.

,. '

/

AN

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR
OF THE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
:; /

~·

BY JOHNS.' HART,
LL.D.,
.,
LATE PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AN D LITERATURE IN
THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY, FO RMER LY PR INC IPAL OF THE NEW JERSEY
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, AUTHOR OF A SERIES OF TE XT·BOOKS

ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, ETC,, ETC.

,'

PHILADELPHIA :

ELDREDGE & BROTHER,
17 North Seventh Street.

1878.

A SERIES OF TEXT-BOOKS
ON

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
B y JO HN s. HART, LL.D .

rs i1 i'

Lang u age -Lessons fo r Beginners.
An Elem entar y Englis h Gram~ar.
English Grammar and A~ ~lys1s.
Firs t L essons in Compos1t1on.
Compos it ion and Rhetoric.
A Short Course in Lite rature.
A M a nual of English Lite rature.
A M a nual of Ame rican Literature.
A Class Book of Poetry.

~
,..,.
I

~-~

d'tt
'\\
7i
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PREFACE.
IN this volum e the Author has selected from his larger Grammar
those portions which are purely of an elementary character, and
which are studied by beginners in first going over the subj ect. The

E tered according to Act o f Cong ress ' in th e year 18i 8, by
l
n
'
ELDREDGE & llROTHEll,
C
. ... ~
86 at Washington.
in the Office of th e Librariau>voctf~o-n-gre_,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~

~~~~~~~~~~·~~

who\e of Prosody, all of the chapter on the Derivation of Words,
and the fine print matter of the other portions, are omitted. On
th e other hand, copious explanations, and a complete series of
practical exercises, are appended to the several definitions and rules.
The kn~w l edge of each rule ~.nd definition is thus thoroughly tested
and impressed on the memory before the pupil is allowed to proceed to more advanced knowledge.
The work, as now offered, is the result of long experience in th e
class-room, and of no little reading and study. The English langua! and its literatu re have been for many years th e main suqj ects
of ti autho1,s inquiry, and he has endeavored in this volume to
give e results of his observations in the form which his experience
as a teacher has convinced him to be th e best adapted to the wants
of the learner.
A word as to the method pursued. The author has endeavored
to bear in mind that he was writing, not a treatise for the learned,
but a text·book for learner•. For such a book,-

CAXT0:-0 PRESS Or' 8HEH. MAN &: C~.

The first and most imperative demand is CLEA.JiNESS,-clearness
of arrangement, and clearness of expression.

...

#

iii

iv

PREFACE.

Next and hardly less imperative is the demand that th e more arid
the less important should be carefully discriminated, and the difference plainly set forth to th e eye.
A third imperative demand is that the rules, definitions; and
other matter to be com milled to memory, should be expressed with
the utmost possible conciseness.
A fourth requi site is that every rul e and definition should be supported and illustrated by a goodly array of apt practical examples.
These are as necessary in teaching gramm ar as surqs are in teaching

PREFACE,
.
INTRODUCTION,

PAGE

. iii
7

arithmetic.
How far these things have been secured is for the reader to judge.

P A R T

.

I.

O RT HO GRA P HY.
ORTHOGRAPHY,

.s

PA R T

I I.

ETYMOLOGY.
NOUNS, ,
ARTICLES, •
ADJECTIVES,
PRONOUNS,
VERBS, •
ADVERBS, ,
CONJUNCTIONS.
PR EPOSITIONS

INTERJECTION~
\fORDs

14
25

26

so
37

.,

70 '
74

.

75

~s!D As D~Ff'E~J'2!'!~ fA.JiTfl ~!' S~EE~J!.
0

77

77

r

CONTENTS.

Vl

PART

ill.

SYNTAX.

PAGE

80
81
84
87
89
91
93
95
97
103
. 104
106
. 108
111
. 113
115
. 116
117
. 121
125

SYNTAX,

1. The Nominative,

2. The Verb,
.
.
·
·
·
3 . The Objective case and th e Verb . ..
4. The Objective Case and the Prepos1\1on,
5. The Possessive Case,
6. Apposition, .
·
·
7. Case after the Verb To be,
8. The Pronoun,
9. The Article,
10. The Adjective,
11 . The AdjectiYe Pronoun, ·
12. The Participle,
13. Th e Adverb,
14. The Infinitive Mood,
15. The Conjunction,
16. The Interj ection , ·
REVIEW EXERCISES , ·
·
.
EXER CI SF.S IN CORR ECTION OF FALSE SYNTAX,
SELECTIONS FOR PARSING,

•

AN ELEMENT ARY

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

Grammar is the science which treats of Language.*
Explanations. - We say th at Arithmetic is the science which treats
of numberii. Botany is the science which treats of plants, Astronomy is
the science which treats of th e stars. So, Grammar is the science which
treats of language.
Knowledge on any subject, arranged in some reg ular order, is called

a Science.

NOTE TO TEACHERS.

The words which a p eople use in speaking or writing are called a

.

.
. divid ed into three kinds, inuieated by three
THE matter 1D this ~ook is
t t that the object of this arrangement
varieties of type, and it is impor an
should be cl earl y understood.
h ld first go through the book, learn1. It is intended that the scholar s ou .
declen sions and conjugaing the matter in the largest type only, r'~1th t~he tench er and such portion
t"
and with such oral exp lan ation s I om ie
'
a· t
ions,
d
of the Exercises, as may be foun exp e dien .
or perhaps twice, in this
.
over the whole groun once,
..
2. Havmg gone
ofitabl the remiumng por·
wav the schol ar will be prepared to ta~e up ~r
t type This in.'
.
d the matter rn the rntermc rn e
•
tion of the Ex ercises, o.n
. ' .
b e committed to memory
termediate matter, however, is not rntended to
.
.
I and definitions in th e largest type.
.
verbatim, like tbe ru es
. .
. . t ded mainly for explanation.
3. The matter in the smallest type is rn en

J.

Langi ·ge.
The• 1ect of studying Grammar is to be able to understand, speak,
and w1 . i a language correctly.

Grammar is divided into four parts; namely, ORand PROSODY.

THOGRAPHY, ETYMOLOGY, SYNTAX,

Orthography treats of L etters, Etymology of
Words, Syntax of Sentences, and Prosody of Versijication.

,

* See Note to Teachers on page 6.

7

OR'.r HOG RA PHY,

9

Wand y are consonants when they precede a vowel sound in
the same syllable; but are vowels in all other places.

A Diphthong is the union of two vowels m one
sound ; as oi in voice.
A Triphthong is the union of three vowels in one
sound ; as, ieu in adieu.
The triphthongs are three in number, eau, ieu, iew; as in beauty,
lieutenant, review.

FIRST PART.

U after q is never counted as part of a diphthong or of a
triphthong.

ORTHOGRAPHY.
THE first part of Grammar is called ORTHOGRAPHY.

Exercises.- Which of the letters in the word Philadelphia
are vowels? Which are consonants? Name the vowels, consonants, diphthongs, and triphthongs in the following words:
Sounding
Abundant

Orthography treats of LETTERS.
I. LETTERS TAKEN SEPARATELY.

Letters· are written characters or signs used to represent certain sounds of the human voice.
A letter that is not sound ed in speaking is called a silent letter.

Lieutenant
Loitering

Separation
Boisterous

Nam e (or write) three words in which w is used as a consonant, three in which y is used as a consonant, three in which w
is used as a vowel, three in which y is used as a vowel.
Name (or write) five words each containing a diphthong, five
containing a triphthong.

The letters of any Language are called its Alphabet.
The English Alphabet contains twenty-six letters.
L etters are divided into VowELS and CONSONANTS.
A Vowel may b e fully sounded by itself.
A Consonant cannot be fully sounded unless m
connection with a vowel.

Note. -The teacher will add other examples until the scholar be. comes f ..Lli!iar with the classification.

Vowels.

A Syllable is so much of a word as can be pronounced by one impulse
the voice ; as, con in contain.

The V o·wELS are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and
y. All the other letters are CONSONANTS.
8

II. WORDS AND SYLLABLES.

A Word is a collection of letters use~ together to
represent some idea.
A few words consist of only one letter each.

of

11

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

ORTHOGRAPHY,

Spelling is putting letters together correctly so as
to form syllables and words.
A Sentence is a number of words put together so
as to make complete sense; as, J ohn wrote a letter.
A word of one syllable is called a Monosyllable;
of two, a Dissyllable; of three, a Trisyllable; of
more than three, a Polysyllable.

Exceptions. -Day, which makes daily; lay, pay, and say,
which make laid, paid, and said, together with various other
derivatives and compounds, as mislaid, unpaid, unsai~ etc.

10

Example.- Truth is a 1nonosyllable ; truth-ful, a dissyllable;
truth-ful-ness, a trisyllable; un-truth-ful-ness, a polysyllable.
Exercise. - Name the class to which each of the following
words belongs: nation, uprightness, incompreh ensible, authority,
frequent, plague, opportunity, horse, element, elementary, robber, vowel, consonant.
Name (or write) five monosyllables, five clissyllables, five trisyllables, five polysyllables.
Note.-The teacher may add other examples at will.

RULES FOR SPELLING.
RULE I. -Y final.

Part 1.-Yfinal, preceded by a consonant, is changed
into i on taking a suffix; as, Janc-y, Janc-ijul, (not
Janc-yjul.)
A suffix is something added to the end of a word.
Exception 1.-Befoi;e ous, y sometimes becomes e; as, beaut-y,
beaut-e-ous.
Exception 2.-Before ing, y is not changed; as, tarr-y, tarr-

y-ing.

Part 2. - Y final, preceded by a vowel, is not
change'd on taking a suffix; as, play, play-er.

Exercises. - Spell the words form ed by adding ful to mercy,
plenty, bounty, duty, pity; by adding es and ing to cry, pry, try,
apply, deny, nly; by adding er and est to met·1·y, sorry, saucy,
holy.
Correct any of the followi~ which need correction, and give
the Rule for each change: like-ly-hood, handy-c1·aft, qua?·ry-ed,
jom-ney-ed, beauty-ful, glory-ous, pity-ous, pity-ful, melody-es,
melody-ous, gay-ety, gay-ly, witty-ly, witty-er, betray-m",journeying.
Name (or write) five examples of y fiual changed to i, under
Part 1 of the Rule.
Five examples of y final becoming e, under Exception 1.
Five examples of y final not changed, under E xception 2.
Fiv~ examples of y final not chang~d, under Part 2 of the Rule.
RULE II. - E final , silent.

Part 1.-E final, silent, on taking a suffix beginning with a vowel, is dropped; as, care, car-ing.
Exception 1. -Ie, on taking the suffix ing, is c~nged into y;
. a~ die, c' '' -ing.
Exe .tion 2. -Dye (to color), hoe, and shoe do not drop eon
takinr · .J1e suffix ing; as, dye-ing, hoe-ing, shoe-ing.
Exception 3.- Singe, swinge, and tinge do not drop e on taking the suffix ing. This is to retain the soft sound of the g, and
to distinguish them from the corresponding forms of sing, swing,
ting. Thus: sing-ing, swing-ing, ting-ing; singe-ing, swinge-ing,
tinge-ing.
. Exception 4. - Ce and ge, on taking a suffix beginning with
a, o, or u, do not drop the e. This is to retain the soft sound of
the a and g. Thus: se1;ice-able, not servic-able; change-able, not
chang-able.

12

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

Part 2.-E final, silent, on taking a suffix beginning

with a .consonant, is not dropped; as, care, carefu l.

'

Exceptions. - Judgment, lodgment, abridgment, acknowledg·
ment, argument ; wisdom, nursling; duly, truly, awful, with
some corresponding derivatives of due and true, such as duty,
dutiful, truth, truthful, etc.
Exercises. - Spell the words .f ormed by adding ing to bite,
force, revive; by adding able to admire, adon, deplore.
Form the following compounds, and give the rule for each
change : ripe-en, ripe-ness, smoke-ing, lie-ing, sphere-ical, dispitteant, tire-some, tie-ing, t·ie-ed, p ave-ment, pave-ing, serve-ice-able,
defense-ible, defense -less, cure-able, marriage-able, trace-ing, traceable, f ame-ous, courage-ous, re-pulse-ive-ness.
Name (or wri te) fiv e examples of e final dropped, under Part
1 of the Rule.
Five examples of ie changed toy, under Exception 1.
Five examples of e fi nal not dropped, under Part 2 of the Rule.
RULE I II. - Words e ndin g in

ll.

Words ending in ll drop one l on taking a suffix
beginning with a consonant; as, full, ful -ness ; also
sometimes on taking a prefix; as, full, handful; till,
un-til.
Note.- Words ending in any other double letter are spelled in
composition in the same manner as when alone; as, stiff, stijf-ness.
Exercises. - Spell the words fo rm ed by adding to all the
words though, together ; by combining with and all; by combining ai·m an d full.
F orm th e following compounds, and give the Rule for each
change: full-fill, tall- er, buzz-ing, all-ways, well-come, use-full,
all-most, puff-ing.
Name (or write) fiv e examples of l dropped on taking a suffix.
Five examples of l dropped on t aking a prefix.

13

ORTHOGRAPHY.
RULE IV. - Doubling the final consonant.

In words accented on the last syllable, a final consonant, if single, and if preceded by a single vowel,
is doubled on taking a suffix beginning with a vowel;
as, p errnit, permit-t-ing.
Monosyllables, being always accented, come of course under this Rule.

Note. - Here are four conditions: 1. The last syllable must
have the accent; 2. It must end in a single consonant; 3. This
single consonant must be preceded by a single vowel; 4. The
suffix must begin with a vowel.
Examples. - In offer-ing, the first condition is wanting; in
torment-ing, the second condition; in appeal-ing, the third; in
ave1·-ment, the fourth.
Exercises. - Spell the words formed by adding ing and ed to
remit, impel; ist to dritg, machine, novel, nat1tral; er to 1·evel;
. ed to fulfil, rub, fail, 1·efer ; ing to squat, sail, gallop, hum; ant
to a3sist; ent to excel ; ine to adamant; ate to nlien, origin; en
to red, moist, fright; ar to con1ml; er to propel; ous to mAtntctin; y to mud, meal, sleep; ee to commit, absent, patent; ard
to sl1tg, dnmk. N. B. - In forming each combination, give the
Rule applicable to it.
Name (or write) five examples of doubling the final consonant
under the Rule.
Five examples i· .vhich thefi1·st condition only is wanting.
Five, in which 1e second only is wanting.
Five, in which the third only is wanting.
Five, in which the fourth only is wanting.
R.ULE V.-The terminations

eive

and

ieve.

In such words as receive, relieve, etc., ei is used if
the letter c· precedes; as, receive, deceive; but ie is used
if any other letter precedes; as, reli~ve, believe.
Exercj.se. - Correct the mistakes, if any, in the following
words : retreive, pe1·cevve, acheive, concieve, beleive.
2

•

ETYMOLOGY.

SECOND PART.

ETYMOLOGY.
THE second part of Grammar is called ETYMOLOGY.

15

In the sentence, "Charles went to Boston in the boat,'' what
part of speech is Charles? Why? Boston? Why ? Boat?
Why?
In the fo llowing sentences state which words are nouns, and
why?
In coming from Trenton to Philadelphia, I saw John on the
boat with a satchel of books in bis hands.
The book had good covers, but bad print.
The boy had a knife with a small blade.
Th e horse in the stable has a good disposition.
Tem perance and industry promote health.
Religion exalts a nation.
Beauty is a fad ing flower.
Note. -The teacher should repeat the foregoing exercises, and form
others like th em , until th e learner becomes familiar with the subj ect,
and can go through any sentence and indicate the nouns with facility.

Etymology treats of WORDS.
CLASSIFICATION OF WORDS.

The classes of words in English are nine; namely,
N o uNs; ARTICLES, ADJEC'l'IVES, PRONOUNS, VERBS,
ADVERBS, Co NJUKCTIONS, PREPOSITIONS, and I N-

Name (o r write) five nouns.
I. CLASSIFT ATION OF NOUNS.

TERJECTIONS.

N ouns are divided into two general classes, PROPER
and COMMON.

N ote.-These classes of words are generally called the Parts
of Speech.

A Proper noun is a nam e g iven to only one of a
class of objects; as, J ohn, L ondon, D elaware.

I. NOUNS.

Note. - A Proper noun should always begin with a capital
letter.

A Noun is the name of any person, place, or thing ;
as, boy, school, book.
What is your name? Give the name~ of fi:-'e perso1~s that ~ou
know What is the name of the place m winch you hve? Give
the n~m es of five other places. Name fi ve things that you can
see. Name five things that you can think of but cannot see.
All these names are nouns.

14

A Common noun is a nam e given to any one of a
class of objects; as, boy, city, river.
Explanation.- There is a class of objects called "boys." The name
"'boy'' is given to any one of that class. It is common to them all.
Tbo.t is his particular name.
One particular boy is called" John."
It is peculiar or proper to him. So " city " is a name given in common
to any one of another class of objectll. But "London" is the name

16

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR .

given to one particular city. It belongs peculiarly and properly to that
city. Any one of a certai n other class of objects is called a "river."
Th e name is common to all such objects. Dut one particul a r object of
this k ind ·is called "Delaware." It belongs properly to that particular
river.

A Collective noun lS the name of a collection of
objects considered as one; as, army, crowd.

Modes of Distingui s hing S ex.
. ~here are thrne ways of distinguishing sex: 1. By th e use of
~ifl'erent words, as bachelo1" maid; 2. By difference of termination, as r4bbot, abbess; 3. By prefixing or affix inO' another word
us he-goat, she-goat; landlord, landlady.
"
'
1. By different words .

'

~fasculine.

Exercises. - Whi ch of th e fo llowing nouns are Proper 1
whi ch Common? and whi ch Collective? jmnes, isaiah, prophet, austrnlia, island , regim ent, plymonth, town, herd, washingto n, england, county, flo ck, elizaueth, woman, class, table,
chair, book, hndson.
Which of the fo regoing nouns should begin with a capital
letter?
What is you r own propei· nam e? What is your common name1
Name (or write) six proper nouns, six common nouns, six
coll ective nouns.
II. ATTRIBUTES OF NOUNS.

Nouns have the attributes of GENDER, NUMBER,
P ERSON, and CASE.
I . GENDER.

Gender

lS

Nouns h ave three genders, MASCULINE, FEMININE,
and NEUTER.
The Masculine denotes objects of 'l'HE MALE SEX;
as, boy, man.
The Feminine denotes objects of THE FEMALE SEX;
as, girl, woman.
The Neuter denotes objects WI'l'HOUT SEX; as, boolc,
river.

Femfriine.

Bachelor
maid
Beau
belle
Boy
gi rl
Brother
sister
Bull
cow
Bullock
or
Ox
heifer
Steer
Colt
filly
Earl
co untess
F ather
mother
Friar, monk
nun
Gander
goose
Horse
mare
II us band
wife
and many others.

}

the distinction of nouns rn regard to

SEX.

17

ETYMOLOGY.

Jfasculine.

King
Lad
Lord
Male
Man
Master
Nephew
Papa
R snn
. . ., 11·

Son
Stag
Swain
Uncle
Wizard

Feminine.

queen
lass
lady
female
woman
miss, mistress
niece
rnamma
ewe
madam
daughter
hind
nymph
aunt
witch

2. By dirfe r e n ce o f termination.

ilfasculine.

Abbot
Actor
Arbiter
Author
Baron
Benefactor
Count
Deacon
Duke
Editor
Founder
Giant

2*

Feminine.

abbess
actress
arb itress
authoress
baroness
benefactress
countess
deaconess
duchess
editress
found ress
giantess

Masculine.

Feminine.

Heir
Hero
Lion
Negro
Poet
Shepherd
Tailor
Testator
B1·idegroom
Czar
Don
Sul tan
B

heiress
heroine·
lioness
negress
poetess
shepherdess
tailoress
testatrix
bride
czarina
donna
sultana

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR .

ETYMOLOGY.

3 . By prefixing or affixing another -word.

Modes of forming the Plural.

18

Gentleman
Grandfathe1·
He-goat
Landlord

Feminine.

Ma scu line.

Feminine.

Masculine.

gentlewoman
grantlmothe1·
she-goat
lantllady

Male-child
Man-servant
P eacock
Schoolmaster

female-child
maid-servant
p eahen
schoolmistress

1. Plural in

Exercises. - Name all the nouns in the following sentences,
state whether it is a proper noun or a common noun, and state
the gender of each.
The teacher explained the lesso n to the boys and the girls.
Mary made a fan of the feathers of a peacock.
The hunter kill ed a <leer and its fawn.
The kin g and the qu een were on the throne.
The landlord turnetl the man, his wife, and th eir children out
of the house.
Mr. Dale bought a horse and a colt for two hundred dollars.
The sheph erd ess k ept watch over her sheep.
John caught a fish in th e lak e.
My uncle, aunt, and cousin have gone home.
Nam e (or write) five nouns of the masculine gender, five of
th e feminine gende r, five of the neuter gender, and five of the
common gender.
II. NUMBER.

Number is that attribute of Nouns which indicates

whether ONE or MoRE than ONE is meant.
·11

!'
I

s.

Nouns generally are made Plural by adding s to
the Sing ular; as, book, books.
2. Plural in

Note.- Some nouns denote obj ects which may be ei ther male
or female; as, bird, parent. These are said to be of the Common gentler.

19

es.

Nouns ending in ch soft, s, sh, x, and z, are made
Plural by adding es; as, church churches · mi'ss
.
'
'
misses ; lash, lashes; box, boxes; topaz, topazes.
}

N ote.-Nouns entling in o cliffer as to the moue of forming the
pl ural. Some form the plural by adding es; as, cargo, cargoes.
Others form the plural by adtling simply s; as, canto, canto.~.
Exercise.-Spell the plmal of negro, lynx, quiz, radish, patri. arch, peach, mass, rhombus, trio, motto, fo lio, halo.
3. Plural in

ves.

N ouns ending in single/, or in /e, are made Plural
by changing f or f e into ves · as loaf loaves · lije
lives.
'
'
'
'
'
Note. - Nouns in double f follow the general rule· as mu.ff,
mu.ft8.

'

'

'

Exercise. - Spell the plural of wharf, half, cuff, leaf, beef,
calf, thief, wife.
4. Plural in

'ies.

Nouns ending in y after a con sonant are made
Plural by changing y in to ies ,· as, lady, lad-ies.

Nouns have two numbers; the SINGULAR and the

. Note.- Nouns ending in y after a vowel do not change y, into
