PRIMARY

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.
INTRODUCTORY
TO THE

3l1nnunl nf igr (ftngliEg Inngungr.
nY,t

RUFUS

W~ILEY,

A.M.,

AUTHOR OF "THE MANUAL.''

PHILADELPHIA:

PUBLISHED BY CLARK & HESSER,
No. 18 SOUTH FOUR'rH STREET.

1854.

PREFACE.

E nt ered acco rcli n:; to Act of Congress, in the y ear 1854, by

C L A TI. K & H E S S E R,
in th e Clerk's Office of the Di strict Co ur t of th e U nited States for
th e E:istern Diolrict of P cnm:ylva nia.
S'fWEOTl:Pt:D lJY J. FAG.Hi .

L ANGUAGE i:;; the first necessity of the mind. The study
of language, th en, is naturally and necess:irily the first
:;iudy. Children are amused with nothing more than with
learning to talk. ·w hy not continue this amusement till
th ey learn to talk correctly ? ·while it is made their amusement, it will be their pleasure. But if they are sought to
be amused only with trifles, and put to what is useful as a .
punishment, th ey will be educated accordingly. Th ey m(l.y
be tau ght what is useful, beautiful, and true, as easily as
error and fal sehood. Th ey may be made to speak pure
E nglish as r eadily as "baby-talk"_..:._the lan guage oq?aniel
W ebster as easily as the murdered English of Major Jack
Downing - to r ecite with as much pleasure '"'Watts' Hymns
for Infant Minds" as the silly stories of" Mother Goose."
'l'he child fr om three to five years of age can learn to
read well as an amitsement, with no mental effort beyond
its cap(l.city, in the natural exercise of its ever-active facul"ti es; and at th e same time may acquire a knowledge of the
great principles of language so as to apply them correctly.
H e \\'ill come to understand th em thorou ghly and critically
us r eflection developes those principles in their related uses
to ·his maturer judgment. Two things only are necessary
to give a successful direction to th ese teachings. First;
adapt the teaching and discipline to the condition of childhood, and th en to a child that is a rnan in mental, moral,
and physical co urse of development.
There are some things which a child can understand, and
( iii )

IV

PREFACE.

other things which he can not understand. A child of five
years old can und erstand more than he can at three, and
more at eight than at five, and more at ten than at eight.
Forgetting this, or neglec ting it, we labor in vain, or with
difficulty, in the whole process of education, whether the
r emark be appli ed to the arrangement of text-books or to
th e auxili:lry and leading efforts of the living teacher.
'l'he first thing in language which th e child- after he has
learned to talk - cn.n understand is, the simple elements. of
language. IIe perceives, as soon as it is suggested to his
mind, why one class of words are called nouns: - the simple r eason is, th ey are names. As soon as you present this
fact distin ctly to his mind, he will proceed to give you nouns
by naming every thing he sees, and every subject he perceives as the subject of thought. Name them to him, and
he will tell yo u th ey are nouns because they are the names
of things or of subjects. 'rhis is the first step.
When th e nature of th e noun is distinctly perceived, and
thus practically made familiar, require the young learner
to assert something of that subject or object, and he arrives
at another class of words with a clear perception of the
difference betwee n the noun and the verb, the tMng and
what is asserted of the thing. The nature and the office
of the n oun and of the verb are now understood by him.
Then teach him, that these two words const-itute a sentence,
express an idea, and he gets a view of the nature and structure of language in the place wh ere it belongs, at the very
commencement of his inquiries. H e then easily learns to
assign th e oth er parts of speech to their proper relations in
th eir proper offices, to qualify, aid or modify these principal
parts of the sentence. His mind in the analysis of every
sentence, then, wh ether simple or complex, whether more
or less minutely criticised, will r eadily, easily, habitually,
designate th e noun and the verb first, and the other or
auxiliary words iu their ord er and in their uses.

v

PREFACE.

But even this process may he pursued so encumbered v:ith
details as to keep the tender mind always embarras~e~, so
mixed with related and collateral matter that a drn trn ct
.
of
of the two principal ·words in th. e structure
d" 1
peroep t 10n
sentences is never arrived at, or the fact is_ im y seen:
Thus language is often presented to the mrnd n~t o~ly
without a well-defined limit, but without that class1ficat1on
and . philosophical form of ~cvel opme nt which may render
it definite as a science and simple as an art.
.
The consequence of the false teaching now referred to is,
that Grammar becomes the labored and unfini shed study
o tlie whole course of education, a kincl o mg t:mare that
clutches its victim "in the s~hool-room as t~e _phanton_i
monster aoes in is sleep, and hich akes h m dr~ad his
most privileged lab ors in the one case as he does bis most
necessary r est in th e other.
But properly taught as here des ign ate~, the lang~age
comes to possess a definite outline, a p~rspicuous class1fic~­
tion of simple principles, a beautiful symmetry, a nd a termiIt is acquired with the precision, at least, of other
nus.
h
t l
. c t s of s t udy , and is finally· assicrned
to t e ca a ogue
su b~e
o
of the things known.
.
To Mothers and to F athers, to eld er Brothers and Sisters,
to th~ numerous Female Teachers now extensively emplo!ed
in Primary and Public Schools - to All in the r:sponsible
position of educational laborers, this little Boo~ is resp.ectfully commended, in the confidence tha: they will find it a
valuable auxiliary to secure the attent10n and adva~ce the
education of children and youth in one of the most important, and yet - singular as it has been hitherto - one of
tne most

iHSR57]fl?FtmnH ff f'f5frn9

#'fillm

R. W. DAILEY.
STAUNTON, VA.,

l*

Jan. 1854.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.
SEOTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTIO~

- (Colloquy.)

SECTION

PA.GB

1.

Conversation I . - On the Noun........... ............. ... ...................... 9
2.
;<
II. - On the Verb... ....... ........................................ 13
3.
''
III. - On the Particles............................................. 16
PART I .
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Nouns .......................... ............ ...... .............................. .... ......
Verbs...... ................. .... ........... ......... ..... ...... ... ....... ..... .............
Noun and Ycrb - Simple Sentences.... ..... .... ........ ............ ....... ...
Adj ectiv e and Article - ~leanin g and Use.. ...... ... ............... .........
Pronoun.......... .... .. .. .... . ... ...................... .... ....... .. .. .................
Verb - Meaning aml 1Jse ... ....... .......... ... ...... ............................
Adverbs - their Use ..... .. .. .. .. ........ .......... ... .... .... .. .. ..................
Jl. Prepo,itions - their Use.. .......... ... ...... ... ... ........ ...... ........ ..........
12. Conjunctions - their Use .. ....... .......... .. ........................ ............
13. Interj ections - their Use ...... .. ............ .................... ..................

19
19
20
20
22
22
24
24
25
25

PART II. -ETY}lOLOGY.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Three Cbssc,: of \lords defined..... ... .............. ............ ................
Th e Parts of ~peecb , ei ~ht....... ..... ... .. .... ...... ...... ...... .................
Noun - Defin ition .. ... ...... .. .. ... ... ... ..... ........ ......... ... ...... ...... .. ....
Nouns modified by Gender, Number, Person, and Case.................
Nouns - variou s Form s in ~umbe r... . ..... ..... ... .... ........ . . .... . ..... ..
Noun s - various :Form s in Geuder....................... ..... ................
Nouns - various !fo rms in Ca.se.. .... ...................... .....................

27
27
28
28
29
32
33

Que.slictns of R et>iew.

21. Adj cctiYe - Definition and U~e .......... ... ......... ......... ..... ... ...........
22. Artirle - Definition and Use.... ............ .. ... .................................
23. Degrees of Comparison.............. .......... ................ ............. .. .......
Que.<til>ns of R e11iew.
24. Pronoun - Definiti on.... ..... ......... .. ...........................................
25. Pronoun - Personal.. .... ....... ...................................................
Qiastions of Review.

{vi)

35
35
36
39
40

vii
PAGE

26. Pronoun - Relative.................................................................
ZT. Pronoun -Compound Relative .. ............................. .............. ....
28. Pronoun - Adjective................................... ......................... ...
Parsing Exenises.
2'.l. Verb - Directions for Parsing, and applying the Rules................
30. Verb - Definition........................................................ ... ..........
31. Indicative Mode - Present Tense............................. ............ ......
32; Indicative Mode - Imperfect Tense ........................... .... :...........
33. Indicative Mode - Perfect Tense................ .................... ............
34. Indicative Mode - Pluperfect Tense.. .................. ...... ........ ....... ..
35. Indicative Mode - Future Tenses, First and Second............ .........
36. Potential !11ode - and its Tenses ..... :......... .. .... ................. ..........
37. Subjunctive Mode - and its •reuses............................................
38. Imperative l\Iode .. .... ... ... .. .... ... ... ... ... ...... ....... .. ......... .... .. ... ......
39. Infinitive l\Iode - Present and Perfect Tenses...... ................ ........
40. Participles............ ... ....... ..... .......... ..........................................
Questions of Rwiew and Parsing Exercises.
41. Verbs - Active and Passive......................... ..............................
Synopsi.s of Verbs.
(
42. Rul es for Conjugation of Verbs and Formation of the Tenses.......
43. Transitive, Intransitive, Regular, Irregular, Active, and Passive...
44. Irregul ar VerJ:i am, Conjugation ..... ...... .. .... .... ............. ..... .........
45. Defective Verbs....................................................... ............... ..
46. Emphatic Form........................................................................
47. Interrop;ative Form...... ... .........................................................
48. Negative Form..... ...... .. ............................. ... ................ ............
49. List of Irregular Verbs ..................................... ......... ..... ......... .
Questions of R evi.ew.
50. Adverb - Definition - Comparison...................................... ....•
51. Preposition - Definition - List of.............................................
52. Conj unctions - Definition - List of................... ........................
53. I nterjections - Definition........ ....... ......... ........................ .. ..... ..
54. Preliminary Remarks to Parsing Exercises. (Analysis - ParsingSimple Sentence -Compound Sentence -Adjuncts-Order of
Arrangement of Words in a Sentence- Process of Analysis)...
55. Parsiog Exercises, classified...... ............... .. ....... ........ . .... ... ...... ..
56. R.ules of Analysis ............... ... .. ..... ........ ,..... ............................ ..
57. Compound Sentences -Analysis.................... ...........................

43
43
44
47
47
50
50
51
52
52
54
56
58
59
·59
63
66
66
67
72
72
73
73
73
78
79
79
80

81
83
89
90

Cautions and Advice.

PART III. - SYNTAX.
58. Summary of Rules ....... ........ _..... .. ... ...... ................................... 93
69. Noons-.NO'fliiiwtive- Rule I., with copious illustrations............... 94

Vlll

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

6ECTIO)I •
PAG&
60. ~\ oun-~Yominative - Rule II., with copious illust rations. ........ ...... 98
III .,
"
61.
...... .. .. .. . .. 99
IY.,
"
.. .. ...... .. .. . 100
"
Y.,
............ ... 100
"
"
"
64.
YI.,
.............. 101
"
"
65. Noun- Objective YII.,
··············· 103
66.
VIII.,
103
"
"
"
···············
67.
I X.,
............... 104
"
68.
x.,
"
··············· 104
69.
XI.,
............... 105
"
70.
XII.,
... ............ 107
"
"
71. l\~nm-Possessive XIII.,
··············· 107
72. .1 cljeclirc XIV.,
109
"
Questions of R eview.

,

"

"

"

"
"

"
"

INTRODUCTION.

"

"
"
"
"

[The following coll 0quy, in TITTtEE coxvrn.sATIONS, was written l ong before
the "l\JA.1\ UAL" was publisheu, and was u secl in manmcript in the Fautily to
teach th e langu age to very young child ren . It presents in a summary Yi ew
and popular form the elementary principles. of Grammar. Teachers may use
it, or pass it, ancl co=en ce with Chapter I.]

············ ···

73. Verb - Rui c XV. - Finite Verb ..... .... ........................................ 114
74.
"
XYI.- Infinitive Verb ...................... ...................... 114
Qu estions ~J Re·~iew .

75.

Partdcs - Ilule XVII., with copious illustrations .. .. .. ......... ......
"
XYTII. '
"
"
.... ................ .
"
XIX .,
. .... .. ...... .. ......
"
"
''·
78.
"
xx.,
........ .. ...........
"
"
Questions of R ericw.
76.

~~

79.

Sequ el t o Introuuction- (Colloquy) ..... .... .... .............. .. .. .. .. ...... .. 124
PART IV.

,..

r

116
119
120
122

80.
81.
82.
83.
84.

Part• of Grammar ........................... .. .............. : .... .... .. ... .......... .
Pun ~ tuAtion .... ............ .. ..... ............... . ..... .......................... .... .
Orth ography ...... ...... ..... . ..... . ..................... .... ..... ...... .. ... ..........
Fig ures of Speech ... ... .................... .... ..... .... .. ........ ........... .. . ......
Dictionary of Grammar ............ ......... ... .... ................. .. ..... .... .. ..

131
131

13.i
137

131)

CONVERSATION I.

Section 1.

FRANK. - Father, how many words are
there? Lucy says there are only eight in all my books.
LucY. - Mother sn,ys there are a great many words but there are only eight sorts or classes of words; and all
the words in all th e books belong to one or oth er of the::;e
eight sorts. I have learn ed them. '!'hey are The Noun.
..Adjective.
Pronoun.
The Verb.
The .Adverb.
Preposition.
Conjunction.
I nterjection.
FATHER. - Your mother is right; and I am glad to see
that your education is made your amusement. The nursery
is the proper place to awaken a taste for learning: 'rhe
first thing learned is language. .What more amu sing and
( 9)

10

I.N"TRODUCTION.

playful th:w the imitation of sounds, by which
fir :; t leri,rn s to talk! Who shall limit its progress, or mak
th e amusement a task ?-The child will not. The philosophJ
of langu age can be taught only in its elements.
FRAXK. -

What is the philosophy of language?

INTRODUCTION.

11

FRANK. - Dog is a noun, because it is a name.
FATIIER. - Very well.

Of what color is your dog J

FRANK. - Black.
FATHER. -Th en blaclc is a quality which belongs to your
dog. That name w_f ich expresses a quality of a thing is
called an adjective. What sort of a word, then, is black?

FATHER. - You may never know it by that name, whic
often puz zles older people. I will proceed to teach you:
FRANK. - Black is an adjective-name, or an adjectiveand \d1at yon do not understand now you will learn gradu·
noun; and bla.clc dog is the name of my dog, and both words
ally in the us e of what you learn. Frank, if you and you
make the name or noun. The first is the adjective nmm,
si ster \\·er e th e only persons in the world, how would yo :
and the second is the substantive noun. I s n9t that right?
learn to make kn own your thou g hts to each other?
FATHER. - Yes ; the substant·ive noun is the substance or
FR ,~xK. - By signs, I guess, like the deaf and duml .
subject
of the thing. Yours is a blaclc dog; mine is a white
people.
dog; Lucy's is a grey dog.
FATH ER . Y cry "Well; but you would soo n find out tha
FRANK. - Yes; and mine is a big dog; Lucy's is a Wtle
you wer e not deaf and dumb, and you could adopt a muc
dog; yours is a shaggy dog. '_l'here are a great many
m or e per fe ct plan.
adjective nouns. I have seen a watch dog, a terrier dog, a
FRD' K. - Yes, Lucy would make a noise just like littlt
cross dog, a mad dog, a lame dog, a lazy dog, a good dog.
Fanny, \Yho cannot y et talk; and I should hear her, an
But we sometimes say a dog and the dog. Are not a and
th en by signs 8he might make me understand what sh<
meant. Fanny calls the dog Boo, and I understand her,
anJ she calls the cat Pttr, and the cow .ilfoo.

r

· FATII ER . - If th en you \Yere without a language, what.
class of 1coJ'ds w·otild you fir st make?
FRAXK. Why names, to be sure. This was the first
thin g that Adam did after his creation. Gen. 2. 19, 20.
"The L ord God formed every beast of the fi eld, and everJ
fowl of the air, and b:·ought them unto Adam, to see what
he wonlcl c:tll th em. And whatsoever Acl:im called ever:
liYing cr eature, th:it was the name thereof."
FATHER. -The n am es of things, th en, form the first clasi
of 1w rds. Every name of a thing, whether the object of
sense or the subj ect of thought, belongs to this class. These
arc call ed nouns. What sort of a word, th en, is dog J

the adjectives too?
FATHER. - A. and the are of the nature of adj ectives, as
they are used to quaJify nouns and to limit their signification. But they are called articles.
FRANK. - Is there not another noun which you call a
pro-noun?
l''AnIER.-Yes; the pronoun is a word used for the noun_:
Pro me:1ns for. It is easier to u se the pronoun than to
repeat the noun. For exam~ - I may say,. Your dog is
cross, because he is hungry. The word he is a pronoun,
and is used instead of your dog. If I had not used he, I
must have said, _Y our dog is cross, because your dog is
hungry. A pronoun is, the~·efore, a word used instead of
a noun, to avoid the too frequent repetition of the noun.

12

INTRODUCTION.

INTRODUCTION.

13

You hi1ve now studied the first class of words. What are
they ?
FRANK. - They arc, the lloun,
the Adjective, which includes
the Article,
the P ronoun.
Th e noun is the substantive name of the thing. The others
belong to the noun, and are used to complete the definition
of it, or to aid in the various uses of the noun.
FATHER. - Lucy, you take the name of cat, and tell me
o.11 about the !csson which has now been explained.

I

CONVERSATION II.

§ 2.

FATHER. - 1Ve are now prepared to advance in
our conversation on Grammar.
LucY. - Mother has taught us all about the noun, and
given us a great many examples. Shall I repeat them ?

FATHER.-Not now, little Miss Ready. You know s01n~­
thing about the noun or name of the thing. Now we suppose you have some tliouglits about this thing, which you
wish to tell to another. The word you employ to do this is
called the verb or the word, because it is the principal word
employed in communicating your ideas. On the utterance
of this word, a thought passes from the mind that utters it
to another. It is, therefore, the word that asserts ·or expresses
some thought of the mind. As -

LrcY. - I can do it. Cat is a noun, because it is the name
of a thing. It is a substantive noun, because it is the principal nam e of the thing or the subject. Black is an adjective, because it expresses a quality ;-it is an adjective noun,
because it mak es a part of the principal noun or name. A
and the are adjectives, also, called articles.
Cat is a noun.
B lack cat is a noun.
A black cat is a noun.
'l'lte black cat is a noun.
"Tlie black cat is cross, because she is hungry." In this
sentence, she is a p1'o-noun, because it is used instead of a
noun, to amid the repetition of 'the black cat.' If I had
not used she, I must have said, "The black cat is cross,
because the iilack cat is hungry."

FRANK. - Is not the verb sometimes expressed in different forms? "\Ve say-hunted, may hunt, can hunt, or will
bunt.

FATHER. - Very well, little Lucy. You now see the noun
includes the first three of tne eight sorts of words, or parts
of speech, us grammarians call them. You may now go on
calling th e nam es of all the things you see, and you know
that these names are nouns. Their qualiti~s, when expressed
in words, gi1e you the adjectives. A and the are a form of
the adj ective called the article. And whenever you use a
word in::;tea cl of a noun, it is a pronoun.

FATHER. - Very well. I like to see a mind wide awake
to make inquiries. As the verb asserts something that is,
or that is done, it expresses the manner of the action, and
the time of the action. The verb, therefore, is made to have
a form to express the manner and the time of the action,
called by grammarians the mode and the tense. The grammars usually make five modes: 2

My dog hunts.
Your dog watches.
Lucy's dog barks.

In each of these examples, a thought is communicated by
the verb - which may, therefore, be regarded as the principal or most important word in the language.

14

INTRODUCTION.

Th e I 11clfrative, or dc cln.ring mode.
Impcratii'c, or co mm :wdio g mode.
l'otential, of lib erty or power.
Su~jundive, or cond iti onal mode.
I nfinitive, or in definite m ode.
'My dog bai·k:s.'
In thi s example, barks is a verb in the £ndicative mode, because it declares or cisscrts a thing.

'Earle, J O"wler.'
In thi s example, bark is in the 'imperative mode, because it
corumand s a thing to be done.

'My dog can bark.'
In this exn.mple, bark is in the potential mode, because it
expresses po,rcr.
' If my dog bark, th e sheep run.'
In thi s example, uark is iu the subjunctive mode, because it
exp r esseR a condition.
' My d og loves to uark.'
In t his exam ple, to bark is in the infinitive mode, because it
it> in defi nite, i . e,, not definite in mode .
F rL\XK, Jfay, can, might, must, would, could, or should
bark - wh a t mode ar e these ?
FATHER, -Th ey n.11 belong to th e potential mode, because
th ey exp ress liberty, obligat1:on, or will. But as ·we are confi·
nin g ourselves to a few elementary prin cipl es, I seek not to
embarrass your minds by minu te details. I might have said
al so, th at the imveratire mocle is used in entreating. As "Gire u s thi s day our daily bread ," But it derives its
n ame fr om the other u se. We sha ll r ec ur to th e variations
of th e verb again. Th ey will r equire mu ch attention, in
which I \r'. bh now to avoid fatigu e.
FRAX:K Ttli us also something a.bout the t"ime of the
action .

INTRODUCTION.

15

-Time is naturally divid ed into Past, Present,
and Future. Every action must be in.one of th ese divisions.
But th e gran1mars make also three divisions of past time,
and two div isions of future time; so that th ere are r eckoned
six tenses. Thus ' FATH E R.

t

_,
'-'
t

Present tense : my dog barks.

P ast tense :

my dog barked.
Or, my dog hn.s barked.
Or, my dog had barked.

Future tense; my dog will bark.
Or, my dog will have barked.
Yon now understand the verb, and the variations of the
verb used to show the different modes and times of the
action. N ow, little Lucy, what have you to say?
L ucY. - I say th at my cat }umps. Jumps is a verb, because it asserts what my cat does . Jumps is in the i'nd·icar
tive mode, because it declares a thing. Jumps is in the
present tense, becaust it expresses what is done now.
FATHER. - Very well.
Th e verb is the mos t complicated
part of speech, and will r equire great attention. We will
leave it for th e pre sent. And you see that you have found
foi~1· of the eight sorts of words. Study them in every
variety of example. They are the principal parts of speech.
The other four are used for qualifying these, or for connecting them toget!rnr, or for showing relations between
th ~~1.
Thus sentences are formed; and when you can
cnticnJly analyze these sentences, yon are good grammarians.

• 0 /.

INTRODUCTION.

16

INTll.ODUCTION.

COXVERSATION III.

§ 3. FATHER. -Th e four p[l.rts of speech which remain to b e cons iucred are called Parti'.cles, because they are
small words. They are - The Adverb,
Preposition,
Conjunction,
I nterjection.
FRANK. - I s the ad-verb a verb?
FATH ER. -The ad1 erb it1 so cn,lled, because a principal
use of it is to qualify the verb. As l\Iy dog hunts well.
Your dog watches strictly.
Lucy's dog barks sharply.
FRAXK. -Are there not a great many prepositions .'t
1

FATHER. - SLrty-three prepositions are enumerated in the
"Manual of Grnmm[l.r." The simple prepositions are nineteen: viz. - At, to, in, by, f or, of, with, till, s1'.nce, from, up,
down, round, through, past, on, wider, over, after .
Conjunctions are small words frequently used . Th ey connect words toge ther; th ey abo connect sentences. As My dog barks and bites. H ere and is a conj unction, and
connects the two words barks and bites.
There are thirty principal conjunctions: viz. - And, also,
although, as, because, ere, except, f01·, wnerefore, ichether, yet,
both, but, either, ne'ither, nol", (f, lest, or, since, that, than,
unless, notwithslctnding, proridcd, then, thereforn, though,
so still.
Adverbs, p1"epositions, and conjunctions, arc often interchanged, and used for one another.
FRANK. - It will take a great while to learn these little
words.

17

Lucv. - F ather, I can repeat the conjimct'ions now shall I?
F .HHER. - No, little Miss Ready-:- say them to your
mother, and when you leurn both the lists well, I will give
you a kiss, and the Hymn-Book, which you asked for the
other day.
I now wish only to give you the Interjections, and sen d
you back to the nursery.
Interjections are exclamations, and are commonly used to
express strong .emotions. They are of very little use, though
very comprehensive, as we shall see hereafter. Lucy, I
advise you not to cultivate much acquaintance with th em;
and when you utter them, use an undertone. As often used,
th ey may be considered as connectives between what goes
before and after them, as a chasm connects or separates
opposite hills - green on both sides (it may be), but hollow
and vacant between.
LucY. - Oh, father!
FATHER.-Th ere it is now-at your intei:jections! 'VE>ll,
I will give you one sentence to analyze; in it, your mother
will show you ~11 the eight parts of speech, or sorts of words
SENTENCE TO

BE

ANALYZED.

"0, I despise your black dog! for he barks furiou sly,
and bites in a rage."

2*

ii1 J

'.l'O TEACHERS.
Th ere are two sys tems of grammatical arrangement: one
commences with the pn'.nciples , the other with details; one
at th e liead, th e other at the extrernit-ies. 'l'he first is natural
and phil osophical, the other is mechanical.
Th e plan of developm ent in this treatise proceeds on the
pres nm ption that the general principles of Grammar arc first
in the order of nature, and more easily comprehended by
the yonng than the details, which are second in the natural
ord er of arrangement.
Th e e:rninples to illu strate th ese principles are f ew, that
th ey nrny be clearly apprehend ed, and in their designed
relations.
A great variety of exn.mples - either for the illustration
of a particular principle, or for showing its various forms
of appli cati on - perplexes th o young learner. Simplicity
is to be so ught in the mann er of addressing prin ciples to
his apprehension, rather than in multiplied examples and
detail s.
Th e sn.me remark nrny be applied v.-ith truth to the correction of sentences of false grammar. Th e mind of the
youn g learn er is often confused, rather than enli ghtened,
by such exercises. Gi ve him th e tru e principles of analysis,
simple, familiar, and fixed in the mind: he will then be
able to take care of the false syntax.
Part I. aims to illu strate the different parts of speech in the
simple sentence.
II. - to illustrnte th e accidents of the different parts of
speech, and th e analysis of the compound sentence.
III. - to illustrate, under their appropriate rules of
syntax, every vn.riety of peculiar construction.
IV. - to give the essentnJ rul es of punctuation, of orthography, and a dictionary of grammar.

( 18)

PRIMARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR.
PART I.
[The object of Part I . is, simply to give t he learner an idea of the structure
of .sentences, and a distinct comprehension of the rel.alive uses of the different
Parts of Speech in the structure of a sentence. All details not necessary to
this end are therefore left to be collated in Part II. Prineiples first -details
and exceptions afterwards.]

NOUNS.

§ 4.
nouns.

THE names of things, in grammar, are called
NouNs, then, are names. Every name is a noun.

EXAMPLES.

Jolin, James, Mary, Jane; wind, rain, fire, thunder; virtue, vice, truth, fals ehood, honor, lionesty; house,fidd, chair,
table; star, planet, comet, heavens, space, orbit.
(Let the pupil be required to give other nouns, until h e is perfectly familiar
with the application of the name to some thing or subj ect t!f discourse.]

§ 5. Those words which are used to assert something
of the noun are en.lied verbs. VERBS, then, affirm or assert
somethinnof the noun . or subject. John is the name of a
0
person, and therefore so'mething may be affirmed or asserted
of John. The word employed to do this is not the name of
a thing, but asserts something of a thing; and that is called
a verb.
EXAMPLES.

John reads, James studies, Mary writes, Jane recites; wind
blows, rain wets, fire burns, thunder roars; virtue ennobles,
{ 19)

f

20

ADJECTIVE-NO UN.
ADJECTIVE-NOUN.

21

vice degrades, truth prevails, falsehood deceives, honor exalts,
hon es ty enriches.

Bright star is the name of a thing.
A
bright star is still the name of a thing, and therefore
[ Let the pupi l n ame the ver bs in tbe;;e ex amples, and supply other i·erbs, iu
a
noun
- the name of the thing defined.
t heir plncc, , to the several nouns here nam ed, un til be is perfectly familiar
with the difierence between the n oun and the verb.]
But brig'lit is not o. noun in itself. It expresses only a.
§ 6. The noun and the verb make a simple sentence. quaz.ity of star.

A is not a noun m itself. It is used to define or limit
There can be no sentence formed without th ese two parts
of speech. Th ey express an idea. All other words in the the noun.
Bright is therefore called an adjective-noun, because it is
hrnguage, without these, cannot form a sentence, nor express
an idea. Th e whole structure of language is built on these added to the noun as a part of the definition; and a is
called an article, because it limits the meaning of the noun.
two classes of words.
[Let I.b e Teacher dwell on this fa ct, and explain it, till the pupil clearly It is indefinite, because it does not define any particular
compreh ends the leading character and u se of t)le noun antl the ve>'b as the star.
hasis of language. This is the great idea in the analysis of language - the
The is called a definite article, because it refers to some
leading fact in its structure
particular star.
Siar, then, is the substantive-noun, because it defines the
QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.
subject-matter
of discourse. Bright is an adjective-noun.
What are nmms ! Is every name a noun 1 Repeat the nam es of some
nou ns - of thi ngs in th is r oom - of thin gs in the street - in th e fi eld - of
A is an article, and also belongs to star. A bright star is a
things n ot >isible. 'rb at are i·el'bs? H ow do they d iffe r from nouns ? Name noun defining a subject of discourse.
some verbs with the nou11s. Whi ch is the noun? 'Vhich word asse,.ts someA is used before a consonant, and an before a vowel. Asthing of it ? 'r hat are th ese t:vo words w~h contain an assertion called?
An swer -A simple sentence. " ' hy 1 Au swer..,.. They express an iLlea. Can .A star; an eclipse.
"'
a thought or idea be expressed by two words only? Yes; by a verb and a
n oun. If you hall the u se of all oth er words, without the i-erb and the noun,
co uld yo u ex press an idea with them? No. Which, then , are the two priu·
cipal words in language. Ans.-The noun and the verb. - Remember this.

EXAMPLES .

Planet.
Comet.
Heavens.
Space.
Orbit.
Height.
Depth.
Diiitance.

ADJECTIVE-NOUN.

§ 7. The substantive-noun is the simple name. This
nam e is defined by the use of other words, add ed to express
qualities or to limit its meaning. These words are called
adj ective'-nouns, because they qualify the noun, and are
never used except in . connection with the noun. As
B right star; the bright star.
1

Twinkling planet.
Eccentric · comet.
Stellar heavens.
Infinite space.
Elliptical orbit.
Great height.
Profound depth.
Long distance.

A twinkling planet.
An eccentric comet.
The stellar heavens.
The infini'.te space.
An, or tlie elliptical, orbit.
A great height.
A profound depth.
A long distance.

[Let the Te acher ex ercise the pupil in the foregoing examples, and in other
examples furnished by the Teacher or the pupil, until he comes to a distinct
apprehemion of the subject-noun as the complete definition of the thing or
su l>ject of discourse - 1111d also of the distinction between the substantive, the
adjective, and the artic/,e.]

22

23

THE VERB.
PRONOUN -

THE VERB.
-~

EXAMPLES.

PitONOUN.

§ 8. The pronoun is used to avoid a repetition of th
n oun. As -A good man loves God; he obeys the law; h
keeps the commandments.
What is he used in stead of, in the above example?
Answer. In stead of a good man.
The proper use of the pronoun is here clearly seen.
EXAMPLES.

Man is an animal, but he is intelligent.
Good boys obey the rules, and tliey study their books.
Bad men sin, and they suffer for it.
"W hen men wrong others, they wrong themselves.
If God promises, he fulfils.
·whom God loves, lie rewards.
The boys may play, after they recite.
Children are happy, when they are good.

J ohn loves.
James reads.
Lucy plays.
Ellen talks.
Jan e rnns.

"hat do adjectives express? Arc they ever u sed except in connection with
the noun or name? Is the adj ective necessary to Llefine the name? What
is the use of the arlicl~! Does it perform th e office of an :uljective? Name
the two forms of the arti cle. definite and i11dejini:te. Why is th e call ed definite
anil a ind efi nite ? When is a u sed? Wheuan! A bn j;ht star-inthiseI'.
ample, which is the noun, the adjective, the article ? In what sense may the
three words be regarded as the uoun ? Ans. -As the nam e of the thin•
des ignated. - What is a pronoun f Give examples of the u se of pronouns i:
sentences.

