PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION THIS Grammar was first published in 1828. The many editions which have appeared since that time sufficiently establish its title to be regarded as a standard book for public schools and for students who wished to have a safe guide in the study of the French language. The favour thus accorded to the work was, it cannot be doubted, the result of its well-classified divisions, its clear and concise rules, applied to the most important principles of the language, its very practical exercises formed of sentences required for every-day conversation, and its careful analytical comparison of French and English. But it may well be supposed that after the lapse of fifty years the book may need some alterations. A language, like ideas, is gradually modified, and the purpose of a Grammar is to give those modifications. The changes which have thus been rendered necessary have been carefully made in the present revised edition. In the first part, Pronunciation, greater facilities have been given for acquiring pronunciation by means of a more practical study of the French vowels and consonants. In the second part, Accidence, several modifications have been made in the pronouns; the modern classification of verbs has been introduced, their endings being so given as to render the task of the learner in mastering them more easy. The third part, Syntax, has been enlarged. Some additions will be found in the sections relating to the genders and plural of nouns, as well as in those which treat of adjectives and pronouns. Several rules on the syntax of verbs have been more fully explained and entered into, particularly with regard to the prepositions required by verbs, and with regard to the participle past and to reflective verbs. A list of the adverbial expressions in common use has been inserted; the imports of French and English prepositions more completely illustrated; and many other additions or modifications more or less important have been introduced, so as to make this Grammar thoroughly practical to Students. A. E. RAGON. THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. BY P. F. MERLET, LATE PROFESSOR OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON. REVISED BY A. E. RAGON, PROFESSOR OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE AT THE CITY OF LONDON COLLEGE NEW EDITION. LONDON: LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO., |