writing, before a few nouns beginning with a consonant, which is signified by an apostrophe being put over the place where the e should be.-EXAMPLES: Il est entré dans la grand' salle Ce n'est pas grand' chose. Il eut grand' peur, et moi aussi. J'avais grand' faim, et lui aussi. La grand' messe dura plus de | He entered the great chamber of It is no great matter. He was very much afraid, and I also. I was very hungry, and he also. High mass lasted above four I conclude the syntax of the adjective by informing you, that adjectives used in the place of adverbs never vary.—EXAMPLES: Cet orateur demeura court, contre | This orator stopped short, con son usage. L'aînée de ces demoiselles chante juste, la cadette chante faux. Vous parlez trop vite et trop bas pour moi. trary to his custom. The eldest of these young ladies sings in tune, and the youngest sings out of tune. You speak too fast and too low for me. RULE XI.-In speaking of sovereigns and princes, the cardinal numbers are used in French, instead of the ordinal, as in English, except in alluding to the two first of the dynasty, when the ordinal number must be used.-EXAMPLES: Louis premier, fils de Charle- Lewis the first, son of Charlemagne, fut surnommé le Déwas surnamed the bonnaire Jacques second mourut en France, le quatorze Septembre, mil sept cent un. George trois fut couronné, le Henri quatre, roi de France, fut magne, * On is never expressed in French. Observe, that, when speaking of Charles the fifth, emperor of Germany, and Pope Sextus the fifth, we say, Charles quint et Sixte quint, instead of Charles cinq, and Sixte cinq. We also make use of the cardinal number, instead of the ordinal, in speaking of all the days of the month, the first excepted.—Ex AMPLE: La société s'assemblera le pre- | The society will meet on the first, mier, le deux, le dix-sept, et le the second, the seventeenth, and vingt-et-un de Juin. the twenty-first of June. I have now to make a few remarks concerning the numbers. Ist. Unième, first, is used only after vingt, trente, quarante, cinquante, soixante, quatre-vingts, cent, and mille, as is exemplified in the following EXAMPLE: C'est la vingt-unième fois que je | It is the one-and-twentieth time lui écris. that I have written to him. 2d. We say vingt et un, trente et un, and so on to quatre-vingts; but it is now customary to suppress the conjunction for the following numbers, and say, for instance, vingt-deux, &c. trente-deux, &c. 3d. Formerly, septante was said for soixante-dix; huitante for quatre-vingts, and nonante for quatre-vingt-dix. Those expressions have been very improperly banished from the language, as they keep up analogy in the formation of numbers, and thereby facilitate the exercise of the memory in numbering them. The first of these is now used only when speaking of the translation of the Bible by the seventy great interpreters, which we call la version des septante. The last is in use in geometry only. 4th. Cent, in the plural, is invariable, when followed by another number.-EXAMPLE: Ils étaient trois cent vingt. They were three hundred and twenty. But, when it is preceded by one number, without being followed by another, it then takes an s, the mark of the plural.—EXAMPLE: Il y en eut trois cents de tués. | There were three hundred killed. Vingt, in quatre-vingts, is invariable, when followed by another number.-EXAMPLE: Cette montre me coûte quatre- | This watch cost me eighty-siz vingt-six guineés. guineas. But, should it be followed by a noun, then it also takes an EXAMPLE: La mienne ne me coûte que | Mine cost me only eighty gui quatre-vingts guinées. neas. Mille never takes the mark of the plural.—EXAMPLE: り Dix mille hommes d'infanterie et | Ten thousand infantry and four quatre mille de cavalerie. thousand cavalry. In marking of dates we only write mil. - EXAMPLE: L'an mil huit cent quinze sera, à jamais, célèbre par le rétablissement de l'auguste dynastie des Bourbons. The year one thousand eight hundred and fifteen will be for ever distinguished for the restoration of the august dynasty of the Bourbons. The ordinal and collective numbers take the mark of the plural.