2d. They describe the condition, situation, or relative circumstances of things; as, a finished or unfinished house. "A little book open."

"An irritable man," alludes to the man's general character of irritability. The man was greatly irritated, refers only to the man's special situation at a given time. "My son was dead and is alive again; was lost and now is found."

"He was well yesterday; but is very sick this morning.'

This class of adjectives, describing by condition, or the relative circumstances of things, includes a large number of words which have generally but erroneously been classed with adverbs, as here, there, yonder, where.

Things are described as well as specified by their relation to each other, and the same epithet partakes, frequently, of both characters; as the antediluvian inhabitants; the western continent; the northern hemisphere; the rear guard.

Again, things are described by their actions or operations; as a trotting horse; a spinning machine; an intriguing politician.

136. The noun to which the describing, and sometimes the specifying adjective, refers, is elegantly and properly omitted, wherever it is necessarily understood; as "The just shall live by faith." This, of course, cannot mean just beasts, nor birds; but the class of beings who are capable of exercising Christian faith, and whose spiritual life depends on that exercise; that is, the human species. The righteous, the wicked, the swift, the strong, are omissions of the noun upon the same principle.

The English, the French, the Spanish, are ex

pressions which imply the following nouns, people, nation, language, or some other word sufficiently understood.

137. By a contraction of a different kind, the adjective is converted into a noun, and takes the plural. As, mortals, instead of mortal beings, regulars for regular troops, Italians, an American, marines, goods; the particulars, which means the particular circumstances or things.

Titles are nouns, when used alone; as, both Captains fought with great bravery. Two amiable young misses are made fatherless by the duel.

When titles are prefixed to proper nouns, they are adjectives, which in English never vary for gender, number, nor case. Two Major Cooks and three Captain Porters were at the meeting. Two Miss Whites; the two Miss Whites; or two of the Miss Whites were there. The two Lord Lyttletons. All the Lady Grays. Many Queen Marys.†

ADJECTIVE PRONOUNS.

138. A few observations on the adjectives and

*Maister is the old word for master, and, till within th last three hundred years, was written alike in French and English. The French now write it maitre, dropping the s, according to their frequent mode of elision. The English, in one case, omit i, and write master, denoting authority. Retaining i instead of a gives the term of politeness, mister. So Maistresse is altered to Mistress, and its modern contraction, Miss, is applied to an unmarried lady. This manufacture of many words from one is the common process in the refinement of language.

The plurals of proper names are formed simply by adding 8, even where the common noun would end in ies or otherwise; as, the eight King Henrys, and not Henries.

"adjective pronouns," as taught in British colleges, and schools, and hitherto followed in America, as a matter of course, will prepare the way for such farther explanations as appear to belong to this class of words. The remarks offered will be referred to Mr. Murray's grammar; not to decry that particular author; but because he is confessedly the present head of the system, the study of which requires so much expense of time and money, for two of the principal nations of the earth; and from the grammatical mystery, that while this work is so generally received, as the best English system, and the basis of all others, almost every person, who has any thing to do with it, finds it necessary to mend it, in its most important points.

For the purpose of farther avoiding every appearance of unfairness, it will be proper to begin by showing Mr. Murray's high claims to authority.

"Mr. Murray's English Grammar, Exercises, and Key to the Exercises, form altogether, by fur, the most complete and judicious analysis of the English language, that has hitherto been published. The rules for composition are excellent; the examples are selected with taste and judgment; and the execution of the whole displays an unusual degree of critical acuteness and sagacity.”—Annual Review. London.

"We have had no grammarian, within the compass of our critical career, who has employed so much labor and judgment upon our native language, as the author of these volumes."-British Critic.

"We have read this work with sufficient care, to be able to pronounce upon it, as a work of great correctness and perfection.

We cannot dismiss these volumes without observing, that as they are intended for the higher classes of readers, they will be found particularly'serviceable to instructors, to young persons who have left school, and to foreigners.”—Christian Observer.

“The Grammar I esteem as a most excellent performance. I think it superior to any work of that nature we have yet had; and am persuaded that it is, by much, the best grammar of the English language extant."—Guardian of Education.

"They occupy with distinguished excellence, a most imporlant place in the science of the English language; and, as such, we can warmly recommend them to the teachers of schools, as well as to all those who are desirous of attaining correctness and precision in their native tongue.”—Monthly Review.

“The very general approbation which this grammar has received from the public, is sufficiently indicative of its merits: and we have much pleasure in confirming the decision of the public, respecting its superiority over all other English grammars. We request the author to continue his exertions for the instruction of the rising generation."—Critical Review.

"Our sentiments with regard to the omission or insertion of the relative pronoun, are exactly stated by Mr. Lindley Murray, the ingenious author of the best English Grammar, BEYOND ALL COMPARISON, that has yet appeared."-Imperial Review.

"Mr. Murray's Grammar, and Selection of Lessons for Reading, are the best in the English language.”—Walker's Elements of Elocution, second edition.

140. This "best of all" expositors of our language, and other grammatical writers, in general, present a set of words which they call adjective pronouns, and which they commonly agree in subdividing into six classes. These subdivisions of adjective pronouns are denominated “relative and interrogative, possessive, distributive, demonstrative, and indefinite." Almost all which is said respecting this class of words will be found irreconcilable with the principles and practice of every language throughout the civilized world. There is no "adjective pronoun" in any language. "A pronoun stands for a noun," and is never used with one. An

adjective is used with a noun, and never stands for one. The line of separation between these two sorts of words is always complete. The phrase adjective pronoun is not only a contradiction in terms; but every attempt, in every known tongue, to explain these words, under this supposed mixed character, is necessarily absurd and inconsistent.

141. The words I, me, we, us, who and whom are personal pronouns; strictly so; as they stand only for persons. Thou, ye, you, he she, it, they, are included in the same class, by some occasional latitude of meaning, given to the word personal. No other words but those coming under the general description of personal pronouns, that is, real substitutes for nouns, are pronouns at all.

Let us compare some of these pronoun adjectives with existing grammar rules, and with facts as they exist in the actual forms of speech.

142. 1. The words who, which, what, and that, are called relative pronouns, because they relate to a foregoing word." This foregoing word is, honestly enough, called an "antecedent." Who, which, and what, are again named interrogatives, when they are used in asking questions. Two important points are omitted, in Dr. Lowth's system of explanation, which, in substance, has been copied by almost every writer on grammar since his time.

143. 1st. We are left without name or character for the words who, which, and what, when they neither "ask questions," nor "relate to a foregoing word, called the antecedent;" which circumstance very often happens; and, in which case, it is difficult to tell under which rule, in what grammar, to