SYNTAX OF THE VERB. LESSON THE FOURTEENTH. ON THE USE OF THE TENSES AND THEIR CORRESPONDENCE WITH EACH OTHER. INDICATIVE MOOD. PRESENT. This tense is used, 1st, to denote an actual state, as, Je suis fâché de tout ce qui vous I am sorry for all that has happened to you. est arrivé. 2d. It is used in propositions of eternal truth, as, Dieu seul est tout-puissant. God alone is almighty. Les trois angles d'un triangle va- The three angles of a triangle are lent deux angles droits. equal to two right angles. 3d. It is used, in lieu of the future, in the following phrase, and the like: Je pars demain pour les Pays-bas. | I set out to-morrow for the Netherlands. It is here proper to mention, that Je pars demain, and Je partirai demain, do not convey exactly the same idea; the latter meaning, that I intend or am disposed to set off, while the former expresses, along with it, a degree of impatience that the circumstance should take place. The same difference also exists, but rather in a more pointed manner, between the two modes of expression Finissez-vous bientôt ? and Finirez-vous bientôt? Shall you finish soon? The first question expresses a fit of impatience, while the second may be dictated by mere curiosity. 4th. It is often used in the recital of an event instead of the past tense. The present, by rendering the event in some degree visible, highly enhances the interest it may inspire, and makes the hearer feel, at least, a part of the sensations he would have experienced, had he been a spectator. We may see an instance of the present, used for the past, in Telemachus.-Adoam, after having related various circumstances attend ing the death of Pygmalion, goes on in the following manner: Cependant tout le palais est plein d'un tumulte affreux; on entend partout les cris de ceux qui disent: le roi est mort. Les uns sont effrayés, les autres courent aux armes: tous paraissent eu peine des suites, mais ravis de cette nouvelle. La renommée la fait voler, de bouche en bouche, dans toute la grande ville de Tyr, et il ne se trouve pas un seul homme qui regrette le roi: sa mort est la délivrance et la consolation de tout le peuple. In the mean time, the whole palace is in tumult, and on all sides are heard the cries of those who say, the king is dead. Some are terrified; others run to arms; and all seem fearful of the consequences, and yet overjoyed at the news. Rumour carries it from mouth to mouth, and throughout the great city of Tyre, and there is not a single person who laments the king; his death is the deliverance and consolation of all. But it is in poetry that the present animates with a peculiar degree of energy, and graces the recital of a transaction: witness the following magic lines of the immortal Racine, wherein Théramène relates to Thésée the death of his son Hippolyte: Un effroyable cri, sorti du fond des flots, La terre s'en émeut, l'air en est infecté. Le flot qui l'apporta recule épouvanté. Tout fuit; et, sans s'armer d'un courage inutile, Arrête ses coursiers, suisit ses javelots, Pousse au monstre, et, d'un dard lancé d'une main sûre, Il lui fait dans le flanc une large blessure. De rage et de douleur le monstre bondissant, Vient aux pieds des chevaux tomber en mugissant Se roule et leur présente une gueule enflammée, Qui les couvre de feu, de sang, et de fumée La frayeur les emporte; et, sourds à cette fois, Ils courent. Tout son corps n'est bientôt qu'une plaie. Leur fougue impétueuse enfin se ralentit. Ils s'arrêtent, non loin de ces tombeaux antiques, PHEDRE, ACTE V. SC. VI. The following cases correspond with the present of the indicative: Vous partez aujourd'hui, pour Rome. Vous serez parti, si Vous partirez demain. Vous partiez hier, quand je vous rencontrai. On dit que Vous êtes parti ce matin. Vous étiez parti hier, avant moi. Vous fussiez parti plutôt, si Vous partiriez aujourd'hui, si OBSERVATION.-The same correspondence takes place when the sentence is negative, except in the present of the indicative, which is supplied by the present of the subjunctive. Example: On ne dit pas que vous partez aujourd'hui, would be a discordance in grammar; and the genius of the French language requires that we should say, On ne dit pas que vous partiez aujourd'hui. We shall soon treat more at length on this subject. PRESENT ANTERIOR, OR IMPERFECT. As it is natural for Englishmen to confound this tense with the present-anterior-periodical or preterite, and the past or compound of the present, I shall endeavour to explain the nice difference that exists between them; and, at the same time, recommend an attentive re-perusal of Conversation IX. on moods and tenses, in which these, with the other tenses, are fully characterised. 