THE FRENCH VERBS ARRANGED ON A NEW SYSTEM: nv WHICH THE LEARNER IS TAUGHT TO FORM THE INFLECTIONS OF ALL THE VERBS IN THE FRENCH LANGUAGE, AMOUNTING TO 501L BY THE AUTHOR OF THE FRRNCfl GENDERS TAUGHT IN SIX FABLES. LONDON: J. CHAPPELL, ROYAL EXCHANGE. 1830. PREFACE. Encouraged by the reception of my little manual of the French Genders (nine thousand co- pies of which have been sold in eight months) , I have endeavoured to remove another of the great impediments to an efficient knowledge of the French language, by facilitating the acquirement of the VERBS. I did not undertake this work, until I had drawn out an accurate list of all the verbs in the French language, classed according to their terminations, and had examined whether, in respect to the divi- sion of the verbs into conjugations, the arrangement of the grammars most in use appeared to admit of improvement. I found, that some of the most popular French grammarians (of whose general merits it is scarcely possible to speak too highly) had classed the conjugations without consideration either as to the number or regularity of the verbs, a method which is calculated rather to perplex than to assist the menaory of the young scholar. For instance, there are but three primitive verbs in lG-2619i iv PREFACE. enir, viz. tenir, venir, and henir; the first two of these are merely exceptions to verbs in ir; the last, viz. henir, is regular; surely the reader need not be embarrassed virith a separate conjugation for two verbs only. A regular conjugation is made also of a single verb and its compounds, viz. f aire, which is essen- tially an irregular verb, and is one of the five French verbs which depart from that absolute rule, viz. Every verb in the French language, except AVOIR, ETRE, ALLER, DIRE, and FAIRE,* ends in ons, ez, ent, in the three plural persons of the present indicative, and of the imperative mood. Another instance is furnished in verbs in tir, a small number of which are assigned to a distinct conjugation, when, out of sixty-seven verbs in tir, all follow the regular rule of verbs in ir, and make issant, i, in the participles, except six verbs, with their compounds. On the other hand, some grammarians, in order to diminish the number of the conjugations, have adopted a system which appears more calculated to perplex than twenty conjugations could be, if clearly enumerated. I allude to the union of all the verbs ending in re, into one coiijugation. * With the Compounds. PREFACE. V This plan brings under one head the most dissithi- lur terminations, as ondre, ettre, aire, oifre, ire, ompre, &c. How the learner must be bewildered by numerous exceptions, may be easily seen by the various terminatioas to the past participles of verbs in re; thus — battre, to beat past participle — battu conduire, to conduct conduit connoitre, to know connu joindre, to join joint naitre, to be born ne mettre, to put nils' nuire, to hurt htii paitre, to feed , pu rire, to laugh ri The preceding verbs, though a very small pro- portion of the whole, show how' the iViemory must be burthened by an- Jrttenipt to cla^ verbs in re under one rule. In the following pages I have endeavoured to avoid similar embarrassment to the /*tudent, by a separate exposition of the verbs, according to their endings, each termination of the regular verbs being preserved absolutely distinct from the rest. First, all the verbs in er are treated of; then, all those in tV; and so of the remaining regular verbs. But, a2 VI PREFACE. in spite of every exertion to spare labour to the scholar, there remain a small number of irregular verbs which cannot be classed: these must be learned separately ; though, as the irregularity is found in a few tenses only, the difficulty cannot be disheartening. My chief aim, in this attempt, has been to simplify, as far as was possible, the arrange- ment of the conjugations, and to impress clearly the relative importance of each. I particularly recommend learners to make themselves well ac- quainted with the table of invariable terminations, and to copy out and recite frequently the first two conjugations, viz. of verbs ending in er, and ir. When these are learned perfectly, the certainty -of knowing, and of being able to employ with facility, sixteen parts out of seventeen of all the French verbs, will cheer the scholar through the difficulties of the remaining portion of the task. W. R. GooDLUCK, Jun. London, May, 1827. CONTENTS. Page Preface iii The accidents of a verb 9 Voice 9 Mood, Tense, Number, Person 10 The number of the French verbs 11 The auxiliary verb, Avoir 12 The auxiUary verb, Etre 15 The classification of the 5011 French verbs. . 18 First conjugation in er 19 Of reflected verbs 26 Exemplar of a reflected verb 27 Exceptions of the first conjugation in ei' . . . . 31 Observations on Puer, Recouvrer, and Tisser 33 Observations on verbs in ger, cer, and yer . . 33 Observation on the dipthong oi 34 Second conjugation in fr 35 Exceptions of the Second conjugation in ir. , 37 Six verbs in tir, with a sentence to fix them in memory 37 Four verbs in frir and vrir 40 Two verbs in enir 41 Eleven verbs in tr 43 VIU CONTENTS. Third conjugation in oir 47 A sentence fixing the seven regular verbs in oir 47 Exceptions of the third conjugation in oir . . 50 Fourth conjugation in dre 56 Exceptions of the fourth conjugation 57 Verbs in indre 57 Verbs in oudre 59 The verbs prendre, ardre, sourdre 60 Fifth conjugation in oitre >. . 62 Sixth conjugation in uire -. 64 Irregular verbs, amounting to 114 6Q Of passive verbs 77 Table of invariable terminations 78 INTRODUCTION. A Vkrb is that part of speech which expresses either the EXISTENCE, ACTION, Of SITUATION of a substantivc, as I live, I toalk, I stand. The accidents, or grammatical appertinents of a verb, are five : ti'r. voice, mood, tense, number, and peu- SON. 1. OF THE VOICE. The voice of a verb shows whether the nominative acts or is acted upon. When the nominative acts, the verb expressing the action is in the active voice ; as 1 strike, he binds, they kill. When the nominative is acted upon, the verb is in the passive voice; as 1 was struck, he was bound, they were killed. Verbs which are neither active nor passive, where the nominative neither acts nor is acted upon, are called neuter ; as, I wait, I remain, 1 recline, I expect, I pos- sess. .Vo^e." Some {rramin^rians most erroneously declare those verbs to be neuter, the actiouof which will not ]);iss to some object; and because they caiuiot say, I i iiii it, J walk it, aliirm that the intraiisifivcs run, walk, leap, fli/, &c. are not active verbs, thus embarrassing learners, i)y making frramiiiatical rules 0|)pose the evidence of their senses. Accordiuij to their system, J possess would be an active verb, as we can say, J possess it ; but, as there is no action, it is clearly neuter: wlien we wish to express action, we u.se the active" verb e had li 14 French Verbs. Compound oy the Conditional Tense. y aurois eu, I woulil, should, or could have had tu aurois eu, thou woulds have had il auroit eu, he would have had nous aurions en, we would have had vous auriez eu, you would have had ils auroient eu, thev would have had IMPERATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. ayons. let us have aie. have thou ayez. havg~ye qn'l lait let him have •qu' Is aient, let them have SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. que j 'aie, that I may have que tu aies, that thou luayst have qu' il ait, that he may have que nous ayons, that we naayhave que vous ayez, that you "may have qu' ils aient, that they may have Perfect or Past Tense. quej'eusse, that 1 might have que tu eusses, that thou imghtst have qu' il eiit, that he mig-ht have que nous eus- that we might sions, have que vous eus- that you might siez, have qu' ils eussent, that they might have Compound 0^ the Present Tense. quej'aieeu, that I raav have had que tu aies eu, that thou mayst have had qn' il ait eu, that he may have had que nous ayons that we may eu, have had que vous ayez that you may eu, have had qu' ils aient eu, that they may have had Compound of the Perfect Tense. quej' eusseeu.that I might have had que tu eusses that thou mightst eu, have had qu' il eut eu, that he might have had que nous eus- that we might sions eu, have had que vous eus- that you might siez eu, have had qu' ils eussent that they might eu, have had The B in the word qve, is cut off before the vowel i. French Verbs. 15 AUXILIARY VERB— ETRE, TO BE. PARTICIPLES. Present Tense, etant, Past Tense, ete. Compound of the Past, ay-ant ete, bcin^ beeu having: been INflNlTIVE MOOD. Present Tense, etre, Past Tense, avoir ete to be to have been INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. je suis, tu es il est I am thou art he is nous sommcs, vous etes, ils sont, we are you are ihey are Imperfect Tense, j' etois, tu etois, il etoit, I was nous etions, thou wast vous etiez, he was ils utoient, Perfect or Past Tense. we are you were they were Je fus, tu fus, il fut, I was thou wast he was nous fumes, vous futes, ils furent. we were you were they were Future Tiinse- je serai, tu seras, il sera, I shall be or I will he tli'iu shall he, &c. he shiiU ho nous serous, vous serex,, ils serout. we sliall be you shall be "they shall l)o Conditional Tense. je serois, tu serois, il seroit, I should, wonlil, couWI.ornii'i-ht be thou wunhlst be hi' would he nous serions, vous seriez, ils seroient. we shouhl he you should l)t> they would be The Compound Tenses are formed by the aid of the simple tenses oi aioir, to which is added the participle 4te, been, as in English. Compound ^f the Present Tense. y ai et6, I have been nous avons ete, we have been tu as et6, thou hast been vousaveztte, you have been il a ite, he has beeu ils out 6tC-, thev have bearle, porte, aime, chante tu deinandes paries, portes, aimes, chanti-s il demande. parle. porte. airae, chante nous demandous, parlous, portonj, airaons. chautons vous demandez, parlez. portez. aiinez, cliantons ils demaiideut, parleiit, portent, aiment. cliauteut Termination of the Imperfect Tense. Singiilar. Plural. 12 3 12 ois ois oit ioas iet 3 oient parlois, portois, aunois, chantois parlois. portois, aimois, chantois parloit, portoit, aimoit, chantois parlions, portions. ainiions, chantions parliez. portiez. aimiez, chantiez. parloient. portoient airaoient, chautoient Note. — Remember that the Imperfect Tense of every Verb in the language ends in a similar way. je deniandois, tu demandois, il demandoit, nous demandions, Tous demandiez, ils deraandoient, Termination of the Perfect or Past Te?ise. Sing:ular. Plural. 12 3 12 3 ai as a ames ates erent je demandai, parlai, tu demandas, parlas, il demauda, parla, nous deraandames, parlames, vous demandates, parlates, its demanderent, parlerent. Termination of the Future Tense. Sin.^ul^. Plural. 12 3 12 3 rai ras ra rons rez ront Note. — The fi/tiirc tense of EVERY verb in the language ends in a similar manner. ,je demanderai, parlerai, porterai, aimerai, chanterai tu dtrinanderos, parleras, porteras, aimeras, chanteras il demandera, parlera, portera, aimcra, chantera nous demanderons, pHrlcrons, porterons, aiiuerons, cliantiTons vous df'niandcTi'Z, parlerez, porterez, airaercz, ch.iuterez iU dcinnadurout, parleront porteront aimeront, chanterout porta i. aimai, chantai portas, aimas, chantas porta. aima, chanta portames, airaames. cliantames portates, airaates, chantates l)orttrent ainiercnt. cUantereut 24 French Verbs. — \st Conjugationt. Termination of the Conditional Tense, Singular. Plural. 