(ii) We must be careful to distinguish the article a from the brokendown preposition a in the phrase "twice a week." This latter a is a fragment of on; and the phrase in O.E. was "tuwa on wucan." Similarly, the in “ the book" is not the same as the in "the more the merrier." The latter is the old ablative of thaet; and is = by that.

(iii) Adjective Pronouns or Pronominal Adjectives are so called because they can be used either as adjectives with the noun, or as pronouns for the noun. They are divided into the following four

classes :

(a) Demonstrative Adjective Pronouns -This, these; that, those; yon, yonder.

(b) Interrogative Adjective Pronouns-Which? what? whether (of the two)?

(c) Distributive Adjective Pronouns—Each, every, either, neither. (d) Possessive Adjective Pronouns-My, thy, his, her, etc. (These words perform a double function. They are adjectives, because they go with a noun; and pronouns, because they stand for the noun or name of the person speaking or spoken of.)

(iv) The Ordinal Numerals are: First, second, third, etc.

9. Some adjectives are used as nouns, and therefore take a plural form. Thus we have Romans, Christians, superiors, elders, ones, others, nobles, etc. Some take the form of the possessive case, as either's, neither's.

(i) The plural of one as an adjective is two, three, etc.; of one as a noun, ones. Thus we can say, "These are poor strawberries, bring me better ones." Other numeral adjectives may be used as nouns. Thus Wordsworth, in one of his shorter poems, has

"The sun has long been set;

The stars are out by twos and threes;
The little birds are piping yet

Among the bushes and trees."

We can say

(ii) Our language is very whimsical in this matter. Romans and Italians; but we cannot say Frenches and Dutches. Milton has (Paradise Lost, iii. 438) Chineses.

NUMERALS.

10. Cardinal Numerals are those which indicate numbers alone. Some of them are originally nouns, as dozen, hundred, thousand, and million; but these may also be used as adjectives.

(i) One was in A.S. an or ane. The pronunciation wun is from a western dialect. It is still rightly sounded in its compounds atone, alone, lonely. None and no are the negatives of one and o (=an and a).

(ii) Two, from A.S. twegen mas.; twa fem. The form twegen appears in twain and twin, the g having been absorbed.

=

(iii) Eleven=en (one) +lif (ten). Twelve twe (two) +lif (ten).

(iv) Thirteen = three + ten. The r has shifted its place, as in third. (v) Twenty-twen (two)+tig (ten). Tig is a noun, meaning "a set of ten." The guttural was lost, and it became ty.

(vi) Score, from A.S. sceran, to cut. Accounts of sheep, cattle, etc.,, were kept by notches on a stick; and the twentieth notch was made deeper, and was called the cut-the score.

11. Ordinal Numerals are Adjectives of Relation formed mostly from the Cardinals. They are: First, Second, Third, Fourth, etc.

(i) First is a contraction of the A. S. fyrrest (farthest).

(ii) Second is not Eng. but Latin. The O.E. for second was other. Second comes (through French) from the Latin, secundus, following— that is, following the first. A following or favourable breeze ("a wind that follows fast") was called by the Romans a "secundus ventus." Secundus comes from Lat. sequor, I follow. Other words from the same root are sequel, consequence, etc.

(iii) Third, by transposition, from A.S. thridda. A third part was called a thriding (where the r keeps its right place); as a fourth part was a fourthing or farthing. Thriding was gradually changed into Riding, one of the three parts into which Yorkshire was divided.

(iv) In eigh-th, as in eigh-teen, a t has vanished.

THE INFLEXION OF ADJECTIVES.

These

12. The modern English adjective has lost all its old inflexions for gender and case, and retains only two for number. two are these (the plural of this) and those (the plural of that).

(i) The older plural was thise-pronounced these, and then so spelled. In this instance, the spelling, as so seldom happens, has followed the pronunciation. In general in the English language, the spelling and the pronunciation keep quite apart, and have no influence on each other.

(ii) Those was the oldest plural of this, but in the 14th century it came to be accepted as the plural of that.

13. Most adjectives are now inflected for purposes of comparison only.

14. There are three Degrees of Comparison: the Positive; the Comparative; and the Superlative.

(i) The word degree comes from the French degré, which itself comes from the Latin gradus, a step. From the same root come grade, gradual, degrade, etc.

