Chapter VIII: Part 8

Belief, brief, chief, dwarf, fife, grief, gulf, hoof, kerchief, proof, reef, roof, safe, scarf, strife, waif.

(Nouns in _ff_, except _staff_, are regular; as, _cuff_, _cuffs_.)

The following plurals are still more irregular.

+Direction+.--_Learn to form the following plurals_:--

Child, children; foot, feet; goose, geese; louse, lice; man, men; mouse, mice; Mr., Messrs.; ox, oxen; tooth, teeth; woman, women.

(For the plurals of pronouns, see Lesson 124.)

* * * * *

LESSON 113.

NUMBER FORMS--CONTINUED.

Some nouns adopted from foreign languages still retain their original plural forms. Some of these take the English plural also.

+Direction+.--_Learn to form the following plurals_:--

Analysis, analyses; antithesis, antitheses; appendix, appendices _or_ appendixes; automaton, automata _or_ automatons; axis, axes; bandit, banditti _or_ bandits; basis, bases; beau, beaux _or_ beaus; cherub, cherubim _or_ cherubs; crisis, crises; datum, data; ellipsis, ellipses; erratum, errata; focus, foci: fungus, fungi _or_ funguses; genus, genera; hypothesis, hypotheses; ignis fatuus, ignes fatui; madame, mesdames; magus, magi; memorandum, memoranda _or_ memorandums; monsieur, messieurs; nebula, nebulae; oasis, oases; parenthesis, parentheses; phenomenon, phenomena; radius, radii _or_ radiuses; seraph, seraphim _or_ seraphs; stratum, strata; synopsis, synopses; terminus, termini; vertebra, vertebrae; vortex, vortices _or_ vortexes.

The following compound nouns, in which the principal word stands first, vary the first word; as, _sons_-in-law.

+Direction+.--_Form the plural of the following words_:--

Aid-de-camp, attorney-at-law, billet-doux, [Footnote: Plural, billets-doux, pronounced _bil'-la:-doo:z_ ] commander-in-chief, court-martial, cousin-german, father-in-law, hanger-on, man-of-war.

The following, and most compounds, vary the last word; as, pailfuls, gentle_men_. [Footnote: _Pails full_ is not a compound. This expression denotes a number of pails, each full.]

+Direction+.--_Form the plural of each of the following nouns_:--

Courtyard, dormouse, Englishman, fellow-servant, fisherman, Frenchman, forget-me-not, goose-quill, handful, maid-servant, man-trap, mouthful, pianoforte, portemonnaie, spoonful, stepson, tete-a-tete, tooth-brush.

The following nouns (except _Norman_) are not compounds of _man_--add _s_ to all.

Brahman, German, Mussulman, Norman, Ottoman, talisman.

The following compounds vary both parts; as, _man-singer_, _men-singers_.

+Direction+.--_Form the plural of each of the following nouns_:--

Man-child, man-servant, woman-servant, woman-singer.

Compounds consisting of a proper name preceded by a title form the plural by varying either the title or the name; as, the Miss _Clarks_ or the _Misses_ Clark; but, when the title _Mrs._ is used, the name is usually varied; as, the Mrs. _Clarks_. [Footnote: Of the two forms, the _Miss Clarks_ and the _Misses Clark_, we believe that the former is most used by the best authors. The latter, except in formal notes or when the title is to be emphasized, is rather stiff if not pedantic. Some authorities say that, when a numeral precedes the title, the name should always be varied; as, the _two Miss Clarks_.

The forms, the _Misses Clarks_ and the _two Mrs. Clark_, have little authority.]

+Direction+.--_Form the plural of the following compounds_:--

Miss Jones, Mr. Jones, General Lee, Dr. Brown, Master Green.

A title used with two or more different names is made plural; as, _Drs_. Grimes and Steele, _Messrs_. Clark and Maynard.

+Direction+.--_Put each of the following expressions in its proper form_:--

General Lee and Jackson; Miss Mary, Julia, and Anna Scott; Mr, Green, Stacy, & Co.

Letters, figures, and other characters add the apostrophe and _s_ to form the plural; [Footnote: Some good writers form the plural of words named merely as words, in the same way; as, the _if's_ and _and's_; but the (') is here unnecessary.] as, _a's, 2's, ----'s_.

+Direction.+--_Form the plural of each of the following characters_:--S, i, t, +, x, [Dagger], 9, 1, 1/4, [Yough], [Cyrillic: E].

* * * * *

LESSON 114.

NUMBER FORMS--CONTINUED.

Some nouns have two plurals differing in meaning.

+Direction.+--_Learn these plurals and their meanings:_--

Brother,
brothers (by blood),
brethren (of the same society).
Cannon,
cannons (individuals),
cannon (in a collective sense).
Die,
dies (stamps for coining),
dice (cubes for gaming).
Fish,
fishes (individuals),
fish (collection). [Footnote: The names of several sorts of fish, as,
_herring, shad, trout_, etc. are used in the same way. The compounds of
_fish_, as _codfish_, have the same form in both numbers.]
Foot,
feet (parts of the body),
foot (foot-soldiers).
Genius,
geniuses (men of genius),
genii (spirits).
Head,
heads (parts of the body),
head (of cattle).
Horse,
horses (animals),
horse (horse-soldiers).
Index,
indexes (tables of reference),
indices (signs in algebra).
Penny,
pennies (distinct coins),
pence (quantity in value).
Sail,
sails (pieces of canvas),
sail (vessels).
Shot,
shots (number of times fired),
shot (number of balls).

The following nouns and pronouns have the same form in both numbers.

+Direction.+--_Study the following list:_--

Bellows, corps, [Footnote: The singular is pronounced _ko:r_, the plural _ko:rz_.] deer, gross, grouse, hose, means, odds, pains (care), series, sheep, species, swine, vermin, who, which, that (relative), what, any, none.

(The following have two forms in the plural).

Apparatus, apparatus _or_ apparatuses; heathen, heathen _or_ heathens.

(The following nouns have the same form in both numbers when used with numerals; they add _s_ in other cases; as, _four score, by scores_.)

Dozen, score, yoke, hundred, thousand.

The following nouns have no plural.

(These are generally names of materials, qualities, or sciences.)

Names of materials when taken in their full or strict sense can have no plural, but they may be plural when kinds of the material or things made of it are referred to; as, _cottons, coffees, tins, coppers_.

