[890 677 UC-NRLF SB 30b T3b %/j THE FIRST LINES 1 .ENGLISH GRAMMAR; A BRIEF ^S'AtAfifcT ^«" THOR'S LAI IRK, T% N« DES1G \ ';y .gold brown : : ; 7 a G*i Quintilian. 1 ■ NEW 1 y „ *-*jf GIFT OF Professor Beatrice C, Cornish ? £» ^o e@> H>, A> IfUs, l&a, *"V% v y. "SjlILq MX* #& £*x x -wx>- '■A t THE FIRST LINES ENGLISH GRAMMAR; BEING A BRIEF ABSTRACT OF THE AUTHOR'S LARGER WORK DESIGNED FOR YOUNG LEARNERS. BY GOOLD B ROWN Ne quia igitur tanquam parva f'astidiat Grammatices elementa.— Quintilian. The rudiments of every language must be given as a task, not as an amuse- ment.— Goldsmith. NEW YORK : SAMUEL S & WILLIAM WOOD: 1857. z* education libr; T3n!«re<1, according to Act of Congress, in the vear 18f . R Y GOOLD BROWS. In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. PREFACE. 940 8377 The following epitome contains a general outline of-. the principles of our language, as embodied and illustrated in " The Institutes of English Grammar." The definitions and expla- nations here given, are necessarily few and short. The writer has endeavoured to make them as clear as possible, and as co- pious as his limits would allow ; but it is plainly impracticable to crowd into the compass of a work like this, all that is import- ant ill the grammar of our language. Those who desire a more complete elucidation of the subject, are invited to examine the larger work. For the use of young learners, small treatises are generally preferred to large ones ; because they are less expensive to parents, and better adapted to the taste and capacity of chil- dren. A small treatise on Grammar, like a small map of the world, may serve to give the learner a correct idea of the more prominent features of the subject ; and to these his attention should at first be confined ; for, without a pretty accurate knowl- edge of the general scheme, the particular details and nice dis- tinctions of criticism can neither be understood nor remembered. The only successful method of teaching grammar, is, to cause the principal definitions and rules to be committed thoroughly to memory, that they may ever afterwards be readily applied. And the pupil should be alternately exercised in learning small por- M603269 IV PREFACE. tions )f his book, and then applying them in parsing, till the whole is rendered familiar. The learner who shall thus go through this little work, will, it is imagined, acquire as good a knowledge of the subject as is to be derived from any of the abridgements used in elementary schools. And, if he is to pursue the study further, he will then be prepared to read with advantage the more copious illustra- tions and notes contained in the larger work, and to enter upon the various exercises adapted to its several parts. This work is in no respect necessary to the other, as it contains the same definitions, and pursues the same plan. The use of it in the early stages of pupilage will preserve a more expensive bosk from being soiled and torn ; and the scholar's advancement to the larger work may be expected to increase his pleasure and a< celerate his progress in the study. Goold Brovh New-York % 1826 THE FIRST LINES OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR. English Grammar is the art of speaking and vriting the English language correctly. It is divided into four parts ; namely, Orthogra- phy, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody. Orthography treats of letters, syllables, separate words, and spelling. Etymology treats of the different parts of speech, and their classes and modifications. Syntax treats of the relation, agreement, govern- ment, and arrangement, of words in sentences. Prosody treats of punctuation, utterance, fig ures, and versification. PART I. ORTHOGRAPHY. Orthography treats of letters, syllables, separate words} and spelling. OF LETTERS. A Letter is a character used in printing or wri- ting, to represent an articulate sound. ENGLISH GRAMMAR. An articulate sound is a sound of the human voice, used in speaking. s The letters in the English alphabet are twenty- six ; A a, Bb, C c, D d, Be, Ff, G g, H ft, / £, J j, K k, LI, Mm, N n, O o, P p, Q q, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, X x, Yy, Z z. CLASSES OF LETTERS. The letters are divided into two general classes, cowels and consonants. A vowel is a letter which forms a perfect sound, when uttered alone. A consonant is a letter which cannot be per fcctly uttered till joined to a vowel. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w, and y. All the other letters are consonants. W and y are consonants when they precede a vowel heard in the same syllable ; as in wine, twine, whine, ye, yet, youth : in all other situations, they are vowels ; as in newly, dewy, eyebrow. Observation 1. The consonants are divided into mutes and semi- vowels. Obs. 2. A mute is a consonant which cannot be sounded at all without a vowel. The mutes are 6, rZ, k, p, q, t, and cand g hard Obs. 3. A semi-vowel is a consonant which can be imperfectly sounded without a vowel. The semi- vowels are^ h, j, /, m, n, r, s, v, cv, z, and c and g soft. Of these, /, m, w, and r,*are termed liquids, on account of the fluency of their sounds. FORMS OF THE LETTERS. «n the English language, the Roman characters are generally employed ; sometimes the Italic ; and occasionally the GDlb ©nglisl). The letters have severally two forms, by which they are distinguished as capitals and small letters. Small letters constitute the body of every work ; and capitals are used for the sake of eminence and distinction. ORTHOGRAPHY. 7 RULES FOR THE USE OF CAPITALS. RULE I. — TITLES OP BOOKS. The titles of books, and the heads of their principal divisions, should be printed in capitals. When hooks are merely mentioned, the principal words in their titles begin with capitals, and the other letters are small ; as, " Pope's Essay on Man." RULE II. — FIRST WORDS. The first word of every distinct sentence should begin with a capital. RULE III. — NAMES OF DEITY. All names of the Deity should begin with capitals; as, God, Jehovah, the Almighty, the Supreme Being. RULE IV. — PROPER NAMES. Titles of office or honor, and proper names of every description, should begin with capitals ; as, Chief Justice Hale, William, Lon- don, the Park, the Albion, the Thames. RULE V. — OBJECTS PERSO.VIFIED. The name of an object personified, when it conveys an idea strictly individual, should begin with a capital ; as, " Come, gentle Spring, ethereal mildness, come " RULE VI. — WORDS DERIVED. Words derived from proper names of persons or places, sho\ \ aegin with capitals ; as, Newtonian, Grecian, Roman. RULE VII. — I AND 0. The words /and O should always be capitals RULE VIII. POETRY. Every line in poetry should begin with a capital. RULE IX. — EXAMPLES. The first word of an example, of a d'stinct speech, or of a direct quotation, should begin with a capital ; as, " Remember this max- Ln : ' Know thyself.' " — " Virgil says, ' Labour conquers all things.' " RULE X. — CHIEF WORDS. Other words of particular importance, and such as denote the principal subject of discourse, may be distinguished by capitals. Proper names frequently have capitals throughout. 8 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. OF SYLLABLES AND WORDS. A Syllable is one or more letters pronounced in one sound, and is either a word or a part of a word ; as, a, an, ant. A Word is one or more syllables spoken or written as the sign of some idea. In every word there are as many syllables as there are distinct sounds ; as, gram-ma-ri-an. A word of one syllable is called a monosyllable; a word of two syllables, a dissyllable j a word of three syllables, a trissyllable ] and a word of four or more syllables, a polysyllable. DIPHTHONGS AND TRIPHTHONGS. A diphthong is two vowels joined in one sylla- ble 5 as, ea in beat, on in sound. A proper diphthong, is a diphthong in which both the vowels are sounded 5 as, oi in voice. An improper diphthong is a diphthong in which only one of the vowels is sounded; as, oa in loaf. A triphthong is three vowel * joined in one syl- lable ; as, eau in beau, ieic in view. A proper triphthong, is a triphthong in which all the vowels are sounded 5 as, noy in buoy. An improper triphthong, is a triphthong in which only one or two of the vowels are sounded 5 as, eau in beauty. Gos. 1. The diphthongs? in English are twenty-nine. Some oJ them, being variously sounded, may be either proper or improper. Obs. 2. The proper diphthongs are thirteen ; ay — ia, ie, it) — oi, vu, ow, oy — ua, ue, id, no, uy. Obs. 3. The improper diphthongs are twenty-six ; aa, ae, ai, ao, au, aw, ay — ea, ee, ei, eo, eu, ew, ey — ie — oa, oe, oi, oo, on, ow, — ua\ ue, id, uo, uy. Obs. 4. The only proper triphthong is uoy, given in the example above. Obs. 0. The improper triphthongs are eleven ; awe, aye — eau. eau, eivc, eye — ten, ieir, ion — oeu,owe. ORTHOGRAPHY. 9 SPECIES AND FIGURE OF WORDS. Words are distinguished as primitive or deriv- ative^ and as simple or compound. The former di- vision is called their species; the latter, their figure. A primitive word is one that is not formed from any simpler word in the language ; as, harm,greaU connect. A derivative word is one that is formed from some simpler word in the language ; as, harmless^ greatly, connected. A simple word is one that is not compounded ; as, watch, man. A compound word is one that is composed of two or more simple words j as, watchman, never- theless, n Obs. 1. Permanent compounds are consolidated ; as bookseller, schoolmaster : others are formed by the hyphen; as, glass-house, negro-merchant. Obs. 2. In dividing words into syllables, we are chiefly to be di- rected by the ear ; it may however be proper to observe the follow- ing rules. I. The consonants should generally be joined to the vowels or diphthongs which they modify ; as, ap-os-tol-i-cal. II. Derivative and grammatical terminations should genera 1 '-" *>*» separated from the radical word ; as, harm-less, great-ly, conneci-cu. III. Compounds should be divided into the simple words which compose them ; as, watch-man, never-the-less. IV. At the end of a line, a word may be divided, if necessary ; but a syllable must never be broken. OF SPELLING. Spelling is the art of expressing words hy their proper letters. Obs. This important art is to be acquired rather by means of r'.e spelling-book or dictionary, and by observation in reading, thar by the study of written rules. The orthography of our language is at- tended with much uncertainty and perplexity : many word? are va- riously spelled by the best scholars, and many others are nor usually written according to the analogy of similar words. But 30 *e igno- rant o{ the orthography of such words as are uniformly spelled and frequently used, is justly considered disgraceful. The following rules may prevent some embarrassment, anu thus be. of service to the learner. 10 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. RULES FOR SPELLING. RULE I. — FINAL F, L, OR S. M mosyllables ending in f I, or s, preceded by a single vowel double the final consonant: _s staff, mill, pass; except if, of as gas, has, was, yes, is, his, this, us, thus. RULE II. — OTHER FINALS. Words ending in any other consonant than^ I, or s, do not double the final letter ; except add, odd, ebb, egg. inn, err, purr', butt, buzz, and some proper names. RULE III. — DOUBLING. Monosyllables, and words accented on the last syllable, when they end with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double their final consonant before an additional syllable that begins with a vowel : as, rob, robber ; permit, permitting. Exception. X final, being equivalent to ks, is never doubled RULE IV. — NO DOUBLING. A final consonant, when it is not preceded by a single vowel, or when the accent is not on the last syllable, should remain single oefore an additional syllable : as, toil, toiling ; visit, visited ; general, generalize. Exc. But I and s final are often doubled, (though perhaps im- p-~^.riy,) when the last syllable is not accented : as, travel, tra- velled; bias, biassed. RULE V. — FINAL LL. Primitive words ending in 11, generally reject one I, betbre Jul, less, ly, and ness : as, skill, skilful, skilless ; full, fidly, fulness. Obs.. Words ending in any other double letter, preserve it double : as, blijgul, oddly, stiffiess, carelessness. RULE VI. — FINAL E. The final e of a primitive word is generally omitted before an additional termination beginning with a vowel : as, rate, ratable , force, forcible ; rave, raving. Exc. Words ending in ce or ge retain the e before able or ous, tc preserve the soft sound of candg-; as, peace, peaceable ; change, changeable ) outrage, outrageous. RULE VII. — FINAL E. The final e. of a primitive word is generally retained before an ORTHOGRAPHY. 11 additional termination beginning with a consonant : as, pale, pale- ness ; lodge, lodgement. Exc. When the e is preceded by a vowel, it is sometimes omit- ted: as, true, truly ; awe, awful: and sometimes retained; as, rue, rueful ; shoe, shoeless. RULE VIII. — FINAL Y. The final y of a primitive word, when preceded by a consonant, is changed into i before an additional termination : as, merry, mer- rier, merriest, merrily, merriment ; pity, pitied, pities, pitiest, piti- less, pitiful, pitiable. Exc. Before ing, y is retained, to prevent the doubling of i ; as, pity, pitying. Words ending in ie, dropping the e by rule vi. change i into y, for the same reason ; as die, dying. Obs. When a vowel precedes, y should not be changed ; as, day, days, valley, valleys ; money, moneys ; monkey, monkeys. RULE IX. — COMPOUNDS. Compounds generally retain the orthography of the simple words which compose them ; as, hereof, wherein, horseman, recall, uphill, shellfish. Exc. In permanent compounds, the words fidl and all drop one I ; as, hamlful, careful, always, withal : in others they retain both ; as, full-eyed, all-wise, save-all. Obs. Other words ending in 11 sometimes improperly drop one /, when taken into composition, as miscal, downhil. This excision is reprehensible, because it is contrary to general analogy, and because both letters are necessary to preserve the sound, and show the deri- vation of the compound. Where is the consistency of writing recall, miscal — inthrall, bethral — windfall, downfal — laystall, thumbstal — waterfall, overfal — molehill, dunghil — windmill, twibil — clodfolL enrol ? — f See Johnson's Dictionary, first American ed. 4to.] QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. LESSON I. — GENERAL DIVISION What is English Grammar ? How is it divided ? Of what does Orthography treat ? Of what does Etymology treat ? Of what does Syntax treat ? Of what does Prosody treat ? QUESTIONS ON ORTHOGRAPHY LESSON II. — LETTER8. Of what does Orthography treat ? What is a Letter ? What is an articulate sound ? 18 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. How many letters are there in English ? and what are their names ? How are the letters divided 1 What is a vowel ? What is a consonant ? What letters are vowels ? and what consonants 1 When are w and y consonants ? and when, vowels ? LESSON III. — CAPITALS. What characters are employed in English ? Has each letter more than one form ? Where are small letters employed ? and why are capitals used 1 How many rules for capitals are there ? and what are their heads ? What says Rule 1st of titles of books?— Rule 2d of first words? Rule 3d of names of Deity ? Rule 4th of proper names ? Rule 5th of objects personified ? Rule 6th of words derived ? Rule 7th of land O ? Rule 8th of poetry ? Rule 9th of examples ? Ruie 10th of chief words ? LESSON IV. — SYLLABLES AND WORDS. What is a Syllable ? What is a Word ? Can the syllables of a word be perceived by the ear 1 What is a word of one syllable called ? What is a word of two syllables called ? What is a word of three syllables called ? What is a word of four or more syllables called 1 What is a diphthong ? What is a proper diphthong ? What is an improper diphthong ? What is a triphthong ? What is a proper triphthong ? What is an improper triphthong ? How are words distinguished as to species and figure t What is a primitive word ? What is a derivative word ? What is a simple word ? What is a compound word ? LESSON V. — SPELLING. What is spelling 1 How is this art to be acquired ? How many and what are the rules for spelling ? What says Rule 1st of final fil, or s? Rule 2d of other finals'? Rule 3d of the doubling of consonants ? Rule 4th of not doubling 7 Rule 5th of final 11 ? Rule 6th of final e ? Rule 7th of final e 1 Rule 8th of final y 7 Rule 9th of compounds ? ETYMOLOGY. 13 PART II. ETYMOLOGY. Etymology treats of the different parts of speech v and their classes and modifications. OP THE PART# OF SPEECH. The Parts of speech, or sorts of words, in Eng- ish, are ten ; namely, the Article, the Noun, the Adjective, the Pronoun, the Verb, the Participle, *he Adverb, the Conjunction, the Preposition, and »he Interjection. 1. THE ARTICLE. An Article is a word placed before nouns, to limit their signification : the articles are the, and an or a. 2. THE NOUN. A Noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned : as, George, York, man, apple, truth. 3. THE ADJECTIVE. An Adjective is a word added to a noun or pro- noun, and generally expresses quality : as, A wise man ; a new book. — You two are diligent 4. THE PRONOUN. A Pronoun is a word used in stead of a noun : as, The boy loves his book 5 he has long lessons, and he learns them well. 5. THE VERB. A Verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon : as, I am, I rule, I am ruled ; I love, thou loves t, he loves, 2 14 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 6. THE PARTICIPLE. A Participle is a word derived from a verb, par- ticipating the properties of a verb and an adjec- tive 5 and is generally formed by adding ing, d, or ed, to the verb : thus, from the verb rule are formed three participles, two simple and one compound $ as, 1. ruling, 2. ruled $£. having ruled. 7. THE ADVERB. An Adverb is a word added to a verb, a parti- ciple, an adjective, or an other adverb ; and gene- rally expresses time, place, degree, or manner : as, They are now here, studying very diligently. 8. THE CONJUNCTION. A Conjunction is a word used to connect words or sentences in construction, and to show the de- pendence of the terms so connected : as, Thou and he are happy, because you are good. 9. THE PREPOSITION. A Preposition is a word used to express some re- lation of different things or thoughts to each other, and is generally placed before a noun or a pro- noun : as, The paper lies before me on the desk. 10. THE INTERJECTION. An Interjection is a word that is uttered merely to indicate some strong or sudden emotion of the mind : as, Oh I alas I PARSING. Parsing is the resolving or explaining of a sen- tence according to the definitions and rules of grammar. ETYMOLOGY. 15 EXAMPLES FOR PARSING. Ch APTER I.— ETYMOLOGICAL. k is hers required if the pupil merely to distinguish and define the different parts of speech. Thus: EXAMPLE PARSED. " Bring a long laa ler, and set it up against the tree." Bring is a verb. A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon. A is an article. An article is a word placed before nouns, to limit their signification. Long is an adjective. An adjective is a word added to a noun or pronoun, and generally expresses quality. Ladder is a noun. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned. And is a conjunction. A conjunction is a word used to connect words or sentences in construction, and to show the dependence of the terms so connected. Set is a verb. A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon. It is a pronoun. A pronoun is a word used in stead of a noun. Up is an adverb. An adverb is a word added to a verb, a participle, an ad- jective, or an other adverb ; and generally expresses time, place, degree, or manner. Against is a preposition. A preposition is a word used to express some relation of different things or thoughts to each other, and is gene- rally placed before a noun or a pronoun. The is an article. An article is a word placed before nouns, to limit their signification. Tree is a noun. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned. LESSON I. The carpenter has a saw, and a chisel, and a plane, and an adze, and a gimlet, and a hatchet, and a hammer, and nails, and a mallet, Come, let us go into the fields, and see the sheep, and the lambs, .w.d the cows, tutu the irees. 16 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. LESSON II. In the spring of the year, the weather becomes warm ; the trees bud, and put forth their leaves ; the young grass springs up out of the ground ; and the plants and shrubs appear in bloom ; the gar- dens and orchards are perfumed with fragrance, and the birds sing in the groves. LESSON III. In summer the fervid sun, darting his direct rays, oppresses us with heat. Then the waving fields of grain ripen for harvest, and the earlier kinds of fruit get ripe. (O how nice ripe fruit is!) Then the grass is mown, to provide food for the cattle against win- ter. Men cut it down with a sharp scythe ; and when it is dried, it becomes hay. Quite small boys can help to make hay. They can spread the grass when it is cut. LESSON IV. In autumn, all the late fruits ripen ; and they fall to the ground if people do not pluck them. The nights are chilled with frost The leaves wither, and the forests lose their verdure. The thick foliage of the trees now lies scattered on the ground, or, caught by the hedges, hangs quivering in the wind. No song of birds is heard in the leafless grove. LESSON V. In winter, the stormy winds blow keen and cold ; and there are snow and ice. The snow covers the ground like a white robe. Men wrap themselves in warm clothes, and live upon the food which they laid up in the time of harvest. Ah ! what will now be- come of those who were idle in summer, and thoughtless of the change which the roiling year produces ? LESSON VI. Ye summer's heat, and winter's cold ! By turns in long succession roll'd, The drooping world to cheer : Praise him who gave the sun and moon, To lead the various seasons on, And guide the circling year. — Merrick. OF THE ARTICLE. An Article is a word placed before nouns, to limit their signification : the articles are the, and an or a. ETTMOLOGY. 