose that I expre ss by the/sounds Of my voice . In mymouth everything has a

meaning. In that of themaste r the re are manym am

ingless noises. I t is difficult

and/necessary to guess the

thought of the master.

M ake tlzis translation

more idiomatic. N ote again

now tlze F renclz order ofword s dife rs f rom ours .

NOTES . (a) Even in the'formal ’ style of pronunciation [o] is almost or

quite inaudible in certain easy groups of consonants . (b) tiont is from tonir

vient is from venir veux is from vouloir sort

(line 7) is from sortir 225, f ), and ii sort, lit .'it comes forth ,

’ here sus

pend s the logical subj ect dos sons . (c) do co qu’il est means, word for

word, from that (pronoun) that (conj unction) he is,’etc . ; idiomatically,

‘from his being.

’

(d ) il y a means, word for word,'it th ere has.

’

44 DE +LE , LA ,LES PARTITIVE GROUPS

Q UERIES. What is qui, in line 7? and que (with two different value s),in line 9 ? Do you think that after reading this F rench passage th re e

times, aloud, you could exactly reproduce it with the help of th e translation ?

45 . Combinations of dowit}: the Definite Article

da son [dy so] of the sound do ls chose [do la of the thing

da harong [dy and] Of the herring do is hotto [do la at] of the baske tdo l’o uf [do lmf] of the egg do l’ile [do lizl] of the islanddo l’hbtol [do lbtel] of the hotel do l’herbe [do leab] of the grassdos sons [do so] of the sounds dos choses [do [oz ] of the thingsdos harengs [do and ] of the herrings dos hottes [do at] of the baske tsdos (sufs [doz e ] of the eggs dos ilos [dez izl] of the islandsdos hdtols [dozbtcl] of the hotels dos herbos [dez eab] of the herbs

a. RULE. F rom the above examples we derive the following ru leda (for do lo) and dos (for do les) are used before a noun exactly liketheir respective simple forms without do, that is, lo and les ; so do Is .

See the sixteen examples in 5 34.

To be more explicit, (a)before a masculine noun'

beginning with a con

sonant or so—called'aspirate h ,

’do lo becomes du and de los beco

‘

mes dos

[do];(b)before a masculine beginning with a vowel-symbol or a silent h

we get do l’

(sg.) or dos (pl.) [dos ] ;(c)before a consonant or'aspirate h ,

do ls remains do la;(d ) before a vowel-symbol or a silent h , do is becomesdo l’ . Verify.

REMARK . The simple rule in 45, a , and the explicit statement followingit , hold good for the combinations of the definite article with the propositionh to,

’ 'at,

’ in 47, though of course we ge t different sounds.

b. French has no special case-form for the genitive or posse ssive : labouche da maitre the mouth of the master ’ or the master’s mouth .

’

46 . Partitivo Groups . In De la bouche du maitre ii sort dos sons

qui torment dos sons (5 for us who analyze , do has three diffe rentvalues : from or out of,

’a possessive value (

‘

of the master and, as

combined with too, a'

pure ly partitive value in which the prepositionalforce of do is hardly felt. Thus J

’ai du pain [pi-i] means simply

‘I

have (some) bread,’the whole group da pain being the direct obje ct

PARTI’

I‘

IVE GROUPS. EXERCISE 45

of j’ai. SO dos sons 44, line the logical subject Of its clause ,

means Simply sounds,’and dos sens is the direct Object of torment .

I see islands ’= Jo vois [vwa] dos lies and not Jo vois ilos . So‘I f I

se e any islands’

Si jo vois dos iles .

U sed thus, dos ls virtually a kind of plural indefinite article : Nousavons un homard

,nous avons dos homards ; Ils ont dos harengs dans

dos hottes ;Tu as une hotte (dos hottes) dans lo hangar. Or we maysay that in titis f unction du ,

do l’,do la, and dos are virtually indefi

nite quantitative adjectives . In Jo parle da mettre the prepositional

value of do is clearly fe lt.

NOTE I . A hotte is a long, wide basket, hung from th e shoulders .

NOTE 2 . The omission Of the article in the partitive group do vains

bruits 44, line 1 2) will be explained in 53.

EXERCISE

Referring particularly to 44—46, translate the following

I . I have a dog. Have you any dogs ? 2 . Yes, we have (some)dogs. 3 . H ave the dogs (any) food ? (Use Est-co que.) 4. You (Tu)have many things in your basket . 5. H ave you any bread ? 6. Yes

,

I have some bread, a herring, and some eggs. 7. There is also a

lobster in the basket, and there are (again il y a) some lobsters in theshed . 8 . Where are the pears ? 9 . There are some pears on (our)the table in the hote l. 1 0. Where is M . Bergeret

’s dog ? I I . H e is

lying in an easy-chair behind his master. I 2 . M . Be rgeret, Rique t’s

master,always has (has always) easy-chairs in front of the fireplace ,

and there is always a book on his (as) table . I 3. M . Bergeret has

F rench books and he has English books ; M . Bergeret has manybooks. I 4. When M . Bergere t has thoughts he speaks to (h) Riquet.1 5. M . Be rgere t speaks to him and keeps him (lui) warm when theyare in M . Be rgeret

’s easy

-chair. I 6. Riquet is a dog, M . Bergeret isa god . 1 7. F rom M . Be rgeret

’s mouth there come forth sounds.

1 8 . These sounds have meanings, but these meanings are less distinctthan those that I express. 1 9 . In a dog

’

s mouth everything has a

meaning. 20. In that of a man In a man ’s) there are many

meaningless noises, 2 I . I t is difficult to guess my master’s thoughts.

46 A +LE ,LA , LES. ADDITIONAL EXERCISES

47. Combinations of bwith the Definite Article

su son [O so] an hsrong [o and ] h is chose [a la] h is hotte [a la]h l’o uf [a le af] h l’hbtol [a lbtel] h l’ilo [a lizl] h l’herbe [a lcab]aux sons [0 so] aux harongs [o and ] au choses [0] an: hottos [o at]aux mufs [oz e ] aux hotels [mind ] an: ilos [ozizl] aux bothoa [oz eRb]

a. These examples Show that an (for 1 lo) and an: (for h los) are

used in precise ly the same way as du (for do lo) and dos (for de les)e tc. See the rule in 545, a , and the more explicit statement followingit. The x of aux, when sounded in linking, becomes

NOTE . The x of aux is explained in the Remark at the end Of 31 , d.

I . Put the right combinations of i lo,la

,los before the sixteen

nouns in 34.

I I . The present indicative of Ofirir [ofRiIR] ,‘

(to)offer,’is conjugated

like that of trouver 43)j’ofiro [gofR], tu ofiros [ ty ofR], il ofire [ilofa], e tc.

Using these forms, and those of other verbs already given, translatethe following

I I I . I . We offer everything that we have to the hospital (l’hopital

2 . You offer everything that you have to the soldie rs (lessoldats [lo 3. They (m. and f ) offer everything that they

have to the children (les enfants 4. Those (Cos) men are

offering some bread and some herrings to the children .

IV . Vary Jo vous ofire un fauteuil so as to use all the pre sent

indicative , all the non-reflexive dative forms 43 , c), and the pluralof fautouil. In each case note the liaison.

48 THE GENERIC ARTICLE QUANTITATIVES

49 . The Generic Article . Nouns that stand without restric tio n for

a who le class or species. or for an abstraction, habitually require th e

definite article . Hence to hommes,les choses

,lo sommeil

, e tc .

REMARK . Note that dos hommes , dos chiens , dos maisons , dos arbres ,

following lo sommoil, are not generic but partitive Obse rv e th e

sligh t pause be twee n lo sommeil and dos hommos . Were there no pause ,

lo sommeil dos hommos would mean the sleep of men .

’

a. Number of tho Generic Noun . When a class or specie s com

prises many individuals , F rench (like English) generally pre fers the

plural, and Often the plural must be used in orde r to avoid ambig uity .

Thus we may say either Ls baloino est ones-mo [la balczn etenonm]‘

The whale is huge ,’

or Los baloinos sont énormes ‘Whales are h uge ,

’

both F rench groups requiring the article . As in English , the p lu ra lgenerally implies that the individuals falling under a given head d iffe rmore or less : Los hommes , les animaux , les piorros , grandissent on

s’approchant . Again , J ’aime les roses [3e zm lo Ro zz ],

‘I love ro se s

’

(all roses), is more colloquial than J’aimo ls rose

, and J’aime lo livre

[lizvx] could not be substituted , generically, for J’aimo

'

los livre s

I love books.

’

REMARKS. (a) J’étudio l’allemand [3e tydi lalma] means I

’m studying

German ,

’or possibly I

’m studying the German ’

(as a racial species , o r

the particular German that you and I have in mind). J’otudio los Allemand s

means ‘ I’m studying the Ge rmans

,

’and it can mean nothing e lse . (I f

personal, a substantive of nationality is capitaliz ed ;pure adjectives and non

personal common nouns, only by exception .) (b) Abstract nouns, like som

meil, are seldompluraliz ed;pluraliz ing divides the abstraction into Specimens

la laideur‘

(the) ugliness les laideurs‘the ugly characteristiss

’

b. The Efioct of Quantitative Words . The generic article is no t

used after quantitative words . H ence ,Lo pain est bon [lo p17: 8 be]

Bread is good ,’but Nous avons assez [asc] do pain We have enough

bread ,’trop [me] do pain

‘

too much bread,

’

be aucoup do pain plentyof bread,

’tant d’argent

‘

So much money,’si peu d’argent

‘So little

money,’etc. So L’

eau est indispensable [lo etédispdsa'bl]

‘Wate r is

indispensable ,’ but Cherchez -moiun vorre d’eau [joRje mwa c

'

eve-R do]

Get me a glass of water.

’

THE ARTICLE (CONTINUED). QUESTIONS 49

REMARK . In l’amour du beau‘the love of the beautiful,

’l’amour is

specific, whereas du beau (not partitive) is generic.

c. The Article before Predicate Nouns . A predicate nominative noun

following a generic plural is usually partitive : Est-cc que les perles

[peRl] sont dos pierres Are pearls stones ?’But the predicate

nominative is not partitive if the things named are identical : Losaflaires [aft-xx] sont les aflaires Business is business.

’

50. Questions . Q uestions which can be answered with‘

yes’or

‘no

’

are exemplified by Est-cc qu’il vient ? I s be coming ? ’ or Vient

il ? Other questions contain an interrogative pronoun ,adjec

tive,or adverb: Qui est lb Who ’

s there ?’

Quol livre avez -vous

Which (What) book have you ?’Oil sont les verros Where are the

glasses ? ’ on sont-ils Where are they ?’

a. The Type Parle- t-il Doe s he speak ?

’I S he speaking

A -t-elle Has she Verbs whose third person singu lar ends in a

vowe l-symbol or in a vowe l-sound (as il parlo, ello a) insert t [t] beforeil,elle

, and on .

REMARK . Until about four centuries ago, forms such as parle il and

a ello were general; the t now invariably inse rted, as exemplified above ,

was borrowed from those verbs which have it as part Of their inflectional

ending or otherwise , as grandit-ello [n ditel], vient-on [vjoto], est-il [stil],and vend~o n [vd to]

‘does one sell ?

’This insertion Of t illustrates the

influence of analogy .

b. The Type Est-cc que j e mange [mc

‘

ug] (‘Do I eat When

ever archaic or ugly forms would result from reversing (as they do inthe first person Singular, present indicative , of the first conjugationand of some others), interrogation may be expressed by Est

-cc que

or by a rising pitch .

REMARK . Though given as normal in many grammars, forms such as

Mango-je [md3sz3], Parlo-je [paRlez3], etc. are avoided even in writing ;

in conversation they are ridiculous . Other groups from other conjugations

might also be absurd, as Mons-is [moz3] for Est-co que je mons Do I

lie ?’

(cf. mango, imperative ,

50 ADJECTIVES IN —E . EXERC ISE

51 . Adjectives in -e (usually silent). These vary only by taking a to

agree with a plural : libre-s [lis ]‘

free ,’

utilo-s [ytil]‘

use ful,’e tc.

FOR TRANSLATION AND PRONUNCIATION

1 . I S thought free? Are men ’

s thoughts free? 2 . A dog ’s though ts

are free , and we have many thoughts. 3 . A man has thoughts wh e n

he speaks, but does he always speak (doe s he speak always) when h ehas a thought ? 4. The re are dogs that speak when you offe r th em

food . I speak when I wish to . 5. When sounds come out of (sortentdo) my mouth they form meanings. 6. These meanings are distinc t

and they are useful . 7. There are too many (trop do) meaningle ssnoises ; the re are noises whereve r we are

,and wherever I am I find

many temptations. 8 . Temptations are to be me t (find themse lve s)eve rywhe re , and they are enormous. 9 . I f my master tempts me I

succumb, for dogs always succumb(succumbalways) to their (leur- s)maste rs ’ temptations. 1 0. And men too ,

when they seek temptatio ns ,they always find them (find them always). I I . We find everyth ingthat we seek . 1 2 . I f a man seeks a temptation he always findsit. 1 3. Go ld (L

’or

,m. is indispensable and it tempts men .

14. Doe s it tempt dogs ? No (Non But food tempts us ; it

tempts us whe rever we are ;we find it indispensable , and men findit useful. 1 5. When an enemy is Spying upon us it is to take awayour (notre) food. 1 6. The enemy that Spies upon me when I ameating is swift to act (prompt) and full of wiles. 1 7. There are too

many enemies everywhere ; you find enemies wherever you are ; I

find them round about me . 1 8 . I see them in sleep, when I amlying on the warm hearthstone ; I see themwhen I am eating in th eSh ed behind the house I 9 . I f a dog approache s me when I ameating, it is to take away my food. 20 . Many animals are alway slooking for food . 2 1 . I always have enough food , for my maste r isgood , and he gives me (me donno) everything that I wish (You ).

’

FIN DES I ’ENSEES DE [H Q (JE T

CINQ U IEM E LECON

THE ARTICLES (CONTINiJED).'POSSESS IVE ADJECTIVES

52 Fin dos Pensées de Riquet, avec transcription phonétique , etc.

La vie d ’un chien est pleine do dangers .

[la vi dc‘

e jjc o d(o) dd'

3e

Et pour éviter la soufiranco, il faut voillor

e puaevite la sufRozs il fo

h touts houro, pendant les ropas , ot mémo

a tutceza lo Ropc e me 'm

pendant lo sommeil.lo somczj]

11 y a dos voitures que les chovaux trainont

[ilja do vwatyza k(o) lo j(o)vo tRezn

par les rues . Ellos sont terribles . 11 y a

part lo Ry cl so ilja

dos voitures quivont toutos soulos on soumantdo vwatyzx ki vo tut a sufld

tros fort . Ce llos-lbaussigout pleines d’inimi

tRe foza sella O'

si so dinimi

tio. Les hommos on haillons sont haissablos,tje lezom(z ) d G

'

jo so aisa°bl

ot coux aussi qui portont dos paniors out

e se o'

si ki pORt do panje syR

leur tote cu qui roulent dos tonneaux . Jo

lceR tczt u ki Ru'l do tono 3o

n’aime pas les enfants qui, so cherchant

,

nezm pa lez d 'fc‘

i ki so jeajc‘

i

so fuyant , cont ent of poussent do grands cris

so fqijd kuzR e pus do n kRi

dans les rues . Lo mondo est plein do choses

do lo Ry lo mod 8 p15 d(o) jo'

z

hostiles ot rodoutablos .

ostil o Roduta'bl]

1

2

10

1 1

12

1 3

14

15

The life of a dog is full

of g rils . And,to avoid

suffering, it is necessary

to be awake [i. e . vigi

every moment,duringW d even/during sleep.

There are carriages

which (the) horses drag/through the stree ts. They

are terrible . There are

carriages which [or, somecarriages] go all alone ,

breathin ve hard an

allusion to the

mobiles of about

They, too , are full of en

mity /(The)men in rags

are~hate ful, and those ,

also ,who carrybaske ts on

their heads [note E ngl.

pl. ] orwho roll _ _

I

don’t like (th e) children

who , chasing each other,

fleeing fromeach other

[ar , from one another],run M L Uit . utter

greatcries] in the stre ets .

The world is full of/hostile and formidable things .

NOTES . (a) With la vie and dos voitures,fem.

,we get pleine

-s ;with

Le monde we ge t plein . H ence, plein-s , masc . ;pleine

- s , fem. (b) Compare

chevaux , cheval, with animaux ,animal . “ Cellos- lb

,fem. dem. pronoun ,

52 PARTITIVES. THE POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE

pi. ; the masc . pl. , ceux ,to agree with hommes , occurs in line 10. (d ) Jo

n’aime pas shows the normal reinforcing negative particle pas . (e) In

line 1 2 , so is not reflexive but reciprocal : the children, as they play tag,

do not chase and run away from themse lves . (f ) Again it is recommended

that short, interesting passages, like this , be learned thoroughly, if no t by

heart. Read the F rench in 52 three or four times (the last, if possible .

without thinhing in English ): then , using only the English , try to re pro

duce the French c orrectly.

53 . The Typos J’ai dv pain and f at do ban pain. When an inde

te rminate noun is preceded by an adjective , ariy partitive group wh ichboth words form has no article : J’ai du pain I have (some) bre ad ,

’

but J'al do bon pain

‘

I have (some) good bread’

; so,in line 1 3 ,

do grands cris (not dos grands cris). See , however, 3 18, j Z

NOTE l . Furthermore , the article is not used be fore various indeterminate

nouns in prepositional phrases equivalent to an adjective or adverb. N o te

Les hommos en haillons, 52, line 9. Likewise , adverbially, vivro sans

amis to live without frie nds ,’so privor do nourriture

‘to deprive one se lf

of food,’

e tc. Note the group ploino do dangers , 52 , line l .

NOTE 2 . The negative particle pas has the same effect as, e .g. , asse z .

beaucoup, trop , and other pronominal adverbs, or as quantitative noun s .

e .g. nu verro do vin‘a glass of wine ,

’une tasso do cafe

‘

a cup of co ffe e,

’

etc . Jo n’ai pas do pain

‘I have no bread,

’

Tu n’as pas d

’amis You

have no friends.

’

The Possessive Adj ective ; its Fbrms and its Sounds

BEFORE A MASC. S I NG . SB. BEFORE A F EM . S I NG . SB .

mon pain [mo pé] my bread ma vie [ma vi] my lifemon hamac [moamak] my hammock ma hacho [ma aj ] my ax

mon’

hmi [monami] my friend mon’

hmie [monami] my friendmon

’

habit [monabi] my coat mon'

heure [monce za] my hour

RULE. (1 ) Be fore a masculine Singular use mon, noting that w h e n

linked [5] may be partly or wholly denasaliz ed but that it .gen e ra lly

keeps the quality (vowel-color) characte ristic of [o]. (2) Be fo re a

feminine Singular beginning with a vowe l (as amio or houro) use mon ;

before any other feminine Singu lar use ma. V erify this rule .

N'

OTRE ,N OS, VOTRE ,

VOS, LE UR , LE URS 53

a. Ton and ta‘

your’

son and so‘

his , her, its,’

Obey the

same rule as mon. (Write‘

his bread ,’ ‘

her hammock , her friend ,’

‘

your ax ,

’ ‘

your hour,’

b. Before any plural noun use mos , tes , ses , noting that we ge t

precise ly the same phone tic variation as with les‘

the’

Le s amis do mos amis sont mos amis My friends’friends are my friends

Voilh tos frores ot ta scour [sceza] There are your brothers and your Sister

Voici toutos sos petites amiss [potitz ami] Here are all he r little friends

c . Ordinarily, F rench distinguishes be tween‘his

’and

‘

hcr’

(son,

so,see) only by the context. Note that mon, ton,

son,or ma, ta, sa,

agree in gender and in numbe r with the thing possessed, not with

the possessor, but that the once pure ly mascu line forms mon, ton,son

must be used be fore all vowe ls : ta jolie amio ‘

your pretty friend,’

but ton amio.

d. The forms denoting more than one possessor do not distinguish

gende r :

notre fils [notRo fis] our son notre ile [notRizl] our islandnos fils [no fis] our sons nos ilos[noz izl] our islandsvotre Oncle [votRozkl] your uncle votre hache [votRo aj ] your axvos oncles [vozozkl] your uncles vos hachos [vo aj ] your axesleur lit [lceR Ii] their bed leur more [lceR meza] their motherlours lits [ICE R li] their beds leursmores [lceRmcza] theirmothers

NOTE . Whe ther vous is addressed to one pe rson or to more , its adjective is always votre or vos . Tu, always singular, requires ton, ta, tos .

e . Repetition . In F rench the possessive adjective and the articlemust be repeated be fore each of two or more succe ssive nouns : to

more ot ton pore‘your mothe r and (your) father,

’so la more ot lo

pore ; lours amis ou leurs onnomls ‘their friends or (their) foes,

’so

les amis ot les onnomls.

REMARK . One could no more say ta more at pore , or ton pore ot more ,than one could say

‘this man and boys.

’The repe tition of an identical

form, as in vos fils et vos filles [fizj]

‘

your sons and (your) daughte rs,’or

in mos chiens ot mes chevaux (both 111 . is due to the influence of

groups in which dzf erent forms are required through change of number

or of gender.

54 EXERCISES


I . Mode l : J’ai rogu ta réponse 5 ma lot tro [3c Rosy ta Repo:s a

ma letR]‘

I have received your reply to my letter.

’

Vary this mode l so as to use regu with the whole pre se nt indicative of avoir 38 , a), at the same time changing ‘

your reply to myle tter ’

to‘my reply to their letter (or e tc . Six reasonable

combinations .

Then, be fore réponso or réponsos (use both), insert aimable o r

aimables ‘obliging

’

5 making each posse ssive take the form

required be fore a vowe l 54, c).

I I . Mode l : Y a- t-il dos harongs dans ta.

(sa, votre) hotte ?‘A re

there any herrings in your (his, her, your) basket ?’

Consult 5 53, Note 2 , and Mode l I ; then answe r this varied que s

tion negative ly, using hottos as we ll as hotte, also panior Thre e

reasonable combinations.

I l l . M ode l : Votre jeuno ami a perdu touto as fortune et 11 n ’a

pas do parents [votRo 3oenami a peady tut sa foRtyzn e il na po do

paRd] Your young friend has lost his whole fortune and he h as

no re latives .

’

Vary this mode l bymaking jouno ami plural. Alter the rest to suit.

IV . Translate with two diffe rent possessives (as‘

his,

’ ‘he r,

’o r

‘

theirj’as we ll as ‘your this question :

‘I f your fathe r and moth er

are in Paris, where are your brothers and sisters ?’

V . Translate. 1 . In the stree ts there are horses that drag car

riages. 2 . All (the) carriages are terrible . 3. The streets are full o fdangers. 4. When I am in a stree t I see many hostile things. 5. I

do not like men who roll casks , and those who carry baske ts on

their heads are hateful . 6. Children who ye ll as they play tag 5 2 ,

lines 1 2 ,—13 ) are hateful, and a man in rags is always full of enmity.

7. A dog’

s life is full of dangers , even during meals and during Slee p .

V I . (F or classroom work only .) M ode l to be varied : J’Ouvro mon

livre ot jo luimontre tous'

les passages qui lo regardent . See 43 .

56 COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

NOTE 1 . The article preceding plus or moins is put in because it is

not always used, even be fore supe rlatives : C’ost tout co qu

’il y a do plus

simple‘Nothing could be more simple ,

’ ‘It is the simplest thing imagi

nable’

(wordf or word,

‘It is all that which it there has of most

NOTE 2 . Unlike English , F rench has no special f orms to differentiate

superlatives from comparatives, but safely depends on the context : uno plus

grands déception‘a greater disappointment,

’ ma plus grands déception‘my greatest disappointment .

’ When the adjec tive follows its noun, th e

superlative is marked by lo, la,los : mon ami lo plus fidolo

‘my most

faithful friend’

(or men plus fidole ami).

b. A few synthetic (i.s . one -word) forms are survivals of the Latin

comparative : Hanger est bon, avoir mangoest moillour (not plus bon ;see 48)

‘To eat is good , to have eaten is better

’

;but such forms

may also be superlative : ma moillouro idéo my best idea’

(or monidéo la moillouro);masc . meilleur-s ; fem. moillouro-s .

REMARKS. Moillour-o‘better,

’ ‘best,

’is the only accepted comparative

or superlative of bon, fem. bonno [bon]. Moindre-s [mwczdR] is give n as

the comparative or superlative of petit-o- s p(o)tit]‘Small

,

’but me ans

‘less,’ ‘least,

’e tc. , as in do moindre valour

‘of less worth ,

’sans la moindre

velour without the slighte st worth i.e . , unlike plus petit , plus petite , e tc . ,

moindre isu ut used of physical dimensions. Piro [plik ] is more emph atic

than plus mauvais-o [move , movezz ]‘worse , worst,

’and is more res tric ted .

Examples : mou piro ennemi ‘my worst enemy,’but not Is piro garo

‘the

worst railway station

NOTE . When a thing is compared with itself, only lo (here prope rlyneu ter ) precedes plus or mOins : C’ost vors ls soir que les roses sont lo

plus belles‘I t is toward evening that roses are most beautiful. ’

56 . Adverbs . Adverbs are compared like adjective s, but on ly w ithlo : vite [vit]

‘

quickly,’

plus vite‘more quickly,

’lo plus vite

most quickly’

; lentement [lo-tomo] slowly,

’ moins lentement 3m :slowly,

’lo moins lentement (the) least slow ly.

’Note the type s au s si

(vite) que as (.fast) as psu souvent‘

not ve ry often,

’do plus on plu s

vite‘

faste r and faster, plus plus

‘

the more the more,

’e tc .

NOTE . M ieux [mjo ]‘be tte r

,

’lo mieux ‘

(the) best ,’

bien but moins bien ‘less well

,

’ ‘no t so we ll

,

’

[pi] worse’

(cf . piro) is much less used than

wholly exclude s p lu s

is an everyday form ; p is

plus mal : mal ‘ill ’

LE M IEN ,LA M IENNE ,

ETC. QUESTIONS 57

‘badly ,’

plus mal, lo plus mal, moins mal, lo moins mal. Be fore various

adjectival past participles, mieux is commone r than plus : lo mieux connu

[kony] the be st-known ,

’la mieux connue , les mieux connus , lo mieux aimé

[19 mje z eme ]‘the most loved,

’e tc .

57 Examples of all tfze P ronomz’

nal Pan ama'

s/e F orms

leur ami et lo mien [la mjé ] lo mien their friend and mineas more et la mienne [la mjen] lamienne her mother and minemon frero et lo tion [is tjé] lo tion, my brother and yours

ma scour et la tionno [la tjen] la tienne my siste r and yours

votre frero et lo sien [19 sjé] lo sien your brother and his (hers)ta haine ot la sienne [la sjcn] la sienne your hatred and hers (his)son pore ot le n6tre [lo noztR] lo n6tre his father and ours

os rose et la n6tre [la no :tR] la n6tre her rose and ours

leur chien ot lo votre [lo voztR] lo v6tre their dog and yours

leur réponse et la votre [la voztR] la v6tre their answer and yours

mon oncle et le leur [la loent] lo leur my uncle and theirs

ma maison ot la leur [la loozn] la leur my house and theirs

NOTE 1 . The plural requires les and -s throughout : leurs amis et les,

miens, ma maison et les leurs , tos haines ot les siennes , e tc.

NOTE 2 . Note that the pronoun : n6tro, v6tre , and leur have long

vowe ls [o :] and [cm] ;whereas the adj ectives , unstressed proclitic forms ,have short vowels [o] and [cc ].

58 . The Type La nourriture est-elle bonne ? When the subject nominative of a question happens to be a demonstrative pronoun or a

noun,interrogation is commonly expressed as follows

La nourriture est-e lle bonne 1 Is the food good ?

Ton frere parlo-t- il anglais 2 Does yourbrother speak English ?

Answer :‘

yes’or

‘no

’

Order : noun ve rb pronoun. So, Cola

ost-il possible Is that possible ? No te thatbefore anglais and othernames

of languages the article , le , is not required after the one verbparler;it would

be required after any other verb: I l sait le chinois He knows Chinese .

’

Tout lomonde rit . Pourquoi cos 3 Everybody laughs. Why do

gens trouvent-ils cola si dr61e these people think that so funny ?Comment cotte difi culté est-e lle 4 How is that difficulty less great

moins grande que toutes les autres ? than any of the rest (all the others)?

Here the answer must be a sentence . Note pourquoi and comment .

5s EXERCISES

EXERCISES : POSSESSIVES AND QUESTIONS (WITH REVIEW)

(Est-co que is here temporarily ruled out, except when archaic groups

such as parlé—jo are to be avoided. See 50, 5. Also consult the various

F rench passages and paradigms in Lessons I to V,inclusive .)

I . 1 . Do stones become larger (grand when they are close upon

me ? 2 . When are they larger than a house ? 3 . When are they

largest ? 4. Do men and animals deprive themse lves of food ? 5. Do

I always remain of the same size ? or am I bigger (grand) when Ihave eaten ? 6. I s a lobster red (rouge) ? 7. When are lobstersreddest ? 8 . Why is a herring not so red as (less red than) a lobster ?

9 . Are books more necessary to men than to children ? 1 0. Are

books as necessary as food ? 1 1 . What book have you there ?

1 2 . The best of books (dos r3. I s it be tter than mine ?

14. Yes, it’s much be tter (far be tter) than yours . 1 5. ye ar—book

is the worst imaginable 55, Note 1 6 . There are no pearls in

your book , there are many pearls in mine . 1 7. I like things (leswhen I find them useful. 1 8 . My enemies are not use ful ; they are

the most terrible things imaginable 55, Note 1 9 . My enemies

are even worse than yours or than my master’

s (ceux do). 20 . Wh enis it nece ssary to be most vigilant (miller 2 1 . H ere is myanswer (Voici at every moment. 2 2 . When my maste r iskeeping me warm behind him in his easy

-chair,my worst enemy is

approaching. 23 . H e likes my food, for it is much be tter than his.

24. All dogs (Tous like meals (m.) that are be tter than th e irs .

25. The stree ts f .) are fu ll of dangers. In mine there are more

(plus do) children than in all the rest, and there are men who ro ll

casks . 26 . Those casks go very fast, even faster than the men w horoll them. 27. Why are men in rags the most hateful ? 28 . There are

dangers everywhere . 29 . I don’

t like the animals that drag carriag e s ,for they are hostile . 30. A dog

’s life is full of formidable things .

I I . (F or classroom work only .) M ode l ; 11 ofl'

re moins do ch osesa mon frore (a ma scour) qu

’au votre (qu

’a la votre) He Offe rsfewe r th ings to my brother (to my sister) than to yours .

’

See § 47, 11— 111 , and illustrate all the possible combinations o f aand the possessive pronoun . Comple te du mien,

do la tionno, e tc .

THE VERB—FORM S IN —A [ S,

—A[ T,10.

/vs, ETC: 59

SEPTIEME LEQON

FORMS FOR THE IMPERFECT OR PAST DESCRIPTIVE TENSE

59 . Tense-Values of these Forms . Without ceasing to de scribe an

act as some thing real or possible at a time called present, jo parlomay mean not only

‘

I speak ,’

but also ‘

I’m speaking,

’ ‘

I keepspeaking,

’e tc . By

‘

Accidents will happen’we often mean that

they happen inevitably from time to time . An act (or a state)may therefore be thought of as reeeatea

'

,or progzcmz

'

oo,or customary,

or gon zo]; in the present. This is true also of an act (or state)thought of as future or as past . For the past, F rench differentiates

tenses with particular accuracy. English has more forms , but‘

I

spoke’ may often be substituted for

‘I was speaking,

’ ‘I would

Speak , I kept Speaking,’

e tc .,without shocking our linguistic sense ,

and without notably changing the value of our tense .

REMARK . Similarly,‘

rmc/z does not consistently distinguish between

an event reaching from somewhere in the past to the present, or indefi

nitely past, and one which occurred within definite limits and absolutely.

Thus Jo lui ai parlé may often be replaced by Jo lui parlai‘I spoke to

him,

’or vice versa. See § 6 1 , Note 2 , and 7x.

60 Ex amples of tbc Imperfect or Part D esmjotz'

oe Tense

F orms. Group B

je parlais j ’etaistu parlais tu étais

il parlait on était

nous parlions nous étions

vous parliez vous étiez

ils parlaient elles étaiont

I spoke , e tc . I was, etc .

I was speaking, etc . I was being, e tc .

I used to speak, e tc . I used to be , etc .

I kept speaking, e tc . I would be , e tc .

I would speak (a Izaoz'

t), e tc . 63, Note)

j’avais

tu avais

ello avait

nous avions

vous aviez

ils avaient

I had, e tc .

I was having, etc .

I used to have , etc .

I would have , e tc.

637 Note)

CONFUSIONS OF NAMES AND FUNCTIONS

NOTE I . The conditional or f ast f uture (e .g. is parlersis I shouldspeak,

’tn parlorsis

‘

you would speak,’etc.) always ends in -rais , -rais,

-rsit, -rions , -rioz , -raient. The imperf ect or past descriptive ends thus

only when r happens to be part of the root or stem : titer‘

(to) pull’

gives

je tirais‘I was pulling

’

e tc .

Infiectional endings : -ais, wais , -ait , -ions , - isz , -aient .

NOTE 2 . These inflectional endings-ais e tc .) are alike for all F ronch

verbs . If we know one form of group B o f any verb, the five others are

obvious : j’apprenais a lire (

‘ I was learning to read’

) gives us nous appro

nions a lire e tc . so elle trouvait gives je trouvais etc . Note the stem in

each case .

REMARK. In grammars, these and other inflectional endings are often

displayed thus : is purl-sis, j’av-ais , j

’ét-als , e tc . Such typographical divi

sions conflict with the universal rules of syllabification ; natural (phone tic)divisions would be be tter indicated thus : par

-le is, a-vais, é—tais, etc. , or,

for a verb like jouor thus : jou-ais e tc . See 27.

61 . Terminology . As this group of forms in -ais e tc. may have

various time -values (meanings), none of the several names which

have been given to it can be always accurate . Other groups, present,

past, and future , may also express‘

imperfect’

acts or states ; and

other groups may be vividly‘

descriptive .

’

a. For example , Si is parlais , ello m’écoutorait (conditional of écouter)

may mean either‘I f I were talking [now ], she would listen to me ,

’or I f

I talked [to-marrow or at any f u ture time], she would listen to me .

’

Again, S’il mo tuait ? (

‘Suppose he should kill expresses an act

which is not only future but instantaneous ; therefore not‘imperfect ,

’

except as everything future is imperfect (imparfait not Again ,

if by‘descriptive

’we refer to any mental picture , the form était is no t

descriptive in , say, Cola était vrai (‘That was though the conditio n

that it reports is past . The term descriptive’necessarily varies in appro

priateness according to the degree of visibility that a given verbhappe ns to

attain .

b. A frequent and serious mistake which must be scrupulously avoided

is the confusing of a f orm (e .g . parlait) with the f unctions or meanings of

that form. To avoid this confusion,when we areme rely indicating a j am

and are not attempting to te ll what it may mean (according to the con te xt)we shall use five capital le tters (A B C D E ). The Six forms je parlo , tn

THE MEANINGS OF GROUP B 6 1

parles , e tc . ,belong to group A the six forms je parlais , tu parlais , e tc . ,

belong to group B . The groups C,and E will be considered later.

NOTE I . Past descriptive’ is a new name ;

‘imperfect’ is very old.

Each attempts to cover the functions of all forms exemplified by is parlais

e tc . (thousands of forms with various functions for each).

NOTE 2 . F rench grammarians have called the group of forms exempli

fied by j’ai parlé

‘I have spoken ,

’ ‘I have been speaking,

’or

‘I spoke

’

)le passe incléfini, whe reas the group exemplified by jo parlai e tc .

‘ I

spoke ,’at a definite moment or within known time -limits) is called le pass!

deffini. In living F rench , as spoken,

‘the past indefinite

’is habitually used

as a substitute for the past a’ef mite

’

; so that lopasse'

indeffini has at least

two very different meanings and there fore a misleading name .

62 M anings of tlze lmperfiet or Past D escriptive, i.e. ofGroup B (j e parlais, tu avais

,A Recommendation

A Recommendation . In translating or interpre ting any form he

longing to this group it will be we ll to test each of the Englishstyles given in 60, under the three paradigms . A good sense of

English idiom will usually enable you to decide which particu larstyle is both most grace ful and most accurate . Thus, too , and

for a student of F rench this is the truly re levant result, — you will

gradually acquire an understanding of the F rench forms so as to

use tlzem correctly, to distinguish them rigorously from other forms,e specially from the past absolute 65

—67) and from the compound

forms exemplified by j’ai trouvé

‘I found and jo suis venu

I came .

’Learn to think in F renclz as soon as possible .

NOTE . Wherever F rench expresses a given tense -meaning by a singleform

, as je parlais , English-speaking students almost invariably react’with

a single English form, as‘I spoke ,

’even though that single formmay be

unidiomatic and often clearly incorrect. Observe the difference between

He was speaking F rench’and He spoke (knew how to speak) French , ’

both 11 parlait frangais ;again,be tween He spoke when I came in ’

and‘He was speaking when I came in ,

’e tc .

‘He is (was) speaking’ has quite

as good a righ t to be regularly counted as a tense - form as has ‘I have

Spoken ’

(j’ai path?) or

‘I had spoken’

(j’avais parlo).

62 FURTHER EXAM PLES OF B—FORMS . EXERC I SES

63 . Some Contrasting Examples

Pendant que nous parlions tout 1 While we were talking, eve ry

lo monde est sorti. body went out.

Qusnd is suis revonu vous étiez 2 When I came home , you were

dans votre chambre . in your room.

Chaquo fois que tu parlais nu 3 Every time you spoke Englishglais tous les autres parlaient fran everybody else would speak F re nch :

cais, ils trouvaient ca dr61o. they thought that [was ] funny .

Quelques instants plus tard, lo 4,A few seconds later the boat

bateau étai amarré. was

On a amarré lo bateau amidi. 5 The boat was moored at noon .

NOTE .

‘To be

’can give

‘is being,

’ ‘was being,

’e tc . only whe n followed

by a participle ;we cannot say‘while you were being in your room.

’ We

had told Billy to be good ;so he was being good ismerely a play on wo rds. )

In‘I was having was lam/ing means

‘was experiencing.

’

EXERCISES

I . In Les Pensées fie Riquet (Si41 ) occur the present indicative fo rmstend

,va

,est , and succombe. The first person singular for th e past

descriptive (B ) for each of these forms is je tendais, j’allais , j’etais.

and je succombais . Write out the five remaining forms for each of

these ve rbs , then substitute in that passage a past descriptive (B )for each present tense (A), as needed. What is the resu lt ?

I I . Pursue the same course in the passage in § 44, no ting that

there we need jo tenais etc. for tient, je venais e tc. for vient

, je

voulais e tc . for je veux,il sortait e tc. for il sort

, je formais e tc .

for forment , j’exprimais e tc . for j

’oxprimo. I f you translate yo ur

result, see how you can vary your forms in conformity with 60

(translations) and 62 .

I I I . By reversing je trouvais, tu trouvais , e tc . we ge t trouvais- jo

[txu'

ve zg] (for the first singular commonly est- co que je trouv ais ),

trouvais- tu, e tc . Give the whole past de scriptive (B ) inte rrogativ e lv,

otherwise preserving the combinations in § 43 , a . So ,likewise

, for

Jo me prive, 43 , b. When written ,or as it is being written

, e ach

new combination should be pronounced .

64 TENSES IN MA sacwe HENR IETTA?

of a given event, or of several, as a unit. H e is not impressed bythe idea of repe tition or duration ;both the se are mere ly incidentalnotions when the ve rb doe s not happen to describe a single or an

instantaneous event. ExamplesOn répéta cola deux mille fois . 1 That was repeated 2000 timés.

Pendantdos sieclesRome domino 2 F or centuries Rome ruled the

lomonde . Son empirofut immense . world. Her empire was immense .

J’eus do Is chance cette fois . 3 I had (some) luck that time .

(In everyday F rench : a répété, a dominé, a été, j’ai on. See § 6 1 , N ote .)

66 . F urtlzer Examplesf rom M a Soeur H enriette , by

Ernest R enan (1 823— 1 892)A partir de cc moment, notre 1 Fromthatmoment [wordf orw ord

,

état fut la pauvreté . Mon frére ,‘W from that moment ’] ou r

quiavait dix-neuf ans, partit pour 3 condition was poverty. My bro the r,

Paris e t commenca dos lors ce tte who was nine teen years old, le ft for

vie do travail et do constante ap 5 Paris and began forthwith that life

plication qui no devait pas avoir of work and of constant application

toute sa recompense . Nous quit 7 which was not destined to be fu lly

tames Treguier, e t nous M d . We left Treguier ,

allames habiter Lannion, oil ma 9 and went to live at Lannion , [f ree1y ]more avait sa famille . the home of mymother

’s family .

(Continued in Lesson

NOTES . (a) The past absolute partit (line 3) is from the intransitiv e v e rb

partir (line I ). (b) commence (line 4) must have a cedilla to preserve th e

[3] board in all forms of commencer. (c) oil ma more avait sa famillo doe s

not mean exactly‘where my mother had her family.

’

67.

‘The past definite [or past absolute] tense lies wholly in th e

past. I t is the true past tense , and represents a looking backw a rd .

Tending to sum up and to give a comprehensive view,it implie s th at

the action was comple ted ,came to an end . The impe rfec t [p as t

descriptive] , on the othe r hand, leaves unse ttled the que stion of w h e n

and whethe r it was comple ted. The speaker take s the attitude O f an

onlooker, so that instead of a looking backward the imperfect re p re

sents a looking on .

’ 1

1 E . C . Armstrong, Sy n tax of M e F ren c/t Verb, 36.

‘t c

CE DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE 65

Note whether this statement 67) covers accurately the examples in 566.

The past absolute fut (line I ) refers to a definite period whose beginningis marked by A partir do co moment , and whose end occurred in the course

o f the various events which Ronan is narrating. We migh t almost translateth is fut by the paraphrase became and continued until such and such a

date to be ,’etc. The absolute tense -value of partit, commence , quittamos ,

and allimes is obvious : each happens to express an instantaneous act

which occurred at a known moment.On the other hand ,we do not know when Renan

’s brotherbecame nine teen

years old, nor when he ceased to be of that age ;hence , avait dix-neuf ans .

So for the form devait (group B of devoir)and the avait of avait ea famille .

A verbin group B commonly records one of t/re environing circumstances

underwhich some expressed or understood event definitely occurred, whether

repeated or not. A state is treated like an event.

68 . l e D emonstrative Aaj ective

Unless followed by -ci here or as there adverbial suffixes,the forms exemplified below may mean either

‘

this,

’ ‘

these ,’or

‘that

,

’

those,

’according to the context (co moment :

‘

this moment ’ or ‘

that

moment ’ ; co moment-ci only‘this moment ’ ;co moment- 1h only

that

BEFORE ANY MASCUL INE S INGULAR BEFORE ANY F EM I N INE SI NGULAR

co moment , comoment-ci, comoment-la cette dalle , cette dalle-ci (or - la)co harong [so and ] this h erring cette haine [set am] that hatredcot enfant [setd

'fd ] that child cette heuro [SetoezR] this hour

NOTE I . Before all plurals , cos : cos jours [so 3q ]‘these (those) days ,

’

cos harongs [so am]‘these (those) herrings ,

’

cos dalles-ci [se dal Si]‘these

slabs ,’cos houres [sez oezR], e tc . Compare cot enfant with co bon onfant .

Q UERIES. What are the four written forms of the demonstrative adjoetive ? What happens to co and to cette be fore an

‘aspirato h (Cf. 54, c .)

NOTE 2 . The neuter demonstrative pronoun co,‘this,

’ ‘that,

’ ‘it,

’ willbe considered further in 76—83.

a. Repetition. A Single demonstrative adjective cannot govern

more than one noun ; hence , co chien et co cheval,cos chiens et cos

chevaux ,cot homme et cet te femme , e tc . Cf. 54

b

66 GROUPS A—C OF PARLER . EXERC I SES

69 . R use-Groups A , B ,and C (J parler

A (PRESENT TENSE) B (PAST DEsc R IPTIVE)

is parl(o) -o is parl(ais) -ais

tu parl(os) -os tu parl(ais) -ais

il parl(e) -o on parl(ait) quit

nous parl(ons) -ons nous parl(ions) -ions

vous parl(ez) -oz vousoparl(ioz) -iez

elles parl(aient) -aient

ExERCISEs , INCLUDING A REVIEW

I . Group B for chorcher is je cherchais e tc. ;group C for montreris je montrai etc .

Vary the following mode l so as to use all Six forms of each ve rb,

also six suitable forms of the posse ssive adjective 54) and six

suitable forms of the possessive pronoun Mode l : Pendant

qu’ello cherchait ta lettre je luimontrai la mienne While she was

looking for your le tter I showed her mine .

’

(Datives as in 43, c).

11 . Je leur donnai tout ce que j’ave ls alors

‘

I gave them all

that I had then .

’

Vary this mode l so as to use all group C of donner, all group Bof avoir, all the datives in 43 , c, and each of the following Objects

tout co que [tusk]'all that

’

; tout lo pain que‘all the bread that

’

; tous

les mufs que‘all the eggs that

’

; toute l’eau que [tut lo ks ]

‘all the water

that’

; toutes les jolies chosos que all the pre tty things that.’

I I I . I llustrate all the forms of co with the Sixteen nouns in 34.

Q UERIES. In view of 59, 6 1—62 , and 65, could any of the verbs in

44correctly be made past absolute (C)? Experiment with parlai, voulus ,

sortit, etc . (cf. 44, Note b). What would result if in § 48 every A form

were replaced by a B form -

est by était, succede by succédait , voit by

voyait, etc ? What would result in § 48 if a C form were substituted in

each case On voit becoming On vit (cf. sortit and partit)? Could cor

rect f orms of the demonstrative adjective be reasonably substituted for the

definite article in the French of 41 and 44?

a Comparison

C (PAST ABSO LUTE)

is parl(ai) q ui

tu parI(as) -as

ello parl(a) -a

nous parl(amos) 4mes

vous parl(&tos) 4tes

ils parl(éront) -eront

ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES OF TENSE—FORMS 67

NEUV IEME LEcON

THE TYPES J’AI PARLE, I

’AVAIS PARLE, JE SUIS ARRI VE,

J ’ETAIS ARRI VE. FORMS OF PAST PARTICIPLES AND PURE

ADJECTIVES . THE NEUTER PRONOUN CE

70. Fin de l’extrait do Ma San aHenriette . Examples of Tenses .

(Ronan te lls how his siste r cared for him)

Le soir, en hiver, elle m’amenait

al’eglise sous son manteau ;c

’otait

pour moiune grande joie de foulerla neige ainsi abrité de toutes

parts .

2 s 2

Un jour, trouvant mos mouvements embarrasses, elle vit que je

cherchais timidement a dissimuler

le défaut d’un vétement use. Elle

pleura; la vue de ce pauvre enfant

destiné a la misére , avec d’autres

instincts, lui serra lo caeur. Elle

1

3

1 1

In the evening, in Winter, She

would‘

tgke me to church under

her cloak ; it was for me a great

joy to dread—the snow thus\sl_i_gl

gored on all Sides

One day, noticing an awkward

ness in my movements, She saw

that I was trying timidly to hide the

shabbiness Of a worn-out garment .

She wept ; the sigh t of that poor .

child, doomed to poverty, and other

instinctive feelings, made her heart

13 ache . She resolvedmand imposed upon herself

the task of filling up alone theabySi /

that our father’s evil fortune had

dug across our path [lit . before us].

résolut d’accopter lo combat de la

vie , e t s’imposa la tache de combler

a elle seule l’abime que la mau

vaise fortune do notre pore avait

creuSé devant nous.

1 5

17

NOTES. (a) Forms from group B are here strongly contrasted with

forms from group C : elle vit (from voit), je cherchais,Elle pleura, serra,

Elle resolut (from résoudre), s’imposa. (b) a elle soulo lit. by herself

alone’

; here elle is stressed . (c) lui serra lo cmur migh t be‘literally

’

translated clutclzed Iter (dative) tbe lzeart a regular construction .

71 . 00110u and Literary Usage . As indicated in Lessons V I I

and V I I I , the past abso lute (lo passé défini), i.e . group C,is gener

ally replaced ih everyday F rench by the compound group exemplifiedby j

’ai parlo(for je parlai), by j

’ai on (for j

’eus), by j

’ai été (for je

fus), etc .

68 TENSE—FORMS WITH A VG/R AND ETRE

LITERARY OR CONVERSAT IONAL PUREI .Y L ITERARY

Cesar s été assassins. 1 Céssr fut assassins.

Nous avons quitte Treguier et 2 Nous quittimosTreguier et nousnous sommesans. habiterLannion . slldmos habiter Lannion .

72. The Past Participle with avoir. Neither the gender nor the

number of the subject has any effect upon the formof the past parti

ciple following avoir : elles ont cherché, elle a été, nous avions quitté , e tc .

NOTE . With avoir the past participle varies from its Simplest form only

when preceded by an accusative object : la ville que nous avons quittée‘the city that we (have) le ft,

’les belles chosos que j

’ai trouvées the lovely

things that I (have) found,’les hommos et les femmes que tu as w e (inclu

sive form)‘the men and women you have seen (or e tc.

Groups A p p . and B p .p . wit}: avoir

J’si parlo, etc

‘I spoke’or (pres . pf.)

‘I have spoken

’

Tu as ou, e tc .

‘

you had,’ ‘

you got,’or (pres . pf.)

‘

you have had’

Elle s éte, etc .

‘she was

’or (pres . pf.)

‘she has been

’

Nous avons quitte, e tc .

‘we le ft

’or (pres. pf.)

‘we have left

’

Vous avez trouvé, e tc .

‘

you found’or (pres . pf.)

‘

you have found’

Elles ont cherché, e tc . they sought’or (pres. pf. )

‘they have sough t

731)ica

Forms

NOTE . Likewise , for group B on , j’avais trouvé

‘I had found ,

’e llo

avait été she had be en ,

’elles avaient parlé they had spoken ,

’e tc .

73 . Intransitive Past Participles with étre . Numerous intran sitiv e

verbs — cg . ontror dens‘

enter,’

roster a‘remain in or at

,

’

e tc .

form their compound tenses with etro. In every such case , the pas t

participle must vary like a pure adjective , to agree in gende r and

number with the subject. Examples

Groups A and B wit/z étre (cf . 427, b)

Je suis parti(e), e tc .

‘I went away’or

‘ I have gone away’

Tu es sorti(o), e tc .

‘

you went out’or

‘

you have gone out’

Elle est sortie , e tc .

‘sho went out

’or

‘she has gone out

’

Nous sommos allé(o)s , e tc .

‘we went

’or we have gone

’

Vous étiez tombé(e) or tombés or tombées , e tc .

‘

you had falle n

Ils étaient ontrés or elles étaient entrees , e tc .

‘they had ente re d ’E

pical

Forms

FORM S OF ADJECTIVES. CE , CE CI , CELA 69

NOTE I . As vous may be of either gender or of either number, the

past participle with vous may have any one of the four possible forms.

Jo and tu may be either masculine or feminine ; so nous .

NOTE 2 . Any pure adjective would Show the same variation of form

Je suis grand.or grande I am tall

’

; the refore , Tu es grand or grande , I I était

grand , Cola est trop grand That’s too big,

’Elle était tres grande , Nous sommes

grands or grandee , Vous étes grand or grande or grands or grandee .

NOTE 3. Nearly all past participles have four forms ; many pure

adjectives have only th ree (anglais , anglaise , anglaises,‘English

’

; heureux ,

heurouso,heureusos , Some have only two : libre(s), chic(s).

NOTE 4. In passive constructions the past participle varies as in 73.

74. Ce (co, This neuter demonstrative pronoun (not stressed)may stand for some thing vaw —

t when it precedes a re lative

pronoun,it almosti lw oeeurs mth some form of étre , either as

subject or as predicate nominative . Example s

Qui est cette dame C’est ma 1 Who is that lady ? I t’s my

smut . sister.

Qui sont cos gens-ll Ce sont 2 Who are those people ? They’re

dos étrangers, n’est-os pas Ce strangers (foreigners), aren

’t they ?

sont dos touristes, voila tout ce que They are tourists ; that’s all I

jo puis vous dire . Est-os assez can tell you . IS it enough ?

75 . Cea'

th is ,’sets or (more familiarly) pa that .

’ Within certain

limits (to be considered later), these stressed forms may be subjects

or objects of many verbs, but only in rare groups can they be imme

diately followed by re lative pronouns, as, for example , when C’est cs

[slight pause] que (qui, and possibly dont‘

Of which’

) Voilh os que

e tc . Normal groups are exemplified by Voilh co (Voilh colui) que je

chorch e‘That is what (That is the one) I

’m looking for,’e tc. C’est

ca (C’est semi- ls) [Slight pause] que je cherche is emphatic , and Tu as

cola (ca) que je chorche is not F rench .


I . M ode l : J ’avais quitté X. vers sopt heures du matin , soul (f.soulo); j

’étais arrivé (f . arrivée) a P . avant deux heures do l’epros

midi= ‘I had left X . about seven o

’clock in the morning, alone ; I

had reached P about two o’

clock in the afternoon.

’

70 EXERCISES

Vary this by using all group B p .p . of each verb ;also by changingthe adverbial phrases thus : nu peu avant trois heures [do pa awd

tRwazoezR]‘

a little before three o ’

clock’

;inquatre heures [katrt d em]‘

at four’

; vers cinq heures [sékcem]‘

about five’

; our lee six

[syR lo sis]‘

about Six’

;un peu aprés huit heures et demie [apRc

qitoe'

Redemi] Shortly after half past eight.’

I I . (For oral work.) The feminine of lo premier‘

the first’is In

premiere [la pROi m] lo dernier‘the last ’ gives la derniere .

Elle est sortie la premiere‘

She was the first to go out.’

Vary thismode l by substituting vous (either gender, either numbe r),and use all four forms Of each adjective .

I I I . Mode l : Nous les avons vus (or vuos), mais nous no leur avons

jamais parlé‘We

’

ve seen them(we saw them), but we have ne ver

Spoken (we neve r Spoke) to them.

’

(Why either meaning ? See 7

Consult 43 ; then change each pronoun so as to use all groupA of) . of each verb.

IV . Using the two different styles exemplified in § 71 , trans late‘You went to Paris ;my fathe r and mother remained at Lannion .

’

V . (F or oral work.) Noting that N’est-cc pas [nespo] is mere ly

an unemphatic way of saying N’est-cc pas vrai ? I sn

’

t it true ?’

‘I sn

’t that translate the following

I . Who were those people that we saw at V itry ? those two men

and that lady ? 2 . They were tourists, weren’t they

?3 . They we re

foreigners, that is all that I can te ll you. 4. Wasn’

t it (A or B )English that they were talking ? 5. You '

are studying English , aren’t

you? 6 . No , my friend, what I am studying is (again use cc)German .

7. When I was nine te en (years old), I spoke English a little , but Ihave forgotten (oublier) a]l that I learned (again Ap .p , wit}: appris).8 . We forge t a good many things, don

’

t we ?

Q UER IES . (a) Th e only nouns in 70 whose gender is not revealed by

the context are h iver égliso and instincts What establish e sthe gender in all other cases ? (b)Why both lo and la in lo combat do lavie ? (c)What does co stand for in line 2 ? (d )What forms of the demonstrative pronoun have we me t in 44and 52 ? and how are they used ?

72 CE BEFORE RELATIVE CLAUSES

a. RULE. Re lative clause s of the type illustrated in example 3require a co que to introduce the appositive clause , and explanatoryclauses following a si-clause must begin with a c

’est que, c

’otait que,

or the like , as in example 4REMARK . In explanations, c

’ost is general whatever the tense of the

verb following quo, and c’otait could hardly be correct if the following

verbwere a true past absolute (any form fromgroup C). Examples : C’ost

n que j’ai vu (j

’avais vu, but possibly C

’otait u que is voyais , etc . ;

not C’était u que jo vis also C’est 1a que j’si vu ,

not,C’était 1a

que j’ai vu .

79 . Ce before Relative Clauses . With a few exceptions, no verb

except etro can be joined to co unless a re lative clause intervenes.

Therefore for Co me tente we must substitute Coci (Cola) me tente‘This (That) tempts me ,

’whereas Ce que vous m’

ofirez me tents

‘What you offer me tempts me’is correct. Cf, 8 1—82 .

80. me Types C’est ici C

’cst Id

C’ost ici lo lieu do precisor. 1 H ere is the place to be precise .

La fourmi n’ost pas prétouso, 2 The ant is not given to lending;

c’est 1a son moindre défaut . tlzat is the least of her faults .

RULE. When a predicate substantive is to be emphatically localiz ed ,as here , cool and cola are Split , the suffix ci becoming ici while labecomes Ih.

REMARK .

_

Ceci est Io lien, or pmest son moindre défaut,maximto make ceci and

“ .

cola true substitutes for the nouns (lo) lieu and (son

moindre) défaut. Compare voici and voilawith c’est ici and c

’est ll .

fill/

W u

81 . Ceci and Cola (Co) as Subj ects, Obj ects, etc.

Coci est vrai,cola est faux . 1 This is true , that is false .

Est-os bien vrai cola (9a) 2 IS tlzat really true ?

Cola(Ca)m’etoune . Le crois-tu? 3 That astonishes me . Do you

Tu crois 9a ? believe it ? You believe that ?

Omission of the Sufixes -ciand421. Cociand cola (ca)maybe the sub

jects or objects of verbs , or the objects of prepositions (do ceci, pou r

cela, ormaybe modified by tout (tout ceci, tout cola) but neithe r

one of , CEox , cu m, ca ms, ETC. 73

can be followed by an inserted re lative clause , hence Ce que tu annonces

(or Go que tu m’annonces u) m

’etoune‘What you announce aston

ishes me ,’not Cola que tu e tc . This rule applies to colui-ci etc .

, 82 .

82. Celui, Ceux, Celle, Cellos, Celui-ci, etc.

Celui qui parlait est fou. 1 The one whowas talkingis crazy.

Vos plumes (f ) sont meilleures 2 Your pens are be tter than these ,

que ce llos-oi, mais oil sont ce llos but where are those that you

que vous m’avez montréos hier showed me yesterday ?

Forms : masc . sg. colui;masc. pl. ceux ; fem. cello, cellos .

Omission of the Sufixes - ci and 46. These demonstratives maystand for any definite person or thing. They may be subjects or ob

jects ;but -ci or as must not be free ly added immediate ly be fore a

re lative or prepositional complement. H ence J ’aime mieux cellos-3h‘

I prefer those ,’Cellos- la sont bonnes

,C’est colui-ci This is the

but coux qui, cello que , colui do Jean John ’s cellos sur la table,etc.

NOTE I . Voila colui que j ’aime , ‘T[zere is (or Tbat is) the one I like , ’

illustrates normal usage . Ceux - lamemo qui lo savent l’ont nié, The very

pe rsons who know it have denied it,’is also normal because méme is ln

sorted be fore qui.

NOTE 2 . The forms -ci and as make the pronoun strongly demonstra

tive ; there fore they are seldom needed after co, colui, e tc . if some descriptive phrase , as qui parlait , do Jean, etc .

, shows plainly where the speaker is

directing his though ts.

NOTE 3.

‘The one , that one ,

’ ‘the ones,

’e tc . When these forms are

employed as in Note 2,the F rench equivalent is never l’un, l

’une , nor les

uns,les unos (though these forms are used as pronouns), but colui, cello, etc.

83 . Ce quiand cc que in Indirect Questions .

‘What do you think ? ’

Que pensez -vous but indirect questions require es que, co qui

(dem. rel.)Vous demandez co que is penso. You ask what I think. I ask you

Jo vous demande os qui est arrive. what has happened.

NOTE on quoi. This interrogative adjective meaning‘Which or

‘What has four forms : quoi homme ? what (which)man ?’ masc .

sg. ;quollo femme‘what (which) woman ?

’fern . sg. ; quels hommes

quelles femmes

EXERC ISES

EXERCISES

Using voici and voila as we ll as c’est ici and c

’est la

translate1 . This is our tenth lesson. 2 . I t is in this lesson f .) that we

study co, ceci, cola or 9a, and that we find also colui,cello

, ooux ,cellos,

e tc. 3 . In order to understand (Pour comprendre) all these formsit is necessary to be wide -awake every instant. 4. In the first le ssonwe studied (group A p.p .) lo, Ia, les. 5. And it was (c

’est) there,

also , that we found a F rench text with a phonetic transcription and

a translation. 6. I t was in the se cond lesson that we saw how do and

5 (these are prepositions) [pRepozis ] combine (so combiner) with loand les. 7. That is not difficult. 8 . In that lesson one finds c

’est.

This c‘ost combines co with a form of em (de fire). 1 0. Co

is called 55 near beginning) a pronom démonstratif neutre.

1 1 . There are (not voila1) four forms Of this pronoun. 1 2 . Whatare these four forms ? 1 3. What are those that we find for the

démonstratif masculin and for the démonstratif féminin ? 14. How

do these (m.) express their plural (pluriel) ? I 5. Has this (m.) alwaysan s 1 6. I f you look for demonstrative pronouns in the third

lesson, what demonstrative pronouns do you find there (y)‘tlzose

that I express’

(c’est-h-dire : les sons),

‘

in tlzat of the master ’ (thatis to say,

‘in his 1 7. The re you

~

have also :‘

And that

comes from the fact that he is a god .

’

1 8 . In the fifth lesson one

finds,‘They

,too , are full of enmity

’

(that is to say,‘the

1 9 .

‘That

’is a feminine demonstrative . 20. M en in rags are hate ful ,

and likewise those who carry baske ts on their heads.

’2 1 . I s the re a

- Ih (uh dd) after this pronoun ? I ask what you have seen , what we

have studied, in l e l ouglzts of Riquet. 2 2 . Are the pronouns in

the fourth lesson more difficult than those that you find in this ?

23. ” are are more difficult. That is what I think (use Voilh).24. Which lessons are the most hate ful, those that are full Of pronouns, or all the others ? 25. F or me , the one that I have studied

least ; tlzat is the worst of all (toutes).

THE VERB—FORM S I N ETC .

'

75

ONZIEME LEQON

THE FUTURE TENSE : GROUP D

84 Paradigmsf romparler, étre, and avoir

is parlerai [paRlaRe ] is sorai [saRe ] j’aurai [ORe] r-ai

tu parleras tu soras tu auras r-as

on parlors [paRloRa] elle sera [SSRa] cola aura [DRa] r-a

nous parlerons nous sorons nous aurons r-ons

vous parlerez vous serez vous aurez r-oz

elles parloront ils seront ils auront

I Shall Speak, e tc . I Shall be , etc . I Shall have , etc.

NOTE I . The inflectional endings for the f u ture tense (group D ), for

all verbs, are simply the six forms of the present indicative (group A ) of

avoir 38 , a), fromwhich the unstressed element av has been dropped

je parler-ai, tu parler-as , il parlor-a , nous parlor vous parlor

ils parler-out . Group I) is formed, therefore , by adding group A of avoir

(without its av to an infinitive . For Group D ,we shall regard as inflec

tional endings e tc .

NOTE 2 . For étro and avoir group 1) happens to show abnormal stems ;for nearly all other verbs group 1) can be formed easily if we know the

infinitive . For further explanations see 394.

85 . Oui, mon colonel » (illustrating futurity in various forms)

En 1 741 [i.e . dix-sept cent qua 1 In I 74I , a F rench army, com

rante e t un], une armée francaise , manded by Colonel Chevert, had

commandée par lo colonel Che 3 invaded Bohemia and was be

vert, avait envahi la Bohéme e t sieging Prague . Chevert, having

assiégeait Prague . Chevert, ayant 5 noticed an ill-de fended point, re

remarqué un endroit mal défendu , solved to capture this fortified city

résolut de s’emparer de la place 7 by surprise . He c am -together

par surprise . I ] réunit les sergents the sergeants of a regiment of

d’un régiment do grenadiers, ot 9 grenadiers, and

, turning to one

s’adressant a l

’un d

’eux , il lui of them

, said tO‘

him : Pascal,

dit : Pascal, tu vas prendre une 1 1 you’re going to take a ladder and

échelle , tu grimperas sur la mu you will climb the wall.’ ‘Yes ,

raille . Oui, mon colonel. La 13 colonel.’ ‘The sentine l will cry,

76 THE NAME AND FUNCTIONS OF GROUP D

sentinelle criera Qui vive ? Tu l o goes tbere ? You will not

no répondras point.— Oui, mon 15 reply.

’ ‘Yes, colonel.’

He will

colonel. — Elle tirera sur toi. fire at you .

’ ‘Yos, colonel.’ ‘He

Oui, mon colonel. Elle to man 17 will miss you .

’ ‘c , colonel.

’

quera.- Oui, mon colonel. — Tu

‘You will kill him.

’ ‘Yes , colonel.

’

la tueras . Oui, mon colonel. 19‘And I shall be there to support

Et je suis la pour te soutenir. you .

’

Pascal grimpe sur lo rempart. 21 Pascal climbs upon the ram

La sentinello tire sur lui et lo part. The sentinelfires at himand

manque . Pascal la tue , e t les Fran 23 misses him. Pascal kills him, and

cais entrent dans la ville . the F rench enter the City.

NOTES . (a) En 1741 [a dis so so kaRd zteé ]. (b) la Bohémo [bOem].

After do,‘of,

’ ‘from,

’lo and la are omitted before names of countries in

most old groups : lo roi do Bohémo‘the king Of Bohemia,

’

is suis venu de

F rance‘I have come from France .

’After on,

‘in,

’ ‘to ,

’ ‘into ,’the art icle

is always omitted be fore names of countries : on Italio, but pour l’Italie ,

e tc . Note Is colonel, the article be fore a title . (c) réunit (from reunir) and

dit (from diro), as f orms , may belong either to group A or to group C.

Possibly this may be the present of vivid narration , a style often used in

everyday conversation, and Often not purely for vividness but to avoid

either the cumbrous repe tition of A p .p . or Obsolete forms (C). (d ) l’un

d ’eux . Here Io has little or no meaning ;it is used (but not colloquially) to

avoid the hiatus ofanu d ’oux , which is the colloquial form. (e)mou colonel.

An English-speaking soldier may say,

‘Yes, colonel,

’or Simply Yes, sir

’

;

French subordinates must use mon, except to sergeants and corporals.

86 . The Name of Group D. Group D , called‘

the Future Tense ,’

habitually expresses true futurity, whatever else it may express.

REMARK . The future tense -

group of standard English is formed with‘shall ’ and

‘will.

’AS these two auxiliaries not only vary according to the

grammatical person , but change and exchange their meanings according to

circumstances, our English future is extremely complicated . The F rench

future group is simpler in its formation, but it too may express various

degrees of obligation , willingness , desire , etc . 85, 88 ;also

a. Meanings of Group D. In 85, criera tirera

andmanquera express pure futurity, whereas grimperas, répondras, and

tueras [ty'

Ra] (also tu vas prondro) express both prophecy and com

mand. In line 20 we find a form from group A (je suis u) used

LOGICAL FUTURITY. THE FUTURE PERFECT 77

to express futurity as if futurity were present. Thus this passage

contains three ways, all of them frequent, of expressing futurity .

NOTE . In group A , allot has these forms : is vais (cf. tu vas,

il va (elle va, va- t-elle , nous allons , vous alloz , ils vont (elles vont).

Allor is a very irregular verb;its future is j ’irai, tu ires , e tc .

b. Si and Logical Futurity . M eaning strictly ‘if

’

(not‘

whe ther

Si cannot be followed by any future verb-form; under other circum

stance s (contrary to everyday English usage) F rench subordinate

clauses require group D whenever true futurity is to be expressed

Pendant que (Aussitbt que , 1 While (As soon as, When) youQuand) vous serez la

,écrivez -moi. are there , write to me .

Tu y restores tent que tu vou 2 You may (Shall) remain there

dre s, tu leur diras co qu’il to pleira. as long as you (shall) desire , you

may tell themwhatever you like .

. NOTES. La is a stressed adverb of place ;y is an unstressed adverb of

place , as in il y e . Observe their respective positions. The forms voudras

and plaira are from the irregular verbs vouloir and plaire , but are perfectly

regular in tlzeir own group (D). What, therefore , are the five other forms

for each ?

87. The rule in 86, b, applies to the f utureperfect (group D p .p .)

Quand tu auras fini ton livre , When you (shall) have finished

nous on parlerons . your book, we’ll talk about it.

NOTES. Group Dp .p . is formed precisely like groups A p .p . and B p .p .

72 Like y [i], on [d] is an unstressed adverb, Often pronominal.

Note its position .

EXERCISES (INCLUDING REVIEW)

I . Mode l : Leur en parlors-belle ? Will she talk to themabout it ? ’

Very this question by using all group D and the other forms of

the dative 43 , b).

I I . M ode l : Jo n’

y serai pas event onze heures .[avc‘

i fizzoem]‘I

shall not be there before e leven o’

clock .

’

(Before onze avoid linking.)Noting the t of parlera- t-elle

,also y (here proclitic), vary this

mode l by using all group D and vary the adverbial complement

(event onze heures) as indicated for Mode l I on page 69 ;but use

78 EXERC ISES

also une heuro‘one O

’clock ,

’dix heures [dizce ze ]

‘

ten o’clock ,

’neuf

heures [nevozzR] nine o’clock ,

’and mit ‘midnight. ’

I I I . Mode l : Nous aIlAmes habiter Lannion.

See § 86, a ,Note ;then translate :

‘

Are you going to live in Paris ?Where are your father and mother going to live ? I am going to

remain at home (chez my father and mother are going to (on )I taly 85, Notes), and my Sister is going to (i) Rouen

IV . Mode l : Tent qu’elle no sore pas rentrée tu n’apprendras rien

Until she has (Shall have) re turned (home)you will not learn anyth ing.

Translate : Until I (we , they) have re turned, we Shall (you will,

they will) learn nothing (or not learn

V . (Oral work, in class.) Group A Of savoir‘

(to) know ,

’ ‘be

aware ,’ has je suis [se], tu seis [SS], 11 suit [so], with the regu lar

plural forms nous sevens,vous savez , ils savent .

Mode l : Jo no sale (pas) s’il répondra ; also Tu sais qu

’ollo n

’a

pas répondu.

ADDITIONAL EXERCISE

Aventure d’un cambrioleur [avdtym do‘

é kobRioloem]‘Adventure of a Burglar

’

(Co héros évite l’argot , il parlo plutbt comme un livre

I . 1 . Having found a house where there were (il y manythings that lie admired, a burglar who had little money reso lved to

take posse ssion (s’emparer) of those that he liked best. 2 . His father

and mother likewise had little money, and they were accustomed to

accept whatever he offe red them. 3. There are people who alwayssuccumb to temptations, but that was the least of their faults.

I 1 . aving spied very often upon the movements of the masterof that house (busine ss is business), our hero was sure that he

(colui- IA) was never at home after ten o’clock in the evening.

2 . There are many people in this world who are never at homeat that hour - lh).

80 M ISPLACED FUTUR ITY. D WITH RELATIVES

tenit gives jo (tu) tions , il tiont , nous tonons [t9n5], vous tonoz , ils tiennent

[tjen]. See note (c). This tions is 2d p. sg. imperative . (f ) vaut (line I 3) is

from the irregular verbvaloir‘

(to) be worth’

note mieux .

Q UERY . How otherwise might we interpre t Que foroz -vous do moi ?

REMARK . Our shall’

some times corresponds not to one of the endings -ai,

-ss , e tc . (D), but to some of various independent auxiliaries , as devoir,‘

(to)be obliged to ,

’ ‘

(to) have to ,’e tc . , or vouloir que

‘

(to) desire that,’etc . Our

will’often expresses true volition too emphatically to allow using group D

He can come , but he will not (come)’

I l pout venir, mais ii no vout pas .

89 . Misplaced Futurity . Group D habitually expresses real futurity, whe ther it happens to express at the same time various degrees

of desire , or not . Occasionally it expresses what may be calledmisplaced/umritySi ello no vient pas, c

’ost qu

’ollo 1 If She hasn

’t come , the reason

sore me ledo . must be that she is ill.

0. Group D p .p . may express a surmise as to some thingpast

Oh estmon revolver [Revolvezx] ? 2 Where is my revolver ? Can it

L'aura-t-ou caché quelque part have been hidden somewhere ?

REMARK . In English too (se ldom in the U .S .) one may h ear e .g . How

many miles will it be from here to in some parts of Great Britain

even e .g. That tree will be an oak,won

’t it ?

’

This misplaced future is due to a transference of the logical future of a

v erbwlziclz is not expressed to a ve rbwhich is logically either pre sent o r

past. Paraphrase thus :‘She hasn

’

t come ; we Shall probably discove r

[tlzis v erb not expressed ] that She is ill.’Again ,

‘Shall I learn that some

one has concealed it ?

b. Group D in Relative Clauses . Contrary to ordinary Englishusage , but in accordance with 86

,b,re lative clauses require

group D or group D p .p .,if their verb is logically future

Ce monsieur [m9sje ] to donnora 3 This gentleman'will give yo u

tout os que tu mériteras . all that you (Shall) deserve .

Cos messieurs [mesje ] empor 4 These gentlemen will carry O ff

teront tout co qu’ila auront pu whateve r th ey may h av e

trouver. Correlatively : I ls dispa been able to find . Correlativ e ly

raitront aussi vite qu’ile pourront They will disappear as fast as

(D of pouvoir). they can .

SUMMARY OF NEGATIVES. EXERCISE 8 1

90. A B rief Summary of M gatives

Try to understand all these farms without thinking in English .

Non . Exs . : Non, monsieur. Non, non. I n contrasts : Moi non. M ore

colloquially : Pas moi.

Pas . Exs . : Jo no parlo pas . Jo n’aipas d

’amis . C’ost délicieux

,n’ost-os

pas Jo ris pour no pas plouror. Tu l’aimos Pas du tout !

(‘Not at

Point (more emplzatic titan pas , but usually not colloquial). Ex . : Tu

no répondras point.

Personne . Exs. : Jo no vois personne . Personne l Personne n’est n .

Rion . Exs. : Il n’y a tion. Rion n

’ost plus vrai. Rion ! Tu ne

'

t ’in

téressos a tion.

Jamais . Exs . : Jo no les rencontro jamais . Jemaie l Jo n’ai jamais

d’argont . Jo no vois jamais personne .

Ne with que‘only.

’Exs . : Jo n

’admiro que lui (

‘I admire only

Cola n’ost que trop vrai. Tu no parles que do 9a ! N ote lzow tlzis que

supplements no.

Plus . Exs . : Jo n’

y vais plus . Jo n’on parlerai plus jamais . Personno

n’on parlors plus . 11 n’a plus (

‘no longer any

’

) d’argont ;but I] n

’a pas

plus d’argent que toi.

EXERCISE

(In review of various se ctions . Se e e spe cially th e passage s in 70, 85, and 88)

I . 1 . The burglar finds two of his friends, and here is what he

says to them : 2 .

‘Benoit and Béta, we are lucky. 3. I have found

a house which is full of pretty things. 4. Benoit, you (tu) like books ;

you shall have a good book . 5. Bota, you (tu) prefer (like better) a

good meal;you shall have it, all that you can eat 6. For

me there will be something too . 7. Everybody will thus have (havethus) a reward.

’

I I . 1 . While the hero of this adventure f .) and his two friendsare approaching that ill-defended point of which (dont) we have

Spoken , where is the gentleman who goes out every evening beforeten o

’

clock ? 2 . Has he possibly remained (simply D p .p .) at home ?

I I I . I My friends ,’

says the burglar,‘life is full of dangers ; it

’s

necessary to avoid them 2 . Gentlemen like this one don ’

t like

82 EXERCISES

men in rags , and they don’t like those who enter their house s while

they are in (on) bed. 3. You will remain outside (dehors). 4. A s it

(ll) is now e leven o’

clock , the gentleman will have gone out. 5 . H is

dog will be in the Shed . 6. So long as he remains there (y) , th e rewill be little danger, and when the gentleman re turns we Sha ll havedeparted (partir) with all that we have been able to carry off. 7. I f

he returns too soon tot) you will find a ladder and you w illclimb over the wall. 8 . While I am at work (D of travaillor), youcan (D) remain hidden unde r the trees . 9 . There you will be sh e ltered on every side and you will be my sentine ls. 1 0. I f some

stranger approaches, I Shall be there to support you . 1 I . I have

a revolve t .

’

(He shows it.)‘I will fire , and I shall not miss . I ne ve r

miss a man when I fire at him. 1 2 . The enemy will have no revo lve r.

People (On) never carry revolve rs when they (on) go to good (to the

good) cafés.

’

ADDITIONAL EXERCISE

(F or sigh t-work ;based on 88)

1 . Where did the fisherman catch his fish ? 2 . H e caught them in

a little stream. 3. They were (5 74) young carp. 4. One of them

said to him ‘

Are you going to eat us ?’

5. Yes,’said the fishe rman ,

‘

each (checun-e) of you will make me a good mouthful . ’ 6.

‘I f you

throw us back into the water we shall grow (grandir we shallbecome big carp if you don

’t eat us now .

’

7.

‘I prefer my carp

when they are young,’said the fisherman. 8 .

‘What is more important (important) is 78) that if I do not eat you now you will

perhaps be no longer here (lb) when I return . 9 . No , my littlefriends,

’said he ,

‘now that (que) I have you in my not

, you are

going to remain there ;but you will soon arrive (arrive soon biontbt)at my house , and I shall give you to my wife (fomme, who will

put you into her frying-

pan .

’1 0. As this fisherman never lied

(mont he gave all the little carp to his wife , and a few (quelques)moments later they found themse lves (B ) in the frying-

pan . I I Everything passes in this world ;all things pass and succeed one another.

84 THE F UNCTIONS OF GROUPS E AND E R P

94. Group E as a Tense (Past of the Future , or Past

H ere either group (B or E p .p .) always depe nds upon,or is associ

ated with , a main verb in a past tense . The main verb is u sual ly‘

thought,’ ‘

be lieved,’ ‘

hoped, said,’or the like

Cos gens déclarbrent (or avaient Those people declared (h ad de

déclaré) qu’ils at rivoraiont avant elated) that they would arrive be fo re

moi ot qu’ils seraiont déje topattis me and that they would already have

event mon arrives . started off again before my arrival.

Originally : Nous artivorons event vous ot nous sorons déja repartis

avant votre arrives

95 . The Conditional (i.e . Group E) as a Mood. Here the condi

tional, true to its name , occurs (1 ) in the conclusion of a sentence

whose premise is contrary to fact or assumed as dubious ;or (2) it.

is

used in dubious assertion or dubious inquiry.

0. Conditions without The premise is commonly a si-c lause ,but it may be expressed otherwise or may be mere ly imagined

Sans eux (moi, lui) tn chorche 1 But for them (me , him) you

rate encore co criminal. would still be looking for that

criminal.

II no faut mémo pas chuchoter, 2 We mustn’t even whim

on pourrait nous entendre . might be overheard .

Au moment oh tn perdrais ta 3 The instantyou lostyourposition

place tout setait flni pour toi. everything would be ove r for you.

b. Conditions with Si. In the premise , living F rench usually hasa form from group B or group B p .p . after si

‘

if’: at jo parlais , si

j’avais parlo, etc. In the conclusion (the main clause), it habitually

uses a true conditional form (E ) to express a present or f uture con

elusion that follows if we assume the untrue or dubious promise to

be true . F or the past we usually find group E p .p .

Si cette dame savait lo francais 4 I f this lady knew French she

elle pourrait vous comprendre . could understand you . (B u t slic

doesn’t l)

Si cette dame avait en lo fran 5 If that lady had known F rench

pals ello aurait pu vous comprondro. she could have understood you .

TH E FUNCT IONS OF GROUPS E AND E R P . 85

c. Example in which nothing but a probability can,

be involved

Si ello vene it domainto trouve 6 I f she came (should come) to

rait-ello chez toi morrow would She find ybu in ?

d. In doubtful assertions or doubtful inquiries the conditional isfrequent

Lo comte serait malado dis- jo. 7 Can the count be ill ?’said I .

D’apresmou journal, la personne 8 Accordingmmyn eyvspaper, the

qui aurait ompoisonné lo médocin, pe rsonalleged-

to‘

have poisoned theco serait sa propre bonno. doctor labia—own servant.

NOTE . I t is unnecessary to repeat the explanation in 89, Remark.

96 Examples to be studied before

D’

ordinaire , j’aurais pu entrer 1

par la cave . Cola n’

aurait dérangé

personne . Q uelqu’un roderait-il 3

dans l’

obscurité ? Si . loI

cambrio

leur avait trébuché sur l’un dos 5

meubles du salon serait-i] tombé ?

Et Si la fidele domestique qui 7

soignait son maitre avait entendu

quelque bruit eu rez -de -chaussée 9

[Re d(9) jos e ] aurait-elle couru en

haut de l’escalier ?

11 y avait Si peu do bruit qu’on

aurait pu entendre voler une 13

mouche .

1

A une personne moins intelli 15

gente , tout cc zele pourrait sembler

excessif. Evidemment. Oil serait la 17

difficulté do trouver une autre place ?

Personne no serait forcé d’exécuter 19

un ordre comme colui- la. Personne .

Heureusement, ce tte brave 21

femme songeait a ses gages

presque autant qu’a la maladie de 23

son maitre .

1 vole: to fly;une mouche a fly.

undertaking t/ze Ex ercises

Ordinarily, I could have got in

through thW hat wouldn’t

have disturbed"anyone . Might

somebody be prowling in the darkness ? I f the M ad stumbled

on one of the pieces of rug-

pmin the parlor would he have fallen ?

And if the faithful servant who

was caring for her master had

heard some noi on the ound

floor would Showdru gg ed the stairs ?There was so little noise that

you could have heard a pin drop.

To a less intelligent person , all

this (that)g al migh t seem exces

sive . Evidently. Why Should it beso difficult to find another place ?

No one would be forced to carryout an order like that. Nobody.

Fortunately , this excellent wo

man was thinking of her pay ai

most as much as of her master’sillness .

86 EXERCISES

EXERCISES

I . 1 . Two or three days before the arrival of our three criminals,the gentleman who ordinarily would have been at his cafe

'

at that

hour as) had fallen ill. 2 . H e found himself (B) forced to

remain in bed , so weak (tenement faiblo) that he couldn ’

t have

killed a fly. 3. His doctor had told him (dative) that there wouldbe little danger, but that he must not (devait) leave his room so longas he should be ill. 4. Fortunate ly, he would have that exce llentservant always near him (pres do she would take care of him.

5. To the servant the doctor had said that nobody must disturb his

patient (malado ;bere substantive), nobody l that the slightest noise

might easily (bien) carry him off. 6.

‘I f it is necessary to talk said

he,

‘

you will tells in as low tones as possible (aussi has que

I I . A less inte lligent person might have forgotten that le sson,

but this servant know we ll that if her master died (mour she wouldbe forced to seek another position , and evidently the doctor knewthat he would lose a patient if this one departed for some other world.

I I I . 1 . When the burglar arrived with his two friends (Shortlybe fore e leven o

’

clock in the evening) no one was visible (visible) ;the house seemed empty (vide). 2 . But that faithful servant wasawake and She was carrying out the doctor

’

s orders with a

z eal that might have seemed excessive if the case (lo ces) had not

been so grave (grave), for he r as we ll as for him, also for her

master. 3. When, the refore (done), She heard (entendit) a noise

which came (B ), evidently, from the ground floor, She hastened

(courut) to the top of the stairs and listened . 4. Somebody was

prowling in the darkness. 5. She knew (B ) that it must be (redevait etre) a criminal. 6. She know also that if he stumbled over

some piece of furniture , that would make a (for noise , and that if

there were the slightest noise everything might be over.

IV . Additional Ex ercise. Give all group E for so réveiller,to

awake .

’See 9 1 and use the complements in I and I I , pages 69 -

70.

88 EXPRESSIONS OF OBLIGATION

100. Expressing Obligation . Originally, like our forms with shall ’

and should ’

infinitive, groups .D and E expressed obligation : word

for word , is parlerai (je parler ai) meant I have to Speak ,’

and j e

parler (av)ais (je parler aais) meant I had [prospective ly] to speak .

’

This idea is now expressed rather by the group avoir a infinitive

(j'ai a parler, j

'avais a parler), or by je dois parler

‘I must speak ,

’

‘

I am to Speak ,’

je devait parler‘

I was to speak ,’e tc . ; yet th e

original meaning of each group still appears, as already illustrated fo rgroup D 86, a), and as it will now be exemplified for group E

VAi.mERRE .— Tu as supposé que V . You have assumed that this

cc monsieur allait épouser ta fille ? gentleman was going to marry your

(l lcre allait épouser=épouserait .) daughter ?

BRumo L .— J

’

en suis stir. l’our B . l amsure of it. Why shouldn ’

t

quoine l’épouserait

-il pas ? he marry her ? (not‘Why wouldn ’

t

(a gnol et safille, I I , 67 he ?

Similarly with no negative : Pourquoi l’épousorait-il (but also nor

mally Pourquoi deva it-il, or doit-il, l

’épouser

101 . Various Examples of tile Conditional

F romLe Ro w The D ream,

’

a poe tic nove l by Emile Z ola (1840

a repre sentative of th e naturalistic school,’l’ecole naturalists .

Oh ! cc que je voudrais, cc 1 ‘Oh , what I should like , what

que je voudrais, cc serait d’

épouser I should like , would be to wed a

un prince . Un prince que je 3 prince— a prince whom I should

n’aurais jamais vu, qui viendrait never have seen,

1 who would come

un soir, au jour tombant, me 5 some evening, at the fall of day,

prendre par lamain et m’emmener to take me by the hand and lead

dans u h palais . [Je voudrais] 7 me away to a palace . [ I should

Des chevaux que j’entendrais hen like] horses which I should hear

nir sous mes fenetres, des pierre 9 neighing undermywindows, gems

ries dont le fiot ruissel'

grait surmes streaming upon my knees , gold, a

genoux , de l’or

, une pluie , un déluge 1 1 rain,a deluge of gold, which should

d’or, qui tomberait de mes deux fall from both my hands as soon

mains des que je les ouvrirais 13 as I should open them

1 More colloquially :‘whom I had neve r se en

’

;but note what such an'I

had’would mean. See comment

E—FORMS IN RELATIVE CLAUSES. EXERCISE 89

COMMENTS. (a) In each is voudrais the conditional makes the desire

less positively asse rtive : a je veux (group A ) would mean‘I wish

’

(almost,‘must a is voudrai (group 0 ) would mean ‘

I shall wish’

(and Shall

fully expect to have). The premise , not expressed, we migh t supply thus

Si mon revs pouvait se réaliser, ce que je voudrais, ce serait‘If my

dream could come true , what I should like would be but the speaker(Angelique) is merely imagining. (o) For the negatived conditional que is

n’antais jamais vu le t us substitute th e positive formque j

’

aurais vu‘

whom

I should have seen ,

’and it will then be evident that we can supply a reason

able premise , as‘if he had appeared,

’ ‘in case such a prince should have

appeared .

’ Again, the prince would come , il viendrait (qui viendrait), ifM ere were such a prince , but there isn

’.t (e) 1f Angéhque had the horses (she

has not, and never will have them), they would be heard, elle les entendrait ,

neighing under her windows, e tc . (a’

) But j’ouvrirais is purely a tense , a

future Shifted back into the past : une pluie d ’or tombera (group D ) de mesdeux mains des que je les ouvrirai(group D);une pluie d

’or tomberait (group

E ) do mes deux mains dés que je les ouvrirais (group E ). See 86,e.

102. Contrary to everyday English usage , F rench require s the‘conditional ’ in a re lative or other subordinate clause when the main

clause contains a ‘conditional ’ and both verbs really express the same

tense , unless the subordinate clause begins with si‘

if.’

Je dink,tout ce que je voudrais 1 I should say whatever I wished

(not voulais), tout cc qui me sem to (Should wish to), whatever

blerait (not semblait) justifié. seemed (should seem) warranted .

Vous trouveriez alors ce dont 2 You would find th en what you

vous auriez besoin . Vous retoume~ needed (lit . that of which you

riez 1 Paris dés que (quand) votre should have need). You’

d re turn

travail serait dui. (go back) to Paris as soon as

(when) your work was done .

But Si ces gens avaient étudié davantage ils auraient appris que la terre

n’est pas plate

‘I f those people had studied more they would have learned

that the earth is not flat.’

EXERCISE

I . r . The man, the criminal , comes out of the parlor and enters

the hall (lo corridor). 2 . There he stumbles upon a chair (une chaise),but fortunate ly it does not fall . 3 . The servant does not he sitate .

4.

‘Who is it ? ’ she whispers (whispers she). 5. I s it you? ’ (vous).

go EXERCISES

6. Yes,’whispers the,

burglar. 7. How did you get in? ’ I got in

through the ce llar.

’

(I n ear/z care, group A p .p .) 8 .

"Through the

cellar ? — Oh l then you will go out by the same road (chemin,

9 . Sb! (Chut l), somebody mighlittle noise) that one might haveout and that faithful servant returns to her easy-chair.

I I . 1 . I f she had not been so faithful to the doctor’

s orders, who

knows what might have happened ? 2 . So many things happen in

this world ! 3 . Without the shadow (ombre) of a doubt (un doute)her master could not have returned to his café ; for he was so weak

that the slightest noise 55, 5) would have killed him,and that

excellent servant would perhaps still be seeking (E) a place . 4. The

doctor, evidently, would have lost (perdu) a patient, and he wouldnot have thought that very funny (5 for he needed all his

patients, and as for (quant h) the servant, She would perhaps not

have found the place that she would have de se rved, for one doe s not

find everything that one seeks.

I I I . 1 . As for Beta and Benoit, the former (celui-lh) did not get

(564) his booh ,-and the latter (“ lui-oi) did not get his meal. 2 . Un

bon tions vaut mieux que deux ta l’

auras .

ORAL WORK ON LESSONS XIII AND XIV

1 . Even if (though) you should become a big carp you should gointo the frying-

pan. 2 . I might Speak, but you wouldn’

t listen to me .

3. Even though you Should speak F rench to that lady she cou ldn’tunderstand you ,

for she is as deaf as a fish (pot). 4. The instant you

arrived I should leave for Paris . 5. But for you ,I should have that

money. 6. According to your newspaper, that doctor was poisoned.

7. I had ’supposed that you were to marry his daughter. 8 . Why

shou ldn’

t I marry her ? 9 . In case I should go to I taly , send me a

post-card.

92 THE FUNCTIONS OF GROUPS B P J’. AND C R P .

105 . After apres que , aussitbt que , sitdt que , des que‘

as soon as,

’

and afte r quand or lorsque when or whenever,’

group B p .p . (j’avais

parlé, j’etais venu) is correct if repeated action is to be expressed :

Je me levais (B) tous les jours 1 I was accustomed to rise early

de bonne heuro pour travailler. every day to work . As soon as - I

Aussitdt que j’avais écrit (B p .p .) 3 had written a few pages I wou ld

quelques pages, is sortais (B );dés go out ; as soon as I had re turne d

que j ’etais revenu (B p .p) , is d6 5 I would breakfast ; then,when my

jeunais (B);puis , quand mes visi visitors had departed, I would re

tours étaient partis (B p .p) , je 7 sume my work. At the end of tw o

reprenais (1?)mon travail. Au bout years it was done .

do deux ans,il étan

'

figi. 9

REMARK . Evidently, group B has expressed here , with the past par

ticiple (B p .p) , what it expresses when alone , repe tition , but with th e

added fact of comple tion , and each B p .p . group describes an act which

immediately preceded another act. Note that il fut finl would express an

affin il était fini expresses a result.

a. Group B p .p . may also de scribe a single activity, but not as

immediate ly or causally preceding some other single activity

Dix ans apres que vous l’aviez Ten years after you had se en

vu 1 Madrid , nous l’avons rencontré him at Madrid we met him at

(purely boobistzly ,nous le rencon Rome .

trflmes) 31 Rome .

REMARK . Here the speaker feels no causal connection , no close time

relation ,be tween the two events . I t would be incorrect to say, e . g. , Apres

qu’elle avait mis son chapeau, nous sommes sortis (or nous sortimes).

'

b. I f the re is but one anterior activity, after apres que e tc. it

requires group Cp .p . (or A 2p .p .) in order to be marked as preced

ing another activity

Je me levai (C ) de bonne heure pour travailler. Aussitfit que j ’eus écrit

(Cp .p .) quelques pages , is Sortis (C);des que is file revenu (Cp . je

déjeunai; puis, quand mes visiteurs intent partis (Cp . is repris (C)mon travail . (N ote caref ully wizat lzas been substituted .)

106 . When Eith er B p .p . or C p .p . is Allowable . A few centuries

ago , group Cp .p .

'

was constantly used where B p .p. is now habitual

THE FUNCTIONS OF GROUPS B P J ’. AND C R P . 93

A qui ot (eut) il parlé ? (‘

TO whom had he spoken now,A qui

avait- il parlé Also , A qui avoit (avait) il parlé We find a sur

vival of that fluctuation be tween B and C after a peine que and

with certain other adverbial conjunctive groups

A peine ce livre avait-i] (or 1 Hardly had this book appeared

eut-il) paru, qua son auteur le when its author disavowed it.

désavoua.

Elle n’avait (or n

’eut) pas en 2 She had not ye t utte red a syl

core prononcé une sy llabe que tout lable , when everybody recogniz ed

ls monde la reconnut (from C of her.

reconnaitre).

Nous n’étions (ne fumes) pas 3 We had hardly arrived when

plut0t¢M vés que la guerre éclata . the war broke out.

a. C p.p . in Main Clauses . An act which the context definite lytimes may be expressed by either B p .p . or Cp .p . without

.

the con

junction que

Oumoment, is Is perdis do w e , 4

mais is l’eus (or is l’ai eu) vite

J’avais (or j ’eus) vite finide lire 5

cette lettre .

Tout cela était (or fut) arrive en 6

une minute .

NOTE . Group .

A 2 p .p . (is l’ai eu vite rattrapé) will be considered

in 5 I I I .

EXERCISES

I . 1 . As soon as I had finished my work I would Spend (passer, B )an hour, often two , at my brother

’s . 2 . Afte r he had read the four

o r five pages that I had written p .p .,

if he had told me that myideas were we ll expressed (often they had been expre ssed ve ry ill) Iwould return home

,lunch (dejeuner , B), and study (B) until (jusqu

’e)Six o

’

clock . 3 . My two sisters,who had come to Paris with me and

had already begun their studies (études , f ) at the Sorbonne had

many ideas like (comme) my brother’s and like mine . 4. Whenever

they had found some thing that interested them they would talk to us

F or an instant I lost Sight of

him,but I had quickly overtaken

him.

I did not take long to read that

le tter.

All that had happened in a

minute .

94 EXERC ISES

about it (nous en 5. That life was full of agree able things ;we had never had so many joys when we we re living in H avre .

I I . 1 . When Pascal had found a ladder he climbed the wall at theill-defended point which his colone l had showed to him. 2 . The

co lone l (as we have read e lsewhere)‘ had resolved (resolu) to take

possession of Prague by surprise . 3 . H e had told (dit) this grenadie rthat he would find a sentine l on the rampart, that the sentine l wo u ldcry Who goes there ?