+Direction.+--_Study the following list of words:_--

Bread, coffee, copper, flour, gold, goodness, grammar (science, not a book), grass, hay, honesty, iron, lead, marble, meekness, milk, molasses, music, peace, physiology, pride, tin, water.

The following plural forms are commonly used in the singular.

Acoustics, ethics, mathematics, politics (and other names of sciences in _ics_), amends, measles, news.

The following words are always plural.

(Such words are generally names of things double or multiform in their character.)

+Direction+.--_Study the following list_:--

Aborigines, annals, ashes, assets, clothes, fireworks, hysterics, literati, mumps, nippers, oats, pincers, rickets, scissors, shears, snuffers, suds, thanks, tongs, tidings, trousers, victuals, vitals.

The following were originally singular forms, but they are now treated as plural.

Alms (Anglo-Saxon _aelmaesse_), eaves (A. S. _efese_), riches (Norman French _richesse_).

The following have no singular corresponding in meaning.

Colors (flag), compasses (dividers), goods (property), grounds (dregs), letters (literature), manners (behavior), matins (morning service); morals (character), remains (dead body), spectacles (glasses), stays (corsets), vespers (evening service).

(The singular form is sometimes an adjective.)

Bitters, greens, narrows, sweets, valuables, etc.

Collective nouns are treated as plural when the individuals in the collection are thought of, and as singular when the collection as a whole is thought of.

+Examples+.--The _committee were_ unable to agree, and _they_ asked to be discharged. A _committee was_ appointed, and _its_ report will soon be made.

(Collective nouns have plural forms; as, _committees, armies_.)

* * * * *

LESSON 115.

REVIEW IN NUMBER.

+Direction+.--_Write the plural of the singular nouns and pronouns in the following list, and the singular of those that are plural; give the Rule or the Remark that applies to each; and note those that have no plural, and those that have no singular:_--

Hope, age, bench, bush, house, loss, tax, waltz, potato, shoe, colony, piano, kangaroo, pulley, wharf, staff, fife, loaf, flagstaff, handkerchief, Mr., child, ox, beaux, cherubim, mesdames, termini, genus, genius, bagnio, theory, galley, muff, mystery, colloquy, son-in-law, man-of-war, spoonful, maid-servant, Frenchman, German, man-servant, Dr. Smith, Messrs. Brown and Smith, x, 1/2, deer, series, bellows, molasses, pride, politics, news, sunfish, clothes, alms, goods, grounds, greens, who, that.

+Direction.+--_Give five words that have no plural, five that have no singular, and five that have the same form in both numbers._

+Direction.+--_Correct the following plurals, and give the Remark that applies to each:_--

Stagees, foxs, mosquitos, calicos, heros, soloes, babys, trioes, chimnies, storys, elfs, beefs, scarves, oxes, phenomenons, axises, terminuses, genuses, mother-in-laws, aldermans, Mussulmen, teeth-brushes, mouthsful, attorney-at-laws, man-childs, geese-quills, 2s, ms. swines.

* * * * *

LESSON 116.

NUMBER FORMS IN CONSTRUCTION.

The number of a noun may be determined not only by its form but also by the verb, the adjective, and the pronoun used in connection with it.

+Remark.+--_These scissors are_ so dull that I cannot use _them_. The plurality of _scissors_ is here made known in four ways. In the following sentence _this, is_, and _it_ are incorrectly used: _This_ scissors _is_ so dull that I cannot use _it_.

+Direction+.--_Construct sentences in which the number of each of the following nouns shall be indicated by the form of the verb, by the adjective, and by the pronoun used in connection with it_:--

(With the singular nouns use the verbs _is, was_, and _has been_; the adjectives _an, one, this_, and _that_; the pronouns _he, his, him, she, her, it_, and _its_.)

(With the plural nouns use the verbs _are, were_, and _have been_; the adjectives _these, those_, and _two_; the pronouns _they, their_, and _them_.)

Bellows, deer, fish, gross, means, series, species, heathen, trout, iron, irons, news, eaves, riches, oats, vermin, molasses, Misses, brethren, dice, head (of cattle), pennies, child, parent, family, crowd, meeting.

+Direction+.--_Compose sentences in which the first three of the following adjective pronouns shall be used as singular subjects, the fourth as a plural subject, and the remainder both as singular and as plural subjects_:--

Each, either, neither, both, former, none, all, any.

* * * * *

LESSON 117.

NOUNS AND PRONOUNS--GENDER.

+Introductory Hints+.--_The lion was caged. The lioness was caged_. In the first sentence something is said about a male lion, and in the second something is said about a female lion. The modification of the noun to denote the sex of the thing which it names is called +Gender+. _Lion_, denoting a male animal, is in the +Masculine Gender; and _lioness_, denoting a female animal, is in the +Feminine Gender+. Names of things that are without sex are said to be in the +Neuter Gender+. Such nouns as _cousin, child, friend, neighbor_ are either masculine or feminine. Such words are sometimes said to be in the _Common Gender_.

Sex belongs to the thing; and gender, to the noun that names the thing. Knowing the sex of the thing or its lack of sex, you know the gender of the noun in English that names it; for in our language gender follows the sex. But in such modern languages as the French and the German, and in Latin and Greek, the gender of nouns naming things without reference to sex is determined by the likeness of their endings in sound to the endings of words denoting things with sex. The German for table is a masculine noun, the French is feminine, and the English, of course, is neuter. [Footnote: In Anglo-Saxon, the mother-tongue of our language, gender was grammatical, as in the French and the German; but, since the union of the Norman-French with the Anglo-Saxon to form the English, gender has followed sex.]

* * * * *

+DEFINITIONS+.

+_Gender_ is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes sex+.

+The _Masculine Gender_ denotes the male sex+.

+The _Feminine Gender_ denotes the female sex+.

+The _Neuter Gender_ denotes want of sex+.

Gender Forms.

No English nouns have distinctive neuter forms, but a lew have different forms to distinguish the masculine from the feminine.

The masculine is distinguished from the feminine in three ways:--

1st. By a difference in the ending of the words.

2d. By different words in the compound names.

3d. By using words wholly or radically different.

_Ess_ is the most common ending for feminine nouns. [Footnote: The suffix _ess_ came into the English language from the Norman-French. It displaced the feminine termination of the mother-tongue (A. S. _estre_, old English _ster_). The original meaning of _ster_ is preserved in _spinster_. _Er_ (A. S. _ere_) was originally a masculine suffix; but it now generally denotes an agent without reference to sex; as, _read-er, speak-er._]

+Direction+.--_Form the feminine of each of the following masculine nouns by adding e s s :--_

Author, baron, count, deacon, giant, god (see Rule 3, Lesson 127), heir, host, Jew, lion, patron, poet, prince (see Rule 1, Lesson 127), prior, prophet, shepherd, tailor, tutor.

