CHAPTER VII.

THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS, &c.

[§ 227]. The demonstrative pronouns are, 1. He, it. 2. She. 3. This, that. 4. The.

He, she, and it, generally looked on as personal, are here treated as demonstrative pronouns, for the following reasons.

1. The personal pronouns form an extremely natural class, if the pronouns of the two first persons be taken by themselves. This is not the case if they be taken along with he, it, and she.

2. The idea expressed by he, it, and she is naturally that of demonstrativeness. In the Latin language is, ea, id; ille, illa, illud; hic, hæc, hoc, are demonstrative pronouns in sense, as well as in declension.

3. The plural forms they, them, in the present English, are the plural forms of the root of that, a true demonstrative pronoun; so that even if he, she, and it could be treated as personal pronouns, they could not.

4. The word she has grown out of the Anglo-Saxon seó. Now seó was in Anglo-Saxon the feminine form of the definite article; the definite article itself being originally a demonstrative pronoun.

[§ 228]. Compared with the Anglo-Saxon the present English stands as follows:—

She.—The Anglo-Saxon form heó, being lost to the language, is replaced by the feminine article seó.

[§ 229]. Her.—This is a case, not of the present she, but of the Anglo-Saxon heó: so that she may be said to be defective in the oblique cases, and her to be defective in the nominative.

Him.—A dative form, which has replaced the Anglo-Saxon hine. When used as a dative, it was neuter as well as masculine.

His.—Originally neuter as well as masculine. Now as a neuter, replaced by its—"et quidem ipsa vox his, ut et interrogativum whose, nihil aliud sunt quam hee's, who's, ubi s omnino idem præstat quod in aliis possessivis. Similiter autem his pro hee's eodem errore quo nonnunquam bin pro been; item whose pro who's eodem errore quo done, gone, knowne, growne, &c., pro doen, goen, knowen, vel do'n, go'n, know'n, grow'n; utrobique contra analogiam linguæ; sed usu defenditur."—Wallis, c.v.

It.—Changed from the Anglo-Saxon hit, by the ejection of h. The t is no part of the original word, but a sign of the neuter gender, forming it regularly from he. The same neuter sign is preserved in the Latin id and illud.

Its.—In the course of time the nature of the neuter sign t, in it, the form being found in but a few words, became misunderstood. Instead of being looked on as an affix, it passed for part of the original word. Hence was formed from it the anomalous genitive its superseding the Saxon his. The same was the case with—

Hers.—The r is no part of the original word, but the sign of the dative case. These formations are of value in the history of cases.

[§ 230]. Theirs.—In the same predicament with hers and its; either the case of an adjective, or a case formed from a case.

Than or then, and there.—Although now adverbs,

they were once demonstrative pronouns, in a certain case and in a certain gender, viz., than and then masculine accusative and singular, there feminine dative and singular.

[§ 231]. An exhibition of the Anglo-Saxon declension is the best explanation of the English. Be it observed, that the cases marked in italics are found in the present language.

Se, seó ( = she).

Of this word we meet two forms only, both of the singular number, and both in the nominative case; viz., masc., se; fem. seó ( = the). The neuter gender and the other cases of the article were taken from the pronoun þæt ( = that).

II.

	þæt ( = that, the), and þis ( = this).
	Neut.	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.	Masc.	Fem.
Sing. Nom.	þæt	—	—	þis	þes	þeós.
Acc.	þæt	þone	þâ	þis	þisne	þás.
Abl.	þy	þy	þǽre.	þise	þise	þisse.
Dat.	þám	þám	þǽre.	þisum	þisum	þisse.
Gen.	þæs	þæs	þǽre.	þises	þises	þisse.

Plur. Nom. Acc.		þá.			þás.
Abl. Dat.		þám.			þisum.
Gen.		þára.			þissa.

III.

Hit ( = it), (he = he), heó ( = she).
Sing. Nom.	hit	he	heó.
Acc.	hit	hine	hí.
Dat.	him	him	hire.
Gen.	his	his	hire.

Plur. Nom. Acc.		hi
Dat.		him (heom).
Gen.		hira (heora).

IV.

þe (the)—Undeclined, and used for all cases and genders.

[§ 232]. These.—Here observe—

1st. That the s is no inflection, but a radical part of the word, like the s in geese.

2nd. That the Anglo-Saxon form is þás.

