MODIFICATIONS OF THE PARTS OF SPEECH,

LESSON 78.

NOUNS AND PRONOUNS.

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

"The boy shouts ;""The boys shout." I have changed the form of the subject boy 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 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.

Let the teacher write other nouns on the board, and require the pupils to form the plural of them.

DEFINITIONS.

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

NUMBER.

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.

RULE.

The plural of nouns is regularly formed by adding

s or es to the singular.

Write the plural of the following nouns :

Tree, bird, insect, cricket, grasshopper, wing, stick, stone, flower, meadow, pasture, grove, worm, bug, cow, eagle, hawk, wren, plow, shovel.

When a singular noun ends in the sound of s, x, z, sh, or ch, it is not easy to add the sound of s, so es is added to make another syllable.

Write the plural of the following nouns :

Guess, box, topaz, lash, birch, compass, fox, waltz, sash, bench, gas, tax, adz, brush, arch.

Many nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant form the plural by adding es without increasing the number of syllables.

Write the plural of the following nouns :

Hero, cargo, negro, potato, echo, volcano, mosquito, motto.

Common nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant form the plural by changing y into i and adding es without increasing the number of syllables.

Write the plural of the following nouns :

Lady, balcony, family, city, country, daisy, fairy, cherry, study, sky.

Some nouns ending in f and fe form the plural by changing f or fe into ves without increasing the number of syllables.

Write the plural of the following nouns :

Sheaf, loaf, beef, thief, calf, half, elf, shelf, self, wolf, life, knife, wife.

LESSON 79.

NUMBER.

From the following list of nouns, select and write in separate columns (1) those that have no plural; (2) those that have no singular; (3) those that are alike in both numbers:

Pride, wages, trousers, cider, suds, victuals, milk, riches, flax, courage, sheep, deer, flour, idleness, tidings, thanks, ashes, scissors, swine, heathen.

modifies stirs. The subordinate clause modifies mo The analysis may be indicated thus:

215-15. He that lacks time to mourn, lacks time to mend. Eternity mourns that.

He is modified by the subordinate clause following To mourn modifies time. In the predicate, to men modifies time.

All the world was ours once more.

Was ours is the predicate, ours being in the nominativ after was. More modifies was, and once modifies more.

I saw the blue Rhine sweep along. (To) sweep modifies Rhine; along, an adverb, modifie

217-4 Death erects his batteries right over against our homes.

Over against homes modifies erects. Over against is a complex preposition. Right is here an adverb, modifying over against homes.

Such words as cousin, child, friend, neighbor may be either masculine or feminine.

DEFINITIONS.

Gender is that modification of a noun or pronoun which de

notes sex.

The Masculine Gender denotes the male sex.

The Feminine Gender denotes the female sex.

The Neuter Gender denotes want of sex.

The feminine is distinguished from the masculine in three ways:

(1) By a difference in the ending of the nouns.
(2) By different words in the compound names.
(3) By words wholly or radically different.

Arrange the following pairs in separate columns with. reference to these ways:

Abbot, abbess; actor, actress; Francis, Frances; Jesse, Jessie ; bachelor, maid; beau, belle; monk, nun; gander, goose; administrator, administratrix; baron, baroness; count, countess; czar, czarina; don, donna; boy, girl; drake, duck; lord, lady; nephew, niece; landlord, landlady; gentleman, gentlewoman; peacock, peahen; duke, duchess; hero, heroine; host, hostess; Jew, Jewess; man-servant, maid-servant; sir, madam; wizard, witch; marquis, marchioness; widower, widow; heir, heiress; Paul, Pauline; Augustus, Augusta.

REVIEW QUESTIONS.

What new way of varying the meaning of words is introduced in Lesson 78? Illustrate. What are modifications of the parts of speech? What is number? How many numbers are there? Name and define