Chapter 95

THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS, &c.

§ 227. The demonstrative pronouns are, 1. _He, it_. 2. _She_. 3. _This, that_. 4. _The_.

_He_, _she_, and _it_, generally looked on as personal, are here treated as demonstrative pronouns, for the following reasons.

1. The personal pronouns form an extremely natural class, if the pronouns of the two first persons be taken by themselves. This is not the case if they be taken along with _he_, _it_, and _she_.

2. The idea expressed by _he_, _it_, and _she_ is naturally that of demonstrativeness. In the Latin language _is, ea, id_; _ille, illa, illud_; _hic, hæc, hoc_, are demonstrative pronouns in sense, as well as in declension.

3. The plural forms _they, them_, in the present English, are the plural forms of the root of _that_, a true demonstrative pronoun; so that even if _he_, _she_, and _it_ could be treated as personal pronouns, _they_ could not.

4. The word _she_ has grown out of the Anglo-Saxon _seó_. Now _seó_ was in Anglo-Saxon the feminine form of the definite article; the definite article itself being originally a demonstrative pronoun.

§ 228. Compared with the Anglo-Saxon the present English stands as follows:--

_She_.--The Anglo-Saxon form _heó_, being lost to the language, is replaced by the feminine article _seó_.

§ 229. _Her_.--This is a case, not of the present _she_, but of the Anglo-Saxon _heó_: so that _she_ may be said to be defective in the oblique cases, and _her_ to be defective in the nominative.

_Him_.--A dative form, which has replaced the Anglo-Saxon _hine_. When used as a dative, it was neuter as well as masculine.

_His_.--Originally neuter as well as masculine. Now as a neuter, replaced by _its_--"et quidem ipsa vox _his_, ut et interrogativum _whose_, nihil aliud sunt quam _hee's_, _who's_, ubi s omnino idem præstat quod in aliis possessivis. Similiter autem _his_ pro _hee's_ eodem errore quo nonnunquam _bin_ pro _been_; item _whose_ pro _who's_ eodem errore quo _done_, _gone_, _knowne_, _growne_, &c., pro _doen_, _goen_, _knowen,_ vel _do'n_, _go'n_, _know'n_, _grow'n_; utrobique contra analogiam linguæ; sed usu defenditur."--Wallis, c.v.

_It_.--Changed from the Anglo-Saxon _hit_, by the ejection of h. The t is no part of the original word, but a sign of the neuter gender, forming it regularly from _he_. The same neuter sign is preserved in the Latin _id_ and _illud_.

_Its_.--In the course of time the nature of the neuter sign t, in _it_, the form being found in but a few words, became misunderstood. Instead of being looked on as an affix, it passed for part of the original word. Hence was formed from _it_ the anomalous genitive _its_ superseding the Saxon _his_. The same was the case with--

_Hers_.--The r is no part of the original word, but the sign of the dative case. These formations are of value in the history of cases.

§ 230. _Theirs_.--In the same predicament with _hers_ and _its_; either the case of an adjective, or a case formed from a case.

_Than_ or _then_, and _there_.--Although now adverbs, they were once demonstrative pronouns, in a certain case and in a certain gender, viz., _than_ and _then_ masculine accusative and singular, _there_ feminine dative and singular.

§ 231. An exhibition of the Anglo-Saxon declension is the best explanation of the English. Be it observed, that the cases marked in italics are found in the present language.

I.

_Se, seó_ ( = _she_).

Of this word we meet two forms only, both of the singular number, and both in the nominative case; viz., masc., _se_; fem. _seó_ ( = the). The neuter gender and the other cases of the article were taken from the pronoun _þæt_ ( = that).

II.

_þæt_ ( = that, the), and _þis_ ( = this).

_Neut._ _Masc._ _Fem._ _Neut._ _Masc._ _Fem._

_Sing. Nom._ _þæt_ -- -- _þis_ þes þeós. _Acc._ _þæt_ _þone_ þâ þis þisne þás. _Abl._ _þy_ _þy_ _þære._ _þise_ þise þisse. _Dat._ þám þám _þære._ þisum þisum þisse. _Gen._ þæs þæs _þære._ þises þises þisse. \__________ _________/ \_________ _________/ \/ \/ _Plur. Nom. Acc._ _þá._ _þás._ _Abl. Dat._ _þám._ þisum. _Gen._ _þára._ þissa.

III.

_Hit_ ( = it), (_he_ = he), _heó_ ( = she).

_Sing. Nom._ _hit_ _he_ heó. _Acc._ _hit_ hine hí. _Dat._ _him_ _him_ _hire._ _Gen._ _his_ _his_ _hire._ \_________ __________/ \/ _Plur. Nom. Acc._ hi _Dat._ him (heom). _Gen._ hira (heora).

IV.

_þe_ (the)--Undeclined, and used for all cases and genders.

§ 232. _These_.--Here observe--

1st. That the s is no inflection, but a radical part of the word, like the s in _geese_.

