The comparative degree expresses an increase of the quality, and is formed by adding r, or er, to the positive: as, harder, wiser, fairer.

The superlative degree expresses the greatest degree of the quality; and is formed by adding st, or est, to the positive: as, hardest, wisest, fairest. "Wood is hard." "Stone is harder." "Iron is hardest."

Adjectives of one syllable are mostly thus varied, or compared. Adjectives of two syllables ending in y, or le, may, likewise, be so compared.

2. But other dissyllable, and all polysyllable adjectives, are compared by prefixing to them the word more for the comparative, and most for the superlative: as, benevolent, more benevolent, most benevolent.

3. The superlative degree of some adjectives is formed by adding the word most to them as a termination: as, foremost, undermost, uppermost, utmost, nethermost.

4. The syllable ish, added to an adjective, diminishes its signification: as, reddish, yellowish, saltish; that is, approaching to redness, to yellowness, to saltness.

5. The word rather expresses a small degree of a quality as, "He is rather extravagant;" "she is rather avaricious."

6. An adjective standing alone, without a noun, and having the definite article prefixed, assumes the sense and meaning of a substantive:

as,

"God loveth the righteous;" "the pious are blessed;"" the wicked are miserable."

7. Some nouns, coming before others, partake of the nature of adjectives: as, a racehorse, a shell-fish, a sea-snake, a river-horse, a corn-field.

8. The numeral adjectives, one, two, three, four, &c. are called cardinal; and first, second, third, fourth, and so on, are termed ordinal.

9. Some adjectives are compared very irregularly; as, Good, better, best, Bad, worse, worst. Little, less, least.

Much, or many, more, most.
Near, nearer,nearest, or next.
Late, later, latest, or last.

A diminution of quality is signified by the words less and least prefixed to adjectives: as, elegant, less elegant, least elegant; beautiful, less beautiful, least beautiful.

Very, exceeding, extreme, are also words by which comparison is expressed.

The slighter degrees of more or less of any property, which may be included in the general degrees of comparison, are expressed by certain words prefixed to the adjectives: such as, much, a great deal, by far, very, incomparably, infinitely. Thus, "It is much better to give than to receive;" "he is a great deal taller than his friend;""he is, by far, the wisest man among them;" "he is the very greatest of all;" "the light of the sun is incomparably greater than that of the moon;" "God is infinitely higher than the most exalted of his works."

CHAP. V.

Of Pronouns.

PRONOUNS are words used in the place of nouns, to prevent the too frequent and tiresome repetition of them. Pronouns may be conveniently arranged in three classes, namely, personal, relative, and adjective pronouns. Some writers have divided them into personal, possessive, relative, and demonstrative, and others into substantive and adjective pronouns. The personal pronouns are, I, thou, he, she, it, with their plurals, we, ye, or you, they.

SECT. 1.

The personal pronouns are very irregularly declined, or inflected; and have a case peculiar to themselves, called the oblique or objective case, in which they follow verbs, or prepositions. Declension of Personal Pronouns.

It follows verbs and prepositions in the form of its nominative.

Pronouns have three persons in each number; I and we are the first person; thou, and ye or you, the second; he, she, it, and they, the third. Pronouns admit, likewise, the distinction of genders:

I and we, thou and you, are used for masculine and feminine indiscriminately; he is masculine, she is feminine, while it is used for things without life; that is, things of the neuter or neither gender. They imply masculine, feminine, or neuter. You is now commonly written and spoken instead of ye; and in common conversation in

stead of thou.

SECT. 2.

The relative pronouns, so called because they refer or relate to some noun going before or following them, are, who, which, what, whether, whosoever, whatsoever, whichsoever, and that.

Who is thus declined, singular and plural:

Any preceding noun to which the relative pronoun is related, is called its antecedent: as, the word man, in the sentence, "This is the man whom you saw yesterday."

What is equivalent to that which, and is without inflection, serving both to the singular and plural: as, "This is what I expected;" "these are what I wanted."

Who is applied to animate, and which to inanimate objects: as, "The woman who took care of them;" "the houses which were burnt."

That is often used as a relative, to avoid the too frequent repetition of who and which: as, "Who is the man that did it?"

Which and that are of both numbers, and, as well as what, are indeclinable, excepting that whose is sometimes used as the genitive of which: as, "This is a doctrine whose influence (or the influence of which,) is most extensive and powerful" "the religion whose origin (or the origin of which,) is divine."

When, who, which, and what, are used for asking questions, they are called interrogatives: as, "Who clothed these poor children?” “which were the seven churches of Asia Minor?" "what were you saying?"

Whether is indeclinable, being applied to one only of some number, and most commonly to one of two objects: as, "Whether of them he prefers, I know not;" "whether shall I take?"