he was creating. The words pluperfect and preter-pluperfect, which signify more than finished, beyond more than finished, are very awkward terms. For which reason I call the tense which they designate, the prior-past, which denotes an act past prior to another act, event or time. In like manner, the term prior-future is used to denote an act past prior to a future time or event specified.

In this work, I have given a complete exhibition of the English verb, in all its forms or combinations, declarative, interrogative and negative. This will show foreigners, as well as our own youth, the proper place of the auxiliaries, and of the sign of negation not, in all the various combinations.

In all or most English Grammars, an or a is said to be an indefinite article. This is not true; it is used before definite nouns, as well as before those which are indefinite. It is also said, that a becomes an before a vowel; but the fact is directly the reverse: an is the original word, and loses the n before a consonant. It is the same word as one, but in Saxon orthography.

Grammars also tell us, that is sometimes a conjunction. This is not true; it is always a pronoun or substitute: when it is called a unction, it refers to a sentence.

In most grammars, notwithstanding is called a conjunction. This is not true; it is a compound of not and the participle withstanding, and with that expressed or understood, or with a sentence, constituting the case absolute, like non obstante in Latin.

Provided is also called, in certain cases, a conjunction. This is not true; it is a participle forming the case absolute, as above stated, in regard to notwithstanding.

If is called also a conjunction. This is not true; it is always a verb, being only a contracted form of give. The fact is the same with though; it is a verb, but defective.

To the syntax, I have added several new rules and illustrations; the British Grammars, in this particular, being very defective. Indeed, so defective and erroneous are the British Grammars, and the compilations in the United States, formed on their principles, that without some further helps, the construction of many established and legitimate phrases and sentences in our language, cannot be explained.

The term mood I have discarded. Mode is the proper translation of the Latin modus; and the orthography mood confounds this grammatical term with a word of different origin, denoting temper or state of the mind.

AN

IMPROVED GRAMMAR, &c.

OF LANGUAGE.

LANGUAGE, in its most extensive sense, is the instrument or means of communicating ideas and affections of the mind and body, from one animal to another. In this sense, brutes possess the powers of language; for by various inarticulate sounds, they make known their wants, desires and sufferings. Thus the neighing of the horse, the lowing of the ox, the cackling and chirping of birds, constitute the language of those animals; and each respective species understand instinctively their own peculiar language. The signs made by deaf and dumb people form also a kind of imperfect language; and even the looks, when made to express ideas and affections, speak an intelligible language.

As brutes have few affections or ideas, and little necessity for communicating them, their language consists in a few inarticulate sounds. But man, being a rational animal, capable of acquiring, and of learning to communicate numberless ideas, is furnished with suitable organs for uttering an indefinite variety of sounds to express his ideas; and the modulations of his voice, in the distinct utterance of sounds, by opening and closing the organs, constitute what are denominated articulate sounds.

DIVISION OF LANGUAGE.

Language is of two kinds, spoken and written. The elements of spoken language are articulate sounds, uttered by the voice, which is formed by the air issuing through the glottis, a small aperture in the wind pipe, and modulated by articulations of the throat, tongue, palate, teeth, and lips. This is the original and proper sense of the word language. But as sounds are fleeting, and not capable of being communicated to a great distance, if men had no other means of communicating their thoughts, their intercourse would be limited to a small compass, and their ideas would be en

trusted to memory and tradition only; by which they would soon be obscured, perverted, or forgotten. Hence the invention of characters to represent sounds, exhibit them to the eye, and render them durable. This was the origin of written language. The elements of this language are letters or characters, which, by consent of men, and common usage, are combined into words, and made to represent the articulate sounds uttered by the voice. These characters being easily inscribed or engraved upon durable substances, as paper, parchment, wood and stone, render language per"capable of being transmitted from age to age, ing Communicated over the habitable globe. Of this art, it is not easy to decide which deserves to be most admired, the difficulty, the ingenuity, or the usefulness of the invention.

and of being

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buGrammar, as a science, treats of the natural connection between ideas, and words which are the signs of ideas, and develops the p principles which are common to all languages. These principles are not arbitrary, nor subject to change, but fixed and permanent; being founded on facts and distinctions established by nature. Thus the distinction between the sexes; between things and their qualities; between the names of substances and of their actions or motions; between unity and plurality; between the present, past and future time, and some other distinctions, are founded in nature, and give rise to different species of words, and to various inflections in all languages.

