Proper names have necessarily no plural. But there are also common nouns which want the plural; among which the chief areNames of metals; as, Iron, gold: Names of grains; as, Rye, wheat: Names of liquids; as, Beer, wine: Names of arts and sciences; as, Music, astronomy: and names of abstract and moral qualities; as, Warmth, meekness.

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It is only when the names of metals, grains, liquids, &c., express varieties of the substances denoted by them that they take a plural.

There are some common nouns, on the other hand, which have no singular; such as nouns descriptive of objects which have a plurality of parts, or which nature or art has made double. The following are examples:

Annals

Compasses

Archives

Drawers

Nuptials
Oats

Tidings
Tongs

Wages

Alms, news, odds, pains, are generally used in the singular number.

The names of sciences ending in ics, as, Ethics, mathematics, politics, &c., admit of being used in either number, according as they are conceived to express unity or plurality.

Horse and foot, meaning cavalry and infantry, are used in the singular form with a plural verb.

Of GENDER.

There are three genders; the Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter.

The Masculine denotes the male sex; as, A man, a boy.

The Feminine denotes the female sex; as, A woman, a girl.

The Neuter denotes whatever is without sex; as, Milk.

There are three ways of distinguishing the sex.

1. By different words; as,

NEUTER means neither, and therefore intimates that the nouns so called are neither masculine nor feminine.

Some nouns are either masculine or feminine: such as, Parent, child, cousin, infant, servant, neighbour, &c.

Some nouns, naturally neuter, become, when personified, either masculine or feminine; as, when we say of the sun, He is setting; and of the moon, She is eclipsed.

3. By prefixing another word; as,

Cock-sparrow hen-sparrow Male-child

He-goat

she-goat Man-servant

EXERCISES ON GENDER.

Tell the Gender of

female-child

maid-servant

Child, egg, father, garden, girl, horse, housemaid, inkbottle, kinsfolk, lamb, mankind, navy, Peter, Russia, ship, sovereign, star.

Name and spell the words opposite in Gender to Abbot, bride, duke, earl, empress, goose, hero, lady, landgrave, madam, milkmaid, moorcock, peahen, ram, roe, steer, widow.

Of CASE.

Nouns have three cases; the Nominative, Possessive, and Objective.

The Nominative and Objective are always alike. The possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe and s to the Nominative; as, Job's. When the plural ends in s, the possessive is formed by adding only an apostrophe: thus,

Tell the Cases (and also the number and gender) of the following Nouns :—

Father, brothers, mother's, boys, book, loaf, wife, sisters' bride's, the horse's hoof, John's boots, eagles' wings, a girls' school.

Tell the possessive of

Charles, child, children, duchess, father, fathers, footman, leaf, leaves, life, mistress, negro, negroes, owner, owners, postchaise, prince, princess, princesses.

OBSERVATIONS.

Case denotes the relation which a noun bears to any other word with which it is connected.

The Nominative merely denotes the name of a thing.
The Possessive denotes possession; as, Ann's book.-

Possession is

often expressed by of as well as by 's.-K. 57 to 63, also 194 and 195. The Objective denotes the object upon which an active verb or a preposition terminates.

* One method of using the above exercises is as follows:

Father, a noun, singular (number), masculine (gender), the nominative (case), plural, fathers. Brothers, a noun, plural, masculine, the nominative. Mother's, a noun, singular, feminine, the possessive. Spell it. K. 44. By parsing in this manner, the pupil gives a correct answer to the questions. What part of speech is father? What number? What gender? What case without obliging the teacher to lose time to no purpose in asking them. The pupil, however, should be made to understand that he is giving answers to questions which are always supposed to be asked.

As the Nominative and Objective are alike, no inaccuracy can result from the pupil's being allowed to call it always the nominative, till he come to the verb. Case may be altogether omitted till that time, the cases of pronouns excepted.-See Notes, page 37.

Of ADJECTIVES.

An Adjective is a word which expresses the quality of a noun; as, A good boy.

Adjectives have three degrees of comparison; the Positive, Comparative, and Superlative.

The comparative is formed by adding r or er to the positive; as, Wise, wiser; sweet, sweeter; and the superlative, by adding st or est; as, Wise, wisest; sweet, sweetest.-K. 67.

When the positive ends in a single consonant, preceded by a single vowel, the consonant is doubled before er and est; as, Sad, sadder, saddest.

When the positive ends in y preceded by a consonant, the y is changed into before er and i est; as, Happy, happier, happiest.

OBSERVATIONS.

* The Positive expresses the simple quality; the Comparative a higher or lower degree of the quality; and the Superlative the highest or lowest degree.-K. 68, 72.

Adjectives of one syllable are generally compared by adding er and est; and those of more than one by prefixing more and most; as, More numerous, most numerous; or by less and least; as, Less merry, least merry.

Some adjectives are compared by adding most to the comparative; as, Upper, uppermost; lower, lowermost; nether, nethermost.

Nouns are often used as adjectives; as, a gold ring, a silver cup.—— Adjectives often become nouns; as, Much good.

Some adjectives do not properly admit of comparison; such as, True, perfect, universal chief, extreme.

Much is applied to things weighed or measured; Many to those that are numbered.-Elder and eldest to persons; older and oldest to things.