202. A few adjectives are irregularly compared: thus,

good forms better and best;

bad or ill forms worse (rarely worser) and worst.

little forms less (sometimes lesser) and least.

many or much form more and most.

old forms elder and eldest, as well as older and oldest.

latter and last really come from late, which, however, in its usual sense, is compared also regularly, later and latest.

near (itself properly a comparative of nigh) forms the superlative next, as well as nearest.

A certain number of comparatives and superlatives have no adjective, but an adverb, for their positive degree; and the superlatives have usually the irregular ending most-which, moreover, is often added to the comparative degree. Examples are

Utter and utmost or uttermost are originally the same with outer etc. Forth forms further and furthest or furthermost, and also farther and farthest these last two as if from far, and answering as its degrees of comparison likewise. Fore (sometimes itself used as an adjective) makes former and foremost or first. A kind of superlative is also sometimes formed with most from words which do not distinguish any positive and comparative: for example, midmost, undermost, hithermost, nethermost, northernmost, and even, in one or two cases, from nouns: as,

southmost;

203. The use of adjectives substantively, or as nouns, has been already explained (144).

But an adjective, without being used as a noun, very often stands alone, as qualifying a noun that is understood (483), or to be supplied in mind from the connection. For example: he owns a white horse, and I a black [horse]; his horse is white, but mine [my horse] is black; he is a just [man], but not a generous man;

she was by far the loveliest [girl] of the three girls.

And a comparative or superlative is sometimes used alone where with a positive we should have to use one, or a noun, or the like: thus,

while we should say

she was the loveliest among the three;
of the pair, she was the lovelier;

she was the lovely one of the family.

It may fairly be made a question here whether we shall describe the adjective as qualifying a noun not expressed, or as used substantively; probably the latter is to be preferred.

Many adjectives, as we shall see later (313 d), are used without change as adverbs.

But both nouns and adverbs are also used as adjectives, qualifying nouns.

Adverbs, indeed, only rarely (except in the predicate: 382), and by a liberty which is not generally approved: as,

the then ruler;

my sometime friend.

But nouns, especially those denoting material, are very often made adjectives of, without any change of form: thus,

Such expressions originated with compounds, of the kind mentioned in 119 c; but they have ceased to be felt and treated as compounds.

PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES.

204. Pronominal adjectives are in part derivatives from the words already described as pronouns; but in greater part they are identical with them, the same word being used either adjectively, accompanying a noun which it qualifies, or substantively, as pronoun, standing for a noun. They are divided into classes corresponding with those of the pronouns.

205. The first class is that of POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES, or, more briefly, POSSESSIVES.

These correspond to the personal pronouns (153 etc.): they are, in fact, adjectively used forms of those pronouns, and have already been given and described as possessive cases. Some of them are real cases, others are derivative adjectives used in the manner of cases; they have become so alike in use that we cannot well help treating them all as possessing both characters.

to which may be added whose, the possessive of who, both as interrogative and as relative.

The distinction of person, gender, and number in these words is, of course, a distinction belonging to the persons or things possessing, and not to the persons or things possessed, or those qualified by the possessives.

207. The second forms — mine, thine, hers, ours, yours, theirs are used when no qualified noun follows the possessive: for example,

my book and yours;

the book is hers, not theirs ;

your book and mine;

good morning, brother mine!

this man is a friend of ours.

But in older English, and in old-style English, mine and thine are frequently found instead of my and thy, especially before a vowel: thus,

The first two pairs are the same as the demonstrative pronouns (166), and are used with the same differences of meaning when adjectives as when pronouns.

Yon or yonder points to a remoter object, generally to one in sight.

209. The interrogative pronouns who and whether are not used also as adjectives. But which and what are so used, and are therefore INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVES. Both of them apply either to persons or to things, and they differ only in that which is selective (172).

but, if two or more are had distinctly in mind, and the question is as to the individual one among them,

which book have you?

210. Which and what are also the only RELATIVE ADJECTIVES. Both are usually compound relatives, or imply the antecedent along with the relative, and which differs from what in being selective.

Thus,

I know what book (that is, the book in general which) you mean;

I know which book (that is, the book in particular, of a certain known set, which) you mean.

But which appears sometimes as a simple relative: thus,

he was gone a year, during which time he travelled all over Europe. The compound forms whichever and whatever, and so on (183), have the value of adjectives as well as of pronouns, and with a like meaning.

211. Most of the so-called indefinite pronouns (188), with one or two other kindred words, are used also as

INDEFINITE PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES.

Distributive adjectives are each and every, either and neither. Of these, every is always adjective only.

Quantitatives are some, any, many, few, all, both, and no. The phrases a great many and a few (also a little) are used with a following noun much as if they were simple adjectives: thus,

a great many men have been there; he paused a few minutes. The quantitative is here really a noun, and the following noun is a partitive genitive.

By a very peculiar construction, many (which is otherwise used only with plural nouns) qualifies a singular noun preceded by an or a: thus,

full many a gem;

innocence itself has many a wile. Comparatives are such and other: such implying resemblance, and other difference. Other is followed by than, like comparative adjectives in general: thus,

other worlds than ours.

The quantitatives are often called INDEFINITE NUMERALS, from their use in describing number. But there is also a special class of words used in counting and so on, which are quite peculiar, so that they are sometimes reckoned even as a separate part of speech. These are the

NUMERALS.

212. The principal NUMERALS are those used in counting, or in answering the question "how many?"

They are (in contrast with the ordinals, explained below, 216) called the CARDINAL numerals, or the CARDINALS (cardinal means, as used here, 'principal, most important').

213. The cardinals are

one, two, three, four, and so on;
eleven, twelve, thirteen, and so on;
ten, twenty, thirty, forty, and so on;

hundred, thousand, million, and so on.

214. The cardinals are used not only as adjectives, qualifying a noun, but also substantively, standing for a noun, or connected with the following noun by the preposition of. Thus, either

or

three men,

three of the men.

Used as nouns, they may all form plurals: thus,

they walked by twos and threes;

we are all at sixes and sevens;

they sat down by fifties and hundreds.

But the higher numbers, hundred, thousand, million, and so on, usually keep the singular form in simple enumeration, even after two, three, etc.; and always, if they form part of a compound number, made up of different denominations.

Thus, we say