Give the Plural of :—

Exercise 85.

Moss. Mass. Pass. Guess. Mess. Miss. Glass. Class. Omnibus. Patch. Peach. Batch. Latch. Leech. Breach. Witch. Hitch. Watch. Hutch. Brooch. Coach. Bench. Wrench. Bush. Wish. Hash. Dish. Mesh. Blush. Brush. Tax. Buzz.

*118.' When the Singular Number ends in y following a vowel,' the Plural is formed by adding 8; if the y does not follow a vowel the Plural is formed by changing the y into i and adding es; as:

Ally. Alley. Abbey. Baby. Berry. Beauty. Chimney. Body. Donkey. Copy. Essay. Dairy. Jockey. Bay. Day. Toy. Journey. Eddy. Kidney. Key. Quay. Ferry. Turkey. Jelly. Jury. Gipsy. Monkey. Lily. Pulley. Puppy. Penny. Pony. Poppy. Reply. Ruby. Gallery. Galley. Joy. Delay. Buoy.

*119. Some Nouns ending in ƒ or fe change the ƒ into v, and the Plural ends in ves, as half, halves; knife, knives: but a great many simply adds to the singular, as reef, reefs.

Calf. Wife. Shelf. Elf. Leaf. Loaf. Thief. Staff. Fife. Proof. Scarf. Chief. Hoof. Roof. Dwarf. Wharf. Cliff.

es.

*120. Some Nouns ending in o add s in the Plural and some add

In most cases custom alone decides which shall be added.

1 See "Notes for Teachers," p. 323, Note 22 (last sentence).

2 That is, a, e, i, o, or u.

The following add es:-Bravo. Buffalo. Calico. Cargo. Echo. Flamingo. Hero. Motto. Negro. Potato. Tomato. Volcano.

The following add s :-Canto. Rondo. Solo. Domino. Octavo. Quarto. Duodecimo. Grotto. Tyro. Mosquito. Folio. Portfolio.

121. A few Nouns form their Plural Numbers, not by adding es or rs, but in other ways once more common than now:

122. Collective Nouns (see Exercise 80) may be

Singular; as, army, crew, score, group.

Plural; as, armies, crews, scores, groups.

2

*123. Some Nouns have the same form for Singular and Plural ; as deer, sheep, swine, fish, grouse; and, after numerals, score, dozen, pair; as ten dozen eggs."

66

*124. Some Nouns have no Singular; as alms, banns, bellows, riches, scissors, shears, snuffers, spectacles, trousers, oats, odds, wages, premises, vespers, victuals.

*125. Some words, though Plural in form, are generally or always used as Singulars; as, news, summons, molasses, means, politics, mathematics, billiards, etc.

1 Brothers is now the regular Plural for brother (in a family).
When the word fishes is used it signifies individuals or kinds.

*126. Some Nouns have two Plurals, with different meanings; as, brothers, brethren; peas, pease (collective); dies, dice (for gaming); indexes, indices; shots, shot (collective).

Exercise 88.

a. Say what is the Number of each Noun.

The hatter sold nine caps. There are thirty days in the month of September. Quick believers need broad shoulders. Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests.

The days are cold, the nights are long,

The north wind sings a doleful song.

You little twinkling stars that shine

Above my head so high,

If I had but a pair of wings

I'd join you in the sky.

The clouds are scudding across the moon,

A misty light is on the sea;

The wind in the shrouds has a wintry tune,

And the foam is flying free.

b. Give the Plural of :

Board. Horse. Book. Bag. Shrub. Gas. Grass. Ditch. Moss. Patch. Bush. Tax. Valley. Lady. Army. Daisy. Baby. Donkey. Chimney. Leaf. Calf. Wife. Hoof. Cliff. Echo. Hero. Motto. Canto. Grotto. Englishman. Foot. Ox. Brother. Deer. Sheep.

