DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 LABORATORY 
 
 r \ AM; , 
 
 "Z"* I i 
 
 University of California Berkeley 
 
A 
 
 SHORT 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO 
 
 Englifh 
 
 GRAMMAR. 
 
 WITH 
 
 Critical Jlotes* 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Right Rev. ROBERT LOWTH, D. D. 
 Lord Bi/fjop of Oxford. 
 
 e< Nam ipfutn Latine loqui, eft illud quidem in tnagna laude 
 ponendum ; fed non tarn fua fponte, quam quod eft a plerifque 
 negle&um. Non enim tarn prseclarum eft fare Latine, quam. 
 turpe nefcire; neque tarn id mihi oratoris boni, quam civis 
 Romani, proprium videtur." CICERO. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PRINTED uv R. AITKEN, No. az, MARKET STREET. 
 
 1799. 
 
 Price three Shillings. 
 
C iH J 
 
 THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 A HE Englifh language hath been much cultivated 
 during the lafttwo hundred years. It hath been confi- 
 derably polifhed and refined ; its bounds have been greatly 
 enlarged ; its energy, variety, richnefs and elegance, 
 have been abundantly proved, by numberlefs trials, in 
 verjfe and in profe, upon all fubjecls, and in every kind 
 of ftyle : but, whatever other improvements it may have 
 received, it hath made no advances in grammatical accu 
 racy. Hooker is one of the earlieft writers, of confider- 
 able note, within the period above mentioned : Let his 
 writings be compared with the bed of thofe of mor^ 
 modern date ', and, I believe, it will be found, that, in 
 corre&nefs, propriety and purity of Englim ftyle, he 
 hath hardly been iarpaffed, or even equalled, by any 
 of his fucceflbrs. 
 
 It is now about fifty years, fince Dr. Swift made a 
 public remonftrance, addrefTed tovtbe Earl of Oxford, 
 then Lord Treafurer,- concerning the imperfeft ftate of 
 our language ; alledging in particular, that in many 
 " inftances it offended agkinfl ever^&bart of grammar." 
 
 Swift 
 
iv PREFACE, 
 
 Swift muft be allowed to have been a good judge of this 
 matter; to which he was himfelf very attentive, both 
 in his own writings, and in his remarks upon thofe of 
 his friends : He is one of the mod correct, and perhaps 
 the beft, of our profe writers. Indeed the juftnefs of 
 this complaint, as far as I can find, hath never yet been 
 queftioned j and yet no effectual method hath hitherto 
 been taken to redrefs the grievance which was the object 
 of it. 
 
 But let us confider, how, and in what extent, we 
 are to understand this charge brought againft the Englifh 
 language : for the author feems not to have explained 
 himfelf with fufrklent clearnefs and precifion on this 
 head. Does it mean that the Englifh language, as it 
 is fpoken by the politeft part of the nation, and as it 
 Hands in the writings of the moft approved authors, 
 often offends againft every part of grammar . ? Thus far, 
 I am afraid, the charge is true. Or does it further im 
 ply, that our language is in its nature irregular and capri 
 cious ; not hitherto fubjecl:, nor eafily reducible, to a 
 fyftem of rules ? In this refpect, I am perfuaded, the 
 charge is wholly without foundation. 
 
 The Englifh language is perhaps of all the preftnt 
 European languages by much the moft fimple in its 
 form and conftruction. Of all the ancient languages 
 extant that is the moft fimple, which is undoubtedly the 
 moft ancient j but even that language itfelf does jiot 
 equal the Eng'iih^n fimplicity. 
 
 The 
 
PREFACE. v 
 
 The words of the Englifh language are perhaps fub-, 
 ject to fewer variations from their original form, than 
 thofe of any other. Its fubftantives have but one vari 
 ation of cafe ; nor have they any diftinction of gender, 
 befide that which nature hath made. Its adjectives ad 
 mit of no change, at all, except that which exprefles the 
 degrees, of comparifon. All . the poffible variations of 
 the original form of the verb are not above fix or feven ;, 
 whereas in many languages they amount to fome hun 
 dreds, and almoit the whole bufmefs of modes, times, 
 and voices, is managed with great eafe by the ailiftance 
 of eight or nine commodious little, verbs, called from 
 their ufe auxiliaries. The.conftruction of this language 
 is fo eafy and obvious,, that, our grammarians have 
 thought it hardly worth while to give us auy thing like 
 a regular and fyftematical fyntax. The Englifh Gram 
 mar which hath been lad 1 prefented to the public, and 
 by the perfon belt qualified to have, given us a perfect 
 cue, comprifes the whole Syntax in ten lines : For this 
 reafon ; " becaufe otir language has fo little inflexion, 
 " that its contraction neither requires nor admits ma- 
 " ny rules." In truth, th'e ealier any fubject is in its 
 own nature, the harder is- it to make it more eafy by 
 explanation ; and nothing is more unncceflary, and at 
 the fame commonly more difficult, than to monflration . 
 in form of a proportion almoft felf-evident. 
 
 It' doth not then. ..proceed from any peculiar irregu 
 larity or difficulty of our language, that the general prac 
 tice both of fpeaking and writing it is chargeable with. 
 ^. It. is net the language, but- the practice. 
 A 2, that: 
 
vi P R E F A C E. 
 
 that is in fault. The truth is, grammar is very much 
 neglected among us : and it is not the difficulty of the 
 language, but on the contrary the fimplicity and facility 
 of it, that occafions this neglect. Were the language 
 lefs eafy and fimple, we mould find ourfelves under a 
 neceffity of fKidying it with more care and attention. 
 But as it is, we take it for granted, that we have a 
 competent knowledge and fkill, and are able to acquit 
 ourfelves properly, in our own native tongue; a faculty, 
 folely acquired by ufe, conducted by habit, and tried by 
 the ear, carries us on without reflection ; we meet with 
 no rubs or difficulties in our way, or we do not perceive 
 them ; we find ourfelves able to go on without rules, 
 and we do not fo much as fufpect, that we ftand in 
 need of them. 
 
 A grammatical ftudy of our own language makes no 
 part of the ordinary method of inftrudion, which we 
 pafs through in our childhood ; and it is very feldom 
 we apply ourlelves to it afterward. Yet the want of it 
 will not be effectually fupplied by any other advantages 
 whatfoever. Much practice in the polite world, and a 
 general acquaintance with the belt authors, are good 
 helps ; but alone will hardly be fufficient : We have wri 
 ters, who have enjoyed thefe advantages in their full 
 extent, and yet cannot be recommended as models of 
 an accurate ftyle. Much lefs then will, what is com 
 monly called learning, ferve the purpofe ; that is, a critical 
 knowledgeof ancient languages, and much reading of an 
 cient authors : The greateit critic and mod able gramma 
 rian of the hft nge, when he came to apply his learning and 
 
 criticifm 
 
PREFACE. Vii 
 
 criticifm to an Englifh author, was frequently at a lofs 
 in matters of ordinary ufe and common conftrudion. in , 
 his own vernaztifar idiom. 
 
 But perhaps the notes fabjoined to the following 
 pages will fornifii a more convincing argument, than 
 any thing that can be faid here, both of the. truth of 
 the charge of inaccuracy brought againft our language,, 
 as it fubfifts in pra-flice ; and of the neceility of invefti- 
 gating the principles of it, and ftudying it grammatically, 
 if we would attain to a due degree of fkill in it. Il 
 is with reafon expelled of every perfon of a liberal edu 
 cation, and it is indifpenfably required of every one who 
 undertakes to inform or entertain the public, thflt he 
 fhould be able, to exprefs himfelf with propriety and 
 accuracy. It will evidently appear from thefe notes, 
 that our bed authors have committed grofs miftakes,for 
 want of a due knowledge of Engliih grammar, or at 
 lead of a proper attention to the rules of it. The ex^ 
 amples there given are fuch as occurred in reading, 
 without any very curious or methodical examination i 
 and they might eafily have been much increased in num 
 ber by any one, who had leimre or phlegm enough to 
 go through a regular courfe of reading with this parti 
 cular view. However, I believe, they may be fufE- 
 cient to anfwer the purpofe intended ; to evince the ne- 
 cefiity of the ftudy of grammar in our own language ; 
 and to admonifh thofe, who fet up for authors among 
 us, that they would do well to coniider this part of 
 learning as an cbjecl not altogether beneath their regard. 
 
 The 
 
viii PREFACE.. 
 
 The principal defign of a grammar of any language, 
 is to teach us to exprefs ourfelves with propriety in that 
 language j and to enable us to judge of every phrafe and 
 form of conftruction, whether it be right or not. The 
 plain way of doing this is, to lay down rules, and to 
 illuftrate them by examples. But, befides mewing, 
 what is right, the matter may be further explained by 
 pointing out what is wrong. I will not take upon ma 
 to fay, whether we have any Grammar that fufficiently. 
 inftrucls us by rule and example; but I am fure we 
 have none, that in the manner here attempted, teaches 
 us what is right, by mewing what is wrong ; though 
 this perhaps may prove tbe_ more ufeful and .effectual, 
 method of instruction.,. 
 
 Befide this principal defign of Grammar in .our own 
 language, there is a fecondary.ufe, to which it may be 
 applied;. and which, I think, is, not attended to as it 
 deferves: the facilitating of the acquifition .of other lan 
 guages, whether ancient or modern. . A good founda 
 tion in the general principles of grammar, is in the firft 
 place neceiTary for all thofe who are initiated in a 
 learned education; and for all others like wife, who 
 mail have occafion to furniih themfelves with the know 
 ledge of modern languages. Uni-verfal Grammar cannot 
 be taught tibftra&edly, it mud: be done with reference 
 to fome language already known; in which the terms 
 are to be explained, and- the rules exemplified... The 
 learner is fuppofed to be unacquainted with all, but hi,s 
 native tongue; and in what other,, confident with rea- 
 fon and common fen fe, can you go about to explain it 
 
 to 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 to him ? When he has a competent knowledge of the 
 main principles of grammar in general, exemplified in 
 his own language; he then will apply himfelf with great 
 advantage to the ftu.dy of any other. To enter at once 
 upon the fcience of 'grammar, and the iludy of a foreign 
 language, is to encounter two difficulties together, each 
 ofcyhich would be much leflened by being taken feparate- 
 ly, and in its proper order. For thefe plain reafons, a. 
 Competent grammatical knowledge, is the true founda 
 tion, upon which all literature, properly fo called, ought 
 to be raifed. If this method were adapted in our 
 fcliocls, if children were Srft taught the common prin~ 
 ciples of grammar, by fome fliort and clear fyfrem of 
 Englim Grammar, which happily by its fimplicity and 
 facility, is perhaps fitter than that of any other language 
 for fuch a.purpole; they would have fome notion of 
 what they were going about, when they fiiould enter 
 into the Latin Grammar; and would hardly be enga 
 ged fo .many years as they now are, in that mod irk- 
 fomeand difficult part of literature, with fo much labour 
 of the memory, and with & little affiftance of the un- 
 derflanding. 
 
 A. defign fomewhat of this kind, gave occafion to 
 the following little fyftem, intended merely for a pri 
 vate and domefHc ufe. The chief end of it was to 
 explain the general principles of grammar, as clearly 
 and intelligibly as poffible. In the definitions, there 
 fore, eafmefs and perfpicuity, have been fometimes 
 preferred to logical exactnefs. The common diviilons 
 have been complied v/ith> as far as reafon and truth 
 
x PREFACE. 
 
 would permrt. The known and received terms have 
 been retained; except in one or two in fiances, where 
 others offered themfelves, which feemed much more 
 fignificant. All difquifitious which appeared to have 
 more of fubtilty,. than of ufefulnefs in them, have been 
 avoided. In a word, it was calculated for the ufe of 
 the learner, even of the lowed clafs. Thofe, wfco ; 
 would enter more deeply into this fubjecl, will, find it 
 fully and accurately handled, with the g^eateft accute-- 
 nefs, of inveftigation, perfpicuity of explication, and 
 elegance of method, in a treatife entitled HERMES, by 
 JAMES HARRIS, Efq. the moil beautiful and. perfect 
 example of analyfis, that has been exhibited fines. the 
 days of dr'tflotle*. 
 
 The author is> greatly obliged to feveral learned gen 
 tlemen, who have favored him with their remarks upon 
 the iirft edition ; which was indeed principally defigned 
 to procure their afliftance, and to try the judgment of 
 the public. He hath endeavored; to : weigh their obfer- 
 yations, without prejudice or partiality ;, and to make 
 the b'eft ufe of the lights which they have- afforded him.' 
 He hath been enabled'to correcl: feveral miilak'es, and 
 cncoiHraged carefully to revife the whole* and to give it 
 all the. improvement which his prefent mateiials can 
 furnifli. He hopes for the continuance of thair favor, 
 as he is fenfible there will (till be abundant occafion for 
 it. A fyftem of this kind, arifmg from the collection 
 and arrangement of a multitude of minute particulars, 
 which often elude the rnoft careful fearch, and fome- 
 times efcape obfervatipn, when they are mpft obvious, 
 
 mud 
 
PREFACE. xi 
 
 muft always ftaad in need of improvement. It is in 
 deed the neceflary condition of every work of human 
 art of fcience, fmall as well as great, to advance to 
 wards perfection by flow degrees ; by an approxima 
 tion, which, though it ftill may carry it forward, yet 
 will certainly never bring k to the point to which k 
 tends. 
 
A 
 
 SHORT 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Grammar* 
 
 GRAMMAR. 
 
 GRAMMAR is the art of rightly exprefimg 
 our thoughts by words. 
 
 Grammar in general, or universal grammar, 
 explains the principles, which are common to 
 all languages. 
 
 The grammar of any particular language, as 
 the Engliih Grammar, applies thofe common prin 
 ciples to that particular language, according to 
 the eftablifned ufage or cuftom of it. 
 
 Grammar treats of fentences ; and of the fe- 
 veral parts of which they are compounded. 
 
 Sentences confift of words ; words, of one or 
 
 more fyllables ; fyllables, of one or more letters. 
 
 13 So 
 
2 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 So that letters, fyllables, words, and fenten- 
 ces, make up the whole fubjeft of grammar. 
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 A Letter is the firft principal, or leaft part, 
 of a word. 
 
 An articulate found is the found of the human 
 voice, formed by the organs of fpeech. 
 
 A vowel is a fimple articulate found, formed 
 by the impulfe of the voice, and by the opening 
 only of the mouth in a particular manner. 
 
 A confonant cannot be perfectly founded by 
 itfelf ; but joined with a vowel forms a compound 
 articulate found, by a particular motion or contacl; 
 of parts of the mouth. 
 
 A diphthong, or compound vowel, is the uni 
 on of two or more vowels pronounced by a Tingle 
 impulfe of the voice. 
 
 In Engli'fti there are twenty-fix letters : 
 
 A, a; B, b; C, c; D, d; E, e; F, f; G, g; 
 H, h; I, i; J, j , K, k; L, 1; M, m; N, n; 
 O, o;T> P5 Q! qi R> H S, f; T, t; U, u-, 
 V, v, W, w; X, x; Y, y; Z, z. 
 
 J'j, and^y, are confonants ; the former hav 
 ing the found of the foft g, and the latter that of 
 a coarfer /; - they are therefore entirely different 
 from the vowels rand */, and diftinft letters of 
 themfelves; they ought alfo to be diftinguifhed 
 from them, each by a peculiar name ; the former 
 may be calledyj, and the latter vet. The 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 3 
 
 The names then of the twenty-fix letters will 
 be as follows: a, bee,- cee,.dee, e, ef, gee, aitch 
 /, ja, ka, e!, em, en,,o, pee,, cue, ar, eft, tee, u> 
 vee, double it, .en, ex, y, 9tid< 
 
 Six of the letters are vowels, and may be 
 founded by themfelves ; a, e, i, o, it, y. 
 
 E is generally- filent- at the end of a word ; but 
 it has its eirecl in lengthening the preceding vow 
 el, as bid, bids : . -and . fometimes like wife in the 
 middle of a word; as,;, ungrateful retirement. 
 Sometimes it has no other .effect, than that ot 
 foftening a preceding g ; as, lodge, judge, judg 
 ment ; Svs which purpofe it is quite neceflary 
 in thefe and the like words. 
 
 yis in found wholly the fame with /; and is 
 written inftead of: it at the end of words -, or be 
 fore /, as flying, denying : it is retained HkewiftJ- 
 in fome words derived from the Greek ; and it 
 is always a vowel *[ij. 
 
 W is either a vowel or a diphthong : its pro 
 per found is the fame as the Italian */, the French 
 ou> or the Englifh oo : after' o it is fometimes not 
 founded, nt all- 3, fometimes like a fmgle //. 
 
 The 
 
 [ij The fame found which we exprefs by the initially, our 
 Sixon anceftors in many inftances expreiled by the vowel e; as 
 cuiver, your: and by the vowel /'; as i-iv, y:~w \ long, young. Iu 
 the word ysw, the initial y has preciftly the fanv; found with / in 
 the words vitiv, Hnu, adieu : the i is acknowledged to be a vowel 
 hi thcie latter ; ho\v then can the y which has the very fame found, 
 pofiibly be a conlbnant in the former? Its initial found is gene 
 rally like that of i in fairs, or e: nearly, it is formed by the open 
 ing of the mouth, without any motion or contact of che parts; 
 in a word, it has every property of LI vowel, and not one of a cou- 
 
4 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 The reft of the letters are confonants ; which 
 cannot be founded alone : fome not at all, and 
 thefe are called Mutes ; b, c, d, g, k, />, q, t: 
 others very imperfectly, making a kind of ob- 
 fcure found, and thefe are called Semi-vowels, or 
 Half-vowels, /, m, , r y f y s; the rirlt four of which 
 are alfo diftinguiflied by the name of Liquids. 
 
 The mutes and the femi-vowels are diftinguifti- 
 ed by their names in the alphabet; thofe of the 
 former all beginning with a confonant, fae, cee, 
 &c. thofe of the latter all beginning with a vowel, 
 </, el, &c. 
 
 X is a double confonant, compounded of c, or 
 k) and s. 
 
 Z feems not to be a double confonant in Eng- 
 Jim, as it is commonly fuppofed ; it has the fame 
 relation to s 9 as v has toj] being a thicker and 
 coarfer expreffiori of it. 
 
 H is only an afpiration or breathing ; and fome- 
 tirnes at the beginning of a word is not founded 
 at all ; as, an hour, an boneft man. 
 
 C is pronounced like , before a, 0, it; and 
 foft, like s, before e, i, y : in like manner g is 
 pronounced always hard before tf, o } u ,- fome- 
 times hard and fometimes foft before /, and y> 
 and for the mod part foft before e. 
 
 The Englifh alphabet, like mod others, is both 
 deficient and redundant ; in fome cafes the fame 
 letters exprefTrng different founds, and different 
 letters expreiling the fame founds. 
 
 SYLLABLES. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 5 
 
 SYLLABLES. 
 
 A Syllable is a found either fimple or com 
 pounded, pronounced by a fmgle impulfe 
 of the voice, and coriilituting a word or part of 
 a word. 
 
 Spelling is the art of reading by naming the 
 letters fmgly, and rightly dividing words into 
 their fyllables. Or, in writing, it is the expreding 
 of a word by its proper letters. 
 
 In fpelling, a fy liable in the beginning or mid 
 dle of a word ends in a vowel, unlefs it be fol 
 lowed by x, or by two or more confonants j thele 
 are for the mod part to be feparated ; and at 
 leaft one of them always belongs to the preceding 
 fyllable, when the vowel of that fyllable is pro 
 nounced fhort. Particles, in compofition, though 
 followed by a vowel, generally remain undivided, 
 in fpelling. A mute generally unites with a 
 liquid following ; and a liquid or a mute, gene 
 rally feparates from a mute following : le and re 
 are never feparated from a preceding mute,. Ex- 
 am pies: ma-ni-feft) ?x-e-crable> wi-e-quali rnij^np-ply^ 
 dif-tin-g uijh) cor-re-fpen-.tiing. 
 
 But the befl and eaiieft rule, for dividing the 
 fyllables in fpelling, is to divide them as they 
 are naturally divided in a right jpronounciation j 
 without regard to the derivation of words, or 
 the pofTible combination of confonants at the 
 beginnig of. a fy liable. 
 
 B 2 WORDS. 
 
6 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 WORDS. 
 
 WORDS are articulate founds, ufed by 
 common confent, as figns of ideas or 
 notions. 
 
 There are in Engli(h, nine forts of words, or, 
 as they are commonly called, Parts of Speech. 
 
 1. The ARTICLE; prefixed to fubilantives, 
 when they are common names of things, to point 
 them out, and to mew, how far their fignifica- 
 tion extends. 
 
 2. The SUBSTANTIVE, or NOUN ; being the 
 name of any thing conceived to fubfift, or of 
 which we have any notion. 
 
 3. The PRONOUN-, ftanding inftead of the noun. 
 
 4. The ADJECTIVE ; added to the noun to ex 
 prefs the quality of it. 
 
 5. The VERB or Word, by way of eminence j 
 ilgnifying to be, to do, or to fuffer. 
 
 6. The ADVERB j added to verbs, and alfo to 
 adjectives and other adverbs, to exprefs fome 
 circumftance belonging to them. 
 
 7. The PREPOSITION j put before nouns and 
 pronouns chiefly, to connect them with other 
 words, and to (hew their relation to thofe words. 
 
 8. The CONJUNCTION 5 connecting fentences 
 together. 
 
 9. The INTERJECTION ; thrown in to exprefs 
 the affection of the fpeaker, though unneceflary 
 with refpeft to the conftru&ion of the fentence. 
 
 EXAMPLE. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 7 
 
 EXAMPLE, 
 I 21 7 2: 5 I 2- 4 
 
 The power of fpeech is a faculty peculiar 
 728 5 5 7373 
 
 to man, and was beftowed on him by his 
 
 4 271 486 
 
 beneficent Creator for the greateft and moft 
 4 x 8 9. 6 6 5 3 
 
 excellent ufes;.. but alas f how often do we 
 
 537^47 2 
 
 pervert it to the word of purpofes ? 
 
 In the foregoing fentence, the wards the, a> 
 are articles -,. power, fpeech, faculty, man, crea 
 tor , ufcs, purpofes, are fubftantives ; kim y his> 
 we, *V, are pronouns ^.peculiar, beneficent, great" 
 eft, excellent, -worft, are adjeclives ; is, was, be- 
 Jlowed, do, pervert $ are verbs > moft^ how, often, 
 are adverks ; . of, to, on, by, for, are prepofitionsj 
 and, but, are conjunctions ; . and alas y is an inter 
 jection. 
 
 The. fubftantives, power, fpeetb, faculty, and the 
 reft, are general or common names of things ; 
 whereof there are many forts belonging to the 
 fame kind, or many individuals belonging to the 
 fame fort ;. as there are many forts of power, 
 many forts of fpeech, many farts of faculty,, many 
 individuals of; that fort of animal called man ;. and 
 fo on. Thefe general or common names are here 
 applied in a more or lefs extenfive fignification, 
 
 according 
 
5 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 according as they arc ufed without either, or with 
 the one, or with the other : of the two articles 
 a and the. The worfafpeech, man, being accom 
 panied with no article, are taken in their largeft 
 extent, and fignify all of the kind or fort ; all forts 
 of fpeech, and all men. The wordfacu/ty, with 
 the article a before it, is ufed in a more confined 
 fjgnification, for fome one out of many of that 
 kind : for it is here implied, that there are other 
 faculties peculiar to man, befides fpeech. The 
 words psiuer,. creator, ufes, purpofes, with the article 
 the before them, (for his creator is the fame, as 
 the creator of him,} are ufed in the moil confined 
 fignification, for the things here mentioned and 
 ; and afcertained ; the power is not any one inde 
 terminate power out of many forts, but that par 
 ticular fort of power here fpecified ; namely, the 
 power of fpeech : tkt creator is the one great cre 
 ator of man and of all things , the ufes and the 
 purpcfes, are particular ufes and purpofes \ the for 
 mer are explained to be thofe in particular, that 
 are the greateil and moil excellent; fuch, for in- 
 ftance, as the glory of God, and the common be 
 nefit of mankind ; the latter to be the worttj as 
 lying, flandering, blafpheming, and the like. 
 
 The pronouns him, his, iue, it, ftand inflead 
 of fome of the nouns, or fubftantives going before 
 them; as, him fupplies the place of man\ his, of 
 man's ; iue, of men, (implied in the general name 
 of man, including all men, of which number is 
 
 the 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 9 
 
 the fpeaker-,) it of -the pciuer, before mentioned, 
 If, inftead of thefe pronouns, .the nouns for which 
 they ftand had be.en. ufed,. the fen-fe. would have 
 been the fame but the frequent repetition of the 
 fame words would have been difagreeable and te 
 dious ; as, the power of fpeeclr, peculiar to man, 
 bellowed on man, by man's creator, &c. 
 
 The adjectives peculiar, beneficent, greattfli ex- 
 celient, wer/t, are added to their feveral fubftan-. 
 lives, to denote the characler and quality of each. 
 
 The verbs is, was, beflowed, do, pervert, fig- 
 nlfy feverally, being, fufFering and doing. By 
 the firri it is implied, that there is fuch a thing 
 as the power of fpeech, and it is affirmed to be 
 of fuch a kind ; namely, a faculty peculiar to man: 
 by the fecond, it .is faid to have been adled upon, 
 or to have fuffered, ox to have had fomething done 
 to it; namely, to have been bellowed on. man; by 
 the laft, we are faid to al upon it r or to do fome 
 thing to it ; namely, to pervert it. 
 
 The adverbs moft, often, are added to the 
 adjective excellent, and to the verb pervert, to 
 ihew the circumflancfc- belonging to them ; 
 namely, that of the higheil degree to the for 
 mer, and that of frequency to the latter, con 
 cerning the degree of which frequency, alfo a 
 queftion is made, by the adverb how added to 
 the adverb often. 
 
 The prepofitions of, to, on, by, for, placed 
 before the fubftanti-ves and pronouns, fpeech, 
 
 man* 
 
io INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 man, him, &c. connect them with other words, 
 fubftantives, adjectives and verbs, as power t . 
 peculiar, be/towed, &c. and fhew the relation 
 which they have to thofe words > as the relation 
 of fubjecl:, object, agent, end, for denoting the 
 end, by the agent, on the object ; to and of- de 
 note poflefSon, or the belonging of one thing to 
 another. 
 
 The conjunctions, and, and but, connect ths 
 three parts of the fentence together ; the firfl 
 more clofely, both with regard to the fentence 
 and the fenfe; the fecond connecting the parts 
 of the fentence, though, lefs flrictly, and at the 
 fame time expreiTrng an oppofition in the fenfe. 
 
 The interjection, alat-! exprefles the concern 
 and regret of the fpeaker , and though thrown 
 in with propriety, yet might have been omitted* 
 without, injuring the conitruftion of the fen ten oe* 
 or deftroying the fenfe. 
 
 AJR T I C L E. 
 
 THE' ARTICLE is,a word prefixed to fubftan 
 tives, to point them out, and to fhew how 
 far their fignincation extends. 
 
 In Englifli there are but two articles, a, and 
 the : a becomes an , before a vowel, y and iu [2] 
 
 exceptedj 
 
 [i] The pronunciation of y or ti>, as a part of a diphthong at the 
 Kginning of a word, requires fuch an effort in th cqni'oimatiQp 
 gf the parts of the mouth, as does not eafily admit of the article 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. n 
 
 cxcepted ; and before a filent h preceding a 
 voweJ. 
 
 A is ufed in a vague fenfe to point out one 
 fingle thing of the kind, in other refpefts inde 
 terminate : /<? determines what .particular thing 
 is mearied. 
 
 A fubftantive without any article to limit it, is 
 taken in its wided fenfe : thus man means all 
 mankind ; as, 
 
 " The proper ftudy of mankind is man." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 Where mankind and man may change places, 
 without making any alteration in the fenfe. A man 
 means fome one or other of that kind, indefi 
 nitely 5 tke man means, definitively, that par 
 ticular man who is fpoken of: the former there 
 fore is called the Indefinite, the latter the Defi 
 nite article [3.3 .Example: 
 
 an before them. In other cafes the article an in a manner coalefccs 
 with the vowel which it precedes ; in this, the effort of pronunci 
 ation feparates the article, and prevents the difagreeahle eonfe- 
 quence of a fenfihle hiatus. 
 
 [3] " And I perfe.cuted this way unto tfje death." Acls xxii. 4. 
 The apoftle does not mean any particular lort of death, but death 
 in general: the definite article therefore is improperly ufed. U 
 ought to be unto death, without any article, agreeably to the ori 
 ginal. See allo 2 Chron. xxxii. 24. 
 
 * When He, the Spirit of truth is come, lie will guide you into 
 all truth ," John xvi. 13. That is, according to this tranflation, 
 into all truth whatfoever, into truth of all kinds: very- different 
 from the meaning of the Evangelift, and from the original, into 
 all truth ; that is, into all evangelical truth, 
 
 " Truly, this was fir-Son of God," Mat. xxvii. 54. and Mark 
 xv. 79. This tranflation fuppofes that the Roman centurion had 
 a proper and adequate notion of the character of Jefus, as the Son 
 of God in a peculiar and incommunicable fenfe : Whereas, it is 
 
 probable 
 
12 -INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Example : " man was made for fociety, and 
 ought to extend his good will to all men; but 
 a '-man will naturally entertain a more particular 
 kindnefs for the men, with whom he has the 
 moft frequent interccurfe ; and enter into a ft ill 
 clofer union with tie man, whofe temper and 
 difpofition fuit beft with his own." 
 
 - It is of the nature of both the articles to de 
 termine or limit the thing fpoken of : a deter 
 mines it to be oe fmgle thing of the kind, 
 
 leaving 
 
 probable both from the circumftances of the hiftory, and from 
 the expreiFion of the original, (a Son of God, -or -of a God, not 
 ile Son) that he onty Tneaned to acknowledge him to be an extra 
 ordinary perlon, and more than a mere m.in; according; to his 
 -o\vn notion of Sons of Gods, in {he Paeln theology This -is alfo 
 rnure agreeable to St. Luke':; account ui the fame confciHon-of the 
 "centurion. Certainly this "was a righteous man;" riot the Juit 
 -One. The fame may, be oulerved of Nebuchadnezzar's words, 
 jDan.. iii. aj. *' And the form of the fourth is like ile fon of 
 "God;" it ought to be cxpreffed by tiie indefinite article, like a 
 Son of God, as Thcodotian very properly renders it : that is, like 
 an angel; according to Nebuchadnezzar's own account of it in 
 the a8th verfe: " 131cfied be God, who hath fent his aagd, and 
 delivered his fervaiits.'' See alfo .Luke xix. 9. 
 
 44 Who breaks a butterfly upon a whe:!?" Porn, 
 
 It ought to be, tie wheel ; ufed aa an initrument for the particular 
 purpofe o torturing criminals: as Shakelpear, 
 
 " Let them pull all about mine ears; prefent me 
 Death on the wheel, or at wild h'ories heels " 
 " God Almighty hath given rcalon to a man to be a light unto 
 him." Hobbes, Elements of Law, Part I. chap, v. iz. Itfhould 
 rather be, to mnn in general. 
 
 Thefe remarks may fervc to fhew the great importance of the 
 proper ufe of the article, the near affinity there is between the 
 Greek article and the Englifh definite article, and the excellence 
 'of the Englifh language in this refpe&, which by means of its two 
 articles does moft precifeiy determine the extent of fignification of 
 common names ; whereas the Greek has only one article, and it 
 has puzzled all the grammarians to reduce die ufc of that, to anjr 
 clear and certain rules. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 13 
 
 leaving it ftill uncertain which , the determines 
 which it is, or, of many, which they are. The 
 fit ft therefore can only be joined to fubftantives 
 in the fingular number [4]; the laft may alfo be 
 joined to plurals. 
 
 There is a remarkable exception to this rule, in 
 the ufe of the adjeclives/^c/ and many, (the latter 
 chiefly with the word great before it,) which, though 
 joined with plural fubftantivesj yet admit of the fin 
 gular article as as a few men, a great many men: 
 " Told of a many thoufand warlike French;" 
 " A care-craz'd mother of a many children" 
 
 Shakefpear. 
 
 The reafon of it is manifeft from the effet, 
 which the article has in thefe phrafesj it means 
 a fmall or great number collectively taken, and 
 therefore gives the idea of a whole, that is, of 
 unity. ["5] Thus likewife a hundred,, a thoufand, 
 C is 
 
 [4] A good character fhouid not he re fled in as an end, but 
 employed as a means tef doing ftill further good." After. Serm. 
 II. 3. Ought it not to be a mean? " I have read an author of 
 this taue, that compares a ragged coin to a tattered cohurs." 
 Addifon, Dial. I. on meda's. 
 
 [5 j Thus the word many is t:.ken collectively as a fubflantive, 
 " O thou fond many! with what loud applaufe 
 Did'ft thou beat Heuv'n with bleffing Boiingbroke, 
 [Before hs was what thou would'il have him be?" 
 