§ 9. The verb is that word which is used to aJJh-m
or assert something of the nominative case. As - I love.

Why?

Verbs are called transitive or intransitive. Can you give
th e signification of these terms?
Answer. Transitive means that can pass over - intransitice means that can not pass over.
Y cry well. When the thing affirmed by the verb passes,
in its action, to a.n object, the verb is called transitive. AsJohn loves. John loves what? John lovesfruit. Here the
act of love passes to an object-fruit .
EXAMPLES OF TRANSITIVE · VERBS.

John reads (Virgil).
James str uck (John).

Good men ke"ep the law.
Sinners destroy themselves.

EXAMPLES OF INTRANSITIVE VERBS.

A bird flies.
A stone falls.
The sun rises.
The sun sets.

~Iary

walks.
Eliza limps.
'l'he clog barks.
The horse trots.
QUESTIO~S

THE VERB.

A bird flies.
A stone falls.
The sun rises.
The moon shines.
An eagle soars.

Which is the verb in each of these sentences?
\rhich is the nominative case? Why?

·which word is t~e pronoun in each of these sentences,
and for what word 1s the pronoun,._in each sentence, used !
QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.

Mary walks.
Eliza limps.
The catjumps.
The dog barks.
The horse trots.

OF REVIEW.

What are verbs f Repeat examples of verbs. Can a sentence be formed
with the simple noun and verb 1 Can a sentence be formed without them?
What arc tra.nsith·e verbs I Intransitive1 Give examples of each.

.

'~ i
'·11
I

I

·\

24

CONJUNCTION -

ADVERB-PREPOSITION.

INTERJECTION.

25

CONJUNCTION.

ADVERB.

§ 10. Words whi ch qualify verbs l1re called ad-verbs. § 12. Simple sentences and single words are connected
As-John reads well. Well qualifies reads ._ H e read! or conjoined by a class of small words called conjunctions.
distinctly. Distinctly qualifies reads. -He reads rapidly, As-Jam es and John are brothers. James is a good
accurately, impressii:ely, &c.
scholar, and John is a good scholar.
Adverbs also frequ ently qualify adjectives and other
Th e conjunctions most often used are the following: adverbs. As - He r eads very well. Very qualifies the 1 And, for, yet, but, 01', nor, either, neither.
adverb well. - Ile is happy-very happy. Very qualifie:
EXAMPLES.
the adjective happy.
Men and women are mortal, but they are often thoughtEXAMPLES .
less. They die, yet they shall live again ; for there is a
John run sfast.
· The sun shines brightly.
resurrection of the dead. John admitted neither the one
H e walks slowly,
Th e sun shin es very brightly. ' nor the other. James admitted either one or the other.
He studies closely.
The sun is very bright.
He writes rapidly.

INTERJECTION.
PREPOSITION.

§ 11. PrepoJitions are used to connect words with one
another, and show a relation between them.
r

Prepos iti ons show th e relation between the words they
govern and nouns, verbs, or adj ectives. As - John walked
from liome - to school. H e is careful of his health.
EXAMPLES .

J ohn spoke to his sister.
He is a boy of honor.
He is kind to his sister.

Men of honor are men of might.
l\fen of piety are men of purity.
Faith makes men of works.

Th ere are nineteen simple prepositions: viz. - At, to, in,
by, for, of, with, till, since, from, up, down, round, through,
past, on, under, over after.

§ 13. Inter,ject·ions are words of exclamation, expressing
passion or emotion. As - Ah, oh, alas, &c.
Ah me!
Alas, for him !
QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.
What are adverbs! Do they qualify other words than verbs! Give some
~ampl es. - For what are p1·epasitions used ? Between what words do they
show relation 1 Give examples. - What is the use of conjunctions! What
ate some of the most common? Give examples of the use of conjunctions in
sentences. - What are int.e1jections !
SIMPLE SENTENCES.

All men honor the good man.
Learning gives power.
Ignorance leads to vice.
Goodness survives the tomb.

3

Washington was a patriot.
Webster was a statesman.
Franklin was a philosopher
Hamilton was a financier.

.

'

TO TEACHERS.

PART II.

II:

Part
contains a definition of all the different parts of
:peech, ''1th their ordinary grammatical uses and rehtions
in simple, and in compound and transposed sentences.
\ Ye
do not hesitate to affirm, as the r es ult of much experience,
tbn.t .t~c l ear~ e r who makes himself familiar - pe1fectly
fr~m1bc!l' - 'nth all the fo rm s and examples presented in
tlm; short uutline of Etymology, will attain an accuracv
and. a self-confidence in the use of language suited to all ,
ord111ary practic e. Ile will then only have to study, ia
Par~ III., the Rules of Syntax, and the peculiar gram· '
rn~t1cal co nstruction s, th ere arranged und er th eir appro.
pnn.te classes ; and then to study the Idioms discussed in
the "Manual," and he becomes a well-furnished En('rlish
~cholar. ..An accurate acqnaint::rnce with a few approp~iate
e:rnm~J l es is vastly better than a discursive course of parsing,
exercised through a greater vari ety, with less precision in
the use of fundamental principles. 'l'he forms in each
m ode and ten se should he used as a parsing-lesson.
A great rnishtke is often made by employinO' the youn•
• correctin g false gra.rninar. Give him"' th e correcte
pu pi'l rn
rule of interpretation and analysis: its appli cation will then
he en.sy and su re. But apply him to correct fal se grammar
and hi s mind becomes confused before he has fix~d clear!;
th e principles of the science.

( 26)

[The object of Part I., as well as the introductory Colloquy , has been, to
present to the mind of the learner the two Parts of Speech which form the
basis of languag-= viz ., the nou?l and the ~·e1·b -to show the simple sentence,
as formctl of these two words, to exprpss a simple idea; and the uses of all the
oth er parts of speech to qual'ijy, connect, or show relations, in various forms
of simple sentences.
Part II. goes more fully into the Etymology ~f words, compri~ing their
inflections and modifications; and also, the Syntax of words, showing their
arrangem.ent, gave1·nment, and agreement, together with the Rulc.s of Analysis
and Parsing.]

§ 14.

All words are naturally divided into three

classes : I. The Noun, or name of a particular thing or sµbject.
II. The Verb, which predicates or declares something of
the subject or thing.
III. The Particles, or words used for connecting the principn,l vYords, or for qualifying them, or for showing r elations betw een them.
PARTS OF SPEECH.

§ 15.

All the parts of speech, or sorts of words, are
eight : viz. '
{l{oun,
First class . . . . • • • .
Adjective,
Pronoun.
Second class .••••... Verb, with its compounds.

Third class

Adverb,
Preposition,
OonJunction,
Inte1jection.

·' '·' ' ' Jl

(27)

'j

.II

28

NUMBER.

THE NOUN.

THE NOUN.
1 I ~ z1 G. dTh e _'\"oun or name includes t h e Adiectl.ve, the
~· r ic c, an the P1·onoun.
v
.
. . DEFI:\ITIO~
I - . -Tl18 noun, sometimes
called the substa t.
is. t 18 name of any thing "·hich can be made th
b' n ive,
discourse. A - _ 11i
7.
. .
e su ~ect of
::.
- an, wuse, JUStice virtue
'l'
'
.
h~ personal pronoun, the relative pronoun and th . t
rogatire
]Ji·o
iw
t
d
,.
•
ebin er.
un, s an ior nouns, and are there,.
t 1"e ,
'I'I
1ore
su stan1 ey n.re treated of
v - 1• 0 uns.
.
lH1Ye a di stinctive form . and th se~ai altelyd, .because they
ti
-7 •
.
'
ey :11 e p n,ce m order after
ie al')ect1ce, becau se one class of them are used as a d.
r;;ec t.ives.

§} 7. Kouns are modified by Person' Numbe1· , Gender,
an d vase.
PERSON.
;he fi rst puson denotes th e person speaking. As-I love
. ., I, J ohn, lo.-e. I men.u s tlte myself, or the name of th~
person speak in g.

1·

The second p erson. If the same thin O' • t b
of the
..
o is o e asserted
y . l .pe 1 .~o n spoken to, the form would be varied thusou oi·c, ?.. e., you, J ames, love.
Th e tltird person. If the same thin O' 1• t 0 b
an absent person or a
.
o ~
e asserted of
thus - Tl
l
per~on spoken of, it would be varied
wmas ores . or if the abs t
en person had already
been named we sh , Id '
'
ou sav-He
lov
lo.-es.
•
· cs, i.. e., h e, Thomas,
\Ve n ow see. that the personal pronoun is the same
th
'\V
as
n.oun-su bstan
tl\·e
1
'
.
e see a so th e reason for th d' t' e
t1 on of p ersons in nouns n,nd of ti; .
e is rncI n the forms of .
1'' 'l
v ee persons, and no more.
·
specc 1 t1 ere can be
mu i't be th ese three "'ince JI {.
. no more, and th0re
are f
' c
a su .>Jec ts or persons spoken of
'
o one c bs~. when mad e the subjects of d' •
b
one person speaking to a second person.
isco urse y

I

The distinction of person, then, belongs in form to the
pronoun, but is referred in grammar to the noun also.
n
'l'here are, then, three persons to nouns: the first, second,
and third.
EXAMPLES.

I r ead.
I, J ohn, write.
First person - I love.
You
.read.
You,
James, write.
Second person-You love.
Third person -He loves. He reads. She, Jane, writes.
NUMBER.

§ 18. Nouns have two numbers: Singular number, or
single, meaning one; and Plural, or rnore than one. If the
pre cise number is required to be expressed, the numeral
adjective is used. As - Two, three, four, &c.
The plural number is expressed by varying the form of
the singular number in different wn.ys.
1. The plural number is commonly formed by adding s to
the singular. As - Horse, horses .
2. \Vhen the singular ends in x, ch (soft), sh, s, ss, and
z, and sometimes when in o and y, the plural is formed by
ndding es. As -Box, boxes; church, churches; lash, lashes;

..

......

kiss, kisses.
3. Nouns ending in o, preceded by a consonant, form the
plural by adding es. As - Cargo, cargoes; hero, heroes.
The following are usually written with s only in the plural:
Canto, grotto, junta, memento, portico, quarto, octavo, solo,
tyro, zero.
4. Y final, after a consonant, changes into ies. As Body, bodies ; lady, ladies. But y final, after a vowel, forms
the plural regularly. As - Day, days; valley, valleys;
money, moneys.
5. Some nouns ending in f and fe, change f into ves.
As - Life, lives; loaf, loaves. But many ending in f and
fe form the plural regularly. :As - Brief, chief, dwarf,

3*

,,
11

ii
1·

·11
l

'.)

,,
~

30

THE NOUN.

fife, g 11~f, grirf, J,erchirf, 111 iscltief, hoof, p roof, roof, scarf,
Lw:f, s111f; and those ending in .ff; except staff.
6. Some plurals are irregularly formed. As-Man, men;

1coman, wome1i; child, ch ildren ; f oot, f eet; ox, oxen; tooth,
tceZh ; goose, geese ; mouse, mice; louse, lice; p enny, pence,
or p ennies; brother, brethren, or brothers; die (for gaming),
dice; die (for coining), dies.
7. Compound words vary the principal word to form the
plural. As - F athers -in- law, mothers-in-law, land-lords,
fath er-lands. Those compo und words ending in ful form
the plural regularly. A::; - Hanclfiils.
8. Some noun s have no plural form. As - Wheat, pitch,
gold, sili:cr, molasses, wine, jlmlr, industry, pride, temperance, meekness, &c.
9. Some nouns have no singular form. As - Bellows,
scisso1·s, tongs, ashes, annals, archives, assets, billiards, bowels,
ca.lends, clothes, dregs, entrails, politics, alms, pains, wages,
goods, hose, hysterics, ides, literati, nippers, nones, orgies,
shears, smdfcrs, victuals.
10. Some nouns have the same form in the singular and
plural. As - Sheep, deer, swi'.ne, amends, means, riches,
alms, mathcmat'ics, metaphysics, ethics, optics. So the following from the Latin -Apparatus, hiatus, impetus, caries,
congeries, series, species, superficics.
11. The family-name, compri sing a plurality of persons,
form s a collective noun, and th e title only takes the plural
form. As - 'Phe Misses Day, the llfessrs. Smith. But if the
num eral adjective is appli ed, th e personal name takes the
plural form. As-The two Aliss Days, the tliree Mr. Smiths .
12. The words horse, foot, infantry, cavalry, cannon, sail,
head, and others of this sort, implying plurality, are nouns
of multitude, and in the plural number. But when used
so as to imply unity, they are in the singular.
13. Nouns adopted from other languages often form their

NUMBER.

31

plurals in those languages. Those ending in is change the
termination into es. As -Amanuensi.~, amanuenses; antithesis, analysis, axis, basis, borealis, crisis, di<eresis, ellipsis,
emphasis, hypothesis, metamorphosis, oasis, parenthesis, phasis, thesis, synthesis.
(Let the pupil give the plurals of all the preceding nouns.]

14. A few change is into ides. As -Ephemeri'.s, ephemerides ; chrysalis, chrysalides.
15. The following change x into ces -Apex, apices, or
apexes ; appendix, appendices, or appendixes; calix, calices;
calx, calces, or calxes; cicatrix, cicatrices; index, indices, or
indexes; radix, radices; vertex, vertices, or vertexes; vortex,
vortices.
16. The following change a into re in the plural- For·
mula, formulce; lamina, larva, nebula, scoria.
[Let the pupil give the plurals.]

17. The following change us into i-Alumnus, alumni;
calculus, focus, fungus, genius, magus, nautilus, nucleus,
obolus, polypus, radius, sarcophagus, stimulus, tumulus.
(Let th e pupil gin the plurals.- Genius has genii or geniuses. Fungus has
fungi or funguses.]

18. The following change um and on into a-Addendum,
addenda ; animalculum, arcanum, automaton, corrigendum,
datum, desideratum, e.ffiuviurn, emporium, erratum, epheme·
ron, aphelion, perihelion, phenomenon, speculum, stratum.
(Let the pupil give the plurals.]

19. The following, ending in um and on, form their plurals either by adding s or changing um and on into aCriterion, criterions, or criteria; encom1'.um, encomiums, or
encornia ; gymnasium, medium, memorandum, momentum,
scholium.
[Let the pupil give the plurals.]

20. Some nouns from other languages form the plural
variously. Thus-Bandit, banditti, or candits; beau, beaux;

32

r

THE NOUN.

GENDER -

CASE.

33

cantlian:s, cantharides; cherub, cherubim, or cherubs; dogma,
dogmata, or dog mas ; ephemeris, ephe111,ericles ; formula, for- prophet, prophetess; shepherd, shepherdess; sultan, sultana;
mulce, or f ormulas; genus, genera; lamina, lamince; larva, , 1ongs-ter, songstress; testator, testatrix; tiger, tigress; tutor,
larvce; miasmct, 1m'asmata; monsieur, messieurs; n ebula, tutoress ; tailor, tailoress; viscount, viscountess; widower,
n ebvlce; seraph, seraphim, or seraphs; stamen, stamina, or ~idow.
2. By different words. As-Bachelor, maid; beau, belle;
stamens; tripos, tripodes; viscus, i•iscera.
boy,
girl; brother, sister; drake, dttclc ,· fiather ' mother '·
.
friar or manic, nun; gande1·, goose; gentleinan, lady;
GENDER.
hU$band, wife; hart, roe ; king, queen; lad, lass; lord, lady;
§ 19. Gender, in English nouns, is designated strictly man, woman; master, rnistress; nephew, ni'.ece; son, daughter;
by distinction of sex. Males are termed Ma sculine - fe. atag, hind; uncle, aunt.
3. By prefixing or affixing other words. As-Man-servant,
mal es, F eminine ; and things without distinction of sex are
maid-servant
; he-goat, she-goat; land-lord, land-lady; gentletermed .Neuter.
man, gentle-woman.
But the young of animals often employ the neuter pronoun, for th e r eason that the sex is not always obvious.
CASE.
As, we say of an infant- It sleeps ; of a lamb - It plays.
Gender is sometimes applied to inanimate things personi§ 20. Gase, in nouns, is simply their condition in relafied. As - H eaven opens wide ha ever-during gates.
tion
to other words in the sentence. As Inunim ate things di stinguish ed for power, or strength, or
1. Th e subject of a discourse.
size, are often term ed masculine. Thin gs distinguished for
2. The object of a verb or preposition.
beauty or p1·od11cti-cencss are also often termed feminine.
3. As implying possession.
As, we say - The sun is the king of day; the moon is the
Th e first is the name of a person, place, or thing, and is
queen of ni ght.
therefore
called the Nominative or naming case.
\Vh erc a person or class may be mixed, or of either sex,
The
second
is the object of the action or thing asserted,
the noun is called the Common gender. As - Parent, neigliand
is
therefore
called the Objecti:ve case.
bor, cattle, birds, &c.
The
third
indicates
the relation of possession, and is
The ge nder of nouns is expressedtherefore
called
the
Possessive
case.
1. By th e tennination. As - Actor, actress; abbot, abbess;
'fhe nominati-ve and objective cases are alike in form, exaclmi'.nistrator, administratrix; ambassador, ambassadress;
cept in the pronouns.
'
auth01-, authoress; arbiter, arbitress; governor, governess;
The possessive case is regularly formed by adding the
giant, g iantess; heir, heiress ; host, hostess ; hunter, huntress;
apostrophe, with the letters, to the nominative. Asj ew, Jewess; land grave, la.ndgravine; lion, lioness ; marquis,
•
Norn. - John loves.
rnarchi'oness; p eer, peeress; patron, patroness; poet, poetess;
Obj. - John loves virtue.
prince, princess ; pr·iest, priestess; protector, protectress i
Poss. -John loves virtue's ways.

,;

ADJECTIVE.

3±

THE NOUN.

Th e apostrophic s is sometimes om itted rn forming tha
possess ire case. As ~· \~~1e i:e the noun en ds ~n ss. As- For goodness' sake.
. -· W nei e the noun ends m letters of similn.r sounds with
th ~se t hat com mence the following noun. As_ For cou·
science' sake.
'f'h e_ English possessive case may be thrown into the
o_LJe cti ve form, with a preposition . As - Jupiter's sate~
h tes - the satellites of Jupitel'.
Noun s are sometimes placed independently of other par~
of the sentence. Th ese may be parsed as 1·n tl· 1 e .Lvomina
J\ T
•
tm
'
Case I ndependent. As l. Wh en used in address. As - Sirs, what shall we do ~
Rul e IV.
2. ·wh en connected with a participle. As - The sermon
being end ed, &c. Ilule V.
3. Wli en it means the same thin"' as another noun to
which it stands related ill apposition. As - Paul, tb1
A pos tl e. Rule III.
. Th e ~uldc:t.o f a verb, wh ether a noun, a pronoun, a verb
rn th e infinitive mod e, a phrase, or a sentence becomes 3
nominative case. As - John studies; he lear~s well · to
st?.1dy diligently is ri ght; that he ,;tudies diligently is' ad·
nu tte d; a good naine is better than rich es.
QUE S TIONS OF IrnVIEW.
I nto h ow mai1 y clas>cs are all words nat.nrally divided? What are th ~
three cla:"cs? How many Parts of Speech are there? Na me them. Ho•
n '.uny of t.hcse l~e l o11g to the first class? Name th em. H ow m auy to !ht
s,~co n <.l cla>s ? ]'( nmc them. How many t o the third class? Name them.
" t .h at• ' docs Wh
t.hc nnun or name in clude? Give the definition of th e noun-RUo'
s '.'"'"·c.
at words belong to this class becau se they f>ta.nd for n oum!
\ v h y a_re th ey then treated of separately ? Why are they pl aced in ordm· wilb
t~ ie adJe\t1Ye? ll ow are n oun " mollified? Wh at does th e.first person denote!
'.l he sccrm<l person? Th e th frcl person 1 'What do we n ow see in r egard to tbi
personal pronoun? What th en does the distinction of person belong to!

35

.l.ns.-To pronmms and to nouns. How many numbers have nouns? How is
t.Ji e plural number of nouns formed? How comnwnly! [Heview the pupil in
the '.!O differ ent ways of forming the plural. Give him the singular in each,
auu r equire of him th e plural, till b e is familiar with th em all.) What is
gendei·, as applied to n ouns? How many genders? Name them. How applied ? How to the young of animal s 1 How sometimes to inanimate things 1
To what clMS of inanimate thing~ ? When is the t erm conwwn ge nder appli t"<11 By wh at three different forms of words is gender -exprossed [Let the
teacher giv e the masculine name in P.ach class, and r equire the corresponding
feminine name, till all are familiar to the pupil. What is case, as applied
to noun s? How m any cases? Name t':.em. Defi ne th e n ominative. Obj ectire. Po~>essive. Which two of these are usually alike in form, except the
pronouns? How is the possessive formed? When is the apostrophic s omitted 1
In what constructions are nouns sometimes placed independnutly of the other
parts of a sentence? Name the first, second, third, with the rules. for each.
\\" hut may the subject of a verb be ? Is this the true nomin a tive?

ADJECTIVE.

§ 21. DEFINITION. - The Adje,etive is that part of the
now1 which qualifies the simple n ame, or h elps to describe
it, and it is th erefore called the Adjectit1e-noun. As- A goocl
name ex cels riches. H ere 'a good name' is the s11bject or
nominative to the verb ; and no part of it can be taken
away without impairing the subject. It is n ot 'name '
whi ch constitutes the nominative, but 'a good name.' Hence
our defi nition of the adjective: that it is a part of the ?Wim ,
which qiwlijies the simple name. H ence, too, our definition
of th e ai·ticle :§ 22.

DEFINITION.

-The Article is that f orm of the

a~jective which is used to designate some particular person,
plac~, or thing. As -A good man, the good man.

The is called the Dqfim'te article, because it defines or
points out some particular person or thing. As-The man
whom we met.

'I

36

ADJECTIVE.

31

DEGREES OF COMPARISON.

A is called the Indefinite article, because it is not used to
drfinc any particular person or thing. As -A man is tc
be estimated by his usefulness - i. e., any man.
An is used before words beginning with a vowel-sound.
As-An acorn. Also, before h silent. As-An hour. Also,
befo re h when the accent falls on any syllable except the
fir st. As - An historian. The n is dropped before words
b eginnin g with a consonant-sound. As - A man, a horse.
Thi s omi ss ion of n in th e one case, and retaining it in the
oth er, is for euphony, or for ease of expression.
A, from its derivation and meaning, can be applied to
n ouns in the singular numb er only. The is used with either
the singular or the plural. As-A man; the man or the men.
Adj ectiv es agree in numb er with th e nouns th ey qualify.
This appli es on ly to num eral adj ectives, or adjectives which
imply num ber. As - One man, two men, &c.
Th ose fo rm s of the pronouns which are used in the sense
of adjectives must agree with their nouns in gender. As His book, her book.
The principal modification of adj ectives is, to express
DEGREES OF COMPARISON.

§ 23. Qualities are of different degrees, and the adjective is varied in form to express those different degre es.
Th ere arc three degre es regularly formed, Thus 1. Th e Positive, which expresses the simple quality.
A s - Great.
2. Th e comparative, which in creases the positive, and is
form ed by adding er. As - Greater.
3. Th e Superlative, which still increases the comparative,
and ex presses the highes t degree - formed by adding est
As - Greatest. '.L'hus Great,
greater,
greatest.
Small,
smaller,
smallest.
H appy,
happier,
happiest.

When the word ends in e, the e is omitted. As widest.
wider,
Wide,

Worth is thus compared·worth, or worthy,
wortliier,

· worthiest.

Adjectives of more than one syllable are generally compared by adding the adverbs_ more and most, less and least.

ASSkilful,

more skilful,
{ less skilful,

most slcilful.
"least skilful,

Some adjectives admit of dijferentforms of comparison.

AsRe-mote,
Tender,

remotest.
rnost" remote.
tenderest.
most tena!e~.

remote1-,
{ more remote,
tenderm-,
{ more tender,

Some adjectives are irregularly compared.

Good,
Bad,
Little,
Much,
Many,
Near,
Late,
Far,
Old,

better,
worse,
less,
more,
more,
nearer,
later,
fartlier,
older, or elcler,

Some adjectives have no positive.

Nether,
Upper,
Inner,

4

best.
worst.
least.
most.
most.
nearest, or next.
latest, or last.
farthest, or last.
oldest, or eldest.

As -

nethermost.
uppermost.
innermost, or inmost.

Some adjectives have no comparative.

Bind,
Top,

As -

As -

hindmost, or hindermost.
topmost.

38

ADJECTIVE.

PRONOUN.

Some :vlj ec tives Llo not n,dm it of degrees of comparison.
As --1?011 nd, srz11are, &c. S uch n,dj ecti ves express a quality
wh ich n,clrnits of no degrees.
The adj ective pe1fect is used in degrees. As -

parison is inclusive of all the class, the superlative must be
used. As - Socrates. was the wisest of the Athenians.
Lesser is admitted as the comparative, equivalent to less.
As - Th e L esser Asia; the lesser co-efficient.
The comparative degree and the adjective pronoun other
are followed by than - such is followed by as or tliat. AsJ oh n is wiser than James; his condu ct was such that he
excelled all ; it was such as deserves praise.

P e1f ect,
more pe1fect,
most peifect.
Vari ous shades of degree are also exp ressed by other
w ords. As - R ather, somewlwt, sli:ghtly, a little so, too,
i'ery, greatly, highly, exceedingly, &c.
Degree of quality is sometimes expressed by the suffix
ish. As - White , whitish; black, blackish.
Double superlatives, or double co mparatives, are n ot ad·
miss iblc. But adverbs are sometimes added, as intensitives.
A s-'-- The 1:r:ry least; t he i-ery best.
Some adj ectives do not admit degrees of comparison, beCA-nse they express what is not capable of increase or diminn ·on . As - Papendicular, horizontal, square, true. Yet,
even with th ese, qualifying: adverbs are sometim es used.
As - Exactly perpendicular ; pe1j'ectly horizontal, &c.
Some adj ec tives are supe rlative only in sense. AsExtreme, chfrf Y et extremest is sometim es used by good
writer s; cliirfest, mor e selLl om. 'Extreme north' is an indefinite term, and admits of a higher degree-'tlie extremest
1wrth.'
Some adj ectives lesse n the positive, without a strict compari son. As - Whitish, yellowish, ,greenish.
Wh en two obj ects are compa,r e9, the comparative should
generally be used. A s - John is wiser than Jam es. But
more tlrn n two objects compared r equire the superlative.
A s - J oh n is the wisest of all. But the superlative may be
used to express the highest degree in comparison, whether
of two or more. As - Of the two, John is the wisest~
When a. comparison is instituted between one and all
others of the class, the comparative is to be used. As Socrates was wiser than any other Athenian. When the com·

39

QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.
Define the adjective. Why is it called the adjective-noun? An s.-Ilecau se
it is a part of the su.bject. Define the ar ticle. Why is the article classed with
the adj ective? Name the two articles. Why is the called the definite ar ticle?
Why a the indefinite? From what is a or an derived 1 When is a u sed?
''then an? '1hy this difference? In what r espects do adjectives agree with
noun•? Ans. - In number and gender. Wh at is the principal modification
of adjectives 1 H ow m any degre<.•s of comparison 1 What is expressed by
these modifi cation s 1 \Ylrnt is the positive? Comparativ e? Superlative?
How is t h e comparative for mzd? How the superlative? Compare wmth.
Compare skilful by increasing the quality - by decreasing the quality. Compare rernote by the adverbs more and most - by the regular form . Compare
good. Is t his comparison r egular 1 What other adjectives are irregularly
compar ed? Wh at adjectives luwlil no posuive? What no ccnnparativef Are
them any adj ectives which do n ot admit degr ees of comparison? Name them.
I s p erfect used in degr ees of comparison? Compare it. Wh at other words
are u sed to express shades of degree? What is said of the suffix ish f Wh at
is said of double superlatives nnd double comparatives 1 What is said of u sing
adverbs t o modify adj ectives? Do some adjectives n ot p.dmit degrees of corn·
parison? Why 1 Do these admit qualifying adverbs? Are some ndjecti'"es
used iu the superlatiYe sense. only? What is said of extr~ncst! . When two
thi ngs only arc com pared, what is the form of comparison ? When more than
two things ar e com pared, whnfis the form of comparison 1 l\1ay the superlative ever be u sed in the comparison of two things only 1 What conjunction
follows other? What such? I s lesse>· ev<!r u sed as the comparative ? When
a com parison is made of one wi th all others of a cl ass, which degree is used 1
When iuclusive of all the class, what degree is used 1 Give examples.

PRONOUN.

§ 24. D EFINITION. -The Pronoun is a form of the substantive-noun, and is used to avoid the frequent repetition

---40

PERSONAL PRONOUN.

41

PERSONAL PRONOUN.
'

of the noun in discourse. Pro means for; and pronoun.
signifies a word used for a noun.
Pronouns are either Personal, R elative, or Ad.fective.
They are Personal when they are used to designate pe'l'sons. They are R elative when they relate to pei·sons or
things preceding, cailed antecedents, and which they represent
in their own clause of the sentence. They are Interrogative
when employed in asking questions. 'l' hey are Adjective
when the pronoun takes the form of an adjective, and performs the office of an adjective to a noun.
Th e Personal Pronoun, as it designates a sub.feet of discourse, and the Relative, as it represents the antecedent, and
also the Intarogative, belong to the class of substantivenouns; :wd the AdJective .Pronouns belong to the adjective,
as they define or qunJify th e noun like the pure adjective.
Th e Interrogath:e is also adjective when used in a sense to
qualify or define a noun. As - Wlio is that man? He is
an officer. H ere, o.ffica, or man, means the same as who.
Wh at office does he exercise? A military office. Here, what
is an adjective-pronoun.

PERSON AL PRONOUN.

§ 25. The Personal Pronouns are I, thou, he, slze, it.I, the myself; thou, the yourself; he, she, it - i. e., Thomas,
N~ary, honse, or any thing spoke n of.
Th e ·distinction of Person applies to the speaker, to the
hearer, and to the person or thing spolcen of.
Th e distinction is term ed person, because the speaker
must be an intelligent being, and the address must be to
an intelligent being or a thing personified. But the sub.feet or
thing spoken of may be either n.n intelligent being or a thing
without life. In this relation of discourse, whatever are
;;poken of, wheth er persons or things, are classed in the
third p erson.

Pronouns, like nouns, have also two distinctions of Nurnber, three distinctions of Gender, and three distinctions of
Case.
The variations in form of the pronoun in Person, Gender,
Number, and Gase, may be seen in the following
DECLENSION.
FIRST PERSON.
Singular Number

Plural Number.

We,
Our, or ours,

Nominative Case -I,
Possessive Case - My, or mine,
Objective Case -Me.

Us.

SECOND PERSON.

Nom.-Thou,
Poss. - Thy, or thine,
Obj. - Thee.
·

Ye, or you,
Your, or yours,
You.

THIRD PERSON.
Feniinine.
Masculine.
Singulu.r.
Plural.
Singular.
Plural.

She, .
They,
Korn. - He, They,
H
er,
or
hers,
Their,
or theirs,
Poss. - His, Their, or theirs,
Them.
•
H er,
Obj. - Him, Them.
Neuter.
Singular.

Nom.-It,
Poss. -Its,
Obj. -It.

Plural.

They,
Their, or theirs,
Them

The possessive forms mine, thine, hers, o~rs, your_s, theirs,
· are used in the place of nouns, and by theu peculiar forms
imply nouns. As - This book is mine, thine, h~~s, ours,
yom·s, thefrs - that is, my, thy, her, our, your, th~ir, book:
Or ·mine a contraction for my own, my ownership or pro'
'
perty.

4*

42

PERSO~AL

PRONOUN.

43

RELATIVE PRONOUN.