17 An and a are one and the same article. An Is used whenever the following word begins with a vowel sound ; as, An art, an end, an heir, an inch, an ounce, an hour, an urn. A is used whenever the following word begins with a consonant sound ; as, A man, a house, a wonder, a one, a yew, a use, a ewer. Thus the sounds of w and y, even when expressed by other letters, require a and not an before them. The articles are distinguished as the definite and the indefinite. The definite article is the, which denotes some particular thing or things; as, The boy , the oranges. The indefinite article is an or a, which denotes one thing of a kind, but not any particular one ; as, A boy, an orange. Obs. A noun without an article or other word to limit its significa- tion, is generally taken in its widest sense ; as, Man is endowed with reason. OF THE NOUN. A Noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned ; as, George, York, man, apple, truth. CLASSES. Nouns are divided into two general classes ; proper and common. A proper noun is the name of some particular individual or people 5 as, Adam Boston, the Hudson, the Romans. A common noun is the.n^me of a sort, kind, or class of things ; as, Beast, bird, fisn insect. The particular dosses, Gpllective f abstract, and verbal, are usually included among common nouns. 18 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. A collective noun, or noun of multitude, is the name of many inch viduals together; as, Council, meeting, committee, flock. An abstract noun is the name of some particular quality consider dJ apart from its substance ; as, Good)tess, hardness, pride, frailty. A verbal or participial noun is the name of some action or state of being ; and is formed from a verb, like a participle, but employed as a noun ; as, " The triumphing of the wicked is short." Job, xx. 5 MODIFICATIONS. Nouns have modifications of four kinds ; name- ly, Persons, Numbers, Genders, and Cases PERSONS. Persons, in grammar, are modifications that dis- tinguish the speaker, the hearer, and the person or thing merely spoken of. There are three persons \ the first, the second, and the third. The first person is that which denotes the speaker ; as, " / Paul have written it." The second person is that which denotes the hearer ; as, " Robert, who did this ?" The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of ; as, " James loves his book." Obs. 1. The distinction of persons belongs to nouns, pronouns and finite verbs; and to these it is always applied, either by pecu liarity of form or construction, or by inference from the principles of concord. Pronouns are like their antecedents, and verbs are like their subjects, in person. Obs. 2. The speaker seldom refers to himself by name, as the speaker ; consequently, nouns are rarely used in the first person. Obs. 3. When inanimate things are spoken to, it is by a figure ol speech, called personification. NUMBERS. Numbers are modifications that distinguish unity and plurality. ETYMOLOGY. 19 There are two numbers ; the singular and the plural. The singular number is that which denotes but one ; as, the boy learns. The plural number is that which denotes more than one ; as, The boys learn. The plural number of nouns is regularly formed by adding 5 or es to the singular : as, book, books ; box, boxes. Obs. 1. The distinction of numbers belongs to nouns, pronouns, and finite verbs ; and to these it is always applied, either by peculi- arity of form, or by inference from the principles of concord. Pro- nouns are like their antecedents, and verbs are like their subjects, in number. Obs. 2. When a singular noun ends in a sound which will unite with that of s, the plural is generally formed by adding s only, and the number of syllables is not increased : as, pen, pens; grape, grapes. Obs. 3. But when the sound of s cannot be united with that of the primitive word, the plural adds s to final e, and es to other termina- tions, and forms a separate syllable : as, page, pages; fox, foxes. Obs. 4. Nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, add es, but do not increase their syllables: as, wo, woes; hero, heroes. Other nouns in o add s only: as, folio, folios. Obs. 5. Nouns ending in y preceUed by a consonant, change y into i, and add es, without increase of syllables : as, Jly, flies ; duty, duties. Other nouns in y add s only: as, day, days ; valley, valleys. Obs. 6. The following n^uns inf change f into v, and add es, for the plural ; sheaf, leaf, loaf, beef, thief calf, half elf shelf self, wolf xoharf; as, sheaves, leaves, &c. Life, lives ; knife, knives; wife, wives ; are similar. Obs. 7. The greater number of nouns in/ and /e are regular ; as, fifes, strifes, chiefs, griefs, &c. Obs. 8. The following are still more irregular : man, men ; woman, women; child, children; brother, brethren \ or brothers'] ; foot, feet ; ox, oxen ; tooth, teeth ; goose, geese ; louse, lice ; mouse, mice ; die, dice ; penny, pence. Dies, stamps, and pennies, coins, are regular. Ols. 9. Many foreign nouns retain their original plural ; as, arca- num, arcana ; radius, radii; vortex, vortices ; axis, axes ; phenome- non, phenomena ; seraph, seraphim. Obs. 10. Some nouns have no plural : as, gold, pride, meekness. Ols.'W. Some nouns have no singular: as, embers, ides, oats, scissors, tongs, vespers, literati, minutice. Obs. 12. Some are alike in both numbers : as, sheep, deer, swine, hose, means, odds, news, species, series, apparatus. Obs. 13. Compounds in which the principal word is put first, vary the principal word to form the plural, and the adjunct to form the poi* eeisive case : as, father-in-law, fathers-in-law, father-in-law's. 20 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Obs. 14. Compounds ending in ful, and all those in which tha principal word is put last, form the plural in the same manner as other nouns : as, handfuls, spoonfuls, mouthfuls, fellow-servants, man- servants. Obs. 15. Nouns of multitude, when taken collectively, admit the plural form : as, meeting, meetings. But when taken distributively, they have a plural signification, without the form: as, "The jury were divided." GENDERS. Genders are modifications that distinguish ob- jects in regard to sex. There are three genders ; the masculine, the feminine, and the neuter. The masculine gender is that which denotes animals of the male kind 5 as, man, father, king. The feminine gender is that which denotes ani- mals of the female kind ; as, woman, mother, queen. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female 5 as, pen, ink, paper. Obs. 1. The different genders belong only to nouns and pronouns ; and to these they are usually applied agreeably to the order of na- ture. Pronouns are of the same gender as the nouns for which they stand. Obs. 2. Some nouns are equally applicable to both sexes ; as, cousin, friend, neighbour, parent, person, servant. The gender of these is usually determined by the context. Obs. 3. Those terms which are equally applicable to both sexes, (if they are not expressly applied to females,) and those plurals which are known to include both sexes, should be called masculine in par- sing; for, in all languages, the masculine gender is considered the most worthy, and is generally employed when both sexes are in- cluded under one common term. Obs. 4. The suxes are distinguished in three ways : I. By the use of different names : as, bachelor, maid — boy, girl — brother, sister — buck, doe — bidl, cow — cock, hen. II. By the use of different terminations : as, abbot, abbess — hero, *eroine — administ rotor, administratrix. III. By prefixing an attribute of distinction : as, cock-sparrow, hen- sparrow — man-servant, maid-servant — he-goat, she-goat — male re- lations, female relations. Obit. 5. The names of things without life, used literally, are al ways of the neuter tfei.jer. But inanimate objects are often repre- ETYMOLOGY. 21 sented figuratively, as having sex. Things remarkable lor power, greatness or sublimity, are spoken of as masculine: as, the sun, time, death, sleep, fear, anger, winter, war. Things beautiful, amiable, or prolific, are spoken of as feminine : as, the moon, earth, nature, fortune, knowledge, hope, spring, peace. Obs. 6. Nouns of multitude when they convey the idea of unity, or take the plural form, are of the neuter gender; but when they convey the idea of plurality without the form, they follow the gen- der of the individuals that compose the assemblage. Obs. 7. Creatures whose sex is unknown, or unnecessary to be regarded, are generally spoken of as neuter : as, " He fired at the deer, and wounded i7." — " If a man shall steal an ox or a sheep and kill it or sell it," &c. Exod. xxii. 1. CASES. Cases are modifications that distinguish the re- lations of nouns and pronouns to other words. There are three cases ; the nominative, the pot sessive, and the objective. The nominative case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the subject of a verb : as, The boy runs ; J run. The possessive case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the relation of property : as, The boy's hat ; my hat. The objective case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the object of a verb, participle, or preposition : as, I know the boy ) he knows me. Obs. 1. The cases belong only to nouns and pronouns. Pronouns are not necessarily like their antecedents, in case. Obs. 2. The nominative and the objective of nouns are always alike, being distinguishable from ench other only by their place in a sentence, or their simple dependence according to the sense. Obs. 3. The subject of a verb is that which answers to who or what before it; as, " The boy runs." — JVJw runs? The boy. Boy is therefore here in the nominative case. Obs. 4. The object of a verb, participle, or preposition, is that which answers to whom or what after it ; as, "I know the boy." — I know whom? The boy. Boy is therefore here in the objective case. Obs. 5. The possessive case of nouns is formed, in the singular number, by adding to the nominative s preceded by an apostrophe ; and, in the plural, when the nominative ends in s, by adding an apos- trophe only . as, boy s botfs, boys 1 . 22 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. DECLENSION OF NOUNS. The declension of a noun is a regular arrange- ment of its numbers and cases. Thus : EXAMPLE I.- — FRIEND. Singular. Plural. Nom. friend, Nom. friends, Poss. friend's, Poss. friends 7 , Obj. friend ; Obj. friends. EXAMPLE II. — MAN. Nom. man, Nom. men, Poss. man's, Poss. men's, Obj. man ; Obj. men. EXAMPLE III. — FOX. Nom. fox, Nom. foxes, Poss. fox's, Poss. foxes', Obj. fox ; Obj. foxes. EXAMPLE IV. — FLY. Nom. fly, Nom. flies, Poss. fly's, Poss. flies', Obj. fly; Obj. flies EXAMPLES FOR PARSING. CHAPTER II.— ETYMOLOGICAL. h is here required of the pupil — to distinguish and define the differ- ent parts of speech, and the classes and modifications of the ar- ticles and nouns. Thus : EXAMPLE PARSED. " The horse runs swiftly." The is the definite article. 1. An article is a word placed before nouns, to limit their signification. 2. The definite article is the, which denotes some particular thing or things. Florse, is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, mas- culine gender, and nominative case. 1. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned. 2. A common noun is the name of a sort, kind, or class of things. 3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 4. The singular number is that which denotes but one. 6. The masculine gender is that which denotes animals of the male kind. BTYM&LOGY. 23 6. The nominative case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the subject of a verb. ttuiis is a verb. A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon. Swiftly is an adverb An adverb is a word added to a verb, a participle; an ad- jective, or an other adverb; and generally expresses time, place, degree, or manner. LESSON i. The contented mind spreads ease and cheerfulness around t. The school of experience teaches many useful lessons. In the path of life, no one is constantly regaled with flowers. Food, clothing, and credit, are the rewards of industry. LESSON II. He that lies abed all a summer's morning, loses the chief plea- sures of the day : he that gives up his youth to indolence, undergoes a loss of" a like kind. We should not destroy an insect, or quarrel with a dog, without a reason sufficient to vindicate us through all the courts of morality LESSON III. A man of integrity will never listen to any reason against con- science. It is an empty joy, to appear better than you are ; but a great bieesing, to be what you ought to be. Take counsel of the oracle in thine own heart, for there is not f more faithful monitor, than that which speaks in secret mere. LESSON IV. Pleasure's call attention wins, Hear it often as we may ; New as ever seem our sins, Though committed every day. Oh ! then, ere the turf or tomb Cover us from every eye, Spirit of instruction ! come, Make as learn that we must die. — Cowper 24 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. OF THE ADJECTIVE. An Adjective is a word added to a noun or pro- noun, and generally expresses quality : as, A wise man ; a new book. — You two are diligent CLASSES. Adjectives may be divided into six classes 5 namely, common, proper, numeral, pronominal, participial, and compound. I. A common adjective is any ordinary epithet, or adjective denoting quality or situation ; as, Good, bad, peaceful, warlike, eastern, western, outer, inner. II. A proper adjective is one that is formed from a proper name ; as, American, English, Platonic. III. A numeral adjective is one that expresses a definite number ; as, One, two, three, four, S?c. IV. ^pronominal adjective is a definitive word which may either accompany its noun, or repre- sent it understood ; as, " All [men] join to guard what each [man] desires to gain." — Pope. V. A participial adjective is one that has the form of a participle, but differs from it by reject- ing the idea of time 5 as, An amusing story. VI. A compound adjective is one that consists of two or more words joined by a hyphen ; as, Nut-brown, laughter-loving, four-footed. Obs. Numeral adjectives are of three kinds : namely, 1. Cardinal ; as, One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, &c. 2. Ordinal ; as, First, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, &c. 3. Multiplicative ; as, Single or alone, double or twofold, triple or threefold, quadruple or fourfold, &c. MODIFICATIONS. Adjectives have, commonly, no modifications but comparison. Comparison is a variation of the adjective, to express quality in different degrees 5 as, hard, harder, hardest. ETYMOLOGY. 26 There are three degrees of comparison 5 the positive, the comparative, and the superlative. The positive degree is that which is expressed by the adjective in its simple form ; as, hard, soft,good. The comparative degree is that which exceeds the positive ; as, harder, softer, better. The superlative degree is that which is not exceeded ; as, hardest, softest, best. Those adjectives whose signification does not admit of different degrees, cannot be compared ; as, two, second, all, total, immortal, infinite. Those adjectives which may be varied in sense, but not in form, are compared by means of ad- verbs ; as, skilful, more skilful, most skilful, — skil- ful, less skilful, least skilful. Adjectives are regularly compared, when the comparative degree is expressed by adding er, and the superlative by adding est, to them ; as, Positive. Comparative. Superlative. great, greater, greatest. *wide, wider, widest, hot, hotter, hottest. The following adjectives are compared irregu- larly : good, better, best , bad or ill, worse, worst ] little, less, least j much^ more, most $ many, more, most ; far, farther, farthest 5 late, later, or latter, latest or last. Obs. 1. As the simple form of the adjective does not necessarily imply comparison, and as many adjectives admit no other, some think it is not requisite in parsing, to mention the degree, unless it be the comparative or the superlative. Obs. 2. The method of comparison by er and est, is chiefly appli- cable to monosyllables, and to dissyllables ending in y or mute e. Obs. 3. The different degrees of a quality may also be expressed, with precisely the same import, by prefixing to the adjective, the ad- verbs more and most ; as, wise, more wise, most wise ; famous, more famous, most famous ; amiable, more amiable, most amiable. Obs. 4. Diminution of quality is expressed, in like manner, by the adverbs less and least ; as wise, less wise, least wise ; famouSy less famous, least famous. ' See Rule* for Spelling, III. and VI. 3 26 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Obs. 5. The prefixing of an adverb can hardly be called a varia- tion of the adjective. The words may with more propriety be parsed separately, the degree being ascribed to the adverb. Obs. 6. Most adjectives of more than one syllable, must be com- pared by means of the adverbs ; because they do not admit a change of termination : thus, we may say, virtuous, more virtuous, most vir- tuous ; but not virtuous, virtuouser, virtuousest. Obs. 7. Common adjectives are more numerous than all the other classes put together. Very many of these, and a few pronominals and participials, may be compared; but adjectives formed from proper names, all the numerals, and most of the compounds, are in no way susceptible of comparison. Obs. 8. Noun3 are often used as adjectives ; as, An iron bar — An evening school — A mahogany chair — A south-sea dream. These also are incapable of comparison. Obs. 9. The numerals are often used as nouns ; and, as such, are regularly declined : as, Such a one — One's own self— The little ones — By tens — For twenty* s sake. Obs. 1 0. Comparatives, and the word other, are sometimes also employed as nouns, and have the regular declension ; as, Our supe- riors — His betters — The elder's advice — An* other's wo — Let others do as they will. But, as adjectives, these words are invariable. Obs. 11. Pronominal adjectives, when their nouns are expressed, simply relate to them, and have no modifications ; except this and that, which form the plural these and those ; and much, many, and a few others, which are compared. Obs. 12. Pronominal adjectives, when their nouns are not ex- pressed, may be parsed as representing them in person, number, gender, and case. Obs. 13. The following are the principal pronominal adjectives : All, any, both, each, either, every , few, former, first, latter, last, many, neither, none, one, other, sam,e, some, such, this, that, which, what. Which and what, when they are not prefixed to nouns, are for the most part, relative or interrogative pronouns. EXAMPLES FOR PARSING. CHAPTER III.— ETYMOLOGICAL. It is here required of the pupil — to distinguish and define the different parts of speech, and the classes and modifications of the articles, nouns, and adjectives. Thus : EXAMPLE PAR8ED. ' Take better care." * There seems to be no good reason for joining an and other. An here excludes any other article; ard analogy and consistency require that the words be separated. Their union has led sometimes to au improper repetition of the article ; as, " Mother such a man" — for "An other such r.ian." ETYMOLOGY. 27 Take is a verb. A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted \ipon. Better is a common adjective, of the comparative degree, compared irregularly, good, better, best. 1. An adjective is a word added to a noun or pronoun, and generally expresses quality. 2. A common adjective is any ordinary epithet, or adjective denoting quality or situation. 3. The comparative degree is that which exceeds the positive. Care is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, neuter gender, and objective case. 1. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned. 2. A common noun is the name of a sort, kind, or class of things. 3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 4. The singular number is that which denotes but one. 5. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female. 6. The objective case is that form or state of a noun or pro- noun, which denotes the object of a verb, participle, or preposition. LESSON I. Ha ! what is there amongst the bushes. ? 1 can see only its eyes. It has very large full eyes. It is a hare. The hare is very innocent and gentle. In this country, it is generally brown ; but, in countries which are very cold, it turns white as snow. It has a short bushy tail ; its lip is parted and very hairy; and it always moves its lips. LESSON II. The hare feeds upon herbs and roots, and the bark of young trees ; and sometimes it will steal into the gardens to eat pinks and pars- ley : and it loves to play and skip about by moonlight, and to bite the tender blades of grass, when the dew is upon them ; but, in the daytime, it loves to sleep. lesson in. The hare sleeps with its eyes open, because it is very fearful ana .imid ; and when it hears the least noise it starts, and pricks up 'ts .ong ears. If it hears a dog coming, it^runs away very swifty, stretching its long legs, and soon leaves him far behind. But a dog is stronger than a hare, and he can run to a much greater distance before he grows tired. LESSON 17. The heart is hard in nature, and unfit For human fellowship, as being void Of sympathy, and therefore dead alike To love and friendship both, that is not pleas'd With sight of animals enjoying life, Nor feels their happiness augment his own. — Cowper. 