+DEFINITIONS+.

+Case is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes its office in the sentence+.

+The Nominative Case of a noun or pronoun denotes its office as subject or as attribute complement+.

+The Possessive Case of a noun or pronoun denotes its office as possessive modifier+.

+The Objective Case of a noun or pronoun denotes its office as object complement, or as principal word in a prepositional phrase+.

A noun or pronoun used independently is said to be in the nominative case.

+Examples+.—I am, dear madam, your friend. Alas, poor Yorick! He being dead, we shall live. Liberty, it has fled! (See Lesson 44.)

A noun or pronoun used as explanatory modifier is in the same case as the word explained—"is put by apposition in the same case."

+Examples+.—The first colonial Congress, that of 1774, addressed the King, George III. He buys is goods at Stewart's, the dry-goods merchant.

A noun or pronoun used as objective complement is in the objective case.

+Examples+.—They made him speaker. He made it all it is.

A noun or pronoun used as attribute complement of a participle or an infinitive is in the same case (Nom. or Obj.) as the word to which it relates as attribute.

+Examples+.—Being an artist, he appreciated it. I proved it to be him.

+Remark+.—When the assumed subject of the participle or the infinitive is a possessive, the attribute complement is said to be in the nominative case; as, Its being he [Footnote: The case of he in these examples is rather doubtful. The nominative and the objective forms of the pronoun occur so rarely in such constructions that it seems impossible to determine the usage. It is therefore a matter of no great practical importance.

Some, reasoning from the analogy of the Latin, would put the attribute complement of the abstract infinitive in the objective, supposing for and some other word to be understood; as, For one to be him, etc. Others, reasoning from the German, to which our language is closely allied, would put this complement in the nominative.

The assumed subject of the infinitive being omitted when it is the same in sense as the principal subject, him, in the sentence I wish (me or myself) to be him, is the proper form, being in the same case as me.] should make no difference. When the participle or the infinitive is used abstractly, without an assumed subject, its attribute complement is also said to be in the nominative case; as, To be he [Footnote: See footnote above.] is to be a scholar; Being a scholar is not being an idler.

+Direction+.—Study carefully the Definitions and the Remark above, and then compose sentences in which a noun or a pronoun shall be put in the nominative case in four ways; in the objective in five ways; in the possessive in two ways.

* * * * *

LESSON 120.

ANALYSIS AND PARSING.

+Direction.+—Analyze the following sentences, and give the case of each noun and pronoun:—

1. Not to know what happened before we were born is to be always a child. 2. His being a Roman saved him from being made a prisoner. 3. I am this day weak, though anointed king.

+Explanation.+—Nouns used adverbially are in the objective case because equivalent to the principal word of a prepositional phrase. (See Lesson 35.)

4. What made Cromwell a great man was his unshaken reliance on God. 5. Amos, the herdsman of Tekoa, was not a prophet's son. 6. Arnold's success as teacher was remarkable.

+Explanation.+—Teacher, introduced by as and used without a possessive sign, is explanatory of Arnold's.

7. Worship thy Creator, God; and obey his Son, the Master, King, and
Saviour of men.
8. Bear ye one another's [Footnote: For the use of one another, see
Lesson 124.] burdens.

+Explanation.+—The singular one is explanatory of the plural ye, or one another's may be treated as a compound.

9. What art thou, execrable shape, that darest advance? 10. O you hard hearts! you cruel men of Rome! 11. Everybody acknowledges Shakespeare to be the greatest of dramatists. 12. Think'st thou this heart could feel a moment's joy, thou being absent? 13. Our great forefathers had left him naught to conquer but his country.

(For the case of him see explanation of (3) above.)

14. I will attend to it myself.

+Explanation+.—Myself may be treated as explanatory of I.

15. This news of papa's puts me all in a flutter. [Footnote: See second
foot-note, page 247.]
16. What means that hand upon that breast of thine? [Footnote: See second
foot-note, page 247.]

* * * * *

LESSON 121.

PARSING.

