OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.—With the interjections, may perhaps be reckoned hau and gee, the imperative words of teamsters driving cattle; and other similar sounds, useful under certain circumstances, but seldom found in books. Besides these, and all the foregoing, there are several others, too often heard, which are unworthy to be considered parts of a cultivated language. The frequent use of interjections savours more of thoughtlessness than of sensibility. Philosophical writing and dispassionate discourse exclude them altogether. Yet are there several words of this kind, which in earnest utterance, animated poetry, or impassioned declamation, are not only natural, but exceedingly expressive: as, "Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim; cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth."—Isaiah, x, 30. "Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgement come."—Rev., xviii, 10.

"Ah me! forbear, returns the queen, forbear; Oh! talk not, talk not of vain beauty's care." —Odyssey, B. xviii, l. 310.

OBS. 2.—Interjections, being in general little else than mere natural voices or cries, must of course be adapted to the sentiments which are uttered with them, and never carelessly confounded one with an other when we express them on paper. The adverb ay is sometimes improperly written for the interjection ah; as, ay me! for ah me! and still oftener we find oh, an interjection of sorrow, pain, or surprise,[321] written in stead of O, the proper sign of wishing, earnestness, or vocative address: as,

"Oh Happiness! our being's end and aim!" —Pope, Ess. Ep. iv, l. 1.

"And peace, oh Virtue! peace is all thy own." —Id., ib., Ep. iv, l. 82.

"Oh stay, O pride of Greece! Ulysses, stay! O cease thy course, and listen to our lay!" —Odys., B. xii, 1 222.

OBS. 3.—The chief characteristics of the interjection are independence, exclamation, and the want of any definable signification. Yet not all the words or signs which we refer to this class, will be found to coincide in all these marks of an interjection. Indeed the last, (the want of a rational meaning,) would seem to exclude them from the language; for words must needs be significant of something. Hence many grammarians deny that mere sounds of the voice have any more claim to be reckoned among the parts of speech, than the neighing of a horse, or the lowing of a cow. There is some reason in this; but in fact the reference which these sounds have to the feelings of those who utter them, is to some extent instinctively understood; and does constitute a sort of significance, though we cannot really define it. And, as their use in language, or in connexion with language, makes it necessary to assign them a place in grammar, it is certainly more proper to treat them as above, than to follow the plan of the Greek grammarians, most of whom throw all the interjections into the class of adverbs.

OBS. 4.—Significant words uttered independently, after the manner of interjections, ought in general, perhaps, to be referred to their original classes; for all such expressions may be supposed elliptical: as, "Order! gentlemen, order!" i.e., "Come to order,"—or, "Keep order." "Silence!" i.e., "Preserve silence." "Out! out!" i.e., "Get out,"—or, "Clear out!" (See Obs. 5th and 6th, upon Adverbs.)

"Charge, Chester, charge! On, Stanley, on! Were the last words of Marmion."—Scott.

OBS. 5.—In some instances, interjections seem to be taken substantively and made nouns; as,

"I may sit in a corner, and cry hey-ho for a husband."—Shak.

So, according to James White, in his Essay on the Verb, is the word fie, in the following example:

"If you deny me, fie upon your law."—SHAK.: White's Verb, p. 163.

EXAMPLES FOR PARSING.

PRAXIS XI.—ETYMOLOGICAL.

_In the Eleventh Praxis, it is required of the pupil—to distinguish and define the different parts of speech, and_ ALL _their classes and modifications.

The definitions to be given in the Eleventh Praxis, are, two for an article, six for a noun, three for an adjective, six for a pronoun, seven for a verb finite, five for an infinitive, two for a participle, two (and sometimes three) for an adverb, two for a conjunction, one for a preposition, and two for an interjection. Thus_:—

EXAMPLE PARSED.

"O! sooner shall the earth and stars fall into chaos!"—Brown's Inst., p. 92.

O is an interjection, indicating earnestness. 1. An interjection is a word that is uttered merely to indicate some strong or sudden emotion of the mind. 2. The interjection of wishing, earnestness, or vocative address, is O.

Sooner is an adverb of time, of the comparative degree; compared, soon, sooner, soonest. 1. An adverb is a word added to a verb, a participle, an adjective, or an other adverb; and generally expresses time, place, degree, or manner. 2. Adverbs of time are those which answer to the question, When? How long? How soon? or, How often? including these which ask. 3. The comparative degree is that which is more or less than something contrasted with it.

Shall is an auxiliary to fall. 1. An auxiliary is a short verb prefixed to one of the principal parts of an other verb, to express some particular mode and time of the being, action, or passion.

The is the definite article. 1. An article is the word the, an, or a, which we put before nouns to limit their signification. 2. The definite article is the, which denotes some particular thing or things.

Earth is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, neuter gender, and nominative case. 1. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned. 2. A common noun is the name of a sort, kind, or class, of beings or things. 3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 4. The singular number is that which denotes but one. 5. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female. 6. The nominative case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which usually denotes the subject of a finite verb.

And is a copulative conjunction. 1. A conjunction is a word used to connect words or sentences in construction, and to show the dependence of the terms so connected. 2. A copulative conjunction is a conjunction that denotes an addition, a cause, a consequence, or a supposition.

Stars is a common noun, of the third person, plural number, neuter gender, and nominative case. 1. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned. 2. A common noun is the name of a sort, kind, or class, of beings or things. 3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 4. The plural number is that which denotes more than one. 5. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female. 6. The nominative case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun which usually denotes the subject of a finite verb.

Fall, or Shall fall, is an irregular active-intransitive verb, from fall, fell, falling, fallen; found in the indicative mood, first-future tense, third person, and plural number. 1. A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon. 2. An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the preterit and the perfect participle by assuming d or ed. 3. An active-intransitive verb is a verb that expresses an action which has no person or thing for its object. 4. The indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply indicates or declares a thing, or asks a question. 5. The first-future tense is that which expresses what will take place hereafter. 6. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 7. The plural number is that which denotes more than one.

Into is a preposition. 1. A preposition is a word used to express some relation of different things or thoughts to each other, and is generally placed before a noun or a pronoun.

Chaos is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, neuter gender, and objective case. 1. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned. 2. A common noun is the name of a sort, kind, or class, of beings or things. 3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 4. The singular number is that which denotes but one. 5. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female. 6. The objective case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which usually denotes the object of a verb, participle, or preposition.

LESSON I.—PARSING.

"Ah! St. Anthony preserve me!—Ah—ah—eh—eh!—Why—why—after all, your hand is not so co-o-o-old, neither. Of the two, it is rather warmer than my own. Can it be, though, that you are not dead?" "Not I."—MOLIERE: in Burgh's Speaker, p. 232.

"I'll make you change your cuckoo note, you old philosophical humdrum, you—[Beats him]—I will—[Beats him]. I'll make you say somewhat else than, 'All things are doubtful; all things are uncertain;'—[Beats him]—I will, you old fusty pedant." "Ah!—oh!—ehl—What, beat a philosopher!—Ah!—oh!—eh!"—MOLIERE: ib., p. 247.

"What! will these hands never be clean?—No more of that, my lord; no more of that. You mar all with this starting." * * * "Here is the smell of blood still.—All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh! oh! oh!"—Shak., Macbeth, Act V, Sc. 1.

"Ha! at the gates what grisly forms appear! What dismal shrieks of laughter wound the ear!"—Merry.

LESSON II.—PARSING.

"Yet this may be the situation of some now known to us.—O frightful thought! O horrible image! Forbid it, O Father of mercy! If it be possible, let no creature of thine ever be the object of that wrath, against which the strength of thy whole creation united, would stand but as the moth against the thunderbolt!"—Burgh's Speaker, p. 289.

"If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."—Daniel, iii, 17 and 18.

"Grant me patience, just Heaven!—Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world—though the cant of hypocrites may be the worst—the cant of criticism is the most tormenting!"—Sterne.

"Ah, no! Achilles meets a shameful fate, Oh! how unworthy of the brave and great."—Pope.

LESSON III.—PARSING.

"O let not thy heart despise me! thou whom experience has not taught that it is misery to lose that which it is not happiness to possess."—Dr. Johnson.

"Disguise thyself as thou wilt, still, Slavery! still thou art a bitter draught; and though thousands in all ages have been made to drink of thee, thou art no less bitter on that account."—Sterne.

"Put it out of the power of truth to give you an ill character; and if any body reports you not to be an honest or a good man, let your practice give him the lie. This is all very feasible."—Antoninus.

"Oh that men should put an enemy into their mouths to steal away their brains! that we should, with joy, pleasance, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into beasts!"—Shakspeare.

"All these afar off stood, crying, Alas! Alas! and wept, and gnashed their teeth, and groaned; And with the owl, that on her ruins sat, Made dolorous concert in the ear of Night."—Pollok.

"Snatch'd in thy prime! alas, the stroke were mild, Had my frail form obey'd the fate's decree! Blest were my lot, O Cynthio! O my child! Had Heaven so pleas'd, and I had died for thee!"—Shenstone.

IMPROPRIETIES FOR CORRECTION.

ERRORS RESPECTING INTERJECTIONS.

"Of chance or change, oh let not man complain."—Bucke's Classical Gram., p. 85.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the interjection oh, a sign of sorrow, pain, or surprise, is here used to indicate mere earnestness. But, according to the list of interjections, or OBS. 2d under it, the interjection of wishing, earnestness, or vocative address, is O, and not oh. Therefore, oh should here be O; thus, "Of chance or change, O let not man complain."—Beattie's Minstrel, B. ii, l. 1.]