1 28 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. OF THE PRONOUN. A Pronoun is a word used in stead of a noun : as, The boy loves his book \ he has long lessons, and he learns them well. Obs. 1. The word for which a pronoun stands, is called its ante- cedent, because it usually precedes the pronoun. Obs. 2. Pronouns often stand for persons or things not named ; the antecedent being understood. Obs. 3. A^ronoun with which a question is asked, stands for some person or thing unknown to the speaker, apd may be said to have no antecedent ; as, " What lies there ?" Ans. " A man asleep." Obs. 4. One pronoun may stand as the immediate antecedent to an other ; as, " Blessed are they that mourn." CLASSES. Pronouns are divided into three classes ; per- sonal, relative and interrogative. - I. A personal pronoun, is a pronoun that shows by its form of what person it is. The simple personal pronouns are five : namely, 1, of the first person ; thou, of the second person ; he, she, and it of the third person. The compound personal pronouns are also five ; namely, myself, of the first person $ thyself, of the second person 5 himself, herself, and // self, of the third person. v II. A relative pronoun, is a pronoun that rep- resents an antecedent word or phrase, and con- nects different clauses of a sentence. The relalrbe pronouns are. who, which, what, and that ; ana the compounds whoever or whoso- ever, whichever or whichsoever, whatever or whatsoever. * What is a kind of double relative, equivalent to that which, ox those which] and is to be parsed first as antecedent, and then as relative. III. An interrogative pronoun is a pronoun with which a question is asked. The interrogative pronouns are, who, which, and what ] being the same in form as relatives. A| Obs. 1. FfTw is usually applied to persons only ; which, though ETYMOLOGY. 29 formerly applied to persons, is now confined to animals and inanimate things ; what (as a mere pronoun) is applied to things only ; that ia applied indifferently to persons, animals, or things. Obs. 2. The pronoun what has a twofold relation, and is often used (by ellipsis of the noun) both as antecedent and relative, being equiv- alent to that which, or the thing which. In this double relation, what represents two cases at the same time ; as, " He is ashamed of what he has done ;" that is, of that which he has done. Obs. 3. What is sometimes used both as an adjective and a relative at the same time, and is placetl before the noun which it represents ; as, " Wlwt money we had, was taken away ;" that is, All the money that we had, &c. — " What man but enters, dies:" that is, Any man who, &c. — " What god but enters yon forbidden field." — Pope. In- deed, it does not admit of being construed after a noun, as a simple relative. The compound whatever or whatsoever has the same pe- culiarities of construction ; as, " We will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth." — Jer. xliv. W. Obs. 4. Who, which, and what, when the affix ever or soever is add- ed, have an unlimited signification ; and, as some general term, such as any person or any thing is implied in the antecedent, they are commonly followed by two verbs : as, " Whoever attends will im prove ;" thai is, Any person who attends will improve. Obs. 5. That is a relative pronoun, when it is equivalent to who or which ; as, " The days t/iat [which J are past, are gone forever." It is a definitive or pronominal adjective, when it relates to a noun expressed or understood ; as, " That book is new." In other cases, it is a conjunction; as, " Live well, that you may die well." Obs. 6. The word as, though usually a conjunction or an adverb, has sometimes the construction of a relative pronoun ; as, " The Lord added to the church daily such [persons] as should be saved." Acts ii. 47. Obs. 7. Whether was formerly used as an interrogative pronoun, referring to one of two things ; as, " Whether is greater, the gold or the temple V—Mat. xxiii. 17. MODIFICATIONS. Pronouns have the same modifications as nouns ; namely, Persons, Numbers, Genders, and Cases. Obs. 1. In the personal pronouns, most of these properties are dis- tinguished by the words themselves ; in the relative and the inter- rogative pronouns, they are ascertained chiefly by the antecedent and the verb. Obs. 2. " The pronouns of the first and second persons, are both masculine and feminine; that is, of the same gender as the person or persons they represent." — Levizac. The speaker and the hearer, being present to each other, of course know the sex to which they respectively belong; and, whenever they appear in narrative, w« aro told who they are. 3* 30 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Obs. 3. Murray and some others deny the first person of nouns^ and the gender or pronouns of the first and second persons; and at the same time teach that " Pronouns must agree with their nouns, in person, number, and gender." Now, no two words can agree in any property which belongs not to both ! DECLENSION OF PRONOUNS. The declension of a pronoun is a regular ar- rangement of its numbers and cases. The personal pronouns are thus declined : I, of the first person, any gender. Sing. Norn. I, Plur. Norn, we, Poss. my, or mine, Poss. our, or ours, Obj. me ; Obj. us. Thou, of the second person, any gender. Sing. Nom. thou, Plur. Nom. ye, or you, Poss. thy, or thine, Poss. your, or yours, Obj. thee ; Obj. you. He, of the third person, masculine gender. Sing. Nom. he, Plur. Nom. they, Pess. his, Poss. their, or theirs Obj. him ; Obj. them. She, of the third person, feminine gender. Sing. Nom. she, Plur. Nom. they, Poss. her, or hers, Poss. their, or theirs, Obj. her ; Obj. them. It, of the third person, neuter gender Sing. Nom. it, Plur. Nom. they, Poss. its, Poss. their, or theirs, Obj. it; Obj. them. The word self added to the personal pronouns, forms a class of compound personal pronouns, that are used when an action reverts upon the agent, and also when some persons are to be distinguished from others ; as, sing, myself plur. ourselves ; sing, thyself, plur. yourselves; sing, himself, herself, itself, plur. themselves. They ail want the possessive case, and are alike in the nominative and ob- jective. The relative and the interrogative pronouns are thus declined: ETYMOLOGY. 31 Who, applied only to j)ersons. Sing. Norn, who, Plur. Nom. who, Poss. whose, Poss. whose, Obj. whom; Obj. whom. Which, applied to animals and things. Sing. Nom. which, Plur. Nom. which, Poss. * Poss. Obj. which; Obj. which. What, generally applied to things. Sing. Nom. what, Plur. Nom. what, Poss. Poss. Obj. what; Obj. what. That, applied to persons, animals, and things. Sing. Nom. that, Piur. Nom. that, Poss Poss. Obj. that; Obj. that. The compound relative pronouns whoever or whosoever, whichever ■>r whichsoever, and whatever or wJuitsoever, are declined in the same manner as the simples wlw, which, what. EXAMPLES FOR PARSING. CHAPTER IV.— ETYMOLOGICAL. k is here required of the pupil — to distinguish and define the different parts of speech, and the classes and modifications of the articles, nouns, adjectives, and pronouns. Thus: EXAMPLE PARSED. u She purchased it." She is a personal pronoun, of the third person, singular number, feminine gender, and nominative case. 1. A pronoun is a word used in stead of a noun. 2. A personal pronoun is a pronoun that shows, by its form. of what person it is. 3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. • Whose is sometime* "ased as the possessive case of which ; as, " A religion •rigin is diviie." — Blair. 32 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 4. The singular number is that which denot&> but one. 5. The feminine gender is that which denotes animals of the female kind. 6. The nominative case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the subject of a verb. Purchased is a verb. A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon. It is a personal pronoun, of the third person, singular number, neuter gender, and objective case. 1. A pronoun is a word used in stead of a noun. 2. A personal pronoun is a pronoun that shows, by its form, of what person it is. 3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 4. The singular number is that which denotes but one. 5. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female. 6. The objective case is that form or state of a noun or pro- noun, which denotes the object of a verb, participle, or preposition. LESSON I. Frank and Robert were two little boys about eight years old. Fiank was a good boy ; and whenever he did any thing wrong, he always told his father and mother of it ; and when any body asked him about any thing which he had done or said, he always told the truth, so that every body who knew him believed him. LESSON II. But nobody who knew his brother Robert, believed a word which he said, because he used to tell lies. Whenever he did any thing wrong, he never ran to his father and mother to tell them of it, but when they asked him about it, he denied it, and said he had not done the tilings which he had done. LESSON III. The reason that Robert told lies, was because he was afraid of being punished for his faults if he confessed them. For he was a coward, and he could not bear the least pain. But Frank was a brave boy, and could bear to be punished for little faults : his mother never punished him so much for such little faults, as she did Roben for the lies which he told, and which she found out afterwards. — M Edgeworth. ETYMOLOGY. '*3 LESSON IV. Oh ! 'tis a lovely thing for youth To walk betimes ;n wisdom's way, To fear a lie, to speak the truth, That we may trust to ail they say. But liars we can never trust, Tho' they should speak the thing that's true j And he that does one fault at first, And lies to liide it, makes it two. — Watts. OF THE VERB. A Verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon : as, I am, I rule } I am ruled, CLASSES. Verbs are divided, with respect to their form, into two classes ; regular and irregular. I. A regular verb is a verb that forms the pre- terit and the perfect participle by assuming d or ed ; as, love, loved, loving, loved. II. An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the preterit and the perfect participle by as- suming d or ed ; as, see, saw, seeing, seen. Obs. Regular verbs form their preterit and perfect participle by adding d to final e, and ed to all other terminations. The verb hear, heard, hearing, heard, adds d to r, and is therefore irregular. Verbs are divided, with respect to their significa- tion, into four classes 5 active-transitive, active* intransitive, passive and neuter. I. An active-transitive verb is a verb that ex* presses an action which has some person or thing for its object ; as, " Cain slew Abel? II. An active-intransitive verb is a verb that expresses an action which has no person or thing for its object ; as, " John icalks." 34 ENGLISH GRAMMAR, • III. A passive verb is a verb that represents its subject, or nominative, as being acted upon 5 as, u I am compelled." IV. A neuter verb is a verb that expresses nei- ther action nor passion, but simply being, or a state of being 5 as, " Thou art — He sleeps." MODIFICATIONS. Verbs have modifications of four kinds ; namely, Moods, Tenses,, Persons, and Numbers. MOODS. Moods are different forms of the verb, each of which expresses the being, action, or passion, in some particular manner. There are five moods ; the Infinitive, the In- dicative, the 1 % otential, the Subjunctive, and the Imperative. The Infinitive mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the being, action, or passion,*in an unlimited manner, and without person or num- ber ; as, To read, to speak. The Indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply indicates, or declares a thing ; as, I write, you know : or asks a question 5 as, Do you know ? The Potential mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the power, liberty, possibility, or necessity, of being, action, or passion,: as, I can read j we must go. The Subjunctive mood is that form of the verb, which represents the being, action, or passion, as conditional, doubtful, or contingent ; as, ^ If thou go, see that thou offend not." The Imperative mood is that form of the verb, which is used in commanding, exhorting, entreat- ing, or permitting $ as, " DcparVthoxx? — " Be com* fortedP — " Forgive me."^" Go in peace." ETYMOLOGY. 35 TENSES. Tenses are those modifications of the verb, which distinguish time. There are six tenses ; the Present, the Imper- fect, the Perfect, the Pluperfeet, the First- future, and the Second-future. The Present tense is* that which expresses what now exists or is taking place 5 as, " I hear a noise ; somebody is coming." The Imperfect tense is that which expresses what took place, within some period of time fully past 5 as, " We saw him last week ; I admired his behaviour." The Perfect tense is that which expresses what has taken place, within some period of time not yet fully past 5 as, " I have seen him to-day." The Pluperfect tense is that which expresses what had taken place, at some past time men- tioned 5 as, " I had seen him, when I met you." The First-future tense is that which expresses what will take place hereafter ; as, ft I shall see him again." The Second-future tense is that which ex- presses what will have taken place, at some future time mentioned ; as, " I shall have seen him by to-morrow noon." PERSONS AND NUMBERS. The Person and Number of a verb are those modifications in which it agrees with its subject or nominative. In each number, there are three persons ; and in each person, two numbers : thus, Singular. Plural. lstper. I love, 1st per. We love, 2d : per. Thou lovest, 2d per. You love. 3d per He loves ; ... 3d per. They love, 36 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Obs. 1. Thus the verb in some of its parts, varies its termination to distinguish, or agree with, the different persons and numbers. The change is, however, principally confined to the second and third persons singular of the present tense of the indicative mood, and to the auxiliaries hast and lias of the perfect. In the ancient biblical style, now used only on solemn occasions, the second person singu- lar is distinguished through all the tenses of the indicative and po- tential moods. In the plural number there is no variation of ending, ho denote the different persons, and the verb in the three persons plural, is the same as in the first person singular. — [See Inst. E. Gi'am. p. 55, et seq.~\ Obs. 2. The second person singular is regularly formed by adding st or est to the first person ; and the third person in like manner, by adding sores: as, I see, thou seest, he sees ; I give, thou givest, he gives; I go, thou go3st, he goes; I fly, thou fliest, he flies ; I vex, thou vexest, he vexes ; I lose, thou losest, he loses. Obs. 3. The third person singular was anciently formed in th or eth ; but this termination is now confined to the solemn style. Obs. 4. The only regular terminations that are added to verbs, are ing, d or ed, st or est, s or es, th or eth. Ing, and th or eth, al- ways add a syllable to the verb*, except in doth, hath, saith. The rest, whenever their sound will unite with that of the final syllable of the verb, are added without increasing the number of syllables ; otherwise, they are separately pronounced. In solemn discourse, however, ed and est, are, by most speakers, uttered distinctly in all cases : except some few in which a vowel precedes ; as in glorified. CONJUGATION OF VERBS. The conjugation of a verb is a regular arrange- ment of its moods, tenses, persons, numbers, and parliciples. There are four principal parts in the conju- gation of every simple and complete verb : namely, the Present, the Preterit, the Imperfect Parti- ciple, and the Perfect Participle* A verb which wants any of these parts, is called defective. An auxiliary is a short verb prefixed to one of the principal parts of an other verb, to express gome particular mode and time of the being, action, or passion. The auxiliaries are do, be, have, shall, will, may, can, and must, with their variations. Obs. Some of these, especially do, be, and have, are also used as principal verbs. Verbs are conjugated in the following manner: ETYMOLOGY. 3 I. SIMPLE FORM, ACTIVE OR NEUTER. The simplest form of an English conjugation is that which makes the present and imperfect 1 enses without auxiliaries ; but even in these, aux- iliaries are required for the potential mood, and are often preferred for the indicative FIRST EXAMPLE. Conjugation of the regular active verb LOVE. Principal Parts. Present. Preterit. Imperfect Participle. Perfect Participle Love. Loved. Loving. Loved. INFINITIVE MOOD. Present Tense. To love. Perfect Tense. To have loved. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. 1. The simple form of the present tense is varied thus : Singular. Plural. 1st per. I love, 1st per. We love, 2d per. Thou lovest, 2d per. You love, 3d per. He loves ; 3d per. They love. 2. This tense may also be formed by prefixing the auxiliary do to the verb : thus, Singular. Plural. 1. I do love, 1. We do love, 2. Thou dost love, 2. You do love, 3. He does love ; 3. They do love. Imperfect Tense. This tense in its simple form, is the preterit. In alJ 38 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. regular verbs, it adds d or ed to the present, but in others it is formed variously. 1. The simple form of the imperfect tense is varied thus : Singular. Plural. 1. I loved, 1. We loved, 2. Thou lovedst, 2. You loved, 3. He loved; 3. They loved. 2. This tense may also be formed by prefixing the auxiliary did to the present : thus, Singular. Plural. 1.1 did love, 1. We did love, 2. Thou didst love, 2. You did love, 3. He did love ; 3. They did love. Perfect Tense. This tense prefixes the auxiliary have to the perfect participle : thus, Singular. Plural. 1. I have loved, 1. We have loved, 2. Thou hast loved, 2. You have loved, 3. He has loved; 3. They have loved. Pluperfect Tense. This tense prefixes the auxiliary had to the perfect participle : thus, Singular. Plural. 1. I had loved, 1. We had loved, 2. Thou hadst loved, 2. You had loved, 3. He had loved; 3. They had loved. First-future Tense. This tense prefixes the auxiliary shall or will to the present: thus, 1. Simply to express a future action or event : Singular. Plural. 1.1 - shall love, 1. We shall love, 2. Thou wilt love, 2. You will love, 3. He will love; 3. They will ove. ETYMOLOGY. 39 2. To express a promise, volition, command, or threat : Singular. Plural. 1. I will love, 1. We will love, 2. Thou shalt love, 2. You shall love, 3. He shall love ; 3. They shall love. Second-future Tense. This tense prefixes the auxiliaries shall have or will have to the perfect participle : thus, Singular. Plural. 1. I shall have loved, 1. We shall have loved r 2. Thou wilt have loved, 2. You will have loved, 3. He will have loved ; 3. Theywill have loved. POTENTIAL MOOD. Present Tense. This tense prefixes the auxiliary may, can, or must, to the radical verb : thus, Singular. Plural. 1. I may love, 1. We may love, 2. Thou mayst love, 2. You may love, 3. He may love ; 3. They may love Imperfect Tense. This tense prefixes the auxiliary might, could, wonld^ or should, to the radical verb : thus, Singular. Plural. 1. I might love, 1. We might love, 2. Thou mightst love, 2. You might love, 3. He might love; 3. They might love. Perfect Tense. This tense prefixes the auxiliaries may have, can have^ or must have, to the perfect participle : thus, Singular. Plural. 1. I may have loved, I. We may have loved, 2. Thou mayst have loved, 2. You may have loved, 3. He may have loved; 3. They may have love . 40 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Pluperfect Tense. This tense prefixes the auxiliaries might have, could have, would have, or should have, to the perfect participle : thus, Singular. Plural. 1. 1 might have loved, 1. "We might have loved, 2. Thou mightst have loved, 2. You might have loved, 3. He might have loved ; 3. They might have loved. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. This tense is generally used to express some condition on which a future action or event is affirmed, and is there- fore considered by some grammarians, as an elliptical form of the future. Singular. Plural. 1. If 1 love, 1. If we love, 2. If thou love, 2. If you love, 3. If he love ; 3. If they love. Imperfect Tense. This tense, as well as the imperfect of the potential mood, with which it is frequently connected, is properly an aorist, or indefinite tense, and may refer to time past, present, or future. Singular. Plural. 1. If I loved, I. If we loved, 2. If thou loved, 2. If you loved, 3. If he loved; 3. If they loved. IMPERATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. 2. Love thou,] or Do thou love. Plural. 2. Love [ye or you,] or Do you love. PARTICIPLES. 1. The Imperfect, Loving. 2. The Perfect, Loved. 3. The Pluperfect, Having loved. ETYMOLOGY. 