OBS. 2.—Those terms which are equally applicable to both sexes (if they are not expressly applied to females), and those plurals which are known to include both sexes, should be called masculine in parsing; for, in a languages, the masculine gender is considered the most worthy, and is generally employed when both sexes are included under

one common term.

Obs. 3.—In English the sexes are distinguished in three ways:

I. By the use of the different names: as, bachelor, maid; boy, girl; brother, sister; buck, doe; bull, cow; cock, hen; drake, duck; earl, countess; father, mother; friar, nun; gander, goose; hart, roe; horse, mare; husband, wife; king, queen; lad, lass; lord, lady; man, woman, master, mistress; milter, spawner; nephew, niece; ram, ewe; sloven, slut ; ton, daughter; stag, hind; steer, heifer; uncle, aunt; wizard, witch.

II. By the use of different terminations: as, abbot, abbess; administrator, administratrix; adulterer, adulteress; bridegroom, bride; caterer, cateress; duke, duchess; emperor, empress; executor, executrix; governor, governess; hero, heroine; landgrave, landgravine; margrave, margravine; marquis, marchioness; sorcerer, sorceress; sultan, sultaness or sultana; testator, testatrix; widower, widow.

The following nouns become feminine by merely adding ess; baron, deacon, heir, host, jew, lion, mayor, patron, peer, poet, priest, prior, prophet, shepherd, viscount.

The following nouns become feminine by rejecting the last vowel, and adding ess; actor, ambassador, arbiter, benefactor, chanter, conductor, doctor, elector, enchanter, founder, hunter, idolater, inventor, prince, protector, songster, spectator, suitor, tiger, traitor, votary.

III. By prefixing an attribute of distinction: as, cock-sparrow, hensparrow; man-servant, maid-servant; he-goat, she-goat; male relations, female relations.

Obs. 4.—The names of things without life, used literally, are always of the neuter gender. But inanimate objects are often represented figuratively, as having sex. Things remarkable for power, greatness, or sublimity, are spoken of as masculine; as, the sun, time, death, sleep, fear, anger, winter, war. Things beautiful, amiable, or prolific, are spoken of as feminine; as, the moon, earth, nature, fortune, knowledge, hope, spring, peace.

Obs. 5.—Nouns of multitude, when they convey the idea of unity, or take the plural form, are of the neuter gender; but when they convey the idea of plurality without the form, they follow the gender of the individuals that compose the assemblage.

Obs. 6.—Creatures whose sex is unknown, or unnecessary to be regarded, are generally spoken of as neuter; as, "He fired at the deer, and wounded it."- If a a man should steal an ox or a sheep, and kill it or sell it ;" &c.-Ex. xxii. 1.

CASES.

Case is the relation which nouns and pronouns have to other words in the same sentence.

Obs. 1.-The cases are founded on the different condition, situation, or relation, under which things are represented in discourse, and from which the words acquire correspondent relations, or a dependence on each other according to the sense. In English, these conditions, or relations, belong only to nouns and pronouns. Pronouns are not necessarily like their antecedents, in case.

Obs. 2.—The relation of one word to another in a sentence, is the dependence which the one has on the other; as, "Charles struck William,"—" William struck Charles." Charles and William are the words which depend on each other, and the state or condition of Charles is very different in the two examples: in the one, he strikes William, and is in the situation of the subject or nominative to the verb; and in the other he is struck, which changes his condition to the object acted upon.

There are three cases; the nominative, the possessive, and the objective.

The nominative case is that form of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the subject of a verb: as, The boy runs ; John assists William.

Obs.—The subject of a verb is that which answers to who or what before it; as, "The boy runs"—Who runs? The boy. Boy is therefore here in the nominative case.

The possessive case is that form of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the possession or ownership of property: as, The boy's book; my book; It is mine.

Obs. I.—The possessive case of nouns is formed, in the singular number, by adding s to the nominative, with an apostrophe before it; and, in the plural, when the nominative ends in s, by adding an apostrophe only as, sing. boy,s; plural, boys'.

Obs. 2.—Plural nouns that do not end in s, usually form the possessive case in the same manner as the singular; as, man's, men's.

Obs. 3.—When the singular and the plural are alike in the nominative, the apostrophe follows the s in the plural, to distinguish it from the singular; as, sheep's, sheeps'.