Cups. Spoons. Mats. Meadows. Gates. Boxes. Rushes. Topazes. Hashes. Foxes. Brooches. Watches. Alleys. Allies. Journeys. Gipsies. Shelves. Elves. Loaves. Roofs. Dwarfs. Buffaloes. Cargoes. Negroes. Portfolios. Oratorios. Mosquitos. Geese. Teeth. Mice. Brethren. Children. Swine. Fish. Shears. Bellows. Trousers. Oats.

*127. When 1a Noun is taken without change from a foreign language, it generally keeps its foreign Plural for a time, but after the word comes to be looked upon as thoroughly English it often forms its Plural in the English way. Examples of the latter are cherubs,

1 See "Notes for Teachers," p. 323, Note 22, and p. 324, Note 27.

geniuses, dogmas, enigmas, encomiums. Examples of Nouns that still have foreign plurals are: larva (pl. larvae), radius (pl. radii), stimulus (pl. stimuli), memorandum (pl. memoranda), phenomenon (pl. phenomena), axis (pl. axes), crisis (pl. crises), genus (pl. genera), beau (pl. beaux), cherub (pl. cherubim).

Monsieur, the Singular of Messieurs (usually written Messrs. in English), is not used in English. Mr. is used in the Singular. So Mrs. or Miss is generally used in the Singular, while Mesdames is used in the Plural.

GENDER.

128. All beings may be divided into three classes :-
(1) Creatures of the male sex;

(2) Creatures of the female sex ;
(3) Things without animal life.

Exercise 89.

Say of each of the beings named here whether it is of the male sex, of the female sex, or without animal life.

Man. Woman. Pen. Boy. Girl. Book. Father. Window. Mother. Brother. Sister. Tree. Uncle. Aunt. Corn. Horse. Mare. Meadow. Bull. Cow. Milk. He-goat. She-goat. Beard. Man-servant. Maidservant. Boar. Sow. Stable. Drake. Duck. Pond. Gander. Goose. Table. Iron. Stone. Lion. Lioness. Den. Desert.

129. All Nouns may be divided into three classes corresponding to the three classes into which all beings may be divided. They are

(1) Names of beings of the male sex;

(2) Names of beings of the female sex; or
(3) Names of things without animal life.

130. In the English of the present time each of these classes of names forms a Gender.'

Names of beings of the male sex are Nouns of the Masculine Gender.

1 See "Notes for Teachers," p. 324, Note 28.

2 Masculine from the Latin masculinus, lengthened from masculus, male.

Names of beings of the female sex are Nouns of the Feminine' Gender.

Names of things without animal life are Nouns of the Neuter 2 Gender.

131. There are some Nouns which do not tell us whether the being named is male or female; as, parent, relative, friend, cousin, bird. Such Nouns are said to be of Common Gender.

Exercise 90.

a. Give the Gender of each Noun.

The man left father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all other relatives, to travel in a far land. Boys and girls come out to play.

As the husband is, the wife is; thou art mated with a clown,

And the grossness of his nature shall have weight to drag thee down.

So we made the women with their children go;

The oars ply back again, and yet again,

Whilst, inch by inch, the drowning ship sank low,
Still under steadfast men.

O woman! lovely woman! Nature made you
To temper man; we had been brutes without you.
There's in you all that we believe of heaven,
Amazing brightness, purity, and truth,

Eternal joy, and everlasting love.

Eye. Doctor. Master. Mistress. House. Animal. Nephew. Niece. Farm. Fowl. Bird. Carpenter. Guardian. Sugar. Spice. Nurse. Servant. Attendant. Teacher. Baby. Root. Plant. Mustard. Colt. Ox. Songstress. Seamstress. Hand. Leg. Arm. Heart. Life. Hope. Mercy.

Additional Nouns :-Exercise 89.

b. Give the Genders of the following Pronouns :

I. Thou. He. She. It. My. Mine. Me. Thy. Thine. Thee. His. Him. Hers. Its. We. Our. You. They. Them. Their. Theirs. 1 Feminine from the Latin femininus, womanly, from femina, a woman.

2 Neuter is a pure Latin word, meaning neither. Neuter Gender means neither Masculine nor Feminine. In origin the word female has no connection with the word male.