7. Give the definition and derivation of the word Case.

How many Cases are there in English? Name them and describe their uses.

Dat.

[The Latin grammarians represented the nominative by a perpendicular and the other cases by lines falling away from it. This symbol Nom. Obj. Poss. Abl. explains the origin of some of our terms connected with case: thus, 'case' itself is from the Latin casus, 'a falling': 'oblique cases' are 'slopings-away' from the nominative when we enumerate the cases of a noun, we decline it or give its declension, that is, its 'fallings.']

8. Insert the apostrophe where it is usually placed in the following phrases:―Socrates wife, the captains son, for conscience sake, their whos and their whiches, the Officers Widows and Orphans Fund.

9. Write the possessive case in the plural of the feminine form corresponding to bachelor, nephew, gander, sultan, fox, peacock, earl, host, billy-goat, jackass, husband, abbot, widower, marquis, drake.

IO. State and illustrate the rules for the formation of the possessive case of Nouns, singular and plural.

Define the relations expressed by the following phrases, and state which, if any, contain true possessive cases: in Reason's ear, what a love of a baby!, a day's journey, a man of feeling, my money's worth.

II. Addison says, 'The single letter s on many occasions does the office of a whole word and represents the his or her of our forefathers.' Criticise this statement.

103

102.

CHAPTER XII.

ADJECTIVES.

An Adjective is a word which is used with a noun to limit its application.

The name sheep is applicable to all sheep. If we join the word black to the noun sheep, the name black sheep is applicable only to those sheep which possess the quality of blackness. The application of the name sheep has been limited to a smaller number of things. In like manner, if we say some sheep, twenty sheep, or these sheep, those sheep, we narrow, or restrict, or limit, in every instance the application of the noun. We can make this limitation in other ways: we can say 'the sheep which won the prize at the show,' or 'the squire's sheep,' restricting the application of the word sheep by the use of a subordinate clause, or by the use of a noun in the possessive case. But a subordinate clause is not an adjective, though it may be so used as to have the force of an adjective, and squire's is a noun in the possessive case, though it limits the application of the word sheep like an adjective. Squire or any other noun in the possessive case does the work of an adjective, but it is only when it is in the possessive case that it performs this function. Squire is not an adjective, nor is its possessive squire's an adjective.

103. Adjectives and verbs resemble each other in this respect, that they express attributes or qualities of things, but there is a difference in their way of doing it. In the expression the prosperous merchant,' prosperity is assumed as an attribute of the merchant: in the sentence The merchant prospered,' prosperity is declared to be an attribute of the merchant. In the expres

sion 'the victorious army,' the connexion of victory with the army is implied: in the sentence The army conquered,' this connexion is formally stated. So again, when we say 'the black sheep' we assume, or imply, or take for granted the connexion of the attribute blackness with the thing a sheep. When we say 'The sheep is black,' we explicitly state this connexion. The word black in the former case is said to be used attributively, in the latter case predicatively, since it forms, together with the verb is, the predicate of the

sentence.

104. Bearing in mind that the function, or special work, of an adjective is to limit the application of a noun, let us arrange adjectives in groups, or classes, according to the kind of limitation which they effect.

1. Qualitative: What sort? Ans: black, good,

Adjectives 2. Quanti

are

tative

dinal Numerals: Ans: one, eight.

ii. Indefinite: How much? How

many? Ans: all, some.

3. Demonstrative : Which? Ans: this, each,

third.

This classification is open to criticism, but for practical purposes it will probably serve our ends better than one more exhaustive. A few words are required to meet objections and to remove difficulties. These questions may be asked:

1. Why are such words as big, great, large, small, placed among qualitative adjectives? Do they not mark quantity?

They mark size, but not amount: they indicate the dimensions of the thing, but not how much of it we refer to.

2. Where are the Ordinal Numerals, first, second, third, etc.?

Their place is among the Demonstrative adjectives, which point out a thing by marking its relation to ourselves or to some other thing. What is this to me is that to you, and vice verså. A thing is fifth in relation to other things which are fourth and sixth. The word fifth answers the question Which? not the questions How many? or How much?

3. If we say 'blind Milton,' 'patriotic Hampden,' 'the resounding ocean,' do these adjectives limit the application of the nouns ?

No, for the nouns already name objects which are single or individual. 'Milton' or 'Hampden' is the name of one thing: there is only one ocean. We must understand these expressions as condensed forms of saying 'Milton who was blind,' 'Hampden who was patriotic,' 'the ocean which is resounding.'

4. Why should all and half be classed as Indefinite?

Because they are clearly lacking in numerical definiteness. All may be five or fifty: the same thing is true of half. They express a definite proportion, but not a definite number.

On the other hand none and both must be placed amongst the Definite Quantitative Adjectives, for though all is Indefinite, since it does not express how many, none is as Definite as possible, since it expresses the absence of any. Both, again, means two, but two taken together.

105. The student may find it helpful towards a clear understanding of the classification of adjectives, if he reads the examples given below in their respective groups.

1. Adjectives of Quality: thick, wise, sad, tall, magnificent, modern, holy, native, senior.

2. Adjectives of Quantity:

(i) Definite; Cardinal Numerals, one, two, fifty, no, none, both.

(ii) Indefinite; many, any, some, all, few, half, several, most.

3.

Demonstrative Adjectives:

(i) The so-called Articles, an or a and the.

(ii) Pronominal Adjectives (i.e. Adjectives derived from Pronouns or having the force of Pronouns) of various kinds: this, what, any, each, his. These we shall deal with in Chapter xiv.

sandth.

(iii) The Ordinal Numerals, first, twentieth, thou

106.

Some Adjectives are used as Nouns.

(a) 'The good, the true, the beautiful, may be substituted for 'goodness, truth, beauty.' We describe these words as Adjectives employed as Abstract Nouns.

(b) 'The wise,'' rich and poor,' signify 'wise people,' 'rich and poor people.' We describe these words as Adjectives employed as Concrete Nouns.

(c) Several adjectives have become nouns so completely that they take a plural and a possessive inflexion. Thus, we say Romans (e.g. 'Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears'; 'this is a Roman's part'; 'the Romans' bane'), Germans, Catholics, Stoics, Liberals, Jacobites, seniors, elders, betters, ancients, blacks, whites, 'form fours!' 'things are all sixes and sevens,' others.

107. Remarks on the Forms of the Numerals. I. Cardinals indicate the number of things spoken of. They answer the question How many?

One appears with a negative prefix in none—no one: in the possessive case as an adverb in once, (a similar use of the possessive case is seen in the adverbs twi-ce, thri-ce): in the adverbs only, literally, 'onelike,' and alone, i. e. 'all one'; and as a noun in the plural, 'her little ones.'

Two was originally the feminine and neuter form of which twain was the corresponding masculine.

Five has lost before the v an n which is kept in German fünf, Latin quinque.

Ten supplies the ending -teen to numerals from 13 to 19, and -ty to multiples of 10 up to 90.