An English Grammar by J. W. (James Witt) Sewell;W. M. (William Malone) Baskervill
page 75 of 559 (13%)
page 75 of 559 (13%)
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"What is bolder than a miller's neckcloth, which takes a thief by the
throat every morning?" _Miller's_ is a name applied to every individual of its class, hence it is a common noun; it is the name of a male being, hence it is a gender noun, masculine; it denotes only one person, therefore singular number; it expresses possession or ownership, and limits _neckcloth_, therefore possessive case. _Neckcloth_, like _miller's_, is a common class noun; it has no sex, therefore neuter; names one thing, therefore singular number; subject of the verb _is_ understood, and therefore nominative case. _Thief_ is a common class noun; the connection shows a male is meant, therefore masculine gender; singular number; object of the verb _takes_, hence objective case. _Throat_ is neuter, of the same class and number as the word _neckcloth_; it is the object of the preposition _by_, hence it is objective case. NOTE.--The preposition sometimes takes the possessive case (see Sec. 68). _Morning_ is like _throat_ and _neckcloth_ as to class, gender, and number; as to case, it expresses time, has no governing word, but is the adverbial objective. Exercise. |
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