160 161 sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother." "This is That was originally the neuter of the Anglo-Saxon demonstrative pronoun se, sco, þaet, which was also used as a relative, just as der, die, das still is in German. This pronoun and the indeclinable Pe were used as relatives before who was so used. When that is used as a relative, it is never an adjective. It is always used as a substantive, but may refer to a noun of any gender. In old-fashioned English that (like what) was used with its antecedent understood; as "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen" (John iii. 11); That thou doest, do quickly" (John xiii. 27); “I am that I am." 66 That cannot be used in all cases where who can be used. It can be used only when the relative clause is required to give to the antecedent its full signification. We cannot use that when the antecedent is a proper name, or when the antecedent noun has with it a demonstrative adjective which sufficiently defines the thing or person spoken of. We cannot say, "Thomas that died yesterday, was my brother;" or "I have heard from my father, that is in America." The words Thomas and my father explain perfectly by themselves who is meant. In other words, a clause beginning with that limits or defines the noun to which it refers, and is therefore improper when that noun does not admit of further limitation. But who or which may always be used when that can be used. The use of the relative will be further explained in the Syntax. (See Adjective Clauses.) 162 The relative pronoun is frequently understood, that is, implied, but not expressed; as, "He has not returned the book I lent him," for " the book which I lent him;" "That is the person I spoke of," for the person whom I spoke of." But the relative is not now omitted in good English, unless, if expressed, it would be in the objective case. 163 The adverb as (A. S. aelswa = also, German als) is often used as a substitute for a relative pronoun, especially after same and such; as, "This is not the same as that; "His character is not such as I admire; ." "I have not from your eyes that gentleness and show of love as I was wont to have" (Shakspere, Julius Caesar, i., 2, 45). In vulgar English as is commonly used as a simple relative. In old * Some grammarians think that who and which are not properly used to introduced a limiting or defining clause, and that in such sentences as "That is the man who spoke to us yesterday,' "The house which he built still remains,' the word that is preferable. The best writers of English prose do not seem to entertain this view. When prepositions have to be employed, whom and which are preferred to that. In the English Bible it would be difficult to find a clause beginning with that, and having a preposition at the end; and when a defining or restrictive clause is wanted after the demonstrative that, it always begins with which in the English of the Bible. fashioned German so is found doing duty as a relative pronoun. V.-Indefinite Pronouns. 164 The Indefinite Pronoun ONE is not the same as the numeral adjective one. It is a substantive, and is the same word as the French on, which is derived from the Latin homon. In Anglo-Saxon man was used for one." * One has a possessive case, as 'One's reputation is at stake.' 165 AUGHT† (A. s. awiht) is derived from the Anglo-Saxon substantive wiht, a thing,' which we still employ as a masculine in the noun wight. Naught is a compound of the negative ne and aught. 166 ANY (A. S. aenig) is a derivative from ane, one,' just as ullus in Latin is a diminutive of unus. (Key Lat. Gr., $334.) When any refers to a singular noun, it implies quantity; when it refers to a plural noun, it implies number; as, "This food is bad, I will not eat any; "There were some apples on that tree, did you pluck any?" 167 OTHER, when used as a substantive, has the ordinary inflections of a noun. Singular Other Other's Other Plural. Others Others' Others 168 When an is used before other the two words are usually written together, another. VI.-The Distributive Pronouns EACH, EVERY, EITHER, NEITHER. 169 EACH (A. s. aelc, Scotch ilka) is used both adjectively and substantively. In such phrases as, "They loved each other;' They hated one another," the words each and other, and one and another, have a * Compare the German man and the noun mann. Man was used for one in Anglo-Saxon. Dr. Adams considers that the plural form ones should be connected with the Indefinite Pronoun one, and not with the numeral one. Yet in French we find les uns. These words are often (but incorrectly) written ought and nought. reeiprocal relation to each other; but it is a mistake to call them compound pronouns (as though equivalent to the Greek alleloi). They are independent pronouns, having separate and different constructions in the sentences where they occur. In "They loved each other," each is in the nominative case, in the attributive relation to they, which it distributes in sense; other is in the objective case, governed by the verb loved. In Spenser (Faerie Queen, i. 5, 6) we find:-"With greedy force each other doth assail;" that is "each doth assail the other." In "They heard each other's voice," each is in the nominative case, agreeing with they; other's is in the possessive case, attached to the noun voice. Such phrases as to each other, from one another, &c., are corruptions, made upon a false analogy. In old-fashioned and correct English we find each to other, one from another. It seems anomalous at first sight, that a word like each, which is essentially singular, should be attached to a plural word, but we have exactly the same idiom in Latin. Quisque in the singular may be used to distribute a plural subject. 170 EVERY (old English everaelc or everilk) is a compound of A. S. aefre, 'ever,' and aelc, and denotes all of a series taken one by one. Each and every both call attention to the individuals forming a collection. When each is used, the prominent idea is that of the subdivision of the collection into its component parts. When every is used, the prominent idea is that the individuals taken together make up some whole. 