The grammar of a particular language is a system of general principles, derived from natural distinctions of words and of particular rules, deduced from the customary forms of speech, in the nation using that language. These usages are mostly arbitrary, or of accidental origin; but when they become common to a nation, they are to be considered as established, and received as rules of the highest authority.

A rule, therefore, is an established form of construction in a particular class of words. Thus the usual addition of s or es, to a noun, to denote plurality, being a general practice, constitutes a rule.

An exception to a rule, is the deviation of certain words. from the common construction. Thus man, if regularly formed in the plural, would be mans; but custom having

established the use of men as its plural, the word is an exception to the general rule.

Grammar is commonly divided into four parts-orthography, etymology, syntax and prosody.

Orthography treats of the letters, their powers and combinations in syllables; or, it teaches the true manner of writing words, called spelling.

Etymology treats of the derivation of words from their radicals or primitives, and of their various inflections and modifications to express person, number, case, sex, time and mode.

Syntax explains the true mode of constructing sentences. Prosody treats of the quantity or accent of syllables and the laws of versification.

NOTE. In this compilation, the only subjects treated are, a part of etymology, and syntax and prosody.

OF LETTERS.

The elements, or first principles of language, are articulate sounds, and letters or characters, which represent them. There are in the English language twenty-six_letters, which represent sounds or articulations: A. a.-B. b.C. c.-D. d.-E. e.-F. f.—G. g.—H. h.—I. i.—J. j.—K. k. —L. 1.—M. m.—N. n.-O. o.-P. p.-Q. q.-R. r.-S. s.T. t.-U. u.-V. v.-W. w.-X. x.- -Y. y.-Z. z. Of these, J and X represent a combination of articulations.

Letters are of two kinds-vowels and consonants; or, more strictly, of three kinds-vowels, consonants and aspi

rates.

A vowel is a vocal or open sound; or a simple sound, uttered by opening the mouth in a particular manner. A simple sound is one which is begun and continued at pleas ure, with the same position of the organs, as-a, e, o, and the broad a or aw; the Italian a as in father, and oo, which in English represents the Italian u and French ou.

An articulation is the forming of a joint-a jointing or closing of the organs of speech; by which the voice is wholly or partially intercepted.*

A close articulation entirely and instantly interrupts the utterance of sound, as-k, p, t, in the syllables, ek, ep, et.

* Latin articulatio, from articulus, a joint.

These letters are therefore called pure mutes. A less close articulation admits a small prolongation of sound, as b, d, g, as in the syllables, eb, ed, eg. These are called impure

mutes.

Imperfect articulations do not completely interrupt all sound. Some of them admit a kind of hum; others of a hissing sound; others of a breathing, which may be continued at pleasure. Of this kind are the following letters: ef, el, em, en, er, es, ez, esh, eth. These are therefore called semi-vowels.

His a mark of breathing, and may be called an aspirate. Articulations or consonants precede or follow vowels, as in at, go, blush. They therefore determine the manner of beginning and ending vocal sounds. But even when they produce no sound, they so modify the manner of uttering vowels, as to aid in forming distinct words. Thus in bat, gap, cap, we hear the same vowel, but the articulations which precede or follow that sound, form with it different words, that may be distinguished as far as the voice can be heard.

An articulate sound is properly a sound which is preceded or followed by a closing of the organs; but we extend the signification to sounds formed by organs capable of articulation, that is, by the human organs of speech.

The great difference between men and brutes, in the utterance of sound by the mouth, consists in the power of articulation in man, and the entire want of it in brutes.

On articulation, therefore, depends the formation of syllables and words. It is the basis of human speech or language, and the faculty of articulation is the distinguishing characteristic and privilege of man.

All men, having similar organs of speech, use nearly the same articulations. Hence the same simple letters, or letters with the same powers, occur, with slight differences, in all languages. The compound letters, or combinations of sound, are subject to greater variety.

Articulations formed by the lips are called labial letters, or labials, lip-letters, from the Latin labium, a lip. Such are b, l, m, p, v. Those formed by the tongue and teeth, are called dental letters, or dentals, from the Latin dens, a tooth. Such are d, t, th, s and z. The two latter are also denominated sibilant letters, or sibilants, from the Latin sibilo, to hiss. Letters formed by the tongue and palate, are