ies, but form th e plural by the genernl rule; as, day, days.

PLURAL.
The Singular denotes ONE, the Plural MORE

Exercise.- Spell th e plural of the followin g : Ray, toy, chimney, trny, artery, Monday, February, buoy, boy, attorney, valley
money.
'

THAN

ONK

ELEJ\IENTARY GRAMMAR .

20

ETY ) f OLOGY.

lfote. - The exceptions to the rules for forming the plural of nou~s
will be found treated at la rge in Hart's Grammar and Analysis,
page 30.
B. Nouns irreg ul a r in the Plural.
SingZLlm'.

Pllmtl .

Singular.

Plmal.

Man
\Voman
Child
Foot
Ox

men
wome n
children
feet
oxen

Tooth
Goose
Mouse
Louse

t ee th
geese
mice
lice

Note.-Th e distinction of perso n pertains chiefly to pronouns.
are very rarely in the first person.

<l'ive the Rul e for each change :
Sky, church, army, wolf, knife, leaf, wish, crucifix, fish, crutcl~,
monarch, peach, patriarch, ki ss, sex, pony, ox, calf, .muff, lea '
radish, valley, turk ey, half, money, thief.
.
Name all the nouns in the fo llowing sentences, and state 111 regard to each (1 ) whether it is proper or common, (2) its .gender,
and (3) its nnmb er:
J arnes and his sister study their lesson in the same book.
I learn ed t he facts from Mnry while going hom e.
A great many pigeons were seen on th e top of the house.
Mice are great thieves; th ey exercise their nimble feet when
they hear the cat corning.
.
Name (or write) fiv e nouns in the singular number, five lil the
plmal num ber.

0

III. PERSON.

Nouns

Exercises. - Indicate all the nouns in the following sentences,
and state in regard to each (1) whether it is proper or common,
(2) its gender, (3) its nnmber, and (4) its person :
I, the captain of this company, gave the order.
John, take the slate into the next room.
Parents are kind to their children.
Parents, be kind to your children.
Name (or write) five sentences containing nouns of the second
person, five of the third person.
I V . CAS E.

Ca se distinguishes the relation of a noun or pro·
noun to other words.
Nouns ha Ve three cases, N 0 MIN ATIYE , p OSSESSI VE,
and OBJECTIVE .
The Nom inative Case

that in which a noun IS
as, The girl reads.
The Possessive Case is that which DENOTES
OVlNERSHIP OR POSSESSION; as, lviary's book.
T h e Objective Case is that in which THE NOUN IS
THE OBJECT OF SOME VERB OR PREPOSITION; as,
"Mary wrote a letter." "William went into the
street."
lS

THE SUBJECT OF A VERB ;

P erson is the di stinction of nouns in their relation
to the speaker.
N te - Every noun must represent either the spwlar, who is supo to
· u t ter the sentence, t h e person spo ke·n tn ' or some person or
p osed
thing spoken of. These three relation s of a n oun are called Persons.

Nouns have three persons, Frnsr,

The First P erson is THE SPEAKER, t he Second
the Third is THE ONE SPOKEN

THE ONE SPOKEN TO,
OF.

Examples. - First person, "I, Paul, beseech you; " second
person, "Ckildren, obey your parents; " third person, "The
children obey th eir pa rents."

Exer cises. _ Change the following nouns into the plural, an<l

T HIRD.

is

21

SECOND,

and

•At this point, it may be well for the teacher to explilin so mud; of the nature of {/r.c t'crb as is i;ivcn on pai;es 37 and 38.

23

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

ETYMOLOGY.

t find the Nominative.-Th e subject of the verb may
ow 1°b irnttin" "who,, or "what" before the verb and
b e f oun< Y
o
h ,, ·w11
asking the qu estion. Example : "A :nan bought a ~t.
" 0
bought ? Ans. Man. Th erefor e, ." n:an" is the subJect of th e
verb "bought," and is in the nommat1ve case.

Name all the nouns in the following sentences, and tell in regard to each, (1) whether it is common or proper, (2) its gender,
(3) its number, (4) its person, (5) its case:
John's dog caught a rabbit in the meadow.
Samuel has a pencil in the pocket of his vest.
Elizabeth saw a man in the field.
The boys fo und a nest on a tree in the woods.
Harry and his cousin caught a large fish in the lake.
Mary's brother lost his knife in the road.
Charles rode in his brother's carriage.
The boys caught a squirrel in the hedge.
John's fri end left his- books in the car.
Name (or write) fiv e sentences containing a noun in the
nominative case, five in the possessive case, five in the objective
case in which the noun is the object of a verb, five in which the
noun is the object of a preposition.

22
H

·
"Tame the subiect
of each verb in the followi ng
J
E xerc1ses. - i ,
sentences:
A but.cher killed a calf.
John hurt 'William.
William hurt J oh n.
A horse ki cked a man.
A man ki cked a horse.
Idleness produces poverty.
Poverty produces idleness.

?t

How to find the Objective. -The object of a verb
of ~
. fou nd by pu ttm
· ~ " wh om"
preposition may be
· or
. " what. aftet.
the verb or the preposition tmc1 askmg the quest10:1: Exampl~s.
" William hurt his sister." Hurt whom ? Ans. ::;1ster. The1efore "sister" is the object of the verb " hmt." "William w en~
into'the street." Into what ? Ans. Street. Therefo re, "street'
is the object of the preposition " in to."
Exercises.- Name th e ohj ect of each verb and preposition in
the following sentences:
John lost his book in the street.
Mary studied h er lesson from the book.
Willi.am gave a ball to John.
Th e horse kicked th e man.
The butcher kill ed th e calf.
Lucy found a dollar on the fl oor.
Name the object of each of the prepositions in th e following
sentence:
William placed his hat on the table in the parlor at the time
of recess when the boys were at dinner.

Form of the Cases.

The Nominative and Objective cases are alike in
form.
The Possessive Singular is formed from the nominative singular, by adding an apostrophe and s.
The Possessive Plural is fo rmed from the nominative plural, by adding an apostroph e only when
the plural ends in s, and by adding both the apostrophe and s when the plural does not end in s.
Exercise. -Write (or spell) the following nouns in the possessive case, singulal' : dog, man, baby, boy, Jam es, Thomas, J ane.
Write (or spell ) the follow ing nouns in the possessive case
plural : attorney, lawyer, mother, beauty, ox, monarch, dandy,
dray.
Note.- To decHne a word is to give its various cases and numbers.

24

Nom.
Friend
Man
Church
Lady
Jones

25

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

ETYMO L OGY .

Declension of Nouns.

"J h ,, .
. o n is a proper noun, masculine gender, singular number
thll"d person, objective case, object of the pr eposition "to."
'

Singular.
Poss.
fri end's
man's
chnrch's
lady' s
Jones's

Obj.

friend
man
chnrch
lady
Jones

Nom.
Friends
Men
Churches
Ladies
Joneses

Plural.
Poss.
fri ends'

Obj.

friends
men '~
men
churches' churches
ladies'
ladies
Jon eses' Joneses

Parsing.
No te. - Parsing consists in stating th e grammatical properties and
relations of words, and the rul es of syntax which properly belong to
them . The parsing of a word can not be complete until the rules of
syntax relating to it are understood and appiied. But a considerable
part of parsing consists in stating the grammatical properties of a ~vord
by itself, as shown by etymology, and without reference to the other
words in th e sentence. The stating of th ese properties in regular order
is called Etymological Parsing.

Parse all the nouns in the following sentences:
Mary's dress.
J olm 's knife.
Mary lost a book in the street.
John's dog caught a rabbit in the woods.
Mary 's kitten ran down the stairs.
The boys caught a fish in the lake.
John caught a squirrel in a trap.
Lucy's sister found a dollar on the floor.
Henry's cousin killed a snake in the meadow.
Mary's book was found by John in the street.
.Note.- The teacher should furnish examples until the pupil is familia
with the parsing of nouns.
r

Parsing E xercise .
Parse "John " and " letter" in the sentence, "John wrote a
letter."
Model.-" John" (1) is a proper noun, (2 ) masculine gender,
(3) singular numb er, (4) third p erson, (5) nominative case, subject
of the verb " wrote."
Note. -The figures in the model are not to be recited. They are
inserted to show the order in which the several properties of the word
are to be given . These five items must be given, and given in th is
order, in parsing every noun . The scholar in learning, and the teacher
in hearing the recitation, hy follow!ng the 0rder of the figures may
know that nothing is omitted.
"Letter" is a common noun, neuter geniler, singular number,
t hird person, obj ec tive case, object of the verb "wrote."
Parse "Mary's" in the sentence, "Mary's book."
"Mary's" is a proper noun , feminine gender, singular number,
third person, possessive case.
Parse "Joh::i" in the sentence, "Mary gave her book to John."

II. A RTICLES.
An A rticle is a word placed before a noun to show
whether the noun is used in a definite, or in an indefinite sense.
The Articles are a and the.
Explanation.-I~ I say," Bring me the book," the meaning is definite.
I ask .for ~or:'e part.icular.book. But if I say," Bring me a book," the
meamng 1s indefinite, as if I had said, " Bring me any book."

A is the
Article.

INDEFINITE

Article, the is the

DEFINITE

The Article a is written an before a word beuinning with a vowel sound; as, a man, an old man~ an
honest man.
3

26
Ii
1(1
t'· l

27

ELEMENTARY GRAllll\IAR.

ETYMOLOGY.

Note.-In de.termining whether to use a, or to use an, we
should notice, not the Jetter, but the real sound, with which the
next word begins.

Name three other words that you can put before the word
book, telling what kind of a book it is.

A or an means one, and is used only before the
singular number; as, a man, an apple.
The is used before both numbers; as, the man, the
men.
Exercise.-Use the indefinite articl e witli the following words:
inkstand, history, humlil c, arch, bir<l, army, uni t, eulogy, onion,
uni co rn, h en·, wonder, union, honor, herb, engine, yew, ewer,
hunter.
Parsing Exe rcise.
Parse "an " in the sentence " Give me an apple."
Model.-"An" is the indefinite article, placed before the noun
"apple," to sh ow that it i_s us ed in an indefinite sense.
Parse "the" in the sentence "Give me the book."
"The" is the definite article, placed before the noun "book,"
to show that it is used in a definite sense.
Parse all the articles and nouns in the exertises on page 25.

Put a qualifying word in the blank space before each of the
nouns in the following sentence: I saw a - - boy with a - knife cutting a - - stick. What are these three qualifying
words? What is an adjective?
Note. -The adjective does not always stand immediately before the
which it qualifies or describes. Thus I may say, The studious
g irl, or, The girl is studious. In either case, the word "studious"
qualifies girl.
•
n~un

What adjective is there in each of the following sentences:
Jane has a new dress.
The lesson is not difficult.
They went home by the wrong road.
The bird was thought to be beautiful.
How hot you have made the fire.
Note. - In each case, after the scholar has named the adjective
ask which word it qualifies, and then ask for the definition of an ad'.
jective.

Name the nouns, articles, and adjectives in the following sentences:

III. ADJECTIVES.
An Adjective is a word used to qualify a Noun or
a Pronoun ; as, a good man; they are wise.
Explanation.-To qualify means here to limit the meaning of a thing,
to express some of its qualities. An adjective generally denotes some
quality belonging to an object. It describes the object. It serves to
show the difference between things having the same name, as good boy,
bad boy; sweet apple, sow· apple, etc.

Exercises.-Yon have a pretty book. What part of speech
is book? What word is used here to qualify or describe your
book? What part of speech is pretty? What is an adjective?

This new slate is broken into many pieces.
I ha<l a beautiful uream last ni ght.
Wicked men do not have good thoughts.
A merry heart maketh a glad countenance.
The old window is so dirty th at you cannot see the new houses
on the hill.
Use the following adjectives t.o describe or qualify a noun or
prono_un: :ast, ri~h, bad, new, wise, black, first, clean, happy, old,
beautiful, mdustnous, troublesome, soft, plentiful, hungry.
Name (or write) five sentences each containing an article, an
adjective, and a noun.

28

Note 1.- N onns become adj ectives when th ey are used to express some qu ality of another noun; as, gold ring, sec.; water. ·
Note 2. -A<ljcctives are sometimes used as nouns, and admit
of number n.nd case; as, our supe1·iors, his betters, by fifties, for
twenty's sake, etc.
I. NUMERAL ADJECTIVES .

Adj ectives \rhich expr ess number are called Numerals.
N umera1 Adj ectives are of three kinds, CARDINAL,
ORDINAL, and MULTIPLICATIVE.
The Cardinal Adjectives denote how many ; as,
one, two, three, four, etc.
The Ordinal Adjectives denote in what order; · as,
first, second, third, fourth, etc.
The Multiplicatives denote how many fold; as,
single, double, triple, etc.
II. COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES.

Adj ectives ar e varied by COMPARISON.
The Degrees of Comparison are t11Tee, POSITIVE,
Co :MP ARATI VE, and SUPERLATIV E.
The Positive expresses th e quality; as, small, wise.
The Comparative expresses the quality in a higher
or lower degree ; as, smaller, wiser.
· The Superlative expresses th e qu ality in the highest or lowest deg ree; as, smallest, wi'sest.
R e gular Con1parison.

The Comparative is formed by adding er, and the
Superlative by adding est, to the Positive; as, great,
greate1·, greatest.

29

ETYMOLOGY.

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR. •

Adjectives of more than one syllable are generally
com pared by prefixing to the Positive the words more
and most, less and least; as, numerous; more numerous, most numerous; less numerous, least numerous .
Note 1. - Some adjectives form th e Superl ative by adding most
to the end of the word ; as, upper, upp ermost.
Note 2. - Dissyllables ending in yor e are generally compared
by adding er and est; as, happy, happier, happiest ; able, ablei-,
ablest.

Irregular Comparison.
Positive.

Corr.paralive.

Good
Bad
Little
Much

better
worse
less
more
{ farth er
furth er

Far

Superlative.

best
worst
least
most
farthest
fnrthest

1

Compare th e following adjectives: large, smaTI, straight, high,
long, wide, deep, heavy, happy, wealthy, lovely, lonely, beautiful,
beloved, fooli sh, troubl esome, unh appy, little, good, b~d.

Parsing Exerci ses.
P arse "wise " in the se ntence, "Solomon was a wise king."
Model. - " Wise (1) is an adj ective, it is used to qualify the
noun ' king;' (2) it is in the positive degree, compared ' wise,
wiser, wisest.' "
Note.- In parsing a numeral adjective, you state ( 1) that it is an adjective, and what word it qualifies, and (2) that it is a numeral adjec·
tive n11d not com pared.

Parse all the nouns, articles, and adjectives in the following
sentences:
A wise son maketh 11 glad fath er.
William wanted 11 sweeter orange.
A large vessel came to New York.
3*

30

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR,

The beautiful landscape r ese mbl es a bright picture.
H e gave a doubl e eagle for a silk dr ess for his third daughter.

sentence be, "It was lie who wrote it," or "the man who wrote it,"
"who" would be third person, because it refers to "he" or "man."

Twenty large vessels sailed up th e river in one <lay.

Personal and Relative Pronouns have Gender, Number, Person, and Case. Adjective Pronouns have Number only.

IV. PRONOUNS.
A Pronoun is a word used instead of a noun ; as,
"The man is h appy, because he is benevolent."
Explanation. - If we had no such words as pron oun s, th e nouns for
which th ey sta nd would h ave to be repeated. Thus, in th e example
gi ven , if th ere were no such word as " he," we would hav e to say, " The
man is h appy, because th e man is benevolent." In long sentences,
containin g a good ma ny par tic 11l a.rs, the repetition of th e noun would
become so freq uen t as to be very disagreeable. Thus, th e sentence,
"'Villiam gave his 1wnknife to H enry, a nd he lent it to l\fary to sh arpen
her pencil with 'it," woul rl becom e," \Villi am gave TVillw.in's penknife
to H enry, and I-Ieni·y lent the penknife to Mary to sharpen M ai·y's
pencil with the pen knife."

The pronoun it is som etimes used indefinitely, that is, without
refening to any other word; as, It snows.

Declension of the Personal Pronouns.
FmsT PERSON - Muse. or F em .

I. PERSON A L

PRONOUNS.

Th e P er son a1 Pronouns are fi ve; I, thou, he, she,

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

I

my, or mine
me

I

Explanation. - In t he sentence, " I 11·rote it," we know at once wh at
person th e pronoun "I " is. T h is wo rd by itself denotes th e first person. It never denotes nny other pe rson. In the phrase, " Who wrote
it," th e pronoun " wh o" ma.'> , or nw y' not, he fi rst p erson. If the c01nplete sentence be, " It was I who wrote it," "w ho" wo uld be the first
person, because it refers to "I," the perso n speakin g. If the complete

Norn. we
Poss. our, or ours
Obj. U8.

SEoOND PERSON - Masc. or F em.
.Plural.

Singular.

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

thou
thy, or tkine
thee

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

you
y our, or yO'Urs
you.

THIRD PERSON - Masculin e.
Plural.

Sin gular .

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

he
his
him

it ; with their plura1s, u:e, yon, they.
They are cal1ed P crsona1 Prono un s becau se they
denote pe rson by th emselves, and without r eference
t o any other word.

.Plural.

Sinflular.

Pron oun s are di vided in to three c1asses ; PERSONAL,
RELATIVE , and A DJ ECTIVE .

rI'•

31

ETYMOLOGY.

they
their, or theirs
them.

THIRD PERSON - Feminine.
Plural.

Singu lar .

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

she
her, or hers.
her

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

they
their, or theirs
them.

THIRD PERSON - Neuter.
Plural.

Singular.

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

it
i ta.
it

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

they
their, or theirs
them.

32

ETYMOLOGY.

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

Note.-The first ancl second perso ns being always present to the view,
their sex is supposed to be known. A separate form, therefore, is not
needed to distinguish the sex, as it is in the third person, where the
person or thing that is spoken of is, or may be, absent.

Remarks on the Personal Pronouns.

The person, gender, nnrn ber, and case of a personal pronoun
are generally known by its form.
Exception 1. - In the first and seco nd persons, however, the gender
cannot be known by the form of the word. The pronoun will be of
whatever gender the noun is, to which it refers. Thus, in the sentence,
"Mary, will you bring me the book?" "you" is feminine, because it
refers to :Mary. If the noun referred to is not given, as, "'Vil! you
bring me the book?" you say that the pronoun is either masculine or
feminine.
Exception 2. -So in the third person plural," they, theirs, them,"
the gender cannot be known by the form of the pronoun, but m.ust be
found by referri11g to the nonn for which it stands. Thus, in the sentences, "The boys were h ere wh en you saw them," "The girls were
h ere whPn you saw thein," "T he books were here when you saw them,"
th e pronoun "them" is masculine in the first sentence, feminin e in the
second, and neuter in the third.
Exception 3.- In the second person plural, "you," a nd in the third
person singular neuter, "it," the nominative and objective cases have
the same form. To find, therefo re, in any particular instance, whether
"you" and " it" are nominative or obj ective, yo u have to refer to the
general meaning of th e se nten ce, as you do in finding the case of a noun.
(See Exercises, page 22.)
Exception 4.-" You" and "yours" are always plural in form. But
to know whether the meaning is si ngul ar, you must refer to the noun
for which th ey stand. Thus, in the sentence, "William, I heard you
talking," "you" is sin gular. But, in the sentence, "Boys, I heard you
talking," "you" is plural.

Parsing Exercises.

Parse "he," in the sentence, " When John was at school, he
wrote a letter to his father."

Model.-" He" is (1) a personal pronoun, (2) masculine gen-

33

der'. (3) singular number, (4) third person, (5) nominative
case,
subject of the verb "wrote."
Parse "it" in the sentence, "It snows.,,
"It"
. is ape rsona I pronoun, used indefinitely, (2) neuter gender
(3) smgular number, (4) third person, (5) nominative case subiec~
of the verb " snows."
•
'
"
Parse all the Personal Pronouns in the following examples:
Mary lent her book to her cousin.
John lost his knife in the grove.
My cousin brought her books with her.
The girls recited their lessons to the teacher.
The teacher said to the boys of her class "I wish you to take
your slates and raise them quietly."
'
See how it rains.

It is a dark night.

II. RELATIVE PRONOUNS.

The Relative Pronouns are, who, which, what, and
that.
These are called Relative Pronouns because they
relate to some word going before, called the antecedent; as, "The boy who wishes to be learned must
be studious."
Note.-A Relative Pronoun is always of the same gender,
number, and person as its antecedent.

Who is used in speaking of persons., as , "Th e gen-

t 1eman who called," "The lady who called."

:Which is used ordinarily in speaking of inferior
ammals, or of things without life. as "The h
h·7
. ' ,
orse
w ic i was bought,'' "The pencil which was given."
That is sometimes used instead of who or which.

c

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

34

What, as a relative, takes the place of whi'ch whenever the antecedent is omitted.
"This is [the thing] which I wanted." If we ,~mi~ t?e antecedent the which must be changed to what.
