::B 0 "\VD EN'S

COMMON-SCHOOL

,;-

ENGLISH GRAMMAR
AN

' ELEMENTARY TREATISE
ON THE

.PRINCIPLES OF THE ENGLISH L ANGUAGE ;

E1

,/

RICHARD H. BOWDEN.

CHICAGO:
CHARLES K FELTON, PUBLISHER.
11l95.

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CONTENTS.

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Page
AUTHOR'S PREFACE,
PUBLISHER'S PREFACE,
IN'l'RODUCTION,
0RTHoGRAPHY,

Copyrighted, 1895,

By Chari.es E. Felton, Chicag<J.

Vowels and Consonants,
Orthographic Rules, .
ETYMOLOGY,

•

.

.

.

The Nine P arts of Speech,
Inflection ; general definition-The various kinds of Inflection, . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
The Article; general definition-Definite and Indefinite,
Distinction in the use of a asd an, . . ,
The Noun; general d e fi.nition~Common and Proper
Nouns,
Gender, .
Irregular Inflection by Gender,
Common Gender-Neuter Gender,
Number,
. . . . .
Irregular Inflection by Number,
Case, . .
. . . .
The formation of the Possessive Case,
Paradigms of the Declension of Nouns,
The Adjective ; general definition,
The Degrees of Comparison-Formation of the Comparative and Superlative Degrees, . . . .
Particles of Comparison-The Comparison of Trisyllables, etc., . . . . . . . . . . . .

vii
xii
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CONTENTS.

CONTENTS.

Pa ge--

Ascenarng n,rta Descending Comparison,
ll'l'egular Inflection by Comparison,
The Ab;;olute Superlative, .
The Pl'onoun: geneml detinition-Classes of Pl'onouns,
Personal Pronoun - Explanation of the term person,.
D eclension of the ?ersor:.al Pronoun, .
Rebtive Pt·onouns; their Declension-The Antecedent,
Chal'acter and use of the Relative Pl'onoun s,
Adjective Pronouns; Possessive, fodefinite , Distributive,
and Demonstrative-Distinction in the use of t.hy
and thin e,
Compound Pl'onouns, .
The Verb; general definition-Classification of the Verb,
The distinctive principle of Active and Neuter Verbs,
Inflection of the Verb,
Voice,
l:lfood,
Tense,
Number and P erson,
Auxiliary Vel'bs,
Paradigms of the Conjugation of Verbs ,
Active and Neuter Verbs, .
Distinction of Voice, .
Compound .conjugation; its varieties, .
Distin ction between Regular and Irregu lar V erbs,
Classified List of Irregular V erbs, .
D efective Verbs,
The Adverb; general definition -- Formation of Adverbs,
The Preposition ; general definition-List of Prepositions, .
The Interjection; ge neral definition,
The Conjunction ; general definition - List of Conjunctions,
SYNTAX, .
Definitions introductory to the Syntax,
Section I.-The Noun,·
Section IL-The Adjective,
Section III.-The Pronoun,
Section IV.-The Verb, ,.

30}

31
31 .

32

3it
33,
35.
35;

3T
38:
3()
40>
42:

42:

e-

78 :
80,

81
83
83
84·
86 ·
88:
8\:lJ

Paye.

Section V.-The Adverb
91
Section VI,...._:The Prepo~iti~n:
92
Sect~on VIL-The ColiJunction,
92
Section VIII.-Phl'ases, . · . . . .
9±
Questions on .Etymology and Sy:Jtax,
9(}
. Parsing-An example of Parsing, . . . . .
99
. Exercises for Parsing, · . , . . . . . . .
101
P.ROSODY-PUNCTUATION; general definition-The Points, 11(}
Section I.-The Comma,
.
·
117.
Section IL-The Semicolon,
132
Section IIL-T.he Colon,
134
Secticn IV.-The Period
135
Some of the abbreviatio~s in° g~ne~ai u~e
137
Section V.-The Parentheses, .. . . . '.
137
Section VJ.---'The Dash, . . . . .
138
Section VIL-The Exclamation-mal'l;:,
139
Section VIII.-The Interrogation-mark.
139
General Exercises for Punctuation,
. .
140
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AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

IN entering on a brief explanation of the motive and plan of
:my present undertaking, I do so with a full conviction of the
':inefficiency of such explanation to atone for any defects in the
~xecution itself; and, as its best defense, I confidently request
for the work the impartial examination of those whose qualifi.·cations entitle them to judg·e, and whose experience enables
'them to decide with justice, on the mei·its or demerits of an accomplishment, with the difficulties besetting which they must
needs be familiar.
·
·
The motive, then, of the present treatise on English gramlllar is, the systematizing and simplifying of the study,_ that, at
-<Jnce, the labors of the teacher m a.y be facilitated, and the tasks of
the student, by a removal of the ou8tructians that unnecessarily
·l mpede his progress, a nd often discourage his perseverance,
be rendered profitable and plea.sant. In reviewing most of the
grammars now in use, it can sca.rcely escape the notice of even
the casual investigator, that one or the other, if not both, of
two charges may, with propriety, be brought against themnrst, the introduction of uselest1 material, thus distracting the
~ttention of the scholar, and mult;iplying his occasions for effort;
.second, the absence of a due principle of classification - a defect
that soon makes itself visible in the increased clemand on the
memory, sometimes bewildering it altogether, and tul'Iling the
learner, mentally disgusted, from the most worthy pursuit that
the regiwd of youth can b
·
ad-

AUTH OR'S PREFACE.
Vlll

AUTH OR'S PREFACE.

·
t · l
important and
t -i·ead th em the more easily, is cer am Y _an
d
..
\
'
d · the particular epartmen.. .
p raiseworthy employment; an , m
.
d th' kl .
u nd er consideration, there were arduous ascents an
lC y
sc ~ttered stumbling-blocks, wh ich needlessly obstruc,ted the
, .. , >·l1fa1·e In sho 1·t 1 to drop the figure·, the tasks pr esented
t 1101 Ol.'
•
·
d
lt
t h e stl0ent \rnre sadl y disproportioned to the promise resu •
T oil is r equired for· eve1·y valuable attain~ent; _bu_t the expense .
of im1ustrv without a commensurate obJect l~ m no r~spect
.ble Hence. it will b e seen, the desig n of th1s volcomm end ,a. ·
·
.
ll d' ·
·
iscuss1on
um e lias b een. i·n tli e fir
. ~· t place , to refram from a
.
.
which is not fundn,mentall y r equisite to a prope_r compr~hension
tlie "obsc 1·"~ 1·on of those th e01·et1cal excrescences
·
o f tie
.
l science th at so often r epr ess th e pr actical developm ~nt of the mi~d'.
Wei·e it not that the p1'tLctice of pressing t~1e unw1llmg
·
· to t lie service of latter-day authors i s deservedly
c 1assics m
·
'l d
growin cr into disrepute, I should, perhaps, h a~e m scri 1e o~
the titl~-page, or prefixed to this preface," Brevis ess~ labo ro,
01· something e lse equally pi.th y and pe1·tinent, trustin g. to _the
·
'bed bullc of t he atte ndant tome for a ready vrnd1cac1rcumscn
t
of the "brevis.,, even if the contents should not h appen o
.
.
t 1011
.
"1 b
,,
disclose any ver y patent evidences of the
a ·oro.
.
.
Another respect in wh ich I have cautiously ventured ~n mnovation o::i t h3 g.:merality of fo'.·mer_ systems'. haH b~~n i~_ ento methodi'ze til e class1ficat10 n emb1
.
. aced, especially
.
·
d eavonn{J'
in the et~'mologic al section. Cl u.ssi lication , m a?y science, is
·n so far as it arranges into con vern ent .foim the
on 1y use fu 1 l
.
b
·1 d
. .·
'terns of information which are afterwards to e avm e
\at lOUS i
.
te
l 'of lay
.
t'
It may be defiued as a dete rmma '01·uer
· of m prac ice. ·
. . .
. d · .. l
in n· up. in the storehouse of memory, the d1sJome~ an i11 ea~
+i\~e fr~gments ''"hich h cr ea,fte r are to l.Je take n fo1 th, a nd com
~in ed in th e correct propo1·tions o f the intellect~~] structu~·e .
I n the sch cr"Lle of elucidating any subJed, t~rn pos1t10n_ o~cupie~
by classification, of whe.tever ch a I"acter, rs a seconaaryo o~e:
a ;1c1 whenever it cea~es to bear directly on th~ pm·p~~e or
~1· hi~h it was devised , tl1is classification b ecomes, r'.n med1~tely,
an hcum lJnrnce , r ather than an a i·d · I n gr·ammatical soience,
~h e 1:efore, ::-.ny presentation of material, or .any mann:r adop:ed
i, t'rn prese ntation itself, which is not mamfestly d esig ned with·
~;1 ~special refe1·ence to the r equirements of syntax -the pu;~
.
•i'ce o'L all gTammar antecedent the~to,-shou
p c:::c c.nc.i pr;.i.,c..

lX

be rej ec ~ed . . Nay, from consistency of reasoning, n,nd adhe!"·
ence ~o ackn.ow,ledged truth, a give.ri. plan may possess many
specious claims to approval, and yet, by impoFing study whi.ch
subserves no r eal end, be, in fact, utterly futile. For instance,
the subdivision of Active· Verbs into a~ ive-transitirn and
active·intransit i\loe, though superficiall/logical, still , from the
deficiency of~~~ priridple extending into th e syntax,
is productivef6'(:;,.lit)i~:sequence to compe nsate the labor of
committing t dt!'"hie mory the extra detail. The same may be
said of the system of conjugation adopted.by at least two gram·
maria ns-Drs. ALLEN and CORNWELL,-which, by greatly
illcreasing the number of tenses, fuses into one complicated
method the simple and compound inflections of the verb-a
~cheme in whose construction its authors seem to hav~·forgotten
the one, sole object of determining distin ction of tense namely, the bearin'g it maintains on the r elat ion of tense afterward to be observed in composition, and in which relation their
multiplied tense-modifications exer cise no kind of influ3nce.
It is but just to concede, however, to the work of these gentle·
men, (for they formed, in some degree, a literary copartnershi.p,)
the precedence in the adoption of the form of exercises used in
this volume. Of course, no claim to extensive "originality can
be maintained in the treatm ent of a subject so trite as English
grammar has now become : a nd I cheerfully con.fess that, to the:
. system of another professor-namely, LENNIE,- the fo!lowing'
treatise bears, in many points of its general disposition, a close
resemblance. But our language is eminently a prog ressive one;
anil the developments that are almost da ily proceeding from it
demand that no old system, however perfect it may once hava
been, can be safely held as an exposition of the character or
degree of change to which the language h as now attained; and
that the special comformations of the science, in order to e lim·
inate the principles which they are aevised to represent, must
assume modifications correlative with the vicissitudes which
these principles under go.
· I trust that, at the present day, when education is so fast
becoming r educed and modeled according to the element of
utility and definite purpose, no apology is required for the
omission which my plan has constrained me to make, of the
departments of prosody usually appropriated t0 the analysis of

.'-..

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

x

XI

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

versification , and to the rules of ortboepy. With regard t()o
the first of these, it would be difficult to produce a single argu- ·
ment in defense of its claims to consideration as a bran ch of
useful knowledgtj.; and as to the second, if there really are any
rul es serviceable to the acquirement, of .a correct English
pronunciation, they fall under a be. d,, that~vers no. part .of
elementary grammar. The province.(pf' l~~1c~graphy is. a distinct one· and I have endeavored, in the pr111sent treatise, to ·
preserve' its boun~aries unviolat~d, and its peculiarities
untrespassed on.
. . . . .
·with the completion of the syntax, my responsibilities as
author· are r esig-ned. The section on punctuation is from a work
by Mr. DAY, parts of which I have altered so far as to -form a.
continuation of the system adhered to in my etymology, and .to·
be more adapted to the exer cises which I have thrown in after·
the rul es, whenever it was advisable to do so. Any commendations of this author would here be devoid of weight, and,
indeed, en tit·ely out of place.
If it be not an unwanantable int
1!~~~!~!~i]~l]~i~co~-nclusion, ma -e a few suggestions as .
'II!
o- h
ur e to be pursued in connection with
this volume as a text-book. The pot·tions printed in the larger ·
type are all intended to be learned perfectly by hear~; and, if,
in any ca~e, the expr essions used should happen to he beyond
the ability of the pupil wholly to compreh end them, the t each er ·
should supply such explanations as circumstances r ender necessary, it being taken for granted, that every person of . intel~i­
gence is sufficiently acquainted wit,h the inutility of commit- ·
ting to memory a rule or definition which is only partially ~nder-·
stood. The exercises should be carefully and neatly written;
for, by writing them, the double advantage will be secured, of
having more deeply impressed on the mind the instruction they
r elate to · and, at the same time, the. acquisition of a habit of
accuracy,' which can not be too highly estimated. In writing ·
these as any other matter from a printed copy, let it be borne...
in mi~d that the omission of punctuation, or the insertion of a.
point incorr ectly , is as r:iuch an error as is the omission of a. .
word, or the in sertion of one misspelled. As the rules of syntax
are i~comprehensible without a knowledge of etymology, it wilt
be evident that the proficiency of the pupil in the latter mm;t.

be ascertaina~le, before he can conveniently proceed with the
~tudy. The questions on pages 96, 97, and 98 will afford no

-unvaluable assistance in. a comprehensive examination· and
-the parsing exe1:cises appended, )et them be fully and 'regularly han~led, will be found to involve a re_capitulation and
·confirmat10n of all the preceding lessons.
- ·
~
Above all, teacher~, remember that, inasmuch as language
is but the representation, or sensible attire, of the mind, and
gram~ar ~he .res~lt of ~hat logical disposition of thought which
. the mmd, m . its well circumstanced condition, invariably em·
·ploys; so no amount of inculcated precept can enable the stu-dent to dispens~ with reflect.ion, for no exercise of the memory
-can be productive of beneficial consequence, unless it ·is based
--On the streng~h of a cor.rectly rational intellect. The educing
·Of the reflective faculties, whose development constitutes the
_deep f_oundation .of intellectual excellence, and the training of
them mto a habitually systematic and consistent action, must
-~herefore be the first step in entering on the study of grammar
if that study is expected to evolve any other effect than the ac:
·cumulation of a few barr en phrases, that burden the recollec·'
-tion for. a. while, and give place, at length, to the uniformity of
.an unmitigated ignorance. It is in the demand made on -the
·operation of the latent abilities of the mind, that the high importa~ce of elementary grammar consists; and ,any attempt at
-teachmg the science, which is undertaken in disregard ·of this
·tendency, will eventually be demonstrated as labor lamentably
:misdirected.
·
BUFFALO, N. y.' March 2, 1859.

PUBLISHER'S

PREFACE.

'
THE author of this grammal', RICHAR.D H. BOWDEN, was
iborn in the city of Bristol., England; in the schools of which
-<:ity he received but a ·r udimentary knowledge of the English
language. He came to the United States with his mother and
·-Other of her children; and they settled in the,now suburbs of
Buffalo, New York. To that mother, th e opportunities for
the best de,·elopment of h er litt le ones, · and for their success
·in life,• seemed more promising in this, our favoi·ed country,
·than they were in th e la nd of their birth. In the old world,
ancestral trees were th e n, and are still, considered material if
·not indispensable r equirements to success. Not so was it, then,
.no1ris it now, with us. \Vith character as the bas·e, and natural
.ability of fair order as an aid, and with personal effort, honestly
..and persistently continued, a child without favored ancestral
name and influence could here obtain equal fame with the
·<>therwise more favored, in any of the many desirable avo- ·
·-Cations or positions in life.
So thought the mother of the then young lad, RICHARD H.
BOWDEN. Richard also realized that, even in this land of
· possibilities and of unequaled opportunities, it would r equire
11nceasing effort, if one 's ambition it were to obtain place er
J>rominence beyond that reached by the ordinary lad. Effort
'\'l'ithout system, also, he thought, was as a boat without rud-Oer,-it might drift to a safe haven, but more likely it would
not; h e nce, iri all his school and industrial work, he never
·varied from his self-formulated and adopted method. His desire
13

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XIV

PUBLI SHER'S

PREFACE.

was to become a learned person, a nd specially a linguist ; but
not having means for his physical support without labor, he
early e ngaged himself to the und ersig ned as a printer's apprentice. His daily formula, thereafter, m emory serving the undersig ned , was, one h our in the morning a t exer cise -walking
from his home to the place of employment,- and another hour
in the e ve ning returning to his home ; t e n hours at la bortbe then minimum r equirement of trades-organizations and of
employers; four hours a t stud y ; a nd the r emainder of the
tw enty-four hours each day were assig ned for r efreshment and
sleep. Studies in~ nglish, in the sever a l branches as t a ught in
our common-schools; and the L atin, and ·Fre nc h, a nd Ge rman,
and Greek languages were, in course, the object s for bis acquirement. Self-taugh t, save when, during the tbit-d and final
year's appre nti ces hip, he employed teacher~, with his scanty
earning·s , to i nstruct him in pronunciation, he became so profi cien t that, when his appre nt iceship expired, b e readily
secured e mplo yment as chief proof-r eader in one of the
l a r gest an d most exacting book-pr in ti ng houses in the city
of New Y ork.
But it was during his app renticeship that he wrote, put in
type, and r ead th e proof of, thi s g rammar, the title-page of
which is adorned by his name. It was stereotyped, a nd a single
plate-proof copy only wa s printe d from the plates; and from
tha t copy the prese nt, and fir st, edition h as been made ; all
the work of which-type-setting, pres's-work, and binding,has been done by the inmat es of th e Illinois State R eformatory, for th e benefit of whom the u se of the grammar h~
b ee n g ive n by its publish er.
That this brie f historical sketch may stimulate each
student to ward success , not only while in school, but also
throughout life, is th e sole wish of the publisher. But let
him r emember, success depends upon personal effort-the
utilization of the means offer ed, and the unceasing determination of each student inmate to make the best use of the
talent given him.
THE PUBLISHER.

English Grammar.

INTRODUCTION.
LANGUAGE

is the combination of vqcal sounds,

in such a manner as to express related thoughts.
These different sounds are connected
into words·'
.
and the words are arranged into sentences. Language may be either spoken or written. Writing is the embodiment .or' words to the eye, by
means of certain marks, or characters, called
letters, which have been invented to represent
the elementary utterances of the human voice.
Grammar is the science which teaches the rules
to be observed in the formation of words and
sentences. It consists of four departments-·namely, orthography, etymology, syntax, and
prosody. Orthography r elates to letters, and
the modes of uniting them into words; etymology
treats of words, their classification, inflection,
and derivation ; syntax contains the principles
of the correct structure of sentences ; while prosody has regard to pronuncia.tion, the varieties of
metrical composition, and punctuation.
15

