The Grammar of English Grammars Part 241

Or:--"but _both_ vary their import, and are used to express simple _events_."--_Lowth, Murray, et al. cor._; also _Comly and Ingersoll_; likewise _Abel Flint_. "A double _condition_, in two correspondent clauses of a sentence, is sometimes made _by the word_ HAD; as, '_Had_ he done this, he _had_ escaped.'"--_Murray and Ingersoll cor._ "The pleasures of the understanding are preferable to those of the imagination, _as well as to those_ of sense."--_L. Murray cor._ "Claudian, in a fragment upon the wars of the giants, has contrived to render this idea of their throwing _of_ the mountains, which in itself _has so much grandeur_, burlesque and ridiculous."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "To which not only no other writings are to be preferred, but _to which_, even in divers respects, _none are_ comparable."--_Barclay cor._ "To distinguish them in the understanding, and treat of their several natures, in the same cool manner _that_ we _use_ with regard to other ideas."--_Sheridan cor._ "For it has nothing to do with parsing, or _the_ a.n.a.lyzing _of_ language."--_Kirkham cor._ Or: "For it has nothing to do with _the_ parsing, or a.n.a.lyzing, _of_ language."--_Id._ "Neither _has_ that language [the Latin] _ever been_ so _common_ in Britain."--_Swift cor._ "All that I _purpose_, is, _to give_ some openings into the pleasures of taste."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "But the following sentences would have been better _without it_."--_L. Murray cor._ "But I think the following sentence _would_ be better _without it_." Or: "But I think it _should be expunged from_ the following sentence."-- _Priestley cor._ "They appear, in this case, like _ugly_ excrescences jutting out from the body."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "And therefore the fable of the Harpies, in the third book of the aeneid, and the allegory of Sin and Death, in the second book of Paradise Lost, _ought not to have been inserted_ in these celebrated poems."--_Id._ "Ellipsis is an elegant suppression, or _omission_, of _some_ word or words, _belonging to_ a sentence."--_Brit. Gram. and Buchanan cor._ "The article A or AN _is not very proper_ in this construction."--_D. Blair cor._ "Now suppose the articles had not been _dropped from_ these pa.s.sages."--_Bucke cor._ "To _have given_ a separate _name_ to every one of those trees, would have been an endless and impracticable undertaking."--_Blair cor._ "_Ei_, in general, _has_ the same _sound_ as long and slender _a_." Or better: "_Ei generally has_ the _sound of_ long _or_ slender _a_."--_L. Murray cor._ "When a conjunction is used _with apparent redundance, the insertion of it_ is called Polysyndeton."--_Adam and Gould cor._ "EACH, EVERY, EITHER, _and_ NEITHER, denote the persons or things _that_ make up a number, as taken separately or distributively."--_M'Culloch cor._ "The princ.i.p.al sentence must be expressed by _a verb_ in the indicative, imperative, or potential _mood_"--_S. W. Clark cor._ "Hence he is diffuse, where he ought to _be urgent_."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "All _sorts_ of subjects admit of _explanatory_ comparisons."--_Id. et al. cor._ "The present or imperfect participle denotes being, action, _or pa.s.sion_, continued, _and_ not perfected."--_Kirkham cor._ "What are verbs? Those words which _chiefly_ express what _is said of things_."--_Fowle cor._

"Of all those arts in which the wise excel, _The very_ masterpiece is _writing-well_."--_Sheffield cor._

"Such was that muse whose rules and practice tell, _That art's_ chief masterpiece is _writing-well_."--_Pope cor._

LESSON XIV.--OF THREE ERRORS.

"_From_ some words, the metaphorical sense has justled out the original sense altogether; so that, in respect _to the latter_, they _have_ become obsolete."--_Campbell cor._ "_Surely_, never any _other_ mortal was so overwhelmed with grief, as I am at this present _moment_."--_Sheridan cor._ "All languages differ from _one an_ other in their _modes_ of _inflection_."--_Bullions cor._ "_The noun_ and _the verb_ are the only indispensable parts of speech: the one, to express the subject spoken of; and the other, the predicate, or what is affirmed of _the subject_."--_M'Culloch cor._ "The words _Italicized in_ the _last three_ examples, perform the office of substantives."--_L. Murray cor._ "A sentence _so constructed_ is always _a_ mark of _carelessness in the writer_."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "Nothing is more hurtful to the grace or _the_ vivacity of a period, than superfluous _and_ dragging words at the conclusion."--_Id._ "When its substantive is not _expressed with_ it, but _is_ referred to, _being_ understood."--_Lowth cor._ "Yet they _always_ have _substantives_ belonging to them, either _expressed_ or understood."--_Id._ "Because they define and limit the _import_ of the common _names_, or general _terms_, to which they refer."--_Id._ "Every new object surprises _them_, terrifies _them_, and makes a strong impression on their _minds_."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "His argument required _a_ more _full development_, in order to be distinctly apprehended, and to _have_ its due force."--_Id._ "_Those_ participles which are derived from _active-transitive_ verbs, will govern the objective case, as _do_ the verbs from which they are derived."--_Emmons cor._ "Where, _in violation of_ the rule, the objective case _whom_ follows the verb, _while_ the nominative _I_ precedes _it_."--_L. Murray cor._ "_To use, after_ the same conjunction, both the indicative and the subjunctive _mood_, in the same sentence, and _under_ the same circ.u.mstances, seems to be a great impropriety."--_Lowth, Murray, et al. cor._ "A nice discernment of _the import of words_, and _an_ accurate attention to the best usage, are necessary on these occasions."--_L. Murray cor._ "The Greeks and Romans, the former especially, were, in truth, much more musical than we _are_; their genius was more turned to _take_ delight in the melody of speech."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "_In general, if_ the sense admits it _early_, the sooner _a circ.u.mstance is introduced_, the better; that the more important and significant words may possess the last place, _and be_ quite disenc.u.mbered."--_Murray et al. cor._; also _Blair and Jamieson_. "Thus we find it in _both_ the Greek and _the_ Latin _tongue_."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "_Several_ sentences, constructed in the same manner, and _having_ the same number of members, should never be allowed to _come in succession_."-- _Blair et al. cor._ "I proceed to lay down the rules to be observed in the conduct of metaphors; and _these, with little variation, will be applicable to_ tropes of every kind."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "By _selecting_ words _with_ a proper _regard to their sounds_, we may _often imitate_ other sounds which we mean to describe."--_Dr. Blair and L. Mur. cor._ "The disguise can _scarcely_ be so perfect _as to deceive_."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "The sense _does not admit_ of _any_ other pause, than _one_ after the second syllable 'sit;' _this_ therefore must be the only pause made in the reading."--_Id._ "Not that I believe North America to _have been first_ peopled so _lately_ as _in_ the twelfth century, the period of Madoc's migration."--_Webster cor._ "Money and commodities _will_ always flow to that country _in which_ they are most wanted, and _in which they will_ command the most profit."--_Id._ "That it contains no visible marks of _certain_ articles which are _of_ the _utmost importance_ to a just delivery."--_Sheridan cor._ "And _Virtue_, from _her_ beauty, we call a fair and favourite maid."--_Mack cor._ "The definite article may _relate to_ nouns _of either_ number."--_Inf. S. Gram. cor._

LESSON XV.--OF MANY ERRORS.