2nd. That the Anglo-Saxon form is _þás_.

These facts create difficulties in respect to the word _these_. Mr. Guest's view is, perhaps, the best; viz., that the plural element of the word is the final -e, and that this -e is the old English and Anglo-Saxon adjective plural; so that _thes-e_ is formed from _this_, as _gode_ ( = _boni_) is from _god_ ( = _bonus_).

The nominative plural in the Old English adjective ended in -e; as,

_Singular._ _Plural._ _M._ _F._ _N._ _M._ _F._ _N._ _God_, _god_, _god_, _gode_.

In Old English MSS. this plural in -e is general. It occurs not only in adjectives and pronouns as a regular inflection, but even as a plural of the genitive _his_, that word being treated as a nominative singular; so that _hise_ is formed from _his_, as _sui_ from _suus_, or as _eji_ might have been formed from _ejus_; provided that in the Latin language this last word had been mistaken for a nominative singular. The following examples are Mr. Guest's.

1. In these lay a gret multitude of _syke_ men, _blinde_, crokid, and _drye_.--_Wicliffe_, Jon. v.

2. In all the orders foure is non that can So much of dalliance and faire language, He hadde ymade ful many a marriage-- His tippet was ay farsed ful of knives, And pinnes for to given _faire_ wives.--_Chau._, Prol.

3. And _al_ the cuntre of Judee wente out to him, and _alle_ men of Jerusalem.--_Wicliffe_, Mark i.

4. He ghyueth lif to _alle_ men, and brething, and _alle_ thingis; and made of von _al_ kynde of men to inhabit on _al_ the face of the erthe.--_Wicliffe_, Dedis of Apostlis, xvii.

5. That fadres sone which _alle_ thinges wrought; And _all_, that wrought is with a skilful thought, The Gost that from the fader gan procede, Hath souled hem.--_Chau._, The Second Nonnes Tale.

6. And _alle_ we that ben in this aray And maken _all_ this lamentation, We losten _alle_ our husbondes at that toun.--_Chau._, The Knightes Tales.

7. A _good_ man bryngeth forth _gode_ thingsis of _good_ tresore.--_Wicliffe_, Matt. xii.

8. So every _good_ tree maketh _gode_ fruytis, but an yvel tree maketh yvel fruytes. A _good_ tree may not mak yvel fruytis, neither an yvel tree may make _gode_ fruytis. Every tree that maketh not _good_ fruyt schal be cut down.--_Wicliffe_, Matt. vii.

9. Men loveden more darknessis than light for her werkes weren _yvele_, for ech man that doeth _yvel_, hateth the light.--_Wicliffe_, John iii.

10. And _othere_ seedis felden among thornes wexen up and strangliden hem, and _othere_ seedis felden into good lond and gaven fruyt, sum an hundred fold, _another_ sixty fold, an _other_ thritty fold, &c.--_Wicliffe_, Matt. xiii.

11. Yet the while he spake to the puple lo _his_ mother and _hise_ brethren stonden withoute forth.--_Wicliffe_, Mat. xii.

12. And _hise_ disciplis camen and taken _his_ body.--_Wicliffe_, Matt., xiv.

13. When _thise_ Bretons tuo were fled out of _this_ lond Ine toke his feaute of alle, &c.--_Rob Brunne_, p. 3.

14. _This_ is thilk disciple that bereth witnessyng of _these_ thingis, and wroot them.--_Wicliffe_, John xxi.

15. Seye to us in what powers thou doist _these_ thingis, and who is he that gaf to thee _this_ power.--_Wicliffe_, Luke xx.

§ 233. _Those_.--Perhaps the Anglo-Saxon _þá_ with s added. Perhaps the _þás_ from _þis_ with its power altered. Rask, in his Anglo-Saxon Grammar, writes "from _þis_ we find, in the plural, _þæs_ for _þás_. From which afterwards, with a distinction in signification, _these_ and _those_." The English form _they_ is illustrated by the Anglo-Saxon form _ðage_ = _þá_. The whole doctrine of the forms in question has yet to assume a satisfactory shape.

The present declension of the demonstrative pronouns is as follows:--

A.

_She_.--Defective in the oblique cases.

B.

_He_.

_Masc._ _Neut._ _Fem._ _Nom._ He It (from _hit_) -- _Acc._ Him It Her. _Dat._ Him -- Her. _Gen._ His -- Her. _Secondary Gen._ -- Its Hers.

No plural form.

C.

I.

_That_.

_Neut._ _Masc._ _Fem._ _Sing. Nom._ That -- -- _Acc._ That Than, then[49] -- _Dat._ -- -- There.[49] _Instrumental_ _Thence._ _Plur. Nom._ They.[50] _Acc._ Them.[50] _Gen._ Their.[50] _Secondary Gen._ Theirs.[50]

II.

_Singular_, This. _Plural_, These.

III.

_Those_.

IV.

_The_--Undeclined.

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