-THE-

METROPOLITAN BUSINESS GOllEGE

ENGLISH TRAINING COURSE
CONSISTING OF

LETTER-WRITING,

COMPOSITION,

WORD-ANALYSIS,

PRONUNCIATION,

AND GRADED LESSONS

-IN-

ENGLISH

GRAMMAR,
-BY-

A.
v -

D.

M. HOOTMAN AND M.

MUGAN.

1'
,. --~--.............
/""'"

-c \'.,

•

r ' :-

.,. . • . .

.

r~~~~,7~'~2~ ~:)/ .

H!Cd G!J ~~:A ;"f, 1
~

• (, , :.

1·'...:-:::-;;/'"

--=-::....-~ ~

0. M. POWERS, -

Cor. Michigan Ave. and Monroe St.

'1.,-(..r

-

~

-

- -THE- .

METROPOLITAN BUSINESS GOLLEGE ,
i

i
I

I

'

ENGLISH TRAINING COURSE
CONSISTING OF

LETTER-WRITING,

COMPOSITION,

WORD-ANALYSIS,

PRONUNCIATION,

AND GRADED LESSONS

-IN-

ENGLISH

GRAMMAR,

\

=

-=::=

- -

-

:\: 1 I

-

..._

~

-ri::: ,,,,

Hb tf-

INTRODUCTION,

Entere<l according to the Act of Congress, in the year i8S9, by

M. D. MUGAN,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

This work Is a revision of the authors' Graded Method in English Gram·
mar, published in 1885. 'l'he method was devised for the purpose of placing
In the hands of educators, not only a practical grammar of our language, but
also a logical treatment of the subject which would prove a valuable instru·
mcntfor the ~ystematic development of the reasoning and perceptive powers.
The plan and the work, as at present arranged, grew Into form In the
schools over which the authors preside, and every part of It bas undergone
the test of the class-room.
The systematic grading is an Important feature of this method. Commencing with a sentence of two words, the form of expression continues to grow
as advancement Is made, until the most complex sentences are introduced
und analyzed.
Grammar is here recognized as an Instrument to be used in the study of
language, not as a science, to be studied for the sake of the science Itself;
therefore, the practical side of the subject is made prominent all through the
'vork.
The memorizing of dcllnitious, rnlcs, etc., forms no part of this. mode ot
Instruction. The system of presentation is such that everything is at llrRt
learned by experience and observation,
Due consideration has been given lo composition and letter-writing, and
the rules for capitals and pnnctuat.lon have been placed near exercises which
furnish abundant examples for their Illustration.
'l'he aim and ol.Jjcct of this work is to make the study of the science of our
language more Interesting and effective, nnd at the same time to render It
more comprehensible to the yonn~cr children . The nnthors venture to hope
thnt this revision will proven valuable aid in the hands of their co-workers in
the cause of education.
DECEMBER, 1889.
/

/

CONTENTS.
GRADED

o/2- Qt <9>adne1., ea,.,,

PA GE.

C?/~ca70,

Analysis of W ords ... .............. 124

ddf.

Abb~viations .... .. .......... .. . 103, 138

Adjectives . . . . .......

.@ea-t -d:.1-, - - -

7 //ie l'aef -e-7.-u/ 1-eue-

(j/ou·t /avo.1-

'ved

d ·n0-k .-Z.£,d'alrou. day ·teo/uct:.:.p'? //ie ~t;fa1 /co.a

-7 /;{e 1-ccen/ c1J.n/£f';ttalc.O-n
./ha//d'c

l'\t:l'.E'I'HOD.

cJ

an.z. J.u~tued

PAGE.

Infinitives . .. ........ .. ..... .... . 52, 59
Interjections ....... ... . ......... .. .. 114

. ...... . 10, 35, 87

Interrogative Sentences .. . ... .. . , ..... 14

Adverbs.................... 24, 37, 107

Language Lessons . ... . .... ... .. 149

Agreement o f Verbs ... ... .. .. ..... 32, 9 1

Letter Writing . .... . ... ... . ..... 139

App ositives .... .. ............ 26, 50, 56
Conjun c.tions . .. . .... .... . .. . 1 2, 45,

Conjunctive Adverbs. .... .. ....

1r1

. ... . 47

Nouns .. .................... 9 1 26, 72, 77
Nominative Absolute . . .. . . 51, 61, 66, 68
Possess ive Formed . .. ..... . ... . ... . .. 11 7

tc.r! .t.e7ttcJ /a 1 l· cu-/clt.t,;;. na/a../it.u;.ance.