 Shakefpeare, ^ Hen. IV. 
 
 But it will be hard to reconcile to any grammatical propriety the 
 following phrafe: Many one there be, that fay of my foul. There 
 is no help for him. in his God.'* Pfal. iii. 2. 
 
 *' HO"JJ many a mtjfj?: would he fend?" 
 
 Swift, verfes on his own death. 
 
 ** He would fend many a mcjfige" is right : bat the qucftion boiu 
 feems to deftroy the unity, or collective nature of the idea ; and 
 therefore it ought to have been expreffed, if the meafure would 
 have allowed of it, without the article* in the plural number, 
 " bciv iriany rne^li^ft,*' 
 
is one whole number, an aggregate of 
 oHs6lively taken ; and therefore (liH retains tlrr 
 article a, though joined as an adjedtive to a plu 
 ral fubftantive ; as, a hundred years. [6] 
 
 " 3ior harbor at a thoitfand doors they knock'd-.j.. 
 
 Not one of all //> tkoufand* but vvasJock'd." 
 
 Dryden; 
 
 The definitive article /& is feisset-ikwes applied. 
 to adverbs in .the Gomgurative.and' fa&erlative de 
 gree ; and its effeB -is ft) iivark die cfegres cte 
 more ftrongly,. and to^ defiirs it tiis- more pre- 
 cifely : as, The mere I examine it,, & 5t- A'.^ 5 
 like it. I like this the leaf of ar.w^' r 
 
 AS u B s T A N T i v E, or Noutiy. is the #/&& o5 
 a thing v of whatever we conceive -in rr^ 
 way to fubjljt) or of which we have ^fty notion. 
 
 Subftantives are of two forts, proper and' 
 common names. Proper names are the name^ 
 appropriated to individuals ; as the names of- 
 
 pcrfons- 
 
 [6] * Tricre xtcre flain of them upon a three thoufanH men :" 
 that is, to the number <*f three thoufatid. i Mac. iv. 15. {t Abont' 
 an eight days;''' that is, a fpace of ti;ht days. Luke ix. 28. 
 But the expreJIon is obfolete, or at kail vulgar; and we may- 
 add likewfe, inxjti^per ; for neither cf tuefe numbers has beer!- 
 reduced by life arttl convenience into cfi'e colle&ive and compart 
 idea, libe a limdrtd an'd a tboufand; each of which, like a doxex ur* 
 a fearc, we are accuftomed equally to <rOnfider on ccrtum-oC'C-fion&' 
 as a fimple unity. 
 
ESTGLISH GRAMMAR. 
 
 and places,- fuch as George, 
 Com men names (land for kinds, containing many 
 forts : or for forts, containing many individual? 
 under them ; as, Animal > Man. And thefe com- 
 vnon names, whether of kinds or forts, are ap 
 plied to exprefs individuals, by the help of arti 
 cles added to them, as hath been already fliewn j 
 and by the help- of defiic-it'lre. .pronouns, as we 
 hali fee hereafter. 
 
 Proper names- being the names ef individuals} 
 and therefore of things already- as determinate as 
 they can be made,- a4m!t not of articles, or or 
 "plurality of number ; unlefs by a figure, or by 
 .accident ; as, when great conquerors, are caller. 
 Alexander S) and fome great conqueror, an Alex 
 ander, -or the Alexander of his age ; Avhen a cor.- 
 .rnon name is underftcodj as tie Thames, that i; ::. 
 tie river Thames ;. //^George, that is the fign o.v 
 St. George; or when it happens, that there arc 
 inany perions of the fame name, as tie two Scipios, 
 
 Whatever is fppkers of, is .reprefented as one, 
 or. more, in- number j; thefe t\vo manners of rc- 
 prefentation in refpecl of number^ are called the 
 Singular, and the plural number. 
 
 In Engliih, the fubdantive fmgular is made plu 
 ral, for the mod part, by adding to it s; or cs y 
 where it is neceilary for die pronunciation: as 
 I'iug) kings; fix, foxes; leaf, haves; in which Iafr 3 
 and many others, f is alfo changed into v, for 
 the (like of an ea&er proimociaiioji and more 
 agreeable 
 
i6 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Some few plurals end in en : as own, children, 
 brethren, and men, women, by changing the a of 
 the fingular into e. [7] This form we have re 
 tained from the Teutonic ; as likev/ife the intro 
 duction of the e in the former fyllable of two of 
 the lad inftances ; wsomen, (for fo we pronounce 
 it,) brethren, from woman, brother : [8] fomething 
 like which, may be noted in fome other forms of 
 plurals , as moufe, mice ; loufe, lice ; tooth, teeth ; 
 foot, fed ; goofe, geefe. [9] 
 
 The words fteep, dter, are the fame in both 
 numbers. 
 
 Some nouns from the nature of the things 
 which they exprefs, are ufed only in the fmgular 
 others only in the plural form : as 'wheat, pitch} 
 gold, Jlsth, pride, &c. and bellows, fajfars, lungs $ 
 bowels, &c. 
 
 The Englifh language, to exprefs different con 
 nections and relations of one thing to another, ufes 
 for the mod part prepofitions. The Greek and 
 Latin among the antients, and fome too amon 
 modern languages, as the German, vary the ter 
 mination or ending of the fub'aantive, to anfwer 
 the fame purpofe. Thefe different endings, are 
 
 in 
 
 r?] And antbntly, e*;en y fc:,en lo::fcn bnn; fo likewife articntly 
 j',ivi>'i, c<jii-en^ now always pronounced and v/ritteny^t'r.v, k'i;:e. 
 
 [8] In the Gtrt-nan, the vowels u, c. , f)f rnonofyllal le nouns, 
 are generally in the plural changed into diphthongs with an c: ;.s' 
 li.-r /':.-/;J, the hujid die L:n .-<:/ dcr b;;t, the hat; die Luis: der 
 i^Pll\ the burton (or knop) die iaopjj'c, c<c. 
 
 \jji'\ Thefe are directly from the Saxon ; KUS, n\:-; lus, lys ; itlb, 
 icib ; fvtjfst; gcs } ^--s. 
 
AK. *7 
 
 in thofe languages called cafes. And the Engliflv 
 eeing derivcd-from the fame origin as the German, 
 that is, from the Teutonic, fO is not wholly with 
 out them. For inftance, the rdation of poffeffion- 
 -or belonging, is often, cxprefled by a cafe, or i- 
 different ending of the fabitantive. This cafe an- 
 fwers to the genitive Cafe in Latin, and may ftili 
 fee fo called ;. though perhaps more properly tlr 
 pofleffive cafe : thus, "'God's grace 5" which ritej 
 alfobe exprefiedby the prepciirkm,. .as "the grace. 
 vfGod? It- was fefffcftoty writt-a-a, " G^//J grace ; M 
 we now always fhortes k \vl*Ji an Apoitrophe .; 
 often very improperly, wiren vre are obliged to 
 pronunce it fully > as-, " Thomas's book," that is ? 
 **S^ lomasts -"books" not " Thomas hitlyzok"' as it 
 ts commonly fuppofed [2} . 
 
 When the thing, to -\vhTek- another "is laid tc 
 
 belong,, ,k exprefledby a circumlocution, or by 
 
 many terms, tlie fign of the ppfleititc cafe is com-'- 
 
 C- a- monly 
 
 [t-]' " Ivin^ua An^orury^ hodierna aviv.t Savonicrr form am iv 
 Y>h3rii(^uc orationis partibus ctiamnum rets*ct. Nam quoad ])ur- 
 ticuhs cafuales quorundanr 'cafuum WmxtftatwneSj conjugarioncn 
 verborstii, verbum fsbftantivuM, fermam pafiivai vo.ts, prono- 
 mina, participia, conjr.iidioiw-s, c% prxpolitioncs ontnt;? ; dcniqnc*. 
 guoad idiomaca, phrafiiiiw^ue ntaxiniam partem, ctiam mmc Sa:;- 
 tonicus ell Angloram fermc*. Hickcs, 'I'hclaur, 1-ing. Sentcnt. 
 Praef. p. vi. To vdkith may be added the degivcs of comnarifon, 
 
 Saxon. 
 oi the 
 was 
 
 perfect with the Lord." I Kings, xv. 14. " To fee whether 
 Mordecai his matters would Hand." Efther, iii. 4. 
 ' Where is this mankind now ? who lives to age 
 Fit to be made Methufalem bis p a gc?" Donn?., 
 
 '-> By youRgTckm-achys- his blooming years," Popc'Oclyn<->% 
 
 it 7xv 
 
 rae. p. v. o vt may e ae te egivcs o comnaro 
 the form of which is tke very fame in the Englifh as in the. Saxo 
 [a] " Chrijl ins fake,'' in our liturgy is a miftake, either oi t 
 printers, or of the compilers. " Neverthelcfs, Afa hh heart 
 
iS INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 monly added to the laft term ; as, "The king of 
 Great Britain s foldiers." When it is a noun end 
 ing in Sj the fign of the pofieflive cafe, is fome- 
 times not added ; as, " for righteoufneff fake; [3] 
 nor ever to the plural number ending in s ; as, 
 " on eagles, wings." [4] Both the fign and the 
 prepofition feem fometimcs to be ufed j " a foldier 
 of the king's ;" but here are really two pofle (lives ; 
 for it means, " one s/'the foldiers gf the king." 
 
 The Englifh in its fubftantives has but two 
 different terminations for cafes j that of the no 
 minative, which (imply expreffes the name of the 
 thing, and that of the pofleflive cafe. 
 
 Things 
 
 " My paper Is the U/yJ/l-s Us bow, in which every man of wit or 
 learning ir.ay try his itrtngth." Addifon, Guardian, No 98. 
 This is no flip of Mr. Addifon 's pen ; he gives us liis opinion 
 upon thi.s point very explicitly in another place. " The fame 
 Tingle l.tter (j) on many occasions, does the office cf the whole 
 vord, and represents the Us and her of our forefathers." Addi 
 fon, Spedl. No 135. The latter inftancc m-ight have fhev.'n him, 
 how groundlcfs this notion is, for it is {H<t eafy to conceive, ho\v 
 the letter s added to a feminine noun, fnould reprefent the word 
 tar, any more than it fhouM ihe word their,, added to a plural 
 noun; us, the cbildrtn*s Lread ; hut the- ciiredl derivation of this 
 cafe, from the Saxon genitive cafe, isiuHicicni of itfclf to decide 
 this matter. 
 
 [3] In poetry, the fign of the pofLfnve cafe is frequently 
 omitted, after proper names ending in j, or y. ; as, " The wrath 
 of Peltus* fon." 1'ope. This fcems not fo allowable in profe : 
 as, R^ofes* n^inifter ;'' Jofh. i. I. " 1' hint has' wife, i Sam. iv. 
 19. " F^ftus came into Felix' room." Adlsxxiv. 27. 
 
 [4] " It is very prohub'.e, that this convocation was called, to 
 clear fome doubt that King James might have had, about the law- 
 fulnefs of the Hollanders, tlelr throwing off the monarchy of 
 Spain, and their withdrawing for good and all their alleg'ance to 
 that crown.'' Wellwood's memoirs, p. 31. 6th edit. In thi:; 
 fentence the pronominal adjective tbtir is twice improperly added, 
 the pofltfiive cafe being fufiiciently cxprefied without it. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 19 
 
 Things are frequently confidered with relation 
 to the diilin&ion of fex or gender j as being male 
 or female, or neither the one, nor the other. 
 Hence fubftantives are of the mafculine, feminine, 
 or neuter, (that is, neither,) gender, which lat 
 ter is only the exclufion of all confideration of 
 gender. 
 
 The Englifli language, with fingular propriety, 
 following nature alone, applies the diftinclion of 
 mafculine and feminine, only to the names of 
 animals ; all the red are neuter, except when, by 
 a poetical or rhetorical fiction, things inanimate, 
 and qualities, are exhibited as perfons, and con- 
 fequently become either male or female. And 
 this gives the Englifh an advantage above mod 
 other languages in the poetical and rhetorical ftyle, 
 for, when nouns naturally neuter are converted 
 into mafculine and feminine, [5] the perfonifica- 
 tion is more dillindly and forcibly marked. 
 
 Some 
 
 [5] " At his command th' uprooted Hills retir'd 
 Each to bis place : they heard his voice, and went 
 Obftquious : Heaven bis wonted face renew'd, 
 And with frefh flowrcts lull and valley fmil'd." 
 
 Milton, P. L. B. vi. 
 
 " Was I deceiv'd ; or did a fable cloud 
 Turn forth her filver lining on the night?'' 
 
 Milton, Comus. 
 
 " Of hw no lefs can be acknowledged, than that Itr feat is 
 the bofom of God; her voice the harmony of the world. All 
 things in heaven and earth do ber homage ; the very Icaft, as 
 feeling btr care ; and the greatcft as not exempted from her 
 
 power. 1 * 
 
20 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Some few fuhftantives are diflinguifhed in their 
 gender, by their terminations-, as, .pr'uice y princcfs t 
 aftor, aftrefs ; Ihfi, liomfi ; hero, heroine, &c. 
 
 The chief life of gender in Englifh, is in the 
 pronoun of the third perfon j which muft agree 
 in tbat refpedt 'with the noun for which it fiancte. 
 
 P R ONO UN. 
 
 A PRO NOUN, is a word ftandiirg infttad *f & 
 xoun, as its fubftantive or reprefentative. 
 In the pronoun are to be confidered the perfon ^ 
 number, , gender, and cafe. 
 
 There are three perfons which may be the fub^ 
 j-et of any difcourfej firft, the perfon who fpeaks 
 may fpeaJc of himfclf ^ fecondly, he may fpeak of 
 
 the 
 
 power." Hooker, B.'i. p. 6.'. ' Go to year natural rcfe'gior. ; 
 lay before her, Mahomet and his difciples, ari-a)'ed in armour and 
 ia blood (hew her the cities, which he fet m flames, the coun 
 tries which he ravaged; when j&e has viewed him in this fccuc, 
 carry her to his retirements -fnew her the prophet's chamber, his 
 concubines aiid his wives; when Jbe is tired with this profpec~l: r 
 
 tken fhevv Ler the Blelfed Jefus .' See the whole puflagc iit 
 
 the conclufion of Bp Sherlock's 9th- Sermon, vol. i,' 
 
 Of thefe beautiful pafiages we may obferve, that as in the Eng- 
 Jifh if you put ;'/ and//j inftead of lis,Jbe y her, you confound and. 
 deilroy the images, and reduce, what was before highly poetical 
 and rhetorical, to mere profe and common difcourfe ; fo if you 
 render them into another language, Greek, Latin, French, Italian 
 or German, in which hill, heaven, cloud, hw, religion, are con* 
 flantly mafculine or feminine or neuter, refpeHve!y, you nialcc. 
 the images obfcure and doubtful, and in proportion, diminifo 
 iheir beauty. 
 
 Tbis excellent remark is Mr,. H?.rrL>'$j. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 21 
 
 the perfon to whom he addreiTes himfdf 5 thirdly, 
 he may'fpeak of fome other perfon. 
 
 Thcfe are called, refpettively, the firft, fecond, 
 and third perfons ; and are exprefled by the 
 pronouns /, thou, and he, 
 
 As the fpeakers, the perfons fpoken to, and 
 the other perfons fpoken of, may be many ; fo 
 each of thefe perfons hath the plural number, 
 we, ye, they. 
 
 The perfons fpeaking and fpoken to, being at 
 the fame time the fubjects of the difccurfe, are 
 fuppofed to be prefent ; from which, and other 
 circumilances, their fex is commonly known, 
 and needs not be marked by a diftincticn of gen 
 der in their pronouns : but the third perfon or 
 thing fpoken of, being abfent, and in many re- 
 fpecls unknown, it is neceflary that it mould be 
 marked by a diftincticn of gender ; at lead when 
 fome particular perfon or thing is fpoken of, 
 which ought to be more didinftly marked : ac 
 cordingly the pronoun fmgular of the third per 
 fon hath three genders ; he, Jhe, it. 
 
 Pronouns have three cafes , the nominative, 
 the genitive, or po'fleflive, like nouns ; and more 
 over a cafr, which follows the verb active, or 
 the prepofition, exprefling the object of an action, 
 or of a relation. It anfwers to the oblique cafes 
 in Latin ; and may be properly enough called the 
 objective cafe. 
 
 PRONOUNS, 
 
22 INTRODUCTION TC 
 
 P&ONOUN&I according to their perfons,. 
 cafes and genders. 
 
 'I. 2. 3. I. 2.. |- 
 
 .Singular. Piuiak 
 
 I, Thou, He. We, Ye x O.T You, Tliey. 
 
 CASES. 
 
 Poil. Obj. Norn. ^ofil Obj.. 
 
 FirfrPerforu 
 I,, Mine, Me.. We, Ours y Us.. 
 
 .Second Perfoa.. 
 Thou, Thine,. Thee. Ye or You, Yours, You.[6 2 
 
 Third Perfon, 
 
 Meifc. He, His, Him. "}. 
 
 Fern-. She, Hers, Her, j> -Tiiej-, Tkeirs, Them*. 
 . It, Its, [7] It. J, 
 
 [61 SOSQC writers have :iP;-d ^ as the objtdive caie plural of 
 .the pi-cfci-oun -of the fecoml jxrrfpn : very i 
 
 " The, more lhame for \e: lioly inen I thou<rlit jr.'* 
 
 car. Hen. VII L 
 
 <4 But tyrants cli'ead \v, left your juft decree 
 
 Trai-sfer the powV, and fct the people free," 
 
 *' His wrat.h which one day will deftroy ye botli.'" 
 
 Milton, P. L. ii. 734- 
 
 IMiiton ufcs the fame -manner njfexprc0ibn in a fey/ other placet 
 of his Paradife Loll, and more Irciiiuntly in his p-rems. It ma?/ 
 pcrhapf, be allowed in- the comic and hui}efq.'je ftylc, which oftejj 
 finitates a vulgar and incorrect pronunciation, as, " By the Lord, 
 i kneyv r*, as well as he that made ye.*' Shakefpear, I Hen. IV. 
 But. in the.ferious and iolemn ftyle no authority is fufncient to 
 juftify.fo.manifeft a fokcifm. 
 
 The Singular and Pi-ural form far te,l>e confounded in tint 
 following lenience.: " Pa-fo/^ away, thou inhabituncs oi Saphir. 4 " 1 
 
 Micah, i. II. 
 
 [7] The Neuter proncun of the third pei-fon had formerly nu 
 ion i)f cafes. InikaJ : of die poffcffive its $l>ey- nfrd its, v.'hic.'i 
 
 i* 
 
EJN*LISH GRAMMAR. 23 
 
 The perfonal pronouns have the nature o 
 fubftantives, and as fuch, liand by thenifelves : 
 The reft have the nature of cvljsclives, and as- 
 liucb, are joined to fubftailtives ; and may be 
 called pronominal atijetSlives. 
 
 27' v> ^;> b* r > our > .y our * th eir * are ptonomi^ 
 rial adjectives ; but bis, (tha-S Is,, his) her's, ottr's? 
 yonr's, theirs, have evidently the form of the 
 pofTeilive cafe : And by analogy, wine, thine, [3], 
 may be eileemed of the fame rank. All thefe 
 are ufed, when th,e noun the^belong to is under- 
 itocd t The two latter fome*imes alfo inilead of 
 &iy y thy, \vhen the noun following them begins 
 with a vowel. Befidc 
 
 ic now appropriated to the mjifculine. 4< learning hath bis in- 
 l^ncy, when // is but beginning, and almoil childifh ; then bis 
 ^uth, when it is luxuriant and juvenile; then bis ftrength of 
 years, when if is folid and reduced^ and laftly Us old age, when 
 />waxcth dry and exhauft.'' Bacon,! -May 58. In this example 
 his is evidently/ ufed as the poireffive caiV- of it: But vvhat fhall tve' 
 Tay to the following where her is applied in the fume manner, and 
 .fffems to make a ftrange confufion of gcHder? * He that pricketfv 
 -."He heart maketii i>to (hew her knowleu'^e." Ecclus.-xxii. :^; 
 41 Off have I feen a timely parted ghoft, 
 (V5f afny lemblance, meagre, pale an>i bloodlefs, 
 'Being all defct-nded to the lab'ring heart, 
 -Who) in the confli& that it holds with death, 
 Attrads the fame for aidance 'gainft the enemy.*' 
 
 Shakefpcar, a Ffcri. V;, 
 Tt oitght to be, 
 
 " V/bicb^ in the conflict that it holds," 
 'r, perhaps more poetically, 
 
 " Wbo, in the conflict that be holda wit^fl 1 dpath.'* 
 [8] So the Saxon Ic hath the poffeffivS ca.^' j&ltil 1 ? 'Tbu^ pofTef- 
 A ve TL'm ; He t poffeffive His : From which our pcffdfive cafes o? 
 the*"fame pronouns aK; taken without alteration. To the Saxon 
 p'offeffive caics, hire, ure, cower, hint, (that is, btr's, our's^ your. , 
 Ibeir'i ) we have added the j, the characleriftic of the poflefiiv'T 
 cafe of nouns. Or wVjjwwrV, arc diredly from the faxon 
 stivers ; the poffefGve ca'fc of the I'ronominal 
 :o-zi'er ; tliat is, our ycvr'. 
 
24 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Befide the foregoing, there are feveral ether 
 pronominal adjectives ; which, though they may 
 fometimes feem to (land by themfelves, yet have 
 always fome fubftantive belonging to them, either 
 referred to, or underftood ; as, This, that, ether, 
 any, fome, one, none. Thefe are called Definitive, 
 becaufe they define and limit the extent of the 
 common name, or general term, to which they 
 either refer, or are joined. The three firft of 
 thefe are varied, to exprefs number ; as, Thefe, 
 thofe, ethers; [9] the laft of which admits of 
 the plural form only when its fubftantive is not 
 joined to it, but referred to, or underftood ; none 
 of them are varied to exprefs the gender or cafe. 
 One is fometimes ufed in an indefinite fenfe, (an- 
 fwering to the French on] -as in the following 
 phrafes ; " One is apt to think ; one fees ; one 
 fuppofes :" Who, which, that, are called relatives, 
 becaufe they more direclly refer to fome fubftan 
 tive going before ; which therefore is called the 
 antecedent. They nlfo connect the following 
 part of the fentence with the foregoing. Thefe 
 belong to all the three perfons ; whereas the reft 
 belong only to the third. One of them only is 
 varied to exprefs the three cafes , Who, ivhofe, [i] 
 
 (that 
 
 [9] " Diodorus, whofc defijrn was to refer all occurrence*! to 
 years, is of more credit in a point of Chronology than Plutarch, 
 or any ether that write lives by the lump." Bcntly, DifTert, on 
 Themiftocles's Epiftles, Sec,t. vi. It ought to be others or writes, 
 
 [l] Wbofe is by fome authors made the poffcffive cafe of tchicb, 
 and applied to things as well as perfons ; I think improperly. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. . $5 
 
 that is, who's) [2 j whom : None of them have diffet- 
 ent endings for the numbers. Wha, which) what, 
 are called interrogatives, when they are ufed in 
 afldng queftions. The two latter of them have 
 no variation of number or cafe. Eacb y every y 3] 
 eithert t are called distributives ; becaufe they de 
 note the perfons or things that make up a number, 
 as taken Separately and fmgly* 
 
 Oiufi audfelf in the plural filves, are joined 
 to the pofTeflives, my y our y thy, your, his, her* 
 their 3 - as, my own hand, myfelf y yourfelves ; both 
 of them expreffing emphafis or oppofition, as, 
 * I did it my own Jclf y that is, and no one elfe 5 
 the latter alfo forming the reciprocal pronoun, as, 
 ' he hurt himfelf" Himfelf y themfehes y feem to 
 be ufed in the nominative cafe by corruption, 
 D inftead 
 
 " The gueftion, "it-ljofc folution I require, 
 
 Is, what the fex. of women moft defitc. " Dr ydcn. 
 
 " Js there any other chtfrine, ivbofc followers are punifhed ? 
 
 Addifon. 
 
 The higher Poetry, which loves to confider every thing as hear 
 ing a pedonal character, frequently applies the perfonal poffellive 
 ivbofe to inanimate beings. 
 
 *' Of man's firft diibbedience, and the fruit 
 
 Of that forhiddtn tree, ivhofe mortal tafte 
 
 Brought death into the world, and all cur woe." Milton. 
 
 [a] So the Saxon bvta h;uh the poiTelfive cafe h-was. Note, 
 that the Saxons rightly placed the Afpirate before the iu: as we 
 now pronounce it. This will be evident to any one that fhall 
 confider in what manner he pronounces the words -what, ivben ; 
 that is, hoo-at, hoo-en. 
 
 [3] Every was formerly much ufed as a Pronominal Adjective, 
 {landing by itfelf: as, * He propofeth unto God their neceflities, 
 and they their own requefts, for reliei in every of them. " Hooker, 
 v. 39. " The corruptions and depredations to which every of 
 thefe was fubjecV' bwift, Cootefts and diffentio|>s. We now 
 commonly fay, every one* 
 
aS , INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 inilead of lisfelf, [4] tfxir felves, as, ' he en me 
 himjelfy they did it themfei'ues / where klmfetf^ 
 them/elves, cannot be hi the objective cafi. If 
 this be fo, /7f muft be, in thefe inftances, not a 
 pronoun, but a noun. Thus Dry den ufes it : 
 
 " What. I (how, 
 Thyfelf may freely on thyfelf befto'w." 
 
 Ourfe/fj the plural pronominal adjective with 
 the fmgular fubitantive, is peculiar to the regal 
 ftyle. " 
 
 Own is an adjective, or perhaps the participle 
 (owen) of the verb to owe, to pofTefs, to be the 
 tight owner of a thing. [5] 
 
 All nouns whatever in grammatical conftruc- 
 tion are of the third perfon, except when an 
 addrefs is made to a perfon, then the noun (an- 
 fwering to what is called the vocative cafe in 
 Latin) is of the fecond perfoii. 
 
 ADJECTIVE. 
 
 AN ADJECTIVE is a word added to a fub- 
 flantive to exprefs its quality. [6] In 
 
 [4] His filf im& their ftlves were formerly in ufe, even in the 
 objective cafe after a prepofition : *' Every of us, each for Us f>-lj\ 
 labored how to recover him." Sidney. That they would 
 willingly and of their f elves endeavor to keep a perpetual chaflity.'' 
 Stat. 2 and 3 Ed. VI. ch. xxi. 
 
 [5] The man that oiunetl this girdle." Ads xxi. II. 
 
 [6] Adjectives are very improperly called Nouns ; for they are 
 not the names of things. The adjectives good^ ivbite, are applied 
 to the nouns man,fnoiv y to exprefs the qualities belonging fo thofe 
 fubjeds; but the names of thofe qualities in the abftracl, (that 
 is, confidered in themfelves, and without being attributed to any 
 fubjedt) wegoodnefs, -whiienefs ; and thefc are nouns or fubftantives. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 27 
 
 In English the adjeclive is not varied on ac 
 count of gender, number or cafe. [7] The only 
 variation, which it admits of, is that of the de 
 grees of comparison. 
 
 Qualities for the moft part admit of more and 
 /</}, or of different. degrees-j and the words that 
 exprefs fuch qualities have accordingly proper 
 forms to exprefs different degrees. When a qua 
 lity is fimply .exprefled without any relation to the 
 i'ame in a different degree, it is called the Pofi- 
 tive ; a&> wife, . great . When it is exprefled with 
 augmentation^ or with reference to a lefs degree 
 of the fame, it is called the Comparative 5 wifer,. 
 greater. When it is exprefled as being in the 
 higheft degree of all, . it is. called the fupcrlaiive j 
 as, w-ifeft'y greaiefi.. 
 
 So that the fimple word, or pofitive, becomes 
 comparative by adding r, orer ; and fuperlative by 
 adding ^y?, or */?, to the end of it. And the adverbs 
 more or mofl placed before the adjective have the 
 fame effect ; as, wife, more wife, moft wife. [8] 
 
 Monofyllables, 
 
 [7] Some few pronominal adjectives muft here be exct-pted, as 
 having the poffefiive cafe; as> une t ctbsr, mother: ' By one's own 
 choice/ Sidney. 
 
 ' '1'cach me. to feel another's \voc. Pope, Univ. Prayer. 
 
 And the adjcdlives/cmw and latter > may be confidered as prono 
 minal, and rcp?'efcnting the nouns, to which they refer; if the 
 ^hrafe in the fol. owing fentence be avowed to be juil : " It was 
 happy for the ftate, that Fabius continued in command with Mi- 
 liucius; \h$ firings phlegm was a check upon the latter't vivaci.y.' 
 [8] Double comparatives and fuperlative* are improper : 
 
 " The Duke of Milan, 
 h-is rwe Lrawf daughter could controul thec." 
 
 bbakefpear, Tempefl. 
 " After 
 
28 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Monofyllables, for the moft part are compared 
 by er and eft, and diflyllables by mere and mojl ; 
 as, mild) milder, miideft ; frugal, more frugal, mojl 
 frugal. Diflyllables ending in y, as happy, lovely ; 
 and in le after a mute, as able, ample / or accent 
 ed on the laft fylJable, as difcrete, polite, eafily 
 admit of er and eft. Words of more than two 
 fyllables hardly ever admit of thofe terminations. 
 
 In fome few words the Superlative is formed 
 by adding the Adverb mojl to the end of them : 
 2S, nether moft, ttttennojt, or utmojl, under moj}^ up- 
 permoft, foremoft. 
 
 In Englifh, as in moft languages, there are 
 fome words of very common ufe, in which the 
 caprice of cuftom is apt to get the better of ana 
 logy, that are irregular in this refpecl: ; as, good 
 
 better, 
 
 ' ' After the mfiftraitdfi. fe& of our religion I lived a Pharifce." 
 A&s xxvi. 5. So likewife adjectives, that have in themfclves a 
 fuperfative fignification, admit not properly the fuperlative form 
 fuperadded : " Whofoever oi' you will he cbiefrft, fhall be fervant 
 ;f ai!. 5 ' Mark x 44. " One of the firll and chicfeft inftances of 
 prudence.'' Atterbury, Serm. IV. " While the extreme/! parts 
 of the earth were meditating a fubmiifion. " Ibid. i. 4. 
 
 *' But firfl and tbiefefl with thee bring 
 
 Him, that yon ioars on golden wing, 
 
 Guiding the fiery-wheeled throne, 
 
 The Cherub contemplation." Milton, II Pcnferofo. 
 
 " That on the fea's extreme^ border flood.*' 
 
 Addifon's Travel*. 
 
 B-it Poetry i? in poflVflion of thefe two improper fuperlatives, and 
 may be indulged in the ufe of them. 
 
 The double fuperiatives mojl Liglcfl is a phrafe peculiar to the old 
 vulgar tranflation of the Pfohris-; where it acquires a fingular pro 
 priety from the fubje<5t to which it is applied, the Supreme Being, 
 who is biglcr tlan the 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 29 
 
 better, left ; bad, ivorfe, ivoffl ; little, fefi, [9] 
 If aft ; much, or tnaty, more, rnoft ; and a few others. 
 And in other languages, the words irregular in 
 this refpet, are thofe which exprefs the very 
 fame ideas with the foregoing. - 
 
 SC&B~ 
 
 V E R B. 
 
 A VERB is a 'word which fignifies to be, to 
 do, or toTuffer. 
 
 There are three kinds of verbs ; a&iv-e, paflive, 
 and neuter verbs. 
 
 A verb aHve expreffes an a&Ion, and necefTu- 
 rily implies an agent, and an objeft adled upon j 
 as, to love ) "Hove Thomas." 
 
 A verb pafiive exprefles a paffion, or a fuffer- 
 ing, or the receiving of an a6Hon ; and necefla- 
 rily implies an objecl: acted upon, and an agent 
 by which it is afled upon; as, to be loved ; ."'Tho-=> 
 mas is loved by me." 
 
 D2: So 
 
 fn] " Lt'jZr. fyys Mr. Johnfon, is a barh-arou's corruption ci 
 hfs formed by the vujgar f;\>m the huLit of tcruiiuating compan 
 ions in -.'* 
 
 " Attend to what a Iffir niyfe indites. ' J Addifon. 
 
 " The -tongue is like a race-horfe ; which runs the fuller, the 
 
 JeJJer weight it carries." Addifon, Spedt. No. 247. 
 
 W offer founds much more barbarous, only becauielt has not 
 
 been fo frequently ufed. 
 
 " Changed to a luorfcr (hape thoa canfl not be.'' 
 
 Shakcfpear, I Hen VI. 
 " A dreadful quiet felt and ivotfer far 
 
 That arms, a i'uilen interval of war." Dryden,. 
 
