Fussé-je le seul de cette opinion, Though I were the only one of that opinion, it would not prevent me from manifesting it. Though you were more numerous, you would experience resistance. May he be cured of his illness, and still live long to render you happy! Though the subject were not an active pronoun, it should always be placed after the verb, as in the two cases below.-EXAMPLES: Rien n'est plus commun que de | Puissent tous les vrais citoyens se Nothing is more common than to mistake a momentary partiality for friendship. We ought (says Plutarch) to eat three bushels of salt with him we wish to love. May all true citizens be united against evil-minded men! 3d. When the verb is preceded by any of the following conjunctive words, aussi, peut-être, autunt, du moins, au moins, en vain, encore, peine.-EXAMPLES: La rose est la reine des fleurs; auasi est-elle l'emblème de la beauté. li lui a manqué essentiellement; aussi est-il très-fâché. Si vous allez chez lui à présent, peut-être le trouverez-vous occupé. Autant vaudrait-il, une bonne fois, lui dire ce qu'il en est. En cela, au moins, ou du moins, Il a été long-temps à se faire prier, encore, ne l'a-t-il accordé que de mauvaise grâce. The rose is the queen of flowers; He has affronted him grossly; haps you will find him engaged. It would be as well, once for all, to tell him how the matter stands. They suspected him to be the head of the conspiracy, at least it is certain he was acquainted with the plot. In that, at least, you were very right. In vain did he lay his complaints before him; all that was of no He suffered himself to be long en- A peine César fut-il entré au sénat, | Scarcely had Cæsar entered the que les conjurés se jetèrent sur lui et le poignardèrent. senate, when the conspirators rushed on him and stabbed him. In some of the above examples the English construction might have been safely followed, but at much expence of the grace and energy of the sentence. RULE V.-The active pronouns which, in English, are considered as useless in an interrogation in which a noun is the subject of the verb, must, in French, be always expressed.-EXAMPLES: RULE VI.-If the verb used interrogatively were in the first person, and ended in e feeble, this e should be made open, by placing over it an acute accent, owing to the weak syllable je that follows it. -EXAMPLES: Rêvé-je? Pensé-je ? Dussé-je? | Do I dream? Do I think? Should I? Should the verb in the first person be a monosyllable, terminated by two consonants, the pronoun je cannot follow it: thus, you will avoid saying, sors-je? mens-je? sers-je? Instead of it, you will place, in order to ask the question, est-ce que before the verb preceded by je, and say: Est-ce que je sors? Est-ce que je Do I go out? Do I lie? Do I mens? Est-ce que je sers? serve? Observe, that est-ce que, which is a very familiar mode of expression among the French, is applicable, in the same manner, to other persons and tenses of the verb.-EXAMPLES: Est-ce que vous écrivez? Est-ce | Do you write? Do you not write? que vous n'écrivez pas ? Est-ce qu'il est venu? Est-ce qu'il | Is he come? is he not come ? n'est pas venu? Est-ce que votre frère obtiendra Will your brother obtain leave? permission? LESSON THE TENTH. OF THE PASSIVE PRONOUNS. RULE I-Passive pronouns, in French, 1st. immediately precede the verb. 2d, They must be repeated before every verb in the sentence to which they belong.-EXAMPLES: Je vous aime et vous estime-L'i- I love and esteem you-The idea dée de ses malheurs le poursuit, le tourmente, et l'accable-Un fils bien élevé ne se révolte jamais contre son père; il l'aime, Phonore, et le respecte- On nous veille et on nous observe. of his misfortunes pursues, torments, and overwhelms him—a son well educated never rebels against his father; he loves, honours, and respects him―They watch and observe us. N.B. To the above rule, verbs in the imperative afford an exception; for which, see Rule IV. of this Lesson. RULE II. If a verb be attended by two passive pronouns, they must both precede the verb; and the one affected by the preposition à (understood) corresponding to to (expressed or understood) in English, should precede.-EXAMPLES: Il me l'a promis-Je vous la mon- He promised it to me--I will show trerai-Elle nous les renverra -Je crois qu'elle ne vous les renverra pas. her or it to you-She will send them back to us-I believe she will not send them back to you. RULE III. Should the two pronouns belong equally to the third person, the contrary of what is required by the preceding rule takes place; that is to say, the pronoun before which the preposition à is understood should follow the one unattended by it.-EXAMPLES: Nous le lui dirous-Vous les leur ! We will tell it to him-You have avez promis-Je vous assure que je ne les leur ai pas promis-Je la lui présenteraiElle ne veut pas que vous la lui présentiez. promised them to them-I assure you that I have not promised them to them-I will introduce her to him or to herShe will not have you to introduce her to him or to her. RULE IV. When the pronouns le, la, les, attended by the disjunctives moi, toi, nous, vous, lui, or leur, become the object of the imperative without a negative, they should always precede the disjunctives, and both follow the verb.-EXAMPLES: Donnez-le moi-Envoyez-la lui- | Give him or it to me-Send her Prêtez-les leur-Apportez-les nous-Assurez-les vous. or it to him or to her-Lend them to them-Bring them to us -Make sure of them. It is to be noticed, that moi and toi become me and te, when they are linked with en.-) -EXAMPLES: -- e-Beware of it. Cherchez-m'en Donne-t'en de Hunt some for megarde. RULE V. When two imperatives, without a negative, accompanied by pronouns, follow one another, we place the first pronoun after the first verb, and the second pronoun before the second verb. -EXAMPLES: RULE VI.-If the imperative be attended with a negative, the pronouns occupy their natural place, before the verb, in the same order as they do in the other tenses of the verb; and moi, toi, become me, te.-EXAMPLES: Ne me trompez pas-Ne te flatte | Do not deceive me-Do not flatter pas ainsi. Ne me le renvoyez pas encore. Ne me la refusez pas, je vous en conjure. thyself thus. Do not send it back to me yet. -Do not keep Ne nous le dites pas-Ne la lui | Do not tell it to us gardez pas. Ne les leur accordez pas. it for him or her. RULE VII. The pronouns or adverbs y and en precede invariably the verb; and, when they are used together, y is always put first. EXAMPLES FOR Y. J'y travaille depuis le matin jusqu'au soir-N'y travaillez plus -Je vous y menerai, si vous voulez-Non, ne m'y menez pas-Y est-il à cette heure ?Yresterez-vous long-temps? I work at it from morning till evening-Work at it no more -I will take you there, if you choose-No, do not take me there-Is he there at this time? -Shall you stay there long? EXAMPLE FOR EN. Qu'en dites-vous maintenant? Il | ne s'en repent point-Il avait deux fils; il lui en est mort un-Combien en voulez-vous? -J'en veux seulement trois douzaines-Ne m'en apportez plus- Je ne leur en demande pas-En venez-vous ?-Oui, j'en viens. What do you say to it, or of it, now? He does not repent of it-He had two sons, one of them died-How many do you want of them?-Three dozen only-Do not bring me any more of them-I do not ask any of them-Do you come from there?-Yes, I do. EXAMPLES WHEN USED TOGETHER. N'y en a-t-il pas suffisamment ? Y en a-t-il qui le sachent? Je vous y en ferai tenir. Is there not plenty of it? You did not put too much of it Is there any one who knows it? Il nous y en portera davantage, si He will bring us some more nous le souhaitons. thither, if we desire it. In the imperative, without a negative, y or en follow the verb, and, if they meet with a pronoun, they are put after it. |