Case Inflection.

Ann Turner had taught her the secret before this last good lady had been hanged forSir Thomas Overbury'smurder.—Hawthorne.He passes to-day in building an air castle for to-morrow, or in writingyesterday'selegy.—Thackeray

Ann Turner had taught her the secret before this last good lady had been hanged forSir Thomas Overbury'smurder.—Hawthorne.

He passes to-day in building an air castle for to-morrow, or in writingyesterday'selegy.—Thackeray

In these the possessives are equivalent to an objective after a verbal expression: as,for murdering Sir Thomas Overbury;an elegy to commemorate yesterday. For this reason the use of the possessive here is called objective.

(3)Subjective possessive, the most common of all; as,—

The unwearied sun, from day to day,Does his Creator's power display.—Addison.

If this were expanded intothe power which his Creator possesses, the wordCreatorwould be the subject of the verb: hence it is called a subjective possessive.

61.This last-named possessive expresses a variety of relations.Possessionin some sense is the most common. The kind of relation may usually be found by expanding the possessive into an equivalent phrase: for example, "Winter'srude tempests are gathering now" (i.e., tempests that winter is likely to have); "His beard was ofseveral days'growth" (i.e., growth which several days had developed); "Theforest'sleaping panther shall yield his spotted hide" (i.e., the panther which the forest hides); "Whoso sheddethman'sblood" (blood that man possesses).

How the possessive is formed.

62.As said before (Sec. 56), there are only two case forms. One is the simple form of a word, expressing the relations of nominative and objective; the other is formed by adding'sto the simple form, making the possessive singular. To form the possessive plural, only the apostrophe is added if the plural nominative ends in-s; the'sis added if the plural nominative does not end in-s.

Declension or inflection of nouns.

63.The full declension of nouns is as follows:—

A suggestion.

NOTE.—The difficulty that some students have in writing the possessive plural would be lessened if they would remember there are two steps to be taken:—

(1) Form the nominative plural according to Secs 39-53

(2) Follow the rule given in Sec. 62.

Origin of the possessive with its apostrophe.

64.In Old English a large number of words had in the genitive case singular the ending-es; in Middle English still more words took this ending: for example, in Chaucer, "From everyschiresende," "Full worthi was he in hislordeswerre [war]," "at hisbeddessyde," "mannesherte [heart]," etc.

A false theory.

By the end of the seventeenth century the present way of indicating the possessive had become general. The use of the apostrophe, however, was not then regarded as standing for the omitted vowel of the genitive (aslord'sforlordes): by a false theory the ending was thought to be a contraction ofhis, as schoolboys sometimes write, "George Joneshisbook."

Use of the apostrophe.

Though this opinion was untrue, the apostrophe has proved a great convenience, since otherwise words with a plural in-swould have three forms alike. To the eye all the forms are now distinct, but to the ear all may be alike, and the connection must tell us what form is intended.

The use of the apostrophe in the plural also began in the seventeenth century, from thinking thatswas not a possessive sign, and from a desire to have distinct forms.

Sometimessis left out in the possessive singular.

65.Occasionally thesis dropped in the possessive singular if the word ends in a hissing sound and another hissing sound follows, but the apostrophe remains to mark the possessive; as,for goodness' sake, Cervantes' satirical work.

In other cases thesis seldom omitted. Notice these three examples from Thackeray's writings: "Harry ran upstairs to hismistress'sapartment;" "A postscript is added, as by thecountess'scommand;" "I saw what thegoverness'sviews were of the matter."

Possessive with compound expressions.

66.In compound expressions, containing words in apposition, a word with a phrase, etc., the possessive sign is usually last, though instances are found with both appositional words marked.

