XXXVIII. PARSING OF NOUNS

141. When we tell all that is true about a noun from a grammatical point of view, we are said to parse it. In parsing a noun we should tell :

(1) Its class, common or proper.

(2) Its person, first, second, or third. (See Note.) (3) Its number, - singular or plural.

(4) Its gender, masculine, feminine, neuter, or common. (5) Its case, nominative, possessive, or objective.

(6) Its use in the sentence.

NOTE.Nouns do not change their form for person. Since they are almost always the names of persons or things spoken of, they are usually in the third person. A noun is in the first person when it is used in apposition with a pronoun of the first person. (See p. 98.) A noun is in the second person (1) when it is used in apposition with a pronoun of the second person; (2) when it is used as a term of address.

Exercise. - Parse each noun in the following sentences:

1. All the great men of the neighborhood were there on horseback, — militia officers in uniform, the member of Congress, the sheriff of the county, the editors of newspapers, and many a farmer, too, had mounted his patient steed or come on foot.

2. Next day Mowgli himself fell into a very cunning leopard trap. 3. The Bermudas are, with the exception of Gibraltar, England's most strongly fortified hold.

4. Then Mrs. Howe graciously showed the admiring ladies her collection of fine lace and embroideries.

5. The thoughtful, lonely ways of their admiral made Columbus an object of terror to his ignorant seamen.

6. I thought that nothing in the world was so beautiful as the sultan my father's palace.

7. Perhaps your fish is eighteen inches long.

8. Here comes the boat! This is your waterproof, Hetty. Be careful now, Miss Alice. Mrs. Blank, you will need your sun umbrella. Hold on a minute, skipper, till I get that basket.

9. At nine o'clock, Williams, a bronze Hercules, low-voiced, gentle-mannered, a trusty boatman, and an enthusiast in his calling, met us at the dock.

10. The savage sticks bright feathers in his hair, carries a tomahawk, and wears moccasins upon his nimble feet.

11. Some evenings afterward the same thing happened at another corner of the pasture.

12. The innocent savages gave Columbus a new world for Castile and Leon, and he gave them some glass beads and little red caps. 13. The sultan received the present from Aladdin's mother's hand. 14. The elephant was thoughtfully chewing the green stem of a young plantain tree.

15. In the good old days the boys on the coast ran away and became sailors.

16. I was a favorite with the cooks, and so, although they denied my cousins certain privileges of the kitchen, they freely granted these to me.

17. The Norsemen called gold "the serpent's bed."

Nominative.

SUMMARY OF CASE RELATIONS

(1) Subject of a verb.

(2) Term of address.

(3) Exclamatory noun.

(4) Subjective complement of a verb.

(5) Appositive.

(6) Nominative absolute (see p. 237).

Possessive.

(1) Modifier of a noun.

Objective.

(1) Object of a verb.

(2) Object of a preposition.

(3) Appositive.

(4) Indirect Object.

(5) Adverbial noun.

(6) Objective complement.

Make an original sentence to illustrate each of the case re

XXXIX. PERSONAL PRONOUNS

142. Certain pronouns, as I, you, he, it, etc., show by their form that they refer to the person speaking, the person spoken to, or the person or thing spoken of.

The pronoun I denotes the person speaking, and is said to be a pronoun of the first person.

The pronoun you denotes the person spoken to, and is said to be a pronoun of the second person.

The pronouns he, she, and it denote the person or thing spoken of, and are said to be pronouns of the third person. Such pronouns are called personal pronouns.

143. The noun that a pronoun stands for, whether it is expressed somewhere in the sentence or merely understood, is called the antecedent of the pronoun.

144. All the personal pronouns have several different forms, and if we wish to speak our language correctly, we must know these forms and be careful in their use. The personal pronouns are declined as follows:

145. There is another personal pronoun of the second personthou. It is not used in conversation nowadays, but is frequently found in the Bible and in poetry. It is declined as follows:

Nom. Poss. Obj.

Summary.

A personal pronoun is one that shows by its form whether it denotes the person speaking, the person spoken to, or the person or thing spoken of.

The personal pronouns are I, thou, you, he, she, it, and their various case forms in the two numbers.

The antecedent of a pronoun is the word for which it stands.

Exercise. Select all the personal pronouns. Tell from the form of each its person and number, and, if it is a pronoun of the third person, tell also its gender. Where it is possible, tell the antecedent of the pronoun.

1. Hide me in the oven.

2. First lay aside your black veil, then tell us why you put it on. 3. While we were following the direction of his finger, a sound of distant oars fell on our ears.

4. If you want a thing, and have no money to buy it, go without it until you can pay for it.

5. Though the Jungle People drink seldom, they must drink deep.

6. The whelps were evidently very young, but their ears were wide open, and they stood up on strong legs when the boy touched them gently with his palm.

7. "Well," said grandfather, "I tell you one thing; the game will last me till that poor cat gets well again."

8. They sent him for troops only the sweepings of the galleys. My driftwood fire will burn so bright!

9.

To what warm shelter canst thou fly?

I do not fear for thee, though wroth
The tempest rushes through the sky.

10. Caught in a steel trap, she had gnawed off her own paw as the price of freedom.

11. At recess he gave me the core of his apple, though there were several applicants for it.

XL. USES OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

146. The personal pronoun, since it takes the place of a noun, has almost all the uses of a noun. It may be,

(1) The subject of a verb; as, "I only know I cannot drift beyond His love and care."

The subject of an imperative sentence is always the pronoun you, thou, or ye, but this pronoun is seldom expressed; as, "Telegraph for staterooms at once."

(2) The base word of a term of address; as, "Ho, ye who suffer, know ye suffer for yourselves."

(3) The subjective complement of a verb; as, "This man, good Ilderim, is he who told you of me."

(4) The base word of an appositive phrase; as, "The fourth lackey, he of the two gold watches, poured the chocolate out."

(5) A possessive modifier; as, "All the harmless wood folk were his friends."

NOTE.-The possessive pronoun is often intensified by the adjective own, which modifies the same noun that the possessive pronoun modifies; as, "This is my own, my native land."

(6) The direct object of a verb; as, "The farm boy spreads the grass after the men have cut it."

(7) The object of a preposition; as, "What a new world did that party open to him!"

(8) An indirect object; as, "Here will the cattle come to drink, and I will kill me a yearling heifer."

Exercise. Select and parse all the personal pronouns in the following sentences. In parsing a personal pronoun we should tell its person, number, gender, antecedent, case, and use in the sentence.

1. I verily believe that my ill looks alone saved me a flogging. 2. Taste the tamarisk, and you get the very flavor of the brine. 3. Then I swung my lasso, and sent it whistling over his head.