r
BROWN'S SMALL GRAMMAR IMPlOVED.
THE

FIRST LINES
OF

ENGLISH GRAMMAR;
BEING A

BRIEF ABSTRACT OF THE AUTHOR'S LARGER WORK,
THE

''INSTITUTES OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR.''
DESIGNED FOR YOUNG LEARNERS.

ny
..

GOOLD BROWN,
AUTHOR OF TB E GRAMMAR OP E N GLISH G.BA.?aUI.l.n&.

,

'

I
I

~
\

I
i-

.,
'
A NEW AND REVISED EDITION,
ARRAN GED TO F ORM A SE.IlIES OF

LANGUAGE

LESSONS

'

WITH EXERCISES IN ANALYSIS, PARSING, AND CONSTitUCTJON.

Ily HENRY KIDDLE; A.Iii.,
LATE SUPERINTENDENT OF

OO~ON

8CHOOLS, NEW YOilX

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NEW YORK:

~~-"OF C0 "0
'O C o -'Yl
,., _,q,..,,
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.lu ,t/ "f •C: i:;-9

MAi
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56 & 58 LAFAYETTR PLACE.

1883.

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WAs: :NG,o

oi:-

WILLIAM WO OD & COMPANY,

.: 1884 '

I

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PREF ACE TO THE REVISED EDITION.

PART !.-ORTHOGRAPHY.
P.A.GE

Development and Text
· Lessons.
SINCE the completion and publication of my Grammar of English
Grammars , it bas frequently been suggested to me, that a new and
critical revision of the Institutes and First Lines, to present them in
a state of stricter conformity to that more elaborate work, aud to obviate at the same time some remaining defects which had occasionally
been noticed, might be tbe means of increasing the usefulness, and
sustaining the reputation of these pretty widely known school-books.
Such an improvem ent of the Institutes the author carefully prepared
for the stereotypers during the last year. Having now performed, in
like manner, and with proportionate pains, a new revision, or a dOrt of
recasting, of the First Lines of English Grammar, he may perhaps,
without lack of modesty, commend this little book to the managers of
schools, as being, in his own estimation at least, the best and cheapest
epitome of English Grammar yet offered to their choice.
.GOOLD BROWN.
LYNN, MASS.,

1855.

1.-Langua.ge, .
.
7
11.-ldeas, 'l'houghts, and
Words, .
.
8
III.-Letters, Syllables, and
9
Words, . · .
.
10
IV.-Review, Definitions,

PAGll

V.-Letters and Syllables
.
. 10
Classified. .
VI.-Words, .their Classes and
Divisions,
12
VII.-Spelling, .
.
13
Rules for Spelling
13
Vill-Capitals, .
. ' .
16
Questions for Review.
18

PART IL-ETYMOLOGY.
PAGE

I. Parts of Speech.
!.-Names of Things, .
11.-Subject and Predicate
UL-Sentences..
.
. '
IV.-Noun and Pronoun,.
' V. - Verb,
.
.
.
VI.-Article and Adjective
VII-Adjuncts,.
.
. '
V~-Participle,
.
.-Adverb, . · .
X.-Conjunction, •
XI-Preposition,
XII.-Interjection, . • •
XIII.-Review-Definitions
XIV.-Parsing, .
.
.'
.
XV.-Analysis, .
.
.
.
X VI.-Construction and Composition,

19

20
2l

23
24

25
26
27
28
29
30

3l
32

3.'l

a5
37

II. Clauses and Modlfl·
cations of the Parts of
Speech.
I .-Articles, .
.
Il.-Nonns-Classes
,
·
.
III .-Modifications - Penons
and Numbers
IV.-Modifications .'..... Ge.nder~
and Cases, .
.
Declension of Nouns
,
A na1ysis, Parsing and
Construction,
'.

89

39
40
43
44
4 -~-

v.-Adjective~lasses,

~A~~

VI."
Modifications
VII.-Prououns-Classes, .
.
Vill."
Modifications,
Declension, .
Analysis-Clauses, .
.
Exercises-Analysis and
Parsing..
.
.
.
Construction and Composition, .
.
IX.-Verbs-Classes,
.
.
X.- "
Modifications, .
XL-Conjugation of Verbs, .
Verb Love, Simple Form.
Verb Soe
"
'
Verb Be' .
Verb Read, Com Pound
Form, .
.
.
.
Verb Be Loved. Passive, .
Forms of Negation, Question, etc.,
.
.
List of Irregular Verbs, ,
List of Redundant Verbs
D f
'
e ective Verbs,
.
.
XII.-Participles,
XIII.-Adverbs. .
XIV .-Conjunctions, .
.
.
A 1 ·
C
d
na ys1R ompoun
Subjects and Predicates,
XV.-Prepositions. .
XVI.-lnterjections. .
.
".,.uest1011s
·
for ~eview,

48

50
5L

5l
53

54
55
57
511

62
fl;!

67
70
73
76
78

79
S:i
8.')

86

88
90
91

92

!l4

95

vi

CONTENTS.
PART III.-SYNTAX.
PAGE

I.

Definitions
Rules, .

and

i
1

96

II. Relation, .
Rule !.-Articles, .
Rule IL-Adjectives,
Rule UL-Adverbs,
.
Rule IV.-Participles, .
Rule V.-Prepositions, .

9
• 98

PAGB

Rule XV .-Collective Antecedent .
. 116
Rule XVI.-Connected Antecedents,
. 117
Rule XVII.-Connected Anteceden ts,
. 11 7

PART

• 99 1

. 101 . IV. Covernment.
. 103
RuleXVIII.-Possessives, . 118
. 105
Rule XIX.--'-Object of the
Verb, .
. 119
Rule XX.-Prepositions,
. 120
Ill. Agreement.
Rule XXI.-lntinitives,.
. 121
Rule XXII.-Infinitives,
. 122
Rule VI.-Nominatives,
. 106
Rule VII.-Appo•ition,.
. 107
V. Miscellaneous Rules.
Rule VIIL-Verb and Subject,
.
. 109
RuleXXIII.-S ub junctive
Rule IX.-Collective NomiMood, .
. 123
uative, .
• 110
Rule XXIV.-lndependent
Rule X.-Two or more NomCase, .
. 124
inatives,
. 110
Rule XXV.-Conjunctions, . 125
Rule XI.-Singul'!r NominaRule XXV!.-Interjections, . 1~!5
tives, .
. 112
RuleXII.-Verbs ConAnalysis, Parsing, and
nected, .
. 113
Construction.
Rule XIII.-Subject and At. 126
Phra~es,.
.
.
tribute, .
. 113
. 127
Synopsis cf Analysis,
Rule XIV.-Pronoun
and
• 127
Exercises,
Antecedent, . 115

l.

ORTHOGRAPHY.
DEVELOPMENT AND TEXT LESSONS.
The development lessons are designed to assist the pupil in acquiring
the elementary ideas on which grammatical distinctions are based. It
is very important that these distinctions should be clearly conceived before any of t!:te definitions or rules of the text are committed to memory.

Lesson 1.-LANCUACE.
What must we use to express our thoughts in speaking or writing?

Words.
What is this modJ of expressing our thought£ called?

It is called language.
PART IV.-PROSODY.
PAGE

1. Punctuation.
Rules of Punctuation :
Comma, .
S emicolon,
Colon,
P er iod
.
Dash, etc.,

.
.
.
.
.

II. Utterance.
Pronunciation,
Elocution,
Figures, .
.
Versification,.

.
.
.
,

• Do all people use the same language ?
PA.GB

Composition.

Preliminary Exercises, .
Original Composition, .
139
140
140 Letter-Writing •
141
Heading~.
141
Address,.
Body,
Closing,.
.
Superscription,
143
143
144
145 I

. 145
. 146

. No; people living in different countries generally use differ• languages.
What language do we use in this country?

We use the English language.
.
•
.
•

147
148
149
14\1

. 150

, How many ways of using lan~age are there?

Two ::-by speaking and by writing.
Ho\V many kinds of language; then, are there ?

Two :-spoken language and written language.
In what countries is the English language spoken?

In England and in some other countries, as well as in the
United States of America.
'fo know how to use a language correctly, we must study its gram.
mar.

English Cram mar is the art of speaking and writing
the English language correctly,

i'

8

ORTHOGRAPHY.

DEVELOPMENT AND TEXT LESSONS.

9

11.-IDEAS, THOUCHTS, AND WORDS.

111.-LETTERS, SYLLABLES, and WORDS.

You can think of any object you have seen- a fr ee, for exampleso as to see it in your mind, like an image or picture. This image or
picture is called an idea of the tree. The word ti·ee enables you to
express the idea, either in speaking or writing. Words serve to bring
to the mind the ideas of things previously observed. Thus I will think
of various things, and recall to your minds the ideas of them by the
following words :-

The teacher begins this lesson by enunciating the sounds of several
letters, llB a, e, f, g, s ; and then proceeds :What are these sounds?

A horse.
A black horse.
A man on horseback.
A man riding a black horse.
A horse running away with a carriage.
Thus, you see, by means of words I can bring to your minds the
ideas-pictures or images-of auy thing or things you have seen; as I
could also of things you have heard, smelt, tasted, or felt. Thus:-

Thunder.-The thunder peals.
A rose.-The rose has a sweet smell.
An orange.-The orange has a sweet and acid taste.
Velvet.-Velvet is soft n.nd smooth to the touch.
Try to think of these things, and you will find that, although, ou can
seem to hear, smell, taste, or feel them, you cannot do this so clearly
as you can see in your mind a tree, a horse, or other object of sight.
Hence we say, the ideas of things seen are clearer than those obtained
through any of the other senses.
In thinking we combine ideas in various ways. Thus:-

The bird builds its nest in the tree.
Here we have several iueas combined in a single thought :-of the
lJird, of building, of a ne..qt, of a tree; and these are related to each other
in various ways :-the bird builds; the nest is built ; the nest is in the
tree. Thus you see there are four ideas of things, and several ideas of
their relations one to another.
We cannot think without constantly using many ideas; and we cannot think clearly, or communicate our thoughts to other persons, with·
out using words to represent those ideas. These words, joined together in the right way, make l.nguage.
Wbat, then, shall we say language is?

Language is the expression of our thoughts in speaking or
in writing.

The sounds of letters.
Can you tell me the names of these letters ?
Can you show me their forms when written?
You see, then, that there is the sound of the letter, the name of
the letter, and the form of the letter, and that letters represent sounds
of the human voice.
When we join letters together, as, m·a-n, b-o-y, s-c-lt-O·O·l, what do
we form?

We form words.
Do we always form whole words by joining letters together in thi~
wny? Thus, s-i·l, Mil; V·e-r, ver; p-a, pa; p-e-r, per ;-are these wlwle
·
words or parts of words .~

We call these parts of words syllables.
Do we nlways write the letters with the same forms?

No; the letters have several forms.
~

a,

~
b,

a

~
cl,

c,

Thus:~

e,

~e~
f, etc.

The larger letters are called CAPITALS ; the -others, small
letters. These forms of letters are very old. They were used
'1r the Romans more than two thousand years ago. Hence,
they are called Roman letters.
You have often seen other forms.

A,
·a,

B,
b,

C,
c,

Thus:-

D,
d,

E

'
e,

F, etc.

f, etc.

These are called Italics, because they are used by the people
of Italy in writing their language (Italian) .
There is still another form.

Thus :-

;£ih-n '!~ a yo.o.d ~-pt·
This is the form used in writing; hence called Script (meaning written).

10

Oin'HOGRAPHY.

IV.-REVIEW.-DEFINITIONS.

A letter is a character used to represent a sound of the
human voice.
The letters used in any language taken together are
cal1ed its alphabet.
The English alphabet contains twenty-six letters.
These letters have each two forms,-capitals and
small letters.
In the English language, the Roman letters are generally employed; but sometimes the Italic, for the sake of
emphasis or distinction.
In writing, scrpt forms Are used.
A syllable is one or more letters pronounced in one
1'0und, and is either a word or a part of a word.
A word is one or more syllables spoken or written as
the sign of some idea.
A word of one svllable is called a monosyllable; a
word of two syllables, a dissyllable; a word of three
syllables, a trisyllable; and a word of four or more
syllables, a polysyllable.

DEVELOPMENT AND TEXT LESSONS.

11

W or y is called a consonant when it precedes a vowel
heard in the same syllable; as in wine, twine, wliine, ye,
yet, yout!i : in all other cases, these letters are vowels ; as
in newly, dewy, eyebrow.
In most syllables, a single letter represents the vowel
sound; bnt very frequently two or tliree letters are joined
in a syllable. These form what are called diphthongs
and triphthongs.
A diphthong is two vowels joined in one syllable;
as, ea in beat, ou in sound.
A proper diphthong is a diphthong in which both
the vowels are sounded ; 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 vowels joined in one syllable; .
as, eau in beau, iew in view.
A proper triphthong is a triphthong in which all
the vowels are sounded; as, uoy in buoy.
An improper triphthong is a triphthong in which
only one or two of the vowels are sounded; as, ea1t in
bemtty.
~

Exercises.
V.-LETTERS AND SYLLABLES CLASSIFIED.

The letters are divided into two general .classes, vowels
and consonants.
A vowel is a letter .:'tich forms a perfect sound when
nttered alone ; as, a, e, o.
A consonant is a letter which cannot be perfectly nttercd till joined to a vowel; as, b, c, d.
The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y.
All the other letters are consonants . .

1. Point out tlic diplitlw11gs in tlte jollo1cing words, nnd say whether
tliry are proper 01· improper:Mean, chief, builder, pointed, despair, receive, ancient, goal, reign,
nation, degree, mischief, captain; guardian, coward, fountain, mountainous, prairie, tea-spoon, touch-wood, joyous, journey, jealousy,
issue.
2. Point out tlte tripldlwnf!.Yin tl1e fol:owing words, and sriy u:ltethe'l'
tltry are proper or improper:-

· Awe, ewe, anxious. eyelid, beauteous, purlieu, quoi~, owo, outra·
geous, cautious, \'iewless.

12

13

ORTHOGRAPHY.

DEVELOPMENT AND TEXT LESSONS.

Vl.-WORDS, THEIR CLASSES AND DIVISIONS.

appreciute, impressible, archipelago, resurrection, abecedarian, simultaneously, prejudice, pronunciation, propitious, catalogue, polysyllable,
miscellaneous, omniscience, recommendation.

Words are either simple or compound.
A simple word is one that is not composed of other
words ; as, watcli, mmi.
A compound word is one that is composed of two
or more simple words ; as, watchman, nevertlieless.
Words are, also, either primitive or derivative.
A primitive word is one that is not formed from any
simpler word in the language; as, liarm, great, connec_t.
A derivative word is one that is formed from some
:;;imp]er word in the language ; as, lia1'1nless, greatly, conne.ctecl.
,
n
dividinO'
words
into
svllables,
we
are
to
be
directed
I
0
•
chiefly by the ear. The following rules should generally.
be observed:I. Consonants should generally be joined to the vowels or diphthongs
which they modify in utterance; as, ap-os-tol·i-cal.
II. Two vowels coming together, if they make not a diphthong, n tst
be parted in dividing the syllables; as, a-e-ri-aT.
III. Derivative and grammatical terminations should generally be
separated from the radical words to which they have been added; as,

harm:less, g1·eat-ly, connect-ed.
IV. Prefixes, in general, frrm rnparate syllables; as, mis-place, outride, up-lift: but if their own primitive meaning be disregarded: the
ca~e may be otherwise ; thus, re-create and rec-reate are words of different import.
V. Compounds, when divided, should be divided into the simple
words which compose them ; as, no-where.
VI. At the end of a line, a word may be divided, if necessary; but a
sylluble must never be Lruken. ,

Vll.-SPELLINC.

Spelling is the art of expressing words by their proper
letters.
Ons.-This important urt is to be acquired rather by means of the
spelling-book or dictionary, and by observation in reading, than by the
study of written ruleB". The orthography of our language is attended
with much uncertainty and perplexity: many words are variously
spelled by the best scholars, and many others are not usually written
according to the analogy of similar worcls. But to . be ignorant of the
orthography of such words as are uniformly spelled and frequently used,
is justly considered disgraceful. The rules here given may prevent
some embarrassment, and thus be of service to the learner.

Rules fm• Spelling.
RULE !.-FINAL F,

L,

OR

8.

l\fo1tosyllables ending in f, l, or s, preceded by a single vowel, double
~be final consonant: as, lltajJ. mill, pass; except three inf-clef, if, of;
three in l-bul, sal, sol; antl eleven in s-as, gas, lias, was, yes, is, ll"is,

this, us, tltus, pus.
RULE Il.-OTilER FINALS.

Words ending in any other consonant thanf, l, ors, do not double the
finul letter; except abb, ebb, add, odd, egg, inn, err, burr, pui·r, yarr,
butt, buzz, fuzz, and·some proper names.
RULE III.-DOUBLING.

Exet"cise.
Divide the folloioing words into thei1" 11roper syllables.

.

.

Vengeunce, permif•siou, "·bosocver, divisible, recollect10n, rat10nal,
premeditute , reflected, inflexibility, extrnordinary, unnecessary, pre~a­
ratiou, aeriform, aqueduct, iniquity, triennial, conscientiousness, rat10;

Mono~yllables, and words accented on the last syllable, when they
end with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, or by a vowel
after qu, double their final consonant before an additional syllable that
begins with a vowel : as, rob, robber; permit, permitting; acquit, ac-

quittal, acquitting.
EXCEPTION.-X final,

being equivalent to ks, is never doubled.

14

DEVELOPMENT AND TEXT . LESSONS.

ORTllOGHAPHY.
RULE lV.-No DOUBLING.

RULE !X.-COMPOUNDB.

A final consonant, wh en it is not preceded by a single vowel, or when
the accent is not on the last sy llable , should remain single before au
additional syllable : as, toil, toiling; visit, vi,s·i ted; general, generalize.
Exc.-But l and s final are often doubled (though, according to Webster, improperly) when the la;;t syllable is not accented: as, travel,

Compounds generally retain the orthography of thf'. simple words
which compose them: as, hereof, '!Dlterein, lwrseman, recall, upltill.,

i;!t elljfalt.
Exc.-In permanent compounds, the words full and all drop one l:
as, handful, carefv.l, always, witltal; in others, they retain both : as,

fuU-blown, cill-wise, save-all.

travelled; bias, biassed.
R ULE V.-RETAINING.

Exercises.

Words ending with any double letter, preserve it double before any
additional termination not beginning with the same letter ; as in the
following derivatives: seeing, bUssful, oddly, liiUy, stijf'ness, illness,

1. State from wlwt p1•imitive word eaclt of the following de1·ir.atives is
formed, and according to wltich of tlte Rules for Spelling.

smallness, carelessness, agreement, agreeable.
Exc.-The irregular words, fled, sold, told, dwelt, spelt, spilt, shalt,
wilt, ble.~t, ;JOst, and the derivatives from the word pontiff, are excep-

Compelled, skillful, holiday, happiness, courageous, rebellion, traveler, believing, achievement, spoonful, galloping, beautiful, delud er,
salable, changeable, narrator, j~ciness, improvement, loveliness, beggar, spotted, preference, preferred, variable, conveyance, thralldom,
agreeable, deriving, shoeing, business, icicle, impel, beginner, manumitting.

tions to this rule.
R ULE Vl.-FINAL

E.

The final e mute of a primitive word is generally omitted before an
additional termination beginning with a vowel : as, rate, ratable; force,

2. Form as many deri-catives as possibie from each of tlte fo llm.cing
prim'itir.es .

f orcible; rave, raving; eye, eying.
Exe . - Words ending in ce or ge retain the e before able or ous, to preserve the soft sound of c or g ; as, peace, peaceable; change, changeable; outrage, outrageous.
R UJ.E VIL-FINAL

E.

The final e of a primitive word is generally retained before an additional t ermination beginning with a consonant : as, pale, pale11.ei;s;
lodge, lodgement.
Exc.-When thee is preceded by a vowel, it is sometimes omitted:
as, true, truly; awe, awful; and sometim4f retained : as, rue, 1·uef11l;

slwe, shoeless.
R ULE Vlll.-FINAL Y.

The final y of a primitive word, when preceded by a consonant, is
changed into i before an additional termination : as, merry, merrier,

merriest, 11ieiTily, merriment; pity, pitied, pities, pitiest, pitile.~s, pitiful,
pitiable.
Exc.- Ilefore 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 , f or the sam e reason: as, die, dying.
Ons.-When a vowel precedes, y should not be changed : a&, day,
days; 'Calley, valleys ; money , moneys; rnonkey, monk~/~.

f

Excel, visit, commit, worship, bury, beauty, travel, judge, sincere,
refer, vary, agree, full , delay, busy, tie, differ, occur, expel, benefit,
duty, plan, despoil, :narrate, beg, peril, receive, instruct, assemble, pity,
define.,mimic, compose, form, value, charge, animate, combat, acquit,
abridge, critic,. allege, merchant, tyrant, fancy, dry, omit, achieve,
whole, compel, tall, debt, write, cancel, rob, spell.

3. Correct the erroi·s in the following words according to tlte Rules for
Spelling.
Scof, repell, til, untill, rareity, chimuies, crosness, outstriped, po.sport, blisful, slothfull, merryness, instiling, refered, preferrable, referible, duely, welspent, benefitted, improveing, deferiug, controll, con·
trolable, dulness, forgeting, bigotted, untie '. ng, moveable, pontifficate,
forceible, aweful, annull, handfull, al powerf'ull, fruitfullness, miscal,
wherin, perillous, fulfil, appall, uphil.

4 . .Anplyze tlte foUowing words, and state to wlticlt of the Rules for
Spelling they are eueption&.
Excellence, judgment, bounteous, gaiety, said, egg, yes, argum ent,
wholly, abridgment, almighty, gaseous, unpaid, crystalline, ca_n cellate,
development, mutinous, denying, kidnapping, daily, charitable, plenteous, babyhood, truly, this, add, unparnlleled, biassed, dryly, awful,
welfare, wherefore, chilblain, welcome, Christmas.

16

DEVELOPMENT AND TEXT LESSONS.

ORTHOGRAPHY.

RULE VIII.-POETRY.

Vlll.-CAPITALS.

It is very important that capitals be properly employed.
The following rules should be carefully observed.

Every line in poetry, except what is regarded as malting but one verse
with the line preceding, should begin with a capital; as,
" Those Christians best deserve the name
Who studiously make peace their aim."

Rules.
RULE 1.-TITLES OF BOOKS.

The titles of books and the heads of their principal divisions, should
be printed in capitals'. When books are merely mentioned, the principal words in their titles begin with capitals, and the other letters ure
small ; as, " Pope's Essay on Man."
RULE II.-FmsT WORDS.

The first word of every distinct sentence, or of any ,clause aeparntely
numbered or paragraphed, should begin with a capital.
RULE Ill.-NAMES OF TIIE DEITY.

All names of the Deity ohould 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, London,

the Pm·k, the Albion, the Spectatoi", the Thames.
RULE V.-0BJECTS PERSONIF~·

The name of an object personified, when it conveys an idea strictly
individual, should begin with a capital; as,
"Come, gentle Spring, ethereal mi!dDess, come."
RULE VI.-WORDS DERIVED .

Words derived from proper names of persons or places, should begin
with capitals; as, Newtonian, Grecian, Roman.
RULE VII.-1 AND 0.

The words I and 0 should al ways be capitals; as, " Out of the
depths have I cried unto thee, 0 Lord."

17

RULE IX.-EXAMPLEB.

A full example, a distinct speech, or a direct quotation, should begin
with a capital; as, "Remember this maxim: 'Know thyself.'"'.'Virgil says, 'Labor conquers all things."
RULE

X.-CUIEF 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.

Exercise.
Copy tlte following sentences, and insert or omit capital l6tters according to the Rules for Capitals.
Goldsmith's "deserted village" i8 a beautiful poem. The lord is a
great god above all Gods. The city of london is situated on the river
Thanies. The bud.on river was discovered by Henry hudson. the roman emf!ire was divided into two portions at the death of theodosius
great, the empire of the West being govamed by Honorius and that
of the east, by arcadius. 0 liberty I o sound once delightful to every
roman ear ! epimanondas, the theban General, was remarkable for his
love of Truth, he never told a lie even in Jest. o grave I where is thy
victory ? And god spake unto moses, and said unto him, i am t!ie
lord. Pope says, "order is heaven's first law. " The "lady of the
lake" was written by sir waiter scott, who was also the Author of the
waverley novels.
get thee back, sorrow, get thee back!
why should i weep while i am young?
i have not piped-i have not' dancedmy morning Songs i have not sung.

tf3

We have now concluded that part of English grammar
which treats of letters, syllables, separate words, and spelling.
This part of grammar is called Orthogr~phy.
What is orthography ?

ORTHOGRAPHY.

18

Questions for Review.
What is language ? What language is spoken in this country ? What
is English grammar ?
What is an idea? What is a thought ? What ideas are the clearest?

PART II.

Give examples to illustrate.
What is a word ? What is a syllable ? What is a letter ? What dif·
ferent forms have letters? What is meant by the Alphabet of a lan·
guage? What is a word of one syllable called? Of two syllables? Of
three syllables ? Of four or more syllables?
How are letters classified ? What is a vowel? What is a consonant?
What letters are vowels? Are w and y vowels or consonants? Give
examples.
What is a diphthong? What is a triphthong? What is the difference
between a proper and an improper diphthong ? Between a proper and
an improper triphthong? Give ex~mples of each.
What is a simple word? What is a compound word? Give examples of each. What is a primitive word? What is a derivative word?
Give examples of each.
What are the rules for dividing words into their proper syllables?
What is spelling? What words should begin with a capital? What
letters should always be capitals? How should capitals be used in
poetry? What words have capitals thr011ihout? Of what does orthography treai?

E _TYJYIOLOGY.
I. PARTS

OF

SPEECH.

LESSON 1.-NAMES OF THINCS.
The_teacher commences by holding up any object as a pen a book
d ,
a p~nml, etc., so that it may be seen by the pupils. He then ,
procee s,
askrng, successively:What is the name of this?

Of this?

Pen.

Slate.

Book.

Pencil.

Of this?

Thes~ ·words are written on the blackboard, by the teacher or one of
the pupils, and the teacher asks:-

What are these words ?

The names of things.
Why are names given to things?

Because we cannot talk about them without knowing their
names. We cannot .think clearly of them, unless we give
names to them. It is very necessary, then, that everything \
should have a name; and it is the first st.ep in learning a Ian- ·.
guage to acquire •a correct knowledge of the names of th"ID~
"
Now you may wnte the followin"" · -

1. Five names of parts of your
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Five
Five
Five
Five
Five
Five

:o~y

names of parts of the chair. .
names
things which you have seen
names of flowers.
·
names of fruit.
names of places.
names of persons.

of

The teacher should reqaire the pupils In writing th
capital, and to place a period after each
rd E
ese_ names to commence each with a
accurac.-y.
wo .
veryth1ng should be done with care and·

21

PARTS OF SPEECH.

ETYMOLOGY.

20

Whatever is spoken of is called the subject.
Whatever is said of the subject is called the predicate.

11.-SUBJECT AND PREDICATE.
The teacher holds up before his pupils any object, as a book.

He

Exercises.

t.hen asks :What is the name of this?
What can you say about it?

1. ffiite predicates for tlte jolJ.ow-ing subjects:-

The book is new. The book is green. The book has covers.
The book has leaves. We can read the book.
In the so.me mnnnC>r let the pupil say or write romething about other things th::~:~:
of which qe.ve been mentioned in LGsison I. In writing theRC s~atements care s o
taken tha.t they are correct as to capita.ls, spelling, and punctuation.

Trees.

Flowers.

Apples.

Oranges.

Henry.

Sarah.

2. Write siibjeets jo1· tlte foll01oing predicatea :- - is writ,ing. - -- sing.
bloom.
- - - fade. - - - sail. - - - runs.

- -- burns."

The t eacher then writes on the blackboard some simple sentence i as,

Birds fly.
Read what I have written on the blackboard.
•
Now, when you say, Binls fly, of what do you speak?

111.-SENTENCES.

Birds.
What do you say of birds ?

They fly.
'fhe teacher then writes on the blackboard another sentence ; as,
B el!ll make lwncy.
What is spoken of here ?
What is said of bees?
Other sentences are then written, as William plays. Jolin Btudles.
Ma1-y sews. B ears growl . B ees sUng. Boys riin.
.
Tell me what is spoken of in each of these statements, and I will
write it on the blackboard.
The teacher then draws a vertical line and writes the names at the
left of this line.
Now tell me what is rnid of each, and I will write it by the side uf
the other on the blackboard.

William
John
1\'.[ary
Bears
Bees
Boys

f

be continued suotcicn tly long to impress clearly on t~c mtoindJ'. of
·
·
· ht They should also be required
give
the pupils the dl•tinction designed to bo tang .
.
b.
d that the term se,.t<nc•
euch expreeAions, and sepf\ratc them a.s above. It will be o serve
Thie

exerci~ should

plays.
studies.
sews.
growl.
sting.
run.

ha• not yet been omployc<l.

A subject and predicate joined together serve to express
a complete thought, or to make complete sense.
Any single word serves to express an idea ; but generally
it requires at least two words to make complete sense, because
there must be a subject and predicate. The teacher illustrates
thus:
lVrites on the blackboard, Tlte book.
Do these words make complete sense?
Why not?

There is no predicate.
Is the Rense complete in this [runs]?
Why not?

There is no subject.
Writes on the blackboard, On the table.
Do these words make complete sense ?

No; because there is neither subject nor predicate.
·whenever words make complete sense, they form what is
called a sentence.
What, then, is a sentence?

A sentence is an assemblage of words which make complete
sense.

ETYMOLOGY.

22

PARTS OF SPEECH.

23

Find the subject and the predicate in each of the following sen-

IV.-NOUN AND PRONOUN.

tences:-

The name of any person, place, or thing, when used in a
sentence, is called a noun.

Boys run.
Do boys run?
Boys, run.

Must the subject of a sentence be a noun?
This is a thouvht-questton. Let the pupils, therefore, have time to consider it; and
then vary the exercise to suit the answers elicited.

We find that the subject and the predicate are the same in each.
How, then, do they differ?

The subject of a sentence must be a noun, or some other
word used instead of a noun.

The first affirms; the second aslcs a question (interrogates);
'the third commands.

Give an example of each.

John studies.

These answers wiU readily be obtained from the pupils by a. little sklll on the part of
the teache;.; nnd nothing should be told the pnpils which they may be m_w::le to discover
themsel ves.

You thus see that you can join the same subject and predicate together so as to make different kinds of sentences, introducin~ a small
word occasionally, such as do or dots, which does not essentially alter
the meaning.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

·when a sentence affirms, it is called declo.rative; when it
asks a question, interrogative; when it commands, imperative.
·when a sentence contains an exclamation, it is called an
. runnmg
.
exclamatory sentence; as, " 0 ,. the h orse is
away ,,,
.

Exercises.
1. Change the following declm·ative sentences into interrogafve.
The sun shines. The stars twinkle. The boy is idle. The ship has
sailed. William is studious. Mary sews. The birds sing. The flower
is blooming. The dew is falling. Birds sing.

He studies.

What noun is used in the first of these sentences?
What word is used instead of it in the second ?
Now write five sentences, each having the noun William for its subject.

4

William
William
William
William
William

studies.
studies his lessons.
is making improvement.
should be rewarded.
is praised by his teacher.

Now write the same sentences, using the noun William only in the
first one.
What word have you used instead of the noun in this ~ase?
What other word is used instead of the noun in the second and fifth
of these sentences?
Write five other sentences containing words used instead of nouns.

.

A word used instead of a noun is called a pronoun. [Pro
means for, or instead of J
Mary gave lr[ary's book to Mary's brother Charles.
Are there any pronouns in this sentence?
Can you use pronouns for ·any of the nouns?
Write the sentence with ns many pronouns as can be used, so as to
avoid repeating the noun Mary.

11£ary gave her book to her brother Charles.
2. Form declarntive or interrogative sentences frorn tlte following.

How beautiful is night! What a noble action that was! William,
study your lesson. Sarah, do not loiter. Mary, how you talk I Alas!
my bird is dead ! O ! how sad I feel ! John, leave the room. How
fast the horse runs ! Hurrah! we have gained the day !

Of what use is the pronoun?

It prevents the need of repeating the sallle noun too often.
Write five sentences, using one of the following nouns in each as a
subject, and as many pronouns as possible.
Samuel. Julia. Trees. The ship. The moon. The stars.

i
i
1.

24

Birds fly.

ETYMOLOGY.

P .A.RTS OF SPEECH.

V.-VERB.

Vl.-ARTICLE . AND ADJECTIVE.

Charles is taught.

He is.

The bird sings.

What is the predicate in each of these sentences?
What does the predicate fly show, or denote?
Does tho predicate is taugiit show what Charles does, or what is dond
to him?
Does the predicate is denote either of these?
Which of these predicates denotes action ?
Which denotes being, without action?
Which denotes that the subject acts?
Which denotes that the subject is. acted upon?

We mean some particular bird.
What do we mean when we say a bird!

w·e mean any bird,-no particular bird.
What, then, is the use of these words, a and tlie '!
Do they change the meaning, or signification, of the nouns before
which they are placed?

The word in the sentence that shows that the subject acts,
is acted 11po11, or merely that it is, or exists, is called a verb.

They do not essentially change it, but they limit it, because
such expressions as the bird, the flower, do not have so wide a
meaning as a bird, a flower.

What, then, may we say a verb is?

A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted
upon.

Is it right to say a apple, a eye, a oak 1
What should we say instead of these?

Which is the verb in each of the following sentences?

Subject.Y.

An apple.

Predicates.

is a round body.
studies bis lessons.
runs very swiftly.
was punished by his teacher.
slew Abel.
was slain by Cain.

Is the verb a part of the subject or of the preuicate?
Of what use are the other words in the predicate?

They serve to complete the i)redicate. Thus, The l;fy stitdies
is a sentence, because it contains a subject and a predicate >
but the predicate is not complete, because it does not show
what he studies.

Exm•cises.
1. W1ite three sentences, eacli containing a verb tliat denotes BEING,
2. ·Write five sentences, each conta.i ning a verb that denote,q ACTION.
3. Write five sentences, in eacli of wliicli tlte subject is represented as
being ACTED UPON.
Divide eaclt sentence into its subject and predicate by a line, as above..

A bird can fly.

What word is the subject of each of these sentences ?
When we say tlte bird, do we mean any bird or some particular
bird?

It shows what the birds do.

The earth
John
The horse
The boy
Cain
Abel

25

An eye.

An oak.

We thus change a into an when the following word begins with a
vowel, or the sound of 11. vowel; as, An heir, nn hour.

4

These three little words, a, an, the, are called articles.
How may we define 11.n article?

An article is the word the, an or a, which we put before
nouns to limit their signification.
In the sentence Tl!e good boy learns, whnt word besides the ar ticle is
11.dded to the noun boy?
l?or what purpose is the word good added?

To show what kind of a boy he is ; that is, to show bis
quality.
Words added to nouns or pronouns for this purpose are
called adjectives.
What is an adjective?

An adjective is a word added to a noun or pronoun, and
generally expresses quality.
2

26

ETYMOLOGY.