12 3 12 3 rois rois roit rioa3 riez roient Note. — The conditional tense of EVERY verb in the lan- guage ends in a similar manner. je demanderois, parlerois, porterois, airaerois, chanterois tu demanderois, parlerois, porterois, aimerois, chanterois il demanderoit, parleroit, porteroit, aimeroit, clianteroit nous deraanderions, parlerions, ])orterions, airaenons, chanterions vous denianderiez, parleriez, porteriez, aimeriez, rhanteriez, ils demanderoient, parleroient, porteroient,airaeroient, chanteroient With the compound tenses the learner can have no difficulty, as he has only to repeat the tenses oi avoir with the past participle of the verlj ; as — J' ai demande, j' ai parle, j' ai porte, j'ai airae, j' ai chante, j' avois demande, j' eus parle, j' aurai porte, j' aurois aime, j' aurois chante, &c. &c. IMPERATIVE MOOD. Termination of the Imperative Mood, Singular. Plural. 2 3 12 3 e e ons ez ent Note — The three persons plural of the imperative mood of EVERY verb in the language end in a similar manner. demande, parle, porte, aime, chante qu' il demande, parle, porte, airae, chante demandons, parlous, portons, aimons, chantons, demandez, parlez, portez, aimez, chantez qu'ils demandent, parlent, portent, aiment, chanteut SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Termination of the Present Tense. Singular. Plural. 12 3 12 3 e es e ions iez ent Note. — That, except etre and avoir, every verb in the language ends in a similar 'manner in the present tense of the subjunctive. French Verbs. — ]st Conjugation. 25 que je demande, parle, que tu demaudes, paries, qu' il demande, parle, que nousdemaudions, parlions, que vousdemaudiez, parliez, qu' ils demaudent, parlent, porte, aimes, rhante portes, aime, eliantes porte, aime, cliante portions, aimions, chantions portiez, aiuiiez, cluiutiez portent, aiment, chantent Termination of the Past or Perfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1 ^ 3 1 2 3 asse asses dt assions assiez assen que je demandasse, parlasse, iiortasse, airaasse, cliantasse que tu deniandasses, parlasse.s, portasses, ainiasses, chantasses qu' il deraandiit, parlat, portiit, ainiat, chautat que nous demandassionsparlassionsportassiousaimassionscliantassions que vous demaudassiez, parlassiez, portassiez,ainiassiez, chautasiez qu' il-s deniandassent, parlassent,portfissent,aimassent,cliantassent The compound tenses of the subjunctive are formed with the tenses of avoir and the past participle; as — Que j' aie demande, que j' aie parle, que j' eusse porte, que j' eusse ainae, que j' eusse chante, &c. 26 OF REFLECTED VERBS. A reflected verb is a verb the action of which is re- flected on the nominative case instead of passing; to ano- ther object. Verbs of this kind answer to the middle voice of the Greeks, and are frequently nsed in English with myself, thyself, &c., added to them ; as — I perjure niyself thou perjurest thyself he perjures himself we perjure ourselves you perjure yourselves they perjure themselves The French also use aii additional pronoun in verbs of this kind; but they place it immediately before the verb, instead of immediately after it, as we do. The principle is precisely similar in both languages ; the only difference in practice is, that the genius of the English language requires the pronoun to follow the verb, and that of the French requires it to precede it. If the French followed our system, they would say — I perjure myself, je parjure me thou perjurest thyself, tu parjures te he perjures himself, il parjure se we perjure ourselves, nous parjurons nous you perjure yourselves, vous parjurez vous they perjure themselves, ils parjureat se Instead of which they say — je me parjnre tu te parjure il se parjure nous nous parjurons vous vous parjurez ils se parjurent using exactly the same words in a difl^rent order. French Verbs. — \st CoiijnguUon. 27 EXEMPLAR OF A REFLECTED VERB. Every reflected verb follows its proper conjugation: by coniparing se moquar with donnnder, the leaiuer will perceive that the onl}' difference is in the prefixed pro- noun. SE MOQUER, TO LAUGH AT. lauprhiii;; at laiiglie*! at' havijjg: laiiglieU at P.^RTICIPLES. Present Tense, se moquant, Past Te.nse., inoque, Compound of the Past Tense, s' etant moque, Note. Let the learner take particular notice that re- flected verbs, in French, form the compound tenses by the help of the auxiliary etre, and never with avoir: therefore we say, s'etant luoque, having laughed at ; and not s'ayant moque. Present Tense, Past Tense, INFINITIVE MOOD. se moqiier, s' etre moque, INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. I laush at, &c. to laugh at to huve laughed at je me moque tu tc incxiues il se moque je me moquois tu te moquois il se moquoit je me nioquii tu te muquai il te uioqua nous nous moquons vous vous moquez ils se moqueut Imperfect Tense. I was laughing at, &c. nous nous moquions vous vous nioquez ils se moquoieut Perfect or Past Tense. I laughed at. nous nous moquames vous vous moquatc* iU se moquttreiit 28 French Verbs. — \st Co^ijiigation . Future Tense. I shall laugh at, &c. je me moquerai tu te mo(|ueras il se moquera je me moquerois tu te moquerois il se rao(|ueroit nous nous nioquerons voiis vous moquerez ils se moqueront Conditional Tense. I should laufjh at, &c. nous nous moqnerions vous vous moqueriez ils se mocjueruient The compound tenses are merely the simple tenses of etre, with the past participle. Compound of the Present Tense. I have laughed at, &c. je me suis moque tu 't' as moque il "s' est moque nous nous sommes moques vous vous etes moques ils se sont moques Compound of the Imperfect. je 'm' etois moque tu t' etois moque il *s' etoit moque 1 had laughed at, &cc. nous nous etions moques vous vous etiez moques ils s' etoient moques Compound of the Imperfect Tense. I had laughed at, &c. je me fus moque nous nous fumes moques tu te fus moque vous vous futes moques il se fut moque il se furent moques Compound of the Future Tense. I shall have laughed at. Sec. je me serai moque tu te seras moque il se sera moque nous nous serons moques vous vous serez moques ils se serout moques Compound of the Conditional Tense. I should have laughed at, &c. je me serois moque tu te serois moque il se seroit moque nous nous senons moques vous vous seriez moques ils se seroieut moques • The e in me, te, »e, is cut ofiF before the vowel. French Verbs.— 1st Conjugation. 29 IMPERATIVE MOOD. Imoqiions nous, let us laugh at moiiui'Z yoiis laugh at se repeute, repentons nous, repentez vous',se repentent sens, sente, sentons, sentez, sentent sors, sorte, sortons, sortez, sortent SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense, que je mente, que je parte, que je me repente, que je sente, que je sorte. Perfect Tense, que je uientisse, que je partisse, que je me repentisse, qne je sentisse, que je sortisse. All compound verbs are, with very few exceptions, declined in the same mauner as their primitives; thus, dementir follows mentir, consentir and pressentir follow sentii . Observe, that repartir, to set out again, and d4partir, to depart, are declined like partir; put repartir and ilepartir, to divide, are regular, and make rcpartissant, departissant. Also, ressortir, to go out again, follows 5or/2> ; but ressortir, to be under the jurisdiction of, and belong to, is regular, and makes ressorfissant, ressorti. 39 VETIR, TO CLOTHE. Vetant, clothing, vetu, vetue, clotlied, INDICATIVE MOOD. Present, je v^ts, tu vets, il vSt, uous vetons, vous, ve- tez, ils vetent. Imperfect, je vetois, tu vetois, &c. Perfect or Past, je vetis, tu vetis, il vetit, nous v^- tiraes, vous vetites, ils v^tirent. Future, je vetirai. Conditional, je vetlrois. Compound Tenses,}' ai vetu, j'avois vetu, j'eus v^tu, j'aurai vetu, j'aurois vetu. IMPERATIVE MOOD. V6t3, qu'il vete, vC-tons, vetez, qu'ils vetent. / Sf BJL'KCTIVE MOOD. Present, que je vete, que tu vetes, &c. Perfect or Past, que je vetisse, que tu vetisses, qu'il vetit, que nous vctissions, &c. Compound Tenses, que j'aie vetu, que j'eusse v«tu. There are five Verbs compounded from vctir: Devetir, to divest, to strip, to undress. Reietir, to dress in robes of office or dignity, and hence, to invest with an office or dignitj'. Survetir, a vestry term, to put on a surplice or robe over the dress. These three are declined like vetir. Investir, to invest, Truvestir, to burlesque, to disguise, to travesty, are regular verbs, and make their Participles in issant, i; remember this by the words, a font invested wiM u. digttitu is regularly travestied. 40 1 SECOND CLASS OF EXCEPTIONS. Four Verbs in Jrir and vrir, and six compounds. There are eleven French Verbs ending m,fiir, and vrir, ten of which form the second class of exceptions to Verbs in ir ; the eleventh Verb is regular. These ten are — couvrir, to cover, with two compounds, decouvrir, recoii- vrir : qffrir, to' offer, with two compounds, mesojfrir, roffrir : ouvrir, to open, with two compounds, entrouvrir, rouvrir : aoufrir, to suffer: which are all declined alike, in the following manner : Ouvrir, to open; ouvrant, opening; ouvert, opened. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present, j'ouvre, tu ouvres, 11 ouvre, nous ouvrons, vous ouvrez, ils ouvrent. Imperfect, j'ouvrois, tu ouvrois, &c. Perfect or Past, j'ouvris, tu ouvris, &c. Futttre, j'ouvrirai. Conditional, j'ouvrirois. Compound Tenses, j'ai ouvert j'avois ouvert, j'eus ouvert, j'aurai ouvert, j'aurois ouvert IMPERATIVE MOOD. Ouvre, qu'il ouvre, ouvrons, ouvrez, qu'ils ouvrent. SUBJUNCTIVE WOOD. Present, que j'ouvre, que tu ouvres, &c. Perfect, que j' ouvrisse, que tu ouvrisses, qu'il ouvrit, &c. Compound Tenses, que j'aie ouvert, que j'eusse ouvert. In the passive voice, the Past Participle takes an e in the feminine, as usual. La fenfitre est ouverte, les fenetres sent ouvertes. French Verbs. — 2d Conjugation. 