41 SYNOPSIS OF THE FIRST EXAMPLE. First Person Singular. Ind. I love, I loved, I have loved, I had loved, I shall love, 1 shall have loved. Pot. I may love, I might love, I may have loved, I might have loved. Subj. It I love, If 1 loved. Second Person Singular* Ind. Thou lovest, Thou lovedst, Thou hast loved, Thou hadst loved, Thou wilt love, Thou wilt have loved. Pot. Thou mayst love, Thou mightst love, Thou mayst have loved, Thou mightst have loved. Subj. If thou love, If thou loved. Imp. Love [thou], or Do thou love. Third Person Singular. Ind. He loves, He loved, He has loved, He had loved, He will love, He will have loved. Pot. He may love, He might love, He may have loved, He mignt have loved. Subj. If he love, If he loved. First Person Plural. Ind. We love, We loved, We have loved, We had loved, We shall love, We shall have loved. Pot. We may love, We might love, We may have loved. We might have loved. Subj. If we love, If we loved. * In Ihe familiar use of the second person singular, as retained by the Society of Friends, the verb is usually varied only in the present tense of the indicative mood, and in the auxiliary hast of the perfect. Thus . Ind. Thou lovest, Thou loved, Thou hast loved, Thou had loved, Thou will love, Thou vvill have loved. Pot. Thou may love, Thou might love, Thou may have loved, Thou might have loved. Subj. If thou love, If thou loved. Imp. Love [thou,] or Do thou love. To avoid an unnecessary increase of syllables, the formation of the second per- son singular of the present tense, is also in some degree simplified, ana rendered closely'amilojrous to that of the third person singular: st or est being added forth* former exactly as s or es is added for the latter : as, I know thou knowst, he knows , I real, thou readst, he reads ; I take, thou takes!, he takes ; I bid, thou bidst, he bids; I pity, thou pitiest, he pities. Thus there is no increase of syllables, when the verb ends with a sound which will unite with that of the letters added. [See Inst. E. Oram. p. 50 ) This me hod of forming the verb, accords with the practice of the most intelli- gfnt of those who retain the common use of this distinctive, and consistent mode of allies*. It disencumbers their familiar dialect of a multitude of harsh and use- lesi terminations, which serve only, when uttered, to give an uncouth prominency to words not often emphatic; and, without impairing the strength or perspicuity of the language, increases its harmony, and reduces the form of the verb, in the second person singular, nearly to the same simplicity as in the other persons and numbers. This simplification is supported by usage as extensive as the familiar use of the pronoun thnu, and is also in accordance with the canons of criticism. "All words and phrases which are remarkably harsh and unharmonious, and not absolutely necessary, should be rejected." — Campbell's Philosophy of Rhetoric Shi. 2. Canan First. 4* 42 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Second Person Plural. Ind. You love, You loved, You have loved, You had loved, You will love, You will have loved. Pot. You may love, You might love, You may have loved, You might have loved. Subj. If you love. If you loved. Imp. Love [ye or you], or Do you love. Third Person Plural. Ind. They love, They loved, They have loved, They had loved, They will love, They will have loved. Pot. They may love, They might love, They may have loved, They might have loved. Subj. If they love, If they loved. Present. See. SECOND EXAMPLE. Conjugation of the irregular active verb SEE. Principal Parts. Imperfect Participle. Perfect Participte* Preterit. Saw. Seeinof. Seen. INFINITIVE MOOD. Present Tense. To See. Perfect Tense. To have seen. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I see, 1. We see, 2. Thou seest, 2. You see, 3. He sees ; 3. They see. Imperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I saw, 1. We saw, 2. Thou sawest, 2. You saw, 3. He saw ; 3. They saw. Perfect Tense. Singular. PluraL 1. I have seen, 1. We h^vp seen, 2. Thou hast seen, 2. You have seen, 3. He has seen ; X They have seen. ETYMOLOGY 43 Pluperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I had seen, 1. We had seen, 2. Thou hadst seen, 2. You had seen, 3. He had seen ; 3. They had seen. Fir si-future Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I shall see, 1. We shall see, 2. Thou wilt see, 2. You will see, 3. He will see ; 3. They will see. Second-future Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I shall have seen, I. We shall have seen, 2. Thou wilt have seen, 2. You will have seen, 3. He will have seen ; 3. They will have seen POTENTIAL MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. ' Plural. 1. 1 may see, 1. We may see, 2. Thou mayst see, 2. You may see, 3. He may see ; 3. They may see. Imperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I might see, 1. We might see, 2. Thou mightst see, 2. You might see, 3. He might see : 3. They might sec. Perfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. 1 may have seen, 1. We may have seen, 2. Thou mayst have seen, 2. You may have seen, 3. He may have seen ; 3. They may have seen. Pluperfect Tense. Singular Plural. 1. I might have seen, 1. We might have seen, 2. Thou mightst have seen, 2. You might have seen, 3. He might have seen ; 3. They might have seen. 44 ENGLISH GRAMMAR SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. Plural. 1; -If I see, 1 If we see, 2. If thou see, 2. If you see, 3. If he see ; 3. If they see. Imperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. If I saw, 1. If we saw, 2. If thou saw, 2. If you saw, 3. If he saw; 3. If they saw. IMPERATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. 2. See [thou,] or Do thou see. Plural. 2. See [ye or you,] or Do you see. PARTICIPLES. i. The Imperfect. 2. The Perfect. 3. The Pluperfect Seeing. Seen. Having seen. THIRD EXAMPLE. Conjugation of the irreg ular neuter verb BE. Principal Parts. Present. Preterit. Imperfect Participle. Perfect Participle Be. Was. Being. Been. INFINITIVE MOOD. Present Tense. To be. Perfect Tense. To have been. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. PluraL 1. I am, 1. We are, 2. Thou art, 2. You are, 3. He is ; 3. They are. ETYMOLOGY. 41 I. 2. 3. Imperfect Tense. Singular, Plural. 1 was, 1. We were, Thou wast, 2. You were, He was ; 3. They were. 1. 2. 3. Perfect Tense. Singular. Plural. I have been, I. We have been, Thou hast been, 2. You have been, He has been ; 3. They have been. 1. 2. 3. Pluperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. I had been, I. We had been, Thou hadst been, 2. You had been, He had been ; 3. They had been. 1. 2. 3. First-future Tense. Singular. Plural. I shall be, 1. We shall be, Thou wilt be, 2. You will be, He will be; 3. They will be. i. 2. 3. Second-future Tense. Singular. Plural. I shall have been, 1. We shall have been, Thou wilt have been, 2. You will have been, He will have been ; 3. They will have been POTENTIAL MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. 1. I may be, 2. Thou mayst be, 3. He may be ; Singular. 1. I might be, 2. Thou mightst be, 3. He might be; Plural. 1. We may be, 2. You may be, 3. They may be. Imperfect Tense. Plural. 1. We might be, 2. You might be, 3. Thoy might be. 45 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Perfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I may have been, 1. We may have been, 2. Thou mayst have been, 2. You may have been, 3. He may have been ; 3. They may have been. Pluperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I might have been, 1. We might have been, 2. Thou mightst have been, 2. You might have been, 3 He might have been ; 3. They might have been. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. If I be, 1. If we be, 2. If thou be, 2. If you be, 3. If he be ; 3. If they be. Imperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. If I were, 1. If we were, 2. If thou wert, 2. If you were, 3. If he were; 3. If they were. IMPERATIVE MOOD. Present Ten&e, Singular. 2. Be [thou,] or Do thou be. Plural. 2. Be [ye or you,] or Do you be. PARTICIPLES. 1. The Imperfect. 2. The Perfect. 3. The Pluperfect. Being. Been. Having been. II. COMPOUND FORM, ACTIVE OR NEUTER. Active and neuter verbs may also be conju- gated, by adding the Imperfect Participle to the auxiliary verb be, through all its changes ; as, I am writing } He is sitting. This compound form of conjugation denotes a continuance of the action or state of being, and is, on many occa- sions, preferable to the simple form of the verb. ETYMOLOGY 47 FOURTH EXAMPLE. Compound form of the irregular active verb READ. Principal Parts of the simple verb. Present. Preterit. Imperfect Participle. Perfect Participle. Read. Read. Reading. Read. INFINITIVE MOOD. Present Tense. To be reading. Perfect Tense. To have been reading. INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I am reading, 1. We are reading, 2. Thou art reading, 2. You are reading, 3. He is reading; 3. They are reading. Imperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I was reading, 1. We were reading, 2. Thou wast reading, 2. You were reading, 3. He was reading ; 3. They were reading. Perfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I have been reading, 1. We have been reading, 2. Thou hast been reading, 2. You have been reading, 3. He has been reading ; 3. They have been reading. Pluperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I had" been reading, 1. We had been reading, 2. Thou hadstbeen reading, 2. You had been reading, 3. He had been reading ; 3. They had been reading. First-future Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I shall be reading, I. We shall be reading, 2. Thou wilt be reading, 2. You will be reading, 3. He will be reading ; 3. They will be reading. 48 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Second-future Tense. Singular. 1. I shall have been reading 2. Thou wilt have been reading 3. He will have been reading ; Plural. 1. We shall have been reading, 2. You will have been reading, 3. They will have been reading. POTENTIAL MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I may be reading, 1. We may be reading, 2. Thou mayst be reading, 2. You may be reading, 3. He may be reading ; 3. They may be reading. Imperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I might be reading, 1. We might be reading, 2. Thou mightst be reading, 2. You might be readingj 3. He might be reading ; 3. They might be reading Perfect Tense. Singular. 1. I may have been reading, 2. Thou mayst have been reading, 3 He may have been reading ; Plural. 1. We may have been reading, 2. You may have been reading, 3. They may have been reading. Pluperfect Tense. Singular. 1. I might have been reading, 2. Thou mightst have been reading, 3. He might have been reading ; Plural. 1. We might have been reading, 2. You might have been reading, 3. They might have been reading. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Ten^e. Singular. Plural L If I be reading, 1. If we be reading, 2. If thou be reading, 2. If you be reading, 3. Ff he be reading , 3 If they be reading. ETYMOLOGY. 49 Imperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. If x were reading, 1. If we were reading, 2. If thou wert reading, 2. If you were reading, 3. If he were reading ; 3. If they were reading. IMPERATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Sing. 2. Be Plur. 2. Be thouj reading, or Do thou be reading, ye or you] reading, or Do you be reading, PARTICIPLES. 1. The Imperfect. 2. The Perfect. 3. The Pluperfect. Being reading. Having been reading. III. FORM OP PASSIVE VERBS. Passive verbs, in English, are always of a com- pound form. They are formed from active-tran- sitive verbs, by adding the Perfect Participle to the auxiliary verb be, through all its changes : thus, from the active-transitive verb love, is formed the passive verb be laved. Obs. In the compound forms of conjugation, the imperfect parti- ciple is sometimes taken in a passive sense : as, " The goods are selling; the ships are building:" and the perfect participle of an active-intransitive verb, may have a neuter signification: as, "I am come ; He is risen ; They are fallen" The former are passive. and the latter, neuter verbs. FIFTH EXAMPLE. Conjugation of the regular passive verb BE LOVED. Principal Parts of the active verb. Present. Preterit. Imperfect Participle. Perfect Participle. Ix>ve. Loved. Loving. Loved. I 60 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. INFINITIVE MOOD. Present Tense, To be loved, Perfect Tense, To have been lovert INDICATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I am loved, 1. We are loved, 2. Thou art loved, 2. You are loved, 3. He is loved ; 3. They are loved. Imperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I was loved, 1. We were loved, 2. Thou wast loved, 2. You were loved, 3. He was loved ; 3. They were loved. Perfect Tense. Singular. Plural. i. I have been loved, 1. We have been loved, 2. Thou hast been loved, 2. You have been loved, 3. He has been loved ; 3. They have been loved Pluperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. a. I haa been loved, I. We had been loved, 2. Thou hadst been loved, 2. You had been loved, 3. He had been loved ; 3. They had been loved. First-future Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. I shall be loved, 1. We shall be -loved, 2. Thou wilt be loved, 2. You will be loved, 3. He will be loved ; 3. They will be loved. Second-future Tense. Singular, 1. I shall have been loved, 2. Thou wilt have been loved, 3. He will have been loved ; Plural. 1. We shall have been loved, 2. You will have been loved, 3. They will have been loved. ETYMOLGY. 51 POTENTIAL MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. I may be loved, Thou mayst be loved, Plural. 1. We may be loved, 2. You may be loved, 3. They may be loved. Imperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. might be loved, 1. We might be loved, 3. He may be loved 1. I 2. Thou mightst be loved, 3. He might be loved ; 2. You might be loved, 3. They might be If ":, Perfect Tense. ngular. 1. I may have been loved, 2. Thou mayst have been loved, 3. He may have been loved ; Plural. 1. We may have been loved, 2. You may have been loved, 3. They may have been loved. Pluperfect Tense. Singular. 1. I might have been loved, 2. Thou mightst have been loved, 3. He might have been loved ; Plural. 1. We might have been loved, 2. You might have been loved, 3. They might have been loved. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. If I be loved, 1. If we be loved, 2. If thou be loved, 2. If you be loved, If he be loved 3. If they be loved ; Imperfect Tense. Singular. Plural. 1. If I were loved. 1. If we were loved, 2. If thou wert loved,' 2. If you were loved, 3. If he were loved; 3. If they were loved 52 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. IMPERATIVE MOOD. Present Tense. Singular. 2. Be [thou] loved, or Do thou be loved. Plural. 2. Be [ye or you] loved, or Do you be loved. PARTICIPLES. 1. The Imperfect. 2. The Perfect. 3. The Pluperfect, Being loved. Loved. Having been loved. IV. FORM OF NEGATION. A verb is conjugated negatively, by placing the adverb not after it, or after the first auxiliary $ but the infinitive and the participles take the negative first : as, Inf. Not to love, Not to have loved. Ind. I love not, or I do not jove, I loved not, or I did not love, I have not loved, I had not loved, I shall not love, I shall not have loved. Pot. I may, can, or must not love ; I might, could, would, or should not love ; I may, can, or must not have loved ; I might, could, would, or should not have bved. Subj. If I love not, If I loved not. Part. Not loving, Not Dved, Not having loved. V. FORM OF QUESTION. A verb is conjugated interrogatively, in the in- dicative and potential moods, by placing the nom inative after it, or after the first auxiliary : as, Ind. Do I love ? Did I love? Have I loved? Had I loved? Shall I love ? Shall I have loved 1 Pot. May, can, or must I love J Might, could, would, or should I love 1 May, can, or must I have loved * Might, could, would, or should I have loved T VI. FORM OF QUESTION WITH NEGATION. A verb is conjugated interrogatively, and neg atively, in the indicative and potential moods, by placing the nominative and the adverb not after the verb, or after the first auxiliary : as, Ind. Do I not love ? Did I not love T Have I not loved ? Had I not loved ? Shall I not love ! Shall I not have loved ! Pot. May, can, or must I not love 1 Might, could, would, or should I not love ! May, can, or must I not have loved ? Might, could, would, or should I not have loved ? ETYMOLOGY. 58 IRREGULAR VERBS. An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the preterit and the perfect ^participle by assum- ing d or ed. The simple irregular verbs are nearly all monosyllables. Tho following is a list of them, as they are now generally used. Those marked with the letter r, admit also the regular form. Present. Preterit. Perf.Part. Present. Preterit. P erf. Part dwelt, r dwelt, r ate, eaten, fell, fallen, fed, fed. felt, It. fought, lought. found, found, fled, ' fled, flung, flung, flew, flown, forsook, forsaken, froze, frozen, got, got. gilt, r gilt, r girt, r girt, r gave, given, went, gone. ground, ground, grew, grown, hung, r hung, r had, had. heard, heard, hid, hidden, hit, hit. held, held, hurt, hurt, kept, kept, knelt, r knelt r knit, r knit r knew, known, laded, laden, laid, laid, led, led. left, left. Abide, abode,* abode. Dwell, Be, was, been. Eat, •Bear, bore, borne. Fall, Beat, beat, beaten. Feed, Begin, began, begun. Feel, Bend, bent, r bent r Fight, Beseech, besought, besought Find, Bid, bade, bidden. Flee, Bind, bound, bound. Fling, Bite, bit, bitten. Fly, Bleed, bled, bled. Forsake, Blow, blew, blown. Freeze, Break, broke, broken. Get, Breed, bred, bred. Gild, Bring, brought, brought. Gird, Build, built, r built r Give, Burst, burst, burst. Go, Buy, bought, bought. Grind, Cast, cast, cast Grow, Catch, caught, r caught, r Hang, Chide, chid, chidden. Have, Choose, chose, chosen. Hear, Cling, clung, clung. Hide, Come, came, come. Hit, Cost, cost, cost. Hold, Creep, crept, r crept r Hurt, Cut, cut, cut. Keep, Deal, dealt, r dealt, r Kneel, Dig, dug, r dug. r Knit, Do, did, done. Know, Draw, drew, drawn. Lade, Dream, dreamt, r dreamt, r Lay, Drive, drove, driven. Lead, Drink, drank, drunk. Leave, * After the Preterit the learner should insert the Imperfect Participle ; which is a! n'ays formed by adding ing to the Present, or Root of the verb : thus, Abide, ahodi abiding, abode. 54 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Present. Lend, Let, Lie, Lose, Make, Mean. Meet,' Pay, Put, auit, Read, Reave, Rend, Rid, Ride, Ring, Rise, Run, Say, See, Seek, Sell, "Bend, Set, Shake, Shed, Shine, Shoe, Show, Shoot, Shut, Shred, Shrink, Sing, Sink, Sit, Slay, Sleep, Slide, Sling, Slink, Preterit. Per/. Part. Present. Preterit. Perf. Part lent, lent. Slit, slit, r slit, r let, let. Smite, smote, smitten lay, lain. Speak, spoke, spoken lost. lost. Speed, sped, sped. made. macte. Spend, spent, spent. meant r meant, r Spill, spilt, r spilt, r met, met. Spin, spun, spun. paid, paid. Spit, spit, spit. put, put. Split, split, split. quit, r read, quit, r Spread, spread, spread. read. Spring, sprung, sprung. reft, r reft, r Stand, ' stood, stood. rent, rent. Steal, stole, stolen. rid, rid. Stick, stuck, stuck. rode, ridden. Sting, stung, stung. rung, rung. Stride, strode, stridden. rose, risen. Strike, struck, struck. ran, run. String, strung, r strung, r said, said. Strive, strove, r striven, r saw, seen. Swear, swore, sworn. sought, sought. Sweep, swept, swept. sold, sold. Swim, swum, swum. sent, sent Swing, swung, swung. set, set. Take, took, taken. shook, shaken. Teach, taught, taught shed, shed. Tear, tore, torn. shone, r shone, r Tell, told, told. shod, shod. Think, thought, thought. showed, shown. Thrive, throve, r thriven, t shot, shot. Throw, threw, thrown. shut. shut. Thrust, thrust, thrust shred, shred. Tread, trod, trodden. shrunk, shrunk. Wear, wore, worn. sung, sung. Weave, wove, woven. sunk, sunk. Weep, wept, r wept, r sat, sat. Win, won, won. slew, slain. Wind, wound, r wound. slept, slept. Wont, wont, r wont, r slid, slidden. Work, wrought, r wrought : slung, slung. Wring, wrung, wrung. slunk, slunk. Write, wrote, written. DEFECTIVE VERBS. A defective verb is a verb which wants some oi the principal parts. When any of the princi- pal parts are wanting, the tenses usually derived from those parts are also wanting. ETYMOLOGY. 56 All the auxiliaries, except do, be, and have, are defective. The following is a list of the defective verbs : Present. Preterit. Imp. Part. Per. Part. Beware, Can, could, May, might, Must, must, Ought, ought, Shall, should, Will, would, '-iuoth. quoth, OF THE PARTICIPLE. A Participle is a word derived from a verb par ticipating the properties of a verb and an adjective; and is generally formed by adding ing, d, or ed to the verb : thus, from the verb rule, are formed three participles, two simple and one compound ; as, 1 . ruling, 2. ruled, 3. having ruled. CLASSES. English verbs have severally three participles 5 the First or Imperfect, the Second or Perfect, and the Third or Pluperfect.* I. The imperfect participle is that which im- plies a continuance of the being, action, or pas- sion •, as, being, loving, seeing, writing — being loved, being seen, being writing. II. The perfect participle is that which im- plies a completion of the being, action, or passion ; as, been, loved, seen, written. III. The pluperfect participle is that which implies a previous completion of the being, action, or passion ; as, having loved, having seen, hav- ing written — having been loved, having been writing, having been written. The First or Imperfect Participle, when sim * See copious observations on the names and properties of the participle*, in the In ■titutes of English Grammar, under the Etymology of this part of speech. 56 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. pie, is always formed by adding ing to tfoe radical verb ; as, look, looking : when compound it is formed by prefixing being to some other simple participle ; as, being reading, being read. The Second or Perfect Participle is always simple, and is regularly formed by adding d or ed to the radical verb : those verbs from which it is formed otherwise, are inserted in the list as being irregular. The Third or Pluperfect Participle is always compound, and is formed by prefixing having to the perfect, when the compound is double, and having been to the perfect or the imperfect, when the compound is triple 5 as, having spoken, hav- ing been spoken, having been speaking. Obs. 1. Participles often become adjectives, and are construed be- fore nouns to denote quality. "Words of a participial form, may be regarded as adjectives, 1. When they denote something customary or habitual, rather than a transient act or state ; as, A lying rogue, i. e. one addicted to lying. 