295. Que is sometimes used for à quoi, de quoi, as, Que sert ia science sans la vertu ? (à quoi sert) what avails learning without virtue? Que sert à l'avare d'avoir des tré- what use is it to the miser to possors? (de quoi sert) sess treasures? Quoi, de quoi, à quoi, may be used in reference to a sentence antecedent, as a sort of pronoun neuter, the thing to which it refers being neither masculine nor feminine. la vie passe comme un songe: c'est cependant à quoi on ne pense guères. 296. Que and quoi require the preposition de before the adjective or substantive that follows them, having then the force of an adverb of quantity, as; Que dit-on de nouveau? quoi de plus agréable! Quel relates both to persons and things, as : Quel homme peut se promettre un bonheur constant? EXERCISE. 1. Who could ever persuade himself, did not daily experience convince us of it, that, out of a hundred persons, there are ninety who sacrifice, to the enjoyment of the present, all the best founded hopes of the future? 2. Who would not love virtue for its own sake, could he see it in all its beauty? 3. He who does not know how to apply himself in his youth, does not know what to do when arrived at maturity. 4. He was a wise legislator, who, having given to his countrymen laws calculated to make them good and happy, made them swear not to violate any of those laws during his absence: after which, ine went away, exiled himself from his country, and died poor in a fʊreign land. 5. What people of antiquity ever had better laws than the Egyp tians? What other nation ever undertook to erect monuments ca!. zulated to triumph over both time and barbarisın? 6. What is more instructing and entertaining than to read celebrated authors in their own language? What beauty, what delicacy and grace, which cannot be thrown into a translation, are discovered in them! 7. When Ménage had published his book on the Origin of the French Language, Christina, queen of Sweden, said: “Ménage is the most troublesome 3 man 1 in the world 2: he cannot let one word 2 go I without its passport: he must know whence it comes, where it has passed through, and whither it is going." (1.) Did, si; out of, sur; future, avenir. (2.) Its own sake, elle-même; could he, si on pouvoir; ind-2 (3.) (To) what; to do, s'occuper; when arrived, etc., dans l'âge múr. (4.) He, ce; calculated, propre; not to, (that they would not;) went away, partir. (5.) Calculated to, fait pour; both, également; over, de. (6.) Language, langue; delicacy, finesse; which cannot, qu'on ne peut; ho thrown, faire passer; translation, traduction; are, etc. n'y découvre-t-on pas. (7). When, après que; Christina, Christine; troublesome, incommode; the, de, art.; cannot, ne saurait; go, passer; must, vouloir. V. PRONOUNS INDEFINITE. 297. These pronouns have been divided into four classes in the grammar. (No. 85). The following remarks are arranged in the same order. FIRST CLASS. Of those which are never joined to a noun substantive. ON 298. Examples have already been given, No. 86) of the use of on, in French, with an explanation of its reasonably supposed etymology. As it is a word which frequently occurs, and in a manner totally different from the English idiom, it has been thought necessary to devote another chapter to it, in which its use will be more fully explained. we. The general meaning of on is: one, people, men, EXAMPLES on secourt plus volontiers les été on ne doit pas attribuer à la religion les défauts de ses ministres, we succour the unfortunate more readily when we have been so ourselves. man ought not to charge religion with the faults of her ministers. on relit tout Racine, on choisit people read the whole of Racine dans Voltaire, on fait du bruit dans la rue, on n'est pas toujours heureux, on dit qu'il va se marier, again, they chuse in Voltaire. people are making a noise in the street. people are not always fortunate. people say, they say, he is going to be married. OBSERVE, that the adjective referring to on is in the masculine gender, when that pronoun is taken in a vague and indeterminate sense; but when it applies to any person in particular, as in the case stated No. 298, then the adjective agrees with the person understood. Thus, a woman would say: on n'est pas toujours jeune et jolie, we cannot be young and pretty for ever. Observe also that we must not say qu'on, et on, aussi on, but que l'on, et l'on, aussi l'on. Ex: je crois que l'on frappe. The thus prefixed is for euphony's sake. But if the word following begins with an I, then we say je crois qu'on l'appelle, because je crois que l'on l'appelle would equally be disagreeable. 298. ON, according to the above examples, has a vague and indefinite meaning; it is indeed the subject of the verb, but not specified, not applied to any one person in particular. There are, however, two cases in which on is very significantly used in French, in a definite sense, and as applicable to one individual alone. 1. A master speaking to his servants, a father to his child, a tutor to his pupil, says on, instead of vous or tu, either to put greater distance between the persons, or to assume a more serious tone, or also a sort of mock gravity. EXAMPLES. a-t-on passé chez le Colonel Sainville? eh bien, a-t-on été bien sage en mon absence? finira-t-on ce bruit-là bientôt ? did you call at the house of Colonel Sainville? well, have you been good in my absence ? will you put an end to that noise? 2. A person, speaking of himself, says on, as the English sometimes say we; or applies it to another, also in the same manner as the English use we for you. EXAMPLES. on n'est pas des esclaves pour on vous l'a dit mille fois, we are not slaves (I am not a slave) to bear such ill usages. I have told you so a thousand times. how long have we (you) been back? 299. ON is also much used in French as the subject of an active verb, when the passive voice is used in English. (See 95.) on me trompe, EXAMPLES. I am deceived. on m'a dit ce matin que le roi I have been told this morning that va en Irlande, the king is going to Ireland. This form is adopted in almost every case, except when the verb expresses love, esteem, hatred, feeling they are much loved, EXAMPLE. ils sont très-aimés. EXERCISE. 1. If we knew how to limit our wishes, we would spare ourselves many troubles and we should be happier. 2. At the last judgment we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done. 3. I will not have him be teased. 4. People do not come into the world musicians. 5. When men regulate their wants on nature, they save themselves many cares and difficulties. 6. They praise him, they threaten him, they caress him; but whatever they do, they cannot conquer him. 7. They say the town has been taken. 8. My father has been robbed. (1.) To limit, borner; to spare, s'épargner; troubles, mauz. (2.) To ask, demander. (3.) To will, vouloir que; to teaze, tourmenter. (4.) To come into the world, naître. (5.) To save one s self, s'épargner; difficulties, travaux. (6.) Whatever they do, quoique l'on fasse; cannot, savoir, coud-1. 300. Quelqu'un is relative, and agrees in gender with the noun to which it refers. Quelqu'un taken absolutely and substantively, is of the masculine gender. EXAMPLES. j'attends ici quelqu'un, quelqu'un en doute-t-il? I wait here for somebody. Quiconque, whoever, signifies quelque personne que ce soit, qui que ce soit, any person whatever; the verb which it governs is in the singular and the adjective, which refers to it, is masculine. EXAMPLE. ce discours s'adresse à quicon- this speech is addressed to whoever que est coupable, is guilty. |