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sounds, the first with that of y, and the second with that of w, and therefore a is used instead of an. In the word hour the h is silent, and accordingly the n is retained.

3. The words an and a are identical, the change from an to a before a consonantal sound having been made by a euphonic process. It is used when we speak of some single object without defining it. For this reason, in comparison with the, it is called the Indefinite Article. It is definite only with respect to number. It can occur only when conjoined with other words; as, A man, a woman. Like the adjective, it is the same for all genders and cases.

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§ 286. 1. The word THE is called the Definite Article, because it specifies or defines the substantive with which it is conjoined; as, The man, the woman. By these expressions some particular man or woman is signified. It is the same for all genders, and cases, and numbers.

2. The definite article the has arisen out of the demonstrative pronoun þæt, or, at least, out of a common root; just as an and a have arisen out of the numeral one. In the Anglo-Saxon there was a form, þe, undeclined, and common to all the cases of all the numbers. As an or a is less definite than one, so is the less definite than that. Were we for the to substitute that, and to say "that man with that long beard," the phrase would more particularly imply real presence, and, indirectly, a sort of contrast with this man with this long beard. An and one, the and that, express different degrees of definiteness. An might with propriety be called the Numeral article, and the the Demonstrative.

COMPARATIVE ETYMOLOGY.

§ 287. In Greek there is no indefinite, in Latin there is neither an indefinite nor a definite article. In the former language they say avηp Tis=a certain man. In the Latin, the words. filius regis mean equally the son of the king, a son of a king, a son of the king, or the son of a king. In Moso-Gothic and in Old Norse there is an equal absence of the indefinite article.

The origin of articles seems to be uniform. The German ein,

the Danish en, stand to one in the same relation in which an does. The French un, Italian and Spanish uno, are similarly related to unus one. And as in English the, in German der, in Danish den, come from the demonstrative pronouns, so in the Romanic languages are the French le, the Italian il and lo, and the Spanish el, derived from the Latin demonstrative ille.

In no language, in its oldest stage, is there ever a word giving, in its primary sense, the ideas of a and the. As tongues become modern, some word with a similar sense is used to express them. In the course of time a change of form takes place corresponding to the change of meaning, e. g., one becomes an, and afterward a. Then it is that articles become looked upon as separate parts of speech. No invalidation of this statement is drawn from the Greek language. Although the etymology gives us ó, ý, Tó, ho, he, to, as the definite article, the syntax informs us that in the oldest stage of the language ó (ho)=the, had the power of ovros (howtos)=this.

"There is a the which originated from the Anglo-Saxon þy, that, and is different from the the which originated from the Anglo-Saxon pe. The latter is the common article. The former is the the in expressions like all the more, all the better more by all that, better by all that, and the Latin phrases eo majus, eo melius." For some of these views, see LATHAM on the English Language.

QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER IV.

1. What is an article?

2. What question has been raised in respect to an and the?

3. To what words are they closely related in origin and power?

4. State the relation of the articles to the proposition.

5. With what words is the article an identical?

6. In what cases is an used in the English language, and in what cases is a used?

7. What is an or a called, and why is it so called?

8. In what respect is this article definite?

9. Why is the called the definite article?

10. From what is the definite article the derived?

11. Mention some languages which are destitute of one or both articles.

12. What is said of the Latin in this connection?

13. What is said of another the?

CHAPTER V.

THE PRONOUN.

§ 288. A PRONOUN is a word which can be used instead of a noun, either as the subject or the predicate of proposition; as, "The man is happy; he is benevolent." Here he is used instead of man as the subject of the proposition. "I am he." Here he is used as the predicate of the proposition.

Or, a Pronoun is a word used instead of a noun; as, "I went to London;" "thou hast done a good action;" "he will return."

pronomen,

The term pronoun is derived from the Latin word which signifies for a noun. Pronouns have been called substitutes, inasmuch as some of them stand not only for nouns, but also for adjectives, for a sentence or part of a sentence, or a series of propositions.

Pronouns are relational words, or form-words, according to Becker's classification. They do not, like substantives, express the idea of an object, but only the relation of an object to the speaker, since they show whether the object is the speaker himself (the first person), or the person or thing addressed (the second person), or the person or thing spoken of (the third person); e. g., I (the teacher) give to you (the scholar) it (the book).