(Drop the vowel _e_ or _o_ in the ending of the masculine, and add _ess_.)

Actor, ambassador, arbiter, benefactor, conductor, director, editor, enchanter, hunter, idolater, instructor, preceptor, tiger, waiter.

(Drop the masculine _er_ or _or_, and add the feminine _ess_.)

Adventurer, caterer, governor, murderer, sorcerer.

(The following are somewhat irregular.)

+Direction+.--_Learn these forms:_--

Abbot, abbess; duke, duchess; emperor, empress; lad, lass; marquis, marchioness; master, mistress; negro, negress.

_Ess_ was formerly more common than now. Such words as _editor_ and _author_ are now frequently used to denote persons of either sex.

+Direction+.--_Give five nouns ending in e r or o r that may be applied to either sex._

Some words, mostly foreign, have various endings in the feminine.

+Direction+.--Learn the following forms:--

Administrator, administratrix; Augustus, Augusta; beau, belle; Charles, Charlotte; Cornelius, Cornelia; czar, czarina; don, donna; equestrian, equestrienne; executor, executrix; Francis, Frances; George, Georgiana; Henry, Henrietta; hero, heroine; infante, infanta; Jesse, Jessie; Joseph, Josephine; Julius, Julia _or_ Juliet; landgrave, landgravine; Louis, Louisa _or_ Louise; Paul, Pauline; signore _or_ signor, siguora; sultan, sultana; testator, testatrix; widower, widow.

In some compounds distinguishing words are prefixed or affixed.

+Direction+.--_Learn the following forms_:--

Billy-goat, nanny-goat; buck-rabbit, doe-rabbit; cock-sparrow, hen-sparrow; Englishman, Englishwoman; gentleman, gentlewoman; grandfather, grandmother; he-bear, she-bear; landlord, landlady; man-servant, maid-servant; merman, mermaid; Mr. Jones, Mrs. or Miss Jones; peacock, peahen.

Words wholly or radically different are used to distinguish the masculine from the feminine.

(This is a matter pertaining to the dictionary rather than to grammar.)

+Direction+.--_Learn the following forms_:--

Bachelor, maid; buck, doe; drake, duck; earl, countess; friar _or_ monk, nun; gander, goose; hart, roe; lord, lady; nephew, niece; sir, madam; stag, hind; steer, heifer; wizard, witch; youth, damsel _or_ maiden.

The pronoun has three gender forms:--Masculine _he_, feminine _she_, and neuter _it_. [Footnote: _It_, although a neuter form, is used idiomatically to refer to a male or a female as, _It_ was _John_; _It_ was _Mary_.]

+Direction+.--_Give five examples of each of the three ways of distinguishing the masculine from the feminine._

* * * * *

LESSON 118.

GENDER FORMS IN CONSTRUCTION.

Gender as a matter of orthography is of some importance, but in grammar it is chiefly important as involving the correct use of the pronouns _he_, _she_, and _it_.

When a singular noun is used so as to imply persons of both sexes, it is commonly represented by a masculine pronoun. [Footnote: When it is necessary to distinguish the sexes, both the masculine and the feminine pronoun should be used; as, _Each person was required to name his or her favorite flower._]

+Example+.--Every _person_ has _his_ faults.

The names of animals are often considered as masculine or feminine without regard to the real sex.

+Examples+.--The _grizzly bear_ is the most savage of _his_ race. The _cat_ steals upon _her_ prey.

+Remark+.--The writer employs _he_ or _she_ according as he fancies the animal to possess masculine or feminine characteristics. _He_ is more frequently employed than _she_.

The neuter pronoun _it_ is often used with reference to animals and very young children, the sex being disregarded.

+Examples+.--When the _deer_ is alarmed, _it_ gives two or three graceful springs. The little _child_ reached out _its_ hand to catch the sunbeam.

+Remark+.--_It_ is quite generally used instead of _he_ or _she_, in referring to an animal, unless some masculine or feminine quality seems to predominate.

Inanimate things are often represented as living beings, that is, they are personified, and are referred to by the pronoun _he_ or _she_.

+Example+.--The _oak_ shall send _his_ roots abroad and pierce thy mold.

+Remark+.--The names of objects distinguished for size, power, or sublimity are regarded as masculine; and the names of those distinguished for grace, beauty, gentleness, or productiveness are considered as feminine. Personification adds beauty and animation to style.

+Direction+.--_Study what is said above, and then fill each of the blanks in the following sentences with a masculine, a feminine, or a neuter pronoun, and in each case give the reason for your selection_:--

1. No one else is so much alone in the universe as ---- who denies God. 2. A person's manners not unfrequently indicate ---- morals, 3. Everybody should think for ----. 4. The forest's leaping panther shall yield ---- spotted hide. 5. The catamount lies in the boughs to watch ---- prey. 6. The mocking-bird poured from ---- little throat floods of delirious music. 7. The wild beast from ---- cavern sprang, the wild bird from ---- grove. 8. The night-sparrow trills ---- song. 9. The elephant is distinguished for ---- strength and sagacity. 10. The bat is nocturnal in ---- habits. 11. The dog is faithful to ---- master. 12. The child was unconscious of ---- danger. 13. The fox is noted for ---- cunning. 14. Belgium's capital had gathered then ---- beauty and ---- chivalry. 15. Despair extends ---- raven wing. 16. Life mocks the idle hate of ---- arch-enemy, Death. 17. Spring comes forth ---- work of gladness to contrive. 18. Truth is fearless, yet ---- is meek and modest.

+Direction+.--_Write sentences in which the things named below shall be personified by means of masculine pronouns_:--

Death, time, winter, war, sun, river, wind.

+Direction+.--Write sentences in which the things named below shall be personified by means of feminine pronouns:--

Ship, moon, earth, spring, virtue, nature, night, England.

+Caution+.--Avoid changing the gender of the pronoun when referring to the same antecedent.

+Direction+.--_Correct these errors_:--

1. The polar bear is comparatively rare in menageries, as it suffers so much from the heat that he is not easily preserved in confinement. 2. The cat, when it comes to the light, contracts and elongates the pupil of her eye. 3. Summer clothes herself in green, and decks itself with flowers. 4. War leaves his victim on the field, and homes desolated by it mourn over her cruelty.

