THE POSSESSIVE CASE; AND WHO’S TO HAVE THE PRIZE?
[Illustration: ‘S S’
THE QUEEN’S CROWN
TOM’S BAT
AMY’S PARASOL
THE POSSESSIVE CASE]
The court was again assembled, and the Judge was just going to speak,
when he stopped--for there was Mr. Noun, who had gone plop down on one
knee before him, just as Dr. Verb did before, and was holding out his
petition.
“Dear me,” exclaimed the Judge, “you too! What can you have to complain
of?”
“I have lost a Case, my lord,” said Mr. Noun, still kneeling.
“Get up, sir,” said the Judge, “and say out quickly what you mean. Am I
never to have done with these tiresome Cases?”
“Please, my lord, it is just this,” said Mr. Noun, standing up. “You
have seen how my words can be Nominative Case or Objective Case; but
there is a case in which they are neither of these two. For instance,
in the sentence, ‘The monkey pulled the cat’s tail,’--_pulled_
is the verb; _monkey_ is the nominative, for the monkey did the
pulling; _tail_ is the objective, for ‘what did the monkey pull?’
The _tail_--but then what case is _cat’s_? It is not nominative nor
objective.”
“Don’t ask me what case it is,” said the Judge, indignantly; “say out
at once yourself.”
“But you will be angry at the long word, my lord,” said Mr. Noun.
“Nonsense, sir,” said the Judge, getting very red. “Speak at once, when
I order you to do so.”
“Then _cat’s_ is said to be in the Possessive Case,” said Mr. Noun,
“because it shows who possessed the tail that was pulled by the monkey.
Any noun that shows to whom a thing belongs--who is the possessor of
it--is said to be in the Possessive Case.”
“Oh!” said the Judge. “Then if I say, ‘This knife belongs to Harry,’
_Harry_ will be in the Possessive Case, will it?”
“No, my lord,” said Mr. Noun, looking a little confused, “because there
is a little preposition _to_ before Harry, and prepositions----”
“Prepositions govern the Objective Case,” said Dr. Syntax, solemnly.
“Yes, yes, we know,” said Mr. Noun, impatiently; “but I mean any noun
that shows possession, without the help of any preposition, as if you
said, ‘This is Harry’s knife.’ _Harry’s_ is in the Possessive Case, for
it shows who possesses the knife, not by the help of any preposition,
but by making it Harry’_s_ instead of _Harry_. I might have said in the
other sentence, ‘The monkey pulled the tail belonging to the cat,’ but
it is much better and shorter to use a Possessive Case, and say, ‘The
monkey pulled the cat’s tail.’”
“It certainly seems a convenient case,” said the Judge.
“It is, my lord,” said Mr. Noun; “and, therefore, I think I have a
right to ask for an extra mark for it.”
“Oh! that is what you want, is it?” said the Judge. “Well, I will grant
your request, provided you can show me an easy way of finding the
Possessive Case at once.”
“You may always know it by the little apostrophe (’) either before or
after an _s_ at the end of the word,” answered Mr. Noun; “as, ‘Mary’s
doll,’ ‘Tom’s dog,’ ‘the baby’s milk,’ ‘the children’s toys,’ ‘the
boys’ hats,’ ‘the girls’ gardens.’ Is not that easy, my lord?”
“Yes, that is simple enough,” replied the Judge; “therefore, although I
think it rather impertinent of you to have brought so many Cases before
me, I will grant your request. You are to have then an extra mark for
every Nominative Case and for every Possessive Case, but none for the
Objective Case; and you will lose a mark every time you are governed by
a preposition. Are you satisfied?”
Mr. Noun bowed, and took his seat.
“And now, gentlemen,” continued the Judge, addressing the nine
Parts-of-Speech, “as you have all appeared before me, and shown clearly
who and what you are----”
“And me! oh! oh! poor little me!” cried Interjection.
“I have not called you up before me,” said the Judge, sternly, “because
we have all heard quite enough about you already. Once is quite enough
to have heard such an unruly, odd little creature as you are; and you
have thrown yourself in more than once while the people were speaking.
We all know that you neither govern nor are governed by any one else,
and that you agree with nobody. Therefore, stand aside and be quiet.”