"O thou persecutor! Oh ye hypocrites."—Merchant's Gram., p. 99; et al. "Oh! thou, who touchedst Isaiah's hallowed lips with fire."—Ib., (Key,) p. 197. "Oh! happy we, surrounded by so many blessings."—Ib., (Exercises,) p. 138. "Oh! thou, who art so unmindful of thy duty."—Ib., (Key,) p. 196. "If I am wrong, oh teach my heart To find that better way."—Pope's Works. "Heus! evocate hue Davum. Ter. Hoe! call Davus out hither."—Walker's Particles, p. 155. "It was represented by an analogy, (Oh, how inadequate!) which was borrowed from the religion of paganism."—Murray's Gram., p. 281. "Oh that Ishmael might live before thee!"—ALGER'S BIBLE: Gen., xvii, 18. "And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak."—FRIENDS' BIBLE: Gen., xviii, 30. "And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry."—ID., and SCOTT'S: ib., ver. 32. "Oh, my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word."—FRIENDS' BIBLE, and ALGER'S: Gen., xliv, 18. "Oh, Virtue! how amiable thou art! I fear, alas! for my life."—Fisk's Gram., p. 89. "Ay me, they little know How dearly I abide that boast so vain."—Milton's P. L., B. iv, l. 86. "Oh! that I had digged myself a cave."—FLETCHER: in Bucke's Gram., p. 78. "O, my good lord! thy comfort comes too late."—SHAK.: ib., p. 78. "The vocative takes no article; it is distinguished thus: O Pedro, Oh Peter! O Dios, Oh God!"—Bucke's Gram., p. 43. "Oh, o! But, the relative is always the same."—Cobbett's Eng. Gram., 1st Ed., p. 127. "Oh, oh! But, the relative is always the same."—Id., Edition of 1832, p. 116. "Ah hail, ye happy men!"—Jaudon's Gram., p. 116. "Oh that I had wings like a dove!"—FRIENDS' BIBLE, and ALGER'S: Ps., lv, 6. "Oh Glorious hope! O Blessed abode!"—O. B. Peirce's Gram., p. 183. "Alas, Friends, how joyous is your presence."—Rev. T. Smith's Gram., p. 87. "Oh, blissful days! Ah me! how soon ye pass!"—Parker and Fox's Gram., Part I, p. 16; Part III, p. 29.

"Oh golden days! oh bright unvalued hours! What bliss (did ye but know that bliss) were yours!"—Barbauld.

"Ay me! what perils do eviron The man that meddles with cold iron."—Hudibras.



CHAPTER XII.—QUESTIONS.

ORDER OF REHEARSAL, AND METHOD OF EXAMINATION.

PART SECOND, ETYMOLOGY.

[Fist] [The following questions refer almost wholly to the main text of the Etymology of this work, and are such as every student should be able to answer with readiness and accuracy, before he proceeds to any subsequent part of the study or the exercises of English grammar.]

LESSON I.—PARTS OF SPEECH.

1. Of what does Etymology treat? 2. What is meant by the term, "Parts of Speech?" 3. What are Classes, under the parts of speech? 4. What are Modifications? 5. How many and what are the parts of speech? 6. What is an article? 7. What is a noun? 8. What is an adjective? 9. What is a pronoun? 10. What is a verb? 11. What is a participle? 12. What is an adverb? 13. What is a conjunction? 14. What is a preposition? 15. What is an interjection?

LESSON II.—PARSING.

1. What is Parsing? and what relation does it bear to grammar? 2. What is a Praxis? and what is said of the word? 3. What is required of the pupil in the FIRST PRAXIS? 4. How many definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? 5. How is the following example parsed? "The patient ox submits to the yoke, and meekly performs the labour required of him."

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the First Chapter, or the First Praxis.]

LESSON III.—ARTICLES.

1. What is an ARTICLE? 2. Are an and a different articles, or the same? 3. When ought an to be used, and what are the examples? 4. When should a be used, and what are the examples? 5. What form of the article do the sounds of w and y require? 6. Can you repeat the alphabet, with an or a before the name of each letter? 7. Will you name the ten parts of speech, with an or a before each name? 8. When does a common noun not admit an article? 9. How is the sense of nouns commonly made indefinitely partitive? 10. Does the mere being of a thing demand the use of articles? 11. Can articles ever be used when we mean to speak of a whole species? 12. But how does an or a commonly limit the sense? 13. And how does the commonly limit the sense? 14. Which number does the limit, the singular or the plural? 15. When is the required before adjectives? 16. Why is an or a not applicable to plurals? 17. What is said of an or a before an adjective of number? 18. When, or how often, should articles be inserted? 19. What is said of needless articles? 20. What is the effect of putting one article for the other, and how shall we know which to choose? 21. How are the two articles distinguished in grammar? 22. Which is the definite article, and what does it denote? 23. Which is the indefinite article, and what does it denote? 24. What modifications have the articles?

LESSON IV.—PARSING.

1. What is required of the pupil in the SECOND PRAXIS? 2. How many definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? 3. How is the following example parsed? "The task of a schoolmaster laboriously prompting and urging an indolent class, is worse than his who drives lazy horses along a sandy road."

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the Second Chapter, or the Second Praxis; and then, if you please, you may correct orally the five lessons of bad English, with which the Second Chapter concludes.]

LESSON V.—NOUNS.

1. What is a NOUN, and what are the examples given? 2. Into what general classes are nouns divided? 3. What is a proper noun? 4. What is a common noun? 5. What particular classes are included among common nouns? 6. What is a collective noun? 7. What is an abstract noun? 8. What is a verbal or participial noun? 9. What modifications have nouns? 10. What are Persons, in grammar? 11. How many persons are there, and what are they called? 12. What is the first person? 13. What is the second person? 14. What is the third person? 15. What are Numbers, in grammar? 16. How many numbers are there, and what are they called? 17. What is the singular number? 18. What is the plural number? 19. How is the plural number of nouns regularly formed? 20. How is the regular plural formed without increase of syllables? 21. How is the regular plural formed when the word gains a syllable? LESSON VI—NOUNS.

1. What are Genders, in grammar? 2. How many genders are there, and what are they called? 3. What is the masculine gender? 4. What is the feminine gender? 5. What is the neuter gender? 6. What nouns, then, are masculine? what, feminine? and what, neuter? 7. What inflection of English nouns regularly changes their gender? 8. On what are the different genders founded, and to what parts of speech do they belong? 9. When the noun is such as may be applied to either sex, how is the gender usually determined? 10. What principle of universal grammar determines the gender when both sexes are taken together? 11. What is said of the gender of nouns of multitude? 12. Under what circumstances is it common to disregard the distinction of sex? 13. In how many ways are the sexes distinguished in grammar? 14. When the gender is figurative, how is it indicated? 15. What are Cases, in grammar? 16. How many cases are there, and what are they called? 17. What is the nominative case? 18. What is the subject of a verb? 19. What is the possessive case? 20. How is the possessive case of nouns formed? 21. What is the objective case? 22. What is the object of a verb, participle, or preposition? 23. What two cases of nouns are alike in form, and how are they distinguished? 24. What is the declension of a noun? 25. How do you decline the nouns, friend, man, fox, and fly?

LESSON VII—PARSING.

1. What is required of the pupil in the THIRD PRAXIS? 2. How many definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? 3. How is the following example to be parsed? "The writings of Hannah More appear to me more praise-worthy than Scott's."

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the Third Chapter, or the Third Praxis; and then, if you please, you may correct orally the three lessons of bad English, with which the Third Chapter concludes.]

LESSON VIII.—ADJECTIVES.

1. What is an ADJECTIVE, and what are the examples given? 2. Into what classes may adjectives be divided? 3. What is a common adjective? 4. What is a proper adjective? 5. What is a numeral adjective? 6. What is a pronominal adjective? 7. What is a participial adjective? 8. What is a compound adjective? 9. What modifications have adjectives? 10. What is comparison, in grammar? 11. How many and what are the degrees of comparison? 12. What is the positive degree? 13. What is the comparative degree? 14. What is the superlative degree? 15. What adjectives cannot be compared? 16. What adjectives are compared by means of adverbs? 17. How are adjectives regularly compared? 18. What principles of spelling must be observed in the comparing of adjectives? 19. To what adjectives is the regular method of comparison, by er and est, applicable? 20. Is there any other method of expressing the degrees of comparison? 21. How are the degrees of diminution, or inferiority, expressed? 22. Has the regular method of comparison any degrees of this kind? 23. Do we ever compare by adverbs those adjectives which can be compared by er and est? 24. How do you compare good? bad, evil, or ill? little? much? many? 25. How do you compare far? near? fore? hind? in? out? up? low? late? 26. What words want the positive? 27. What words want the comparative?

LESSON IX.—PARSING.

1. What is required of the pupil in the FOURTH PRAXIS? 2. How many definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? 3. How is the following example parsed? "The best and most effectual method of teaching grammar, is precisely that of which the careless are least fond: teach learnedly, rebuking whatsoever is false, blundering, or unmannerly."

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the Fourth Chapter, or the Fourth Praxis; and then, if you please, you may correct orally the three lesons of bad English, with which the Fourth Chapter concludes.]

LESSON X.—PRONOUNS.

1. What is a PRONOUN, and what is the example given? 2. How many pronouns are there? 3. How are pronouns divided? 4. What is a personal pronoun? 5. How many and what are the simple personal pronouns? 6. How many and what are the compound personal pronouns? 7. What is a relative pronoun? 8. Which are the relative pronouns? 9. What peculiarity has the relative what? 10. What is an interrogative pronoun? 11. Which are the interrogative pronouns? 12. Do who, which, and what, all ask the same question? 13. What modifications have pronouns? 14. Why are not these things defined under the head of pronouns? 15. What is the declension of a pronoun? 16. How do you decline the pronoun I? Thou? He? She? It? 17. What is said of the compound personal pronouns? 18. How do you decline the pronoun Myself? Thyself? Himself? Herself? Itself? 19. Are the interrogative pronouns declined like the simple relatives? 20. How do you decline Who? Which? What? That? As? 21. Have the compound relative pronouns any declension? 22. How do you decline Whoever? Whosoever? Whichever? Whichsoever? Whatever? Whatsoever?

