INFINITIVE MODE.

Present. To love. Perfect. To have loved.

Participles.

Present. Loving. Perfect. Loved
Compound Perfect. Having loved.

REMARKS ON SOME

GRAMMATICAL FIGURES.

OF ELLIPSIS.

ARTICLE 167.

AN Ellipsis is the omission of one or more words for the sake of brevity and elegance, which the construction requires to be supplied.

There are few compound sentences, which are not in some degree elliptical. Syntax therefore cannot be perfectly taught or understood, without a particular attention to this figure. It will be an exercise of advantage to the scholar in many respects, to point out the various instances of ellipsis that occur; for example :

1st. The ellipsis of the Noun; as, It is better to receive, than to do injury, i. e. It is better to receive injury, than to do injury. When you come to St. Paul's, turn to the left; i. e. When you come to St. Paul's church, turn to the left hand.

2dly. Of the adjective; as, much rain and snow; i.e. Much rain, and much snow.

3dly. Of the relative; as, the horse you bought, is lame ; i. e. The horse which you bought is lame.

4thly. Of the verb; as, What am I, and from whence? i. e. What am I, and from whence am I? So said, so done; i. e. So it was said, so it was done.

5thly. Of the article, adverb, conjunction and preposition; as, The bow and arrows are broken; i. e. The bow and the arrows are broken. He speaks and writes well; i. e. He speaks well, and writes well. He is a very agreeable, worthy man; i. e. He is a very agreeable, and

a very worthy man. I gave it to your brother and sister;
i. e. I gave it to your brother, and to your sister. I desire
you will be more diligent; i. e. I desire that
more diligent.

They compliment, they sit, they chat,
Talk o'er the wars, reform the state,
A thousand knotty points they clear,
'Till supper and my wife appear.

you a

will be

PRIOR.

i. e. They compliment, and they sit, and they chat, &c.

135. Lastly; Of a considerable part of a sentence, as, Nature has given to animals, one time to act, another to rest; i. e. Nature has given to animals, one time to act; Nature has given to animals another time to rest.

OF TRANSPOSITION.

168. Transposition is the placing of words out of their natural order, for the sake of some superior beauty.

It is seldom of advantage to invert the style, except in poetic language, and therefore the best prose writers have the fewest instances of transposition. In poetry also this figure is to be condemned, if it endanger perspicuity, or add not to the beauty and har mony of the verse. The English language admits of considerable liberty in the arrangement of a word or clause denoting some circumstance, which may be variously placed without inconvenience, but it is usually to be preferred at the beginning of a sentence. It would be difficult, and perhaps useless, to lay down rules comprehending every allowable instance of transposition. The best instruction that can be given, is to attend to the practice of the most approved writers, and always to preserve perspicuity. It will be an useful exercise to the scholar to resolve a transposed sentence into its natural arrangement; as for instance, the beginning of Milton's Paradise Lost:

Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man

Restore us, and regain the blissful seat,
Sing heavenly muse.
Par, Lost, b. i.

The natural order of the foregoing sentence is, Heavenly muse, sing of man's first disobedience, and the fruit, &c. So spake th' Omnipotent, and with his words

All seem'd well pleas'd; all seem'd, but were not all. Par. Lost, b. 5. i. e. So th' Omnipotent spake, and all seem'd well pleas'd with his words; all seem'd, but all were not.

Of the Transformation of Words.

169. It sometimes happens from particular circumstances, that a word loses its common signification, and acquires the distinguishing property of another part of speech.

170. Thus for instance; the possessive case of a noun is equivalent to an adjective.

As man's life is short; i, e. human life is short.

171. When two nouns are compounded toge ther, and joined with a hyphen, the first of them has usually the signification of an adjective.

As, a bird-cage, an ale-house, a man-servant, a maidservant; and sometimes when the hyphen is omitted as, a gold ring, a London merchant, a China orange, the noon-tide hour, the mid-day sun.

172. An adjective, when its substantive is understood, acquires the nature of a noun.

As, the wise shall inherit glory. Who will shew us any good?