§ 17. When the sentence following être is the real subject of that verb, and begins the phrase in French, it has to be translated by il, and the preposition de or the conjunction que are placed before the second verb, as :— IT is ridiculous to speak in that way IL est ridicule DE parler de la sorte Ir is ridiculous you should speak in that way It would be a mistake to say c'est ridicule, &c., because the meaning is, parler de la sorte est ridicule, or parler de la sorte est ridicule pour vous. But if être is only followed by an adjective, we use ce for it, as : You spoke in that way; IT was ridiculous § 18. The undeclinable word en is properly an adverb of place, but may be taken as a pronoun, inasmuch as it is governed by verbs, which it precedes or follows according to the rules on the position of pronouns, and also because it answers to the English pronouns it and then, governed by the prepositions of or from (see THIRD FRENCH BOOK, §§ 143–146). Therefore, if in a sentence of two members a cardinal number or an adverb of quantity stand by themselves in the second member, that is without being followed by any other word, we must in French always place en before the second verb, as :— 1. I have twenty books, but he HAS fifty 2. We did eat five apples, but you ate TOO MANY Nous avons mangé cinq pommes, mais vous EN avez mangé TROP In both phrases en is used because of them is understood. § 19. Often in English we use emphatically the demonstrative adjectives these, those, when in French the definite article alone is used, as : 1. Love THOSE people who love you Aimez LES gens qui vous aiment 2. They ask favours from THESE idols who cannot even hear them Ils demandent des faveurs AUX idoles qui ne peuvent même les entendre But if no noun comes after these, those, they are used as pronouns in both languages, as : 1. Love THOSE who love you Aimez CEUX qui vous aiment § 20. In French the demonstrative pronoun ce is always used before a relative pronoun, answering to the English " "what" (see THIRD FRENCH BOOK, §§ 155157), as : 1. WHAT troubles me, WHAT I blame and WHAT I complain of, is not WHAT you are thinking about CE QUI me tourmente, CE QUE je blâme, CE DONT je me plains, n'est pas CE À QUOI vous pensez § 21. Possessive pronouns in the masculine gender are often used substantively to denote one's own relations, friends, supporters, &c., also for "my own," &c. (see THIRD FRENCH BOOK, § 150), as :— 1. OUR MEN began the attack LES NÔTRES Commencèrent l'attaque 2. He has contributed nothing of HIS OWN Il n'y a rien mis DU SIEN § 22. An adjective in English is hardly ever employed by itself in addressing people, but is generally used with a pronoun, as YE WICKED, fear the last day. In French we omit the pronoun, because the adjective is used as a substantive, and a pronoun would be unnecessary; we say, therefore, MÉCHANTS, craignez le dernier jour. But if the ye belongs to the verb, and is not a mere exclamation, the pronoun is used in both languages, as: YE, WICKED, shall surely be punished, MÉCHANTS, vous serez punis assurément. § 23. Sentences like SUCH a rich man may be translated in two ways, un homme TELLEMENT riche, or un homme si riche, because the indefinite adjective TEL cannot modify an adjective of quality, its corresponding adverb tellement, or the adverb si, so, being substituted for it. But SUCH, TEL, can very well modify a noun, hence such a man, un TEL homme, would be right (see THIRD FRENCH BOOK, § 113). VERBS. § 24. Several verbs are active in English, and neuter in French. As active verbs only can have a passive voice, we must take care not to translate the English literally; for example, I am PLEASED is in French je suis CONTENT, and not je suis plu, because plaire, to please, is a neuter verb in French, but active in English; hence also, I was MUCH pleased with his brother must not be translated J'ÉTAIS beaucoup PLU avec son frère, but son frère m'a beaucoup pplu. We HAVE not BEEN hurt has not to be translated nous n'AVONS pas ÉTÉ nui, but on ne nous a pas nui. PREPOSITIONS. § 25. Prepositions join nouns or pronouns to other nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, and adverbs, and show the relation existing between them. As French nouns have no cases, all the different accidents of the nouns must be expressed by prepositions. Great care must be taken to use them correctly, as they are often very puzzling to the student (see SECOND FRENCH BOOK, §§ 231-234). We will give a few of these cases. ABOUT. § 26. About has a great many different meanings in French. We only give a few examples : 1. His soldiers were about him 2. He took me about the middle Il me prit par le milieu du corps 3. Why does he keep such people about him? Pourquoi garde-t-il auprès de lui de pareilles gens ? By. § 27. By is not always translated by par, but often by other prepositions. A few examples follow :— 1. The coat made by lamp-light was sent me by ten o'clock L'habit fait à la lueur de la lampe me fut envoyé à dix heures 5. By your description of the town D'après la description que vous faites de la ville 6. He is shorter by a whole head Il est plus court de toute la tête 7. I was drying by the fire Je me sèchais auprès du feu 8. He kept so much money by him Il gardait tant d'argent par devers lui 9. What hour is it by your watch 10. He began by counting Il commençait à compter FOR. § 28. For is not always translated by pour, but often by other prepositions. A few examples follow :— 1. In reward for my services En récompense de mes services 2. As for him Quant à lui |