_a._ _The distinction between animate and inanimate objects._--The plural of the name of such an object as _a star_ is of one form; the plural of the name of such an object as _a sheep_, another. In some languages this distinction extends farther, and applies to the _rational_ and _irrational_ divisions of the _animate_ class. _b._ _The incorporation of the possessive pronoun._--Certain words like _hand_, _father_, _son_, express, all the world over, objects which are rarely mentioned except in relation to some other object to which they belong--_a hand_, for instance, is _mine_, _thine_, _his_, and so is _a father_, _a son_, _a wife_, &c. In other words there is almost always a pronoun[141] attached to them. Now in the American languages this is almost always incorporated with the substantive; so that an American can only talk of _my father_, _thy father_, &c., being incapable of using the substantive in a sense sufficiently abstract to dispense with the pronoun. _c_. The incorporation of the objective pronoun with the verb. The Latin word _a-ma-nt_ contains, beside the part which represents the action, a second element representing the _agent_. An American verb would, besides this, contain an element representing the _object_, so that what the Latin expressed by _amant illas_ (two words) would be denoted in most Indian tongues by a single form. Now when we remember that the name of the object is thus reduced to an inflection, and also that the pronoun expressive of it, varies with the sex, we see how American tongues may be both copious in the way of grammar and complex as well. And such, notwithstanding many facts to the contrary, is really the case. _Inclusive and exclusive plurals._--A word like _we_ in English, is a much more abstract word than it appears to be at first sight. What should we say if instead thereof we only said _I+thou_, or _I+they_? What if _both_ these expressions were used? In such a case we should have two plurals one _exclusive_ of the person spoken to (_I+they_), and one _inclusive_ of him (_I+thou_). Now the phænomenon of the _exclusive_ and _inclusive_ plural is very general throughout the aboriginal languages of America. Such are the chief points wherein languages differ in respect to their lexicons, and agree in respect to their grammars.[142] * * * * *