Re: Case?

On 26 Jan 02, at 7:55, Joe Hill wrote:

> > --What is the case of "theirs" in "I gave them
> > theirs"?  I realized I was missing this case in my
> > pronouns and need it.
>
> Genetive.  You can easily avvoid messing up your language by saying "of
> them", if that's easier.
Ack, no. It's not the genitive of "they" (that would be "their", if
anything); it's the accusative of "theirs". Just like "mine" is not any
form of "I", "me", or "my", but a word of its own.

Forms are:

    nom - Theirs is green. Mine is blue.
    gen - not sure. Theirs's colour is green? Sounds weird.
    (Perhaps those words don't have a genitive form.)
    acc - I see theirs. They can't see mine.

Compare personal pronouns:

    nom - They are green. I am blue.
    gen - Their colour is green. My colour is blue.
    (compare: the book's colour is green.)
    acc - I see them. They can't see me.

Hope this helps clarify things.

Cheers,
Philip
--
Philip Newton <Philip.Newton@...>