ENGLISH GRAMMAR, ILLUSTRATED BỶ EXERCISES IN COMPOSITION, ANALYZING AND PARSING. BY ALLEN H. WELD, A. M., AUTHOR OF ANALYZING AND PARSING BOOK, LATIN LESSONS AND READER. FIFTIETH EDITION. PORTLAND SANBORN & CARTER, HARVARD Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by SANBORN & CARTER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Maine. PREFACE. THIS work was prepared with the hope of rendering the study of English Grammar more interesting and profitable than is usually the case under the ordinary methods of instruction. Testimonials from the highest sources, received since the first edition was published, have led the author to believe that his efforts to this end have not been entirely in vain. The work has been carefully revised, and a considerable part of it re-written, for the present edition. It has been enlarged by the addition of Introductory Lessons, Orthography, Pr、ody, and other matter necessary to make the work more complete as a Grammar of the language. The subjects of Etymology and Syntax, are divided into three Parts. In the first, the l'arts of Speech are defined, and their offices and relations explained. The noun is first illustrated in a familiar way, but still in a manner to relieve the teacher of the labor which properly belongs to the learner, by exercises on the black board or slate, and by supplying nouns in sentences which are left incomplete. These exercises are sufficiently extended to give a clear understanding of the Part of speech under examination. The Verb is text explained by a similar method. The Noun and the Verb are now united to form a sentence. The idea of a sentence is impressed upon the mind of the learner by a variety of exercises, questions and explanations. He is taught that the Noun and the Verb are the most important parts of speech, and that without employing both, no idea can be fully expressed in language. The Parts of speech which extend or limit, or in any manner modify the meaning of the Noun, are next in their proper order clearly illustrated and defined, and in like manner, the modifications of the Verb are explained. The sentence which was begun with two words, viz: the Noun and the Verb, is thus gradually extended, as nature dictates in learning language, and in a manner which can hardly fail of making the relation of words well understood by the learner. After the sentence has been thus constructed, and the office and relation of each Part of speech explained, and after the terms by which its different parts are denominated, have been illustrated and defined, Exercises in Analysis are introduced, by which the learner is taught to resolve a sentence into the ele ments of which it is composed. Even young, pupils will perform such exercises with surprising interest and facility, and will unconsciously gain, in a little time, more knowledge of the structure of Language, than he can acquire by a drilling of several years in the usual routine of parsing. In Part II. the parts of speech are again taken up in the same order, and their variations and forms are explained, and exercises in PARSING are introduced, in addition to those in Analysis and Composition, which were commenced in Part I, A few Rules of construction are employed in this Part, to guide in the ex rcise of parsing. Part III. is devoted to Syntax and Composition; in this part, the rules and principles of construction establishe by usage, are illustrated by examples drawn from the best authorities, and arranged in exercises under the rules, respectively for analyzing and parsing; and to these are subjoined other exercise or Composition, having reference to the same principles of construction. Special attention is given in this part to the use of connectives, and to the explanation of difficult phrases and combinations. The Exercises in Composition throughout the wook bring into immediate practice each principle explained; and besides their practical advantage, they are a useful means of mental discipline. will be perceived that the main de From the plan thus briefly explained, sign of this work is to exhibit a method of instruction which may relieve the monotony and mechanical drudgery usually attending the study of Grammar, not by innovations and novelties, but by a simple and natural course of exercises, which, if properly attended to, will not only ensure thorough progress in the knowledge of the subject, but will teach the method by which language may be studied with the greatest pleasure and advantage, and by which it can be employed with the most strength and propriety. The space allotted for this preface does not admit of a particular enumeration of the works consulted and referred to. It may be sufficient to say that the work has been a long time in contemplation, and that the best authorities from Horne Tooke, Murray, Crombie, &c., down to the present time, have Deen consulted. The acknowledgments of the author are due to Rev. Solomon Adams, of Boston, for many valuable hints and criticisms during the progress of the present edition through the press. A. H. W. FAMILIAR INSTRUCTION FOR YOUNG BEGINNERS. THE following introductory pages are prefixed to the work, mainly for the purpose of suggesting to the teacher a familiar and intelligible method of explaining to the learner the formation of words and sentences; the terms employed in Grammar; and the classi fication of words into what is called the Parts of Speech. Each lesson presents a subject for a familiar lecture, with a few illustrations which can be varied or extended at the discretion of the teacher. LESSON I. (Letters.) NOTE.-Let the class stand at the Blackboard, or be furnished with slates while practising these lessons; or the teacher can do the writing on the Board for the class. Write the marks or letters a, e, i, o, u. Sound or utter each separately.* Write the letters b, c, d, f, g, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v. Endeavor to sound each by itself, not using a, e, or u before or after them. Try to sound b and d in the word bird, c in the word cat, ƒ in faith, g in go, k in kind, s in sail, jin judge, t in toil. Sound a in the words bate, bat, bar, ball. Sound e in mete, met. Sound i in pine, pin. Sound o in note, not, move. Sound u in tube, tub, full. What is the difference between the letters a, e, i, o, u, and the letters b, c, d, j, g, and h? Ans. The letters a, e, i, o, u, can be sounded easily alone, and are called vocals or vowels. The other letters are with difficulty sounded without the aid of the vowels, and are called consonants. LESSON II. (Words.) Put the letters b, d, r, i, together in such a way that they will call to mind something which you have seen. In like manner place the letters h, 8, r, e, o ; d, g,o; w, i, d, n; r, n, i, a. *Let the class practise, simultaneously, on the different sounds of these letters, with a full and distinct utterance. |