Com p lex Sentences .... ...... . . 22, 45, 47

Pronunciation.

(2/;; "U'enef -e-n~ //ie ·n.z.alle-t -v-uy ca-t~u/lf a-nd -v-uy

Composition ... .... . . .. . ...... 79, 155

l'refixe,, Suffixe s . .. ........... ... ... 125

a./J.r t

,/~1,tJ.(,r;y.·

~ a1ntJ.£(, J·z/ cz..l !:t-wed "U'ad con~

aUl'e-ted -v-e-t;y .dtfe1..a/·J7 ct.tl?concuned
1.eaay /o. ctJ.1..1..ec/ a n ;I .;nr-.il'ct.dc..f. o.1-

c14tJ.1.:t

(},le a.efand
.;n.acle, ~

-/e any. <t///iuUJ.i.fe, cf ch nor/ dee /.fa/ "We
~ anp;r./~71?. cf/ d'o.wevei, ~(1-. dt~a-t

ef'/ie-te
can

M noef en41-e17 da./e.~'ed uHlrf //ie acfuo/n.-z.eni/, /ie -e-d

a6 d:/e.t./;y /,:,.
//ie .;na//e-t

?

·ieefu-tn <Jui

c?tcrfi, and

de '1.z.tJ.V-6'.

~ip; ~U·~_.

daty f5

UJ.e ~/a&

. . . . .. ......... . 16o

Copula tive Verbs ..... . .. . .... . .. 19, 43

Prepositions . . . .. . .. ...... .... 28, 40, 1o8

Compound Sentences ............ . .... 12

Participles ... ........ . ........ 21, 62, 58

Com pariso n o f Adverbs ....... .. . .. . .. 36

Prono uns ... : . ..... ........ 13,

Difficult Cons truc ti ons . . .. .... . . .. .. . 0 8

Rules of Syntax .. . ...... . .... . . . . 11 8

22,

82, 84

Exclamatory Sente n ce s . . . .. .. .. . . . . . 1I5

Shall,' Will, Si t, S et, Lie ........ . 1c4, 152

Each, Every, This .... . ...... .... ..... 33

S tre ngthen ed Copula ...... .. ... . ...... 59

Irregula r Verbs .. ........... ..... . 94, 98

Subjunctive Clauses . .. ... . ......... . . 70

CRITICAL DIGEST.
Adje.ctives ........ .... ...• . ... .. . . .. . 210

Prepositions ...... , ... . . . , . .... ... .. 246

Adverbs ... . ...... . .. ..... . .......... 243

Prono uns .... ... ....... . .. . . .. ..... . 200

Conjunctions, . ... . ....... . ........ .249

Punctuation ....... . ........ .. .... ·... 252

Etymol ogy .... ..... .......... .... .. .. 187

Prosody.... .. . ....... ... .. . . . .. ... . 257

Inte rjections ................ .. .... . . 251

Rules for Capitals ....... . .. .... ..... 178 .

Noun s .... . . ... .•• .••....... . . .•..... 189

Ru les for Italics .. ..... . ... . ..... : .. . 182

Orthography ..................... .. . 176

Rules for Spelling... . .. .. ....... . .. 184

Participles .... .... . .... ...... ........ 219

Syntax . •.••. . . ... . .. .. 207, 216, 234, 240

Parts of Speech . . .. .. . . . .. . ... ... 187

Ve rbs ... . .... ........ .... ..... .... .. 218

/ ,,/'" '

METHOD.
ETYMOLOGY AND SYNTAX
At first organize the whole school into one grammar class, no
matter how irregularly gradcu.

be uisposeu of-diagramed, analyzed, correctcu.

Tile recitation

will consist almost wholly of reviewing (re-doing) the work which
is presented on slates or paper.

COMBINED.

Assign a number of Acntences to

The pupils will thus be enabled

to detect and correct their own mistakes.

Before the close of the

A Sentence is a complete thought expressed in
words. It is an assemblage of words making complete sense.

recitation every sentence in the lesson should appear in diagram
on the blackboard.

An exposition of the method in full will be

found in the Appendix.

(~~~S_u_b_j_e_ct~_R_t_1l_c_1_.~~~~-P_·_r_ed~ic_a_t_e~R~u_le~l_3_.~_)
~

( Adjective )

( Adverb )

Cl>

'd
Object R. 7. )
•--'-----=------

(

Subject
( Adjective )

Predicate R. 13.
( Ad verb )

I

The Subject of a sentence is the actor.
that of which something is affirmed (said).
generally a name-a noun.