(1.) "Compound _words are_[, by L. Murray and others, improperly] included _among the derivatives_."--_L. Murray corrected._ (2.) "_The_ Apostrophe, _placed above the line_, thus ', is used to abbreviate or shorten _words.

But_ its chief use is, to _denote_ the _possessive_ case of nouns."--_Id._ (3.) "_The_ Hyphen, _made_ thus -, _connects the parts of compound_ words.

It is also used when a word is divided."--_Id._ (4.) "The Acute Accent, _made_ thus ', _denotes the syllable on which stress is laid, and sometimes also, that the vowel is short_: as, '_Fancy_.' The Grave _Accent, made_ thus `, _usually denotes, (when applied to English words,) that the stress is laid where a vowel ends the syllable_: as, '_Favour_.'"--_Id._ (5.) "The stress is laid on long _vowels or_ syllables, and on short _ones_, indiscriminately. In order to distinguish the _long or open vowels_ from the _close or short ones_, some writers of dictionaries have placed the grave _accent_ on the former, and the acute on the latter."--_Id._ (6.) "_The_ Diaeresis, thus _made_ , _is_ placed over one of two _contiguous_ vowels, _to show that they are not_ a diphthong."--_Id._ (7.) "_The_ Section, _made_ thus --, is _sometimes used to mark the subdivisions_ of a discourse or chapter."--_Id._ (8.) "_The_ Paragraph, _made thus_ --, _sometimes_ denotes the beginning of a new subject, or _of_ a _pa.s.sage_ not connected with the _text preceding_. This character is _now seldom_ used [_for such a purpose_], _except_ in the Old and New Testaments." Or better:--"except in the _Bible_."--_Id._ (9.) "_The_ Quotation _Points, written thus_ " ", _mark_ the beginning _and the end_ of _what_ is quoted or transcribed from _some_ speaker or author, in his own words. In type, they are inverted commas at the beginning, _apostrophes_ at the conclusion."--_Id._ (10.) "_The_ Brace _was formerly_ used in poetry at the end of a triplet, or _where_ three lines _rhymed together in heroic verse; it_ also _serves_ to connect _several terms_ with one, _when the one is common to all_, and _thus_ to prevent a repet.i.tion _of the_ common term."--_Id._ (11.) "_Several_ asterisks _put together_, generally denote the omission of some _letters belonging to_ a word, or of some bold or indelicate expression; _but sometimes they imply a_ defect in the ma.n.u.script _from which the text is copied_."--_Id._ (12.) "_The_ Ellipsis, _made thus_ ----, _or thus_ ****, is used _where_ some letters _of_ a word, or some words _of_ a verse, are omitted."--_Id._ (13.) "_The_ Obelisk, which is _made_ thus [Obelisk]; and _the_ Parallels, _which are made_ thus ||; _and sometimes_ the letters of the alphabet; and _also the Arabic_ figures; are used as references to _notes in_ the margin, or _at the_ bottom, of the page."--_Id._ (14.) "_The_ note of interrogation should not be employed, where it is only said _that_ a question has been asked, and where the words are not used as a question; _as_, 'The Cyprians asked me why I wept.'"--_Id. et al. cor._ (15.) "_The note_ of interrogation is improper after _mere_ expressions of admiration, or of _any_ other emotion, _though they may bear the form of_ questions."--_Iid._ (16.) "The parenthesis incloses _something which is thrown_ into the body of a sentence, _in an under tone; and_ which affects neither the sense, nor the construction, _of the main text_."--_Lowth cor._ (17.) "Simple members connected by _a relative not used restrictively, or by a conjunction that implies comparison_, are for the most part _divided_ by _the_ comma."--_Id._ (18.) "Simple members, _or_ sentences, connected _as terms of comparison_, are for the most part _separated_ by _the_ comma."--_L.

Murray et al. cor._ (19.) "Simple sentences connected by _a comparative particle_, are for the most part _divided_ by the comma."--_Russell cor._ (20.) "Simple sentences _or clauses_ connected _to form a comparison_, should generally be _parted_ by _the_ comma."--_Merchant cor._ (21.) "The simple members of sentences that express contrast or comparison, should generally be divided by _the_ comma."--_Jaudon cor._ (22.) "_The_ simple members of _a comparative sentence, when_ they _are_ long, are separated by a comma."--_Cooper cor._ (23.) "Simple sentences connected _to form a comparison, or_ phrases placed in opposition, or contrast, are _usually_ separated by _the comma_."--_Hiley and Bullions cor._ (24.) "On _whichever_ word we lay the emphasis,--whether on the first, _the_ second, _the_ third, or _the_ fourth,--_every change of it_ strikes out a different sense."--_L.

Murray cor._ (25.) "To _say to_ those who do not understand sea phrases, 'We tacked to the larboard, and stood off to sea,' would _give them little or no information_."--_Murray and Hiley cor._ (26.) "Of _those_ dissyllables which are _sometimes_ nouns and _sometimes_ verbs, _it may be observed, that_ the verb _is_ commonly _accented_ on the latter _syllable_, and the noun on the former."--_L. Murray cor._ (27.) "And this gives _to_ our language _an_ advantage _over_ most others, in the poetical _or_ rhetorical style."--_Id. et al. cor._ (28.) "And this gives _to_ the English _language_ an advantage _over_ most _others_, in the poetical and _the_ rhetorical style."--_Lowth cor._ (29.) "The second and _the_ third scholar may read the same sentence; or as many _may repeat the text_, as _are_ necessary to _teach_ it perfectly to the whole _cla.s.s_."--_Osborn cor._

(30.) "Bliss is the _same_, in subject, _or in_ king, In who obtain defence, or who defend."

--_Pope's Essay on Man_, IV, 58.

LESSON XVI.--OF MANY ERRORS.

