LESSONS IN FRENCH. 



N'etalent-ce pu IM mme 

 hotntuesP CHATICAUIIKIANI>. 



Oa soiit if u.i.-iiH, ce ue sont 

 pu lot vutrea. 



Ce sont cello* quo j'ai vuon. 



Were they not the tame men t 

 They are mine, they art not your*. 

 They are those I have teen. 



(4.) Tli in in, that it, these are, (hone art, may also bo rendered 

 by c'eet ici, ce sont ici, or by voici and voila : 



C'est id In place. 



Ce BOnt la men eufauts. 



Thit if the place. 

 Those are my children. 



Voici. voili, an-, however, to bo preferred to c'eat ici, etc. : 



Voici la i<i..r, . 

 Voila mi'H eufonts. 



Thin it the place. 

 Those are my children. 



(5.) Ce answers to the English pronoun it, whon the latter 

 stands as the impersonal subject of the verb to be ; i.e., with- 

 out reference to an antecedent : 



Ce n'est quo par les sens quo 

 I'nino peut H'iustruire. 



FONTANES. 



Ce fut d'une retruite de patres 

 et d'arenturiers, quo sortirent los 

 couqcraut Ue Vuuiverfl. 



EOLLIN. 



C'est uu ddfaut capital qu'il faut 

 5viter daus quelque sujet qua 06 

 aoit. VOLTAIRE. 



It is only through the nouses that 

 the mind can receive instruction. 



It was from a refuge for shepherds 

 and adventurer*, that emerged the 

 conquerors of tht world. 



Tht'.i is a fatal defect which should 

 be avoided in whatever subject it 

 may be. 



(6.) When the verb 6tre, however, is used impersonally, and 

 followed by an adjective [ 85, (4)], the pronoun it is not ren- 

 dered by ce, but by the pronoun used with all impersonal verbs, 

 viz., il : 



II ost ntfcessairo d'dtudier. 



II est plus difficile pour les na- 

 tions que pour les iudividus, do 

 recouvrer 1'estime de leurs voisins 



quand elles Tout perdue. 



BOISTB. 



It is necessary to study. 



It is more difficult for nations 

 than for individuals, to recover the 

 esteem of their neighbours when they 

 have lost it. 



106. THE RELATIVE PRONOUN. 



(1.) The relative pronoun que, whom, which, that, can never 

 be suppressed like the corresponding English pronouns : * 



The praises (which) we give, have 

 always in some way a relation to 

 ourselves. 



Les louanges que nous don- 

 nons, se rapporteut ton jours par 

 quelque chose a nons-memes. 



MASSILLON. 



(2.) The pronouns quel, que, quoi, lequel, represent the 

 English pronouns which or what used interrogatively. 



1. Quel is used before a noun, in a determinative sense : 



Quel livre lirons-nous ? 

 Quel est done votre mal ? 



MOLIKBE. 



What or which ooo/c shall we read f 

 What then is your ailment ? 



2. Que is used before a verb : 



Que dites-vous ? | jph a t do you say f 



3. Quoi is used as an exclamation, and with a preposition : 



Quoi ! est-ce vous ? 



De quoi parlez-vous? 



Quoi de plus beau que la vertu ' 



What / is it you t 



Of what are you speaking f 



What is more beautiful than virtue / 



4. Lequel, used interrogatively, means which one : 



Voici deux plumes ; laquelle 

 voulez-vous ? 



Here are two pens ; which (which 

 one) will you have f 



(3.) Qui is used without antecedent, affirmatively and inter- 

 rogatively as direct and as indirect object. It then means 

 whom, of whom, to whom, whose, etc. : 



Qu'elle Spouse qul elle voudra. 

 Nous savons de qul elle est fllle. 

 Qul avez-vous vu ? 

 De qul tenez-vous cette nouvello ? 

 A qui est ce livre ? 



Let her marry whom she likes. 

 We know whose daughter she is. 

 H'hom have you seen T 

 From, whom have you this newt T 

 Whose book is this f 



* The conjunction that is often omitted in English ; its equivalent, 

 que, must always be expressed in French : 



Je crois qu'il est ici I believe (that) he it here. 