Exercises.

Exercise.

1. Write tltree sentences, eaclt C(tnlaining one or nwre ai·ticles.

Point out tlte subject and tlte predicate in eaclt of tl.e following sentences, and tell what are the adjuncts in f!aclt.

2. Write tl11·ee sentences, eaclt c~ntaining a noun and an adjective.
3. 1-V?·ite thi·ee sentenceR, eacli containing an article, a Mun, and

27

PARTS 01!' SPEECH.

aii

adjective.
4. Find the subject ancl pi·edicate of each of tlte following sentences,
and point out tlte i·erb, tlte noun, and tlte article.
Henry has a nice new book.
The dog has caught the sly fox.
The lightning struck the old barn.
The sharp frost killed the young buds.
The full moon sheds a pale light.
The bright sun scorched the green grass.
A dilig ent scholar makes rapid improvement.
A careless, idle boy receives many sharp reproofs.

The sun shines brightly. Good scholars study diligently. The heautiful ·fiowers soon fade. How soon the beautiful flowers fade I He acted
very foolishly. Then they went away. When did they go away? The
old man waiks along very slowly. His new book is now lost. The
frightened horse ran away very swiftly.

Vlll.-PARTICIPLE.

William going home lost his boolc.
What is the subject of this sentence ?
What iii added to it ?

Going home.
Vll.-ADJUNCTS.

A good boy always obeys his parents.
What is the subject of this sen tence? The predicate?
What noun forms o. part of the subject? What article? What 1idjective?
What verb forms a part of the predicate ? Who.t other words belcng
to the predicate ?
What word s are added t o the noun boy ,1
What words are added to the verb obeys ,1

·words that are added to other words m a sentence are
called adjuncts.
What must every sentence consist of?

The subject and predicate, and adjuncts.
The subject and predicate are the principal parts of a sentence.
The principal word of the subject is the noun or pronoun
to which the adjuncts relate.
The principal word of the predicate is the verb, on which
all the adjuncts, directly or indiliectly, depend.

Which of these words is an adjunct of the other?

H ome is an adjunct of going.
What does it show ?

Where William was going.
Who.t does the word going express ?

4 It expresses action.
What, then, is it like ?

It is like a verb.
To what noun is it added ?

It is added to the noun William.
Then what else is it like besides a verb?

It is like an adjective.
It is on this account said to participate, or partake of, the
properties of a verb and an adjective, and is therefore called
a participle.
Are participles always like adjectives?

No; some participles participate the properties of a verb
and a noun ; as the word reading is used in the sentence,
William is fond of reading stories.

---·-

--- ------ ----- -

-

.

-- - ·

---~

28

ETYMOLOGY.

PARTS. OF SPEECH.

What is e. participle?

A participle is a word derived from a verb, participating the
properties of a verb, and of an adjective or a noun; and is gen
erally formed by adding ing, d, or ed, to the verb.

X.-CONJUNCTION.

John is a good scholar.

Williarn is a good scholar.

Charlea

is a good scholar.
How many sentences are there here?
In what respect ure they a.like?

The predicate is the same in each.
IX.-ADVERB.

Can they be joined together so as to have only one predicate ?

The horse runs swiftly.

John, William, and Chal'les are good scholars.

What verb is used in the predicate of this sentence ?
What adjunct has it~
What does the word swijlly show?

What have you joined,-the subjects or the predicates?
What word is used to join them?

It shows in what manner the horse runs.
In the sentence, T!te lt01'8e runs ve1·y swiftly, what word is added to
swiftly .1
What does this word show?

It shows how swiftly the horse runs ; that is, the degree of

his swiftness.

Words used to join other words tqgether in this way are
called conjunctions.
C'an the following sentences be joined together?
Mary ill diligtnt. Her sist6r iJJ idle.

Yes ; they can be joined in the following manner :JJiary is diligent, but her sister is idle.

What word expresses degree in the following sentence ; -

What worl is used to connect tbese sentences?
What, then, may conjunctions connect ?

John is an exceedingly bright scholar.

They may connect words or sentences.

To what word is it added ?
In the sentence, He went tliere to-day, what adjuncts has the verb
went?
What does tltere express?
What does to-day express?

Such words added to verbs are called adverbs.
What, then, 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.

Exe1•cises.
1. Point out the advei·b in each of the sentences in tlte exercis~ to
Lesson VIL, and state to what word it is added, and wltat it expresses_
2. Write tltree sentences, eacl• containing an adverb of time ;-th1·ee,
each containing an advei·b of place ;-three, each containing an adverb of
degree ;-and three, each containing an adverb of manner.

What, then, may we say a conjunction is ?

J.. conjunction is a word used to

connect words or sentences .

in~onstruction, and to show the dependence of the terms so

connected.

Exercises.
1. I'oint out tlte conjunctions in each of the following sentences, and
sta te wlwt tliey connect.
The pupils read, write, and cipher. The children skip, jump, and
play. Boys and girls go to ~c h iol nnn learu their lessons. William is
attentive, but his tcrother is heedless. He could not find his slate or
his pencil. He is careless, for he has lost his book. John must be
punished, bec.kuse he 1s idle. If children a.re good, they should be
rewarded.
2. W1·ite five sentmces. each containing n conjuTtCtion used in the subjer.t.
3. lVi·ite five sentences, tacl• containing a CO'Tijunction used in the predicate.
4. lV1·ite tllree sentences, eacl1 composed of two untences conneoted by a
wnjnnc!ion.

30

ETYl\IOLOGY.

PARTS OF SPEECH.

Xl.-PREPOSITION.

Xll.-INTERJEOTION.-PARTS OF SPEECH.

The bird flew over the tree.
The boy climbed up the tree.
The squirrel ran down the tree.
What verbs are u sed in t.heRe sentences?
To what is the action expressed by each of them related?

It is related to the tree.
Is the relation the same in each?

No; it is over the tree in the first, up the tree in the second,
and down the tree in the third.

Oh I how beautiful is the sky I
What kiud of a sentence is this? [See Lesson Ill.]
What word in it is used to express emotion?
What point is placed after it?

Words u sed to indicate emotion in this way are called
interjections.
How may we define an interjection?

An interjection is a word that is uttered merely to indicate
some strong or sudden emotion of the mind.

Exercises.

What words are used to express this relation?

The words over, vp, and down.
·words that express relation in this manner are calletl
prepositions.
How may we define a 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 a pronoun.

31

1. Point out tlte interjections in tlte following aenten1u.
Alas ! my bird is dead I
Hush I you will disturb his sleep.
0 for a calm and thankful mind !
Pshaw ! how ridiculous that is I
2. .Mention any otlier inte1jections you can tltink of
3. Write jive

sentence.~,

eacli containing an int'erjecti011.

Do all the words of a sentence perform the same office ?

Exm·cises.
1. Point out the prepositions in eaclt of the following sentences, and
atate what re/at.ion tltey e:tpress.
The paper lies upon the table.
The book is before him.
The horse ran from the stable.
He put the money into bis pocket.
The boat sailed across the lake.
The roof of the house leaks.
Here is a pin without ~bead.
The boy is free from blame.

2. Mention aU the prepositions you can tldnk nf.
3. Write ji;ve sentences containing any of tlto~e Jn·epcaiticnu.

;F.o ; they perform different offices.
What office <lo some perform ?

Some are narnes of things ; some express action ; some,
quality ; others, relation; and some are used to connect, etc.
On this account words have been arranged in classes, called
Parts of Speech.
What are the names of the Parts of Speech?

The Article, the Noun, the Adjective, the Pronoun, the Verb,
the Participle, th13 Adverb, the Conjunction, the Preposition,
and the Interjection.
·
That part of grammar which treats of the different parts of
speech, and also into what classes they are divided, and bow
they are modified, is called Etymology.

"I

What is etymolollJ' ?

1/

32

ETYMOLOGY.

Xlll.-REVIEW.-DEFINITIONS.

A sentence is an assemblage of words which make
complete sense; as, Beaitty fades.-Reward sweetens labor.
Etymology treats of the different parts of speech, with
their classes and modifications.
The parts of speech, or sorts of words, in English,
are ten; namely, the Article, the Noun, the Adjective, the
Pronoun, the Verb, the Participle, the Ad verb, the Conjunction, the Preposition, and the Interjection.
An article is the word the, an, or a, which we put before nouns to limit their signification ; as, the air, tlw stars;
an island, a ship.
A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing,
that can be known or mentioned; as, George, Jrork, ma11,
apple, trittli.
An adjective is a word added to a nonn or pronoun,
and generally expresses quality: as, A w·ise I.nan; a new
book.-Y ou two are diligent.
A pronoun is a word used instead of a nonn: as, The
boy loves Ms book; lie has loug lessons, and lie learns them
well.
A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be a,cted
ipon: as, I am, I ritle, I am ruled j I lave, thou lovest, he
loves.
A participle is a word derived from a verb, participating the properties of a verb, and of an adjective or a
noun; 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 011e compound: as, 1, ruling j 2,
ritled j 3, /iaving ntled.
'
An adverb is a word added to a verb, a participle, an
adjective, or another adverb; and generally expresses
time, place, degree, or . manner ; as, They are now here,
studying ve1'y diligently.

PARTS OF SPEECH.

sa

A conjunction is a word used to connect words or
sentences in construction, and to show the dependenc~ of
the terms so connected; as, "Thou and he are. happy, because you are good."
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 a pronoun; as, The paper
lie!! before me on the desk.
An interjection is a word that is uttered merely to
indicate some strong or sudden emotion of the mind · as
' '
Oh I alas I ah I poh I pshaw I

Questions for Review.
What is a sentence? What are the principal parts of a 'entence ?
_ What is the subject? What is the predicate? What is a declarative
sentence? An interrogative sentence? An exclamatory sentence? An
imperative sentence ? What are adjuncts? What are parts of 8peech?
What are the names of the parts of speech ? How many are there?
Give the definition of each. What is etymology?

XIV.-PARSINC.

4

Parsing is the resolving or explaining of a sentence
according to the definitions and rules of grammar.

Exercises in· Parsing.
!.-Point out in the foll01J!ing sentences tlte verb, tlte noun,
and tlte article, and parse eaclt as in the example.

EXERCISE

EXAMPLE

1.-;-The man walks.

1. Walks is the verb, because It sign!Jles action.
2. Jfan iR the noun, because it is the name of a per,:;on.
3. Tlte ia the article, because itlllimits the signification of the noun, man.

The sun shines. William reads. The fire bums. The ship sailed.
John studies grammar. The boy told an untruth. The horse is a
quadruped. A is an article. The flowers bloom. Ducks swim. Doee
the sun shine ? Birds build ne~ts. Columbus discovered AII\erica..
Hawks kill chickens. Cain slew Abel. The sun ripens the fruit.

2"

34

E'fY1110LOGY.

II.-Point out the verb, the noun, the article, the adjectiv6,
and the pronoun, and parse each as in the .first and second examples.

PARTS OF SPEECH.

35

EXERCISE

ExAMPLE

2. -An idle scholar disgraces his teacher.

4. lc.lle is the adjeccive, because it expresses the quality of scliolar.
5. Ria is the pronoun, because it is used inatead of the noun scholar.

A good boy obeys his parents. Sarah learns her lessons. History is
a u seful study. A disobedient boy disgraces his parents. The earth is
a round body. Boys are heedless. They disregard their teachers.
Wisdom is the principal thing. A noble mind scorns a mean action.
Washington was a true patriot. A good book is an interesting companion. William found the m,o ney which his careless brot.her lost. A
friend should bear a friend's infirmities. A faithful servant studies his
master's interest. A ch eerful temper is a great bless:ng.

III .-Distinguish the parts of speecli in tf,e foUowing sentences,
and parse each as in the ji?-st, second, and third oxamples.

ExERCIBE

EXAMPLE

3.-The good scholar attends diligently and carefully to

his lessons.
6. DUigent'V nnd c.a refully arc nd verbs, because they o.re added to the verb at
tend, and expreRs manner.
7. Anet is a con junction, because it connects th e adverbs dtliaent.iv nnd cat·efu.llv.
8. To is a preposition, because it expre~s the relation of the verb attend to the
noun lessons.

John and Peter are good scholars. JamP.s is a dishonest and idle
lad. The rose is a beautiful and fragrant flower . Prosperity gains
friends, and adversity tries them. William studies diligently, but
Charles is idle. A peach, an apple, a pear, or an ornnge is very delicious. The eagle has a strong and piercing eye. Candor, sincerity,
and truth are amiable qualities. The hot•e runs swiftly. Cresar was
a very famous genernl. He conquered many nations, and invaded tbe
island of Britain. Hark! the trumpet s0unds. Alas ! how unfortunate
he is! The industrious and attentive scholar learns with great ease
and rapidity. Virtuous youth gradually brings forward accomplished
and flourishing manhood. Sloth enfeebles equally the bodily and the
mental powers. The shortest life is long, if it leads to a better.

IV.-Sta te what part of speech is requfred in each of the following sentences; fill tho blanks, and parse each word.

Ex1mcISE

The man walks---. John writes---. Quicksilver is bright
- - - ehining. - - - boy is amiable - - - talented; - - - he does
not study. - - - is beautiful - - fragrant. Set the book - - the---. The bird tlew - - a tree. · The ship sailed - - - the

harbor. The fear - .- - punishment - - - crime. My father has
gone - - - Boston, - - - will - - - return. The travelers sat--a - - - fire. The - - - scholars have studied - - - lessons and
- - - :j<:now - - - well. The hare is a - - - timid animal. He 'runs
away very - - - when he - - - the least noise.

XV .-ANALYSIS.

~nalysis is the separation of a sentence into the parts
whwh compose it.
·
Every sentence must contain two principal pa1:ts : the
subject and the predicate.
Any corn bination of the subject and predicate is called
a proposition.
A s!~ple sentence is one that contains only one
proposit10n; as,." Fire burns."-" The truth will prevail."
A P_hrase is a combination of two or more words
exr~·essmg some relation of ideas, but no entire proposition; as, "Of a good disposition."-" By the means
appointed."

4 The subject of a sentence generally consists of a noun or
a pronoun, w~th or without adjuncts ; the predicate of a
sentence ?on~ISts of a. ~erb, with or without adjuncts.
A~ ad1ective, participle, noun, or pronoun used in the
predicate of a sentence, but relating to the subject ·
called an attribute; as "Gold is yen -w,, "C . ' is
'
vw • a1n was
a murderer."-" The sun is sliining."-" It is he."
In analyzing a simple sentence, point out :1. The subject.
2. The predicate.
3. The subject noun and its adjuncts.
4. The pr~dicate v~rb and its adverbial adjuncts.
5. The object and its adjuncts.
6, The attribute and ·!ts adjuncts.

36

ETYMOLOGY.

PARTS OF SPEECH.

Example I .-Contentment brings happiness.

XVl.-CONSTRUCTION AND COMPOSITION.

This is a f'implc declarative sentence. The 1mbject is contentment; the predicate is
brings .happineJJ;:;, of which brings is the verb, and happf,ness tho obJect.

Construction is the combination of words into sentences.
\

Jn the same manne1· analyze the follo wing sentences:-

Composition is the combination of sentences to express thought.

Vice brings misery. Diligence is rewarded . Plants prodnce flowers.
Haste makes waste. Perseverance overcomes obstacles. 'l'he tree
bears frnit. Vanity excites disgust. The merchant sells good~. The
sailors suffered shipwreck. Does William study grammar? Can vice
bring happiness ? Children should obey their parents. Does Charles
obey his parents ? The bird has built a nest.

In a composition the sentences are related to each other
by the thoughts which they express.
Do the sentences in the preceding exercise form a composition?

No ; because they are disconnected. They express thoughts
that have no relation to each other.

Example 2.-All the objects of nature well deserve our
diligent study.

Exercises.

This is a simple dccln.rn.tivo sentence. The subject is all the objects of nature; the
predicate is well cle11erve our diligent &tudy. The subject n oun is objects, nnd its adjuncts.
are all, the, and the phrase of nature; the predicate verb is deserve, and its adjuncts arethe adverb well and the object study,· the adjuncts of the object a.re our o.nd dili(Jent.

Construct the following:
A sentence witlt a noun. a verb, and adjuncts of eaclt.
. A ~entence witlt a subject noun, a predicate verb, and an object wit!•
its adjuncts.

In the same manne1· analyze tli.e following:The good scholar attentively studies his lessons. Many severe afflictions overtook that unfortunate man. He suddenly lost all his property. Every person highly praised William's noble conduct. Cmsar
fought many great battles. William has carelessly torn John's beautiful new book. Th e Athenians carefully observed Solon's wise laws.The queen has wisely proclaimed a general peace. John yesterday
found Sarah's new book. This benevolent young lady kindly teaches
many poor children. Both these bad boys deserve severe punishment.
The traveler related many amusing incidents. This merchant has just
returned from Europe. In winter, the snow covers the ground. The
love of truth should be carefnlly cultivated. Grummar teaches the,
right use of language.

Example 3.-Filial ingratitude is a shameful crime.
A simple declara1ive sentence. Subj ect, .filial ingratitude; predicate, is a shameful
crinie. Subject noun, inat·atitude; adjunct, .fiUal. Predicate verb, is; adjunct, the attribute crime; ad juncts of the nttribute, a and shameful.

In the same manner analyze the f ollowing:The ~ky is blue. The fields are green. My book is new. His book
is very old. Honesty is the best policy. Napoleon was a great general.
Washington was a true p:i.triot. New York is a great commercial city.
Thomas Jefferson was the third president. Gold and silver are precious
metals. Ord er is Heaven's fir~ t Jaw . The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The tlowers of spring are ve'ry beautiful.

37

A sentence with n subjeet p1•onoun, a predicate verb and an attribute
'
noun with its adjuncts.
A sentence with an adjeetive attribute.
A se.ntence with an object and otlter adjuncts in the subject and predicate.
Wnte three sentences describing a tree.
Write four sentences describing a fish.
W1·ite jive sentenees about a clock.
Write several sentences forming a sl101·t composition on a dog.

4

Cautions.-1. Do not use the same word too often, nor
.express the same thought more than once.
2. Avoid all slang expressions.
3. Do not have too many short sentences. Join some of
them together, so as to make the language more pleasing to
the ear.
4. ~e careful to spell all the words correctly, to use capitals
accord1,11?' to the rules, and to end each sentence with a period.
Propos1t10ns and phrases are generally separated by a comma.
Criticise the following:The Cat.
The cat has four legs. The cat catches mice. It is a quadruped. The cat can catch mice and rats, it can catch birds

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1~TYMOLOGY.

38

too. The cat bas soft fur. She purs when she is pleased. I
have un awful nice cat. His name is tabby. He is very fond
of me. Once i got scratched by a Cat. The cat is a useful
animal in a House.
Faults.-The ideas are not connected enuugh. The words cat and
The sentences are all short, making the
style unpleasant. There are mistakes in capitals and punctuation.
There are repetitions of the same idea in the firdt four sentences.

catch are repeated too often.

We will try to improve it.

1'he Cat.
The cat is a small quadruped, quite useful in a. house, because it can catch rats and mice. It can catch birds, too. It
has soft fur, and pru:s when it is pleased. I have a nice cat,
that is very fond of me. His name is Tabby. Once I was
scratched by u cat.
Write similar compositions on:The Horse. The Gow. The Sheep. The Cana1·-: ·B ird.
'The Lion. The Elephant. The Camel. The Ost1·ich.

The Eagle.

Questions fo1• Review.
Define analysis. What are the principal parts of a ~entence? What
is a proposition? A simple sentence? A phrase? Of what does the
subject of a sentence consist? The predicate? What is an attribute?
How is a sentence an:.lyzed ? What is meant by the construction of
sentences? What is composition? What cautions a.re given?

· II. CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS OF THE
PARTS OF SPEECH.
1.-ARTICLES.

The articles are distinguished as the definite and the
indefinite art_icle.
The definite article is tlie, which denotes some partienlar 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.
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 um. 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 l·y other letters, require a and not an before them.

Exercise.
Prefix the indefinite article an or a to each of the f oll<ncing :
Apple. Horse. Eagle. Hour.
f1nion. Yoke. Heir. Hero. Elm.
loom. Useful thing.

Youth. Watch. Aunt. Onion.
Honest .man. Hour glass. Heir-

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11.-NOUNS.-CLASSES.

Nouns are divided into two general classes: proper
and common.
A proper noun is the name of some particular individual, or people, or group; as Adam, Boston, the Hiulson,
the Romans, the Azores, the A?z;s.
A common noun is the name of a sort, kind, or
class of beings or things ; as, Beast, bird, fisli, insect, r::reatitres, persons, cliilrlren.

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CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

ETYMOLOGY.

40

Among common nouns are included the particular classes,
collective, abstract, and verbal or participia~
nouns.
1. A collecti_ve noun, or noun of multitude,
is the name of many individuals together ; as, council, meeting, committee, jloc!c.
2. An abstract noun is the name of some particular
quality considered apart from its substance ; as, Goodness,
hardness, pride, frailty.
3. 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."

Exercise.
Classify tlte nouns in tlte foUowing sentences, stati1ig to wltat general
01· particular class eaclt of them belongs.
,;
John's father went to Philadelphia last week. The convention was
held in Alhany, the capital of the State of New York. Cain showecl the
hardness of his heart in the killing of his brother Abel. The Hudson
Hiver was discovered by Henry Hudson. The Greeks gained many victories over the Persians. The Romans conquered many nations. Lon·
don, the capital of England, is situated on the Thames River.

111.-MODIFICATIONS.-PERSONS AND NUMBERS.

The boy runs.

The boys run.

What is the subject noun in each of these sentences?
How do they differ ?

The first means only one ; the second, more than one.
What change is made in the word boy to indicate this?

The letter s is added to it.
Such changes are called modifications.
Modifications sometimes refer to the different ways of using
nouns, when no change is made in the word itself.

41

Nouns have modifications of four kinds; namely, Per•
sons, Numbers, Canders, and Cases.
Persons.
Persons are modifications that distinguish the speaker,
the hearer, and the person or thing merely spoken of.
There are three persons; the first, the second, and
th e third.
The fl rst person is that which denotes the speaker
or writer; as, "I Pa,ul have written it."
The second person is that which denotes the hearer,
or the person addressed; as, "Robert, who did this ? "
The third person is that which denotes the person
or thing merely spoken of; as, "James lov.es his book."
Ons.-The speaker seldom refers to himself by name as the speaker;
consequently, nouns are rarely used in the first person.

Numbers.
Numbers are modifications that distinguish unity and
plurality.
There are two numbers; the singular and the plural.
4 The singular number is that which denotes but
one ; as " The boy learns."
.
. The plurai number is that which denotes more than
one ; as, " The boys learn."
The plural numbei· of nouns is regularly formed hy
adding s or es to the singular: as, book, books,· box,
l1Uxes.
How to form the Plural from the Singular.
1. 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 sylbbles is not increased : as, pen, pens ; grape, gmpe:J.
2. But when the sound of s cannot be united with th~t of the primitive word, the plural adds s to finale, and e:J to other terminations, and
fotms a separate syllable: aa, page, pa.ge:J; fox , foxes.

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ETYlllOLOGY.

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

3. Nouns euding in o preceded by a consonant, add es, but do nol
increase .their syllables : a~, motto, nwttoes; hero, heroeY. Other nouns
in o add s only; as, foiio, f olios.
4. Nouns ending in y preceded by n consonant, change y into i, and
add es, without increase of syllables: as, fly, flies/ duty, duties. Other
nouns in y adds only: as, day, days; valley, valleys.
5. The following nouns in f, change f into v, and add es, for the
plural ; sheaf, leaf, waf, beef, tltief, calf, half, elj; shelf, self, wolf,
wharf; as, sheaves, leares, etc. Life, lices; knife, knives; wife, wives;

IV.-MODIFICATIONS.-CENDERS AND CASES.

42

are similar.
6. The greater number of nouns in f and fe are regular; as, fifes,

strifes, cltiefs, griefs, gulfs, etc.
7. Mu.ny foreign nouns retain their original plmal: n.s, arcanum,
1
arcana ; radiwi, radii; vortex, voi·tices ; am, axes; phenomenon, pl .e1wmena ; seraph, seraphim.
8. The following are very irregular: ma.n, men ; u:oinan, winnen;
child, children; brother, brethren [or brothers] ; foot, feet; ox, oxen;
tooth, teeth ; goose, geese ; louse, lice ; nwme, mice ; die, dice ; penny,
1ience. Dies, stamps, and pennies, coins, are ·regular.
9. Some are alike in both numbers ; as, sheep, deer, swine, hose,
means, odd.~, news, species, series, apparatus.
10. Compounds in which the principal word is put first, vary the
principal word to form the plural, and the adjunct to form the possessive case ; aE, fa ther-in-law, f athers-in-law, fatltei•-in-law's.
11. Compounds ending in Jul, und all those in which the principal
word is put last, form the plural in the same manner as other noun~ ;
as, lwndfiils, svoonfuls, mouthfuls, j ellow·senants, man-servants.
12. Nouns of multitude, when taken collectively, admit the plural
form; as, meeting, meetings. But when taken distributi~ely, they
have a plural signification, without the form ; as, "The ;ury were

43

:

Cenders are modifications that distinguish objects in
regard to sex.
There are three genders: the masculine, the femi·
nine, and the neuter.
The masculine gender is that .which denotes persons or animals of the male kind; as, nwm,fatlwr, king.
The feminine gender is that which denotes persons
or animals of the female kind ; as, woman, motlier, queen.
The neuter gender is that which denotes things that
are neither male nor female; as, pen, ink, paper.

Ons.-Some nouns have no plural; aR. gold, pide, meekness. Others
have no singular; as, bellmos, ides, tidings, scissors, tongs, vespers.

Exm•cise.

Cases.

"Write tlte jolwwing nouns in the plural number ; Child, box, life, tree , mouse, foot, tooth, knife, ox, brother, rnd.i u•,
woman, goose, axis, handful, hero, 10af, vortex, basis, cargo, lady,
sheep, Rucces ' , meeting, speciQS 1 die, means, apparatus, phenomenon,

Cases ar·e modifications that distinguish the relations
of nouns and pronouns to other words.
There are three cases: the nominative, the pos·
sessive, and the objective.

l,rother-in- law.

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Some no~ns may be applied to either sex; as, cousin, friend, neigltbor,
parent, person, servant. Such nouns are sometimes said to be of the
comnwn gend111'. Sometimes the sex can be determined by the context.
The sexes are denoted in three ways:1. By the use of different names : as, bacltelor, maid; boy, girl;
/frotlter, si.~t111·; buck, doe; bull, cow; cock, hen.
• ·
2. By the use of different terminations: ns, abbot, abbess; J1ero,
heroine ; administrator, administratrix.
3. By prefixing an attribute of distinction : as, cock-spm'Tow, hen·
Bf41'1'ow; man-s111·vant, maid-servant; lte-goat, site-goat; male relations,
fem ale relations.
Ons.-The names of things without life, used literally, are always
of the neuter gender. But inanimate objects are often represented
figurat~ve~y as having sex.
Things -remarkable for power. greatness,
or subhm1ty, are spoken of as masculine; as, the sun, time, death. sl,eep,
feflr, anger, u:inte1·, W<l·1'. Things beautiful, amiable, or proliflc, are
spoken o~ ns feminine; as, the moon, earth, nature, furtune, knowledge,
lwpe, spring, peace.

divided."

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Cenders.

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ETYMOLOGY.

44

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

The nominative case is that form or state of a
noun or pronoun, ·which usually denotes the subject of a
finite verb : as, The boy runs ; I run.
The possessive case is that form or state of a noun
or pronoun, which usually 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 nsua11y denotes the object of a verb,
participle, or preposition: as, I know the boy; he knows me.
A word is formed of the letters which compose it. Any
change in the letters, therefore, changes its form. Thus t~e
form of the word boy is changed to boys, and fox to fo xes, m
order to denote the plural number. Nouns of the masculine
gender sometimes change their form to denote the feminine :
as, abbot, abbess; hero, heroine. Nouns, in English, undergo
·
no change in form to denote case, except the possessive.
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 apost;ophe only; as, boy, boy's, boys'.

Declension of Nouns. ·
The declension of a noun or a pronoun is a regulat
arrano-ement of ito numbers and cases.
N o~ns are declined as in the following examples :EXAMPLE !.-FRIEND.

Plural .

Singular.

Nom.
Poss.

Obj.

friend,
friend's,
friend ;

Norn.
Poss.

Obj.

friends,
friends',
friends.

EXAMPLE IL-MAN .

Nom.
Poss.

Obj.

man,
man's,
man;

Norn.
Poss.

Obj.

men,
n1en's,
men.

45

EXAMPLE UI. - FOX.

Nom.
Poss.

Obj.

fox,
fox's,
fox;

Nom.
Poss.

Obj.

foxes,
foxes',
foxes.

EXAMPLE IV.-FLY.

Nom.
Poss.

Obj.

fly,
fly's,
fly;

Nom.
Pos~.

Obj.

flies,
flies',
flies.

....
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Exercise.

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Jn tlt~ same manner write tlte declension of:Goose, sheep, child, mouse, woman, wife, ox, horse, James, boy,
'lady, bird, prince, princeBB, teacher, scholar, parent, farmer.

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Exercises in Analysis and Parsing.
Analyze Uie folloicing sentences, according to tlie examples on page 36 ;
and par.Ye tlte w01·ds as in tlte following example.

EXAMPLE.-A bad boy took the bird's nest.
A is the indefinite article, and limitll the signification of the noun boy.
Bad is o.n adjective, and is added to the noun bov.
ft:rv is a common noun ; of the third person, becaur~e it denotes a person spoken of :
of t'fte sini;ular number, because it denotes only one; of the ·masculine gender, because it
deno~ a male; and in the nominative case, because it Is the subject of the verb toQk.
Took is a verb, signifying action.
The is the definite article, limiting the significatfon of the noun bird's.
Bird'll is a common·noun, of the third person, singular number, feminine gender (because here it denotes a female bird), and in the poss.,..ive ca.e,. beonuse it donote• the
possession of the nest.
Nest iR a common noun, of the third person, singular number, neuter gender (because
It i• neither male nor female), and in the objective case, because it is the object of the
terb took.

Tbe cat has caught a mouse. The dog caught a fox. The cow
gives rich milk. The tree produces much fruit. The fire destroyed
many fine buildings. The eagle has a piercing eye. William lost
Mary's new book. How did John break the boy's slate? Foxes' tails
are generally very long. The bird's plumage is quite beautiful. Birds'
featherA are very light. The men's work was toilsome. Cresar mad()
many conqnests. Rome had many great generals. Washington's char·
acter was truly great. A soldier's life is always perilous.

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CLASSES AND l\10DIFICATIONS.

ETYMOLOGY.

Questions for Review.

Exe,r cises in Const1•uction.
1. Write three sentences, eadi containing a noun in the ntnninative
case ;-three, each containing a noun in the objective case ;-three, each
containing a noun in the possessive case.
2. Write a sentence containing one noun in the nominative case, one in
the objective case, and one in the 110.1sessi1ie case.
3. Write sentences, each cont(dning one or more of the foUowing
words :Man's, farmer' s, house, barn, field, ploughing, planting, sowing seed,
lakes, rivers, streams, fish, net, Charles's, boat, sbip, school-master, loving, kind, t eacher, parents', obey, commands, disobedient, never,
wrong, always , truth, brothers, sisters, beautiful, disgraceful, co~.r­
ageous, James's, Charles's, William' s, princes', princess's, brother-rnlaw's.
Ons.-To avoid the double hissing sound of s, the possessive case is
sometimes indicated by the apostrophe only, the s being omitted: as,
Moses' rod; the princess' portrait; for conscience' sake. As a rule,
however, the s should always be used.

A noun in the possessive case is an adjective adjunct. It
may be changed into a simple phrase adjunct by using the
preposition of and the noun in the objective case; as, The
deer's horns,-equivalent to The horns of the deer.

47

How are the articles distinguished? Define. each. Into what general classes are nouns divided? Define each. What particular classes
are included among common nouns? Define each. What are modifications ? What are the modifications of nouns ? Define each. How
many persons are there ? Define each. How many numbers ? Define
each. How is the plural number of nouns regularly formed? Mention
some of the irregular modes of forming the plural. How many genders
are there? Define each. When is a noun said to be common in gender,
or of the common gender? In what ways are the sexes denoted ? How
many cases have nouns? Define each. What is meant by the jcn"ln of
a word? How is the possessive case formed? What is the declension of a noun? Decline friend, man, fox, fly.

V .-ADJ ECTIVES.-CLASSES.

Adjectives may be divided into six classes; namely,
common, proper, numeral, pronominal, par·
'icipial, and compound.
A common adjective is any ordinary epithet, or
a<!jective denoting quality or situation ; a.s, Good, bad,

j!laceful, warlike-eastern,

we..~tern,

outB'r, inner.

4. Construct a sentence from each of the following, changing the phra.~e
form into the possessive, or the possessive into the phrase.

Ons.-The word epithet has the same meaning as adjective.
nifies added to.

The cunning of the fox. The sagacity of elephants. The bleating
of the sheep. The diamonds of the princess. Birds' nests. The kindness of the lady. The dresses of the ladies. The king's authority.
The teacher's efforts. The patriotism of Washington. The enterprise
of Columbus. The kindness of William Penn. The telescope of Lord
Rosse. The works of Charles Dickens.

A proper adjective is one that is formed from a
proper name; as, American, Engluli, Platon,ic.
An u meral adjective is one that expresses a definite
number; as, One, two, tliree,fou1., ew.

5. Write three sentences on sheep, using t.'w word in the singular
and plural, an(l in the nominat'ive, po.~.itf$sive, and objective case.
6. lV1·ite three sentences, in a similnr manner, on the following
subjects:Tooth, valley, fox, calf, fly, father-in-law, spoonful, goose, child,
woman, nephew, niece, empress, governor, governess.

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Numeral adjectives are of three kinds: namely,
1. Cardinal; as, One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, etc.
2. Ordinal; as, First, second, third, fourth, fiW:i, sixth, seventh,

etc.
3. Multiplicative; as, Single or a.lone, double or twofold, triple or
threefold, quadruple or fourfold, eto.

A pronominal adjective is a definitive word which

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E'l'Yl\IOLOGY .

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

may either accompany its noun, or represent it understood;
as, "All [men] join to guard what each [man] desires to
gain."

The superlative degree is that which is not exceeded ; as, hardest, sq/test, best.
. Those aojectives whose signification does not admit of
different degrees, cannot be compared; as, two second all
total, imm&rtal, infinite.
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Those adjectives which may be varied in sense, but not ji
fo'.·m, are compared by means of ad verbs; as, skillful, more
skillful, most skillful,-skiJlful, "tes8 skillful, /,ea,st skillfol.
. D~minution of- quality is expressed, in like manner , by the adverbs
le~s and least : as, wise, less wi.~e, least wise; famous, less famous least

Th e following are the principal pronominal adjectives: Alt, cmy,
both, eaclt, eithe1', every, f ew, fo1·ine1·, first, latte1·, last, many, n either,
none, one, othei', same, some, such, this, that, wlticll, wltat.

A participial adjective is one that has the form of
a participle ; as, An aniusing story.
A compound adjective is one that consists of two
or more words joined together ; as, Nut-brown, lauglitm·loving, f oiwjooted.

jmnous_

Exm•cise.