’and that as soon as he had utte red th e se

three syllable s he would fire . 4. Hardly had Pascal appeared at the

top of the wall when the sentine l saw (vit) him and fired, but he

missed him. 5. I t was (A or C) then that our grenadier carried ou t

the order which he had received . 6. Even if that sentine l had no t

seen Pascal (E p. he would have been killed, for Pascal hadalways be en swift to act when he knew that he was in (se +B ofsavoir en) danger or had some order to carry out

I I I . For perdre to lose ,’

group C has je perdis , tu perdis , il perdit ,nous perdimes , vous perdites , ils perdirent . (Note the circumflex

accent.)Without abbreviating, vary the first example in 1 06, a ,

so as to

use the five remaining forms of each verb-group, changifig the

accusative pronoun suitably each time .

IV .

‘I had told her that I would (or should) speak to them abou t

it en parler) as soon as they had arrived.

’

Translate this ; then vary your translation by using five other forms

of the nominative and five other forms of the dative,making a

reasonable combination in each case .

V . Aussitbt qu’il m’

eut vu il s’en alla comme le vent . Je n

’eurais

pas pu ls rattraper , quand meme j’aurais eu le chemin aussi bien que

lui.‘

As soon as he had seen me he went off like the wind. I

couldn ’t have overtaken him even if I had known the road as

we ll as he .

’

Vary this by using only the plural of each group.

1 I n such a case is is usual l’avons In.

C

96 THE INDICATIVE OF A VOIR AND Ema:

The‘first conjugation,

’here exemplified by parler, contains se ve ral

thousand verbs. This is the living conjugation , that which is con s tan tly

being increased by modern ideas : téléphoner.

The conjugation in -ir, exemplified in 132 by anir, contains a few

hundred verbs, to which very few have recently bee n added .

The truly dead conjugations , exemplified by avoir, recevoir‘

(to) re ce iv e ,’

vendre‘

(to) sell,’and by all other verbs whose infinitive does not e nd in - e r

or in -ir, do not contain more than a hundred verbs, not counting de riva tives .

108 . Avoir (f ormin «wt : ayant Simple Groups

A j’

ai, tu as, on a, nous avons, vous avez , ces dames ont.

B j’

avais, tu avais, e lle avait, nous avions, vous aviez , elles avaie n t .

C : j’

eus, tu eus, on eut, nous eOmes, vous e lites, mes amis eurent .

I) : j’aurai, tu auras , ca aura, nous aurons, vous aurez , ils auront.

E : j’

antais, tu aurais, il aurait, nous aurions, vous auriez , ils auraie n t.

REMARK . Tense -values generally the same as for parler and many o th e r

verbs. Note that Je l’autai may mean

‘I Shall ge t it,

’that Si is l

’ai may

mean If I get it,’e tc . , the acquisition being the first and the active phase

of possession .

109 . Etre (formin -ant .

' étant=‘

being’

;cf . 1 Simple Groups

A je suis, tu es, e lle est, nous sommes, vous etes, ils sont.

B : j’

étais, tu é tais , cela était, nous étions, vous étiez , elles étaien t.

C je fus, tu fus, quelqu’un fut, nous f0mes, vous ffites, ils fure nt.

D je serai, tu se ras , on sera, nous serons, vous se rez , ces gens seront.

E : je serais, tu serais,il serait, nous serious, vous seriez , ils seraien t .

REMARKS . U sually étre is me rely a link-word ; that is, like‘to be ’ it

usually has a complement : Mon ami est w lzat is be .9

F or English-speaking persons , at all events, étre is perhaps more liable

than any othe r French verb to be difficult to use correctly in regard to its

tense s ; probably because it almost never expresse s action . Compare I l

chantait with He was singing’

; then compare 11 était blessé‘H e was

wounded’

(a wounded man) with 11 fut blessé‘H e was -wounded

’

(at a

certain moment h e received a wound ; this was not a condition ,but an a ct ).

See 59 and 65. Note that in I I fut blessé we have the past absolute

tense with the passive voice ;whe reas 11 fut venu is the‘Second past per

fect,’ls passe antérieur. ll fut venu is in th e same tense as 11 out été blessé .

A Vom AND ETRE AS AUX ILIARY VERBS 97

Compound Groups

110. Avoir as an Auxiliary . By adding to any of the thirty Simpleforms in 1 08— 1 09 a suitable past participle , transitive or intransi

tive,we get thirty compound forms in which the participle always

keeps its Simplest form unless preceded by a plural“

or feminine

accusative object. Example s :

A p .p . J’ai parlé

‘I have spoken ,

’I’ve been speaking,

’or

‘I spoke

’

;

Elle a couru‘She has run

’or

‘She ran

’

; Nous y avons été ‘We’ve

been there’or

‘We were there’

; Vous les avez vu(e)s‘You have seen

th em’or

‘You saw them’

; e tc . See 71—72

B p .p . J’avais parlé

‘I had Spoken,

I had been speaking’

;Nous

avions couru‘We had run

,We had been running

’

; Tu l’avais com

prise‘You had understood her

’

; e tc . See I O5— 106.

Cp .p . Une fois , lorsque je lui eus parlé de ya, il Once , when

I’d spoken to him of that, he Elle m’

eut vite compris‘She had

soon understood me ’

; e tc. Se e I O5, b, and 106.

D p .p . Je les aurai fini(e)s avant 9a‘I Shall have finished them

before that’

;Elle aura couru‘She

’ll have run ,

’ ‘She must have been

running e tc. See 87, 89 .

E p .p . Je ne l’aurais pas dit‘I shouldn

’t have said it,

’e tc . See

92—95. (H ere

‘should does not express the idea of duty or obligation .)

111 . Group A By combining two past participles with any

form of A we ge t the somewhat rare ye t colloquial group A 2 p .p‘the compound past anterior

’

(le plus-que—parfait surcomposé)Aussitfit que tout le monde on a 1 As soon as everybody had gone

été sorti, j’

y suis entré(e). out, I went in.

pa qu’elle a eu dine, nous avons 2 As soon as she had dined, we

fait nos adieux et nous sommes said our good-bys and departed.

parti(e)s .

1 12. Etre as an Auxiliary . The thirty (or, more accurate ly, twentyseven) simple forms of étre 1 09) may likewise be combined with

the past participles of various intransitive verbs of motion , the par

ticiple varying according to the number and gender of the subject

J’

y suis allé(e)= I have gone there ,’I went there

’

;Tu étais

98 EXERCI SE

arrivé(e) You had arrived I! était entré H e had entered

Elle était morte = ‘

She had died’

; 11 M t mort = ‘H e was dead

’

;

Nous étions partl(e)s We had departed Vous étiez

You had remained Elles étaient tombées They ’d fallen etc .

A SM ARY EXERCISE ON THE TENSE-GROUPS

(Use bo th A p .p . and C)

I . Your brother is speaking of China 333, ex . 6 and b), isn’t h e ?

Yes, he was born there 2 . Have you read his book ? Ye s ,L

m (A p .p .) when I was at Dinard. 3. Had Jeanne finished he rwork when you came ? 4. She had already finished it when I le ft,at ten o

’clock. 5. She was going to her brother’s at four o

’

clock ,but when I returned she hadn

’

t ye t arrived. 6. She’ll probably (pro

bablement) go this evening to her sister’s.

8 . According to our friend the doctor, she is

9; I f she were really (vraiment) pre tty, who knows what might

happen ! 1 0. I came (A p .p .) here before you , and I haven’

t ye t

seen a single (une seule) pretty woman. 1 1 . Would that gentlemanhave married Brignol’s daughter even if She hadn

’

t had a sou ?

(B p .p . or E p .p . ; see 1 2 . Oh, I’m su re of it. 1 3. Why

shouldn’t he have married her 14. I s it money that one

marries? 1 5. Why do you ask that ? 1 6. That is something (unechose)which will interest you more (davantage)when we have learnedwhy you did not stay (remain) at Rouen your business was goingso we ll ! I 7. I should have stayed there (y), perhaps, if one of mymen hadn ’

t fallen ill. 1 8 . But for him, I might have found the'

work

too difficult. 1 9. I came away, therefore , this morning, as soon as I

had said (A 2 p my good-bys to four or five friends. 20. Whendid you arrive here ? 2 1 . An hour after everybody had brb

’

akfasted ,

andivlien everybody had gone out.

SUGGESTION . As the only sure way of becoming familiar with forms isto practice on them in many different combinations , it would be ,

well to

write out and pronounce a goodmanymore sentences. Any of our Lessons,

from I to XV I , will provide models enough .

100 PREPOSITIONS AND RELA TIVES. DONT

qui, es que,‘

that which'

(usually, See the example s in 1 13

and these :

Qu’est-os qu

’il lit, cet enfant 11 What is it that he reads , that child ?

lit ce qui lui plait . He reads what he likes .

115 . Prepositions] Groups . Following a preposition , qui usuallyre fers to persons : l

’homme contre qui‘

the man against whom,

’

e tc .

Of the lower animals, use lequel (variable ; 1 2 les renards contre

lesquels . Of things, lequel (or oil ; 1 20) is required .

1 16 . Duquel etc. The definite article varie s be fore quel(s), m

quelle(s), f as e lsewhere : duquel, desquel(le)s , auquel, auxquel(le)s.

1 17. Lequel, laquelle , e tc. may follow any preposition, and may be

nominative or accusative ; thus,

Le pere de'

ta Giselle , lequel, 1 The father of your Giselle ,

bien entendu, comprend cette e f who , of course , understands that

feire matter

NOTE . H ere , for clearness, English requires'Your Giselle

’s father.

who

La mere de Jean,laquelle vous 2 John

’smother, whom you know

connaissez (laquelle vient (who has just arrived

d’arriver

0 . Likewise after a preposition . If both nouns are alike,2 lequel, la

quelle , supposedly re fers to the first, but such groups are avoided.

118 . Dont of whom,

’ ‘

of which , whose ,’ ‘with which

,

’e tc.)

implies some phrase with de : Voila la chose dont je parle : je parle

de cette chose . I t may be replaced by duquel, de laquelle , desquels,or desquelles to avoid ambiguity Dont

, meaning‘

whose ,’

may precede le (la, les) noun,but only thus :

C’est celui dont le nez est si 1 I t’

s the one whose nose is so

rouge . red .

C’est l’homme dont vous ne 2 I t’s the man of whom you can

voyez que le nez . see nothing but his nose .

NOTE. I f the thing possessed is subject, it follows immediately ; if not,it follows an intervening ve rb, as in example 2

,also 1 1 3.

119 . Celui,celle(s), and ceux 8 2) may be followed by de qui,

‘

a

qui, etc. (of animate beings);by lequel, duquel, a laquelle , e tc. , if

necessary 1 but the neuter ce may be fo llowed only by qui,que, dont , i quoi to sur quoi, etc . (never by lequel) :

C’est ce dont je parle (ce aquoiis That is what I’m talking about

fais allusion, ce qui me regarde , cc (what I’m alluding to , what concerns

que je ne comprends pas, me , what I don’t understand ,

120. 011 . As a re lative pronoun ,oil where , wherein, whither

’

)is frequently used of points in space or time

Trouve le livre oh ya se dit . 1 Find the book where that’s said.

Voila 1a inaison oi: (dans la 2 That’s the house where (in

queue) je suis né . which) I was born .

Tu iras oil tu voudras , mais pas 3 You may go wherever you

11 oil nous allons . please , but not where We are going.

Elle arrive aunmoment oil tout 4 She arrives at a moment when

est sens dessus dessous . everything-W

NOTE . d’oit‘whence ,

’ ‘from where , where from’

; par oil

(by) which way.

’

121 . D effinition et Tableau des P ronoms R elati s 1

Le pronom relatif rattache une‘The re lative pronoun

proposition a un nom ou a un pro a clause with a noun or a

nom2 d’une proposition quiprecede . in a clause which precedes .

Il établit une relation entre les deux lishes a relation betwe en

propositions. » clauses .

’

PRONOM S RELATI F S VAR IABLES

Singulier Plurie l

Masculin F éminin Masculin Féminin

1 Cf. Brunot and Bony, p . 61 .

2 Ce nomen ce pronom s’appe lle l

’antécédent du pronom relatif.

5-EXERC ISES

(Every translatable word to.

be translated, and blank spaces to be fille d with

whatever F rench may be required)

1 . Variations in French of the matter in 5 1 13.

I I . This is the seventeenth lesson, the one in which we bring to

gether (réunissons) for the first time all the forms of the re lative

pronoun that we shall need ; they (cc) are those which , from th is

moment,‘ we shall find almost everywhere in this book.

111. 1 . I f, for (par) example , 1 say :‘

The horse that that man so ld

yesterday is not the one that he showed to my brother,’it is nece ssary

to employ twice (deux fois) the formQui 2 . This form is simple , and

it would be invariable if it did not lose (perd its e be fore a vowe l

(une voyelle). 3. I f one says : The horses that,are pulling that

.

carriage are not be tter than mine ,’one has employed There fore ,

nominative accusative - lf) zu uc 4. What (Quel) is th e

antécédent of each of these forms in these examples 5.Why is“invariable ? 6. I t has the same form before a uowel that it has be forea consonant (une consonne).

IV . 1 . I f, now , I say :‘

The man in whose house we saw so manypretty things is a burglar,

’I have been forced to employ That

gives us, in (en) all, four forms, or five if we count 3. Whywould dont be impossible [éposi

'bl] in this last example [Answer

in English ] 4. Now we will say (dir The lady in whose house wesaw what we saw is the sister of the burglar who had all those pretty

things.

’

5. What forms have we employed this time ? 6. I f we have

not said chez qui, we have said 7. What form should we haveemployed in case we had said (E p .

‘The ladie s ’

e tc. ? 8 . Evi

dently, for (car)what we need here , the form that we need here ,

is a plural 9 . In case we should need to say (de‘

The

men in whose house’

etc. ,or

‘The men in whose carriages e tc. ,

which forms might we (pourr employ ?

1 Se e 568. (In this case que is not e lided . )

104 CE Q UI (Q UE). STRESSED SUBJECTS, ETC .

124. Ce qui and ac que in Interrogation. Having no unlimited w }:neuter interrogative , like what in What happens ?

’F re nch

uses Quiest-ce qui, as in Qu

’est-ce qui arrive What happens ? ’ F or

the accusative , que (ou’

) suffices : Que dit-ll ? What is be. saying ? ’

Qu’a-t-il

‘What has he ? ’ (‘What is the matter with him but

Qu’est-cc que (cf. Qu

’est-ce qui) is in constant use , and is often pre fe r

able as being less abrupt : Qu’est-ce qu

’il dit Qu’est-cc qu

’il a e tc .

125 . Ce qui (que) :‘What .

’ In many indirect questions, ce qui

and ce one are the required equivalents of our neute r inte rrogative

‘what

’

: Qu’est-ce qui arrive? Qui salt ce qui arrive ? (

‘Who knowswhat Que dit-ll ? Je ne sais pas ce qu

’il dit (‘I don

’t

know what he

126 . Ce quiand es que after Vague Antecedents

11 no vient plus , os quime parait He no longer comes, which (fact)curieux (cc que je regrette). strikes me as odd (which I regre t).

127. The Order que Verb Subject . We cannot shift the em

phasis to‘father

’by changing ‘

This is the wine that your father

drinks ’ to ‘This

.

is the wine that drinks your father,’for

‘

that’

(like‘which is invariable ;nor can we say Do you know the lady whomis to marry my cousin

’

(clear, though impossible but Voici le vin

que boit votre pere, and Connaissez-vous la dame qu’épouse votre

cousin‘

1'or C’est cc que pense celui-ih

, all exemplify an arrangement

which is general when th e subject is a noun or (often) a stressable

pronoun,

lthough the verb may come last :

C’est cc que mon pere en dit, or That is whatmy father says aboutC’est ce qu

’en dit mon pere ; but it, or what my f ather says, etc.

C’est ce que mon pere en dit 1 nos That is what my father says about

amis . it to our friends.

128 Que as a Predicate Nomm’

tive (only with étre, devem'

r, and

A11 1 égoistes ue nous sommes ! Oh , selfish creatures that we are !

so qu’elle est devenue Doyou knowwhathasbecome of her?

1 Excluding, of course .moif toi, lui, e tc .

QUE-s ag a LE f or/R QUE . EXERCISES

129 . Qu’est-cc que c

’est que cela ‘What is that As for the

first que, see 1 24;as for the second, see 1 28 ; the third, though

originally a re lative , now serves mere ly to point to cela, as if it were

a nf : Qu’est-cc que c

’est (que) cela ? I t may be called an

indicating conjunction . Similarly :

Triste acquisition ag’une épouse A sad acquisition, such a wife !

pareille . Vous voyez ce que c’est gue You see what it iS to love in that

d’aimer de cette facon. fashion .

130. The h pe te four que . In this group, and in various other

groups like it, que is usual :

11 est arrive le méme jour et 1 la He arrived the same day and at

méme heuro (L113 tu es parti. the same hour that you went away.

NOTE . Here 011might be used instead of que , but quand would be wrong.


1. Group A of fairs‘

(to) do ,’ ‘make

,

’ gives fais , fais , fait , faisons ,faites

,font .

I am not the one who does that (or etc. , using thisstrate the variations of the verb, according to 5 1 2 2 .

I I . Group A of connaitre‘

(to) know’

(as one‘knows ’

persons),gives connais, connais , connait , connaissons , connaissez , connalssent .

Consult 1 23 (also 1 2 2) and translate the following, in two wayswhen possible

1 . The one who knows him is I . 2 . I t’s I who know him best.

3. The one who knows you be st is Genevieve . 4. Geneviéoe knows

you best. 5. Those that know you best are Jacques and I . 6. I t’s

Jacques and I who (that) know you best. 7. You are the one that

knows us least. 8 . Is it they that are afraid ? 9. Who is it if it isn’t

they ? 1 0. No , it isn’t they 1 1 . Can you (D ) explain all these

forms ? 1 2 . Yes, we are the ones (etc . ; D). 1 3 . Who was it (A)that thought (A p .p .) this lesson difficult ? You Yes , sir ; I .

And I know (sais) that there are several mistakes (fautes , f ) in whatI have written. 1 5. Who has

\o is'it thathas)made the fewest (le

moins de) mistakes ? 1 6. Was it (A) you that were wrong ? 1 7. N3you weren

’t the ones who were wrong, it was you who were

right.

Gm ha'

n l

EXERCISES

111. De que lle facon exprimerait-on en francais les phrases que

voici ? (Note que voici)1 . He might go wherever (5 33) he liked (E of vouloir ; i. e.

voudrais I would not go with him/ 2 . We should say w hat

évef'

we wished , whatever seemed warranted. 3. We shou ld find

then whateve r we needed . 4. In case you should need me, se nd

me a post-card. 5. We should arrive at a moment when eve ryth ing

would be upside down . 6. I prefer (aimer mieux pure infin . ) toremain where I am. 7. Where I am I have everything that I ne ed .

8 . In the city where we happen to be (se trouver). 9 . In the

cities to which we are alluding 1 0 . In the street through wh ich

we were going

IV . Consult 1 27; then translateI . That is whatmyfatlzer says . 2 . Those are the things of which my

motlzer has spoken. 3. This is the house where my brotlter was bo rn .

V . Jamais en francais une preposition ne peut suivre son complément ; en anglais, au contraire , cette facon de parler est fréquente

e t en méme temps correcte . En voici (M B ) que lques exemples atraduire

1 . Show me the house that you were born in. 2 . I s that the city

that you are going to ? 3 . Are those the gentlemen that you ’

ve

spoken of 4. What are the ideas that you are alluding to ? 5. Whois the lady that you

’re going with ?

V I . En anglais, il est permis en certains cas d’omettre ls pronom

re latif en francais, cc pronom ne s’omet jamais. Traduisez

1 . I s it you they are looking for ? 2 . Where is the le tter you weregoing to Show me ? 3 . The English we speak does not please me .

V I I . 1 . Rique t thought that stones grow larger as they approach ,

which se ems impossible . 2 . H e thought, also ,that we are in the midst

of everything, which I cannot be lieve . 3 . You know what it is to havesuch thoughts .

VERBS OF THE TYPE F I JVI R

a. Pastparticiple : dui, finie , finis , finies . See 72 - 73 .

0. Gerund : en finissant (invariable)‘

(by) finishing, (in) finishing ,

’

e tc .

c. Variable verbal adj ective finissant-s, finissante -s : ls jour finissant‘the closing day,

’etc .

NOTE For parler : (en) parlant ;des animaux parlants .

Sounds . In 1 of A ,reversing is avoided : Est-cc que je finis , rath e r

than F inis -je [finizg]. So , not Rougis-is 7

‘Am I blushing ?

’e tc. Finirai-is

sounds like F inirais -is [finiRez3].

d. All the following verbs are conjugated like finir.

abolir abolish se divertir enjoy oneself obéir 1 obey

sgir act franchir get over désobéir 1 disobey

bannir banish guérir cure , get well punir de punish fo r

bl tir build jouir do ‘

enjoy ravir de deligh t with

bondir leap maigrir grow thin réfiéchir 1 reflect on

choisir choose nourrir feed réussir A succeed in

divertir amuse se nourrir do live on (réussir 11 parler)

So hair“ ‘

(to) hate’

; but with is hale , tu hais , ii bait [e or he], in

group.

A . Hair has an‘aspirate h .

’Hence Je is hais .

Note that s’agir (do), reflexive , is impersonal De quoi s’agit-il ‘What

is being talked about ?’ ‘What is involved ? ’ e tc . I1 s’agissait de vous

‘It was about you,’e tc . 11 s ’agit de trouver quelqu

’un

‘The point is to

find some one ,’

e tc .

EXERCISES

I . Conjugate interrogative ly groups .A and B of maigrir.

11. Mode l : Je t’avertis que si tu passes tout ton temps a te

divertir tu no réussiras jamais I warn you that if you spend all

your time amusing yourse lf you will neve r succeed.

’

Vary this by changing Je te to None le ; the rest to suit. Likew ISe

with Vous me e tc. Likewise with Nous vous etc.

111. Model : Si je lui désobéissais il (or elle) me puniraitMake three new combinations

,using only proclitic pronouns as

subjects and objects. S ee 43 .

IV . Write out and pronounce (as shou ld be done in all cases)group C of bondir, using as complements sur lui (moi, toi,

1

A ,“ M l ‘ i Y r “ 74411 .

Q UI CE Q UI , CELU] Q UI, GELU] Q UE 109

V . Mode l : 011 les hiboux bdtissent- ils leurs nids , et de quoi se

nourrissent-ils Where do (the) owls build their nests, and what

do they live on ?’

Put both verbs into the conditional (E ), and change les hibouxto lo hibou . Make three other reasonable combinations.

cc qui. Often after voici oftener after voila. ExamplesEt , siune hesitation me restait , 1 And

,if I still felthny fiesitation

voici qui la balaye eu diable . here is what sweeps it to Jericho .

Elle n’est pas méchante , voila 2 She

’s not malicious, that

’s sure .

qui est certain. Voila quim’est What do I care ? (Lit . That is

égal . what is indifferent to me .)

Note also (et ,) qui plus est . Example : 11 s’avilit, et, qui plus est, il

n’en rougit pas He debases himse lf, and, what

’s more , he does it with

out blushing.

’

134. Qui celui qui, or celui que . In generalizations. Examples

Qui ne dit mot consent . 1 Silence means assent.

Choisissez qui vous voudrez . 2 Choose whomever you please .

Q UERY. What value has qui in the motto of the Order of the Garter ?

Honni soit qui mal y pense Evil be to him [lit. Shamed be he] whoevil thinks .

’

(1 . Also a qui, pour qui, e tc . : Tout vient 11 point(h)1ui sait attendreEverything comes in due time to himwho (to whoever)knows how to wait .

’

Note the frequent idiom exemplified by C’était 1 qui arriverait le premier

‘There was rivalry as to who Should arrive first.

’

REMARK . Some times qui stands for an old objective form, originally

spelt cui‘

the form concealed in l’homme qui is parle , and in th e

following : his. mere , vous recevez qui bon vous semble (in f ull qui il

vous semble bon de recevoir) Mother, you receive whomever you please .

’

We might substitute e .g. ceux que vous trouve : bon de recevoir.

swTout le monde se trompe , qui Everyone makes mistakes , some

plus , quimoins . (of us) more , some less.

Similarly, Qui riait, qui pleurait Some were laughing, some were

weeping.

’

I 10 SPEC IAL PLURALS. EXERCISES

136 . Some Special i es of P lurals

0. Nearly all nouns (and adjectives) in -a1 change to-aux .

Examples : animal ‘animal,

’

animaux ; cheval‘horse ,

’

ch evaux . So

brutal, loyal, e tc . (Cf. 338 , g . )

NOTES . The mode rn word bs l (m.)‘ball

’

(for dancing), very se ldom

plural, gives bals .

All words in -al are masculine .

b. Nouns and adjectives in -eu , nouns in -eu , and a few nouns

in -ou ,

ladd -x .

Examples : bateaux‘boats ,

’eaux (f.)

‘waters,

’oiseaux

‘birds

,

’e tc . So

beaux ,111 . pl. of beau

‘beautiful.

’ Mostly masculine .

Examples les dieux‘the gods,

’deux feux

‘two fires,

’de beaux ch eveux

beautiful hair,’les . jeux d ’exercice ‘

athletic games,’e tc . Masculine type .

Examples : ce bijou‘this jewel,

’un csillou

‘a pebble ,

’Ie chou

‘th e cab

bage ,’du genou

‘of the knee ,

’

que! hibou !‘what an owl !

’un joujou

‘a

toy.

’B ut un clou, des clone ,

‘a nail,

’ ‘nails ’

(to drive), etc .

ADDITIONAL EXERCISES

I . 1 . H e disobeys them (him, her), and , what’s more , that amuses

him ! 2 . But he isn’t malicious ; that is what astonishes me . (Here,

two ways .) 3 . For whoever spends all his time amusing himse lf, lifeis nothing but a temptation . 4. To whoever succeeds eve rythingseems pleasing.

11. Write first the singular, then the plural, of every noun in

1 36, a and b,before énorme-s , or aimable- s

, or utile- s , pronouncing

each combination . In each case use lo, un, des , or the like .

I I I . Oral exercises connecting 1 32 , d, with 1 36.

1 Afin d e tre mieux compris, l’auteur se pe rme t de renvoye r se s collégues

au livre deW L M W ition an

glaise ), page 1 14e tpassim.

1 1 2 p om: AND 081 As A RELATIVE

‘there

’

s nothing to which ’on which

,

’ce 2 quoi je pense

‘what

I’m thinking about. ’ Note , also , the following examples

Sur quoi(Apres quoi) i1 s’en vs . 1 Whereupon he goes off.

Aves—vous de quoi vim 2 Have you enough'

to live on ?

I ln’yapasde quoi(me remercier). 3 Don’

t mention it !

REMARK . Cases such as une chose par quoi par laquelle) are excep

tional. Note the really sexless character of. me chm . This use of quoi

was formerly common after various kinds of nouns.

Q UERY. What could be the antecedent of quoi in, for example , 11 y a

ici de quoivétir cinq cents enfants There is enough (the wherewithal) here

to clothe five hundred children’?

141 . Dont (Latin dc unde,dunde), originally an adverb of place , has

kept the meaning‘

whence’only in figurative expressions. Example :

la race (la maison) dont je suis sorti (or issu) the stock (the house)whence I came ’

etc. ;but literally use d’ou or de laquelle e tc. : La

maison d’oti nous sommes sortie est A vendre The house that we

have come out of is for sale .

’

NOTE . Dont must imply no preposition except de (or occasionally par).

Hence la fouls dont ii était suivi (‘the crowd by which he was being fol

lowed implies il était suivi d’une fouls (possibly, par une fouls). So

l’histoire dont on riait the story they were laughing at’

) implies rire de

quelque chose , or rire de implies dont. So le loup dont (‘with which

’

) on

menace les méchants enfants 1 13) implies menacer de . Etc.

142. Oil (Latin ubi‘

where was formerly used of persons (un

homme 011 ‘a man in whom,

’des hommes 01) also of nouns such

as chose‘

thing’

(une chose N ow,ou can have as its antecedent

only common nouns expressing situation in Space or time (cf.or place

-names (e . g. Paris). But this re lative 011 can generally bereplaced by a suitable preposition lequel e tc . 1 1 6 1a

chambre ou the room in which ,’

or la chambre dans laquelle ; Ie

temps oil‘the time during which ,

’or le temps pendant lequel ; etc.

NOTES. As a re lative , oil cannot be initial ;hence LA011 vous allez 11 ya une belle plage

‘Where you are going there is a fine beach’

;but inter

nally this 11 is not always required : Allez oil vous voudrez Go wherever

you please .

’ ‘That is where C’est laque not C’est 11 oh .

s g fiM " l }‘

a”AL PLURALS. EXERC I SES

143 . Otlzer P lural: (qf malf ormed like homme-s1

a. M ost nouns in -ail [a: all masculine , mere ly add - s,as les

éventails‘

the fanS’

,bu t some seven change -ails to Aanz . Among

them : corail‘

coral ,’émail ename l, travail

‘

work,

’ ‘ labor.

’

b. Le ciel sky has cieux [s ] (ter/inzkalbt, ciels), and un (Bil

[oezj] (‘

an eye’

) has les yeux [jo] . AS oeuf [oef] gives oeufs

[a] , so he uf [beef] ox’

) gives bmufs [be] .

c. Nouns in - s, in -x

, and in -z are invariable , but in nearly all case stheir singular cannot

’

be linked and therefore ends in a vowe l forP

the ear ;however, singular or plural, fils son-s’is [fis] . J .

Examples : is pas [pa]‘the step,

’10 bras

‘the arm,

’un gue [go]

‘avagabond,

’ ‘a rogue ,

’le nez the nose ,

’e tc .

Note an repas exquis [Ropa ékski] (‘an exquisite meal

’

) but des repas

exquis [Espaz ékski], nu pas on deux [po u do] but pas a pas

[paz apo]‘step by step,

’e tc . Only se t phrases allow such singular forms

to be linked.


I . See particularly r 1 3 be careful as to emphasis.

1 . I f one reads fable s attentive ly one recogniz es. in them the ways

of many animals that one knows. 2 . The animals that I Should beafraid of aren

’t those whose merciful ways are lauded (use 6n)

"

in'

the

fables. 3. What I like be st is stories f .) in which dogs and horses

figure , but I like all stories -in which animals are involved (oi: s’agir

1 32 , d). 4. I read (lis) those that are.

studied by our children

5. I am particularly de lighted by Storie s that are fu ll offerocious animals . 6.

- I f a lion whose ways ,have been pleasingfinds a

place therein (y), so much the better. 7. Have you ever

’

met the man

to whom the lion Showed himse lf (s’est montré, or C) so mercifu l ? or

the mouse - that deceived the cat that the naughty children abused

(B) ? or the family in whose barnyard the fox would prowl (B) whenever he thought (B) that he would not meet the dog ? 8 . And was

the he‘

nhouse behind which this fox was accustomed to prowl (.B)near the house where that dog

’s master lived ?

1 Voir la note au baS de la page r 10.

1 14 EXERCISES

I I . Pourquoifaut-iidire l ’enfant y re trouve cc que sa mere lui en

a dit 1 pour exprimer notre pronom re latif what Traduisez :

1 . What I have said is that I wrote three pages. 2 . I study what

pleases me . 3. I shall study whatever pleases me (D).

I II . Variations orales des '

exemples les plus importants des

55 1 37— 143

IV . Translate (with special reference to 1 37—143)

1 . There is your friend coming up the stairs. z . I hear himcoming up. 3. Whoever it may be , I don

’t

’ like him. 4. I have

never said that to anyone . 5. I shall do what I please (plaire wit/zdative, or vouloir ;D), happen what may. 6. I shall arrive there at

the hour that I said I Should arrive at, cost what it may. 7. Have

you enough money 14o , ex . 2 ) to pay [for] a carriage ? 8 . No.2.

Then here are five francs. Thanks ] Don’t mention it/ o'

f'

II ave

you all the money you are going to need ? 1 0. I have enough to

live on. 1 1 . I f one has the wherewithal to clothe a family as big

as mine , one is lucky . 1 2 . The stock (family) from which I issued

(aux . etre) has always had ideas to which I don’

t incline , ideas thatI should laugh at if they were truly amusing. 1 3. You ’

re going tothe theater ? 14. Yes, that

’

s where I’m going.

V . With special reference to pronunciation, write in F rench

1 . An egg as big (gros) as an ox . 2 . Eggs as big as oxen. 3. An

enormous eye (any. last). 4. Enormous eyes. 5. The eyes of owlsare as big as those of men. 6. What corals ! and what jewe ls !

7. The heavens were full of gods . 8 . One of the gods had onlyone eye 90, 143, b). 9 . Why talk (infin ) of the skiesW taly

?

Ours are not less beautiful . 1 0. We’re finishing our labors . 1 1 . The

horses are finishing their work . 1 2 . I s gold as hard (dur) as enamel ?1 3. An exquisite ename l ! 14. Exquisite enamels !

l.

I

INTERROGATIVE QUE . EXERCISE

Que vous en semble-t-il ‘What do you think about it ?’shows que sup

plemented by the neuter 11. Note also what verbs occur in Qu’srrive- t- il

What happens ?’

Qu’en reste-t- il ?

‘What remains of it ?’

Qu’en était -il

sorti‘What had come of it ?

’

Que se passe-t-il

‘What is occurring ?Que vous en semble (without though colloquial, illustrates archaic

syntax .

a . In very colloquial French , Qu’est-ce occasionally stands for Qui est -oe .

BENJAM I NE, appelan t.— Monsieur Paul Normand.

PAUL.- Qu

'est-os lie . Qui est-cs] quim

'appelle ?

BENJAM I NE. C’est moi, monsieur.

b. Qu’est-cc , without 11, elle , e tc. , may be condescending or derogatory

Votre ami est beaucoup mieux nicer,’ ‘be tter-looking

’

) que vous .

Qu’est-ce que c

’est ? (f reely,

‘What’s his trade ?’ but word j br word

,

‘What is it C’est nu peintrs‘He

’s a painter.

’

EXERCISE 1a,

1 . t at is killing that man ? 2 . What i he killiexpres your _

idea be tter than that ? 4. W

5. What said the little fish ? 6 . H e said :‘What are you going to do

with me ? ’

7. What' happened ? (Use C.) 8 . The fisherman put (mit)the carplet into his cree l . -

9 . What occurred then ? 1 0. The fisher

man’s wife put it, this carple t, into her frying-

pan . 1 1 . What- re"

mained (was left) of it ? 1 2 . The bones (aretes 1 3 . Whatwas it that annoyed this poor little fish ? 14. What annoyed himwas (09 A of etre) that way (fagon) of ending (infin .) his life .

1 5. What do you think about it ? (F our ways.)~ t "

l" S A

147. Que is used in inquiring about tlzinérsYgrammaticallymascu lineor feminine) when quel or lequel 1 55) would necessarily imply a

consideration of several objects. Examples

Qu’est-os que c

’est que ya Ca, 1 What is that ? — That, my child,

mon enfant , c’est une girafe .

- Et is a giraffe — And witat is a gi

qu’est-os donc, une girafe raffe ?

Qu’est-os que is vois 11 C’est 2 What is it that I (What do I)

Guignol. see there ? That’s Punch .

a. Applied to persons , que etre usually our‘what

Qu’est- ilree

e

myolisieur t

‘What is that gentleman ? ’ C’est un financier.

Q UE PREDICATE AND ACCUSATIVE. Q UOI 1 17

NOTE . Que subject nominative (as in Que vous en semble-441 must

not be confounded with que predicate nominative , exemplified by Que

suis-is ?‘What am I ?

’by Que sont-ils ?

‘What are they ?’by Que

devient-e lle What does she become ? ’ What is becoming of her

or by Que sont-e lles devenues What has become of them? ’ (Note these

two verbs .)EXERCISE II

0

1 . Why is cmlmg me ? 2 . at does é wznt (désirer) ? 3. Whois it ? 4. I t

’

s an advertising agent (courtier de publicité). 5. What’sthat ? 6. That, sir ? I don

’t know (sais) what it is. 7. The gentle

man will te ll you what it is. 8 . Good day, sir. 9 . The servant te lls

you are nt. 1 0. I S that really2 . And you, sir, what

Mare you ? 1 3. I . I

’m what’s c alled a painter.

W WW M y ”

14 ue IS often a procliti accusative

Que dit- i1 (or Qu’est-os qu

’il dit) 1 What does he say and what do

et qu’en penses

-tu Qu’y a

-t-il do you think about it ? What is theresi drole en ce qu

’il dit that’s

‘

so funny in what he says ?

Que (rare lyOu’

) occurs in direct questions before a few infinitives

Que dire? Que fairs? Que répon 2 What is (was) to be said ?

dre‘

? (But not , e .g. ,done ? replied ?

REMARK . Que must not be strongly stressed . Hence , not Que , Jean, en

penses-tu but Jean

, qu’eu penses

-tu or Qu’en penses -tu, Jean etc .

149 . Quoi corresponds to que as moi corresponds to me , beingrequired in all stressed positions

Quoi? (or Quoi1) Tu pars déja 1 What ? You ’re leaving already ?

Je dis Vous dites quoi 2 I say You say wliat .9

Pourquoi ls dire A quoi hon 3 Why say it ? What is the use

discuter De quoi s’agissait

- il of arguing? What was involved ?

REMARKS. In Pourquoi ls dire (ex . 3) quoi is the object of pour;

in Pour quoi fairs‘In order to do what ?

’it is the (accusative) object of

faire , but cannot be que (as in Que dire because pour attracts the stressed

form; so in En quoi faisant ? . or En faisant quoi‘In doing what ?

’In

A quoi bon we have an ellipsis : this quoi is a neuter pronoun ,not an

adjective modifying bon. In indirect questions quoi does not require ce .

QUEL(S), Q UELLE(S). EXERCISES

150. Quel (quelle, quell , queues) precedes nouns or various forms

of emQuol Age avec-vous , st quels 1 How old are you, and w hat

sujeb eves-vous etudiés subjects have you studie d

Queue heuro est-II , et quel train 2 What time is it, andwhat (wh ich)mono-nous prendre train are we going to take

NOTE. Also exclamative ly : Quel aplomb ! What (a) cheek !’

Queue

voix ! What a voice !’

Quels enfants ! What children ! ’ Quel joli lap in !What a pretty rabbit !

’

Quelle est ta raison Queues 3 What is your reason ? Whatsont tes excuses are your excuses ?

Exclamatively : Quellsmama surprise de n’

y trouver personne ! Whatwas my surprise to find nobody there !

’

EXERCISE III

I . What had she said ? (T umways .) 2 . What did you think aboutit ? Tum10a 3. What was there so annoying . embetant) in

to ? (a fait . No thing . 4r Then why speak of

it ? 5. What is the use of taking sides 149 , ex . 3 ) wh en one

doesn’t know what

’S invo lved 149 , R emarks) ? 6 . What a man !

No , rather (plutOt) what a woman ! 7. What is it you are saying474, A) ? 8 . Why ask ? 9 . What I say doe s not concern you .

1 0 . I’m the one who will succeed in bringing our friends

together (rapprocher), 1 1 . By doing what ? 1 2 . How do you knowwhat their reasons are ? (Noun last.) 1 3. What excuse could youfind ? 14. You don

’t even know (meme pas) what trains they are

going to take .

1 20 Q UE ADVER‘

BIAL. QUEL, LE Q UEL

(il faut , il fallait , il faudrait , etc.) and accusative with importer

(importe, importait , or adverbial.

154. Que ismore or less clearly adverbial in the following example s

Que ne l’a-t-e lle explique 1 (Oh ,)Why hasn’

t she e xplained

Que vous Gtes beau (belle) ! 2 How handsome you are !

Qu’est-il beeoin de 10 dire 3 What need of saying it ?

Que de choees vous ave: Wes 4 How many things you’ve se en !

Que sert la science sans 1s vertu 5 What is the use of science with

out virtue ?

REMARKS . Examples 2 and 4illustrate colloquial usage . Examples 1,

3, 5, are more or less stilted and might be altered thus : Pourquoi no

l’a-t-e lle pas explique (note pas). Quel besoin y s -t-il (si-is e tc . ) de le

dire A quoi sert, etc.

N .B . Que and quoi must not be used for our aay'

eetive‘what ’ : ‘What

man do you obey A quel homme obeissez -vous What is your opinion

Que! est votre avis

155 . Que? and Lequel. In living F rench , quel (quelle likewhich

’and what,

’usually expects a simple reply as to identity

rather than a description of qualities.

1 So lequel (laquelle but

always pronominally, always with the idea of plurality, and usuallywith reference to things or persons already mentioned :

Que! est votre petit nom 1 What is your Christian name ?

Lequel de ces noms préférez 2 Which of these names do you prevous Lequel en est ls plusancien fer ? Which of them is the oldest ?De toutes ces carrieres laquelle 3 Of all these careers, which will

choisiras-tu, et dans laquelle auras you choose , and in which shall you

tu le plus de chances de réussir be most likely to succeed ?

0. Que! in Exclamatious . In exclamations, quel (quelle etc .) generally expresses either degree or qualityJe saisbien quelle femme logique 4 I know well what a logical wo

man you are .

1 Que! is de rived from th e Latin qualis , meaning of what kind ?’

Qualis

qualitas F rench qualité , English‘

quality.

’

INTERROGATIVE ADVERBS I 2 !

Et ses dents ! Quelles dents ! And his tee th ! What tee th !Quelle (charmante) maison !

‘ What a (charming) house !

NOTE . Never quel un, quelle 11110. English varies : Quel garcon

‘What a boy !’but Quel temps

‘What weather ! ’

b. In true interrogation , direct or indirect, quel (quelle e tc .)se ldom inquires as to qualities . Notable examples

Quel, homme est Simenein 7 What kind ofman is Simonein ?Un genie , mou vieux . A genius, my boy.

Quelle est cette femme avec la 8 F reely translated , Who and

quelle il est sorti Une madame what is that woman with whom

de Valleroy ! Bien peu de chose ! he went out ? A madame de

(M arquis de Pn’

ola,I , 7) Valleroy ! Nothing much !

NOTE . Occasionally quel (quelle e tc .) stands alone (is used absolutely )Connaissez-vous le proverbs Quel Which ? ’ (L

’A atre, I I I , Here

the normal formwould be Lequel (i.e . Quel proverbs

c. Je ne sais quel (quelle This group is often equivalent toan indefinite adjective

Je na sais quel air de vertu res~ 9 A certain indefinable air of vir

pirait dans ses traits . tue breathed in her features .

REMARKS. Unlike our‘1 know not what this formula belongs

both to literature and to everyday speech . How would you translate this ?

1! Fau lt lu dans is no sais quel livre , or Vous rencontrerez is ne sais

quelles dimcultés . Note also Ca arrive dans n’importe quel pays That

can happen in any country’

(lit .

‘in no matter what What rela

tion does this is ne sais quel (quelle e tc .) bear to is ne sais qui and to is no

sais quoi ? (See

On quel que soit (fut etc .)‘whatever may be

’see 228.

156 [ nterrogatioe Adoeras in Questions or Exelamations

1 . Combien [ksbje]. Combien tu lui ressembles ! How much you looklike him (her) ! Combien 9a cofite-t- il How much does that cost ? ’

Combien d’argent et combiemde billets [bije] avez -vous How much

money and how many ticke ts have you ?’Combien (d

’entre eux) l

’ont

dit ? How many (of them) have said it ?’Combien vous étes hon !

1 22 INTERROGA'

I‘

IVE ADVERBS. EXERCISES

2. Comment [kémd]. Comment cela s’explique

—t-il 7 How is that (tobe) explained ?

’ Comment elles-vous How are you More formally,

Comment vous portu -vous Familiarly, Comment gs vs-t-il H ow goes

it ?’

(in general).

3. Oh . Oh voit-on cela ‘Where does one (can one) see that ?’

4. Pourquoi. See 5 149, and note that’

a quoi, ds quoi, en quoi (‘in

what,’ ‘in what way, etc . are not joined.

5 . Quand . Quand viendra-t-e lle ?‘When will she corne ?

’

(No te that

lorsque , when,’

at the time that,’ is never interrogative , and is always a

conjunction.)EXERCISES

I . To familiarize yourse lf with the interrogatives here considered ,

whe rever possible change the subject or object of each of the twen tyor more example s in 1 51

—1 56.

'

I‘

hen translate I I (be low).

1 1 . 1 . Te ll me what interests you, what _you like most. 2 . M any

things. I don’

t know what to answer What answer shall I give

you (D or preferably taut-ii). 3. What a logical person you are

1 54- 1 4.What opinion can I (puis-je) give you ? I have many

opinions ;which do you desire ? 5. I f you were choosing a caree r,

which would you choose ? Which is the best ? 6. I Should choose

the one in which I should have the most chances of succeeding .

7. I don’t know which would be the best. 8 . How many careers

are there for me ? 9 . Which of them are the most agreeable ? How

can I know ? 1 0. Could I succeed in anytlzing (‘in no matter

1 1 . Somebody or other has said that science offers a good care er, but

what science ? and wherein would that career be‘good ’

? 1 2 . My

friend X prefers the study of languages. Why ? That is what I

don’

t know/ 1 3 . H e te lls me that in order to learn a language one

must know how tp imitate (faut but what ? 14. I f one

knows only how to imitate One must know what to imitate ,and whom one is to imitate (again taut). 1 5. What is the use of

studying languages in grammars ? 1 6. I’ve read, somewhere or other,

that all grammars are full of mistakes. I 7. H ow many grammarsdo you know (connaitre) ? 0

1 24 VERBSJ N— YER

2 .

‘at such and such a period.

’

3.

‘being

’

(see etre, 4.

‘new

’

(In.

nouveau). 5. correction‘correcting,

’ ‘correctness,

’or

‘correction .

’6. 11

en est de méme de The case is the same for ’ ; here ssurait (from savoir,

E ) has about the same value as saursis in Je ne ssursis vous ls dire‘I

really couldn’t tell you translate : N0 such thing can be said of.

’

7. F rom

A of se servir (de). 8 .

‘on the one hand .

’

9 . P. p. of comprendre . 10 . He re .

1 1 . Here ,‘in.

’

1 2. FromA of falloir. I 3. Here ,‘sltall decide as

to’ 86, a). 14. Founded by Riche lieu (1634) to compile and publish (don

ner) a dictionary of the F rench language , and thus to act as a kind of lin

guistic legislature . 1 5. Regular elision of ce before forms of avoir, aux . vb.

16.

‘rules of pronunciation .

’ Called also In Comedic-F rames ; a na

tional theater, founded in 1680; presents a classic repertory (Moliere etc.)and modern pieces ; several other Parisian theaters more often reproduce

the natural speech of ‘

good socie ty .

’

158 . Verbs in -

yer. Type payer

Though not with complete consistency, before a silent e nearly all

such verbs change their y to 1. Examples

1 . employer‘employ group A , vous employez [aplwaje], but j

’smploie

[dplwa] ; for D , tu emploierss [dplwaRa] etc .

2. essuyer‘dry,

’-wipe

’: group A , nous essuyons [is q ], but D ,

elle

essuiera [esqijj(a)Ra or ésqiRa] etc . in A, essuie-s and essuient [ssui or

3. balsyer sweep, sweep away,’

payer‘

pay, pay for,’and like verbs,

may keep y throughout, in which case their eye usually becomes

Instead of je paisrsi or is payerai [pa e tc. , we sometimes find is

pairai [peRe ] etc. Cf. 419.

a. Verbs in -yer [j e] or in -i11er fie] , as veiller [ve'

je] be awake , be

watchful,

’create some difficulty. Study what a F rench expert says

1

Pour tous ces verbes, il n’

y a aucune difference de prononciation , aux

deux premieres personnes du pluriel, entre le present de l’indies tif [A ] et

l’impa

‘

rfait de l’indicatif [B ] ou le present du subjonctif.a Aujourd

’hui, quand on veut bien f: re comprendre , en parlant, que le

verbe est a [3In l’imparfait, on prononce avec affectation nons pay ions

[peijS], mais ce 11’est 11 qu

’nu artifice qui repose sur l

’orthographe . 11

1 L. Clédat, Gmmmaire mison n e'

e , 373. See 419 Of Mi: bOOk.

~VERBS IN —] ER ,

r UER ; IN- CER ,

—GER

l59 Verbs in in and -uer. npes étudier and tuer

Sounds . I n spec’s/z

,all -sr verbs wherein -sr follows a vowe l

(groups D and E) are treated thus : j’étudie [e tydi]

‘

I study,’but

j’étudierai [3etydiRe] and étudieriez [etydiRje] ; but see 394

and 41 8 .

a. The Type étudier. Furthermore , étudier [etydje] , étudionsetc. ,

1being [j] before audible infiectional endings. In specs/t ,

étudiions and étudiiez (indicative in group B ,or present subjunctive)

are distinguished only with an effort from étudions and étudiez . Cf.

payions and payiez 1 58 , a).

b. Tuer‘kill ’ is usually a monosyllable : [tqe] . Similarly, je tuais

[tqe] je louais I was praising’

) generally [lwe] e tc .

160. Commencer and manger. V erbs in -cer and in -ger must pre

serve [S] and [3] throughout .H ence the cedilla in commencer ‘begin ,

’before a and o : je com

menesis , tu commengas, nous commengons , etc . H ence , likewise , thesilent e in manger

‘

eat,’before a and o : il mangea nous

mangeames , nous mangeons , etc.

NOTE . This holds good for all kinds of words, but gs [3] is so rare be

fore u,that gageure [ga3yzR],

‘wager,

’is commonlymispronounced [ga3cezk ].

Q UER I ES . Why ‘

pronounceable ,’but

‘

pronouncing’? Why

‘singing,

’

but‘singeing

’

(from‘singe Why

‘dungeon’

(donjon) ? How migh t a

F renchman pronounce manga or eommencons ? Why p’aurait as aurait)in 1 57, line 23?

EXERCISES

I . Write in F rench , then pronounce

1 . I (We , You) wipe the glasses. 2 . I (etc.) am paying that debt.

3. We (You) were paying for those lessons. 4. Lucile was sweeping

(would sweep) all the rooms. 5. You (We) must be watchful (Il fautque subj unctive). 6 . We were studying ;we must study .

I I . Write out in full, then pronounce , groups B and E of essayer

try,’

group D of lier tie ,’bind

,

’ group A of commencer,and group C

of échanger exchange ,’using reasonable complements, as le , 1a, les , etc .

1 26 EXERC ISES

I I I . Translate (with reference particularly to 5 1 57)1 . I f we speak badly, or if we make 478 , A)mistakes in spe lling,

we are not so sure are less sure) of being understood . 2 . On the

other hand, if we speak we ll, if we write 472 , A) our books and

le tters in (en) good French , or in good English, the numbe r (le

nombre) of those who can (5 89 , i) understand us will be gre ater,and we shall enjoy an esteemwhich will increase our social value .

3. I f we are studying language , we note that it is changing un

ceasingly, but that it changes slowly and that most of the forms of

which we make use (on with employer or se servir de) are very old

(snciennes). 4. But analogy is always at work re forming the groupsthat it has created , and sounds or constructions which are considered

(use on) grossly inaccurate (fautif will be proclaimed to-morrowthe onlyd bweble ones.

5. Yes, it is true that forms, processes of syntax all speech

sounds (m.) change unceasingly ; it is true also that science is

absolute ly closed to [the idea of] correcting. 6. I t notes and re cords ;

it endeavors (essayer) to explain such and such a group of sounds

or such and such a construction (j i).

7. As an object of art, what is the aim of language (du8 . Evidently instruction, the communication of ideas (des and

the utilization of facts with a certain end in view (simplyline 9 . I f those who speak best se ldom use slang (argot ,the reason is, in general, that this Slang] is not a good instrument for (de) communication. I O. There are many other things

which are bad (mauvais and which it is necessary to avoid .

IV . (Oral.) 1 . Q u’est-ce qui n

’existe pas pour la linguistique ,

Se lon notre auteur ? 2. Pourquoi, en parlant n’importe que lle langue ,

doit-ou essayer de parler «correctement » ?

V . (Causerie .) M oliere e t la Comédie—Frangaise .

128 TYPES MENER , j ETER , APPELER

et fit tout cc qui était en son pouvoir 23 e fi tus ki etetd $5 p uvwazR

pour re tarder la mort de celui qu’il puR RotaRde la mo °

R do solqi

devait sit6t suivre . 25 kil dove sito sqi:v11 . ]5

NOTES. 1 . Is faire mourir (lit .)‘make him die ,

’

(free ly)‘have him put

to death .

’2 . envoyer chercher quelqu

’un (lit. ) send [someone to ] se ek

somebody’

; here l’astrologue Note that envoie is separate d from

chercher by an adverbial clause . 3. In ls faire jeter, ‘have him thrown,

’ls

is the direct object not of faire but of jeter. Explained historically ,je ter

is not an active infinitive with a passive meaning, but is the direct obje ct ofthe causal verb faire ; hence interpre t, word for word : make th row him

through the window . Note the word-order in these examples of faire in

finitive . 4. fit prendre (lit.) made take e tc . Se e note 3. For all the forms offaire , see 478 . 5. We ge t [o] or according to our speed or our style .

’

162 The Variations of mener, j eter, ce'

dei',réver

,etc.

,as Types

(Th e following statements are partly for refe rence )

a. Mener (to) lead .

’Before every Silent e the stem

vowe l becomes 5 H ence , for group A , je méne, tu menes , iI

méne,and ils menent

,but nous menons and vous menez

for B, je menais e tc . ; for C, je menai e tc . ; for D , je

ménerai e tc . ; for E , je ménerais etc . Ger und en menant by leading

’etc. P .p . mené e tc.

NOTES. In some verbs, as crever burst,’the comple te dropping of the

stem-vowel anywhere would make a difficult or unpronounceable conso

nantal group ; hence il creve [kRezv] and ii crevait [kRove], not [kRve].

Like mener are conjugated amener ‘bring

’

(but not by carrying):

emmener ‘lead away’

(‘take away

’by leading );achever

‘finish ,

‘comple te

’

; lever‘raise

’

(se lever‘rise peser [poz e ]

‘weigh

’

; semer‘sow

,

’ ‘sprinkle

’

(in slang ,

‘

ge t rid etc .

b. Jeter [gote] ,‘throw , throw away,

’

behaves phone tically likemener

,but represents its [8] by ett ; hence is jetais , but je jette, je

jetterai [getRe] , e tc . See ti.

c. Appeler [ople] , call,’behaves like jeter ; hence vous appelez , but

elles appellent e tc : , with 11 after

TYPES .IE TER , GELER , CEDER ,REVER 1 29

d. Verbs with - ti or - ll The following everyday verbs in -eter

and -eler take tt or 11 to indicate that the preceding e is [e]appeler call je m

’appelle but vous vous appeliez (B)

atteler harness tu attelles but ils attelerent (C)chanceler stagger on chance lle but i! chancelait (B )épeler spell (aloud) nous épelons but vous épellefiez (E )niveler level vous nivelez but nous nivellerons (D )renouveler renew ils renouvellent but je renouvelai (C)feuilleter glance at is feuillette but tu feuilletas (C)haleter pant, gasp tu halettes but nous [nu] haletons (A )jeter throw nous jetons but vous jetteriez (E )

e . Verbs with -él or -ét The following everyday verbs in -eler

and -eter indicate their [C] by 11 or et z

acheter [aj te ] buy j’ackets but nous achetons (A )

geler freez e il gble but il gels (C)marteler [maRtle ] hammer tu marteles but nous martelions (B)peler peel ils pelent but vous peliez (B)

j . Céder [sede] ,‘yie ld .

’H ere 6 under stress becomes e. There

fore , in group A ,céder has cede

,cedes

,cede

,cedent

, all with [e] . In

groups D and E , all verbs of this type are written with an 6 as in je

céderai,il céderait

, etc . but this 6, here slightly stressed (cf. appellerai),is nearly as open as in cede e tc. Like céder are conjugated espérer

[‘

espeRe , nearly espeRe]‘hope ,

’régler [Regle , nearly Regle]

‘

regulate ,’

settle ,’

and various other verbs having 6 consonant(s) -sr.

9 . Rever [Re zve], dream,

’

tends to have [8 ] inits who lly unstressedstem, but has a very long Open stem-vowe l under stress ;yet every

where [e :] is safest. Like rever is conjugatedméler mingle’

(se méler

1‘mingle in,

’ ‘mingle with’

;as méler de‘meddle with ’

;

EXERCISES

I . 1 . Who threw it ? (B and C.) 2 . Were you throwing them ?

3. H e throws us back into the water 88 , line 4. Do you

reject me ? 5. Shall I harness two horses ? 6. Was he staggering ?

7. Does he stagger ? 8 . What are you reading 475) 9 . I’mglane

ing at l e Temps . 1 0 . Children Spe ll each word aloud. I 1 . When we

1 30 EXERCISES

telephone , we often spe ll out each word . 1 2 . Why do you throw

away the things that I buy ? 1 3 . When does a dog pant ? 14. Wepant when we have been running (com , A p .p.) too fast. 1 5. You

hammer too hard (trop 1 6. I was renewing my ideas. 1 7. I

shall bring you to my house when you have finished (D p .p .) yourwork. 1 8 . The book that my friend is finishing (achever) is ca lled

l’Appel aux armes. 1 9. What is your name ? My name is Alphonse .

(Use s’appeler.) so . The balloon (is hellon) bursts (will burst).

2 1 . How much do you weigh ? I weigh too much. 2 2 . I hope to

be able to (espérer pouvoir) buy that horse . 23. You hope to be

able to harness him. 24. You are always dreaming. 25. You were

always meddling in (de) things that did not concern you (recorder).26. Do I yie ld ? No, sir, I Shall never yield.

I I . (Based chiefly on1 . What is an astrologer ? (55 1 29 , 2 . An astro loger, sir, is

a person who meddles in the affairs of other people who

predicts (prédit) our destiny, who te lls us what’

s going to happen.

3. I f what he has predicted pleases us, we increase his salary

(sppointements, salaire). 4. I f, on the other hand, he has predicted

something hateful, we send for the poor man and we threaten

him. 5. Or, perhaps, we ask him (dative) how long he has to live .

6. Then, if he hasn’t enough presence of mind to reply as did

(comme, or comme a fe lt) the astrologer of [the] King Louis XI ,we avenge ourse lves by ordering (en vb.) someone to throw himinto the street. 7. For my part, I (Moi, je) do not claim (pretends)to be very wise , but if someone had predicted something disagreeable to me (dative) I should not have him(ferais) thrown out through

the window,for he might (pourrait) fall on some gentleman whom

that would annoy. 8 . I always have (fats) the greatest care taken

of persons whom I wish to get rid of shake’

; 1 62 , a), and I

do everything [that is] in my power to avoid disorder (le désordre).

P 0UV011?

165 . Pouvoir [puvwazx],‘

can ,

’ ‘could

,may, migh t ,

’ ‘

(to) beable ,

’has on in groups A

—E whe rever the stem is not s tre ssed ;

otherwise eu, and in one case ui (je puis)

GROUP A ExAM PLEs all )

je peux [pa] Je psux y [poz i] sller. Je ne peux (pas) y slle r

or je puis [pui] En quoi puis-is [pqiz3] leur etre utiIe

tu peux [pa] Tu peux en [pe z d ] prendre deux You may tak e two

elle peut [pa] Cela peut-il emvrai Est-os que es peut

'

e‘

t re vrai

nous pouvons [puvb] Nous pouvons en [puvoz d] parler We can speak o f it

vous pouvez [puve ] Vous pouvez écrire [puvez ekRizR]. Nous ne pouvons paselles peuvent [pcezv] Elles peuvent y [pcezvti] entrer

I can, I may, e tc . Peux-je does not exist; je puis is frequent.

NOTE 1 After pouvoir the reenforcing negative adverb pas is com

monly not required. Observe that pouvoir (like‘may,

’ migh t ,’

can,

could’

) takes a pure infinitive : Elles out pu y entrer.

B : je pouvais [pnvc],‘I could,

’ ‘I was able to ,’e tc. See 60.

NOTE 2 . In view of the defectiveness of ‘can

’ ‘mayand the non-e xistence of ‘

was (we re) being able to,’note particularly 62

,

63, 67. This group expresses a continued or habitual power to do this or

that : 11 pouvait partir 1 n’importe que l moment He could (was in a

position to) leave at any moment’

(but perhaps lts did not leav e). See

example under group C, and note that our‘could

’ may be used also in

translating forms from group E .

C : je pus [py], tu pus [py], it put [py], nous pumes vous pfites

[pyt], ils purent [mm], ‘1 could’e tc . I llustrate liaison comple te ly ; thus,

is pus aller [pyzale ], elles purent y [pyt i] envoyer, arriver, e tc .

Note the of pumes and pittes . A ll verbs having these endings-us

,

-ut, etc .) have -t‘

imes and -fites . Note , e .g. , voult‘

tmes and voulittes in C.

Note how the tense -value of this group contrasts with that of group B

Aussitfit que nous luiparlames francais il put nous répondre‘As soon aswe

spoke F rench to him he could answer us.

"(There was a definite momen

'

t

at which he could answer us.) See the note on group B and see 65.

'

D : is pourrai [puRe ],‘I shall be able

’etc . See 84and comple te this

group in connection with all group A ; thus, Si is peux tu pourras

E : is pourrais [puRe],‘I Should be able to,

’ ‘ I could ,’ ‘ I migh t,

’e tc.

See the note under B (end). See also 9 1 and complete group E .

(i i—b fu -C

P OU VOIR , VOULOIR 1 33

a. (Remark on the compound groups of pouvoir .) As our verbs‘can

’and

‘may’have no past participles, the value of pu [py], p . p . of

pouvoir, can be most clearly illustrated by using be able as the

auxiliary verb. ExamplesA p .p . : J

’ai pu les vendre

‘I have been able to se ll them ’

(or‘1 could

sell them,

’at

‘

a definite moment). Also (sometime s ambiguously),‘Perhaps

I have sold them.

’See 71 .

B p .p . : Elle avait pu l’acheter‘She had be en able to buy it.

’Also

(some times ambiguously), Perhaps she had bough t it .’

Cp .p . Dés que nous efimes pu la voir‘As soon as we had

“

been

able to see her See 105, b.

D p .p . Quand vous aurez pu l’achever‘When you (Shall) have

be en able to finish it See 87.

E p .p . Aurait-elle pu is dire‘Would she have been able to say it ?

(or‘Could Sh e have said it ?

’or

‘M ight she have said Note this

correspondence carefully.

166 . Vouloir [vulwazR] , (to) wish (to) e tc .,has on in its unstressed

stem e lsewhere eu,throughout groups A

—E

GROUP A EXAM PLES (Study all )

je veux [va] Je veux apprendre [voz apRéizdR] I wish to learntu veux [vo] Tu veux y [voz i] aller You wish to go there ?

on veut [vo ] Elle pourrait apprendre , mais elle ne veut pas

nous voulons [vulo] Nous voulons achever [vulez ajve ] ce travailvous voulez [vule ] Que voulez -vous dire What do you mean ?elles veulent [vce zl] I ls veulent annoncer [vceltanz

‘

sse ] quelque chose

I wish (to) e tc . Veux- je is not used interrogatively in colloquial F rench .

B : is voulais [vule]‘I wished

’

(‘I was wishing

’

) etc . See § 60 and

complete this group, with the complements used to illustrate group A .

C : je voulus [vuly]‘I wished ’

(at a definite moment) e tc . Conjugated

precise ly like is pus etc . See 165, C,and the notes under both B and C

of pouvoir, 165.

D : je voudrai [vudRe ]‘ I shall wish

’e tc . See 84and comple te this

group : Je partirai quand je voudrai.

E : is voudrais [vudRe]‘ I Should wish (or like)

’e tc . See § 9 1 and

comple te this group, borrowing a complement from 10 1 and 102, or

from 165 (top).

L V V

VOULOI R . EXERCISES

0. (Remark on the compound groups of vouloir .) As ou r verb‘will ’ is defective , the tense-values of j

’ai voulu , j

'avais voulu , j

’eus

voulu, j’ant ai voulu

, and rentals voulu can be realiz ed best by using‘

wished’or

‘liked ’

or‘

desired,’

as past participles.

EXERCISES

I . Aller e t s’en aller Exercice oral.

I I . Vary the fo llowing mode l so as to use all B and all E : Si tu

alle le.

1 Rouen, nous irions 1 Paris (or Dieppe, Nice, Monaco, eu Havre ,Read aloud what you have written .

I I I . Envoyer (5 1 . The king sent for his astrologer2 . Why did (do) kings send for their astrologers ? 3 . When would

you send for yours, if you had one ? (Use en.) 4. Why do we send

for anything ? 138 , Note .) 5. Have you sent for your le tte rstod ay ? 6. I f you sent your letters this evening, would they arrive

to-morrow ? 7. I S that the newspaper that you’re sending (are going

to send) to your brothe r ? 8 . No , I shall send him Le F igaro.

IV . Pouvoir e t vouloir 1 65 Questionnaire .

V . In the examples under A p.p . to E p .p . of pouvoir 1 65)substitute voulu and note whe ther a reasonable combination resultsin each case .

V I . 1 . H e’

s so disagreeable ! He will not come (You2 . I don

’t like your friend and I will not speak to him. 3 . Do I wish

to come ? Rather, Can I come ? 4. I could have come yesterday,but I couldn’t leave my work to-day. When I can see you I willsend you [a] word . 5. Come (Venez) when you please (vouloir), butI Should like to know at what time (heure) you are going to arrive .

6. Can you (Cou ld you) arrive before Six o’clock in the evening ?

7.We Should like to Show you something that you have always wishedto see . 8 . I f you wish to come you can (A or D) come , 9. What isthe proverb? Vouloir, c

’est pouvoir !

1 36 M OUVOI R , PLE UVOIR . INDEF INITE FORM S

168 . Mouvoir [muvwazR] , (to) move ,’Shows the same sh ift as

mourir from ou to eu . Hence, in group A , je meus [me] bu t nous

mouvons e tc .

B : je mouvais etc . C : je mus [my] e tc .,nothing but mben le ft

of the stem. (See 1 65, C. ) D : je mouvrai etc. E : je mouvrais

e tc. Gerund en mouvant ‘

in moving ’

e tc . Verbal my“

: mouvant-e‘moving.

’

RA : mu,but mus without

NOTE . No form of mouvoir is in common use :‘

(to) move forward’

avancer,‘

(to) move backward reculer or retirer, (to) mpve upward’

lover or soulever or hausser, e tc . ,

‘

(to) move downward’

baisser or

descendre , etc. ,

‘

(to)move away’

éloigner,‘

(to)move nearer’

approch er,

e tc . Use also changer quelque chose (qqch .) do place .

‘

(To)move into’

(e .g.

a house) emménager ;‘

(to)move’

(out of a house) déménager ; e tc .

a. Emouvoir,

‘

(to) stir’

(the emotions), is frequent : Cela émeut

(‘

That stirs [one] Emu has no

b. Promouvoir, (to) promote

’

(a person), has only the infinitive andthe past participle promu-e (no

A

169 . Pleuvoir [plcevwazR],‘

(to) rain,’

usually impersonal, has en

throughout . Occasionally it has a definite subject : IA S coups pleu

vaient Blows were raining,

’

Group A il pleut [i(l) ple]‘

it’s raining ’

; 3d pl. pleuvent [ploezv] . B : il pleuvait‘it was rain

ing.

’C : il plut [ply]

‘it rained

’

(plaire, please ,’also give s 11 pint).

D : 11 pleuvra [plCB'

VRa]‘it will rain .

’E : 11 pleuvrait

‘it would rain .

’

Gerund en pleuvent . R 1) . plu ii avait plu it had rained .

’

Some I ndefinite P ronouns and I ndefinite Adjectives

170. Forms and Functions . Certain forms occur only as pro

nouns ; e .g. personne, m.,

‘nobody

’

(to be distinguished from une

personne‘a rien

, m.,

‘

nothing.

’

Others, either as pronouns

or as adjectives ; e .g. autre- s‘

other- S,

’tout

‘

all,’

e tc . Others , onlyas adjectives ; e .g. certain-e (in the singular), and quelque

- s some ,’

(

a few"

l 1 1 7 L)

‘VV L:

“ (AW [ M 1

A 171: UN , CHA cow, p z (IS/Eous, TOor 137

0. Examples of aucun-e,chacun-e , plusieurs (pron . or adj ), and

tout-e. (Further de tails in 1 71

Tu n’as aucune raison de lo 1 You have no reason to believe

croire , aucun droit de le dire . it, no righ t to say it.

J’aiplusieurs raisons et chacune 2 I have several reasons and each

do mes raisons est bonne . of my reasons is good.

Tout hom e a certains droits . Every man has certain rights.

b. Aucun,m.

,aucune, f. , has no plural in living F rench ; an author

might write,e .g.

, Je n’ose faire aucune projets [oké

’

e pRogs]‘I daren

’

t

make any plans,’but not Je n

’ai aucune amis (for

‘

no friends’

) nor

Je n’ose acheter aucune chevaux (for

‘

no for either of these

groups would reveal that the plural is obsolete and that aucune projetsis correct only. for the eye .

c. As a pronoun ,aucun-e must have a definite antecedent or

complement

Vos livros Jo n’en ai aucun . Your books ? I haven

’t any of

them.

Tu as quelque excuse Aucune . 5 You have some excuse ? None .

Aucun de nos amis n’est 1a. 6 None of our friends is there .

11. Aucun-e differs from pas de in that it cannot be quantitative‘I have no money ’

Je n’ai pas d

’argent , not Is n

’ai aucun argent .

That is,aucun-e implies a possibility of contradicting with plusieurs .

H ence ,‘No, he has no wife

’Non, il n

’a pas de femme, not Non, il

n’a aucune femme ;but 11 n

’

y a aucune femme comme la sienne (or 11

n’

y a pas de femme comme la afiennel) would be correct.

e. After'

si Cliff);'

ih questiofis, and in clause s following negatived

verbs, aucun-e is used occasionally, with the meaning any’

Si vous aviez aucun espoir 7 If you had any hope

Avez -vous aucun espoir 8 Have you any hOpe ?

Jo no crois pas qu’il trompe 9 I don

’t believe that he deceives

aucun do ses amis . any of his friends .

NOTES . Example 7 implies‘no hope .

’ Example 8 implies a vague

chance (quelque might seem more positive). In example 9 aucun is

emphatic and is separated from pas by que (cf. e—d ).

1 38 EXERCISES. CADET ROUSSELLE

EXERCISES

1. Using d’eux and d’elles (

‘

of them or d'entre eux and d 'entre

elles (same meaning), translate

1 . None of themwill die . 2 . None of them had died. 3. I’

ve read

those stories, but none of them has moved me. 4. No story moves

me if it is not true . 5. Do you buy any books now ? 6. I f I had

any money, I should buy some (simply on vb), but I haven’

t any.

7. If I had any hope of making any (u'

mpb' d’e

’

n th e ca se

would be different (5 1 57, line 1 2 ; use summont). 8 . What hopehave I ? None , and I don

’t dare to make any plans. 9. Eve ry p lan

has some defect (défsut). 10. None of the plans that I make is good.

I I . Causerie sur les saisons e t le temps. Les 55 1 68— 1 70 en

fourniront lo vocabulaire ; voir aussi les vers suivants

Cadet Rousse lle 1 a trois maisons

Q uin’ont nipoutres ni chevrons.

C’est pour loger les hironde lles.

Q ue direz -vous d’Cadet Rousselle ?

Ah ! ah ! ah ! ouivraiment,Cadet Rousse lle est bon enfant.

Cadet Rousse lle a trois habits,Deux jaunes, l

’autre en papier gris ;

I ] met ce lui-laquand il géle ,Ou quand il pleut et quand il grele .

Ah ! ah ! ah ! oui vraiment,Cadet Rousse lle est hon enfant.

Etc.

1 On trouvera huit strophe s de ce tte chanson dans lo Grand D ietionnaire

universel de Larousse (voir Cade t Rousse lle), dans l’anthologie de P. V rignault

e t aille urs.

140 QUELQ UE , CERTAIN

Quelque étranger a observé que 1 Some foreigner has obse rved

1s francais a trop de rbgles . J’ai that French has too many rules .

In 9a quelque part. I ’ve read that somewhere .

Quelque chose vaut mieux que 2 Some thing is be tter than noth

rien, mais quoi ing, but what ?

Si j’achéte des (or quelques) ru 3 If I buy any (some) ribbons I

burn , j’aurai dépensé Isa quelques shall have spent the few franes

francs quime restent . that I have left.

NOTES. Distinguish between quelques poissons‘some fish ’

(pl.) and du

poisson (quantity rather than number). Observe that un (adj .) and de s are

normally never stressed :‘I have some bread, but not much e .g . J

’ai un

peu de pain (quelque pain), mais pas beaucoup. Again ,

‘Some dogs like some

cats e .g. I] y a quelques (csrtaina) chiens qui aiment certains chats etc .

Des chiens siment dc: chats would be quite un-F rench . See 31 1 .

Que lqu’un m’

a parle de lui. 4 Someone has spoken to me of

him.

Quelques-unes de ces dames 5 Some of (A few of) those ladies

montraient du talent , d ’autres u’en showed talent, others had none

avaient pas du tout . at all.

REMARK. Quelqu’un is generally used instead of quelqu

’une when the

feminine might seem too precise : Monsieur, quelqu’un vous attend dans

le salon Someone is waiting for you, sir, in the drawing-room.

’ — Qui

Une dame .

174. Certain-s,m. , certains -s, f .

, varies in meaning according to its

position : (une) certains chose‘

a certain thing’

(not ye t Specified);une chose certains a sure thing.

’

Other examples :

J’ai certains-s raison-s de les 1 I have a certain reason (certain

reasons) for believing them.

(Un-e) certain-e Allemand-em’en 2 A certain German (m. and f i)

avait convaincu . had convinced me of it.

Certs in(e)s Allemand(e)s on out 3 Certain Germans (m. and f i)trop 11. have laughed about it too much .

NOTE . In attenuations nu-e is not omitted : th e dams d’un certain Age[se

ntenazg]‘a lady no longer young ,

’un mur d ’une certains hauteur ‘

afairly h igh wall

,

’e tc .

REMARK . The partitive group de certa1n(e)s as In 11 y a do certain”gens Th ere are certain people ,

’is archaic or rare.

A ' K I f’ L‘ \

Q UELCON Q UE , Q UI CON Q UE . EXERCISES 141

175 . Quelconqueb s (pure ly adjectival) may follow a singu lar or a

plural noun :

Prenez deux lignes quelconques . 1 Take any two lines .

C’est nu homme (une femme) 2 H e (She) is nobody in particular

quelconque . (an average person ,anybody ).

176 . Quiconque who(so)ever, always mascu linesingu lar, may be a subject or an object

Quiconque enfreindra cette loi 1 1 Whoever shall infringe (break)sera severement puni. this law will be seve rely punished .

La loi punit quiconque suscite 2 The law punishes who(so)ever

des revoltes . stirs up revolts .

Je le dirai a quiconque vous 3 I will say it to anyone you

please (to whomever you wish).

EXERCISES

(See e spe cially 170—176. Translate eve rything)

I . 1 . Why, in every"grammar, doe s one find so many examples ?

2 . What other means is there of showing (iaf a .) how a given language 1 6 1

,line 7, and 1 75) is spoken (reflex ) and how it is

written 3. I f each of us has understood what has beenexplained in this lesson and in the one that precedes it, we shall beable to use correctly most of the forms . that we have studied. 4. I f

some of the sentences in this exe rcise shou ld se em 99) too dithcult, look again and you will find what is needed.

11. What are the forms that have been explained in the twenty

sixth lesson and in this ? 2 . They are 3. H ow does one say in

F rench , Everyone has studied these pages with care’

? 4. H ow

would one say,‘All the examples Show us how one should (il faut)

employ certain words and certain constructions’

? 5. Has each of

us observed when it is necessary to use no with aucuu and aucune ?

6. I have read somewhere , and many people have said,that F rench

is an easy subject (aob'

. last). 7. I f anyone (not aucuu) said that to

me (I f it were to me that one said that), I Should be tempted to

reply like a certain Englishman : Sir, can you Speak it and write

it correctly ? ’ 8 . Some foreigners learn to (apprennent h) speak

142 EXERC ISES. CADET R O I/SSELLE

F rench like F renchmen, but most of them (Is plupart) may studyit for years (pendant des années) without ever learning to

pronounce a syllable [of it (1 en)] correctly. 9 . To a foreigner

many of the sounds of F rench may seem to resemble those of his

own (propre) language , but the truth is that no sound is quite the

same . 1 0. Some of us learn very quickly what our mistakes are

(what are our mistakes) ;others never. 1 I . Take any two persons.

Each of them'

would like to learn to speak French , to speak it cor

rectly. Which of them has the most chances of succeeding ? the

one who thinks F rench easy ? or the one who knows that it is as

difficult to learn to Speak it correctly as to play any musical instrument correctly (jouer do instrument de musique) ?

I I I . 1 . All the little boys and all the little girls offer somethingand each of them receives (two ways, wit/t recoit and regoivent)some gift. 2 . I f you put each of these books back in its place (t woways), none of them will be lost. 3. Repeat that to whomever you

please . 4. How does the law punish who(so)ever stirs up revo lts ?

5. Whoever explains (D ) these rules correctly shall have a reward .

I V . Correct the fo llowing mistakes

1 . Je n’ai aucun vin. 2 . Ap cune d

’

ellesl

‘l

nous voit. 3 . Tout pe r

sonne e st libre de croire qu’il voudra. 4. Des

'

hommes aiment le vin

e t des hommes preférent l’

eau . 5. AucunS-de ces homme s n’b

‘

fit to rt.

V . C’est encore Cade t Rousse lle quiviendraala rescousse 1 71

I 75) Cadet Rousse lle a trois beaux yeux ,L

’un r

’

garde 2 Caen, l’

autre aBayeux ;Comme il n ’

a pas la vue bien ne tte ,

Le troisieme c’est sa lorgnette .

Cadet Rousse lle a trois cheveux,

Deux pour la face , un pour la queue ;Et quand 1] sort, avec adre sse

I l le s me t tous le s trois en tre sse .

(R ef rain )

144 AUTRE,EN CORE UN

lo, la, etc . , or by de The locutions do temps h autre‘from time

to time ’

(also do temps en temps), de facon 011 d’autre

‘

some how or

other’

(no article), and the like , are exceptional .

b. The Type l’tm-e ct l

’autre, les ans et les autres, etc. Examp les

Je les approuve , l’un (l

’une) et 9 I approve both . Prevent one

l’sutre . Empechez PM on l’autre or the other fromcoming. I don’t

do venir. Je no les aime pas , ui like either of them. I don’t like

l’une ui l’autre (ui les unes ui les any of them.

autres).

c. Autre as an Adjective . The following examples furthe r illustrate the adjective

Cherches un autre garcon ! 10 Get another waiter !

II a (n’a pas) d

’sutres enfants . 1 1 He has (no) other children .

Ha raison est tout autre que la 12 My reason is quite diffe rent

sienne . (Sea raisons sont tout from his. (His reasons are q uite

autres que les miennes .) different from mine .)

J’ai parcouru I’un et l’autre 13 I have run through (glanced at)

both works.

Q UERY . Why, in the following living phrases, does autre illustrate

archaic syntax 1 22, Notes)? — Autres temps , autres moeurs Other times,othe r customs ’

;C’est cela, pas autre chose

‘That

’

s it, nothing else .

’Autre

fois‘formerly

’

(cf. Une autre fois je le ferai‘Another time I ’ll do

REMARK . Examples 14 3 (but not 8 and 1 2) show that autre must be

preceded by some othe r adjective , or by do, in normal groups .

4. Autres follows nume rals : les six autres .

NOTE . Bien d’sutres beaucoup d’autres . Here bien is an adverb,

in bien laid‘very ugly.

’

e . Encore am as an Adjective . t en‘

anothe r’ means ‘

one mo re ,’

F rench requires encore un (une)Donna -mfimrautre verre , celui 14 Give me anothe r glass , this

01 est ask . (one ) is dirty .

But.Dunm rmoiencos'

e unverre , 1 5 Give me another (an additional)11 n ’

en (out trois. glass. 1 need th ree .

For the plural. encore dos verres : but d ’autres verres if dij'

eren t glasse s

are asked for. Au bout do six autres amides ‘At the end of six yea rs more .

’

MEME . THE TYPE Q UELQ UE CH OSE DE 145

179 . Mame-s same .

’ Examples 1 and 2 need no comment

Voici la méme intrigue , les 1 Here is the same plot, the samememes idées

, oui, les mémes que ideas ;yes, the same as in the otherdans l’autre livre . book.

Tu as lesmemes amiss que moi. 2 You have the same friends as I .

Cos deux (euvres so confondent 3 These two works blend in one

dans une méme personnalité. and the same pe rsonality.

NOTE. Similarly, C’est une seule et méme idée . The definite article is

sometimes omitted : Pour eux , méme réponse For them, (the) same reply .

’

11. Following a noun ,meme (sometimes memes) means se lf

,

’

se lves

Elle est la vertu meme , mais la 4 She is virtue itself , but virtue

vertumeme us Is regards pas (mais itself does not concern him (but

les vertus memes no le regardent the virtues themse lves do not con

pas). cern him).

REMARKS. In example 4meme -s is more or less adverbial, as in Je par

tirai aujourd ’huiméme ‘I shall leave this very day.

’H ence F rench authors

often write méms where we migh t expect memes , as e .g. in Les étrangers

meme (or memes) 1s savent Meme les strangers ls savent Eve n for

eigners (or Foreigners , even) know it. ’ C’est cela meme ‘Tbat

’s it

’

(That is just what I mean).On the type ceux-lbm6me(s) qui see 82 , Note 1 .

Meme-s may be joined to moi, toi, etc . : moi-meme , eux-memes , soiméme etc . Home has the same value in nos amis méme as in

Ca revient eu méme a la meme chose) That amounts to the same ’

is exceptional; likewise other groups in which méme stands alone .

180. Quelque chose de bon 'something good .

’ Pronouns and pro

nominal adverbs require do be fore adjectives by which they are

qualified : quelque chose de bon something good,’rien do certain

nothing certain.

’

If the antecedent is truly masculine or feminine ,the adjective must agree with it in gender and in numbe r : quelques-ans

de tres jolis , quelques-unes de tree jolies some very pretty ones,’

quelqu’un de moins beau someone less good- looking,

’

quelqu’une do

bien belle somebody very beautiful.’

146 EXERCISES

EXERCISES

I . To be written . 1 . I have begun various enterprise s w h ich I

should like to see succeed, and if some of them succe eded

, so much

the be tter for me . 2 . Unfortunate ly (Halheureusement), seve ral of

my best plans have already failed (échouer) because certain th ings

have prevented me from ge tting money enough , e tc. 3 . Upon many

and many an occasion , also ,I have attempted (essayer) to do some

thing too difficult, something that others, wiser than I , would ne ver

have attempted. 4. Some of us never attempt to do what o the rs

attempt but never finish (achever). 5. That amounts to the same

thing, doe sn’

t it ? 6. You know (connaissez) Girard . Girard is some

body. 7. We ll (Eh bien), he is wise . 8 . When he undertake s (entre

prend) anything whatever, he doesn’

t talk about it. 9 . Formerly, h ewould talk about eve rything he was going to do , to everyone

, to

whoever wished to listen to him. 1 0. Now, even his friends (twoways), even those who (two ways) know him be st, do not meddle

1 62, g) in his affairs. 1 I . O ther times , other customs ! 1 2 . When

G. has undertaken (entrepris) anything, he finishes it all by himse lf1 3. Nobody knows what he is doing. Yes, his wife knows,

sometimes ; no one e lse (personne d’autre). 14. Our friend X is

quite different fromG. (ressembler a, neg.) He doesn’

t hide his plans.

1 5.

‘What you know says he ,‘nothing e lse .

’

1 6. H e has

had some of the same ideas as G . ,but G. succeeds whe re X fails .

I I . Petit Questionn aire (oral). 1 Si un gargon de restaurant vous

offrait un verre sale , on bien des verres trop petits, que lui diriez

vous ? 2 . Si je lui dirais : «Garcon, . 11 3. Au cas 011 ii n’

y

aurait pas assez de fourche ttes (f ,

‘forks que faudrait

- il lui dire ?

4. Et que dirait ce garcon -si son patron boss,’ ‘

employer l’

embétait

trop?5. Comment un F rancais traduirait-il ceci —

‘Jekyll and Hyde ,whom everyone had taken (pris) for two different men (adj . f ollows),were one and the same person .

’6. Again :

‘Even those (The very

people) who repeat those things know that they aren ’t true .

’

7.

‘That’s

just it the very children know that none of these storie s is true ,

but the re are (11 y on a) some ve ry funny ones.

’

148 TOUT

NOTES . As a pronoun , tous is toutes (f.) is Tons

(Toutos) viendront‘All will come

'

; or 11s viendront tous , e tc . ; or Toutes

avaient pour‘All were afraid,

’etc . In some eases, linking is avoided . Ex

ceptionally (as an adjective), tous is [tn-z ] : 1 tons égards

‘in all respects

’

;

more normally, 1 tous les égards .

a. Tout, tous (no t l), etc . , Show approximate ly the same con

structions as‘all

’and

‘every ’

; not as‘

whole ’: tout lo (co, mon, un)

problomo all the (this, my, a) problem tout homme every man,

’

toute femme ‘every woman,

’tout Paris all Paris,

’toute Rome

‘all Rome .

’

b. Additional Illustrations of Tout. In numerous groups, tons and

toutes may immediate ly precede a noun : do tous cbtés‘from (on) all

sides,’do toutes parts

‘from all sides

’

;also do toutes aortas‘

of all

kinds,’but hardly do toutes ospoces (note the vowe l) ; rather do toute

especo of every kind,’or do toutes les espbcos. Note tous (toutes)

los deux‘both ,

’trois

‘all three ,

’e tc . ; possibly without lea if

‘together ismeant. U sually below dix , and always above , les is used .

F art/ier Details as to tout, toutc(s), and tous

1 . Note , also, toujours (formerly tous jours) ‘always,

’ but tous les jours‘every day

’

; toutefois (formerly toutes fois)‘

yet,’however,

’but toutes

les fois (que) every time

2 . Meaning‘every,

’tout (toute) is more or less restricted : I I vient h

toute hours (or atoutes les heures) He comes at any hour at all

but not toute nuit‘every night.

’

3. Tous les (toutes les) deux , trois, e tc . may express alternation

tous les deux jours ‘every other day,

’tous les trois ans

‘every third year,

’

toutes les quatre minutes every four minutes,’toutes les cinq secondes

‘every fifth second,

’etc.

4. As a neuter pronoun, tout normally stands alone (no lo) : Tout ou

rien‘All or nothing,

’Voila tout !

‘That’s all !

’e tc . So penser 1 tout

‘

(to)think of everything,

’on tout

‘in all partout everywhere .

’

But in referring to a given whole quantity of anything, commonly 1s toutA combien so monte 1s tout How much for the whole purchase ?

’Ls

tout, six francs For the whole lot, six francs .

’Pas do tout

‘not at all.

’

5. Note ca refully th e syntax and'

meaning of tout de in , for example , Onignore tout de ce voyage Nothing is known about that journey.

’

UN , N UL , ON ,PERSONNE , R IEN 149

6. Tout (direct object) commonly precedes infinitives and past parti

ciples : pour tout voir‘to see everything,

’

is n’ai pas tout dit

‘ I haven’t

said everything’

;but not as an adjective : pour comprendre tout co qu’il dit

‘to understand everything he says,

’

is n’ai pas dit tout co dont e tc .

7. Tons and toutes may immediately precede past parti

ciples, or.(it more emphatic) follow : Jo les ai tous vus‘I’vg see n them all

,

’

e tc . In such cases toutes , if linked , must be [tuts ].8 . Tout occasionallymeans everybody On avait formé, tout était parti

‘The doors had been closed , everyone had gone .

’

9 . Tout is often adverbial : tout do suite‘at once

’e tc.

183 . 011 (une), as a pronoun ,can be singular or phital, like

our‘

one

l’un(e) l’autre‘

(the) one the other’

; les un(e)s les

autres‘some the others (the rest) l’un(e) ou l

’autro

‘one or the

other ui l’un(e) ui l’autre neither

’

; les un(e)s et les autres‘all

’

; les un(e)s les autres each other’

(‘one so blesser

l’un(e) l’autre (les uns or les unes les autres)

‘

(to)wound each other,’etc .

On l’un do, l’une do, se e 85, Note d .

REM INDER . Our‘one

’in demonstrative phrases, does not

correspond to nu,une , uns , unss :

‘that one

’celui- lb, cello-la,

‘the one

that’

celui (cello) que ,‘the ones that

’ceux (cellos) que ,

‘the use ful

ones’

ceux (cellos) qui sont utiles ,‘the black ones

’les uoir(o)s , e tc.

184. Nul- lo, no , none ,’ may replace aucun-e in pure ly negative

constructions, but is generally less colloquial.

Note nulls part (se t phrase )‘nowhe re

’

Je no m’ennuie nulls part

ailleurs"I don

’

t feel bored anywhere else .

’

185 . On (always an unstressed nominative) is an indefinite pe rsonal

pronoun, constantly used where we have‘

one ,’ ‘

we ,’ ‘

you,’ ‘

they,’

‘

people ,’e tc .

,or a passive construction .

186 . Personno,nobody e tc .

,and rien

,nothing ’

etc. ,have approxi

mate ly the same constructions ; both usually require no, save when

used absolute ly 90 , 374, F or‘

e lse ,’add d’autre .

NOTE on no. This negative particle should be used whenever a verb is

to be negatived, whatever other negative may be added,

1 50 EXERC ISE

ExERcISE

MarioXscrit a 1 Ma chore Louise 1

My dear Louise ,

1 . Nothing c ould be (Rion do no verb) more stunning (chic,épatant) than Rome . 2 . Every day some thing inte resting ,

and we

always have (have always) time enough to (pour) see e ve ry thing,

all the beautiful objects and all the ugly ones 3 . Eve ry

where we go we discove r (découvrons) things that ente rtain us

(divertir). 4. In eve ry stre e t (all the there is some thing that

you couldn ’t see anywhe re e lse . 5. Whenever we fe e l inc lined

(avoir onvie) to see o ther places (endroits) we entrust (confier)everything to our se rvant — the whole house — and then we

’re off !

(nous voilh partia l). 6. Like master, like servant, you know ! 7. We

have our simple pleasure s, all three of us (no do nous), and our Pao lanever forge ts her duties .

8 . I f you come , look for a pension (f ) near us (pres de chez

nous). 9 . Thcn we could go on our jaunts toge ther (faire nos petites

excursions ensemble), all four of us , and every two or three days we

might (pouvoir, E ) follow the tourists . 1 0 . Some times there is no

other way (moyen) of seeing what one must see (doit or il

fautV

J ):“

1 1 ? Alfred is still wholly devoted to me (etre tout aand even when there is nothing to do (a I am not at all bored .

1 2 . In the evening we talk about such and such things that we have

seen and of our various guides (guides , 1 3 . Every two or three

minutes he makes me laugh 1 6 1 ) by repeating (on répétant) some

story or other. 14. These guide s have all (pronoun) the same pur

pose , but they have not all (pronoun) the same methods . 1 5. Some

declare that Nero fiddled (jouer da violon) while Rome was burning(bruler) ;others deny it.

(To be continued . A suivre)

1 52 DE VOIR, RE CE VOIR . EXERCI SE

B p .p . : J’avais dfi lui dire

'I had had to tell him (had been

obliged to tell him), Very like ly I had told him etc .

E p .p . Vous aurioz dh tout dire no rien dire)'You ough t t o h ave

told everything Translate Ought she to have said it ? Would

they have had to leave in three days ? Should we have been oblige d to tell

everything ?’

REMARK . I t 13 extremely important to compare now the various me an

ings of’owe ,

’ 'ought to ,

’ ’ought to have ,

’ ’should have to ,

’ ’should h ave

had to , must,’ 'must have ,

’ '

(to) be obliged to,’ '

(to) have been obliged to,

’

'am to ,

’ 'was to ,

’ 'was to have ,

’

e tc . ,with the meanings of all th e fo rms of

devoir, which is not defective and is one of the most frequently used ve rbs

in the F rench language . I t is of course the defectiveness of our E nglish

forms that makes the correct use of devoir particularly difficult to us .

a. Devoir takes a pure infinitive (Jo dois partir) except when one is

indebted to someone for some action expressed by an infinitive : Je

lui dois d’avoir tout dit I’m indebted to him for having to ld e very

thing,’Vous deviez 11 cos gens d

’avoir réussi You were unde r obliga

tions to those people for having succeeded (for your

Translate’ I was indebted to my brother for having told me all that .

’

188 . Recevoir [rosovwazn] ,‘

(to) receive ,’ is conjugated exactly like

devoir,but of course has n ew instead of dev and requires a cedilla (9)

before 11 and o : jo rogois , je rogue, p. p. new, etc. Cf . du, but due ,

duo, dues .

a. So apercevoir (to) perceive ,’concevoir (to) conceive ,

’décevoir

‘

(to) disappoint or deceive ,’

percevoir (to) collect’

(taxes), etc.

EXERCISE I

1 . Shall I owe you something ? 2 . You won’t owe me anything.

3 . Nobody will owe them anything. 4. What Shall we have to say to

her ? 5. Shall you pl.) have to speak ? 6. H e had said that he

would owe me thirty (trente) francs . 7. H e still owes me (dativevb. toujours) that sum (cette somme). 8 . I f their enterprise had

failed, they’

d be in debt to everybody.

EXERCISES 153


I . Jo los apercois‘I perceive them.

’

Complete group A , using in each case a non-reflexive accusative

me ’

,

‘

you’sg . ,

'him’

,

‘her

’

,

‘it

’

,

‘

you’

pl. ,

I I . Jo m’on apergois

‘

I notice it (am aware of

Comple te this reflexive group in the plural.

I I I . Jomo suis apergu-e que

‘

I have noticed that

Complete this group, noting carefully that the auxiliary must beetre in all reflexive constructions, and that this past participle mustagree in gender and number with the subject. U se complements .

IV . Est-cc quo jo toccis les chosos que tu m’envoies P Do I

receive the things that you send me ? ’

Give all group A of each verb, changing each pronoun to suit

(nominatives and datives).

V . Elle était tree dégue do no pas les trouver chez eux (elles)She was greatly disappointed not to find them at home .

’

_¢Vary your translations of six othe r reasonable combinations, con

ining I‘

you’

,

‘we

’

,

‘they and me ’

,

‘

you’sg .

,himor her

’

,them.

’

V I . Will they receive the money that we have owed them ? Has

he received the sum that’s due him ? Will he notice that

you are not paying him the sums that you owe him ? Have you not

noticed (reflex ) that it is raining? I f it were raining, wou ld they be

aware of it ?

Q UERY . How much in common have any of these ve rbs in -oit with

avoir and mouvoir in respect to groups A to E ?

EXERCISE II

F in do la lettre do Marie aLouise

1 . We have had five different guides, one of whom has no certain

knowledge of (no savoir qu’imparfaitement) the history of Rome ,

but he seems to be we ll informed as to (bien renseigné sur) thatof his confreres. 2 . While A . reads his Baedeker this good man

(bravo gives me many de tails [de tazj] of their live s and of his

own (merely the possessive pronoun), comedie s and tragedies. 3.We

(54 EXERC ISES

always speak Italian (italien), both of us , but this guid e speaks

English or F rench , so that (do sorto que) his mistake s are no t the

same as ours. 4. If none of his stories is quite true , wha t ma tter ?

we are exchanging (échanger) ideas ! 5. With anothe r g uide ,we

might learn less .