It is
It lS

The Predicate of a sentence is that which is affirmed of the subject. It is generally an actionword-a verb.
1. SUBJECT AND PREDICATE.

Object R. 6 • . )

Analyze the following sentences, itsing this as a model:

(~~~-B_i_·r_u_s~~~~~~-s_in~g-·~~-)
(_ Subject

Copula
( Atlvc-ru)

T

Predicate
( Ad j ective or Adverb)

)

Explanation.- Th e diagram used in this work was adopted, because it is the

most ex;n·essiv e ever devised, and it is so easy to learn when used with graded sentences that it req1iires sca1·cely a mental effor t. However , in teaching by this
method, any diagram rnay be used which is approved by the teacher.

"Birds sing" is a sentence. Birds is the subject; it is that of which
something is affirmed; sing Is the predicate; it Is that which Is affirmed ot
tho su IJject.

1. 'frees grow. 2. Snow melts. 3. Men work. 4. Fire burns.
5. Wind blows. · 6. Lions roar. 7. Flowers bloom. 8. Walter
writes. 9. Horses run. 10. Jennie sews. 11. Pupils study-.··
12. Boys play. 13. Fishes swim. 14. Dogs bark. 15. Bees sting.

Capitals.-The first word of evei·y sentence shoulcl begin with a
Copyrighted 1 889 by J.f. D. J.fugan.

capital.

7

154

ENULISlf <ll tAMi\IAIL

J)frcetlon.- " rrite ten se ntences u s in g some form of the verb rise In
each. I rise," he rises," I rose," l hm:c risen .

Set is a tran sitive verb, whi ch requires an obj ect to comp~ete its
meaning. Set means place o r put; Sets, places o r puts.
I set the ink bottle 011 your cle s k; t hat i>;, I placed the ink bottle
ou yo ur cleAk. He has set the l:unp 0 11 yo ur tahle. H ilcla set the
cllilll on ihe he11c:h where it no w ;;il.s. George set the box 011 the
grass where it now sits. The boy set the he n. Tl1e li e n sit:;.
Dlrecc.i on.-W rite s ix se ntences using a Corm of the verb s.-f; in eU!'. h,
I set; he sets" I set" I lwi:c set.

Sit is an intransitive verb. Th e wo rd sit means rest; sits means
rests; sat means rested.
Willinm .~its in a c hair. He sat in a chair yesterday. The hoy
has rcAte<.l i11 a c hair Hince 11 0011 . The c:Lt sits 0 11 1.he i>cn eh. Yo ur
d og snt on the bench last night. We haiJe sat here long euo ugli .
The pitcher sits where you set it yesterday .
DfrccUon.- "\Vrite ten sentences u s in g n form o( the won! sU. in en,c h
I sit," h e sits," Isnt," lilnrcsat; I had.int. ( l'a ge!l5.)

Lay is a transitive verb .

The word lny rn cnns place 01· put;
h'a1;e placed or liiwe put.
I lay my hook 011 t he desk. I lrtitl my h:rn!l ou the window.
I have laid my books o n y0u r de&k se veral times. Yo u had laid
your things on the table before we arrived .

laid means p laced or put; have Jaitl 111 c:u1s

DlrccUon. - \Vrile e1~ h t sc nten cns usi ng , i( poss ilil c , n, different form of
the verb lay In each. 1 lay," he lays," I hii1l," I ha ve laid ," I harl laid," h e
had laid.

Lie is au intransitive vcrh. The word lie means rest or recline;
lies ni.cans r ests or i·eclines ; lay 111 ea11s rested or reclinrd .
The men lie on the grass . Il e lies 0 11 I.he lounge 11ow. He lay
ou the louuge all la.st night. He has lain ou the l ounge clay after
day for weeks. He hacl lain on ihc floor before I arrived. The
blocks lie on the box. The lJlock lies o n the box.
Direction. - "\Vrite eig ht sentences H• ing, if possible, n, different form
of the verb lie in each. I li e," he lies; I liiy," I have lain," he has la,in," they
ha ve lain.

COl\I POR l'l'I ON.

155

PROSE COlIPOSITION.

