fuch, are joined to Subftantives; and may be called Pronominal Adjectives.

Thy, My, Her, Our, Your, Their, are Pronominal Adjectives: but His, (that is, He's, } Her's, Our's, Your's, Their's, have evidently the Form of the Poffeffive Cafe: and by Analogy, Mine, Thine [8], may be efteemed of the fame rank. All these are ufed, when the Noun, to which they belong, is understood: the two latter fometimes alfo inftead of my, thy, when the Noun following them begins with a vowel.

Befide the foregoing, there are feveral other Pronominal Adjectives; which, though they may fometimes feem to ftand by them felves, yet have always fome Subftantive belonging to them, either referred to, or understood: as, This, that, other, any, fome, one, none. These are called Definitive, becaufe they define and limit the extent of the Common Name, or General Term, to which they refer, or are joined. The three firft of thefe are varied, to exprefs Number; as,

[8] So the Saxon Ic hath the Poffeffive Cafe Min; Thu, Poffef five Thin; He, Poffeffive His: from which our Poffeffive Cafes of the fame Pronouns are taken without Alteration. To the Saxon Poffeffive Cafes, bire, ure, eower, bira, (that is, ber's, our's, your's, their's,) we have added the s, the Characteristic of the Poffeffive Cafe of Nouns. Or our's, your's, are directly from the Saxonares, eowers; the Poffeffive Cafe of the Pronominal Adjectives ure, cower; that is, our, your.

These

66

Thefe, thofe, others [9]; the laft of which admits. of the Piural form only when its Subftantive is not joined to it, but referred to, or understood : none of them are varied to exprefs the Gender; only two of them to exprefs the Cafe, as, other, ane, which have the Poffeffive Cafe. One is fometimes used in an Indefinite fenfe, (anfwering. to the French on,) as in the following phrafes; 66 one is apt to think ;" one fees;" 66 one fuppofes," Who, which, that, are called Relatives, becaufe they more directly refer to fome Subftantive going before; which therefore is called the Antecedent. They alfo connect the following part of the Sentence with the foregoing. These belong to all the three Perfons; whereas the reft belong only to the Third. One of them only is varied to exprefs the three Cafes; Who, whofe [1],

}

[9] "Diodorus, whose design was to refer all occurrences to years, is of more credit in a point of Chronology, than Plutarch or any other, that write Lives by the lump." Bentley, Differt. on Themiftocles's Epiftles, Sect. vi. It ought to be others, or writes. [1] Whofe is by fome authors made the Poffeffive Cafe of which, and applied to things as well as perfons: Itlink, improperly.

"The question, whose solution I require,

Dryden.

Is, what the fex of women most defire.” "Is there any other doctrine, whofe followers are punished ?” Addison.

The higher Poetry, which loves to confider every thing as bearing a Personal Character, frequently applies the perfonal. Poffeffive uhofe to inanimate beings:

❝. Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit

(that

(that is, who's [2],) whom: none of them have different endings for the Numbers. Who, which, what, are called Interrogatives, when they are used in asking questions. The two latter of them have no variation of Number or Cafe. Each, every [3], either, are called Diftributives; because they denote the perfons, or things, that make up a number, as taken feparately and fingly.

Own, and felf, in the Plural felves, are joined to the Poffeffives, my, our, thy, your, his [4], her, their; as, my own hand; myself, yourselves: both of them expreffing emphafis, or oppofition; as,

Of that forbidden Tree, whofe mortal taste

Brought death into the world, and all our woe."

Milton.

[2] So the Saxon bwa hath the Poffeffive Cafe bwas. Note, that the Saxons rightly placed the Afpirate before the w: as we now pronounce it. This will be evident to any one that shall confider in what manner he pronounces the words what, when; that is, boo-at, boo-èn.

[3] Every was formerly much used as a Pronominal' Adjective, ftanding by itself: as, "He propofeth unto God their neceffities, and they their own requests, for relief in every of them." Hooker, *.39. "The corruptions and depravations to which every of these. was fubject." Swift, Contests and Diffentions. We now commonly fay, every one.

[4] The Poffefsives bis, mine, thine, may be accounted either Pronominal Adjectives, or Genitive Cafes of the refpective ProDouns. The form is ambiguous; juft in the fame manner as, in the Latin phrase "cujus liber," the word cujus may be either the Genitive Cafe of qui, or the Nominative Masculine of the Adjective, cujus, cuja, cujum. So likewise, mei, tui, fui, noftri, veftri, have: the fame form, whether Pronouns, or Pronominal Adjectives. 66. I

"I did it my own felf," that is, and no one else: the latter also forming the Reciprocal Pronoun; as," he hurt himself." Himself, themselves, feem to be used in the Nominative Cafe by corruption inftead of his felf, their felves [5]: as, "he came himself;" "they did it themselves;" where himself, themselves, cannot be in the Objective Cafe. If this be fo, felf must be, in these inftanees, not a Pronoun, but a Noun. Thus Dryden uses it:

"What I fhow,

Thy felf may freely on thyself beftow."

Ourself, the Plural Pronominal Adjective with the Singular Subftantive, is peculiar to the Regal Style.

Own is an Adjective; or perhaps the Participle owen, [6] of the verb to owe; to be the right owner of a thing [7].

All Nouns whatever in Grammatical Conftruction are of the Third Perfon; except when an address is made to a Perfon: then the Noun,

[5] His felf and their felves were formerly in ufe, even in the Objective Cafe after a Prepofition : "Every of us, each for bis felf, laboured how to recover him." Sidney. "That they would willingly and of their felves endeavour to keep a perpetual chastity." Stat. 2 and 3 Ed. VI. ch. 21.

[6] Chaucer has thus expreffed it:

"As friendly, as he were his owen brother."

Cant. Tales, 1654, edit. 1775. And fo in many other places; and, I believe, always in the fame manner.

[7] "The Man that oweth this girdle." Acts, xxi, 11.

(answering

(anfwering to what is called the Vocative Cafe in Latin,) is of the Second Perfon,

A

N ADJECTIVE is a word added to a Subftantive to express its quality [8].

In English the Adjective is not varied on account of Gender, Number, or Cafe [9]. The only variation, which it admits of, is that of the Degrees of Comparison.

Qualities for the moft part admit of more and lefs, or of different degrees: and the words that exprefs fuch Qualities have accordingly proper

[8] Adjectives are very improperly called Nouns ; for they are not the Names of things. The Adjectives good, white, are applied to the Nouns man, fnow, to exprefs the Qualities belonging to thofe Subjects; but the Names of thofe Qualities in the Abstract, (that is, confidered in themselves, and without being attributed to any Subject,) are goodness, whiteness; and these are Nouns, or Subftantives.

[9] Some few Pronominal Adjectives must here be excepted, as having the Poffeffive Cafe; as one, other, another: "By one's own choice." Sidney.

"Teach me to feel another's woe."

Pope, Univ. Prayer.

And the Adjectives, former, and latter, may be considered as Pronominal, and representing the Nouns, to which they refer; if the phrafe in the following fentence be allowed to be just: "It was happy for the ftate, that Fabius continued in the command with Minucius; the former's phlegm was a check upon the latter's vivacity,"

forms