_Neut._ _Masc._ _Fem._ _Neut._ _Masc._ _Fem._ Sing. Nom. _thaet_ -- -- _this_ thes the['o]s. Acc. _thaet_ _thone_ th[^a]. this thisne th['a]s. Abl. _thy_ _thy_ _th['ae]re_. _thise_ thise thisse. Dat. th['a]m th['a]m _th['ae]re_. thisum thisum thisse. Gen. thaes thaes _th['ae]re_. thises thises thisse. \----------\/----------/ \---------\/---------/ Plur. Nom. Acc. _th['a]_. _th['a]s_. Abl. Dat. _th['a]m_. thisum. Gen. _th['a]ra_. thissa. III. _Hit_ (it), _he_ (he), _he['o]_ (she). Sing. Nom. _hit_ _he_ he['o]. Acc. _hit_ hine h['i]. Dat. _him_ _him_ _hire_. Gen. _his_ _his_ _hire_. \--------\/--------/ Plur. Nom. Acc. hi Dat. him (heom). Gen. hira (heora). IV. _the_ (the)--Undeclined, and used for all cases and genders. s. 301. _These._--Here observe-- {252} 1st. That the _s_ is no inflection, but a radical part of the word, like the _s_ in _geese_. 2nd. That the Anglo-Saxon form is _th[^a]s_. These facts create difficulties in respect to the word _these_. Mr. Guest's view is, perhaps, the best; _viz._ that the plural element of the word is the letter _e_, and that this _-e_ is the old English and Anglo-Saxon adjective plural; so that _thes-e_ is formed from _thes_, as _gode_ (=_boni_) is formed from _god_ (=_bonus_). The nominative plural in the Old English ended in _e_; as, _Singular._ _Plural._ _M._ _F._ _N._ _M._ _F._ _N._ _God_, _god_, _god_, _gode_. In Old English MSS. this plural in _-e_ is general. It occurs not only in adjectives and pronouns as a regular inflection, but even as a plural of the genitive _his_, that word being treated as a nominative singular; so that _hise_ is formed from _his_, as _sui_ from _suus_, or as _eji_ might have been formed from _ejus_; provided that in the Latin language this last word had been mistaken for a nominative singular. The following examples are Mr. Guest's. 1. In these lay a gret multitude of _syke_ men, _blinde_, crokid, and _drye_. _Wicliffe_, Jon. v. 2. In all the orders foure is non that can So much of dalliance and faire language, He hadde ymade ful many a marriage-- His tippet was ay farsed ful of knives, And pinnes for to given _faire_ wives. _Chau._, Prol. 3. And _al_ the cuntre of Judee wente out to him, and _alle_ men of Jerusalem.--_Wiclif_, Mark i. 4. He ghyueth lif to _alle_ men, and brething, and _alle_ thingis; and made of von _al_ kynde of men to inhabit on _al_ the face of the erthe.--_Wicliffe_, Dedis of Apostlis, xvii.