Graded Lessons in English Part 32

NOUNS AND p.r.o.nOUNS.--PERSON AND CASE.

+Hints for Oral Instruction+.--_Number_ and _gender_, as you have already learned, are modifications affecting the _meaning_ of nouns and p.r.o.nouns.

Number is almost always indicated by the ending; gender, sometimes. There are two other modifications which refer not to changes in the _meaning_ of nouns and p.r.o.nouns, but to their different _uses_ and _relations_. In the English language, these changes are not often indicated by a change of _form_.

_I Paul_ have written. _Paul, thou_ art beside thyself. _He_ brought _Paul_ before Agrippa. In these three sentences the word _Paul_ has _three different uses_. In the first, it is used as the name of the _speaker_; in the second, as the name of _one spoken to_; in the third, as the name of _one spoken of_. You will notice that the _form_ of the noun was not changed. This change in the use of nouns and p.r.o.nouns is called +Person+.

The word _I_ in the first sentence, the word _thou_ in the second, and the word _he_ in the third have each a different use. _I_, _thou_, and _he_ are personal p.r.o.nouns, and, as you have learned, distinguish _person_ by their _form_. _I_, denoting the speaker, is in the +First Person+; _thou_, denoting the one spoken to, is in the +Second Person+; and _he_, denoting the one spoken of, is in the +Third Person+.

_Personal p.r.o.nouns_ and _verbs_ are the only words that distinguish person by their form.

_The bear killed the man_. _The man killed the bear_. _The bear's grease was made into hair oil_. In the first sentence, the bear is represented as _performing_ an action; in the second, as _receiving_ an action; in the third, as _possessing_ something. So the word _bear_ in these sentences has three different uses. These uses of nouns are called +Cases+. The use of a noun as subject is called the +Nominative Case+; its use as object is called the +Objective Case+; and its use to denote possession is called the +Possessive Case+.

The _possessive_ is the only case of nouns that is indicated by a change in _form_.

A noun or p.r.o.noun used as an _attribute_ complement is in the _nominative case_. A noun or p.r.o.noun following a preposition as the princ.i.p.al word of a phrase is in the _objective case_. _I_ and _he_ are _nominative_ forms.

_Me_ and _him_ are _objective_ forms.

The following sentences are therefore incorrect: It is _me_; It is _him_; _Me_ gave the pen to _he_.

+DEFINITIONS.

_Person_ is that modification of a noun or p.r.o.noun which denotes the speaker, the one spoken to, or the one spoken of.

The _First Person_ denotes the one speaking.

The _Second Person_ denotes the one spoken to.

The _Third Person_ denotes the one spoken of.

_Case_ is that modification of a noun or p.r.o.noun which denotes its office in the sentence.

The _Nominative Case of a noun or p.r.o.noun_ denotes its office as subject or as attribute complement.

The _Possessive Case of a noun or p.r.o.noun_ denotes its office as possessive modifier.

The _Objective Case of a noun or p.r.o.noun_ denotes its office as object complement, or as princ.i.p.al word in a prepositional phrase+.

LESSON 82.

NOUNS AND p.r.o.nOUNS.--PERSON AND CASE.

Tell the _person_ and _case_ of each of the following nouns and p.r.o.nouns.

+_Remember_+ that a noun or p.r.o.noun used as an _explanatory modifier_ is in the same case as the word which it explains, and that a noun or p.r.o.noun used _independently_ is in the _nominative case_.

We Americans do things in a hurry.

You Englishmen take more time to think.

The Germans do their work with the most patience and deliberation.

We boys desire a holiday.

Come on, my men; I will lead you.

I, your teacher, desire your success.

You, my pupils, are attentive.

I called on Tom, the tinker.

Friends, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause.

Write simple sentences in which each of the following nouns shall be used in the _three persons_ and in the _three cases_.

Andrew Jackson, Alexander, Yankees.

Write a sentence containing a noun in the _nominative_ case, used as an _attribute;_ one in the _nominative_, used as an _explanatory modifier_; one in the _nominative_, used independently.

Write a sentence containing a noun in the _objective case_, used to _complete two predicate verbs_; one used to _complete_ a _participle_; one used to _complete_ an _infinitive_; one used _with a preposition_ to make a phrase; one used as an _explanatory modifier_.

+To the Teacher+.--See pp. 183, 184.

LESSON 83.

NOUNS AND p.r.o.nOUNS.--DECLENSION.

+DEFINITION.--_Declension_ is the arrangement of the cases of nouns and p.r.o.nouns in the two numbers+.

Declension of Nouns.

LADY.

_Singular_. _Plural_.

_Nom_. lady, ladies, _Pos_. lady's, ladies', _Obj_. lady; ladies.

CHILD.

_Singular_. _Plural_.

_Nom._ child, children, _Pos._ child's, children's, _Obj._ child; children.

Declension of p.r.o.nouns.

PERSONAL p.r.o.nOUNS.

FIRST PERSON.

_Singular_. _Plural_.

_Nom._ I, we, _Pos._ my _or_ mine, our _or_ ours, _Obj._ me; us.

SECOND PERSON--_common form_.