'I

In this construction, mine stands in the place of my book,
and possesses the character of that for which it is substituted. It is a noun. Many grammarians prefer to r egard
it as substituted for my, and then it agrees with book understood. In either case it is a substitute for some other word,
and either interpretation is admissible. The sense is the
same.
Jon is now generally used in the nominative singular for
thoit, except in solemn discourse ; and also in the objective
singular fo r thee. Your is used in th e possessive singular
for thy. .Mine and tkine are also used in solemn discourse,
before noun s.
Th e compounds himself, herself, myself, ourselves, yourselves, tltem{)elves, are often used for emphasis, either in the
n omin ative or objective case. As - He himself, she herself,
they themselves, me myself, &c.
Se~f, when used alon e, is a noun. As -The love of self
is uni versa!.
QUESTIO NS OF REVIEW.
llllat is th e prcmoun? I s it ever substanti~-e ? What are the four divisions
o( pronouns 1 When are they pcr wnal? When relatir;e? When inlerroga·
five ? When ailjective ! When is the personal pronoun a substantive 1 Why
i s the rel ative pronoun a su bstanti\•c? When arc pronouns called adjectii'es!
"Wh en is the interrogati>e pronoun a substantive, and when an adjective! Give
examples. Name the per sonal pronouns. To what are the different persona
applied 1 Why is the t erm p erson u seu 1 I s the t erm p erson applied t o things
as well n.s to intelligent beings? How many and what genders are applieu to
pronouns? Numbers? Case ? Decline the.first person of the pronoun. The
••ewnd. The third. Masculin e. Feminine. Neuter. Define the use ofmi?W,
thine, &c. J\Iay it be used as a substitute for a noun 1 l\Iay it also be con·
8trucd as an adjective? Which constru ction <lo you prefer 1 Are both ad·
missible? How is you now generally med 1 Your? .Mine and thine? What
ii; said of the compounds himself, hersilf, &c. 1 When is self a noun 1

RELATIVE PRONOUN.

§ 26. Relative Pronouns are so called, because they
relate to some noun or subjed going before, called the
antecedent.
The relative also connects the antecedent sentence with
tho relative sentence. As - We are grateful to those who
serve us.
The Relative Pronouns are who, which, that, and what.
Wlio refers to persons. As - This is the man who
served me.
Which refers to things and animals. As -These are the
horses and carriage which I used.
That r efers to persons, things, and animals, and is used
for who or whicli. As - They are the horses, carriage, and
coachman, that my friend sent me.
DECLENSION OF THE RELATIVE PRONOUN.
Sing. and Plu.

Norn.- Who,
Poss. - Whose,
Obj. - Whom,

Sing. and Plu.

Which,
Whose,
Which,

Sing. and Plu.

That,
Whose,
That.

COMPOUND RELATIVE PRONOUN.

§ 27. What is called a Compound Relative Pronoun,
because it includes the sense of both the antecedent and the
relative, and is used for that which, for those who, for those
wlticli, &c. As - I know what is wanted; i. e., those persons who are wanted, those things which are wanted, those
persons and things that are wanted .
The compound relative pronouns whoever, whosoever, whatever, whatsoever, whichever, whichsoever, are often used and
parsed like what. As Whoever sins, must suffer: i. e., he who sins, must suffer.
Whatever is, is right.
Whichever outweighs, outvalues.

-

44

.ADJECTIVE PRONOUN.

P ARSLNG EXERCISES •

Wlto so, formerly used for iclwsoever, is now obsolete.
JV /i,iclt and wlwt are sometimes used as adjectives. AsI am sick, for which reason I decline office. For what rea·
son do you dcoline?

Norn.- One,
Poss. - One's,
Obj. - One.

45

Singular.

Own is not used as a possessive pronoun, except in com,
!
bination
with other possessives. As -The boy's own book.
ADJECTIVE PRONOUN.
.This book is rny own: i. e., my own book.
§ 28. Adjective Pronouns have the nature of adjectives ' None is used, in the singular or plural, in the sense of
wh en they are used to qualify or Urnit the signification of 1/JI any. It cannot be used with a noun, except as the equithe noun. They are divided into four classes , viz.: ,ulent of not any or not one. As - Have you children?
1. D1 s TRIIlliTIVE. - Each, every, either, neithe:r.
None: i. e., not any, or not one.
2. D nrnxsTRATIYE. - This, that, the forrner, tlie latter,
QUE S TIONS OF REVIEW.
th cse, those.
8.

Po ss EssrvE. -

His, her, its, thy, my, our, your, their,

own.

4.

One, other, much, more, most, some, any,
all, such, both, several, none, another.

I NDEFINITE. -

Few, many, several, no, whole, wha tever, whatsoever, whose·
soeva, wltichsoccer, u:hicltever, when attached to a noun, are
Indrjim:te Adjective Pronouns. As Sin, of whatever name, will be punished.
Wlwsesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted.
TVhicl1e1'er sin ho practises, conscience condemns him.
In no case whatever is sin excusable.
Th o indefinite pronoun other is declinable, and has the
plural form - others. In this character, it is strictly a
substantire.

Why are relative pronouns so called? What sen tences does the r elative
!Dllnect! Name the r elative pronouns. What does who refer to? Which!
That? Decline each of these relatives. Do they vary in form to express the
plural! Which of these is u sed us a compound relative! Why? Give an
nample. What forms of com pound pronouns are u sed like whaU Give ex.
, amples. What is said of whoso f Which and what ar e sometim es u sed in an·
, ~ber sense - in what sense ~ What are adjective pronouns? Name the four
m<i>ions. Specify the distributives. The demonstratives. The possessives. The
iad~finite . Other indefinite pronouns. Decline other as a noun. Decline oiu.
l"bat is said of own! Of none 1

PARSING EXERCISES.
[Let the pupil designate the pa rts of speech in these exercises, the modifica·
and the grammatical relations of the words.]

lion~,

Man, a man, one man, the man, the men, two men, three
men, four men, first man, second man, third man. Good
man, a good man, the good man, the good men, one good
Singular.
Plural.
man, the good men, two good men. A great man, a greater
·
N om. - Other,
Others,
man, the greatest man. A wide street, a wider street, the
Poss. - Other's,
Others'.
widest street. A worthy man, a worthier man, the worthiObj. - Otlter,
Others,
.
est
man. A skilful man, a more skilful man, the most skilThe ind efi nite pronoun one is declined, in the singular,
ful
man,
a less skilful man, the least skilful man. A. remote
thus : -

46

THE VERB.

PAilSIXG EXERCI SES.

country, a remoter country, th e r emotest country, a mort
remote country, th o most r emote cou ntry. A good man, t
better man, th e bes t man . Th e neth er sprin g, the n ether·
most sprin g . Th e hi nd team, the hin dmost team, the hinder·
most team. A r oun d figure , a square box. A perfect man, '
a mor e perfect des cri ption, a most perfect example. A ·
r ather small size, so mewhat inferior size; a slightly deformed feat ure, not much, a little so, the eye too larg<,
very. dull, greatly in fla med, hi ghly wakeful, exceedin h.
"h
r est less ; a white cloud, a whitish cloud, a black dress, a
blackish dress . The very least of the apostles, the verr
best man. A per pendicul ar column, exactly perpendicu la;,
with a cap enctly h ori zontal. Th e extreme north, the ex·
tremest north . A ch ief, the ch iefest, the very ch iefest apostle.
A mixture of minerals, whitish, yellowish, and greenish.
J olrn is wi se r than J nm cs, he is the wisest of the two, he ii
the wi sest of all. The L esser As ia, a lesser co-efficienl
Each man, every man, either man, neith er man. This
co un t ry, th at country, these nations, those nati ons. Ifo
fa ther, her fathe r. l\Iy brothe r, your brother. On e man,
oth er men, the other man, several men, a few men . WhosesoeYer faults. Whichcn~r sin. "'Whatever sin. My own '
book.

47

THE VERB.

§ 29 . In the Parsing L essons which follow, the learn er
should now practise the application of the Rules of Syntax.
These, in their general application, are very simple . Th ey
apply - 1. To the r elations of the noun; 2. To the r elations of the verb; 3. To the relations and uses of the particles.
The Noun-substantive has six specific R~es, as the nom inative or naming case, to define the six differ ent forms of
~yn tax in which it is construed; and six other specific
Rules to define its construction in sentences, as the object
of an' action or r elation. It has one Rul e only for its relation of possession. The Pronoun is included in the substantive-noun, and subjict to the same Rul es. Th e Ad(jective,
whether participial or pronominal, has but one Rule, which
defines its r elation to the noun.
The Verb has two Rules only: one for the r elation of
a"reement
of the finite verb with its nominative, and the
0
other for th e government of the infinitive.
1' he f our Particles have each a Rule, to define their relations and uses.
Thus twenty Rules suffice: fourteen for the Noun; two for
the Vero; and one each for the four Particles. These are
readily learned, and easily applied.
The Verb is a. word ~hie~ affirms
or asserts something of a noun or subject, which is called
the nominative. As - I love, thou lovest, he loves.

§ 30.

DEFI N I:1'ION. -

·I
i

I

The verb, as soon as it is spoken, carries an idea from the
mind of the speaker to the mind of the hearer.
This fact has led some to trace the derivation of the term
verb to a word in the Latin which signifies to bear. It bears
•\

I

48

THE VERB.

THE VERB.

or carries the thoughts of one mind to another mind, because it asserts something.
See how it does this. I point you to a star. Our atten·
ti on is directed to the same object, but our thoughts about
it may be very different. I wish to communicate my thoughts
to you. H ow? Why, by some word that may carry the
thought that is in my mind into your mind. Keep your
attention fixed on the star. - I say, "The star shines."
Now, my thought is carried by that word shines into your
mind. But I say, again, " The star twinkles." Now, an·
other thought pas~e s from my mind to yours. I say, again,
" The star moves.
The star revolves.
The star increases.
Th e star rises.
The star sets.
The star wanes."
In each of these sentences, a new assertion is made, by a
different verb, and a new idea is carried from my mind tu
your mind.
The verb, then, is the great word for the communication
of thought from mind to mind.
'Vith the names of thin gs, or of subj ects, we communicate
what we think of those things by the verb. The verb, then,
is the great word, the most important word.
So, the verb is the most difficult word to understand, because numerous variations are required to express every
variety of thought, in every possible variety of form, of
manner, and of time.
The verb must l)e studied thoroughly. A few examples
only are here given, in which th e learner is only r equired
to designate the verb and the noun.
EXAMPLES,

A profound depth sinks.
A bright star shines.
A twinkling planet shines. A long distance stretches.
An eccentric comet revolves. Time flies.

49

I love. Thou lovest. He loves.
The stellar heavens ,glow.
We
love. Ye or you love. They
The infinite space exists.
A great height rises.
love.
Which is the verb in each of these sentences? Why?
Is the nominative, or subject, a noun or a pronoim?
What is the noun for which I is used? Ans. - My own
no.me : " I, John, love."
What is the noun for which thou is used? Ans. - Your
name : James. As, "Thou, Jarn es, lovest."
What is the noun for which he is used? Ans.-Thomas.
As, " He, Thomas, loves."
The First Person, then, represents the speaker.
The Second Person r epresents the hearer or reader.
The Third P erson-represents the p erson or thing spoken of.
The same is true of the plural - we, ye or you, they.
The verb, as it asserts somethin,;, refers to the Manne:r
and Time - called, in grammar, Mode and Tense.
In this example it simply asserts or declares, or indicates,
and this is called the Indicative Mode: " I love."
. It asserts this in the present time, and therefore it is
called the Present Tense.
Now, parse this simple sentence, I love. - I is a pr~noun,
because it is used instead of a noun; personal, referring to
a person ; fir st person, because it represents t~e s~eaker;
singular number, because it means but one; nomina.t we ~ase,
because it names the subject of discourse or of assertion;
nominative to the verb love, which asserts something of it.
RuLE I. - A noun, when the subject of a verb, is in the
nominative case, and governs the verb in nqmber and
person.
Now parse love.
Love is a verb, because it asserts something of a noun
nominative; indicative mode, because it simply asserts or

5

----50

THE VERB.

indicates; present tense, because it asserts in the prese
time ; and it be longs to its nominative pronoun I, and a.gr
with it in number and person.
RULE XV. - The verb is made to agree with its subjec:
or nominative case in number and person.
Number and person belong to the verb simply in refe~
enc e to its nominative case.

51

THE VERB.
I
IMPERFECT TENSE.
Singular.

1st Pers. - I loved,
2d Pers. - Thou lovedst,
3d Pers. - He loved,

Plural.

We loved,
Ye or you loved,
They loved.

Parse these as the others, except that they are rn the
i111pe1fect past time, instead of the present time.

I love is a simple sentence, because it contains an asser·
§ 33. We sometimes also assert a thing as now comtion, in a subject or a nominative, and a verb. It expressf!
pleted,
but done in past time. This is called the Pe1fect
a simple idea.
Tense, or Past Definite. As - I have loved.
§ 31. The INDICATIVE MoDE, present tense, of the verD Have expresses present time, and loved past time; and
therefore ltave loved siO'nifies
past time completed, or Perfect.
love, is thus conjugated: b
•
']t is sometimes called Past Definite, as the Imperfect is
Singular.
Plural.
called Past Indefinite.
·
1st Person - I love,
We love,
Do, be, have, may, can, mu~t, might, could, would, should,
2d P erson - Thou lovest,
Ye or you love.
,Jiall, and will, are often used in combination with the prin3d P erson - He loves,
They love.
cipal verbs, to aid in their conjugation or in their variations
Parse Thou lovest. - Th ou is a pronoun, because it stand! kl express the different modes and tenses. They perform a
for a noun or name; p ersonal pronoun, because it refers t-0 more important office than that of mere signs of time or
a person; singula1· number, because it means but one; manner of ar.tion. They modify the sense. They are called
nominative case, because it nam es the subject; nominati1e luxiliary Verbs.
t-0 the verb lovest, which asserts something of it. (Rule I.) Do, be, have, and will, are also used as principal verbs,
L ovest is a verb, because it asserts something of its nomi· tmploying for this purpose their appropriate auxiliaries.
r

nn,frrn case, and n,grees with it accordingly in number and
person. (Rule XV.)

In like manner, pn,rse He loves; and, in the plural, We
love, ye love, you love, they love.

PERFECT TENSE .
Sin gular.

Plural.

1st Pers. - I have loved,
We have loved,
2d P ers. - Thou hast loved, Ye or you have loved.
3d P ers. - He has loved,
They have loved.

§ 32. W e sometimes assert a thing as having taken Parse these simple sentences as the former, except that
place in past time, or Past Tense. As - I loved. This is
liiPy are in the Pe1fect Tense.
past, but indefinite as to the precise time past, and has
What then is the true difference between the Imperfect
th erefore been called Impe1feect, or Past Indefinite.
foise and the Perfect Tense? .

", I lI
1.;j
!

1

52

An swer. - Th e i mpeifect tense is indefinite as to the precise time of th e past acti on. The p eif ect tense represent.
th e past action as now completed.
I loved defin es no precise tim o: I was loving. I have loud
refe rs, in tim e, to the p resent, and defines the action as past
and no" completed.
The foip e1f ect tense, then, may be expressed in another
fo rm. Thu s I was lm;ing,
We were loving,
T hou wast loving,
Ye or you were loving,
H e was lov·ing,
They were loving.
This form of the impe1f ect tense must be parsed precisely
like the other.

§ 34 .

There is also a third form of p ast time. AsI hacl lovecl. This r efers to somet hing whi ch had been completed befo re anoth er definit e tim e. A s - I had loved Ill
or befo re the tim e you mention. It has therefore been called
P lu-p e1fect, or more than the simple perfect. Thus PL UP BRFECT

TEN SE.
P lural.

Singul ar.

1st P ers. - I had loved ,
2d Pers. - Thou '!wclst loved,
3d P ers. - He had loved,
r

We hacl loi,ed,
Y e or you had loved,
They had loved .

Th ere are, in gramm ar, th en, three di stin ctions of paJi
time, call ed the I mpeif ect, th e Pe1fect, and the P lupe1fect.

§ 35.

H ow is the assertion made in Future T ime?

An swer. FUTURE TEN S E.
Si ngular.

1st P ers. - I shall love,
2d P ers. - T hon shalt love,
3d P ers. - H e shall love,

53

THE VERB.

TH E VERB.

Plural.

We shall love,
Y e or you shall love,
They shall love.

Shall was originally a principal verb, but it is now used
only as an auxiliary, to indicate the future tense of some
principal verb.
Will, also, still use~ as a principal verb, is combined with
other principal verbs, to express future time. As -

I shall or will love,
Thou shalt or wilt love,
He shall or will love,

We shall or will love,

Ye or you shall or will love,
They shall or will love.

Parse these simple sentences as before, except that they
belong to the Future Tense.
When we assert something that will be done previous

to another future time designated, we use the following
form:FUTURE TENSE.
Singular.

· Plural.

'
I shall or will have loved,
W e shall or wi:ll have loved,
Thou shalt or wilt have loved, Y e or you shall or will have loved,
He shall or will have loved, They shall or will have loved.
ExAMPLE.-I shall have lived long enough on the day of
my death.
The first form is called .the First Future Tense. The second
form is called the Second Futm·e Tense.
Parse the forms in each, and state the difference.
The general sense of shall and will is simply future; but
they express something more than the modification of time.
Shall expresses what one owes, or is obliged or destined
to do, to be, to suffer, &c.
Will expresses will or willingness, determina#on or inclination.
ExAMPLE.-The man overboard cried out, "I will drown,
nobody shall help me." He intended, "I shall drown; nob0dy will help me."

5*

54

55

THE VERB.

THE VERB.

This simple distinction mn,y lead the young learn er to a
correc t use of shall and will in almost all varieties of construction.

Parse - I may love. I can love. I must love. Thou
mayst love. · Thou canst love. Thou must love. "\Ve may
love. Vve can love. We must love. You may love. You
can love. You must love. They may love. They can love.
They must love.

There are, th en, three naturnl divisions of time: Presenl,
P ast, and Future. But there are three divisions of past time,
and tico divisions of future time. Present time can not be
subdivided; for, if we speak of any time not absolutely
present, it must be either past or future. If past or future,
it must be expressed in some one of the forms already given,
and must bel ong to some one of the divisions here described.

IMP E RF EC T TENSE.
Singular.

I might, could, would, or should love.
Thou mightst, couldst, wouldst, or slwuldst love.
He might, could, would, or should love.
Plural.

§ 36.

There is another manner' or mode of asserting
something of the nonn which implies the power to do. This
is called the Potential Jl!ode. As - I can love. Potential
means having the power.
'l'he Potential Jlfode of the verb always employs another
word to aid the prineipn,l verb. These auxiliaries are can
and could, which express power to do; may and might,
which express liberty to do; must and should, which ex·
press n ecessity or obligation to do; and would, which expresses will or willingness. All these forms are used under
the name of the

We m1:ght, could, would, or should lo1)e.
Ye or you rm'ght, could, would, or should love.
They might, could, would, or should love.
Parse - I might love. I could love. I would love. I
should love. Thou mightst love. Thou couldst love. Thou
wouldst love. Thou shouldst love. He might love. He
oould love. He would love. He should love. We might
love. We could love. We would love. We should love.
You might love. You could love. You would love. You
should love. They might love. They could love. They
would love. They should love.

POTENTIAL MODE.

PRESEN'r TENSE.
Singular.

I may, can, or must love,
Thou mayst, canst, or must love,
He may, can, or must love.
Plural.

We may, can, or must love,
Ye or you may, can, or must love.
They may, can, or must love.

PERFECT TENSE.
Singular.

I may, can or must have loved.
T Jiau rnayst, canst or must have loved.
He may, can, or must liave loved.
Plural.

We may, can or must have loved.
Ye or you may, can or must have loved.
They may, can or must have loved.

56

Parse - I may have loved. I can have loved. I must
have loved. Thou mayst ha.ve loved. Thou canst have
loved. 'l'hou must have loved. Ile may have lo...-ed. He
can have loved. He must h:we loved. \Ve may have loved.
\ Ve can have loved. \Ve must have loved. You may have
loveu. You can have loved. You must have loved. They may
have loved. They can have loved. They must have loved.
PLUPERFECT TENSE.

57

THE VERB.

THE VERB.

anoth er simple sentence to complete the sense, it has received the name of the Subjunctive Mode. The condition is
indicated by some particle, such as if, lest, &c.
As -If I love? What then? "If I love my neighbor,
I fulfil a divine command." Every subjunctive ltfode of expression requires, as in this example, some other sentence to
Le subjoined.
(Let the pupil conjugat e and par8e the verb and pronoun, and conjunction,
in the following paradigm of the subjunctive mode.]

Singular.

I miglit, could, would, or should have loved.
l'lwu rnigldst, couldst, wouldst, or shouldst have loved.
He might, could, would, or should have loved.

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE,

Formed by adding a conditional particle to the indicative
mode through all the modes and tenses.

Plural.

1Ye might, could, would, or should have loved.
l e or you might, could., would, or should have loved.
They might, could, would, or should have loved.
Parse - I might ha>e loved. -1 could have loved. I would
ha>e loved. I should have loved. Thou mightst have loved.
Thou couldst have loved. Thou wouldst have loved. Thou
should st have loved. He might have loved. He could have
loved. He would have loved. He should have loved. We
might have loved. We could have loved. We would have
l oved. We should have loved. You might have loved. You
could have loved. You would have loved. You should have
loved. 'l'h ey might have loved. They could have loved.
They would have loved. They should have loved.
Th o P otential 1lfode has no form of Future Tense.

§ 37.

There is another mode or manner of assertin"'
which always has a conditional form of expression, an°d
h ence may most properly be called the Condit1:onal Mode.
But as it is used only subjoined to another verb, requiring

PRESENT TENSE.
Plural.

Singular.

1. 2. 3. -

If I love.
If thou lovest.
If he loves.

lf we love.
If ye or you love.
lf they love.

IMPERFECT TENSE.
Plural.

Singular.

1. - If I loved.
2. - lf tlwu lovedst.
3. - lf he loved.

If we loved.
lf ye or you loved.
If they loved.

PERFECT TENSE.
Singular.

1. - If I have loved.
2. - If thou hast loved.
3. - If he has loved.

Plural.

lf we have loved.
If ye or you have loved.
If they ha·ve loved.

58

THE VERB.

Sin gular.

P lural.

1. - If 1 l@l lo1:ccl.
2. - If than hadst loved.
3. - If he had lurnd.

If we had loved.

59

THE VERB.

PLUPERFE C T '.I.'EX SE .

oarsed as a substantive or noun, and the noun may be subfor it in form.

~titute u

If ye or you had loved.
If they had loved.

IMPERATIVE MOpE.

PRE S ENT TENSE .
FI RS T F UT UR E T ENSE.
Sing ul ar.

Plural.

1. - If I shall or u·ill love. If we shall or will love.
2. - If tl1 ou shalt or w£lt lo'Ce. If ye or you shall or will love.
3. - If he shall or icill love. If they sha.Zl or will love.
SECON D FUTURE T ENS E .
Sing ul ar.

·,

1. - If I shall or w ill ha1:e
lo ved.
2. - If thou shalt or wilt
h a1:e loi-ed.
3. - If lw shall or will have
loved.

P lural.

If we shall or will have loved.

Sing. - Love.

§ 38. Th e Imperative Mode takes its name from it!! form
of commanding. As - L ove, or love thou. "Love your
use of this
n eighbor." This is th e primary and leadinO'
•
b
form , a nd hence its name. But it is used also for entreating.
A s - "Give us this day our daily bread.'' For p ermitting.
As - " Eat at my table.'' F or exhorting. As - "Turn
from yo ur evil ways."
Th ese modes of expression, called Imperative, can be
form ed only in the present time.
Th e particle to is always used as an auxiliary to the verb
in th e infi nitive mode. As - To love.
It is call ed th e substantii.:e-verb, because it always implies
existence or being, and has a suhstantive sense, It may be

Do thoii love.

Plu. - Love ye, or love you.

Do ye or you love.

§ 39. When the mode of expression is indefin ite, without a subject or nominative case, it is called Infinitive, in
the sense of indefinite. As - To love. We ought to love
our n eighbor.
This mode of expression may be made either in the
Present T ense or in the Perf ect Tense.

If ye or ymi shall

or will have
loved.
If tltey shall or will have loved.

Love thou.

INFINITIVE MODE.

PRESENT TENSE.

PER FE CT TE NS E.

To love.

To have loved.

§ 40. There is another form, which is called the P articiple. This is not strictly a verb. It asserts nothing, but
is form ed from the verb, and is used in various combimi.tion s with the verb, and has a relation to time either present or time past. It derives its name from its participating
th e nature of both the verb and the adj ective. Wh en it
involves the idea of time, it belongs in con struction to the
;erb. As - Loving, we confide. L oved and respected, he
died lamented. When it expresses a quality of a noun, it is
used as an adjective. As -A loving child. Our loved ones.
Th ere are three forms of the Participle, viz. : P ARTICII'LE S.

PR E S E N T.

Loving.

PERFECT.

Loved.

COMPOUND PERFECT.

Having Loved.

I

'

60

PARSING EXERCISES
QUESTIONS O:F REVIEW.

,.

61

PARSING EXERCISES.

TIIE VERB .

'

Employing the nominative-?wun, and the verb through all its
modes and tenses.
The indicative employs all the tenses.
The indicative is the most simple, complete, and defiuite
of all the modes in its use of the tenses. .

To what three relations of words do th e Rules of Syntax apply? H ow many
Rulee npply to the r e1"tions of the n oun·s nhstantive as tho noininalive? Am.
-Six, fr om I. to YI. inclu sirn. !low many to the oujectfre! Ans.-Six, from
VII . to XII. How mt'9 Y to the possessfre? Ans.- One, XIII. How many to
the adjective? An s. - One, XIV. How many to th~ 1·erb? An s.-Two, XI.
and XY I. llow many to tb e particla! Ans.- One each , XYII. to XX. Ilcw
I stud!, we study, you study, they study.
many Rul es, then, are there? Define the verb. ·what does the verb <lo !
I studied, ~e studied, you studied, they studied.
"ll"hy is tl.Je derivation of its nam e traced to the Latin verb f ero! Ans. - Bl'
ca use it is empl oyed to bear or carry thoughts from the mind of the speaker
I have studied, we have studied, you have studied, th ry
to th e mind of the hearer. Give an illustration of this. Why is the Terb
have studied.
regarckd as tl 1e most important word? Is it difficult to understand in iu
I ~ad studied, we had studied, you had studied, they had
v ariou s u ses? ·why? J\lust it be thoroughly studied? For what are the
two prin cipal mod ifica tions of verbs 1 Ans. - 'l'o express manner and tim e, or
etudied.
·
mode and wnse. " "hat is the Hu le I., which ex presses the r elations of the
we
shall study, you shall
I
shall
study,
he
shall
study,
n omin ut;ve to the verb? "!mt is the Rule XV., which is the cou nterpart of
study,
they
shall
study.
this, showing th2 r elation of the verb to its n ominative 1 How doe8 the distinction of person and number belong to the verb? Conjugate the verb l0tt,
I shall have studied, we shall have studied.
iiulimtive mode, present tense. >\h en do we use tlie impeiject twse? Define iL
You shall have studied your lesson before dinner.
Wh at other name describes it? Conjugate it. Does the peijed tense m e an
J ohn studie~ , J ames has studied, th e boys have recited.
auxiliar y verb ? What are the auxiliary verbs? Name them. Why so calle-1!
The class will have recited before the school closes.
Do they modify the s~nse as well :is the time 1 What auxiliary verb does tbt
p e>fect tense employ? Df'fine th e p erfect ten se. Conjugate the >erb in tht
I shall have finished my duties when the class recites.
perfect ten se. What is the precise differ ence between the impe:iject and tht
He
shall have recited his lesson in time or lose his credit.
p erfect t ense? "W hat i;i a second form of th e im perfect tense 1 Define tla
_I shall go. I will go. Will you go? You shall go. H e
plupe1jed tense. Conjugate it. H ow many distinctions of past tim ~ are ma&
then ? . Conj u gate the simple future tense. What are the auxiliaries ben 11'~11 go. He shall go. We will go. We shall go.
They
used? Was shall ever a principal n rb? I s wi.ll now u sed as a principal >eri
11'111 go. They shall go.
as well as an auxiliary ? Define tb e second future t ense. Wh at is the general
semc of shall aud will ? Do they express mor e than th e definition of ti1111. I
The potential employs the present and past tenses only.
' Yh at docs sliall express? lViU ! Give th e example in illustration. ·wm you ·
Pres.
- I can walk, he can walk, they can walk.
n•m embcr this distinction? Recapitulate the gen eral divisions and the sulr
division s of time. Wh at is the p otential mode? What ar e its auxil-iaritJI
Imp. - I fell from my horse, and could not walk.
Conj ugate the present tense. The imperfect. Th e perfect. The pluperfect. D<leJ
Pe1f.
- Can he have done this thing?
tbe potential mode employ the future t enses? Define the subjunctiw, mod~
H e may have done it.
Wh y call ed ml>junctive? Is it conditional ? Does th e subjunctive verb alway1
require the u se of another verh or oim ple sentence to complete the sen..~!
Plupe1f. - He might have walked.
Conjugat e the imperative mode, present t ense. Has thi s mode more than ODI
He could have walked.
t ense? I s the nominative common ly expressed? Define the infinitive mode.
How many ten$es does it employ. Conjugate th e present tense: The perfe<I. . The impe1fect of the potential, as a past tense, is less di
Define th e participle. What does its n ame imply? How is the participle diP tinctly marked than the other tenses.
tinguish ed from the adjective? When is it used as an adj ecth·e? Conjugate ii.

6

I

:1
I

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICES.

CouU:l, slzould, and would, were originally principal verbs,
exp ress ing th e past tenses of can, shall, and will. They still
r etain th eir ori gi nal meaning, and impart it to the verbs to
whi ch th ey are applied: viz . - I can, am a.ble-: I could, was
able : I should, was obliged ; I would, was w·iZZ.ing. But. in
our use of th ese verbs as auxiliaries, th e impe1ject tense is
less di stinctly marked, and they are generally made definite
in time by the use of qual ifying adverbs.

The imperative, as it is used for commanding, exhorting,.
entreating, or permitting, is used only in the present tense.

·we r etain, however, the impe1fect tense, or indefinite time
past, in this for m, because it is still capable of being use~
and is used. As in the examples Ile was i:;iek, and could not ri se.
I was engap;ed, and could not go.
He was unwilling, and would not go.
I saac was blirnl, and could not see.
H e was able, but would not go.
J ohn was lame, and could not go.
The subjunctive employs all the six tenses. It is formed
by adding
conditional particle, and this makes it neces·
sary to subjoin another clause indicative, to complete the
i>en se. As -

a

,·

63

THE VERB.

If we talk, the teacher will r eprove us. If you run, you
may fall. If th ey return, I will see them. If he lives, be
will exce1. If he has gone, I must go. If he had com·
mantled, I should have obeyed. If you will go, I will fol·
low. If th ey shall return, you mu st see them.
If we talk, if you talk, if they talk.
If we talked, if she talked, if you talked.
If I have talked, if we have talked, if they have talked.
If he had lived, if she had lived, if it had lived.
If I shall rule, if you shall rule, if they shall rule.
If we shall have followed, if they shall have followed.

IMPERATIVE.

Obey thou. Repent ye. Cease from evil. Do good.
Love mercy. Deal justly. Walk humbly. Go in peace.
Enter into rest. Follow after righteousness. Flee ternpta
tion. Seek the L ord. Forgive' our sins. Hear us.
The infinitive has two tenses, the present and the pe1fect.
INFINITIVE.

I love to study. I desire to learn. I try to improve,
We will learn to parse. You promise to explain. The
boys wish to go. 'l'he girls have assembled to r ecite.
A goo d scholar strives to excel. They ought to have
recited before dinner.
The participle r efers to time present, perfect, or compound
perfect. As PARTICIPLE.

Present. - John, reciting, forgets his dinner.
Perfect. - Tempted to play, he neglected his lesson.
Comp. Pe1j. - John, having neglected his lesson, lost
·
his dinner.

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICES OF VERBS.

§ 41. Transitive verbs have a Passive as well as an
Active form (called Active and Passive Voices ); as, where the
active nominative, instead of being the agent or actor, is
made the passive r ecipient of the action. Thus Active. - James struck John.
Passive. - John is struck by Jam es.

64

THE VERB.

ACTIVE AND p ASSIVE VOICES.

T his fo rm of expression belongs to transiNve verbs only.
Th e noun, "·hi ch is in the obj ective case of the active form,
becomes the nominative case in the passive form.

the time of speaking, and is formed by annexing the pres_ent

participle to the verb to be, t h roug h a11 i· t s modes and ten::ses.
As - 1 arn loving.

PASSIVE FORM .

PASSIVE FORM.

Th e Pa.<ssive form , where the action is made to terminate
on the nominative, is constru cted by writing the verb am,
through all its modes and tenses, to the perfect participle
of the transitive verh; except in the perfect participk itself,
whi ch is the same in the active form.

