ARTICLE II. OF INTERROGATIONS. §. 1. Of the different Modes of Interrogation in which the Pronoun Subject is generally placed after the Verb. FIRST GENERAL RULE.-When a Verb is interrogatively used, having for its subject one of the Personal Pronouns-je, tu, il, elle; nous, vous, ils, elles; the Demonstrative ce, this, that; or the Indefinite Pronoun on, one, they, &c. they must be placed after the Verb in a Simple Tense, and after the auxiliary in a Compound one, with a hyphen (-) between the Verb or the auxiliary and the Pronoun, without expressing the auxiliaries, does, do, or did, used in English, except, however, when did stands for has or have, in which case it is construed by the corresponding Person, either Singular or Plural of the Present of the Indicative of the Verb avoir, placing the Verb following in the Past Participle: as-Do you call? appelez-vous? shall I go with you? iraije avec vous? how much did that coat cost you? combien vous a coûté cet habit? &c. Should the Verb end with a vowel in the Third Person Singular of any of its Tenses, a t is then required between the Verb and the Pronouns il, elle, or on, with a hyphen on each side of it, to avoid the harsh sound which would otherwise result from the meeting of the two vowels: as-Parle-t-il? does he speak? danse-t-elle bien? does she dance well? viendra-t-on? will they come ? &c., and not, parle il? danse elle bien? viendra on? &c. Observe.-1. When the First Person Singular of the Present of the Indicative of a Verb ends in e mute, and is interrogatively used, an acute accent is required to be placed over the e: as-Do I speak? parlé-je? do I offer? offré-je? do I suffer? souffré-je? &c. and not, parle-je? offre-je? souffre-je? &c. The same is to be observed in the First Person Singular of the Present and Imperfect of the Subjunctive of a few Verbs, of which the First Person of either Tense ending in e mute, has its subject placed after it, to express a kind of wish, desire, &c.: as-May I! puissé-je! were I! dussé-je! 2. If the First Person Singular of the Present of the Indicative of a Verb has but one syllable, and is used interrogatively, the expression est-ce que, is sometimes employed before the Verb instead of placing the Pronoun after, to avoid the harsh sound which would result in some instances: as-Do I sleep? est-ce que je dors? do I lose? est-ce que je perds? &c. and not dors-je? perds-je? &c. always beginning the sentence by est-ce que, placing next the Pronoun which is subject of the Verb, and then the Verb. SECOND GENERAL RULE.-When a Verb, or any of these auxiliaries, does, do, did, shall, will, can, could, would, should, may, might, being interrogatively used, has for subject a Substantive instead of a Personal Pronoun, or any of these Pronouns, this, that; any body, any one; mine, thine; his, hers, ours, yours, theirs; the sentence is then construed by beginning with the Substantive or Pronoun, and next the Verb, without ever expressing the auxiliaries does, do, did, but using immediately after the Verb in a Simple Tense, or after the auxiliary in a Compound one, one of the Personal Pronouns, il, elle, or ils, elles, according to the gender and number of the Substantive pre VOL. I. E e ceding as-Is breakfast ready? le déjeuner est-il prét? will your sister be at home? votre sœur sera-t-elle chez elle? is mine here? le mien est-il ici? does the gentleman play? monsieur joue-t-il? did the lady kiss him? la dame l'embrassa-t-elle?—as if it were in English: the breakfast is it ready? your sister will she be at home? Mine is it here? &c. If the sentence, however, begin by one of these Interrogative expressions, qui, who? que or quoi, what? combien, how much, how many? comment, how? pourquoi, why, what for? d'où, from whence? par où, through what place? or any other of the same kind, the Pronouns il, elle; ils, elles, are then usually omitted, if the Verb has no object, placing the Substantive, its subject, after it, in a Simple Tense, and after the Participle in a Compound one, as above; but, if the Verb has an object, using the Pronouns il, elle ; ils, elles, as in the preceding rule: Ex.-Who is the young lady that has just gone out? qui est la demoiselle qui vient de sortir? where is your son gone? où est allé votre fils? from whence does the gentleman come? d'où vient monsieur? in which sentences the Pronouns il, elle, &c. are not used, because the Verbs have no object; but we say with il, elle; ils, elles :How did the young lady find her way home? comment mademoiselle trouva-t-elle son chemin? why has the governess scolded her? pourquoi la gourvernante l'a-t-elle grondée? because these Verbs have an object. Observe. The subject of the Verb, whether it is a Noun or a Pronoun, is likewise placed after the Verb, though the sentence is not interrogative, when quoting the words of any person: as-I shall have soon finished, said he, j'aurai bientôt fini, dit-il; all men are fools, said Boileau, and the only difference is in the degree, tous les hommes sont fous, a dit Boileau, et ne diffèrent que du plus ou du moins. THIRD GENERAL RULE.-These interrogative expressions,-Is this or that? is not this or that? are these or those? are not these or those? was this or that? was not this or that? were these or those? were not these or those? &c. followed by one of the Possessive Pronouns, —My, thy, his, her, our, your, their, and a Substantive; or, again, by one of the Disjunctive Possessive-Mine, thine, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs; are expressed in French-Is this or that? by est-ce là ?--is not this or that? by n'est-ce pas là?—are these or those? by sontce là?—are not these or those? by ne sont-ce pas là ?—was this or that? by était-ce là?—was not this or that? by n'était-ce pas là?—were these or those? by étaient-ce là ?