that exists, or of which we have any notion; as, London, man, virtue. Substantives are either proper or common. Proper names or substantives, are the names appropriated to individuals; as, George, London, Thames. Common names or substantives, stand for kinds containing many sorts, or for sorts, containing many individuals under them; as, animal, man, tree, &c. To substantives belong gender, number, and case; and they are all of the third person, when spoken of, and of the second, when spoken to: as, "Blessings attend us on every side: Be grateful, children of men!" that is, "ye children of men." GENDER. Gender is the distinction of nouns, with regard to There are three genders, the Masculine, the Feminine, and the Neuter. sex. The masculine gender denotes animals of the male kind; as, a man, a horse, a bull. The feminine gender signifies animals of the female kind; as, a woman, a duck, a hen. The neuter gender denotes objects which are nei. ther males nor females; as, a field, a house, a garden. Some substantives naturally neuter are, by a figure of speech, converted into the masculine or feminine gender; as, when we say of the sun, he is setting, and of a ship, she sails well, &c. the exercises of one definition or rule, before he proceeds to another. In the same order, he should be taught to correct the erroneous examples in the Exercises. For further directions, respecting the mode of using the Exercises, see" English Exercises," Tenth, or any subse quent Edition, page 9--12. B Administrator Administratrix Marquis. Marchioness Adulterer. Adultress. Master. Mistress. Ambassador. Ambassadress Mayor. Mayoress. Conductor. Count. Deacon. Conductress. Prophet. Prophetess. 3. By a noun, pronoun, or adjective, being firefixed to the substantive : as A cock-sparrow. A he-goat. A male child. A hen-sparrow. Male descendants. A female child. NUMBER. Number is the consideration of an object; as, one or more. Substantives are of two numbers, the singular and the plural. The singular number expresses but one object;" as, a chair, a table. The plural number signifies more objects than one; as, chairs, tables. Some nouns, from the nature of the things which they express, are used only in the singular, others only in the plural, form; as, wheat, pitch, gold, sloth, pride, &c. and bellows, scissors, lungs, riches, &c. Some words are the same in both numbers, as deer, sheep, swine, &c. The plural number of nouns is generally formed by addings to the singular; as, dove, doves; face, faces; thought, thoughts. But when the substantive singular ends in x, ch, sh, or ss, we add es, in the plural; as, box, boxes; church, churches; lash, lashes; kiss, kisses. Nouns ending in for fe, are generally rendered plural by the change of those terminations into ves; as, loaf, loaves; wife, wives. Those which end in I have the regular plural; as, ruff, ruffs. Such as have y in the singular, with no other vowel in the same syllable, change it into ies, in the plural; as beauty, beauties; fly, flies; but the y is not changed, when there is another vowel in the syllable ; as key, keys; delay, delays. CASE. * In English, substantives have three cases, the Nominative, the Possessive, and the Objective.* The nominative case simply expresses the name of a thing, or the subject of the verb; as, "The boy plays;""The girls learn." The possessive case expresses the relation of property or possession: and has an apostrophe, with the letter s coming after it; as, "The scholar's duty;" "My father's house." When the plural ends in s, the other s is omitted, but the apostrophe is retained; as, "On eagles' wings" "The drapers' company." Sometimes also, when the singular terminates in's, the apostrophic s is not added; as, "For goodness' sake;""For righteousness' sake." The objective case expresses the object of an action, or of a relation; and generally follows a ver *On the propriety of this objective case, see the larger grammar, twelfth, or any subsequent edition, p. 54. 55. aotive, or a preposition; as, "Jolin assists Charles ;" "They live in London." English substantives are declined in the following An Adjective is a word added to a substantive, ta express its quality; as, "An industrious man ;" « A virtuous woman ;" "A benevolent mind." In English the adjective is not varied on account of gender, number, or case. Thus we say, “A care less boy; careless girls.” The only variation which it admits, is that of the degrees of comparison. There are commonly reckoned three degrees of comparison; the positive, comparative, and superla. tive. The positive state expresses the quality of an ob ject, without any increase or diminution; as, good, wise, great. The comparative degree increases or lessens the positive in signification; as, wiser, greater, less wise. The superlative degree increases or lessens the positive to the highest or lowest degree; as, wisest, greatest, least wise. The simple word, or positive, becomes the comparative, by adding or er; and the superlative, by |