2. When they admit adverbs of compar- ison ; as, A more learned man. 3. When they are compounded with something that does not belong to the verb ; as, unfeeling, unfelt. Adjectives are generally placed before their nouns : participles, af- ter them. Obs. 2. Participles in ing often become nouns. When preceded by an article, an adjective, or a noun or pronoun of the possessive case, they are construed as nouns, and take no regimen, or object after them. Obs. 3. A participle immediately preceded by a preposition, is not converted into a noun, and therefore retains its regimen ; as, " I thank you for helping him." This construction of the participle cor responds with the Latin Gerund. Obs. 4. To distinguish the participle from the participial noun, the learner shDuld observe the following four things : 1. Nouns take articles a.n.1 adjectives before them ; participles do not. 2. Nouns may govern the possessive case, but not the objective ; participles may govern the objective case, but not the possessive. 3. Nouns may be the subjects or objects of verbs ; participles cannot — or, at least the propriety of any such use of them, is doubtful. 4. Par- ticipial nouns express actions as things ; participles refer actions tc their agents or recipients. Obs. 5. To distinguish the perfect participle from the preterit verb of the same form, observe the sense, and see which of the auxiliary forms will express it : thus loved for being loved, is a participle ; but loved for did love, is a preterit verb. ETYMOLOGY. 67 _ EXAMPLES FOR PARSING. CHAPTER V.— ETYMOLOGICAL. // is here required of the pupil — to distinguish and define the different parts of speech, and the classes and modifications of the articles, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, and participles. Thus, EXAMPLE PARSED. " He speaks fluently :" He is a personal pronoun, of the third person, singular number, masculine gender, and nominative case. 1. A pronoun is a word used in stead of a noun. 2. A personal pronoun is a pronoun that shows, by its form, of what person it is. 3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 4. The singular number is that which denotes but one. 5. The masculine gender is that which denotes animals of the male kind. 6. The nominative case is that form or state of a noun or pro- noun, which denotes the subject of a verb. Speaks is an irregular active-intransitive verb, from speak, spoke, speaking, spoken; found in the indicative mood, present tense, third person, and singular number. 1. A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon. 2. An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the preterit and the perfect participle by assuming d or ed. 3. An active-intransitive verb, is a verb that expresses an ac- tion which has no person or thing for its object. 4. The indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply indicates or declares a thing, or asks a question. 5. The present tense is that which expresses what now exists or is taking place. 6. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 7. The singular number is that which denotes but one. Fluently is an adverb. An adverb is a word added to a verb, a participle, an adjective, or an other adverb ; and generally expresses time, place, degree, or manner. LESSON I. I learn my lessons. Thou art sitting idle. He plays. She speaks distinctly. We read together. You do not cipher. They are going to 58 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. school. The man walks slowly. The child is sleepy. See the ducks swim. The chickens do not swim ; they avoid the w^flr. Hawks kill chickens. Spiders make cobwebs ; they catch flies in them. LESSON II. I have lost my book. Do you know where it is ? I left it on the table. Somebody has taken it. If I had been careful, I should have put it away in the closet. Inquire of the maid ; perhaps she has seen it. I must hot go to school without it. I shall not know my lesson ; and the master will detain me. LESSON III. It is a pleasant evening. Come hither, Charles ; look at the sun. The sun is in the west. Yes, because he is going to set. How pretty the sun looks ! We can look at him now ; he is not so bright as he was at dinner-time, when he was up high in the sky. And how beau- tiful the clouds are ! There are crimson clouds, and purple, and gold- coloured clouds. Now the sun is going down very fast. Now we can see only half of him. Now we cannot see him at all. LESSON IV. Now turn and look towards the east. What is it that shines so be- hind the trees 1 Is it fire? No, it is the moon. It is very large ; and how red it is ! The moon is round now, because it is full moon : but it will not be so round to-morrow mgnt : it will lose a little bit ; and the next night it will lose a little bit more ; and more the next night : bid so on, till it is like a bow that is bent. — Barbauld. LESSON V. Thus the moon will grow less and less, till in a fortnight there will be no moon at all. Then there will come a new moon ; and we shall see it in the afternoon, and it will be very thin at first, but it will grow rounder and bigger every day, till at last, in an other fortnight, it will be full moon again like this, and we shall see it rise again be- hind the trees. LESSON VI. The unwearied sun from day to day Does his Creator's power display, And publishes, to every land, The work of an Almighty nand. Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale ; And nightly, to the listening earth, Repeats the story of her birth : Whilst all the stars that round her burn, And all the planets, in their turn, Confirm the tidings as tney roll, And spread the truth from pole to pole. — Addiaon, ETYMOLOGY. 59 OF THE ADVERB. An Adverb is a word added to a verb, a partici- ple, an adjective, or an other adverb ; and gener- ally expresses time, place, degree, or manner : as, They are now here, studying very diligently. Obs. Adverbs briefly express what would otherwise require sev- eral words : as, here, for in this place. There are several customary combinations of short words which are used adverbially, and which some grammarians do not analyze in parsing : as, Not at all, at length, in vain. CLASSES. Adverbs may be reduced to four general classes; namely, adverbs of time, of place, of degree, and of manner. I. Adverbs of time, are those which answer to the question when ? or how often ? Adverbs of time may be subdivided as follows : 1. Of time present : as, Now, yet, to-day, instantly. 2. Of time past : as, Already, lately, heretofore, since, ago. 3. Of time to come : as, To-morroio, hereafter, henceforth. 4. Of time relative : as, When, then, before, after, while. 5. Of time absolute : as, Always, ever, never. 6. Of time repeated : as, Often, seldom, daily, thrice. 7. Of the order of time: as, First, secondly, thirdly, &c. II. Adverbs of place, are those which answer to the question where ? whither ? or whence ? Adverbs of place may be subdivided as follows : 1. Of place in which: as, Where, here, there, somewhere. 2. Of place to which: as, Whither, hither, thither. 3. Of place from which: as, Whence, hence, thence. 4. Of the order of place : as, First, secondly, thirdly. III. Adverbs of degree, are those which an swer to the question how much ? Adverbs of degree may be subdivided as follows : 1. Of excess or abundance: as, Much, chiefly, fully. 3 Of equality: as, Enough, siifficiently, equally, so, as. 60 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 3. Of deficiency or abatement: as, Little, scarcely, Jiardly. 4. Of quantity : as, How, everso, somewhat. IV. Adverbs of manner, are those which an- swer to the question how ? or show how a sub- ject is regarded. Adverbs of manner may be subdivided as follows : 1. Of quality : as, Well, ill, wisely, foolishly, justly, and many others formed by adding ly to adjectives of quality. 2. Of affirmation : as, Yes, yea, verily, truly, indeed, surely. 3. Of negation: as, No, nay, not, nowise. 4. Of doubt : as, Perhaps, haply, possibly, perchance. 5. Of mode : as, Thus, so, somehow, like, else, otherwise. 6. Of cause : as, Why, wherefore, therefore. Obs. The adverbs here, there, and where, when prefixed to prepo- sitions, have the force of pronouns ; as, whereby, for by which. Com- pounds of this kind are, however, commonly reckoned adverbs. Adverbs sometimes perform the office of con- junctions, and serve to connect sentences, as well as to express some circumstance of time, place, degree, or manner ; adverbs that are so used, are called conjunctive adverbs : as, When, where^ after, before, since, therefore, fyc. MODIFICATIONS. ' Adverbs have no modifications, except that a few are compared after the manner of adjectives : as, Soon, sooner, soonest, — often, oftener, often- est, — long, longer, longest The following are irregularly compared : well, better, best, — badly or illj wofise, worst, — little, less, least, — much, more, most, — far, farther, farthest,— forfh, further, furthest. Obs. 1. Most adverbs of quality will admit the comparative ad- verbs more and most, less and least, before them : as, wisely, more wisely, most wisely, — culpably, less culpably, least culpably. But these should be parsed separately. Obs. 2. As comparison does not belong to adverbs in general, it should not be mentioned in parsing, except in the case of those few which are varied by it. ETYMOLOGY. 61 OF THE CONJUNCTION. A Conjunction is u word used to connect words or sentences in construction, and to show the de- pendence of the terms so connected : as, Thou and he are happy, because you are good. CLASSES. Conjunctions are divided into two classes ; copu- lative and disjunctive. A copulative conjunction, is a conjunction that denotes an addition, a cause, or a supposition : as, He and I shall not- dispute ; for, if he has any choice, I shall readily grant it. A disjunctive conjunction is a conjunction that denotes opposition of meaning : as, u Be not over- come [by] evil, but overcome evil with good." — Rom. xii. 21. The following are the principal conjunctions : 1. Copulative ; and, as, both, because,for, if, that. 2. Disjunctive; or, nor, either, neither, than, though, although, yet, but, except, whether, lest, unless, save, notwithstanding. OF THE PREPOSITION. A Preposition is a word used to express some relation of different things or thoughts to each other, and is generally placed before a noun or pronoun : as, The paper lies before me on the desk. The following are the principal prepositions : above,about, aboard,across, after, against, along, amid or amidst, among or amongst, around, at, athwart — before, behind, below, beneath, beside or besides, between or betwixt, beyond, by — con- cerning — down, during — except, excepting — for, from — in, into—notwithstandimg — of off, on, out-of over, overthwart — past— round — 6 '32 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. since — through, throughout, till, to, touching^ toward or towards — under, underneath, until^ unto, up, upon — with, within, without, Obs. The words in the preceding list are generally prepositions. But when any of them are employed without a subsequent term of relation they are adverbs. For, when it signifies because, is a con- junction ; without, when used for unless, and notwithstanding, when placed before a nominative, are usually referred to the same class. - OF THE INTERJECTION. An Interjection is a word that is uttered merely to indicate some strong or sudden emotion of the mind : as, Oh ! alas ! The following are the principal interjections, ar- ranged according to the emotions which they are generally intended to indicate : — 1. Joy ; eigh ! hey ! to ! — 2. Sorrow $ oh ! ah ! alas ! alack ! welladay /— 3. Wonder ; heigh ! ha ! strange ! — 4. Wishing or earnestness ; O! — 5. Pain ; oh ! ha! he ! — 6 Contempt ; pugh ! poh ! pshaw ! pish ! tush I tut I — 7. Aversion; foh ! fie! off! be- gone ! avaunt ! — 8. Calling aloud % , ho ! soho ! holla ! — 9. Exultation, aha ! huzza ! heyday \ hurrah! — 10. Laughter ; ha, ha, ha. — 11. Salu- tation ; welcome ! hail! all hail ! — 12. Calling to attention; lo! behold ! look! see! hark! — 13. Calling to silence ; hush ! hist ! mum — 14. Sur- prise ; oh ! ha ! hah ! what ! — 15. Languor $ heigh-ho !— 16. Stopping ; avast ! whoh ! EXAMPLES FOR PARSING. CHAPTER VI.— ETYMOLOGICAL. It is here required of the pupil — to distinguish and define the differ- ent parts of speech, and all their classes and modifications. lesson 1. What is that tall thing that has four great arms which move very fast 1 I believe, if I were near it, it would strike me down. It .e ETYMOLOGY. 63 a windmill. Those arms are the sails. The wind turns them round. And what is a windmill for ? It is to grind corn. We could have no bread, if the corn were not ground. — Barbauld. LESSON II. Here is a r*ver; how shall we do to get over it? Why, see how the ducks do ! they swim over. But I cannot swim. Then thou must learn to swim, I oelieve : it is too wide to jump over. O, there is a bridge ! somebody has made a bridge for us, quite over the river. That somebody was very clever too. I wonder how he made it. I am sure I could not have made such a bridge. LESSON III. Now we are come among a great number of trees — more trees than there are in the orchard, by a great many, and taller trees. There is oak, and ash, and elm. This is a wood. What great boughs the trees have! like thick arms. The sun cannot shine among the trees, they are so thick. Look ! there is a squirrel, jump- ing from one tree to an other. He is very nimble. And, hark ! I hear the voice of the cuckoo. Barbauld. LESSON IV. Hail, beauteous stranger of the wood, Attendant on the spring ! Now Heav'n repairs thy rural seat, And woods thy welcome sing. Soon as the daisy decks the green, Thy certain voice we hear ; Hast thou a star to guide thy path, Or mark the rolling year ? lesson v. Delightful visitant ! with thee I hail the time of flowers, When heav'n is fill'd with music sweet Of J>irds among the bowers. The school-boy, wandering in the wood To pull the flow'rs so gay, Oft starts thy curious vcice to hear, And imitates thy lay. LESSON VI. Soon as the pea puts on the bloom Thou fliest the vocal vale, An annual guest in other lands, An other spring to hail. 64 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Sweet bird ! thy bow'r is ever green. Thy sky is ever clear : Thou hast no sorrow in thy song, No winter in thy year ! — Logan. QUESTIONS ON ETYMOLOGY. LESSON I. — PARTS OF SPEECH. Of what does Etymology treat? How many parts of speech are there? name them. What is an article ? and what are the examples ? What is a noun? and what are the examples? What is an adjective? and what are the examples? What is a pronoun ? and what are the examples ? What is a verb ? and what are the examples ? What is a participle ? and what are the examples ? What is an adverb ? and what are the examples ? What is a conjunction ? and what are the examples ? What is a preposition ? and what are the examples ? What is an interjection ? and what are the examples 1 LESSON II. — PARSING. What is Parsing ? What is required of the pupil in the first chapter for parsing? How is the following example parsed ? " Bring a long ladder, ana set it up against the tree." [Now parse, in like manner, the six lessons of the First Chapter.! LESSON III. — ARTICLES. JVTiat is an Article ? How many articles are there ? Name them. Are an and a different articles, or the same ? When should an be used ? and when a ? Give the examples. Repeat the alphabet with an or a before each letter. Name the parts of speech with an or a before each name How are the two articles distinguished ? Which is the definite article, and what does it denote ? Which is the indefinite article, and what does*it denote ? LESSON IV. — NOUNS. What is a Noun ? Into what general classes are nouns divided ? What is a proper noun ? a common noun ? What particular classes are included among common nouns r t What is a collective noun ? — an abstract noun ? — & participial i oun i What modifications have nouns ? W r hat are Persons in Grammar ? How many persons are there, and what are they ca-.ed ? What is the first person? — the second person ? — the third person 1 ETYMOLOGY. 65 What aie Numbers in grammar? How many numbers are there, and what are they called ? What is the singular number ■?— the plural number ? How is the plural number of nouns regularly formed ? LESSON V. — NOUNS. What are Genders in grammar ? How many genders are there, and what are they called ? What is the masculine gender? — the feminine?— the neuter? What are Cases in grammar ? How many cases are there, and what are they called ? What is the nominative case ? What is the subject of a verb? What is the possessive case ? How is the possessive case of nouns formed ? What is the objective case ? What is the object of a verb, participle, or preposition ? What is the declension of a noun? How do you decline the nouns, friend, man, fox, andfy? LESSON VI. — PARSING. What is required of the pupil, in the second chapter for parsing ? How is the following example parsed ? " The horse runs swiftly." [Now parse,in like manner, the four lessons of the Second Chapter.'] LESSON VII. — ADJECTIVES. What is an Adjective ? Into Avhat classes may adjectives be divided ? What is a common adjective ? — a proper adjective ?^-a numeral ad- jective ? — a pronominal adjective ? — a participial adjective ? — a compound adiective ? What modifications have adjectives ? What is Comparison in grammar? How many, and what are the degrees of comparison 1 What is the positive degree ? — the comparative degree 1 — the super- lative degree ? What adjectives cannot be compared ? What adjectives are compared by means of adverbs? How are adjectives regularly compared 1 How do you compare great, wide, and hot ? Compare good, bad, or ill ; much, many ; far, and late. LESSON VIII. — PARSING. What is required of the pupil in the third chapter for parsing? How is the following example parsed 1 " Take better care." [Now parse, in like manner, the four lessons of the Third Chapter :] LESSON IX. — PRONOUNS. What is a Pronoun ? 66 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. How are pronouns divided ? What is a personal pronoun ? How many, and what are the simple personal pronouns ! What is a relative pronoun ? Mention the relative pronouns. What is an interrogative pronoun ? Mention the interrogative pronouns. What modifications have pronouns ? What is the declension of a pronoun ? How do you decline the pronouns /, thou, he, she, and it ? Explain the compound personal pronouns. How do you decline who, which, what, and that? LESSON X. — PARSING. What is required of the pupil in the fourth chapter for parsing 1 How is the following example parsed ? " She purchased it." [Now parse, in like manner, the four lessons of the Fourth Cfiapter*] LESSON XI. — VERBS. What is a Verb ? How are verbs divided, with respect to their form ? What is a regular verb ? — an irregular verb ? How are verbs divided, with respect to their signification? What is an active-transitive verb ? — an active-intransitive verb !— a passive verb ? — a neuter verb ? What modifications have verbs ? What are Moods ? How many moods are there, and what are they called ? What is the infinitive mood ?— the indicative mood ? — the potential mood ? — the subjunctive mood ? — the imperative mood ? LESSON XII. — VERBS. What are Tenses] How many tenses are there, and what are they called ? What is the present tense ? — the imperfect tense 1 — the perfect tense i — the pluperfect tense ? — the first-future tense ? — the secoiul-fuhr tense ? What are the Person and Number of a verb? How many persons and numbers are there? What is the Conjugation of a verb ? What are the principal parts in the conjugation of a verb ? What is a verb called which wants some of these parts ? What is an auxiliary ? What verbs are auxiliaries? LESSON XIII. — CONJUGATION. Conjugate the regular active verb Love throughout. LESSON XIV. — SYNOPSIS. Give a synopsis of Love in each person and number. ETYMOLOGY. 67 LESSON XV. — THE VERB SEE. Conjugate the irregular active verb See throughout Give a synopsis of See in each person and number. LESSON XVI. — THE VERB BE. Conjugate the irregular neuter verb Be throughout. Give a synopsis of Be in each person and number. LESSON XVII. — COMPOUND. How may active and neuter verbs be otherwise conjugated? Conjugate the active verb Read in the compound form. Give a synopsis in each person and number. LESSON XVIII. — PASSIVES. How are passive verbs formed ? Conjugate the passive verb Be Loved throughout. Give a synopsis in each person and number. How is a verb conjugated negatively ? How is a verb conjugated interrogatively ? How is a verb conjugated interrogatively and negatively ? LESSON XIX. — IRREGULARS. What is an irregular verb ? Learn the principal parts of all the irregular verba. LESSON XX. — DEFECTIVES. What is a defective verb ? What verbs are defective ? and wherein are they so ? LESSON XXI. — PARTICIPLES. What is a Participle? How many participles have verbs? and what are they ? Which or what is the imperfect participle ? Which or what is the perfect participle ? Which or what is the pluperfect participle ? Is the first or imperfect participle always formed in one way only 1 Is the second or perfect participle always formed in one way only . Is the third or pluperfect participle always formed in one way only ? LESSON XXII. — PARSING. What is required of the pupil in the fifth chapter for parsing ? How is the following example parsed 1 "He speaks fluently." [Now parse, in like manner, the six lessons of the Fifth Chapter.] LESSON XXIII. — ADVERBS AND CONJUNCTIONS. What is an Adverb? To what general classes may adverbs be reduced ? How may adverbs of time be known ? How may adverbs of place be known ? f)S ENGLISH GRAMMAR. How may adverbs of degree be known? How may adverbs of manner be known 1 What are conjunctive adverbs ? Have adverbs any modifications ? Compare well, badly or ill, little, much, far and forth. What is a Conjunction ? How are conjunctions divided 1 What is a copulative conjunction ? What is a disjunctive conjunction ? W T hat are the principal conjunctions? LESSON XXIV. — PREPOSITIONS AND INTERJECTIONS. What is a Preposition ? What are the principal prepositions 1 What is an Interjection ? How are the interjections arranged ? What are the interjections of joy? — of sorrow ] — of wonde.