+TO THE TEACHER+.—We do not believe that the chief end of the study of grammar Is to be able to parse well, or even to analyze well, though without question analysis reveals more clearly than parsing the structure of the sentence, and is immeasurably superior to it as intellectual gymnastics. We would not do away with parsing altogether, but would give it a subordinate place.

But we must be allowed an emphatic protest against the needless and mechanical quoting, in parsing, of "Rules of Syntax." When a pupil has said that such a noun is in the nominative case, subject of such a verb, what is gained by a repetition of the definition in the Rule: "A noun or a pronoun which is the subject of a finite verb is in the nominative case"? Let the reasons for the disposition of words, when given at all, be specific.

+Parsing+—a word is giving its classification, its modifications, and its syntax, i.e., its relation to other words.

+Direction+.—Select and parse in full all the nouns and pronouns found in the first ten sentences of Lesson 120. For the agreement of pronouns, see Lesson 142.

+Model for Written Parsing+.—Elizabeth's favorite, Raleigh, was beheaded by James I.

TO THE TEACHER.—For exercises in parsing nouns and pronouns, see Lessons 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 44, 46, 59, 60, 71, 73, 78, 80, and 81. Other exercises may be selected from examples previously given for analysis, and parsing continued as long as you think it profitable.

* * * * *

LESSON 122.

CASE FORMS—NOUNS.

Nouns have two case forms, the simple form, common to the nominative and the objective case, and the possessive form.

+RULE.—The Possessive Case of nouns is formed in the singular by adding to the nominative the apostrophe and the letter s ('s); in the plural by adding (') only. If the plural does not end in s, ('s) are both added. [Footnote: In Anglo-Saxon, es was a genitive (possessive) ending of the singular; as, sta:n, genitive sta:n-es. In old English, es and is were both used. In modern English, the vowel is generally dropped, and (') stands in its place. The use of the apostrophe has been extended to distinguish the possessive from other forms of the plural.

Some have said that our possessive ending is a remnant of the pronoun his. Phrases like, "Mars his sword," "The Prince his Players," "King Lewis his satisfaction" are abundant in Early, and in Middle, English. But it has been proved that the his in such expressions is an error that gained its wide currency largely through the confusion of early English orthography.

Professor Hadley has clearly shown that the Saxon termination has never dropped out of the language, but exists in the English possessive ending to-day.]

+Examples+.—Boy's, boys', men's.

+Remark+.—To avoid an unpleasant succession of hissing sounds, the s in the possessive singular is sometimes omitted; as, conscience' sake, goodness' sake, Achilles' sword, Archimedes' screw (the s in the words following the possessive here having its influence). In prose this omission of the s should seldom occur. The weight of usage inclines to the use of s in such names as Miss Rounds's, Mrs. Hemans's, King James's, witness's, prince's. Without the s there would be no distinction, in spoken language, between Miss Round's and Miss Rounds', Mrs. Heman's and Mrs. Hemans'.

+Remark+.—Pronounce the ('s) as a separate syllable (= es) when the sound of s will not unite with the last sound of the nominative.

+Remark+.—When the singular and the plural are alike in the nominative, some place the apostrophe after the s in the plural to distinguish it from the possessive singular; as, singular, sheep's; plural, sheeps'.

+Direction+.—Study the Rule and the Remarks given above, and then write the possessive singular and the possessive plural of each of the following nouns:—

Actor, elephant, farmer, king, lion, genius, horse, princess, buffalo, hero, mosquito, negro, volcano, junto, tyro, cuckoo, ally, attorney, fairy, lady, monkey, calf, elf, thief, wife, wolf, chief, dwarf, waif, child, goose, mouse, ox, woman, beau, seraph, fish, deer, sheep, swine.

Compound names and groups of words that may be treated as compound names add the possessive sign to the last word; as, a man-of-war's rigging, the queen of England's palace,[Footnote: In parsing the words queen and England separately, the ('s) must be regarded as belonging to queen; but the whole phrase queen of England's may be treated as one noun in the possessive case.] Frederick the Great's verses.