 The fupcrhtive /Bought rather to be written \vkhout tJieH^ 
 
 being contracted from Ifjjfyf ', as Dr. Wallis hath long ago oh- 
 
 fcrvcd. Tlie conjunction of the fame fcjiuid- iiiight bs wiittcn 
 
 with the a t ior uiftiadion, 
 
30 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 So when the agent takes the lead in the fentence, 
 the verb is aclive, and is followed by the objel ; 
 when the object takes the lead, the verb is pailive, 
 and is followed by the agent. 
 
 A verb neuter exprefles being, or a ftate or con 
 dition of being ; when the agent and the objet 
 acled upon coincide, and the event is property 
 neither adion nor paflion, but rather fomething 
 between both ; as, Jam, I fleep^ 1 walk. 
 
 The verb ative is called alfo tranfitive ; becaufe 
 the aHcn paffeih ever to the objecSt, or hath an 
 effect upon fome other thing : and the verb neuter 
 is called intranfitive , becaufe the effect is confined 
 within the agent, and doth not pafs over to any 
 objea. [i] 
 
 In Engiiih many verbs are ufed both in an active 
 and neuter fignification, the conftruction only de 
 termining of which /Wthey are. 
 
 To the fignification of the verb is fuperadded 
 the defignation ofperfon, by which it correfpcnds 
 with the feveral perfonal pronouns j of number, 
 by which it correfponds with the number of the 
 noun, fingular or plural 5 of time, by which it 
 
 reprefents 
 
 [i] The diftindion between verbs abfrlutely neuter, as tojleef 
 and verbs adive intranfitive, ** to walk, though founded in na 
 ture and truth, is of little ufe in grammar. Indeed it would ra 
 ther perplex than affifc the learner; for the difference between 
 verbs aiiive and neuter, as tranfitive and intranfitive, is eafy and 
 obvious; but the difference between verbs abfolutely neuter and 
 L'cranfitivcly adive is not always clear. But however thefe latter 
 may differ in nature, the ccr.ftru<Slion of them both is the fame ; 
 and grammar is rot fo much concerned with their real, as with 
 their grammatical properties. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 31 
 
 reprefents the being, aclion, or paflion, as prefent, 
 paft, or future-, whether imperfeclly or perfectly, 
 that is-* whether paffing in fuch time, or then fi- 
 nifhed ; and laftly of mode, or of the various man 
 ner in which the being,, aclion, or paffion is ex- 
 prefled. 
 
 In a verb, therefore, are to be confidered the 
 perfon, the number, the time, and the mode. 
 
 The verb in fome parts of it varies its endings, 
 to exprefs or agree with different perfons of the 
 fame number ; as, I love, thou toveft, he lovein^ 
 or loves. 
 
 So alfo to exprefs different numbers of the fame 
 perfon ; as, Thou love/I, ye love j. he loveth, they 
 love. [2] 
 
 So Hkewife to exprefs different times, in which 
 any thing is reprefented as being, acling, or afted 
 upon; as, I love, I loved j I btar } \bore, I have born. 
 
 The mode is the manner ^ of reprefenting the 
 being, aHon, or paffion. When it is Pimply de- 
 claredy or a queflion is alked, in order to obtain 
 a declaration concerning it, it is called the indica 
 tive mode ; as, ' I love,, love/} thou ?' when it is 
 
 bidden 
 
 [2] In the plural number of the verb, there is no variation of 
 ending to exprefs the different perfons, and the three perfons 
 plural are the fame ulfo with the firll perfon fingular; moreover 
 in the prefent time of the fubjunftive mode all perfonat variation 
 is wholly dropped. Yet this fcanty provision of terminations 
 fufficient for all the purpcfcsof difcourfe, nor does any ambiguity 
 arife from it, the verb being always attended either with the noun 
 txpreffing the fubjedt acting or a<5ted upon, or the pronoun repre 
 fenting it. For which reafon the plural termination in en, tLey 
 ioven, tley weren, formerly in life, was laid afide as unncceflV.iy, 
 and hath long been obfolete, 
 
32 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 it is called the Imperative ; as, ' love them :' 
 when it is fubjolned as the end or defign, or men- 
 tioned under a. condition, afuppofition, or the like, 
 for the mo ft part depending on fome other verb, 
 and having a conjundion before it, it is called the 
 Subjunctive \ as, ' If I love ; if thou !ave :' when 
 it is barely expreffed 'without any limitation of perfon 
 or number, .it is called the Infinitive ; as, s to fove :' 
 and when it is exprefTed in a...form in which it may 
 be joined to a noun as its quality or accident, par* 
 taking thereby of the nature of an adjecliv.e, it is 
 called the Participle j as, * loving.' [3] 
 
 But 
 
 [3] A mode is a particular form of the verb, denoting the 
 manner in which a tiling is, does, or fu-Tiers ; or exprefung an in 
 tention of mind concerning fuch being, doing, or Buffering. As 
 far as grammar is concerned, there are no more modes in any 
 language, than there arc forms of the verb appropriated t the de- 
 notirg of fuch different in inner?- of reprefentation. l ; or inilanee, 
 the Greeks have a peci:lr.u- form of the verb, by which they cx- 
 prels the fubject or ruatttr of a vviih, which properly conrtitutts 
 tn optative mode; but the Latins have no f u< h form, the fubjcil: 
 of a wifh in ii:-?ir hnsjua^e is fubjoined to the with itfelf, cither 
 expreffed or implied, as lubfcqucnt to it and depending on it; 
 they have therefore, no optative mode, hut what i* expreffed in 
 that mode in Greek, falls properly under the fubjunctive mode in 
 Latin. For the iamcreafon, in Englifh, the levera) cxpreiiion.! of 
 condi"iot:al will, poffiluliry, liberty, oldigation, &c. &c. lomea'.l 
 under the iuhjunclive mode ; the mere exprefito-ns of will, pofllbi- 
 lity, liberty, obligation-, &c. belong to the indicative mode : it is 
 their conditionally, their bei'-g fui^fequeiit, and depending upon 
 fomething preceding, rliat (Lt.crmirestln.rn to he the fuhjun^ive 
 mode. And in this iramrr.jtical modal form, however they u^y 
 differ in other refpecls logically or metaph) ficaily, the y all agree. 
 That will, poffibility, liberty, obligation, &c. though expreffed 
 by the fame verbs that are occufionaiJy uled as fubjunclive auxili 
 aries, may belong to the indicative mode will be apparenc frpm a 
 few examples : 
 
 ' Here we may reign fecure. - 
 
 6 Or of th' Jlteraai co eternal beaui,' 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 33 
 
 But to exprefs the time of the verb the Eng- 
 lifti ufes alfo the afliftance of other verbs, called 
 therefore Auxiliaries, or Helpers ; *&, be, have, 
 Jhall, will ; as, I do love, I did love ; I am loved, 
 I ivas loved ; I have loved, I have been loved 5 I 
 fjjall, or will) love, or be loved/ 
 
 The two principal auxiliaries, to have, and to 
 be> are thus varied, according to peribn, number, 
 time and mode, 
 
 Time is prefent, paft, cr future. 
 
 TO 
 
 May I exprefs thee unblam'd ? - 
 
 * Firm they might have itood* 
 1 Yet fell.' 
 
 * What we would do, 
 
 ' WefoouM do, when we -would. Shakefpear, Hamlet . 
 
 Is this the nature 
 
 Which pafiion could not (hake ? whofe folid virtue 
 The (hot of accident, cr dart of chance, 
 Could neither raife, nor pierce ? Id. Othello. 
 
 Thefe fentences are al! either declarative, or fimply interrogative; 
 and however expreffive of will, liberty, poffibility or obligation, 
 yet the verbs are all of the indicative mood, 
 
 It feems, therefore,, that whatever other metaphyfical modes 
 there may be in the theory of univerfal grammar, there are in 
 Englifh no other grammatical modes than thofe above defcribed* 
 
 That the participle IF a mere mode of the verb, is manifeft, 
 if our definition of a verb be admitted ; for it fignifies being, 
 doing or fufferingv with the defignation of time fwperadded. 
 But if the effenceof the verb, be made to confift in affirmation, 
 not only the participle will be excluded from its place in the verb, 
 but the infinitive itfelf alfo ; which certain ancient grammarians 
 of great authority, held to be alone the genuine verb, denying 
 hat title to all the other modes. See Hermes, p. 164. 
 
34 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 TO HAVE 
 
 Indicative mode. 
 
 Prefint time. 
 
 Sing;. P!ur. 
 
 5?" I. I have, We -v 
 
 Hp 2. Thou haft, [4] Ye }> have. 
 
 ? 3. He hath, or has ^[5] TheyJ Pafl 
 
 [4] T/'OK in the polite, and even in the familiar ftyle is dif- 
 tifcd, and the plural you is employed infteadoi it ; we lay, you 
 have) not iiou haj}. Though in this cafe, we apply you to a fmgle 
 perfon-, yet the verb too mull agree with it in the plural num 
 ber ; it mud neceffarily be, you have ; not \oa hajl. You -was, the 
 fecond perfon plural of the pronoun placed in agreement with 
 the firft or third perfon fingular of the verb, is an enormous 
 folecifm, and yet authors of the firft rank have inadvertently 
 fallen into it. * Knowing that yw ivas my old rnafter's good 
 friend.' Addifon, Speft. No 517. The account you -was 
 pleafed to fend me.' Bently, Phileleuch. Lipf. Part "IJ .' Let 
 ter. * Would to God you tvas within her reach.' Bolingbrcke 
 to Swift, Letter 46. * If you tvas here.' Ditto, Letter 47. 
 * I am jiift now as well, as when yoy ivas here.' Pope to Swift, 
 P. S. to Letter 56. On the contrary the folemn ityle admits 
 not of you for a jingle pcrfon. This hath led Mr. Pope into a 
 great impropriety in the beginning of his Mefliah ; 
 " O tbou my voice inlpire, 
 Who twtcVd Ifaiah's hallaw'd lips with tire !" 
 The folemnity of the flyle wotilJ- not admit of you for thau in 
 thepfonoun; nor the meafure of the verfe twclidj^ or didft touch > 
 in the verb, as it indifpenfably ought to be, in the one, or the 
 other of thcfe two forms ; ^>t>u t who ioufbeJ, or than who t(ntchs^ t 
 cr di.ij} touch. 
 
 What art thou, fpeak, that on deGgrns unknown, 
 While others fleep, thus range the camp alone ?' 
 
 Pope's Iliad, x. 9Q. 
 
 * Accept thefe grateful tears, for thee they flow, 
 For t&ce, that zverftlt another's woe.' 
 
 Again : 
 
 * jult of thy word, in every thought fincere. ; 
 
 Who knew no wilhj but what the world might hear.' 
 
 Pope-, pltaph. 
 It ought to beynur in the fir ft line, or knew eft in the i'econd 
 
 In order to avoid this grammatical iruonvemcnce, the two 
 di{Hn<b forms of ihou and you, are often ufed proir..> u "vifly iiy 
 our mo.dern poets,, in th<: fun.c paragraph, a^id t,ven .ii> tiic i.ims 
 fentence, very inelegantly and improperly : * NOKT 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 3> - 
 
 .Pajl time. 
 
 1. I had, We -) 
 
 2. Thou harm, Ye [had. 
 
 3. He had j: They 3 
 
 'Future time* 
 
 1. Khali, or will, "1 We 1 (hall, 
 
 2. Thou lhalt, or wilt, [6J I have ; Ye > or will, 
 
 3. He fhall, or will. J They} have. 
 
 Imperative mode. 
 
 i, Let me have, Let us have, 
 
 1 ':';ou, Have ye, 
 
 Do thou have, or, Do ye have, 
 
 3. Let him have. Let them have. 
 
 Subjunctive mode. 
 Prefint time, 
 
 1. I ^ We "I 
 
 2. Thou have; Ye > have. 
 
 3. He 3 They 3 
 
 Infinitive 
 
 * Now, now, 1 feize, I clafp tly charms ; 
 
 And now you burft, ah cruel ! from my. arms.' Pope. 
 
 [5] Hath properly belongs to the ferious and folemn ftyle ; 
 lat to the familiar. The fame may be obferved of dotb and does. 
 
 * But, confounded with thy art, 
 
 Inquires her name, that las his heart.' Waller. 
 
 4 The unwearied fun from day to day 
 
 Does his Creator's pow'r difplay.' Addifon. 
 
 The nature of the ftyle, as well as the harmony of the veric. 
 feems to require in thefe places hath and doth. 
 
 [6] The auxiliary verb will is always thus formed in the fecond 
 and third perfons fingular ; but the verb to ivi!/, not being- an 
 auxiliary, is formed regularly in thofe perfons, I iviil, thou 
 ivtilefi, He ivilleth or wills. * Thou, that art the author and 
 beftower of life, canft doubtlefs reftore it if thou ivill'ft, and 
 when thou wiH'/l; but whether thou ivilffl (wilt) pleafe to re- 
 ftore if, or not, that thou alone knoweft.' Atterbary, Serm. 
 I. 7. 
 
INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Prefent, 
 
 Prefent, 
 
 Infinitive mode. 
 
 To have ; Paft, To have had. 
 Participle. 
 
 1. I am, 
 
 2. Thou art, 
 
 3. He is. 
 
 Having ; Perfect, 
 Paft, Having had. 
 
 TO BE. 
 
 Indicative mode. 
 Prejent time. 
 
 We 
 Ye 
 They 
 Or, 
 
 Had-; 
 
 I be, We 
 
 Thoubeeft, Ye 
 
 He is ; [8] They 
 
 Paft time. 
 
 I was, We 
 
 Thou waft, Ye 
 
 He was. They 
 
 Future time. 
 x. I (hall, or will, 1 We 
 
 2. Thou (halt, or wilt, be; Ye 
 
 3. He (hall, or will, J They 
 
 are 
 
 be, 
 
 were 
 
 1 fhall 
 ? or will 
 } be. 
 
 Imperative 
 
 [7] This participle reprefents the action as complete and 
 finiftied ; and being fuhjoined to the auxiliary to have, conflitutes 
 the perfect times, 1 call it therefore the perfect participle. The 
 fame, fubjoined to the auxiliary to l>e t conftitutes the paffive 
 verb, and in thatftate, or when vfed without the auxiliary in a 
 paflive fenfe, is called the paifive participle. 
 
 [8] * 1 think it be thine indeed, for thou lieft in it.' Shakef- 
 pear, Hamlet. Be, in the fingular number of this time and 
 mode, efpecially in the third perfon, is obfolcte ; aud is become 
 fomewhat antiquated in the plural. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 37 
 
 Imperative mode, 
 
 1. Let me be, Let us be, 
 
 2. Be thou, Be ye, 
 
 or, Do thou be, or, Do ye be, 
 
 3. Let him be. Let them be... 
 
 Subjunctive mode. 
 Prefent time. 
 
 1. I J We 7 
 
 2. Thou f be; Ye be. 
 
 3. He 3 They 3 
 
 Pafl time. 
 
 1 . I were, We T 
 
 2. Thouwert, [9] Ye > were. 
 
 3. He were. They 3 
 
 Infinitive mode. 
 Prefent, to be ; Paft, to have been. 
 
 Participle. 
 Prefent, being ; Perfect, been ; 
 
 Pad, having been. 
 
 The verb active, is thus varied according to 
 perfon, number, time and mode, 
 
 E Indicative 
 
 [9] ' Before the fun, 
 
 Before the Heav'ns thou ivert ,' Milton. 
 
 ' Remember what thou ivert S Dryden. 
 
 4 1 knew thou ivert not ilo*/ to hear.' Addifon. 
 
 * Thou who of old ivert fer.t to ifracl's court.* Prior. 
 
 * All this thou inert?-* Pope* 
 
 * Thou Stella, inert no longer young, 
 
 When firft for thee my harp I ftrung.' Swift. 
 
 Shall we in deference to thefe great authorities allow ivert to be 
 the lame with iwjl, and common to the indicative and fubjunc- 
 tive mode ? or rather abide by the praclice of our beft ancient 
 writers ; the propriety of the language, which requires, a^ far 
 as may be, diilincl forms, for different modes ; and the analogy of 
 formation in each mode; I -luai;, thou waft; I ivere,-ti\ou tvcri? all 
 which confpire to make tuert peculiar to the fubjut5live mode. 
 
3& INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Indicative mode. 
 
 Prefent time. 
 
 Sing. Plur. 
 
 a? i. Hove, We } 
 
 v 2. Thou loveft, Ye Move, 
 
 3. He loveth, or loves; They 3 
 
 Pajl time. 
 
 1. I loved, We 1 
 
 2. Thou loved ft, Ye Moved. 
 
 3. He loved. They J 
 
 . Future time* 
 
 1. I fhall, or will, ^ We }fhall 
 
 2. Thou {halt, or wilt, Move; Ye >or will 
 
 3. He ihall or will, 3 They 3 love. 
 
 Imperative mode. 
 
 1. Let me love, Let us love, [i] 
 
 2. Love thou, Love ye, 
 
 or, Do thou love, or, Do ye love, 
 
 3. LeJ^Jiim love ; Let them love. 
 
 ^^ Subjun&ive mode. 
 
 Prefent time. 
 
 1. I 1 We 
 
 2. Thou Move; Ye Move. 
 
 3. He 3 They 
 
 AND, 
 
 1. I may "^ We "^ may love ; 
 
 2. Thou mayeft > love; Ye > and 
 
 3. He may J They 3 have loved. [2j 
 
 J 
 3 
 
 [i] The other form of the firft perfon plural of the Impera 
 tive, love ive is grown obfolete. 
 
 [2] Note, that the imperft?<ft and perfedl times are here put 
 together. And it is to be obfcrved, that, in the fiabjurxftive 
 
 n.cde, 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 39 
 
 P.J1 time. 
 
 1. I mights' ^ We ") might love ; 
 
 2. Thou mighteft > love; Ye > and 
 
 3. He might J 3 have loved. [2] 
 
 AND, 
 
 I could;, mould, would; Thou couldft, &c. 
 love , and have loved. 
 
 Infinitive mode. 
 Prefent, to love : Pad, to have loved. 
 
 Participle. 
 
 Prefent, loving ; Perfect:, loved j Pad, having loved. 
 But in difeourfe, we have often occafion to 
 fpeak of time, not only as prefent, part, and fu 
 ture, at large and indeterminately ; but alfo as 
 fuch with fome particular difiin&ion of limitation 
 that is, as pafiing, or nnilhed, as imperfecl: or 
 perfect. This will bed be feen in an example of 
 a verb, laid out and didributed according to thefe 
 diftin6lions of time. 
 
 Indefinite or undetermined time. 
 Prefent, Pad, Future. 
 
 I lovej I loved 5 I mall love. 
 
 Definite 
 
 mode, the event being fpoken of under a condition or fuppofi- 
 tion, or in the form of a wifh, and therefore as doubtful and con 
 tingent, the verb itfelf in the prefent, and the auxiliary borh of 
 the prefent and pad imperfecl: times, often carry with them 
 fomewhat. of a future ienfe : as, ' If he cme to-morrow, I may 
 fp^ak to him:'' If he fhould, or would, come to-morrow, 
 I might, would, could, or ihould, fpeak to him.' Obferve alfo, 
 that the Auxillaries^ow/^ and would in the imperfecl; times are 
 ufed to exprefs the prefent ar.d future as well as the paft , as, * It 
 is my,.defire that hcjlould, or ivoutd cume noiv, or to-morroiv ; ' as 
 \vcll as, ' !t iv zs my defire tlrat \\cjhonld or would, come yejleniay.' 
 So that in this mode the precife time of the verb is very much 
 determined by the nature and drift of the Tentence. 
 
40 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Definite or determined time* 
 Prefent imperfect: I am (new) loving. 
 Prefent perfect : I have (now) loved. 
 Paft imperfect : I was (then) loving. 
 
 Paft perfea ; I had (then) loved. 
 
 Future imperfect: I fhall (then) be loving. 
 Future perfect: I {hall (then) have loved. 
 
 It is needlefs here to fet down at large the feve- 
 >al variations of the definitive timt-s; as they confift 
 only in the proper variations of the auxiliary, join 
 ed to the prefent or perfect participle ; which 
 have been already given. 
 
 To exprefs the prefent and pad imperfect of 
 :nc active and neuter verb, the auxiliary do is 
 fcmetimcs ufed : I do (now) love ; I did (then) 
 love. 
 
 Thus with very little variation of the principal 
 verb, the feveral circumftances of mode and time, 
 are clearly exprefied by the help of the auxiliaries 
 le, have, do, let, may, can, Jball, will. 
 
 The peculiar force of the feveral auxiliaries, is 
 to be obferved. Do and dV*/ mark the action itfelf 
 or the time of it, ("3] with greater form and diflinc- 
 
 tion, 
 
 [3] ' Perdition catch ray foul 
 
 But I do lovethee ! ' 
 
 ' This to me 
 In dreadful fecrecy impart they did.' Shnkefpear. 
 
 4 Die he certain ly did ' Sherlock, vol. i 
 
 Yes, I oV./love her;' that is, at that time, or once ; intimating 
 a negation, or doubt, of prefent love. 
 
 ' The Lord culled Samuel: and he ran r.ruo I'.li. and faid, 
 Here am 1, for thou calledfi me. And the LorJ calltd )cf ugain, 
 Samuel. And Samuel arofc and v/cnt to Eli, and laid, 1'It.rt a^u 
 1, fur t'hou r//^? call me.' I ii'ivi, iii. 4. 6. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 41 
 
 tion. They are alfo of frequent and almoft necef- 
 fary ufe in interrogative and negative fentences* 
 They fometimes alfo fupply the place of another 
 verb, and make the repetition of it, in the fame 
 or afubfequent fentence unneceiTary : as, 
 "He loves not plays, 
 As thou deft,. Anthony.. 
 
 Shaksfpear, Jul. GxF. 
 
 Let does not only exprefs permiffion ; but praying, 
 exhorting, commanding. May zn&.mlght exprefs 
 the liberty or pofiibility of doing a thing; can and 
 could, the power. Mujl is fometimes called in 
 for a helper, and denotes neceffity. Will, in the 
 fir ft perfon fingular and. plural,, promifes. or. threat 
 ens ; in the fecond and third perfons, only ; fore 
 tells : jlisll on the contrary, in the firfL perfon, 
 (imply foretells; in the fecond and third : perfons> 
 promifes, commands, or threatens. [4] But this-* 
 muft be underftood of explicative, fentences ; for 
 when. the fentence is interrogative., juft the reverfe 
 for the mod' part takes place :-. thus, "\J1jall go; 
 you <zu///go j"' exprefs event: only : but, " ivi/tyou. 
 go ?" imports intention : and "JbaI/1 go ?" refers 
 to the will of another. But again, " hzfoall go," 
 and "fiall he go .?" both imply will, expr effing or 
 referring to a command. Would primarily denotes 
 inclination of , will ; and^w/r/, obligation: but 
 E 2 they 
 
 [^] This diftin&ion was not obferved formerly as to the word 
 foall^ which was ufed in the feeond and third perfons to exprefs 
 limply the event. So likewife^w/A/ was ufed, where we now 
 inuke.ufc of ivou^ t See the vulgar traaflaiigaof the 
 
^fc INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 they both vary tK'eir import, and are often ufed to 
 exprefs fimple event. 
 
 Do and have make the prefent time -, did, had, 
 [5] the pail ; Jfjall, will, the future ; let is em 
 ployed in forming the imperative mode ; may, 
 mighty could, would, Jhculd, in forming the fub- 
 juntlive. The prepofition to, placed '.before the 
 verb, makes the infinitive mode. jt>] Have, 
 
 through 
 
 [5] Tt has been very rightly obferved, that the verb had in 
 the common phrafe, / had rather, is riot properly ufed, either as 
 an active, or as an auxiliary verb; that, being in the pa ft time, 
 it cannot in this cafe be properly expreffive of time preltnt ; and 
 that it is by no means reduceable to any grammatical conftruo 
 tion. In truth, it feemsto have arifen from a mere milrake, in 
 refolving the familiar arwfcambiguous abbreviation, Pd rather, 
 into I had rather, inftead of I ivculd rather ; which latter is the 
 regular, analogous and proper exprelTion. See two grammatical 
 tffays. London, 1768. Lffay i. 
 
 [6] Bifhop Wilkins gives the following elegant inveftigaticn 
 of the modes in his real charatfcr. Part iii. chap. 5. 
 
 * To fhew in what manner the fubjecl; is to be joined with his 
 predicate, the copula between them is affecled with a particle ; 
 which, from the ufe of it, is called modus the manner or mode. 
 
 Now the fuhjecl and predicate may be joined together either 
 fimply, or with fome kind of limitation ; and accordingly thefe 
 modes are primary or fccondary. 
 
 The primary modes are called by grammarians indicative and 
 imperative. 
 
 When the matter is declared to be fo, or at leaft when it feems 
 in the fpeaker's power to have it to be fo, as the bare union of 
 fubjecl: and predicate would import ; then the copula is nakedly 
 expreffed without any variation : and this manner of exprefling 
 it is called the indicative mode. 
 
 When it is neither declared to be fo, nor feems to be immedi 
 ately in the fpeaker's power to have it fo ; then he can do no 
 more in words, but make out the expreflion of his will to him 
 that hath the thing in his power : namely, to 
 
 r Superior, ~) C Petition. ~\ 
 
 Equal, C by < Perfuafion, > and the 
 
 C Inferior, j ComaaanJ, j 
 
 his 
 
 (_ Inferior, j Command, j 
 
 manner 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 44 
 
 through its feveral modes and times, is placed only 
 before the perfe& participle ; and be, in like man 
 ner, before the prefent and paflive participles : the 
 reft only before the verb, or another auxiliary, in 
 its primary form. 
 
 When an auxiliary is joined to the verb, the 
 
 auxiliary gjoes through all the variations of perfon 
 
 and 
 
 manner of thefe affecting the copula, (be it fo, or let it be fo) 
 is called the imperative mode ; or which there are thefc three 
 varieties, very fit to be ciitHruftiy provided for. As for that 
 other ufe of the imperative mode, when it fignifies femn[jlon ; 
 tliis may be fuificiently exprefied by the fecondary mode of liberty ; 
 you may do it. 
 
 The fecondary modes are fuch, as, when the copula is affected 
 with any of them, make the fentence to be (as logicians call it) 
 a modal proportion. 
 
 This happens, when the matter in difcourfe, namely, the 
 being, or doing, or infferings of a thing, is confidered, noty?^- 
 y/V by itfelf, but gradually in its caufes \ from which it proceeds 
 cither contingently, or neceffarily. 
 
 Then a thing feeins to be left as contingent, when the fpeaker 
 expreiTesoniy the poj/ibility of it, or his own liberty to it. 
 
 I. The foffibility of a thing depends upon the power of its 
 caufe ; and may be exprefied, 
 
 when \ al ^ , I by the participle J "" /. 
 conditional, y could^ 
 
 2. The liberty of a thing depends upon a freedom from all ob- 
 ftacles either within ur without, and is ufually exprefled in our 
 language. 
 
 " h l.Sl/, } b jt hepa rti c,e 
 
 Then a thing feemsto he of necefllty, when the fpeaker ex prefT- 
 eth the refolution of his own will, or fome other obligation upon 
 him from without. 
 
 The inclination of the ivill is exprcffed, 
 
 r C absolute. ~) i i 1 C ivilZi 
 
 11 | Jnditi^al, { by the particle | ^ 
 
 4. The neceflity of a thing from fome external obligation, whe 
 ther natural or moral, which we call duty, is exprefled, 
 
 bfilute > bythepartiele J ^V^StS 
 conditional) $ I muff, ought , fioie/Ji. 
 
 See alfo Hermes, Book I. chap, viii, 
 
44 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 and number ; and the verb itfelf continues invari 
 ably the fame. When there are two or more 
 auxiliaries joined to the verb, the firft of them 
 only is varied according totheperfon and number. 
 The auxiliary muft^ admits of no variation. 
 
 The paffive verb is only the participle paffive 
 (which, for the mofl part is the fame with the in* 
 definite paft time a6Hve, and always the* fame with 
 the perfecl participle,) joined to the auxiliary verb 
 to be t through all its variations : as I am loved ; I 
 iv as loved , I have been loved; \fiall b loved ; and 
 fo on, through all the perfons, the numbers,, the 
 times, and the modes, 
 
 The neuter verb is varied like the active ; but,, 
 having fomewLat of the nature of the paflive, ad 
 mits in many inftances of the paffive form, retain 
 ing flill the neuter figniiication ; chiefly in fueh 
 verbs, as fignify fome fort of motion, or change 
 of place or condition : as, lam-come--; \ivasgone; 
 I am grown ; I ivas fallen. [7] The verb am in 
 
 this 
 
 [7] I doubt much of the propriety of the following exam 
 ples : ' The rules of our holy religion, from which we are iofi- 
 nicely fwerwd. 1 Tillotlon, vol. i. Serin, ay. ' The whole obli- 
 gatio'n af that law and covenant, which God made with' the 
 Jews, wasalfo ceafal,' Ibid. vol. ii. Serm. 52. ' Whofe number 
 was now amounted to three hundred.' Swift's contefts and diffeu- 
 fions, chap, iii. ' This Marefchal upon fome difcontent, -was 
 entered into a confpiracy agajnft his maiter.' Addifon, Freeholder, 
 No. 31. Neuter verbs are fometimes employed very improperly 
 as adhves: ( Go, fee thee away into the land of Judah.' Amos 
 vii. 12. ' I think it by no means a fit and decent thing to. -jie 
 tbarities, and erect the reputation of one upon the ruins of ano 
 ther.' Atterbury, Serm, I. 29. ' So many learned men, that 
 have fpent their \vhcle time aud pains to agree the facred wth 
 
 the 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 45 
 
 this cafe precifely defines the time, of the aftion 
 or event, but does not change the nature of it ; 
 the paffive form dill exprefling, not properly a 
 paffion, but only a ilate or condition of being. 
 
 IRREGULAR VERBS. 
 
 5N Englifh both the pail time active and the 
 participle perfect, or pnflive, are formed by 
 adding to the verb ed, or d only, when the verb 
 ends in e : as, turn, turned; /ove, loved. The 
 verbs that vary from this rule, in either or in both 
 cafes, are edeemed irregular. 
 
 The nature of our language, the accent and 
 prounciation of it, inclines us to contract even all 
 our regular verbs : thus loved, turned, are com 
 monly pronounced in one fyll ule, fov'd, turnd : 
 and the fecond perfon, which was originally in 
 three fyllables, lovedefl, turnedeft, is now become 
 a difTyllable, lovcdjl, turndjl : for as we generally 
 throw the accent as far back as poflible towards 
 the firft part of the word, (in fome even to the 
 fourth fyilable from the end) the ftrefs being laid 
 
 an 
 
 the profane chronology.' Sir William Temple, Works, FoL vol. 
 p. 296. 
 
 ' Mow would tic GaJs my righteous toils fucceed! 
 
 Pope, OclyiF. xiv. 447. 
 
 --' If Jcveihh atmfucceeit? Ibid, xxi. 219. 
 
 And active verbs are as improperly made neuter: as, ' I mull 
 fmmife with three circumftances.' Swift, Q^_ Ann's laft Mi- 
 niftry. chap. %. ' 'J hofe that think to Ingratiate with him by 
 calumniaung me-.' Bentley,, Diflert. on. Phalaris, p. 159, 
 
46 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 on the firft fyllables, the reft are pronounced in a 
 lower tone, more rapidly and indiiiinc~lly , and fo 
 are often either wholly dropped, or blended into 
 one another. 
 
 It fometimes happens alfo, that the word, which 
 arifes from a regular change, does not found eafily 
 or agreeably ; fometimes by the rapidity of our 
 pronunciation the vowels are ihortened or loil ; 
 and the confonants, which are thrown together, 
 do not eafily coalefce with one another, and are 
 therefore changed imo others of the fame organ, 
 or of a kindred fpecies. This occalions a farther 
 deviation from the regular form : thus, lowth, 
 iurneth, are contracted into lov'th, turiflh, and 
 thefe for eafier pronunciation immediately become 
 loves, iurns. 
 
 Verbs ending in cb, ckj p, x, II, fs, in the pad 
 time aHve, and the participle perfect or pafiive, 
 admit the change of td into / ; as, [8] fnatcbt, 
 cbtiktj fnapt) tnixt, dropping alfo one of the dou 
 ble letters, dwelt, paft -, for fnatcbed, checked, 
 fnappt d, mixed, dwelled, pajfid : thofe that end 
 in /, m, n, p, after a diphthong, moreover Ihorten 
 the diphthong, or change it into a fingle fhort 
 vowel ; as dealt, dreamt, meant, felt, Jlept, &c. 
 all for the fame reafon -, from the quicknefs of the 
 pronunciation, and becaufe the d after a ihort 
 
 vowel 
 
 [8] Some of thefe contractions are harfli and difagreeable ; 
 and it were better, if they were avoided and difufed : but they 
 prevail in common difcuurfe, and are admitted into poetry ; 
 which latter indeed cannot well do without than. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 47 
 
 vowel will not eafily coalefce with the preceding 
 confonant. Thofe that end in ve change ?.lfo v into 
 f; as bereave, bereft , leave, left ; becaufe like- 
 wife v after a fhort vowel will not eafily coalefce 
 with /. 
 
