Higher Lessons in English Part 43

1. p.r.o.nouns are not the names of things. They do not, like nouns, lay hold of qualities and name things by them. They seize upon relations that objects sustain to each other and denote the objects by these relations.

_I_, _you_, and _he_ denote their objects by the relations these objects sustain to the act of speaking; _I_ denotes the speaker; _you_, the one spoken to; and _he_ or _she_ or _it_, the one spoken of. _This_ and _that_ denote their objects by the relative distance of these from the speaker; _some_ and _few_ and _others_ indicate parts separated from the rest.

Gestures could express all that many p.r.o.nouns express.

2. It follows that p.r.o.nouns are more general than nouns. Any person, or even an animal or a thing personified, may use _I_ when referring to himself, _you_ when referring to the one addressed, and _he_, _she_, _it_, and _they_ when referring to the person or persons, the thing or things, spoken of--and all creatures and things, except the speaker and the one spoken to, fall into the last list. Some p.r.o.nouns are so general, and hence so vague, in their denotement that they show the speaker's complete ignorance of the objects they denote. In, _Who_ did it? _Which_ of them did you see? the questioner is trying to find out the one for whom _Who_ stands, and the person or thing that _Which_ denotes. To what does _it_ refer in, _it_ rains; How is _it_ with you?

3. Some p.r.o.nouns stand for a phrase, a clause, or a sentence, going before or coming after. _To be_ or _not to be_--_that_ is the question. _It_ is doubtful _whether the North Pole will ever be reached_. _The sails turned, the corn was ground_, after _which_ the wind ceased. _Ought you to go_? I cannot answer _that_. In the first of these sentences, _that_ stands for a phrase; in the last, for a sentence. _It_ and _which_ in the second and third sentences stand for clauses.

4. _Which_, retaining its office as connective, may as an adjective accompany its noun; as, I craved his forbearance a little longer, _which forbearance_ he allowed me.]

+A _Personal p.r.o.noun_ is a p.r.o.noun that by its form denotes the speaker, the one spoken to, or the one spoken of+.

+A _Relative p.r.o.noun_ is one that relates to some preceding word or words and connects clauses+.

+An _Interrogative p.r.o.noun_ is one with which a question is asked+.

+An _Adjective p.r.o.noun_ is one that performs the offices of both an adjective and a noun+.

The simple personal p.r.o.nouns are:--_I, thou, you, he, she, and it_.

The compound personal p.r.o.nouns are:--_Myself, thyself, yourself, himself, herself, and itself_.

The simple relative p.r.o.nouns are:--_Who, which, that_, and _what_.

[Footnote: _As_, in such sentences as this: Give such things _as_ you can spare, may be treated as a relative p.r.o.noun. But by expanding the sentence _as_ is seen to be a conjunctive adverb--Give such things _as those are which_ you can spare.

_But_ used after a negative is sometimes called a "negative relative" = _that not_; as, There is not a man here _but_ would die for such a cause.

When the sentence is expanded, _but_ is found to be a preposition--There is not a man here _but_ (= _except_) the one who would die, etc.]

The compound relative p.r.o.nouns are:--

_Whoever or whosoever, whichever_ or _whichsoever_, _whatever_ or _whatsoever_.

The interrogative p.r.o.nouns are:--

_Who, which_, and _what_.

Some of the more common adjective p.r.o.nouns are:--

All, another, any, both, each, either, enough, few, former, latter, little, many, much, neither, none, one, other, same, several, such, that, these, this, those, whole, etc. [Footnote: The adjective p.r.o.nouns _this, that, these_, and _those_ are called +Demonstrative+ p.r.o.nouns. _All, any, both, each, either, many, one, other_, etc. are called +Indefinite+ p.r.o.nouns because they do not point out and particularize like the demonstratives.

_Each, either_, and _neither_ are also called +Distributives+.

But for the fact that such words as _brave, good_, etc. in the phrases _the brave_, _the good_, etc. describe--which p.r.o.nouns never do--we might call them adjective p.r.o.nouns. They may be treated as nouns, or as adjectives modifying nouns to be supplied.

Some adjectives preceded by _the_ are abstract nouns; as, the _grand_, the _sublime_, the _beautiful_.]

The word, phrase, or clause in the place of which a p.r.o.noun is used is called an +Antecedent+.

+Direction+.--_Point out the p.r.o.nouns and their antecedents in these sentences_:--

Jack was rude to Tom, and always knocked off his hat when he met him. To lie is cowardly, and every boy should know it. Daniel and his companions were fed on pulse, which was to their advantage. To lie is to be a coward, which one should scorn to be. To sleep soundly, which is a blessing, is to repair and renew the body.

+Remark+.--When the interrogatives _who_, _which_, and what introduce indirect questions, it is not always easy to distinguish them from relatives whose antecedents are omitted. For example--I found _who_ called and _what_ he wanted; I saw _what_ was done. The first sentence does not mean, I found the _person who_ called and the _thing that_ he wanted.

"_Who_ called" and "_what_ he wanted" here suggest questions--questions referred to but not directly asked. I saw _what_ was done = I saw the _thing that_ was done. No question is suggested.

It should be remembered that _which_ and _what_ may also be interrogative adjectives; as, _Which_ side won? _What_ news have you?

+Direction+.--_a.n.a.lyze these sentences, and pa.r.s.e all the p.r.o.nouns_:--

1. Who steals my purse steals trash.

2. I myself know who stole my purse.

3. They knew whose house was robbed.

4. He heard what was said.

5. You have guessed which belongs to me.

6. Whom the G.o.ds would destroy they first make mad.

7. What was said, and who said it?

8. It is not known to whom the honor belongs.

9. She saw one of them, but she cannot positively tell which.

10. Whatever is done must be done quickly.

LESSON 86.

CONSTRUCTION OF p.r.o.nOUNS.

TO THE TEACHER.--In the recitation of all Lessons containing errors for correction, the pupils' books should be closed, and the examples should be read by you. To insure care in preparation, and close attention in the cla.s.s, read some of the examples in their correct form. Require specific reasons.

+Caution+.--Avoid _he_, _it_, _they_, or any other p.r.o.noun when its reference to an antecedent would not be clear. Repeat the noun instead, quote the speaker's exact words, or recast the sentence.

+Direction+.--_Study the Caution, and relieve these sentences of their ambiguity_:--

+Model+.--The lad cannot leave his father; for, if he should leave _him_, _he_ would die = The lad cannot leave his father; for, if he should leave _his father, his father_ would die. Lysias promised his father never to abandon _his_ friends = Lysias gave his father this promise: "I will never abandon _your_ (or _my_) friends."

1. Dr. Prideaux says that, when he took his commentary to the bookseller, he told him it was a dry subject.

2. He said to his friend that, if he did not feel better soon, he thought he had better go home.

(This sentence may have four meanings. Give them all, using what you may suppose were the speaker's words.)

3. A tried to see B in the crowd, but could not because he was so short.

4. Charles's duplicity was fully made known to Cromwell by a letter of his to his wife, which he intercepted.

5. The farmer told the lawyer that his bull had gored his ox, and that it was but fair that he should pay him for his loss.

+Caution+.--Do not use p.r.o.nouns needlessly.

+Direction+.--_Write, these sentences, omitting needless p.r.o.nouns_:--

1. It isn't true what he said.

2. The father he died, the mother she followed, and the children they were taken sick.

3. The cat it mewed, and the dogs they barked, and the man he shouted.