Part 8
6. I thought that nothing in the world was so beautiful as the sultan my father’s palace.
7. Perhaps your fish is eighteen inches long.
8. Here comes the boat! This is your waterproof, Hetty. Be careful now, Miss Alice. Mrs. Blank, you will need your sun umbrella. Hold on a minute, skipper, till I get that basket.
9. At nine o’clock, Williams, a bronze Hercules, low-voiced, gentle-mannered, a trusty boatman, and an enthusiast in his calling, met us at the dock.
10. The savage sticks bright feathers in his hair, carries a tomahawk, and wears moccasins upon his nimble feet.
11. Some evenings afterward the same thing happened at another corner of the pasture.
12. The innocent savages gave Columbus a new world for Castile and Leon, and he gave them some glass beads and little red caps.
13. The sultan received the present from Aladdin’s mother’s hand.
14. The elephant was thoughtfully chewing the green stem of a young plantain tree.
15. In the good old days the boys on the coast ran away and became sailors.
16. I was a favorite with the cooks, and so, although they denied my cousins certain privileges of the kitchen, they freely granted these to me.
17. The Norsemen called gold “the serpent’s bed.”
SUMMARY OF CASE RELATIONS
Nominative.
(1) Subject of a verb. (2) Term of address. (3) Exclamatory noun. (4) Subjective complement of a verb. (5) Appositive. (6) Nominative absolute (see p. 237).
Possessive.
(1) Modifier of a noun.
Objective.
(1) Object of a verb. (2) Object of a preposition. (3) Appositive. (4) Indirect object. (5) Adverbial noun. (6) Objective complement.
Make an original sentence to illustrate each of the case relations of a noun.
XXXIX. PERSONAL PRONOUNS
=142.= Certain pronouns, as _I_, _you_, _he_, _it_, etc., show by their form that they refer to the person speaking, the person spoken to, or the person or thing spoken of.
The pronoun _I_ denotes the person speaking, and is said to be a pronoun of the =first person=.
The pronoun _you_ denotes the person spoken to, and is said to be a pronoun of the =second person=.
The pronouns _he_, _she_, and _it_ denote the person or thing spoken of, and are said to be pronouns of the =third person=.
Such pronouns are called =personal= pronouns.
=143.= The noun that a pronoun stands for, whether it is expressed somewhere in the sentence or merely understood, is called the =antecedent= of the pronoun.
=144.= All the personal pronouns have several different forms, and if we wish to speak our language correctly, we must know these forms and be careful in their use. The personal pronouns are declined as follows:—
FIRST PERSON SECOND PERSON
_Singular_ _Plural_ _Singular_ _Plural_
_Nom._ I we you you _Poss._ my, mine our, ours your, yours your, yours _Obj._ me us you you
THIRD PERSON
_Singular_ _Plural_
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER
_Nom._ he she it they _Poss._ his her, hers its their, theirs _Obj._ him her it them
=145.= There is another personal pronoun of the second person—_thou_. It is not used in conversation nowadays, but is frequently found in the Bible and in poetry. It is declined as follows:—
_Singular_ _Plural_
_Nom._ thou ye _Poss._ thy, thine your, yours _Obj._ thee you
=Summary.=—A =personal pronoun= is one that shows by its form whether it denotes the person speaking, the person spoken to, or the person or thing spoken of.
The personal pronouns are _I_, _thou_, _you_, _he_, _she_, _it_, and their various case forms in the two numbers.
The =antecedent= of a pronoun is the word for which it stands.
=Exercise.=—Select all the personal pronouns. Tell from the form of each its person and number, and, if it is a pronoun of the third person, tell also its gender. Where it is possible, tell the antecedent of the pronoun.
1. Hide me in the oven.
2. First lay aside your black veil, then tell us why you put it on.
3. While we were following the direction of his finger, a sound of distant oars fell on our ears.
4. If you want a thing, and have no money to buy it, go without it until you can pay for it.
5. Though the Jungle People drink seldom, they must drink deep.
6. The whelps were evidently very young, but their ears were wide open, and they stood up on strong legs when the boy touched them gently with his palm.