+Remark+.—The possessive plural of such terms is not used.

The preposition of with the objective is often used instead of the possessive case form—David's Psalms = Psalms of David.

+Remarks+.—To denote the source from which a thing proceeds, or the idea of belonging to, of is used more frequently than ('s).

The possessive sign ('s) is confined chiefly to the names of persons, and of animals and things personified. We do not say the tree's leaves, but the leaves of the tree.

The possessive sign however is often added to names of things which we frequently hear personified, or which we wish to dignify, and to names of periods of time, and to words denoting value; as, the earth's surface, fortune's smile, eternity's stillness, a year's interest, a day's work, a dollar's worth, two cents' worth.

By the use of of, such expressions as witness's statement, mothers-in-law's faults may be avoided.

+Direction+.—Study carefully the principles and Remarks given above, and then make each of the following terms indicate possession, using either the possessive sign or the preposition of, as may seem most appropriate, and join an appropriate name denoting the thing possessed:—

Father-in-law, William the Conqueror, king of Great Britain, aid-de-camp, Henry the Eighth, attorney-at-law, somebody else,[Footnote: In such expressions as everybody else's business, the possessive sign is removed from the noun and attached to the adjective. (See Lesson lai.) The possessive sign should generally be placed immediately before the name of the thing possessed.] Jefferson, enemy, eagle, gunpowder, book, house, chair, torrent, sun, ocean, mountain, summer, year, day, hour, princess, Socrates.

* * * * *

LESSON 123.

CONSTRUCTION OF POSSESSIVE FORMS.

As the possessive is the only case of nouns that has a distinctive inflection, it is only with this case that mistakes can occur in construction.

+Caution+.—When several possessive nouns modify the same word and imply common possession, the possessive sign is added to the last only. If they modify different words, expressed or understood, the sign is added to each.

+Explanation+.—William and Henry's boat; William's and Henry's boat. In the first example, William and Henry are represented as jointly owning a boat; in the second, each is represented as owning a separate boat—boat is understood after William's.

+Remark+.—When the different possessors are thought of as separate or opposed, the sign may be repeated although joint possession is implied; as, He was his father's, mother's, and sister's favorite; He was the King's, as well as the people's, favorite.

+Direction+.—Correct these errors, and give your reasons:—

1. The Bank of England was established in William's and Mary's reign. 2. Messrs. Leggett's, Stacy's, Green's, & Co.'s business prospers. 3. This was James's, Charles's, and Robert's estate. 4. America was discovered during Ferdinand's and Isabella's reign. 5. We were comparing Caesar and Napoleon's victories. 6. This was the sage and the poet's theme.

+Explanation+.—If an article precedes the possessive, the sign is repeated.

7. It was the king, not the people's, choice. 8. They are Thomas, as well as James's, books.

+Caution+.—When a possessive noun is followed by an explanatory word, the possessive sign is added to the explanatory word only. But, if the explanatory word has several modifiers, or if there are more explanatory words than one, only the principal word takes the sign.

+Remarks+.—When a common noun is explanatory of a proper noun, and the name of the thing possessed is omitted, the possessive sign may be added either to the modifying or to the principal word; as, We stopped at Tiffany, the jeweler's, or We stopped at Tiffany's, the jeweler.

If the name of the thing possessed is given, the noun immediately before it takes the sign.

+Direction+.—Correct these errors:—

1. This is Tennyson's, the poet's, home. 2. I took tea at Brown's, my old friend and schoolmate's. 3. This belongs to Victoria's, queen of England's, dominion. 4. This province is Victoria's, queen of England's. 5. That language is Homer's, the greatest poet of antiquity's. 6. This was Franklin's motto, the distinguished philosopher's statesman's. 7. Wolsey's, the cardinal's, career ended in disgrace.

+Direction+.—-Tell which of the sentences above may be improved by using other forms to denote possession. (See the following Caution.)

+Caution+.—The relation of possession may be expressed not only by ('s) and by of but by the use of such phrases as belonging to, property of, etc. In constructing sentences be careful to secure smoothness and clearness and variety by taking advantage of these different forms.

