but it is still more awkward to introduce the genitive of a personal pronoun in its stead: as, 'One does not like to lose his property.' In such instances, perhaps the best way is to give the whole sentence a turn: as, 'Loss of property is not agreeable to any one.'

This word is always used substantively.

275. NONE is compounded of ne-one; that is, not-one. And although, if one be singular, we might expect not one to be also singular; yet when this word is used substantively, it is sometimes followed by a plural verb. Indeed, this is almost invariably the case when a genitive plural intervenes: as, 'None of the castles were taken.' This is literally 'not-one were;' but an idea is suggested to the mind, that all the castles were safe;' that all were un-taken;' and so the verb runs into the plural.

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This usage is so common, with good writers, that I suppose we must allow it.

When this word is used adjectively, it is interchanged with no; that is, none differs from no, as mine differs from my. No is used when the noun which it qualifies is expressed; and none when the noun is not expressed: as, 'I have no book, and my friend has none.'

276. ANY is from the Anglo-Saxon an-ig, which is derived from an or an, 'one,' with the adjective termination -ig; so that the word any is originally an adjective. With nouns in the singular it often implies quantity; but, with nouns in the plural, it always refers to number. Its general signification is any whatever: as,

Mere strength of understanding would perhaps have made him such in any age.-De Quincey.

With words of negation it excludes all: as, 'He has not received any letters.'

The substantive use of the word is very common: as,

Brutus. Who is here so base, that would be a bond-
man? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who
is here so rude, that would not be a Roman? If any,
speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so vile,
that will not love his country? If any, speak; for
him have I offended. I pause for a reply.
Citizens. None, Brutus, none.

Brutus. Then none have I offended.

Julius Cæsar, iii. 2.

277. AUGHT is in Anglo-Saxon a-wiht, aht.

The Anglo-Saxon wiht is the English whit and wight, 'thing' and 'person.' Hence aught means 'anything.'

The derivation is in favour of writing aught, rather than ought; and convenience dictates the same spelling; for ought is employed as part of the verb 'owe,' and there is an advantage in keeping distinct forms for distinct meanings.

NAUGHT is compounded of the negative ne and aught, meaning 'not anything.'

These words aught and naught are originally substantives, and not adjectives. The true adjective formed from 'naught' is naughty, literally meaning of no value,'' worthless.' Where we read 'It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer,' we may explain the construction thus: that a substantive in the predicate has often the force of an adjective.

278. SOME, Anglo-Saxon sum, is used as an adjective and as a substantive: Some men were there; '' some said so, and some said not.

In the singular, when employed as a substantive, it usually implies quantity: as,

Some of his skill he taught to me.

Scott.

In the plural it implies number: as, 'Some wish to be rich.'
There is a distinction between some and any:

Some means 'not none,' 96 one or more.'
Any means' some, no matter which,'

Professor Bain says (English Grammar, p. 31), ""Some" denotes an uncertain portion of an entire collection.

'In strict logic it signifies "not none," that is, some at least. There is a more popular meaning, which implies less than the whole, some only, or some at most. "Some men are wise " insinuates that there are other men not wise. Hence the alternative signification: " some believed, and some (others) believed not."

279. OTHER. The derivation of this word seems doubtful; but it is probably derived from the root of the word one, with the termination ther, which denotes 'one of two,' as in 'ei-ther,' corresponding to the ter in the Latin u-ter, neu-ter.

But, in practice, the word other is not restricted to instances where two alone are in question; it may apply to any number, and means 'some one, but not this;' 'any, but not this.'

The ordinary use of the word as an adjective before a substantive is well known; 'the other day,'' the other way.' But

when it stands alone, referring to a preceding substantive, as 'He had no taste for poetry dramatic or other,' some writers appear to think this construction bald, and would even write, 'dramatic or otherwise.' But, strictly speaking, 'otherwise' is an adverb, meaning in another way;' whereas, in this construction, we want an adjective. The only way of defending ' otherwise' in this connection, would be to contend that here it means of another kind.' " Such an interpretation, however, is doubtful; and it is better to say 'dramatic or other.'

So also, in phrases involving a comparison, we should distinguish other than from otherwise than: as,

(Adjective). . He had no books other than classical.

