The Grammar of English Grammars. Goold Brown
thy maid servant may rest, as well as thou."—Sanborn's Gram., p. 160. "How many right angles has an acute angled triangle?"—Ib., p. 220. "In the days of Jorum, king of Israel, flourished the prophet Elisha."—Ib., p. 148. "In the days of Jorum, king of Israel, Elisha, the prophet flourished."—Ib., p. 133. "Lodgable, a. Capable of affording a temporary abode."—Webster's Octavo Dict.—"Win me into the easy hearted man."—Johnson's Quarto Dict. "And then to end life, is the same as to dye."—Milnes's Greek Gram., p. 176. "Those usurping hectors who pretend to honour without religion, think the charge of a lie a blot not to be washed out but by blood."—SOUTH: Joh. Dict. "His gallies attending him, he pursues the unfortunate."—Nixon's Parser, p. 91. "This cannot fail to make us shyer of yielding our assent."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 117. "When he comes to the Italicised word, he should give it such a definition as its connection with the sentence may require."—Claggett's Expositor, p. vii. "Learn to distil from your lips all the honies of persuasion."—Adams's Rhetoric, Vol. i, p. 31. "To instill ideas of disgust and abhorrence against the Americans."—Ib., ii, 300. "Where prejudice has not acquired an uncontroled ascendency."—Ib., i, 31. "The uncontrolable propensity of his mind was undoubtedly to oratory."—Ib., i, 100. "The Brutus is a practical commentary upon the dialogues and the orator."—Ib., i, 120. "The oratorical partitions are a short elementary compendium."—Ib., i, 130. "You shall find hundreds of persons able to produce a crowd of good ideas upon any subject, for one that can marshall them to the best advantage."—Ib., i, 169. "In this lecture, you have the outline of all that the whole course will comprize."—Ib., i, 182. "He would have been stopped by a hint from the bench, that he was traveling out of the record."—Ib., i, 289. "To tell them that which should befal them in the last days."—Ib., ii, 308. "Where all is present, there is nothing past to recal."—Ib., ii, 358. "Whose due it is to drink the brimfull cup of God's eternal vengeance."—Law and Grace, p. 36.
"There, from the dead, centurions see him rise,
See, but struck down with horrible surprize!"—Savage.
"With seed of woes my heart brimful is charged."—SIDNEY: Joh. Dict.
"Our legions are brimful, our cause is ripe."—SHAKSPEARE: ib.
PART II.
ETYMOLOGY.
ETYMOLOGY treats of the different parts of speech, with their classes and modifications.
The Parts of Speech are the several kinds, or principal classes, into which words are divided by grammarians.
Classes, under the parts of speech, are the particular sorts into which the several kinds of words are subdivided.
Modifications are inflections, or changes, in the terminations, forms, or senses, of some kinds of words.
CHAPTER I.—PARTS OF SPEECH.
The Parts of Speech, or sorts of words, in English, are ten; namely, the Article, the Noun, the Adjective, the Pronoun, the Verb, the Participle, the Adverb, the Conjunction, the Preposition, and the Interjection.
1. THE ARTICLE.
An Article is the word the, an, or a, which we put before nouns to limit their signification: as, The air, the stars; an island, a ship.
2. THE NOUN.
A Noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned: as, George, York, man, apple, truth.
3. THE ADJECTIVE.
An Adjective is a word added to a noun or pronoun, and generally expresses quality: as, A wise man; a new book. You two are diligent.
4. THE PRONOUN.
A Pronoun is a word used in stead of a noun: as, The boy loves his book; he has long lessons, and he learns them well.
5. THE VERB.
A Verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon: as, I am, I rule, I am ruled; I love, thou lovest, he loves.
6. THE PARTICIPLE.
A Participle is a word derived from a verb, participating the properties of a verb, and of an adjective or a noun; and is generally formed by adding ing, d, or ed, to the verb: thus, from the verb rule, are formed three participles, two simple and one compound; as, 1. ruling, 2. ruled, 3. having ruled.
7. THE ADVERB.
An Adverb is a word added to a verb, a participle, an adjective, or an other adverb; and generally expresses time, place, degree, or manner: as, They are now here, studying very diligently.
8. THE CONJUNCTION.
A Conjunction is a word used to connect words or sentences in construction, and to show the dependence of the terms so connected: as, "Thou and he are happy, because you are good."—L. Murray.
9. THE PREPOSITION.
A Preposition is a word used to express some relation of different things or thoughts to each other, and is generally placed before a noun or a pronoun; as, The paper lies before me on the desk.
10. THE INTERJECTION.
An Interjection is a word that is uttered merely to indicate some strong or sudden emotion of the mind: as, Oh! alas! ah! poh! pshaw! avaunt! aha! hurrah!
OBSERVATIONS.
OBS. 1.—The first thing to be learned in the study of this the second part of grammar, is the distribution of the words of the language into those principal sorts, or classes, which are denominated the Parts of Speech. This is a matter of some difficulty. And as no scheme which can be adopted, will be in all cases so plain that young beginners will not occasionally falter in its application, the teacher may sometimes find it expedient to refer his pupils to the following simple explanations, which are designed to aid their first and most difficult steps.
How can we know to what class, or part of speech, any word belongs? By learning the definitions of the ten parts of speech, and then observing how the word is written, and in what sense it is used. It is necessary also to observe, so far as we can, with what other words each particular one is capable of making sense.
1. Is it easy to distinguish an ARTICLE? If not always easy, it is generally so: the, an, and a, are the only English words called articles, and these are rarely any thing else. Because an and a have the same import, and are supposed to have the same origin, the articles are commonly reckoned two, but some count them as three.
2. How can we distinguish a NOUN? By means of the article before it, if there is one; as, the house, an apple, a book; or, by adding it to the phrase, "I mentioned;" as, "I mentioned peace;"—"I mentioned war;"—"I mentioned slumber." Any word which thus makes complete sense, is, in that sense, a noun; because a noun is the name of any thing which