 All thefe, of which I have hitherto given ex 
 amples, are confidered not as irregular, but as 
 contracted only ; in moft of them the intire as 
 well as the contracted form is ufed; and the in 
 tire form is generally to be preferred to the con- 
 tra&ed. 
 
 The formation of verbs in Englifh, both regular 
 and irregular, is derived from the Saxon. 
 
 The irregular verbs in Englifh are all monofyl- 
 lables, unlefs compounded ; and they are for the 
 moft part the fame words which are irregular verbs 
 in the Saxon. 
 
 As all our regular verbs are fubjecl: to fome 
 kind of contraction ; fo the fir ft clafs of irregulars 
 is of thofe that become fo from the fame caufe. 
 
 I. 
 
 Irregulars by contraction. 
 
 Some verbs ending in d or / have the prefent, the 
 paft time, and the participle perfect and paffive, 
 all alike, without any variation: as, beat, burft, [9] 
 
 caft, 
 
 [9] Thefe two have alfo beaten and lurjlen in the participles; 
 and in that form they belong to the third clafs of Irregulars. 
 
43 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 caft, [ij coft, cut, heat, [2] hit, hurt, knit, lift,* 
 [3] light, [4] put, quit,* read, [5] rent, rid, fet, 
 fhed, fhred, fhut, flit, fplit, [6] fpread, thruft, 
 wet.* 
 
 Thefe are contractions from beated, bur/ted, 
 cajledy &c. becaufe of the difagreeable found of 
 the fy liable ed after d or t. [7] 
 
 Others in the paft time, and participle perfect 
 and pafiive, vary a little from the prefent, by 
 Shortening the diphthong, or changing the d into 
 
 t; 
 
 [i] Shakefpear ufesthe particle in the regular form : 
 ' And when the mind is quicken 'it, out of doubt 
 The organs, tho' defunct and dead before, 
 Break up their drowfie grave, and newly move 
 With cafted Hough, and frefh. celerity.' Hen. V. 
 
 [a] ' He commanded, that they fhould heat the furnace one 
 feven times more than it was wont to be beat.* Dan. iii. 19. 
 
 [3] The verbs marked thus,* throughout the three claffes of 
 irregulars, have the regulars as well as the irregular form in ufe. 
 
 [4] This verb in the pad time and participle is pronounced 
 fhort, light, or///: but the regular form is preferable, and pre 
 vails moft in writing. 
 
 [5] This verb in the pafl time and participle is pronounced 
 fhort ; read, red, red; like lead, led, led; and perhaps ought te 
 be written in this manner : Our ancient writers fpeit it redde* 
 [6J Shakefpear ufes the participle in the regular form : 
 
 That felf hand, 
 
 "Which writ his honor in the ads it did, 
 Hath, with the courage which the heart did lend it, 
 Splitted the heart itfelf.' Ant. and Cleop. 
 
 [7] They follow the Saxon rule : * Verbs which in the infini- 
 tire end in dan and tan." 1 (that is, in Engliih, d and / ; for art 
 is only the characleriftic termination of the Saxon infinite ; (' in 
 
 * the preterit and participle preterit commonly, for the lake of 
 
 * better found, throw away the final ed\ as beat, afcJ, (both in 
 
 * the preterit and participle preteru) for beoted, afeded\ from beolan, 
 
 * afedan.' Hickes, Grammat. Sax. chap. ix. So the fame Verbs 
 in Engllfh, teat, fed, inftead of bcatcd, /ceded. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 49 
 
 #; as, lead, led ; fweat, [8] fwet ;* meet, met ; 
 bleed, bled ; breed, bred ; feed, fed ; fpeed, fped ; 
 bend, bent;* lend, lent ; rend, rent; fend, fent; 
 fpend, fpent; build, built; geld, gelt;* gild gilt j 
 gird, girt ;* lofe, loft. 
 
 Others not ending in d or / are formed by con 
 traction ; have, had for haved ; make, made, for 
 waked i flee, jM, ivrfte-ed; moe,yW, forjloe-ed. 
 
 The following, befide the contraction, change 
 alfo the vowel ; fell, fold ; tell, told ; clothe, 
 clad.* 
 
 Stand, flood ; and dare, durft, (which in the 
 participle hath regularly dared] ; are directly from 
 the Saxon, Jfahdan% Jlode ; dyrran y dwjte. 
 
 II. 
 
 Irregulars m ght. 
 
 The irregulars of the fecond clafs end in ght, 
 both in the pad time and participle ; and change 
 the vowel or diphthong into an or ou : they are 
 taken from the Saxon in which the termination 
 is bte. 
 
 Saxon. 
 
 Bring, brought : Bringan, brohte. 
 
 Buy, bought : Bycgean, bohte. 
 
 Catch, caught : 
 
 F Fight 
 
 [8] ' How the drudging gobliu/H;<rf,' Milton Allegro. 
 
 Shakefpear ufcsfiveaten, as the participle of this verb ; 
 
 Greafc, tliat's/zw<.n'<? 
 
 From the murthercr's gibbet, throw.' 3Macb,eth 
 
 In this form it belongs to the third clafs of irregulars. 
 
50 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Fight, fought : [9! Feoten, fuht. 
 
 Teach, taught : Tsechan, t:ehte. 
 
 Think, thought: Thencan, thohte. 
 
 Seek, fought : Secan, fohte. 
 
 Work, wrought: Weorcan, worhte. 
 
 Fraught feems rather to be an adjective than 
 the participle of the verb to freight^ which has 
 regular \y frieghted. Raught from reach is cbfolete. 
 
 III. 
 Irregulars in en. 
 
 The irregulars of the third clafs form the pad 
 time by changing the vowel or diphthong of the 
 prefent; and the participle perfect and paffive, 
 by. adding the termination en; befide, for the 
 rnoft part, the change of the vowel or dipthong. 
 Thefe alfo derive their formation in both parts 
 from the Saxon. 
 Prefcnt. Pad. Participle. 
 
 a changed into e. 
 Fall, fell, fallen. 
 
 a into o. 
 
 Awake, awoke,* (awaked ) 
 
 a into oo. 
 
 Forfake, forfook, forfaken. 
 
 Shake, 
 
 \o] * As in this glorious, and Vfg}\^f9ugtten&f\d 
 
 We kept together in our chivalry.' Shakefpear, Hen. V. 
 
 * On the fouohtsn field 
 Michael, and his Angels, prevalent. 
 Encamping, plac'din g'ard their watches round. e 
 
 Milton, P.L. VI. 410, 
 
 This participle feems not agreeable to the analogy of deriva 
 tion, which obtains is this dais of verbs. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 
 
 Shake, 
 
 {hock. 
 
 fhaken. [i] 
 
 Take, 
 
 took, 
 
 taken. 
 
 aw 
 
 into <"if. 
 
 
 Draw, 
 
 drew, 
 
 drawn. [2] 
 
 ay 
 
 into eiv* 
 
 
 Slay, 
 
 flew, 
 
 flayn. [_2J 
 
 e 
 
 into a or o$ 
 
 0. 
 
 Get, 
 
 gat, or got, 
 
 gotten. 
 
 Help, 
 
 (helped, '[3] 
 
 holpen.* 
 
 Melt, 
 
 (melted,) 
 
 molten.* 
 
 Swell, 
 
 ((welled,) 
 
 fwollcn.* 
 
 fa 
 
 into a or o. 
 
 
 Eat, 
 
 ate, 
 
 eaten. 
 
 
 
 0. 
 
 Bea^ 
 
 bare, or bore, 
 
 born. 
 
 Break, 
 
 brake, or broke, 
 
 broken. 
 
 Cleave, 
 
 clave, or clove,* 
 
 cloven. 
 
 Speak, 
 
 fpake, or fpoke, 
 
 fpoken. 
 
 Swear, 
 
 fware, or fwore, 
 
 fworn. 
 
 Tear, 
 
 tare, or tore, 
 
 torn. 
 
 Wear, 
 
 ware, or wore, 
 
 worn. 
 
 Heave, 
 
 hove,* 
 
 hoven.* 
 
 Shear, 
 
 Chore, 
 
 fhorn. 
 
 Steal 
 
 [i j ' A fly and conflant knave, not to be flat* J.' 
 
 Shakrfpear, Cymb, 
 
 ' Wert thou fome ftar, that from the ruin'd roof 
 Of Jbak'd Olympus by mifchance didjl fail.' 
 The regular form of the participle in thefe places is improper, 
 
 fa] When en follows a vowel or liquid the t is dropped : So 
 drawrtijlayn, (or Jlain) are inftcad of draiven, Jlaysn ; fo likewii'c 
 knoivn, lorn^ are for knoivcn, boien, in the baxon cnaiL-en bar en : 
 and fo of the reft. 
 
 [3] The ancient irregular form holpe is flill ufed in converfu- 
 tion, 
 
INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Steal, ftole, 
 Tread, trode, 
 Weave, wove, 
 
 ee into o 
 Creep, crope,* 
 Freeze, froze, 
 Seethe, fod, 
 ee into aw. 
 See faw, 
 
 i long into / fhorr, 
 Bite, bit, 
 
 Chide, chid, 
 Hide, hid, 
 Slide, ilid, 
 
 i long into 0, 
 Abide, abode. 
 
 Climb, 
 
 clomb, 
 
 Drive, 
 
 drove, 
 
 Ride, 
 
 rode, 
 
 Rife, 
 
 rofe, [4] 
 
 Shine, 
 
 {hone,* 
 
 Shrive, 
 
 fhrcve. 
 
 Smite, 
 
 fmote, 
 
 Stride, 
 
 ftrode, 
 
 Strive, 
 
 drove, 
 
 ftolen or itoln. 
 
 troden. 
 
 woven. 
 
 o. 
 
 [creeped or crept.) 
 frozen, 
 fodden. 
 
 feen. 
 / fliort. 
 
 bitten. 
 
 chidden. 
 
 hidden. 
 
 Hidden. 
 ; fhort. 
 
 (climbed.) 
 
 driven. 
 
 ridden. 
 
 rifen. 
 
 (fhined.) 
 
 fliriven. 
 
 fmitten. 
 
 ftridden, 
 
 ftriden.* 
 
 Thrive, 
 
 [^1 Rife with * fhort, Kat'i been improperly ufed as the paft 
 time of this verb, ' That form of the firil or primigenial earth, 
 which rife immediaft iy ovt of cliaon. \vas ]iot the fame, nor like 
 to that of the preftnc earth.' Burnet's Theory of the E'^rth, 
 B. I. eh rip. 4. ' if wr hold fa ft to tl-at fcripture conclufior., lh>.t 
 all mankind rife from one head.' JbiU. 53. II. chaf. 7. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 53 
 
 Thrive, throve, [5] thriven. 
 
 Write, [6] wrote, written. 
 
 i long into u, i fhort. 
 
 Strike, ftruck, flricken, or itrucken, 
 
 i (hort into a. 
 
 Bid, bade, bidden. 
 
 Give, gave, given. 
 
 Sit, [7] fat, fitten. 
 
 Spit, fpat, fpitten. 
 i ihort into it. 
 
 F 2 
 
 [5] Mr. Pope has ufed the regular form of the pp.ft time of 
 this verb : 
 
 ' In the fat age of plcafure, wealth, and cafe, 
 Sprung the rank weed, and li^r/Wwitj) large increafe.' 
 
 Eflay onCritt. 
 
 [6] This verb is alfo formed like thofe of /long into / fhort ; 
 Write, writ, written ; and by contraction writ in the participle ; 
 but, I think improperly. 
 
 [7] Frequent mifbkes are made in the formation of the parti 
 ciple of this verb. The analogy plainly requires fitten ; which 
 was formerly in ufe : ' The army havingjftfefl there ib lon^.' - 
 * Which was enough to make him ftir, that would not haveyh'.v/z 
 ftill, though Hannibal had been quiet.' Raleigh. < That no 
 parliament ihould be diffolved, till it had fit ten five months/ 
 Hobbes, Hift. of Civil Wars, p. 257. But it is now aiMoil 
 wholly difufed, the ferm of the paft time fat, having taken its 
 place. ' The court -was fat, before Sir Roger came,' Addifcn, 
 Specft. No. 122. Dr. Middleton hath, with great propriety, 
 reftored the true participle : ' To havey/^a on the heads of the 
 apoftles : to have fitttn upon each of them/ Works, vol. ii. 
 p. ,30. ' Bieffed is the man, that hath nut fat in the feat of the 
 fcornful.' Pfal. i, I. The old editions hzvejli ; v.luch may be 
 perhaps allowed as a contraction of fitten, ' .And when he was 
 fet, his difciples can:e unto him.' Matth. v. I. ' who is/f/ on 
 the right hand,' ' and is^ down at the right hand of the 
 throne of God/ Heb. viii, i, and xii. a. (fee alfo Matth. xxvii. 
 19, Luke xxii. 55. John xiii. l^ Rev. iii. 21 ) Stt can be no 
 part of the verb to fit. If it belong to the verb to fct, the tr-anHa- 
 tion in thefe paffages is wrong : I'M to fat, fignifies to p'ace, but 
 without any defignation of the pofture of the fK.rfun phufd* 
 which is a Ciicuttiflance of importance, c:;^rt!Tcd by the original. 
 
54 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Dig, dug,* 
 
 ie into ay, 
 Lie, [8] lay, 
 
 o into e. 
 Hold held, 
 
 o into 7. 
 Do did, 
 
 oo into #. 
 Choofe, chofe, 
 
 oiv into ^w. 
 Blow, blew, 
 Crow, crew, 
 Grow, grew, 
 Knew, knew, 
 Throw, threw, 
 
 y into eiv, 
 Fly, [9] flew, 
 
 (digged.) 
 
 lien, or lain. 
 
 holden. 
 
 done, i. e. doe. 
 
 chofen. 
 
 blown. 
 
 (crowed.) 
 
 grown. 
 
 known. 
 
 thrown. 
 
 civ. 
 flown, [j] 
 
 The 
 
 [8] This neuter verb Is frequently confounded with the verb 
 .*&ivctofay (that is, to put or place ;) which is regular, and has 
 in the paft time and participle layed or laid. 
 
 4 For him, thro' hofUJe camps I bent my way, 
 For him, thus proftrate at thy feet I lay ; 
 Large gifts proportioned to thy wrath I bear.' 
 
 Pope, Iliad xxiv. 622. 
 Here lay is evidently ufed for the prefent time, inftead of lie. 
 
 [9] That is, as a bird, vo!ere\ whereas to fee fignifies/j/fr, 
 as from an enemy. So in the Saxon and German, feogan, fiegen, 
 velare ; fton, flcben, fitgere. This feenis to be the proper diflinc- 
 tion between tofy and tofet ; which in the prefent time are very 
 often confoumded. Our tranflation of the Bible, is not quite 
 free from this miftake. It hath fee for votare, in perhaps feven 
 or eight plates out of a great number ; but never fy forfugere. 
 [i] * For rhyme in Greece or Rome was never known, 
 
 Till by barbarian deluges overflown. Rofcommon, Effay; 
 ' Do net the Nile and the Niger make yearly inundations in 
 
 our 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 55 
 
 The following are irregular only in the partici 
 ple ; and that without changing the vowel. 
 Bake, (baked,) baken.* 
 
 Fold, (folded,) f olden.* [2] 
 
 Grave, (graved,) graven.* 
 
 Hew, (hewed,) hewen, orhewn.* 
 
 Lade, (laded,) laden. 
 
 Load, (loaded,) loaden.* 
 
 Mow, (mowed,) mown.* 
 
 Owe, (owed, or ought,) owen.* 
 
 Rive, (rived,) riven. 
 
 Saw, (fawed,) fawn.* 
 
 Shave, ((haved,) fhaven.* 
 
 Shew, ((hewed,) fhewn.* 
 
 or, 
 
 Show, (fhowed,) fhown. 
 
 Sow, (fowed,j fown.* 
 
 Straw,-ew, or-ow, (flrawed, &c.) drawn*. 
 Wafh, (waflied,) wafhen*. [3] 
 
 Wax, (waxed,) waxen*. 
 
 Wreath, (wreathed,) wreathen. 
 
 Writhe, (writhed,) writhen. 
 
 Some 
 
 our days, as they have formerly done ? And are not the countries 
 fo overflown flill ikuate between the tropicks ?' 
 
 Beatley's Sermons, 
 
 ' Thus oft by mariners are fhown 
 
 Eearl Godwin's caftles overflown.' Swift, 
 
 Here the participle of the irregular verb, to fy, is confounded 
 with that of the regular verb to few. It ought to be in all thefe 
 places overflowed. 
 
 [2] ' While they \xfolden together as thorns.' Nahum i. *o, 
 [3] 'With umvajhen hands.' Mark vii. z, 51 
 
56 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Some verbs, which change * fhort into a or u Y 
 and i long into ou> have dropped the termination 
 en in the participle. 
 
 / (hort into a or */, 
 
 Begin, began, 
 
 Cling, clang, 
 
 Drink, drank, 
 
 Fling, flung, 
 
 Ring, rang, 
 
 Shrink, fhrank, 
 
 Sing, fang, 
 
 Sink, fank, 
 
 Sling, fiang, 
 
 Slink, flunk, 
 
 Spin, fpan, 
 
 Spring, fprang, 
 
 Sting, ftung, 
 
 Stink, ftank, 
 
 String, ftrung, 
 
 Swim, fwam, 
 
 Swing, fwang,. 
 wrung, 
 
 u. 
 
 begun. 
 
 or clung, clung, 
 drunk, or drunken. 
 
 flung. 
 
 or rung, rung, 
 or fhrunk, (hrunk. 
 or fung, fung. 
 or funk, funk, 
 or flung, Hung. 
 
 flunk. 
 
 or fpun, fpun^ 
 or fprung, fprung. 
 
 ftung. 
 or flunk, ftunk. 
 
 ftrung. 
 or fwum, fwum. 
 
 fwung. 
 wrung. 
 
 Wring, 
 
 In many of the foregoing, the original and ana 
 logical form of the paft time in a, which diftin- 
 guiiheth it from the participle, is grown quite 
 obfolete. 
 
 i long into ou, ou. 
 
 Bind, bound, bound or bounden-. 
 
 Find, found^ found. 
 
 Grind^ 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 57 
 
 Grind, ground, ground. 
 
 Wind, wound, wound. 
 
 That all thefe had originally the termination en 
 in the participle, is plain from the following con- 
 fiderations. Drink and bind flill retain it ; drun 
 ken, bounden ; from the Saxon, druncen, bunden : 
 and the reft are manifeilly of the fame analogy 
 with thefe. Begonnen, /?<?;;, and founden y are 
 ufed by Chaucer ; and fome others of them appear 
 in their proper fhape in the Saxon ; fcruncen, fpun- 
 nerj) fprttngen^ Jlungen^ wander^ as likewife in the 
 German, which is only another offspring of the 
 Saxon : begunnen, geklungen, getrunken, gefungen^ 
 gefunkeH) gefpvnnen, gefpnmgen^ gejlnncken y gefcl- 
 wummen, gefchivungen. 
 
 Tlc following feem to have loft the en of the 
 participle in the fame manner. 
 
 Hang, [V] hung,* hung.* 
 
 Shoot, mot, fhot. 
 
 Stick, ftuck, ftuck. 
 
 Come, came, corne. 
 
 Run, ran, run. 
 
 Win, won, won. 
 
 Hangen t and fcoten^ are the Saxon originals of 
 the two firft participles ; the latter of which is 
 
 likewife 
 
 [4] This verb, when a&ive, may perhaps be moft properly 
 ufed in the regular form ; when neuter, in the irregular. But 
 in the aclive fenfe of furnifmng a room ivitb draperies the irregular 
 form prevails. The vulgar tranflation of the Bible ufespnly the 
 regular form. 
 
58 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 likewife ft ill in ufe in its firft form in one phrafe : 
 a flatten herring. Stuck fcems to be a contrac 
 tion ftomjtuckeui isjlrpck now in ufe-for^rvr&w. 
 Chaucer hath comen and wontien : becomwen ib even 
 ufed by Lord Bacon. [5] And moft of them ftill 
 fubfift entire in the German 5 gekangen, kotnmen^ 
 gerunneri) geivonnen, 
 
 To this third clafs belong the defective verbs, 
 be, been ; and go, gone ; /. e. goen. 
 
 From this diflribution and account of the irre 
 gular verbs, if itbe juft, it appears that originally 
 there was no exception from the rule, that the. 
 participle preterit, or paflive, in Englifn ends in 
 </, /, or n. The firft form included all the regu 
 lar verbs : and thofe, which are become irregular 
 by contraction, ending in t, To the fecond pio- 
 perly belonged only thofe, which end in ght, from 
 the Saxon irregulars in hte. To the third, thofe 
 from the Saxon irregulars in en ; which have iliilj 
 or had originally the fame termination, 
 
 The fame rule affords a proper foundation for 
 a divifionof all the Englifli verbs into three conju 
 gations , or claries of verbs, diftinguifhed one frcrn 
 another, by a peculiar formation, in fome princi 
 pal part of the verbs belonging to each ; of which 
 conjugations refpecHvely, the three different ter 
 minations of the participle might be the chara&er- 
 iftics. Such of the contracted verbs as have their 
 participles now ending in / r might perhaps be befl 
 
 reduced 
 
 [5] Eflay xxix. 
 
59 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 reduced to the firft conjugation, to which they 
 naturally and originally belonged ; and they feem 
 to be of a very different analogy from thofe in ght. 
 'But as the verbs of the firft conjugation would fo 
 greatly exceed in number thofe of both the others, 
 which together make but about 1165 [6] and as 
 thofe of the third conjugation are fo various in 
 their form, and incapable of being reduced to one 
 plain rule; it feems better in pra&ice to confider 
 the firft edas the only regular form, and the others 
 as deviations from it -, after the example of the 
 Saxon and German Grammarians. 
 
 To the irregular Verbs are to be added the de 
 fective ; which are not only for the mod part 
 irregular, but are alfo wanting in fome of their 
 parts. They are in general words of moft fre 
 quent and vulgar ufe ; in which cuftom is apt to 
 get the better of analogy. Such are the auxiliary- 
 verbs, moft of which are of this number. They 
 are in ufe only in fome of their times and modes , 
 and in fome of them are a compofition of times 
 of feveral defective verbs, having the fame figni- 
 fication. 
 
 Prefent. Paft. Participle, 
 
 Am, was, been. 
 
 Can, could. Go, 
 
 [6] The whole number of verbs in the Englifli language regu 
 lar and irregular, fimple and compounded, talcen together, in 
 about 4300. See, in Dr. Ward's Effays on the Englilh language, 
 the catalogue of Englifli verbs. The whole number of irregular 
 verbs, the defective included, is about 176, 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 60 
 
 Go, went, gone. 
 
 May, might. 
 
 Muft. 
 
 Quoth, quoth. 
 
 Shall, fliould. 
 
 Weet, wit, or wot ; wot. 
 
 Will, would. 
 
 Wis, wift. 
 
 There are not in Engliih fo many as a hundred 
 verbs, (being only the chief part, but not all, of 
 the irregulars of the third clafs) which have a dif* 
 tin& and different form for the paft time active 
 and the participle perfect or paflive. The general 
 bent and turn of the language is towards the other 
 form ; which make the paft time and the partici 
 ple the fame. This general inclination and ten 
 dency of the language feems to have given occa- 
 fion to the introducing of a very great corruption: 
 by which the form of the paft time is confounded 
 with that of the participle in thefe verbs, few in 
 proportion, which have them quite different from 
 one another. This confufion prevails greatly in 
 common difcourfe, and is too much authorized 
 by the example of fome of our bell writers. [7] 
 
 Thus 
 
 [7] " He would baveffole" Milton, P. L. X. 517. 
 
 ** Words interwove with fighs found out their way. P. L. i. 621. 
 * Thofe kings and potentates who bav/iJJrove. Eiconoclaft. xvii. 
 " Anu to his faithful fervant bail in place 
 
 J5cr: vvitnefs glcricufly." Samfon Ag. ver. 1752. 
 
 *' And envious darknefs, 'ere they could return, 
 Had Bole them from me." Comus, vcr. 19^. 
 
 Here 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 61 
 
 Thus it is fa id, He begun t for be began; he run, for 
 
 he ran ; be drunk, for he drank : the participle 
 
 G being 
 
 Here it is obfervable, that the author's MS. and the firft edition 
 have itjlolne. 
 
 * And in triumph lad rode.** P. R. 3- 
 
 " I Aaw <r<6c/~* 
 
 This perfect man." P. R. * 165. 
 
 " The fragrant brier was ivcvt between.'' 
 
 Dryden, Fables. 
 " I will fcarce think you laviftvam in a Gondola." 
 
 Shakefpear, As youlike it. 
 <c Then finifh vrhat you have began t 
 But fcribble fafUr, it' you can. 1 ' 
 
 Dryden, Poems, Vol. II. p. iJ2. 
 " And now the years a numerous train have ran ; 
 The blooming hoy isripen'd into man." Pope's OdyfT. xi-555* 
 " Have /prang** Atterbury, Serm. i. 4. 
 
 " Had folks bdbegaa" Clarendon, Contin. Hift. p. 40. 
 
 and 120. " The men begun to embclhihthemfelves '' Addilbn. 
 Spedl. No. 434. 
 
 " Rapt into future times the hard begun" Pope, Meffiah. 
 And, without the necefllty of rhyme : 
 
 " A fecond delujife learning thus o'er -run, 
 
 And the Monks iinifh'd what the Goth's begun." 
 
 EflTay onCriticiiin. 
 
 " Repeats you vcrfes wrote on glafles." Prior. 
 
 " Mr. Miffon has wrote." Addilbn, Preface to his Travels. 
 " Ht could only command his voice, which was broke with fighi; 
 and lobbings, iofuras to bid her proceed." 
 
 Addifon, Specl. No. 164. 
 <{ No civil broils have fince his death arofc-." 
 
 Dryden, on O. Cromwell, 
 
 " Illuftrious virtue, who b'y turns have rofc." Prior. 
 
 " Had not arc/?." Swift, Battle of Books ; and Eolingbroke, 
 Letter to Wyndham. p. 233. 
 
 " The fun has rose t and gone to bed, 
 
 Juft as if Partridge were not dead.'* Swifr. 
 
 x. 
 
 " This nimble operator will havejlole it." Tale of a Tub, Sccl. 
 
 '* Some philofophers</i;<? mi/lcol." Ibid. Set. ix. 
 <c That Diodorus/?w not mtfltok biatjelf in his account of the cL 
 of Phintia, we may be as lure as any hiflory can make us.'' 
 Bentley, Differt. on Phalaris, p. 98. 
 
 " Why, all the fouls that were, were forfeit once ; 
 
 And 
 
62 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 being ufed inftead of the paft time. And much 
 more frequently the pad time inftead of the par 
 ticiple : as, / had wrote, it ivas wrote, for / had 
 written, it was written ; I have drank, for / have 
 drunk ; lore, for born ; chofe, for chofe n ; lid for 
 bidden ; got for gotten, bV. This abufe has been 
 long growing upon us, and is continually making 
 further incroachments ; as it may be obferved in 
 the example of thofe irregular verbs of the third 
 clafs, which change / (liort into a and // : as, Cling, 
 clang, clung ; in which the original and analogi 
 cal form of the pail time in a is almoft grown ob- 
 folete; and, the u prevailing inftead of it, the 
 paft time is now in the moft of them confounded 
 with the participle. The vulgar tranflation of 
 the Bible, which is the beft ftandard of our Ian- 
 gauge, is free from this corruption, except in a 
 few inftances ; as hid is ufed for hidden ; held for 
 holden, frequently ; bid, for bidden / begot, for be 
 gotten, once or twice : in which, and a few other 
 like words, it may perhaps be allowed as a con 
 traction. And in fome of thefe, cuftom has eftab- 
 
 liilied 
 
 Am! He, that might the 'vantage heft have took, 
 
 Found out the remedy.'' blialvCi]>car, Meal', for Meaf. 
 
 " Silence 
 
 Was took eve fhe was ware." Milton, Conuis. 
 
 * Into thefe common places look, 
 
 "Which from great authors I Lave twk ' Prior, .Alma. 
 
 * A free conftitution, when it has been J^Jiof: by the iniquity oi 
 former adminiilrations ' Bolingbroke, Patriot King, p, in. 
 ' Too ftrong to bcfoook by iiis enemies.' Atterbury. 
 
 '* Ev'n there he fhou'd lave f til S* Prior, Solomon. 
 
 " Sure fome difafter Las befell . 
 
 Speak, Nurfe; 1 hope the Boy is well." Cay, Fa!-:!cs. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 63 
 
 lifhed it beyond recovery : in the reft it feems 
 wholly inexcufable. The abfardity of it will be 
 plainly perceived in the example of fome of thefe 
 verbs> whfth cuftom has not yet fo perverted. 
 We mould be immediately (hocked at Iba-veknewy 
 I have faiu, I have gave, &c. but our ears arc 
 grown familiar with / have wrote, I have drank y 
 I have bore, &c. which are altogether as barbarous. 
 There are one or two final 1 irregularities to be 
 noted, to which fome verbs are fubjel in the for 
 mation of the prefent participle. The prefent: 
 participle is formed by adding ing to the verb : as 
 turn, turning. Verbs ending in e omit the e in. 
 the prefent participle : as, love, loving. Verbs 
 ending with a fingle confonant preceded by a fingle 
 vowel, and, if of more than one fy liable, having 
 the accent in the laft fyllable, double the confo- 
 zmnt in the prefent participle, as well as in every 
 other part of the verb in which a fyllable is added : 
 as, put, putting, putteth ; forget, forgetting, for- 
 getteth-, abbety abetting, abetted. [8] 
 
 ADVERB. 
 
 ADVERBS are added to Verbs, and to Ad- 
 je&ives, to denote fome modification or 
 
 circum fiance 
 
 [8] Some verbs haying the accent on the lad fyllable but one, 
 as, tvorjbijj, counfd, are roprefentcd in like manner, as doublino- 
 the laft confonant in the formation of ihofe parts of the verb, in 
 which a fyllable is added ; as, tunr/hi pping counjMing. But this I 
 r-acher judge to be a falt in tlie fpciiing, which ncicher 
 npr pronunciation juftifies. 
 
64 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 circumftance of an aftion, or quality: as, the 
 manner, order, time, place, diftance, motion, re 
 lation, quantity, quality, comparifon, doubt, af 
 firmation, negation, demonstration, interrogation. 
 
 In English they admit of no variation ; except 
 fome few of them, which have the degrees of 
 comparifon: as, [9] "often, oftener, oftencfl ;" 
 " foon, fooner, foonefl j" and thofe irregulars, 
 derived from adjeftives [i] in this refpect like- 
 wife irregulars "well, better, beft ;" &c. 
 
 An adverb is fometimes joined to another ad 
 verb, to modify or qualify its meaning ; as, " very 
 ; much too little ; not very prudently." 
 
 PREPOSITION. 
 
 REPOSITIONS, fo called becaufe they are 
 commonly put before the words to which 
 
 they 
 
 [9] The formation of adverbs in general with the comparative 
 
 " Was ihe tofdicr pcrfuadcd, 1 ' Raleigh. " r i"liat he may the 
 ;1)-(ii:?li*r provide." Hobbes, Life ot Thueyd. " The things 
 't'l^li'^jl important to the growing ae.'' Shaftefbiiry, Letter to 
 .Vioiilvvorrii. " Th-s cptilHon would not be, who loved himiclf, 
 ?.nd who nor ; but, who lovtd mid ferved himfelf the righleji^ and 
 r.fter the trucft manner." Id. Wit and Humour. It ought ni- 
 t!icr to be, v:oft hardly, more enfi'y, more jlrcngly , mcft biglJ<fr r/>ti/i 
 *h'jt or vibji rightly. But thefe comparer !vc adverbs, however 
 improper in prcfe, are fometimea allowable in poetry. 
 
 ' Sctpitr and pov^'r Thy giving, I affume; 
 
 And gljcUicr ihall rcfign.'* Milton, P. L vi. 7j:. 
 
 fi] Sec aLcve, p, 2J. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 65 
 
 they are applied, ferve to connect words with one 
 another, and to fhew the relation between them, 
 
 One great ufe of prepofitions in Englifh, is to 
 exprefs thofe relations, which in fome languages . 
 are chiefly marked by cafes, or the different endj 
 ings of the noun. 
 
