Essential French Grammar

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Essential French Grammar Page 14

by Seymour Resnick


  tennis

  tension

  tent

  terminate

  terrace

  terrestrial

  terrible

  terribly

  terrify

  territory

  terror

  testament

  text

  theatre

  theme

  theology

  theory

  throne

  tiger

  timid

  timidity

  tissue

  tobacco

  toilet

  tolerate

  taper

  tapisserie

  tarif

  technique

  télégramme

  télégraphe

  télégraphier

  téléphone

  tempérament

  température

  tempête

  temple

  tenace

  tendre

  ténébreux

  tennis

  tension

  tente

  terminer

  terrasse

  terrestre

  terrible

  terriblement

  terrifier

  territoire

  terreur

  testament

  texte

  théâtre

  thème

  théologie

  théorie

  trône

  tigre

  timide

  timidité

  tissu

  tabac

  toilette

  tolérer

  tomb

  ton

  tone

  torment (n.)

  torment (v.)

  torrent

  torture (n.)

  torture (v.)

  total

  totally

  touching

  tour (n.)

  tourist

  trace (v.)

  tradition

  traditional

  tragedy

  tragic

  train (n.)

  trait

  tranquil

  tranquility

  transform

  transformation

  transition

  transmit

  transparent

  transport (n.)

  transport (v.)

  traverse (v.)

  treasure (n.)

  tremble

  trembling (n.)

  tribe

  tribunal

  tribune

  tricolored

  triple (adj.)

  triumph (n.)

  triumph (v.)

  tombe

  tonne

  ton

  tourment

  tourmenter

  torrent

  torture

  torturer

  total

  totalement

  touchant

  tour

  touriste

  tracer

  tradition

  traditionnel

  tragédie

  tragique

  train

  trait

  tranquille

  tranquillité

  transformer

  transformation

  transition

  transmettre

  transparent

  transport

  transporter

  traverser

  trésor

  trembler

  tremblement

  tribu

  tribunal

  tribune

  tricolore

  triple

  triomphe

  triompher

  triumphant

  trot

  trouble (n.)

  trouble (v.)

  troupe

  tube

  tumult

  tunic

  tunnel

  turn (v.)

  type (n.)

  tyranny

  tyrant

  unanimous

  uncertain

  uncle

  uniform (adj.)

  union

  unite

  united

  unity

  universal

  universe

  university (adj.)

  university (n.)

  unjust

  unstable

  urgent

  usage

  use (v.)

  usual

  usury

  utility

  utilization

  utilize

  vacant

  vacation

  vacillate

  triomphant

  trotter

  trouble

  troubler

  troupe

  tube

  tumulte

  tunique

  tunnel

  tourner

  type

  tyrannie

  tyran

  unanime

  incertain

  oncle

  uniforme

  union

  unir

  uni

  unité

  universel

  univers

  universitaire

  université

  injuste

  instable

  urgent

  usage

  user

  usuel

  usure

  utilité

  utilisation

  utiliser

  vacant

  vacances

  vaciller

  vagabond

  vague

  vainly

  valet

  valiant

  valise

  valley

  vanity

  vapor

  variable

  variation

  variety

  vary

  vase

  vassal

  vast

  vegetable (adj.)

  vehemence

  vehicle

  vein

  vendor

  venerable

  venerate

  veneration

  vengeance

  verdure

  verify

  verse

  version

  vibrate

  vice

  victim

  victory

  vagabond

  vague

  vainement

  valet

  vaillant

  valise

  vallée

  vanité

  vapeur

  variable

  variation

  variété

  varier

  vase

  vassal

  vaste

  végétal

  véhémence

  véhicule

  veine

  vendeur

  vénérable

  vénérer

  vénération

  vengeance

  verdure

  vérifier

  vers

  version

  vibrer

  vice

  victime

  victoire

  vigilance

  vigor

  vigorous

  villa

  village

  villain

  violation

  violence

  violent

  violently

  violet

  violin

  visible

  vision

  visit (n.)

  visit (v.)

  visitor

  vivacity

  vocation

  volt

  volume

  voluntary

  vote (n.)

  vote (v.)

  voyage (n.)