* * * * *

LESSON 119.

NOUNS AND PRONOUNS--PERSON AND CASE.

+Introductory Hints+.--Number and gender, as you have learned, are modifications affecting the meaning of nouns and pronouns--number being almost always indicated by form, or inflection; gender, sometimes. There are two modifications which do not refer to changes in the meaning of nouns and pronouns but to their different uses and relations. These uses and relations are not generally indicated by form, or inflection.

_I, Paul_, have written. _Paul, thou_ art beside thyself. _He_ brought _Paul_ before Agrippa. In these three sentences the word _Paul_ has three different uses, though, as you see, its form is not changed. In the first it is used to name the speaker; in the second, to name the one spoken to; in the third, to name the one spoken of. These different uses of nouns and pronouns and the forms used to mark these uses constitute the modification called +Person+. _I, thou, and he_ are personal pronouns, and, as you see, distinguish person by their form. _I_, denoting the speaker, is in the +First Person+; _thou_, denoting the one spoken to, is in the +Second Person+; and _he_, denoting the one spoken of, is in the +Third Person+.

Instead of _I_ a writer or speaker may use the plural _we_; and through courtesy it came to be customary, except among the Friends, or in the language of prayer and poetry, to use the plural _you_ instead of _thou_.

_The bear killed the man_. _The man killed the bear_. _The bear's grease was made into hair oil_. In the first sentence the bear is represented as performing an act; in the second, as receiving an act; in the third, as possessing something. These different uses of nouns and pronouns and the forms used to mark these uses constitute the modification called +Case+. A noun used as subject is in the +Nominative Case+; used as object complement it is in the +Objective Case+; and used to denote possession it is in the +Possessive Case+.

Some of the pronouns have a special form for each case; but of nouns the possessive case is the only one that is now marked by a peculiar form. We inflect below a noun from the Anglo-Saxon, [Footnote: The Anglo-Saxon cases are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative; the Latin are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, and ablative; the English are nominative, possessive (genitive), and objective.

ANGLO-SAXON. Hlaford, _lord_. Singular. Plural. Nom. hlaford, hlaford-_as_. Gen. hlaford-_es_, hlaford-_a_. Dat. hlaford-_e_, hlaford-_um_. Acc. hlaford, hlaford-_as_. Voc. hlaford, hlaford-_as_.

LATIN. Dominus, _lord_. Singular. Plural. Nom. domin-_us_, domin-_i_. Gen. domin-_i_, domin-_orum_. Dat. domin-_o_, domin-_is_. Acc. domin-_um_, domin-_os_. Voc. domin-_e_, domin-_i_. Ab. domin-_o_, domin-_is_.

ENGLISH. Lord. Singular. Nom. lord, Pos. lord-_'s_, Obj. lord; Plural. Nom. lord-_s_, Pos. lord-_s'_, Obj. lord-_s_.]

and one from the Latin, the parent of the Norman-French, in order that you may see how cases and the inflections to mark them have been dropped in English. In English, prepositions have largely taken the place of case forms, and it is thought that by them our language can express the many relations of nouns to other words in the sentence better than other languages can by their cumbrous machinery of inflection.

+DEFINITIONS+.

+_Person_ is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes the speaker, the one spoken to, or the one spoken of+.

+The _First Person_ denotes the one speaking+.

+The _Second Person_ denotes the one spoken to+.

+The _Third Person_ denotes the one spoken of+.

A noun is said to be of the first person when joined as an explanatory modifier to a pronoun of the first person; as, _I, John_, saw these things; _We Americans_ are always in a hurry. [Footnote: It is doubtful whether a noun is ever of the first person. It may be said that, in the sentence _I, John, saw these things_, John speaks of his own name, the expression meaning, _I_, _and my name is John_, etc.]

A noun is of the second person when used as explanatory of a pronoun of the second person, or when used independently as a term of address; as, _Ye crags_ and _peaks_; Idle time, _John_, is ruinous.

+Direction+.--_Compose sentences in which there shall be two examples of nouns and two of pronouns used in each of the three persons_.

+Person Forms+.

Personal pronouns and verbs are the only classes of words that have distinctive person forms.

+Direction+.--_From the forms of the pronouns given in Lesson 124, select and write in one list all the first person forms; in another list, all the second person forms; and in another, all the third person forms._

Person is regarded in grammar because the verb sometimes varies its form to agree with the person of its subject; as, _I see_; _Thou seest_; _He sees_.

+DEFINITIONS+.

+_Case_ is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes its office in the sentence+.

+The _Nominative Case of a noun or pronoun_ denotes its office as subject or as attribute complement+.

+The _Possessive Case of a noun or pronoun_ denotes its office as possessive modifier+.

+The _Objective Case of a noun or pronoun_ denotes its office as object complement, or as principal word in a prepositional phrase+.

A noun or pronoun used independently is said to be in the nominative case.

+Examples+.--I am, _dear madam_, your friend. Alas, _poor Yorick_! _He being dead_, we shall live. _Liberty_, it has fled! (See Lesson 44.)

A noun or pronoun used as explanatory modifier is in the same case as the word explained--"is put by apposition in the same case."

+Examples+.--The first colonial _Congress_, _that_ of 1774, addressed the _King_, _George III_. He buys is goods at _Stewart's_, the dry-goods _merchant_.

A noun or pronoun used as objective complement is in the objective case.

+Examples+.--They made him _speaker_. He made it _all_ it is.

A noun or pronoun used as attribute complement of a participle or an infinitive is in the same case (_Nom._ or _Obj._) as the word to which it relates as attribute.

+Examples+.--Being an _artist_, _he_ appreciated it. I proved _it_ to be _him_.

+Remark+.--When the assumed subject of the participle or the infinitive is a possessive, the attribute complement is said to be in the nominative case; as, Its _being he_ [Footnote: The case of _he_ in these examples is rather doubtful. The nominative and the objective forms of the pronoun occur so rarely in such constructions that it seems impossible to determine the usage. It is therefore a matter of no great practical importance.

Some, reasoning from the analogy of the Latin, would put the attribute complement of the abstract infinitive in the objective, supposing _for_ and some other word to be understood; as, _For one to be him_, etc. Others, reasoning from the German, to which our language is closely allied, would put this complement in the nominative.

The assumed subject of the infinitive being omitted when it is the same in sense as the principal subject, _him_, in the sentence _I wish_ (_me_ or _myself_) _to be him_, is the proper form, being in the same case as _me_.] should make no difference. When the participle or the infinitive is used abstractly, without an assumed subject, its attribute complement is also said to be in the nominative case; as, To _be he_ [Footnote: See footnote above.] is to be a scholar; _Being_ a _scholar_ is not _being_ an _idler_.

