148 



TRANSACTIONS OP THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



[Vol. V. 



The Pronoun. 



A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun. 



There are six classes of pronouns — personal, possessive, demonstrative, 

 interrogative, relative, and indefinite. 



THE PERSONAL PRONOUN. 



Personal pronouns are substitutes for the names of persons or things. 

 They are called personal because they designate the person of the noun 

 which they represent. 



Inflexion of the Personal Pronoun. 



There is a peculiarity in the pronoun especially observable in the 

 Ojibway, Cree and Blackfoot languages, namely the double first person 

 plural. This has already been explained under the exclusive first per- 

 son plural and inclusive first person plural. As this is a highly import- 

 ant distinction, which ensures definiteness of expression, I shall repeat 

 the explanation in another form, even at the expense of redundanc}'. 



In the exclusive first person plural Nistunan^ the persons speaking 

 do not include the second persons, that is the persons addressed. This 

 exclusive plural includes only the first and third persons, viz.:— He and 

 I ; or, They and I. 



The inclusive first person plural or second first person plural Kistu- 

 non, includes the persons addressed, and not the third persons, viz.: — 

 Thou and I ; or, You and I. Great care must be exercised in grasping 

 intelligently and thoroughly this distinction, as it is very extensively 

 used in the language, especially in the verb. 



The personal pronoun is used with verbs in a contracted form. 