  voyager

  vulgar

  west

  zeal

  zero

  zinc

  zone

  vigilance

  vigeur

  vigoureux

  villa

  village

  vilain


  violation

  violence

  violent

  violemment

  violette

  violin

  visible

  vision

  visite

  visiter

  visiteur

  vivacité

  vocation

  volt

  volume

  volontaire

  vote

  voter

  voyage

  voyageur

  vulgaire

  ouest

  zèle

  zéro

  zinc

  zone

  A Glossary of Grammatical Terms

  E. F. BLEILER

  This section is intended to refresh your memory of grammatical terms or to clear up difficulties you may have had in understanding them. Before you work through the grammar, you should have a reasonably clear idea what the parts of speech and parts of a sentence are. This is not for reasons of pedantry, but simply because it is easier to talk about grammar if we agree upon terms. Grammatical terminology is as necessary to the study of grammar as the names of automobile parts are to garagemen.

  This list is not exhaustive, and the definitions do not pretend to be complete, or to settle points of interpretation that grammarians have been disputing for the past several hundred years. It is a working analysis rather than a scholarly investigation. The definitions given, however, represent most typical American usage, and should serve for basic use.

  The Parts of Speech

  English words can be divided into eight important groups: nouns, adjectives, articles, verbs, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions. The boundaries between one group of words and another are sometimes vague and ill-felt in English, but a good dictionary, like the Webster Collegiate, can help you make decisions in questionable cases. Always bear in mind, however, that the way a word is used in a sentence may be just as important as the nature of the word itself in deciding what part of speech the word is.

  Nouns. Nouns are the words for things of all sorts, whether these things are real objects that you can see, or ideas, or places, or qualities, or groups, or more abstract things. Examples of words that are nouns are cat, vase, door, shrub, wheat, university, mercy, intelligence, ocean, plumber, pleasure, society, army. If you are in doubt whether a given word is a noun, try putting the word “my,” or “this,” or “large” (or some other adjective) in front of it. If it makes sense in the sentence the chances are that the word in question is a noun. [All the words in italics in this paragraph are nouns.]

  Adjectives. Adjectives are the words which delimit or give you specific information about the various nouns in a sentence. They tell you size, color, weight, pleasantness, and many other qualities. Such words as big, expensive, terrible, insipid, hot, delightful, ruddy, informative are all clear adjectives. If you are in any doubt whether a certain word is an adjective, add -er to it, or put the word “more” or “too” in front of it. If it makes good sense in the sentence, and does not end in -ly, the chances are that it is an adjective. (Pronoun-adjectives will be described under pronouns.) [The adjectives in the above sentences are in italics.]

  Articles. There are only two kinds of articles in English, and they are easy to remember. The definite article is “the” and the indefinite article is “a” or “an.”

  Verbs. Verbs are the words that tell what action, or condition, or relationship is going on. Such words as was, is, jumps, achieved, keeps, buys, sells, has finished, run, will have, may, should pay, indicates are all verb forms. Observe that a verb can be composed of more than one word, as will have and should pay, above; these are called compound verbs. As a rough guide for verbs, try adding -ed to the word you are wondering about, or taking off an -ed that is already there. If it makes sense, the chances are that it is a verb. (This does not always work, since the so-called strong or irregular verbs make forms by changing their middle vowels, like spring, sprang, sprung.) [Verbs in this paragraph are in italics.]

  Adverbs. An adverb is a word that supplies additional information about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It usually indicates time, or manner, or place, or degree. It tells you how, or when, or where, or to what degree things are happening. Such words as now, then, there, not, anywhere, never, somehow, always, very, and most words ending in -ly are ordinarily adverbs. [Italicized words are adverbs.]

  Pronouns. Pronouns are related to nouns, and take their place. (Some grammars and dictionaries group pronouns and nouns together as substantives.) They mention persons, or objects of any sort without actually giving their names.

  There are several different kinds of pronouns. (i) Personal pronouns: by a grammatical convention I, we, me, mine, us, ours are called first person pronouns, since they refer to the speaker; you and yours are called second person pronouns, since they refer to the person addressed; and he, him, his, she, her, hers, they, them, theirs are called third person pronouns since they refer to the things or persons discussed. (2) Demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those. (3) Interrogative, or question, pronouns: who, whom, what, whose, which. (4) Relative pronouns, or pronouns which refer back to something already mentioned: who, whom, that, which. (5) Others: some, any, anyone, no one, other, whichever, none, etc.

