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the wolf coming. Half of the population are employed in trade and manufactures. The pea puts forth tendrils. All the ships' guns were thrown overboard. The Text-Book of Arithmetic contains five appendixes. Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. That apparatus is quite useless. The stag's horns were entangled in the branches. Time halts not in his fleet career. The fleet consisted of twenty sail. Three Avons are enumerated among the rivers of England. The highest summits of Ararat attain the height of 17,260 English feet. At Greenwich is the celebrated Royal Hospital for disabled seamen. A division of the ships of war were at anchor off Dungeness. Many suffered persecution for righteousness' sake. The word larva originally signifies a mask. Count the number of wes in that paragraph. No charm in the female sex can compensate the want of virtue. Southey was poet-laureate. The Misses Thornton subscribed very liberally..

"Athens, among her graceful sons,

Found equal lovers for the princely maid.” — Akenside.

CHAP. XI.

THE ACCIDENCE OF ADJECTIVES.

1. In some languages the adjective is modified in its termination to adapt it to the particular gender, number, and case of the noun qualified. This conformity of termination between the adjective and noun is a help to ascertain their relation when a sentence contains other words intermediate to them.

2. But in our language the liberty of transposition is restrained by the simplicity of our adjective forms, as we do not vary the termination of the adjective to suit the distinctions of gender, number, and case. We say, "A strong lion," "A strong lioness," Strong tables," - thus preserving the adjective unvaried by the noun's gender or number ; — we say, "The strong man is overpowered; "The strong man's defeat; "He

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thus maintaining the adjective unmodified by

The only exceptions to this uniformity are the pronominal adjectives

this and that, which are singulars, having these and those for their respective plurals.

3. The only inflexion which the English adjective admits is called Comparison, the use of which is to distinguish various degrees in which a quality is possessed by various subjects. Thus, a tall man is surpassed by one who is a taller man, and each is surpassed by one who is the tallest man of the three. Otherwise; a weak man excels one who is a weaker man, and each excels one who is the weakest of the three.

Relative variations of quality, thus expressed, attribute no particular measure of difference, but admit of being rendered more definite by the addition of other words; as, "Much weaker," "A little weaker," "Two inches taller," "By far the weakest."

"He

4. An adjective in its simple state is said to be of the Positive degree; as in the examples "A strong table," "Wise men." An adjective denoting that a greater degree of a quality is possessed, in one instance than in another, is said to be of the Comparative degree; as, "I have a stronger table than yours;" "The table is weaker than it was;" "We must not hope for wiser men than Solomon ;" will grow wiser as he grows older." An adjective denoting that the greatest degree of a quality is possessed in one instance, as compared with several other instances, is said to be of the Superlative degree; as, "I am the oldest of the family;" "John is the tallest of the three;" "The finest flowers are withered."

5. The comparative and superlative degrees are formed by adding er and est, respectively, to the positive form; but when the positive ends in e, only r and st are added. Thus, Pos. Young, Comp. younger, Superl. youngest; Pos. White, Comp. whiter, Superl. whitest.

The termination y does not supplant the old form ie in the comparative and superlative; as, Pretty, prettier, prettiest.

6. The addition of the comparative and superlative terminations lengthens the positive form by an additional syllable. Thus, white is a monosyllable; whiter and whitest are dissyllables. Now, this extension of the adjective would in many instances produce words of disapproved length and sound; and, therefore, it has become a general rule that adjectives of more than two syllables shall not form the comparative and superlative by assuming the terminations er and est, but by prefixing the adverbs more and most; as, Formidable, more formidable, most formidable.

These adverbs, indeed, are often employed with adjectives that do not reject the inflected forms of comparison. Thus, we say Wiser, or More wise; Politest, or Most polite.

7. It is scarcely correct, however, to call More wise the comparative form or degree of the adjective Wise, or to call Most polite the superlative of Polite. The words more and most are themselves, respectively, the comparative and superlative of much, and should be parsed separately from the modified but uninflected adjective.*

Besides more and most, there occur other adverbs of comparing import, as in the examples, "Rather soft," "Extremely severe," "Less† suitable," "Eminently virtuous."

* " Etymologically considered, the only comparison is that indicated by a change of termination. More and most are commonly reckoned adverbs in such instances. Better and best are often employed like more and most." Grant's Eng. Gram. p. 50. Better and best, as adverbs, are commonly used with the perfect participle, or with adjectives analogous to that participle; as, "He is better known, best remunerated, better skilled," &c.

† Less and least are never substitutes for the inflexional forms in er and est. Less feeble is an expression equivalent to stronger, but should not be accounted the comparative of feeble. "Terminational comparison," says Grant," as well as that denoted by more and most, does not, as some of our grammarians teach, increase or diminish the signification: it always increases it.". Gram. p. 53.

These, together with more and most, are called adverbs of degree.

8. Some authors remark that we have only two degrees of comparison, viz. the comparative and superlative, as the positive expresses the quality simply and absolutely. As a verbal distinction, however, we may as properly recognise the positive degree as the neuter gender. Besides, there is implied, in the positive state of an adjective, a vague idea of comparison with things not possessing the quality, or possessing only an approximation to it. Thus, when we say "A sour apple," we imply comparison with apples that are not sour; and the term sour may signify as great a degree beyond the diminutive term sourish*, as sourer denotes beyond sour, or sourest beyond sourer.

The positive degree, then, may be regarded as expressing the most general or vague manner of comparison. It usually puts the quality, not absolutely, but indefinitely.

9. Many adjectives, however, are, by their absolute signification, rendered incapable of comparison. Such words as Omnipotent, Impossible, Infinite, Triangular, are thus invariable. But some adjectives, which if strictly interpreted imply the rejection of degrees, are used occasionally in a relative sense, which admits the employment of comparative and superlative variations. Thus, we speak of one man being more independent than another, the term independent by itself being understood relatively to a certain amount of influence. A being independent of all influence would be distinguished as absolutely independent. So also we speak of things more or less perfect, although perfect strictly admits of comparison with that only which is not perfect,— a comparison between the positive and the negative state.

10. The following are examples of adjectives in which the comparison is irregular :

* Webster, Frazee, and some others, call this the Imperfect degree; thus making four degrees of comparison.

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11. Some adjectives form the superlative by annexing most to the positive or comparative; thus,

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THE ACCIDENCE OF PRONOUNS.

1. THE Pronoun, being used as a substitute for a noun, receives from it a transfer of the accidents of Gender, Number, and Case.

Inflexional variety of gender has not been found necessary to distinguish those pronouns by which we refer to

* Further and furthest are the comparative and superlative of forth, and are usually adverbs. Often and soon, with their comparatives and superlatives regularly formed, are not now used as adjectives, but only as adverbs.

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