7. “Well,” said grandfather, “I tell you one thing; the game will last me till that poor cat gets well again.”
8. They sent him for troops only the sweepings of the galleys.
9.
My driftwood fire will burn so bright! To what warm shelter canst thou fly? I do not fear for thee, though wroth The tempest rushes through the sky.
10. Caught in a steel trap, she had gnawed off her own paw as the price of freedom.
11. At recess he gave me the core of his apple, though there were several applicants for it.
XL. USES OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS
=146.= The personal pronoun, since it takes the place of a noun, has almost all the uses of a noun. It may be,—
(1) The subject of a verb; as, “_I_ only know _I_ cannot drift beyond His love and care.”
The subject of an imperative sentence is always the pronoun _you_, _thou_, or _ye_, but this pronoun is seldom expressed; as, “Telegraph for staterooms at once.”
(2) The base word of a term of address; as, “Ho, _ye_ who suffer, know ye suffer for yourselves.”
(3) The subjective complement of a verb; as, “This man, good Ilderim, is _he_ who told you of me.”
(4) The base word of an appositive phrase; as, “The fourth lackey, _he_ of the two gold watches, poured the chocolate out.”
(5) A possessive modifier; as, “All the harmless wood folk were _his_ friends.”
NOTE.—The possessive pronoun is often intensified by the adjective _own_, which modifies the same noun that the possessive pronoun modifies; as, “This is _my own_, my native land.”
(6) The direct object of a verb; as, “The farm boy spreads the grass after the men have cut _it_.”
(7) The object of a preposition; as, “What a new world did that party open to _him_!”
(8) An indirect object; as, “Here will the cattle come to drink, and I will kill _me_ a yearling heifer.”
=Exercise.=—Select and parse all the personal pronouns in the following sentences. In parsing a personal pronoun we should tell its person, number, gender, antecedent, case, and use in the sentence.
1. I verily believe that my ill looks alone saved me a flogging.
2. Taste the tamarisk, and you get the very flavor of the brine.
3. Then I swung my lasso, and sent it whistling over his head.
4. They worked together, read together, walked together, planned together, she and her daughter, and in all things were friends and companions.
5. Mother Wolf would throw up her head, and sniff a deep snuff of satisfaction as the wind brought her the smell of the tiger skin on the Council Rock.
6. The old crow spread the shells out in the sun, turned them over, lifted them one by one in his beak, dropped them, nestled on them as though they were eggs, toyed with them, and gloated over them like a miser.
7. The spirits have spoken to Kotuko. They will show him open ice. He will bring us the seal again.
8. The rank swamp grass concealed the nest where Raggylug’s mother had hidden him.
9.
Across the lowly beach we flit, One little sandpiper and I.
10. Up jumped Scarface, for it was he, and ran.
11.
And a voice that was calmer than silence said, “Lo! It is I. Be not afraid.”
12. Nearly every cottage in England has its little garden full of blooming plants and shrubs.
13.
“Who gives himself with his alms feeds three,— Himself, his hungering neighbor, and Me.”
14. This is he that was spoken of by the prophet.
15. Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word.
16.
I called my servant, and he came; How kind it was of him To mind a slender man like me, He of the mighty limb.
17. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
18. It is so slippery and shiny down here, and the stage is so much too big for me, that I rattle round in it till I’m almost black and blue.
19. These are they who have passed through much tribulation.
20. O thou that rollest above, round as the shield of my fathers, whence comes thy everlasting light?
=147.= Many errors are made in the form of personal pronouns.
(1) When a pronoun is used as the subject of a verb, it must have the nominative form, hence the correct answer to the question, Who is there? is _I_ (not _me_).
(2) When several pronouns are used as the subject of the same verb, the pronoun of the second person should come first, and the pronoun of the first person should come last. We should say,—
_You and he and I_ have been chosen.
_You and I_ were on time.
_He and I_ read the book.
Can you justify Whittier’s lines?
Ah, brother, only _I and thou_ Are left of all that circle now.
(3) For the subject of a sentence we may use the expressions _we boys_, _we girls_, _we Americans_, etc.
