Some have printed the verbs conjugated throughout affirmatively, nega-
tively, interrogatively, and interrogatively and negatively, with the whole
English of each tens«, person and number, which I consider to be injurious
to the learners. Half a dozen or more verbs, each conjugated four times
in that way, make a huge voluma, and the young pupil is induced to believe
that the divers forms are as many diiferent verbs, and is afraid to undertake
the committing of them to memory; whilst it is constantly the same thing
with the transposition of the pronoun, or the addition of the negatives. In
making those little changes, and translating the French into English, the
student himself will relieve his mind, exercise his own intellect and judg.
ment, and learn Freneh better and sooner, than if he does nothing but to
^mmit to memory, which is not only as hard and tedious, as improfitable a
study, but also a dangerous one.
Memory is sometimes too much exercised at the expense of judgment ;
and, besides, if we depend too much on the former, our acquirements can
only rest upon a sandy or moving ground. Reasoning should always assist
us in our studies.
* See note, page 5.
. t The terminations of this tense are the same for all verbs. Mark it well :
sse, 88€9, t, ssions, tsiex, M«nt.
UKnvuLB, VERBS, in ER. 11

CLASSIFICATION OF THB VERBS.
13. — There are in French four conjugations, which are easily
distinguished by the termination of the root of each yerb.
The FIRST ends in er, aa aimer, to lore ; ^er, to praise.
The SBCOND ends in ir, asj^nir, to finish ; venir, to come.
The THIRD ends in oir, as devoir, to owe ; voir, to see.