LESSON XI.—PARSING.

1. What is required of the pupil in the FIFTH PRAXIS? 2. How many definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? 3. How is the following example parsed? "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?"

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the Fifth Chapter, or the Fifth Praxis; and then, if you please, you may correct orally the three lessons of bad English, with which the Fifth Chapter concludes.]

LESSON XII.—VERBS.

1. What is a VERB, and what are the examples given? 2. Why are verbs called by that name? 3. Respecting an English verb, what things are to be sought in the first place? 4. What is the Present? 5. What is the Preterit? 6. What is the Imperfect Participle? 7. What is the Perfect Participle? 8. How are verbs divided, with respect to their form? 9. What is a regular verb? 10. What is an irregular verb? 11. What is a redundant verb? 12. What is a defective verb? 13. How are verbs divided, with respect to their signification? 14. What is an active-transitive verb? 15. What is an active-intransitive verb? 16. What is a passive verb? 17. What is a neuter verb? 18. What modifications have verbs? 19. What are Moods, in grammar? 20. How many moods are there, and what are they called? 21. What is the infinitive mood? 22. What is the indicative mood? 23. What is the potential mood? 24. What is the subjunctive mood? 25. What is the imperative mood?

LESSON XIII.—VERBS.

1. What are Tenses, in grammar? 2. How many tenses are there, and what are they called? 3. What is the present tense? 4. What is the imperfect tense? 5. What is the perfect tense? 6. What is the pluperfect tense? 7. What is the first-future tense? 8. What is the second-future tense? 9. What are the Person and Number of a verb? 10. How many persons and numbers belong to verbs? 11. Why are not these things defined under the head of verbs? 12. How are the second and third persons singular distinctively formed? 13. How are the person and number of a verb ascertained, where no peculiar ending is employed to mark them? 14. What is the conjugation of a verb? 15. What are the PRINCIPAL PARTS in the conjugation of a verb? 16. What is a verb called which wants some of these parts? 17. What is an auxiliary, in grammar? 18. What verbs are used as auxiliaries? 19. What are the inflections of the verb do, in its simple tenses? 20. What are the inflections of the verb be, in its simple tenses? 21. What are the inflections of the verb have, in its simple tenses? 22. What are the inflections and uses of shall and will? 23. What are the inflections and uses of may? 24. What are the inflections and uses of can? 25. What are the uses of must, which is uninflected? 26. To what style is the inflecting of shall, will, may, can, should, would, might, and could, now restricted?

LESSON XIV.—VERBS.

1. What is the simplest form of an English conjugation? 2. What is the first example of conjugation? 3. What are the principal parts of the verb LOVE? 4. How many and what tenses has the infinitive mood?—the indicative?—the potential?—the subjunctive?—the imperative? 9. What is the verb LOVE in the Infinitive, present?—perfect?— Indicative, present?—imperfect?—perfect?—pluperfect?—first-future?— second-future?—Potential, present?—imperfect?—perfect?—pluperfect?— Subjunctive, present?—imperfect?—Imperative, present? 24. What are its participles?

LESSON XV.—VERBS.

1. What is the synopsis of the verb LOVE, in the first person singular?—second person singular, solemn style?—third person singular?—first person plural?—second person plural?—third person plural? 7. If the second person singular of this verb be used familiarly, how should it be formed?

LESSON XVI.—VERBS.

1. What is the second example of conjugation? 2. What are the principal parts? 3. How is the verb SEE conjugated throughout? 4. How do you form a synopsis of the verb see, with the pronoun I? thou? he? we? you? they?

LESSON XVII.—VERBS.

1. What is the third example of conjugation? 2. What are the principal parts? 3. How is the verb BE conjugated? 4. How do you form a synopsis of the verb be, with the nominative I? thou? he? we? you? they? the man? the men?

LESSON XVIII.—VERBS.

1. What is the compound form of conjugating active or neuter verbs? 2. What peculiar meaning does this form convey? 3. What is the fourth example of conjugation? 4. What are the principal parts of the simple verb READ? 5. How is the verb READ conjugated in the compound form? 6. How do you form a synopsis of the verb BE READING, with the nominative I? thou? he? we? you? they? the boy? the boys?

LESSON XIX.—VERBS.

1. How are passive verbs formed? 2. What is the fifth example of conjugation? 3. How is the passive verb BE LOVED conjugated throughout? 4. How do you form a synopsis of the verb BE LOVED, with the nominative I? thou? he? we? you? they? the child? the children?

LESSON XX.—VERBS.

1. How is a verb conjugated negatively? 2. How is the form of negation exemplified by the verb love in the first person singular? 3. What is the form of negation for the solemn style, second person singular? 4. What is the form for the familiar style? 5. What is the negative form of the verb love with the pronoun he? 6. How is the verb conjugated interrogatively? 7. What is the interrogative form of the verb love with the pronoun I? 8. What is the form of question in the solemn style, with this verb in the second person singular? 9. How are such questions asked in the familiar style? 10. What is the interrogative form of the verb love with the pronoun he? 11. How is a verb conjugated interrogatively and negatively? 12. How is the negative question exemplified in the first person plural? 13. How is the negative question exemplified in the second person plural? 14. How is the like synopsis formed in the third person plural?

LESSON XXI.—VERBS.

1. What is an irregular verb? 2. How many simple irregular verbs are there? 3. What are the principal parts of the following verbs: Arise, be, bear, beat, begin, behold, beset, bestead, bid, bind, bite, bleed, break, breed, bring, buy, cast, chide, choose, cleave, cling, come, cost, cut, do, draw, drink, drive, eat, fall, feed, feel, fight, find, flee, fling, fly, forbear, forsake, get, give, go, grow, have, hear, hide, hit, hold, hurt, keep, know, lead, leave, lend, let, lie, lose, make, meet, outdo, put, read, rend, rid, ride, ring, rise, run, say, see, seek, sell, send, set, shed, shoe, shoot, shut, shred, shrink, sing, sink, sit, slay, sling, slink, smite, speak, spend, spin, spit, spread, spring, stand, steal, stick, sting, stink, stride, strike, swear, swim, swing, take, teach, tear, tell, think, thrust, tread, wear, win, write?

LESSON XXII.—VERBS.

1. What is a redundant verb? 2. How many redundant verbs are there? 3. What are the principal parts of the following verbs: Abide, awake, belay, bend, bereave, beseech, bet, betide, blend, bless, blow, build, burn, burst, catch, clothe, creep, crow, curse, dare, deal, dig, dive, dream, dress, dwell, freeze, geld, gild, gird, grave, grind, hang, heave, hew, kneel, knit, lade, lay, lean, leap, learn, light, mean, mow, mulet, pass, pay, pen, plead, prove, quit, rap, reave, rive, roast, saw, seethe, shake, shape, shave, shear, shine, show, sleep, slide, slit, smell, sow, speed, spell, spill, split, spoil, stave, stay, string, strive, strow, sweat, sweep, swell, thrive, throw, wake, wax, weave, wed, weep, wet, whet, wind, wont, work, wring? 4. What is a defective verb? 5. What verbs are defective?

LESSON XXIII.—PARSING.

1. What is required of the pupil in the SIXTH PRAXIS? 2. How many definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? 3. How is the following example parsed? "The freedom of choice seems essential to happiness; because, properly speaking, that is not our own which is imposed upon us."

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the Sixth Chapter, or the Sixth Praxis; and then, if you please, you may correct orally the three lessons of bad English, with which the Sixth Chapter concludes.]

LESSON XXIV.—PARTICIPLES.

1. What is a PARTICIPLE, and how is it generally formed? 2. How many kinds of participles are there, and what are they called? 3. What is the imperfect participle? 4. What is the perfect participle? 5. What is the preperfect participle? 6. How is the first or imperfect participle formed? 7. How is the second or perfect participle formed? 8. How is the third or preperfect participle formed? 9. What are the participles of the following verbs, according to the simplest form of conjugation: Repeat, study, return, mourn, seem, rejoice, appear, approach, suppose, think, set, come, rain, stand, know, deceive?

LESSON XXV.—PARSING.

1. What is required of the pupil in the SEVENTH PRAXIS? 2. How many definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? 3. How is the following example parsed: "Religion, rightly understood and practised, has the purest of all joys attending it."

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the Seventh Chapter, or the Seventh Praxis; and then, if you please, you may correct orally the three lessons of bad English, with which the Seventh Chapter concludes.]

LESSON XXVI.—ADVERBS.

1. What is an ADVERB, and what is the example given? 2. To what general classes may adverbs be reduced? 3. What are adverbs of time? 4. What are adverbs of place? 5. What are adverbs of degree? 6. What are adverbs of manner? 1. What are conjunctive adverbs? 8. Are all the conjunctive adverbs included in the first four classes? 9. How may the adverbs of time be subdivided? 10. How may the adverbs of place be subdivided? 11. How may the adverbs of degree be subdivided? 12. How may the adverbs of manner be subdivided? 13. What modifications have adverbs? 14. How do we compare well, badly or ill, little, much, far, and forth? 15. Of what degree is the adverb rather? 16. What is said of the comparison of adverbs by more and most, less and least?

LESSON XXVII.—PARSING.

