XLII.

COMPOUND PERSONAL PRONOUNS

151. Besides the personal pronouns that have already been considered there are certain other forms such as myself and ourselves, formed by uniting the noun self to a singular personal pronoun, and the noun selves to a plural personal pro

What is the number of each of these pronouns?

152. Compound personal pronouns are never in the possessive case. They never change their form for case, but are in the nominative or the objective case according to their use. They have two main uses:

(1) A compound personal pronoun may be used for emphasis, and is then in apposition with the noun it makes emphatic; as," Cæsar himself refused the crown." The pronoun does not always come next to the noun. We may say, "Cæsar refused the crown himself."

same case as the word it goes with.

The pronoun is in the

(2) It may be used reflexively, that is, to show that an action comes back to the doer of it; as, "I scratched myself with a pin." Here the pronoun is object of a verb, hence in the objective case.

It may also be the object of a preposition; as, "I was talking to myself."

It may even be an indirect object; as, "She bought herself a watch."

NOTE. - The compound personal pronoun is used as object of a preposition in some familiar idiomatic expressions; as, "He was beside himself with joy." "She was sitting all by herself."

Summary. The compound personal pronouns are myself, ourselves, thyself, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, and themselves.

They are commonly used for two purposes:

(1) For emphasis, (2) reflexively.

Exercise. Select and parse all the compound personal pronouns in the following sentences. Tell their person, number, case, and use.

1. Love thyself last.

2. The men folks, having worked in the regular hours, lie down and rest, stretch themselves idly in the shade at noon, or lounge about after supper.

3. Very stupid people are never aware of their stupidity themselves.

4. On cold, stormy evenings we would make ourselves toast at the sitting room fire, and eat our supper on the little sewing table. 5. At the more remote end of the island Legrand had built himself a small hut.

6. A masterly retreat is in itself a victory.

7. Now make yourselves at home, and if you find an eel's head, you may bring it to me.

8. The little fox ground his pearly milk teeth into the mouse with a rush of inborn savageness that must have surprised even himself. 9. They were returning home for the holidays in high glee, and promising themselves a world of enjoyment.

10. Pity for his gallant horse, rage and mortification at the ridiculous plight he was in, anxiety lest he should be late for the tournament, all combined to make the baron for a time beside himself. 11. Rivermouth itself is full of hints and flavors of the sea.

12. I think the ugly duckling will grow up strong, and be able to take care of himself.

13. With what awe, yet with what pride, did I look forward to the day when I myself should enter the doorway of the high school.

14. That I may have nobody to blame but myself should my marriage turn out amiss, I will choose for myself.

15. Although the English and we ourselves both speak the same tongue, we do not speak it in the same way.

16. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Analyze sentences 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11.

XLIII.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

153. If we ask the question, "Who killed cock robin?" the answer may be the declarative sentence, "The sparrow killed cock robin." The sentences are alike, except that in the declarative sentence the sparrow is the subject, while in the interrogative sentence who is the subject. It is clear then that who is used instead of the noun sparrow. Who is therefore a pronoun, and since it is used in asking a question, we call it an interrogative pronoun.

154. The other interrogative pronouns are whose, whom, which, and what. Whose is the possessive form of who, and is used, like other possessive pronouns, to modify some noun expressed or understood; as, "Whose house is the gray stone mansion on the corner?

Whom is the objective form of who, and is used as the object of a verb or of a preposition; as, "Whom did he marry? y?" "To whom did you speak?"

NOTE. - In conversation, the preposition governing an interrogative pronoun is often placed at the end of the question; as, "Whom did you come for?"

155. What is used when we inquire for the name, not of a person but of a thing; as, What did he have on his head?

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156. Which is used when we wish to know the particular one of several persons or things; as, "Which of these moonstones do you like best?"

157. In a sentence like this, "Who is that tall man?" it may be difficult at first thought to decide whether who is the subject of is or the subjective complement. We can always tell by the answer. In this case the answer is, "That tall man is Joseph Choate." It is clear that Joseph Choate is the subjective complement, hence in the question the word who, which means Joseph Choate, is the subjective complement.

Summary. An interrogative pronoun is one used in asking a question.

The interrogative pronouns are who, which, and what.

Who is declined: Nominative, who; possessive, whose; objective, whom.

An interrogative pronoun has the same use in the question that the word which takes its place has in the answer.

Exercise. Select all the interrogative pronouns in these sentences. Tell the use and case of each. Determine this by answering the question that is asked. Analyze sentences 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15.

1. What made you so late?

2. Who is there?

3. Who is this young and handsome officer now entering the door of the tavern?

4. Whose work is this crayon drawing of a castle in the moonlight? 5. What do you mean by telling me such nonsense as that?

6. What may so bold a hunter kill?

7. Who should know better than I?

8. What is all this talk about the Red Flower?

9. What is gingerbread?

10. Whose is this image and superscription?

11. With whom did you take that memorable trip on Lake Superior?

12. Whose little girl are you, with your rosy cheeks and pretty red hood?

13. Whom did the superintendent mean when he announced that the youngest pupil in the grammar school had made one hundred in all her examinations?

14. Which should you rather be, an artist or a poet?

15. Which shall I take, a new piano or a trip to California?

158. A common error in the use of interrogative pronouns is the use of the nominative form who when the objective whom is required. This error arises from the fact that the pronoun comes at the beginning of the sentence, and is sep

arated by intervening words from the verb or the preposition of which it is the object, as in these sentences,

Exercise.

Whom did the ball hit?

Whom do you sit with this term?

Supply the proper pronoun, who or whom, in

each of the following sentences, and give your reasons:

XLIV. DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES

159. We learned in Lesson IX that adjectives are used (1) to describe objects, (2) to point them out. Adjectives are therefore divided into two classes, - (1) descriptive adjectives, and (2) limiting adjectives.

160. Descriptive adjectives tell the qualities of objects. They are very useful words, for they enable us to see things with the imagination. In the following sentence the wellchosen adjectives make us feel that we are looking into the very eyes of the eagle, "His eyes, clear, direct, unacquainted with fear, had a certain hardness in their vitreous brilliancy, perhaps by reason of the sharp contrast between the bright gold iris and the unfathomable pupil."

It is also through descriptive adjectives that we are able to identify things when we do see them. After reading this sentence we could pick out a moose calf from a score of other animals, "The moose calf is uncouth, to be sure, with his