+Direction+.—Improve the following sentences:—

1. This is my wife's father's opinion.

+Correction+.—This is the opinion of my wife's father, or held by my wife's father.

2. This is my wife's father's farm. 3. France's and England's interest differs widely. 4. Frederick the Great was the son of the daughter of George I. of England. 5. My brother's wife's sister's drawings have been much admired. 6. The drawings of the sister of the wife of my brother have been much admired.

Of is not always equivalent to the ('s),

+Explanation+.—The president's reception means the reception given by the president, but the reception of the president means the reception given to the president.

+Direction+.—Construct sentences illustrating the meaning of the following expressions:—

A mother's love, the love of a mother; a father's care, the care of a father; my friend's picture, a picture of my friend.

+Caution+.—Often ambiguity may be prevented by changing the assumed subject of a participle from a nominative or an objective to a possessive.

+Direction+.—Correct these errors:—

1. The writer being a scholar is not doubted.

+Correction+.—This is ambiguous, as it may mean either that the writer is not doubted because he is a scholar, or that the writer's scholarship is not doubted. It should be, The writer's being [Footnote: The participle may be modified not only, as here, by a noun in the possessive but by the articles a and the—-as said in Lesson 37. Whether it be the imposing a tax or the issuing a paper currency.—Bagehot. Not a making war on them, not a leaving them out of mind, but the putting a new construction upon them, the taking them from under the old conventional point of view.—Matthew Arnold. Poltroonery is the acknowledging an infirmity to be incurable.—Emerson. The giving away a man's money.—Burke. It is not the finding of a thing but the making something out of it, after it is found, that is of consequence.—Lowell.

As seen in this last quotation, the participle may be followed by a preposition and so become a pure noun (Lesson 38).] a scholar is not doubted, or That the writer is a scholar is not doubted.

2. I have no doubt of the writer being a scholar. 3. No one ever heard of that man running for office. 4. Brown being a politician prevented his election. 5. I do not doubt him being sincere. 6. Grouchy being behind time decided the fate of Waterloo.

* * * * *

LESSON 124.

NUMBER AND CASE FORMS.

Declension.

+DEFINITION.—Declension is the arrangement of the cases of nouns and pronouns in the two numbers+.

+Direction+.—Learn the following declensions:—

Declension of Nouns.

LADY. BOY. MAN.
Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural.

Nom. lady, ladies, boy, boys, man, men,
Pos. lady's, ladies', boy's, boys', man's, men's,
Obj. lady; ladies. boy; boys. man; men.

Declension of Pronouns.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

FIRST PERSON. SECOND PERSON— SECOND PERSON— common form old form. _Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural.

Nom. I, we,* you, you, thou, ye(++) or you
Pos. my or our or your or your or thy or ye(++) or you
mine,+ ours, yours, yours, thine, yours,
Obj. me; us. you; you. thee; you.

[Footnote *: Strictly speaking, we can hardly be the plural of I, says Professor Sweet, for I does not admit of plurality. We means I and you, I and he, I and she, or I and they, etc.]

[Footnote +: The forms mine, ours, yours, thine, hers, and theirs are used only when the name of the thing possessed is omitted; as, Yours is old, mine is new = Your book is old, etc. Mine and thine were formerly used before words beginning with a vowel sound; as, thine enemy, mine honor.

The expression a friend of mine presents a peculiar construction. The explanation generally given is, that of is partitive, and that the expression is equivalent to one friend of my friends.

It is said that this construction can be used only when more than one thing is possessed such expressions as This heart of mine, That temper of yours are good, idiomatic English. This naughty world of ours.—Byron. This moral life of mine.—Sheridan Knowles. Dim are those heads of theirs.—-Carlyle.

Some suggest that the word possessing or owning is understood after these possessives; as, This temper of yours (your possessing); others say that of simply marks identity, as does of in city of (=viz.) New York (see Lesson 34). They would make the expression = This temper, your temper.