 Mod prepofitions originally denote the rela 
 tion of place, and have been thence transferred 
 to denote by fimilitude other relations. Thus, out, 
 in ', through^ under, by, to, from, of, &c. Of is 
 much the fome withfr^m; " afk c/'me," that is, 
 from me : " made of wood ;" " Son of Philip ;" 
 that is, fprung from him. For, in its primary 
 fenfe, is pro, loco alterius, in the (lead or place of 
 another. The notion of place is very obvious in 
 all the reft, [zj 
 
 G 2 Prepofitions 
 
 [a] The particle a before participles, in the pbfafes 
 agoing, a-walluug, -fhoo f ing, &c. and before noun?, as<7-lv.d, 
 4- board, a-ihore, a- foot, &c. i'ccms to be a true yjid genuine 
 preposition, a. little difguifed by .faini-Hur ufe- and quick pronun 
 ciation, Dr., Wullis fuppofes it to be the proportion at. I rather 
 think it is the prepofuion on ; the ferife of which anfvvers better 
 to the intention of thofe expreffions. At .has relation cliieily to 
 place: on has. a .more general relation, and may be applied to 
 attion, and many other things, as well as pines. ki I wits on com 
 ing, on going," &c. that is, employed upon that particular aftion : 
 fo. likewife thofe other phrafes above mentioned, -bcd, &c. 
 exailiy anfwer to on be<l, on board, on fhore, on foot. Dr. Bent- 
 ley plainly fuppofed a to be the fame with on ; as r.ppsars from 
 the following p-aflage : " He would have a learned Univerfity 
 make Barbariuns a purpcfe." Dillert. on Phalaris, p. --23. 
 And the prepofition on has manifeftly deviated into a in other in- 
 ftances: Thus the Saxon compounded prepoiltions ageao, on- 
 mang, owbutan, are become in Englifh, by the rapkliry of pro 
 nunciation, flgainft, ^rnong, about; and what is in the Saxon 
 Gofpel> " k wyllc gan oo. fixotb,." is in the Ecgliih tranfhtion, 
 
 j 
 
66 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Prepofitkms are alfo prefixed to words in fuch 
 manner, as to coalefce with them, and to become 
 a part of them. Prepofitions, {landing by them- 
 felves in conftrucUon, are put before nouns and 
 pronouns ; and fometimes after verbs; but in this 
 fort of competition they are chiefly prefixed to 
 verbs : as, to cutgo, to overcome, to undervalue* 
 There are alfo certain particles, which are thus 
 employed in compofition of words, yet cannot 
 Hand by themfelves in conftruclion : as, a, be, 
 can, mis, c. in abide, bedeck, conjoin, miflake, 
 &c. thefe are called infeparable prepofitions. 
 
 CONJUNCTION. 
 
 THE Conjunction connedls or joins together 
 fentences j fo as, out of two, to make 
 one fentence. 
 
 Thus, " You, and I 5 and Peter, rode to Lon 
 don," is one fentence, made up of thefe three by 
 the conjunction and twice employed j " You rode 
 to London ; I rode to London ; Peter rode to 
 London." Again, " You and I rode to London, 
 
 but 
 
 " I go a fiflik.[,.'' John, xxi. 3. Much in the fame manner, 
 Thomas of Becker, by very frtqucn: and familiar ufe, became 
 Thoma.-, a cckct ; :;nd one of the circle, or perhaps on the clock 
 is written^ unt o'clock, but pronounced, one a clock. The 
 phrafv.s with .7 before a participle are out of ufe in the fbkmn 
 fly]'- : bu:- (Hll prevail in familiar cifcourfe. They are eftablifhcd 
 by long ufage, and gcod authoiity : ard there feeaia to be no 
 leafon, >vhy they fliould be utterly rejodted. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 67 
 
 but Peter (laid at home," is one fcntence made up 
 of three by the Conjunctions and and but; both 
 of which equally connect the fentences, but the 
 latter expreffes an oppofition in the fenfe. The 
 fir ft is therefore called a conjunction copulative ; 
 the other a conjunction disjunctive. 
 
 The ufe of copulative conjunctions is to con 
 nect, or to continue, the fentence, by exprefling 
 an addition, and ; a fuppofition or condition, if, 
 as ; a caufe, beccutfe, [3] then ; a motive that ; an 
 inference, therefor; &c. 
 
 The ufe of disjunctives is to connect and to 
 continue the fentence j but withal to -exprefs op- 
 pofition of meaning in different degrees : as, or, 
 bitty the/i, altho\ unlefs^ &c. 
 
 INTERJECTION. 
 
 INTERJECTION, fo called, becaufe they are 
 thrown in between the parts of a fentence with- 
 out making any other alteration in it, are a kind 
 of natural founds to exprefs the affection of the 
 fpeaker. 
 
 The different paffions have, for the mod part, 
 different interjections to exprefs them. 
 
 The 
 
 [3] The conjunction bccaufe, ufcd to exprefs the motive or end, 
 in either improper or obfolete : as, ' The multitude rebuked 
 them, lecaitfn they fhould hold their peace.' Matt. xx. 31. 'It 
 is the cafe of fome, to contrive falfe periods of bufineis, becatife 
 they may feem men of difpatch.' Bacon, Efiay xxv. We 
 fhould now make uie of that. 
 
68 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 The interje&ion O, placed before a fubftantive,, 
 exprefles more ilrongly an addrefs made to that 
 perfon or thing - 3 as it marks in Latin what is 
 called the vocative cafe. 
 
 SENTENCES. 
 
 A SENTENCE is an aflemblage of words, 
 expreffcd in proper form, and ranged in 
 proper order, and concurring to make a complete 
 fenfe. 
 
 The conft ruction of fentences depends princi 
 pally upon the concord or agreement, and the 
 regimen or government of words. 
 
 One word is faid to agree with another, when. 
 It is required to be in like cafe, number, gender, 
 or perfon. 
 
 One v/ord is faid to govern another, when it 
 caufeth the other to be in fome cafe or mode. 
 
 Sentences are either fimple cr compounded. 
 
 A fimpJe fentence hath in it but one fubjecl:, 
 and one finite verb; that is, a verb in the indi 
 cative, imperative, or fubjunclive mode. 
 
 A phrafe is two or more words rightly put to 
 gether, in order to make a part of a fentence; and 
 fometimes making a whole fentence. 
 
 The mod common PHRASES ufed in fimple 
 fentencesj are the following.. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 69 
 
 I ft Phrafe: The fubftantive before a verb ac 
 tive, pailive, or neuter ; when it is faid what 
 thing /'/, dass, or is done ; " as I am ;" " Thou 
 writeft -," " Thomas is loved :" where I, Thou, 
 Thomas, are the nominative [4] cafes, and anfwer 
 to the queftion who, or what ? as, " Who is 
 loved ? Thomas." And the verb agrees with the 
 nominative cafe in number and perfon[5_]; as, 
 Thou being the fecond perfon fingular, the verb 
 writeft is fo too. 
 
 [4] ' Scotland and 7^ did each in other live.' 
 
 Dryden, Poems, Vol. II, p. 22O. 
 ' We are alone ; here's none, but Thee and 1.' 
 
 Shakefpear, 2. Hen. VI. 
 
 It o-ught in both places to be T/JOU ; the nominative cafe to the 
 verb exprefled or underftood. 
 
 [5] * But Thou, falfe Arcite, never/*?// obtain 
 
 Thy bad pretence.' Dryden, Fables. 
 
 It ought to be, Jialt. The miftake feems to arife from the con 
 founding of T/>oand Tou, as equivalent in every refpect ; where 
 as one is fmgular, the other plural. See above, p. 50. 
 
 * Nor tbouj ihztjlixgs me floundering from thy back.' 
 
 Parnel, Battle of Frogs and Mice, I. 123. 
 
 * There's (there are} tiuo or three of us have feen ftrange fights. 
 
 Shakeipear, Jul. Csf. 
 
 * Grt&t pain; has (have) been taken. Pope, P. S to the Odyffey. 
 ' 1 have confidcrcd, what ba -js ( hath ) been faid on both tides iia 
 this controverfey. Tiliotfon, Vol. I. Serin. 27. 
 
 * One would think, there was more Sopkifts than one had a 
 finger in this Volume of Letters.' Bentiey, Diflert. on So- 
 crates's EpiflL\s, Sedl. ix. 
 
 ' The m:mber of the names together ivere about an hundred 
 and twenty.' Acl:s, i. 15. See alib Job, xiv. 5. 
 
 ' And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldeft fon Efau, 
 ivbicb ivere with her in the houfe, and put them upon Jacob her 
 youngeft fon.' Gen xxvii. 15. 
 
 ' If the blood of bulls and of goats, and the afots of an heifer, 
 fprinkling the unclean, faK&lfiejk to the purifying of the flefh.' 
 lieb. ix. 13. See alfo Exod. ix. 8, 9, 10. ' la one hour fo 
 great ric&etts come to nought.' Rev. xviii, 17. 
 
70 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 2d Phrafe : The fubftantive after a verb neufer 
 or pafTive ; when it is laid, that fuch a thing is, 
 or is rnade> or thought y o-r called > fuch another 
 thing ; or, when the fubftantive after the verb is 
 fpoken of the fame thing or perfon with the fub 
 ftantive before the verb : as, " a calf becomes an 
 ox ;" " Plautus is accounted a Poet ;" " I am He." 
 Here the latter fubftantive is in the nominative 
 cafe, as well as the former j and the verb is faid 
 to govern the nominative cafe : or, the latter fub 
 ftantive may be faid to agree in cafe with the 
 former. 
 
 3d Phrafe :. The adjective after a verb neuter 
 or paffive, in like manner : as, " Life isftort, and 
 Art is long" " Exercife is efleemed ivholefome" 
 
 4th Phrafe : The fubftantive after a verb ac 
 tive, or tranfitive : as when one thing is faid to 
 aft upon, or dv fomething to another : as, "to 
 open a door ;" " to build a houfe :" u Alexander 
 conquered the Pen'ians." Here the thing acled 
 upon is in the objective [6] cafe ; as, it appears 
 
 plainly 
 
 [6] For tvlo love I fo much ?' Shakefpear, Merch. of Venice. 
 * Who eer I woo, myfelf v/ould he his wife,' Id. Twelfth Night. 
 * Wlwer the King faiors, 
 
 The Card ; n I will find employment for, 
 
 And far enough from court.' ^ Hen ' VIII. 
 
 Tell who hves tula , what favors fome partake, 
 
 Thofe tvf:o he thwgkt true to hi? party ' Clarendon, Hift. 
 
 And who isj;Ue>i for another's fake.' Drydcn, Juvenal. Sac vi. 
 Vol. I, p. 667, 8vo. ' Wlo fhculcl I meet the other night, but- 
 my old friend ?' Sped. No. 32. * Who {hould }fee in the lid 
 of it, hut the D.^r?' Adrlifon, Speft. No._57. 'Laying 
 the fufpicion upon k.mrbody, I know not who, in the country.' 
 Swift, apology prefixed to. Tale of a Tub. In all thefe.placca 
 it cught to be- ivbtm. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 71 
 
 plainly when it is exprefled by the pronoun* 
 which has a proper termination for that cafe ; 
 " Alexander conquered them ;" and the verb is 
 faid to govern the objective cafe. 
 
 5th Phrafe : A verb following another verb; 
 as, " boys love to play :" where the latter verb 
 is in the infinitive mode. 
 
 6th Phrafe : When one thing is faid to belong 
 to another ; as, " Milton's poems :" where the 
 thing to which the other belongs is placed firft, and 
 is in the pofleflive cafe ; or elfe laft with the pre* 
 pofition of before it ; as, " the poems of Milton." 
 
 7th Phrafe : When another fubftantive is added 
 to exprefs and explain the former more fully ; as, 
 "Paul the Apoftle;" " King George:" where 
 they are both in the fame cafe ; and the latter is 
 faid to be put in oppofition to the former. 
 
 8th Phrafe : When the quality of the fubftan 
 tive is exprefled by adding an adjective to it : ;;:, 
 " a wife man ;" " a black horfe." Participles 
 have the nature of adjectives ; as, <{ a learned 
 man ;" " a loving father." 
 
 9th Phrafe : An adjective with a verb in the 
 infinitive mode following it : as, " worthy to die;" 
 " fit to be trufted." 
 
 loth Phrafe : When a circumftanoe is added 
 to a verb, or to an adjeclive, by an adverb : as, 
 " you read well j" " he is very prudent." 
 
 nth Phrafe : When a circumftance is added to 
 a verb or an adjective by a fubftantive with a pre- 
 
 pofition 
 
72 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 pofition before it : as, " I write for you ;" " he 
 reads with care ;'* " ftudious of praife j" "ready 
 for mifchief." 
 
 1 2th Phrafe : When the fame quality in differ 
 ent fubjects is compared ; the adjective in the 
 pofitive having after it the conjunction as, in the 
 comparative the conjunction than, and in the fu- 
 perlative the prepofition of; as, " white as fnow $" 
 " wiferthan I j" " greateft of all." 
 
 The PRINCIPAL PARTS of a fimple fentence are 
 the agent, the attribute, and the object. The 
 agent is the thing chiefly fpoken of ; the attribute 
 is the thing or action affirmed or denied of it ; 
 and the objecl: is the thing affected by fuch action. 
 
 In Englifli the nominative cafe, denoting the 
 agent, ufually goes before the verb, or attribution ; 
 and the objective cafe, denoting the object, fol 
 lows the verb active ; and it is the order, that 
 determines the cafes in nouns : as, " Alexander 
 conquered the Perfians." But the pronoun, hav 
 ing a proper form for each of thofe cafes, fome- 
 times, when it is in the objective cafe, is placed 
 before the verb ; and, when it is in the nominative 
 cafe, follows the object and verb : as, " Whom 
 ye ignorantly wbrfhip, him declare I unto you." 
 And the nominative cafe is fometimes placed after 
 a verb neuter ; as, " Upon thy right hand didjrand 
 the ^j/een :" " On a fudden appeared the King" 
 And always, when the verb is accompanied with 
 the adverb there : as, " There was a wan;" . The 
 
 reafon 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 7$ 
 
 reafon of it is plain : the neuter verb not admit 
 ting of an objedive cafe after it, no ambiguity of 
 cafe can arife from fuch a pofition of the noun : 
 and where no inconvenience attends it, variety 
 itfelf is pleafmg. [7] 
 
 Who, which, what, and the relative that, though 
 in the objective cafe, are always placed before the 
 verb ; as are alfo their compounds, whoever, who- 
 foever, &c. as, " He whom youfeek" " This is 
 what, or the thing which, or that, you want." 
 " Whomfoever you pleafe to appoint." 
 
 When the verb is a paflive, the agent and object 
 change places in the fentence *, and the thing acted 
 upon is in the nominative cafe, and the agent is 
 accompanied with a prepofition : as, " The Per- 
 fians were conquered by Alexander." 
 
 The action expreffed by a neuter verb being 
 confined within the agent, fuch verb cannot admit 
 of an objective cafe after it, denoting a perfon or 
 thing, as the object of action. Whenever a noun 
 is immediately annexed to a preceding neuter verb, 
 it exprefles either the fame notion with the verb ; 
 as, to dream a dream ; te live a virtuous life : or 
 H denotes 
 
 [7] * It muft then be meant of his fins who makes, not of his 
 who becomes, tie convert. Atterbury, Sermons, I. ft. 
 ' In him who r, and him wboj&wV, a friend.'' 
 
 Pope, Effay on Man. 
 
 * Eye bail notfeen, nor ear beard neither have entered into the 
 heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that 
 love him.' I Cor. ii, 9. 
 
 There feems to be an impropriety in thefe fentences, in which 
 the fame noun ftands in a double capacity, performing at the 
 fame time the offices both of the nominative and objective cafe. 
 
74 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 denotes only the circumftance of the action, a pre- 
 pofition being underftood ; as, tojleep all night, 
 that is, through all ihc night 5 to 'walk a mile, that 
 is, through the fpace of a mile. 
 
 For the fame reafon, a neuter verb cannot 
 become a paffive. In a neuter verb, the agent 
 and object are the fame, and cannot be feparated 
 . even in imagination : as in the examples, tojleep, 
 to walk ; but when the verb is paflive, one thing 
 is acted upon by another, really, or by fuppofition 
 different from it. [8] 
 
 A noun of multitude, [9] or fignifying many, 
 may have the verb and pronoun agreeing with it 
 
 either 
 
 [8] That fome neuter verbs take a pafiive form, bait without 
 a paffive fignification, has been obierved above ; lee p. 48. Here 
 1 ipeak of their becoming both in form and iignification paffive : 
 and (hall endeavor further to illuftrate the rule by example. To 
 fflit, like many other Englifn verbs, hath both an active and a 
 neuter fignification : According to the former we fay, ' The 
 force of gunpowder/?;/// lie tod .-' according to the latter, ' The 
 /;V upon the rock :' And converting the verb active into a 
 
 pafiive, we may fay, ' The rock iuas ff/lii by the force of gunpow 
 der;' or, ' Tlejbip iuas fplit upon the rock." But we cannot fay 
 \vith any propriety, turning the verb neuter into a paffive by 
 invcrlion of the fentence, ' 'I he rod ivas fplit upon by the fhip ;' 
 as in the pafiage following : What fuccela thefe labours of mine 
 have had, he knows bell, for whofe glory they were defigned. 
 It will be one fure and comfortable (ign to me, that they have 
 had fome, if it {hall appear, that the words I have fpoken to 
 you to-day, are not in vain : If they fliall prevail with you in 
 any meafure to avoid thofe rocks which are ufually^/// upon in 
 elections, where multitudes of different inclinations, capacities 
 and judgments, are interefted.' Atterbury, Sermons, IV. iz. 
 
 [9] * And reftore to his ijland, that tranquillity and repofe, to 
 which tleyhzA been Jlraners during his abfence.' Pope, difltr- 
 tation prefixed to the Odyfiey. Ijland is not a noun of multitude ; 
 it ought to be \\i& people ; or, //had been *jlr anger* * What rta- 
 
 fon 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 75 
 
 either in the fmgular or plural number ; yet not 
 witliout regard to the import of the word, as con 
 veying unity or plurality of idea : as, " Myperp/e 
 is fcolifh j they have not known me." Jer. iv. 22. 
 " The affembly of the wicked have inclofed me." 
 Pfal. xxii. 1 6. perhaps more properly than " hath 
 enclofed me." " The ajftmbly 'was very nume 
 rous :" much more properly, than, " were very 
 numerous." 
 
 Two or more nouns in the fmgular number, 
 joined together by one or more copulative con 
 junctions, [i] have verbs, nouns, and pronouns, 
 agreeing with them in the plural number : as, 
 ** Socrates and Plato were wife j they inert,' the 
 mod .eminent Philofephers of Greece." But fomc- 
 times, after an enumeration of particulars thus 
 connected, the verb follows in the fingular nunu 
 ber ; and is underflood as applied to each of the 
 preceding terms : as, " The glorious inhabitants 
 of thofe facred palaces, where nothing but light 
 
 and 
 
 fon la-js tie clurcb of Rome to talk of modefty in this cafe ?' 
 Tillotfon, Serm. I. \j. * There is indeed no conJJltution fo tame 
 and carelefs of tbelr own defence, where any perfon dares to 
 give the leaft fign or intimation of being a traitor in heart.' 
 Addifon, Freeholder, No. 53. ' All the virtues of mankind are 
 to be counted upon a few fingers, but bh follies and vices are 
 innumerable.' Swift, Preface to Tale of a Tub. Is not mankind 
 in this place a noun of multitude, and fuch as require the pro 
 noun referring to it to be in the plural number, their ? 
 
 [i] The conjunction disjunctive hath a contrary cffecl ; and, 
 as the verb, noun or pronoun, is referred to the preceding 
 terms taken feparately, it mult be in the fmgular number. The 
 following fcruence is faulty in this refped r ' A man may fee a 
 metaphor, r, an allegory, in a pi&ure, as well as read tlem (it) 
 in a deicripiion.' Addilon, Dial. I. on Medals. 
 
76 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 and blefled immortality, no fhadow of matter for 
 tears, difcontentments, griefs, and uncomfortable 
 paffions to work upon; but allycy, tranquillity > and 
 peace, even for ever and ever doth dwell" Hooker, 
 1). i. 4. <J Sandy and fait, and a mafs of iron, is 
 eafier to bear, than a man without underftanding." 
 Eeclus. xxii. 15. [2] 
 
 If the fingulars fo joined together, are of fe- 
 veral perfono, in making the plural pronoun agree 
 with them in perfon, the fee-on d perfon takes 
 place of the third, jjnd the fir II of both : " He 
 and yen and /won it, at the hazard of our lives : 
 Ton and he fliared it between you." 
 
 The neuter pronoun /Y, is fometimes employed 
 to exprefs, I. the fubjet of any difcourfe or en 
 quiry : 2. the itate or condition of any thing or 
 perlbn ; 3. the thing, whatever it be, that is the 
 cruifj of any effect or event ; or any perfon confi- 
 dered merely as a caufe, without regard to proper 
 perfonality. Examples : 
 I. " 'Twas at the royal feaft for Perfia won 
 By Philip's godlike fon." Dryden. 
 
 // happen'd on a fummer's holyday, 
 That to the greenwood ihade, he took his 
 - way." Ibid. 
 
 "Who 
 
 [l] Andfo was alfo garnet and- Join the fas of Zebedee, 
 which were partners with Simon.' JLuke_v. JO. Here the two 
 not only joined together by the conjundive copuhtive, but arc 
 moreover clofely connected in fenfe by the part of the fentence 
 immediately following, in which the corrcfpondent nouns and 
 verbs i^re plural : the vcrU thercfoye in the fin^-<Iar number 
 feems highly improper, 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 77 
 
 " Who is it in the prefs that calls on me ?" 
 
 Shakefpear, Jul. Caef. 
 
 2. " H. How is // with you Lady ? 
 Alas ! how is it with you ?" 
 
 Shakefpear, Hamlet. 
 
 3. " You heard her fay hcrfelf, it was not I. 
 '2was I that kill'd her." 
 
 Shakefpear, Othello. 
 
 " // rains ; it mines ; // thunders." From 
 which lad example, it plainly appears, that there 
 is no fuch thing in Englifli, nor indeed in any 
 language, as a fort of verbs, which are really 
 imperfonal. The agent, or perfon in Englifh, is 
 exprefled by the neuter pronoun ; in fome other 
 languages it is omitted, but underftood. [3] 
 
 The verb to be has always a nominative cafe 
 after it ; as, " it was /, and not he that did it :" 
 unlefs it be in the infinitive mode ; " though you 
 took it to be him." [4] 
 
 H 2 The 
 
 [3] Examples of Impropriety in the ufc of the neuter pro 
 noun, fee below, p. no, note I. 
 
 [4] l Whom do men lay, that / am ? But nvLom fay ye, that 
 Iafi%r Matth. xvi. 13 15. So likewife Mark viii. 27 29. 
 Luke ix. 1 8 ao. ' Whom think ye that I am /" A&sxiii. 25. 
 It ought in all thefe places to be ivbo ; which is not governed by 
 the verb fay or think, but by the verb am : or agrees in cafe with 
 the pronoun I. If the verb were in the infinitive mode, ic 
 would require the objective cafe of the relative, agreeing with 
 the pronoun me: ' Whom think ye, or do ye think, me toie? y 
 
 4 To that, ivbich once ivas tbee ' Prior. 
 
 It ought to be, wbicb ivas tbou ; or, "which thou "wajt. " It is not 
 me you are in love with." Specl. No. 290. The prepofiticn 
 ivlth fhould govern the relative ivlom underftood, nor the ante 
 cedent me ; which ought to be /. 
 
 Art 
 
y8 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 The adverbs when, while, after, &c. being left 
 out, the phrafe is formed by the participle inde 
 pendently on the reft of the fentence : as, " The 
 doors being (hut, Jefus flood in the midft." This . 
 is called the cafe abfolute. And the cafe is in 
 Englifh, always the nominative : as, 
 
 " God from the mount of Sinai, whofe grey 
 top 
 
 Shall tremble, He defending^ [5] will himfelf, 
 
 In 
 
 ' Art thou proud yet ? 
 
 Ay, that I am not tbee.' Shakefpear, Tim on. 
 
 ' Time was, when none would cry, that oaf was me : 
 But now you flrive about your pedigree.' 
 
 Dryden, Prologue. 
 Impoflible ! it can't feme.* Swift. 
 
 [5] On which place, fays Dr. Bentley, ' The context demands 
 that it be Him descending, illo defcendente.' But him is not 
 the ablative cafe, for the Englifh knows no fuch cafe ; nor does 
 him without a prepofition en any occafion, anfwer to the Latin 
 ablative illo. I might, with better reaibn contend, that it ought 
 to be, ' bis defcending; and it would be as good grammar, and 
 as proper Englifh, This comes of forcing the Englifh, under the 
 rules of a foreign language, with which it has little concern : 
 and this v^ly and deformed J 'unit, to ufe his own expreffion, Bent- 
 ley has endeavored to impofe upon Milton in feveral places : S*e 
 P. L. vii. 15: ix- 82-;, 883, 1147. x - 267, icoi. On the 
 other hand, \vhere Milton has been really guilty of this fault, 
 he, very inconfifteritly with himfelf, corrects him, and fets him 
 ri^ht. His .Latin grammar rules, were happily out of his head, 
 and by a kind of vernacular injlinfl t (fo I imagine, he would call 
 it) be perceived that his author was wrong. 
 
 * For only in deftroying, I find eafe 
 
 To my rekntiefs thoughts ; and l?m dejlroy 'J, 
 
 Or won to what may wcrk his utter lof*, 
 
 For whom all this was made, all this will foon 
 
 Follow, as to him link'd in weal or woe.' 
 
 P. L. ix. 129. 
 
 It ought to be, ' LL- cleftroy'd;' that is, ' he being deftroy'd. 
 Bentley corredU it, ' and man deflroy'd.' 
 
 Archbifhop 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 79 
 
 In thunder, lightening, and loud trumpet's 
 
 found, 
 Ordain them laws." 
 
 Milton, P. L. B. xii. 1. 227. 
 To before a verb, is the fign of the infinitive 
 mode : but there are fome verbs, which have 
 commonly other verbs following them in the in 
 finitive mode, without the fign to : as, bid, dare, 
 needy make, fee, hear, feel ; as alfo let, and fome- 
 times have, not ufed as auxiliaries ; and perhaps a 
 few others : as, I bade him do it: you dare not do 
 it ; If aw him [6j do it -, I heard him fay it." [7] 
 
 The 
 
 Archbifhop Tillotfon, has fallen into the fame miftake : ' Solo 
 mon was of this mind ; and I make no doubt, but he made as 
 wife and true proverbs as any body has done fince : him only 
 excepted, who was a much wifer and greater man than Solomon.' 
 Serm. I. 53. 
 
 [6] ' To fee fo many to male fo little conference of fo great a 
 fin.' Tiliotfun, Serm. I, 2Z * It cannot but be a delightful 
 fpeacle to God and angels, to fee a young perfon befieged by 
 powerful temptations on either fide, to acquit himfeif glorioufly, 
 and refolutely, to hold out againft the molt violent affaults : to 
 behold one in the prime and flower of his age, that is courted by 
 pleafures and honors, by the Devil, and all the bewitching vani 
 ties of the world, to rejeft all thefe, and to cleave ftedfaftly unto 
 God.' Ib. Serm. 54. 1 he impropriety of the phrafes diftin- 
 guifhed by Italic characters is evident. See Matth. xv. 31. 
 [7] * What, know you not, 
 
 Being mechanical, you ought not ivalL, 
 
 Upon a labouring day, without the fign. 
 
 Of your profeflion ?' Shakefpear, Jul. Caef. 
 
 Both grammar and cuftom require, ' ought not to ivalk? Ought 
 is not one of the auxiliary verbs, though often reckoned among 
 them, that it cannot be fuch, is plain from this confideration ; 
 that, if we confult cuftom and our ear, it does admit of another 
 verb immediately following it, without the prepofition to, 
 
 * To ivijb him ivreflle with affection.' 
 
 Shakefpear, Much ado about Nothing. 
 
 * Nor 
 
So INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 The infinitive models often made abfolute, or 
 ufed independently of the reft- of the fentence ; 
 (applying the place of the conjunction that with 
 the fubjunctive mode : as, " to csnfefs the truth, 
 I was in fault j" to begin with the firft, " to proceed" 
 " to conclude" that is, "that I may confefs ; c." 
 
 The infinitive mode has much of -the nature of 
 a fubflantive , expreffing the adtion itfelf, which 
 the verb fignifies ; as the participle has the nature 
 of an adjective. Thus the infinitive mode does 
 the office of a fubflantive in different cafes ; in 
 the nominative \ as, " to play is pleafant :" in the 
 objective ; as, " boys love to play." In Greek it 
 admits of the article through all its cafes, with 
 the prepofition in the oblique cafes : in Englim 
 the article is not wanted, but the prepofition may 
 be ufed : " For to ivill is prefent with me ; but 
 to perform that which is good I find not." [8] 
 " All their works they do for to befien of men." [9] 
 
 But 
 
 ' Nor with lefs dread the loud 
 Etherial trumpet from on high 'gan blow.' 
 
 Milton, P. L. -vi. 60. 
 
 Thefe phrafcs are poetical, and by no means allowable in 
 profe. 
 
 [8] Rom. vii. 18. 
 
 [9] Matth. xxiii. 5. The following fcntences feem defe&ive 
 either in the conftruclion, or the order of the words : Why do 
 ye that 'which is not lawful to do on the fabbath days ? The fhew- 
 bread, "which is not lawful to eat, but for the prieits alone.' Luke, 
 vi. 24 The co nit ru dl ion may be rectified, by fupplying; it ; 
 * which it is not lawful to do; which it is not lawful to eat :' or 
 the order of the words in this manner ; ' to do which, to eat -which, 
 is not lawful :' Where the infinitive to da, to eat, does the office 
 of the nominative caie, and the relative -which is in the objective 
 cafe. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 81 
 
 But the ufe of the prepoGtion, in this and the like 
 phrafes, is now become obfolete. 
 
 " For not to have been- dip d in Lethe's lake 
 
 Could fave the fon of Thetis from to die" 
 
 Spenfer. 
 
 Perhaps therefore the infinitive, and the partici 
 ple, might be more properly called the fubftantive 
 mode, and the adjective mode, [i.] 
 
 The participle with a prepofition before it, and 
 flill retaining its government, anfwers, to what 
 is called in Latin the Gerund : as, " Happinefs 
 is to be attained, by avoiding evil, and by doing 
 good ; by feeking peace, and by purfuing it." 
 
 The participle, with an article before it, and 
 the prepofition of after it, becomes a fubftantive, 
 exprefling the alion itfelf, which the verb figni- 
 fies : (X). " Thefe are the rules of Grammar, by 
 
 the 
 
 [ij ' Here you may fee, that vifions are to dread.' 
 
 Drydcn, Fables. 
 
 ' lam not like other men, t envy the talents I cannot reach.' 
 Tale of a Tub, Preface. * Grammarians have denied, or at 
 leaft doubted, tbetnio & genuine.' Cangreve's Preface to Homer's 
 Hymn to Venus. * That all our doings may be ordered by thy 
 governance, to do always that is righteous in thy fight.' Liturgy. 
 The infinitive in thefe places feems to be improperly ufed. 
 
 [a] This rule arifes. from the nature and idiom of our lan 
 guage : and from as plain a principle, as any on which it is 
 founded; namely, that a word, which has the article before it, 
 and the pofleflive prepofition of after it, muft be a noun ; and if 
 a noun, it ought to follow the conftru&ion of a noun, and net 
 to have the regimen of a verb. It is the participial termination 
 of this fort of words, that is apt to deceive us, and make us 
 treat them, as if they were of an amphibious fpecies, partly 
 nouns, and partly verbs. 1 believe there are hardly any of our 
 writers, who have not fallen into this inaccuracy. Thpt it is 
 fuch, will perhaps more clearly appear, if we examine and 
 rcfolve one or two examples in this kind. God, 
 
82 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 tie obfervixg of which you may avoid mifbkes. Or 
 it may be expreffcd by the participle, or gerund, 
 <c by obferving which :" not, " by obferving of 
 which j" nor, " by the obferving which :" for ei 
 ther of thofe two phrafes, would be a confounding 
 of two diftinc~! forms. 
 
 I will add another example, and that of the 
 bed authority : " The middle ftation of life, 
 feems to be the mofl advantageoufly fituated for the 
 
 gaining 
 
 " God, who didlV tsach the hearts of thy faithful people, by 
 tie fending to them ibe light of thy Holy Spirit; ' Collet 
 Whitfunday. Seeding is in this place a noun ; for it is accompa 
 nied with the article; neverthelcfs it isalfo a tranfitive verb, for 
 it governs the noun light in the objective cafe ; but this is incon- 
 filtent i let it be either the one or the other, and abide by its 
 proper conftrudtion. That thefe participial words are fometimes 
 real uouns is undeniable ; for they have a plural number asfuch ; 
 as, * the outgoings of the morning.' 'lie fending is the fame with 
 the mijjion ; \vh:ch neceflarily requires the prepofition of after it, 
 to mark the relation between it and the light; the mi/pan of the 
 light ; and fo, the fending of the light. The phrafe woukl be pro 
 per either way, by keeping to the conftrudtion of the noun, by 
 the findin-r of the light ; or of the participle, or gerund, by fending 
 til light. 
 
