to the general. 10. I have given the oranges to the girls. 11. I have lent the pencil to Louisa. 12. I have not seen Paul. FOURTH LESSON. PARTITIVE SENSE OF THE NOUN.-PRESENT TENSE OF AVOIR, TO HAVE. 1. A noun is used in a partitive sense when it is, or may be, preceded, in English, by some or any, as: some or any bread, or bread. In French, a noun used in the partitive sense is preceded by de and the definite article; that is: du, de la, de l' or des, as: Du pain, De la viande, De l'eau, Des gâteaux, Bread, some or any bread. 2. OMISSION OF THE ARTICLE BEFORE A PARTITIVE NOUN. The article is omitted, and de alone is used, before a partitive noun, in the following three cases: (1.) After pas, or any other negative word, as: Je n'ai pas de pain, I have no bread (not any bread). (2.) When the noun is preceded by an adjective, as : J'ai de bon pain, I have good bread. (3.) When the noun limits another noun, or an adverb that denotes quantity: Un verre d'eau, Un morceau de gâteau, A glass of water. A piece of cake. A gold pen (a pen of gold). REM. The letter t in a-t-il ? a-t-elle ? is inserted for euphony. 1. Tu as du pain et de la viande. 2. As-tu de l'argent? 3. Je n'ai pas d'argent. 4. Charles a du papier et de *As there is no neuter gender in the French language, it represents a noun which, in French, is either masculine or feminine. If the noun is masculine, it is il; if the noun is feminine, it is elle. Nouns which are preceded in the vocabularies by du, de la, de l', or des, in French, and by no determinative word in English, are taken in the partitive sense. l'encre. 5. A-t-il des plumes? 6. Il a acheté une plume d'or. 7. Marie a du beurre et du sucre. 8. A-t-elle aussi du café et du thé ? 9. Elle a assez de café et de thé, mais elle n'a pas de sel. 10. Nous avons mangé un morceau de pain et un peu de viande. 11. Les enfants ont bu trop d'eau. 12. Ils ont eu trop peu de lait. 13. Les filles ont apporté des oranges. 14. Ont-elles aussi apporté des gâteaux. 15. Elles n'ont pas apporté de gâteaux. 16. Vous avez beaucoup de courage, mais vous avez peu de patience. Theme 4. 1. Thou hast courage and patience. 2. Charles has money, but he has no patience. 3. Has he brought paper and pens? 4. He has brought paper and ink, but he has not brought pens. 5. Mary has bought much coffee and (of) tea. 6. Has she also bought sugar? 7. She has not bought sugar. 8. We have sugar enough (enough of sugar). 9. Have you any salt? 10. We have a great deal of (much) salt, but little butter. 11. You have too much courage, but too little patience. 12. They (m.) have eaten a piece of cake. 13. They (f.) have drunk water. 14. I have drunk a glass of milk. J FIFTH LESSON. QUALIFYING ADJECTIVES.*-FEMININE AND PLURAL. 1. There are qualifying and limiting adjectives. Qualifying adjectives add a quality to the noun, as: a good book, bad paper. Limiting adjectives limit the sense of the noun, as: my book, this paper. All adjectives agree, in gender and number, with the noun which they qualify or limit. 2. FORMATION OF THE FEMININE OF ADJECTIVES. GENERAL RULE.— The feminine form of the adjective is obtained by adding e to the masculine form, as: Exc. 1. Adjectives ending for the masculine in e, have but one form for both genders, as: jeune, masc. and fem., young. -jun Exc. 2. Many adjectives double the final consonant and add e for the feminine, as: bon, fem. bonne, good; kind. Exc. 3. Adjectives ending in f, change f into ve, as: attentif, fem. attentive, attentive. Exc. 4. Adjectives ending in, change x into se, as: studieux, fem. studieuse, studious. For other irregularities in the formation of the feminine of adjectives, see Fifth Lesson (bis). 4. FORMATION OF THE PLURAL OF ADJECTIVES. The plural of adjectives is formed in the same manner F 9 plural of nouns (Lesson Second). The exceptional rules ply to the masculine forms of adjectives only; the feminine form always ends in e, and takes regularly s in 1. Le petit Jules* n'est pas ici. 2. Henri a une petite sœur, qui est malade. 3. Vous avez un grand jardin. 4. Nous avons aussi une grande maison. 5. J'ai acheté de bon papier et de bonne encre (Less. 4th-2). 6. Vous avez apporté des plumes, qui ne sont pas bonnes. 7. Les crayons ne sont pas mauvais. 8. Julie a un oncle, qui est très-riche. 9. Elle a aussi une tante, qui est très-bonne, mais qui n'est pas riche. 10. Le frère du soldat est pauvre. 11. Il n'a pas d'argent, et il est malade. 12. Le jeune * In French, the article is used before a proper noun which is preceded by an adjective or title, as: le petit Jules, little Julius. |