* t — of wishing or earnestness? — of pain? — of contempt? — of aversion if — of calling aloud 1 — of exultation ? — of laughter 1 — of saluta- tion 1 — of calling to attention ? — of calling to silence ?- of sui - prise ? — of languor ? — of stopping. LESSON XXV. — PARSING. What is required of the pupil in the sixth chapter for parsing? [Now parse, alter the models previously given, the six lessons of the Sixth Chapte?.] PART III. SYNTAX. Syntax treats of the relation, agreement, govern- ment, and arrangement, of words in sentences. The relation of words, is their dependence, or connexion, according to the sense. The agreement of words, is their similarity in per- son, number, gender, case, mood, tense, or form. The government of words, is that power which one word has over an other, to cause it to assume some particular modification. The arrangement of words, is their collocation, or relative position, in a sentence. A sentence is an assemblage of words, making complete sense, ; nd always containing a nominative and a verb ; as, A Reward sweetens labour." The principal parts of a sentence, are usually three ; namely, tae subject, or nominative, — the verb — and, (if the verb be transitive,) the object governed by the verb ; as, " Crimes deserve punish- ment." The other parts depend upon these, either as primary or as secondary adjuncts ; as, High crimes justly deserve very severe punishments." Sentences are of two kinds, simple, and com- pound. A simple sentence, is a sentence which conveys but one affirmation or negation 5 as, " Man is mor- tal." — " Charity is not easily provoked." A compound sentence, is a sentence which may be resolved into two or more simple ones 5 as, " Idleness produces want, vice, and misery." A clause, or member, is a subdivision of a com- pound sentence 5 and is itself a sentence, eii^er simple or compound. A phrase is two or more words which express 70 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. some relation of ideas, but no entire proposition 3 as, "By the means appointed." — "To be plain with you." Words that are omitted by ellipsis, and that are necessarily understood in order to complete die construction, must be supplied in parsing. RULES OF SYNTAX, WITH EXAMPLES AND OBSERVATIONS. 1. Of Relation and Agreement. RULE I. ARTICLES. Articles relate to the nouns which they limit : as, "At a little distance from the ruins of the abbey, stands an aged elm." Obs. 1. Articles often relate to nouns understood; as, "The [rit?er] Thames." — " Pliny the younger" \inan\ — " The honourable [60^3/J the Legislature." — The animal \world~]^ and the vegetable world." — " The Old [Testament'] and the New Testament" Obs. 2. Articles belong before their nouns ; but the definite article and an adjective seem sometimes to be placed after the noim to which they both relate: as, "Section the fourth." — "Henry the Eighth." Such examples, however, may be supposed elliptical ; and, if they are so, an article cannot be placed after its noun, nor can two arti- cles ever relate to one and the same noun. Obs. 3. The definite article is often prefixed to comparatives and superlatives ; and its effect is, (as Murray observes,) " to mark the degree the more strongly, and to define it the more precisely:" as, " The oftener I see him the more I respect him." — " A constitution the most fit." — " A claim the strongest, and the most easily compre- hended." — In these cases the article seems to relate only to the adjective or adverb following it ; but after the adjective, the noun may be supplied. Obs. 4. The article the is applied to nouns of both numbers : as. The man, the men. — The good boy, the good boys. Obs. 5. An or a implies one, and is prefixed to nouns of the sin- gular number only ; as, A man, a good boy. Obs. 6. An or a is sometimes prefixed to an adjective of number, when the noun following is plural : as, A few cfays — a hundred ehee r . Here also the article relates only to the adjective ; unless fev, hundred, &c. are nouns with of understood after them. Obs. 7. A, as prefixed to participles in ing, or used in composition, is a preposition ; being, probably, the Freru h d, signifying to, at, on, SYNTAX. 71 in, or of; as, " He is gone a hunting." — " They burst out a laugh- ing." — " She lies a-bed airday." Obs. 8. An is sometimes a conjunction, signifying if; as. " Nay, an thou'lt mouthe, I'll rant as well as thou." — Shak. RULE II. NOMINATIVES. A Noun or a pronoun which is the subject of a verb, must be in the nominative case : as, " I know thou sayst it : says thy life the same V 9 Obs. 1. Every nominative belongs to some verb, unless it be put in apposition according to Rule 3d, after a verb according to Rule 21st, or absolute according to Rule 25th. Obs. 2. The subject or nominative, is generally placed before the verb ; as, " Peace dawned upon his mind." — " What is written in the law ?" Obs. 3. But, in the following cases, the subject is placed after the verb, or after the first auxiliary : 1. When a question is asked without an interrogative pronoun in the nominative case ; as, Shall mortals be implacable ?" — " What art thou doing ?" 2. When the verb is in the imperative mood ; as, " Go thou." 3. When an earnest wish, or other strong feeling, is expressed ; as, " May she be happy !"— -" How were we struck !" — Young. 4. When a supposition is made without a conjunction ; as, " Were it true, it would not injure us." 5. When neither or nor, signifying and not, precedes the verb ; as, " This was his fear ; nor was his apprehension groundless." 6. When, for the sake of emphasis, some word or words are placed before the verb, which more naturally come after it ; as, " Here am I." — "Narrow is the way." — " Silver and gold have /none." 7. When the verb has no regimen, and is itself emphatical ; as, " Echo the mountains round." — T/i&mson. 8. When the verbs say, think, reply, and the like, introduce the parts of a dialogue ; as, " ' Son of affliction,' said Omar, l who art thou V ' My name,' replied the strange) , ' is Hassan.' " — Johnson. 9. When the adverb there precedes the verb j as, " There lived a man."— Montgomery. RULE III. APPOSITION. A noun or personal Pronoun, used to explain a preceding noun or pronoun, is put, by apposition, *n the same case : as, " But he, our gracious Master, kind as just, u Knowing our frame, remembers we are dust." 72 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. V Obs. 1. Apposition is the using of different words or appellations to designate the same thing. Apposition also denotes the relation which exists between the words which are so employed. In parsing, the rule of apposition should be applied only to the explanatory term; for the case of the principal words depends on its relation to the rest of the sentence, and comes under some other rale. This rule involves a variety of forms of expression, as may be seen by the following examples : " I, thy schoolmaster, have made thee profit."— Shak. " I, even 7, am he." — Isaiah, xliii. L< I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King." — Id. " They shall every man turn to his own people." — Id. " Behold, I create Jeru- salem a rejoicing, and her people a. joy." — Id. " Righteousness and peace have kissed each other." — Psalms. " That ye love one an other."— N. Test. " Be ye helpers one of an other."— Id. " To make him king." — Id. " With modesty thy guide." — Pope. Obs. 2. The explanatory word is sometimes placed first, especially among the poets ; as, "From bright'ning fields of ether fair disclos'd, " Child of the sun. refulgent Summer comes." — Thomson. Obs. 3. The pronouns of the first and second persons, are often prefixed to nouns merely to distinguish their person. In this case of apposition, the words are not separated by a comma ; and either of them may be taken as the explanatory term : as, " I John saw these things." — " His praise, ye brooks, attune." So also, when two or more nouns form one proper name : as, John Home Tooke. Obs. 4. When two or more nouns of the possessive case are put in apposition, the possessive termination added to one, denotes the case of both or all ; as, " His brother Philip's wife." — " John Baptist's head" — " At my friend Johnson's, the bookseller." By a repetition of the possessive sign, a distinct governing noun is implied, and the apposition is destroyed. Obs. 5. When an object acquires a new name or character from the action of a verb, the new appellation is put in apposition with the object of the active verb, and in the nominative after the pas- sive ; as, " They named the child John — The child was named John." — " They elected him president — He was elected president * RULE IV. ADJECTIVES. Adjectives relate to nouns or pronouns : as, u He is a wise man, though he is young. Obs. 1. When an adjective follows a verb, it generally relates to the subject going before ; as, " Iartiglad that the door is made icide?' Obs. 2. An adjective sometimes relates to a phrase or sentence^ which is substituted for a noun ; as, " That he shoidd refuse, is no* strange." SYNTAX. 73 Obs. 3. Adjectives preceded by the definite article, are often used, by ellipsis, as nouns. They designate those classes of objects which are characterized by the qualities they express. They are mostly confined to the plural number, and refer to persons, places, or things understood ; as, " The good [persons'] must merit God's peculiar care." — Pope. Obs. 4. By an ellipsis of the noun, an adjective with a preposition before it, is sometimes equivalent to an adverb : as, "In particular;" that is, in a particular manner ; equivalent to particularly. In pars- ing, supply the ellipsis. [See Obs. 2d, under Rule xxii.] Obs. 5. Adjectives that imply unity or plurality, must agree with their nouns in number ; as, That sort, those sorts. Obs. 6. When the adjective is necessarily plural, the noun should be made so too; as, " Twenty pounds ;" not, " Twenty pound." In some peculiar phrases this rule appears to be disregarded; as, " Twenty sail of vessels," — " A hundred head of cattle," — " Two hundred pennyworth of bread." Obs. 7. To denote a collective number, a singular adjective may precede a plural one ; as, One hundred men," — " Every six weeks." Obs. 8. To denote plurality, the adjective many may, in like man- ner, precede an or a, with a singular noun ; as, " Full many a flower is born to blush unseen." — Gray. Obs. 9. The noun means, and some others, have the same form in both numbers ; they should therefore be used with an adjective ot the singular or the plural number, as the sense requires : as, " By this means they bear witness to each other." — Burke. This mean is not in good use. Obs. 10. The comparative degree can only be used in reference to two objects, or classes of objects ; the superlative compares one or more things with all others of the same class, whether few or many ; as, " Edward is taller than James ; he is the largest of my scholars." RULE V. PRONOUNS. A Pronoun must agree with its antecedent, or the noun or pronoun which it represents, in per- son, number, and gender : as, " This is the friend of whom, I spoke ; he has just arrived." — " This is the book which I bought j it is an excellent work." — u Ye, therefore, who love mercy, teach your sons to love it too." — Cowper. Obs. 1. When the antecedent is used figuratively, the pronoun o :V». agrees with it in the figurative, and not in the literal sense; as, Grim darkness furls his leaden shroud." [See Syllepsis among the figures of Syntax.] Obs. 2. The pronoun we is used by the speaker to represent him- self and others, and is therefore plural. But it is sometimes used. 7 74 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. by a sort 01 fiction, instead of the singular, to intimate that the speaker or writer is not alone in his opinions. Obs. 3. The pronoun you, though originally and properly plural, is now generally applied alike to one person or more. [See Inst. E. Gram. p. 56 and 137.] Obs. 4. A pronoun sometimes represents a phrase or sentence, or a quality expressed before by an adjective. In this case, the pro- noun is always in «ne third person, singular, neuter : as, " She is very hayidsome ; and she hab the misfortune to know it? Obs. 5. The proi oun it is often used without a definite reference to any antecedent ; and, still more frequently, it refers to something mentioned in the si bsequent part of the sentence. This pronoun is a necessary expleti e at the commencement of a sentence, in which the verb is followed bv a clause which, by transposition, may be made the subject to tr verb ; as, " It is impossible to please every one." — " It was requisite that the papers should be sent." Obs. 6. In familiar language, the relative in the objective case is frequently understood; as, " Here is the letter [which] I received.' The omission of the relative in the nominative case, is inelegant , as, " This is the worst thing [that] could happen." RULE VI. PRONOUNS. When the antecedent is a collective noun con- veying the idea of plurality, the Pronoun must agree with it, in the plural number • as, " The council were divided in their sentiments." Obs. 1. A collective noun conveying the idea of unity requires a pronoun in the third person, singular, neuter; as, "The nationwiW enforce its laws." Obs. 2. Most collective nouns of the neuter gender, may take the regular plural form, and be represented by a pronoun in the third person, plural, neuter ; as, " The nations will enforce their laws." RULE VII. PRONOUNS. When a Pronoun has two or more antecedents connected by and, it must agree with them in the plural number : as, u James and John will favour us with their company." Obs. I. When the antecedents are of different persons, the c, v« Derson is preferred to the second, and the second to the third -, aa. 1 John, and thou, and I, are attached to ou,r country." — " John and thou are attached to your country." OJ)s. 2. The gender of pronouns, except in the third person sin- SYNTAX. 75 scalar, is distinguished only by their antecedents. In expressing that of a pronoun which has antecedents of different genders, the masculine should be preferred to the feminine, and the feminine ta the neuter. RULE VIII. PRONOUNS. When a Pronoun has two or more singular antecedents connected by or or nor, it must agree with them in the singular number: as, "James or John will favor us with his company." Obs. When antecedents of different persons, numbers, or gen- ders, are connected by or or nor, they cannot be represented by a pronoun that is not applicable to each of them. RULE IX. — VERBS. A Verb must agree with its subject, or nomina- tive, in person and number : as, " I know ; thou knows t, or Jcnowest $ he knows, or knoweth? " The bird flies j the birds fly? Obs. 1. The adjuncts of the nominative, do not control its agree- ment with the verb ; as, " Six months' interest was due." — " The propriety of these rules is evident/' — " The mill, with all its appur- tenances, was destroyed." Obs. 2. The infinitive mood, a phrase, or a sentence, is sometimes the subject to a verb : a subject of this kind, however composed, if it is taken as one. whole, requires a verb in the third person, singu- lar ; as, " To lie is base." — " To see the sun is pleasant." — " That you have violated the law, is evident." — " For what purpose they embarked, is not yet known." Obs. 3. A neuter verb between two nominatives should be made to agree with that which precedes it ; as, " Words are wind :" except when the terms are rhetorically transposed, and the proper subject is put after the verb ; as, " His pavilion were dark waters and thick clouds."—" Who art thou ?" Obs. 4. When the verb has different forms, that form should be adopted which is the most consistent with present and reputable usage, in the style employed: thus, to say familiarly. "The clock hath stricken,"— ■" Thou laugh edst and talkedM, when thou onsrhtest to have been silent,"— "He readeth and writeth, but he doth not cipher,"— would be no better, than to use, dont, wont, cant, thant, and didnt, in preaching. Obs. 5. The nominative to a verb in the imperative mood, ia generally omitted; as, " Guide [thou'] my lonely way." Willi the verb in all the other personal tenses, the nominative must be ex- 76 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. pressed : except where two or more verbs are connected in the same construction ; as, " They bud, blow, wither, fall, and die." RULE X. VERBS." When the nominative is a collective noun con- veying the idea of plurality, the Verb must agree with it in the plural number : as, " The council were divided." Obs. A collective noun conveying the idea of unity, requires a verb in the third person, singular ; and generally admits also the regular plural construction : as, " His army was defeated." — " His armies were defeated." RULE XI. VERBS. When a verb has two or more nominatives connected by and, it must agree with them in the plural number : as, " Judges and senates have been bought for gold ; Esteem and love were never to be sold." — Pope, Obs. 1. The conjunction is sometimes understood; as, " Art, empire, earth itself, to change are doomed." — Beattie. Obs. 2. When the nouns connected are descriptive of one and the same thing, they are in apposition, and do not require a plural verb : as, "This philosopher and poet was banished from his country." Obs. 3. When the same nominative is repeated, the words are in apposition, and do not require a plural verb : as, '^Love, and love only, is the loan for love." — Young. Obs. 4. When the verb separates its nominatives, it agrees with that which precedes it, and is understood to the rest ; as, " Forth in the pleasing spring Thy beauty walks, thy tenderness, and love." — Thomson. Obs. 5. When two subjects are connected, one of which is taken affirmatively, and the other negatively, they belong to different prop- ositions ; and the verb or pronoun must agree with the affirmative subject, and be understood to the other : as, " Diligent industry, and not mean savings, produces honourable competence." So also when subjects are connected by as well as, but, or save ; as, " Caesar, as well as Cicero, was admired for his eloquence." — " Nothing but waitings was heard." — " None but thou can aid us." — " No mortal man, save he, had e'er survived." — Scott. SYNTAX. 77 Obs. 6. When the subjects are severally preceded by the adjec- tive each, every, or no, they are taken separately, and require a verb and pronoun in the singular number ; as, " And every sense, and every heart, is joy." — Thomson. " Each beast, each insect, happy in its own. — Pope. Obs. 7. Two or more distinct subject phrases connected by and, require a plural verb ; as, " To be wise in our own eyes, to be wise in the opinion of the world, and to be wise in the sight of our Creator, are three things so very different as rarely to coincide." — Blair. RULE XII. VERBS. When a Verb has two or more singular nomi- natives connected by or or nor, it must agree with them in the singular number : as, w Fear or jealousy affects him." Obs. 1. When a verb has nominatives of different persons or numbers, connected by or or nor, it must agree with that which is placed next to it, and be understood to the rest in the person and number required ; as, " Neither he nor his brothers were there. — '' Neither you nor I am concerned. Obs. 2. But when the nominatives require different forms of the verb, it is, in general, more elegant to express the verb, or its auxil- iary, in connection with each of them ; as, " Either thou art to olame, or I am." — " Neither were their numbers, nor was their des- tination known." Obs. 3. The speaker should generally mention himself last ; as, "Thou or / must go." — "He then addressed his discourue tu my father and me." — But in confessing a fault he may assume the first place ; as, " / and Robert did it." — M. Edgeworth. Obs. 4. Two or more distinct subject phrases connected by or or nor, require a singular verb ; as, " That a drunkard shotdd be poor, or that a fop should be ignorant, is not strange." RULE XIII. VERBS. When verbs are connected by a conjunction, they must either agree in mood, tense, and form, or have separate nominatives expressed : as, u He himself held the plough, sowed the grain, and at- tended the reapers." — u She was proud, but she is now humble." Obs. 1. From this rule there are many exceptions. We may, without repeating the nominative, connect the present, the perfect, and the first future tense of the indicative mood ; the corresponding tenses of the indicative and potential moods ; the affirmative and 78 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. the negative form ; or the simple and the compound form. But the simple verb must, in general, be placed first; as, " What nothing earthly gives or can destroy" — Pope. * Some are, and must be greater than the rest." — Id. " Plays round the head, but comes not to the heart." — Id. Obs. 2. Those parts which are common to several verbs, are gen- erally expressed to the first, and understood to the rest ; as. " Every sincere endeavour to amend shall be assisted, [shall be] accepted, and [shall be] rewarded." — " Honourably do the best you can" [do]. — "He thought as I did" [think]. — "You have seen it, but I have not" [seenit]. — "If you will go, I will" [go]. RULE XIV. PARTICIPLES. Participles relate to nouns or pronouns, or are governed by prepositions : as, " Elizabeth's tutor at one time paying her a visit, found her employed in reading Plato." — Hume. Obs. 1. The word to which the participle relates, is sometimes understood ; as, " Granting this to be true, what is to be inferred from it ?" that is, " /, granting this to be true, ask, what is to be in- ferred from it ?" Some grammarians have erroneously taught that such participles are put absolute. Obs. 2. Participles have the same government as the verbs from which they are derived. The preposition of, therefore, should not be used after the participle, when the verb does not require it Thus, in phrases like the following, of is improper ; " Keeping of one day in seven." — " By preaching of repentance." — " They left beating of Paul." Obs. 3. An imperfect or a compound participle, preceded by an article, an adjective, or a noun or pronoun of the possessive case, becomes a verbal noun, and, as such, it cannot govern an object after it. A word which may be the object of the participle in its proper construction requires the preposition of, to connect it with the ver- bal noun; as, 1. (By the participle,) "By exercising the body wc promote health." 