46 



Adjective, Pronoun, Verb, Participle, Adverb, Preposition, Inter- 

 jection and Conjunction. Of these one has been here for the 

 first time added ; for nine is the most that any of the former Gram- 

 marians has admitted. He has treated correctly of the Article, but 

 otherwise of the Noun. — " To Nouns," he says, " belong, num- 

 ber, gender, case and declension/' He should have added person. 

 With respect to genders the errors of former Grammarians are 

 servilely copied. Our remarks, when speaking of Mac Curtin's 

 Grammar, page 19, respecting the Rules for the distinction of Gen- 

 ders, may here be applied with every propriety. 



The'views taken of Case and Declension, with respect to the im- 

 propriety of making the systems of the Greek or Latin Grammar 

 a standard for the Irish, are excellent and correct, (but not original) 

 except that the vocative is omitted, and the accusative, which could 

 be di'ipensed with, (being always like the nominative) is retained. 

 His system of making the initials of nouns the foundation of the 

 Declensions, in imitation of Doctor O'Brien, is quite absurd, as the 

 Table of final variations subjoined to both Grammars sufficiently 

 prove. There are so many errors in his remarks on the Declen- 

 Bions, down to the table of terminational variations, that I very re- 

 luctantly undergo the painful task of exposing them to notice, but 

 I do so in order to warn students against a corrupt explanation of 

 our language. 



In remark 1, on Nouns, the assertion is rtot correct, except when 

 the article is expressed. The same may be said of number 2. — 

 In number 3, he excepts those only beginning in ^, but he should 

 also except these beginning with -o and c. It is here stated that 

 mutable consonants should be aspirated in the Nominative, Dative 

 and Accusative cases singular of nouns feminine. The Dative 

 should not be aspirated but eclipsed if the article be expressed ; 



