687. Adjectives should not be used as adverbs; thus, "miserable poor," should be, miserably poor"-" sings elegant," should be, sings elegantly." So also, adverbs should not be used as adjectives; thus, "He arrived safely," should be, "He arrived safe."

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688. This here, that there, them books, are vulgarisms, for this, that, those books. 689. An adjective sometimes qualifies an adjective and noun together as one compound term; as, "A venerable old man"—"The best black tea."

690. Sometimes an adjective modifies the meaning of another adjective; as, "red-hot iron"-" a bright-red color."

691. Several adjectives frequently qualify the same substantive; as, "A large, strong, black, horse."

This, that these, those.

692. When two or more objects are contrasted, this refers to the last-mentioned, that to the first; as, "Virtue and vice are opposite qualities; that ennobles the mind, this debases it."

693. Former and latter are used in the same way (304). So also the one, the other, referring to words in the singular.

694. When no contrast is expressed, this refers to things near, or just mentioned, and that to things more remote, or formerly mentioned.

CONSTRUCTION OF COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES.

695. When one object is compared with one other of the same class, or with more than one of a different class, individually, or in the aggregate, the comparative is used; as, "James is the weaker of the two"- -"He is taller than his father"'-" He is taller than any of his brothers."

696. Sometimes however, when two objects of the same class are compared, he superlative is used, being thought to be less stiff and formal; as, "James is the weakest of the two."

697. When one object is compared with more than one of the same class, the superlative is used, and commonly has the prefixed (713); as, “John is the tallest amongst us”—“ He is the best scholar in a class of ten"- He is the most diligent of them all.”

698. In the use of the comparative and superlative, when more than two objects are compared, the following distinction should be carefully observed, viz. :—

699. When the comparative is used, the latter term of comparison must always exclude he former; thus, "Eve was fairer than any of her daughters."-" Russia is larger than any other country in Europe."-" China has a greater population than any nation of Europe," or, " than any other nation on the globe." Thus used, the comparative requires than after it (963–2).

700. When the superlative is used, the latter term of comparison must always include the former; as, "Russia is the largest country in Europe."'-"China has the greatest population of any nation on the globe."

701. Double comparatives and superlatives are improper; thus,

James is more taller than John"-omit more-" He is the most wisest of the three"omit most.

702. The double comparative lesser, however, is sanctioned by good authority; as, "Lesser Asia"-" Every lesser thing."-N. Y. Review.-"Like lesser streams.' -Coleridge.

703. Adjectives, not admitting comparison (223), should not be compared, nor connected with comparative words, such as so, as, and the like. Thus, more universal, so universal, as universal, should be more general, so general, as general; and so of similar words.

POSITION OF ADJECTIVES.

704. An adjective is commonly placed before its substantive; as, “A good man”—“ A virtuous woman.”

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1. Adjectives should be placed as near as possible to their substantives, and so that it may be certain to what noun they belong; thus, "A new pair of shoes”— 'A fine field of corn"-"A good glass of wine," should be, "A pair of new shoes"-" A field of fine corn”—“A glass of good wine"--because the adjectives qualify shoes, corn, wine, and not pair, field, glass. When ambiguity can not otherwise be avoided, the use of the hyphen might be resorted to with advantage; thus, "A good-man's coat"-" A good man's-coat."

2. When an adjective qualifies two or more substantives, connected by and, it is usually expressed before the first, and understood to the rest; as, “A man of great wisdom and moderation."

3. It has been disputed whether the numerals, two, three, four, &c., should be placed before the words first and last, or after them, when used to indicate the beginning and the end of a series. On this point, with small numbers, usage is nearly equally divided, and as the matter now stands, in some cases the one form seems to be preferable, and in some, the other. In this construction, as in some others where no impropriety is involved, euphony and taste seem to govern. This much is certain-neither form can be justly condemned, on the ground of either authority or propriety.-See App. VIII.