41 The eleventh Verb, which most of the grammarinns have omitted to notice, appamrir, to impoverish, is regular, like divertir, and makes uppauvrissant, impover- ishing, uppauvri, impoverished. THIRD CLASS OF EXCEPTIONS. Two Verbs in enir, and twenty-eight compounds. There are three French Verbs ending in enir, with their compounds, viz. Benir, to bless, which, with its compound, rebenir, is regular, and makes benissant, beni. Note. Speaking of consecrated bread and water, we must say, du pain bcnit, de I'eau benite. The two Verbs which form the third class of excep- tions to Verbs in 2>,are words of very extensive use, viz. venir, to come, with eighteen compounds : tenir, to hold, with ten compounds; both declined alike, venir, with etre, and tenir, with avoir. Venir, to come ; venant, cominsr ; venu, fem. venue, come. Tenir, to hold ; tenant, holding ; tenu./eni. tcnue, held. je viens tu viens il vient jc venois tu venois il Tenoit JCTIIIS til viuM il Tint INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. je tieus 1 nous venons tu tiens I vous vencz il tient i ils viennent Imperfect Tense. jc tenois nous venions tu tenois vous veniez il tenoit ils venoieut Perfect or Past Tense. je tins tu tins illiiit nous vinmes vous viutes ils viurent nous tenons vous tenez ils tiennent nous tcnions vous teniez ils tenoient nous tinmes vous tintes ils tiiutut d2 42 French Verbs — Id Conjugation. je vieiulrai tu viendras il vieadra Future Tense. je tiendrai tu tiendras il tiendra nous viendrons vovs viendrez lis vieudront nous tiendious vous tiendre/, ils tieudront jevieudrois tu viendrois il viendroit Conditional Tense, je tiendrois tu tiendrois il tieudroit nous viendrions nous tiendrions vous viendriez vous tiendrions ils viendroient ils tiendroient Compound Tenses. Of the Present — je suis venu, tu es venu, il est venu, elle est venue, uous sonimes venus, vous etes venus, ils sont venus, elles sont venues: j"ai tenu, tu as tenu, il a tenu, elle a tenu, nous avous tenu, vousavez tenu, ils ont teuu, elles ont tenu. Of the Imperfect — j' etois venu, j'avois tenu. ^ Of the Perfect — je fus venu, j'eus tenu. Of the Future — je serai venu, j'aurai tenu. O/ the Conditional — je serois venu, j' aurois tenu. IMPERATIVE MOOD. viens qu' il vienne venons venez qu' ils viennent tiens qn' il tienne tenons tenez qu' ils tiennent SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. que je vieune que je tienne que tu vicnnes que tu tiennes qu' il vienne qu'^il tienne que nous venions que nous tenions que vous veuiez que vous teniez qu' ils viennent qu' ils tiennent Perfect or Past Tense. que je vinsse que je tinsse que tu vinsses que tu tinsses qu' il vint qu' il tint que nous vins- que nous tinssions sions que vous vins- que vous tinssiez siez qu' ils vinssent qu' ils tinssent Compound Tenses — que je sols venu, que je fusse venu, que j' aie tenu, que j" eiisse tenu. 43 FOURTH CLASS OF EXCEPTIONS. Eleven Verbs in ir, and twenty-five compounds. These eleven Verbs are — Present Participle. Past Participle. bouillir. bouillant, bouilli, to boil courir. courant, couru, to run cueillir, cueillant,- riieilH to gather dormir, dormant, doruii to sleep failUr, faillant failii, to fail fuir. fuyant. fui, to fly mourir, mourant, morl, to die ouir. oui, to hear querir, to fetch saiUir, saillant, t" project serviry servant, servi, to serve COURIR, CUEILLIR, FUIR, MOURIR. INDICATIVE MOOD. Je conrs 11 cours tl court inous couroiis voHs tourez ils courent je courois je courus tu courus il courut nous courflmes vous courfites ils courureut Present Tense. cueille fuis cueilles fiiis cueille fuit cueillons fiiyons cueillez fuyez cueilleut fuient Imperfect Tense- cueillois fuyois Perfect or Past Tense. cueillis cueillis cueillit cueillimes cueillitts cueiUircut fuis fuis fuit fuimes fuites fuircnt Future Tense. je courrai cueillcrai fuirai meurs meurs nieurt mourons mourez meurent mourois, &c. mourus mourus inourut mourumcs mourutis uiourureut mourrui, &c. 3d 44 French Verbs. — '2d Conjugation. je courrois Conditional Tense, cueillerois fuirois mourrois, &c. Compound Tenses — j' ai couru, j' ai cueilli, j' ai fui, je suis mort, die est morte, &c. IMPERATIVE MOOD. cdurs cueille fuis meurs qu'il coure cueille fiiie meurt couroiis cueillons fuyoiis mourons courez cueillez fuyez nioure/. qu'ilscourent cueillent fuient meureut que je coure SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense, cueille fuie meurc, &c. Perfect or Past Tense. que je cournsse cueillisse fuisse mourusse, &c. Compound Tenses — quej' aie couru, que j' eusse couru, que j'aic cueilli, quej" eusse cueilli, quej' aie fui, quej' eusse fui, quejesois mort, que je fusse mort, &c. Bouillir is used actively in one phrase only, viz.bouil- lir till lalt a quelqu'un, to make much of one, to do any one a pleasure; also, in an imfavourable sense, to treat like a child, to mock. We do not say bouillir de I'eau, to boil water, but faire bouillir de I'eau; fair bouillir a demi, to parboil. As a Neuter Verb, it is used in the third person only ; I'eau bout, las choux bouilient, bouillir, bouillaiit. bouilli, je bous, tu bous, il bout, nous bouillons, je bouillois, je bouillis, je bouillirai, je bouillirois, bous, qu'il bouille, que je bouille, que je bouillisse. Dormir, and servir, with their compounds, are declined like sentir, except asservir, which is regular, and makes asservissant. Ouir, to hear, is used only in the infini- tive: oulr, in the perfect; j'ouis, I heard, il ouit, be heard, in the perfect of the subjunctive; que j'ouisse, that I might hear; and in the compound tenses, j'ai oui, j'aToit oui, j'eus oui, &c. French Verbs. — 2d Conjtigation. 45 Faillir is used iu the perfect and compound tenses on\y. Perfect — ^je faillis, tu t'aillis, il faillit, nous failliraes, vous faillites, ils faillirent, j' ai failli, j'avois failli, j'eus failli, &c. Querir. is used in the infinitive only; aller me qiierir mon valet, go and fetch my valet. Acquerir, requerir, &c. are declined thus : Acquerir. to acquire ; acquerant, acquiring ; acquis, acquired. Indicative, Present — ^j'acquiers, tu acquiers, il acquiert, nous acquerons, vous acquerez, ils acquierent. Imper- fect — ^j'acquerois, &c. Perfect — j 'acquis. &c. Future — j'acquerrai, &c. Conditional — j'acquerrois, &c. Im- perative — acquiers, qu' ii acquiere, &c. Subjunctive, Present — que j'acquiere, &c. Perfect — que j'acquisse. Compound Tenses with avoir — que j'aie acquis, &c. Saillir, to project, to jut out, is used in the third per- son only; cette corniche saille trop, that cornice is too prominent. Tressaillir, to start, and assaillir, to assail, are declined thus: Tressaillir, tressaillant, tressailli. Indicative, Present — je tressaille, &c. Imperfect — ^je tressaillois, &c. Perfect — ^je tressaillis, &c. Future — ^je tressaillirai, &c. Conditional — je trcssaillirois, &c. Subjunctive Present — que je tressaille, &c. Perfect — que je tressaillisse, &c. The Compound Tenses, with avoir. Note. Tressaillir has no imperative. Imperative of assaillir — assaille, qu'il assaille, lic. Some grammari- ans think that the future and conditional may be spelled, j'assaillerai, je tressailltrai, j'assalllLrois, je trcssail- krois. Observations on Ferir, Fleurir, Gerir, Hair, and Issir. Ferir, to strike, is used in one phrase only, viz. sans coup ferir, without striking a blow, without any risk. Fleurir, in its common signification of to blossom, to piit forth flowers, is regular, and makes Jleiirissanl, Jleuri: but when it ia used figuratively, it is irregular in D 4 46 French Verbs. — 2cJ Conjugation. the present participle, and tbe imperfect of the indicative, which are then Jiorissanf, je Jlorissois. Thus we say, vn empire Jiorissunt , a prosperous empire : une armee Jiorissante, a flourishing army : les beaux arts Jiorissoient alors, the fine arts were successfully cultivated at that period. Gesir, to lie, is used hut in a few phrases : ci git, here lies, is a common form of commencing an epitaph: ci git ma femme, here lies my wife. The French sometimes use il git, nous gisons, i/s gisent, il gisoit, its gisoient, gisant. Hair, to hate, is regular, and makes, ha'issant, hdi. Only, observe, that the three /singular persons of the jiresent indicative are pronounced in one syllable, je hais, tu hais, il halt; as is the second person singular of the imperative, hais. Every other part is regular, and takes the diaeresis("j over the the letter /, which separates it from the a, and shews that it is to be pronounced ha-ir, ha-issant, ha-issois, ha-irai, &c. Issir, to issue from, to be descended from, is used only in the participles, viz. issu, ^/e?«/??/?«e issue; as, les rois clont il est m«, the kings from whom he is descended. The present participle, issaut, is used as a term of heraldry, and sgnifies rising out, naissant. End of the Second Conjugation, which contains the 407 verbs in ir. 47 EXEMPLAR OF THE THIRD CONJUGATION. There are 43 French verbs ending in oir, without reckoning avoir, which has been given in its place as an auxiliary. Of these 43 verbs, 7 only are regular, viz. — Present Participle. Past Participle. appercevoir.s' ) ^ « ^ • appercevoir, pPPercevant, apper(;u,* to perceive concevoir, concevant con^u, to conceive decevoir, decerant, do9u, to deceive devoir. devant, du, to owe percevoir. percevant, per^u, to collect dues and taxes recevoir. recevant, re9u tu receive redevoir, rederant, redu, to owe, still to remain in debt These seven may be fixed in the memory by the follow- ing sentence: — A man collected taxes (^/jercero2';-) in our street yesterday, and received frecevoirj whatever duties I owed (^f/ero/rj : he was an impostor; conceive (^conce- voirj my vexation, when I perceived fs' appercevoir J that I was deceived ('decevoir J, f and that I still re- mained in debt f redevoir. J These seven verbs are declined thus — Termination of the Infinitive Mood, oir. Termination of the Present Participle, evanl. Termination of the Past Participle, u. RECEVOIR, TO RECEIVE. DEVOIR, TO OWE. PARTICIPLES. Present Tente, rerevant, receiving tlevaut, owin^' Past Tense, re^u received ^du, owed ConpoUndof the Past Tense, ayant rc^u, having received ayant dfl, having owed • The c takes the cedilla to preserve the soft sound of the cc in cevoir. Pronounce appersu, consii, di'»ii, free. + Instead uf di'ccvoir, theFrwuh now ijiuerally use (lonipcr 48 French Verbs. — ^d Conjugation. Present Tense, Past Tense, INFINITIVE MOOD. recevoir, devoir, .noir refu, avoir du, INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. to receive to owe to have received to have owed je recois je dois nous recevons nous devons tu re^ois il revolt tu dois il doit vous recevez ils rejoiveut vous devez ils doivent Imperfect Tense. je recevois je devois nous recevions nous devions tu recevois il recevoit tu devois il devoit vous receviez ils recevoient vous deviez ils devoiont Perfect or Past Tense. je regus* tu regus il regut je dus tu dus il dut nous resumes vous refutes ils regurent nous dumea vous dutes ils durent Future Tense. j e recevrai tu recevras il recevroit je devrai tu devras il devroit nous recevrons vous recevrez ils recevront nous devrons vous devrez ils devront Conditional Tense. je recevrois je devrois nous recevrions nous devrions tu recevrois il recevroit tu devrois il devroit vous recevnez ils recevroient vous devriez ils devroient Compound Tenses. Of the Present, j'ai regu, j' ai du Of the Imperfect, j'avois regu, .I'avoisdu Of the Perfect, j'eusregu, j'eusdu Of the Fvture, j' aurai regu, j'auraidu Of the Conditional, j' aurois regu, j' aurois du IMPERATIVE MOOD. regois q>i' il regoive dois qu' il doive recevons recevez qu' ils rejoivent devons devez doivent 'Remember that, though before w, the c keeps the soft sound of*. Pronounce, resus, resut, resumes, refutes, resurent. French Verbs. — 3d Conjiigation. 49 SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. que je re(;oive que tu resolves qu' il re^oive queje re5usse, que tu re^usscs qu' il refut que je doive que tu doives qu' il doive que nous rece- que nous devious vions que vous rece- que vous deviez viez qu' ils regoivent qu' ils doivent Perfect or Past Tense. queje dusse que tu dusses qu' il dut que nous recus- que nous dussions sious que vous recus- que vous dussiez siez qu' ils regussent qu' ils dussent O/ the Present Of the Perfect, Compound Tenses. que j' aie regu, que j' eusse reru, que j' aie du que j ' eusse du Apparoir, to be evident fa law term), is used only in the infinitive, and tbird person singular of the indicative ; il appert par un tel acte, it appears by such an act, &c. Choir, to fall, chii, fallen. Dechoir, to decay, dechu, decayed. Echoir, to expire, to lapse, echu, expired. Rechoir, to relapse, rechu, relapsed. Chaloir, to care for. Comparoir, to appear in a court of justice. Se conduuloir, to condole with. Douloir, to grieve. Ramentevoir, to speak of again, Souloir, to be wont, to use. Muuvoir, to move, mu. Emouvoir, to stir up, to move, emu. Demoi/roir, to make a person desist. Promouvoir, to promote. These fifteen verbs are very rarely used except in the infinitive, and the past participles, given above. 