These facts create difficulties in respect to the word these. Mr. Guest's view is, perhaps, the best; viz., that the plural element of the word is the final -e, and that this -e is the old English and Anglo-Saxon adjective plural; so that thes-e is formed from this, as gode ( = boni) is from god ( = bonus).

The nominative plural in the Old English adjective ended in -e; as,

Singular.			Plural.
M.	F.	N.	M.	F.	N.
God,	god,	god,	gode.

In Old English MSS. this plural in -e is general. It occurs not only in adjectives and pronouns as a regular inflection, but even as a plural of the genitive his, that word being treated as a nominative singular; so that hise is formed from his, as sui from suus, or as eji might have been formed from ejus; provided that in the Latin language this last word had been mistaken for a nominative singular. The following examples are Mr. Guest's.

1. In these lay a gret multitude of syke men, blinde, crokid, and drye.—Wicliffe, Jon. v.

2. In all the orders foure is non that can

So much of dalliance and faire language,

He hadde ymade ful many a marriage—

His tippet was ay farsed ful of knives,

And pinnes for to given faire wives.—Chau., Prol.

3. And al the cuntre of Judee wente out to him, and alle men of Jerusalem.—Wicliffe, Mark i.

4. He ghyueth lif to alle men, and brething, and alle thingis; and made of von al kynde of men to inhabit on al the face of the erthe.—Wicliffe, Dedis of Apostlis, xvii.

5. That fadres sone which alle thinges wrought;

And all, that wrought is with a skilful thought,

The Gost that from the fader gan procede,

Hath souled hem.—Chau., The Second Nonnes Tale.

6. And alle we that ben in this aray

And maken all this lamentation,

We losten alle our husbondes at that toun.—Chau., The Knightes Tales.

7. A good man bryngeth forth gode thingsis of good tresore.—Wicliffe, Matt. xii.

8. So every good tree maketh gode fruytis, but an yvel tree maketh yvel fruytes. A good tree may not mak yvel fruytis, neither an yvel tree may make gode fruytis. Every tree that maketh not good fruyt schal be cut down.—Wicliffe, Matt. vii.

9. Men loveden more darknessis than light for her werkes weren yvele, for ech man that doeth yvel, hateth the light.—Wicliffe, John iii.

10. And othere seedis felden among thornes wexen up and strangliden hem, and othere seedis felden into good lond and gaven fruyt, sum an hundred fold, another sixty fold, an other thritty fold, &c.—Wicliffe, Matt. xiii.

11. Yet the while he spake to the puple lo his mother and hise brethren stonden withoute forth.—Wicliffe, Mat. xii.

12. And hise disciplis camen and taken his body.—Wicliffe, Matt., xiv.

13. When thise Bretons tuo were fled out of this lond

Ine toke his feaute of alle, &c.—Rob Brunne, p. 3.

14. This is thilk disciple that bereth witnessyng of these thingis, and wroot them.—Wicliffe, John xxi.

15. Seye to us in what powers thou doist these thingis, and who is he that gaf to thee this power.—Wicliffe, Luke xx.

[§ 233]. Those.—Perhaps the Anglo-Saxon þá with s added. Perhaps the þás from þis with its power altered. Rask, in his Anglo-Saxon Grammar, writes "from þis we find, in the plural, þæs for þás. From which afterwards, with a distinction in signification, these and those." The English form they is illustrated by the Anglo-Saxon form ðage = þá. The whole doctrine of the forms in question has yet to assume a satisfactory shape.

The present declension of the demonstrative pronouns is as follows:—

She.—Defective in the oblique cases.

He.

	Masc.	Neut.	Fem.
Nom.	He	It (from hit)	—
Acc.	Him	It	Her.
Dat.	Him	—	Her.
Gen.	His	—	Her.
Secondary Gen.	—	Its	Hers.
No plural form.

That.

	Neut.	Masc.	Fem.
Sing. Nom.	That	—	—
Acc.	That	Than,[^[49]] then[^[49]]	—
Dat.	—	—	There.[^[49]]

Instrumental		Thence.
Plur. Nom.		They.[^[50]]
Acc.		Them.[^[50]]
Gen.		Their.[^[50]]
Secondary Gen.		Theirs.[^[50]]

II.

Singular, This. Plural, These.

III.

Those.

IV.

The—Undeclined.