This is [
]
what wanted." N~reason can be given for this peculiarity,
except that custom has made it so. It is a law of the language.

i

Who and which are alike in both numbers, and are
thus declined:
Sing. and Plur.

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

who
whose
whom

Sing. and Plur .

Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

which

whose
whwh.

What and that are indeclinable.
C ompound Relatives.

The Compound Relatives are six, namely, whoever,
whosoever, whichever, whichsoevei·, whatever, whatsoever.
They are form ed by adding ever and soever to the
relatives who, w hich, and what.
Whoso ever is rng uln.rly declined like who; thus,
Sing. and Plur.

N om . whosoeve1·
P oss. whosesoever
0 bj.
iohomsoever.

The other Compound Relatives ar e indeclinable.
Interrogatives and Responsives.

In asking questions, who, which, and what are called
lnterrogat£ves.
In answer£ng questions, who, which, and what are
called Responsives.

ETYMOLOGY.

35

Parsing Exercises.
Parse "who," in the sentence, "John, who was at school,
wrote a letter to his father."

Model.-" Who" is (1) a relative pronoun, relating to " John"
for its antecedent, (2) masculine gender, (3) singular number, (4)
third person, to agree with "John," and (5) it is in the nominative case subject of the verb was.
Note. - When the case of the pronoun is not determined by its form
it must be determined by inquiring whether it is the subject or th;
object of the verb, &c. (See Exercises, page 22.)

P~rse the Relative Pronouns in the following sentences :
We should avoid all habits which injure the health.
A thief, who stole a cow which belonged to a poor man, was
caught in the trap which had been laid for him.
Children, who fear the Lord, ~bey their parents.
The man of whom I bought the .knife, which I lost, gave a
better knife to me in its place.

The bird whose nest John robbed, uttered pitiful cries.
P arse .the nouns, arti cles, adj ectives, and personal pronouns in
the foregoing sentences.

III. ADJECTIVE PRONOUNS.

The Adjective Pronouns are so called because they
qualify or limit a noun, as an adjective does.
The Adjective Pronouns are subdivided into three
kinds or classes, viz.: Distributive, Demonstrative,
and Indefinite.
I. DISTRIBUTIVES.

The Distributive Adjective Pronouns are each,
every, either, n either.
These are called Distributives, because they refer separately
11nd singly to each person or thing of a number of persons or

36

37

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

ETYMOLOGY,

things. The Distributive Adjective Pronouns, therefore, are all
in the singular number.
Each is used wh en speaking of two or more. E xample:
"Each of you must go directly home." This would be correct
wh ether it is addressed to two persons, or to more than two.

Another ie merely the article an and other, and is used only
in the singular number, N om. Another, Poss. Another's, Obj.
Another.

Every is never used except when speaking of more than two.
E xampl e: "Every one of you must go directly hom e." This
would not be correct if addressed to only two persons.
Each and every mean all that make up the number, although
taken separately.
Either means one or the other, bnt not both. It is used, therefore, when speaking of but two persons or things.

M~del. - " This" (1) is a demonstrative adjective pronoun,
(2) smgular number, (3) and belongs to or limits the noun
"letter."

II. DEMONSTRATIVES.

The Demon strative Adjective Pronouns are this
and that, with their plurals, these and those.
They are called D emonstratives, because they point out in a
defi nite mann er the ob,iects to whi ch they r elate ; as, "This boy
recited well, b ut that boy did not ;" "These men are officers, but
tho8e men are privates."
Ill. INDEFINITES .

The Indefinite A cljective Pronouns are any, all,
such, some, both, one, none, other, another.
They are called Indefi nites, because tliey point out in an indefinite manner the objects to which they r elate.
One, other, another are sometimes used as nouns. When thus
used, they are declined. Tims:
{Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

{Norn.
Poss.
Plur.
Obj.

One
One's
One
Ones
Ones'
Ones.

Sing.

{Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

Plur.

{ Norn.
Poss.
Obj.

.

Parse the Pronouns, Personal, Relative, and Adjective, in the
· following sentences:
Every person who receives these favors, should be thankful
for them.
Where is that book which I gave to you on Monday, and
that other book which you received on Tuesday ? Ans. I have
both books; each is in its right place.

Neither means not either.

Sing.

Parsing Exercises.
Parse "this," in the sentence, "John wrote this letter."

Other
Other's
Other
Others
Others'
Others.

The. father said to his son, "Do you remember any of thosfl
stories which you heard in either of the lectures of last week 1"
Parse all the adjectives, nouns, and articles.

V. VERBS.
A Verb is a word used to assert or affirm ; as,
"John stri"kes the table."
Explanation. -.To as~ert or affirm means to speak or say something
of. a p.erson or tlung. The verb declares that something is, or somethrng 1s done.
Note. - The teacher should pause here, and use every expedient to
teach the sch olar to distinguish the Verb froln the other words in a
sentence; particularly from the Noun and the Adjective.· When the
scholar. ha~ learned to distinguish th ese three parts of speech, the Noun,
the Ad.Ject1ve, and the Verb, he has really laid th e foundation of Grammar. The rest of the superstructure is comparatively easy.

Ex,ercises.-Suppose I say, "John walks;" what do I assert
Ans. That he walks. What part of speech
1s walks .1 What is a verb 1
4

?r affirm of John 1

38

~LEMENTARY

GRAMMAR.

In the following sentences, which words are verbs, and why?

The man rode on a horse.
The gi rl spoke to me.
Clouds move over the earth.
The man eats his dinner.
The boy went to school early.
The slate fell and broke.
Water runs down hill.
I heard a loud noise.
Note. -That which the verb asserts or afilrms is generally some action. Sometimes, however, that which the verb asserts or affirms is
not exactly action, lmt rather a state of being; as, "Henry is here,"
"Charles resernbles his father."

In the following sentences, which words are verbs, and why?
William looks sick .
Charles is here.
The horse was in the field.
The fish are in the lake.
John was in the boat.
The boys were in th e barn.
The girls are in the parlor.
The horses were in the stable.
A verb is necessary to make a finish ed sentence, that is, a sentence in which something is asserted or affirmed. In the following sentence, supply some word which will complete the sentence
and make it affirm something: Susan - - - into the house.
What part of speech is the word - - - ? What is a verb?
Supply a verb in each of the following sentences:
The rain - - - upon the earth.
I - - - you there.
They - - - him in the field.
The cows - - - in the meadow.

ETYMOLOGY.

39

Birds - - - in the air.
The boys - - - in school.
Summer - - - hotter than winter.
The horse - - - the wagon.
I. ATTRIBUTES OF VERBS.

Verbs have the attributes of VoICE, Moon, TENSE,
NUMBER, and PERSON.
Certain parts of the verb also are called P ARTICI·
PLES.
I. VOICE.

Voice is that attribute of the verb which denotes
whether the subject or nominative of the verb acts,
or is acted upon.
Verbs have two voices, the Active, and the Passive.
The Active Voice is that form of the verb which
denotes that the subject or nominative acts, or does
the thing mentioned; as, "John .strikes tlie table."
The Passive Voice is that form of the verb which
denotes that the subject or nominative is acted upon;
as, "The table is struck by John."
Explanation. -Take the sentence, "John strikes the table." The
subject or nominative of the verb is John, who performs the action.
It is of him that the assertion is made. But suppose the same action
to be expressed thus: "The table is struck by John." Here, the subject or nominative of the verb is changed. It is of the table that the
assertion is now made. In the first form of the sentence, the subject of
the verb acts; in the second form, the subject is acted upon. Th at attribute of a verb by which· it thus denotes whether the subject of the
affirmation acts, or is acted upon, is called V QICE.
In forming the Passive Voice of a verb, and in forming some of th9
Moods and Tenses, certain other .words are used in connection with the
verb, and make a part of it. Thus in the sentence, "The. table is

40

41

ELEMENTARY GRAUMAR.

ETYMOLOGY.

struck," "is" must be tak en with "struck." The verb is not "struck"
by itself, nor "is" by itself, but "is struck" taken together.

Note.-The Indicative mood is also used in asking direct questions; as, Does the sun shine? Does my mother love me? This
is sometimes called the Interrogative form.

Exercise.-Select all the verbs in the following sentences, and
state which are in the Active Voice and which in the Passive
Voice:
Mary studies her lessons.
The lessons were studied by Mary.
Henry caught a fish in the lake.
The squi rrel was caught in th e trap.
The sheep were watched by the shepherd.
The soldiers marched to the fort.
The fish were caught in a net.
The army is commanded by the general.
Give (or write) three sentences containing a verb in the Active Voice. Three, containi"ng a verb in the Passive Voice.
11. MOOD.

Mood is that attribute of a verb by which it denotes the manner or way in which the assertion is
expressed.
Note.- Mood is only anoth e&>rm of the word "mode," and signifie~ ·
mann er, or way.
'
The asse rti on may be e xpres~ed in fiv e different ways; thus, I
write, If I write, I mny write, Write, To write; th erefore, Verl>s
have five Moods, the Indicative, the Subjunctive, the Potential,
the Imperative, and the Infinitive.

The Indicative Mood is that form of the verb in
which the assertion is expressed directly and without
limitation; as, H e writes.
Explanation. - ·when we affirm or assert .a t~1ing, as if we were certain of it, then the verb will be in the Ind1cat1ve mood; as, The sun
6hines. My mother loves me.

The Subjunctive Mood is that form of the verb
in which the assertion is expressed as an uncertainty;
as, If he write.
Explanation.-When we affirm or assert a thing in a way that shows
that it is not a certainty, as, If I live, the thing will be accomplished;
Though he slay me, yet will I trust him; Unless he come, he will Jose
his place: the verb will be in the Subjunctive mood.
Note 1. -The Subjunctive mood is generally preceded by a
conjunction, such as if, though, although, imless, except, whether,
or lest.
Note 2. -The Subjunctive mood is always accompanied by
another verb in some othe·r mood. Without this it cannot make
complete sense. Thus, If he study diligently, he will improve.

The Potential Mood is that form of the verb
which expresses possibility, liberty, power,. willing.ness, or obligation; as, he can write; he may write;
he must write.
Expla.nation.- To say, A thing ma.y be, or might be, expresses possibility. To say, You may do it, or You might do it, is giving liberty
to do it. To say, You ccm do it, or You could do it, shows that you
have the power to do it. To say, You would do it, expresses a willingness to <lo it. To say, You must do it, expresses an obligation to do it.
Note.-The Potential mood is also used in asking questions; as, May
I write? Miist I write? &c.

A verb in the Potential mood is always accom panied by some one of the words, may, can, must,
might, could, would, should; and this accompanying
word is considered a part of the verb.
4*

•
42

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

The Imperative Mood is that form of the verb
which is used to command, exhort, entreat, or permit; as, Write the copy according to the directions;
Father, forgive us.
Examples.-" Soldiers, ma.rch." "March" is used to command.
"Pity the sorrows of a poor old man." "Pity" is used to entreat or
beg.
"Fear God and keep his commandm e nt~, for this is the whole duty of
man." "Fear" and "keep" are used to exhort, or p ersuade, with a
reason.
"Sit near me, if you wisl.l.," "Sit" is used to permit or allow.

The nominative case of a Yerb in the Imperative mood will
always be thou or you, lrnt it will seldom be expressed. Example: "Sit still," means " Thon or yoii sit still."

ETYMOLOGY.

43

Mary must return home when her task is finished.
The letter may be returned by the postman.
If I had a book I would study the lesson.
Charles, bring me that book.
Boys, study your lessons.
God said, "Children, obey your parents." Yon should keep
this commandment, if yon wish to obtain the reward, which he
promises, which is, that your days may be long in the land.
The shepherd takes care of his sheep. If they wander near
a precipice, he uses a crook to draw them away, for they are
timid animals. If he ran towards them, they might fall over
into the gulf.
Listen to the merry bells. I listen to them with delight. You
may listen to them without growing weary, if yon delight to
listen to sweet music.

The Infinitive Mood is that form of the verb
which is not limited to a subject, or which has no
subject; as, To write.

Give (or write) three sentences containing a verb in the Indicative mood; three in each of the other Moods.

Note. -The Infinitive mood usually has the prepositivn to
before it, and the preposition in this case is considered a part
of th e verb.

Tense is that attribute of a verb by which it expresses distinctions of TIME.

Example.-" He told me to sit still, if ,.A.·hed to hear." "To sit"
and "to hear" are in the Infiniti ve moo~~

Exercise.-ln the following sentences select all the verbs, and
state the voice and mood of each :
Charles studies his lesso n.
The boys caught a rabbit in the woods.
The rabbit was caught by the boys.
The lesson was assigned by th e teacher.
If he study his lesson he will improve.
Though he slay me yet I will trust him.
If the lesson be recited properly, the class will be dismissed.

III. TENSE.

There are six Tenses: the Present, the Past, the
Future, the Present-Perfect, the Past-Perfect, and
the Future-Perfect.
Explanations.- The present time is that which is rlow, as "to-day,"
"this minute," etc. The past time is that which is gone by, as "yesterday," "last year," etc. Future time is that which is to come, as "to. morrow," "next year," etc.

The words here used to denote time are nouns, or a noun and an
adjective. But a verb may be likewise used to denote the time of an
event. Example: "He ·is sick." The form of the verb "is" denotes
that he is sick now. "He was sick." The form of the verb " was "
·denotes that he was sick at some time which is past. "He will be sick."
The form of the verb "will be" denotes that he will be sick in some
jut·ure time.

45

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR .

ETY MOLO .GY,

There are three principal distinctions of time, namely, present, past,
and fu ture. So th ere are three principal tenses, namely, the present,
the past, and the future .

Explanation. - An event may have h appened some time ago, and
before another event which also happened some time ago. Example:
"I h ad washed my hands when they called me to breakfast." Here
th e washing and the calling both occurred in past time, but the washing occurred before the calling.
T hat fo rm of the verb whi ch enables it to express this additional distin ction of past time is called the Past. Perfect tense.

44

The Prese nt Tense is that form of the verb which
denotes simply present time; as, I write.
The Past Tense is that form of the verb which
denotes sirnp1y past time; as, I wrote.
The Future Tense is that fo rm of th e verb which
denotes simply future time; as, I shall write.
N ote.-A verb in ll1 e Future tense is always acco mpanied by
some one of t he word s shall, shalt, will, or wilt, and this accompan ying word is co nside1'G'd a part of the verb.

The Present-Pe rfect Tense is that form of the
verb which denotes what is past and finished, but.
which is connected also with the present time; as, I
have written.
Expl anation.- An event may be past and fini shed, when th e period
of time referred to is not all past, bnt comes clown to the present
moment. Example: " I have recited my lesson th is morning." H ere,
"this morn ing " is the period of time referred to, and this period is not
all past yet. But the reciting of the lesson is fini sh ed. The thing then
was don e in a peri od of time of which th e present time is a part. It is
th erefore a past a n<l ti ni shed act, but connccted'
o with the present
time.
Th at form of the verb which enables it to exp
th is peculiar distinction of past time, is called the Present-Perfect tense.

Note.-A verb in the Present-Perfect t ense is always accompanied by one of the words have, hast, or· has, and this accompanyi ng word is considered a part of the verb.

The Past-Perfect Tense is that form of the verb
which denotes what was past and finished, before
some other event which is also past; as, I had written
the letter, before it was called fo r.

Note. - A verb in the P ast-Perfect tense, in the Indicative
mood, is always accompa nied by one of the words had, or hailst,
and this accompanying word is considered a part of the verb.

The Future-Perfect Tense is that form of the
verb which denotes a future time prior to some other
time which is itself future; as, I shall have written
the letter before it will be called for.
Explanation. - H ere, th e writing of th e letter and the calling for it
a'.re both future. They are both to take place hereafter. But the writing will be done and finished before the calling for it.
That form of the verb which enables it to express this peculiar distinction of futu re time is called the Future-Perfect tense.

, · Note. - A verb in th e Future-Perfect tense is always accompanied by two other words, namely, either shall have, shalt have,
will have, or wilt have, and these accompanying words are considered a part of the verb.
Name (01· write) five sentences containing a verb of the Present tense; live, of the P ast tense; five, of the Future t ense; five,
of tht P r sent-Perfect ; five, of the Past-Perfect; five, of the
Future-F ,rfect.
,'

IV . PARTICIPLES.

A · articiple is that form of the verb which partake of the nature both of a verb and of an adj ective.
Explanation.- "A man deserving blame, should be censured accordingly." H ere "deserving" is a form of the verb "deserve." ,It expresses the same fact as the verb, only the assertion is under a sort of

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR,

ETYMOLOGY.

limitation, or in a state of suspe11se, as if we were to say, "If he deserves blame," or " Since he deserves blame." This form of the verb is
capable also of denoting time, as verbs do. " Deserving blame" means
doing it now. "Having deserved blame" means having done it in
some past time. It expresses action also, as verbs generally do. It
partakes therefore of th e natnre of a verb.
But suppose we say, "A man not rneritorio·us in his conduct, should
be censured." " Meritorious" is an adjective, belonging to "man,'' or
qualifying "man." In the same way, " deserving" belongs to or
qualifies mau. It partakes therefore of the nature of an adjective.

II. CLASSES OF VERBS.

46

The Participles are three, the Present, the Past or
Perfect, and the Compound-Perfect.
The Present Participle denotes that which is now
in progress ; as, goiny, being, living, worlcing, etc.
The Present participles all end in ing.
The Past or Perfect Participle <lenotes that which
is complete or fini shed ; as, wr'itten, stolen, added.
The Compound-Perfect Participle denotes that
which is finished before something else mentioned;
as, having written, ving stolen, having added.*

f

Plural.

First P erson.
Second Person.
Third Pe1·son.

* For Exerci!:iE'S in Participles. see page 6i,

I. TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE.

A Transitive Verb is one .which r equires an objective case to complete the meaning; as, James ·
writes a letter.
An Intransitive Verb is one which does not require an objective case to complete the meaning; as,
John sleeps.
Explanation. - When we put" what" after a verb and ask a que_stion, if we can answer it by using some noun, it shows that the verb is
transitive. Exampl e: "Mary broke a tumbler and cried bitterly."
Broke what r Ans. A tumbler. The verb "broke" is transitive. But,
'if we put" what" after the other verb, and ask: Cried whatf we could
not answer such a question. The verb" cried" therefore is intransitive.

Exercise. - Which of the following, verbs are transitive, and
. which are intransitive ? Hurt, lift, walk, sit, believe, forget, say,
, ·rise, raise, fly, go, depart.
Note 1. - Some verbs nre u sed both transitively and 'intransi-

V erbs have variations of form, to correspond with
the number and person of their subject. These
variations are called the Numbers and P ersons of the
verb.
Verbs have two numbers, Singular and Plural; and
three Persons, First, Second, and 'rhird. Thus:
First P erson.
I am.
S econd P erson. Th ou art.
Third Person. H e is.

Verbs are divided into the following classes:
TRANSITIVE and INTRANSITIVE; REGULAR and IRREGULAR; IMPERSONAL, DEFECTIVE, and AUXILIARY.

N ame (or write ) five transitive verbs, five intransitive verbs.

V . NUMBER AND PERSON.

Singular.

47

We are.
You are.
They are.

tively; as, "He reaus well," "He reads a story."

Note 2.-Intransitive verbs are not used in the Passive Voice.

~

II. REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS.

Regular Verb is one that forms its Past Tense
aPd )ast P arti ciple by the addition of ed to its present nse; as, Present, love; P ast, loved; Past P articiple, loved.