50 EXCEPTIONS OF THE THIRD CONJUGATION. S* ASSEOIR, TO SIT DOWN. S* asseyant, sitting down, assis, assise. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. je m' assieds tu t' assieds il s' assied je m'asseyois jet' asseyois il s' asseyoit je in assis tu t' assis il s' assit nous nous asseyons vous vous asseyez ils s' asseyent Imperfect Tense. nous nous asseyions vous vous asseyiez ils s' asseyoient Perfect or Past Tense. nous nous assinies vous vous aesites ils s' assirent Future Tense. j e m' assierai ,or j e m assey erai tu t' assi^ras, or tu t' asseyeras il s' assiera, or il s' asseyera nous nous assierons, or nous nous asseyerons vous vous assierez, or vous vous asseyerez ils s'assieront, or asseyeront Conditional Tense. je m' assierois, or je m' asseyerois tu t' assierois. or tu t' assayerois il s' assieroit, or tu s' asseyeroit nous nous assienons, or nous nous assey erions vous vous assieriez, or vous vous assey eriez ils s' assieroient, or ils s'asseye- roient Compound Tenses — je me suis assis, jem' etois assis, je me fus assis, je me serai assis, je me serois assis. IMPERATIVE MOOD. assieds toi, qu' il s' asseye queje m' asseye que tu t' asseyes qu" il s' asseye asseyons nous asseyez vons qu' lis s' asseyent SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. que nous nous asseyions que vous vous asseyiez qu' ils s' asseyent French Verbs. — 3(/ Conjugation. 51 Perfect or Past Tense. que j em' assisse que tu t' assisses qu' il s' assit que nous nous assissions que vous vous assissiez qu' ils s' assissent Compound Tenses — que je me sois assis, que je me fusse assis. Asseoir, to set down, is declined in the same manner with a sinprlc pronoun; j'ai assis I'enfant sur une chaise, I set the child upon a chair. Rasseoir, to settle, is used only in the infinitive and the compound tenses; le cafe est hien rassis, the cotfee is quite settled. Falloir to be necessary, is used only in the third per- son singular, as a verb impersonal, as follows — il faut it is necessary il falloit it was necessary il fallut it was necessary il faudra, it will be necessary il faudroit, it would be necessary qu'il faille, that it may be necessary qu'il fallut, that it might be necessary il a falhi, it has been necessary il avoit fallu, it had been necessary il eut fallu, il aura fallu, il auroit fallu, &c. Plcnroir, to rain, pleuvant, raining, plu, rained, is used only in the third person singular, il pleut, it rains il pleuvoit, it was raining il plut, it rained il pleuvra, it will rain il pleuvroit, it would rain il a plu, it has rained and the rest of the compound tenses, with avoir. qu'il pleuve, that it may rain qu'il plfit, that it might rain Ravoir, to get again, to have again, is used only in the infinitive ; ravoir mes biens, to have my property again. 52 Fretich Verbs. — 3d Conjugation. Pouvoir, to be able ; pourvoir, to provide ; savoir, low ; and surseoir, to supersede ; are thus declined- know; pouvoir, pourvoir, savoir, surseoir pouvant, pourvoyant, sachaut. sursoyant pii, pourvu, su, sursis avoir pu, avoir pourvu, avoir su. avoir sursis ayant pu, ayant pourvu. ayant su. ayant sursis INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. je puis,* tu peux; il pent, uous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils peuvent je pouvois, tu pouvois, il pouvoit, nous pouvions, vous pouviez, ils pouvoient, pourvois, pourvois, pourvoit, pourvoyons, pourvoyez, pourvoient, sais, • sais, sait, Savons, savez, savent, Imperfect Tense. pouvoyois, pouvoyois pourvoyoit, pourvoyions pourvoyiez, pourvoyoient. savois, savois, savoit, savions, saviez, savoient, sursois sursois sursoit sursoyons, sursoyez sursoient sursoyois sursoyois sursoyoit* sursoyoions sursoyoiez sursoyoient Perfect or Past Tense. je pus, tu pus, il put, nous pumes, vous putes, ils purent, pourvus, pourvus. pourvut, pourvumes, pourvutes, pourvurent, sus, sus, sut, sumes, siltes, surent, sursis sursis sursit, sursinies Bursites sursirent Future Tense. jepourrai, tu pourras, il pourra, nous pourrons, vous pourrez, ils pourrout, pourvoirai, pourvoiias, pourvoira, pourvoirons, pourvoirez, pourvoiront, saurai, sauras, saura, saurons, saurez, sauront, Conditional Tense. surseoirai, surseoira* suiseoira surseoirous surseoirez surseoiront je pourrois, pouvoirois, saurois, surseoirois, &c. with the regular terminations of every conditional. • Or je peux. French Verbs. — 3d C'oiijugatiou. 53 Compound Tenses. j'ai pu, I have been able; j'ai pourvu, I liave provided; j'ai su, 1 have known; j'ai siirsis, 1 have superseded ; and the other tenses with avoir, in the usual manner- pouvoir has j no impera- ' qu'il pourvoie IMPERATIVE MOOD. pourvois live mood. ) pourvoyons pourvoyez, qu'ilspourvoieut, sache, sache, saclions, sachez, sachent, sursois sursoie sursoj'ons sursoVez sursofent SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. que je puisse, pourvoie. sache, sursoie que tu puisses, pourvoies saches. sursoies qu' il puisse, pourvoie sache, sursoie que nous puissions. pourvoyions. sachioos, sursoyions que vous puissiez, pourvoyiez, sachiez, sursoyiez qu'ils puisseut, pour\oient, sachent, sursoient • Perfect or Past Tense. que je pusse. pourvusse. susse, jursisse. que tu pusses. pourvusses, susses. sursisses qu' il put. pour^-ut. sut, sursit que nous pussious. pourvussions sussions, sursissions que vous pussiez. pourvoyiez, sussiez, sursissiez qu' ils pussent, pourvussent sussent, sursissent. Compound Tenses — que j'ai pu, pourvu, su, sursis, &c. Seoir, to become, to suit, to sit becomingly upon a person, is used only in the following person. — il sied, it is becoming. Plural, ils sioent. il seyoit, it was becoming. PL, ils seyoient. il siera, it will be becoming. PI., ils sieront. il sieroit, it would be becoming. PL, ils sieroient. qu'il siee, that it may be becoming. This verb has no compound tenses. Valoir, to be worth ; voir, to sec ; willing, are thus declined: — and vouloir, to be valoir, valant, valu, avoir valu, ayaut ralu, voir, voyant, vu, avoir vu, ayant vu vouloir voulant voulu avoir voulu ayant voulu 54 French Verbs, — 3f/ Coujus^-ation. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. je vaux, vois, tu vaux, il vaut, nous valons, vous valez, ils valent, \ois, voit, voyous, voyez, voient, Imperfect je valois, tu valois, il valoit, nous valions, vous valiez, ils valoient voyois, voyois, voyoit, voyions, voyiez, Voyoient Perfect or Pa. je valus, vis, tu valus, il valut. vis, vit. nous vairimes, vous valfttes, ils valurent. vimes, vites, vireut. Future Tense, je vaudrai, verrai, with the regular terminations of every future. Conditional Tense. je vaudrois, verrois, with the regular terminations of every conditional. Compound Tenses — J' ai valu, j' ai vu, j' ai voul IMPERATIVE MOOD. qii qu- vaux. vois, il vaille voie. valons. voyons, valez. voyez, voient ils vaillent, SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Presetit Tense. que je vaille. voie. que tu vailles. voies. qu' il vaille, voie. que nous valions. voyions, que vous valiez, voyiez, qu' ils vaillent. voient, veux veux veut, voulons voulez, veulent voulois voulois vouloit voulions vouliez vouloient voulu.s voulus voalut voul times vouliites voulurent voudrai, &c. voudrois, &c. u, &c. the only per- son used is veuillez veuille veuille veuille voulions vouliez veuillent French Verbs. — 3d Conjugation. 55 Perfect or Past Tense. que je valusse, que tu valusse*, qu' il valiit, visse, visses, vit. voulusse voulusses vouli'it que nous valussions, vissions, voulussions que vous valussiez, qu' ils valusseut vissiez vissent, voulussiez voulussent Compound Tenses — quej' aievalu, que j' aievu, quej' aie voulu, &c. The compounds of valoir follow the primitive verb, except that prevaloir makes prevale, and not prevaille, in the present subjunctive. The compounds of roir fol- low the simple verb, except pourvoir, which has been al- ready given, and prevpir, which follows pourvoir, and makes prevoirai, prevoirois, in the future and conditional, and uot pre verrai, preierrois. The auxiliary verb, avoir, has been already learned in its place : remember, that when avoir is preceded by the adverb y, there, it takes the meaning of etre, and be- comes a verb impersonal, as II y a, there is; y a-t-il? is there; il y avoit, there was; y avoit-il? was there? il y eut, there was; y eut- il ? was there ? il y aura, there will be ; il y auroit, there would be : qu' il y ait, that there may be ; qu' il y eut, that there might be- End of Third Conjugation, which contains the 43 verbs in oir. 56 EXEMPLAR OF THE FOURTH CONJUGATION, Containing 102 Verbs, ending in dre. Termination of tbe Infinitive Mood, dre. Termination of the Present Participle, da7it. Termination of the Past Participle, du. VENDRE, TO SELL. PARTICIPLES. Present Tense, vendant, selling Past Tense, vendu, sold Compound of the Past, ayant vendu, having sold INFINITIVE MOOD. Present Tense, vendre, to sell Past Tense, avoir vendu to have sold INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. je vends tu vends il vend nous vendons vous vendez ils vendent Imperfect Tense. je vendois, with the regular terminations of the imperfect. Perfect or Past Tense. je vendis tu vendis il vendit nous vendimes vous vendites ils vendirent Future Tense. je vcndrai, with the regular terminations. Conditional Tense. je vendrois, with the regular terminations. French Verbs. — Ath Conjugation. 57 Compound Tenses. Of the Present, Of the Imperfect, Of the Perfect, Of the Future, Of the Conditional, y ai veiidii j' avois venilu j' cus veiidu y aurai veudu j' aurois veudu 2 EXEMPLAR OF THE FIFTH CONJUGATION. Containing the 13 verbs ending in nitre. Termination of the Infinitive Mood, oitre. Termination of the Present Participle, oissant. Termination of the Past Participle, u. All the verbs of this conjugation are declined alike, in the following manner. Observe, that the dipthong oi is pronounced at, in every verb of this conjugation, except croitre, to grow, and its compounds. . CONNOITRE, TO KNOW. PARTICIPLES. Present Tense, connoissant, Past Tense, connu, Compound uf the Past, ayant connu, Present Tense, Past Tense, INFINITIVE MOOD. connoitre, avoir counu knowing known havinar known to know to have known je connois tu connois, il ronnoit je connoissois tu connoissois il connoissoit je connus tu connu.s il conuut INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. nous connoissons vous connoissez ils counoisseut Imperfect Tense, noii» connoissions Tous connoissiez ils connoissoient Future Tense- nous connumes vous eoimiites ils connursnt French Verbs. — 5th Conjugation. 