stantives, denoting inanimate objects, are either masculine or feminine. 29. Substantives are of two numbers, the singular and the plural. Formation of the Plural of Nouns. 30. General rule. The plural of substantives is formed by adding s to their singular; as, le frère, la prison, Singular. les frères, the prison. les prisons, 31. Substantives ending in s, x, z, in not change in the plural; as, Plural. the brothers. the singular, do 32. Substantives ending in au and eu, in the singular, take x in the plural; as, 33. Substantives ending in al in the singular, form their plural by changing al into aux; as, Il y a, there is, or there are. Il n'y a pas, there is not, or there are not. Y a-t-il? is there, or are there? N'y a-t-il pas ? is there not, or are there not ? Il y a une voiture et un cheval devant la maison. Y a-t-il carriage before house. deux voitures et quatre chevaux devant la maison? Y a-t-il un livre et une feuille de papier sur la table? sheet of paper on livres et trois feuilles de papier sur la table. three d'animal plus attaché à l'homme que le chien. attached dog. Il y a deux two Il n'y a pas N'y a-t-il pas d'animaux plus attachés aux hommes que les chiens? Cet enfant préfère le jeu à l'étude. Ces enfants préfèrent prefers les jeux aux études. study Exercise 14. journal m. I have received the newspapers. Have the generals of reçu général m. the English seen the pictures of these landscapes ? Have Anglais m. vu tableau m. ces paysage m. they seen the rivers and mountains of these countries? fleuve m. montagne f. ces pays m. The soldiers have shown to the officers the flocks of the officier m. troupeau m. montré farmers. Has not my friend seen these spots ? soldat m. fermier m. Have the foreigners seen the carriages and horses of the étranger m. voiture f. et cheval m. Mayor of London? The English have a great number Maire m. de Londres. Anglais m. Museum, have you seen the metals and minerals? We Musée m. métal m. et minéral m. have been in France, we have seen the tombs of the Kings of France. en France tombeau m. roi m 34. Substantives ending in ou and ail follow the general rule, and form their plural by adding s to the singular, with the exception of a few substantives ending in ou, which take a instead of s, and a few others ending in ail, which change ail into aux. These are: Bijou, jewel; chou, cabbage; genou, knee; caillou, flint; joujou, toy; hibou, owl; which make: bijoux; choux; genoux; cailloux; joujoux; hiboux. Bail, lease; émail, enamel; corail, coral; soupirail, airhole; vantail, a leaf of a folding-door, or window-shutter; vitrail, large glass-windows; travail, work; which make in the plural: baux; émaux; coraux; soupiraux; vantaux; vitraux; travaux. The plural of ail, garlic, is aulx; and of bétail, cattle, bestiaux. 35. Ciel, heaven, and œil, eye, make cieux and yeux. But they follow the general rule, when used in a figurative sense; as, des ciels de lit, bed testers; des ails de bœuf, oval windows. Aïeul, denoting ancestors, makes in the plural aïeux; denoting grandfather, it follows the general rule. A few substantives ending in al, follow the general rule; as, bal, ball; carnaval, carnival; régal, feast; cal, pal, chacal, serval, nopal, cantal. 36. The final t of nouns, ending in ant and ent is preserved or omitted in the plural. We may write equally well: des diamants (diamonds), as des diamans; enfants, (children), or enfans. But the suppression of the t never takes place in monosyllable substantives; as, gant (glove), des gants, gloves; dent (tooth), des dents, teeth. 37. RECAPITULATION. Formation of the Plural of Nouns. 1. (General rule) by adding s; 4. Subst. ending in al, change al into aux. père, father; pères, fathers. pays, country; pays, countries. tableau, picture; tableaux, pictures. journal, newspaper; journaux, newspapers. Exceptions. Bijou, chou, caillou, genou, joujou, hibou, bail, émail, corail, soupirail, vantail, vitrail, travail, ail, bétail, ciel, œil, aïeul, which make in the plural: bijoux, choux, cailloux, genoux, joujoux, hiboux, baux, émaux, coraux, soupiraux, vantaux, vitraux, travaux, aulx, bestiaux, cieux, yeux, aïeux. OF ADJECTIVES. 38. An adjective is a word added to a substantive, to express its quality; as de l'encre bleue, blue ink; une bonne plume, a good pen. 39. Adjectives, in French, agree in gender and number with the substantive to which they refer; as, Un BEAU château, a fine castle. Une BELLE maison, De BEAUX châteaux, a fine house. fine castles. De BELLES maisons, fine houses. 40. Adjectives are, in English, generally placed before the substantive to which they relate; in French, they must be placed after it; as du papier blanc, white paper; un enfant obéissant, an obedient child. 41. The following adjectives, however, are excepted, and precede the substantives to which they relate beau, fine; bon, good; cher, dear; digne, worthy; grand, great; jeune, young; joli, pretty; mauvais, bad; méchant, wicked; meilleur, better; moindre, less; petit, little; saint, holy; tel, such; tout, all; vieux, old; vilain, ugly. Formation of the Feminine of Adjectives. 42. General rule. The feminine of an adjective is formed by adding e mute to the masculine; as, Un petit jardin, a small garden. Une petite maison, a small house. 43. Adjectives ending in e mute, in the masculine, are alike in both genders; as, 44. Adjectives ending in ƒ in the masculine, form their feminine by changing ƒ into ve; as, Mon frère est attentif, my brother is attentive. 45. Adjectives ending in x, change this letter into se; as Elle est paresseuse, she is idle. 46. Doux, sweet; faux, false; roux, red; vieux (vieil), old; préfix, prefixed; make douce, fausse, rousse, vieille, préfixe. 47. Adjectives ending in el,-eil,en,—et,-on,—s, generally form their feminine by doubling the final consonant, and adding e mute; as, Un poison mortel, Il est bon, Elle est bonNE, a mortal poison. a mortal wound. a christian country. she is kind. 48. Mauvais, bad; niais, silly; ras, bare; tiers, third; clos, close; make mauvaise, niaise, rase, tierce, close.Inquiet, uneasy; prét, ready; complet, concret, discret, replet, secret; follow the general rule, and make complète, discrète, inquiète, secrète, préte, concrète, replète. 49. Adjectives ending in eur, change eur into euse; as, trompeur (deceitful), trompeuse. 50. The following change eur into rice: accusateur, acteur, admirateur, ambassadeur, bienfaiteur, conducteur, conservateur, créateur, débiteur, exécuteur, inspecteur, inventeur, persécuteur, protecteur, séducteur. Accusatrice, actrice, admiratrice, &c. &c. 51. The following change eur into eresse: bailleur, lessor; |