6 . A woman like you , and a man like F . (two ways), wou ld be

sure to love this city. 7. In all respects (two ways), it would de ligh t

you. We love all Rome and all I taly. 8 . We haven’t ye t se en

everything, but if we remain here as long as we have any mo ney

we shall have seen a lot of things .

9 . I must have spoken of the shops (magasins , 1 0 . I have

noticed (reflex ) that many of the things that I buy here cost almostwhat we pay at home (chez and A. has noticed it too

,espe

cially when 1 (when it is I who) am buying something. I 1 . I am

very much disappointed not to find that eve rything costs much le ss .

1 2 . Very often A . pays less than I,even when we buy the same

thing. 1 3. I’m indebted to him for having explained to me what I

must say when it is necessary to bargain (inarchander). 14. I re ceive

a lesson eve ry other clay upon this point (sur 00 point , a co sujot ).

I perceive that I am no longer as naive as when (lorsque , not que

quand) we arrived. 1 5. I think I know (crois savoir) now what is

due me (d ative etre p .

1 6. When did I get (recevoir, A p .p .) my last le tte r from you ?

Haven’t you noticed that I love le tters ? 1 7. We receive a

few le tters, every four or five days, from somebody ; but yours,every two or three months (mois , m“) F . must be very interesting !

1 8 . I f I owed (Moi, si je) so many le tters, I Should wish to write

them at once . 1 9 . H ave you some good excuse ? or none ? 20 . Ye s,

you have one . What is it ?Toute a toi (or vous),

Marie

14g M ORDRE , PERDRE

B jo rondais [Rd'de] e tc . See § 6o and complete this group , using the

complements in the Examples .

C : is rondis e tc . See 5 132, C, and comple te this group thus : Jo no merondis pas

’I didn

’t yield

1) jo rondrai e tc . See 84and comple te this group thus : Jo lui ren

drai son livre (son parapluie umbrella ’e tc .) s

’il mo rend lo mien I’ll give

himback his book (etc .) if. he givesme back mine .

’Use a different pronoun

in each variant .

E is rendrais etc. See 9 1 and comple te this group thus : Elle (I I , On)avait dit que h i to rondrais compte do ton erreur H e (etc .) had said that

you would realiz e your mistake .

’Vary each pronoun and ton so as to use

six appropriate forms .

P .p . rendu-s , renduo-s ; auxiliary (except in reflexive or reciprocal

constructions) : avoir.

Example of a reciprocal construction : Nous nous tendons justice , les

un(e)s aux autres’We do each other (one another) justice .

’Likewise , Cos

deux auteurs so rendent justice , l’un a l’autro, Cos deux fommes so ren

daient justice , l’une a l’autro, e tc . Elles so sont rondu justice e tc .

191 . Mordre [moRdR] ,‘

(to) bite ,’and perdre [pERdR],

‘

(to) lose ,’

have a Short stem-vowe l wherever (I is audible [d] .A is mords [mom], tu mords, il mord ;mordons , mordoz mordent.

Cf. is vends [v6 ], tu vends , il vend ; vendons , vendez , vondimt , fromvendre

’

(to) sell.’

B je perdais etc . Cf. is répandais etc . from répandre'

(to) spread .

’

C je mordis e tc . Cf. is descendis e tc . from descendre'

(to) descend ,’

’come down ,

’ 'lower

’

(an object), etc .

°

auxiliary étre , or avoir in transitive

constructions : Ello était descendue She had aligh ted’

; out Elle avait

descendu l’escalier

’She had come down the stairs,

’or Elle avait descendu

lo tableau'She

’d lowered (let down) the picture .

’

D : is perdrai, je mordrai, etc. So je fendrai'I shall cleave

’

(split some

thing), j’entendrai

'I shall hear,

’

j’étendrai

’I shall extend,

’e tc.

E je mordrais , je perdrais , etc . So je répondrais'I should answer

’etc .

P .p. mordu-s,morduo- s ;perdu-s

, perduo-s, e tc .

Note where mordro, tordre perdre , etc . lose their z'

nfl ectz'

onal r.

REMARK . Inversion of I A is rare : Est-os que je rends (mords

Vonds- je would sound like venge Vends- jo cos chats (l!)

TENSES OF ATTENDRE . LA VE INE

192 Examples of attendre (to) wait (for), await wit/z depuis

Jo los attends depuis longtemps’I have be en waiting for them a long

while .

’N ote caref ully [tow F reud : and EnglzZs/z def er as to tenses

,

F rench A corresponds here to English A p .p . Comple te this mode l, usinga different pronoun in each case . Jo m

’

y attendais depuis longtemps I

had been expecting it for a long while .

’Again note that depuis require s

F rench B , corresponding to English Bp .p . Comple te this reflexive mode l.

193 . La Veine

PREFATORY NOTE . La Veine is a comedy by Alfred Gapus, 190 1 . We

quote (for conversation) fromAct I , se . 6. La veine means the run (or streak)Of luck that a man may have , just as a miner may happen upon a vein of

good ore . This recalls the proverbTou t vient 63poin t a qui sait attendre .

The author, born at Aix in 1 8 studied for a while in the Ecole de s

M ines (Paris), then became a journalist. His first comedy, B ngnol et sa

fille, 1 895, characteriz es with truth and good humor a wholly irresponsible

but delightful sponger who has no sense of duty in regard to his creditors

and does not suffer in consequence ;au contraire

This dialogue should first be read aloud . For some twenty- four words

or phrases which may not be clear (at sigh t) se e the footnotes .

CHARLOTT E . Comment ! 1 vous avez des de ttes ?

JULIEN . Pourquoi n’en aurais-je

2

pas

CHARLOTTE . Et vous ne les paye z pas, probablement.JULIEN . C

’

est pour ca que8

je les ai.

CHARLOTTE.— V ous allez gacher

4votre vie , Sivous n

’éte s pas 5

plus raisonnable , monsieur Ju lien . M oi,a"vo tre place , avec l

’e’

du

cation que vous avez recue , je voudrais arriver tres haut. Vous 7

n’

étes donc pas ambitieux ?

JULIEN . M ais Si1

CHARLOTTE — Jo voudrais étre nu grand avocat,7ou bien nu

député ,8uh ministre .

9

je ne sais pas, mOl1°

que lqu’un de 1 1

célébre .

JULI EN (riant - J’

y songe .

CHARLOTTE. M ais vous ne faites 13 rien pour ce la.

JULIEN . la veine .

CHARLOTTE . Vous pourriez l’attendre longtemps .

1 58 LA VE INE

JULIEN . Q ui sait ?

CHARLOTTE. Oh ! si vous étes superstitieux

JULI EN .— Je no suis pas superstitieux Je crois que tout 19

homme un peu bien doué ,“

pas trop so t,15

pas trop timide , a dah s

la vie son heuro do veine , un moment Oi1 le s autre s homme s 21

semblent travaille r pour lui, Oi1 le s fruits viennent so me ttre

aportée‘7 de sa main pour qu

’

il les cueille .

“ Ce tte heuro - la, ma 23

pe tite Charlotte , c’est triste adire , mais cc n

’

e st ni lo travail, m

lo courage ,ni la patience qui nous la donnent. Elle sonne a u n e 25

horloge ” qu’

on ne voit pas, et tant qu’

e lle n’

a pas sonné po u r

nous , nous avons beau déployer"otous le s talents e t toute s le s 27

vertus , il n’

y a rien a faire ,”

nous sommes des fétus de paille .

”

— C0mme 2° c ’e st faux ,

24cc que vous dites e t 29

surtout décourageant l

NOTES . 1 .

'What ? ’ 2 . N ot’wouldn

’t I

’

3.

’That

’

s why’e tc.

4.

'make a mess of.’

5.

’ ln .

’ 6.

’I’

es , I am ! ’ 7.

’lawye r,

’ 'bar

rister.

’8 .

’deputy

’

(mombro do la Chambre des Députés). 9 .

'

(cabine t)minister.

’I O . F ree ly,

’how should 1 know ? ’ (cf. line 1 1 .

‘laughing’

(from tire). 1 2 . y implies a: songer a quelque chose (qqch .) (to) reflect

on a thing I’mthinking it over.

’13.

'aren

’t doing

’

(fromfaire). 14.

’fairly

wellendowed ,’ 'oifair ability.

’1 5.

’silly

’

(j I sotte). 16. [q i]. 17. Possibly,’come and put themselves within reach

’

; venir annoncer, courir voit , aller

dire , etc . represent a pure infinitive construction very frequent in F rench .

18 .

'that he may gather them cueille (from cueillir ;cf.

'cull

’

) is here sub

junctive . 19.

’strikes on a clock .

’20. F ree ly,

’it is vain for us to unfold

2 1 . H ere ,’to be done .

’22 .

’mere straws .

’23. H e re ,

’ how “

cf. comment , line 1 . 24.

'untrue , false

’

(j : fausse); note where F rench

requires the adjective to be placed . 25. N ot cela que vous dites. Whatshall be done with this la? See 80 and 8 1 .


I . Causerie sur la veine e t les veinards .

I I . Exercice ou questionnaire ayant trait aux 1 9 1— 1 92 (temps

dos verbes,

160 IMPERATIVE WITH PRONOUN OBJECT

195 . With few exceptions, verbs Of other conjugations (no t in -er)likewise have the same forms for the imperative as for the indicative

,

but reveal a clearly subjunctive form in the 3d singular

1 . 2d sg. : Ne lo tegoia pas Don’t receive him

2. 3d sg. : Qu’il no les recoive pas Let him not receive th em !

3 . 1st pl. z Ne les recevons pas Let’s not receive th em

4. 2d pl. : No In recevez pas Don’t receive her

5 . 3d pl. z Qu’ila no la regoivont pas ! Le t them not receive it !

Compare Qu’il no les recoive [Raswazv] pas with I ! les recoit [Rosw a].

See 194, c.

196 . Le t attendre illustrate the verbs in -andre,

-endro,

-ondro, e tc .

1 89 aflirmative ly, with an accusative pronoun to represent

each Object

1 . 2d sg. : Attends-moi done DO wait for me

2. 3d sg. : Alors , qu’on t’attende ! Then let themwait for you !

3 . w t pl. : Attendons- lo (411, -les) Le t’s wait for him(her, them)

4. 2d pl. z Attendez-nous , s

’il vous plait Wait for us, please

5 . 3d pl. z Qu’ils vous attendent ! Le t themwait for you !

Compare qu’on with On t ’attend [tato] They

’re waiting

for you .

’Like repoivont (above), attendent he re conceals a subj unctive .

Note in which cases the accusative precedes the verb.

197. M gative imperatives (like indicatives) are preceded by me, to,lo

,1a

,lui (dative), nous , vous , les , and leur (dative) ; also by y and on .

EXERCISE I

1 . I f the house pleases her, le t her not se ll it ! (H ardly colloquia l

E nglislz ) 2 . I f they’re going to wait for you , le t them not wait for

you after Six 0’

cl .ock (Hardly colloquial E nglis/z . 3. Don’

t wait for

me (two ways). 4. Don’t se ll him those books if you need them.

5. Let’s not Show him anything. 6. H e re are the cigars , le t

’

S smoketwo Of them;don

’t give me the smalle st (no m

’on 7. I f you

don’

t like such ideas, le t’

s not talk about them. (Use on.) 8 . I f you

find Paris too dreary (triste), don’t remain there (pl. and if it

pleases you ,stay there as long as you like . 9 . I f your enemy can

harm you (vous nuire,to nuire), don

’

t annoy him. 1 0. Dieu

OBEI R . TABLE OF IMPERATI VE FORMS 16 1

198 . P ositive (not negative) imperativesprecede the following simpleaccusative forms (enclitic and requiring a hyphen) : -moi

,- toi

,- lo

,- la

,

- les,

- nous,

-vous,

- les ; also -

y and -en. U se them all (except y and

on), reflexively and non- reflexively, with lever‘

(to) raise’

(Jo me love‘

I and with défendro‘

(to) defend’

(conjugated like rendre),as in Exercise I I .

199 . Obéir 1 32) requires the dative (Jo lui obéis‘

I obey him’

or

a. In the 3d plural , obéir has the concealed subj unctive form

obéissent ; in the 3d singular subjunctive , it has the special form

obéisse (cf. 11 obéit).EXERCISE II

1 . I t’

s ten o’clock , get up (rise), H enry ! get up, [my] children !

2 . Le t’

s get up, it’s e leven O

’

clock ! 3 . De fend yourse lf (yourse lves) .4. Our lives are in danger, defend us. 5. Defend them, they

’re not

guilty. 6. I f the man is not guilty, le t’

s defend him. 7. I f She is

innocent (innocente le t him defend her ! (let them defend

her !) 8 . I f the door is not already shut, shut it (sg. and pl.

9 . Let him Obey us. 1 0. Le t them obey her. 1 1 . Le t’

s not obey

them. 1 2 . Le t’

s not obey anyone (apersonne). 1 3. Le t us be obeyed

(use on). 14. Let nobody (personne) Obey them.

Table of Imperative F orms

200. The verbs typified by parler, recevoir, rendre , and flair, with

the subjunctive forms (concealed or Special) required to express

commands and requests in the third pe rson , give these forms

1 . 2d sg. : Parle . (Penses-y .) Recois-moi.

2. 3d sg. : Qu’on chants I Qu

’elle te rocoive !

3 . 1st pl. z Fumons, Messieurs I Recevons- lo -la,-les).

4. 2d pl. : Chantez , Mesdames (or Madame). Recevez -nous .

5 . 3d pl. z Qu’ila dinent ! Qu

’elles vous recoivent !

1 . 2d sg. : No to defends pas . Obéis-moi.

2. 3d sg. : Qu’on no lo vende pas ! Que cot enfant obéisso !

3 . I st pl. : Ne nous tendons pas ! N ’obéissons apersonne l

4. 2d pl. : Ne la (les) perde z pas . F inisse z ca.

5 . 3d pl. z Qu’elles so perdent ! Qu

’elles agissont l

162 THE IMPERA'

I‘

IVE IN GENE VIEVE

REMARK . I t would be we ll to practice also with verbs like those in

1 58—160 and 162 . Examples : Keno-moi but Hones-moi, Cede- lo butcodes-lo, Jette- les but Jetons-les , Appello-la but Appelez - la , Emploio-nous

but Employee-nous , e tc .

NOTE . Occasionally the I st singular figures in a kind of impe rative ,

always expressed by Que jo subjunctive (concealed or special fo rm)

Que is fume , alors !'Le t me smoke th en !

’

Que is m’en aille ! [n zj ]

'Le t me be going !

’

('I must be

Q UERIES. Under the four types of verbs exemplified above , what are the

only forms that ever differ from the corresponding indicative ? Whe n an

imperative must be expressed by a subjunctive , where is a special form

required ? What is a concealed subj unctive ?

Examples of tire Imperative f r'

omGenevieve , byAlphonse de Lamartine (1 790—1 869)

Ma more me disait l z Genevieve , 11me faut2ce la

,il

,me faut 1

ceci;apporte-moi ta petite scour Josette sur mon lit, remporte -la

dans son berceau e t be rce - la du bout de ton pied8

jusqu’

a cc 3

qu’e lle dorme ‘; va me chercher mon bas ; ramasse mon pe loton ;

va couper une salade au jardin ; va aub

poulailler tater s’il y a 5

des oeufs chauds dans lo nid 6 des pou les ; hache des choux pour

faire la soupe a ton pere"; bats

8 lo beurre ;me ts9 du bOiS au 7

feu ; o’

cumo la marmite qui bout jettes-

y11 lo sel;. étends la

nappe , rince les verres ; descends a la cave , ouvre lo robinet,9

remplis au tonneau la bouteille de vin .

NOTES . 1 .

'would say

’

(B of dire). 2 .

’I must have .

’

3. F reely,'with

your toe .

’

4. Subjunctive (see dormir). 5. N ot vas eu 194, b). 6. Sg. for

pl. 7. Complement either of faire or (familiarly) of la soupe (’

your fathe r’

s

8 . See battre . 9 . See mettre . 10. See bouillir, also 1 37. I 1 . See

I 941 d o

Q UERY . How shallwe change each imperative in 20 1 to the 2d plural ?

Which can you put into the I st plural and 3d plural ?

164 SUBJUNCTIYE IMPERATIVES. VOI CI ETC .

NOTE. Soit ! So be it ! is archaic because (aswas commonly th e case

in Old French) no subject is expressed , and because its t is always pro

nounced . But this locution is in everyday use ;hence not f elt to be archaic .

d. Saw ir [savwa:R]‘

(to) know ,

’ ‘

be aware ,’

e tc. ,is irregular

1 . 2d sg. : Sachs bien cela Know that well

2. 3d sg. : Qu’on cache tout ! Le t everything be known

3 . I st pl. : Sachons bien nos devolrs Le t us know our dutie s w e ll

4. 2d pl. : Sachez , Monsieurmossiours) Let me te ll you , sir, e tc .

5 . 3d pl. z Qu’lls no lo sachent pas ! I hope they won

’

t know it !

e . Vouloir has five forms in -euill [ce zj] , and thre e othe rs in

-eu [a] and on [u]. Only veuillez is frequent.

1 . 2d sg. : Veuillome dire Kindly tell me

2. 3d sg. : Dleu vouillo que May God grant t hat

3 . I st pl. z Veuillons no pas mentir !1 Let

’s

‘

try to be truthful !

4. 2d pl. z Veuilloz (bien) m’écrire Be SO good as to write to me

5 . 3d pl. z Qu’lls veuillent lo faire ! May they be willing to do it !

NOTE . For the non-imperative subjunctive forms of vouloir see 471

203 . Volt [vwazn], (to) see ,’

gives vois (2d voyons , and voyez ,

with subjunctives vole (3d sg.) and voient 3d Voyons is Often

mere ly an interjection : Voyons ! réponds !’

Come ! (Contro l yourse lf.) Answer !

’

a. Voici and voila contain the original form of the 2d singular impe r

ative,vol (without but either may be used in addressing any numbe r

of pe rsons : Voila, Messieurs'There , gentlemen ! Compare Voyez - lo Se e

him’with Le voila

'There he is.

’F or demonstrative questions , note Ne

voilh-t-il pas Isn’

t that'Aren

’

t those e tc . Avoid Laest , e tc .

b. Voici and voilamust j bllow unstressed pronominal objects that is ,

me, to , lo, la, les, nous , vous, que (relative), and on : Los voici !

'Here

they are !’

To voila!’There you are !

’Le parapluie que veils !

'l at

umbrella ! ’ En voici les meilleurs H ere are the best of them.

’

c. Voilamay replace il y a meaning’ago Jo l

’ai vu voilamaintenant

quatre ans’1 saw him four years ago ,

’or Jo l

’ai vu il y a quatro ans .

QUERY . Why not, for example , Voici est ta chambre ? or Voilasont vos

amis1 A po lite way o f saying N o mens pas or No monte z pas .

CONNECTED EXAM PLES (EXERC ISE) 165

d . Va and alle z are often more interjections meaning'Come ! ‘

I can

tell you ,

’ 'You be t !

’e tc. Allons done ! Often expresses impatience :

’Oh ,

I say !’e tc. , and Allons , bou l may express annoyance accompanied by

incredulity, submission , etc .

e . Tions (2d sg. of tenir hold’

) may express surprise : Tiens ! vous lo

croyez 7‘Well, well ! you believe it ?

’or Tions ! pa

‘

m’etoune You don’t

say so !’or Dear me ! I ’m surprised to hear it,

’Tiens ! c’est Louis

'He llo !

it’s Louis

,

’e tc . Tonoz ! (not addressed to oneself) may, like Tiens , mean

'Here !

’or See !

’etc . See § 482 .

F or examples of the future in an impe rative sense , see 85. A more or

less impersonal imperative may be expressed by an infinitive 250, f ).

EXERCISE I

(Rotor tous les exemples do l’impératif . Voir lo vocabulairo francais-anglais )

(Le monsieur que nous allons md tre en scene est fort ric/ze. [ l 1

possbde une belle maison quelque part. P la(ans-[e dans sa biblio

tliéque. Qu’il ait entre les mains un livre et gu

’il le lise Ivoir lire] . 3

Entre un domestique.)Pardon

,monsieur, quelqu

’

un demande avoir monsieur.

Je suis tres occupé en cc moment . Q u’il attende .

pout bien attendre , n’est-cc pas

?

Je no sais pas, monsieur, c’est une dame .

Allons, bon ! (Aprbs avoir reffléc/zi. ) Dites-luique Non,9

faites- la entrer.

(E nire la visiteuse. Trente ans, plutbt j olie . Sar son c/zapean 1 l

nu bel oiseau exotique, trbs bien empaillé. Le monsieur— ] e no vous dérange pas, monsieur ?Du tout

, du tout Je feuille tais que lques livres. Mais asseyez

vous, madame [voir asseoir, s’asseoir

’

seat Pardonnez 1 5

moi do vous avoir fait attendre . Prenez done cc fauteuil. Eh

bien ,madame

,comment puis- je vous étre utile ? V euillez bien me 17

dire aquoi je dois l’honneur de cette visite .

Voici, monsieur, dc quoi il s’agit. Je m

’intéresse beaucoup 1 9

au sort de nos animaux,surtout it ce luides chevaux .

— Continuez, je vous en prie . J ’aime les animaux .

(La visite use,

— Notre Société , la Société protectrice

des animaux,fait tout cc qu

’e lle peut pour les protéger, mais 23 '

I 66 EXERC I SES

e lle a si besoin d’argent. I ! y on a beaucoup qui doivent

travailler dix heures par jour, sans lo moindre abri contre lo 25

soleil. Oui, ils souffrent.

Je crois bien qu’ils souffrent ! Q ue l temps ! Mais vous alliez 27

Oui, monsieur, j’allais dire que notre Société a besoin de 29

cent mille francs Or, si vous pouviez nous offrir

disons cent francs, ce la ferait tant do bien , soyez—e n sin. 3 1‘

Monsieur, i! on tombe des centaines 44, line 7] tous les jours,je veux dire des centaines de chevaux . Donnons- leur done des 33

chapeaux, a tous ces pauvres animaux .

(Le monsieur , avec une remarquable presence d’esprit .) Oui, 35

en effe t ils no naissent pas coiffés. Coiffons-les done .

(La visiteuse rit d’une j am on ne peut plusflatteuse ex tré 37

mementfiatteuse] [ se monsieur luifait nu clebque de deux cents

f rancs . Elle 1’en remercie ci sort.) 39

Oral Exercise. Variations of all these impe rative forms, withobjects etc.

EXERCISE II

Test on Me Imperatives etc. in 202 - 203

1 . Be patient. (Use avoir.) 2 . Let us be patient. 3. Don’t have the

slightest pity on them. (Two ways .) 4. Le t her have that virtue !

5. Let no one be hungry . 6. Be hungry and thirsty ! 7. I’ll not

give you a sou l 8 . Be so good as to give me a few sous, sir : I

’m

very poor. 9. Be as poor as you please ! 1 0. I need my money for

my business. 1 1 . May you have luck , all of you , and may we see

you again. 1 2 . May the F rench be able to understand you ! that is:

what I hope . 1 3. Let’s be gone (parti before ten o

’clock . 14. Let

me tell you , gentlemen, that you are wrong, all of you . 1 5. So be

it ! (Granted I). 1 6. But can one always be right ? 17. Be alwaysright, and everybody will love you !

SPECIAL SUBJUNCTIVE FORMS

two different forms exist. The analogy of II taut qu’olle vienne (not vient)

She must come ’

proves that arrive is subjunctive in II faut qu’elle arrive .

To reverse this reasoning, we cannot conclude from H faut qu’ello arrive

that I I faut qu’elle vient (or que nous arrivons) would be incorrect.

REMARK 2 . F ew English verbs have more than one special fo rm to

express the subjunctive If so be God grant A thousand ye ars

ago, English had many subjunctive forms, now replaced for the most part

by auxiliary verbs or by forms which have always been indicative . Thus

French and English differ radically.

206 The Relative Number of special Subjunctive Forms . In

F rench , as in many other languages, the numbe r of distinctly sub

junctive forms varie s greatly from verb to verb, and forms often dif

fer for the eye without differing for the ear. Let us se t Side by side

groups from some of the conjugations already considered in th e in

dicative (55 1 07, 1 87, using groups A and C for comparison

with the subjunctive groups which commonly express, respective ly,something present or future and something past. Let the figure s 1 to

6 stand for je , tu,il, e tc. (No single exact translation is possible .)

I ND . (A) I ND . (A) SUBJV . IND . (A) SUBJV .

1 parlo 1 dois doive 1 vonds vende

2. dois doives 2. vonds

3 . parlo 3 . doit doive 3 . vend

4. parlons

5 parles parties 5 devez deviez 5 vondez vendiez

6 . parlent parlent 6 . doivent doivent 6 . vendent vendent

QUERY . How many specialf orms has the subjunctive in each case ?

I ND. (C ) SUBJV . I ND . (C ) SUBJV . I ND . (C ) SUBJV .

1 parlai parlasso 1 dus dusso 1 vendis vendisse

2. parlas parlasses 2. dus dusses 2. vendis vendisses

3 . parla parlat 3 . dut dfit 3 . vendit vendit

4. parlamos parlassions 4. dfimes dussions 4. vendimos vendissions

parlassioz 5 . diites dussiez 5 . vondites vendissiez

6 . parlerent parlassont 6 . durent dussent 6 . vendirent vendissent

Q UERIES. Why no italics in this case ? How does parla differ from

parlat, dut from dfit , and vendit fromvendit ? How many special formsin each case ?

TYPICAL SUBJUNCTIVE ENDINGS 169

207. The many verbs exemplified by finir 1 32) differ by onlyone form in their two subjunctive groups : present finisse ;past finIt .

T he four types of conjugation exemplified by parler, devoir, vendre,and finir have therefore the following inflectional endingsParler Pres .

-e ,-os ,

-o,-ions ,

-iez , -ent . (Living inflectional

endings , living subj unctive L . S .)Past -asse ,

-asses, fit , -assions ,-assioz , -assent . (I n boobs ,

obsolete or obsolescent subj unctive 0. S .)

Devoir Pres . oiv—e , oiv—os , oiv-o, ov-ions , ev-isz , oiv-ent . (L . S .)

Past -usse ,-usses ,

-iit, -ussions, -ussiez , -ussent . (0. S .)

Vendre Pres. d—e , d—os , d—e , d-ions, d-iez , d—ent . (L . S .)Past -isse ,

-isses ,-it , -issions , -issioz

,-issent. (0. S .)

Finir Pres .-isse , -isses , -isso, -issions, -issiez , -issont . (L . S .)

Past -isse ,-isacs

,-it, -issions, -issies

,-issont. (0. S .)

208 . Subjunctive Forms requiring Special Classification . For the

present tense a good many verbs have subjunctive forms which re

quire special classification . The past subjunctive of all F rench verbs

(except tenir with tinsse and venir with vinsse) must have one of

the four se ts of endings just given ,no matter whether it fall under

a‘regular

’or an

‘irregu lar

’

type of conjugation ,and its forms are

always indicated by group C. Thus : allai allasso,ous eusso

,

pus pusse , répondis répondisse , dis said’

) disse,etc.

209 . Literary Usage and Conversation . In spoken F rench the

Simple past subjunctive forms are no longer used, even those in 4t ,-0t

,and -it being avoided . Therefore all compound groups which

wou ld require j’ousse

, je fusse , e tc . (twe lve forms), are avoided :

j’ousse parlé , je fusse venu

,e tc. ,

be long to the language of books.

210. Terminology . As the present subjunctive’forms are not

invariably pre sent in their meaning, and as the past subjunctive’

forms are not always past in their meaning, both for brevity and for

clearness we shall generally designate the two groups exemplifiedrespiactively by je sois and je fusse (representing all verbs) as the

living subj unctive forms (L . S .) and as the obsolete (or obsolescent)subj unctive forms (0. and we Shall de signate the compound groups

170 SUBJUNCTIVE FUNCTIONS. EXERCISES

with L S. p .p . and with a s p .p . Thus : jo sois venu (or j’aie parlé)

L .S. p .p . ,whereas je fusse venu (or j

’ousse parlo) p .p .

NOTE . N ames which both indicate the four possible groups of f orms

and at the same time attempt to define their tense-values or f unctions

are (1 ) Present Subjunctive [sois]; (2) Imperfect Subjunctive or Pas t

Subjunctive [fusse ] ;(3) Past Subjunctive or Present Perfect Subjunctive

[sois venu] ; and (4) Pluperfect Subjunctive or Past Perfect Subjunctive

[fusse venu].

Evidently, these supposedly defining names are neither wholly clear nor

wholly consistent as mere designations of forms . Whichever are used,one

should always state whe the r one is referring to af orm or to a tense-value

or function .

21 1 . Functions of the Subjunctive Forms . The subjunctive is

primarilya subordinate mood required or expected in certain kinds ofdependent clauses ;but it cannot be defined as a whole . I ts com

mone st functions, and its tense -values, will be considered in detailin 2 1 2 - 238 .

EXERCISES

(Forms and Pronunciation)

I . Write out in full, setting them side by Side (as in 204and

the most close ly re lated simple indicative and subjunctive formsof essuyer and travailler 1 of étudier I of commencer

and manger of mener,acheter, and appeler of

vouloir 202 , with Note, and 206 or of répondre

Pronounce them in connection with reasonable complements.

I I . Write out‘

the compound subjunctive forms of allor and

(cf. 209) and pronounce them with reasonable complements.

I I I . Oral. Exercises with faut,fallait

,etc.

172 SUBJUNCTIVES I N MAIN CLAUSES

explicit. Que is m’sn aille , Le t me be going,

’could once be prece ded by

Jo voux (i.e . Jo voux que is m’sn sills), or the like ;a subjunctiv e now gives

way to an infinitive when there is no change of person : Jo voux que tu t’on

ailles but Jo voux m'sn aller.

On avoir, Ott o, pouvoir, savoir, and vouloir in impe rative or hortativ e con

structions, se e 5 202 .

Stock Phrases , M ostly Archaic 1 22,N otes)

5. Examples without que :

Dion vous bénisse ! (Ind . bénit .) 3 God bless you !

S ’on aille quivoudra i (Ind. va.) 4 Le t anyone go who will

0. Note also : 1 . A Dieu no plaise’God forbid .

’

(Ind. plait .) —2 . Ad

visnno que pourra'Happen what may .

’

(Ind . advient ; see

3 . Coflto que coflto'Cost what it may or

’Whatever it may cost .

’

(Ind .

cotito; see 4. Fussions-nous plus heureux’Would we w e re

happier ! (Ind . , e .g. , Si nous étions 5 . Le ciel soit loué H eaven

be praised !’

(Ind. ost .)— 6 . Plflt aDlou’Would to God .

’

(F romplaire .)7. Sauve qui pout ! in full, So sauve qui pout l)

'Every man lo ok

out for himself ! ’ (Ind. sauve .)— 8 . Soit [swat]'So be it,

’ 'Grante d ,

’

or’All right .

’

d . Repeated soit soit [swa] means'either or ,

’ 'whe ther o r ,

’

and requires a subjunctive if verbs are added Soit que vous vsniez aParis ,

soit que vous restiez 1 Rome Whe ther you come to Paris or stay in

Rome .

’

(Ind. venoz , restez .)

e . Quivivs Who goes there a military term, abbreviates the obso

lete call Y a-t-il Ame qui vivs (ind . vit , from vivre), literally’Is th ere a

soul who lives ?’Original form(same meaning), A i! ams qui vivo

f . Jo no sacho (rien, pas), a softened form of Jo no sais (rien, pas)meaning

'I am not aware of anything

'I am not aware that

(with pas que), is due perhaps to the analogy of phrases such as I l n’y a

rien que is sache’There is nothing so far as I am aware

’

(also a

softened statement);but its origin is obscure .

g. Occasionally a subjunctive in amain clause has a half-impe rative ,half-conditional senseVienne lo printemps (st)

:

nous 5 Le t spring come and we shall

pourrons nous revoir. (Ind. vient .) be able to see each other again .

Ayez patience et je vous aiderai. 6 Be patient and I’ll help

'

you.

THE SUBJUNCTIVE IN NOUN CLAUSES 173

THE SUBJUNCT IVE IN SUBORD INATE CLAUSES

A . IN.

NOUN CLAUSESl

214. In noun clauses (always introduced by que) F rench usuallyrequires a subjunctive if the main clause expresses any of the states

of mind mentioned in the following sections.

215 . Emotions . Variousfeelings (slight and strong emotions), suchas surprise, pleasure, approval, willingness , desire, and their contrarie s :

Jo m’étonne (j e suis heureux , 1 I

’m astonished (I am pleased ,

is voux bien) qu’elle lo dise , et is I

’m quite willing) that she should

regrette (j e désiro) que tout ls say it, and I regre t (I desire) that

monde soit de son avis (no soit everyone should be of her opinion

pas de son avis). (should not be of her Opinion).

Jo m’intéresso a co qu

’il réus 2 I am interested in seeing. him

sisss tres prochainement , mais is succeed at a very.

~but

tions 1 ce que personne no sacho am anxious nobody should know

so qu’il veut faire . what he wishes to do .

Quel dommage qu’il y aillo ! What a pity(that) he goes there !

0. Similar examples, in which the meaning of the main clause should

be care fully no ted : 4. J’aimorais mieux que personne n

’en sach e rien

’ I

should pre fer that nobody know anything about it.’ — 5 . Donc, vous con

sentez'

aco que nous lo fassions'Then you consent to our doing it ?

’

6 . Jo comprends Jo no m’etoune pas] que vous soyez nu pou effaré 'I

can understand your being a bit scared.

’7. J

’ofirs qu

’on fasse examiner

mos comptes'I offer to le t my accounts be examined .

’8 . Il n’est pas

rare que j’apprenne uno nouvelle par eux , mais il est sans sxemple gu

’ils

on aient appris une par moi I t not infrequently happens [ I t is not at all

strange ] that I learn a bit of news through them,but it is unprecedented

[amaz ing] that they should have learned one through me .

’E tc.

b. The Subjunctive by Attraction . A re lative pronoun referring

to the subject of a subjunctive usually require s a subjunctive (by

J’aimerais mieux que os soit toi 9 I should prefer that y ou should

qui ls disos . (Ind . dis .) (be the person to) say it.

1 Clause s equivale nt to a noun (or demonstrative pronoun). Compare J’aimo

ces gens coin) with J’aime qu

’on soit franc I like pe ople to be frank .

’

EXERC ISES

EXERCISES ON soc- 210

I . 1 . When we are trave ling in some foreign country (paysétranger) we often regret that we have neve r learned a languagewhich everyone . is Speaking round about us . 2 . What a pity that

one should know only (no vb. que) one language . 3 . H ow we

regret, some times, that nobody ever made us (L . S . forcé study

at least one foreign language étrangore) ! 4. For some time s

we have to (11 faut bien que) make mistakes ! 5. I f.

we open ou r

mouths (la we cannot avoid them. 6. Or, on the othe r hand ,

we must be silent (tais reflex .) when we should like to say some

thing. 7. Therefore , cost what it may, I’m going to learn F rench ,

at least, and there are a lot of other things that my father wou ldlike to have me know (wou ld like that I should know).

I I . 1 . He is inte rested in seeing me succeed 2 1 5, ex . 2 ) as

soon as possible , and e vidently he wishes me (3 2 1 5, ex . 9) to makeall the efforts (m). 2 . H e does not want me to waste (perdre) timeand I do not want him to be dissatisfied with (mécontent do) me .

3 . H eaven forbid ! 2 1 3, c.) 4. I should like to have him say,"l‘

hat boy is working !’

5. I t not infrequently happens 2 1 5,

ex . 8) that fathers are obliged to say some thing very different (toutautre chose). 6. Are you astonished that so many students are

unable to realize 1 90, E ) that ? 7. They pre fer, perhaps , that

their fathers should be the one s to work 2 1 5. ex . 9 , and

I I I . I . Evidently, if we are anxious that nobody Should take uS

(prend or prenne for dunce s, we must‘

dig.

’

2 . We must wish

(vouloir) to do extreme ly we ll eve rything that may (pouvoir, D ) be

use ful to somebody. 3 . Granted ! But, you know ,some people are

not of that opinion . 4. They say (disent),‘Why work ? ’ or they

think it, and whe the r they are right o r wrong 2 1 3 , d, or simplywith que ou que), their Opinion enjoys a great vogue (same , f ).

IV . Q uestionnaire e t exercice oral .

176 SUBJUNCTIVES AFTER CRAINDRE

futurity (exs. 1 I t may also express present possibilitie s : Jo

crains qu’il no soit malado would mean , normally, I fear he is ill.

’

REMARK . Futurity migh t be expressed thus : Jo crains qu’il n ’aille (or

possibly qu’il aille) étre malade

1 ! fear he’s going to be ill

’

; not by no

sera malade . Except occasionally in folk-speech (lo francais du peup le), all

expressions of fear require the subjunctive in noun clauses .

219 . Groups B—E of craindre will further illustrate the subjunctive .

B : js craignais [c'

pe] etc . Note that the inflectional i of craignions

and craigniez is usually merged in the gn [p] ; so that craignions usually

sounds like craignons and craignis: like craignez .

Nous craignions qu’il n’éteigno 1 We feared (were fearing) he

la lumiere . (Colloquial usage .) would put out the light.

Vous craignis : qu’il n

’étoignit 2 .You feared (were afraid) he

la lumiere . (Literary usage .) would put out the ligh t.

C je craignis e tc . See 1 32 , C.

I) is craindrai e tc . Example : Elle craindra de lo faire She will be

afraid to do it.’No change of subject ; hence (ge nerally) the infinitive .

E je craindrais e tc .

Sije no lo connaissais pas sibien, 3 I f I didn’t know him so we ll, I

is craindrais qu’il no lo fasse pas . should fear he wouldn

’t do it .

In literary usage , rather qu’il no lo fit pas . (Here a ferait, or possibly

a fora, underlies the subjunctive form. )

L . S . je craigne , tu craignes , il craigno, nous craignions vous

craigniez ils craignent .

0. S . is craignisse e tc . See 207.

Plut aDiou que nous no craignis 4 Would to God we feared noth

sions rien.ing.

Imperativ e No Is crains pas . Ne craignons rien . Craignez -los !

Gerund (Gen ) en lo craignant'

(by, in . through ) fearing it,’e tc .

Present par ticiple (Pr . part .) craignant‘fearing

’

(without on) :

Craignant qu’il no me contrai 5 F earing he might (le st he should)

gnit a lui obéir, j’ossayai compel me to obey him,

I tried

Pastparticiple (P .p . or p .p .) craint- s , crainto-s .

Elle avait craint qu’il no s

’en 6 She had feared he would com

plaignit trop . plain too much about it.

DIF FERENT SUBJECTS. NECESSITY ETC . 177

220. Avoir pour (que , do),‘

(to) be afraid (that, possibly moreused than craindre

, likewise requires the subjunctive in que-clauses ;likewise do pour que and (less colloquially) do crainto que, for fear

that,’ ‘lest. ’

221 . The Effect of Changing Subjects . Expressions of fear, likethe expressions listed in 2 1 5, require a subjunctive clause in

nearly all cases where there is a change of subject, unless voir,

or some like infinitive , is inserted. Thus

Jo craignais qu’il no mourtit . Or : Jo craignais do Is voit mourir.

(Either means'I feared he would die .

’Such a voir [

1see

’

] is often

purely figurative . Other device s are used in order to avoid the obsolete

subjunctive forms. Here mouro would be colloquial.)

REMARK . English allows verbal nouns in -ing after expressions of fear1I feared their spending toomuch money J

’avais pour qu

’ils no dépensent

(bookishly dépensassent) trop d’argent .

222. Expressions of Necessity etc . Words or clauses expressingvarious degrees of necessity ,

advisability,fitness, and the like , or theircontraries, require the subjunctive in a que

-clause

Il aurait fallu que tu sois levé 1 You would have had to be up

do tree bonne heuro. very early.

C’est assez que is to suive . 2 I t’

s enough that I should follow

(Ind. suis .) you .

ll vaut mieux que 9a finisse . 3 I t’

s be tter that should end .

Jo no merits pas que vous mo 4 I don’

t dese rve to be talked to

parlioz comme 911. by you like that.

0. After falloir (il faut and similar verbs or verb phrases, an in

finitive is preferable when no stress is laid on the person concerned : I I

faut partir'I (you, we , they, she , he) must be going.

’Again ,

11 faut lo

payer'He must be paid .

’But a noun (or stressed pronoun), if used,

requires th e subjunctive : Il faut que mon frore vois 9a My brother must

see that.’

b. A subjunctive is preferable when otherwise there would be an indirect

object : 11 faut qu’il parts H e must rather than II lui faut partir.

178 EXERC ISES

c. The subjunctive must be used when a personal subjec t is fo llowed bya personal pronoun : 1! (ant qu

’il ls lies He must read n o t I I lui fant

Io lire . Again, 1! font qu’il so défsnde H e must de fend himse lf ’) is living

F rench ; 11 lui taut so défendre is not.

EXERCISES

(\Vrite out in full. IV is in review)

I . In 2 1 6 substitute all group B of craindre : then, for complements , use the following, with a L. S. and an 0. S. in each case

1 . that you would not complain about it. 2 . that we Should losethem. 3 . that he (you , they) would remain there . 4. that you (they ,

he) would not pity us. 5. that I (we) Should leave; 6. lest we (you ,

she) should neve r mee t them.

I I . Where possible , change the number (only) of each verb in

the Six examples (1 - 6) in § 2 1 9 ; also , of the examples in § 2 2 2 .

In 2 2 1 substitute the singular of avoir pour (B and B p . and

use (ll) meure , (nous) mourions , (vous) mouriez , and (ils) meurent ,as we ll as mourusse etc.

I I I . Substitute C or B p .p . (11 fallut , I l avait fallu ,e tc.) in 22 2

,

and illustrate pure ly literary usage in the quo clause . (Note suivisse

e tc. , and lusso etc . for lire .)

IV . 1 . You have noticed 1 88 , IV), pe rhaps, that at the end of

a lesson there is often almost a stampede (un sauvo-qui-peut) .

2 .

’What luck he didn ’

t continue (L . S. p .p .) another hour !’

3. One

can easily understand their be ing glad 2 1 5, ex . some of the se

boys. 4. We do not like to be made to work (qu’on nous) when we

are bored . God forbid ! 5. We all of us prefer people to be frank.

happen what may 6. But why is it strange that so few of us know

(how to) speak F rench ?

1 80 SUBJL'

NCT IVE AND INDICATIVE AFTER Q UE

II no supposait pas que is w as répéten is cela . (So , also ,in lite rary

F rench now ; but formerly répétasse , or aliases répéter, would h ave be en

posd ble in either style . colloquial or formal. )— Js no savais pas q ue tn

avais da monde (1company bu t obv iously y ou have . Ignores

—tn q ue je

suis malado ? I am t — Crois -tn qu’il no m’

en a pas fallu da courage ? I t

did take (has taken) courage on my part .

Q UERY. “'

hy a subjunctive que-c lause in the following ? Trans late

A present, elle dort (5 225. a ). Non, jo no crois pas qu'ollo dorms .

Il n’ost pas prouvé que tn aies co droit .— Tout cola no fait pas que j

’aie

cent mills francs . (Cf. C’ost co qui fait que , or Voila pourquoi, j

’ai cont

mille francs. ) — Qni vous dit que is vouillo partir ?

0. Initial (or Introductory) que-c lauses . These require the subjunc tive

even when there is no doubt as to the reality of some state or act : Que

vous ayes dit cela,c’est bien clair

’That you (have ) said that is ve ry

clear but C'ost bien clair que vous avez dit cola.

b. Semblsr que . Even withou t no pas we find 11 semble (semblaite tc . ) que gene rally followed by a subjunctive , unless some indirect obje c t

gives sembler a more positive tone . Hence , II semble que cola leur déplaise

(or déplait)1I t seems that that displeases them’

;but 11 lui semble [no telui] que cola leur déplait .

c. Paraitrs que . Expressing less doubt than 11 semble etc . ,11 parait

(paraissait except when negative or interrogative , is followed by an

indicative . H ence , II semble que os soit vrai, but II parait que c’ost vrai,

but, again, 11 no parait pas que co suit vrai.

d. Indirect Questions . Whethe r introduced by an interrogative word , as

oii, qui, quel, e tc . or by si whe ther,’the quW M Sd s-tu

oil elle ost1Do you know where she 15T’ Jo mo demande qui vient ot

quel est son but .

'I wonder who

’

s coming and what his purpose is .

’Lo

ferait-111Would he do it ?

’ —Jo no savais pas s’il on serait capable .

1I

didn’t know whe th er he would be capable of it.

’

e . The Typo Qut erais - tu que j e sais (or suis) ?1Who do you think I am ? 1

The verb following th e conjunction (que) will be subjunctive or not (A—E

according to the general tendencie s of the inverted form(crois-tu , penses- tu ,

crains-tu ,The question seems double . Examples for study :

. 1 . Qui penses-tu que nous ayons (perhaps avons) vu 2. 011 ponses-tu

que nous l’avons (perhaps ayons) vu 3 . Que crois-tn qu’il ait (perhaps

a)7 Etc .

THE TYPE P AR TIR 1 8 1

The Iype partir [paRtizR]1

(to) depart,’etc.

(je , tu, il , e tc ., to be supplied as ne eded)

A B C

1 . pars [paza] parts [pas t] partais partis partisso

2. pars [paza] partos [pant] [paRte] [paRti] [pantis]3 . part [paza] parts [paRt] etc. etc .

4. partons [paRtO] partions [paRtjii]5 . partsz [panto] parties [paRtje ] See 1 32 and 207; th en

6 . partont [past] partep t [paRt'

] comple te B , C, and

1) is partirai etc . E is partirais e tc . Comple te 0 and E .

Impv . . pars, partons, patter . (See 2, 4, 5, of group A .)

Ger . sn partant1

(ou , in, by, through , while) going away.

’

Ybl. adj .not used.

P .p . parti-s , partie-s. Example : 6t parti1to have gone away.

’

225 . Like partir (of which all the forms should be learned now)are conjugated

a. dormir,1

(to) sleep.

’ Examples : J’ai bien dormi (note Jo dors

bien (note Elle dort comme uno souchs (1 like a log Nous no dor

mono que d ’un toil (1with one eye Ope n

Derivative : ondormir 1

(to) put to sleep’

; s’endormir 1

go to sleep,’

1fall asleep.

’

In la Belle an bois dormant 1the Sleeping

'

Beauty’the verbal adjective

(dormant) appears to agree with bois (1 but is really the old form of

the feminine : eau dormanto 1still water

’shows the modern feminine .

b. msntir,1

(to) lie , te ll lies.

’Example : Elle on a menti (

1about

Derivative : démontir 1

(to) give the lie to,’ 1

(to) belie’

(with accus

Vbl. adj . not used :1a lying woman ’

uno femme qui ment , or une

femme mensongers .

c. so repentir,1

(to) repent.’Example : Elle s

’en est repontio,

1She has

repented of it,’ 1 is sorry about it,

’etc .

d. sontir,1

(to) feel’

(perceive by touching, or figuratively),1smell,

’etc.

Examples : Jo no lo sais pas, jo ls sons1 ! don

’t know it

,I feel it.

’

Santos ces flours1Smell these flowers.

’Elles sentent bon

1They smell

1 82 VERBS OF TYPE PARTIR . EXERC ISES

good .

’Ouvre les fsnetrss , ca sont Io tenformé 1Open the window s

,th e re

'

s

a stuffy smell. ’.Sens-tu la beauté do see vers

1Do you fee l the beau ty of

these verses ?’

Jo no me sens pas bien1 ! feel ill. ’

Derivative : consontir (A)1

(to) consent (to).

o. sorvir,1

(to) serve .

’ Examnlos : Soivoz lo diner1Serve dinner .

’

11 les

sort loyalement1He serves th em faithfully .

’

Co 1111 avait servi do lopon1That had been a lesson to him.

’

Jo me sors do cela1 I make use o f that .

’

f . sortit ,1

(to) go out,’ 1

come out’

; transitively,1

(to) take ou t’e tc .

Examples : No sors pas1 D0n

’

t go out.’Elle est sortie

1Sho

’s gon e out.

’

11 n’a pas sortimamalls1He hasn

’t brought o ut my trunk .

’

g. bouilllr [bujuR],1

(to) boil,’intrans . ;

1

(to) boil,’trans. , fairs bouill ir .

More or less irregular because group A has bous , bous, bout, along with

bouillons, boulllez , bouillent .

GENERAL NOTE on the type partir. The typical forms dors , mens , sera,and sore have lost the consonant heard before -ir. Also dort e tc. In 1 A

,

inversion (e .g. pars- je) is avoided.

EXERCISES

I . Using je no crois pas, croit-ou , and no croyez pas , illustrate the

whole L . S. of mentir.

I I . Model : 1I deny that he se rves me we ll ’ (

1 badly’

Vary this by using all A of nier and all Six forms of servir.

I I I . Mode l : 1That She should have fallen asleep, that is what I

can’t understand .

’

Vary this by using all six forms of each verb, with L . S.p .p .

IV .

1

Not that I don’t fall asleep myse lf (moi All six forms.

V . (0ral.) Exercises with so rappeler, negatively and interroga

tively, with suitable subjunctive complements to be found in 2 25.

V I . (0ral.) With A of.

dire (dis , dis , dit , disons, dites , disent)supply complements containing subjunctive forms of so repontir

and sentir.

V I I . (0ral.) Deve lop the illustrations on page 1 80.

I 84 EXERC ISES

Quand moms tu pourrais trouver 7 Even if you could find sonie onequelqu

’un qui o0t on cette oxpéri who had had that expe rience , h ow

once , comment pourrait-i! rénssir7 could he succeed ?

In e xample 7, aurait would imply that such a pe rson migh t be found .

d. After questions

Saves-vous quelqu’un quipuisso 8 DO you know of anyone w ho

achovor co travail 7 can finish this work ?

Que péurrais-tu mo dire que is 9 What could you te ll that I don ’t

no sacho doji 7 know already ?

EXERCISES

(Bearing e spe cially upon 226)

I . 1 . Where is the book that contains (contient 7 contienne 7) no

ideas that we haven’

t me t already, somewhere ? 2 . Show me a bookthat I can read with pleasure and that will teach me something at

the same time . 3. I need one (11 m’en faut un) in which there shall

be some thing that I haven ’t seen in too many other books, things

that all my friends don’

t know , things that may have the charm of

nove lty (le charms do Is nouveauté) for them as we ll as for me .

4. Have you such a book in your library, something you like greatly ?

I I . 1 . Yes, here is one that will please you . 2 . I t contains no

pictures (pas d’imagos, f ), none that is worth much

but it is worth much more than all the rest, although (quoique sub

j unctive) they are numerous (nombreux ).

I I I . 1 . What is it ? 2 . Les Essais dc M ontaigne. 3 . You haven’t

read these Essays ? 4. Then you must read them (je liso 5. I f

you like men to be frank , you will like M ontaigne . 6. I am no t

aware 2 1 3 , f ) that any writer (écrivain) is deeper profond).

7. I wonder (so demander) whe ther we can find (D) some other fin e

work (bel ouvrage) that you haven’

t read ? 8 . I have a good manyvisitors, and not one who comes to (pour) steal ! but I fear that someof them are not very eager (n

’avoir grande onvio) to give back what

they have borrowed . 9 . I t is said (use On) that books are friends thatnever deceive ; I am not sure that that is true of allmy other fIiends.

1 0 . I must choose my visitors more carefully (avec plus do prudence),for if there is anything I really care about it is my books.

CLAUSES AFTER SUPERLATIVES, snot , ETC. 1 85

227. The Effect of Superlatives . After superlatives a re lativec lause is almost invariably subjunctive , unless the re lative clausemere ly identifies, without any e lement of emotion

C’ost l’homme lo plus délicat 1 He is the most tactful man (thatqu

’il y ait aParis . there is) in Paris.

Voilals pl'

us beau paysage qu’on 2 That is the finest landscape that

puisso contempler. one can behold .

Nous avons fait lo moins qu’on 3 We have done the least that one

puisso fairs . can do .

But,Do cos trois enfants, c

’otait ls plus laid que nous avions aimé lomieux 1

Of those three children ,it was the plainest that we had liked best .

’

a. The Efioct of Limiting Adjectives . After the limiting aaj ectirfes

premier , dernier, soul, and unique an adjective clause is usually sub

junctive , owing to the re servation (or, some times, to a certain e lementof wonder) which these four words here express 0

Voila lo premier homme qui 4 There is the first man who has

m’ait compris ! understood me !

Joan n’ost ui lo premier ui lo 5 John is neither the first nor the

dernier qui ait fait cos rochorches,

last who has made these investi

mais il est la souls personne que gations, but he is the only person

tout lo mondo vouillo loner. whomeveryone iswilling to praise .

Les frorosWright sont les pro 6 The Wright brothers are the

micro qui aient ou fabriquer un first who found out how to make

aéroplane praticable . a workable aeroplane .

Michot est lo soul homme du 7 M ichot is the only man in the

parti qui jouisse do Is confianco party who enjoys the confidence

dos cantons ruraux . of the country districts .

In example 7, jouit (ind . ) would make parti'

th e ante cedent of qui.

NOTE 1 . As for § 227, a ,the indica tive (especially in A and B and

A p .p .) is likely to occur when the relative clause is to have a positive

tone ;and D ,E

,I ) p .p .

,and E p .p . may be required when futurity or the

conditional situation would otherwise be obscured . Examine and translate

the following examples : 1 . Vous rappelez-vous la premiere fois que nous

nous sommes rsncontrés 7 2. Depuis huit ans que nous sommes mariés

(1During eight years that we

’ve been c

’ost la promiéro fois que

nous nous quittons . 3 . J’ai

‘

fait 1a souls chose qu’il no fallait pas faire .

4. Et lui c’otait lo soul homme que j

’aimais . 5 . Epouso qui tu

1 86 NE QUE . Q UE j E SA CHE ETC.

veux, épouso qui tu aimss , voila la soulo loi que is compronds.

(Here compronno might have been expected , for the speaker rrieans to

cha racten‘

z e the law .) 6 . Jacques est le,

soul critique qui sera, or serait , a

moms (1 in a position do nous éclaircir sans aucune réserve .

NOTE 2 . No que (1only has the same effect as soul : I] n’y a que

moi qui lo sacho (not sait)1I amthe only one who knows it.

’

REMARK on que is sacho1so far as I am aware .

’

That the que of this

locution is really the accusative relative pronoun is shown , e .g .,by C

’en est

lo moillour (1That is the best of que is sacho ; but this fact is

obscured in e .g. I! n’sst pas venu, que is sacho. (See 2 13, f .) Positive

asse rtion is similarly attenuated in autant que is sacho (same meaning),autant qu

’il m’on souvienne (ind . souvient)

1so far as I remembe r ,

’

e tc.

ADDITIONAL EXERCISE (Em otes SUPPLEMENTAIRE)

I . 1 . F rench children ‘ learn (apprennent) F rench with more or lessease (facilité)

'becauso they hear it spoken (l

’ontendont parler) every

day. 2 . I t is almost the only language that most F rench childrenare in a position to learn ! 3. They repeat what they hear , modifyingit (tout on Iomodiflant) according to what they wish to say. 4. Thus,

little by little (pen a pen), they attain (atteindre h) perfection ,or the

mistakes that theymake become le ss nume rous (nombreuses). 5. They

have learned to speak almost as they have learned to walk (marcher),but the lesson has lasted (durer) longe r.

I I . I . Do you think that the case is the same for us 1 57,

line 1 2) when we are learning (apprenons) F rench ? 2 . Do we not

waste a good deal of time if we try to learn it without rules ? 3 . I f

you are learning some game , how do you know whe ther such and

such a thing is allowed (permis-o) ?

I I I . 1 . What are the rules given in the first lesson in (do) F renchthat you ever studied ? 2 . I s this the most difficult le sson (adj . last)that we have had

,or one of the easiest ? 3 . Have you done the

most that you can do ? (L. S ) 4. I f one does not learn (apprend)we ll the only subjects that one has chosen , what happens

?

1 Les pot'

its F rancais .

1 88 CONCESSION OF INDI F FERENCE

mo soucio do quoi que es soit1 I don

’

t worry (concern myse lf) abo u t anything.

’

(Note that pas is here omitted .)

(f ) Oil que ,1wherever,

’ 1whithe rsoever,

’and d ’oli que

1from w h e re ver,

’

similarly require a subjunctive : Oi; que j’ailie , jo no t ’oubliorai pas

1Wherever I (may) go, I shall not forget you’

; II acceptors cot argent

d’oh qu’il vienne

1He will accept that money, wherever it come s from.

’

(These subjunctive clauses are adverbial, but que j’aillo and qu

’il vienne

have an adjective force . )

(g) Si adjective subjunctive is both frequent and colloquial : S i

111m que soit cette page , elle est trois fois twp‘

longuo1Brief though that

page may be (or is), it is three times too long’

; also si brove soit-e llo,

without que . (Cf . c.) Note also si adverb subjunctive : Jo no subirai

aucune contrainto, do si haut qu’elle vienne

1I will not submit to any

compulsion , from however far up it may come .

’

(h) Tout (variable) adjective subjunctive concedes a possibility : Toutsootto qu

’olls paraisso, elle vous comprend fort bien

1Silly though she may

appear, she understands you very well.’The indicative , if used, concedes a

fact : Touts sotto qu’olle est, etc.

(i) Pour pou que (1 however little adverbial, requires the subjunctive .

EXERCISE I

1 . I should like you to know (que vous sachiez) some thing with

regard to (ou sujet do) our Ange‘lique . 2 . Whatever may be the

reasons that led her father and mother to give her this name , she

is worthy of it (on digne). 3 . We do not deny what is evident

she is rather ugly ;but, however ugly she may be , She has seve ral

qualities that we call rare. 4. Little though (Rem. i) we may pleaseher at times (parfois), she never ge ts angry 5. And what

ever wealth (richesse, f .) She may have seen e lsewhere , she does not

complain that our house is (Sj .) too small or that we haven ’t enough

furniture . 6 . Simple though our tastes (goats , m.) may be (R em. c,

Rem. g), She does not criticiz e them(critiquer). 7. I f we have visitors,

whoever theymay be , she never denies that we are at home . 8 ..That,

perhaps, is a defect. 9 . Wherever we go ,we never fear that Angé lique

may have departed during our absence (absence , 1 0 . She never

worries about anything or (ui) anybody, whatever her thoughts maybe or whatever ambitions she may have . 1 I . Ugly though she 18 1

we do not wish to lose her.

SUBJUNCT IVE IN CONCESSION

C. THE SUBJUNCTIVE IN ADVERBIAL CLAUSES l

229 Concession . A

that might p our mam clause from beingor from becoming true . Such que- clauses nearly always require the

subjunctive (cf. 2 28,h). Examples

Bien qu’il ments , on Io croit . 1 Although he lies, he is believed.

Elle n’est pas tros

‘

visillo, quoi: 2

1

She is not very old, although

qu’ollo on ait l’air. she looks so .

REMARK . EspecIally when truly initial (Quoique), quoique is not so

colloquial as bien que (not bionquo On quoi que , see § 228, b.

NOTE 1 . Although certain grammarians declare such usage wrong, non

subjunctive forms occasionally follow quoique and bien que : C’ost bien dit,

mon chéri, quoique j

’aimorais bien a to voir uno fois a bout do patience

1

Quite so,deary, though I

’d like to see you just once at the end of your

patience .

’

(Le Typhon ,I ,

NOTE 2 . Encore que requires the subjunctive ; likewISononobstant que

1notwith

ls rare .

(1. A subjunctive clause may express a more or less vague hypo thesis (supposition) as we ll as concession

Que la calomnie soit vraio on 3 Whether the_

libe l be true or

fausse , vous on’

voyez l’efiot co false , you see the effect of it this

soir. evening.

b. A concessive clause may suggest a cause

Soit qu’il 1111 malade , soit qu

’il 4 Whether he was ill or was deffit rstonu par des affaires

,il no tained bybusinessmatters, he could

put pas venir. not come .

QUER I ES. What is expressed by the following subjunctive ? Tu jouesun jou tant soit pou cruel

1The game you are playing is just a bit cruel

’

;

or by this ? Quoi qu’il on soit, jo pars domain

1Whatever the truth maybe , I leave to-morrow or by this ? Quoi qu

’il leur arrivat , ils no canaient

jamais 1Whatever happened to them,they never showed the white feather.

’

1 An adverbor adve rbial ph rase could be substituted for any of th e subjunctive clauses in 229

- 230. The que-clauses in 228 resemble adjectives.

190 SUBJUNC'

I‘

IVE IN PROVISO . EXERCISE

Quoi que ce soit qu’il y ait dans votre vie , dites

- lo moi 1Whatev e r maybe going wrong in your life , tell me what it is why two subjunctiv e s ?

Are the following subjunctive clauses adverbial Mottons qu’ils m’

aisat

aidé, qu’est-co que cola lui fait 7 Le t us suppose that they have helpe d me ,

what is that to him? I I so pout que tout ls mondo ait tort , je m’on fich e .

I t may be that everyone is wrong, I don’t care a rap .

230. Provisos . Pourvu que1

provided amoins que1un le ss}

au cas que (bookish)1

in case’(but not an cas on), and various o th e r

phrase s of like value , require the subjunctive . Examples

Jo vous confiorai mon secret, 1 I’ll entrust my secre t to you ,

pourvu que vous promottios do provided you promise not to speak

n’sn parlor a qui que co soit . of it to any one .

A moins que vous no me juries 2 Unless you swear that to me,

cola, pas nu mot ! not one word !

Au cas que vous parties , 11 fau 3 In case you go away, you must

dra m’on avertir. le t me know about it.

a. Th e Subjunctive of Added Condition . To avoid repeating ot si (1and

if’

) a subjunctive clause is often used : S ’il pleut , ot que vous no puissiez

pas sortir, que forons-nous

’

?1 I f it rains, and you can

’t go out, what shall

we do ?’

EXERCISE II

I . 1 . Although we have re ceived all our parce ls (paquets,they contain nothing that we need. 2 . In spite of the fact that I

have te lephoned twice,I got (recevoir) no answer that I can unde r

stand . 3. Unless I receive a message (uno dépéche) be fore seve n

o’clock, I shall have to remain here , although I wish to go with you .

4. I t may be that my friends don’t know where I am;whatever th e

truth may be ,'

I regre t that they haven’

t been prompt 5. Whe the rthey are de tained by business or have not received my invitation ,

I cannot wait. 6. In case you can see them,I wish you to te ll them

whe re I shall be . 7. What they are doing se ems to me just a bit

annoying. 8 . I’m not angry (on colors), though I should like to te ll

them frankly what I think.

I I . Whe re possible , change the person or number of each subjunctive formin 2 28 (exs. 1 5) and 2 29

—230 (the numbered examples).

CLAUSES OF TIME

0. When pour que is required, as after assez , trop , and certain o ther

expressions, the subjunctive must be used, even though the que clausemay state a reality . Examples

11 y avait m e: do fond (d ’eau) 3 There was enough water for th e

pour que lobatoau pflt partir. boat to be able to sail.

Elle a oté tr0p bonne pour que 4 She has been too kind for us tonone puissions l

’oublier. be able to forget her.

Les chances sont pour que je 5 The chances are that I shall go

in’en aillo domain. away to

-morrow.

REMARK . Standard English expresses purpose with may and mzjg/zt

after in order that, and commonly after so that ;but expresses result with

can and could . Compare He had hidden a file , so that he migh t escape’

with He had hidden a file , so that he could escape’

(and did escape).

b. Subjunctives of purpose and result are sometimes akin to whatwe may call the prospective subjunctive , which , like the subjunctive

of purpose , often implies a desire . Examme :Attends(jusqu

’aco)qu’ll vienne . 6 Wait till he comes (for him to

come).

233 . The Subjunctive in Clauses of Time . Apr-es que ,

‘

after,

’is

invariably followed by an indicative ;avant que, before ,’invariably

by a subjunctive . Example

Jo lo vis apros qu’il out quitté samaisonmais avant qu ’il arrivat eu pont

I saw him after he had left his house , but before he reached the bridge .

0. En attendant que , until,’requires the subjunctive ; likewise

(generally) s’attendre a cc que ,

‘

(to) look forward to ing’

Jo m’attends a co qu

’il fasse 1 I’m expecting him to do some

qnelque sottise . thing silly.

En attendant qu’il la fasse , no 2 Until he does it, let’s not get

nous emportons pas . excited .

b. Jusqu’a oe que is commonly followed by an indicative when the

event is past and no idea of purpose is present ; othe rwise by a

subjunctive . Examples

I ls voulaient y roster jnsqu’a ce 3 They wished to remain there

que nos études fussent ach evées . until our studie s were finished.

i—M W fam e (or

c :'

f - c

N M "; (

“

M -A G ( r t h ' l at “

CLAUSES OF MANNER D CONTRAS 193

Notro bon Azor rests jusqu’aco 4 Our good Rover stayed until

que ces insoctos so montreront . those insects appeared.

REMARKS. A‘

pure ly external fact ; hence montreront instead of montressent . In colloquial F rench the subjunctive is frequently avoided by

the use of jusqu’au moment oil ‘

until the moment when ,

’

jusqu’a l’époque

Oi1‘until the time when ,

’e tc . The F rench use jusqu

’a ce que much less

often than w e use‘until.

’See page 78 , IV ,

and 378 , a .

c. Avant que no (without pas) is allowable when the main

clause is afl‘irmative . In meaning it differs little , if at all,from a

simple avant que

Faites 9a avant qu’il (no) “ soit 5 DO that before it

’s too late .

234. The Subjunctive in Clauses of Manner and Contrast . Sans

que , loin quo, and ou lieu que require the subjunctive . Examples :11 avale tout sans quo cela lo 1 He swallows everything without

rende plus gras . that making him fatter.

Ma jounesse s’était passes sans 2 My youth had passed without

quo jo m’on apercoivo. my being aware of it.

Loin que co soit lui qui ait dit 3 Far from its being he who said

9a , c’ost toi qui l

’as dit . that, it was you .

An lieu qu’il y en ait doux

,11 y 4 Instead of there being two of

on a au moins cent . them, there are at least a hundred .

REMARK . In literary or in Spoken F rench , sans que may be replaced

by que no if the main clause is negative : Je no sortais jamais qu’ilno m’

arrivat quolque chose I never went out without somethinghappening to me , or but something happened to me .

’

EXERCISES

Replace with correct forms the infinitivos in italics

I . Bien que nous entendre dire tres souvent que te lle personne

parle parfaitement 11 six on sept langues, parfois cinquante-six

ou ciqq

uante -sept lo nombre varie de deux acent, et quoiqu

’il

y aoozr beaucoup de gens aqui de te lles assertions no paraissent

pas du tout étranges, pour peu que nouspom/inf 202) et 220111017“ 5

(veal ) les examiner, nous apprendrons qu’e lles sont presque toutes

exagérées ou fausses. Mais nous n’aurons nous-memes aucun

EXERC ISES

moyen de savoir aque l point e lles sont exagérées ou fausse s, a

moins que nous no savozr parfaitement s , nous aussi ! la langue 9

cu les langues dont il s ’agir . (H a

I I . I ] y a des millions de ns quigobent tout cc u’on

t

1 1

leur raconte sans que“cola les p us inte lligent} . Etre u

les légendes leu/fazre“

plalsir, comme légendes, etre qu’ils n

’avoz

'

r 1 3

pas l’habitude de questionner quiconque avozr l’air d’étre bien

renseigné , instruit, ils acceptent les légendes et les repetent, 1 5

tout on leur donnant (szmply giving them que lque forme nou

ve lle ; en sorte que , au lieu qu’il avozr une soulo version d

’une 17

croyance quelconqpe , il y en twozr des centaines. Pourvu que

cette croyance a z'ozr tant etre peu de charme , e lle no manquera 1 9

pas de se répandre .

I I I . Q uoi qu’

il enJ

étre do ce la, on pout dire'

des langues cc 21

qu’on peut dire de tout autre suje t d

’étude : Personne n

’a jamais

réussiaon apprendre completement aucune , et cependant, acon 23

Mition qu

’on y mettre (met ? ou mette de la bonne volonté shows

willingness ’

) e t qu’Ou savozr profiter do tous les talents qu

’on pos 25

Sode , on arrivera pout-etre aemployer correctement 11 une petite

partie du francais ou de que lque autre langue etrangere .

‘

Si petite 27

que etre ce tte partie , e lle augmentera la joie de vivre . Travaillonsdonc, avant qu

’il etre trop tard, e t jusqu

’acc que nous no trouver 29

plus rien aapprendre . En attendant, il so pout que nous rencon

trer quelqu’

un quisavoz'

r a parfaitement 1 six ou soixante langues. 3 1

IV . Traduisez : 1 . Come here and I’ll te ll you what I

’ve se en

2 . I s there any (Existo-t- il un) problem s o difficult thatno one can solve it (résoudre) ? 3. I s there water enough for theboat to be able to sail ? 4. Do you never see X but that he te lls

you something strange ? 5. Does he talk in such a manner that

everyone can (could, will be able to) understand him ? 6. Can you

wait till my work is finished ?7. Are there books enough for every

one to have two ? (Dice on.) 8 . Are these phrases too difficult for youto be able to translate them?

196 TENSE- VALUES I N THE SUBJUNCT IVE

236 . Without si, but inverted , a simple past subjunctive fo rm may

express a condition contrary to probability or (occasionally) con trary

l eis, intontassiez-vous un proch , But, should you start a law suit ,

Pla ns on serait plus que douteuse . the outcome of it would be mo re

than dubious .

Colloquially, Mais , quand meme vous intenteriez or H ome s i

vous intentiez e tc . Cf. 235, Note 2 .

237. Tense -values of the Subjunctive Forms . Whereas the indicative has ten different groups of forms 1 to mark the time (tense ) o f

an act or state I o7— I the subjunctive has only four. Th e re

fore the subjunctive forms either cannot expre ss tense so clearly as

the indicative , or their tense-values must be de termined from the

context. This fact is particularly evident in spoken F rench , for in

spoken F rench all forms of the past subjunctive in -asso,

-isso,

-usso,

etc .,have ceased to be used.

a. In literary usage , the‘

present’subjunctive forms must cove r the

tense -values Of the present indicative (A ) and of the future indicative (D ).

Thus Jo crains qu’il no lo fasse pas may mean either

‘I fear he is no t

doing it’or

'I fear he will not do it.

’See 2 1 8

,Remark

,and note -

. Jo

craignais qu’il no fut malade '

I feared he was ill,’as compared with

Jo craignais qu’il n’alldt etre malado '

I feared he would be ill.’

b. Again,the

'

present perfect’subjunctive must cover th e future pe r

fect indicative (D p .p .) as we ll as the present perfect indicative (A

Compare Jo pense qu’il est (sora) arrive 1 temps ,

'I think he has (will

have) arrived in time ,’with Jo crains qu

’il no soit pas arrive a temps ,which might mean

'I fear he will not have arrived in time ’as well as

'I

fear he has not arrived in time .

’

0. The simple‘

past’subjunctive forms must cover the indicative and

conditional groups B , C,and sometimes E . Quoiqu

’ils s’oxprimassent bien

may mean either 'Although they were expressing themselves well ’ (ils

s’oxprimaiont bien) or

'Although [at a definite moment] th ey expressed

themselves well ’ (ils s’oxpriméront bien); and Jo no ferais (or ferai) rien

qui put leur nuire ,'I would not(or will not) do anything that might harm

them,

’would make put stand for pourrait .

1 Eleven , if we count th e compound past anterior’

I I I ).

THE LIV ING SUBJUNCTIVE FORM S 197

d. The pluperfect subjunctive forms (j ’ousse parlé) must cover the pluperfect group B p .p . (j

’avais parle), possibly the group C p .p . (j ’eus

parle and the group E p .p . ,or past .conditional (j ’antais parle). Jo nio

qu’il I ’out dit might mean either

'I deny that he had said it

’

(l’avait dit)

or‘I deny that he would have said it ’ (l

’aurait dit).

238 . Whereve r a subjunctive construction is required, pure ly lite raryF rench generally acts according to the correspondences indicated

in 237, a—d whereas all unaffected conversation, familiar le tters,

and the like,allow only the forms indicated as living 207, 209

or substitute , in some cases, an indicative or conditional form;

that is,every formbelonging

’

to the groups in -asso,

-isse,

-usse, etc . ,

2

is excluded . Therefore , in Spoken F i'

ench,we find either the present

’

subjunctive (e .g. nous ayons , nous Soyons), or the present perfect’

(e .g. nous ayons fait , nous soyons venue), or a non-subjunctive con

struction. The following examples Show how the dying forms mayoccur in supposedly realistic plays e tc .

,and how they may be mixed

with living forms

Je voudrais que vous lo vissiez . 1 I should like you to see him

(See ex . that y ou should see h im).

SO Speaks the orderly, Theillard, in L’En re, by Paul Bourge t, Act I I I ,

sc . I . A moment later (ex . 2) he is represented as saying what such a

person would naturally say ;also all other persons, unless the subjunctive

were avoided

Jo voudrais que vous lo voyiez . 2 I should like you to se e him.

J’aimerais mieux que son pore 3 I would rather his father were

fi t riche ot que nous n’ayona [for rich and that we never had (should

n’eussions] jamais d

’ennuis . never have) any vexations.

Si l’on venait frapper a cette 4 If anyone Should come and

porte , ot quo jo sonto f or sentisse] knock at that door, and I felt I

qu’il mo faut [N . B .] répondre , ough t to respond, I should become

je deviendrais nerveuse . nervous.

(Examwe 4fromAdrienne Leeouv reur , by Sarah Bernhardt, Act I , sc .

1 The subjunc tive ve ry se ldom stands for th is group , and it migh t prope rlybe disregarded .

2 Including vinsse (venir) and all other exceptional forms.

198 EXERCI SES

Pour bien vous I épondre , il fau 5 In order to give yo u a good

droit que j’aio “ q j

’eusse ] pu answer I Should have h ad to com

pare .

(A . Gapus, La l'

eine , l , 3)

Jo voulais que es soit toi qui lo 6 I wanted y ou to say it .

disos.

(in purely literary French , que ce fut toi qui Io disses .)

J’avais pour qu

’on no vous l’ait 7 I was afraid they had n

’t told

pas dit asse z tot [j br l’oiit you soon enough .

EXERCISES

I . Whe rever possible , changé the subject (person and numbe r)and the tense of eve ry verb-form in 233

—238 (examples) .

In the following exercise doubtful forms are indicated . Use the lite rary

verb-formas well as the living formwherever either is possible .

I I . 1 . We feared (B) that you would arrive too late , or that youwould be unable to come . 2 . Although the others would have be enable to come , we shouldn ’

t have been able to wait for them. 3 . We

were expecting them to arrive here before three o’clock . 4. I fear

that our friends may have been de tained bybusiness matters. 5. I n

order to give them a good answer we s hould have had to compare

all their le tters with all ours. 6. I f anyone comes, and-

you'

fe e l

(L. S.) I ought to see him, please knock at my door. 7. I would

rather you knocked (L. S .) than the servant (simply que co soit

8 . Although I have never me t that lady, I must wait for her. 9. I f

she had written (two ways) two days earlier, I shouldn ’

t have fe lt

(so sentir) so'

nervous 1 0 . Should She start a lawsuit, whatwould the outcome of it be ?

(Vary your translation of these sentences by changing the person and

number of the verbs wherever such changes willmake reasonablegroups.)

I I I . Make a table to display the correspondences stated in

237 38 .

THE INF IN ITIVE AFTER PREPOSITIONS

a. An infinitive may fo llow par only after commoncor or its

antonym finir

J’avais commencepar travailler, 1 I had begun by working, I

j’ai 11111 par no rien faire . ended by doing nothing.

0. Entre occasionally appears comparisons

11m’a don eAchoisit entre m’

on He has given me my choice

allot do la maison ou acceptor une between going away from home

condition qui est lo reniement do and accepting a condition which

ma foi. amounts to a denial of my faith .

(Bourget, Un Divorce, I I I , 8)

c. Apres occurs only before avoir or etre a paSt participle

Apres avoir parle, apros étre 3 After speaking (having spoken),sortie , ello after coming out (having come

out), She

REMARKS. The compound must really express a past tense ;apres étro

decide would therefore be wrong, though aproa s’étre décidéo, elle

would be right, for it would mean’after deciding, she Apres boiro,

’after drinking,

’as in chansons apres boiro, is an archaism 1 22) Notes),

because we cannot say, e .g. ,apres manger.

d. A (h), do, pour, and sans may precede any infinitive with which

they make a combination allowed by the context

Je m’appllque Aétudier, jo com 4 I am applying myself to study

mence h apprendre . (ing), I ambeginning to learn .

Tu parles do partir, je to prio 5 You talk of leaving, I ask you

do roster. to remain .

Cola va sans dire . That goes without saying (is

obvious).

ll faut manger pout vivro, ot 7 We Should eat to live , and not

non pas vivro pour manger. live to eat.

Vous passes pour devoir do l’ar 8 You are supposed to owe money

gent atout lo monde . to everybody.

NOTE I All other prepositions (avant, avec, contre , dans , derriere , e tc .)are absolutely ruled out. H ence , avant do partir

'before going away,

’

avant do m’étro convaincu'be fore having convinced myse lf ,

’etc . (This

do is a more link , as in example 5, be fore roster ; note A in example

TENSE IN THE INF INITIVE 201

NOTE 2 . Various prepositional compounds end in a or do : do facon 1

montror 'in such a way as to Show ,

’

jusqu’amourir ’

to -the point of dying,’

afin do marchor 'in order to walk, ’ pres do tombor ’

near falling,’at moins

do les persuader’unless I (someone) should persuade them,

’fauto do croire

'through not be lieving,

’

e tc .

242. Person, Number , and Tense . The infinitive is wholly non

committal as to person and number, and whatever tense -value it mayhave is derived from an adjoining past participle (avoir dit to have

a finite verb, or some other word

Tout avoir ot tout perdre ! To have everything and to lose

it all !

No rien faire ! Quelle facon do 2 To do nothing ! What a way\i;

s’onrichir ! to get rich !

Tu no lui on veux pas Lui 3 You don’t bear her a grudge ?

on vouloir Non . Bear her a grudge ? No .

Et dire qu’ollo n’est plus la ! And to think that she

’

s no

longer the re

Q UERY . I n examples 3 and 4why have vouloir and diro a present value ?

a. By combining avoir or etre with a suitable past participle we getwhat is called the past (orperfect) infinitive

Jo vous remercie d ’étro venu ot 5 I th having come and

d’avoir amené vos amis . your friends.

REMARK . When not thus compounded (ex .

tive represents an unterminated action or state as occurring afte r or during

the time expressed by the preceding verb. In Jo veux (voulais, voulus ,

voudrai, voudrais , avais voulu , aurais voulu) partir (meaning ? ) what is it

that indicates the tense ? Also in J’aimais 1 lire ?

Q UESTIONNA IRE . Comment traduit-on en anglais les phrases sui

vantes ? I . Jo viendrai déjeuner chez vous. 2 . Nous viendrons vous

trouver a la gare do Vincennes, comme c’ost la que tu vas des

cendre . 3 . Moi, avoir do l’or ? 4. Comment je ter un pont sur cot

abime ? 5. Q ue penser do ce tte le ttre ? e t que répondre? 6. Q ue

faire ? 7. Apres m’étro ennuyé te llement la-bas

, je n’avais aucune

envie d’

y re tourne r. 8 . A partir d’aujourd

’

hui, je veux roster chez

moi. 9 . Ne m’invite plus avenir chez toi.

202 HELENE A JULIE TTE

EXERCISE

Helen to Juliet . Heloue a‘

Juliette

Dear Juliet,A few weeks ago we invited Jeanne to come and spend (h

venir passer) tviro or three days with uS (chez In order to

arrive in time for luncheon (déjouner, she M i nd to

leave at noon . We had given her her choice between alightingat Paris-Reuilly and going all the way to (jusqu

’h) the Vincennesstation . Before leaving Creteil, She was to send us a te legram.

After sending the te legram,She missed her train

,through not

knowing when it left Creteil, and she forgot to (do) say whichstation we were to come to . SO that (Si bien que) wetwice to each station, and, of course

,unless one has

least a hundred eyes, the chances are that one can never find the

person that one is looking for. That goes without saying. But to

waste so much time ! Bear her a grudge ? N0, we don’

t boar hera grudge . But after te lling everyone that luncheon wou ld be

ready (prét) at two o’clock ! I had begun to be lieve that She

wou ld never come . Unless one explains everything, one never

knows what is going to happen.

After running about (couru ; avoir couru) so much I was al

and be so strong (vigom'

eFo-

e-

Tl~

like (L . S. p .p .) patience , for’

I

didn’t lose patience , but I wm m not missed

(0. S.p . her train and that She had arrived at the hour when

I 20) we expected her to come (s’attondro A la voir venir).

This leads me to’

think that if one begins by misunderstanding

(mal comprendre) one ends by being annoyed ! After to-day, I

shall refrain (m’abstiondrai) from inviting anyone , unless I know

230 and 241 ) that there will be no difficu ltie s. I re fuse

to be lieve that it was (soit) I who was (L . S. p .p .)‘

wrong this

time , but to think that everything went so badly l I thank youfor having been so kind, and for having written as soon as you

had received (A 2 my letter (or aussitOt apres avoir rogu

ma lettre)"

H elene

I NF INITIVE AFTER FA I RE,VOIR ,

ETC.

A J’avais vu

v

blossom mis, jo 5 I had seen my friends wounded,

les avais vu tuer. I had seen them killed .

Note vu. In each case , its object is an infinitive ;mes amis is the'

direct

object of blesser, and les is the direct object of tuer.

J’avais entendu parler do cette 6 I had heard this person spoken

personne par lo pauvre Goriot . of by poor Goriot (or , had heard

of through

Elle s’était fait pardonner toutes 7 She had had all hermistakes forses fautes, et ello leur avait fait given her, and had hadall th eirs for

pardonner les leurs . given them(them forgiven theirs).

Vary these seven examples by changing their subj ects , obj ects , ana

tenses; also by using other infinitives , as étriller (to) curry,’attelor (to)

harness,’

peindro (to) paint,’lire

'

(to) read,’ écriro (to)write ,

’etc.

REMARK. It is the lack of a truly passive infinitive construction after

verbs of causation and the like that loads to the ambiguity of perfectly

idiomatic constructions such as these : C’ost co que is fais expliquer 2

Jean, oui, c’ost co que is lui fais eirpliquor, which can mean either (a) That

is what I am having explained to John ;yes, that is what I’m having ex

plained to him,

’or (b)

’That is what I am having explained by John ;

yes, that is what I’m having him explain .

’ Again, Jo leur ai entendu

chanter cette chanson may mean either (a)’I’ve heard them Sing that

song,’or (b) I

’ve heard that song sung to them.

’Note that ambiguity

may be avoided by using par. See example 6 and 270.

a. The Type 011 lui (le) fait sooner son crime = ‘They make him

admit his crime .

’

I . With faire (also with laisser, entendre , and a dative (herelui), rather than an accusative (as lo), is used of the agent whose act

and its direct object are both mentioned, and On lo lui fait avouer

(two personal pronouns) typifies the only correct form.

2 . I f the subject of an infinitive having a direct object cannot be

an unstressed accusative (me, to, lo, or an unstressed dative ,

i.e . a true dative (me, to, lui, it must be preceded by h or per

On a fait chanter cola par (3) 8 They’ve had that sung by Paul

Paul Planpon. Plangon .

QUERY. Why noaor par in On a fait (or entendu) chanter Paul Planeou

PURE INFINITIVE AS NOM INATIVE

245 The Pure I nfinitive as Subj ect, or as P redicate Nominative

Voir, c’ost croire . 1 Seeing is be lieving.

Lo dire y intonant , co serait 2 To say it now(, that) would be

tout gache t . to spoil everything.

The two infinitives (voir croire and dire gdchor) are linkedin each case by a form of etre .

REMARK . Occasionally an initial infinitive used as a logical subject is

preceded by a mea ningless do'

(merely a’sign of the infinitive

’

) do

vous voit 11 , Si brusquement , 9a m’a été uno telle émotion, nu tel choc !

to see you there , so abruptly, was for me such an emotion,such a

shock.

’ — (Cher M aitre,Act I I , se .

Q

a. When the subject infinitive is not initial , it requires the linkingpreposition do. (See

NOTE . After C’ost (Co serait e tc .) a predicate noun or adjective is often

followed by que 1 29) before'

do infinitive : Ce serait uno bévue que do

mentir I t would be a blunder to lie .

’C’ost étro requires this que : C

’ost

étro bien crédulo que do croire cola It requires great credulity to believe

that.’

(So after Ce serait e tc .)

b. A pure infinitive follows'

sembler and peraltro (to) seem,

’etre

censé (jugé, réputé, supposé), so trouver‘

(to) happen all forms

of falloir, valoir autant , and valoir mieux . Examples, to be varied

11 mo semble (paIait) avoir In 3 I t seems (appears) to me (strikescela. me) I

’ve read that.

Elle semblait avoir compris . 4 She seemed to have understood.

Vous paraissez étre prossé . 5 You seem to be in a hurry.

Co banquier est consé (jugé, 6 This banker is thought (taken ,

réputé) étre bien richo. reputed) to be very rich .

Jo mo trouve avoir deux Sons . 7 I happen to have two sous .

ll faudrait voit 9a . 8 You (We , etc.) should see that.

Autant vaut no rien dire . 9 One might as well say nothing.

I I vaut mieux tout avouer. 10 It’s be tter to confess everything.

NOTE . In a good many cases , English past participles'to

’infinitive

do not correspond to a F rench past participle pure infinitive . Th‘

us, On

dit (sait) qu’olle triche (not Elle est dite or sue trichor) corresponds to

She is said (known) to cheat .’

PURE INF I NITIVE AS I) IRECTOBJECT

246 The P ure I nfinitive as D irect Obj ect or Complement

The pure infinitive follows many verbs as a direct object or as

a complement which may be otherwise regarded . Most of the se

verbs express mental acts and states. Example s, to be varied

J’ospere to voir aux courses 1 I hope to see you at the race s.

On y voit courir do beaux cho 2 You can see (some) fine horses

vaux . race the re .

Jo crois pouvoir (voux) venir, 3 I believe I can (I wish to) come ,mais je no saurais roster longtemps . but I really can

’t stay

’

long.

Tu comptes y arriver h temps 4 You count on arriving in time ?

Likewise after penser .(cf. ex . devoir'must ’ e tc . 1 87, 206

osor'dare

,

’

appeler (5 . J’appollo cd etre généreux

'I call that being goner

-O

rappeler (6 . Vous rappelez-vous l’avoir dit Do you remembe r

having said entendre (7. J’ontends chanter

‘ I hear [someone ] Singand no faire que

I I no fait que t ire He only laughs.

EXERCISE ON 244- 245

1 . When yOL’I‘ hay e ahous‘ebuilt, (are you going to have it furnished

by X ? 2 . No ,I’

ve had explained to him,and I think I ’ve made him

understand,that I cannot find the money.

’

3 . Be sides

he wou ld make me pay too much (adv . i”fi” 21331122323“

dare to trust the’wgrk to a man of

1

his. age.

«4; I t is be tter to wait ;

it would bea

just as we ll to wait,don

’

t yoh think so 70,.

V) ?

5. Later,I could count on having all the money I Shall god, 6. l

i b

be lieve I ’ve found a pre tty Site (emplacement , m.) tha can himstill prettier. 7. I have heard of a banker who is sup

very reasonable . 8 . No , I prefe r to wait. 9 . Now ,I am only enjoy

ing (ex . 8) my plans . 1 0 . I see them change eve ry day. I I . To

risk anything wou ld be use less. 1 2 . You’ve heard my wife say what

she/

would like to do . 1 3 . She has me explain my ideas when I

happen to have any (simply on avoir), and I have her explain hers.

14. I f I talk to her of my banker, she only laughs . 1 5. She seemsto be lieve that he doe sn ’

t exist . 1 6. Seeing is belieging, says

”

she .

W “ b u s

1)

VERBS OF SAYING . LA GRAMM AI RE

248 . Verbs of Saying and the like . Some such verbs may takea pure infinitive , usually when the re is no change of subject

Tu m’as dit l’adoror. 1 You told me you adored him.

Jo déclare avoir rocu 2 I acknowledge having received

I l jure n’avoir rien dit . 3 He swears he has said nothing.

Voilauno chose qu’on lui p

’

er 4 That is a thing which they por

suado étro fausse . suade (convince) him is false .

But (with do) : 11 jute do leur Obéir He swears to obey them,

’he prom

ises);likewise , On lo persuade do lo faire They pe rsuade him to do e tc .

249 . La Grammaire

PREFATORY NOTE . The following passage illustrates several frequent

uses of the infinitive ; also it distinguishes be tween the clear and accepted

scientific conceptions of'

grammar’and inconsistent, confusing popular

misconceptions of’

grammar.

’The author, Q aston Paris

,amplifies our In

troduction I ). We are not forced to agree with everything that he says .

aLagrammaire e st l’art do parler e t d

’écrire correctement. 11 Te lle 1

est la definition qu’on trouve en téte 1 de la plupart do nos gram

maires dite s i classiques . Elle parait simple e t Claire ;pour pou qu’on 3

veuille s’en rendre un compte exact,8e lle e st singuliorement dif

’ficile

acomprendre . Qy o veut-on dire par parle r Q ue veut-on dire 5

par s e'

crire ii ? fEt surtout que veut-on dire p ar correctement

Le mot aparler comprend4 dos série S do faits tr

‘

es dive rs : il 7

embrasse [a] la prononciation , [b] lo choix des mots dont on se

sort, [c] les forme S variée s dont ils sont susceptibles, e t [d] la 9

facon de les groupe r on propositions clauses] ot en phrasessentences] . C

’

est ce qu’on appe lle , en tofmes scientifiques, 1 1

[a] 191mm, [b] la lexicologio, [c] la morphologie e t [a] lasyntaxe . De ces quatro

'

partie s e ssentie lles do l’

art do parler une 1 3

langue , les grammaire s francaisos ne’

gligent presque absolumentla premiére [i.e . l

’orthoépie , la prononciation] , laissent la secondo 1 5

[i.e . la lexico logie] aux dictionnaire s, confondent pour la troisiéme

[i.e . la morpho logie] les régle s do l’

orthographe avec cellos . do 17

l’émission vocale , e t no traiten t,

'

en général fort imparfaitement,

que do la quatriéme [i.e. la syntaxe ]. Q ue lques auteurs de gram 1 9

maire s historiques 115ont innové en faisant appe l

6 a la science

LA GRAMMA IRE 9

étymologique , e t nous ont renseignés plus ou moins exactement 21

sur les transformations par lesque lles ont passé , depuis dos Siéclosf’

les sons dont so compose notre langue e t les flexions [i.e . les 23

désinences‘

the inflectional endings quimodifient nos noms et

nos verbe s. C’e st un obje t do connaissance 8

assurément trés 25

inte’

ressant, mais qui_ n’

a rien a faire avec l ’art do parler lo francaisactue l [i.e . lo francais de notre époque , lo francais vivant]? Ce t

"2’7art, qui par definition ne doit s

’attacher qu

’aux phe

’

noméne s rée llement vocaux ,

9au langage e

’

mis par la bouche et percu par l’oreille

,29

n’est rée llement enseigné que pour la syntaxe , oii il so confond

avec l’art d ’e'

crire .

Le mot écrire a trois sens bien distincts,suivant qu

’il 1°

désigne la facon de tracer les caractéres (calligzaphie), lo rapport11

33

do ce s caractére s aux phonémes word-sounds] qu’ils ex

priment l’emploi du langage quand on l

’écrit au 35

lieu do lo parler (cot emploi, qui comprend lo vocabulairé , la

morphologie e t la syntaxe , no différe que par certains etailS do 37

ce lui du langage parlé), enfin lo style ou l’a ro nation

1“ de la

forme h l’idec . La calligraphie.

estm ehors de 13 la grammaire ; 39

la stylistique re leve de 14 la rhétorique . Roste l’

orthographe ,15

qui fait avec la morphologie e t la syntaxe lo soul objet de nos 41

grammaires, dont e lle no devrait étre qu’un appendice ,

16car c

’e st

un accident presque négligoable dans la physiologie d’

une langue 43

que‘7 la facon dont les phonémes en

18sont reproduits par I

’écri

ture : écrivoz lo grec19ou lo francais en sténographie , ils no reste 45

ront pas moins lo grec e t le'

francais. Donne r h l’orthographe

l’

importance qu’e lle a dans nos livre s d ’enseignement, c

’

est comme 47

si, pour faire connaitre un homme vivant, on S’occupait surtout

do son portrait, que dis-je ? du portrait do son trisai

’

eul,

20 habillé 49

du costume do son temps.

GASTON PARI S, in his pre face to the Grammaire raison n ée of L . Cle'

dat

NOTES. 1 .

’at the beginning,

’ 'as a heading.

’2 .

’called .

’

3 . F reely,’if we will just scrutiniz e it a bit

’

;pour pou que commonly means pourvu

que but with an added limitation (cf . § 228 , i). 4.

’comprises .

’

5. Historical grammars describe and explain how languages have developed,thus re lating the history of their sounds

, their f orms (morphology), their

syntax , the growth and decline of meanings , e tc . A knowledge of Latin

EXERCI SE

and of Old F rench enables us to deal more scientifically with the problemsof living F ronch ; however, one may be wholly ignorant of both Latin and

Old French , ye t be able to write and speak F rench as well as th e best !

Note lines 25- 27. 6.

'by appealing.

’

7.

’in the course of centuries .

’

8 .

'knowledge .

’

9. See 136. 10.

'according to whe ther

’

; see suivre .

1 1 .

'relation .

’

1 2 .

’fitting.

’13.

'outside of.

’14.

'belongs to the domain of.

’

1 5. A few,ve rbs may thus begin an affirmation . Translate :

’This leaves

s'

pelling.

’16.

'appendix .

’17. This que acts as a grammatical

'

uf’

:

see § 1 29 . 18 .

'its word-sounds,

’ ’the vocables the reof.

’19.

'Greek.

20. bisa‘

ieul great-

grandfather trisa'

ioul'

great-

great-

grandfather.

’

U“

A TRADUIRE“L“ J

)

1 . We are indebted to Gaston Paris for having shown us why the

classical definition of grammar is worthless . 2 . That definition

mere ly confuses what he makes (rendre) clear. 3. I like to be lievethat thosewho read (D ) this passage will not forget it, for it enablesus to (permet do, met h meme do) avoid many error

/

Swf

vt

vhi'chkwithout

having read it, we might continue to make . 4. Unlesswe havebegunto learn a language very early (do tree bonne heuro), and unless wehave heard it spoken very often , almOst

reire

'

r'

y day, wet

Shall not be

able to say that we know it without ever having studied it. 5. We

are obliged to learn rules, whe ther (que) we ever learn (Sj .) to makeuse of them correctly or nqt ”

6‘

Imr‘

ocall (so rappeler) havingmet several persons who thought they knew F rench perfectly withoutthe slightest knowledge of the ru les ; they be lieved they had learnedit according to the ‘

natural method ’

(naturolle last). 7. I asked them19 explain what that meant. 8 . Their answer Showed that they were

only deceiving themse lves. 9 . Do you find foreign languages easy

to learn ? 1 0. How do you say, in F rench , and in two ways,‘I t is

be tter to be able to Speak and write a language correctly'

without

knowing its rules (use on infin .) than to know all its rules withoutbeing able to make use of them;(s ’on sorvir) ? I I . H ow shall wesay That boy did nothing but

’ loaf ’ ? or We would rather forgetsome thing than learn nothing or They

’ve just gone out (font ,

viennent) ? or‘

I t is easy to be wrong’ ?

