First Person

First Person :


Person is that property of substantives which shows whether they denote (1) the speaker (2) the person spoken to or (3) the person spoken of.

A substantive is in the first person when it denotes the speaker, in the second person when it denotes the person spoken to, in the third person when it denotes the person or thing spoken of.

I, the king, command his presence. [First person.]

You, Thomas, broke the window. [Second person.]

Charles, come here. [Second person.]

He, the fireman, saved the train. [Third person.]

The diver sinks slowly from our view. [Third person.]

The tower suddenly collapsed. [Third person.]

The examples show

(1) That the person of a noun has nothing to do with its form, but is indicated by the sense or connection.

(2) That certain pronouns denote person with precision.

Thus, I is always of the first person.

YOU is always of the second.

HE is always of the third.

First Person :

Grammar Index


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