_We girls_ bought the pictures.
_We boys_ set up the tents.
_We Baptists_ had a church supper.
(4) A pronoun used as the complement of an intransitive verb of being must have the nominative form. We should say,—
Yes, it was _I_.
No, it was not _she_.
Perhaps it is _he_.
It is surely _they_.
(5) A pronoun used as object of a verb must have the objective form. We should say,—
Mrs. Albee invited mother and _me_.
Did you see Julia and _me_ in the gallery?
Didn’t you expect _him and her_?
She will never suspect _you and me_.
That team can’t beat _us boys_.
(6) A pronoun used as object of a preposition must have the objective form. We should say,—
Leo wrote first to _her_ and _me_.
Father will call for _you_ and _me_.
Between _you_ and _me_ he was afraid.
There is a great difference between Carrie and _me_.
They can never catch up with _us girls_.
=Exercise.=—Fill each blank in the following sentences with a pronoun having the correct case form. Give your reasons.
1. Mother says that it was —— and not —— that paid off the mortgage.
2. Who left the room first? ——, but Mary was close behind ——.
3. —— fellows are going to have a debating society.
4. The German teacher gave you and —— the same passage to translate.
5. There must be no secrets between —— and ——.
6. When do you expect Grandmother and ——?
7. Perhaps —— girls are most to blame.
8. Nobody chose —— or ——, so —— and —— sat on the stairs and talked.
XLI. USES OF POSSESSIVE PERSONAL PRONOUNS
=148.= When we studied the declension of personal pronouns, we learned that all of them except _it_ and _he_ have two forms in the possessive case. These forms are _my_, _mine_; _our_, _ours_; _thy_, _thine_; _your_, _yours_; _her_, _hers_; and _their_, _theirs_. There is a difference in the use of these two forms.
The pronouns of the first form,—_my_, _our_, _thy_, _your_, _her_, and _their_, as well as _his_ and _its_, are used with nouns as possessive modifiers. We say, _my father_, _our school_, _her hat_, _its population_, etc.
=149.= The pronouns of the second form,—_mine_, _ours_, _thine_, _yours_, _hers_, _theirs_, and also _his_, are used alone, that is, they are not followed by a noun, the name of the thing possessed. We say, “_Mine_ is too heavy,” when the object spoken of—a waterproof, for instance—is well known by both speaker and listener. Or we say, “Her writing is clear, but I like _his_ better,” where it is unnecessary to repeat the noun _writing_ after _his_.
In the first sentence _mine_ is the subject of the verb is, and in the second _his_ is the object of the verb _like_. We even find the possessive form used as the object of a preposition; as, “If the book isn’t in my desk, it must be in _yours_.”
This use of the possessive forms _mine_, _his_, _yours_ as subject or object is =idiomatic=; that is, it is peculiar to itself in grammatical construction. The one word _mine_ really means _my waterproof_, _his_ means _his writing_, and _yours_ means _your desk_. But we cannot say that the noun is understood after these pronouns, for we cannot supply it except after _his_. It is not English to say _mine waterproof_ or _yours desk_. Instead of being understood, the nouns are included in the pronouns. In speaking of such pronouns we may say that they are possessive in form, but are used idiomatically as subject, object, etc.
NOTE.—The two pronouns _mine_ and _thine_ are sometimes used to modify a noun expressed, especially in poetry; as, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” It is worth noting that they are not used before words beginning with a consonant sound. We do not say _mine country_, nor _thine liberty_.
=150.= In the expression “a friend of mine,” we have in the phrase _of mine_ a “double possessive” (see § 119); for the preposition _of_ denotes possession, and so does the object, the possessive pronoun _mine_. In this use there is no noun included in the pronoun. _Mine_ does not mean _my friends_. It means _me_.
=Summary.=—The possessive pronouns _mine_, _ours_, _thine_, _yours_, _hers_, _his_, and _theirs_ may be used idiomatically without a noun to modify. These pronouns have then the same use that the noun would have if it were expressed.
These pronouns may be used as the object of the preposition _of_ to form “double possessives.”