+Direction+.--_Study carefully the Definitions and the Remark above, and then compose sentences in which a noun or a pronoun shall be put in the nominative case in four ways; in the objective in five ways; in the possessive in two ways_.

* * * * *

LESSON 120.

ANALYSIS AND PARSING.

+Direction.+--_Analyze the following sentences, and give the case of each noun and pronoun:_--

1. Not to know what happened before we were born is to be always a child. 2. His being a Roman saved him from being made a prisoner. 3. I am this day weak, though anointed king.

+Explanation.+--Nouns used adverbially are in the objective case because equivalent to the principal word of a prepositional phrase. (See Lesson 35.)

4. What made Cromwell a great man was his unshaken reliance on God. 5. Amos, the herdsman of Tekoa, was not a prophet's son. 6. Arnold's success as teacher was remarkable.

+Explanation.+--_Teacher_, introduced by _as_ and used without a possessive sign, is explanatory of _Arnold's_.

7. Worship thy Creator, God; and obey his Son, the Master, King, and
Saviour of men.
8. Bear ye one another's [Footnote: For the use of _one another_, see
Lesson 124.] burdens.

+Explanation.+--The singular _one_ is explanatory of the plural _ye_, or _one another's_ may be treated as a compound.

9. What art thou, execrable shape, that darest advance? 10. O you hard hearts! you cruel men of Rome! 11. Everybody acknowledges Shakespeare to be the greatest of dramatists. 12. Think'st thou this heart could feel a moment's joy, thou being absent? 13. Our great forefathers had left him naught to conquer but his country.

(For the case of _him_ see explanation of (3) above.)

14. I will attend to it myself.

+Explanation+.--_Myself_ may be treated as explanatory of _I_.

15. This news of papa's puts me all in a flutter. [Footnote: See second
foot-note, page 247.]
16. What means that hand upon that breast of thine? [Footnote: See second
foot-note, page 247.]

* * * * *

LESSON 121.

PARSING.

+TO THE TEACHER+.--We do not believe that the chief end of the study of grammar Is to be able to parse well, or even to analyze well, though without question analysis reveals more clearly than parsing the structure of the sentence, and is immeasurably superior to it as intellectual gymnastics. We would not do away with parsing altogether, but would give it a subordinate place.

But we must be allowed an emphatic protest against the needless and mechanical quoting, in parsing, of "Rules of Syntax." When a pupil has said that such a noun is in the nominative case, subject of such a verb, what is gained by a repetition of the definition in the Rule: "A noun or a pronoun which is the subject of a finite verb is in the nominative case"? Let the reasons for the disposition of words, when given at all, be specific.

+Parsing+--a word is giving its classification, its modifications, and its syntax, _i.e._, its relation to other words.

+Direction+.--_Select and parse in full all the nouns and pronouns found in the first ten sentences of Lesson_ 120. _For the agreement of pronouns, see Lesson_ 142.

+Model for Written Parsing+.--_Elizabeth's favorite, Raleigh, was beheaded by James I_.

CLASSIFICATION. | MODIFICATIONS. | SYNTAX. -----------------|-----------------------|------------------------------ |_Per- Num- Gen-_ | _Nouns. Kind_.|_son. ber. der. Case_.| -----------------|-----------------------|------------------------------ Elizabeth's Prop.| 3d Sing. Fem. Pos. | Mod. of _favorite_. favorite Com. | 3d Sing. Mas. Nom. | Sub. of _was beheaded_. Raleigh Prop.| 3d Sing. Mas. Nom. | Expl. Mod. of _favorite_. James I. Prop.| 3d Sing. Mas. Obj. | Prin. word of Prep. phrase.

TO THE TEACHER.--For exercises in parsing nouns and pronouns, see Lessons 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 44, 46, 59, 60, 71, 73, 78, 80, and 81. Other exercises may be selected from examples previously given for analysis, and parsing continued as long as you think it profitable.

* * * * *

LESSON 122.

CASE FORMS--NOUNS.

Nouns have two case forms, the simple form, common to the nominative and the objective case, and the possessive form.

+RULE.--The _Possessive Case_ of nouns is formed in the singular by adding to the nominative the apostrophe and the letter _s_ (_'s_); in the plural by adding (_'_) only. If the plural does not end in _s_, (_'s_) are both added. [Footnote: In Anglo-Saxon, _es_ was a genitive (possessive) ending of the singular; as, _sta:n_, genitive _sta:n-es_. In old English, _es_ and _is_ were both used. In modern English, the vowel is generally dropped, and (') stands in its place. The use of the apostrophe has been extended to distinguish the possessive from other forms of the plural.

Some have said that our possessive ending is a remnant of the pronoun _his_. Phrases like, "Mars _his_ sword," "The Prince _his_ Players," "King Lewis _his_ satisfaction" are abundant in Early, and in Middle, English. But it has been proved that the _his_ in such expressions is an error that gained its wide currency largely through the confusion of early English orthography.

Professor Hadley has clearly shown that the Saxon termination has never dropped out of the language, but exists in the English possessive ending to-day.]

+Examples+.--_Boy's, boys', men's_.

+Remark+.--To avoid an unpleasant succession of hissing sounds, the _s_ in the possessive singular is sometimes omitted; as, _conscience' sake_, _goodness' sake_, _Achilles' sword_, _Archimedes' screw_ (the _s_ in the words following the possessive here having its influence). In prose this omission of the _s_ should seldom occur. The weight of usage inclines to the use of _s_ in such names as _Miss Rounds's_, _Mrs. Hemans's_, _King James's_, _witness's_, _prince's_. Without the _s_ there would be no distinction, in spoken language, between _Miss Round's_ and _Miss Rounds'_, _Mrs. Heman's_ and _Mrs. Hemans'_.

+Remark+.--Pronounce the ('_s_) as a separate syllable (= _es_) when the sound of _s_ will not unite with the last sound of the nominative.

+Remark+.--When the singular and the plural are alike in the nominative, some place the apostrophe after the _s_ in the plural to distinguish it from the possessive singular; as, singular, _sheep's_; plural, _sheeps'_.

