The English Language

by R. G. Latham

This fact explains the meaning of the words, whatever they may have been originally, in a preceding sentence. It also indicates a fresh element in the criticism and nomenclature of the grammarian; viz., the extent to which the history of a form regulates its position as an inflection.

Dative.—In the antiquated word whilom (at times), we have a remnant of the old dative in -m. The sense of the word is adverbial; its form, however, is that of a dative case.

Genitive.—Some call this the possessive case. It is found in substantives and pronouns (father's, his), but not in adjectives. It is formed like the nominative plural, by the addition of the lene sibilant (father, fathers; buck, bucks); or if the word end in s, by that of es (boxes, judges, &c.) It is found in both numbers: the men's hearts; the children's bread. In the plural number, however, it is rare; so rare, indeed, that wherever the plural ends in s (as it almost always does), there is no genitive. If it were not so, we should have such words as fatherses, foxeses, princesseses, &c.

Instrumental.—The following extracts from Rask's Anglo-Saxon Grammar, teach us that there exist in the present English two powers of the word spelt t-h-e, or of the so-called definite article.

"The demonstrative pronouns are þæt, se, seó (id, is, ea), which are also used for the article; and þis, þes, þeós (hoc, hic, hæc). They are thus declined:—

		Neut.	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.	Masc.	Fem.
Sing.	N.	þæt	se	seó	þis	þes	þeós.
	A.	þæt	þone	þá	þis	þisne	þás.
	Abl.	þý		þǽre	þise		þisse.
	D.	þám		þǽre	þisum		þisse.
	G.	þæs		þǽre	þises		þisse.
Plur.	N. and A.		þá			þás.
	Abl. and D.		þám			þisum.
	G.		þára.			þissa.

"The indeclinable þe is often used instead of þæt, se, seo, in all cases, but especially with a relative signification, and, in later times, as an article. Hence the English article the.

"þy seems justly to be received as a proper ablativus instrumenti, as it occurs often in this character, even in the masculine gender; as, mid þy áþe=with that oath (Inæ Reges, 53). And in the same place in the dative, on þǽm áþe=in that oath."—Pp. 56, 57.

Hence the the that has originated out of the Anglo-Saxon þý is one word; the the that has originated out of the Anglo-Saxon þe, another. The latter is the common article: the former the the in expressions like all the more, all the better=more by all that, better by all that, and the Latin phrases eo majus, eo melius.