"The j.a.panese, the Tonquinese, and the _Coreans_, speak languages _differing_ from one _an other_, and from _that of_ the inhabitants of China; _while all_ use the same written characters, and, by means _of them_, correspond intelligibly with _one an_ other in writing, though ignorant of the language spoken _by their correspondents_: a plain proof, that the Chinese characters are like hieroglyphics, _and essentially_ independent of language."--_Jamieson cor._; also _Dr. Blair_. "The curved line, _in stead_ of _remaining_ round, is _changed to a_ square _one_, for the reason _before mentioned_."--_Knight cor._ "Every _reader_ should content himself with the use of those tones only, that he is habituated to in speech; and _should_ give _to the words no_ other emphasis, _than_ what he would _give_ to the same words, in discourse. [Or, perhaps the author meant:--and _should_ give _to the emphatic words no_ other _intonation, than_ what he would _give_, &c.] Thus, whatever he utters, will be _delivered_ with ease, and _will_ appear natural."--_Sheridan cor._ "_A stop_, or _pause, is_ a total cessation of sound, during a perceptible, and, in _musical or poetical_ compositions, a measurable s.p.a.ce of time."--_ Id._ "Pauses, or rests, in speaking _or_ reading, are total _cessations_ of the voice, during perceptible, and, in many cases, measurable _s.p.a.ces_ of time."--_L. Murray et al. cor._ "_Those derivative_ nouns which _denote_ small _things_ of the kind _named by their primitives_, are called Diminutive Nouns: as, lambkin, hillock, satchel, gosling; from lamb, hill, sack, goose."--_Bullions cor._ "_Why is it_, that nonsense so often escapes _detection, its character not being perceived either_ by the writer _or_ by the reader?"--_Campbell cor._ "An Interjection is a word used to express sudden emotion. _Interjections_ are so called, because they are generally thrown in between the parts of _discourse, and have no_ reference to the structure of _those_ parts."--_M'Culloch_ cor. "_The verb_ OUGHT _has no other inflection than_ OUGHTEST, _and this is nearly obsolete_."-- _Macintosh cor._ "But the _arrangement_, government, _and_ agreement _of words_, and _also their_ dependence upon _others_, are referred to our reason."--_Osborn cor._ "ME is a personal p.r.o.noun, _of the_ first person, singular _number_, and _objective_ case."--_Guy cor._ "The _noun_ SELF is _usually_ added to a p.r.o.noun; as, herself, himself, &c. _The compounds_ thus _formed are_ called reciprocal _p.r.o.nouns_."--_ Id._ "One cannot _but think_, that our author _would have_ done better, _had he_ begun the first of these three sentences, with saying, '_It_ is novelty, _that_ bestows charms on a monster.'"--_Dr. Blair cor._ "The idea which they present to us, of _nature_ resembling art, of _art_ considered as an original, and nature as a copy, seems not very distinct, _or_ well _conceived_, nor indeed very material to our author's purpose."--_Id._ "_This faulty_ construction of the sentence, _evidently arose from haste and carelessness_."--_Id._ "Adverbs serve to modify _terms_ of action or quality, or to denote time, place, order, degree, _or_ some _other circ.u.mstance_ which we have occasion to specify."--_Id._ "We may naturally expect, _that_ the more any nation is improved by science, and the more perfect _its_ language becomes, _the_ more will _that language_ abound with connective particles."--_Id._ "Mr. Greenleaf's book is _far better_ adapted _to the capacity of_ learners, _than_ any _other_ that has yet appeared, on the subject."--_Feltus and Onderdonk's false praise Englished_.

"Punctuation is the art of marking, in writing _or in print_, the several pauses, or rests, _which separate_ sentences, _or_ the parts of sentences; _so as to denote_ their proper quant.i.ty or proportion, as _it is exhibited_ in a just and accurate _delivery_."--_Lowth cor._ "A compound sentence must _generally_ be resolved into simple ones, and _these be_ separated by _the comma_." Or better: "A compound sentence _is generally divided_, by _the comma_, into _its_ simple _members_."--_Greenleaf and Fisk cor._ "Simple sentences should _in general_ be separated from _one an_ other by _the comma_, unless _a greater point is required_; as, 'Youth is pa.s.sing away, age is approaching, and death is near.'"--_S. R. Hall cor._ "_V_ has _always_ one uniform sound, _which is that_ of _f flattened_, as in _thieve_ from _thief: thus v_ bears to _f_ the same relation _that b_ does to _p, d_ to _t_, hard _g_ to _k, or z_ to _s_."--_L. Murray and Fisk cor._; also _Walker_; also _Greenleaf_. "The author is explaining the _difference_ between sense and imagination, _as_ powers _of_ the human mind."--_L. Murray cor._ Or, if this was the critic's meaning: "The author is endeavouring to explain a very abstract point, the distinction between the powers of sense and _those of_ imagination, _as two different faculties of_ the human mind."--_ Id._; also _Dr. Blair cor._ "HE--(_from the_ Anglo-Saxon HE--) is a personal p.r.o.noun, of the third person, singular number, masculine gender, _and_ nominative case. Decline HE."--_Fowler cor._

CORRECTIONS UNDER THE CRITICAL NOTES.

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE I.--OF THE PARTS OF SPEECH.

"The pa.s.sive voice denotes _an action received_." Or: "The pa.s.sive voice denotes _the receiving of an action_."--_Maunder corrected_. "Milton, in some of his prose works, has _many_ very _finely-turned_ periods."--_Dr.

Blair and Alex. Jam. cor._ "These will be found to be _wholly_, or chiefly, of that cla.s.s."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "All appearances of an author's _affecting of_ harmony, are disagreeable."--_Id. and Jam. cor._ "Some nouns have a double increase; that is, _they increase_ by more syllables than one: as _iter, itin~eris_."--_Adam et al. cor._ "The powers of man are enlarged by _progressive_ cultivation."--_Gurney cor._ "It is always important to begin well; to make a favourable impression at _the first setting out_."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "For if one take a wrong method at _his first setting-out_, it will lead him astray in all that follows."--_ Id._ "His mind is full of his subject, and _all_ his words are expressive."--_ Id._ "How exquisitely is _all_ this performed in Greek!"--_Harris cor._ "How _unworthy_ is all this to satisfy the ambition of an immortal soul!"--_L. Murray cor._ "So as to exhibit the object in its _full grandeur_, and _its_ most striking point of view."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "And that the author know how to descend with propriety to the _plain style_, as well as how to rise to the bold and figured."--_ Id._ "The heart _alone_ can answer to the heart."--_ Id._ "Upon _the_ first _perception of it_."

Or: "_As it is_ first perceived."--_Harris cor._ "Call for Samson, that he may make _sport for us_."--_Bible cor._ "And he made _sport before them_."--_ Id._ "The term '_to suffer_,' in this definition, is used in a technical sense; and means simply, _to receive_ an action, or _to be_ acted upon."--_Bullions cor._ "The text _only_ is what is meant to be taught in schools."--_Brightland cor._ "The perfect participle denotes action or _existence_ perfected or finished."--_Kirkham cor._ "From the intricacy and confusion which are produced _when they are_ blended together."--_L. Murray cor._ "This very circ.u.mstance, _that the word is_ employed ant.i.thetically renders it important in the sentence."--_Kirkham cor._ "It [the p.r.o.noun that,] is applied _both to_ persons and _to_ things."--_L. Murray cor._ "Concerning us, as being _everywhere traduced_."--_Barclay cor._ "Every thing _else_ was buried in a profound silence."--_Steele cor._ "They raise _fuller_ conviction, than any reasonings produce."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "It appears to me _nothing but_ a fanciful refinement." Or: "It appears to me _nothing_ more than a fanciful refinement"--_ Id._ "The regular _and thorough_ resolution of a complete pa.s.sage."--_Churchill cor._ "The infinitive is _distinguished_ by the word TO, _which_ immediately _precedes it_."--_Maunder cor._ "It will not be _a gain of_ much ground, to urge that the basket, or vase, is understood to be the capital."--_Kames cor._ "The disgust one has to drink ink in reality, is not to the purpose, where _the drinking of it is merely figurative_."--_ Id._ "That we run not into the extreme of pruning so very _closely_."--See _L. Murray's Gram._, 8vo, p.

318. "Being obliged to rest for a _little while_ on the preposition itself." Or: "Being obliged to rest a _while_ on the preposition itself."

Or: "Being obliged to rest [for] a _moment_ on the preposition _alone_."--_Blair and Jam. cor._ "Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is _no_ abiding."--_Bible cor._ "There _may be attempted_ a more particular expression of certain objects, by means of _imitative_ sounds."--_Blair, Jam., and Mur. cor._ "The right disposition of the shade, makes the light and colouring _the more apparent_."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "I _observe_ that a diffuse style _is apt to run into_ long periods."--_ Id._ "Their poor arguments, which they only _picked up in the highways_."--_Leslie cor._ "Which must be little _else than_ a transcribing of their writings."--_Barclay cor._ "That single impulse is a _forcing-out_ of almost all the breath." Or: "That single impulse _forces_ out almost all the breath."--_Hush cor._ "Picini compares modulation to the _turning-off_ from a road."--_Gardiner cor._ "So much has been written on and off almost every subject."--_Sophist cor._ "By _the_ reading _of_ books written by the best authors, his mind became highly improved." Or: "By _the study of the most instructive_ books, his mind became highly improved."--_L. Mur. cor._ "For I never made _a rich provision a_ token of a spiritual ministry."--_Barclay cor._

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE II.--OF DOUBTFUL REFERENCE.