+Direction+.--_Study the Rule and the Remarks given above, and then write the possessive singular and the possessive plural of each of the following nouns_:--

Actor, elephant, farmer, king, lion, genius, horse, princess, buffalo, hero, mosquito, negro, volcano, junto, tyro, cuckoo, ally, attorney, fairy, lady, monkey, calf, elf, thief, wife, wolf, chief, dwarf, waif, child, goose, mouse, ox, woman, beau, seraph, fish, deer, sheep, swine.

Compound names and groups of words that may be treated as compound names add the possessive sign to the last word; as, a _man-of-war's_ rigging, the _queen of England's_ palace,[Footnote: In parsing the words _queen_ and _England_ separately, the ('_s_) must be regarded as belonging to _queen_; but the whole phrase _queen of England's_ may be treated as one noun in the possessive case.] _Frederick the Great's_ verses.

+Remark+.--The possessive plural of such terms is not used.

The preposition _of_ with the objective is often used instead of the possessive case form--_David's_ Psalms = Psalms _of David_.

+Remarks+.--To denote the source from which a thing proceeds, or the idea of belonging to, _of_ is used more frequently than ('_s_).

The possessive sign (_'s_) is confined chiefly to the names of persons, and of animals and things personified. We do not say the _tree's_ leaves, but the leaves _of the tree_.

The possessive sign however is often added to names of things which we frequently hear personified, or which we wish to dignify, and to names of periods of time, and to words denoting value; as, the _earth's_ surface, _fortune's_ smile, _eternity's_ stillness, a _year's_ interest, a _day's_ work, a _dollar's_ worth, _two cents'_ worth.

By the use of _of_, such expressions as _witness's statement_, _mothers-in-law's faults_ may be avoided.

+Direction+.--_Study carefully the principles and Remarks given above, and then make each of the following terms indicate possession, using either the possessive sign or the preposition of, as may seem most appropriate, and join an appropriate name denoting the thing possessed_:--

Father-in-law, William the Conqueror, king of Great Britain, aid-de-camp, Henry the Eighth, attorney-at-law, somebody else,[Footnote: In such expressions as _everybody else's business_, the possessive sign is removed from the noun and attached to the adjective. (See Lesson lai.) The possessive sign should generally be placed immediately before the name of the thing possessed.] Jefferson, enemy, eagle, gunpowder, book, house, chair, torrent, sun, ocean, mountain, summer, year, day, hour, princess, Socrates.

* * * * *

LESSON 123.

CONSTRUCTION OF POSSESSIVE FORMS.

As the possessive is the only case of nouns that has a distinctive inflection, it is only with this case that mistakes can occur in construction.

+Caution+.--When several possessive nouns modify the same word and imply common possession, the possessive sign is added to the last only. If they modify different words, expressed or understood, the sign is added to each.

+Explanation+.--_William_ and _Henry's_ boat; _William's_ and _Henry's_ boat. In the first example, William and Henry are represented as jointly owning a boat; in the second, each is represented as owning a separate boat--_boat_ is understood after _William's_.

+Remark+.--When the different possessors are thought of as separate or opposed, the sign may be repeated although joint possession is implied; as, He was his _father's_, _mother's_, and _sister's_ favorite; He was the _King's_, as well as the _people's_, favorite.

+Direction+.--_Correct these errors, and give your reasons_:--

1. The Bank of England was established in William's and Mary's reign. 2. Messrs. Leggett's, Stacy's, Green's, & Co.'s business prospers. 3. This was James's, Charles's, and Robert's estate. 4. America was discovered during Ferdinand's and Isabella's reign. 5. We were comparing Caesar and Napoleon's victories. 6. This was the sage and the poet's theme.

+Explanation+.--If an article precedes the possessive, the sign is repeated.

7. It was the king, not the people's, choice. 8. They are Thomas, as well as James's, books.

+Caution+.--When a possessive noun is followed by an explanatory word, the possessive sign is added to the explanatory word only. But, if the explanatory word has several modifiers, or if there are more explanatory words than one, only the principal word takes the sign.

+Remarks+.--When a common noun is explanatory of a proper noun, and the name of the thing possessed is omitted, the possessive sign may be added either to the modifying or to the principal word; as, We stopped at Tiffany, the _jeweler's_, or We stopped at _Tiffany's_, the jeweler.

If the name of the thing possessed is given, the noun immediately before it takes the sign.

+Direction+.--_Correct these errors_:--

1. This is Tennyson's, the poet's, home. 2. I took tea at Brown's, my old friend and schoolmate's. 3. This belongs to Victoria's, queen of England's, dominion. 4. This province is Victoria's, queen of England's. 5. That language is Homer's, the greatest poet of antiquity's. 6. This was Franklin's motto, the distinguished philosopher's statesman's. 7. Wolsey's, the cardinal's, career ended in disgrace.

+Direction+.---Tell which of the sentences above may be improved by using other forms to denote possession. (See the following Caution.)

+Caution+.--The relation of possession may be expressed not only by (_'s_) and by _of_ but by the use of such phrases as _belonging to_, _property of_, etc. In constructing sentences be careful to secure smoothness and clearness and variety by taking advantage of these different forms.

+Direction+.--_Improve the following sentences_:--

1. This is my wife's father's opinion.

+Correction+.--This is the opinion _of my wife's father_, or _held by my wife's father_.

2. This is my wife's father's farm. 3. France's and England's interest differs widely. 4. Frederick the Great was the son of the daughter of George I. of England. 5. My brother's wife's sister's drawings have been much admired. 6. The drawings of the sister of the wife of my brother have been much admired.

_Of_ is not always equivalent to the (_'s_),

+Explanation+.--_The president's reception_ means the reception given by the president, but _the reception of the president_ means the reception given to the president.

+Direction+.--_Construct sentences illustrating the meaning of the following expressions_:--

A mother's love, the love of a mother; a father's care, the care of a father; my friend's picture, a picture of my friend.

+Caution+.--Often ambiguity may be prevented by changing the assumed subject of a participle from a nominative or an objective to a possessive.

+Direction+.--_Correct these errors_:--

1. The writer being a scholar is not doubted.

+Correction+.--This is ambiguous, as it may mean either that the writer is not doubted because he is a scholar, or that the writer's scholarship is not doubted. It should be, _The writer's being_ [Footnote: The participle may be modified not only, as here, by a noun in the possessive but by the articles _a_ and _the_---as said in Lesson 37. Whether it be _the imposing a tax_ or _the issuing a paper currency.--Bagehot_. Not _a making war_ on them, not _a leaving them_ out of mind, but _the putting_ a new _construction_ upon them, _the taking them_ from under the old conventional point of view.--_Matthew Arnold_. Poltroonery is _the acknowledging_ an _infirmity_ to be incurable.--_Emerson_. _The giving_ away a man's _money_.--_Burke_. It is not _the finding of a thing_ but _the making something_ out of it, after it is found, that is of consequence.--_Lowell_.

