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noun; as, John, John's. Indeed, strictly, there is but one case or falling from the nominative.

But if, on the other hand, it should be claimed that the use of a preposition constitutes a case, then there must be as many cases as there are prepositions: above a man, beneath a man, within a man, without a man, must be cases as well as of a man, tỏ a man, and from a man.

Both in the Latin and the Anglo-Saxon, different cases are attributed to nouns when the terminations are the same. In practical grammar, we are therefore justified, on the ground of convenience, in admitting at least three cases, though there are but two terminations in nouns, especially as we must have three terminational cases in some of the pronouns. See § 293. One word of English is probably a true accusative in the strict sense of the term, viz., the word twain two.

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Besides the nominative, genitive, and accusative cases, we have remnants of the dative form in the Anglo-Saxon language in the words whilom and seldom, as we have in the words him and whom. In the phrase "Give it him" we have a dative The objective case and the preposition to are often equivalent to the dative case in other languages. It might be a matter of convenience to add the dative and vocative to the number of English cases.

case.

The following has been proposed: "Nom., A man; Gen., A man's; Dat., A man; Accus., A man; Voc., man! A MAN (N.) may beat ANOTHER MAN (A.) if he can, but it is A Man's (G.) part to give HIM, i. e., A man (D.), fair play. MAN! (V.) hold your hand. Here we have the agent, or nominative, that beats; the patient, or accusative, that is beaten; the person standing in the relation of possession, or genitive, and of giving, or dative; finally, in that of being addressed by another, or vocative."

IMPORT OF THE GENITIVE.

§ 262. The import of the genitive case may often be expressed by the particle of. Thus, for man's wisdom we can say the

wisdom of man. This has been called the analytical, or the Norman possessive or genitive, and is commonly used, especially in the plural number, when the possessor is inanimate. A noun with the sign's is called the Saxon possessive, because it is a contraction of the Saxon genitive in es, is. The mark' is called apostrophe, because it is a turning off or omission of the vowel e or i. It is, however, used as the sign of the possessive case, where there is no omission of the vowel, as in the plural number. It should be added, before closing this section, that though the import of the analytical genitive is often much the same as that of the Saxon genitive, it is often different. If, instead of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit of that forbidden tree, Milton had written, Of the first disobedience of man, and that forbidden tree's fruit, his meaning would have been different from what it now is. He now calls on the Muse to sing of man's first act of disobedience as distinguished from all his other acts, and the fruit of that forbidden tree as distinguished from all other trees; whereas the other arrangement of the words would have laid the stress on man as distinguished from all other beings, and on the fruit as distinguished from the rest of the tree. The Paradise Lost of Milton is not in import exactly the same as Milton's Paradise Lost. In the former, attention is called to the author; in the latter, to the work. See CROMBIE'S Etymology and Syntax.

COMPARATIVE ETYMOLOGY.

§ 263. The cases in the ancient languages were formed by varying the terminations, and thus expressing a few of the ob Ivious and common relations. In the Latin language nouns have six cases; in the Anglo-Saxon, four.

The Latin word pater is declined as follows:

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The Anglo-Saxon word ende is declined as follows:

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In the following example we have nine cases of the Lapland. ish language, expressed by variable terminations:

Nom., Joulke, a foot.
Gen., Joulken, of a foot.
Dat., Joulkas, to a foot.
Acc., Joulken, a foot.
Voc., Joulk, a foot.

Abl., Joulkest, from a foot.

Priv., Joulket, without a foot.
Mid., Joulkin, with a foot.
Loc., Joulkesn, in a foot.

Some of the Indian dialects, instead of using inflections or prepositions to express the different relations, employ post-positions; as, Hhoda, a god; hhoda-ka, of a god; hhoda-ko, to a god. See § 374.

