Of the Participle Past accompanied by the verb Avoir, and followed or preceded by its Object Direct, or Indirect. 153 Section III.-Of the Relative Pronouns Section IV.-Of the Absolute Pronouns. INTRODUCTION: BEING A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE PARTS OF SPEECH. WORDS are articulate sounds, which we make use of to express our ideas. There are, in French, ten kinds of words: namely, the Substantive or Noun, the Article, the Adjective, the Pronoun, the Verb, the Participle, the Adverb, the Preposition, the Conjunction, and the Interjection. Words, considered as sounds, are formed by Letters and Syllables. Letters are divided into Vowels and Consonants. The Vowels are; a, e, i, o, u, y: the Consonants are; b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, Vg Xg Z. A Vowel is an articulate sound, that can be perfectly uttered without the help of any other sound. A Consonant is an articulate sound, which cannot be perfectly uttered without the help of a Vowel. A Syllable is a sound, either simple or compound, pronounced by a single impulse of the voice, and constituting a Word, or part of a Word: as, an, year; un, one; a-mi, friend. A Diphthong is a coalition of two sounds, which are uttered by a single impulse of the voice · oui, ves wall. as bieu we A word of One Syllable is termed a Monosyllable; a word of Two Syllables, a Dissyllable; a word of Three Syllables, a Trisyllable; and a word of Four or more Syllables, a Polysyllable. A Sentence is an assemblage of Words, forming complete sense: as, Dieu est juste, God is just. Sentences are of two kinds: Simple, and Compound. A Simple Sentence has in it but one subject, one verb, and one object or attribute: as, la vie est courte, life is short. A Compound Sentence consists of two or more simple sentences connected together: as, Dicu récompensera les bons, et punira les méchants; God will reward the good. and punish the wicked. The subject (nominative) is the thing or person chiefly spoken of; the verb expresses the action, affirmed or denied of it; and the object (accusative) is the thing or person affected by such action. Thus, in the following sentence, Dicu punit les méchants, God punishes the wicked --God is the subject; the action that proceeds from God is affirmed by the verb punishes; and the object upon which it falls is the wicked. THE SUBSTANTIVE, OR NOUN. The Substantive is a word which represents a person or a thing that exists in nature; as, homme, man; arbre, tree; livre, book; or which has its existence in the mind; as, vertu, virtue; espérance, hope; courage, courage. There are two kinds of Substantives: the Substantive Proner, or proper name; and the Substantive Common. |