—were not these or those? by n'étaient-ce pas là? &c. &c. according to the Tense in which the Verb to be is in English, and as it is in the Singular or Plural, expressing the answer to them by— Ce l'est or ce les sont ; ce ne l'est pas or ce ne les sont pas, &c. according likewise to the Tense in which the Verb is in English, and as it is Singular or Plural, affirmative or negative; using, 1st, ce; 2, one of the Pronouns le, la, les, according to the Gender and Number of the Substantive mentioned in the question; 3, the Verb in the Third Person Singular or Plural, if it is affirmative and if negative, 1st, ce; 2, ne; 3, one of the Pronouns le, la, l' les; 4, the Verb; 5, pas; as-Is this your carriage? yes, it is; est-ce là votre voiture? oui, ce l'est; is not that your hat? no, it is not; n'est-ce pas là votre chapeau? non, ce ne l'est pas; are these your children? yes, they are; sont-ce là vos enfans? oui, ce les sont; was this your horse? yes, it was; était-ce là votre cheval? oui, ce l'était, &c. FOURTH GENERAL RULE.-The following kind of Interrogations, in which the second part of the sentence is negative and the first affirmative, but always implying a wish that the thing in question may take place, or a certainty that it has taken place: as-You will come, will you not? you have written to him, have you not? &c. are expressed in French by translating the first part literally, and using n'est-ce pas for the second part, whatever may be the expression or Tense of the Verb used in English: as-You will come, will you not? vous viendrez n'est-ce pas ? you have written to him, have you not? vous lui avez écrit, n'est-ce pas ? as if it were in English, you will come, is it not? you have written to him, is it not? But these interrogations, and any similar ones, in which we feel a kind of surprise at the thing mentioned taking or having taken place, the first part being usually negative, and the second interrogative without negation as-It does not rain, does it? your father is not dead, is he? are expressed in French by est-ce que in the beginning of the sentence, putting next the subject of the Verb, then the Verb, without expressing the negation, and leaving the second part of the sentence, composed of the expressions does it? did it? will it? &c. completely unexpressed: as-It does not rain, does it? est-ce qu'il pleut? your father is not dead, is he? est-ce que votre père est mort? &c. &c. as if it were in English-Is it that it rains? is it that your father is dead? &c. Observe. When we feel surprised at any thing not taking place, we also use Estce que to ask the question, whatever may be the mode of expression used in English: as-Don't you go there? est-ce que vous n'y allez pas? EXERCISE. Do you intend to go out to-day?-Did you call me avoir intention de sortir Avez appeler (as you came in) this morning?-Will she not see me?-How en entrant voir si peu de chose (can any one) expect a reward for (such a trifle?)-Do I peut-on attendre récompense love her more tenderly than I should? -Oh! may aimer tendrement ne devrais I live vivre long enough to see those happy days when she (is restored) pour to us! For (were it even at the expense of) my life, dussé-je y perdre la sera rendue I will deliver her from the slavery to which she is now reduced! Do I sleep at church? dormir église maintenant Do I sell impious réduire corrompre as a man who T*** play to jouer day? Yes; he performs the part of Henry the Fourth.-Did any body tell you so ?-Will not Miss S * think cela que c'sub.pr. pur supposition? Is the company arrived?-At what o'clock will compagnie dinner be ready?-Did not the prét which I now? servant tell you that he is not servante has not Mr. D * * * accepted the two bills accepter effet (brought) this morning ?Is he (in the counting-house) Yes; he is (waiting for) Mrs. L* mother and sisters come à attendre (to tea) with us this evening? No; they are going to Mrs. W's.-Was the girl going to market chez when I met rencontrer fille marché her yesterday? Is Mr. P*** (at home?) Yes, chez lui madam, he is (dressing.)—Did not Orpheus, by the recital of his misfortunes, à s'habiller Orphée récit move the heart of Pluto ?-Is the (music-master) malheur toucher maître de musique here? No, he (is just gone out.) - Who was that lady who spoke vient de sortir to you in the Park last Sunday? How much did that coat 2 dernier 1 cost you? Why did not your sisters take some (refreshment?)— prendre rafraichissemens pl. (Which way) did the lady go?-What were the conquests of 3 1 est par où Julius Cæsar in Great Jules César tuer reign? (How long,) Catalina, wilt thou abuse our patience?régner Jusques à quand abuser de How long shall thy frantic rage baffle the efforts of justice? frénétique se jouer des -In how many days did God create the world?-Who were the first man and la première woman?-Who were their sons?-What was their occupation?-How did your sister find her way home* trouver (last night?)-There will always be wars among men, said that des hier au soir saint try to deceive you. All men tácher de tromper are fools, added he, who will ajouter said Boileau, the only difference is in the degree. Is this your house? entrer Yes it is; will you walk in?-Is that your footman? valet No, he is not.-Was not that your carriage? Yes, it was.-Are ce these your horses ?—No, they are not.-Is this your hat?-Yes, it is; give it to me.-You speak French, don't you?—They live. demeurer in the country, do they not?-He was (a coal-merchant,) was marchand de charbon he not? They are in town, are they not?-They will come, is it not so? You have seen my father, have you not? It does not rain, does it?-She is not dead, is she?-You have not lost your way, have you?—He was not robbed, was he?-Don't you go voler sometimes to the opera ?-No, never. CHAPTER VII. OF ADVERBS. AN Adverb is a part of speech joined to a Verb, an Adjective, and sometimes to another Adverb, to express some quality or circumstance respecting it: as-He reads well, il lit bien; a truly good man, un très-bon homme; she writes very correctly, elle écrit trèscorrectement. |