15. The Positive Degree is the simple form of the adjective.

16. The Comparative Degree is that form of the adjective which shows that the quality it expresses has been raised one step or degree higher. Thus we say sharp, sharper; cold, colder; brave, braver. The comparative degree brings together only two ideas. Thus we may speak of "the taller of the two," but not "of the three."

Comparative comes from the Lat. compăro, I bring together.

17. The Comparative degree is formed in two ways: either (i) by adding er to the positive; or (ii) if the adjective has two syllables (the last ending in a consonant) or more, by placing the adverb more before the adjective.

RULES: I. A silent e is dropped; as brave, braver.

II. A y after a consonant is changed into i before er, etc.; as happy, happier.

III. A final consonant after a short vowel is doubled; as red, redder; cruel, crueller.

IV. In choosing between er and more, sound and custom seem to be the safest guides. Thus we should not say selecter, but more select; not infirmer, but more infirm. Carlyle has beautifullest, etc.; but his is not an example to be followed..

18. The Superlative Degree is that form of the adjective which shows that the quality it expresses has been raised to the highest degree. The superlative degree requires that three things, or more, be compared. Thus "He is the tallest of the two" would be incorrect.

Superlative comes from the Lat. superlatīvus, lifting up above.

19. The Superlative degree is formed in two ways: either (i) by adding est to the positive; or (ii) if the adjective has two syllables (the last ending in a consonant) or more, by placing the adverb most before the adjective.

(i) Happiest; most recent; most beautiful.

20. Some adjectives, from the very nature of the ideas they express, do not admit of comparison. Such are golden, wooden; left, right; square, triangular; weekly, monthly; eternal, perpetual, etc.

21. The most frequently used adjectives have irregular comparisons. The following is a list :

evil.

(i) Worse and worst come, not from bad, but from the root weor, (War comes from the same root.) The s in worse is a part of the root; and the full comparative is really worser, which was used in the 16th century (Shakespeare, "Hamlet," III. iv. 157). Worst worsest.

(ii) The th in farther is intrusive. Farther is formed on a false analogy with further; as could (from can) is with would (from will). Farther is used of progression in space; further, of progression in reasoning. (iii) Former was in A.S. forma (= first). It is a superlative form with a comparative sense.

(iv) Better comes from A.S. bet-good-a root which was found in betan, to make good, and in the phrase to boot="to the good."

(v) Later and latest refer to time; latter and last to position in, space or in a series. Last is as by assimilation from latst; as best is from betst.

(vi) Less does not come from the lit in little; but from the A.S. las, weak. Least=laesest.

(vii) Nighest is contracted into next; as highest was into hext. Thus gh+s=k+8=x.

с

(viii) We say "the oldest man that ever lived," and "the eldest of the family." Older and oldest refer to mere number; elder and eldest to a family or corporate group.

(ix) Rathe is still found in poetry. Milton has "the rathe primrose, that forsaken dies ;" and Coleridge, "twin buds too rathe to bear the winter's unkind air." The Irish pronunciation rayther is the old Eng

lish pronunciation.

(x) Hind is used as an adjective in the phrase "the hind wheels."

A

[Up]

(i) After, as an adjective, is found in aftermath and afterthought.

(ii) In is used as an adjective in the word in-side; and as a noun in the phrase "the ins and outs" of a question.

(iii) In the inns of law, the utter-bar (outer-bar) is opposed to the inner-bar.

(iv) The neth in nether is the same as the neath in beneath.

(v) The ov in over is the ove in above, and is a dialectic form of up. It is still found in such names as Over Leigh in Cheshire, and Over Darwen in Lancashire.

(vi) Hindmost, uttermost, are not compounds of most, but are double superlatives. There was an old superlative ending ema, which we see in Lat. extrēmus, suprēmus, etc. It was forgotten that this was a superlative, and est or ost was added. Thus we had hindema, midThese afterwards became hindmost and midmost.

ema.

THE VERB.

1. The Verb is that "part of speech" by means of which we make an assertion.

It is the keystone of the arch of speech.

the verb out

(i) The word verb comes from the Lat. verbum, a word. It is so called because it is the word in a sentence. If we leave of a sentence, all the other words become mere nonsense.

Thus we can