"However disagreeable _the task_, we must resolutely perform our duty."--_L. Murray cor._ "The formation of _all_ English verbs, _whether they be_ regular _or_ irregular, is derived from the Saxon _tongue_."--_Lowth cor._ "Time and chance have an influence on all things human, and nothing _do they affect_ more remarkably than language."--_Campbell cor._ "Time and chance have an influence on all things human, and on nothing _a_ more remarkable _influence_ than on language."--_Jamieson cor._ "_That_ Archytases, _who was_ a virtuous man, happened to perish once upon a time, is with him a sufficient ground."

&c.--_Phil Mu. cor._ "He will be the better qualified to understand the meaning of _the_ numerous words _into_ which they _enter as_ material _parts_."--_L. Murray cor._ "We should continually have the goal in view, _that it may_ direct us in the race."--_ Id._ "But Addison's figures seem to rise of their own accord from the subject and constantly _to_ embellish it" Or:--"and _they_ constantly embellish it."--_Blair and Jam. cor._ "So far as _they signify_ persons, animals, and things that we can see, it is very easy to distinguish nouns."--_Cobbett cor._ "Dissyllables ending in _y_ or mute _e_, or accented on the _final_ syllable, may _sometimes_ be compared like monosyllables."--_Frost cor._ "_If_ the _foregoing_ objection _be admitted_, it will not overrule the design."--_Rush cor._ "These philosophical innovators forget, that objects, like men, _are known_ only by their actions."--_Dr. Murray cor._ "The connexion between words and ideas, is arbitrary and conventional; _it has arisen mainly from_ the agreement of men among themselves."--_Jamieson cor._ "The connexion between words and ideas, may in general be considered as arbitrary and conventional, _or as arising from_ the agreement of men among themselves."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "A man whose inclinations led him to be corrupt, and _who_ had great abilities to manage and multiply and defend his corruptions."--_Swift cor._ "They have no more control over him than _have_ any other men."--_Wayland cor._ "_All_ his old words are true English, and _his_ numbers _are_ exquisite."--_Spect. cor._ "It has been said, that _not Jesuits only_ can equivocate."--_Mur. in Ex. and Key, cor._ "_In Latin_, the nominative of the first _or_ second person, is seldom expressed."--_Adam and Gould cor._ "Some words _have_ the same _form_ in both numbers."--_Murray et al. cor._ "Some nouns _have_ the same _form_ in both numbers."--_Merchant et al. cor._ "Others _have_ the same _form_ in both numbers; as, _deer, sheep, swine_."--_Frost cor._ "The following list denotes the _consonant_ sounds, _of which there are_ twenty-two." Or: "The following list denotes the _twenty-two simple_ sounds of the consonants."--_Mur. et al. cor._ "And is the ignorance of these peasants a reason for _other persons_ to remain ignorant; or _does it_ render the subject _the_ less _worthy of our_ inquiry?"--_Harris and Mur. cor._ "He is one of the most correct, and perhaps _he is_ the best, of our prose writers."--_Lowth cor._ "The motions of a vortex and _of_ a whirlwind are perfectly similar." Or: "The motion of a vortex and _that of_ a whirlwind are perfectly similar."--_Jamieson cor._ "What I have been saying, throws light upon one important verse in the Bible; which _verse_ I should like to _hear some one read_."--_Abbott cor._ "When there are any circ.u.mstances of time, place, _and the like, by_ which the princ.i.p.al _terms_ of our sentence _must be limited or qualified_."--_Blair, Jam. and Mur. cor._ "Interjections are words _that_ express emotion, affection, or pa.s.sion, and _that_ imply suddenness." Or: "Interjections express emotion, affection, or pa.s.sion, and imply suddenness."--_Bucke cor._ "But the genitive _expressing_ the measure of things, is used in the plural number _only_."--_Adam and Gould cor._ "The buildings of the inst.i.tution have been enlarged; _and an_ expense _has been incurred_, which, _with_ the increased price of provisions, renders it necessary to advance the terms of admission."--_L. Murray cor._ "These sentences are far less difficult than complex _ones_."--_S. S. Greene cor._

"Far from the madding crowd's ign.o.ble strife _They_ sober _lived, nor ever wished_ to stray."--_Gray cor._

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE III.--OF DEFINITIONS.

(1.) "A definition is a _short and lucid_ description of _a thing, or species, according to its nature and properties_."--G. BROWN: _Rev. David Blair cor._ (2.) "Language, in general, signifies the expression of our ideas by certain articulate sounds, _or written words_, which are used as the signs of those ideas."--_Dr. Hugh Blair cor._ (3.) "A word is _one or more syllables_ used by common consent as the sign of an idea."--_Bullions cor._ (4.) "A word is _one or more syllables_ used as the _sign of an idea, or of some manner_ of thought."--_Hazen cor._ (5.) "Words are articulate sounds, _or their written signs_, used to convey ideas."--_Hiley cor._ (6.) "A word is _one or more syllables_ used _orally or in writing_, to represent some idea."--_Hart cor._ (7.) "A word is _one or more syllables_ used as the sign of an idea."--_S. W. Clark cor._ (8.) "A word is a letter or a combination of letters, _a sound or a combination of sounds_, used as the sign of an idea."--_Wells cor._ (9.) "Words are articulate sounds, _or their written signs_, by which ideas are communicated."--_Wright cor._ (10.) "Words are certain articulate sounds, _or their written representatives_, used by common consent as signs of our ideas."--_Bullions, Lowth, Murray, et al. cor._ (11.) "Words are sounds _or written symbols_ used as signs of our ideas."--_W. Allen cor._ (12.) "Orthography _literally_ means _correct writing_"--_Kirkham and Smith cor._ [The word _orthography_ stands for different things: as, 1. The art or practice of writing words with their proper letters; 2. That part of grammar which treats of letters, syllables, separate words, and spelling.]

(13.) "A vowel is a letter which _forms a perfect_ sound _when uttered alone_."--_Inst._, p. 16; _Hazen, Lennie, and Brace, cor._ (14-18.) "Spelling is the art of expressing words by their proper letters."--G.