  Pronouns are difficult for us, since our categories are not as clear as in some other languages, and we use the same words for what foreign-language speakers see as different situations. First, our interrogative and relative pronouns overlap, and must be separated in translation. The easiest way is to observe whether a question is involved in the sentence. Examples: “Which [int.] do you like?” “The inn, which [rel.] was not far from Cadiz, had a restaurant.” “Who [int.] is there?” “I don’t know who [int.] was there.” “The porter who [rel.] took our bags was Number 2132.” This may seem to be a trivial difference to an English speaker, but in some languages it is very important.

  Secondly, there is an overlap between pronouns and adjectives. In some cases the word “this,” for example, is a pronoun; in other cases it is an adjective. This also holds true for his, its, her, any, none, other, some, that, these, those, and many other words. Note whether the word in question stands alone or is associated with another word. Examples: “This [pronoun] is mine.” “This [adj.] taxi has no springs.” Watch out for the word “that,” which can be a pronoun or an adjective or a conjunction. And remember that “my,” “your,” “our,” and “their” are always adjectives. [All pronouns in this section are in italics.]

  Prepositions. Prepositions are the little words that introduce phrases that tell about condition, time, place, manner, association, degree, and similar topics. Such words as with, in, beside, under, of, to, about, for, and upon are prepositions. In English prepositions and adverbs overlap, but, as you will see by checking in your dictionary, there are usually differences of meaning between the two uses. [Prepositions in this paragraph are designated by italics.]

  Conjunctions. Conjunctions are joining-words. They enable you to link words or groups of words into larger units, and to build compound or complex sentences out of simple sentence units. Such words as and, but, although, or, unless, are typical conjunctions. Although most conjunctions are easy enough to identify, the word “that” should be watched closely to see that it is not a pronoun or an adjective. [Conjunctions italicized.]

  Words about Verbs

  Verbs are responsible for most of the terminology in this short grammar. The basic terms are:

  Conjugation. In many languages verbs fall into natural groups, according to the way they make their forms. These groupings are called conjugations, and are an aid to learning grammatical structure. Though it may seem difficult at first to speak of First and Second Conjugations, these are simply short ways of saying that verbs belonging to these classes make their forms according to certain consistent rules, which you can memorize.

  Infinitive. This is the basic form which most dictionaries give for verbs in most languages, and in most languages
it serves as the basis for classifying verbs. In English (with a very few exceptions) it has no special form. To find the infinitive for any English verb, just fill in this sentence: “I like to......... (walk, run, jump, swim, carry, disappear, etc.).” The infinitive in English is usually preceded by the word “to.”

  Tense. This is simply a formal way of saying “time.” In English we think of time as being broken into three great segments: past, present, and future. Our verbs are assigned forms to indicate this division, and are further subdivided for shades of meaning. We subdivide the present time into the present (I walk) and present progressive (I am walking); the past into the simple past (I walked), progressive past (I was walking), perfect or present perfect (I have walked), past perfect or pluperfect (I had walked); and future into simple future (I shall walk) and future progressive (I shall be walking). These are the most common English tenses.

  Present Participles, Progressive Tenses. In English the present participle always ends in -ing. It can be used as a noun or an adjective in some situations, but its chief use is in forming the so-called progressive tenses. These are made by putting appropriate forms of the verb “to be” before a present participle: In “to walk” [an infinitive], for example, the present progressive would be: I am walking, you are walking, he is walking, etc.; past progressive, I was walking, you were walking, and so on. [Present participles are in italics.]

  Past Participles, Perfect Tenses. The past participle in English is not formed as regularly as is the present participle. Sometimes it is constructed by adding -ed or -d to the present tense, as walked, jumped, looked, received; but there are many verbs where it is formed less regularly: seen, been, swum, chosen, brought. To find it, simply fill out the sentence “I have .........” putting in the verb form that your ear tells you is right for the particular verb. If you speak grammatically, you will have the past participle.

  Past participles are sometimes used as adjectives: “Don’t cry over spilt milk.” Their most important use, however, is to form the system of verb tenses that are called the perfect tenses: present perfect (or perfect), past perfect (or pluperfect), etc. In English the present perfect tense is formed with the present tense of “to have” and the past participle of a verb: I have walked, you have run, he has begun, etc. The past perfect is formed, similarly, with the past tense of “to have” and the past participle: I had walked, you had run, he had begun. Most of the languages you are likely to study have similar systems of perfect tenses, though they may not be formed in exactly the same way as in English. [Past participles in italics.]

 

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