The Grammar of English Grammars Part 249

"When THIS _and_ THAT, or THESE _and_ THOSE, refer to a preceding sentence; THIS or THESE _represents_ the latter member or term, _and_ THAT or THOSE, the former."--_Churchill cor._; and _Lowth_.

"The rearing of them became his first care; their fruit, his first food; and _the_ marking _of_ their kinds, his first knowledge."--_N. Butler cor._

"After the period used with abbreviations, we should employ other points, if the construction demands _them_; thus, after 'Esq.,' in the last example, there should be, besides _the_ period, a comma."--_Id._

"In the plural, the verb _has_ the same _form_ in all the persons; _but still_ the principle in _Rem._ 5, under Rule iii, that the first or second person takes precedence, is applicable to verbs, _in parsing_."--_Id._

"Rex and Tyrannus are of very different characters. The one rules his people by laws to which they consent; the other, by his absolute will and power: that _government_ is called freedom; this, tyranny."--_L. Murray cor._

"A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, _that_ can be known or mentioned: as, George, London, America, goodness, charity."--See _Brown's Inst.i.tutes_, p. 31.

"Etymology treats of the cla.s.sification of words, their various modifications, and _their derivation_"--_P. E. Day cor._

"To punctuate correctly, implies a thorough acquaintance with the meaning of words and phrases, as well as _with_ all their corresponding connexions."--_W. Day cor._

"All objects _that_ belong to neither the male nor _the_ female kind, are said to be of the neuter gender, _except certain things personified_."--_Weld cor twice_.

"The a.n.a.lysis of the Sounds in the English language, presented in the preceding statements, _is_ sufficiently exact for the purpose in hand.

Those who wish to pursue _the subject_ further, can consult Dr. Rush's admirable work, 'The Philosophy of the Human Voice.'"--_Fowler cor._ "n.o.body confounds the name of _w_ or _y_ with _the_ sound _of the letter_, or _with its_ phonetic import."--_Id._ [[Fist] This a.s.sertion is hardly true. Strange as such a blunder is, it has actually occurred. See, in Orthography, Obs. 5, on the Cla.s.ses of the Letters, at p. 156.--G. B.]

"Order is Heav'n's first law; and, this _confess'd_, Some are, and must be, greater than the rest."--_Pope_.

LESSON II--UNDER VARIOUS RULES.

"_From_ adjectives of one syllable, _and some of two_, the comparative is formed by adding _r_ or _er_ to the positive; and the superlative, by adding _st_ or _est_: as, _sweet, sweeter, sweetest_; _able, abler, ablest_."--_Bullions cor._

"_From_ monosyllables, _or from dissyllables ending with a vowel or the accent_, the comparative is formed by adding _er_ or _r_ to the positive; and the superlative, by adding _est_ or _st_: as, _tall, taller, tallest_; _wise, wiser, wisest_; _holy, holier, holiest_; _complete, completer, completest_."--_Id._

"By this method, the confusion and unnecessary labour occasioned by studying grammars, in these languages, constructed on different principles, _are_ avoided; the study of one is rendered a profitable introduction to the study of an other; and an opportunity is furnished to the _inquiring_ student, of comparing the languages in their grammatical structure, and _of_ seeing at once wherein they agree, and wherein they differ."--_Id._

"No larger portion should be a.s.signed for each recitation, than the cla.s.s can easily master; and, till _the previous lessons are well learned_, a new portion should not be given out."--_Id._ "The acquisitions made in every new lesson, should be _riveted_ and secured by repeated revisals."--_Id._

"The personal p.r.o.nouns may be pa.r.s.ed briefly, thus: '_I_ is a personal p.r.o.noun, _of_ the first _person_, singular _number_, masculine _gender_, (feminine, if the speaker is a female,) _and_ nominative _case_.' '_His is_ a personal p.r.o.noun, _of_ the third _person_, singular _number_, masculine _gender, and_ possessive _case_.'"--_Id._

"When the male and _the_ female are expressed by distinct terms, as, _shepherd, shepherdess_, the masculine term has also a general meaning, expressing both male and female; and is always to be used when the office, occupation, _or_ profession, and not the s.e.x, of the individual, is chiefly to be expressed; the feminine term being used only when the discrimination of s.e.x is indispensably necessary. Thus, when it is said, 'The poets of this country are distinguished _for_ correctness of taste,' the term 'poets' clearly includes both male and female writers of poetry."--_Id._

"Nouns and p.r.o.nouns connected by conjunctions, must be in the same _case_"--_Ingersoll cor._

"Verbs connected by _and, or_, or _nor_, must _generally_ be in the _same mood_ and _tense_; and, when _the tense has different forms_, they must be in the same form."--_Id._

"This will habituate him to reflection; exercise his _judgement_ on the meaning of the author; and, without any great effort on his part, impress indelibly on his memory the rules which he is required to give. After the exercises under _any_ rule have been gone through, _agreeably to the direction_ in the note _at the bottom of_ page _88th_, they may be read over again in a corrected state, the pupil making an emphasis on the correction made; or they may be presented in writing, at the next recitation."--_Bullions cor._

"Man, but for that, no action could attend; And, but for this, _were active_ to no end."--_Pope_.

