Part 4 (2/2)

The relations of English nouns to words going before or following are not expressed by cases, or changes of teres, by prepositions, unless we ular

Noistri, of a Master, of the Master, or Master's, the Master's

Dat Magistro, to a Master, to the Master

Acc Magistruister, Master, O Master

Abl Magistro, froistri, Masters, the Masters

Gen Magistroruistris, to Masters, to the Masters

Acc Magistros, Masters, the Masters

Voc Magistri, Masters, O Masters

Abl Magistris, from Masters, from the Masters

Our nouns are therefore only declined thus:

Master, Gen Master's Plur Masters

Scholar, Gen Scholar's Plur Scholars

These genitives are alritten with ato an opinion long received, that the 's is a contraction of his, as the soldier's valour, for the soldier his valour: but this cannot be the true original, because 's is put to fehty Juno's unrelenting hate; and collective nouns, as Women's passions; the rabble's insolence; the multitude's folly: in all these cases it is apparent that his cannot be understood We say likewise the foundation's strength; the diamond's lustre; the winter's severity: but in these cases hisformerly been applied to neuters in the place now supplied by it and its

The learned and sagacious Wallis, to whorammarian owes a tribute of reverence, calls this modification of the noun an adjective possessive; I think with no enitive in equituenitive Dr Lowth, on the other part, supposes the possessive pronouns enitive cases

This terenitive indicating possession It is derived to us from the Saxon's who declined smith, a smith; Gen smither, of a smith; Plur smither or smithar, smiths; and so in two other of their seven declensions

It is a further confirenitive and plural were longer by a syllable than the original word: knitis for knight's, in Chaucer; leavis for leaves, in Spenser

When a word ends in s, the genitive may be the same with the nominative, as Venus te s, as table, tables; fly, flies; sister, sisters; wood, woods; or es where s could not otherwise be sounded, as after ch, s, sh, x, z; after c sounded like s, and g like j; the es

The forular is the same

A feords still make the plural in n, as men, women, oxen, swine, and enerally prevails in the Teutonick dialects

Words that end in f commonly form their plural by ves, as loaf, loaves; calf, calves