282. Infinitive with other Prepositions. The infinitive stands also after par, pour, sans, après, entre, and after locutions ending in de or à, such as afin de, afin que de, jusqu'à, etc.

1. Par='by,' usually only after commencer and finir: He ended by insulting me (or He

Il finit par m'insulter.

finally insulted me).

2. Pour usually translates 'in order to,' 'for the purpose of'; sometimes also 'for,' 'from,' 'because,' ' though,' etc., and 'to' after assez, trop, etc.: Il faut manger pour vivre. Il est mort pour avoir trop bu. Il fut puni pour avoir ri. Pour être pauvre, il n'est pas larron. Il est trop franc pour se taire.

We must eat (in order) to live.
He died from over-drinking.
He was punished for laughing.
Though poor, he is no thief.
He is too frank to keep quiet.

a. Pour after a verb of motion (§ 278, 4) emphasizes the purpose:

J'irai pour le voir.

3. Sans' without':

I shall go to see him.

Do not go without eating.

N'allez pas sans manger.

4. Après = 'after' requires the perfect infinitive:

Après avoir dîné, je partis.

After having dined, I set out.

283. Infinitive for Subordinate Clause. 1. An infinitive construction usually replaces a que clause of which the subject is the same with that of the subject or object (direct or indirect) of the principal clause:

Il croit vous avoir vu.
Dites-leur de s'en aller.

He thinks that he has seen you.
Tell them to be gone.

2. Similarly afin de, à moins de, après, avant de, de crainte de, de peur de, de façon à, de manière à, pour, sans, etc. + the infinitive stand for afin que, etc. + the subjunctive, but only when the subject of both verbs is the

same:

Il partit sans me voir.

He went without seeing me. But: Il partit sans que je le visse. He went without me seeing him.

284. Infinitive with Passive Force. A transitive infinitive has passive force after verbs of perceiving (voir, etc.),

after faire, laisser, and when à + an infinitive is used adjec

tively (cf. §241, 3):

J'ai vu bâtir cette maison.

Je me fais faire un habit.
Vous êtes à plaindre.

Une faute à éviter.

I saw this house being built.

I am having a coat made.
You are to be pitied.

A mistake to be avoided.

NOTE. This construction may be explained by supplying some such ellipsis as the following: 'J'ai vu bâtir une maison (à or par quelqu'un), 'I have seen somebody building a house.'

285. Infinitive for English -ing. The infinitive must be used to translate many such forms (see § 287, 2, 3, 4).

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE.

286. Functions. The participial form in -ant serves as a verbal adjective, as a present participle (without en), and as a gerund (with en) :—

1. As a verbal adjective, it denotes quality or state, and agrees like an adjective:

Elle paraît bien portante.

Les enfants doivent être obéissants.

Les vivants, et les mourants.

Des paroles consolantes.

She seems well.

Children must be obedient.
The living and the dying.
Comforting words.

Obs.: The verbal adjective, attributively, regularly follows the noun, as in the last example.

a. Some verbs have a special form for the verbal adjective:

2. As a present participle, it is used, in general, like the English present participle, to denote simultaneous action, manner, cause, motive, etc., and is invariable:

Pleurant, elle continua le récit.

Je le trouvai riant comme un fou.

Weeping, she continued the story.

I found him laughing like mad.

Elle ne sortit pas, étant malade.
Ayant parlé ainsi, il sortit.

Il n'entrera pas, moi vivant.

She did not go out, being ill.
Having thus spoken, he went out.
He shall not enter, while I live.

NOTES.-1. It is often difficult to determine whether the form in -ant is participie (invariable) or adjective (variable). As a participle, the action (generally transitory) is prominent, but as an adjective, quality or else continued action (state) is denoted. It is nearly always a participle when it has a complement or a construction peculiar to the verb, such as object, negative, adverb following: Une femme mourante,'' A dying woman'; 'Des gens mourant de faim,' 'People dying of hunger'; 'Les ennemis se retirèrent, brûlant les villes partout,' 'The enemies retired, burning the towns everywhere'; 'Une femme ne craignant rien,' 'A woman fearing nothing'; 'Des dames parlant doucement,' 'Ladies speaking softly'; 'De soi-disant amis,' 'So-called friends.' 2. In the last example, soi-disant, though adjective in force, remains invariable in view of the literal meaning, 'calling themselves.'

3. Ayant and étant are also always invariable, except in 'les ayants-droit(-cause).' 3. As a gerund, it denotes either simultaneous action or means by which, and is invariable; en 'while,' 'in,' 'on,' 'when,' 'as,' 'by,' etc., or is untranslated:

En jouant, j'ai perdu ma montre.
En rentrant, j'ai trouvé la lettre.
Vous perdrez, en agissant ainsi.
En lisant on apprend à lire.

a. Both participle and gerund

While playing, I lost my watch.
On returning, I found the letter.
You will lose, if you act thus.
By reading one learns to read.

denote simultaneous action, but the

use of en, strengthened sometimes by tout, usually emphasizes the continuity of the action :

(En) disant ceci, il prit la lyre. Tout en pleurant, elle continua.

(While) saying this, he took the harp. Still weeping, she went on.

b. The gerund usually refers to the subject: Je l'ai vu en allant à la poste. But L'appétit vient en mangeant.

c. En is sometimes omitted, Généralement parlant.

Il s'en va (en) grondant.

I saw him while going to the post. One's appetite comes while eating. especially after aller :

Generally speaking.
Off he goes grumbling.

d. The gerund denotes progressive action in a few expressions formed from aller:

Cela alla (en) diminuant.

That kept growing less and less.

287. English Forms in -ing. These are variously translated into French; idiomatic differences are:

1. Periphrastic tense forms are avoided in French:

Il a joué toute la matinée.

He has been playing all morning.

2. English gerunds are translated by an -ant form only when the preposition en may be used; otherwise by an infinitive, a noun, or a clause:

3. After verbs of perception (entendre, sentir, voir, etc.), the relative or infinitive construction is much commoner than the participle:

4. Compound nouns with a first component in -ing are not literally translated:

Une machine à coudre.

A sewing-machine.

5. It is often more elegant to avoid a French form in -ant, even when permissible :

Pendant mon voyage.

While travelling.

THE PAST PARTICIPLE.

288. General Use. The past participle is used, (1) without auxiliary, (2) with être, (3) with avoir (or être used as avoir).

289. Without Auxiliary. A past participle without any auxiliary has the force of an adjective (attributive, predica