63 je connoitrai tu counoitras il conuoitra je connoitrois tu connoitrois il couuoitroit Future Tense. nous coniioitrons vous oounoitrez ils coutioitroat Conditional Tense. nous connoifriofis vous connoitriez ils conuoitroieut Compound Tenses— y ai connu, j' avois connu, &c. counois qu' il connoisse IMPERATIVE Moon. connoissous counoissez qu' ils connoisseut queje connoisse que tu conuoisbes qu' il couQoisBe queje connusse que tu coiinusses qu' il counut SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. que nous connoissiOBS que vous connoissiez qu' ils connoisseut Perfect or Past Tense. que nous connussions que vous couuussiez qu' ils connussent Compound Tenses — que j' aie connu, que j ' eusse connu. End of the Fifth Conjugation, which contains the 13 verbs in oitrc. b4 64 EXEMPLAR OF THE SIXTH CONJUGATION. Containing 26 Verbs, ending in uire. Termination of the Infinitive mood, uire. Termination of the Present Participle, uisant. Termination of the Past Participle, uit. CONDUIRE, TO CONDUCT. Present Tense, Past Tense. Compound of Ihe Past, PAKTICIPLES. conduisant, conducting: conduit, conducted ayant conduit, having' conducted Present Tense, Past Tense, INFINITIVE MOOD. conduire, avoir conduit, to conduct to liave conducted je coDduis tu conduis il conduit INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. nous conduisons vous conduisez lis conduisent je conduisois tu conduisois il couduisoit je conduisis tu conduisis il conduisit je conduirai tu conduiras il conduira Imperfect Tense. nous condnisions vous conduisiez ils conduisoient Perfect or Past Tense. nous conduisimes vous conduisites ils couduisirent Future Tense. nous conduirons vous conduirez iU conduiront French Verbs. — ^th Conjugation. 65 Conditional Tense. je comUiirois ill ooii(iiiiri)is il coiiduiroit . nous condiiirions vons conduiiiez ils oonduiroient Compound Tenses— y aie contUiit,, j' avois louduis, Sic. IMPERATIVE MOOD. poodius qu' il conduise que je conduise que tu ronduises qu' il couduise conduisons oonduisez (ju' ils conduisent SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. que nous ronduisions que vous conduisiez qu' ils conduisent Perfect , COiNTAlMNG ALSO Hints how to avoid Imposition and Delay, Custom- house Forms, Pass'^orts, Permits, Table of French Coins, Lugfcage, Coach Offices, List of Hotels and Prices at each. Posting Laws, Fees to Postillions, Waiters, &c. &c. Illustrated with a Map of Routes and Plan of Calais. By the same Author, price Is. 6c/. A VISIT TO PARIS; OR, THE stranger's GUIUE TO EVERY OBJECT WORTHY NOTICE IN THAT GAY CIT;V ; With twenty valuable hints to Englishmen on their first arrival Illustrated with a descriptive Map of Paris, showing the situation of all the public buildings, places of amuse- ment, public gardens, &c. " These are very useful little Books and they contain, in a small compass, a great quantity of information ; every Eniflishman who visits France should carry these .neat, valuable, and cheap little works in his pocket." — Dispatcli. Also, Published btj Authoritif, price \s. THE CUSTOM-HOUSE GUIDE, Containing a List of Duties upon all Articles likely to be imported into France or England by Travellers, either for use, ornament, or sale: with Revenue Regulations, articles actually prohibited, &c. This IS really a valuable little book. Price Is. A NEW FRENCH PRONOUNCING GRAMMAR; Or, The Art of acquiring the French Language with the most perfect Accent and Pronunciation without the Assistance of a Master: H'j W. R. GOODLUCK, Junr. 10 February, 1830, PREPACK. Ix the publication of this work, whicli was x^omposed chiefly for the use of my own scholars, 1 am influenced by a thorough conviction and experience of its utility. Its object is to remove the greatest obstacle to the acquirement of the French language ; by fix- ing indelibly in the memory, the Genders of the French norms; without a perfect knowledge of which, it is impossible to speak that language with even tolerable propriety. French is now learned by almost every class of the British youth, and its importance is duly appreciated. It is a species of universal passport, a general medium of communication on the con- tinent. In the foreign tour Bud the domestic circle, iti war and in commerce, this language is of incalculable value. In the counting-house and the camp, in the splendid assembly and in the distant port, tliosc who can write and sjjeak French j)ossess a decided advantage over those who cannot.^' * Smollett (George II. chap. XI.) relates, that in the night ^vhich preceded the battle on the heights of Abraham , General Wolfe and his arm}-, who were sailinp down tiie dvcrSt. Lawrence in tlie dark, were saved from defeat by A 2 IV PREFACE. I am persuaded, therefore, that this little book will prove generally acceptable; as, by a very plain and easy method, it leads the learner over the most diflBcult step to this useful and elegant acquirement. The most striking difference between the English and French languages consists in the genders of their nouns. In English, we call a male by the masculine term, he ; a female, by the feminine term, she; and any thing inanimate by the neuter term, it. The French likewise call a male he, and a female she, as we do; but, by a fault in the genius of their language, they have no neuter, but call every inanimate thing either he, or she, making it masculine or femi- nine; and hence arises the difficulty. A child, learning French, can see no reason why a chair or a table should be called she, or why a hinge or a nail should be called he; these things are nei- ther males nor females, and it therefore appears strange to the learner that they should be classed as masculines and feminines : but thev are so the readiness of an English officer, who replied so skil- fully to the challenges of the French sentinels, that they mistook our troops for a French detachment, and suffered them to pass. The historian remarks, that the conse- quence of discovery at that moment would have been the total destruction of the army. Here, then, we see that a British army was preserveci, a glorious victory gained, and Quebec and all Canada secured to England, because an Englishman had learned French well. PREFACE. V classed, and must be learned correctly. To ac- complish this is a very great ditticulty to all ]>er- sons learning French ; it is extremely trouble- some to pupils even of the quickest talents and most retentive memory, who learn from the "French grammars now in use. Though some of them are extremely well-arranged for grammati- cal instruction in other respects, in regard to the genders they are entirely destitute of any con- trivance to assist the memory; while the almost endless lists of rules and exceptions are fit only to harass and discourage learners of even the readiest abilities. So impracticable are these rules, that I have known masters to recommend their pupils to go completely through the French dictionary, and copy out all the nouns, prefixing- the gender to each ; a labour of weeks ; and I much question whether a twentieth part of them Mould by that method be fixed in the mind, un- less the copying was many times repeated : and, evcnafterall that trouble and consumption oftime, the pupil, being without any certain rules, would seldom feel an absolute confidence in the cor- rectness of his memory. To obviate the necessity of tliis disheartening labour on the one hand, or recurrence to a con- fused labyrinth of insutficient rules on the other, the learner is here furnished with a jilain "Art OF Memory," from which I am convinced that a3 VI PREFACE. the genders of all the French nouns may bo learned in a few hours ; and learned so as never to be forgotten. I feel the more confident on this point, as a French teacher of great experi- ence, who has taught French in England during the last 42 years, and to whom I explained my plan, assured me that many natives of France would derive great benefit from this book in fixing the genders in the memory. I offer it, therefore, to the public in general, and to teacli- ers in particular, with a certainty that it will fully answer the purpose desired; and, by putting within the reach of all, what has hitherto been scarcely attainable by any, it will be found equally beneficial to the teacher, the pupil, and the adult. Knowledge and learning cannot be acquired without exertion : those who aspire to possess these distinctions must prove by industry and perseverance that they deserve them: but much may be done to assist the memory by art and method : and it is the duty of every teacher to render the path of improvement as smooth as possible. W. R. GooDLucK, Jun. June 8th, 1826. INTRODUCTION. The system by -nliicli the g'enders of the French nouns may be most readily and firmly fixed in the memory, begins by classing them by their final syllables. Thus, there are 643 nouns ending in cr, which are all masculine except two: there are 144 ending in oir, all masculine without a single exception : 70 in al, 24 in ais, and 83 in ard, all masculine with- out exception : and 305 in et, all masculine except one word. Therefore, if these six endings can be fixed in the memory, as mascu- lines, the learner Avill know the genders of 1,269 nouns. But the difficulty is to remember long lists of terminations, and to fix in the mind the gen- der of each. There are many grammars where whole pages are filled with terminations and exceptions; but they contain nothing to assist the memory ; no clue by which the ending is connected lo its own particular gender. Those who learn from these books, may per- haps remember that all nouns ending in ais are of the same gender; but, there being no guide or catchword to assign ais to the mascu- lines, they must be continually in doubt. .My plan to help the memory is this: I have introduced the masculine endings into three Fables, the actors in whicli tallies arc mascu- 8 GENDERS OF line ; every noun in these three fables is mas- culine ; and no nouns are admitted into them but such as give the rules. Thus, the endings mentioned above are given in the first four lines of the first fable, which a pupil can easily learn in half an hour, and vi'ill thus acquire the genders of five thousand seven hundred and forty French nouns. Le Cheval et liE Sanglier. Un sanglier, fier de son pouvoir, Prenant lefrais dans un bosquet, Rencontra, un beau soir, Par hazard, un bidet. Here the word cheval will fix the nouns in al ; sanglier, those in er; and so of the rest. Hav- ing learned these fables by heart, perfectly, which, as there are only three in number, may be accomplished in a very few honrs, the pupil, when he meets with a noun ending like any one of those nouns given in the fables, will easily ascertain the gender by recurring to the guiding word: for instance, if he Avants to use a word ending in ais, or in ard, he will immedi- ately call to mind the word frais or hazard, and, remembering that those nouns occur in the fable with masculine actors, viz., a tvild boar, a horse, and a man, he will decide at once and with confidence that ais and ard are masculine terminations, and that the word he wants to use is masculine. The feminine endings, being intro- FRENCH NOUNS. 