Chapter XIV: Section I: Of the Personal Pronouns

“Mr. Haddams, don’t be personal, Sir!”

“I’m not, Sir.”

“You har, Sir!”

“What did I say, Sir?--tell me that.”

“You reflected on my perfession, Sir; you said, as there was _some_ people as always stuck up for the _cloth_; and you insinnivated that certain parties dined off _goose_ by means of _cabbaging_ from the parish. I ask any gentleman in the westry, if that an’t personal?”

“Vell, Sir, vot I says I’ll stick to.”

“Yes, Sir, like vax, as the saying is.”

“Wot d’ye mean by that, Sir?”

“Wot I say, Sir!”

“You’re a individual, Sir!”

“You’re another, Sir!”

“You’re no gentleman, Sir!”

“You’re a humbug, Sir!”

“You’re a knave, Sir!”

“You’re a rogue, Sir!”

“You’re a wagabond, Sir!”

“You’re a willain, Sir!”

“You’re a tailor, Sir!”

“You’re a cobbler, Sir!” (Order! order! chair! chair! &c.)

The above is what is called personal language. How many different things one word serves to express in English! A pronoun may be as personal as possible, and yet nobody will take offence at it.

There are five Personal Pronouns; namely, I, thou, he, she, it; with their plurals, we, ye or you, they.

Personal Pronouns admit of person, number, gender, and case.

Pronouns have three persons in each number.

In the Singular;

I, is the first person.

Thou, is the second person.

He, she, or it, is the third person.

In the plural;

We, is the first person.

Ye or you, is the second person.

They, is the third person.

This account of persons will be very intelligible when the following Pastoral Fragment is reflected on:--

HE.

_I_ love thee, Susan, on my life:
_Thou_ art the maiden for a wife.
_He_ who lives single is an ass;
_She_ who ne’er weds a luckless lass.
_It’s_ tiresome work to live alone;
So come with me, and be my own.

SHE.

_We_ maids are oft by men deceived;
_Ye_ don’t deserve to be believed;
_You_ don’t--but there’s my hand--heigho!
_They_ tell us, women can’t say no!

The speaker or speakers are of the first person; those spoken to, of the second; and those spoken of, of the third.

Of the three persons, the first is the most universally admired.

The second is the object of much adulation and flattery, and now and then of a little abuse.

The third person is generally made small account of; and, amongst other grievances, suffers a great deal from being frequently bitten about the back.

The Numbers of pronouns, like those of substantives, are, as we have already seen, two; the singular and the plural.

In addressing yourself to anybody, it is customary to use the second person plural instead of the singular. This practice most probably arose from a notion, that to be thought twice the man that the speaker was, gratified the vanity of the person addressed. Thus, the French put a double Monsieur on the backs of their letters.

Editors say “We,” instead of “I,” out of modesty.

The Quakers continue to say “thee” and “thou,” in the use of which pronouns, as well as in the wearing of broad-brimmed hats and of stand-up collars, they perceive a peculiar sanctity.

Gender has to do only with the third person singular of the pronouns, he, she, it. He is masculine; she is feminine; it is neuter.

Pronouns have the like cases with substantives; the nominative, the possessive, and the objective.

Would that they were the hardest cases to be met with in this country!

The personal pronouns are thus declined:--

FIRST PERSON FIRST PERSON
CASE. SINGULAR. PLURAL.
Nom. I We.
Poss. Mine Ours.
Obj. Me Us.

Pronouns, you see, are declined without fuss.

CASE. SECOND PERSON. SECOND PERSON.
Nom. Thou Ye or you.
Poss. Thine Yours.
Obj. Thee You.

How glad I shall be when my task I’ve got through!

Now the third person singular, as we before observed, has genders; and we shall therefore decline it in a different way. Variety is charming.

THIRD PERSON SINGULAR.

CASE. MASC. FEM. NEUT.
Nom. He She It.
Well done Kit!
Poss. His. Hers Its.
Now Tom’s quits.
Obj. Him Her It.
Deuce a bit!

CASE. PLURAL.
Nom. They
Poss. Theirs.
Obj. Them.
Reader, Mem.

We beg to inform thee, that the third person plural has no distinction of gender.