As these Pronouns perform the office of Adjectives, they must likewise agree, in French, with the Gender and

Number of the Substantive which they precede. Q: What are the Absolute Pronouns ? A. They are Pronouns which also indicate poffeffion, but in

an absolute sense, that is to say, without having a Substantive annexed to them; though they relate to one already expressed before. These are le mien or la mienne, mine; le tien or la tienne thine ; le nôtre or la nôtre, ours; &c. They likewise agree in French, with the Gender and

Number of the Substantive they relate to. Q. Are these two laft forts always placed among Pronouns? A. They are so by the generality of Grammarians, because

they serve as substitutes for Conjunctive Pronouns ; for instance, when I say, c'eft mon livre, it is my book ; c'est le mien, it is mine ; these Phrases imply, ce livre eft à inoi, this book belongs to ine;

&c. Q. What are the Demonstrative Pronouns? A They are pronotins which serve to point out any perfon

or Object whatever ; as co. Monsieur, this or that Gentleman; cet Enfant, this or that Child; cette maison, this

or that house ; ces Abres, these or those trees ; &č. Q. Are the Pronouns ce and cet used indifferently in French ? A. Nɔ; for ca is only used before a Substantive of the Maf

culine Gender, beginning with a Confonant or h afpirated; and cet before a Substantive Masculine, beginning

with a vowel or h mute, Q. What are the Relative Pronouns? A They are Pronouns that generally have a relation to a

preceding Substantive, which is called, by Grammarians, the Antecedent; as le Maitre qui enseigne, the Master who teaches; le livre que j'ai acheté, the book which I have bought ; &c. But, when they are used for asking Questions, they commonly begin a Sentence; as Qui vous apelisit? Who called you? Que dites-vous ? What are you saying ? &c. These fix classes of Pronouns are distinctly exhibited in the two following pages ; viz.

A COM

a

a

A COMPACT DISPLAY

Of the six different Classes of Pronouns described in this

Chapter, together with their respective Significations.

Lui, fe, foi c. f. } Him; }!!. | Les

, leur, fec.)

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS.

* This Pronoun (you, as well as vous) is, through cuítom, which gives law to Grammar, used either for the Plural or singular Number.

ABSO

ABSOLUTE PRONOUNS.

SINGULAR.

PLURAL.

}

2

Mine.
}
} his

}

Le mien m.

Les miens m.

Mine. .La mienne f.

Les miennes f.
Le tien mi,

Les tiens m.
Thine.

Thine.
La tiennef

Les tiennes fi Le lien m.

Les siens m. his or hers.

his or hers. La fienne f.

Les siennes f. Le notre m, la nôtre f. Ours. Les nôtres c,

Ours. Le votre m, la vôtre f. Yours. Les vôtres c. Yours. ,

|
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS.
SINGULAR.

PLURAL.
Ce & cet m.
This Ces.c.

These
Cette f.

Ceux m.

or
Celui m, celle f. That. Celles f. Thore.
Ce-ci c.
This

These

Ceux-ci m. Celui-ci m.

Celles-ci f. These here. Celle-ci f.

This here.
Ce-là c.

That
Ceux-là m.

Those

. Celui-là m:

Celles-là fi Celle-là f. that there.

Those there.

Or

or

or

or

or

RELATIVE PRONOUNS.
SINGULAR.

PLURAL.
Qui c.
· Who or that. Quic.

Whoor that. Que c. Whom or that. Que c.

Whom or that. Quel m. quellef. What*, which. Quels m,quellesf.what, which Lequel m. laquelle f. Which. | Lesquelsni. lesquellsf.Which Dont c. whose, of whom, &c. | Dunt c. whose, of whom, &c.

* Besides the fignification prefixed to this Pronoun, it is also rendered by ce qui, se que, que and quoi ; according to the sense it implies.

CHAP

C H A P. VI,

Of Verbs in General. Q. WHAT are Verbs?

A. They are words which serve to exprefs either, the being or condition of their Subjects; as Etre,, to Be; Rester, to Stand; or the actions corporeal and mental which they do; as Parler, to Speak; Penfer,

to think ; &c. Q: How many forts of Verbs are there? A. There are, generally fpeaking, but two sorts ; viz. The

Personal and the Impersonal. Q. What is a perfonal Verb? A. It is a Verb that can be conjugated with three Personal

Pronouns in each number; as Je parle, I speak; tu parles,

thou speakest ; il parle, he speaks; &c. Q. What is an Impersanal Verb?

It is a verb that can only be conjugated in the third
Person of the Singular Number; às il pleut, it rains;

il pleuvoit, it did rain ; il plut, it rained ; &c. e How are verbs distinguished with respect to their use and

fignification? A. By fix different denominations, of which it will be suf

ficient, for our present purpose, to mention the two fol

lowing; viz. The Auxiliary and Active Verbs*. Q. What are the Auxiliary Verbs? A. They are a kind of Verbs which, being prefixed to the

Participle of other Verbs, help to convey the meaning of such actions or conditions as cannot be expreiled by single words in modern Languages, as J'ai donné, I have given ; Je suis blamé, I am blamed; &c. There are but two of them ; viz. Avoir, to Have; Etre, to Be.

* The name and use of the other kinds of Verbs may be kuown, if required, by referring to the Praitical French Grammar, p. 92.

Q. What

What are Active Verbs? A. They are Verbs that express an action that passes from an

Agent to an object; as He drinks wine, (il boit du vin); in which Phrase, drinks is the Verb active ; He, the

Agent, and wine, the object of that action. Q. What grammatical Accidents are there in French Verbs? A. There are four, viz. The Moods, Tenses, Numbers,

and Persons, of their respective Conjugations. Q. What is meant by the Conjugation of a Verb? A. The due distribution of the several infections of a Verb,

into Moods, Tenses, Numbers, and Perfons. Q: How many different Conjugations are there in French? A. There are four, which are known by the Termination

of the infinitive Mood of Verbs. Q. What are the peculiar marks of each Conjugation? A. The first ends in er, as Donner, to Give. The second in

ir, as Finir, to Finish--The third in oir, as Recevoir; to Receive--The fourth in re, as Kendre, to Restore. But as some Verbs vary in their inflections, they are

distinguished into Regular and Irregular Verbs.. Q. What is signified by Moods ? A. They are divers distinctions that are made in the manner

of using Verbs, in order to express the different circum

stances of Actions, Conditions, or Sensations, Q. How

many

Moods are there in Verbs? A. Four, which are called the Infinitive, Indicative, Sub

junctive, and Imperative. Q. What is meant by Tenfes ? A. They are the Divisions of the Moods, which serve to

indicate, by various endings, the time in which something is, was, or shall be done ; and are therefore called

Present, Imperfect, Preterite, and Future Tenses. Q. What are Persons in Verbs? A. Those inflections that are adapted to their respective

Personal Pronouns there are three in each Number, as may be seen in the following Conjugations.

0

CON