g.,
_viel Rauch kommt heraus_ (much smoke comes out), and _gleich
kommt Kaffee_ (the coffee is coming). While the infinitives "haben"
and "kommen" are uttered several times a day, the infinitive "sein"
(to be) is never heard; but of this auxiliary verb "ist" and "wesen"
are used, the latter for "gewesen." In every instance where the
child expresses a desire by means of a verb, he simply takes the
infinitive; e. g., he hears, as he sits in the room, the noise of
the railway-train at a distance, and he says, _Locotiwe sehen_.
Further, _numbering_ begins to be active to a noteworthy degree.
Although the numerals are already well known to the child, he still
confounds them on all occasions, and in view of the absolute failure of
the many attempts to teach the child the significance of the numbers 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, one might infer that he has not yet perceived the difference
between, e. g., 3 matches and 4 matches; yet counting is already taking
place, though in very unexpected fashion. The child began, viz., on the
eight hundred and seventy-eighth day, suddenly, of his own accord
entirely, to count with his nine-pins, putting them in a row, saying
with each one, _eins_ (one)! _eins!_ _eins!_ _eins!_ afterward saying
_eins!_ _noch eins_ (one more)! _noch eins!_ _noch eins!_ The process
of adding is thus performed without the naming of the sums.
The questioning that appeared in the previous month, the surest sign of
independent thought in the child, is somewhat more plainly manifest; but
"Where" alone serves as the interrogative word, and that in its proper
sense: Where is hat? "Which, who, why, when" are not spoken by the child
and doubtless not understood, for, although succession in time is in
many cases clear to him ("first eat," "then," "now"), yet in many other
cases he does not know how to express distinctions of time; just as in
comparing many and few, large and small objects, the quantity is wrongly
given.
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