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NOTICE TO THE TEACHER.

The Rules and Observations throughout the work, are printed in two distinct sizes of type, according to their importance.

The Rules and Observations printed in the larger type, together with all the declensions and conjugations, should be studied consecutively, and either be committed to memory, or otherwise well impressed upon the mind. The Notes, which serve either as illustrations of the preceding Rules, or contain observations which, though useful, are of minor importance, are printed in the smaller type, and are intended merely to be read. The whole of Grammar must be thus completed before the pupil commences Style.

The remaining portions of the work, namely, Style, Rhetoric, Poetry, and Preparatory Logic, are also printed in two sizes of type; the information printed in the smaller type, is intended either to illustrate the facts printed in the larger type, or to form a second course. The whole should be well known to the student, and, for this purpose, Questions and Exercises adapted to both types, are given in the volume of Exercises.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR is a collection of the established principles and best usages of the English language, arranged in a systematic form.

When we say that a person speaks and writes with propriety, we mean, that he conforms to the established mode of expression observed by reputable writers and speakers, and which mode is explained or exhibited by the grammarian.

English Grammar necessarily includes such principles as are common to all languages, as well as such as are peculiar to itself. The former belong to what is termed Universal Grammar, and the latter to Particular Grammar.

It is divided into Five Parts; namely, Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, Punctuation, and Prosody.

1. Orthography treats of letters, syllables, and the just method of spelling words.

2. Etymology treats of the classification, inflection, and derivation of words.

3. Syntax treats of the agreement, government, and proper arrangement of words in a sentence.

4. Punctuation treats of the division of a discourse into sentences, clauses, and members.

5. Prosody teaches the proper pronunciation of words, and the laws of verse.

PART I. ORTHOGRAPHY.

ORTHOGRAPHY treats of letters, syllables, and the just method of spelling words.

Orthography is a term derived from ipfòs (orthos) correct, and ypaw (graphō)

I write.

The term Orthography is sometimes applied to mere spelling, as, the Orthography is correct or incorrect; meaning, that the words are or are not properly spelled.

B

OF LETTERS.

Letters are marks or characters used to represent the elementary sounds of language.

The letters of the English language, called the English Alphabet, are twenty-six in number, and are thus arranged:

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1. The term Alphabet is formed from the first two Greek letters, Alpha, Beta, and denotes the order in which the letters are written.

2. In old books, J and U seldom occur; I being substituted for J, and V for U. But this practice is now, very properly, obsolete.

3. W is a double u, and Y a double i. W was at first vo The double i was formerly written ü; and at the end of words the last i was lengthened into j, and thus ij became y. The ij, as a double i, appears in the Roman numerals of our early printed books; thus, eight is marked vIIJ.

4. In writing and in print, letters have two forms, capitals and small letters. Capitals (or head letters) are used only at the beginning of words in particular situations, while small letters form the body of the composition. Directions for the use of capital letters, are given under Punctuation.

Letters are divided into vowels and consonants.

A vowel is a letter that forms a perfect sound when uttered alone; as, a, e, o.

A consonant makes only an imperfect sound of itself; as, b, c, d, which cannot be distinctly articulated unless joined to a vowel.

The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and w and y, when they do

not begin a word or syllable. When w and y do begin a word or syllable they are consonants.

The consonants are b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, z.

Consonants are sometimes divided into mutes and semi-vowels. The mutes are those consonants, whose sounds cannot be protracted; they are b, d, k, p, q, t, and c and g hard. In pronouncing the names of the mutes, the assistant vowels follow the consonants. The semi-vowels, or half-vowels, are those letters whose sounds may be continued at pleasure, and thus they partake of the nature of vowels. The semivowels are f, l, m, n, r, s, v, x, z, and c and g soft. In pronouncing the names of the semi-vowels, the vowels generally precede the consonants. L, m, n, r, are also called liquids, because, after a mute, their sound is, in some measure, liquidated or diminished, so as easily to unite with a mute in the same syllable.

Consonants are likewise divided into labials, or those letters which are sounded by the lips, as, b, f, p, v; into dentals, sounded by the teeth, as, s, z; into palatals, sounded by the gums, as, d, t, and soft g and j; into gutturals, sounded by the throat, as, k, q, and c and g hard; into nasals, sounded by the nose, as, m, n; into linguals, or letters sounded by the tongue, as, 1, r.

A diphthong is the union of two vowels in one sound; as, ou in ounce.

A proper diphthong is that in which both the vowels are sounded; as, oi in boil. An improper diphthong has only one of the vowels sounded; as, ea in breath, in which only e is sounded.

The term diphthong or double sound, was, originally, applied to those combinations only in which each vowel was sounded; but, at present, it includes also such as form only one sound; hence the term a proper and an improper diphthong.

A triphthong is the union of three vowels in one sound; as, iew in view.

The Sounds of the different Letters.

A has four sounds, as heard in fate, fall, glass, far. The diphthong aa is short, as, in Canaan: but sometimes it is sounded as if in two syllables, as, in Bāαl. Ae has the sound of long e, as, Æneas; Ai of long a, as, in pail, tail, except plaid, again, raillery, Britain, mountain, and a few others. Au has generally the sound of the broad a, as, in taught; sometimes of the short or open a, as, in aunt, gauntlet, &c.; and is sounded like long o in hautboy, but like short o in laurel, laudanum, &c. Aw has the sound of broad a, as, in bawl. Ay has the long slender sound of a, as, in pay, except quay, pronounced key.

