By changing the f, or fe, into ves; as,

Calf, Calves. Half, Halves. Knife, Knives: Life, Lives. Loaf, Loaves. Wife, Wives. and staff, which in the plural is staves.

Are there any exceptions?

which takes, to make the plural.

How do Subftantives ending in y, with a confonant before it, form their plurals?

If there is not any other vowel in the fame fylla ble, by changing the y into ies; as, Lady, Ladies; Cherry, Cherries; Beauty, Beauties.

But when there is a vowel, the plural is formed by adding to the y; as, Boy, Boys; Key, Keysi

Are there not fome Subftantives which take en or ren to make their plurals?

Yes, the following: Child, Children; Ox, Oxen; Brother, Brothers, or Brethren.

Brother has two plurals in ufe; Brothers is applied to natural relations; as, brothers and fifters: Brethren is ufed in a figurative fense; as, when we fay Men and Brethren-All men are Brethren.

Man, and all its compounds, form their Plural, by changing the a into e; as, Man, Meu; Woman, Women; Footman, Footmen; Statefman, Statemen

Some

Some words taken from foreign languages retain their original Plurals; as, the following from the French Beau, makes Beaux, in the plural,

Are not the plural of fome Nouns irregular? Yes, the following:-Die, Dice; Foot, Feet; Goose, Geefe; Moufe, Mice; Penny, Pence; Tooth, Teeth.

Dice is used as the plural by gamefters; a Die, the ftamp used by coiners, takes the regular plural Dies.

Have all Subftantives a fingular and a plural number? No: fome words have no fingular; as, Afbes, Bel lows, News, Victuals, Sciffars, Riches, Tongs, Wages, &c.

Others have no plural numbers; as the names of virtues, as generofity, truth; vices, as avarice, falfhood; arts and fciences, as painting, music, mathematics; metals, as gold, filver, &c.

The names of moft forts of herbs, as, afparagus, grafs, mint, spinnage, balm, marjoram, parsley, fage, are used only in the fingular, a few excepted; such as,

a Nettle,
a Lily,

Nettles.
Lilies.

Poppies.

a Poppy,
a Cabbage, Cabbages.

The names of feveral forts of corn and pulfe, and articles of food, as barley, wheat, rye, bread, beer, ale, honey, milk, butter, &c. have properly no plural: though many of thefe words denote things which confift of two or more parts, and are therefore, flrictly fpeaking, plural,

Of Cafes.

A CASE, in Grammar, fignifies the different terminations of Nouns and Pronouns.

A Noun Subftantive in English has but two Cafes; the Nominative and the Genitive.

What is the Nominative Cafe?

The Cafe in which a thing is fimply mentioned, or the name itself; as, a boy, Arthur, a girl, Charlotte. How do you know the Nominative Case?

By afking the queftion-who? which? or what? Can you give me any examples?

Yes: Girls love play. Who love play? Anfwer, girls. Girls is the Nominative Cafe. Sometimes an Infinitive Mood anfwers as the Nominative Cafe to the Verb; as, to be idle is naughty. What is naughty? Ahfwer, to be idle.

Sometimes a fentence fupplies the place of the Nominative Case; as, The habit of rifing early conduces to bealth. What conduces to health? Anfwer, the habit of rifing early.

What is the Genitive Cafe?

The Genitive Cafe implies Property, or Poffeffion; as, Ellin's bock, i. e. the book of, or belonging to Ellin: to day's leffon: hence it is frequently called the Poffeffive Cafe.

The Genitive, or Poffeffive Cafe, may be known by its having the word of before it. EXAMPLE, The picture of the king:`or by the addition of s with an apostrophe to the nominative, as The king's picture.

Both

Both the fign, i.e. the apoftrophe, and the prepofition of, feems fometimes to be used; as, a foldier of the king's; but here are really two poffeffives, as it means, ONE of the foldi rs of the king.

To plural nouns ending in s, and fometimes to fin. gular nouns in, the apostrophe or fign ('), only is added to form the Genitive; as, For righteoufnefs' fake: On eagles' wings: The foldiers' courage: but it is frequently better to exprefs the fame idea by_the prepofition of; as, the courage of the foldiers. ~

The s is fometimes omitted after proper names ending in x, or s; Felix' room; Peleus' fon. Achilles' wrath, in Poetry, but this is unneceffary in Profe; as we can fay either Achilles's wrath, or the wrath of Achilles.

When feveral names are coupled together in the Poffeffive Cafe, the apoftrophe with s may be joined to the laft of them, and omitted, though understood, to the others, as, Eliza, Ann, and Mary's book; un. lefs any words come between, and then the fign (')-is neceffary. Ex. “ Ann's as well as Eliza's book.”

કે

Obferves with an apostrophe thus ('s) always denotes poffeffion or relation, and fignifies of. To put 's to the plural number, as law's, virtue's, vice's, or to the third perfon of verbs, as, fe carry's that along with her, inftead of carries, is abfurd.

Of Gender.

Gender is the diftinction of fex.

There are three Genders; the Mafculine, the Feminine, and the Neuter.

What

What nouns are of the Mafculine Gender?

All those which fignify males; as, a father, a fon and the following words, when perfonified, are confidered as mafculine: fun, time, death, fleep, love. What nouns are of the Feminine Gender?

All Nouns which fignify females; as, a mother, a girl: virue and vice, the foul, the earth, the moon, the church, religion, nature, fortune, ship, vessel, gun.

The names of countries and cities are also feminine. What nouns are of the Neuter Gender?

All Nouns that fignify things without life; as a houfe, a garden, a stick, a stone.

Sometimes the Sex or Gender is distinguished by the addition of another Subftantive; as, a man fervant, a maid fervant, a cock Sparrow, a hen Sparrow; or by the pronouns he or she; as, he goat,

Are not different words fometimes ufed to exprefs the difference of fex?. Yes.

Boy, Girl. King, Queen. Bridegroom, Bride. Lord, Lady. Brother, Sifter. Man, Woman, &c.

Do we not in fome words exprefs the gender by changing the termination?

Yes; the Feminine of fome Nouns is formed by changing the termination of the Masculine into es;