LESSON III.--UNDER VARIOUS RULES.

"'Johnson, the bookseller and stationer' indicates that _bookseller_ and _stationer_ are _terms_ belonging to the same person; 'the bookseller and the stationer,' would indicate that they belong to different persons."--_Bullions cor._

"_Past_ is [commonly] an adjective; _pa.s.sed_, the past tense or perfect participle of the verb: and they ought not (as _they_ frequently _are_) to be confounded with each other."--_Id._

"Not only the nature of the thoughts and sentiments, but the very selection _or_ arrangement of the words, gives English poetry a character which separates it widely from common prose."--_Id._

"Men of sound, discriminating, and philosophical minds--men prepared for the work by long study, patient investigation, and extensive acquirements--have laboured for ages to improve and perfect it; and nothing is hazarded in a.s.serting, that, should it be unwisely abandoned, it will be long before an other, equal in beauty, stability, and usefulness, _will_ be produced in its stead."--_Id._, on the common "system of English Grammar."

"The article _the_, on the other hand, is used to restrict; and is therefore termed _Definite_. Its proper office is, to call the attention to a particular individual or cla.s.s, or to any number of such; and _accordingly it_ is used with nouns _of_ either number, singular or plural."--_Id._

"Hence, also, the infinitive mood, a participle _with its adjuncts_, a member of a sentence, or a _whole_ proposition, forming the subject of discourse, or the object of a verb or preposition, and being the name of an act or circ.u.mstance, _is_, in construction, regarded as a _noun_; and _is_ usually called, 'a substantive phrase:' as, '_To play_, is pleasant.'--'_That he is an expert dancer_, is no recommendation.'--'Let your motto be, _Honesty is the best policy_.'"--_Id._

"In accordance with his definition, Murray has divided verbs into three cla.s.ses: _Active, Pa.s.sive_, and _Neuter_;--and _included_ in the first cla.s.s transitive verbs only; and, in the last, all verbs used intransitively"--_Id._

"Moreover, as the name of the speaker or _that of_ the person spoken to is seldom expressed, (the _p.r.o.noun_ I being used _for the former_, and THOU _or_ YOU _for the latter_,) a noun is very _rarely_ in the first person; not often in the second; and _hardly ever_ in either, unless it _is_ a proper noun, or a common noun _denoting an object_ personified."--_Id._

"In using the _parsing_ exercises, it will save much time, (_and this saving_ is _all-important_,) if the pupil be taught to say _all things_ belonging to the noun, in the fewest words possible; and to say them always in the same order, _after the example_ above."--_Id._

"In any phrase or sentence, the adjectives qualifying a noun may generally be found by prefixing the phrase, 'What kind of,' to the noun, in the form of a question; as, 'What kind of horse?' 'What kind of stone?' 'What kind of way?' The word containing the answer to the question, is an adjective."--_Id._

"In the following exercise, let the pupil first point out the nouns, and then the adjectives; and tell how he knows them to be _such_."--_Id._

"In the following sentences, point out the improper _ellipses_; _show_ why _they are_ improper; and correct _them_."--_Id._

"SINGULAR. PLURAL.

1. I am smitten, 1. We are smitten, 2. Thou art smitten, 2. You are smitten, 3. He is smitten; 3. They are smitten."--_Wright cor._

CHAPTER II.--UTTERANCE.

The second chapter of Prosody, treating of articulation, p.r.o.nunciation, elocution and the minor topics that come under Utterance, contains no exercises demanding correction in this Key.

CHAPTER III.--FIGURES.

In the third chapter of Prosody, the several Figures of speech are explained; and, as the ill.u.s.trations embrace no errors for correction, nothing here corresponds to the chapter, but the t.i.tle.

CHAPTER IV.--VERSIFICATION.

FALSE PROSODY, OR ERRORS OF METRE, CORRECTED.

LESSON I.--RHYTHM RESTORED.

"Where thy true treasure? Gold says, 'Not in me.'"

--_Young_.

"Canst thou grow sad, thou _say'st_, as earth grows bright."

--_Dana_.

"It must be so;--Plato, thou _reason'st_ well"