NOTE I.A collective noun conveying the idea of unity, requires a pronoun in the third person, singular, neuter; as, "When a legislative body makes laws, it acts for itself only; but when it makes grants or contracts, it acts as a party.

He could speak perfectly good, even elegant, English when he chose, but he did not always choose, and generally omitted the pronouns; but his voice, manner and gestures in speaking were perfectly charming when he was in a good temper.

By observing that it will govern the pronoun them, and is not a verb or a participle; as, About themabove themacross themafter themagainst themamidst themamong themaround themat themBefore thembehind thembelow thembeneath thembeside thembetween thembeyond themby themFor themfrom themIn theminto them, &c. Of the prepositions, there are about sixty now in common use.

It is true that the editor did use the pronoun "we," in speaking of himself; but he took all other occasions to assert his individuality, and to use his journal diligently in its behalf.

"What rules apply in parsing personal pronouns of the second and third person?"Ib., p. 116.

10.Kirkham, though he professes to follow Murray, declines the simple personal pronouns as I have declined them; and argues admirably, that my, thy, his, &c., are pronouns of the possessive case, because, "They always stand for nouns in the possessive case."

4. How can we distinguish a PRONOUN?

"Butbut it was not to you that I was about to offer any kindness," he continued, emphasizing the personal pronoun, and looking hard at Pet, who bent patiently over her work, and began to blush in anticipation that her name would be mentioned, Mr. Minford raised his eyes from a ratchet which he was finishing in a vice, and glanced with curiosity at the speaker.

At the same time, he was forbidden by the Lord to employ the plural pronoun you in addressing a single person, to bid his neighbour good even or good-morrow, or to uncover the head, or scrape with the leg to any mortal being.

4. Write together in declension the following pronouns, according to the agreement of each two: I myself, thou thyself, he himself, she herself it itself.

In treating of the various classes of adverbs, I have admitted and shown, that here, there, and where, have sometimes the nature of pronouns, especially in such compounds as hereof, thereof, whereof; but in this instance, I see not what advantage there is in calling there a "pronoun:" we have just as much reason to call here and where pronounsand that, perhaps, on all occasions.

It is therefore better, not to insist on those old verbal forms against which there are so many objections, than to exclude the pronoun of the second person singular from all such usage, whether familiar or poetical, as will not admit them.

"Moreover, as the name of the speaker or that of the person spoken to is seldom expressed, (the pronoun I being used for the former, and THOU or YOU for the latter,) a noun is very rarely in the first person; not often in the second; and hardly ever in either, unless it is a proper noun, or a common noun denoting an object personified.

This remark applies not merely to the forms above cited, respecting the pronoun what, but to the whole method of parsing adopted by the author of "English Grammar in Familiar Lectures.

The gentlemen who affirm that this new form of conjugation "is being introduced into the language," (since they allow participles to follow possessive pronouns) may very fairly be asked, "What evidence have you of its being being introduced?"

The learned William B. Fowle strangely imagines all pronouns to be adjectives, belonging to nouns expressed or understood after them; as, "We kings require them (subjects) to obey us (kings)."The True English Gram., p. 21.

He supposes no ellipsis, and declares it grossly improper ever to insert the pronoun.

I do not, however, think it necessary or advisable to do this, or to encumber the conjugations, as some have done, by introducing the latter pronoun, and the corresponding form of the verb, as singular.

It would be necessary to invent a pronoun for she, as there is, apparently, nothing of this kind in the language.

He's got me all threatened with the tremens now, so thet I hardly know how to match my pronouns to suit their genders an' persons.

He very strangely mistook the pronoun he for the object of the preposition with; and accordingly condemned the text, under the rule, "Prepositions govern the objective case."

These also need the pronoun, though Murray thought them complete without it. OBS.

1.The word for which a pronoun stands, is called its antecedent, because it usually precedes the pronoun.

He called I, thou, he, she, and it, with their plurals, "antecedent pronouns;" took my, thy, his, her, &c., for their only possessive forms in his declension; and, having passed from them by the space of just half his book, added: "Sometimes, to prevent the repetition of the same word, an antecedent pronoun in the possessive case, is made to represent, both the pronoun and a noun; as, 'That book is mine'i.

As he prints the masculine pronoun in Italics, perhaps he thought, with Murray and Webster, that which must needs be "of the neuter gender."