1. What is required of the pupil in the EIGHTH PRAXIS? 2. How many definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? 3. How is the following example parsed? "When was it that Rome attracted most strongly the admiration of mankind?"

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the Eighth Chapter, or the Eighth Praxis; and then, if you please, you may correct orally the lesson of bad English, with which the Eighth Chapter concludes.]

LESSON XXVIII.—CONJUNCTIONS.

1. What is a CONJUNCTION, and what is the example given? 2. Have we any connective words besides the conjunctions? 3. How do relative pronouns differ from other connectives? 4. How do conjunctive adverbs differ from other connectives? 5. How do conjunctions differ from other connectives? 6. How do prepositions differ from other connectives? 7. How are the conjunctions divided? 8. What is a copulative conjunction? 9. What is a disjunctive conjunction? 10. What are corresponsive conjunctions? 11. Which are the copulative conjunctions? 12. Which are the disjunctive conjunctions? 13. Which are the corresponsive conjunctions?

LESSON XXIX.—PARSING.

1. What is required of the pupil in the NINTH PRAXIS? 2. How many definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? 3. How is the following example parsed? "If thou hast done a good deed, boast not of it."

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the Ninth Chapter, or the Ninth Praxis; and then, if you please, you may correct orally the lesson of bad English, with which the Ninth Chapter concludes.]

LESSON XXX.—PREPOSITIONS.

1. What is a PREPOSITION, and what is the example given? 2. Are the prepositions divided into classes? 3. Have prepositions any grammatical modifications? 4. How are the prepositions arranged in the list? 5. What are the prepositions beginning with a?—with b?—with c?—with d?—with e?—with f?—with i?—with m?—with n?—with o?—with p?—with r?—with s?—with t?—with u?—with w? 21. Does this list contain all the words that are ever used in English as prepositions?

LESSON XXXI.—PARSING.

1. What is required of the pupil in the TENTH PRAXIS? 2. How many definitions are here to be given for each part of speech? 3. How is the following example parsed? "Never adventure on too near an approach to what is evil?"

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the Tenth Chapter, or the Tenth Praxis; and then, if you please, you may correct orally the lesson of bad English, with which the Tenth Chapter concludes.]

LESSON XXXII.—INTERJECTIONS.

1. What is an INTERJECTION, and what are the examples given? 2. Why are interjections so called? 3. How are the interjections arranged in the list? 4. What are the interjections of joy?—of praise?—of sorrow?—of wonder?—of wishing or earnestness?—of pain or fear?—of contempt?—of aversion?—of calling aloud?—of exultation?—of laughter?—of salutation?—of calling to attention?—of calling to silence?—of surprise or horror?—of languor?—of stopping?—of parting?—of knowing or detecting?—of interrogating?

LESSON XXXIII.—PARSING.

1. What is required of the pupil in the ELEVENTH PRAXIS? How many definitions are here given for each part of speech? 3. How is the following example parsed? "O! sooner shall the earth and stars fall into chaos!"

[Now parse, in like manner, the three lessons of the Eleventh Chapter, or the Eleventh Praxis; and then, if you please, you may correct orally the lesson of bad English, with which the Eleventh Chapter concludes.]



CHAPTER XIII.—FOR WRITING.

EXERCISES IN ETYMOLOGY.

[When the pupil has become familiar with the different parts of speech, and their classes and modifications, and has been sufficiently exercised in etymological parsing and correcting, he should write out the following exercises; for speech and writing afford us different modes of testing the proficiency of students, and exercises in both are necessary to a complete course of English Grammar.]

EXERCISE I.—ARTICLES.

1. Prefix the definite article to each of the following nouns: path, paths; loss, losses; name, names; page, pages; want, wants; doubt, doubts; votary, votaries.

2. Prefix the indefinite article to each of the following nouns: age, error, idea, omen, urn, arch, bird, cage, dream, empire, farm, grain, horse, idol, jay, king, lady, man, novice, opinion, pony, quail, raven, sample, trade, uncle, vessel, window, youth, zone, whirlwind, union, onion, unit, eagle, house, honour, hour, herald, habitation, hospital, harper, harpoon, ewer, eye, humour.

3. Insert the definite article rightly in the following phrases: George Second—fair appearance—part first—reasons most obvious—good man—wide circle—man of honour—man of world—old books—common people—same person—smaller piece—rich and poor—first and last—all time—great excess—nine muses—how rich reward—so small number—all ancient writers—in nature of things—much better course.

4. Insert the indefinite article rightly in each of the following phrases: new name—very quick motion—other sheep—such power—what instance—great weight—such worthy cause—to great difference—high honour—humble station—universal law—what strange event—so deep interest—as firm hope—so great wit—humorous story—such person—few dollars—little reflection.

EXERCISE II.—NOUNS.

1. Write the plurals of the following nouns: town, country, case, pin, needle, harp, pen, sex, rush, arch, marsh, monarch, blemish, distich, princess, gas, bias, stigma, wo, grotto, folio, punctilio, ally, duty, toy, money, entry, valley, volley, half, dwarf, strife, knife, roof, muff, staff, chief, sheaf, mouse, penny, ox, foot, erratum, axis, thesis, criterion, bolus, rebus, son-in-law, pailful, man-servant, fellow-citizen.

2. Write the feminines corresponding to the following nouns: earl, friar, stag, lord, duke, marquis, hero, executor, nephew, heir, actor, enchanter, hunter, prince, traitor, lion, arbiter, tutor, songster, abbot, master, uncle, widower, son, landgrave.

3. Write the possessive case singular, of the following nouns: table, leaf, boy, torch, park, porch, portico, lynx, calf, sheep, wolf, echo, folly, cavern, father-in-law, court-martial, precipice, countess, lordship.

4. Write the possessive case plural, of the following nouns: priest, tutor, scholar, mountain, city, courtier, judge, citizen, woman, servant, writer, grandmother.

5. Write the possessive case, both singular and plural, of the following nouns: body, fancy, lady, attorney, negro, nuncio, life, brother, deer, child, wife, goose, beau, envoy, distaff, hero, thief, wretch.

EXERCISE III.—ADJECTIVES.

1. Annex a suitable noun to each of the following adjectives, without repeating any word: good, great, tall, wise, strong, dark, dangerous, dismal, drowsy, twenty, true, difficult, pale, livid, ripe, delicious, stormy, rainy, convenient, heavy, disastrous, terrible, necessary. Thus—good manners, &c.

2. Place a suitable adjective before each of the following nouns, without repeating any word: man, son, merchant, work, fence, fear, poverty, picture, prince, delay, suspense, devices, follies, actions. Thus—wise man, &c.

3. Write the forms in which the following adjectives are compared by inflection, or change of form: black, bright, short, white, old, high, wet, big, few, lovely, dry, fat, good, bad, little, much, many, far, true, just, vast.

4. Write the forms in which the following adjectives are compared, using the adverbs of increase: delightful, comfortable, agreeable, pleasant, fortunate, valuable, wretched, vivid, timid, poignant, excellent, sincere, honest, correct.

5. Write the forms in which the following adjectives are compared, using the comparative adverbs of inferiority or diminution: objectionable, formidable, forcible, comely, pleasing, obvious, censurable, prudent, imprudent, imperfect, pleasant, unpleasant.

EXERCISE IV.—PRONOUNS.

1. Write the nominative plural of the following pronouns: I, thou, he, she, it, who, which, what, that, as.

2. Write the objective singular of the following pronouns: I, thou, he, she, it, who, which, what, that, as.

3. Write the following words in their customary and proper forms: he's, her's, it's, our's, your's, their's, who's, myself, hisself, theirselves.

4. Write together in declension the following pronouns, according to the agreement of each two: I myself, thou thyself, he himself, she herself it itself.

5. Rewrite the following sentences, and make them good English: "Nor is the criminal binding any thing: but was, his self, being bound."—Wrights Gram., p. 193. "The writer surely did not mean, that the work was preparing its self."—Ib. "May, or can, in its self, denotes possibility."—Ib., p. 216. "Consequently those in connection with the remaining pronouns respectively, should be written,—he, his self;—she, her self;—ye or you, your selves; they, their selves."—Ib., p. 154. "Lest their beacons be lost to the view, and their selves wrecked on the shoals of destruction."—Ib., p. 155. "In the regal style, as generally in the second person, the singular noun is added to the plural pronoun, ourself."—Churchill's Gram., p. 78. "Each has it's peculiar advantages."—Ib., p. 283. "Who his ownself bare our sins in his own body on the tree."—The Friend, iv, 302. "It is difficult to look inwardly on oneself."—Journal of N. Y. Lit. Convention. p. 287.

EXERCISE V.—VERBS.

1. Write the four principal parts of each of the following verbs: slip, thrill, caress, force, release, crop, try, die, obey, delay, destroy, deny, buy, come, do, feed, lie, say, huzza, pretend, deliver, arrest.

2. Write the following preterits, each in its appropriate form: exprest, stript, dropt, jumpt, prest, topt, whipt, linkt, propt, fixt, crost, stept, distrest, gusht, confest, snapt, skipt, kist, discust, tackt.

3. Write the following verbs in the indicative mood, present tense, second person singular: move, strive, please, reach, confess, fix, deny, survive, know, go, outdo, close, lose, pursue, defend, surpass, conquer, deliver, enlighten, protect, polish.

4. Write the following verbs in the indicative mood, present tense, third person singular: leave, seem, search, impeach, fear, redress, comply, bestow, do, woo, sue, view, allure, rely, beset, release, be, bias, compel, degrade, efface, garnish, handle, induce.

5. Write the following verbs in the subjunctive mood, present tense, in the three persons singular: serve, shun, turn, learn, find, wish, throw, dream, possess, detest, disarm, allow, pretend, expose, alarm, deprive, transgress.