705. An adjective is placed after its substantive

1. Generally when it qualifies a pronoun; as "We saw him faint and weary.” 2. When other words depend on the adjective; as, “A man sick of the palsy" -"A pole ten feet long."

3. When the quality results from the action expressed by a verb; as, "Extravagance makes a man poor”—“ Virtue makes a poor man happy."

4. When the adjective is predicated of the substantive; as, "God is good""We are happy"-" He who is good is happy"-" He looks feeble"— "To play is pleasant"—" That he should fail is strange.”

706. In many cases, the adjective may stand either before or after its substanAve, and sometimes-especially in poetry, and in connexion with an infinitive or participle at a considerable distance from it. In all these, the variety is so great that no rules can provide for them. Care, however, should be taken to place the adjective where its relation to the substantive will be clear and natural, and its meaning effective.

3

EXERCISES TO BE CORRECTED.

Correct the errors in the following sentences, and give a reason for the changeThese kind of books can hardly be got. I have not been from home this ten days. We walked two mile in half an hour. I ordered six ton of coal, and these makes the third that has been delivered. This lake is six fathom deep. The garden wall is five rod long; I measured it with a ten-foot pole. Twenty heads of cattle passed along the road. It is said that a fleet of six sails has just entered the bay. That three pair of gloves cost twelve shilling -(159-2) A man who is prudent and industrious, will, by that means, increase his fortune. Charles formed expensive habits, and by those means became poor. If you are fond of those sort of things you may have them.-(680) There was a blot on the first or sec ond pages. The first and second verse are better than the third and fourth.

(687) Come quick and do not hinder us. Time passes swift, though it appears to move slow. We got home safely before dark, and found our friends sitting comfortably around the fire. The boat glides smooth over the lake. Magnesia feels smoothly. door widely. The door is painted greenly.

Open the

(688) Hand me that there pen, for this here one is worse than all. Them books were sold for a lesser price than they cost.

(692) "For beast and bird;

These to their grassy couch, those to their nests, repair."

"Night's shadows hence, from thence the morning's shine;
That bright, this dark, this earthly, that divine."

(694) That very subject which we are now discussing is still involved in mystery. This vessel, of which you spoke yesterday, sailed in the evening.

(698-700) That merchant is the wealthiest of all his neighbors. China has a greater population than any nation on earth. That ship is larger than any of its class. There is more gold in California than in any part of North America. The birds of Brazil are more beautiful than any in South America. Philadelphia is the most regular of any city in Europe. Israel loved Joseph more than all his children. Solomon was wiser than any of the ancient kings.

(701, 702) A more worthier man you can not find. The nightingale's voice is the most sweetest in the grove. A worser evil yet awaits us. The rumor has not spread so universally as we supposed. Draw that line more perpendicular. This figure is a more perfect circle than that is. He is far from being so perfect as he thinks he is

THE ARTICLE AND ITS NOUN.

707. RULE III.—1. The article a or AN is put before common nouns in the singular number, when used INDEFI"A man' "An apple;" that is, "any

NITELY; as,

man". " any apple."

2. The article THE is put before common nouns, either singular or plural, when used DEFINITELY; as, "The sun rises"-"The city of New York."

[See Etymology of the Article 183.]

708. A common noun, in the singular number, without an article or limiting word, is usually taken in its widest sense; as, "Man is mortal"'—" Anger is a short madness."

709. The is sometimes used before a singular noun, to particularize a species or class, without specifying any individual under it: as, the oak, the rose, the horse, the raven, meaning not any particular oak, rose, horse, or raven, but the class, so called, in a general sense. In such cases, whether the noun is used to denote a class or an individual, can be determined only by the sense, as in the following examples: "The oak produces acorns"-" The oak was struck by lightning.". "The horse is a noble animal"-" The horse ran away."-" The lion shall eat straw like the ox"-" The lion tore the ox in pieces."- The night is the time for

epose"

"'—" The night was dark."

