2. Common nouns are sometimes used to signify individuals, when articles or pronouns are prefixed to them; as, “The boy is studious; That girl is discreet.”  In such instances, they are nearly equivalent to proper nouns.

3. Common nouns are sometimes subdivided into the following classes:  Nouns of Multitude; as, The people, the parliament:  Verbal or participial nouns; as, The beginning, reading, writing; and Abstract nouns, or the names of qualities abstracted from their substances; as, knowledge, virtue, goodness.  Lest the student be led to blend the idea of abstract nouns with that of adjectives, both of which denote qualities, a farther illustration appears to be necessary, in order to mark the distinction between these two parts of speech.  An abstract noun denotes a quality considered apart (that is, abstracted) from the substance or being to which it belongs; but an adjective denotes a quality joined (adjected) to the substance or being to which it belongs.  Thus, whiteness and white both denote the same quality; but we speak of whiteness as a distinct object of thought, while we use the word white always in reference to the noun to which it belongs; as, white paper, white mouse.

4.  Some authors have proceeded to still more minute divisions and sub-divisions of nouns; such, for example, as the following, which appear to be more complex than useful:  Natural nouns, or names of things formed by nature; as, man, beast, water, air:  2. Artificial nouns, or names of things formed by art; as, book, vessel, house:  3. Personal nouns, or those which stand for human beings; as, man, woman, Edwin:  4. Neuter nouns, or those which denote things inanimate; as, book, field, mountain, Cincinnati.  The following, however, is quite a rational division:  Material nouns are the names of things formed of matter; as, stone, book:  Immaterial nouns are the names of things having no substance; as, hope, immortality.

To nouns belong gender, person, number, and case.

GENDER.

GENDER is the distinction of sex.  Nouns have three genders, the masculine, the feminine, and the neuter.

The masculine gender denotes males; as, a man, a boy.

The feminine gender denotes females; as, a woman, a girl.

The neuter gender denotes things without sex; as, a hat, a stick.

Neuter means neither: therefore neuter gender signifies neither gender; that is, neither masculine nor feminine.  Hence, neuter gender means no gender.  Strictly speaking, then, as there are but two sexes, nouns have but two genders; but for the sake of practical convenience, we apply to them three genders, by calling that a gender which is no gender.  The English and the pure Persian, appear to be the only languages which observe, in the distinction of sex, the natural division of nouns.—­The genders of nouns are so easily known, that a farther explanation of them is unnecessary, except what is given in the following