. Adjective_s are regularly compared, when the comparative de?Tee is expressed by adding er, and the superlative
by addrng e8t, to them ; ·as,
Positive.

great,
wide,
.hot,

4
Adj ectives have, commonly, no modifications bnt the
forms of comparison.
Comparison is a variation of the adjective, to express
quality in different degrees ; as, lia1·d, l1,arde1·, 1ia1·dest.
There are three degrees of comparison ; the positive 9
the comparative, and the superlative.
The positive degree is that which is expressed by
the adjective in its simple form; as, hard, sqft, good.
The comparative degree is that which exceeds the
positive ; as, liarder, sq/tel', better.

'

lliost adjectives of more than one syllable, must be compared by
~eans of the adverbs; because they do not admit a change of terminat1.~n : thus'. we may sa!. virtuous, rrwre virtuous, most vi1·tuoua; but not
'CZ1 luous, 1n rtuo use1', 'l!Wtuousest.

Cta.ssijy th e adjectives in tlte following, and state to what sub-class eacll
of the numeral adjectives belongs :
Fragrant flow ers. Ripe fruit. Abundant harvests. Useful books.
Au interesting tale. Roman soldiers. An outer room. A charming
picture. Twenty dollars. The German language. An old-fashioned
chair. The fourth pr esident. The other presidents. All things.
Quadruple measure. Thirty -five cents. The lowing h erd. The ninet eenth century. A dark-eyed maiden. T en Arabic figureR. The Roman notation. Everlasting life. A beloved object. The Augustan
age. Triple time. A fre sh-looking youth. A milk-white horse. ·

Vl.-ADJECTIVES.-MODIFICATIONS.

49

rr

t·

voinpara tve_

Superlative.

greater,
wider,
hotter,

greatest.
widest.
hottest.

..

Th e method of comparhion by ei· and est, i1 chiefly applicable to
mo nosyllables, and to dissyllables ending in y or mute e.

The following adjectives are compared iri·eo-nlarlv: goorl
hotter, best,' ·bad or ill, worse, worst · lit{/: less" ler'"t '.
' far""" '
m'Uc/;i, more, most,' many, more, most,'' far, f' artlier,
tliest ,' late, later or latte1·, latest or lct8t.
Ons.-:rhe_ prefixing of an adverb can hardly be called a variation
of the adiect1ve. The words may with ruore propriety be taken separately, the degree being ascribed to the adverb, or to each word.

Exercise.
. Coinpnre the f o/lowin,q adjectives, r·egnlarly, irregula1'ly, 01· by means
of adve1'bs, as eaclt m ay requii-e :·
Ii Long, wise, gentle, noble, famous, useful, fortunate, happy, elegant,

ttle, small, many, few , late, early, virtuous, beautiful narrow simple
3
'
,

50

ETYMOLOGY.
CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

Vll.-PRONOUNS.-CLASSES.

Pronouns are divided into three classes; personal,
relative, and interrogative.
A personal pronoun is a pronoun that shows by
its form of what person it is .

51

What is sometimes equivalent to an il.rtic:e or adjective and a rela·
tive, being placed before the noun which it represents: BJ?, "What
money we had was taken away; " that is, 1lte money wllicli. we had, etc.
- " Wllat man but enters, dies; " that is, .Any man wllo, etc. The
compound wl1atever or wlwtsoever has the same construction.

•

That is, the word itself shows whether it is of the first, second, or
third person.

The sirnpw personal pronouns are five: namely, I, of
the first person ; tlwit, of the second person ; he, she, and
it, of the third person.
The compoitnd personal pronouns are also five: namely,
myself, of the first person ; tllyself, of the second person ;
himself, herself, and itself, of the third person.
The compound personal pronouns are used when an action reverts
upon the agent, er for special emphasis; as, "He injured himself."" He himself b to blame."

A relative pronoun is a pronoun that represents an
antecedent word or phrase, and connects different clauses
of a sentence.
The relative pronouns are who, whicli, what, ~nd that j
and the compounds wlwever or whosoever, whichevet· or
which8oever, whatever or whatsoever.
What is a kind of double relative, equivalent to that
wliicli or tlwse wliich · and is, therefore, to be considered
'
}
.
as including both the antecedent and the relati'i:e.
.
An interrogative pronoun is a pronoun with
which a question is asked.
·
The interrogative pronouns are, who, wliicli, and wliat j
being the same in form as the relatives.
Who is usually applied to persons only; which, thoug~ for:nerly
applied to persons, is uow confined to brute animals and mamrna~e
· app l"1ed t ~ things only·' that IB
things; what, ns a mere pronoun, 1s
pplied
indifferently
to
perzons,
animals,
and thmgs ..
11

Vlll.-PRONOUNS.-MODIFICATIONS AND DECLENSION.

Pronouns have the same m"difications as nouns· namely
'
'
Persons, .LYumbers, Genders, -and Oases.
In the personal pronoun, most of these rroperties are indicated bv
the words themselves ; in the relative pronoun, it is necessary to refe r
to the antecedent which it represents; and in the interrogative to the
word, usually in the answer, which it represents ; WJ, " W7w did this ?
John."
•
0

The gender of the personal pronouns of the first and second person
is to be determined by referring to the words for which they are used.

Declension of Pronouns.
The personal pronouns are thus declined :-

I, of the first person.
Sing. Nom. I,
Poss. my, or mine,
Obj. me ;

Plur. Nom. we,
Poss. our, or ours,
Oqj. us.

Thou, of the second person.
Sing. Norn. thou,
Poss. thy, or thine,
Obj. thee ;

Plur. Norn. ye, 01· you,
Poss: your, or yours,
Obj. you.

He, of the third person.
Sing. Norn. he,
Poss. his,
Obj. him;

Plur. Noni. they,
Poss. their, or theirs.
Obj. them.

,I

Lr

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

ETYMOLOGY.

52

She, of the third 11erson.
Plur. Nom. they,
Sing. Norn. she,
Poss. their, or theirs,
Poss. her, or hers,
Obj. them.
Obj. her;

It, of the third person.
Plur. Noni. they,
Poss. their, or theirs,
Obj. them.

Sing. Nam. it,
Poss. its,
Obj. it;

The compound personal pronouns all wa~t t~e possessive
case, and are alike in the nominative and ob3ective cases ; as,

Plur. Nam. ourselves,

Sing. Nom. myself,

Poss.
Obj. ourselves.

Poss.
Obj. myself ;

clined:-

Who, applied only to persons.
Plur. Nom. who,
Sing. Nom. who,
Poss. whose,
Poss. whose,
Obj. whom.
Obj. whom;
Which, applied to animal;; and things.
Plur. Nom. which,
Sing. Nam. which,

Poss.Obj. which.

Poss.*Obj. which;

What, generally applied to things.
Plur. Nom. what,
Sing. Nom. what,
Poss.Poss.
Obj. what.
Obj. what;
·-··--- - -- - gin is divine.,,-B/ai1'.

That, applied to persons, animals, and things.
Sing. Nom. that,

Plur. Nom. that,

Poss. - - Obj. that ;

Poss. - - Obj. that.

The compound relative pronouns, whoever or wlwsoever, whichever or
'11/liicluioever, anu whatever or whatsoever, are declined in the same manner as the simples, wlw, wltich, what.

Exercises.
1. Write tlte nominative plural of tlie following pronou118 :I, thou, he, she, it, who, which, what, that.

2.. W1ite the declension of tlte f oilowing :Myself, thyself, himself, herself, itself, whosoever.

3. Co1'1'ect the form of eacli of the following :Her's, it's, our's, your's, their's, who's, hisself, theirselves.
4. Wi·ite tlte objective singula1· and plural of all the aimple pi;onoulis.

The relative and the interrogative pronouns are thus de-

• Who.•• is sometimes med

53

M

lhe possessive

CB'C

o{ which; ns, "A religion toltose ori·

5. Wiite sc-ntences, each containin,q one of tlte followin,q pronouns:~Iim, them, me, their, myself, himself, themselves, who, whom,
which, what, that, whoever, whomsoever, whichever.

Analysis.-Clauses.

4 When

simple sentences are connected, they form com•
pound or complex sentences, and are then called
clauses.
A clause, therefore, is a division of a. compound or a.
complex sentence.
Compound or complex clauses are sometimes called mem•
be rs.
A clause used as one of the principal parts of a sentence, or
as an adjunct to any word in it, is called a dependent
clause.
The clause on which it depends, or of which it forms a. part,
is called the principal clause.
A complex sentence is one composed of a principal
clause and one or more dependent clauses.

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

ETYMOLOGY.

54

When neither of the component clauses of a sentence is dependent, it is called a compound ~en~ence. .
.
Clauses may be connected by con3unct~ons, relative pIO·
nouns, or adverbs (then called conjunct1v~ adverbs).
A clause introduced by a relative pronoun, is often called a

relative clause.

The relative clause is a dependent clause, and the sentence in ~vh~ch
't occurs is therefore complex. It is not, however, always a modifyi1'.g
l
e being sometimes used to express an additional fact. Thus. m
cthaus ~tence "'fhis is the mun that committed the deed," the relative
e se
'
t
" I ave the book
clause modifies the noun man; but in the sen ence,
g
. ,,
to John, who has lost it," it is equivalent to '' and h e has lost it.
In
each case it is u sed like un adjective.

1

55

uprightly, walketh surely. Them that honor me I will honor. I im·
mediately perceived the object which he pointed out. Who can respect
a man that has lost his self-respect? Whoever dreads punishment, suf· .
fera it already. He imprudently reported what his friend had told him.
You may purchase whatever you need. What cannot be prevented
must be endured. You should carefully avoid rudeness, which always
excites ill-will. Cresar, who conquered many nations, was assassinated.
Art is long, and time is fleeting. Virtue is its own reward, and vice
brings its own punishment. We always respect a man who scrupulously
observes the truth . Washiugton, who faithfully served his country,
.was universally admired. Every one despised Benedict Arnold, who
betrayed his country. War is the law of violence; peace, the law of
love.
Parslng.-(ExAMPLE 1.)

When adjuncts are used to change the meaning of th: terr~
to which they are applied, they are often called mod1fica
tions : as, A good boy.-An honest man.-The fire burns

Tile is the definite article, limiting the eiguiflcation of the noun me8aenoer.

Jle11"enge1· is l\ common noun, of the third person, singular number~ common in gender, nnd ill the noll)inative case, being the subject of the verb has returned.
Jrho is a relative pronoun, representing the antecedent mesaenger in tho third. pe!'son,
number, and common gender: it is in the nominative case, being tho subject
of th e verb was seut.
sfngul~r

brightly.

Exercises.

lVas sent is o. verb, rcprei::enting its subject as acte4 upon.

llaa returned is a verb, representing its subject as acting.

Analysis.

State ioltetl1e1' the sentence is complex 01' compo.und; sepa1'ate it into
its component clauses; analyze each as in the prevwits ezamples .
EXAMPLE 1.-" The messenger who was sent, has returned."
. . 1 lauee is Tile me3flen.ger has returned,
A complex <leclnrative s~ntence; the pr1~c1pa ~i·unct ~t m.eBSenoer ; the connective
and the dependent clause is, lVho was sen ' an a

wo~dh~ :~~~ct noun of the principnl clnusc i:::e:::~'~1~: ~.:~!::~~:"!~ ~~:: ~":i~~::t

turned; the acljunc~ of tbc s.ub]eCt nc;;: are b·e~t of tho dcp~ndent clause, is who, and
the predicate cont.ams no ad1uncts.
e s~ J
the predicate, was sent; neither has nny nd1uncts.

EXAMPLE 2.-" Deeds are fruit, but words are only leaves. "
. .
f th two simple clauses Deeds are
A compound declarative sen tence; consisting o
c
'

fruit and Words are 0'11?/ leaves, connected by but. ]' t . are fruit consisting of tho
The subject of the first cle.use is deeds; the prel ica e 19
J'
. words . tho

f'. it The l'Ubject of the second c ause is
•
b •
d it.a adjunct only, and the attri..
verb a1·e and the attribute nou~ .1·u .
predicate, are only leaves, cons1stwg of the vcr me an
bute noun leaves.

Children who disobey their parents, deserve punishment. The youn:
was yesterday arrelksteth
man who embezzled bis employer's money,
h all ·
Re that wa e
Hatred stirreth up strifes, but love coveret
sms.
·

Construction.

•

1. W1'ite five compound sentences, eaclt consi&ting of two 6implo clauses,

~onnected by and 01· but.

· 2. W1'ite five complex sentences, each containing a simple 1•elative clause.
Pu.nctuation.-The simple clauses composing a compound sent ence should be separattid by a comma; but when a comma is used to
separate the parts of either, a semi.colon should be employed.
A relative clause should be separated by a comma, unless it is used
us a modifying adjunct.

When a relative clause is a modifying adjunct, it can often
be changed to an adjective or participle ; and the sentence
will then become simple. Thus, The pupil who is diligent will
excel, can be changed to, The diligent pupil will e.xcel. Sometimes a phrase consisting of a noun and an adjective can be
substituted for the relative clause and the antecedent. Thus,
He who labors faithfully will succeed, is equivalent to, A faith·
f ul laborer will succeed.

!'56

ETYMOLOGY.

CLASSES A.ND MODIFICATIONS.

3. Change the following complex into simple sentences by eitlur of theso
tico methods:No person that has reason would believe that statement. He who
does wrong should be punished. A boy who plays truant will come to
shame. Children who disobey their parents cannot be happy. Lines
that are parallel never meet. A figure that has three angles is a trinngle. He who tella an untruth will get into trouble and disgrace.
They who slander othera break the divine commandments. They who
rob birds of their nests aro very cruel.

\Vhen the relative clause is not a modifying adjunct, the
sentence can be made compound by substituting for the relative pronoun a conjunction and a personal pronoun. Thus,
John, who committed the fault, has been f orgiren, may be
changed to, John committed the fault, but he has been forgiven.

Q·uestions for Review.
Into what classes may adjectives be divided? Define ~a.ch. Of how
many kinds are numeral adjectives? Give an example of each. Name
the principal pronomillal adjectives. What modifications have P.djectives? What is comparison? How many degrees are there? Define
each. What adjectives cannot be compared? How are adjective.a.
regularly compared ? Give examp!es of irregular comparison.
Into what ·classes are pronouns divided? Define each. What kind
of a pronoun is wltat l How ·are the relatives w!to, wlticlt, wltat. and
tltat applied ? To what is the relative what sometimes equivalent?
What modifications have pronouns? How are these indicated ? Decline each of the personal pronouns. Each of the relative pronouns.
What is a clause ? A member? What io a dependent clause ? A
refative clause? What is a complex sentence ? A compound sentence?
' When are adjuncts called modifications?

4. Change in this manner the following complex to compound sentence_s :Use such conjunctions as and, if, but, because, since.
The eye, that sees all things, cannot see itself. Mr. Brown, who
was so seriously injured, has recovered. Washington, who was a true
patriot, saved his country. Arnold, who betrayed his country, was
despised. Mr. Smith's brother, who went to Europe last year, has
returned. James's book, which his father bought for him, has been
lost. Alice's new silk dress, which her mother gave her, is spoiled.
William's brother Henry, who told an untruth, cannot be believed .
Composition.

Write a compositiim consisting of si,mple, compound,
tences, deac1ibing each of the following objects, stating
of which it is composed, the mate1·ials of wMclt each
made, and what different trades or occ1tpations ai·e
manujacture.

and complex sen.
its use, the pm·ta
of tlte,•e pm·ts is
concerned in its

A book. A sla te. A pen. A house. A plough. A piano. A ship. A
chair. A skate. A bottle. A stove. A carpet. A knife. A china tea set.
A. map. A globe. A watch. A clock. A bell. A carriage.
The teacher sh ould supply all information thRt mny be needc<l hy the pupils, in order
to make the descriptions sufficien tly fnll and accurate, bnt shonld be careful that the
pupils use th eir own language, nnd n.pply the rules and principles nlren.cly learnecl.
'Vhere others nre violated, the corrections may be ma.de arbitrarily. In this way, the
hal>it of correctly using language will be cultivated.

IX.-VERBS.-CLASSES.

Verbs are divided, with respect to their form, into four
classes: regular, irregular, redundant and de·
fective.
·
'

j regular verb is a verb that forms the preterit and
the perfect participle by assuming d or ed ,· as, l<Yve, loved,
l<Yving, l<Yved.
Whether a verb is regular or irregular depends upon the changes
which it undergoes in order to express differences in the mode time
and other circumstances of the action or being indicated by th~ verb'.
Thus, the verb walk becomes walked in order to express a past action .
whiJe the participle is derived by adding ing or ed; as, walking, walked:
These additional syllables, which change the primitive form of the
verb, are called inflections. In some languages they are very numerous
but in English they are quite few.
'
The pi·eterit is the form for the past.
There are four parts in every verb from which all others are derived: the pi·esent, the past or preterit, the imperfect participle (always
ending in ing), and the pei'fect pa1·tioiple. When these are given, all
other parts of the verb become known. Hence they are calkd the
principal parts.
3'"

58

ETYMOLOGY.

An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the
preterit and the perfect participle by assuming a or ea j
as, see, saw, seeing, seen.
A redundant verb is a verb that forms the preterit
or the perfect participle in two or more w_ays, an~ so as
to be both regular and irregular ; as, tlinve, thrived or
throve, thriving, thrived or tliriven.
A defective verb is a verb that forms no participles,
and is used in but few of the moods and tenses; as, beware,
onght, quoth.
Re!!"lllar verbs form their preterit and perfect rarticiple by adding .
d to flnal e, and ed to all other terminations. The verb hear, heard,
lwm·ing, heard, adds d to 1" and is therefore irregular.

Verbs are divided again, with respect to their signification, into four classes: active-transitive, active·
intransitive, passive, and neuter.
An active-transitive verb is a verb that expresses
an action which has some per&on or thing for its object;
as , " Cain slew .Abel."
.
An active· intransitive verb is a verb that expresses
an action which has no person or thing for its object; as,
"Jolm walks."
A passive verb is a verb that represents its subjed,
acted upon
; as, " I am comor nominative, as bein""
b
.
pelled."
It must be understood that a passive verb expresses action, but
action received not performed, by the subject. Thus, the object of the
action become~ the subject of the verb. Hence, every active-transitive
verb may be changed into a passive verb by making the object of the
former the subject of the latter.

A neuter verb is a verb that expresses neither action
nor passion, bnt simply being, or a state of being; as,
"Thou art."-" He sleeps."

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

59

Exercises.
1. Classify all tlte verbs in the fallowing sentences, botl• as to form and
signification :[See list of Irregular Verbs, page 79.)

He was chosen president. Mr. Smith drove a skittish horse. The
cnp was broken, I have written a letter. He won the wager. John
is honest. The plant grows. The dog is howling. The ship sailed
yesterday. The boiler burst. Beware of slanderers. The father chid
. his son. The king sat on his throne. The sluggard sleeps too long.
The boy swam across the stream. The cat sprung on the mouse. Ile
· has given away his knife. The river is frozen.

2. Construct another sentence from each of the verbs in the above ezercise, using a d.i/ferent form.
3. Write three sentences, each containing a rtgulr:cr verb ;-also three,
tach containing an irregular verb ;-tliree, each containing a redundant
verb ;-and one containing a drfective verb.

X.-VERBS.-MODIFICATIONS.

The modifications, or inflections, of verbs are for two purposes : 1. To express some particular manner or time of the
being, action, or passion. 2. To indicate the person -and
f1umber of the subject or nominative. Hence it is said: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 indlca·
tive, the potential, the subjunctive, and the
imperative.
The infinitive mood is that form of the verb which
expresses the being, action, or passion, in an unlimited man·
ner, and without person or number; as, To read, to speak.

..
60

ETYMOLOGY.

The infinitive mood has no person or number-that is, no inflections
to indicate person or number, because it has no subj ect nominative.
It may have a subject, that is, a word indicating the person or thing of
whom the being or action is indirectly asserted; but this word must
be in the objective case, depending upon some other verb. Thus, in
the sentence, I told John to write, John is the subject of the infinitive
1orite, and the object of the verb told; hence, iu the objective ca.se.

A verb in any other mood than the infinitive is called, by
way of distinction, a finite verb.

The indicative mood is that form of the verb which
simply indicates or declares a thing, or asks a question :
'
as, I write; you know ; Do you know ?
The potential mood is that form of the verb which
expresses the power, liberty, possibility, or necessity of the
being, action, or passion: as, I can read; ·we m1.l8t go.
The su,b junctive mood is that form of the verb
which represents the be.ing, action, or passion, as conditional, doubtful, and 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, entreating, or
permitting; as, "Depart thou."-" B e comforted."
Tenses.
Tenses are those 1nodifications of the verb which distinguish time.
There are six tenses; the present, the imperfect,
the perfect, the pluperfect, the first·future, and
the second·future.
·
The present tense is that which expresses what
now exists, or is taking place: as, "I hear a noise; somebody is coming."
The imperfect tense is that which expresses what
took place, or was ocmtrring, in time fully past: as, "I saw
him yesterday ; he was walki'.ng out."

CLA SS ES AND MODIFICATIONS.

61

The perfe?t .tense is that which expresses what lias
taken place, withm some period of time not yet ful1y past•
as, " I /i(JllJe seen him to-day."
'
Ii The pJuperfect tense is that which'expresses what
'lad ta_lcen place, at some past time mentioned; as "I liad
.
' .
seen hun, when I m'et you."
· tliat wh'ich expres3es wliat
·The first·future tens e 18
will take place hereafter· as "I nl,all
.
.
' '
"'" see 1um again."
The second•future tense is that wh" 1 . .
what ill Ii
·
IC t expresses
l . l(JllJe taken place, at some future time mentioned.
as,
Stiall liave seen him by to-morrow noon."
'

"F

There are_two circumstances on which the dist " t"
f
:
mc ion o t ense 18
based : -

1. Whether the time is present, paat, or futu1·e.
2. Whether the action is Pfi1:/ect
·
plete-in regard to each distinction o~\:::::.fi1:fect-comp1ete or bcom·
Rene~, the1·e must b

tion :-

1. Present l
2. Past
t
3. Future j

4. Present}
15. Past
6. Future

· t
e six enses to express this twofold distincImperfect
or Indefinite
Perfect

Present Tense.
Imperfect Tense.
First Future Tense.
Perfect Tense.
/ Pluperfect ·Tense
Second Future Tense.

1

J

Inflections.
As
there
are
t
. . . .
wo numbers and tlwee persons, there must be
s1x d1stmct~ons_for which a verb may be inflected or chano-ed
to ao-ree w1tl t
b'
·
'
o
'
ti o
. l I s _
su_~ect ; but, as already stated, the infle·co~s used_ m _En~hsh are very few. Thus, the verbs love and
~o, 11f1 the md1cat1ve mood, present tense, have only the follo\vmg orms :Singula1·.

1st p er. love,
2d per. love.st,
3d per. loves;

Plural.

SingukL1'.

love,
love,
love,

Plural.

1st per. go,
2d per. goest,
3dper. goes;

go,
go,
go.

62

ETYMOLOGY.

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

It will be seen that there are only two inflections, both in
the singular : the addition of st or est for the. second person,
and s or es for the third ; the first person, smgular, and all
the persons in tJ.te plural being alike:
.
·
The third person singular was anciently formed m th or eth,
but this inflection is now only used in the formal or solemn
style.
The only regular terminations that are added to verbs, are ing, d, or
ed, st or IJ3t, s or es, tit or eth. Ing, and th or tth, always add a ~yllab~e
to the verb, except in doth, hath, saith. The rest, whenever the1r
sound will unite with that of the final syllable of the verb, are added
without increasing the number of syllables; otherwise, they are sepa-, ·
r ately pronounced.

63

Verbs Conjugated,
Simple Form, Aotive or Neuter.

The simplest form of an English conjugation, is that whirh
makes the present and imperfect tenses without auxiliaries ;
but even in these, auxiliaries are required for the potential
mood, and are often preferred for the indicative.
CONJUGATION OF THE VERB LOVE.
Principal Parts.

P.restnt.

Pi·eten"t.

Love.

Imperfect Participle.

Loved.

P erfect Participle.

Loving.

Loved.

INFINITIVE MOOD.

Present Tense. To love.
Perfect Tense. To have loved.
Xl.-CONJUCATION OF VERBS.

INDICATIVE MOOD.

· The conjugation of a verb is a regular arrang~- .
mcnt of its moods, tenses, persons, numbers, and participles.
There are four principal parts in the conjugation of
every simple and complete verb; namely, the present,
the preterit, the imperfect participle, 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 another verb, to express some particular ·
mode and time of the being, action, or passion.
- The auxiliaries are do, be, hame, shall, will,
and must, with their variations.
O rs. -ii'ome of these, especially do, be, and have, are also used
principal verbs.

1111

Present Tense.

Singular.

f

1st per. I
love,
2d per. Thou lovest,
3d per. He loves ;

Plural.

I st per. vVe love,
2d per. You love,
3d per. They love.

This tense may also be formed by prefixing the auxiliary do to the
verb:-

Singulai·.

1. I

do love,
2. Thou dost love,
3. He does love ;

Plural.

1. We do love,
2. You do love,
3. They do love.

Imperfect Tense.
Th "s tenRe, in its simple form, is the preterit. In all regullr verbs,
it ndda cl or eel to the present, but in others it is formed variously.

Eingulai·.

1. I
loved,
2. Thou lo:redst,
3. He loved;

Plural.

1. We loved,
2. You loved,
3. They loved.

,I
'

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

65

ETYMOLOGY.

64

. be formed by prefixing the auxiliary did to the
This tense may a 1so
present:Plural.
Sing11lar.

1. We did love,
2. You did love,
3. They did love.

1. I
did love,
2. Thou didst love,
3. He did love ;

Perfect Tense.
.

fi es the auxiliary

This tense pre x

Singulll1'.

ltave to the perfect participle :Plttral.

1. We have loved,
2. You have loved,
3. They have loved.

1. I
have loved,
2. Thou h ast loved,
3. He has loved;

Pluperfect Tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary had to the perfect participle :-

Plural.

Singttlur.

1. We

had loved,
2. You had loved,
3. They had loved.

1. I
had loved,
2. Thou hadst loved,
3. He had loved ;

.the auxiliary shall or ioill to the present:-

Plural.

Singular.

1. We shall love,
2. You will love,
3. They will love.

1. I
shall love,
2. Thou wilt love,
3. He will love ;

.

Singula1·.

1. I
will love,
2. Thou shalt love,
3. He shn,ll love ;

1. We shall have loved,
2. You will have loved,
3. They will have loved.

POTENTIAL MOOD.
Present Tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary may, can, or must, to the radical
verb:Singular.

Plural.

1. I
may love,
2. Thou mayst love,
3. He may love ;

1. We

may love,
2. You may love,
3. They may love.

Imperfect Tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary migltt, could, would, or slwuld, to the
radical verb : -

P lural.

Singula1'.

1. I
might love,
2. Thou mightst love,
3. He might love ;

L We might love,
2. You might love,
3. They might love.

n·
1 ton,

c

Perfect Tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliaries may ltave, can ltave, or must lta7!8,
to the perfect participle:Plural.

Stngular.

1. Simply to expr ess a future action or event :

2. To express a promise, vo

Plural.

Singular.

1. I
shall have loved,
2. Thou wilt have loved,
3' He will have loved ;

4

First-future Tense.
This tense pre fi xes

Second-future Tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliaries sliall have or will ltave to the per·
fect participle :-

ommand or threat:
'

Plural.

1. We will love,
2. You shall love,
3. They shall love.

1. I
may have loved,
2. Thou mayst have loved,
3. He may have loved ;

1. We may have loved,
2. You may have loved,
3. They may have loved.

Pluperfect Tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliaries miglit ltave, couU have, would have,
or sltould ltave, to the perfect participle : Singular.

Plural.

L I
might have loved, 1. We might have loved,
2. Thou mightst have loved, 2. You might have loved,
3. He might hiJ,ve loved ; 3. They might have loved.

i!:,I

Second Person, Singular.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.
some condition on which
This tense is generally used to express
future action or event is affirmed.
Plural.
Singula1·.

11

Imperfect Tense.
.
the imperfect of the potential mood, with
This tense, as we as
.
indefinite tense, referring to
which it is frequently connected, is an
time past, present, or future.
Plural.
Singu/,ar.
11

1. If I
loved,
2. If thou loved,
3. If h e

loved ;

Thou lovest, Thou lovedst, Thou hast loved, Thou hadst
loved, Thou wilt love, Thou \•.rilt have loved. POTENTIAL. Thou
mayst Jove, Thou mightst love, Thou mayst have loved, Thou mightst
have loved. SUBJUNCTIVE. If thou love, Ii thou loved. IMPERA·
TIVE. Love [thou], or Do thou love.
INDICATTVE.

1. If we love,
2. H you love,
3. If they love.

1. If I
love,
2. If thou love,
3. If he
love;

67

CLASSES AND :MODIFICATIONS.

ETYMOLOGY.

1. If we loved,
2. If you loved,
3. If they loved.

Third Person, Singular.
He loves, He loved, He has loved, He had loved, He
will love, He will have loved. POTENTIAL. He may Jove, He might
love, He may have loved, He might have loved. SUBJUNCTIVE. If he
Jove, If he loved.
INDICATIVE.

First Person, Plural.
We love, We loved, We have loved, We had loved, We
shall love, We shall have loved. POTENTIAL. We may love, We might
love, We may have loved, We might have loved. SUBJUNCTIVE. If we
love, If we loved.
INDICATIVE.

Second Person, Plural.
You love, You loved, You have loved, You had loved,
You will love, You will have loved. POTENTIAL. You may love, You
might love, You may have loved, You might have loved. SUBJUNC·
TIVE. If you love, If you loved. IMPERATIVE. Love [ye or you], or
~you love.
INDICATIVE.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.

Singular. 2. Love [thou,] or Do thou love.
2. Love [ye or you, J or Do you love.
Plural.

Third Person, Plural.
They love, They loved, They have loved, They had
loved, They will love, They will have loved. POTENTIAL. They may
love, They might love, They may have loved, They might have loved.
SUBJUNCTIVE. If they love, If they loved.
!NDICATTVE.

p ARTICIPLES.

1. Imperfect,
2. Perfect,
3. Preperfect,

Loving.
Loved.
Having loved.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB SEE.
Principal Parts.

SYNOPSIS OF THE FIRST EXAMPLE.
First Person, Singular.
.
have
loved,
I
bad
loved,
I
sblill
ed
I
INDICATIVE. I love, I lov '
I
" ht love l
1
d POTENTIAL I may love,
m1g
'
love, I shall have o~e .
1 d . SUBJUNCTIVE. If I love, If I
may have loved, I might have ove .
loved.

Present.

Preterit.

Imperfect Participle.

Perfect Pm·ticiple.

See.

Saw.

Seeing.

Seen.

INFINITIVE MOOD.

Present Tense.
Perfect Tense.

To see.
To have seen.

"I

68

ETYMOLOGY.
CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.
INDICATIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.

Singular.

see,
2. Thou seest,
3. He sees;

1. I

69

POTENTIAL MOOD.
Present Tense.

Plural.
1. We see,

Singular.

Plural.
1. We may see,

1. I
may see,
2. Thou mayst see,
3. He may see;

2. You see,
3. They see.

I

2. You may see,
3. They may see.

11/
il11

Imperfect Tense.
Imperfect Tense.

Plural.

Singular.

1. I

saw,
2. Thou sawest,
3. He saw;

Singular.

1. We saw,
2. You saw,
3. They saw.

1. I

might see,
2. Thou mightst see,
3. He might see ;

Plumz.
1. We might see,

r

2. You might see,
3. They might see.

/.'
II,

Perfect Tense.

Singulm·.

Plural.

1. I
· have seen,
2. Thou hast seen,
3. He has seen ;

1. We have seen,
2. You have seen,
3. They have seen.

Perfect Tense.

Singular.

1. I
may have seen,
2. Thou mayst have seen,
3. He may have seen ;

Plural.

1. We

may have seen,
2. You may have seen,
3. They may have seen.

Pluperfect Tense.

Plural.

Singular.

1. I
hacl seen,
2. Thou hadst seen,
3. He hacl seen;

1. We had seen,
2. You had seen,
3. They had seen.

Singular.

VJ.. I

might have seen,
2. Thou mightst have seen,
3. He might have seen ;

First-future Tense.

Siiigular.

1. I
shall see,
2. Thou wilt see,
3. He will see ;

'ii'

I'

Plural.

1. We might have seen,
2. You might have seen,
3. They might have seen.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

Plural.

1. Vl e shall see,
2. You will see,
3. They will see.

IU

Present Tense.

Singul,m·.
1. If I
see,
2. If thou see,

3. If he
Singula1·.

Pluml.

shall have seen,
2. Thou wilt have seen,
3. He will have seen ;

1. we shall have seen,
2. You will have seen,
3. They will have seen.

Plu1·al.

see;

Second-future Tense.

1. I

i

Pluperfect Tense.

,,.

1. .If we see,
2. If you see,
3. If they see.

Imperfect Tense.

Singular.

1. If I
saw,
2. If thou saw,
3. If Le saw;

Plural.

1. If we saw,
2. If you saw,
3. If they saw,

l

It:

l~TYMOLOGY.

70

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

Pluperfect Tense.

Singular.

Present Tense.

1. Tlle Imperfect.

PARTICIPLES.
2. Tlte Perfect.

3. The Preperfect

Seeing.

Seen.

Having seen.

had been,
2. Thou hadst been,
3. He had been ;

Preterit.

Be.

Was.

First-future Tense.

1. I
shall be,
2. Thou wilt be,
3. He will be ;

Principal _Parts.
Imperfect Pa1·ticiple.

INFINITIVE MOOD.

To be.
To have been.

1. I
shall have been,
2. Tlfou wilt have been,
3. He will have been ;

INDICATIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.

Plurni.

Singular.

1. We are,
2. You are,
3. They ru:e.

1. I

am,
2. Thou art,
3. He is;

Plural.

1. We shall be,
2. You will be,
3. They will be.

Second-future Tense.
Singular.
Plural.

Being.

Present Tense.
Perject Tense.

2. You had been,
3. They had been.

Singukr.

-·· CONJUGATION OF THE VERB BE.
Present.

Plurnl.
1. We had been,

l. I

Singular. 2 . See [thou,] or Do thou see.
2. See [ye or you,] or Do you see.
Plural.

,

1. We shall have been,
2. You 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;

Pluml.

1. We may be,
2. You may be,
3. They may be.

Imperfect Tense.

Pluml.

Singtdar.

Imperfect Tense.

1. We were,
2. You were,
3. They were.

1. I
was,
2. Thou wast,*
3. He was;

Singular.

1. I
might be,
2. Thou migbtst be,
3. He might be ;

Perfect Tense.

Plural.

Singulm·.

1. I

have been,
2. Thou hast been,
3. He has been ;

• We1·t ifl sometimes used in poetry for w GJJI.,
iµoµ a.rt Q~ wert."-lcl.

"Whn~·er

Plural.

1. We might be,
2. You might be,
3. They might be.

1. We

have been,
2. You have been,
3. They have been.

a~~ ,

u

vtiinly wert thou wed."