(Adverb) He never spoke otherwise than persuasively.

280. When an precedes other, the two are often written as one word, another; and observe, that the other means 'the second of two;' another means 'one of any number above two:' as,

Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.-Matt. xxiv. 41.

One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh.-Ecclesiastes i. 4.

Care must be taken not to confound the ideas of 'two' and 'more than two,' and so to misapply the words 'the other' and another.' For example, in this passage,

And the house of Baal was full from one end to another. -2 Kings x. 21.

we are ready to ask, what other? It should be 'from one end to the other.'

In short, another' is Indefinite; 'the other' is Alternative. 281. Many. In Anglo-Saxon there are two words: (1) an adjective, manig, or manig, many,' 'much;' (2) a substantive, manigeo, 'a multitude,' ' crowd.'

Both these words appear to have given rise to our word many, which is used sometimes as a substantive, and at other times as an adjective: as,

(Adjective)

Many men, many minds.-Proverb. (Substantive) The many rend the skies with loud applause.-Dryden, Alexander's Feast.

The use of many in construction with the indefinite article

H

will be considered in the next chapter; at present, we compare the following phrases :

(1) Many men.

(2) Many a man.

(3) A many men.

(1). In the first example, many is an adjective agreeing with men.

(2). In the second, many is also an adjective; and by an idiom, to be discussed in the next chapter, the indefinite article comes between the adjective and the substantive: so,

Full many a gem of purest ray serene

The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

Gray, Elegy. (3). In the third example, many is a substantive derived from mænigeo, denoting multitude; and men is a genitive by juxtaposition, dependent upon 'many.' Hence, a many

men

·

means a multitude of men.'

282. Few, derived from the Anglo-Saxon adjective feawa, still appears as an adjective in few persons,' 'few things.' It is employed in connection with the indefinite article in such phrases as a few years,'' a few apples,' where the construction presents some difficulty. For there is no authority for calling few a substantive; and, on the other hand, if few be an adjective, it must be in the plural to agree with 'pears' or 'apples;' whereas the indefinite article a requires that few should be in the singular.

283. Distributives; 'each,' 'every.' These words have reference to the members of a class, or to the parts of a whole, and are thus distinguished:

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Each means every' individual of a certain class, viewed separately.

Every means each' taken collectively.

EACH is derived from the Anglo-Saxon alc.
It is used adjectively and substantively; as,

Each man had his weapon.

Each had his appointed place.

It is properly singular; and the correlative is 'other,' as in the phrase 'bear each other's burdens.'

But though each is properly singular, the best writers are liable to err in the use of pronouns referring to this word. Addison writes,

Each of the sexes should keep within its particular bounds, and content themselves to exult within their respective districts.-Freeholder, No. 38.

It is very doubtful whether, under any circumstances, themselves and their could grammatically refer to each; but there can be no doubt at all, that it is a glaring error to use its in one part of the sentence, and themselves in another, both referring to the same word, each. For even if, in the first instance, we might take our choice of singular or plural, we ought to be consistent.

And so Crabbe:

Now either spoke, as hope or fear impressed 'Each' their alternate triumph in the breast. The same caution applies to the use of 'every':

And they were judged every man according to their works.-Revelation, xx. 13.

284. EVERY is derived from the Anglo-Saxon afre, 'ever,' alc,' each,' i. e. 'ever each.'

In Early English, it appears in the forms 'ever-ilk,' ' ever-ich.'

In modern English, the word is used as an adjective only, and on that ground has been excluded by some writers from the class of pronouns. But in Early English it is frequently employed as a noun: so Chaucer,

And everich had a chaplet on her head.

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When each' denoted 'one of two,' as seems to have been the case at one period in the history of the language, there was a difference in meaning between each' and 'every,' which does not appear to exist any longer. At present, the difference is chiefly one of usage: " each may be used substantively and adjectively; 'every' only as an adjective. 'Every' is an emphatic word for 'all,' and makes a direct appeal to individuals; as,

England expects every man to do his duty.

285. Alternatives; either,'' neither.'

EITHER. The element æg in composition signifies 'ever,' 'all'; as aghwa, ever who,' that is 'every one'; aghwær, every where.' In like manner from hwather, which of two,'