The Consonants not given below have the same, or nearly the same, sound as in English. e, i, y h is usually silent, but is pronounced in a few words, which must be learnt by heart j is pronounced like jee I Double l, preceded by i, are pronounced nearly as y r in the middle of a word is sounded more strongly than in English s at the beginning of words has the same sound as in English, but between two Vowels it has the soft sound of z t has usually the same sound as in English, but it has the sound of s in many words before i, followed by a, e, o x is sounded like ks in gz in 88 in z in 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. 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 tin 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 (1') une PLURAL (Pluriel). les (no plural). l' is used instead of le, la, before a vowel or h mute. l'ami, the fathers. the friends (masc.) (instead of le ami). l'amie, the friend (fem.) (instead of la amie). [The Partitive Article is given on p. 12.] Present Tense of the Verb "To have." 2. J'ai une rose. 3. Le père a la rose. 7. L'enfant a la pomme. 8. Un enfant a une pomme. 9. Le père 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 un livre. oncle et une Oui, j'ai le 9. L'enfant 1. Avez-vous un père et une mère? 2. A-t-elle un 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? 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 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? 6. Have 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 All the other words in -ou follow the general rule, and have the Plural in 8: 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. |