Perfect Tense.

Singul,ar.

1. I

may have been,
2. Thou mayst have been,
3. He may have been ;

Plm·al.

1. We may have been,
2. You may have been,
3. They may have been.

71

72

ETYMOLOGY.

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

73

Pluperfect Tense.

Singular.

COMPOUND FORM OF THE VERB READ.

Plural.

1. I
might have been,
2. Thou mightst have been,
3. He might have been ;

1. We

might have been,
2. You might have been,
3. They might have been.

Principal Parts of the Simple Verb.

Present.

Preterit.

Impe?fect Participle.

Read.

R l!ad.

Perfect Pm·ticip/A..

Reading.

filad.

INFINITIVE MOOD.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

Present Tense. To be reading.
Perfect Tense. To have been reading.

Present Tense.

Plural.

Singular.

1. If we be,
2. If you be,
3. If they be.

1. If I

be,
2. If thou be,
3. If he be;

INDICATIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.

Singular.

1. I
am reading,
2. Thou art reading,

Imperfect Tense.

Singular.
1. If I
were,
2. If thou wert, or were,

3. If he

were ;

3. He

Plural.

1. If we were,
2. If you were,
3. If they were.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.

Singular. 2. Be [thou,] or Do thou be.
Plural.
2. Be [ye or you,] or Do you be.
PARTICIPLES.
1. Tlte imperfect.

2. Tlte Perfect.

3. Tlte Preperfect.

Being.

Been.

Having been.

Compound Form, Active or Neuter.

Active and neute1· verbs may also be conjugated, by adding the im·
perfect 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 occasions, preferable to the
simple form of the verb.

is reading ;

Plural.
1. We are reading,

2. You are reading,
3. They are reading.

Imperfect Tense.

Singular.

,

·Plural.

1. I
was reading,
2. Thou wast reading,
3. He was reading;

1. We were reading,
2. You were reading,
3. They were reading.

Perfect Tense.

Singular.

1. I
have been reading,
2. Thou hast been reading,
3. He has been reading ;

Pluml.

1. We have been reading,
2. You have been rnading,
3. They have been reading.

Pluperfect Tense.

Singular.

1 I
had been reading,
2. Thou hadst been reading,
3. He had been reading ;

Plu1·al.

1. We had been reading.
2. You had been reading,
3. They had been reading.

First-future Tense.

Singulm•.

l. I

shall be reading,
2. Thou wilt be reading,
3. H~ will be reading ;
4

Pluml.

1. We shall be reading,
2. You will be reading,
3. They will be reading.

74

ETlrMOLOGY.

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

Second-future Tense.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

l. I
s~all have been reading,
2. Thou wilt have been readin(J'
3· He will have been readin;';

Singular.

Plural.

75

Present Tense.

Plura.l.

Singul,ar.

1. If I

be reading,
2. If thou be reading,
3. If he be i·eacling ;

l. We s~all have been reading,
2. You will have been reading,
3. They will have been reading.

1. If we be reading,
2. If you be reading,
3. If they be reading.

Imperfect Tense.

POTENTIAL MOOD.
Singul,ar.

Plural.

1. I
may be reading,
2. Thou mayst be reading,
3. He may be reading;

I. We may be readin(J'
2. You may be readin~'.
3. They may be reading.

1. If I
were reading,
2. If thou wert reading,
3. If he were reading ;

Present Tense.

Plural.

I. I
might be reading,
2. Thou mightst be readinrr ·
3. He might be readin~';
Singular.

1· I
may
2. Thou mayst
3· He may

Plural.

1. We may have b een reading,
2. You may have been reading,
3. They may have been reading.

b een reading,
been reading,
been reading ;

Pluperfect Tense.

Singular.

Plural.

I. I
might have been reading
2. Thou mightst have been readin(J''
3 H
·
t:»
. e might have been reading ;
I. We might have been readin<Y
o•
, · You m~ght have been reading,
3. They might have been readin<Y
o•

2

Singular. 2. Be [thou] reading, or Do thou be reading.
Plural.
2. Be [ye or you] reading, or Do you be reading"

1. We might be readin..,
2. You might be readin~:
3. They might be reading.

Perfect Tense.

have
have
have

1. If we were reading,
2. If you were reading,
3. If they were reading.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

Imperfect Tense.

Singu'lar.

Plural.

Singular.

Present Tense.

PARTICIPLES.

J.

1'lte Imperfect.

~eing

reading.

2. Tlte Perfect.

3. Tlte Preperfect.

Having been reading.

Form of Passive Verbs.

Passive verbs, in English, are always compound, being
formed from active-transitive 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 loved.
OBB.-ln th.e compound forms of conjugation, the imperfect participle is sometimes taken in a passive sense : as, "The goods are selling;
The ships are building;" and the perfect participle of an activeintransitive verb, may have a neuter signification : as, "I am come;
He is ?'iben; They are fallen ." The former ara passive, and the latter,
neuter terbs.

"•,

76

ETYMOLOGY.

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

CONJUGATION OF THE PASSIVE VERB
BE LOVED.
Principal Parts of the Active Verb.

I'resent.

Preterit.

Imperfect Participle.

. Perfect Participl4.

Love.

Loved.

Loving.

Loved.

Present 1'ense.
Pe1fect Tense.

First-Future Tense.

Singular.

To be loved.
To have been loved.

Plural.

1. I
shall be loved,
2. Thou wilt be loved,
:i He
will be loved ;

1. We shall be loved,
2. You will be loved,
3. They 'will be loved.

Second~future Tense.

Singular.

INFINITIVE MOOD.

77

Plural.

INDICATIVE MOOD.

1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.

I
shall have been loved
Thou wilt have been loved'
He will have been loved'·
·we shall have been loved '
You will have been loved',
They will have been loved.

Present Tense.

Sing11lar.

Plm·al.

1. I

am loved,
2. Thou art loved,
3. He is loved ;

Imperfect Tense.

Sing11lar.

Pluml.

1. I

was loved,
2. Thou wast loved,
3. He was loved ;

1. We

were loved,
2. You were loved,
3. They were loved.

Perfect Tense.

Singular.

Plural.

1. I
have been loved,
2. Thou hast been loved,
3. He has been loved ;

POTENTIAL MOOD.

1. We are loved,
2. You are loved,
3. They are loved.

1. We have been loved,
2. You have been loved,
3. They have been loved.

Present Tense~

Singular.

1. I
may be loved,
2. Thou mayst be loved,
3. He may be loved ,·
~

Imperfect Tense.

Sing1ilar.

1. I
might be loved,
2. Thou mightst be loved,
3. He might be loved ;

Singular.
Singular.

Pluml.

1. We had been loved,
2. You had been loved,
3. They had been loved,

Plural.

1. We might be loved,
2. You might be loved,
3. They might be loved.

Perteet Tense.

Pluperfect Tense.

1. I
had been loved,
2. Thou hadst been loved,
3. He had been loved ;

Plural.

1. We may be loved,
2. You may be loved,
3. They may be loved.

Plural.

1. I
may have been loved
2. · Thou mayst have been loved'
3. He may have been loved'·
1. We may have been loved '
2. You may have been loved:
3. They may have been loved.

:/

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

ETYMOLOGY.

78

Pluperfect Tense.

Singular.

l. I
might have been loved,
Thou
mightst
have been loved,
.
2
3. He

Plural.

might

have been loved.

o have been loved,
1. W e miaht
2. You might have b een loved,
3. They might have been loved.
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.

Plural.

Singular.

1. If I
be loved,
2. If thou be loved,
3. If he be loved ;

1. If we be loved,
2. If you be loved,
3. If they be loved.

Imperfect Tense.

Plural.

Singulcir.

1. If we were loved,
2. If you were loved,
3. If they were loved.

1. If I
were loved,
2. If thou wert loved,
3. If he were loved ;
IMPERATIVE

MOOD.

Present Tense.

Singular. 2. Be [thou] loved, or Do thou be loved.
2. Be [ye or you] loved, or Do you be loved.
Plural.
PARTICIPLES.
1. Tlie Imperfect.

Being loved.

2. Th e Perfect.

Loved.

3. The Pi·eperf ect.

Having been loved.

Form of Negation.

. z b 1 'ng the adverb not
A verb is conjugated negative y, y p ac1 .
..
d the
after it, or after the first auxiliary; but the mfimtive an
participles take the negative first :love Not to have loved. INDICATIVE. I love
did not love, I have not loved, I

no!~:i~~I~~v:~t ~::e~; loved not, 01• I

79

had not loved, I shall not love, I ahall not have loved. POTENTIAL. I
may, can, or must not love ; I might, could, would, or should not love;
I may, can, 01· must not have loved; I might, could, would, or should
not have loved. SUBJUNCTIVE. If I love not, I~ I loved not. PARTI·
CIPLEB. Not loving, Not loved, Not having loved.
Form of Question.

A verb is conjugated interrogatively, in the indicative and
potential moods, by placing the nominative after it, or after
the first auxiliary :·
INDICATIVE. Do I love ? Did I love ? Have I loved? Had I loved ?
Shall I love? Shall I have loved? POTENTIAL. May, can, or must I
Jove? Might, could, would, or should I love? May, can, or must I
have loved? Might, could, would, or should I have loved ?

Form of Question with Negation.

A verb is conjugated interrogatively and negatively, in the
indicative and potential moods, by placing the nominative
and the adverb not after the verb, or after the first auxiliary:INDICATIVE. Do I not love? Did I not love.? Have I not loved ?
Had I not loved? Shall I not Jove? Shall I not have loved? PoTEN.IAL. May, can, or must I not love? Might, could, would, 01· should
I not love? May, .can, or must I not have loved? Might, could,
would, or should I not have loved?

List of the Irregular Verbs.

Present.

Preterit.

Abide,
Arise,
Be,
Bear,
Beat,
Begin,
Behold,
Beseech,
Beset,

abode,
arose,
was,
bore or ba-r e,
beat,
began,
beheld,
besought,
beset,

Imperf. Part.

Perfect Participle.

abiding,
arising,
being,
bearing,
beating,
beginning,
beholding,
beseeching,
besetting,

abode.
arisen. ·
been.
borne or born.*
beat 01• beaten.
begun.
beheld.
besought.
beset.

* Bor11,e signifies carried:

born signifies brought forth.

•

82

ETYMOLOGY.
CL.ASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

83

List of the Irregular Verbs.-Continued.

Present.

Preterit.

13hoot,
shut,
Shred,
Shrink,
Sing,
Sink,
Sit,
Slay,
Sleep,
Slide,
Sling,
Slink,
Smite,
Speak,
Spend,
Spin,
Spit,
Spread,
Spring,
Stand,
Steal,
Stick,
Sting,
Stride,
Strike,
Strive,
Sweep,
Swear,
Swim,
Swing,
Take,
Teach,
Tear,
Tell,
Think,
Throw,
Thrust,
Tread,
Wear,
'Veave,
Weep,

_shot,
J;hut,
shred,
shrunk or shrank,
sung or sang,
sunk o·r sank,
sat,
slew,
slept,
slid,
slung,
slunk,
smote,
Fpoke,
spent,
spun,
spit,
spread,
sprung 01· sprang,
stood,
stole,
stuck,
stung,
strode,
struck,
strove,
swept,
swore,
S\Vam,

swung,
took,
taught,
tore,
told,
thought,
threw,
thrust,
trod,
wore,
wove,
wept,

Imperf Part.
shooting,
shutting,
shredding,
shrinking,
singing,
sinking,
sitting,
slaying,
sleeping,
sliding,
slinging,
slinking,
smiting,
speaking,
spending,
spinning,
spitting,
spreading,
springing,
standing,
st.ealing,
sticking,
stinging,
striding,
striking,
striving,
sweeping,
swearing,
swimming,
swinging, .
taking,
teachiug,
tearing,
telling,
thinking,
throwing,
thrusting.
treading,
wearing,
weaving,
weeping,

.
Perfect Partici-ple.

shot.
shut.
shred.
shrunk or shrunken.
sung.
sunk.
sat.
slain.
slept.
slid 01· slidden.
slung.
slunk.
smitten or smit.
spoken.
spent.
spun.
spit.
spread.
sprung.
stood.
stolen.
stuck.
s:ung.
stridden 01· strid.
struck or stricken._
striven.
swept.
sworn.
swum.
swung.
taken.
taught.
torn.
told.
thought.
thrown.
thrust.
trodden or trod.
worn.
woven.
wept.

Preaent.

List of the Irregular Verbs.-Continued.

Win,
Wind,
Wring,
Write,

Prete?it.

Imperf. Part.

wound,
wrung,
wrote,

winning,
winding,
wringing,
Writing,

.\von,

Pe1fect Participle.
won.
wound.
wrung.

written.

Redundant Verbs.
The following table exhibits the redundant verbs as thei
are generally used, or as they may be used without gram.
matical impropriety. The preferable forms are placed first.
List ·of the

Present.
Awake,
Belay,
Bend, ·
Bereave,
~et,
Blend,
Bless,
Build,
Ilurn,
Catch,
Clothe,
Crow,
Curse,
Dare,
Dig,

Dream,
Dress,
Dwell,
Geld,
Gild,
' Gird,
Grave,
Hung,

Redundant Verbs.

Preterit.
lmpm'f. Part.
awoke 01· awaked, · ·
awaking,
belaid or belayed,
belaying,
bent or bended,
bending,
bereft or bereaved,
bereaving,
betted or bet,
betting,

blended or blent,
blessed or blest,
built or builded,
burned 01· burnt,
caught or catched,
clothed or clad,
crew 01· crowed,
cursed or curst,
dared 01· durst,
dug o-r digged,
dreamed 01· drl!amt,
dressed or drest,
dwelt or dwell'O'd;
gelded or gelt,
gilded or gilt,
girded 01· girt,
graved,

hanged or hung,

blending,
blessing,
building,
burning,
catching,
clothing,
crowing,
cursing,
dar;ng,

digging,
dreaming,
dreRsing,
dwelling,
gelding,
gilding,
girding,
graving,

hanging,

I~

I'•'

Pe1fect Pm·ticipl4.

a waked.
belaid 01· belayed.
bent 01· bended.
bereft 01· bere~ved.
betted or bet.
blended or blent.
blessed 01· blest.
built or builded.
burned or burnt.
caught or catched.
c:othed or clad.
crowed.
cursed 01· curst.
dared.
dug or digged.
.• dreamed or drl!amt
dressed or drest.
dwelt or dwelled.
gelded or gelt.
gilded 01· gilt.
girded or girt.
graven 01· gravP.d.
han,;;ed or hu~g.

H

I

I

I

I

,./

I

h

I

,/

l

CLASSES AND MODIFICA'fIONS.

84:

ETYMOLOGY.

Redundant Verbs.-Oontintted. . .
List of the
lm•>er•. Part. Perfect Participle.
,, J ·
d
h en
Preterit.
Pr(!IJent.
heaving,
heave or ov .
h eaved or hove,
Heave,
hewing,
hewed or hewn.
hewed,
.
knelt or kneeled.
Hew,
k nee1mg,
knelt m· kneeled,
knit or knitted.
Kneel,
knitting,
knit or knitted,
laded or laden.
Knit,
la.ding,
laded,
leaned or !font.
Lade,
leaning,
leaned 01· leant,
leaped or lfapt.
Lean,
leaping,
leaped or l~a.pt,
learned or learnt.
Leap,
learning,
lea.rued or learnt,
lighted or lit.
Learn,
lighting,
lighted or lit,
mowed 01· mow~
Light,
mowing,
mowed,
penned ·or pent.
Mow,
penning,
quitted or quit.
Pen (to coop), penned or pent,
quitting,
quitted or quit,
rapped or rapt.
Quit,
rapping,
rapped,
reft or reaved.
Rap,
rea.ving,
reft or reaved,
riven or rived.
Reave,
riving,
rived,
sawed or sawn.
Rive,
StLWing,
sawed,
seethed or sodden.
Saw,
seething,
seethed or sod,
shaped or aha.pen.
Seethe,
shaping,
shaped,
shaved or shaven.
Shape,
shaving,
shaved,
sheared or shorn.
Shave,
shearing,
sh ea.red,
shone O'I" shined.
Shear,
shining,
shone oi· shined,
shown or showed.
Shine,
showing,
showed,
slit or slitted.
Show,
slitting,
slit or slitted,
smelled or smelt.
Slit,
smelling,
smelled &r smelt,
sown ·or sowed.
Smell,
sowing,
sowed,
sped 01• speeded.
So·..,·,
speeding,
sped 01· speeded,
spelled or spelt.
Speed,
spelling,
spelled or spelt,
spilled 01· spilt.
Spell,
spilling,
spilled or spilt,
split
or splitted.
Spill,
splitting,
split or splitted,
spoiled 01· spoilt.
Split,
spoiling,
spoiled 01· spoilt,
staved or stove.
Spoil,
staving,
sta.v< d or stove,
staid or stayed.
Stave,
8taying,
staid or stayed,
strung oi· stringed.
Stay,
stringing,
strung,
strowed or strown. ·
String,
strowing,
stroweu,
sweat or sweated.
Strow,
sweating,
sweat or sweated,
swelled or swollen.
Sweat,
swelling,
swelled,
thriven or thrived.
Swell,
thriving,
thrived,
waxed or waxen.
Thrive,
waxing,
waxed,
wet m· wett.ed.
Wax,
wetting,
wet !YI' wetted,
wont m· wonted.
Wet,
wonting,
wont,
worked IY/' wrought.
'Vont,
wi>r'.red or wroui;bt, working,
Work,

Defective Verbs.
When any of the principal parts of a verb are wanting, the
tenses usually derived from those parts are, of course, also
wanting. All the auxiliaries, except do, be, and have, are defective; but, as·they become parts of other verbs, they do not '
need the parts which are technically said to be wanting.
The following list contains all the defective verbs, except
methinks, with its preterit methought, which is impersonal and
irregular (equivalent to it thinks me-it seems to me). Impersonal verbs are ~sed only in the third person ; as, It rains.
List of the Defective Verbs.

Present.
Beware,
Can,
May,
Must,
Ought,

•

Preterit.
could.
might.
must.
ought.

Pi·esent.
Shall,
Will,
Quoth,
Wis,
Wit,

Preterit.
should.
would.
quoth.
wist.
wot.

Exercises.
1. State the classea and modifications of tlte verbs in the folkJi,Mng sentences:He might have committed the deed. They could have gone, if th ey
wished. She staid too long from home. He will have finished the
work before you call. I will go out, unless it rain. Itea.d the lotter,
and you will understand why he could not do it. What has been done
cannot be repaired. The truth should always be told. The hone
must be shod, or he will become lame. The merchant has failed. He
cannot meet his expenses. I will never forsake my friend. The horse
is too la.me to be driven. The pond has been frozen over all winter.
He is said to have lost his fortune. I. was walking along the street.
John has not been taught to behave himself. They could not have
known what they were doing. He has been building his mansion fox
some time. The church has been finished several months. Voes he
intend to go to Europe this year ? 0, how happy she might have been,
I would have told you, had I known it. Must you leave so soon P He
must have been mad to have .d one the act. I will go, and you shab
not prevent me. You shall do it, for I will compel you.

CLASSES AND ll!ODIFICATIONS.

ETYMOLOGY.

86

. .

t·

·erb as directed in tht

2. Write sqi.tences, each containing an ac ive v

f ollowing:-

·
· d'
.
. erfect tense . pot ential, present ; m l•
In the indicative mood , imp
t
t' ti"al pluperfect· indicab"
t. e presen . po en
'
'
cative, pluperfect; su iunc '.vi '
f t '. indicative imperfect; infinitive second futu re ; potent1a' per. ecd . ' t•
first' future . potential,
'
.
t·
ood · in tea ive,
'
tive, present ; impera ivc ro
'
imperfect ; infinitive, perfect .
.
modi. .
passive verb with the same
3. ·write sentences, each containing a
Ji.cations as above.

Questions f01• Review.
d" 'ded with r espect to their form?
Into what cb sses are ve::id;~1 with r espect to their signification?
Define each. H ow are they
. . l par ts of every verb ? For
"'h t
the four pnnc1pa
?
Define each. " a. are .
dilied ? What m odifications have verbs ·
what two purposes is a verb mo
.h
?
Define each. What are
?
H v many are t ere .
.
What are mood s ·
O\
h On what is the distm.c·
th ere ? Defme eac .
tenses ? H ow many are
. h . fl tions of a r egular verb in the
tion of tense based ? What are : e~ a:cis the conjugation of aver~?
indicative m ood, present tense .
. h
pound form of an active
What is an auxiliary verb ? What is t e cdomf . . ?
•
.
l
What verbs ar e e ec1i1ve .
verb? Give au examp e.

Xll.-PARTICIPLES.-CLASSES.

A verb in English , has t11ree participles : the imper·
.t
~rfect and pre perfect.
.
fee ' p
'
t• . le is that which imphes a
The imperfect par 1c1p
.
lo .
continuance of the being, action , or p assion; as, ving
(active), being loved (pats~i~e)ie is that which imp1ies a
The perfect par icip
·
lo ed
completion of the b eing, action, or passion ; as, v
(passive).
f
t
articiple is that which imp1ies a
The pre per ec P
.
·
ol.· assion; as,
revious completion of the berng, action, . p
1
P
•
1
•
b
~'"ed (passive).
having loved (active), tWV'lng een w-u
. .
.
d th
luperf ect pa.rticiple, because,
This participle is u sually calle
e P
t'
of an act prior· to
like the pluper fect t ense, it indicates the comp1e i:in

87

the performance of some other one. The term pnperfect might be
deemed more correct, literally, in either case. It was, however, applied
only to the participle by the author of this work.

The imperfect pa:rticiple of active verbs is always formed
by adding ing to the radical verb ; as, look, looking. ·
·
The imperfect participle of passive verbs is formed by prefixing being to the perfect participle ; as, being loved.
The perfect participle is regularly formed by adding d or
ed to the radical verb. It has always a passive meaning
when used by itself.
For the perfect participle of irregular verbs, see lists, pp. 79, 83.

The preperfect participle of an active verb is formed by
prefixing · having to the perfect participle ; that of a passive
verb, by prefixing having been ; as, having Written, ltaving been
written.
Thus, the English verb, in the active form, has, in fact, only
two participles-the impe1fect and the prep erfect; and in the
passive, three-the irnpe1fect, the pmfect, and the preperfect.
Participles may, moreover, be divided into two classes :
those which participate the properties of a verb and an ad~jective, and those which participate the properties of a verb
and a noun. Those of the second class are sometimes called
gerundives.
The following are examples of each:First Class.-Verb and Adjective.

He came running very swiftly.
She, dying, gave it to me.
The enemy having been defeated fled.
She stood wringing her hands.
Error wounded writhes in pain.
The Justice read amused, amazed.
Second

Cl~ss.-Verb

and Noun.

She is fond of reading good books.
After ha·ving paid the money he retired..

(GERUNDIVE!.)

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

ETYMOLOGY.

88

He was released without paying his ransom.
In keeping His commandmentE there is great reward.
Before leaving the city he paid his debts.
OBB.-The use of a participle of the second class in 0th.er structur:s,
though disputed by some grammarians, seems to be sanctioned by go d
usage. The following are examples:-

"Hunting deer is good sport." (Subject.)
" I am surprised at your m_a king such a remark."

(Governing a pos·

eessi ve.)
.
. ,,
" On our ariiving at the pier, all was m confusion.
Compare the latter with,
.
. ,,
"On arriving at the pier, we found all m confusion.
In the former case, the insertion of our is required to prevent t~e
participle's relation to all; in the latter, it is not required, as the participle properly relates to we.-EDITOR.

Exercises.
1. Wrille the participles of the verbs given be-WW in the folU>wing form:-

W rite
Activ8.
Imperfect. Writing.
Perfect.
Preperfect. Having written.

Passive.
Being written.
Written.
Having been written.

Speak, seek, make, hurt, give, feed, wear, smite, keep, know, tbink,
eow, work-lothe, Rhow, strow, take, wear.

2. Write sentences each containing a participle deri·ced from one or

mere of these verbs.

these which ask.
follows:1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

89

Adverbs of time may be subdivided as

Of time present : as, ]fow, yet, to-day, instantly.
Of time past: as, Already, lately, !teretofore, since, ago.
Of time to come : as, 1'0-morrow, hereafter, ltencefortlt.
Of time relative : as, W71en, t!ten, .before, after, wltile.
Of time absolute : as, Always, ever, neiie'I·.
Of time repeated: ·as, Often, seldom, daily, tlnice.
Of the order of time: as, F'irst, secondly, t!tirdty, etc.

Adverbs of p'lace, are those which answer to the question, Wliere f Whither'! Wlience f or Whereabout f including these which ask. Adverbs of time may be subdi··
vided as follows : 1.
2.
3.
4.

Of place in which : as, Wltere, ltere, tltere, somewliere.
Of place to which: as, Wltitlter, ltitlter, tl1itl1er.
Of place from which: as, Wltence, ltence, tltence.
Of the order of place : as, }l'irst, secondly, tltir&y.

Adverbs of degree, are those which answer to the ques•
tion, IIow mucli '! How littw f or, to the idea of more or
"less. Adverbs of degree may be subdivided as follows:1. Of excess or abundance: as, Much, cltiefly, fully.
2. Of equality : as, Enouglt, sufficiently, equally, so, as.
3. Of deficiency, or abatement: as, Little, scarcely, hardly.
4. Of quantity: as, How, ever so, somewltat.

Adverbs of manner, are those which answer to the question, How f or, by affirming, denying, or doubting, show
how a subject is regarded. Adverbs of manner may be
subdivided as follows:-

•

Xlll.-ADVERBS.-CLASSES.

Adverbs may be reduced to four general classes; namely,
adverbs of time, of place, of degree, and of man·
ner.
.
Adverbs of time are those which answer to the quest1011,
When f How long I£ow soon f or I-Iow often '! including

f

1. Of quality: as, Well, ill, wisely, foolisltly, justly, and many othera
formed by adding ly to adjectives of quality.
2. Of affirmation: as, Vtrily, truly, indeed, surely.
3. Of negation : as, Not, nowise.
4. Of doubt: as; Perhaps, ltaply, possibly, percltance.
5. Of mode : as, 1'1tus, so, someltow, like, else, otherwise.
6. Of cause: as, W!ty, wherefore, tlterefore.
0Bs.-The adverbs ltere, there, and where, when prefixed to preposi·
tions, have the force of pronouns ; as, whereby, used for b.'I/ wlticlt. Compounds of this kind are, however, commonly considered adverbs.

i'

90

ETYMOLOGY.
CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

Adverbs sometimes perform the office of conjunctions,
and serve to connect the clauses of a sentence,. as well as
to express some circumstance of time, place, degree,. or .
manner: adverbs that are so used, are called conjunc·
tive adverbs ; as, Wlien, wliere, aftm·, before, since, etc.
Modifications.

Adverbs have no modifications, except that a few are

compared after the manner of adjectives: as, Soon, sooner,
soonest ;-qften, eftener, qftenest ;-long, longer, longest.
The following are irregularly compared: well, better,
best ;-badly or ill, worse, worst ;-little, less, least ;~
mucli, more, most ;-far, farthm·, fartliest ;-fortli, furtlier, fu1·tliest.
Most adverbs of quality will admit the comparative adverbs
more and most, less and least, before them : as, wisely, more
wisely, most wisely,-culpably, less culpably, least culpably.

I sh_all not dispute; for,
readily grant it."

if

he has any choice I shall
'

A disjunc~~ve conjunction is a conjunction that
denotes oppos1t10n of meaning. as " Be not
overcome
·
·
·
·
'
[ by] evil,
but overcome evil with good."
The c~rre~ponsive conjunctions a1·e those which
are used m pairs, so that one refers to the other. as "Joh
came neitlie1· eating nor drinking."
' '
n
The following are the principal conjunctions ·I. ~opul~tive; -'.1-nd, as, both, because, eu;n,for iif, that
.
' '
'
t}ien, since, seeing, so.
2. Disjunctive; Or, nor, either, neither than though
although
. ' 1yet' bu t' except, whether, lest, unless ' save ' notwith-'
standing.
'
'
3. Cor~esponsive ; Both-and; as-as; as-so . if
-then ; either-or ; neither-nor ; whether-or . though
·
'
, or
although-yet.

Exm•cises in ConstTuctiori.
1. W1ite five sentences, each containing an adverb of manner.
2. Wr·ite five sentences, each containing an adver·b of place.
3. Write five sentence.s, each containing an adverb of time.
4. Wr ·ite five sentences, each containing an adverb of degree.
5 . llrite sentences, each containing one of tlwfollowing adverbs:
Always, whether, seldom, henceforth, sufficiently, often, sooner,
truly, more, h ereafter, since, first, chiefly, how, secondly, when, before,
so, ill, why, as, perhaps, indeed.

ANALYSIS.
Compound Subjects and Predicates.

. ~o or more subjects or predicates connected by a coniunction form a compound subiect
d"
"Th h
J
or pre 1cate ;
as,
e orses and camels started and ran away."

Exercises.
XIV.-CONJUNCTIONS.-CLASSES.

Conjunctions are divided into two general classes,
copulative and disjunctive. Some of each of these
sorts are corresponsive.
A copulative conjunction is a conjunctiOn that
denotes an addition, a cause, or a supposition: as, " He and

91

An11_lyze tlte following sentences aCCO'l'ding to tlw example given or· a .
preceding examples.
'
s in
ExAMPLE .•-Temperance and exercise strengthen the body
d . ' an im ·
prove the mmd.

Analysis.
A simple declarntive sentence. Sub 'ect, com
.
. .
ezerct8e, connected by and p a· tel
pound ' cons1stmg of temperanc~ nnd
.
re ica , also compound. co . t•
f
body and tmpt·ove the ·mi"l.d Th ft t rd.
'
nsrn mg o atrengt!Len the
having the adjunct the ~he e r~ pr ~cate verb is atrengthen, and its object bndv .
having the .a djunct tlu. .
secou predicate verb is improve, Rn<l its object mind,

•

Parse as in preceding exercises, giving the classu and modijicatiom of .
the vlrbs, participles, and adverbs.
Dissipation and vice enfeeble the body and destroy the mind. Time,
patience, and industry overcome all obstacles. Truthfulness and hon·
esty win esteem. Charles and William played truant, and were pun·
ished. Henry, Edward, and Mary went to the same school. H1'.nry
and Mary w ere diligent, but Edward neglected bis studies, a~d fell mto ·
di•grace. Edward's father took him from school, and sent him to work.
He afterward regretted his idleness. for he felt its sad consequence.a.
Industry aud virtue lead to honor, but slot}l and carelessnes~ end in
shame.

Construction.

Construct sentences with compound subjects or predicates, by uniting
two or more of the folloioing simple sentences:Industry is essential to happiness. Honesty is essential to happiness.
'femperance is essential to happiness.
·
The mind knows. The mind feels. The mind thinks.
The child creeps. The child skips. The child walks.
Music cheers the mind. It refines the mind. it purifies and ele·
vates the mind.
The air teems with life.

The earth teems with life.

93

CLASSES AND l'tlODIFICATIONS.

ETYMOLOGY.

92

The water

teems with life.
No---Thc .parts of the compound subject or preclicate, when more than two, should
be sepo.r.i.tcd by o. comma i as, The antmals t1trned, looked, anll ran awav.

Such phrases are generally called prepositional
phrases.
The noun or pronoqn following a preposition is c~ed its
object, and the preposition always expresses the relation,
between its object and the word to which the prepositional
phrase is an adjunct. Thus, in the above examples, of expresses the relation between man and honesty; to, between
went and school ; and f 01', between good and food.
The following are the ·principal simple prepositions :.Aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, amid or
ainidst, among or amongst, around, at, athwart ;-before, behind,
. below, beneath, beside or besides, between or betwixt, beyond, by ;
-concerning ;-down, during ;-except, excepting ;-for, from;
in, into ;-notwithstanding ;-of, off, on, over, over-thwart;past ;-round ;-since ;-through, throughout, till, to, touching,
toward or towards ;-under, underneath, until, unto, up, upon ;
-with, within, without.
The words in the preceding list are generally prepo<itions ; but
when any of them are employed without a subsequent term of relation,
th.ey are adverbs. For, when it signifies because, is a conjunction;
without, when used for unless, and notwitlu.tanding, when placed before
a nominative, are usually referred to the class of conjunctions also.
Two or more words are sometimes used as a compound preposition,
being combined so us to express a single relation. The following are
examples: .As to, as for, according to, because of, out o'j, from out, from

among, from between, over against.

XV .-PRE POSITIONS.

Prepositions are neither principal parts of a sentence, nor .
are they adjuncts. They are words used only to express

relation.
Prepositions introduce phrases that are generally used RS
adjuncts; as, A man of honesty; equivalent to An honest man.
He went to school, in which the phrase to school answers to
the question 1'Vhere? and is therefore equivalent to an a~ve~b
of place. Good for food, in which the phrase for food hnuts
the adjective good.

·

Exercise.
Insert the 1·equired prepositions in the following sentences :Plead - - - the innocent. K~ep - - - bounds. He gave an account - - - the affair. The man fell - - - the hatchway. They
marched - - - the enemy. Contend not - - trifies. H e found
himself - - - two fires. Feel kindly - - - all. Many fail - grasping - - - things - - - their .r each. The book lay - - - him
- - the table. The squirrel ran - - - the tree and - - the branches, jumping - - one
the other - - - great
rapidity.
•

94

ETYMOLOGY.
XVl.-INTERJECTIONS.

Interjections have no relation to any other words in. a sentence. They are neither adjuncts nor p1'incipal parts, being
entirely independent. Prnperly considered, therefore, the
interjection is not a part of spe.ech, or a part cf a sentence.
A noun or a pronoun is sometimes independent, with or without an
interjection ; that is, it is neither a subject nor the object of a verb,
participle, or preposition.
When a pronoun ia thus used, it should have the form of the nomi·
native case; as, '' 0 1'/wu who rulest the heavens and the earth."

The following are the principal interjections, arranged ac- .
cording to the emotions which they are generally intended to
indicate :1. Joy; eigh .' hey! io !--2. Sorrow; oh! ah! alas!
alack! welladay !-3. Wonder ; heigh! ha! strange!4. Wishing or earnestness; 0 !-5. Pain; oh! ah!
eh!-6. Contempt; pugh! poh! pshaw! pishl tush! tut.1
-7. Aversion; Joh! fie! off! begone! avaunt 1-8. Call•
ing aloud; ho! soho! hollo!-9. Exultation; aha!
huzza ! heyday! hurrah !-:-IO. Laughter ; ha, ha, ha.11. Salutation; welcome! hail! all hail /.,-12. Calling
to a•ntion ; lo! behold! look! see! hark /-13. Call·
ing to silence; hush I hist! mum /-14. Surprise;
oh! ha! hah ! what /-15. Languor; heigh-ho !-16, Stop•
ping; ava8t! whoa!

CLASSES AND MODIFICATIONS.