2. (By the verbal noun,) " By the exercising of the body, health is promoted." Obs. 4. Participles that have become nouns, may be used as such with or without the article. But we sometimes find those which re- tain the government and the adjuncts of participles, used as nouns before or after verbs ; as, " Exciting such disturbances, is unlaw- ful." — " Rebellion is rising against government." This mungrel construction is liable to ambiguity, and ought to be avoided. Obs. 5. According to the analogy of Greek and Latin, there are several intransitive verbs alter which the participle in ing, relating to the nominative, maybe used instead of the infinitive connected to SYNTAX. 79 the verb ; as, " Continue following the Lord your God." — 1 Sam. xii. 14. Greek, poreuomenoi — Latin, sequentes. Not understanding the nature of this construction, or not observing what verbs admit of it, some persons use the participle erroneously as the object of the transitive verb ; and Murray has very unskilfully laid it down as a rule, that " The participle with its adjuncts, may be considered as a substantive phrase in the objective case, governed by the preposition or verb ;" whereas, he himself on the preceding page, had cautioned the learner against treating words in ing, " as if they were of an amphibious species, partly nouns and partly verbs" — that is, "partly nouns and partly participles;" for, according to Murray, participles are verbs. RULE XV. ADVERBS. Adverbs relate to verbs, participles, adjectives, or other adverbs : as, u Any passion that habitu- ally discomposes our temper, or unfits us for properly discharging the duties of life, has most certainly gained a very dangerous ascendency." Obs. 1. The adverb yes, expressing a simple affirmation, and the adverb no, expressing a simple negation, are always independent. They generally answer a question ; and are equivalent to a repeti- tion of it, in the form of an affirmative or a negative proposition. Obs. ~2. No is sometimes an adverb of degree, and, as such, it can relate only to comparatives ; as, " No greater" — " No sooner." No, when prefixed to a noun, is an adjective ; as, " No clouds, no vapours intervene." — Dyer. Obs. 3. A negation in English admits but one negative word ; as " I could not wait any longer," — not, " no longer." Double nega- tives are vulgar. Obs. 4. The repetition of a negative word or clause, strengthens the negation ; as, " No, no, no." But two negatives in the same clause, destroy the negation and render the meaning affirmative ; as, " A or did they not perceive their evil plight." — Milton. That is, they did perceive it. Obs. 5. By the customary (but faulty) omission of the negative before but, that conjunction has acquired the adverbial sense of only; and it may, when used with that signification be called an adverb.' Thus the text, "He hath not grieved me but in part," [2 Cor. ii. 5.] might drop the negative and still convey the same mean- ing : " He hath grieved me but in part." Obs. 6. We sometimes find adverbs used after he manner of nonns: as, "The Son of Man hath not where to 1 iy his head."-^ Matt. viii. 20. " The Son of God — was not yea and nay, but in him was yea." — 2 Cor. i. 19. " An eternal now does always ast."-— Cowley. 80 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. RULE XVI. — CONJUNCTIONS. Conjunctions connect either words or senten- ces ; as, " Let there be no strife, I pray thee, be- tween me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen 5 for we are brethren." — Bible. Obs. 1. Conjunctions that connect particular words, generally join similar parts of speech, in a common dependence on some other term. Those which connect sentences or clauses, commonly unite one to an other, either as an additional affirmation, or as a condition, a cause, or an end. Obs. 2. The conjunction as, often unites words that are in apposi- tion ; as, " He offered himself as a. journeyman." Obs. 3. As frequently has the force of a relative pronoun ; aa, " Avoid such as are vicious." — " But to as many as received him, &c." — ' ; He then read the conditions as follow." Obs. 4. The conjunction that,is frequently understood ; as, "We hoped [that] you would come." Obs. 5. The conjunction that, when it introduces a sentence as the subject of a verb, does not connect it to any other term ; as, " That mind is not matter, is certain." Obs. 6. After than or as expressing a comparison, there is usually an ellipsis of some word or words. The construction of the words employed, may be known by supplying the ellipsis ; as, " She is younger than I" [am]. — " He does nothing, who endeavours to do more than [what] is allowed to humanity." — Johnson, RULE XVII. PREPOSITIONS. Prepositions show the relations of things : as, u The house was founded on a rock." Obs. 1. The former term of relation is sometimes understood : as, [7 say] " In a word, it would entirely defeat my purpose." — " For all shall know me, [reckoning] from the least to the greatest." — Heb v;,. 11. Oos. 2. When a preposition introduces the infinitive, a phrase, or a sentence, which is made the entire subject or predicate of a prop osition, it has no antecedent term of relation ; as, " To be good, is, to be happy." — " To be reduced to poverty, is a great affliction." " For an old man to be reduced to poverty, is a very great afflic- tion." Dr. Adam remarks, that " To is often taken absolutely ; as, ' To confess the truth,' — ' To proceed.' " But his examples are not appropriate ; for what he and many other grammarians call the infinitive absolute, evidently depends on something understood. Obs. 3. In the familiar style, a preposition governing a relative or an interrogative pronoun, is often separated from its object, and connected with the other term of relation : as Whom did he SYNTAX. 8 J speak to ?" But it is more dignified, and, in general, more graceful, to place the preposition before the pronoun ; as, " To whom did he speak V Obs. 4. Two prepositions sometimes come together, so that they ougnt not to be separated in parsing ; as, " Lambeth is ovf against Wesminster-abbey." — L. Murray. And from before the lustre of her face." — Thomson. Obs. 5. Two separate prepositions have sometimes a joint refer ence to the same noun ; as, u He boasted of and contended for the privilege." This construction is formal, and scarcely allowable, except in the law style. It is better to say, " He boasted of the privilege, and contended for it." RULE XVIII. INTERJECTIONS. Interjections have no dependent construction : as, " O I let not thy heart despise me." — Johnson. Obs. "Interjections in English have no government." — Lowth. When a word, not in the nominative absolute, is connected with an interjection, or used in exclamation, its construction generally de- pends upon something understood; as, "Ah we/" — that is, "Ah! pity me /" — " Wo is me /" — that is, " Wo is to me /" 2. Government.* RULE XIX. POSSESSIVES. A noun or a pronoun in the possessive case, is governed by the name of the thing possessed : as, u Theirs is the vanity, the learning thine $ " Touch'd by thy hand, again Rome^s glories shine." Obs. 1. The governing noun is sometimes understood ; as, " At the Alderman's" [house]. — " A book of my brother's" [books]. Obs. 2. When nouns of the possessive case, are connected by conjunctions, or put in apposition, the sign of possession must always be annexed to such, and such only, as immediately precede the gov- erning noun, expressed or understood ; as, " John and Eliza's teacher is a man of more learning than James's, or Andrew's." — " For David my servant's sake." Obs. 3. The apostrophe and s are sometimes annexed to that part of a compound name, which is , of itsellj in the objective case ; as, " The captain-of-the-guard's house." — Bible. " The Bard-ol-Lo- mond's lay is done." — Hogg. Obs. 4. To avoid a concurrence of hissing sounds, the s is some- * The arrangement of words is Irea.'ed of ill the observations under the R lies, bo mote fully in the author's larger wjrk. 82 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. times omitted, and the apostrophe only retained ; as, "For conscience sake."—" Moses' minister."—" Felix' room."—" Achilles' wrath." But in prose this elision should be sparingly indulged. Obs. 5. The relation of property may also be expressed by the prep- osition of; as, " The will of man,"— for " man's will." Of these forms, we should adopt that which will render the sentence the mos' perspicuous and agreeable ; and, by the use of both, avoid an un pleasant repetition of either. RULE XX. OBJECTIVES. Active-transitive verbs, and their imperfect and pluperfect participles, govern the objective case: as, " I found her assisting him." u Having finished the work, I submit it." Obs. 1. The objective case generally follows the governing word but when it is emphatic, it sometimes precedes it ; as, " This poini they have gained." A relative or an interrogative pronoun is com- monly placed at the head of its clause ; as, Whom will the meeting appoint ?" Obs. 2. Active-transitive verbs are sometimes followed by two ob- jectives in apposition / as, " Thy saints proclaim thee king." — Cow- per. — " And God called the frmament Heaven." — Bible. Obs. 3. When a verb is followed by two words in the objective case, which are not in apposition, nor connected by a conjunction one of them is governed by a preposition understood ; as, " I paid [to j him the money." — " They offered [to] me a seat." — " He asked [of J them the question." Obs. 4. In expressing such sentences passively, the object of the preposition is sometimes erroneously assumed for the nominative : as, " He was paid the money" instead of, " The money was paid [to] him." Obs. 5. Some verbs will govern a kindred noun, or its pronoun, but no other : as, " He lived a virtuous life." — " Hear, I pray you. this dream which I have dreamed." — Gen. xxxvii. 6. RULE XXI. SAME CASES. Active-intransitive, passive, and neuter verbs, and their participles, take the same case after as before them, when both words refer to the same thing : as, " He returned & friend, who came a foe." — u The child was named John." — " It could not be he." Obs. 1. This is, perhaps, more properly a rule of agreement; the words connected by the verb, agree as if they were in apposition.— [See Rule, hi.] SYNTAX. 83 Obs. 2. In the foregoing rule, the words after and be/or* refer rather to the order of the sense and construction, than to the j lacing of the words. The proper subject of the verb is the nominative to it, or before it, by Rule ii. ; and the other nominative, however placed, belongs after the verb, by Rule xxi. Obs. 3. In interrogative sentences, the terms are usually trans- posed, or both are placed after the verb ; as, " Whence, and what art thou, execrable shape ?" — Milton. " Art thou that traitor angel ? art thou he ?" — Idem. Obs. 4. In some peculiar constructions, both words naturally come before the verb ; as, " I know not who she is." And they are some- times placed in this manner by transposition ; as, " Yet He it is." RULE XXII. OBJECTIVES. Prepositions govern the objective case : as, " Truth and good are one : And beauty dwells in them, and they in her. With like participation." — Akenside. Obs. 1. Most of the prepositions may take the imperfect participU tor their object ; and some, the compound : as, " On opening the trial, they accused him of having defrauded them." Obs. 2. Prepositions are sometimes elliptically construed with ad- iectives ; as, in vain, in secret, at first, on high — i. e. in a vain man- ner, in secret places, at the first time, on high places. In parsing supply the ellipsis. [See Obs. 4th, under Rule iv.] Obs. 3. In a few instances prepositions precede adverbs; as, at once, from above, forever. These should be united if the terms are to be parsed together as adverbs ; but we may suppose the latter words to be used substantively, by Obs. 6th, on Rule 15th. Obs. 4. When nouns of time or measure are connected with verbs or adjectives, the prepositions which govern them, are generally suppressed ; as, " We rode sixty miles that day ; that is, " through sixty miles on that day."—" The wall is ten feet high ;" that is, " high to ten feet." In parsing, supply the ellipsis. — Such expres- sions as, " A board of six feet long." — " A boy of twelve years old," —are wrong. Strike out of; or say, " a board of six feet in length, 1 ' — " A boy of twelve years of age? Obs. 5. After the adjectives like, near, and nigh, the prepositiot to or unto is generally understood; as, " It is like [to or unto A sil ver."— " Near [to] yonder copse." — " Nigh [to] this recess." Obs. 6. The word worth, which most grammarians call an adjec- tive, is followed either by the objective case or by a participle, sup- posed to be governed by o/understood ; as the book is worth a dol far."—" It is worth mentioning." But, after a careful examinatioL of the term, we know no reason why worth should be called an ad fective, rather than a preposition governing the word which follows it. Ubs. 7. After verbs of giving, procuring, and some others, there 84 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. ia usually an ellipsis of to or for before the objective of the person ; as, " Give [to] him water to drink." — " Buy [for] me a knife." RULE XXIII. INFINITIVES. The preposition to governs the infinitive mood, and commonly connects it to a finite verb : as, <6 1 desire to learn." — Dr. Adam. Obs. 1. Most grammarians have considered the sign to as a part of the infinitive ; and have referred the government of this mood to a preceding verb. Eut the rule which they give is partial and often inapplicable ; and their exceptions to it are numerous and puzzling. Though the infinitive is commonly made an adjunct to some finite verb, yet it may be joined to almost all the other parts of speech. — [See Institutes of E< Gram. p. 186.] Obs. 2. The infinitive sometimes depends on a verb understood j as, " To be candid with you, [I'confess] I was in fault." RULE XXIV. INFINITIVES. The active verbs bid, dare, feel, hear, let, make, need, see, and their participles, take the in- finitive after them, without the preposition to . as, " If he bade thee depart, how dar est thou stay ?" Obs. 1. The preposition is always employed after the passive form of these verbs, and in some instances after the active ; as, " He was heard to say." — " I cannot see to do it." — " What would dare to mo- lest him who might call on every side, to thousands enriched by his bounty ?" — Dr. Johnson. Obs. 2. The auxiliary 0£ of the passive infinitive is also sup- messed after feel, here,make, and see; as, "I heard the letter read, 7 * not, " be read." RULE XXV.— -NOMINATIVE ABSOLUTE. A noun or a pronoun is put absolute in the nom inative, when its case depends on no other word : as, "He failing, who shall meet success ?" — " Your fathers, where are they ? and the prophets, do they live forever V 9 — Zech. i. 5. a This said, he form'd thee, Adam ! thee, O man ! Dust of the ground." — Milton. SYNTAX. 85 Obs. 1. A noun or a pronoun is put absolute in the nominative cnder *he following four circumstances : 1. When with a participle, it is used to express a 3ause, or a coi* comitant fact ; as, " Tlwu looking on, Shame to be overcome or overreach'd, Would utmost vigour raise." — Milton. 2. When, by a direct address, it is put in the second person, and set off from the verb ; as, " At length, Seged, reflect and be wise." 3. When, by pleonasm, it is abruptly introduced, for the sake of emphasis ; as, " He that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him."— "Gad, a troop shall overcome him." — "The north and the south, ihou hast created them." — Bible. 4. When, by mere exclamation, it is used without address, and without other words expressed or implied to give it construction ; as, " Oh ! deep enchanting prelude to repose !" — Campbell. Obs. 2. The nominative put absolute with a participle, is equiva- lent to a dependent clause commencing with when, while, if, since, or because ; as, " I being a child" — equal to, " When I was a child." Obs. 3. The participle being is often understood after nouns or pronouns put absolute ; as, " Alike in ignorance, his reason [ ] such, Whether he thinks too little or too much." Pope. Obs. 4. All nouns preceded by an article, are in the third person , and, in exclamatory phrases, such nouns sometimes appear to have no determinable construction: as, " O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" — Rom. xi. 32. Obs. 5. The case of nouns -used in exclamations, or in mottoes and abbreviated sayings, often depends, or may be conceived to de pend, on something understood ; and when their construction can be satisfactorily explained on the principles of ellipsis, they are not in'.t absolute. The following examples may perhaps be resolved in this manner, though the expressions will lose much of their vivacity ; " A harse I a horse ! my kingdom for a horse !" — Shak. " Heaps upon heaps" — " Skin for skin" — " An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth"—" Day after day"—" World without end."— Bible. RULE XXVI. THE SUBJUNCTIVE. A future contingency is best expressed by a verb in the Subjunctive, present ; and a mere supposi- tion, with indefinite time, by a verb in the Subjunc- tive, imperfect : but a conditional circumstance assumed as a fact, requires the Indicative Mood s 8G ENGLISH GRAMMAR. as, " If thou forsahe him, he will cast thee off for- ever." — " If it were not so, I would have told you." — "If thou went, nothing would be gained." — " Though he is poor, he is contented." EXAMPLES FOR PARSING. CHAPTER VII.— SYNTACTICAL. it is here required of the pupil — to distinguisJi the different parts of speech, and their classes ; to mention their modifications in order ; to point out their relation, agreement, or government ; and to apply the Rules of Syntax. Thus, EXAMPLE PARSED. V " Man's highest interest consists in virtue." Mail's is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, mas- culine gender, and possessive case: and is governed by interest ; according to Rule xix, which says, " A noun or a pronoun in the possessive case, is governed by the name of the thing possessed." Because the meaning is, — mans interest. Highest is a common adjective, of the superlative degree ; compared high, higher, highest : and relates to interest ; according to Rule iv, which says, "Adjectives relate to nouns or pro- nouns." Because the meaning is, — highest interest. Interest is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, neu- ter gender, and nominative case : and is the subject of con- sists; according to Rule ii, which says, "A noun or a pronoun which is the subject of a verb, must be in the nominative case." Because the meaning is, — interest con- sists. Consists is a regular neuter verb, from consist, consisted, consisting, consisted; found in the indicative mood, present tensej third person, and singular number: and agrees with its nominative interest; according to Rule ix, which says, " A verb must agree with its subject, or nominative, in person and number." Because the meaning is, — interest consists. i)l is a preposition : and shows the relation between virtue and con- sists ; according to Rule xvii, which says, "Prepositions show the relations of things." Because the meaning is,— amsists in virtue. SYNTAX. 87 Virtue is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, neu- ter gender, and objective case : and is governed by in j according to Rule xxii, which says, " Prepositions govern the objective case." Because the meaning is, — in virtue LESSON I. The bee and the butterfly are both busy bodies ; but their pur- poses of action appear to be very different. A lottery, which is confessedly a species of gambling, is an unsafe corner-stone for a public edifice. It is said that some thieves who once robbed a traveller, very gravely charged him with dishonesty for concealing a part of his money. LESSON II. Others sometimes appear to us more wrong than they are, be- cause we ourselves are not right in judging them. Genius may often be discovered by the manner in which children pass their leisure moments. Innocent minds are the least suspicious ; and they who are least apt to offend, the most readily forgive. LESSON III. Power enthroned with wisdom on its right hand and mercy on its left, constitutes a complete judge. All public measures that are not strictly equitable, are destructive of the true end of civil government. Where there is no knowledge of the law, a man acting contrary to it, cannot be properly said to transgress it. LESSON IV. A reply is properly a return to an answer : to answer and to re- ply are therefore not always equivalent expressions. He who prides himself on his learning, would, if he were destitute of that, be just as proud of a pair of new shoefe. A literary boaster is therefore as far from wisdom and modesty as any other bragga- docio. LESSON v. Language is to the understanding what a genteel motion is to the body— a very great advantage : but a person may be superior to an other in understanding, and not have an equal dignity of ex- pression. Fine writing is generally the effect of spontaneous thoughts and a laboured style. A sound Head and a good heart are as essential to genius a» a lively imagination. 