Compare the following examples of literary usage:—

Do not the Miss Prys, my neighbors, know the amount of my income, the items of myson's,Captain Scrapegrace's, tailor's bill—Thackeray.The world's pomp and power sits there on this hand: on that, stands up for God's truth one man, thepoor miner Hans Luther'sson.—Carlyle.They invited me in theemperor their master'sname.—Swift.I had naturally possessed myself ofRichardson the painter'sthick octavo volumes of notes on the "Paradise Lost."—DE QUINCEY.They will go to Sunday schools to teach classes of little children the age of Methuselah or the dimensions ofOg the king of Bashan'sbedstead.—Holmes.

Do not the Miss Prys, my neighbors, know the amount of my income, the items of myson's,Captain Scrapegrace's, tailor's bill—Thackeray.

The world's pomp and power sits there on this hand: on that, stands up for God's truth one man, thepoor miner Hans Luther'sson.—Carlyle.

They invited me in theemperor their master'sname.—Swift.

I had naturally possessed myself ofRichardson the painter'sthick octavo volumes of notes on the "Paradise Lost."—DE QUINCEY.

They will go to Sunday schools to teach classes of little children the age of Methuselah or the dimensions ofOg the king of Bashan'sbedstead.—Holmes.

More common still is the practice of turning the possessive into an equivalent phrase; as,in the name of the emperor their master, instead ofthe emperor their master's name.

Possessive and no noun limited.

67.The possessive is sometimes used without belonging to any noun in the sentence; some such word ashouse,store,church,dwelling, etc., being understood with it: for example,—

Here at thefruiterer'sthe Madonna has a tabernacle of fresh laurel leaves.—Ruskin.It is very common for people to say that they are disappointed in the first sight ofSt. Peter's.—Lowell.I remember him in his cradle atSt. James's.—Thackeray.Kate saw that; and she walked off from thedon's.—De Quincey.

Here at thefruiterer'sthe Madonna has a tabernacle of fresh laurel leaves.—Ruskin.

It is very common for people to say that they are disappointed in the first sight ofSt. Peter's.—Lowell.

I remember him in his cradle atSt. James's.—Thackeray.

Kate saw that; and she walked off from thedon's.—De Quincey.

The double possessive.

68.A peculiar form, a double possessive, has grown up and become a fixed idiom in modern English.

In most cases, a possessive relation was expressed in Old English by the inflection-es, corresponding to's. The same relation was expressed in French by a phrase corresponding toofand its object. Both of these are now used side by side; sometimes they are used together, as one modifier, making a double possessive. For this there are several reasons:—

Its advantages: Euphony.

(1) When a word is modified bya,the,this,that,every,no,any,each, etc., and at the same time by a possessive noun, it is distasteful to place the possessive before the modified noun, and it would also alter the meaning: we place it after the modified noun withof.

Emphasis.

(2) It is more emphatic than the simple possessive, especially when used withthisorthat, for it brings out the modified word in strong relief.

Clearness.

(3) It prevents ambiguity. For example, in such a sentence as, "This introductionof Atterbury'shas all these advantages" (Dr. Blair), the statement clearly means only one thing,—the introduction which Atterbury made. If, however, we use the phraseof Atterbury, the sentencemightbe understood as just explained, or it might mean this act of introducing Atterbury. (See also Sec. 87.)

The following are some instances of double possessives:—

This Hallof Tinville'sis dark, ill-lighted except where she stands.—Carlyle.Those lecturesof Lowell'shad a great influence with me, and I used to like whatever they bade me like.—HowellsNiebuhr remarks that no pointed sentencesof Cæsar'scan have come down to us.—Froude.Besides these famous booksof Scott's and Johnson's, there is a copious "Life" by Thomas Sheridan.—ThackerayAlways afterwards on occasions of ceremony, he wore that quaint old French swordof the Commodore's.—E. E. Hale.

This Hallof Tinville'sis dark, ill-lighted except where she stands.—Carlyle.

Those lecturesof Lowell'shad a great influence with me, and I used to like whatever they bade me like.—Howells

Niebuhr remarks that no pointed sentencesof Cæsar'scan have come down to us.—Froude.