BROWN: _Lowth and Churchill cor._; also _Murray, Ing. et al._; also _Comly_; also _Bullions_; also _Kirkham and Sanborn_. (19.) "A syllable is _one or more letters_, p.r.o.nounced by a single impulse of the voice, and const.i.tuting a word, or part of a word."--_Lowth, Mur., et al., cor._ (20.) "A syllable is a _letter or a combination of letters_, uttered in one complete sound."--_Brit. Gram. and Buch. cor._ (21.) "A syllable is _one or more letters representing_ a distinct sound, _or what is_ uttered by a single impulse of the voice."--_Kirkham cor._ (22.) "A syllable is so much of a word as _is_ sounded at once, _whether it_ be the whole _or a part_."--_Bullions cor._ (23.) "A syllable is _so many letters_ as _are_ sounded at once; _and is either_ a word, or a part of a word."--_Picket cor._ (24.) "A diphthong is _a_ union of two vowels _in one syllable_, as in _bear_ and _beat_."--_Bucke cor._ Or: "A diphthong is _the meeting_ of two vowels in one syllable."--_Brit. Gram._, p. 15; _Buchanan's_, 3. (25.) "A diphthong consists of two vowels _put together in_ one syllable; as _ea_ in _beat, oi_ in _voice_."--_Guy cor._ (26.) "A triphthong consists of three vowels _put together in_ one syllable; as, _eau_ in _beauty_."--_Id._ (27.) "But _a_ triphthong is the union of three vowels _in one syllable_."--_Bucke cor._ Or: "A triphthong is the meeting of three vowels in one syllable."--_British Gram._, p. 21; _Buchanan's_, 3. (28.) "What is a noun? A noun is the _name of something_; as, a man, a boy."--_Brit. Gram.

and Buchanan cor._ (29.) "An adjective is a word added to _a noun or p.r.o.noun_, to describe _the object named or referred to_."--_Maunder cor._ (30.) "An adjective is a word _added_ to a noun _or p.r.o.noun_, to describe or define _the object mentioned_."--_R. C. Smith cor._ (31.) "An adjective is a word _which, without a.s.sertion or time, serves_ to describe or define _something_; as, a _good_ man, _every_ boy."--_Wilc.o.x cor._ (32.) "_An_ adjective is _a word_ added to _a_ noun _or p.r.o.noun, and generally expresses a_ quality."--_Mur. and Lowth cor._ (33.) "An adjective expresses the quality, _not_ of the noun _or p.r.o.noun_ to which it is applied, _but of the person or thing spoken of_; and _it_ may generally be known by _the_ sense _which it thus makes_ in connexion with _its noun_; as, 'A _good_ man,' 'A _genteel_ woman.'"--_Wright cor._ (34.) "An adverb is a word used to modify the sense of _a verb, a participle, an adjective, or an other adverb_."--_Wilc.o.x cor._ (35.) "An adverb is a word _added_ to a verb, _a participle_, an adjective, or an other adverb, to modify _the sense_, or denote some circ.u.mstance."--_Bullions cor._ (36.) "A substantive, or noun, is a name given to _some_ object which the senses can perceive, the understanding comprehend, or the imagination entertain."--_Wright cor._ (37-54.) "_Genders are modifications that_ distinguish _objects_ in regard to s.e.x."--_Brown's Inst._, p. 35: _Bullions cor._: also _Frost_; also _Perley_; also _Cooper_; also _L. Murray et al_.; also _Alden et al_.; also _Brit. Gram., with Buchanan_; also _Fowle_; also _Burn_; also _Webster_; also _Coar_; also _Hall_; also _Wright_; also _Fisher_; also _W. Allen_; also _Parker and Fox_; also _Weld_; also _Weld again_. (55 and 56.) "_A_ case, _in grammar_, is the state or condition of a noun _or p.r.o.noun_, with respect to _some_ other _word_ in _the_ sentence."--_Bullions cor._; also _Kirkham_. (57.) "_Cases_ are modifications that distinguish the relations of nouns and p.r.o.nouns to other words."--_Brown's Inst._, p. 36. (58.) "Government is the power which one _word_ has over an other, _to cause_ it to _a.s.sume_ some particular _modification_."--_Sanborn et al. cor._ See _Inst._, p. 104. (59.) "A simple sentence is a sentence which contains only one _a.s.sertion, command, or question_."--_Sanborn et al. cor._ (60.) "Declension means _the_ putting _of_ a noun _or p.r.o.noun_ through the different cases _and numbers_."--_Kirkham cor._ Or better: "The declension of a _word_ is a regular arrangement of its numbers and cases."--See _Inst._, p. 37. (61.) "Zeugma is a _figure in which_ two or more _words refer_ in common _to an other_ which _literally agrees with_ only one of them."--_B. F. Fish cor._ (62.) "An irregular verb is _a verb that does not form the preterit_ and the perfect participle _by a.s.suming d_ or _ed_; as, smite, smote, smitten."--_Inst._, p. 75. (63). "A personal _p.r.o.noun is a p.r.o.noun that shows, by its form, of what person it is_."--_Inst._, p. 46.

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE IV.--OF COMPARISONS.

"_Our language abounds_ more in vowel and diphthong sounds, than most _other tongues_." Or: "We abound more in vowel and _diphthongal_ sounds, than most _nations_."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "A line thus accented has a more spirited air, than _one which takes_ the accent on any other syllable."--_Kames cor._ "Homer _introduces_ his deities with no greater ceremony, that [what] he uses towards mortals; and Virgil has still less moderation _than he_."--_Id._ "Which the more refined taste of later writers, _whose_ genius _was_ far inferior to _theirs_, would have taught them to avoid."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "_As a poetical composition_, however, the Book of Job is not only equal to any other of the sacred writings, but is superior to them all, except those of Isaiah alone."--_Id._ "On the whole, Paradise Lost is a poem _which_ abounds with beauties of every kind, and _which_ justly ent.i.tles its author to _be equalled in_ fame _with_ any poet."--_Id._ "Most of the French writers compose in short sentences; though their style, in general, is not concise; commonly less so than _that_ of _most_ English writers, whose sentences are much longer."--_Id._ "The principles of the Reformation were _too deeply fixed_ in the prince's mind, to be easily eradicated."--_Hume cor._ "Whether they do not create jealousy and animosity, more than _sufficient to counterbalance_ the benefit derived from them."--_Leo Wolf cor._ "The Scotch have preserved the ancient character of their music more entire, than _have the inhabitants of_ any other country."--_Gardiner cor._ "When the time or quant.i.ty of one syllable exceeds _that of_ the rest, that syllable readily receives the accent."--_Rush cor._ "What then can be more obviously true, than that it should be made as just as we can _make it_."--_Dymond cor._ "It was not likely that they would criminate themselves more than, they could _not_ avoid."--_Clarkson cor._ "_In_ their understandings _they_ were the most acute people _that_ have ever lived."--_Knapp cor._ "The patentees have printed it with neat types, and upon better paper than was _used_ formerly."--_John Ward cor._ "In reality, its relative use is not exactly like _that of_ any other word."--_Felch cor._ "Thus, _in stead_ of _having to purchase_ two books,--the Grammar and the Exercises,--the learner finds both in one, for a price at _most_ not greater than _that of_ the others."--_Alb. Argus cor._ "_They are_ not improperly regarded as p.r.o.nouns, though they are less _strictly_ such than the others."--_Bullions cor._ "We have had, as will readily be believed, _a much better_ opportunity of becoming conversant with the case, than the generality of our readers can be supposed to have had."--_Brit. Friend cor._

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE V.--OF FALSITIES.