 Again : * Sent to prepare the way of thy fon our Saviour, Ly 
 preaching of refentancg ;' Colle<ft, St. John Baptift. Here the par 
 ticiple, or gerund, hath as improperly the prepofition of after it ; 
 and fo is deprived of its verbal regimen, by which, as a trunfi- 
 tive, it would govern the noun repeniana in the objective cafe. 
 Befides, the phrafe is rendered obfcure and ambiguous : for the 
 obvious meaning of it, in its prefent form is, * by preaching 
 concerning repentance, or on thsit fubjec~t ;' whereas the ftnfe 
 intended is, ' by pubhfhing the covenant of repentance, and 
 declaring repentance to be a condition of acceptance with God.* 
 The phrafe would have been perfectly right, and determinate 
 to this fenfe, either way ; by the noun by th? preaching of r:pm- 
 tence, or by the participle kypreaebiagrcpvnttiiice, 
 * So well-bred fpaniels civilly delight 
 / esumkH-''* rf tie game^ tiiey dare not bite.' 
 
 Pr.pe, Epilt. to Arbuthnct. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. % 
 
 of wifdom. Poverty turns our thoughts 
 too much upon the fupplying of our wants, and 
 riches upon enjoying our fuperfiuities." Addifon, 
 . No. 464. 
 
 The participle frequently becomes altogether 
 an adjective, when it is joined to a fubflantive 
 merely to denote its quality j without any refpecl: 
 to time ; exprefiing, not an action, but a habit ; 
 and as fuch, it admits of the degrees of compan 
 ion : as, " a learned, a more learned, a mod 
 learned man ; a loving, more loving, mod loving 
 father." [3] 
 
 Simple fentences are, i. Explicative, or ex 
 plaining : 2. Interrogative, or afldng : 3. Impe 
 rative, or commanding. [4] , I. 
 
 [3"] In a few inflances.the active prefent participle hath been 
 vulgarly ufed in a pafiive fenfe , as, beholding for beholden : O'w.'acr 
 oiven. And fome of our writers are not quke free from this 
 rniilake : 
 
 4 1 would not be beloUlng to fortune for any part of the victory.' 
 
 Sidney. 
 
 I teach you all, what's oiuing to your queen.' Dryden. 
 
 ' The debt, owing from one country to the other, cannot be paid 
 without real effects fent thither to that value.' Locke. 
 
 ' We have the means in our hands, and nothing but the applica 
 tion of them is wanting.' Addifon. 
 
 So likewife the paflivt participle is often employed in an active 
 ftnfe, in the word mljlaten^ ufed inftead of mijlnking : 
 ' You are too much miflaken in this king. 
 
 Shakefpear, Henry V, 
 
 * I miftake ;' or, ' I am miftakcn ;' means, ' 1 mifunderftand :' 
 but, ' I am miftaken,' means properly, I am mifunderitood.' 
 
 j[4J| Thefe are the three primary modes, or manners ot expref- 
 fing our thoughts concerning the teing, doing or fufTering of a 
 thing. If it comes within our knowledge, we explain it, or 
 make a declaration of it ; if we are ignorant of it, or doubtful, 
 we make an enquiry about it ; if it is not immediately in our 
 power, we exprcfs our deGre or will concerning it. In Theory, 
 
 therefore 
 
M- INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 1. An explicative fentence is, when a thing is 
 faid to be, or not to be ; to do, or not to do ; to 
 fuffer, or not to fuffer j in a direft manner : as in 
 the foregoing examples. If the fentence be nega 
 tive, the adverb not is placed after the auxiliary; or 
 after the adverb itfelf, when it has no auxiliary: as, 
 " It did not touch him j" or " it totiched\\\m not"[_$~l 
 
 2. In an interrogative fentence, or when a 
 queftion is afked, the nominative cafe follows the 
 principal verb, or the auxiliary : as, " was if he ?" 
 " 'did Alexander conquer the Perfians ?" And the 
 adverb there, accompanying the verb neuter, is 
 alfo placed after the verb : as, " ivas there a man ?" 
 So that the queftion depends intirely on the order 
 of the words. [6] 3. 
 
 therefore, the interrogative form feems to have as good a title 
 to a mode of its own, as either of the other two, but practice 
 hath determined it otherwife ; and has, in all the languages with 
 which we are much acquainted, fnpplied the place of an interro 
 gative mode, either by particles of interrogation, or by a pecu 
 liar order of the words in the fentence. If it be true, as 1 have 
 fome where read, that the modes of the verbs, are more nume 
 rous in the Lapland tongue, than in any other, poffibly the 
 Laplanders may be provided with an interrogative mode, 
 [jj ' The burning lever not deludes his pains.' 
 
 Dryden. Ovid Metam. B. xii. 
 
 * I hope, my Lord, faid he, I not offend.' Dryden, Fables. 
 Thefe examples make the impropriety of placing the adverb not 
 before the verb very evident. Shakefpear frequently places the 
 negative before the verb : 
 
 * She not denies it,' Much ado. 
 
 * For men 
 
 Can counfel, and give comfort to that grief, 
 Which they themfelves not feel ' Ilnd. 
 
 It fcems therefore, as if this order of words had anticntly been 
 much in ufe, though now grown altogether obfolete. 
 
 [6] Did he not fear the Lord, and befotigbt the Lord, and the 
 Lord rcfrenttd him of the evil which he had pronounced againft 
 
 them ? 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 5 
 
 3. In an imperative fentence, when a thing is 
 commanded to be, to do, to fuffer, or not ; the 
 nominative cafe follows the verb, or the auxiliary: 
 as, " Go, thou traitor j" or, " do thou go :" or 
 the auxiliary let, with the objective [7] cafe after 
 it, is ufed : as, " Let us be gone." [8] 
 
 I The 
 
 them ? Jer. xxvi. 19. Here the interrogative and explicative forms 
 are confounded. It ought to be, ' Did he notftar the Lord, and 
 bffeecb the Lord ? and did not the Lord repent him of the evil ?' 
 * If a man have an hundred flieep, and one of them be gone 
 aftray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goetb into the 
 mountains, '&s\& feeketb that which is gone aftray? Mat. xviii. ia. 
 It ought to be go and feek ; that is, doth he not go and feek that 
 v/hich is gone aftray ? 
 
 [7] ' For ever in this humble cell 
 
 Let Thee and /, my fair one, dwell.' Prior. 
 
 It ought to be m:, 
 
 [8] It is not eafy to give particular rules for the management 
 of the modes and times of verbs, wkh refpe<5l to one another, fo 
 that they may be proper ana confident ; nor would it be of much 
 ufer for the bed rule that can be t;ivcn is this very general one, 
 to obferve whit the feme neceffaniy requires. Buc it may be of 
 life to confider one or two examples, that ften faulty in thefe 
 refpedls; and to examine where the fault lies. 
 
 * Some who the depth of eloquence have found, 
 In that unriavigable ftream were drawn* d? 
 
 Dryden, Juv. Sat. x. 
 
 The event mentioned in the firft line is plainly prior in time to 
 that mentioned in the fecond this is fubfequent to that, and a 
 confequence of it. The firft event is mentioned in the prefent. 
 perfect time ; it is prefent and completed ; they have (now)/o*W 
 the depth of eloquence. The fecond event is exprefied in the paft 
 indefinite time; it is paft and gone, but when it happened un 
 certain : * they ivere drown d? We obferved, that the laft men 
 tioned event is fubfequent to the firft : but how can the paft time 
 be fubfequent to the prefent ? It therefore ought to be, in the fe 
 cond line, are, or bave been, drowned, in the prefent indefinite, 
 or perfect ; which is confident with the prefent perfect time in the 
 firft line : or, in the firft line badfour.d in the pa-ft perfect ; which 
 would be confident with the paft indefinite in the fecond line. 
 
 Friend 
 
86 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 The Adjective in Englifh, having no variation 
 of gender or number, cannot but agree with the 
 
 . fubilantive 
 
 ' Friend to my life, which did not you prolong, 
 
 ' The world had -wanted many an idlefong.' 
 
 Pope, Epiftle to Arbuthrcot. 
 It ought to be, either /Wt>ot you prolonged , or, would want. 
 
 Tiit-re feems to be a fault of, the like nature in the following 
 pafiage : 
 
 ' But oh ! 'twas little that her life 
 
 O'er earth and waters -bears thy fame 3- ' : Piior. 
 
 It ought to he Z>ore, in the fecond line. 
 Again, 
 
 1 Him portion'd maide, apprentic'd orphans lleji^ 
 
 The young who labour^ and the old who reft." 1 
 
 P-'pe, Moral Ep. iii. 267. 
 
 ' Fierce as he mov'ff, his filver fnafts nfiund.' 
 The firil verb ought to be in the fame time with the following: 
 
 " Great Queen of arms, whofe favor Tydeus won, 
 
 As thou defend' ft the fire, defend the fon.'' 
 
 Pope, Iliad, X..337. 
 It ought to be defenddft 
 
 f Had their records been delivered down in the vulgar tongue, 
 they could not now be underftood, unleis by antiquaries, who 
 made it their chief ftudy to expound them.' Swift, Letters on 
 the FngHfh Tongue. Here the letter part of the lentence 
 depends intirely on the ' fupfofithn expreffed in the former, 'of 
 their records being delivered down in tbe vulgar tongue : there 
 fore made in the indicative mode, which implies no iuppofition, 
 and in the pall indefinite time is improper : It would be much 
 better in the pa ft definite and perfect, had made; but indeed 
 ought to be in the fubjunclive. mode, prefait or pail time, fondd 
 make, or Jhorld have made. 
 
 * And Jefus anfwered, and faid unto him, What wilt thou 
 that I fhould do unto thee ? The blind man faid unto him. Lord, 
 that I might receive my fight.' Mark x. 51. * 1 hat I may 
 know him, and the power of his re furred ion, and the fellow- 
 fhip of his fuffeiing-, being made conformable unto his death; 
 if by any means 1 mi^bt ari t , ; n unto the refurrectioii of the dead,* 
 Phil, iii, 10 II. "it ought to be may in both places. See alfo 
 John ix. 39. Ephef. iii. 19. Col. i. 910. 
 
 ' On the morrow, bccaufe he would have Ir-cwn tbe certainty, 
 wherefore he was accufed of the Jews, he lo,!cd h"u ' Acls 
 xxii 30. If ouj-ht to be bccaufe he would know ; or rather, 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 87 
 
 {ubftantive in thofe refpeds ; fome of the prono 
 minal adjectives only excepted, which have the 
 plural number : as, thefe > thofe : which mull agree 
 in number [9] wkh their fubftantives. 
 
 Nouns 
 
 * I thought -to. have written laft week;' is a very common phrafe : 
 the infinitive being in the paft time as well as the verb, which ic 
 fallows. But it is certainly vicious ; for how long focver it nuiu 
 is fince I thought, to wile was lien prcicnt to me ; and mufl itiil 
 be coijfidered as prafent, when I bring back that time, and the 
 thoughts of it. It ought to be therefore, ' I thought to -zi-rife lalb 
 week.' ' I cannot excufe the remiffnefs of thofe, wh'ofe btifine^j 
 itjkuuldha-ve lean, as it certainly -ivas tholr'into-reit, to have ini^i-- 
 poftd their good offices.' Swift. 'There were two circumftan- 
 ces, which ivould bd-ve made it neceffary for them to hai>s ufi no 
 time.' Ibid. ' Hiftdry painters, ivould have found it difiLuh, ia 
 lave invented fuch a fpecies of beings.' Addifon, Dial. I. pa 
 Aledals. It ought to be, leiaferpofej to tofe, to invent.: 
 
 [9] ' By this means thou ill ak have no portion on this fide tlic 
 river.' Ezra iv. 16. ' It renders us carclefs of approving our- 
 ielves to God by religious duties, and by that means fecuriiig the 
 continuance of his goodnefs. 5 Aueibury, Sermons. Ought it 
 not to be, by tbefe. .means* by thofi means ? or by this mean, by that 
 mean, in the fingular number ? .as it is ufed by Hooker, Sidney, 
 Shakefpear, &c. 
 
 ' We have flricT: ftatute.s, and mofl biting laws, . 
 Which for tbh nineteen yean we have let fleep.' 
 
 Shukefpear, Meaf. for Meaf. 
 
 * -I have not wept this forty years.' ' Dryden, ' If I had not left 
 off troubling myfelf about thofe- kin d of things. 1 Swift, Letter 
 to Steel. ' I fancy they are thefe kind of Gods, which Horace 
 mentions in his allegorical veffel.' Addifon, Dial. II. on Medals. 
 
 * I am not recommending/^ kind- of fufferings to your liking.' 
 Bifhop Sherlock, Difc, Vol. II. n. So the pronoun muft agree 
 with its noun : in which refpedl let the following example be 
 confidered. * // is an unanfwerable argument of a very reined 
 age, the wonderful civilities that have paffed between the nation 
 of authors and that of readers.' Swift, Tale of a Tub, Seel. x. 
 As to thefe wonderful civilities, one might fay, that ' they are an 
 unanfwerable argument, &c.' but as the fentence ftands at pre- 
 fetit it is not fafy to reconcile it to any grammatical propriety. 
 ' A perfon (that is, one} ivhom all the world allows to be fo much 
 yaur, tetters,' Swift, Battle of Books. * His face ivas eafily 
 
 taken o 
 
88 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Nouns of meafure and number are fometimes 
 joined in the fingular form with numeral adjectives 
 denoting plurality : as- " Fifty foot j u " Si\Jcore." 
 
 " Ten thoukndfatkom deep." 
 
 Milton, P. L. ii. 934. 
 
 M A hundred head of Ariftotle's friends." 
 
 Pope, Dunciad, iv. 192. 
 
 The adje&ive generally goes before the noun ; 
 as, " a wife man ; a good horfe ," unlefs forne- 
 thing depend on the adjective ; as, " food conve 
 nient for me :" or the adjective be emphatical ;. 
 as, " Alexander the Great :" and it ftands imme 
 diately before the noun, unlefs the verb to be, or 
 any auxiliary joined to it, come between the ad 
 jective and the noun ; as, " happy is the man j 
 happy (hall he be." And the article goes before 
 the adjective ; except the adjectives all 9 fuch, and 
 many, and others fubjoined to the adverbs, fc, as, 
 and hoiv\ "as, all the men;" " fuch a man-," 
 My a m&n j" c< fo good a man-," " as good a 
 man as ever lived ;" <c how beautiful a profpecl is 
 here !" And fometimes, when there are two or 
 
 more 
 
 taken either in painting or fculpmre; and f.i<rce any o;;,, 
 never fo intlififtrcntly fkulecl in //;/> arc ; hdied to hit ir. 
 woods's Memoirs, ]). 68. 6th Edit. A '.id the phru'-j v, 
 curs in the lollowii:<>; examples, though c*' <n and 
 
 authorized by cuftom, yet {ccnis to be ; . . h .' . I 
 fume v. 
 
 ' '/'.': ;-.*cfe, that early taint the f^ri.ai;- foul.' P:,i c, 
 
 ' '7*:s //\-j, that give tlie great Ati ides' fpoil c ; 
 ' 'fist/jry, that itill renew UiyfTes' toils.' 
 
 ' Who was't came by ? 
 
 "Tw tv.-o or tkree y my Lord, that brjng you word, 
 Macdufl" is fled to England.' Sh'Acfpear, Maq.b* 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR.. 89 
 
 more adjectives joined to the noun, the adjectives 
 follow the noun : as, " a man learned and religi 
 ous." 
 
 There are certain adjeftives, which feem to be 
 derived without any variation from verbs,, and 
 have the fame fignification with the pafTive parti 
 ciples of their verbs : they -are indeed no other 
 than Latin paflfwe participles adapted to the Englifh 
 termination : as, annihilate) contaminate, elate ; 
 
 ( To deftruction facrcd and devote. 1 Milton 
 
 * The alien compoft is cxkauft? 
 
 Philips, Cyder, 
 
 Thefe (fome few excepted,. which have gained 
 ad mi (lion into common difcourfe,) are much more 
 frequently, and more allowably, ufed in poetry, 
 than in profe. [0 
 
 The didributive pronominal adje&ives each, 
 
 every, either, agree with the nouns, pronouns* 
 
 and verbs of the fmguhr number only : [2] as, 
 
 I 2 "The 
 
 i] Adje&ives of this fort are fometimes very improperly; 
 ufc t, with the auxiliary bai>f t or bad, inftead of the adtive per- 
 fed participle : as, "Which alfo king David did dedicate mito 
 the Lord, with the filver and gold that he bad' dediiats of all 
 nations which he fubdued." 2 Sara. viii. 11. ' And Jehoafh 
 took all the hallowed things, that his fackers, kings of Judah, 
 had dedicate? i Kings, xii. 18. So likewife Dan. iii. 19. It 
 ought to be, had dedicated. ' When both interefts of tyranny 
 and epifcopacy ivere Incorporate into each other.' Milton, Eico- 
 noclall, xvii. 
 
 [2] ' Let eacl efteem other better than tLemfelves .' Phil. ii. 3. 
 It ought to be, bimfelf, * It is requif;te, that the language of an 
 heroic poem fhotild be both perfpicuous and fublin^e. In pro 
 portion as citber of thefe two qualities are [is] wanting, the lan 
 guage is imgerie<ft.' Addifon, Speft, No, 285. "Tis obftrva- 
 
 b-.e 
 
9 o INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 4( The king of Ifrael and Jehofaphat the king of 
 Judah fat, each (king) OH his throne* having (both) 
 put on their robes." I Kings, xxii. 10. "Every 
 tree is known by Us own fruit." Luke vi. 44. 
 
 " Lepidu.s flatters both, 
 Of both is flatter'd j but he neither loves, 
 Nor either cares for him." 
 
 Shakefpear, Ant. and Cleopv 
 Unlefs the plural noun convey a coliective idea : 
 as,^ M That every twelve -ysars there fhould be fet 
 forth two (hips." Bacon., 
 
 Every verb> except in the infinitive, or the 
 participle, hath its nominative- cafe, either exprefs- 
 ed : or implied : [3] as r 
 
 * Awake, 
 
 We, that every one cf the Utters Itar date after his banifhment ; 
 and contain a complete narrative of ail his ftory., afterwards.' 
 Bentley, DifTert. on Therniftodc's Epiftks, Sedi. ii. It ought 
 to be tears, and they contain. 
 
 Either is often ufed improperly inflead oi-ufcb : as, * The kirg 
 of Jfrael, and Jehofaphat king: of Judah fat e:iler {sacli] of them 
 on his throne.' 2 Chron. xviii. 9. ' Nadab and Abihu, the- 
 fons of Aaron, took either [each] of them his cenfer. Lev. x. 
 I, See alfo i, Kings, v>i, 15. Each- : fignifies both of them, 
 taken diftinly, or feparately : either properly fignifies only tit 
 ne, or the other ) of them, taken disjunctively. For which reafon 
 the like exprtlficn in the following pauages feemsalfo improper : 
 1 They crucified two other with him, on eit'xr fide one, and 
 Jcfus in the midft.' John-. six. 18. ' Of either fide of the river 
 was there the tree of life.' Rev. xsii* 2. See alfo I Kings, x* 
 19. ' Propofals for a truce between the ladies of either party** 
 Addifon, Freeholder. Contents of No. 38. 
 
 [3] . Forafmuch as it hath pleafcd Almighty God of his good- 
 nefs to give you fafe deliverance, and Lath frcfefve'ljoii in the 
 great' danger cf childbirth.' Liturgy. The verb, lath prefcri-cd* 
 h^th here no nominative caf,. ; for it cannot be properly fupplied 
 by the preceding word Cod, which is in the objective cafe. It 
 ought to be, ' and- be bath fnjtrvsd youi' or rather^ ' and to pr'.- 
 * fervs 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 93, 
 
 'Awake, arife, or be for ever fall'n :* 
 that is, ( Awake ye, &c.' 
 
 Every nomir.anve cafe, except the cafe abfolute>, , 
 and when an addrefs is made to a perfon, belongs 
 to fome verb, either exprefied or. implied : [4] as 
 
 in 
 
 ferve you.' Some of our- befl '.writers have frequently fallen into 
 this, which appears to me to be no fmail inaccuracy : I fhall 
 therefore add fome more examples of it, by way of admonition ; 
 inferting in each, within crotchets, the nominative cafe that is 
 deficient, and that muft neceffarily be fupplied to fupport the 
 proper conftru&ion of the fentence. * If the calm, in which h$ 
 was born, and [which] lafted.fo long, .had continued.' Claren 
 don, Life, p. 43. ' The remonftrance he had lately received 
 from the Houfe of Commons, and [which] was difperfed. through 
 out the kingdom.' Clarendon, Hiil:. Vol. I. p. 366, 8vo. 'Theic 
 we have extracted from an hiftorian of undoubted credit, a 
 reverend bifhop,- the learned Paulus Jovius; and [they] are the 
 fame that were pradifed under the pontificate of Leo. X. ' Pope, 
 Works, Vol. VI, p. 301. A cloud-gathering, in the north; 
 which we have helped to raife, and [which] may quickly break 
 m a ftorm upon our heads.' Swift, Conduct of the Allies. ' A 
 man,, whofe inclinations led him to be corrupt, and [who] had 
 great, abilities to manage and multiply and defend his corruptions^ 
 Gulliver, Part I. Chap. vi. * My mafter likewife mentioned 
 another quality, which his fervants had discovered in many Ya 
 hoos, and [which] to him was wholly unaccountable. Gulliver, 
 Part -IV. Chap, vii, ' This I filled with the feathers of feveral 
 birds I had taken with fpringes made of Yahoos hairs, and 
 [which] were excellent food. Ibid. Chap, x. ' Ofiris, whom 
 the Grecians call Dionyfius, and [who] is the fame with Batehus.* 
 Swift,, Mechan. Oper. of the, Spirit, Seel. ii.. 
 
 * Which Homer might without a blufh rehcarfe t 
 And/aai'ss a doubtful palm in Virgil's verfe,' 
 
 Dryden, Fables, Dedication. 
 
 * Will martial flames for ever fire thy mind, 
 
 And never, never i>e to Heav'n rejignd ? Odyffey, xii. 145. 
 
 1 And will [it, thy mind,] never' 
 
 ([4] Which rule, if it had been obferved, a neighboring prince 
 would have warned a great deal of that incenfe which hath been 
 offered up to him by his adorers.' Atterbury, Serm. I. I. The 
 pronoun*'* is here the nominative cafe to the vetb obferved > and 
 
92 INTRODUCTION TQ 
 
 in the anfvver to a queftion : " Who wrote 
 book? Cicero:" that is, " Cicero wrote it" Or 
 when the verb is understood ;. as, 
 
 ' To whom thus Adam :' 
 that is, fpake. 
 
 Every poffeffive cafe fuppofes fome noun, to 
 which it belongs : as when we lay, " St. Paul's,, 
 or St. James's," we mean St. Paul's church, or St. 
 James's palace. 
 
 Every adjective has relation to fome fubftantive,. 
 either expreiTed or implied : as, " The Twelve," 
 that is, Apojlle* ; " the wife, the elecl:," that is, 
 perfins. 
 
 In fome inftances the adje&ive becomes a fub 
 ftantive. and has an adjetlive joined to it: as, 
 "the chief good ;" " Evil be thou my good !" [5] 
 
 In 
 
 tvlich rule is left by itfclf, a nominative cafe without aay verb 
 following it. This manner of cxpreflion, however improper, is 
 very common. ItoU<ot fo be, * If this rule had been oblerved, 
 &c.*' ' We have no better materials to compound the priefthood 
 of, than the mafs of mankind : which, corrupted as it is, thofe 
 who receive orders muft have fome vices to leave behind them, 
 when they enter into the church.' Swift, Sentiments of a 
 Church of Englandman. 
 
 [5 J Adjectives arc fometimes employed as adverbs : impro 
 perly, and net agreeably to the genius of the Englifh language* 
 As, ' indifferent honeft, excellent well. Shakefpcar, Hamlet. 
 4 Extreme elaborate.' Dryden. ElTay on Dram. Poet. Tkf^rw/- 
 lous graceful.' Clarendon, Life, p. 18. 'Marvellous worthy 
 to be praifed/ Plal. cxlv. 3. for fo the tranilators gave it. 
 * Extreme unwilling ; extreme fubjt&.' Swift, Tale of a Tub, 
 and Battle of Books. * He behaved himfelf conformable to that 
 bleffed example.' Sprat's Sermons, p. 80. ' I fhall endeavor 
 to live hereafter fuitalls to a man in my ftation.' Acidifon, 
 Specl. No. 530. ' The C^ucen having changed her miniftry 
 
 JuitoUt 
 
, ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 93 
 
 In oihers, the fubftantive, becomes an adje&ive 
 
 or 
 
 faitable to her own wifdom. ' Swift, Fxam. NO, 21. * The affer- 
 tions of this author are cajier detected.' Swift, Public Spirit of 
 the Whigs. ' The characteristic of his feel allowed him to 
 affirm nojironrer thin that.' Benttey, Phil. Lipf. Remark LIII. 
 
 * If one author he.;' ivoken nobler and loftier than another.' Ibid. 
 
 * Xenophen iV.ys txfrefsS Ibid. Remark XLV. ' I can never 
 think fo ery wean oi him.' Id. DiiTcrtation on Phalaris, p. 24. 
 1 Homer dcfcribes this river agreeably to the vulgar reading. *- 
 Pope, Note or. Iliad, ii. ver. 1033. So exceeding, lor exceedingly ^ 
 however improper, occurs frequently In. the vulgar tranflation of 
 the Bii)!e, ?.nd has obtained in common difcourfe. * We fhould; 
 Jive foberly, rightecufly, -*>:A goJl\ in this prefent world.' Tit. 
 ii. 12. See alfo a Tim. iii. 13. "' To convince all that are un 
 godly among them, of all their ungodly deeds, which they have 
 ungodly committed,' Jude 15. ' I think it very majierly written.' 
 Swift to Pope, Let. Ixxiv. 
 
 4 O Liberty, thou GoddefsAww#(j- bright.' Addifon. 
 
 The term-it:, utiou/y, being a contraction of like, c,~x.r>icfit$fimilitude 
 or manner ; and being added to nouns, forms adjectives; and 
 added to adjectives, forms adverbs. B lit ad verbs exprefling/w/V 
 liiuJt or maangr t cannot be i'o formed from nouns: the few 
 adverbs, that are fo formed, have a very different import : as, 
 daily , year/y, that is, day by day, year by year. E:rly t both 
 adjective; and ..('vr:). is formed from the Saxon prepofition <2?r, 
 before. The udverbe therefore above noted are not agreeable to 
 the analogy oi formation eftahlifhed in our language, which 
 requires goJlily, ungodlily, heavtnlily : but thefe are rlilagreeable to 
 the ear, and therefore could never gain admittance into conimpn 
 ufe* 
 
 The word lively ufed as an adverb, inftead of liwlily is liable 
 to the fame objection i and, not being fo familiar to the ear, im 
 mediately offends it. ' That part of poetry muft needs be beft, 
 which defcribes moft lively our actions and pafi!on,s, our virtues 
 and our vices.' Dryderj, Pref. to State of Innocence. * Thq 
 whole dcfign mud refer to the golden age, which it lively repre- 
 fents.' Addifoa, on Medals. Dial. II. 
 
 On th<c other hand., an udverb is improperly tifed is an adjeclive 
 in the rdio'.ving paffages. ' We may cait in fuch feeds andprin- 
 riples aa - e j'idge moft likely to take fion-.Jl and deepeft root.* 
 ctlo:;, V<J I Serm.ja. ' afttr thcfc wars, of which they 
 . v :l profperous iffue. Sidney. ' Ufe a little wine 
 lac) ' . and thine often infirmities.' i Tim.v. 
 
 "*.| Unl< i j::o.-! iujr- ,jf> tn we re formerly adjeclives, though now 
 wholly obfolett in t,h,.c form, Scq johnfou'b Dictionary; often* 
 
24 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 or fupplies its place j being prefixed to another 
 fubftantive, and linked to it by a mark of conjunc 
 tion : as, "Tea-water 5 -lancUtortoife ; foreft-tree." 
 ADVERBS have no government. [6] 
 The Adverb, as its name imports,, is generally- 
 placed clofe or near to the word, v which it modifies 
 or affects ; and its propriety and force depend on 
 its pofition. [7] Its place for the mod part is 
 before adjectives ; after verbs aHve or neuter ^ 
 and it frequently (lands between the auxiliary and 
 the verb : as, " He made a very elegant harangue - 7 
 \\tfpake unaffectedly zn& forcibly ; and was atten 
 tively heard by the whole audience." 
 
 Two negatives in Englith deftroy one another, 
 or are equivalent to an affirmative : [8] as, , 
 
 Nor 
 
 [6] ' Koiv-mitcl foever the reformation of thfs corrupt and de 
 generate age is almoji utterly to be defpaired of, we may yet have 
 a more comfortable proipe<ft of future times.' Tillotfon,!. Pref. 
 to Serm. 49. The firft part of this Ten tence abounds with ad 
 verbs, and thofe fuch, as are hardly confident with, one another. 
 [7] Thus it is commonly faid, ' [ only fpakc three words: wht;n 
 the intention of the fpeaker manifeftly requires, ' I fpake only 
 three words.' 
 
 ' Her body {haded with a flight cymarr,- 
 Her bofom to the view was vnly bare." 
 
 Dryden, Cymon and Iphig* 
 The fcnfe'necefiarijy recjuires this order, 
 
 ' Her bofom only to the view was bare." 
 [8] The following are examples of the contrary : 
 
 ' Give not me counlel ; 
 Net- let no comforter delight mine ear. ' 
 
 Shukefpear, Much ado.- 
 * She cannot love, 
 
 Nor take no {hape nor project of affeAion.' Ibid. 
 
 Shakefpear ufes this conflrudlion frequently. It is a relique of 
 the ancient ftyle, abounding .with negatives: which is now grown 
 wholly obfolcte : . 
 
E.NGLISH GRAMMA'R. 95 
 
 * Nor did they not perceive the evil plight 
 
 In which they were, or the fierce pains not feel/ 
 Milton, P. L. i. 335* 
 
 PREPOSITIONS have a .government of cafes ; 
 and in English they always require the objective 
 cafe after them. : -as, with him ; from her ; to 
 me. [9] 
 
 The prepofition is often -fepara ted ^ from the 
 relative which it governs, and joined to the verb 
 at the end of the fentence, or of fome member of 
 it : as, " Horace is an author, whom. I am much 
 delighted with? " The [i] world is too well- 
 bred, to mock authors with a truth, which gene 
 rally their bookfellers are the firll that inform them 
 of" This is an idiom, which our language is 
 itrongly inclined to : it prevails in common con- 
 verfation, and fuits very well with. the familiar 
 
 ftyle 
 
 ' And of his port as meke as is a maid, 
 He never yet no villainy ne faid 
 In all hi* life unto no manner wight : 
 
 He was a very parfit gentil knight,' Chaucer. 
 
 ' I cannot by no means allow him, that this argument muft prove.' 
 Bentley, DiiTcrt. on Phalaris, p. 515. 'That we need not, cr 
 do not, confine the purpcies of God.' Id. Sermon 8. 
 
 [9] ' Who fcrveft thou under?' Shakefpear, Hen. V. 
 
 ' Who do you.Ipeak to?' As you like it. 
 
 * 111 tell you, ivhv time ambles withal^ -who time trots -withal 
 <wbo time gallops ivithal, -and ivho hi. H :nds ftill tvit&a!.' 
 
 4 I pr'ythee, wlom doth he trot lullbat?' Ihid. 
 
 * We are ftill -much at a lois, -who civil power belongs to,' 
 
 .Locke* 
 In all thefe places, it ought to be -whom. 
 
 * Now Margaret's curie is fall'n upon our heads, 
 When fhe exclaini'd on Huftings, you, and /.' 
 
 Shakefpear, Rich. Ill, 
 It ought to be me. 
 
 ij Pope, Preface to his poems. 
 
96 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 flyle in writing : but the placing of the prepofitioh 
 before the relative, is more graceful, as well as 
 more perfpicuous j and agrees much better with 
 the folemn and elevated ftyle. [2] 
 
 Verbs are often compounded of a verb and a 
 prepofition ; as> to uphold, to outweigh, to overlook: 
 and this compofition fometimes gives a new fenfe 
 to the verb ; as, to understand, to withdraw, to 
 forgive* [3] But in Englifh the prepofition is 
 more frequently placed after the verb, and feparate 
 from it, like an adverb ; in which fituation it is 
 no Jefs apt to affeft the fenfe of it, and to give it 
 a new meaning * y and may ftili be confidered as 
 belonging to the verb, and as a part of it. As, 
 to cafl is, to throw ; but to caft up, or to compute 
 an account, is quite a different thing: thus, to fail 
 on, to bear cut, to give over, &c. So that the 
 meaning of the verb, and the propriety of the 
 phrafe, depend on the prepofition fubjoined. [4] 
 
 As 
 
 [l] Some writers feparate the prepofition from its noun, in or 
 der to connect different prcpofitions with the fame noun ; as, 
 * To fuppofe the zodiac and planets to be efficient of, and ante 
 cedent to, themfelves.' Betuley, Serm. 6. Thus, whether in the 
 familiar or the folemn ftyle, is always inelegant; and fhould ne 
 ver be admitted, but in forms of law, and the like ; where fulnefs 
 and exa<5tnefs of expreflion muft take place of every other confi- 
 deration 
 
 [3] With in compofition retains the fignification which it has 
 among others in the Saxon, of from and aga'tnjl: as, to withhold, 
 to ivithjland. So alfo for has a negative fignification from the 
 Saxon: &&, \.Q forbid , forbeodan \ to forget, forgitan. 
 
