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worth a dollar;" "It is well worth the money;" "It is worth observation." If a pronoun is used after worth, it must be in the objective case: It is worth them, or it.

We have certain adjectives which follow a verb and a noun to which they belong, but never precede the noun. Such are, Adry, afeared, afraid, alone, alike, aware, akin, alive, asleep, awake, athirst, aloft, aghast, afloat, askew, ashamed, pursuant, plenty, worth; to which may be added, amiss, aground, ashore, aside, and a few others, which may be useď as modifiers or adverbs. We say one is adry, ashamed, alive, or awake; but never an adry person, an ashamed child, &c. We say, "A proclamation was issued pursuant to advice of council;" but we can in no case place pursuant before the noun.

It has been a question whether the Ordinal shall come before the Cardinal; for instance, whether the first three, or the three first, is the correct order. The objection to the use of first three is, that it implies an absurdity, when there is no second three. The objection to the use of three first is, that it implies an absurdity, since there can be but one first. Each order is justified by respectable usage. A preacher having his mind upon the number of stanzas to be sung, will be apt to say the "four first stanzas." The captains of two different classes at school would be called the two first boys. The first and second boys of the same class would be called the first two boys. Expressions like two first are sanctioned by the example of some of the best writers; so also are expressions like first two, which, indeed, in some cases, are to be preferred. "The Fathers of the five first centuries."Middleton. "I have not numbered the lines, except of the four first books."-Cowper.

SYNTAX OF PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES OR ADJECTIVE

PRONOUNS.

§ 460. RULE VI.-THIS and THAT agree with nouns in the singular number, THESE and THOSE with nouns in the plural number; as, This city, that church; these cities, those churches.

Note 1. This and that, these and those, are joined either in

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the singular or the plural number to the word means, which has the same form in both numbers; as, "This means; these means."

Note 2. This, that, and other adjectives denoting unity, are joined to nouns in the plural form denoting an aggregate or a unity of idea; as, "This ten years," "every three years." A plural form expressing unity of idea is sometimes, by the influence of this idea, changed to the singular form; "Twelve months into twelve month; seven nights into seven night; fourteen nights into fortnight."

as,

§ 461. RULE VII.-The Distributive Adjectives, EACH, EVERY, EITHER, require the nouns to which they belong to be in the Singular Number.

Each is employed to denote two or more taken separately; as, "Each member is entitled to his share."

Every is applied to more than two objects taken individu ally, and comprehends them all; as, "Every tree is known by its fruit." It is sometimes joined to a plural noun, when the things are conceived of as forming one aggregate; as, "Every twelve years."

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Either and Neither signify only one of two; as, "Take either of the two apples," that is, one or the other, but not both. Either is used improperly for each or both; as, “On either side of the river." Either has sometimes the meaning of one or another of any number; as, "You may take either of these ten books." This use of the word either is not to be encouraged.

§ 462. RULE VIII.-MANY, FEW, SEVERAL, denote number, and belong to plural substantives; as, "Many men;" "few offices," "several prisoners."

Many is used with a singular substantive, with the article a between it and the substantive; as, "You, I know, have many a time sacrificed your own feelings to those of others." “A great many" is a phrase in current use.

Few may take the article a before it, though that article can not be used with a plural word; as, "Can you lend me a few shillings?"

MUCH denotes quantity, and is used in the singular; as, "Much money."

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MORE and MOST denote number and quantity, and are used in the singular and the plural number; as, "More fruit," "most fruit;" "more men," "most men."

LITTLE, like much, denotes quantity, and is used in the singular.

§ 463. RULE IX.-ALL, none, no, some, any, denote number or quantity, and belong to singular or plural nouns; as, "All men ;" "all the earth." No and none differ as my and mine, &c.; as, "I have no paper;" "as to paper, I have none." None, like mine, was formerly used before a vowel. "This is none other but the house of God."-Gen., xxviii., 17. Though compounded of no one, none is used as either singular or plural. "Some men," (number); "some water," (quantity). Some is used with numerals to signify about. "Some fifty years ago." Mr. Crombie considers this phraseology as highly objectionable, but it is a good old Saxon idiom. "Sum" is often found combined with the genitive plural of the cardinal numbers, and signifies "about;" as, "Sume ten gear," some ten years. Arnold, p. 25, from Rask, p. 61. "Any food," (quantity); Any apples, (number). Any is sometimes equivalent to every; as, "Any body can do that." It is sometimes indefinite, being equiv alent to some; as, "Shall we tell any body our misfortunes ?" the particular person being left undecided.