EXERCISE VI.—VERBS.

1. Write a synopsis of the first person singular of the active verb amuse, conjugated affirmatively.

2. Write a synopsis of the second person singular of the neuter verb sit, conjugated affirmatively in the solemn style.

3. Write a synopsis of the third person singular of the active verb speak, conjugated affirmatively in the compound form.

4. Write a synopsis of the first person plural of the passive verb be reduced, conjugated affirmatively.

5. Write a synopsis of the second person plural of the active verb lose, conjugated negatively.

6. Write a synopsis of the third person plural of the neuter verb stand, conjugated interrogatively.

7. Write a synopsis of the first person singular of the active verb derive, conjugated interrogatively and negatively.

EXERCISE VII.—PARTICIPLES.

1. Write the simple imperfect participles of the following verbs: belong, provoke, degrade, impress, fly, do, survey, vie, coo, let, hit, put, defer, differ, remember.

2. Write the perfect participles of the following verbs: turn, burn, learn, deem, crowd, choose, draw, hear, lend, sweep, tear, thrust, steal, write, delay, imply, exist.

3. Write the preperfect participles of the following verbs: depend, dare, deny, value, forsake, bear, set, sit, lay, mix, speak, sleep, allot.

4. Write the following participles each in its appropriate form: dipt, deckt, markt, equipt, ingulft, embarrast, astonisht, tost, embost, absorpt, attackt, gasht, soakt, hackt.

5. Write the regular participles which are now generally preferred to the following irregular ones: blent, blest, clad, curst, diven, drest, graven, hoven, hewn, knelt, leant, leapt, learnt, lit, mown, mulct, past, pent, quit, riven, roast, sawn, sodden, shaven, shorn, sown, striven, strown, sweat, swollen, thriven, waxen.

6. Write the irregular participles which are commonly preferred to the following regular ones: abided, bended, builded, bursted, catched, creeped, dealed, digged, dwelled, freezed, grinded, knitted, layed, meaned, payed, reaved, slided, speeded, splitted, stringed, sweeped, throwed, weaved, weeped, winded.

EXERCISE VIII.—ADVERBS, &c.

1. Compare the following adverbs: soon, often, long, fast, near, early, well, badly or ill, little, much, far, forth.

2. Place the comparative adverbs of increase before each of the following adverbs: purely, fairly, sweetly, earnestly, patiently, completely, fortunately, profitably, easily.

3. Place the comparative adverbs of diminution before each of the following adverbs: secretly, slily, liberally, favourably, powerfully, solemnly.

4. Insert suitable conjunctions in place of the following dashes: Love—fidelity are inseparable. Be shy of parties—factions. Do well—boast not. Improve time—it flies. There would be few paupers—no time were lost. Be not proud—thou art human. I saw—it was necessary. Wisdom is better—wealth. Neither he—I can do it. Wisdom—folly governs us. Take care—thou fall. Though I should boast—am I nothing.

5. Insert suitable prepositions in place of the following dashes: Plead—the dumb. Qualify thyself—action—study. Think often—the worth—time. Live—peace—all men. Keep—compass. Jest not—serious subjects. Take no part—slander. Guilt starts—its own shadow. Grudge not—giving. Go not—sleep—malice. Debate not—temptation. Depend not—the stores—others. Contend not—trifles. Many fall—grasping—things—their reach. Be deaf—detraction.

6. Correct the following sentences, and adapt the interjections to the emotions expressed by the other words: Aha! aha! I am undone. Hey! io! I am tired. Ho! be still. Avaunt! this way. Ah! what nonsense. Heigh-ho! I am delighted. Hist! it is contemptible. Oh! for that sympathetic glow! Ah! what withering phantoms glare!



PART III.

SYNTAX.

Syntax treats of the relation, agreement, government, and arrangement, of words in sentences. The relation of words is their reference to other words, or their dependence according to the sense.

The agreement of words is their similarity in person, number, gender, case, mood, tense, or form.

The government of words is that power which one word has over an other, to cause it to assume some particular modification.

The arrangement of words is their collocation, or relative position, in a sentence.



CHAPTER I.—SENTENCES.

A Sentence is an assemblage of words, making complete sense, and always containing a nominative and a verb; as, "Reward sweetens labour."

The principal parts of a sentence are usually three; namely, the SUBJECT, or nominative,—the attribute, or finite VERB,—and the case put after, or the OBJECT[322] governed by the verb: as, "Crimes deserve punishment."

The other or subordinate parts depend upon these, either as primary or as secondary adjuncts; as, "High crimes justly deserve very severe punishments."

Sentences are usually said to be of two kinds, simple and compound.[323]

A simple sentence is a sentence which consists of one single assertion, supposition, command, question, or exclamation; as, "David and Jonathan loved each other."—"If thine enemy hunger."—"Do violence to no man."—"Am I not an apostle?"—1 Cor., ix, 1. "What immortal glory shall I have acquired!"—HOOKE: Mur. Seq., p. 71.

A compound sentence is a sentence which consists of two or more simple ones either expressly or tacitly connected; as, "Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved."—Acts, xi, 13. "The more the works of Cowper are read, the more his readers will find reason to admire the variety and the extent, the graces and the energy, of his literary talents."—HAYLEY: Mur. Seq., p. 250.

A clause, or member, is a subdivision of a compound sentence; and is itself a sentence, either simple or compound: as, "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; if he be thirsty, give him water to drink."—Prov., xxv, 21.[324]

A phrase is two or more words which express some relation of different ideas, but no entire proposition; as, "By the means appointed."—"To be plain with you."—"Having loved his own."

Words that are omitted by ellipsis, and that are necessarily understood in order to complete the construction, (and only such,) must be supplied in parsing.

The leading principles to be observed in the construction of sentences, are embraced in the following twenty-four rules, which are arranged, as nearly as possible, in the order of the parts of speech.



THE RULES OF SYNTAX.

RULE I.—ARTICLES.

Articles relate to the nouns which they limit.

RULE II.—NOMINATIVES.

A Noun or a Pronoun which is the subject of a finite verb, must be in the nominative case.

RULE III.—APPOSITION. A Noun or a personal Pronoun used to explain a preceding noun or pronoun, is put, by apposition, in the same case.

RULE IV.—POSSESSIVES.

A Noun or a Pronoun in the possessive case, is governed by the name of the thing possessed.

RULE V.—OBJECTIVES.

A Noun or a Pronoun made the object of an active-transitive verb or participle, is governed by it in the objective case.

RULE VI.—SAME CASES.

A Noun or a Pronoun put after a verb or participle not transitive, agrees in case with a preceding noun or pronoun referring to the same thing.

RULE VII.—OBJECTIVES.

A Noun or a Pronoun made the object of a preposition, is governed by it in the objective case.

RULE VIII.—NOM. ABSOLUTE.

A Noun or a Pronoun is put absolute in the nominative, when its case depends on no other word.

RULE IX.—ADJECTIVES.

Adjectives relate to nouns or pronouns.

RULE X.—PRONOUNS.

A Pronoun must agree with its antecedent, or the noun or pronoun which it represents, in person, number, and gender.

RULE XI—PRONOUNS.

When the antecedent is a collective noun conveying the idea of plurality, the Pronoun must agree with it in the plural number.

RULE XII.—PRONOUNS.

When a Pronoun has two or more antecedents connected by and, it must agree with them jointly in the plural, because they are taken together.

RULE XIII.—PRONOUNS.

When a Pronoun has two or more antecedents connected by or or nor, it must agree with them singly, and not as if taken together.

RULE XIV.—FINITE VERBS.

Every finite Verb must agree with its subject, or nominative, in person and number.

RULE XV.—FINITE VERBS.

When the nominative is a collective noun conveying the idea of plurality, the Verb must agree with it in the plural number.

RULE XVI.—FINITE VERBS.

When a Verb has two or more nominatives connected by and, it must agree with them jointly in the plural, because they are taken together.

RULE XVII.—FINITE VERBS.

When a Verb has two or more nominatives connected by or or nor, it must agree with them singly, and not as if taken together.

RULE XVIII.—INFINITIVES.

The Infinitive Mood is governed in general by the preposition TO, which commonly connects it to a finite verb.

RULE XIX.—INFINITIVES.

The active verbs, bid, dare, feel, hear, let, make, need, see, and their participles, usually take the Infinitive after them without the preposition TO.

RULE XX.—PARTICIPLES.

Participles relate to nouns or pronouns, or else are governed by prepositions.

RULE XXI.—ADVERBS.

Adverbs relate to verbs, participles, adjectives, or other adverbs.

RULE XXII.—CONJUNCTIONS.

Conjunctions connect words, sentences, or parts of sentences.

RULE XXIII.—PREPOSITIONS.

Prepositions show the relations of words, and of the things or thoughts expressed by them.

RULE XXIV.—INTERJECTIONS.

Interjections have no dependent construction; they are put absolute, either alone, or with other words.

GENERAL OR CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS ON SYNTAX.

OBS. 1.—An explanation of the relation, agreement, government, and arrangement, of words in sentences, constitutes that part of grammar which we call Syntax. But many grammarians, representing this branch of their subject as consisting of two parts only, "concord and government" say little or nothing of the relation and arrangement of words, except as these are involved in the others. The four things are essentially different in their nature, as may be seen by the definitions given above, yet not so distinct in practice that they can well be made the basis of any perfect division of the rules of syntax. I have therefore, on this occasion, preferred the order of the parts of speech; each of which will form a chapter in the Syntax of this work, as each forms a chapter in the Etymology.

OBS. 2.—Agreement and concord are one and the same thing. Relation and agreement, though different, may yet coincide, and be taken together. The latter is moreover naturally allied to the former. Seven of the ten parts of speech are, with a few exceptions, incapable of any agreement; of these the relation and use must be explained in parsing; and all requisite agreement between any of the rest, is confined to words that relate to each other. For one word may relate to an other and not agree with it; but there is never any necessary agreement between words that have not a relation one to the other, or a connexion according to the sense. Any similarity happening between unconnected words, is no syntactical concord, though it may rank the terms in the same class etymologically.

OBS. 3.—From these observations it may be seen, that the most important and most comprehensive principle of English syntax, is the simple Relation of words, according to the sense. To this head alone, ought to be referred all the rules of construction by which our articles, our nominatives, our adjectives, our participles, our adverbs, our conjunctions, our prepositions, and our interjections, are to be parsed. To the ordinary syntactical use of any of these, no rules of concord, government, or position, can at all apply. Yet so defective and erroneous are the schemes of syntax which are commonly found in our English grammars, that no rules of simple relation, none by which any of the above-named parts of speech can be consistently parsed, are in general to be found in them. If there are any exceptions to this censure, they are very few, and in treatises still marked with glaring defects in regard to the syntax of some of these parts of speech.

OBS. 4.—Grammarians, of course, do not utter falsehoods intentionally; but it is lamentable to see how often they pervert doctrine by untruths uttered ignorantly. It is the design of this pandect, to make every one who reads it, an intelligent judge of the perversions, as well as of the true doctrines, of English grammar. The following citations will show him the scope and parts which have commonly been assigned to our syntax: "The construction of sentences depends principally upon the concord or agreement, and the regimen or government, of words."—Lowth's Gram., p. 68; Churchill's, 120. "Words in sentences have a twofold relation to one another; namely, that of Concord or Agreement; and that of Government or Influence."—Dr. Adam's Latin and English Grammar, p. 151. "The third part of Grammar is SYNTAX, which treats of the agreement and construction of words in a sentence."—E. G. Greene's Grammatical Text-Book, p. 15. "Syntax principally consists of two parts, Concord and Government."—Murray's Gram., p. 142; Ingersoll's, 170; Alger's, 51; R. C. Smith's, 119; and many others. "Syntax consists of two parts, Concord and Government."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 175; Wright's, 124. "The Rules of Syntax may all be included under three heads, Concord, Government, and Position."—Bullions's E. Gram., p. 87. "Position means the place which a word occupies in a sentence."—Ib. "These rules may be mostly ranked under the two heads of agreement and government; the remainder may be termed miscellaneous."—Nutting's Gram., p. 92. "Syntax treats of the agreement, government and proper arrangement of words in a sentence."—Frost's El. of Gram., p. 43. This last-named author, in touching the text of my books, has often corrupted it, as he does here; but my definitions of the tenses he copied without marring them much. The borrowing occurred as early as 1828, and I add this notice now, lest any should suppose me the plagiarist.

OBS. 5.—Most of our English grammars have more rules of syntax than are needed, and yet are very deficient in such as are needed. To say, as some do, that articles, adjectives, and participles, agree with nouns, is to teach Greek or Latin syntax, and not English. To throw, as Nutting does, the whole syntax of adverbs into a remark on such a rule of agreement, is to choose disorder for its own sake. To say, with Frost, Hall, Smith, Perley, Kirkham, Sanborn, Rand, and others, "The nominative case governs the verb in number and person," and again, "A verb must agree with its nominative case in number and person," is to confound the meaning of government and agreement, to say the same thing in different words, and to leave the subject of a verb still without a rule: for rules of government are applicable only to the words governed, and nothing ever agrees with that which governs it.[325] To say, with Murray and others, "Participles have the same government as the verbs from which they are derived," is to say nothing by which either verbs or participles may be parsed, or any of their errors corrected: those many grammarians, therefore, who make this their only rule for participles, leave them all without any syntax. To say, with Murray, Alger, and others, "Adverbs, though they have no government of case, tense, &c., require an appropriate situation in the sentence," is to squander words at random, and leave the important question unanswered, "To what do adverbs relate?" To say again, with the same gentlemen, "Conjunctions connect the same moods and tenses of verbs, and cases of nouns and pronouns," is to put an ungrammatical, obscure, and useless assertion, in the place of an important rule. To say merely, "Prepositions govern the objective case," is to rest all the syntax of prepositions on a rule that never applies to them, but which is meant only for one of the constructions of the objective case. To say, as many do, "Interjections require the objective case of a pronoun of the first person after them, and the nominative case of the second," is to tell what is utterly false as the words stand, and by no means true in the sense which the authors intend. Finally, to suppose, with Murray, that, "the Interjection does not require a distinct, appropriate rule," is in admirable keeping with all the foregoing quotations, and especially with his notion of what it does require; namely, "the objective case of the first person:" but who dares deny that the following exclamation is good English?

"O wretched we! why were we hurried down This lubric and adulterate age!"—Dryden.

OBS. 6.—The truth of any doctrine in science, can be nothing else than its conformity to facts, or to the nature of things; and chiefly by what he knows of the things themselves, must any one judge of what others say concerning them. Erroneous or inadequate views, confused or inconsistent statements, are the peculiar property of those who advance them; they have, in reality, no relationship to science itself, because they originate in ignorance; but all science is knowledge—it is knowledge methodized. What general rules are requisite for the syntactical parsing of the several parts of speech in English, may be seen at once by any one who will consider for a moment the usual construction of each. The correction of false syntax, in its various forms, will require more—yes, five times as many; but such of these as answer only the latter purpose, are, I think, better reserved for notes under the principal rules. The doctrines which I conceive most worthy to form the leading canons of our syntax, are those which are expressed in the twenty-four rules above. If other authors prefer more, or fewer, or different principles for their chief rules, I must suppose, it is because they have studied the subject less. Biased, as we may be, both by our knowledge and by our ignorance, it is easy for men to differ respecting matters of expediency; but that clearness, order, and consistency, are both expedient, and requisite, in didactic compositions, is what none can doubt.

OBS. 7.—Those English grammarians who tell us, as above, that syntax is divided into parts, or included under a certain number of heads, have almost universally contradicted themselves by treating the subject without any regard to such a division; and, at the same time, not a few have somehow been led into the gross error of supposing broad principles of concord or government where no such things exist. For example, they have invented general RULES like these: "The adjective agrees with its noun in number, case, and gender."—Bingham's English Gram., p. 40. "Interjections govern the nominative case, and sometimes the objective: as, 'O thou! alas me!'"—Ib., p. 43. "Adjectives agree with their nouns in number."—Wilbur and Livingston's Gram., p. 22. "Participles agree with their nouns in number."—Ib., p. 23. "Every adjective agrees in number with some substantive expressed or understood."— Hiley's Gram., Rule 8th, p. 77. "The article THE agrees with nouns in either number: as, The wood, the woods."—Bucke's Classical Grammar of the English Language, p. 84. "O! oh! ah! require the accusative case of a pronoun in the first person after them: as 'Ah me!' But when the second person is used, it requires a nominative case: as, 'O thou!'"—Ib., p. 87. "Two or more Nominatives in the singular number, connected by the Conjunction or, nor, EITHER, NEITHER, govern a singular Verb. But Pronouns singular, of different persons, joined by or, EITHER, nor, NEITHER, govern a plural Verb."—Ib., p. 94. "One Nominative frequently governs many Verbs."—Ib., p. 95. "Participles are sometimes governed by the article."—Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 192. "An adverb, an adjective, or a participle, may involve in itself the force of a preposition, and govern the objective case."—Nutting's Gram., p. 99. "The nominative case governs the verb." [326]—Greenleaf's Gram., p. 32; Kirkham's, 176; and others. "The nominative case comes before the verb."—Bingham's Gram., p. 38; Wilbur and Livingston's, 23. "The Verb TO BE, always governs a Nominative, unless it be of the Infinitive Mood."—Buchanan's Syntax, p. 94. "A verb in the infinitive mood may be governed by a verb, noun, adjective, participle, or pronoun."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 187. Or, (as a substitute for the foregoing rule,) say, according to this author: "A verb in the infinitive mood, refers to some noun or pronoun, as its subject or actor."—Ib., p. 188. Now what does he know of English grammar, who supposes any of these rules to be worthy of the place which they hold, or have held, in the halls of instruction?

OBS. 8.—It is a very common fault with the compilers of English grammars, to join together in the same rule the syntax of different parts of speech, uniting laws that must ever be applied separately in parsing. For example: "RULE XI. Articles and adjectives relate to nouns expressed or understood; and the adjectives this, that, one, two, must agree in number with the nouns to which they relate."—Comly's Gram., p. 87. Now, in parsing an article, why should the learner have to tell all this story about adjectives? Such a mode of expressing the rule, is certainly in bad taste; and, after all, the syntax of adjectives is not here comprised, for they often relate to pronouns. "RULE III. Every adjective and participle belongs to some noun or pronoun expressed or understood."—Frost's El. of Gram., p. 44. Here a compiler who in his etymology supposes participles to be verbs, allows them no other construction than that of adjectives. His rule implicitly denies that they can either be parts of their verbs in the formation of tenses, or be governed by prepositions in the character of gerunds. To suppose that a noun may govern the objective case, is both absurd in itself, and contrary to all authority; yet, among his forty-nine rules, this author has the following: "RULE XXV. A participial noun is sometimes governed by a preposition, and may govern an objective case; as, 'George is too fond of wasting time in trifles.'"—Frost's El. of Gram., p. 47. Here again is the fault of which I am speaking, two rules in one; and this fault is combined with an other still worse. Wasting is a participle, governed by of; and time is a noun, governed by wasting. The latter is a declinable word, and found in the objective case; the former is indeclinable, and found in no case. It is an error to suppose that cases are the only things which are susceptible of being governed; nor is the brief rule, "Prepositions govern the objective case," so very clear a maxim as never to be misapprehended. If the learner infer from it, that all prepositions must necessarily govern the objective case, or that the objective case is always governed by a preposition, he will be led into a great mistake.

OBS. 9.—This error of crowding things together, is still more conspicuous in the following examples: "RULE IV. Every article, adjective, and participle, must qualify some noun, or pronoun, either expressed or understood."—Nutting's Gram., p. 94. "RULE IX. The objective case is governed by a transitive verb or a preposition, usually coming before it."—Ib., p. 98. Here an author who separates participles from verbs, has attempted first to compress the entire syntax of three different parts of speech into one short rule; and, secondly, to embrace all the forms of dependence, incident to objective nouns and pronouns, in an other as short. This brevity is a poor exchange for the order and distribution which it prevents—especially as none of its objects are here reached. Articles do not relate to pronouns, unless the obsolete phrase the which is to be revived;[327] participles have other constructions than those which adjectives admit; there are exceptions to the rules which tie articles to nouns, and adjectives to nouns or pronouns; and the objective case may not only be governed by a participle, but may be put in apposition with an other objective. The objective case in English usually stands for the Latin genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative; hence any rule that shall embrace the whole construction of this one case, will be the sole counterpart to four fifths of all the rules in any code of Latin syntax. For I imagine the construction of these four oblique cases, will be found to occupy at least that proportion of the syntactical rules and notes in any Latin grammar that can be found. Such rules, however, are often placed under false or equivocal titles;[328] as if they contained the construction of the governing words, rather than that of the governed. And this latter error, again, has been transferred to most of our English grammars, to the exclusion of any rule for the proper construction of participles, of adverbs, of conjunctions, of prepositions, or of interjections. See the syntax of Murray and his copyists, whose treatment of these parts of speech is noticed in the fifth observation above.

OBS. 10.—It is doubtless most convenient, that, in all rules for the construction of cases, nouns and pronouns be taken together; because the very same doctrines apply equally well to both, and a case is as distinct a thing in the mind, as a part of speech. This method, therefore, I have myself pursued; and it has indeed the authority of all grammarians—not excepting those who violate its principles by adopting two special rules for the relative pronoun, which are not needed. These special rules, which I shall notice again hereafter, may be seen in Murray's Rule 6th, which is double, and contains them both. The most complex rule that I have admitted, is that which embraces the government of objectives by verbs and participles. The regimen by verbs, and the regimen by participles, may not improperly be reckoned distinct principles; but the near alliance of participles to their verbs, seems to be a sufficient reason for preferring one rule to two, in this instance.

OBS. 11.—An other common fault in the treatment of this part of grammar, is the practice of making many of the rules double, or even triple, in their form. Of L. Murray's twenty-two rules, for instance, there are six which severally consist of two distinct paragraphs; and one is composed of three such parts, with examples under each. Five others, though simple in their form, are complex in their doctrine, and liable to the objections which have been urged above against this characteristic. These twelve, therefore, I either reject entirely from my catalogue, or divide and simplify to fit them for their purpose. In short, by comparing the twenty-two rules which were adopted by this popular grammarian, with the twenty-four which are given in this work, the reader may see, that twelve of the former have pleased me too little to have any place at all among the latter, and that none of the remaining ten have been thought worthy to be copied without considerable alteration. Nor are the rules which I adopt, more nearly coincident with those of any other writer. I do not proffer to the schools the second-hand instructions of a mere compiler. In his twenty-two rules, independently of their examples, Hurray has used six hundred and seventeen words, thus giving an average of twenty-eight to each rule; whereas in the twenty-four rules which are presented above, the words are but four hundred and thirty-six, making the average less than nineteen. And yet I have not only divided some of his propositions and extended others, but, by rejecting what was useless or erroneous, and filling up the deficiencies which mark his code, I have delivered twice the amount of doctrine in two thirds of the space, and furnished eleven important rules which are not contained in his grammar. Thus much, in this place, to those who so frequently ask, "Wherein does your book differ from Murray's?"

OBS. 12.—Of all the systems of syntax, or of grammar, which it has been my fortune to examine, a book which was first published by Robinson and Franklin of New York in 1839, a fair-looking duodecimo volume of 384 pages, under the brief but rather ostentatious title, "THE GRAMMAR of the English Language" is, I think, the most faulty,—the most remarkable for the magnitude, multitude, and variety, of its strange errors, inconsistencies, and defects. This singular performance is the work of Oliver B. Peirce, an itinerant lecturer on grammar, who dates his preface at "Rome, N. Y., December 29th, 1838." Its leading characteristic is boastful innovation; it being fall of acknowledged "contempt for the works of other writers."—P. 379. It lays "claim to singularity" as a merit, and boasts of a new thing under the sun—"in a theory RADICALLY NEW, a Grammar of the English Language; something which I believe," says the author, "has NEVER BEFORE BEEN FOUND."—P. 9. The old scholastic notion, that because Custom is the arbitress of speech, novelty is excluded from grammar, this hopeful reformer thoroughly condemns; "repudiating this sentiment to the full extent of it," (ib.) and "writing his theory as though he had never seen a book, entitled an English Grammar."—Ib. And, for all the ends of good learning, it would have been as well or better, if he never had. His passion for novelty has led him not only to abandon or misapply, in an unprecedented degree, the usual terms of the art, but to disregard in many instances its most unquestionable principles, universal as well as particular. His parts of speech are the following ten: "Names, Substitutes, Asserters, Adnames, Modifiers, Relatives, Connectives, Interrogatives, Repliers, and Exclamations."—The Gram., p. 20. His names are nouns; his substitutes are pronouns, and any adjectives whose nouns are not expressed; his asserters are verbs and participles, though the latter assert nothing; his adnames are articles, adjectives whose nouns or pronouns are expressed, and adverbs that relate to adjectives; his modifiers are such adverbs as "modify the sense or sound of a whole sentence;" his relatives are prepositions, some of which govern no object; his connectives are conjunctions, with certain adverbs and phrases; his interrogatives and repliers are new parts of speech, very lamely explained; his exclamations are interjections, and "phrases used independently; as, O hapless choice!"—The Gram., p. 22. In parsing, he finds a world of "accommodatives;" as, "John is more than five years older than William."—Ib. p. 202. Here he calls the whole phrase "more than five years" "a secondary adname" i. e., adjective. But, in the phrase, "more than five years afterwards," he would call the same words "a secondary modifier;" i. e., adverb.—Ib., p. 203. And, in the phrase, "more than five years before the war," he would call them "a secondary relative;" i. e., preposition.—Ib., p. 204. And so of other phrases innumerable. His cases are five, two of which are new, "the Independent" and "the Twofold case." His "independent case" is sometimes the nominative in form, as "thou" and "she;" (p. 62;) sometimes the objective, as, "me" and "him;" (p. 62 and p. 199;) sometimes erroneously supposed to be the subject of a finite verb; while his nominative is sometimes as erroneously said to have no verb. His code of syntax has two sorts of rules, Analytical and Synthetical. The former are professedly seventeen in number; but, many of them consisting of two, three, or four distinct parts, their real number is more properly thirty-four. The latter are reckoned forty-five; but if we count their separate parts, they are fifty-six: and these with the others make ninety. I shall not particularize their faults. All of them are whimsically conceived and badly written. In short, had the author artfully designed to turn English grammar into a subject of contempt and ridicule, by as ugly a caricature of it as he could possibly invent, he could never have hit the mark more exactly than he has done in this "new theory"—this rash production, on which he so sincerely prides himself. Alone as he is, in well-nigh all his opinions, behold how prettily he talks of "COMMON SENSE, the only sure foundation of any theory!" and says, "On this imperishable foundation—this rock of eternal endurance—I rear my superstructure, the edifice of scientific truth, the temple of Grammatical consistency!"—Peirce's Preface, p. 7.

OBS. 13.—For the teaching of different languages, it has been thought very desirable to have "a Series of grammars, Greek, Latin, English, &c., all, so far as general principles are concerned, upon the same plan, and as nearly in the same words as the genius of the languages would permit."—See Bullions's Principles of E. Gram., 2d Ed., pp. iv and vi. This scheme necessarily demands a minute comparison not only of the several languages themselves, but also of the various grammars in which their principles, whether general or particular, are developed. For by no other means can it be ascertained to what extent uniformity of this kind will be either profitable to the learner, or consistent with truth. Some books have been published, which, it is pretended, are thus accommodated to one an other, and to the languages of which they treat. But, in view of the fact, that the Latin or the Greek grammars now extant, (to say nothing of the French, Spanish, and others,) are almost as various and as faulty as the English, I am apprehensive that this is a desideratum not soon to be realized,—a design more plausible in the prospectus, than feasible in the attempt. At any rate, the grammars of different languages must needs differ as much as do the languages themselves, otherwise some of their principles will of course be false; and we have already seen that the nonobservance of this has been a fruitful source of error in respect to English syntax. The achievement, however, is not altogether impossible, if a man of competent learning will devote to it a sufficient degree of labour. But the mere revising or altering of some one grammar in each language, can scarcely amount to any thing more than a pretence of improvement. Waiving the pettiness of compiling upon the basis of an other man's compilation, the foundation of a good grammar for any language, must be both deeper and broader than all the works which Professor Bullions has selected to build upon: for the Greek, than Dr. Moor's "Elementa Linguae, Graecae;" for the Latin, than Dr. Adam's "Rudiments of Latin and English Grammar;" for the English, than Murray's "English Grammar," or Lennie's "Principles of English Grammar;" which last work, in fact, the learned gentleman preferred, though he pretends to have mended the code of Murray. But, certainly, Lennie never supposed himself a copyist of Murray; nor was he to much extent an imitator of him, either in method or in style.

OBS. 14.—We have, then, in this new American form of "The Principles of English Grammar," Lennie's very compact little book, altered, enlarged, and bearing on its title-page (which is otherwise in the very words of Lennie) an other author's name, and, in its early editions, the false and self-accusing inscription, "(ON THE PLAN OF MURRAY'S GRAMMAR.)" And this work, claiming to have been approved "by the most competent judges," now challenges the praise not only of being "better adapted to the use of academies and schools than any yet published" but of so presenting "the rules and principles of general grammar, as that they may apply to, and be in perfect harmony with, the grammars of the dead languages"— Recommendations, p. iv. These are admirable professions for a critical author to publish; especially, as every rule or principle of General Grammar, condemning as it must whoever violates it, cannot but "be in perfect harmony with" every thing that is true. In this model for all grammars, Latin, Greek, &c., the doctrines of punctuation, of abbreviations, and of capital letters, and also sections on the rhetorical divisions of a discourse, the different kinds of composition, the different kinds of prose composition, and the different kinds of poetry, are made parts of the Syntax; while his hints for correct and elegant writing, and his section on the composition of letters and themes, which other writers suppose to belong rather to syntax, are here subjoined as parts of Prosody. In the exercises for parsing appended to his Etymology, the Doctor furnishes twenty-five Rules of Syntax, which, he says, "are not intended to be committed to memory, but to be used as directions to the beginner in parsing the exercises under them."—E. Gram., p. 75. Then, for his syntax proper, he copies from Lennie, with some alterations, thirty-four other rules, nine of which are double, and all are jumbled together by both authors, without any regard to the distinction of concord and government, so common in the grammars of the dead languages, and even, so far as I can discover, without any principle of arrangement whatever. They profess indeed to have placed those rules first, which are eaisest [sic—KTH] to learn, and oftenest to be applied; but the syntax of articles, which even on this principle should have formed the first of the series, is placed by Lennie as the thirty-fourth rule, and by his amender as the thirty-second. To all this complexity the latter adds twenty-two Special Rules, with an abundance of "Notes" "Observations" and "Remarks" distinguished by these titles, on some principle which no one but the author can understand. Lastly, his method of syntactical parsing is not only mixed up with etymological questions and answers, but his directions for it, with their exemplification, are perplexingly at variance with his own specimen of the performance. See his book, pages 131 and 133. So much for this grand scheme.

OBS. 15.—Strictures like the foregoing, did they not involve the defence of grammar itself, so as to bear upon interests more important than the success or failure of an elementary book, might well be withheld through motives of charity, economy, and peace. There is many a grammar now extant, concerning which a truly critical reader may know more at first sight, than ever did he that made it. What such a reader will be inclined to rate beneath criticism, an other perhaps will confidently pronounce above it. If my remarks are just, let the one approve them for the other's sake. For what becomes of the teaching of grammar, when that which is received as the most excellent method, must be exempted from censure by reason of its utter worthlessness? And what becomes of Universal Syntax, when the imperfect systems of the Latin and Greek grammars, in stead of being amended, are modelled to the grossest faults of what is worthless in our own?[329]

OBS. 16.—What arrangement of Latin or Greek syntax may be best in itself, I am not now concerned to show. Lily did not divide his, as others have divided the subject since; but first stated briefly his three concords, and then proceeded to what he called the construction of the several parts of speech, taking them in their order. The three concords of Lily are the following: (1.) Of the Nominative and Verb; to which the accusative before an infinitive, and the collective noun with a plural verb, are reckoned exceptions; while the agreement of a verb or pronoun with two or more nouns, is referred to the figure syllepsis. (2.) Of the Substantive and Adjective; under which the agreement of participles, and of some pronouns, is placed in the form of a note. (3.) Of the Relative and Antecedent; after which the two special rules for the cases of relatives are given as underparts. Dr. Adam divided his syntax into two parts; of Simple Sentences, and of Compound Sentences. His three concords are the following: (1.) Of one Substantive with an Other; which construction is placed by Lily and many others among the figures of syntax, and is called apposition. (2.) Of an Adjective with a Substantive; under which principle, we are told to take adjective pronouns and participles. (3.) Of a Verb with a Nominative; under which, the collective noun with a verb of either number, is noticed in an observation. The construction of relatives, of conjunctions, of comparatives, and of words put absolute, this author reserves for the second part of his syntax; and the agreement of plural verbs or pronouns with joint nominatives or antecedents, which Ruddiman places in an observation on his four concords, is here absurdly reckoned a part of the construction of conjunctions. Various divisions and subdivisions of the Latin syntax, with special dispositions of some particular principles of it, may be seen in the elaborate grammars of Despauter, Prat, Ruddiman, Grant, and other writers. And here it may be proper to observe, that, the mixing of syntax with etymology, after the manner of Ingersoll, Kirkham, R. W. Green, R. C. Smith, Sanborn, Felton, Hazen, Parkhurst, Parker and Fox, Weld, and others, is a modern innovation, pernicious to both; either topic being sufficiently comprehensive, and sufficiently difficult, when they are treated separately; and each having, in some instances, employed the pens of able writers almost to the exclusion of the other.

OBS. 17.—The syntax of any language must needs conform to the peculiarities of its etymology, and also be consistent with itself; for all will expect better things of a scholar, than to lay down positions in one part of his grammar, that are irreconcilable with what he has stated in an other. The English language, having few inflections, has also few concords or agreements, and still fewer governments. Articles, adjectives, and participles, which in many other languages agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case, have usually, in English, no modifications in which they can agree with their nouns. Yet Lowth says, "The adjective in English, having no variation of gender and number, cannot but agree with the substantive in these respects."—Short Introd. to Gram., p. 86. What then is the agreement of words? Can it be anything else than their similarity in some common property or modification? And is it not obvious, that no two things in nature can at all agree, or be alike, except in some quality or accident which belongs to each of them? Yet how often have Murray and others, as well as Lowth, forgotten this! To give one instance out of many: "Gender has respect only to the third person singular of the pronouns, he, she, it."—Murray, J. Peirce, Flint, Lyon, Bacon, Russell, Fisk, Maltby, Alger, Miller, Merchant, Kirkham, and other careless copyists. Yet, according to these same gentlemen, "Gender is the distinction of nouns, with regard to sex;" and, "Pronouns must always agree with their antecedents, and the nouns for which they stand, in gender." Now, not one of these three careless assertions can possibly be reconciled with either of the others!

OBS. 18.—Government has respect only to nouns, pronouns, verbs, participles, and prepositions; the other five parts of speech neither govern nor are governed. The governing words may be either nouns, or verbs, or participles, or prepositions; the words governed are either nouns, or pronouns, or verbs, or participles. In parsing, the learner must remember that the rules of government are not to be applied to the governing words, but to those which are governed; and which, for the sake of brevity, are often technically named after the particular form or modification assumed; as, possessives, objectives, infinitives, gerundives. These are the only things in English, that can properly be said to be subject to government; and these are always so, in their own names; unless we except such infinitives as stand in the place of nominatives. Gerundives are participles governed by prepositions; but, there being little or no occasion to distinguish these from other participles, we seldom use this name. The Latin Gerund differs from a participle, and the English Gerundive differs from a participial noun. The participial noun may be the subject or the object of a verb, or may govern the possessive case before it, like any other noun; but the true English gerundive, being essentially a participle, and governing an object after it, like any other participle, is itself governed only by a preposition. At least, this is its usual and allowed construction, and no other is acknowledged to be indisputably right.

OBS. 19.—The simple Relations of words in English, (or those several uses of the parts of speech which we may refer to this head,) are the following nine: (1.) Of Articles to nouns, by Rule 1st; (2.) Of Nominatives to verbs, by Rule 2d; (3.) Of Nominatives absolute or independent, by Rule 8th; (4.) Of Adjectives to nouns or pronouns, by Rule 9th; (5.) Of Participles to nouns or pronouns, by Rule 20th; (6.) Of Adverbs to verbs, participles, &c., by Rule 21st; (7.) Of Conjunctions as connecting words, phrases, or sentences, by Rule 22nd; (8.) Of Prepositions as showing the relations of things, by Rule 23d; (9.) Of Interjections as being used independently, by Rule 24th.

OBS. 20.—The syntactical Agreements in English, though actually much fewer than those which occur in Latin, Greek, or French, may easily be so reckoned as to amount to double, or even triple, the number usually spoken of by the old grammarians. The twenty-four rules above, embrace the following ten heads, which may not improperly be taken for so many distinct concords: (1.) Of a Noun or Pronoun in direct apposition with another, by Rule 3d; (2.) Of a Noun or Pronoun after a verb or participle not transitive, by Rule 6th; (3.) Of a Pronoun with its antecedent, by Rule 10th; (4.) Of a Pronoun with a collective noun, by Rule 11th; (5.) Of a Pronoun with joint antecedents, by Rule 12th; (6.) Of a Pronoun with disjunct antecedents, by Rule 13th; (7.) Of a Verb with its nominative, by Rule 14th; (8.) Of a Verb with a collective noun, by Rule 15th; (9.) Of a Verb with joint nominatives, by Rule 16th; (10.) Of a Verb with disjunct nominatives, by Rule 17th. To these may be added two other special concords, less common and less important, which will be explained in notes under the rules: (11.) Of one Verb with an other, in mood, tense, and form, when two are connected so as to agree with the same nominative; (12.) Of Adjectives that imply unity or plurality, with their nouns, in number.