First is translated by unième after another number; vingt et unième.

Use the cardinal instead of the ordinal numbers, except premier :

1. When mentioning the day of the month: le deux février;

2. When speaking of successive emperors, kings, &c.: George trois;

3. When quoting chapters, pages, &c.: chapitre huit, page vingt.

IX.-COINS, WEIGHTS, MEASURES, &c.

There are

COINS.

4 copper coins:-1 centime, 2 centimes, 5 centimes, 10 centimes;

5 silver coins:-20 centimes, 50 centimes, 1 franc, 2 francs,

5 francs;

4 gold coins:-5 francs, 10 francs, 20 francs, 40 francs.

1 franc is worth 92d.; 2 francs, 1s. 7d.; 5 francs, 48.; 10 francs, 88.; 20 francs, 16s.; 40 francs, 32s.

When centimes are mentioned, and no absolute exactitude is required, consider the last figure (5) as representing one d., and the other the same number of pence: for instance, 75 centimes

71d. LENGTH.

1 Mètre-1 yard, 3 inches, 1 barleycorn.

SUPERFICIES.

SOLIDITY.

Are, or décamètre carré, 100 square Stère, 1 cubic mètre,

Décagramme,

10 grammes. . Décalitre, 10 litres. Hectogramme, 100 grammes. . Hectolitre, 100 litres.

} 0° centigrade (melting ice) 32° Fahr.

CHAPTER III.

PLURAL AND GENDER OF NOUNS, QUALIFICATIVE ADJECTIVES AND PAST PARTICIPLES.

I. PLURAL OF NOUNS, &c.-To form the plural of nouns, qualificative adjectives, and past participles:

1. Add s * to the singular: un homme actif, des

* Whence comes the s (s, x, z, are equivalent), which has become in French the sign of the plural ?

In old French, which is a transition between synthetical Latin and analytical modern French, thero was a declension with two cases: a nominative or subject, and an accusative, corresponding to all the oblique cases of the Latin; for instance :

in which the final s of the Latin was retained. This form of declension lasted until towards the end of the thirteenth century, when an attempt was made to reduce all nouns to one type, namely, the second declension. But such an artificial change merely produced a greater confusion. The new declension was frequently violated, and soon found useless. The relation of words being sufficiently indicated by their position, one form alone was wanted; and as, even before the reform, the accusative was more regular, generally fuller in sound and recurring more often, it naturally persisted and drove away the nominative, and thus s became the sign of the plural. Had it been the reverse, 8 would have characterized the singular, and the absence of it the plural. Yet we find a few traces of the old nominative singular: ours, fils, Charles, Orléans, &c.

1 An s was soon added to the nominative plural of the first declension by analogy with the third declension.

hommes actifs; une femme prudente, des femmes prudentes; une fleur flétrie, des fleurs flétries.

2. Do not change those ending in 8, x, z: un bras vigoureux, des bras vigoureux; une voix douce, des voix douces; un gaz délétère, des gaz délétères.

3. Add x to the sing. of those ending in au, eu: le nouveau chapeau, les nouveaux chapeaux; le nouveau jeu, les nouveaux jeux.

Except bleu, feu,(late), and landau, which take s.

4. Add a to the singular of the seven following: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, hibou, joujou, pou; the other ending in ou take s.

5. Change final al into aux : son cheval, ses chevaux; un art libéral, les arts libéraux.

Except bal, carnaval, chacal, régal, nasal, and a few others, introduced into the language at a comparatively late period, scarcely ever met with, which takes: les bals, &c.

6. Change final ail into aux in bail, émail, corail, soupirail, travail; de beaux émaux, &c.; the sixteen other words ending in ail take s.

7. Ail, bétail, aïeul, ciel, œil, become in the pl. aulx, bestiaux, aïeux, cieux, yeux; the three last have a regular plural according to general rule with a different meaning scarcely ever met with.

Nouns and qualificative adjectives ending in t in the sing. may drop the t in the plural, except monosyllables: un enfant, des enfants or enfans.

II. PLURAL OF COMPOUND NOUNS :

By resolving a compound noun into its elements you will easily ascertain which parts take the sign of the plural.

1. Put both parts in the plural when you have a compound of two nouns, one of which qualifies the other: un chef-lieu, des chefs-lieux.

But write, un appui-main, des appuis-main; un brèchedents, des brèche-dents, &c. (that is to say, des appuis pour la main, des personnes ayant une brèche dans les dents).

2. Put the first of the two nouns in the plural when in the compound they are separated by a preposition : un chefd'œuvre, des chefs-d'œuvre.

Write however, invariably, un or des pied-à-terre; un or des tête-à-tête, &c. (that is to say, des endroits où l'on met pied à terre, des entrevues où l'on est tête à tête); and un ver à soie, des vers à soie, &c.

3. Put both parts in the plural when you have a compound of a noun and an adjective: un coffre-fort, des coffres-forts.

Write, however, un terre-plein, des terre-pleins, &c. (des endroits pleins de terre); write also, la grand'mère, les grand'mères, la grand'tante, les grand'tantes, &c.

4. Put the noun only in the plural when the other elements are invariable of their nature or part of a verb: un contre-coup, des contre-coups; un tire-bottes, des tirebottes; un vice-président, des vice-présidents.

Write however, invariably, un or des coupe-gorge; un or des porte-drapeau; un or des crève-cour; un or des à-compte (celui qui porte le drapeau, &c.).

5. When the component parts are invariable of their nature, part of a verb, or foreign words, the compound is invariable des garde-manger, des passe-partout, des postscriptum, des in-folio.