CHAPTER VII.

THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS, &c.

s. 300. 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 (and _se_ when found in the language) be taken by themselves. This is not the case if they be taken along with _he_, _it_, and _she_. The absence of gender, the peculiarity in their declension, and their defectiveness are marked characters wherein they agree with each other, but not with any other words.

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_, _haec_, _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, it could only be in their so-called singular number.

4. The word _she_ has grown out of the Anglo-Saxon _se['o]_. Now _se['o]_ was in Anglo-Saxon the feminine form of the definite article; the definite article being a demonstrative pronoun.

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

_She._--The Anglo-Saxon form _he['o]_, being lost to the language, is replaced by the feminine article _se['o]_.

_Her._--This is a case, not of the present _she_, but of the Anglo-Saxon _he['o]_: so that _she_ may be said to be defective in {250} the oblique cases and _her_ to be defective in the nominative.

_Him._--A true 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 praestat 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 linguae; 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.

_They_, _their_, _them_.--When _hit_ had been changed into _it_, when _he['o]_ had been replaced by _she_, and when the single form _the_, as an article, had come to serve for all the cases of all the genders, two circumstances took place: 1. The forms _th['a]m_ and _th['a]ra_ as definite articles became superfluous; and, 2. The connexion between the plural forms _h['i]_, _heom_, _heora_, and the singular forms _he_ and _it_, grew indistinct. These were conditions favourable to the use of the forms _they_, _them_, and _their_, instead of _h['i]_, _heom_, _heora_.

_Theirs._--In the same predicament with _hers_ and _its_; either the case of an adjective, or a case formed from a case. {251}

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

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, _se['o]_.

Of this word we meet two forms only, both of the singular number, and both in the nominative case; _viz._ masc. _se_; fem. _se['o]_ (the). The neuter gender and the other cases of the article were taken from the pronoun _thaet_ (that).

II.

_thaet_ (that, the), and _this_ (this).

_Neut._ _Masc._ _Fem._ _Neut._ _Masc._ _Fem._ Sing. Nom. _thaet_ -- -- _this_ thes the['o]s. Acc. _thaet_ _thone_ th[^a]. this thisne th['a]s. Abl. _thy_ _thy_ _th['ae]re_. _thise_ thise thisse. Dat. th['a]m th['a]m _th['ae]re_. thisum thisum thisse. Gen. thaes thaes _th['ae]re_. thises thises thisse. \----------\/----------/ \---------\/---------/ Plur. Nom. Acc. _th['a]_. _th['a]s_. Abl. Dat. _th['a]m_. thisum. Gen. _th['a]ra_. thissa.

III.

_Hit_ (it), _he_ (he), _he['o]_ (she).

Sing. Nom. _hit_ _he_ he['o]. Acc. _hit_ hine h['i]. Dat. _him_ _him_ _hire_. Gen. _his_ _his_ _hire_. \--------\/--------/ Plur. Nom. Acc. hi Dat. him (heom). Gen. hira (heora).

IV.

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

s. 301. _These._--Here observe-- {252}

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 _th[^a]s_.

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 letter _e_, and that this _-e_ is the old English and Anglo-Saxon adjective plural; so that _thes-e_ is formed from _thes_, as _gode_ (=_boni_) is formed from _god_ (=_bonus_).

The nominative plural in the Old English 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.--_Wiclif_, 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.

{253} 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 Tale.

7. A _good_ man bryngeth forth _gode_ thingis 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_, Jon. 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_, Matt. xii.

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

13. Whan _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.

s. 302. _Those._--Perhaps the Anglo-Saxon _th['a]_ with _s_ added. Perhaps the _th['a]s_ from _this_ with its power altered. Rask, in his Anglo-Saxon Grammar, writes "from this we find, in the plural, thaes for th['a]s. From which afterwards, with a distinction in signification, _these_ and _those_." The English form _they_ is illustrated by the Anglo-Saxon form _dhage_=_th['a]_. 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:--

I.

_The_--Undeclined.

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II.

_She_--Defective in the oblique cases.

III.

_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.

IV.

_That._

_Neut._ _Masc._ _Fem._ _Sing. Nom._ That -- -- _Acc._ That Than,[40] then -- _Dat._ -- -- There.[40] \-----------------\/----------------/ _Plur. Nom._ They.[41] _Acc._ Them.[41] _Gen._ Their.[41] _Secondary Gen._ Theirs.[41]

V.

_Singular_, This. _Plural_, These.

VI.

_Those_.

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