_Mine_ and _thine_ are sometimes used to modify nouns expressed, the same as _my_ and _thy_.
=Exercise.=—Select all the possessive pronouns in these sentences, and tell their use:—
1. You have no uncle by your father’s side or mine.
2. To thine own self be true.
3. The people of Europe did not know that America, this great country of ours, was in the world at all.
4. This young girl came to Wisconsin to live with an uncle of hers who had seven sons and no daughters.
5. Early in the spring I had begun Bingo’s education. Very shortly afterward he began mine.
6. Stand! The ground’s your own, my braves!
7. A boy who lived in a street behind ours had an awkward three-wheeled machine that he called a “verlosophy.”
8.
He will say, “O Love, thine eyes Build the shrine my soul abides in; And I kneel here for thy grace.”
9. The boy saw big, clutching talons outstretched from thick-feathered legs, while round eyes, fiercely gleaming, flamed upon his in passing, as they searched the bush.
10. Time hath his work to do, and we have ours.
11. The sultan ordered that the princess’s attendants should come and carry the trays into their mistress’s apartment.
12. Susie could sew like a woman, and her patchwork quilts were masterpieces of their kind. Neither mine nor Marty’s were well made.
13. Your worthy father was my own brother.
14. There was more joy in this little brown, battened house of ours than in their mansion with its onyx mantels and mahogany doors.
Are the verbs in sentences 1, 7, 10, transitive or intransitive? How do you know?
Account for the punctuation of sentences 3, 6, 10, 12, and 14.
XLII. COMPOUND PERSONAL PRONOUNS
=151.= Besides the personal pronouns that have already been considered there are certain other forms such as _myself_ and _ourselves_, formed by uniting the noun _self_ to a singular personal pronoun, and the noun _selves_ to a plural personal pronoun.
These are called =compound personal pronouns=.
_First person_ myself, ourselves _Second person_ thyself, yourself, yourselves _Third person_ himself, herself, itself, themselves
What is the number of each of these pronouns?
=152.= Compound personal pronouns are never in the possessive case. They never change their form for case, but are in the nominative or the objective case according to their use. They have two main uses:—
(1) A compound personal pronoun may be used for emphasis, and is then in apposition with the noun it makes emphatic; as, “Cæsar himself refused the crown.” The pronoun does not always come next to the noun. We may say, “Cæsar refused the crown himself.” The pronoun is in the same case as the word it goes with.
(2) It may be used reflexively, that is, to show that an action comes back to the doer of it; as, “I scratched myself with a pin.” Here the pronoun is object of a verb, hence in the objective case.
It may also be the object of a preposition; as, “I was talking to myself.”
It may even be an indirect object; as, “She bought herself a watch.”
NOTE.—The compound personal pronoun is used as object of a preposition in some familiar idiomatic expressions; as, “He was _beside himself_ with joy.” “She was sitting _all by herself_.”
=Summary.=—The =compound personal pronouns= are _myself_, _ourselves_, _thyself_, _yourself_, _yourselves_, _himself_, _herself_, _itself_, and _themselves_.
They are commonly used for two purposes:—
(1) For emphasis, (2) reflexively.
=Exercise.=—Select and parse all the compound personal pronouns in the following sentences. Tell their person, number, case, and use.
1. Love thyself last.
2. The men folks, having worked in the regular hours, lie down and rest, stretch themselves idly in the shade at noon, or lounge about after supper.
3. Very stupid people are never aware of their stupidity themselves.
4. On cold, stormy evenings we would make ourselves toast at the sitting room fire, and eat our supper on the little sewing table.
5. At the more remote end of the island Legrand had built himself a small hut.
6. A masterly retreat is in itself a victory.
7. Now make yourselves at home, and if you find an eel’s head, you may bring it to me.
8. The little fox ground his pearly milk teeth into the mouse with a rush of inborn savageness that must have surprised even himself.
9. They were returning home for the holidays in high glee, and promising themselves a world of enjoyment.
10. Pity for his gallant horse, rage and mortification at the ridiculous plight he was in, anxiety lest he should be late for the tournament, all combined to make the baron for a time beside himself.