107. TH PBOKOUM E. 



(1.) We hare already [ 40, (17.), 92, (5.), f 100, Bole (1.)] 

 made several remarki on thia pronoun. 



(2.) En, used u an equivalent for the Englinh tome or 

 any, expressed or understood, remains, however, an indirect 

 object : 



Avez-voui des pommes ? 

 J'en ai. 



Have you apple* f 

 I have (I torn* have). 



(3.) En sometimes is used to avoid the repetition of the whole 

 or part of a claufte : 



L'on ne luurait voir, sans en ' tre 



pique, 

 Posse'der par un autrn tin bien 



qu'on a manque 1 . MoLiiEK. 



N'en diaputous plus ; chacun a 

 ta peiis<5e. MOLIBKK. 



We cannot, without being fiqntd, 

 tee another person- in JXMMMI'O* of 

 goods which we hare failed to obtain. 



Let us no longer argue about this, 

 every one hat hit own opinion. 



108. THE PEONOUH Y. 



Some remarks have already been made on this pronoun 

 [ 40, (18.), 100, (2.)]. Y means to it, at it, to them, at them. 

 It is seldom used in relation to persons, but frequently in rela- 

 tion to things : 



Je rec/ois votre lettre, ma chrre 

 enfant, et j'y fais rdpouse avec 

 precipitation. 



MME. DE SKVIGNK. 



Tirer vauiU : de quelque chose, 

 c'est prouver qu'on n'y est pas 

 accoutume 1 . BOISTB. 



Cluirgez-vous de cette affaire; 

 donuez-y tons vos soius. 



BONIFACE. 



I receive your letter, my dear child, 

 and answer it (make answer thereto) 

 in haste. 



To feel vanity on account of any 

 thing, it proving that we are not 

 accustomed to it. 



Take this ajfair upon younelf ; 

 give all your care to it. 



109. THE INDEFINITE PRONOUN ON [42, (4.)]. 



(1.) On, which is very extensively used in the French 

 language, is said only of persons. This pronoun is of the 

 masculine gender. [See (2.)] On is used in French for people, 

 one, some one, we, they, whenever these words have a general 

 and indefinite meaning, and do not refer to any particular 

 word : 



On pardonne aisdment le mal 

 involontaire. DE LA BOUTBATE. 



On cherche les rieurs, et moi je 

 les evite. LA FONTAINE. 



We (people, they, etc.) easily for- 

 give involuntary injuries. 



People (they, we) seek laughing or 

 merry people, and I avoid them. 



Another translation of the above sentences will show ns that 

 the pronoun on often enables the French to make use of the 

 active voice, in cases in which the passive voice would be used 

 in English, t Thus the two examples last given may be ren- 

 dered as follows : 



Active voice in French. 



On pardonne oise'ruent le mal 

 involontaire. 



On cherche les rieurs, mais moi 

 je les eVite. 



Quand On est chre'tien, de quel- 

 que sexe que 1'on soit, il n'est pas 

 pennis d'etre lucho. FKNELON. 



On peut etre honnete houime, 

 et faire mal des vers. MOLIKRE. 



On aimo peu celui qui n'ose 

 aimer personue. DKLILLK. 



A-t-on jamais pleur^ d'avoir 

 fait son devoir ? CHAMFORT. 



Quand on a meme but, rarement 

 On s'accorde. LEBRCN. 



Artistes, dcrivains, poetes, si 

 vous vous copiez tou jours, on ne 

 vous copiera jainais. 



DE ST. PIERRE. 



Passive votes in English. 



Involuntary injuries are easily 

 forgiven. 



Iferry or joyful people are gent- 

 ralli/ sought/ for my part, I avoid 

 them. 



A Christian, of whichever MX h 

 may be, is not allowed to be cowardly. 



One may be a worthy man, and 

 make bad verse*. 



We feel but little lor* /or him who 

 dares love nobody. 



Have we ever grieved on account 

 of having done our duty T 



Those who have the MUM aim, 

 rarely agree. 



Artittt, writers, poets! if you 

 always copy each other, no one wiU 

 copy you. 



t On dit, it is said; on rapporte, it w related; on craint, it is 

 feari-d, etc. Cela 86 fait ainsi, literally, that makes itself thus, that u 

 I made in this manner, etc. 