2 14 A VOIR A ,ETRE A ,

WITH I NF INITIVE

d. Ofte n, or oftener, do is a more link

1 . Aves-vous biontOt achevé do nous rasor Haven’t you lagged—a s

almost enough ? 2. Bites- leur do travailler. Tell them to work. 3 . Obtenez

do lui do s’on allot . Ge t him to go away . 4. Persuadons- lo do so taire .

Le t’

s pe rsuade him to say nothing. 5 . On fora bien do garder co secret .

We shall do well to keep that secre t.

Note particularly the tenses of the idiom in example 1 of c. Write th ree

variants of the examples in each paragraph (six variants) or make six fresh

examples with blamer do blame flatter do flatter décourager do

discourage from all with the accusative ; or with pardonner do forgive

parler do, reprocher do reproach all with the dative .

252. An I nfinitive with d after avoir and étre

H ere the infinitive may express an aim,a duty to be performed ,

or the like .

0. Example s for avoir (personal and impersonal)1 . J

’al A lui parler. I have some thing to say to him. 2. I l n’aura pas

A so plaindre do moi. He will have no cause to complain of me . 3 . I I

n’

y a pas A sortit de IA. Thére ’s no way out of that. 4. 11 y a Aparior

que tu seras battu . I t’

s a safe be t that you’ll be beaten . (Or11 y a gros

A parler que The odds are heavy that 5 . Mossieurs , qu’

y a-t- il

Arodiro Gentlemen ,what objections are there ?

b. Example with etre

C’est-A-dire que tout cela serait A rofairo. That is (to say), all that would

have to be done over.

Using th e idiomatic arrangements in a and b, make six new combinations.

REVIEW

I . Having varied the examples in 250—252 as indicated, Show

to‘

what extent and how the infinitive , pure and prepositional , isexemplified in 1 57, 1 6 1 , and 249 .

I I . Deriving your vocabulary from 1 93 and . 20 1,make a

reasonable sentence illustrating one verb taken from each paragraph

of 250— 252 .

USES OF INF IN ITIVE WITH '

A 2 1 5

QUARANTE—SIXIEME LEgON

THE INF INITIVE WITH A (CONTINUED)

253 . An infinitive with Amay‘

occur in various capacities

a. Adverbially (but resembling a noun) in Aboire e tc. , thus

(Donnez-nous) Aboiro, s’il vous 1 (Give us) a drink, please .

Nous leur portons Amanger. 2 We bring themsome thing to eat.

Similarly, Ont-ils Amanger ot A boire Haye they something to eat1

and du nk ? ’ (These are ellipses .)

b. With the force of a pure adverb or adverbial clause

Elise chants A ravir, mais ello 3 Eliza sings entrancingly, but

est maigre Afaire pour. She’

s frightfully thin .

A tout prendre , cola vaut mieux . 4 All things considered (On the

whole) that is be tter.

Tu no gagnerais rien Aattendre . 5 You d gain nothingby’waitingr

'

Rion qu’A y penser, on so sent 6 Simply to think about it, one

fee ls oneself grow faint.

Similarly, éh‘

o fou (j I folle) A lior’

(to) be raving mad’

(lior

s’éreinter A no rien faire (to) get fagged doing nothing,

’etc .

c. After certain nouns, adjective s , etc. , in phrase s expressing

imaginary direction , situation, e tc

Quel role A les sorvir ! 7 What z eal in se rving them !

Eais attention A leur dire bon 8 Mind you say good day to them.

9 . After nume rals i Nous sorons quatroA jouor au tennis'Thore will

be four of us playing tennis.

’Tu soras la premiere A sortit

’You will be

the first to go out.’

10. After soul : Elles sont (les) soulos Anous alder'They are the only

ones to help us (are alone in helping Likewise after unanime : Nous

étions unanimes A les loner'We were unanimous in praising them.

’

Likewise after long, longue : Comme ello est longue Avenir ! How longshe is in coming !

’

2 16 EXERC ISES

d. With a clearlyadjective force

VoilA une histoire A dormir 1 1 That story is deadly dull. (Du ll

debout . enough toput one asleep standing .)Lo duc est nu homme A com 12 The duke is a man to commit

mettre dos crimes . (capable of committing) crimes .

FOR TRANSLATION

I . What are we going to do now ? 2 . What do you want to do ?

3. Give me a drink ; then we’ll go and play tennis , unless you prefer

to remain here . 4. How many of us will there be playing ? 5. There

will be four of us, I be lieve ;but that remains to be seen voir,

not etre vu).‘

6. We can’

t be sure of that before ge tting (arriver)to the club. 7. Shall we start (t wo ways) at once ? 8 . No

, I have a

letter to write,but I Shan

’t need more than (do) five minute s to

finish it . 9 . You can go now ; or perhaps you would rather wait.

1 0. By the bye (A propos), do you happen to know Louise CauchoisShe

’s frightfully plain , but she knows how to handle a racke t and

she likes to win. I r . M ind you don’

t annoy her by acting (on agis

sant) as if She were only learning. 1 2 . She might fee l hilrt

(blesser), and,(all things considered , that is a thing to avoid . I 3 . I f

you wish to mg? a good impression (omit une), you won’t gain

anything by being too gentle (doux) ! 14. An revoir. I’

ll be there

waiting for you (1AA

254. La Réforme do l ’Orthograph e

(Note care fully all infinitive s and all new words. I f nece ssary , consult the

vocabularie s at the end of the book .)

Q uant A la fixation d’uno orthographe nationale , e lle devrait 1

étre confiée A une commission peu nombreuse , composée do

philologues e t do gens pratiques,1e t qui en trés pou do temps 3

pourrait do ter“ lo pays d

’un instrument commode , Simple et bien

approprié A ce tte besogne Si importante , e t aujourd’hui Si inutile 5

ment compliquée , do la representation dos mots de la langue parl’e'

criture . M ais peut-étre pour faire comprendre Atous l

’utilité e t 7

‘

la possibilité d’une te lle mosure faudrait-il 3 une revolution aussi

profonde que cello qui a permis , il y a un Siécle , do substituer lo 9

2 1 8 EXERCI SES

NOTES. 1 . Business men and the like . 2 . endow’or

'furnish with .

’

3. Inverted after the adverb pout-etre . 4. academic matter.

’

5. A con

cooled subjunctive , hortative ; see 194, 205, and 2 13. 6.

'the more com

ple tely in proportion as07. This lo stands for dificilos A lire ;English

requires no pronoun, merely are .

’ 8 . See 5 143. 9. proper names ,

’

such

as la Sadne [so zn], Gaston Paris a man, Paris [paRi], a city, etc .

10.

’b

,y (virtue of the) law, unchangeable .

’

1 1 . See note 9. 1 2 . P. p. of

acquérir. I 3.

'turmoil. ’ 14.

’therefrom’

(fromwhat I 5.

’middle courses .

’

I6. Cf. routine ;also route and our English form’rut.

’17.

’The wisest

course .

’18 .

’as does

’

; here lo fait stands for so borne .

Q UERIES. How many and what pure infinitives does the above passage

contain ? Which of the prepositional infinitives require A or do merely as

a link ? Does this passage exemplify any infinitives not ye t explained ?

ADDITIONAL EXERCISE

(Almost every sentence may first be a question)

I . I cannot go with you accompagner). 2 . I must stay here .

3. There are too many things to be done (to do). 4. Do not try to

dissuade me . 5. Nothing could make me leave this house . 6. For

the time being the wisest course , perhaps , is to be resigned (me

or to limit myse lf, as you do (faites) some times, to asking for a littleliberty ! 7. Yes, my friend, I insist on (insister pour) being alone .

8 . Even without knowing how you intend to (so proposer do) amuseyourse lves (you expect to amuse yourse lves, no doubt), I can assure

you that my work will prevent me from leaving. 9 . In order to

finish it, must you give up (renoncer A) seeing your friends ? 1 0. Ye s,

I must even give up seeing my friends. I I . Don’t you think you can

(in/in . constru ction) enjoy yourse lves 1 32) without me ? 1 2 . Whatam I (devoir) to say ? I 3 . I will ask you to te ll everybody that I

’m

too busy (occupé A) studying to be able to go out, that my workobliges me to stay at home , that I am not free to (do) do what I

wish . 14. You wish me to offe r them your excuses ? I 5. Yes,be

so good as to te ll them that I you will not fail to say some thingagreeable . I 6. You will have no difficu lty in making (A infin .) themall understand why I have had to remain at home . 1 7. You will haveonly to substitute your ideas for mine .

5 5 W

INF INITIVE WITH DE AFTER [ L ETC . 2 19

QUARANTE—SEPTIEME LEgON

THE INF INITIVE WITH DE . MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

255 . The Infinitive as a Logical Subject .

’ Employed as a sus

pended logical subject,’

the infinitive requires do, as follows

0. After an initial clause containing an adjective and introduced by

11 or by co

Il est nécessaire d ’agir. It is necessary to act.

Ce serait impoli do partir. I t would be impolite to go away.

REMARK . Hero II and Co are impersonal (prOVISional) subjects . Whenthe initial subject is personal (il, ello, tu, etc.) the following infinitive is

objective and its do is no longer a more’Sign of the infinitivo

’

11(Elle) est trés aimable d’écrire

,3 He (She) is very kind to write ,

or d’evoir écrit . or to have written.

NOTE . When ll might mea n either'he

’or

'it,’so is preferable .

b. After an inith IAUSE—voma’lning merely an impersonal verb

introduced by il it,’

go ,or cela (and here the verb is no longer from

etre or from devenir, paraitre, sembler)

Il leur répugne do potiner. 4 I t is distasteful to themto gossip.

Il lui plairait do so taire . 5 It would please him to say

nothing.

Cela (Co)tait du bien do voir sea 6 I t does one good to se e one’s

vieux amis . old friends .

REMARKS. Usage does not allow all impersonal verbs to be introduced

by 9a or cela. For example : I ] lui arriva do tousser He happened to

cough ,’I l importe d

’étro exact I t’s important to be accurate ,

’Comme il

leur tardait do to revoiI ! How keen they were to see you again !’Verb

phrases , like Ca fait du bien, require 9a or cela. Popularly, 9a and cela

precede forms of étro e tc. in some case s : C’ost (Cela est) hon d’avolr

dos amis ; but here the demonstrative value of cola (9a) is apparent. In

11 s ’agissait do trouver l’or

'I t was a question of finding the gold,

’do

.

is

not a more link but has a prepositional value (nearly

h

220 USES OF I NF I NITIVE WI TH DE

c. After C’ost (Sora etc .) Amoi, or any like phrase with A, either door A(now usually do) may precede the suspended subject infinitive

C’est Atoi do (A) jouer. 7 I t’s your turn to play.

d. After an initial clause containing a noun , usually modified

Son bonheur est d’obéir. 8 His happiness is to obey .

Mon grand défaut , c’est d ’étro 9 My great fault is that I am too

trop franc (fl tranche). frank (or , is being too frank).C’ost une faiblesse (que) d

’aimer 10 I t is a weakness to like every

tout lo mondo. body .

NOTE . AS to C’ost étre bien crédulo que do croire cela, see 245, a ,Note .

256 . De infinitive after various suitable nouns and adjectives .

Examples, to be varied

As- tu pour do sortir 1 Are you afraid to go out ?

Tu as l’aplomb do Is nier ! 2 You have the cheek to deny it !I la l’airdo faire unonuit superbo. 3 I t looks like a superb night.

Vous avez tort do vous fAchor. 4 You are wrong to ge t angry.

Le temps do dire deux mots . 5 Just time for a word or two .

Es—tu stir do roussir 6 Are you sure of succeeding ?

Vous étes libres do lo croire . 7 You are free to believe it.

Elle est capable do mentir. 8 She’

s capable of lying.

Houroux do vous voir ! 9 Happy to se e you !

Jo suis ravi d ’avoir pu venir. 10 I’m de lighted to have been able

to'

come .

REMARKS. I . In phrases such as Part d ’écrire’the art of writing,

’de is

hardly more than an appositional link, as in la ville do Paris Athe city of

Paris.

’2 . In a sentence such as Jo n

’ai qu

’un désir ou mondo : to rendre

heureuse'I have only one desire in the world : to .make you happy,

’usage

requires a pure infinitive , which is truly appositive ; the insertion of c’est

would entail that of do : c’est do to rendre h eureuse . 3. In e .g. Cos défauts

sont encore plus vilains d’étro cachés

'These defects are still uglier through

being concealed,’

do clearly indicates a source . 4. To avoid the possible

ambiguity of,say, 11 est gentil do diner on ville I t (He) is nice to dine

out,’one migh t say, C

’ost gentil A lui (

'of etc.

N OTE . Occasionally, do infinitive follows a quantitative pronoun J’ai

assez do souffrir ’I have enough of suffering

’ I have sufiered

222 POSITION OF SUBJECT OF INF INITIVE

259 . Position of the I nfinitive with a Noun as its Subj ect

When a noun is both the object of a verb of perception and the

subject of an infinitive , the noun usually comes last : J’entonds crior

la bonne I hear the servant Shout,’though the emphasis is sometimes

shifted , thus : J’entonds Ia bonne crier. Or the infinitive may be

shifted to precede an adverb: Jo vois mon ami courir Atoutes jambos'I see my friend run at top speed .

’Or the infinitive may have

immediate ly to precede a direct object of its own : Nous voyons lo

lieutenant donnor ses ordres We see the lieutenant give his orders.

’

EXERCISE

(Based chiefly on examples in 239- 257)

Dear John ,

I t wou ld be very -nice of you to come and spend a few dayswith us . I insist on your coming. Do I hear you say

‘I accept

’? 3

We have here just now (A l’heure qu ’il est) a gentleman whocannot forge t his business. H e seems to be bored 5

Just to look at him 253, b), I fee l myse lf become sad. I’m

forced to avoid him,though I don

’

t like to seem impolite . I’m 7

looking for a man to make him laugh , and you are that man .

Do you remember having me t our friend (f ) Jeann e Brisson ? 9

Undoubted ly She would be de lighted to see you. You would dowe ll to take the first train to-morrow morning. Why wait . Jeannehas only one desire : to live in Rouen . Somebodymust have toldher that you live there .

Are you afraid to leave your work ? Are you too busy makingmoney ? I can’

t be lieve it. I don’t doubt that you are free to do

what you please . You won’

t have the cheek to deny it, I’m sure

(use on).As you are supposed to like boats, it would be very impolite of

you to refuse to see mine I am keen to hear you say what

you think about it. I t has always be en distasteful to me to gossip,especially whe n

'

I am more or less involved, but I can te ll youthat that little boat has changed ove lything. You will le t mecontinue this .

VERB—FORMS IN —ANT 223

QUARANTE—HU ITIEME LECON

vans - FORMS IN -ANT : ADJECTIVE , PARTICIPLE, GERUND

260. Nearly every F rench verb has aTom ending in -ant (parler,

parlant ;finir, finissant ;etre , étant ; When variable, this form

is a verbal adjective ;when invariable , a present participle or gerund .

0. Formation . This is usually indicated by group B (imperfect,

past descriptive) : jo pouvais, pouvant being irregular forms,as ayant

’

having’or sachant

’ knowing’

(from savoir), must be

leamod oiltright. (No preposition but on may precede a form in -ant .)

b. In several verbs the verbal adjective differs from the present

participle and gerund not only by being inflected (like non-verbaladjectives) but in its stem. Thus, for example , the verbal adjective of

savoir is savant ; its present participle and gerund are sachant,on

sachant . Examples : (on) sachant cola’

(by) knowing that’

;but une

méthode sava’

nte a skillful me thod,

’dos chiens savants performing

dogs,’un grand savant a great scholar,

’e tc. The verbal adjective of

pouvoir is puissant‘

powerful.’Gene rally, the verbal adjective diffe rs

inform from the present participle and gerund only in that it can and

must be inflected to indicate number and gender.

c. The verbal adjective often implies motion or activity : dos yeux

percants piercing oyes ,’uno fouillo tombante a falling leaf,

’cette ravis

santo jeuno fillo’

that entrancing young lady’

; it never expresses an

effective act. Hence we cannot say uno feuillo tombante do so brancho

(for tombant), nor uno lettre annongante son depart (for annongant).

The F rench verbal adj ective usually corresponds to an English

adj ective which can be put before a noun : uno ballo volante a flyingball,

’dos projet s charmants

‘

de lightful plans.

’

d. The present participle differs from the verbal adjective by beinginvariable and by being capable of having an object or other close ly con

ted complement : les ponts joignant l’ilo ot les quais the bridges

224 DI FFERENCES BETWEEN FORMS IN —AN T

joining the island and the embankments,’uno femme sachant l ’anglais

a woman knowing English ,’dos hommes voulant travailler me n w ish

ing to work ,’uno fouille tombant lontomont ‘

a leaf falling Slow ly ,

’

e tc .

2. The present participle differs from the ge rund by neve r be ing a

noun . The gerund is always a noun ,always require s on

,always

occurs in an adverbial clause , and is se ldom followed by a past

participle (ayant dit , not on ayant dit ; étant venu,not on étant venu).

Othe r important distinctions will now be considered.

Ex t: niples contrasting the

1 . Expressing an additional and

apparently contemporaneous circum

stance

Je sortie , laissant la comtesse

assise suprés du lit do son mari ot

pleurant Achaudos larmes .

I went out, leaving the countess

seated by he r husband’

s bed and

weeping bitterly.

(H e re laissant describe s an act

closely allied with that expressed by

Jo sortie ; hence the participle lais

sant rather than et jo laissai. Fur

the r, laissant does not emphasiz e

how the Speaker went out, nor

when . Compare assise , f . sg. , with

pleurant , inv . Note that laissant

belongs to jo.)

2 . The present participle often de

scribes an act preceding another act

Quittant Paris aprAs déjeuner tuarriveras (or arriverais) au Havre A

six heures .

Leaving Paris (See 2 a ,noting

By,’and add comma af ter

P articiple and Gerund

GERUND (with on)

1 a . ExpreSsing.

time'

(obviouslycontemporaneous), with an idea e x

pressed by English’in

’and by

’

On no fait jamais do mal on

disent la vérité.

One never does harm by (or in)telling the truth

I b. Merely stating within or dur

ing what act some oth er act occurs,

that is, wh en :

En mo promenant j’étudie les

visages .

On my walks I study faces.

(The act signified after on is usu

ally some thing wherein some thingelse occurs ; but see the example

in 2 a .)

2 a . So does the gerund

En quittant Paris (etc . as in

By leaving Paris after lunch you

will (or would) arrive at Havre at

Six o’clock.

(En adds the idea of means , of a.

proviso .)

VARIOUS EXERCISES

NOTE . In some of the following sentences, all to be translated , either

an infinitive or a form in -a“

nt is allowable , whereas in others the re is no

alternative .

I . 1 . By putting into French all the following sentence s w e can

learn to avoid a certain numbe r of mistakes . 2 . For example , whe n

we say,‘

I see a leaf falling (or we may employ eithe r (soit) a

form in -ant or (soft) an infinitive ;but how shall we say,‘

a falling

leaf ’ or ‘falling loavos ’ ? Are the two groups of words that we have

just finished writing correct ? 3 . Now , having seen how F rench ex

presses those ideas, le t us translate these :'This afternoon

, as I was

coming (on coming) home , I'

saw a dog dragging a cart (uno char

retto). Being very small, he could not go very fast. H e was pantinghard, but he never stopped unless he had some good reason for

stopping. Whenever he me t (two ways) other dogs, he wou ld swerve

(so détourner) a bit, but without having the look of wishing to avoid

them. 4. I f I we re a dog, I Should not like to spend all the best

hours dragging (infin .) a cart, and I should not like to be a per

forming dog. 5. Being what I am,and having what I have

,I

think that there may be some chance of my becoming (Sj .) a manof affairs, of many affairs, I hope .

I I . Vary each of the classified examples under 26 1 by usingother verbs, other subjects, and other objects when possible . Dis

cover, by experimenting,whe ther any changes of word-order would

be allowable . In each example , test the effect of adding or omittingon. See whether you can reword any of the examples so as to

express approximate ly the same idea without using a form in -ant .

I I I . C lassify the forms in -ant exemplified in 33 , 52 , 70,

and 85.

I V . I llustrate the forms in -ant for venir, prendre , rendre, bondir,

sontir,ouvrir

, and craindre in seven reasonable Sentences.

PRESENT PARTICIPLE AND GERUND

QUARANTE— NEUV IEME LECON

PARTICIPLE AND GERUND (Common )

262. PARTICI PLE

6. Expressing cause (no emphasison time)

Connaissant vos idées , jo tions

A vous mettre on gardo contre co

penchant .

Knowing your ideas , I feel bound

to put you on guard against this

inclination .

Similarly (with th e participle) : II relut la lettre deux fois , croyant Aune

orreur do as vision H o reread the le tter twice , believing he had not soon

aright.’

(H ere we could not use on croyant , for it would seem to express an

activity necessarily during which il rolut la lettre ; substitute'

on passant

devant l’égliso.)

Again, Jo n’en savais rien, no m

’occupant jamais do ses afiaires

’I know

nothing about it, never busying myself with his affairs .

’

(Here we might substitute nom’étant jamais occupé do ses aflaires never

having busied myself with his affairs .

’But this would give another tense

value to the participle , here compound .)

7. The present participle (Simple or compound) often occurs in sus

pended or absolute clauses :

L’argent manquant , que pouvez M oney failing, pray what can you

vous donc faire do ?

Son pAre l’ayant complétemont His father having comple telygAté, co garcon no vaudra jamais spoiled him, that boy will never

rien . amount to anything.

8 . The gerund is a noun-object of on, and no clause in which it occurs

can be truly’suspended.

’ In sentences such as Mon sang bouillonno on y

pensant My blood boils as I think of it,’or L’appétit vient en mangeant

Eating brings appe tite ('Appotite comes as one on y peasant and on

mangeant mean respective ly in (the act of) thinking about it’and in (the

GERUND (with on)

6 a . Expressing cause and marking the time (actions practically

Simultaneous)

En la voyant soulo, is n’ai pas

hésité A lui parlor.

On seeing her alone , I did not

hesitate to speak to her.

228 PRESENT PARTICIPLE AND GERUND

act of) eating.

’But the gerund ordinarily expresses an additional activity of

th e nearest subject ; hence such examples are regarded as showing license .

9 . Describing manner (with no

implication that the manner is a

means). Time Simultaneous :

Elle revient , courant A toute

vitesse .

She comes back, running with allpossible spe ed.

10. Describing manner, with the

implication that it is also ameans

Courant trAs vite vous arriverez

Atemps .

Running very fast you will arrive

on time,

9 a . As opposite , but more em

phatically answering the qu e stion

How ?’Time simultaneous

Elle revient on courant .

She comes running back .

(Cf. Elle revient lentement .)

I O a . As opposite ;but th e ge rund

readily either precedes or follows th e

main clause

En courant trés vite e tc . ,or

Vous arriverez Atemps en courant

e tc .

1 1 . The gerund emphatically stresses both manner and means (clearlyanswering the questions

'H ow ?’and

'Whereby P’

)

On vit on travaillant , on no s’en

richit qu’on faisant travailler.

One can live by working, one can

ge t rich only bymaking others work .

1 2 . The participle and gerund are both employed to express concession

Oui, jo fais cola sachant (or on

sachant, or tout on sachant) ce qui

on résultera.

Yes,I do that knowing (knowing

full well, or even though I know)what will come of it.

(Equivalent to Oui, jo fais cola, bien que jo sacho ce qui on résultera .

In tout on sachant,concessive , tout emphasiz es the concession ; it may be

inserted to mark continuity : Tout on causant , nous voyons s’éloigner la céte

’All the while we were Chatting we Saw the coast

13. The participle (occasionally the gerund)‘

is some time s allied with

various forms of aller (used either figuratively or literally) to e xpress a

continuous or progressive activity

Lour nombre va croissant .

L’abde allait chantant dos héros .

Their number keeps growing.

The bard went Singing of the

heroes.

263 . A General Observation . The fact that our English verb- forms

in -ing have many markedly different functions give s rise to frequent

230 EXERCISE ILLUSTRATING COMMON M I STAKES

a EXERCISE

Explain why most of the following sentences are incorre ct, and

make all necessary corrections.

I Croyantsavoir raison, ngusno demanderons pardon A t sonne .

2 . On no fait jamais do mal disant co qu’

on pense . 3 . Savan tn quijl,

ne~v

vv

i§2drait pas, je suis rentré chez moi. 4. J’avais insisté su r so

'

n

venant avant huit heures. 5. N’aviez -vous pas recu une le ttre annon

canth son départ ? 6. Eh ayant vu tant do fowmbien cot homme

est incertain , que lle raison avez -vousppurgi ant qu

’

il‘

tiendra jamais

ses promesses ? 7. J’

aicommencé ’en pense-lit qu’il no me trompe rait

jamais, je finirai par sayoir qut’

jlj ne trompera toujours. 8 . C’

e st IA

un individu qui vit par trompor tout lo monde . 9 . Sans tgompantau moins quelqu

’un, cplpmppt done pout

-on S’enrichir ? 1 0. Je n

’aimo

pas les hommes quiSent toujours parlant do leurs affaires , e t quand

jo suis causant avec un a pas an interrompu . I 1 . A

bien dos égards, je suis do beaucoup do gens . 1 2 . Per

sonno no S’enrichit

u

p

‘

échant, mais péchafif mo divertit énormément.I 3 . Q uand je op

ts péchaiat tousme s chagrins disparaissent. I 4. Q uand

souffrant d’une de ces crampes quim torturent de temps en

temps, je n’ai qu

’A passer que lques heures en regardant la surface

do l ’eau, m’attondant A cc que les poissons so décident Amordre .

I 5. Avez -vous jamais vu sourire un poisson ? Non ? Alors; je me

permets do vous dire que c’est 1A un phénoméne des plus interes

sants ot dos plus rares. 1 6. On dit,n’est-cc pas ? qu

’une femme

est souriante , mais, Si e llo sourit,littéralement, on dit tout Simple

ment — qu’e lle sourit. 1 7. De méme , op ppileI /dle/ paysages souriants,

e tc. 1 8 . I ] y a plusieurs savants qui sont dosayant do prouver que

les chevaux sourient,non pas on faisant un léger mouvement dos

lévres, comme les chiens, mais par un mouvement dos oreilles.

1 9 . Tout en admettant la valeur do cette hypothése , je dois avouer

que je trouve la mienne plus attrayantof attractive 20.Eh sachant

combien vous vous intéressez aux grande s énigmes de la science , jevous en reparlerai un de ces jours . 2 1 . C

’est en S

’

appliquant aux

grands problémos, monsieur, qu’on arrive aux grands honneurs.

AGREEMENT OF THE PAST PARTICIPLE 231

CINQUANTIEM E LECON

THE'

VARIATIONS OF THE PAST PARTICIPLE

265 . The past participles of strictly impe rsonaLverbs (as falloir),or of verbs that require Abefore a

‘

noun-OWable oth er past r difforeno-orrdings (vu ,

me, the se we must use depends upon the

ught to be expressed .

0. Employed adjectivally, a past participle must agree in genderand in number with the noun or pronoun to which it be longs

La longue écrite différabeaucoup 1 The written language differs

do la langue parlée . greatly from the spoken langfiu '

ge t/

Cette prétendue marquise n’a 2 That alleged marchioness hasn

’

t

pas nu rouge liard . a red cent .

Ainsi comprise , cette théorie 3 Thus understood, this theory

aura quelque valeur. will have some value .

Elle les regards , stupéfaite . She looked at th em, astounded.

5. Likewise in the predicate

Sont-ils déjA lovés Are they already up (out of bed)?

Jo trouve ma maison détruito . I find my house destroyed .

c. A participle modifying nouns (or pronouns) of different numbe rsor different genders usually takes the mascu line plural form if either

of the modified words is mascu line

Jo trouve lamaison ot lo garage 7 I find the house and the Shed

détruits. (or garage) destroyed .

La maison et lo garage avaiont 8 The house and the Shed(garage)été détruits . had been destroyed .

However, if a feminine happens immediate ly to precede the parti

ciple , the participle is like ly to be made feminine

Pathelin est composé avec 9 Pathelin is well propor

proportion ; il so développe avec tioned ; its plot is developed with

une,verve , nu entrain, une gaité a well-maintained raciness, go , and

soutenuos . gaiety.

232 I NTRANSITIVE PAST PARTIC IPLES

REMARK . In such a case (ex. an audibly feminine pas t participle

(as comprises) might have been avoided, or the order of the th ree n o uns

might have been different. La maison, lo garage et la sorre ('ho t- h o u se

‘

)

sont détnlitos would be less acceptable than the same with brulées burn ed

Lamaison ot lo garage sont détruites would be ruled out ;also Le garage

ot la maison sont ddtruites. Road , La maison et le garage sont détruit s .

Past participles behave like ordinary adjectives in this respect. C f . 339 .

Q UERIES. As plairo’

(to) please’requires Aor a dative , why is I ls sont

plus an incorrect way 0 ,tr4pslatjng

’

Z '

lley

are pl d you

t'

rAnslate , using plairo, hey (We )were pleased, ’ T h e

past participle of nuiro,'

(to) harm,

’is nui. Could this formover vary ? and

how would you translate1 Site .

had be enJ

hAImod Ad. Passive constructions must be distingtiished from constructions

containing the variable past participles of aller, descendre , entrer,

monter, sortit , and other verbs expressing intransitive motion

Elles seront blessées . 10 Elles soront sorties .

They will be wounded. They will have gone ou t.

2. The past participle ofl

any verb which requires etre in formingits compound groups (cf. d) must agree with the subject :

Ma scour est née ACaen, elle est 1 1 My siste rwas'

born at Caen;she

morto, ll y a trois ans , A LiAgo. died, three years ago ,

‘

at Liége .

Aprbs sa mort, jo suis allé (allée) After her death I went to Ant

AAnvers, puis jo suis venu (venue) werp, then (I) came to Paris .

AParis .

11 est arrivé deux dames qui to 12 There have arrived two ladies

connaissont. who know you.

NOTE 1 . Here arrive agrees with the initial or so-called’

grammatical

subject’

(il, neuter), not with the suspended or so-called’ logical subjec t

’

(deux dames).NOTE 2 . The singular verb(est arrivé), explained historieally, is due to

the speaker’s uncertainty as to what

‘

he is going to add ;originally, il was

not required .

f A past participle must agree with the subject of sembler, pa

raitro, and other verbs akin in meaning to etre

Elles avaient semblé (pam) 13 They had seemed (appeared)disturbed.

Alors,l’

ouvrier a oj'

rz'

r de travailler amoitie’

prix .

5 Les portes

ne se sont pas rout/ref .

6 If travaillerait pour rien qu ’ou ne pourrait 7

le garder [cf . C’

e st le chomage ,7 le terrible cl

zpmage qui

sonne le glas des mansardes;La paniqtéea arreter toute s les 9

industries, et l’argent, l

’argent se cacher usepresentperf ect, ApLg]

Au bout deS huit jours , c’est bienfiner . L’

ouvrier a cu re une4 1,

supréme tentative , e t il revient lentement, les mains vides, éreznter I’M

de misere . La pluie tombe ilmarche sous l’averse ,

9sans la sentir, 1 3

n’

entendant que sa faim,s arrétant pour arriver moins vite . 1] se . 3

pencher [A p .p .] sur un parapet de la Seine ; le s eaux grossz'

r

[p .p .

'

swollen ’

] coulent1°avec un long bruit 1] se penche davan

tage , la coulée colossale passe sous lui en lui je tant nu appe l 17

furieux . Puis, il Se dit que ce serait lache,

1 1e t il S

’en va.

NOTES. 1 . trudge the stree ts (Sidewalks). 2 . entire ly,’body and brain

(tout 3. job.

’

4.

'repellent

’

(pres . part ? or ve rbal 5.

'for half

pay.

’ 6. re ouvrir. 7.

'stoppage of work

,

’ 'closing down

’

; chomage isderived from chfimer stand idle ,

’be out of work,

’

take a day off.’ 8 . toll

the knell of the attics’

9.

'downpour’

(une averse ;pleuvoir A

verse'rain in I O .

'fiow ’

(cf . the fem. la coulée , line

1 1 .

'cowardly.

’

EXERCISE I I

1 . The workman had not fallen ill,but all the factories (usines , f .)

had been closed . 2 . Eve ryone had been obliged 1 87) to stand idle ,and this stoppage of work had to lled the knefl e

‘lfl'

th e poor. 3. At

the end of a week the factorie s had not ye t reo ned the ir doors.

4. Worn out with misery,the man had trudged the streets, then

had re turned ,empty-handed . 5. Had he (Si) thrown himse lf into

the Seine,what wou ld have become of his family ? And later, when

the factorie s had been reopened (on,E he would have been

needed .

Q UERY . With only the English translations befoflz you , can you repro

duce all the examples in 265— 266, or make fresh combinations ?

FORCE OF PAST PARTICIPLE 235

CINQUANTE ET UN I’

EME LEQON

THE PAST PARTICIPLE (CONTINUED)

TENSE~VALUE AND VO ICE

267. a. Tense-Value . Like the infinitive and the verb-forms in

rent , the past participle (despite its name) usually gets its tense -valuefrom the immediate context. Chases vues Things seen

,

’

isolated,expresses comple tion ;but it also expresses present sigh

’

ts,not future

sights. I l fut blessé 1‘H e was WOUQ dfifdfl ? 5ELQQSQ SAQ act

,I l était

blessé,a state . In Arrivée de bonne heure , elle put voir ses amis

avant leur départ Having arrived early, she was able to see her

friends be fore their departure ,’the past participle (arrivée) is really

past ; so in etre venu‘to have come

,

’or in sans s

’étre viis ‘

without

having seen one another’

; in general, its tense-value is vague .

b. Voice . Originally (in Latin), the past participle was either de

ponent or passive . I t has remained passive (or passive ly adjectival)in many constructiom d

m

like verbs . Elle est tres aimée‘

She is much liked ’On l’aime beaucoup), I l fut élu H e was

e lected ,’or

,adjectivally, Elle était tres agée She was very aged

’

(F rench has no such verb as dger ; hence we could not say Elle fut

igée, nor Cette vie Pages. 1)After avoir (and after etre in reflexive or reciprocal constructions)

the past participles of transitive verbs long ago got an active sense ;

so thatW rit une lettre I’ve written a le tter ’ une lettre is the

object of écrit (or‘

rather of the group si écrit) and not of ai, which

serves mere ly to indicate tense .

Variation of the Past Participle af ter an Obj ect

268 . The past participle regu larly agree s in gender and in numberwith apreceding accusative object

Quelle route avais-tu prise 1 What route had you taken ?Voici la route que j

’avais prise . 2 H ere is the route I

’d taken .

236 PAST PARTICIPLE AFTER AN OBJECT

NOTES. If a personal pronoun of common gender precedes , the par

ticiple should be masculine : j e les ai vus , lui et elle 'I ve seen him and

her.

’If two or more accusatives Of different gende rs happen to precede a

participle whose feminine differs audibly from its masculine , a speaker whohas not planned his sentence may have to face (or to dodge !) difficulties

like those considered in 265, c, and Remark. See § 4o5.

REMARK. F rench children , and grown-ups in some cases

, fail to follow

the rule just exemplified . The little boy who tells the story of La Dern z‘

ere

Classe (Daudet)bears witness : C’était mon’

tour de réciter. Que n’aurais- je

pas donné pour pouvoir dire tout an long ['from beginning to end

’

] cettefamense regle des participes , bien haut , bien clair, sans une faute ;mais jem’

embrouillai ['I became confused

’

] aux premiers mots , e tc . And'

in her

De’

sabuse'

e Undeceived grand roman passz'

onnel, Marcel Prevost’s

schoolgirl authoress, Julie , writes : Le capitaine Maxime ne s’était pas

trompe. L’impression [f eminine noun} qu’il avait produit sur Margue

rite Here Julie ’s friend Jeanne , to whom she is reading her story,

interrupts : Produite . Julie : Quoi produite (Understanding) Ah !

tu as raison. (She corrects.) Explain why Jeanne was right.

Q UERY . Why first écrit, then écrites, in the following ?— Avez -vous

écrit les preuves Have you writte n the proofs ? and Avez -vous les

preuve'

s écrites (‘Have you the written proofs ?

a. Following a dative or genitive , the past participle isneutral

Je les avais vus (vues) et ia leur 3 I had seen them and I had

avais parle(not parles). spoken to them.

Voila les aventures (f t) dont 4 Those are the adventures we’ve

ris . nor tie , \M t

nor ties).

Ces assiettes sont jolies. En 5 These plates are pre tty. Have

avez-vous pris (not prises). you taken any of them?

NOTE . But a past participle following en may be a substantive (resemblea noun), in which case it will agree with its antecedent . j e regardai les

assiettes,il y en avait trois de cassées (not cassé)

’I looked at the plates ;

three of themhad been broken.

’ Likewise , une de cassée .

b. When amasculine plural noun or a feminine noun is preceded

by certain partitives, such as combien de or que de‘

how much ,’ ‘

how

many,’la quantité de, and the like , the past participle is usually made

3a t “

238 AGREEMENT OF PAST PARTIC IPLE

269 . A General Observation as to Agreement . For begin n e rs , the

most important principle s of agreement can be illustrate d by the

following example s : (1 ) La lettre a été écrite (not écrit)‘

T h e le tter

has been written,

’

(2) Elle est sortie (not sorti)‘

She has gone o ut,’

(3) Elle a couru (no t courue) She has run,

’

(4) Elle a écrit 8a lett re

(not écrite)'

She has written he r le tter,’

(5) Voici Ia lettre qu’elle (or

ii) a écrite (no t écrit) H ere is the lette r that she (or he) has w rit ten ,

’

(6) Elles se sont comprises (not compris) They have unde rstood one

another,’

(7) Elles se sont écrit quelques lettres (not écrites) T he y’ve

written one another some letters,’

(8) Voila les lettres qu’elles (or ils)

se sont écrites (not écrit).

A COMPREHENSIVE TEST BEARING ON 262- 269

1 . I have studit d the fiftieth lesson and the fifty first. I be lie ve I

havee

understood fhem. 2 . What mistakes have I made ? I have

made several mistakes . 3 . When you came (A p .p . ,

4

fou

see me , w didn’t you stay (A p .f .

, f our f orms)go away n aller ; A f . , f our f orms) ? 5. Have you be en run

ning? Ye s , we have been running. 6. What route did you take to

come he re ? We took the route that seemed (A p .p .) the sho rtes t

(court ? or courte 7. Every time that you (tu) have come he re ,

you have arrived too late . 8 . How many of your friends have you

met on the way (en route) ? The impre ssion that you have producedon eve rybody

'

is that you ought to have started (partir) earlier. 9 . I

was up at se ven o’

clock , but I had to finish some work for my fathe r.

1 0 . H e re are the le tter and the book that you gave me . I have read

them,but I have not understood the The mor

read,the le ss I

’ve u nderstood . 1 1 .

’

l he care that

unde rstand those alleged rules is wasted (perdre). 1 2 . I fear that

we have not understood one anothe r. 1 3 . H ave you the le tte rswritten in F rench ? Where are those that Alfred and John have

written to each o the r ? 14. Look at those pre tty plate s . H ow manyof them have you bought

?

PAST PARTIC I PL‘E WITH INF INITIVE

CINQUANTE—DEUXIEME LEQON

THE PAST PARTICIPLE (Commons )

270. The past participle varies for the eye , not for the ear, when

a preceding accusative is not the object but the subject of a followinginfinitive

WITH AN ACCUSAT I VE Sos y s cr WITH AN ACCUSAT I VE Ge ys e r

FOR THE INF I N IT IVE FOR THE I NFI N ITIVE

Je les aivus (vues) [vy] arriver. l j e les ai vu évincer.

I saw them arrive . I saw them evicted .

NOTE . Not merely verbs of perception (as écouter, entendre , voir,but also ca usal verbs (as laisser and faire), are true to the above statement.

Voila la femme que nous avons 2 Voici les vers que j’ai entendu

entendue chanter. chanter.

There is the woman whom Here are the verses that I’ve

we’ve heard sing (or singing). heard sung.

Again a pure ly visible (graphic) agre ement..

We could not link the s of

entendues before , say, aller, or before y aller.

Leur mere les a envoyés cher 3 Leur mere les a envoys (not

cher quelque chose . envoyés) chercher.

Their moth er has sent them to Their mother has sent for them

get some thing. (sent [someone j to get them).

a. Used causally,fait (past participle) is invariable for the eye ,

because the te of faite,or the tee of faites, would be audible before

any infinitive : faite venir, faites partir. H ence

Et cette jeune fille , l’ont-ils fait 4 And that young lady, have theychanter had her sing ?

REMARKS . Formerly it was correct to say faite chanter ; and fait doe s

not constitute '

an exception, if we consider only spoken F rench . For the

ear, all other past participles are really invariable be fore all pure infini

tives under all normal circumstances. Be fore a vowel, vu, vue , vus , and

vues, etc . ,would all. sound alike in any case , and fait commonly remains

[fe] : Je l’ai fait entrer.

242 EXERCISE

277. The Type II avait en deux pieces j ouées cu Vaudevine. Th is meansHe had had two pieces played at the Vaudeville

’

;but it doe s n o t n e ces

sarilymean that he had mused them(faire) to be played there . I] av a it fait

jouer deux pieces an Vaudeville would mean not only that two piec e s o f his

had been played there , but that he , their author, had caused them to be

played there . Our'have ,

’

had,’used causally, is some times ambigu o us .


1 . Who are the people that I have seen arrive (arriving) ? 2 . T h e

gentlemen whom we heard announce that th ey were leaving P a ris,

and“ dies whom you wished to bring (amener) yourse lves . We

sent for them as soon as we had learned (A 2 p .p .) that they h ad

decided (se decider h) to stay. 3. Mme .

l Figeac and her siste r ! I

hadn’

t forgotten them. 4. N0, you couldn ’

t have done that. T h a t

isn’t good form. Perhaps you have been counted on

,but you c an

te ll them that it was a misunderstanding. I f you say it we ll, yo uwill not be laughed at. 5. I have missed -

a fine chance ! 6. Ne ve r

mind, you are the only one punished. Mme . Figeac has never bo rneanyone a grudge . Besides, she likes people who have done some

thing, and before She meets you I will te ll her that you have had a

comedy played at the Chat Noir. 7. Who, pray, is that person talkingto our friend Kargou ? 8 . Ah ! they have le t himin . V ery intere sting .

H e looks as if he had never hurt anyone (has the look of never having done etc.) he is a cubist (cubiste) and he hasmade himse lf known .

I’

ve seen himpaint (peindre). 9 . Has he had himse lf painted ? 1 o . NO,

but he has just finished some thing which has been greatly admired .

I t (Q3 ) is called [ e Suicide . An individual (individu) who is muchlarger than a house a house that can be seen behind him has

thrown himse lf fromone of the windows. 1 1 . You that explainedto you ? 1 2 . Yes, the whole tragedy . The poor was too largefor his house he cou ldn ’

t live in it (y habiter).

Q UERY . Can you make reasonable fresh combinations out of all the ex

amples in 270—277?

1 I n F rench , Mm (not.

cf. , M l“ (madem selle ), M" or M .

(messieurs), C“ Dr 5° or 5

m“

sth ,’

5°5th ] (Latin qu z

'

n to), etc .

244 ELI SlON IN PRONOUNS

Lul, jamais ! 7. Elle est ravissante . 8 . Elle ? je la trouve pluto t e nnuyeuse .

9 . Q ue dit'il ? Il ne dit -il ? Non,il ne pleut pas . l l . Elle,

je l admire beaucoup , mais lui, je lg déteste . 12. Qu’

est-cc que tu lui as

di_ _ t? A je ne l‘ui ai _

rggp

dj t. 13 . Comprends- tu Q3 ? Je le comprends

fort bien. 14. lls s’

embétefit“ Eux ? mais tout . 15 . Ce son tmqui se divertissent, cc 11

’

est pasmm, j e vous re . 16 . J’agis moi

(pour toi, pour lui, pour vous

, pour eux). i_y avait-il .

P I I n’

y avait

que moi (que toix ‘que lui, qu

’

,elle qH

’

elles, qu’

e .ux) 18 . Je les voyais pour

la premiere fois, lui aussi bien qu’

.e lle 19 . C’est n

’est-cc

c’

est moi. 20. Tu l memes choses que

21 . Faites commeM e moi, comme lui). 22.a tro a soi.

23 . C’est soiméme

.qu

’

ou trompe le p s 2 .

qEnwp e -t-ou rpm

-

ZOEn’en parle jamais . 25 .

'Elle‘

ne nous pfa1t p s,

M

ni amoi

z

ui a ma scan .

26 . Je les cherche ,“

Ce

120m

a

eux (elles) que je cherche . Q‘e j t 53 .

1e n’cst paiawmoi

“

qT'

i’j . 28 . Je lui dis ca. Je ri'

ed

ll

ui s pas ca, 5

lu_

i. Ce 11 est pas moi qu le dirais. Dis

r iéur 31 . Elle les fiatte . E ] 2. Je

lui p Ic‘lui parle a elle . 33 . Je leur parle a elles . Je le ur parle

a eux . 34. Tu nous verras (voit , group elle e t moi. 35

vus,toi et elle . 36 . 1e ne vous avais pas vi .st . toi ui el

F rancais, moi.V W ..

I ” ( f r

279 . Elision . Before verb-forms beginning with a vowe l,also

before y and en (pronoun or adverb), je, me, te , le , la, and se are

regularly e lided, for the eye as we ll as for the ear. Examples (tobe pronounced and translated)1 . J

’aime ca. 2. J

’

y vais . 3 . J’

en parle . 4. M’aimes-tu ? 5 . Je t

’

y vois.

6 . Je t’en parle . 7. Je t

’ai e . 8 . Je l

’

ai compris . 9 . Je l’ai comprise .

J

10. Je l’

y ai vu . 1 1 . Je l’

y ai vuc . 12. Je l’

en ai convaincu . 13 . On l’en

a persuadée . 14. On 5’

oublie . 15 . On 5’

y divertit. 16 . On 8’en va.

a. F ollowing a verb (necessarily a positive imperative), me , te , ls,la are e lided before y and en. Examples (to be pronounced and

translated)r 1 . M efi- t

’

y (in living F rench rath er M e ts - toi la,meaning Put yourse lf

there ,’ 'Stand 2. Va—t’en ! 3 . Convainquez

- l’

en .

b. In consonantal groups which the F rench find easy to pronounce

(mostly before Simple consonants), je may become [3] Je 1s [3 di]

SPEC IAL ELISIONS . NOM INATIVE 245

Je croismay become [Jf k a] . Note that dis- je [dizg] times with thenoun tige

‘stem.

’

c. In folk- speech , tu becomes t’ in certain familiar groups : T

’es

fou“You

’re crazy.

’

(A phenomenon reproduced by realistic playwrights etc .) Similarly, vous may become v

’s, as in v

’s avez

d. Standing immediate ly before a consonant (I I se trompe), or

before a pause (Que dit- il ii is commonly pronounced [i] in collo

quial F rench , even by educated speakers . In realistic nove ls etc. this

[i] , for il , is often printed y . (I’would be a be tte r representation .)

Ils likewise becomes [i] , and [iz ] before a vowe l.

AN ANECDOTE BY TH E PHONET I C I AN PAUL PASSY

Q uand O. Jespersen [a we ll-known phonetician] était en F rance ,m

'

on frere et moi lui citions des exemples d’

abréviations employeesen parlant francais. Mon pere , qui nous écoutait, protestait e

’

ner

giquement ;il ne vou lait pas admettre , notamment [especially] , que 1!se prononce [i] devant les consonnes. Comme nous insistions, il finit

par S’écrier : Monsieur Jespersen, ils ne

’

savent pas cc qu’ils disent !

[moesjo jCSPERSI-Zn insafpa Skidizz ] ;montrant ainsi, bien malgré lui,que nous avions raison .

(Q uoted from Les Son s d’

a f rancais , 257 sligh tly adapted .)

0. Fo llowing an imperative , le and la may be e lided only before yor pronoun). Henb

'

é,

'mntrez - le 3 Paul'

[mS'tRe loe a

pal] Show it to Paul,’

e tc . Similarly, les y [lez'

i] and les en [lezo] ,but les 2 [le a] etc .

280. Nominative , Dative , Accusative . (Special forms for the dativeonly lui and leur, which may also have other functions.)

a. When a noun or pronoun is not the direct or indirect object of

a verb, and not the object of a preposition ,it is called nominative.

For example , il is a subject nominative in I I parle , and le is a predi

cate nominative in J ’etais riche je ne le suis plus I was rich I

am so it,’that is , rich] no longer.

’

Similarly, lui is a (stressed)predicate nominative in C’est lui.

246 DATIVEP

‘

AND ACCUSATIVE

b. When a ve rb acts_

indirectl its object is called d atez 'e , unless

this object requires a preposition (usually A). Thus, in Je le lui

montre I Show him it’ 1 I show it to ls is accusa tiv e ,

lui is

dative , a gure dative . For conve nience , we may speak of -A lu i"in Je

le lui montre Show it to him as a prepositiona l dative :

often Aluimay be regarded as the stressed form of lui, A eu x as the

stressed form of leur, e tc .

c. When a verb acts directly, its object is ca lled accusative : V ois- tu

l’église (‘

Do you see the church Oui, je Ia vois Yes , I s e e

NOTE . When a noun cannot thus follow a transitive ve rb (V ois- tu

l’église a pronoun used to represent it ca nnot be called accusativ e ,but

must be a pure dative , or must follow a preposition (usually A). B u t we

find that Je parle AJean corresponds to Je lui parle (not to j e parle A lui),

whereas Je pense A Jean I’m thinking of John ’

corresponds to Is pense

A lui. The pronominal construction is there fore more instructive than the

noun construction .


I . Noting that nuire ‘

(to) harm’has in group A je nuis

,tu nuis ,

il nuit , nous nuisons , vous nuisez , ils nuisent , and that its past parti

ciple (nui) is invariable , translate the following1 . You have harmed that man . 2 . You have harmed that woman .

3. You have harmed her. 4. You are harming her . 5. They are

harming him. 6. You say that I harm him. [ say that he is harmingme . (Mahe j ive more combinations .)

I I . Noting that le, la, and les (accusative) follow the datives me ,te , se, nous , and vous

,but precede the datives lui and leur , translate

the following

1 . I show it to him. 2 . I am showing it to her . 3 . H e shows it to

me . 4. They are showing them to us to us). (M ahefi'oe more

combinations .)

1 A e rican usage diffe rs from British usage by not allowing’it

’

(accusative)to pf écede a dative , as in I gave it him.

’

4

248 MEAN INGS OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

or less personified : Je lui en voulais A cette maison 'I bore that

house a grudge .

’After prepositions, lui, elle, eux , and elles are not

commonly applied to sexless things ; th1s is markedly true of'

A and

de. Thus A lui could not stand for, say, A l’alcool

, unless alcohol ’

were personified ; similarly , de lui could not stand for do trou of the

hole .

’

Je vais A elle I go to her’

(aperson) ;J’

y vais‘I go to

it’

(a thing, e .g. A la gare‘

to the Je parle de lui I Speak

of him’

;J’en parle would be required of

,say, nu livre .

REMARK . For'ih it,

’ 'in them,

’neuter, use IAdedans

'therein,

’

dedans'inside ,

’1A

'there ,

’or 7. For

'ou it,

’ ’on them,

’neuter, use lA-dessus

thereupon .

’F or

'under it,

’ 'under them

,

’neuter, use lA

-dessous . Cf. § 3o4.

283 . Reflex ive and Reciprocal Forms . See 43 and note the

fo llowing statements

0. After prepositions, not only moi, toi, nous, and vous may be

reflexive , but also lui, elle, elles, and eux : Je travaille pour moi I

work -for myse lf,’Tu parlais de toi You were talking about yourse lf,

’

11 pense trop A lui He thinks too much about himse lf,’e tc. ,

meme

(memes) being frequently added, often to avoid ambiguity : I l est

injuste envers lui-meme H e is unfair to himse lf,’Elle parle pour elle

méme She speaks for herse lf,’Elles pensent A elles-memes They

’re

thinking of themse lves,’e tc.

b. As datives or as accusatives, nous , vous, and se often express

reciprocity : Nous nous sommes rencontrés quelquefois We have me t

(each other,one another) occasionally,

’Vous vous baissez , n

’est-os

pas You hate each other (one anothe r), don’t you ?

’Ils se cherchent

‘They

’re looking for one another (each etc.

c. I f a reciprocal pronoun might otherwise be taken for a reflexive ,clearness requires the addition of l’un(e) l

’autre or les un(e)s les

autres, with A in dative constructions

Elles se sont plaintes (les unes 1 They’ve complained ; recipro

les autres). cally ,They

’ve pitied each other.

Elles se le sont They recalled it ; reciprocally ,unes aux They reminded each other of it.

284. On, Y, En

a. On (from the Latin nominative noun homo man,human being

is a strictly personal pronoun , always proclitic or enclitic and alwaysnominative . I ts only reflexive forms are so and soi

,never lui.

English has no exact equivalent : On s’umuse tenement One has

such a jolly time,

’On le dit

‘They say so

,

’On n

’eutre pas

’No

admittance ,’On est aussi vieux qu

’on se croit We are as old as we

be lieve ourse lves ,’On pense toujours A soi One is always thinking

about onese lf,’On se trompe soi-meme We deceive ourselves ,

’and in a

plural sense“

On échange des salutations Gree tings are exchanged,

’or

with a reciprocal se : On se voit rarement We (They etc.) se ldom see

one ahother,’On s

’est réuni Amidi The mee ting took place at noon.

’

b. Y (from the Latin adverb ibi there is used where in formalEnglish the reto ,

’ ‘therein

,

’e tc .

,might occur. I t often serves as a

‘

personal’

pronoun when A lui, A elle,A eux

, and A elles wou ld beliterally pe rsonal. Se e 28 2 , Remark .

c. En (from the Latin adverb inde thence often occurs instead

of de lui, d’elle

,d’eux

, and d’elles

, as these cannot be free ly appliedto sexless things. Test-word :

‘thereof.

’Y and en are proclitic or

enclitic : J ’eu parle (proclitic), Parlez -en (enclitic), e tc.

REMARK . Other pronouns may be pe rsonal, but only those considered

in 278—284are called'

pe rsonal’— a technical term.

285 General Rule as to Position . Both datives and accusatives pre

cede all verb-forms except positive imperatives : le, la, and les precede

lui and leur in all positions , and precede moi, toi, nous , and vous after

positive imperatives ; y and en must follow datives and accusatives.

(The negative particle ne always precede s objective pronouns .)

0. Several proclitic or enclitic pronouns may stand toge ther.

Example s

1 . Ia me le lui dis jamais. 2. Tu les y trouveras . 3 . Vous nous'

les mon

trerez . 4. Elle S’

en convaincra. 5 . Dites-le -nous . 6 . Je vous en parlerai.

7. Ne leur en parlez pas. 8 . Parlez -nous—en .

EXERCISES

EXERCISES

I . 1 . Do you see that house ? Ye s, I see it . 2 . Do you know (seeconnaitre

, 460) that .P,No

,I don

’

t0

know her. 3 . Have you

my books ? Ha t em to you . Yes,I have given them

to you . Where are they? I Shou ld like to know (savoir) ; I have

found some good ideas in them. I f we find them [the books] , will

you Show them to me ? 4. Why did the woman look under he r bed P

Because She thought that there was a burglarm 5. Have you

read that nove l ? Everybody is talking about it. I’

ll lend it to you .

Can you return it (rendre) to me to-morrow ? M Sisteraanfi £2

talk about it to some of her friends . She would I1Iie to explain it

to them. She knows the author of it ; they have me t several times .

6. Where is your club? (cercle , m.) Near here , but I almost never

go to it . When friends come to see me I 'I'

zike méfiem11 . (

‘

Use on as much as possible.) 1 . I’m to ld that. you are leaving

Paris . We are told many that, aren’

kg orn to ha pe 2

man be lieve s himse lf free . 3 MMwill the mee ting take place ? At what hour do we leave ? 4. I f we

wish to ke ep an idea, we repeat it to ourse lves . (Referring to 28 1 , a ,

mahe th reef resh combinations .)

I I I . (With special reference to stress .) 1 . Doe sn’t X like you

?

M e ? No , he de tests me , and I de test him, too . 2 . Will you explain

your idea to Mme . F Why should I explain it to her (also, Whyshou ld I explain it to her ?) 3. You can Show me that le tter, can ’

t

you ? Yes, I can Show it to you . Can’t you Show it f .) to me ?

(M ahe four more combinations , each containing a strength ened dative

as well as an unstressed accusative.)

IV . Change the pe rson and number of each pronoun in the nine

example s in 284, a .

252 THE TYPE M OI —MEME

287. All the stressed forms may be emphasized by add ing meme

(if truly plural , memes) ;but the se compounds differ in th e ir syntaxfrom the corresponding English compounds myse lf ’

a. l oi-meme, toi-meme, e tc. se ldom occur as accusativ e s,except

in apposition . Regardez moi-meme Look at me ’ Look at

is possible (note the positive imperative), but Vous regarde z moi-meme

is not. For forms other than the positive impe rative , othe r s tyles of

emphasis are required. Example : C’est vous (or occasionally , C

’est

vous-memes) que vous trompez , pas moi I t is yourse lve s that you

are deceiving, not me .

’

b. After prepositions, the simple stressed forms suffice except

when very strong emphasis is required : Je parle de moi commonlymeans, I

’m talking about myse lf’

(with slight stress on Je

parle de moi-meme must mean, I’m talking about myself.

’

e . As nominatives, moi-meme , toi-meme , etc .

, are almost always

appositive : Fais-le toi-meme Do it yourse lf,

’Et moi-meme je suis

de cet avis'And I myse lf am of that opinion,

’

J'

y vais moi-meme

I’m going there myself.

’

288 . Forms with Imperatives . Before imperatives (necessarilynegative), only unstressed forms occur. After imperatives (neces

sarily positive), we find moi and toi, but le , la, les (not lui, unlessdative , and not elle, elles, or eux). Howeve r, Cherchez - le Look forhim’

[JSRJe lde] . See 278 , a .

a. Formerly, me and te cou ld follow imperatives ; hence Va-t ’en

‘Go away,

’and Parle-m’

en"I‘

alk to me about it ’;but m’en and t ’en

cannot be enclitic under all circumstance s,and m’

y, t’

y ,_

l’y are

se ldom enclitic in living F rench ; hence Tu t’

y mettras‘You will

stand there ,’

but Meta- toi IA Stand there ,’e tc. Before the verb

we find no hyphen : Je vous y chercherai etc . After the verb we

usually find a hyphen or hyphens : Cherchez-nous-y .

REPET ITION . STRENGTHENED SUBJECTS 253

b. Formerly, when two or more positive imperatives occurred in

unbroken succession , the second or last object had to be proclitic .

The following example was intended to produce an archaic effect

Dés qu’il aura franchi le seuil , bAillonnez- le et le liez fortement ‘

As

soon as he shall have crossed the threshold, gag him and bind him

tightly.

’

(Sardou ,F édora

,I I I

,

On imperative constructions, see also 1 94—203.

289 . The Repetition of Proclitic Forms . Examples : Elle les aide

et (elle) les encourage She he lps (them) and (she) encourages them.

’

With a dative : Elle leur annonce et (elle) leur explique son avis She

announce s (to them) and (she) explains her Opinion to them.

’But

beforex

a past participle or infinitive the object-pronoun need- h ot be

repeated Elles les a aidés et encourages , and Elle leur a annoncé

et expliqué son avis .

REMARK . Though me , te , nous , and vous may be either dative or

accusative , none of them serve simultaneously as both . H ence I] m’a nui

et blessé must be changed to I I m’a nui et (11)m

’a blessé (or blessée) He

has harmed and wounded me .

’Cf. ll leur a nui et il les a blesses (or t

blessées).“a

,

if

me ss e s mrea i .“

“ I . L k for me . Look for e there . 2 . Leave it . Leave it there .

y I’Leave it there yourse lf. g

l léifihdfi

théremcse y with mettez). Don’

t

”U

3!”stand there , (use both mettez and meta). 4. H ere

’s an easy

-chair.

Sit down in it (use as pl. , refiex ivebf). No,

don t S1t thefefiq ) vat/pli

es.H Te ll me,(raconte the est 0 nd encourage me ?

I have always aided and encouraged you and have never harmed you .

'1 f t I

'

f t l d C 1 5 1 ( r ,

1 / "I t 's

l Z he Strengthening of Simple Unstressed Subj ects

290. When only one subject is invo lved in a given clause , a

stressed form is often added to express contrast, but with various

effects :

Moi, j’aimes amis A

’

mon cafe. 1 As for me , . I have my friends

Et toi at my café . And you ?

254 STRENGTHENED SUBJECTS

Je n’aime pas les chasseurs de 2 I don

’

t like grouse-hunters.

grouses , moi. (N ote the tone of this emphasis .)Toi, tu parles ;moi, j ’agis . 3 You talk ; I act .

Oui, monsieur, j’ai vu 9a, moi 4 Yes, Sir ; I have seen that, even

qui vous parle . I . (Or the like .)

a. Note again that for je , tu,il and ils

, stress must be

indicated by the use,and generally by the addition ,

of moi,toi

,lui

,

eux . Example s to be translated idiomatically, and to be noted :

1 . Moi, je le connais, cc monsieur. Je ne le connais pas do tout

,moi.

2. Toi, tu m’amuses énormément. Tu m’

emgétes, toi. 3 . Lui, il me

dégofite . Il est trés drole , lui. E tc.

b. Occasionally, an inserted word or clause may allow moi and

toi to occur without je and tu . Examples

Non ! moi seule peux adoucir le 5 No , no ! I alone can soften the

mal que 9a lui fera. pain that that will cause him.

Likewise , Si toi, homme d ’honneur, as pu If you ,a man of honor,

have been able to Note seule and homme d ’honneur thrust be tween

moi and peux , toi and as . Hence the allowable omission of the unstressed

forms.

'Moi peux and toi as are impossible . How about lui and eux with

out il and ils ?

c. Even though elle (elles), nous , and vous can be independentlystressed (Elle , pourtant , ne vient pas She

,however

,isn

’t

they usually follow the pattern of je , tu ,il,ils . H ence

,Mais vous ,

madame , vous avez tort But you ,madam

,are rather than

Mais vous , madame , avez tort .

ADDITIONAL EXERCISE

Before studying further complications, substitute , wherever the context allows

,a subject of a different number or different person in

each of the example s in 278 , a , and 290 . F or the first Singu larsubstitute the second singular, for the second singular substitute the

third singular, etc.

258 NON—PRONOM I NAL PROCLITICS

So Tu I’aimes plus que tu ne m’aimes (La Lot de l

’

ltomme,I I I

, 5)means '

You love lter more than you love me,’not

'You love her more

than you love me .

’In J

’ai votre parole

'I have your word,

’Vous l’avez

You have it,’avez is

.

logically stressed ;but in Jo lui déplais comme elle

me déplait She dislikes me just as I dislike Iter’

(La P etite Cltoeolatiere ,I I I , it is -

plais and -

plait ,'

both having the same sound , that ge t all

the stress.

REMARK . To change , say, Je l’aime beaucoup plus qu’il ne m’

aime toMoi, je l

’aime , lui, beaucoup plus que lui ne m

’aime , moi (similarly the

other examples) would be to write , or to speak, F rench that is neither

written nor spoken .

294. Non-

pronominal Proclitics . Only y and en (as pronouns or

as adverbs) and the negative particle ne (n’

) can be inserted with

the various unstressed forms (Je ne lui parle pas , Tu ne me le

montres pas, Vous ne m’

y trouverez jamais, Elle ne leur en dim

rien,

H ence I ] , cependant H e , however’

) is incorrect, though

Elle, cependant needs no second elle. But even af ter the independent

forms (lui, elle,nous

,vous

,eux

,elles) such insertions of stressed

adverbs or conjunctions are very limited .

REMARK . The old legal locution Je , soussigné, I, the under

signed, takes us back to a time when the rules of stress were much

freer and more ‘logical

’than '

they are now.

EXERCISE 11

Where possible , translate the following in two or more ways .

1 . I hope that you haven’t forgotten either me or my brother.

2 . We often think of you (use A), of you all, and you must think of

us . 3 . I some times mee t J. ,but he always seems to be thinking about

some thing e lse . 4. I don’

t dislike him, and he doesn’t dislike me ,

but he seems to avoid me , and I , perhaps, avoid him. 5. I f you see

Pierre or Alice te ll him, or her, that I hope that they soon will havereturned (revenir). 6. I , the undersigned, declare

DATIVE,AND A 259

CINQUANTE—SEPTIEME LEQON

PERSONAL PRONOUNS (CONTINUED)

ACCUSATIVE ? DATIVE ? OR a COM PLEMENT ?

295 . Some F rench verbs may have only an accusative object (11les ennuie);others, only a dative (I I leur plait , but 11 plait 5 tons) ;others, only a complement (Il pense a eux

,or II pense a tous) ;

many may have either an accusative or a dative object, or both at

once (Je lui pardonne‘I forgive him

’

;Je le pardonne‘I forgive it ’ ;

Je ls lui pardonne‘I forgive him

REMARK . Evidently, the syntax of each F rench verb must be learned

from observation . In general, French verbs are transitive when their Eng

lish equivalents are transitive , e tc . No saf e comprehensive rule is possible .

a. In English very few verbs may take two non-

prepositional ob

jects ;we may say‘

Show me the house’but not

‘

Indicate me the

house ,’ ‘Te ll me that

’but not

‘

Say me that.’F rench employs the

dative far more free ly— with scores of verbs,and in various senses :

b. Dative of the Indirect Object (Idea : to somebody, or the like)Prétez-moi cela. Jo vo

g

ue ls pré 1 Lend me that. I will lend it to

terai oi vous (me) promettez de me you if you promise (me) to return

10 rendre . it to me .

So with donner, expliquer, montrer, and scores of other verbs .

c. Dative of Reference or Concern , with Verbs of Separation (Idea

f rom somebody, or the like)Son argent ? Elle no le lui em 2 His money ? She doesn

’t bor

prunte pas, elle ls lui vole . row it from him; she steals it

(from him).

Sowith acheter, emporter, enlever, prendre , and many other verbs.

d. Dative of Reference or Concern, in Place of a Possessive

On lui tranche la téte . They cut off his (or her) head.

9: leur améliore l’ou

'

ie . That improves their hearing.

260 USES OF THE DATIVE

This construction is general in the case of words such as (lo) bras'arm,

’

(la) jambe'leg,

’

and all other parts of obviously animate things (animals or

persons);also in speaking of the mental faculties : l’esprit'th e mind

,

’Is

conscience the conscience (or e tc . See Definite Article, 329.

e. Simple Dative of Reference (Idea : to somebody)Cela leur semble tenx , cela leur 5 That seems to them false , they

don’t like it.

I t is the nature of some verbs to take the dative . Formerly, obéir and

pardonner could have an accusative object of the person ; hence E lle sen

obéie (as if obéir were still transitive) etc. (Cf. j e lui obéis .)

1 f . Dative of Attribution

D’une voix que je lui connais, 6 In a voice which I know as his ,

ll répondit he replied

1 a. Dative of Favor and the Confidential Dative

Regardez-moi cette fine-ls. De 7 Do look at that girl. What

quoi a-t-elle l’eir does she suggest ?

Ravier est amm nt . II v‘Oils 8 Ravier isamusing. H e

’ll take off

imitera‘n’importe qu

’

el acteur. any actor for you (not stressed ! )Il vous prend as cognée , il vous 9 See ! H e takes his hatche t, he

tranche In béte . chops the animal in two .

Here the narrator takes someone into his confidence ,makes himawitne ss .

h . Dative or Accusatlve , but with Difierent l eanings

Elle le battait . 10 She was beating him.

B ut, Le cmur lui (me) battait 1 1 His (H er, My) heart was beatingfortement . violently.

Jo les pesais . I was weighing them.

B ut, L’Oisiveté lui peeait . Idleness was weighing upon

him.

i. Dative representing the Terminus of an Intransitive Verb of

Motion used Figuratively :

Cette robe lui va amerveille . 14 That gown becomes her finely.

Cette idée leur est venue tout a 15 That idea came to them all of

coup . a sudden .

Adieu , mon enfant , tu nous re 16 Good-by, my child, we shall

viendra un de ces jours . have you back one of th ese days .

262 EXERCISES

that mon, ton, son,ma, ta, as , and ses are never normally stressed ; they

are proclitic forms . See example 2 . (N ote’

le sien a lui, ls sien a elle , etc.)

Non ! tu es mon cousin amoi ! 2 No , you are my cousin !

REMARK . Groups such as nu ami amoi(='a friend of mine ’

) do not

necessarily express the same idea as nu de mes amis . A person who says

une cousine amoi may have only one cousine .

'An aunt of John ’s’

une

tante aJean.

NOTE .

'I am the maste r of them all

’

Je suis leur maitre atous .

VARIOUS EXERCISES

(To be writte n)

I . E xcept where the context forbids, change the person or num

ber,or both

,of each of the datives in the sixteen numbered examples

in 295.

I I . In 11 faut qu’il parle a subjunctive is concealed. What con

cealed datives occur in 295, or in the variants which you have

just written H ow can we discover whe ther, in Mon maitre me tientchaud 44, line me is an accusative or a dative ?

I I I . Using datives,trauslate I . H e had stolen all that money

from her, and he gave her back only half of it. 2 . She wou ld havelent it to him if he had asked her for it (le). 3. I f I lent money

'

to

anyone and he didn’

t give it back to me , I shou ld te ll him that I had

given it to him. 4. Wou ld he be grateful to you for it ? No , but mymoney might be usefu l to him.

IV . Translate : I . Some friends of mine (M . et Mme . Dubois)are having their portraits painted. 2 . H ers resembles her, but hisdoesn

’

t resemble him at all. 3. I f I were having mine painted , Ishou ldn ’

t like to have it (that it) re semble me.

V . Translate : 1 . An aunt of mine (his, hers, yours, ours, theirs)had married an un

‘c1e of John ’

s. 2 . One of my brothers married a

cousin of his : he had only one (use en).

ORDINARY COM BINAT IONS OF PRONOUNS 263

CINQUANTE—HU ITIEME LECON

COMBINATIONS OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

298 Table snowing Usual Combinations of Aeeusatiz/es

and Datives

0. Before the V erb(Proclitic). Order : Dative Accusative .

me la me la me les (Occasionally me l’

y e tc . )te lo te la te les (Occasionally te l

’

y e tc .)se le se la se les (Occasionally se l’y e tc . )

nous le nous la no'

us les (Occasionally nous l’y e tc . )vous le vous la vous les (Occasionally vous l’y e tc . )

b. Before the V erb(Proclitic). Order : Accusative Dative .

le lui la lui

le leur la leur

les lui

les leur

(lui y does not occur)

(le leur y e tc . are avoided)

c. Af ter the V erb(Enclitic). Usual order : Accusative Dative .

- la-moi -les-moi - le-nous -les-nous

-la-toi - les-toi -lo-vous J ets-vous

-le-lni - les- lui - le- leur - les- leur

Combinations with y and en

4. Before the'Verb(Proclitic). e . Af ter the V erb(Enclitic).

m’en t’en s

’en lui en

1-m’

en -t ’en - lui-en

m’en t ’en s

’en l’en -m’

en -t’en -l’en

nous en vous en s’en leur en -nous-en -vous-en - leur-en

nous en vous en s’en les en -nous-en -vous-en -les-en

m’

y W l-m’

yl l-t’

ylm’

y t’y s’y l’y l-m’

yl l- t ’ylnous y vous y s

’

y leur y nous-y -vous-

y- leur-y]

nous y vous y s’

y les y nous-y-vous-y

-les-

y

Note why certain forms are duplicated . Dubious forms are in U.

(y en occurs in ii y en a e tc . ; otherwise , seldom.)

(y-en [or y en] migh t occur : Portes-

y-en

'Take some there

264 IMPOSSIBLE COM BINATIONS OF PRONOUNS

299 . U sage is not consistent. F or example , before verbs, le, la,

les, follow pure datives, except lui and leur hence me le

,

te la,e tc . ;but, for example , me , te, nous

,vous

,dative

,must not 4

precede the accusatives vous,nous

,se

,te

,me

, M a ;nor

can datives and accusatives having the same form (as me me e tc .)be combined . Study the following examples

On no m’a pas présenté a lui. 1 I haven

’tbeen presented to him.

11 vous aurait prise amoi. 2 He would have taken you from

me .

On t’a adressée A‘nous . You

’ve been sent to us.

Je me fie a lui (avous I trust him (you

In example I we could not use lui me,nor me lui. In example 2

either me vous or vous me would be wrong. So to nous or nous to

in example 3 , and me lui or luime , e tc .,in example 4.

REMARK . On se vous arrache People are fighting for your socie ty,’

'You

’re quite the rage ,

’or the like) is wholly exceptional ;it is due to the

analogy of On se l’arrache Everybody is after him,

’or the like), in which

we have an allowable combination : se lo.

RULE. A stressed form with a(amoi, a toi, etc .) is required (and

a pure dative is ru led out) except as indicated in 299 . (But see

300. REMARKS. I . The enclitic forms , - le-moi, - le- lui, etc are often

written without the second hyphen ; also without either hyphen .

2 . The form lui-y or lui y is avoided, possibly because of its sound,

which , in rapid speech , would hardly differ from that of lui.

3. Living F rench of all kinds has a fixed series of arrangements for the

proclitic forms, but le frangais da peuple , folk-speech , is very uncertain

as to the arrangement of enclitics , and here the literary language also is

uncertain in some cases .

“

L Thus we find both le moi and moi lo, both le nous and nous le , etc . , as

enclitics ;but only me le and nous le asproclitics . See Remark 5.

4. B ef ore the verb, y and en always f ollow other proclitics (m’y , m

’en

(Groups such as 11 m’

y en a parlé H e spoke to me there about it

are avoided . )5. Af ter the ve rb, e specially in folk- speech ,

we may hear not onlyLaisse-m’

y Leave me but also Laisse-moi- s-

y [les mwaz i] and

266 EXERC ISES

a. The complementary infinitive following écouter, entendre , voir,laisser

,faire (causal), etc. may have a

position : Je les entendais se plaindre

in Note also

1 . Tu les verras s’insulter You

’ll see them insult each other . 2 . Vous

nous ow contredire You hear us contradict one anoth e r. 3 . On

l’avait fait s’asseoir (or simplyasseoir) They had had him(her) sit down .

b. The following examples likewise contain no forbidden groups

1 Ca l’aurait fait te répondre That would have made him answer you .

2. Tout cela m’a fait me demander si All that has made me wonder

whe ther 3 . Aussi priai-is Huriel de me laisser le [or de me Is laisser]

bien observer 80 I asked Huriel to let me obse rve him carefully .

REMARK .

'1 had had him show it to her ’ J

’avais fait (en sorte) qu

’il

lo luimontrat (L . S . montre), or possibly Je l’avais fait le luimontrer ;it

could not be Je lo lui avais fait ls montrer, nor Je lui e tc.

EXERCISES

I . Show that you know what enclitics and proclitics can be joinedto the positive and negative impe rative forms of se coucher

‘

(to) liedown ,

’in connection with both y and n. Give two examples illus

trating lo frangais du peuple (see Remarks). U sing tale and faites,

translate ‘

Have it repeated to you’

;also,‘Don

’t le t it be repeated

to you .

’

I I .

‘

(To) object to some thing’= s

’OppOser aquelque chose. Trans

late , varying it with four different subjects and four different objects,'Follow us there , if you like ;we shall not object.

’Use suis

, qu’on

suive , suivez , qu’ils suivent .

I I I . Using various forms of the positive and negative impe ratives

of parler, persuader, and mener, illustrate with six different reasonable

sentences the combinations unde r 298 , d .

IV . By using othe r tense -groups , other subjects, and other un

stressed accusative objects, make other allowable combinations of

six of the typical examples unde r 299 .

LE ,LIKE ENGLISH I T 267

CINQUANTE—NEUV IEME LECON

H. AND LE NEUTER

302. F rench has no special unstressed forms corresponding to‘he

and‘

it’: Pleut- il=

‘

Is it Lit- il= ‘I s he reading

? ’ H owever,

il‘it

’is restricted to certain locutions and to certain constructions .

0. Among these locutions are 11 est vrai‘

I t is true’

(butO

C’est

faux'I t is 11 me semble (without que)

‘

I t seems to me ,’S’il

vous plait I f you please ,’

etc.

REMARK . With various 3d sg . forms of plaire , il is required when

there is no reason for using the more emphatic 9a or cela. Note also

falloir : Oui, -ii (le) faut'Yes , it

’s necessary

’

etc . (without que).

b. Among the constructions are the se : (I ) All with falloir and

othe r verbs having only one form (3d sg.) in all moods and tenses, as

s’agir : Il s

’agit d

’argent I t

’

s a question of money’

e tc . Note also

(2) Il est (grand) temps'It is (high) time

’e tc . ,

with or without que fl"

subjunctive or de infinitive . Also after othe r adjectival nouns .

(3) Almost always in indicating hours Quelle heure est-il I l est trois

heures et demie I t’s half past three .

’So with tOt

'early

’

and tard'late .

’

(4) Usually in describing weather phenomena : I l pleuvait I t was rain

ing,’

11 tonne'I t

’s thundering,

’etc . When no simple verb exists , with

faire : II faisait des éclairs I t was lightening,’I I fait froid (chaud) I t

’

s cold

II faisait nuit It was dark,’I l fait soleil I t

’

s sunny,’etc.

REMARKS . Colloquially, 9a is often substituted for this il : Ca pleut , Cafait bien chaud ici, etc. But this 9a localiz es the unknown agent somewhat

and tends to personify it.’

By analogy to II fait chaud (sec'dry

’

; humide'we t, moist ’ ;

colloquial F rench has created expressions such as the following, both seri

ously and in jest : Qu’il fait soif ici l

'What a thirsty place this is

(5) Always with y avoir, used impersonally (only 3d Qu’est-ce qu

’il

y a ?'What’s the matter ? ’ II y a que j

’ai une affreuse migraine

'The

matter is that I have a frigh tful sick-headache .

’

REMARK on 11 était autrefois une reins'There was once a queen .

’

As a substitute for II y a etc ., the forms 11 est, ll était , etc. (always 3d

268 1L, LE ,NEUTER , UNLIKE ENGLI SH I T

belong purely to literary French , a difference due , probably , to th e fact

that il y a contains a clash of vowels (y a, y avait, e tc . ) not allow ed by the

stricte r schools of modern versifiers ; so that il est , il était , e tc . , being

specially favored by poets , have come to be regarded as poe tical in this

impersonal construction .

(6) II commence a pleuvoir'I t

’s beginning to rain .

’No matte r what

auxiliary is used, the impersonal character of pleuvoir and like v e rbs is

preserved by the neuter il. Hence , e .g. ,II a dd faire tree froid ici I t

must have been very cold here ,’I I vs falloir déménager It

’s going to be

necessary to move out,

’etc.

(7) S’il arrive deux dames, faites- les [lo] entror

'If there arriv e two

ladies, show them in .

’

Here il (neuter) serves to suspend th e plural sub

ject .

.

The verb is always third singular. Other examples : 11 y manquaitdeux sous

'There were two sons lacking,

’or I I Ion;manquait tan t do

choses'They lacked so many things .

’

Qu’est-ce qu

'il‘

se passe Wh at isit that

’s happening ?

’Answer : 11 so passe dos choses tres drOles 'T h e re

are happening some very funny things .

’

Translate the following idiomatically : I I devait fatalement arrive r co

qui est arrivé. Also this : Jamais il no s’est vu nu comédien do cette force

Also this : Do toutes leurs provisions , ii no leur était resté que

quelques bouteilles de vin.

REMARK . In the theatrical style we find, not 11 survient uno dame (for'There appears upon the scene a lady,

’ 'Enter a lady

’

) nor Il entre nu

monsieur (for Enter a but simply Survient une dame or

Surviennent des dames , Entre nu monsieur, etc . Also in other styles .

0. The Types I l est,possible dc infinitive , and I l est possible que

a finite verb. H ere il (neuter) is general , except when it might betaken to mean he .

’Various adjectives might be used. 2 I 4, 2 5

d. I l (neuter) as a resumptive pronoun . Examples

Comment 9a va-t-il How goes it ?’

Que so passe-t-il

'What ishappening ?

’etc . H ere ii is required . See 146, Remarks.

303 . Le (neuter) where English seldom uses it .

’ Save in a few

set phrases (in most of which lo may occur, e .g. j’espére

‘

I hope ,’

tu penses‘

you can imagine ,’vous savez you know ,

’

F rench

generally requires lowhen some sexless antecedent is recalled. Trans

late and observe all the following examples

27o EXERCISES

EXERCISES

I . Traduisez I . I f the weather is fine I never complain , but I

don’t like storms (Orages , m”) When it rains or blows (faire du vent)

I se ldom go out. 2 . Ordinarily, I spend half my time working inmy garden ; I can

’

t work in it if it has been raining, e specially whenit has poured . 3 . As soon as it begins to rain

,if I happen not to be

(no pas etre) at home , I hurry (cours) to the first she lter that I see

and stay the re . 4. I don’

t like lightning (la foudre) ; I can say so

without shame . A good many people think it beautifu l ; they are

free to admire it if they please (use pa). They and I are not of the

same Opinion . 5. My fear (for it is fear) (il ? or co ?) may seem

ridicu lous to you ; it doesn’t seem so to me

,and I am not sure that

it is. 6. There are several sorts (especes, f .) of courage ;perhapsmine is not the best of them;but it is mine . Perhaps (I t may bethat) yours is not so different from mine as you seem to be lieve .

7. I have not ye t happened to be struck by lightning ;but, I repeaty

I am afraid of it. 8 . Only a year ago , a friend of mine who had

taken refuge (s’abriter) under a tree (there was no other she lter)

was hit . Perhaps it had never occurred to him venu a l’esprit)that trees are to be avoided when there

’s lightning (two ways). H e

had a narrow escape (l’a échappé belle ; cf . manquée hello), and he

’

s

no longe r the same man .

I I . Traduisez : I . Of his whole fortune , he had on ly a few francs

left . 2,I t is high time for me to be going (use subj unctive). 3 . I t

must have been very hot here . 4. What time was it when it beganto rain ? 5. I S it going to be necessary to dine out ? The re must be

some thing that we can eat. 6. What’s the matter ? What has happened The re couldn ’

t happen anything but what has happened . I f

I had foreseen that our servant would be so stupid ! You would haveforeseen , if you had eve r understood he r. 7. Albert, if there Shou ldarrive (B ) the two gentlemen that I

’

ve spoken of, show them in.

I I I . (Oral ) The adverbial use of apres , avant , avec, e tc . to avoid

lui,eux

,and elle or elles in neute r sense s.

01V, Y 271

SO IXANTIEME LECON

ON ,Y,EN (CONTINUED)

305 . D on (chiefly a literary form) often occurs after et,Oil

,si

que, but not if close ly fo llowed by lui, leur, lo, Ia, les ; hence ,et l’on dit cela

,but et on Io dit

, etc . With this reserve , what fo llowsconcerns either l ’on (gene rally not initial) or on.

a. On must never be replaced with il, elle, ils , or elles : On dit ce

qu’on pense One says what he (one) thinks .

’

b. I ts only reflexive forms’

are so,soi

, or sci-meme ; its onlypossessives are son

,sa

,ses and lo sien

,la sienne

,les sions

,

les siennes ;and its verb is always third singu lar. On has no gon

w onally mum m m mplyExamples :

1 . On croit toujours que sa fille vous ressemble One always imagines

that one’

s daugh ter resembles one . 2. J’ay ais froid, comme lorsqu’un

poison vous tue I was cold , as when a poison is killing you (one).

3 . On sort, On rencontro nu créancier,il [Io créancier] vous fait uno scene ,

ot voilauno journ6o hohne One goes out,one mee ts a creditor, he makes

a scene for you [that is , f or On and there’s a day gone to the deuce .

c. On may have a plural value , and may even be followed by a

plural adjective (including such as loyaux). Examples1 .

.

On a été do tels amis ! virtually We’

ve been such friends ! 2. On

s’ontend si bien

,nous deux . On est dos amis , pas vrai et puis aussi,

on est des frores virtually We understand each other‘

so we ll, we two .

(B ut how can we translate the rest 2) 3 . Quand on sera fatigués , on

s’assiéra virtually When we ge t tired, we

’

ll sit down .

d. On may become feminine : On a toujours été jeune fille , mais

on n’a pas toujours été belle

‘One has always been a young lady

(girl), but one hasn’t always been beautiful .

’

306 . Y occasionally implies prepositions other than A. Examples1 . Ce rbdeur trouva la maison et il y pénétra This prowler found the

house and he got into it. (11 pénétra dans la maison .) 2. Tu to connais

272

on tableaux .—Oui, je m

’

y connais You are up in pictures.

‘

- Yes, I am.

3 . Jo compte sur ta tendresse . Tu y comptes beaucoup trop I rely upon

your affection .— You rely on it far too much .

a. With a few verbs (e .g . penser and its synonyms), y is very'

often

used instead of Alui, Aelle , Aeux ,Aelles

,standing for persons ;and

colloquially it may even represent the first and second persons.

Examples1 . Vous n

’

y ponsoz pas, Amoi ! You don’t think of me ! (M i

'

guette et

sa mére,I I I

,I 2. Jo pensais A vous No souriez pas ! J

’

y pense

toujours I was thinking of you Don’t smile ! I ’m always thinking

of you ! (M arquis de Priola , I ,

REMARK . In the speech of the uneducated (lo franpais da peuple), y is

often substituted for the pure dative lui (m. or J’

y ai dit‘I said

to him (or he r)

307. For on we can almost always substitute do a noun or

de a pronoun of the third person. En, pronoun ,

cannot alwaysbe distinguished from on

, adverb. Study all the following example s,translating those that are left untranslated

a. Indicatiig

se

paration (test-words :

‘

the re from,thence ,

’e tc .)

1 . Q uel mbar Jo n’en sortirai plus (i. e . de ce t embarras). 2. Tu

as été A reviens de Rouen). 3 . Tout entrait

chez lui, rien chez lui).

b. Indicating a source or a cause (test-words :‘

thereo f, thereby,’

‘thereéIt,

’or the like)

1 . Personne ne comprenait sa maladie , mais i! on mourait. 2. Il existe

des devoirs si faciles qu’ils en deviennent séduisants (i. e . ils deviennen t

séduisants a cause de leur facilité,or parce qu

’ils sont si

faciles). 3 . Que ! toupe t ! J’en suis resté stupéfait. (

‘What cheek ! I’m

still dumfounded by 4. Blanche rougit, A on avoir les oreilles cra:

moisies . Blanche blushed so that .her ears turned

c. Implying do‘of

, with regard to ,’or the like

1 . A-t-il si peur de la mort ? Non,il n

’en a pas pour. 2. Ce qu

’elle est

devenue ? Ma foi, je n’en sais rien . (

‘What has become of her ? Really ,

I know nothing about 3 . Asseyez-vous

, je v_ous en prie . Sit down ,

I beg you ,

’or

‘

please’

; i. e . Je vous prie de vous asseoir.) 4. Votre

274 EN . EXERC ISES

309 . F rench strongly tends to avoid on in referring to human

beings when a possessive adjective is possible . H ence

1 . Vois- tu l’eglise Do you see the church ? Jo n’en vois que lo clocher.

I see only its Spire . B ut,2. Vois- tu ton ami? Do you se e your friend ?

Jo no vois que son chapeau . I see only his hat.

310. En occurs in many idiomatic locutions1 . II on est do vous comme do moi. We are in the same boat (situation).

2. II n’en est rien . Nothing of the sort (is true). 3 . Quoi qu’il en soit

However that may be . Etc .

EXERCISES

I . (Die on, y ,and on as of ten as possible.) 1 . One hasn

’

t alwaysas many friends as one would like to have . 2 . Do we ever knowhow many we have

?3 . Some times we have more than we think ,

and some times, unfortunate ly, we have less. 4. I can re ly upon all

mine,whatever happens to me . 5. They can trust me and I am

sure thatxu can trust them. 6._I know men as I know this city ;ay d,

having een born here , I know every nook and comer of’

it. 7. You

have confidence ! 8 . [ have had some friends who have disappointed

me . 9 . They and I part company (so séparer) ; after that, if we

mee t we say good-day to one another,

“

and that’s all. 1 0. Often ,

one

has been on such friendly terms ; there has been such a good under

standing. I I . Then one loses one ’s money, if some other confounded

thing doesn ’t happen to you (omit pas), and 1 2 . Then you find

that you might have chosen be tter one s (on infin . ; no uns

I I . I . The burglar found the house , but couldn’

t ge t into it. 2 . I f

he’

d got into it, he couldn ’

t have got out (of it). 3 . What a pity thatone should lose other people

’

s money as we ll as one’

s own ! 4. One

shouldn ’

t borrow one’s friends

’

umbre llas if one won’t lend them :

one’s own 5. I f one borrows anything, he should return it.

6 . I f one sees onese lf refused some thing which belongs to him,he

shouldn ’

t make a scene . 7. When one make s scenes, one may loseh iends that they would like to keep. 8 . I t

’s a pity to lose all

one’s be st friends. 9 . When one has only onese lf to amuse , one is

very much (bien) alone . I 0 . Money ! What do’

] care about it ? I

have already too much . I I . We ’re not in the same boat !

MEANING OF UN . UN OM ITTED 275

SO IXANTE ET UNIEME LEgON

THE DEF INITE AND INDEF INITE ARTICLES

31 1 . To continue 38 and 46, F rench has no special singleforms corresponding to

‘

one’and

‘

a,

’ ‘an Jean n

’est qu

’un enfant

‘John is only a child ’

;but Mos enfants Jo n’ai qu

’un enfant !

‘

My children ? I have only one child

But (I ) after pas and sans , un and uno may become clearly numerical;likewise (2) after do

‘than

’

(plus d’uno chose

‘more than one thing’

) and

(3) in Jo n’ai qu

’un enfant, nu is sligh tly stressed. (4) I t may be reenforced

by soul : nu soul enfant‘

(just) one child,’une seulo fois

‘once

312. On (uno) is omitted in many locutions which arose before

either article was used so much as both are now (Latin had no

article)

0. Be fore a few noiI ns,subject nominative or direct object

1 . Pierre qui roulo n’amasso pas mousse . A rolling stone gathers no

moss (prov erb). 2. Nombre (Quantité) do gens lo croient . A number of

(Many) people be lieve it. 3 . X a fait faillite . X has gone bankrupt.

4. Vous leur rondroz visite . You will pay them a visit. 5 . Trouvez moyendo lo persuader. Contrive to persuade him. 6 . Tu n

’as pas idéo comme

cette piéco est chauds . You can’

t imagine how hot that room is . Etc .

b. In the.predicate nominative1 . C’est toujours bon signo do n

’étro pas mort . I t’

s always a good sign

not to be dead. 2. C’ost folio que d’allor jusqu

’A Lourdes . It’s madness

to go as far as Lourdes. 3 . Co sont choses qui étonnent . Those are things

that astonish one . (But not, e .g., Co sont faits qui

0. M any nouns occur without eithe r article in se t phrases beginningwith prepositions, especially with A, avec, do, on, par, and sans

1 . Jo mo suis renseigné A bonus source . I got my information at the

right place (at a good source ). 2. Ah ! co que j’ai été A dure écolo ! Oh ,

haven’

t I been through a hard school ! 3 . Avec (grand) plaisir ! With(great) pleasure ! (So w ith most abstract nouns .) 4. Vonez do bonne heure .

Come early. 5 . Set s- lui do guide . Serve her as (a) guide . 6 . De fapon

276 OM I SSION OF ARTI CLES

(maniére) In such a way as 7. Mettez ya do cdté. Lay that

aside . 8 . Ifescendu do voiture , Having alighted from a (his, my, etc.)carriage , 9 . En voiture (said by trainmen when a train is about to

start). 10. So montor on voiture‘to ge t into a carriage

’

(but not montor

en train diner on ville‘to dine out

’

(bu t not étro on école ; say étre A

l’ecole‘to be in 1 1 . Par bonhour

‘fortunately.

’

12. Sans lo‘,‘without (a) law.

’ Etc .

d. Before various nouns designating types, on like a, as a,’e tc

1 . Il agira on pero. He will act as (a) father. 2. Elle était vétuo on

(belle) servante . She was dressed as a (handsome) servant. 3 . Conduis-toi

on bravo homme . Behave like a good follow. 4. Nous vivons on bons

amis . We live as (like) good friends. 5 . Offrez- le-lui en cadeau. Offer it

to him as a gift.M A

e . Omitted after comme,in appositive clauses t'

1 . Comme professeur, B . no vaut pas grand’chose . As a teacher, B .

isn’

t worth much . 2. Pendu comme voleur hanged as a robber ; but

pendu comme un volour hanged ljke a robber.

CC

REMARK . Familiarly before abstract nouns;but here it is not neces

sarily un (une) that is omitted : Comme génie , X n’est pas romarquablo

‘As a genius (or In respect to his genius), X is not remarkable .

’

313 . Initial, and generally in other positions, appositive nouns takeno article1 . Péro do onze enfants, co hon Martin As a (better As the) father of

eleven children , this good Martin 2. Mais lui, soldat, savait But

he , a soldier, knew 3 . Chose étrango, elle Strange to say, she

314. When truly predicate , many nouns implying activities or

qualities are treated like predicate adjectives

1 . Je suis peintre (on batimento). I’m a (house -)painter . 2. En offot ,

vOus n’étos point hom e Avous laisser prendre votre diner. In truth , you

are not a man (the man) to le t your dinner be taken from you .

REMARKS. In the plural, dos often occurs (Nous sommes dos peintres ,or Nous sommes peintres), especially when the speaker is thinking of a

number of persons as individuals not less than as representatives : Nous

sommes dos ouvriers‘We

’re workmen ’

(are of that class). Ami may beeither noun or adjective : Elles sont (trés)amies They

’

re (great) friends,’

278 ”M EXERCISES

V0 ageur de nature , et trés doué en fait de langues, il savaitun tas de choses intére ssantes. Comme compétence linguistique , 5

Acoup shr il no lo cédait Apersonne . I l savait Afond sa languematerne lle nous en savions certainement moins que lui !

M éme lorsqu’il avait affairs A que lque cancre , il trouvait tou

jours moyen , de facon ou d’

autre , de luifaire pe’

netre r dans la téte 9

pourquoion doit dire te lle chose , pourquoi te lle autre est Aéviter.

M . Guyot aimait surtout A nous parler d’

archaismes. Je me 1 1

souviens qu’

un jour, en lisant Colombo ,roman de Merimee , on

avait rencontré ceci: exprimant la surprise aussi clairement 1 3

que chien lo pe ut faire Croyez-vous , nous demanda- t-il

, que

l ’autour ait oublié de me ttre un un devant son chien ? M ais pas du 1 5

tout. I l l’

a omis consciemment, cc nu, e t il l

’a omis parce que lo

groupe aussi clairement que se trouve étre précisément l’

un de 17

ceux quigardent une'

syntaxe ancie nne . D es mains blanches comme

neige , ou bien j e le briserai comme verre — vous voyez bien que cc 1 9

sont 1A aussi des facons de parle r archaiques. Autrefois, rien :

n’

empéchait do dire également voler comme mouches ou clair comme 21

eau . Autres temps, autres moeurs .

