Selv, selv samme, 'self-same,' may be added to personal and demonstrative pronouns: selv may also be used adverbially; as, Selv min Mand så hende falde, 'My husband even saw her fall.'

Begge, both,' is used before the numeral to, two;' as, begge to, both of them.'

Sig, reflective pronoun, 'himself,' etc., and sin, reflective possessive pronoun, 'his,' etc., were originally used to refer to plural as well as to singular nouns; but during the present and past century they have, especially among Danes, been more strictly limited to the singular; dem and deres being substituted for them when the subject is in the plural; as, De tog deres Hatte, og gik, They took their (own) hats and went away.' This practice is regarded by modern grammarians as an objectionable deviation from the genuine Northern rule, due to German influences. The Norwegians more generally follow the older and more correct usage, as do the Swedes.

VERBS. (Udsagnsord.)

In a primary, simple sentence, the verb follows the noun or pronoun which governs it; as, Jeg så Manden som kom ind ad Dören, 'I saw the man who came in at the door.'

In a secondary or subjunctive sentence, the verb precedes the noun or pronoun by which it is governed; as, Hvis Manden kommer ind, GÅR JEG ud, 'If the man comes in, I shall go out;' Går Barnet op ad Treppen, FALDER HAN ned, 'If the child should go up the stairs, he will fall down.'

In interrogative sentences the verb, as in English, pre

cedes the noun or pronoun which governs it; as, Er hun syg? 'Is she ill?' Kommer Manden ikke i Dag? Is the man not coming to-day?'

The tendency of modern Dano-Norwegian is to reject in common parlance the distinctive terminations of the plural in the present indicative; as, De har Ret, 'They are (is) right;' VI ER ikke i Stand til at komme, 'We are (is) not in a position to come;' Gutterne löber op ad Gaden, The boys are running (runs) up the street.'

A similar process of simplification is apparent in regard to the tenses of verbs, which in the spoken language are, with the exception of a few imperative and optative expressions, reduced to the indicative mood, of which the plural form is seldom used. This merging of the two numbers under the singular has been carried especially far by the grammarian Grundtvig, who writes vi kan, skal, vil, etc., although the plural forms of these auxiliaries are still very generally used, as vi kunne, skulle, ville, etc.

Distinctions of persons which have been lost in modern Danish verbs are occasionally employed in poetry, as du vilt, which represents the Old Northern form of the second person singular. A similar reversion to the old mother tongue is to be traced in such plurals as drukke for drak (drikke, ‘to drink'), svande for svandt (svinde, 'to vanish').

The infinitive of verbs may be used as a gerund; as, De får ingen Nytte ved at være altfor strenge, 'They will gain nothing by being too strict.' It is also used elliptically, with a transposition of the preposition; as, Han er slet at arbejde for,' He is bad to work for;' Det er vanskeligt at

E

skrive om, This matter is difficult to write about.' In Danish and the kindred Swedish there is no inelegance in sentences of this kind; but, on the other hand, it is inadmissible to use the present participle in the sense of a gerund, and hence such English forms of expression as 'On seeing me, she ran away,' 'On hearing the man call, the child hid himself,' must be rendered by the use of a tense of the verb; as, Da hun så mig, löbte hun bort; Så snart som Barnet hörte Manden råbe, skjulte han sig.

The present participle remains unchanged, whether used as an adjective or as a verbal-predicate; as, En rödmende Pige, 'A blushing girl;' Et rejsende Selskab, ‘A travelling company; Generalinden og Kapteinen kom körende, 'The General's wife and the Captain came driving.'

It may also be employed in the following elliptical manner: Mit iboende Hus, 'The house I live in;' Den afholdende Auktion, 'The auction which is to be held.' In such expressions it has the force of the Latin future participle.

The past participle can be used as an adjective, and must in that case agree in gender and number with the noun; as, en reven Kåbe,' a torn cloak;' et revent Bånd, ‘a rent tie;' revne Klæder, torn clothes.'

In accordance with strict grammatical rules the past participles should all agree in gender and number with the subject, where the passive is rendered by the help of blive, 'to be;' as, Brevet er blevet skrevet, 'The letter has been written ;' Bögerne ere blevne skrevne, The books have been written.' In common parlance, however, this form is rejected as pedantic, and wanting in euphony; and it is

customary to say, Brevet er bleven skrevet; Bögerne er bleven skrevne.

The present tense of the indicative is used indifferently in the present, future, conditional, and subjunctive moods; as, Han kommer i Dag, han kommer ikke i Morgen,' He is coming to-day, he will not come to-morrow;' Hvis han ikke kommer, går jeg ikke med, 'If he should not come, I will not go;' Jeg håber det er sandt, I hope it may be true.'

The subjunctive or optative is only used in a few expressions, such as Gud velsigne Dem! God bless you!' Leve Kongen! 'Long live the king!' Så hjælpe mig Gud!' May God help me!' The interjections gid (corruption of Gud give) and bare, 'only,' are used to express a wish; as, Gid han kunne komme, 'I wish he could come;' Bare jeg kunne få Bonden at se! If only I could see the countryman !' The Danes have of late followed a German mode of construction, regarded as erroneous by Scandinavian grammarians, which admits of the use of the auxiliary være, 'to be,' instead of have,' to have,' in reflective or passive verbs, and in expressing action; as, jeg ER truffen sammen med ham för, instead of jeg HAR truffen, 'I have met him before.' Norwegians do not commit this error, which is now being so far modified by some Danish authorities, that an attempt is being made to limit the use of være, and to employ it only where a change in the condition of the subject-noun, or a temporary action, is expressed; as, Han er kört bort, He has driven out; Han er gået ud i Haven, He is gone out into the garden.' When a definite action or permanent act is expressed, the verb have should be employed, in accordance with this distinctive use of the auxili

aries; as, Han har længe gået omkring i Haven, 'He has walked about the garden for a long time;' Han har kört tyve Mil, 'He has driven twenty miles.'

The use of være, ' to be,' is indicated where a changed or temporary condition has to be expressed; as, Barnet er falden ned af Muren, 'The child has fallen off the wall.' Blive, to be,' 'remain,'' become,' serves to give a passive sense to an active verb; as, Hun blev elsket, 'She was beloved.' And when used in an active sense it loses its character of an auxiliary; as, Han blev gal,' He became mad;' Kongen bliver i Byen, The king remains in town;' ·Bliv ikke vranten, 'Do not be cross!'

Some verbs, as at stå, can only be conjugated with at have, to have ;' others, as at komme, require være; as, Han har stået på skibet Siden i Morgen, he has been on the ship since this morning;' Fruen er kommen til Bys, 'The lady has come to town.'

The use of skal, 'shall,' vil,' will,' is often the same as in English; but it may be still more exactly defined by saying that the former implies the will of the subject, and the latter the agency of some person, or thing, apart from the subject: as, Jeg SKAL nok komme hjem i Aften, ‘I shall be sure to come home to-night;' and Min Mand VIL næppe komme hjem i Aften, My husband will scarcely come. . . .

The auxiliary at få implies a necessity or obligation where it is not used in the sense of 'to get;' as, Han får gå, ' He will have to go;' Matrosen fik intet at spise hos Admiralen, 'The sailor got nothing to eat at the Admiral's.'

When the auxiliaries være and blive are used impersonally,