to follow the regular rule; as, Perkins's "Rules of the Game."

c. The possessive case of compounds and expressions used as compound nouns is formed by adding the sign of the possessive to the last part of the compound; as: The attorney-general's office is on the third floor. His two brothers-in-law's estates were sold. The emperor of Germany's youngest son has no taste for military life.

d. The possessive case of two or more nouns denoting joint possession is formed by adding the sign of the possessive to the last noun alone; as: Hugh, Paul, and Alice's uncle gave them a Shetland pony. We used Herrick and Damon's "Composition and Rhetoric."

e. The possessive case of two or more nouns used coördinately, but not denoting joint possession, is formed by adding the possessive sign to each noun; as: There are more women's and children's shoes made in Lynn than in Boston. He would listen to neither his father's nor his teacher's advice.

f. There are two recognized ways of expressing the possessive case of compound forms ending in else; as, some one's else book, or, some one else's book. To-day most writers of repute prefer the latter, or regular, form.

g. Sometimes possession is indicated by the preposition of used with, or without, the apostrophe and s; as: "Those were the words of Jesus." "He is a servant of my uncle's." "This is a story of my father's."

The names of inanimate objects usually express possession by means of the of-phrase alone; as, "the hardness of the rock"; not, "the rock's hardness." Yet such short phrases as "a week's wages," "at death's door," "a day's journey," "two years' interest," are supported by the best usage.

The student must not fail to note that a sentence in which an of-phrase is used alone to denote possession, has a meaning different from what it has when the apostrophe and s are used in addition to the of-phrase. Thus: "This is a story of my father's" means a story told by my father. "This is a story of my father" means a story about my father.

EXERCISE I

Embody in sentences the possessive form of each of the following words or groups of words:

EXERCISE II

Distinguish as to meaning between the members of each of the following pairs:

1. My brother's picture.

brother.

The picture of my

2. The reception of Dewey in New York. Dewey's reception in New York.

3. Gertrude and Laura's doves. Gertrude's and Laura's doves.

4. Care of a sister. A sister's care.

5. The president's reception.

the president.

The reception of

6. This is a portrait of her. This is a portrait of her's.

7. A story of Dr. Briggs. A story of Dr. Briggs's. 8. Children's love. The love of children.

EXERCISE III

Write the following correctly. Give the reason for each correction.

1. Our pupils use Ridpath, Eggleston, and Channing's United States history.

2. Do you prefer Morton or Frye's geography? 3. A goose and a duck's foot are shaped nearly alike.

4. Father likes Tennyson better than Wordsworth's poetry.

5. I have no time to read Stewart or Hamilton's philosophy.

6. He plowed up a mouses' nest.

7. Grant and Lee's soldiers were disbanded at the same time.

SPECIAL NUMBER FORMS OF NOUNS

RULE.- Most English nouns are made plural by adding s to the singular.

The following are important variations from this rule:

1. NOUNS ENDING IN "0."- If.the final o is preceded by a vowel, the plural is formed regularly, that is, by adding s; as,.portfolio, portfolios. If the final o is preceded by a consonant, the plural is formed, as a rule, by adding es; as, hero, heroes.

The following words, however, are exceptions, and form the plural by adding s alone:

2. NOUNS ENDING IN "Y." If the final y is preceded by a vowel, the plural is formed regularly; as, valley, valleys; chimney, chimneys.

If the final y is preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to i, and es is added to form the plural; as, cherry, cherries; mercy, mercies.

3. NOUNS ENDING IN "F." The following nouns ending in the sound of ƒ form the plural by changing for fe to v and adding es:

A few nouns ending in ƒ or fe follow the regular rule, and add s. The following are examples:

4. PLURAL OF COMPOUND NOUNS.- The plural of most compound nouns is formed by adding the proper sign of the plural to the essential part of the word; that is, the part described by the rest of the compound; as, goose quill, goose quills; sisterin-law, sisters-in-law.

The plural of a few compound nouns is formed by making both parts plural; as, manservant, menservants; ignis fatuus, ignes fatui. Others of this class are, woman servant, woman singer, man singer, and, usually, Knight Templar.

5. PLURAL OF PROPER NOUNS.- The plural of proper nouns is expressed by adding s to the singular, or es when s will not coalesce in sound; as, the first two Napoleons; the two Marys of English history; the Joneses; the two Johns of the New Testament.

Most proper nouns when preceded by titles may be made plural in either of two ways: the Misses

2-ESSENTIALS