The Grammar of English Grammars. Goold Brown
5. "Tense is the distinction of time: there are six tenses."—Maunder's Gram., p. 6. "In this case, the ellipsis of the last article would be improper."—L. Murray's Gram., i, p. 218. "Contrast has always the effect to make each of the contrasted objects appear in the stronger light."—Ib., i, 349; Blair's Rhet., p. 167. "These remarks may serve to shew the great importance of the proper use of the article."—Lowth's Gram., p. 12; Murray's, i, 171. "'Archbishop Tillotson,' says an author of the History of England, 'died in this year.'"—Blair's Rhet., p. 107. "Pronouns are used instead of substantives, to prevent the too frequent repetition of them."—Alex. Murray's Gram., p. 22. "That, as a relative, seems to be introduced to save the too frequent repetition of who and which."—Ib., p. 23. "A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun to avoid the too frequent repetition of the same word."—L. Murray's Gram., i, p. 28. "That is often used as a relative, to prevent the too frequent repetition of who and which."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 109; L. Murray's, i, 53; Hiley's, 84. "His knees smote one against an other."—Logan's Sermons. "They stand now on one foot, then on another."—Walker's Particles, p. 259. "The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another."—Gen., xxxi, 49. "Some have enumerated ten [parts of speech], making a participle a distinct part."—L. Murray's Gram, i, p. 29. "Nemesis rides upon an Hart, because a Hart is a most lively Creature."—Bacon's Wisdom, p. 50. "The transition of the voice from one vowel of the diphthong to another."—Wilson's Essay on Gram., p. 29. "So difficult it is to separate these two things from one another."—Blair's Rhet., p. 92. "Without the material breach of any rule."—Ib., p. 101. "The great source of a loose style, in opposition to precision, is the injudicious use of those words termed synonymous."—Ib., p. 97. "The great source of a loose style, in opposition to precision, is the injudicious use of the words termed synonymous."—Murray's Gram., i, p. 302. "Sometimes one article is improperly used for another."—Sanborn's Gram., p. 197.
"Satire of sense, alas! can Sporus feel?
Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?"—Pope, p. 396.
LESSON V.—MIXED EXAMPLES.
"He hath no delight in the strength of an horse."—Maturin's Sermons, p. 311. "The head of it would be an universal monarch."—Butler's Analogy, p. 98. "Here they confound the material and formal object of faith."—Barclay's Works, Vol. iii, p. 57. "The Irish and Scotish Celtic are one language; the Welsh, Cornish, and Armorican, are another."—Dr. Murray's Hist., Vol. ii, p. 316. "In an uniform and perspicuous manner."—Ib., i, 49. "SCRIPTURE, n. Appropriately, and by way of distinction, the books of the Old and New Testament; the Bible."—Webster's Dict. "In two separate volumes, entitled the Old and the New Testaments."—Wayland's Mor. Sci., p. 139. "The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament contain a revelation."—Ib. "Q has ever an u after it; which is not sounded in words derived from the French."—Wilson's Essay, p. 32. "What should we say of such an one? That he is regenerate? No."—Hopkins's Prim. Ch., p. 22. "Some grammarians subdivide vowels into the simple and the compound."—Murray's Gram., i, p. 8. "Emphasis has been further distinguished into the weaker and stronger emphasis."—Ib., i, 244. "Emphasis has also been divided into superior and the inferior emphasis."—Ib., i, 245, "Pronouns must agree with their antecedents, or nouns which they represent, in gender, number, and person."—Merchant's Gram., pp. 86, 111, and 130. "The adverb where, is often improperly used, for the relative pronoun and preposition."—Ib., 94. "The termination ish imports diminution, or lessening the quality."—Ib., 79. "In this train all their verses proceed: the one half of the line always answering to the other."—Blair's Rhet., p. 384. "To an height of prosperity and glory, unknown to any former age."—Murray's Sequel, p. 352. "HWILC, who, which, such as, such an one, is declined as follows."—Gwilt's Saxon Gram., p. 15. "When a vowel precedes y, an s only is required to form a plural."—Bucke's Gram., p. 40. "He is asked what sort of a word each is, whether a primitive, derivative, or compound."—British Gram., p. vii. "It is obvious, that neither the 2d, 3d, nor 4th chapter of Matthew is the first; consequently, there are not four first chapters."—Churchill's Gram., p. 306. "Some thought, which a writer wants art to introduce in its proper place."—Blair's Rhet., p. 109. "Groves and meadows are most pleasing in the spring."—Ib., p. 207. "The conflict between the carnal and spiritual mind, is often long."—Gurney's Port. Ev., p. 146. "A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful."—Burke's Title-page.
"Silence, my muse! make not these jewels cheap,
Exposing to the world too large an heap."—Waller, p. 113.
CHAPTER III.—NOUNS.
A Noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned: as, George, York, man, apple, truth.
OBSERVATIONS.
OBS. 1.—All words and signs taken technically, (that is, independently of their meaning, and merely as things spoken of,) are nouns; or, rather, are things read and construed as nouns; because, in such a use, they temporarily assume the syntax of nouns: as, "For this reason, I prefer contemporary to cotemporary."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 175; Murray's Gram., i, p. 368. "I and J were formerly expressed by the same character; as were U and V."—W. Allen's Gram., p. 3. "Us is a personal pronoun."—Murray. "Th has two sounds."—Ib. "The 's cannot be a contraction of his, because 's is put to female [feminine] nouns; as, Woman's beauty, the Virgin's delicacy."—Dr. Johnson's Gram. "Their and theirs are the possessives likewise of they, when they is the plural of it."—Ib. "Let B be a now or instant."—Harris's Hermes, p. 103. "In such case, I say that the instant B is the end of the time A B."—Ib., 103. "A is sometimes a noun: as, a great A."—Todd's Johnson. "Formerly sp was cast in a piece, as st's are now."—Hist. of Printing, 1770. "I write to others than he will perhaps include in his we."—Barclay's Works, Vol. iii, p. 455. "Here are no fewer than eight ands in one sentence."—Blair's Rhet., p. 112; Murray's Gram., Vol. i, p. 319. "Within this wooden O;" i.e., circle.—Shak.
OBS. 2.—In parsing, the learner must observe the sense and use of each word, and class it accordingly. Many words commonly belonging to other parts of speech are occasionally used as nouns; and, since it is the manner of its use, that determines any word to be of one part of speech rather than of an other, whatever word is used directly as a noun, must of course be parsed as such.
1. Adjectives made nouns: "The Ancient of days did sit."—Bible. "Of the ancients."—Swift. "For such impertinents."—Steele. "He is an ignorant in it."—Id. "In the luxuriance of an unbounded picturesque."—Jamieson. "A source of the sublime;" i.e., of sublimity.—Burke. "The vast immense of space:" i.e., immensity.—Murray. "There is none his like."—Job, xli, 33. "A little more than a little, is by much too much."—Shakspeare. "And gladly make much of that entertainment."—Sidney. "A covetous man makes the most of what he has."—L'Estrange. "It has done enough for me."—Pope. "He had enough to do."—Bacon.
"All withers here; who most possess, are losers by their gain, Stung by full proof, that bad at best, life's idle all is vain." —Young.
"Nor grudge I thee the much the Grecians give, Nor murm'ring take the little I receive." —Dryden.
2. Pronouns made nouns: "A love of seeing