218. To this class belong all the adverbs ending in ment and formed from adjectives; this termination, corresponding to the English ly, is derived from the Latin mente, mind, manner; thus, tendrement, means, in a tender manner, tenderly; franchement, in a frank manner, frankly.

219. Adverbs are formed from adjectives in the following manner :

FORMATION OF ADVERBS FROM ADJECTIVES.

220. Most adverbs of quality are formed from adjectives by adding ment when the adjective ends in a vowel or u; as— absolu, absolute; absolument, ab

solutely.

sage, wise; sagement, wisely.

poli, polite; poliment, politely. posé, steady; posément, steadily.

221. Note.-(1.) The following adverbs take an é accented before the final ment, instead of the e mute of adjectives :—

(2.) Impuni, unpunished, makes impunément, with impunity; traître, treacherous, makes traitreusement, treacherously.

222. When the masculine of the adjective ends with a consonant, the adverb is formed by adding ment to the feminine termination; as

223. The six following adverbs take an é accented, instead of the e mute of the feminine, of which they are formed :—

224. Gentil makes gentiment, prettily; in gentil the letter l is not pronounced.

225. Adjectives ending in ant or ent in the masculine, form their adverbs by changing ant and ent into amment and emment; as

226. Lent and présent make lentement, slowly; and présentement, presently.

Facile, poli, ordinaire, premier, second, cinquième, heureux, mortel, victorieux, résolu, courageux, lâche, pesant, patient, savant, sec, lourd, sot, grossier, grand, léger, lent, différent, franc, long, assidu, traître, nouveau, bas, fier, relatif, parfait, uniforme, aveugle, clair, profond, méchant, amer, vaillant, hardi, soigneux, suffisant, dernier.

227. The adverbs which admit of comparison form their degrees in the same way as the adjectives; as, lent, plus lentement, le plus lentement.

228. The three adverbs, bien, mal, peu, form their comparative and superlative irregularly; thus,—

229. Note.-Plus mal often appears instead of pis; it is the only form allowed before a participle past; as, Alfred est plus mal mis que jamais, Alfred is worse dressed than ever. 230. Adjectives are sometimes used adverbially, as in the following examples :

RECAPITULATORY EXERCISES ON THE ADVERBS.

EXERCISE LXXX.

Translate, read, and parse

1. On a souvent besoin d'un plus petit que soi. 2. Moins on a de désirs, plus on est satisfait. 3. Comme le temps passe vite, comme les années s'écoulent rapidement. 4. Ne remettons jamais au lendemain ce que nous pouvons faire aujourdhui. 5. Tôt ou tard une bonne action trouve sa récompense. 6. Est-il chez lui? Je crois que oui. 7. N'avez vous pas vu votre ami aujourdhui? Si, et nous avons fait une promenade ensemble. 8. Comment vous appelez-vous? 9. D'où venez-vous ? 10. Où allez-vous? 11. De tous les oiseaux le rossignol est celui qui chante le plus agréablement. 12. César savait aussi bien manier la plume que l'épée. 13. Notre verger produit beaucoup de pommes, mais peu de poires. 14. Qui trop embrasse mal étreint.

EXERCISE LXXXI.

Are you better now? Yes, thank you. All is well that ends

*

fin-(2d)

well.

(At) how much do you value this painting? I think (that) estim-(1st) tableau(m)

croi-(4th)

it is worth above (more than) a hundred guineas. Where are you? I

guinée(f)

am here. The lion is naturally courageous. Let us speak to everybody politely. Let us accustom

exactly (just).

children to reason

accoutum-(1st)

à raisonn-(1st)

There are men of much wit who have little common sense. How much bon sens(m)

esprit

have you got in your purse? Only a few shillings. I weary schellings S'ennuy-(1st)

bourse(f)

here, let us go elsewhere. Has not your brother too much meat? He has not enough (of it). Read slowly and more distinctly. That young lady dresses very elegantly. Your brother has a good voice, but voix (f)

se mett-(4th) he sings out of tune (false) and too loud. How long have you been learning French (since how much time do you learn French)? Swallows fly very high. Come and see me to-morrow. Now or never.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE PREPOSITION.

231. The Preposition is an invariable word (from the Latin præ positus, placed before), so called, because it is generally placed before the word which it affects. It serves to express the relation of words with one another.

232. In French, as in English, it is by means of prepositions that we supply the want of cases.

233. Prepositions are either SIMPLE; as, à, to; de, of; par, by; or COMPOUND, as, quant à, as to; à l'égard de, with regard to.

234. In French the preposition invariably precedes the word which it affects, although in colloquial English it