HOUSEHOLD FRENCH GRAMMAR.

(This grammatical Introduction gives the most important principles and forms of the language. As most of those who begin French are already familiar with the rules of general grammar, I have thought it useless to enter into lengthened explanations concerning the parts of speech and the usual grammatical terms; nor have I dwelt upon those subjects which are fully illustrated in the different lessons of "Household French.")

THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE.

1. COMMON NOUNS (or NAMES) are those which are applied to all the individuals or things of the same species or sort.

Exercise I.-(Common nouns.)

(DIRECTION.-1. Give the English of the following sentences, in which the nouns are printed in italics. 2. Read out the lesson in French. See Directions at page iv.)

1. Le père est avec son fils. 2. La mère est avec sa fille. 3. Le cheval mange dans l'écurie (f.). 4. La vache mange dans l'étable (f.). 5. La colombe est dans la cage. 6. Le pigeon est dans le colombier. 7. Le vacher est dans le pré. 8. Les pigeons volent dans le jardin. 9. Les colombes sont dans la volière. 10. Le jardinier arrose les fleurs (f.).

PRACTICE.-Use these ten sentences in the interrogative form, according to No. 23, p. xiii.

2. Proper nouNS (or NAMES) denote the names of individuals only, or are used to distinguish individuals from the rest of the same species.

Exercise II.-(Proper nouns.)

(DIRECTION. Same process as in Exercise I. The proper nouns are in italics.)

1. Jules a un cheval. 2. Julie a une colombe. 3. Vous connaissez le Rhône et la Seine. 4. Vous avez visité Paris et Lyon. 5. Vous aimez l'Angleterre (f.). 6. La France est fertile. 7. Le Français est soldat. 8. L'Anglais est marin.

PRACTICE.-Use these eight sentences in the interrogative form, p. xiii.

3. GENDER OF LIVING BEINGS.—In French, as in English, the names of living beings, whether rational or not, are masculine or feminine. according to sex.

Exercise III.—(Gender of nouns.)

MASCULINE NOUNS.-1. Mon frère a vu un loup. 2. Mon cousin a vu un lion. 3. Le fermier a apporté un dindon. 4, L'Indien a été mordu par un tigre.

X

HAVET'S HOUSEHOLD FRENCHI GRAMMAR.

FEMININE NOUNS.-1. Ma sœur a vu une louve. 2. Ma cousine a vu une lionne. 3. La fermière a apporté une dinde. 4. L'Indienne a été mordue par une tigresse.

PRACTICE.-1. Turn both paragraphs into the interrogative form, according to page xiii. 2. Use all the sentences in the plural, observing that in the plural des is used instead of un or une (No. 18, p. xii).

4. GENDER OF INANIMATE OBJECTS.-The names of things, whether existing in nature or merely in the mind, take the masculine or the feminine gender, as custom has determined.

There is no neuter in French Grammar. (See HAVET'S Complete French Class-Book, p. 232.)

Exercise IV.-(Gender of inanimate objects.) MASCULINE NOUNS.-1. Le pommier est un arbre. 2. Le livre est dans le pupitre. 3. L'anneau est rond. 4. Le lac est bleu. 5. Le chou est vert. FEMININE.-1. La pomme est dans la corbeille. 2. La carte est sur la table. 3. L'orange est ronde. 4. L'eau de la mer paraît bleue. 5. La pomme est

verte.

PRACTICE.-1. Read all the sentences in the plural. 2. Turn them into the interrogative form, p. xiii, No. 23.

5. NUMBER.-There are two numbers, the singular and the plural.

Exercise V.-(The singular and the plural.)

NOUNS IN THE SINGULAR.-Un maître, un élève, un homme, une femme un garçon, une fille, un berger, un pain, une tarte, un gâteau (see No. 8.).

NOUNS IN THE PLURAL.-1. Deux fermiers, trois fermières, quatre vaches, cinq ouvriers, six ouvrières, sept fermes (f.), huit ans (m.), neuf heures (f.), dix jours (m.), onze semaines (f.), douze apôtres.

PRACTICE. Turn the first paragraph into the plural, and the second into the singular.

FORMATION OF THE PLURAL.-(Four ways.)

6. (1) The plural is generally formed by adding s to the singular. (See the second division of Exercise V.)

7. (2) Words in s, x, or z, are the same for both numbers. 8. (3) Words in au or eu take x in the plural.

9. (4) In words in al, the plural is generally formed by changing ol into aux. (See Lesson V., p. 7.)

Exercise VI.-(Formation of the plural.)

(DIRECTION.-The article le, la, l', is to be changed into les, and the noun is to be uttered and spelt in the plural.)

FIRST RULE.-1. Le boa, le mât, le matelot, le diamant, le paysan, la poire, la violette, la maison, la fourche, la fourchette, la poule, le poulet.

SECOND RULE.-S: L'ananas (m.), le rhinocéros, la brebis, la souris, le Français. X: Le prix, le houx, la perdrix, la voix, la noix. Z: Le gaz, le nez, le riz.

THIRD RULE.-Le corbeau, le couteau, le gâteau, le château, le veau, le cheveu, le neveu, le jeu.

FOURTH RULE.-Le cheval, le mal, le général, le maréchal, le caporal, l'amiral, le canal.

HAVET'S HOUSEHOLD FRENCH GRAMMAR.

THE DEFINITE ARTICLE le, la, l', OR les.

xi

10. Le, "the," is used before a masculine word in the singular, be ginning with a consonant or h aspirated: Le frère, le Hongrois.

11. La, "the," is used before a feminine word in the singular, beginning with a consonant or h aspirated: La femme, la Hongroise.

12. Les, "the," appears before any word in the plural.

Exercise VII.-(The definite article.)

Le.-1. J'ai mangé le lapin. 2. Il a apporté le dindon. 3. Elle a mangé le gâteau. 4. Vous avez mangé le homard.

La.-1. Avez-vous mangé la dinde? 2. Avez-vous bu la liqueur? 3. Avezvous mangé la tarto? 4. Ont-ils coupé la viande?

PRACTICE.-Use the article and the noun in the plural.

L'INSTEAD OF le OR la BEFORE A VOWEL OR h MUTE.

13. L' (instead of le or la) appears before any word in the singular beginning with a, e, i, o, u, y, or h mute (see the letter h in the Dictionary at the end of the work).

Exercise VIII.—(L' instead of le or la).

L'INSTEAD OF LE.-L'air, l'éléphant, l'instituteur, l'orfèvre, l'uniforme, l'ysard, l'anneau, l'amandier, l'abricot.

L'INSTEAD OF LA.-L'amande, l'eau, l'institutrice, l'oie, l'université, l'yeuse. L' BEFORE H MUTE.-Masculine: l'homme, l'hôte, l'hôtel. Feminine: l'hộtesse, l'huile, l'hirondelle, l'heure, l'hospice.

Read all the nouns in the plural.

Au, à la, à l', and aux are fully illustrated in page 16.
Du, de la, de l', and des will be found at page 17, No. 14.

THE PARTITIVE ARTICLE du, de la, de l', OR des.

14. The noun is said to be used in a partitive sense when it represents not the whole, but only some of the beings or things alluded to.

Du, de la, de l', or des, must appear before every noun taken in a partitive sense:

1. Je brûle du charbon.
2. Il mange de la viande.
3. Elle boit de l'eau (f.).
4. Avez-vous du fromage?
5. Ont-ils des amis?

6. Je ne sais pas s'il a des domes-
tiques.

1. I burn some coals.
2. He eats some meat.
3. She drinks some water.
4. Have you any cheese?
5. Have they any friends?
6. I do not know whether
he has any servants.

15. The English for the partitive article du, de la, de l', or des, is some " in affirmative, and “any” in interrogative and dubitative sen

tences.

PRACTICE.-Use in a partitive sense all the nouns in Exercise VII., J'ai mangé du lapin, &c.

The partitive article is fully illustrated at pages 36 and 37.

thus:

xii

HAVETS HOUSEHOLD FRENCH GRAMMAR.

DE, "some", or "any", BEFORE A NOUN PRECEDED BY AN ADJECTIVE OF QUALITY.

16. De alone is generally used for "some" or "any" (whether expressed or understood), when the noun taken in a partitive sense happens to be preceded by an adjective of quality:—

Il mange de bon poulet.
Elle fait de bonne soupe.
J'ai vu de jolis lacs.

He eats (some) good chicken.
She makes (some) good soup.
I have seen (some) beautiful lakes.

Exercise IX.-(DE or D', instead of du, de la, de l', or des.)

Fill up the blank according to No. 16.

excellents

1. Ce boulanger vend mauvais pain. 2. Ce pâtissier fait gâteaux. 3. Ces enfants ont vieux habits. 4. Le fermier a récolté dignes voisins. 6. Mon père a

beau blé. 5. Il a

libraire a envoyé cellente morue.

dinier a envoyé

anciens amis. 7. Le nouveaux livres. 8. La marchande de poisson a

9. Les pêcheurs ont pris

gros melons.

