9 IV. THE NOUN QUALIFIED BY AN ADVERB OR NOUN OF QUANTITY. When part or fractions of the thing (or things) denoted by the Noun are expressed, i.e. if the Noun is preceded by an Adverb or a Noun denoting quantity, measure, weight, etc., then 'de' alone, without the Def. Art. must be used: as, Beaucoup de fruit (m.) Much Beaucoup de fruit. Trop d'argent (m.) Too much money. Trop d'ennemis. raisins. Many Une livre de viande (f.) A pound Une livre de cerises. of meat. grapes. Too many enemies. A pound of cherries. Un plat de légumes. A dish of vegetables. Un verre d'eau (f.) A glass of water. Il n'a pas de pain. He has no bread. Il n'a point d'amis. He has no friends. 10 V. THE NOUN QUALIFIED BY A POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE. A Possessive Adjective agrees in Gender and Number with the Substantive it qualifies: 1 Before a feminine Noun or Adjective beginning with a vowel or silent h, ma, ta, and sa are, for the sake of avoiding a hiatus, i.e. the unpleasant sound of two vowels in close succession, changed into mon, ton, son: as, Mon amie est plus discrète que ton amie. My friend (f.) is more discreet than your friend. Compare the English :-a tree, an ass, an heir; though, of course, an in English is the original, and a the clipped, form. 11 Observation 1.-In French the Possessive Adjective takes the gender of the Noun qualified by it, whilst in English it takes the gender of the Noun denoting the possessor: as, Il a perdu son crayon (m.) et sa plume (f.) HE has lost HIS pencil and HIS pen. Elle a trouvé son crayon (m.) et sa plume (f.) SHE has found HER pencil and HER pen. The relations of case are expressed by Prepositions: as, Il répond à mon père et à1 ma mère. The studies of my brother and sister. He replies to my father and mother. She lives with her uncle (aunt). Cette lame et cette 'hâche sont This blade and that axe are steel. d'acier. Cette anecdote et cette histoire This anecdote and that story are pretty. sont jolies. Plural-Masc. and Fem. alike. m. ces chênes, ces 'hêtres, ces étés, These (those) oaks, beeches, summers, ces hivers. winters. f. ces lames, ces 'hâches, ces anec- These (those) blades, axes, anecdotes, dotes, ces histoires. Ce Cet stories. The form of the Demonstrative Adjective is before masculine Nouns singular, beginning with a consonant. before masculine Nouns singular, beginning with a vowel or silent h. Cette before all feminine Nouns singular. Ces before all masculine and feminine Nouns plural. Observation.-Ce marchand; this merchant; cet honnête marchand; this honest merchant. Cet homme; this man; ce brave homme; this worthy man. 12 Observation.-The distinction between this and that, pl. these and those, is indicated by affixing -ci or -là to the Noun: as, Ce livre-ci et ce livre-là. Cet arbre-là et cet arbre-ci. Ces arbres-ci et ces arbres-là. This book (here) and that book (there). SYNOPTIC TABLE OF THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH Plural, the same for m. and f.; both before a consonant or a vowel. PARTITIVE: some, any. POSSESSIVE: du vin ; mon vin ; l'acier ; de l'acier ; un acier ; mon acier ; de la glace; une glace; ma glace; cette glace. l'eau ; de l'eau ; une eau; mon eau; Adjectives, used attributively or predicatively, agree in Number and Gender (see § 19) with the Substantive they qualify, whether they stand before or after it : General Rule (for the origin of Plural formations, see Introduction): (b) Nouns ending in -au, -eu, take x (see Introduction) :— Son beau château est vieux. Ses beaux châteaux sont vieux. Leur nouveau jeu est amusant. Leurs nouveaux jeux sont amusants. His fine castle is old. His fine castles are old. Their new game is amusing. * Bleu, blue, takes -s :-les cieux sont bleus, the skies are blue. Observation.-Of Nouns ending in -ou, only the following seven take x :— les bijoux, the jewels; les cailloux, the pebbles; les choux, the cabbages; les genoux, the knees. les hiboux, the owls. les joujoux, the playthings. but-les clous, les trous, etc. (c) Nouns ending in -al or -ail change their ending into -aux:— 15 Observation 1.—The following Substantives in -al and -ail take -s :— Les bals, dances; Les cals, callosities; Observation 2.-The a different meaning :— l'aïeul, the grandfather, le ciel, the sky, heaven, l'œil, the eye, l'appât, the bait, l'ail, garlic, les carnavals, carnivals; crows; les éventails, fans; les pals, stakes. following in -1 have two forms for the plural, each with les cieux, the heavens, skies, les ciels, skies in pictures, les yeux, the eyes, les appas, the charms, les aulx, common plural, le bétail, cattle, has no plural; but bestiaux is used For a full list of Nouns : climate, bed-testers. les cils (ails-de-bœuf) oval windows. les appâts, baits. les travails (1) reports (of a minister), (2) traves. les ails, botanical term. in the same sense. (a) used in the Plural only, see Appendix, § 94 (a). (b) of foreign origin which do not change in the Plural, § 94 (b). (c) used with a different meaning in the Singular and in the Plural, § 94 (c). For Compound Nouns, see § 17. NOUNS THAT DO NOT TAKE THE PLURAL INFLECTION. (a) Indeclinable Parts of Speech; i.e. Adverbs (and Adverbial Phrases), Prepositions, Conjunctions, Interjections, and also the letters of the alphabet :Les si et les mais. Les pourquoi et les parce que. Les pour et les contre. Les tête-à-tête (see § 17). (b) Proper Names: as, Les Corneille, les Molière, les The ifs and buts. Corneille, Molière, Racine have given lustre to the age of Louis XIV. Except a few which denote historical names of families: Les Tarquins, les Gracques, les Antonins, [cp. Lat. Tarquinii, Gracchi, etc.] Les Condés, les Guises, les Capets, les Bourbons, les Stuarts, etc. 16 (c) Foreign Nouns which have not been assimilated to French ::Lat.-Les credo; les_avé, etc. Les fac-similé; les post-scriptum, etc., see Appendix, § 94 (a). Observation.-Many abstract and collective French Nouns are freely used in the Plural, whilst their English equivalents are generally only used in the Singular :— Les ardeurs de la canicule. Les clartés immortelles. Les salutaires amertumes. Les trompeuses douceurs du monde. VII. COMPOUND NOUNS. (1) WITHOUT ARTICLE: (a) NOUN+NOUN. (a) in Apposition; the latter standing as a rule after the Noun it qualifies; exceptionally only before it: as, la pierre-ponce, pumice-stone; l'hôtel de ville, town hall; le chou-fleur, cauliflower. but le chef-lieu, chief country-town. (B) In Genitive relation; with de expressed or understood: as, le chef-d'œuvre, masterpiece; l'arc de triomphe, triumphal arch; (2) WITH de + DEFINITE ARTICLE: le vent du nord, north wind; l'huile d'olive, olive oil. le droit des gens, international law. Comparewith Indefinite and Adjectival: une tour d'église, a church tower. Definite and Substantival, la tour de l'église, the tower of the church; le palais de la reine, the queen's palace; le jeu de l'enfant, the child's play thing; un port de reine, a queenly bearing. un jeu d'enfant, child's play. (3) LINKED BY à (without or with the Article), to denote aptness, distinction, purpose, and especially the characteristic feature: (4) LINKED BY en, AND A FEW OTHER PREPOSITIONS: as, l'arc-en-ciel, rainbow; le général en chef, general in chief. Châlon-sur-Saône, Châlon-sur-Saone; Bachelier-ès1-lettres, Bachelor of Letters. 1 ès is an archaic form of contraction of en+les. |