As seen in this last quotation, the participle may be followed by a preposition and so become a pure noun (Lesson 38).] _a scholar_ is not doubted, or _That the writer is a scholar_ is not doubted.

2. I have no doubt of the writer being a scholar. 3. No one ever heard of that man running for office. 4. Brown being a politician prevented his election. 5. I do not doubt him being sincere. 6. Grouchy being behind time decided the fate of Waterloo.

* * * * *

LESSON 124.

NUMBER AND CASE FORMS.

Declension.

+DEFINITION.--_Declension_ is the arrangement of the cases of nouns and pronouns in the two numbers+.

+Direction+.--_Learn the following declensions_:--

Declension of Nouns.

LADY. BOY. MAN.
_Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural_.

Nom. lady, ladies, boy, boys, man, men, Pos. lady's, ladies', boy's, boys', man's, men's, Obj. lady; ladies. boy; boys. man; men.

Declension of Pronouns.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

FIRST PERSON. SECOND PERSON-- SECOND PERSON-- _common form_ _old form_. _Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural.

Nom. I, we,* you, you, thou, ye(++) _or_ you Pos. my _or_ our _or_ your _or_ your _or_ thy _or_ ye(++) _or_ you mine,+ ours, yours, yours, thine, yours, Obj. me; us. you; you. thee; you.

[Footnote *: Strictly speaking, _we_ can hardly be the plural of _I_, says Professor Sweet, for _I_ does not admit of plurality. _We_ means _I_ and _you_, _I_ and _he_, _I_ and _she_, or _I_ and _they_, etc.]

[Footnote +: The forms _mine_, _ours_, _yours_, _thine_, _hers_, and _theirs_ are used only when the name of the thing possessed is omitted; as, _Yours_ is old, _mine_ is new = _Your book_ is old, etc. _Mine_ and _thine_ were formerly used before words beginning with a vowel sound; as, _thine enemy_, _mine honor_.

The expression _a friend of mine_ presents a peculiar construction. The explanation generally given is, that _of_ is partitive, and that the expression is equivalent to _one friend of my friends_.

It is said that this construction can be used only when more than one thing is possessed such expressions as _This heart of mine_, _That temper of yours_ are good, idiomatic English. This naughty world _of ours.--Byron_. This moral life _of mine.--Sheridan Knowles_. Dim are those heads _of theirs.---Carlyle_.

Some suggest that the word possessing or owning is understood after these possessives; as, This _temper of yours_ (your possessing); others say that _of_ simply marks identity, as does of in _city of_ (=viz.) _New York_ (see Lesson 34). They would make the expression = _This temper, your temper_.

The _s_ in _ours, yours, hers_, and _theirs_ is the _s_ of _his_ and _its_ extended by analogy to _our, your, her_, and _their_, forms already possessive. _Ours, yours, hers_, and _theirs_ are consequently double possessives.]

[Footnote ++: _Ye_ is used in Chaucer and in the King James version of the Bible exclusively in the nominative, as was its original _ge__ in the Saxon. Shakespeare uses _you_ in the nominative. _You_ (the Saxon accusative _eow_) has now taken the place of _ye_, and is both nominative and objective.

THIRD PERSON--_Mas_. THIRD PERSON--_Fem_. THIRD PERSON--_Neut_. _Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural_. Nom. he, they, she, they, it, they, Pos. his, their _or_ her or their _or_ its,* their _or_ theirs, hers, theirs, theirs, Obj. him; them. her; them. it; them.

[Footnote *: The possessive _its_ is our only personal pronoun form not found in Saxon. _His_, the possessive of the masculine _he_, was there the possessive (genitive) of the neuter _hit_ also--our _it_. But it came to be thought improper to employ _his_ to denote inanimate things as well as animate. The literature of the 16th and 17th centuries shows a growing sense of this impropriety, and abounds with _of it_, _thereof_, _her_, _it_, _the_, and _it own_ in place of _his_ as the possessive of _it_. The first appearance of the new coinage _its_ is placed in 1598. Long after its introduction many looked askance at _its_, because of the grammatical blunder it contains--the_ t_ in _its_ being a nominative neuter ending, and the _s_ a possessive ending. But no one thinks now of shunning what was then regarded as a grammatical monstrosity.]

COMPOUND PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

_Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. _ _Nom. and Nom. and Nom. and Nom. and Nom. and Nom. and_ _Obj. Obj. Obj. Obj. Obj. Obj._

myself* thyself himself; _or_ ourselves. _or_ yourselves. herself; themselves. ourself; yourself; itself;

[Footnote *: The compound personal pronouns are used (1) for emphasis; as, _I myself_ saw it: and (2) as reflexives, to turn the action of the verb back upon the actor; as, _He_ found _himself_ deserted by his friends. They are not the only words used in this last relation; where no obscurity would arise, we may use the simple personal pronouns instead. And _millions_ in those solitudes ... have laid _them_ down in their last sleep.--_Bryant_. My uncle stopped a minute to look about _him_.--_Dickens_.

The compound personal pronouns should not be used as subjects.]

+Remark+.--The possessive of these pronouns is wanting.

_Ourself_ and _we_ are used by rulers, editors, and others to hide their individuality, and give authority to what they say.

+Relative Pronouns+.

_Sing. and Plu. Sing. and Plu. Sing. and Plu. Sing. and Plu._ _Nom_. who, which, that, what, _Pos_. whose, whose, ------, ------, _Obj_. whom. which. that. what.

+Remark+.--From the composition of _which_--_hwa:_-lic, or _hwaet-lic_ = _who-like_, or _what-like_, it is evident that _whose_ is not formed from _which_. It is, in fact, the possessive of _what_ transferred to _which_. Much has been said against this _whose_, but it is in general use. Those who regard usage as the final arbiter in speech need not avoid this form of the pronoun.

+Interrogative Pronouns+.

The interrogative pronouns _who, which_, and _what_ are declined like the relatives _who, which_, and _what_.

+Compound Relative Pronouns+.

_Singular and Plural_. _Singular and Plural_. _Nom_. whoever, whosoever, _Pos_. whosever, whosesoever, _Obj_. whomever. whomsoever.

_Whichever, whichsoever, whatever_, and _whatsoever_ do not change their form.

