NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. § 498. Article. 1. In imitation of the Italian, the Article is used before some family names: le Tasse, le Titien, le Corrége, le Poussin.* 2. The article in the plural is sometimes put emphatically before names of men: les Bossuet, les Racine (§ 216). 3. The article is often put before names of actresses, etc.: La Duparc, la Béjart, la Dumesnil, etc., etc. La boutique de la Duchapt, célèbre marchande de modes. (J. J. ROUSSEAU.) 4. The article is employed before some proper names of towns and men: Le Havre, La Rochelle, Le Mans, La Fontaine, La Bruyère, Le Maistre, etc. Contrast § 215. 5. The article is not employed before the name of a country, if this name has arisen from that of a town, where no article is put: Naples, Venise, etc. 6. The article is familiarly joined to vocatives: Hé! l'homme la-bas! 7. Notice the anomalous use of le (not la) before feminine Latin names of plants, etc.: le nymphæa alba (white water-lily). 8. The article is employed before monsieur (mon+sieur), but not before madame, mademoiselle, monseigneur: Un monsieur m'a dit cela; Une dame m'a dit cela. 9. The article is repeated as a rule. But such sentences as le père et mère are sometimes found. 10. The article is repeated before two adjectives whose meanings are different : L'humble et timide innocence (LITTRÉ); Les bonnes et les mauvaises actions qu'il a faites. (ID.) 11. Donnez-moi de bonne viande is less definite than donnezmoi de la bonne viande (§ 496, e); but why should we not say with a similar distinction, donnez-moi de viande excellente, donnezmoi de la viande excellente? + A 12. La boîte aux lettres equals roughly Our letter box. similar difference may be found in bouteille à l'encre and bouteille à encre, pot au lait and pot à lait, etc., etc. But why tourte aux pommes, tarte à la crème; confitures de framboises; verre à vin ; bouteille à vin ; une tarte aux confitures de groseilles? No answer but "usage" seems possible. 13. "The, before comparatives, is a remnant of the old instrumental case thi. Compare O. E. thi mare = Latin eo magis." *Not before Christian names: not le Dante, but Dante. "Perhaps because the article relates to a whole from which a part is taken. Boire du vin signifies to drink wine generally'; the adjective, by means of its individualising property, destroys this totality: boire de bon vin means to drink a good kind of wine.' The adjective, when it follows, does not interfere with the article, as it only individualises in a supplementary appositional manner: j'ai bu du vin rouge, du vin qui est rouge." (See § 516.)-(DIEZ.) CHAPTER V.-PRONOUNS.* § 499. Some Uses of the Conjunctive and Disjunctive Personal Pronouns. 1. A personal pronoun is said to be conjunctive' when closely connected with the verb; 'disjunctive' when for any cause this close connexion is broken. Hence the Disjunctive forms are employed (a) After a preposition : Avec nous; sans lui, etc. With us; without him. (b) When employed as complement: C'est moi. It is I. (c) In a composite subject: Lui et moi sortirons. He and I will go out. Son frère et lui sortiront. His brother and he will go out. (d) In a composite object : J'ai parlé à lui et à elle. I have spoken to him and to her. (e) When either an adjective or an adjectival sentence is put between the pronoun and verb: Lui seul s'échappa. He alone ran away. Lui, qui est soldat, resta. He, who is a soldier, remained. Lui, voyant le danger, s'échappa. He, seeing the danger, ran away. (f) In answers, and when emphatically employed Qui s'échappa! Lui. Who ran away? He. 2. The Disjunctive forms moi, toi (and these only), are employed conjunctively in Imperative affirmative phrases: § 299. Donnez-moi Lève-toi Give me. Get up. 3. The Disjunctive forms moi, toi, lui, eux, are all employed conjunctively for emphasis: Lui s'échappa, non pas moi! It was he who ran away, not I. *Most of the uses of Pronouns have been explained in the Accidence. § 500. Some Uses of celui, etc., and ce. The substantival forms celui, celle, ceux, celles, are more definite than the substantival form ce. (a) They equal in form a demonstrative adjective + a personal pronoun; ce does not. (b) They agree in gender and number; ce may or may not. (c) They are always followed by an additional defining word or phrase; ce is not necessarily so followed: 1. Celui, qui parle en ce moment, est le Président. He, who is now speaking, is the President. Ceux qui viendront, verront. Those who come will see. Celui, dont vous parlez, est le capitaine. He, of whom you are speaking, is the captain. Prenez ceux-ci et ceux-là. Take these and those. 