Part 5 (1/2)

Except a few, muff, muffs; chief, chiefs So hoof, roof, proof, relief, ular plurals are teeth frooose, feet from foot, dice from die, pence from penny, brethren fro in s have no genitives; but we say, Woainst the ladies hairs

Dr Willis thinks the Lords' house may he said for the house of Lords; but such phrases are not now in use; and surely an English ear rebels against theuity, as the Lord's house may be the house of Lords, or the house of a Lord

Besides that theis cut off

Soes, change their termination as they express different sexes; as prince, princess; actor, actress; lion, lioness; hero, heroine To these mentioned by Dr

Lowth ress, governess, tutress, peeress, authoress, traytress, and perhaps othets

Of these variable terminations we have only a sufficient number to make us feel our want; for e say of a woman that she is a philosopher, an astronomer, a builder, a weaver, a dancer, we perceive an impropriety in the termination which we cannot avoid; but we can say that she is an architect, a botanist, a student because these terminations have not annexed to them the notion of sex In words which the necessities of life are often requiring, the sex is distinguished not by different terminations but by different names, as a bull, a cow; a horse, a mare; equus, equa; a cock, a hen; and sooat

Of ADJECTIVES

Adjectives in the English language are wholly indeclinable; having neither case, gender, nor nu added to substantives in all relations without any change; as, a good woood men

The Coree of adjectives is for est, to the positive; as, fair, fairer, fairest; lovely, lovelier, loveliest; sweet, sweeter, sweetest; loer, lowest; high, higher, highest

Soood, better, best; bad, worse, worst; little, less, least; near, nearer, next; much, more, most; many (for moe), more (for moer) most (for moest); late, later, latest or last

So, most, as nether, nethermost; outer, outermost; under, undermost; up, upper, uppermost; fore, former, foremost

Most is sometimes added to a substantive, as, topmost, southmost

Many adjectives do not admit of comparison by terminations, and are only compared by more and most, as, benevolent, more benevolent, most benevolent

All adjectives may be compared by more and ularly formed; as, fair, fairer, or more fair; fairest, or ular comparison, the comparative more is oftener used than the superlative most, as more fair is oftener written for fairer, than most fair for fairest

The coulated by coreeableness of sound, is not easily reduced to rules

Monosyllables are commonly compared

Polysyllables, or words of more than two syllables, are seldom compared otherwise than by more and most, as, deplorable, more deplorable, most deplorable

Dissyllables are seldom compared if they terminate in some, as fulso, as trifling, char; in ous, as porous; in less, as, careless, harmless; in ed, as wretched; in id, as candid; in al, as mortal; in ent, as recent, fervent; in ain, as certain; in ive, as missive; in dy, as woody; in fy, as puffy; in ky, as rocky, except lucky; in my, as roomy; in ny, as skinny; in py, as ropy, except happy; in ry, as hoary

Soood writers fore subjected so little and so lately to grammar, such anomalies must frequently occur

So shady is compared by Milton

She in shadiest covert hid, Tun'd her nocturnal note Par Lost

And virtuous