Part I.-An Outline for Beginners. THIS Part shows the connection between thought and language, and how the latter is developed from a few great or fundamental ideas. It contains a familiar explanation of the chief ideas in grammar, which is followed by a series of exercises that show the general construction of sentences. For a mode of using these exercises, the teacher may consult Kerl's "First Lessons." Part II.-Words Uncombined. This Part begins with a presentation of the subject and its divisions; it then treats of letters, elementary sounds, accent, pronunciation, syllables, spelling, and derivation, or it teaches what can be learned about words before they are combined in sentences. Part III. - Words Grammatically Combined. This Part shows what we must learn about words in order to know how they should be put together to make sentences. It treats of the parts of speech and their properties, the rules of syntax, and parsing; or it shows into what classes we must divide words, and what jointings we must make, or by what ideas we must be governed, in order to put words rightly together in sentences. Part IV. — Words Logically Combined. This Part supposes that the jointings and small combinations of words are already made; and that we are now ready to put the larger parts together so as to get sentences for all kinds of thoughts. It therefore treats of phrases and clauses, as well as of words; of subjects, predicates, modifiers, connectives, simple sentences, complex sentences, and compound sentences. Part V.-Words Improperly Combined. This Part treats of the errors which can arise under both the preceding Parts. It implies that there may be some excess, deficiency, wrong choosing, or improper arrangement, in regard to the words which are to show precisely what we mean. Part VI.- Ornament and Finish. This Part supposes that we have already learned to express thoughts intelligibly and correctly, but that we now seek to express them in the most interesting and impressive manner; or it shows by what means thoughts are imparted to the best advantage. Hence it treats of figures, versification, utterance, and punctuation. Remarks. - | denotes separation. = is placed between equivalent expressions. A number placed over a word shows which Rule of Syntax should be applied to it. W means wrong: sentences beginning with this letter are to be corrected. What is to be committed to memory by the pupil, is printed in large type, or is distinguished by being numbered with heavy black figures. The few technical or difficult words which we have been obliged to use, the teacher should explain; or he should give out a number of them to the pupils from time to time, and require them to learn the meanings in some large dictionary. English Grammar. PART I. AN OUTLINE FOR BEGINNERS. "I am convinced that the method of teaching which approaches most nearly to the method of investigation, is incomparably the best; since, not content with serving up a few barren and lifeless truths, it leads to the stalk on which they grow." BURKE. THOUGHT AND ITS EXPRESSION. 1. We think, or have thoughts. 2. We express our thoughts by means of words. 3. Words are either spoken or written. 4. The expressing of our thoughts by means of words, is called language, or speech. of 5. Language is made to suit the world, and consists many thousands of words; but, like trees or persons, they can all be divided into a small number of classes. 6. To express our thoughts, we use nine classes of words, which are therefore called the Parts of Speech. 7. The PARTS OF SPEECH are Nouns, Pronouns, Articles, Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections. 8. To these nine classes of words belong eight chief properties; Gender, Person, Number, Case, Voice, Mood, Tense, and Comparison. 9. These classes of words, and their properties, are based mainly on the following ten things or ideas: Objects, Actions, Qualities, Sex, Number, Relation,* Manner, Time, Place, and Degree. Let us now see by what natural process we shall get thoughts, and then words to express them. Parts of Speech. NOUNS. When we look around us, we naturally first notice objects. The words John, Mary, tree, house, street, man, horse, apple, flower, rose, chair, desk, book, paper, pencil, are, all of them, words that denote objects, and such words are called nouns. 10. A Noun is a name. Tell what trees grow in the woods. What flowers grow in gardens? What animals are on farms? What things can boys eat? What things do children play with? What objects did you see this morning, on your way to school? Who are your classmates? What would you call the words you have mentioned? You can generally tell whether a word is a noun or not, by considering whether it denotes something that you can see, hear, taste, smell, or feel, or think of as being a person or thing. PRONOUNS. When objects are near to us, or already known by having been mentioned, we do not always use their names, but cer * Considered here chiefly as applied to Case and Person. tain little words in stead of the names. If I say, "William promised Mary that William would lend Mary William's grammar, that Mary might study the grammar," you can easily see that the sentence is clumsy and disagreeable, because I have repeated the words William, Mary, and grammar. But if I say, "William promised Mary that he would lend her his gramthat she might study it," you notice that the sentence is much more simple and agreeable, because I have used the little words he, she, and it, for the nouns William, Mary, and grammar, in stead of repeating these nouns. Pronoun means for a noun; and pronouns are so called because they are used for nouns, or in stead of nouns. mar, 11. A Pronoun is a word used in stead of a noun. The most common pronouns are I, my, myself, mine, me, we, our, ourselves, ours, us, you, your, yourself, yours, ye, thou, thy, thyself, thine, thee, he, his, him, himself, she, her, herself, hers, it, itself, its, they, theirs, them, themselves, who, whose, whom, which, and that. The easiest way in which you can generally distinguish a pronoun from a noun, is to consider whether the word denotes an object, without being itself the name of the object. "I saw you." Here I denotes me, without being my name; and you denotes the person spoken to, without being his name. Put suitable pronouns for the words in Italic letters: — John has learned John's lesson. Mary has torn Mary's book. The apple lay under the apple's tree. The apples lay under the apples' tree. Thomas has come home, and Thomas is well. Lucy is pretty, and Lucy knows it. The gun was brought, but the gun was out of order. Laura was disobedient, and therefore Laura's teacher punished Laura. Julia will buy you a basket, if Julia can buy the basket cheap. Joseph and Mary went to meet Joseph and Mary's father, but Joseph and Mary's father came another way. ARTICLES. Most objects exist in classes; and when we use merely the ordinary name of something, we generally mean the class or object at large or indefinitely; as, tree, apples, water. To show that we mean only one object of a kind, and no particular one, or that we mean some particular object or objects, we generally place the word a or an, or the, before the name; as, a tree, the tree, the trees. If I say, "Give me a book, an apple," you understand that any book or apple will answer my purpose; but if I say, "Give me the book, the books," you understand that I want some particular book or books. These words, a or an and the, which are very often used before nouns, and which generally show how we select the objects of which we are speaking, are called articles. 12. An Article is the word the, a, or an, placed be fore a noun to limit its meaning. Place A before each of the following nouns; then THE: — Man, book, pen, boy, parrot, pink, school-house, newspaper. Place AN before each of the following nouns; then THE : — VERBS. We can not think of an object, without thinking something of it. Therefore every thought or saying implies at least two things; something of which we think or speak, and something that we think or say of it: the former is called the subject, and the latter the predicate. "Rivers flow"; here rivers is the subject, and flow is the predicate. Deep rivers flow smoothly"; here deep rivers is the subject, and flow smoothly is the predicate. 13. A Subject is a word or phrase denoting that of which something is said. |