The s in ours, yours, hers, and theirs is the s of his and its extended by analogy to our, your, her, and their, forms already possessive. Ours, yours, hers, and theirs are consequently double possessives.]

[Footnote ++: Ye is used in Chaucer and in the King James version of the Bible exclusively in the nominative, as was its original _ge__ in the Saxon. Shakespeare uses you in the nominative. You (the Saxon accusative eow) has now taken the place of ye, and is both nominative and objective.

THIRD PERSON—Mas. THIRD PERSON—Fem. THIRD PERSON—Neut. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Nom. he, they, she, they, it, they, Pos. his, their or her or their or its,* their or theirs, hers, theirs, theirs, Obj. him; them. her; them. it; them.

[Footnote *: The possessive its is our only personal pronoun form not found in Saxon. His, the possessive of the masculine he, was there the possessive (genitive) of the neuter hit also—our it. But it came to be thought improper to employ his to denote inanimate things as well as animate. The literature of the 16th and 17th centuries shows a growing sense of this impropriety, and abounds with of it, thereof, her, it, the, and it own in place of his as the possessive of it. The first appearance of the new coinage its is placed in 1598. Long after its introduction many looked askance at its, because of the grammatical blunder it contains—the_ t_ in its being a nominative neuter ending, and the s a possessive ending. But no one thinks now of shunning what was then regarded as a grammatical monstrosity.]

COMPOUND PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Nom. and Nom. and Nom. and Nom. and Nom. and Nom. and Obj. Obj. Obj. Obj. Obj. Obj.

myself* thyself himself; or ourselves. or yourselves. herself; themselves. ourself; yourself; itself;

[Footnote *: The compound personal pronouns are used (1) for emphasis; as, I myself saw it: and (2) as reflexives, to turn the action of the verb back upon the actor; as, He found himself deserted by his friends. They are not the only words used in this last relation; where no obscurity would arise, we may use the simple personal pronouns instead. And millions in those solitudes … have laid them down in their last sleep.—Bryant. My uncle stopped a minute to look about him.—Dickens.

The compound personal pronouns should not be used as subjects.]

+Remark+.—The possessive of these pronouns is wanting.

Ourself and we are used by rulers, editors, and others to hide their individuality, and give authority to what they say.

+Relative Pronouns+.

Sing. and Plu. Sing. and Plu. Sing. and Plu. Sing. and Plu. Nom. who, which, that, what, Pos. whose, whose, ———, ———, Obj. whom. which. that. what.

+Remark+.—From the composition of which—hwa:-lic, or hwaet-lic = who-like, or what-like, it is evident that whose is not formed from which. It is, in fact, the possessive of what transferred to which. Much has been said against this whose, but it is in general use. Those who regard usage as the final arbiter in speech need not avoid this form of the pronoun.

+Interrogative Pronouns+.

The interrogative pronouns who, which, and what are declined like the relatives who, which, and what.

+Compound Relative Pronouns+.

Singular and Plural. Singular and Plural. Nom. whoever, whosoever, Pos. whosever, whosesoever, Obj. whomever. whomsoever.

Whichever, whichsoever, whatever, and whatsoever do not change their form.

+Adjective Pronouns+.

This and that with their plurals, these and those, have no possessive form, and are alike in the nominative and the objective. One and other are declined like nouns; and another, declined like other in the singular, has no plural. Either, neither, former, and latter sometimes take the apostrophe and s ('s) in the singular. Each, either, and neither are always singular; both is always plural; and all, any, farmery latter, none, same, some, and such are either singular or plural. [Footnote: On the pages immediately preceding Lesson 1, we said that +usage+, as determined by the majority of the best writers and speakers of the generation, is the only authority in language; and we there explained how we are able to appeal to usage as we all along have done. In treating of the adjective pronouns we now appeal to it again. In the first twelve paragraphs below we give alternative expressions. Only the second of these alternative locutions in each paragraph is allowed by many grammarians; they utterly condemn the first. On the warrant of usage we say that both expressions are correct.