 [4] Examples of impropriety in the ufe of the prepofition, in 
 phrafes of this kind. ' Your character, which I, or any other 
 writer, may now value ourfclves by (upon) drawing.' Swift, 
 
 Letter 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 97 
 
 As the prepcfition fubjoined to the verb hath 
 
 the contraction and nature of an adverb, fo the 
 
 K adverbs 
 
 Letter on the Englifh Tongue. * You have beflowed your favors 
 to (upon) the mo ft deferring perfons.' Ibid. * Upon fuch occa- 
 fions as fell into (under) their cognizance.' Swift, Contefts and 
 Diflenlions, &<c. chap. ii. ' Thut variety of factions into (in) 
 which \ve are iYill engaged.' Ibid. chap. v. ' To reftore my- 
 ielf into (to) the good graces of my fair critics.' Dryden's Prof, 
 to Aureng. ' Acculed the minifters ftr (of) betraying the 
 Dutch.' Swift, Four iail years of the Queen, Book ii. ' Ovid, 
 whom you accufe for (of) luxuriancy of verfe.' Drydcn, on 
 Dram. Poefy. ' The people of England may congratulate to thcrn- 
 
 felves, that ,' Dryden. 'Something like this, has been 
 
 reproached to Tacitus.' Boungbroke on Hiftory, Vol. I. p. 
 136. * He was made much on (of) at Argos.' ' tie is rcfolved 
 cf (ojti) going to the Periian court.' Bentlcy, Differt. on The- 
 miftocles's Epiftles, Se6t. iii. * Neither, the one nor the other 
 ihall make me fwerve out c/(from) the path, which 1 have traced 
 to nryfeif.' Bolingbroke, Letter to \Vyndham, p. 2-52. 
 ' And virgins fiv.il'd at what they blufh'd before :' 
 what they bluih'd. (at) Pope, Effay en Crit. 
 
 ' They are now reconciled by a zeal for their caufe, to what they 
 could not be prompted (to) by a concern for their beauty,' Ad 
 difon, Sped:. No. 8l. ' If policy can prevail upon (over) force.' 
 Addifon, Travels, p. 62. 'I dolike-vvife diffent ivitb (from) the 
 Examiner.' Addifon, Whig Ex-im. No. j. ' Ye blind guides, 
 which ilrain ai a gnat, and iwallovv a camel.' Matt, xxiii. 24. 
 * Which ilrain out, or take a gnat out of the liquor Ly llraining; 
 it:' the impropriety of the prepofition has wholly cltilroyed the 
 meaning of the phrafe. Obferve alfo, that the noun generally 
 requires after it, the fame prepofition, as the verb from which it 
 is formed : ' It was perfectly in compliance to (with) fome per- 
 fon, for whofe opinion I have great deference.' Swift, Preface 
 to Temple's Memoirs. ' Not i'rom any perfonal hatred to them, 
 but in juflification to (of) the belt of Queens.' Swift, Examiner, 
 No. 23. In the laft example, the verb being traufitive, and 
 requiring the cbjtclive cafe, the noun formed from it, feems to 
 require the pofftffive cafe, or its prepofition after it. Or perhaps 
 be meant to fay, * In jujiice to the bell of Queen-.' * The wifeft 
 Princes need not think it any diminution to (of) their greatnelV, 
 or derogation to (from) their fufficiency, to rely upon council.' 
 Bacon, Eff^y xx. * No Uifcouragement for the authors to pro 
 ceed.' Tale of a Tub, Prof. 1 A ilrid obfervance after ti;nc> 
 
98 FNTRODUCTION TO 
 
 adverbs here, there, where, with a prepofuion fub- 
 joined, as hereof, therewith, whereupon, [5! have 
 the conflruftion and nature of pronouns. 
 
 The prepolitions to and/cr are often underftood 
 chiefly before the pronoun ; as, " give me the 
 book *, get me fome paper ;" that is, to me, for me. 
 161 The 
 
 and fafhions.' Ibid. Seel ii. Which had a much greater (hare 
 6/' inciting him, than any regards after his father's commands.' 
 Ibid. Seel vi. So the noun avtr/to/i, (that is, a turning away; 
 as likewife the adjcclive awrfe, feems to require the prepofition 
 from after it ; and not fo properly to admit of to, or for, which 
 are often ufed with it. 
 
 [5] Thefe are much difufed in common difcourfe, and are 
 retained only in the fokmn, or formulary ftyle. ' They (our 
 authors) have of late, 'tis true, reformed in lame meafure the 
 gouty joints, and darning works of loht-reunto's, whereby*, tlcre- 
 of's, therewith'* s, and the reft of this kind ; by which complicated 
 periods are fo curioufly ftrong, or hooked on, one to another, 
 after the longfpun manner of the bar or pwlpit.' Lord Shaftef- 
 bury, Milcel. V. 
 
 Fra fdie ibir \vourdishad fayd.' Gawin Douglas, JEn. x. 
 
 * Thir \vikkit fchrewis. Ibid. ./En. xii. 
 
 '1'hat is, ' ihefc words; tljeft wicked fh re ws.' ' Tbcyr, tbefc, or 
 ibafe, mafculine ; thazr* tbefe, or t/jofc t feminine ' Iffandick. 
 Hence, perhaps, thereof, therewith, &c. of, with tbem \ and ib, 
 by analogy, the reft of this clafs of words. 
 
 [6J Or in thefe and the like phrafls, may not me, tint, bi/n, 
 her, us, which in Saxon, are the dative cafes of their refpL'clive 
 pronouns, be considered as ftill continuing iuch in the iinglifh, 
 and including in their very form the force of the prepolitions 
 to zudfor ? There are certainly fome other phrafes, which are 
 to be refolved in this manner : * Wo is me /' The phrafe is pure 
 Saxon : Wa is me :' me is the dative cafe : in Englifh, with the 
 prcpofition, to me* So, ' metbints ;' Saxon, ' me tbinctb* ' As 
 us tloughte ;' Sir John Maundevylle. ' Metbouvbh, this fhort 
 interval of fiience has had more mufic in it, than any of the 
 fame fnace of time before or after it.' Addifon, Tatler, No. 
 133. Seealfo Spect. No. 63. It ought to be, vtttbeugit. 'The 
 .Lord do that, which faemetb him good.' i. Sam, x. 12. See 
 alfo, I Sam. iii. 18, 2 Sam xviii. 4. ' O well is -.bee!* Pfal. 
 sxxviii. a. * Wd his tl>e t id elt, bene eft tibi.' Simeon Dnn- 
 
 eim, 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 99 
 
 The prepofition in or cti y is of^en underftood 
 before nouns exprefFmg time ; as, this day ; next 
 month; laft year ; that is, " en this day j" "in 
 next month j" " in lad year." 
 
 In poetry, the common order of words is fre 
 quently inverted ; in all ways, in which it may be 
 done without ambiguity or obfcurity. 
 
 Two or more funple fentences, joined together 
 by one or more connective words, become a com 
 pounded fentence. 
 
 There are two forts of words, which connect 
 fentences. I. relatives; 2. conjunctions. 
 
 Examples: I. " IlleiTed is the man, ivlo fear- 
 eth the Lord." 2. u Life is fliort, Wart is l0ng?* J 
 I. and 2. " Blefled is tlie man, who fcaretli L f ;c 
 Lord, and keepeth his commandments." 
 
 The relatives ivho, which ^ //\7/, having no va 
 riation of gender or number, cannot but agree 
 with their antecedents. Who is appropriated to 
 perfons; and fo may be accounted mafcuiine and 
 feminine only : we apply which now to things 
 only : and to irrational animals, excluding them 
 
 from 
 
 elm. apud X. fkriptores, col. 1^5- < Wei is mm that ther mal 
 be.' Anglo-Saxon Poem in Hickes's Thefaur. Vol. I. p. a?i. 
 ' Well is b'tm that dvvelleth with a wife of undcrftanding.' 
 ' Well is him that hath found prudence.' Eccius. xxv. 8, y. 
 The tranllator thought to correcl his phrafe afterward ; and io 
 hath made it neither Saxon nor Englifti : ' Well is he^ that i 
 defended from it.' Eccius xxxviii. i<;. * Wo worth the day !' 
 Kzek. xxx; 2. that is. Wo be to the day. The word worth is 
 not the adjeclive, but the Saxon verb wsorthan, or ivoitban, fieri, 
 toh- t iolecome; which is often ufed hy Chaucer, and is frill rc- 
 f-.amed JIR an auxiliary v<;ih in the German lirtguage. 
 
ico INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 from perfonality, without any confideration of fex : 
 which therefore may be accounted neuter. But 
 formerly they were both indifferently ufed of per- 
 fons : " Our Father which art in heaven." That 
 is ufed indifferently both of perfons and things : 
 but perhaps would be more properly confined to 
 the latter. What includes both the antecedent 
 and the relative : as, " This was what he wanted j" 
 that is, " the thing which he wanted. [7] 
 
 The relative is the nominative cafe to the verb, 
 when no other nominative comes between it and 
 the verb : but when another nominative comes 
 between it and the verb, the relative is governed 
 by fome v?ord in its own member of the fentence : 
 as, " The God, who preferveth me ; ivbofe I am, 
 and 'lukom I ferve." [8] Every 
 
 [7] That hath been ufed in the fame manner as including the 
 relative -w h icb ; but it is either improper, or obfolcte : as, 'To 
 ccnfider advifedly of tb-zt is moved.' Bacon, Effty xxii. ' We 
 fpeak tlat we do know, and tdlify that we have feen.' John 
 'iii. ir. So likewife the neuter pronoun it : as, ' By this alfo, a 
 man may unclerftand, when it is, that .men may be faid to be 
 conquered ; and in what the nature of conqueft and the right 
 f a conqueror confifteth : for this fubmitlion is /'/ (that which) 
 implyeth them all.' Hobbes, Leviathan, Couclufion. "And 
 this is it (that which) men mean by diflributive juftice, and 
 .(which) is properly termed equity.' Hobbes, Elements of Law, 
 Part I, chap. iv. 2. 
 
 [8] ' H'&o, inftead of going about doing good, they are perpe 
 tually intent upon doing mifchief.' Tillotfon, Serm. I. 18. The 
 nominative cale they in this fentence is fuperfiuous : it was ex- 
 prefled before in the relative iybo. ' Commend me to an argument 
 :.6a/, like a flail, there's no fence againft it* Bentley, Differt. 
 on Euripedes's EpilUes, fe6l. i. If that be defigncd by the rela 
 tive, it ought to be ivhub^ governed by the prepofition agantji^ 
 and it is fuperfluoi^: thus, ' aga'mjl which there is no fence :' [>ut 
 it that be a conjunction, it ought to he in the preceding member, 
 fuck an argument.' 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 101 
 
 Every relative mull have an antecedent to 
 which it refers, either exprefTed, or understood : 
 as, " Who (teals my purfe, deals trafn : :) that is, 
 the man y who 
 
 The relative is of the fame perfon with the ante 
 cedent: and the verb agrees with it accordingly: 
 as, " "Who is this t that cometh from Edom j -this 9 
 that is glorious in his apparel ? 7, that f peak in 
 righteoufnefs." Ifaiah, Ixiii. i. " O Shepherd 
 of- Ifrael ; Thou, that leadejl Jofeph like a flock : 
 Thbu y that dwelltjl between the Cherubims." Pfal. 
 Ixxx. i. [9] . 
 
 K 2, When 
 
 [9] ' I am the Lord, tlat maleth all things; tint pntJjcth forth 
 the heavens alone :' Ifaiah, :div. 24. Thus fr.r is right. : lie 
 Lord'm the third perfon is the antecedent, and the verb agrees 
 with the relative in the third perfon : ' I am the Lord, ivhich 
 Lord, or Hx that, maksth all things.' Ic-would have been equally 
 right, if/ hud been made the antecedent, and the relative and 
 the verb had agreed with it in the firfl perfon : / am the Lord, 
 that make all 'things.' But vthen it follows, ' that fin-add b abroad 
 the earth by myjelfj there urifes a confufion of perfons, and a 
 rnanifeO. fulecifrn. 
 
 ' Thou great firfl caufe, lead underdood ! 
 Wbo all my fenfe lonfind 
 
 To know but this, that Thou art good, 
 And that myfe.f am blind : 
 
 "Yet gave me in this dark eftate,. &.c.' Pope, Unu Prayer. 
 
 It -ought to be, cojiji;ieiijl > or JUIjl t&nfutc: gavsjl, or di'Jjl give: ; &.C. 
 in the fccond perfon. 
 
 ' O Th(,u fuprcme ! high thron'd all height above ! 
 
 great Pclafgic, Dodonean Jov;- ! 
 
 Who 'midi: furrounding frulis, and vapours thiil, 
 ]? refute on ble'..k. Dodona's voral iull!' 
 
 Pope, !ii id, xvi. 284. 
 
 1 Nor tho. ipc : 
 
fez INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 When this, thai, tbtfe, thofe, refer to a pre 
 ceding ientcnce ; this, cr theft, refers to the latter 
 member or term ; that, or thofe, to the former : as, 
 Self-love, the fpring of motion, adls the foul ; 
 Reafoifs comparing balance, rules the whole : 
 Man, but for that no aclion could attend ; 
 And, but for this, were aclive to no end." 
 
 Pope, Effay on Man. 
 
 " Some place the blifs in action, fame in eafe : 
 Thofe call it pleafure, and contentment theft" 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 The relative is often underflcod, or omitted : 
 as, " The man I love j" that is, " whom I love." [0 
 
 The 
 
 Yet than cculdfl tamely ice rus flain: 
 
 Nor when 1 felt the dreadful blow. 
 
 Or chid the dean, or pimh'd thy fpoufc.' 
 
 Swift, Market-hill Thorn. 
 See above p. 46, Note. 
 
 [t] ' Abafe on all he lov'd, or lovYi him, fpread.' 
 
 Pope, EpiiL to Arbuthnot. 
 
 That is, ' all tvavm he lov'd, or ivbo lov'd him :' or to make 
 it more eafy by fupplying a relative, that has no variation of cafes, 
 * all that he lov'd, or-tLit lov'd him.' The conftruclion is ha 
 zardous, and hardly juftifiable, even in poetry. * In the temper 
 of mind he was then.' Addifon, Sped. No 549. ' In the pollure 
 J lay.' Swift, Gulliver, Part I. chap. i. In thefe and the like 
 phrafes, which are very common, there is an elipfis both of the 
 relative and the prepofition ; which would have been much bet 
 ter fupplied: * In the temper of mind in which he was then :' * In 
 the pofture hi ivh'uh \ lay.' The little fatisfacrion and confilt- 
 ency (which) is to be found in mod of the fyilercs of divinity 
 (which) I have met with, made me betake myfelf to the fole 
 reading of the ^cripture > (to which they all appeal) for the un- 
 derflanding (of) the Chriftian religion.' Lotke, Preface to the 
 Reafenablenefs of Chriftianity. In the following example, the 
 antecedent is omitted : He defired they might ^o to the altar 
 together^ and jointly return their thanks to ivhom only it was due.* 
 Addifon, FreehoUitr* No, 49, In general, the onuilion of the 
 
 relative 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 103 
 
 The accuracy and clearnefs of the fentence. de 
 pend very much upon the proper and determinate 
 ufe of the relative ; fo that it may readily prefent 
 its antecedent to the mind of the hearer, or reader, 
 without any obicurity or ambiguity. The fame 
 may be obferv r ed of the pronoun and the noun ; 
 which by fome are called alfo the relative and the 
 antecedent. [2] 
 
 CONJUNCTIONS 
 
 relative feems to be too much indulged in the familiar flyle; it is 
 ungraceful in the folemn ; and, of whatever kind the ft)le be, 
 it is apt to be attended with obicurity and ambiguity. 
 
 [2] The conneclive parts of fentences are the mod important 
 of all, and require the greateft cnre and attention : for it is by 
 thefe chiefly, that the train of thought, the courfe of reafoning, 
 and the whole progrefs of the mind, in continued difcourfe of 
 all kinds, is laid open ; and on the right ufe of thde, the per- 
 fpicuity, that is, the firft and gre:>.reft beauty of ityle, principally 
 depends. Relatives and conjunctions, are the inftruments of 
 connection in difcourfe : It may be of ufe to point out fome of 
 the mo ft common inaccuracies, that writers are apt to fall into 
 with refpecl: to them, and a few examples of faults, may per 
 haps be more inflruclive, than any rules of propriety that can be 
 given. Here therefore fhall be added fome further examples of 
 inaccuracies in the ufe of relatives. 
 
 The relative placed before the antecedent; Example: 'The 
 bodies, which we daily handle, makes us perceive, that whilft 
 they remain between them, they do by an unfnrmourtable force 
 hinder the approach of our lands that prtfs them.' Locke, 
 EiTay, B. ii. C. 4, Se&. i. Here the ftnfc it fufpended, and 
 the fentence is unintelligible, till you get to the end of it : there 
 is no antecedent, to which the relative them can be referred, but 
 bodies ; but, ' whilft the bodies remain between the bodies, 1 makes 
 no fenfe at all When you get to bands, the difficulty is cleared 
 up, the fenfe helping out the conilruclion. Yet there ftill remains 
 an ambiguity in the relatives they^ them, which in number and 
 perfon, are equally applicable to bodies or hands \ this, though it 
 may not here be the occafion of much obfcurity, \vhich is com 
 monly the efTecl: of it, yet is always difagreeable and inelegant ; 
 as in the following examples : 
 
 Men 
 
io 4 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 CONJUNCTIONS have fometimes a government 
 of modes. Some conjunctions require the indica* 
 tive, fome the fubjunclive mode after them : 
 others have no influence at all upon the mode. 
 
 Hypothetical, conditional, conceflive, and ex 
 ceptive conjunctions feem in general to require the 
 
 fubjunftive 
 
 ' Men. look with an evileye, upon the good that is in-othcrs ; 
 r.ncl flunk, that their reputation obfcures them ; and that their 
 commendable qualities do ftand in thalr light, and therefore they 
 do what tbsy can to caft a cloud over fieri;, that the bright fain^ 
 ings of . thdr virtues, may not obfcure tttm.' T-iiiotfun, tierm. 
 I. 41. 
 
 ' The Earl of Falmouth and Mr. Coventry, were rivals ti'Lo 
 fhould have mod influence with the Duke, ii^bo loved the Earl 
 beft, hut thought the other the wifer man, tc/jo fupportcd Pen; 
 iv Lo difobliged ail the courtiers, even againft the Earl, tilo 
 contemned Pen, as a fellow of no feufe.' Clarendon, Cont. p.- 
 ^64. 
 
 But the following fentcnce cannot be poffibly underflood, 
 without a careful recolleclion of circuraftantrea, through feme. 
 p iges preceding. 
 
 All which, with the King's and Queen's fo ample promifes 
 to aim (the Treasurer) fo few hours before the conferring 1 the 
 place on another, and the Duke of York's manner of receiving 
 him (the Treafurer) after le (the Chancellor) had been ihnt up 
 with him., (the Duke) as It (the Treafurer) was informed, might 
 very well excufe him (the Treafurer) for thinking Le (the Chan 
 cellor) had feme fhare in the affront he (the Treafurer) had un 
 dergone.' Clarendon, Cont. p. 296. 
 
 4 Breaking a cenftitytion by the very fame errors, that foinany 
 have been broke before.* Swift, Contefts and Diffentiot:?, c. 
 chap, 5. Kcre the relative is employed not <".;' !y to reprefent 
 the antecedent noun the errors, but likewifc the prepofition by 
 pr> fixed to it It ought to be, the fame errors by ivl'icl fo 
 many have been LrnLcn before.' 
 
 Again: ' An undertaking tAiibt although it has 
 
 failed, (partly, -. 9 : ' n at all, to 
 
 rfH i:-r (o w ro lity of 
 
 ' Swift, i 
 
 is ;;- obreclioa at sUl to it.' 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 105 
 
 fubjuntHve mode after them : as, if, though, un- 
 lefs, except^ whether, or, &c. but by ufe they 
 often admit of the indicative ; and in feme cafes 
 with propriety. Examples: " Tfthou be the Son 
 of God." Matth. iv. 3. " Though \\zjlay me, yet 
 will I put my trufl in him." Job, xiii. 15. " Un- 
 lefs he voa/h his flefh." Lev. xxii. 6. No power, 
 except it were given from above." John, xix. II. 
 " Whether it ivere \ or they, fo we preach." I 
 Cor. xv. ii. The fubjunlive in thefe "inftances 
 implies fornething contingent or doubtful , the 
 indicative would exprefs a more abfolute and de 
 terminate fenfe.'fjj 
 
 [3] The following example may ferve to illuftrate this obferva.- 
 tion : ' Though he ivere divinely infpired, and fp;ike therefore as 
 the oracles of God, with fupreme authority; though he ivere en 
 dued with fupernatural powers, and could therefore have con 
 firmed the truth of what he uttered by miracles; yet in compli 
 ance with the way in which human nature and reafonable crea 
 tures are ufually wrought upon, he reafoned.' .Atterbury, Ser 
 mon IV. 5. 
 
 That our Saviour was divinely infpired, and endued with fa- 
 pernatunil powers, are pofitions, that are here taken for granted, 
 as not admitting of the leaft doubt; they would therefore have 
 been better expreffed in the indicative movie ; though he tuas di 
 vinely infpired; though he mas endowed with fupernatural pow 
 ers.' The fubjunctive is ufcd in like manner in the following ex 
 ample : ' Though lie ivere a Ion, yet learned he obedience, by the 
 things which he fuffered ' Heb. v. 3. Cut in a limilar paffaye 
 the indicative is employed to the fame purpofe, and that much 
 more properly: ' Though he was rich, yet tor your fakes he be 
 came poor.' z Cor. viii. 9. The proper ufe then of the fubjunc 
 tive mode after the conjunction, is in the cafe of a doubtful fup- 
 pofition or conceflion; as, ' Though \\efall, he fhall not be utterly 
 caft down.' Pfal. xxxvii. 24. And much the fame may be faid 
 of the reft. 
 
 The fame conjunction governing both the indicative, and the 
 fubjunctive mode in the iarncfer.lcnce, and, in the fame cjrcum- 
 
 ftar.ccs, 
 
io6 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 exprefling the motive or end, has the 
 fubjunclive mode with tnay, might, Jlould, after it. 
 
 Left ; and that annexed to a command preced 
 ing; and if with but following it ; neceflLrily 
 require the fubjundive mode; Examples : " Let 
 him that ftandeth, take heed, left he fall." i Cor. 
 x. 12. Take heed, that tiisufpeak not to Jacob." 
 Gen. xxxi. 24. " If he do but touch the hills, 
 they (hall fmoke." Pial. civ. 32. [4] 
 
 Other conjunctions, expreffing a continuation, 
 an addition, an inference, &c. being of a pofitive 
 and abfolute nature, require the indicative mode; 
 or rather leave the mode to be determined by the 
 other circumftances and conditions of the fentence. 
 
 When the qualities of different things are com 
 pared ; the latter noun is not governed by the 
 conjunction than y or as, (for a conjunction -has 
 
 no 
 
 fiances, though either of them feparately would be right, feems 
 to be a great impropriety; as, 
 
 ' Though heaven's king 
 
 JRlJe on thy wings, and thnu with thy compeers, 
 Us'd to the yoke, draiv'ilft his triumphant wheels 
 In progrefs through the road of heav'n (tar pav'd.' 
 
 Miltoa, P.L.I V. 97 j. 
 
 ' Jf there be but one body of legiflators, it is no better than a 
 tyranny; //"there ate only two, there will want a calling voice*. 
 
 Addifon, Sped. No. z8;. 
 
 [4] In the following iwftances, the conjunction that, exprcffcd 
 or underllood, feems to be improperly accompanied with the fub- 
 j unlive mode. 
 
 * So much {he fears for William's life. 
 
 That Mary's fate {he dare not mourn.' Prior. 
 
 ' Her eyes in heaven, 
 
 Would through the airy re^io;; flream fo bright, 
 The birds would fing, and think it ivere not night.' 
 
 Shakefpear, Romeo and Juliet, 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 107 
 
 no government of cafes,) but agrees with the verb, 
 or is governed by the verb, or the preppfition ex- 
 prefied, or underftood, As, " Thou art wifer 
 than / (am)." " You are not fo tall as /(am)." 
 " You think him handfomer than (you think) me ; 
 and love him more than (you love) me." In all 
 other inflances, if you complete the fentence in 
 like manner, by fupplying the part which is un 
 derftood ; the cafe of the latter noun will be de 
 termined thus. "Plato obferves, that God geome- 
 trizes , and the fame thing was obferved before 
 by a wifer man than he :" that is, than he ivas. 
 " It was well exprefTed by Plato ; but more ele 
 gantly by Solomon than him :" that is, than by 
 him. [5] 
 
 But 
 
 [5] * You are a much greater lofer than me by his death.' 
 
 Swift to Pope, Letter 63. 
 c And though by heavVs fevere decree, 
 She lutfers hourly more than me* Swift, to Stella. 
 
 We contributed a third more than the Dutch, who were ob 
 liged to the fame proportion more than us 
 
 Swift, Canducl of the Allies. 
 
 * King Charles, and more than him, the Duke, and the Popifh 
 faction, were at liberty to form new ichemes.' Bolingbroke, Dif- 
 iertation on Parties, Letter 3. 
 
 ' The drift of all his fermons was, to prepare the Jews for the 
 reception of a prophet, mightier than him, and whole fhoes he 
 was not worthy to bear.' Atterbury, Sermons, IV, 4 
 
 1 A poem, which is> good in itfelf, cannot lofe any thing of its 
 real value ; though it fhould appear not to be the work of fo emi 
 nent an author, as him, to whom it was firft imputed.' Congreve, 
 Prcf. to Homer's Hymn to Venus. 
 
 * A {tone is heavy, and the find weighty : but a fool's wrath is 
 heavier than them both ' Prov xxvii. 3. 
 
 ' If the king gives us leave, you or I may as lawfully preach, 
 as them that do. Hobbes, Hifh of Civil Wars, p. 62, 
 
 v * The 
 
 I 
 
X o8 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 But the relative wfo, having reference to no 
 verb or prepofition uixkrilood, but only to its an 
 tecedent, when it follows than, is always in the 
 objective cafe ; even though the pronoun, if fub- 
 ftituted in its place, would be in the nominative: as 
 
 " Beelzebub, than iuhom y 
 Satan except, none higher fat." 
 
 Milton, P. L. ii. 299. 
 
 which, if we fubftitute the pronoun, would be, 
 " none higher fat, than be." 
 
 The conjunction that is often omitted and un- 
 derftood : as, " I beg you would come to me ;" 
 
 See, 
 
 * The fun upon the calmcft fcra 
 
 Appears not half ib bright as //'.' Prior. 
 
 Thenfinifh, dear Chloe, this padoral war, 
 
 And let us like Horace and Lydia agree : 
 For thou art a girl much brighter than her, 
 
 As he was a poet iublimer than txe.' Ibid. 
 
 Phalaris, who was fo much older than ker.* Eentley, DiiTert. 
 on Phalaris, p. 537. 
 
 In thefe paffagesit ought to be, /, tve, he, they, fbotiijbe, re- 
 fpeclively. Perhaps the following example may admit of a doubt, 
 whether it be properly expreffed or not : 
 
 < The lover got a woman of greater fortune, than ler he had 
 mifb'd.' Addilon, Guardian, No. 97. Let us try it by the rule 
 fiven above ; and fee, whether lorne correction wiil not be ne- 
 i-.eflary, when the parts of the fentenee, which are underirood, 
 come to be fupplied : The lover got a woman of greater fortune, 
 thanyk? fiL-as t lukimj he had miffed.' 
 
 * Nor hope to be lefs miferablc 
 
 B'- what I feekj but others to make fuch 
 
 As /.' Milton, P. L. ix. 126. 
 
 ' The fyntax, fays Dr. Bentlcy, requires, ' make fuch as me.' 
 On the contrary, the fyntax neceflarily requires, * make fuch as 
 /:' for it is riot, * I hope to make others fuch, as to make me :' 
 the pronoun is not governed by the verb ??;.jke t but is the nomina 
 tive cafe to the verb am understood : ' to make others fuch as I am :* 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. io 9 
 
 See, thou do it not :" that is, that you would :" 
 " that thou do." [6J 
 
 The nominative cafe following the auxiliary, or 
 the verb itfelf, fometimes fupplies the place of 
 the conjunction if, or though : as, " Had he done 
 this, he had efcaped :" " Charm he never fo [7] 
 wifely :" that is, " if he had done this ; though 
 he chr;rm." 
 
 Some conjunctions have their correfpondent con 
 junctions belonging to them; fo that, in the fubfe- 
 quent member of the fentence, the latter anfwers 
 to the former : as, although -, yef, or neverthelefs y 
 
 whether , or; either or ; neither^ or nor , 
 
 0r, as , as ; exprefling a comparifon of 
 
 equality ; " as white as fnow :" as , fo ; ex- 
 
 prefling a comparifon fometimes of equality; " as 
 the liars, fo mall thy feed- be;" that is, equal in 
 number : but mod commonly a comparifon in re- 
 fpedfc of quality " and it (hall be, as with the 
 people, fo with the pried; as with the fervant, fo 
 with his matter:" " as is the good, fo is the fm- 
 ner ; as the one dieth, fo dieth the other:" that 
 
 is, in like manner : fo , as ; with a verb ex- 
 
 L preffing 
 
 [6] ' But it is reafon, the memory of their virtues remain to 
 their pofterity.' Bacon, Efiay xiv. In this, and many the like 
 phrafes, the conjun&ion were much better inferted : ' that the 
 memory,' &c. 
 
 {[7] Never fo -This phrafc, fgys Mr. Johnfon, is juftly ac- 
 cuSed of folecifm. U fliould he, ever ib wifely ; that is, ho-w 
 wifely y;rr. ' Befides, a Have would not have been admitted 
 into that fociety, had he had never fncb opportunities.' Dentley, 
 DiflVrt, on Phularis, p, 338, 
 
no INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 preiTmg a companion of quality; " To fee thy 
 glory, fo as I have feen thee in the fan&uary :* 
 but with a negative and an adjective, a compari- 
 fon in refpecl: of quantity; as, " Pompey had 
 eminent abilities: but he was neither fo eloquent 
 and polite a flatefman, nor fo brave and fkilful a. 
 general ; nor was he upon the whole fo great a 
 man, as Csefar:"^ -r , that; expreffing a con- 
 fequence ; &c (8)* 
 
 INTERJECTIONS 
 
 [8] I have been the more particular in noting the proper ufes 
 of thefe conjunctions ; becaufc they occur very frequently, and, 
 as it was obfcrvcd before of connective words in genera), are of 
 great importance with refpecl to the ckarnefs and beaut)- of ftyle. 
 I may add too, becaufe miftakes in the ufe of them are very com 
 mon ; as it will appear by the following examples 
 
 The diftributive conjunction either is fometimes improperly ufed 
 alone, imlead of the fimple disjunctive or i ' Can the fi^-tree 
 bear olive berries? either a vine, figs?' James, iii. 12. ' Why 
 beholdeft thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye? bur perceiv 
 ed not the beam that is in thine own eye ? Either how canil thou 
 fay to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in 
 thine eye; when thou thyfelf beholdeft not the beam that is thine 
 own eye?' Luke, vi. 41, 42. See allb chap. xv. 8. and Phil, 
 iii. 12. 
 
 Neither is fometimes fuppofed to be included in its correfpond- 
 er,t nor: 
 
 ' Simoisor Xanthusfhall be wanting there.' Dryden. 
 
 * That all the application he could make, nor the King's own 
 interpofition, could prevail with her Majefty.' Clarendon, Hift. 
 vol. III. p. 179. Sometimes tu be fupplied by a fubfequcnt ne 
 gative: * His rule holdeth ftill, that nature, nor the engagement 
 of words, are not fo forcible as cuflom.' Bacoi',Effay xxxix. ' The 
 King nor the Queen were not at all deceived.' Clarendon, vol. If." 
 p. 363. Thefe forms of exprefllon feem both of them equally 
 improper. 
 
