pronoun which is used when a person speaks of himself singly, or of himself in conjunction with one or more others, without mentioning any names. It is made up of the following (partly unrelated) forms : 133. The Personal Pronoun of the Second Person is the pronoun which is used when we speak of the person or persons spoken to. It is declinable, and has the following forms : Ye was once exclusively nominative, and you objective (ye from A. S. ge, you from cow), but even the best writers sometimes used ye as the objective, and now you is indifferently nominative and objective. 134. In Anglo-Saxon only the singular forms of this pronoun were used in addressing a single person. In ordinary usage the singular is now restricted to solemn addresses, as in prayer to the Deity and in poetry. In Shakspere's time the singular was also used as the pronoun of affection towards children+ or friends, of good-natured superiority to servants, and of contempt or anger to strangers. ‡ (Abbott, Sh. Gr. p. 153). At a very early period the plural came to be used in speaking to a single person. It was at first employed as a mark of special respect (as when a subject speaks to a king, or a son to his father), as though the person addressed were as good as two or more ordinary people. § You and your are now the ordinary pronouns of address, whether we are speaking to one person, or to more than one. 135. The Personal Pronouns have, properly speaking, no Possessive Case, that is to say, no Possessive Case with the force of a substantive. In Anglo-Saxon, when the genitives of these pronouns were used in the possessive sense, they were regarded as adjectives and inflected accordingly. As the possessive sense is the only one in which we have retained these forms, they should now be regarded as adjectives. My and thy are short forms of mine and thine. * As 'His wrath, which one day will destroy ye both' (Milton). The more shame for ye, holy men I thought ye' (Shakspere). + In Shakspere fathers almost always address their sons with thou, sons their fathers with you (Abbott). If thou thou'st him some thrice, it shall not be amiss' (Twelfth N. iii. 2). Prithee don't thee and thou me; I believe I am as good a man as yourself' (Miller of Mansfield). § The use of the first person plural by royal personages may be accounted for in a similar manner. 136. The pronouns of the first and second persons do not mark distinctions of gender, because when a person speaks of himself or to another person, the sex, being evident, does not need to be marked in language by gender, and the plural forms may include persons of different sexes. II.-DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS. 138. The pronoun which is used as a simple substitute for a noun that has already been employed is often called the Personal Pronoun of the Third Person. It is more correct to call it the Demonstrative Pronoun of the Third Person. It is inflected for number, case, and gender. It has the following forms : 139. The plural forms must be ambiguous as to gender, because they may be used when speaking of persons of different sexes, or of persons and things together. *Him was originally a dative case. It will be seen that the datives him, her, and them, like me, thee, us, and you, have supplanted the accusative forms. 140. She (sche or scho). The feminine of se, seo, that, has supplanted the form heo. It was in Anglo-Saxon hit. The is a neuter suffix, like t in what and that and d in the Latin i-d, quo-d, &c. The regular genitive or possessive case of hit was his, as: If the salt have lost his savour,' &c. The possessive case its is of comparatively modern origin. It is found in Shakspere, but even there his is more common. There is only one example of it in the English Bible (Lev. xxv. 5). 141. The modern plural forms of this pronoun are borrowed from the demonstrative se, seo, pat. The genitive plural her, hir, or hire, and the dative plural him or hem were in use for some time after thai or they was adopted for the nominative. 142. The genitive cases of this pronoun were not declined as adjectives in Anglo-Saxon, but may now be classed with the other possessives. THE DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES THIS AND THAT. 144. This and That may be used as real demonstratives (to point to things themselves). In this case This points to what is 'near me,' That points to what is at a distance from me,' as' This book,'' That chair.' This and That may also be used as logical demonstratives (to refer to some description or name), as 'The general was in command of a large force. This force consisted of infantry and artillery.' 'They remained one day at Rome. That day passed without any remarkable event.' When two things which have been already mentioned are referred to, this refers to what has been mentioned last, that refers to what CLASSIFICATION OF PRONOUNS. 128. Pronouns are divided into two classes, Substantive Pronouns and Adjective Pronouns. 129. Strictly speaking, no word should be called a Pronoun unless it is a substantive. But it is usual to include under this head certain demonstrative adjectives which are very often used substantively. These bear the somewhat contradictory name of Adjective Pronouns. When they are attached to substantives which are expressed, as this man, each time, they should be called Demonstrative Adjectives, or Adjectives of Relation. The Nominative Case I is always written with a Capital letter. 1.- PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 131. The Personal Pronouns consist of 1. The Personal Pronoun of the First Person. 2. The Personal Pronoun of the Second Person. 132. The Personal Pronoun of the First Person is the pronoun which is used when a person speaks of himself singly, or of himself in conjunction with one or more others, without mentioning any names. It is made up of the following (partly unrelated) forms : 133. The Personal Pronoun of the Second Person is the pronoun which is used when we speak of the person or persons spoken to. It is declinable, and has the following forms : Nominative Case Singular. Thou Objective Case...... Thee Plural. Ye was once exclusively nominative, and you objective (ye from A.S. ge, you from cow), but even the best writers sometimes used ye as the objective, * and now you is indifferently nominative and objective. 134. In Anglo-Saxon only the singular forms of this pronoun were used in addressing a single person. In ordinary usage the singular is now restricted to solemn addresses, as in prayer to the Deity and in poetry. In Shakspere's time the singular was also used as the pronoun of affection towards children + or friends, of good-natured superiority to servants, and of contempt or anger to strangers. ‡ (Abbott, Sh. Gr. p. 153). At a very early period the plural came to be used in speaking to a single person. It was at first employed as a mark of special respect (as when a subject speaks to a king, or a son to his father), as though the person addressed were as good as two or more ordinary people.§ You and your are now the ordinary pronouns of address, whether we are speaking to one person, or to more than one. 135. The Personal Pronouns have, properly speaking, no Possessive Case, that is to say, no Possessive Case with the force of a substantive. In Anglo-Saxon, when the genitives of these pronouns were used in the possessive sense, they were regarded as adjectives and inflected accordingly. As the possessive sense is the only one in which we have retained these forms, they should now be regarded as adjectives. My and thy are short forms of mine and thine. As 'His wrath, which one day will destroy ye both' (Milton). "The more shame for ye, holy men I thought ye' (Shakspere). In Shakspere fathers almost always address their sons with thou, sons their fathers with you (Abbott). If thou thou'st him some thrice, it shall not be amiss' (Twelfth N. iii. 2). Prithee don't thee and thou me; I believe I am as good a man as yourself' (Miller of Mansfield). § The use of the first person plural by royal personages may be accounted for in a similar manner. |