Besides these famous booksof Scott's and Johnson's, there is a copious "Life" by Thomas Sheridan.—Thackeray

Always afterwards on occasions of ceremony, he wore that quaint old French swordof the Commodore's.—E. E. Hale.

(a) Pick out the possessive nouns, and tell whether each is appositional, objective, or subjective.

(b) Rewrite the sentence, turning the possessives into equivalent phrases.

1. I don't choose a hornet's nest about my ears.2. Shall Rome stand under one man's awe?3. I must not see thee Osman's bride.4.At lovers' perjuries,They say, Jove laughs.5. The world has all its eyes on Cato's son.6. My quarrel and the English queen's are one.7.Now the bright morning star, day's harbinger,Comes dancing from the East.8. A man's nature runs either to herbs or weeds; therefore, let him seasonably water the one, and destroy the other.9.'Tis all men's office to speak patienceTo those that wring under the load of sorrow.10.A jest's prosperity lies in the earOf him that hears it, never in the tongueOf him that makes it.11. No more the juice of Egypt's grape shall moist his lip.12.There Shakespeare's self, with every garland crowned,Flew to those fairy climes his fancy sheen.13.What supports me? dost thou ask?The conscience, Friend, to have lost them [his eyes] overpliedIn liberty's defence.14.Or where Campania's plain forsaken lies,A weary waste expanding to the skies.15.Nature herself, it seemed, would raiseA minster to her Maker's praise!

1. I don't choose a hornet's nest about my ears.

2. Shall Rome stand under one man's awe?

3. I must not see thee Osman's bride.

At lovers' perjuries,They say, Jove laughs.

5. The world has all its eyes on Cato's son.

6. My quarrel and the English queen's are one.

Now the bright morning star, day's harbinger,Comes dancing from the East.

8. A man's nature runs either to herbs or weeds; therefore, let him seasonably water the one, and destroy the other.

'Tis all men's office to speak patienceTo those that wring under the load of sorrow.

10.

A jest's prosperity lies in the earOf him that hears it, never in the tongueOf him that makes it.

11. No more the juice of Egypt's grape shall moist his lip.

12.

There Shakespeare's self, with every garland crowned,Flew to those fairy climes his fancy sheen.

13.

What supports me? dost thou ask?The conscience, Friend, to have lost them [his eyes] overpliedIn liberty's defence.

14.

Or where Campania's plain forsaken lies,A weary waste expanding to the skies.

15.

Nature herself, it seemed, would raiseA minster to her Maker's praise!

69.Parsinga word is putting together all the facts about its form and its relations to other words in the sentence.

In parsing, some idioms—the double possessive, for example—do not come under regular grammatical rules, and are to be spoken of merely as idioms.

70.Hence, in parsing a noun, we state,—

(1) The class to which it belongs,—common, proper, etc.

(2) Whether a neuter or a gender noun; if the latter, which gender.

(3) Whether singular or plural number.

(4) Its office in the sentence, determining its case.

The correct method.

71.In parsing any word, the following method should always be followed: tell the facts about what the worddoes, then make the grammatical statements as to its class, inflections, and relations.

"What is bolder than a miller's neckcloth, which takes a thief by the throat every morning?"

Miller'sis a name applied to every individual of its class, hence it is a common noun; it is the name of a male being, hence it is a gender noun, masculine; it denotes only one person, therefore singular number; it expresses possession or ownership, and limitsneckcloth, therefore possessive case.

Neckcloth, likemiller's, is a common class noun; it has no sex, therefore neuter; names one thing, therefore singular number; subject of the verbisunderstood, and therefore nominative case.

Thiefis a common class noun; the connection shows a male is meant, therefore masculine gender; singular number; object of the verbtakes, hence objective case.

Throatis neuter, of the same class and number as the wordneckcloth; it is the object of the prepositionby, hence it is objective case.

NOTE.—The preposition sometimes takes the possessive case (see Sec. 68).