An Irregular Verb is one that does not form its
Past 'J'ense and Past Participle by the addition of ed

48

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

ETYMOLOGY.

to its present tense ; as, Present, write; Past, wrote;
Past Participle, written.
Exa mples of Regular Verbs.
Present Tense.

Past Tense.

Past Particip/,e,

Live,
Love,
Instruct,
Portray,
Walk,

li ved,
loved,
instructed,
portrayed,
walked,

lived.
loved.
instructed.
portrayed.
walked.

/

Name (or write) ten regular verbs.

Th e Irregular Verbs.
Present.

Abide,
Am, - Is,
Arise,
Awake,
Bear (to bring fo1· th),
Bear (t<> carry),
Beat,
Begin,
Bend,
Bereave,
Beseech,
Bestride,
Betide,
Bid,
Bind,
Bite,
Bleed,
Blow,
Break,
Breed,
Bring,
Build,
Burn,

Past.

abode,
was,
arose,
awoke, awaked,
bore, bare,
bore,
beat,
began,
bended, bent,
bereaved, bereft,
besought,
bestrid, bestrode,
betid, betided,
bid, bade,
bound,
bit,
bled,
blew,
broke,
bred,
brought,
built, builded,
burned, burnt,

Past Part.

abode.
been.
arisen.
a waked.
born.
borne.
beat, beaten.
begun.
bended, bent.
bereaved, bereft.
besought.
bestrid, bestridden.
betid.
bid, bidden.
bound.
bitten, bit.
bled.
blown.
broken.
bred.
brought.
built, builded.
burned, burnt.

Present.

Burst,
Buy,
Cast,
Catch,
Chide,
Choose,
Cleave (to split),
Cling,
Clothe,
Come,
Cost,
Creep,
Crow,
Cut,
Dare (to venture),
· Deal,

Dig,

Do,

Draw,
Dream,
Drink,
· Drive,
Dwell,
Eat,
Fall,
Feed,
Feel,
Figh¥,
·.
Find, ,
Flee, ,:
Flin ·
Fly,
Forsake,
Freeze,
Get,
Gild,
Gird,
Give,
5

Past.

49
Past Part.

burst,
bought,
cast,
caught, catched,
ch id,
chose,
cleft, clove,
clung,
clothed, clad,
came,
cost,
crept,
crew, crowed,
cut,
dared, durst,
dealed, dealt,
dug, digged,
did,
drew,
dreamed, dreamt,
drank,
drnv e,
dwelled, dwelt,
eat, ate,
fell,
fed,
felt,
fought,
found,
fled,
flung,
fl ew,
forsook,
froze,
got,
gild ed, gilt,
girded, girt,
gave,

D

burst.
bought.
cast.
caught, catched.
chid, chidden.
chosen, chose.
cleft, cloven.
clung.
clothed, clad.
come.
cost.
crept.
crnwed.
cut.
da red.
dealed, dealt.
dug, digged.
done.
drawn.
dreamed, dreamt.
drunk.
driven.
dwelled, dwelt.
eat, eaten.
fallen.
fed.
felt.
fought.
found.
fled.
flung.
flown.
forsaken.
frozen.
got, gotten.
gilded, gilt.
girded, girt.
given.

50

ELE111EN'£ARY GRAMlllAR .

Present.

Go,
Grave,
Grind,
G.row,
Hang,
Have,
Hear,
I-leave,
Hew,
Hide,
Hit,
Hold,
I-I urt,
Keep,
Kneel,
Knit,
Know,
Lade,
Lay,
Lead,
Leave,
Lend,
Let,
Lie (to ncli1111),
Light,
Lose,
Make,
Mean,
Meet,
Mow,
Pay,
Pen (to coop ),
Put,
Quit,
Read,
Rend,
Rid,
Ride,

Past.

went,
graved,
ground,
grew,
hanged, hung,
had,
l1eard,
heaved, hove,
hewed,
hid,
hit,
held,
hurt,
kept,
kneeled, knelt,
knit, kni tted,
knew,
laded,
laid,
led,
left,
Jent,
let,
lay,
lighted, lit,
lost ,
made,
meant,
met,
mowed,
paid,
penned, pent,
put,
quit., quitted,
read,
rent,
rid, ridded,
rode,

Past Part.

gone.
graven, graved.
ground.
grown.
l1anged, hung.
had.
heard.
heaved.
hewed, hewn.
hid, hidden.
hit.h eld.
hurt.
kept.
kn eeled, knelt.
knit, knitted.
known.
Jaded, laden.

t::

left.
lent.
let.
Jain.
lighted, lit.
lost.
made.
meant.
met.
mowed, mown.
paid.
penned, pent.
put.
quit., quitted.
read.
rent.
rid, ridd ed.
ridd en.

51

ETYMOLOGY .
Present.

Ring,
Rise,
Rive,
Run,
Say,
Saw,
See,
Seek,
Seethe,
Sell,
Send,
Set,
Shake,
Shape,
Shave,
Shear,
Shed,
Shine,
Shoe,
Shoot,
Show,
Shred,
Shrink,
Shut,
Sing,

Sin k,
Sit,
Slay,
Sleep,
Slide,
Sling,
Slink,
Slit,
::imell,
Smite,
Sow,
Speak,
Speed,

Past.

r ang, rung,
rose,
rived,
ran, run,
said,
sawed,
saw,
sought,
seethed,
sold,
sent,
set,
shook,
shaped,
shaved,
sl1eared,
shed,
shone, shined,
shod,
shot,
showed,
shred,
shrunk,
shut,
sung, sang,
sunk, sunk,
sat,
slew,
slept,
slid,
slung,
slunk,
slit, slitted,
smelled, smelt,
smote,
sowed,
spoke, spake,
sped, speeded,

Past Part.

rung.
risen.
ri ved, riven.
run.
said.
sawed, sawn.
seen.
sought.
seethed, sodden.
sold.
sent.
set.
shaken.
sha ped, shapen.
shaved, shaven.
sheared, shorn.
shed.
shone, shined.
shod.
shot.
shown, showed.
shred.
shrunk.
shut.
sung.
sunk.
sat.
slain.
slept.
slid, slidden.
slu ng.
slunk.
slit, slitted.
smelled, smelt.
smitten, smit.
sowed, sown.
spoken.
sped, speeded.

52
Present.

Spell,
Spend,
Spill,
Spin,
Spit,
Split,
Spoil,
Spread,
Spring,
Stand,
Stave,
Stay,
SteRI,
Stick,
Sting,
Stink,
Strew,
Stricle,
Strike,
String,
Strive,
Swear,
Sweat,
Sweep,
S wel l,
Swim,
Sw ing,
T ake,
T each,
T ear,
T ell,
Think,
Thri ve,
Throw,
Thru st,
Tread,
,V,1x,
Wear,

ELEMENTARY G RAMMAR.
Past.

spelled, spelt,
spent,
spilled, spilt,
spun,
spit, spat.,
spli t, splitted,
spoiled, spoilt.,
spread,
sp rnng, sprang,
stood,
staved, stove,
stayecl, stRid,
stole,
stuck,
stung,
stunk,
strewed,
strid, strode,
strnck,
strnng,
strove,
swore,
sweat sweated,

Past Part.

spelled, spelt.
spent.
spilled, spilt.
sp un.
spit.
split, splitted.
spoil ed, spoilt.
spread.
sprnng.
stood.
staved, stove.
stnyed, staid.
stolen.
stuck.
stung.
stunk.
strewed, strewn.
strid, stridd en.
struck, stricken.
strung.
st.ri ven.
swo rn.
sweat, sweated.
swept.
;;welled, swollen.
SWU ll1.

taught,
tore,
told,
thought,
thriv ed,
threw,
thrust,
trod,
waxed,
wore,

swung.
taken.
taught.
torn.
told.
thought.
thrived, thriveu.
throw n.
thrust.
trod, trndcl en.
wax ecl, waxen.
worn.

53

ETYMOLOGY.

Present.
Weave,
Weep,
Wet,
Win,
Wind,
Work,
Wring,
Write,

Pa;;t.

wove,
wept,
wet, wetted,
won,
wound,
worked, wrought,
wrung,
wrote,

Pa;;tPart.

woven, wove.
wept.
wet, wetted.
won.
wound.
worked, wrought.
wrung.

written.

III. IMPERSONAL VERBS.

An Impersonal Verb is one which is never used
except with the pronoun it for its subject; as, "It
snows."
Note.-We never say, "I snow," "Thou snowest," "He snows,'' etc.
IV. DEFECTIVE VERBS.

A Defective Verb is one that is not used in all
the Moods and Tenses ; as, must, ought, quoth, etc.
V . AUXILIARY VERBS.

An Auxiliary Verb is one which helps to form the
Moods and T enses of other verbs.
The auxiliary verbs are, shall, may, can, must, be,
do, have, and will.
Remarks on the Auxiliary Verbs.
1. These are called Auxiliary, or helping verbs, because by
their help the other verbs form most of their moods and tenses.

2. B e, do, liave, and sometimes will, are also used as principal
verbs; as, th ey may be here ; they do nothing; th ey liave no.thing; they will it to be so. As principal verbs, they have all the
moods and t.enses which other verbs have.
3. Be, as an Auxiliary, is used in all its moods, tenses, num.5 *

54

ETYMOLOGY.

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR .

hers, and persons, in fo rming the passive voice of other· verbs ;
as, I arn loved, I ioas loved, I have been loved, etc.
III. C ONJUGATION .

The Conjugat ion of a verb is the orderly arrangement of its voices, moods, t enses, numbers, and persons.
Note. -The verb "To Be" is irregular and intransitive, and
h as no voice.

Past-Perf!Xt Tense.
Rural.

Singular.

FutU1·e-Pmfect Tense.
Plural.

Singular.

1. I shall have been.
2. Thou wilt have been.
3. He will have been.

Conjugation of the verb To Be.

Present Tense.
Plural.

Singular.

Present TenBe.
Rural.

Singular.

1. We shall have been.
2. You will have been.
3. They will have been.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

INDICATIVE MOOD.

1. We are.
2. Yon are.
3. They are.

1. I am .
2. Thou art.
3. H e is.

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

1. I had been.
2. Thou hadst been.
3. He had been.

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

. 1. If I be.
2. If thou be.
3. If he be.

Past Tense.
Plural.

Singular.

Past Tense.

Plu~~

Singulai-.

1. We' . a.
2. You w~ •.

1. I was.
2. Thon wast.
3. He was.

3. They

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

1. If I were.
2. If thou wert.
3. If he were.

w~. ".

POTENTIAL MOOD.

JJ1uture Tense.

P resent Tense.
Plural.

Singular.

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

1. I shall be.
2. Thou wilt be.
3. H e will be.

1. I may be.
2. Thou mayst be.
3. He may be.

1. I have been.
2. Thou hast been.
3. He has been.

Plural.

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

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

P ast Tense.

Present-Perfect Tense.
Singular.

Plural.

Singular.

Singular.

1. I mi ght be.
2. Thou rnightst be;
3. He might be.

Rural.

1. We might be.
2. You might be.
3. They migh t be.

55

56

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR .

ETYMOLOGY.

P nsent-Perfect Tense.

in add ressing one person, we say you are, you we1·e, etc., the
meaning being si ngular, but the form plural.

Singular.

PluraJ,.

1. I may have been.
2. Thou mayst have been.
3. He may have been.

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

P ast-Perfect Tense.
Singular.

3. In the third person, the nominative of the verb may be any
of the personal pronouns, he, s!ie, it, any of the relative pronouns, who, wliich, what, that, etc., or any noun. For convenience of recitation, one ·nominative only is inserted.
4. In the Potential mood the auxiliary may be,

Plural.

1. I might have l.J een.
2. Thou mightst h:we been.
3. He might have been.

1. We might have been.
2. You might have been.
3. Th ey might have been.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

In the Present tense, may, can, or must;

In the Past tense, might, could, would, or should;
In the Present-Perfect tense, may have, can have, or must have;
In the Past-Perfect tense, might have, could have, would have,
or should ltave.

Present Tense.
Singular.

2. Be, or be thou.

Plural.

2. Be,

01·

be you.

INFINITIVE MOOD.
Present. To be.
Present-Pm:fect.

Present.

B ei ng.

PARTICIPLES.
Past or Pm:fect.

~Pe1:fect. Having been.

57

Conjugation of the verb To Love.
I. ACTIVE VOICE.

To have been.

INDICATIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.
Singular.

Been.

1. I love.
2. . Thou lovest.
3. He loves.

R emarks on the Conjugation.
1. In the formation of the Futures, we have two Auxiliaries,
shall and will. For the expression of simple futurity, we use
shall in the First P erson. and will in the Second and Third Persons, as given in the table. On the other hand, by nsing will in
the First Person, :md shall in th e Second and Third P ersons, we
express the various ideas of promise, command, obligation, etc.
Thus : " I will be th ere" expresses n promise. "Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God" is a command. " He shall do it" (i. e. I will
make him ) expresses obligation or necessity.
2. The si ngular form, thou art, etc., is now used only in acts

of worship, or on other solemn occasions. In ordinary discourse,

Plural.

1. We love.
2. Yon love.
3. They love.

Past Tense.
J

-;

Singular.

I loved.
Thou lovedst.
3. He loved.

Plural.

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

Future Tense.
Singular.

1. l shall Jove.
2. Thou wilt love.
3. He will love.

Plural.

1. W 6t shall love.
2. You will love.
3. They will love.

58

ELE~IENTARY

GRAMMAR.

Present-Peifect Temie.

Past Tense.

Piural.

Sing!llar.

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

1. I have loved.
2. Thou hast loved.
3. He has loved.

Singular.

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

Singular.

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

Singular.

Plur al.

1. I might have loved.
2. ·Thou mightst have loved.
. 3. He might have loved.

P ·resent Tense.

Present Tense.
Plural.

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

1. If I love.
2. If tho~~~
3. If h e , ,.

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

..
IMPERATIVE MOOD.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.
Singular.

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

Past-Pe1fect Tense.

Plu r al.

1. I shall h ave loved.
2. Thou wilt have loved.
3. He will have loved.

Plural.

1. I may have loved.
2. Thou mayst have loved.
3. He may liave loved.

Futitre-Peifect Tense.
Singular.

1. We might love.
2. You might love.
3. They might love.

Present-Perfect Tense.

Plural.

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

Plural.

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

Past-Perfect Tense.
Singular .

59

ETYMOLOGY.

·•

Singular.

Love, or love you.

INFINITIVE MOOD.
P1·esent. To love.

Past Tense.

Plural.

Love, or love thou.

Present-Perfect. To have loved.

Plural.

Singula r.

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

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

POTENTIAL MOOD.
Present Tense.
Singular.

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

Plural.

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

1

~-

·f-.-

PARTICIPLES.

·resent. Loving.
Compound-Pei:fect.

Past or Perfect. Loved.
Having loved.

II. PASSIVE VOICE.

Note.-The Passive Voice of a verb is formed by placing
before its Past Participle the various moods, tenses, numbers, and
persons of the verb To be.
·
Intransitive Verbs have no Passive Voice.

60

61

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR ,

E T YMOLOGY.

INDICATIVE MOOD.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.

Present Tense.
Singular.

Plural.

1. I am loved.
2. Thou art lo ved.
3. H e is loved.

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

Singular.

Singular.
Plural.

Singular.

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

Past Tense.

P ast Tense.
1. W e were loved.
2. You were loved.
3. They were loved.

1. I was loved.
2. Thon wast loved.
3. H e was loved.

Plural.

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

Plural.

1. If I were loved.
2. If thou wert loved .
3. If he were loved.

1. If we were lov ed.
2. If yo u were loved.
3. If they were loved.

POTENTIAL MOOD.

Ji'utw·e Tense.

Present Tense.

P lural.

Singular.

1. I shall be loved.
2. Thou wilt be loved.
3. H e will be loved.

1. We shall be loved.
2. You will be loved.
3. Th ey will be loved.

Present-Per.feet Tense.

1. I hav!i'~:~~··lovect
2. Thou hast been J, \ed.
3. He h as been love· ,

h~~r~l~en

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

Past-Pe1fect Tense.
Plttrnl.

Singular.

1. I had been lovecl
2. Thou hadst been loved.
3. He had been loved.

1. W e had been loved.
2. You had been loved.
3. They had been loved.

Singular.

1. I shall have been loved.
2. Thou wilt have been Joved.
3. He will have been loved.

Plural.

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

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

·•
Past Tense.
Singular.

Plui·al.

1. I _might be loved.
2. Thou mightst be lo ved.
3. He might be loveu.

' ··- ~

1. We mi ght be loved .
2. You might be loved.
3. They might he loved.

P 1·esent-Peifect Tense.
Singular.

Plural.

1. I mny have been loved.

1. We may have been loved.
2. Th ou mayst have been loved. 2. You may have been loved.
3. He may have been loved.
3. They may have been lo ved.

Ji'utu1·e-Per.fect Tense.
Sinp!tlar.

Plural.

1. I may be loved.
2. Thou mayst be loved.
3. He may be loved.

P ast-Per.feet Tense.
Singular.

Plural.

1. I might have been loved.
1. We mi ght have been lov <)d.
2. Thou mightst have been loved. 2. You might have been lovecl.
3. He might h nve been loved. 3. They· might have been loved.
6

62

2. Be loved,

ETYMOLOGY.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

its Present Participle the various moods, tenses, numbers, and
persons of the verb to be.
Example. - The Present tense of the Indicative mood of the
verb to be is -

01·

P1·esent Tense.
be thou loved. 2. Be loved, or be you loved.

INFINITIVE MOOD.
Present.

To be loved.

Present-Pmfect.

To have been loved.

PARTICIPLES.
Present.

63

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

I am.
Thou art.
He is.

By placing th e above before the Present Participle of the
verb to sing, which is 8inging, we have,

Being loved.
P ast or P1!1fect. Loved.
Compound-Pmfect . Having bee n loved.

Ex erc ises in Conjugation.
Oonjngnte th e ve rb
Come, in the Ae;tive voice, In<licatiYe mood, Present tense.
Do, in th e Active voice, Potential mood, Present-Perfect tense.
TVal!.:, in th e Active voice, Suujunctive mood ,· Fnture tense.
]{now, in th e Pas,;i ,· e YOice, Indicative mood, Futme-Perfect
tense.
L eave, in th e Pns;;ive Yoice, Potenti nl mood, Past-Perfect tense.
Tell, in the P nssiY et ·oi ce, Snhjunctirn mood, Past tense.
Th e ten.cher can funli "· additional exercises at will.

N :une nll the Pnr tic es of the verb come.
N nme in like manner all th e Participles of each of th e other
verbs in t he for egoing list.

We are.
You are.
They are.

I am singing,
Thou art singing, &c.
This is the Present tense, Indicative mood, Progressive form,
of th e verb to sing.

Exercises in the Progressive Form.
Conjngate th e verb "sing" through all the tenses of the Indicative mood, in th e Progressive form.
., Oonjngate " learn" through the Subjunctive mood , Progressive
form. ·
Oonjngate "write" throu gh the Potential mood, Progressive
form.
Conjugate "st.and" through the Imperative and Infinitive
moods, Progressive form .

.......
,Note. -A ' . ~.-urn the Progressive form is always in the Active voice.
~

IV . EMPHATIC FORM.

Note. - If the 1·erb is Transitive, remember to name the P articiples
in the Passive Voice, as well as in th e Active.

The Emphatic Form of a verb is that m which
the assertion is expressed with emphasis;

I II. PROGRESSIVE FORM .

Th e Emphatic Form of a verb is made by placing before it the
verb do as an auxiliary.
The Emphatic Form is used only in the Present anc1 Past
tenses of the Indicative and Subjunctive moods, Active voice,
and in the Imperative mood, both Active and Passive.

The Progressive Form of a verb is that which
represents tbe action as in progress, or incomplete.
The Progressive form of a ny verb is made by placing before

64

E T YMOLOG Y .

ELE111ENTA RY GRA111111AR .

Conj u gation of the verb To Love, in the Emphatic Form.
INDICATIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.
Pl1tral.

Sing1tlar.

1. I do love.
2. Thou dost Jove.
3. He does love.

1. We do love.
2. Yon do love.
3. They do love.

Past Tense.
Pl'1ral.

Sing'1lar.

1. I did love.

2. Thou didst love.
3. He did love.

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

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

""·'~

1. If I do I ··.e.
2. If t.hon de ·ove.
3. If he do 1 .

P1·esent Tense.
Plural .

1. If we do love.
2. If yon do love.
3. If th ey tlo love.

Past Tense.
Singular.

Pl1tral.

1. If I did love.
2. If thou clitl love.

1. If we did love.
2. If you dicl love.
3. If they did love.

3. If he did love.

HIPERATIVE.
.Active - Present Tense.
Singitlar. Do (thou) love.
Plu.ral. Do (you ) love.
Passive - Present Tense.
Singular. Do (thou) be loved. Plural. Do (you) be loved.

65

P a r s ing E xercises.
Parse "writes" in the sentence, "James. w1·ites a lett er."
Model.-"Writes" (1) is a verb, it contains an assertion; (2)
transitive, it requires an objective case after it; (3) irregular, it
does not form its past tense and past participle by the addition
of ed (Pres. write, Past wrote, Past Part. written); (4) active
voice, it denotes that the nominative "James" acts or do es the
thing mentioned; (5) indicative mood, the assertion is expressed
directly and without limitation; ( 6) present tense, it denotes
present time; (7) singular number, thi rd_ person (I write, thou
writest, he writes, or James writ es); (8) and has for its subject
the noun James.
Abbreviated Model.- "Writes" is (1) a transitive verb, (2)
irregular (Pres. write, Past wrote, Past Part. w ritten), (3) active
voice, (4) indicative mood, (5) present tense, (6) singula r number, third person, (7) and has for its subject the nonn James.
Parse " to win" in the sentence, "Jam es expects to win the
prize."
Model. - "To win" is (1) a transitive verb, (2 ) irregular
(Pres. win, Past won, Past Part. won ), (3) active voice, (4) infinitrve mood, (5) present tense.
Note.-The Infinitive Mood h as no subject, hence it has no number
nor person·.

Parse "is writing" in the sentence, "Jam es is wrtting a letter."
Model. - "liL'Vriting" is (1) a transitive verb, (2) irregular
(Pres. write, ..st wr.ote, Past Part. written), (3) progressive
form, (4) active voice, (5) indicative mood, (6) present tense,
(7) singular number, third person, (8) and has fo r its subject the
noun James.
Parse "did write" in the sentence, "James did write the
Jetter."

Model.-" Did write" is (1) a transitive verb, (2) irregular
(Pres. write, Past wrote, Past Part. written), (3) emphatic form,
(4) active voice, (5) indicative mood, (6) past tense, (7) singular
number, third per8on, (8) and has for its subj ect the noun J ames.

6*

E

66

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

Parse " was written" in the sentence, "The letter waB 1oritten
by John."
Model.-" Was written" is (1) a transitive verb, (2) irregular
(Pres. write, Pa~t wrote, Past Part. written), (3) passive voice,
(4) indi cative mood, (5) past tense, (6) sin gular number, third
person, (7) and has for its subj ect the noun letter.
Note 1. - Intransitive Verbs are no t used in th e Passive Voice, hence,
it will not be necessary to state the voice in parsing Intransitive Verbs.
Note 2. - In parsing Regular Verbs, th e Present, Past, and Past
P a rtici pie forms of the verb need not be given.

Parse all the verbs in the fo llowing sentences:
Mary loves her mother.
Charles lent l1is book to l1is brother.
Geo rge has studied his lesson.
H enry had studi ed his lesso ns before the teacher arrived.
I shall have finished my task before my father returns.
Charl es
If John.
Th ough 1 ·slay me, yet will I trust in him.
Unless yor.
rry, yon will be left.
Th e boys may go into the woods to play.
William co nl<l attend to the business for you, if he were here.
The soldi ers must obey the orders of th eir officers.
