The Consonants not given below have the same, or nearly the same, sound as in English. Examples. capitale, a capital. ceci, this. reçu, received. vend-il, does he sell? (pronounce, vent-il). un grand homme, a great man (pronounce, un granthomme). gant, glove. agir, to act. jour, day. taille, shape (pronounced taiye). parler, to speak. oser, to dare. partiel, partial. essentiel, essential. nation, nation. réflexion, reflection. exercice, exercise. Bruxelles, Brussels. deuxième, second. Many Consonants at the end of words are not pronounced, In reading French, when one word ends with a consonant, and the following word begins with a vowel, or silent h, the two words are pronounced together, as if they formed only one word. But this junction does not take place when there is a pause in the sentence. The t in the word et, and, is never pronounced with the following words. The final e, preceded by a consonant, is not pronounced when followed by a word beginning with a vowel: elle a = ella. EXERCISE IN READING. Les hommes, les enfants, des arbres, nos amis, vos habits, nous avons, vous avez eu, ils ont, pas encore, avec un enfant, ses plus cruels ennemis.- Songez à vos affaires.-Mon oncle est arrivé. Il avait encore beaucoup à faire. Un homme et une femme. Cet habit est à moi.-Les Anglais sont industrieux.Vous en avez eu assez.-La ville allait être prise. III. THE ARTICLE (l'Article). There are three Articles, the DEFINITE (l'article défini), the INDEFINITE (l'article indéfini), and the PARTITIVE (l'article partitif). Definite : SINGULAR (Singulier). Masculine (Masculin). Feminine (Féminin). le (1) un la (l') une PLURAL (Pluriel). les (no plural). l' is used instead of le, la, before a vowel or h mute. the friends (masc.) (instead of le ami). l'amie, the friend (fem.) les amies, the friends (fem.) (instead of la amie). l'homme, the man. [The Partitive Article is given on p. 12.] 2. J'ai une rose. mère a une rose. 1. I have the book. 2. We have a father and a mother. 3. He has the rose. 4. We have a garden. 5. He has the apple. 6. The mother has a book. 7. The child has a book. 8. You have an uncle and an aunt. 9. We have a horse. 10. The aunt has a garden. 11. The child has a horse. 12. You have a garden. Present Tense of the Verb " To have," used Interrogatively. NOTE.-In Interrogative sentences, when the subject is a substantive, the noun is placed first, and the pronoun is also used after the verb, as : L'enfant a-t-il? Has the child? Lit. The child has he? Oui, j'ai le 9. L'enfant 1. Avez-vous un père et une mère? 2. A-t-elle un oncle et une tante? 3. A-t-il un ami? 4. A-t-elle une amie? 5. Ont-ils un jardin? 6. Ai-je la rose? 7. Avez-vous le livre? livre. 8. Avez-vous un livre? Oui, j'ai un livre. a-t-il une rose? Oui, l'enfant a une rose. 10. Le père a-t-il un chien? Non, il a un cheval.. 11. La tante a-t-elle un jardin ? Oui, elle a un jardin. 12. L'oncle a-t-il un habit? un habit. Oui, il^a 6. Have 1. Has he an uncle and an aunt? 2. Have they a father and a mother? 3. Have they (masculine) a friend (masc.)? 4. Have they (feminine) a friend (fem.)? 5. Has she the rose? I the book? 7. Have you the rose? Yes, I have the rose. 8. Have you a garden? Yes, I have a garden. 9. Has the child a coat? (say, The child, has he a coat?) Yes, he has a coat. 10. Has the uncle a horse? (say, The uncle, has he a horse ?) No, he has a dog. 11. Has the mother the book? (say, The mother, has she the book?) Yes, she has the book. 12. Has the father a horse? (say, The father, has he a horse?) Yes, he has a horse. IV. THE SUBSTANTIVE (le Substantif). 1. FORMATION OF THE PLURAL (Formation du Pluriel). GENERAL RULE (Règle générale). The Plural is formed by adding s, which is not sounded. 1. Substantives ending in s, x, or z, remain unchanged in the Plural. 2. Substantives ending in -au or -eau, in -eu or -œu, take x in the Plural, instead of s. NOTE. The following seven words ending in -ou also take x in the Plural. le caillou, le genou, the knee. le hibou, the owl. le pou, the louse. les genoux, the pebbles. the lice. le joujou, the plaything. les hiboux, les poux, les joujoux, the playthings. All the other words in -ou follow the general rule, and have the Plural in s : as, le clou, the nail. les clous, the nails. 3. Substantives ending in -al or -ail change these letters into -aux in the Plural: as, Obs. There are a few exceptions to this rule: as, le bal, the ball; l'éventail, the fan; &c., which form the plural bals, éventails, &c. |