3. By a noun, pronoun, or adjective, being pre fired to the substantive: as, A cock-sparrow A man-servant A he-goat A hen-sparrow A she-goat NUMBFR. Number is the consideration of an object, as one or more. Substantives are of two numbers, the singular and plural. The singular number expresses but one object; as, a chair, a table. The plural number signifies more objects than one; as, chairs, tables. Some nouns, from the nature of the things which they express, are used only in the singular, others only in the plural form; as, wheat, pitch, gold, sloth, pride,&c., and bellows, scissors, lungs, riches, &c. Some words are the same in both numbers, as deer, sheep, swine, &c. The plural number of nouns is generally formed by adding s to the singular; as, dove, doves; face, faces; thought, thoughts. But when the substan tive singular ends in x, ch, sh, or ss, we add es in the plural; as, box, boxes; church, churches; lash, lashes; kiss, kisses. Nouns ending in for fe, are generally rendered plural by the change of those terminations into ves; as, loaf, loaves; wife, wives. Those which end in ff, have the regular plural; as ruff, ruffs. Such as have y in the singular, with no other Vowel in the same syllable, change it into ies in the plural; as beauty, beauties; fly, flies; but the y is not changed, when there is another vowel in the. syllable; as. key, keys; delay, delays. CASE. In English, substantives have three cases, the. Nominative, the Possessive, and the Objective.* The nominative case simply expresses the name of a thing, or the subject of the verb: as, The boy plays;""The girls learn." The possessive case expresses the relation of property or possession; and has an apostrophe with *On the propriety of this objective case, see the large Grammar, pp. 54, 55. the letter s coming after it; as "The scholar's duty;" "My father's house." When the plural ends in s, the other s is omitted, but the apostrophe is retained; as, "On eagles' wings; "The drapers' company." Sometimes also, when the singular terminates in s, the apostrophics is not added; as, " For goodness' sake;" For righteousness' sake." The objective case expresses the object of an ac-tion, or of a relation and generally follows a verb active,or a preposition; as, "John assists Charles ;" "They live in London." English substantives are declined in the follow An Adjective is a word added to a substantive, to express its quality; as, "An industrious man; "A virtuous woman;" "A benevolent mind." In English the adjective is not varied on account of gender, number, or case. Thus we say, A careless boy; careless girls." The only variation which it admits, is that of the degrees of comparison. There are commonly reckoned three degrees of comparison; the positive, comparative and super lative. The positive state expresses the quality of an object, without any increase or diminution; as good, wise, great. The comparative degree increases or lessens the positive in signification; as wiser, greater, less wise. The superlative degree increases or lessens the positive to the highest or lowest degree; as wisest, greatest, least wise. The simple word, or positive, becomes the comparative, by adding r or er; and the superlative, by adding at or est, to the end of it; as wise, wiser, wisest; great, greater, greatest. And the adverbs more and most, placed before the adjective, have the same effect; as wise, more wise, most wise. Monosyllables, for the most part, are compared by er or est; and dissyllables by more and most ; as, mild, milder, mildest; frugal, more frugal, most frugal. Some words of very common use are irregularly formed; as good, better, best; bad, worse, worst little, less, least; much or many, more, most; and a few others. PRONOUNS. A Pronoun is a word used instead of a noun, to a void the too frequent repetition of the same word; as, "The man is happy; he is benevolent; he is useful." There are three kinds of pronouns, viz. the Personal, the Relative, and the Adjective Pronouns. PERSONAL PRONOUNS. There are five Personal Pronouns ; viz. I, thou, he, she, il; with their plurals, we, ye or you, they. Personal pronouns admit of person, number, gender, and case. The persons of pronouns are three in each of the numbers, viz. They, is the third person Singular Plural The numbers of pronouns, like those of substantives, are two, the singular and the plural; as, I, thou, he; we, ye, they. B2 Gender has respect only to the third person singular of the pronouns, he, she, it. He is mascu line; she is feminine; it is neuter. Pronouns have three cases; the nominative, the possessive, and the objective. The objective case of a pronoun has, in general, a form different from that of the nominative or the possessive case. The personal pronouns are thus declined. Person. Case. Singular. Plural. IR We RELATIVE PRONOUNS. Relative Pronouns are such as relate, in general, to some word or phrase going before, which is thence called the antecedent; they are who, which, and that; as, "The man is happy who lives virtuously." What is a kind of compound relative, including both the antecedent and the relative, and is equiv alent to that which; as, "This is what I wanted;" that is to say, "the thing which I wanted. " Who is applied to persons, which to animals and înanimate things; as, "He is a friend, who is faith *See Grammar, 14th, or any subsequent edition, p. 02 the note.. |