Obs. 4. When the singular ends in ss the apostrophe only is added; "For goodness' sake:" except the noun witness; as,“ The witness's deposition."

as,

OBS. 5.-Nouns ending in nee form the possessive by adding the

What is

What are Cases in grammar? How many cases are there, and what are they called? What is the nominative case? What is the subject of a verb? the possessive case? How is the possessive case of nouns formed?

apostrophe only; as, "For conscience' sake:" because an additional s would increase the difficulty of the pronunciation, and occasion too much of the hissing sound.

Obs. 6.—The apostrophic s adds a syllable to the noun, when it will not unite with the sound in which the nominative ends; as, church's, pronounced churches.

Obs. 7.—The apostrophe and i are sometimes added to mere characters, to denote plurality, and not the possessive case; as, Two a'sthree b's—four 9's.

The objective case is that form of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the object of a verb, participle, or preposition: as, I know the man; he knows me; he went from London to Bath.

Obs. 1.—The object of a verb, participle, or preposition, is that which answers to whom or what after it; as, "I know the man"-I know whom? Man is therefore here in the objective case.

The man.

OBS. 2. The nominative and the objective of nouns, are always spelt alike, being distinguishable from each other only by their place in a sentence, or their simple dependence according to the sense.

DECLENSION OF NOUNS.

The declension of a noun is a regular arrangement of its numbers and cases.

Thus:

What is the objective case?

What is the object of a verb, participle, or prepo

sition? What is the declension of a noun? How do you decline the nouns brother,

woman, for, and fly?

EXAMPLES FOR PARSING.

CHAP. II. ETYMOLOGICAL.

In the Second Chapter, it is required of the pupil—to distinguish and define the different parts of speech, and the classes and modifications of the articles and nouns.

The definitions to be given in the Second Chapter, are two for an article, six for a noun—and one for an adjective, a pronoun, a verb, a participle, an adverb, a conjunction, a preposition, or an interjection. Thus :

EXAMPLE PARSED.

"William is a boy of amiable habits."

William is a proper noun, of the third person, singular number, masculine gender, and nominative case.

1. A noun is a word which is either the name of a person, animal, place, thing, or idea.

2. A proper noun is the name of some particular individual, place, or thing.

3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of.

4. The singular number denotes but one.

5. The masculine gender is that which denotes animals of the male kind.

6. The nominative case is that form of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the subject of a verb.

Is is a verb.

1. A verb is a word which affirms what is said of persons and things. A is the indefinite article.

1. An article is a word placed before nouns, to limit their meaning. 2. The indefinite article is a or an, which denotes one thing of a kind, but not any particular one.

Boy is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, masculine gender, and nominative case.

1. A noun is a word which is either the name of a person, animal, place, thing, or idea.

2. A common noun is a name applied generally to all individuals, places, or things, of the same kind or sort.

3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of.

4. The singular number denotes but one.

What is required of the pupil in the SECOND CHAPTER definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? ample parsed? "William is a boy of amiable habits." ner, the two lessons of the Second Chapter.]

for parsing? How many How is the following ex[Now parse, in like man

5. The masculine gender is that which denotes animals of the male kind.

6. The nominative case is that form of a noun or pronoun which denotes the subject of a verb.

Of is a preposition.

1. A preposition is a word used to express the relation between different objects or ideas.

Amiable is an adjective.

1. An adjective is a word which expresses quality or degree, and is joined to a noun or pronoun to describe it.

Habits is a common noun of the third person, plural number, neuter gender, and objective case.

1. A noun is a word which is either the name of a person, animal, place, thing, or idea.

2. A common noun is a name applied generally to all individuals, places, or things, of the same kind or sort.

3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of.

4. The plural number denotes more than one.

5. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female.

6. The objective case is that form of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the object of a verb, participle, or preposition.

LESSON I.

Time and tide wait for no man.

The ship was driven on shore by the violence of the tempest. Youth is the season of action, and old age of repose.

O Grave, where is thy victory?

LESSON II.

How seldom is a father's care, or a mother's tenderness, fully repaid!

An individual's loss is often a community's advantage. "Time's ruin, Beauty's wreck, and grim Care's reign." Shakspeare.

Here heroine is incorrect, because "the masculine gender is that which denotes animals of the male kind."

TO BE CORRECTED AND PASSED.

That lady is his

uncle. For righteousness's sake. The leakes of the ship. He bought three axs. The duke's of Bridgewater canal. Bring all your golds and silvers. It is

the book of John's.