INFINITIVE MODE.

Present.

Present.
P e1f.
Comp. Perf.

Present.
I am loved.
Irnpeifect. I was loved.
Perfect.
I have been loved.
Pluperfect. I had been loved.
F uture.
I shall be loved.
Sec. Future. I shall have been loved.

Progressive F orm.
Present. To be lovin g.
Pc1fect. To have been loving.

PARTICIPLES.

Pres. Lovin g.

Pe1f. Loved.

Comp. Perf. Having loved.

I NDI CATIVE MODE.

Present.
I mpe1:fect.
P e1fect.
Pl11pe1fect.
Future,
S ec. Future .

I
I
I
I
I
I

love.
loved.
have loved.
bad loved .
shall love.
shall have loved.

I
I
I
I
I
I

Progressive Form.
am loving.
was loving,
have been lovin g.
had been loving.
shall be loving.
shall have been loving.

Being loved.
Loved.
Having been loved.

INDICATIVE MODE.

Love.

I XFIXITIVE MODE.

To love.
To have loved.

To have been loved.

PARTICIPLES.

ACTIVE FORM.

P resent.
P e1fcct.

Perfect.

To be loved.

T he fo ll owing synopsis of the verb love, in the active and
pa8siYe for m, will enable the learner to conjugate it ilirough
all the other parts.
SYNOPSI S OF THE VERB

65

POTENTIAL MODE.

Present.
Imperfect.
Perfect.
Pluperf ect.

I
I
I
I

may, can, or must be loved.
might, could, would, or should be loved. .
may, can, or must have been loved.
might, could, would, or should have been loved
SUBJUNCTIVE MODE.

The same as the indicative, with the conjunction
fi xed through all the modes and tenses.

if pre

IMPERATIVE MODE.

In the same way, go through all the modes and tenses.

B e loved, or do thou be loved.
B e ye or you loved, or do ye or you be loved.

The Pi·ogressive form represents the action in progress at

6*

I
I)

·'I I

66

THE VERB.

RULES FOR CONJUGATION OF VERBS.

§ 42. By the Foi·rnula, as given in the conjugation of
the verb love, any Regular Verb may be conjugated through
all its modes and tenses.
By the Fo?'rnula of the verb to be (§ 45), any Irregular
Verb may be conjugated. 'l'h us FORMATION OF THE TENSES.
The Pe1fect Tense is formed by prefixing have to the perfe ct participle. As - I liave been.
Th e Pluperfect Tense is formed by prefixing had to the
perfect participle. As - I had been.
Th e First Future Tense is form ed by prefixing shall or
will to the present. As - I shall or will be.
The Second Future Tense is formed by prefixing shall or

wi:zz to the perfect tense. As - I sliall or will have b.een.
r

r

The P resent, Irnpeifect, and Peifect Participle, of all Irregular Verbs are given in the List of Irregular Verbs(§ 50).
The other parts are formed as in the Formula of arn.

In their ConJugation, verbs are either Regular or Irregular.
R egular verbs form their imperfect tense and perfect participle by adding ed to the present tense, or d only when the
verb ends in e. The verb love is of this class. As Pres., love ; impf., loved ; perf. part., loved.
Irregular verbs are so called because they have an irregular formation of the imperfect tense and perfect participl e.
This may he shown in the conjugation of the verb am. As
- Pres., ain; imperf., was; perf. part., been.

§ 43.

We have learn ed, then, that verbs are 1. Transitive, or I ntransitive, in relation to the object-noun
or the object of their action,

CONJUGATION OF VERBS.

67

~. Active, or Passive, in relation to their nominative-noun.
3. Regular, or Irregular, in their conjugation.

Transitive verbs terminate their action on an object.
Intransitive verbs do not terminate their action on an
object.
Active verbs represent the nominative as the agent of the
action.
Passive verbs represent the nominative as the recipient
of the action.
Regular verbs have a regular form in conjugation.
Irregular verbs have not that regular form in conjugation.
CONJUGATION OF THE IRREGULAR VERB .Am.

§ 44. The verb am is conjugated by the adopting of
several parts from other roots ; as, be, is, was, were. The
conjugation of this verb is, therefore, very irregular.
Ain, or be, is called the substantive-verb, because the sense
of it ia, to exist, to stand, remain, be fixed, to have a real
aistence. So God, in announcing himself to Abraham,
said, " I ain that I ain " - i. e., I am .tlie I am.
This word is worthy of special study. It is very comprehensive, is found in all languages with similar irregularities,
and may be regarded as i.n some sense the basis of speech.
Its siD"nification
is substantive, and hence all. names are, in
0
iense, but modifications of it. As - To be, is being or exi.itence. Running is to be, or existence in a certain state or
act. Justice is to be just, or a being or an existence of certain ascertained moral entities. To judge is to be judging.
ro love is to be loving, or to exist in a particular state, act,
or affection. Thus we see that all nouns and all verbs have
' significant relation to this verb, which they have to no
!{Pr'".
11

J1 <\W a.re YOU?" a Very COillffiOn Salutation, means -

68

CONJUGATION OF IRREGULAR VERBS.

THE VERB.

How stand you? How exist you? or, "'What is your state,
co ndi tion, in health, &c.?
Study well the verb to be. Let the learner parse every
word in every tense of eac h mode, as wa!:l done in the verb
love.
By the formula given in the conjugation of the verb love,
any regular verb may be readily passed through all the
modes and ten ses . And by the foll owing formula in the
irregular verb arn, any irregular verb may be conjugated.
The learn er has only to know the indicative present, the
impe1fect, and the perfect participle, out of which all the
other parts are formed. 'rhese three parts are given, of all
the irregular verbs in the language, in the List of Irregubr
Verbs

(~49).

§ 44.

CONJUGATION OF THE IRREGULAR VERB

Am.

PRINCIPAL PARTS.

Present.

Imperfect.

Am.

Was.

69

PLU PE RFEC T TENSE.

Singuwr.

Plural.

I had been.
Thou qadst been.
He had been.

We had been.
Ye or you had been.
They had been.
FIRST FUTURE TENSE.

I shall or will be.
Thou shalt or wilt be.
He shall or will be.

We shall or will be.
Ye or you shall or will be.
They shall or will be.

SECOND FUTURE TENSE.

I shall or will have been.
Thou shalt or wilt have
been.
He shall or will have been.

We shall or will have been.
Ye or you shall or will have
been.
They shall or will have been.

Perfect Participle.

Been.

POTENTIAL MODE.

INDICATIVE MODE.
PRESENT TENSE.
PRESENT TENSE.

Plural.

&ngu],ar.

Yve are.
Ye or you are.
They are.

I am.
'l'hou art.
He is.

IMPERFECT TENSE.

I was.
Thou wast.
He was.

We were.
Ye or you were.
They were.
PERFECT TENSE.

I have been.
Thou hast been.
He has been.

Yv e have been.
Ye or you have been
They have been.

"\Ve may, can, or must be.
I may, can, or must be.
Thou mayst, canst, or must Ye or you may, can, or must
be.
be.
They may, can, or must be.
He may, can, or must be.
IMPERFECT TENSE.

I might, could, would, or We might, could, would or
should be.
should be.
l'hou mightst,
couldst, .Ye or you might, could, would,
or should be.
wouldst, 01· shouldst be.
He might, could, would, or They might, could, would, or
should be.
should be.

CONJUGATION OF IRREGULAR VERBS.

70

71

THE VERB.

Second or Hypothetical Form.
Singular.

Plural.

Singular .

.PERFECT TENSE.

Plural.

I may, can, or must have 'Ve may, can, or must hare
been.
been.
Thou mayst, canst, or must Ye 01· you may, can, or must
have been.
have been.
He may, can, or must have Th ey may, can, or must hare •
been.
been.

If we were.
If ye or you wera.
If they were.

If I were.
If thou wert.
If he were.

PERFECT TENSE.

If we have been.
If ye or you have been.
If they have been.

If I have been.
If thou hast been.
If he has been.

PLUPERFECT TEN SE.

PLUPERFECT TENSE.

I might, could, would, or We might, could, would, or
should have been.
should have been.
Th ou mightst, couldst, Ye or you might, could,
would st, or shouldst
would, or should ha1e
have been.
been.
He might, could, would, or They might, could, would, or
should have been.
should have been.

If I had been.
If thou hadst been.
If he had been.

If we had been.
If ye or you had been.
If they had been.

FIRST FUTURE TENSE.

If I shall or will be.
If thou shalt or wilt be.
If he shall or will be.

If we shall or will be.
If ye or you shall or will be.
If they shall or will be.

SECOND FUTURE TENSE.

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE.
PRE SEN T TENSE.

If I am.
If thou art.
If he is.
r,,...

If we are.
If ye or you are
If they are.

The Subjunctive Mode is formed, throu gh n.ll the tenses,
by adding the conjunction if, or though, &c., to the indica·
tive form. The following form is now obsolescent, viz.: If I be, if thou be, if he be, &c., through all the persons of
each tense.

If I shall or will have been. If we shall or will hn.ve been.
If thou shalt or wilt have If ye or you shall or will have
been.
been.
If he shall or will have been. If they shall or will have been.
BIPERATIYE MODE.
PRESENT TENSE.

Be, be thou, or do thou be.

INFINITIVE MODE.
PRESENT TENSE.

PERFECT TENSE.

To be.

To have been.

IMPERFECT TENSE.

Sing1ilar.

If I was.
If thou wast.
If he was.

Plural,.

If we were.
If ye or you were.
If they were.

Be, be ye 01· you, or do ye or
you be.

PARTICIPLES.
PRESENT.

PERFECT.

Being.

Been.

COMPOUND PERFECT.

· Having been.

72

THE VERB.

LIST OF rnREG ULAR VERBS.

DEFECTIVE VERBS.

§ 45.

D efective Verbs are so called, because they aro
used only in some of the modes and tenses. Quoth and
ought are the most important of this class.
Quoth is used only in the third person, in a peculiar
form. As - Quoth he.
Ought is conjugated only in the present tenses, indicatirc

and subjunctive mod es . Thus INDICATIVE MODE.
PRESE:'<T TENSE.

Singular.

Plural.

I ought.
Thou oughtest.
He ought.

We ought.
Ye or you ought.
They ought.

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE.
PRESENT TEN SE.

If I ought.
If thou oughtest.
If he ought.

If we ought.
If ye or you ought.
If they ought.
Beware is also defective in the past tenses.

EMPHATIC FORM.

§ 4 6. For emphatic expression, the auxiliary verb do
is added to the present tense, and did to the imperfect.
ThusPRESENT.

I do love.
You do love.
He does love.
We do love.
Ye or you do love.
They do love.

IMPERFECT.

I did love.
You did love.
He did love.
We did love.
Ye or you did love.
They did love.

I

73

I NTERROGATIVE FORM.

§ 4 7. In interrogative sentences, the verb or its auxiliary, comes before the nominative. As - Do I love?
Shall I love? Can I love? May I love? Will he love ?
Did he love ?
In the passive form, the parts of the verb be precede the
nominative in the present and imperfect indicative. In the
other t.enses, the auxiliary precedes the nominative. AsWas he loved ? Is he loved? Will he be loved? Has he
been loved?
When the auxiliary is omitted, the verb precedes its
nominative. As - Believest tlwit ~ Lovest thou me?
NEGATIVE FORM.

§ 4 8. In the negative form, not is placed be.tween t~e
auxiliary and the verb. As - I do not love. I did not, will
not, may not, can not, love, &c.
When the auxiliary is omitted, not may follow the verb.
A.s - He loves me not.
,
Never may be placed before or after the auxiliary of the
verb. As - He never will love. He will never love.
IRREGULAR VERBS.

§ 49. The follo-wing is a very co~plete L1'.st ofIrregular
Verbs. It should be so carefully studied, that the announcement of the indicative present may suggest readily the impe1fect and perfect participle.
LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS.

They are classed according to these forms: -

•

1. When the present and imperfect tenses and perfect part'llciple are alike in form.

7

74

LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS.

2. When th e impe1fect tense and pe1fect participle are alike.
3. "\Vhen the present and impc1fect tenses and perfect p articiple differ in form from each other.
4. Wh en th e conjugatio1i i::i in the form of regular verbs,
with vari ation s.
5. Other irregular form s.
FIR S T FOR.III .

]>resent.

l mpo f ect.

P eif. Part.

Present.

I mperfect.

Peif. Part.

lJ n rst,
CaAt,
C0 st,
Cu t,
!lit,
Hurt,
Let,
Put,
lwuJ,

burst,
cast,
cost,
cu t,
hit,
hurt,
let,
put,
r ead,

burst.
cast.
cost.
cut.
bit.
hurt.
Jet.
put.
r ead.

Rid,
Set,
Shed,
Sh red,
Shut,
Split,
Spread,
Thrust,

r id,
set,
shed,
shred,
shut,
split,
Epread,
t h rust,

rid.
set.
sh ed.
shred.
shut.
split.
spread.
t h rust.

Abide,
Ben d,
Beseech,
llinJ,
l:l eed,
Breed,

abode,
bent,
besou ght,
bouuJ,
bled,
bred,
bro up; ht,
bought,
clung,
crept,
fed,
felt,
fo ught,
fo und,
fl ed,
flung,
ground,
bung,
bad,
h eard,
k ept,
laid,

abode.
bent.
besou ght.
bound.
bled.
bred.
brought.
bought.
clung.
crep t.
fed.
felt.
fought.
found.
fl ed.
flung.
ground.
bung.
bad.
b eard.
k ept.
laid.

Jed,
left,
Jent,
Jos t,
made,
m eant,
m et,
paid,
r ent,
said,
sought,
sold,
sent,
sat,
Pb od,
sh ot,
slept,
slunk,
sped,
spent,
stood,
stuck,

led.
l eft.
l ent.
lost.
m ade.
m eant.
m et.
paid.
r ent.
said.
so ng ht.
sold.
sent.
sat.
sh od.
shot.
sl ept.
sl unk.
sped.
spent.
stood.
stuck.

S ECOND FORM.

13riug ,

lluy ,
Clin g,
Creep,
}'eeJ,
Feel,
Fight,
Find,
Fl ee,
F ling,
Grind,
Hang,
Ha>e,
H ear,
K eep,
Lay,

Lead,
JJcave,
Lend,
Lose,
lllake,
l\Iean,
l\Ieet,
Pay,
R end,
Say,
Seek,
Sell,
s~nd,

Sit,
Shoe,
Shoot,
Sleep,
Slink,
Speed,
Spend,
Stand,
Stick,

75

I.IST OF IRREGULAR VERBS
'°resent.

Iinpe1ject.

P erf.Part.

Sti n t~,

stung,
strung,
swep t,
swun g,
t au ght,

stung.
strung.
swop t.

String,

Sweep,
Sw ing,

Teach,

iW Ullg.

taught.

P resent.
Tell,
'l.' hiuk,
Woop,
Wiu ,
Wind,

Imperfect. . Perf. Part.
t old,
thought,
wept,
won,
wound,

t old.
thought.
wopt.
won.
wound.

knew,
l ay,
r ose,
rived,
ran,
saw,
shook,
sh ewed,
showed,
slew,
stole,
strove,
t ook,
threw,

known.
laid.
risen.
riven.
run.
seen.
sb al<en.
shewn.
sh own.
slain.
stolen.
striven.
t aken.
thrown.
worn.

THIRD FORM.
Am, 01· be, was,
Arise,
arose,
Begin,
began,
Bl ow,
blew,
chose,
Choose,
Come,
came,
Do,
did,
Draw,
drew,
}'all,
fell,
Fly,
flew,
Forsake,
forsook ,
Freeze,
froze,
Girn,
gave,
Go,
wen t,
Grow,
grew,

been.
arisen.
begun.
blown.
chosen.
come.
done.
drawn.
fall en.
flown.
forsaken.
frozen .
given.
gone.
grow n.

Know,
Lie,
Rise,
Rive,
Run,
See,
Shake,
Sh ew,
Show,
Sl ay,
Steal,
Strit e,
Take,
'l.'hrow,
" 'ear.

wore,

FOURTH FORM.
awakcd, or
awoke,
Bereave,
bereaved,
ber eft,
builded,
Build,
buil t,
burn ed,
Burn,
burnt,
catcb ed,*
Catch,
caugh t ,
Cl en ve,
clea>ed,
(lo adhere,) clave,*
Clothe,
clothed,
clad ,
Crow,
crowed,
crew,
Awake,

a waked.

Dare,

ber eaved
bereft.
b uilded.
buil t.
burnel)..
burnt.
catcbed.*
caught.
cle aved.

Deal,

cl oth ed.·

Dig,

Dream.
Dwell.
Freight.
Gild,

d ad.

crowed.

Gird,

dared,
durst,
dealed,
dealt,
digged,
dug,
dream ed,
dreamt,
dwelled,
dwelt,
freighted,
gilded,
gilt,
girded,
girt,

dared.
deal ed.
deal t.
cligged.
dug.

dreamed.
dream t.
dwelled.
dwelt.
fr eighted.
frau ght.
gilded.
gilt.
girded.
girt.

*In this List, all the words mark ed by an asterisk ( * ) are obsolete.

"·

l
I

II
)

•

LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS.
Present.
GraYc,

Impeifed.
graved,

Perf Pa rt.
graved.
grcn e n.

Present.
Shine,

Heave,

hea•ed,
h on,
b e wed,

h eaved.
hovcn.*
hewed.
hewn.
kneel ed.
knelt.
kni tted.
knit.
li ghted.
lit.
loaded.
Joaden.*
penn ed.
pe nt.
quitted.
quit.

Slit,

Il ew,
Kneel,
J{nit,
Li ght,
Load,
P en,
Qui t,
Saw,

Seethe,

kneeled,
kn el t,
knitted,
knit,
li gh ted,
Ji t,
loaded,
penned,
pent,
qlli t ted,
quit,
saw ed,

Shave,

seethed,
rnd,
shaved,

Shape,

shaped,

Shear,

sh eared,

I·

,.
II

Sow,
Spell,
Spill,
Sweat,
Swell,
Thrive,
Wax,

sawed . ,,
sawn.

Wet,

seeth ed.
sodden.
shaved.
shaven.
shaped.
sh npen.
Rh ra r ed.
shorn.

Whet,
Work,
Wring,

Irnpe1:fect.
shined,
shone,
slitted,
slit,
sowed,

spelled,
spelt,
spilled,
spilt,
sweated,
sweat,
swelled,
thrived,
th rove,
waxed,
wetted,
wet,
wh etted,
whet,
worked,
wrought,
wringed,

wrung,

Perf. Part. ,
shined.
shone.
slitted.
slit.
sowed.
sown.
spelled.
Sp(•)t.

spilled.
spilt.
sweated.
sweat.
swell etl.
swollen.
thrived.
tbriv en.
waxed.
waxen.
wetted.
wet.
wh etted.
whet.
worked.
wrought.
wringed.
wrung.

FIFTH FORM.
Dear , (to
bore,
bringjrrrth) bare,
bore,
Dear, (to
.~ustain)
bare,
Deat,
beat,
Did,
.Bite, .
Break,
Chicle,

bid,
bade,
bit,
broke,
br:lkP,
cbid,

born.

CleaYe,

"

borne.

Drink,

beat.
benten.
bid.
bidden.
bit.
bitten.
broken.

Drive,

chidden.
chid.

C)P.ft,

clave,*
drank.

Eat,

drove,
drave,*
ate,

Forget,

forgot~

Get,

got,
gat,*
bid,

cleft.
cloven
drank.
drunk.
driven.
Eaten.

eat,

Hide,

77

QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.

forgotten.
forgot.
gotten.
got.
bidden.
bid.

Present.
Hold,

Imperfect.
held,

Lade,
Ride,

l aded,
r ode,
ricl,*

Ring,

rang,
rung,

Shrink,

Slide,

shrank,
shrunk,
sung,
sang,
sunk,
eank,
slid,

Sling~

slung,

Sing,

Sink,

P e1'f. Part.
h eld,
h olden.
l acleu.
ridden.
rode.
rung.

smote,

Speak,

spoke,
spake,

Spit,
Spring,
Stride,

shrunk.
Strike,

Imperfed.
spun,
span,*
spit,
spat,*
sprang,

sprung,
strode,
strid,
struck,

sung.
Swim,

'l'read,
Weave,

wove,

Write,

wrote,
writ,*

Tear,
slid.
slidden.
slung.
smitten.
smit.
spoken.
spoke.

swam,

swum,
tore,
tare,*
trod,

sunk.

slang,

Smite,

Present.
Spin,

Perf Part.
spun.

spit.
spitten.*
sprung.

.,

1

stridden.
strid.
struck.
stricken.*
swum.
torn_.
trodden.
trod.
woven.
wove.
written.
writ.*

QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.
How many tenses are used in the indicative mode 7 What is Raid of the
indicative in its use of the t en ses? What tenses does the potential mode employ? What is said of cmdd, would, and should ! What sense is implied in
can, co1dd, wauld, and should! What is said of the imperfect tense potential?
Does the potential mode still u se the impo;rfect tense 7 Give examples. How
many tenses does the subjunctive m ode employ? How is it formed? Wh at
is necessary to be added to complete the sense? How many te12ses does the
imperative m ode employ:? What kind of verbs employ th1< passive form,
called the Passive Voi ce ? What effect bas tbi(on the nominative 7 Give examules. Can the passive form be u sed in any except transitive verbs 7 Bow
is tiie passive form of th e verb constructed 7 Give the synopsis of the verb
krve in the active form. How is the progressive form constructed 7 Give the
!ynopsis of the verb lmJe in the pasRive. By what formula can you conjugnte
any regular verb 7 Any irreg ular verb 7 How is the perfect tense formed!
Pluperfect? Future? Second future? "Where will you find the pre~ent and
Imperfect tenses and perfect participle of all the irregul ar verbs 7 What are
transitive verbs! Intransitive 7 Active? Passive 7 Regular? Irregular!
now is the irregular verb mn constructed 7 Why is it called the Substantive-

7*

l

n1.

I

78

ADVERB.

PREPOSITION -

.-crh 1 What is said of it as being comprchemi ve ? Must you study this verb
thoroughly? Conjugate the " crb am or be, through all the mode~ :111d tenses.
Why are Rome verbs ca lled Defectiv e 1 What nre the principal verbs of this
cl a>s 1 How is th e emphatic for m constructed ? How is tbe intorrogatirn
fo rm constructed? Position of the verb and aux iliary? In the pai8lvo form,
h ow is the aux iliary substantive-verb placeL! in the present and imperfect
t e:i;es? In the oth er temcs? H ow is the auxiliary pl aced when tbe verb
precedes the n ominative 1 In the n egative form , where is the negative placecl !
,V')t ! N el.'er ! In to h ow many classes of form arc the irregular verbs di\"iLl eL!? Give ihe imperfect t ense and perfect par ticiple of each verb, when the
inL!icative present is named to you.

ADVERB.

§ 50.

verbs, but are used
adjectives, and other
Some adYerbs are
comparati?:e ; and est,

r

Soon,
'

i'

:. :i'

Adverbs b elong principally to
to qualify not only verbs, but also
adverbs.
compar ed by adding er, to form the
to form the superlative. .As -

DEFINITION. -

sooner,

soonest.

Most adverbs which end in ly, are compared by more and
most, less and least. As -

Wisely,
Wisely,

more wisely,
less wisely,

Some adverbs are i"rregularly compared.

Little,
Much,
Badly, or ill,
F ar,
Forth,

less,
more,
worse,
farther,
furth er,

most wisely.
least wisely.

CONJUNCTION •

79

PREPOSITION.

§ 51. DEFINITION. - Prepositions are used to connect
words with one another, and show the relation between them.
Prepositions show a r elation b etween the words which
th ey govern and nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
The simple prepositions are original words, belong to a
class, and generally refer to place or position. There are
nineteen of them, viz.:.- At, to, in, by, for, of, with, till,
tmce, from, up, down, round, tlirough, past, on, under, over,
afler.
The following are compEmnded by prefixing a: - Above,
about, across, athwart, around, along, against, amid, amidst,
among, amongst.
The following are compounded by prefixing be: - Below,
bmeath, before, behind, beside, besides, between, betwixt,
beyond.
The following are compounded of two prepositions, or a
preposition and an adverb: - Underneath, overthwart, tooord, towards, throughout, within, without, unlike, unto.
The following are various in form : - Bating, during,
touching, concerning, regarding, respecting, excepting, except,
iave, like, off, opposite, per, through, via.

.As -

least.
m ost.
worst.
farthest.
furthest.

AdYerbs may generally be known by answering to the
qu estions -How? When? Where? Bow much? H()'IJ)
often? &c.

I.
I

CON JUNCTION.

§ 52. DEFINITION. - Con}unctions connect words and
sentences.
The following are conjunctions when they connect words
or sentences. There are many others which sometimes become conjunctions by performing the office; and some of

~

I

.'.1
., I'

INTERJECTION.

PARSING EXERCISES.

th ose her e enu merated become other parts of speech by the
sense in whi ch they a.re use d.

PARSING EXERCISES,

80

Also,
And,
Although,
As,
B ecanse,
Ere,
E xcept,
For,

wherefore.
whether.
yet.
both.
but.
either.
neither.
nor.

If,
L est,
Or ,
Since,
That,
T han ,
Unless .

provided.
then.
therefore.
though.
so .
still.

INTERJE CTION .

..
I~

,.

'~

~r:
~
it it.

I

,I

.'

81

§ 53. DEFI:-<ITIO N .--:--- Inte1jectio1~s are words of exch·
m a.tio n, express ing passion or emotion. As - 0, oh, ah,
alas, aha, lto, hail, hallo, hum, hurra, lo, pshaw, alack,
away, &c.
Inte1j ections are disconnected with other words of the
sentence, and usually commence it. They sometimes have
a q ualify in g sense on particular word's or phrases, but h[l\'C
no defin ed government or agreement.
QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.
To what do adverbs belong? Are 8ome adverbs compar ed? How .? Ilow
urc ad ver bs which end in ly com par ed? 'Vhat adverbs are irregidarly com.
p aret.l? H ow mny adv erbs be kn own? Define pr epositions. Between w!rn:
words clo pn·positions show a r elation 1 Name the nineteen simple prepositioi:;.
Nam e tlic eleven preposit ions formed by prefixing a. Name the nine that art
form"d by prefi xing be. Name nine that ar e compoun ded of prepo&ition~ 0r
adverbs: Nnmc the fifteen that are variou sly formed. What is the offi ce of
conjunction s? Are conjunctions often u sed inter changeably with olbcr
words? Enumerate the conj u nctions. What are interjections 1 En umcr~te
them. Where are they placed ? H ave they governm ent, or agreement, or a
qualifying sense 1

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

§ 54. The analysis of a sentence - as it is necessary
to a clear apprehension of its meaning - is the first step in
parsing.
This r equire!! that the sentence be resolved into its simple
parts, and that each of those parts, whether words or adjunct phrases, be referred to their proper grammatical
relations.
Parsing consists in designating the words of a sentence
according to their several parts of speech, and their grammati cal r elations to one another, with the application of the
Rul es of Syntax fo r th eir government and agreement.
A simple sentence consists of a noun and a verb. As Jfan lives. Or, it consists of a subject and its pred'icate - the
thing of Vl"hich something is asserted, and the terms of the
affirmation . As - Man, a child of mortality, is a living
being.
A compound sentence contains two or more simple sentences, or what may be r esolved into two or more simple
;entences. As - Man lives and thinks.
Adjuncts are qualifying words, phrases, or sentences,
join ed to a simple sentence, to amplify, limit, or qualify its
principal parts. These adjuncts may themselv es be words,
phrases, or sentences. An adjunct may be qualified by a~
adj unct.
In analysis and parsing, the words of a sentence must
first be arranged in th eir natural g rammatical order. This
order is often transposed in prose, but more frequently in
poetry.
In the natural order, the nominative case, or sulJ:ject, comes

I

I
I

82

PARSING EXERCISES.

b('f ore the verb - the objeclh'e case, or object, after the verbth e p osscssii'e case, imm ediately before the noun it posses~c>.
Th e pronoun foll ows th e constru ction of the noun; hut.
if it be a relative, it mu st be placed so that its antecede1d

Pars·i ng is merely a recital of relations thus discovered,
and an application of the rules that govern these relations.
This process of analysis and grammatical construction
;hould become so familiar, that it may nQt require attention
'eparate from the exercise of reading itself.
When the learner undertakes to analyze a sentence, the
firs t effort he makes is to understand it. This, also, is the
first effort of the mind in r eading. This effort n aturally
directs his attention, fir st to the subject, then to the predicate,
or thing asserted, then to the object, then . to the quabfying
icords, clauses, adjuncts, and connectives. Thus he becomes
a grammarian, and applies the principles of grammar to
!he sentences as he reads them, with the same ease and
familiarity that he develops the thoughts they are suited to
wnvey to the mind.

m :iy Le olw ious.
The adjective has its natural place befor e the noun.
Th e i:erb fo lloW"s its nominative.
Tb e aduerb, in position near the verb, or so th at its reference to r elated words may be most easily perceived.
'.i'he preposition is placed before its obJ'ective case, and in
n ear con nection with its related words or clauses -the con}uncti:on, betw·een the ;vords, clauses, or senten ces it conn edti - and the inter;jection, usually, before the word or sent ence, which expresses the cause of the passion or emotion.
'.i'be foll o\\·ing process of analysis and parsing is the
n a,tural one : -

I

I'
\

'

83

P ARSIK G EXERCI SES.

1. Resolve compound sentences into simple ones.
2. Designate the noun and verb of each simple sentence,
"ith th e object of the verb.
3. Designate the adjuncts and qualifying clauses of th ese
principal parts of the sentence, whether they be words
or phrases.
4. Designate the connective words.
5. The pr£ncipal parts of the sentence (th e noun and verl1)
being thus designated-the relations of all the other
1rnrds to these and to one an other, and the connections,
being arran ged in th eir proper order in the mindth e gram matical con struction of the sentence is obviou<
and the rul es of grammatical interpretation are read il;
applied.
Parsing, then, consists in a lucid arrangement of all the
parts an d word s in a sentence. It is the result of analysi>.
The tr ue analysis of a sentence is the development of its
grammatical construction.

1

i,.

§ 55. The following Exerci'ses are arranged on the plan
of development above preserlted: ·
SIMPLE SENTENCES.
(Rules I. and XV.)

Man lives.
B easts walk.
Birds fly.

Grass vegetates.
They sleep.
They eat.

Horses run.
They rest.
They die.

A man can reason. A beast can walk. A cat can jnmp.
A dog can bark. A lamb can skip. A bright star shines.
A twinkling planet shines. Th e eccentric comet revolves.
The starry heavens glow. The infinite space exists. A
great height arises. A profound depth sinks. A long distance stretches.
The Nominative-noun and Adje_ctive.
(Rules XVII., I., and XV.)

A good man prays.

A bad man sins.

All men think.

l
f

B4

Som e men work. Oth er men study.
peo ple wor k. Such people prospe r.
His lalJo r will prosper.

All men di e. Many
Any run.n can work.

Nouns, Names addressed.

The Use of the Pronoun.
(Rules I. and XV.)

Men of labor excel. Men of might prevail. The reward!
of indu stry enrich.
[In th ese sentences, the phrases of labor, of might, ofi11·
dustry, are adjuncts to th e noun s that precede them respec·
tively. j
Noun-Adjunct3 after the Verb.

Bad men delight in mischief.

(Rule V.)

The prisoner having been sentenced, the court adjourned.
)fan being in honor abideth not.

Nominative Pronoun, relative.
(Rule VI.)

Those who sin must r epent. Those who r epent will
reform. H e who parleys with sin falls into temptation.
We help those who help themselves.'

I

f'
I

Objective Pronoun, relative.
(Rule VII.)

We honor him whom God approves.
whom we are loved.

Noun in .Apposition.
(Rule III.)

Cicero, the Orator, expelled Catiline, the Conspirator.

We love those by

Noun ob:jective to a transitive Verb.
(Rule VIII.)

John loves his book. Jam es loves his pfay. Men h onor
iirtue. Magistrates execute the laws. Good children obey
their parents.

Good boys study with

diligence.
[Here, in rnischief and with dilige nce are adjunct phrases
to the verbs.]

I;

Noun-nominative with a Participle.

Sinners disobey, th ey suffer, they swear, they li e, they
steal. A good man ob eys, he loves, he forbears, he r ejoices.

N oun with Adjuncts.

Soldiers, stand to your

1l'IDS.

(Rules XIV., I., and XV.)

[T he predicate is that form of the verb vrhich employs
t wo or more parts of speech in assertion - or, it is the
thing asserted of the nominative.]
A good mn.n is pr::tyerful. A bad man is profane. Good
deeds are praiseworthy. B enevolence is divine. ·wicked
men are r evengefu l. Good men are kind. Virtue is pure.

·f

(Rule IV.)

Men, countrymen, lovers, hear.

The .Adjective used in Predi:cation.

85

PARSING EXERCISES.

PARSIN G EXERCISES.

!

Two Nouns olJjective to a Verb.
(Rule IX.)

He asked me a question. He taught me grammar. H e
called me John. He made me a scholar. He paid me
money.
[In all these cases, one of the nouns may be governed by
a preposition. As - He asked a question of me.]

8

I

i1
I

86

PARSING EXERCISES.

Tlie Passive Forrn of the Verb changes one of the foregoing
Objectives to the Nominative.
(Rule X.)

I was asked a question. I was taught grammar. I was
called John. I was made a scholar. I was paid money.
[This Rule furnishes the only true elucidation of sen·
tences of this class. In the Latin, "when a verb in the
active voice governs two cases, in the passive it retains the
latter case." The grammatical construction refers to the
tra.nsitive form of the verb, by which the true relation of
the noun is seen and its force admitted. The inquiry is
often made, "How shall the noun be parsed in this construction?" It finds its grammatical relations· construe·
tively with the other, or active, form of the verb.]
Noun objective to a Prepos1'tion.
\

a'

''

,.,

.i
\\ \<.,.
~

.r

(Rule XI.)

Every preposition has an object. The object of a preposition is a noun in the objective case. The cases of nouns
depend on their relations to other words.

.Youns objective of Time, Place, Distance, Measure, Direction,
Value, &c.
(Rule XII.)

1'

87

Noun Possessive.
(Rule XIII.)

John's book is Johil's property. Alexander's name is
the name of Alexander. Life's labor should be the soul's
salvation.
Adjective, Pronoun-Adjective, Participle.
(Rule XIV.)

Great labor brings great rewards. A greater than John
was the Baptist's theme. The greatest good is the best
reward. Your book is my study. Her lesson occupied
all the time of our leisure. Their improvement is our object.
Verb:1, their Agreement and Government.
(Rules XV. and XVI.)

The verb is made to agree with the nominative case.
Verbs have many variations. Verbs are varied to express
modes; they are varied ~o express tense. The infinitive
mode omits to after bid, dare, make, see, feel, hear.
Adverbs.
(Rule XVII.)

[Each of these sentences furnishes an example of the
preposition and its object.]

' I

PARSING EXERCISES.

He lived a century. He went home. :ge walked a mile.
He weighed ninety pounds. He measured six feet. He
>Yent his way.

[In most cases, a preposition can be supplied, to govern
nouns of this class.]

He who does his work well does it twice. I am very
well. He is greatly in fault. Truly great men are truly
good. You have been eminently successful. John learns
rnry rapidly; he studies very closely.
Prepositions.
(Rule XVIII.)

" Thrice was I beaten with rods; once was I stoned;
thrice I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day I have bee n
in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of water, in
perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils
by the brethren, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilder-

88

n es8, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren in
wearin ess and painfuln ess, in watchings often, in hun~er
and thirst, in cold and nakedness."
Con;junctions.
(Rule XIX.)

H~nor and shame from no condition rise. Virtue lives
and is hon or ed, while vice is despised and dish onored._
"'Ve arc troubled on every side, yet not di stressed· we ar~
p erplexe d, but not in despair; persecuted, but not f~rsaken.
cast down, but not destroyed."
'

Interjections.
(R ule XX.)

"0, fo r a lodge in some vast wildern ess! " H e fell alas I
in to temptation. "0, Absalom, my son, I would [wish] that
I had died for th ee!" "0, foo lish Galatians! who hath
bewitched yo u, that ye should not obey the truth?"

'

f

'

PARSING EXERCISES.

P ARSIXG EXERCISES.

Trrn S c RIPTliRES , intended for all to read and understand
are wr~tten in t he simplest lan gurLge. Take, as an example:
a parsmg lesson from J ohn i. 1-10: ·
"In the beginning WfLS the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the word was God. The same was in the beofo.
ning ~vith God. All things were made by him ; and with·
out 111111 was not any thing made that was made. In him
w~s life} and the life was the li ght of men. And the light
shmeth m darkne ss; and th e darkness comprehe nded it n 0 t
" 'Tl10re was a man sent from God, whose name was John.•
Th e same came for a '~itn es.s , to bear witness of the Light,
tl:at all men throug;h !um might beli eve. H e was not that
Li ght, but was. sent to bear witness of th at Light. That
~as th e tru e Light, whi ch lighteth every man that cometh
mto the ~orld . He was in the world, and the world was
made by hun, and the world knew him not."

89

Take, as a second example, Gen. i. 1-8 : "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkn ess
was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God
moved upon the face of the waters.
"And God said, L et there be light: and there was li gh t.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided
the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day,
and the darkness be called Night. And the evening and
the morning were the first day.
"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the mi dst
of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which
were under the firmament from the waters which were above
the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the
second day.''

§ 56. The learner now understands the parts which
constitute a simple sentence; and he knows, also, how to
analyze the simple sentence, and how to refer all its qualifying words to their respective relations.
He has now only to keep in mind that all compound sen·
tences are but simple sentences connected together by con·
junctions. lie has, therefore, only to restore to their natural .
order words which are transposed, to reduce compound sentences to simple ones,' and then apply the rules of analy sis
already made familiar. Three ea.sy steps accomplish the
whole, each of which is simple. Thus: 1. Restore transposed words to their natural order.

2. Reduce compound sentences to simple sentences.
3. Trace each word in the sentence to its grammatical relation under the appropriate nrle.

8*

i'

1'

!

•l

'!

90

PARSING EXERCISES.

CO:\IPOUND SE.KTENCEb.

§ 0r'....,.I •

To show th e compound sentence, and how it is to
be re~ol ved into simple i;:entences, it will be sufficient to
tnke one extract from Milton, in which he laments his
blindness: "Thus, with the year,
Seasons return; but not to me returns
Day, nor sweet approach of even or morn,
Nor sight of vernal bloom, nor summer's rose,
.Nor fl ocks, nor herds, nor human face divine:
But cloud instead, and ever-during dark
Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men
Cut off, and for the Book of know led ere fair
0
'
Prcsen ted with a uni versa} blank
Of nature's work, to me expunged and razed,
And wisd om at one entrance quite shut out.
So much the rn.th er thou, celestial light,
Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers
Irradiate: there plant eyes; all mist from thence
Purge and disperse; that I may see and tell
Of things invisible to mortal sight."
This mn,y be regarded as a difficult grammatical arrangement of the blank verse. After the pupil has well con·
sidered it, let him read the same broken into simple sent ences hy the dash, and he will see there is nothing in it
but a succession of simple sentences, with some change of
the words out of their natural order. Thus: Thus, wit.h the year,
Season·s return - but not to me returns
Day - nor sweet approach of even or morn Nor sight of vernal bloom - nor summer's rose -

PARSING EXERCISES.

91

Nor flocks -nor herds - nor human face divine But cloud instead - and ever-during dark
Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men
Cut off - and for the Book of knowledge fair
Presented with a universal blank
Of nature's work, to me expunged and razed And wisdom at one entrance quite shut outSo much the rather thou, celestial light,
Shine inward - and the mind through all her powers
Irradiate - there plant eyes - all mist from thence
Purge - and disperse - that I may see - and tell
Of things invisible to mortal sight,
The pupil will now find in this somewhat difficult examr,Je only a succession of simple sentences, here separated by
the dash, without altering the arrangement. By supplying
1erbs to nominatives in some cases omitted, and nominatires to a few verbs in other instances, he will find no more
difficulty in parsing the whole than in the other simple sentences he has analyzed.

But one step further: we present it with the words arr.mged in their natural order, and he will see that it is
divested of all mystery, and is as plain as the simplest
hnguage can be. In the same way, he can reduce all,
iren the most complicated compositions, and all lanp1n.ge is construed with greatest precision and the great.est
1ase : -

•

Thus seasons return with the year - but day r eturns not
to me - nor sweet approach of even or morn (returns) ::or sight of vernal bloom - nor summer's rose - nor
:ocks - nor herds - nor human face divine - l>ut cloud
i stead (surrounds) - and ever-during dark surrounds me,
mt off from the cheerful 'rnys of men - and (I am), for

I
'11

·!

--92

TO THE TEACHER AND THE PUPIL.

the fair book of knowledge, presented with a universal
blank of nature's work, (whi ch is expunged and mzed to
me - .a nd wisdom, at one entrance, (is) quite shut outThou, celestial Light, so mu ch the rather, shine inward and irradiate the mind through all her powers - plant
eyes th ere - purge all mists from thence - and disperse
(all mists) - that I may see - and tell of things invisible
to mortal sight.

PART III.

SYNTAX

§ 58.

SUMMARY OF RULES.
Nominative Case.

Section

RnE I. - Noun nominative to verb . . . . • • . . . • • . . . .

TO THE TEACHER AND THE PUPIL.
Th e learn er, having now become familiar with the simple
sentence and with the m ethod of r esolving compound sentencu
into simple ones, is prepar ed to enter upon the study of the
m ore difficult forms of speech. These h e will find, under
th e following rules, where they appropriately and r espectively belong, illustrated by th e Rules of Syntax which control their interpr etation. Let these examples be made familiar - all of them - and the pupil will then have a key to
all th e difficult constructions in the language - always at
hand, and r eady for u se. H ere, he masters the language,
and arrives at precision. This will be vastly better than fl
rc1pid flight over a larger surface. The Syntax should, therefore, be rep eated until it is made perfectly familiar. The
great mistake, in t eaching and learning Grammar, is made
precisely here. Repeat- repeat- REPEAT, until the difficulties are surmounted, and made as plain as A B C.

..

II. III. IV. V. VI. -

Noun nominative after verb . . • • . • . • . . . . .
Nouns in apposition . . . . . . • • . • . . . . . . . • •
Nouns independent by address. . . . . • • • . •
Nouns independent by participle. . . . . . . .
Pronoun, relatjve, nominative to verb.....
Objective Case.
VII. - Pronoun, relative, objective........ . . . • •
VIII. - Noun objective of transitive verb. . . . . . . . .
IX. -Two objects after transitive verb ....•.•••
X. - One object retained by_passive verb . • . • • •
XI._.:. Object of preposition . . • • . . • . • . • . • . . .. ..
XII. - Nouns objective of time, place, &c.... . . • .
Possessive Case.
XIII. - Nouns possessive . . . . . . . • . . . . . • • • . . . . . .
Adjectives.
XIV. - Adjectives, Pronouns, Participles, agreenient of. . . . • . . . . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . . . . . . .
The Verb.
XV. -The verb, agreement·with nominative case.
XVI.- Verb in infinit.ive mode.................
The Particles.
XVII. - Adverbs, their relations .......•....· • • • •
XVIII. - Prepositions . . . . . • . . . • . . . • • • . . . . . . . . • •
XIX. - Conjunctions .•••..••.•.•...•..••••• ,..
XX. - Interjections ••••• , , , ..• , •• , , • . . • . . . . • •

( 93)

59
60

61
62
63
64

65
66
67
68
69
70
71

i2
73
74
75
76
77
78

'.
\

RULES FOR NOUNS-NOMINATI VE.

SYNTAX.

..

RULES OF SYNTAX,
With Parsing Exercises, nlustrating ei-ery Form of
Grammatical Condrudion.
[ Let the p upil be exercised in these exam ples, un der ea ch rul e and each
obsen ation, until h e is m ade familiar with the rule and with every vari1,;y
of ito appli cation. He can then ha rdly fa il to analyze, with precision, every
variety of sentences, whcrcrnr they m:iy occ ur.]

RULES FOR NOU:N"S-NQJ.\ HNATIVE.

§ 59.

RuLE I. - A noun, wh en the subject of a verb,

is th e n ominative case, and governs the verb in number
and person.
Onsn: >.\TIOx 1. - The verb has the
in relation to its noun-nominative.

distin~tion

of number and person only

E X.\J!PLF.S. - He loYCs. 'l'hey love. We love. You lo•e.
Ons. 2. - Ev ery nom inative case, as the subject of a sentence, h as its own
verb, exp res~e d or u nderstood. Every sentence must h ave a noun-nominatire
and a verb agreeing with it.

',

I

Ex. - He went. Go, and do your duty. He, or you, or I, must go. The
purchaser , or his partner, must pay the price.
Ous. 3. - 'l'he n om inative case t o the verb may be a simple n am e, a verb in
the infinit ive mode, or an y cla use in a sentence, or even a sentence ibeli,
wh enever either of these is u sed as a sub.'.ect. The same word, clause, or sei1ten ce, may then be the antecedent to a relative, or the subj ect to an adjective.

\I

/

!I

I'

'
-\·~'

I

'I

Ex. - To be good is to be h appy.
T hou shalt love the L ord tlty God with all thy heart, which is the firn
commandment with promise.
His dying without a will left a legacy of contention.
His being a son makes him an heir.
A good name excels riches.
"T" be gnnd" is the su bject n ominative to is. " Th ou shalt love the Lord /l;y
God "'ith all tlty hem·t" is the auteccd0nt to which. "His dying witlwut a will"
is the n ominative to left. "His being a son " is nominat ive to makes. "A
good name" is nominative to excels.
Every s ubj ect, h owever, must be su bjected t o a striut analysis, and each
word employed in the phrase m ust be referred to all its grammatical relations. when the analysis is practicable.
" To be good." This is a substantive phr ase, incapable of analysis. It i.l

95

equirnl ent to being good, or goodness. Thm, Being good is being happy; or,
Tile affection of g6odness constitutes the emotion of happiness.
" Thou shaU loi•e the L ord thy God with all thy heart." This is a simple ~en­
tencc, and each word h as its own grammatical r elation, while the entiro
phra se ls the antecedent substnnti.e of the relative which.
"His dying without a will." This phrase is capable of analysis. Dying has
the nature of a noun, which is the central word to which all the oth er s relate.
His qurtlifies and connects dying with some antecedent. lVitlwut a will is an
a'ijunct qualifying phrase. 'fhe whole togeth er is the subject or nominative
of the thing asserted. It was not "His dying" which " left a legacy of contention," but "His dying wil/wut a will."
"His heing a son" and " .A good, name" follow the same interpretation.
Ons. 4. - Two or more nominatives, connected by the conjunction and. u sually r equire a plural verb.
.
Ex . - J ohn and J am es are brothers.
But when unity in the subject is implied, though composed of more th an
one u omiu ative, the verb may be sin gular.
Ex. - Why is dust and ashes proud 1
Ons. 5. - Betw een two nominatives of different n umbers or persons, the
rerb agrees with the.first.
Ex. -

Hi s meat was locusts and wild hon ey. Thou art the m an.

But wh en the principal subject is the last, this contr ols the verb.
Ex. - The wages of sin is death.

Who art thou! What are wef

Ons. 6. - Two or more n ominatiws singular, connected by or or nor, require
a verb in the singul ar number.
Ex. - J ohn or James is in fa ult.
When two or more nominatives, connected by and, apply to one su bject,
the verb is singular.
Ex. - The p atriot and stnfosman of Marshfield is no more.
Ons. 7 - If two or m ore no.mlnative8 are of different numbers, the verb
agrees with th e plural, which should then be placed nearest to it.
Ex. - Neither h onor nor riches are to be despised.
Ons. 8. - Th e sen se of the nominative, as impl ying uni.ty or plurnlity, must
determine the form of the verb. When differ ent persons are named, it is
generally required to use a verb for each.
Ex. - Either you are elected or I am.

News, 1neans, &c., are u sed either in the singular or plural.
Ex. - What is the news 1 News from ev~ry part of Europe h ave ar rived.
He was indus trious, and by this means he succeeded.

/

96
•t

SYNTAX.

Ous. a. - A collcclil:e n oun requires a vorb to be in tba singular or plural,
acconl ing to the s cn ~ e.
E x. - Congress is in session. The House are discu ssing the tarifI.

Ons. 10. - I I, u sod indefinitely, is always the nominative, requiring the
sin gul ar n rb.
E x. - l t is I. It was they. It was the soldiers.
One is also m ed indefinitely.

As - On e would think the world deranged.

T hey i:; al so u sed indefinitely. As -They say h e is dead.

Ons. 11. - Th e distributive adj ective pronouns require a singular verb.
E x. - E ach ciLiz en owes all egiance. Every citizen ow es allegiance.
Ei th er is a comp etent witness. Neith er is a competent witness.
E rery, however, is som etimes u sed as a collective, and bas a p lural reuse.
Ex . - E very mountain and isl and were moved out of their places.
·
A distribu t ive phrase co n stitutes a singul:i.r m ember, sometimes with a
plu ral adj ectire.
E x. - Full many a flo wer is born to blush unseen.
W e play ed togeth er man y a <.l ay.
A measure of unity is singular.

E x. -

He wa s emp loyed for a twelve-month .
He changed b is cmploy mcu t every twelve-month.

\Then p lura lity is im p lied, the verb must be plural.
E x. -A hu nd red l.J ead of cattl e wer e sold yesterday.
On e huml re<l sa il of the line were in th e battle.
A thomand foot a nd a th ou sand h or se were detailed.
A few were there - a great many went away.
A hundred ar e un fi t fo r ser vice.

i

'

97

OBS. 15. - A participle used as a n oun, is called a participial or verbal noun,
111d may be in t h e nominative or ouj ective, or eveu p os~ess ive case.
Ex.-IIis being's end and aim. He fel t that writiny's truth.
In the beginning. Dyi11g is but going home.
Ons. 16. - E very phrase, parS€d as a subj ect, should be analyzed, an d tl:e
:e!ation s of its separate words grammatically traced out.

"

Oss. li. -A few verbs are called imp e,.soruil, because they admit of no
:hange of person. Yet t he subj ect or nominative is implied int~ anomalous
llrm of t h e verb itself.
Ex. - N ethinks, for I think. Methought, for I thought. Meseems, for I seem
Ill myself. Melists, for I list.
But they a re inelegant, and rarely u sed.
Iu the ph rases as a11p ears, as f ollows, &c., it, understood, is the nominative
IO the verb.
Ex. - He fa a foreigner, as appears from his speech.
His eertificate reads as foll ows.
llletbinks you are facetious.
OBS. 18. - The imperative ?Jtode does not generally express the nominative,
bu t lea ves it to be un derstood.
Ex. -Do good. Be kind. love your n eighbor. Pray for your enemies.
Be kindly affectioned. Let there be light. Let us make man.
The impemtive may also be regarded as a general form of command, to
upress a fact.
EI. - Him that hath ears to bear, let hint l.Jear.

But, in this case, riches is the nominative of a n ew sentence, with a plur:il
verb.

Ons. 19. - 1Y eed and dare are sometimes used, in a general sense, without a
i.qmiuative. It m ay tl.Jen be s upplied .
Ex. -There needed no prophet to t ell us that.
Tll<lre wanted n o advocates to secure the voice of the people.
Xeed and dar e, wh en u sed intran sitively, have som etimes the plural form
Tith a sin gular verb. They are then to be par sed as singular by authority.
EI. - H e need not fear. He dare not hurt you.

Os.>. 13. - A dj uncts t o a singular nominative m ay constitute it plural, and
require a plural verb.
E x. -John, with James and Peter, constitute the committee.
Bu t a sm all part of the soldier s were detailed.

OBS. 20. - If two or more n ominatives are of different persons, the verb
!?fees with that plac~d nearest to it.
Ex. -Neither I nor my brother is eligible.
But it is better to say, I am not eli:;\ible, nor is my brother.

Ons. 14. - Wh en a r clative pronoun is nomina tive ca se to a verb, the nu17V
ber and p erson mu st be determ in ed by the antecedent, with which the relatire
must ugree.
E x .-Tbe m en , who served int.he wnr, were r ewarded .
I , who nm an American, have been unl awfully imprisoned.
You, who are foreigners, may become citizens.

Ous. 21 . - In naming several p errnn~, civility r equires that the second p ervn, or th e person addressed, should be nnmeufirst'in order, and thejirst p erm . or persou speakin g, U:r st.
Ex. -You and h e and I are invited. You and I will go.

Ons. 1~ . - The adverb n ot may exclude its noun from governing the verb.
E x. - Ilonor, n ot riches, is bis aim.

..

RULES FOR NOUNS-NO:MINATIVE.

Ous. 22. - All word~ placed as capt.ions, titles to books, to treatises, to parairavhs, or as Eignatures, &c., are abridged expressions, and are to be gram-

9

,,

'ii

f

1

111
I
11

.1

I

1
I .

I

98

RULES FOR NOUNS-NOMINATIVE.

SYNTAX.

m nti cally di sposed of by adding wch words as are n ecessary to complete
sentence.

1

1,x. - Ch np . I.: i. e., tliis chapter is the first, or this is the first chapter.
Ycr ~c 10: n1cauing the tenth verse.
Richmond, Au gust 20, 1853: parsed as if written, At Richmond, 011
the tw entieth day of Augu st, eightee n hundred and fifty-three.
1\fore summarily, the separate words and figures of the last example may
be parsed t,.1der Rule XII.

fI

I

.1

I

Ons. ~3. - In p osition, the n ominative na.turally stands before the wrb.
Bu t this order is varicd:-1. In interrogative sentences. As -Believest thou!
2. In th e n sc of the imperative. As - Go than. 3. When the adverb there introduces a sentence. As -There is a co.Im. 4. In poetic license.

nut when int errogative senten ces employ two words in the predicate, tilt
11 11minat ivc is pl:.tced betweeu them. As-Will he come? Hus he recovered!
J; lie sick?
W ho, which, :rnd what , interrogative, come before the verb. As - Who ii
w l~e?

§ G0.

R o LE II. - A noun, follow in g an i ntransiti~e
verlJ, .is put in the same case with that before it, when both
nouns refer to th e same thing.
Or.s . 1. - Yerbs having the same case after as before them, are chiefly 111
• erb to be, and the passive verbs of choosing, naming, aJJp crinting, &c.
Ex. - Il e was called John. He became a disciple.
I thought it was be, but it was not be.
011s. 2. - In some in stances, the intransitive verb takes a transitive sen.st,
and must be con strued accordingly.
.

E::.:. - I dreamed a dream.

He ran a raoe. H e lived a u sefu l life.
Ile loo ked death in the face . He stopped to breathe bis h orses.
W e talked the h o ur~ of night away . Th ey laughed him to scorn.

Orns. 3. - ·when , by th e com:truction of a senten ce, a.n intran sitiH verb ia
t.he infinitive m ode follows a tran siti ve verb and its object, a noun may bi
in the objcctirn case, after the iutransitive verb, to correspond with tb>I
before it.
Ex. - I supposed it to be hint.
Ons. 4. - The noun or pronoun u sed in predication must be oonstrued la
the n ominative or objecth•e, according to the ltules of Syntax.
Ex. - I thought it was be, but it was not he.
I thought it to be him, but it was not be.

99

§ 61. RULE III. - A noun, meaning the same thing
with another noun, is placed in apposition with it, in the
same case, whether nominative or objective.
O!ls. 1. - Nouns u sed for emphatic r epetition belong to this cfass.
Ex. - Our fath ers, where are they? and the prophets, do they Jive for ever?
Afyself, hi?liseif, itself, themselves, are often u sed for emphatic r epetition .
Ex. - I niy.<e'f. H e hinwJf. They theniselt-es.
The objective form of the pronoun is preserved in the compound word fo r
tho sake of euphony, whether it be u sed in tbe nominative or objective case.
Emphatic repetition is common, and adrls force to language. · As - Gael, a
troop shall overcome him. He that heareth, let him hear-'- which should be,

Hini that h eareth.
Ons. 2. -A verb in the infinitive mode, a cl:i.u se, or a sentonce, possessing
a substantive character, is often, under this rule, put in apposition with "
noun, and a noun is sometimes put in apposition with a sentence.
Ex. -He aided me when I was poor, a kindness I sh:i.11 always r emember.
Ons. 3. - First names and titles are by some grammarian s parsed as in npposition with the principal name. Others parse sueh names and titles us
campound nouns.
Ex. - General Zachary Taylor.
But, since the first name and tit.le are here used to define the particular
person meant, General and Zachary may properly be consider~d as adjeclfres.
There are m any men by the name of :l'aylor, but General Zachary Taylor i:;
defined or described by the two first w orcls. Wo therefore call them adjectil'CS,
without r epudiating the other interpretation, nearly, if n ot quite, as well
sustained.
Ons. 4 . - Nouns which mean th e same thing are frequently connected by as
Ex. - I preserve my diploma as an evidence of my graduation.
In this example, as ma.y, as a conjnuction, connect the two words diplmna.
and ev·iclence; or, it may qualify a verb understood, by supplying an ell ipsis
-" as I would preserve an ev idence"; or, it may govern evidence, as a pr<:.position in th e s~n se of for. Either of these interpretations will develop the
true meaning. We prefer the last.
Ons. 5. - A title applied to a name common to two or more, belongs t o a
collective noun, and hence takes properly the plum! form.
·
Ex. - 'fhe Messrs. Smith. The Generals Benj ami n and Franklin P iere~ .
But, if a numeral ud,fect~ve is u sed, the plur:i.l form is giveu to t_h c name
only.
Ex. -The two Mr. Smiths.
We assign this class of words, therefore, to that of plural _forms, rather
than nouns in apposition.

!

"

100

SYNTAX.

E:;:. -;:ho )fc" r~ . Smi t h are tlrn proprietor s of th h
lh c two }lr. Sn1ith s arc in partnershi
e ouse.
Th e two }liss Lou.-s
. r property.
p.
o' sol·'
u th e1

.O BS. 6. - A n oun, n ominative or objective In ~
,
with a prono un in tho posBc~sive case B t th arm, may be m apposition
t he same case with th e pos ' . ~ ·
u
en they ar e considered as in
•,.
'
oess1ve orm omitted in th e nouns.
J::.,. - !fore r ests his head upon the la 0 f
p
earth, a youth to fortune and to
fame unknown .
;-r,uth may be in appo"ition with his
.
(Rule XIII ., Obs. 7) · or it m b..
' t~: sign of the posse8sive omitted
ay e m appo>1 tion w·th l d
' '
whcol e, by m etonomy) and n orniu t"
,
I
zea (a part put for the
'
a 1ve case to rests.

. § 62.

IV. -A noun, the name of a person or
tlnng addressed, is in the nominative case independent.
RULE

Ons. 1. - Tb e n om in ative is th e na11tin cas
t he nrb, th e rnhject of di scc une WI g th e, th e nam e of th e subject of
ha' no definite predicate or verb ~t . ~ en , erefore, a subject is n amed, and
• 1 is mdependent of th
th
sentence, and is in the nominati.-e case.
e o er parts of the
E x. - ' 'elcome, ill us trious stranger.
.Ons. 2. - No un " in the norn ina t b·e in de endPn
with verbs, or placed in appos ition wit.h otl~r nom~n~:i~e:~ways be supplied
Ex. -Friend s, give me your atten tion.
Friends, cou ntrymen, and lover s, h ear me.
Corn e, gen t le spring.
These nam es addressed
verbs, or are independent. are in apposition with the n ominatives to the

§ 63 . R uLE V. -A noun, joined with
. .
and di sjoin ed from the res t of the . t
. a part1c1ple,
ti,·e case indepen den t.
sen ence, is the nominaEx. - The serm on be ing ended, th e people dispersed - i. e., when the sermon was ended.
Generally speak in on-> virtue ha's I' t s r eward eve . th· I'
speak ing generally. Tl'e, understood is n I~ i.s i~e - i . e., we,
with sp eaking.
'
n ommat1ve mdependent
Ons. 1. -ThP n oun of this cla•s is the . ,
always be r esolved into a simple s;nteuce. subJect

of the p articiple, and may

Ex. - When the sermon was ended · As we gen erally speak.

RULES FOR NOUNS-NOMINATIVE.

101

§ 64. RuLE VI. - The pronoun, relative, is nominative case to the verb, whioh it governs, and must agree
with the antecedent to which it refers in gender, n umber,
and person.
Ons. 1. - The r elative pronoun is here introduced, in the arran gement of
rules, the sixth in number, because, In this form of it, it is classed as tbe
nominative. We h er e refer to its relation to the antecedent.
Ons. 2. - The rules of grammar must not be violated for mere convenience
or brevity of expr ession. All pronouns must be controlled by the nouns to
which they r efer.
- We may properly say, Neither.John nor .Tames m ay negl ect his book.
But we cannot say, Neither John nor Mary m ay n egleet his book.
We must eay, Neither John may neglect Ms book, nor Mary hers.
.411 pronouns mu st agree with their antecedents in gender, number, and
person.
Ons. 3. - If two or m ore nouns are connected by and, the pronoun is re-

quired to be in t he plural nurn ber.
Ex. - J ohn, J ames, and ~Iary, must study their books .
If connected by or or nor, the pronoun is singular.
E x. - Neither J ohn n or J ames may n eglect his book.
If one of the antecedent n ouns is plural, the pronoun r eferring to them
muet be plural.
Ex. - Neither J ohn n or his brothers have n eglected their bool(S.
OBS. 4. -The r elative al so agrees in gender with the an tecedent.
Ex. - The boys and girls, who belong to the class which has just been
form ed, must rncite together .
J ohn may r ecite to his sister - J an e to her brother.
Ons. 5. - When nouns connected a.r e of different person<, the form of the
pronoun r eferring to them prefer s the first person to the second, aml tlle
Eecond to the third.
Ex. - You and he and I must render our account.
You and he must render your account.
Ons. 6. -The neuter pronoun it often r efers to nouns without r egnrrl to
gender, number, or person - to clauses, sentences, or verbs in the infinitive

mode, &c.
Ex. - It was J ohn. It was !llary.
It wa8 tbey. It was he.
It was I. It was you.
It was the beginning of h is mi ~fortunes.
It was th at he r efu sed to do his duty.
It was to be expected.

9*

102

RULES FOR NOUNS-OBJECTIVE.

SYNTAX.

Ons. 7. - T his and these r efer t o th e latter or last-mention ed of two
ceden ts ; that aud those to t he f o,.iner or frrst-m eu tion cd.

ante-

J>x . - Thieves and robbers nre gr eat ly mul tiplied; these infest the country,
th ose the city.

On.'l. S. - Th e anlecedeiit of th e r elat ive pronoun must be carefully traced,
in order to in terp ret correctly the sense of th e passage.

lVho refers to per sons; which to animals nn d things.
The l1' c of which, r eferring to per sons, som etimes found in the Scri ptures
nn•1 nnri ent writings, is n ow obrnlete. 'l'o r ender this r elat ion cl ear, great
car e sho uld be u sed in th e con str u ction of sen tences.
}:x. -A gentleman saw a lady d rop a pock et-handker chief in th e mud,
which h e picked u p, an d pu t in his pocket.
H er e h e is m ade t o put the mud in bis pocket. The foll owing arr an gem ent
m ak es t he se nse un eq uivocal:- A gentl em:tn saw a lady drop in the mud a
h andkerch ief, which b e picked up, an d p ut in his pocket.
Ons. 9. - Th e pron oun his, and other pronou ns in t he possessive case, are
of len anlccedenJs t o r elative pronoun s.
E x. - How ad moni tory is his eud, who h as died a drunkard!
H ow variou s hi.s em ploym ents, whom the world calls idle !
H ea>en be their r esource, w ho have n o other than the ch arity of the
world !
The r ill is tun eless to his ear, who feels no h armony within.
Ons. 10.- Wben a relati ve aucl an antecedent bay.; each a verb, t h e rdatfoe is
common ly 11orn inatirn to the fi.rst, an d t he antecedent is n oruiuutive to the
, eco11d verb.
E x. - H e, wh o excel•, is promoted.

103

Th ose, who s tu dy, excel.

Ons. 11. - Tbe re lative prono un can r elate to a noun only, as its an t ecedent,
or th at wh ich is s uh<titutcd fo r a n o un. A g rammatical con struction n ot
con for m ed to t his rul e is sim ply fal se.
E x. - I f ch ild r en inherit ch aracter as well as property from th eir paren tR,
wh ich is a law of nat ure, th en paren ts shoul d be careful t o 00.
q ueath a good n ame to th eir posterity.
Ons. 12. - 'l'h e Anglo-Saxons m ed t h e p ron oun masculin e in r eferrin g to
th e ne uter r;en cler, as Po mc m odern l ang uage.• do. The Scrip t ures, th e.refore,
h a Ye freque n tly the u se of hi$ fo r its - a form of expression now obsolete.
E x. - If the salt have lost hi$ savor (its savor).
Ons. 13. - The position of the relative is generally before the verb and
after the an tecedent.

RULES FOR NOUNS-OBJECTIVE.
Xonu ;: in the objective ctl!'e m ay be governed by transitive verbs, by participles,
or by prnpositions.
Th o sn';ject of th e sentence, with the Rul es that a pply to it as the nominative
ca>e, h a ~ e been considered in the preceding six R ules.
The sl':Ven/.h Rule defin es the r elation and government of the rdative pronoun,
when it is u sed as the obj ect in st ead of the subject. Its relations to tho
antecedent ar e the same in both form s. It is only n eoossary, therefore,
t o defin e the Rule itself.

§ 65 . RuLE VII. - A pronoun, relative, is governed
by t he verb, or some other word, when the verb of the sent;n ce depends on another subject as the nominative.
Ex. - You are t h e par ent whom I love -to w hom I o.m deeply indebted whose welfare I see k - fo r which I lo.bor.
Ons. L- '!'b e compound pro n oun w hat m ay be r esolved into that which,
As - This is what I wante d - that which I wanted.

those w hich, &c.

Ons. 2. - l Vhoc1·e,-, whosoei:er, whate:ver, whatsoever, &c., o.re con strued as
com pounds, like what.
Ex. - Whatever is, is right.
Whatsoever he affirms, is uelieved.
W hoe>er woulu excel, must strive.

§ 66. R ULE VIII. - ..A. noun, the object of a transitive
rerb or participle, is in the obj ective case, and is governed
by the verb or participle.
Ons. 1. - This obj ec t m ay be a noun, a p1·onoun, a substantive phra.se, or a
senJence.
A 1wun : J ohn loves hi$ book.
Apronoun : J ohnlovesme..
A p hr ase : I desire all to be present.
A sentence: Addison say s, et'ei-yUiing i$ beauliful in its season.
OHS. 2. - Two objectives som etim es come under the government of one activo
verb- by Rule IX.
Ons. 3. -Intran sitive verbs admit an objective after them, when used in a
tru nsi ti ve sen se.
Ex. -They lau ghed him t o scorn. He looked him in the face.
He returned the mcme.y.
W e t a lked the night away.
The wind blows the chaff.

1

104

S1NTAX.

In the expre"ion -Th e wind blows a gale - a gale is adrnrhial, in tho
sense of vw/,e'l'ltly.
Many ver bs are u srd either iu a transitive or an intransitive sen se.
Ons. 4. - Parti ciples have the same government as their verbs.
Ex. - Belie,•ing the report, I actetl accordingly.
Havin g beard tbe evidence, the court adjourned.
Seeing bis error, be reformed.
Ons. 5. -Th e part:ciple in ing, when used as a noun, may also, in its verbal
character, govern the objective case.
Ex. - Jn heari11g many witnesses, much time was consumed.
But, if the participle have an article before it, it should have a preposition
after it, to govern the objective.
Ex. -In the hearing of many witnesses, the prisoner confes•ed his guilt.
Ons. 6. - The objective case t akes position, in its natural order, after the
verb that goverm it.
But the relative pronoun, when it is made the object of the verb, come'
befwe it.
By transposition, also, in poetry, and sometimes in prose, the object is placed
before the verb that governs it.

§ 67. RuLE IX. -Tw·o nouns in the ol\j ective case,
one of the person, the other of the thing, may follow and be
governed by verbs which signify to ask, teach, call, make,
pay, allow, promise, constitute, offer, &c.
Ex. - He asked me a question . H e taught me grammar.
He called m e John.

He paitl me my price.

OBS. 1. - In most cases, where two obj ectives come after a transitive ver b,
one of the nouns may be governed by a preposition. But the action of the
verb often passes over so directly on both objects, that it has come to be
adapted as a rule in grammar to assign to the verb the government of hotb.
This is in analoi;y with the Latin.
I

1·

i

I•

I

r ,,
r·

,

I'

§ 68. RuLE X. - Two nouns, the objects of a transitive verb, yield one as the nominative, when the verb takes
the passive form.
Ex. - I was asked a question by him. I was taught grammar by him.
I was called ,John. I was paid my price.
The government of the noun in these cases. after the pa~sive form of the
verb, hns sometimes puzzled grammarians. The grammaticnl construction
is explained by the preceding Ruic, and is sufficient to elucidate the difficulty.

RULES FOR NOUNS-OBJECTIVE.

105

§ 69. RuLE XI. - A noun in the objective case may
be governed by a preposition which shows its rebtion m
the sentence.
Ons. 1. -Th e word governed by a preposition is always a noun in its character, and objective in r elation ·to the preposition, whether it be a single
" ore!, n phrase, or a sentence.
Ons. '.l. - The word to which the object of the preposition stands related
is usually a verb, a noun, or an adjective; sometimes a pr"noun or an adverb.
Ons. 3. - Any word which does the office of a preposition takes its character.
Co11junction;; are sometimes used for prepositions. As - But, in the sense
of except; ere, for before.
Ex.. - All escaped but one. He is dead ere this.
Participl,es are sometimes used for prepositions. As - Concerning, for in
regard to : respecting, for in respect t.o.
These, h owever, are often parsed as participles, and, as such, made to govern
the objective cam. Where words can plainly be u sed in their original character, it is best so to construe them.
OBS. 4.- Than and as are sometimes used so as to give them a prepositional
character.
Ex. - Cresar, than whom none was greater.
'l'his form of expression is n ot u ncommon.
Th e same construction sometimeR ndmits as to the office of a prepoi<ition.
E:s:. - I respect him more as a Christian than as a king - i. e., than in the
character of a king.
Than and as should never be used as prepositions, where, as in comparative
Eentences, they can take the place of conjunctions or adverbs.
Ex. - Christ died to redeem such rebels as I am - not as me.
Ons. 5. - Double or compound prepositions are sometimes used. They shollld
however be avoided, or separately parsed, whenever the construction will
permit.
Ons. 6. - .A s to, as .foi·, aboard of, but Joi-, instead of, out of - these words
may u sually be divided, and the first word of each pair be parsed as an
adverb.
Ex. -As to this argument, it is a sophism -i. e., as it relates to this argument. (.A s qualifies relates.)
They came out of great tribulation. ( Ou.t qualifies cam~.)
Ons. 7. - De.'Pite of, de1•oid of, pret>ious to, are found in such relations, that
the first word belongs to a noun as an adjective.
Ex. - H e is det·oid of fear. Ile used the time preuious t.o offic&-hours.
Or, these may be sometimes construed aduerbutlly.
Ex. - Ile arrived previous to the time appointed.

106

Ons. 8. - From arnong, f1·01n between, fr om qff- in tho u se of these. tho
first word, as a preposition, usu ally govern s the whole clause following, ~·hilo
the socond preposition governs its own obj oct.
Ex. - One came ontfroin among the tombs.
There came forth a light/rmn between the ch erubim.
There went up incense from off' the altar.
Ons. 9. - In lieu of, in regard to, in resp ect to, in spite of- in these phra;es,
the first word, as a preposition, governs the second as a noun.
Ex. - I return lov.e in lieu of hatred-forbearance in spite of provocatiol!.
In regard to my motives, you mistake - in respect to yours, I venturo
no judgment.

·'

RULE FOR NOUNS-POSSESSIVE.

SYNTAX.

Ons. 10. - Allowing, according, considering, concerning, during, respecting,
supposin.'J, e:rccpting, notwithstanding - these are sometimes u sed and classed
as preposi tions, but can often be parsed, more in accordance with the sense,
as participl es.
vYh en u sed as prepositions, they must always show a relation between
their obj ect and some other word.
Ex. - I speak concerning charity.
Allowing the premises, h e m ay be correct.
During ]Jrayer , we should kneel.
Ons. 11. - A is sometimes used in th e sense of a preposition.
Ex. -The gale drol'e the vessel a wreck -i. e., to wreck.
ThP.re is evil a brewing.
He set th e people a read ing.
Ile went a hun ting - a fishing.
Oas. 12. - In the n sc of prepositions r eference must he bad to the sense of
the r eln.ted words before and after them. They geI\erally fo llow nouns, vcris,
or adjectives.
Ons. 13.-The con struction of prepositions after nouns. W e say -Abhor.
r ence, ackn owl edgment, betrayal, diminution, independence, need, r ed uction,
righteousne's of.
We say -A,r er~ ion , exception, regard , union ro.
·we say - Accordance, compassion, compliance with.
We say- Concurrence, confidenca, diffi culty, tuition in.
W c say - exception, r egard to - prejudice against., &c.
Oas. 14. - In the construction of prepositions with verbs, we say -A ccu ' ~.
acquit, disapprove of; accord with or to; ask of, Joi-, or after; bestow 'UJJI"' .
concur with or in; copy froni or after; profit by; prevail with, on, upun, or
against; vest in or with; wait mi or upon, !c.
Ons. 15. - In th e construction of prepositions with adjectives, we say Agreeable to; beloved by; comparable with; dependent cm; expert in; necc>sary for; sure of ; free from .

107

Ons. 1r.. - In r egard to place, to is u sed after verbs of motion to a place.
li e wen t to England, lo Frnnce, to lmv,11, &c.
At or in is u sed after t he verb to be. As - H e is at or in Washington, at or

As -

in llo>ton, at or in Paris, &c.
Jn is used to denote residence. As - He Jives in Washington, in Boston, in
)' aris. &c.
.At .i s used to designate houses of r esidence, marked locations, foreign courts,
or cities. As - He r esides at Valley Forge, at the Orkneys, at St. James, at
Washington, at Rome.
In tlcsig;nates ~trcets of a city, and at the dwellings in the streets. As Jle r esides at No. 3, in State street.
Bx. - He went to Richmond, that b e might be in town to m eet bis friend
at th e City Hall. in Broad ~treet.
His friend r esides at his ow n house, in Grace street.
Ons. 17. - The particular prepositions to be used must depend on the senee
in each particular case. \Ye may, for example, fall o.ff or from, to or into, on
·or upon, in or into, a place. \Ve may accommodate, compare, adapt, r econcile,
may r est on or upon, in or within a place.
reduce, uni te to.
Ons. 18. - Except for poetic measure, t he preposition should not be tram;·

"·a

posed from its nat ural position before its object.
Ons. 19. -The preposit ion and its object should generally be placed as near
ns p0osible to its r elated word.

§ 70.

XII. - A noun, signifying time, place,
d·istance, measure, direction, quantity, value, &c., may be in
the objective case, without any word to govern it.
RULE

Ex. - H e Jived a century. He went home. H e walked a mile.
He weighed ninety pounds. H e measurnd six feet.
H e went his way, He wei ghed twenty po~nds more than.his brother.
H eat the furnace one·seven times more th an it is wont to be heated.
Ons. 1. - Nouns under this rule may be generally gov erned by a prepooi·
tion, by supplying an ellipsis.

RULE FOR NOUNS-POSSESSIVE.

§ 71.

XIII. - Nouns in the possessive case are
governed by the nouns they possess.
RuLE

Ons. 1. - Nouns of this class indicate possession, either of ownership, of

authorship, or of 1·elat'ion.
First, of ownership. Ex. - Juhn's book: the property of John.

108

SYNTAX.

Secondly, of authorship. Ex. - Payson's works : tho authorship belongs to
Payson .

Ex. -B; ! s' sh~es: shoes such as boys u se.
I
C!uldren s shoes : shoes such as children u se.
In each of these examples, all is implied that belongs to the possessive ca.; ~
of nouns.
Thirdly, of relation.

I

l

Ons. 2. -The double possessive is i nterpreted in the same manner
Ex . -:--Gould's Adam s's Latin Grammar : Adams possesses Gramm~r by autho>"ship ; Gould possesses Adams's Grammar by authorship ; both possess
L alin Gramm ar.
Ons. 3. -The use of the apostrophe in the possessive is somewhat variou.',
and n~t well defined. To some extent, it is regulated by taste. But it mu. t
be subJ ect, fir st to perspicuity, and then to euphony: always to rule.

O~s. 4. - ''. hen c~mmon possession by several persons is implied, the p0 .,.
se>s1ve fo rm is apphed to the last of two or more nouns.
:Ex. - Smith and Brown's store.
Bu_t, if separnte possession is implied, each of the two or more n ouns
r eqmres t he possessive form.
Ex. - Smith's and Brown's and Jones's stores.
Ons. 5. - When two or more nouns are so closely allied as to be all neces·
sar:' to the definition, th e possessive form is pluced at the close.
Ex. - .John the Baptist's h ead.

.r:

Wcb;ter, Cl:ly, !llld Calhoun, the American triumvi~atc's speeches.

the la.st e_x ample, the three nam e' are in th e possessive, by virtnc of the
am.,le appllcat10n of the form, and tb ey arc all in apposiLion with triumi•irate.
The sam: form of the possessive applies wh ere several words together take
a substant ive character.
Ex. - H e spoke of th e. A uthor of "Y at ure's bein g r espon sihle.
Ons. G. - When one of two n ouns b explanatory of the other, the latter
should h>we the possessive form.

Ex. - Brown the goldsmi th's i;tore.
But, if th e noun possessed be understood, either form is admissible.

RULE FOR ADJECTIVES.

109

Ons. 9. - Some nouns singular, ending in s or ss, and nouns ending in ce,
Mid the apostrophe only.
E:.:.- Mechanics' l!'air. For conscience' salce. For goodn ess' Rake.
This, however, is not done, except when neceMary to avoid the llissiug
wund of s doubled. We say - His Grace's presence.
Ons. 10. - The possessive form is often loosely applied.
Ex. - This is a discovery of Newton's, or of Newton.
Either of these forms may be cor:·cct - meaning, iu the first form , a disrovery from a.mong Newton's discoveries; or, in the second form, his by
discovery.
Precision sometimes requires special care in the use of the possessi ~ . If I
iay - '!'his is a portrait of mine, or my portrait - it may mean a portrnit
owned by me. But if I say -A portrait of myself - it is evident I mean my
own likeness.
'£his is a book of mine-meaning my book, or from the number of my
books.
Ay, and that tongue of his - of bis person, bis owner ship, bis possession.
Here it definitely implies ownership, and does not designate one out of several
of the same sort.
Ons. 11. - .Mine, thine, his, hers, ours, y ours, theirs., are used as substitutes
for the ordinary form of the possessiYe adjective pronoun and noun.
Ex. - This bat is mine - meanin g my hat. This is yours.
'£he slate is his. Th e pencil is hers.
'.l'he paper is ours, or yours, or theirs .
These possessives arc, therefore, to be parsed as the words for which they
arc substituted.
Some gr ammarians insist that these possessives should be parsed as substitutes for his, her, thy, my, our, your, their, agr eeing with the noun understood. The effect is the same. They nre substitutes for something. What is
his a substitute for in the expr ession, That tonguP- of his! ·
Ons. 12. - The participle in iny, when u sed as a noun, is sometim es, though
not frequently, found in the possessive case.
Ex. -His being's end and aim. He felt that writing's truth.

Ex. - I purchased at Brown 's, the goldsmith ; or, at Drown the goldsmith 's.
Ons. 7. -The Eng.lish possessive is th e Latin genitive, and may be often
expre,sed. by the obJective, with the pr eposition of, to indicate its relation to
the ,..Q.Pun it possesses. This is frequently the most ele"ant and persp·
form.
0
1CUOU3
It is better to say - This is a psalm of David, the priest and king_ than

to say - Tb is is David's psulm, the priest and king.
Ons. ~- -Nouns plural that end in s, add the apostrophe only, to form the
possessive. As - Eag;les' wings.

RULE FOR ADJECTIVES.

§ 72. RuLE XIV. -Adj ectives, pronouns, and participles, agree with their nouns in gender, number, and person.
Ons. 1. - When pronouns are u sed to describe nouns, they t ake the character of adj ectives.
They are then called adjective pronouns. As - This m an, these men, hi&

10

110

111

SYNTAX.

QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.

name, he,r nrtme. They must then conform to tbe.ir antecedents in gentler,
rnonbei-, nnd person. 'l'b ey arc singular or plural, according to the sense.

It is also u sed to modify the sense of an adjective. As - He is the stronger
of the two.
It i ~ ul8o u8ed to modify the sense of an adverb. As - The more I know
of him, the beller I like him.

Ex . - J\Ton r. (not. nny) w c1"e abRcnt. 1\Tone (not one) was absent.
Th eir name is legion. (Th eir r efers to a dass.)
Each, in bis several sphere, excelled.
Ons. 2. - Nouns, when used to defin~ or describe nouns, take the character
of mlj ectives.

Ex. -Au iron cage, a brass ring, a gold pencil, a saver medal.
Ons. 3. - Participles, when u sed to define or describe nouns, are called
p <lrticipial a<ljecth:es.
Ex. -He is a slandered man. This is a standing rule.
Ons. 4. -The ordinal numbr.rs, first, second, &c., one, each, ev~, either,
nrither, are joined with nouns in the singul ar number.

Ex. -The first day of the court finished the second case.
Each case required every witness.
Ons. 5. - Card inal numbers, except one, viz., two, three, &c., f ew, many,
sn ·eral, both , r equire plural nouns.
Ex. - Tllree days were required in every other case. Few were left.
Ons . 6. - Any aujective which can be used in a singular sense, is construed
according:ly .
E:s:. - Full many a flower. Many a d:iy. (A/any is here singular.)
Ous. 7 - One hu.nd1·ed head of cattle - one hu.ndred sail of ships- a thousand
f ;ot, and lwefre hu.ndred ho,.se - these, and similar expressions, imply plu·
ra!ity, and are construed accordingly. So, a few, a great many, a hundred, a
111 1dtitude.
Ex. -A hu ndrcu head of cattle were sold. One hundred, at least, were left
OBS. 8. - A ten-foot pole, a ten-gallon keg. a .fifty-six-pound weight, a four-<J.uart
m easure, a twelve-month- these are units of measure, of weight, or of time,
viz. : a p ole containing the foot-measure ten times repeated; a keg containing
tbc capacity of a gallon t en times repeated ; a w eight containin g a pound fifty·
six times repeated; a measure containing the capacity of a quart four timea
repeated ; a p e,.iod of time measured by a m onth twelve times repeated.
Ex. - A ten-foot pole is a pole of t en feet.
A ten-gallon keg contains ten gallons.
ODS. 9. - A sometimes modifies the adjective following it, and gives to it a
pnsi ti vc meaning.
Ex. -A few were present - that is, some, in distinction from none.
Omit the article, and the sense is negative: F ew were present- that is,
n ot many.
Ons. 10. -The article the is used with nouns either in the singular or
plural number. Ex.-The man, the men.

Ous. 11.- Wh en two objects arc compared, the comparative Is used-when
more than two, the superlative.
Ex. - John is a better scholar than James; but Henry is the best of all.
'l'be superlative is proper to be u sed in any case to designate the highes t
or lowest degree.
Ous. 12.-Double comparatives or superlatives, in English, are inadmissible.
In the speech of Paul to Festus, the term 'the most straitest sect' is a !item!
translation from the Greek; but it is not agreeable to the English idiom .
!tlverbs are sometimes properly used to give intensity to the superlative.
As - The very straitest sect. Extremest, veriest, and chiefest, are sometimes
used by good writers.
Ons. 13. - Whichs'lever, whosesoever, whatsoever, indefinite adjective pronouns, are sometimes divided by the interposition of the noun to which tb ey
belong. As - Which argument soe,,er, whose property soei•er, what name soer1'r.
This form is r egarued as euphonic and elegant, and is practised by the bP>t
niters. It does not change the grammatical construction; but whose and
soever are to be parsed as the adjective pronoun, agreeing with the noun.
The same occurs on the interposition of an adverb, taking the divided w ord
as an adverb, or adjective, or a pronoun. As - How much soever we may feel
their force; how high soever. Other words may be divided. As -To us ward.

\,

I
QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.
rs RULE I.? 1. What modifies the number and person of the verb?
2. Must every nominative case have its verb? What two parts of speech am
necessary to every sentence? 3. How are the various subjects expressed which
ronstitute the nominative case 1 What office may the same wor d, clause, or
ientence, then perform? 4. What kind of a verb is required by two or more
nominatives connected by and! When unity is implied in the nominati ve?
5. \\"itb which of two nominatives of different numbers or persons mu st tile
rerb agree? How when the principal subject is named last? 6. What m:i >t
lbe verb be with two or more nominatives connected by or or nor! How wh en
two or m ore nominatives, connected by and, apply to one subject? 7. H 0w
when two or more nominatives are of different numbers 1 ·what, th en , is tl :e
po•ition of the plural 1 8. What general rule must determine the v erb in
number 1 9. What is necessary when different persons are named? Wh n.t
kind of a verb d0es a noun of multitude require 1 10. What verb does it
require when med indefinitely 1 What otller words are used indefinitely?
Give examples of it, of one, of they, used indtfinitely. 11. Whu.t nufnber do
WrrAT

i

t
II

··11
I
I

112

SYNTAX.

each, e1:cry, and either, require in t he verb? May. evenJ be used as a eolleeti're
anti r equire the plura l ? Gi1·e an exarnp le. Of what number is t h e phrase
" full man y a f"l o wer "? \\'h at num ber is a measu re of unity? Give examples.
IVJi en m11 't tli c 1·crb te sin gu lar, antl wh en plural ? 12. What cffoct m ay rwt
h ave? Give the ex ample. Ho w, the n, tlo you d i;pose of the noun riche,sf
13. What effect may adjuncts to a ~ingul ar verb have? IJ. How arc th e number and perrn n of a r elative pronoun determin ed? 15. In wh at cases may a
particip ial no u n be u sed 1 Give examples. 16. When a phrasc is u sed as a
subject, wh at mu st be done with it ? 17 . What ar e the im per sonal verbs ?
Why so callecl ? .-\re they now u sed? 18. Does the imperative mode usually
expre>s the nominative case? In the expression, "Let u s m ake m an," who
was addressed? Aus. - It was u sed to exp ress a fact. 19. vVh en need and
dare a re used without a nom inative, wh at may be su pplied 1 When u sed in·
transitively, what is the ch aracter of the nom inative? 20. When two or more
n ominati,-es arc of d ifferent persons, with which must the verb he ma<le to
a;;ree? \\"hat is a better fo rm ? 21. \\"hen different persons are named, what
order is required ? 23. H ow arc cap tions, ti tl es, signatur es, dates, &c., parsed!
23. Wh at is t h e natural position of the n ominative? When is this order
Yaried? " "h en th e q uestion empl oys two words in the predicat e, where is
the n ominative placed?

WH.\T IS RcLE II. ? 1. \\h at clnsscs of verbs h ave t h e sam e cases after as
before t h em ? '.!. Do intrnns iti re verbs e»cr take a transitive sense? Give
exampl es. 3. "\Y h cn an int ransiti-rn »erb infin itive fo llows a transitive verb
:md its obj ect, what case then follow s the infinitive? Ans. -Th e objecti>e
case, beca u se t he objectil"e case has come before the ver b. H ow must the
noun u sed in predication be construed?
l\' 1u T IS H cu: IT I. ? 1. What is said of nou~·s u sed in emphatic repetition 1
Giv e exampl es . \ \"by, in himself, t11e mselves, &c. , is the objective form of the
pronoun prcscn·ccl in th e co m pound words 1 Wh at ·is the effect of emph atic
r epetition ? Give examp les. 2. \\"h en a verb infinitive, a clause, or sentence,
possesses a su bsta ntive character, b ow is it sometimes u sed in relation to a
noun ? Giv e the example. 3. H ow do you par se first names and t.i tles? Give
th e r eason why, in the nam e of General Zach ar y Taylor, you parse the two
first words as adjectives? 4. \Yh nt is said of as ? Turn to the example under
this Obs., and give your opinion of t he sentence. 5. " The Messr s. Smith,,_
in what uum ber is that ? " The two ~Ir . Smiths" - ju what num ber is that?
Do you , in each of th ese exampl es, parse the n am e and t h e title as a collective
noun ? " H erc r es ts h is h ead, u pon t h e lap of earth , a youth to fortune and
to fame un k nown" - how do you parse y nuth!
WHAT rs RULE I V.? "\\"h en is t h e nominative case indeoen dent? What is
th e n omi nath-e case? lllay nominati ves independent ;!ways b~ su pplied
w ith ver bs?

WHAT is Rur.E Y.? J . ~fn y the noun and participle, in this connection, be
always r esolv ed into a simple sen tence 1 Give an example.

QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.

118
''

WHAT IS RULE VI. ? 2. l\Iust all pronouns preserve a conformity of number, person, and gender, t o th e nouns to which th ey r efer? 3. If two or mor e
autecedent n o uns are connected by and, what number is r equired in th e
pronoun r eferring to them 1 If connected by or or nor! H ow, if one of tlw
nouns Is plural 1 4. Must t h e r elat ive agree with the antecedent in gender~
5. How, wh en the nouns antecedent ar e of different persons 1 6. How d oes
the n e uter pronoun it refer to its antecedents in regard to gender, number,
an d person 1 7. What is the r eference of this and these, that and those! 8. Wh a t
is n ecessary in tracin g the antecedent of the rel ative? Give the example. 0.
Can the possessive pronoun be the antecedent of a relative? 10. When a contiguous r elative and antecedent h_ave each a verb, which is the first in order'
Do relatives refer to any words except nouns? Can the possessive his be u :;ed
for i!s ! What is the position of the r elative?

'Ii

I

~

W'HAT I S R ULE VII.? 1. Into what words is the compound pronoun what
resolved 1 2. What other compounds are u sed?
WHAT I 8 R ULE VIII.? 1. What may constitute an objective noun? 2. May
one transitiv e verb govern more than one objective case? 3. Do intransiti n;
rerbs ever admit tbe objective case? When 1 May the sam e verb be sometimes u sed either in a transitive or an intran sitive sen se 1 4. What govern·
ment have participles 1 5. !\Iay the participle in ing govern the objectiv e cam
wh en u sed as a n oun? When it has an article before it ? 6. Position of the
obj ective case 1 Relative pronoun, obj ective? Is the objective ever trans·
posed? When 1
WHAT rs R ULE IX. 7 Can one of these obj ectives be governed by a preposition 1
WHAT IS RULE X.? Does this Rule show clearly the relation of the objcL~
tive case after the passive verb 1
w·HAT IS RULE XL 1 1. What constitutes the object uf the preposition?
2. '.l'o what wor ds may the preposition show relation? 3. What words m ay J:.e
preposition s? 4. Are than and as ever prepositions 1 5. May doubl e prepositions be used 1 6. J,et the t eacher ask an explanation of those specified. Alm,
in Obs. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. 12. Wh at do prepositions generally follow 1 13. Th eir
con struction after noun s ? 14. After verbs? 15. After adj ectives ? 16. In r17
gard to place, what is the u se of to, at, inf Let the teacher r equire examples.
17 . 1 18. :\'lay the preposition be tramposed 1 19. How placed? '
WHAT IS RULE XII.? !\Iay nouns, under this Rule, be governed by a preposition 1
WHAT I8 RULE XIII.? 1. Wbat kind of possession do possessive noun3
imply ? 2. How are double possessives interpreted? 3. By what general rulo
must the u se of the apostrophe be regulated? 4. How, when common pos·
session by several persons is implied? 5. How, when several nouns are allied
in the definition? 6. How, when one of two nuuns is explanatory of thu
other? 7. How may th e p ossessive be ot.herwirn expressed 1 8. H ow, when
the noun plural ends ins l 9. How, in other cases? 10. How is the posses-

10 *

'Ii

114

115

SYNTAX.

RULES FOR THE VERBS.

sometimes loo•ely np pliml? Give exam ple•. 11. Use of?nine, thin e, &c.!
l~ . Is tbe pal'ti oiple in ing evor used iu the possessive?
Wrr.~T rs H ur.E XIV. ? I . \\'h en ar e pronouns u sed as adj ectives ? 2. When
a l'e noun s u sed as adj ectives? 3. What are par ticipial adjectives 1 4. With
wb at n ouns are o rdin a l ~ j oined ? i>. Cardinal ~ ? 6. What adj ectives are cons trued in the singular? 7. What, in the plural? 8. What are units of meas u n~ 1 Examples. 9. Use of a in defining a following adjc~tive 1 10. U;;e
of the? 11. Wb at ar e the rules observed where two obj ects are compared 1
12. What is said of double comparatives ? 13. What is said of the division of
some pronoun s 1

Than and as, when thus u sed, must submit to the general rule, and bo
parsed accol'ding to the sense, in each particular case. Sometimes they have
th o qualifying sense of an adverb, and sometimes the governin~ sense of a
prepoiition to the. clause that follows them.

~i rn

RULES FOR THE VERBS.

§ 73. R uLe XV. - The verb is made to agree with the
subject or norninn.tive cn.se in number and person.
Ons. 1. - Th e in fin itil' e mode and t h e participle have no varia tions of form
on account of number or person.
Ons. 2. - l ' he v al'iation s of t he verb, to cou form to the number and person
of the n ominati ve, are principally in th e auxiliaries, and in the irregular
verb to be.
The two Formula•, given in Part I., of the regular verb love and the irregular verb be, will en able the learner r eadily t o adapt and apply the variations
0
t o all oth er verbs.

§ 74.

R uLE XVI. - The verb in the infinitive mode is
governed by the verb, noun, or adjective, that modifies it.
Ex. - I hope t o see you.
I ex pect yon to come.
It is pleasant to m ee t you.
Ons. 1. -Tbe infini tive mode is n eYer u sed as a predicate, and has no nomin ative case; h ence its nam e, infinili1:e or indefinite. It is modified by tqe
wol'd on whi ch it depends, and by wbich , t herefore, it is said to be goveraedu s ually by a verb, a n oun, or an adj ective.
\
Ons. 2. - 'l'he om i>>iou of t he conjun ction that, in compound senten ces,
often throws out th e n ominati ve, and el egantly employs t h e infinitive form
of th e verb, pr ec8ded by than or as, by which it is govern ed.
Ex. - His argument was so abstruse as to be incomprehensible - for, that
it was incom preh en sible.
It n eeded n othing m ore than to be comprehended - for, it n eeded
n othing mor e, only that it sh ould be comprehended.
The obj ect was so high as to be invisible - for, that it was invisible.

Ons. 3. -The infinitive sometimes follows, and depends upon, various other
parts of speech or phrases.
Ex. - He was inclined to go. (Here, the infinitive is governed by the participle inclin ed.)
He was about to go. (Here, about is a preposition, and governs the
infinitive, in the nature of a noun: about the act of going.)
H e knew how to go. (Here, the infinitive depends on the adverb
how , which qualifies it.)
Be so good as to sing. (Here, the infinitive depends on the adverb
as, which qualifies it. The meaning is this - Be so good aa this is,
viz., t o sing.
Ons. 4. - The infinitive is sometimes used independently. As-To be
candid, you are in error.
This form of expression is common, and manifestly elliptical. Thus - If
you will allow me to be candid, &c. ·
Ons. 5. - Verbs that follow bid, dare, rnake,feeJ,, see, hear, need, &c., are con;trued in the infinitive, without the sign to before them.
Ex. - He bid me forlow. I dare follow. See him weep . . He felt the spear
pierce his side. Hear it thunder. Who n eed fear!
Ons. 6. -The verb in the infinitive has a substantive meaning, and is frequently u sed as a noun, either in the nominative or obj ective case.
Ex. - To do good is to obey God - that is, doing good is to obey God.

Doing and obeying are the substantive forms of to do and to obey - they are
mbstantives.
Ons. 7. - I f the infinitive, or a participle of the intransitive verb to be, or
of a passive verb of naming, choosing, &c., is u sed s ubstantively, the noun or
atlj cct ivc which follows it partakes of the same character, and, with the verb
or participle, forms the subject.
Ex. - To be good is to be happy. Being good is being happy. Goodness
constitutes happiness•. (Here, good and happy are used indefinitely,
and form a constituent part of the subject.
So -To be a good man is praiseworthy. Here, a good man is used indefinitely, forming, with to be, the subject of the verb is: - his being a good man
is praiseworthy.
~fan is n either the subject nor object of the sentence, nor has it any govern·
ment. It is a part of the subject of the verb is, with which subject prais&worthy agrees as an adjective.

l
I

RULES FOR THE PARTICLES.

116

SYNTAX.
QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.

rs RULE XV.? 1. Why does not this Rule apply to the infinitive
verb? 2. 'l'o what parts of the verb do the variations in fbrrn pertain to
express number and parson 1
WHAT

Wu.\T rs Ruu; XVI. 1 1. I s the infinitive verb ever used as a predicate?
By what word is it modified? 2. What effect bas the insertion or omission of
the conjunction that? Give examples. Than and as! 3. On what other
words does the infinit.ive sometimes depend 1 Examples. 4. Explain the
lnfiuitiYe used independently. 5. The infinitive after bid, dare, feel, &c.? G.
:Explain bow the infinitive bas a substantive meanin g. 7. Explain how the
infinitiye or a participle, with an adj ective, is used as the subject, nominative.

RULES FOR THE PARTICLES.

§ 75.

RvLE XVII.-Adverbs qualify verbs, participles,
adjectives, and other adverbs.
Ons. 1. - Adverbs sometimes qualify nouns.
Ex. - Even infants recognize their friends.
Adverbs may qualify prepositions.
Ex. - He has r ead almost through Virgil. He read the book almost to the end.
I nrriYed just before nightfall. He went directly under the bridge.
Ad'l"erbs m ay qualify a phrase or sentence.
Ex. -He was greatly in.fault. Even in their ashes Jive their wonted fires.
Some prefer to apply the qualifying sense of the adverb to thH phrase th at
follow s, in stead of the preposit.ion, in the second class of examples.
Oss. 2. - In most cases, wh ere adverbs stand at the commencement of a
senten ce, th ey qualify eith er what s ucceeds, or what precedes, or an ellipsis.
As - r es, no, thereforP, then, lwwevP,r, well, why, there, now, &c.
In parsing, a close analysis sbould be applied, not only to assign adjuncts
to their proper connections, but to each word its appropriate forCj> by desig·
natin>r its separ ate relations, and by supplying ellipses.
Expletives and independent phrases should be carefully avoided, otherwise
th e language is liable to be rendered loose and indefinite.
Yes, no, and words of this cl ass, should be appropriately applied, as well as
words of emphatic repetition.
Ex.-In Pitt's celebrated conclusion of a speech on the American Revolu·
tion: " If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, whi le a
foreign soldier remained in my country, I would never lay down
my arms - no, never, na•e1·, never I"
This emphatic negative is full of force on the verb and on the declaration.

117

Take its counterpart, our Declaration of Independence: the 1;1Danimous yea
that· completed its adoption, r e-echoed from a million of voices through the
land, qualified the declaration, and affirmed it.
Adverbs of this class should not be regarded as expletives; but, on the con·
trnry, as especially emphatic, and giving power to language by strengthening
and enforcing its import.
'!'he qualifying sen se of these affirmatives and negatives, though separated
from the r est of the sentence, is frequently very apparent and forcible.
Ons. 3. - A phrase or sentence is sometimes used adverbially, to qualify 11
word or Rentence.
llut then the word or phrase used adverbially should be analyzed, and each
word parsed separately.
Ex. - He goes with trembling step. I will go bef!Yre the house adjourns.
Ons. 4. - Hence, thence, and whence, imply the preposition from.
Ex. - Hence: from this place. Thence: from tJiat place.
Whence : from which place.
Ilut the u se ofthe preposition by good writers has given it authority.
Frmn here, from there, fr011i where, are also sometimes u sed. They are ad·
verbial, but sho uld be parsed as nouns, with th eir governing prepositions.
At once and by far may be r eferred to the same class.
Ons. 5. - Here, there, and where, are u sed, after verbs of motion, instead of
hither, thither, and whither, except in oolemn diEcourse.
Ons. 6. - There is used, before a verb, to introduce a sentence in a general
for eiiphony or emphasis, without regard to place. Ilut it, perhaps,
nevHr fails to h ave a qualifying senso of some sort, and should be made to do
its office.
Ex. -There is mercy in every place - i. e., mercy is there in every place.
~ense,

Where is sometim es u sed for in which.
wrote a treatise on theology, where be broached new theories.
lVhen, then, now, and while, are u sed as nouns.
Ex . - Until when - until then - until now - there was peace.
A little while, and ye shall not see me.
Then and often are u sed as adjecti"1"es.
Ex. -The then necessity was his jmtification. Often times. Often infirmities.
'l'he sense here is sufficiently explicit; but the style is render ed harsh, and
It should be a.voided.
O BS. 8. - So is often used, elliptically, for a noun, or for a sentence.
Ex. - He never pays his debts - I was told so.
So is sometimes used in the sense of if, and introduces the subjunctive
m ode.
Ex. - So he pay his debts, little is thought of bow be gets the money.
Ons. 7. -

}~x. -lie

Ons. 9. - Only, chiefly, merely, solely, also, too, sometimes qualify nouns, in
tho nature of adjectives.

t
.,'/

118

RULES FOR THE PARTICLES.

SYNTAX.

Ex. - Not y0ur boys only, but mine also, study well.
JI<>. c/1ir.fly , was in fanlt.
Y ct, not he 011/y waR guilty, but his brother too, and his cousin also.

. 11·
l§

r

·J.:~

'I

1:

11~~
~

.i.

Ous. 10. - Two negatives qualifyi11g the same sentence, except in empl.w.tic
repetition, give an affirmative sen:-;e,
Bx. - It is not uncommon -i.e., it Is common.
I will not never do i t - i. e., I will sometimes do it.
Sometimes, however, the affirmative is thus elegantly expressed.
!IIilton "Nor did they not perceive the evil plight
In which they were, or the fierce pain not feel."

As, in

Ons. 11. - Compound adverbs, embracing two or more words, are sometime>,
but rarely indispensable. They should always be parsed separately, when tlrn
sense will admit.

To wit may be parsed as a 'l'erb infinitive. As - I make you to wit-i. e., to
know. But it is usually considered an adverb, as is videlicet -viz.
JYow then has a combined and expressive reference to what has been sail
in connection wi th what is about to be said.

Awl now is of similar import, connecting and qualifying.
By the by, by and by, &c., are compound adverbs, incapable of separation.
The sooner it is done, the better it will bP,, presents two compound adverbs,
qualifying the verbs of the clauses to which thP,y respectively belong.
Ons. 12. -Th e adverb enough is placed after tbe adjective it qualifies, and it
then requires the adjective to be placed after the.noun.
Ex. - A house large enough for the family.
Ons. 13. - Adverbs are often used for connectives, qualifying the sentences
tllcy connect.
Ex. - He governs llis children strictly, while he loves them tenderly.
Ons. 14. - Any word may be an adverb when used to qualify in an adTer·
bial sen se.
Plira sc.$ and sentences are also often adverbial.
O;is. 15. - Ad>erbs are convertible into other parts of speech when used for
them.
So is sometimes urnd for an adjective, for a noun, or for a sentence.
Ex. - He is liberal ; his brother is not so.
He is ruining his fortune; all bis friends think so.
He is a good citizen; his brother is so too.

,,· ,.l

~i' ~
,,..,
I

d

I'.
11"

Ons . 16. - lYhat is sometimes used as an adverb in the sense of partly.
E:s:.- JVh at with the cloak, and what with theroquelaur, I was encumbered.
Adjectives am used as adrnrbs.
Ex. - The wind blew fresh. He grows old.

119

§ 76. Ru LE XVIII. -A preposition governs a noun in
the objective case, and shows its relation to other words.
OBS. 1. sition.

See Rule XL, a noun in the ol\jective case governed by a prepo-

Ous. 2. - Prepositions place the nouns that depend upon them in the objeotiYe casP. Besides the original noun, the grammatical object may be constituted ofA pronoun: He is with us.
An adjective: Honor to the brave.
An adverb: Since then, he has returned.
A participle: In the beginning.
A phrase: Come out from among them.
A sentence: To where the broad ocean beats against the land.

Ons. 3. -The antecedent term of a relation shown by a preposition may be
u noun, an adjecti-ve, a verb, a participle, an adverb .

A verb and a noun: Live in charity with all men.
The adjective: Joyful in tribulation.
'!.'he pu.rticiple: Lfring in hope.
The adverb: He sailed almost round the world.
Ons . 4. -

Prepositions sometimes have a qualifying sense on verbs.

Ons. 5.,.-lndependent phrases, introduced by prepositions, find the ante·
ce,lent terms of relation by supplying the ellipsis.
K:i::. -As for me, my resolution is fixed- i.e., as it may be for me.
Ons. 6. - Prepositions often use other parts of speech to perform their office.
They are always defined by the relation they indicate.
Ex. -All but one escaped. He said nothing concerning me.
Send via Boston. Satan, than whom none higher sat.
Here, than and IYUt, conjunctions-concerning, a participle-via, a nounarc used as prepositions.
O::s. 7. - A participle, used as a preposition, can have no relation to a noun,
to c1ualify or predicate, but only to show its relation.
Ons. 8. - Prepositions are sometimes ~yncopated.
Bx.-Five o'clock- for, five of the clock.
Coffee is quoted at fourteen a sixteen cents.
Thomas a Becket is put for Thomas of Becket.
'l.'homas a Kempis for Thomas of Kempis.
Fourteen a sixteen cents is a contraction for at, showing the minimum
and maximum prices.

•

Ons. 9. - Prepositions are sometimes incorporated with the noun.
Ex. - I go a-fishing, he fell asleep, come aboard, &c. - meaning at or
fishing, at or to sleep, on board, and should be so parsed.
So, also, a-foot, a-<:oming, a-dying.

to

120

SYNTAX.
RULES FOR THE PARTICLES.

Ons. 10. - Prepositions are sometimes u <ed as component parts of verbs in
predication.
Ex. - IIe was laughed at. The child was cared for .

§ 77.

RuLE XIX. -

Conjunctions connect words and

sentences.
Ons. 1. - Conjunctions connect words of the same case only.
Ex. - John ancl James study.
Ons. 2. - Conjunctions connect verbs of the same modes and tenses.
Ex. - John lm:e s and obeys his parents.
Oss. 3. - But conjunctions may connect v erbs belonging to different parts
0f a compound sentence, or to different sentences; and then those verbs may
be of diffen•nt modes and tem<es, each haviug generally its own nominative.
Ex. - If ! go, you must stay. I will go, but you must stay .
OBS. 4. - After verbs of doubting, f earing, and denying, the conj unction that
sh ould be used.
Ex. - I do not fear that he may deceive m e - n ot lest.
I do not doubt that he will come - not but that, nor but, nor but what.
OBS. 5. - T lwn, commonly a conjunction, has the force of a preposition in
such positions as the following: . Ex. - Satan, than whom none higher sat.
Thou shalt have no other gods tli an me.
The present is a cri~is, than which none more serious has arisen.
Ons. 6. -A s has s0metimes the force ofa preposition
Ex. - I have spoken of his character as a statesman.
Ons. 7. - Than and as re11nirc a similar construction after as before them.
Ex. - He does more than you do - not so much as I do.
OBS. 8. - Than and as arc sometimes used as relative prono'.lns after such,
more, and as.
Ex. 1.- He selected such men as were suited to the work.
2. - He selected niore m en than were necessary.
3. - H e selected as many as were r eady.
OBS. 9. - In compound sentences, conjunctions sometimes correspond with
other conjunctions -with adverbs - with pronouns.

Cr:n-responding conjunctions : Ex. 1. - Though - yet, still, nevertheless. As - Though he slay me, yet will
I trust in him - nevertheless, I will trust in him.
2.- Whether - or. As - Whether right or wrong, he~ sincere.
Whether should not be repeated in the second clause with or.
3. -Either -or. As - He is either right or wrong.
4.-Neither - nor. As- He is neither learned nor eloquent.

121

6.- Or- or, and nor-nor. These arc sometimes elegantly u sed by
·
the poets, for either- or, and for w,dher - nor.
6.-No-01·, and not - or, are used, and sometimes with P.ffect, but
should not bo frequent.
7.-Both - and . .As-Gold is valuable, both for use and for ornament.

Conjunctions correspond with advei·bs: One is as good as the other.
2. -Be so good as to dine with me.
3. - He is so faithless that none trust him.

Ex. 1. -

Corresponding adverbs also perform the double office of connecting and
ualifying: Ex. l.-As - so. As -As th e tree falleth so it Heth.
8. - So - as. As - No other vice is so pernicious a.s selfishness.
3. - Not only - but also. AR - H e is not only great, b·ut also good.
A conjunction may correspond with an adjective pronoun: Ex. 1.- Such - that. As - Such is his integrity, that all confide in him.
2. - Both - and. As - Both h e and his brother were present.

Ons. 10. - Relative pronouns perform the office of connectives.
So do adverbs and ·prepositions.
The relative always connects the sentence which contains the antecedent
ith that which belongs to the relatfre.
Ex. - He aim s too low, who aims beneath the stars.
The adverb. As - L.i>e while you Jive.
The preposition. As - We live in our children after we are dead.
Ons. 11. -The conjunction and is suited to a closer r elation than pertains
tween complex sentences. Its use, therefore, to introdu ce new sentences,
nd, much more, paragraphs, should be avoided. It is commonly expletive,
d weakens the force of language.
Ons. 12. - Doubl e conjunctions are sometimes used from necessity; but
these should be parsed separ ately when practicable.
Ex.- He is rich, and yet he talks as 1fhe were a poor man.

In this example, and yet is a compound conjunction, r equired to connect
IDd show diversity of meaning between the two simple sentences.
As if is a compound conjunction, but capable ofanaJysis. Thus-As he
rould talk if h~ were a poor man. As, then, becomes a connective adi..:rb,
·1ualifying would tall•, understood; and if is a conjunction, connecting would
Wk with were.

Ons.13.-Tbe double connectives and now and now then are frequently
ilund introducing sentences. Th ey are often very expressive.
Take the discourse of Peter, at the beautiful gate of the Temple: - ".And
ww, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your
rulers." The recitation of facts had been made, and a new aspect of the sul>

11

122

SYNTAX.

QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.

123

/~~~

was]',;o be introduced. And closely connects it with what had gone
, .. re.
ow qualifies wot, while it concentrates all th t l d h
.

:.~11~1 :i~~~ence im mediately pending.

The two words

ar: f~~ 0/;:rc:u;~

l'cI<~i~he .~~e:hexample -now then •

• c>

' "

I

e

now calls attention to what is about to
en refers to What had preceded as being now present.

tb
.
now no ut what the report is true." This is inadmis~ible,
t~.t~',:e::l se.n se but what may be di~p.osed of. "I know not that the report
·
give a correct grammatical construction.

;;
.

Ons. 14. - "I k

"I

ca~not but believe" mu st also be reduced to "I can but believe" "I
believin~." can

uni!! b1·heve " - there is no alternative; or, "I cannot help

,§ 7.8: RuLE XX. - ~nterjections are often independent
ext:Ltm,it1ons, but sometimes qualify, b y g1vmg
. .
.
emp h as1s
to, words and sentences.
Ex. -Ah me ! 0, miserable man I

_ons.,1. - Interjections are often mere exclamations, and are unconnect
b, an) well-defined grammatical rule with wh t
d
ed,
. .
'
a prece es or follows them.
: • ' m compos1t10n, they must h ave some grammatical relation as
'
called
!orth by the particular sentiments expressed.
y nt .

Ons. 2. - The uses of the interjection are:_

Pi?'S/. A ca ll of attention to something about to be said. As - H '
0
on e that th1rsteth. Lo! the poor Indian 0 . ·t.
.
· every
Hall oo !
.
i , 1 is a simple call to attention.

.-\ s -

,

Secondly. To give emphasis to some word

" s - 0 times ! 0 manners!

o Lord, forgive!

or expression of significance.

.. Thirdly. To expr2ss some sudden passion or emotion of the mind
l ·1rtue, abs, how little honored! Ah me' 0 h
• As.
, ow crue11. Alack!
Fourthly. 'l'o cheer or
l d
app au I.I person, an action, or a princ1·p1e. ' s Hurrah! H ail!
.n
F ifthly. An expression of contempt. As - Pshaw I

Sixthly. To

Humph!

Away

express, by various words used out of their common r 1 t•
vari ous
t'
.
e.a 10011,
I;:u:k' &emo wns of surprise, or approbation, or reproof. As - Strange!
c. But, usually, these are parsed by a supply of ellipses As Th'
S
.
.
•
13
is stran"e ! Hark ye 1 &
° .
· c. o with the salutations and valedictories-Wei·
1
come. Adieu! Good-bye! Farewell!
•

c

•

QUESTIONS OF REVIEW.

uri:
WHAT IS RULE XVII.? 1. J\Iay adverbs sometimes qualify nouns, prepositions, a phras e, a sentence? Give examples. 2. When adrerbs stand at th e
beginning of a sentence, what do they qualify? Give examples. What is
said of expletives? 3. What is said of an adverbial phrase or sentence? 4.
What of hence, whence, &c.? F'ro1n here - from there f At once -by fw · .P
5. How are here, there, and where, used? 6. How is then use(j to introduce a
sentence? Examples. 7. What is where sometimes u sed for? What are
when, then , now, and whfle, sometimes used for? Then and often 1 8. \Vhat
is so sometimes used for? Give examples. 9. Only, chiefly, merely, &c. ? 10.
What effect have two n egatives in a sentence? 11. Can compound adverbs be
used? How must they geuerally be analyzed? '.1.'ake the different examples
cited. 12. Position of the adverb enough? 13. Are adverbs used as connectives? 14. When is a word used as an adverb? 15. When are adverbs u secl
for other parts of spce0h? What is so sometimes used for? 16. Is what evcr
an adverb 7 Example.
WHAT IS RULE XVIII.1 1. What is the converse CJf this Rule? 2. What
may the object be constituted of? 3. What may the antecedent term of th e
relation be? 4. Do prepositions ever qualify ve,.bs 1 5. When independe11t
phrases are introduced by a preposition, how is the antecedent relation founcl?
6. Are other words used for prepositions 1 Give examples. 7. What is saiLl
of the participle used as a preposition 1 8. Give examples of prepositions syncopated. 9. Give examples of prepositions incorporated with the noun. 10.
How are prepositions used as componeut parts of verbs? Give examples.
WHAT IS RULE XIX.1 1. '1"hnt cases do conjunctions connect? 2. What
verbs? 3. l\Iay they connect verbs of different modes and tenses? 4. What
forms are used after verbs of doubting, fearing, denying, &c. 7 5. vYhen has
than the force of n preposition ? 6. As' 7. What construction do than and as
require after them? 8. Are they ever used as relative pronouns? Give exomples. 9. What are corresponding conjunctions? Name different examples.
Conjunctions with adverbs? Corresponding adverbs? Correspouding with
adjective pronouns? 10. State the connective character of the relative pronoun. 11. Does and connect complex sentences? 12. What is said of dou ble
conjunctions? 13. What i~ saicl of double connectives to introduce a sentence 7 11. What of but what!
WHAT IS RULE XX.?
six particulars 1

1. What is said of the interjection?

2. Their u ses in

124

COLLOQUY.

COLLOQUY.

COLLOQUY.

CONVERSATION I.
FA TITER,

FRAN'K ,

AND

L

UCY.

FATHER. - w·eli, my childr en, you have passed throuooh the Nurse
0
on En o-Ii ·h G
.1 b
ry course
~ ,
rammar , nn'" ave spent your first quarter at sc>hool I
.
wish to examine your prooores
.
now
"p .
" s, as you say you have passed through the
rimary Grammar."
Li:c1. - I know it all, father; and you must. give me the premium
promised, a calf-bound gilt edition of :\Iii ton's Paradise Lost.
you
F.umm .. - I will perfo rm my promise, if you fulfil the condition. That all
may be fmr, I will conduct the exami nation by review. I will ··ive
a sentence to analyze: "Full many a flower is born to blush i1:nse:U~,~' Lucy,
Luc>. -Th e Gra~m~r teaches that when one part of speech is used for another part of speecu, it takes tbe character of the word whose ofli ..
1
forms . . Th e Grammar also teaches that the subject n ominative co~:i ~t:~~
the subject about which the verb'nsserts something, and that this sub"e t , f
employs ot!Jer words than the simple noun to express it· and 1 utch o ten
noun in n
b · d t
'
' a so,
at the
.
um er is e ermined by the number implied in the nomin t·
subJect. The same is true of the adjective by which th
.
a. ive or
described.
'
e noun Is qualified or
FATHER. - Very well; your p

·
·
r eunses are right. I grant them_ proceed.
Lt:ci-. - "Full" is commonly an adjective; but it is here u sed in th h
~ctcr ?fan adverb, to qualify the adjective many. It has nearly the me:~i:-111 th18 place, of the adverb very. It is, therefore an ad
. g,
many, by Ilule XVII.
'
verb, and qualifies

"~Jany,, is a u adjective, properly pluml but here used . th
d ·
·
'
m e sense of a
u we, es1gnatmg each of several considered separately. i·t i·s th ti
·
za" nwn ber, and agrees with and qual "fi flo
,
, ere ore'
l·n th e singu
1 es
"A,, ·
.d
wer, by Rule XIV
. . is an in l!jinil.e article, and agrees, as an adjective with flow .
Rule XIV.
'
er, by
d · t "b t ·
is ri

"Flower" is a noun, the name of a thing· singular numb
.
.
'
er, m eanmg one·
tJm·..cz pe1 .son, ~pokeu. of· iwminalive
case to th everb is· born, by Rule I
'
,.
,
'

. ls born ' is a verb, irregular - bear, bore, born; passive, termin~tes the

125

action on the nominative; ind'icative mode, simply asserts something of it~
nominative; pi·esent tense, used with latitude, and expresses a general fact.
It is made to agree in number and person with its nominative flower, or its
mbjectj'uU many a flower, by Rule XV.
"'fo blush" is a i•e1·b, regular- blush, blushed, blushPd; intransititie, does
not admit the objective after it; infinitive mode, without distinction of number, or person, or nominative; present tense, and is governed by the verb is
born, by Itule XVI.
1 "Unseen" is an adjective, qualifies and agrees withjlower, by Rule XIV.
FATHER.-Very well.-Let Frank define a noun, and the other parts of
speech belonging to the noun.
FRANK. -A noun is a name - the pronoun, being a name, is a noun. The
adjective expresses some quality or definition of the noun, and is therefore
regarded as a part of the noun or name; and the artide is of the nature of an
adj ective.
FATHER.-Define the verb, and tbepo:rticles.
FRANK. - The verb asserts something of the noun or subject.
It is transitive when it bas or implies an object after it, on which the action
terminates.
It i5 intransitive when it neither has nor implies an object after it.
The same verb is sometimes u sed in a transitive and sometimes in an intransitive sense.
The transitive verb is passive when it is so formed as to terminate the action
on the nominative case.
When transitive verb8 have not the passive form, they are called active.
They are called reg·ular in form when the imperfect tense and perfect participle are formed by adding ed to the present, or d only when the verb entls
1 in e. They are called irregular when they are not so formed.
I The adverb qualifies the verb and various other parts of speech.
The preposition governs the objective case, and shows its relation.
The conjunction connects words and sentences.
The interjection is an ejaculation, expressing surprise or emotion.
FATHER.-What do you understand by an adjunct!
FRANK. -Adjuncts are qualifying words or phrases in a simple sentence,
u sed to amplify, limit, or qualify its principal parts. These adjuncts muy
themselves be words or phrases, and an adjunct J;Jlay qualify an adjunct. As,
"The worth of a friend in adve~sity cannot be estimated by money." In thi~
senten ce, of a friend is an adjunct of worth; in advenn:ty is an adjunct of the
first adjunct, of afrierul; and by money is an adjunct of estimated.
FATHER. - What do you understand by the predicate as distinguished from
the simple verb f
FRANK - '£he verb is the word that aS$P,rts or affirms; the predicate employs
other words in the assertion. As, "Writing-paper is white; wrapping-paper

11 *

126

COLLOQUY.

is brown." In each of these propositions, is is the verb. In the first, is white
is the predicate; and in the seco nd, is brown is the predicate. 'Whiteness is
til e thing affirmed of the first kind of paper. Brownness is the thing asserted
of the second.

and shows Its r elation to measure, by Rule XVIII. Distance is a noun, of the
third person, singular number, objective case, and is governed by the preposition of, by Rule XI. Of distance is an adjunct phra,e, belonging to m•.a.sure.
Ten is an adjective, and agrees with feet, by Rule XIV. Feet is a noun, third
person, singular, and is without any word to govern it, by Rule XII. Jn is a
preposition, governs length, and shows its relation to feet. L ength is a noun,
third person, singul ar, objective case, and is govl'rned by t h e preposition in,
by Rule XI.

F .\THER. -

What do you understand by the logical, subject and the ZogiruJ,

predicate f
FaA~K. -They contain something more than the simple noun and verb,
nnd involve a process of thought which is called logical. In the sentences just
cit ed, writing paper, in the first example, is the logical subject; is white is the
lnJical predicate. In the other, wrapping paper is the logical subject, and ii
urown, t.be logic<i/, predicale. The distinction requires thinking, and inferences
from premises.
F .\THER. -

Very well.

Now give th e natural arrangement which belongs

to the different classes of words in a sentence.
F RA ~K . - In th e natural order of arrangement, the subject or "'Umtinatit>e
case comes before the verb; the oldect or objective case, after the verb; theposSC$Sive case, imlllcdiately before the n oun it possesses; the pronoun follows the
con struction of the noun; the adjecUve bas its natural place before the noun
it quali fi l'~ ; th e i·erb follows its nominative; the adverb belongs in position
near the verb or the word it qualifies; the pi·eposition is pl aced before its objective n oun and in near connection with its related word or clause; the con.j unction between the words or sentences it connects; 1md the inte1jection usu·
ally before the word or sentence which expresses the cause of the passion or
em otion.
FATHER. -

l

I

Very well.

Now state the process of analysis or parsing.

FRANK. - 1. Resolve compound sentences into simple oues. 2. Designate
th e nominative and verb of each sentence, with the object of the verb. 3. De•il,;nate the adjuncts and qualifying clauses of these principal parts of the sen·
t~ncc, wh ether they be words or phrases. 4. Designate the connective words,
whether prepositions, conjunctions, or inle1jections. ii. Apply, in each case, the
rul es which govern the relations of the parts of speech to each other respectively.
FATHER. - Let littl e J,ucy now analyze and parse the following sentence:•· A t en foot pole is a measure of distance, ten feet in length."

·I

i.'

.,I·

127

COLLOQUY.

LUCY. - I can do it. A ten f oot pole is the logical subj ect, n ominative to the
verb is- it is the name of a well-known measure. A belongs to p ole- an inj cfinite article, singular, meaning one, and agrees with the noun pole, as an
adjective, by Rule XIV. Ten-foot is an adjective, compound, and agrees with
p ole , by Rule XIV. Pole is a noun, the substantive of the logical subject, and
it i> the nominative case to the verb is. The second a belongs to measure, as
au article, by Rule XIV. .Measnre is a noun. third person, singular number.

:FATHER. - But you will find some who may be disp:Sed to criticise your
construction ofthe adjective. How will you reply to them 1

LUCY. - Why, I would Ray that this form of expression has passed into a
settled and admitted form in the language. As - a two penny loaf - a thr ee
penny politician - a fifteen shilling lawyer - a fonr penny business- a fourfooted animal - a four fold state - a. two edged sword - a twelvP month.
F.1.THER. - But can you find a principle clearly admitted which allows this
interpretation 1

LUCY. - Yes. A hundred is sing ular, and means one repeated ten tiines tlm.
On the other hand, a hundred head imp!ie~ plurality, and the singular a and
the singular he:id are both construed as plural. It is necessary to control, in
many cases, the grammatical construction of the words by the sen se.
FATHER. - Undoubtedly; and good writers so u se and sanction it. It is
the m ost easy and natural way to dispose of expressions of this class. But,
can the simple noun pole be the nominative to is, in this example?

LUCY. - Not in this example; because it would not be true t o say, " A pole
is a measu re ten feet in length." '.l'he subject must be denned: "A ten foot
pole."

CONVERSATION II.
FATHER. - I will now ask your opinions on a controverted form of expres•
sion in our langu age. We say, "John is building a house"- " The house u
Luilding" - "'.!.'he house is being built." What is the proper passive form !
FR.!.!SK. -

The house is building.

This is analogous to the Latin.

LUCY. - I kn ow nothing of the Latin; but I know something of the English.
[ have been studying ii closely for five or six months, and I ought to kno'v
;omething of it in that time. Now, father has told us, that hat'~ had is the
'finite pa.st tense, or the perfect: - thus, have is present, and had is past;
wbined, tl~ey represent the pa.st and the1'.resimt, and represent nu action as
ast andfinished at the present lt?ne-that 1s, perfect, or past definite. Now,
the exan1nle.. "'rhP hm1c:o ..·~ 1l,..·.,,, ,, i. .. -·1 ' ' ' • =
·
·

~

128

COLLOQUY.

and bui?t is pagt. The combination, then, r epresents a hou se n ow progressin .~,
oontcmplated to be finished at a future time, which, when completml, r eprescuts the house as l>uilt. I s n ot that tile precise idea] Ami tloes i t n ot accord
wi t h t Le ex1ilan ation •0· iven of t he oth er com1iountl tenses 1
F ATilEI!. - I give you cretlit, my little girl, for some ph ilo~ophy and some
l o:;ic. But all will n ot rccei l' e your conclusion s, antl something m ore can be
said on tb e oth er side.
FRgK.-If Lucy'8 logic is sound, is it n ot like her" two-edged sword " ? May
it n ot cut two ways 1 If building expresses work progr essive, does not tbe
term is building indicate what is present progressive 1 We say, "'rhe sun is
rising " - " The Campbells ai·e coming," &c.
LUCY. - Yes; but the sun actually exists, is - i-ising asserts a progressive
condition or stat e of that which actually is. The CarnpbeUs exist, they are coming is a pr ogressive pr ese nt action of the Campbells. But the house does
not exi;;t, is n ot, but iu prospect. We cannot assert of the house, as we can
n.ssert of the sun autl of the Camp bell s, that it is. It is to be - commenced, it
is to be bui lt, or th e h ou se is being built.

.'

COLLOQUY.

129

FATHER. - What words among th
f
ose o the First Class has it been m ost
ifr1cnlt for you to understand 1
J•'Il ""~
'I'h
·'"a . e seco nd fo rm of the possessives of th
d11 e, thine, hers, ours y ow·s theirs Id
'
·
e personal pronouns - 1
'
'
.
o n ot well understand th em now
I, c-cY. - I understand them Ni
.
·
oun s followin~ except .n so. I
ned_and thine are n ot n ow 'l sed with the
1
0 '
emu 1scourse H.
lso his, ar e u sed as substitutes fi ti
·.
ers, ours, yom·s, theirs, and
bat any word may have the cha~:c~: possesswe and the noun. Th e rule is,
intle the substitute. and th e ti
t l of that part of speech for which it is
"ti
'
'
re ore, my m ay be parsed ~
u nominative or obi ective
As "Tl. b k.
.
n ou
. ns, ei ier in
oi
•
'
us oo ~ is mine" ·
b
· substituted for my book and m t
-1. e., rny oo/,, Mine
hieh it is s ubstitnted,
'
u s be parsed as that would be parsed for

I

FR.l.NK. - That is very awkward to mak

e nominative or objective case. '

.

e a possessive p1·onoun a n oun m
·

No m ore awkward than to
1· I
make a preposition of a conjunction
nc l we sometime8 do - no more awkward than a
'
:FAT !lEll . - I r epeat that Lucy seems to have pl acetl her argument in tbe ~r constrnctions
F h
great many other pec ureement
to
.
.
"f
at.he;
says
that
l
anguage
is
conventional,
or
is
used
by
strongest terms to m aintain h er position. But the whole subject is s till in
.
~1 gm y w a we understand by it. Whatever, then, is pl• 'n
con trover sy, and I shall leave yon and the s ubj ect to the decision of fu t.me d adm1 tted, 1s right.
~
time. Both forms are in u se. :Frank's construction has the sanction of the
best writers, and is be.st su stained by analogy; Lucy's is in more general u se. FRA~K. - My t~acb.er makes rnine a ~ubstitnte for my, the possessive ad ·~
: pronoun, which is made to agree with boolc - thus "'.!.'bis book .
.J "
Th ese form~ of exprcsgion are not without th eir difficulties. Frank is sus- i. e., 1ny book.
'
is mine
t ainccl by tbe analogy of other languages. But we are to r ecur too, in all F
questions of grammatical con struction , to the analogy of our own language ; ATilER. - Will you accept of that construction, little Lucy?
and ar e sometimes obliged to con sult also the geniu s of the l anguage, and ou r UCY. - Yes, sir, I will; for it comes to the same tb 1110
" "
d
00
' un
peculiar modes of construction. Perspicuity is the great l aw which should ver to conten.rl for distinctions where there is no d"ffi
. tell us
t r.
th .
l erence. Ahne JS a subcont rol all our for ms of speech, ~ ince the u se of language is to expr ess with u e or some m g. You can n ot dispose of "t t"ll
. . •
It .
J
J you resolve it mto somo. .,. l
precisiou our t bou:;hts. It is probable that the form for which Lucy con- mn e se.
is a substitute for iny or for my book If h
. .
.
1
1
tends hus been iutrotluced by the difficulty which so ma peculiar combinations bo~:~ as it d~es, it seems to m e most easy and . na~ura; t~';:~:r;t ~~;n:i i~:
1
. - rny ook. Is not this the most simpl e ? Besides th .
involve iu the u ge of the other form . As, when we say, "Tho building is n
'"o f 1t wh ere the
t b
' e1e are some
buildin"" - '"l'he dinner is eatinn-" - "The contract is writing " - "The ·
re seems o e a necessity to do this . a- · tb "
o
o
lo is a fri end ofinin " Wh t ·1
' ., m
is example,
work is fini shing" - " The acco unts are closing." Expressions of this sort .
e.
a w1 1 you do with mine there i If you
mLo iny and make it 8
"th ,.,
·
reso1ve
have probably favored the u se of Lu cy's form.
'
·
gr ee w1 /riend, what becomes of th e prep "t"
'When I say, "John is buil ding,'' an object is implied, and we supply a house,
pr~ccdes it? If you say that of mine means my only, and an-rce~s:v~~n
end, JS not that awkward, to my the least of it 1 The
. ':
. h
or whatever structure is r efer red to. If we make th at obj ect the n ominative, .
f .
meamng 18 plain.
is a nend of my own - my ownership
· .
.the idea is not entirely free from confusion. As, "The house is builtling by
J ohn." Can this double sense .ofthe participle be avoided? It can alWl\YS bo ATHER. - .T.b ese are cases wh ere the sense m ay be truly and clear] doavoided by circu m locution. As, "The house is in progress of erection" - "It ped by dilferen~ modes of construction. Intelligent. grammarians d~ffer
1
is in a course of erection." I h ave never seen 11 perfectly satisfactory discus- both cons.tru cbons are adopted. Here, again, I shall n ot contentl fo;
siou of this perplexing form of expression. I therefore choose to lea,'e it as an er form of mterpretatlon. Both arc admissible,
open question, without insisting that you shall at present adopt either form I
exclusively.
I J,UCY. -

!

°

:t

130

COLLOQUY.

CONYERSATIOK

III.

PART IV.

IxcT. - I underst:rnd t h e ind icatfre nwde, and the impcrat'ive, and the in,11·
nilfre ; but I ,J,ou ld like to know more of the sn!Jjunctive anu the prdmlial.

COMPRISING THE

:Fmrrn. - .That shows th at you hn•c studied the subject; auu r wish r h:\. t RULES OF PUNCTUATION, ORTHOGRAPHY, AND
more time anu space to answer your inriuiries. Th e 1·erb is the most ·rnri<'•I
A DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH GRAl\1.MAR.
and the most important part of speech, and the sul?junctive and potential mo•'<3
h n>e ~iYe n t he greatest uifficulty to g:rammarians. Som~ writ.crs involve th e:n
both in the indicalfre - defining their forms as different con"tructions of the
sam e mode.

§ O

Both the s1tbjun ctive and th e potential forms are indicative, and it h as tb cr~
0
fore been attem pted t o r esol Ye them into the indicative mode; but t he di"'
0
· GRAMMAR is divided usually into four parts:_
tin ctiou indica ted by the terrus now applied to them would still be requirrt40rtlwgrapliy, Etymology Syntax and Pr
d
and nothing: of simpli city could therefore be gained by ilispensing with th• ·nj
'
'
OSO Y·
in the u su al forms. 'rhe subjunctive is that form which asserts or affi rm! ORTHOGRAPHY treats of Letters, the ir form force and
someth in g as cou clitional or doubtful. It iH called sul?functive because it iformation into words. ·
'
'
nlways rnbjoincd to same other asser tion, which employs !\n other verb i,
some ot.her mode . The p otent ial asserts the power, libe1·ty, possibility, wi!1 . ETYMOLOGY treats of Words, their classification, derivanecess-i'ly. or tlut11, of performing an action or of being in a state. Th e subjw19h o n, and m o ditication.
tfre and potential arc often inYolYed together, so that the sense sometimC1
requ ires a close discrimin ation to distingui sh t he niodal relation of t he sen SYNTAX treats of Sentences, the arrangement, agreement,
tence. The definition already ~iYen, how ever, will be sufficient to ensure arnrl gove rnment of words in them.
n ecessary precision in such cases, and I shall le.ave this part of the subje
p
t
t
,
with you, t o be dcbn.ted with . grammarians, whose different opin ions an
RO~ODY rea s of Utterance, especially in versification,
theories will naturally engage your attention as you proceed in the mo~ ncludmg measure, quantity, accent, and pauses.
(See
critical study of the su bject of lan guage.
I' Manual," Part IV.)
'l.'he u se of the tenses in the subjunctive and potential modes is also tli •
subjcr.t of controv ersy , and often requires a close discrimination, not alwaJ
leadi ng: to r esults entirely satisfactory. For in ~tance, some contend that tl1
impei:focl tense cannot be u sed in any for m of the potential mode. Th at su l
PUNCTUATION.
j cct ha• been treat ed in 40 (Parsin g E xercises) of the" P rimary Grammar;

e

to which I r efer you.

§ 81.

THE RULES OF P UNCTUATION are very simple.

Both of you, my children, have my approbation for th e manner in whi)'he two principal marks for pauses are the Comma and
you have successfully prosecuted t his im portant ~tudy; and Lucy h as fa ir~he Peri'.od.
merited her premium, whi ch I shall promptly ex tend to her, and fee l mo! The Com
• t b
d
h
proud of her attainments than sh e can of the little testimonial of her gOl }
ma IS O e use W ere the sense requires tho
6
conduct.
rnrtest pause; and the Period, where the sense is completed.
There are two pause3 between these extremes: -

( 131)

the

132

133

PUNCTUATION.

PUNCTUATION.

Colon, a little shorter than the Period; and the S!!mi-colon,
a little longer than the Cornrna.

The lnterTOIJalion (? ) is use(\ to ask a q ue•tion.
The Exclamation (I), to designate surprise, or any sudden emotion.
The Parenthesis, ( ); is cquul to two commas, or dashes, enclosing a remark
in tho body of a sentence.
.
1
'l bo ~poslrophe (') designates the omission of a letter; es, lov'd, for l<JVed.

[Let the kar ner become familiar with these, before h e proceedf: to others,
which arc mere modifications of t hese.]

'l' he use of these signs depends on the sense of the text:The Com:ma separates pnrts of the sentence which are most clearly conn ected. As1. Simple members of n compound sentence are separated by commas.
2. Words of the sam u part of 8pcech, wh en not con nooted by conjunctions,
wh d hct nouns, verbs, ndjcclives, or ndvcrb~. As-}""aith, hope, ch11ri ty,
these three; bu t the greatest of these i~ charity.
3. The nominath·e case in<lopcndent, the infinitive used clliptical1y, a phrni::c
qu oteJ. , r equire separation by commns. As - Sir, give me your bnnd.
'l'o <'Ollf1•ss the truth, I am in the wrong. The phrase, "Punic faith," is a
Roman slander.
4. A noun in apposition, accompnniod hy an adjunct, is separated by the
comma.. As-Paul, the Apostle. But ll single nume in apposition is
n ot sepnrated. As -The Apodlc Paul.
6. All adjun cts nnd explanatory phrases are St'parated by commas; also, par·
tions of a sentence placed out of their natural order.
6. The relative must be separated from i tR nnt~ccdcnt by th e comma, excPpt
where the connection is F:O close that it can suffer no tran!<position.
7. Wh en a Vl~rb is followed by the infinitive, which can be made tbe nomina·
tb·c, th ey are i;;eparated by the comma.
S. A comma supplies the place of a verb understood.
D. Adverbs. preposition@., and conjunctions, m;9d to introduce new members
of a sentence, are separated by commas.
10. 'l'herefare, wherefore, however, besides, indeed, nay, so, hr.nee, again, first,
secondly, formerly, now, lastly, and all words of this sort, when emphatic,
sh ould be separated by commas.
The Sem.i-colrtn . 'Vhen the divisions of n. SC'ntcncc nre not close enough for
th e comma, and yet related, the !'cmi-colon is used.
'!'he Colon. Tbc colon is used to separate those parts of a sentence, or those
sentences, thnt nre very near a final period.
The Paiod. ' Vbeu the sentence is finish ed, in construction and s en~e, a
period is used.
T.bc period ~hould nlw.nys be placed ~ft~r a date, a signature, an abbrevinti on, and betwixt the capitals of abbrev1ahons.
Much latitude is given to the exercise of taste in the punctuation of sentcncea, and in this license the other signs of pauses are u E:ed.
The Dash ( - ) iJ used to designate indefinitely any length of pnuse, especially an abrupt or un expected stop, n signitkunt pause, or a significant pas!!·
nge, clause, or words, about to follow.

11

The Clxret ( /\) shows that something i• wanting; ns, ~' book.
The Hyphen (-) connects compound words; as, father-in-law: or words
di vidcd; as, fath-.er.
The Section ( ~) designates portions of a disoourso.
Tho Paragraph ( V) denotes the beginning of new subjects.
Brackets, [ ], enclose portions assigned to any special or specified 1JUrpose.
A Quotation (" ") shows a portion taken frCJm another author.
.An lndez ( IJW-) points out something remarkable.
Tho Brace {shows what is to be considered together.

Ellipsia· (- ) designates an omission; as, K-g, for King.
.A ccent, acute ('), denotes a short or accented syllable; grave('), a Jong
syllable. breve ( • ), marks a short vowel or syllable; dash ( -), a long one.
dituesis
divides two vowels; as, atrial.
'
.Asterisk ("' ), obelisk ( t ), double dagge:r ( t ), sedion ( ~ ), paraU.Z. ( i ], par
ragr~ph (if), small ktte:rs ( • ' ' ), and figu?"es ( 1 " ' ) , refer to notes in the
margm or ot the bottom of the page.

c-· ),

Several ~slerisks ( * *
graphs omitted.

*), or periods ( ••• ), denote words, passages, or para.-

Sentences should be short. They are then most ea•ily understood.
.A subject should be divided into paragraphs. Short paragraphs formed
by ~be natural subdivisions of the subject, render it more readable, a~d more
eMily understood.

II

Capital letters should be u sed - I . To commence every chapter, letter, sen2. Proper names of persons, places, &c., and
~dJ e:tives derived from proper no.mes. 8. ~he personal pronoun I, and inter
c_e~t10ns. 4. The first word of any line in poetry. 5. The appellations of the
iue1ty. 6. Tbe firs~ word of a quotation. 7. Common nouns when personified.
8. Every substantive and principal word in the titles of books and
d
which is remark ably emphatic.
'
a.ny wor

l

lte~ce,. nddres:, or quotation.

4

Italics nre us.ed for e~pbnsis, or a call to special attention; and words of
r enter ~~phasis ~re prmte~ in small cap.itnls or capitals.
In writrng, I/,altcs are designated by a smgle underscore.

/

SMALL CAPIT..U..S

"

~

"

CAPITALS

''

__
triple

"

===::=
1

12

--

134

ORTHOGRAPHY.

OR.THOGRAPHY.
LETTERS -TIIEIR NATURE, FO RM, AND NAMES.

§ 82. The Letters of th e Eoglis~1 Alphabet .are t~ve1~ty­
six - each one r epresented by a particul ar fo rm rn: prmtmg
and writing, and by a particular sou nd of the human voice
in utterance.
The following n.rc tlle difiorent forms of Englisll letters : -

Capilals - A BCDE F G HIJ KL MN OP QltST U 't'W X Y Z.
Small - ab c <l e f g h i j k I m no p qr st u v w x Y z,
JT.\T.I C,

CapiU1ls-A BCDEFGH IJ KLMNOPQR STUVWXYZ.
Small - a b c d e f g Ii i j k l m n op q r s t u v w z Y z.

oLDENaLISn ,eapu.az.. -~ 33 (!!: 1lll E ff ($
S mall

m *.3J ~ 11 ~ N ® lll

@..'.l.'\..Si!J:C!l17MX¥ Z .
-abc 'ti e f ll bf f lt ! m11opq ts tu \Jb:q:y 1·

The letters of the Alphabet ar e divided into Vowels and Consmants.
A vow el makes a per fect so und of itself.
The consmwnts r equire the aid of the vowels to sound them, and hence arc
cullct.l consonants.

'!'here nre five vowels - a, e, i, o, u; and sometimes w and Y·
A Di]Jhthang is the union of two vowels in one sound.
DiJJhthongs are called prope:r when both the vowe ls uro sounded; as, ou, in
luiul . ImJJTOJJCr, when only on-0 Of t be vowels is ~oundeU; as, oa, in boat.
The p1·oper diphthongs are two: oi an d ou.
'l'he improper diphthongs are nu merous~ and are merely the juxtaposition
of two vowels, witb but one of th em so un ded.
The Triphthong is the union of three vowels in ooe sou nd ; as, ieu, in lieu.
There arc th ree of th em - ieu, eau., auU iew. They have but one vowel-sound.
'l'he co11smzants are divided into Mutes and SemiJVowels: Tbe mules arc p , b, t, d, k, and c and g bard.

The Semi-vowels are/~ Z, 1n, n, r, s, v, x, y, z, n.nd c and g soft.
Four of t he se mi-vowels are liquids - l, m, 'V, r.
The mutes arc known by the Ftop of the voice in an attempt to.sound them,
~ s in 11011. Tile so und of a semi·t:owel may be prolonged, us in hall.

ORTHOGRAPIIY.

,,

135

The consonants are divided according to t h o part of the organs of •peech
th ey employ : (
Labia.lf, prono un ced by the lip; ns,p, b,f, v. D entals, by the teeth; aa;·t, ~.
d , s, z. Palatals, by the palate ; as, g soft, andj. Guttu.rals, by the throat ;
as, k, g, c and g h:lrd. Nasals , by the nose ; as, m and n. L'i:nguals, by tho
tooguc; as, c and r.
'rbe e:ame Jetter h as often differ ent ~ounds, which can be ]earned by the eo r
on ly. 'l'h esc sounds nre long, or sh01-f., broad,jlat, hard, soft, rough, smooth, &c.
A bas fou r s1.1unds ; a.x,faU,fat,ft.r, fall.
E bas two so unds ; ns, m ete, met.
I bns two sounds ; n.'l, p ine, pin.
0 has three sounds; as, note ~ not, move.
U h ltB three w un ds; ns, bull, bu.r, rule.
B bas b ut one sound, ns in but. It is someti mes ~ilent.
C so unds bard, li ke k, befo re a, o, u; soft, iike s, before e, i , y. Defore e, i,
and y, followed by another vowel, 1t b ns the sound of sit; a~, oceun.
Beforo a consouant, or ut the eml of a. syllable, it is ahvays b ard; as,
1
crawl, rubric.
Oh bas the sound of tsh, in words purely English, as in chin; of sh, in wor•ls
derived from the French, u.s in chaise ; nnd of k, in words derived from
the H ebren·, Greek, or other n.ncient languages, n.s in chorus, Chaliii!e.
Ch, in arclt., befo re a consonant, is always sounded like lsh, as in A rehlti.shop.
But before n vowel, it is s~metimes sounded like tsh, as in .arch.enemy ;
nod sometimes like k, as in archangel.
D h ns its own sound, as in drum, and th e sound ofj, ns in soW:ier. Sometimes
it has the so und oft, flt the end of words, as in tripped.
F has its own sound, as in frmn; except in of, where it has the sound ofv.
G h as Uie bard sound, as in gi.ve; soft, n.s in genius; silent, ns in gnaw ;
bard, before a, o, u.; sometimes soft or bard before e, i, and y. Before a
consonant, or at th e end of a syllable, it is always h ard.
Ng has a sound peculiar to itself, as in ring.
G h hns th o so und of/, as in tough ; of g hard, as in burgh ; or is silent, as Ju
p l.ough.
H bas but one sound 1 as in hol.y, and is often silent.
J h as ono 8ound, as io joy; except in hallel:ujah, wher e it bas th e i;ound of y .
K b as one sound, nR in keep; never soundod before n, as in J.:n:ife; doubletl
only in HabaJ;J..i.t,k.
L lrns one ~ound, a.s in liquid! and is sometim es silent, a.'i in talk.
J.l ! lrn.s only one ~ und , as in map.
JY.T has one sound, as in man; and nk, n£Z in bank.
P b n.s one sound, as in p ill ; except the sound of b, as in cup-OOard.
I:l~ hns the sound of/, in philosf>phy, and u, in Sl,r,p hen.
,Q h as the so und of k. nod i ~ nl way~ followed by ·u.
R is rough, as in rock ; soft, ns in bark.

~:

'r

I

136

RULES FOR SPELLING.

FIGURES OF SPEECH.

S h:1s its own soun d in sister ; z, in rosy ; sh, in sugar; ~h, in p leasure; and
· ·is ~ih.1 nt in islwul.
Sc ii:: i-o uu<lc<l h ard l>cfo re a, o, u; so ft, befor e e, i , y ; and as sh, in cmiscicufl.
1
'1 hns i ts.own Ho und in take; sh, in J>alient; tslt, in fu.stian ; silent, in bustle.
T l: has t wo so un<ls, a~ iµ thin nnd this ; t, as in Thomas.
·V h as one so und, as in vain.
l ~ - has t he so u ud of no, as in water; oft:m silent, as in answer.
Tl "/1 h as the so und of ltw, as in whale.
.A" has th e so und of z, in X 6nOphon ; ks, in exerciss;
Y. conso nant, h::LS one so un<l, as in yes.

u~,

in exist.

137
'{'.I

FIGURES OF Sl'EEC'JI.

§ 83. FIG UR ES OF SPEECII - of Etym ol~gy, of Syntax;
' of Rhetoric - nre departures from the ordrnn.ry f orm nf
words: fr om th eir regular construction, or from th eir Wer~l
signification.

Z bas its ow n so und, as in zeal ; zh, as in azure ; silent, in r endezvous.

I.

A Syllable is a distinct sound, forming as much of a word as can be sounded
at once. Sometimes it constit utes a whole word.
A .Monosyllable is o. word of one syll nblc; n. Dissy llable, of two syllables; a ·
Trisyllable, of three sy llables ; a Polusyllable, of many syllabics.

FIGURES OF E ·rvMOLO GY.

1. APH..£RESIS - cuts off the first letter or EZyllable of a word; as, '1Veath, for
beneath.
~- SYNCO?E - elision of one or moro letters from the middle of a word;

A..q ,

Ling'ring.

GENERAL RULES FOR SPELLING.

a. ELISION -

the omission of one or more letters from the end of a word ; as,

Thro' , for through.
4. P ROTilESis -tbe addition of one or more letters to the beginning of a wor d i

R ULE I. -Monosyll ables: a nd words accen ted on the la.st syJl nble, ending
wi t h ' a single consonant1 preceded by a sh ort vowel, doubl e th at co nsonant
befo re nu udllitional sy ll able beginning: wi t h a vowel ; as, r ob, robber; admit,
ad mittance. Except z nod k, which arc n ever <loubled. •

as, Enchain, for chain.
5. P ..\RAGOGE - is the addition of one or more letters to the end of n word;
as, B ounden , fo r bound.
6. SvN£ RESIS - the contraction of two EZyllablcs into one; ns, A lienate, for

Ilat when n diphthong precedes, or t he accen t is n ot on the la.s t syllable, a
consonant is not doubled ; as, boil, boiling, boiler; visit, visiter.

alienate.
7. DI.£RESIS - t h e separ ation of two Towels standing together, so as to co n·
nect them wit h different syll ables ; as, .Atrial.
8. TMES IS - tbe se pnr ntion of o. com pound word by introducing another word
between its parts ; as, llow bigh soever .

R m.E II. - Words ending wi th Tl, generally drop one l before t he termina.tions ness, less, ly, and Jul; as, fulne.ss, sh..iUess,fuUy, skilful.
RULE III. - ' Yord::i endin g in y, preceded by a consonant, ch ange y into i
befo re an add itional letter or syll able; as, spy, spies; happy, happier, happiest;

can·y,.carrier, carried; fancy, fanciful.

II.

Du ty is not ch anged befo ro i ng; a.s, deny, denying .

'1"ords ending in '!J, preceded by a vowel, r etai n the y u nch anged; as, boy,
boy.•, boyish, boJ1luxxl; mrmey, m oney s.

L ay, pay, and say, make laid, J:>ai d, and said.
R or,E IV. - Deriva tive adjectives ending in able n.l'e wri tten without an e
before a i a.!I, bfamaUle, m oi•able. Except those of which th e pr im ntive word
ends in ce or 9~ ; in surh thee is retai ned to soften the preceding consonant;
us, peaceable, cliangeable.

1.

FIGURES OF SYNTAX.

th e omission of one or more words, which must be su pplied to
compl ete .th e sen~e; n.ci, R eading m.a kes a learned man; conversation (makes)
a ready man; writing (m11kes) an exact m an.
2. PLEONA SM_ tho u se of moFc words than are necessary to express an idea;
n.s, Tlris h ere is the book.
3. EN ALL!Gl': _tho u se of one part of speech fo r another ; as, Slow r ises merit
by p<ioi!:rty depressed.
. 4. H IPERBATO~ - t h o transposition of words ; ns, Ill fare s the land to threat''Tlr
ing i ll.'f n prey.
ELLI PSIS _

12 *.

',

•
138

FIGURES OF SPEECH.

III.

DICTIONARY OF GRAMMAR.

139

FIGURES OF RHETORIC .

The principal Fig uMs of Rhetoric nre -

§ 84. DICTION ARY OF GRAiVIl\:IAR.

1. S1:111u:-a direct comparison; as, Ile shall be liko a tree plant.eel by the ritY.r s

of water.

(TO DE CAllEFULLY STUDIED AND RECJTIID DY THE PUPIL.)

2. :'.1ET..\PllOR - an i mplied comparison; as, Thy word is a lamp to my feet.

n. continued metaphor. P ilgrini.'s Progress is n. lengthened
allegory.
4. A?-JTlTl fEStS-de notes opposition or contrast ; ns, Virtm ennobles its possessor
- 1iice degrades.

3.

ALI. EGORY -

5. l!YPERDOLJ:~

exaggeration of facts or truth.
6. Ino~v - ndd.s force to expression, by repre~en tin g vividly a palpable improbability; as, Elijah's challenge to the priests of Baal, 1 Kings
-

xvii i. 27.

7. l\fETo~ntv- changcs the name: 1. The cause for the effect, or the effect
for the cause; as, tbe debau chee says of bis disease, This is my life.
2. 'fhe container for the thing contained; as, The kcUle boils. 3. The sign
for the thi11g signified; as, The sceptre shall not depart froin Judah.
S.

by wh ich the whole is put for a part, or a part for the
wh ole, a defi nite number for an indefinite, &c. ; as, Afan is martai h is body.
9. PERSO~U'ICATIO~, or P ROSOPOPEIA - attributes lifo and action to inanimate
objects ; as, The dOUl.lsfrowrurl, and the ocean was angry.
St:-.OF.CDOCnE -

is au addrc~s to the dead or ab~en t as if th ey were present;
as, Englan d , with all thy faufts, I lave thee I
11. I :s-tERROG ATION - is a qu es tion pu t in such n. shape th at it answers itself
affirmatively, with an increased power of affirmation; as, What God.
affi1·ms, who will deny f

JO. A POSTROl'HE -

12.

Ex c 1•.u1.-\TION -

o. passionate expressio n of feeling; a.a, 0, t.he. wonders of

reilecm.ing loi•e !

13.
14.

C'roploys the present tense in describing things po.st or fu t ure.
ri ses, in descriptfon, with each successive foct, mnre i m~ortant
than the pl'ccediug, so that a rhetorical effect is produced by the whole

VISION -

CLIMAX -

de~cr i pti on .

ABSTRACT - as ap plied to words, signifies those which express a qual ity
witho ut regard to the subj ect in which it exists ; as, whiteness, beauty.
ACCENT- a mark to direct the stress of voice to be used in pronunciation.
ACC IDENT -:- something belonging to a word, but n ot essential to it; as,
gt!nder , number, and case.
ACTIVE - as applied to the verb, designates not only those which signify
action, but t.bose which are transitive.
ADJEC'l'IVE--is n word joined to nouns, to express a quality or to define them.
Sometimes the adjective is so necessary to the name of the thi ng, that the
n ame is imperfect without it, and we therefore cn.ll it the adjective-noun..
ADJUNCT - a word or words added to illustrate or amplify tho fo rce of
other words.
ADVE RB - a word added to the verb, to qualify it. Its n ame is derived from
its lending u se. But i t is used also to modify participl.es, adjectives, o.nd
other ad·verbs.
·
AGH.EE:\'IENT - in gra.mmn.r, implies a conformity of words with on e another
in some of their accidents; as, of th e adjective with tbe noun in number, ·
of t he verb with its n ominative in number and person.
AL PHABET - the letter s of a laog u ngc, which form the clements of speech.
AN - the indefin ite article, derived from a Saxon word which means one.
This is the general im port of the word: a man, one. man. Defore conso.
nan ts, and before the silent h, t hen is omitted, for euphony; as, a fa.tlJ:er.
ANALYSIS.- r esolves that which is compound into its simple element.a. In
gr ammar, it reduces the words of a sentence to their natural order, de.
fines their r elations to each other , and shows t heir government and dgreement, un der t h e laws of lang uage.
APOSTROPHE - a. mark which indicates the omission of a letter, or it expresses the possessive case.
ARRANGEMENT - classification of facts or principles connected with any
subject, in regul ar, systematic order.
·

. \:

i"

140

DICTIONARY OF GRAMMAR.

DICTIONARY OF GRAMMAR.

ARTICLE - means n definitive clause. In gram mar, it is ibe ndj ect.ivP 'vhl ~h
defines po rticulnr from many. An «corn defines a ]>articular kind ol'
sce<l ; the acorn, some particular oue rC'forred'to.
.

ETYMOLOGY - shows h olv words are derived
. .
their various inflections and modlji t.
. from their simple roots, with
EXCLAMA'l,ION
t ica ions in grammar.

AS1'E IU SK

G J~N DJ<;R - tli .o;;tinction of sex.

-

1\.

- an utterance expressing passion or emotion.

sta r which r efers the render to a. n ote in tho margin.

AUX ILIA llY - those words wh ich help the verbs to form the d iffere nt moUcs

and

t ens~s

are called auxiliary.

141

1

GOV ERNMEN11 - tho contr olling influ en ce of on e
.
str uction, requiring it to be .
.
word over another 1n con4
In a pa r ticular case, number m ode kc

' GRAMMAR - is derived from n word which ei "nlfie
. '
' .
on th e •cicncc and tho urt 0 f
k'
g
s l-0 wn.te. It is a treatiBe
spea mg and writing a language.

ER ACE- n line, in writing, which oonncots two or more lines.

CARDINAL-principnl or positive numbers ; as, one, two, three, &c.

IHYPHE N -

a short h orizontal line used to con
word, vr a word divided at the :nd of a line nect two parts of n compound
.
CASE - declension, or falling from the first form of a. word, by which r elation
i ID!Oll a mode of expression peculiar to a language.
to other words is indicated.
~
I . E. - oontraction for id est, that is.
CLASS - objects or things placed under one denomination, becau~e they .
IMP. - imperfect.
hav e somethin g in commoll'.. ,

I
I

CARET - den otes something wanting, which is interlined.

: IMPERATIVE - expressive of 00
•
•
u sed also for entreating exho ~man:· In apphcat10n to the verb, it is
COLLECTIVE - expressing many, or several united.
IMPERFECT- a t
' ·. r mg, c.
COLON - a point den oting a pause .i n r eading but little sh orter than a
ensc expressmg time past, but indefinite
. i::t INDEFINITE_ n t d . te
.
.
period.
. :-o c rmmate, not certain or limited.
' NDEX - a t able of
te
C0}1MA - a. point denoting th e shortes t pause in r eading.
con nts, or a reference to a marginal n ote
NDICATIVE - that h · h h
.
COMMON - belonging equ ally to mn.ny, or to more than one.
w ic s ows or affirms directly and absolutely
. I NFINITIVE - indefinite in person or number.
.
CO:\IPARATI'' E- exp ressing more or less in deg-rec.

CLASSIFICATION - a distribution into sets, sortR, or classes.

INTERJECTION - a word tl1"own in e
·
INTERROG
.
' xpressmg sudden passion or emotion.
ATIVE - used in asking a question.
CONJ UGATION - the variations of the verb in mode, tense, voice, number, INTRANSITIVE a fi
f
.
not
orm o assertion in which the action of the verb does
and person.
pass over to t he obj ect.
•
CONJU NCTION - a part of ~peech that connects or conjoins others.
IRREGULAR -dcviatiug from the common rules in inffoction.

CO:UP ARISON - the formation of the adj ective in its several degrees of

signification.

L.AN?UAG~ -

DASH - a. paui;:c marked by a small horizontnJ line.
DECLENSI ON - inflections or ch anges in noun s, adj ectivf's, .and pronouns,
to expr<>l'lS cha nges of ca.c:e.

i.'3 derived from a word whi ch means to ue
.
Eton of ideas, ncco.r ding to the ru1es of
7!f' •• It IS th e expre~
in written wo rds.
grammar, m articulate so unds or

LETTER - is the fi t I
DEFECTI VE - th at which is wnnting in some of tho r egular parts.
and words are ro:~e~.emcnt of written langu age, out of which syllables
DEFI NI'rB - defining, limiting, t hnt which defines the meaning.
DE:tib NSTRATIVE - shOwing with clearness tho thing or things r eferred to. .\.IEASURE-the n.rrangement of sho t
d l
poetry. '
r an ong syllables nnd accents In
DilERESIS - a mark, showing that two vowels are pronounced in distinct
JJODE manner - applied t tl
b .
;
or,affi.rm . . o l C .ver ' it expreSSP,S the· manner of the a.cflon
syllables.
atmn, as, commandmg, conditional, potential, &c.
DIS'l'RIBU'l'IVE - that which divides, or r epr esen ts tho individlla.ls of a

collective.
ELLIPSI S - the <lmission of on e or more words implie~ in the sense.

\"

:~~TER, ne~lhe.t".- applied to a n oun, it means neither gender, or no gendor.
1 · · - nornmahve.

{

144

DICTIONARY OF GRAMMAR.

SUPERLA'rIYE - the highest degree of quality expressed by the adjectives
or adverbs.
SYNCOPE - an omission of one or m or~ words, from the middle of a word,
supplied by the apostrophe.

SYN'£ AX- the right constr uction of words in a sentence, with the rules of
government and agreement.
TRAXSITIVE-the verb which

passc~

tho action or asser tion to an object.

TENSE - tho time of the action or of the thing afllrmod.
VERB-tho word which asserts or affirms something. It m ay be derived
from t he L ati n fero - ferb -vC"rb. It is th e word whi ch carries an idl• a
from one mind to another. It is therefore the wwd of principal impol'Lnnce - the Latin verbum. -

VIZ. - a rontraction for

vidd~ to 'vit, namely.

VOI CE - lnnguage or mode of expression . I-Ieucc, it ita o.pplied to the mode
of inflcctiug verbs, in the active :mU pnssivo forllls, called the active u.nU
passive voices.
WORD - is two or more letters so combin ed
designate a n object or subject of Lllought.

:l.S,

when written or spoken, to

&c., for et cetera - means and so on, or ()(,hers of the 1. :ind.

TIIE END .

