"Of the an

parsed as such; as, 1. "The Ancient of days."-Bible. cients."—Swift. "For such impertinent!.""Steele. 2. "I am the happiest she in Kent."—Id. "The hes in birds."-Bacon. 3. "Avaunt all attitude, and stare, and start theatric!"—Cowper. "A may-be of mercy is insufficient."—Bridge. 4. "For the producing of real happiness," Crabb. 5. "An hereafter."—. Addison. "The deep amen.”Scott, "The while."—Milton. 6. "With hark, and whoop, and wild halloo." Scott. "Will cuts him short with a What then?"—Addison.

CLASSES.

Nouns are divided into two general classes; proper and

common.

I. A proper noun is the name of some particular individual, place, or thing: as, Victoria, London, the Thames.

II. A common noun is a name applied generally to all individuals, places, or things, of the same kind or sort: as, woman, city, river, metal,

The particular classes, collective, abstract, and verbal, are usually included among common nouns.

When a noun signifies many it is called a collective noun, or noun of multitude: as, The people, the army, the parliament.

An abstract noun is the name of some particular quality considered apart from its substance: as Goodness, wisdom, softness, wrath, meekness.

A verbal or participial noun is the name of some action or state of being; and is formed from a verb, like a participle, but employed as a noun: as, "The blowing of the wind;" "The assembling of the people."

66

OBS. 1.—When the proper name of a person or place has an article placed before it, it generally becomes a common noun; as, "He is the Milton of his age," that is, the poet. Many a fiery Alp,"—that is, mountain: except when a common noun is understood; as, The [river] Thames The [ship] Amity—The treacherous [man] Judas.

Obs. 2. When a proper noun admits of a plural, it becomes a common noun; as, the eight Henrys, the four Georges. This is obvious from the fact, that a proper name is, in its nature, descriptive of one object only, and, therefore, essentially singular. Spain is the proper

Into what general classes are nouns divided? What is a proper noun ?---a com. mon noun ? What particular classes are included among common nouns? What is a collective noun ?---an abstract noun ?---a verbal or participial noun ?

name of a country, and Spaniard has been called the proper name of a people; but the latter is a generic term, characterising any one of a great number of persons, by their connexion with Spain. Therefore, Spaniard, European, American, Englishman, and their plurals, are com

mon nouns.

OBS. 3.—A common noun with the definite article or a pronoun prefixed to it, sometimes becomes proper; as, The park; the Borough, Obs. 4.—The common name of a thing or quality personified often becomes proper; as, "I, Wisdom, dwell with Prudence."

MODIFICATIONS.

Nouns have modifications of four kinds; namely, Persons, Numbers, Genders, and Cases.

PERSONS.

Persons, in grammar, distinguish the speaker, the hearer, and the person or thing merely spoken of.

It be

OBS.-The distinction of persons is founded on the different relations which the objects mentioned may bear to the discourse itself. longs to nouns, pronouns, and finite verbs: and to these it is always applied, either by peculiarity of form or construction, or by inference from the principles of concord. Pronouns are like their antecedents, and verbs are like their subjects, in person.

There are three persons; the first, the second, and the third.

The first person is that which denotes the speaker: as, "I John did it."

The second person is that which denotes the hearer: as Robert, who did this ?"

The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of: as, James loves his book.

Obs. 1.—In written language, the first person denotes the writer or author, and the second, the reader or person addressed; except when the writer describes not himself, but some one else, as the speaker.

Obs. 2.—The speaker seldom refers to himself by name, as the speaker, consequently, nouns are rarely used in the first person; and when they are, a pronoun is usually prefixed to them.

Obs. 3.—When a speaker or writer does not choose to declare himself

How many

What modifications have nouns? What are Persons in grammar? persons are there, and what are they called? What is the first person ?---the second person?---the third person.

C

in the first person, or to address his hearer or reader in the second, he speaks of both or either in the third. Thus Moses relates what Moses did, and Cæsar records the achievements of Cesar. So Judah humbly beseeches Joseph: "Let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord."—Gen. xliv. 33. And Abraham reverently intercedes with God: "Oh! let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak."—Gen.

xviii. 30.

OBS. 4.—When inanimate things are spoken to, they are personified; and their names are put in the second person, because by the figure the objects are supposed to be capable of hearing.

NUMBERS.

Numbers distinguish unity and plurality.

Obs.—Number merely serves to shew whether we speak of one object, or of more. It belongs to nouns, pronouns, and finite verbs; and to these it is always applied, either by peculiarity of form, or by inference from the principles of concord. Pronouns are like their antecedents, and verbs are like their subjects, in number.

There are two numbers; the singular and the plural.· The singular number denotes but one: as, The boy reads.

The plural number denotes more than one: as, The boys read.

The plural number of nouns is generally formed by adding s or es to the singular: as, book, books, box, boxes.

Rule I.—When the singular ends in a sound which will unite with that of s, the plural is generally formed by adding « only, and the number of syllables is not increased: as, game, games; fruit, fruits.

Rule II.-But when the sound of s cannot be united, the plural adds s to final e, and es to other terminations, and forms a separate syllable: as, page, pages; fox, foxes.

Obs. 1.—English nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, add es, but do not increase their syllables: as wo, woes; hero, heroes; potato, potatoes; octavo, octavoes. The exceptions to this rule appear to be in such nouns as are not properly English words; thus many write cantos, juntos, solos, &c. Other nouns in o add s only; as folio, folios; bamboo, bamboos. So also, two, twos.

