dinate connectives? The connectives of adverb clauses are sub-divided into what classes? Give a leading connective of each class.

Lessons 104, 105. Illustrate two or more offices of each of the connectives as, if, lest, since, that, when, where, and while.

Lesson 107. Give and illustrate the four Cautions relating to the construction of connectives.

Lesson 109. Illustrate the offices of what, that, and but.

THE PREPOSITION. No Classes (95, 98, 99)

THE INTERJECTION. No Classes (20, 21)

Modifications of the Parts of

Speech

LESSON 112

Introductory Hints. You have learned that two words may express a thought, and the thought may be varied by adding modifying words. You are now to learn that the meaning or use of a word may be changed by simply changing its form. The English language has lost most of its inflections, or forms, so that many of the changes in the meaning and the use of words are not now marked by changes in form. These changes in the form, the meaning, and the use of the parts of speech we call their Modifications.*

* Those grammarians that attempt to restrict number, case, mode, etc. - what we here call Modifications to form, find themselves within bounds which they continually overleap. They define number, for instance, as a form, or inflection, and yet speak of nouns "plural in form but singular in sense," or "singular in form but plural in sense;" that is, if you construe them rigorously, plural or singular in form but singular or plural form in sense. They tell you that case is a form, and yet insist that nouns have three cases, though only two forms; and speak of the nominative and the objective case of the noun, "although in fact the two cases are always the same in form❞— the two forms always the same in form!

On the other hand, those that make what we call Modifications denote only relations or conditions of words cannot cling to these abstract terms. For instance, they ask the pupil to "pronounce and write the possessive of nouns," hardly expecting, we suppose, that the condition" " of a noun will be sounded or written; and they speak of 'a noun in the singular with a plural application," in which expression

Modifications of Nouns and Pronouns

NUMBER

The boy shouts. The boys shout. The form of the subject boy is changed by adding an s to it. The meaning has changed. Boy denotes one lad; boys, two or more lads. This change in the form and the meaning of nouns is called Number; the word boy, denoting one thing, is in the Singular Number; and boys, denoting more than one thing, is in the Plural Number. Number expresses only the distinction of one from more than one; to express more precisely how many, we use adjectives, and say two boys, four boys, many or several boys.

DEFINITIONS

Modifications of the Parts of Speech are changes in their form, meaning, and use.

Number is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes one thing or more than one.

The Singular Number denotes one thing.

The Plural Number denotes more than one thing.

singular must be taken to mean singular form to save it from sheer

nonsense.

We know no way to steer clear of Scylla and keep out of Charybdis but to do what by the common use of the word we are allowed; viz., to take Modifications with such breadth of signification that it will apply to meaning and to use, as well as to form. Primarily, of course, it meant inflections, used to mark changes in the meaning and use of words. But we shall use Modifications to indicate changes in meaning and use when the form in the particular instance is wanting. nowhere, however, recognizing that as a modification which is not somewhere marked by form.

NUMBER FORMS

RULE. The plural of nouns is regularly formed by adding s to the singular.

To this rule there are some exceptions.

When the singular ends in a sound that cannot unite with that of s, es is added and forms another syllable.*

Remark. Such words as horse, niche, and cage drop the finel e when es is added. See Rule 1, Lesson 127.

Direction. Form the plural of each of the following nouns, and note what letters represent sounds that cannot unite with the sound of s:

Ax or axe, arch. adz or adze, box, brush, cage, chaise, cross, ditch, face, gas, glass, hedge, horse, lash, lens, niche, prize, race, topaz.

The following nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant add es without increase of syllables.

Direction. Form the plural of each of the following nouns:

Buffalo, calico, cargo, echo, embargo, grotto, hero, innuendo, motto, mosquito, mulatto, negro, portico (oes or os), potato, tornado, torpedo, veto, volcano.

* In Anglo-Saxon, as was the plural termination for a certain class of nouns. In later English, as was changed to es, which became the regular plural ending; as, bird-es, cloud-es. In modern English, e is dropped, and s is joined to the singular ithout increase of syllables. But, when the singular ends in an s-sound, the original syllable es is retained, as two hissing sounds will not unite.

The following nouns in o preceded by a consonant add s only.

Direction. Form the plural of each of the following nouns:

Canto, domino (os or oes), duodecimo, halo, junto, lasso, memento, octavo, piano, proviso, quarto, salvo, solo, two, tyro, zero (os or oes).

Nouns in o preceded by a vowel add s.

trio.

Bamboo, cameo, cuckoo, embryo, folio, portfolio, seraglio,

Common nouns* in y after a consonant change y into i and add es without increase of syllables. Nouns in y after a vowel add s.

Direction.

Form the plural of each of the following nouns:

Alley, ally, attorney, chimney, city, colloquy, † daisy, essay, fairy, fancy, kidney, lady, lily, money, monkey, mystery, soliloquy, turkey, valley, vanity.

The following nouns change f or fe into ves.

Direction. Form the plural of each of the following nouns: Beef, calf, elf, half, knife, leaf, life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, staff, thief, wharf,§ wife, wolf.

The following nouns in ƒ and fe are regular.

* See Rule 2, Lesson 127. In Old English, such words as lady and fancy were spelled ladie, fancie. The modern plural simply retains the old spelling and adds s.

† U after q is a consonant.

Staff (a stick or support), staves or staffs; staff (a body of officers), staffs. The compounds of staff are regular; as flagstaffs.

§ In England, generally wharfs.