1. We may use +each other+ with more than two; we may use one another in such a case. We may say, "Several able men were in correspondence with each other," or "with one another."

2. We may use +one another+ with only two; we may use each other in such a case. We may say, "The two countries agreed to stand by one another," or "by each other."

3. We may use +all, both+, and +whole+ with a preposition and a noun following; we may use these words as adjectives qualifying the noun. We may say, "All of the people," "Both of the trees," "The whole of the farm," or "All the people," "Both trees," "The whole farm."

4. We may use the pronouns +either+ and +neither+, as we do the conjunctions either and neither, with more than two; we may use any one and none in such cases. We may say, "Here are three candidates; you may vote for either or for neither of them," or "for any one or for none of them."

5. We may use +he+ or some other personal pronoun after the indefinite one; we may repeat the one in such a case. We may say, "The home one must quit, yet taking much of its life along with him," or "along with one."

6. We may use +such+ before an adjective and its noun; we may use so with the adjective in such a case. We may say, "Such a strong argument," "Such admirable talent," or "So strong an argument," "Talent so admirable."

7. We may use the plural +ones+; we may use the noun for which ones stands. We may say, "You have red roses, I have white ones," or "white roses."

8. We may apply +the other two+ to those that remain when one of three things has been taken from the rest; we may use the two others in such a case. We may say, "One of them kept his ground; the other two ran away," or "the two others ran away."

9. We may use +a+ before a noun in the singular and +or two+ after it; we may use one or two before the noun in the plural. We may say, "I will go in a day or two," or "in one or two days."

10. We may use +either+ in the sense of each; we may use each instead. We may say, "He wrested the land on either side of the Seine," or "on each side of the Seine."

11. We may insert a noun, or a noun and other words, between +other+ and +than+; we may place the than immediately after other. We may say, "We must look for somee other reasons for it than those suggested," or "for some reasons for it other than those suggested."

12. We may use +none+ in the plural; we may use none in the singular. We may say, "None hear thy voice," or "None hears thy voice."

The paragraphs below contain noteworthy uses of adjective pronouns but no really alternative expressions.

13. Usage is overwhelmingly in favor of +any one else's, no one else's, somebody else's, nobody else's+, instead of any one's else, etc. There is scarcely any authority for placing the ('s) upon one or body. "Written by Dickens for his own or any one else's children." This form is common and convenient. We are advised to shun it, but we need not.

14. Usage is also decidedly in favor of +first two, last three+, etc., instead of two first, three last, etc.]

Descriptive adjectives used as nouns are plural, and are not declined. Such expressions as "the wretched's only plea" and "the wicked's den" are exceptional.

* * * * *

LESSON 125.

CASE FORMS—PRONOUNS.

The pronouns I, thou, he, she, and who are the only words in the language that have each three different case forms.

+Direction+.—Study the Declensions, and correct these errors:—

Our's, your's, hi's, her's, it's, their's, yourn, hisn, hern, theirn.

Construction of Case Forms—Pronouns.

+Caution.—I, we, thou, ye, he, she, they,+ and +who+ are +nominative+ forms, and must not be used in the objective case. +Me, us, thee, him, her, [Footnote: Her is also a possessive.] them,+ and +whom+ are objective forms, and must not be used in the nominative case.

Remark.—The eight nominative forms and the seven objective forms here given are the only distinctive nominative and objective forms in the language. All the rules of syntax given in the grammars to guide in the use of the nominative and the objective case apply, practically, only to these fifteen words.

+Direction.+—Study carefully the Definitions and principles given under the head of case, Lesson 119, and then correct these errors, giving your reasons in every instance:—

1. It is not me you are in love with. [Footnote: Dr. Latham defends It is me, but condemns It is him, and It is her. Dean Alford regards as correct the forms condemned by Latham, and asserts that thee and me are correct in, "The nations not so blest as thee" "Such weak minister as me may the oppressor bruise." Professor Bain justifies If I were him, It was her, He is better than me, and even defends the use of who as an objective form by quoting from Shakespeare, "Who servest thou under?" and from Steele, "Who should I meet?"