— EXAMPLE: Les quatre premières douzaines | The four first dozen of eggs are d'œufs ne valent rien: mais les vingt dernières sont excellentes. good for nothing; but the twenty last are excellent. 5th. Onze does not require the elision of vowels before it, nor to be connected with the final consonant of the preceding word, as it is generally aspirated.-EXAMPLES: Ils étaient onze.-J'irai le voir | They were eleven.—I shall go and sur les onze heures. see him about eleven o'clock. Une, in the following mode of expression, sur les une heure, about one o'clock, is likewise aspirated like onze. I here conclude the syntax of the numbers. My next care will be to acquaint you with the use of some of the remaining articles or pronouns. S. I find that, in the course of this lesson, you say nothing of the word demi. M. I had forgot it, probably because it is a fractional number: but this does not excuse me, as nothing useful should be omitted. Demi is masculine when it precedes a noun feminine; but feminin when it comes after a noun of that gender. Thus it is said, une dems heure, half an hour; une heure et demie, an hour and a half. LESSON THE FIFTH. ON THE POSSESSIVE ARTICLES OR PRONOUNS. Master. The French and English languages exhibit, perhaps, no greater opposition or difference in any part of their syntax than in that of the possessive articles or pronouns, on which, in French, there are some very difficult and intricate rules, totally foreign to the idiom of the English. It will, therefore, be expedient to make these rules the object of your most attentive study. RULE I.--Possessive articles, or pronouns, must be repeated before each noun, according to the gender and number.—EXAMPLES: Mon père, ma mère, mes frères, et | mes sœurs, sont à la campagne. J'ai parlé à son maître, à sa maîtresse, et à ses camarades d'école. Ne sortez pas sans votre parasol, vos gants, et votre tabatière. My father, mother, brothers, and sisters, are in the country. I spoke to his master, mistress, and schoolmates. Do not go out without your umbrella, gloves, and snuff-box. Observe, that, though a noun be feminine, should it begin with a vowel or h mute, the possessive article or pronoun masculine singular, mon, ton, son, must be respectively used before it, instead of ma, ta, sa. (See examples, page 129.) RULE II Possessive articles, or pronouns, which, in English, agree with the possessor, must, in French, agree with the gender of the thing possessed.-EXAMPLES: Ramassez son mouchoir. Take up his handkerchief. RULE III.-In French, the possessive article, or pronoun, must be used, when we speak to or answer relations, friends, &c.-EXAM PLES: Mon ami, approchez-vous de moi. | Friend, come near me. Mon camarade, étiez-vous à ce Captain, I am ready to obey you, Comrade, were you at that sanguinary engagement? RULE IV. When, in English, the possessive articles or pronouns, its, their, relating to inanimate objects, can be rendered by of it, of them, or thereof, they are always expressed, in French, by the adverb en: otherwise, they are expressed by son, sa, ses, leurs, respectively, appear in the following EXAMPLES: as will La Tamise est une belle rivière; | The Thames is a fine river; its le lit en est assez profond pour channel is deep enough to admit admettre de gros vaisseaux. large vessels. Comment trouvez-vous sa maison de campagne? la situation n'en est-elle pas charmante ? How do you like his country-seat? is not its situation pleasing? Cette affaire est délicate: le suc- This business is delicate; its suc In matters of science, custom authorises the use of the possessive article or pronoun, though it might be rendered, in English, by of it: thus, in speaking of a triangle, we may say, ses angles valent cent quatre-vingts degrés, its angles are equal to one hundred and eighty degrees. In speaking of a grammar, we may say, ses règles sont trop compliquées, its rules are too complicate, &c. RULE V.-The English possessive articles or pronouns, my, thy, his, her, &c. are rendered, in French, by the passive personal pronouns, and the indicative or definite articles. le, la, les, when the verb, which precedes them, denotes an action over any part of the body. -EXAMPLES: |