E has three sounds; a long sound, as, in scheme; a short one, as, in men; and an obscure one, as, in open: sometimes it has the sound of middle a, as, in clerk; sometimes of short i, as, in England. E, at the end of a word, either softens the preceding consonant, as, in rage; or lengthens the preceding vowel, as, pin, pine. Ea is generally sounded like e long, as, in appear; sometimes it has the short sound of e, as, in breath; and sometimes of long a, as, in break; or of a in far, as, in heart. Eau has the sound of long o, as, in beau; but in beauty and its compounds, it has the sound of long u. Ei has generally the sound of long a, as, in vein; frequently of long e, as, in seize; sometimes of short i, as, in foreign. Eo is pronounced like e long, as, in people; sometimes like short e, as, in leopard; as short u, as, in dungeon, sturgeon, &c. Eu and ew have the sound of long u, as, in feud, dew;-in sew, shew, &c. ew sounds like long o. Ey, when accented, sounds like a long, as, in bey, except in key, ley; ey, unaccented, sounds like e long, as, in valley.

I has a long sound, as, in fine, and a short one, as, in fin. Before r it is often sounded like u short, as, in flirt. In some words it has the sound of e long, as, in machine. Ia generally sounds like ya, as, in filial; sometimes it has the sound of short i, as, in carriage. Ie sounds like long e, as, in grief; sometimes like long i, as, in die; and sometimes like short i, as, in sieve. Ieu has the sound of long u, as, in lieu. Io, when accented on the first vowel, forms two syllables, as, in violent. The terminations, tion and sion, are sounded like shun, except when s or a precedes the t, as, in question, mixtion.

O has three sounds, as, in no, not, move. It sometimes has the short sound of u, as, in son. Oa has the long sound of o, as, in boat, except in broad, abroad, groat,

where it takes the sound of broad a, abrawd. Oe has the sound of single e, as, in Antoeci; sometimes it is sounded as long o, as, in doe, foe, sloe, throe, hoe, bilboes. Oi has the sound of a broad and e long united, as, in boy; as boil, toil. Oo is generally pronounced as in moon; but in wool, good, foot, and a few others, it is short; in blood, flood, it sounds like short u; door, floor, are pronounced as if written dore, flore. Ou has six sounds: 1st, its general sound of ow, as, in bound; 2nd, of short u, as, in enough; 3rd, of oo, as, in youth; 4th, of long o, as, in though; 5th, of short o, as, in cough; 6th, is that of awe, as, in ought. Ow is generally sounded like ou in thou, as, in brown; sometimes like long o, as, in snow. Oy is sounded like oi, of which it is only another form.

U has three sounds, as, in mule, tub, full. The words busy, business, bury, burial, are deviations; they are sounded as bizzy, bizness, berry, berrial. Ua has sometimes the sound of wa, as, in assuage; and sometimes of middle a, as, in guard. Ue is frequently sounded like we, as, in quench; sometimes like u, as, in hue; but in a few words it is pronounced like e short, as, in guest; and in some words it is sunk, as, in antique, catalogue. Ui is pronounced like wi, as, in languid; sometimes as long i, as, in guide; sometimes as short i, as, in guilt; sometimes like long u, as, in juice; and after r, as oo, as, in fruit. Uo is pronounced like wo, as, in quote. Uy has the sound of long e, as in obloquy (pronounced obloquee), except buy and its derivatives.

B has a uniform sound. In some words it is silent, as in debtor, subtle.

C sounds hard like k before a, o, u, l, r, t, and at the end of a syllable; before e, i, and y, it generally sounds soft like s; as, in centre, city, cymbal; but sometimes as sh, as, in ocean, social.

C is mute in czar, czarina, victuals, &c.

Ch is generally sounded like tch, as, in church. In words derived from the Greek it sounds as k, as, in chorus; also in Scripture names, as, Enoch. In words derived immediately from the French, ch has the sound of sh, as, in chaise.

Ch in arch, before a vowel, sounds like k, as, in archangel, except in arched, archery, archer, and arch-enemy, and in words of familiar formation, as, in arch-fiend, but in other respects it always sounds before a consonant like tch, as, in archbishop.

D has a uniform sound, except at the end of words ending in ed, when it frequently sounds as t, as, in stuffed.

F has a uniform sound, except in of, which has the sound of ov; but not in of, when forming only part of a word, as, whereof.

G is hard before a, o, u, l, r; as, in gat, go, gum, glow; and soft before e, i, and y; as, in genius, ginger, Egypt: but in get, gewgaw, finger, craggy, and a few others, it is hard.

G is mute before n, as, in gnash. Gh, at the beginning of a word, sounds as g hard, as, in ghost; in the middle, and sometimes at the end, it is silent, as, in plough. At the end, gh has generally the sound of f, as, in laugh; sometimes only g is sounded, as, in burgh.

H is silent in heir, herb, honest, honour, hospital, hour, humour, humble, and their derivatives; it is also silent after r, as, in rhetoric; but it is sounded at the beginning of other words, and also of syllables.

J is pronounced like soft g, except in hallelujah, where it is pronounced like y.

K is always hard, as, in kept; it is not sounded before n, as, in knife; and is never doubled except in Habakkuk.

L has a soft liquid sound, as, in love; it is sometimes mute, as, in half, talk. Le, at the end of words, is pronounced like a weak el, the e being silent, as, in table.

M has always the same sound, as, in murmur; it is silent in comptroller, which is pronounced controller.

N has two sounds; the one pure, as, in man, the other a ringing sound like ng, as, in thank. N is mute after m, at the end of a syllable, as, in hymn.

P has one uniform sound, except in cupboard, in which word it has the sound of b. It is sometimes mute, as, in psalm, psalter, Ptolemy. Ph has generally the sound off, as, in philosophy; but in nephew and Stephen, it has the sound of v; and in apophthegm, phthisis, phthisical, both letters are entirely dropped.

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