Practical Grammar and Composition Part 3

5. I shall buy a hat at Wanamaker's & Brown's.

6. This student's lessons.

7. These students books.

8. My daughters coming.

9. John's wife's cousin.

10. My son's wife's aunt.

11. Five years imprisonment under Texas's law.

12. John's books and Williams.

13. The Democrat's and Republican Convention.

14. France's and England's interests differ widely.

15. The moons' face was hidden.

16. Wine is made from the grape's juice.

17. Morton, the princ.i.p.als, signature.

18. Jones & Smith, the lawyers, office.

16. GENDER. Gender in grammar is the quality of nouns or p.r.o.nouns that denotes the s.e.x of the person or thing represented. Those nouns or p.r.o.nouns meaning males are in the MASCULINE GENDER. Those meaning females are in the FEMININE GENDER. Those referring to things without s.e.x are in the NEUTER GENDER.

In nouns gender is of little consequence. The only regular inflection is the addition of the syllable-_ess_ to certain masculine nouns to denote the change to the feminine gender; as, _author, auth.o.r.ess; poet, poetess_. -I_x_ is also sometimes added for the same purpose; as, _administrator, administratrix_.

The feminine forms were formerly much used, but their use is now being discontinued, and the noun of masculine gender used to designate both s.e.xes.

CHAPTER III

p.r.o.nOUNS

17. p.r.o.nOUN AND ANTECEDENT. A p.r.o.nOUN is a word used instead of a noun. The noun in whose stead it stands is called its ANTECEDENT.

_JOHN took Mary's BOOK and gave IT to HIS friend_. In this sentence _book_ is the antecedent of the p.r.o.noun _it_, and _John_ is the antecedent of _his_.

18. p.r.o.nOUNS SHOULD AGREE WITH THEIR ANTECEDENTS IN PERSON, GENDER, AND NUMBER.

19. PERSONAL p.r.o.nOUNS are those that by their form indicate the speaker, the person spoken to, or the person or thing spoken about.

p.r.o.nouns of the FIRST PERSON indicate the speaker; they are: _I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours_.

p.r.o.nouns of the SECOND PERSON indicate the person or thing spoken to; they are: _you, your, yours_. There are also the grave or solemn forms in the second person, which are now little used; these are: _thou, thee, thy, thine_, and _ye_.

p.r.o.nouns of the THIRD PERSON indicate the person or thing spoken of; they are: _he, his, him, she, her, hers, they, their, theirs, them, it, its_.

Few errors are made in the use of the proper person of the p.r.o.noun.

20. GENDER OF p.r.o.nOUNS. The following p.r.o.nouns indicate s.e.x or gender; Masculine: _he, his, him_. Feminine: _she, her, hers_. Neuter: _it, its_.

IN ORDER TO SECURE AGREEMENT IN GENDER IT IS NECESSARY TO KNOW THE GENDER OF THE NOUN, EXPRESSED OR UNDERSTOOD, TO WHICH THE p.r.o.nOUN REFERS. Gender of nouns is important only so far as it concerns the use of p.r.o.nouns. Study carefully the following rules in regard to gender. These rules apply to the singular number only, since all plurals of whatever gender are referred to by _they, their, theirs_, etc.

THE FOLLOWING RULES GOVERN THE GENDER OF p.r.o.nOUNS:

MASCULINE; referred to by _HE, HIS_, and _HIM_:

1. Nouns denoting males are always masculine.

2. Nouns denoting things remarkable for strength, power, sublimity, or size, when those things are regarded as if they were persons, are masculine; _as, WINTER, with HIS chilly army, destroyed them all_.

3. Singular nouns denoting persons of both s.e.xes are masculine; as, _EVERY ONE brought HIS umbrella_.

FEMININE; referred to by _SHE, HER_, or _HERS_:

1. Nouns denoting females are always feminine.

2. Nouns denoting objects remarkable for beauty, gentleness, and peace, when spoken of as if they were persons, are feminine; as, _SLEEP healed him with HER fostering care_.

NEUTER; referred to by _IT_ and _ITS_:

1. Nouns denoting objects without s.e.x are neuter.

2. Nouns denoting objects whose s.e.x is disregarded are neuter; as, _IT is a pretty child, The WOLF is the most savage of ITS race_.

3. Collective nouns referring to a group of individuals as a unit are neuter; as, _The JURY gives its VERDICT, The COMMITTEE makes ITS report_.

An animal named may be regarded as masculine; feminine, or neuter, according to the characteristics the writer fancies it to possess; as, _The WOLF seeks HIS prey, The MOUSE nibbled HER way into the box, The BIRD seeks ITS nest.

Certain nouns may be applied to persons of either s.e.x. They are then said to be of COMMON GENDER. There are no p.r.o.nouns of common gender; hence those nouns are referred to as follows:

1. By masculine p.r.o.nouns when known to denote males; as, _MY CLa.s.s-MATE_ (known to be Harry) _is taking HIS examinations_.

2. By feminine p.r.o.nouns when known to denote females; as, _EACH OF THE PUPILS of the Girls High School brought HER book._

3. By masculine p.r.o.nouns when there is nothing in the connection of the thought to show the s.e.x of the object; as, _Let every PERSON bring his book_.

21. NUMBER OF p.r.o.nOUNS. A more common source of error than disagreement in gender is disagreement in number. _They, their, theirs_, and _them_ are plural, but are often improperly used when only singular p.r.o.nouns should be used. The cause of the error is failure to realize the true antecedent.

_If ANYBODY makes that statement, THEY are misinformed_. This sentence is wrong. _Anybody_ refers to only one person; both _any_ and _body_, the parts of the word, denote the singular. The sentence should read, _If ANYBODY makes that statement, HE is misinformed. Similarly, _Let EVERYBODY keep THEIR peace_, should read, _Let EVERYBODY keep HIS peace.

22. COMPOUND ANTECEDENTS. Two or more antecedents connected by _or_ or _nor_ are frequently referred to by the plural when the singular should be used. _Neither John nor James brought THEIR books_, should read, _Neither John nor James brought HIS books_.

When a p.r.o.noun has two or more singular antecedents connected by _or_ or _nor_, the p.r.o.noun must be in the singular number; but if one of the antecedents is plural, the p.r.o.noun must, also, be in the plural; as, _Neither the Mormon nor his wives denied THEIR religion_.

When a p.r.o.noun has two or more antecedents connected by _and_, the p.r.o.noun must be in the plural number; as, _John and James brought THEIR books_.

Further treatment of number will be given under verbs.

EXERCISE 8

_Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the proper p.r.o.nouns. See that there is agreement in person, gender, and number:_

1. Has everybody finished ---- work.

2. If any one wishes a longer time, let ---- hold up ---- hand.

3. The panther sprang from ---- lurking place.

4. Many a man has (have) lost ---- money in speculation.