30 RELATIVE POSITION OF PERSONAL (REFLEXIVE) PRONOUNS USED When a Verb has two Pronoun-objects, one direct and the other indirect, they are both placed before the Verb in the following order : (1) A Pronoun of the 1st or 2d pers. stands before a Pronoun of the 3d; (2) If both Pronouns are of the 3d pers., the one in the Acc. stands before the one in the Dat.; se, reflexive pr., however, always stands first, whether used in the Acc. or Dat.; (3) Y and en after all other Pronouns, and en after y. Thus, in answer to a question like-A qui donnera-t-il son couteau ? To whom will he give his knife? the order will be : In answer to a question like-Qui forcera-t-il à cette condition ?— Whom will he compel to this condition? the order will be: In answer to a question like—À qui donnera-t-il du pain (de la viande; des cerises)?—To whom will he give bread (meat, cherries)? the order will be : 31 In answer to the question-A-t-il trouvé de l'eau à la fontaine? Has he found any water in the well? the order will be : Il y en a trouvé. He has found some there. The order of precedence is summed up in the following memorial scheme : i.e. Those in the 1st col. always precede those in the 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th; those in the 2d col. always precede those in the 3d, 4th, and 5th, etc. PRONOUN-OBJECT OF A VERB IN THE IMPERATIVE AFFIRMATIVE. When the Verb is in the Imperative Affirmative, the order of words as given in the first rule (i.e. 1st and 2d pers. before the 3d) is reversed, i.e. the pronouns are placed after the Verb: : the 3d pers. (le, la, les) standing before the pron. in the 1st or 2d;— and me, te are strengthened into moi, toi; as, Donne-le-moi (le-nous). Prête-la-moi (la-nous). Montrez-les-moi (les-nous). Give it to me (to us.) Lend it (lit. her) to me (to us). In the other combinations the order remains the same : 32 B. DISJUNCTIVE PERSONAL PRONOUNS. DISJUNCTIVE PERSONAL PRONOUNS are so called because they are used independently of (disjoined from) the verb: being uninflected their caserelations, like those of Nouns, are indicated by de and à; they are used (1) Quite alone, in answer to a question: as, Moi. Toi. Qui est-ce qui viendra ?— Lui. Qui a fait cela ?—— Qui devra payer?— Who has done that?— Who will have to pay ?— I. Thou. Who will come?— He. Qui l'accompagnera?— Elle. Who will accompany him?-She. Qui veut du vin ?— Nous. Who wants wine?— We. (5) As the Predicative Complement of the Impersonal phrases c'est, ce sont; as, Ce n'est pas moi. Sera-ce lui ou un autre ? (6) After all Prepositions; as, Celui qui n'est pas pour moi est contre moi. Le moulin est à moi, tout aussi bien, Il n'y a pas de petit chez soi Restons chez nous cette après midi. Qu'ils restent chez eux. It is not I. Will it be he or another? He who is not for me is against me. The mill is mine, as much so, at least, as Prussia is the king's. I am at home (i.e. my home) to-day. Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home. Let us stay at home this afternoon. Let them stay at home. These ladies are at home. (7) After the Preposition à, as the Adverbial Complement of a Verb of motion, and a few others :-accoutumer à, to accustom to; en appeler à, to appeal to; courir (accourir) à, to hasten to; penser à, songer à, to think of; renoncer à, to renounce; venir à, to come to; as, Pense à moi !— Je pense toujours à toi. Elle accourut à lui. Nous songeons à eux jour et nuit. Think of me! I always think of thee. She hastened towards him. We think of them day and night. 33 C. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS (for Possess. Adjectives, see § 10). Singular. Plural. m. Ton ami et le mien; tes amies et les miens. Thy friend (friends) and mine. f. Ta sœur et la mienne; tes sœurs et les miennes. Thy sister (sisters) and The Rule of agreement with regard to Possessive Adjectives (§ 10) also applies to Possessive Pronouns, i.e.— A POSSESSIVE PRONOUN takes the Gender and Number of the Noun or Pronoun denoting the Person or Thing possessed; whilst in English there is no agreement, except in the third person singular-his, her; which, however, refer to the gender of the Noun or Pronoun denoting the Possessor; as, Mon frère a perdu son crayon; Mon ami a aussi perdu le sien; My brother has lost his pencil; his pen. My friend has also lost his. My sister has found her pencil; her pen. My aunt has also found hers. 84 D. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS. (a) Ce, this, these; that, those; it, they; neutral (indeclinable) PRONOUN, is used as the Subject of the Verb être (1) Demonstratively answering to this, that; these, those; also as a PERSONAL PRONOUN answering to he, she, it, they; as, Qui est-ce ? C'est lui. Ce sont mes seules récréations. Ce sont là des questions impossibles à résoudre. Sont-ce là vos belles promesses? Who is it?-It is he. These are my only recreations. Are these your fair promises? (2) Impersonally: instead of il, when the Complement of the Verb is a NOUN, PRONOUN, or an INFINITIVE; as, (3) Redundantly: either as a grammatical subject of être, when for the sake of stress the Predicative Complement is placed before the real Subject; in the first example below, for instance, the real Subject is parler, i.e. To speak (speaking) thus is a derision; Or to recapitulate a preceding Substantive Clause used as Subject or as a Predicative Complement; as, C'est se moquer du monde que de It is joking to speak thus. parler ainsi. C'est un beau jardin que le vôtre. Le vrai moyen d'être trompés, c'est de nous croire plus fins que les autres. WHEN TO USE CE, A fine garden yours is. The best way to be deceived is to fancy ourselves more cunning than others. AND WHEN IL:— 1. If the Complement of être is a NOUN, use ce, unless that Noun is used Adjectively, in which case il is employed: as, C'est un Allemand. He is a German. Ce sont des Allemands. They are Ger mans. C'est ce médecin. It is this physician. He is German. Il est Allemand. 2. If the Complement of être is an ADJECTIVE, then use ce, if the Adjective refers to a preceding statement; Vous avez tort, c'est évident. Il est évident que vous avez tort. |