Morningis likethroatandneckclothas to class, gender, and number; as to case, it expresses time, has no governing word, but is the adverbial objective.

Follow the model above in parsing all the nouns in the following sentences:—

1. To raise a monument to departed worth is to perpetuate virtue.2. The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good action by stealth, and to have it found out by accident.3. An old cloak makes a new jerkin; a withered serving man, a fresh tapster.4.That in the captain's but a choleric word,Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy.5. Now, blessings light on him that first invented ... sleep!6. Necker, financial minister to Louis XVI., and his daughter, Madame de Staël, were natives of Geneva.7. He giveth his beloved sleep.8. Time makes the worst enemies friends.9. A few miles from this point, where the Rhone enters the lake, stands the famous Castle of Chillon, connected with the shore by a drawbridge,—palace, castle, and prison, all in one.10.Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth,And hated her for her pride.11. Mrs. Jarley's back being towards him, the military gentleman shook his forefinger.

1. To raise a monument to departed worth is to perpetuate virtue.

2. The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good action by stealth, and to have it found out by accident.

3. An old cloak makes a new jerkin; a withered serving man, a fresh tapster.

That in the captain's but a choleric word,Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy.

5. Now, blessings light on him that first invented ... sleep!

6. Necker, financial minister to Louis XVI., and his daughter, Madame de Staël, were natives of Geneva.

7. He giveth his beloved sleep.

8. Time makes the worst enemies friends.

9. A few miles from this point, where the Rhone enters the lake, stands the famous Castle of Chillon, connected with the shore by a drawbridge,—palace, castle, and prison, all in one.

10.

Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth,And hated her for her pride.

11. Mrs. Jarley's back being towards him, the military gentleman shook his forefinger.

The need of pronouns.

72.When we wish to speak of a name several times in succession, it is clumsy and tiresome to repeat the noun. For instance, instead of saying, "The pupilwill succeed inthe pupil'sefforts ifthe pupilis ambitious," we improve the sentence by shortening it thus, "The pupil will succeed inhisefforts ifheis ambitious."

Again, if we wish to know about the ownership of a house, we evidently cannot state the owner's name, but by a question we say, "Whosehouse is that?" thus placing a word instead of the name till we learn the name.

This is not to be understood as implying that pronouns wereinventedbecause nouns were tiresome, since history shows that pronouns are as old as nouns and verbs. The use of pronouns must have sprung up naturally, from a necessity for short, definite, and representative words.

Definition.

Apronounis a reference word, standing for a name, or for a person or thing, or for a group of persons or things.

Classes of pronouns.

73.Pronouns may be grouped in five classes:—

(1)Personal pronouns, which distinguish person by their form (Sec. 76).

(2)Interrogative pronouns, which are used to ask questions about persons or things.

(3)Relative pronouns, which relate or refer to a noun, pronoun, or other word or expression, and at the same time connect two statements They are also calledconjunctive.

(4)Adjective pronouns, words, primarily adjectives, which are classed as adjectives when they modify nouns, but as pronouns when they stand for nouns.

(5)Indefinite pronouns, which cannot be used as adjectives, but stand for an indefinite number of persons or things.

Numerous examples of all these will be given under the separate classes hereafter treated.

Person in grammar.

74.Since pronouns stand for persons as well as names, they must represent the person talking, the person or thing spoken to, and the person or thing talked about.

This gives rise to a new term, "the distinction ofperson."

Personof nouns.

75.This distinction was not needed in discussing nouns, as nouns have thesame form, whether representing persons and things spoken to or spoken of. It is evident that a noun could not represent the person speaking, even if it had a special form.

From analogy to pronouns, which haveformsfor person, nouns are sometimes spoken of as first or second person by theiruse; that is, if they are in apposition with a pronoun of the first or second person, they are said to have person by agreement.

But usually nouns represent something spoken of.

Three persons of pronouns.

76.Pronouns naturally are of three persons:—

(1) First person, representing the person speaking.

