Use of Auxiliary Verbs in Romance Languages. 19 



and third class, comprising verbs conjugated sometimes with 

 etre and sometimes with avoir, such as 



and some others. As to the verbs conjugated with etre alone, 

 grammarians maintain that they cannot take the auxiliary 

 avoir, because they express nothing but a state or condition. 

 As to the verbs conjugated with avoir or etre, grammarians 

 have used all their critical acumen to explain the use of the 

 one or the other. They have even censured illustrious writers 

 for not adhering to the rules formulated by them. For in- 

 stance, Racine said in Berenice, A. II. Sc. I., // en etait soj'ti 

 lorsque fy suis count. If we listen to grammarians, Racine 

 was wrong, and ought to have said, fy ai couru. We shall 

 see later whether Racine was wrong or not in saying y'jj/ suis 

 couru. Compare courir with its compound accourir. Courir 

 must take the auxiliary avoir, and accourir may take either 

 avoir or etre. Why .'' 



M. Girault Durivier, in hx's,^' Grainniaire des Grainmaires,'" 

 p. 472, says : "La raison pour laquelle courir prend toujours 

 Tauxiliaire avoir, et accourir tantot I'auxiliaire avoir et tantot 

 I'auxiliaire etre est que courir n'exprime qu'un mouvement,. 

 qu'une action, au lieu que dans accourir qui signifie se mettre- 

 en mouvement pour arriver promptement a son but on dis- 

 tingue deux choses, Taction de se mettre en mouvement pour 

 courir vers un but, et I'etat qui resulte de cette action faite. 

 Des que j'e Vai entendu se platndre, j' ai account a son secottrs. 

 ye suis account a son sccottrs (would mean, says the author) 

 j'e'tais dans V etat qui resttlte de V action d'accotti'ir att secours 

 de qitclqu'itn.'' The correctness of the author is not to be 

 doubted, but the explanation is questionable. M. Girault 

 Durivier is right, according to the modern tendency which 

 dictates the use of avoir or etre in cases similar to those 

 quoted. But I hardly think that the use of the one or 

 the other auxiliary essentially modifies the verbal meaning. 

 Other Romance languages have, in their early period, made 



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