I I . Traduisez I . AS a teacher, M r. S. was not worth much ; the

one that we have now manages (contrives) to inte rest even the

dunces. 2 . Instead of saying that such and such a thing is correct,

whereas some thing e lse is not, he explains carefully. 3 . H e managesto interest everyone ;you have no idea how ingenious he is l 4. Somehow or other, he always seems to know what mistakes we have made .

5. Although he is not a Parisian, they say that he knows French

thorough ly. 6. As for compe tence , he is certainly a good deal moreleamod than M r. S. ;and he is as agreeable as a man can be , but

he isn’t a man to le t himse lf be taken in (attraper).

I I I . Traduisez I . Are you a painter ? NO, sir, I am a lawyer.

2 . This man is not a poe t, he is a painter. I knew him as an errand

boy. 3 . Strange to say, I have neve r read a word , not a single word,of Latin . 4. I advise you to read Colombo , a nove l by M érimée .

5. The story that I have just read has neither head nor tail. 6. I f

it’s possible (use moyen), you must pay me a visit.

THE GENERIC ARTICLE. PARTITIVES

SO IXANTE—DEUXIEME LECON

THE DEF INITE ARTICLE

316 . To continue 49 , F rench almost always use s its definite article

(Particle défini) where English require s the ,’and in some other case s.

317. The Generic Article(in determinate groups embracing all that

the noun can embrace). Additional examples :

1 . La patisserie est uno brancho do l’architocturo. Pastry-making is a

branch of architecture . 2. Rion n’ost capital pour lo maintien do l’ordro

comme do tairo lo mal . Nothing is so vital to th e maintenance of order

as to say nothing about evil. 3 . Comment sont néos los religions How

did religions arise ?

REMARKS . (l ) Proverbs and other locutions may preserve former syn

tax : Noblesse oblige . Que justice soit faits Le t justice be done ,’or Le t

the law be fulfilled .

’

(2) After parlor, lo is usually omitted I l parlo (lo)francais, or I ! parlo admirablemont (le) francais , or 11 parlo (lo) francais Amerveille , etc . ;but usually bien lo (Cf . 58 ,

318 . Partitive Groups . After do a noun may be uiIderstood parti

tively even though not preceded by a partitive word : parler d’amour

(to) talk of love -making parlor do l’amour (to) talk of love

in all its phases.

a. (QUERY .) What value has the article in the following examples

(to be translated) ?

1 . Vous avez du temps et de la patience ,”Si vous avie2do l

’argent

'

,rien

no vous manquerait . 2. es jOurs, des semaInes Ont passé . 3 . Un emp oye

était en train do me ttre des livres dans des caisses boxes’W ai

.

mangédes c6telettes avec des pommes de terre 5 . C est du chinois .

6 . Ce sont des sottises (‘foolish things,

’

b.

‘

(QUERY .) Why no article in the following examples (to be

translated) ?M y M A

1 . Un employé mettait de gros livres dans d’énormes caisses .

mangeait do bonne viande e t buvait do bon vin.

280 PART ITIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

Q UERY . When an adjective and a noun have become a com

pound how is the article affected ? Examples

1 . Voici dos petits-pains. 2. C’otaient dos jeunes filles- frangaises .

d. Note again the distinction made in band c, then state what has

become of this distfnqtgn £ 1 the following examples1 . I ] y avait beaucor'?

de bonne/viande et (beaucoup) do pe tits/pains .

2. Jo no vois pas de jou es/filles.

e . Expressions such as jouor du Chopin‘

(to) play some Chopin’

and lire du Moliore (to) read some Moliére follow the analogy of

manger du pain.

'

Noto how this partitive construction has been extended in veryco lloquial speech1 . I l avait .chassé du tigro. He had hunted tiger. [Cf. II avait tué du

gibier He had killed some game ] 2. C’ost nu diner sérieux, avec du mi

nistre cabine t-minister substitute du potage], du directeur do journal‘managing editor

’

;substitute du rosbif], du grand docteur‘leading

medicalman ’

; substitute do la fine champagne‘brandy

f . Colloquial F rench and lo francais du peuple (often the same

thing) tend to use du,do is. dos

, even when a non-compoundingadjective precedes the noun

1 . Elle avait dos petits amis She had some little friends Elle avait

do petits amis. 2. VoilAd u bon vin There is some good wine Voila

do hon vin.

4 i t. l y

319 De (truly propositional) noun witho t

0. After many verbs we find an adverbial group consisting of do

noun and expressing ggurcetga'uso, material , instrument :1 . Jo meurs do faim et do fatigue . I

’m dying of hunger and fatigue .

(B u t La faim ot la fatigue ms tuent . Hunger and fatigue are killing me .)2. Elle rougirait do honte . She would blush for shame . (B ut La honte la

ferait rougir. Shame would make h er blush .)

REMARK . In most such cases the noun following do is not determinate

(definite or all-inclusive) but more or less partitive , as in parler d’amour,

c f. parlor do l’amour. Inasmuch as we find e .g. employer dos outils

‘

(to)employ tools,

’we migh t expect

‘logically’to find so servir do dos outils

282 DU,DE LA ,

DES, OR DE . EXERCISES

N ote also this type une table do chéno an oak tablo,’une espéco

d’animal ‘a sort of animal,

’trois jours do marche ‘

a three-day walk,’e tc .

N ote how old usage and the modern tendency clash in the f ollow ingLo ciol do In nuit [article], par les beaux mois d

’été [no article], devenaitune espéco do carto The nigh t sky, in the fine summer months, becamea kind of map .

g. Similarly, all quantitative pronouns, positive or negative , and

nearly all quantitative nouns (as in f )Asses (beaucoup, pou , trop) do honte Enough (much , little , too much)

kindness etc . ;but note In plupart dos gens most people , and note the

adverbbien in bien dos gens many people (cf. bien hon very good).

II . Old and Modern Groups . Further Remarks. Lo Palais do Justice , a

name given to the main Law Courts of Paris, contrasts with (lo) Palhis do

In Paix‘

(tho) Palace of Peace at the Hague , and this with jugs do paix

justice of the peace .

’So Is ministre do la guerro

‘tho ministe r for war ’

contrasts with nu conseil do guerro‘a council of Which of these

illustrate the modern tendency ?

EXERCISES

I . Traduisez : I . Painting is an art and war is an art. But , in

Speaking of war, most people say that it is a science . 2 . The

sciences are exact. In many respects war is exact,but it is not

truly a science : it makes use of science . (Dire both so sort and

emploio.) 3. The study of languages resembles that of bio logy(biologie, f ), for in each case we study forms that have been born

and that have died, or that will die . 4. All forms are changing every

day, and all studies are constantly changing. 5. Upon leaving schoolI decided (A p .p .) to become aphilologist (philologue). 6 . Philology

(philologie) never made anybody rich (enrichir), but money isn’t

everything. I f one has enough to live on (do quoi one can

get along without wealth (la richesse ; IV. 7. I am studying

F rench and other languages . 8 . I speak French and I can read

German . 9 . Many of the books that I have to read are devoid

(dépourvu) of interest ; others are full of good ideas .

I I . Variations of the examples in 3 1 1—3 1 9 .

PHRASES WITHOUT EITH ER ARTICLE 283

SOIXANTE—TRO ISIEME LECON

TIIE ARTICLES (CONTmUED)

320 Omission of the Article after certain Transitive Verbs . Ex

amples

J’ai froid, j

’ai faim, j

’ai soif, 1 I ’mcold, hungry, thirsty, afraid,

j’ai pour, j

’ai besoin do secours . I need help.

Ayez courage , ayez bon espoir. 2 Have courage , be quite hopeful.

J’ai lafiévro comme 3 I have the [P] fever. Oh , how

la téte mo fait mal ! my head hurts !

Noto also avoir tort (raison) (to) be wrong demandor pardon ,

donnor avis,‘

(to) give notice’

; fak e fausse route ,‘

(to) go astray,’ ‘take the

wrong course’

; fausssr compagnie A quolqu’un

‘

(to) give one the slip’

;

former boutique (to) shut up shop prendre congéW o w.

REMARK . Many such locutions might be quoted (especially with avoir

and fairs). Whether in daily use or not, they all show archaic syntax, for

we cannot say e .g. aimer attention, nor soufirir douleur, nor éviter chaud

e tc . Such groups are relics of a grammatical life now extinct.

NOTE . Sometimes F rench uses the simple definite article where we

migh t expect some other modifier, as in faire la paix‘

(to) make peace ,’

garder lo lit‘

(to) stay in bed,’étre au lit

‘

(to) be in bed,’no pas avoir lo

sou‘

(to) be penniless ,’cracher lo sang (or du sang)

‘

(to) spit blood,’arroter

quelqu’un du gosto

‘

(to) stop some one with a gesture ,’e tc .

321 . Omission of the Articleafter en. Nearly all themany locutionscontaining on

_ _

arqsobefore the article had gained its present ascendancy hence on is

_

a_

lr_

nost never fo llowed by”

Is,la

,los ;whereas dans ,

a truly living preposition ,always takes the article (definite or indefi

nite), or some other adjectival modifier, before all common nouns.

Hence diner on ville‘

(to) dine out,

’and aller do ville on ville

‘

(to) go

from town to town hence voyager en pays lointains‘

(to) travel in distant

countries,

’but voyager dans dos pays lointains.

On voit nu arc-on-ciol Ono sees a rainbow ,

’

but On voit dos étoiles dans

lo ciel‘One sees stars in the sky.

’Similarly, on met

‘at sea

’and en

F rance‘in F rance ’

are old groups, and, like un conte en l’air‘an idle tale ,

’

284 PREPOSITIONS AND THE ARTICLE

they take us back to a time when on could occur freely without the article

and was some times used with it. In non-figurative language we should

generally find dans l’air :

‘th e birds in the air

’les oiseau: dans l’air, not

les'

oiseaux on Pair.

0. En ploino campagno (‘out in th e country

’on ploins mer (

‘well

out at on plsin moyen Age (‘in the heart of the Middle etc . ,

show a living construction frequent with plain,but they contrast with A la

campagno (‘in the au moyen Age (

‘in the M iddle etc.

b. After certain verbs the noun object of on requires no article

Sa richesse consisto onmoutons . 1 His wealth consists in sheep.

Tournez ya on sons inverse . 2 Turn that in the Opposite di

rection .

Veuillez mettre cola onmusique . 3 Be so good as to set that to

musIC.

Elle fut changéo (transforméo) 4 She was turned into a fairy.

on féo.

c. Before many abstract singular nouns describing a condition

(Agir) en silence , (étro) on vacances holiday’

(vivre) en paix , etc.

d. Before concrete nouns, singular or plural, naming a substance

Une montro on or (or d’or)

‘a gold watch ,

’dix mille francs on or

‘ten

thousand francs in gold’

(Cf . nu louis d’or‘a gold louis ,

’a coin), e tc.

NOTE . The use of on and do without the article before names of

countries is considered in 332—337.

322. Omission of lo, la, les, after A, avec, and other prepositions .

U sage varies ;in some cases omission is exceptional (archaic groups),in others not.

0. After A. OM egggepiiOnal) syntax is oxemp_

lified_by_ gondamné A

mort condemned to death’

; living syntax A l’exil

(‘

exile Noto also

1 . Jo vais A confosso ‘I go to confession ,

’but Je vals A la moose

‘I go

to mass .

’2. L reste A bord du batoau

‘I remain on board the boat,

’

but

an bord do la riviero‘on the brink of the stream. 3 . Voici dos verres A

vin H ere are some wine -

glasses,’ but nu

_

pot on lait (or nu pot A lait)‘a

milk-

pitcher,’or, in Britain ,

‘a milk-jug

’ in La Fontalne s fable ,‘milk-

pail.

EXERC I SES.

e . After'

sans the indefinite article usually become s emphatica llynumerical : sans un (soul) ami

‘

without even one friend

The definite article usually makes the noun de terminate :

1 . Sans'

argont , sans pain, sans amis, pout

-on étrs houroux Withoutmoney, without broad, without friends , can one be happy ? B ut Sans la

science , la société rodoviondrait barbare . But for science [in all its phases]socie ty would become barbarous again . 2. Sans la lune

,il n

’

y aurait

pas de maréo . But for the moon, the re would be no tides .

’

B u t C’était

une nuit sans lune . I t was a moonless night. Study also the f ollowing3 . Poux-tu faire ca sans qu

’il y ait d ’orrour or d ’ort ours , or (popularly) dos

srrours Can you do that without there being a mistake ? or mistakes ?

Similarly ,sans perdre do temps or (popu larly ) sans perdre du temps .

f . After do nouns without either article are numerous : d ’ebord ‘

at

first,’do concert

‘

jointly,’e tc.

EXERCISES

I . Vary and combine the examples in 3 1 7—3 19 .

I I . Traduisez I Lo Gros and I had gone from town to town

without finding work , and one evening he slipped away_

from me .

2 . I f he had taken leave like a gentleman galant homme), Imight have regre tted his departure , but I don

’t like men who act

u’

nderhandedly . 3 . Le Gros had told me that at Bar-ou-Aube he

had an uncle who would be able to make use of us. That uncleceased to interest me . 4. After a two- hour walk across-country and

on roads where I me t nobody, I arrived at (dons) a village whe reeveryone seemed to be in .bod . But

,luckily, the inn (auberge , f .)

had not ye t closed (reflex ). So I entered and asked for a room

not‘

a room with bath simply a room. 5. I was hungry, veryhungry (simply trés faim), and I must have looked like a tramp

(cheminoau), but they (not ils) showed me a room and gave me

something to eat, good chops with potatoes . I ate a good deal,

for I was almost starving (no 6. To pay for that meal, elmM Wfor the room and my breakfast the next morning (le lendemain

CV";

matin), I had three francs le ft. That was all. What was I goingto te ll those good people ?

LE , LA , LES,WITH NAMES OF PERSONS 287

SO IXANTE—QUATRIEME LECON

THE DEF INITE ARTICLE (CONTINUED)

323 . The Definite Article before Names of Persons . Family names

(le'

s noms do famine) containing lo or In adjoctive have ceased to

be.

variable in ordinary usage . H ence Madeleine Leroux and Pierre

Larousse ;also Jo parlo do Le Sage (not Je parlo Du Sage);also aux

Le Sago, une Le Sage, etc .

REMARKS. F ormerly in borrowing I talian family names the F rench

followed I talian usage (and their own) by u sing the article : l’Ariosto

(I talian l’Ariosto), lo Tasso (I talian il The F rench (not the

I talians) now apply la only to foreign actre sses or other foreign feminine

celebrities (la Duss Eleonora Duse), or occasionally to F ronch women of

the lower classes (e .g . la Grivotte‘tho Grivotte woman

,

’ ‘the Grivotte girl,

’

in Z ola’s Lourdes); to men seldom,

and only in a derogatory sense .

NOTE on aux Lo Sago. F amily-names usually take no pluraliz ing s

except when standing for typos : les Lo Sages‘mon like Le Sago .

’Such

an s is always silent and is some times omitted .

a. Baptismal names take lo or la when modified by a descriptive

adjective , but not if vocativo, nor nece ssarily In verbless ejaculations.

ExamplesLa petite Alice riait Little Alice was laughing,

’ but Pauvro Alice !‘

[My] Poor Alice !’or Poor Alice ! (I am sorry for

324. Before Titles . Saint and saints,meaning Saint,

’also frére

and se urmeaning‘

brother’

and‘sister

’

(of charity), commonlytake no article ; other titles require it unless vocativo, Examples

Do saint Pierre‘of St. Pe ter,

’

pour frére Thomas‘for Brother Thomas ,

’

avec scour Mario-des-Anges‘with Sister Mary of the Angels ,

’lo capitaine

Dreyfus Captain Dreyfus ,’lo pAre Goriot

‘oldman Goriot lamAre Sauvago

‘old M rs. Sauvage

’or the like ;also lo pape Léon XII I Pope Leo XI I I ,

’

l’ingénieur Eiffel the engineer Eiffel,’lo professeur Joseph Bédisr Prof.

Joseph Bodier,’e tc .

REMARKS. Vocative ly, a military subordinate would say Oui, mon capi

taino, or Non, mon général , but simply Non, sergent , or Oui, caporal. An

288 NAMES OF C ITIES . DIRECT ADDRESS

ecclesiastic would usually be addressed with mon péro, or monsieur lo curé

(a parish priest Note Entrez , docteur (to a phy sician), or, more formally,Entrez , monsieur lo docteur .

Monsieur lo comte and Madame la comtesse and

the like , are generally extremely formal, or ironical, or servile . A simple

monsieur or madame or mademoiselle is usually safe ! However, polite

ness usually requires Et comment va madame votre méro (‘And how is

M rs. or the like ; less formally, madame (e tc . ) family name .

325 . Before Names of Cities . Exceptional cases

La Hays the Hague (Dutch Den Haag‘the lo Havre ,

au Havre , Havre , to Havre‘tho lo Cairo, du Cairo, Cairo ,

of Cairo (A rabic). La Rochelle means‘the Little Rock

’

; la Nouvelle

Orléans , N ew Orleans, is thus distinguished from old Orleans (simplyOrleans, AOrléans), just as l

’ancienne F lorence , in Tuscany, is distinguished

from la F lorence moderno.

REMARK . Port-Vendres (La tin Portus Veneris‘Venus

’s

NeuchAtol (Latin Novum Castollum Now e tc . , were named

long before the article came to be used with such groups .

326 . Before Common Nouns in Familiar Direct Address . Examples

Hé ! lo vieux , vions donc ici H eigh the re , old gentleman (old man,

uncle , just come hero !’Dis donc, l

’ami ! ‘

H e llo there , friend !’

(‘Look h ere , friend,

’HolA ! la méro ! ‘

Hold on,old lady !

’

REMARK . Familiarly, re latives and friends are spoken of as l’onclo

Pierre e tc .

,where we say

‘Unclo Peter,

’or

‘my uncle Poter,’e tc .

327. The Article in Locutions involving Dates and Numbers . H ere

usage is extreme ly inconsistent, and some times unce rtain;

0. Among expressions indicating the time when ,note the omission

of the article before the names of the months and various holidays

aptés aotit [u]‘

after August,’avant juillet [gqije]

‘

before July,’on

mars [mans]‘in March or an mois do mars ‘

in the month of

M arch,

’A PAques

‘at Easter

,

’vers Noél

‘

toward Christmas,

’etc.

A lso as subject or as direct object : Avril était venu‘

April hadcome

,

’Voici janvier H ere is January.

’

290 EXERC I SES

f . For the hours note les, even before une

1 . A six heures at six o’clock, but sur les six (heures) about six

2. Viens Amidi ou sur les une [lo yn] Come_

ar noon or about

one . 3 . Huit heures viennent do sonnor Eigh t o’clock h as just struck,

but J’ontonds sonnet les huit [lo qit] I hear eigh t o

’clock striking.

EXERCISES

I . Translate : I . MolIoro interests me more than Dante (baptismalname) or Ariosto . 2 . I

’ve read some Dante , but always in trans

lations (use dans). 3 . I know so little I talian ! and the little that

I know [of it] must be fu ll of mistakes. 4. I have just boughttwo or three books

'

about modern F lorence . 5. Do you knowProfessor Villari’5 history of the friar Savonarola - lo) . 6 . Our

friend Peter (two ways) praises it and Dr. Bianchi says that it is

the only book that he can recommend . 7. That’s what you said,

Doctor, wasn’t it ? 8 . By the way, what is the best hour to hear

mass (article) ? 9 . Go next Sunday, to Saint John’s (simply ASaint-J.)

1 0. Go [there] about seven O’clock . I 1 . I t

’s better to go in the morn

ing than in the afternoon . 1 2 . What do you think , baron ? I 3 . Really,I have no ideas on that subject. 14. I never go out mornings beforee leven o

’clock. I 5. If I hear seven o

’clock strike , it

’s always in the

evening. 1 6. Besides, you know ,I was born in F lorence .

I I . Translate : I . In summer I am almost always at the Hague ;

in winter I go sometimes to Nice , some times to Pau . 2 . Last winter

I got to (aller jusqu’A) Cairo . 3 . I n the spring, less often in the

autumn, I visit friends in Orleans . 4. No , I have never had a

chance to see New Orleans, but I can imagine that it is not at

all like our city . 5. You want me to tell you what is the best

season for Paris . 6. We ll , M arch is not a good month : it rains

too much ,'

and some days it is ve ry cold. 7. The last week of April,all M ay (mai), and most of June — in a word

,spring and the

beginning of summer (article) that is the best season for Paris.

I I I . (Oral ) Variations of the examples in 323—327.

ARTICLE IN EXPRESSIONS OF RATE 291

SO IXANTE—C INQU IEM E LEgON

THE DEF INITE ARTICLE (CONTINUED)

328 . InWeights , Measures , etc . In expressions of price , our‘

a’

-an’

) and‘

per are represented in F rench by le or In (usuallywithout A), by par , e tc .

,common ly thus

1 . Ces e ufs se vendent deux francs la douzaine . These eggs sell at

two francs a doz en . 2. On achete ces roses nu dollar (1a) piece . These

roses are bought at a dollar apiece . 3 . Combien lo verre How much a

glass ? Cinq sous . Five sous . 4. Si vous prenez ces chevaux , vous meles payerez mille francs chacun (familiarly chaque). If you take those

horses, you’ll pay me a thousand francs for each . 5 . Vingt sous ls mEtre .

Twenty sous ameter.

NOTE . 1711 must not be put be fore cent or mille : ‘a hundred days

’

cent jours ; a thousand times mille fois .

0. After par employed before jour , nuit , tete, legon, heure , minute,seconde [ssgfizd or zgszd] (and most other words not used, as above , inbuying and se lling), the article is omitted : par an

‘

yearly,’a year,

’

etc . (par jour‘

a day,’ ‘daily

,

’not

‘

by day’

;‘by day

’le jour).

b. Vehicles are engaged al’heure

‘by the hour,

’

pour toute l’aprés

midi ‘

for the whole afternoon ,

’etc.

329 . Before words designating Parts or Functions of Animate

Bodies . H ere F rench employs the article far more than does

English . Various constructions occur.

a. The subject alone may suffice to indicate the possessor

I] met la main sur la poitrine . 1 He lays his hand on his breast.

Tu fronces le sourcil, tu as dn 2 You frown, you have a bit of

reproche nu bout des levres, tu reproach on the tip of your tongue ,

fives la main pour protester. you raise your hand to protest.

Il avait les ongles en deuil . 3 His nails were in mourning.

REMARK . I l clignota de l’teil gauche He winked his left eye

’

) is clear ;but descriptive adjec tives commonly entail the use of a possessive : 11 metla main sur se poitrine blessée his wounded breast

292 PARTS OF THE BODY

b. Likewise (cf. a) in abso lute clauses

Armand y entra, ce jour- la, les 4 Armand came in,that day, with

yeux baissés , le front lourd, le eyes cast down,a heavy forehead,

ce nt plein d’angoisse . I l s’élanca his heart full of anguish . H e

vers sa mere , les bras tendus , les rushed toward his mother with out

mains tremblantes, avec nu te stre tched arms , his hands trem

gard qui demandait pardon . (After bling, and with a look that asked

Coppée .) for forgiveness .

NOTE. Various other common nouns may occur in absolute clauses

Thibaut, le chapeau sur la téte , la canne a la main, entre , suivi du valet

('Thibaut, his hat on , stick in hand, e nters, followed by the Again

(translate), ll sortirait de 12 blanc comme neige et avec de l’argent dans

la poche . B ut 11 avait le chapeau sur la téte e tc . would hardly be F rench ,

and'I raise my glass

’

Je leve mon verre , not lo verre .

c. Especially when ambiguity might arise , the possessive adjective

is like ly to be used,and often must be used, as in English

Ta joue est comme celle d’un 5 Your cheek is like a child’s .

d. The examples in a illustrate a strong tendency rathe r than an

absolute and comprehensive rule ;we may find first the article and

then a possessive , or simply possessives

Mettant la main sur ses yeux , 6 Laying her hand over he r eyes,

elle or La tu

ete appuyée sur she . or His head resting on his

sa main , il demeura immobile . hand,he remained motionless .

Ouvrez vos yeux ! Voulez-vous 7 Open your eyes ! Will you open

ouvrir vos yeux your eyes ?

A moment later the same speaker says Ouvrez les yeux ! (L’E n elzan te

ment, I , I .)

e . The dative constructions noted in 295, a’

,e tc . do not admit

possessives

Je me mordis les levres . 8 I bit my lips .

Quelques larmes luivinrent aux 9 Some tears came into his eyes,

yeux ,il me serra la main . he clasped my hand.

REMARK . As voir, for example , cannot take such a dative , we of course

find Ah ! vous avez vu ses bras Oh ! you have seen his arms not vous

lui avez vu e tc .

294 EXERCI SES

adjective , e tc. ;others which might have either a dative or a posse s

sive (sometimes with a difference of meaning) are marked withbad constructions or mistakes, marked with [I], should be corrected .

1 . As-tu que lque crime sur la conscience ? 2 . Ta conscience te

pBéiLit ? 3: ] e pense a la (Ina) conscience . 4. Pourquoi fronoez

-vous

votre [l] sourcil ? 5. Pourquoi sondez -vous probe’

) mes,g

7 yeux de la sorte ? [l] , suivez

votre caprice . 7. ] etez -moi maintenant vos ge'

nérosités a la téte l

8 . Je lave mes mains. 9 . ] e me lave les mains . I o . Je m’en lave

le s mains ] e n’

en suis pas responsable). I I . Tu perds1 l

’

esprit

(here esprit 1 2 . Tu pe rds ton esprit (lzere espritI 3, I l porte l

’epee (épée =

“

sword’

) I l est soldat. 14. I I a perdu

son épée . I 5. I l quitte l’epee 11 quitte l

’arme

'

e . 1 6. I I aime la vie .

1 7. I Ideafendra sa vie . 1 8 . Avez -vous mal a la tete ? 1 9. Oui, j’ai

mal ama [1] téte , e t les oreilles me bourdonnent (bourdonner sing’

or . 2o . Tu a”ta [1] bouche trop {y idne pour parler. 2 1 . On

esse par ses [l] épaules et par 5233 [l] pieds , on le couche

ses blessures 3 2 . 11

23. I I s’était brfilé s

'

ains

2 et se s pieds [l] . aient [l] bleues. 25. es yeux

UIIi/ls ’étaient [l] ferme

'

s . 2 blessé au genou. 27. Je me

sentais les jambes trop faibles pour bouger de 12.

IV . I . I have no crime on my conscience . 2 . Why do you frownat me (dative) ? 3 . You are losing your mind . 4. I don

’t like that

business, I have washed my hands of it. 5. You lose your moneybecause you lose your head . 6. H ave you (Has she) a headache ?

7. No , but my (her) ears are singing. 8 . The doctors (lzere médecins)took the wounded soldier by his arms and legs, laid him on his back ,and dressed his wound (dative sa ;wlzy correct 9 . A shell (obus

[fi n oby] , m.) had carried off his’ left arm.

V . (Oral ) Further variations of the examples in 328—33 1

and in Exercise I I I .

1perdre (5445) both

'lose and

‘waste .

’

ARTICLE WITH NAMES OF COUNTRI ES 295

SOIXANTE—SIXIEME LEgON

LE AND LA BEFORE NAMES OF COUNTRIES

La siet li reis qui dulce France tient .

There sits the king who rules swee t F rance .

’

(Chanson de Roland , Ce nt . XI or XI I )

332. The Efiect of de and en. In living F rench , names of countriesare under all circumstances preceded by In or by ls, unless we must

use de or en. After these two prepositions, but especially after de , wefind many variations ;and dans In or dana le must often replace en.

F urthermore , masculine names have not the same syntax as feminine

names, nor Old names as modern names, and in some cases even an

educated F renchman would be in doubt as to the proper form.

333 . Feminine Names . Before feminines , de alone suffices in old

groups or in new groups patterned after them; In must be inserted

in most other cases. Contrasts

OLDER SYNTAX MODERN TENDENCYLe roi (la reine) de F rance . Les origines de la F rance .

The king (the queen) of F rance . The origins of F rance .

Les deuves de France . Les industries de la F rance .

The rivers of France . The industries of F rance .

Les E'

tats-Unis d ’Amerique . Les divers états de l’Europe .

The United States of America. The various states of Europe .

L’histoire de F rance . L’histoire de l’Angleterre .

The history of France . The history of England.

H es amis d’AngIeterre . Les amis de l’Angleterre .

My English friends . The friends of England.

JO reviens d’I talie . 6 Je parle de l

’Italie .

I amback from Italy. I am speaking of I taly.

NOTE 1 . When usage is certain f or a F renchman, as in examples I —6,

a foreigner must either learn long lists of nouns, verbs, etc . , which require

the article after de , or he must rely upon statements as to tendencies.

NOTE 2 . Examples 5 happen to express different meanings , d’Angleterre

indicating a source , de l’Angleterre an object ;but after l

’histoire (exs . 4)

296 LA BETWEEN DE AND NAME OF COUNTRY

no difference in meaning results ; l’histoire littéraire de la F rance (a fixed

group) merely exemplifies the modern tendency.

NOTE 3. In his j e’

sus-Chn lst en F landre, H . de Balzac writes les cOtes

de Flandre the coas ts of Flanders two pages later, les cOtes de la

F landre . N0 difference in meaning ; so les c6tes de makes the article

optional. After les héros we may put simply de Bretagne de

F rance , or de la Bretagne , de la F rance ;but we must say les h éros de

l’Inde de la Chine , and l’empereur de la Chine . Again ,

une poule

d ’Inde (i.e . une dinde‘a hen- turkey

’

) is an Old group ;almost all othe r

groups require de l’Inde : hence les chemins de fer railways

’

) de l’Inde ;

but either de la or simply de is correct in speaking of the railways of

Brittany, China, Normandy, e tc . Again , a geographer would say les vins

de la if he were thinking of other products of F rance , Spain , Burgundy,

e tc . ;a wine-taster, or any other person not thinking about other products,

would say simply les vins de Bourgogne , ls vin de Champagne , e tc .

NOTE 4. In a word, la tends to follow de in most groups (noun fem.

name) having a modern tone , especially in markedlytechnical descriptions.

The modern groups greatly outnumber the fixed old groups .

REMARK . Say le president de la République (francaise);never

F rance .

0. After Adjectives and Adverbs . U se la : fier de la France proud

of F rance ,’loin de l’Espagne

‘

far from Spain .

’

b. After certain familiar Verbs expressing Intransitive Motion.

H ere la is not required : venir d’Afrique‘

(to) come from Africa,

’

chasser de France‘

(to) drive out of F rance ,’e tc. ; also etre de retour

d’I talie (to) be back from I taly ’

;but partir and sortir allow eithe r

construction . After most such verbs, and whenever de has the force

of‘

concerning’e tc. (not

‘

from,

’ ‘

out la is required : disparaitre

de la‘

(to) disappear from,

’fuir de la

‘

(to) flee from,

’

s’approcher de la

‘

(to) near,’etc. And in all cases de l’Inde .

c. Qualified Names . Except occasional compounds such as Basse

Normandie Lower Normandy,’

qualified names require the article ,feminine or masculine , after all prepositions : une belle fille de BasseNormandie a handsome girl from Lower Normandy,

’but de la belle

France, de la France de notre époque , etc .

298 EXERC ISES

I I . Une preposition suivant le verbe naitre be born exprime 9

le repos : devant Afghanistan ou Anjou on me ttrait dans l ’ , ou

en sans l’

; devant Brésil, Canada, Chili, M exique (non pas la

ville l), Poitou ou Portugal, mettons an on dans le ;devant Con goou Dahomey, ne mettons que au ;devant Danemark , on a le

choix de au,en ou dans le c

’

est un embarras de richesse s l

I I I . On a affaire aque lque verbe on aque lque groupe (verbeet preposition, substantif e t preposition) exprimant le mouveme n t

(en anglais, to,’ Devant les noms mascu lins commencan t

par une voye lle , que trouve -t-ou pour traduire‘

go to’

? Devan t

Afghanistan et Anjou, en ou dans l’

;devant Bre'

sil etc. ,an on da rts

Ie ;devant Danemark et Poitou ,au

, en ou dans le. On veut dire en

francais go into’

;mettons toujours dans le ou dans l’.

‘A jour

ney to’doit se traduire par

‘

un voyage ou, ou d l

’ ‘

a journeyin

’se traduirait presque toujours par

‘un voyage dans le ou dans

l’

cependant, devant beaucoup de noms on pourrait me ttre en

(Anjou , Berry , Brésil , Canada, mais devant Afghanistan

seulement en , et devant Congo seu lement dans le.


I . I ranslate. I .,I was born in America, in North America

(du Nord), in the United States (use A). 2 . I n summe r I trave lM

in England or in F rance ; I have never been in Portugal, nor in

Spain, nor imahomey l 3 . A journey in Africa, in Mexico , or in

tt Congo would much ; I would rather make a jou rneyis sure ly autiful coun try;

yightful than Norman

I go to Europe this summer, I sh

(viei e w andy ; thiur‘

est trave ling In t

il , perhaps

also In Perigord . I like Pe'

rigord truffles

I I . M ake ten more short, reasonabl ng various

names and constructions that occur in this lesson .

GENDER—FORMS OF ADJECTIVES 299

SO IXANTE—SEPT IEME LECON

THE VARIABILITY AND SUBSTANTIVE USE OF ADJECTIVES

338 . Various Types . The most regular types of adjectives are

exemplified by malade (two forms) and by noir (four). Here followsa brief summary of the most important

‘irregu lar

’types .

a. Adjectives in -er have , for their feminine , -ere : premier, premiere ;amer [amezn]

‘bitter,

’amere [amezn].

b. Adjectives in - f change to-ve z vif

‘lively e tc . ,f . vive .

c. Adjectives in -x change to-se : jaloux ‘

jealous,’ f. jalouse .

d . Verbal adjectives in -eur change to -euse : flatteur'flattering,

’f .

flatteuse . Not so the non-verbal adjective : meilleur, f. meilleure .

e . Adjectives in -e l,-eil, -ien ,

-et , -Ot ,-on, and a good many in -s

,double

the consonant before the silent e of the feminine

MASC . F EM .

ancien [O'

sje] ancienne [dsjen]former, old, ancient

bon [b5] bonne [bon]good, kind , e tc .

coquet [koke] Coquette [kokst]pretty, smart, fetching, etc.

épais [epe] épaisse [epes] quel [kel] quelle [kel]thick, dense , etc . which , what, what a

gras [gRO] grasse [gno zs] tel [tel] telle [tel]fat

, greasy, etc . such , such a, such and such (a)

REMARKS. The pronunciations here indicated are subject to further

variations . One of the few adjectives in -Ot is vieillot Old-looking (prema

turely old). The frequent adjectives discret , complet , inquiet uneasy

and two or th ree others like them,have the feminine in —ete .

f . Besides having an irregular feminine , the everyday adjectives beau ,

nouveau, and vieux have a special formbefore a masculine singular noun

beginning with a vowel.

MASC . F EM .

gros [gRo] grosse [gRozs]big, bulky, pregnant, e tc .

pareil [paRezj] pareille [paRezj]like , alike , such a

,e tc .

sot [so] sotte [sot]

IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES. AGREEM ENT

Examples : nu beau tapis‘a handsome carpet,

’ but nu be l h iver‘a fine

winter,’ f. belle ;nu vieux palais

‘an old palace ,

’

but un vieil ami [vje j ami]‘an Old friend

’

(a friend of long standing), f. vieille ; le Nouveau T e sta

ment the New Testament,’

but ls nouvel an the new year,’f . nouve lle .

REMARK . Fol (belonging with fou, folle ,‘mad,

’ ‘crazy and 11101 (be

longing with mou, molle ,‘soft

’etc .) are both virtually Obsole te . N o te nu

fol espoir‘a mad hope .

’

0. Nearly all the everyday adjectives in -al have -aux in the masc uline

plural : brutal, brutaux,‘brutal,

’e tc . Cf. 136, a.

NOTE . But the masculine plural of the following either is in -a ls or is

avoided : automnal ‘autumnal,

’ fatal‘fatal

,

’frugal

‘frugal,’

glacial‘icy ,

’

‘

glacial,’nasal

‘nasal,

’naval

‘naval,

’e tc . Cf. 136.

h . The feminine forms of the following should be noted

bénin [bent], benigne [benizp],‘kindly

’

; blanc [bld], blanch e‘white

’

; doux [du], douce‘sweet,

’ ‘

gentle ,’ ‘

soft’

; faux [fo] ,fausse

‘false ,’ ‘wrong,

’etc . ; frais [fRe], fraiche

‘fresh ,

’

‘cool,

’e tc . ; franc, tranche ,

‘frank’e tc .

, gentil [3&ti, or gfitij before a

vow el in linking], gentille [3dtij],‘nice , pleasing,

’etc . ; long longue

‘long

’

;malin [malt ], maligne [malizp],‘mischievous,

’ ‘shrewd

,

’e tc.;

sec [sek], séche‘dry,

’ ‘lean,

’etc .

NOTE . Many other irregularities occur; these are frequent types .

339 . The Agreement Of Adjectives . When an adjective whose

forms differ for the ear be longs to unlike nouns (fem. masc . , or

masc. fem., or pl. sg. , or sg. pl. , jarring or ambiguous

adjective forms must be avoided .

a. When there is a verb be tween the nouns and their adjective , or a

pause (no matter how the masculine plural; thus, Son chapeau

et as robe , verts [f. verte-s] et ornés de parles, (‘Her hat and her

gown , green and adorned with pearls, or Son chapeau et sa robe sont

verbs H er hat and her gown are green But note c.

b. When there is no pause nor inserted verb, the adjective must notend in -aux (sg. in -al) unless both nouns are masculine . Avoid, e .g.

,d’un

courage et d ’une foi (Or d’une foi et d’un courage) loyaux (for

‘of a loyal

courage and [a loyal] faith ,’or

‘of a loyal faith and [a loyal]

But 11 portait les ornements et le sceptre royal (not royaux) is allowed, even

302 EXERC ISES

C’

est de la pose ! Elle adore faire son intéressante . 9 . Lorsque ce tte

petite bete creature a peur e lle fait la morte plays [sh e is , he is]I o . Alors , e lle reprend de plus be lle Then she begins again,

harder than I I . Elle en fait encore des siennes Sh e is up to

her old tricks [again] I 2 . De At first purement locale , ce tte idée

devient universe lle . I 3. Ce que votre proje t a de bon, c’e s t qu

’

il

peut se réaliser. I 4. Si sot qu’il soit, cc roman a cecide bon : il me

divertit.

I I . I . What a pretty house ! I t wasn’t very old, and it was too

small for a family like ours, but everything in it seemed so fresh

and so clean ! 2 . I f I lived in such a house I should soon be comevery lazy (m. and j i). 3 . What

utiful flowers which

ay off, you must go to see it. 4. There is nothing remarkable aboutthe dining-room except that it is furnished in the English sty le ,whereas all the other rooms (pieces, f l) are as F rench as possible .

5. The only thing I remember having seen in the drawing-room

was a white cat who had taken possession of a certain easy-chair

with two of he r kittens. 6. The library ? Charming ! M ine alwayssme lls a bit stuffy , probably because it is old and because (simplyque) everything In it is old. The re Is nothing Old about this , except a

certain number of old books that our friend X and his wife seem to

be very proud of. 7. Does X read them ? I don’

t be lieve it but

there is this good thing about X : he doesn’t play the scholar (I ,

I I I . I . Are these engravings (la gravure) Old or mode rn ? 2 . V eryold ; I have no mode rn ones. 3. H

fresh , and extreme ly valuable .

IV . I . I fee l uneasy (in. and f )3. Your idea isn

’

t too flattering. 4. leaves are ! 5. A

bitter pill (pilule , 6. Are you jealous ? (Threefimns .) 7. Your

cat isn’t as fat as her kittens. 8 . Le t

’

s be discree t ! (Two forms.)

9 . Be frank , but avoid seeming brutal (pl. , m. and 1 0. I f you’re

asked for reasons, don’t give false ones (use en). I 1 . F rench has four

nasal sounds. (Adj . last.) I 2 . Life is sweet, but 8

v

ée‘ie

.

ten times

THE POSITION OF ADJECTIVES 303

SO IXANTE—HU IT IEME LECON

THE POS ITION OF DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES

341 . Definition. Adjectives which answer the que stions‘of what

kind ? ’ or ‘

in what condition ? ’ may be classed as desmptive : nu bel

arbre‘a fine tree ,

’un arbre tombe ‘

a fallen tree .

’

REMARK . The type may be extended : un manche a balai‘a broom

handle ,’une chains d ’or

‘a gold chain

,

’une bonne d ’enfants

‘a nurse -maid,

’

coifleur pour dame (or dames)‘ladies

’hairdresser,

’l’afiaire Clemenceau

‘the Clemenceau case ,

’des meubles empire Empire furniture ,

’une femme

a plaindre‘a woman to be pitied,

’un homme comme il faut ‘

a proper

sort of man,

’une chose qui étonne

‘an astonishing thing,

’e tc . ; however,

save a few nouns (5 349, h , end), such forms invariably follow.

342. General Observation . Whether a given descriptive adjective

should precede or fo llow a given noun,may depend, when the

speaker can choose,upon whether the noun or the adjective is the

logical distinguisher, the classifying word ; upon the necessity of

preserving the order adjective noun for one meaning, but noun

adjective for another (in accordance with inconsistent traditions) ; etc.

Occasionally, euphony decides.

343 . Logical Distinguishers .

‘A logical distinguisher marks out

,

from th e specimens in question of a class named by the noun the

sub-class which the speaker has in mind ; an emotional attributionserves to indicate , with reference to these specimens , the speake r

’

s

favorable or unfavorable impression ; the specimens are adjudged

satisfactory or noteworthy or faultless, unsatisfactory or insignificant

or defective .

’ 1

344. Noun Adjective . Many descriptive adjectives are alwaysfe lt to be essentially logical distingu ishers, and , as such , invariablyfollow ,

the after-position (with stre ss) being markedly characteristic

1 E . C . Armstrong , Th e F rench Shifts in Adj ective Position e tc . , p . I ff.

304 FORE—POSITION AND AFTER—POS IT ION

of logical distinguishers. For example , anglais , financier , iv re ,malade

une ville anglaise an English city ,’la question financiers th e fin ancial

question ,

’un commis ivre ‘

a drunken clerk,

’trois enfants malades

three sick children.

’

COMMENTS . In une ville anglaise the adjective expresse s a pe rm an en t

attribute ; in nu commis ivre , a passing attribute ; but in e v e ry c as e a

logical distinguisher lessens the comprehensiveness of the noun, an d that

is its primary function . In lo pauvre malade (‘the poor sick [man

the adjective expresses pity (an unfavorable impression); in la m alade

pauvre the adjective (still pauvre) becomes a logical distinguish e r , fo r it

classifies le malade as lacking money ; here the emotional idea is incid e n tal ,not essential.

REMARK . ln scientific language we should find more adjectiv es in th e

after-

position than in the fore -

position ; in a novel, a play, or in e ve ry d ay

speech , adjectives in the fore -

position abound . Scientific language is le ss

emotional than is everyday speech .

Q UERY . Why does the adjective come after the noun in the follow ing

examples ? la strategic navale , un projet militaire , ls parti républicain .

nu mur mitoyen (‘a partition le regne animal et ls regne végé ta l

(‘the animal kingdom and the vege table notre pain quotidien

(‘our daily des vertues bourgeoises (

‘home ly une église

medievale a medieval la main gauche , ls bras droit, une pierre

spongieuse (‘a spongy ls cOté meridional the south side e tc .

345 . Adjective Noun . An adjective whose value as a logical distinguisher is slight or null tends to precede . When we say Jean est

nu brave homme ‘John is a good fe llow ,

’our primary intention is to

commend rather than to classify. Now shift brave,and we at once

decrease its area of significance and thus increase its e fficiency as a

logical distinguisher, for now it means ‘

brave ,’and bravery is me re ly

one of many manifestations of goodne ss. I n In blanche neige‘

the

white snow,

’blanche has no value as a logical distinguisher ; in une

automobile blanche, on the contrary, it is pure ly a logical distinguishe r,an adjective expressing color . Without losing its fundamental meaning,this blanche is made , mere ly by shifting it, to perform two e ssentiallydifferent functions.

306 COMPOUNDS. EXERCI SES

Palais-Vieux the Old Palace I talian il Palaz z o Vecchio , in F lorence);but usually both jeune and vieux precede : une jeune fills

‘a young lady

’

;

une vieille fille an old maid.

’

0. Compounds . In some cases the adjective has been we lded to the

noun which it follows, making a pure noun with a Special meaningbonhomme fe llow ’

etc .) cannot be altered to homme bon for this

group is not used, though homme tres bon‘very good man is allow

able ;nor is nu meilleur mot a be tter word’

) the comparative degree

of un bon mot a

Similarly, gentilhomme (pl. gentilshommes)‘nobleman ,

’but une gen

tille femme a nice woman beau-

pere (pl. beaux-

pen s) and belle-mere

(pl. belles-meme), father-in-law, stepfather,’and mothe r-in-law ,

’ ‘step

mother,’but une belle cousine a lovely cousin .

’Such compounds must

be used with caution !

EXERCISES

I . I . What a naughty little boy ! 2 . A short journey in southern

F rance . 3 . Some big books on use less subjects. 4. A big blunder.

5. Some nice little children. 6 . A silly man . 7. A very good fe llow

(not bonhomme) ! 8 . A quee r (drOle de) fe llow , this Old painter !

9 . A queer old m'

aid ! 1 0. Old stories about F rench cities . I I . The

best reason in (de) the world. I 2 . Without the slightest excuse .

I 3. A silly ex cuse !

I I . I . A good man , a very exce llent man ,M r. de B. 2 . This F rench

nobleman , with an English wife and two pretty little daughters, hastaken (loner) a fine Old house near ours, on (de) the southern side of

the stre et. 3. M r. de B. has a magnificent blue motor-car, so he

must be rich ;but the poor man has a mother-in-law who some times

keeps him from seeing the pleasing side of things. 4. What an

annoying situation ! but we can’

t all hold the right end of the stick.

I I I . Make ten more very brief reasonable groups, using only the

adjectives listed in 338 .

ADJECTIVES WHICH FOLLOWTHE NOUN 307

SO IXANTE—NEUV IEME LECON

THE POS ITION OF DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES (Coucw nnn) .

349 . Noun Adjective . Certain types of descriptive adjectives

which must follow the noun, and others which tend to , may be

noticed

a. All those specifying race , nationality, and the like

an type juif ‘a Jewish type ,

’la langue arabe

‘Arabic,

’une réfugiée belge

‘a Belgian refugee ,

’la vie parisienne Parisian life .

’

b. Nearly all those specifying po litical , social, industrial , or re ligiousaffinities

,and the like

10 parti anticlerical the anticlerical party,’la Société protectrice des

animaux ‘the l’Eglise anglicane

‘the Anglican church .

’

c. Adjectives specifying color except when obvious (but often even

then) or figurative

le'

Mont-Blanc‘Mount Blanc

’e tc . ; but une noire tristesse

‘an utter

sadness and les vertes campagnes du Poitou the green fields of Poitou .

’

REMARK . The proverbbonnet blanc, blanc bonnet, a chiasmus (a-b-b-a)meaning

‘six of one or half a doz en of the other

,

’le blanc-manger (a kind

of dessert), and other like groups, come down from a time when such

adjectives could easily precede .

NOTE . In une robe gris foncé‘a dark gray dre ss,

’

gris is a noun ; cf.

une robe grise .

(1. Most adjectives specifying shape ;but court short,

’long

‘ long,’

étroit‘narrow,

’and large

‘wide

,

’often precede (also rond round

especially when we ge t groups such as delongs doigts tordus‘ long,

crooked fingers .

’Both has

‘

low’and haut high

’are very uncertain .

e . M ost adjectives specifying physical states

propre‘clean

,

’ malpropre‘untidy

’

;but compare un hom e sale‘a dirty

man (literally dirty ) with un sale caractere (figu rativ ely dirty ).

308 CAUSES OF AFTER - POSITION

f . Past participles 273) of living and dead verbs

une porte ouverte‘an open door,

’ses doigts crochus her hooked finge rs,

’

une voix aigué‘a shrill voice ,

’etc . ;but note various old or emotional

groups ce rusé compare‘that crafty fellow ,

’leur satané charabia

‘their

deuced gibberish ,’le Sacré College

‘the Sacred College

’

g. V erb-forms in -ant 260) Often precede when not used as

logical distinguishers

cette intrigante afiaire that puz z ling business,

’ bu t nu the dansant‘a the

’

dansant,’and des étoiles filantes

‘shooting stars .

’

It. Used adjectivally, nouns almost always (clause s always) follow ;also bien

ls boulevard Haussmann [osman]‘Haussmann Boulevard,

’eu point de

vue métier ‘from the vocation point of view,

’une bonne bourgeoise tres

pot-au- feu

‘a good bourgeoise of the stay

-at-home (very plain) sort,’une

porte—cochere a porte

-cochere ,’la dotte ennemie (note - ie)

‘the enemy flee t,

’

nu bras de squelette a skele ton arm or an arm of a skeleton ,

’une femme

tres bien a good- looking woman,

’e tc . But note the exceptional formation

of e .g. 1a maitresse ancre ‘the sheet anchor,

’adjectival noun first.

350. Sundry Causes of the After-position . Various influences tend

to make all kinds of de scriptive adjectives follow ;e .g. the insertion of

adverbs, or a close dependence of the adjective on whatever follows.

a. An adverb is inserted . Contrasting examples

nu bel enfant‘a beautiful child,

’un enfant vraiment beau ;une mau

vaise voix‘a bad voice ,

’une voix simauvaise ;une jolie femme a pre tty

woman ,

’une femme plus jolie que Clarissa a prettier woman than Clarice ,

’

or (often be tter) a woman prettier than Clarice ,’etc .

REMARK . The adverbs assez‘rather,

’aussi

‘so ,

’bien

‘very,

’ moins,

plus , si‘so ,

’tout

‘

quite ,’ ‘wholly (variable : tout joli-s , tout élégante or

toute élégante , toute seule , some times toutes seules , fort‘very,

’

tres, and a few others, commonly let an essentially prepositive adjective

remain in the fore -

position ; but note une femme (jadis‘once ,

’

parfois‘some times ,

’

peu‘not very,

’

presque‘almost,

’remarquablement

"remark

ably,’souvent often ,

’

toujours ‘always jolie , and other examples.

Q UER IES . Why une faute telle que la mienne ? Why une poussiere

aveuglante (‘a blinding bu t une aveuglante poussiere d

’Or ?

3 10 EXERCI SES. UN BEL A'

NE

y . We may add that by its frequent power to put a given adjective in

either position F rench can make many distinctions usually not recogniz ed

in written English , and commonly disregarded in spoken English , though

our lightly stressed adjective often corresponds to a F rench prepositive ad

jective , and though our heavily stressed adjective almost always corresponds

to a F rench adjective in the after-

position .

EXERCISES

I . F rom Lessons LXV I I I and LXIX 341 or from any

preceding, or from the se lection be low ,derive examples to illustrate

a—g of 349 , at least two for e ach paragraph . Vary each example ,when possible , by way of experiment.

I I . Read aloud, with great care as to stre ss , the following passage ;

then comment on the form and position of each adjective , whether

descriptive or not. Where possible , insert or substitute other adjectives.

352. Un BelAne 1

Q ue lle béte admirable ! I l avait presque la taille2 d

’

un mulet,8 1

e t son poil‘ long

,soyeux ,

5 était noir comme l ’aile lustre'e des

corbeaux .

7 Ses oreilles droites,8 semées 9 de petites taches gri 3

saitre s,10

retombaient gracieuse s le long des machoires et du

col.” Ses yeux bruns étaient magnifiques . Ses dents re'

gulieres 5

avaient umémail éclatant. “

Q ue lquefois il filait comme un trait “ a travers les arbres du 7

verger,“ et, parvenu sur la roche 1"nue du plateau ,

il prenait des

attitudes grotesques , faisait des mine s17

singuli‘

eres, dressait ses 9

oreilles, les baissait avec lenteur, pareilles a deux pistole ts quiviseraient le meme but en repartait au galop pour nous te 1 1

joindre , tout penaud1”et tout essouffle

’

.

(F ERDI NAND F ABRE, quoted by Brunot and Bony)

NOTES. 1 . donkey. 2 . siz e . 3. mule . 4. coat. 5. silky . 6. glossy.

7. ravens. 8 . H ere straight. 9. sprinkled . I O . grayish spots . I I . jaws.

1 2 . neck . 13. brilliant enamel. I4. would speed like a dart (would dart).I 5. orchard . I 6. rock. I 7. expressions (of countenance). I 8. target.

19 . abashed.

FORMATION OF NUMERALS 31 1

SOIXANTE—D IXIEME LECON

CARDINAL AND ORDINAL NUMBERS 1

353 . Formation. With few exceptions, the F rench ordinals (noteth e first words over each of our seventy

-seven lessons) can be derivedfrom the corresponding cardinal, or vice versa. Thus deux givesdeuxieme [do

-

z jcm] , trente gives trentiéme (trent ieme), e tc .

Real or Apparent Exceptions . F or un (une), note premier (premiere);unieme occurs only in vingt et uniéme e tc. with at before it, and as a

denominator. This at is omitted in quatre—vingt-unieme (8 1 st); cf. a .

Neuvieme (9th) keeps the Older pronunciation of neuf, still heard in

neuf hommes .

Quatre-vingts (80) loses its s in quatre-vingtieme (80th) and in other

compounds . (Compare quatre- vingts with fourscore

Cinq 5) gives cinquieme because q without 11 is almost unknown (c ,

cinq).EXERCISE

Write the ordinals of quatre-vingt-onze of cent of

mille Write the cardinals of dix -neuvieme (1 9th), of quatrevingt

-quatorzieme (94th), of cent-unieme (I o rst). See a .

0. Groups with ct. The conjunction et [e] occurs in all cases

before an (une , unieme) up to quatre-vingts ; hence vingt et nu

(une) 2 I , trente et uniéme, e tc . A hyphen (un trait d

’union) occurs

in nearly all compounds (not containing et) except when deux ,trois

,

dix -neuf , e tc. multiply cent (I oo), mille etc.

REMARK . These arbitrary rules as to the hyphen will be done away

with only when the hyphen (wholly useless) is dropped, as usually happens

now in cent un-e cent deux e tc. Cf. trented eux etc .

b. Variability . Except un (with une), vingt (with vingts), and cent

(with cents), the cardinals are invariable . The ordinals vary in premier

1 A cardinal number, or nume ral, answe rs th e question‘How many ?

’an

ordinal,‘Which ? ’ F rench exceptions will be noted.

3I 2 PRONUNCIATION OF NUMERALS

(with premiere), in second (with seconds), and in dernier (with derniere).All-the ordinals may have a plural : les premieres minutes e tc .

NOTE . Million and milliard (I ooo millions) are pure nouns Cent and

mille can be preceded by un only when cent centaine a hundred

odd’

(‘about a or

‘hundredweight,

’and when mille ‘mile .

’

Hence ,‘100 men ’

cent hommes ;‘1000 men ’ mille hommes . Note

also deux cents hom es but deux mille hommes , etc .

EXERCISE

Write out in full in F rench : 8 , 1 0, 1 2,1 6, 1 9 , 23, 3 1 , 34, 40,

1

41 , 46, 50 , 51 , 60, 62 , 70, 71 , 80, 8 1 (no 90 , 9 1 , 1 00 children,1 0 1 men , 1 0 1 women , 3000 times, 1 8 miles, francs (use de).

354. Pronunciation . Some important variations must be noted .

a. Linking or e lision se ldom occurs before onze or onzieme, and

before huit only in compounds. H ence ls onze,du onzieme

,le huit

,

etc .,but dix -huit

REMARK . This is because , in counting aloud, all other numbers begin

with a consonant, except un, which may likewise give la un in counting.

b. The x of soixante as [s] , but note [z ] in sixieme and dixieme.

Deux [dc] , or [dia'

z ] if linked : deux chiens [dc je] , but deux amis

Six and dix are [Si] and [di], except before vowe ls

[si'

zami, di'zom] ; and in dates or before pauses they are [sis] and

[dis] . Note also [disset] 1 7 and [diznoef] 1 9 . Pronounce ls six

mai May and ls dix avril

0. Formerly, all the forms exemplified by dix -sept etc . contained

et (still kept in vingt et un This original et still affects 22

(vingt -deux) to 29 (vingt -neuf) inclusive : 2 2 [vétdo] , 23 [vet

tRwa] , 24 [VStkatR], 25 [vétsek] , e tc . ; otherwise vingt [vs],except before close ly following vowe ls. In quatre- vingt (8 1vingt always [v5] , 1 — 1 9 having been added to quatre not

to quatre-vingt et. (By assimilation ,vingt-deux may become

d. Second (seconds) or [295 Linked,second has [t] .

314 EXERCISES

0. Beginning with deux , cardinals are used in titles of ru lers (Henri!deux

‘H enry I I ’ etc .) and follow ; so in counting pages e tc .

,as in

English : (la) page uh (not une) page one ,’chapitre trois chapte r

three,

’etc . but la premiere page e tc . , as in English .

NOTE . In dating by days, F rench requires ls premier (janvier but

ls deux (janvier), ls trois (février), e tc . 10 pars le onze aout (no prep .)‘I

leave on the eleventh of August.’


I . Pronounce all your F rench with great care

1 . January has thirty-one days. 2 . January is the first month in (de)the year (année). 3 . The second month is F ebruary ; February is

the shortestmonth (adj . last) in the whole year, for it has only twentyeight days ; however, leap-

year (l’année bissextile) gives us twenty

nine . 4. A year may have three hundred and sixty-five days (here no

8 in cent), but leap-

year has one more (de plus) ; that makes threehundred and sixty

- six . 5. A week contains (comprend) seven days ;however, in F rench we say

‘

eight days’because we count one day

twice . 6. The first day in the week we call [it] Monday ; the second

is called Tuesday ;what names do we give to the third, the fourth ,

the fifth , the Sixth , and the last ? 7. A day contains twenty-four

hours ; an hour contains sixty minutes. 8 . What time is it ? about

eight o’clock ? No, it is almost nine

I I . Likewise : 1 . Charles I , H enry IV ,H enry V I I I , Charles IX.

2 . Vol. I , chap. 1 0, [at] pp. I and 2 . 3 . August 1 0

,F ebruary 20,

last Sunday, the last three hours be fore midnight. 4. The re will bethree (four, five , nine) of us . 5. I Shall come first, my sisters will

be the last to arrive . 6 . Cou ld you come at seven ? or at eight?

Not at eight ; at that hour I’m too busy.

1 Sur la prononciation de s noms de nombre (suje t que nous avons d(i

résume r tres brievement), voir Ph . Martinon , Commen t on prononce le f rancais .

DATES AND HOURS 31 5

SO IXANTE ET ONZIEME LECON

CARDINAL AND ORDINAL NUMBERS (CoNcLUDED)

356 . Idioms Expressing Dates and Hours . Study the followingexpressions of dates and hours , noting the presence or absence of

prepositions. (To be read carefully aloud.)

EXERCISE I

Dates : Typical I dioms

I . En que lle année sommes-nous ? Nous sommes en 1 9 1 8 [en dixneuf cent dix -huit],

len 1 923 [en dix-neuf cent vingt- trois] , e tc .

2 . Je suis venu aParis en 1 900 [read dix-neuf cents] , j’

y suis, donc ,

depuis longtemps, e t il y a be lle lure tte (‘

quite“

a bit of time ’

) que jen’

ai pas revu ma ville natale . 3. M on age? J

’aiapeu pres quarante

neuf ans. 4. Dans un an et que lques mois, j’aurai passe

’

la cinquan

taine . 5. M oi, j

’approche de ma cinquante

-huitieme anne’

e : je suis néen 1 860 [en dix-huit cent soixante] , le vendredi 20 avril,

'

si je ne me

trompe . 6. Q ue l quantieme [i. e . du mois] somme s-nous aujourd’hui ?

(Le combien sommes-nous ? Q ue l jour sommes-nous 7. Nou

sommes le treiz e mars . (C’

est aujourd’hui le treiz e . Nous avons le

treiz e .) 8 . Dans que l mois sommes-nous ? En mai. Le combien ?

Le dix-huit . 9 . Q ue l jour est-ce ? C’est dimanche . Comme le

temps passe ! Voila plus d’un an que je suis ici, et je n

’

ai presque

rien achevé . I r . Combien de temps faut-il compter pour arriver ala

gare Saint-Lazare ? A pied, une heure et quart ; dans un bon

taxi, apeine vingt minutes. I 3 . Bon . Je n’ai rendez -vous qu

’aquatre

heures et demie , et il en est apeine trois. 14. Trois heures déja! Je

pars pour Trouville dans une heure . J’

y arrive ahuit heures environ

(a huit heures du soir,le soir a huit heures). 1 5. Mon train quitte .

Paris tous les samedis soir [] V. B .] e t y rentre tous les lundis matin

[N . B ] 1 6. Tous les trois ou quatre jours, cc train-la arrive neuf Ou

dix minutes en retard (a neuf ou dix minutes de retard), mais il

n’arrive jamais apres onz e heures moins ls quart ou onz e heures.

1 Moins souvent, on entend dire : « en mi! neuf cent dix-huit » etc.

316 EXERCISES. NUMERAL NOUNS

EXERCISE II

The H ours ] ypical I dioms

1 . Q ue lle heure est-il ? avez -vous,s’

il vous plait ? 2 . A

ma montre , monsieur, il est cinq heures e t une minute (sept heuresune , six heure s e t demie , neuf heures vingt

-huit,onz e heures vingt

neuf et trente secondes, deux heures moins vingt- sept, midi juste ,

minuit précis, quatre heure s précises, deux heures tapant,

3 . L’horloge de la gare marque la demie (midi e t quart,

minuit moins un quart). 4. Je suis rentré cc matin a trois heures e t

demie passées. 5. Je recois de neuf aonz e le me rcredie t le vendredi.

6. Nous dinons a huit heures , quand ce n’est pas huit heures et

demie . (Note the reason for using cc.) 7. Trois heures viennent de

sonner. 8 . M inuit vient de sonner. 9 . I l est plus de onz e heures

(de minuit). 1 0 . Ma montre avance de dix minutes (est en re tard,

retarde de onz e minutes), il doit étre environ (a peu pres, pres de)crnq heures dix . 1 I . I l est tout au plus neuf heure s.

EXERCISE III

I . Be prepared to read aloud the first series of examples (1adding one to each number wherever possible . (Note that douze

heures is not 1 2 O’

clock ’

(midi or minuit), but 1 2

I I . A good way to learn to te ll the time of day in F rench is to

draw a dial (nu cadran,un cadran d’horloge , nu cadran de montre),

preferably on a blackboard (tableau noir), and move the hands by

erasing and remaking them.

357. Numeral Nouns . Any of the many forms in - ieme may followun

,deux

, etc . Note also une (la) moitié‘half

,

’un tiers uh troi

sieme,une troisieme partie) a third

,

’deux tiers two thirds,

’un

quart‘

a fourth ,’and ls tout (or, more arithme tically, ls total)

‘

the

whole ’

;also , arithme tically, nu demi‘a half,

’deux demis

,e tc. rg‘ r

neuf centuniemes [noef, sd tynjem] .

a. The multiplicatives most used are (le) double (de), (le) triple

(de), (le) quadruple (de), and other forms in -uple. (Also used as

adjectives.)

31 s LANGUAGE OF AR ITHMETIC . EXERC I SES

c. Multiplication . On écrit le mu ltiplicateur sous le mu ltiplicande ,en placant les unités de meme espece dans lameme colonne verticals .

On mu ltiplie le mu ltiplicande par chaque chiffre du mu ltiplicateur,en placant chaque produit partiel de facon que son premier chiffre

a droite soit sous le chiffre du multiplicateur qui l’a formé . On fait

la somme de tous les produits partie ls. Soit 2multiplier 987 par 3 1 .

(Ce sont les facteurs .)

987 (Parlé .) Une fois neuf cent quatre-vingt

-sept (fait), Trois

x 3 1 fois sept (font) vingt e t un . Pose nu e t re tiens deux . Trois fois

987 huit (font) vingt-

quatre . Vingt- six . Pose six e t re tiens deux .

296 1 Trois fois neuf (font) vingt- sept. Vingt- sept e t deux de re tenu,

30,597 vingt-neuf. Résultat : trente mille cinq cent quatre

-vingt—dix-sept.

d. Division . Termes : (le) dividende , (le) diviseur, (le) quotient

(prononcé divisé par, reste . Soit a diviser 469 par 6.

(Parlé .) En quarante-six combien de fois six ? Ca va

sept fois. Six fois sept font quarante-deux . Deux de six,

42reste quatre . J

’abaisse neuf. En quarante

-neuf ? huit fois.

Ca fait quarante -huit. Huit de neuf, reste un . Je mets le

point pour les décimales, j’ajoute z éro au reste . En dix

combien de fois six ? une fois . Six de dix ,re

'

ste quatre .

J’ajoute un autre z éro . Six en quarante vont six fois . Six

fois six font tre nte -six, e t cae tera. Q uotient :


I . Noting that in fractional numbers (nombres fractionnaires) thenumerator (le numérateur) must be a cardinal, and the denominator

(le dénominateur) an ordinal , read aloud g% ”SW

I I . F ollowing the mode ls in 358 , add 368 and 435 ; subtract 98

from 235 ;multiply 708 by 34;divide 538 by 72 .

NATURE OF ADVERBS.

—MEN T 319

SO IXANTE—DOUZIEME LECON

ADVERBS

360. Definition and Functions . 16 general, simple adve rbs and

adverbial groups are Single words or phrases which in a few cases

ask, and in many cases‘

answer, que stions as to manner , place , time ,

etc .,or which serve to affirm

,to deny, or to express doubt, measure ,

degree , q uantity, etc . They may stand alone , or may circumstantiate

a verb,an adjective , or another adve rb,

— some times even a noun

une presqu’ile

‘

a peninsula.

’

REM ARKS . We cannot always be sure whe ther a given word is an

adverb. Thus cependant however Ofte n resembles a conjunction , and

loin may resemble an adjective . Elle est tres bien,mieux que sa sceur

She ’s very good- looking, be tter-looking than he r sister

’

) se ems to makebien and mieux adjectives. What is chaud in I I fait (tres) chaud ? Again,compare manger pen with manger peu de pain, or with manger nu peu

do pain.

Many words which in one context are nouns e tc . are adverbs in another,

and vice versa, e .g. dimanche Sunday’

) e tc .

361 . Formation. Many adverbs end in -ment (lente-ment‘

slow other types, simple or composite , have an almost endlessvariety of forms .

1

Nearly all the adverbs in -ment we re formed by adding this re licof the Latin ablative mente ‘

with mind ’

) to the feminine

singular of a given adjective : fou ,folle

,follement ‘madly,

’sec

,seche

,

sechement ‘dryly,

’ ‘

curtly ,’e tc.

REMARK . This suflix -ment is still alive , as is proved by chicment

(‘stylish ly for chic (noun and adj .) is a very modern word .

a. A few adverbs in -ment contradict, or seem to contradict,

the rule .

1 The D ictionnaire glnlral (pre face , pp . 285—288) lists a hundre d or more

forms , a ve ry incomplete list of the forms in eve ryday use , e spe cially if we

count adverbial ph rases.

ADVERBS I N —MEN T

The following, and others like them, show contraction ; they have lost

an [a] which had become silent more than four centuries ago :

absolument (cf. -no) absolutely infiniment (cf. -is) infinitelyaveuglémsnt (cf. -ée) blindly crfiment (cf. -as) crude lycarrément (cf. -ée) squarely dI

’

iment (cf. -ue) dulydecidément (cf. -és) decidedly poliment (cf. -is) politelyhardiment (cf. -ie) boldly vraiment (cf. vraie) truly

Note that the lost 0 [a] is recorded by a on cn‘

rmenf e tc . , but not

consistently elsewhere . Again,we find gaiment gayly

’

) or gaiement , but

neither vraiement nor vraiment .

Some forms whose origin is more or less doubtful are

confusément confusedly immensément immenselydiflusément long-windedly profondément profoundlyénormément hugely uniformément uniformly

The adjective forms for these are confus-e , difius-e , énorme , immense ,

profond-e , and uniforms . They seem to have followed the pattern exempli

fied by aveuglément (above). Note impunément (‘with instead

of which we should expect impuni(e)ment , and note the vulgar form

aucunément, properly aucunement (‘in no

Instead of méchamment maliciously’e tc .) we should expect a form

méchantement (from méchant). But forms of this type go back to a time

when the adjectives which begin them had no special feminine . H ence

constamment constantly prudemment cautiously

diligemment diligently vaillamment valiantly

plaisamment in fun etc . ;all with [amc]NOTE . Bear in mind that most of the adverbs now in use were formed

centuries ago ; therefore th ey often indicate a feminine now Obsolete .

362. Miscellaneous Examples . H ere follow some of the manyforms that F rench adverbs may take . Study all aloud (h haute voix);then vary them orally.

1 . Vous parlez trop has (trop haut). 2. Tenez ces choses plus haut

(moins haut, plus bas). 3 . Parle tres fort, pour qu’on puisse t

’entendre .

4. Vous chantez fort bien . Bravo ! 5 . Ce monsieur chante faux . 6 . Sa

voix sonne creux 7. Le fait-ii expres (‘on 8 . S

’il

chantait juste , je lui en serais bien reconnaissant. 9 . Il n’a peut

-étre pas

vise assez haut, ou bien son pere ne lui aura pas donné assez d’argent

322 EXERCI SES

EXERCISES

I . Form the adverbs of the adjectives in 338 (except quel).

I I . The adverbs of bref (f. breve) and of gentil (f. gentille) arebrievement and gentiment . H ow explain these two forms ?

I I I . (Tout) bonnement (almost always with tout)‘simply

’: Elle

est tout bonnement folle H ow translate we ll done And what

is the adverb used instead of mauvaisement (no such form)

IV . Instead of charmamment or charmantement (forms which

might have been derived from the verbal adjective charmant , butdo not exist), we find d

’une fagon (manie

'

re) charmante . H owever,

we find couramment currently e tc .) from the verbal adjectivecourant . Can adverbs in -ment be formed at will from any verbaladjective ?

V . In 363, for Il est substitute I l va ; for Elle est substitute

Elle va ; for Ils sont and Elles sont substitute Ils vont and Elles

vont . Show the accompanying variations of tout seul .

Keeping Il est etc. , show the variations of tout with blanc, hideux

(‘

aspirate h’

;means and heureux .

V I . 1 . Speak lower (louder, faster, slower, as slowly as you can).2 . Don

’t talk so fast ; the faster

1

you talk (order : adv. , prom,vb. ,

adv ), the harder it is to understand you . 3. I f we sing, let’

s not

sing out of tune . 4. When one sings badly, .the less one sings, thehappier everyone will be . 5. Since I have been in Paris (vb. group A),I’

ve had some ten music lessons, two a week. 6. They cost me a

good deal , more than (de) twenty-five francs a lesson. 7. Am I paying too much ? Not at all ! 8 . We

’

re not rich ; francs a year

at the very most (use tout). That doesn’t allow me to live like a

prince , but I’m enjoying myse lf huge ly . 9. My father te lls me to

work hard and to aim high . 1 0. There are a good many things thathe says in fun ; not that, par exemple ! I 1 . You knOw X ? Well,he

’

s wasting his time . 1 2 . H e is simply crazy, that boy, and I’ve

told him so square ly.

1 N0 lo here the is an adverbof degree .

NON 323

SO IXANTE—TRE I Z IEME LECON

ADVERBS IN NEGATION

365 . Non is the stressed form of us (once nen), but non and us

are se ldom if ever interchangeable . Non is'

an independent. form

,

always c learly negative ;ne is strictly proclitic and occurs only withverb-forms, with all verb-forms except past participles ; its negative

force is sometimes so slight that it may be omitted.

366 . Study the following examples of non

a. 1 . Vous viendrez Non, monsieur. 2. Tu as fait 9a Mais non !

3 . Je vous dérange Emphatically Non pas . 4. Drame on non, 9a me

plait . 5 . Cole se peut . ]e ne dis pas non . 6 . Non, non, dites la vérité.

7. M e trompez-vous Oui on non 8 . Répondez par oui on par non.

9 . Est-cs , oui on non, cc que vous vouliez savoir

b. E llivtically, af ter que : 1 . Les uns disent que non, les autres disent

que oui;moi, is dis que oui et que non . 2. Vous l’avouez done R eplya on !

c. Bef ore an adverb or adverbial ph rase . l Venez A trois heures , et

non [n5] avant . 2. Allez A gauche et non A droits .“

3 . Non loin de

4. Non seulement encore. (‘but 5 . Non (pas) de lui

mais de moi. 6 . NODmoins de trois . M ore colloquially : Pas moins de

trois . Note Pas plus de trois . Pas plus que moi (not non plus que moi).

d . Bef ore adj ectives 1 . Non content satisfied de as part , il

2. Les lettres non- initiales [n5 inisjal]. 3 . Une maniére nonchalante . 4. Il

est riche Non pas riche mais aisé, or (more colloquially ) Pas riche

mais aisé . (Note also peu‘nu

‘not very,

’as in peu convaincant , peu

‘

nattent , e tc .)

c. B ef ore a f ast participle 1 . II a été tué (Non) pas tué, mais

gravement blessé . Or , Tué non, mais 2. Une maison non meubles

(‘an unfurnished house but une maison inoccupée .

f . B ef ore a noun or noun -clause 1 . Non (pas) Geneviéve mais Pierre .

M ore colloquially : Pas Genevieve mais Pierre . 2. Ce non-

paiement‘this

non-

payment.’3 . Non (pas) qu

’il ls disc , mais il ls pense .

324 NE PAS ETC . NE ALONE

9 . B ef ore pronouns 1 . (Non) pas lui ! (Or af ter : Tout passe . Moi

non.) 2. Jo les ai, mais non pas ceux que vous croyez . 3 . Non, pas 9a !

11 . B ef ore a que-clause (cf. f ) : 1 . Non (pas) qu

’il 1s disc , but only Pas

que is sache Not that I’m aware not Non que is sache .

367. Ne . As a weakened negative , ne usually has to be escorted

by a second negative or so—called negative . The negative e scort maybe an adverb, an adjective , a pronoun, a pronominal noun, or a

pronominal adverb (cf. 370 Note particularly

pas , point (more emphatic than pas, but usually not colloquial ), guere

(hardly colloquial ), plus, jamais , de ma vie (absolutely jamais de la vie l),

que than,’ ‘except ni, ui ui, aucunsmsnt , nullement also aucun-e ,

nul-le ;also personne , rien, qui que ce soit , quoi que ce soit, etc.

368 . The Syntax of ne . Except in extreme ly colloquial or plebeianF rench (le trangala du peuple), us must occur in every clause or

sentence containing a finite verb (je parle), an infinitive (parler),imperative (parle), or p on-adjectival -ant form(parlant), that we desire

to negative , whatever other negative or SO-called negative is added.

’

But note the following statements.

Ne alone . Without re enforcing complements, ne occurs as follows

(all examples to be studied)

0. After expressions of fear le st something may occur (cf. 2 1 6

2 1 7)1 . Jo crains U

’ai peur) qu

’elle ne nous ments . 2. De peur qu

’il ne les

insults . Etc . Colloquially, this ne is of ten omitted : 3 . Nous craignons

qu’ila s

’en aillent .

NOTE . But prendre garde que requires us (without pas) : Prenez garde

qu’on no vous suive Take care you are not followed,

’Be wary lest some

one follow you .

’

b. Similarly, after empecher (to) hinder, prevent ,’éviter (to)

avoid,’and certain expressions of doubt, in subjunctive clauses

1 . Empéchez qu’on (na) sorte . 2. Evitons qu

’il (na) leur nuise . 3 . Jene doute pas (N . B .) que cela (as) réussisse . Etc .

326 POPULAR OM I SSION OF NE . EXERCI SES

j . Ne occurs alone in negative re lative clause s of characte ristic

2 26 d, and 232) fo llowing a negative or interrogative main

clause

1 . Je ne connais personne qui us Is dise (‘who doesn

’t say 2. Il

n’

y en a pas un qui us Is fasse (‘but does it,

’or

‘who doesn

’t do

3 . Que pourra- t- il faire que tu ne puisses ls faire mille fois mieux (‘that

you can’t do 4. Quel parti pourrons-nous prendre qui na nous soit

encore plus dangereux What course can we take that will not be

111. Ne occurs alone in many exceptional locutions (archaisms)1 . N ’importe l

‘No matte r ! ’ N ’importe qui e tc . 2. A Disu na

plaise ! God forbid !’Etc . (Really not clzlfiment f rom oth er ex amples

a lready quoted .)

369 . In ls frangais da peuple, negation is commonly expressed

without us,the whole burden Of the negation being borne by pas,

rien,etc . Note

Poussez donc pas comme ca ! 1 Don’t push like that !

T’inquiete pas , mon gargon . 2 Don’

t worry, my boy .

Ai-is pas bien fait 3 Haven’t I done well ?

Je peux pas ls lire , j’ai pas mes 4 I can

’t read it, I haven

’t got my

lunettes . spectacles .

Ca sert A rien . 5 That’s no use .

J’etais qu’un gosse , js vous 6 I was only a kid, I didn

’t know

connaissais pas . you.

EXERCISES

I . Review the examples of negatives on pp . 78—79 , 8 1 , 1 1 9 , I 37,

1 79— 1 80 .

I I . Explain the various negatives in the continuous passages on

PP- 1 23 , I s7

I I I . Exemplify non and si in ten brie f reasonable com

binations suggested by the examples in 366, a—h .

IV . Exemplify ne plus and ne jamais with the impera

tive of (y) aller,

THE POSITION OF PAS 327

SO IXANTE—QUATORZIEME LECON

NEGATION (CONTINUED)

3 70. Pas occurs without ne in verbless phrases (Pas pour moi)and in folk- speech gene rally (C

’est pas vrai

a . The Position of pas . To continue 90, all verb-forms exc ept

infinitive s and past participle s normally fall between us and pas ;but

inve rsion for emphasis allows pas , in certain groups , to precede ne :

Que pas une fois is us Is trouve 1 Le t me not find him a single

sur mon chemin ! time in my road !

Pas n’est besoin ds ls dire . 2 I t is quite ne edless to say so .

NOTE I . The second example is hardly colloquial.

NOTE 2 . Pas may immediately follow peut—étre and various

o ther adverbs : I I ne viendra peut—étre pas Perhaps he won

’t come .

’

b. Pas with Infinitives . With infinitives , the position of pas varies

according to style or emphasis, but in living F rench pas cannot end

an infinitive clause . Examples

3 . On ls prie de ne pas le fairs (normal order ). 4. On 10 prie de ne ls

pas faire (abnormal ). 5 . Je m’efiorce do ne pas y penser, or de n

’y

pas penser. 6 . I I peut fort bien ne pas y en (in boohs , also n’y en pas)

avoir Q uite possibly there isn’t 7. TAch e Endeavor

’

) de ne pas

en parler, or possibly de n’en pas parler. 8 . Tu es 801 de ne pas étre

fou,or possibly ds n

’étre pas fou . 9 . Pent-on,en le voyant , ne ls

connaitre pas is wholly archaic.

NOTES . (a) Pas may be carried over an infinitive or past participle

thus : Je na veux pas entamer de discussion ‘I don

’t want to start any dis

cussion likewise , Je n’ai pas ach eté de ch eval I

’ve bough t no horse ,

’ ‘I

haven’t bough t any horse .

’

(b) Living usage is exemplified by Tu n’as

envie de rien vOir‘You don

’t care to see anything

’

;Tu n’as pas sujet de

rien appréhender, You have no ground for any apprehension ,’is somewhat

1 F rom passu s‘step .

’Originally, pas could occur only in a group such as

is n’irai pas

‘I shall not go a step"; now , simply

‘ I shall not go .

’Cf . is no

parle pas . F rench verse , in which no word can prope rly rime with itse lf,

allows pas meaning‘not

’

to rime with pas meaning‘step

’

; likewise point .

328 LOCUTIONS CONTAIN ING PAS

archaic, for we get the group ne pas rien ;we could not say Tu

n’as pas peur de rien. (c) Everyday usage is exemplified by do ne pas y or

do ne pas en infin . (d ) Note the group ne ne pas in e .g. I I no peut

ne pas l’avousr He cannot help admitting it.

’

c. The Group pas que personne (or rien). Occasionally pas precede sa que-clause containing personne anybody

’or rien

‘

anything,’

pro

nouns which originally were not negative :

11 no faut pas que person s 10 I twould be wrong for anyone to

accapare 1a peine ui la gloire . monopoliz e the trouble or the glory.

NOTE . Here the que -clause is treated as if the main clause were not

negatived. Similarly, Je ns crois pas qu’il en sache rien (

‘I don’t be lieve

he knows anything about it’

) instead of Jo crois qu’il n

’en sait rien .

Compare these groups with those in b (above).

d. Pas before Indeterminate Complements . Pas may be followedby du, de la, de l’ , or des some ,

’ ‘

any,’etc .) when it mere ly reén

forces us and therefore is not quantitative

Ce n’est pas du vin, c

’est da 1 1 This isn

’t wine

,it’s vinegar.

vinaigre .

Ne to forge pas dss idées trop 12 Don’t get too gloomy ideas .

NOTE . I f in N’y a-t-il pas de témoins‘Are there no witnesses ?

’we

change do to dss, we do so because we feel sure there are witnesses ;the

form with de may be answered naturally either with a Si (Mais oui) or

with a Non .

c. Pas in Cumulative Groups . H ere pas may be he ld for the lastclause :

Ne discutons, ne creusons , us 13 Let’s not argue , not probe each

nous heurtons pas davantage . other, not clash any further.

f . The Omission of ne in Verbless Groups . Colloquial examples

J’ai passe dss moments pas 14 I ’ve spent some moments that

drbles . (Cf. peu drOlss .) were not a bit funny.

C’est un(e) pas grand’chose . H e (She) doesn

’t amount to

much .

A da plaisir gAché, is préfére 16 To Spoiled pleasure , I prefer no

pas ds plaisir da tout . pleasure at all.

330 GUBRE . EXERCI SES

372. Guére . An occasional (and some times uncolloquial) equivalentof pas beaucoup e tc . Examples

Les avez -vous vus sOuv'

ent

Guere .

L’on ne trouve guere d

’ingrats 2

tant qu’on est en stat de faire da

bien .

L’émulation et la jalousie ne 3

se rencontrent guere qu’entre per

sonnes du meme art .

EXERCISES

I . F ree Composition . Using either the vocabulary in 370 372

or other words, write in F rench , to illustrate freshly each paragraphof 370,

a le tter, an anecdote , a personal experience , or whatever

you please ; about 300 words.

I I . Show to what extent you can negative (in prose variations)the following verses from Le Bon Roi Dagobert :

Le bon roi Dagobert Le bon rOi Dagobert

Avait sa culotte Al’

envers. Chassait dans la plaine d’Anvers ;

Le grand saint Eloi Le grand saint Eloi

Lui dit : 0 mon roi ! Lui dit : <1 0 mon roi !

Votre Majesté Votre M ajestéEst mal culottée . Est bien essoufflée .

C’est vrai, lui dit le roi

,C

’est vrai

,lui dit le roi,

Je vais la reme ttre Al’endroit. Un lapin courait apres moi.

Le bon roi Dagobert Le bon roi Dagobert

F ut me ttre son bel habit vert. Voulait s’embarquer sur lamer.

Le grand saint Eloi Le grand saint Eloi

Lui dit : 0 mon roi ! Lui dit : 0 mon roi !

Votre habit paré Votre M ajesté

Au coude est percé . Se fera noyer.

C’e st vrai, lui dit le roi

, C’est vrai, lui dit le roi,

Le tien est bon, préte

- le -moi. On pourra crier : Le roi boit

Have you me t them often ?

Hardly ever. (Almost never.)One finds hardly ever an ingrate

so long as one is in a position to

do favors .

Emulation and jealousy are

scarcely to be me t save among

persons engaged in the same art .

JAMAI S 33 I

SO IXANTE—QU INZIEME LECON


373 . Jamais usually means‘

never,’but in questions (without ne),

after si, (without ne) and in some other cases, it may have its older (posi

tive)meaning ever whetherwe render jamais by never’or by ever

often depends upon our choice of English . Analyz ed examples

N ’

y allez -vous jamais Non, 1 Don’t you ever (Do you never)

jamais . (Presque jamais .) go there ? N0, never. (Almost

never.)

N OTE I . In verbless statements, us is not used See examples

I and 2 .

Je n’ai jamais (eu) d

’ennuis . I have never (had) any vex

Jamais d ’ennuis Quelle chance ations . N eve r any vexations ?

What luck !

N OTE 2 . Here , without the article (dss), jamais follows the analogy of

pas in , for example , Je n’ai pas d

’ennuis .

Jamais tu no saurAs gagner de 3 You will never know how to

l ’argent . make (any) money .

NOTE 3. Here (cf. ex .

.

2) jamais is not treated as a partitive , but serves

mere ly to reenforce emphatically the negativing of sauras . Unlike English ,

F rench does not invert the verbwhen jamais precedes ne z N ever had she

been happier ]amais elle n’avait été plus heureuse . See a (below).

II no dit jamais rien, rien de 4 He never says anything, any

thing really useful.

NOTE 4. Here the though t is not thrice negatived : jamais and rien

may in this case be interpreted correctly as meaning‘at any time ’

and‘anything.

’Originally , neither was negative (cf . See example 5.

Vous n’entendrez plus jamais 5 You will (shall) never hear Of

parler de moi. (See ex . me again (any more).

NOTE 5. Here jamais is more emphatic than plus ;but, whe ther the

order is plus jamais or jamais plus, the true emphasis may depend upon

which word gets the -heavier stress.

332 .IAMAI S. R I EN

Vous irez —Jamais de la vie ! 6 You’llgo there ?— Not if I know

(Not y irez ; see 163, Note it ! (Not by a jugful ! or the like .)

NOTE 6. We find also do mémoirs d ’homme and a few other phrase s

employed as grammatical equivalents of jamais . Example : De memoirsd’homme il n’y avait eu tant de neige Time out of mind there had no t

been so much snow.

’

As-tu jamais vu tant dsmonde 7 Have you ever seen so many

people ?

Si jamais vous ls rencontrez , 8 If ever you meet him (If you

dites-lui 9a . ever meet him), tell him that.

NOTE 7. Here we have (ex . 7) a positive question without us and

(ex . 8) a si-clause without na.1

Qu’il disparaisse A tout jamais ! 9 Let himdisappear for good !

NOTE 8 . Here jamais is a positive noun . In an grand jamais ! (‘never

by any chance !’or the like) jamais is likewise a noun, but negative .

0. Position. Jamais follows forms in -ant (n’en parlant jamais),

but may either precede or follow infinitives and past participles ;usually it precedes.

374. Rien (Latin rem ‘thing maymean nothing,

’ormay have its

original positive sense‘anything,

’ ‘

something.

’ With que (adverb), itmay mean mere ly.

’ We shall consider here certain facts not alreadydealt with adequate ly 90, 1 86, and e lsewhere).

0. Meanings . The usual meanings of rien, also facts regarding its

position,can be studied in the following examples, of which only

those that may not be clear are translated :

1 . Je ne risque rien, absolument rien, rien du tout . 2. Qui ne risque

rien, n’a rien

‘Nothing venture , nothing,

have’. 3 . Ne risquant rien

, tn

ne pourras rien perdre . 4. Qu’as- tu donc What is the matter with

you ?’

Je n’ai rien. 5 . I l pleut .

—Ca ns fait rien, j’ai un parapluie.

6 . Que fais-tu 1A Rien, rien d’amusant

, rien qui puisse t’intéresser, rien

dont rien Aquoi etc. 7. Tu n’écris plus rien.

—Je n’eoria jamais

rien. 8 . Tu ne crois plus A rien.—Non, is ne puis croire A rien.

9 . Dieu a créé ls monds de rien (‘out Of nothing —Non, Dieu n

’a pas

créé ls monde de rien. (N ote the double negation .) 10. Dubois ns sait rien

334 A’IE IV. EXERC ISES

Vous n’evez rien démontré . 21 You haven

’t proved anything.

NOTE 3. If it has a complement, rien may follow the past participle

Je n’ai vu rien de convaincant I

’

ve seen nothing convincing’

;howeve r ,

we may find also Je n’ai rien vu de convaincant , or (with no que ,

‘only,

’ ‘but Je n

’ai rien vu que de convaincant I

’ve seen nothing tha t

wasn’

t convincing’. The following examples illustrate three possible styles

(1) Vous n’avez rien pu lui cachsr

‘You haven’t been able to hide any

thing from her’

, or (2) pu rien lui cachet , or (3) pu lui cache t

rien (i.e . anything whatever, quOi que ce soit), but'

in each case rien maybe stressed .

d. Rien a Relative Pronoun ; ,rien dc Adjective . Rien may be

followed by qui, que, de quoi (Aquoi and by dont ; or by de a

‘masculine ’

(neuter) adjective : rien de bon‘nothing good .

’Rien

is always neuter

Rien ne lui est plus cher. 22 Nothing is dearer to him.

Je n’ai rien dit . 23 I

’ve said nothing.

e .

'Nothing that‘Nobody Who(m) etc. In F rench it

is unusual, and gene rally incorrect, to le t an initial rien (Rien),

personne (Personne), or the like , immediate ly precede a re lativeclause . We may note a few possible F rench equivalents

Nothing (that) he could say 24 II aurait beau dire , il us mewould convince me . convaincrait pas .

Nothing that came from th em 25 Rien de cc qui venait ds chez

was re turned . eux ne rentrait .

N obody that I know would do 26 Personne de ma connaissance no

such a thing. ferait une chose pareille .

EXERCISES

I . F ree Composition . Repeat for 371—374 the exercise outlined

on page 330 for 370—372 .

11 . Show how many of the twenty-six numbered examples in

373—374 you can change into negative que stions; with non

negative (i.e . positive) answe rs.

335

SOIXANTE—SE IZIEME LECON


375 . Plus . To continue 90, the group ne plus (without pas)expre sse s , not comparison , but the exhaustion of quantities or the

ce ssation o f activities and states.

a. Ne plus may or may not be supplemented by rien etc

Tu na vas plus AParis Non, 1 You don’tgo to Paris any longer ?

plus , ou presque plus . No, no longer, or hardly ever .

11 n’y a plus rien qui m’

y 2 There’s nothing any longer to

draw me there .

Tu n’as donc pas faim

—Non, 3 You’re not hungry ? No , I

is n’aurai plus jamais faim. shall never be hungry again .

Tu tacheras de ne plus agacer 4 You will endeavor after this no t

person s . to rile anyone .

Essayons de ns plus y penser. 5 Let’s try to stop thinking of it.

Je ne pense plus qu’A payer 6 I

’ve ceased to think about any

mes dettes . thing except paying my debts .

Vous avez Le Temps, madame 7 Have you L-

e Tomps , madam?—Non ,monsieur, il n

’en rests plus . No , sir ; there aren

’t any left .

N OTE 1 . Order with y and infinitive : note Essayons de n’y plus penser

(cf . ex . Order with en and infinitive : note ne plus an as commoner

than n’en plus .

NOTE 2 . Referring to measure , degree , or quantity, and expressing or im

plying comparison, plus need neverbe misunderstood , for Nobodygoes there

any more [than Personne n’y va plus souvent (or davantage) etc .

b. Non plus‘either ’ etc. Non plus is used when a negative

statement requires a negative supplement, which is thus marked as

an added fact

Tu n’es pas veinard , ni moi 8 You

’re not lucky ; nor am I

non plus . (and I’m not, either).

c. Ni plus uimoins . A single example will suffice

C’sst de la folie , ui plus Di 9 I t’

s sheer madness. (I n some‘

moins . cases , neither more nor less .)

336 PERSONNE

376 . Personne . To continue § 9o and § 1 86, as a pronoun personne

cannot be modified (e .g . by la, une, or other adjective s) ; it is alwayssingular and is almost always masculine . Supplementary examples

Personne ns sait plus cs qu’il 1 Nobodyany longer knows either

mange ni cs qu’il boit. what he eaits or what he drinks .

NOTE 1 . Likewise , Tu us Is sais , ui personne nor does anyone

Personne n’a de dettes lA-bas . 2 Nobody has any debts there .

NOTE 2 . Likewise , Je n’ai d ’Obligation Apersonne to with

out pas .

Personne d’autre ns ls dit . 3 N0 one else says so .

NOTE 3. Personne autre (like rien autre) is obsole te .

Je ne vois personne que lui. 4 I see nobody but him.

NOTE 4. Similarly with no verb: Qui vois- tu — Personne que lui.

Cf. 378 .

Oui, sans voir personne . 5 Yes, without seeing anyone .

NOTE 5. Also with sans que without anyone seeing me’

sans que

personne me vois (without us).

Is no vsux vOir person s . 6 I don’t want to se e anyone .

NOTE 6. Similarly after a main verb implying negation : Tu crains do

Is dire Apersonne You fear to say it to anybody’

(Aqui que cc soit).

Je ne sais si tu trouveras per 7 I don’t know whe ther you will

sonne ds plus compétent . find anyone (who is) abler.

Personne le sait-il mieux 8 Does anyone know it better ?

NOTE 7. Like rien personne was originally a pure noun (not

negative) and may still be felt as such in certain combinations : Vous ls

savez mieux que personne au monde You know it be tter than anyone (any

person) in the world .

’ See 170, 173, 175, 3 1 2 .

Je ne crois pas que person s 9 I don’t believe that anyone can

puisse ls comprendre . understand it.

NOTE 8 . SO rien e tc. in a que-clause following ne pas 170, ex .

Personne n’sst plus belle que 10 Nobody (N0 other woman) is

Jeanne . (Cf . 305, d .) handsomer than Jane .

338 N1 . EXERCISES

de tests that or, more colloquially, 11 n’aims pas cette personne ,

non, mais il ne la detests pas non plus .

Ne le croyez (pas) ui no le dites . 12 Neither believe it nor say it.

(Cf. ex . 1 1 and Note

NOTE 7. Ni (initial) seldom precedes the first Of two imperative or

finite verbs.

Ni argent ui amis ne lui man 13 He lacks neither money nor

fIiends.

NOTE 8. N0 article is required before indeterminate nouns joined byni nl.

NOTE 9. Neither,’as a pronoun , corresponds to ni l’un(e) ui l

’autre

e tc . See 178, b, and 183;also examples 1 , 3, and 4, above .

I ! était reste sans pére-

uimere . 14 He had be en le ft without father

or mother.

a. The English Type nor Verb Subject . I have never me t

him,nor do I wish to

’

typifies a.

style which idiomatic F rench wouldcommonly render with the group et non plus , or otherwise ;

se ldom by ui subject verb. Study and develop example 8 in

5375, and examples 1—4, 9 (with Note I I , and Note 6 in 5377.

I . Test your knowledge of 375—377 by various methods

(I ) Read each example aloud, then try to repeat it without lookingat the printed text ; or (2) have someone read to you the Englishtranslation offered for each example , then give the F rench ;or 3)varyeach example by changing the subject, object, verb , e tc . or (4) giveeach example a positive form,

and then, without looking at the

printed text, restore the negatives.

I I . F ree Composition . Write in F rench a letter of two or three

hundred words te lling someone what you cannot do or will not do,and what you do not want him or anyone e lse to do .

339

SO IXANTE—D IX— SEPT IEM E LECON

NEGATION (CONCLUDED)

378 . Ne with que . Type Tu n’as que ya You have only that .

’ To

con tinue 90, this group (us with que) is restrictive and is usuallyexclusive .