(2) Second person, representing a person or thing spoken to.

(3) Third person, standing for a person or thing spoken of.

77.Personal pronouns are inflected thus:—

First and second persons without gender.

78.It will be noticed that the pronouns of the first and second persons have no forms to distinguish gender. The speaker may be either male or female, or, by personification, neuter; so also with the person or thing spoken to.

Third personsingularhas gender.

But the third person has, in the singular, a separate form for each gender, and also for the neuter.

Old forms.

In Old English these three were formed from the same root; namely, masculinehē, femininehēo, neuterhit.

The formhit(forit) is still heard in vulgar English, andhoo(forhēo) in some dialects of England.

The plurals werehī,heora,heom, in Old English; the formsthey,their,them, perhaps being from the English demonstrative, though influenced by the cognate Norse forms.

Second person always plural in ordinary English.

79.Thou,thee, etc., are old forms which are now out of use in ordinary speech. The consequence is, that we have no singular pronoun of the second person in ordinary speech or prose, but make the pluralyoudo duty for the singular. We use it with a plural verb always, even when referring to a single object.

Two uses of the old singulars.

80.There are, however, two modern uses ofthou, thy, etc.:—

(1)In elevated style, especially in poetry; as,—

Withthyclear keen joyanceLanguor cannot be;Shadow of annoyanceNever came nearthee;Thoulovest; but ne'er knew love's sad satiety.—Shelley.

(2)In addressing the Deity, as in prayers, etc.; for example,—

Oh,thouShepherd of Israel, that didst comfortthypeople of old, tothycare we commit the helpless.—Beecher.

The formits.

81.It is worth while to consider the possessiveits. This is of comparatively recent growth. The old form washis(from the nominativehit), andthis continued in use till the sixteenth century. The transition from the oldhisto the modernitsis shown in these sentences:—

1 He anointed the altar and allhisvessels.—Bible

Herehisrefers toaltar, which is a neuter noun. The quotation represents the usage of the early sixteenth century.

2 It's hadithead bit off byityoung—Shakespeare

Shakespeare useshis,it, and sometimesits, as possessive ofit.

In Milton's poetry (seventeenth century)itsoccurs only three times.

3 See heavenitssparkling portals wide display—Pope

A relic of the olden time.

82.We have an interesting relic in such sentences as this from Thackeray: "One of the ways to know 'emis to watch the scared looks of the ogres' wives and children."

As shown above, the Old English objective washem(orheom), which was often sounded with thehsilent, just as we now say, "I saw 'imyesterday" when the wordhimis not emphatic. In spoken English, this form 'emhas survived side by side with the literarythem.

Use of the pronouns in personification.

83.The pronounsheandsheare often used in poetry, and sometimes in ordinary speech, to personify objects (Sec. 34).

Nominative forms.

84.The nominative forms of personal pronouns have the same uses as the nominative of nouns(see Sec. 58). The case of most of these pronouns can be determined more easily than the case of nouns, for, besides a nominativeuse, they have a nominative form. The wordsI,thou,he,she,we,ye,they, are very rarely anything but nominative in literary English, thoughyeis occasionally used as objective.

Additional nominatives in spoken English.

85.In spoken English, however, there are some others that are added to the list of nominatives: they are,me,him,her,us,them, when they occur in thepredicate position. That is, in such a sentence as, "I am sure it washim," the literary language would requireheafterwas; but colloquial English regularly uses as predicate nominatives the formsme,him,her,us,them, though those named in Sec. 84 are always subjects. Yet careful speakers avoid this, and follow the usage of literary English.

Not a separate class.

86.The formsmy,thy,his,her,its,our,your,their, are sometimes grouped separately as POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS, but it is better to speak of them as the possessive case of personal pronouns, just as we speak of the possessive case of nouns, and not make more classes.

Absolutepersonal pronouns.