“Ah, well!” chuckled Interjection, as he obeyed, “if I do not govern
any one, at least I can take my neighbours’ words, as other people can,
and make them my own. Marry! forsooth! indeed! that I can!”
“_Marry_ is mine,” said Dr. Verb, bustling up.
“Indeed, _indeed_ is mine,” said Adverb, blandly.
“Pray, do not quarrel with him,” said the Judge; “let him have a few
words to keep him quiet.”
“There is one thing,” said Dr. Verb, laughing, “no one would be in a
hurry to steal Interjection’s words, for they are not worth it. Who
could ever make a decent word out of _oh_! or _fie_! or _pshaw_! or
_ugh_!”
“Laugh as you like, Dr. Verb,” cried Interjection, “my words can stand
alone, and make sense all by themselves, and mean as much as a whole
string of other words. For instance, when I say ‘Fie!’ that is as good
as saying, ‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself;’ and when I say ‘Ah!’
that means, ‘I see through all your fine airs and graces, Dr. Verb, and
know all about you.’ Ha! ha! what do you say to that?” And Interjection
once more took a turn over head and heels.
“Keep him quiet, will you,” said the Judge. “And now, gentlemen,”
he continued, for the third time, “I hope we shall all be prepared
for the great trial that is to take place this day week. The people
of Schoolroom-shire are all invited to attend, and to bring their
slates and pencils with them. You all, my nine Parts-of-Speech, will
together make up a story which Serjeant Parsing will have in his
hand. He will then carefully examine every word, and the children of
Schoolroom-shire, who will have a place for each of you on their
slates, will put down a mark to each one who deserves it. In the end,
they will count up all the marks, and the Part-of-Speech who has the
most will get--will get----”
Just at this moment, when every one was listening most anxiously to
hear what the prize was to be, clouds of dust were observed arising
from behind his lordship’s throne. In fact, the Critics, tired of
doing nothing, had begun to turn out whole piles of mouldering old
books, Murray’s Grammars, old dictionaries, and I know not what; and
the venerable dust therefrom, getting into his lordship’s eyes, nose,
and mouth, brought on such a violent fit of coughing and choking, that
it was impossible to get another word from him. He did not then, nor
has he since, informed his loving subjects what the prize was to be.
Therefore, it is left to the children of Schoolroom-shire to decide.
In examining the following story they must be both judge and jury, and
decide not only which Part-of-Speech deserves the most marks, but also
what is a fitting reward for the happy being who shall win the great
prize of Grammar-land.
_Serjeant Parsing’s Story for the Examination._
THE SAD FATE OF OUR SQUIRREL
Once, when I was walking in the garden, I found a young squirrel on the
ground at the foot of a tall tree. It had fallen from the nest. I took
the little soft warm creature in my hand, and I carried it carefully
into the house. There we fed it with warm milk, and it quickly revived.
It soon sat up, with its pretty curly tail over its back, and then it
rubbed its nose with its paws. It seemed to look to me as if it knew
me for a friend. When night came, I made a soft bed for it beside
me, and it slept cosily. In the morning, I took it to my cousin. “It
wants breakfast,” she said; “I will warm some milk for it in my doll’s
saucepan.” So she boiled some milk in a little green saucepan, and
we fed our pet. “Ah!” I cried, “is it ill? It is struggling as if it
were in pain.” We tried to warm it, and we gave it another spoonful of
milk; but, alas! the poor little creature gave a pitiful moan, and we
soon saw that it was dead. The green paint on the doll’s saucepan was
poisonous, and we had killed our little squirrel while it was lying in
our arms.
[Illustration]
Transcriber’s Note:
The following changes have been made to the original publication:
Page 16
_a bird_, _a fly_, when suddenly _changed to_
_a bird_, _a fly_,” when suddenly
Page 47
therefore her stands _changed to_
therefore _her_ stands
Page 51
some one in it.” _changed to_
some one in it.
Page 58
of the verb _to swim_. _changed to_
of the verb _to swim_.”
Page 84
How do you like it _changed to_
_How_ do you like it
Page 92
See peeped into the flower; _changed to_
She peeped into the flower;
Page 104
let us hear them. _changed to_
let us hear them.”
Page 117
I can take my neighbours words _changed to_
I can take my neighbours’ words
Page 119
In fact, the critics, tired of _changed to_
In fact, the Critics, tired of