710. Every article belongs to a noun, expressed or understood, except as in (714 and 715).

711. When several nouns are combined in the same construction, the article is commonly expressed with the first, and understood with the rest; as, "The men, women, and children, are expected." But when emphasis, or a different form of the article, is required, the article is prefixed to each; as, "The men, the women, and the children, are expected"-" A horse and an ass."

712. But when several nouns in the same construction are disjunctively connected, the article must be repeated; as, "The men, or the women, or the children, are expected."

713. The is commonly put before an adjective used as a noun; as, " The rightcous is more excellent than his neighbor." Also before adjectives in the superlative degree, when comparison is implied (213); as, "Gold is the most precious of the metals." But when comparison is not implied, the superlative is either without an article, or has a or an preceding it; as, "A most excellent man."

714. The is sometimes put intensively before adjectives and adverbs in the comparative degree; as, “The higher the mountain, the colder its top"-" The faster he goes, the sooner he stops." Thus used, it performs the function of an adverb.

715. An adjective placed after its noun as an epithet, commonly has the article the before it; as, "Alexander the Great"-" Charles the Fifth." This may be considered as inverted for "The great Alexander," "The fifth Charles;" or. by

ellipsis, for "Alexander, the great [conqueror]," "Charles, the fifth [emperor of the name]."

716. A or an is sometimes put before the adjectives few, hundred, thousand, followed by a plural noun; as, “A few men”—“ A hundred acres"—" A thousand miles." In such cases, the adjective and noun may be considered as a compound term, expressing one aggregate, and having the construction of a collective noun (790). Or the adjective may be regarded as a collective noun (207), and the noun following governed by of, understood; as, "A few [of] men"-"A hundred [of] acres," &c. This is evidently the construction of larger numbers; thus, we never say, "A million dollars," but, "A million of dollars."

717. When two or more adjectives belong to the same noun, the article of the noun is put with the first adjective, but not with the rest; as, "A red and white rose," that is, one rose, partly red and partly white. But,

718. When two or more adjectives belong each to a different object of the same name, the article of the noun is put with each adjective; as, “A red and a white "A red rose and a white rose," that is, two roses, one red and the other

rose"
white.
719. The same remark applies to the demonstrative that; as,
good man"=" That great and that good man."

"That great and

720. So also when two or more epithets follow a noun, if both designate the same person, the article precedes the first only. If they designate different persons, the article must precede each; thus, "Johnson, the bookseller and stationer," means one man, who is both a bookseller and a stationer; but, "Johnson the bookseller, and the stationer," means two men, one a bookseller, named Johnson, and the other a stationer, not named.

721. When two nouns after a word implying comparison, refer to the same person, or thing, the last must want the article; as, "He is a better soldier than statesman." But when they refer to different persons, the last must have the article; as, He is a better soldier than a statesman [would be]."

722. The article a, before the adjectives few and little, renders the meaning positive; as, "A few men can do that"-" He deserves a little credit." But without the article the meaning is negative; as, "Few men can do that"-" He deserves little credit."

723. In the translation of the Scriptures, and some other writings of that time, the is often used before which; as, “That worthy name by the which ye are called”—"The which when I had seen.”—Bunyan.

724. The article is generally omitted before proper names, abstract nouns, and names of virtues, vices, arts, sciences, &c., when not restricted, and such other nouns as are of themselves so manifestly definite as not to require it; as, "Christmas is in December"—"Logic and mathematics are important studies"-" Truth is mighty." Still certain proper names, and names used in a certain way, have the article prefixed; as, "The Alps"-"The Rhine"'-"The Azores"-" The immortal Washington"- -"He was a Johnson, of the family of the Johnsons, in England."

POSITION OF THE ARTICLE.

725. The article is commonly placed before its noun; as, "A

man"-" The man."

726. If the noun is qualified by an adjective before it, the article precedes the adjective; as, “A good man.”