They justify such expressions as It is me from the analogy of the French c'est moi, and on the ground that they are "more frequently heard than the prescribed form." But such analogy would justify It are them (ce sont eux); and, if the argument from the speech of the uneducated is to have weight, we have good authority for "Her ain't a calling we: us don't belong to she." A course of reading will satisfy one that the best writers and speakers in England are not in the habit of using such expressions as It is me, and that these are almost, if not quite unknown in American literature. No one has freed himself from the influence of early associations that are in a careless moment some vicious colloquialism may not creep into his discourse. A Violation of every principle of grammar may be defended, if such inadvertencies are to be erected into authority. To whatever is the prevailing, the habitual, usage of a majority of the best writers and speakers the grammarian should bow without question; but not to the accidental slips of even the greatest writers, or to the common usage of the unreflecting and the uncultivated.]

2. She was neither better bred nor wiser than you or me. [See previous Footnote.] 3. Who servest thou under? [See previous footnote.] 4. It was not them, it was her. 5. Its being me should make no difference. 6. Him and me are of the same age. 7. Them that study grammar talk no better than me. 8. I am not so old as her; she is older than me by ten years. 9. He was angry, and me too. 10. Who will go? Me. 11. It isn't for such as us to sit with the rulers of the land. 12. Not one in a thousand could have done it as well as him. 13. Him being a stranger, they easily misled him. 14. Oh, happy us! surrounded thus with blessings. 15. It was Joseph, him whom Pharaoh promoted. 16. I referred to my old friend, he of whom I so often speak. 17. You have seen Cassio and she together. 18. Between you and I, I believe that he is losing his mind. 19. Who should I meet the other day but my old friend? 20. Who did he refer to, he or I? 21. Who did he choose? Did he choose you and I? 22. He that is idle and mischievous reprove. 23. We will refer it to whoever you may choose. 24. Whosoever the court favors is safe. 25. They that are diligent I will reward. 20. Scotland and thee did in each other live. 27. My hour is come, but not to render up my soul to such as thee. 28. I knew that it was him. 29. I knew it to be he. 30. Who did you suppose it to be? 31. Whom did you suppose it was? 32. I took that tall man to be he. 33. I thought that tall man was him.

Although than is not a preposition, it is sometimes followed by whom, as in the familiar passage from Milton: "Beelzebub… than whom, Satan except, none higher sat." Than whom is an irregularity justified only on the basis of good usage. Whom here may be parsed as an objective case form used idiomatically in place of who.

* * * * *

LESSON 126.

CONSTRUCTION OF CASE FORMS.

MISCELLANEOUS—REVIEW.

Direction.—Correct these errors, and give your reasons:—

1. Who was Joseph's and Benjamin's mother? 2. It did not occur during Washington, Jefferson, or Adams's administration. 3. I consulted Webster, Worcester, and Walker's dictionary. 4. This state was south of Mason's and Dixon's line. 5. These are neither George nor Fanny's books. 6. Howard's, the philanthropist's, life was a noble one. 7. It is Othello's pleasure, our noble and valiant general's. 8. He visited his sons-in-law's homes.

+Explanation.+—If the possessive plural of such nouns were used, this would be correct; but it is better to avoid these awkward forms.

9. A valuable horse of my friend William's father's was killed. 10. For Herodias's sake, his brother Philip's wife. 11. For the queen's sake, his sister's. 12. Peter's, John's, and Andrew's occupation was that of fishermen. 13. He spoke of you studying Latin. 14. It being difficult did not deter him. 15. What need is there of the man swearing? 16. I am opposed to the gentleman speaking again. 17. He thought it was us. 18. We shall shortly see which is the fittest object of scorn, you or me. 19. I shall not learn my duty from such as thee. 20. A lady entered, whom I afterwards found was Miss B. 21. A lady entered, who I afterwards found to be Miss B. 22. Ask somebody's else opinion. 23. Let him be whom he may. 24. I am sure it could not have been them. 25. I understood it to be they. 26. It is not him whom you thought it was. 27. Let you and I try it. 28. All enjoyed themselves, us excepted. 29. Us boys enjoy the holidays. 30. It was Virgil, him who wrote the "Aeneid." 31. He asked help of men whom he knew could not help him.

