Penser à and penser de. — Penser à and penser de

when followed by a noun or pronoun are both translated to think of. However, penser de has the special meaning of to have opinion of.

Que pensez-vous de ce livre? What do you think of this book?

Qu'en pense-t-elle ? What does she think of it?

Je pense aux soldats qui sont morts. / am thinking of the soldiers who

died.

J'y penserai demain. / shall think of it to-morrow.

1 If the verb is omitted but understood, the ne of the forms given in Section 71 is likewise omitted and the correlative itself denotes negation.

Qui est venu? Personne. Who came? Nobody.

L'avez-vous vu? Pas encore. Did you see him? Not yet.

74. Irregular verbs. — Study the irregular verbs vivre, to live; suffire, to suffice; naître, to be born; s'asseoir, to sit down, seat oneself.

EXERCISE

(a) 1. She told her brother not to eat so fast. 2. We wish to live with a French family during the summer. 3. I saw only three boys at school this morning. 4. She was speaking to me of not singing any more. 5. He sat down at the table without washing his hands. 6. Nobody came in while I was writing. 7. You had a new dress made, didn't you? 8. My father had told him never to smoke cigarettes. 9. It was so hot that the children did not want to go to school. 10. I did not speak to her about it when I saw her.

(b) 11. That child is very stupid. He can neither read nor write. 12. The boys wanted to make a fire in the woods.