Questions for Review.
How many participles has the E r h
fine each ? How is each formed ?ng; verb ? What are they ? De.
has a verb in the active form ? I . th ow i:ziany and what participles
Int
h
·
n e passive form ?
o w at classes may adverbs be r d
?
.
What
e. uce~ . Define each. Give
examples of each class
amples. What modifications have :~:ec~nJ:nGc~rve adverbs? Give ex.
comparison.
r 8
rve examples of adverbial
Into what clns
.
. .
ses are conJunctions divided? D fin
the prmc:pal conjunctions of each class.
.
e e each. Name
What is the office of prepositions in a seuten ?
traduce ? How are prepoeitio 1 h
ce · Wbat do they in. .
na P rases used ? Wh t · th
.
a _Pn:pos1t1on ? What reh~tion does a
:.
a rs e obJect of
principal prepositions. Are the ~ prepos1t1on show? Name the
example~.
Y ways employed as snch? Giv.e
How are interjections used ? What oth
limes independent ? Wh t f ·
.
er part of speech ia some·
a orm must 1t have?

,

Exercise.
Analyze and parse the following exclamatory 8entences a<X01°ding to
the preceding examples: 0 Liberty I how many crimes have been committed in thy name I
Hark! the trumpet sounds ! Alas I how we have been betrayed I
Fie ! you should be ashamed of your conduct I Pshaw I tb,is is con:
ternptible ! 0, that I could have been near him at that time I Avaunt I
and quit my sight! Behohl ! what a beautiful sight is there ! Heigh·
ho ! I am very tire<l !

95

•

DEFINITIONS .AND RULES.

97
Again, it would not do to say Birds flies, because the form of the
verb is .iinguta1·, while the subject is pt·u ral; and the two must agree.
H ence the expression should be Bz'?oda fly. This is what is meant by
a,qreement.
Hence the following definitions: -

PART III.

Syntax treats of the relation, agreement, government,
and arrangement of words in sentences.

SYNTAX.

The relation of words, is their dependence, or connection, according to the sense.

I

DEFINITIONS A ND RULES.

·
hich teaches how t o put words to.
That part of grammar w
tences is called Syntax.
1
as to form sen
•
gether proper y so
d
syn meaning together,

wo~d

. '
' . or
This
is derived from t wo Greek
. 1 wor
t ins,-meaning
to 8lJnt11em,
t
d taxis arrangemen · It is equ1va
f en lysi.~. It is necessary, in or·
an
' wh1c
. h is
· the reverse. go ofana
construction,
language, an d t o b e able .to use
der to understand the .t:ue ~::n~:th analysill and synthesis.
ti to be familiar w1
it correc y,
t'
of sentences, we
the con~truc ion
In order to be skilled in syntax, or
each other in expressing some
must know how the words are r~la~~~:: words Jolin and book are to ~e . l· r thought. For examp e, I
t that the book belongs o
h t they are to deno e
t
If we are
part1cu a
joined, and wer
This is the relation of
a sentence,
John we say .,o
h
d /,ove together, o
b' t
. ; the words the teacher, e, an
3e the teaclur is the su iec
to JOlllust know the relations. Thus;
e obJ'ect of the action; then
we m
b l e and 118 is
b nd proof the action
;;_;her /,oves kim,
he is
t.he sentence mus
'
d'
to the relat10ns.
'd
.
oper forms accor mg
th n the sentence wou,
noun their
d the teacher the object ; e
.
different ar-

~; b:o~.

exp:e~:ed1 k
p~

p:or:::::~

s~ptpho

gi~ing to~~~ :~pp:se

~: ';,";:,:; b;~;~,::,..,. Thi'; ~ w~:.:::,~.":::::!::::tho pmnon:
af~:r :e.

rangement of the words, as we! ::eaverb and the object comes

g~~s"b~~o:

~~:~ti~n, i~

Usually the subject
certain ;elation t? another
..
When a word stan mo
d
o some inflection or mo .
J, hn .
.
n that account, to uu erg
Thus in the above, o '
qmred, o
, '
d lie when
. ·a t be governed bY the other word.
h
d to Johns; an
•
is sa1
wasr ec uired
ange to assume the objectil"e
standing
as the possessor of book '•ns
.
k
d as the object of
theerverb,
"John
. ' sq.1s s aid to be i:'Overned by boo '
use
f
case
'
form. him. In the orru
and Mm by loves.

°

The agreement of words, is their similarity in person, number, gender, case, mood, tense, or form.
The government of words, is that power which one
word has over another, to cause it to assume some particular modification.
The arrangement of words, is their relative place or
position, in a sentence.
The Rules of Syntax are designed to guide in the application
sen-ten ces.of the principles of grammar to the construction of
In the
given, many of these principles have been ap.
plied,
butexercises
without already
formal rule.
Analysis and synthesis, or construction, should go together. Jience,
as in the preceding exercises, both are given, the analysis illustrating
nnd facilitating the work of construction and compo.sition. Besides, it
will be found that pupils trained to analyze sentences, becoming in this
way familiar with their structure, and the relation of their parts, will
fuller
have
a clearer
correct
style inand
using
it. comprehension of language, as weU as a more
As the rules afford practical directions, a new clasg of exercises is
here introduced,-the correction of improper expressions, or false
as usually
caIIed. In this work, these are, of course, only of
asyntax,
rudimentary
character.

•

Under the following twenty-six rules, and their subordinate
rules and observations, are included the principles requisite
to guide the pupil in the analysis, parsing, construe•
tion, and correction of sentences.
0

98

SYNTAX.

RELATION.

IL-RELATION.

99

False Sy t

RULE I.-ARTICLES.

In t11e fotlowzn a
n ax.
plain tll6 reason
;:tences, correct the imp1'oper
<e correction :use of a1'ticles, and

:r.

Articles relate to the nouns which they limit ; as,
"At a little distance from the ruins of the abbey, stands
an aged elrn."
Subordinate Rules.
1. The indefinite article should be a before the sound of n consonant,
and an before the sound of a vowel.
Exe.- When the accent is not on the first syllable, an sometimes
precedes the consonant sound of lt; as, An historical work. But not
when h precedes the consonant sound of u : as, A humanitarian.
2. The article should not be repeated before nouns or adjectives re·
ferring to the same object; in other cases, it should: as, "A red and
white fiag, "-meaning one fiag.-•' A red and a white fiag,''-meaning
two fiags. - " The works of an artist and a poet" -meaning two persons.- " The works of an artist and poet·,"-meaning one person.
3. The article should not be used before the name of a mere title ;
as, " He received the title of duke."
Observations.

1. Articles often relate to nouns 1mderstood; as, "The [rivc-r]
Thames."- " P~y the younger" [man] .-" The honorable [body] the
Legislature."-" The animal [world] and the vegetable world."-" The
Old [Testament] and the New Testament."
2. Articles belong-before their nouns; but the definite article and an
adjective seem sometimes to be placed after the noun to which they
both relate; as, "Section t11e Fourth. "-Henry the Eighth.
3. The definite article is sometimes prefixed to comparatives; a~,
" The oftener I see him, the more I respect him." In this case it haa
the force of un adverb.
4. When the, coming after a noun, is prefixed to a superlative, the
terms should be transposed : as, "A claim the strongest,"-equivalent
to The strongest claim. Or n noun should be supplied; as, " The beet
of men " ; that is, The best man.
5. An or a is sometimes prefixed to an adjective of number and a
plural noun, both being taken together as a unit; as, A few days.-.A.
hundred sheep.
6. A, as prefixed to participles in ing, or used in composition, is a
preposition; being, probably, the French a, signifying to, at, on, in, or
of; as, " He is gone a hunting."-" They burst out a laughing."

e:i;.

I lave bought a hour l
honest boy Th
-g ass. He has sold
history B..
ey have formed an un ·
an horse. William •
·
ring me an
ion. Rich
is a.
a habitual pract·
~ .._ewer of water. Will
ard has bought an
J.U.r s ·
you
eat
a
·
.
ice.
a h istorian Th
. . is an haughty
.
onion ? It was
·
at was a h
..
man. Th· ·
I have a bl k
n um1hation
is is the work of
ac and
h"
·
and a good man X a w ite horse. (One ho
patriot and the.
enophon Was a hero and
rse.) Mr. H . is a wiso
general w: h. .
a sage All
men of ,,o-eni·u s.
' as mgton · Th e poet and
·
. esteemed th e
He Was named
k"
pamter must be
chief magistrate is:t ~ng. She received the title
the name of
Y ed a governor. Th t
of a duchess. Th 9
a master.
e eacher receiv
.
es sometimes

P.

.Parsing

...

arse tlte artid ·
•
ea zn the followin
EXAMPLE . - " A
d
g sentences, as in the ezam ,
goo book is th
'Ji•e.

"

:.

A is the indefinite a
e best of friends."
cJes relate to the nouns rti~.Je, and relates to the no1
Th.e is the definite Which they lil1lit,
in book, according to the ruJ
.
the rule etc
article, and relate to
C',-Arti.
'
.
.s
the noun friend, underst
A clear cons .
.
OOd, according to

.

c1ence is th

id ' ,

i~g an historical novel e surest source of happiness
First was a great soldie. He set the machine a o·. She_ Was read.
more you learn th
. r. Pompey the Great c
g mg. 'Richard the
a pauper He h de wiser you will grow M
ame to a sad end. The
a tlo k f
·
any a rich
h
be over. · It was aa 1
c o a hundred 11heep I
man as become
p an the best I ever knew . Th n a. few days alJ will
happy.
.
e virtuous alone are

-

RULE II.-ADJECTIVES

Adjectives relate to nouns
.
a wise man though h ·
or pronouns · as, "1-Ie h
c
te ls young."
'
'

•

Subordln t
1. When the adjective
h
. a e Rules.
made to agree w·
.
as a smgular and
men.
.
ith the noun to Which it rela~!1~ra1 form, it must be
' as, Tliat man, tl10;,*

I

/"

jllll'

101 .

RELATION.
SYNTAX.

100

r d to two objects; ond
.
7 othe1· should be app :i.e
The expression eac i
2·
two
·
ference to two
another, to more .t~~: de~ree should be used only m re more with ull
3. The com?a? a i~ut the superlative compares one .~~dward is taller
persons or things;
"bether few or many ; as,
·1 "
f th same class, '
others o
e He is the tallest of my pupi s.
to two things. When
than James. . .
either and neither relate A
f the three ; not
4 The adiectives
. d none: as, n y o
.
f
d to u se any an
are re erre
'
more
three
Give me them books.
Either of the
· .
them for those ; as,
b. as He went
A oid the vulgansm,
. . for an adver ,
'
5. v
. f l not to use an adJective
•<'ul bad headache, for
6 . Be care .ukl - I fe el goo d , for well.-An aioJ
quick, for quic Y·
ore healthie·r
A very bad headache.
t"
and superlatives; as, Am
Avoid double compara tves ,,
7.
"The most imkindest cut.
n should be so too.; as,
place.h
d1·ective is plural, the .nou
eculiar expressions;
8. When t e a
f: t
J!;xcept lll some p
Twenty feet,-not twenty Joo .
enty sail of vessels.
as, T W
Observations.
,r
.
enerally follows the pre t·
. .
en it is an attnbute, g
. "
1. The ~dJ~C~~;e~:hglad that the door is i:adce~:d: sentence which is
cate verb ' as,
·
relates to a P ras
.
. nge."
2 An adjective sometime~ , "'liat he slwuld r efase, is not st1a d to de·
.
n . as
_..
. l . often use
substituted for an~ 'd
by the definite artic e is.
"-" Tlrn
3 An adjective..,rece e d
t merit God's pe cultar care.
.
. s " The goo mus
note a class ' a '
t"
d for an
ood that I would I do no .
re osition is sometimes u se
ar·
g
An a djective preceded by a p. p . li particular manner, or p
4.
"ln particular," that is, in
adverb ; as,
lural nolln and
ticularly.
. t" o is sometimes u~ed before adp en "-''Every
" A singular adiec tV
• t. as " One hundre
m ·
ll.
.
k en t oo-eth
er as a uni '
'
0
adject.tve t a
like manner,
•
"
.
·any may in
six week s.
rt the adjective m
'
6 To denote plura t y,
. as
.
with a singular noun'
'
"-Gray.
precede an or a,
. l:Jorn to blush unseen.
" Full many a flower is

books to me. Do not walk so slow. The plank was twenty foot long.
John and bis sister Mary were very fond of one another. Peter is an
awful bad writer. Mr. J. is a shocking bad man. William is the
most industrious of all his schoolmates. Either of those four pupils
can be trusted. He can walk more than twenty mile a day. How
beautiful she writes I The latter of those three pictureR is the prettier;
but neither of them pleages me. These kind of fishes are bard to catch.
They are the most liveliest creatures you ever saw. A more handsomer
dress you never saw. What a terrible bad cold you have I Try to get
well as quick as you can. Be careful like I am.

Parsing.
Pm·se the adjectives in the following sentences, as in tlte example.
EXAMPLE.-" Every intelligent person must be familiar with that."
Everv iRa pronominal adjective, relating to the noun person, according to the rule, Adjectives relate to nouns and pronouns.
Jntei.ligent is a common adjective, relating to person, according to the rule, etc.
Farniliat• is a common adjective, used us an attribute>, and relating to the f'ltbject
per.~rm., according to the n1le, etc.
Th.at is n. pronominal adjective representing n. noun understood, in the third peri;;on,
singular number, neuter gender, nnd objective case, being the object of the preposition
with.

Those pencils are all sharp. This is true, but that is false. Both of
those pupils are m eritorious. A word to the wise is sufficient. The
mountains looked blue. Give to the poor, not to the rich. A detachment of one thousand men proceeded in advance. In general, this rule
is applicable. Many a youth has been ruined by bad company. The
light burned dim. Pupils must sit still, and be attentive. Many are
called, but few chosen. She looks beautiful. "

d

]J'alse Syntax.

RULE III.-ADVE :rns.

AJverGs relate to verbs, participles,- adjectives, or other
adverbs; as, "Conscience, ver·y rften disregarded, finally
becomes wholly inert."

a

. . . a e "allowing sentences, an
use of adJectives in ' J"
· Correct the im1YI'OJle7'_ ·
edell.
.
explain why the correct-ion is ne
Charles is brighter tha_n any e~
I do n ot like these sort of people. ·triking each other. Bnng th
·1
These three boys were ti
the pupt s.

Subordinate Rules.

•

1. Place the adverb, or adverbial phrase, as near ns possible to the
word to which it relates. The word only is very often misplaceu: as,
" He only wished to defend himself ; " in6teacl of, He wished only to
d efe.n d hitmel f.

103

ltELATION.

102

SYNTAX.

d b for an adjective attribute : as,
2 De careful not to use an a verld
· air feels co lill Y,·" instead of. co .· ted of the sub3ect,
.
t h e a d"ecJ
" 'fhe
a quality asser ·
b
ti
When the word expresse 8
t"f
l
.
"
that
is,
she
was
eau .
" She looked beau 1 u '
h'm''
tive is required: as,
t in "The king looked coldly upon i '
Jul in her appearance. Bu
the
king
looked.
coldly shows 1ww
t t 11 whether it is true or no;
t . s "I can no e
3. Do not use no for n o . a '
instead of not.
•t · . as "I could not
.
in the same propos1 ion,
'
4. Do not use two negatives . l ' th· the could wait longer.
,, This would unp :5
a
wait no longer.
.
t t on'y) ·n a nerrative
propo0
ivalen o ' 1
b t ·
~ Do not use the adverb 11 \equ .
t,, Eay He hath grieved
" He hath not grieved but in par .
'
. ~· .
1ntt0n . as,
JUe but in part.
Observations.
.
. as No greater,
'
l tes to comparat ives'
1 1ro n.s n.u adverb of degree re a
becomes an adjective; as,
.
'~'hen prefixed to a noun, no
-no sooner.
No person b elieves it.
.
t'
are not adused in anRwenng ques ions,
2 The words yes and no, .
·t·
They are to be regorded
.
.
.
. ah~nt to e&.tire propos1 wns.
verbs, bemg equiv.
• t 0 of the word amen.
'l'he
same
is
ru
as indepen d en t·
ed as an adjective
d to modify a phrase, us
h
3. An adverb is often use . f lt "-"He swum nearly across t e
.
" He is greatly m au .
.
or adverb, as,
stream."
·b . but it may be placed be.
etimes an adver ,
d,,
. . , " E1;en I was condemne .
4 . The word even is .som
to
give
it
emphasis
'
a
'
fore any wor d

False Syntax.
. e the reason for the coi·rectlon.
Correct the f ol!mving sentences, an cl gov
t
nothing?
.

it or no. Why do you no say
Tell me whether you w~l ~o n~l
The wind blew keenly. He _only
. ·ece of work looks >ery fi y.
1. h d but a very little.
Th is pi
.
H has not accomp is e
came to do mis•·h ief.
e
th The bird flies very swift. . I can-.
:t-.othing can justify ever an untru ' .
else can do that. The man
not do no more. N either h e n or ndo olnethe book . he did not tear it.
· d u t y. He ren . on fY·t The ship
'
nly discharged his
iR soon expected
O
t the notice o 1 ·
l
He only read the book , no
11 He went direct to the pace.
to sail. Every pupil cannot r ead 'dve l.'ke Be not dishonest, n0r take
.
. earl y dre,se a ' .
.
t
The two ladies weie n
·
the debt bnt m pur ·
He was uct able to pay
!'dvantu[l"e of no one. . :

. Parsing.
Parse the adverbs in the'foUowing sentences, as in the example.
EXAMPLE.-" He went away very early."
Away iR o.n adverb, relating to the verb weut; according to the rule, Adverbs relate
to verbs, participles, etc.
Very is an adverb of degree, and relates to the adverb earlv; according to the rule,
Adverbs relate to verbs, participleR, etc.
Early is an adverb of time, and relates to the verb went; according to the rule, etc.

Do you feel well? Yes. Call upon me early to-morrow. Whither
shall I go for comfort ? How sad she seems to·day I Are you very ill ?
No. Can you go no higher ? He has read nearly through the book ?
He spent even his friend's money. He even abused the man. Could
you come no sooner ? He is injured but to a small extent. The pupil
behaved very ill. There once occurred a dreadful storm. Here comes
the very same person. She treated even me most abusively.

RULE IV.-PARTICIPLES.

Participles relate to nouns or pronouns, or else are
governed by prepositions ; as, "Elizabeth's tutor at one
time paying her a visit, found her errpwyed in reading

Plato."-IIume.
Subordinate Rules.

'

1. Do not use a preposition between a participle and its object : as,
''By preaching repentance" ; not, By preaching of repentance.
2. When the participle has been changed to a noun, be careful to insert a preposition to govern the object : as, " The worshiping of idols
is sinful" ; not, The worshiping idols.
3. Place the participle so that it may have a clear reference to th~
word to which it relates; as •• By yielding to temptation, trouble is
incurred." This would imply that it is the ti·oub/e that yields to temptation. Say rather: By yielding to temptation, we incur trouble. Or,
as some would allow: By our yielding to temptation trouble is incurred.

4. Do not use the preterit for the perfect participle, nor the perfect
participle for the preterit: as, " I should have went away" ; instead
of gone.-'' He done it very well." These are gross vulgarisms.
5. Do not use the participle for a verb in the infinitive mood ; as,
''He neglected doing his duty." Say to do.

..
104

-

SYNTAX.
nELATION.

Observations.

.
" Granting this to he true, what is to ~e
1. In such expressions as'. . I
d the phra~e which it introduces is
inferred from it~" th.e particip e an n oun or a pronoun understood
.
d eu t . Sometimes, however, a
rndepen
m ay be supplied.
. .
b
f ter which the imperfect
2. There are several intrans1t iv.e ver. s a "Co:.itinue j ot/owing the
participle may be used as a~ attribute' as,
G d ,, 1 Sam xu. 14.
.
Lord your o · "
'
.
etimes made the subiect
. I . t ducing n phrase Js som
II ' t
ro letters was h'is d a1·1 y occupation." Usua y I
. 3. The partic1p
"We rn
. ting
of
a
verb
;
as,
r'.
. . mood for the participle in this case.
is better to use the mfimt1ve

False Syntax.
.
tences and give the 7·ea.Y01i f or tlte cor1·ection.
Correct t11efollowing sen
'
H
Id not have wrote
.
.
d 'ng of novels.
e cou
She waRtes her time m rea i h'
11 r·equires application. I seen
1
.
J h
· g :myt mg we
the letter . The earum
. faithfully knowledge is acquired. Q n
him do it myself. By studymg Ch 1 be"un well but ended badly.
could not have went to scho?l.
a~es t By reading good books his
We saw th11 lady while c~o~smgn!h~e:te~ ~oing on the errand. R el;ev·
mind was improved. Wilham g
.
I intended returning the
. distresse d sh ou Id be a pleasur
the
. e.
·
mg
· d havin"'
book.
I never d es1re
" such a fnend.

105

RULE V.-PREPOSITIONS.

Prepositions show the relations of things; as, "The
house was founded on a r ock."
Subordinate Rules.

1. Do not separate the preposition from its object unnecessarily ; as,
"Wltom was the letter directed to!" Say, 'l'o whom, etc.
2. Be careful to employ such prepositions as will correctly express
the meaning intended: as, "He aITived at New York"; not zn New
York.-" I reside in Boston"; not at Boston.
3. The phrase introduced by a preposition (prepositional phrase)
should he placed as near as possible to the word which it modifies: as,
" I saw what he had done in an inst ant." 'fhis is ambiguou8; it should
be, I saw iIJ an instant what he had done.
4. When motion to a place is denoted, in '() should be used, not in;
when moti on or rest in a place is signified, in should he used, not ii1to;
as, "He went into t he house, and staid in it."

M

Parsing.
. sentences ' a.y in "tlte example.
I'arse the v a1·ticiples in the Jo Uo wing

" Ou visitin"' her I found her engaged.
EXAMPLE . . ."
e ular a ctive verb vl• it. I t i• nscd .M a
rtai tl11 fl is nn imperfect partici ple, from th e r ~tion on . nccorct in g to the rule, Pnru.
verb and n noun1 bei ng g'>verned by thtJ prepo.
•
cipleR
r el!\te, e tc .
. . , r om !he paSRive ver b be <11gage<t · It i• used as
. a
·
Eua11aed i~ n perfect pm1.1c1pl1, r
l er . accor ding to the rnle, etc.
' '
• t
.

"°' b an d nn adj ective, r elatin g to the pron oun
S

.
.
. " ood Shame being lost, all vir u e IR
he spends her time m dom., g
·
. d Being accused
·
. d great wealth. he bA·
lost The house having be•m b m·it w.as soon occupie
.
t d
After havmg acqune
. .
of crime h e was an es e ·
.
b b
e hopeless. Adm1ttmg
f t d . all h1R plans e ecam
't.
came poor . De ea e m
· ' '
t ' ed askin g him nbout I
h.
1 t then? Th ey con mu
.
.
the truth of t k IS , w Hl
·
Th
hild wos found st,mymg m
hat
is
correct
e
c
T
h
'
.
t
·Generally spea mg,
·t. fi d they sat down.
eac mg
M p I ving been sa is e '
.
.
od
the
r.• her
· rnconstant emp1oymen t . Walking rapidly is go
poorPark.
ch 1'ldren ·was
exercise.

!i. Two Reparate prepositions have somet'mes a joint r eference to
the same noun ; as, "He boasted oj, and contended fo r, the privilege."
This construction is formal, and scarcely allowable, except in the law
style.
for
it." It is better to say, "He boasted of the privilege, and contended

G. A sentence is often rendered obscure or faulty 'by the improper
insertion or omission of.a preposition ; as, "I admit of what you say."
Omit nf. - " What use is it?" Say, Of what use iRit.
7. Use between with referen ce to two objects; among, with reference
to several : as, "The estate was divided between his two sons, and the
elder di vidcd his share among his three siRters. "
Observations.

.

I. Two p r apositions sometimes come together, so that they ough t

separated
iu parsing; as, "Lam beth is ovei· again8t Westn ot to be
minster
Abbey.
"
2. When a prepositional phrase is independent, there is no antecedent
t erm of relation. When the autecedent t erm can be supplied, the
phrase is not ind ependent; as, •·In n word, it would en tirely defeat
my purpose."

3. A preposition is fre quently understood : as, "He walked twenty
miles that day" ; that is, tltrougl1 twenty mileR on th a t day.- " Give
book " ; that is, to me. - " He is like h is brother" ; that is, to hie
me Iaher.
bro

5*

AGREEll!ENT.

107

SYNTAX.

106

False Syntax.

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 site be happy I"-" 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 ; no1· ·was his apprehension groundless."
6. When, for the sake of emphasis, Borne 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 I none. "-Bible.
7. When the verb has no regimen, and is itself emphatic; as, "Eclw
the mountains round."-Thompson.
8. When the verbs say, think, 1•eply, and the like, introtluce the parts
of a dialogue; as, '; ' Son of affiiction,' said Omar, 'who art thou?'
'My name,' replied the st1·anger, •is Hassan.' "-Joltnson.
9. When the ad verb tltere precedes the verb; as, " There lived a
man.,:'-Montgomery. " There needs no p1·oof of this."

.

ive the reason for the correctwn. .
rto1·rect the f oUowing sentences, and g 11
. hed for thirst. I don't

v•
f ? They a pens
Whom was this m eant or .
.
d
the t able. The child was
s~e anything into this. The :a:ilu:~~at~:r send him to town with?
of six years old. How muc.
1~ lie asked of the pupil a ques·
He lives at Mulberry Street _m N o.Ho. d several miles, driving a herd
tion. They plunged in the river. noe :~c:sion of his services. Mr. S.
of cwn on horseback. I have .
The lamb followed on
dividld his property between his four so~s. swam across, the river.
after its mother. He plunged into, an
·n? He put a basket of
k
I fin~ that passage i
.
Which of these boo s .can
That remark is not worthy your
apples in his wagon w1tho~t a covder.dis sted all his friends. Always
gu
no t .ice. He quarrelesi with, . an
strive to profit from good advice.

Parsing.

.
t ces accm·di'.ng to the
Parse the prepositions in the preceding sen en ,
exrimple.

"

t od on the burning deck." .
.
EXAMPLE.- The boys o
.
the verb stood ancl the noun <leek:

. .
.
the relation between
On is o. prepos1tton, P.how 1~:
how the relation of things.
.
according to the rule, Prepos1 ions s

Pars e the prepos itio ns in the f ollowing :-. t ken as to the time of the

h le year He was mis a
h t
H e was absent a w 0
·
•
This is of a truth, t a ·
affair In truth, it was a dreadful calami~yk d men ' He came out of
·
·
t f m amon" those w1c e
prophet. Come ou ro
. o • f th
Give the new scho1ar a
his house. William is very like bis a er.
slate. Next summer she will go to Europe.

False Syntax.
Cori·ect Ille eri·ors in tliefoUowing, and

e~plain.

I k no·.v them are entirely mistaken. I and h er are going to take a
walk. She and me went to school together. You and us are very
fortunate . Them who do right shall be rewarded. That is the boy
whom we think did the mischief. You know as w ell as me what was
done. Who ope~ed the door? Me. My brother is older than me.
Whom do you suppose did it? Art not thee and him related?

Parsing.
After c01·recting tlie above, pai·se every noun and pronoun in e11cli nf

tlte se,,tences.

!IL-AGREEMENT.
RULE VI.- NOMINATIVES.

.

.
. tl · ib)' ect of a fimte
. a pronoun wlnch is rn s1
. h
A noun 01
.
" I know t 01b
t be in the nominative case: as,
verb , mus
i,,
sayst it: says thy life the same .
.

S~bo.rdi::e~:uR~l~:~d

.
before the verb; bu.t
The subject or nommat1ve is g
.y
ftei the first auxiliary:'t. placed after it, or a
h
i ' the following cases l is
h t
interrogative pronoun in t e
1 When a question is vsked wit on an .
l· cable?"-" \Vbat III~
.
as, •·Shall mortalii be imp i\
nominative case ;
t}wu doing? "

RULE VIL-APPOSITION .

A noun or a personal pronoun, nsed to explain a preceding noun or pronoun, is put, by apposition, in the same
case; as, "Colnmbus, the discoverer of America, was carried in chains to Spain."
0Bs.-Apposit con is the addition of a word u sed in the same con·
strnction, in order to explain a preceding word in the sentence. The
construction being th e same, of course the case must be the same.

•

108

SYNTAX.

Subordinate Rules.
1. When the explanatory term is a slngle word, or when it forms
with the principal term, only a dngle expression or name, it should
not be separated by a comma ; in other . cases the comma should be
'used; as, "The p oet Milton wrote 'Paradise Lost.'"-" Pope, the
translator of Homer, was a great poet."-" I myself was there." - "His
praise, ye brooks, attune. "
2. 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 ~e . "-" John the 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.
Observations:.1. This rule involves a variety of forms of expression, as may be
seen by the following examples: "I, thy schoolmaster, have niade thee
profit. "-S.'uik. •' I, even 1, am be. "-Isaiah, xliii. " I nm the Lord,
your Holy One, the Crecito1· of Israel, your J{ing;"-Id. "They shall
every man turn to his own people."-Id. "It is always profitable to
know oui· own fciults and inji.rmitits." "Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. "-Psalms.
"That ye love one an other. "-New
Test. "Be ye helpers one of another. "-Id. ''To make him king."
-Id. "With modesty thy guide."-Pope.
2. The explanatory word is sometimes plnced first, especially among
the poets ; as,
"From bright'ning fields of et h er fair disclos'd,
Child of the sun, refulgent Sumnw1· comes."-Tlwmson.
3. Terms in apposition are often connected by the expression
that is; as, " We found a bte·tl'tc, that is, a tne,'' etc.

AGiiEEMENT.

RULE VIII.-VERB AND SUBJECT.

. A ~nite verb must agree with
t Ive, in person and
b

I have heard from my cousin she that was here last week. I saw
your friend he that I m et with you. Only my sister was there her that
you saw yesterday. I went with John and William they who were sent
on an errand. The boys were not to blame, that is, them who went
with me. I saw at Smith's your sister's Mary's photograph.

P((/rsinf!.
Parse all the nouns an<l proiwuns in apposition in the above sentences.

its subJ"ect
' or nominanum er: as " Th b
'
e ird flies/ the

birds fly."

Observations.

. 1. The i1~finitive mood a phrase or
.
Jee; to a verb: a subject' of this
d a sentence, is sometimes the sublls one
h 1
n ' however compo d · "f · .
. .
w o e, requires a verb in the th"
se , 1 it IS taken
lte ls base."-" To 8 t'
.
ird person, singular . as "1'
ti.
ee ite sun is pleasant " " 1"
' '
o
te law, is evident."
·
· iiat you have violated

hl

2. The nominative to a verb in th .
l e imperative mood is generally
. one
t" y way. " w·Ith the verb in all the
o th er personal tenses the n
t
,
omma ive must be
wo or more verbs are connected i th
expressed, except where
bud, blow, wither, fall, and die." n e same COlli!truction; ns, " They

omitted; as, " Guide [tlwu] my l

•
False Syntax.
Cori·ect the violations of Rule Vlll in tli
•

f".

18 J 0

ll .
ounng sentences

You was kindly received A
.
sees the difficulty in wh. h
ppearances is often deceptive Thou
avail? He don't kno~ w:: ~~ac.ed. What does all my e~ertions
wrath. Circumstances alter
1
lS. A soft ·answer turn away '
Th
s cases. He dare
t d
_no 0 as he threaten.
e correctness of these rules are dou
due. There was many reasons for t k~tfulh. Six months' interest are
a mg t at course.

i

False Syntax.
Coi·rect the violat-ions of R ule VII. in tlte following, and punctuate tl1e
sentence properly.

109

Parsing.
Pai·se eaclt subject noun or pronoun
,. .
and eacli pi edicate verb in tli.e above
sentences, according to the e:vam l
'Pe.

EXAMPLE-" R

.

evenge dwells in little minds."

Revenge is a common noun of th
.
.
nominative cas b .
'
e third person, Ringular n
b
e, emg the subject of the verb d ll
um er, neuter gender and
a pronoun which is the subject of a finite v b we a.· ~ccording to the rule A uo~n or
er , must be 1n the
.
'
lJwells is a verb r edund t .
nominative case.
an 111 form and
.
b .
'
eing; it is found in the inrlicative mo'od
neuter in signification, denoting a state of
;:ve~tge t~e third person and Flingnla.;~:!!:se~t tense.' nnd agrees with its subject
r' accorclmg to the rule, A finite verb
us agree with its subject or nominative in P
erson and number.

in

110

SYNTAX.
RULE IX.-COLLECTIVE NOMINATIVE.

"When the nominative is a collective noun conveying the
idea of plurality, the verb must agree with it in the plural
number ; as, " My p eople do not conside1·." But when it
conveys the idea of unity the verb must be singular; as,
" The arniy was defeated."-" The a1'mies w~ defeated."
Ons. -Whether the idea conveyed is that of plurality or unity,' depends
upon the meaning of the verb; that is, the nature of the assertion. If
it refers to the individuals separat ely, plurality is conveyed, because
there are more thau one; if to the whole collectively, unit/ is expressed, when th er e is but one body referred to. Thus, in tho. first
example, the pecple considei· as individuals, not as a whole, to con8idcr
being a personal act ; but, in the second example, the anny as a whole
wa.s defeated, not the individuals composing it.

False Syntax and Pa'r sing.
Correct tlie violations of Rule IX. in the f oUowing, and parse each collective noun.
[Il ead carefully the observation under the rule. ]
A fle et of fifty vessels were seen approaching. A_large part of the
army was drowned . Have the board of commissioners adjourned?
Congress consist of the senate and house of representatives. Th.e committee has carefully considered the matter. The people was duly noti·
tied. The public is r espectfully informed. The entire regiment ia
running from the enemy. The audience was milch pleased. A largo
crowd of people was present. The jury have been impaneled, but has
not agreed. A pair consist of two. The happy pair has gone to Boston. One-half of my oranges is spoiled.

RULE X.-TWO OR UORE NOMINATIVES.

\Vhen a verb has two or more norninati ves connected
by and, it mu st agree with them in the plural number;
as, "Temperance and exercise pi'eserve health."
Ons.-The conjunction is sometimes understood; as, ''Art, empire,
earth itself, to change are d oomed."

111
Subord/
1· When th
nate Rules
thing th
e nouns connect d
•
'
ey are in
e are descri t'
" 1'his philosopher a:pPod~itt'on, and do not ~eiqve .of one and the aamtJ
2 W
poet wa b .
u1re a pl
. hen the sa
s an!Shed from h .
ural verb. as
and do not req . me nominative is repeat d
is country."
'
'
e ' the Words are in
..
"
uu-e a plural verb. as
Love and lov
'
'
apposztzon
3 W
'
e only, is the J
'
· hen the verb
oan for love ,, 1'i
precedes it, and . aeparatea its nominati
.
. oung.
Is underotood to th
Vea, it agrees with th
.
e rest ; as
at which
T
-"Forth ·
'
4 Wh hy beauty Walka, thy tend~ the pleasing spring
·
en two
b·
ess, and lov ,,
tively, and th su ~ects are connect d
e. - Thomaon.
e other ne t '
e , one of h '
and the verb or pron
ga ively, th ey belong t w . ich is taken alfirma
be .understood to th:un must agree with the oa different propositions ~
, savmgs prod
other ; as "D 'J'
:ffi1·mative sub· t
'
'
ucea honorable c
'
1 igent z"nduat1·
1ec ' and
5. So also wh
ompetence "
'!/, and not m
"
en subje t
·
ean
C{JJaa1', as Well as Cice c s are connected by as
but wailings was '
ro, was admz7-ed for '. Well as, but, or aave .
in
11eard " .. ~'
ms eloq
, as
. uence."-" Notlti '
an, save he, had , . - . .J.rone but thou
6 Wh
e er survived " S.
can aid us " " N
ng
.
en the suh. t
. - cott.
. o mortal
or no, they a;:~ s are severally preceded
in the singular number ~ken separately, and rer. .by the adjective eaclt
"A d
, as,
.,u1re a verb and
,
n every sense
pronoun
"Each beast
' .and every heart is . "
7. Two or
' each insect, happy i·n' •ta Joy. -Thomson
mored' t'
z ow "
·
plural verb. as ";,s inct subject ph1·a9es
n. -Pope.

.ei:er11,

the world, a~d
be ::e "!1iae z'n our ow~ eye:or;::~cte~ by and, require a
very different as r 1 e zn the sight of OU1· ,;
e wzse z'n the opinion .
are v to c · .
vreator
h
o;
"
o1nc1de· " -.u,azr,
n, .
' are t ree th 1ngs
.

/o

,..t

80

False

s

Con·ect the vz'olat .
Ynta{)).
inu sentences, and w~s of Rute X. and z'ta I
.
.
Pa? se each pred:. t
ubordinate rules ' '
Industry and f
ica e Vf!'l'b.
• zn lrte follow.
n
rugalitv l d
ess forsak es th .
" ea s to Wealth
Wo1·ks ther e is e in_doJent. My ffes h an . Wealth, honor, and
.
thee rern .
sprightliness and .
d rny heart faileth T_ hnpp1S
a1ns unaltered
vigor. My love
. .ui all his
tudy, and not play
. James, and also his b
and esteem toward
every child present , engage his mind. Ev
rother, have left sch l
have died. To d were looking on. Th t ebry i;nan, every worna oo .
0 good and to h
a r11hant sch 1
n, and
s un evil always b .
o ar and teacher
rmgs happiness. No

/I

112

SYNTAX.

wife, no mother, no child were there to soothe his pain. Virtue,
virtue alone, are able to satisfy the heart. Every tree and every
now put forth their buds.

.AGREEMENT.

RULE

When a verb has two or more singular nominatiV'
connected by or or 1w1·, it must agree with,hem in thO
singular number; as, "Fear or jealousy affects him."
Subordinate Rules.

and be understood to the rest in the person and number required;
"Neither h e nor his brothers were there."- " Neither you· nor I .
concerned."
2. But when the nominatives require different forms of the verb,
is, in general, more elegant to express the verb, or its auxiliary, lJl
connection with each of them; as, "Eith er thou art to blame, or.,l
am."-" Neither were their numbers, nor was their destination,;
known."
3. The speaker Ehould generally mention himself last; as, "Thou
or I must go."-" He then addressed his discourse to my father ~
me." But in confessing a fault he may assume the first place ; as, "l
and Robert did it."
·
4. Two or more distinct subject phrases connected by 01· or nor, require a singular verb ; as, '' That a drunkard ~lwuld be poor, or tlUJt G
fop slwuld be ignorant, is not strange."

False Syntax.
Correct the violation of R11,le XL and its sub01·d(nate rules in tl1d following, and pai·se each predicate verb.
Ignorance or negligence have caused this mistake. Either ability or
inclination were wanting. Our happiness or our misery mainly depend
upon ourselves. Either John or his brother have done this. Neitbec
povert.y n or riches was the cause of his discontent. Neither I nor m7
father are able to do it. Neither John nor I were to blame. Neithc
the man nor bis sons has been here.
Either I or she are entitled to the prize.
blame. To have brilliant talent.s, or to amass great riches, rendc
most persons very proud. Vanity , ambition, or sensunlity lead ~­
to ruin. No pains nor cost were spared in her education.

VE
.- RBS CONNECTED.

113

Wl1en verbs are
'tl
connected bya con3'un t'
e1 1er agree m
. mood
t
c 10n the
' ense, and form o.1 h '
y must
nominatives e.
xpressed ·
"
'
ave se
sowed the g .. .
' as, He himself h u
parate
ia.m, and attended
ew, the plouO'b .
proud, but she i's no 1
the l'eapers."-" Sl
o '
w mmble."
le wa8

RULE XI.-SINGULAR NOMINATIVES.

1. Wh en a verb has nominatives of different pe1·sons or numbers, ooo-.
nected by 01· or nor, it must agree with that which is placed/hext tOit.

xrr

i . 'V' e may

Observatl
with t
ons.
'
ou repeatin th
perfect, and the 1i
g e no1ninati
r.esponding tenses of t~~-:udt~re ~ense of the in~elc~~~nect the present,
t1ve and th
in rcat1ve and
rve lnood. the
Dut th . e negative form; or th
. potential moods . th' fli core simple and the
.
e a rma.
e simple verb must .
" What nothin ' in general, be placed 1i
com pound form.
"S
g earthly give
rst ; as,
ome are and m
s or can dest1·oy " p,
2. Those parts which
ust bl!, greater than the . - qpe.
pressed to t - e 1i t
are common to sev al
rest."-.ld.
rs and
d
er verbs
endeavor to amend 'h
un erstood to the
t ' are generally ex.
rewarded."- " Hono;a all be assisted, [sli.att beres ; as, '•Every sincere
as I d~d" [thiiik].-" ybly :o the best You ca~ ;i:i~;p]ted, and [shalt be]
you will go, I will " [ c Jou ave seen it, but I ha
o ;;-"He thought
(JO .
ve not [Been i't]. - " If
the

L

Correct the v• lat.
False Syntax •
.u t ns o"" R
J11'edtcate vei·b.
,
'.I
ule XII. in the r.
.
Doe h
J oltowmg and
.
s e not waste h.
.
'
j!ar8e er1ch
elected to th e
is time and ne l
and will no t . office, but would not
g ects his lessons ? lI
b
improve H
serve. The
.
·
e wus
een there in time .H e was told to make h PUpll has been idle
learn Lis !es
.
e was sick and
aste, and should h '
•
could not d .
a,·e
son, but Will
. ~~· s.uffered othe~s to ente~ot. I They would neither :1t-_ William cau
0
,
e rt.
·
shall fail and h
m themselves
,
'
ence must not Unde .~

.

-

RULE XIII.-SUBJECT

A.c~1ve-intransitive a .

T

AND ATTRIBUTE.

t::~~lCJ~;~~ t;.k~
the ~a~1 : ~:;e a;te~::t~:;erbs,
and
Vf/.J ore the1
faer to t11e
8

tlieir
1
.was my Jl'iend. "-" Tl san~e pe1·son or th. . n, w ien
is J."
ie chilcl was n
Ing' as, "He
ained John."-" It

/.ii'''

SYNTAX.

114

This rule may be more simply stated, thus:

Ona 1.-

•th thrnbjeot.
•greoo in=• w;
·b b< thot """""'tho
On• 2 .- The. neuter ver th• oopula' because it

~llod

'°m:":~"'" of th• ~tonoo.

buto, "

gether these w

AGREEMENT.

•;:,~;.,,,
h

ot""" th••<trl·
,, jnino to- ·

...

c~nn

cotinn OOtw- ·
oun it JDJl.1

ll affirms onl_y the
1 tter is a n
'
0Bs. ,3. -The ver
th
,, ·
• Identity; 1111,
.
When the derer
a
the subject and
e
" Cain was a rnur
..as "The
child wu
2
Class;
as,
3. Narne,
'
"P"." - 1· lh<
mu<d&e<
nf Ab ' 1,,
·
I

b

be genera Y
attribute.

" Cam was
.
·d to the
nttribute
O J,"" " "
o.Jlod
.
no•no n,quality, =y b '"'"n"ti=,
u in
BS 4.-Cluss, identity,
1 By affirming directly to the subject, ill
.
. l"t to belong " She loo k ed a
. .t in vanous
" ·ays., as, B. affirmmg

oubJ"
.
tbe preoodmg

~

•••mp!~, ·oul"'2. notn<
y

···~·•~

monn"
~m<
" "-"Tho twig
Premdent.
by

•
hM fl'O

h"' ... .

""a''"·

"""~nt
n"~'"ily
h~
•n "'''"'"'"' (wnnl
Tho pronoun mu,t ~woy, ' " "
With tho noun" P<nnoun Whioh it "P'~"'"- wboth., it bo on nnto.
ood'"" °' nnt Tho """'""'"'' nf a «lati,. P<nnnun io al~y, ts tho
'""'' '""'t"'oo; bnt it io in tho P<incip.J cia.,,, Whilo tho «1.0i" io ts
Ona-wnu, '"'Y Pronoun m"t
""'noun" pronoun,
exw_, "UOdomtnnd, it;, naJy tho «loilvo P<nanun thot
going b<Jbu).

the dependent clause.

'"'• thotennrno u

'"-"M""
.

"'"°"'•

b~t,

1. After a superlative; as, "It is the best that I can do."
After
the adjective 8ame; as, ''This is the same lesson that
we2.had
yesterday."
not3.succeed
? " as an antecedent; as, "Who that perseveres will
After who

valse Syntax.
..L''
.
sentences.
een her. n
. .
Rule XIII. in tliefoUowmg
rrorrect the violatwns of
h"m It could not havbe bl If I had
...,,
·t was i •
d "t to e •
. d 'd not know tbat 1 'th They believe l
d it to be he.
' that he is
· an.,"'Ydone
'" the
· same. I u nd•"'°'
. Wn
not me
te the . Jetter. W>
"
him I •hnnldh"'
It WM m• w hn
h; ' It ;. not him
whnm ho
dn thoy <hink h= n
.
.
that I am.
do they say
ht it was.
whom you thoug

m~ho

Subordinate Rules.

!. lV!w;. •ppliod naly tn
ond •iIW< tn
nnimolo,., in.
animat, things. l 'hat may be used to represent either.
2. l'ltat is to be preferred in the following cases :-

d

•u"11y ''"''""" '

" -In interrogative sente . as ' "lVllat a)."t thou.
or OBS.
bothv.are pluce d a fter the verb,
.
Ile f "

~::·~;m b,

A. prnnoun mn•t agt-ee w;tL ;ts antecedent, or tbe nonn
or pronoun Wbich ;, represents, ;n per•on, number, and
gender ; as, "I, who arn your friend, will aid you."

to nf OOing; ""
. " 3 By
eta
n ,,_, •till.
· , __

•ith a paro1
"-"The su
"He '""
=lk<d
• nnt
" ' "oonnoctmo,
" " ' ; ....
fo hut
P" ' " " ' tho
,..,.,
ffi ming a connec L 'B ffirming not on 1y
" He was &
abecome
r
holar."
4.
Y
a
.
established
i
as,
a sc
.
which it was
,,
.

'"'""=
gndd•"• ou •h•

115
1?.ULE XlV.-Pll.ONOUN AND ANTECEDENT.

~rot

~m

4. Whoo bnth Pm.,, ond thfogo am "''=d tn; M, " Tho pon.
ple and things that he has studied have made him wise."
5. After the indefinite pronoun it; as, "It was I that did it."
to 3.
blame."
Dn not u" Whnt f0< O<nt ,- "• "I dn nnt know >•t ""'°'I am

~ Pl~, tho"""'" PMnnun " " " " po~i>!o to tho anreoodont

phn~," '~""« .,
~ ,~, ''"""'°"'',-

Observations.

Parsing.

!. A P<nnoun "'"otim" """"""a

. tlte above sentenca, as in th e:t·
Parse eac~t of"
'J the attributes in.
1.

arnp,,.,.

'd nt"
1 ted Pres1 e ·
nline g.<Dder,
' ' He was e ec ho third person, srngu
. Jarccording
number, masc
Act!••
to tho rule,

EXAMPLE. .
common
noun,
oft "it
.· h the fmbJ ect /1,e ,
P resident is~
cnse,
ngrteing
d I·n the
nommnt1vc
ter Yerl.Jo;, etc.
an
. . . c, pussi ve1 nnd neu
intrans1trv

D.

a q"4/lty
'""""d bof.,, by an ndj.,tfro. In th;.""· tho"°"°'";, niw.,,,
fo tho
P<«nn, •foguJ.,,
n'"t";
•nd
she
Jiasthi<d
the misfortune
to know
it." no, "8/w
2. Tho PMnoun it;, often u.,J fodofinitoly; "• "It,,;.,_"-" It Jo
•t0<my." It io al., "'Y nflen U" d tn "P"""" n pb""' 0< n
'<>mU.g aft" 'v«b 1 "• " 1ti0imP•ooiblo "''""'"o ..,,.,
In th;,
""' tho ph,.., ll< olon., i, In npp°'i"nn Witt it, >oing """ tn OX·

~<"

'''°"

AGREEMENT.
SYNTAX·

.
ase is ire·n the objective c
'' Tb
.
the relative i
I received.
e•
3. In familiar la~guag~,Here is the l~tter \_w7~ic~~elegant; as, •\ ~
ently understood . .as, . the nominative case is
qu . .
f the relative in
n".
lthatl could h:J.ppe ·
. . s "Avoid such a.I aI8
omission
. the worst thino
.
t to a :relative 1 a •
1s
. .
uivalen
As is sometuues eq
4.
,.icious.,'
Syntax.
1'
_..

116

°

. "'

]J'al se
. . sentences, an.V: in the fallowing
. .
of Rule XI ·
. .
Corroct the 1nolatwns
much
ll the prorwiin.s.
.
Each of us had as .
p1irse a
f their own feelings.
own buswellll.· .
tt nd to your
.
t judge o
Every o~e mus Let every one of you a :
I have don,e everythiDI:
as we desired.
. dy may co!lle fonvar . J bu committed the same
Those which are rea
he who. spoke.
o
med so fierce waa
•d lt was
l' u who see
b
what you or d em .
d before. The 10
·hich he could ave .
. h he iua e
t fault v;
•
for
mistake wh ic
.
This is the wors
ed. ·come to me
brought from A~nc~. our father should 'be ob:uch from the people
committed. 1 "ho isf~. nd He has learnedd was the greatest con·
our rie ·
Al ·au er
t can ·
advice who are ~ h h has o'bserved.
ex .
no assistance tha
and customs whic
eld ever saw. He require~d from others who · ~
h 1 the wor
ld have no a1
th. ? Ria
queror w on .
lf They shou
.
ld fail to see 18 •
take care of hnnse vVho which is not b\md con
idle and careless. ·h as are rarely seen.
influence was sue

-

ECTlVE ANTECEDENT.
RULE xv.-COLL
.
1ol1n conveying

the
.
nective 1
.
·
tl
e antecedent 1s a co
. ree with it, Ul \6 .
\\Then th ·a;itv the -pronoun n~nst..ag ·eed in the·ir senti·
idea of -plu.I
., '
"The council c11sag1 f
'ty the pr<r
mber · aE>,
l · dea o uni '
-plnra1 nu
' l . it conveys tie l
.
"ll enforce il8
, " But w ien
"The natwn w1
ineu t 0 ·
l .. as
.
•
, t be s1ngu ai '
'
noun inu<>
laws."
.
der llule IX.1
lSee observat1on uu

]J'alse SyntaX•

nd paru
•
f'ol/.moing sentences, a
XV: int 7ie J
·
l
· lations of Rti e
·
.
C01•rect the '!;W antecedent.
art disagreed in itll
each i1ronoun and .
.
. h its rightE. The p Yb
The com·
'fbe people will not rell::~:pelle1 two of their mem erfl.
.
The company ha
v1i:;.\VS.

117

mittee have made their report. The jury will be confined until it
agrees on a verdict. 'l'he council was unanimous in its opinions.
Where will the society bold their meetings? The court in their wisdom have decided otherwise. 'l'he army continued their retreat. The
public will not give up its prejudices. The new board of directors
have elected their officers. The parliament will take up the matter at
their next session. The audience showed its approbation by applause.

RULE XVI.-CONNECTED ANTECEDENTS.

·w'hen a pronoun has two or more antecedents connected by and, it must agree with them in the plural
number; as, "James and Jolin wi11 favor us with tlieir
company."
Subordinate Rule.
\Vhen the antecedents are of different persons, use the first person
rather than the second, and the 8econd rather than the third ; as,
"You and John have not recited your lessons."- " You, William, and
I must make our excuses"
[See the subordinate rules under Rule X., most of which are applicable to the pronoun as well as to the verb.]

False Syntax.
Correct the following sentences, and pa1·se the P1'01w1tns and their
antecedents.
Truth and honesty cannot fail of its reward. Cherish love and
unity : it, is the life of society. You and your playmates should learn
their lessons. He and I respect their teacher. James, and also his
brother, have recited their lessons, Sarah, and not Charlotte, have
lost their book. Every plant, every flower, and every insect, show the
wisdom of their Creator. You, your brother, and I must attend to
their work.

RULE XVII.-CONNECTED ANTECEDENTS.

When a pronoun has two or more singular antecedents
connected by OJ" or nor, it must agree with them in the
singular number; as, "James or Jolin wil1 favor us with
Ms company."

110

GOVERNMENT.

SYNTAX·

Observations

118

.
•·
1. The apostrophe and s are so
compound name which .
. metimes annexed t

Subordinate Rule.

captain·of-the-g~ard's h ouse.o,~-Bible.
its~lf, in "The
the objective o that part of a
case; as, "The

Wheu antecedeuts of different persous. nnrebers, or genders, are
connected by 01· or nm', they cannot with strict propriety be represented

IS,

doue."-l:logg.

by a pronoun that is not applicuble to each of them.

tpo~~rophe

Ons.-When u pronoun is used to represent antec.;dents of difierd
genders, the masculine should be used rather tbn.n the feminine ; aa,
•• Neither Sn.rah nor James will give up bis pln.ce."
use of "hia
or her" is awkward. The difficulty can be avoided only by a difierd
construction: '' Sarn.h will not give up her place, nor James his."

~e

False S'!Jntax.
Correct the f olloiving sentences, cind pa1·se the pronouns an'f their

.
tribut
~·
fault is

en
a· noun or a pronoun in th
· JS
it
governed b th
. e possessive case is used

mine"-"
Y ise John's.,,
subiect to which 1't
.
·Th e book

an~

r~lates;

as an
atas,
"The

False Synt

cedents.
·
Can justice or truth change their nature?
One or the other mu.al
relinquish their claim. John or Williurn will favor us
their com·
pany. Neither the watch nor the chain wn.s ever restored to their
owner. Neither the lion nor the tiger will bow their neck to the yoke.
Have yon seen my ox or my cow? They have strayed from the paa\o
ure. Neither the boy nor the girl seemed to know their lessons.

Correct the follow .
.
ax.
case.
ing sentenc88, and parse all the nouns in
. the poss88sii-e

wi~h

John's and William's f th
.
"·aq Cain's and Abel' f a er chided them for the'
):ook. Smith's and BC ather. I have seen neither
Adam
the queen of E 1 ompany's store is closed T mm nor Charles's
.
ng and's p I
·
hey p 'd
· .
L .
a ace. Edward th S
a.i
a v1Bit to
shockm"' on
"
e.
oms XIV'
.
e econd's d
rend Jack the Giant Kil ' s reign was very brilliant
.eath was a
houses will be occ . !er s wonderful adventures? B. Did you ever
recorded in Plato upd1ed
by the
rown' and ·Jones's
au Xe
h respective owne
· rs. . S ocrat
genius. Queen Elizabethnop
on's
works.
Horace'
o
es show
saymgs
are
mourned greatly
p ems
great
on account of Essex' death.

W~~rcouduct,.

rv.-GOVERNMENT.

-

RULE xvnr.-POSSESSIVES.

A noun or a pronoun in the possessive case, is
by the name of the thing possessed: as,
"Theirs is the vanity, the }earning thine;
Touch'd by thy hand, again Rome's gl01·ies shine."

RULE XIX.-OBJECT OF

Subordinate Rules.
1. When nouns in the possessive case n.re connected by a con}unction,
or put in apposition, the sign of possession roust n.lways be annexed to
such, and such only, as immediately precede the governing noun. ex·
pressed or understood; as, "John and Eliza's teacher is a man of more
learning than James's or Willbrn's."-" For David my servant's sake."
2. The relation of property may also be expressed by the preposition
of; as, "The will of roan,"-for "man's will." Of these forms
should udopt that which will render the sentence the most perspicuoua
and agreeable, and, by the use of both, avoid an unpleasant repetitloD '

w~

of either.

Bard-of-Lomond' I

2. To avoid
s ay is
.
a concurrence f h'
omitted, and the n
o
issing sounds
.
-"Moses' mini·
only retained . as "F' the s is sometimes
' ,
s er -'·F . ,
or cons·
·
the full f
·
e1ix room " "A .
cience sake "
orm should be used
. chilies' wrath " I
.
- 3 Wh
·
·
n prose

A t'
THE VERB.
c ive-trausitive verbs
feet participles, govern ti1:nd ~hei: imperfect and pre er
h.,,. aeeioting him" "II . obieefave e<IBe . "' "I /
it.''
.
avmg finiWed the'work,
' I submit
ound
1

.

Observations.

• An active transitive verb .
the action, and the . .
.1s often followed b
.
is performed Th indirect ob1ect, or that in
y the direct object of
·
e latter ·
respect to wh' h
stood ; as " I
.d
IS usually governed b
IC the action
question.';
pa1 [to] ltim the
preposition
under-a
ea a11ked
fof] them

money."-"~

120

SYNTAX.

GOVERNl\fENT.

121

2. In expressing such sentences vassively, the object of the prepositioli .
is sometimes assumed for the nominative ; as, "Ile was paid tll4
money," instead of, "The money was paid [to] him." The direct objeoii
should generally be made the subject of the passive verb; but in some
cases usage seems to sanction the reverse ; as, " The boy was t:ingb,~ ,_
grnmmar," instead of, "Grammar was taught [to] the boy." In thia
construction, !he noun following the passive still continues to be an
object of the action expressed by the verb, and is, accordingly, in the obj ective case.
......

False Syntax.
Oo1·rect the follow .
object.a.
ing sentences, and JJa1•se alt th

.

False Syntax.
Correct the follouing sentences, and parse all the nouns and pronoun.I
in the objective case.
She I shall more readily forgive . Thou only have I chosen. Whn
shall we send on this errand ? l\'Iy father allowed my brother and I to
accompany him. He that is idle and mischievous reprove sharply.
Who should I meet but my old friend. Who do you think him to be?
I, and I only, must you charge with the offense. Ye who do wrong the
teacher will punish. Tell me who you mean. L(lt you and I avoid
such company. He accosts whoever he meets.

Tl

Prepositions govern the objective case; as, "Beauty
dwells in them , and they in lier'."
Observations.
1. ·when nouns of time or mea.mre are connected with verbs or adjectives, the prepositions which govern them are generally suppres&ed:
as, " We rode sixty miles thnt day ; " that .is, " through sixty miles on
that day."-" The wall is ten feet high;" that is, "high

to ten feet."

2. After t,be adjectives like, nea.r, and nigh, the preposition to or unto
is generally understood; as, ''It is like [to or unto] silver."~-" Near
lto] yonder copse."-" Nigh [tu] this recess."

RULE

-

book to
t ?
o
It
he th
' e

xxr --INFINITIVES.

ie preposition To com
1
mood, and connects it to fl n:on y governs the infinitive
speech . as "Id .
a mte verb or some oth
es1re to learn " "I
"H '. '
er part of
e is anxious to sitcceed.;, went to see my friend."
0Bs.-The word to
to indicate the moo ' generally u sed with the in ..
verb and h
d, and, usually to ex
fin1tive mood, serves
loses its pr:p:s~:~rd ~vhich it limits or !:~:~:he r;lation ~etween the
direct object of wna office; as when the infinit~· . n certa11~ cases, to
verb, it cannot bea t~er\. In the fatter case b::: is t~he su~Ject or the
e o Ject of the prepositi~n.
g , e ob3ect of the

1
UULE XX.-PREPOSITIONS.

. .

Let that remain a secre
some one I kn
t between you and I
I
rests with thou owdnot who. Who did you give. th lent the
an me to d ·d
e messag
casP. is ve1·y d'ff
ec1 e the matte
A
e
I erent.
Except hi
r.
s to you and
m aad I no one saw it.

3. An active-transitive verb is sometimes followed by an object and
an attribute agreeing with it; as, " Thy saints proclaim thee king."
'' They called tlo.e child John." This is the reverse of the passive con·
struction, " The cliild was called Juhn ."
4. Some verbs govern only a noun of kindred nieaning,-;
lived a virtuous life." - " Joseph dreamed·a dream.!'

.

e p1 epoaitzona and their

Observations

. When the infinit' .
•
ne~ted with a noun '.ve IS .~he <>bject of the prepositio .
ad3ective; as "W ' aR, He had a dest"re to v . .t pn, ~t may be con.
" B
'
e were anzio1 t
iaz
aria" W'th
e good enouqlt to . •'"ta o see you "-W'th
I
an
1 an .adverb.
· . z70 01·m me."
· ,
as
2. The infinitive when
'
'

:~~:ale;t ~o an .adjective 0:s:~: ~n at~~ibu~e, is, with

the word to
s, e is eidzmab 'e "
n · as, This man i t
•
ness is happine
.. To be good is to b h
s o be esteemed".
ss.
e aopy". th t .
'
3 I
.
'
a is, Good.
. n ~ependent prepositio
a-: a predicate, its sub.
. ns, the mfinitive is of
.
zm to leaz•e the ro
~~ct being in the objective ten used, rndirectJy,
't·
om. In thi
case. as "Sh d
SI !Ona! character b .
s construction th
'
,
e esired
, ein" me 1
•
• e word to 1
4 T
.
o
re y a sign of th .
.
oses its prep.
. he rnfinitive is sometim .
e Infinitive mood.
ou, I was in fanlt."
es Independent;
6
as, " To bg candid with

l\IISCELLAN.E OUS RULES.

123

SYNTAX·

122

Parsing.

Parsing.

Parse all tlte injinit ives
.
arnples.
in the above senten ces, according to the ea:-

Par.~e all the verbs in the infinitive n'.ood, found in the fol~ ,,..

1.sEXAMPLE
.

tences .
Does he intend to travel?

"He went to see his friend "

ee is an inegular activ

. .
.
It is in the indnitive :.::;s1t1ve verb, its principal parts be'
which connects it to the verb we ' :resent tense, nnd is governed rng see, 8ato, seeing,
governs the infinitive mood ' etc.. nt • according to the rule' Th e prcpos1t1on
by th.e preposition
lo,
to commonly

""'"

EXAMPLE

2.-" Th e teacher bade h ·
.
irn leave the room."

Leave is an irreg-ul

eave~

8
the infinitive mood n.r1 active tranr.itive verb from l
subject being,,. 'present tense, nncl is used' as th 0
left, leaving, left • it i .
im. The word t ·
predicate of th
•
in
da1'f, etc.
o is omitted accord.mg to the rule • Theeobject
the
act!. veclause
verbs ' bid,

r,ULB :xxrr.-INFINITIVES.

The active verbs bid, dare, feel, hear, 'let, make, neeil,
see, and their paTticiples, usually take the infinitive after
them, without the preposition ·ro ; as, " If he bade thee

depart, how darest thou stay ? "
Subordinate Rules.
1. The preposition is always employed. after the passive forrn of t.heae
verbs, and in some instances after the active: as, ''He was beard lo
sny-"-"l cannot see to do it."-" What would dare to moleat him
who rnigbt call on every side, to thousands enriched by bis bounty?"

-Dr. Johnson.
2. The auxiliary be of the passive infinitive is also suppressed after
feel, liear, make, and,see; as, •'I beard the letter read," not, "N
read."

False Syntax.

Correct the follO'IJJing sentences, and exp!ain the reason of the

CQT'f'to;-

tion.
Did you not see him to take the article? Please excuse my son's
absence. I will try and do it for you. They need not to call upou
her. I have heard him to mention the subject. They certainly heard
the rule to be announced. Can I not make this matter be understood
by you? Bid the boys to come in. They have been bidden come
olready.

Let no rash promises to be made.

gone home yet.

V.-MISCELLANEOUS RULES.
RULE XXIII.-SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD

An event both cont' .
.
pressed with the sub·J.U mt?ent. and future should be ex
"I
nc ive mood . l
as,
f thouforsake him h
·zz ' mt ie present tense.• ' e wi cast thee off forever." '
Subordinate R ·
1. When the statement .
u les.
the ~:bjunctive, imperfec;s s~::~i: supposition, with indefinite tim
wou
e used ; as ' ', If
2 A have .told
. you . "
. it w en not so, e,I
. .
cond1t10nn,l circumHtance
tive mood .' as ' " Th ough ·he' is poor
assumed
.
he . as a .fact' requires
the indicais contented "
'

Ons · -The pupi.1 must careful!
·
cases to which they
1
y study these three r l
when the event or app
The subjunctive mood i u es,. and the
upon the occu
fact is future and contin en
s r_eqmred only
nite being o rlrence o: some other future
t, Tthhat _is, dependent
'
' n Y relative]
·
e time · · d
the conditi
l
y, present or past Th d '
is m efiobvious fro on:h statement of a fact and a fut e ifference . between
m ese two sentences : ure contrngency will oo

~·

eve~t

If he be sick, I will visit hi
, .
Though he is sick h e
rn. (Subjunctive.)
'
does not repine · (lnd.u:a t.ive.)

,,,

124

SYNTAX.

M.iSCELLANEOUS RULES.

False Syntax.

RULE XXIV.-INDEPENDENT CASE.

False Syntax.

.

Correct the violations of the above rules in the follO'IJJing, and paru al
the subjunctives.
He will not be pardoned, unless he repents. I shall walk out in the
r,fternoon, unless it rains. Let him takt: heed lest he falls.
rlost cast me off, I shall be helpless. I believed, whatever was the
issue, all would be well. If be was an impostor, he .&st have bellD
cletected . If he were accused of theft, be was not convicted. Thougb
be be deprived of his fmtune, be is not unhappy:
.

I

A noun or a pronoun is pnt in the nonlinative, wl,i.en its
case depends on no other word ; as, "I1e failing, who shall
meet success?"-"Your/ctthers, where are they~"
Observations.

1. 'rhe case of a noun or pronoun is independent under the
four circumstances:1. When with a participle it is used to express a cause, or some
other r elated event; as, "He b eing young, they deceived him."
This is u sually called the case absolute.
,
2. When it is used to indicate simply the person addres8ed; u,
" John, bring me a book."
a. When it is used merely for emphasis, without forming any
part of the structure of the sentence; aR, " Gad, a troop shall overcome him." '' The nortlt and the soutlt, thou h ast created them;"
This is a peculirtr mode of expression, called pleonasm.
4. When it is used as a mere exclamation; as, "0, what folly!"
2. The first of these four cases (the case absolute) is equivalent to a
dependent clause commencing with when, iohile, if, since, becau8e, etc.:
as, ''I being a child, they assisted me ; "-equivalent to, Because I waa.
a child, etc.
3. A pronoun in the objective case is sometimes used independently
with an interjection ; as, "Ah me! how ~ad I am! " This is an excep.
tion to the rule .
4. When the attribute is used indefinitely, · that is, without referenoe
to any particular subject, it is independent in case; as, "To be a pod
requires great genius."
•

125

C01 rect the vidations of R l
the i"ndependent no
u e XXJ V. in tlte followinn
d
uns and pronouns.
"" an pai·se all
.
Rim havino- ended h1· d"
·th
"
s Iscourse th
w1 out experience they d
.
'
e assembly dispersed Me b .
·"thd
'
ece1ved m
T
·
em"'
w1
rew. The child is lost .
- e.
hem rnfusing to com I "
present, be would not tell wha:~~ me, whithe: shall I go ? Thee~~~ I

~;,ret~~ed

:s '·

ligh;:;~~peAlr1sihO

~

shut from the
thee that sleepest
im avmg absented himself th
.
ee too ! Brutus, my
, ey could not proceed.

.

.

RULE XXV.-CONJUNCTIONS

Con1unctions connect "tl
.
"Jolin an d. James
.
ei ier words o
are stt d.
b
r sentences . as,
I ions
' ut Will"1a111 is idle." '
Observations.
.
1
f . The conJunction that, when it int d
o a verb, does not connect it to
ro uces a clause used as the sub. t
not matter, is certain " It
any other term . as " 1'"r. t . Je~
'
'
· ·
·
merely 8
,. i
mind 1s
It rntroduces is dependent.
erves to show that the clause which
2. After titan or ll8
.
ell" .
expressmg a co
.
ipsis of some word or words "'h '
mparison, there is usually
may be know b
.
. ~ e construction of th
an
[amJ'-" H dn y supplymg the ellipsis. as "Sh . e words employee]
'
'
e Is youncrer th I ,,
·
e oes nothing h
allowed t b
.
' w o endeavo:·s to d
"
an
o more than [wltat] is
o umamty.,,
3 . The corresponsive conjunctions ar
:
e used m pairs, the object heinoto m~ke the connection, com ariso
phat1c. The followi
p
n, or contrast more strik"
"
ng are examples .
mg or emB
otlt be and I were present .
He was either ashamed 01· afraid
John came neither eat·
.
Thouglt b
mg no1· drinking.
e were dead, yet shall he live
4. After as or tltai•
.
, etc.
.
·
• expressmg
~on of some word or words . as ~'oJmphar~sou, there is usually an omis
[is]
,, Re .
' '
o n 1s as good
h
.
a sc olar as William,.
.is younger than I,, [am].

RULE XXVI.--INTE

'

Interjections 1iave no d
d RJECTIONs.
et not thy heart d
.
epen ent constrnetion ,· as, "0 I
esp1se me."

i
,j

ANALYSIS, PARSING, AND CONSTRUCTION.

126

127

SYNTAX.

SYNOPSIS OF ANALYSIS.

ANALYSIS, PARSING, AND coNSTRUCTIO}i{.

Simple,
Sentences.

compl'-lx
{

Clauses.

{.__,imp
e,
Complex,
Compound,

PHRASES.

Phrases may be simple, compound, or complex.
A compound phrase is one that c~sists cif two or ·
more phrases connected by a conjunction ; as, " Stooping
.
down and looking in."
A complex phrase is one that contains a phrase used
as an adjunct of its principal part ; as, "By the bounty of
H eaven."
1
The principal part of a phrase is the word on whichall.
the other parts of the phrase depend ; as, " In the S]Jring of

thePhrases
year." may be used to perform the office of different parts
of Epeech, as in the following examples:1. A noun ; as, " To do good is our duty."
2. An adjective ; as, "He is a person of good reputation."
3. An adverb ; as, " In the spring I shall return."
Phrases may be used in various constructions, as in the
following examples:1. A subject or attribute; as, "To be g-ood is to be happy."·
2. Au object; as, "She desires to learn French."
3. In apposition (explanatory) ; as, "It is best to be carefttl,4. Independent; as, "Shame being lost, all virtue is lost."
OBS. 1.-A prepo~ition that introduces a phrnse, serves only to exprt':ll8
the r elation between the principal part, and the word of the sentence,
on which the phrase depends.
OBS. 2.-Phrases are also classified as to their form, depending upon
the introduc£ng word, or the principal part ; thus :
1. A phrase, introduced by a preposition, is called a preposl·
tional phrase; as, "By doing good." "Of great learning." .
2. A phr ase, the principal part of which ia a verb in the infinitive .
mood, is calied an infinite phrase; as, "To be gnod."
3. A phrase .. tho principal part of which is a participle, is called a
participial phrase; as , ·'A measur e foumled 01£j11stice."

