CHAPTER L
Pag'e 1, Une 1. Amsterdam, the Capital of HoUand,
L 2. S'en mMe. 'takes part in it ;' en ( = (Ze + fc), 'init.' The antécédent of en is ' il pleut. '
L 2. C'est, 'thls was.' Note the présent where in EngUsh the past would be used.
L 3. Que faisait mon ami, B.V.d.L., ' that my friend
B.V.c?.L. was making on a summer evening at nightfall.' Que as relative pronoun is always object of a verb except when used predicatively. Note that the English prep. ' on ' in 'on a summer evening' is not expressed in French. Note also how the adjectival relation, ' summer evening ' is rendered in French : soir d''été.
1. 4 Encourant, 'running.' The en which is frequently used with the près. p. may be translated ' while ' or left untranslated.
L 4. L'Amstel, a river flowrng through Amsterdam.
1. 5. Malheureusement, ' unfortunately. ' Adverbs in French are regularly formed by adding ment to the féminine of the adjectiva
L 6. Zuyderzée, Zuider-Zee, a guK on which the city of Amsterdam is situated.
L 6. Plus vite, 'morequickly.' The comparative of adverbs is regularly formed by prefixing plus. Vite is the adj. used adverbially without change of form. Cf. note to 1. 5.
1. 6. Que lui, 'than he.' In comparisons after que the disjunctive form of the pron, is used. Hère lui for U.
L 8. Secouant , brisant , tordant. Thèse are près.
participles . . , not participial adjectives, the verbal idea being prédominant. Consequently, tbey do not agrée with their noun rafale.
L 9. Une certaine quantité de x>ots de fleurs, ' a considérable niimber of flower-pots.' No article is used before nouns preceded by a word of quantity and the prep. de, except when limited hj a word or phrase.
L 10. De tuiles, d'espions, de serviettes. The construction with de is the same as in the preceding line. Eemark that this prep. is in French repeated before every word govemed. Espion is a small mirror so attached to the window that a person inside can see what occui's on the street.
1. 12. Qui eut toutes les peines du monde, ' who had ail tho trouble in the world. '
L 13. Ne pas suivre. Both négatives generally précède the près, infinitive.
L 14. Les nuages crevèrent, ' the rain poured down.' (' The clouds burst ').
1. 16, De plus belle, 'as fast as he could.' Belle is to be referred to a féminine word such as manière or façon understood.