1st, To express an action co-existing with another action in a period of time elapsed.-EXAMPLES: Je pensais à vous quand vous êtes | I was thinking of entré. J'allais m'habiller lorsque je reçus Je sortais comme il entrait. came in. you when you I was going to dress myself when I was writing while he was draw- I was going out as he came in. 2d. When we speak of actions that have become habitual, or have been repeatedly done, of the habits, feelings, dispositions, &c. of persons.-EXAMPLES: Henry IV était un grand roi; il Henry IV. was a great king; he loved his people. When I lived in Paris, I often visited the theatres. Vous aviez l'air triste tout-à-You looked serious just now. l'heure. J'avais raison de l'être. quoi passiez-vous le temps à la J'allais à la pêche, à la chasse ou I had cause for it. What was the matter with you? I grief; I had just received a most distressing piece of news. How did you spend your time in the country? went a-fishing, a-hunting, or rode out on horseback. His father was a good sort of a man: he was fond of wit without possessing any; and ad • A celebrated grammarian judiciously observes, "But if we speak of persons that are still living, we use the compound of the present; as, mon père a été bel homme, my father has been a handsome man: or, if we use the imperfect, we must mention a particular time; as, ma sœur était belle, my sister was handsome (supposing she is dead). Ma saur a été belle, my sister has been handsome (supposing she is still living). Ma sœur était belle dans sa jeunesse, or avant d'avoir eu la petite vérole, my sister was handsome in her youth, or before she had the small-pox (whether she be alive or dead)." pourquoi, tout ce qui venait de la capitale. Il avait même des relations littéraires et du nombre de ses correspondans était un connaisseur nommé M. de Fintac. mired, without knowing why, every thing that came from the metropolis. Nay, he even had some literary connexions; and, among his correspondents, was a connoisseur of the name of Fintac. 3d. It is used in the descriptive style; as in the following elegant passage from Fénélon: Calypso could not be comforted for the departure of Ulysses. In her grief she found herself unhappy by being immortal. Her grotto no more echoed with the music of her voice: the nymphs who attended her dared not speak to her. She often walked alone on the flowery turf with which an eternal spring surrounded her island: but these beautiful scenes, far from soothing her grief, did but recall the sad remembrance of Ulysses, whom she there had seen so many times with her. She often stood motionless on the beach, which she watered with her tears; and was continually turned towards the part where the ship of Ulysses, ploughing the waves, had disappeared from her eyes, On a sudden, she perceived the fragments of a vessel that had just been wrecked. Soon after, she descried, at a distance, two men, one of whom seemed in years; the other, though young, resembled Ulysses; he had his sweet and noble aspect, with his stature and majestic port. The goddess knew immediately that this was Telemachus, the son of that hero; but she could not discover who the venerable Calypso ne pouvait se consoler | du départ d'Ulysse. Dans sa douleur, elle se trouvait malheureuse d'être immortelle. Sa grotte ne résonnait plus de son chant: les nymphes qui la servaient, n'osaient lui parler. Elle se promenait souvent seule sur les gazons fleuris dont un printemps éternel bordait son ile; mais ces beaux lieux, loin de modérer sa douleur, ne fesaient que lui rappeler le triste souvenir d'Ulysse, qu'elle y avait vu tant de fois auprès d'elle. Souvent elle demeurait immobile sur le rivage de la mer, qu'elle arrosait de ses larmes; et elle était sans cesse tournée vers le côté où le vaisseau d'Ulysse, fendant les ondes, avait disparu à ses yeux. Tout-à-coup, elle apperçut les débris d'un navire qui venait de faire naufrage; puis elle découvre de loin deux hommes dont l'un paraissait âgé; l'autre quoique jeune ressemblait à Ulysse; il avait sa douceur et sa fierté, avec sa taille et sa démarche majestueuse. déesse comprit que c'était Télémaque fils de ce héros, mais elle ne put découvrir qui était cet homme vénérable dont Télémaque était accompagné ; c'est que Minerve qui l'accompagnait, person was by whom Telema La |