What are Numbers in grammar? How many numbers are there, and what are they called? What is the singular number ?---the plural number? How is the plural number of nouns regularly formed? What are the rules for adding s and es to form the plural?

OBS. 2.—Common nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant, change y into i, and add es, without increase of syllables: as, fly, flies; duty, duties. Other nouns in y add s only as day, days; valley, valleys; so likewise proper names; as, Henry, the Henrys.

Obs. 3.—The following nouns in f, change f into v, and add es, for plural; sheaf, leaf, loaf, beef, thief, calf, half, elf, shelf, self, wolf: as, sheaves, leaves, &c. Life, lives; knife, knives; wife, wives; are similar. Staff makes staves; though the compounds of staff are regular: as, flagstaff, flagstaffs. The greater number of nouns in f and fe, are regular; as, fifes, strifes, chiefs, griefs, gulfs, &c.

Obs. 4.—The following are still more irregular: man, men; woman, women; child, children; brother, brethren, [or brothers ;] foot, feet; ox, oren; tooth, teeth; goose, geese; louse, lice; mouse, mice; die, dice; penny, pence. Dies, stamps, and pennies, coins, are regular.

Obs. 5.—Many foreign nouns retain their original plural: as, arcanum, arcana; datum, data; erratum, errata; effluvium, effluvia; medium, media, [or mediums;) minutia, minutiæ; stratum, strata; stamen, stamina; genus, genera; genius, genii, [geniuses, for men of wit;] magus, magi; radius, radii; appendix, appendices [or appendixes;] cats, calces; index, indices [or indexes;] vortex, vortices; axis, axes; basis, bases; crisis, crises; thesis, theses; antithesis, antitheses; diaresis, diareses; ellipsis, ellipses; emphasis, emphases; hypothesis, hypotheses; metamorphosis, metamorphoses; automaton, automata; criterion, criteria [or criterions;] phenomenon, phenomena; cherub, cherubim; seraph, seraphim ; beau, beaux Cor beaus).

Obs. 6.—Some nouns (from the nature of the things meant) have no plural: as, gold, pride, meekness.

Obs. T —Proper names of individuals, strictly used as such, have no plural. But when several persons of the same name are spoken of, the noun becomes in some degree common, and admits the plural form and an article; as, The Stuarts—The Casars: so likewise, when such nouns are used to denote character; as, "The Newtons, the Lockes, and the Gibbons."

Obs. 8.—The proper names of nations and societies are generally plural; and, except in a direct address, they are usually construed with the definite article: as, The English—The Ministry.

Obs. 9.—When a title is prefixed to a proper name, so as to form a sort of compound, the name, and not the title, is varied to form the plural; as The Miss Howards-The two Mr. Smiths. But a title not regarded as a part of one compound name, must be made plural, if it refer to more than one; as, Messrs. Lambert and Son—The Lords Brougham and Lyndhurst—The Lords Bishops of Durham and St. David's -The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.

Obs. 10. Some nouns have no singular; as, embers, ides, oats, scissors, tongs, vespers, literati.

The

OBS. 11.—Some nouns are alike in both numbers; as, sheep, deer, vermin, swine, hose, means, odds, news, species, series, apparatus. following are sometimes construed as singular, but more frequently, and more properly, as plural: alms, amends, pains, riches; ethics, mathema

tics; metaphysics, optics, politics, pneumatics, and other similar names of sciences. Bolus, fungus, isthmus, prospectus, and rebus, admit the regular plural.

Obs. 12.—Compounds in which the principal word is put first, vary the principal word to form the plural, and the adjunct to form the possessive case; as, Sing, father-in-law, Plur. fathers-in-law, Poss. futherin-law's—Sing, court-martial, Plur. courts-martial, Poss. court-martial's. The possessive plural of such nouns, is never used

Obs. 13.—Compounds ending in ful, and all those in which the principal word is put last, form the plural in the same manner as other nouns; as, handfuls, spoonfuls, mouthfuls, fellow-servants, man-servants, outpourings, ingatherings, downsittings.

Obs. 14.—Nouns of multitude, when taken collectively, generally admit the plural form; as, meeting, meetings: but when taken distributively, they have a plural signification, without the form; as, "The jury were divided."

GENDERS.

Gender is the distinction of objects in regard to sex.

Obs.—The different genders are founded on the natural distinction of sex in animals, and on the absence of sex in other things. In English, they belong only to nouns and pronouns; and to these they are usually applied agreeably to the order of nature. Pronouns are of the same gender as the nouns for which they stand.

There are three genders; the masculine, the feminine, and the neuter.

The masculine gender is that which denotes animals of the male kind: as, man, bull, king.

The feminine gender is that which denotes animals of the female kind: as, woman, cow, queen.

The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female; as, pen, ink, paper.

Obs. 1.-- Some nouns are equally applicable to both sexes; as, cousin, friend, neighbour, parent, person, servant. The gender of these is usually determined by the context. To such words, some grammarians have applied the unnecessary and improper term common gender. Murray justly observes, "There is no such gender belonging to the language. The business of parsing, can be effectually performed without having recourse to a common gender." The term is more useful, and less liable to objection, as applied to the learned languages; but with us it is plainly a solecism.

What are Ganders in grammar? How many genders are there, and what are they called? What is the masculine gender ?---the feminine gender?---the neuter gender?