place antecedently named, and signifies out of it, out of them, some of it, some of them, and from that place, or thence. As a personal pronoun, it may be used in speaking of persons, although its chief use is about things; but, as a relative pronoun, its use is confined to things and places. EXAMPLES. Vous cet homme quant à ces événe ments nous en par- que dites-vous de voilà de belles o- on ne m'a pas trom- il arriva à Paris, vous allez à Paris, en as for these events, these are beautiful I have not been im- you are going to Pa- OF THE PERSONAL AND RELATIVE PRONOUN Y. 65. The use of y, as a pronoun, is strictly confined to things. It is employed in all those cases in which the objective case is marked by the preposition à. Speaking of persons, we say: je pense à votre frère, je donne mes soins à votre frère; and, when not naming the person, we say : je pense à lui, je lui donne mes soins; thus, speaking of things, we must say: je pense à votre affaire, je donne mes soins à votre affaire, and, speaking relatively, j'y pense, j'y donne mes soins. Y is also used in reference to a place antecedently named, and when here, there are understood in English. la poussière gâtera] Ice sont de belles ces arguments sont Vous y venez c'est un endroit je compte m'y fixer he is an honest man, these a arguments are come, say no more, we must not think about it any longer we set off from Lon don, when you come hither it is a fine place, I intend to settle there REMARK. Yand en are always put before the verb, except with the imperative affirmative second person. EXERCISE. They speak (a great deal) of it. You like you are always speaking of them. success succès m. not 2 parlez 1 douteux French authors, aimez art. français 2 auteur 1 That is a delicate affair; the trust them. That is a fine appointment: he had 1-5 vous 2 fiez 4 long depuis long-temps y 3 Ce place f. aspired to it. He has done it; but he will get nothing by it. a fait ne 1 gagnera 3 rien 4 y 2 66. These pronouns denote the possession of things. When we say, mon habit, my coat; votre maison your house; son jardin, his, or her garden; it is the same, as saying l'habit qui est à moi, the coat which belongs to me; la maison qui est à vous, the house which belongs to you; le jardin qui est à lui, or à elle, the garden which belongs to him, or to her. 67. These pronouns are of two sorts, the conjunctive, which are always joined to a noun, which they precede, mon livre, my book; and the relative, which are used in reference to a noun, as le mien, mine. By some, these pronouns have also been called adjectives, because they agree in gender and num ber with the noun. Mon frère, my brother; ma sœur, my sister. 68. Mon, ton, son, are used before a noun feminine, when beginning with a vowel, or h mute, mon áme, my soul; ton humeur, thy humour; son amitié, his friendship, in order to avoid the meeting of the two vowels, or hyatus, ma áme, ta humeur, sa amitié. EXERCISE. My principles, my love, of -pe retirement, my taste goût m. pour art. retraite f. amour m. for (every thing) that (is connected) with learning, and life passed in the closet, to the cabinet * de * Observe that the pronoun does not agree with the possessor as in English, thus, his father, her father are both rendered by son père, and his mother, her mother, by sa mère, no regard being paid to his or hers, but to the gender of fathe. and mother. aimer de tout le monde even his (good nature) make him beloved by every body. même bonhomie f. font Our constancy and our efforts will (at last) obstacles. I see vois 2 ne 1 rien 3 enfin 2 surmonteront 1 art. m. pl. que on puisse (be censured) reprendre The use of these pronouns is to avoid the repetition of a noun antecedently named. |