11. Rivermouth itself is full of hints and flavors of the sea.
12. I think the ugly duckling will grow up strong, and be able to take care of himself.
13. With what awe, yet with what pride, did I look forward to the day when I myself should enter the doorway of the high school.
14. That I may have nobody to blame but myself should my marriage turn out amiss, I will choose for myself.
15. Although the English and we ourselves both speak the same tongue, we do not speak it in the same way.
16. Heaven helps those who help themselves.
Analyze sentences 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11.
XLIII. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
=153.= If we ask the question, “Who killed cock robin?” the answer may be the declarative sentence, “The sparrow killed cock robin.” The sentences are alike, except that in the declarative sentence _the sparrow_ is the subject, while in the interrogative sentence _who_ is the subject. It is clear then that _who_ is used instead of the noun _sparrow_. _Who_ is therefore a pronoun, and since it is used in asking a question, we call it an =interrogative pronoun=.
=154.= The other interrogative pronouns are _whose_, _whom_, _which_, and _what_. _Whose_ is the possessive form of _who_, and is used, like other possessive pronouns, to modify some noun expressed or understood; as, “Whose house is the gray stone mansion on the corner?”
_Whom_ is the objective form of _who_, and is used as the object of a verb or of a preposition; as, “Whom did he marry?” “To whom did you speak?”
NOTE.—In conversation, the preposition governing an interrogative pronoun is often placed at the end of the question; as, “Whom did you come for?”
=155.= _What_ is used when we inquire for the name, not of a person but of a thing; as, “What did he have on his head?”
=156.= _Which_ is used when we wish to know the particular one of several persons or things; as, “Which of these moon-stones do you like best?”
=157.= In a sentence like this, “Who is that tall man?” it may be difficult at first thought to decide whether _who_ is the subject of _is_ or the subjective complement. We can always tell by the answer. In this case the answer is, “That tall man is Joseph Choate.” It is clear that _Joseph Choate_ is the subjective complement, hence in the question the word _who_, which means _Joseph Choate_, is the subjective complement.
=Summary.=—An =interrogative pronoun= is one used in asking a question.
The interrogative pronouns are _who_, _which_, and _what_.
_Who_ is declined: Nominative, _who_; possessive, _whose_; objective, _whom_.
An interrogative pronoun has the same use in the question that the word which takes its place has in the answer.
=Exercise.=—Select all the interrogative pronouns in these sentences. Tell the use and case of each. Determine this by answering the question that is asked.
Analyze sentences 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15.
1. What made you so late?
2. Who is there?
3. Who is this young and handsome officer now entering the door of the tavern?
4. Whose work is this crayon drawing of a castle in the moonlight?
5. What do you mean by telling me such nonsense as that?
6. What may so bold a hunter kill?
7. Who should know better than I?
8. What is all this talk about the Red Flower?
9. What is gingerbread?
10. Whose is this image and superscription?
11. With whom did you take that memorable trip on Lake Superior?
12. Whose little girl are you, with your rosy cheeks and pretty red hood?
13. Whom did the superintendent mean when he announced that the youngest pupil in the grammar school had made one hundred in all her examinations?
14. Which should you rather be, an artist or a poet?
15. Which shall I take, a new piano or a trip to California?
=158.= A common error in the use of interrogative pronouns is the use of the nominative form _who_ when the objective _whom_ is required. This error arises from the fact that the pronoun comes at the beginning of the sentence, and is separated by intervening words from the verb or the preposition of which it is the object, as in these sentences,—
Whom did the ball hit?
Whom do you sit with this term?
=Exercise.=—Supply the proper pronoun, _who_ or _whom_, in each of the following sentences, and give your reasons:—
1. —— does the baby look like?
2. —— do I see in the orchard?
3. —— did you go to the station for this morning?
4. —— are you smiling at, George?
5. —— does Mr. Coburn work for now?
6. —— will open this window for me?
7. —— can we depend upon?
8. —— is that child playing with?
9. —— have you invited to your party?
10. —— can keep a secret?
XLIV. DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES