to another. But if no fuch Name be mentioned, or underftood of Course, the Direction of the grammatic Form of the Adjective cannot be fulfilled. And hence it comes to pass, that an Adjective does not, of itself, exprefs compleat Senfe.

The English Adjectives have no grammatic Variations of Cafe, Gender, or Number, as thofe of the Greek and Latin have: But they have Variations for the Purposes of Comparison; and these are called in Grammar, THE DEGREES OF COMPARISON.

The Adjective itself is faid to be of the Pofitive DeDegree; as, great, generous.

If the Syllable er is added to the End, or more prefixed, the Comparative Degree is formed; as, greater ; more gene

rous.

If eft is added to the End, or most prefixed, the Superlative Degree is formed; as, greatest; most generous.

If the Pofitive ends in filent e, only r and are subjoined to form the Comparative and Superlative Degree; as, wife, wifer, wifeft; for the e that was filent in the Pofitive, becomes vocal in the Comparative and Superlative.

If the Pofitive ends in y, not the latter Part of a Diphthong, the Comparative is formed by ier, and the Superlative by ieft; as, worthy, worthier, worthieft, &c.

Lefs, and leaft, are used in Comparison by Deminution; as generous, lefs generous, leaft generous, &c.

The Manners above defcribed of forming the Degrees

of

of Comparison generally obtain, and therefore are confidered as Regular. But the following Adjectives depart from them, and therefore are of Irregular Forms of Com

The following Lines, concerning the Comparison of Adjectives, may perhaps be helpful to the Memory.

Of Number, Gender, Cafe, the English give No Variation to the Adjective.

Yet er and eft as Terminations join,

Or more and most prefix, when they define

The Forms by which the Process they make known
Of regularly form'd Comparison.

The following Adjectives refufe to bear
The Forms which are accounted regular.
Bad, worse, and worst requires; good, better, beft;
Late, latter, latest, laft; little, lefs, leaft.

From

From much or many, more and most appear
Deriv'd, and nearer, nearest, next, from near
Out, former, nether, upper, under give
Moft in their Forms of the Superlative.

Many Adjectives do not admit of Comparison by er and eft: But by the established Cuftom of the Language take only the Form by more and moft, lefs and leaft, prefixed. And many Adjectives both admit of the Form by er and eft, and of that by more and most.

Thus Words of one Syllable are ufually compared by er and eft, but sometimes also by the other Form; as, wife, wiser, wisest; or more wife, most wife; lefs wife, leaft wife, &c.

Words of more than two Syllables are feldom compared otherwise than by more and moft; lefs and leaft; as, Contemptible, more contemptible, moft contemptable, &c.

Words of two Syllables are fome of them compared by er and eft, and fome by more, moft, &c. The following Jorts are most of them compared in the latter Manner.

Those which end in ain or al; as, certain, more certain, most certain; mortal, more mortal, most mortal.

In ed, ent, id, ive, ing, ous, ful, lefs, fome, and in dy, fy, ky, my, ny, py, and ry.

Thus faded, ardent, Splendid, active, charming, captious, careful, artless, gamefome, cloudy, puffy, rocky, balmy, skinny, roapy, hoary, form Comparison by more faded, moft faded; more ardent, most ardent; or less faded, leaft faded; and fo of the ref

SECT.

SE C T. II.

Of the PRONOUN.

RONOUNS are of five Sorts, the Perfonal, the Poffeffive, the Relative, the Interrogative, and the Demonftrative.

THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS are Noun Subftantives

denoting Objects as diftinguished by their Situation in Difcourfe.

Whofoever Speaks and names himself may do it by the Pronoun I. Whofoever fpeaks, and confiders others as united with him, fo as to be diftinguished by his fpeaking, becomes together with them a Plural Object; and this Object he may name WE. These are Pronouns of the first Perfon.

THOU is the Name of any fingle Object Spoken to in very folemn or very familiar Stile; † ye or you of any Plural Object Spoken to. But ye is now only used in folemn Stile, like that of the Scriptures; and you is applied by Way of Civility, as a Name even of a fingle Man or Woman Spoken to, as well as of more than one. are Pronouns of the fecond Perfon.

These

be

Any fingle Male, neither Speaking nor Spoken to, may called HE; any fingle Female, in the like Situation, SHE; and any single Object of no Sex, or in which the Sex is not confidered, if it neither is speaking nor spoken to, may be called Ir. Any Plural Object, in the like Situa→ tion, may be called THEY. These are Pronouns of the third Perfon.

All the Perfonal Pronouns, being Subftantives, are declined as fuch; but all of them except it have an Accusative Form different from the Nominative; and the ob

lique

lique Cafes are formed by prefixing their Signs to the Accufative Form; and not to the Nominative, as in other Subftantives.

I and its Cafes are Pronouns of the first Perfon. Its Declenfion is as follows:

Thou and its Cafes are Pronouns of the fecond Perfon.

Its Declenfion is as follows:

He, fhe, and it, with their Cafes, are Pronouns of the third Perfon Singular; and they, with its Cafes, forms the Plural of all the three, as in the following Declenfion.