88 ENGLISH GRAMMAR, LESSON VI. A large, branching, aged oak, is, perhaps, the most venerable of ail. inanimate objects. No man of sense ever took any pains to appear wise ; as no hon- est man ever used any tricks to display his own integrity. I consider your very testy and quarrelsome people in the same light as I do a loaded gun ; which may, by accident go off and kill LESSON VII. Were a man ol pleasure to arrive at the full extent of his several wishes, he must immediately feel himself miserable. It is one spe- cies of despair, to have no room to hope for any addition to one's happiness. His following wish must then be, to wish that he had some fresh object for his wishes. — This is a strong argument, that the mind and the body were both designed for strenuous activity. LESSON VIII. Shining characters are not always the most agreeable ones : the mild radiance of the emerald is by no means less pleasing than the glare of the ruby. To be at once a rake and to glory in the character, discovers at the same time a bad disposition and a bad heart Few men, that would cause respect and distance merely, can say any thing by which their end will be so effectually answered as by silence. LESSON IX. If we would judge whether a man is really happy, it is not solely to his houses and lands, to his equipage and his retinue, we are to look. Unless we could see farther, and discern what joy or what bitterness his heart feels, we can pronounce little concerning him. LESSON x. Riches and pleasures are the chief temptations to criminal deeds. Yet those riches when obtained may very possibly overwhelm us with unforeseen miseries. Those pleasures may cut short our health and life. The house of feasting too often becomes an avenue to the house of mourning. Short, to the licentious, :js the interval between them. LESSON XI. The veil which covers from our sight the events of succeeding years, is a veil woven by the hand of mercy. He who pretends to great sensibility towards men, and yet has no feeling for the high objects of religion, no heart to admire and adore the great Father of the universe, has reason to distrust the truth and delicacy of his sensibility. SYNTAX. 89 LESSON XII. Genuine virtue has a language that speaks to every heart through- out the world. It is a language which is understood by all. In every region, every climate, the homage paid to it is the same. In no one sentiment were ever mankind more generally agreed. LESSON XIII. O blind to each indulgent aim Of pow'r supremely wise, Who fancy happiness in aught The hand of Heav'n denies ! Vain is alike the joy we seek, And vain what we possess, Unless harmonious reason tunes The passions into peace. To temper'd wishes, just desires, Is happiness confined ; And, deaf to folly's call, attends The music of the mind. — Carter. QUESTIONS ON SYNTAX. LESSON I. — DEFINITIONS. Of what aoes Syntax treat ? What is the relation of words ? What is the agreement of words ? What is the government of words ? What is the arrangement of words ? What is a sentence ? What are the principal parts of a sentence? What are the other parts called ? How many kinds of sentences are there ? What is a simple sentence ? What is a compound sentence ? What is a clause ? What is a phrase ? What words must be supplied in parsing ? / LESSON II. — RULES. How many Rules of Syntax are there? Which are the rules of relation and agreement? Wl.ich are the rules of government? Where is the arrangement of words treated of? What part of speech is without any rule of syntax ' To what do articles relate ? 3* 90 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. What case is employed as the subject of a verb ? How do words in apposition agree 7 To what do adjectives relate ? How does a pronouii agree with its antecedent? How does a pronoun agree with a collective noun i How does a pronoun agree with joint antecedents ? How does a pronoun agree with disjunct antecedents ? LESSON III. — RULES. How does a verb agree with its subject, or nominative ! How does a verb agree with a collective noun? How does a verb agree with joint nominatives ? How does a verb agree with disjunct nominatives ? What agreement is required, when verbs are connected 1 How are participles employed 1 To what do abverbs relate"? What is the use of conjunctions ? What is the use of prepositions ] To what do interjections relate 1 LESSON IV. — RULES. By what is the possessive case governed 1 What case do active-transitive verbs govern 1 What case is put after other verbs 1 What case do prepositions govern 1 What governs the infinitive mood ! What verbs take the infinitive after them, without the prepositi n to1 When is a noun or pronoun put absolute 1 When should the subjunctive mood be employed 1 LESSON V. — PARSING. What is required of the pupil in the seventh chapter for parsing 1 How is the following example parsed ] " Man's highest interest consists in virtue." [Now parse, m like manner, the thirteen lessons of the Seventh Ufiapter.] PART IV. PROSODY. Prosody treats of punctuation, utterance, figures, and versification. PUNCTUATION. Punctuation is the art of dividing composition, by points, or stops, for the purpose of showing more clearly the sense and relation of the words, and of noting the different pauses and inflections required in reading. The following are the principal points, or marks : the Comma [,], the Semicolon [,], the Colon [:], the Period [.], the Dash [— ], the Note of Inter- rogation [?], the Note of Exclamation [!], and the Parenthesis [()]. The Comma denotes the shortest pause ; the Semicolon, a pause double that of the comma ; the Colon, a pause double that of the semicolon ; and the Period, or Full Stop, a pause double that of the colon. The pauses required by the other four, vary according to the structure of the sen- tence, and their place in it. OF THE COMMA. The Comma is used to separate those parts of a sentence, which are so nearly connected in sense, as to be only one degree removed from that close connexion which admits no point : EXAMPLES. That life is long, which answers life's great end. The mind, though free, has- a governor within itself. In eternity, days, years, and ages, are nothing. Good and evil, like heat and cold, differ totally. To strengthen our virtue, God hids us trust in him. 92 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. OF THE SEMICOLON. The Semicolon is used to separate those parts of a compound sentence, which are neither so closely connected as those which are distinguished by the comma, nor so little dependent as those which require the colon : EXAMPLES. In the regions inhabited by angelic natures, unmingled felicity for ever blooms ; joy flows there with a perpetual and abundant stream, nor needs any mound to check its course. Straws swim upon the surface ; but pearls lie at the bottom. OF THE COLON. The Colon is used to separate those parts of a compound sentence, which are neither so closely connected as those which are distinguished by the semicolon, nor so little dependent as those which require the period : EXAMPLES. Avoid evil doers : in such society, an honest man may become ashamed of himself. Princes have courtiers, and merchants have partners ; the volup- tuous have companions, and the wicked have accomplices : none bu the virtuous can have friends. OF THE PERIOD. The Period, or Full Stop, is used to mark an entire and independent sentence, whether simple or compound : EXAMPLES. Every deviation from truth, is criminal. Abhor a falsehood. Let your words be ingenuous. Sincerity possesses the most powerful charm. — Blair. OF THE DASH. The Dash is used to denote an unexpected pause, of variable length : EXAMPLES. "I must inquire into the affair, and if" — "And if!" interrupted the farrxier. PROSODY. 93 Here lies the great — false marble, where ? Nothing but sordid dust lies here. — Young. OF THE NOTE OF INTERROGATION. The Note of Interrogation is used to designate a question : EXAMPLES. In life, can love be bought with gold ? Are friendship's pleasures to be sold 1— Johnson. OF THE NOTE OF EXCLAMATION. The Note of Exclamation is used to denote some strong or sudden emotion of the mind : EXAMPLES. O ! let me listen to the words of life ! — Thomson. Alas ! how is that rugged heart forlorn ! — Beattie. OF THE PARENTHESIS. The Parenthesis is used to distinguish a clause that is hastily thrown in between the parts of a sentence to which it does not properly belong : EXAMPLES. To others do (the law is not severe) What to thyself thou wishest to be done. — Beattie. Know then this truth, (enough for man to know,) Virtue alone is happiness below. — Pope. Obs. The incidental clause should be uttered in a lower tone, and faster than the principal sentence. It always requires both before and after it, a pause as great as that of a comma, or greater. OF THE OTHER MARKS. There are also other marks that are occasion- ally used for various purposes, as follow : 1. ['] The Apostrophe denotes either the possessive case, or the elision of one or more letters of a word ; as, The girVs regard to her parents' advice ; — ^gan, lov'd, een, thro 1 ; for began, loved, even, through. 2. [-] The Hyphen connects the parts of compound words ; as, ever-living. Placed at the end of a line, it shows that one or more syllables of a word are carried forward to the next line. 3. f ] The Diceresis, placed over the latter of two vowels, shows that they are not a diphthong ; as, aerial. 4. f '"J The Acute Accent marks the syllable which requires the 94 ENOLISH GRAMMAR. principa. siress in pronunciation ; as, e qual, equal'ity. It is some- times used in opposition to the grave accent, to distinguish a close or short vowel, or to denote the rising inflection of the voice. 5. [ x ] The Grave Accent is used, in opposition tc the acute, to distinguish an open or long vowel, or to denote the falling inflection of the voice. 6. [ A ] The Circumflex generally denotes the broad sound of a vowel ; as, eclat. 7. [ "] The Breve is used to denote either a close vowel, or a syl- lable of short quantity; as, rnven, to devour. 8. [-] The Macron is used to denote either an open vowel or a syllable of long quantity ; as, raven, a bird. 9. [ ] or [****] The Ellipsis denotes the omission of some letters or words ; as, K— g for king. 10. [a] The Caret shews where to insert words that have been accidentally omitted. 11. [ \ J The Brace serves to unite a triplet, or to connect several terms with something to which they are all related. 12. [§] The Section marks the smaller divisions of a book or chapter. 13. [IF] The Paragraph (chiefly used in the Bible) denotes the commencement of a new subject. The parts of discourse which are called paragraphs, are, in general, sufficiently distinguished, by beginning a new line, and carrying the first word a little forwards or backwards. 14. [""] The Quotation Points distinguish words that are taken from some other author or speaker. A quotation within a quotation is marked with single points ; which, when both are employed, are placed within the others. 15. [[]] The Crotchets generally enclose some correction or ex- planation, or the subject to be explained ; as, " He [the speaker ] was of a different opinion." 16. [H3"] The Index points out something remarkable. 17. [*] The Asterisk, [f] the Obelisk, [X] the Double Dagger, and [||] the Parallel, refer to marginal notes. The letters of the alpha- bet, or the numerical figures, may be used for the same purpose. f- UTTERANCE. Utterance is the art of vocal expression. It includes the principles of pronunciation and elo- cution. OF PRONUNCIATION. Pronunciation, as distinguished from elocution^ is the utterance of words taken separately. PROSODY. 95 Pronunciation requires a knowledge of the just powers of the letters in all their combinations, and of the force and seat of the accent. 1. The Just Powers of the letters are 'hose sounds which are given to them by the best readers. 2. Accent is the peculiar stress which we lay upon some particu- lar syllable of a word, whereby that syllable is distinguished from the rest ; as, gram' -mar, gram-ma' '-ri-an. Every word of more than one syllable, has one of its syllables ac- cented. When the word is long, for the sake of harmony or distinctness, we often give a secondary, or less forcible accent, to an other sylla- ble; as, to the last of tem'-per-a-ture', and to the second ofin-dem'- ni-Ji-ca'-tion. A full and open pronunciation of the long vowel sounds, a clear articulation of the consonants, a forcible and well placed accent, and a distinct utterance of the unaccented syllables, distinguish the ele- gant speaker. OF ELOCUTION. Elocution is the utterance of words that are arranged into sentences, and form discourse. Elocution requires a knowledge, and right appli- cation, of emphasis, pauses, inflections, and tones. 1. Emphasis is the peculiar stress which we lay upon •some par- ricular word or words in a sentence, which are thereby distinguished from the rest. 2. Pauses are cessations in utterance, which serve equally to re- lieve the speaker, and to render language intelligible and pleasing. The duration of the pauses should be proportionate to the degree of connexion between the parts of the discourse. 3. Inflections are those peculiar variations of the human voice, by which a continuous sound is made to pass from one note into an other. The passage of the voice from a lower to a higher or shriller note, is called the rising inflection ; — the passage of the voice from a higher to a lower or grave note, is called the failing inflection. These two opposite inflections may be heard in the following ex- amples : 1. The rising, " Do you mean to go ?"—2. The falling, "When will you. go?" Obs. Questions that may be answered by yes or no, require the rising inflection : those that demand any other answe *, must be ut- tered with the falling Inflection. 4. Tones are those modulations of the voice, which depend upon the feelings of the speaker. And it is of the utmost importance that they be natural, and adapted to the subject and to the occasion ; ibr upon them, in a great measure, depends all that is pleasing or inter- esting in elocution. 96 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. FIGURES. A figure, in grammar, is an intentional devia- tion from the ordinary form, construction, or ap- plication of words. There are, accordingly, fig- ures of Etymology, figures of Syntax, and figures of Rhetoric. When figures are judiciously em- ployed, they both strengthen and adorn expression. They occur more frequently in poetry than in prose, and several of them are merely poetic licenses. FIGURES OF ETYMOLOGY. A figure of Etymology is an intentional devia- tion from the ordinary form of a word. "The principal figures of Etymology are eight; namely, A-phcer- e-sis, Pros-the-sis, Syn-co-pe, A-poc-o-pe, Par-a-go-ge, Di-cer-e-sis, Syn-cer-e-sis and Tme-sis. 1. Apharesis is the elision of some of the initial letters of a word ; as, 'gainst, 'gan, 'neath, — for against, began, beneath. 2. Prosthesis is the prefixing of an expletive syllable to a word ; as, adown, appaid, 6estrown, evanished, — for down, paid, strmon, vanished. 3. Syncope is the elision of some of the middle letters of a word ; as, medicine, for medicine. 4. Apocope is the elision of some of the final letters of a word ; as, tho' for though. 5. Paragoge is the annexing of an expletive syllable to a word ; as, withouten, for without; my deary, for my dear. 6. Diceresis is the separating of two vowels that might form a diphthong ; as, cooperate, not cooperate. 7. Synceresis is the sinking of two syllables into one ; as, seest, for seest. Obs. When a vowel is entirely suppressed in pronunciation, (whether retained in writing or not,) the consonants connected with it, fall into an other syllable : thus, loved or lotfd, lovest or lov'st, are monosyllables, except in solemn discourse, in which the e is made vocal. , 8. Tmesis is the inserting of a word between the parts of a com- pound ; as, "On which side soever," — " To us ward," — To God ward." — Bible. FIGURES OF SYNTAX. A figure of Syntax is an intentional deviation from the ordinary construction of words. PROSODY. 97 The principal figures of Syntax, are five; name.y, El-lip-sis, Ple- o-masm, Syl-lep-sis, En-al-la-ge, and Hy-per-ba-ton. 1. Ellipsis is the omission of some words which are necessary to complete the construction, but not necessary to convey the mean- ing; as, " Who did this ?" I [did it] 2. Pleonasm is the introduction of superfluous words. This figure is allowable only, when in animated discourse, it abruptly intro- duces an emphatic word, or repeats an idea to impress it more strongly ; as, " He that hath ears to hear, let him hear !" — " I know thee who thou art." A pleonasm is sometimes impressive and ele- gant ; but an unemphatic repetition of the same idea, is one of the worst faults of bad writing. 3. Syllepsis is agreement formed according to the figurative sense of a word, or the mental conception of the thing spoken of, and not according to the literal or common use of the term ; it is therefore, in general, connected with some figure of rhetoric : as, " The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory." — John i. 14. " Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.'' 1 — Acts viii. 5. " While Evening draws her crimson curtain round." 4. Enallage is the use of one part of speech, or of one modifica- tion for an other. This figure borders closely upon solecism.* It is a license sparingly indulged in poetry, and fashion has given it at least one form in prose ; as, " You know that you are Brutus that say this." — Shak. " They fall successive [ly,] and successive [ly] rise." " Than whom [who] none higher sat." — Milton, " So furious was that onset's shock, Destruction's gate at once unlock." — Hogg. 5 Hyperbaton is the transposition of words ; as, " He wanders earth around," — "Rings the world with the vain stir." This figure is much employed in poetry. A judicious use of it confers harmony, variety, strength, and vivacity, upon composition. But care should be taken lest it produce ambiguity or obscurity. FIGURES OF RHETORIC. A figure of Rhetoric, is an intentional devia- tion from the ordinary application of words. Numerous departures from perfect simplicity of diction occur in almost every kind of composition. They are mostly founded on * Deviations of this kind are, in general, to be considered solecisms ; otherwise the rules of grammar would be of no use or authority. Despauter, an ancient Latin gram- marian, gave an improper latitude to this figure, under the name of Antiptosis ; and Behourt and others extended it still further. But Sanctiv- Antiplosi grammaii- coram nihil imperiiius, quod fi ginentum si esset verum,fru areretur, quern casum verba regercnt. And the Messieurs De Port. Royal reject Ugture altogether. There arc, however, Borne changes of this kind, which the grammarian is not competent to condemn, though they do not accord with the ordinary principles of construction. 9 98 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. some similitude or relation of things, which, by the power of imagi* nation, is rendered conducive to ornament or illustration. The principal figures of Rhetoric are fourteen, namely, Sim-i-le, Me-ta-phor, Al-le-go-ry, Me-ton-y-my, Sy-nec-do-che, Hy-per-bo-le, Vis-ion, A-pos-tro-phe, Per-son-i-ji-ca-tion, Er-o-te-sis, Ec-pho-ne-sis, An-tith-e-sis, Cli-max, and I-ro-ny. 1. A Simile is a simple and express comparison, and is generally introduced by like, as, or so; as, " At first, like thunder's distant tone, The rattling din came rolling on." — Hogg. 2. A Metaphor is a figure that expresses the resemblance of two objects, by applying either the name, or some attribute, adjunct, or action, of the one, directly to the other ; as, u His eye was morning' 's brightest ray" — Hogg. " Beside him sleeps the warrior's bow." — Id. 3. An Allegory is a continued narration of fictitious events de- signed to represent and illustrate important realities. Thus the Psalmist represents the Jewish nation under the symbol of a vine: u Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt : thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root ; and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars." — Ps. lxxx. 8. 4. A Metonymy is a change of names. It is founded on some such relation as that of cause and effect, of subject and adjunct, of place and inhabitant, of container and thing contained, or of sign and thing sig- nified ; as, "God is our salvation;'" i. e. Saviour. — "He was the sigh of her secret soul ;" i. e. the youth she loved. — " They smote the city;" i. e. citizens. "My son, give me thy heart;" i. e. affec- tion. — " The sceptre shall not depart from Judah j" i. e. kingly power, 5. Synecdoche is the naming of the whole for a part, or of a part for the whole ; as, " This roof [i. e. house] protects you." — " Now the year [i. e. summer] is beautiful." — Thomson. 6. Hyperbole is extravagant exaggeration, in which the imagina- tion is indulged beyond the sobriety of truth ; as, " The sky shrunk upward with unusual dread, And trembling Tiber div'd beneath his bed." — Dryden 7. Vision or Imagery, is-