The preposition depuis, in sentences concerning time

En attendant

A moins que, de peur que, soit que

Attendu, vu, as prepositions

205, 207

208

Devoir

Lessons on the use of numerals

Fables and short passages for reading

LE DÉBUT

DANS

L'ÉTUDE DE LA LANGUE FRANÇAISE.

LESSONS OF PRONUNCIATION.

ALPHABET.

(To be pronounced after the master.)

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.

A, bé, cé, dé, é, effe, gé, ash, i, ji, ka, èle, emme, enne, o, pé, qu, ère, esse, té, u, vé, double-vé, ikce, igrec, zède; or, if preferred, according to the modern system (which causes a difficulty, by giving the same pronunciation to several letters),

Ah, be, ce, de, e, fe, ge, he, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, pe, que, re, se, te, u, ve, ve, xe, i, ze.

OF THE VOWELS.

A, E, I, O, U (pronounced as in English ah, a, e, o, u).
A, E, have several sounds :-

A pure; as in ballade, falbala, carnage, date, madame, parent, sage, canal, achat, chat, plat, contrat, drap, ménagea, partagea, mangea, ail, mail, travail, détail, bétail, travailler, médaillon, ailleurs.

B

A long; as in âme, pâtre, albâtre, blâmer, âge, pâle, sabre, fable, flamme, emphase, phrase, basse, nasse, tasse, caser, passer, bras, pas, gras, las, appats, chats, draps, almanachs, débats, dégâts, haillons, báiller, bataille, paille, taille, tailleur.

E pure (e muet); as in ce, me, de, le, te, que, dessus, dessous, dedans, reçu, devoir, tenu, aveuglement, amusement, donne, tienne, tire, fable, grande, riche, grosse, repartir, secret, selon, serai, secrètement.

E with the acute accent (é fermé); as in vérité, gravité, décidé, réuni, aveuglément, modérément, générosité, été, allé. E with the grave accent (è ouvert); as in père, mère, fidèle, austère, sirène, diocèse.

E with the circumflex (é circonflexe); as in même, fête,

thême.

Certain combinations of letters are alike in sound to e, é, è, ê.

Like e, are eu, œu; as, jeu, jeune, feu, væu, nœud, queue, tu peux, des œufs, des bœufs, creux, heureux, soupçonneux: ent, at the end of the third plural of present tenses of verbs: ils marchent, ils mangent, ils donnent, where the addition of consonants makes no difference (not so pronounced are the words souvent, auvent, paravent, parent, and other nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, where ent has the sound of an).

Like é, are ai, ez, és, er, ed; as, gai, balai, donnai, priai, mai, lisez, parlez, estimés, vérités, vieille, vieillesse, vieillard, vieillir, descendre, dessein, dessin, desservir, pied.

Like è, are vrai, essai, maison, laine, peine, la Seine, laid, lait, fait, trait, parlait, complet, valet, filet, guerre, téméraire, corsaire.

Like é, are essais, faits, laids, traits, parlais, parlaient, donnais, donnaient, donneraient, parleraient, maître, traître, paix, faix, échecs, legs, les, mes, des, ses, ces, filets, valets, forêt, forêts, accès, décès, procès, succès, mettre, leste, prennent, mette, abbesse, trompette, adresse.

I, (like e English,) only one sound; as in titi, mimi, fifi, exil, reptile, idole, image, agilité, qualité, dire, sire, nid, petit, il lit, il finit, nids, petits, ils lient, le prix.

O has two sounds:

O pure, or short; as in mode, mollir, école, parole, notre, voler, roche, approcher.

O long; as in rose, alose, prose, positif, reposer, dose; and, with the circumflex accent, apôtre, côte, rôle, tôle, aumône, le nôtre, le vôtre.

Like o, are sounded au, eau, eo:—

Short; as in flageolet, George, aurore, auréole, augmenter. Long; as in beau, auteur, augure, audace, auprès, bientôt, défaut, l'eau, chaud, crapaud, beauté, nouveauté, autre, aubade, aumône.

The words homme, comme, bonne, personne, have a modified pronunciation of the sound o, something approaching to an English u in crumb, or o in come.

U, to be learnt by imitation only.

User, durer, résulter, puiser, pulluler, muse, musique, muni, amuser, excuse, fut, eut, eus, mur, balayeure, gageure.

NASALS.

Am, an, em, en, aen, aon; as in Adam, ambitieux, andalous, empire, entendre, content, dent, blanc, sang, savant, Caen, Jean, paon, faon, mangeant, songeant, temps, prend, vends, prends, vend, tant.

Im, in, aim, ain, eim, ein; as in lin, impôt, indécis, dessin, simple, dessein, simplicité, feindre, craindre, bien, chien, plein, main, frein, vin, fin.

Om, on, aon, eon (um, un, par exception); as in rompu, , ombrage, onde, pardon, sonder, ton, mon, son, abandon, taon, factum, Dunkerque, long, plomb, nom, pigeon, mangeons, piongeons.

Um, un, eun; as in un, parfum, aucun, Loudun, défunt, emprunt, à jeun.

EXCEPTIONS: In Mentor, mémento, examen, appendice, agenda, Benjamin, Bengale, Bengalis, the en is pronounced as in; and in hymen, amen, abdomen, as ène.