How to parse. ...

208 ADVERBIAL PHRASES. [Par. 341-343.

341 In Early English, this was expressed by what is
now the Possessive Inflection, so that the last Example would have then run -
(6) " He bathes summeres and winteres."
In the same way they used "nightes," dayes,"
"yeares," &c. In later times the Inflection was
replaced by a Preposition " on," or "an," or "a-";
but sometimes we find the new Preposition introduced and the old Inflection retained, e.g. in " nowa-days." And this explains "in doors," "of late
years," "o'nights." The old Inflection is retained,
or has been introduced, in " always," "sometimes;"
"sideways," "needs."
342 From a confusion (II.) of "at three years of
age " and " he was three years (Object) old" (see
Par. 129), there has arisen the following irregularity: -
(7) " At three years, nine months, old."
Here " three-years-old," " nine-months-old," must
be now regarded as Compound Nouns.
343 The Object is also used to denote price: —
(8) "Mutton is eight-pence a pound."
(Here "pence" is not the Subjective Supplement. " At " might be inserted before " eight.")
The distributive use of "a pound" in the last
I Morris's Accidence, page 194.