9 (luced in three fables, having a female speaker in each of them, and every noun in them femi- nine, will be fixed in the memory in the same manner. The exceptions, which are not very numerous, must be learned by heart. The pupil must remember that the nouns only give the rule ; they are printed in italics to be more easily observed : but, of course, a person learning French cannot be so ignorant of gram- mar as to find any difficulty in distinguishing the substantives from the other parts of speech. In the perusal of these fables I trust that tlie reader will remember, that, as the plan required a certain number of endings to be introduced with connection in a fable, all the masculines being in one place, and all the feminines in another, there could be little choice as to words and phrases. This ought to disarm all criticism against the construction of the lines and sen- tences. For the peculiarity and oddity of some of the lines, 1 shall make no apology, as the practice of Von Feinagle in his admirable " Art of Memory," and the experience of all who have formed systems to aid the memory, agree in proving ti)at eccentric, quaint, or, as they may be cilled, oiit of the way expressions, are much more easily fixed in the recollection than senten- ces unmarked by any peculiarity. FIRST MASCULINE FABLE : Whh-h gives the Gender of 5740 Nouns. Le Ciieval et t.e Sanglier. Un sanglier, (1) fier de son pouvnir, (2) Prenant \e frais (3) dans un bosquet, (4) Rencontra, un beau soir. Par hazard, (5) un bidet. " Ho! 7)iaraud," (6) dit-il, cnfurieu.r, (7) " Qui te rend si audacieux? Que fais-tu ici, malotru?" (8) " Oh rien!'' (9) " Rien, dis-tu! Je suis le roi (10) et le maUre (11) ici, Pardi ! De Jidn (12) a Mai, (13) de Mercredi a Mardi; (14) Et si, dfes r instant, (15) sans dire mot, (10) Tu ne tournes pas le dos, (17) Fat! (18) je te mange rai conime un gigot.'' Le cheval, (19) en ce cas, (20) Retourna sur ses pas; Vite, comme de lait (21) ou de vln, (22) uu ocean (23) Coule dans I'estomac (24) d'un gourmaiid: (25) Aussi vite qu'un oiseau (26) ou le vent. (27) Notre clieval, en furibond, (28) Pour se venger de cet affront, (^29) 12 GENDERS OF A Vhomme (30) s'adressa, Et son antagoniste (31) lui nomma. "Oui," dit riiomme, " mais un mord, (32) un licoit (33) II faut te mettre sur le ecu." II n'aime point le licou ; Et il croit que le frein (34) N'a pas le bon gout (35) De Y herbage (36) ou du grain. (57) N^anmoins il part, et dans le viandis (38) II trouve son ennemi. Plein de courage et dejiel, (39) Comme Vedair, (40) feu (41) du ciel, lis s'^lancent sur le tyran ; Et le chasseur (42) mort I'etend. Le cheval le remercie, Avec beaucoup d''esprit: (43) "Et maintenant que j'ai mon htit, (44) Adieu !" dit-il ; mais Thomme I'arrfite d'un refrts! (45) " Non! non! raon pauvre fou, J'ai besoin (46) de vous," Dit le chasseur ; et puis II I'entraine au logis. Ainsi Yorgueil (47) et I'outrage Furent punis dans le sanglier: Et le cheval par un dur esclavage, Paya cher le plaisir (48) de s'fitre veng^. FRENCH NOUNS. 13 NOTES TO THE FIRST MASCULINE FABLE. I. Sangller. There are 643 nouns ending in er, all masculine except la ntier, the sea, and une cuiller, a spoon. I recommend those learners, who are advanced beyond childhood, to fix all exceptions in the memory, by forming them into short sentences, after the manner of Feinagle, in his "Art of Memory," For instance, they might say, the man tcho attempts to learn without method, h like one who tries to empty the sea with a spoon: vider la mer avec une cuiller. After which it is scarcely possible that the words mer and cuiller could enter the mind, without being remembered as exceptions. 2. Poicvoir. There are 144 words in oir all masculine. 3. Frais. 24 in ais all masculine. 4. Bosquet. 303 French nouns end in et: the only one feminine is une forfit, a forest. 5. Hazard. 83 in ard are all masculine. 6. Maraud. 22 ending in aud, all mascu- line. 7. Furieux. The learner will observe that this adjective is here used as a substantive. — French adjectives are very frequently made sub- stantives. There are fifty nouns in eu.v, all masculine. 8. Malotru. There are 49 nouns in u, of wliich gill, birdlime, tribu, a tribe, and vertu 14 GENDERS OF virtue, are feminine. Bru, a daughter-in-law, is feminine of course. Words which are mascu- lines or feminines uhsolute, as designating males and females, it is not necessary to except parti- cularly, as their gender must be immediately ohvious. 9. Rien. 78 i" ^"s all masculine. 10. Roi. Of 24 in oi, loi and foi, law and faith, are the only feminines, except parol, a wall, which is chiefly used in the plural, parois. 11. Ma'dre. 3 in o^/re, masculine. 12. Juin. 1 in iiin, masculine. 13. Mai. 17 i» ««> all masculine. 14. MarcU. There are 98 nouns in i; of which the feminines are merci, mercy, fourmi, an ant, and I'apres midi, the afternoon. 15. Instant. 123 in ant, many of which are participles converted into suhstantives, are all masculines. 16. xUot. Of 102 in ot, the only feminine is la dot, the marriage portion. 17. Dos. 12 in OS, all masculine. 18. Fat. 128 in at, all masculine. 19. Cheval. 69 in «/, all masculine. 20. Cas. 68 in as, all masculine. 21. Lait. 15 in rtj^, all masculine. 22. Vin. Of 239 in in, fin, the end, is the only exception, with catin, a feminine absolute. 23. Ocean. 95 in an, all masculine. 24. Estomac. 21 in ac, all masculine. 25. Gourmand. 13 in and, all masculine. 26. Oiseau. Of 226 nouns in au, peau, the skin, and eau, water, are the only feminines : re- member these tv.o exceptions by this sentence ; in Spain skins are used to carry water. FRENCH NOUNS, 15 27. J^ent. Of 710 nouns in rnt, gent, a nation, and dent, a tooth, are the only fominines: with juraent, a mare, of course. 28. Furihond. 10 in and, all masculine. 29. Affront. 6 in out, all masculine. 30. Homme. There &ie 13 in ommn, of M'hich somme, a sum, gomme, gum, and porame, an apple, are feminine. Somme, a sleep or nap, is masculine : vide page 54 line 3. 31. Antagoniste. Of 151 in iste, piste, a foot- step, batiste, cambric, liste, a list, and baliste, an immense Roman cross-bow, are feminine. 32. Mord. 13 in ord, all masculine. 33. Licou. 41 in gk, all masculine. 34. Frein. 9 in ein, all masculine. 35. Gout. 23 in out, all masculine. 36. Herbage. There are 374 nouns in age, of which the following are feminine : rage, male- rage, rage, image, an image, page, a page of a book, cage, a cage, nage, the act of sailing, am- bages, doubtful expressions, plage, the sea shore, and passerage and saxifrage, the names of plants. The two last are seldom used. 37. Grain. Of 06 in nin, la main, the hand, is feminine; it takes its gender from the Latin manus. 38. Viandh. Of 127 in is, souris, a mouse, vis, a screw, brcbis, a sheep, ileur de lis, a lily, and chauve-souris, a bat, arc feminine; as are Iris and Themis, of course, as females. 39. Fiel. 45 in e/, all masculine. 40. Eclair. 17 in «jV, all masculine, except la chair, (he flesh, which is derived from, and follows the Latin caro, carnis. 41. Feu. 30 in eu, all masculine. n 2 16 GENDERS OF 42. Chasseur. As words of this ending occur very frequently, the learner must he quite per- fect in this note. There are 1234 words in eur, all masculine hut 67 ; hut, though the ex- ceptions are so numerous, they may be learned in two minutes. Remember that, except eight, all the raascxiline nouns in eur designate men in their actions or trade, and are derived from verbs, or Latin nouns in or, as parleur, jaseur, acteur, lecteur, &c. The eight masculines in eiir, which do not designate men, are equa- teur, labeur, heur, luck, and its compounds, bonheur, malheur, with honneur, deshonneur, and pleurs, tears. Therefore, whenever the learner meets with a word in eur, which ex- presses a living creature, he must remember it is masculine : and if it does not express a living creature, it is feminine, if it he not one of the eight masculines mentioned above. The 67 feminines in eur express properties and qua- lities, as laideur, ugliness, hauteur, height, rongeur, redness, &c. Let the learner copy out this note three or four times, that he may retain and understand it thoroughly: it is of great con- sequence, as the termination eur occurs so very frequently. 43. Esprit. 44 in it, all masculine. 44. But. 22 in ut, all masculine. 45. Re/us. 34 in ns, all masculine. 46. Besoin. 15 in oin, ail masculine. The reader will observe, that I could not well in- clude oin in the rule of in, ait in the rule of it, &c. as, though the gender and two final letters are the same, the pronunciation is so diiferent, FRENCH KOUNS. 17 that the memory woiihl not o^isily refer besoiii to vin, or lait to esprit. 47. OrgueiJ. 17 i" dh !^11 masculine. 48. Plcdsir. 17 i" ir, all masculine. The learner will observe, that though, in these fables, a termination is sometimes rejjeated, yet none are to be found but such as give tlie rule; therefore, the repetition will help, rather than confuse the memory: thus, for a word in ot or age, if mot and herbage do not instantly occur to the mind as the guiding word, gigot and courage very probably may : and so of the rest. 8 J 18 GENDERS OF SECOND MASCULINE FABLE: Which gives the Gender of 1470 Nouns. Les deux Militaires et l'Ours. Deux^/s (1) "^^ ^^<^^'Si (2) frais et gaillards. Pour voyager prirent leur depart; (3) Et fireiit entr'eux le marche (4) I)e mutuelleraent s'assister. All (l(5clin d[i jour, (5) lis etitendent iin grand bruit; (6) Et, en Imrlant, un ours (7) D'un bois (8) sortit. 11 vient droit il nos militaires ; (9) lis ne peuvent fair, et que faire? Un d'eux, 16ger et dispos, Laisse son compagnon (10) seul ; Et, s'elan^ant d'un saut, (11) Grimpe sur un tilleul. (12) L'autre, qui toujours le rosbif {\3) aima, Et qui buvait comme un Czar, (14) ou un Bacha, (15) Et qui ^tait aussi gras et gros Qu'un nioiue, (16) ou qnunpopulo, (17) Dans un sillon (18) s'ctendit, Tout de son lo)2g; (19) et le mort (20) contrefit. FRENCH NOUNS. 19 L'ours s'approche en coiirrottx; (21) Mais il manque son coicp ; (22) Car, en lui flairant le corps, (23) II prend uotre hou)me pour un niort. Et, comme aux cadavres (24) il ne touche pas, Grognant comme un dogue, (25) il s'en va. Le matamnre (26) de I'arbre (27) descendit, Et demanda ce que l'ours avait dit; " Car, du haut," dit-il, "j'ai observ^, Que de pres il semblait te parler.'' " Oui ! il m'a averti," lui dit-il, " Que celui, qui deserte son ami Dans le temps (28) du peril, (29) N'est digne que de mepris.'' 20 GKNDER8 OF NOTES TO THE Sl^COND MASCULINE FABLE. 1. Fils. There are 6 nouns in tV*, all mascu- line. 2. Mars. 7 in ars, all masculine. IK Depart. Of 24 in art, hart, a halter, part, a part, and its compounds quotepart and plupart fire the only feminines. 4. 3Iarche. The learner must take particular notice, that nouns ending in e with the acute accent, are to be divided into two classes: viz. 1st, those which end in t^, as bonte, beaut^, &c. ; and 2d, those where the final ^ is preceded by some other letter than t, as marche, cure, abbe, caf^, &c. It is only -with the latter class we have to do in this place, as t^ is a feminine ending, and is noticed in note 20 of the first fe- minine fable, at the word beaute. Remember, therefore, that every one of the 354 words ending in ^ with the acute accent, not immediately preceded by t, is masculine, ex- cept these four feminines, piti^, pity, moiti6, moiety, amitid, friendship, and inimitie, hatred; which may be fixed in this sentence — c'est grand pitie quand un horame change Vamitie qu'il avait pour sa moitie en inimitie. 5. Jour. Of 28 in om?' and 6 in nr, all are masculine except cour, a court, and its com- pounds, and tour, a tower, a castle at chess : tour, a turn, a trick, a turner's tool, is mascu- line: vide page 54. FRENCH NOUNS. 21 6. Bruit. Of 15 in iiit, miit, night, is the only feminine: 7n/«;(?7, midniglit, is masculine. 