You m nst stud y, if you desire to excel.
Pity the so rrows of a poor old man.
F ear God and keep his commandments.
Mary is loved by her fri ends.
The teacher was respected by his pupiis.
The lesso n has been recited by each member of the class.
You "·ill be promoted, if you persevere in your endeavor to
improve.
The prisoner will be brought before the judge, to-morrow, to
h ear his sentence.

ETYMOLOGY.

67

Be industrious, and you will succeed.
Be studious, and you will improve.
Charles is studying his lesson.
Tlie boys are hunting for rabbits in the woods.
If he were more attentive, he might have escaped the punishment, which, he thought, was so gri evous to be borne.
When the mail ·shall have arrived, I will send immedi ately for
my letters; and I will send replies ~o them by the next mail.
Charles had sufficient time to study his lesson before he was
called to his breakfast. William appears to have· studied his lesson, and to have h ad time for exe rcise.
I have not seen my dictionary; do tell me where it is, if you
know .. I did not use it at hom e. I cannot learn my lesson without it. Somebody must have hidden it to vex me. Ask th e
maid; perhaps she put it away. I will take care, to-morrow, to
put it in the closet before I go out to play.
If it were raining while you were walking to the city, you
should have carried your umbrella, or yo u should have waited
und er some shelter until the rain had ceased. Be more prudent,
or you may impair yom health.
Note.-ln the preced ing senten ce it is used indefinitely. See page 31.

Review Exercise. - Parse all the Nouns in the foregoing sentences.
Parse all the Articles.
,/
Parse all the Ad:, ;tives.
Parse all the Prot.:ouns.

Exercises in Participles.
Select the P articiples in_ the following exercises, state which
are Active and which Passive, and state also whether they are
Present, P ast or P erfect, or Compound Perfect.
The child, seeing its mother, ran to meet her.
Mary, walking in the woods, found a beautiful fern.
The snow, falling rapidly, soon covered the ground.

68

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

ETYMOLOGY.

A man deser ving blame should be censured.
vVashingtou di ed honored by all his countrymen.
The house, destroyed by fire, was soon rebuilt.
The laborer, fatigued with the toil of the day, returned to his
home.
The exercise wri tten by Charles was admired by all.
The boys, having recited th eir lessons, were dismissed.

lives, with their clothing scorched, and some with limbs broken
or bodies mutilated.
Thomas being employed at his studies, could not engage in the
sports of th e younger members of the family; but, having completed his lessons, he looked on their sports delighted, and joined
in them with pleasure.

The thief, having stolen the horse, made his escape.
John, having written his composition, gave it to th e teacher.
The sun having risen, th e clouds disappeared.
The ge neral, being advised of the approach of the enemy,
ordered his troops in to line of battle.
The father being informed of his son's death, ex hibited great
sorrow.
. Charles, being m·vr ed from his slumber, disco vered that the
house was on fire.
,
The day heing fa t 'p ent, we return ed to our homes.
The lesson having en recited, the class was dismissed.
The fire ha ving been extinguished, th e crowd dispersed.
War having been declared, the regiments were rapidly mustered
into servi ce.
The physician h aving been called, pronounced it a hopeless
case.
H e h ad a dagger co ncealed under his coat.
Honor, defin ed by Cicero, is the ap probation of good men.
William, being successful in his exami nation, expects promotion.
William, hav ing been successful in his examination, was promoted.
William, havi ng succeeded in his examinat ion, expects to be
promoted.
Th e fir e breakin g out in the night, and the ni ght being dark,
th e house was destroyed, the inmates barely escaping with their

69

Hav ing been informed that the enemy was approaching, and
being without arms, the general ordered his men to prepare to retreat to a place concealed from the enemy's view, lest the enemy,
seeing th eir defenceless condition, should make an easy conquest.
Write three sentences containing a Present Participle, Active;
three, Compound-Perfect, Active; three, Present-Passive; three,
Perfect-Passive; three, Compound-Perfect Passive.

Models for Parsing.
Parse "seeing" in the sentence, "The child, seeing its mother,
•ran to meet her."
1
.'Seeing" is (1) th e Present Participl e, (2) Active, (3) of the
irregular, transitive verb . "to see," (Pres. see, Past saw, Past,
Part. •een.)
·P ar.. / ' having recited" in the sentence, " The boys ha'Oing recitecl' tl.<lir lessons, were dismissed."
"Having recited" is (1) the Compound Perfect-Participle, (2)
Active, (3) of th e regul ar, transitive verb " to recite."
Pa;·se all the Participles in the exercises on pages 67, 68 and 69.
As the Participle is a part of the verb, it may have a noun
1
after it in the objective case in the same manner as the verb has ;
thus, "John having written a letter, took it to the Post-offi ce."
Here "letter" is in th e objective case, and is the object of the
Participle " having written."
Jn the exercises on pages 67, 68 and 69, select and parse all
nouns in the obj ective case.
Parse all the Pronouns.
P arse all the Adjectives.
Parse all the Verbs.

71

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR .

ETYMOLOGY.

VI. ADVERBS.

Comparison of Adverbs.

An Adverb is a word used to qu alify a Verb, an
Adj ective, or another Adverb; as, He writes rapidly.

Many Adverbs are compared.
Some Adverbs are compared by adding er and est
to the Positive; as, soon, sooner, soonest;
Adverbs ending in ly are compared by prefixi11g
more and most, less and least; as, happily, more hap·
pily, most happily; less happily, least happily. -

70

Explanati• , , - An Adverb, when used to qualify a verb, generally
shows how, ,.,_,en, or where some action takes pl ace,

Exercises, -In th e sentence, " Th e industri ous boy recites
rapidly, " whi ch word is a noun ? Which is a verb ? Which
word qualifies " bo y," or tells what kind of boy he is? What
part of speech is - - - ? What is an adj ective? Which word
qualifies "recites,'' or tell s how he recites? What is - - - ?
Wh at is an adYerb ? Whi ch does - -- qualify here, a verb,
an adj ective, or another adverb ?
In t he phrase, "very industri ous boy," what part of speech is
industrious ? What word qualifies indust ri ous, or tells how indu stri ous lte is? What is - - - ? \.Yhat is an adverb? Which
d oes - - - qualify here, a verb, an adjective, or another

i

adverb ?
In the phrase, "recites very .r · )dly," what part of sp~ech is
r apidl y? What word qualifies · .j)idly, or tell s how rapidly he
r ecites ? ~J l1 at part of speech ' -' - - ? What is an adverb?
Which does - - - qualify here, a verb, an adj ective, or another
adverb ?
Some wo rds are used sometimes as adverb s, and sometimes as
adj ectives, Among these are the following: little, less, least,
better, best, much, more, rnost, no, only, well, ill, still, first, If
any of these words qualifies a nou n, it is an adjective; but, if it
qualifi es a verb, an adjective, or another adve rb, then it is an
adverb.

Examples .•-" I have no money, and I can support you no
longer. " The first " no " is an adj ective, qualifying" money."
The second " no " is an adverb, qualifying the adverb " longer."
"He could not behave worse, nor deserve a worse punishment."
The fir st "worse" is an adverb, qualifying the verb "behave."
The second "worse" is an adjective, qualifying the noun "punishment."

Irregular Comparison.
PosiUve.

Cornparillive.

Well
. Ill
Badly
Much
Far

bet.ter
worse
worse
more
farther

Super/alive.

best
worst
worst
most
farthest.

Classes of Adverbs.
Adverbs are divided int.o classes, according to their signification. The most important of th ese classes are

1. Adverbs of Manner or Quality; as, well, i ll, swiftly,
smoothly, tndy, with a great many others formed from adjectives
by adding the terminn.tion ly. This is by far the most numerous
'class of adverbs.

2. Adverbs of Place; as, here, there, where, liither, thither,
whither, hence, thence, whence, somewhere, nowhere, etc.
3. Adverbs of Time ; as, now, then, when, ever, never, soon,
often, seldom, lately, y early, y esterday, to-rnorrow, etc.
4. Adverbs of Quantity; as, much, little, sufficiently, enough,
scarcely, etc.
5. Adverbs of Direction; as, ilownward, upioard, forward,
backward, homeward, heavenward, hitherward, thitherward, etc.

6. Adverbs of Number, Order, etc. (including all those

72

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR .

formed from di e N um eral Adjectives); as, first, secondly, thirdly,
etc.; once, twice, thrice, etc.; sinqly, doubly, triply, etc.
7. Adverbs of Affirmation and Negation; as, yes, no, ve1·ily,
indeed, nay, nowise, doubtless, etc.

8. Adverbs of Interrogation; as, how, wliy, when, where,
whither, whence, etc.

9. Adverbs of Comparison; as, more, most, less, least, better,
best, very, exceedingly, nearly, almost, etc.
10. Adverbs of Uncertainty; as, perchance, perhaps, peradventure, possibly, probably, etc.,
Note. -The above is not intended as a complete list of Adverbs, nor
even a complete clas.•ification of them. It will be found serviceable,
however, for the learn er in this way. When in doubt about the true
character of a word, wh ether to call it an adverb or not, the doubt is
often immediately resolved by attempting to refer the word to one of
these classes. Does the word express place f Does it signify time f etc.
Writa:i three sentences, each containing an adverb of Ma~m e r
or C~uality; three, each containing an adverb of Place; three,
each containing an adverb of Time; three, each containing an
adverb of Comparison.

Parsing Exercises.
Parse "hastily" in the sentence, "John wrote the letter
hastily."
Model. - " Hastily " (1) is an adverb, it qualifies the verb
' 'wrote;" (2) it is an adverb of manner, it tells the mnnner in
which he wrote; (3) it is compared, hastily, more hastily, most
hastily.
Note . - Wh en the adverb does not admit of comparison, the third
thing to say of it will be, " not compared."
Parse all the Adverbs in the following sentences :
Chel'ish me kindly, cheer my young heart,
I will follow thee ever and never depart.

ETYMOLOGY.

73

Charles reads well.
Mary sang sweetly.
The horse runs swiftly.
He was to meet me here.
Great men are greatly admired.
Thus the farmer sows his seed.
The lady sang so very sweetly that she was greatly applauded.
R emember now thy Creator in the d ays of thy youth.
John knows where to catch the largest fish.
· I know a spot where the wild rose blooms.
We had scarcely reached the w barf when the boat left.
l'he boys will r eturn from school to-morrow.
Mary will probably arrive promptly.
Softly, slowly, toll the bell.
• He will certainly secure the reward.
Probably he will retnrn in time.
He was absent twice in one week.
We had nearly reached onr destination when the sun set.
Perhaps the excursion will be postponed.
You must write more carefully; you are the least careful
writer in the class.
You. will recite first the first paragraph on the first page.
How can you behave so badly?
, Why do you neglect yonr duty?
The farmer hom eward turned his weary steps, and cast his
eyes upward to gaw upon the sky, while he thought cheerfully
of those at home.
Review Exercise.- Parse all the Nouns in the foregoing
sentences.
Parse all the Pronouns.
Parse all the Verbs.
Parse all the Adjectives.
7

74

ELEMEN TARY GRAMMA R,

J ,.·SONJUNCTIO NS.
A Conj un on is a word used to connect words,
sentences, m parts of sentences; as, John and J ames
study; Joh
rites and J ames reads.
T he following are the principal Conjunctions :
Also
Alt hough
Anc.l
As
Because
Both

but
either
for
if
lest
neither

nor
or
since
than
that
then

The boy wrote well, though his hands were badly injured.
He supported his mother, though he was quite young·.
I cannot go to school, because the weather is so bad.
It is so dark that I cannot see.
R eview Exer cise. - P arse each of the Nouns, Adjectives,
Pronouns, Verbs, and Adverbs in the for egoing sentences.

therefore
though
unless
wh erefore
whether
yet

Write fiv e sentences, each contai ning a Conjunction.

t,

75

ETYMOLOGY .

P ars ing Exercise s.

Parse "and " in tl1e sentence, " John ancl James are broth ers."
First Model.- " And " is a conju nction, it connects the noun
"John" with the nou n " Jam es."
Note.- When conjunctions connect words, those words will
be th e sam e parts of speech, that is a verb and a verb, an adj ective and m1 adjective, etc., except that nouns and pronouns may
be connected by a conjunction.
Second Model.- " Joh n studi es his lesson carefully, but Jam es
is very negligent of his lesso n." "But" is a conjunction, it connects t.J1e sentence" John studies his lesso n carefully," with the
sentence "James is very neglige nt of his lesson."
Exercises. - Parse each of the Conjunctions in the following
Gentences :
Mary and John have gone to town.
John and James study.
Jam es writes and John reads.
Cl1 arlcs studi es his lessons carefully, but John is very negligent
with his lessons.

V III. PREPOSITIONS.
A P reposition is a word placed before a noun or
pronoun to show its r elation to some other word; as,
I write wi"th a pen.
There are two classes of Prepositions, Simp le and Compouncl.
_Simple Prepositions are those which are not compounded with
any other word.
The Simple Prepositions generally assist in determining the
place or position of a person or thing. ·
Example.- " John went on the roof, and found his ball in the
gutter." "On" shows the place of " John, " and "in" the place
where t he ball was found.
The Simple Prepositions are nineteen, viz. :
At
After
By
Down
For

from
in
of
on
over

past
round
si nce
through
till

to
under
up
with

Compound Prepositions are those which are formed by uniting
two words or parts of words.

76

, .

The Com /und Prepositions are
1
Above
before
beh.iJ' /
About
Across
be' · r
Against
benl ath
Along
beside
besides
Amid or amidst
Among 01· amongst
between 01· betwixt
Around
beyond
Athwart
upon

77

ETYMOLOGY.

LEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

IX. INTERJECTIONS.
toward
towards
unto
into
within
without
throughout
underneath

Write five sentences, each containing a Simple Preposition;
five, each containing a Compound Preposition.

Parsing Exercises.
P arse " on " in th e sentence, "John walks on the roof."
M odel. - "On" is a preposition, it is placed before the noun
roof ; and it shows a relation between "roof" and walks," it
tells on what he • alks.
Parse each of the Prepositions in the following sentences:
J ohn went to Boston on the boat.
The old mill stood beside the road.
The city of Philadelphia is situated between two rivers.
He went in a carriage, drawn by two horses, on a fine day in the
morning, into the city after his sister. As he rode over the roads ·
and through th e streets, he saw objects before him with which
he was greatly pleased.
When the widow stood beside the grave of her husband, she
thought over his many acts of kindness towards her. Now he
wa,; t o rest beneath the clods of t.he valley, and she was to be
left wi thout a partner. The good minister told her to look for
comfort i~ her affliction unto her heavenly Father, and to think
of that blissful abode above the weary world, and of that better
life beyond the grave.
Review Exercise. - Parse all the other words in the foregoing sentences.

An Interjection is a word used in making sudden
exclamations.; as, ah! oh !
The principal Interjections are,
Adieu
ha
hist
Ah
hail
ho
Aha
halloo
hum
Alack
hark
hush
\
Alas
he
huzza
Begone
Parsing Exercises.

lo
0
oh
pshaw
see

In parsing an Interjection, simply state that it is an Inte1j ectjon.
Name the Inte1jections in the following sentences.
• Alas! I have lost my friend.
"Oh! " exclaimed the child, when he was struck.
"·Ha! ha ! " replied his sister, "it serves you right."
"Fie! " said their mother, "this is not the proper spirit.''
Write five sentences, each containing an interjection.

WORDS USED AS DIFFERENT PARTS OF
SPEECH.
As, meaning because, or since, is a Conjunction. Ex . . As the
wind was favorable, we set sail. It is also a part of the
Correlative Conjunction as - so, and of several Complex
Conjunctions, as well as, etc.
4s, in all other cases, is an Adverb.
BEFORE, AFTER, TILL, and UNTIL, when followed by a noun or a
pronoun in the objective case, are Prepositions. Ex. :
Come before dinner.
Come after dinner.
Wait till m1dnight.
Wait until your turn.

7*

ELEMENTARY GRA~(MAR,

ETYMOLOGY.

BEFORE, AFTER, T» L, and UNTIL, when not followed by a noun
or a prono ,n in the objective case, are Adverbs. Ex.:

THAT is a ~el~tive Pl'Onoun, when who, whom, or which may be
used Ill its place. Ex. He is the wisest man that lives in
our village.
TrrAT is a Demonstrative Adjective Pronoun, wh en the may be
used instead of it. Ex. "That house which I see" means
"the house which I see."
'

78

Come

/ore I have dined.

Wait till I have dined.
Wait imtil I have dined.

-'

/

,/

BoTH is an Adjective, when it means the two. Ex. Both shoes
need mending.
BoTH is a Conjunction in all other cases. Ex. I both love and
respect him.
BuT is a Preposition, when it means except. Ex. He lost all bis
books but (except) his di ctionary.
BvT is an Adverb, when it means only. Ex. I but (only) touched
h im and he cried.
BvT is a Conj un ction in all other instances.
E1·rnEH is n Distributive Adjective Pronoun, when it means O?U
of the tioo. E:i~ Either of the boys may do it.
EITHER is a Conjunction in all other cases.
N ~;mrnn is a Distributive Adjective Pronoun, when it means not
one of the tw~.
··
NEITHER is a Con,innction in all other cases.
FoR is a Conjunction, when it means because, and is used in giving a reason. Ex. I obey him, for he is my father, that
is, because He is my father.
Fon is a Preposition in all other cases.
SINCE, meaning for the rea8on that, is a Conjunction.
it is your wish, I will certainly do it.
SINCE, wh en placed before a noun denoting a p eriod of time, is a
Preposition. Ex. I h ave had no food since Monday.
SINCE, in other cases, is an Adverb.
THEN, meaning in that case, or therefo1·e, is a Conjunction.
If all this be so, then I am right.
THEN, in all other instances, is an Ad v~rb.

79

TnAT is a Conjunction in all 'o ther cases. Ex. He wears warm
clothes that he may not catch cold. Here who whom
which, or the, could not be used for that.
'
'
'
WHAT is a Relative Pronoun, when that wliich or those which can
be us~d in its stead. Ex. Eat iohat is set before yo u.
That is, Eat that whicli is set befo re you.
WHAT is an Interrogative Pronoun, when used to ask n. question.
Ex. What do you see?
WHAT is an Adjective Pronoun, wh en joined with n. noun, but
not asking n. question. Ex. What wonders he performed.
He gn.ve ioliat money he h ad to the poor.
WrrAT, when uttered as a mere exclamation, and to denote su rprise, is an Inte1j ection. Ex. What! abuse you r mother!
WHILE, meaning to pass or spend (time), is a Verb. Ex. They
managed to while awn.y the hour. very pleasantly.
WHILE, meaning a portion of time, is n. Noun.
a while.

Ex.' Let us sing

W 111rn, meaning d'U?'ing the time that, is an Ad verb.
act wn.s done while I was absent.

Ex. The

YET, meaning neve1·theless, notwithstanding, is a Conjunction.
Ex. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.
YET, mea ning up to a ce1·tain time, or ove1' and above, is an Adverb. Ex. Has the boy come yet'!

I will give you yet one more reason.

SYNTAX.

81

RULE L

The Subject of a Verb must be in the Nominative
Case.
Explanation. -The subject of the verb is that of which the assertion
is made. "The book is in the desk." The subject of the assertion here
is "book." It is that which is asse rted to be in the desk. "John and
I went home." Here there are two subjects," John" and "I." It is
of both these we say that they "went home." Now, the subject of the
verb, that of which anything is asserted, must be in the noruinative case.
It would be contrary to the Rule, therefore, to say, "John and me went
home," because "me," one of the subjects, is not in the nominative case.

THIRD

PART.

SYNTAX.
THE third part of Grammar is called SYNTAX.
Syntax treats of sentences.
A Sentence is a number of words put together so
as to make complete sense; as, Man i's mortal.

The principal parts of a sentence are the Subject (or
nominative) and the Predi'cate (or verb).
Sentences are of two kinds, SIMPLE and COMPOUND.
A Simple sentence is one which contains but one
subject and one verb; as, Life is short.
A Compound sentence is one which contain~ two
or more sentences, connected by one or more conjunctions; as, Life is short, but art is long.
80

NOTES. ·

Complex names, such as George Washington, Charles Henry
Grant, etc., should be taken together in parsing, as if they were
one word. Thus, we would say, "Charles Henry Grant," a
• complex name, is a proper noun, etc.
The subject of the ve rb may be an infinitive mood, or a part
of a sentence, used as a noun; as, "To steal ·will render us liable
to punishment," "Thou shalt not kHI, is the sixth commund'rnent." · In the former of these examples, "To steal " is the subject of the verb, just as "stealing" would be, if the sentence
were written, "Stealing will render us liable to punishment."
A noun or a pronoun addressed, and not the subject of any
.verb, is in the Nominative Case Independent; as, "Father,
fo1·give them." "Boys, go home."
A noun or a pronoun put before a participle as its subject, and
not being the subject of any verb, is in the Nominative Case
Absolute ; as, "My father dying, I was left an orphan."
Model.s for Parsing.

"James wrote a letter." "James" is n proper noun, masculine gender, singular number, third person, nominative case, subject of the verb "wrote," according to Rule I., which says·,
"The subject of the verb must be in the nominative case."

"He will write a letter." "He" is a personal pronoun, masc. g.,
F

82

ELEMENTARY

GR~'

sing. n., 3d p., nom. case, subject of the verb "will write," according to Rule I. (Quote.)
Note.- Jn parsing pronouns, certain other things are to be stated, which
will be learn ed under l'tule VIII. 'fhe parsing in the model is complete,
so far as it can be given now.

" To steal will rend er us liable to punishment." "To steal"
is a verb in the infinitive mood, used as a noun. It is in the
neut. gen., sing. n., 3d per., nom. c., and is the subject of the
verb "will render," uccording to Note under Rule I. (Quote the
Note.)
" Thou shalt not kill" is a divine command. "Thou shalt not
kill," is 11 pnrt of a sentence, used as a noun. It is in the neut.
gen., sing. n., 3d per., nom. c., and is the subject of the verb "is,"
according to Note under Rule I. (Quote the Note.)
"Fathei', for-ve them." "Father" is a com. noun, masc. g.,
sing. n., 2d p., and in the nominntive case independent, nccording
to Not.e under Rule I. (Quote Note. )
"Th e sash falling suddenly, his finger wns crushed." "Sash"
is 11 com. noun, n. g., sing. n., 3d p., and in the nominative case
nbsolute before the participle " fnlling," according to Note under
Rule I. (Quote Note.)

Exercises.
Parse all the Nominatives in the following sentences :
Mnry wrote a letter.
The child loves its mother.
The letter was written by :Mary.
Our neighbors have sold their property.
The boys are hunting in the woods.
P erseverance ov ercomes difficulties.
Difficulties are Ol' ercome by perseverance.
God loves a cheerful giver.
Has he not said it, anrl will he not do it 1
Christopher Columbus discovered North America.

SYNTAX.

83

John Quincy Adams was the sixth President. of the United
States.
Napoleon, at the head of a large army, crossed the Alps.
To study seemed his only desire.
To deceive is always wrong.
To swear is wrong.
To play is pleasant.
To despair is madness.
Never despair is 11 good motto.
Thou shnlt not steal, is 11 divine command.
Henry, ha ve you studied your lesson?
Welcome, little stranger.
Sarah, be quiet.
Fellow-citizens, listen to my cause.
Teach me, 0 Lord, to serve thee nrigbt.
Our Father, who art in Iieaven.
Sllpper being finished, they left the table.
My father being weary, I reli eved him.
The sun having risen, the clouds disnppeared.
The teacher having been so long ill, his friends feared he would
not recover.
The lieutenant led the men, the captain having been disabled.
Note. -Th e teacher can add suGh additional exercises as may he
deemed necessary.

84

ELEMENTARY GRAllIMAR.

RULE II.

.J1 Verb a_!frees with its Subject in .Numbe1• and

Person.
NOTES .

When the subject of the verb is an infinitive mood, or a part
of a sentence, th e verb should be singnlar; as, "To skate is a
healthful amusement," " Thou shalt no t kill, is a divine comm and." But if there are two or more infinitives, or parts of
sentences, making distinct subjects, then the verb should be
plural; as, " To skate and to play cricket are healthful amusements,'' "Thou shalt not kill, and Thou shalt not steal, are divine
commands."
When the subject of the verb is a collective noun, the verb
should be singular, if th e idea expr• sed by the noun is singular;
as, "The class is large." But if the idea expressed by the noun
is plural, th e verb should be plural; as, "The multitude punue
pleasure as th eir chief good."
Two or more subjects, connected by and, require a verb in the
plural; as, "Socrates and Plato were wise."
Two or more subjects, connected by and, if used to express
only one person or thing, require . a verb in the singular; as,
"That eminent statesman and orator is dead."
Two or more subjects in the singular, co nnected by or or n01-,
require a verb in the singular; as, " Ignorance or prejudice has
cm1sed this mistake."
If any one of seve1·al subjects connected by or or nor is plural,
the verb must be plu ral; as, "Either he or they were mistaken."
When a verb bas subjects of different persons, connected by
and, the verb ag rees with the first person rather th an the second,
and with the second rather th an th e third; as, " He an<l I shared
the peach between us." "Shared,'' here, should be parsed as in
th e first person.
When a verb has subjects of different persons, connected by 01·
or nor, th e verb agrees in person with the subject nearest to it;
as, ''Either thou or I am mistaken."

SYNTAX.

85

M .o dels for Parsing .
"Jam es wrote a letter." "Wrote" is a transitive verb, irregular (Pres. write, Past wrote, Past P. written), active voice, indicative mood, past t ense, and is in the singular number, third
person, to agree with its subject "Jam es," according to Rule II.
(Quote the Rule.)
" To steal r enders us liable to punishment." "Renders" is a
trans. verb, reg., act. v., ind. m., pres. t ., 3d p., and in the sing. n.,
to agree with its subject "to steal," a verb in the inf. mood
used as a noun, according to Note under Rule II. (Quote Note. )
"Thou shalt not steal, is the eighth commandment." "Is" is
an int. v., irr., (Am, was, been,) ind. m., pres. t., 3d p., sing: n., to
agree with its subject," Thou shalt not ~teal," a part of a sentence
. used as a noun, according to Note under Rule II. (Quote Note.)
. "Socrates and Plato ioere wise." "Were" is an intrans. verb,
. 11-r., (Am, was, been,) ind. m., past. t., 3d p., and in the pl. n.,
because it has two subjects, "Socrates" and "Plato," connected
by "and," according to Note under Rule II. (Quote Note.)
"If that skilful painter and glazier is in town, be sure to employ him." " Is" is an intrans. verb., irr. , (Am, was, been,) incl.
m., pres. t., 3d p., and in the sing. n., because its two subjects,
"painter" and "glazier," express only one person, according to
Note und er Rul e II. (Quote Note.)
"Ignorance or prejudice has caused the mistake." "Has
caused" is a trans. verb, reg., act. v., ind. m., pres.-p. t., 3d p.,
and in the sing. n., because its two subjects, "ignorance" and
"prejudice," are in the singular, connected by or, according, to
Note und er Rule II. (Quote Note.)
"He and I shared th e peach bet ween us." "Shared" is a
trans. verb, reg., act. v., ·ind. m. , past. t., in the pl. n., because it
h as two subj ects connected by "and, " according to Note under
Rule II. (quote Note), and in the 1st p., according to Note undet·
Rule II. (Quote Note.)
Note.-Verbs in the Infinitive Mood may be parsed for the present ·
as in the Model on page 65.
'
'
8

86

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

Exercises.
P arse the Verbs and Subjects in the following sentences:

P erseverance overcomes difficulties.
Difficulties are overcome by perseverance.
F orgive you r enemies.
The lesso n was recited by th e class.
North America was discovered by Columbus.
Bl ess them that persecute you.
To stud y seemed 11is only desire.
To skate is a healthful amusement.
To contradi ct persons older and wiser than ourselves, violates
_the rul es of politeness.
To be carnall y minded is deat-.,
A gunn er and his dog were seen in the woods.
Th e father and daughter were bmi ed in the same grave.
F am ine, pestHence, and death follow in th e warrior's path.
My fri end and teacher has gone to England.
That distinguished poet, orator, and scholar has fallen.
N eith er kindn ess nor harshn ess had the desired effect.
Neith er gold nor silver is found in that co untry.
Neither time nor tide waits for man.
N eith er the troops, nor th eir commander, were rewarded.
Neither J ohn nor his fri ends were present.
Ei ther th e general or the soldi ers are worthy of reward.
You and he are of the same opinion.
Yon and Susan have studied you r lessons.
You and I h ave forgotte n our books.
Either t hou, or th e teacher, or I am mistaken.
E ither thou, or I, or th e teacher is mistaken.
Ei ther th e teacher, or r, or thou nrt mistaken.
The teacher, I, and you are mistaken.

SYNTAX.

87

RULE III.

.11 Transitive Verb, in the Active Voice, requires
an Object in the Objective Case.
Note. -The noun or pronoun in the objective is said to be governed
by the verb.
NOTES.

A participle of a Transitive verb, in the Active voice, requires
an object in the objective case; as, "The boy, having eaten unripefi·uit, became sick."
The Relative Pronoun, when in the objective case, generally
precedes the verb by which it is gove rned; as, " The book which
you see is mine." He1·e, "which" is the object of the verb "see,"
and is placed before it.
The object of the verb is sometimes ajl infinitive mood, or part
.
.
of a sentence, used as a noun; as, '' Boys love to play," God said,
"Let there be Zig/it."

.

Models for Parsing.
"James wrote a letter." "Letter" is a com. noun, n. g., sing.
n., 3d p., nn<l is in the obj. c., go\·erne<l by "wrote," a transitive
verb in the active voice, accor<ling to Rule III. (Quote.)
"The boy, having eaten unripe fi·uit, became sick." "Fruit"
is a com. noun, n. g., sing. n., 3d p., and in the ol\j. c., governed
by the participle "lliaving eaten," according to a note under
Rule III. (Quote Note.)
"James saw him." "Him" is a pers. pronoun, masc. g., sing.
n., 3d p., and in the obj. c., governed by "saw," a trans. v. in
the act. v., according to Rul e III. (Quote.)
Note.-Th e parsing of th e Pronoun here is complete as far as it goes . .
But there are oth er things to be learned concerning it under Rule VIII.,
before it can be parsed in full.

Exerc ises.·
Parse the Objectives which are the objects of Verbs and Participles,
in the following sentences:

88

ELEllfENTARY GRAllfllIAR.

Charles 1.ost hi s knife.
Mary found a llook.
William has recited his lesson.
Th ey may reach the station.
Jolm caught a llird in the trap.
If you love Go<l, keep his commandments.
Temperance promotes health.
Th e child, seeing its moth er, ran to meet her.
The boys, Iiaving recited their lessons, were dismissed.
Th e thief, having stolen the horse, made his escape.
Th e <log might have bitten the boy on the hand, if he had not
been watched by the driver.
Th e merchant sold a yard of cloth.
The family, having read a chapter, closed the Bible, and continu ed their devotions.
The teacher observed a boy brea~ g the rules.
After capturing the fort, the troops entered the city.
The mnn whom I saw, informed me that he had a collection
of wild beasts, which he would exhillit if you would let him.
Pan! sni<l, "Children, obey your parents."
God sai<l, " Let there lie light."
Boys love to play.
Charles desires to learn.
Every child slwultl lea rn to read.

Review.
Parse all the Nominatives and Verbs in the foregoing exercises.

SYNTAX.

89

RULE IV.

.A Preposition requires an Object in the Objective
Case.
Note.- The noun or prono~n in the objective case after a preposition
is said to be governed by it.
NOTES.

When a preposition is followed by nn adjective witliout a
noun, supply the noun, and parse the preposition accordingly;
as, "Keep to the right (hand)."
The "preposition is frequently omitted, particularly after verbs
of giving and procm·ing; after adj ectives of likeneas or nearness; and before nouns denoting time, place, pr.ice, measure, etc.
.When it is practicable to supply tlie ellipsis, the noun or pronoun
is parsed ns in the objective, governed by the preposition thus
supplied . But when no such word can be supplied, we say the
··noun is in the objective, expressing time, place, price, mearure,
etc., without any governing word. Examples: Give (to) me a
llook. Get (for) me an apple. Like (to) his father. Near (to)
his home. They travelled (through) sixty miles (in) a day. A
wall six feet high. Suujects worthy (of) fame. Books worth
(worthy of?) a dollar.
Sometimes one preposition immediately precedes another; as,
"From before the altar." The two prepositions in such cases
should be consideretl as one, just as in the case of the compound
prepositions up{JTI, within, etc.
Sometimes a preposition precedes an adverb; as, at once, for
ever, etc. The two words should be taken together, as in the
preceding case, and called an adverb.

Models for Parsing.
"James wrote a letter to liis fath ei·." "Father" is a com.
noun, masc. g., sing. n., 3<1. p., antl in tho obj. o., governed by the
preposition "to," according to Rule IV. (Quote.)
"To" ts a preposition, showing the relation between "wrote"
8*

90

ELEJ\IENTARY GRAl\Il\IAR.

SYNTAX.

and "father," and governs "father" in the obj. c., according to
Rul e I V. (Quote.)
"God seeth in secret." " In" is. n preposition, showing the
relnt ion between "see th" and "places," or some such noun ·
und erstood. The meaning is, " God seeth in secret places."
"Give your brother the book." "Brother" is a common
noun, masc: g., sing. n., 3d. p., and in the obj. c., govern ed by
the preposition " to, " understood, according to note under Rule
IV. (Qnote.)

RULE V.

Exercises.
Parse the Prepositions, and the Nouns or Pronouns governed by them,
in th e foll~ing sentences:

Wh en the widow stood beside the grnve of her husband, she .
th ought over his many acts of kindness towards her. Now he
was to rest beneath the clocls of th e valley, and she was to be
left with ont a partner. The good minister told her to look for .
comfort in h er affliction unto her heavenly Father, and to think
of that blissful abode above the weary world, and of that better
life beyond the grnve.
Turn to the left.
H e selected an apple from the best in his orchard.
Mary looks like her mother.
Ch arl es, give me tlrnt book.
His abiii ty won him much renown.
The clouds seemed like piles of snow.
A bird can fly twenty miles an honr.
Children near th e sea gather shells.
The 111ercl1 ant sold moth er, for fifty cents, a yarcl of silk worth
one dollar, anc1 promised to get her some better silk at a less
price th e next week.

91

.!I. .Noun or a Pronoun in the Possessive Case is
dependent upon the .Noun signifyin.ff the thing
possessed.
Note. -The noun or pronoun in the possessive case is said to be gov. erned by the noun signifying the thing possessed.
NOTES .

· The noun governing the possessive case is often omitted; as,
"I bought this slate at the bookseller's [shop]." In such cases,
suppl y the omission, ancl parse according to th e general rul e.
. In comple\: names and in complex titles, the sign of the possessive is put only at th e end, and the whole complex name, or
title, is parsed as one word. Thus, "'George Washington's farewe11 address," not "George's Washington's," etc.
. A complex title sometimes consists of se veral words, some of
·"~hi ch may be different parts of speech, and may have an independ ent construction of their own; thus, '' Tlie captain of the
guard's horse was slain." In parsing such a sentence, "of the
guard" sho uld be parsecl first, each word separately, "guard"
be.ing in the objective. Th en, "captain of the guard's" should
be parsed as one complex title, in the possessive case, governed
by" horse." The 's belongs not to "guard," but to the whole
expression.
The possessive is sometimes governed by a participle used as a
noun; as, "The cause of John's forgetting the lesso n was his
a.nxi ety about the excursion." Here, "John's" is in the possessive case, governed by "forgetting" used as a noun. It would
not be correct to put "John" in the objective case governecl by
"of." "Of,'' here, governs "forgetting,'' not "John." "The
cnuse of John forgetting the lesson," sho ulcl be, "The cause of
John's forgetting th e lesson."

Review.

Models for Parsing.

Parse all the Subjects, Verbs, and Objects of Verbs in tile.
(oregoing se ntences.

",Turnes wrote a letter by his father's permission." "]father's" is a com. nonn, masc. g., sing. n., 3d p., and in the poss. c.,
governed by" permission," according to Rule v: (Quote.)

ELEllfENTARY GRAMMAR .

SYNTAX.

Parse liis in the foregoing sentence.
"His" is a pers. pronoun, masc. g., sing. n., 3d p., and in the
poss. c., gove rned by "father's," according to Rule V. (Quote.)

RULE VI.

92

Note. - The parsing of the Pronoun here is complete as far a.s it goes.
But th ere are other things to be learned concerning it under Rule VIII.
before it can be parsed in full.

"George Washington's Farewell Address has just been reacl."
"George Washington's," n complex name, is a prop. noun, masc.
g., si ng. n., 3cl p., poss. c., govern ed by '•Address," according to
·
Rule V. (Quote.)
Th e Commfnder-in-chief's horse was stolen. "Commanderin-chief's," n complex tltle, is a com. noun, masc. g., sing. n.,
3d p., poss. c., governed by "horse," according to Rule V.
(Quote.)
Exercises.
P arse all the Nouns and Pronouns in th e possessive case, in the following sentences:

Crnel boys rob birds' nests.
The widow's friend will not defraud her children.
The boy's politeness cau~ed l1is fri ends to respect him.
Mary's fri end arrived home safely.
Th e girl, who lost her book, has found it.
He preferred a shepherd's life to a monarch's throne.
Benjamin Franklin's grave is in Philadelphia.
My father· in-law's house was destroyed by fire.
My brother's behn vi or is better than my sister's.
She· went to the baker's and bought bread for her children.
He spend,; his spare time at the law yer's.
Tli ey stopped at the bookseller'ti and made their purchases.
Revievv.

In the foregoing sentences, parse all the Subjects, Verbs, Obj ects, and Prepositions.

93

.II. Noun or a Pronoun, put in .!l.pposition with
another, ajfrees with it in Case.
Note.-A word is said to be in apposition with another when it is
, used to explain or identify the ·o ther; as, "Smith, the bookseller, died
yesterday," or when it is repeated for the sake of emphasis; as, "Cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."
NOTES.

The words in apposition may be in ai;iy case, nominative, pos- ·
sessive, or objecti1e.
A noun may be put in apposition with a whole sentence; as,
• "He promptly acceded to my request, an act which redounds
greatly to his honor.'' "Act" is here·nominative, in apposition
with the whole of the preceding sentence.
·• One of the most frequ ent instances of apposition is where the
proper noun of an obj ect is appended to its common name; as,
"The river Delaware.''
The phrases " They love one another," "They love each other,"
·etc., afford instances of apposition that very frequently occur.
In the first of these examples, "one" is in the nominative, and
is in apposition with "they; " and "another" is in the objective,
governed by "love." The meaning is, "One loves another."
Model for Parsing.
"Jam es wrote a letter to his brother John." "John " is a
prop. noun, masc. g., sing. n., 3d p., obj. c., in apposition with
the noun "brother," according to Rule VI. (Quote.)
Exercises.
Parse the Nouns and Pronouns in apposition in the following sentences, correcting where necessary:

Alexander, the coppersmith, did me great harm.
My brother, James, has gone home.
Washington, the first President, was buried at Mount Vernon.

94

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

My cousin, Mary, has written me a Jetter.
Kidd, the notorious pirate, suffered the felon's reward, death .
upon the gallo ws.
William Longht. a book for his sister Mary.
Mr. Embury crossed the river Delaware in the ferry-boat
Eagle.
The steamer Pennsylvania will sail on Monday.
We should make our business our pleasure.
Why do you assail me, your only brother?
Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, lies on the east bank
of the ri ver Susquehanna.
Preserve your health, the poor man's wealth, the rich man's
#
bliss.

Review.
P arse, in the foregoing exercises, all the Subjects, Objects,
Possessives, Prepositions, and Verbs.

SYNTAX.

95

RULE VII.

The Verb To Be has the same Case after it as
before it.
Note. - In such instances, the noun or pronoun after the verb is not
in apposition with the noun or pronoun before it, but is a part of the
pred icate of the verb. Thus: "James _is commander of the troops."
H ere, "Commander" sh ould be parsed as nominative after the verb is.
Th e same meaning would be conveyed by th e expression "James commands the troops," so that the word commander is really a part of the
predicate.
NOTES.

This rule applies to all the variations of the verb "to be,"
Such as, am, a'l'i, is, was, w.ere, etc. It applies also to the verb
become and to several other intransitive verbs, and also to the
passive voice of some transitive verbs, such as to be named, to be
called, etc.
• The verb to be in the infinitive mood used as a noun m ay h ave
·a noun or a pronoun after it without any other noun before it; as,
"To be a good man, is not so easy a thing as many people imagine."
Here "man" should be parsed as used indefinitely after the verb
to be, without saying what its cnse is. The infinitive mood of
many other intransitive verbs, and likewise the infinitive passive
of some transitive verbs, may also have a noun or a pronoun after
them used indefinitely; as, "To live a consistent Clwistian is not
easy,'' "To be call ed a Roman was counted a great honor."

Model for Parsing.
"Jam es is commander of the troops." "Commander" is a
com. noun, masc. g., sing. n., 3d p., nom. c. after the verb "is,"
according to Rule VII. (Quote.)
"To be a good man is not an easy thing." "Man" is a com.
noun, masc. g., sing. n., 3d p:, used indefinitely after the verb "to
be," according to Note under Rule VII. (Quote.)

Exercises.
Parse the Nouns and P ronouns after the verb in the same case with
the noun or pronoun before it, in the following sentences:

96

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

Ellen is the best scholar in the class.
Arnold was a traitor to his country.
I am the owner of this property.
