NOTE.-Distinctions of this kind depend, in the main, upon the general principles laid down above, but they are too numerous and too subtle to be given in detail here Observation, and the use of a good dictionary will, in time, make the learner familiar with the most important of them.

353. Determinatives. Such adjectives, including numerals, possessives, demonstratives, indefinites, precede ·

Trois plumes; mes plumes.
Ces plumes-ci; d'autres plumes.

Three pens; my pens.

These pens; other pens.

PREPOSITIONAL COMPLEMENT OF ADJECTIVES.

354. An adjective is often followed by a complement connected with it by a preposition, such as à, de, en, envers, etc. The preposition to be used is determined by the meaning of the adjective, as explained in the following sections.

355. Adjective +à. The preposition à = 'to,' 'at,' 'for,' etc., is required after most adjectives denoting tendency, fitness, and their opposites, comparison, etc.

a. Bon pour='good for,' 'beneficial to,' 'kind to.'

356. Adjective+de. The preposition de='of,' 'from,' 'with,' etc., is required after most adjectives denoting source or origin (hence also, feeling, sentiment, abundance), separation (hence also, absence, distance, want, etc.), and after most past participles to denote the agent (cf. §240): Êtes-vous natif de Paris?

Ils sont contents de mon succès.
Elle est pleine de vanité.
Je suis libre de douleur.
Il est inconnu de tous.

Such adjectives are:

absent, absent (from). affligé, grieved (at).

aise, glad (of).

alarmé, alarmed (at).
ambitieux ambitious (of).
avide, greedy (of).

béni, blessed (by).
capable, capable (of).
charmé, delighted (with).
chéri, beloved (by).
confus, confused (at).
contrarié, vexed (with).
dénué, destitute (of).
dépourvu, devoid (of).
désireux, desirous (of).

différent, different (from).

digne, worthy (of).

Are you a native of Paris?
They are pleased at my success.
She is full of vanity.
I am free from pain.
He is unknown to all.

éloigné, distant (from).
enchanté, delighted (with).
ennuyé, weary (of).
étonné, astonished (at).
exempt, free (from).
fâché, sorry (for).
fier, proud (of).
glorieux, proud (of).
hérissé, bristling (with).
heureux, glad (of).
honteux, ashamed (of).
ignorant, ignorant (of).
indigne, unworthy (of).
inquiet, uneasy (about).
ivre, intoxicated (with).
jaloux, jealous (of).
libre, free (from).

lourd, heavy (with).
malheureux, unhappy (at).
offensé, offended (at).
pauvre, poor (in).
plein, full (of).
ravi, delighted (with).
satisfait, satisfied (with).
soucieux, anxious (about).
souillé, soiled (with).
sûr, sure (of).

surpris, surprised (at).
triste, sad (at).
vain, vain (of).

vexé, vexed (at).

victorieux, victorious (over). vide, empty (of).

etc.

a. Fâché contre = 'angry at or with (a person).'

357. Adjective +en.

En is required after a few adjec

tives denoting abundance, skill, etc.:

Le Canada est fertile en blé.
Il est expert en chirurgie.

Such adjectives are: abondant, abounding (in). fécond, fruitful (in).

Canada is fertile in wheat.
He is expert in surgery.

fort, strong (in), learned (in).
ignorant, ignorant (in).

riche, rich (in).

savant, learned (in).

a. fort and ignorant sometimes have sur :

Il est fort sur l'histoire.

Ignorant sur ces matières-là.

358. Adjective+enuers.

He is well versed (good) in history.
Ignorant about those matters.

Envers is used after most

adjectives denoting disposition or feeling towards:

a. Bon, dur, very frequently take pour; indulgent may take pour

or à; civil, sévère, may take à l'égard de :

Il est bon (dur) pour moi.

Indulgent pour (à) ses enfants.

Civil (sévère) à l'égard de ses domestiques.

He is kind (harsh) to me.

Indulgent to his children.
Civil (harsh) to his servants.

2. Disjunctive forms:

(Plur.)

A. nous, we, us. vous, you. eux, they, them. elles, they, them.

[N.=nominative; D.=dative; A.=accusative; P. =object of a preposition.] NOTE.-A more scientific terminology would be 'unstressed' and 'stressed' instead of 'conjunctive' and 'disjunctive,' as indicating the real distinction between the two sets of forms, e.g., 'Je (unstressed) parle'; 'Qui parle ?-Moi' (stressed). As a matter of fact, the unstressed forms usually stand in immediate connection with the verb (as subject or object), hence the term 'conjunctive,' while the stressed forms are usually employed otherwise, hence the term 'disjunctive.' The distinction of 'unstressed and 'stressed' is common to most other kinds of pronouns as well.

y=to (at, on, in, into, etc.) it or them; there, thither.

en of (from, etc.) it or them; some, any, some of it, some of them thence, from there.

NOTE.-Y and en were originally adverbs (y from L. ibi=' there,' and en from L. inde = 'thence'), but they are now usually pronominal in function, and are used precisely like the conjunctive forms.

361. Agreement. The personal pronoun regularly agrees with its antecedent in gender, number, and person:

Nous les avons frappé(e)s.

Elle lit la lettre; elle la lit.

We have struck them.

She reads the letter; she reads it.

a. The first person plural for the first person singular is used by sovereigns and authorities, and by writers, as in English:

Nous (le roi) avons ordonné et
ordonnons ce qui suit.
Comme nous avons dit déjà.

b. Vous 'you' (singular or agreements, as also those of nous Nous (la reine) sommes contente. Madame, vous êtes bien bonne.

We (the king)'have ordained and

ordain as follows.

As we have said already.

plural) has a plural verb; its other
above, are according to the sense:

We (the queen) are satisfied.
Madam, you are very kind.

c. For imperative first plural instead of first singular, see §267, a.

d. Il and le are used as invariable neutral forms, when the antecedent is one to which gender cannot be ascribed:

Y en a-t-il ?-Je le crois.

Is there any (of it)? I think so.

362. Case Relations of Conjunctives. 1. The nominative forms stand as subject and the accusative forms as direct object to a verb; their use is obvious:

a. The conjunctive is optional when there are two accusatives : Je (les) blâme lui et elle. I blame him and her.

2. The dative forms denote the person or thing for whose 'advantage' or 'disadvantage' the action is done, denoted by à= 'to,' 'for,' 'from,' with nouns :

Je leur prêterai les livres.

On lui a volé son argent.

I shall lend them the books.

His money has been stolen from him.

But à + a disjunctive form is used in the following cases:

(1) When two datives are joined by a conjunction, or when in emphasis a second dative is implied:

J'en ai parlé à lui et à elle.

I spoke of it to him and to her.

Je donne le livre à elle (pas à lui). I give the book to her (not to him).

(2) When the conjunctive direct object is any other pronoun than le, la, les:

Je vous présente à elle.

Il se présenta à moi.

I introduce you to her.

He introduced himself to me.

But: Je le (la, les) leur présente, etc.

(3) After verbs of motion and some others, to denote the 'object towards which the action tends,' the relation, though expressed by à, not being really dative:

Je courus à lui.

Cette maison est à moi.

Il pense (songe, rêve) à eux.

I ran to him.

That house belongs to me.

He thinks (muses, dreams) of them.