TO THE TEACHER.—These schemes and questions under the head of General Review are especially designed to aid in securing an outline of technical grammar.

The questions given below may be made to call for minute details or only for outlines. In some cases a single question may suffice for a whole lesson.

Scheme for the Noun.

(The numbers refer to Lessons.)

NOUN.
Uses.
Subject (4, 8).
Object Complement (28).
Attribute Complement (29, 30).
Objective Complement (31).
Adjective Modifier (33).
Adverb Modifier (35).
Principal word in Prep. Phrase (17).
Independent (44).
Classes.
Common (85). (Abstract and Collective.)
Proper (85).
Modifications.
Number.
Singular (112-116).
Plural (112-116).
Gender.
Masculine (117, 118).
Feminine (117, 118).
Neuter (117, 118).
Person.
First (119).
Second (119).
Third (119).
Case.
Nominative (119).
Possessive (119, 122, 123).
Objective (119).

Questions on the Noun.

1. Define the noun and its classes.—Lesson 85.

2. Name and define the modifications of the noun.—Lessons 112, 117, 119.

3. Name and define the several numbers, genders, persons, and cases.—Lessons 112, 117, 119.

4. Give and illustrate the several ways of forming the plural.—Lessons 112, 113, 114.

5. Give and illustrate the several ways of distinguishing the genders.—Lesson 117.

6. How is the possessive case formed?—Lesson 122.

7. Give and illustrate the principles which guide in the use of the possessive forms.—Lesson 128.

+Scheme for the Pronoun.+

PRONOUN. +Uses+.—Same as those of the Noun. +Classes+. Personal (85, 86, 87). Relative (85, 86, 87). Interrogative (85). Adjective (85, 87). +Modifications+.—Same as those of the Noun (112, 117, 118, 119, 124, 125, 142).

Questions on the Pronoun.

1. Define the pronoun and its classes, and give the lists.—Lesson 85.

2. Decline the several pronouns.—Lesson 124.

3. Give and illustrate the principles which guide in the use of the different pronouns.—Lessons 86, 87.

4. Give and illustrate the principles which guide in the use of the number forms, the gender forms, and the case forms.—Lessons 118, 125, 142.

* * * * *

LESSON 127.

COMPARISON.

+Introductory Hints.+—That apple is sweet, that other is sweeter, but this one is the sweetest. The adjective sweet, expressing a quality of the three apples, is, as you see, inflected by adding er and est.

Adjectives, then, have one modification, and this is marked by form, or inflection. This modification is called +Comparison+, because it is used when things are compared with one another in respect to some quality common to them all, but possessed by them in different degrees. The form of the adjective which expresses the simple quality, as sweet, is of the +Positive Degree+; that which expresses the quality in a greater or a less degree, as sweeter, less sweet, is of the +Comparative Degree+; and that which expresses the quality in the greatest or the least degree, as sweetest, least sweet, is of the +Superlative Degree+.

But even the positive implies a comparison; we should not say, This apple is sweet, unless this particular fruit had more of the quality than ordinary apples possess.

Notice, too, that the adjective in the comparative and superlative degrees always expresses the quality relatively. When we say, This apple is sweeter than that, or, This apple is the sweetest of the three, we do not mean that any one of the apples is very sweet, but only that one apple is sweeter than the other, or the sweetest of those compared.

The several degrees of the quality expressed by the adjective may be increased or diminished by adverbs modifying the adjective. We can say very, exceedingly, rather, or somewhat sweet; far, still, or much, sweeter; by far or much the sweetest.

Some adverbs, as well as adjectives, are compared.

Adjectives have one modification; viz., +Comparison+. [Footnote: Two adjectives, this and that, have number forms—this, these; that, those. In Anglo-Saxon and Latin, adjectives have forms to indicate gender, number, and case.]