171 EITHER and NEITHER are always singular. It is a blunder to make them the subjects of verbs in the plural.* For the derivation of the words, see § 156. VII.-The Reflective Pronoun SELF. 172 Self (plural selves) is used with either the possessive or the objective case of the personal pronouns. It is preceded by what seems the possessive case of the personal pronouns of the first and second persons, and by the objective case of the pronouns of the third person, myself, thyself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves. The pronoun self may also be used substantively with the possessive case of a noun, especially along with the adjective own; as, "A man's own self." "Men's own selves." In such cases the pronoun is always in the possessive case, as "his own self," ""their own selves." The pronoun one is generally treated as being on a par with the pronouns of the third person; so that we write oneself, not one's self. 173 The constructions in which self appears to be used as a substantive The older writers were not clear upon this point. Shakspere frequently gives a plural sense to every and neither. Thus, "Every one to rest themselves betake" (Rape of Lucrece, 125); "When neither are alive" (Cymb. iv. 2, 252). are probably corruptions. In Anglo-Saxon sylf was always an adjective, 66 VIII.-The Possessive Pronouns. 174 The forms ours, yours, theirs, hers are not (strictly speaking) possessive cases of the personal pronouns, but derivatives from them, being apparently possessives formed from possessives. They are only used when the noun to which they relate is not expressed. It is rather doubtful whether they ought to be called adjectives at all. It would, perhaps, be better to call them secondary possessives, and treat them as substantives. In formation they are analogous to the double superlatives (§ 118). In Anglo-Saxon the genitive cases of the personal pronouns were turned into adjectives, and declined as such. (Compare the relation between the possessive cases of the personal pronouns and the possessive adjectives in German.) It is, therefore, by no means clear whether mine, thine, his, &c., should now be treated as possessive cases (i.e., as substantives), or as adjectives, which have lost their declension-suffixes.+ The word own has no pretensions to be considered a pronoun. "Who * Modern grammarians are horrified at such expressions as, "It is me. did that? Me, Sir," &c. Nevertheless, it is by no means clear that these forms are inconsistent with the idioms of our language. They are not more at variance with strict rules than he himself, she herself, &c.; and the French language tolerates the dative forms moi, toi, lui, &c., in constructions where grammatical purity would require the nominative, as "C'est moi." + Dr. Adams is disposed to treat of mine, &c. (a book of mine), as arising from a repetition of the idea of possession. The general explanation is that "a book of mine" means "a book of my books" (Latham, Eng. Lang., p. 443). If this were necessarily the case, such an expression as "this sweet wee wife of mine," in Burns's song, would suggest unpleasant ideas of bigamy. In "a book of yours we have a triple expression of the possessive or genitive idea by means of of, r, and s. The provincial forms ourn, yourn, hisn, &c., though not recognised in polite English, are just as good as ours and yours. " VERB. 175 A Verb* is that part of speech by means of which we are able to make an assertion about something. 176 The word which stands for what is spoken about is called the subject of the verb (or of the sentence). It is put in the nominative case. A verb expresses with regard to what is spoken about, that it is something, that it does something, or that it is the object of some action. 177 When an adjective is prefixed to a noun, the notion of some quality, attribute, or fact, is connected with our notion of that which is spoken about. If we say a red apple, the notion of red is connected with that of apple. The same end is attained by the use of a verb, with this difference, that when we prefix an adjective to a noun, the connexion between the two notions is spoken of as already existing; the use of a verb effects the union of the two notions. When we say a blue coat, the connexion between the object of thought and its attribute is presupposed. When we say, The coat is blue, the verb is effects the union of the two notions. [The different kinds of sentences that result from the use of verbs are treated of in the Syntax.] 178 Verbs are divided into two classes-Transitive† and Intransitive Verbs. 179 A Transitive Verb is one which denotes an action or feeling which is directed towards some object; as, strike, "He strikes the ball;" love, "He loves his father." The word which stands for the object of the action described by the verb is called the object of the verb. It is put in the objective case. An Intransitive Verb is one which denotes a state or condition, or an action or feeling which is not directed towards, or exerted upon an object; as, to be, to dwell, to stand, to sit, to rejoice, to run. Verbs of this kind are sometimes called Neuter Verbs. Many verbs which denote actions are used sometimes as transitive verbs, sometimes as intransitive verbs; as, "He rolls a ball; the ball rolls. "He ran away; he ran a thorn into his finger." "The child speaks already." "He speaks several languages." In all such cases there is not only a difference of use, but a real difference of meaning. Thus, roll (transitive), "to give a rotary motion to a body;" and roll (intransitive), "to move with a rotary motion." Speak, to utter articulate sounds" (intransitive); speak, "to use (a language) as the means of expressing ideas" (transitive). Sometimes the intransitive use of a * Latin verbum, "word;" the verb being emphatically the word of the sentence. Latin transire, "to go across;" the action passes over, as it were, from the doer of it to the object of it. |