"The long sound of _i_ is _like a very quick union_ of the sound of _a_, as heard in _bar_, and that of _e_, as heard in _be_."--_Churchill cor._ "The omission of a word necessary to grammatical propriety, is _of course an impropriety, and not a true_ ellipsis."--_Priestley cor._ "_Not_ every substantive, _or noun_, is _necessarily_ of the third person."--_A. Murray cor._ "A noun is in the third person, when the subject is _merely_ spoken _of_; and in the second person, when the subject is spoken _to_; _and_ in the first person, _when it names the speaker as such_."--_Nutting cor._ "With us, no nouns are _literally of the_ masculine _or the_ feminine gender, except the names of male and female creatures."--_Dr. Blair cor._ "_The_ apostrophe is a little mark, either _denoting the possessive case of nouns_, or signifying that something is shortened: as, '_William's_ hat;'--'the _learn'd_,' for 'the _learned_.'"--_Inf. S. Gram. cor._ "When a word beginning with a vowel coupled with one beginning with a consonant, the indefinite article must _not_ be repeated, _if the two words be adjectives belonging to one and the same noun_; thus, 'Sir Matthew Hale was _a_ n.o.ble and impartial judge;'--'Pope was _an_ elegant and nervous writer.'"--_Maunder cor._[555] "_W_ and _y_ are consonants, when they _precede a vowel heard in the same_ syllable: in every other situation, they are vowels."--_L. Mur. et al. cor._ See _Inst._, p. 16. "_The_ is _not varied_ before adjectives and substantives, let them begin as they will."--_Bucke cor._ "_A few English_ prepositions, _and many which we have borrowed from other languages_, are _often_ prefixed to words, in such a manner as to coalesce with them, and to become _parts of the compounds or derivatives thus formed_."--_Lowth cor._ "_H_, at the beginning of syllables not accented, is _weaker_, but _not_ entirely silent; as in _historian, widowhood_."--_Rev. D. Blair cor._ "_Not every_ word that will make sense with _to_ before it, is a verb; for _to_ may govern nouns, p.r.o.nouns, or participles."--_Kirkham cor._ "_Most_ verbs do, in reality, express actions; but they are _not_ intrinsically the mere names of actions: _these must of course be nouns_."--_Id._ "The nominative _denotes_ the actor or subject; and the verb, the action _which is_ performed _or received_ by _this actor or subject_."--_Id._ "_But_ if only one creature or thing acts, _more than_ one action _may_, at the same instant, be done; as, 'The girl not only _holds_ her pen badly, but _scowls_ and _distorts_ her features, while she _writes_.'"--_Id._ "_Nor is each of these verbs of the singular number because it_ denotes but one action which the girl performs, _but because the subject or nominative_ is of the singular number, _and the words must agree_."--_Id._ "And when I say, '_Two men walk_,' is it not equally apparent, that _walk_ is plural because it _agrees with men_?"--_Id._ "The subjunctive mood is formed by _using the simple verb in a suppositive sense, and without personal inflection_."--_Beck cor._ "The possessive case _of nouns, except in instances of apposition or close connexion_, should always be distinguished by the apostrophe."--_Frost cor._ "'At these proceedings _of_ the Commons:'

Here _of_ is _a_ sign of the _objective_ case; and '_Commons_' is of that case, _being_ governed _by this preposition_."--_A. Murray cor._ "Here let it be observed again, that, strictly speaking, _all finite_ verbs have numbers _and_ persons; _and so_ have _nearly all_ nouns _and_ p.r.o.nouns, _even_ when they refer to irrational creatures and inanimate things."--_Barrett cor._ "The noun denoting the person or _persons_ addressed or spoken to, is in the nominative case independent: _except it be put in apposition with a p.r.o.noun of the second person_; as, 'Woe to _you lawyers_;'--'_You_ political _men_ are constantly manoeuvring.'"--_Frost cor._ "Every noun, when _used in a direct address and set off by a comma_, becomes of the second person, and is in the nominative case absolute; as, '_Paul_, thou art beside thyself."--_Jaudon cor._ "Does the conjunction _ever_ join words together? _Yes_; the conjunction _sometimes_ joins _words_ together, _and sometimes_ sentences, _or certain parts of sentences_."--_Brit. Gram. cor._; also _Buchanan_. "Every _noun of the possessive form_ has a _governing_ noun, expressed or understood: as, _St.

James's_. Here _Palace_ is understood. _But_ one _possessive may_ govern an other; as, '_William's father's_ house.'"--_Buchanan cor._ "Every adjective (_with the exceptions noted under Rule_ 9th) belongs to a _noun or p.r.o.noun_ expressed or understood."--_L. Murray et al. cor._ "_Not_ every adjective qualifies a substantive, expressed or understood."--_Bullions cor._ "_Not_ every adjective belongs to _a_ noun expressed or understood."--_Ingersoll cor._ "Adjectives belong to nouns _or p.r.o.nouns, and serve to_ describe _things_."--_R. C. Smith cor._ "_English_ adjectives, _in general, have no modifications in which they can_ agree with the nouns _to_ which they _relate_."--_Allen Fisk cor._ "The adjective, _if it denote unity or plurality_, must agree with its substantive in number."--_Buchanan cor._ "_Not_ every adjective and participle, _by a vast many_, belongs to some noun or p.r.o.noun, expressed or understood."--_Frost cor._ "_Not_ every verb of the infinitive mood, supposes a verb before it, expressed or understood."--_Buchanan cor._ "_Nor_ has every adverb its verb, expressed or understood; _for some adverbs relate to participles, to adjectives, or to other adverbs_."--_Id._ "_A conjunction that connects one_ sentence to _an other, is not_ always placed betwixt the two propositions or sentences which _it unites_."--_Id._ "The words _for all that_, are by no means 'low;' but the putting of this phrase for _yet_ or _still_, is neither necessary nor elegant."--_L. Murray cor._; also _Dr. Priestley_. "The reader or hearer then understands from AND, that _the author adds one proposition, number, or thing, to an other_. Thus AND _often, very often_, connects one thing with an other thing, _or_ one word with an other word."--_James Brown cor._ "'Six AND six _are_ twelve.' Here it is affirmed, that _the two sixes added together are_ twelve."--_Id._ "'John AND his wife _have_ six children.' This is an instance _in which_ AND _connects two nominatives in a simple sentence_. It is _not_ here affirmed that John has six children, and that his wife has six _other_ children."--_Id._ "That 'Nothing can be great which is not right,' is itself a _great falsity_: there are great blunders, great evils, great sins."--_L. Murray cor._ "The highest degree of reverence should be paid to _the most exalted virtue or goodness_."--_Id._ "There is in _all_ minds _some_ knowledge, _or_ understanding."--_L. Murray et al. cor._ "Formerly, the nominative and objective cases of our p.r.o.nouns, were _more generally distinguished in practice_, than they now are."--_Kirkham cor._ "As it respects a choice of words and expressions, _the just_ rules of grammar _may_ materially aid the learner."--_S. S. Greene cor._ "_The name of_ whatever exists, or is conceived to exist, is a noun."--_Fowler cor._ "As _not all_ men are brave, _brave_ is itself _distinctive_."--_Id._

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE VI.--OF ABSURDITIES.