The formsmine,thine,yours,hers,theirs, sometimeshisandits, have a peculiar use, standing apart from the words they modify instead of immediately before them. From this use they are called ABSOLUTE PERSONAL PRONOUNS, or, some say, ABSOLUTE POSSESSIVES.

As instances of the use of absolute pronouns, note the following:—

'Twasmine, 'tishis, and has been slave to thousands.—Shakespeare.And since thou own'st that praise, I spare theemine.—Cowper.My arm better thantheirscan ward it off.—Landor.Thineare the city and the people of Granada.—Bulwer.

'Twasmine, 'tishis, and has been slave to thousands.—Shakespeare.

And since thou own'st that praise, I spare theemine.—Cowper.

My arm better thantheirscan ward it off.—Landor.

Thineare the city and the people of Granada.—Bulwer.

Old use ofmineandthine.

Formerlymineandthinestood before their nouns, if the nouns began with a vowel orhsilent; thus,—

Shall I not takemineease inmineinn?—Shakespeare.Give every manthineear, but few thy voice.—Id.Ifthineeye offend thee, pluck it out.—Bible.My greatest apprehension was formineeyes.—Swift.

Shall I not takemineease inmineinn?—Shakespeare.

Give every manthineear, but few thy voice.—Id.

Ifthineeye offend thee, pluck it out.—Bible.

My greatest apprehension was formineeyes.—Swift.

This usage is still preserved in poetry.

Double and triple possessives.

87.The formshers,ours,yours,theirs, are really double possessives, since they add the possessivesto what is already a regular possessive inflection.

Besides this, we have, as in nouns, a possessive phrase made up of the prepositionofwith these double possessives,hers,ours,yours,theirs, and withmine,thine,his, sometimesits.

Their uses.

Like the noun possessives, they have several uses:—

(1)To prevent ambiguity, as in the following:—

I have often contrasted the habitual qualities of that gloomy friendof theirswith the astounding spirits of Thackeray and Dickens.—J. T. Fields.No wordsof ourscan describe the fury of the conflict.—J. F. Cooper.

I have often contrasted the habitual qualities of that gloomy friendof theirswith the astounding spirits of Thackeray and Dickens.—J. T. Fields.

No wordsof ourscan describe the fury of the conflict.—J. F. Cooper.

(2)To bring emphasis, as in these sentences:—

This thingof yoursthat you call a Pardon of Sins, it is a bit of rag-paper with ink.—Carlyle.This ancient silver bowlof mine, it tells of good old times.—Holmes.

This thingof yoursthat you call a Pardon of Sins, it is a bit of rag-paper with ink.—Carlyle.

This ancient silver bowlof mine, it tells of good old times.—Holmes.

(3)To express contempt, anger, or satire; for example,—

"Do you know the charges that unhappy sisterof mineand her family have put me to already?" says the Master.—Thackeray.He [John Knox] had his pipe of Bordeaux too, we find, in that old Edinburgh houseof his.—Carlyle."Hold thy peace, Long Allen," said Henry Woodstall, "I tell thee that tongueof thineis not the shortest limb aboutthee."—Scott.

"Do you know the charges that unhappy sisterof mineand her family have put me to already?" says the Master.—Thackeray.

He [John Knox] had his pipe of Bordeaux too, we find, in that old Edinburgh houseof his.—Carlyle.

"Hold thy peace, Long Allen," said Henry Woodstall, "I tell thee that tongueof thineis not the shortest limb aboutthee."—Scott.

(4)To make a noun less limited in application; thus,—

A favorite liar and servantof minewas a man I once had to drive a brougham.—Thackeray.In New York I read a newspaper criticism one day, commenting upon a letterof mine.—Id.

A favorite liar and servantof minewas a man I once had to drive a brougham.—Thackeray.

In New York I read a newspaper criticism one day, commenting upon a letterof mine.—Id.

What would the last two sentences mean if the wordmywere written instead ofof mine, and preceded the nouns?

About the case of absolute pronouns.

