16. ENGLISH CONSTRUCTIONS INVERTED BY TRANSLATION INTO FRENCH.

When the English possessive case is expressed by 's, as in "my father's house," the words are rendered in an inverted manner in French, and their relation is conveyed by the preposition DE, as:

My father's house."La maison de mon père," literally, the house of my father.

The child's toys.-"Les jouets de l'enfant," literally, the toys of the child. A mother's affection.-"L'affection d'une mère," literally, the affection of a mother.

The preposition DE is also put between the name of the thing and the name of the matter of which it is made, and this is in French always the last; as,

A leather shoe.

A paper hat.

A silk handkerchief.

Thread stockings.

Un soulier de cuir.
Un chapeau de papier
Un mouchoir de soie,
Des bas de fil.

SUBSTANTIVES.

FORMATION OF THE PLURAL OF SUBSTANTIVES.

GENERAL RULE

17. The plural of substantives is formed by adding an s to the singular; as, FEUILLE, leaf, FEUILLES, leaves.

EXCEPTIONS.

18. Substantives ending with s, x, or z, in the singular, do not vary the plural; as, BRAS, arm, BRAS, arms; NOIX, nut, NOIX, nuts; NEZ, nose, NEZ, noses.

19. Substantives ending with AU, EU, or OU, take an x; as, MARTEAU, hammer, MARTEAUX, hammers; FEU, fire, FEUX, fires; JOUJOU, toy, JOUJOUX, toys.

20. BLEU, blue, CLOU, nail, and a few more substantives in ou, follow the general rule; that is, take an s; BLEUS, CLOUS.

21. Substantives ending with al, or ail, change these terminations into AUX; as, CHEVAL, horse, CHEVAUX, horses; TRAVAIL, work, TRAVAUX, Works. 22. BAL, ball, EVENTAIL, fan, and a few more substantives in al, ail, follow the general rule; that is, take s: BALS, ÉVENTAILS.

23. The following are irregular: ŒIL, eye, YEUXx, eyes, (oils in some instances;) aïeul, grand-father, aïeuls, grand-fathers; aïeux, ancestors; CIEL, heaven, sky; CIEUX, heavens (CIELS in some instances.)

ADJECTIVES.

24. The adjective agrees in gender and number with the substantive to witch it relates: as, UN BEAU CHIEN, a fine dog; UNE MAISON BL NCHE, a white house; DEUX CHEVAUX NOIRS, two black horses.

as,

25. If the adjective relates to several substantives, it is put in the plural;

Mon père et mon frère sont heureux. My father and brother are happy. Ma mère et ma soeur sont heureuses. My mother and sister are happy.

26. If the substantives to which the adjective relates are of different genders, it is put in the masculine plural; as,

Mon père et ma mère sont heureux. My father and mother are happy. FORMATION OF THE FEMININE OF ADJECTIVES.

27. An adjective is made feminine by the addition of an e mute to the masculine termination, as GRAND, GRANDE, great, large, tall; PETIT, PETITE, little, small.

28. Adjectives ending in the masculine with e mute do not change for the feminine; as UTILE, useful; SÉVÈRE, severe.

29. Adjectives ending with EL, EIL, IEN, ON, AS, or ET, double their last consonant and take e mute; as CRUEL, CRUELLE, cruel; PAREIL, PAREILLE, like, CHRÉTIEN, CHRETIENNE, christian; BON, BONNE, good; LAS, LASSE, tired; MUET, MUETTE, dumb.

30, RAS, shorn, makes in the feminine RASE. COMPLET, DISCRET, INQUIET, SECRET, make COMPLÈTE, DISCRÈTE, INQUIÈTE, SECRÈTE. CHER, dear, makes CHÈRE.

31. Adjectives ending witg f change finto ve; as NEUF, NEUVE, new. 32. Adjectives ending with a change x iuto se; as HEUREUX, HEUREUSE, happy; NOMBREUX, NOMBREUSE, numerous; JALOUX, JALOUSE, jealous. 33. Adjectives ending with EUR generally change EUR into EUSE; as TROMPEUR, TROMPEUSE, deceitful.

34. Antérieur, extérieur, inférieur, intérieur, majeur, mineur, meilleur, supérieur, take e mute. Accusateur, conducteur, créateur, protecteur, make in the feminine, accusatrice, conductrice, etc. Vengeur, enchanteur, make vengeresse, enchanteresse.

35. Among other adjectives which form their feminine irregularly are:

36. BEAU, FOU, MOU, NOUVEAU, VIEUX, are used before a consonant or h aspirated; but BEL, FOL, MOL, NOUVEL, VIEIL, are used before a vowel or silent h.

FORMATION OF THE PLURAL OF ADJECTIVES.

37. The plural of adjectives is generally formed like the plural of substantives. Many adjectives in AL form their plural in AUX, as ÉGAL, ÉGAUX, equal.

PLACE OF ADJECTIVES.

38. Adjectives in French are generally placed after substantives; as, UNE CHAMBRE CARRÉE, a square room; UNE NUIT OBSCURE, a dark night. 39. The following adjectives usually precede the substantives: BEAU, fine; BON, good; CHER, dear (denoting affection;) DIGNE, worthy; GRAND, great, JEUNE, young; JOLI, pretty; MAUVAIS, bad; MECHANT, Wicked; MEILLEUR, better; MOINDRE, less; PETIT, little; VIEUX, old.

DEGREES OF COMPARISON.