(1.) "And sometimes two unaccented syllables _come together_."--_Dr. Blair cor._ (2.) "What nouns frequently _stand together_?" Or: "What nouns _are_ frequently _used one after an other_?"--_Sanborn cor._ (3.) "Words are derived from _other words_ in various ways."--_Idem et al. cor._ (4.) "_The name_ PREPOSITION _is_ derived from the two Latin words _prae_ and _pono_, which signify _before_ and _place_."--_Mack cor._ (5.) "He was _much_ laughed at for such conduct."--_Bullions cor._ (6.) "Every _p.r.o.nominal adjective_ belongs to some noun, expressed or understood."--_Ingersoll cor._ (7.) "If he [Addison] fails in any thing, it is in strength and precision; _the want of_ which renders his manner not altogether a proper model."--_Dr. Blair cor._ (8.) "Indeed, if Horace _is_ deficient in any thing _his fault_ is this, of not being sufficiently attentive to juncture, _or the_ connexion of parts."--_Id._ (9.) "The pupil is now supposed to be acquainted with the _ten parts_ of speech, and their most usual modifications."--_Taylor cor._ (10.) "I could see, _feel_, taste, and smell the rose."--_Sanborn cor._ (11.) "The _vowels iou are_ sometimes p.r.o.nounced distinctly in two syllables; as in _various, abstemious_; but not in _bilious_."--_Murray and Walker cor._ (12.) "The diphthong _aa_ generally sounds like _a_ short; as in _Balaam, Canaan, Isaac_; in _Baal_ and _Gaal_, we make no diphthong."--_L. Mur. cor._ (13.) "Participles _cannot be said to be_ 'governed by the article;' for _any_ participle, with _an_ article before it, becomes a substantive, or an adjective used substantively: as, _the learning, the learned_."--_Id._ (14.) "_From_ words ending with _y_ preceded by a consonant, _we_ form the plurals of nouns, the persons of verbs, _agent_ nouns, _perfect_ participles, comparatives, and superlatives, by changing the _y_ into _i_, and adding _es, ed, er, eth_, or _est_."--_Walker, Murray, et al. cor._ (15.) "But _y_ preceded by a vowel, _remains unchanged_, in the derivatives above named; as, _boy, boys_."--_L. Murray et al. cor._ (16.) "But when _the final y_ is preceded by a vowel, it _remains unchanged before an_ additional syllable; as, coy, _coyly_."--_Iid._ (17.) "But _y_ preceded by a vowel, _remains unchanged_, in _almost all_ instances; as, coy, _coyly_."--_Kirkham cor._ (18.) "Sentences are of _two kinds_, simple and compound."--_Wright cor._ (19.) "The neuter p.r.o.noun _it_ may be employed to _introduce a nominative_ of any person, number, or gender: as, '_It_ is _he_:'--'_It_ is _she_;'--'_It is they_;'--'_It_ is the _land_.'"--_Bucke cor._ (20 and 21.) "_It is_ and _it was_, are _always singular_; but they _may introduce words of_ a plural construction: as, '_It was_ the _heretics that_ first began to rail.'

SMOLLETT."--_Merchant cor._; also _Priestley et al._ (22.) "_W_ and _y_, as consonants, have _each of them_ one sound."--_Town cor._ (23.) "The _word as_ is frequently a relative _p.r.o.noun_."--_Bucke cor._ (24.) "_From a series of_ clauses, the conjunction may _sometimes_ be omitted with propriety."--_Merchant cor._ (25.) "If, however, the _two_ members are very closely connected, the comma is unnecessary; as, 'Revelation tells us how we may attain happiness.'"--_L. Murray et al. cor._ (26-27.) "The mind has difficulty in _taking effectually_, in quick succession, so many different views of the same object."--_Dr. Blair cor._; also _L. Mur_. (28.) "_p.r.o.nominal adjectives_ are a kind of _definitives_, which _may either accompany their_ nouns, _or represent them understood_."--_Kirkham cor._ (29.) "_When the nominative or antecedent is a collective noun_ conveying _the idea of plurality, the_ verb or p.r.o.noun _must agree_ with it in the plural _number_."--_Id. et al. cor._ (30-34.) "A noun or _a_ p.r.o.noun in the possessive case, is governed by the _name of the thing possessed_."-- _Brown's Inst._, p. 176; _Greenleaf cor._; also _Wilbur and Livingston_; also _Goldsbury_; also _P. E. Day_; also _Kirkham, Frazee, and Miller_.

(35.) "Here the boy is represented as acting: _the word boy_ is therefore in the nominative case."--_Kirkham cor._ (36.) "_Do, be, have_, and _will_, are _sometimes_ auxiliaries, _and sometimes_ princ.i.p.al verbs."--_Cooper cor._ (37.) "_Names_ of _males_ are masculine. _Names_ of _females_ are feminine."--_Adam's Gram._, p. 10; _Beck cor._ (38.) "'To-day's lesson is longer than yesterday's.' Here _to-day's_ and _yesterday's_ are substantives."--_L. Murray et al. cor._ (39.) "In this example, _to-day's_ and _yesterday's_ are nouns in the possessive case."--_Kirkham cor._ (40.) "An Indian in Britain would be much surprised to _find by chance_ an elephant feeding at large in the open fields."--_Kames cor._ (41.) "If we were to contrive a new language, we might make any articulate sound the sign of any idea: _apart from previous usage_, there would be no impropriety in calling oxen _men_, or rational beings _oxen_."--_L. Murray cor._ (42.) "All the parts of a sentence should _form a consistent whole_."--_Id et al. cor._

(43.) "Full through his neck the weighty falchion sped, Along the pavement rolled the _culprit's_ head."--_Pope cor._

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE VII.--OF SELF-CONTRADICTION.

(1.) "Though 'The king, _with_ the lords and commons,' _must have a singular rather than_ a plural verb, the sentence would certainly stand better thus: 'The king, the lords, _and_ the commons, _form_ an excellent const.i.tution.'"--_Mur. and Ing. cor._ (2-3.) "_L_ has a soft liquid sound; as in _love, billow, quarrel_. _This letter_ is sometimes silent; as in _half, task [sic for 'talk'--KTH], psalm_."--_Mur. and Fisk cor._; also _Kirkham_. (4.) "The words _means_ and _amends_, though regularly derived from the singulars _mean_ and _amend_, are _not_ now, _even_ by polite writers, restricted to the plural number. Our most distinguished modern authors _often_ say, 'by _this means_,' as well as, 'by _these means_.'"--_Wright cor._ (5.) "A friend exaggerates a man's virtues; an enemy, his crimes."--_Mur. cor._ (6.) "The auxiliary _have, or any form of_ the perfect tense, _belongs not properly to_ the subjunctive mood. _We suppose past facts by the indicative_: as, If I _have loved_, If thou _hast loved_, &c."--_Merchant cor._ (7.) "There is also an impropriety in _using_ both the indicative and the subjunctive _mood_ with the same conjunction; as, '_If_ a man _have_ a hundred sheep, and one of them _is_ gone astray,'

