the direct object, and then the noun which is the indirect object of the verb. REM. This is the natural or logical order in which the ideas present themselves to the mind: first, the thing about which we wish to say something; then the state or action which we wish to affirm of it; next the object; and lastly, the remote object of that action. SUGGESTIONS. THE French Exercise may be recited in the following manner: The teacher pronounces a sentence of the exercise to his class, and calls upon one of the students to repeat and translate it without looking in the book. When the student has done so, the teacher gives the English, and the student, or better the whole class, gives the French : The students should be requested to prepare a written translation of the Theme, and to bring it to the class-room. The teacher should ask them to translate, each in turn, a sentence, and direct them to write their sentences on the blackboard, without looking at their written translations. If there are a sufficient number of blackboards in the classroom, several scholars may be writing their sentences at the same time, and the whole exercise may be corrected in a few minutes. When the teacher goes to the blackboard and corrects the sentences, in the order in which they are in the exercise, he should direct the pupils to correct, at the same time, their own exercises. The copy-books containing the corrected exercises should be examined from time to time, in order to ascertain whether they have been carefully and properly corrected. FIRST LESSON. THE NOUN-THE ARTICLE.* 1. IN French there are only two genders, the masculine and the feminine. The article has two distinct forms; one for the masculine, and one for the feminine. The definite article the is le for the masculine, and la for the feminine. Before a vowel and before a silent h‚† it is l'. MASCULINE. Le père, the father. Le verre, the glass. L'homme (for le homme), the man.‡ FEMININE. La mère, the mother. La tasse, the cup. L'eau (for la eau), the water. 2. The indefinite article a or an is un for the masculine, and une for the feminine. Un homme, a man. Un verre, a glass. Une femme, a woman; a wife. Une tasse, a cup. The article is repeated before each noun, as: + There are some French words beginning with the letter h, before which the elision of the vowel does not take place; the h is then called aspirate, although it is not heard in the pronounciation. (See Introd., p. 11, 5.) Un, une, a or an, means also one, and is called, by most French grammarians a numeral adjective. (See Less. 9.) 1. Le père et la mère de l'enfant. 2. Le père est ici. 3. La mère est là, dans la maison. 4. Où est l'enfant ? 5. L'enfant est à l'école. 6. Le pain est pour la femme. 7. La viande est pour l'homme. 8. Un verre d'eau et une tasse de lait. Theme 1. 1. The father of the child is here. 2. The mother is in the house. 3. The glass of milk is for the child. 4. The Iwater is for the man. 5. Where is the woman? 6. The woman is at home. 8. A glass and cup. 7. The bread and meat. SECOND LESSON. NOUN AND ARTICLE.-PLURAL FORMS. 1. GENERAL RULE.-The plural of nouns is formed by adding s to the singular, as: verre, glass; plural, verres, glasses. * Enfant, applied to a girl, is feminine; une enfant, a child (a little girl). Exceptions. Exc. 1. Nouns ending in s, x, or z, are the same in the plural as in the singular, as: fils, son; plural, fils, sons. Exc. 2. Nouns ending in au and eu, add x in the plural, as: gâteau, cake; plural, gâteaux, cakes. Exc. 3. Nouns ending in al, generally change al into aux, as: cheval, horse; plural, chevaux, horses. REM. For other irregularities in the formation of the plural of nouns, see Second Lesson (bis), p. 26. 2. PLURAL OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE. The plural of the definite article le, la, or l', is les, as: Les hommes et les femmes. Les parents, the parents. Un fils, a son. The men and women. Vocabulary 2. Une fille, a daughter; a girl. Une église, a church; à l'église, at church. Une écurie, a stable. Un cheval, a horse. Un chien, a dog. Un chat, a cat. Sont, are, Un bateau, a boat. Sur, on, upon. |