There are three degrees of comparisou:-1. The POSITIVE, or the adjective itself. 2. The COMPARATIVE, expressed by plus, more, or moins, less, placed before the adjective. 3. The SUPERLATIVE, expressed by LE, LA, or LES PLUS, the most; LE, LA, or LES MOINS, the last, placed before the adjective: as,

POSITIVE.

Digne,

worthy.

COMPARATIVE.

plus digne,
worthier.
moins digne,
less worthy.

SUPERLATIVE.

le plus digne, the worthiest. le moins digne, the least worthy.

40. To denote a comparaison of equality, AUSSI, as, is placed before the adjective, and QUE, as, after it; as, HENRI EST AUSSI ATTENTIF QUE ROBERT. Henry is as attentive as Robert.

41. To denote a comparison of superiority,PLUS, more, is placed before the adjective, and QUE, than, after it; as, CHARLES EST PLUS GRAND QUE LOUIS. Charles is taller than Lewis.

42. To denote a comparison of inferiority, MOINS, less, is placed before the adjective, and QUE, than, after it; as, CAROLINE EST MOINS INSTRUITE QUE LOUISE. Caroline is less learned than Louisa.

THE SUPERLATIVE DEGREE.

When the quality is expressed in a very high degree, without implying a comparison, the superlative is called absolute, and is formed with some adverb of degree, such as, TRÈS, FORT, BIEN, very; EXTREMEMENT, extremely; EXCESSIVEMENT, excessively, etc, before the adjective; as, MA MERE EST TRES-HEUREUSE. My mother is very happy.

44. When the superlative expresses a comparison with other objects, it is called relative, and is formed by prefixing LE, LA, LES, MON, MA, etc., to the adverbs PLUS and MOINS; as, LA PLUS APPLIQUÉE DE VOS SŒURS, the most sedulous of your sisters; LE PLUS HEUREUX DES HOMMES, the happiest

of men.

45. The following adjectives form their degrees of comparison irregularly: BON, good; MEILLEUR, better; LE MEILLEUR, the best.

MAUVAIS, bad; PIRE or PLUS MAUVAIS, worse; LE PIRE or LE PLUS MAUVAIS the worst.

PETIT, little or small; MOINDRE, or PLUS PETIT, less or smaller; LE MOINDRE or LE PLUS PETIT, the last or smallest.

46. The comparative of these adjectives must not be mistaken for the comparative of their corresponding adverbs:

BIEN, well; MIEUX, better; LE MIEUX, the best.

MAL, badly; PIS or PLUS MAL, Worse; LE PIS or LE PLUS MAL, the worst. PEU, little; MOINS, less; LE MOINS, LEAST.

Quatre, four.

Cinq, five.

Six, six.

Sept, seven.

Huit, eight.

Neuf, nine.
Dix, ten.
Vingt, twentv.

Vingt et un, twenty-one.
Vingt-deux, twenty-two.
Vingt-trois, twenty-three.
Vingt-quatre, twenty-four.
Trente, thirty.

Trento et un, thirty-one.
Trente-deux, thirty-two.
Trente-trois, thirty-three.
Trente-quatre, thirty-four.
Quarante, forty.

Quarante et un, forty-one.
Soixante, sixty.

Soixante et un, sixty-one.

Onze, eleven.

Douze, Twelve.

Treize, thirteen.
Quatorze, fourteen.
Quinze, fifteen.
Seize, sixteen.
Dix-sept, seventeen.
Dix-huit, eighteen.
Dix-neuf, nineteen.

Vingt-cinq, twenty five.
Vingt-six, twenty-six.
Vingt-sept, twenty-seven.
Vingt-huit, twenty-eight.
Vingt-neuf, twenty-nine.
Trente-cinq, thirty-five.
Trente-six, thirty-six.
Trente-sept, thirty-seven.
Trente-huit, thirty-eight.
Trente-neuf, thirty-nine.
Cinquante, fifty.

Cinquante et un, fifty-one.
Soixante et dix, seventy.
Soixante et onze, seventy-one.

Quatre-vingt-dix, ninety.
Quatre-vingt-onze. ninety-one.

Mille, a thousand.

48. Mille is spelt mil, when it refers to the Christian era; as, l'an mil hujt cent cinquante quatre, the year 1854.

50. The distributive numbers (fractions) are!

La moitié, the half.

Le tiers, the third.

Le quart, the fourth.

Le cinquième, the fifth.
Le sixième, the sixth.
Le septième, the seventh.

Les trois quarts, the three fourths. The rest like the ordinal numbers. 51. In speaking of sovereigns, or the days of the month, the cardinal numbers are generally used; as, LOUIS QUATORZE, ROI DE FRANCE. Louis the XIVth, king of France. LE DEUX AVRIL. The second of April.

52. Except in mentioning the first; as, HENRI 1ER. Henry the 1st. LE PREMIER JANVIER. The 1st of January.

PRONOUNS.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

53. The following pronouns are called conjunctive, because they are immediately united with verbs:

, himself, herself, itself, one's self, themselves, each, of one another, of to himself, to herself, to itself, to one's self, to themselves etc.

Y, to him, her, it, them, etc.

EN, of OR from him, her, it, them, etc.

54. Conjunctive personnal pronouns in the accusative or dative are always placed before the verb; unless the verb be in the imperative affirma◄ tive (see Rule 59); as,

Je vous vois.
Il me parle.
Prenez-le.

I see you.
He speaks to me.
Take it.

55. In interrogations, the pronoun in the nominative case comes after the verb; as, PARLEZ-VOUS FRANÇAIS? Do you speak French?

56. The following pronouns are called disjunctive, because they are used independently of the verb, or separated from it: