Part 33 (1/2)
OBS 1--The first thing to be learned in the study of this the second part of grae 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 so sined to aid their first and most difficult steps
How can we knohat 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, hat other words each particular one is capable of uish 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 sain, the articles are commonly reckoned two, but souish 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 hich thus makes complete sense, is, in that sense, a noun; because a noun is the _na which can thus be lish nouns, there are said to be as many as twenty-five or thirty thousand
3 How can we distinguish an ADJECTIVE? By putting a noun after it, to see if the phrase will be sense The noun _thing_, or its plural _things_, will suit al--A _little_ thing--A _great_ thing--_Few_ things--_Many_ things--_Sos Of adjectives, there are perhaps nine or ten thousand
4 How can we distinguish a pronOUN? By observing that its noun repeated makes the same sense Thus, the example of the pronoun above, ”The boy loves _his_ book; _he_ has long lessons, and _he_ learns _them_ well,”--very clearlylessons, and _the boy_ learns _those lessons_ well” Here then, by a disagreeable repetition of two nouns, we have the same sense without any pronoun; but it is obvious that the pronouns form a better mode of expression, because they prevent this aard repetition The different pronouns in English are twenty-four; and their variations in declension are thirty-two: so that the number of _words_ of this class, is fifty-six
5 How can we distinguish a VERB? By observing that it is usually the principal word in the sentence, and that without it there would be no assertion It is the hich expresses what is affir mentioned; as, ”Jesus _wept_”--”Felix _trembled_”--”The just _shall live_ by faith” It will make sense when inflected with the pronouns; as, I _write_, thou _writ'st_, he _writes_; rite_, you _write_, they _write_--I _walk_, thou _walkst_, he _walks_; alk_, you _walk_, they _walk_ Of English verbs, soht thousand; others formerly reckoned them to be no more than four thousand three hundred[131]
6 How can we distinguish a PARTICIPLE? By observing its derivation fro_; as, To be _writing_, Having _written_--To be _walking_, Having _walked_--To be _weeping_, Having _wept_--To be _studying_, Having _studied_ Of simple participles, there are twice as many as there are of simple or radical verbs; and the possible compounds are not less numerous than the simples, but they are uish an ADVERB? By observing that it answers to the question, _When? Where? How much?_ or _How_?--or serves to ask it; as, ”He spoke fluently” _How_ did he speak? _Fluently_ This word _fluently_ is therefore an adverb: it tells _how_ he spoke Of adverbs, there are about two thousand six hundred; and four fifths of theuish a CONJUNCTION? By observing ords or terether, or to what other conjunction it corresponds; as, ”_Neither_ wealth _nor_ honor can heal a wounded conscience”--_Dillwyn's Ref_, p 16 Or, it may be well to learn the whole list at once: _And, as, both, because, even, for, if, that, then, since, seeing, so: Or, nor, either, neither, than, though, although, yet, but, except, whether, lest, unless, save, provided, notwithstanding, whereas_ Of conjunctions, there are these twenty-nine in common use, and a few others now obsolete
9 How can we distinguish a PREPOSITION? By observing that it will govern the pronoun _them_, and is not a verb or a participle; as, _About_ theainst_ the_ them--_around_ them--_at_ them--_Before_ them--_behind_ them--_below_ them--_beneath_ them--_beside_ them--_between_ them--_beyond_ them--_by_ them--_For_ them--_from_ them--_In_ them--_into_ them, &c Of the prepositions, there are about sixty now in couish an INTERJECTION? By observing that it is an independent word or sound, uttered earnestly, and very often written with the note of exclamation; as _Lo! behold! look! see! hark! hush!+ hist! mum!_ Of interjections, there are sixty or seventy in common use, some of which are seldoe of words, and of their changes, is indispensable to a clear discern to the usage of the learned Etyht before syntax; but it should be chiefly taught by a direct analysis of entire sentences, and those so plainly written that the particular effect of every word , whether intrinsic or relative, be discovered with precision The parts of speech are usually named and defined with reference to the use of words _in sentences_; and, as the same word not unfrequently stands for several different parts of speech, the learner should be early taught todistribution, without recurrence to a dictionary, and without aid fro to acquaint hie which he can already read and understand, is placed in circumstances very different fro to construe soue A frequent use of the dictionary ress of the one, while it delays that of the other English grammar, it is hoped, may be learned directly from this book alone, with better success than can be expected when the attention of the learner is divided a several or many different works
