59. The e in entre, before eux, elles and autre, may or may not be suppressed; it is indifferent whether we write, entre eux, or entr'eux—— entre elles, or entr'elles—entre autres, or entr'autres.

60. *When the words (all pronouns) thus marked in the above list, are put after the verb of which they are the nominative-or by which they are governed in the objective case-they do not suffer elision, although the word that comes after them begins with a vowel or an h mute—thus, apportez-le ici, est-ce à lui, &c.

66

66

66

66

66

66

66

66

66

61. In the following French negative modes of speech, which answer to the accompanying English translation, the caret points out the place which the French verb must occupy, whenever it is not in the infinitive mood.

62. But in compound tenses, it is the auxiliary verb that parts the ne gative ne from the pas, or point, &c. that accompanies it, as nous n'avons point parlé, we have not spoken; on n'aurait jamais cru, one could never have believed.

63. The addition of pas, or point, to the negative particle ne, must not be considered as a second negation; but only as a complimental part of it. For in such cases, pas, point, goutte, are mere restrictive terms, nearly resembling the English word, jot, bit, tittle, sometimes added to not, with this difference, that pas and point in French have nothing trivial in them.

Ivient ? vois

I have never seen, I never (tell a

dit,
I have done nothing,

fait

vu,

is he not arrived?

est-il

arrivé ?

does he not come? I see nothing, has he never seen? he never loses

# 2il

his time,

that (is worth) nothing, I met nobody.

temps, m. cela vaut

rencontrai

perd

N. B. The above exercise and direction, article 61, are out of place. Lézac ought to have remembered that the scholar knows as yet nothing about simple and compound tenses.

64. There are many words which are alike in both languages, and others which differ only in their termination.

65. The expressions, which are perfectly alike, are particularly those that have the following terminations:

animal, cardinal, fatal, général, local, moral, natal, origi nal, principal, &c.

capable, fable, &c. bible, éligible, &c. noble, double soluble, insoluble, &c.

face, grimace, grâce, place, préface, race, surface, trace &c.

chance, complaisance, extravagance, ignorance, lance tempérance, &c.

abstinence, conférence, continence, diligence, éloquence, patience, &c.

Sartifice, auspices, édifice, justice, injustice, office, orifice, précipice, solstice, &c.

acle as

ade

-age

-ege

*.ge

-ule

-ile

-ine

-ion

-ant

ent

miracle, oracle, obstacle, réceptacle, tabernacle, spectacle, &c.

ambuscade, cavalcade, brigade, esplanade, sérénade, rétrograde, &c.

âge, adage, bandage, cage, cordage, image, page, plumage, rage, &c.

collège, privilège, sacrilège, siège, sortilège, &c.

vestige, doge, barge, charge, orange, forge, rouge, rófuge, déluge, &c.

S globule, ridicule, animalcule, corpuscule, formule, module, mule, pustule, valvule, &c.

I bile, débile, agile, docile, ductile, facile, fragile, nubile, reptile, versatile, &c.

Scarabine, fascine, doctrine, heroïne, machine, marine, famine, mine, rapine, &c.

action, fraction, légion, nation, opinion, passion, question, religion, &c.

arrogant, constant, élégant, éléphant, pétulant, piquant, poignant, vigilant, &c.

absent, accident, compliment, argument, content, élément, fréquent, serpent, &c.

66 Many other English words require only the change of termination, in the following manner:

that machine, an 'audacious 'conspirator, the absurdity of that opinion.

f.

f

importante f.

the military evolutions, an 'industrious 'nation, an important 'victory, 2militaires évolutions, an 2alimentary 'pension, a 2dangerous 'animal, a 'figurative 'expression,

a famous general, his 'constant 'generosity, he is incapable of attention

constante f.

est

f.

his imprudence is visible, his fidelity is indubitable, she is very at f. f. elle très

f.

tentive, your clemency is admirable, the destruction of his fortune was f. f. fut the consequence of his temerity, she is very scrupulous, his condition

f.

f.

très- f.

f.

is horrible, his parents are very miserable, this history is incontestable, parens sont misérables,

f.

your facility is prodigious, his perfidy is odious, it was a 'horrible famine, perfidie, f.

ce était

f. the sublimity of his sentiments is still preferable to the energy

sentimens encore

f.

of his

f. energie, f. expressions, it was a 2decisive 'action, the carnage was terrible, that expressions,

f.

f.

m. fut

obstacle is invincible, this instrument is not harmonious, the prosperity

m.

m.

f.

of the wicked is not durable, your 'insidious 'presents are not acceptable méchans,

présens sont acceptables,

his memory is truly extraordinary, that is his 2principal 'occupation, a

ce est principale f.

his extravagance is visible, these arguments are

67. There are, in French, nine sorts of words, or parts of speech, namely:

68. The substantive is a word, which serves to name a person, or thing, as Pierre, Peter; livre, book, &c.

69. There are two sorts of substantives, the substantive proper, or proper name, and the substantive common, also called appellative.

70. The proper name is that which is applied to a particular person, or thing, as César, Cæsar; la Tamise, the Thames.

71. The substantive common is that which belongs to a whole class of objects. The word homme, man, is a substantive common, as it is appli cable to any individual.

72 of these nouns, some are collective, and others abstract.

73. Collective nouns express either a whole mass, as une armée, au army; une foret, a forest: or a partial assemblage, as une quantité de, &c., a quantity of; la plupart, most part, &c.

74. Abstract nouns are the names of qualities abstracted from their subjects, as surface, rondeur, science, sagesse; surface, roundness, know. ledge, wisdom, &c.

75. In substantives, are to be considered Gender and Number.

OF GENDERS.

76. Gender is the distinction of sex, or the difference be tween male and female.

77. There are in the French Language but two Genders: the Masculine, which belongs to men and animals of the maie kind; as, John, lion, &c. The Feminine, which belongs to women or animals of the female kind; as, Lucy, lionness, &c.

78. This distinction has, through imitation, been extended in the French to all those substantives (inanimate objects) that are neither male nor female; and which, in English, are of the neuter gender. Thus in French-un livre a book, is masculine-une table a table, is feminine, &c.

79. The gender of French nouns, which in English are neuter, is commonly ascertained by their terminations.

A great number of writers have endeavoured to give rules; but none have had the patience to go carefully over the "DICTIONNAIRE DE L'ACADÉMIE," to make themselves sure that the rules they were giving embraced a greater number of words, than the list of exceptions to those rules.

They all found it less irksome, after having given the exceptions they could remember, to have recourse to this phrase "You must except such and such words; and others that usage will teach." By this method it is evident that the scholar cannot know whether the nouns, whose gender he wants to ascertain, come under the rules given, or is one of those words that usage is to teach him: in this predicament he must have recourse to a dictionary; and if there is none within his reach, he must expose himself to make a blunder in the gender of some noun, which will sometimes change entirely the meaning of his phrase, and sometimes excite laughter.

The following few pages contain A TREATISE ON THE GENDERS OF FRENCH NOUNS, as short as the subject would admit. The rules are precise, and the list of exceptions complete; so that any person, after having learned the rules and exceptions, can, without the help of any dictionary, which he cannot always carry about him, ascertain at once the gender of any noun contained in the DICTIONNAIRE DE L'ACADÉMIE and in the supplement to that work.