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§ 264. "There is nothing more certain than this, that the carlier we can trace back any one language, the more full, complete, and consistent are its forms; that the later we find it existing, the more compressed, colloquial, and business-like it has become. Like the trees of our forests, it grows at first wild, luxuriant, rich in foliage, full of light and shadow, and flings abroad in its vast branches the fruits of a youthful and vigorous nature; transplanted to the garden of civilization, and trained for the purposes of commerce, it becomes regulated, trimmed, pruned; nature, indeed, still gives it life, but art prescribes the direction and extent of its vegetation. Always we perceive a compression, a gradual loss of fine distinctions, a perishing of forms, terminations, and conjugations in the younger state of the language. The truth is, that in a language, up to a certain period, there is a real indwelling vitality, a principle acting unconsciously, but perversively in every part: men wield their forms of speech as they do their limbs-spontaneously, knowing nothing of their construction, or the means by which these instruments possess their power. It may be even said that the commencement of the age of self-consciousness is identical with the close of that of vitality in language."-Lond. Phil. Soc

QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER II.

1. Give the two definitions of a noun, and the derivation of the terms noun and substantive.

2. What are proper nouns, and what are common nouns ?

3. What is an abstract noun, and what is a concrete noun?

4. What is a collective noun, and what is a correlative noun ?

5. What are participial nouns, and what are diminutive nouns, and what are material nouns?

6. In what case can the other parts of speech be made nouns?

7. In what cases do proper nouns become common nouns ?

8. In what case does common nouns become proper nouns?

9. What is gender, and what is the derivation of the term GENDER?

10. How many genders are there, and what do they severally denote? 11. What are the three principal modes of expressing gender?

12. Of what gender are the names of males, and of what gender are the names of females?

13. What words have the same termination for both masculine and feminine, and of what gender are these words?

14. What words are used only in the feminine?

15. What masculine words are by extension applied to the whole species, and also what feminine words are in like manner applied to the whole species? 16. What is said of the word infant, child?

17. In what cases are masculine terms employed in preference to the feminine, and in what cases is the feminine term employed? Give the examples. 18. How does it appear that English gender is philosophic ?

19. How does it appear that English gender is poetic?

20. What are the grounds for a choice of gender in personification?

NUMBER.

21. What is number, and how many numbers are there, and what do these numbers severally denote?

22. In the spoken language, how is the plural number formed? Give examples.

23. In the written language, how is the plural number expressed? Give examples.

24. When nouns in the spoken language end with a sound that will not unite with that of s, how is the plural number formed? Give examples.

25. When nouns in the written language end in s, sh, ch, x, or z, how is the plural number formed? Give examples.

26. How do nouns ending in y, after a consonant, form the plural? Give examples.

27. How do nouns ending in i form their plurals? Give an example.

28. How do nouns ending in o, preceded by a consonant, form their plurals? Give an example.

29. How do certain nouns in ƒ and fe form their plurals; and how do other nouns in ƒ and fe form their plurals?

30. Give an instance of a plural in n or en, and of a plural formed by a change of vowel.

31. Give an instance of a double plural, and also of two plurals of the same word.

32. What do you say of the plurals of foreign words?

33. Give an instance of a noun that has no plural termination; and also of one that denotes plurality without a plural termination; and also of a noun that has the same form in both numbers; and also of a noun that has the plural termination only; and also of a noun that has the plural form, but is used in the singular.

34. Give an instance of a noun which has the same form for both numbers, and yet is sometimes used in a regular plural form.

35. Give the statement with respect to the plural form of compounds, and with respect to the plural form of proper nouns, and with respect to words used as mere words, and with respect to a title and a name used together. 36. What languages had the dual number?

CASE.

37. What is case, and how many cases are there?

38. Give the definition of each of the three cases, and the origin of the

term.

39. Give the declension of English nouns, and give the rules for the possessive form.

40. Describe the transition from the Anglo-Saxon genitive.

41. Give the statement with respect to the number of cases.

42. What is said of the import of the genitive?

43. How were cases in the ancient languages formed?

44. What is the difference between ancient and modern languages in re spect to their forms?

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