S3 



belong to Prosody, their office being, in the initials of words, to 

 point out the genders, with the definite and indefinite states of the 

 Noun and Adjective, and the tenses and moods of verbs. But aspi- 

 ration in the body of a word is used, as appears to me, for the sake 

 of euphony. — Of the Article. — This part of speech is treated dif- 

 ferently from the former Grammarians in their treatment of Etymo- 

 logy, i. e. in admittting but one Article, viz. <iti the. — Under this 

 head is given the influence or government of the article in the va- 

 rious classes of the initial letters of Nouns, and the changes to 

 which it is subject in the Scotch dialect of our language are shewn. 

 The treatment of this properly belongs to Syntax. — Nouns — 

 Tlie accidents of a noun according to him are Gender, Declension, 

 Case and Number. Person is omitted, but it is, perhaps, included 

 in Declension. To these, in my opinion, should be added Increase, 

 which is used for the sake of Emphasis. In the second Rule for 

 distinguishing the genders of nouns. Diminutives in jn are stated 

 to be feminine ; Mac Curtin makes them masculine. — See the pre- 

 ceding remarks on that point of Mac Curtin's Grammar, page 19. 

 On the subject of Declension Mr. Halliday differs materially from 

 Mac Curtin and the other Grammarians who preceded him. He ad- 

 mits three classes of nouns, forming seven Declensions, whilst the 

 other Grammarians have adopted five only. On this important part 

 of Grammar, our Author has approached a perfect system, and 

 has given a strong proof of his intellectual powers by the plan 

 which he has adopted, and the clear view he has taken of this 

 hitherto difficult part of Irish Grammar. It is manifest that he did 

 not rely on the Grammars of his Predecessors, but that he thought for 

 himself, and was master of his subject. The declensions of Adjec- 

 tives he has reduced to the same order as those of the Nouns, and 



vol.. XV. p 



