SECTION CCLIV.-ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS.

I. Some nouns have NO PLURAL TERMINATIONS: 1. Those which denote things measured or weighed; as, rye, barley, flax, flour, tallow, cider, gold, coffee, fennel. But, to express varieties, some have plural forms; as, sugar, sugars; wine, wines. 9. Names of abstract qualities; as, harshness, prudence, meekness, sloth, decorum.

there are some exceptions, as we may say affinities, gravities.

To this

II. Some nouns denote PLURALITY WITHOUT A PLURAL TERMINATION; as, horse, foot, infantry, cavalry, pulse, cattle. Collective nouns in the singular form indicate plurality when they refer to the individuals; as, "The committee were divided." In other cases they put on the plural form; as, the committees.

III. Some nouns have the SAME FORM IN BOTH NUMBERS; as, deer, sheep, trout, salmon, vermin, cannon, shot, head, sail, weight; as, twenty weight. Cannon has sometimes the plural form, so has shot and brick. In the Saxon Chronicle it is said, "He heald that Arcebisceop-rice eighteen year. In the same work occurs the expression forty-one winter. Yet, in the Anglo-Saxon, year and winter had plural terminations. Phrases like "a twelvemonth" and a fortnight are sometimes used.

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IV. Some nouns have the PLURAL TERMINATION ONLY; as, annals, antipodes, archives, ashes, assets, bitters, bowels, breeches, compasses, clothes, calends, customs, drawers, downs, dregs, eaves, embers, entrails, fetters, filings, forceps, goggles, goods, hatches, hose, ides, lees, matins, mallows, news, nippers, nones, nuptials, pincers, pinchers, pliers, reins, snuffers, shears, scissors, shambles, spectacles, staggers, thanks thank is obsolete), tidings, tongs, trowsers, tweezers, vespers, vitals, victuals, yellows. Letters in the sense of literature, and manners in the sense of behaviour, may be added to the list. These, in construction, are used in the plural number.

V. Some nouns have the PLURAL FORM, BUT ARE OFTEN USED IN CONSTRUCTION IN THE SINGULAR NUMBER. Alms was originally a noun singular, being a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon almesse. The s belonged to the word just as s in goose does. "This almesse should thou do of thy proper things."-CHAUCER. Pains has the plural form; when preceded by much, it should have a singular verb. News has the plural form, but is used in the singular as well as in the plural. Odds is used in both the singular and plural. The same is true of gallows and bellows, though gallows has gallowses. Means is used in both the singular and the plural, though it has a singular form, mean, which is sometimes used. Billiards has the sense of a game containing a unity of idea. Riches seems to have been the French richesse, and therefore strictly no more plural than gentleEthics, metaphysics, and other similar words, comprehending each the whole system of a particular science, do not convey the idea of parts or particular branches, but of a whole collectively, and hence

nesse.

seem to be treated as words belonging to the singular number; they are also used as plurals.

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VI. Some nouns have SOMETIMES THE SAME FORM FOR BOTH NUMBERS, AND AT OTHER TIMES A REGULAR PLURAL FORM; such are dozen, pair, brace, couple, score. "He bought ten dozen; he bought them by dozens." Under this description may be placed such words as youth, heathen, which, in a singular form, can enter into either a singular or a plural construction, and yet can take a plural form; as, A heathen rages; the heathen rage; the heathens rage." VII. COMPOUNDS, consisting of two or more words connected by a hyphen, are generally composed either of two nouns, of which one is used in the sense of an adjective, as man-trap, where man is really an adjective; or of a noun and adjective, as court-martial; or of a noun and some expression having the force of an adjective, as fatherin-law, where in-law has the force of an adjective as much as legal. In all these compounds the sign of the plural is added to that part of the compound which really constitutes the noun, whether at the end or not; as, man-traps, courts-martial, fathers-in-law, cousins german, outgoings, queen consorts, Te Deums. In forming the possessive case, the rule is different, the sign of the possessive being uniformly suffixed to the compound expression; thus, father-in-law, plural fathers-in-law, possessive father-in-law's.

Compounds united without a hyphen follow the general rule; as, spoonfuls, overflowings.

