LE JEUNE BACCHUS ET LE FAUNE. YOUNG BACCHUS AND THE FAUN. sa his tranchante sharp Auprès de Near se cachait was hiding aux vers to the verses l'enfant the child un ris a laughter son disciple his pupil grappes bunches shoulders, son côté his side et le jeune and young Bacchus Bacchus feuilles leaves was la dépouille the skin qu' (for que) which THE TWO MULES. Two, comme as Deux mulets mules cheminaient were going along l'un one chargé loaded · de with avoine, oats, l'autre the other portant carrying l'argent the money de la gabelle. of the gabel. Celui-ci The latter glorieux proud d'une charge of a load si belle, so beautiful, n'eût voulu would not have been willing pour for beaucoup a great deal être soulagé to be lightened en of it. Il marchait He walked d'un pas with a step relevé exulting et faisait and made sa sonnette his bell sonner; tingle; quand when l'ennemi the enemy design upon à l'argent, the money, une troupe a band se jette spring (s) sur upon le mulet the mule du fisc, of the fisc, le saisit seize (s) him au frein, by the bridle, et l'arrête, and stop (s) - him. Le mulet The mule en se défendant in defending himself se sent feels himself percer being pierced de coups; with stabs; il gémit, he groans, il soupire. he sighs. Est-ce Is it donc then là there ce that qu' (for que) which on one avait promis had pro- m' (for me)? to me? se présentant, present- suit follows quelque faute? mistake? any se retire withdraws du danger; from the danger; et moi, and I, j' (for je) I tombe fall y into it et and je péris! I am perishing! Ami, Friend, son camarade his com rade dit said lui, to him, il n'est pas it is not toujours always bon good d'avoir to have un haut a high emploi: situation: si if tu avais servi thou hadst served ne... que but un meunier a miller comme moi, as myself (do), tu ne serais pas thou wouldst not be si malade. so ill. ing himself, moi me VERB. The 203.—A verb has two parts, the radical and the termination. The radical (root) never alters in regular verbs. termination (the end) is the only part that alters. 204.-Auxiliary verbs are used in the conjugation of other verbs. There are only two in French: avoir, to have, and être, to be. 205.-An active verb (verbe actif) expresses an action performed by its subject, and has a complement direct, as: porter, to carry: Pierre porte Jean, Peter carries John. 206.-A neuter verb (verbe neutre) expresses an action performed by its subject, but it cannot have a complement direct, as dormir, to sleep. 207.-A passive verb (verbe passif) expresses an action suffered by its subject, as: Pierre est porté, Peter is carried. 208.-A reflective verb (verbe réfléchi) expresses an action performed by the subject upon itself, as: Je me lave, I wash myself. 209.-A unipersonal verb (verbe unipersonnel) can be used in the infinitive and only in the third person singular of the other moods, as falloir, to be necessary; pleuvoir, to rain Il faut, it is necessary; il pleut, it rains. MOODS. 210.-French verbs have five moods: The Indicative, the Conditional, the Subjunctive, the Imperative, and the Infinitive. 211. TENSES. The tenses are divided into Primitive and Derivative, Simple and Compound. 212.- The primitive tenses are the tenses from which the others (the derivative) can be formed. They are five the present infinitive, the present participle, the past participle, the present indicative, and the past definite. 213. The simple tenses are the verb itself without any auxiliary. 214.—The compound tenses are the verb with an auxiliary. Observe that, when we say compound of a tense, it is the past participle conjugated with the same tense of the auxiliary. Thus, if we say, compound of the present of the indicative, we mean the past participle of the verb, conjugated with the present indicative of the auxiliary. 222.-The verb agrees in number and in person with its subject. That means that if the subject is in the singular, the verb is in the singular; if the subject is in the plural, the verb must be in the plural, as: "Peter carries" (Pierre porte); "Peter and John carry" (Pierre et Jean portent). If the subject is in the first, second, or third person, the verb must be in the same person. When we say "I carry," I being the subject and in the first person, carry must be in the first person. (1) Observe that French verbs have no future participle. Many grammarians have found cases and declensions in Freuch nouns, pronouns, and adjectives; they have found also a comparative and a superlative in all French adjectives. This is a mistake. The first French grammarians, owing so much to the Latin grammar, were misled by imitation. Their successors, particularly on this side of the Channel, would not have taken the trouble to compare French with Latin, even if they had been able to do so, and they took for granted what they found under their scissors. Of the former I would respectfully have asked: what is the corresponding termination of a French verb for the future participle amaturus of amo? To the latter I would say that before venturing to put to young children that nouns so and so in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, are so and so in French, and such like nonsense, they would do better to show their respect to former grammarians by reading them attentively, and not by cutting their pages to pieces for the use of their printers. |