Fifth Section.-Passive Verbs. (196.)

272. Passive verbs are formed with ÊTRE, "to be," and the past participle of a verb denoting an action which the person speaking, spoken to, or spoken of, suffers from some other person or thing. The subject to the passive verb may also be a noun or thing.

1. L'honnête homme est estimé, même de | 1.

ceux qui n'ont pas de probité.

2. La ville de Rome fut fondée par Romulus. 2.

The honest man is esteemed even by those who have no honesty.

The city of Rome was founded by Romulus. 273. N.B. The past. part. of a passive v. agrees, as an adj. (102.), in g. and n. with the subject. (327.)

274. Although it has been stated (196.) that intransitive verbs have no passive, observe that the two intransitive v. obéir à, to obey, and convenir de, to agree, may become passive.

Sixth Section.-Pronominal Verbs.

Pronominal verbs are divided into (a.) REFLECTIVE and (b.) RECIPROCAL. (a.) REFLECTIVE VERBS (197.) have the following peculiarities:

275. I. They are conjugated with two ponouns, the first of which is the subject; and the second the object, i. e. the pron. upon which the action is thrown back or reflectedhence the term reflective. The pronouns are-JE ME, I...myself; TU TE, thou...thyself; IL or ELLE SE, he or she...himself, herself, or itself; NOUS NOUs (148.), we...ourselves; VOUS VOUS (148.), you...yourself or selves; and ILS or ELLES SE, they... themselves.

276. II. The objective pron. of a reflective v. precedes it, except with the 1st person plur. and 2d pers. both sing, and plur. of the Imperative used affirmatively, in which case the objective pron. follows the v. (151.), and then, for the sake of emphasis, te becomes toi.

277. III. The compound tenses of reflective v. are formed with être, " to be," whereas in English they take "to have." This peculiarity should be carefully noted.§

278. IV. In the compound tenses of reflective v., the past part. agrees in g. and n. with the objective pron., when that pron. is the direct object to the v. (331.)

279. V. Many verbs are reflective in F., whilst the E. meaning is not: e. g. SE promener, to walk (290.); SE souvenir, to remember; s'écrier, to exclaim, &c.

280. Verbs are either essentially or accidentally reflective: they are "essentially reflective" when they cannot be employed without one of the objective pron. me, te, se, nous, vous, se: e. g. sE repentir, to repent; s'emparer, to take possession of, &c. Occasionally, transitive and intransitive v. appear in the reflective form, and are then called "accidentally reflective:" e. g. 1. Je ME coupe, "I cut myself." 2. L'ambition SE joue (279.) de la vie des hommes, "Ambition sports with the lives of men."

281. The French seldom use a v. in the passive, but are fond of the reflective form. Instead of saying-" La vie humaine est composée d'ennuis et de joies," (human life is composed of sorrows and joys), they prefer saying-" La vie humaine SE compose d'ennuis et de joies."

(b.) RECIPROCAL Verbs.

282. The term reciprocal indicates that each acts not on himself, but on the other— "They understand each other," ils se comprennent.|| (Vide D'Orsey's G.) According to that definition, reciprocal v. are only used in the plural. Besides the objective pron, that precedes the verb, the F. generally use after the verb l'un l'autre (in speaking of two), or les uns les autres (in speaking of several), in order to mark reciprocity. Sometimes, instead of l'un l'autre, &c., entre is prefixed to the reciprocal verb-ils s'ENTRE choquent.

↑ OBSERVATION.-Quelques grammairiens ont cru devoir suivre la classification latine et admettre des verbes passifs; mais je suis aimé n'est pas plus un verbe passif que je suis content n'en est un le participe rassé joint au verbe être est un véritable adjectif qui prend le genre et le nombre de son sujet, comme tout autre qualificatif; et ces mots, je suis aimé, j'étais aimé, j'ai été aimé, présentent dans leur ensemble, non des verbes particuliers, mais des propositions, comme je suis malade; j'étais roi; fai été mécontent.-POITEVIN.)

The tenses of the Infinitive must be excepted, as they have no subject.

283. 2 OBSERVATION.-Dans les verbes pronominaux, le verbe être est employé pour le verbe avoir, et je me suis trompé, nous nous sommes présentés signifient j'ai trompé moi, nous avons présenté nous. C'est l'oreille, qui, peu flattée de je m'ai trompé, nous nous avons présentés, a fait substituer le verbe être au verbe avoir.

284. OBSERVATION.-Un très-grand nombre de verbes réfléchis accidentels, qui, au singulier, sont purement réfléchis, expriment au pluriel la réciprocité: Cet homme SE COMPREND à peine; ces deux hommes SE SONT toujours COMPRIS, c'est-à-dire, l'un a compris l'autre.