Prose Composition is the term applied to all classes
of composition which arc not whtten in verse.
Among the varieties of prose compo:::ition nr e
Letter:'!, Erlitorials, Essays, Reviews, Treatises, Hi8tory, Fi ct ion.
A Letter is a communication in writing adclrcssc1l by tlie
writer to some other person.
An Editorial is the pnblis!J.cd op1mon of the editor uf
n. newspaper on the cnrrent topics of t he day.
R c nanrl<. - \Vhatevcr ltnowl e tlp;c, wit or wi~!lom I& displnye1l lly the
pnp er, 18 ~ uppo sc1 l to exist i11 that u11Hce11 oracle who s it!'! veiled he h ind lhe
mysterious" \V e."

An I~ssay is a fonnal disconrs~ on some subject which it
treats at length in n. systematic manner.
Jte11111rk. - An essay, in for m, is Impersonal; lJUt, when the writer finds
it n ecessn,ry to intro!l uce hims elf, he docs it in the sing ular," l," not int.he
editorial'· \Ve."

A Review is a lengthy e1litoral. It is generally an article
of many pages, g ivi ng t he opinions of a mo nth!y or quarterly
magazine , m steacl of a brief article in a daily or weekly paper.
Reviews, like editorial s, embrace almost every variety of subject. They are commo11 Iy, though not al ways, based on 8ome
book .

A Tt·eatise is a written discourse 01· composition on some
subject, set.ting forth its priuciples in a systematic and orderly manner.
Treatises differ from essays maiuly in being more formal and
scientific. They arc more frequently divided than essays arc, into
r eg ular chapters , sections, am\ sub-sections.

History is a record of important events for the instruction of mankintl. The fnn<lamenlal qualities in compositions
o! th is clags are accuracy, impartiality, and fidelity.

156

J~NOLlSII

COl\lPOSITION,

Ol{AMJ\IAR.

157

That record of events, momeutous aud important, which euables
u s to apply the transactions of former ages for our own iustruction, and that alone, is entitled to the name, history.

The properties which every good style should posser:is are Purity, Propriety, Precision, Clearness,
Strength, Harmony, un<l Unity.

:Memoirs are a species of historical composition, though
not strictly constituting history.

Purity consists in the u se of such words, idioms and
constrnctio11s as properly belong to our language.

Rentnrl<.-The writer of 11w111oir'l 1loc'1 not pretend to J(lvc n co mpl ete
ucco unt of transacUonf!, hut o nl y to rcla l.c such portions as those with wlllcll
ho hhnselt Wlls In some way connected .

Purity may be violated hy the use of obsolete worth:!, ncwly·coinecl
won\"'• foreign worcls aud p1"ovincial ·words. Violn.tious of tile
rules of syutax arc also violations of purity.

Biography is the history of one individual; it is, therefore, a species of historical composition.

Propriety consiE\ts in avoiding vulgarisms, in choosing
correctly between words formed from the same radical, a1Hl
in employing words only in such acceptations as are authorized Ly good usage.

Biography differs from hi i;;to ry proper, not only in being thus
limited iu range, but also iu being le ss state ly aull formal. In this
respect biography corresponds with memoirs, descending to the
particulars ofprivate life.

A Fiction is a composition made up of incidents which
are tlle product of the imagination and arc invented for the
purpose.
The names most commonly given to works of fiction are Novels
and Romauces. These t erms nre for the most part used indiscriminately, thoug h roma11 ccs more strictly mean a class of fi ction
in which the rn:u111 crs, i1H:id c11t.s , a11d scutiments arc of a rather
extravagant character.

Historical Novels arc those in which the events of history are related and historical pe rsons are represented as
speaking and acting.
Ren1arl<. - The historical novel ma y be made very interesting, bnt It Is
very un safe as n guide in hl ~ tory. 'l'he facts urc s haped to suit the story,
lu stend or the story to suit the Iacte.

STYLE.

Certain peculiarities of individual minds appear m
their respective styles of co111position and give rise to
what is known as varieties in style.

Vulgarisms arc out of place in every variety of composition.
Colloquia!isrns arc proper enough in couvcrsatlon but not sufficiently dignified for written composition.
· ·

Precision consists in the use of such words as convey
precisely the meaning intended and nothing more.
Precision is generally violated by a want of discrimination i~
the use of synouymous terms: Cresar displayed courage, not fortit!lde ou the battleflehl.

Clearness or Perspicuit.y co nsisLs in such a use and arran gement of wonls, phrases and clauses as at once distinctly irnlicate the meaning of the writer.
Other things beir.g equa l, the greater the Purity, Propriety and
Precisiou of a sentence the clearer it will be. Equivocation, Ambiguity and Obscurity arc fau It& opposed to Clearness.