énormes saumons.

ex

10. Le jar

PRACTICE.-1. Repeat all the sentences in the interrogative form. (See p. xiii. No. 23.) 2. Repeat each sentence without the adjective.

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE un OR une, "A" OR "AN”.

17. Un for the masculine, or une for the feminine, is the usual translation for what is commonly termed the indefinite article "a" or "an": 1. Voyez-vous un berger dans le champ?-Non, j'y vois une bergère.

2. Voyez-vous un cygne sur l'étang? - Non, j'y vois une oie.

1. Do you see a shepherd in the field? No, I see (there) a shepherdess.

2. Do you see a swan on the pond? No, I see (there) a goose.

18. Des is the plural of un or une, meaning "a" or "an":

Un lac, des lacs; une nacelle, des nacelles.

19. Un or une used as a numeral means "one", and has for its plural one of the numbers deux, trois, quatre, &c. (p. 9).

THE DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES CE, CET, CETTE, CES. (See p. 22.) 20.-1. Ce, "this" or 66 that", before any noun, masculine singular, beginning with a consonant or h aspirated.

2. Cet, "this" or "that", before any noun, masculine singular, beginning with a vowel or h mute.

3. Cette, "this" or "that", before any noun, feminine singular. 4. Ces, "these" or "those", before any noun in the plural.

Exercise X.-(Demonstrative adjectives.)

1. Ce lac est très joli.
2. Ce hameau est très petit.
3. Cet enfant est gourmand.
4. Cet homme est actif.
5. Cette maison est blanche.
6. Cette hotte est pleine.
7. Cette Anglaise est jolie.
8. Cette horloge va bien.

Ces lacs sont très jolis.

Ces hameaux sont très petits.
Ces enfants sont gourmands.
Ces hommes sont actifs.
Ces maisons sont blanches.
Ces hottes sont pleines.
Ces Anglaises sont jolies.
Ces horloges vont bien.

PRACTICE,--Use these 16 sentences, (1) interrogatively, (2) negatively.

HAVET'S HOUSEHOLD FRENCH GRAMMAR.

xiii

The possessive adjectives are illustrated at p. 20; the numeral adjectives at p. 9; and the indefinite adjectives at p. 130, et seq.

THE INTERROGATIVE FORM.-(See p. 4.)

(These observations should be studied as soon as possible.)

21. In asking a question, the pronoun used as the subject is placed after the verb, to which it is united by a hyphen :

1. Etes-vous mon ami?

2. Vend-on du vin ici?

3. Voyez-vous un oiseau?

4. Parlait-il français ?

1. Are you my friend?
2. Do they sell wine here?
3. Do you see a bird?
4. Did he speak French?

In the 1st example the words stand in the same order in French as in EngJish; in the other examples the arrangement of the words is still the same in French, but the English question begins with "do” or "did," which cannot be expressed in French.

22. The euphonic t is inserted between the verb and the pronoun whenever the interrogative verb ends with a vowel:

A-t-il? Has he?

A-t-elle?-Has she?

A-t-on ?-Have they? Mange-t-elle ?-Does she eat? &c.

Mange-t-il? Does he eat?

Exercise XI.-The interrogative form.)

(DIRECTION.-Put the pronoun after the verb to form the interrogation.) 1. Je suis Anglais. 2. Il est en Angleterre. 3. Vous parlez français. 4. Vous êtes en Écosse. 5. Vous êtes Écossais. 6. Nous sommes en Europe. 7. Vous comprenez cette langue. 8. Vous connaissez l'Irlande. 9. Vous de

meurez à Dublin. 10. Ils demeuraient à Belfast.

PRACTICE.-After having said these ten sentences interrogatively, use them in the interrogative negative form, and then answer each question in French. 23. When the subject to the verb used in a question is a noun, or any other pronoun than a personal pronoun or on (see p. 55), the verb is preceded by the subject, and followed by il, ils, elle, or elles, according to gender and number :—

Exercise XII.-(The interrogative form.)

(DIRECTION.-Turn these ten affirmations into interrogations.)

1. Le pêcheur est dans le bateau. 2. La mer est calme.

3. Les matelots sont à terre. 4. Les nacelles (f.) sont sur le lac. 5. Voici votre aviron, le mien est dans le bateau. 6. Voici deux filets, celui-ci est à vous. 7. Cela est mauvais. 8. Tout est perdu. 9. Quelqu'un est venu. 10. Tout le monde est malade. PRACTICE-Turn these sentences into questions, and give an answer to each

question.

**The pupils should now begin the First Conversation, p. 3.