(e) Adjectives ending in -ien, -el, -eil, -on, double their final consonant, and add e mute: as, Un usage ancien. An old custom. Des usages anciens. Old customs. language. Thus-bon, bonne, good; Chrétien, Chrétienne, Christian; cruel, cruelle, cruel; pareil, pareille, like; etc. guages. Observation. The following in -et, -ais, -ès, -ot, -os, -as, -il, -ul, also double their final stem-consonants, most of them in accordance with the General Philological Rule above, p. 17 : Masc. un frère cadet, un esprit coquet, un visage fluet, un oracle muet, un profit net, un pays sujet, : Fem. une sœur cadette, une humeur coquette, So also-brunet-te, doucet-te, demure; un nuage épais, la bœuf gras, un sot discours, neige épaisse, une défense expresse, So also-bellot-te, pretty; vieillot-te, un gentil enfant, nul homme, younger brother, younger sister. a subject country, a subject town. an explicit order, explicit prohibition. a foolish discourse, a foolish enterprise. une gentille petite fille, a well-bred child, a gentle little girl. nulle part, no man, nowhere. (f) FIVE Adjectives have two forms for the Masc. Sing.: one used before a Noun beginning with a consonant, the other before a vowel or silent h. The Fem. of these is formed from the latter by doubling the final consonant, and adding e mute, see (e): as, m. { Le beau verger. The fine orchard. Le bel arbre (pl. les beaux arbres). the fine tree (trees). f. La belle prairie. the fine meadow. The new world. the new coat (coats). the new fashion (year). The old beggar. the old friend (friends). The irresistible(lit.foolish)laughter. a desperate undertaking. Obs. to (ƒ)-1. Notice as a remnant of Old Fr.:-Philippe le Bel; Charles le Bel; also the adverbial phrase :-bel et bien, fully and fairly, roundly. 2. Here may be classed—jumeau, jumelle [Lat. gemellus], twin. 3. Vieux homme, vieux_ivrogne, vieux_ami, etc., are, however, not at all unusual in familiar style. (g) ADJECTIVES AND NOUNS ENDING IN -eur:— There are four different classes of Adjectives and Nouns in -eur :— (1) Those implying an idea of comparison, i.e. derived from Lat. comparatives, take e mute in the feminine: as, Supérieur-e; antérieur-e; postérieur-e; extérieur-e; intérieur-e; meilleur-e, better; mineur-e. Le rang inférieur. The inferior La région inférieure. The inferior region. (2) Those derived from a Present Participle by turning -ant into -eur, -r into -se: as, change flatt-ant; m. flatt-eur, f. flatt-euse; flattering. parl-ant; parl-eur, parl-euse; talker, talkative, etc. pêch-ant; pêch-eur, pêch-euse; fisherman. Un femme trompeuse. A deceitful man woman. Un homme trompeur. A deceitful (3) Those ending in -teur not derived from a Present Participle (mostly from Latin Nouns in -tor, f. -trix) change -teur into -trice: as, Direc-teur, director, direc-trice; lec-teur, reader, lec-trice. Un génie créateur. A creative genius. (4) In a few poetical and legal terms -eur is changed into -eresse : An avenging God. Divinité vengeresse. Avenging Un Dieu vengeur. For full lists of Nouns which form their Feminine (a) in -esse; (b) in -eresse; (c) -ice, -ante, etc.; Godhead. Names of Persons and Animals which radically differ in Masc. and Fem.; For Nouns of different gender in Sing. and Plur., see § 97 (a). 21 IX. THE NOUN QUALIFIED BY AN ADJECTIVE IN THE POSITIVE, COMPARATIVE, AND SUPERLATIVE DEGREE. Comparisons may be divided into those of (a) superiority, (b) equality, and 22 The following Adjectives form their degrees of comparison irregularly; the irregularities spring from the corresponding Latin forms :— Positive. Ce vin est bon; This wine is good; Ce vin est mauvais ; Ce service est petit; that is worse; il est plus petit; it is smaller; the worst. c'est le plus petit. it is the smallest. il est moindre que l'autre ; {c'est le moindre de This service is slight; it is less than the other; La distance est petite; elle est moindre que l'autre ; tous. it is the slightest of all. c'est la moindre. it is the smallest. 23 Observations :-(1) Use of ne with the Verb after a Comparative : Cela est plus facile que vous ne That is easier than you fancy; i.e. You do not fancy it so easy as it really is. I no longer think about it. I have none (not any) left. It does not rain now. See also §§ 59 and 85. (3) Whilst plus must be used when there is a second term of comparison, davantage can only be used when there La vertu est plus estimable que la science. La science est estimable, la vertu Je n'en sais pas davantage. is no second term of comparison: as, Virtue is more estimable than knowledge. Knowledge is estimable, but virtue is more so. I do not know more about it. (4) Notice the difference between French and English in correlative compari son : Plus on est élevé en dignité, plus Plus vous lui en direz, moins il en Moins on a de soucis, plus on est The more exalted one is in rank, the The fewer cares one has, the (5) Use of the Subjunctive in the Dependent Clause after a Superlative in the principal sentence (see § 163): as, C'est le plus beau spectacle que It is the finest sight I ever saw. j'aie jamais vu. (For a full treatment of this difficult question, see Syntax, § 123-4.) Most French Adjectives are placed after the Noun; very few are invariably placed before; but a not inconsiderable number may be placed either before or after. Place after the Noun : (a) Adjectives derived from Proper Nouns: as, Le peuple romain, the Roman people; La religion chrétienne, the Christian religion. (b) Adjectives derived from Participles, or Participles used adjectively: as, Un cœur compatissant, a compassionate heart; Le pont suspendu, the suspension bridge. (c) Adjectives denoting Physical or Accidental qualities, as—colour, shape, (e) Adjectives much longer than the Noun, especially those ending in— -ic, -if, -al, -eur; -able, -ible, -ique, -esque: as, Le crieur public; le ballon captif; La garde nationale ; L'ordre supérieur; Le conte incroyable; 24 25 L'humeur pacifique ; The town crier; the captive balloon. The national guard; The higher class. The incredible tale; The pacific humour. The following Adjectives, expressing the most elementary qualities, generally stand before the Noun : Un bon enfant; un beau pays; A good fellow; a fine country. Most Adjectives, if used figuratively, may also stand before: compare— De l'encre noire. Black ink. De noirs pressentiments. Gloomy forebodings. For Adjectives with a different meaning before or after the Noun, see Synt., § 124. N.B. X. THE NOUN QUALIFIED BY A NUMERAL. (a) CARDINAL NUMBERS. N.B. This will serve at the same time as a repetition of the Plural of Nouns. |