0. The que of ne que must immediate ly precede the word or

th e inseparable group (e .g. A Paris) or the phrase that it trulyre stricts , and que must be separated from ne by a verb (n

’ai que,

n’ayant que, n

’avoir que,

Cela no se voit qu’AParis . You can see that only in Paris.

Ce la n’arrive que rarement . That happens only once in a

While .

Je ne cherchs qu’Apartir. 3 I

’mmere ly trying to depart.

Tu ne veux que t’enrichir. 4 Your whole aim is to ge t rich .

Nous n’irons que si tu ls veux . 5 We won’t go unless you wish

us to .

NO viens que quand is t ’ap 6 Don’t come until I call you

(possibly unless I call you).

Tout cela n’a rien que de bon . The re

’s nothing about that that

isn’t good .

]e no vois personne que vous . 8 I see nobody but you .

Nous n’y allons jamais que le 9 We never go there except on

dimanche . Sunday.

Jamais je ne sortais qu’il us 10 I never went out but some thing

m’arrivAt quelque chose de drble . funny happened to me .

NOTE 1 . As ns and que cannot ordinarily both of them precede a verb

(note‘only

’ in She only anoth er group must be employed when a

verbis to be modified : ne faire que (various forms) infinitive . Example :

Ca as ferait que te deranger‘That would only inconvenience you .

’See

247, h , and Note 5 (below).

NOTE 2 . Ne faire que de (various forms) infinitive emphasiz es the

immediateness;the great recency, of a past act. Example : Elle ne fait que

d’arriver She has just this moment arrived .

’See 247, i, and 482 .

340 SAN S. H I STORY OF THE NEGATIVES

NOTE 3. This restrictive group (na que)must be distinguish ed from

no que in the locution n’avoir que faire (de). Example : Je n

’ai que

faire de leurs bavardages I’m not concerned with (have nothing to do

with) their gabble .

’Here que is apparently the relative pronoun without

an expressed antecedent and with pas Archaically omitted .

NOTE 4. Ne pas que makes a correct and rather frequent group : Tu

n’as pas que ya

‘You have not merely that.

’

(See above : Tu n’as que 9a.)

NOTE 5. This restrictive que is occasionally followed by a past participle ,

even when the past participle is strongly verbal (not an adjective) : Je ne

les ai que vus , is na leur ai pas parle I’ve only seen them; I haven

’t

spoken to them.

’Note 1 indicates a more normal style ;also seulement

migh t be used.

b. An implied negation may occur instead of us :

Qu’y trouve-t-ou que des 1 1 What does anyone find in it but

phrases idle words ?

Similarly, (12) Sans regrets que de ne pas vous avoir mieux servi‘With

no regre t save at not having served you be tter.

’

379 . Sans, and (in certain combinations) ne , may be followed by a

partitive group (de noun) as if a truly quantitative word had beenemployed :1 . Nous sommes revenue sans rencontrer d’ennemis aucun ennemi).

2. Puis-je ls dire sans qu’on fasse d’objections 3 . Js ns saurais y voir de

dificultés (‘I really cannot see any difficulties about

NOTE . Likewise with us que : Je n’

y trouverai do difi cultés que si

j’arrive trop tard

‘I shall find difficulties there only if I arrive too late .

’

380. True Negatives and Apparent Negatives . Only non has

always been exclusive ly negative .

1 Non itse lf, or its weakened formne (formerly nen), has gradually infected pas , personne , rien

,and

other words, with a negative quality of varying strength . In some

cases,ne is still a sufficient negative 368 , g

—i,k) ; in general, it

requires an escort ; in folk- speech , and'

in other kinds of colloquialF rench , it is often omitted Without loss of clearness

1 In Old F re nch , nul-le often has a positive value any, some likewise

ni (forme rly written as ,-meaning some time s ‘or,

’ ‘and ,

’as well as not

’and

‘nor F or furth e r de tails as to negation se e the I ndex , unde r Negation .

342 EXERC I SES

I . 1 . What have we been studying?prose or verse ? 2 . Jourdain

had not studied either ; evidently he did not like verse . 3 . As fo r

prose , he had used it for forty years without being at all aware of the

fact . 4. SO, when the teacher of philosophy asked whe the r he wishedto write prose or verse , he replied , Neither.

’

5. Yet it had to be one

of the two . 6. We can hardly speak without using prose, unless wecan speak in verse , and almost nobody can do that (F r .

,there is

hardly anyone who can do that). 7. When one can’t express onese lf

either in verse or in prose it is difficu lt, if not impossible , to mak eonese lf understood .

8 . Not everybody (Ce n’sst pas e tc .) knows how to

'

write verses ,

nor does eve rybody (et cs n’est pas e tc.)make use of the best prose ;

only persons who have talent can do that. 9 . We have only to lookat the newspapers and to listen to conversations (some time s our own )to learn whether most of us speak we ll or not. 10 . The I e are peoplewho do nothing but that, and generally they find that no one speaks

perfectly except themse lves 368 , i) or someone who no longerexists. 1 1 . As for myse lf, I have hardly ever written any ve rse . 1 2 . I

find verse difficult— not to say (pour impossible — whereas

I should find it (omit ls) difficult to talk only if I were not allowed

(on with permettre) to use prose , though mine is not always quite

pure . I 3. To return to M . Jourdain, many other persons have spoken

prose for more than forty years without being in the least degreeaware of it.

I I . 1 . I t’s only in F rance that one hears the best F rench spoken .

2 . I t’s not only in F rance that you can hear (entendre parler) a very

pure kind of F rench . 3 . Only the F rench speak F rench correctly .

4. Not mere ly the F rench (I t is not etc.) speak correctly. 5. On ly Iknow that. 6. I learned it only this morning. 7. Our friends go out

only in the evening. 8 . Only the theaters are closed. (Th ree dlfi'

erentways .) 9 . What do you find there but fools ? 1 0 . I t is on ly by lookingthat we can find what we like .

PART I I

TYPICAL F RENCH VERBS

FUNDAMENTAL FACTS AND PRINC I PLES 1

382. Verbs in Everyday Use . Of the five thousand or more

F rench -verbs now in use,the majority are technical, exclusiv'

e lylite rary, or rare ;but several hundred are employed constantly and

gene rally. This minority happens to include nearly all the types of

conjugation found in modern F rench ; 41 6—48 2 deal with what

seem to be the most important types.

383 . Some Essentials . F ew English verbs have more than four or

five simple living forms (love, loves, loving ,loved ;speak, speaks , speak

ing ,spoke, spoken). F ew F rench verbs have less than thirty ;many

have forty or more ; whatever the verb, the number of its forms

varies according to whe ther we count what we see or what we hear .

To be able to use any ve rbcorrectly throughout, we must know (1 )how all its forms are written , (2) their sounds, meanings , and syntaxin a given context

, (3) which forms, if any, are avoided e tc. All these

matters have been dealt with in Part I , to which the re are specific ref

crenees in 387- 48 2 and in other sections of Part I I . See 41 5.

384. The Richest Type of Conjugation : Verbs in -cr. This type ,

called thefirst conj ugation ,includes more than four thousand verbs.

M any of its representatives , as mener , jeter, céder, rever or

as aimer, lier , e tc . have a variable stern but all at

least as written have precise ly the same se t of inflectional endings

392 , some of which are shared by other types.

1 Le s .pro fe sseurs qui se se rve nt exclusivement de la (1méthode dire cte »n’

auront qu’A résume r e n francais le contenu de s 382

—427.

343

344 TYPES F IN JR , DE V01K,VENDRE

REMARK . The conjugation in -er is constantly being enriched by new

verbs (as blufier), and is there fore a living type 385—387, 416

385 . Verbs in -ir, with-iss a Living Type . The second rank is

he ld by three hundred or more simple verbs 1 in -ir (type finir, withfinissons V erbs of this type , usually called the second conj u

gation ,are wholly regu lar for their stem-vowe l, whatever it

may be,normally cannot vary in length or quality , never being

stressed in normal speech . Thus a is [a] in all forms of agir‘

(to )act

,

’

and ais in all forms of palir‘

(to) turn pale .

’

A few simple verbs are said to have been added to this typein recent times.

386 . Leas Comprehensive Types . Aside from the two type s in-er

and -ir (with -iss F rench has none that are capable of growth . All

other types have been dead for centuries.

387. The Dead Conjugations . The so-called tfzim’

conj ugation (certain verbs in -oir)

9 has only one simple verb , devoir‘

(to) owe ,’

‘must,’etc. 1 87, apercevoir

‘

(to) perceive ,’décevoir

‘

(to)disappoint,

’e tc . , are not simple verbs, but are derivatives of a simple

form not found in F rench .

0. The Type vendre. The so-called fourt/i conj ugation , exemplifiedby vendre

‘

(to) se ll’

includes not more than about fourteen

simple verbs that are in everyday use ;about fifty verbs,if we count

derivatives

1 F inir is a simple verb; déflnir, having a prefix is a derivative .

Seve ral ve rbs exist only in de rivative s : descendre , so repentir repent,’e tc .

2 Le Petit Larou sse illu stre'

(a widely-circulated and very use ful encyclopedic

dictionary), and many F rench or English-F rench grammars, classify thus.

Th e D z’

ction naire ge'

ne'

ral doe s not commit itself. L . Cle'

dat, Grammaire

raison ne'

e include s unde r th e th ird conjugation ve rbs in -re or in -oir,

and non-inchoative ve rbs in -ir (as partir). Clédat doe s not mention a fourth

conjugation . (A few grammarians have assigned devoir e tc . to th e'

se cond’

conjugation . )With only one simple ve rb to repre sent it (i.e . devoir), and not more than

sev ente e n ve rbs in all, th e so - called th ird conjugation has no good claim to

the third place ;and, if we accept the fourth ,’why notmake afifl lz , a six tn, etc.

346 REGULAR ITY. PRINCIPAL PARTS

We shall try to group our verbs with respect to tlzeir general

blances,and with respect particularly to those se ts of forms which

he lp most to construct the who le verb. Our guide is analogy.

389 . Regularity . A verb may conveniently be called regular1

when it is comple te (not de fective), when there is no marked variation

in the spe lling or the sound of the stem (note parler and flair), andwhen its infiectional endings 392) agree throughout with those of

the type to which we have agreed to assign it. it To know that a ve rb

is regular’is worth while .

REMARK . Comple te'regularity

’exists for the eye much oftener than

for the ear. See 39 1—392 and 417—42 2 .

390. Principal Parts . The guiding forms called principal partsare the infinitive (as parler or huir), the present participle (as parlant

or finissant), the masculine past participle (as parlé or fini), the first

person singular of the present indicative more briefly, I A (as je

parle or je finis) and the first person singular of the past absoluteor past definite more briefly, 1 C (as je parlai or je finis).

REMARKS. In a good many cases, the five parts thus named do not

reveal all the forms of a ve rb. For example , of résoudre'resolve

’

451 )we must know résolvant pr . part ), résolu résous and rmivons ,

résolvez , resolvent (I and 4, 5, or 6 A ), résolus (1 C), and resolve (I L .

of pouvoir can e tc . 468) we must know pouvant pr .part ), puissant-e

(vbl. adj ) , peux(puis)- peuvent (1—6 A ), pus (I C), pourrai (1 D ), puisse

(1 L . and pu Etc .

Tbe principal parts enable us to construct a w lzole v erbonly w lten w e

can learn tlzrouglz tlmn to wlzat type tlzat verbbelongs .

NOTES. (a) If we have me t a certain verb for the first time , that form

(e .g. chanterent or agissant)may disclose the whole verb, but by no means

always. Whe ther we are analyz ing or composing, we must know (I ) the

stem or stems, and (2) all the inflectional endings which may be attached

the re to . (b) In all verbs but a few (e .g. A of etre ; i.e . suis—sont), the

infiectional endings are invariable in all respects (at least for the eye);but

which of the three or four se ts are we to use ?

1 Autant dire , facile a conjugue r ; la phonétique historique nous enseigne

que parler, par exemple , n’e st point un verbe régulie r

9 Cf . N itz e and Wilkins, l e F ren c/i Verb, p . I .

STEM S. EF FECT OF STRESS 347

39 1 . Stems . In most cases the term ste rn de signates that part ofa ve rb 1

which contains the permanent meaning of the verb, as the

ide a o f speed: or speaking in every form of parler (stem parl), andwhich immediate ly precedes inflectional endings

0 . M any verbs, however, have two ,three , even six or seven, stems.

Thu s jeter‘

throw ,

’

with je jette etc .,has two mettre ‘

put,’

with met , mett , mi, _

mis,has four, as written 447) aller

‘

go ,

’with

vais [ve or,in verse, possibly ve] , va, all, vo(nt) [v5], aill [o zj] , and

ir,h as six or seven stems, some of which are confused with its inflec

tional endings 1 63 , 392 ,And what is the stem of huir ?

fo r the is of (je)finis is the same is that we find in fin-iss-ons 1 32 ,

42 3—42 Similarly, if the stem of vendre se ll ’ is vend [v6 or vc

‘

izd] ,th e form (ii) vend has no infiectional ending 1 90, Lier

[generally lje] bind,’with je lie [Ii] , louer [generally lwe] praise ,

’with

je lone [lu] , and tuer [generally tue] kill,’with je tue [ty], have one

stem for the eye , two for the ear 41 8

NOTE 1 . To be consistent with (il) rompt'

(h e)breaks,’in which p (part

of the stem) is silent, (ii) vend should be written (il) vendt . Formerly vend

was written vent and rend was written rent (likewise 3A of all the verbs in

-andre , -endre , and -onare). F or the ear, vendre has two stems [v6 and vd zd];for the eye , one : vend .

NOTE 2 . The root of a verb need not be identica l with its stem or

stems. For example , th e root of valoir'be worth

’

e tc . 470) is val ;its

stems are val, van, and vaill. The stem is that part to which infiectional

endings are attached. We need not concern ourselves with roots .

b. The Type mourir. A variable stem usually varies according to

stress ;mourir die ,’with je meurs [moezn] but nous mourons

acquérir acquire ,’with j

’acquiers [akje zR] but j

’acquérais [akeRe ,

nearly akeRe] , and many other verbs, exemplify this important

principle .

NOTE . Both the length and the quality of the stem-vowel may bechanged by a shift of stress . Note the typical alternations in e .g. aimer

boire and valoir

1 Often including a prefix , as in rouvrir re open or in doscendro.

348 ENDINGS. INF IN ITIVES. GROUPS .D AND E

392. Inflectional Endings . Even including those verbs who se

stems 39 1 ) are confused (blended) with their inflectional ending s ,as in devoir with (je) dus I had to

’

(past absolute), he re

nothing of the stem is left except its d, - we need learn only a few

se ts of endings to understand any form that we may mee t, or to

compose any form whose stem and type we know .

a. In the present groups— mostly in the indicative (A), but also

in the subjunctive (L . S.) the inflectional endings vary greatly ,

especially in certain verbs of the dead conjugations 387, 425

For all other finite forms (groups B—E and 0. S.

,i.e . the simple pas t

subjunctive group) they are complete ly consistent and Simple : one

form always suffices to indicate all the rest. See 397—399 .

NOTE . Th e phonetic variations of -ions and -iez will be noted

THE FORMATION OF GROUPS AND OF SINGLE PARTS

393 . Infinitives . All infinitives end in -er,

-ir,

- re,

1or -oir. For the

syntax of the infinitive see 239—259 .

394. Future ’and Conditional ’ (or Past Groups D

and E These two groups were originally composed, and

may still be composed , by adding to an infinitive either A or.

B of

avoir,less av Example s : je parler

-oi, j

'

e finir-ai,e tc . je

parler-d is

, je finir-ais, e tc . See 39 1 . The hyphen used here

(and further) is introduced pure ly to he lp the eye to remember ; this

hyphen often conflicts with phone tic syllabification .

NOTE I . N early all exceptions to the principle just stated are only

apparent . For example , instead of devrai we migh t expect devoir‘owe

’

187, 465) to give devoirai e tc . ;but, if considered historically, devrai is

not exceptional, for it takes us back to th e long-obsolete infinitive dever

devrai is a contracted form of deverai. Two highly irregular sets of forms

occur in D and E of asseoir

1 In folk - spe e ch th e endings-dre and -tre gene rally lose th eir

-re ; so that

entendre‘unde rstand ,

’ ‘h ear,

’be come s entend ’ [dtc

’

izd] and battre‘beat

’

be come s bat ’ [bat] . Th e form fiche (as in Tu peux t’en fiche

‘You can le t’em

go hang follows th e analogy of a vulgar form in -tre.

350 VERBAL ADJECTIVE. GROUP B

perd-ais, perd-ant ;fin

—iss-ais,fin- iss -ant ; or group B can be forme d

from it ;but avoir 42 With ayant , gives avais , and savoir knowwith sachant

, gives savais . See 260,a .

NOTE . In our paradigms 416- 482) en is usually not included.

396 . Verbal Adjective . The verbal adjective of all the verbs th at

have one 260) is almost always like the present participlebut is . variable : charmant-e . For pouvoir 468) note puissah t -e

‘

powe rful’

; for savoir 395, 469) note savant-e‘learned ’

(c f .

260,b).

NOTE 1 . Friand-e ,‘dainty,

’ ‘fond of

’

(de), formed like gourmand-e , is

derived from frire but is now independent of that verb.

NOTE 2 . Soi-disant ,‘so-called,

’ ‘alleged,

’se lf-styled,

’would-be

’

(also

ostensibly e tc . ) is archaic as a form(note soi) and is otherwise exceptional,

but is in eve ryday use . It seldom takes 0 or s .

397.

‘Imperfect’or

‘Past Demriptive’: Group B 59

—62,

Group B can be easily formed from the present participle a,

and perdant gives perdais e tc . I n B all verbs have the same

inflectional endings : -ais [e] , -ais,

-ait [e] , - ions [j5] , - iez [je] ,-a

NOTE 1 . In the many verbs typified by finir 1 32 , 423—424) these

endings are alwaysvpreceded by

- iss (finissais); in reality,-iss belongs to

the stem

NOTE 2 . Ex cept in more or less self r conscious speech , whenever the

stern of a verb ends in gn [p], in ill [j], or in y [j], the endings-ions and

402 , though always written thus, are usually absorbed by the stem. Hence

baignions and baigniez (from baigner‘bathe usually sound like baignons

[bi-spa] and baignez cueillions and cueilliez (from cueillir gather‘

)usually cueillons [koe

'

jo] and cueillez especially as subjunctives

likewise voyions and voyiez 463) usually voyons [vwaj fi] and voyez

[vwaj e ] ; e tc .

1 Se e Note 3 and 1 58, a .

NOTE 3. Joined to br, pr, dr, tr, gr, cr, vr, fr (or to bl, pl, which

begin syllables the endings-ions and -iez become and

1 ‘Au contraire , le s finale s ve rbale s -ions e t -ie z ajoutent un y od [j] aux 11

mouillée s , sans quoi il pourrait y avoir confusion de temps : nou s travaillions

se prononce donc nou s trovag-

yon s , acOté du présent trava-

yons .

’

(Martinon,

Commen t on pronon ce lef rancais , p .

FUNC TIONS OF GROUP B 351

H ence ouvrions (from ouvrir‘open e tc .

1 See Notes 2 and 4,also 394, N o te 7.

N OTE 4. In the verbs typified by lier‘bind

’-ions and -iez are

preceded by i. H ence a more or less self-conscious effort to distinguish

liions from lions and liiez from liez .

2 See Notes 2 and 3.

N OTE 5. In group E the same phone tic conditions may occur as in

group B . Compare voudrions (4E of vouloir, 471 )with ouvrions (Note

See 394, N ote 7.

NOTE 6 . An effort to distinguish be tween pairs of forms like those in

Note s 2 and 4is more likely to be made for the tense (‘imperfect indica

tive ,’ ‘

pas t descriptive’

) than for the mood (‘

present the

subjunctive is less likely to be misunderstood .

0. Functions of Group B . To what is said in 59—62

,1 92 , and

e lsewhe re , add these facts :

(1 ) N ot only depuis but voila,11 y a (avait), also de langue date

and oth e r expre ssions, have the effect described in 1 92

] e la connais de langue date 1 I’ve known her a long while .

Voila (I ! y avait) vingt ans que 2 For twenty years I had believed

is is croyais mort . him dead .

REM ARKS. In each case English throws the tense one point further

back, using the present perfect where F rench uses the present (A ), and

the pluperfect where F rench uses the so-called impe rfect’or past de

scriptive’

(B ). This makes a parallel. In each language , the single verb

form has to expre ss simultaneously two different tense -values, for connais

reaches into the past as‘have known

’reaches into the present, and croyais

has to include the idea expressed by avais cru(e), while‘had be lieved ’ is

not purely pluperfect.

(2) Similarly (cf. the verb (A or B ) expresse s simultaneouslytwo different tense -values in the following examples

Qu’est-oe quivous amene acette 3 What brings you (has brought

you) at this hour ?

Je vous apportais ls livre dont 4 I was bringing you the book ofis vous ai parlé derniérement . which I spoke to you lately.

1 V oir Martinon , Commen t on pron once lef rancais , p . 166.

9 ‘En fait , on prononce pre sque prio-

y ou s [voir prior] mais lo nombre dessyllabes n

’e st pas augmenté pour ce la.

’

(Martinon , p . 1 19 ; cf. ibid . , p .

352 FUNCTIONS OF GROUP B

REMARK . By using apportais instead of apporte or ai apporté, th e

speaker attenuates the present character of his act, somewhat as when vou

drais is used instead of veux (cf. but the act is undeniably prese nt .

(3) Simple B forms are often used in the conclusion (apodosis) ofa past condition contrary to fact 95, a and b), as we ll as in the

premise (protasis)Si j

’arrivais un instant plus 5 If I

°

had arrived an instant later ,

tard, is manquais mon train. I should have missed my train .

REMARKS. H ere arrivais stands vividly for étais arrive, while manquais

(used instead of aurais manque, or bookishly eusse manqué) is intended toimpart a greater tone of reality to the unreal result. Although grammarians

have not been accustomed to Speak of them as such,the B forms so gen

erally employed in the kinds of conditions dealt with in § 95 are not less

conditional (modal) than the E forms so generally employed in the con

elusion . In fact we have seen that under certain circumstances (1) one

clause may contain a B form, the othe r an E form;(2) that each maycontain an E form;(3) that either or both may contain an 0. S . form; etc .

See 92—93, 95

—99. See also Index , under Conditions . On the subjunctive

in past conditions contrary to fact see 235.

NOTE . Occasionally, instead of a sr-clause (e .g. si ce n’était que

‘if it

were but’

) we find inversion : n’était-os que (

‘

were it or the like ;

but seldom with other verbs than étre . Se e 98 , Remark , and 236.

(4) To an activity whose tense is really definite (past definite)a more pictorial quality may be given by describing it as going on ,

even though it was virtually instantaneous

A peine eut- ii quitté la tran 6 Hardly had he left the trench

ch ée , qu’il tombait foudroyé d

’une when he fell I could see him fall

bombs . ing] smitten by a bomb.

Similarly, but with less vividness

] e recevais, la semaine derniere , 7 I received [not‘I was

'

receiv

une lettre last week , a le tter

Note also the following examples (fromM on oncle et mou cure, chap . I I)

Dans la nuit, is revai [C ] que ma tante , transformée en dragon, luttait

contre was struggling with F rancois [ er qui la pourfendait was cleavinghe

'

r’

de sa grande épée . 11 me prenait [‘was taking

’dans ses bras

354 FUNCTIONS OF GROUP C

(1 ) Although all the C forms have ceased to be colloquial , F renchauthors occasionally distinguish their meanings from those of the

colloquial group A 154) .

Cello [l’influence] do Villon fut 1 That of Villon was considerable

considerable as; l’abord et elle 11’s [in his epoch ] from the outse t, and

pea cesse d’agir. it has not ceased to act [it is fe lt

(G . Paris, Villon , p. 1 8 1 ) even nowadays].

(2) Custom or repe tition may be strongly emphasiz ed by a sudde n

shift from C to B

Tous les soirs, Henriette vint 2 Every evening H enriette came ,donc prondro dos nouvelles d’Ar there fore , to ge t news of Armand

mend chez lamore Renouf . Elle y at old Mrs. Renouf’s . She would

venait apres avoir fait sa journos . come there after doing her day’s

Cat c’est ainsi, pour les pauvres . work ; for'

so it is with th e poor .

(Coppée , H enriette , éd . Lemerre , p. 1 23)

(3) Perhaps through the influence of Latin ,which had no special

form to express the present perfect tense (f uit fut and a été),F rench authors some times use a C form to mark an event which

really extends into the present, but the effect in example 3 is to makeit seem remote

c’est la fervour de l ’ides i 3 it was [it is] the fervbr o f

qui fut lo principe do toute ma the ideal that was [has been th e

vie , de toute la tionno. guiding principle of all my life , o f

(L’

Apbtre , I , vers la fin) all yours.

REMARK . Each person is still alive ! Compare this : Telle qu’elle est ,

tout lomonde on raffole is crazy about D’abord papa, de qui ello fut

has always been toujours la préférée . (M . Prevost, Pierre et Tltérése, I ,

NOTE . In e .g. un brave homme,s’il en fut (

‘a good man ,

if ever there

s’il on fut is a se t phrase ;whe ther it expre sses a present perfec t

idea (if over such a man has existed), or a past absolute , doe s not matter.

(4) Occasionally we mee t a C formwhere we Should have expected

the pluperfect (Cp .p . or A 2p . but the group of eventsmay seem

virtually Simu ltaneous

Quand la porte fut fermée , et 4 As soon as th e door was [had

que les deux voitures partiront, been shut, and the two carriages

GROUP 0. S. 355

Gobseck so love , so mit adanser left [had left Gobseck rose , fell

(Balz ac,Gobseck , ed. by R . T . H . , p . to dancing

Q UERY . I f Quand and que are omitted,and ot is omitted or transferred ,

w hat results ?

399 .

‘Simple Past Subjunctive’: Group 0. S. 204—2 1 0,

I n eve ry case the four sets of endings for this group are clearly indicated by the corresponding se ts of group C or vice versa .

Thus parla indicates parlasse e tc .,or parlassions indicates the six

fo rms parlai—parleront .

a . (Type parlor -asso [as], -asses ,-at [a] (with -assions [asjo], -assioz

[asje ], -assent [as]. Example : j’aimasso e tc . See § 2o7and 398, a .

b. (Types finir, perdre , e tc.-isso [is], -isses, -it [i] (with -iasions

[isjo], -issiez [isje], -issont [is]. Example : jo perdisse e tc. 44 See

207 and 398, b.

NOTE . In some cases almost nothing of the stem is left : jo disso e tc .

(stem See the Note in 398, b.

c . (Types avoir, courir, etc .-usso [ys], -usses,

-fit [y] (with -nasions

[ysje], -ussiez [ysje ], -ussont [ys]. Example : jo resoluu e etc . Se e

207and 398, c.

N OTE . In some cases almost nothing of the stern remains : jo fusse e tc.

204, In eusse etc. o is silent. See the Note in 398, c .

d. (Type tenir or venir t- iusse [té zs] (or v-insso) : -inose , -insses,

-int

[c] (with -inssions -inssioz [e-

sje ], -inssont See 398, cl.1

1 '

La langue francaise e st en train de pe rdre l’imparfait du subjonctife t, du meme coup, 1e plus

-

que-

parfait [0. S . p . qui contient

un auxiliaire a l’imparfait [eusse , f u sse , Q uand ce tte évolution se ra

accomplie , il n’

y aura plus, an subjonc tif, que deux temps te nse s pour

corre spondre aux dix temps de l’

indicatif. Déja, dans la langue courante on

remplace constamment l’imparfait du subjonctif par lo présent e t lo

plus-

que-

parfait [e .g. ens-

sions dit] par le parfait [e .g. ay ons dit] .

.

‘Cc n

’

e st pas lo défaut d’

e uphonie qui rend peu agréable s le s forme s te lle s

que K je menasse , nous aimassions, vous chantassie z car un grand nombre

de mots nous oflrent, sans nous choque r, de s consonnance s semblables :

embrasse , menace, compassion cou r de cassation , embrassiez , cuirassier, e tc .

‘A ceux qui se raient tentés de nie r lo discrédit de l’imparfait du subjonctif,

la meilleure pre uve aon fournir e st de faire remarquer qu’il est devenu desa

greable aente ndre . S’il disparait, c

’e st qu

’

en somme il n ’e st guére utile . Le

356 GROUP A

NOTE on a—d . The required by-at

,-it , -fit , and - int has no phonetic

value : parlat sounds like parla, dirt like dut , e tc .

Q UERIES . How many different w ritten inflectional endings are th e re in

398—399 ? How manyplzonetically different forms ?

400.

‘Present Indicative ’ : Group A Even for the verbs

in -er, this group cannot always be formed off-hand I 58 , 1 60

,

1 62 , but the inflectional endings may be summariz ed for

several frequent type s, though these endings are some time s confused

with the stem

REMARK . The student willdo we ll to underscore whatever element occurs

in every part of the following typical groups. Every form should be pro

nounced care fully.

Group A . I fypical Formsf or tlze I ndicative

agir partir‘act

’ ‘

go away’

1 . agis l . pars 1 . recois

2. agis 2. pars 2. recois

3 . agit 3 . part 3 . recoit

4. agissons 4. partons 4. recevons

5 . agissez 5 . partez 5 . recevez

6 . agissent 6 . partent 6 . recoivent

224,

385 387

présent du subjonctif équivaut dejaaun futur ; il peut équivaloir a un impar

fait [B ] e t aun futur dans le passé [E ] sans plus d’

inconvénient . Je voulais

qu’il vienne le le ndemain » e st aussi Clair que je voulais qu

’il vint » . La

langue francaise no pe rdra aucune de se s qualités ace tte réduction de s temps

du subjonc tif, (Grammaire raison n ée ,

Ce que dit M . Clédat e st exact sauf dans ce rtains cas oiI le s de ux groupe s

de forme s subjonc tive s que possede le franqais parlé ne pe uve nt indique r

aucun temps précis sans le se cours de que lque forme non - subjonc tive .

Or, ce s cas sont nombre ux ; par conséque nt, e n parlant, il faut s‘viter ce rtaine s

constructions (par e xemple , Bien gu’z’

ls m’écrivissen t sou ven t, j e I ls

m’e'

crivaien t souven t, mais Voir la note au bas de la page 63, e t

204—2 10 . On voit que M . Clédat donne lo nom temps 1) aux f or mes sub

jonctive s plutOt qu’a leurs significations ou fonctions .

358 FREAKISH FORM S. INVERSIONS

NOTE 3. In general, even in many very irregular verbs, one form of

the living subjunctive group suflices to reveal all the rest.

NOTE 4. Verbs in -

yor 1 58) follow the type payer 419) or envoyer

eNOTE 5. Whe ther or not they belong to the type in

-

yer, verbs whose

stem ends in [wo or wa] change oi to oy before the stressed endings-ions

and - ioz . See , for example , croire asseoir and voir

So a few verbs that have ai, as traire

NOTE 6. Notwithstanding their 6, we find a half-Open o in syllables

preceding the stress ; so that 6 is half-open in cédions (cédons) and cédioz

(cédez ), and stillmore open before a compound consonant (cédorai [sedRe])or before 1 (as in périsse).

402. Freakish Forms . Whatever the verb, any form of groupsE—E (mourais—mouraient , mourus—moururent , mourrai—mourront ,mourrais—mourraient) always suffices to indicate the five others of the

same group ;also any form of group C indicates the whole simple

past subjunctive group, 0. S. (mourusse but group A (meurs ,mourons) may have peculiarities even in the -e r verbs (jette, jetons),and sometimes has truly freakish forms, as in aller

,avoir

,etre

,faire ,

etc. See 1 60, 1 62,1 67, 425, 426, 478 ;note 406.

REMARK . The present subjunctive group of such verbs (L . S.) is usuallymore regular but must often be given throughout, as in aller, avoir,

403 . I nversions in Groups A—E . Whether a given inversion in

groups A- E is both literary and colloquial, or pure ly literary, or ques

tionable , or not allowed under any circumstance s, depends largelyupon the caprices of usage ;however, several noteworthy principlesor tendencies can be stated :

0. Forms such as parlé- jo, for all verbs in -or 50,

b), and for some

others (as cueillé- je‘do I are not colloquial.

Certain other inversions of 1 A (especially of certain monosyllables) are

not even bookishly allowable . Thus coins- je (types in 2 16—2 19, 458)sounds like singe

‘monkey’

;mons-is (typeS‘

in 224, 435) sounds likemango, and bous- jo 436) sounds like bongo, etc . ; also cours-jo

nieurs-ia 167. Pars-ie 224. bats-ie and other

monosyllables (also certain forms that have two or more syllables) are

I NVERSIONS 359

banned or avoided. rtheless, in a few cases , inversion is frequent

and colloquial : ai-is suis-jo 42 , 426 ;but, if ambiguous, not

mis-1° from suivre . dis-ie doie-ie Puis-ie (5

sais- jo e tc. For de tails see the Summary (below) and 416—482 .

D. Afte r various adverbs or adverbial phrases, as apeine‘hardly,

’aussi

‘aecordingly,

’du moins ‘

at least,’encore

‘still,

’ ‘

ye t,’etc . ,

we find for I A

inversions that would not be tolerated in mere interrogation : Aussi sons- jo

nno profonde emotion So (Accordingly) I feel a deep emotion ,

’e tc .

Summary List of Questionable Inversions (Group A). In group A , the

following forms either are not used interrogatively, or are highly bookishor rare , or are allowed only in certain locutions . As opinions differ, some

of these forms are followed by those that may occur af ter an adverb,

by those that probably never occur, by The Sign questions

the sign preceding it. For all the verbs here involved (mostly typical in

respect to inversion) see 483. Examples :

agis-je acquiers

-je vais-je assieds-je assois-j e bats -jebénis-je finis-je etc. bois-je bous- je ceins-je clos-je

conduis-je connais- je couds-je cours-je crains- je

crois-je crois-je cuis-je dégois- je déchois-je desoends -je

dois-je dors-je écris-je fais-je feins-je fends-je

finis-je (as above), fonds-je fuis-je geins-je hais-je joins-je

lis-je mens-je me ts-je mords-je mouds-je meurs-jemeus-je nuis-je parais

-je pars- je peins

-je pends- je

perds-je plains

-je plais-je peux

-je prendsrje recois-je

rends-je répands- je repens

-je résous-je ris-je

romps-je sens-je se rs-je sors-je suis-je f rom suivre

tais-je teins- je tends-je tiens-je tonds-je tords- je

vaina —je (l) but vins-je vaux-je vends-je viens-je vets-je

bu t vais-je is allow ed , vis- je f rom vivre vois-je and que

vois-je veux-je etc.

NOTE . In case of doubt, use est-co que or a rising inflection .

c. The types aime-t-ii (aime-t-ou , aime-t-ollo), va-t-il, e tc . , are colloquial

but vainc-on (vainc- ii, vainc-ollo), like vaincs- jo, is banned, and ii

vainc un [il vé é ], without [k]. Note that cofito-t-il [kutotil], and.

that

vendent-ils [vd zdatil], while pa tent-ils [paRtotil] ; these three examples

are typical.

360 IMPERATIVE FORM S . PAST PARTICI PLES

d . In group C inversion is necessarily bookish but occurs fre elyin all forms, with a t-glide in 3 C : parla

-t-il e tc .

e . In groups B , D , and E all fortns may be inverted freely in all styles ,

though est-os que (je disais, jo dirai, etc .) represents a frequent type .

f . In questions, whatever the ve rb, e st-cc que (hardly more than an

audible initial enables the speaker or writer to avoid ill-sounding or

otherwise undesirable inversions, and is commonly used in any question

that may be answered with oui or non

g. Inversions usually result in a phonetic change ; compare jo dis

with dis-jo [diz3], jo dirai [o] with dirai-jo on chante with

chante-t-on etc. , or on hat [5 bu] with bat-ii [batil].

404. Imperative Forms . In nearly all verbs (but note the type

parlo-s ; 1 94, a), these forms are identical with the corre sponding

present indicative forms (less ambiguously, with the corresponding

forms of group A).

Five , even six forms may be called imperative ;but the first and third

singular (que jo m’on aillo, qu

’olle s

’on aillo) and the third plural, if in

cluded, are always subjunctive , whether concealed (qu’ila lo chantent) or

expressed by a Special form (qu’elles s

’on aillent), must generally

'

be pre

ceded by quo, and are hortative rather than imperative . See 194—196,

200, 202 , 2 13.

On the infinitive as an imperative see 250, j :

a . Five ,verbs (avoir, étro, pouvoir, savoir, and vouloir) use the subjunc

tive imperatively or hortatively. Se e 202 .

b. Only when the verb is subjunctive (obvious or concealed) is the sub

ject, if je , tu, etc. (eight forms : je—ils), expressed : pars , partons, partez .

See 194—202.

NOTE . The forms vois-tu and voyez -vous, used parenthetically, survive

from-a period when the subject of an imperative was occasionally expressed.

c. A few verbs have no imperative ; for example , valoir

405 . Past Participles : th eir Forms (Cf. 265 All forms

that do not add 6, i, or u to a stem 39 1 ) are called strong forms.

Thus fait-o (from faire, 478) is a strong form. Weak forms, far

362 How To USE THE TABLES

This is a mistake , but a‘mistake ’

which can often be found in Old F rench

literature of many kinds , both in prose and in verse (fait for faito or faites

or faits).

REMARK 6. The difliculties considered above are like those considered

in $5339:

406 . How to Identify I rregular or Freakish Forms . When the

source of any odd form is not obvious, its first letter or le tters willoften indicate the verb to which it be longs. Thus fis hints at an

irregular verbbeginning with f , and plut suggests a verb beginning

with pl. AS the number of simple verbs that have very irregular or

freakish forms hardly exceeds seventy, ,

the search need not last long.

See the list of prefixes and of verbs in 483.

Wholly freakish forms, as va or vont (from aller), cannot be foundthus, and must be looked for in the F rench-English Vocabulary or

among the forms in italics in the Special Index

407. Completeness . I f considered in connection with 38 2—408,

our tables 414, 41 6—483) contain

,we hOpe , no obscure instruc

tions for completing abbreviated forms or groups . To give in fullall the possible forms and sounds of any verbwould be far beyondour Scope .

408 . Abbreviations . All forms whose names are neither uncertain

nor confusing are designated by obvious abbreviations, as in a (justbe low) otherwise capital letters are used

, as in b(just be low).

a . Abbreviated Names . I nf . Infinitive . Ger. Gerund. P r . part.

Present participle . Vbl. adj . Verbal adjective . Impv . Imperative.

P .p . Past participle .

NOTE . Although the name ‘

past participle’ is generally inaccurate as a

description of functions p .p . is not only a universally accepted but

a clear and simple identifier of forms .

b. Single Identifying Letters . The letters A , B , C, D , E ,designate

the five six~form verb-

groups respectively identified by, say , suis—sont

(group A ), avais—avaient (group B ), parlai—parleront (group C), aimeraiaimeront (group D), finirais—finiraiont (group E ). L . S . (Living Subjunctive) stands for the group of forms exemplified by sols - scient , e tc . ;

FORMS AND USES OF VERBS 363

(Obsolete or Obsolescent Subjunctive), for the group exemplified by fussefussont , e tc . , whatever the verbor its endings .

Compound forms are designated by A p .p . , B p .p . , e tc . , thus : jo suis

venu 1 A p .p . of venir, whatever the tense -value may be , and vous auriez

parlo 5 E p .p . of parlor, whatever the tense-value ormodal value may be .

See pages xiv- xv and 6 1,65, 72 , 103, 107- 1 1 2 , and 2 10.

NOTE . 1 jo ; 2 tn ; 3 ii, elle , on, e tc. ; 4 nous (nous autres);

5 vous (vous autres);6 ils, elles , etc. Hence 3 E of falloir 470) is

ii faudrait , and nous avions parlois 4B p .p . of parlor. I A and I C of

dire 474) happen to give the same form (je dis‘I say

’or

‘I

409 . Sounds . 1 —32 concern all the verbs in 35—38 1 and

414—482 ; however, the pronunciation of certain guiding formsis usually indicated. Variant pronunciations, due to shifts of stre ss,

to inversion, to linking, etc . , are phonetically consistent and can be

included only in a few typical cases (as, e .g. ,in 423 , 425,

REMARK. In learning the verbs or any other forms of a language whose

sounds are known , the ear should be trained not less than the eye . See

413. Hearing'

and sight have each their particular kind of memory, and

the two kinds combined are more than twice as retentive as is either alone .

410. Forms . The formation of the F rench verbs is treated in

de tail in 384—482 . I f these statements are mastered, it should be

easy to complete any group not given in full. See also Verbs

in the Index .

411 . Syntax . The necessity of choosing between.je m

’assieds and

je m’assois 462) raises a question of forms 41 0) - or of style .

That the object of plaire 476) must follow A or be a pure dative

(leur plaire, hence plaire 21 tons) and precede or follow ; that venir

parlormeans one thing, while venir do parler means another, and

venir h parlermeans still another happen to speak are questions

of syntax : how a given form is to be used, what construction is

required. See 1 and 383, also‘V erbs in the Index .

412. Meanings . A given formmay be capable of various mean

ings besides the constant meaning, or meanings, expressed by its

stem M eanings characteristic of particular moods or tenses

364 HOW To STUDY CONJUGATIONS

(commonly indicated by the inflectional ending ; or, if not, by th e

context) have be en studied in de tail . See especially 40,examples ;

59—60, 6 1 , a ; 62—63 , 65, 67, 71 , 76, 84, 86

—89 , 9 1— 1 02 ,

1 04— 1 1 2 , 1 63— 1 69 , 1 87, 1 94

— 1 96, 202,205, 209 2 1 8—2 23 ,

2 26—253, 255—257, 260

— 263 , 265, 267, 274— 278 ; also 383 .

413 . Exercises . Like all other forms, verbs shou ld be learned in

some way that will enable one to understand immediate ly a give n

form or be able to use the right form readily in a given reasonablecontext. Jo tire, tu tires, 11 tire (or some times j e tire, tu tires , 17tire I)is mere ly a classroom formula (however convenient and useful fo rverifying) or a joke . Natural groups (as Y vas- tu and J

’

y vois)may be both simple and brief.

REMARKS . (a) Paradigms exist for re ference , not to be learned by rote .

(b) To‘know ’

a verb is to be able to write or pronounce any form of it ,

instantaneously, correctly in some natural combination . (c) Almos t

anyone can learn to say j’aime , tn aimos , etc . without many serious errors ;

Les aimez -vous Non, nous les détestons makes the exercise more diffi

cult but more useful. (d ) Skill can be attained by conjugating naturally ,

with proclitic and enclitic subjects and objects 278—28 1 , 283- 285, 289 ,

29 1—295, 299

- 302 , before consonants and vowels with or

without negatives 365—38 1 with inversions in groups requiring

subjunctives 204- 238) or infinitives 239—2 e tc . (e) The prin 1

ciples of verb-formation can be studied interestingly and instructively by

making comparative tables for example , in order to discover wherein

coudro 449) differs from moudro how a whole group of forms

may change their sounds if inverted, etc. (f ) The verbs that are used

most should be learned first.

414. Tables 41 6—48 2 , also § 4oo). Our tables include the

most frequent forms of conjugation , presented as important types

they do not Show how every verb in the F rench languageshould be written a nd pronounced.

415 . Indices . An alphabetical list of verbs, containing infinitives

and odd forms (in italics), follows 482. See also the General Index

(99 473 under‘

Verbs,’

366 LIV ING TYPES IN —ER ,

—111 . S’

AGI R

421 . Voiller‘lie awake ’

etc. ,typifying numerous verbs in

-illor [j e] , follows exactly,as written,

the type parlor I n

D and E ,veillerai etc.

°

On veillions and veilliez see

§ 397, Note 2 . Cf. 41 9 and 420.

422. For the types commencer (with 9) and manger (with go for

see 1 60 ; for the types mener , jeter, appeler, cédor, and rover

see I 62 . Eponssetor [epuste] dust’

(commonly written éponster),and (so) décolleter [dekolte] wear (put on) s low-necked gown,

’are

pronounced throughout, colloquially, as if their infinitive s were regu

larly éponster and décoltor (cf. 1 62 , e). For the type s aller and

envoyer See 428 and 429.

423 . The Type finir, Exemplifying many Verbswith -iss Finir

[finizR] ,‘

finish ,’is completely regular H ere (cf. 1 3 1

—1 32

and 206—207) some of its finite non-subjunctive forms are giveninverted .

lmpv . as in A finis , finissoz (also finissons). See

A huis- jo [finizg] finis-tu [finity], finit-on [finitfi], e tc .

B : finissais- jo [finisezg] e tc . C : finis- jo e tc . 398 , b, 403, a- b)L . 5 . (never inverted) : jo finisso e tc . (never inve rted) : ia

finisso etc . 399, b).

NOTE . I A (je huis), exemplifying many verbs in -ir (with - iss seldom

becomes finis-jo in colloquial interrogation (cf. 403, a—b).

Q UERY . In which forms of groups A—E does inversion

,or linking,

produce marked phonetic changes ?

424. The Type 11 s’agit 1 32 , d, and Meaning

‘

(to) act,’agir (intr.) lacks the forms agio and agies As

an impe rsonal and pure ly reflexive ve rb,it occurs only with so. See

427. a

a. Vorbes pronominaux . Whether pure ly reflexive (as s’agir) or

pure ly reciprocal (as so chamaillor wrangle verbs that cannot

be used without so (me etc .) are called by F rench grammarians

pronominal verbs.

’

THE DEAD CONJUGATIONS. A VOIR 367

N OTE . I t IS important to distinguish be tween purely reflexive (or purelyreciprocal) verbs and verbs that may occur without so e tc . Like s

’agir

(impersonal), ss’onfnir 4 for example , 1s

‘

pronominal,’whereas battre

444) is only incidentally pronominal .

Q UERY . How many forms has s’agir less than hnit

I he D ead Conj ugations 3 87)NOTE . Compound tense -forms prope rly must include those formed with

venir do infinitive 482 , Remark) and with no faire que do infinitive

247, i), and certain other groups which express special differentiations

of past activities or past states . The groups habitually used to supplement

th e simple forms (groups A—E

, L . and 0. including the types ayant

parle having spoken ,

’étant venu having Come ,

’s’étant chamaillés having

wrangled,’apres s

’étro pardonné‘after forgiving each other,

’e tc .) are

formed with avoir and étre. Hence these two verbs are given here . As a

type , avoir most closely resembles savoir etre is an isolated type .

425 . Avoir‘have , get,

’etc. (See 1 08

,1 1 0, 202

,a,

and 204, also Index , under avoir.) A good many of the inflectional

endings of avoir are not clear, having become confused with the stem

or stems 39 1 The original stem,av (Latin habZ re abEre

ae e), appears only in group B (avais e tc . ) and in 4 5 A (avons

and avez).

In D and E we find an (formerly av); see 84, 9 1 , 394. In

L . S. 202,a,and 204) we find ai [o] and ay [oj]. In C and

398 , c, and 399 , c), all that remains of av is a silent o (ou instead

of u and euss instead of uss likewise on p .p .) instead of n ;

compare on [y]‘had

’with vu [vy]

‘seen

,

’and see 405. On ai- jo

see 403, a . As to the general character of avoir see 402—406 .

Q UERI ES. What value has y in'

ayant 27, Remarks, Whatinflectional endings are concealed by yons in ayons and yoz in ayez ? How

much of habent (the earliest known form of out) remains in out ?

NOTE 1 . An archaic form,with archaic syntax (of. 260

,c—d ), is exem

plified by the legal term les ayants cause (or les ayants droit) meaning‘assigns

’: ses héritiors ot ayant cause his heirs and assigns, a purely

graphic variant (omitting the silent s) quoted from the Code Civil (Sirey,1 1 20 , N0 other verb-formin -ant can be modified by an adjective

368 ETRE . AUX ILIARY VERBS

(here les and ses)and at the same time have a complement ;we could not saye .g. les fuyants danger for ceux qui fuient lo danger, e tc . See 260

,b—d .

NOTE 2 . All the forms of avoir should be reviewed (written out in fu ll,

with all allowable inversions , and pronounced). Whe re possible , unde r

score inflectional endings For auxiliary uses of avoir see 72 ,

103, 1 10, and 427.

426 . Etro [e ztR] ,‘

be ,’but as an auxiliary usually

‘

have’

(see 73 ,

1 1 2,and AS to stems and endings see 84, 9 1 , 39 1

—39 2 ,

394(Note 397, 398 , c, 399 , c, and 400—402 . For all groups A

—E

see 1 09 ; for L . S. and see 202 , c, and 204. On étant se e

395. See also 402—406 and 408 .

NOTE 1 . In group A (hero suis—sont) no other verb has a form like

sommes ; in all other verbs 4A ends in -ons . See 402 and 406.

NOTE 2 . In group A , besides étre , only dire 474) and faire

with dites (5A ) and faites (5A ), have forms resembling étos . All oth e r

verbs have -oz for 5 A .

NOTE 3. For 6 A only avoir with out 42 aller with vont

and faire with font 478) have forms comparable with'

sont . All othe r

verbs have -ont , silent, or if linked .

NOTE 4. For group L . 5 . 204) the forms (je) soye (tn) scyes ,

(on) soyo, with soyont for soient, belong to folk-spe ech or are

dialectal (patois).

NOTE 5. In group C (particularly) etre may be used instead of alle r .

Ex . : Jo fns les voir‘I went to see them.

’Similarly I

’ve been to town .

’

NOTE 6. All the forms of étre (including all possible inverted forms )should be written out in full and pronounced , by way of review.

427. Avoir and étre as Aux iliary Verbs . The tense-values of nearlyall verbs may be approximate ly doubled in number by using avoir o r

etre as an auxiliary verb 6 1 , 72—73 , 87, 92 , 1 03 , 1 1 0 Th e

compound forms (as j’ai parlé or je suis venu) can be clearly and

briefly identified by A p .p .,B p .p .

, L . S. p .p .

,etc . Thus, fo r

example , nous serions venus (‘we shou ld have come ’

) 4E p .p .

of venir .

REMARK . This abbreviation stands for what is often called‘the first

person plural of the compound (or past) conditional’

(or of the past

future See § 408 .

370 THE AUXILIARY A VOI R OR Ems:

c. Avoir descendu-e as a Type . Used transitive ly , the past participles of the following verbs. (as exemplified) are necessarily preceded

by avoir

I I a entré cette factnro (dans 1 He (has) entered (recorded) that

son livre). bill (in his book).

Nous avions rentré lo bib. 2 We had got in the wheat.

On a descendu (monté) toutes 3 They’ve brought down (up) all

our trunks.

Elle avait descendu (monté) 4 She had come down (gone up)l’oscalior. the stairway.

Il los avait sorties d’un tiroir. He had taken them (got them)out of a drawe r.

NOTES . Chiefly in plebeian or in dialec speech , avoir monté and

avoir descendumay occur intransitively in many circumstances. In standard

F rench avoir replaces etre in certain locutions : Lo prix du cuivro a monté‘The price of copper has gone up.

’Etc .

d. Avoir or étre Past Participle . Some distinguishing examples

J’y ai demouré vingt ans . 1 I lived there twenty years.

B ut Elle ost domenréo indécise . She remained wavering.

Son secret lui a échappé .

1 His secrethasgotawayfromhim.

Co point lui avait échappé . That point had escaped him.

B ut Co bon mot lui est échappé . That witticism (of his, of hers)1 was not intentional.

Cola a passé dans l’histoiro. 6 That has passed into history.

But Tout cola est passé . 7 All that is past (over).

En trois jours, ello avait vieilli. 8 In three days, she had grown old.

But Elle était vieillio. 9 She looked old.

NOTES . In example 3, 11 implies that the subject had constantly tried to

keep his secret ; cf. example 5. In some cases such distinctions merelysplit hairs, as e .g. in I I a (or est) échappé do prison.

2

01

15

00

10

e. Past Participles as Pure Adjectives . The auxiliary must be etre .

Example : Sont-ils divorces Are they divorced ?’

1 Cf. E . C . Armstrong, Sy n tax of the F rench Verb, 1 1 - 13.

3 Se e th e D ietionnaz’

re général under ochappor, also under democrat.doscendro, e tc.

DEAD TYPES IN —E 11’ ; I N—1R WITH —155 371

f . The Type 21 lui comm-e known to him.

’ F rench require s a

‘

prepositional dative’

280, b), and the order exemplified, wheneversome who lly different construction is not used .

428 . Aller [ale] ,‘

go ,’despite B , C, (allais, allasse , and

p .p . (ello-s), be longs mainly to the dead conjugations 387) andhas freakish forms Aux . always etre All forms

except L . S., 0. S.

, and vbl. adj . in 1 63. See 408 .

L . 5 . sills [o zj], ailles, aillo, allions [alj5], alliez , aillent .

allasso etc. See 399 , a .

N OTE . The verbal adjective of aller occurs in a few locutions : étro

(fort) allant-o be (verymuch) on the go,

’

(les) allsnts ot venants‘

(the)

people going and coming,’

passe rs-by.

’

429 . Envoyer send.

’A living type , except in D and E

384, 387, All forms, except L . S. and 0. S. ,in 1 64.

See 408 .

L .S . envoie , envoies , envoie , envoyions 41 envoyiez , envoient .

envoyasse e tc. See 399, a ,and 428.

REMARK . No other verbs in the dead conjugations have -er and o s .

430. Bénir‘bless,

’has pre served the oldest form of its

p p . in a few se t phrases : pain bénit consecrated bread,’oau bonito

‘ho ly water,

’e tc. otherwise it is like finir 1 32 , 200,

REMARK . Boni-o is a participle (seldom adjectival);bénit-s and bonito-s

(pl. rare) are pure adjectives .

431 . Fleurir meaning literally‘bloom,

’is comple te ly

regular like finir 1 32 , 200, un pro flourissant‘a

flowering meadow’

;moaning‘

flourish,

’ ‘

thrive ,’it has florissais [flo

Riso] etc . in B , and the vbl. adj . florissant-o : une industrio florissanto.

See 39 1 , 402 . Aux . avoirs

432. Hair [ai:R;occasionally hai:R], hate ,’with aspirate h through

out (5 has in A jo hais (avoid hais-je), tn hais

il (ello, on) halt otherwise like finir 1 32 , 200,

Examples : tu la halo and tu lo hais.

372 DEAD TYPES IN —IR —] RE )

433 . Mandiro .

‘

curse,

’is like finir 1 32 , 200,

except in its inf and p .p . (maudit-o), where it is like direCf. 430 .

434. Ou r [wi:R or uizR] ,‘

hear,

’in the only forms still used (cum

and 0111) is archaic (usually jocular). Ex . J’ai oui dire I have

heard te ll (say) Note un oui-dire‘

a hearsay’as colloquial.

REMARK . The Supreme Court at Washington is opened with the cry

Oyoz l oyoz l (‘Hear ! pronounced in America in England

a relic of the Anglo-Norman spoken until the seventeenth century

in the English law-courts . In England and in the United States there are

courts of Oyer and Terminer.

435 . Partir [paRtizR] ,‘

go away, depart .’Aux . etre (5427, b).

All forms of this typical verb in 2 24—2 25. Cf. 437, A . Form

1 A (e .g. jo pars) is se ldom if ever inverted (pars- jo in this type

NOTE . Assorvir‘enslave ,

’assortir

‘assort,

’ ‘match,

’répartir (not

ropartir) distribute ,’and rossortir (A)

‘be within the jurisdiction are

like huir 132 , 200,

436 . Bouillir‘

boil. ’ M ostly intr. aux . avoir. See

2 25, g , 403 , a—b

,and note

L . S . 3 bouillo [bu zj] ;6 bouillent ; forms 1,2, 4, and 5 are rare . See

397, Note 2 .

REMARKS . The only frequent forms are (faire) bouillir, (on) bouillant ,bouillant-e , bout (3 A ), bouillo (3 L . bouillait (3 B ), bouillira (3 D ),

bouillirait (3 E ), and bouilli-e . The water has boiled’

L’oau a bouilli;‘boiled water

’can bouillie . In eve ryday F rench , jo fais bouillir etc . are

the usual equivalents of‘I boil

’e tc . object .

437. Courir‘

run ,hurry,

’

resembles monrirAux . avoir ; sometime s tr . Stem-vowe l on or On inver

sions see 403, a—b.

P r . part . courant Vbl . adj . courant-o ] mpv . as in

A conrs , courons , courez . P .p . couru (tr . couru-e).

A is conrs [kuza], no cours- je , tu cours , ii court (with court-ii [kuntil],but court avec 4—6 A : courons [kn

-Re], couroz , content

DEAl) TYPES I N —] R

441 . Cneillir‘

pluck’e tc .

,is like veiller 42 1 ) in A , B ,

D , E , L . pr . part ,and impv. 395

—397, 402 P .p . :

cueilli-o 40

A : cueillo [koezj] e tc . B : cueillais e tc . 397, Note C

cueillis e tc . 398 , b). D : cueillorai e tc . (note o in -erai; cf .

394, E : cueillorais e tc . L . S . cueille e tc . cueillisso

e tc . 399 , b).

a. So accueillir‘welcome ’

and rocuoillir‘

gather.

’

b. Assaillir‘assail

’and trossaillir ‘

give a start’

(fbe startled’

) have i

(not o) in groups D ,E : assaillirai, assaillirais, e tc . ; elsewh ere they are

like cueillir.

442. Faillir,

‘fail

,err, go wrong,

’etc .

,re lated to falloir 470,

b),is rare in

'

all forms ; those containing fan are obso lete . When used,

faillir is like assaillir 441 , b).

NOTE 1 . The dead forms of faillir are for A fanx ,fant ; for D and

E faudrai etc . So in défaillir 442 , a). However, Lo ce nt mo faut (i.e .

mo manque) My courage fails me ,’dative pronoun ,

is a living archaism.

See § 402 .

NOTE 2 . M eaning‘fail

’in business , faillir is like finir but the

normal expression is faire faillite .

NOTE 3. Colloquially, J’ai manqué do tombor (

‘I came near falling

’

)would replace J

’ai failli tombor, which echoes the impressive saying of

Louis XIV : J’ai failli attendre ,

‘I almost waited ,

’ ‘I came near having

to wait. ’

a. Défaillir‘

grow faint’etc . hardly occurs save in so sontir défaillir

with me , to, etc. and in défaillant-e . The forms jo défaillo, tn défsillos,

and ii défaille (forA ) are called barbarous dotaux,défant , défandrai, etc.

are obsole te or very rare . Cf. faillir (above).

443 . Acquérir [akeRizn or nearly aksRizn] , acquire’etc .

, derives D

and E from the obs. inf acquerre (cf. courir, 43 in A and L. S.

the stem varies according to stress (cf. monrir, 5 and unstressed

has [5] (before r) rather than [e] . Se e 402—406, 408 .

Pr . part . acquérant . No vbl. adj . Impv . as in A P .ps cquis

-o 40

DEAD TYPES IN - T11’E ,

—DRE 375

A j’acquiors [akjozR] (as to acquiors-is see 403, a - b), tn acqniors , -il

scqniort ;4—6 A acquérons , acquéroz , acqnioront. B acqnérais [akeRe]e tc . (cf . E ). C : acquis etc. 398 , b). D : acquerrai [akeRRe ] e tc.

E acquerrais [akt-ZRRC] e tc. (cf. B ). L . S . acquiero [akjczn], acqnioros ,

acquiero, acquérions 39 1 , b), acquérioz , acquioront (cf. A , and

acquisso e tc . 399, b).

a . So conquérir‘conquer

’

(with conquérant-o : William the Conqueror

Guillaume lo Conquérant);also s’onquérir do

‘inquire as to (formal), and

reqnérir (rare) require ,’

requisition (requisitionner).

b. Qnérir [keRizn or nearly kenizR] (not querir)‘soek

’occurs only in

aller quérir fe tch ,’and the like .

444. Battre [batR] , beat’

(with [u] in bats and bat ; e lsewhere [a]is like vendre 44 but two groups require Special attention

(cf . 447)A je bats [bu ] (as to bats-is see § 4o3, a—b), tn bats [bu], on bat [bu ]

(bat- ii [batil] is possible , but note that bat-on sounds like battons), vous

battoz , battent- ils [bataril]. L . S . batto etc . See 394- 397,

398 1 b: 399 1 51 402- 4051 408

N OTES. The tt of battre and of mettre [t] might well be t ; in two

forms (bats, bat) one 1: is dropped (cf. mettre , So battre usually

means simply‘figh t

’

(with , avec).

a . Tissn-o [tisy]‘woven be longs to the obs . in] : tistro (which became

titre ), replaced by tissor 384, tissu-o is common 40

445 . Vendre‘

se ll ’ 1 89 typifies about fifty verbs

that are in common use , including about thirty-seven derivative s

(e .g. fondro‘me lt ’ and confondre

‘

confuse of forms without pre

fixes there are about thirteen (for descendre come (go) down ,

’

alight,’

th ere is no simple form). The inversion of 1 A (e .g. descends-do or

romps- jo or vends-is, e tc .) is very rare in this type , especially in

interrogation 403 , a—b). See 408 .

REMARK . Vendre is said to belong to the Fourth Conjugation 387, a)and to be

‘regular,

’though its stem-vowe l [a] varies in length 389,

and though in group A it has vend instead of vondt (cf . rompt , from

rompre ; 39 1 . 402)

376 DEAD TYPES IN CONSONANT—iPE

Pr .part . vondant No vbl. aaj : but note , for example ,mordant-e ‘

biting .

’Impv . as in A P .p . vendu-o 405)

F or groups A—E see § 190 . L . 5 . : vendo [vu:d] e tc . 206

,

vendisse e tc . 399, b).

0. Similar verbs which have no prefix : battre fondro‘split ,

’

fondre me lt,’ mordro ‘

bite ,’

pendro‘hang,

’

perdre‘lose ,

’

pondro‘

lay

rendre‘

give back’e tc . , rompre

‘break,

’sourdre (defective)

‘spring

up,’tendro stre tch ,

’

and tondre‘shear .

’

b. De rivatives : abattro‘beat down ,

’ ‘fell,

’attendre

‘wait,

’ ‘await,

’

condescendro‘condescend,

’so morfondre ‘

ge t chills,’waste time ,

’e tc .

446 . Vaincre [vés ],‘

overcome ,

’is like vendre but has

qu [k] be fore e 1 a,and 0. I ts c is [k] in vaincu-o p . Stem (as

written) : vainc or vaingu The inverted forms vaincs- jo

(I A) and vainc- il (also vainc-e llo and vainc-on) are avoided ;vainc

un is [v5 do] , not See 403 , a- b.

A : is vaincs [vs], tu vaincs [ve], on vainc [vs] ;4—6 A vainquons

[vék b], vainquo: [voke ], vainquent [vezk], possibly vainquent-ils [vezktil].B : vainquais e tc . C : vainquis e tc . 398 , b). D : vaincrai etc.

E : vaincrais e tc . L . S . vainque e tc .

vainquisse etc . 399, b).

0. Likewise convaincre ‘convince .

’Note convaincant-o (adj .)

‘convincing.

’

447. Mettre [metR] ,‘

put’e tc .

,is like battre 444) except in C,

0. S. ,and mis-o p .p .)

P r . part . mettant . No vbl. adj . (but note compromettant-o‘compr

‘

o

[ mpv . as in A mots [s], mettons , mettoz P .p . mis-o

A : jo mots e tc . ; see battre . Mots-is does not occur interrogatively

403, a—b). B : see battre . C : mis e tc . 398, b). D and E : see battre.

L . 5 . see battre . misso e tc . 399 , b).

a. So all derivatives, as compromettre‘compromise ,

’

promettre‘

prom1

Ise , e tc .

448 . Prendre [d zdR],‘

take ’e tc .

,is less like rendre or vendre

445) than like mettre See 394—397, 402

—408 . On

pronds- jo see 403, a

—b.

378 DEAD TYPES IN - O[ I 1’E (mm), —A [ RE

a. Absondro‘absolve , acquit,

’e tc . ,

has A ,B ,D

,E

, L .

pr .part ,and impv . like résoudre ;C and are lacking. P .p . absent-e

40 Adj . absolu-o absolute .

’

b. Dissoudre [disuzdR] dissolve’

(with so dissoudre) is conjugated likesbsondro. Adj . dissolu-o dissolute .

’

452. Boire [bwazR] ,‘drink

,

’has features in common with croire

453) and devoir Stems : boi, boiv ,buv Save in

D and E ,bdv occurs wherever the stem is not stressed ;but se e p .p .

Pr .part . buvant . No vbl. adj . (note papier buvard , or simply buvard ,‘blotting paper,

’ ‘blotter Impv . as in A P .p . bu-e 40

A jo bois [bwa] (as to bois-is [bw‘

azg] see § 403, a—b), tu bois , on boit ,nous buvons [y

r

], vous buvoz , elles boivent [bwazv]. B buvais e tc . C

bns e tc . 399, c). D : boirai e tc . E .j boirais e tc . L . 5 . boive ,

boives , boive [bwazv], buvions buviez , boivent [bwazv ] (cf . A ).

busso etc . 399, c).

453 . Croire [k q ] ,‘

be lieve .

’Cf. boire 452) and voir

Pr .part . croyant . Vbl. adj . croyant-e 395 Impv . as in A

crois , croyons, croyez P .p . crn-o 404, 460,d ).

A is crois [k u ] (as to crois- jo [k u z3] see § 403, a—b), tu crois , on

croft, nous croyons 400,Note), vous croyez , ils croient. B : croyais e tc .

397, Note C : crus e tc . 398 , b, 46o ,a’

, C ). D : croirai e tc . E

croirais etc . L . S . croie , croies , croie [k u], croyions , croyiez 397,

Note 2 , 400,Note), croient . crusso e tc . 399, c).

a. Accroire occurs only with faire Ex . : 11 leur fit accroire

He got them to believe’e tc .

b. Ponrvoir“

provide’ is conjugated precisely like croire . Hence je

pourvois , jo pourvoyais , je pourvus , je pourvoirai, e tc . See § 463, b.

454. Traire [tRezR] , milk ,’is like croire but lacks group C

65, and has trait-o

a. So distrairo‘amuse ’

and soustrairo‘subtract .

’

b. Brairo‘bray

’occurs only in its inf . and in 3 and 6

,as follows

A brait . [bRc], braient . D braira, brairont . E : brairait, brairaient.

Othe r forms, if found, should follow the style of traire .

REMARK . F ormerly, trairo and brairo did not belong to the same typeof conjugation as croire .

DEAD TYPES I N —[ RE ,

—] NDRE 379

455 . F riro [fRizR] ,‘

fry,’is defective ;its missing forms are supplied

by faire frire likewise , usually, its existing forms. See 408 .

N o p r . part . No vbl. adj . (see Note ). Impv . (rare) : fris . P .p frit-o.

A fris [fRi], no iris -je , fris , frit . D : frirai e tc . E : frlrais etc.

N OT E . From friant (lostpr .part .)we ge t friand dainty,’ ‘fond (of, do),

as o f lu x uries ;whence friande cf. gourmand-o .

456 . Fnir [fqizn],‘

flee ,’tr. or intr.

,is like croire 45 except in

C, 0 . S . ,and fui-e p . Stems : fui [fui] and (before the stressed

vow e ls a, o, e) fuy [fqij] , as in fuyant [fqijd], fuyais , fuyons , fuyez

(but fuit , fuio, fuirai,C : fnis etc. 39 1

—392 , 398 , b). fuisse e tc . 399, b).

a . So s’onfnir

‘flee

’

(as from prison). See 427, a .

457. Brnire [q izn], rustle ,’is defective and otherwise irregular.

P r . part . bruissant Vbl. adj . bruissant-o rustling

brnyant-e‘noisy

’: nno femme brnyanto 396 and 260, b). No impv .

N o p .p .

3 A bruit ;6A bruissant . B : bruissait , bruissaient. L . 5 . (very rare)

458 . Ceindro [Sé zdR] ,‘gird, ’

‘

put on’

(a be lt, a sword,‘surround,

’ ‘

wreathe ,’e tc. , typifies some thirty frequent verbs in

-aindre,

.

emdro,and -oindre

,including derivatives . See 2 1 6—2 19 ,

387, c. In verbs of this type , I A is perhaps neve r inverted in collo

quial interrogation , and se ldom otherwise 403 , a—b).

459 . Condnire‘

conduct, lead, drive’

(with reins), e tc .

(duit e no longer exists), typifies a small group in which cuiro,luiro

,

and nuiro are the only simple forms ; the stem has nis [qi'

z ] beforea, e , i, 0. See cuire (a).

a. Cniro [kqizx],‘bake , cook ,

’will save space and has one more form

cuisante . See 403, a—b, and 408 .

Pr . part . cuisant 39 Vbl. adj . cnisant—o ‘sharp,

’ ‘stinging

’

(as a

pain). Impv . P .p . cnit-o 40

A : is cnis [kqi] (as to cnis- jo see a—b), tn cuis , on cuit , nous

cuisons vous cnisoz , ello'

s cuisent [kqizz ]. B cuisais e tc. C

380 DEAD TYPES IN — U[ RE ,

—AfTRE

cuisis etc. 398 , b). D : cuirai e tc . E : cuirais etc . cniso e tc .

(5 cuisisse e tc . ,very rare 399, b).

b. So construiro construct,’ ‘build,

’dédnire deduce ,

’détruiro destroy ,

’

éconduire‘show out

’

(‘

ge t rid onduiro‘smear,

’ ‘coat,

’induiro

‘induce

’

(rare meaning),‘make an induction

’

(logic), introduire‘introduce

’

(bu t not

by naming, for which use présenter),‘bring in,

’ ‘le t in ,

’

produire‘

produce ,’

‘bring forth ,

’réduiro reduce ,

’séduiro soduce ,

’and traduire translate .

’

c. Lniro [lqizR],‘

glow , gleam’

(largely poe tical), is de fective

Pr .part . lnisant . Vbl . aaj . luisant-e . No impv . P .p . lui

3A luit ;6A luisent . B : luisait , luisaient . D luira, luiront. E

luirait , luiraient . L . S . luiso, luisent No C or

d. Reluiro‘shine

, glitter’

(not‘again is defective like lniro.

e . Nuiro (a)‘harm’

is like cuire except in nui,p .p . , necessarily invariable

405)

460. Connaitre [kbne ztR],‘know ,

’

hasA

where s has be en dropped

24, d), and in some forms of C and 0. S. (as have all other verbs).In connaitro, connaitrai, e tc .

,t is euphonic, a glide , as in etre , croitro,

e tc .,but not

,e .g.

,as in battre . Note where so occurs. Cf . naitro

(5 461 )Pr. part. connaissont . Vbl. aaj . in reconnaissant-o grate ful

’

Impv . as in A P .p . connu-o 40

A jo connais (as to connais-is see 403, a—b); 2—6A connais, con

nait [6] (note connaissons (note se), connaissoz , connaissont . B : con

naissais e tc . C : connus e tc . 398 , c). D : connaitrai [kdnc'tRe ] etc . E

connaitrais e tc . L . 5 . connaisse e tc . connusse e tc . 399, c).

Examples : Jo connais nu homme qui‘I know a man who ,

’whereas

Jo sais un homme qui‘I know of a man who

’

;Jo connais lo Francois‘I know the F renchman ,

’

whereas Jo sais lo frangais‘I know F rench .

’

Usage makes other distinctions, but in some cases either verbmay be used

with no marked difference . See the larger dictionaries, under connaitro

and savoir.

0. Like connaitro are conjugated apparaitro appear (upon the scene ;

aux . étro), paraitre‘appear

’

(upon the scene , or‘seem aux . avoir), dis

paraitro disappear (aux . avoir), méconnaitro overlook,

’slight,

’recon

as itro‘recogniz e ,

’e tc . ;also croitro (d ). Cf. naitro

382 TYPES ASSE OI R ,VOI R ,

0 150110111

us chairs, or invited us to be seated,’

and in asseoir qqch . sur (I I

fant asseoir cette hypothese our nno base solido You must se t that theoryon a firm or the like , asseoir is habitually reflexive : II s’assoit

He sits down ,

’I] s ’assoyait He was sitting down ,

’I ls s ’assiront They ,

sat down ,

’Elle s

’était assise 427, a)=‘She had sat down .

’Hence

s’assooir (m

’assooir, e tc .)

‘sit down

’seat whereas

‘sit,

’ ‘be

sitting,’ ‘be seated,

’ étro assis—o, as in Elles étaient assises pros do moi‘They were sitting (were seated) near me .

’

a. So (so) rasseoir‘sit down again .

’

b. Seoir (inf . very rare)g1ves seyant-e 396) becoming’

(l.o .

the p .p . sis-o‘situate ,

’ ‘situated

’

(as a town), and occurs in 3 and 6 of

A ,B

,D ,

E : Cette robe lui sied bien‘That dress becomes her well,

"Ces

vétomonts leur siéent [sjor]Amerveille . Also seyait, seyaient , siéra,siéront,

siérait , siéraient .

c. Surseoir (A),‘

put off,’ ‘defe r

’

(legal), nowadays mostly impe rsonal (I I

sera sursis A has only oi in D and E .

463. Voir [vwazR] ,‘see

,

’close ly resembles croire 453) in A , B ,

and L . 5 ; also in voyant voyant-o

‘

seer’ ‘

gaudy’

dos coulours voyantes (5 also in impv . and in

p .p . vn-o Cf. asseoir In C and it is precise lylike mettre 447) or asseoir vis

,vit

,e tc. In D and E it

has vorrai [VERe] e tc. Stems : voi [vwa] , voy [vwaj] (be forestressed vowe ls), and vi

,vor

,vu H ence

A is vois [vwa], vois-is [vwaz3], e tc . ,like A in § 453 ; 2—6 A vois,

voit, voyons , voyez , voient . B : voyais e tc. 397, Note C : vis e tc.

398 , b). D : vorrai etc . 394, Note I ). E : vorrais e tc . L . 5 . voio

[vwa] e tc . 40 1 , 397, Note visso e tc . 399, b).

a. So entrevoir‘see dimly, catch glimpses of,

’and revoir

‘see again,

’

‘revise

’

;but prévoir forese e’has prévoirai, prévoirais , e tc . ; cf. pourvoir.

b. Ponrvoir (do),‘

provide differs from voir in C pourvus etc .

398, c), in pourvusse e tc . 399, c), and in D—E pourvoirai etc.

Cf . prévoir in a,and se e § 453, b.

464. Déchoir [de jwazR] ,‘

fall in (into) decay’

and all the

following verbs in -oir,have n-endings in C and 0. S. 465

—47I ).

DEAD TYPES IN —01R 383

Déch u -o, p .p . (aux . usually etre), is frequent. Other forms given, but

rare, are

A,C, D , E , L . 5 .

, and as for croire No B . D : .déchorrai

[deSCRC] or (of late) déchoirai e tc . E : déch errais or déchoirais etc .

O n ly form 3 (déchoit e tc .) is at all likely to occur, but hardly 3 C (déchut)o r 3 L . 5 . and (déchoie , déchut). is particularly rare .

0 . Echoir ‘fall due has éch éant 395

—396)and échn-o (with étro);also

A échoit, échoient . B : échéait , échéaiont (cf. déchoir). C, D ,E

, L . 5 . ,

and as in déchoir.

b. Choir‘fall, succumb,

’

(archaic and usually jocular) has only choir

and chu-o 427, b).

465 . Devoir‘

owe’etc. See 1 87, 206—207, and

no te devant‘

owing,’

having to .

’Duss€~je [dyssz3] H ad I to

’236)

is pure ly bookish (cf. 50, Remark). For typo, cf. savoir (5

466 . Mouvoir [muvwazn] ,‘move ’

etc . All non-subjunctive forms

in

L . 5 . monvo monves , meuvo, mouvions mouviez , menvent1 68

,A

, 40 1 , musso e tc . 399, c).

467. Pleuvoir [ploevwazR] ,‘rain.

’Non -subjunctive forms in 1 69 .

L . S . plenvo [ploezv]. plfit [ply] . Stem-vowel always

468 . Pouvoir [puvwazn] ,‘

can’etc. Groups A

—E in 1 65. Stem

vowe ls : on ,on

,ui

,n See 387

—390, 402

—408 . D and E

(we might expect pouvoirai e tc .) are based on the primitive form

poe(i)r , pono(i)r ; whence pourrai [puRe , not puxRe] e tc . 394,

Notes); cf. D in 1 68 .

P r . part “ pouvant Vbl. adj . , puissant-e 260

,b, and §

MW 202 404) P -t : Pu (§ 405)L . puisso e tc . with puissé

-je [puisez may I (be able to)’

0. pnsso e tc . 399, c); pusao-jo (cf . dusso-je , § 465) is

very rare .

.469 . Savoir‘know

,know how to

,be aware

,

’etc. ;and

In certain forms,if they express instantaneous activity, savoir may

SA V01K. VALOIR

mean ‘ learn ,discover

’

(cf. 5 Note 11 n’en saurait étre de mérne

(10 Part 1 Stems : sai [se ratlzer titan se] , saw,an, sau ,each ;

cf. devoir See 387—390, 402 - 403, 406

—408 . Formation

in general : cf. avoir

Pr . part : sachant [sajc‘

i] 260,b,and Vbl. (my. . savant-e ,

‘learned,’ ‘

scholarly,’etc . 260

, b, and Impa : sache , sachons

[saS5], sachez (cf. 202 , and L . 5 . , be low ; also P .p . su-c

A je sais [usually se], sais-je as in Que sais- je 403, a—b),tn sais , sait-on [usually seto] ;4- 6 A savons, savez , savent [sazv ]. B .

savais [save] e tc . C ous e tc . 398, c). D saurai [sak e] e tc. (see Note 1 .

be low). E : saurais etc. L . S . sache , sach es, sache , sachions [sajo, or inmore or less self-conscious speed : sajijfi], sachiez [saje , or in more or less

selflcomcz'

ous speed : sajije ] (cf. sachent 0. S . susse e tc.

(5399. c).

NOTE I . Formerly savrai etc . 394, Notes); so av has become an in

aurai. Savoir comes from Latin sapére ;avoir from Itabére .

NOTE 2 . ] e no sache personne qui'I know of nobody who

Je ne sache pas que I am not aware that and like locutions (notcolloquial), seem to make 1 L S . indicative . See 2 13, j ;and 226

,4 ;

also 227, Remark.

470. Valoir [valwazn] , be worth e tc. , close ly resembles vouloir

47r). Stems : van [v0] , vaud , val, vaill [vazj] See 402 ,

Pr . part . valant . Vbl. d ay. vaillant-e valiant, able,

’e tc .

260,b,and Impv . never used ; one might say Tache do valoir

Endeavor to be worth’etc . , or the like P . valu-e 405)

Note , e .g . , Cela lui a valu d’étre élu president‘That has won him the

presidency,’or une famouse raclée a good licking,

’etc .

A je vaux [v0] (as to vaux- je see 403, a- b), tu vaux , vaut-e lle ;

4—6A valons, valez , valent . B : valais [vale] e tc. C value etc . 399 , c).

D : vaudrai [vo'dae ] e tc . (see Note). E vaudrais e tc . L . S .

vaille vailles , vaille , valions [valjo], valiez , vaillent (L S . has vaill

if the stem is stressed). valusse etc . 399,

NOTE . As in vouloir d is a glide between 1 and r (valrai,valdrai, vaudrai). Cf. moudre 450) from Latin molé’re, and see 460,first paragraph .

386 VOHL0m. ECR I RE ETC . SUI VRE . D IRE

L . S . (save as in veuille [veezj], veuilles , veuille , voulions [vuljo],vouliez , veuillent (cf. L . S . in 428, 438 , 443, 452 , 465, 466, and see

voulusse e tc. 399 , e).

NOTE. The forms van: and voulez occur as imperatives in Ne m’en

veux (voulez ) pas Don’t bear me a grudge .

’

472. ficrire [ekRizn] ,‘

write ,’re sembles dire but has v

before a,e,i,o (as in écrivant , écrive, écrivit , écrivons); cf. suivre

473)Pr .part . écrivant No '

z/bl. ady. P .15. écrit-e .

A . j’écris [ekRi] (as to écris- je se e § 4o3, a—b), tu écris , on écrit (in

1 3A no v);4- 6A . écrivons , écrives , écrivent [ekaizv .] B . écrivais etc.

C . écrivis etc . 398, b). écrirai etc . E . écrirais etc . L .S . .

écrive [ekkizv] etc . (5 0. écrivisse e tc . 399 , b).

a. So circonscrire‘circumscribe ,

’décrire

‘describe ,

’inscrire ‘inscribe ,

’

prescrire [préskaizs ] prescribe ,’

proscrire [proskaizs ] proscribe ,’récrire

‘rewrite ,

’souscrire [susknizn]

‘subscribe

’etc . , and transcrire [tafi

'

sknizk ]‘transcribe .

’

473 . Suivre [sqizvn] ,‘follow,

’close ly resembles écrire

Pr .part . suivant 39 Vbl. adj . suivant-e Imps} .

P .p . : suivi-e 40

A je suis [sui] (suis-is‘do I follow

’is avoided , but note suis-is

‘am

I’

; see 5403, a- b), tu suis, elle suit ; 4—6 A suivons , suivez , suivent

[sqizv]. B : suivais e tc . C : suivis etc . 398 , b). D : suivrai e tc .

E : suivrais e tc. L . S . suive [sqizv] e tc . 0. S . suivisse etc.

399, b)

474. Dire [dim] ,‘say, te ll,

’e tc. ,

is like lire except in 5 A

(dites), in C,in O. S.

, and in dit-e (cf. ln-e), p .p . Cf. 473.

Pr.part. disant 39 No vbl. adj . (cf. médisant-e‘sharp

-tongued,’

Impv . as in A P .p . dit-e (540

A is dis [di], dis- je [diz3] 403, a - b), tu dis , on dit ;4—6 A : disons

dites [dit], disent [dizz ]. B disais e tc . C : dis e tc. 398, b);cf

C in 443, 447, 448 , 462 , 463. D : (lirai e tc. E : dirais e tc. L . S . :

disc [dizz ] etc . (54e x). 0. S . disse e tc . 399, b).

NOTE . The odd form dites -

(not in 45 ) occurs elsewhere only in redire .

TYPES D IRE ,LIKE ,

PLA IRE . VI I/RE 387

a . Contredire ‘contradict,

’

dédire (usually as dédire )‘re tract,

’interdire

‘forbid,

’ médire (de)‘disparage ,

’

and prédire‘

predict,’have —disez (not

- dites) in 5 A .

b. Confire preserve , pickle ,’like contredire , hardly occurs in C or

0 . S . Sumt e ‘sufiice is like contredire , but has sum, p .p . (not suflit);

aux . avoir.

c. For mandire , tr. ,

‘curse ,

’see 5433.

475 . Lire [lizn] ,‘

read,’is like dire except in 5 A (lisez

dites,not disez), C, and ln-e

, p .p . (cf. dit-e). Lis- je is bookish .

C : 108 e tC (5398 , cf C in 437, 438, 450—453, 460, 464- 471 .

0. S . lusse e tc . 399, e).

a. So élire‘elect

’and relire

‘read again .

’

476 . Plaire [plaza] ,‘

please’

(lui plaire), has plais before

a,e,o (plaisant , plaise, plaisons);plu in C,

in 0. S. , and in p .p .

Pr .part. plaisant 39 Vbl. adj . plaisant-e

‘funny, odd

’

I mpv . as in A P .p . plu (aux . avoir) : Elles s’étaient plu (not

p lues)‘They had liked each other

’

428, a).A je plais [p18], no plais

- je , tu plais, il leur plait' [ple] (note

4—6 A plaisons plaisez , plaisent [plezz ]. B plaisais etc. C

p lus e tc . 398 , e). plairai [pls'

Re ] etc . E : plairais etc . (5L . S . plaise e tc . 0. S . plusse etc. 399, e).

a . So complaire‘humor ’

(a) with so complaire a‘delight in,

’and

déplaire‘displease

’

(a).

b. Taire [tent],‘cause to be silent

’

(usually faire taire qqn. and se talro‘be silent,

’ ‘become has no in tait (3 A ), and tu-e

, 15. is variable

40 otherwise taire is like plaire .

477. Vivre [vizvn]‘live ,

’is exactly like suivre 473) in itspr . part.

and bbl. adj . vivant -e 395 in its impv. vis,vivons

,vive:

also in groups A ,B

,D

,E ,

and L . S. but in C it has vécus

e tc . 398 , e); in O. S. ,vécusse e tc . 399 , e). These two groups,

with the p .p . vécu (occasionally variable , as in une histoire vécue a

story that has been [seemingly] lived give vivre a place between

388 FA IRE . R/RE

473 and 478 389-

39 2 , 397, 40 1 (Note 402

408 . Stems : vi,viv

,véc Aux . avoir .

NOTE . Qui vive (litre sur ls qui vive , or quivive , Be on the look

out’etc .)means

‘Who goes there ? ’ (Possible answer : Ami.) See 2 13, e .

a. So revivre‘live again and survivre (A)

‘survive .

’

478 . Fairs [fem] ,‘

do ,’ ‘make ,

’

e tc. ; causally,‘have

,

’ ‘make ,’

‘

ge t to ,’e tc . : Je ls ferai faire I shall have (get) it done

’

(‘cause

it to be e tc. 1 6 1 , Note 3 ; 244, a). Stems : fai, fais

fl, fe, fess , and note font for 6 A .

NOTE . See important idioms in 247, lz— z'

, 30 1 , b, 302 , b, and

5 378, Notes 1—3.

Pr .fiart . faisant [usually fsz d] 39 No'z/bl. but note bien

faisant-e‘kind,

’ ‘beneficial

’Impv . as in A P .p . fait-e .

A je fais [usually fe] (in some case s, fais-is [fez3] ; see § 403, a - b),tu fais [fa], on fait ;4—6A faisons [usually fszd], faites [fat], font [f5] ,font-ils B : faisais [usually faz e] e tc . C : fis e tc . 398 , b). D

ferai e tc . 394, Note E : ferais e tc . L . S . fasse etc .

0. S . fisse e tc . 399 , b).

a . So contrefaire‘imitate ,

’counterfeit,

’défaire undo

,

’ méfaire (archaic ;intr. ; chiefly as inf )

‘do wrong,

’refaire

‘do

’

again ,’ ‘

remake,

’satisfaire

satisfy,’surfaire overcharge .

’

b. Forfaire‘fail

’in (a) a duty e tc . is limited to

'

z'

uf ,A

, and p .p . (aux .

avoir); malfaire‘do wrong

’occurs only as in] ? parfaire

‘comple te ,

’

‘

perfect,’

is rare except in inf . and p .p . parfait-e

‘

pe rfected ,’

perfect.’

479 . Rire [RlIR] ,‘laugh

’

typifies a few verbs having no

media] consonant‘except in and inf (cf. Stem : ri

See 408 .

Pr . para : riant 395 Vbl. adj . : riant-e 260, e). Impv . as

in A P .p . ri 40 Se rire de‘make light of.

’

1 H owever , be twe en ri and any stre ssed infle ctional vowe l a [j] is usuallyinse rted ; so that commonly riaut riez [Kije ] , riais [Rije] tions ,

[Rijfi] , e tc . This inse rtion of [j] is common in all kinds of words wh e re in

i imme diate ly pre cede s a stre ssed vowe l— at all events, in un-se lfc onscious

spe e ch . Se e 418 .

390 TYPE TEN IR

NOTES . In epitaphs, Ci-git Here lies and Ci-g

‘lecut‘H ere

lie are common . Li git la difi culté is not wholly uncolloquial. Vari

ous forms (3 and 6) are used of ores in the earth . In ordinary language ,

all forms of gésir are now replaced by étre étendu-e , etre couche-e , e tc .

Living F rench has no single verbs to express‘lie

’and

‘stand

’

;‘stand

’

étre debout , se tenir, e tc .

482. Tenir‘

ho ld ,’ ‘keep,

’e tc. , and venir

‘

come ,’consti

tute a we ll-marked type of which they and their derivatives are the

only members . Group C, with its nasal vowe l stands alone inthe F rench verbs 398 , d ); likewise Stems : ten,

tien,tiend

,

tienn,tin (but in tins e tc. , the stem is confused with the inflectional

endings ; 39 1

Pr . part : tenant Vbl. adj . tenant-e e .g. in séanee

tenants‘while still in session ,

’ ‘then and there .

’Impv . as in A

P .y tenu-e

A je tiens [tie] (as to tiens-is see 403, a—b), tu tions, on tient [tjé ],tient-on 4—6 A tonons tenez , tiennent [ tjen] (ie or e

,

according to stress). B : tenais e tc . C tins [te], tins, tint (notinmes [té zm], tintes [tézt], tinrent [tt zn] 398, d ). tiendrai [tjé

‘dae ]e tc . (see Note). E : tiendrais e tc . L . S . : tienne [tjen], tiennes ,tienne ; 4—5 L . S . : tenions [tanjo], teniez [tonje] ; 6 L . S . : tiennent .

O. S . : tinsse [té zs] e tc . 399, d ).

NOTE . Instead of tiendrai e tc . we should expect tenirai etc . In

Old French , the forms in D and E were ten(d)rai etc . (the Latin in] : was

teuere). Confusion with D and E of tendre (like vendre , 44 led to the

creation of tiendrai etc ., by analogy to je tions etc. Likewise vendrai e tc . ,

for venir (cf. vendrai for vendre), became viendrai etc. See 394, Note s .

REMARK . With is viens e tc . inf , F rench expresses utmost recencyII vient de partir H e has just gone out

’

;with je venais de e tc . 2°

q an

act is made immediate ly to precede another act, usually. an act comple tedat a definite moment in Me past 65 Thus used (only in A and

B ), venir de is an auxiliary verb, and vient de in II vient de partir is

comparable with est in I l est parti tout a l’heure (

‘a moment

a. Venir‘come ,

’with s

’en venir

‘come along

’etc . , is con

jugated precisely like tenir. So all derivatives of tenir and venir.

392 INDEX OF VERB—TYPES AND ODD FORMS

and in which 6 one consonant or two (céder, pénétrer) changes to 0,

see § 162.

NOTE 7. For all verbs in which y may become i, or i become y (as in

payer, employer, and essayer), sec 1 58 and 419.

a, 5425

abattre , 444

absal 451

acquérir. 443agir, 400

at"? 425az

'

ll 428

aimer, 417

aller, 428

apercevoir, 465at er{0i’ a 465aperfu '

a

apparoir, 460

appartenir, 482

(Wm, 460

as, 5425

asseoir, 462

assay" 462.

asst'

462

assaz'

462

aur 425avoir, 425ay 425

choir, 464

circonscrire , § 472

clore , 480

comparoir, 460

concevoir, 465conclure , 479cougot

l, 465

“ mean 465conduire , 459confire , i: 474connaitre , 460

comme , 460

conquérir, 443construire , 459correspondre , 445coudre , 449conu

‘

r, 437courre , 437eous 449couvrir, 440

craindre , 458

croire , 453croz

'

ss 460

croitre , 460

cm" 4531 460

cueillir, 441

cuire . Si459459

décevoir, 465d! elcerr 464déchoir, 464de

'

elzu 4644404. § 465

(fifth , § 465déduire , 459de‘sappr 448

descendre , 445détruire , § 459devoir, 465dz

.

"474dire , 474dal-sob

, 451

dissoudre , 451

dozl , 465dormir, 435du ‘

a 465

16144, 464

e’

e/terr 464le/tu 464écrire , 472

enduire , 459euverr 429envoyer, 429es

, 426

est, 426

etre , 426

82k, 425

exclure , 479

f ai' a 478

f ail/e , 470

faillir, 442

faire , 478

falloir, 470

fass 478

fay “

, 442 : 47°

feindre , 458

fendre , 5445

fl f 478

férir, $5437

f f“ , 478

finir, 423fleurir

, 43 1

43 I

fondre , 445

f ont , 478

fn'

re , 455

.fu‘

a 426

fair. 456

f ay “

: 456

geindre , 458

gésir, 48 1

go

“

) 4SI

hair, 432

Itaz'

s,Izat

’

t, 432

inclure , 479induire , 459inscrire , 472

instruire , § 459introduire , 459z'

r 428

ism , 5437

joindre , 458

lire , 475lib

, 475luire , 459

maintenir, 482

maudire , 433

menfira 435

GRAMMA’

I‘

ICAL GENDER

THE GENDER AND NUMBER OF NOUNS

GENDER

484 General Observations . To continue 35, broadly speaking,all F rench nouns are either masculine or feminine ;but grammatical

gender often conflicts with natural sex, even when natural sex is

obvious. On the other hand, in many cases F rench hesitates or

refuses to apply prepositional groups, such as avant lui (for‘

be fore

pour lui (for‘

for dans lui (for‘in etc .

, to obviouslysexless nouns, such as le diner

‘

the dinner,’ls lit

‘the bed

,

’

e tc.

Likewise pour elle-s,dens eux , e tc. See 304.

a. The sex of the larger animals is commonly recogniz ed by a special

form, as lo lien, la lionne ;but a mare (une jument) is usually called an

cheval, and a cock-partridge is simply une perdrix , unless its sex is impor

tant (une perdrix male)— but note 10 coq‘the cock ’ and la poule ‘

the hen .

’

b. In some cases, grammatical gender violently conflicts with natural

sex : la sentinello

485 . F rench nouns (and markedly those that name inanimate

things) so often have a pure ly formal gender that it is necessary tostate a good many rules as to gender.

486 . Gender Determined by Derivation . (A principle of little valueto persons unacquainted with Latin.) In general,

’

F rench nouns pre

serve their original Latin gender. Thus, to give four examples,murus wall ’) (le) mur,finestra window (la) fenetre , digitusfinger (le) doigt , and bueea mouth (la) bouche .

N ote that the sign means ‘became

, gave ,’ ‘becomes ,

’etc . Note also

that nearly all the mode rn forms of F rench nouns were derived froma Latin

objective form,usually the accusative ; but we give murus , for instance ,

instead of mumm, to avoid concealing its gender. 1

0. Many nouns called masculine (cf . § 484) were neuter in Latin

v erbum word (10) verbe ve rb,’eo¢us body (le) corps , ligameu

GENDER DETERM INED BY DER IVATION 395

‘bond ’

(le) lien, mel‘honey

’

(le) miel, e tc . Ye t j umeutum‘beast of

burden (Is ) jument mare ,’ mare sea (la) met , and other excep

tions occur .

b. Latin neute rs plural were often taken for feminines singular : f olia‘leaves

’

(la) feuille‘leaf,

’

gaudia‘

joys’

(la) joie‘

joy,’e tc .

6 . I f a Latin noun had two genders, usually only one survived : eiuerem

ashes (la) cendre ashes,’

fiuem ‘end

’

(la) fin, etc.

(1. O f the Latin feminines in -us , only (la)main ,frommanus , survives .

e . A nalogy has led to (lo) front‘forehead ,

’because f rom f rontis

resemble d mous man tis (le Mont-Blanc), 150m pou tis (pent‘bridge etc.

f . Latin nouns in -tor, denoting an agent, remained masculine , and

came to end in -eur : laboratorem laboureur‘

plowman ,

’auetorem

auteur author,’ i"pinetor (for pz

'

etor)> peintre painter 25, b), e tc . But

9 . Latin masculines in -ar became feminine , because most of them were

abstract nouns and in French such nouns are usually feminine : colorem

color coulent , fl orem ‘flower’

fleur, e tc . By analogy, words of likeending, even though not descended from a given Latin ancestor

,are also

feminine : rondeur‘roundness,

’ maigreur‘thinness ,

’e tc .

N OTE . Honneur‘honor

’and déshonneur are still masculine ; also

labeur‘toil,

’

labour‘tillage ,

’and amour ‘

love .