VIII. Proper nouns, when used in the plural number, follow the rule, for the most part, of common nouns; as, Canada, the Canadas; Wilson, the Wilsons; Rogers, the Rogerses; India changes the Vowel, Indies.

IX. Words used as mere words follow the general rule; as, the ins and the outs; the yeas and the nays.

X. When a TITLE AND A NAME ARE USED TOGETHER, some grammarians recommend that the title only have the plural form; as, the Misses Glover; others, that both have the plural form; as, the Misses Glovers; and others, that the name only have the plural form; as, the Miss Glovers. The last is the correct form if the two words are viewed as a compound term; the first, if they are viewed as in opposition; the second, if they are viewed as if in classical languages. The last,-namely, the Miss Glovers, is sanctioned by the highest authority.

SECTION CCLV.-COMPARATIVE ETYMOLOGY.

Some ancient languages, as the Anglo-Saxon, the Moso-Gothic, and the Greek and Hebrew, the old and the present Icelandic, in addition to the singular and the plural, had the dual, which denotes two objects, or a pair. The English has no dual. Dual is from the Latin word duo two. Thus, in the Anglo-Saxon, pu, the singular thou; git, the dual ye two; ge, the plural ye. We have

the remains of ancient number in the examples given: of the Hebrew, as in cherubim; of the Greek, as in phenomena; of the Latin, as in larvæ; of the Anglo-Saxon, as in oxen. We have also borrowed certain forms of number from modern languages. See examples above.

SECTION CCLVI.-CASES OF NOUNS.

CASE denotes the relation which a noun sustains to other words in the sentence, expressed sometimes by its termination and sometimes by its position. Nouns have three cases, the nominative, the possessive or genitive, and the objective or accusative.

The NOMINATIVE CASE is the noun in its simple form, and denotes the relation of the subject to the finite verb; as, "Man speaks; "John is loved."

The POSSESSIVE or GENITIVE CASE denotes the relation of possession or origin, and is formed by adding to the simple form the letter s, with an apostrophe before it; as, "Man's virtue;" "Milton's poems."

The OBJECTIVE or ACCUSATIVE CASE is the noun in its simple form, and denotes the relation of the object to the verb, or the complement of a preposition; as, "He struck the soldier ;" "He lives in Bristol." To these cases might be added the dative and the vocative. See Section CCLXI.

SECTION CCLVII.--ORIGIN OF THE TERM.

CASE is from the Latin word casus, a falling. The cases were supposed to fall or decline from the nominative, which was written in a perpendicular, and, therefore, called rectus casus, the right case, while the others were written from that at different angles, and, therefore, called obliqui casus, the oblique cases, as in the opposite dia

Nom.

Gen.

Acc.

Voc.

Abl.

SECTION CCLIX.--INFLECTION OF THE POSSESSIVE.

I. Generally, when the singular ends in s, or in letters of a similar sound, and the next word begins with s, or when there is an s also in the penult, the apostrophic s is omitted, but the apostrophe is added; as, for righteousness' sake; for conscience' sake; Moses' disciples; Peleus' son. See Section CCCCLXXXIII.

II. When the letter s, added as the sign of the possessive, will coalesce with the terminating sound of the noun, it is pronounced in the same syllable, as John's; but if it will not coalesce, it adds another syllable to the word, as in the example above, Charles's, pronounced as if written Charlesis.

III. When the nominative plural ends in s, the possessive plural is formed by adding only an apostrophe; when it does not end in s, the possessive plural is formed by adding both the apostrophe and the s. See examples of declension.

SECTION CCLX.-TRANSITION FROM THE ANGLO-SAXON GENITIVE.

In the Anglo-Saxon the genitive termination of many nouns in the singular number was es, is, or ys; as, Godes, leafes, mirthis, mannys. In the sixteenth century the words his, her, and their were introduced into use instead of the genitive case,—

"

"Where is this mankind? Who lives to age

Fit to be made Methusalem his page ?"-Dr. Donne.