ENOUGH is an adjective singular, and denotes quantity; as, "Bread enough." Enow, the old plural of enough, denotes number; as, "Books enow."

§ 464. There is an ambiguity in the adjective No, against which it is necessary to guard. Thus, if we say, "No laws are better than the English," it may mean either that the absence of all law is better than the English laws, or that no code of Jurisprudence is superior to the English. If the latter be the meaning intended, the ambiguity is removed by saying, "There are no laws better than the English." If the former, we might say, "the absence of all law is preferable to the English system."

SYNTAX OF DEFINITE NUMERAL ADJECTIVES.

§ 465. RULE X.-THE CARDINAL ONE, the ORDINAL FIRST, and the word SINGLE are naturally Singular, and are used with nouns in the singular number. The CARDINALS TWO, THREE, etc., which answer to the question how many, are used with nouns in the plural number. The Ordinals SECOND, THIRD, etc., which denote WHAT PLACE the thing occupies; the MULTIPLICATIves double, two-fold, trIPLE, THREE-FOLD, fourFOLD, which show how many times one thing exceeds another, are used with nouns in the singular number.

§ 466. RULE XI-After Numerals, the words PAIR, COUPLE, DOZEN, SCORE, HUNDRED, THOUSAND, etc., do not take the plural form; as, "Six pair of shoes;" "three dozen of apples;" "four couple of dancers." We say twenty sail of vessels; a hundred head of cattle.

§ 467. RULE XII.-Both Cardinals and Ordinals can be used as nouns, and some of them take the plural termination; as, Ones, twos, threes, tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, seconds, thirds, fourths. See § 195.

SYNTAX OF THE ARTICLE "AN" OR 66 A."

§ 468. RULE XIII.-The Article AN or A, called the Indefinite Article, is used before nouns in the Singular Number, to show that some single object is meant, without speci fying or defining it; as, An army; a book.

Note 1. The Indefinite Article has sometimes the mean. ing of every or each; as, "They cost five dollars a dozen;" "it cost ten cents an inch" "every dozen," "each inch.”

Note 2. The Indefinite Article is placed before plural nouns preceded by few or many; and also before any collective word; as, "A few days;" "a great many persons;" "a hundred;" "a hundred years.' A never precedes many without the intervention of great between them, but follows many standing between this word and a noun; as, "Many

a man."

Note 3. The omission or the insertion of the Indefinite article in some instances nearly reverses the meaning. Its omission before such words as few, little, shows that the

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number or quantity indicated by the adjectives is taken in its proper sense: "Ah! little think the gay, licentious proud." Here little is equivalent to "not much," or, by a trope, to "not at all."

"He reads with a little attention." Here, on the contrary, when the indefinite article is inserted, "a little" means "not none," "" or "some." If we say "few accompanied the prince," we seem to disparage the number, and to represent it as inconsiderable, as if we said "not many." If we say 66 а few accompanied the prince," we seem to amplify the number, as if it were not unworthy of attention. If the article is inserted, the clause is equivalent to a double negative, and thus serves to amplify; if the article is suppressed, the expression has either a diminutive or a negative import.

Note 4. In expressing comparison, when the Indefinite article is suppressed before the second term, the latter becomes the predicate of the subject, or first term. If, on the contrary, the second term is prefaced with the article, it forms the other subject of comparison. In the former case, the subject, as possessing different qualities in various degrees, is compared with itself; in the latter it is compared with something else. Thus, if we say, "He is a better soldier than scholar," omitting the article before the second term, the expression is equivalent to "he possesses the qualities of a soldier in a higher degree than those of a scholar," or "he is more warlike than learned." If, on the contrary, the second term is preceded by the article, it forms the other subject of comparison. Thus, "He would make a better soldier than a scholar," denotes that "he would make a better soldier than a scholar would make."

Note 5. The Indefinite article, like the definite, is employed to distinguish between things which are individually different, but have one generic name, and things which in reality are one and the same, but are characterized by dif ferent qualities: "A black and a white horse," or "a black horse and a white," conveys the idea of two horses, the one black and the other white. "A black and white horse," on the contrary, denotes one horse, partly black and partly white. In general, the ellipsis of articles implies identity, whether

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