ONJUGATIONS. II. COMPOUND TENSES: A. WITH avoir.

ayant fin-i, having finished. || ayant romp-u, having broken.

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INTERROGATIVE AND NEGATIVE FORMS OF CONJUGATION.
A. INTERROGATIVE FORM.

(1) Simple Interrogation, viz. without Interrogative Pronoun or
(a) The Subject a PERSONAL PRONOUN:-

Adverb:-
:-

Parlé-je ?1

Parles-tu?

Parle-t-il [on] ?

Parle-t-elle ?

Parlons-nous?

Parlez-vous?

Parlent-ils (elles)?

Or

Est-ce que je parle ?
Est-ce que tu parles?
Est-ce qu'il (elle) parle ?
Est ce que nous parlons?
Est-ce que vous parlez?
Est-ce qu'ils (elles) parlent?

In Compound Tenses :—

Ai-je parlé? or Est-ce que j'ai parlé? Have I spoken?

(b) The Subject a NOUN:-
·-

L'orateur parle-t-il? or, Est-ce que l'orateur parle? Does the orator speak? La bonne parle-t-elle ? or, Est-ce que la bonne parle? Does the servant speak? Les orateurs parlent-ils ? or, Est-ce que les orateurs parlent? Do the orators

Les bonnes parlent-elles? or, Est-ce que les bonnes parlent?

In like manner with Verbs of any other conjugation; as,
Finis-tu (or, Est-ce que tu finis)?
Art thou finishing?
Vendez-vous (or, Est-ce que v. vendez)? Do you sell?
A-t-il (or, Est-ce qu'il a) bien dormi? Has he slept well?
Sont-ils (or, Est-ce qu'ils sont) allés ? Are they gone?

speak?

Do the servants speak?

(2) For Relative Interrogation, viz. introduced by an Interrogative Pronoun or Adverb, see Synt. § 106.

1 To avoid the unpleasant sound of two mute syllables following each other, the final e mute of the verb is pronounced acute, and this is indicated in print or writing by an acute accent. If the 1st person singular is a monosyllable, the interrog. form, Est-ce que je.. must be used for the sake of euphony: Est-ce que je prends? etc. Except: -ai-je? suis-je ? dis-je? dois-je? puis-je ? sais-je? vais-je? vois-je? which have been sanctioned by usage.

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In like manner with

(a) the 2d Conj. :-Je ne finis pas.

I do not finish (I am not finishing).
Nous ne finissons pas, etc. We do not finish, etc.
I do not reply.

(b) the 4th Conj. :-Je ne réponds pas.
Nous ne répondons pas.

We do not reply, etc.

(c) Aux. Verbs:—Je n'ai pas mon couteau. I have not my knife.

Nous n'avons pas nos livres ici.
Je ne suis pas indisposé.

Nous ne sommes pas tranquilles.

We have not our books here, etc.

I am not unwell.

We are not quiet, etc.

In French a verb is made negative in meaning by placing the particle 'ne 'before that verb; in most cases this 'ne,' which is the real negation, must be supplemented by some Adverb or Noun to indicate the manner or degree in which the action expressed by that verb is negatived: (see § 152) as,

This pupil is not working.

Cet écolier-ci ne travaille pas.
(which is the plainest and most general form of negation);

Cet écolier-là ne travaille point.
Votre écolier ne travaille plus.

Le vôtre ne travaille pas non plus.
Vous ne travaillez guère.
Ce fainéant ne travaille jamais.
Elle ne travaille que rarement.
Je ne demande rien.

Je ne demande personne.

That pupil does not work (at all).
Your pupil works no more (no
longer), i.e. does not work now.
Yours does not work either.
You hardly ever work.
This idler never works.

She works only (but) rarely.
I ask for nothing.

I do not ask for anything.
I ask for nobody (no one).

I do not ask for anybody (any one).

Observation 1.--Rien and personne, in accordance with their original substantive nature, may stand as the Subject of a Verb; as,

Rien ne décourage l'homme persévérant. Nothing daunts a persevering man.
Personne ne travaille ici.
Nobody (no one) is working here.
Obs. 2.-INFINITIVE:-Ne pas parler (finir, etc.) Not to speak (finish, etc.).

C. INTERROGATIVE AND NEGATIVE
Ne parlé-je pas ? or, Est-ce que je ne parle pas ?
Ne parles-tu pas ? or, Est-ce que tu ne parles pas?
Ne parle-t-il plus ?

Ne parle-t-elle jamais ?

FORM.

Am I not speaking?

Art thou not speaking?

Is he no longer speaking?

Does she never speak?

The interrogative form is made negative by placing ne before, and pas or point, plus, jamais, etc. after, the interrogative form of the Verb: as,

L'orateur ne parle-t-il pas bien ?

or, Est-ce que l'orateur ne parle pas bien ? Pourquoi les écoliers ne répondent-ils pas?

}

Does not the orator speak well?

Why do the pupils not reply?

In order to avoid the unpleasant sound of two mute syllables following close upon one another, the stem of a Verb with an e mute in the last syllable but one is strengthened whenever the following syllable becomes mute; this strengthening of the stem in pronunciation is indicated in writing or printing, either

(a) By doubling the final stem-consonant 1, as above.
(b) By doubling the final stem-consonant t, as above.

Except-Celer, to hide; geler, to freeze; bourreler, to torture (fig.); démanteler, to dismantle; écarteler, to quarter; harceler, to harass; marteler, to hammer; modeler, to fashion; peler, to peal;

Acheter, to buy; becqueter, to peck; colleter, to collar; crocheter, to hook ; épousseter, to dust, étiqueter, to label (and their compounds),

all these, instead of doubling the consonant, change e into è (see c): as

Or (c) By changing the e mute into è, if the final stem-consonant is not

1 or t, as above.

(d) Verbs with an é in the last syllable but one change this é into è whenever the following syllable becomes mute (except in the Future and Conditional), to indicate that the sound of e becomes long and ouvert.