330 



THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



LESSONS IN FRENCH. XXXVIII. 



SECTION LXXXIII. GOVERNMENT OF VERBS. 



1. IN French, as in other languages, when a verb has two 

 subjects in the singular, it is put in the plural [ 110 (2)] .- 

 L'oncle et la tante sont arrives. The uncle and aunt are arrived. 



2. When a verb has two or more subjects of different per- 

 sons, it is put in the first person plural if one of the subjects is 

 of the first person ; and in the second person plural if there is 

 no subject of the first. In this case all the subjects may be 

 summed up into one, viz., nous or vous, which sometimes is 

 only understood : 



la You and I will go hunting to- 

 morrow. 



You and he will go to school to- 

 morrow. 



His mother and I have written that 

 letter. 



Thou, she, and thy brother do no- 

 thing but falfc. 



Vous et moi irons domain 



chasse. 

 Vous et lui irez domain a 1'ecole. 



Sa mere et moi nous avons e'crit 



cette lettre. 

 Toi, elle et tou frere, vous ne faites 



que bavarder. 



3. The above examples will show that, when a verb has 

 several subjects, all of them pronouns, or partly pronouns and 

 partly nouns, the words moi, toi, lui, eux, are used instead of 

 je, tu, il, ils. 



4. For further rules on this subject, see 110 and 111, and 

 also the next section. 



5. G6ner corresponds in signification to the English to 

 trouble, to incommode, to disturb, to be in the way, to hurt, and 

 to pinch (in speaking of shoes and garments). Se g6ner means 

 to constrain, or trouble one's self : 



Est-ce que je vous gene ? Am, I in your way ? 



MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES. 



Ou irez-vous, ton frere et toi ? j Where will your brother and you go 1 

 Lui et moi irons en Angleterre. j He and I will go to England. 



Vous, elle et lui, vous acheterez 



du bl<5. 

 Eux et moi, nous nous sommes 



fait mal a la tete. 

 Vous et lui, vous devriez vous 



preter aux circonstances. 

 Lui et moi vous generons sans 



doMte. 

 Ma cousine et moi, nous crai- 



gnons de vous gener. 

 Je ne me 



amis. 

 Ne vous g 



a votre aise. 

 Nous n'aimons pas a gener les 



autres. 

 Nous n'aimons pas a nous gener. 



ene jamais chez mes , 

 3nez pas; mettez-vons 



You, she, and he will buy wheat. 

 They and I have hurt our heads. 



You and he should adapt yourselves 

 to circumstances. 



He and I shall without doubt incom- 

 mode you. 



M>j cousin and I fear to be in your 

 way. 



I am never under constraint with my 

 friends. 



Be under no constraint ; place your- 

 self comfortably. 



We do not lifce to incommode others. 



We do not like to incommode our- 

 selves. 



EXERCISE 161. 



A perte, at a loss. Nullement, by tio Prodigue, prodigal, 



A profit, with a profit. means. lavish,. 



Bras, m. arm. Pardon, excuse me. Socie'te', f. company, 



De'rang-er, 1. to disturb. Persist-er, 1. to persist. society, 



ficonome, economical. Place, f. room. Tous deux, both. 



1. Si nous restions plus longtemps ici, nous craindrions de 

 vous gener. 2. Vous ne nous genez nullement ; votre societe 

 nous est tres agreable. 3. N'avez-vous pas ete trop prodigues, 

 vous et votre frere ? 4. Lui et moi au contraire, nous avons 

 ete tres economes. 5. N'avez-vous pas tort de gener ce mon- 

 sieur ? 6. Nous n' avons nnllement envie de le gener. 7. Est- 

 ce que mon bras vous gene, Monsieur ? 8. Non, Monsieur ; 

 nous avons assez de place, vous ne me genez pas. 9. Ne 

 devriez-vous pas vous preter aux circonstances ? 10. Nous 

 faisons, elle et moi, notre possible pour nous y preter. 11. Ce 

 jeune homme persiste-t-il dans sa resolution ? 12. Nous y 

 persistons, lui et moi. 13. Persistez-vous tous deux a rester 

 ici ? 14. Nous y persistons tous deux. 15. Get homme est-il 

 gene dans ses affaires (uncomfortably situated, badly off) ? 

 16. II etait gene dans ses affaires il y a un an. 17. Ne vous 

 genez pas, Monsieur* 18. Je ne me gene jamais, Monsieur. 