Nathan said uuto David, "Thou art the man."
Godliness, with contentment, is great gain:
It was he that did it.
It was she that told ns the story.
It was Charles that we saw on the boat.
Washington was the first President.
I am sure it was John who passed.
Thomson, the author of " The Seasons," is a delightful poet.
Intemperance has been the ruin of many.
He was considered to be a suitable person.
To be called a coward does not make one so.
To be a good citizen s~ld be every man's desire.
The Senate caused Scylla to be proclaimed dictator. _
To di e a hero is better than to live a coward.

Review.
P arse, in the foregoing exercises, all the Subjects, Possessives,
Objects, Prepositions, and Verbs.

SYNTAX.

9-7

RULE VIII.

.11 Pronoun afrees with the .Noun or the Pronoun
for which it stands, in Gender, .Number, and Person.
NOTES.

When a pronoun ·stands for a Collective noun, the pronoun
should be singular, if the idea expressed by the noun is singular;
as, "The class is too large ; it must be divitletl into sections."
But if the idea expressed by the noun is plural, the p1·onoun
should be plural, and should be in the neuter gender. "Sentl
the multitude away that they may buy themselves bread."
When a pronoun stands for two or more words, connected by
and, the pronoun should be plural. Thus, "William and Mary
were both there; .i: saw them." "He and Mary were both there;
I saw them." " He antl she were both there; I saw them."
"Them" in th e first example stands for two nouns, in the second example for a noun . antl a pronoun, and in the third for two
pronouus,
When a pronoun stands for two or more words, connected by
and, but used to express only one subject, the pronoun should be
singular. Thus, "He knew his Lord and Saviour, and loved him."
When a pronoun stantls for two or more words, in the singuhlr,
connected by or or noi", the pronoun should be singularr Thus,
"Either play or work is injurious, if it is carried to excess." If
one of the words connectetl by 01· or noi· is plurnl, the pronoun
representing th em should be plum!; as, "Neither the captain nor
the crew knew their danger."
When a pronoun stands for two or more words, connected by
and, but of different persons, the pronoun agrees with the first
person rather than the second, and with the secontl rather than
the third. Thus, " William antl I had our skates with us."
"O ur" and "us" are plural, because they stand for two subjects, "William" and "I." But one of these subjects,·" William,"
being in the third person, and the other, "I," being in the first
person, the prO[)OUn which stands for both must ~e iµ tile first

g

G

,·

98

~~

99

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR,

SYNTAX,

person. We would not express the meaning, if we were to say,
"William and I had their skates with them."

The relative is sometimes omitted; as," The letter [which] you
wrote me on Saturday, came duly to hand."
The antecedent is sometimes omitted; as, "Who lives to nature, rarely can be poor," meaning, The person who lives, etc.

A pronoun may stand for an infinitive mood; as, "To contradict may be rude, but it is not criminal." A pronoun may stand
also for a part of a sentence; as, "He is v·ery witty, but unfortunately he is aware of it." The pronoun in such cases sh.ould be
in the neuter gender; singular number, and third person. But if
t1Jre are two or more infinitives, or parts of sentences, making .
distinct subjects, then the pronoun should be plural; as, "To be
temperate, and to use exercise in the open air, are good preservatives of health, but they are not infallible."
The pronoun it is sometimes used indefinitely, that is, without
standing for any particular noun. When so used, it is in the
neuter gender, singular number, and third person. Thus, "Come
and trip it as you go," "It rains," "See how it snows," "It is he."

Who is used in referring to persons; Which is used in referring
to inferior animals, to tl1ings without life, to infants, to collective
nonns expressing a singular idea, and to persons in asking questions where the particular individual was inquired for. "Which"
was formerly applied to persons as well as things; as, " Our Father,
which art in heaved."
That is nsed instead of Who or Which in the following cases~
1. After two antecedents, one requiring who, and the other
requiring ~oh-ich; as, "The man and the lwuse that we saw
yesterday."
2. After the Supei·lative; as, "It is the best book that can be
got."
3. After Sttme; as," He is the same kind-hearted man that he
used to be."
4. After All, or any similar antecedent expressing a general
meaning, limited by the following verb; as, "All that heard me
can testify."
5. After Who, used interrogatively; as," Who, that has seen
~
anything of human nature, can believe it?"
6. After It, use<l indefinitely; as," It was he that di<l it."

Models for Parsing.
"Mary lost her book." "Her" is a pers. pron., fem. gen.,
sing. numb., 3d per., to agree with "Mary," according to Rule
VIII. (quote), and is in the possessive case, governed by "book,''
according to Rule V. (Quote.)
"John, who was at school, wrote a letter to his father."
"Who " is a rel. pron., relating to "John " for its antecedent;
it is in the masc. g., sing. n., 3d p., to agree with "John," according to Rule VIII. (quote), and . is in the nom. c., subject of the
verb "was," according to Rule I. (Quote.)
"The class is too large; it must be divided." "It" is a pers.
pron., neut. g., sing. n., 3d p., to agree with "class," a collective
- noun expressing a singular idea, according to a Note under Ru le
VIII. (quote Note), and is in the nom. c., subject of the verb
"must be divided," according to Rule I. (Quote.)
"Charles and Henry were both there; I saw them." "Them"
is a pers. pron., masc. g., plur. n., 3d p., to agree with "Charles"
and" Henry,'' two words connected by "and," according to a
Note under Rule VIII. (quote Note), and is in the obj. c., object
of th e verb "saw," according to Rule III. (Quote.)
"William and I had our skates with ~is." "Us" is a pers.
pron., standing for "William " and " I," two words of different
persons; it is therefore in the 1st p., according to a Note under
Rule VIII. (quote Note), plur. n., according to a Note under
Rule VIII. (quote Note), and is in the obj. c., governed by the
preposition "with," according to Rule IV. (Quote.)
"To contradict may be rude, but it is not criminal. "It" is a
pers. pron., standing for "To contradict;" a verb in the infinitive
mood used as a noun, it is therefore in the neut. g., sing. n., 3d p.,
according to a Note under Rule VIII. (quote Note), and is in the
nom. c., subject of the verb "is," according to Rule I. . (Quote.)

100

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR,

• S'o

"It rained all night." "It" is a pers. pron., used indefinitely;
it is in the neut. g., sing. n., 3d p., according to a Note under Rule
VIII. (quote Note), and is in the nom. c., ·subject of the verb
"rained," according to Rule I. (Quote.)
"The man and the house that we saw yesterday.". "That" is
a rel. pron., relating to two antecedents, "man" and "house,"
and used instead of "who" or "which," according to a Note
under Rule VIII. (quote Note), plur. n., according to a Note under
Rule VIII. (quote Note), 3d p., and is in the obj. c., governed by
the verb "saw," according to Rule III. (Quote.)
"Give me what I want." "W.it" is a rel. pron., and relates
to the object of "give," understood, for its antecedent; it is in
the neut. g., sing. ·n., 3d p., to agree with the omitted antecedent,
according to Rule VIII. (q uote), and is in the obj. c., object of
the verb "want," according to Rule IIL (Quote.)
"Whoever hopes to win the prize, must labor hard." "W"hpever" is a compound rel. pron., composed of who and ever, relating to "person," or some other like word omitted, for its antecedent; in the com. g., sing. n., 3d p., to agree with the omitted
antecedent, according to Rule VIII. (quote), and is in the nom. c.,
sul:lject of the verb "hopes," according to Rule I. (Quote.)
"Who wrote the letter 1 John." "Who" is an interrogative
pronoun, [see page 34,] relating to th e subsequent word "John;"
it is in the masculine gender, singular number, and third person,
to agree with "John," according to Rule VIII. (quote), and is
in the nominative case, subject of the verb "wrote," according
to Rule I. (Quote.)
"Who wrote the letter?" "Who" is 11.n interrogative pronoun, relating to some noun contained in the answer, and not
yet given; its gender, number, and person, therefore, cannot be
determined; it is in the nominative case, subject of the verb
"wrote," according to Rule I. (Quote.)
"I do not know who wrote it." "Who" is a responsive pronoun, not relating to any word, either antecedent or subsequent;
its gender, number, and person, cannot be determined; it is in
the nom. c., subject of the verb "wrote," according to Rule I.

SYNTAX.

101

Exercises.
Parse all the Pronouns in the following sentences:

John sold his colt to his brother.
Lucy gave her book to her cousin.
While Charles was at school he wrote a letter to his brother.
The boy was arrested by the officer who detected him in the
act. ·
I Jost my knife in the woods.
The general, who knew the treachery of the enemy, cautioned
his troops of their danger.
The boy who studies will improve.
George received the letter which Charles wrote to him.
Trust not him whose friendship is bought.
"We come to you to complain of your soldiers; they have destroyed our . playground. We requested them not to disturb it,
but they called us rebels, and told us to help ourselves if we
could."
The regiment is now. in winter quarters, but it will soon be or. dered to the front.
The captain reproved the company because they came without
their muskets.
Mary wrote to Charles and John, and advised them to return
to their homes.
He and Lucy are in the city, for I saw them.
The captain and the crew were nearly exhausted when they
were discovered.
He . remembered his benefactor and friend, ;nd loved him for
liis kindness.
The tyrant and coward is despised by all that know him.
Charles wrote to his friend and playmate, and promised to
visit him.
Neither Mary nor Lucy studied her lesson.
Either the officer or the ·men have failed to perform their duty.
9*

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

SYNTAX.

Henry and I took our books to school with us.
Mother and I took our fri ends with us to see the painting.
You and Henry must study your lessons.
To swear is as impolite as it is wicked.
It is snowing very fast.
It is useless to search further.
Who broke the slate 1 John.
Who won the prize 1 Mary.
Who recited the lesson?
Whose book was lost?
I do not know who recited the lesson.
I cannot cell whose book was lost.
You may do what you please, say what•r you will, and take
whatsoever you like, but what_you <lo, or whatever you say, an<l
whatsoever you take, you must account for.

RULE IX.

102

Review.
Parse, in the foregoing exercises, all the Nouns, Prepositions,
and Verbs.

103

.!l.n Article belon_ts to the Jfoun which it qualifies
or points out.*
NOTES.

The noun to which the article belongs is sometimes omitted. In
that case, supply the noun, and parse the article according to the
Rule, as belonging to the noun thus supplied. Thus, "Turn neither
to the right [hand], nor to the left [hand] ." "Henry the Eighth
[king of that name] was then reigning."
A is often an abb1'eviation for some other short word, at, in,
on, etc.; as, "His greatness is a ripening." In such cases it is not
an article, but a preposition, and is to be parsed accordingly.

Model for Parsing.
"Jam es wrote a letter." "A" is the ind . art., and belongs to
the noun "letter," acco rding to Rule IX. (Quote.) ·

Exercises.
Parse the Articles in the following sentences:

A book. A good man. The new coat. The fast horse.
fn crossing a bridge, you must always keep to the right.
Jam es the Second was banished from the kingdom.
Give glory to God in the highest.
The poor have claims on the rich.
The less you spend the more you will have.

Review.
Parse, in the foregoing exercises, all the Nouns, Pronouns,
Prepositions, aild Verbs.

* Note.-It might perhaps be more scientific to say," The Article is connected syntactically with the Noun which it qualifies or points out." But
the rule as given is easier for the memory, and gives substimtially the same
idea to the young learner, the only object in either case being to accu8to11l
him to the necessity of pointing out the noun to which the Article is thus
related.

•

104

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

RULE X.

.!l.n Adjective belongs to the Noun or the Pronoun
which it qualifies/'
NOTES.

The noun to which the adjective belongs is sometimes omitted;
as, "Of two evils, choose the least .. .. " In such cases, supply
the omission, and parse the adjective according to the Rule, as
belonging to th e noun thus supplied.
An adjective sometimes qualifies an infinitive mood, or a part
of a sentence, used as a noun; as, "To play is pleasant." "To
use profane language is both fooli sh and wicked." In such cases ·
the adj ective should be parsed as belonging to the infinitive
mood, or the part of a sentence.

Model for Parsing.

•

"James writes a long letter. "Long" is an adj., in thepos.
deg., compared long, longer, longest, and belongs to "letter,"
which it qualities or describes, according to Rule X. (Quote.)
"Of two evils, choose the least." "Least" is an adj., in the
superlative deg., (little, less, lea~t,) and belongs to "evil" understood, ·.vhich it qualifies or describes, according to Rule x,
(Quote.)
''To play is pleasant." "Pleasant" is an adj., pos. deg.,
(pleasant, more pleasant, most pleasant,) and belongs to "To
play," a verb in the infin. m., used as a noun, which it qnalifies
or describes, according to Note under Rule X. (Quote the Note·.)

Exercises.

SYNTAX.

105

The darkest night will pass away. .
The example is not difficult .
The train went to New York at a rapid rate.
His new slate was broken into many small pieces.
, A merry heart maketh a glad countenance.
Charles is the most industrious boy in his class.
Mary is a better writer than Charles.
The poor have claims upon the rich.
In crossing a'bridge keep to the right.
.Henry the Eighth was then on the throne.
James the Second was banished from the kingdom.
The less you spend, the more you will have.
To steal is wicked.
To eat unripe fruit is injurious.
The window is so located that you can see the beautiful new
houses on the opposite side of the river.
I

Review.

In the foregoing exercises, parse all the Nouns, Pronouns,

i,,,

'I

Prepositions, Articles," and Verbs.

I

Parse the Adjectives in the following sentences:

.[

A large reward was offered.
John is a rapid writer.
She is a good girl.
John is a better writer than Charles.

',I

•See Note on page 103.

11

I

'i
·I

106

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR .

RULE XI.

.An .Adjective Pronoun belongs to the .Noun or the
P1·onoun which it qualifies or points out.*
NOTES.

The Distributives and Demonstratives agree in number with
the nouns to which they belong; as, "This sort of persons," not
"These sort." The distributives, each, every, either, neither, are
all singular. Of the demonstratives, this and that are singular,
these and those plural.
·
The noun is often understood after adjective pronouns. In
such cases, supply the noun, and parse as usual; as, "Let each
do his duty."
Mode l for Parsing.

"James wrote this letter." "This" is a dem. adj. pron., belonging to "letter," according to Rule XI. (quote), and is in 1J,i.e
singular number, to agree with "letter," according to Note under
Rule XI. (Quote.)
·
Exercises.
Parse the Adjective Pronouns in the following sentences:

Those men only a1~e great who are good.
This house belongs to my father.
That style of dress is admired.
Those books are not in their places.
Such boys are worthy of respect.
Some rivers are shallow.
Give me the other hat.
Every station in life has its cares.
All men must die.
Each boy took his book and went home.
Neither of the boys have arrived.
That horse which you see is mine.
• See Note on page 1U3.

lilYNTAX.

107

That statement is not correct.
John, you can take one book, and Mary can take the other.
Such conduct deserves reproof.
,J Both boys have arrived in time.
'"- This knife was given to me by my brother.
These books ware purchased for our library.
.. Some live in poverty, some in wealth.

Review.
Parse, in the foregoing exercises, all the Nouns, Pronouns,
Prepositions, Articles, Adjectives, and Verbs.

108

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

RULE . XII.

.A. Participle belonts to the .Noun or the Pronoun
which it qualifies,*
NOTES.

1. The participle is often used as a noun, either in the nominative case or in the objective; as, "Writing letters is easier than
writing corn positions" (nom. ); "In writing letters he soon became expert" (obj.). In th ese instan ces, the participle, as a part
of the verb, retai ns its government of the objective.

2. The participle used as a nonn, is frequently found governing another noun in the possessive case; as, "Much depends on
John's writing his letters rapidly."
3. The participle is sometim es used simply as a noun; as,
"Avoid foolish talking and jest·ing. " When so used, parse the
•
word as a participial noun.
4. The participle is sometimes used simply as an adjective; as,
"Singing birds abound in snmmer," "He is a learned man."
When a participle is so used, call it a participial adjective, and
parse it as any other adjective.
5. A participle of the verb to be may have a noun or a pronoun after it in apposition with the one before it: as, "Thomas, ,
being an apt schola1", won the favor of his teacher." This rule
applies also to the part.iciples of many other intransitive verbs,
and likew ise to the participles of t he passive voice of some transitive verbs ; as, "Solomon, while reigning king, built the temple," "Washington, being appointed cominande1·-in-chief, proceeded at once to Cambridge."

Model for Parsing.
" The child, see-ing its mother, ran to meet her." "Seeing" is
the present parti ciple, active, of the irregular transitive verb "to
see," (see, saw, seen,) and belongs to "child," according to Rule
XII. (Quote.)
• See Note on page 103.

SYNTAX.

"Writing letters is easier than writing compositions."

109
"Writ-

e;: ing" is the pres. part., active, of the irreg. trans. verb "to write,"
(write, wrote, writt~n.) It is here used as a noun, according
t.o a note under Rule XII. (Quote the Note.) It is in the nom.
case, subject of the verb " is," according to Rule I. (Quote.)
". "Avoid foolish talking and jesting." "Talking" is a participial noun, in the neut. gen., sing. numb., 3d per., obj. c., object
of th e verb "avoid," according to Rule III. (Quote.)
"Sing·ing birds abou.nd in summer." "Singing" is a participial
adj., not . com pared, and belongs to " birds," which it qualifies
or describ es, according to Rule X.
"James, liaving written a le.tter, sent it to the post-office."
"Having written" is the comp. perf. part., active, of the irr.
trans. ve1·b "to write" (write, wrote, written), and belongs to
"James," according to.Rule Xl<!h (Quote.)
Ex ercises.
Parse all the Participles in the following sentences.:

The snow, falling rapidly, soon covered th e ground.
A man deservi~g blame should be censured.
The laborer, fatigu ed with the toil of the day, slept soundly.
The exercise written by Charles was 0 admiretl b.Y all.
The boys, having recited their lessons, were dismissed.
. John, havi ng written his composition, gav~ it to the teacher.
The day being far spent, we returned to our homes.
~
TJ1e lesson having been recited, the class was dismissed.
The fire having been extinguished, the crowd dispet·sed.
Honor defined by Cicero is the approbation of good men.
William, being successful in his examination, expects promotion.
William, having been successful in h_is examination, was promoted.

10

110

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR,

SYNTAX.

William, having succeeded in his examination, expects to be
promoted.
Reading good books promotes knowledge.
In catching fish h e soon became expert.
Charles t akes pleasure in studying his lessons.
Much dep ends on Mary's reaching the city promptly.
John's writing is worthy of comm endation.
The astronomer spent the night in studying the heavens.

RULE XIII.

Loud talking and laughing are rud e.
Bryant is a distinguished poet.
The roaring lion is an object of fear.
Charles being the first boy. to arriv e, was rewarded.
Mary being an industrious girl was commended by her teacher.
He being an old offender, was sentenced to imprisonmejp.
The fire breaking out in the ni ght, and the night being dark,
th e house was destroy ed, the fri ghtened inmates barely escaping
with th eir lives, with their clothing scorched, and with ·lim!Js
broken or bodies mutilated.

Review.
Parse, in the foregoing exercises, all the Nouns,
Prepositions, Articles, Adjectives, and Verbs.

111

.An .Adverb belongs to the Verb, .!l.dJective, or
other .Adverb which it qualifies.*
NOTES .

There is often used as a mere expletive, its only force being to
introduce the verb before its nominative· as "There is truth in
the old prover~." In such sentences, ·there' does not mean in
that place.
Nay, no, yea, yes, expressing simply negation or affirmation
contain in themselves a complete sense, and do not belong to an;verb. The same is true of Amen. In parsing each word state
merely that they are adverbs.
Adverbs should not be used where adjectives are required
that is, to qualify nouns or pronouns. Thus, "The dress looked
pretty," not "prettily." "Pretty," here, is.an adjective describing "dress," and does not qualify the verl:i "looked." It does
not express the manner of looking.
Sometimes an adverb is preceded by a preposition, as, at once,
f01· ever, etc. In such cases the two words should be taken
together and called an adverb.

Model for Parsing.
"James wrote a letter hastily." "Hastily" is an adv. in th e
pos. deg. (hastily, more hastily, most hastily), and belongs to the
verb "wrote," according to Rule XII. (Quote.)
, "A thoroughly bad man." "Thoroughly" is an adv. in the
pos. deg. (thoroughly, more thoroughly, most thoroughly), and
· belongs to the adj. "bad," according to Rule XII. (Quote.) ·

Exercises.
P arse all the Adverbs in the following sentences :

Live temperately.
She is particularly careful.
*See Note, page 103.

)

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

SYNTAX.

This horse runs very rapidly.
The most cautious are often deceived.
Thus the farmer sows his seed.
Great men are greatly admired.
How can you behave so badly?
Why do you neglect your duty?
A smart child may learn more rapidly than is desirable.
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.
You must try to write more carefull y; you are the least careful
writer in the class.

RULE XIV.

112

Cherish me kindly, cheer my young heart,
I will follow thee ever, and never depart>:
There was a man sent from God whose name was Jo~n.
There is truth in the old proverb.
Th ere is nothing to be seen.
Did you recite the lesson? Yes.
Has Charles return ed from school? No.
. The boys have arrived at last.
They returned at once to their homes.
A good name endureth fo r ever.
It is exceedingly cold, the north wind blows keenly!
seldom experi enced so severe a winter.

The Infinitive Mood depends upon some Verb,
.1.1.djective, _or .N'oun.
Explanation. - "He delights to tease his companions." H ere, "to
tease" depends on the verb "delights." That is the word with whicr
it must be connected in order to make sense.
"His time to die had not yet come." In this exam pie, "to die" de·
pends on the noun "time." ·
·
"He was too stupig to learn."
adjective "stupid."

H ere, "to learn" depends on the

NOTES .

1. The preposition to, which is used in making the form called
th e infinitive mood, and which is generally called the _sign of the
infinitive mood, is not to be parsed by itself, but with the verb.
2. To, the sign of the infinitive, is generally omitted after the
active voice of the verbs bid, dare (to venture), 1u1ed, make; see,
hem·,feel, let, and some oth ers; as, " I saw him (to) do it." In
the passive voice of these verb~ however, the "to" is generally
expressed; as, " He was seen to do it."

3. The infinitive mood is frequently used as a noun, and at the
same time retains its government of the obj ective case. Thus,
"To write letterg is easy." Here, "to write," as a noun, is
nominative to "is," and at the same time, as a verb, governs ·
"letters."

Model for Parsing.
~

R e view.
In the preceding exercises, parse all the Nouns,
Prepositions, Articles, Adjectives, and Verbs.

113

"Charles expects to win the prize." "To win" is a trans. verb,
(win, won, won), act. v., inf. m., pres. t.,· and depends upon
the verb "expects," according to Rule XIV. (Quote.)°
ir~.

Exercises.
Parse all the Infinitives in the following sentences:

Charles expects to return to school.
Mary tried to catch th e train.
Henry wanted to borrow my knife.
10*
H

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

SYNT•AX,

The sinner was not prepared to die.
He was too scurrilous to be tolerated in decent society.
The President was to have been inaugurated last Friday.
She seemed to love her child, and yet she was seen to .treat it
badly.
It was too late to travel any farther.
It is too early to visit h er.
It was too wet to go O'.lt.
I saw him take the book.
I heard him recite the lesson.
They need not call her.
I bade him go home.
Employ your time judiciously, and you will not find it pass so
slowly.
To write letters is easy.
To write a good compositiOn requires care.

RULE .XV.

114

To love our friend s is natural.
The difference in their conduct makes us approve the one and
condemn the other.
Review.
Parse all ,the other words in the foregoing exercises, except the
Conjunctions.

115

.!/. Gonjun&ion connects the Words, ·Sentences, or
Parts of Sentences, between which it stands.
NOTES.

The words connected by conjunctions must be of the same
class. Nouns are connected ~itb nouns, adjectives with adjectives, verbs with verbs, adverbs with adverbs, etc. Nouns and
pronouns are here counted as belonging to one class.
Words and clauses are often con.nected, not by a single conjunction, but by two conjunctiOns, or by a conjunction and an
adverb, corresponding to each other; as, "Give me neither·
poverty nor riches."
Model for Parsing.
"James and John are brothers." "Aud" is a conjunction,
connecting "James" and "John," according to Rule XV.
(Quote.)
"It is neither cold nor hot." "Neitlier" and "nor" are cor-'
responding conjunctions, connecting "cold" and "hot," according .to a note under Rule XV. (Quote.)

Ex ercises.
Parse all the Conjunctions in the following sentences:
J olm and Jam es have gone to school.
The farmer sold his wheat and corn to the miller.
Forget the faults of others, and rem ember your own.
~ ou shall never fail, if you do these things. ·
Tl;ough he slay me, yet will I trust in him.
He is n friend to-day, but may be an enemy to-morrow.
As he treats others, so will he be treated by them.
Washington was a better man than Napoleon.
Unless it blossom in the spi-ing, the tree will not bear fruit.
The hour has arrived; therefore we must depart.

Review.
Parse all the other words in the foregoing sentences.

116

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

RULE XVI.-INTERJECTIONS •

.J!.n Interjection has no dependen,ce upon other
words.
NOTES.

In parsing an inte1jection, all that is necessary is to tell what
part of speech it is.
•
.
Sometimes inte1jections have the appearance of govermng the
objective case; as, "Ah, me!" But s~1ch sentences are al:ays
elliptical, some verb or preposition bemg understood; as, Ahl
(pity) me."

•

REVIEW EXERCISES .

1. WmTE three sentences, each containing a noun used as the
subject of a verb.
c:
2. 'Write three sentences, each containing a pronoun used as
the subject of a verb.
3. Write three sentences, each containing a complex name
used as the subject of a verb.
4. Write three sentences, !)ach containing a verb in the infinitive mood used 'as a noun, subject of a verb.
5. Write three sentences, each containing a noun in the nominative case independent.
6. Write three sentences, each containing a noun in the nominative case absolute.
7. Write three sentences, each containing a verb in the plural
number, having two or more subjects connected by ''and."
~ 8. Write three sentences, each containing a verb in the singular
number, having two or more subjects connected by "and."
9'. Write three sentences, each containing a verb in the singular
number, having two or more subjects connected by "01'" or
"nor.,,
10. Write three sentences, each containing a verb in the plural
number, having two or more subjects connected by "or" or
"nor."
11. Write three sentences, each containing a verb in the infinitive mood used as a noun in the objective case.
/

117

'

118

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

12. Write three sentences, each containing a part of a sentence used as a noun in the objective case.
13. Write three sentences, each containing a preposition followed by an adj ective without any noun expressed.
14. Write three sentences, each containing a noun in the
objective case, object of some omitted preposition.
15. Write three sentences, each containing a noun in the possessive case with the governing noun omitted.
16. Write three sentences, each containing a complex name in
the possessive case.
17. Write three sentences, each containing a complex title in
the possessive case.
18. Write three sentences, each containing a noun in the pos- ·
sessive case governed by a participle.
19. Write three sentences, each containing a noun in apposition with another noun in the nominative case.
20. Write three sentences, each containing a noun in apposition with another noun in the objective case.
21. Write three sentences, each containing the verb "to be"
used as a noun, and having a noun or pronoun after it used
indefinitely.
22. Write three sentences, each containing a pronoun standing
for a collective noun.
23. Write three sentences, each containing a pronoun in the
plural numb er standing for two or more wo1:ds connected by
·~and. "

.

24. Write three sentences, e!\.ch containing a pronoun in the
singular number standing for two or more words connected by
"and."
25. Write three sentences, each containing a pronoun in the
singular number standing for two or more words connected by
"·or" or "nor."
•
26. Write three sentences, each containing a pronoun in the
plural number st.anding for two or more words connected by
''or '' or "nor ."

SYNTAX.

27. Write three sentences, each containing a pronoun standing
for two()~ more words of different persons connected by "and."
28. Write three sentences, each containing a pronoun standing
for a verb in the infinitive mood used as a noun.
29. Write three sentences containing the pronoun "it" used
indefinitely.
30. Write twelve sentences, three of each class (see page 98),
each containing the pronoun " that" used instead of "who " or
"which."
31. Write three sentences, in each of which omit the relative
pronoun.
32. Write three sentences, in each of which omit the antecedent.
33. Write three sentences, each containing an ai~ticle, and
omitting the noun to which the article belongs.
34. Write three sentences, each containing an adjective, and
omitting the noun which the adjective qualifies.
35. Write three sentences, each containing an adjective qualifying a verb in the infinitive mood used as a noun.
36. J¥"rite three sentences, each containing an adjective pronoun qualifying some omitted noun.
37. Write three sentences, each containing a participle used as
a noun in the nominative case, and retaining its government of
th e ~j ecti ve case.
38. Write three sentences, each containing a participle used as
a noun in the objective case, and retaining its government of the
objective.
39. Write three sentences, each containing a participle used as
_a noun, and governing another noun in the possessive case.
40, Write three sentences, each containing a participle used
simply as a noun.
41. Write three sentences, each containing a participle used as
an adjective.
42. Write three sentences, each containing a participle of the

120

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

verb "to be,'' having a noun or pronoun after it in apposition
with one before it. ·
43. Write three sentences, each containing a preposition and
an adverb to be taken together as an adverb.
44. Write three sentences, each containing a.verb in the infinitive mood depending upon some other verb.
45. Write three sentences, each containing a verb in the infinitive mood depending upon an adjective.
46. Write three sentences, each containing a verb in the infinitive mood depending upon a noun.
47. · Write three sentences, each containing a verb in the infinitive mood with the sign of the infinitive omitted.
48. Wr;te three sentences, each containing a verb in the i~fi.ni­
tive mood used as a noun in the nominative case, and retammg
its government of the objective.

EXERCISES
IN THE

CORRECTION OF FALSE SYNTAX.
• "John and me went home."
This sentence is incorrect, because "me," one of the subjects
of the verb "went," is in the objective case. It should be in the
nominative case, according to Rule I. (Quote.) The sentence
should read, "John and I went home."
"The days of man is but as grass."
• This sentence is incorrect. "Is" is singular. It should be
plural, because its subject, "days," is plural, according to Rule
II. (Quote.) The sentence should read, "T.he days of man are
but as grass."
·
·

,qr

"Life and death is in the power of , the tongue."

'!,'his sentence is incorrect. · "Is" is singular. It should be
plural, because it has two subjects connected by "and," according to a note under Rule II. (Quote the Note.) The sentence
should 1;ead, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue."
"He and they we know, but who art thou 1"
This sentence is incorrect. "He" and "they ." are in the nominative case. They should be objective, because they are the
objects of the verb "know," according to Rule III. (Quote.)
The sentence should read, "Him and them we know, but who
art thou 1"
11

121

122

ELE11IENTA.RY GRAMMAR.

"The property was divided between you and I."
This sentence is incorrect, because "I," one of the objects of
the preposition "between," is in the nominative case. It should
be objective, according to Rule IV . . (Quote.) The sentence
should read, "The property was divided between you and me."
"It was him that did it."
This sentence is incorrect. " Him" is in the objective case.
It should be nominative, because the verb "to be" has the same
case after it as before it, according to Rule V I. (Quote. ) The
sentence should read, " It was he that did it."
"Neither the captain nor the crew knew his danger."
This sentence is inco rrect . . ''His" is singular. It should be
plural, because it stands for two nouns connec t edb Y " no1,·" on e
of which is plural, according to a note under Rule VIII. (~uote
the Note.)· The sentence should read, "Neither the captam nor
the crew knew their danger.",
Correct the followin g sentences, giving ~easons for the corrections:

1. Him and her are of the same age.
2. They and us agre'ed to do it.

3. You and them had a long dispute.
4. :Mary and me have studied our lessons.
5. John and him have gone home ..
6. Mary and her ha,,e finished their work.
7. Yon was there when w e left.
8. 11'e boys loves to play.
9. Great pflins has been taken to little purpose.
10. He dare not act contrary to his instructions.
11. A variety of pl~asing objects charm the eye.
12. The people has no opinion of their own.
13. Th e class have been dismissed.
14. Neither precept nor discipline are so forcible as example.
15. Either thou or I art mistaken.

, CORRECTION OF FALSE SYNTAX,

123

16. Either I or thou am mistaken.

17. To play in the mud, and to walk through the wet grass,
soils the clothes.
18.

N~ither

John nor James have arrived.

19. Ignorance or prejudice have caused this mistake.
20. John and Jam es was both there.
21. He or I is to go.
22. He that is idle, reprove sharply.

.

23. He that committed the offence you ~hould punish.
24. The teaqher taught him and 1 to read.

'25. Who did you see at school?
26. Who do you want 1

27. He that is needy you should assist.
28 . .Let you and I the battle try.
29. Who did you receive the intelligence from 1
30. Who did you inquire for 1
31, Nothing h as been heard of he. or his brother.
32. We miss our classmate, he w.ho was so kind.
33 1 His aunt, her who was here, died .suddenly.
34. ·M·y broth er, him you saw yesterday, lives in that h~use.
35. We should praise God, He who has given us all things.
3~It was her that told the story.
3if. It was him that told the story.

38. It was th em that we saw.
39. It was me that wrote the letter.
40. The Board of Education has just published their annual
r eport.

4i.

Vice and ignorance .have cast its blight over thousands.

42. A tree is known by his fruit.

43. If you have a pen or a pencil lend them to me.
44. He or
. his broth er lost their
. title-_
45. The tiger is a beast of prey who destroys without pity.

.
124
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.

' .

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

This is the same picture which we saw before.
All wh ich beauty, all which wealth e'er gave.
Who, who has any sense of duty would act thus.
The lady and the lap dog which we saw at the window.
The infant whom you see in the cradle is very sick.
This is the friend which I love.
Those sort of goods are not durable.
Those sort of people fear nothing.
These kind of persons cannot be trusted.
Much depends on Mary reaching the city promptly.
This apple tastes sweetly.
He Ii ves in a manner suitably to his station in life.
He h\)ped for a soon and prosperous issue to the war.
They need not to ~all her.
I dare not to proceed so hastily .
•
He was seen write the letter.
He bade me to go b9me.

SELECTIONS FOR PARSING.

1. A SOFT answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words
stir up anger.

2. A good' name is better than precious ointment.
3. A good man obtaineth favor of the Lord.
4. A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast; but the
tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
5. As~ thy days, so shall thy strength be.
6. A man that hath friends must show himself friendly; and
there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
7. .& word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of
silver~
.
8. A wise son heareth his father's instruction· but a scorner
heareth not rebuke.·
'
9. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the
ditch.
10. And we know that all things work together for good to
th em that love God. ·
11. ,.A wise son maketh a glad father; but a foolish man
despiseth his mother.
12. A good, name is rather to be chosen than great riches and
loving favor rather than silve1· and gold.
'

13. A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth · but the simple pass on and are punished.
'
11 *

125

126

SELECTIONS FOR P4.RSING.

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

26. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust bim for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

14. A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches

of many wicked.
15. A false balance is an abomination to the Lord; bnt a just
weight is his delight.
16. A fool uttereth all his mind; but a wise man keepeth it till
afterw ards.
17. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken
spi rit drieth the bones.
18. A wise man will hear and will increase learnin g.
19. An angry man stirreth up strife ; and a furi ous man
aboundeth in transgression.
20. All things what~oever ye would that men should do to
you, do ye even so to th em.
21. Your voiceless lips, 0 flowers! are living preachers,
Each cup a pulpit, and each leaf a book,
Supplying to my fancy· numerous teachers
From loveliest nook.
22. In the world's broad 'field of battle,
In th e bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle:
Be a hero in the strife.
23. The spacious firmam ent on hi gh,
Wi th all the blue ethereal sky,
Andt'Pangled heavens, a ·shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim.
24. Be still , sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind th e clouds is th e sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all;
Into each life some rain must fall,Some days must be dark and dreary.
25. A rt is long, and time is fl eeting,

And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, lik e mnffied c1rums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

127

27. Labor is life! 'Tis the still water faileth ·
Idleness ever despaireth, bewaileth;
'
Keep the watch wound, for the dark rust ass~ileth ·
Flowers droop and die in the stillness of noon. ' .
28. Besid e the bed where parting life was laid,
And sorrow, guilt, and shame by turns dismayed,
The reverend champion stood. At his control
Despair and anguish fl ed the struggling so ul,
Oomfo.rt. came do~n, the trembling wretch to raise,
And his last faltermg accents whispered praise.
29. To him who in the love of Nature holds
Comn~union with her visible form s, she speaks
A va1·1011s language; for his gayer hours
She has a voice of gladness,, and a smile
And eloquence of beauty, and she glides '
Into liis dark er musings, with a mild
~n~ healing sympathy, that steals away
Their sharpness, ere he is aware. 30. ~o li.ve, that, when thy summons 6omes to join
1 he mnumerable caravan, that moves
To that mysterious realm where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death
Thou go not like the qual'ry-slave at ni~ht
S6ourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
an un faltel'ing trust, approach thy grave
Like one who draws the drapery of his couch
About him,,and lies down to pleasant dreams.

B!

31. Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way
':'ith blossomed furze unprofitably gay,
'
1 here, in hi s noisy mansion, skilled to rule
The village master· taught his little school. '

,,

128

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR.

A man severe be was, and stern to view;
I knew him well, and every truant knew :
Well had the boding tremblers learned to trace
The day's disasters in his morning face;
Full well they laughed, with counterfeited glee,
At all his jokes, for many a joke had he;
Full well the busy whisper, circling round,
Conveyed the dismal tidings when he frowned.
32. Abou Ben Adl1em (may bis tribe. increase!)
Awoke one night from a sweet dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
• Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold.
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And, to the Presence in the room, he said:
"What writest thou? " The vision raise~ its head,
And, with a look made all of sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord!"
"And is mine one?" asked Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Ahou spake more low,
But cheerily still; and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow-men."
The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again, with a great wakening light,
And showed the nam~s whom love of God had bless'd;
Aud, Jo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest!

THE END.