+Adjective Pronouns+.

_This_ and _that_ with their plurals, _these_ and _those_, have no possessive form, and are alike in the nominative and the objective. _One_ and _other_ are declined like nouns; and _another_, declined like _other_ in the singular, has no plural. _Either, neither, former_, and _latter_ sometimes take the apostrophe and _s_ ('_s_) in the singular. _Each_, _either_, and _neither_ are always singular; _both_ is always plural; and _all, any, farmery latter, none, same, some_, and _such_ are either singular or plural. [Footnote: On the pages immediately preceding Lesson 1, we said that +usage+, as determined by the majority of the best writers and speakers of the generation, is the only authority in language; and we there explained how we are able to appeal to usage as we all along have done. In treating of the adjective pronouns we now appeal to it again. In the first twelve paragraphs below we give alternative expressions. Only the second of these alternative locutions in each paragraph is allowed by many grammarians; they utterly condemn the first. On the warrant of usage we say that both expressions are correct.

1. We may use +each other+ with more than two; we may use _one another_ in such a case. We may say, "_Several_ able _men_ were in correspondence with _each other_," or "with _one another_."

2. We may use +one another+ with only two; we may use _each other_ in such a case. We may say, "The _two countries_ agreed to stand by _one another_," or "by _each other_."

3. We may use +all, both+, and +whole+ with a preposition and a noun following; we may use these words as adjectives qualifying the noun. We may say, "_All of_ the _people_," "_Both of_ the _trees_," "The _whole of_ the farm," or "_All_ the _people_," "_Both trees_," "The _whole farm_."

4. We may use the pronouns +either+ and +neither+, as we do the conjunctions _either_ and _neither_, with more than two; we may use _any one_ and _none_ in such cases. We may say, "Here are _three candidates_; you may vote for _either_ or for _neither_ of them," or "for _any one_ or for _none_ of them."

5. We may use +he+ or some other personal pronoun after the indefinite one; we may repeat the _one_ in such a case. We may say, "The home _one_ must quit, yet taking much of its life along with _him_," or "along with _one_."

6. We may use +such+ before an adjective and its noun; we may use _so_ with the adjective in such a case. We may say, "_Such a strong argument_," "_Such admirable talent_," or "_So strong an argument_," "_Talent so admirable_."

7. We may use the plural +ones+; we may use the noun for which _ones_ stands. We may say, "You have red roses, I have white _ones_," or "white _roses_."

8. We may apply +the other two+ to those that remain when one of three things has been taken from the rest; we may use _the two others_ in such a case. We may say, "One of them kept his ground; _the other two_ ran away," or "_the two others_ ran away."

9. We may use +a+ before a noun in the singular and +or two+ after it; we may use _one or two_ before the noun in the plural. We may say, "I will go in _a day or two_," or "in _one or two days_."

10. We may use +either+ in the sense of _each_; we may use _each_ instead. We may say, "He wrested the land on _either_ side of the Seine," or "on _each_ side of the Seine."

11. We may insert a noun, or a noun and other words, between +other+ and +than+; we may place the _than_ immediately after _other_. We may say, "We must look for somee _other reasons for it than_ those suggested," or "for some _reasons for it other than_ those suggested."

12. We may use +none+ in the plural; we may use _none_ in the singular. We may say, "_None hear_ thy voice," or "_None hears_ thy voice."

The paragraphs below contain noteworthy uses of adjective pronouns but no really alternative expressions.

13. Usage is overwhelmingly in favor of +any one else's, no one else's, somebody else's, nobody else's+, instead of _any one's else_, etc. There is scarcely any authority for placing the (_'s_) upon _one_ or _body_. "Written by Dickens for his own or _any one else's_ children." This form is common and convenient. We are advised to shun it, but we need not.

14. Usage is also decidedly in favor of +first two, last three+, etc., instead of _two first, three last_, etc.]

Descriptive adjectives used as nouns are plural, and are not declined. Such expressions as "the _wretched's_ only plea" and "the _wicked's_ den" are exceptional.

* * * * *

LESSON 125.

CASE FORMS--PRONOUNS.

The pronouns _I_, _thou_, _he_, _she_, and _who_ are the only words in the language that have each three different case forms.

+Direction+.--_Study the Declensions, and correct these errors_:--

Our's, your's, hi's, her's, it's, their's, yourn, hisn, hern, theirn.

Construction of Case Forms--Pronouns.

+Caution.--I, we, thou, ye, he, she, they,+ and +who+ are +nominative+ forms, and must not be used in the objective case. +Me, us, thee, him, her, [Footnote: _Her_ is also a possessive.] them,+ and +whom+ are objective forms, and must not be used in the nominative case.

Remark.--The eight nominative forms and the seven objective forms here given are the only distinctive nominative and objective forms in the language. All the rules of syntax given in the grammars to guide in the use of the nominative and the objective case apply, practically, only to these fifteen words.

+Direction.+--_Study carefully the Definitions and principles given under the head of case, Lesson 119, and then correct these errors, giving your reasons in every instance:--_

1. It is not me you are in love with. [Footnote: Dr. Latham defends _It is
me,_ but condemns _It is him,_ and _It is her_. Dean Alford regards as
correct the forms condemned by Latham, and asserts that _thee_ and _me_
are correct in, "The nations not so blest as _thee_" "Such weak minister
as me may the oppressor bruise." Professor Bain justifies _If I were
him, It was her, He is better than me,_ and even defends the use of
_who_ as an objective form by quoting from Shakespeare, "_Who_ servest
thou under?" and from Steele, "_Who_ should I meet?"

They justify such expressions as _It is me_ from the analogy of the
French _c'est moi_, and on the ground that they are "more frequently
heard than the prescribed form." But such analogy would justify _It are
them (ce sont eux)_; and, if the argument from the speech of the
uneducated is to have weight, we have good authority for _"Her ain't a
calling we: us don't belong to she."_ A course of reading will satisfy
one that the best writers and speakers in England are not in the habit
of using such expressions as _It is me_, and that these are almost, if
not quite unknown in American literature. No one has freed himself from
the influence of early associations that are in a careless moment some
vicious colloquialism may not creep into his discourse. A Violation of
every principle of grammar may be defended, if such inadvertencies are
to be erected into authority. To whatever is the prevailing, the
habitual, usage of a majority of the best writers and speakers the
grammarian should bow without question; but not to the accidental slips
of even the greatest writers, or to the common usage of the unreflecting
and the uncultivated.]