Compou~d.
i;:·

P

1

{ Declarative.
I nterrogative.
Imperative.
Explanatory

5 Dependent. .
1 Independent.

ropositions
or Simple { Sub'e
p dJ. c t -Word, Phrase, or Clause.
re 1cate verb.
'Sub or Attribute-Word
S entences • Ob
Of iect
W d
' p hrase, or Clause.

or s, {Simple '
f Pred· . verb ' )Il Ph rases
{Adjective '
Com 1
0
{ Of Obj . or Att. tor Cl
'
P ex,
Adverbial,
_ _ __ _a_u_s_e_s, Compound, Explan.

Adjuncts.

I

.
Exercises.
n tlus, and each of the following exercis
a"!°'lyze eacli sentence according t tl. es, let the pupil be required to as in preceding exercises . then to o te example, and parse eacli word
the same cltamctei·.
,
. . construct five addit-ional sentences of

1.-Subject Phrases
. -- " To be at
E XAMPLE
a rake
and
I • m
· the character, discove
b
.
rs a ad disposition andonce
a bad
h
" gory
This is a .
eart.

imnple declarative sentence h .
' avmg: a compound Rub. ect
.
posed of the two phrases T
a rake and to I • . J • The sub1ect is com·

one~

by and . the . .
' o be at
•
principal part of th fl

U V in th~ cha
phrase at once and th - d
e rst phrase is to be . and itl d meter, connected
the principal part of :hm efinite attribute rake (see
are the adverbial
verbial phr"-'l-0, 11' the c::.a seconn phrase is, to glor11; and it"u - U.).' modified by a ;
verb is discover• - th
;acter, the principal part being modifi
is the simple ad·
and bad.
'
e o i ects, dtsposmon and lteai·e, each
y the.
The
pre<licate
ified
by the
a<ljuncts
a

°'

~nder ~' 7J~~cts
a~
~:net
m~-

'ro do good to all men is the d
back is a beneficial exer cIBe.
.
To uty
r of ba Christian. Riding on h orse·
comprehends the whole of ou d t ive ~o erly, righteously, and piously
Dr censure, is a real defect inrobu y. ro be totally indifferent to
a~ch provocations was a proof ofa~ecter. To have remained calm under
iinually
subject to th e b reath of sland
markable
ii
. self-control
.
· T o b e cono"'n . . To perceive nothing or not to er w1.ll ta:UISh the purest reputa·
;eoard and act injuriously discovers p:rce1ve; is the same. 'fo profess
tghnorance is generally conducive t . a ase mmd. To know one's own
0
~ . e appr ova1 £ CO.lscience is im0 improveme
.
.n t · T be happy without
"
1ve , divine
'
possible. To err is h uman ; to for-

prais~

°

ANALYSIS, PARSING, .AND CONSTRUCTION.

SYN'fAJC

128

n.EXAMPLE.-

Ob}ect Phrases.

" Pope professe

d to have lea.rue

IV.-Adjective and Adverbial Phrases.
.
d h"s poetry fiQm Dl'J'•

EXAMPLE.-" Where there is no knowledge of the law, a man acting
in opposition to it, cannot be properly said to transgress it."

l

A complex declnrative senttmce. The principal clause is, a man. acting in oppo8itto"
to it cannot be properly said to tranaoress it ; the dependent clause is, where th.ere is uo
knowledge of the law. ·T he connective is where.
The Aubject noun in the principal clause is man; the predicate verb, can ~said; the
attribute, to tt·ansgress it. The adjuncts of the subject are a, and the complex adjective
phrase, acting iu. opposition to tt ; the principal part of the phrase is acting, modified by
the complex adverbial phrase, in opposttion to it, the principal part of which is opposi~
tion, modified by the simple adjective· phrase, to it. The adjuncts of the predicate are
not and properl11,, and the dependent clause; the adjunct of the attribute i• the
object it.

.
.
. the predicate verb la proThe snb1ect is pope'
from Dt11<Un. 'IM
arative sentence.
learned his poetry
and \be
This is n. s1m?le dee\
omplex phrase, to have ts ad1uncts, the ob]~t poan/
(e~se<.l ; the ob1ect is t 1c c is to have zea1'1ied :· 1 d"fied by the.JLD.1unct h£8.
t of the phrase '
. poetr1/ is rno '
~ .
Re who
pnnclpa.l par
e f1·oni Dryden'
t of conscience.

den.

,,

d he to obey the dicta es
d self-respect. w~
We should always ehsouid cultivate integntyfanthers toiled and bled._
b h appy 6
h' h our a
d to
desires to e
the blessingR for w ic
e industrious in stu y'
swear to preserv_e. ed upon bis pupils, to ~
to love truth. Seek
The teacher ~nio1n s disposition, and especmlio evil, learn to do well.
cultivate a v1rtuou your talents. Oease toff
N~ver attempt to
t ·mprove
- 0 ence.
Uod
earnestly o l
d
hastily, lest I give
ld love to do what
We shou
t procee so
to nar.
I dare no
t
fess it free1Y·
ld not refuse
..conceal a fault, bu con b 1'n" thus entreated, cou
to correct their
d
Artaxerxes e "
;vise men learn
comroan s.
faults of others, '
.
~
don him. By the . to teach by the seaside.
own. He began aga1n

snnj>\O a Jverb1a\ phrOS '

Genius has often been discovered in persons of a very humble condition in life. In summer the fervid sun darting his direct rays, op:IJresses us with heat. A man of integrity will never listen to any
reason against conscience. The ambition to excel was manifest in all
his aots. An old man was busily employed in planting and ingrafting
an apple-tree. We should always strive to do right. Eliza's benevolence in relieving the poor was much to be commended. Ch oistians
should exhibit an ability to endure the various vicissitudes of life.
Newton's idea11 regarding the nature of comets, were quite fanciful.
Honors bestowed on the illustrious dead have in them no admixture of
envy. A habit of sincerity in acknowledging faults, is a guard against
committing them.

-

-Attribute Phrases.
· bi"s readers."
t to surprise
"H" object was no

"'·

EXAMPLE.-

129

~·

..

.
'odifted by the ..OjunctlUI.
The snbjcct nonn is ob3ect, m "bute \s the phra.AC "'11'1't"
sentcncr.
t . the attn
f ll.lch la
A simple (lcc\arn ivc
,oditi.ed by the a.dverb no. 't s1u'P1·ise, the object o w
the vredicate "erb ir; was~ n.ip·i.l pMt of t he phrase ia u
·t 8 e hi.~ 1·ec1.cle rs; the vnnc '
IS

.

~ rm tbe wicked.

·
d b Y h-is .
i·eaaers, mod1fie

'"

T o bed-

V.-Explanatory Phrases.
EXAMPLE.-"

It is a Christian's vocation to do good to all."

This is" simple declarative sentence. The subject !a": tbe predicate verb is is: the
be to re10
oul ~
· hment should
'
· resistance, .w
ttribute is vocation. The adjunct of the subject is tbe explanatory phrase, to cto gooa
The object of pums To surrender without rn~mgttempt further to
all: the principal part of the phrase is to cto, its adjuncts are the object good and tile
ple adverbial phrase, to all. The adjunct of the attribute is Christian's, modified by a.
good is to ~e happ:~se and inglorious death. en~ ~me usele6llly. To
be to submit to. a
th would be only to sp b . g guilt upon our·
It is a great crime to deceive the innocent and confiding. It is good
illustrate so plam a t.ru ' should censure, is to . rm ble The highes\
sing praises unto our God. It is impossible to instruct those who
n nnsera ·
whom we
smile on t h ose
of evit is to make me
t quillity in the hout
ve no desire to learn. It is of little use to form plans of life. It deselves. The tendency ·s to possess itself with ra; dy at Ox.ford. My
ves our best skill, to inquire into those rules by which we may
art of the mind of m~n, \.n to be kept in close cus o based at the price
ide
our judgment. It is a sign of great prudence to be willing to
danger. He was no'
pel Is life to be pure
His conduoi
of
·
not to com ·
.1 t -morrow.
eive instruction. It is the duty of public speakers, in addressing
power is to advise,
~ The fhip is to sal o
ood health. The
popular assembly, to be previously masters of their subject. It
of chains and slavery ... d My friend is in very g behind its usual
sed Darius the King to set over the kingdom a hundred and
be
adrnue
·
Th
essel
was
t
was greatly o
ff the track.
ev
't The silver age •
nty princes, who should be over the whole kingdom.
ive occasion for 1 ·
. mirrbt have been
tram
o
"t to insult 1s to g
h f Au"ustus.
tl"
time. To subml
enccd at the deat o
"
to
b:we
comm
is rec1<-one1

°

.

ANALYSIS, PARSING, AND CONSTRUCTION.

130

t phrases.

11.-0bject Clauses.
Remember that indolence can lead to nothing but. dis·
, .grace and misery."

,,

EXAMPLE.-"

vt -tndependen b ttle was discontinued. ~
•
.
the a
reQicatA> ...,..
, , N' ht cowing on,
n i• battle; the P
.
~

x,1.MPLE 1.ig.
tence. The subje~t nou ]{ig/iJ, coml>iO ~n, Is &n~
o·mple clecJarative sen t o[ the •Ubjcct ~s t/tef. which is the po,rUclpial l'
.
This 1s a _1
The ad)unc
h adjunct o
.
n
•
discontin. ued. . . 1 part is u.igh~, t e
t and its n.d]nnct, o •
d the
15 was t hrasc; it~ pnnc1~a 1. 6 the prlnc1pa.\ par '
uite underst.a.n
• dl
penclcn P
f which comina
I did not q
·
coniin.g on, o
eak can.di y'
-"To
sp
..,
.
dI4
.,,.,ur2
. I. the pre<\ic.~~erb ~· tfu,.t of tlMI
EXA1'1PLE ·
. t"
he subject is '
not and quue '
i.Dg
sub1ec..
1 r:ltive sentence. ;;. ncls of the verb n:r~. the principal part be
...
A. si.rnple a~c ~t . , subjec t. The 0. ]U ~ ..... acnendent phrase ,
b3ec 10
· !' is Ull ~·
r
_ 1.lnn'
stand ; . the o To spee<k. cwiaia Y
nerally spe~'
objoct is the. 1 by cundid!Y·
ucb in fault. Ge
nd ,AspaBIA
speak., rood1fic<
t th I was very lll t' able. Theron a
·a their

.A. complex imperative sentence. The subject is thou (understood); the predicate verb
is 1·e11umber: the object is the dependent clause, Indolence can. lead, etc. That is the
connective. The subject of the dependent clause is indolence; the predicate verb is can.
l ead, which is modified by t ft1 complex adverbial phrase, to nothing but disgrace an.cl
m,ise1·y ; the principal pa.rt of this phrase is nothing, modified by the phrase, but dis,race
and misn·y. But is n. preposition.

E. .

'° .

To confess the t~:t 1~an was unex.c~pt~~~r @pirits cheered, :e whole
tbe conduct of
lk into tbe fields' . . t"'eir
hearts, afld
ea.ton
11
·no- wa
d t the er ,u•
1 ing in '
;
g
Senate
the
l
. .
aroun
protes o
ed vv-ation sun1ing
l Appius alone
h to b e censur •
.-,.
:~etribunes of the peop ~ur conduct is very w::ess which you nav• .
the degree of s~
All obstacles havllll
b plain Vl'ith you, y
To ~
e circumstances,
conimendat1on..
bition. }1y d~
si.denng .th hi.rrhlY deserving o! d the goal of h1S a.:ile ye tra.vele?ll Of
tai.ned, 1s o be finally reac e 1 pause for a w
•
be the tut!
overcowe,
e you.
1 Green
Oii\.
~:~:Ua, 'now glad 1:~: t~:e uni.verse a.r~::1e ~::~lost, a\l virtue i.ll
rth to contemP
better days\ S
ea
above'thee , friend of my
__ ___- - -

~omo:gi::i~:~ l~vely gradti:~:;. ~he

ctUl?u::~insto

I

131

JlleaB~

\

The orator felt that every eye wasuponhim. John says that his brother
is not well. Always bear in mind tha.t you owe very much to your
pareuts. The fool hath said in hfa heart, There is no God. See! A~­
pasia, how all is calculated to administer the highest delight to mankind.
He said, that he was well apprised of the obedience which he owed to
the laws. She had now to learn what it is to be a slav,e. Consider well
whether you are able to perform this great undertaking. Remember,
Almet, that the world in which thou art placed, is but the road to another. And Na.than said unto David, Thou art the man. Then said
' Joab to Cuahi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. The scribes spake
unto him, saying, Tell us by what a.uthority doest thou these things?
The cynic observed, that the philosopher who could dine on herbs,
might despise the company of a king.

l

111.-lnflnltive Object Clauses.

Ons.-In the infinitive form of this cla.use, the subject and predicate
are connected indi1·ecay. The predicate, instead of being a finite verb,
is a verb in the infinitive mood, and its subject is in the objective case.
C\.J._usES·
bus, in the sentence, " He commanded the army to march," army is
C\auseS•
e subject, and to march, the predicate; because it is indicated (al·
.. - subject
.
is cer t am· ."
ough indirectly) that the act of marching is performed by the agent
.
dncts
to
m1sery'
cJa.usc, Viet condllCH
my, the sentence being equivalent to, "He commanded that the
•' That 'v1ce con
. t is \\le <lependent bject of the depallll141
EXAM~L:~:Jarative sentc.nci:·. ~~e,.::i~~~~e '\fis ~e~;~~~ .~!~l:u a.clveruia.l ph~ . my should march." (See Rule XXL)

A comP e.
redicate v-erb lS • • onaucts,
to miserJI :. th~c~. the predicate 1s c

modl

e

ea

wnence proceed .
eut clause ~~'~t 1.'tbe conucct\vo.
doth appear i.n th1~b he co01mi.tted SO
m•sery.
ave wronged :roe.
scertained.
y
Junius, ill no'
Tbat you b, ·t has not been a
te the letters of
r fello«•
lam1
y,
Who
wro
·
d
to
ou
t11i.s sa. d ca
· a mystery.
to be km
I wan~
~readful a cci.lne, 1s Tbat i.t is our duTtyh t I know not what ~ved ia
. . l known.
d bt.
a
· to be so
•
pos1tive y
ot admit of a ou
this difficulty 1s
. dustry
creatuces, does n coml'lai.nt. lloW
to rui.n and that m Bri .
·s tbe cause of mY That idleness leads J l. s 'cresar inva.ded
l
.
t e
Th t u 1u
. l to su
beyond coniec ur . el·tai.n truths.
at . te"rity is essent1a
.
are c
Tha m o
sures success, n hi.storiNJ.l fact..
lcated on the young.
.
well·knOW
••nua.llY mcu
is a
ht to be con.,...
in life, oug
•

EXAMPLE.-"

Conversation makes a man grow wiser."

A complex declarative sentence. Tho subject is Conver8ation; the predicate verb is
kes: the object is the infinitive clause, am.an (to) yro·w wtser. The subject of the
enUent clause is man, modified by a ; the predicate verb is, to grow.· the attribute,

er.

heard him relate the story of his wrongs. I hea.rd a faint voice
Let us then be up a.nd doing. In this melancholy
te, he comma.nded messengers to recall his eldest son, Abouzaid,
m the army. Let the dead past bury its dead. We often see ba<l
n intrusted with very important duties. The united testimony of

I my name.

_,.- .

•

/

SYNTAX.

ANALYSIS, PARSING, AND CONSTRUCTION.

'

132.

.
·t.h·wbioh be
.
f the crune Wl
·
0
im
to
be
gullty
The
SovereigDS
·l'9"
prove d h
den
roany witnessesF bid them to enter the gar t the Convention. It waa
was charged.
or t return and be present a
wer to be !elt at tidli.
quested Columb.us o f Habit not to suffer her po
.
the peculiar artifice o
,

-

Attribute Clauses.
IV.f ccess." ,.
th t he was sure o su
•' His reply was, a
the predlcat.e ~ '-,
EXA'lll.PLE.-

Tbe •ubject noun is ·replV;
Tbe oonnec:tlft 19
tn.rntive sentence.
He was sura of aucce8•·
A complex dee .
e dependent clause,
. tbO ~ttributc is tb
•'--•
wa• •
n· decision was, .

w-... ·

•
our liberty . .ulS
___ ~
t ou will regalll Y
. · 's directions
}'[y hope is, tha y
. h d The physician
J
.d exaiteh uld be pums e .
. h t he shoula a.voi
the culprits o ld travel to the South, t ~ t Kepler's opinion with
.
the pat•ient shou
h uld be caref u l in die · th attra.0t1on
of the
.
roent, and tha~ be s o that they are caused by11· e is entirely uD.iU"
th tides was,
t the rebe ion
· t.bi8
regard to e
1 sentiment is, tha
. ht have been, that ·,
rooon. Tbe gen:::e of so great an er:or ro~he cause of the def~
tillable. The \ been sufficiently stud:ed. ·th tbe mea.nl! of txaJlll~ •
subject had no
had not been supphed Wl
•
was that the army

11tai.

-

tation.

.
nd Adverbial Clauses. .
.
V -Adjective a
.
the guests, be • •
•
.
came m to see
~
'• A.nd when the king
ent "
EXAMPLE.h d not on a wedding garm
.
. object.,_..
man tbat a
redlcnte verb, ,aw '
IM
there a
.
cntence. Subject. he; P when th• kinll cam< In'°.,. •
A complex: (1ec\aratn"e s nd the adverbial clause, h t Md not on a weddlJ'la _.,,
.A-d)uncts of predicate, _the;e~ nand the adjective clause\~ :he preceding exerclaeL)
~
d. nets of ob3ec ' '
.
dent clause as
.
"°"'.;..:
g1Lests; n JU
·1 analyzc each depen
ed to gather ,.._
nt (Let tbe pup1
d they cornmenc
._;.
me .
.
. d t the orchar ,
Whlle you o.re s ..•f

133

up his youth to indolence, undergoes a loss of a. like kind. Who
would dare to molest him who might call, on every side, to thousands
.enriched by his bounty? He who knows not what it is to labor,
knows not what it is to enjoy . . The promise that he should be rewarded, was kept. The merchant received intelligence that his ship
had been wrecl:-~d.

Vl.-Explanatory Clauses.
EXAMPLE.-"

It is an old saying that, 'Truth lies in a well.'"

A complex declarative F:entence.
Subject, it ; predicAte verb, is; attribute, saying.
Adjunct of the subject the explanatory clause, truth lies ln a well; adjuncts of attribute, an and ota. 1'hat, a conjunction connecting the principal and the dependent

It is said by some, that Columbus had a haughtiness of manner. It
has been conclusively proved, that the earth is not the center of the
universe. It has always been the earnest wish of parents, that their
children should be well educated. It makes a great difference to us
whether death is. a perpetual sleep, or the beginning of another and
better life. And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and
mour::ieth for Absalom. The question whether purity or mixture of
race is most conducive to national greatness, appears not to be fully
settled, It is a source of astonishment to all his friends, that he shoult!
have been guilty of so disgraceful an act. It was observed, that he derived no joy from the benefits which he diffused. It was in the spring
of the year, that Xerxes commenced his march to the Hellespont. It
was with the utmo.;t difficulty that the American union was formed.

..
\

\'

Vll.-Parenthetical Clauses.
Life,' says Seneca, 'is a voyage, in the progress of
hich, we are perpetually changing our scenes."'
EXAMPLE.-"'

A compound declarative sentence.

they arrive a
th ground.
d
Subject, life; predicate verb, i!f; nttribute, voya(Je,
Wben
f
d scattered on e
e virtuous an g Adjunct of vovage is the simple adjective clnuse, in the proaress of whiclL we are per.
fruit wbicb they oun d e endeavor also to becom also Re who
etually chanaing our scenes. The RUbject is we; predicate, ar~ changing; object,
ing to acquire lrnowle . ~ ~bere will your heart. be boa~ter. 'l'he globe r·en<f8. Adjuncts of predicate, perpetually, and, in the p1·ogre.Bs of whlch-a. complex
Wbere your tre~sure 1 , h e does not possess, is a
fraid to do bef~e dverbinl phr11Se: principal part, prouresa; adjunct, of which. Sava Seneca, is a simple
loudly of quaht1e~ that the earth. Wha~ we are a God. The plll!lf arenthetical cla.nse. Subject, Seneca; predicate verb, saus.

live:::~::

t~rn:db~~o:~e

on which we
rnore afraid to
geographe1:8who Ons.-Sentences of this form may be analyzeu by considering the
men, we should
urred is not ynent1on
. e and persevermg., arenthetical clause, the principal one, and the rest of the sentence a
in which tbis e~ent oc~be s~holar who is attent1v motion to the s
pendent clause. The mode indicated above is, however. preferable;
wrote at tbat tu~~ naturally look with str~:: e Re that lies a.bed.,.
, although the parenthetical clause is nnitt>d in construction with the
sure to excel.
f those we bave loved, rep
the day; he that gl!
her part of the sentence, it is not ne esd~ry to complete the sells~.
where the ashes ~
loses uhe chief pleasures o
..
a sunnner's lllorn1ng,

f

l!

134

SYNTAX.

ANALYSIS, PARSING, A

Study, I beseech you, to store your minds with useful kriowledge. ·
"Thirst for glory," says a great writer, "is often founded on ambition
and vanity." "Son of affliction," said Omar, ''who art thou and whM
is thy distrP.ss? " ''·Almet," s:i.id he, '' remember what thou ha.at eeen,
and let this memorial be written upon th:e tablet of thy heart." How:
dangerous soever idleness may be, are there not plea.~uree, it ma;y be
said, which attend it ? A man who cannot read , let us always remem·
ber, is a being not contemp!ated by the genius of the America.u conati·
tution.

ND CONSTRUCTION.

2. Simple declarative chm..,.
S. t1·eaaure . I > . (
Ad S
• • "' understood) ; .Att. truth .
•
· · the, on/v, laaunv.

E.1'.'.AMPLE 2• - "· If you stud
··
and prosperous in 1nanhood. '' y diligently in youth, you will be happy

Comp~u~~ de~larative sentence,

consisting of
. \ en mg.) You will be 11.app
.
2. (Subordinate.) You BtUd
II ana woaperoua in manhood .
1. Simple declarative clause
v ditigenttv tn vouth: Connectiv ./,.

s

Y.
.
e,
. uu; P. Will be; Att. (compound h
.
Ad. P. in manhood (a).
. ) appv ana proaperoua.
n. S~mple adverbial phra1:1e.
2. Sunple declarative clause
S. you; P. stuttv.
P
.
b. Simi:le ad verbi111 phrn..;.
. • dJl1gem111, 'n vouth (b ).

C01npound Sentences.
Ons. 1.-In analyzing compound sentences, the leading clauae should
be distinguished from the subo1·di11.ate clause. It must also be under•
Btood that the dependence of the latter ·upon the former li logirul., dif.
fering in this respect altogether from the relation of the principal an4
the dependent clause of a complex sentence, which is gmmmati~, the
latter being an adjunct, or used as one of t!ie principal paru, in the
1•rincipal clause.

wa:i

'·

Miscellaneous Sentences.

bo'

Compound dcclnrativc sentence, consisting of t'vo co-ordinate clauses, without a coo'U ective.
1. Tile only arnaranthinejlower on earth '8 vlrtue i
2. The only la::iting treasure (ls) truth.
1. Simple declarative clnu r:;e.
S. flow er; r. i..,· ; Att. virtue.
Ad. S. tile. only, amarantldne. 011 earth (a).
9.. Sim?le uclj ect i vc ~hr~t sc.

•

The clouds of sorrow gathered r
.
hatred roared about his dwellin ound his head; and the tempest of
farmer cut it down Happ·
~· The tree waa so crooked that th
l . d th
.
mess is more e
11 d
'
e
cm , . an some suppose. Them .
qua Y ivided among man.
propriety of its decision can hard! e:tmg
so respectable, that the
thee to eminence but l" .
y e quest10ned. Science
h
•
re 1g10n alone c
.d
may raise
w o founded Athens, is thou ht t an g111 e thee to felicity. Cecrops,
of sense ever took any . g
o have been an Egyptian
pams to app
.
· No man
used any tricks to display his own in~ar .wise; as no honest ma11 ever
tur~ to an answer : to answer and t;i;~ty. A reply is properly a reequ1valent expressions 0th
. epl!f are therefore not alway
than th
.
era sometunes ap
t
s
ey are, because we ourselve
. pear o us more wrong
s are not right in judging them.

oi:

EXAMPLE 1.-" The only amaranthine flower on earth is virtue, th:>
only lasting treasure, truth."

v.

Ad

Ons. 2.-Some clauses ar~ simply connected without logical
grammatical dependence. They may then be called co-ordinate
clauses.

In the following example• of analysis, for the purposo of abbreviation, and In order.a.
f urnish the pupil with a. rcacly method of clearly repre~enting, in written exe~ ~
parts of a sentence and their relations, the compound clauses or nun~r•, aro marke4,
by capitals; the simple clauses, by numeral3 j and th e phrasea, by small letterL Wbm .
these arc all writtC' n out in their ord er, the general character of the !eDtence will be ali
once exhibited. In these statements S. stands for the subject noun or pronoun without
its adjuncts ; P., for the predicate verb; 0., for the object; Att., for attribute; and.Ad.,
f or adjuncts.
It mu•t be kept in mind by the pupil that tho complete attb]eci consists of the 8llbjccl
noun or pronoun and all its adjuncts; nnd the complete prcdicat<', of the predicate verb
nnd all its adjunct~, incimling the object or attribute; u.nd thnt, in fact. there are
two pn.rt.s in e 'w·cry fientcncc, euch of these being separable into one primary part awl
odjuuct.

135

1.-" To learn . t
to something that is unkno~ .• proceed from something that ls known
EXAMPLE

?

Complex declarative sentence.
S. to learn; P. is; Att . to p1·oc
· Complex phrase.-Prin
t,
eed · ·· .... unknown (a)
. par to proue<J . Ad.
.
b C
to •omething Ill.at is unknown (c) •
JUncts,fromBometl"ng tluJl '•known (b)·
. omplex advP.rbial phrase p .
.
'
.rm. Part, aotnet!ting .
Ad if.wt i k
.
· . ~ s ·nown (1).
•
1. Simple adJective cln.use.
S. ihat ; P. is: Att. known.
c. Complex ndveriJinl phrase
.
.
Ad. ti.at la tenknow,;~~rin. part, «>melhlng.
2. Simple adjective clause.
.
a

I

r

137

SYNTAX.'

ANALYSIS, PARSING, AND CONSTRUCTION.

EXAMPLE 2. _" I was now so confident of a miraculous supP17 of
food that I neglected to walk out for my repast, whi~h, after ~e flm
day, I expected with an impatience which left me h~tle power of Mtending to any other object."

ways: 1. By dividing the sentence immediately into the principal and
dependent clauses, explaining their conn·ection, and then analyzing
them separately; and 2. By treating the sentence as a whole, pointing
out the subject, predicate, etc., and analyzing the dependent clause in
its proper place, as one of the principal parts, or an adjunct to either.
The former method is perhaps preferable for beginners, but for more
advanced students should give place to the latter, which is more logical
und easier for intricate sentences.

136

Compound declarative sentence.
.
l. I was . . ..... .fooil; A. I neglecled .•.....• ob}ecl; "6nnectlve, IAat.
I. Simple clause.

s.

I; P . was; Att. co11jldeni.

Ad. P. now; Ad. Att. ao, aµ

d

A,

..., a

•

mlre.CU:O..

.
.
'ood
6 upplv of fooa (a).
a. Complex adverbial phra•e.-Prin. part, supplv; Ad. a. mlraculoru, qfJ' •

Let tlte pupil analyze orally, or prepa1·e a written analyKis of tlte sentences in tlte following paragraphs, according to the preceding ezamples,
and parse eaclt word syntactically.

A. Compound member.
.
• . connectiv IDAtcA.
2. I neglecte<l . . .... . repaNt; B. which ........ object,
e,
2 Simple clause.
.
s. r; P . neyleoted; O. to walk out for my repaal (b).
"
b. Complex objeci:.ive phrase.-Prin. part, to walk; ~d. otit, /or tnv repa •

B Complex member.
~H•
'
s. I; P. eapected; o. which. Ad. P. after the jlrst da11, wUh a1& lm,,..-wilich left me .. . . . . . object (c).
c. Complex adverbial phraRc.-Prin . pa.rt, impatience:
Ad. an and which left me little power of cutendlng lo a1111 olMr olJ«I (3).
3. Simple a<ljectivc clnnse.
.
,,.., tlUl:ndln
s. w//.ich; P. left; O. power; Ad. p, (to) n'8; Ad. 0. liUle, ...,
f/

other object (d).
d. Complex adjective phrase.-Prin. p~rt, attending; Ad. to any other
e. Simple adverbial phrase.-Prin. })art, object: A.d. anv, other.

•

'° CIRI'
.

o~ (e).

3." Order is Heaven's firstlaw ; and this confessed,
Some are, and must be, greater than the rest,
More rich, more wise; but who infers from henc,~
That such are happier, shocks all common sP.nse.

EXAMPLE

Compound i::entencc ; eonshoting of two co-ordinate memhers.
A. Order .. . .... 1l'i~e; B. who . . . , .• •. sense; Con. but.
A. Componnd declarative member.
.
1. Order .... .. .. raw; C. this ... . .... wl•e; Con. and.
1. Simple declarntive clause.
s. order; p. hi ; Att. law ; Ad . Att. llenven•a, fl1'st.

C. Componnd d eclarative member.
2. Some a1·e, and must be, greriter, 11iore rich, more wise.
3. The rest (ai·e); Con. than; This (being) confessed, is au Independent phraee.
B. Complex declarative member.
S. Jfe (understood); P. slwck1: 0. seuae;
Ad. s. Who infer.• ........ happier (D.); Acl. 0. all, commun.
D. Complex ndj ective member.
s. who; l'. i11fe1's; O. that such are happier (1).
Ad. P. frorn hence.
4. Simple obiect clause.
s. such; P. are; Att. happier : Con. that.

OBs.-It will be perceived from the examples analyzed in this _and in
the foregoing exercises, that complex sentences may be analyzed 1ll two

1. It is an empty joy to appear better than you are, but a great
blessing to be what you ought to be.
2. Take coun~el of the oracle in thine own heart, for there is not a
more faithful monitor than that which speaks in secret there.
8. It is said that some thieves who once robbed a traveler, very
gravely charged him with dishonesty for concealing a part of his
money.
4. If men praise your efforts, suspect their judgment ; if they cen·
sure them, your own.
5. When the million applaud you, seriously ask yourself what harm
ycu !Jave done ; when they censure yori, what good.
6. The ignorant have often given credit to the wise for powers that
are permitted to none, merely because the wise have made a proper use
of those 'powers permitted to all.
7. We often pretend to fear what we really despise, but more often
to despise what we really fear.
8. Few men, that would cause respect and distance merely, can say
anything by which their end \Vill be so effecLuully answered as by
silence.
9. Disguise thyself as thou wilt, still, Slavery I still thou art a bitter
dr:.ught; and though thousands in all ages have been made to drink of
thee, thou art no Jess bitter on that account.
10. Knowledge is, indeed, power; but it is power to kill as well as
to make alive, as it is wielded by the madness of the heart, or by moral
principle.
11. His story shows how one lapse from duty may counterbalance
the merits of a thousand. services ; bow one moment of weakness may
mar the beauty of a wbolE> life of virtue; and how import•nt it is for
a m,,n, under all circumstances, to be true not merely to others, but to
himself.

ANALYSIS, PARSING, AND CONSTRUCTION••

SYNTAX.'

136

EXAMPLE 2.-" I was now so confident of a miraculous suppq,Ql ,
food that I neglected to walk out for my repast, whi~, after the flm
day, I expected with an impatience whi,ch left me h~tle power of~
tending to any other object."
Compound declarative sentence.
1 . I was,,.,.,, ,jooa; A. I neglecltd .•. , .•.. objllCI; ~nnective, IAat.,
1. Simple clause.
S, r; P. was ; Att, confident.

•

·
;,,.;
Ad. P. now; Ad. Att. ao, "?d q/ a mtr<.Cll "

wpplv of food (a).
_
Ood
a. Complex adverbial phra&e,-Prin, part, supplv; Ad. a. mtraculoru, q/f< •
A, Compound member.
,
, . oo~ectiv wl&lcA.
2, I neglected, , ... . . repa.,t; B. winch ... ,,,. ,objeci •
e,

2. Simple clause.
s. r; P. mglected; O. to walk out for my repaat (b).
b, Complex objective phrase.-Prin. part, to walk: ~d. o,.t,for my repad.
B Complex member.
.
'_
s. r; P. expected; O, which. Ad. P , after the jlrst day, 10"4 "" ~
which left me,,. , , , ,object (c).
c. Complex adverbial phrnnc.-Prin. part, impatience:
Ad. an and which left me litti- power of attending to a1111 olMr olJ«' (3).
3. Simple adjective clnnse.
.
n lo
S, which; P. left; O.power; A<l.P.(to)nUl; Ad. O. liU!d, q/aUendl D

other object ( d ),
d, Complex adjective phrase. - Prin. part, attending; Ad. 1-0 any
e. Simple adverbial phrase.-Prin. part, object; Ad. anu, other.

·

"'!"'

oilier~ (e).

3. " Order is Heaven's first ln.w ; and this confessed,
Some are, and must be, greater than the rest,
More rich , more wise ; but who infers from hence
»
That such are happier, shocks all common SP.nae.

EXAMPLE

Compound Rentencc; consii:iting of two co-ordinate members.
A. Order .. .•. .. wi .. e; B. who .•.• •.• . &ense; Con. btt.t.
A. Componnd declarative member.
1. Order .. .. .. . . law,· C. this ... .. . . . wise ; Con. and.
1. Simple declarative clause.
s. order; P. is; Att. law; Ad. Att. heaven's, .first.
C. Compound declarative member,
2. s 01 ne a:re. and m:ust be, greater, nwre rich, more wise.
3. The ,,est (al"e) ; Con. than; This (being) confessed, is an Independent pbrue.
B. Complex declarative member.
S. Jle (understood); P. shock.a ; 0. se111e ,'
Ad, S, Who infeJ",• . . . , . ,, .happier (D.); Ad. 0, all, cummun.

D. Complex adjective member.
s. who; P. iufe1"s; O. that rnch are happier (1).
Ad. P. from hence.
4. Simple obiect clause.
s. Buch; P. ctre; Att. happier,· Con. that.

OBs.-It will be perceived from the examples analyzed in this .an~ in
the foregoing exercises, that complez .9entences may be analyzed 111 wo

137

ways: 1. By dividing the sentence immediately into the principal and
dependent clauses, explaining their conn'ection, and then analyzing
them separately; and 2. By treating the sentence as a whole, pointing
ont the subject, predicate, etc., and analyzing the dependent clause in
its proper place, as one of the principal parts, or an adjunct to either.
The former method is perhaps preferable for beginners, but for more
advanced students should give place to the latter, which is more logical
und easier for intricate sentences.

