[17.] Paris is the capital city Paris est la ville capitale de of France. la France. He lives in Paris, the capital Il demeure à Paris, ville cap city of France. London is the capital city of England. He was born in London, the capital city of England. George III. king of England and elector of Hanover, grandson to George II. has married the princess Charlotte, daughter to the prince of MecklenburghStrelitz. He is a merchant.* He is a physician. She is a milliner. itale de la France. Londres est la ville capitale d'Angleterre. Il est né à Londres, ville capitale d'Angleterre. George trois, roi d'Anglerre, & électeur d'Hanovre, petit-fils de George second, a épousé la princesse Charlotte, fille du prince de Mecklenbourg-Strelitz. Il est marchand, ou c'est un marchand. Il est médecin, ou c'est un médecin. Elle est coiffeuse, ou c'est une coiffeuse. He is the merchant whom Il est le marchand que vous you look for. cherchez. He is the physician whom Il est le médecin que vous you ask for. He is the most upright mer chant. He is the most skilful physi cian. She is the most accustomed milliner. [18.] Give me some bread, some meat, some wine, some beer, &c. demandez. Il est le marchand le plus intègre. Il est le médecin le plus expert. Elle est la coiffeuse la plus achalandée. Donnez-moi du pain, de la viande, du vin, de la bière, &c. Bring some salt, pepper, Apportez du sel, du poivre, mustard, &c. There is wine and water. Do you choose beer or cider? de la moutarde, &c. Voilà du vin & de l'eau. Souhaitez-vous de la bière ou du cidre? Bread and water are suffi- Du pain & de l'eau lui suffi * This word is seldom used except for a shop-keeper. The word négociant is generally used to denote a whole or ship-merchant. T. W. You must lay this fruit in Il faut mettre ce fruit dans de la paille. straw. Lend me some paper and Prêtez-moi du papier & de I spend my money in ware. This thread is like silk. [18.] He compares this stuff to velvet. She will not trust such corrupted men. This cider is like wine. A fine discourse often displeases ignorant people. Give me some apples, pears, oranges, nuts, &c. [19.] There are fine flowers. I have bought fine lace. To write well, one must make use of good paper, ink, and pens. Here are some fine ladies. There are some fine houses and streets in London. This lord has fine lands, and gardens. This lady has a great estate. This writing-master makes fine letters. Frederick II. King of Prus sia, took a particular delight in having tall soldiers. du coton. J'ai employé mon argent à de la marchandise. Ce fil resemble à de la soie. Il compare cette étoffe à du velours. Elle ne veut pas se fier à des hommes si corrompus. Ce cidre resemble à du vin. Un beau discours déplait souvent à des ignorans. Donnez-moi des pommes, des poires, des oranges,des noix, &c. Voilà de très belles fleurs. J'ai acheté de belle dentelle. Pour bien écrire, il faut se servir de bon papier, de bonne encre, & de bonnes plumes. Voici de belles demoiselles. Il y a de belles maisons & de belles rues dans Londres. Ce seigneur a de belles ter res & de beaux jardins. Cette dame a de grands biens. Ce maître à écrire forme de belles lettres. Frederick second, Roi de Prusse, prenait un plasir particulier à avoir de grands soldats. His brother applies himself Son frère s'applique aux to the belles-lettres. belles-lettres. I know people of wit. [20] A child ought to obey his father and mother. Aking ought to be the father of his people. It is a thing unheard of. It is an uncommon friendship. A prudent man ought to know how to keep a se cret. Je connais des beaux-esprits. C'est une chose inouïe. Un homme prudent, ou l'homme prudent, doit savoir garder un secret. The last two observations have been sufficiently exemplified in all the foregoing examples. CHAPTER II. Rules and Observations upon Nouns. 1. Two substantives coming together in English, and signifying different things, without a comma between them, that expressed by of in English is put in the second case in French: as, the top of the mountain; le sommet de la montagne. When of is not expressed, the last must be the first case in French, and placed at the beginning: as, my father's house; la maison de mon père. Likewise, in the English compound words, the first in English is commonly the second in French: as, a sea-port; un port de mer. 2. Adjectives follow the same gender and number as their substantives; as, a good book: un bon livre: a good pen; une bonne plume: good books; des bons livres good pens; des bonnes plumes. Except, first, feu, late, deceased, before the article or pronoun, nu, bare, before tête, pieds, jambes, &c. demi, half, before its substantive-Secondly, tout, followed by an article, or by an adjective ending with an e mute in its masculine gender, before the vowel gens, which is feminine; as, all people of probity; tous les gens de probité: all honest people; tous les honnêtes gens. But if the word tout be either followed by gens, or if gens be preceded by an adjective, not ending with an e mute in its masculine, then the word tout follows the rule, and is put in the feminine:* as, all old people; toutes les vieilles gensThirdly, adjectives following gens: as, they are polite people; ce sont des gens polis. 3. When two or more substantives of different genders, and not separated by a disjunction, are the first case of the verb être, the adjective or participle that follows, ought to be in the masculine plural: as, the trunk, the closet, and the room, are open; le coffre, le cabinet, & la chambre sont ouverts. 4. Two or more substantives of different genders, immediately followed by an adjective or participle, require commonly that the adjective, or participle, should agree in gender and number with the last substantive: as, she found the trunk, the closet, and the room open; elle trouva le coffre, le cabinet, et la chambre ouverte. Except when an adjective or a participle past implies an union, or a collection, such as, joint, uni, reuni: as, the children, father, and mother united or joined together, les enfans, le père, et la mère réunis ou joints ensemble. 5. Adjectives are put in French after their substantives. 6. Some adjectives are put before their substantives ; as, beau, bon, grand, gros, jeune, mauvais, méchant, meilleur, petit, vieux. There are some adjectives which are to be placed sometimes before, and sometimes after the substantive. See page 33. 7. Obs. Adjectives of number are placed before their substantives; except when they are used as a surname, without an article: as, Charles premier, Jacques second, GEORGE trois. 8. Some adjectives govern the following noun in the second case, that is, require the preposition de before it : such are adjectives signifying desire, knowledge, remembrance, ignorance, forgetting, care, fear, guilt, fulness, emptiness, plenty, want, &c. * The French Academy. 9. Some adjectives govern the following noun, in the third case, that is, require the preposition à before it ; such are adjectives signifying submission, relation, pleasure, or displeasure, due resistance, difficulty, likeness, inclination, aptness, fitness, advantage, profit, &c. 10. Adjectives signifying dimension: as, long, thick, high, deep, big, wide or broad, which come after the word of measure in English, come before it in French, and are followed by the preposition de: as, a window three feet broad; une fenêtre large de trois pieds. Or, which is more generally used, the adjective is turned into its substantive with the word of measure before it; in this case the word of measure, or dimension, is preceded by the preposition de: as, fenêtre de trois pieds de largeur. When in this construction the verb to be, happens to precede the word of measure or dimension, it is commonly changed into the verb avoir, and the preposition de, which is before the quantity of measure, is left out: as, une fenêtre qui a trois pieds de largeur; a window which is three feet broad. Rules and Observations upon Nouns exemplified for the Scholar's Practice. [1.] The love of life is nat ural to men. The study of languages is. very entertaining. Here is my father's house. I saw the king's horses. Have you not seen the king's palace? The queen's apartments are It is my brother's book. Is the chamber door shut? We passed over Londonbridge to go to Greenwich. L'amour de la vie, est natu- amusante. Voici la maison de mon père. Les apartemens de la reine paille avec un ruban de soie |