To flatter one's self, SE FLATTER.

Se flattant.

COMP. PAST PART. S'étant flatté.

PAST PART. Flatté, ée, és, ées, (according to g. and n., 330.–331.)

286. Reflective verbs are conjugated in their simple tenses according to the model of the conjugation to which they may belong. I have given only the first pers. of most of the tenses, and only one compound tense in full; the learner will have to conjugate this or some other verb at full length, to make himself familiar with this very important form.

TRADUCTION ET LECTURE XXVII.

1. Nous nous chauffons au coin du feu. 2. Vous vous couchez trop tard. 3. Ils se lèvent trop tôt. 4. Ils se connaissent fort peu. 5. Sa sœur s'appelle Marie. 6. Combien vous faut-il de temps pour vous habil

ler? 7. Si vous avez froid, chauffez-vous. 8. Taisez-vous et mêlez-vous de vos affaires. 9. Comment vous portez-vous ?-Je me porte très-bien. 10. Nous nous sommes fatigués (331.) inutilement. 11. Si vous vous asseyez sur le gazon, vous vous enrhumerez. 12. Elle s'est habillée (331.) dans cette chambre. 13. Je me suis promené dans le jardin. 14. Ce village s'appelle Chamouny. 15. Ces deux hommes se sont toujours compris. 16. Les Phéniciens, étonnés, se regardaient les uns les autres. 17. Comme ces deux jeunes gens se ressemblent! 18. Ce mot se traduit facilement. 19. Les fleurs se fanent. 20. La langue française se parle par toute l'Europe. 21. La nouvelle se répandit avec une rapidité étonnante. 22. Le dîner s'apprête. 23. Je me suis servi de vos rasoirs. 24. Mes habits s'usent. 25. Je voulus jeter la lettre, mais la fenêtre se referma. 26. Je me rappelle encore ce jour-là. 27. Souvenez-vous de cela. 28. Je m'empresse de répondre à votre lettre.

The list of reflective verbs, and the illustrations just given, show that most reflective verbs are expressed in English by intransitive verbs.

287. As is seen from some of the illustrations, reflective verbs are often used "to imply a state of becoming, growing, getting, when the active cause is not mentioned, as well as an action done from custom."1.”—(MERLET.)

Exercise XXXVIII.-SUR LES VERBES PRONOMINAUX.

Présent de l'indicatif.-1. I wash myself in my room (se laver). 2. He dresses himself very fast (s'habiller). 3. She flatters herself too much (se flatter). 4. Your servant dresses himself in (en) five minutes.* 5. We torment ourselves during his absence (se tourmenter). 6. You cut yourself very often. 7. They enrich themselves in (en) Australia (s'enrichir). Imparfait.-1. We found ourselves comfortable in that peasant's cottage (se trouver bien). 2. She was often angry (se fâcher). 3. We used to go to bed at 5 o'clock (se coucher). 4. You used to laugh at everybody (se moquer de). 5. Those peasants found themselves very comfortable in that palace. 6. Those merchants were enriching themselves very fast.

Futur.-1. Mary will soon fall asleep (s'endormir). 2. We shall awake at 7 o'clock (s'éveiller). 3. You will catch cold in that room (s'enrhumer). 4. They will laugh at you. 5. Your two friends support one another (se soutenir l'un l'autre). 6. My aunts will torment themselves during my absence.

CONDITIONNEL.-1. I would repent (se repentir) if I had done (fait) it. 2. We should not forget ourselves so far (s'oublier à ce point-là). 3. You would dishonour yourselves by such an action (se déshonorer par une telle action). 4. They would establish themselves here (s'établir).

IMPÉRATIF.-1. O man, remember that thou art mortal (se souvenir). 2. Dress yourself fast. 3. Let us make haste (se dépêcher). 4. Rest yourselves here (se reposer).

Compound Tenses (formed with Être, No. 277.)

Passé indéfini.-1. I have washed myself. 2. He has enriched himself in Australia. 3. We have flattered ourselves (331.). 4. They have drowned themselves (se noyer). 5. My sisters have wandered in the wood (s'égarer). 6. We have subscribed to the "Times."

Plus-que-parfait.-1. I had married too young (se marier). 2. Her husband had complained of you (se plaindre). 3. She had proposed herself to (pour) teach (the) French and (the) German. 4. We had repented our faults (se repentir de).

Futur antérieur.-1. I shall have betrayed myself (se trahir). 2. We shall have fatigued ourselves to no purpose (se fatiguer inutilement). 3. They will have betrayed themselves. 4. My nieces will have wandered in the wood.