Let tlte pupil analyze oraUy, or prepare a written analysis of tlte sentences in tlte following paragraplts, according to tlte preceding e:wmples,
and parse eaclt word syntactically.

1. It is an empty joy to appear better than you are, but a great
blessing to be what you ought to be.
2. Take counsel of the oracle in thine own heart, for there is not a
more faithful monitor than that which speal>s in secret there.
8. It is said that some thieves who once robbed a traveler, very
gravely charged him with dishonesty for concealing a part of his
money.
4. If men praise your efforts, suspect their judgment; if they censure them, your own.
5. When the million applaud you, seriously ask yourself what harm
you liave done; when they censure you, what good.
6. The ignorant have often given credit to the wise for powers that
are permitted to none, merely because the wise have made a proper use
of those-powers permitted to all,
7. We often pretend to fear what we really despise, but more often
to despise what we really fear.
8. Few men, that would cause respect and distance merely, can say
anything by which their end \Vil! be so effecLually answered as by
silence.
9. Disguise thyself os thou wilt, still, Slavery I still thou art a bitter
dr:. ught; and though thousands in all ages have been made to drink of
thee, thou art no leRs bitter on that account.
10. Knowledge is, indeed, power; but it is power to kill as well as
to make alive, as it is wielded by the madness of the heart, or by moral
principle.
11. His story shows how one lapse from duty may collnterbalauce
the merits of a thousand services ; how one moment of weakness may
mar the beauty of a whole life of virtue ; and how importnnt it is for
a m:>n, under all circumstances, to be true not merely to others, but to
him•elf.

'

i
i'[
•!

I

iJ[
1:

·1

11li

,,''/
ir

ii

.~
i

•
138

SYNTAX.

1 <> "My friends" said he, "I have seriously considered our::zi-a:·

and~~ur prospects/ and I find that ".'e ~av~ mistake~ our own

Let us therefore stop, while to stop is lil our power.
.
-•
. a t th e full extent .of his seve...
13 Were a man of pleasure to arrive
.

wish~s, he must immediately feel himself m;~~::i~~·to :~~ °=p=

8

flj

of despair to have no room to hope for nny
h--"
~-.... obiect
•
His following wish must then be, t o WI·sh that he ....... some
' • .u.,....

PART IV.

/

for his wishes.
k
t at her
.
by th e a I acrity which
bro and
e outhat she
14. It was easy to discover,
. leasin
departure that her presence had been long dlBp
f . tructioD.
h:i.d been ~eaching those who felt in themselves no wan o lll8
.

i1" ~

I

f'

lli. Lament who will, in fruitleBll tears,
The speed wiih which our momen~ fly;
I sigh not over vanished years,
But watch the years that hasten by.

•

.I

PROSODY.
Prosody treats of punctuation, utterance, figures, and
\-ersifieation.
1.-PUNCTUATION.

16. Oh ! there is never sorrow of heart
That shall lack a timely end,
If but to God we turn, and ask
Of Him to be our friend !

17. Labor with what zeal we will,
Something still remains undone ;
Something uncompleted still
Waits the rising of the sun.

18. God blesses still the generous thought,
And still t he fitting word h.e speeds i
And Truth, at his requiring taught,
He quickens unto deeds.

19. The Spring-she is a blessed thing:
She is mother of the flowers;
She is the mate of buds and bees,
The partner of their revelries,
Our star of hope through wintry hours.

20. Tell me not in mournful

num~ers,

Life is but an empty dream .
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things aro not what they seem.

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 Interrogation [?], the
Note of Exclamation [!], and the Marks of ParenthesisCurves ( ) and Brackets [ ] .

j ;~

Rules for Punctuation.
Comma.
The comma should he used to separ ate :
1. The simple clauses of a compound sentence, when they are not
divided by a comma; as, ''Art is long, and time is fleeting. "
2. Dependent clauses when not used as modifications; as, " Columbus, who discovered America, was a great navigator."
3. Words and phrases in apposition ; as, " He is dead, the beautiful
youth."-" 0 my son Absalom, my son, my aon Absalom ! "
4. Phrases placed out of their natura l order; as, " Iu everything
pertaining to language, be was proficient"

'I

u
j,

,J

' I

---

...

-

PUNCTU.A.TION.

PlWSODY.

140

"The sun rising, darkness flees away."
6. A series of three or more words used in the same constrilction;
as, "William, John , and Chai I es nre good scholars."-" The horsea
turned, looked, and ran away."
7. Two connected words emphatically distinguished; a.s, "Charles, ·
and not his brother , is in fault."
8. The subj ect when long and involved; ns, "He who strives to injure othen, will never enjoy pence of mind."
!l. Parenthetical expressions; as, "Cultivate, I beg of you, purity,
sincerity, and humility. " - " A contract , to be valid, must be properly

mo~

semicolon.
Tlie se micolon sh ould be used t o separate :
1. Simple clauses but slightly connected; as, "We love liberty; we
respect th e rights of men; we glory in independence."
2. Compound or complex clauses; as,
' ' There is a day of sunny reRt
For every da1·k and troubled night;
And grief may bide an evening guest ,
But joy shall co me with early light."-Bryant.

Colon.
The colon should be used to se parat e :
1. The members of a compound sentenc~, when they are divided by
semicolons ; as,
•' H e sunk to r epose wher e the r ed heri.ths are blended ;
One dream of his childhood his fancy passed o'er :
But bis battles are fought, and his march it is ended ;
'!'be sound of th e bagpipe shall wake him no roore."-cGiU.eapie.

2. Quot ations, example•, and enumerations; as, "Always strive
to foll ow th e golden rul e : ' Do unto others as you would have others
do unto you .'" "There are three card inal virtues: faith; hope, and
charity."
OBs.-When n. quotation is sh or t aud simple, the commn rosy be
used for the c0lon.

141

Period.

5. Independent words and phrases ; ns, "John, bring me a book.;,.....,

attested."
10. Words separat ed in construction by the omission of one or
-~ words ; as, " Labor brings pleasure ; idleness, po.in."

-

The period should be used :
1. At the end of every sentence.
oa
.2·t .A.fter an abbreviated word .' -,
"Jno. A. Smith."-" Gi'bbon's
IIis ·, vol. ii., p. 155."
Dash.
The dash is used :
1. To d enote an unexpected or abrupt
-but I scorn to boast."
pause i as, "Was there ever

!'

I

2. Before a word repeated for emphasis. as "
fought so many battles b
.' '
Shall I-I who hnve
' e compared to this stripling?"
3 . To separate parenthetical expressions . a " .
they only can understand who h
k
• s,
There are timesare voiceless."
ave nown them-when our emotions

4· Before an enumeration · as " Sh h
, S e ad studied the four great
roasters of English poetry-Ch'
aucer, penoer, Sho.kspea.re, and Milton."
Note of Interrogation.
.The note of interrogation is used
fnendship's pleasures to be sold? "
to denote a question ; as, " Are

Note of Exclamation.
The note of exclamation is used to d n
emotion ; as " 0 ' let me 118
' te t th
e ote some strong or sudden
'
·
n o e words of life I "
Curves.
'fhe
curves,
or
marks
of
parenthe
. are used to enclose parentheti·
cal expressions . as
sis,
, '
" To others do (the law is not severe)
. What to thyself thou wishest to be done."
I•

Brackets.
The brackets. or crotchets genera.II
l
planation · as "He [the
'k ]
Y enc ose some correction or ex'
'
spea er was of a different opinion.,,
.
Other

M~rks.

There
are also oth er mark s that are occasionally used for
.·
va.nous purposes, as follow :t
'th
1. [']Th e A postroplte usually d
noun, or the elision of one or mor:~~tetsers
e1 ofera the
possessive
case of
word
· ns " Th
· 1,a
regar d f or h er parent8' advice"' 'g
. '
'
e gir a
even,
tli.rough.
' - an, lov' d ' e' en, tltro';
for began, loved,

142

Lt ii§ PW_ !§~

PROSODY.
UTTEJUNCE.

143

2. ( - ] The Hyphen connect.~ the parts of compound worda; as, eoerliving, four-footed. Placed at the end of a line, it shows that one or ·
more syllable8 of a word are carried forward to the next line.

17. [* * *] The .A8teri8m or Three St
.
placed before a long or uen' era!
te ara, a sign not very often used is
no
to mark 1· t
'
·
·
"
mg it a particular reference.
'
as a note, without giv-

3. ( ·" ] The Diawesis, placed over the latter of two vowels, shows
that they are not a diphthong; as, aerial.

1S. [<;] The Cedilla is a mark wh' h .
to show that its sound, in the .
ic is ~ometimes set nnder a letter
c sounds as a.
given word, is soft; asfat;ade, where the

4. ( /] The Acute Accent marks the syllable which requires the prin·
cipal slress in pronunciation; as, iqual, equal'ity. It is sometimes UBed
in opposition to the grave accent, to distinguish a close or short vowel,
or to denote the rising inflection of the voice.
5. [ \] The Gmve A ccent is used, in opposition to the acute, to distinguish an open or long vowel, or to denote the falling infieetion of
the voice.

6. [ ' ] The Gii·cwnjlex generally denotes either the broad. sonnd of
a, or an unusual and long sound given to some other vowel; as, in
air, care, ere, there, heir' u1·n, bii·rn.
7. ( - ] The Breve is used to denote either a close vowel or a syllable
of short quantity; as, ru>Jen, to devour.

8. [ - ] The J.[acron is used to denote either an open vowel or a syllable of long quantity; as, raven, a bird.
!l. ( - -] or ( ****] The Ellipsii denotes the omission of some letters
or words ; as, I{-g for king.

10. ( , ] The Curet shows where to insert w ords t:iat have been acci·
d entally omitted.

11. [ f] The Brace serves to unite a triplet, or to connect several
t erms with so mething to which they are all r elated. .
12. ( § ] The Section marks the small er divisions of a book or chapter;
and, with the h elp of numbers, serves to abridge references.
13. ['I]] The Paragraph (chiefly used in the Bible) denotes the com·
mencement 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 forward or backward.

14. (" ") The Qu.otatwn P oints distinguish words that are taken
from some other author or spe11ker. A quotation within a quotation is
marked with single points ; which, when both are employed, are placed
within the others.
15.

[~]

11.-UTTERANCE.

Utterance is the art of vocal ex
.
the principles of pronunciation and ef:~~;:~::

It mclndes

_

Pronunciation.
Pronunciation, as distin uished .
the utterance of words tal
g
fiom elocution, is
p
rnn separately
ronunciation requires a lmowled
.
.
of the letters in all tl . .
. .ge of the Just powers
ieu combmat10ns and f h
an d seat of the accent.
'
o t e force

1. The Just Powers of the le
given to them by the best
k
tters are those sounds which are
spea ers and r eaders.
•
9
Accent Is the peculiar stress which
.
syllable of a word, whereby that
w~ In~ ~pon some particular
above t he rest; as g7·am'-m
sylla~le. is d1stlllguished from and
ar, gram-ma ·1-i-an
Every word of more th
.
cented.
an one syllable, has one of its syilables acN.

When the word is long, for the sake of h
often give a secondary, or less forcibl
armony or distinctness, we
to the last of tem'-per-a-ture'
d e accent, to another syllable; as
tion.
' an to the second of in·dem'-niji-ca'~
, A full and open pronunciation of th
ticulation of the consonants a fo ' bl e long vowel sounds, a clear ardistinct utterance of th11
'
rm e and well-placed accent and a
speaker.
unaccented syllables, distinguish the ;legant

,,•

,
I

The I ndex, or Hand, poiots out something remarkable.

16. [*] The A ste1·isk, [f] the Obelisk, rt] the Double Dagger, and (!]
the Parallels, refer to marginal notes. The letters of the alphabet, or
the numerical figur es, may be u sed for the same purpose.

Elocutfon.
. Elocution is the utterance of
d
mto sentences and that f . d" wor s that are arranged
'
01 m
iscourse.

I; I

u~
11:
•j.1

145

COMPOSITION.
PROSODY.

144:
Elocution requires a knowledge, and right application,
of emphasis, pauses, inflections, and tones.
1. Emphasis is the peculiar stress which we lay upon some particular word or words in a sentence, whicn are thereby distinguished
from the rest as being especially significant.
2. Pauses are cessations in utterance, which serve equally to relieve the speaker, and to render language intelligible and pleasing. The
duration of the prtuses should be proportionate to the degree of connection 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, key, or pitch,
into another. The passage of the voice from a lower to a higher or
shriller note, is called the rising injlettion ;-the passage of the Nice
from a higher to a lower or graver note, is Called the falling injlecti.<m.
These two opposite inflections may be heard in the follow_ing examples : 1. The rising, " Do you mean to go? "--2. '1.'he ftUli·ng,
" When will you go? "
Ous.-Questions that moy be answered by yes or no, require the rising inflection: those that demand any other answer, must be uttered
with the falling inflection.
4. Tones are those modulations of the voice, which depend upon
the feelings of the speaker. They are what Sheridan denominates
''the language of emotions." And it is of the utmost importance that
they be natural, unaffected, and rightly adapted to the subject and to
the occasion ; for upon them, in a great measure, depends all that is
pleasin;5 or interesting in elocution.

111.-FICURES.

A figure is an intentional deviation from the ordinary
spelling, formation, construction, or application of words.
There are, therefore, figures of Orthography, of Etymology, of Syntax, and of Rhetoric.
Ons.-When figures are judiciously employed, they both strengthen
and adorn expression. They occur more frequently in poetry than in
prose, several of them being merely poetic licenses.
(For full treatment of this port of Prosody, see "The Institutes of English Oranunar,tt
by the same author.}

, I
I

·

IV.-VERSIFICATION

Versification is the art of a
.•
of correspondent length
rrangmg words into lines
, so as to prod
l
regular
aiternation of svllables
dillenng
.·
..
J
rn quantity.by the

uc~ iarmo~y

[See

The Institutes of English Granunnr. ,,]

,,,

I

COMPOSITION.
The pupil is now sufficient! advanc
compositions the various . y . 1
ed to apply to his own
their full correction Th pfrrnll c1~ es and rules requisite for
·
e o owmg 8
t·
ugges ions are designed
to afford a guide t th t
.
d
o e eacher and pupil f
gra ed exercises in cont'
t'
f
s or a senes of
lessons akeady int mua idon o the practical language
ersperse through this work.

Preliminary Exercises.
1. Read a story, biographical sketch . . .
.
.
and require the p ·z t
. .
' oi incident in history .
upi s o reproduce it in th ·
'
ar as possible.
eir own language, a8

fi

T~is exercise should be continued suffi .
pupils with the narrative st le f
c1'.'~tly long to familiarize the
avoid the awkward e
o compos1t10n, and to teach them to
xpressrnns and rep t"t"
untrained in th" b
h
e 1 ions customary with th
is rauc of compo ·r
Th
·
ose
narratives should at first b
1
s1 ion.
e simplest and easiest
e se ected.

!

I

2. Write out, or otherwise give to th
.
t
e pupils, a full account of
any particular inci,dent
.
0 r even and requ · . ti
condense it, omitting all but tiie 'most
. important
.
u e iem
to abridge or
circumst
3 Wi 't
,__,, . ,r
ances.
·
ri e a un0 account of
· "d
the pupils to expand it dd ~ny inci ~nt or event, and require
may conceive could ha ' a . ing any circumstances which they
ve existed or occur d · .
.
the facts stated.
re in connection with
Both these exerdses of condensa .
.
tinned for some time as th
1 . twn and expansion should be con·
1.
·
'
ey cu tivate spe · 1 f
most important to be add
d .
. .
Cla acu ties of the mind
d
resse m trammg th
il .
,
an expression of thought.
e pup m the production
7

"

.
PIWSOD1·.

e:cpresa

4. Select a piece of voetry, and require the pupils to
the same thoughts in prose, iising a pla1:ner and less fi9uratiue.

style.

Be careful to select only such pieces as are fully adapted t.o th"

pupils' comprehension.

5. Require the piipils to write an analysis of any piece of
vrose or poetry, gi ving the topics treated, with the arguments
and illustrations employed, etc.
Begin with easy pieces, and advance gradually to more difficult ones.
Do not give argumentative pieces at first. 'fhis exercise, when skillfully employed, is a Jnost excellent one, as it will go fru: to impart to
the mind habits of

re~ular, logical thought.

LETTER-WRITING • .

This should be do
.
147
which afterw
ne at first so as to afford ab .
trations ar ard may be expanded by or filled .rief .sketch or outline,
, gument~ etc
d
'
in by sugg t·
.
cf thi k. d .
'
., un er each to ·
'
es rng illns·
s lll will be n d d
pie. As consid
bl
in full only an oc . ee e ' the pupils should be r
. edra e exercise
in a b
cas10nal composition bu
equue to write out
: d pra.,md by
ohould
ooplod
ex exercise, which is
cornpos1t10ns on selected th
em es

the ,.,;;'~

the pu~il, ,'.,!ht~::''':"

be

9 R
·
.
. equire the pupils to
.
selected for them or suggest::;i~ey~~rn?ositions. on su/:dects either
.
eir own rninds

~

1 is preferable, at this sta e
.
subJects, as a general thin ~ , that the pupils should select
.
Buggestions of th
.
g, m order to give full
theu own
genius for com e.n:imd, and to the unfoldin of scope to the original
the train"
h position, which will often b f g
any special talent or
mg ere outlined, if it be f "thf e ound to show itself under
ai ully persevered in.

6. R equire the p1ipils to write out criticisms of selected pieces,
making obseri;ations on the thoughts, their arrangement and relation to the siibj ect, as well as the modes of expression employed.
These exercises will prepare the mind for writing compositions on
miscellaneous pubj ects. This is a task which should never be imposed
without the preliminary exercises. :Many pupils are permanently disgusted with composition by being required to perform this impossible

LETTER-WRITING
the ab ove ex ·
.
b fl Ininstructed
· connectioninwith
letter•w
•t·· erc1ses, the pupils should
proper forms, us shown bel ri mg • Th.is will
· include the
ow.

task.

Orig·i nai Coniposition.
7. A ssign a subject, or theme, and suggest the mode of treaiment, writing down for the pupils the topics which should be
considered and discussed, with the arrangement to be employed.
This exercise should b e pursued until the pupils' minds have become
accustomed to the discovery of topics. It is designed to afford training in what Is called, in rhetoric, [nvent·ion.
During the exercise, the teachers should require the pupils to sug-

.
Heading.
e heading consists of th
the street 1and. number) from ewhich
namethe
of 1the
date_.
ttep1.ace (sometimes
. ' me udmg month d
e r is sent, and th
written a line or two fro:n
and year. This should b:
ctommenced so that it may e edtop of the page, and should be
a the rio-ht
n near the maro-in
o · Thus :.,,- of the sh eet
Th

t~y,

New y ork, May 10, 1882.

gest the topics, before deciding himself what is proper.

8. Reverse the above exercise ; that is, select an appropriate
subject, and reqiiire the pupils to discover the topics which sh01dd
be treated under it, and to write, by properly arranging them, an
analysis of the mode of treatment.

Or, when the street is
. mentioned
.
:56 Lafayette Place
New York, May 10, 1~82.

PROSODY.

148

Address.
. f
l letters follow on the next
The address should, m orma
ll'. rttle to the right
line, near the left side of the page, usua J a l
of the body of the letter. Thus :- ,

Mr. Thomas Ii Brown,
Springfield, Ill.
Sir,
Or, in less formal letters:Jlfr. William A. Thompson,

Dear Sfr,
Or, us implying greater intimacy :-

Mr. John B. Smith,
llfy dear Sir,
.
y the following may be
·where the address is to a compan '
.
used:llfessrs. William Wood &; Co.,

New York.
Gentlemen,
be written below
In less formal lette~·s, the addr~~e ~~J of the letter.
and at the left of the signature, at
. d accordinCY to cirOther forms of address will be requll'e
d d the terms
.
.th the persons addresse an
cumstances, varymg wi
of intimacy that exist. Thus :M. D . · Dr John Port/ff;
A B. Palmer, Esq.; John Porter, . , ., R.ev. Mr. Davis;
·
.
L D . R . II. J. Davis, or
B. O. Baldwin, L · ., ev. ·
Noah Porter, D.D., LL.D.; etc.

LETTER-WRITING.

149

When ladies are addressed, the following are customary :Miss Brown ; Miss Kate Field ; Mrs. George Burns ; Mrs.

General Grant ; etc. ·
These may be followed by :- Sir, Dear Sir, 1J1y dear Sir, Sirs, Gentlemen ; Madam, Dear
!l'Iadam, llfy dear Madam, Ladies; Dear Mr. Hart, My dear ltfr.
Smith; Dear Friend, My dear Friend, etc.
The title Hon. is applied to persons holding high governmental positions ; His Excellency is applied to the President
of the United States and to State Governors.

Body.
Tbe body of the letter should be commenced on the line
next below the address, and a little to the right of it. The
style will vary with the character of the letter. Business letters should be formal, brief, and to the point. Friendly correspondence requires an easy, familiar style, for the acquisition of which the study of good models will be very useful.
A few specimens for the opening are here given : -

Yours of the 5th inst. is just received, etc.
Your favor of the 3d inst. is received, etc.
Your esteemedfavor of the 10th inst. is at hand, etc.
I am in receipt of yours, etc.
Yours of the 20th ult. has remained unanswered until now,
etc.

Closing.
The forms of closing, followed by the signature, are various.
A few are here given :

Respectfidly yours ; Ve1·y re~pecifully yours; Truly yours ;
Yours truly; Very truly yours ; Your obedient servant; .Yow·
obedient humble servant; Yours cordially; Faithf1llly yours;
Yours affectionately; Ever affectionately yours; As ever, your
friend; etc.

150

PROSODY.

151

LETTER· WRITING.

Supe1•scription.
Write the name about midway between the top and bottom
of the envelope ; under this write the address, commencing
each line a little farther to the right than that above it.
Great care should be taken to make the address as legible as
possible.

L
cf@u. ~ ~- ©"1ande14,

~~a:
§de lfio"/

Affix the postage-stamp to the right-hand corner at the top
of the envelope.

c!P"a.
The following are examples :-

L
oY~-t. (!?)/'d/i"a#t6

~a rOz~nc7 d

&haUtn,

o7 ({]a.a/ cfYau1/een/h efltee~

~ ~a4-n.e,?(
rOzecu-tfe~e <fi/za?ntfe1,

d~«' ~Mh.

L
ri({jen1y ~'fftti~ rJ.i7.,

9u;fa/o,

d. <?JI.

~an. ~ r§! <:Ji"dUte-t, ~- ~,
~uae
~~,te.:ien/a/ffiect,

7

@Yaah~n,
.@!. @.

EXAMPLES OF FALSE SYNTAX.

15;3

He read only the book, not the notice of it. The ship is expected to
sail soon. Not every pupil can read well; or, It is not every pupil that
can read well. He went directly to the place. The two ladies were
dressed nearly alike. Be not dishonest, nor take advantage of any
one. He was able to pay the debt but in part.
IV.

UNDER RULE

APPENDIX.

She wastes her time in reading novels. He could not have written
the letter. To learn anything well requires application. I saw him do
it myself. By studying faithfully we acquire knowledge. John could
not have gone to school. Charles began well, but ended badly. While
crossing the street, we saw the lady. By reading good books he im·
proved his mind. William neglected to go on the errand. To relieve
the distressed should be a pleasure. I intended to return the book. I
never desired to have such a friend.

A KEY
TO THE

UNDER RULE

EXAMPLES OF FALSE SYNTAX.
UNDER RULE

I.

I have bought an hour-gla~s. He hi;;s sold .a horse. ~illia:: !shf:
honest boy. They have formed a ui;i10n. Richard h.as oug
· me a. ewer of water. Will you eat an omon? It was an
~o::itu~r~!ctice. Mr. s. i.s . a. haughty m:m. This is the work of an
historian. That was a hum1hat10n.
.
.
d
od
n
I hava a black and white horse. Mr. H. is a wlBe an go
ma ·
Xeno h;n was a hero and sa"e. All esteemed the patriot an.d general,
Washlngton The poet and the painter must be men~ gemu~h h" f
H
·med kin" She received the title of due ess.
. e c ie
ma"~S~~~~en~s styled 0 governor. The teacher receives sometimes tho
na~e of master.
UNDER RUI,E

I do not like this sort of people.

11.

Charles is brighter

tha~ any ~r~~=

other pup ilst. TheseD~h:~t ~~~~ ':~reEl~~~{~.m~f~~ep~~~ \:~~ twenty
those boo1rs o me.
f d of each other
feet long. John and his sister M~ry were ver:l'. on
d
Wil~
·18
r bad writer Mr J 1s au exceedmgly ba man.
0
~~~r i s ,~;r~ yindustrious ·than ~ny of his school~~tes. t ~~ry ~i~~~s:

~1~ur P~l~\~ ~~~u~ff~~~;~~~ w:f;~~'t'n ;h~~a:~~e ~ho:: th;11e.pic~ures ~

thy. rettiest. but none of them pleases me. Fishes of this kmd a
ha~lto catch'. They are the liveliest creaturns you ever sa~;ve~ m;;;
handsome dress you never saw. What a ternbl_e cold !ou s I ~m.
to get well as quickly as you can. Be careful like me, or, a
UNDER RULE

UNDER Rur,E

not. Why do you say Inlothing?
Tell m e whether ·you will dofi it or Th
· d blew keen
· e came
This piece of work looks very ne.
r ehwdn b t very littl~ Nothing
1 to do mischief He has accomp is e
u
i
t d
~~:ever justify an ,;_ntruth. The bir~ flies ve~y st~ifttly.The
dis~
anymore. Neither he n~anyloneedset~:nboik· ~~did not tear it.
charged only hrn duty.
e on y rea
'

c:i::

VI.

I know they are entirely mistaken. She and I are going to take a
walk. She and I went to school together. You and we are very fortunate. They who do. right shall be rewarded. That is the boy who
we think did the mischief. You know as well as I what was done. Who
opened the door? I. My brother is older than I. Who do you sup·
pose did it ? Are not thou and he related ?
UNDER RULE

VII.

I have heard from my cousin, her that was here last week. I saw
yonr friend, him that I met with yon. Only my sister was there, sbe
that you saw yesterday. I went with John and William, them who
were sent on an errand. The boys were not to blame, th~t is, they
who went with me. I saw at Smith's your sister Mary's photograph.
UNDER RULE

III.

V.

For whom was this meant? 'fhey all perished o.f thirst. I don't see
anything in this. The cat jumped upon the table. The child was six·
years old; or, of age. With how much did his father send him to
town? He lives in Mulberry Street, at No. 15. He asked the pupil a
question. They plunged into the river. He rode several miles on
horseback, driving a herd of oxen. I have no occasion for his services.
Mr. S. divided his property among his four sons. 'l'he lamb followed
its mother. He plunged into .the river, and swam across it. In which
of these books can I find that passage ? He put into his wagon a basket
of apples, without a cover. That remark is not worthy of your notice.
He quarreled with all hie friends, and disgusted them. Always strive
to profit by good advice.

VIII.

You were kindly received. Appearances are often deceptive. Thou
seest the difficulties in which I am placed. What do all my exertions
avail? He doesn't know what it is. A soft answer turneth away
wrath. Circumstances alter cases. He dares not do as he threatens.
The correctness of these rules is doubtful. Six months' interest is due.
There were many reasons for taking that course. '

154

APPENDIX.

EXAMPLES OF FALSE SYNTAX.

IX.

UNDER RULE

A 11 t 0 f fifty vernels was seen approaching. A large pa!t of_ the
adjourned?
army ee
were d rowne d. Has· the Board of Commissioners
f ,
t t·
The
· t f the Senate and House o 1.• epresen a ives.
considered the matter. The peop.le wer_e
1 d· The public are respectfully informed. The entire regld 1
t"fi
the enemy The audience were much pleased.
u Y no e · . f
ment are runmng rom
·
Th ·
h
b e impaneled
A large crowd of people were present.
e Jury ash e n
. h •
but have not agreed. A pair consists of two. _The appy pair ave
gone to Boston. One-half of my oranges are spoiled.

g~~~~~~e~o~s~~es ~arefully

UNDER RULE

X.

Industry and frugality lead to wealth. Wealth, ho~o~j a~d h ~Pt·
ess forsake the iudolent. lily flesh and my heart ru •
na
is
n rks there are sprightliness and vigor. My love and esteem toward
~o
·
altered James and also his brother, has left school.
\ ee remain un
"u a es his mind Every man, every woman, and
on. That brilliant
teacher
ev: Jied
No
0 do good and to shun evil always ~mng_ happ1;iess.
·mother no child was there to soothe his pam. Virtue, and
~~~t~en:ione, is ~ble to satisfy the heart. Every tree and every shrub
now puts forth its buds.

1

Stu~y,c~~~ n~!s~~£:.V'!.s 1o~kiug
./!
h~f

UNDER RULE

~cholar ~d

XI.

. nee oc neglio-ence h1s caused this mistake. Eit~er ability dor
gnora
f;0 r happiness or misery mamly depen s
inclination 1was ~a~h~~gJ ohnu or his brother has done this. Neither
upon ourse ~~shes ~ere the cause of his discontent. Neither~ nor my
fpovbert;i: no~! ~ 0 do it Neither John nor I was to blame. Neither the
•
at er is a_ e
h re Either he or I am mistaken; or,
m_anh nohr h:s so_ntsakh:;e o~e~~m e Either I or she is entitled to the prize j
E
it E"
er h e 1sI mis
,
.
·
N e1"th e r art thou
am entitled
to the· prize,
or s h e iH.
. to
or, it er 1 I To have brilliant talents, or to amass great riches,
very proud. Vanity,
leads
many to ruin. No pains nor cost was spare m er e
•
I

~e~~ee;s ~~8~ ~e~sons

a;f?it~n, o~:~:~~~ity

UNDER RULE

155

him be who he may. It was I that wrote the letter. Who do they say
that I am ? Whom do they .t hink him to be ? It is not he that you
thought it was.
UNDER RULE XIV.

Every one must judge of his own feelings. Each of us had as much
11.11 he desired. Let every one of you attend to his own business. Those
who are ready may come forward. I have done everything that you
ordered. It waR he that spoke. John committed the same mistake
that he had made before. The lion which seemed so fierce was brought
from Africa. This is the worst fault that he could have committed. I,
who am you father, should be obeyed. For advice come to me, who
am your friend. He has learned much from the people and customs
that he has observed. Alexander was the greatest conqueror that the
world ever saw. He that can take care of himself, requires no assistance. They who are idle and careless should have no aid from others.
Who that iR not blind could fail to see this ? His intlueace was such as
is rarely seen.
UNDER RULE

XV.

The people will not relinquish their rights. The party disagreed in their
views. The company has expelled two of its members. The committee
has made its report. The jury will be confined until they agree on a
verdict. The council were unanimous in their opinions. Where will
the society hold its meetings? The court. in its wisdom, has decided
otherwise. The army continued its retreat. The public will not give
up their prejudices. The new board of directors has elected its officers.
The parliament will take up the matter at its next session. The audience showed their approbation by applause.
UNDER RuLE

XVI.

Truth and honesty cannot fail of their rewarJ . Cherish love and
unity: they are the life of society. You and your playmates should
learn your lessons. He and I respect our teacher. James, and also his
brother, has recited his lessons. Sarah, and not Charlotte, has lost her
book. Every plant, every flower, and every insect shows the wisdom
of its Creator. You, your brother, and I must attend to our work.

XII.

he not waste his time, and neglect his h:esons? He_ was ele~t~d
oes
h
ould not serve The pupil has been idle, an
e
e ;_
as told to ·make haste, and he should have
to. the o~ce, but
0
will not lmJ?r ".e. . e _w
. " been told to make haste, he should
been there m tu~e '.or, Havm.,, sick and he could not do it; or,
ha~e be_e~ tter~~~l~~~t d~eit~\ a~illia:U can learn his l~sson, but he
would neither go in themselves,
suffer others to
enter. I s h a 11 f'ai"l ' and hence I must not undertake it.
D

e~n~o~'.c Th~y

n~r

UNDll:R RULT!: XIII.

We did not know that it was he. It could not have been she. It
i· s not I that he is angry with. They believed it to be me. ~f I had
been he, I should have done th e same. I understood it to be him. Let

UNDER RULE

XVII.

Can justice or truth change its nature? One or the other must relinquish his claim. John or William will favor us with his company.
Neither the watch nor the chain was ever restored to its owner.
Neither the lion nor the tiger will bow his neck to the yoke. Have
you seen my ox or my cow? It has [or, both have] strayed from the
pasture. Neither the girl nor the boy seemed to know his lessons; or,
Neither did the girl know her lessons, nor the boy his.
UNDER RULE

XVIII.

John and William's father chided them for their conduct; or, The
father of John and William chided them, etc. Adam was Cain and
Abel's father ; or, the father of Cain and Abel. I hav11 seen neither

156

APPENDIX.

William's nor Charles's book. The store of Smith & Company is closed.
They paid a visit to the palace of the Queen of England. The death
of Edward the Second was a shocking one. The reign of Louis XIV.
was very bri liant. Did yon ever read the wonderful adventures of
Jack the Giant Killer ? Brown's and Jones's houses will be occupied by
the respective owners. The sayings of Socrates are recorded in the
works of Plato aud Xenophon. Horace's poems show great geuiUB,.
Queen Elizabeth mour::ied g1eatly on account of the death of Essex.

XIX.

UNDER RULE

Her I shall more readily forgive . Thee only have I chosen. Whom
shall we send on this erraud ? My father allowed my brother and me
to accompany him. Him that is idle and mischievous reprove sharply.
Whom should I meet but my old friend ? Whom do you think him to
be? Me, and me only, must you charge with the offense. You who
do wrong the t eacher will punish. Tell me whom you mean. Let you
and me avoid such company. He accosts whomsoever he meets.
UNDE R RULE

XX.

Let that remain a secret between you and me. I lent the book to
some one, I know not whom. To whom did you give the message? It
rests with thee and me to decide the matter. As to you and him, the
case is very different. Except him and me, no one s:i.w it.
UNDEU RULE XX!I.

Did you not see him take the article? Please to excuse my son's abEence. I will try to do it for you . They need not call upon her. I
haYe heard him mentfon the subject. They certainly heard the rule
announced. Can I not make this matter understood by you? Bid the
boys come in. They have been bidden to come in already. Let no
rash promises be made. I dare say, he has not gone home yet.
UNDER RULE

XXIII.

He will not be pardoned, unless he repent. I shall walk ont in the
afternoon, unless it rain. Let him take heed lest he fall. If thou cast
me off, I shall be helpless. I believed, whatever were the issue, all
would be well. If he were an impostor, he must have been detected.
If he was accused of theft, he was not convicted. Though he is deplived of his fortune, he is not unhappy.
·
UNDEU RULE

XXIV.

He having ended his discourse, the as2embly dispersed. I being
without experience, they deceived me. They refusing to comply, I
withdrew. The child is lost; and I, whither shall I go? Thou being
present, he would not tell what he knew . Arise, 0 thou that sleepest !
0 wretched w e ! shut from the light of hope! Thou, too, Brutus, my:
son ! He having absented himself, they could not proceed,