2. Ce qui fait le héros, dégrade souvent l'homme. (VOLTAIRE.) That which makes the hero, often degrades the man. J'ai déjà dit ce qu'il faut faire, quand un enfant pleure pour avoir ceci ou cela. (J. J. ROUSSEAU.) I have already said what is to be done, when a child cries to have this or that. Est-ce votre maison? Is that your house? Ce sont mes frères. Those are my brothers. In many phrases where ce is used in French, the neuter it would be thought sufficiently strong in English: Il pleut, n'est-ce pas ? It rains, does it not? L'Empire, c'est la paix! The Empire is peace! C'est un trésor qu'un ami. A friend is a treasure. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. § 501. Uses of Tu and Vous. 'Thou' in modern English is almost obsolete. In Shakespeare's time it was employed much as 'tu' is now in French. a. Tu' is the pronoun of affection or extreme familiarity: * Of Affection. Ce matin à propos d'un plaisir manqué, je dis en riant à mon fils: je vois que tu as besoin que je te fasse une petite leçon. (LEGOUVÉ.) Of Familiarity.-Je n'y tins plus, je courus à mon camarade. Donne-moi ta patte, lui dis-je, je t'en prie.' Ma patte; te donner ma patte-veux-tu t'en aller. (ID.) Compare: SIR ANDREW: No faith. SIR TOBY: Thy reason, dear venom, give thy reason. (Twelfth Night.) I'll not stay a jot longer. B. Generally a master uses vous to his servants, as to strangers. Tu would then express anger, contempt, etc. But in confidential sentences and in good-humoured utterances of superiority he uses tu; when angry, he resorts to 'vous.' Thus in Les Femmes Savantes,' Chrysale, feeling how unjust is the dismissal of Martine, uses the kindly 'tu' to the servant girl. He is checked by his wife, Philaminte, and he then restores the vous with which he is in the habit of addressing Martine. PHI. : Vous ne voulez pas, vous, me la faire sortir? CHRY. Si fait. Va, ne l'irrite point; retire-toi, Martine. PHI. : Comment! vous avez peur d'offenser la coquine? Vous lui parlez d'un ton tout à fait obligeant. CHRY.: (d'un ton ferie). Moi? point. Allons, sortez. (D'un ton plus doux,) Va-t'en, ma pauvre enfant. Again: Léandre, Les Fourberies de Scapin,' in his anger against Scapin begins with vous and monsieur, but softens down to tu. LEAN.: Ah! ah! vous voilà; je suis ravi de vous trouver, Monsieur le coquin. SCA. : Monsieur, votre serviteur. C'est trop d'honneur que vous me faites. LEAN.: (mettant l'épée à la main). Vous faites le méchant plaisant! ah! je vous apprendrai. SCA. (se mettant à genoux.) Monsieur, que vous ai-je-fait ? LEAN. Ce que tu m'as fait, traitre ! Compare the use of thou and you in P. Sebastian, is thy name? I like thee well, and will employ thee in some service presently. S. In what you please: I'll do what I can. P. I hope thou wilt. (To Lancelot,) How now, you? where have you been these two days loitering? (Two Gent.of Ver.) *See MOLIERE: Les Fâcheux, Act i. Sc. i. y. Tu is the pronoun of contempt or anger to strangers and ordinary acquaintances. Thus, in Les Femmes Savantes,' Trissotin and Vadius address each other with the ordinary vous, till Vadius, finding fault with the sonnet of Trissotin, they gradually, in their anger, work into tu. TRISS. Je soutiens qu'on ne peut en faire de meilleur. TRISS. Vous donnez sottement vos qualités aux autres. : TRISS. Allez, fripier d'écrits, impudent plaigiaire TRISS.: Va, va restituer tous les honteux larcins. Que réclament sur toi les Grecs et les Latins. TRISS.: Souviens-toi de ton livre, et de son peu de bruit. Compare: Act III., Scene V. SIR TOBY: If thou thou'st him some thrice, it shall not be amiss. Sir Andrew, in the letter that he writes subsequently, follows this advice: ... 'Faith, whatsoever thou art, thou liest in thy throat.' (Twelfth Night.) 8. 'Tu' is adopted in the higher poetic style, and in the language of solemn prayer. Et moi pour te louer, Dieu des soleils, que suis-je ? This remains in Modern English. (LAMARTINE.) In Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar a number of other examples will be found of the employment of thou. Use has been made of this work in the preceding rules. |