 ^ Or is fometimes ufed inftead of nor, after neither : 'This is ano 
 ther ufe, that, in my opinion, contributes rather to make a man 
 learned than wife, and is neither capable of pleating the under- 
 ilauding, or imagination,' Addifon, Dial. I. on Medals. 
 
 Neither 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. in 
 
 INTER j LOTIONS in Englifli, have no govern 
 ment-. 
 
 Though 
 
 Ndtl'cr for nor : * Neither in this world, ntiibtr in the world 
 to come,' Mat. xri. 33. 
 
 So , as, was ufecl by the writers tf the laft century, to 
 
 exprefs a confequence, inftead of i'o , iLat: Examples; ' And 
 
 the third part of the ftars was fmitfen 1 . /. as (that) the third 
 part of ihem was darkened' Rtv. viii. 12. "The relations 
 areyi uncertain, as (that) they require a great deal of examina 
 tion." Bacon, Nat. Hilt. ' So (as that) it is a hard calumny 
 to affirm .' Temple. ' So as (that) hh thoughts might be 
 feen.' Bentley, Differt. .ZEfop's Fables, Sr<ft. vi. 'There 
 was feme-thing fo amiable, and yet/0 piercing in his looks, a; 
 (that it) infpirtd me at once with love und terror,' Addil-jn, 
 Speft. No. 63. 'This computation being/c eafy and trivia), as 
 (that) it is a ihame to mention it.' Swift, Conduct of the Al 
 lies. ' That the Spaniards \vcrcfo violently affected to the Houle 
 of Auftria, as (that) the whole kingdom would revolt.' Ibid. 
 Swift, I believe, is the laft of our good writer?, whohasfre- 
 tjuently ufed this manner of expreflion : it feems improper, and 
 is defervedly grown obfolete. 
 
 As inftead of that, in another manner; ' If a man have that 
 penetration of judgment, as (that) he can difctrn what thing?, 
 are to be laid open.' Bacon, 1'lTay vi. 'It is the nature of 
 extreme felf-lovers, c; (that) they will fet an houfe on fire, and 
 it were but to roaft their eggs.' Id EfTny xxiii. ' They would 
 have given him fuch fatisfa&ion in other particulars, as (that) a 
 full and happy peace muii have enfued. Clarendon, Vcl, 11L 
 p. ai4 
 
 ' I gain'd a fon , 
 And fuch a f6n,a- r all men haii'd me happy.'' 
 
 Milton, Samf. Ag, 
 
 * We fhould fufficiently weigh the objects of our hope ; whe 
 ther they be luch, as (that) we may rsafcnably expedt from them 
 what they propoie in their fruition, and whether they are fuch, 
 as we are pretty fure of attaining.' Addifon, Spe&. No. 535. 
 'France was then difpofed to conclude a peace upon fuch condi 
 tions, as (that) it was not worththe life of a granadier to refufe 
 them.' Swift, Four laft year's of the Queen, B. ii. 
 
 As inftead of the relative that t ii-iy or ivbich ; " An it had not 
 been for a civil gentleman, as (who) came by ." Sir J. Wittoli, 
 in Congreve'sOid Bachelor. 'The Duke had not behaved with 
 that loyalty, as (with which) he ought to have done.' Claren 
 don, 
 
112 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Though they are ufually attended with nouns 
 
 in 
 
 don, Vol. II. p. 460 With thofe thoughts j (which) might 
 contribute to their honor ' Ibid. p. 565. ' In the order, as 
 they lie in his preface.' Middleton, Works, Vol. 111. p. 8. 
 It ought to be. either, ( in or^r, as they lie;' or, * in the order 
 In ivl-cb they lie.' * Securing to youdtives a fucceffion of able 
 and worthy men, as (whi.h cr who) may adorn this place.' 
 Attcrbt.ry, sermon?, r V. 12. 
 
 The re'ntivt ibat inftead of PS ; ' Such fharp replies that (a?) 
 cofc him his life in a few monrhs after ' Clarendon, Vol.111. 
 p, 179. And mftcad ^ fucb : ' If he was truly that (fa ch a) 
 J'care crow, a: he is now commonly painted. But I wifh I could 
 co tbst (fu--h)juftice to the memory of our Phrygian, (as) to 
 tf^V* the' painters to change their pencil.' Bentiey, Diflert. on 
 JEfnp's Fables, Secl.x. 
 
 'I he relative iulo , in ft e ad of as : ' There was no man, Jo 
 
 furj-Kine, ivho did not apprehend fome ill conlequence from the 
 late change.' Swift, Examiner, No 24. It ought to be, eirher, 
 * fu fanzine, as not to app, fb'uc!^ or, ' There was no man, Lciv 
 f$ng\j.mejbever > who did not apprehend.' 
 
 Ai improperly omitted : ' Cimucer followed nature every 
 where ; hut wa~ ncver/t- !:old (as) to go beyond her.' Dryden, 
 Preface to Fables. ' Which no body prcfumes, or isyi fatiguine 
 (as) to hope. 1 Swift, Drap. Let. v. 'They are/; bold (as) to 
 pronounce.' Swift, Tale of a Tub, Sect. vii. ' That the dif- 
 courfing on politic 4 fhall be looked upon as (as) dull as talking on 
 ihe weather.' Addiion, Freeholder, No 38. 
 
 The conjunction but inftead of than : ' TQ truft in Chrid is no 
 more but to acknowledge him for God.' Hobbes-, Human Na 
 ture, chap. xi. II. ' They will concern the female fex only, and 
 import no more but that iubjfdlion, they fhould ordinarily be in, 
 to their hufbands.' I,ocke. ' The full moon was no fooner up, 
 and Ihining in aU its brightnefs, but he privately opened the gate 
 of parudifc. Add:fin, Guardian, No. 167. 
 
 Too , tJj.it, improperly uftd as correspondent conjun&ionp. : 
 
 { Whofe characters are too profligate, ibat the managing of them 
 ihould be of any confequence.' Swift, Examiner, No. 24. 
 
 And, too , than : ' You that are a ftep higher than a Philo- 
 
 fiphcr, a divine ; yet have too much grace and wit than to be a 
 
 bifhop.' Pope, to Swift, Letter go. So but: 'Iftheap. 
 
 pointing and apportioningof penalties to crimes be noty properly 
 a conuderation of juQice, but ratler (as) of prudence in the 
 l-iw-givcr.' TilU.tfon, Serm. I, 35* And to conclude \\ichaa 
 example, in which, whatever may be thought of the accuracy of 
 
 the 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 113 
 
 in the nominative cafe, [9] and verbs in the indi 
 cative mode; yet the cafe and mode is not influ 
 enced by them, but determined by the nature of-" 
 the fentcnce; 
 
 La 
 
 the esprefiion, the juftnefsof the obfervation will be atknowkdg- - 
 ed; which may fervealib as :in apology for this and many oftfie 
 preceding notes : ' No errors are fo trivial, but they defcrve to : 
 be mended.' Pope to Stecle, Letter 9. 
 
 [9] Ah me !' feems fo be a phrafe of the fame nature with- 
 ' Wo is me !' fcr-tkc refcluticn of which fee above^ p, 98. note.- 
 
 PUNCTUATION; 
 
xi 4 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 PUNCTUATIO N. 
 
 UNCTUATION is. the art of marking in 
 writing the feveral paufes, or -rcfts, between 
 fentences, and the parts of fentences, according 
 to.their proper quantity or proportion, as they are 
 exprefied in a juft and accurate pronunciation. 
 
 As the feveral articulate founds, the fyllabies 
 and words, of which fentences confift, are mark 
 ed by letters j fo the refts and paufes, between 
 fentences and their parts, are marked by points. 
 
 But, though the feveral articulate founds are 
 pretty fully and exactly marked by Letters of 
 known and determinate power , yet the feveral 
 paufes, which are ufed in a juft pronunciation of 
 difcourfe, are very imperfectly expreffed by points. 
 
 For the different degrees of connexion between 
 the feveral parts of fentences, and the different 
 caufes in a jull pronunciation, which exprefs thofe 
 degrees of connection according to their proper 
 value, admit of great variety ; but the whole 
 number of points, which we have to exprefs this 
 variety, amounts only to four. 
 
 Hence it is, that we are under a neceffity of 
 exprefling paufes of the fame quantity, on differ 
 ent occafions, by different points ; and more fre 
 quently, of expreffing paufes of different quantity 
 by the fame points. 
 
 So that the doctrine of punctuation mutt needs 
 be very imperfect : few prccife rules can be given, 
 
 which 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 115 
 
 which will hold without exception in all cafes ; 
 but much rnuft be left to the judgment and tafte 
 of the writer. 
 
 On the other hand, if a greater number of 
 marks were invented to exprefs all the poffible 
 different paufes of pronunciation ; the doctrine of 
 them would be very perplexed and difficult, and 
 the ufe of them, would rather embarrafs than 
 amfl the reader. 
 
 It remains therefore, that we be content with 
 the rules of punctuation, laid down with as much 
 exactnefs, as the nature of the fubject will admit : 
 fuch as may ferve for a general direction, to be 
 accommodated to different occafions ; and to be 
 fupplied, where deficient, by the writer's judg 
 ment. 
 
 The feveral degrees of connection between 
 fentences, and between their principal conftruc- 
 tive parts, rhetoricians have confidered under the 
 following diftinctions, as the mod obvious and 
 remarkable : the Period, Colon, Semicolon, and 
 Comma. 
 
 The period is the whole fentence complete in 
 hfelf, wanting nothing co make a full and perfect 
 fenfe, and not connected in conftruttion with a 
 fubfequent fentence. 
 
 The colon or member, is a chief conftructive 
 part, or greater divifion of a fentence. 
 
 The femicolon or half member, is a lefs con 
 ftructive part or fubdivifion ; of a fentence or 
 member. A 
 
i . t 
 
 I is thus marked 
 
 ji6 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 A fentence or member is again fubdivided inter 
 commas or fegments ; which are the lead con- 
 ftrudUve fenfe of a fentence or member, in this 
 way of confulering it ; for the next fubdivifioiv 
 would be the resolution of it into phrafes and 
 words. 
 
 The grammarians have followed this divifion 
 of the rhetoricians, and have appropriated to each 
 of thefe diflinclions its mark, or point ; which 
 takes its name from the part of the fentence, 
 which it is employed to diftinguifii ; as follows *, 
 
 The Period f. 
 
 The Colon 
 
 H-M o i 
 The Semicolon 
 
 The Comma j 
 
 The proportional quantity or time of the points, 
 with refpecl: to one another, is determined by the 
 following general rule : The Period is a-paufe in 
 quantity or duration double of the colon j the 
 colon is double of the femicolon ; and the femi-- 
 colon is double of the commtu. So that they are 
 in the fame proportion to one another, as the fe- 
 mibreve, the minim, and the crotchet> and the 
 quaver, in mufic. The precife quantity, or du-- 
 ration, of each paufe or note cannot be deiined 5.;. 
 for that varies with the time ; and both in difcourfe 
 and mufic, the fame compofition may be rehearfed 
 in a quicker or a flower time : but in mufic the 
 proportion between the notes remains ever the ' 
 fame j and in difeourfe, if the doclrine. of punc 
 
 tuation * 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 117 
 
 tuation were exaft, the proportion between the 
 paufes would be ever invariable. 
 
 The points being then defigned to exprefs the 
 paufes, which depend on the different degrees of 
 connection between fentences, and between their 
 principal conftruclive parts > in order to under- 
 ftand the meaning of the points, and to know how 
 to apply them properly, we muft confider the 
 nature of the fentence, as divided into its princi 
 pal conftrudlive parts ; and the degrees of connec 
 tion between thofe parts, upon which fuch divi- 
 fion of it depends. 
 
 To begin with the leaft of thefe principal con- 
 ftruclive parts, the Comma. In order the more 
 clearly to determine the proper application of the 
 point which marks it, we muft diftinguifh between 
 an imperfect phrafe, a fimple fentence, and a 
 compounded fentence. 
 
 An imperfect: phrafe contains no afiertion, or 
 does not amount to a proportion or fentence. 
 
 A fimple fentence has but one fubjecl:, and one 
 finite verb. 
 
 A compounded fentence has more than one 
 fubjecl:, or one finite verb, either cxpreffed or 
 underftood j or it confifts of two or more fimple 
 fentences connecled together. 
 
 In a fentence, the f object and the verb may be 
 each of them accompanied with feveral adjuncts ; 
 as the object, the end, the circumftances of time, 
 place, anj manner,, and the like : and this, eithey 
 
 immediately 
 
ir8 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 immediately or mediately ; that is, by being doit- 
 neded with fomething which is conneded with 
 fome other j and fo on. 
 
 If the feveral adjunds afFed the fubjed or the 
 verb in a different manner,, they are only fo many 
 imperfect phrafes \ and the fentence is fimple. 
 
 A fimple fentence admits of no point by which 
 it may be divided, or ciiltinguifhed into parts. 
 
 If the feveral adjuncts affed the fubjed or verb 
 in the fame ma-nner, they may be refolved into fo 
 many fimple fentences ; the fentence then becomes 
 compounded, and it mud be divided into its parts 
 by points. 
 
 For if there are feveral fubjeds belonging in the 
 fame manner to one verb, or feveral verbs belong 
 ing in the fame manner to one fubjed, the fubjeds 
 and verbs, are fliil to be accounted equal in num 
 ber: for every verb rr.uft have its fubjed and every 
 fubjed its verb; and every one of the fubjefrs or 
 verbs, fhould cr may have its point of diflindion, 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 " The paffion for praife produces excellent 
 cffe&s in women of fenfe." Addifon, Sped. No. 
 73. In this fentence pn$on is the fubjed, and 
 produces the verb : each of which is accompanied 
 and conneded with its adjunds. The fubjed is 
 not paffion in general, but a particular paffion de 
 termined by its adjund of fpecification, as we 
 may call it, the paffiony^r praife. So likewife the 
 verb is immediately conneded with its objedj 
 
 excellent 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 119 
 
 excellent effects; and mediately, that is, by the 
 intervention of the word effeEiS) with women, the 
 fubjedl in which thefe effects are produced; 
 which again is connected with its adjunct of fpe~ 
 clfication ; for it is not meant of women in gene 
 ral, but of women of fenfe only- Laftly, it is to 
 be obferved, that the verb is connected with each 
 of thefe feveral adjuncts in a different manner : 
 namely, with effects, as the object; with women, 
 as the fubject of them; with fenfe, as the quality 
 or characteriftic of thofe women. The adjuncts 
 therefore are only fo many imperfect phrafes ; 
 the fentence is a dm pie fentence, and admits of 
 no point, by which it may be diftinguiilied into 
 parts. 
 
 " The pa (lion for praife, which is fo very ve 
 hement in the fair fex, produces excellent effects 
 in women of fenfe." Here a new verb is intro 
 duced, accompanied with adjuncts of its own ; and 
 the fubjecl is repeated by the relative pronoun 
 ivhicb. It now becomes a compounded fentence, 
 made up of two fimple fentences, one of which 
 is inferted in the middle of the other ; it muft 
 therefore be diftinguifhed into its component 
 parts by a point placed on each fide of the additi 
 onal fentence. 
 
 " How many inftances have we [in the fair 
 fex] of chaftity, fidelity, devotion? How many 
 ladies diftinguiih themfelves by the education of 
 their children, care of their family, and love of 
 
 their 
 
120 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 their hufbands : which are the g.-eat qualities and 
 atchievements of \vomankind: as the making of 
 war, the carrying on of traffic, the admimftration 
 of juftice, are thofe by which men grow famous, 
 and get themfelves a name, 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 In the fir (I of thcfe two fentences, the adjuncts 
 chajlityy fidelity t divcthn, are connected with the 
 verb by the word injiances in the fame manner, 
 and in effect make ib many diftintl: fentences :" 
 How many inilances have we of chaftity ? How 
 many instances have we of fidelity ? How many 
 instances have we of devotion?" They mufb there 
 fore be feparated from one another by a point. 
 The fame may be faid of the adjuncts, " educa 
 tion of their children, &c." in the former part 
 of the next fentence : as likewife of the feveral 
 fubjccts, " the making of war, &c." in the lat 
 ter part, which have in effect each their verb ; 
 for each of thefe (< is an atchievement by which 
 men grow famous." 
 
 As fentences themfelves are divided into fimple 
 and compounded, fo the members of fentences 
 may be divided likewife into fimple and com 
 pounded members : for whole fentences, whether 
 fimple or compounded, may become members of 
 other fentences, by means of fome additional 
 connection. 
 
 Simple members of fentences clofely connefted 
 together in one compounded member or fentence, 
 
 are 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. zAi 
 
 are diftinguifhed or feparated by a comma, as ; in 
 the foregoing examples. 
 
 So likewife, the cafe abfolute ; nouns in oppo- 
 fition, when confiding of many terms ; the parti 
 ciple with fomething depending on it ; are to be 
 diftinguimed by the comma, for they may be re- 
 folved into fimple members. 
 
 When an addrefs is made to a perfon, the 
 noun, anfwering to the vocative cafe in Latin, is 
 diftinguimed by a comma. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 " This faid, he form'd thee, Adam; thee, 
 
 O man, 
 
 Duft of the ground." 
 
 " Now morn, her rofy fteps in th' eaftern clime, 
 Advancing, fow'd the earth with orient pearl." 
 
 Milton. 
 
 Two nouns, or two adje&ives, connected by a 
 fingle copulative or disjunctive, are not feparated 
 by a point : but when there are more than two, 
 or where the conjunction is underftood, they mull 
 be diftinguimed by a comma. 
 
 Simple members connected by relatives, and 
 comparatives, are for the mod part diftinguilhed 
 by a comma, but when the members are (hort, in 
 comparative fentences ; and when two members 
 are clofely connected by a relative reftraining the 
 general notion of the antecedent to a particular 
 fenfe ; the paufe becomes almofl infenfible, and 
 the comma is better omitted. 
 
 M EXAMPLES- 
 
122 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 " Raptures, tranfports, and extafies, are the 
 rewards which they confer : fighs and tears, pray 
 ers and broken hearts, are the offerings which are 
 paid to them." Addifon, Ibid. 
 
 * Gods partial, changeful, paflionate, unjuft ; 
 Whofe attributes were rage, revenge, or luft." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 " What is fweeter than honey ? and what is 
 ftronger than a lion ? 
 
 A circumftance of importance, though no more 
 than an imperfect phrafe, may be fet off with a 
 comma on each fide, to give it greater force and 
 diftinclion. 
 
 EXAMPLE. 
 
 " The principal may be defective or faulty : 
 but the confequences it produces are fo good, that, 
 for the benefit of mankind, it ought not to be ex- 
 tinguimed." Addifon, Ibid. 
 
 A member of a fentence, whether fimple or 
 compounded, that requires a greater paufe than a 
 comma, yet does not of itfelf make a complete 
 fentence, but is followed by fomethirig clofely de 
 pending on it, may be diftinguifhed by a femicolon. 
 
 EXAMPLE. 
 
 " But as this paflion for admiration, when it 
 works according to reafon, improves the beautiful 
 part of our fpecies in every thing that is laudable ; 
 fo nothing is more definitive to them, when it is 
 governed by vanity and folly." Addifon, Ibid, 
 
 Here 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 123 
 
 Here the whole fentence is divided into two 
 parts by the feraicolon ; each of which parts is a 
 compounded member, divided into its firnple 
 members by the comma. 
 
 A member of a fentence, whether iimple or 
 compounded, which of itfelf would make a com 
 plete fentence, and fo requires a greater paufe 
 than a femicolon, yet is followed by an additional 
 part, making a more full and perfect fenfe, may 
 be diftinguifned by a colon. 
 
 EXAMPLE. 
 
 " Were all books reduced to their quinteflence 
 many a bulky author would make his appearance 
 in a penny paper : there would be fcarce any fuch 
 thing in nature as a folio : the works of an age' 
 would be contained on a few iheives : not to men 
 tion millions of volumes, that would be utterly 
 annihilated." Addifon, Speft. No. 124. 
 
 Here the whole fentence is divided into four 
 parts by colons : the firft and laft of which are 
 compounded members, each divided by a comma ; 
 the fecond and third are fimple members. 
 
 When a femicolon has preceded, and a greater 
 paufe is (till neceflary, a colon may be employed, 
 though the fentence be incomplete. 
 
 The colon is alfo commonly ufed, when an 
 example, or a fpeech is introduced. 
 
 When a fentence is fo far perfectly finimed as 
 not to be connected in conftru&ion with the fol 
 lowing fentence, it is marked with a period. 
 
 In 
 
i2 4 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 In all cafes, the proportion of the feveral points 
 in refpecl: to one another, is rather to be regarded, 
 than their fuppofed precife quantity, or proper 
 office, when taken feparately. 
 
 Befide the points, which mark the paufes in 
 difcourfe, there are others which denote a differ 
 ent modulation of the voice in correfpondence with 
 the fenfs. Thefe are 
 
 The interrogation point, ") C ? 
 
 rpi . ( thus \ 
 
 ihe exclamation point, > , , < 
 
 rp, i /- \ marked ) /x 
 
 The parenthefis, } CO 
 
 The interrogation and exclamation points are 
 fufficiently explained by their names : they are in 
 determinate as to their quantity or time, and may 
 be equivalent i'n that refpeft to a femicolon, a colon 
 or a period, as the fenfe requires. They mark 
 an elevation of the voice. 
 
 The parenthefis inclofes in the body of a fen- 
 tence a member inferted into it, which is neither 
 necefTary to the fenfe, nor at all affe&s the con- 
 ftru&ion. It makes a moderate depreffion of the 
 voice, with a paufe greater than a comma. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 125 
 
 A PRAXIS; 
 
 Or, Example of Grammatical Rtfolution. 
 
 I. TN the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius 
 Csefar, Pontius Pilate being governor of 
 Judea, the word of God came unto John, the 
 ion of Zacharias, in the wildernefs. 
 
 2. And he came into all the country about 
 Jordan, preaching the Baptifm of repentance for 
 the remiflion of fins. 
 
 3. And the fame John had his raiment of ca 
 mel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins 5 
 and his meat was locufts and wild honey. 
 
 4. Then faid he to the multitude, that came 
 forth to be baptized of him : O generation of vi 
 pers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath 
 to come ? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for 
 repentance. 
 
 5. And as all men mufed in their hearts of 
 John, whether he were the Chrift, or net ; John 
 anfwered, faying unto them all : I indeed bap 
 tize 'you with water \ but one mightier than I 
 cometh, the latchet of whcfe fhoes I am not 
 worthy to unloofe : he {hall baptize you with the 
 Holy Ghoil and with fire. 
 
 6. Now when all the people were baptized, it 
 came to pafs, that, Jefus alfo being baptized and 
 praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy 
 Ghoft defcended in a bodily {hape, like a dove, 
 
 M ^ ucon 
 
126 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 upon him ; and lo ! u voice from heaven faying ; 
 This is my beloved ion, in whom I am well 
 plea fed. 
 
 1. In is a prepcfition , the, the definite article; 
 fifteenth^ an adjeclive ; year, a fubftantive, or 
 noun, in the objective cafe, governed by the pre- 
 pofition in; of, a prepofition; the reign, a fub 
 ftantive, obj^ltive cafe, governed by the prepo- 
 fitioii of i of Tiberius Cxfar, both fubftantives, 
 proper names, government and cafe as before ; 
 Pontius Pilate, proper names ; being, the prefent 
 participle of the verb neuter to be , governor, a fub 
 ftantive ; of 'J ude a, a proper name, government 
 and cafe as before : Ponlius Pilate being governor, is 
 the cafe abfolute ; that is, the nominative cafe 
 with a participle without a verb following and 
 agreeing with it ; the meaning is the fame as, 
 ivken Pilate was governor : the word, a fubftantive ; 
 of God, a fubftantive $ came, a verb neuter, indi 
 cative mode, paft time, third perfon fingular num 
 ber, agreeing with the nominative cafe ivord ; unto 
 a prepofition ; John, a proper name j the fon, a 
 fubftantive, put in appofition to John ; that is, in 
 the fame cafe, governed by the fame prepofition 
 unto ; of Zacharias, a proper name ; in, a prepo- 
 ikion ; the nvildernefs, a fubftantive, government 
 and cafe as before. 
 
 2. dnd, a conjunction copulative ; he, a pro 
 noun, third perfon fingular, mafculine gender, 
 nominative cafe, (landing for John came, as before 
 
 into. 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 127 
 
 into, a prepofition ; all, an adjective j the country, 
 a fubftantive ; about, a prepofition ; Jordan, a 
 proper name ; preaching, the prefenf: p;ir iciple of 
 the verb active to preach, joined like an a 'jective 
 to the pronoun /6<? ; the bapt;.f:,i, a fubftantive ia 
 the objective cafe, following ihe verb active 
 preaching^ and governed by it : of repentance, a 
 fubft. government and cafe as before ; /or, a prep. 
 the remijffion of fins, fubftantives, the latter in the 
 plural number, government and cafe as before. 
 
 3. And, (b. that is, as before) the fame, an ad 
 jective j John (b) bad, a verb active, indicative 
 mode, paft time, third perfon fingular, agreeing 
 with the nominative cafe John / bis, a pronoun, 
 third perfon fingular, poffeffive cafe ; raiment, a 
 fubftantive in the objective cafe, following the 
 verb active had, and governed by it ; of camel's, a 
 fubftantive, pofleflive cafe ; bair, fubftantive, ob 
 jective cafe, governed y the prepofition cf, the 
 fame as, of the hair cf a camel; and, (b) a the in 
 definite article ; leathern, an adj. girdle, a fubft. 
 about (b) kis (b) loins, fubft. plural number ; and 
 his, (b) meat, fubft. was, indicative mode, paft 
 time, third perfon fingular of the verb neuter to be 
 locitfts, fubft. plural number, nominative cafe after 
 the verb was 3 and, (b) wild 9 adjective j honey % 
 fubft. 
 
 4. Then, an adverb ; faid, a verb active, paft 
 time, third perfon fingular, agreeing with the 
 nominative cafe be, (b.) to, a prep, the multitude, 
 
 fubft. 
 
128 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 fubft. objective cafe, governed by the prep, to ; 
 that, a relative pronoun; its antecedent is the mul 
 titude s came y (b.) forth, an adverb ^ to, a prep, 
 and before a verb, the fign of the infinitive mode, 
 he baptized, a verb paflive, made of the participle 
 pailive of the verb to baptize, and the auxiliary 
 verb to be, in the infinitive mode; of him, pro 
 noun, third perfon fingular, (landing for John 
 in the obje&ive cafe governed by the prepofition 
 of; 0, an interjection ; generation, fubftantive, 
 nominative cafe ; cf vipers fubft. plural number ; 
 why an interrogative pronoun : hath warned, a 
 verb active, prefent perfect time, made of the 
 perfect participle warned ', and the auxiliary verb 
 hath, third perfon fingular, agreeing with the 
 nominative cafe ; 'who, you, pronoun fecond per 
 fon plnral, objective cafe, following the verb 
 active 'warned, and governed by it ; to fee, verb 
 neuter, infinitive mode ; from, a prep, the wrath, 
 fub. objective cafe, governed by the prey, from , 
 to come, verb neuter, infinitive mode ; bring) verb 
 active, imperative mode, fecond perfon plural, 
 agreeing with the nominative cafe ye underftood ; 
 as if it were, bring ye : forth an adverb ; therefore, 
 a conjunction ; fruits, a fubft. plural, objective 
 cafe, following the verb active bring, and governed 
 by it ; meet an adjective, joined to fruits, but 
 placed after it, becaufe it has fomething depend 
 ing on it ; for repentance,, a fubft, governed by a 
 proportion, as before. 
 
 5- 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 120, 
 
 5. Andy (b.) as, a conjunction ; ally (b.) men, 
 fubft. plural number , mufed, a verb neuter, paft 
 time, third perfon plural, agreeing with the nomi 
 native cafe men; in, (b.) their, a pronominal 
 adjective, from the pronoun they ; hearts, fubft. 
 plural number, objective cafe governed by the 
 prep, in; of John, (b.) whether, a conjunction ; 
 he, (b.) were, fubjun&ive mode, governed by 
 the conjunction whether, paft time, third perfon 
 fmg. of the verb to be, agreeing with the nomi 
 native cafe he ; the Chrifl, fubil. nominative cafe 
 after the verb ivere ; or, a disjunctive conjunc 
 tion, correfponding to the preceding conjunction 
 whether; not, an adverb ; John, (b.) anf'wered, a 
 verb neuter, indicative mode, paft time, third 
 perfon, fing. agreeing with the nominative cafe 
 John ; fayingy prefent participle of the verb 
 active to fay, joined to the fubftantive John ,- unto t 
 (b.) them, a pronoun, third perfon plural, objec 
 tive cafe, governed by the prepofition unto ; all, 
 (b.) 1, pronoun, firft perfon fingular ; indeed, an 
 adverb, baptize, a verb active, indicative mode, 
 prefent time, firft perfon fmgular, agreeing with 
 the nominative cafe I; you, pronoun, fecond per 
 fon plural, objective cafe, following the verb 
 active baptize, and governed by it , with, a prep. 
 water, fubft. but a disjunctive conjunction ; one, 
 a pronoun, ftanding for fome perfon not mention 
 ed by name ; mightier, an adjective in the com 
 parative degree, from the pofitive mighty ; than, 
 
130 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 a conjunction, ufed after a comparative word ; I, 
 (b.) the verb am being underftood > that is, than 
 lam; cometh, a verb neuter, indicative mode, 
 prefent time, third perfon fing, agreeing with the 
 nominative cafe one; the latchet, fubft. of, (b.) 
 ivhofe, pronoun relative, one being the antecedent 
 to it, in the poiTeffive cafe; floes, fubft. plural ; 
 1, (b.) am, indicative mode, prefent time, fir II 
 perfon fing. of the verb to be, agreeing with the 
 nominative cafe, // not, (b.) 'worthy, an adjec 
 tive ; to vnloofe, a verb ative, in the infinitive 
 mode, governing the fubftantive foichet, in the 
 objective cafe ; ke, (\>.) flail baptize, a verb active, 
 indicative mode, future time, made by the aujc- 
 iliaryyvW/, third perfon fing. agreeing with the 
 nominative cafe he's you, (b.) with the, (b ) Hety, 
 an adjeclive ; Ghoft, a fubfl. and with, (b.)Jire, 
 a fubitantive 5, this and the former both in the 
 objective cafe governed by -the prep, with- 
 
 6. NGIV, .an adverb; ivben, a conjuntion-; all, 
 $>.} the people, a fubfl. iv ere baptized, a verb paf- 
 five, made of the. auxiliary verb to &? joined with 
 the participle paffive of the verb to baptize, indica 
 tive mode, pail time, third perfon plural, agree 
 ing with the nominative cafe fingular people, being 
 a noun of multitude, //, pronoun, third perfon 
 fmguiar, neuter gender, nominative cafe ; came, 
 (b.) to pafs, verb neuter, infinitive mode ; that, 
 a conjunction; Jefus, a proper name; alfo,. an 
 adverb ; being, piefent participle of the verb to 
 
 be; 
 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 131 
 
 be ; baptized, participle pafiive of the verb to bap 
 tize ; and, (b.) praying, prefent participle of the 
 verb neuter to pray ; Jefns being baptized and pray 
 ing is the cafe abfolute, as before ; the heaven, 
 fubftantive; was opened, verb paflive, indicative 
 mode, pad time, third perfonal fingular, agree 
 ing with the nominative cafe heaven, the auxiliary 
 verb to be, being joined to the participle paflive, 
 as before; and the Holy Ghofl, (b.) dtfcended, verb 
 neuter, indicative mode, pad time, third perfon 
 fingular, agreeing with the nominative cafe Ghofl ; 
 in a, (b.)< bodily, an adjective ; faape, a fubftan 
 tive ; like, an adjective ; a dove, a fubftantive, 
 objective cafe, the prepofition to being underftood, 
 that is, like to a dove ; upon, prepofition ; him, 
 pronoun, third perfon fingular, objective cafe 
 governed by the prepofition upon ; and, (b.) lo, an 
 interjection ; a voice, fubftantive, nominative cafe, 
 there ivas, being underftood ; that is, there ivas 
 a voice : from, prepofition ; Heaven, fubftantive, 
 objective cafe ; $) faying* (bO f his, a pronomi 
 nal adjective, perfon being underftood ; //, indi 
 cative mode, prefent time, of the verb to be, third 
 perfon fingular, agreeing with the nominative 
 cafe this; my, a pronominal adjective: beloved, 
 an adjective 5 Son, a fubftantive, nominative cafe 
 after the verb //; in, (b.) ivhom, pronoun rela 
 tive, objective cafe governed by the prepofition 
 in, the fubftantive Son being its antecedent ; / am, 
 (b.) well, an adverb ; pleafed, the paflive participle 
 
 of 
 
13* 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 of the verb to pleafe, making with the auxiliary 
 verb am a paflive verb, in the indicative mode, 
 prefent time, firft perfon fmgular> agreeing with 
 the nominative cafe /.