7- Ours. There are 11 in ours, all mascu- line. S sounds in un ours. 8. Bois. Of 20 in ois, the only feminine is fois, a time : as three times, four times, &c. 9. MUitaire. There are 198 words in aire. They are all masculine, except 11 names of plants, as zedoaire, &c. and affaire, business, aire, a floor, glaire, the white of an egg, paire, a pair, gramraaire, grammar, chaire, a pulpit, jugulaire, the jugular vein, haire, and statuaire. 10. Compagnon. As about one-ninth part of the French substantives end in on, the learner must be very exact in their genders. They are subdivided into four classes, nouns in ion and aison, Avhich belong to the ferainines, and illon and on, which belong to the masculines. — For i![on, see note 18 of this fable. Of those which end in on ('without being in ion, aison, and illon), there are 405. These are all masculine, except four designations of women, as laideron, &c. and the following 14, which I have formed into a sentence, to help the memory. Cet homme, en pamoisnn, qu'on entraine en prison avec des maudissons, a commis une trahison: car on I'en- voya pour acheter du ble dans la inoisso7i, pour en fournir ixfoison toute la garnison; mais sui- vant say«^'o«, il depensa tout en hoisson et chan- sons. II a vendu sa toison pour sa rangon. Cette le^on doit 6tre sa guerisoji. The excep- tions in 071 are in italics. 11. Saut. 14 in rtu<, all masculine. 12. Tilleul. 10 in eul, all masculine. 22 GENDERS OF 13. Roshif. Roast-beef. The Frencli also say un rosbif d'agneau, a roasted quarter of lamb. There are 47 in if, all masculine. 14. Czar. 9 in ar, all masculine. 15. Bacha. The 65 nouns in a are all words adopted from other languages : they are all mas- culine, except, s^pia, bandora, talpa, falaca, vinula, ara, and i)olenta. 16. Mo'me. Of 12 in om«?, all are masculine, except the names of plants and stones. 17. Popitlo. Of 43 in 0, mostly borrowed from the Italian, the only exception is virago, which is feminine, of course, as denoting a fe- male. 18. Sillon. 44 in Won, all masculine without exception : vide page 21, note 10. 19. Long. 2 in 07ig, both masculine. 20. 3Iort here means a dead man. La mort, death, is the only feminine of 21 in ort. 21 . Courrona-. Of 9 in oic.v, toux, a cough, is the only feminine. 22. Coup. 5 in oup, all masculines. 23. Corps. 2 in orps, both masculine. 24. Cadavres. 2 in «vre, both masculine. 25. Doguc. Of 26 in 00-?,^, the only femi- nines are drogue, ^glogue, vogue, synagogue, and pirogue, a canoe. 26. Mutamore. Of 19 in or^, mandragore, m^'taphore, aurore, and p^core, are feminine. 27. Jrbre. 3 in arbre, all masculine. 28. Temps. 8 in emps, all masculine. 29. Peril. 52 in il, all masculine without exception. FRENCH NOrNS. 2.3 THIRD MASCULINE FABLE: IVIilch gives the Gender of 694 Nouns. L'AviDE (1) tromp^ et puni. A xanArahe, (2) esclave (3) ll Rome, (4) on avait dit Que, dans un chiotaphe, (5) il y avait un ^rt'.vor; (6) Vers le minuit, il s'y introduit, Croyant y gagner un IcUogramme (7) d'or. Un sac de cuir (8) pesant il y trouva. Que tout joyeux il emporta: iMais il trouva du mecompte (9) quand il I'cxa- minait ; Car, au lieu de I'or qu'il attendait, II p'y trouve que nomhre (10) de Lares (II) de plomb (12) Et de cuivre, (13) auxquels les prfetres de Rome Des dieux des atres (14) donnaient lc«om. (15) \jts parens (16) du dt'/imt, (17) infornu-s du sa- crih'ge, Entrainorent le coupahle(\8) devant le su'ge (19) 24 GENDERS OF Du consul (20) de Rome, des juges (21) un prodige ; (22) Qui dit, " \ebien-ctre (23) dn public (24) exige Que ce vol (25) d'iconoclaste (2G) soit puni ; Et que vingt (27) coups de baton soient le prLv (28) ^ ^ D'avoir m^prise /'rtsi76^ (29) des morts, Et les em6/t'mes(30) des dieux que Rome adore.'' Par le travail (31) du ministre (32) et du discij)le (33) du droit, Le helitre (aJ4) souffre avec stoicisnie (35) le chatiment de son exploit: (36) Et k ses compagnons dit de sangfroid, (37) "Messires !(3S)iiva.nt de couriraucun risqice, (39) sachez pourquoi I" FRENCH NOUNS. r^S NOTES TO THE THIRD MASCULINE FABLE. 1. Jvide. There are 38 nouns in /(?«?; the feminines are ride, a wrinkle, bride, a bridle, s,'-uide, a rein, with egide, pyramide, cantharide, lumorroides, and cycloide. 2. Aruhc. Of 12 in ahe, all are masculine but Souabe, Suabia, and syllabe, a syllable: by a singularity, the compounds of syllabe, as monosyllabe. &c. are masculine. 3. Esclave. Of 19 inave, the feminines are cave, a cellar, rave, a radish, with octave, have, entravcs, and (ipaves, strayed animals. 4. Rome. 27 in oyne, all masculine. 5. Cenot(fphe, Of 31 in aphe, all are mas- culine except 6pigraphe, epitaphe, ortliog;raphe. 6. Tresor. 12 in or, all masculine. 7. Kilogramme, there are 19 nouns in amme: of v.hich all that do not end in gramme are feminine, as are anagramme, and epigramme. 8. Ciiir. 1 in nir, masculine. 9. Mecompte. 7 in ompte, 2 in omtc, all masculine. 10. Nombre. 9 in ombre, all masculine ex- cejjt ombre, shade. 11. Lares. The Lares were, among the Ho- mans, household gods, or gods of the fireside; where small metal images of them, a few inches c 26 GENDERS OF long, were placed. They were so called froni Lar, home. Of 19 nouns in are, the feminines are cithare, tare, fanfare, and tiare. 12. Plomh. 4 in omh, all masculine. 12. Cuivre. Of 8 in ivre, livre, a pound weight, also a piece of money, is the only femi- nine: livre, a book, is masculine: vide pag-e 50. 14. Atre. 20 in atre, and G in artre, all masculine, but finutre, bad silk, chartre, martre, and dartre, 15. Nom. 7 ill om, all masculine. 16. Parens. 11 in ens, all masculine. 17- Defunt. 3 in imt, all masculine. 18. Coupable. 20 in able, all masculine ex- cept fable, table, and etable. 19. Siege. 12 in ege, all masc. but allege. 20. Consul. 8 in ul, all masculine. 21. Juge. 10 in uge, all masculine. 22. Prodige. Of 15 in ige, tige, the body of a tree, and volige, a thin board, are feminine. 23. Bien-ctre. Of 36 in Hre, gu6tre, a gaiter, and fenfetre, a window, are the only fe- minines. 24. Public. 10 in ic, all masculine. 25. f^ol. 19 in ol, all masculine. 26. Iconoclaste, from two Greek words, sig- nifies a breaker and despiser of sacred imag-es. Of 10 in aste, and 6 in astre, all are masculine, except caste, a tribe, and haste, a dart, which follows the Latin hasta, a javelin. 27. Vingt. 1 in int. Le vingt de se mois. 28. Prix. Of 1 1 in ?.?:,perdrix, a partridge, is the only feminine. 29. Agile. I have taken a license to call a FRENCH NOUNS. 27 cenotaph '^ an lie nes 7noi'ts :" but it means an empty tomb. Of 26 in He, the feminines are pile, vifjile, ilc, bile, file, huile, tiiile, and their compounds. The learner must distinguish He from llle, which belonj^s to the feminines. 30. Embltme. Of 36 in ^??j^, brfime, cr6rae, and trirfime are feminine, and a sequence at piquet, as la septifeme. When part or share is spoken of, the numerals become nouns masculine, as, un douzifeme, a twelfth part. 31. Travail. 24 in ail, all masculine. 32. Ministrc. 5 in islrc, all masculine, as are 6 in astre, 4 in ustrc, and 7 i" estre, except orchestra. Bistre, a paint, is doubtful. 33. Disciple. 4 in iple, all masculine. 34. BelHre. Of 19 in itre, vitre, a window, 6pitre, mitre, litre, and huitre, are feminine. 35. Stoicisme. 110 in is77ie, all masculine. 36. E.rploit. 10 in oit, all masculine. 37 Sangfroid. 2 in oid, and 2 in olds, all masculine. 38. Jfessires. 20 in ire, all masculine ex- cept cire, satire, mire, ire, and H^gire. 39. Risque. 6 in isque, all masculine ex- cept bisque, an advantage, and brisque, a game at cards. The iHipil, having learned the three preceding fables by heart, and read the notes with atten- tion, will know the genders of 7904 masculine nouns. I will add two easy rules, which give 377 more, and there will then remain only a few masculines in c mute, which, by those who wish to be very exact, may be learnt separately. c2 28 GENDERS OF RULE I. There are 310 nouns which end avith a CONSONANT, and are of terminations different from all those given in the six fahles. These 310 nouns are all masculine, except faim, hun- ger, paix, peace, chaux, lime, clef, a key, mceurs, manners, soif, thirst, croix, a cross, noix, a nut, poix, pitch, voix, the voice, and La Toussaint, All Saints' day. Remember, therefore, that the guide to this rule is the final letter being a consonant. RULE II. There are Q)^ nouns of which the last vowel that sounds is a Y : these are all masculine, except a few words seldom used, viz. hydre, clepsydre, idylle, sibylle, hymne,* a Christian hymn, lymphe, lymph, crypte, lyre, martyre, a female martyr, analyse, and amethyste. Add to these exceptions myrrhe, myrrh, which is also feminine. * Note that hymne, a hymn, when used in speaking of a religions song of the ancients is masculine: but when it is used to designate a religious song of Christians, it is feminine. FRENCH NOUNS, 29 Masculine Words in e Mute, not comprehended in the preceding Rules. Un sabre, a sabre Un candclabre, a chandelier Le sacre, the consecration Un acte, an act Un pacte, a compact Lediaphragme,thediaphragm Un aigle, an eagle Le vinaigre, vinegar Un glaire, a sword L'ambre, amber Le blame, reproof Un drame, a play Le camphre, camphor Un cancre, a crab Le change, change Un melange, a medley Un angle, an angle Le manque, want I^e chanvre, hemp Un vacarme, an uproar Un charme, a charm Un cigarrc, a cigar Un masque, a mask Un casque, a helmet Un asthme, an asthma Un saule, a willow Un auue, an alder-tree Un royaume, a kingdom Le baume, balm Un psaume, a psalm L'axe, the axis Le luxe, luxury Un buste, a bust Un muscle, a muscle Un volume, a volume Un rhume, a cold Le costume, dress Le culte, worship Un tuiaulte, a tumult 3c Un vestibule, a hall Un scrupule, a doubt Un pendule, a pendulum Le crepuscule, twilight Un globule, a small globe Le Sucre, sugar Un microscope, a microscope Un telescope, a telescope Un soliloque, a soliloquy Un divorce, a divorce Un orme, an elm Un poste, a post Un pouce, a thumb Un tube, a tube Le coude, the elbow Le rouge, rouge Lc comble, the height Un ongle, a nail or claw Un insecte, an insect Un dialecte, a dialect Un spectre, a spectre Un remede, a remedy Un cedre, a cedar Un siecle, an age Le r^gne, the reign Un signe, a sign Un labyrinthe, a labyrinth Un philtre, a potion Un chitlVe, a cipher Un trone, a throne Un code, a code Le pcriode, the height Un carosse, a carriage Un poeme, a poem Un coffre, a trunk Le linge, linen Le bronze, bronze Un vignoble, a vineyard Un cloitre, a monastery 30 GENDERS OF These 78 nouns, with all those (31) ending in acle, asme, itple, oxe, and ordre, complete the enumeration of the masculines, which amount to 8415, including 182 designations of men, ending in e mute, as apotre, an apostle, oncle, an uncle, and the like, which it was entirely unnecessary to mention, as respecting their gender there can he no douht. END OF THE MASCULINE. FRENCH NOUNS. 31 FIRST FEMININE FABLE : Which gives the Gender of 4059 Nouns. L'AtTENTE DE9UE. Une jeune^//e (1) avait une doiizaine (2) De belles tasses (3) de porcelaine, Avec des coupes, (4) etdes petites cruches, (5) Des ventouses (6) et d'autres franfreluclies, Que sur sa life (7) ^ la v€7itc, (8) Portaitla jolie debitante. (9) " Je les vendrai," dit-elle en reverie, (10) "Et une chance (11) ?l la loterie Puis j'acheterais Avec la monnoie. (12) Et de certitude (13) certaine, grande/or/M«e(I4) je gagnerai ; Parceque la dernifere lune je I'ai r6v^: Et riclie alors, et bien mise, J'aurai une montre{\ 5)comme une marquise. {\6) Done j'irai a la danse; (17) Ettous me feront la reverence. (18) 'Quelle fat7/ 2 40 GENDERS OF masculine exceptions are 7 designations of men, with visceres, mystere, ministere, cautere, adul- tere, ulcere, cratere, caractere, hemisplifere, monastere, and a few words of very rare occur- rence. 