 19. Est-ce que mon frere vous derange ? 20. Non, Monsieur, 

 il ne me derange pas. 21. Je ne voudrais pas vous deranger. 

 22. Pardon, si je vous derange. 23. Vous et votre associe 

 avez vendu vos marchandises a perte. 24. Toi et moi, nous 



vendons toujours a profit. 25. Votre pere, votre frere et moi, 

 nous avons achete des marchandises. 



EXERCISE 162. 



1. Do my brother and I incommode you ? 2. No, Sir ; you 

 do not incommode us ; we are very glad to see you. 3. Are 

 you not afraid to disturb your friend ? 4. We are afraid to 

 disturb him ; he has much to do. 5. Is my foot in your way, 

 Sir ? 6. No, Sir ; your foot is not in my way. 7. Will you 

 and your brother go to Germany this year ? 8. He and I 

 intend to go there. 9. He, you, and I should write our les- 

 sons. 10. Should not you and your friends adapt yourselves 

 to circumstances ? 11. We should do so, if it were possible. 

 12. Do I not disturb you, Sir ? 13. You do not disturb me 

 by any means. 14. Does not my little boy disturb you ? 15. 

 He does not disturb me. 16. He disturbs nobody. 17. Does 

 not your partner sell his goods at a loss ? 18. He never sells 

 at a loss. 19. He and I alwajs sell at a profit. 20. Do you 

 persist in your resolution ? 21. Your friend and I persist in 

 our resolution. 22. I never feel under constraint at your 

 house. 23. Be under no constraint (make yourself at home). 

 24. Are you not wrong to incommode them ? 25. I do not 

 intend to incommode them. 26. We do not like to incommode 

 ourselves (to put ourselves out of the way). 27. My little boy 

 and I will, perhaps, be in your way. 28. No, Sir ; we are 

 very glad of your company. 29. Do I disturb you ? 30. No, 

 Sir ; you do not disturb us. 31. Do I disturb your father ? 

 32. No, Sir ; you disturb no one. 33. Excuse me, Sir, if 

 I disturb you. 34. Have you not been very lavish ? 35. No, 

 Sir ; 1 assure you that your son and I have been very econo- 

 mical. 



SECTION LXXXTV. 



1. When a verb is preceded by several nouns not connected 

 by et, it agrees with the last only, provided the nouns are 

 nearly synonymous, or emphasis is laid on the last : 



Son amour, sa teudresse pour ses His love, his tenderness for his chil- 



enfants est connue de tout le 



monde. 

 Vos amis, vos parents, Dieu vous 



recompensera. 



2. When two or more nouns are connected by the conjunc- 

 tion ou, the verb agrees with the last only : 



Charles ou George ecrira a votre Charles or George will write to 

 ami. your friend. 



3. When a noun and a pronoun, or two or more pronouns 

 (not being all in the third person), are joined by ou, the verb 

 is put in the first or in the second person plural according to 

 the rules given in No. 3, Sect. 83 : 



dren are known to everybody. 



Your friends, your relatives, God 

 will reward you. 



Vous ou moi partirons demain. 

 Ta so3ur ou toi irez a I'e'glise. 

 Vous ou lui avez pu seuls com- 

 mettre cettre action. 



Yon or I will go to-morrow. 

 Your sister or you will go to church. 

 You or he alone luive probably com- 

 mitted tTus act. 



4. When two nouns are joined by ni repeated, or when 

 ni 1'un ni 1'autre is used as subject of a verb, the verb is put 

 in the plural, if the two nouns, or the two persons represented 

 by ni 1'un ni 1'autre, perform or may perform the action to- 

 gether : 



Ni 1'un ni 1'autre ne liront. Neither the one nor the other will 



read. 



Even in this case the verb may be put in the singular : 



Ni 1'une ni 1'autre n'a fait son de- Neither of them has done her duty. 

 voir. (AcAD.) 



5. When, however, only one can perform the action, the verb 

 must be put in the singular : 



Ni 1'un ni i'autre ne sera iiomme Neither the one nor tlie other will be 

 pre'fet de ce de'partement. appointed prefect of this depart- 



ment. 



MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES. 



Ni 1'un ni I'autre n'ont trouve le \ Neither the one nor the other found 



vin bon. the wine good. 



L'un et I'autre ont trouve le diner j .Both found the dinner bad. 



manvais. 

 Comment se trouvent Messieurs ; How do your brothers do ? 



vos freres ? 

 Ni 1'nn ni I'autre ne se trouvent i Neither is well. 



Men. 1 