’In archaic poe try, amours ,

pl. , is occasionally'

made feminine , as in the Middle Ages.

h . Nouns derived from various foreign languages (‘loan -words

’

) keeptheir originalgender, or change it some times because of some real or fanciedresemblance to certain native words. The Latin ending

-a (stella étoile‘

star’

) is no longer fe lt to be feminine ;hence nu Opera ;but note is villa'villa.

’

Nouns borrowed from English usually follow F rench mode ls : ale f.,

bifteck m. be efsteak, ’ record m. , e tc . ;but note chale m. (from etc .

i. M any nouns which have the characteristically feminine ending-e are

masculine because this -e does not go back to Latin -a (as in stella), but

hasbeen kept to ease the pronunciation of difficult consonant-groups, as

in livre‘book

’ from librum (liber ), e tc . See 25, a ,Note .

487. Gender . Nouns denoting the holders of positions

pecu liar are almost always mascu line : banquierbanker,

’libraire bookse ller,

’capitaine captain ,

’e tc.

396 NATURAL GENDER

NOTE . Hence une recrue (or sometimes nu recrue) recruit,’une senti

neile , and une vedette‘sentry,

’ ‘scout,

’ ‘lookout ’ (also

‘sentry

-box’

) are

remarkable .

REMARK . Certain personal nouns are feminine , to whomever applied

connaissance acquaintance ,’caution sure ty

’

(in law), dupe dupe ,’

personne

(cf . pratique‘customer,

’victims , etc .

a. If need be , a masculine noun which lacks a feminine mate 488)may, without change of gender, be applied to a woman : Madame de

Sevigne est nu bon auteur (écrivain) Madame de Sevigne is a good

author

Similarly ange‘angel,

’ médecin ‘

physician ,

’omcier ofiicer,

’

peintre‘

painter,’

poets‘

poet,’témoin ‘

witness,’etc .

488 . Natural Gender Distinguished by Pairs . When separate forms

exist to denote males and their corresponding females, each form is

exclusive ly masculine or feminine . This may be illustrated (a) bycognate forms, and (b) by non-cognate forms. (Supply the correct

English feminines.)0.

NOTE 1 . The wife of a gouverneur would be la femme duar ;whereas gouvernante governess .

’

2 . Hébreu‘H ebrew

’has no feminine ;note juif ‘

Jew( juive .

The list above , and that below , contain only typical forms ;manykmore migh t be added.

398 APRES—M ID I , A UTOM OB I LE , GENS

NOTE . Relach e may be always feminine , whe ther it means‘intermission

(‘no performance

’

) or‘

port to run into (for vessels).

49 1 . The Gender of aprés -midi, automobile , and gens . H ere (cf .

490) fluctuation does not affect the meaning.

a . Apres-midi usually shows itse lf to be feminine when coupled with a

gender-revealing adjective : toute l

’apres

-midi the whole afternoon .

Note the possible division (purely phone tic) into la pres-midi;pe rhapsinfluenced also by (toute) la matinée

‘the (whole) morning,

’or likewise by

journée and soirée , day’and

‘evening

’conceived as definite time -units .

0. Automobile (familiarly une auto) is almost always feminine ; it abbre

viates une voiture automobile , already obsole te .

c. Gone is the plural of gent (L. gens , gentis), always feminine, bu t

now used only for its quaint (archaic) effect, as in la gent ailée , the winged

race’

(i.e . the birds),‘the feathe red folk.

’Having become a synonym o f

les hommes, les gens has become partly masculine ; a variable adjec tiv e

immediate ly preceding'

it (proclitic)must be feminine (les vieilles gens‘th e

old an adjective or participle following it is usually masculine (de s

gens oisifs‘idle people jeunes gens , a compound contrasting with jeunes

filles girls,’ ‘

young ladies’

) and meaning‘

young men’

(or, inclusively ,

‘

young is purely masculine : ces courageux jeunes gens . Likewise

gens de lettres‘men of le tters .

’

492. Gender Indicated by Sufixes . (Cf. A suflix (as in

jardin- ier or franc-sis) is a syllable or a group of syllable s added to a

stem to give that stem a special meaning.

‘ In some case s,suffixe s

once clearly distinguishable as such have been obscured, as in poing

fist frompugnum -um) and in France from F raae-ia ; but a good

many othe rs are still easy to identify and should help to de termine

gender. H ere fo llow some of the most freque nt type s.

a . Nouns in - is are nearly all feminine : folie ‘madness,

’e tc .

NOTE . Incendie conflagration comes from incendium, and is

masculine .

b. Nouns in -e rie are feminine : galerie‘

gallery,’e tc .

1 Th e te rm suffix is not usually applied to pluraliz ing le tte rs , nor to th einfle ctional endings of ve rbs

GENDER GIVEN BY SUF F IXES 399

c. Nouns in -i and -is are respectively masculine and feminine : amim. ,

amio f.,

‘friend.

’

(I . Nouns in -age are nearly allmasculine : voyage , courage , etc.

N OTE . Rage , f. , hydrophobia,’

anger, passion,’comes from rabies

,

f later rabia . Note a la nage‘

(by)

e . Nouns in - is and -isse are respectively masculine and feminine

croquis sketch , ’ jaunisse ‘

jaundice .

’Similarly those in -e s and -asse .

f . Nouns in -e resse are feminine : forteresse ‘fortress,’e tc .

b. Nouns in -suil, -e ul, -eu,

-ul, and -01 are almost always masculine ,wh ile those in -cuille , -eulle , and -01e are characteristically feminine

écureuil‘squirrel,

’filleul

‘

godson ,

’ moyen‘hub,

’rossignol nightingale

feminine , feuille (f olia)‘leaf

,

’filleule goddaughter,

’casserole saucepan .

h . Nouns in -ail, -eil,-i1

,and -onil (almost invariably masculine) corre

spond to feminine nouns in -aille , -e ille , -ille , and -ouille . Examples :

gouvernail rudder,’volaille poultry,

’ fowls orteil great toe ,’bouteille

‘bo ttle

’ °

gril [gRi]‘

gridiron ,

’

grille [gaizj]‘

grating’

(of me tal); fenouil

[fsnuzj] fennel,’

quenouille [kanuzj]‘distaff.

’

NOTE . Formerly genou‘knee

,

’

pou‘louse ,

’and verrou

‘bolt

’

(part of a

Jock), were spelt genouil, pouil, verrouil.

i. N ouns in -al and -el (mostly from adjectives) are masculine : journalnewspaper,

’ missel missal. ’

j . Nouns in -e in ,-ein,

-ien, and -in (nearly allmasculine) often correspond

to feminines in -aine , -ienne , and -ine . Examples : pertain‘stepfather,

’

marraine stepmother’

;sein (sinum) breast,’veine (w ua) vein Prussien

Prussian ,

’Prussienne (note also doyen dean,

’with doyenne e ldest lady

butin‘booty,

’raisins

‘

grapes ,’bottine

‘boot (in U . S . A‘shoe e tc .

NOTE . These and other endings are characteristic also of pure adjectives .

k. Nouns in -ou , corresponding to nouns in -onne , and usually not

abstract, must be distinguished from a large number of nouns (mostlyabstract) with no form in -onne . Examples : fripon

‘rogue ,

’ friponne‘hussy

’

; baron‘baron,

’baronne

‘baroness .

’

NOTE . Laideron ugly creature (girl or woman) and souillon slattern

are feminine .

400 GENDER GIVEN BY SUFF IXES

1. Most nouns in —son and -tion are feminine : maison ‘house ,’raison

'reason ,

’

prison‘

prison ,

’nation

‘nation

,

’etc .

REMARK . This is notably true of abstract nouns . Nouns of this class

are nearly all derived from Latin feminines in - tio -tiouis and -sio -siam'

s.

Include la facon, the fashion,’fromf acliafl zetiom

’

s .

m. On nouns in -eur (as empereur and coulent ) see § 486, f f and § 488.

n. Nouns in -ure are feminine : allure ‘

gait,’couverture

‘covering,

’etc.

0. Nouns in -oit are nearly all masculine : abattoir slaugh ter-house .

’

Nouns in -oire are mostly feminine : histoire‘history,

’ ‘story.

’

NOTE . Réfectoire , m. ,

‘refectory,

’is a learned word (L. refeetorium).

p . Nouns and adjectives in -sr,-ere , and -ier, -iere , are respective ly mas

culine and feminine : ménager (archaic)‘manager,

’ ‘economist,

’e tc . , mena

gere housewife’

; écolier‘schoolboy,

’écoliers

‘schoolgirl

’

; etc . N ote la

cuiller (or la cuillére) [kqijezn]‘the spoon.

’

q . Abstract nouns in -6 and -és are feminine : beauté ‘beauty,

’année

‘

year,’etc .

r.

°

All abstract nouns in -esse , and some not abstract, are feminine

ivresse drunkenness,

’

pauvresse‘

j ioor woman ,

’e tc . Also all abstract

nouns in -ise : convoitise‘cove tousness,

’e tc .

8 . Nouns in -if (or simply -f), -eau ,-et (always -at (always -let

(always -ot (always -ais , -ois , -eux , and -oux are almost all mas

culine (likewise such adjectives);note the corresponding feminines

canif knife bank , shore

veuf widower veuve widow

corbeau raven shovel

mulet mule dearth , scarcitv

goujat blackguard date date (in time )osselet little bone gouttelette tiny drop

ilot isle t motte clod

(or block of houses) idiot

dais canopy cliff

gueux vagabond (the river)époux husband wife

mois month fathom

402'PLURAL OF SIMPLE NOUNS

NUMBER

496 . The Addition of s. To

‘

continue 36, 1 36, and 143,— the

majority of nouns form their plural simply by adding 8 to the singu

lar ;but certain typical cases require comments .

0. The plural of cerf [st‘stag, deer IS usually [SERf are/zaieally

whereas nerf [nexf],‘nerve ,

’ ‘sinew , has only [man] ; ye t nerf

[mm] in various locutions (mostly figurative);nerf-de-breuf (a quirt, a kind

of whip) be nt, with [beef be ], and o ut, with [re f show

a like remarkable variation . On the other hand, os [os] m. sg . , bone ,’

becomes es [o] m. pl. , or [02 ] if linked.

REMARK . Some centuries ago , when all final consonants of singular

nouns were sounded, all, or nearly all, became silent before e ; so that coq

gave cos‘cocks ’

and drap gave dras‘cloths ,

’e tc .

, precisely as d is silent in

winds ,’

prondunced like wins.

’Herrick(17th rimes clothes with goes .

’

b. Various final consonants , sounded (exceptionally) in certain liaisons,

as the t of mot in mot amot [motamo]‘word for word,

’are silent in other

cases, as the t of mot in un mot anglais . All such singulars must be called

variable , because they may vary for the ear when they do not vary for

the eye .

c. Proper names seldom take s when members of t he same family are

concerned : 10 connais les Guizot‘I know the Guizots however, if the

writer is thinking of individuals he generally adds s , as in les deux Guizots.

NOTE 1 . In all cases , such an 8 exists only for the eye .

NOTE 2 . Names such as La Fontaine or Le Brun take no s, for les La

Fontaines or les Le Bruns would look queer ;yet les Lesages is allowed .

NOTE 3. Proper names designating types usually take s . Examples : les

Dantee the Dantes’

(men like Dante); also figuratively of works : troisRaphaéls three Raphaels (th ree paintings by Raphael), etc .

(I. As the pluralizing s is usually silent anyhow,we find either des

habits d ’entante children’s clothing

’

) or d’enfant , either coifieur pour

dame ladies’ hairdresser

’

) or coifleur pour dames ;but such groups might

require chevaux‘horses ,

’ for cheval and chevaux have different sounds .

e . As in English , some nouns have no plural and some no singular

is. justice sg . only, but toutes ces injustices (‘acts of injustice

’

) is possible ;likewise various other abstract singulars may have a plural.

PLURAL OF COMPOUNDS 403

NOTE 1 . The following plurals have no singular : besicles f .

‘

goggle s,’

bestiaux cattle ,’ciseaux scissors (ciseau chise l frais ‘

cost( hardes

f .

‘clothes ’ matériaux ‘mate rials ’

(‘building mmurs

[moeRs] f.‘manners,

’etc .

N OTE 2 . Unlike‘trousers,

’les pantalons has a singular :

‘my trousers’

N OTE 3. In atémoin ‘as a witness

,aswitnesses, ’ and initially (témoin

les lettres‘witness the témoin is invariable .

f . Nearly all borrowed words may and do take 8 : deficit—s,folio-s,

macaroni-s , solo-s , tory- s

, etc .

NOTE 1 . But ex-voto, in- folio, in-octavo, in-

quarto, post-scriptum, Te

Deum,e tc . are invariable .

NOTE 2 . Cicerone cicerone’and dilettante dilettante usually ge t their

I talian plurals : ciceroni and dilettanti.1

497. The Plurals of Compounds . H ere usage is often uncertain

and the rules laid down,often arbitrarily, are inconsistent and com

plicated . In most cases, however, there is more confusion for the eye

than for the ear.

0. M ost of the compounds written as one piece (cf. 27) merely add s

or x : des portemanteaux e tc . However, bonhomme fellow ,

’ ‘chap,

’etc .)

1

and gentilhomme (‘nobleman give bonshommes and gentilshommes . We

may give a few types according to groups.

b. Two Nouns . Commonly, both may be pluraliz ed, but usage is

uncertain : choux-fieurs m.

‘cauliflowers,

’ martins-pécheurs kingfishers,’

pores-epics [poRkepik] porcupines,

’etc .

NOTE . Ye t some persons would write des reins-claude [Rs'

nglozd or

‘

g'

reen gage plums,’because of Q ueen Claude ! (Clédat, Gram

maire razlsouue'

e, 2 1

c. Noun Adjective . Generally, both may be pluraliz ed : basses-cont e‘farrnyards,

’

grands-oncles [n'

Z fizkl]‘

great-uncles,

’e tc.

Note grand’meres grandmothers and grand

’tantes great-aunts ,

’con

taining the original sound of the feminine of grand (sg. grant ;pl. grans).

1 I n folk- spe e ch dss bonhommes [bonom] . With this plural, bonhomme‘man of th e people .

’

404 PLURAL or COMPOUNDS

d . Adjective Noun. Usage hesitates : dos sauf-conduits safe -conducts ,

’

des sanfe conduits, and dos sauf-conduit ;but only demi- heures half hours .

’

NOTE . Plate -forms has only plate- formos plate bande‘flower-bed

’has platos

-bandes but plafond‘ceiling

’ is treated as a unit .

e . Verb Noun. Some such forms are hyphenated, some no t ; some

are pluraliz ed, some not : porte-monnaio m. purse( but portefouille- s

portfolio-s.

’Porto-cigars cigar

-holder porte-cigares cigar

-case .

’

NOTE 1 . The following frequent compounds are commonly called in

variable : abat—jour lamp-shade e tc . , coupe-circuit cut-out,

’coupe

-

gorge‘nest of thieves,

’ ‘dive ,’e tc . , gagne

-

pain‘livelihood,

’

porte-drapeau ensign,

’

and others.

NOTE 2 . Of nu gardo-chases garnekeeper’we may make dos gardos

chases , but this 8 means nothing to the ear and is otherwise almost use less.

REMARK . N0 rule can be made to cover chaos .

f . Noun Proposition Noun . The first noun can usually be pluraliz ed,

but in true compounds never varies for the ear : un ch ef-d’aauvre jedoezv1t],

dos chofs-d ’teuvre maste rpieces,’e tc . ;but dos té

‘

te-a- této tete -a- tétes,’dos

coq-a- l’ano

‘cock-and-bull stories ,

’dos pot

-eu- fon [potofo]‘meat to boil,

’

‘beef stock, ’ etc. , dos croc-en- jambo [kR0kd3d zb]‘trip,

’ misstep,’and th e like .

As pot a flours [pot'

E floezs , pot a flcezn, or, colloquially , of ten po a flou r]‘fiowe rpot

’ is not a true compound, its plural is pots aflours [pozT

a floezs,

or,colloquially , of ten po a floezk ]; similarly, pot a tabac [po a taba; f l.

poz’

ataba or po a taba]‘tobacco jar.

’

NOTE . There is no phone tic difference between arc-en-ciol‘rainbow

’

and arcs-en-ciel ;both [ad sjel].

g. Verb Proposition Infinitive . The plural sallos amanger dining

rooms is not

h . Proposition (01 Adverb)+Noun . The noun can usually be made plural

dos avant-coureurs‘forerunners,

’dos contro-amiraux rear-admirals ,

’e tc .

i. Verb Adverb. Usually invariable : dos révoille-matin alarm-clocks.

’

406 ENGLI SH - FRENCH VOCABULARY

afterwards aprés, ensuite , plus tard

again encore , une (or pour la) se condo

fois . Note re (prefix ), § 483against contre , § 1 13, l. 17, 151 1 5age age m. , 150, ex . 1 , 174, N

ago il y a (avait voila, 203, e ,

397, a , ex . 2

agreeable agre’

able , 296, b

aid vb. aide r, 289 , 384

aim(1 ) ob. visor (haut), 362, ex . 9

aim (2) nou n but [by]m., obje t m.,

§ 157, ll. 5 and 13

alight de sc endre , § 19 1

all tout etc . , 48, ll. 4 5, p . 66, I I ,

§ 182 ;not at all pas du tout, § 90 ;

all the way to jusqu’a;all of you vous

tous ;make themall understand leur

faire comprendre 4tous ;master of

them all leurmaitre 4tons , 297, N

alleged prétendu- e , 265, ex . 2

allow (to) pe rme ttre (do), cf. 295, b

allowable légitime , 1

allude to faire allusion a, 1 19

almost pre sque , § 96, l. 23alone soul-e , 48, l. 4, 52 , § 70,

along prep . lo long do, § 304, R ; get

along without se passer do, 319, e

aloud ahaute voix , 162 , d

already de’ ja, ex . 1

also aussi, § 44, égaleme nt

although bien que , quoique , 5229always toujours, 5, 182

ambition ambition f . , 228, ex . 5

America Ame’

rique f . , § 333, ex . 3

American ame’

ricain - e , § 49 , a , R

among parmi, entre , 138 ; chez

amount vb. See 179, a , R , 182 , e , 4

amuse amuse r, 384;divertir, § 132 , d ;n ote s

’amuse r de , 1 13, 11. 13

- 14, or

a inf , § 251 , a

analogy analogie f , 1 57, l. 8

analysis analyse f . , § 33ancient ancien-no, 338, e

and e t [e ] , § 33, both and e t

e t ;come and spond venir passe r,

250 ; note and in subj u nctive'

ofadded eond . , 230, a , also 23 1 ,

ex . 2 ; more and more de plus e n

plus (so do moins e n moins)angry ffiché-e , en colére ; get angry

as me ttre en colére , s’

emporte r

animal animal m. , irr egu, 34

Anjou Anjou m. , § 337, l. 10

announce annonce r, 8 1 , 160, 289

annoy ennuye r, § 1 58, embéte r, § 162 ,ganother un-e autre , encore un

- e , 178;

one anoth er l’un l

’autre etc . , 183, so ,

4. it 183answer (1 ) ob. répondre (a), 445

answer (2) noun réponse f . , p . 54, I ,

57

antecedent ante'

cedent m. , 1 2 1

anxious that, be See 2 1 5, ex . 2

any (1 ) adj . que lque 173 ;du etc . ,

§ 38, a , 46, 318 ; tout etc . , $ 182 ;aucun-e , 170, b—e ; que lconque ,

175;n’importe que l etc . , 1 55, e, R .

See on, jamais, pas, etc . (F rench

English V ocabulary)any (2) pron . que lqu

’un etc . , 173 ;

aucun-e , § 170, e ; I haven’t any je

n’en aipas . Note 178, ex . 9

anybody oranyone que lqu’un-e , 173

aucun- e , 170, e , e ;pe rsonne , 90,

376 ;n’importe qui (or leque l

quique ce soit, § 138, N ;

qui vous voudre z , 134; tout lo

monde , 58, ex . 3; on , 43, 185,

284, 305;quiconque , § 176

AF TERWARDS BA CK

a nything que lque chose m. , 180 ;

rien , 90, 374; quoi que cc soit,

§ 138 , N ;n’importe quoi, 1 55, e , R;

anyth ing but tout autre chose que ;

anyth ing you please cc que vous

voudre z

anyw h ere que lque part, partout ;n’im

porte oil , 155, e , R ;anywhere else

partout ailleurs ; n eg . nulle part,

§ 184apiece adv . (la) pie ce etc . , 328, e x . 2 .

See each and 171 , N

appear (seem) semble r, pa

raitre , $ 223, 6—c ; (appear upon til e

scene) paraitre , 106, e x . 1

approach s’approch e r de , 33,

p . 42, V , 384

April avril m. , § 327, a

A riosto A rioste or l’A . , 323, R

arm bras m. , 143, c, § 329around or round prep . autour de

adv . autour. I n th e U. S . , around is

qften misu sed for about DO you

live around he re ?’ ‘Around one

o’clock For F renc/z , see about

arrival arrivée f . , § 94arrive arrive r (aor dans), 73, 384

art art m. , § 1 57, l. 1 2

as adv . , eonj . , pron . (of time) comme ,88, l. 2 ; (of cau se) comme , parce

que , puisque ;as a soldier en soldat,

§ 31 2 , d ;serve as se rvir dc , 31 2, c;

as to (as for) quant a, comme ,

§ 31 2 , e, R , sur ; (com ! ) as as

aussi que ;as well as aussibien

que ;as much (as many ) as autant

que ;as long as (of time) tant que ;

in proportion as amesure que ;same

as méme - s que , § 179 . N ote venir

le plus vite possible come as soon as

407

ask (for) demande r (qqch . a

83 ; ask to demande r a or de ,

247, e , or prie r dc ;ask a question

poser (faire ) une question

asleep endormi- e ; fall asleep s’

en

dormir, 225, a

assure assure r (qqn. de qqch .)astonish e

'

tonne r, § 8 1 , ex . 3, 2 15astrologer astrologue m. , 161 , l. 1

at a(of motion or rest); (arrive r) dans

(un village );at least au moins ;atlast e nfin ;at once (f ortk'witfi) tout

de suite ;(simu ltaneou sly ) en mémetemps, a la fois ;fire at tire r sur ;

laugh at rire de ;at home che z moietc. ;at ten francs , § 328, ex . 1 ;not

at all pas du tout

attain atteindre (A), 2 16, 458

attempt (to) e ssaye r (de ), 1 58

attentively attentivement, 1 1

August aofit, § 327, a , § 354, 6

author auteur m., 106, ex . 1

autumn automne m. , 327, b

avenge venger, § 160, 161 , l. 4

avoid 116. in -ing) évite r (de

cf. 251 , c

await attendre , 192

awake e'

ve ille r, s’éve ille r, 158, a ;be

wide awake ve ille r, 52 , 1. 2

aware , be savoir, 469 , 227, R ;ne

pas ignore r, 223;se rendre compte ,

§ 190, E ; s’ape rcevoir, p . 1 53, I I

away , come (or go) partir, 224;s’en

alle r, 163, a . See en

back (1 ) adv . en arriere ;be back étre

de re tour, 333, 6 ; come back re

venir ; put back reme ttre , 483 ;

throw back re jeter, 162, d . F or

back of prep . see behind

back (2) noun dos, 143, e, § 329

408 ENGLI SH - F RENCH VOCABULARY

bad aefi. mauvais e , 555, b, R ; (mali bed lit m. ; go to bed se coucher ; in

eiou s etc . ) mé chant- e , 51 13, l. 10

badly mal, 556, N

balloon ballon m.

bank (of stream) bord m. , 588, l. 2

banker banquie r, 5314, a

bargain vb. marchande r

5 1 13, l. 5baron baron , 5324Bar-on-Aube Bar-sur-Aube m. , 5322 , e

basket panie r m. , 5 10 ; hotte /Z ,

5459 546, N 1

bath bain m. , 5322, 6

be etre , 5542, 109, 1 1 2, 426 ; e xister,

se trouve r. (a) fitre is u sed (ocea

sionally) to express‘

progression on ly

witfia inf , 5251 , a , e x . 3, 5264, 3;

(6)”wken be expresses likelifiood or

du ty , u se devoir, 5 187, falloir,

5470, b, or avoir a and é tre a,

5252 ; (c) be old avoir . ans ,

566, l. 3; (d ) there is (were etc. ) il

y a (avait 5302 , b (e) ofweatker faire beau etc . , 5302 , b(4)

(f )be cold (of an imate t/zings ) avoir

froid , etc . , 5320 ;(g) F r . equ ivalen ts

of fing/p assivegroups in 5275;(k)on

I am etc. in ellipses see 5280, a , 5303bear 116. (carry ) porte r, 5 52 , l. 10 ;on

bear a grudge see grudge

beat battre , 5444beiutiful beau, be l, be lle , 5338 ,f , 5348

be cause parce que (on ly wit/z groups

A- E ; if repeated , simply que )become (M ange state) devenir, 533,l. 3, 51 28, 5 147, N ; become larger

grandir, 533, l. 2 , 5540, 131 . I n

most cases , become adj . corresponds

to a single F r . vb., as vieillir become

(grow) old

beef hmuim. , 5 143, a

beer biére f .

‘

before adv . andprep. (of space ) devant,

5322 , c ; (of time ) avan t, avan t de

tuj i, 5 241 , N 1 , avant que sub

j u nctive , 5233, e

begin comme nce r, 5 160, 5241 , a ,

5247, e ; se me ttre a, 5427, a , 5447behind adv . and prep . dem e re

believe croire , 541 , 1. 6 ; w it/i inf .

5246, ex . 3. See 5453belong (to) appane nir (a), an d of

person s é tre a, 5 144, e x . 6, 5296, a

be low adv . nu-de ssous, de ssous;p rep .

sous, au-de ssous de

beneath See be low

beside prep . 5 cfité de

besides adv . d’

aille urs , de plus ;p rep .

outre , e xcepté , en de hors de

best adj . me ille ur- e , 555, R ; adv . (le )mieux , (le ) plus , 556

be tter aoj . me ille ur- e , 5 55, 6 ; adv .

mie ux , 5 56, N ; n ote valoir mieux ,

588 , 1. 13, 5 173, e x . 2 , 5246, ex . 10

be tween prep . entre , 55138, 241 , ex . 2 ;

n ot u sed as adv . ;supply complemen t

to su it t/ze con tex t, 5304beyond prep . au de lade

big grand- e , 555, F , 573, N 2 , 5348 ;

grosse , 588 , 5338 grow bigger

grandir, see become

bind lie r, 5418

biology bio logic /T, 53 17bit (smallpart )morce au m. ;adverbi

ally un peu

bitter ame r, am‘

e re , 5338 , a

black noir- e , 55338 , 349, e

blow vb. faire du vent, 5302 , 6 (4)blue bleu-e , 55345, 349, c

4I0 ENGLISH—FRENCH VOCABULARY

chair chaise f .

chance chance f . , 5 155, ex . 3, 5 232 ,ex . 5;by chance par hasard , 5322 , d ;miss afine chance (usually w itb

5 276, b a chance to 1’occasion

de inf .

change vb. change r, 5 160

charge vb. faire paye r (qqch . a

5328 , ex . 4

charm (1 ) vb. charme r, w it/z char

mant-e

charm (2) nou n charme m. , 5486, i

cheap bon marché , pas che r (chére )

cheek (lit . ) joue f . ; (fig) toupe t m. ,

aplombm. , 5256, e x . 2

child enfant m. orf . , 5 1 2

China In Chine , 578 , e x . 4, 5334Ch inese ch inois- e , 549, a , R , 558

choice choix m. , bu t see 5 241 , ex . 2

choose choisir, 5 132, d

chOp cote le tte f . , 5318, a

Christmas Noe'

l m. cf. 5323, c , R

cigar cigare m. , 5 194, a

city ville f .;585, 1. 24claim vb. prétendre , 5161 , l. 10

classical classique

clean (1 ) vb. ne ttoyer, 5 1 58

clean (2) adi pmpre . $347clear adj . clair-e

climb grimpe r, 585, climbover

escalader

clock horloge f , pendule f .

close vb. fe rme r, 5 1 57,close upon sur, 533, 1. 4clothe habille r, 5 1 58, a ;

140, Qclub (social) ce rcle m. , clubm.

codee café m. , 553, N 2

cold adj . froid-e ; cf. 5320, ex . 1

colonel colone l, 585, 1. 3combine combine r (se combine r)

come venir, 5482 ; come and

come to 5250 ; come away par

tir ; come back reve nir, 563, ex. 2 ;

come out of sortir de , 544, l. 7;some

up monte'

r, 5427, b

comedy comédie f , 5 1 57, N 17

commit comme ttre , 5447communication communicationf .

company , part fausse r compagnie (a

5320 ; se'

se'

pare r

compare (with , to) compare r (avec,a)competence compé te nce f .

complain (of) se plaindre (de )

concern vb. regarde r

confidence confiance f .

confounded th ing maudite chose ;or

vu lg. ascre’

e chose , 5 273confuse confondre , 5249, 1. 16; em

brouille r, 5 1 58 , a

Congo, the le Congo , 5337, I I

conscience conscience’

f . , 5329consider conside

’

re r, 5 re'

puter,

§ 1 571 1° b

consonant consonne

constantly constamment, 5361

construction constructionf . , 51 57,

contain contenir, 5482 (comprise)

compre ndre , 5448

continue (to) continue r (1 or de),

247, d

contrive to trouve r moyen de

conversation conve rsationf .

convince convaincre , 5446

cool adj . frais, fraiche , 5338 , It

coral corail, 5 143, a (forpl . )

corner coin m. See nook

correct adj . correct-e , e xact- e

correcting, correction, correctness

corre ction f . , 5 1 57, l. 1 1

correctly corre ctement, 5 1 57,

cost vb. cofite r, 55 139 , 1 56, z l3, e

CHAIR D JS

'

CREE T 41 1

count vb. compte r, 5246, e x . 4

country pays m. , 5 142 ; (ru ral) cam

p agne f . ;across country‘

a travers

c h amps , 5322 , c

courage courage m.

course (of study ) cours m. , 5143, c ;of

course bien entendu , 5 1 17, ex . 1

t h e wisest course le plus sage ,

254, l 38

cou sin cousin- e m. orf . , 5297cover vb. couvrir, 5440

crazy fou (fol), folle , 5 R

create cre'

e r, 5 1 57, 1. 10, 5418

creel (panie r en osie r), nle t m. , 588,1. 3

crime crime m.

criminal malfaiteur m.

criticiz e critique r (qqn. )cry (1 ) vb. crie r, 585, 1.

cry (2) n oun crim. , 5 13

cubist cubiste m.

customs ma urs j i, 5 178 , c, Q

Dahomey Dahomey m. , 5337, 1. 1 3danger dange r m. , 5 52 ,Dante Dante (properly no le ), 5323, R

dare (to) ose r, 5 170, b, 5 246, 5368 ,gdarkness obscurite

'

f . , 596, l. 4daugh ter fille , 554, e, R

day jour m., 570, 1. 6 ; (as a un it,

common ly) journée f .

deaf sourd-e , 588, 1. 10

deal , a good beaucoup, bien du etc . ,

5 178, d , N

dear ch er, chére , 5347, 5362, e x . 1 2

debt de tte f . , 538 , a ; cf. 5187, A

deceive trompe r, 5 170, ex . 9

December décembre m. , 5327, a

decide de'

cide r (de ), se décide r (it)declare déc lare r, 594, 5248, ex . 2

deep profond-e

defect défaut m. , 570, 1. 9defend défendre , 585, 1. 6, 5 190

definition définition j i, 5 249, l. 2

degree , in the least le moins dumondedelay vb. re tarde r, 5 161 ,delight vb. charme r, ravir, 5256, e x . 10;

s’amuse r (de ), 5 1 13

—14delightful charmant- e , ravissant-e ;

délicieux (5338, c)deny nie r, 5223, ex . 5, 5418

depart partir, 573, a , 5224departure départ m.

deprive prive r, 5 4, 543, a

deserve (to) merite r (de ), 589, ex . 3desire (1 ) vb. désire r, 5 247, b

desire (2) nou n désir m. , 5256, R 2

destiny de stinée f , 5 161 , 1. 1 1

detain re tenir, 5 229, ex . 4

detest déte ste r

devoid of dépourvu-e de

devoted to, be étre tout- e a

die mourir, 5 167differ (from) difiére r (de ), 5249, 1. 37;

cf. 5162 ,fdifferent different- e , 5 177, 5 264, 1

cf. autre que , 5 178, ex . 1 2

difi cult diflicile , 544,difi culty dilficulté f . , 58, ex . 4

dig (work hard ) trime r, travaille r

fe rme , 5362, e x . 10

dine diner, 51 1 1 , ex . 2 ; cf. 5240

dining-room salle amange rf .

dinner dine r m. , 5240, R

dirty sale , 5349, e

disagreeable désagréable , 5 161 ,

5296, b

disappear disparaitre , 548, 1. 1 2

disappoint désappointer ; be cleep

pointed to etre décu- e de , p . 1 53

discover découvrir, s’ape rcevoir

discreet discre t, discrete , 5338, e

'

41 2

dislike (to) ne pas aimer (in), 5247, 4;cf. 5215

disobey désobéir (i), 5 132, d

disorder désordre m.

dissatisfied (with) mécontent-e (de )dissuade (from) dissuade r (de )distasteful, be répugner, 5255, ex . 4

distinct distinct-e , 544, l. 9disturb dérange r, 596, l. 2, 5160

do (generally) faire , 5478 ; faire is

not used as an aux . vb. in negations

(552, 1. 1 2 but see 5247, b), nor in

interrogation (540, 550, b);bu t maystand for otber verbs (5254, l.

do well to faire bien de , 5251 , d,

ex. 5. See General Index, under

faire

doctor (pbysieian ) medecin m., 595,

ex. 8 ' docteurm., 5324deg chien m., 538

door porte /I, 5266,doubt (1 ) vb. doute r, 5223, 5368, b

doubt (2) noun doute m.; no doubt

(doubtless) sans doute ;bot/z implydoubt

down See upside

dozen douzaine f . , 5328, ex . 1

drag trainer, 5 5

drawing-room salonm. (au or dans lo)

dream(of) réver (de ), 5 162, gdreary triste . 5347dress (1 ) vb. habiller, 5 158, a (rgfl.

s’habille r); (a wound ) panser

dress (2) noun robe f . , costume m.

drink noun 1 boire , 5253, ex . 1

driver cocher m.

drop vb. tomber ;see pln

due du, due p .p . , 5 187, a

dunce cancre m. , buse f .

during pendant, 552, 1. 3duty devoir m. , 51 57, 1. 23

ENGLISH - FRENCH VOCABULARY

each chaque adj . , 5 171 ; chacun-e

pron , 55 1717 172 ; each other se ,

552, -c ;

eager to, be (very) avoir (grande ,

grand’

) envie de ; cf. 5255, b, R

ear 5329early adv . de bonne heure , 5 105, 1. 2 ;earlier plus tot

earn gagne r, 5420

ease aise j i, facilité f .

easily facilement, bie n

Easter Pfiquesf . (Easter-day Pfiques

m ), 5493easy facile

easy-chair fauteuilm. , 544, l. 2

eat mange r, 5 160, 5 253, a

effort e ffort m.

egg muf, 545eight huit, 5354, a, g

eighth huitiéme , 5353either or conj . soit soit, 52 13, d ;

possibly ou ou

either pron . l’un- e

'

ou l’autre , 5 178,

ex . 9;af ter ne , u se ni ni, 5292 , d ;see one and neith er

eleven onz e , 5353, 5354, a

else d’

autre , 5 186, 5376, N 3 ;autre ,

5 178, e x . 5; everybody else tous

(toute s) le s autre s, 563, e x . 3 ;noth

ing else rien d’autre , pas autre

chose , 5 178, c, Q ; something else

que lque chose d’autre , autre chose ;

nowhere else nulle part ailleurs

elsewhere autre part , aille urs

employ employe r, 51 58 ;se se rvir'

de

(s’

e n se rvir), 5 1 57, 1. 16

empty vide ; empty-handed le smainsvide s , 5266, l. 1 2

enable (to) me ttre (qqn .) ameme dc,perme ttre (aqqn .) de

414

factory usine f .

fail e'

choue r (aux . avoir);mt fail tono pas manquer de

faithful fidé le , 555, a , N 2

fall tombe r, 573, 6 ; see asleepfalse faux, fausse , 5338, 5

family famille [famizj] f . , 566

far (from) loin (de ), 5 161 , far

(better ete . ) beaucoup or bie n (me il

le ur f or loin que see 5 234,

e x . 3

farmyard basse -cont ];5 1 13, l. 5fast adv . vite , 556 ; rapideme nt

fat gras, grasse , 5338 , e

fate so rt m.

father pére , 554, e

fault (defect) défaut m. , 580, e x . 2 ;

(mistake, av . ) faute f .

fear (1 ) vb. craindre ete . , 55 2 16—22 1

fear (2 ) noun pent /2, crainte /4 5220

February févrie r, 5327, a

feel se ntir, 5 225, d , 5258 , d

fellow , good brave homme , 5345ferocious féroce , 5 1

fetch apporte r, 5 20 1 , l. 2 ;aller ch e r

ch e r, 5250, a

fetching coque t-te , 5338, e

few pe u dc (see little );a fe' que lques,

563, e x . 4 que lques-nus ” que lque s

unes. 5 173, e x 4

fewer moins de (of. moins nombre ux )fewest le moins dc

fiddle vb. joue r du violon

fifteen quinz e , 5354fifth cinquiéme , 5353fiftieth cinquantieme , 5353fifty

-first c inquante ct unieme , 5353, a

figure vb. figure r, 5 1 5

fill remplir, 5 132 , d , 5201 , l. 10

find trouve r, 543 ; (learn ) s’

apemvoir, p. 1 53, 11

—111

ENGLISH - FRENCH VOCABULARY

finger doigt [an ] s329finish finir, 5 106, a , 5 132 ;ach eve r,

5162, a, X;finish v riting finir (ach e~

ve r) d’

e'

crire : (to) have just finish ed' rith g ve nir d

’

e'

crire , 54,82 , a ; see

fire (1 ) tab. tire r, 585,fire (2) noun fe n ne ., 5 136, b

fireplace cheminéefi, 544, l. 4first arfi. or pm . premie r, premie re ,

p 5227m. § 353, 6» 5355»H ;

at in t d’

abord

fish (1 ) ob. pé'

ch e r (of. 588,link (2) nou n poisson ne ., 588 ;deaf an

afiel sourd—e comme nn po t [pout-e . )fishing nou n (la) péche (

'

a la lignc )five cinq. 53s4, e

wit) elle , e lles. e ux ); pour inf ,

5 24K, era. 7 and 3 (f easibly de ,

5 2 2. ex. pour que subj u nctive . 5232 . m 3 and 4; for

5328 ;n in g , ! quant i moide or

t ee (from) fuir. 5 13, 5456

door nou n étage ne . ;see a nd

Florene Flore nce f ., 5325l ower noun fieurf .

fly (1 ) tab. vole r, 596,

fly (2) noun mouch e f .

follow suivre . § 473food nourriture /2, 541 ,fool noun so t, sotte , 5338, e

foolish sot, sotte (see-

filo! )M Pied [pic] at , 5329for (1 ) conj . m , 5

for (2 ) prep . pour, 5 1 1 3,

(du ring) pe ndant, 565, e x . 2 ; de

rmis (l e huit jours), 5 192. cf. 249.

i t it pour ca (or possibly lui

1514CTOR Y GENERALLY

moi, je , 5 193, 11. 6—7; send for, see

send . N ote t/zat for me , for you , etc .

of ten requ ire F r . dative, 5295, gforbid , Heaven a Dieu ne plaise ,

5 2 13, c ;note défendre (aqqn . de )force (to) forcer (de or a), oblige r (de

o f i), 5 19, § 247,ffore ign ,

-e r étranger, etrangere , 574,e x . 2, 5338 , a , 5340

foresee prévoir, 5463, a

forget (to) oublie r (de ), 5418

forgive pardonner (qqch . s

8 2441 e x ° 71 8295fork (table fourch e tte f .

form (1 ) vb. forme r, 544,form (2) noun forme f . , 548, 1. 10

not good form, 5275, e x . 1

former, the ce lui-1a(ceux-laetc .)formerly autrefois, 5 178, c, Qformidable redoutable , 552, 1. 15forth , come sortir, 544,fortunate h eureux , h eureuse

fortunately h eureusement, 5361

fortune fortune f .

forty quarante , 5353, 538 1 , l. 20

four quatre , 5353fourth quatrieme , 5353, 5355, c

fox renard m. , 51 10

franc franc us. (abou t 20 cen ts )F rance F rance } , 55333, 335frank franc , franche , 5338, a

frankly franch ement, 5361

free (from) vb. délivrer (de )free adj . libre , 551 , 5256, e x . 7

freeze gele r, 5 162, e , 5302 , b(4)F rench francais

-e , 533, 549, a , R , 585,

1. 2 ;French teacher profe sseur de

francais ; see mistake

Frenchman etc . F rancais- e

fresh frais, fraiche , 5338, b

friar frére , 5324

41 5

gain gagne r, 5 1 58, 5253, ex . 5

game je u'

m. , 5 136, b

garden jardin m. , 5 20 1 , 1. 5

gather réunir, 585, 1. 8 ; (meet) se

réunir, 5284, a (end )

general, in en général

generally le plus souvent ; see above

F riday vendredim. , 5327, e

friend amim. , amie f . , 538, 554, b

friendly amical etc . , 5338 , g ;see terms

or 5305, c, ex . 1

frigh tfully afire usement, 5 361 a

faire peur, 52 53, ex . 3

from de , 544, 11. 3 and 6 ; fromdoor to

door de en , 5 3 ; from time

to time de e n , 5 178 , a fromthat

day depuis ce jour- la;a partir de ,

566, 1. 1 from it or from th em, ofsex less firings , en , 5 1 13, 1. 18 , 5304;fill from the cask remplir au ton

ne au , 5201 , 1. 10 take froma drawer

prendre dans nu tiroir ;take froma

table prendre sur une table ; from

(on) de de ssus ; from under dc

de ssous ;fromme etc . common ly ex

pressed by Fr . dative , 5295, c

front of, in devant, 544, l. 4frown (at) fronce r le sourcil (a, or

dative), 5329, ex . 2 (u sually le s

sourcils)frying-

pan poé le /Z , 588, 5490

full (of) ple in-e (de ), 5 52 , 11. 1 and 14

fun, in plaisamment, 5361 pour rire

funny drble - s af ter noun dr61e - s de

bef ore nou n , p . 30 1 , I , 4; rigolo ,

N 3furnish (with) meuble r (de ), qfnouses

etc . , 5 244, ex . 2

furniture meuble s m. p l. ; a piece of

furniture un me uble

416

genius genie m., 5 1 55, ex . 7

gentle doux, douce , 5338, b

gentleman galant homme , 5 345;

(vaguely ) monsieur, pl . messieurs,

589, en . 3 and 4

German allemand - e , 549, a, R

get corresponds to many dij'

erent F r .

vbs . : obte nir, 5482 , re cevoir, 5188 ,

avoir, 5564, 425, che rche r, 549, b,

aller che rche r, 5 250, a , ach e te r,

5 162, e, trouver, 543; get back

(recover) recouvre r, reprendre , ta

voir (inf M o', 5 394. N ocau sation faire , 5244, e x . 2, pe r

suade r qqn. de , obtenir dc qqn . de ,

5 251 , d ;expressing cbanges of state

or of place get angry s’emporte r,

se me ttre e n colere ;get old vie illir;

get ready (se ) prepare r ; get to

arrive r 1 , alle r 1 (or jusqu ’e) ;get

away (réussir a) s’en alle r, (réussir

d) partir, s’échappe r, s

’

enfuir (see

nee);get down de scendre ;get home

arriver chez soi (moi re ntre r ;

get in (into) entre r (dans), réussir

1 (y) entre r (see enter), or likewiser

pénétre r ; get up (rise) as leve r,

5162, a ;note get along without se

passer de , 5319, c

gift cadeau m. , 5 171

girl jeune fille (almost alway s wit/1

adj . or complemen t), 5 171

give donner (qqch . 1 give back

rendre , 5 190;give up renonce r a

glad content-e , 5 2 1 5, ex . 6, 5 256,ex . 9 see happy

glance at (e .g . a book) feuille ter,

5 162, d ;parcourir, 5 178, ex . 13

glass ve rre m. , 549, b

go alle r, 5573, 163 ; go away s’en

alle r, 5 163, a, partir, 5 224; go

ENGLISH—FRENCH VOCABULARY

back re tourne r, 5427, b; go down

desce ndre , 5427, b; go of partir,

5427, b;go « 1 continue r (aor de ),

i 247. 4; so out sortir. 73; so

with accompagne r who goes

there ? quivive ? 585, 1. 14;exp re ss

ingf u tu rity alle r, 5 2 , 5250

god (God) die u (Dieu), 544, 1. 3,

5 136, b, 5

gold or us.

good bon, bonne , 548, 1. 1 , 5348 ;compared , 555, b; a good man un

brave homme , 55345, 348 ; for a

good while depuis longtemps, 5192 ;a good deal or good many beaucoup

(dc ) good-by adieu (nos adieux)

m. , 5 1 1 1 , ex . 2 ; good-day bonjour,

5ss, a ;be so good as to veuille z ,

5202 , a , e

gossip vb. po tine r, 5255, ex . 4;ba

varder (noun bavardage m. )

gown robe f . , 5 250, ex . 5

grammar grammaire /f . , 55

grammatical grammatical etc . , 5 33,

5

gra soit ! [swat] , 52 13, -c, e x . 8

grateful re connaissant-e , 5296, b

grave adj . grave

great grand-e , 552, 1. 13, 555, F

;

an d

Notes, 5348

greatly bien , beaucoup , tree

green vert-e , 5339, a , 5349, c

grenadier grenadie r, 585, 1. 9

grossly grossiérement, 51 6

ground floor rez -de -chaussée m. ,

1. 10

group groupe m. , 5 10

grow (in siz e) grandir, 533, 1. 2 ;(be

come) devenir, 5 3 ;f r. pref ers

inclu sive vbs . grow old vieillir etc .;

see become and get

HIGH — JUST

moietc. , usually en ;of periods , dans,e n, or no

‘prep . , 585, 327; if

time con sumed by an act, e n (vieillir

e n un jour, 5427, d , e x . of time

p receding an act, dans (je pars dans

d eux jours I leave in two days);ofs ty les , 1 (a l

’anglaise , 5 in it

or in them, of sex less tiring-s , u sually

y, 5 1 13, 1. 2, 5 284, b, 5 or 131

dedans , 5282, R

in (2) (at bome) adv . ch e z moi (toi

etc . )inaccurate fanti- f, -ve , 5 1 57, l. 7incline s

’inc line r, 5 142 ; feel inclined

to avoir envie de

increase vb. augmenter

indebted for, be devoir a qqn . de ,

5 187, “ 9 8 2471gindispensable indispensable

individual nou n (fam.) individu m.

infinitive infinitif m., 5239

inform(about) renseigner (sur)ingenious ingénieu

-x ,-se , 5338 , c

inn aube rge f .

innocent innocent-e , 51 17

insist (on) insister (pour inf .

pour que subj unctive ), 52 58 , c

insmt that, th e des que , aussitdt

que , 5 105;anmoment 011, 595, ex . 3;

instead of an lieu dc obj . or an lieu

que subj u nctive , 5 234, e x . 4

instruction enseignement m. , 5 1 57,

1. 13

instrument instrument m., 51 57,

intelligent inte lligent- e , 596,

intend (to) compte r, 5246, ex . 4; se

propose r (dc )interest vb. intéresser, 590, 5 1 57,

5 2 1 5, ex . 2

interesting intére ssaut- e

419

into dans, 541 , l. 3; en (traduire en

franqais translate into F L , aller en

F rance go to 5335;a

588 , l. 6;into it or into them (of sex

less t/u'

ngs) y, 5304, or 15 dedans,

5282, R

invariable invariable , 5 1 2 1

invitation (to) invitation (a)f .

invite (to) invite r (a)involve See s

’agir, 5 132 , d

issue vb. sortir ; cf . etre issu-e , 5 141

it i1, 544, l. 1 2 , 55255, 303 ;e lle , 539 ;lo, la, 543 ; cc , 541 , 5 50, b,

570, l. 2 , 574, e xs . 1 and 2 , 5576—78 ;ce la, 9a, 5579—8 1 find it difllcult to

trouver difficile de ;for in it , for it ,about it , etc. (of sex less tfiings) see in,

for, about , etc . , also 5282 , 5284, b—c ,also y and en , also itself

Italian italien-no, 549, a, R

I taly I talic /1, 585, N b, 5333its my. son , sa, se s , 554; en, 5309itself se , 543, a ;af ter preps” of indef.

th ings , sometimes sci or sol-meme ;of specific t/zings , sometimes lui

méme or e lle -meme , 5 179, a , 5287see it

January janvie r m. , 5327, a

Japan Japon m. ,We ex . 2, 5337jaunt pe tite ex cursionf . (faire )jealous jalon-x ,

-se , 5338, e

jewel bijou m. , 5 136, 6

John Jean , 530, a

j ourdain Jourdain, 538 1journey voyage m. , 5337, I I I

joy joie f a § 7o, 1 3'

July juille t m. , 5327, a

j une juin m. , 5327, a

just, have ve nir de , 5251 , c, 5482, R ;ne faire que de , 5247, i; of. 5400, a

ENGLISH—FRENCH VOCABULARY

(il sort 5 l’instant) just it c e la

meme , 5 179, a, R ; just now a

l’

heure qu’il est ; just a bit tant

soit peu, 5 229, Q ; just to inf .

rien qu’a, 5253, ex . 6 (cf. 5374, b)

keen to, be il4» tarder R

keep garde r ;keep from empéche r de ;keep warm tenir chauda, 544, l. 1

kill tue r, 5 5 1 59, b

kind (1 ) adj . aimable , obligeant-e , gen

til-le , bon-ne , 5296, b

kind (2) nou n genre m. , e spece f . ,

5 182, 6

king roi, 5 161 , l. 3kitten pe tit

-e chat-te ;her kittens se s

pe tits, 5340

knell glas m. , 5266, l. 9knife couteau m. ; (pew ) canif m.

knock (at) frappe r (a), 5238, ex . 4know savoir, 595, exs . 4and 5, 5 161 ,l. 1 1 , 5 223, e x . 1 , 5469 ; ne pas

ignore r, 5223, e x . 3 ; connaitre (not

u sed with conj . que ), 5460

knowledge connaissance/Z , 5157,

labor travail m. , 5 143, a (for pl)ladder éch e lle j i, 585, l. 1 2

lady dame , 574, ex . 1 young lady

jeune fille ; see girl

land te rre f . ; (cou n toy ) pays m.

language (sped/T) langue f . , 5 1 57,l. 15; (speec/x) langage m. , 5 1 57, or

les langue s

large grand-e (see big), gros-se , 5348

see become

last de rnie r, demiere , p . 70, 227, a,

52531 ex ' 91 3271 ‘1 8355, b

late adv . tard, 563, ex . 4Latin n oun latin m. , 549, a , Rlatter, the ce lui-ci;see former

laud vanter, 51 13, l. 1 2

laugh (at) rire (de ), 5 141 , N

law loif ., 5 176, ex . 1

lawsuit procés m. , 5 236

lawyer avocat m. , 5'

193, l. 10

lay me ttre (5 pose r, coucher

lazy paresseu-x ,

-se , 5338, c

lead vb. mener, 5 162 , a conduire ,

5459 ; lead (infl u en ce) to amener

a, porte r a

leaf (of trees etc .) feuille f .

leap-

year année bissextile f .

learn (to) apprendre (a), 560, N 2 ;

savoir, 5463leamod adj . érudit-e , bien instruit-e ,

savant-e (5 z 6o, .

b)least moindre adj . , 5 55, b, R ; (lo)moins adv . and prom, 555, a, 556,

5 227, ex . 3 ;at least du moins or

au moins, 51 57, l. 1 see less

leave (1 ) vb. (go away ) partir, s’

en

alle r;tr . quitte r, 566, l. 7, or laisser;be left (as a remnan t) rester,

§ 146, R , § 375, em7leave (2) noun

’

congé m. , 5320

left (1 ) p .p . See leave (1 )left (2) adj . gauch e , 5344, Qleg jambe j i, 5329lend préte r, 5295, e x . 1

less moins (de ), 544, l. 8, 5555—56;the less the less moins

moins, 556, 5‘268 , c ;moindre M 91,

555, b, R ; see least

lesson legon/Z , 5225, e , 5362 , ex . 10

lest de peur que (ne ), 5220

let laisser, 5 244, ex . 4, and 5244, a,

5 270, b; pe rme ttre (a qqn . dc);

f or let hortative , see 55 194—196

letter le ttre /Z

liberty libe rté f .

library bibliotheque f .

422 ENGLISH—FRENCH VOCABULARY

matter, no n’importe , 5 1 55, c, R ;

what matter qu’impo rte , 5 1 53;busi

ness matters de s afiaire s/fi? be the

matter y avoir, 5302 , b 5)may (and might), 598 , ex . 1 ; pou

voir, 5165, 5202 , b;it may be that

il se peut que , 5 229, b, Q (end);may (might ) as well autant vaut etc . ,

5245, e x . 9 ; see might

May maim. , 5327, a

maybe peut-étre (see perhaps)me me , mOia § 41 1 L61 437 l97

"' 1989

201 , 261 , 1 6, 55 292, 298

meal repas m. , 5 3, 5x43, c

mean vb. vouloir dire , 5249, l. 5meaning sens m. , 544, ll. 8 and 1 1

meaningless vain-e , 544, l. 1 2

means moyen m. (see manage)meddle in se méle r de , 5 162, gmeet re ncontre r (5 faire la con

naissance de ;in tr . se réunir, 5284,a ;be met (encoun tered) se trouve r,se rencontre r

meeting reunionf . bu t see 5284, a

mention it, don’t iin'

y a pas de quoi,

5 140, ex . 3

merciful clement- e , 5 1

merely See only (2)message dépéch e f .

method mé thode / Z , 5 18 1 , ex . 1

M exico (le ) Me xique , 5337, l. 1 1

midnight minuit m. (see noon)midst milieu m. , 548, l. 5might vb. expressed by E f orm, 595,ex . 2 ;see maymind (1 ) vb. faire attention (it), 5253,ex . 8 ; never mind n

’importe or 9a

ne fait rien

mind (2) noun e sprit m. ,

mine le mien etc . , 557 amoi, 5297;

minute minute f , 5182, c, 3, 5 356, b

misery misére f . (of. 570,miss vb. manque r, 585, ll. 22—23mistake (in) faute (dc)f . , 5157, l. 19;orreur/Z

mister [ML ] monsieur 533, N d ,

5146, a

misunderstand mal comprendremisunderstanding malentendu m. ,

5272

modern moderne , 55325, 344modify modifier, 5418Moliore Moliere , 525, a

'

, 538 1

moment momentm. , 595, ex . 3;every

moment (instant ) adv . , 5 3

Monday lundim. , 5327, e

money argent m. , 549, b

month mois m. , 5 143, c, 5327, a

more plus (de ), 549, b, 5375;davantage , 5 102 (end), 5375, a, N 2 ; the

more th e more plus plus,

556, 5268, c ;one more nu (une ) de

plus ; six years more six autres

années, 5 178 , e ;see most-morning matin m. , p . 69, I , 5327, d

most le plus (de ) etc. , 5555—56 ; le

mieux (aime r le mieux);la.plupart,

5 1 , 5319, g ;see more

mother mere / x 538, a

mother-in- law belle-mi: re , 5348 , a

motor-car automobile f . ,

‘auto f .

mouse sourisf . , 5 1 13, l. 4mouth bouch e / Z , 544, l. 6, 5329mouthful bouchée f , 588, l. 5move vb. émouvoir (fig ), 5168 , a

movement mouvement m. , 570, l. 6

much beaucoup (de ),bien do etc .;very

much alone bien seul-e ;much less

bien (or beaucoup)moins, 544, l. 8;as much as autant (de que , 596,

l. 23;how much (or many) que de,

MATTER — NOTE

5154, ex . 4; combien (de ), 5 1 56, 1

somuch tant (de ), te llement ;much

(in some negation s ) grand’chose ,

531 2 , e, 5370, ex . 15; n ever say

tres beaucoup f or very much ; see

manymusic musique f . , 5362 , ex . 10

musical (instrument) (instrument) de

musique ; see music

must falloir (impers ), 5470, b (wit/z

subj u nctive), 5222 , (w it/z inf ), 552 ,l. 2, 5245, b; devoir, 5 187

my mon , ma, me s, 554;me

5295, d , It , 55329—330 ;21 moi, 5297myself me , 543, a ;moi, moi-meme ,

55 278 , 283, 287;by myself amoi

seul- e , 8—9

naive (g uileless) nalf, naive

name nom m. , 5 1 55, ex . 1;my name

is je m’appe lle 5 162 , c

narrow étroit-e ;see escape

nasal nasal- e , 5 N

natural nature l-le , 5338, e

naughty méchant-e , 5 1 13, l. 10

near pres de (in some cases , pres)

nearly pre sque , apeu pres

necessary néce ssaire , 544, l. 1 3 ; see

must

need vb. avoir be soin de , 5 102 , e x . 2 ;

(impers) falloir, 5 178 , ex . 1 5

neither 1 ) conj . ni, 5377neither (2) pron . ni l

’un (l

’

une ) ui

l’

autre , 5377, N 1 , 538 1 , N 2

Nero Néron , 525, b, 5486

nervous ne rve uox ,-se , 5238 , ex . 4

nest nid m. , p . 109 , V , 5201 , l. 6

net file t m. , 588, l. 3never jamais, p . 70, I I I , 5373new '

neuf, neuve , 5 250, e x . 5; nou

veau etc . , 5325, 5338 ,f

423

New Orleans la Nouve lle -O rléans,

325

newspaper journalm. , 5 136, a

nex t prochain-e , 5327, c

nice ge ntil- le , 5338 ,f , 5 256, R, 4

nigh t nuitf . , 5 182 , c, 2 , 5327, d

nine neuf, 5354, b, 11

nineteen dix-neuf, 5354, b, 566, l. 3ninth (title) neuf (IX), 5355, c

no (1 ) Engl . aaj . ne pas , 553, N 2,

5590, 370;aucun- e , 5 170, a—e , 5 178 ,

e x . 5; nul-le , 5 184;for no one see

nobody

no (2) Engl. adv . non (cf . oui an d si),

5590, 366 ;no more , no longer ne

plus, 375nobleman gentilhomme , 5348, a

nobody pe rsonne , 5590, 186, 374, e ,

5376; see no (1 ) r

noise bruit m. , 544,nominative cas suje tm. , nominatifm.

none aucun - e , 51 70, c ; na pas

(wit/z en) see no (1 ) and any .

nook and corner, every tous les coins

e t re coins, 5307, e. ex . 2

noon midim. , 563, ex . 5, 5356, b

nor ni, 5377; see neither (1 )Normandy Normandie j i, 55333, 335north nord m. (l

’Amérique du Nord)

not (don’t, isn

’t, etc . ) ne pas etc . ,

ne point etc . , 552, 5590,

370—371 , 366

-

38 1 non pas or pas,

5366, c—Iz ;not I moi non , 533, l. 4,or pas moi, 5366, g ;not very peu ,

556, 5366, d not so as moins

que , 5 56, N not one pas un - e

(ne ), 531 1 ;not everybody cc

n’e st pas tout le monde qui;on ne

or pas alon e, see 55368-

370

note vb. note r ;note and record (ascer

tain ) constate r, 5 1 57, l. 5

424 ENGLISH—F RENCH VOCABULARY

noth ing rien , 5374;nothing else pas

autre chose , 5370, f , N 2, or rien

d’autre ; see also

notice vb. s’ape rcevoir (de or que ),

p . 1 53, I I—I I I remarquer, 585, l. 6

noun nomm.

novel (by) roman (de ) m.

novelty nouveauté j :

now maintenant ;see also justnowhere nulle part, 5 184number nombre m. , 531 2, a , e r . 2 ,

359

numerous nombreu-x ,-se , 5338, c

obey obéir (a), 5 132 , d

object noun obje t m. , 5 1 57, l. 1 2

oblige (to) oblige r (a, de ), 5247,fobliging aimable

observe obse rver

occasion occasionf . , 5 177occur arrive r, se passe r, 5 146;venir

al’

esprit, 5295, ex . 1 5

o’clock h eure -Sj . , 5356, b

of de (du 45, 3118—319, 323,

332-

333, 335;of it , of them (impera )en, 5284, c, 5304;de lui, d

’e lle -s,

d’eux usually apply to persons ; en

must sometimes be omitted most of

th em speak to h im la plupart lui

parlent; note que lque s-nus d

’

entre

nous (vous etc .) some of us (you etc . )

of vb. de inf . , 5 241 , ex . 5;

think of pense r 1 (or de ), see think

and cf. songer a, 596, l. 22 August

19 le dix-neuf aofit, 5355, c ;nice of

you gentil 1 vous, 5 256, R 4;ofmine

amoi, of John's 5 Jean , 52973all of

us nous tous (see all)ofi adv . en (s

'

en alle r); carry on em

porter ; a day of! nu jour libre ,

5340, N ;05 prep . de (F r . bas no

tru e equivalen t of on; see of an d

from)ofier (to) offrir (de inf ), 5440 .cf .

offrir que , 52 1 5, ex . 7

often souvent, 556 ; how often c om

bien (possibly que ) de fois ;see h ow

oh oh , 6 (p . 330, I I ), ah (p. 138, I I )

old vie ux , vieil, vieille , 5338,f , 5348 ,R ;ancien-no, 5338, e ;how old qu e l

age , 5 1 50, ex . 1 ;be years old

avoir ans, 566, l. 3on sur, 533, l. 4, 552 , onMonday

(le ) lundi, 5327, e ;on all sides de

toute s parts, 570, ll. 4 5 (so de ce

cote'

on this side ); on it (on them,

impers . ) la-dessus, 5282 , R, 5304;on —ing en — ant, 533, 1. 2;55 261

262

once une fois ;at once (forthwith ) tout

de suite ;at once (simu ltaneou sly )en méme temps

one (1 ) num. adj or pron . un , une ,

5531 1 , 353-

355;page one page un,

5355, c ; one of th em nu (or l’un)

d’

eux , une d’e lle s etc . , 585, l. 10 one

or the oth er, one of the two, l’un

(l’

une ) ou l’autre , 538 1 , one

thing anoth er autre chose

autre chose , 5 178, e x . 8 ;f or one anoth er see anoth er and each ;one and

the same un - e seul—e e t méme , 5179,e x . 3;the (this, that ) one , the ones

ce lui, ce lui-oi, etc . , 582 , 5 1 22, ex . 2,

5 1 57, 5 183;good ones de bons,de bonnes, 5340, a (of. 5 180)

one (2) rude/Z pers . pron . on , 543,2841 as 305

one’s son , sa, ses, 5305;one

’s own ls

sien etc. , 5557, 305oneself se , 543, a—b; soi, soi-méme,

5284, a


Pau Pau m.

pay (1 ) vb. paye r, 5 158, 5328 , ex . 4;

pay a visit faire (une ) visite

pay (2) noun (wages) gage s m. pl. ,

596, l. 22

pear poire f i, 538, a

pearl pe rle /Z , 549, c

pen plume f . , 582, ex . 2

pencil crayon m. , 5 178, ex . 4

pension (boan ling-hou se) pension j :

people gens, 574, ex . 2 (m. and f . ,

monde m. , 5226, ex . 4;on,

see one (2) and other-s

perceive s’ape rcevoir, 5 188 , a

perfection pe rfe ctionf .

perfectly parfaitement, 5 161 , l. 1 1

performing (dog) savant, 5 260, b

perhaps pent-etre (or pent-etre que ,

with indic.) see maybe

Perigord Périgord m., 5334, e x . 5

person pe rsonne f l, 5 2

Peter Pierre

philologist ph ilologue m.

philology philologie f .

ph ilosophy philosophic ] .

phonetic phonétique , 5533, 344

phrase locutionf .

picture tableaum. ;(in books ) imagef

piece piece f i, 597; (of f u rnitu re )meuble m. , 596, l. 6

pill pilule f .

pin (lit.) épingle f . ;(j ig) hear a pin

drop entendre vole r une mouche ,

596, 11. 13—14

pity (1 ) vb. plaindre , 5283, c, e x . 1

pity (2) noun pitiéfi, 5202, a ; dom

mage m. , 52 1 5, ex . 3 (or de inf . )

place endroit m. , 585, lieu m. ,

580, e x . 1 (post) placef . , 595, ex . 3

plain adj . laid-e see ugly

plan proje t m. , 5170, b

plate assie ttefi, 5268, ex . 5

s lay joue r § 253, e r g; (an

strumen t) joue r dc ; (feign to be )

faire le (la), p . 302, I , 9

pleasant, be faire bon , 5250, d

please plaire faire plaisir (a),

5296, a ;(suit) conve nir (i);please

knock veuillez trappe r, 5202, e ;

when you please quand vous vou

droz , 5 166, D

pleasing aimable , 548, l. 1 1 agréable ,

5296, b;beau etc . , 5348 , R

pleasure plaisir m. , 5296, a

plenty (of) beaucoup (de ), 549, b

plural plurie l m. , 51 2 1

point point m., endroit m.

poison vb. empoisonne r, 595, ex . 8

Poitou Poitou m. , 5334, 5337, I I I

poor pauvre , 5yo , l. 1o , 5344, C

portrait portrait m.

Portugal Portugalm. , 334. 337

position plage f . , 595, e x . 3;he in a

position .to étre 1 meme de , 5227,N 1 (end )

possession of, take s’emps t er de ,

85, l. 7

possible possible , 551

possibly pent-etre (cf . 589)

post card (postal [card]) carte pos

tale ] .

potato pomme de terre f . , 5318, a

pour ve rse r;(rain hard ) pleuvoir i

verse , 5 N 9

power pouvoir m. , 5161 , l. 23

praise vb. louer, 5418 , a

pray (exp letive) done (after vb.)

precede précéder, 5162 ,f

predict prédire , 5 16 1 , l. 2, 5474, a

prefer aimer mieux , 5247, a , 5215,ex . 9 ;préfére r, 5 162,f

preposition prépositionf l

1 14b’

j eEM A /ex'

ABLE 42 7

presence présence f , 5 161 , l. 17

Pretty jo li- e , 55, F . § 348

prevent empéch e r, 5 178, ex . 9

prince p rince , 5 101 , l. 3

probable probable

probably probableme nt , 5361

problem probleme m.

proce s s p rocédé 1 2

proclaim proclame r, 51 7

produ ce produire , 5459

profe ssor professeur m. , 5324

promise (1 ) vb. prome ttre , 5447

promise (2) nou n prome sse f .

prompt prompt- e , 548, l. 3pronoun pronomm. , 5 1 2 1

pronounce prononce r, 5 106, e x . 2

prose prose f . , 538 1

proud fie r, here , 5338, a

prov erb prove rbe m. , 5 1 55, b, N

provided that pourvu que , 5 230

prow l rode r, 596, 1. 3

pull tire r, 585, l. 16 (fire )

punish (for) punir (de ), 541 , l. 4,

5 132 , d , 5 176, exs . 1—2

pure put-e

purpose but [by] m. ; de ssein m. ,

see aim(I )

put me ttre , 541 , l. 2 , 5447;put back

remettre , 5 172 , R

quality qualite'

f . , 5 2

quantity quantité f .

queer étrange , biz arre , drole -s de

before noun , drole -s af ter noun

question que stion f . (see ask)

quickly vite , 556

quietly , so ave c si peu de bruit

quits tout a fait, 5 182, c, 9 ; cf. tout

(autre ), 5178, e x . 1 2 ;be quite diner

ent from ne re ssemble r pas du tout

é ;quite near tout prés

racket (tennis) raque tte

rag haillon m. , 5railway station gare f . , see station

rain 1 ) vb. pleuvoir, 5169rain (2) noun pluieframpart rempart m. , 585, 1. 21

rare rare

rather plutot (cf . soon) (somewhat)asse z , nu pe u ; would rather aimermieux , 5247, a

read lire , 1 , 5475ready (to) prét- e (A), 5 253, crealiz e se rendre compte , 5 190, E

really vraime nt, 5 361 ma foi (cf .

538 1 , l. really true bien vrai,

581 , e x . 2

reason raison f , 5 170, ex . 1'

th e

reason is of ten c’e st que , 578, e x . 4

reasonable raisonnable , 5 193;l. 6

recall (remember ) se rappe le r (que ),

5223, e x . 4;w ith inf , 5246, ex . 6 ;

see 5 162 , d , and remember

receive re cevoir, 5 188

recognize re connaitre , 5 1 13, l. 2

recommend recommande r

record vb. consigne r ;bu t see note

red rouge , 5349, c

te-form re forme r, 5 1 57, 1. 9refrain (from) s

’abste nir (de ), 5240

refuge , take s’abrite r (see shelter)

refuse (to) re fuse r (de ), 5240

regard to, with au suje t deregret (to) regre tte r (de ), 5251 , d ;with que , 52 1 5, ex . 1

reject re je te r, 5 162 , drelative re lati-f, -ve , 5 1 2 1

rely on se fie r a, 5 299, e x . 4 or

compte r sur, 5306, ex . 3

remain rester, 5573, 146 ;demeurer,

533, 1. 5, § 427, d

remarkable remarquable

428 ENGLISH ‘ FRENCH VOCABULARY

remember se souvenir de , 5227, R ,

5482 (end );see recall

renew renouve le r, 5162, d

re0pen (se ) rouvrir, 5266, 539 1

(footnote ), 5440

repeat répé te r, 5 162 , freply 1 ) vb. répondre (ato), 585, l. 15,

5445reply (2) noun réponse (ato)j i

resemble re ssemble r (a), 51 56, 1

resign oneself se résigne r, 5 254,

l. 38

resolve (to) résoudre (de ), 585,

f or se résoudre asee 5451

respects, in all a tous (le s) égards,

5 182, p . 148 (top )rest (1 ) vb. se repose r

rest (2) nou n (remainder) le s autre s ,

§ 58, ext-4; re ste v s § 359, 6

return (come back) revenir, rentre r,

573, 5427, b; (go back) re tourne r,rentre r, 5427, b (give back) rendre ,

5 190, D

revolt révolte j i, 5 176, ex . 2

revolver revolve r, 589, ex . 2

reward récompense f . , 566,rich rich e (cf . poor);make rich

enrichir, 5132 , d ;get rich s’enrichir,

5262, 1 1

rid of , get se de'

barrasser de (cf.

5 162 , a , N )ridiculous ridicule , 551

right (n ot lef t) droit-e , 5344, Q ; (cor

rect) correct-e , exact-e , juste ; right

end bon bout : 5348 R ;be right (of

persons) avoir raison , 5 1 22 , N

rise se lever, 5 105, l. 1 , 5 162 , a, N ;

see get up

risk risque r (tr . , or de inf .)road ch emin m. , p . 90

roll roule r, 5 1 1

Rome Rome f ., 5182, a

room piece j i; (bedroom) chambref .

rose rose f . , 549, a

Rouen Rouen m. , p . 78, I I I

round about autour de , 548, —8

see about

route route f . , 5268 , ex . 1

rule régle f . , 5 157, l. 24"m coun

'

n - 13, § 437

sad triste , 5347;become sad s’attrister

(se sentir attriste r)sail (away ) partir, faire voile

saint saint- e , 55salary appointements m. , salaire m.

same meme , 5 179 ;at th e same timee n meme temps

Saturday samedi m. , 5327, e, 5356,

a, 1 5

say dire , 585, l. 1 1 regu lar paren

th etic inversion in 588 ,scene scéne f . , 5305, b, ex . 3

scholar (of note) savant m. , 5260, b

school école f . , 5 1 13, l. 6

science scie nce f . , 5 154, ex . 5

sea me rf . , 524, c

season saisonf .

second (1 ) adj . deux ieme , second-e ,

5354, d (in titles) deux , 5355, c

second (2) nou n se conde f i, 5182,

see voir, 5463, 546, 548, l. 9 ;(voir

inf .) 5 22 1 , 5301 , R ; (f or p .p.)

5268 , e xs . 3 and 1 2 , 5270, b

seek ch e rche r (see look vb. )seem semble r, 596, l. 16, 5223, b,

5245, b; paraitre , 5245, b

Seine Seine f . , 5266,

seldom rarement, pen souvent

-self,-selves -meme - s, 5 179, a, 55283

287 see myself etc.

sell vendre , 519 1 , 5328, ex . 1


so adv . (to su ch a degree) bef ore adj s . ,

advs . , and p .p . si, te lleme nt;with

other vb. f orms ta'

nt , te lleme nt (je

m’ennuie te lleme nt); bef ore faim,

soif, chaud , froid , pe ur, be soin

(51 22, N , si; so few si peu

(do), so much , so many tant (dc ),

so little si peu (de ), 549, b; so that

(of resu lt) en sorte que , si bien

que ; so as to (pu rpose or resu lt)

de fagon a inf . , 5 241 , d, N

so that (of pu rposc) pour que etc . ,

5231 ; so thus ainsi, comme qa ;

so long as (of time) tant que ; so

much th e better tant‘

mieux ; so

accordingly donc , 5 1 57, l. 20; ofvagu e an teceden ts lo

,I think so je

le pe nse , 5303social social- e etc . , 5338 , g , 5 1 57, l. 18

soft te ndre , mou , mol, molle (5338,f ,

348 , R)soldier soldat m. , p . 46, I I I

solve résoudre , 5451

some que lque - s , 5 173 du , de la, etc . ,

538 , a , 5546, 318 ; ce rtain- e etc . ,

5 174; some ten que lque dix ;pron .

que lque s 55 173, 180 ; some

others le s un(e )s le s autre s,

or qui qui, 5 135; some think so

il y en a (que lque s-nus) qui le pe n

sent ; see somebody , somehow , something, etc .

somebody or someone que lqu’un-e ,

55173, 180;on , see one somebodyor oth er je ne sais qui, 5 1 52

somehow (or other) de facon ou

d’autre , 5 178 ; je me sais comment

someone See somebodysometh ing que lque ch ose m. , 5 16 1 ,

l. 2 , 5 180 ; that is something which

c’e st 1a (or voilé ) une chose

quietc . , 580 ; something very (line! 5

out tout autre chose , 5 178 , c , Q ;

something or oth er je ne sais quo i,

51 52 ;something else que lque ch ose

d’

autre , or in some cases autre chose ;

something to eat (que lque chose ) a

manger, 5253, a

sometimes que lque fois, parfois;sometimes sometimes tantot tantot

somewhat un peu

somewhere que lque part, 589 , e x . 2

somewhere or oth er je ne sais 011 ,

5 1 55, R ; see some and somethingson hls, 554, d , 5 143, c

soon bientot (see early ); sooner plus

tot ; soonest le plus tot'

as soon as

aussitot que , des que , etc . , 586, b,

55 105—106 ;as soon as possible aus

sitot que possible , le plus tot qu’on

pourra, etc. ; so soon 31 tot or sitor;

too soon trop tot ; note thatf or soon

alone bientot is commoner than tot

bu t mu st not be modified (do not u se

tres bientot or th e lihe)sort sorte f (see kind n ou n )

sou sou m. (abou t on e cen t or half :

penny see franc)sound son m. , 544, l. 10, 545south sud [syd] m. , 5449, h (bu t see

north and southern)south ern meridional-e etc . , 5338 , g ;

§ 344. Q (see south )Spain ESPagnefl h e a. 333, 335.

346

speak parle r, 543, b, 558, ex . 2 , 5107,

51317, R , 416

speech le langage , 5 1 57speech

—sound ph oneme m. ,

spell (out) épe le r, 5 162 , d

spelling orthographe f . , 5 1 57,

§ 254

SO — SWER VE 431

spend (time) passe r ; (money ) dé

pe nse r

spite of, in malgré (moi etc . ) conj .

malgré que , 5229, N 2

spring (season ) printemps m. , 5327, b

spy (upon) épie r, 548 , 1. 2 , 5418squarely (blun tly) carrément, 5361

stagger chance ler, 5 162 , d

stairs escalie r m. , 596, l. 1 1

stampede n oun sauve -

qui-

peut m. ,

5 2 13, c

stand étre (debout), se tenir (debout);se me ttre , 5288 , a ; stand idle

chome r, 5266 ; see 548 1 , N

start partir ; (a law -su it) intente r,

5236

starve mourir de faim, 5 319, a ,

ex . 1

state état m. ; see United

station (railway ) gare f . , 5 55, b, R

stay re ste r, 573 ; see remain

steal vole r, 5295, ex . 2

s tep n oun pas , 5 143, c, N

s tick baton m. , 5348 , R

still (y et) encore , 598 , e x : 1 (now , as

before) toujours ; see however

stir up suscite r, 5 176, ex . 2

stock See familystone pie rre f . , 534stop arréte r tr . ; refl. s

’arréte r

stoppage of work chomage m. , 5266

storm orage m.

story (tale etc . ) h istoire f . conte m.

(see history )strange étrange , 5313, ex . 1

stranger étrange r, é trangere

ptream riviere f . , 588, l. 2

street rue f . , 552, l. 6 ; of ten adv

come to Street vene z rue

strike frappe r ; (of clochs ) sonne r,

5 193, 11. 25- 26, 5356, b, 7

strong fort-e , 5 1 13, l. 17 vigoureu-x,

-se , 5338, c

student étudiant- e , eleve m. orf .

study (1 ) vb. é tudier, 5 159, a

study (2) noun étude fstufiy , smell se ntir lo renfermé ,5225, d

stumble trébuch e r, 596, l. 5stunning (slang) épatant- e , chic

stupid stupide , béte (5349, h )style , in the English a l

’anglaise ,

5331 (note style m. )subject suje t m. , 5 1 50, e x . 1

substitute (for) substitue r (é), rem

place r (par)succeed (in) réussir (a), 5 132 , d ;(follow ) succéde r 548 , l. 4

succumb succombe r, 541 , ll. 4 5such

,such a

,such and such (a) te l- lo,

5 1 57, l. 3, 5 18 1 cf . pare ille , 55 1 29,

338, e

sufler soufirir, 5440

suflering souffrance f . , 5 2

sum somme ] :

summer é té m. , 5319, f , 5327, b

sun sole il m., 5302 , b(4)

Sunday dimanch e m. , 5327, e

support sou te nir, 585, 1. 20

suppose suppose r, 5 100, 5223, p . 180

(top); supposed to suppose- e , ré

pute-e , etc . , inf . , 5245, b

sure sfir- e, 5 100;certain- e , 5161 , 1. 1 8

(see fail to)surprise (1 ) vb. surprendre , 5448

surprise (2) n ou n surprise f , 585,1. 8

swallow (lit . ) avale r, 5234, ex . 1 ;

(credu lou sly ) gobe r, 5232 , ex . 1

sweep balaye r, 55 1 58, 419sweet doux , douce , 5338, h

swerve (from) se détourner (de )

432 ENGLISH- FRENCH VOCABULARY

swift rapids swift to act prompt- e ,

48 1 1° 3

syllable syllabe f . , 5 106, e x . 2

syntax syntaxef , 5 1 57, 5249, 1. 13

table’

table f . , 541 , l. 2

tag, play .joue r au chat ;circumlocu

tion se fuir, se ch e rche r (se fuyant,

se che rchant), 5 52, 11. 1 2- 1 3

tail queue f . , 5314, d , ex . 1

take (away) prendre , '548 , l. 2, 5 10 1 ,

l. 6, 5448 (condu ct)me ne r, ame ne r,

570, l. 1 , 5 162, a ; (lead away , carry

of ) emmene r, take care

of soigne r, 596, l. 8 ;take in (deceive)attrape r ; take (requ ire) falloir : the

care it has taken le s soins qu’il a

fallu , 5 203, b; take (ren t) a house

loue r une maison

talent tale nt m. , 5 173, e x . 5

talk parle r (see speak ); (chat) causer

(about de )tall grand

- e , 573, N 2 , 5348

task rich e /1, 570, 1. 14taste nou n gofit m. (cf . gofite r vb.)teach instruire 5459 ; ap

prendre (qqch . a 5226, e x . 6,

5448 ; e nseigne r (qqch . a

420

teach er profe sseur m. , 531 2 , e , ex . 1

cf . maitre de ph 11030phie , 538 1

telegram te’

le'

gramme m. , dépéch e f .

telephone téléph one r, p . 96 (top )tell dire (qqch . b. 5 251 , d , ex . 2 ,

5474; (relate ) raconte r

tempt (to) te nte r (de ), 541 , 1. 4temptation tentation f . , 541 , l. 5ten dix , 5354, b

tennis tennis [ni'

s] m . , 5253, ex . 9tenth dix ieme , 5354, b (in title) dix ,5355, c , N

terms, on friendly en te rmes am ic aii'

x ,

’

bu t see 5305, c, ex . 1

te rrible te rrible , 548, l. 1 1

text texte m. , 5533, 34than que , 544, than I que m o i;

bef ore n umerals or tlze like more

(less ) than two plus (moins) de d e u x

(more than half plus de la mo itie’

cf . plus de minuit after midnigh t ,

5356, b, before inf . que (d e ),

5247, a (cf . pour autre chose q ue

vole r, 5226, ex . than that simp ly

que : j ’aime mieux que cc soit mo i

que cc soit toi; n ote ne qu e ,

378

thank (for) reme rcie r (de ), 5 2 2 ,

ex . 5, 5418

thanks me rci (for pour), 598 , e x . 1 ,

494

that (1 ) conj . que , qu’

(qu’il 541 ,

l. 6 ; n ever omitted : I think he will

come je crois qu’il viendra

that (2) dem. adj . cc , ce t, ce tte

(wit/t or mil/tou t 5568, 74, 82

(N see one (1 ) and voila, 5 z o3, b

that 3) a’ern . pron . cc , ce la, ca,

544, l. 3, 5574—8 1 (cf . 5255, ex . 6,

and 5302 , b, R ) that is c’e st-A-dire ,

5252 , b; ce lui, ce lui- ls, ce lle , celle

lé , 582 ;note que ce la (ca), 51 29;and comment 9a va- t-il ? 5302, d

that (4) rel .pron n om. qui;obj . que,‘

qu’

, 55 1 1 3, 1 2 1— 1 24, 1 27; prea'.

nom. que , 5 1 28 ; that f ollowed by

prep . quoi (5 dont (55 1 18,duque l etc . (55 1 1 5

(551 20, n ote 5137 and p. 106,

V - V I see which , what, who, whom,whose

that (5) advbl. rel. que , 5265, g;R,

5268, d

434 ENGLI SH—FRENCH VOCABULARY

thirsty , be avoir soif, 5320

thirty-one trente e t nu-e , 5353, a

this (1 ) dem. adj . cc , ce t, ce tte , or

with -ci, 5568, 74; this umbrella le

parapluie que voici, 5 203, b; see

this these (I )this (2) dem. pron . ce , ceci, 5574

8 1 ; celui-oi etc ., 582 ; this is my

voicimon etc . , 5 203, a- c ; see here

thoroughly afond

those (1 ) dem. adj . ce s, ce s

see that (2)

those (2) dem. pron . ceux , ce lle s,

ceux -Ii, ce lles-la, 5 82 ; n ote th e

types cc sont lit those are

580, and voila le s miens those are

mine , 5203 ;see that (3) and th ere

thou (not requ ired ) tu , toi; see th ee

though bien que , quoique , 5229;even

though quand meme , 5 97 little

though etc. si peu que , 5228, g—b;

see although

thought penséef . , 533, 544, l. 13thousand mille , 565, ex . 1 , 5353, b, N

threaten menacer, 51 13, 11. 9—10, 5160

three trois, 5353through par, 5161 , l. 8, 596, l. 2 , 5244,

ex . 6 ; h trave rs, 5322 , c ; through

not faute de , 5241 , d , N 2

th row , th row away je te r, 5 161 , 1. 8,5162,b, d;throwback reje te r, 588,

Thursday jeudim. , 5327, e

thus ainsi, 570, l. 4, 5398, ex . 2

ticket bille t m. , 51 56, 1

till (jusqu’h cc) que , 5232, ex . 6

time temps m., 5 143, c, 5161 , l. 13 ;époque /Z, 5233, b, R ;(special occa

sion ) fois j i, 563, ex . 3 ;three timestrois fois (see once) ; at times par

fois ;in M e i. temps, 5246, ex . 4;a long time longtemps, 5 192, 5193,

1. 16; the time being le moment,

5254, l. 38 ;what time quelle heure,

5 150, ex . 2 , 5356, b

tire fatiguer ;(bore) ennuyer

to 5. § 47;bdm inf . 5.

253, or de . § 44. 245- 256.

251 , 255 (bu t of ten a pure inf . :

548, l. 1 , 55242, 244- 245, 248, 250,

256, R 2); (in order ) to p0ur+inf.,

541 , l. 3, 5241 , d ; enough to assez

pour inf , or asse z pour que

subj u nctive , 5232 , a (also too to);expect to s

’atte ndre 5 cc que,

5233, ex . 1 ; I wish you to je veux

que tu , 5 2 13, a (end ), 5 258, a;a

man to nu homme qui, 5258, b, or

uh homme a, 5253, e x . 1 2 ;the one-s

to see 5 1 22, ex . 2 , 52 1 5, ex . 9 ; in

often expressed by dative, 543, b,

5295, a - b, or by h lui etc . , 5299 ;to

her sister’s c e z sa smur ;fromtime

to time de temps en temps , 5321 ;

go to England alle r en Angle terre,

5599, 335;f or h and dams before

names of coun tries see 55335- 337;to it (to them, of sex less th ings) y,

284. 6, 5304to-day aujourd ’hui, 5356, a , 7

together ensemble , en m‘

e‘me temps

toll'

sonner, 5266, l. 9to-morrow demain , 595, e x . 6

tones, in low bas adv . (see low)too trop (trop aimable , trop loin, tropdire , tr0p mangé , too much,too many t wp (dc), $49. 5 ; too

also) aussi, 544, l. 4top , the le haut, 596, l. 1 1

tourist touriste m. orf . , 574toward-s vers, 5329, ex . 4;(of moral

relations) enve rs, 5283, a

town ville f . , 532 1

THIRSTY UTTER 435

trage dy tragédie / Z

t ra in train m. , 5 1 50, ex . 2

tramp (vagabond ) ch emineau m.

tran s cription transcriptionf . , 533tran s late traduire , 5459tran slation traductionf . , 533t rav e l vb. voyager, 5 160 ; cf. 5337tree arbre m. , 548 , l. 10

trip (s tumble) trébuch e r

trudge battre 5 266, l. 1

true v rai- e , 540 (cf . 5 1 57, l. 1 2)

trumo truffe f . , 5334, ex . 5

truly vraiment, 5361

tru st avoir confiance (en se

fie r (a 5299, e x . 4; (en tru st)

confie r (qqch .

'

a qqn . )

trut h vérité f . (cf. 5229, b, Q )try (to) e ssaye r (de ), 5 1 58 ; ch e rcher

a, 570, 5 z 5i , b

Tuesday mardim. , 5327, e

tune , out of faux , 5362 , e x . 5

tw entieth vingtieme , 5353;(in dates

etc .) vingt , 5355, c, N

tw enty-e ight vingt

-huit, 5354, c

twenty- four vingt

-

quatre , 5354, c

twenty-nine vingt

-neuf, 5354, c

twenty-sixth vingt

-sixieme , 5354, b—c

(CL § 355’ ‘3 N )twice deux fois, 5354, b

two deux , 5354, b

two-hour adj . de deux h eure s

ugly laid-e

umbrella parapluie m. , 5190, D

unable to, be ne (pas) pouvoir

unceasingly sans ce sse , 5 1 57, l. 6

uncle oncle , 554, d , 5326, R

under sous, 541 , l. 1 ; au-dessous de ;

under it (or them, of sex less tbings)li—de ssous, dessous, 5282 , R , 5304,

and see them

underhandedly sous main, 5322 , c

undersigned soussigné-e , 5294, R

understand comprendre , 5448, a

understanding, good See 5 305, c,ex . 2

undertake entreprendre , 5448, a

undoubtedly sans doute (see doubt )uneasy inquie t, inquiete , 5338, e , R

unfortunately malh eureuseme nt

United States Etats -Unis m. , 5333unless amoins que ne , 5 230 ;before inf . amoins de , 5241 , d , N 2 ;

ne que si, 5378, ex . 5until jusqu

’i ; (bef ore vbs . jusqu

’h ce

que , en attendant que , 5233, a- b;

tant que ne , p . 78, IV ; ne

que quand, 5378, ex. 6

up, come (or go) monter, 5 1 37, e x . 2 ,

5 250, 5427, b; be up (ou t of bed )é tre levé -e , 5265, e x . 5 get up (rise)se leve r, 5 162 , a

upon sur, 585, l. 2 1 upon leaving en

quittant, 5 262 , 6 a ; upon many an

occasion en mainte occasion , 5 177, a ;upon it (or them, of sex less th ings)l

‘

a-de ssus, 5282 , R

upside down sens de ssus de ssous,

51 20, ex . 4

us nous , 543 ;nous autre s, 5 178

use (1 ) vb. employe r, 5 1 58 ; (more

of ten ) se se rvir de ; see use (2)use (2) n oun ;make use of se se rvir

de , 5 157, 5225, e ;of what use

a quoi bon, 5 149, R (cf. 5 1 54,

ex . 5)useful utile , 551 , 5 296, b

useless inutile ; bu t see avoir beau,

5 193, l. 27, 5250, c

utilization utilisation f i, 5 1 57, l. 14utter prononce r, 5 106, e x . 2 , 5 160

(cries) pousser, 552 ,

436 ENGLI SH—FRENCH VOCABULARY

valuable precien-x ,

-se , 5338, c

value vale ur/1, 555, b, R

various plusieurs etc. , 5177verse ve rs m., 529, b, 538 1

very (1) adj . meme -s, 5 179, a ;at the

very most tout au plus, 5356, b, 1 1

very (2) ad v . trés (link s as 552,

bie n (link fort (link t)

view vue f . , 5 1 57, l. 14

vigilant, be veiller, 542 1

village village m

virtue ve rtu f . , 51 54, ex . 5

visible visible , 551

visit (1 ) vb. faire (rendre ) visite (b.

qqm)’ 32°

Visit (2) noun visits /I ;see pay (1 )visitor visiten-r,

- se , 5488, a

vogue vogue f .

voice v0ix f . , 5 10, 5143, c

volume tome m. , 5355, a

vowel voye lle /f. , 527, c, R

wait (for) attendre , 55192, 196

waiter gargon m. , 5 178, ex . 10

walk (1 ) vb. march e r, 5 194 (aux .

avoir)walk (2) nou n marche j i, 5319,fwall mur m. ; (enclosing wall, city

wall) muraille f , 585, l. 1 2

want de’

sirer, 5 247, b;vouloir, 5166,

52 1 5, ex . 1 , 5258, a

war gue rre f . , 5 106, ex . 3, 5319, k

warm chaud-e , 544, l. 5;be warm(ofliving ih ings in warmenvironmen t)avoir chaud noun m. , 5320 ;keep

warm tenir chaud n ou n m. (24.

44, l. I

warn ave rtir (qqn . de , que ), 5 132

warranted justifié-ewash laver, p . 294, 8—10

waste pe rdre ; (squander) gaspille r

watch ful, be veiller, 51 58, a

water can [0] f . , 549, b, 5 136, b

way route j i, 5268 ; chemin m. ;on

th e way en route , 532 1 all the way

to jusqu’a;by the way (fig) 4pro

pos , 5322, a;way-s (mean s)moyen - s

m. , 531 2 ; (habits) mdeurs f . p l . ,

5 1 13, l. 2 (manner ) fagonf , 5242 ,ex . 2

.(see manner)we nous, 538, a ; n

'

ous autre s , 51 78 ,e x . 1 on , 5284, a, 5305

weak faible , 551 , 5 1 13, l. 16

wealth riche sse f ., 532 1 , ex . 1

wear (garmen ts ) porter ; wear out

user tr . , (j ig ) éreinte r, 5266, 11. 1 2

I 3

weather tem'

ps m. , 5 1 55, a, 5250, d ,

5302 , b see time

Wednesday me rcredim. , 5327, e

week semaine f . , 5328, a ; huit joursm. , 5266, l. 2

weigh peser, 5162 , a, N

well bien , 556, N ;bie n inf . , 5bien 5225, a ;well th en ch

bien

what (1 ) adj . quel-le , 550, 5 83, N ,

55 1 50, 1 55;see which (1 )what (2) n eu t. in terr . p ron . (nom.)

qu’est-ce qui, 55 1 24, 1 29, 146—147,

orpossibly que , 55 146, 1 53 (accus . )

que , 55 1 24, 148, 151 ;(stressed ) quoi,

55149, 1 51 (ex cl.) quoior comment,

5 193, l. 1 what is your name ?

comment t’appe lle s- tu ?

what 3) rel.pron . (“that which ) (nom.)

cc qui (accu s .) cc que , 578, ex. 3,

5133, and (in indir . qu estion s) 5583,

1 24—1 25;que f or cc qui or cc que

(what , whatever), 5 139 ; cc dont

(what of), ce 5. quoi (what

to), 51 19

ENGLISH - FRES CH VOCABULARY

wine irin mq 553. N z

winter hivgr m, 57o , l. l

v ire a w ycrd l sfi

wise 5 2544 38 ;se e

wish (to) désirer (de 52 15. e x. 1 ;

vouloir, 544, 5 166 ; wish me

to vouloir (désire r) que , 5 2 13. a ,

5258, a

wit esprit m., p. 294, I l l , 1 1- 1 2

with ave c, 5241 , N 1 , 5322, 6 ; (cy'

in strumen ts or cau ses ) common ly

de ;with which de nt. 5 141 , N ; do

with faire de , 588 , dine with

dine r chez (see at ) ;go with accom

pagne r ;with it ave c ce la or ave c

.adv . , or ave c lui (e lle -s , eux , ifmore or less personified ), 5254, l. 19,

ii 282. 304within (in side) dans , e ntre ;within a

week dans huit jourswithout prep. sans , 553, N 1 , 5322, e ;

sans inf . , 5241 , d (cf. 5260, a);sans que , 5234;without it (or them,

of sex less th ings ) sans cela (sans

lui, eux, elle -s , if more or less per

sonified );55282, 304(if . with )

wolf loup m. , 5 1 13,

woman femme ;anEnglishwoman une

Anglaise , 549, a , R (cf. 5174)wonder (be uncertain ) se demande r ;wonder that s

’étonne r que , 5 2 1 5,

ex . 1

word mot m. , 5249, l. 8, 5496, b

work (1 ) vb. travailler, 5 157, l. 8,

5 158 , 5262 , 1 1

work (2) noun travailm. (pl. 5143, a),

5 102, ex. 2 ; ouvrage m. , 5 178 ,ex . 13;muvref , 5 179, ex . 3

workman ouvrie r m. , 5266, l. 1

world monde m. , 552 ,

“ 07 (M ) S'

inqnie'

wr (dc ).

send er (dc ), 5 228 (e )wa ne (1 ) adj . plus mauvais -c (o r

pire ». i 55. 6, R

m (2) ada plns mal (seldo pis ),

worst & e u se (1 ) and (2)wort h , he valoir, 5226, ex . 1

worthless sans valeur (f . )

W M) digne (dc )would au x g expm sed by gronp E (see

v in);b e"? 3 . 5560. 62 ;wou ld

m aime r mieux , 5 247, a ;

wouId lut ADieu quq 52 1 3, b, 6

wound (1 ) ob. blesse r, 5109 , R

wound (2) nou n ble ssure f .

m écrire, 85 269 1 472

writer écrivain m. , auteur m.

wrong, he avoir tort, 5 1 22 , N ; se

trompe 5 1 35, 5368, i;wrong (ofix , fausse , incorre ct- e

year an m. , 566, 1. 3, 5105, 5328 , a ;

(if a specific u n it) common ly anne'

e

f . : deux anne’

e s , ce tte année - ci (cf .

