nd-by, adopting here an other odd opinion, takes the former class only
for forms of the possessive case; the latter he disposes of thus: "_Ours,
yours, theirs, hers_, and generally _mine_ and _thine_, are POSSESSIVE
PRONOUNS, used in either the _nominative or objective_ case,"--_Weld's
Gram., Improved Ed._, p. 68. Not only denying the possessives with ellipsis
to be instances of the possessive case, but stupidly mistaking at once two
dissimilar things for a third which is totally unlike to either,--i. e.,
assuming together for _substitution_ both an _ellipsis_ of one word and an
_equivalence_ to two--(as some others more learned have very strangely
done--) he supposes all this class of pronouns to have forsaken every
property of their legitimate roots,--their person, their number, their
gender, their case,--and to have assumed other properties, such as belong
to "the thing possessed!" In the example, "_Your_ house is on the plain,
_ours_ is on the hill," he supposes _ours_ to be of the third person,
singular number, neuter gender, and nominative case; and not, as it plainly
is, of the first person, plural number, masculine gender, and possessive
case. Such parsing should condemn forever any book that teaches it.

[209] This word should have been _numerals_, for two or three reasons. The
author speaks of the _numeral adjectives_; and to say "the _numbers_ must
agree in _number_ with their substantives," is tautological--G. Brown.

[210] Cardell assails the common doctrine of the grammarians on this point,
with similar assertions, and still more earnestness. See his _Essay on
Language_, p. 80. The notion that "these _pretended possessives_ [are]
uniformly used as _nominatives_ or _objectives_"--though demonstrably
absurd, and confessedly repugnant to what is "_usually considered_" to be
their true explanation--was adopted by Jaudon, in 1812; and has recently
found several new advocates; among whom are Davis, Felch, Goodenow, Hazen,
Smart, Weld, and Wells. There is, however, much diversity, as well as much
inaccuracy, in their several expositions of the matter. Smart inserts in
his declensions, as the only forms of the possessive case, the words of
which he afterwards speaks thus: "The following _possessive cases_ of the
personal pronouns, (See page vii,) _must be called_ PERSONAL PRONOUNS
POSSESSIVE: _mine, thine, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs_. For these words
are always used _substantively_, so as to include the meaning