IRREGULAR VERBS-FIRST CONJUGATION

(3) Verbs marked † are anomalous; i.e. the derived Tenses are not formed regularly

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ABRIDGED

FRENCH GRAMMAR

BY

G. EUGÈNE FASNACHT

FORMERLY ASSISTANT MASTER IN WESTMINSTER SCHOOL

AN ABRIDGED AND REVISED EDITION OF THE AUTHOR'S SYNTHETIC FRENCH GRAMMAR

London

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$149

USE OF MOODS

USE OF MOODS IN DEPENDENT CLAUSES.

129

§ 149. INTRODUCTORY.-Either the Indicative, the Conditional, or the Subjunctive may be used in Dependent Clauses :

Indic. Il est certain qu'il le sait.

Je sais qu'il viendra.

Condit. Quand même il le saurait, il ne le Je savais qu'il viendrait.

dirait pas.

Subj. Il importe qu'il le sache.

Je désire qu'il vienne.

The use of one or the other depends entirely on the meaning cither expressed or implied in the Chief Clause: thus the verb of the Dependent Clause is put(a) in the Indicative, if the Chief Clause implies (indicates) that the state

ment expressed in the Dependent Clause is considered as a matter of fact. The fact itself may be true or not, but anyhow it is stated as true. (b) in the Subjunctive, if the Chief Clause implies that what is expressed in the Dependent Clause is contemplated, expected, or conceived in the mind of the speaker.

As the term Subjunctive implies, the action is represented as being subjoined to (under the yoke of) some leading thought contained in the Chief Clause-be it a wish, an emotion, a doubt, or any notion as distinguished from fact.

This mental attitude which a speaker or writer in French assumes towards the action or event spoken of, and subject to which he uses the Verb denoting that action in the Subjunctive, may manifest itself either as

(a) a Wish, Command, Consent, Concession, or their opposites-a Wish or Command that something may not occur, i.e. Fear or Prohibition; (b) an Emotion, as-Joy, Sorrow, Shame, Indignation, Surprise, etc., or (c) a Doubt, Uncertainty, Denial; under this head must be classed Result expected, Purpose intended, i.c. Contingency or Anticipation, in contradistinction to Accomplished Fact.

To sum up :---When the Principal Clause of a Complex Sentence contains any idea of Wish, Emotion, or Doubt (either expressed by a Verb, an adverbial Adjunct, or simply understood) in respect of the action described in the Dependent Clause, the Verb expressing that action is put in the Subjunctive :—

Dependent Substantive Clause, introduced by que:

qu'ils viennent demain. qu'ils viennent déjà. qu'ils viennent ici. qu'ils viennent si tard. Adjective Clause, introduced by a Relat. Pron. :qui me convienne. qui en convienne.

dont il convienne. Adverbial Clause, introduced by a Conj.:

(a) Concession:— Il est malheureux,
(b) Apprehension:-Tenez-vous tranquille,
(c) Anticipation:-Je me reposerai,

quoiqu'il soit riche.

de crainte qu'il ne revienne. en attendant qu'il revienne.

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A FRENCH GRAMMAR

FOR SCHOOLS.

BY

G. EUGÈNE FASNACHT

FORMERLY ASSISTANT MASTER IN WESTMINSTER SCHOOL

London

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

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160

FRENCH GRAMMAR.

[§ 123.

123

II. PLACE OF ADJECTIVES.

Introductory, and General Rule.-It is a characteristic feature of the French language to place the qualifying (limiting) term after the term qualified, as— la plume d'acier, the steel pen; la salle à manger, the dining room, etc.

Thus also French Adjectives are generally placed after the Noun they qualify; only a few are invariably placed before; nearly all, however, admit of being placed either before or after, according as meaning, emphasis, diction, or euphony may direct; in other words- the very same Adjective which in the language of reason, judgment, or experience, is regularly placed after the Noun, will, in the diction of poetry, imagination, or emotion, take its place before the Noun.

Accordingly an Adjective is put

(a) after the Noun, if used as an Attribute necessary for limiting the meaning of a Noun in the particular instance in question, and denoting an accidental or accessory quality which does not pertain to the whole class of beings expressed by the Noun ;

(b) before the Noun, if used as an ornamental Epithet, intended for picturesque effect, and denoting a quality naturally associated or cognate with the whole class of persons or things spoken of. Compare :

La couleur verte.

Un chemin étroit.

Un homme cruel.

Une couleur sombre.

Une action criminelle.

Sous la verte feuillée.

Une étroite liaison (alliance).

Le cruel tyran.

Le sombre désespoir.

Ce criminel attentat.

Thus again, when we say the virtuous man, the retired captain, the Adjectives virtuous, retired, limit the Nouns man, captain, to distinguish them from those to which that attribute does not belong, hence- l'homme vertueux; le capitaine réformé. But in- Virtuous Aristides, the gallant captain, the Adjectives are not used to distinguish Aristides or captain from other men of that name, but simply to characterise the men, hence

le vertueux Aristide; le vaillant capitaine.

Compare also L'Arabie heureuse (as distinguished from l'Arabie pétrée, or déserte), with- Heureuse enfance! (not to distinguish it from any other childhood-for childhood is the happy age--but expressing as it does an essential quality originating in the very nature of that age). On that principle we may correctly render

Un ami fidèle, by— a friend that is faithful.

Un fidèle ami, by- a trusty friend, indeed!

The Adjective in the latter case denoting a quality ascribed from a subjective point of view, i.e. as the expression of our personal emotion, love, admiration.

Observation.-Compare also J'ai reçu une nouvelle affligeante, with-La ville de Carracas a été détruite par un tremblement de terre; l'affligeante nouvelle se répandit bientôt dans tout le pays; in the latter case the Adjective, on account of the already well-known intelligence, becomes a mere ornamental epithet.