"And by Ronix her womanish subtlety" Ronixis or Ronix's womanish subtlety. About the Hollanders their throwing off the monarchy of Spain." My paper is Ulysses his bow, in which every man of wit or learning may try his strength." Addison, in this quotation, uses this form of expression, and elsewhere justifies it. "The same single letter s on many occasions does the office of a whole word, and represents the his and her of our forefathers."-Spectator, No. 207.

It appears that as cases gradually melted away from the language, his took the place of is, ys, es, from its resemblance to them in sound; and that her and their were introduced by an imitative process.

Yet opposition had been made to this innovation. "Ben Jonson, in his Grammar, which came out in 1640, after his death, says, 'Nouns ending in x, s, sh, g, and ch, take to the genitive singular i, and to the plural e, which distinctions, not observed, brought in first the monstrous syntax of the pronoun his joining with a noun betokening a possessor.' But this monstrous syntax' became so general, that the republisher of Ben Jonson, in 1662, taking upon him to correct his author, audaciously and tacitly put in room of this passage, To the genitive cases of all nouns denoting a possessor is added 's, with an apostrophe, thereby to avoid the gross syntax of the pronoun his joining with a noun; as, the Emperor's court, not the Emperor his court: thus foisting in his own conviction that 's stands for his, and yet retaining the expression the gross syntax,' he has made old Ben write nonsense."-See Cambridge Philological Museum, vol. i. In the phrase "the Queen's majesty we see the absurdity of supposing that the

possessive 's is equivalent to his.

SECTION CCLXI.-THE NUMBER OF CASES.

It has been a question how many cases should be admitted in the English language. If a change of termination is essential to constitute a case, there are but two cases, the nominative and the possessive, which are the only two forms of the noun; as, John, John's. Indeed, strictly, there is but one case or falling from the nominative.

But if, on the other hand, it should be claimed that the use of a preposition constitutes a case, then there must be as many cases as there are prepositions: above a man, beneath a man, within a man, without a man, must be cases as well as of a man, to a man, and from

a man.

Both in the Latin and the Anglo-Saxon different cases are attributed to nouns when the terminations are the same. In practical grammar we are therefore justified, on the ground of convenience, in admitting at least three cases, though there are but two terminations in nouns, especially as we must have three terminational cases in some of the pronouns.-See Section CCXCIII.

One word of English is probably a true accusative in the strict sense of the term, viz., the word twain

two.

Fem.

Nom. and Acc. Twa, Twegen,
Twa.
Abl. and Dat. Twam, Twam, Twæm.
Gen.
Twegra, Twegra, Twega.

Besides the nominative, genitive, and accusative cases, we have remnants of the dative form in the Anglo-Saxon language in the words whilom and seldom, as we have in the words him and whom. In the phrase "Give it him" we have a dative case. The objective case and the preposition to are often equivalent to the dative case in other languages. It might be a matter of convenience to add the dative and vocative to the number of English cases.

The following has been proposed: "Nom., a man; Gen., a man's; Dat., a man; Accus., a man; Voc., man! A MAN (N.) may beat ANOTHER MAN (A.) if he can, but it is A MAN'S (G.) part to give HIM, i.e., a man (D.), fair play. MAN! (V.) hold your hand. Here we have the agent, or nominative, that beats; the patient, or accusative, that is beaten; the person standing in the relation of possession, or genitive, and of giving, or dative; finally, in that of being addressed by another, or vocative."

SECTION CCLXII.--IMPORT OF THE GENITIVE.

The import of the genitive case may often be expressed by the particle of. Thus, for man's wisdom we can say the wisdom of man. This has been called the analytical, or the Norman possessive or genitive, and is commonly used, especially in the plural number, when the possessor is inanimate. A noun with the sign 's is called the Saxon possessive, because it is a contraction, of the Saxon genitive in es, is. The mark' is called apostrophe, because it is a turning of or omission of the vowel e or i. It is, however, used as the sign of the possessive case, where there is no omission of the vowel, as in the plural number. It should be added, before closing this section, that though the import of the analytical genitive is often much the same as that of the Saxon genitive, it is often different. If, instead of "Man's first disobedience, and the fruit of that forbidden tree," Milton