How to Speak and Write Correctly Part 2

_Thou_ is the p.r.o.noun of the second person because it represents the person spoken to.

_He_, _She_, _It_ are the p.r.o.nouns of the third person because they represent the persons or things of whom we are speaking.

Like nouns, the Personal p.r.o.nouns have number, gender and case. The gender of the first and second person is obvious, as they represent the person or persons speaking and those who are addressed. The personal p.r.o.nouns are thus declined:

First Person.

M. or F.

Sing. Plural.

N. I We P. Mine Ours O. Me Us

Second Person.

M. or F.

Sing. Plural.

N. Thou You P. Thine Yours O. Thee You

Third Person.

M.

Sing. Plural.

N. He They P. His Theirs O. Him Them

Third Person.

F.

Sing. Plural.

N. She They P. Hers Theirs O. Her Them

Third Person.

Neuter.

Sing. Plural.

N. It They P. Its Theirs O. It Them

N. B.--In colloquial language and ordinary writing Thou, Thine and Thee are seldom used, except by the Society of Friends. The Plural form You is used for both the nominative and objective singular in the second person and Yours is generally used in the possessive in place of Thine.

The _Relative_ p.r.o.nouns are so called because they relate to some word or phrase going before; as, "The boy _who_ told the truth;" "He has done well, _which_ gives me great pleasure."

Here _who_ and _which_ are not only used in place of other words, but _who_ refers immediately to boy, and _which_ to the circ.u.mstance of his having done well.

The word or clause to which a relative p.r.o.noun refers is called the _Antecedent_.

The Relative p.r.o.nouns are _who_, _which_, _that_ and _what_.

_Who_ is applied to persons only; as, "The man _who_ was here."

_Which_ is applied to the lower animals and things without life; as, "The horse _which_ I sold." "The hat _which_ I bought."

_That_ is applied to both persons and things; as, "The friend _that_ helps." "The bird _that_ sings." "The knife _that_ cuts."

_What_ is a compound relative, including both the antecedent and the relative and is equivalent to _that which_; as, "I did what he desired,"

i. e. "I did _that which_ he desired."

Relative p.r.o.nouns have the singular and plural alike.

_Who_ is either masculine or feminine; _which_ and _that_ are masculine, feminine or neuter; _what_ as a relative p.r.o.noun is always neuter.

_That_ and _what_ are not inflected.

_Who_ and _which_ are thus declined:

Sing. and Plural Sing. and Plural

N. Who N. Which P. Whose P. Whose O. Whom O. Which

_Who_, _which_ and _what_ when used to ask questions are called _Interrogative p.r.o.nouns_.

_Adjective_ p.r.o.nouns partake of the nature of adjectives and p.r.o.nouns and are subdivided as follows:

_Demonstrative Adjective p.r.o.nouns_ which directly point out the person or object. They are _this_, _that_ with their plurals _these_, _those_, and _yon_, _same_ and _selfsame_.

_Distributive Adjective p.r.o.nouns_ used distributively. They are _each_, _every_, _either_, _neither_.

_Indefinite Adjective p.r.o.nouns_ used more or less indefinitely. They are _any_, _all_, _few_, _some_, _several_, _one_, _other_, _another_, _none_.

_Possessive Adjective p.r.o.nouns_ denoting possession. They are _my_, _thy_, _his_, _her_, _its_, _our_, _your_, _their_.

N. B.--(The possessive adjective p.r.o.nouns differ from the possessive case of the personal p.r.o.nouns in that the latter can stand _alone_ while the former _cannot_. "Who owns that book?" "It is _mine_." You cannot say "it is _my_,"--the word book must be repeated.)

THE VERB

A _verb_ is a word which implies action or the doing of something, or it may be defined as a word which affirms, commands or asks a question.

Thus, the words _John the table_, contain no a.s.sertion, but when the word _strikes_ is introduced, something is affirmed, hence the word _strikes_ is a verb and gives completeness and meaning to the group.

The simple form of the verb without inflection is called the _root_ of the verb; _e. g. love_ is the root of the verb,--"To Love."

Verbs are _regular_ or _irregular_, _transitive_ or _intransitive_.