&c. [This is Merchant's perversion of the text. It should be, 'and one of them _go_ astray:' or, '_be gone_ astray,' as in Matt., xviii. 12.]"--_Id._ (8.) "The rising series of contrasts _conveys transcendent_ dignity and energy to the conclusion."--_Jamieson cor._ (9.) "A groan or a shriek is instantly understood, as a language extorted by distress, a _natural_ language which conveys a meaning that _words_ are _not adequate_ to express. A groan or _a_ shriek speaks to the ear with _a_ far more thrilling effect than words: yet _even this natural_ language of distress may be counterfeited by art."--_Dr. Porter cor._ (10.) "_If_ these words [_book_ and _pen_] cannot be put together in such a way as will const.i.tute plurality, then they cannot be '_these words_;' and then, also, _one and one_ cannot be _two_."--_James Brown cor._ (11.) "Nor can the real pen and the real book be _added or counted together_ in words, in such a manner as will _not_ const.i.tute plurality in grammar."--_Id._ (12.) "_Our_ is _a personal_ p.r.o.noun, of the possessive _case. Murray does not_ decline it."--_Mur. cor._ (13.) "_This_ and _that_, and their plurals _these_ and _those_, are _often_ opposed to each other in a sentence. When _this_ or _that_ is used alone, i.e., _without contrast, this_ is _applied_ to _what is_ present or near; _that_, to _what is_ absent or distant."--_Buchanan cor._ (14.) "Active and neuter verbs may be conjugated by adding their _imperfect_ participle to the auxiliary verb _be_, through all its variations."--"_Be_ is an auxiliary whenever it is placed before either the perfect _or the imperfect_ participle of an other verb; but, in every other situation, it is a princ.i.p.al verb."--_Kirkham cor._ (15.) "A verb in the imperative mood is _almost_ always of the second person."--"The verbs, according to a _foreign_ idiom, or the poet's license, are used in the imperative, agreeing with a nominative of the first or third person."--_Id._ (16.) "A personal _p.r.o.noun, is a p.r.o.noun that shows, by its form, of what_ person _it is_."--"p.r.o.nouns of the first person do not _disagree_ in person with the nouns they represent."--_Id._ (17.) "Nouns have three cases; _the_ nominative, _the possessive_, and _the_ objective."--"Personal p.r.o.nouns have, like nouns, _three_ cases; _the_ nominative, _the_ possessive, and _the_ objective."--_Beck cor._ (18.) "In _many_ instances the preposition suffers _a_ change _and_ becomes an adverb by its _mere_ application."--_L. Murray cor._ (19.) "Some nouns are used only in the plural; as, _ashes, literati, minutiae_. Some nouns _have_ the same _form_ in both numbers; as, _sheep, deer, series, species_. Among the inferior parts of speech, there are some _pairs_ or _couples_."--_Rev. D.

Blair cor._ (20.) "Concerning the p.r.o.nominal adjectives, that may, _or_ may not, represent _their nouns_."--_O. B. Peirce cor._ (21.) "The _word a_ is in a few instances employed in the sense of a preposition; as, 'Simon Peter _saith unto them_, I go _a_ fis.h.i.+ng;' i. e., I go _to_ fis.h.i.+ng."--_Weld cor._ (22.) "So, _too_, verbs _that are commonly_ transitive, are used intransitively, when they have no object."--_Bullions cor._

(23.) "When first young Maro, in his boundless mind, A work t' outlast _imperial_ Rome design'd."--_Pope cor._

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE VIII.--OF SENSELESS JUMBLING.

"_There are two numbers_, called the singular and _the_ plural, _which_ distinguish nouns as _signifying either_ one _thing_, or many of the same kind."--_Dr. H. Blair cor._ "Here James Monroe is addressed, he is spoken to; _the name_ is _therefore_ a noun of the second person."--_Mack cor._ "The number and _person_ of _an English_ verb can _seldom_ be ascertained until its nominative is known."--_Emmons cor._ "A noun of mult.i.tude, or _a singular noun_ signifying many, may have _a_ verb _or a_ p.r.o.noun agreeing with it in _either_ number; yet not without regard to the import of the _noun_, as conveying _the idea of_ unity or plurality."--_Lowth et al.

cor._ "To _form_ the present _tense_ and _the_ past imperfect of our _active_ or neuter _verbs_, the auxiliary _do, and its preterit did, are sometimes_ used: _as_, I _do_ now love; I _did_ then love."--_Lowth cor._ "If these _be_ perfectly committed _to memory, the learner_ will be able to take twenty lines for _his second_ lesson, and _the task_ may be increased each day."--_Osborn cor._ "_Ch is_ generally sounded in the same manner _as if it were tch_: as in _Charles, church, cheerfulness_, and _cheese_. But, _in Latin or Greek_ words, _ch is_ p.r.o.nounced like _k_: as in _Chaos, character, chorus_, and _chimera_. _And_, in _words_ derived from the French, _ch is_ sounded like _sh_: as _in Chagrin, chicanery_, and _chaise_."--_Bucke cor._ "Some _nouns literally_ neuter, are _made_ masculine or feminine by a figure of speech."--_L. Murray et al. cor._ "In the English language, words may be cla.s.sified under ten general heads: the _sorts, or chief cla.s.ses, of words_, are usually termed the ten parts of speech."--_Nutting cor._ "'Mercy is the true badge of n.o.bility.' _n.o.bility_ is a _common_ noun, _of the_ third person, singular number, _neuter_ gender, and objective case; and is governed by _of_."--_Kirkham cor._ "_Gh is_ either silent, _as in plough_, or _has_ the sound of _f_, as in _laugh_."--_Town cor._ "Many _nations_ were destroyed, and as many languages or dialects were lost and blotted out from the general catalogue."--_Chazotte cor._ "Some languages contain a greater number of moods than others, and _each_ exhibits _its own as_ forms _peculiar to itself_."--_L. Murray cor._ "A SIMILE is a simple and express comparison; and is generally introduced by _like, as_, or _so_."--_Id._ See _Inst._, p.

233. "The word _what_ is sometimes improperly used for the conjunction _that_."--_Priestley, Murray, et al., cor._ "Brown makes _no_ ado _in condemning_ the _absurd_ principles of preceding works, in relation to the gender of p.r.o.nouns."--_O. B. Peirce cor._ "The nominative _usually_ precedes the verb, and _denotes the agent of_ the action."--_Wm. Beck cor._ "Primitive _words_ are those which _are not formed from other words_ more simple."--_Wright cor._ "In monosyllables, the single vowel _i_ always preserves its long sound before a single consonant with _e_ final; as _in thine, strive_: except in _give_ and _live_, which are short; and in _s.h.i.+re_, which has the sound of long _e_."--_L. Murray, et al. cor._ "But the person or thing _that is merely_ spoken of, being _frequently_ absent, and _perhaps_ in many respects unknown _to the hearer_, it is _thought more_ necessary, that _the third person_ should be marked by a distinction of gender."--_Lowth, Mur., et al., cor._ "_Both vowels of every diphthong were_, doubtless, originally _vocal_. Though in many instances _they are_ not _so_ at present, _the_ combinations _in which one only is heard_, still retain the name of diphthongs, _being distinguished from others_ by the term _improper_."--_L. Mur., et al. cor._ "_Moods are different forms_ of the verb, _each of which expresses_ the being, action, or pa.s.sion, _in some particular_ manner."--_Inst._, p. 33; _A. Mur. cor._ "The word THAT is a demonstrative _adjective, whenever_ it is followed by a _noun_ to which it refers."--_L. Mur. cor._

"The _guilty soul by Jesus wash'd_, Is future glory's deathless heir."--_Fairfield cor._

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE IX.--OF WORDS NEEDLESS.

"A knowledge of grammar enables us to express ourselves better in conversation and in writing."--_Sanborn cor._ "And hence we infer, that there is no dictator here but use."--_Jamieson cor._ "Whence little is gained, except correct spelling and p.r.o.nunciation."--_Town cor._ "The man who is faithfully attached to religion, may be relied on with confidence."--_Merchant cor._ "Shalt thou build me _a_ house to dwell in?"

Or: "Shalt thou build _a_ house for me to dwell in?"--_Bible cor._ "The house was deemed polluted which was entered by so abandoned a woman."--_Dr.