CLASSIFICATION.

§ 289. I. A PERSONAL PRONOUN is a pronoun whose form shows of what person it is without reference to the construction in which it is used.

The personal pronouns are I, of the first person; thou, of the second person; he, she, and it, of the third person. It should be remembered that nouns are naturally of the third person.

II. A DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN is a pronoun which eminently points out the objects to which it relates.

The demonstrative pronouns are this and that, with their plurals, these and those, and perhaps such and same.

III. A RELATIVE PRONOUN is a pronoun which stands for some preceding word or phrase called the antecedent, and performs the office of a conjunction in connecting sentences.

The relative pronouns are who, which, that, and what.

IV. An INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN is a pronoun used in asking questions.

The interrogative pronouns are who, which, and what.

V. An ADJECTIVE PRONOUN is a pronoun which partakes of the nature of the adjective. See § 266.

VI. AN ADVERBIAL PRONOUN is a pronoun which partakes of the nature of an adverb. See § 363.

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§ 290. The extent of this part of speech in different languages has been variously defined. Thus, unus, totus, solus were regarded as pronouns by the ancient Latin grammarians, while the corresponding words in Greek, εἷς, πᾶς, ὅλος, and μόνος, are considered merely as adjectives. Same, in English, is considered as an adjective, while idem, in Latin, is ranked among pronouns. In Sanscrit grammar, the number of pronouns is especially great, embracing such words as nemas, half; alpas, a little; êkas, one; dakshinas, on the right or southern; awaras, behind, &c. That these words have a plausible claim to be regarded as pronouns might easily be shown; and grammarians, in receiving them, have probably been influenced by the irregularity of inflection which naturally attaches to the pronoun.

THE VALUE OF PRONOUNS.

§ 291. Pronouns act a very important part in etymology, and have a great influence upon the grammatical form of other parts of speech. The pronominal roots enter into the personal inflections of verbs, and into the cases of nouns, and give rise to many adverbs, and to a large proportion of the conjunctions.

It has been said that pronouns are employed to prevent the tiresome repetition of nouns. But they do something more. For, as there is hardly any name peculiar to one individual, the employment of a name belonging to more persons than one would not so clearly specify the object as the appropriate pronoun; nor would it have that simplicity and energy which accompany the

pronoun. If, instead of saying "I am the God," Moses had said, "The Lord is the God," or, instead of saying "Thou art the man," Nathan had said, "David is the man," the energy of the expression would have been destroyed.

"They are strange and mighty words, these two little pronouns I and Thou, the mightiest, perhaps, in the whole compass of language. The word pronoun is not quite strictly appropriate to them; for, as the great master of the philosophy of language, William Humboldt, observes, 'They are not the mere substitutes of the names of the persons for whom they stand, but involve the personality of the speaker and of the person spoken to, and the relation between them.' I is the word which man has in common with God, the eternal, self-existing I AM. Thou is the word with which God and his conscience speak to man, the word with which man speaks and communes with God and his neighbor. All other words without these two would belong to things. I and thou are inseparable from personality, and bestow personality on whatsoever they are applied to. They are the two primary elements and conditions of all speech, which implies a speaker and a person spoken to; and they are indispensable complements each of the other, so that neither idea could have been called forth in man without the help of its mate."-Guesses at Truth, first series, p. 189.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

§ 292. A PERSONAL PRONOUN is a pronoun whose form shows of what person it is, without reference to the construction in which it is used. There are five pronouns called PERSONAL, namely, I, THOU, HE, SHE, IT. They are so called because they denote only the relation of personality. They are substitutes for nouns, and are sometimes called substantive pronouns.

The reasons for including the pronoun it with the personal pronouns are historical rather than logical. Strictly, it is applied to things rather than to persons. The reasons for not including the pronoun who, which denotes persons, in this class, are found in its distinctive office of connecting sentences, in which it agrees with the relative pronouns, and is classed with them. Personal pronouns admit of person, number, gender, and case. Variety of form to distinguish the sex is confined to the third

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