88.In their function, or use in a sentence, the absolute possessive forms of the personal pronouns are very much like adjectives used as nouns.

In such sentences as, "The goodalone are great," "None butthe bravedeservesthe fair," the words italicized have an adjective force and also a noun force, as shown in Sec. 20.

So in the sentences illustrating absolute pronouns in Sec. 86:minestands formy property,hisforhis property, in the first sentence;minestands formy praisein the second. But the first two have a nominative use, andminein the second has an objective use.

They may be spoken of as possessive in form, but nominative or objective in use, according as the modified word is in the nominative or the objective.

The olddativecase.

89.In Old English there was one case which survives in use, but not in form. In such a sentence as this one from Thackeray, "Pickmeout a whip-cord thong with some dainty knots in it," the wordmeis evidently not the direct object of the verb, but expressesfor whom,for whose benefit, the thing is done. In pronouns, thisdativeuse, as it is called, was marked by a separate case.

Now the objective.

In Modern English the sameuseis frequently seen, but theformis the same as the objective. For this reason a word thus used is called adative-objective.

The following are examples of the dative-objective:—

Givemeneither poverty nor riches.—Bible.Cursemethis people.—Id.Both joined in makinghima present.—MacaulayIs it not enough that you haveburnt medown three houses with your dog's tricks, and be hanged to you!—LambI givetheethis to wear at the collar.—Scott

Givemeneither poverty nor riches.—Bible.

Cursemethis people.—Id.

Both joined in makinghima present.—Macaulay

Is it not enough that you haveburnt medown three houses with your dog's tricks, and be hanged to you!—Lamb

I givetheethis to wear at the collar.—Scott

Other uses of the objective.

90.Besides this use of the objective, there are others:—

(1)As the direct object of a verb.

They all handledit.—Lamb

(2)As the object of a preposition.

Time is behindthemand beforethem.—Carlyle.

(3)In apposition.

She sate all last summer by the bedside of the blind beggar,himthat so often and so gladly I talked with.—De Quincey.

Indefinite use ofyouandyour.

91.The wordyou, and its possessive caseyoursare sometimes used without reference to a particular person spoken to. They approach the indefinite pronoun in use.

Yourmere puny stripling, that winced at the least flourish of the rod, was passed by with indulgence.—IrvingTo empty here,youmust condense there.—Emerson.The peasants take off their hats asyoupass;yousneeze, and they cry, "God bless you!" The thrifty housewife showsyouinto her best chamber.Youhave oaten cakes baked some months before.—Longfellow

Yourmere puny stripling, that winced at the least flourish of the rod, was passed by with indulgence.—Irving

To empty here,youmust condense there.—Emerson.

The peasants take off their hats asyoupass;yousneeze, and they cry, "God bless you!" The thrifty housewife showsyouinto her best chamber.Youhave oaten cakes baked some months before.—Longfellow

Uses ofit.

92.The pronounithas a number of uses:—

(1)To refer to some single word preceding; as,—

Ferdinand ordered thearmyto recommenceitsmarch.—Bulwer.Society, in this century, has not madeitsprogress, like Chinese skill, by a greater acuteness of ingenuity in trifles.—D. Webster.

Ferdinand ordered thearmyto recommenceitsmarch.—Bulwer.

Society, in this century, has not madeitsprogress, like Chinese skill, by a greater acuteness of ingenuity in trifles.—D. Webster.

(2)To refer to a preceding word group; thus,—

If any man should do wrong merely out of ill nature, why, yetitis but like the thorn or brier, which prick and scratch because they can do no other.—Bacon.

Hereitrefers back to the whole sentence before it, or to the idea, "any man's doing wrong merely out of ill nature."

(3)As a grammatical subject, to stand for the real, logical subject, which follows the verb; as in the sentences,—

Itis easy in the worldto live after the world's opinion.—Emerson.Itis thishazinessof intellectual vision which is the malady of all classes of men by nature.—Newman.Itis a pitythat he has so much learning, or that he has not a great deal more.—Addison.

