OBSERVATIONS ON PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

1. I is the first person, and denotes the speaker Thou is the second, and denotes the person spoken to. He, she, and it, are of the third person, and denote the person or thing spoken of. So also of their plurals, we, you, (ye), they.

2. Myself, thyself, himself, herself, itself, with their plurals ourselves, yourselves, themselves, may be called Compound personal pronouns: They are used in the nominative and objective cases. In the nominative they are emphatic, and are added to their respective personal pronouns, or are used instead of them; as, "I myself did it ;" "himself shall come." In the objective they are reflexive, showing that the agent is also the object of his own act; as, "Judas went and hanged himself."

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3. In proclamations, charters, editorial articles, and the like, we in frequently applied to one person.

4. In addressing persons, you is commonly put both for the singular and the plural, and has always a plural verb. Thou is used only in addresses to the Deity, or any important object in nature; or to mark special emphasis, or, in the language of contempt. The plural form ye is now but seldom used.

5. The pronoun it, besides its use as the neuter pronoun of the third person, is also used indefinitely with the verb to be in the third person

* See § 18, I. Obs. 1.

singular, for all genders, numbers, and persons; as, It is I, it is we, it is you, it is they ;-It was she, &c.

6. Hers, its, ours, yours, theirs, should never be written her's, it's, our's, your's, their's; for the final s is not used on account of the government of the noun understood, but because the noun is omitted. We cannot say her's book, but her book, or, that book is hers.

7. The personal pronouns may be parsed briefly thus; I, the first personal pronoun, masculine (or feminine), singular, the nominative. His, the third personal pronoun, masculine, singular, the possessive, &c.

QUESTIONS.

§ 15. What is a pronoun ? Name the classes into which they are di vided. Name the personal pronouns. Decline them. Of what person is I?-thou ?-he, she, it ? What does the first person denote ?-the se cond?-the third? To what class do myself, thyself, &c. belong? In what cases are they used? How are they applied in the nominative ?in the objective? How is you applied ?—thou ?—it ?

EXERCISES ON PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

I, thou, we, me, us, thine, he, him, she, hers, they, thee, them, its, theirs, you, her, ours, yours, mine, his, I, me, them, us, we.

§ 16. OF RELATIVE PRONOUNS.

1. A RELATIVE Pronoun is a word that relates to a noun or pronoun before it, called the antecedent; as, the master who taught us.

2. The relative pronouns are who, which, and that. They are alike in both numbers; and that is alike They are thus declined.

in all cases.

3. Who is applied to persons; as, the boy who

reads.

OBS. Also to inferior animals, and things without life, when they ar represented as speaking and acting like rational beings.

4. Which is applied to inferior animals and things without life; as, the dog which barks; the book which was lost.

NOTE. Also to collective nouns composed of persons; as, "the court of Spain which;" "the company which:" And likewise after the name of a person used merely as a word; as, "The court of Queen Elizabeth, which was but another name for prudence and economy." Which was formerly applied to persons as well as things, and is so used in the common version of the Scriptures.

5. That is often used as a relative, to prevent the too frequent repetition of who or which. It is applied both to persons and things. 58, Rem. 3.

6. What is a compound relative, including both the relative and the antecedent; as, this is what I wanted, that is, the thing which I wanted.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RELATIVE.

1. Which has for its possessive whose; as, A religion whose origin is divine. Instead of whose, however, the objective with of before it, is more commonly used; as, A religion, the origin of which is divine.

2. What and which are sometimes used as adjectives; that is, they agree with a substantive following them; as, "I know not by what fatality the adversaries of the measure are impelled ;”—" Which things are an allegory." In this sense, which applies either to persons or things, and in meaning is equivalent to this or these.

3. Whoever, whosoever, whatever, and whatsoever are also used as compound relatives, and are equivalent to the relative and a general or indefinite antecedent; as, "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin;" that is, " any one," or every one who committeth sin, &c." "Whatsoever things are of good report;" i. e. "All things (without exception) which are of good report." § 59. Rule 1. § 63, 8.

4. Who, and also which, and what without a substantive following them, in responsive sentences, or in sentences similarly constructed, are properly neither relatives nor adjectives, but a kind of indefinite pronouns. Thus, when to the question "Who is the author of that Doem?" it is replied, "I do not know who is its author," the word

"who" is evidently not a relative; for if it were, then, with the antecedent supplied, the sentence would be "I do not know the person who is its author." These two sentences, however, are clearly not equivalent; the former means "I do not know by what person it was written;" the latter, "I have no knowledge of him, I am not acquainted with him." The first is a direct answer to the question, the last is no answer at all, but would be considered as an evasion.

§ 17. OF THE INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. In asking questions, who, which, and what are called INTERROGATIVE pronouns.

As interrogatives, who is applied to persons only; which and what, either to persons or things. admits of no variation.

OBSERVATIONS.

What

1. In the use of the interrogatives as applied to persons, the followlowing distinction is to be observed; namely, Who is used when we inquire after a person or persons wholly unknown; as, Who did it ?— Which is used when we inquire after one or more of a number present, or already spoken of; as, Which of them did it? Do you know which of these men is the president ?—What is used when the character, or a description of a person is inquired after, and not the name, or the individual merely; as, What man is that?

2. When a defining clause is added, either what or which may be used; as, What, or which man among you?

3. Whether (now used as a conjunction only) was formerly used as an interrogative pronoun, equivalent to, which of the two? Its place is now supplied by which.

4. In answers to questions made by these interrogatives, the same words are used as responsives; as, Who did it? I know not who did it. Which of them did it? I know not which of them did it. See § 16, Obs. 4.

$18. OF ADJECTIVE PRONOUNS.

There are four sorts of ADJECTIVE pronouns, viz. the Possessive, Distributive, Demonstrative, and Indefinite.

1. The Possessive pronouns are such as relate to possession or property. They are, My, thy, his, her, our, your, their, its, own.

OBS. 1. The possessive pronoun is in fact only another form of the possessive case of the personal pronoun, having the same meaning but a different construction. The possessive pronoun, like the adjective, is always followed by a substantive; as, this is my book. The pos sessive case of the personal pronoun is never followed by a substan tive, but refers to one previously expressed; as, this book is mine. The possessive case of the substantive is used both ways; as, this book is John's; or, this is John's book.

OBS. 2. His and her, when followed by a substantive, are possessive pronouns: Not followed by a substantive, his is the possessive case of he; and her is the objective case of she.

OBS. 3. Mine and thine were formerly used, before a vowel or the letter h, as possessives for my and thy; as, "Blot out all mine iniquities;" "Commune with thine heart."

OBS. 4. Own is not used as a possessive pronoun by itself, but is added to the other possessive pronouns, and to the possessive case of nouns, to render them emphatic; as, My own book; The boy's own book. The possessive pronoun with own following it, may stand alone, having its substantive understood; as, It is my own.

2. The distributive pronouns represent the persons or things that make up a number as taken separately. They are, Each, every, either, neither.

OBS. 1. Each denotes two things taken separately; or, every one of any number taken singly. Every denotes more than two things taken individually, and comprehends them all. Either means one of two, but not both. Neither means not either.

3. The demonstrative pronouns point out with precision the object to which they relate. They are, This and that, with their plurals these and those.

OBS. 1. Yon, and former and latter, may be called demonstrative pronouns, as well as this and that.

OBS. 2. That is sometimes a relative, sometimes a demonstrative, and sometimes a conjunction.