1. Prefix the indefinite article a or an correctly to the following words.

2. Tell which words are nouns, and why-parse them (177)-inflect them.

Chair, table, horse, cart, book, house, garden, bird, owl, egg, oar, eye, tree, cow, unit, use, old man, young man, word, hook, pot, bench, desk, room, oven, oak, eulogy, ewe, uncle, aunt;-open wagon, useful contrivance, round stone, old hat.

3. In the following, correct such as are wrong, and give a reason for the change;-parse the articles and nouns.

An cup, a door, a apple, a pear, a ounce, a pound, an hat, an wig, an eulogy, an youth, a honor, a heir, a crow, a ostrich, a pen—a ugly beast, a useful tree, an humming-bird, an neat cottage, a upper room, an huge monster.

THE ADJECTIVE.

195. An Adjective is a word used to qualify a substantive (109); as, "A good boy;" "a square box;" "ten dollars;" "we found him poor."

196. A noun is qualified by an adjective, when the object named is thereby described, limited, or distinguished from other things of the same name. This is done in two ways:—

1. Certain adjectives connect with their nouns some quality by which the objects named are described or distinguished from others of the same kind; as, "A red flag;" "an amusing story." Such are common and participial adjectives (203, 206).

2. Others merely limit, without expressing any quality; as, “An American book;" "ten dollars;" "last week :" "this year;" 619 66 every day," etc. Such are circumstantial, numeral, and definitive adjectives (204, 205, 206, V.).

197. Adjectives, as predicates (586), may qualify an infinitive mood (393), or clause of a sentence (585) used as

a substantive; as, "To play is pleasant."-" That the rich are happy is not always true" (684).

198. Several adjectives sometimes qualify the same noun; as, “A smooth, round stone" (583, 1; 716).

199. An adjective is sometimes used to qualify the meaning of another adjective, the two forming a sort of compound adjective; as, "A bright-red color;" "a dark-blue coat," "a cast-iron ball" (618).

200. When other parts of speech are used to qualify or limit a noun or pronoun, they perform the part of an adjective, and should be parsed as such; thus,

Noun; as, A gold ring; silver cup, sea water, a stone bridge.

Pronouns; as, A he bear; a she wolf.

Adverbs; as, Is the child well? for very age; the then

king.

Prepositions; as, The above remark; the under side. 201. On the contrary, adjectives without a substantive are sometimes used as nouns; as, "God rewards the good, and punishes the bad."-"The virtuous are the most happy." Adjectives used in this way are usually preceded by the, and when applied to persons, are for the most part considered plural.

Division of Adjectives.

202. Adjectives are sometimes divided into the followng classes, viz.:

203. I. Adjectives denoting quality, called Common Adjectives; as, good, sweet, large, short.

Various kinds of qualities may be expressed—

1. Those which are recognized directly by the senses; as, white snow, flowing stream:

2. Those which we can affirm of anything only as compared with others; as, large man, short pencil.

3. Those which express a relation in which any thing stands to ourselves or others; as, an agreeable acquaintance. 294. II. Adjectives denoting quantity; as, one, much, little.

NOTE.-When adjectives of magnitude refer to distinct individuals, they indicate quality rather than quantity; as, great lion, a small tree.

Of adjectives denoting quantity, there are four classes: 1. Definite numeral adjectives, denoting some exact number; as, seven men.

Numeral adjectives are of two kinds, Cardinal and Ordinal.

The Cardinal numbers indicate how many; they are one, two, three, four, etc.

The Ordinal numbers indicate which one of a number; they are first, second, third, etc. In compound numbers, the last only has the ordinal form; as, twenty-FIRST; two hundred and fifty-THIRD, etc.

Numeral adjectives, being also names of numbers, are often used as nouns, and so have the inflection and construction of nouns; thus, by twos, by tens, by fifties. For ten's sake, for twenty's sake. One and one are two. Two IS an even number. Five Is the half of ten. Three fives ARE fifteen. Fifteen Is divisible by three. Twice two Is four.* Four Is equal to twice two. Three fourths.

* In some arithmetics, the language employed in the operation of multiplying-such as "Twice two are four, twice three are six "—is incorrect. It should be, "Twice two is four," etc.; for the word two is used as a singular noun-the name of a number. The adverb “twice” is not in construction with it, and consequently does not make it plural. The meaning is, "The number two taken twice is equal to four." For the same reason we should say, “Three times

2. Indefinite numeral adjectives are such as do not denote any exact number; as, few, many, several, certain, etc.

3. Distributive numeral adjectives are such as point out a number of objects individually; the principal are each, every, either, neither.

These are sometimes called adjective pronouns (296.) 4. Those denoting quantity as applied to materials; as, much, little, some, any.

205. III. Circumstantial, which express circumstances of time, place, nation, etc.

206. IV. Participial, consisting of participles, or compounds of participles, used as adjectives; as, an amusing story, an unmerited rebuke; to pass unmolested.

The former of these loses its verbal character, and simply describes; the latter sometimes performs the office of a participle, although evidently compounded after its derivation.

[To these some add

V. Definitive or distinguishing adjectives, which do not express any property of an object, but merely point it out, or limit in various ways the meaning of the noun. To this class belong such words as this, that, these, those, former, latter. These sometimes ac, company the noun, and sometimes refer to it understood, or stand instead of it, after the manner of pronouns, and hence are sometimes called Pronominal adjectives, and sometimes Adjective pronouns. (See 289.)]

REMARK. The articles, a or an, and the, are sometimes classified as adjectives. (See 192, 193.)

two Is six," because the meaning is, "Two taken three times is six." If we say, "Three times one are three," we make "times" the subject of the verb, whereas the subject of the verb really is " one," and "times" is in the objective of number (828). 2:4::6:12, should be read, "As 2 is to 4, so is 6 to 12;" not "As two are to four, so are,” etc. But when numerals denoting more than one are used as adjectives, with a substantive expressed or understood, they must have a plural construction; as, "Two are better than one."

208. Adjectives in English are inflected only to express degrees of comparison; as, wise, wiser, wisest.

Comparison of Adjectives.

209. Common and participial adjectives for the most part have three forms, called degrees of comparison; namely, Positive, Comparative, and Superlative.

210. The Positive expresses a quality, simply; as, "Gold is heavy."

211. The Comparative expresses a quality in a higher degree in one object than in another, or in several taken together; as, "Gold is heavier than silver." "He is wiser than his teachers."

212. The Superlative expresses a quality in one object in the highest degree compared with