5.28 Literary and archaic forms you must read — Epoché
What you will be able to do Read sixty-three words that belong to literature rather than to conversation: old adverbs and pronouns, the vocabulary of passion and death in classical tragedy, and the sky and sea of poetry. Recognise the literary tenses that you need to read but not to write: the passé antérieur , the imperfect subjunctive and the pluperfect subjunctive. Understand ne used alone as a negative, and the old spellings of editions printed before 1835. Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the French aloud; all of them come back below. French English Êtes-vous en train de suggérer que c'est au-delà de ma compréhension ? [1] Are you suggesting that it's beyond my comprehension? Les larmes lui vinrent aux yeux en entendant les nouvelles. [2] She was moved to tears when she heard the news. Autrefois, faire un voyage était beaucoup plus difficile qu'aujourd'hui. [3] Travelling was much more difficult in those days. Combien de temps avez-vous mis pour traduire ce livre ? [4] How long did it take you to translate this book? Cela s'avéra être un coup mortel pour leur projet. [5] It proved to be the deathblow to their plan. Il nous faut faire notre possible pour faire cesser la violence. [6] We must do what we can to stop the violence. Prerequisites : 5.27 — this lesson follows 5.27 Vocabulary . The passé simple was taught for reading in 3.15 Conjugation , and the present subjunctive in 3.14 Conjugation and 4.18 Grammar . The readings of this phase go back to Molière and Racine in the seventeenth century and come forward to Gide and Colette in the twentieth. Between them, French changed less than English did over the same centuries, and a modern reader can follow Racine without a glossary. But a set of words, tenses and spellings has dropped out of everyday use while staying alive in books. This lesson gathers them so that they do not stop you in the readings to come. Word list Sixty-three words in seven groups: time and place, old words still read, death and the beyond, passions, verbs of feeling, sky and sea, and character. Time and place Word Meaning Notes jadis fr formerly, long ago Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs The s is pronounced. J'étais amoureux jadis. [7] I was in love once. sitôt fr as soon as, so soon Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs sitôt dit, sitôt fait , no sooner said than done . Cela n'arrivera pas de sitôt. [8] That's not going to happen anytime soon. tantôt fr sometimes; earlier or later today Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs tantôt … tantôt , now … now . Je suis tantôt optimiste, tantôt pessimiste. [9] I am by turns an optimist and a pessimist. lors fr then, at that time Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Now mostly in lors de , at the time of . Faisons la fête ! [10] Let's celebrate! ici-bas fr here below, in this world Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs As opposed to heaven. Rien n'est éternel ici-bas. Nothing lasts for ever in this world. au-delà fr beyond; the hereafter Gender / part of speech adverb, noun How English differs l'au-delà , the afterlife . C'est au-delà de ma compréhension. [11] It's beyond my comprehension. la contrée fr region, land Gender / part of speech feminine noun How English differs Literary for la région . La contrée est infestée de souris. [12] The country is mice-infested. le séjour fr stay; dwelling place Gender / part of speech masculine noun How English differs In verse often a home or a world. Faites un agréable séjour ! [13] Enjoy your stay. le seuil fr threshold, doorstep Gender / part of speech masculine noun How English differs Also figurative: au seuil de la mort . Une chaussure dépareillée était abandonnée sur le seuil. [14] An odd shoe was left on the doorstep. l'âtre fr hearth, fireplace Gender / part of speech masculine noun How English differs The family fire of old houses. Asseyons-nous près de l'âtre. [15] Let's sit by the fireplace. le bosquet fr grove, copse Gender / part of speech masculine noun How English differs A small wood in a garden or park. C'était tellement paisible dans le bosquet. [16] It was so peaceful in the grove of trees. le rivage fr shore Gender / part of speech masculine noun How English differs Of the sea or a lake. Ils se dirigèrent vers le rivage. [17] They made for the seashore. Old words still read Word Meaning Notes ô fr O, oh Gender / part of speech interjection How English differs Before a name or a noun in addressing: Ô temps, ô mœurs ! Ô temps, ô mœurs ! [18] Oh the times! Oh the customs! las fr weary, tired Gender / part of speech adjective How English differs Literary; feminine lasse . Je suis tellement las ! [19] I'm so tired! nonobstant fr notwithstanding Gender / part of speech preposition, adverb How English differs Legal and old-fashioned. Ce nonobstant, il était en bonne santé. [20] Despite this, he was in good health. ledit fr the said, the aforementioned Gender / part of speech adjective How English differs Feminine ladite , plural lesdits . J’ai attrapé ledit suspect. [21] I caught the aforementioned suspect. quiconque fr whoever, anyone Gender / part of speech pronoun How English differs Formal. Demande à quiconque. [22] Ask anybody. choir fr to fall Gender / part of speech verb How English differs Survives in laisser choir , to drop . Vous avez laissé choir quelque chose. [23] You dropped something. quérir fr to fetch Gender / part of speech verb How English differs Only in the infinitive, after aller , venir or faire . Va quérir de l'aide, veux-tu ? [24] Get some help, will you? ne … point fr not, not at all Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs The literary form of ne … pas . Il n'est point besoin d'en parler. [25] There is no need to talk about it. le labeur fr labour, toil Gender / part of speech masculine noun How English differs Literary for le travail . Traduire est un dur labeur. [26] Translating is hard work. les aïeux fr ancestors, forefathers Gender