Tom took Maria on the ice;
It broke, and she fell in;
He got a rope, and in a trice
He pulled her out again.
If they had both been drowned, you know,
Folks would have said, “I told you so.”
“There it stands for ice, and she for Maria, and he for Tom, and they for Tom and Maria together. So you see clearly that he, she, it, and they are pronouns.”
“I do not think any one could deny it,” said Serjeant Parsing. “Have you any other words?”
“O yes, there are plenty more words that stand instead of nouns. My, thy, his, our, your, their, which are used to show that something belongs to the person these words stand instead of. Just as instead of saying Dr. Faustus’s scholars, we said his scholars; and as in speaking to you, my lord, I should not say Judge Grammar’s wig, but your wig.”
“You need not say anything about my wig,” said the Judge, rather testily. “Mind your own words, sir, and tell us what others you have.”