53559 5)

yell pousse r de grands cris , 552 , 1. 13

yes oui, 540, 5366, a—b; (in den ial

of a negative assertion ) si, 5 178 ,

ex . 7;why yes mais oui

yesterday hie r 582, ex . 2

yet encore , 5106, ex . 2 , 5403, b; (in

con trasts etc . ) cependant

yield céder, 5 162,/Z , 5303, a

you vous, § 38. a. 42- 43, 273- 279 ,

287- 301 ; vous autres, 5 178, e x . 1 ;

t“ , p ° 38, Q 41 § 381 0: 42 - 43’

278—279, 29 1 ; te , t’

(accu s . or

278- 279, 28 1 . 0..

295—296 .

298, 300-

301 ; toi, 55278, 287, 290

292 ;on, see one (2)

WINE Z EAL 439

young jeune , 5348

your ton , ta, te s, votre , vos, 554; te

(or vous) ls (la, le s), 5295, d , h

le , 1a, le s, 55329-

330

yours le (la) votre , le s votre s , le tien,

la tienne , etc . , 557;A toi, A vous,

297

zeal z‘

ele m. , 596, l. 16, 5 253, ex . 7

yourself te toi, toi-meme , vous,

vous-meme , 543, a , 55278—279 , 283,87—289, 298 ;see oneself and your

selves

yourse lves vous, vous-meme s ; see

yourself

442 FRENCH—ENGLI SH VOCABULARY

a mere link commencer A begin to ;

(t o) of means or accompan imen t nn

chapeauAplumes a hat with fe ath e rs,do. sardine. A l’huile sardine s with

oil (tinned, canned), cafe an lait

coffe e with milk, avoir afiaire A have

to dealwith , Acoup stir unque stion

ably, Amain. que unle ss, pen Apen

little by little , Apou pr“ about

abaiaaer (5384) bring down

abimo m. abyss

abord m. : d’abord (at) first, originallyabréviation f . abbreviation

abri m. sh e lter (cf. abriter)absolument (5361 ) absolute lyacademia f . (5 1 57, l. 22) academyaccident m. accident, me re chance

accomplir (5 132) accomplishaccueillir (5441 ) we lcome , rece ive

acheter (5 162, e) buy, purchase

achever (5 162, a) finish , comple teacteur m. (5488) ac tor

actuel-lo (5338, e) pre se nt (in time)

additionner (5384) add (in cou n ting )

admettre (5447) admitadmirable admirable (cf . 536 1 )admiror (5384) admireadorer (5384) adore , love to

adoucir (5 132) le sse n, assuage

adteu e f . skill, addre ss

aflaire f . (5495) affair, business, mat

te r, thing ; avoir aflaire A have to

deal with

aflectation avec affectedly

amnite f . (5 I 57, l. 9) affinityafireuaement (536 1 ) frigh tfullyanreu-x ,

-ae frigh tful, beastly

Afghanistan m. (5337) Afghanistan

afln de in orde r to ; afin que (5231 ,N l ) in orde r that

Age in . age ; quel Age h ow o ld

agir (5 ac t ; de quoi s’agit

-il ?

what is it about ? dont ii s ’agit that

is (or are ) involved

ah oh (possibly ah )

aile f . wing

aillenra (5 184) e lsewhere

aimer (A) like (to), love (to) ; aimer

mieux (5247, a) pre fe r

ainsi thus, so , (in) this wayAll m. air ;avoir l

’air se em, look

aiaé-e we ll- to -do

ajouter (5384) add (cf. addifionner)aller (5 163) go ; aller ch erch er go

afte r, fe tch ;allons , bon l oh , very

we ll ! a’en aller go away

alors th en

alphabetique alphabe tic(al)amener (amenerait) bring about

ami m. , amie j : frie nd, friendlyamuse ! (5384) amusean ”1 ° i§ 355, 6, § 356v a) year

analogie f . (5 1 57, l. 8) analogyancien-no (5338 , e) o ld , forme r

anglais-e (549, a , R) English

animal m. (cf. 5338 , g ) animal, beast

animaux pl . of animal (534)Anjou m. (5337) Anjouannée f . (5356, a ) ye ar

annoncer (55 160, 384) announce

antérieur-e earlie r

anthologie j : (527, b, R) anthologyAnvers m. Antwe rp

apdtre m. apostle

appel m. call, appeal (5249,appeler (5 162 , d ) call

applique: A, 8’apply one se lf to

apporter (5384)bring, fe tch ;appol’lier

A (5254, l. 25) bring into

appréh ender (5384) forebode , appre

h end

apprendre le arn , teach , make known

ABAI SSER BEA U

approcher de (draw) near, approach

approprié-e A (5418) fitted to

aptAs adv . or prep . afte r, afte rward ;

spree que afte r;d’apres according

to

archa‘

isme m. (5 1 22 , N ) archaism

argent m. money, silver

arme f . weapon ;pl. arms

arréter stop, check ;s’arrGter stop

arriver (A, dans) arrive (at, in), get

(to), happe n (to ), reach ; arriver

A in] : succe ed in vb. in -ing

art m. (5 1 57, l. 12) art

artifice m. (5 1 58, a) artifice

artiste m. orf . artist, photographer

Asia f 333—336) Asia

asseoir, s’sit down , take a seat

assertion f . statement, assert ion

assez (do) enough ;rath e r, somewhat

assurément (5361 ) assuredlyassurer (524, b, 5384) assure

astrologue m. (5 161 ) astrologe r

attachement m. (5254, fondne ss

attacher A conne ct with , re late to

attendant , en (5262 , 8) meanwhile

attendre (5 192) wait (for), await ;

s’attendre A ce que e xpe ct to

atténuer (5418, a) attenuate , le ssen

attitré -e recogniz ed, accepted

attitude f . attitude , posture

attrayant-e (cf. 5454) attractive

an (A le) : nu-dessua(do) above ;au

dessous (do) be low, underneath

aucun-e (5 170) no , none , anyaucunement (536 1 ) in no wise

augmente: (5384) increase

aujourd’hui tod ay, at present

aussialso , too , th e refore , accordingly;

aussitdt que as soon as

443

baisser (5384) lower, le t down

baleine f . (549, a) whale

banquier m. banke r

has (1 ) adv . low (adj . baa, ba se)has (2) m. noun (5 143, c) stockingbase f . basis . See servir de

battre (5444) beat, churn , M p

Bayeux m. Bayeux (in N ormandy )beau

,bel, belle (5338,f ) beautiful,

autant as (or so ) much (or many) ;autant dire one migh t as we ll say ;d’autant plus que all the more

in proportion as (or because )auteur m. (5249, l. 19) auth or

autoritef . (5 157, l. 22) authorityautre-e (5 178) oth er-s ;dos autres of

oth e r pe ople (cf. autrui) ;de faqon

ou d’autre . some howautrefois (5 178 , c, Q ) forme rlyautrui arc/mic obj . pron . oth e rs

aux (A les) See 547auxiliaire auxiliary

avancer (5 160) be too fast, advance

avant , avant de , avant que be fore

avec with ;avec lenteur de libe ratelyavertir (5 132) warn , notify

avocat m. (5 193, l. 10) lawye r

avoir (5425) have avoir qua

rante u s be forty years old ;avoir

raison be righ t ;avoir froid (of an i

mate t/iings) be cold ; avoir neuf

minutes de retard be nine minute s

slow (or late ) ;nous avons le treiz e

to day is the thirte enth ; ses dents

avaient un email éclatant his te e th

glitte red with white ename l

avouer (5418, a) confe ss, admit

avril m. (5327, a ) April

ayant droit, l’(5425, N 1 ) m. or f .

the rightful owne r or claimant


fine , handsome , fair ;j’aibeau inf .

it is use le ss for me to (5250, c); en

raconter de belles (5340) te ll pre ttystorie s (nice pranks) ;de plus belle

adv . more (faster, harde r) than eve r

beaucoup much , greatly, a good deal;beaucoup (de)much , many

bel, belle See beau

Benoit (lit . ) Benedict ; (fig) Willyberceau m. (5136, b) cradle

bercer (5 160) rock . See berceau

Berry m 337) Berrybesogne f . task ;(f am. ) job

besoin m. ne ed ;avoir besoin do need

Béta N eddy (beta m. noodle)

béte (1 ) ad} : (5340) stupid, foolish

béte (2) f . noun animal, creature ;

bets de noun idiotic , stupid

beurre m. butte r. See battre

bibliothbque f . library

bien (1 ) aa’

v. we ll, ve ry, ce rtainly, no

doubt ;ou bien or (stressed ), or e lse ;

bien du much , bien des many ;bien

malgre lui quite unwillingly, by no

means inte ntionally;bien plusmuch

(or far) more ;je crois bien I don’t

doubt it;veullle z bien kindly, please

bien que although

bien (2) m. nou n (5 1 57, l. 1 ) good

bienfait m. be nefit, advantage

bientdt soon . See tdt and plutbt

blAmer blame , find fault withblanc, blanche (5338, Ii ) white

blesser (5384) wound, injure , hurtblessure j Z wound, injurybleu-e (5349, c) blue

boire (5452) drink ; lo roi boit i a cry

u ttered at tbc F east of tlie Bean ,

M el/2b M ynt, wlien M e card called'

king h'

) is drawn and tbe K'

ing oftbe Bean , is five , begins to drink

bois m. (5 143, c) wood

hon,bonne good , kind, right;honenfant

aaj . good-natured (or a simple ton)

bonheur (5 a) happiness , luck

bonhomme m° 348, as § 351 r C, § 497t

a) chap, fe llow

bonne f . (house )maid . See hm

borner (5384) limit, confine

bouche f . mouth

bouger (5 160) stir, budge , move

bouillir (5225,g) boil

bout m. (5201 , l. 3) end , tipbouteille f . (54ga, li) bottle

bras m. (5 143, c) arm

brave good , brave (5345)bref, breve (5338, 5) short, brief

Brésil m. (5337) Braz il

Bretagne 333, 335) Brittanybriévement briefly. See bref

briser (5384) break

bruit m. noise

brfiler (5384) burn

brun-e dark , brown

brusquement (5361 ) suddenly, ah

ruptly

but [by] m. aim, target (5352, l. 1 1)

c’

(c’est , 9

’aurait , etc. ) See cc

98. that, it . See cela

9A h ere (of motion )cachet (5384) hide ;so cachet hide

cadet m junior ;Cadet (Rousselle) Little Boy (Rousse lle)

Caen [ltd] m. Caen (in N ormandy)ce tera, et e t ce te ra, and so forth

café m. coffe e , café

calligraphic j : fine penmanshipCanada 771 . (5337) Canada

cancre m. (lit.) crab; (fig-

J dunce

capitaine m. (5487) captain

446 FRENCH—ENGLISH VOCABULARY

chose f . thing ;quelque chose (de) m.

(5 180) some thing ; un or une pas

grand’chose , 5370, e x . 1 5; le petit

Chose , p . 401 f ootnote

chou m. (5 136, b) cabbage

cinq (i354. e) five ;fifth 355, c)

cinquantaine , la one’s fiftie th ye ar

cinqu nh (i353) fiftycinquante-six etc. fifty

-six etc.

cite r (5384) quo te

clair (adj . or Claire clear, clearly

clairement (5361 ) clearlyclairvoyant

-e clear- sighted, clairvoy

ant (5264, 2)clause f : class, classroom

classement m. classification

classique classic , classical

cochon m. (p . 26,f ootnote) hog, pigcmur m. (5295, /i , 5329) h eart

coiiier supply with h eadgear ;M itre

coiffé-e be born with a silve r spoon

in one’

s mouth , be born lucky, etc.

colonne f . column

colossal-e (5338 ,g) treme ndous

combien how much , how greatly ;

combien do how much , how many ;is combien (5356, a , 6) what day

combler (5384) fill (up), supplycomédien (5488) comediancom e as, as for (in re spe ct to ), as

if, inasmuch as, while , how, how

much , as as, like

commoncor (5 160, 5 247, c) begin'

comment how , what ! (5 193, l. 1 )commissionf lcommitte e , commissioncommode convenient, easily handled

communication_tZ communication

comparer (5384) compare ;(la phonetique) compares comparative

competence f . ability, skill

complbtement (5361 ) comple te ly

completer (5 162,f complete

compliqué-e (5384) complicate dcomposer, as be composed, co nsis t

comprendre (5448) understand , c om

prise ;y compris inc luded, inc lud ingcompris-e p .p . of comprendre

compte m. account ; sur ton compte

about you ; so rendre compte (d o)realiz e (5 190, E ); tenir compt e de

allow for, take into account

compte r count, count on , allow

comte m. (5334) c ount (title)condemner (5384) condemncondition que , A on condition that

conditionnel- lo conditional

conflance f . (5492 , 10) confidenc e

confler (541 8) entrust

confondre (5445) confuse , confound

confusion f . confusion

Congo, le (5337) th e Congo

conjoncti- f, -ve subjunctive , re lativ econnaissance f . (5492 , to) knowledge

connaitre (5460) know

consciemment consciously, wittingly

conscience f . (5329) conscie nce

consequencef . (5492, w ) consequence

consequent, par th e refore

consister A inf . consist in

consonnance f . group of sounds

consonne f . consonant

constatation f . asce rtaining, noting

constater asce rtain , note and record

construction f . construction

continuer (5418, a ) continue , go on

contraire , an on the contrary

contre against, with , (sometimes) fromconvaincant-e (5264, 1 ) convincingconvaincre (5446) convince

coq m. (5484, a) cock, rooster

corps m. (5 143, c) bodycorrectement correctly, accurately

CH OSE DE 447

c orrection f . corre ctness (5 1 57)

c orrespondre (5445) corre spond

costume m. costume , dress, garb

06116 m. side ;A cate de alongside

c dte lette f . chop , cutle t

c ouch er lay ; se coucher go to bed

c oude m. 329) e lbow

coulée f . flood , flow . See couler

couler (5384) flow. See coulée

coup m. blow , stroke ;Acoup stir un

qu e stionably ;du meme coup at th e

same time (along tberewitli)couper (5384) cut, cut off (short)

Cour j : court, courtyard

courage m. (5492 , d ) courage , pluck

courant-e current, eve ryday

conrir run , run about, hurry, hasten

cours m. (5 143, c) course

cofiter (5384) cost

craindre (552 16—22 1 ) fear

crainte f . fear. See craindre

crampe f . crampcréer (5418) create

crier (5418) cry, cry out, shout

crime m. crime

crochet m. (528, d ) square bracke t

croire (5453) be lieve , think ; croyant

avoir be lieving one has ; je crois

bien I don ’

t doubt it

croyance f . (5492 , w ) be lie f

cueillir (5 193, l. 23) gathe r

cuirassier m. cuirassie r (cavalry )cuisine f . kitche n

cuisinier m. , cuisiniere f . cook

culotte j : kne e -bre eche s , bre eche s

culotter : Votre Majesté est mal cu

lottes your Maje sty’s bre ech e s are

on wrong or in shabby state

d’ See de

Dagobert (King) Dagobert (p . 330)

Dahomey m. (55334, 337) Dahomeydame f . lady

Danemark m. (5334) De nmark

danger m. danger

dangereu-x,

-se dange rous (5338, c)dans pu reprep . in, into , on ;(possibly )

at, inside , with in ;dans une certaine

w e (5 1 57, l. 14) with a ce rtain e nd

in view ;note 5201 , l. 3dansant

, th é m. tea with dancing

davantage more , furthe r

de pu re prep . (1 ) of men tal direction sor fire like : of, conce rning, about,

as to , in re spe ct to, pe rtaining to ,

etc . : dire (parler, penser, s’agir) do

say (speak, think, be a que stion)of, tire de laugh at, quoi qu

’il en

soit de cela howeve r that maybe , s

’occuper de c

’

once rn one se lf

with , traiter de treat of, deal with ,

pardonne z-moi de forgive me for,

one faute de a mistake in , une le

con do musique a music le sson, an

instrument de communication an in

strument for communication , livres

d ’enseignement textbooks , craindre

de + inf . (5251 ) fear to ; (2) before

n umerals and tbe like plus d’un an

more than a year (more , will: respect

to a y ear), plus de onz e heures afte r

e leven o’clock , plus de minuit afte r

midnigh t 3) expressing separation

from, away from, off, out of, of

loin do far from, deux de six two

from six , se defaire do ge t rid of,

de par la loi by law , d’abord (at)

first, d’autre part on th e o th e r

hand , de purement locale frombe ing

purely local, relever de la rhétorique

fall under rhe toric ; (4) expressingvariou s kinds qfpossession of, —

’s,

448 FRENCH - ENGLI SH VOCABULARY

etc . : les acteurs da ThéAtre-F ranqais

th e actors of etc. , aux yeux des

strangers in th e eye s of foreigne rs,

les pensees de Riquet Rique t’s

though ts or th e though ts of Rique t,

autour de moi,

round about me , an

milieu de tout in th e midst of eve ryth ing, un roman de Merimee a nove l

byMerimee or a nove l ofMérimé e’s ;

5) part itively , qu an titatively , or in

apposition avoir de l’or have (some ,

or any) gold, pas de bien et de mal

no good and no evil, jamais de malneve r any evil, rien d

’acheve nothing

finish ed, la plupart des most of,

asse z de pain enough bread, apres

de longs travaux afte r long labors,

dix minutes de retard ten minute s

slow, ceci de bon this good feature ,

quelque chose de bon some thing

good ; (6) expressing agency , mean s ,

degr ee : ereinte de misere worn out

with (by) wre tch edness, bercer du

bout du pied rock with the toe ,

profiter de profit by, jouer cu pianoplay th e piano , jouit d’une estime

e njoy an este em, habille de dressed

in , servir de base se rve as a basis,

voyageur de nature a trave le r by

nature , avancer de deux minutes be

two minutes fast ; (7) de facon (A

cc) que so that , de cette facon in

that way ;(8) d’apres according to ;

(9) de mcme likewise

debout adv . standing, upright

decider (do) decide (to , as to); se

decider A de cide to

décimale f . (5340) de cimal

décourager (5 160) dish e arte n

défaire de , as (5478) ge t rid of

défendre (5 189 ) de fend , forbid (A)

déflnition j : definition

dehors adv . and nou n m. outside

déjA already

déjeuner vb. (5384) or nou n lunch

délai, dans nu href e re long

délicieu-x,

- se (5338, c) de lightful

déloyal-e (5338, g ) disloyal

demain to-morrow ;fig . (5 1 57,

demande f . (5495) que stion , request

demander (5384) ask (for);demanderAor do ask to (5247, e)

demi-e half ; et demie half past

dent f . (5329) tooth

depart m. departure

departement m. department (terri

larid l division u nder a p ref ect)depuis, depuis que (5192 , 5249, l. 22

since , from, for, in th e course of

déranger (5 160) disturb

dernier, derniere (5355, 6) last

derriere be hind (not‘back of

’

)des (de les) See 545dés pu re prep . from, as early as ;(ice

cc moment from this ve ry instant ;

dAs midi by noon ; des que as

soon as

désagréahle disagre eable , unpleasant

doscendro go (come , bring, le t, carry)down (5427, c);aligh t

designer (5420) re fe r to'

, de signate

desquel(le)s (5 1 2 1 ) of wh ich , whose

dessein m. plan , purpose

dessus ove r (it, th em), above , etc.

destinée j : (5 161 , l. 1 1 ) de stinydetail m. (5249 , l. 37) de tail

détester (5384) h eartily dislike

dette f . debt

deux (5354, b- d ) two ; (in dates etc.)se cond (5355, c)

deuxieme (5353, 5354, b—d ) se conddevait (5 161 , l. 25) was to (5 187)

450 FRENCH - ENGLI SH VOCABULARY

écriture f . writing, handwriting

écumer (5384) skim (5201 , l. 8)edition f . edition

éducation f . (5 193, l. 6) education

eflet m. e ffe ct ; on efiet in fact

eiiorcer, s’(5 160) endeavor, strive

6galement likewise , also , equallyégard m. (5 182) regard

église f . church

eh bien we ll, we ll then

élAve m. orf : student, pupil

elle she , h e r, h e rse lf ; it, itse lf ; be

(585, l. see he

elle-méme herse lf, itse lfelles they, them, th emse lves

elles-memes th emse lve s

filoi m. (Saint) Eligius

ém il m. (5 143, a) ename l

embarquer, s’embark, (se t) sail

embarras m. (5 143, c) pligh t ;un em

barras de rich esses more '

(wealth )than one can handle

embéter (5 162 , g) both er, plague ,annoy ; s

’embcter be (or fe e l) an

noyed etc .

embrasser (5384) embrace , includeémettre (5447) utterémis-e p .p . of émettre

emission f l utterance , utte ringempailler (542 1 ) stuff (tax idermy )empécher (5 162 , g ) prevent, thwartempereur m. (55334, 488, a) empe ror

emploi m. (5249 , l. 35) use

employer (5 1 58) employon (1 ) adv . and pron . (55284, 298 ,

304, 307—310) en implies de+compl.

(test-words th e re of, th ere from,

thence , the reby, the re at, for that),of it, of th em je vous en prie I begyou , please ;en remercier thank for;ii on est de meme de Part the case

is th e same for art;quoiqu’il en soit

whateve r the truth may be , however

that may be ;s’en aller go away ;on

sortir ge t out of it ;(partitively ) j’en

ai I have some ;si j ’en ai if I haveany (some );je n

’en ai pas I h aven’t

any, I have none ; (possessively ) its,

th eir, (sometimes ) h is, h e r ; of ten

not to be tran slated

on (2 ) pu re prep . (5531 2, c—d , 32 1,

327, b—c, 335

—337) in, into , to (witfi

or wit/bou t th e or a, my, your,on papier gris o f gray paper;

en ce moment at this moment ; on

galant homme like a gentleman;

(wit/i geru nd in , wh ile , through ,by,

or as fin ite vb. , or sometimes not

to be translated 5526 1—262)encore still, ye t, again , even then;

non seulement mais encore not

only but also ; encore uh one

more , anoth e r

endroit m. place , point;righ t side (ofcloth );Al

’endroit in th e right place,

righ t side out

energiquement (5361 ) e ne rgeticallyenfant m. or f l ch ild , boy, girl;boo

enfant (adj .)anice chap , a simple ton

enfln (5 249, l. 38) finally , in a word

énigme f l riddleennemi-e enemyennuyer (5 1 58) bore , irk, annoy;

s’ennuyer be bored , fe e l bored

ennuyeu-x

,-se boring, ve xatious

énorme enormous, huge

énormément 361 ) huge ly, enor

mouslyenrich ir (5 132 ) make rich ; s

’enrichlr

ge t rich

enseignement m. instruction ; livre

d’enaeignoment textbook

ECR I TURE — EXI STER 451

e nsemble toge th e r, at the same time

e nsuite the n, after that, ne xt

e ntendre h ear ; entendre dire h ear

(said) entendre parlor do h ear of

e ntier, sutiore (5338, a) entire

e ntre betwe e n , among, within ; deux

d'entre eux two of them

e ntrer ente r ; faire entrer show in

e nvers (I ) prep . (fig . ) toward

e nvers (2) m. wrong side (of clot/i )

Al’envers in side out (p . 330)envie (do), avoir fe e l inclined (to) ;aucune envie no de sire

environ adv . about, approximatelyenvoyer (5 164) send ;envoyer chercher

send for

épatant-o (slang ) stunning, ripping

épaule f . shoulde r

épée f l (5331 , I I I ) sword

époque f time ; (sbmetimes ) epoch

épouser marry (take a w if e)éprouver (5384) fe e l, expe rience

équivaloir A (5470) be equivalent to

équivaut 3A of équivaloir

éreinter (5384) wear out (fig)espéce f l kind, sort

espérer (5 162 ,f hope (to) ; espérer

en put one’s hope s in , trust in

esprit m. mind, wit

essai m. e ssay, trial

essayer (do) try (to )essentiel- lo (5338, e) e ssential

essoumé-e out of breath , blown

estime f . e ste em

estimer (5384) e ste emat [o] and ; et qui and one that

établir (5 132) e stablish

étendre (5445) stre tch , stre tch out,

lay (a tablecloth )

étonner astonish ; s’étonner (de , que )

wonde r (at, that)

étrange strange

étrangor, étrangAre (5338, a) foreign,foreigner, stranger

étre be or have (55426 be

true ; 11 n’en est rien nothing of

th e sort (is true ) ; il n’en saurait

Gtre de méme de , 5 1 57, l. 1 2 ; est-cc

que , c’est que , n

’est-ce pas , 578 ;

etre A be at, be in , be long to

(5296, a) etre Arefaire have to be

made over (5252 , b) ;fut (p .

1. 10) alla went off to ; (in dates)

quel jour sommes-nous what day is

it ? what is the date [to-day] ? (5356)étude f l studyétudier (5 159, a) studyétymologique e tymological

euphonie (5399,f ootnote) euphonyEm pe f EurOPe 333

-

337)eux th em, they, themse lve s ; A eux

to them, of theirs (5297)eux-memes themse lve s

éveiller (542 1 ) waken , rouse ;s’eveil

ler wake up

évidemment (5361 ) e videntlyéviter (5384) avoid ;A éviter some

thing to avoid

evolution f'

. deve lopment, evolution

exact-e accurate , e xact, righ t

exactement (5361 ) accurate lyexagérer (5 162,f ) e xagge rate

examiner (5384) examine , look in toexcellent-e e xce llent

excepté prep . e xcept

executor pe rform, carry out

exemple m. e xample ; par exemple

for instance ; (ex cl) ce rtainly not !

or le t me te ll you ! etc.

exercice m. drill

exister (5384) exist ; ll existe

th e re is (are )


exotique e xotic (n ot n ative)

experience fl expe rime nt, expe rie nce

expliquer (5384) e xplain

expres on purpose

exprimer (5384) e xpre ssexquis

-e e xquisite

extrait m. extract, se le ction

extreme-ment (5361 ) e xtreme lyex-voto m. (5496,f ) votive offe ring

fable f'

. (5 1 13) fable

face f l (front) face

facile easy

fapon f l (5492 , l, R) manner, way,fashion ; do faqon (A ce ) que so

that ;de faqon A so as to ;do taqan

ou d ’autre some how

facteur m. postman , factor (5359, c)faible weak

faim f'

. hunger ;avoir (trés ) faim be

(ve ry) hungry etc . (5320)faire (5478) do , make , make out,

constitute ; faire un chéque make

out a ch e ck ; il faisait des mines

singuliéres (5352, l. 9) h e would

take on etc . ; on fait la somme de

(5359, c) one adds up ; cela lui fait

plaisir that gives him ple asure ;

faire la mort (la morte ) play dead

(shamdeath );faire son intéressante

put on h e r inte resting air (or

pose ) ;ya no fait tion that doe sn’t

matte r, never mind ; (of weat/zer)faire beau etc. (5302 , b) be fine etc . ;

(similarly ) il fait honmarcher (5250,d ) it

’

s pleasant walking ; (cau sally )faire mourir have (cause to be ) put

to death , faire entrer show in , faire

comprendre A tous make eve ryone

understand, faire connaitre un hom e

make a man known ;Votre Majesté

se fora noyer your Maje sty will getdrowned ;faire que cause to , make

fait do, on in'

th e fie ld of

falloir impersonal (5470, b) : ii taut

one (I , you , h e , sh e , th ey) must,it is nece ssary (to , that);il faudrait

lo faire we (etc .) should (or should

have to) do it ; la seule chose qu’i!

no fallait pas faire th e one thing

it was“

wrong to do (that should not

have be e n done ) ; il faudrait une

revolution it would take (require)a revolution

fameu-x,

-se (5338 , c) famous ; cette

fameuse régle that great rule

farceur m. joke r, wag , humbugfatalement (5361 ) unescapablyfausse-ment (5361 ) false - ly, wrong

-ly

faute f . mistake (de in)fauteuil m. armchair, e asy- chair

fanti-f,-ve inaccurate , faulty

faux,fausse (5338 , /i) false , untrue ,

wrong, counte rfe it ; chanter faux

(adv . ) sing off th e key

féminin-e feminine

femme f . woman, wife

fenétre f . (5486) window

ferme , travailler work hardformer (5384) shut , closeféte f . (fe stival)day (ofa saint), holidayfétu m. a (stalk of) straw ; un fétu do

paille (o. v . ) a straw

feu m. (p1. feux )fire ;au feu on th e fire

feuilleter (5 162, d ) turn over the

leaves of

fier, fierement (5361 ) proud- ly

fille f l daugh te r, girl ;jeune fille younglady

fin f . end (in abstract sen se )final-e (m.pl. in -als) final les finales

f . (gram) th e e ndings

454

gris-e gray ;grisAtro grayish

gronder (5384) scold

gros-so (5338, e) big; couter gros cost

a lot

grossieroment (5338 , a ) grosslygrossir (5 132) enlarge , swe ll

grotesque grote sque , outlandish

groupe m. group

grouper (i 384) amp

guAre (5372) hardly, hardly eve r

guerro f l (5319, b) war

guillemets m. quotation marks

(a

habiller (542 1 ) dre ss (do in)habit m. coat or (fig ) suit

habiter (5384) re side , live (in , at)

habitude fl habit, custom

hacher (55 17, 384) chop up

haillon m. (5 17, 552 , l. 9) raghaine f . (5 17) hate , hatred

hair 432) hate

haissable (5 17, 552 , hate ful

hallo f . (5 17) marke t f orf oods)hareng m. (55 17, 45) h e rringhasard m. (5 17) chance ;par hasard

by chance ;au hasard at random

haut-e (5 17) h igh , tall;A haute voix

aloud ;Avoix haute loudly ; lo haut

th e tap ; bien haut (adv . ) in loud

tone s ; arriver tree haut ge t ve ry

high Up

Havre , Is (55 17, 325) H avre

Hays , is (55 17, 325) the H ague

héros (5 17, 5 143, c) h e ro

hésiter (5384) h e sitate , wave r

heure f . hour, time , moment ; quelle

h eure what time , A deux heures at

two o’clock (55 1 50, 356)

heurou-x,-se (5338 , c) happy

aidou-

x ,-so (5338 , c) hide ous

FRENCH—ENGLISH VOCABULARY

hier ye ste rday

hirondelle f l swallow

histoire f'

. history, story

historique historic , historical

lrolA hi the re , hold on, stop

homard m. lobste r

honnéte-ment hone st- ly, prope r-ly

honneur m. honor

honte f l shame ; avoir honte be (or

fe e l) ashamed

horloge f l clock (outside of bldgs

356.0. of f s . 193. l. 26)hora, (usually ) hora do outside o f

huile f l oil ;A l’huilo in oil, cann e d,

tinned

huit eigh t 353 huit loan a

we ek ; lo dix-huit th e 18th

in itibme 353-

355) e ighth

hypothcse f . hypo the sis, the ory

ici h e re , in th is case ; c’est ici le this

is th e

idea f . idea, notion, thought

il h e , it (5 ii y a the re is , th e re

are ; il sort des sons th e re come

forth sounds ; il on est de meme the

case is th e same (cf. 1 2)illusion f l illusion

illustrer (5384) illustrate

image f . illustration (in a book)

immuable [im~ or imm immutable ,

fixe d

imparfait-e -ment (536 1 ) impe rfe c t- lyimpartial-e (5338 , g ) impartial, fairimportant-e important , of importanceimporter n

’importe quel-lo

any ;n’importe oh no matte r wh ere

imposer impose , put in forceimpossible impossibleimpression f . impression , printing

GRIS LA

imprimor 384) print

incertain-e unce rtain , unre liable

ince ssamment (536 1 ) unceasinglyinconnu-e (5460) unknown

incontestable unde niable

inconvenient m. drawback, disadvan

tage

incorrect-e -ment 361 ) incorre ct-lyin croyable incredible , past be lie f

lnde f 333. 335) I ndia

in déflni-o indefinite (56 1 , N 2)

indicati- f,-ve indicative

indifferent-e of small consequence

indiquer (5384) point out, indicate

individu m. individual, fe llow

industrio f l industry, trade

inforienr-o infe rior, lowe r

infiniti-f,-ve (5239) infinitive

innover (5384) innovate

inm (5366, e) not occupied

insister (5384) insist (pour, pour que

on)inspirer (5384) inspire , e xcite

instruire (5459) educate , instruct

instrument m. instrument

insulter (5384) insult

intéresser (5384) intere st, conce rn ;

s’interessor A take an inte re st in ,

be inte re sted in

interrompre (5445) inte rruptinutile -ment (5361 ) use le ss-ly

inviter (5384) invite (Ato );les invites

(5 272) th e gue sts

I talic f I taly 333, 335)

italien-no (549, a , R) I talian

j' See je

Jacqueline f . , given name (5340, I )jadis [gadis] forme rlyjamais (5373) neve r, eve rillmho f “5295, d. k . § 329) leg

455

Japon m Japan 334. 337)jardin m. garde n

jauno (5349, c) ye llow

je i§§ 42s 278) I

Jean m. John ; ] eanne f . Jane

Jeannine f l (dimin . of Jeanne ) Jennyjeter (5 162 , d ) throw, th row away ;

jeter un pont sur bridge vb.

jettos-y (5 201 , l. 8) See jeter

jou m. (pl. jeux ) game , playjeudi m. (5327, e) Thursdayjeune young ; junior (5348, R)joie f l joy, gladne ss, happine ssjoindre (5458) joinjoint-e p .p . of joindre

joli-o (5348) pre tty, good- looking

joue f l (5329) che ckloner (i418, a ) play loner an

tennis play tennis ; jouer do piano

play th e piano

jouir (do) enjoy (5 132, d )jonr ”1 ° (8327, d , 328, a) dayjournos f . day . See jour

51180 m 319, 11 , 5324) judgejuillet m. (5327, a) July

j ulien m. (5 193) Julian

jusqu’A until, to , as far as, to th e

point of ; jusqu’A ce que until

juste just, right, fair ; adverbially

righ t, on the key, in tune

kilombtre m. kilome te r

1’ See la and is

is (1 ) dgfl art. f'

. the (or not to be tran s

lated : 5546, 49, 57, 1 16, 5295, d , Ii ,

55333- 336) avoir la vuo bien netto

(5350, c) se e quite cle arly ; perdre

la tdte lose my (your, our, his, he r)h ead (55329 In valeur socialo

one’s social value (5 157. l. la


Noel Ch ristmas Day (5327, e , R) la

nuit (adv .) at nigh t (5327, do

In sorte in that way . See 531 1—335,

passim, and le (1 )

la (2) pers . pron . h e r, it. See le (2)

In th e re (stressed ); ll , il y a

the re th e re is (are ) cc que vous

dites n (in ex actly ) what you are

saying (5 193, l. cette heure-la

that hour (5354, f;Q ) c’est n une

chose that is a thing

ia dedans in it, in th em, therein ;

sometimes n h e re

lA-bas yonde r, ove r th ere , th e re

Licher (5384) le t go , utte r

lacune f'

. gap, omission

la-dessousbeneath ,be low ;(sometimes)unde r it or th em (55282 , 304)

la-dessus th e reupon , ove r (above , on)it, in th em (55282 , 304)

laid-e ugly, plain, unse emlylaisser (5384) leave , le t, allow to

lait m. (5322 , a) milk

langage m. (5 1 57) language , spe ech

langue f . tongue ; la langue franqaj se

th e F rench language ; la bonne

langue cultured spe e ch (5300, 5)lapin m rabbit

laquelle which , what, that, who, whom

(fi lmlarge wide , broad

latin-e Latin ; 10 latin Latin

laver (5384) wash , wash away

le (1 ) def “ 71 ° m’ 34-

379 459 47,

316—337, 350, e ) th e (or not to be

translated ) ;le vendredi 29 avril on

F riday, April 20th , lo soir in the

eve ning, a onz e h eures moins lo

quart at a quarte r to eleven (5356,a—b). See la (1 )

lo (2) pers . pron . (5543, 278—282, 285,

288, 292- 293, 298, 301

—303) him, it,

so , or not to be tran slated (5See in (2) and les (2)

legon f'

. le sson (de in)lecture f

'

. reading

légende f . legend

léger, legere (5338, a) light, slight

legislation f'

. legislation ;une legis la

tion nouvelle new laws

légitime allowable , legitimate

lendemain, le th e ne xt day

lent-e -ment (5361 ) slow - ly

lenteur f'

. slowne ss , de libe ratene ss ;

avec lenteur de libe rate ly

lequel which , what, that, who , whom

(551 16- 1 17, 12 1 , 1 55)les (1 ) def . art . ,pl. of la (1 ) and le

the , or not to be tran slated my, your,his, h e r, our, etc .

les (2) pers . pron . them

lesquel(le)s (5 1 2 1 ) which , that

lettre f'

. le tte r

leur (1 ) (pl. leurs )poss . a(1j . (554) th e ir;leur utilisation th e utilization of them

(5 1 57, l. p ron . le (la) leur etc .

th e irs (557)leur (2) pers . p ron . , dat . (543, b, 5244,

e x . 7, 55282 , 292 , 295, 298) th em,

to (from, for, at) th em etc . , or n ot to

be translated ; je leur serre la main

I shake their hands (5295, a’, f , b)lever (w it/i lev 5 162 , a ) raise , lift ;

se lever rise , ge t up

15m f 329) liplexicologie f t (5249) ,

le xicology

lexicologique (5249, ll. 8 and 1 2) le xi

oological

liaison f'

. linking, liaison (529)liberté f . fre edom, libe rty

libre fre e , at libe rty, not engaged

lier (5418) tie (up), bindfl ink

458 FRENCH - ENGLISH VOCABULARY

manger (5 160) catmaniere f . manne r, waymanquer 384) miss, be lacking ;

manquer de (n eg ) fail to

m usarde f l garre t bedroom (under

a mansard roof )marchand-e m. orf l shopke eper

marche m. marke t ;bon marche adj .

or adv . ch eap

marcher (5384) walk, proce ed

mardi m. (5327, e) Tue sdaymarié-e m. bridegroom;f . bride

marmite f . (5201 , pot , ke ttle

marquer (5384)mark ;also (of'

clocks)

show or (fam. ) say

marquis m. (5 l43, o) marquis

mars m. (5327, a) March

masculin-e masculine

maternelle , langue mo the r tonguematin m. morning ; (le) matin adv .

in the morning, early (5327, d ,

1 5)

mauvais-e (555, b) bad, poor, wrongme me , myse lf ;dat . to (for, at, from)me (543, b, me 10 (la,les) my (5 see lui

mechsnt-e bad, mischievous, wickedmeilleur-e (555, b) better, be stmeme in ten sive adj . , pron . , or adv .

same , very, even ; do meme espece

of th e same kind ; ameme de in

a position to ; de meme -likewise

(5 1s7, l. 1 2 , and N );moi-meme myse lf ; eux-mémes th emse lve s ete .

ménagé-e , bien discre e t (5254, l. 30)mener (wit/z mam) take (5 162 , a )mentir (5225, b) lie (te ll lie s )mer f l sea, oceanmercredi m. (5327, e)Wedne sday

mere f l moth e rMerimee m. Mérimée (1803—1870)

merveille a wonde rfully (well)mes, mou , ma (554) myMesdames (vocatively ) ladie sMesdemoiselles (vocatz

'

vely ) youngladie s . See mademoisolle

Messieurs (vocatz'

vely ) gentlemenmesure f

’

. step , measure ;avecmesure

(5254, with mode ration

met (mets, mett See A of mettre

méth odique me thodicalmétrique me tricmettre (5447) se t, put, put on, donMexique m. (5337) Mexico

midi m. noon , twe lve o’clock

mien-ne (le , la) mine (557)mieux (556, N, 5360, R) bette r,better

looking, be st

mil occu rs in l’an mil (A .D . 1000) etc.

milieu m. middle , midst

militaire 344, .Q ) militarymille th ousand ;un mille a mile

mine (1 ) f . mine (of'

ore)

mine 2)f'

. e xpre ssion of countenance

352 , l. 9)

minuit m. midnight, twelve o’clock

minute f . minute (5356)misere f . wre tche dne ss , miseryMM . =.messieurs , pl . of monsieur

moderne mode rn , up- to -date

modifier (5418) modifyme urs f l (5496, e, N 1 ) customs, ways

moi me , to (for, at, from) me , myse lf,I (stressed );moi, je as for me , I ;a

moi to me , of mine , mine (stressed ).

See lui

moindre (555, b, R) le ss , leastmoins (55 55—56) le ss, le ast, not so .

not as ; eu moins or do mains at

least ;moins d ’amis fewer friends ;i

moins que unle ss ;amoins do inf .

unle ss finite vb. ; aminuit moins

MANGER N OM

un quart at a quarter to (before )

twelve (5356, b)mois m. (5 143, e , 5327, a) month

moitié f”

. (5266, l. 6, 5357) half

moment m. moment, time ; pour le

moment for th e time beingmon, ma, mes (554)my (cf. 5324, R)~monde m. world ; le plus oblige da

monde eve r so much obliged ;tout

lo monde eve rybody

monsieur (589, b) sir (5 you ,

sir ;os monsieur this gentleman

mont m. Mount (le mont Blane)monter go (take , carry) up, mountmontre f t (5356, b, 2 ) watchmontrer (5280, b, 5384) showmoquer de , so (5427, a)make fun of

morceau m. (5 136, b) pie ce , bit

mordre (5 19 1 ) bitemorphologie (5249, l. 1 2 )morphologymort (1 ) f l death . See mart-e

mort morte p .p .

dead ; faire le mort sham death ,

play de ad (w t , 1)

mortel- le (5338, e) killing, deadlymot m. (5348, a , 5496, b) word

mouche f . fly

mouchoir m. handke rchie f

mouiller wet, moisten ;pronounce asa palatal consonant (5 14, e, 5 1 5, a )

mourir (5 167) diemouvement m. movement, motion

moyen m. means, way, medium;

trouver moyen (de) contrive to ,

manage to

muet, muette (5338, e) dumb, mutemulet m. (5493, s) mule

multiplicande m. multiplicand

multiplicateur m. multiplie r

multiplication f l multiplication

multiplier (5418) multiply

459

mur m. (5486) wall (q . v . )muraille f

'

. (5492 , b) wall (q . v . )musique f

'

. music . See leqon

n’ See ne

naif, naive simple -minded, artle ss

naitre be born , arise , spring up

nappe f'

. (520 1 , l. 9) table cloth

natal-e (m. pl. -als or -aux , 5338 , g)nanve

national-e (5338 , g) national

nature f l nature . See de (6)naval-e (5338, g , N ) naval

ne neg . particle , mostly w it/t pas, per

sonne , jamais . etc . 90, 367

not, le st, bu t sometimes un tran s

latable ;amoins que no unle ss ;

craindre que as fear that, etc . ;

as pas not, not any, no , etc

no personne or personne no no

body, not anybody, ne que

only, no plus no longe r. See

pas , personne , etc . , also 52 17né-e p .p . of nartre (5461 )nécessaire ne ce ssary

négligeable (cf. 5 160) negligible

négliger negle ct, ove rlook , slight

neige f . snow

neiger (55 160, 302 , b, 4) snow , be

snowing

net [net] , nette clear. See vus

neuf neuve new (n ot y et used )neuf (2) nine , ninth (55354—355)neutre ne ute r, neutral

nez m. (5 143, c) nose

ni (5377) neith e r, nor

nid [ui] m. ne st

nier (5418) denynoblesse f l (5317, R) nobilitynoir-e (5349 , e) black, dark

nom m. name , noun


nombre m. numbe r (5359)nombren-x ,

-se nume rous ; pen nom

breuse (5 254, l. 2 ) rath e r small

nommer name ; se nommer be calle d

non (55365—366, 375,b) no , not, non

nonchalant-e care le ss , nonchalant

non-initial-e (5338,g ) non-initial

nord m. north

nos, notre (554) our

noter (5384) note , obse rve

notre , nos (5 54) our

nette , le , la (etc .) ours (557)nourrir (5 fe ed

nourriture f . (541 , l. 2 ) food

nous we , us, ourse lve s (543, b) each

o th e r (5283, b); to (for, at, from)us (5 295) nous le (la, les) our

295, d. 11 )nouveau, nouvel, nouvelle new

nouveauté f l nove lty , n ewne ss

nouvelle f'

. (see nouveau) news, tid

ings

noyer (5 158) drown. See faire

nu-e (5352 , l. 8) naked, bare

nuire (A) harm, injurenuit f l (5327, d ) nigh t

nulle (5 184) no no one

nullement (55 184, 361 ) in no wise

0 (sometimes 6 ; cf. oh ) oh

obéir (A) obey (5 132, d )objection f l (5258, c, 4) obje ctionobjet m. obje ct, aim (5 1 57, l.

objet d’art work of art

obliger (55160, 247,f oblige ;noblesse

oblige nobility impose s obligations

observer (5384) obse rve

obstacle m. obstacle , h indrance

occuper (5384) occupy ;etre occupé e

(A) be busy (at, with ); s’occuper de

conce rn one’s se lf with

o il m. (pl. yeux ) eye ;aux yeux des

strangers in th e eye s of (i. e . as it

se ems to) foreigne rs

oeuf m 45) eggoflert-e p .p . qf oflrir (5440)ofirir (5440) offe r

oiseau m. (5 136, b) bird

omettre (5447) omit, leave out("h is-0

.M af ometire 447)on indef l pron . (5543, 284, a , 5305)

one , we , you , th ey, a man , anyone ,

people ; or tran slate by passive or

onz e (5354, a , 5355, c) e leven ;elev

enth

operation f l ope ration

Opinion f . (5 254, l. 42) opinion

opposer A, 8’stand in the way of

or (1 ) conj . now (resumptively )or (2) m. nou n gold ; en or gold

oral-e (m. pl . oraux ) oral

ordinaire ordinary, usual

ordonner (A) orde r (5 16 1 , l. 6)ordre m. o rde r, command

oreille f . (5295, d, b) ear

ornement m. (5339, b) ornamentorner (de) adorn or grace (with , by)

orthoepie f l (5 1 57, 11. 23—24, 5 249,l. 1 2) rule s of pronunciation

orthograph e f l (5254) spe llingoser (5384) dare , dare to

Oter (5384) take , take away

ou or;on bien or (stressed), or else

oil whe re , in wh ich , wh en ;an cas oil

in case ; sh ould

oublier (5418) forge t

oui 366, a—b) ye s

outre (5322 , c) be side s, beyond

ouvert-e (p .p . of ouvrir) open-cd

ouvrier m. workman , labore r

ouvrir open vb. See ouvert-e

FRENCH - ENGLI SH VOCABULARY

perdre (5 19 1 ) lose , waste

pore m. fath e r

Perigord m. (55334, 337) Perigord

peril m. (5254, l. 43) pe ril, dange r

perir (5132) pe rish

permettre (5447) allow ;a permis do

made it possible to (5254, l. so

permettre do venture to

parmi“ P-fi of pem ettre (t447)

Perou m. (5337) Pe ru

personnage m. pe rson, pe rsonage ,

character

personne (1 ) f . noun pe rson

personne (2) pron . (5376) nobody

perte f . loss, waste

perturbation f l disturbance , turmoil

poser (5 1 62, a, N ) we igh

petit-e little , small; uno chatte ot ses

petits a cat and h er kittens

peu little , not ve ry ;pou do little , few ;

pou Apou little by little ;un pou bien

fairly we ll (5 193, l. dites-moi

un pou just te llme (5 16 1 , l. an

pou do toutes faqono pre tty much

eve ryway ;Apou pe about ;sipou

que howeve r little ;pour pou que if

just (or but) a little (5249, l. 3)peuple , lo the (plain) people

pour f l fear ;do pour que no le st

pout plus , on no (5 165) adv . highly

pout-etre , pout

-etre que pe rhaps

phenomeno m. (5 249, l. 28) phe

nome non

ph ilologie f l philology

philologue m. (5254, l. 3) philologist

ph ilosOph ie f . philosophy (cf. 538 1 )

phoneme m. (tec/mical neologism, 51 57,l. 6, 5249, l. 34, in tended clearly to

distingu isb tbc sounds of spe e ch

f rom sou nds in general : les sons)spe ech

-sound, word-sound, vocable

(sometimes a word , sometimespa rt of'

a word , as n’, or a gr oup , as m’

en)

phonétique phone tic la phonetiqn e

compareo comparative phonetic s

photograph ie f . photograph

phrase f . sentence (5249, l. 10)

physiologie (5249, l. 43) physiology

piano m. piano

piece f . (en tire) pie ce , room

pied [pje] m. foot

pierre (1 ) f . nou n stone

Pierre (2) m. Pe te r ;

pilule f . pill

pincer (les levros) close hard

pire (5555—56) worse , worst

pis adj . or adv . (556) worse , worst

pistolot m. pistol (not a revolver)

pitié [pitie ] f . pity

place f . place , position

placer (5 160) put, place , se t, lay

plaindre pity ; se plaindre complain

plaine f l plain (flat land )

plaire please ;cola luiplait that please shim, h e like s that

plaisanter (5384) joke , je st, say funnythings

plaisir m. ple asure ; faire plaisir (Aqqn.) please , give pleasure

plateau m. (5 136, b) plateau

plein-e full (cf . 532 1 , a)

pleurer (5 384) we ep ; (farm) cry

(we ep)

pleut, il (5 1 69) it’s raining

pleuvoir (5 169) rain , be raining

pluie f l rain

plume f . (5322 , a , R) feathe r, plume

plupart (de), la most (of)

pluriel m. plural

plus more , most (5555 plus haut

higher ;plus do more , more than,

and afte r (5 356, b, (will or

PERDRE PRE U V’

E

witbou t ne )again, furth e r, anymore ,longer, no more , no longe r ;ni

non plus nor eithe r (5375)

p lusieurs m. orf . seve ral

p lus-

que-

parfait (5103, I ) plupe rfe ct

p lutfit (que , que de) rathe r (than)

poche f . (5329, b, N ) pocke t

poéle f l frying-

pan , pan

poids m. (5 143, c) we igh t

poil m. hair, coat (of an imals)

poilu-e hairy ;poilu a pet name (5340)

given to tire F ren cbprivate soldier

point m. point , e xtent ;n eg . not

poisson m. fish

Poitou m. (55334, 337) .Poitou

poitrine f . breast, ch e st

pomme f . apple ; pomme de terre

potato

pont m. (5486, e) bridge

porte f . door

portée f . (5 193, l. 23) re ach

porter (5384) bear, carry, wear (have

on); porter (qqn.) A croire le ad one

to be lieve

portrait m. (5249 , po rtrait

pose f . pose (afi cted attitude)

poser (5384) se t down

posséder posse ss , own

possibilité f l possibility

possible possible

Pot m (5497mpc t, jug 322 , 0)

potage m. (5492 , d ) soup

poulailler m. h enhouse (cf. poule )

poule f l he n (cf. poulailler)

pour pu re prep . for, as for ; pour ca

be cause of that (5 193, l. vous no

faites rien pour pa (5 193, l. 14) you’re

doing nothing toward that (or to

bring that about); pour inf . (in

orde r) to ; pour nous rejoindre and

th en rejoin us (5352 , ll. 1 1 pour

463

que subj u nctive inorder that, for

to (5 193, l. 2 pour pou que , see

pou ; avoir pour objet (5 1 57,have as an (as its) objec t

pourquoi why. See pour and quoi

pourtant howeve r, ye t

pourvu que (5230) provided (that)

pousser (5384) push , th rust, shove ;

pousser do grands cris ye ll; in tr .

grow

poutre f l girde r

pouvoir 1 ) vb. (5 1 65) can , could,may,migh t, be able to ;il se pent que it

may be that, possibly ; ya so pout

that’s possible ; pout

-etre pe rhaps

pouvoir m. n oun power (5 161 ,

pratique (1 ) adj . practical

pratique (2 ) f . n ou n 1 57, l. 27)

prac tice , e xpe rience

précéder pre cede

précis-e 1 ) adj . pre cise ; A quatre

heures précises at just fourprécis (2) m. noun summary (do of)

précisément pre cise ly, in truth

prédire (5474, a ) predict, fore te ll

préférer (5 162 ,f ) pre fe r

premier, premiere (55353, 355) first

prendre take , take away, take on

(assume ), catch

préparer make ready, prepare

pres adv . near (by);Apou pres about ;

prAs do ne arprep .

presence f . pre sence

present-e pre sent (cf. actuel-lo)

president m. pre side nt (5333, R)

presque almost ; presque

rien hardly anything

prétendre (5 161 , l. 10) claim to

préter (5 162 , g ) lend

preuve f . proof


prévoir (5463, a) forese e

prior (5418) pray ; je vous en prie

pray, pray do ;prior do ask to

prix m. (5 143, c) price , pay (5266, l. 6)

probablement (5 36 1 ) probably, Isuppose , ve ry like ly

problAme m. problem

procédé m. (51 57, l. 2) proce ss

proclamer (5384) proclaim, de clare

produire (une impression) make

produit m. (5459) product (5359, c)

professeur m. teacher, profe ssor

profiter (5384) profit (do by)

profond-e de ep, thorough , radical

projet m. plan

promosse f . promise

pronom m. pronoun

prononcer (5 160) pronounce , utte r

prononciation f . pronunciation

propos m. (5143, c) remark, talk ;A

pmpos by th e bye

proposition f . (5249 , l. 10) clause

propre own , clean (5 nompropre

prope r name (5254. l. 22)

prose f . (538 1 ) prose

protectrice (5488) f . adj . la Sociéte

protectrice dos animaux th e Socie ty

for the Preve ntion of Cruelty to

Animals (5349, b)

proteger (55 160, 162 ,f ) prote ct

protester (5384) protest

prouver (5384) prove , demonstrate

proverbe m. prove rb

provisions f . pl. stock of food

public, publique public

puis th en , next, late r, beside s (adv .)puisque conj . since

punir (5 132 ) punish ;condemn , makea punishable offense (5303, ex . 5)

pur-e-ment (5361 ) pure -ly

putois m. (533, N e) pole cat

qu’ See que

qualité f . quality, good quality

quand wh e n (5 1 56, quand meme

even though (597)

quant A as for, as to

quantieme m. day of the month , day

quantité f l quantity, lots of (do)

quarante 353) forty

quart m. (5357) quarte r;onz e heure s

moins lo quart quarter to e leven ;

une heui'e ot quart quarte r pas t

one

quatorze fourte en;fourte enth (5355, c )

quatre 353, 355W) four ; fourth

quatre-vingtfsept e igh ty- seven

quatrieme (5353) fourth

que (1 ) conj . that (or not always n eces

sarily translated ) ;dire que to say

that you ; dire que oui say ye s

366. qu’on songe (i 2 13m)

think, le t us think (5254, l. ii

travaillerait pour rien qu’on no pour

rait lo garder though he should

work for nothing, nobody could

ke ep him (5266, 11. 7—8) que (pour

que , afin que) in orde r that, so tha t

(55231 que must end all con

j unctive groups afin que in o rde r

that, aussitot que as soon as , bien

que although , parce que because ,

and (more or less pronominally )

pour pou qu’on if one just a bit,

oil que whereve r, etc. (many ex

amples in 5541 -

38 1 ; bu t see espe

cially 552 13 que immediately

f ollows depuis since (5 192) and

pour : pour que in order that, for

to (55231 c’est un accident

que la faqon th e way

is an accident (55 1 29, 249,

11 43—44)


regretter (5384) regre t (do to)regulier, reguliere (5338) regular

rejeter (5 162 , d ) reje ct, th row backrejoindre (5458) join again

relati- f,-vo (5338 , b) relative

relation f . (5492 , 1 ) re lation

relever do (5 162, a) fall unde r (fig )remarquable remarkable

remarquer (5384) note , notice , re

mark

remercier (5418) thank (do for)remettre (5447) sh ift (or put) backrempart m. (585, l. 2 1 ) rampart

remplacer (5 160) replace (par with )remplir (5 132) fill (do with )remporter (520 1 , 1. 2) carry backrencontrer (5384) me e t

rendez -vous m. appointment

rendre (5190) give back, make (i. e .

cause to be ) s’en rendre un compte

exact accurate ly realiz e its mean

ing (5249, rendre visits (A)visit, call on, pay a call ; so rendre

(A) surre nde r (to )renfermer (5384) shut up, enclose ;

sentir lo renfermé sme ll stuffyrenoncer A (5 160) give up

renouveler (5 162 , d ) renew

renseignement m. information

renseigner (5420) inform

rentror (5427, c) re turn (home )renvoyer (5 164) se nd away, re fer

répandre , so (55 190- 19 1) spread

reparler (55 107, 1 10) speak again

repartir (5 224) start off again

repas m. (5 143, c) mealrépéter (5 162 ,f repeat

répondre (A) answe r, reply (5 190)réponse f . answer, replyrepos m. (5 143, c) re st (repose )reposer (sur) rest (on, upon)

reprendre (5448) take up again , re

sume

representant m. representative

representation f l representation

représonter (5384) represent

reproduiro (5459) reproduce

républicain-e republican

répui que f . (5333, R ) republic

réputer (5 1 57, l. 6, 5384) conside r

rescousse f . re scue

reserve f . re se rve

resigner, so (5420) resign one se lf

résolut (5 161 , l. 4, 5451 ) reso lve d

résoudre (5451 ) re solve (do to )respect m. (5254, l. 34) re spe ct, awe;fe e ling of awe

respectable-ment (5361 ) re spe ctable ,

re spe ctably

responsable (do) re sponsible (for)ressembler (A) be like , look likerestaurant m. re staurant

reste m. remainde r

roster (55384, 427, b) stay, remain ,

be le ft (5375, ex . 7)résultat m. re sult

résulter (5427, b) re sult (do from)résumé m. (5272) summary, epitomerésumor summariz e , briefly re state

retard m. delay ; on retard late

(5356, a , avoir dix minutes do

retard be ten minute s slow

retarder de lay tr . (5161 , l.

montre retarde do onz e minutes mywatch is e leye n minute s slow

retenir (5482) carry (ove r); ke e pback , hold back, de tain

retenu-e , do (5482) carried ove r

retiens (I ) carry (ove r). See retenir

retirer (5384) withdraw, draw back

retomber 427, b) fall back , hang,

droop 39 .-L4)"f"

RE GRETTER SE 467

rotour m. return ;do retour back adv .

retourner (5427, b) go back , re turn

retrancher (5384) take (do from)retrouver (5384) find , find again

réun ir (5132) bring toge the r, unite

réu ssir (5132 , d ) succe ed (A in)rev enir (5482) come back, re turn

rov er (5 162, g ) dream

rev oir (5463) se e again

revolution f l revolution

r’

gardef or regarde (59, d , 525, R)rh étorique f . (5249, l. 40) rh e toric

riche rich , wealthy

richesse f l wealth , rich e s

ridicule ridiculous

rien m. pron . (5374) nothing, not

anything;rien qu’ame re ly to

rincer (5 160) rinse (5201 , l. 9)t h e (1 ) vb. (5479) laugh (do at)rite (2) m. nou n laugh , laugh ter

risquer (do) risk vb. in -ing)riviere (588, l. 2) stream

robe f l (5250, ex . 2) dre ss, gown

robinet m tap (qf casks etc. )roi m. (5 161 , l. 3, 5488 , a) kingRoland m. (p . 295) Roland

roman m. nove l

roquot m. pug, (fig ) cur

rosbif [Rozbif] m. roast be ef

Rouen m. Rouen (in Normandy )rouge red

Rousselle family name see cadet

routinier, routiniore (5338, a) never

varying, routine- ridden , in a rut

rouvrir (p .p. rouvert-e ) open again

royal-e 339. 6) royal

royaume m. kingdom

royaux m. pl . of royal

rue f l stre e t

misseau m. (5 136, b) gu tter, brook

8’ See so and si (2)an

,son, ses (554) his , h e r, its

sage—ment 36 1 ) wise - ly

saint-e (5327, R , 5340) saint

sais See savoir (5469)saisir (5 132) seiz e , graspsaison f l season

sait See savoir (5469)salade , une a (me ss of) salad

sale dirty. (fie ) low 349. e)salle f . (5497, g) room, hall

salon m. drawing-room, parlor

saluor (5418, a ) gre e t, bow to

samedi m. (5327, e) Saturdaysang m. blood

sans without, but for (595, a);sans

que subj unctive (5234) without

Sa6no, la 254, N 9 : § 335l th e

(rive r) Saone

sardine f l sardine . See huilo

sauce f l (5331 , R) sauce

sauf prep. save , saving, except

savant m. scientist, scholar

savoir (5469) know , know how to ;

no saurais (5 157, l. 1 2) could not,

really cannot

scone f l scene ;mettre on scene stage ,

bring before you , etc .

sceptre m. (5339, b) scepte r

science f l (5 157, l. 1 ) science

scientifique (5249, 1. 1 1 ) scientific

so himself, h erse lf, itse lf, onese lf,

th emse lve s, to (for, from) self,

etc . ; s’appolor cochon call each

oth e r'

pig’

;on s’éveillo one wakes

up ;do quoi ii s’agit (5 132, d )what

it’s about ; les sons dont so compose

notre langue th e sounds of our

language ; ils s’ombotont they get

bored ; elles so sont chsmailloesth ey

’

ve wrangled, see 5427, a


second-e (5354, d ) se cond ;noun uno

secondo a se cond . See douxieme

secours m. (5 143, c) h e lpsecret , secrete se cre t

Seine , la (5266, l. 1 5) the Se ine

seiz ieme (KvIe

) sixte enth (5353)sol m. salt

solon according to

semaine f . we ek . See huit

semblablo like , 'similarsembler (5146, R , 5384) se em, se em to

sens m. (544, ll. 8, 1 1 ) meaning(s),sense (s)

sentir (5225, d ) fe e l, sme ll

sept (5 354, f ) seven seventh

355, 5 )sergent m. (5324, R) se rgeant

série f . se rie s

sérieu-x,

- se se rious, grave , real

sorter (5384) clas'

p, sque ez e

sert See servir (5225, e)servir (5225, e ) se rve ;servir do serve

as ; so servir do make use of

ses, as , son (554) his, h er, its

soul-e only, single , alone ;nu-e soul-e

just oneseulement (5361 ) only, justsi (1 ) adv . so , ye s ; sibesoin such (a)

nee d ; si adj . que however

i§ 228, g’

)si ) conj . if, wh e th e r ; tAter si fe e l

(to find out) if (wh e th e r);si je

suppose I

siecle m. century

sien-no (ie , is) his , he rs les

siennes his (h er) old tricks

signal m. (5 136, a) signal, sign

signification f l meaningsignifier (5418) mean , signifysimple-ment (5361 ) simple , simplysingulier, singuliers singular

singulieremont (5361 ) singularlysitdt (5 16 1 , l. 25) so soon , forthwith ,

straigh tway

six [si, siz , sis] (5354, b) six ; sixth

355i 5 )sixieme (5354, b) sixthsocial-e (m. pl . sociaux ) social

société f l (5 1 57, l. 25) socie tyscour f . (538, a) siste r

soi onese lf ;(occasionally ) itse lf , him

self, h e rse lf, th emse lve s ; sol-meme

onese lf (stressed )soin m. (5r61 , l. 22) care

soir m. (5356, a , 14) eveningsoit [swat] granted, all righ t, so be

it ;soit soit [swa] eithe r . o r,

wh e the r or ; soit A [swata] addi

tionnor (5359, a ) to add

soixante (5354, b) six tysoldat m. (5493) soldier

soleil m. (5492 , b) sun , sunshine

solennol- lo-ment (5361 ) solemn - ly

somme f . sum; faire la som e do

add up on som e afte r all

3011 as,ses (554) his, h e r, on e

’s .

See on

son (2) m. sound . See phoneme

sondor (5384) sound (lite dept/is of )songer (5 160) think (A of)sonner sound ; (of clocé s ) strike

Sorbonne , la th e Sorbonne (f ou nd ed

in 1 253 by Robert de Sorbon pa r t

of 1’Un iversite

'

de Paris)sort m. fate (of. 3A of sortir)sorto f . kind ;do la sorte (5331 , I I I , 5)in that way ;on (or do) sorte que so

that

sortit (5225,f go (come , bring, tak e )out 427. b—cl

sot, sotte (5338 , e) foolish , silly;sot-to

do (5340) fool of a


téléphoner (5 107, R) te le phone

tellement (536 1 ) so , so much

temps m. (5143, c) time , weathe r, tense

tenir (5382 ) ke ep , hold . See compte

tentative f l attempt, e ffort

torme m. (5 1 1 ) te rm

torro f . e arth , land , ground

tes, ton, ta (554) your

tote f . h ead ;on teto do at the begin

ning of (on- této m. h eading)

the [te ] (5 17) m. tea

theatre m. (5 1 57, th eate r

tien- no (lo, la) yours (557)timido-mont (536 1 ) timid - ly

tiror (5384) pull, haul, draw

tiret m. (528 , d ) dash

toi you , yourse lf, etc . See moi

tolerance f l tole rance

tomber (5384. 5427, b) fall

ton, ts , tes (554) your

tonneau m. (552 , cask

tort m. wrong ;avoir tort be wrong

torturer (5384) torture

tdt soon, early . See biontdt

toujours always , still

toupet m. (fig ) ch e ek

tour m. turn (do to )

tous (5 182) m. pl. of tes t (q. v . )

tout (1 toute-s , tous (5 182) adj . and

pron . all, eve ry, any ; tous les deux

both ; adverbially (5363) toutes

soulos (5 all by th emse lve s,and tout ontior (5266, l. 4) wholly,without re se rve ; so tout-e Atoi de

votedly (or e ve r) yours

tout (2 ) pure adv . tout simplement

me re ly ; tout au plus at th e ve ry

most ; tout on admettant (5262 , 1 2)though readily granting

tout (3) m. pron . eve rything ; pas da

tout (f ain . as tout ) no t at all

un,une a, an , one ; sans one

without even one l’un-o do

one of ; l’un-o ou l’autro e ith e r, one

of th e two ;nil’un—o uil’autre ne ith e r;

so l’un-o (A) l’autre (5283, c)

e ach oth e r ; les uns some

traduire (en) translate (into )train m. train ; étre en train do be

vb. m - ing (5264, 3)trainer (5384) drag (along), hau l

trait m. dart ; trait d’union hyph e n ;

avoir trait A be ar upon

traitor do deal with , treat of

transformer (5384) turn (on into )transition f l transition

travail m. (5 143, a ) work , labor

travailler (542 1 ) work , be at wo rk

travaux pl . of travail (9 . v . )travers, A (532 2 , c) th rough

treize (5 3 th irte en , thirte e nth

355, 5 )trente (5353) thirty (cf. 5355, c)tree ve ry, ve ry much , greatly

trosse mettre on braid'

trisaieul m. gre at-

gre at-

grandfath e r

triste (5347) sad, gloomy, drearytrois (5353) thre e , third (5355, c)troisie

'

me third (5353)tromper (5384) de ce ive ; so trompe r

(do) be wrong (as to the , h is, etc . )trop (do) too , too much , too manytrottoir m. sidewalk, pavement

trouble m. confusion , disturbance

trouver (5543, 384) find , think ; so

trouver inf . happen to venir

trouver come to me e t

t“ i§ Q t 4;P 38) YOU

tuer (5418, a) kill

type m. (5349 , I ) type ,

‘one

’

typhon m. typhoon , cyclone

TELEPH ONER VOIE 471

u n iAme , et (5353, a ) and firstu n itef . unity, unit

u n ivers m. (5 143, c) unive rse , wh o le

world

u niversel- lo (5338 , e) unive rsal

u niversité f . unive rsity

U ruguay m 337) Uruguayu ser (5384) wear ou t; user do use

u sine f . factory , works

u sité—o p .p . on ly ) adj . used , usual, in

good use

utile-ment (536 1 ) use ful-lyutilisation f . utilization

ntilité f l utility , use fulne ss

valeur f . value , worth

valoir (5470) be worth ;il vautmieux

it is be tte r to

variable variable

varior (5418) varyvariété f . varie ty

Vaucluse f . (5335) V aucluse (town

and departmen t)voillor (542 1 ) keep (lie ) awake , be

watch ful

veinard-e lucky, lucky one

veine f . (5 193) ve in , luck

vendre (55 190—19 1 , 328) se ll

vendredi m. (5327, e, 5356, a , 5) F ri

day

venger (5 160) ave nge

venir (5482 ) come ;je viens do inf .

I have just ; je venais do inf . I

had justvent m. (5302, b, 4) wind

Vente f . sale

verbal-e (5338, g) verbal, of ve rbs

verbe m. (5486, a ) ve rb

véritablo true , genuine ,'

real

vérité f . (54gz , y) truth

verre m. glass

vors (1 ) m. n ou n (5 143, c) ve rse ;dc

vers (538 1 , l. 1 ) ve rse s or ve rse

(1. e . poe try)vors (2)pu re prep . toward, about (vers

midi about noon). See envers

version f . version , form

vert-e (5339, a ) gre en

vertical-e (m. pl. -aux ) vertical

vertu f l (5486) virtue

veuille z (5 zoz , e) please , kindlyveut See vouloir (3A )viande f . meat

vido empty ;vido do devoid of

vie f l (5373, e x . 6) life

vieil, vieille See vieux

vieux , vieil- lo (5338, f ) old

vif, vive (5338 , b) live ly, ke e n

ville f . city , town ;diner on ville dine

out

vin m. wine

Vincennes f l sg V incenne s (n ear

Paris)vingt (5353) twenty; lo vingt marsthe twentie th of March (5355, c, N )

vingt-cinq etc. (5354, c) twenty-five

vingt-neuf etc. (5354, c) twenty-nine

visage m. (5492 , d ) face

visor (5384) aim, aim at (5352 , 1. 1 1 )visite f l visit . See rendre

visiten- r,

- se (5488) visitor

vit See vivre and voir

vite quickly, fast, soon

vive See vif and vivre

vivement (5361 ) ke enly . See vif

vivre (5477) live (do on , by)vocabulaire m. vocabulary

vocal-e (5338, g ) of th e voice

vocaux m. pl . of vocal-e (9 . v . )voici (5203) h e re is, h e re are ; this

is, the se are . See voilA

voie f . way, path (fig )


vom 549 b, § 82 ’ § 1 57i 1° 4,th ere th e re is (are ), that is,

those are ;voilAnu an a year ago

voir (5463) se e

voiture f l carriage ; en voiture ! take

your seats ! or (U . S . A . ) all aboard !

voix (5143, c) voice

voler tr. steal; in tr . fly

volontaire of the will, voluntary

volonté f . will, wish ; do la bonno

volante f l willingne ss

volontiers gladly, with pleasure

vos See votre

votre , vos (554) your

votre , le , la (etc. ) yours (557)vouloir (5 166) wish (to ), de sire (to),like to ,want (to ),will and would (bu t

not as aux . vbs . of pu ref u tu rity ), be

willing (neg . be unwilling); vouloir

dire mean (Que veut-on dire par par

lor » ? 5249, l. vouloir, c’ost pou

voir wh e re th e re’s a will th e re

’

s a

way;veuille z please , kindly;en vou

loir A bear a grudge

y (5282 , 5284, b, 5298, 5306, a) th e re

(th e reat or thith e r), th e re in ; in o r

into it (or th em) ; y penser th ink

about it (or of it, or of th em) il y a

th ere is

yeux pl. of a ll

yod m. th e sound [j]

z éro m. (5359) z e ro

vous you , yourself, yourse lve s , to

(for, from, at) you ;vous lo (la ,

los) your (5295, d , b) ;Avous (5297)

(of) yours

voyage m. (5337, —23) journey ,

voyage , travel

voyager (5 160) trave l (cf. voyage )voyelle f

'

. (557- 1 1 ) vowe l

vrai-o true , real; da vrai nou n o f

what is true , more or le ss tru th

vraiment (536 1 ) truly, reallyn o (cf. 5463)f . nou n eye sigh t, e n d

in view ; la vuo do th e sigh t o f

474 GENERAL INDEX

Aspirate h , 55 17, 37, b, 538 , NAttraction of subjunctive , 5 2 1 5, baussitot ma chambre faite e tc . , 5 274,

e x . 2 ; aussitdt que , 586, b, 5587,

autant , 5 227, R , 5271 , e x . 6

autre , personne (obsole te ), 5376, ex . 3avant (syntax ), 55 233, 241 , d , N 1 ,

5322, c, 5368 , davoir (forms and syntax ), 538 , a ,

5572 , 100, 107—108, — 1 1 1 , z o z , a ,

5 203, c, 55 204, 207, 220, 242 , a ,

§ 250. c. 261 267. 277.292 , c, 5302 53 14, c, 5320, N ,

§ 3409 as § 350’ b‘ f s § 399$ 5 ; 425,

427

Balzac,I I . de , 5333, N 3

'

be as an auxiliary ve rb, 5559—60,

62, N , 563, N , 5264, 3beau j infinitive , avoir , 5250, cBel An e , Un , 5352belle manquéo belle , 5276, b do plus

hello, 5340, I , 10

Be rge re t, 533, N dbien, 5178, d , N , 5225, a , 55229, 3ig, g ,

5360, Rblanc bonnet , bonnet blanc, 5349 , c, Rbon : homme bon and bonhomme , 5348, a ,

p . 403 (footnote );bon mot , 5351 , cBou rgeois (len til/comme , Le , 538 1Bourge t, Paul, 5 238, exs . 1—2 , 5241 ,ex . 2

Breath -

groups , 5 28Bruno t- Bony, 5 1 2 1 , pp . 1 1 1 and 251

(footnote s), 5352

Cp .p . (ve rb-

group), 55 103, 106, 1 10

9a for il, 5302, b, R . Se e co

Cadet Rou sselle , pp . 138 and 142

Capus , Alfred, 55 193, 238, e x . 5Cardinal numbe rs, 55353—359co, ceci, cela, ca, 5574, 83, 1 24— 1 26,

245 3 55, 302 , § 340, 1. 13—14

ceci, cola, se e co

cello, se e celui

celui, cello, e tc . , 5582 , 1 19, 228 , R (a )consé infinitive , 5 245, b, ex . 6

cette heure and sept heures , 5354,f , QCban son de Rolan d , p . 295Cber Alaitre , 5 245, R

Chiasmus, 5349 , c, RClio/ nag , Le , 5 266Chapin, jouor du, 5318, echose , 5 1 55, e x . 8, 5370,f , e x . 1 5 an d

N 2, 5494. Se e grand’

ci, adve rbial prefix or sufiix , 556880—8 2, 276, a

Clédat, L . (Grammaire raison n c‘e ) ,

pp . 1 23. 209. 2 17. § 300 p 344

(footnote ), pp . 355-

356 (footno te s ) ,§497,

Close vowe ls, 554, 7, acombien and past participle , 55 1 56 ,

268, ex . 6, 5 268 , b, N

Comédie - F rangaise , La, 5 1 57Commen t on p ronon ce le f ran fa is

quoted, pp . 349—351 (footnote s)

Comparison , 5555-

56, 350, e, 5368 , e ,375, a , N 2

Compound nouns , 5529 1 - 292, 318 , c ,§ 348’ a , 351 , b

Concealed dative s and subjunc tiv e s ,5 194, c, 5 199 , a , 55200, 205

—206,289, R, 297, I I

Conce ssion , 5597—98 , 229, 262 , 1 2Conditional, 560, N 1 , 559 1—102 , 2 29,N 1 , 5394. Se e Nome nclature

Conditions , 561 , a , 595, a—b, 559799, 2261 a s 235, 398 N

Conjugations , 5 107, R , 55382—483Conjunctive ’

and Disjunctive as

te rms, 5300, 6Consonants , 553, 1 2- 22 , 30

Continuants , 53, bConve ntional symbols, 55Coppe

’

e , F . , 5329 , b, 5398, ex . 2

Costaud des Epin ettes , Le , 5 374, c ,

N 2

conte que conte , 55 139, 2 13, c , e x . 3cm aimer (syntax of past participle ),

5270, b, Q , e x . 3

Dagobert, Le Bon Roi, p . 330, I I

dans (syntax and meanings), 5306,e x ' 1

9 §§ 32 1 22 9 C; § 327,b §§33S337

Date s, Idioms expre ssing, 55327, 356Dative , 5541 , 43, b, 5 280, b, 528 1 , b,55282 , 285, 295—296, 297, I I , 55298,

329, f 1

Daude t, A . , 5 268 , R , 5348, R

GENERAL I NDEX

do (me an in g s and syntax ), 538 , a ,

45—46 9 53, 85, N b, 152 1 e x ' 2

1

5241 , d , 5 242 , e xs . 2 and 5, 5245, R ,

5 247, i, 55 250, e , 5 251 , c—a’

,

— 2 577 271 , 292 , 303 , C, 304,

332

334, 340 , a and I , 1 2 (do purementlocale ) , 5 378 , e x . 7

D efin it e A r tic le . Se e Article

D emo n s tra t iv e adje ctive , 568 ; demo n s t ra t ive pronoun , 5574—83, I 19

D e n ial a n d th e subjunc tive , 5 223D em t

'

ere La , 5 268 , R

dos qu e (sy n tax ), 586, b, 5587, 105, b,55 1 1 O— I 1 1

D e'

sabu s ée , 5268 , RD e sc rip t iv e adje c tive s , 5341devoir (fo rms and syntax ), 55 100, 187,

246 . 30 1 . 387. 394. N 1 .

§ 465D iac ritic al signs , 55D iction n aire gin tral, pp . 63, 319, 344(fo o tn o te s)

D iction n aire p/t on c‘tiqu e of M ichae lis

P as sy , p . 349 (foo tno te )D iph th ongs , 5 1 1dire (syntax ), 5245,b, N , 55248 , 251 , d ,

e x . 2

- I ) is junctive and Conjunctive as

te rms , 5300, 6

D iv o rce , Un , 5 241 , e x . 2

D ouble ts in -ant and -ont , 5264, 1D o ubt and th e subjunctive , 5223

écou ter infinitiv e , 5301‘é crire defined , 5 249 , 11. 32

—40Elision , 55 279 , 288. a . 5354, ae lle in ne u te r se nse s , 55 282 , 303, b,s304

E llipse s , 5493En re

‘, L

’

, 5238, e xs . 1—2

Emo tions re quiring th e subjunctive ,552 1 5—22 1

empoch er que no, 5368, bon (meanings and syntax) (1 ) prepo

sition , 55 260—263, 286, l. 4, 5306,e x . 2 , 531 2 , d , 5532 1 , 332 , 335—337;(2) pronoun and adve rb, 5 1 57. l. 1 2 ,

5 229, b, Q , 5268 , a , ex . 5, 55 279 ,284, c, 5 292 , b, 55294, 298 , 300,

304, 3751 a , N I

475

[ inc/umbemmzt , L ,

’

5329 , e x . 7Ifnc litiCS , 5278 , (I ,

“

s 28 1 , l\, 5285, a ,

55298—300 . Se e C onjunctive’and

Disjunc tive ,’

also Proc litics

encore , 5 106, e x . 2 , 5 178, e , 5229, N 2

enjambement or ove rflow , 5 28 , b

entendre (syntax with infinitive or past

participle ), 5 244, e x . 6, 5 246, e x . 7,

55259, 270, e x . 2 , 5301entre (syntax ), 55 138, 241 , b, 5304espérer infinitive , 5 246, e x . 1

est-cc que , 5540, 78, 403, b, N

et in numbe rs , 55353, 354, cétre (meanings and syntax ), 5542 , 64,

72-

73, 109, 1 1 2 , 202 , c, 55 204, 242 , a ,

55252 , 26 1 , 3, 5 265, d- b, 55267,296 2 , 303, 3 14, 398 c, 426—427

Euphony : its influence on th e posi

tion of adje ctive s, 5342 in the loss

of verb- forms , p . 355 (foo tnote )

F ables , L’Enfimt qu i lit les , 5 1 13

F abre , F . quo te d, 5352faire (forms , me anings , and syntax ),5 16 1 , and 2 2

, 55244, 246,

5250, d , 5 265, g , 5270,

eX 4, § 296, a , 30 1 , 302 , 6

§ 34o , 1 8-

9, § 378 mN 1 2 § 478falloir (forms , meanings , and syntax ),

222 § 368 c . § 470, b

F e ar and th e subjunc tive , 55 2 16—22 1F la/om, 5288, bfinir (forms and syntax ), 55 13 1—132 ,

207, 241 , a , 55388—389 , 399 , b, 5423F itne ss e xpre ssed by th e subjunctive ,5222

F landre , les cbtes de (la), 5333, N 3.

Se e Article

F olk- spe e ch , 5 2 18 . R , 5 279 , c , 5300,

3 and 5, 5306 , a , R , 5 5R7 368

—369 9 3747 ( a N 2

fraiche éclose , 5364, bF rance , Anatole , 533, N e

F ran c/z 511 f t; in Adied /w Position ,

Tire , p . 303. Se e ArmstrongF romon t j eu n e at Risler aim‘, 5348 , R

F uturity, 5585—89 . 9 1 , 94—102 , 163, N 2 ,

552 1 8 , 2 51 , 41, e x . 5

garde que ne , pre ndre , 5368 , a , NGedde s, J. , p . xii

476 GENERAL INDEX

Gende r and sex of nouns, 5535, 39401

Ge rund (en ant), 533, N b, 5258, e ,,

N , 55260—264, 395;English ge rundin -ing and some F rench equiva

lents , 5258, eGlide s , 59, d, R , 5 13, a- e

Gobseck , 5235, N 3, 5398 , ex . 4Grammaire , La , 5249 ;Clédat, 6mmmat

'

re raison n ée, pp. 1 23, 209 , 2 17,244, 356 (footnote s). Se e Clédat

Grammar defined, 5 1 , p. 3. Se e GrammatreGrammatical subject, ’ Th e so-called ,

5265, e, N 1 , 5302 (5)grand

’chose , 5370, ex . 15 (se e chose);

grande ouverte , 5364, b

H e lmholtz on th e sound of I , 5 1 5H en riette , Al a Sa a r, quoted, 5566, 70H istorical infinitive , 5257H olidays, Name s of, 5327, RH ours and date s (idioms), 5356 ; cf.

3272fH ow to 7em a F oreign Langu age ,

p . 1 10 (footnote ). Se e JespersenHyphen afte r impe ratives, 5288, a ,

5300, 5; in numerals, 5353, a

Idealiz ing volition , 5226, b11

‘it

’

) neute r, 544, 55146, R ,

250, a'

, 5 252 , a , e xs . 2- 4, 55255, 265,e x . 1 2 and N 1—2, 5271 , R, 5302

Impe rative (forms and syntax ), 55194203, 250, f;55 288, 292 , e , 55298 ,377, ex . 1 2, 538 1 , ll. 16—17, 5404

Impe rfect (forms and syntax ), 555963, 67, 397. Se e Nomenclature

Inclusive pe rsonal pronoun , 5529 1292

Indefinite adjective s and indefinite

pronouns , 55 1 52 , 170- 186 (se e theEnglish

- F rench V ocabulary, under

any , anybody , some , e tc . ) indefinite

re lative s , 5228Indicative , Pre se nt, 55 132, 162, 206,227, N 1 , 384

-

385, 387, 400~ Se e

F uturity, Impe rfe ct, and Past definite

Indirect que stions, 5583, 1 24- 125,151 mood of the verb, 5223, a

’

Infinitive , 551 51 , 2 13, N , 5522 1—222 ,0—5, 301 » 5, § 3732e x . 52 § 3742 6" 3751 a , N I , 5393

I nfle ction . See Intonation and Infle c

tional endings

I nfle ctional endings of ve rbs, 5560,

69, 84, 9 1 , I 08- 109, 132 , 392 , 394

403, and 55416- 482 . Se e StemsI nte rnational Phone tic A ssociation ,

pp . xii, 8

I nte rrogative forms, 5550, 58 , 1441 56. See I ndirect que stions and

Q ue stionsI ntonation or infle ction, 5526, 403, NI ntransitive past participle with avoir

and atre , 5573, 426—427I nve rsion of ve rb and subje ct for inte rrogation or afte r ce rtain adve rbs ,

sse . b. w . E. § z l 3, g , 1 228. g .

236. 302 (7) R. N oI talian pe rsonal names , 5323, R

je ne sais qui (quoi, quel, e tc . ) 55 1 52,1 55, c, §368 , g

Je spe rsen, O . , p. 1 10(footnote ), 5279, d

j e'

su s- Cbrist m F landre, 5333 , N 3Jourdain , M . , 538 1

keep’

(saying, e tc .) as an auxiliaryve rb and its F rench equivale nts ,

5560, 262, 13

In as a neute r object, 5303, bLangage, Le , 5 157le as a predicate nominative , 5280, a

Liaison . Se e Linkinglieu que , an, 5234, ex . 4Limiting adje ctives and the subjunctive , 5227, a

Linking, 5529—31 , 38,a, 5143, e, 5182 ,N , 279, e, 5 28 1. a. N , is 354,403, c, 5497, 5, cm:

Logical distinguish ers, 5343E. ; th eso - called

'logical subject, ’ 5576,265, e , N 1

Loz'

de I’bomme, La , 5293

loin que , 5234, ex . 3Lou is X] et son Astrologue , 5161Lou rdes (by Z ola), 5323, Rlui. Se e English

-F rench V ocabulary,under be , her and him

478 GENERAL INDEX

Participle , Past, 5572-

73, 265—277,

2899 d : § 349a,f t 3741 5" 3781

N 5, 5405; pre sent participle ,

260—264, 395Partitive s and partitive groups, 5546,

49, 64 , 531 1739 I 749 R 1 f ,

§§ I SO ’ 307, 5 : 308 , 318—3 19’ 322 , 6 ,

ex . 3, 5373, e x . 2 , 5374, d , 5376, e x . 2 ,

5379 . Se e combien de , que de , quelquechose , ne que , pas , and th e ir English equivale nts (Vocabularie s)

pas (negative ), Syntax of, 5 17o , u’—e ,

§ 366, c—lz , 370, 375, 378, N 4Passive construc tions, 55265, 275Passy, Paul, pp . xii and 26 (footnote ),

279, a’

. p 349 (footnote )Past definite (forms and functions),

5398Past

3

participle . Se e Participle

Pen se'

es cle Riqu et, Les , 5533,

Pe rsonal pronouns, 1 22—1 23, 244,250, a , 55278-

3 10

Pe rsonification of lui, elle-s , and eux ,

55282 , 302 , o, 4, R, 5304personne , 55 R (e), 5376

pesé afte r que , 5268 , d , e x . 3Petit Larou sse illu stre

'

, Le , p . 344(footnote )

Petit Poisson et le Peelton r , Le , 588Petite Clzocolatiere, La , 5293Petite P/zon e

'

tiou e compare'

e , p . x 1l

Phone tic symbols, 56Phone tics defined , 5 1 , a (p . 3)Phonographic re cords , 54(p . 8)Phonology defined , 5 1 , a (p . 3)Pierre et Tlz e

'

rése , 5398 R

plein moyen age , en, 532 1 , aPleonastic use of y , en, ls , e tc . , 5307,c, R , and e , R

Plosive s, 53, 5 13Plural of nouns, 5534, 146,

I 77, 496—497

plus , 5555 90, 268, c, 5373, ex . 5Poisson et le P é

'

c/zeu r , Le Petit, 588

portant- e , étre bien, 5 264, 3

Position of de scriptive adje ctive s,55341

0

—352 of nume rals , 5355 of

negative s , 55366—38 1 (passim) of

pe rsonalpronouns, 5298 and 55278310 (passim)

Posse ssive adje ctive , 5554, 172 , 295,d and it , 297. 309. 324.

‘R. 329.

333, ex . 5;possessiv e pronoun , 5557,297

Predicate nominative , 55 1 245,z8o , a

Prepositional dative , 5280, o;pre po

sitionalgroups , 5 1 1 5;pre positio nalrefle xive s, 5 283, a . Se e Prepo si

fions

Prepositions, 55 1 1 5—1 16, 138 , 130, V ,

5283, a , 5 287, o, 5296, 6; 55304,306

—307, 327. Se e Preposition al, and

both vocabularie s

Pre'

vost, M . , 5268 , R , 5398, R

Principal parts (of ve rbs), 5390Proclitics, 5 285, a , 55 289, 294, 298

301 , 348, Se e Enclitics

Pronouns , demonstrative , 5574—83 ;indefinite , 55 170- 173, 176

- 178 ; in

te rrogative , 55 144—155 pe rsonal,

5 38, a , 5543, 278—304; re lative ,

55 1 13—1 29 , 133—135, 137- 142 , 226227.

Pronunciation , 55 1—32P rose et les Vers , La , 538 1Provisos requiring a subjunctive ,5230

Punctuation , 528 , a’

Purpose , Clause s of, 55 231 , 241 , d ,5250

Q uantity, 524que (meanings and syntax), 5590, 1 13

1 14, 1 19, 1 2 1 , 1 27—130, 139, 146

149, 1 51 , 1 53, 1 54, 194—200, 2 13, 227,

R , 5229, a , 5230, a , 55231 , 245, a ,

N , 5 265, g , R , 5268, ex . 7 (que de ) ,5302 , c—a

’, 5366, o, 5368, It , 5374,

5. 378 , 38 1

quelque . que with subjunc tiv e ,

5228 , c

Q ue stions , 5550, 1 24—1 25, 1 29 ,

I 39. N 141—1 55. 226. d. § so z . a403

qui (meanings and syntax ), 55 1 13,1 29, 1 33

- 135, 137—138, 144—146, a ,

55 1 51—1 52 , 2 13, e , 55228, 368, l:

quoi (meanings and syntax), 55 1 19 ,1 2 1 , 138 , N , 55 140, 149, 151 1 52,228—229, 250, e, 5367

GENERAL INDEX

Rat e , Expressions of, 5328R e c ip rocal constructions, 5 190 (end),

283- 284

R efie xive s, 543, a , 552 , N e , 5555,1 32 , d , N , 55283—284, a , 5301 , a ,

5 30 51 61 § 4241 “ 1 84271 0R e gu lar ve rbs in -or, 5384; in -ir,

1 31 , 385-

387R e gu larity (of ve rbs), 5389R e je c te d reason , Subjunctive of,

5 2 23, N

R e lative clauses, 578, a. 558 1—83,89 , 1 13

- 130, 133- 135, 137

142 , 226—227, 232 , 5374, d- e ;

re lative pronouns, 55 1 13—130, V I ,

55 133—13 137 Se e Pronouns

R e nan , E 66, 70

R e p e tition of article , 554, e ;of posse ssive adjective , 554, e ; of pro

c litics, 5289R e sult, Clauses of, 5232Riv e , Le , 5 101Rfiétm

’

qu e , F unction of, 5249, l. 40rien (meanings and syntax), 55 140,

180, 228, R e, 5271 , ex . 1 , 5373,e x . 4. 374. 3751 em2

R ou sselot and Laclotte , p . 18

sach o (poo, rien), je tie, 52 13,fm ‘s 2341 241 1 d, 3041 322 1 395377, ex 14,

858378 ex 1 2

Sardou, V . 528sauf correction, 5

8

322 , c

sauvo qui pout, 52 13, cSeasons, Name s of (syntax), 5327, oseminer, 5223, o, 5245, o, 5302 ,Se x marked by lui, eux , e tc , 55282 ,

284, in ; sex and gende r of nouns ,

35, 39—4o. 489- 492

Se x le ss ante cedents re called by lo,

5 304 sexle ss things pe rsonified,

§ 3osi (syntax ), 561 , a, 586, o, 595, o,5 170, e , 5228, g , 55235, 368 , z

siennes as noun , 5340, I , 1 1sitbt la porte ferméo, 5274, ex . 1

soit , 5202 , c, N , 52 13, c—d , 5229 , 5Song defined, 52 , cSons a

'u fmncais , Les , 5279, d

oouflrant-o, Otre , 5264, 3Sounds and symbols, 54

479

Sou nds of F reeze/1 , Passy’s, p. xx1

souriant-o, Otto, 5Spe ech and song distinguish ed, 52 , c ;organs of spe e ch , 52 spe e ch

sounds, 53Spe lling, F rench and English , 54.Se e Orthography

Stems (of ve rbs), 539 1 .

tional endings

Stress, 5525, 1 22 , 146, 278—28 1 , 287288, zoo

—294. 299, 304, 344, 351 ,c and g, 539 1 , o, 5408

Subjunctive , 55 202—238 , 399—403Substantive adje ctive s, 5180Supe rlative . Se e ComparisonSuppositions requiring th e subjunctive , 5229, 114

our complement replaced by y ,

§ 3o6 ex . 3Syllabification, 527Symbols, Th e conventional, 55Syntax defined, 51 , a , 541 1 meaningof syntaxe , 5249, ll. 9 and 13

Se e I nfle c

Tense s, pp . xiv- xv ; pre sent tense ,

33, 41 . 43- 44. 48, 52 , 55, 59 ;

groups Ap .p . and with avoir

and Ot to. 72—73 group B . 59

63. 397;group C. 64- 67. 69. 71 .

398 ; groups D and E , 5584—1 1 2 ,165

- 166, 187, 192, 237—238 , 242 ,

251 , a , ex . 3, 5267, a , 5394. See

Conditional e tc .

Théfitre-F rangais, 5 1 57, l. 25Time , Clause s of, 5233Title s, Article with , 5324tout co qu

'il y a de plus tout A fait ,

5271 , ex . 3train do, Ott o on, 5264, 3Transitive verbs, 5280, c, N , 5295p on , Le , 5229, N 1

un-o, 5 178, o and e , 226,ex . 3, 5283, c, 5308 , e x . 2 , 553 1 1

31 51 53281 N 1 “ 1 R 1

l§§63531 3541 “ 1 R 1 § 3551 ‘1 § 38 1 :

Veine , La , 55 193, 239, ex . 5venir A or dative and venir, 5295, iVen te, Une , 5371 , ex. 3

GENERAL INDEX

V e rbal adje ctive , 5225, a—o, 55 260,263

—264, 396 ; its position , 5349, gV e rb-forms, Names of, 5561 , 408V e rbs : formation , 55 1 58—1 60, 162

169, 189—193, 202 , 204—208, 260

277, 383—483; syntax , 55 1 22—1 23,

137, 2 13, N , 55 22 1 , 244, 248, 250,

265, 29 1 , 295—296, 302 , 320, 384,

386-

388, 400, 410—41 2 , 414, 416

482 passim. Se e I ndicative , Infini

tive , Subjunctive , e tc . , also individ

ual ve rbs, as avoir, étre , faire , e tc .

Victor, W. , p . xii

Village PVedding, A 5286vive , qui, 52 13, eVoice defined , 52 , a , 56, a , 5203 ;voice of the infinitive , 5243 ; of the

past participle , 5267, oV oice le ss consonants, 52 , a , 53voiciand voila, 580, R , 582 ,N 1 , 55 133,

203, a—c , 5368,f , ex . 2

voir (syntax ), 55203, 22 1 , 244, a , 55246,301 . Se e vu

vous one as a non- reflexive oh

je ct for on, 5305, oVowe ls, 553, 7- 10

Voy age de M Perric/zon , 5vu (e tc . infinitive , 5270, e x . 1 and o,

5301 , a

will’e xpre ssing frequency, habit,

5559- 60. Se e would

would expre ssing habit, e tc . , 56 1

y (syntax ), 586, 5, N , 5 163, N 3, 5279,a and a

’

, 55282 , 5288 , a , 55294,298, oanda

’—e , 55300, 302 55306,370, ex . 6, 5375, a

Z ola, Emile , 55266, 323, R

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