Strength consist.s in such a nse am'l arrangement of words
as make a lleep impression on the mind of the reader or
hearer.
The strenath
of a sentence may be enhanced by rejecting
all
I:>
••
superfluous word s, by nev er closing with a prcpos1t1on or any
small word, aucl by arranging its members so that the shorter or
weaker stand before the lon~er or more important.

158

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

Harmony is a rhetorical term us ed to denote that smooth
and easy How of language which pleases the ear.
Harmony consi sts iu the use of euphonious, or pleasant so uncli~1g word~, the euphonious arrangement of word s, a nd the ada.pta-

twn of the sound tu the se nse which it is used to express.
'l'antology co11si:.;l.s of th e repdil.ion of a Ho11 11d hy e mployin g
the same word more than once in a sc utence, or IJy n-in<• iu cont'1guous words, s imilar combinations of letters, either "'
of which
serves to destroy. harmony.
·

Unity consists in the restriction of a sentence to one
leading proposition, modified only by such accessories as
are materially and closely connected with it.
A sentence may consist of parts but th ese must be so bound
togeth er as to convey to the mind the impress ion of one f act, and
but one. Avoid long pa.renthese' and do not crowd in tu a sentence
things which have no logi cal conn ec tion.

INVENTION.
Invention is the process of developing t hought in conn ection
with any partlenlar the me. ll is this that .f11r11islies the material
of composition, and upon thi8, in a great meas ure, its value depends.
At first, and in fact always , outline the subject before undertaking to write the composition.
The pre paration of this outline L'l the very essence of invention . It sets
the pupil at once to thinkin g- to gath e ring thoug ht s In stea d o f putting together mere words. The outline, thcrt'forc, should li e a leading portion of
the exercise, and should In each case I.Jc s ubmitt e d t.o the teacher for rnspect1on and comment, before the compositlou. is w1·ittcn.

Suppose tha.t A11.ga iH s c lecl;e d as the theme for a compo&ition.
Such ques tions as the foll o wit.ig at once s ugges t themselvc 8 to the
student and are written down:
1. 'Vhat Is Ange r?

2. 'Vh a tare Its visible e ff ects? 3. How do es a person
!eel when his fit of ;•as~iou has s ub s ided? .J. I\' !1at arc its u s ual effec ts on

159
Individuals? 5. To what may th e nngry man be compared?
speaking, what ls. the ehurnetcr of this puss Ion?

6. lllornlly

These are only a few of the qu es tions that may be asked. Iu
them we iiud the germ of the co mpos ition, and from them we construct au outline like the followiug:
I. l>Pflnlt.i o n of nng-er.

2. J<'ecll ngs produced l.Jy n11ger.

3. Effects on those about us.
4. l\.loral c hnrnctcr of anger.
5. Methods of controlling the pas s ion.

AlUPLIFICATION.
The analyti cal outliue of the th eme completed , the next step is
amplification. This consists iu en larging on the thoughts pre sented in th e outline. Each topic may be repeatedly enlarged
upon, and the whole compositiou rewritten several times , and at
ead1 writing ne w aml a pproprin te adtlit ioual matter may be introcl uced until one complete n nd cous istent whole ha s ULen produced .
The first topic of the sulJject, A · yer, may be amplified thus:
1. Anger Is n passion.

2. Anger is a stron g pass io n o r c111olio11.

::. Ang er Is 11 st rong pn sB lo n or <:n1ollon <•f the 111lnd excited l.Jy a real or
supposed Injury.
4. A ng cr is a k ee n diFpleasurc, a s trong pn ss io n or e motion of the mind
excited by a r eal o r s upp ose d injury :rnd u suall y ncco mpaui ed with a desire
to punis h.

THEllES FOlt CO.lUPOSITION.
I. Friends hip.

~-

3. Good English .

·1. 1111 portnn cc of Correctness.

5. School s, l'nblic anti l'rivatc.

6. Comfort for the Dunces.

7. J\lisu se of \\' onl:;.
II. 'Th e Ideal School.

Composition.

8. l\ly favorite S lurl y.
JO. School a lllnnufact.o ry.

1 I. Graduation Dny.

12. Errors in the use of English.

13. Poetry of School Life.

14. The Scl1ool "mas ter Auroad.
JG. The De!Rartc System.

15. Accomp li Rl1111 c nts ..