Having washed one's self, s'étant lavé. Not having washed one's self,

Was I washing myself? &c. Was I not washing myself? &c.
me lavais-je? &c.
ne me lavais-je pas? &c.

Should I have washed myself?
me serais-je lavé? &c.
IMPERATIVE. (146.-151.)

lave-toi. (151.)
lavons-nous.
lavez-vous.

N.B. The learner will readily understand that neither the Subjunctive nor the Imperative can be used interrogatively; and it will be quite easy for him to go through the Subjunctive negatively.

TRADUCTION ET LECTURE XXVIII.

1. Comment vous appelez-vous?† 2. A quelle heure se couche-t-on ici? 3. Je ne me lève jamais avant huit heures. 4. Les Français s'emparèrent d'Alger en 1830? 5. Ne se sont-ils pas écrit des lettres fort injurieuses? 6. Nous ne nous écrivons plus. 7. Je ne me souviens pas de cette dette-là. 8. Ne vous fatiguez pas trop. 9. Ne se sont-ils pas abonnés à ces journaux? 10. Je ne m'en suis pas informé. 11. Cela ne se répète pas. 12. Vous repentez-vous de vos fautes?† 13. Vous êtesvous promené aujourd'hui? 14. Vos frères se promènent-ils souvent à cheval? 15. Il est étonnant que vous vous soyez enrichi si tôt. 16. Vous amusez-vous à la campagne ?† 17. Vous ennuyez-vous quelquefois? 18. De quoi vous occupez-vous. 19. A quelle heure vous êtes-vous couché hier? 20. Ne se sont-elles pas abandonnées au désespoir? 21. A qui le jeune berger s'était-il rendu agréable.† 22. Si vous aviez su cela, ne vous seriez-vous pas rendu chez eux? 23. Ne s'abonneront-ils pas à votre journal. 24. Chauffez-vous si vous avez froid. 25. Où vous êtes-vous enrhumé ?—En revenant de la chasse.

Exercise XXXIX.

Présent de l'indicatif.-1. How do you do (se porter)? 2. How is your brother? 3. Do you think yourself happy (se croire)? 4. I do not go to bed so early (se coucher de si bonne heure). 5. Do you not rise at seven o'clock (se lever)? 6. Do you go to bed at ten o'clock? 7. Do you not go to bed at eleven o'clock ? 8. How are your brothers and sisters? They are very well (se porter).

Imparfait.-1. Did he wash himself at (en) the same time as you? 2. Was she not astonished at everything (s'étonner de)? 3. They were not making haste. 4. Were they walking in the garden? 5. They were not walking in the wood. 6. Were they walking

in the meadow (prairie, f.)? 7. Were they not walking in the street? 8. Were not your friends walking in the street?

Futur.-1. I shall not bathe this morning (se baigner). 2. You will not fall asleep, I hope. 3. Will he not make haste? 4. My friends will rise at the same time as you. 5. Will not your children fall asleep at seven o'clock? 6. Will not your pupils bathe to-day?

Impératif.-1. Do not cut yourself. 2. Let us not fall asleep. 3. Do not make haste. 4. Let us not forget ourselves. 5. Do not drown yourselves, 6. Do not walk in the wood.

TEMPS COMPOSÉS. (277.)

Passé indéfini.—1. I have cut (se couper) myself. 2. I have not cut myself. 3. Have I not cut myself? 4. Has not your sister cut (331.) herself? 5. Have we not flattered ourselves before (devant) him? 6. Have not those men betrayed themselves? 7. Have not those ladies walked in the meadow? 8. Have you subscribed (s'abonner) to that newspaper?

Plus-que-parfait.-1. I had not remembered everything (se souvenir de). 2. Had he not married too young? 3. Had your niece caught cold in the wood? 4. Had not your uncles enriched themselves in America? 5. Had you been astonished at (s'étonner de) that report (nouvelle, f.)? 6. Had you not subscribed to those concerts?

Conditionnel passé.-1. Should I have repented? 2. They would not have drowned themselves. 3. Would your partners have remembered that debt (se souvenir de)? 4. Your brothers would not have known each other (se reconnaître).

289. REPLY.-JE M'APPELLE, &c.-In answering questions asked with a reflective verb, be careful to use the proper pronouns. Other examples:-1. Vous amusez-vous à la campagne? Oui, je m'y amuse beaucoup. 2. A qui le jeune berger s'était-il rendu agréable ?—Il s'était rendu agréable au roi. 3. Vous repentez-vous de vos fautes?-Oui, je m'en repens. 4. Comment se porte votre frère ?—I se porte bien.

* See page 122, No. 290.

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