A Synthetic French Grammar for Schools

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(c) redundantly (=Lat. quod) before the logical Subject; as a correlative of ce, grammatical subj. (see § 168, a, 3): as,

N'est-ce pas m'outrager que d'écouter leur voix ?

Ce que c'est que de nous ! Qu'est-ce que c'est que cela?
Si j'étais que de vous.

votre aide.

Je n'ai que faire [no habeo quod faciam] de

EIGHTH CHAPTER.

ORDER OF WORDS: OBJECT AND COMPLEMENTS.

(For Subject and Predicate, see § 106; for the Adjective, see §§ 123-4.) The NORMAL ORDER OF OBJECTS:

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(b) ORDER OF PRONOUN-OBJECTS OF DIFFERENT PERSONS.*

(d) ORDER OF NOUN-OBJ. AND PRON.-OBJ. COMBINED.

(e) ORDER OF CONJ. PRON.-OBJ. AND DISJ. PRON.-OBJ. COMBINED.†

i.e. provided one of them be of the third person. ti.e. if neither is of the third person.

For full tables of the order of Personal Pronoun-Objects, see §§ 26-31.

178

The EXCEPTIONAL ORDER, used for the sake of emphasis or euphony, is

(a) to place the Indirect Noun-Object or Noun-Complement before the Direct Noun-Object, especially if the latter, on account of its adjuncts, is longer than the former: as,

179

(b) to commence the sentence with the word in closest logical connection with the preceding clause; especially with Verbs of adding, joining, replying, etc. :-ajouter, joindre, se rattacher, s'opposer, répondre, succéder, substituer, préférer; as,

Observation.-The transposition of the Genitive is restricted to the style of poetry: as,
Du temple orné partout de festons magnifiques
Le peuple saint en foule inondait les portiques.

PLACE OF ADVERBS (see also § 126).

(a) Interrogative and Relative Adverbs, whether simple or compounded with Prepositions, are placed at the beginning of the sentence: as,

Quand viendra l'accomplissement de vos promesses?

Par où le courrier a-t-il passé ? C'est un mauvais pas d'où il s'est bien tiré. The use of an interrog. Adv. in the middle of a sentence, though sometimes correct, is to be avoided.

(b) Adverbs of Time, Place, Manner, and Degree, are placed—

(1) as a rule, after the Verb: as,

Les dépêches sont arrivées hier au soir.
Il a plu hier continuellement.

Il ne pleut plus.

Les troupes ont passé par ici.
Elle vous aime bien.

(For Adv. of Negation, see § 156.)

180

If the Verb is in a Compound tense, most adverbs of Manner or Degree
may be, and generally are better, placed between the Auxiliary and the
Part. Perf., or between the Finite Verb and the Infinitive: as,
Avez-vous bien dormi?—Non, j'ai très mal dormi.
Quoi vous voilà déjà revenu.

Les maladies nous font mieux apprécier la santé.
Veuillez bien ne pas m'interrompre.

Observation. The place of the Adv. between Subj. and Verb, so common in Latin and
English, is quite exceptional in French :-

Le duc, alors, fit avancer ses archers.

La valeur, quelquefois, existe sans lumière.

(2) emphatically, at the beginning of the sentence: as,

Déjà le soleil était sur l'horizon. Jamais nation n'a été si superstitieuse.
Observation 1.-With attraction of the Verb, see § 107 (b):

Ainsi va le monde. De là viennent tant de malentendus.

Observation 2.-With interrogative construction, see § 107 (a):

L'été a été pluvieux, aussi le pain est-il cher.

Observation 3.-Tôt, tard, matin, de bonne heure, davantage, may not be placed first, except the first two in the phrase, tôt ou tard, sooner or later: as,

Tôt ou tard les mêchants seront punis.

APPENDIX VII.

VERBS with different Constructions, according to Meaning :

(Abbreviations:—qqn. = quelqu'un. qqch. = quelque chose.)

abuser qqn., to deceive.

s'accommoder de, to put up with. apercevoir, to perceive, to descry. appeler, to call, to summon.

applaudir, to praise.

s'applaudir de, to congratulate one's self on. approcher, to have access to.

approcher qqch. d'une autre, to bring something near to ...

approcher (intr.), to come nearer.
assister qqn., to help one.

attendre qqn. or qqch., to wait for.
atteindre, to reach, to overtake, to hit.
changer qqch., to exchange (one thing for
another), to alter.

(changer d'avis, to alter one's mind;
changer (intrans.), to undergo change.
commander qqch., to be in command of (an
army, etc.).

commander à, to have authority over.
convenir de qqch., to admit, to acquiesce in.
convenir (intrans.), to be of one mind, to agree.
croire, qqn. or qqch., to believe.

croire aux revenants (en Dieu), to believe in the existence of.

défier qqn., to defy, dare, challenge.

abuser de qqch., to misuse.

s'accommoder à, to adapt one's self to.
s'apercevoir de, to become aware of.
en appeler à, to appeal to.
applaudir à, to applaud.

approcher de, to come (bring) near.

s'approcher de, to draw nearer to.
assister à qqch., to be present at.
s'attendre à qqch., to expect.
atteindre à, to get at, to attain.

changer d'habit, to put on another coat.)
se changer en, to be changed (transformed) into.

commander qqch. à qqn., to enjoin.
convenir à qqn., to suit, to be seen.
se convenir, to suit each other.
croire à, to trust to.

se défier de, to mistrust.

manquer qqn. or qqch., to fail to attain, to miss, not to hit.

manquer de, to be short (devoid) of, to be wanting (in).

manquer (intrans.), to become insolvent, to miss (fire, etc.), to give way. s'occuper de, to attend to.

participer de, to have something of the nature of.

se passer, to pass away, to elapse, to happen to take place.

se passer de, to do without.

persuader qqn. de qqch., to convince,

persuader qqch à qqn., to persuade.

pourvoir de, to provide (endow) with.

pourvoir à, to provide for, to attend (see) to

prendre (intrans.), to take (strike) root, to be a prendre qqch. à qqn., to take success, etc.

présider (intrans.), to be chairman.

prétendre qqch., to claim . as a right. répondre de, to be responsible for, to answer for.

ressentir, to feel, to resent.

rêver de, to dream of.

rêver qqch., to dream, to see as in a dream, to aspire to.

servir (intrans.), to be a servant, to serve (as a sailor, soldier, etc).

servir de, to serve as, to serve instead of. se servir (de), to help one's self, to make use of. songer (de), to dream of.

sonner qqch. or qqn., to ring, to ring (for one's servants)

tâter qqch. (le pouls, etc.), to feel, to sound, to search, to put to the test.

tenir (intrans.), to hold fast, to stick, to sit, etc. tenir, to hold, to keep, to possess. etc. tenir de, qqn., to take after.

tenir qqch. de qqn., to be indebted to ...

for. toucher qqch., to feel, to touch, to hit, to play, to receive (money, etc.), to be contiguous to. toucher qqn., to move, to concern, to affect, to touch.

toucher qqn. de (du coude, etc.), to touch with.

ser qqch., to wear out, to use up.

s'user, to wear out (intrans.)

from

(impers.)il lui prit envie, the fancy took him. présider à, to preside at (over), to watch over. prétendre à, to aspire to.

répondre à, to answer, to reply to, to correspond to.

se ressentir de, to feel the effects of. rêver (songer) à, to meditate on.