Itis easy in the worldto live after the world's opinion.—Emerson.

Itis thishazinessof intellectual vision which is the malady of all classes of men by nature.—Newman.

Itis a pitythat he has so much learning, or that he has not a great deal more.—Addison.

(4)As an impersonal subject in certain expressions which need no other subject; as,—

Itis finger-cold, and prudent farmers get in their barreled apples.—Thoreau.And when I awoke,itrained.—Coleridge.For whenitdawned, they dropped their arms.—Id.Itwas late and after midnight.—De Quincey.

Itis finger-cold, and prudent farmers get in their barreled apples.—Thoreau.

And when I awoke,itrained.—Coleridge.

For whenitdawned, they dropped their arms.—Id.

Itwas late and after midnight.—De Quincey.

(5)As an impersonal or indefinite object of a verb or a preposition; as in the following sentences:—

(a) Michael Paw, wholorded itover the fair regions of ancient Pavonia.—Irving.I made up my mindto foot it.—Hawthorne.A sturdy lad ... who in turn tries all the professions, whoteams it, farms it, peddles it, keeps a school.—Emerson.(b) "Thy mistress leads thee a dog's lifeof it."—Irving.There was nothingfor itbut to return.—Scott.An editor has only to say "respectfully declined," and there is an endof it.—Holmes.Poor Christian was hard putto it.—Bunyan.

(a) Michael Paw, wholorded itover the fair regions of ancient Pavonia.—Irving.

I made up my mindto foot it.—Hawthorne.

A sturdy lad ... who in turn tries all the professions, whoteams it, farms it, peddles it, keeps a school.—Emerson.

(b) "Thy mistress leads thee a dog's lifeof it."—Irving.

There was nothingfor itbut to return.—Scott.

An editor has only to say "respectfully declined," and there is an endof it.—Holmes.

Poor Christian was hard putto it.—Bunyan.

Reflexive use of the personal pronouns.

93.The personal pronouns in the objective case are often usedreflexively; that is, referring to the same person as the subject of the accompanying verb. For example, we use such expressions as, "I foundmea good book," "He boughthima horse,"etc. This reflexive use of thedative-objective is very common in spoken and in literary English.

The personal pronouns are not often used reflexively, however, when they aredirectobjects. This occurs in poetry, but seldom in prose; as,—

Now I laymedown to sleep.—Anon.I setmedown and sigh.—Burns.

Now I laymedown to sleep.—Anon.

I setmedown and sigh.—Burns.

And millions in those solitudes, since firstThe flight of years began, have laidthemdownIn their last sleep.—Bryant.

Composed of the personal pronouns with-self, -selves.

94.The REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS, or COMPOUND PERSONAL, as they are also called, are formed from the personal pronouns by adding the wordself, and its pluralselves.

They aremyself, (ourself),ourselves,yourself, (thyself),yourselves,himself,herself,itself,themselves.

Of the two forms in parentheses, the second is the old form of the second person, used in poetry.

Ourselfis used to follow the wordwewhen this represents a single person, especially in the speech of rulers; as,—

Methinks he seems no better than a girl;As girls were once, as weourselfhave been.—Tennyson.

Origin of these reflexives.

95.The question might arise, Why arehimselfandthemselvesnothisselfandtheirselves, as in vulgar English, after the analogy ofmyself,ourselves, etc.?

The history of these words shows they are made up of the dative-objective forms, not the possessive forms, withself. In Middle English the formsmeself,theself, were changed into the possessivemyself,thyself, and the others were formed by analogy with these.Himselfandthemselvesare the only ones retaining a distinct objective form.

In the formsyourselfandyourselveswe have the possessiveyourmarked as singular as well as plural.

Use of the reflexives.

96.There are three uses of reflexive pronouns:—

(1)As object of a verb or preposition, and referring to the same person or thing as the subject; as in these sentences from Emerson:—

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