27. Rivale. Of 50 in ale, and 12 in alle, all are feminine but scandale, intervalle, ovale, petale, and the compounds of balle. 28. Nabote. 47 in ote, all feminine except the names of men, antidote, and vote. 29. Pimbeche. 47 in ecAe, all feminine, but pr6che, a sermon. 30. Sottc. 37 in otte, all feminine but tire- botte, a boot-jack. 31. Vierge. 11 in erge, all feminine but cierge, a taper. 32. Grippe. 4 in ippe, all feminine. 33. Natte. 11 in atte, all feminine. 34. Ingrate. 35 in ate, all feminine, except the names of men, with automate, an automaton, Euphrate, the Euphrates, and stigmate, which is used only when speaking of the marks of our Saviour's wounds. FRENCH NOUNS 4J THIRD FEMININE FABLE, Which gives the Gender of 1406 Nouns. La ViLliAGEOISE ET LA BeLETTE. Unc villugeoise, (I) ii, force (2) d'attrapes, (3) Trouva enfin dans sa trappe, (4) Une irapudente helette, (5) Qui mangeait en goinfrade (6) ses poulettes. En phrase (7) adroite, la captive (8) dit, " O heUe pai/sanne ! (9) epargne ma vie: Me tuei" serait grande injustice; (10) Car des vermines je suis la destructrice, Et de tes po?^e, all feminine but Bourgogne, Burgundy, where ?;m is understood. 14. Histolre. There are 80 words in aire. This is the most diflBcult ending in the language, as there are nearly as many masculines as femi- nines. The learner must remember, that all places in which any persons assemble, are mas- culine ; as refectoire, a refectory ; all law and church terras are masculine; as offertoire, the ofiFertory, petitoire, an action at law; and the remaining masculines in oire must be committed to memory; boire, ivoire, vomitoire, deboire, genitoires, purgatoire, territoire, and machica- toire. 15. Honte. 12 in onte, all feminine, but conte, a story. 16. Fadaise. 15 in ais*?, all feminine, except malaise, mesaise. 17. Charge. 8 in urge, all feminine: but we say, le large, the offing. 18. Guerre. Of 12 in erre, the masculines are ciraeterre, verre, parterre, and tonnerre. 19. Seve. 12 in eve, all feminine, but rfeve and elfeve. Elfeve is both masculine and feminine. 20 Boue. 23 in oue, all feminine. 21. Branches 14 in nnche, all feminine, FRENCH NOUNS. - 45 but Dinianche and manche, a handle: manche is feminine when it means a sleeve. 22. Cifrouille. 18 in oui/lc, all feminine. 23. Oadc'le. Of 19 in ele, the masculines are zfele, modfele, parallfele, a comparison, and infid&le. 24. Fcintes. 12 in einte, all feminine. 25. Plaintes. 6 in ainte, all feminine. 26. Cause. 3 in ause, 3 in aussc, all feminine. 27. Cahane. Of 50 nouns in ane, all are feminine, but ane, an ass, crane, the skull, manes, ghosts, organe, filigrane, arcane, and plane, a plane-tree. 28. Plaie. 49 in aie, all feminine, without exception. 29. Basse. Of 12 in osse, the only mascu- lines are carosse and colosse. 30. Noces. 7 ill oce, all feminine but negoce and sacerdoce. 31. Trompeuse. There are 263 nouns in euse, all feminine, without exception : they al- most all designate females. 32. Degueule. 10 in eule, all feminine. 33. MaiUoche. 'I'here are 30 nouns in oche, all feminine, but proche, rcproche, coche, mcdi- anoche, and loche, a lo.ich. The pupil, having learned thus far, will have fixed in the memory the genders of 6917 femi- nine nouns. There remain about 210 more, which 1 could not introduce : many of these are designations of females; as une dagorne, a shrew, d5 46 GENDERS OF veuve, a widow, ferame, a woman, sage-ferume, a midwife, and the like, the gender of which is instantly obvious. The rest are added in the following list: — Feminine Words in e mute, not comprehended in the preceding Riiles. Une lieue, a league Une bague, a ring Une queue, a tail Une eclipse, an eclipse Une meute, a pack of hounds Une toufFe, a tuft Une preuve, a proof Une huppe, a tuft Une ceuvre, a deed Une perruque, a peruke Une manoeuvre, a manoeuvre La lutte, wrestling Une fievre, a fever Une levre, a lip Une bible, a bible Une fibre, a fibre Une affiche, a placard Une corniche, a cornice Une miche, a roll Une niche, a niche Des bribes, scraps Des besides, spectacles Une ferme, a farm Une citerne, a cistern Une lanterne, a lantern Une caserne, barracks La gouverne, direction Une hutte, a hut Une fugue, a fugue Une couple, a couple Une source, a source Une bourse, a purse La bourbe, mud La fourbe, deceit Les annonces, the banns La provende, provender Une legende, a legend Une amende, a fine La tempe, a temple Une larme, a tear Une alaraie, an alarm Les arnies, weapons Une giberne, a cartridge-box Une harpe, a harp Une serpe, a bill-book Une carpe, a carp Unecontroverse,acontroversyUne remarque, a remark La perte, loss Une barque, a bark L'alerte, alarm L'arac, the soul Une decouverte, a discovery Une cellule, a cell Des conserves, preserves La cuticule, the cuticle Des verves, whims Une drachrae, a dram Une cataracte, a cataract L'epacte, the epact Une montagne, a mountain Une pendule, a clock Le campagne, the country La Sauge, sage Une cliataigne, a chestnut L'cbene, ebony La mule, the Pope's slipper Une pilule, a pill Une virgule, a comma Une peninsule, a peninsula FRENCH NOUNS. 47 La verguc, a ship's yard Une vague, a wave Une aile, a wing Une defaitc, a defeat Une retraite, a retreat Les Alpes, the Alps Une jupe, a petticoat La fresqiie, fresco Une horloge, a clock Une loge, a lodge La ponipe, pomp La moelle, marrow Une tourte, a fruit pie La fange, dirt La frange, fringe Une grange, a barn Une orange, an orange Une sc^ne, a scene Une biblloth^qne, a library Une valve, a valve La lepre, leprosy Les v^pres, vespers Une guepe, a wasp Une goutte, a drop Une boite, a box La pointe, the point Une bombe, a bomb Une colonibe, a dove Une tombe, a monument La peste, a plague Une veste, a waistcoat Les cendres, ashes Une reponse, an answer Une farce, a farce Les louanges, praises These nouns, with all those \n ese, arte, ourde, and nmpe, 28 in number, added to some female designations, and a few words seldom vised, com- plete the feminire list, which amounts to 7133. This number, added to the masculines, 8415, will g-ive the total amount of the French nouns, 15,548; a calculation which, I believe, agrees as nearly as possible with those made by the French grammarians. As soon as the learner has committed the six fables to memory, he ought to exercise himself in the application of them. This may be done by his teacher taking a dictionary, and calling the nouns, while the pupil, as eacli word is called, refers it in his memory to the guiding word in the fable, and answers as to the gender. A very little practice will enable him to refer in a mo- ment to a word in the fables that ends like the word he wants to know the gender of. For in- 48 SENDERS OF Stance, suppose the word asked be haleiiie, the breath, his memory will refer it to reine, or peine, and, as these words occur in the fable about the qaeen of the rose, a female, he will know at once that haleine is feminine. Gibier, game, he would refer to sanglier ; metal, to cheval; enfance and esperance, to chance; gravite to heaute ; fente to attente ; carquois, to bois ; and so of the rest. The following list comprehends all those nouns which the French make masculine in one signi- fication, and feminine in the other. I should re- commend students who have made some progress in the language, to copy them all three or four times, as the surest method of impressing them on the memory : — line aide, help Un aide, an assistant, as aide-de-camp Un aigle, an eagle L'aigle Imperiale, a standard, /em. L'aise, comfort, ease,/>m. Le malaise, discomfort Un aune, an alder-tree Une aune, an ell measure Un barbe, a Barbary horse Une barbe, a beard Un barde, a bard, a poet La barde, a slice of bacon roasted with a fo^vl Un Basque, a Biscayan Une basque, a skirt Un berce, a bird Une berce, a plant Un braque, a setting dog FRENCH NOUNh. 49 l^es braques, /■(?/«. the claws of shell-tish Un cipre, a privateer line capre, a caper Le caraque, cocoii Uiie caraque, a carrack, a kind of ship Le carpe, the wrist I'ne carpe, a carp Un cartouche, an ornament in designing Une cartouche, a cartridge Le Champagne, a French wine La Champagne, a province of France Un coche, a waggon, a passage-boat Une coche, an old sow, a notch Le counetablcthe Lord High Constable of Francs La connetable, his lady Un couple, u man and his wife Une couple, a pair, a brace Le clir6me, or cr6me, consecrated oil Le cr^me de tarte, a drug La cr6me, cream Un critique, a critic Une critique, a criticism Une dame, a lady Le dame dame, a sort of cheese IjP double, a duplicate, twice tlie value La double, the second stomach of a ruminsting^ animal Un enseigne, an ensign, an officer Une enseigne, a flag, a token Un exemple, an example, a precedent Une exemple, a writing copy, a pattern Le faux, falsehood \jh faux, a scvthe FjC fin, the main point La fin, the end 50 GENDBRS OF Le folUcule, the gall bladder Lafollicule, the seed-vessel in plants Un forfet, a gimlet Une for6t, a forest Un foudre, a tun-vessel, a wine-butt Un foudre de guerre, a thunderbolt of war, a great warrior Une foudre, a thunderbolt La foudre de Dieu, the wrath of God Un fourbe, a swindler La fourbe, knavery, deceit Un garde, a guardsman Une garde, a defence Le greffe, a register La greffe, a graft Les gueules, gules, in heraldry, mas. La gueule, the jaws of a beast Un guide, a guide Une guide, a rein Le haute-paye, a soldier in extra pay La haute-paye, extra pay Un heliotrope, a sun-flower Une heliotrope, a spotted precious stone Un hymne, a chant of the ancients Une hymne, a Christian hymn Un iris, a rainbow Une iris, the circle round the pupil of the eye Les larves, mas. evil spirits La larve, a worm or grub Une ligne, a line Un interligne, a space between lines Un litre, a measure for liquids Une litre, mourning hangings used in churches Un livre, a book Une livre, a pmind weight, a piece of money FRENCH NOUNS. 51 Un nianche, a liaiidle Une manche, a sleeve, the straits of Dover Un manoeuvre, a bricklayer's ni^n Une manoeuvre, a manoeuvre Un martyre, a martyrdom Une martyre, a female martyr Un matamore, a boaster Une matamore, a slave-prison Un memoire, a bill, a memoir, a memorandum La memoire, the memory Un mire, a boar five years old Une mire, an aim, the button at the muzzle of a gun to take aim by Un mode, a mood, accident La mode, fashion, custom Un mole, a pier, a mole, a dyke Une mole, a tympany, a false idea La mort, death Un mort, a corpse, a dead man Un moufle, a pulley, a set of pulleys Une moufle, a mitten Un moule, a model, a pattern, an example Une moule, a muscle, a shell fish L^n mousse, a ship boy La mousse, moss, froth Un novice, a novice, a cabin-boy Une novice, a female preparing to take the veil, a nun expectant Une nuit, a night Une malenuit, a restless night Le niinuit, midnight Le grand ceuvre, the philosopher's stone Un neuvre, a literary work Jjes horsdVpuvre, mas. small ragouts, side dishes T'lip ffuvre. an action, a work, a deed 52 GENDERS OF Un ombre, a sort of fish like the salmon L'ombre, mas., a g-ame at cards Une ombre, a shadow, a ghost Les ombres, ?«as., is applied to uninvited visitors introduced to a feast in ancient Home, by the invited guests Un orgue, an organ Les orgues,y