SECT. 4. Of Case.

IN English, substantives have three cases, the nominative, the possessive, and the objective.*

The nominative case simply expresses the name of a thing, or the subject of a verb: as, "The boy plays;" "The girls learn."

The possessive case expresses the relation of property or possession; and has an apostrophe with the letter s coming after it as, "The scholar's duty;" "My father's house."

When the plural ends in s, the other s is omitted, but the apostrophe is retained : as, "On eagles' wings;" "The drapers' company."

Sometimes also, when the singular terminates in ss, the apostrophic s is not added: as, "For goodness' sake;" "For righteousness' sake."

The objective case expresses the object of an action, or of a relation; and generally follows a verb active, or a preposition: as, "John assists Charles ;" "They live in London."

English substantives are declined in the following manner :

* The possessive is sometimes called the genitive case; and the objective the accusative.

The English language, to express different connexions and relations of one thing to another, uses, for the most part, prepositions. The Greek and Latin among the ancient, and some too among the modern languages, as the German, vary the termination or ending of the substantive, to answer the same purpose; an example of which, in the Latin, is inserted, as explanatory of the nature and use of cases, viz.

Some writers think, that the relations signified by the addition of articles and prepositions to the noun, may properly be denominated cases, in English; and that, on this principle, there are, in our language, as many cases as in the Latin tongue. But to this mode of forming cases for our substantives, there are strong objections. It would, indeed, be a formal and useless arrangement of nouns, articles, and prepositions. If an arrangement of this nature were to be considered as constituting cases, the English language would have a much greater number of them than the Greek and Latin tongues; for, as every preposition has its distinct meaning and effect, every combination of a preposition and article with the noun, would form a different relation, and would constitute a dis

tinct case. This would encumber our language with many new terms, and a heavy and useless load of distinctions.*

On the principle of imitating other languages in names and forms, without a correspondence in nature and idiom, we might adopt a number of declensions, as well as a variety of cases, for English substantives. Thus, five or six declensions, distinguished according to the various modes of forming the plural of substantives, with at least half a dozen cases to each declension, would furnish a complete arrangement of English nouns in all their trappings. See on this subject, the fifth and ninth sections of the sixth chapter of etymology.

But though this variety of cases does not at all cor respond with the idiom of our language, there seems to be great propriety in admitting a case in English substantives, which shall serve to denote the objects of active verbs and of prepositions: and which is, therefore, properly termed the objective case. The general idea of case doubtless has a reference to the termination of the noun; but there are many instances, both in Greek and Latin, in which the nominative and accusative cases have precisely the same form, and are distinguished only by the relation they bear to other words in the sentence. We are therefore warranted, by analogy, in applying this principle to our own language, as far as utility, and the idiom of it, will admit. Now it is obvious, that in English, a noun governed by an active verb, or a preposition, is very differently circumstanced, from a noun in the nominative, or in the possessive case; and that a comprehensive case, correspondent to that difference, must be useful and proper.

The business of parsing, and of show

"If cases are to be distinguished by the different significa. tions of the noun, or by the different relations it may bear to the governing word, then we have in our language as many cases almost, as there are prepositions; and, above a man, beneath a man, beyond a man, round about a man, within a man, without a man, &c. shall be cases, as well as, of a man, to a man, and with a man." Dr. Beattie.

ing the connexion and dependence of words, will be most conveniently accomplished, by the adoption of such a case; and the irregularity of having our nouns sometimes placed in a situation, in which they cannot be said to be in any case at all, will be avoided.

The author of this work long doubted the propriety, of assigning to English substantives an objective case: but a renewed, critical examination of the subject; an examination to which he was prompted by the extensive and increasing demand for the grammar, has produced in his mind a full persuasion, that the nouns of our language are entitled to this comprehensive, objective case.

When the thing to which another is said to belong, is expressed by a circumlocution, or by many terms, the sign of the possessive case is commonly added to the last term: as, "The king of Great Britain's dominions."

Sometimes, though rarely, two nouns in the possessive case, immediately succeed each other, in the following form: "My friend's wife's sister;" a sense which would be better expressed by saying, "the sister of friend's wife;" or, (( my my friend's sister in law." Some grammarians say, that in each of the following phrases, viz. "A book of my Brother's," "A servant of the queen's," "A soldier of the king's," there are two genitive cases; the first phrase implying, "one of the books of my brother," the next," one of the servants of the queen ;" and the last, "one of the soldiers of the king." Put as the preposition governs the objective case; and as there are not, in each of these sentences, two apostrophes with the letters coming after them, we cannot with propriety say, that there are two genitive cases.

SECTION 1.

CHAPTER IV.

Of ADJECTIVES.

Of the nature of Adjectives, and the degrees of comparison.

AN Adjective is a word added to a substan

tive to express its quality; as, "An industrious man;' "A virtuous woman;" "A bene

volent mind.”

In English the adjective is not varied on account of gender, number, or case. Thus we say, "A careless boy; careless girls."

The only variation which it admits, is that of the degrees of comparison.

There are commonly reckoned three degrees of comparison; the POSITIVE, the COMPARATIVE, and the SUPERLATIVE.

Grammarians have generally enumerated these three degrees of comparison; but the first of them has been thought by some writers, to be, improperly, termed a degree of comparison: as it seems to be nothing more than the simple form of the adjective, and not to imply either comparison or degree. This opinion may be well founded, unless, the adjective be supposed to imply comparison or degree, by containing a secret or general reference to other things: as, when we say, " he is a tall man," "this is a fair day," we make some reference to the ordinary size of men, and to different weather.

The Positive State expresses the quality of an object, without any increase or diminution: as, good, wise, great.

The Comparative Degree increases or lessens the positive in signification: as, wiser, greater, less wise.

The Superlative Degree increases or lessens the positive to the highest or lowest degree: as, wisest, greatest, least wise.

The simple word, or positive, becomes the comparative, by adding r or er: and the superlative, by adding st or est, to the end of it: as, wise, wiser, wisest; great, greater, greatest,