Beginners' French: Learn French Language (Classic Reprint)

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BEGINNERS' FREKFCH BY

VICTOR

E.

FRANgOIS,

Ph.D.

OFFICIER D'ACADEMIE

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF FRENCH IN THE COLLEGE

OF THE CITY OF

NEW YORK

NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY :.

•:•

Copyright,

1903,

by

Victor E. Francois Entered at Stationers' Hall, London

FRANCOIS, BEGINNER'S FRENCH W.

p.

22

To MY Dear Friend AND Former Colleague in the University of Michigan DR.

ERNST MENSEL

Professor of

German

THIS VOLUME IN

IS

in

Smith College

DEDICATED

REMEMBRANCE OF THE MANY PLEASANT

HOURS WE HAVE SPENT TOGETHER DISCUSSING BOOKS AND METHODS

68'7'902

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGB

Introduction

7

Pronunciation

13

.19

Definite article. Plural of nouns Definite article (continued). Translation of it when a subject Negation. Formation of questions. Present indicative of etre Agreement, feminine and plural of adjectives. Formation of questions (continued) Possessive and demonstrative Comparatives and superlatives. adjectives Of or from the. Irregular plurals Reading Lesson. Sorite Some or any. Present indicative of avoir . . Indefinite article. Cardinal and ordinal numbers Reading Lesson. Divisions du temps Present indicative of the first conjugation . To or at the. Imperfect indicative of the first conjugation Reading Lesson. Impossible ii'est pas franfais . Present indicative of the second conjugation Imperfect indicative of the second conjugation. Formation of adverbs Reading Lesson. Du pareil au mime Present and imperfect indicative of the third conjugation Some or any (continued). Verbs ending in -ger and -cer . • . . Reading Lesson. Un Calembour Some or any (continued). Irregular feminine of adjectives. Present and imperfect indicative of recevoir Place of adjectives. Agreement of adjectives qualifying two or more .

.

21

.

23

.26 30 35 39 39 44

...... .....-5^

49 50 55 5^

.

.

.

.

.

66

...'75 .

.

62

67 70

.

75

8° 88 93

nouns Reading Lesson. .

Trois excellents Medecins • Peculiarities of some verbs of the first conjugation Future and conditional of regular verbs. Impersonal verb

•

•

.

.

Demonstrative pronouns

97 108

Interrogative adjectives; interrogative and relative pronouns. Com.112 pound tenses .118 Agreement of past participles Possessive pronouns. 121 Une Meprise Reading Lesson. Demonstrative and relative pronouns (continued). Compound tenses •

•

•

•

.

.

(continued) Indefinite adjectives and pronouns Place of personal pronouns Preterit. Place of personal pronouns (continued). Formation of tenses. Cueillir Reading Lesson. Une joyeuse Harangue S

^^i

^25 I3^ 1

37

Mi

TAHLK OF CONTKNTS

O

PACK

Imperative. Place of personal pronouns (continued). Passive voice. Couvrir^faire, pleuvoir Disjunctive pronouns. Hair^ partir,falloi> Time of the day. Aller, mettre Voir Reading Lesson. La petite ATendiantt .

.

Envoyer

.

.

,

.

152

156 160 163

Prendre

165

.168

Active voice instead of passive. Plaire Simple tenses of the reflexive voice. Sortir

Compound

tenses of the reflexive voice. Venir, sentir, s'asseoir Reading Lesson. Enignies Plural of compound nouns. Resoudre^ dire, valoir Prepositions before the infinitive. Craindre Imperative of the reflexive voice. Tenir, boire, pouvoir .

.

.

.

Reading Lesson.

.

.

La petite Hirondelle

Atteindre, introditire

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dormir, eteindre, poun>oir Reading Lesson. Une Suppression

172 178

.183 .184

............ ...... ......... .

Ouvrir, lire

142

.146

189 194 198 201

203 207

spirituelle. Repartie royaU 211 Reciprocal verbs .212 Reading Lesson. Acrosticke .216 .216 Place of adverbs. Senir, vetir Reading Lesson. La Tombe et la Rose .221 Rules of the subjunctive mood. £crire, votiloir .222 228 Use of fie. Mourir, rire, vivre Reading Lesson. Un Courtisan pris au pies^e 232 Instruire, paraitre, (aire, decouvrir, conveuir 233 Imperfect of the subjunctive. Sequence of tenses. Acquerir, croire, .

.

.

savoir, cofinaitre

Reading Lesson.

.

.

Bons Mots de

.

.

Diof;ene.

.

L"*

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

•

.

Animal

le

Reponse de Socrate

Poems

^Z7

plus nuisible. 243

....

Le Colimafon, by Arnault La Feuille dessechee, by Arnault Le Petit Pierre, by Boucher de Perthes Beau Soir, by Paul Bourget Etoiles Filantes, by Fran9ois Coppee Con sells a un Enfant, by Victor Hugo Partant pour la Syrie, by La Reine Hortense Trois Fils d'Or, by Leconte de Lisle .

.

.

Chanson de Barberine, by Alfred de Musset Full conjugation of avoir and etre Table of endings of regular verbs Alphabetical table of irregular verbs Vocabulary, i. French-English 2. English-French

244 24S 245 246 247 247 2^8 249 250 25 254 255 256-2 ::9 •

.

261

o

28^

INTRODUCTION The old method of teaching modern

languages was trainThe new methods aim to train the ear, tongue and the eye. The author has tried to bring

ing only the eye. the

together a set of exercises giving to each of these organs a fair field of activity.

Up-to-date teachers are anxious to use French in their classes as soon as possible, but very if

few elementary books,

any, help them to carry out their cherished ambition.

It is the aim of the present volume to enable such masters, however inexperienced they may be, to make use of the conversational method from the very start. A glance through the book will suffice to understand its arrangement. It is simple and methodical. Rules. The book contains all grammar rules that first and second-year high school students or first-year college Every lesson students are expected to be familiar with. the examples coming first general rules, begins with a few write the rules in decided to It was for obvious reasons. learner. the However, as of English for the convenience teacher reviewing, the especially when early as possible and is advised to translate them into easy French and to require his pupils to recite them in the same form.

—

May

it

also be suggested here that teachers of languages

should make a more general use of the Socratic or inductive method ? Instead of giving detailed grammatical explanations to which nobody listens, 7

let

the teacher write on

beginner's FRENCH

8

the board a few well chosen examples, underlining words

or parts of words illustrating the rule to be worked out, and let

him have

the students themselves find

the solution of a problem.

It is

it

out as

an easy matter

if

if it

were

the teacher

prompts them by well directed questions. this

Such a fine opportunity should not be missed. First, method accustoms the pupils to think, to argue logically

and to express themselves intelligibly in their mother's tongue, results which are the first we should aim at even in the teaching of foreign languages. Secondly, it makes interesting and attractive a subject which is otherwise dull and repulsive, for it never fails to create a lively spirit of emulation in the class room, which is most beneficial. Thirdly, the student remembers better and for a longer time a rule which he himself has found out or helped to work out. The arguing about the rules should be done in French as soon as the progress of the class allows

Vocabulary.

it.

— Common words, words of every-day and the stock

life,

were especially sought very slowly. The words are given in the following order after,

in the special vocabularies

adjectives,

:

increased

masculine nouns, feminine nouns,

pronouns, verbal forms, adverbs, prepositions,

conjunctions and interjections.

There

end of the book. This part French Texts.

lary at the

It

is

—

is

is

a general vocabu-

the pivot of the lesson.

generally consists of four, five, or six easy sentences,

A great effort has plainly illustrating the preceding rules. been made to have sentences connected in meaning. The task

was very hard

at the beginning.

verbs except avoir and etre in the

The

There are no irregular

first

twenty-five exercises.

place of personal pronouns, except en, could not be ex-

plained earlier than in the twenty-fifth lesson, because nouns

were needed for the application of the

rules.

From

that

exercise on, the use of personal pronouns as objects should

BEGINNERS FRENCH be required

in the

texts the linking

9

answers as often as possible.

mark has been

In

all

the

used, following the set of

Paul Passy (see Linking of Words, p. 17). as well as the Vocabulary, should be read aloud carefully several times by the teacher on the day he assigns the lesson. As many students as possible should rules of Dr.

The French Text,

repeat

it

after him.

It

should be studied hy heart and every

sentence pronounced aloud again and again.

Transposition. the rules and

—

It offers the learner

knows the French

who understands

text by heart, a golden

opportunity to display his progress in pronunciation and to

master promptly and intelligently the various verbal forms and constructions. The books being closed, the teacher reads a sentence of the French text at a time and then asks it after him with the required Care should be taken not to name that particular

a particular pupil to repeat changes.

Keep

pupil before reading the sentence to be changed. class

on the qui

monotony

vive.

A

very profitable

in this part of the

work

is

way

the

to relieve the

to ask a student to

read the sentences to the class, the teacher having only to point out those

The

who must

repeat them.

preparation of the transposition

work has been made

easy by examples given after every direction. out saying that the class

changes which are indicated.

own judgment. age and

It

goes with-

not expected to prepare

is

The

all

the

teacher should use his

The work to be assigned depends on the members of the class, the length of

ability of the

the recitation and the time the students are supposed to

devote outside to this special study.

Questions.

— When the

class uses a

book not

especially

prepared for conversational work, lazy or indifferent pupils may answer " I do not understand you. I cannot answer." :

In such cases the teacher

excuse

is

is

generally helpless.

possible with this system.

No

such

Every question has

its

BEGINNERS FRENCH

lO

answer do

in the preceding

French

question of every set

first is

is

text,

given.

and the answer So,

all

to the

the pupil has to

to imitate the example.

At

first

glance the reader

may

think that these numerous

questions, calling for almost identical answers,

come tiresome and monotonous.

It

might be so

would bein a very

small private class but not in a large section.

Teachers and students know how hard it is for an English-speaking person to form correct questions in French.

Yet

this

important side of the work

every text book.

is

sacrificed in almost

After years of study, students are able to

answer questions, but cannot ask any in a correct way. From the very beginning, when two or three minutes can be spared, select one of the French texts which has already been studied, ask a student to stand up and form questions based on it. Call upon other members of the class to answer them fully. This is a very good way of reviewing. The students are obliged to do their best in pronouncing to make themselves understood, and it gives them confidence in themselves.

Grammar

Drill.

— This part of the work affords

the

learner a chance to apply the rules he has just mastered, and, if it is

written in English, to

both languages.

Translation. deal of trouble

if

make a

fruitful

comparison of

— Teachers could save themselves a great they would follow the plan the author pre-

sented in a letter published last year in "

Modern Language

Notes" (see June, 1902). At the beginning, instead of giving out

for the next recita-

Grammar

and the Translation of the lesson he has just explained, let the teacher be satisfied with the French part of the exercise until he reaches, say, the tenth or twelfth lesson. Then, on the day he assigns the eleventh tion the

Drill

lesson, for instance, let

him give

out, as reviewing

work.

BEGINNERS FRENCH

II

Grammar

the

Drill and the Translation of the first lesson. simply a shifting of the usual work, care being taken

It is

that the students be always ten or twelve

What

ahead.

work

the

will be

of the

first

the results?

French exercises

First,

it

will

lighten

two weeks and allow more time

devoted to pronunciation.

Then,

to be

in the first ten exercises,

the pupil has seen the rules of the first lesson applied so

many

become so familiar with them and the he will consider as very easy and enjoyable a task which would have seemed to him hard and disagreeable if he had been asked to do it on the day the first lesson was explained. He will, of course, make very few mistakes, his confidence will increase daily, the standard of the class will be raised and a great deal of time saved. Reading Lessons. They have been added to bring variety and to play the part of a preparatory reader. The words will be found in the general vocabulary. Another way to use the book is to set aside for review work the Transposition and Questions and go ahead with This plan could be followed by the rest of the exercises. times, he has

words of that

lesson, that

—

teachers that

most

aim

who in

are anxious to begin reading very early.

mind, two lessons

may

With

be assigned at a time in

cases.

New

Rules.

— References

to the set of licenses

(tole-

adopted by the Minister of Public Instruction of France in his decree of February 26, 1901, will be found at

rances)

the proper place in the rules or in notes at the bottom of the

pages.

—

Verbs. Tables of regular and irregular verbs will be found at the end of the book, before the vocabulary.

PRONUNCIATION Graphic Signs

Accents.

—

e,

e,

a, u, a, e,

i,

6,

ii.

There are three accents in French the acute ( ' ) the grave (") and the circumflex ("). The acute is found only over the vowel e (e). The grave is especially used over the vowel e (e), sometimes also over a or u. The ,

:

circumflex

may

Apostrophe.

—

be used over any vowel.

1',

s',

m'.

The apostrophe (') indicates that a final vowel has been word beginning with a vowel or an h mute.

elided before a

That vowel

is

generally e;

or personal pronoun) and

Hyphen. The

— Asseyez-vous.

i

it

of

may si

A-t-il

also be a of la (article

before

il

and

ils.

?

decree of February 26, 1901, promulgated by the

Minister of Public Instruction of France, does

away with

However, it was kept after an imperative followed by a personal pronoun object and in questions where the so-called euphonic t is inserted between the verb and il, the hyphen.

elle, *

or on.

It goes

without saying that no foreigner can master the French pro-

nunciation from rules without outside help.

The few

here are to be used by pupils as mere references. 13

general rules given

:

BEGINNERS FRENCH

14

— Fa§ade,

Cedilla.

The that

fagon, degu.

under c preceding and should be pronounced

cedilla is put

soft

it is

Diaeresis.

— Naif,

a,

o or

Esali.

placed over the last of two vowels to

It is

forms a

bv

svllable

u to indicate

like s in sin.

show

that

it

itself.

Simple Vowels Approximate corresponding Examples. la,

va,

ma,

ta, sa,

sounds in English.

Value.

papa,

a short

ame,

a long

=

intermediate sound bfetween a in lad and a in father.

baba. tas, pas, fable, ine,

a in father.

rr

flamme. le, ce,

me,

te, se, je, ne, te.

dame,

acte, fable.

elle,

table,

6t6, h\6, priiiri, nez, et,

d^,

pied, les, des,

mes,

tes,

acc^,

chef,

fer,

fete,

« in b«t.

e short =:

e almost silent

e,

e,

6,

e

=^

fol-

ces,

lowed by a

sel,

consonant.

in sol^.

The

quality of that sound is the same as that of e in th^re, ranging from a in s^le to e in

bete,

s^ll.

tete, etre.

midi, gite,

fini,

mardi

abime,

comme,

lie,

col,

amie.

colonne,

i

short

ilong

= =

short

=

long

=

/ in

mach/ne but

/ in

mach/ne.

shorter.

in c^rn, shortened.

mode. nos, vos, dos, cote.

o in no.

No

du, vu, bra, rae, debut.

:=

similar sound in English

German

«.

;

Pronounce

the examples with the lips in position for whistling. see ray^, pays, paysage.

1

short above.

The

to the first / belongs preceding syllable and the second to the following

'

BEGINNERS FRENCH

15

Compound Vowels Approximate corresponding Examples. balai,

laquais,

aimerais, lait, mai, aimerai.

sounds in English.

Value.

aimais, fait, ai-

above)

e

**'

au eau

au, aux, travaux, eau, bean, veau.

and

ai (see e

(see o long

above)

reine, peine, veine.

ei (see e

above)

peu,

eu long and close

e in f^rn

peur, leur, fleur, valeur,

eu OBU short and open

= e in iexn

ceux, feu, veux, aveu, bleu,

deiix,

moi, voix, bois.

ou, tout, nous, vous, chou, cou.

01

=

ou

=

o).

but more open than for eu long,

sceur, coBUr. toi,

(= German

intermediate between iva of wax and wa of wa%. 00 in

\ioo\..

Nasal Sounds

A

nasal unless the

is

m

vowel followed by n or

n or

m

ending a word or a syllable by another

in its turn followed

is

n or m or h mute. Pronounce the following examples through the nose, with the mouth widely open, care being also taken to cut the sound short and not let the n be heard. an, tant,

an

chambre, rampe,

iJm

enfant, vent, empire, membre;

enJ^i t em

!>^

=

nasal a.