sult from the sound of two feeble syllables following one another is avoided. Thus we say, aimé-je? ouvré-je? and not aime-je? ouvre-je? Some modern grammarians use the grave accent: aimè-je? ouvrè-je? Negatively. INDICATIVE MOOD. Je n'aime pas, Tu n'aimes pas, Il n'aime pas, Je n'ai pas aimé, etc. I do not love. Thou dost not love. He does not love. PAST INDEFINITE. I have not loved, etc. (See page 96.) Interrogatively with a negation. INDICATIVE MOOD. N'ai-je pas aimé ? etc. Do they not love? PAST INDEFINITE. Have I not loved? etc. (See page 96.) 166. Orthographical Remarks. 1st, Verbs ending in the Infinitive in ger, retain e before a and o, that the soft sound of g may be preserved: as, jugeant, judging; négligeant, neglecting; mangeant, eating ; je jugeai, I judged; nous mangeons, we eat, etc. ;—from juger, to judge; négliger, to neglect; manger, to eat. 2nd, When c is pronounced like s in the Infinitive, it takes a cedilla (c) before a, o, u, to preserve its soft articulation: as, je plaçai, I placed; nous effaçons, we efface; nous reçûmes, we received, etc.;-from placer, to place; effacer, to efface; recevoir, to receive. 3rd, Verbs which have y preceding the termination of the Infinitive or Participle present, generally change it into i before e, es, and ent: as, je paierai, I shall pay ; j'emploierai, I shall employ; il ennuie, he tires; ils traient, they milk; que je voie*, that I may see; que tu croies*, that thou mayst believe, etc.;from payer, to pay; employer, to employ; ennuyer, to weary; trayant, milking; voyant, seeing; croyant, believing. NOTE. The verbs rayer and enrayer preserve the y throughout their conjugation; thus, je raye, etc. It should be remarked that the French Academy gives the preference to the y before e, es and ent, in all verbs ending in ayer in the Infinitive mood. Thus, on such authority, we may write, Je paye, tu payes, il paye; ils payent. Je payerai, etc. Je badaye, etc. 4th, Verbs ending in the Infinitive in uer and ouer require a diæresis (tréma) on the i (ï) of the first and second persons plural of the Imperfect Indicative and Present Subjunctive: as, nous distribuïons, we were distributing; nous jouïons, we were playing, etc.;-from distribuer, to distribute; jouer, to play. 5th, Verbs which have é (with an acute accent) or e mute in the Infinitive or Participle present, require a grave accent on it (è) before a consonant followed by an e mute or unaccented; as, Espérer, to hope, j'espère, tu espères, il espère, etc. Acquérant*, acquiring,—ils acquièrent, que j'acquière, etc. 6th, Verbs having e mute before the termination of the Infinitive ler and ter, generally double the land t when followed by e mute; as, Appeler, to call,-j'appelle, j'appellerais, etc. Jeter, to throw,-il jette, je jetterai. Except the following: Bourreler, congeler, déceler, geler, harceler, peler, recéler, acheter, colleter, coqueter, décolleter, étiqueter, trompeter, which take a grave accent (') over the e preceding the or t; as, geler, to freeze,—il gèle, it freezes ; acheter, to buy,-il achète, he buys. Conjugate like AIMER: Exercise. Accompagner, to accompany. Agréer, to accept. Analyser, to analyse. Approcher, to approach. * See the alphabetical list of irregular verbs. † Except verbs ending in éger; as, assiéger, il assiége. 167. Models of Verbs of the Second Conjugation, Infinitive Mood ending in IR. This conjugation is divided into four classes: Model of the 1st class, agir, to act. 2nd 3rd 4th sentir, to feel. 168. The First Class consists of about 300 verbs, which are conjugated like agir, to act; such as, Chérir, to cherish; retentir, to resound; affermir, to strengthen; avertir, to inform; répartir, to distribute; assortir, to match; asservir, to enslave; appauvrir, to impoverish; ternir, to tarnish; garnir, to garnish; fournir, to furnish; bénir, to bless; hennir, to neigh; accomplir, to accomplish; adoucir, to soften; remplir, to fill; bannir, to banish; nourrir, to feed; embellir, to embellish; munir, to provide, etc. 169. The Second Class comprises the following verbs, which are conjugated like sentir : Se rendormir, to fall asleep again. Servir, to serve. Endormir, Desservir, to clear the table. Se repentir, to repent (see the conjugation of Reflective Verbs). 170. The Third Class includes the following verbs, which are conjugated like ouvrir: 171. The Fourth Class consists of the following verbs, which * Ressortir, meaning to belong to, is conjugated like agir, to act (168): En France, les tribunaux de première instance RESSORTISSENT à leurs cours royales respectives. G Venir, revenir, parvenir, are conjugated in their compound tenses with the auxiliary être. See Conjugation of neuter verbs. Avenir is an obsolete verb, used only in the third person singular. See the List of irregular and defective verbs. 172. NOTE. All the verbs of the second, third, and fourth classes of the second conjugation being contained in the above lists, any other verb ending in ir which the student may meet with in the exercises on the regular verbs, belongs of course to the first class, and is conjugated like agir. |