OBS 3--Dr Ja of the classification of words, observes, ”The _names_ of the distributive parts should either express, distinctly, the influence, which each class produces on sentences; or some other characteristic trait, by which the respective species of words er of confusion It is at least probable, that no distribution, sufficiently minute, can ever be made, of the parts of speech, which shall be wholly free from all objection Hasty innovations, therefore, and crude conjectures, should not be perra in h a series of ages”--_Wilson's Essay on Graain: ”The _nued, at pleasure; and the rules of syntax rauish, in some instances, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions; yet their effects are generally distinct
This inconvenience should be submitted to, since a less comprehensive distribution would be very unfavourable to a rational investigation of the ain: ”_As_ and _so_ have been also deemed substitutes, and resolved into other words But if all abbreviations are to be restored to their prieneral revolution in the present syste froe of ancient times, must be retrenched, and anarchy in letters universally prevail”--_Ib_, p 114
OBS 4--I have elsewhere sufficiently shohy _ten_ parts of speech are to be preferred to any other nulish; and whatever diversity of opinion therethe class to which soht to be referred, I trust to ood sense, that I have seldom erred from the course which is most expedient 1 _Articles_ are used with appellative nouns, soenerally to designate individuals 2 _Nouns_ stand in discourse for persons, things, or abstract qualities 3 _Adjectives_ cos; but sometimes, their situation or number 4 _pronouns_ are substitutes for names, or nouns; but they sometimes represent sentences 5 _Verbs_ assert, ask, or say so; and, for the most part, express action orof their verbs, and commonly denote action, and imply ti either adjectively or substantively, and not with assertion 7 _Adverbs_ express the circuree, and of manner; the _when_, the _where_, the _how much_, and the _how_ 8 _Conjunctions_ connect, sometimes words, and sometimes sentences, rarely phrases; and always show, either the manner in which one sentence or one phrase depends upon an other, or what connexion there is between tords that refer to a third
9 _Prepositions_ express the correspondent relations of things to things, of thoughts to thoughts, or of words to words; for these, if we speak truly, must be all the same in expression 10 _Interjections_ are either natural sounds or excla briefly to indicate the wishes or feelings of the speaker
OBS 5--In the following passage, all the parts of speech are exeure placed over the word:--
1 2 9 2 5 1 2 3 9 2 1 2 6 ”The power of speech is a faculty peculiar to man; a faculty bestowed 9 4 9 4 3 2 9 1 3 8 7 3 on hireatest and most excellent 2 8 10 7 7 5 4 5 4 9 1 3 9 uses; but, alas! how often do we pervert it to the worst of 2 purposes!”--See _Lowth's Gram_, p 1
In this sentence, which has been adopted by Murray, Churchill, and others, we have the following parts of speech: 1 The words _the, a_, and _an_, are articles 2 The words _power, speech, faculty, man, faculty, Creator, uses_, and _purposes_, are nouns 3 The words _peculiar, beneficent, greatest, excellent_, and _worst_, are adjectives 4 The words _him, his, we_, and _it_, are pronouns 5 The words _is, do_, and _pervert_, are verbs 6 The word _bestowed_ is a participle 7 The words _most, how_, and _often_, are adverbs 8 The words _and_ and _but_ are conjunctions 9
The words _of, on, to, by, for, to_, and _of_, are prepositions 10 The word _alas!_ is an interjection
OBS 6--In speaking or writing, we of course bring together the different parts of speech just as they happen to be needed Though a sentence of ordinary length usually embraces more than one half of them, it is not often that we find them _all_ in so small a compass Sentences sometimes abound in words of a particular kind, and are quite destitute of those of so examples will illustrate these remarks (1) ARTICLES: ”_A_ square is less beautiful than _a_ circle; and _the_ reason see _the_ sides and angles of _a_ square, whereas _the_ circule object, makes one entire impression”--_Kames, Elements of Criticiss_ destined for the same _use_, such as _s, chairs, spoons, buttons_, cannot be too uniforood, _utility_ requires _unifor _just, proper, decent, beautiful, proportioned_, or _grand_, is _risible_”--_Ib_, i, 229 (4) pronOUNS: ”_I_ must entreat the courteous reader to suspend _his_ curiosity, and rather to consider _what_ is written than _who they_ are _that_ write it”--_Addison, Spect_, No 556 (5) VERBS: ”The least consideration _will inform_ us how easy it _is_ to _put_ an ill-natured construction upon a word; and what perverse turns and expressions _spring_ fro _can be explained_ to hi _appear_ right to the unreasonable”--_Cecil_ (6) PARTICIPLES: ”The Scriptures are an authoritative voice, _reproving, instructing_, and _warning_ the world; and _declaring_ the only _ the awful penalties of sin”--_G B_ (7) ADVERBS: ”The light of Scripture shi+nes _steadily, purely, benignly, certainly, superlatively_”--_Dr S H cox_ (8) CONJUNCTIONS: ”Quietness and silence _both_ becoious exercises Clamour _and_ violence often hinder, _but_ never further, the work of God”--_Henry's Exposition_ (9) PREPOSITIONS: ”He has kept _a arislatures”--_Dec of Indep_ (10) INTERJECTIONS: ”_Oh_, uineas! _Oh_, poor, ruined, beggared old _, p 266
EXAMPLES FOR PARSING
_Parsing_ is the resolving or explaining of a sentence, or of so to the definitions and rules of gra is to arithmetic
A _Praxis_ is a ra the learner how to proceed The word is Greek, and literally signifies action, doing, practice, or formal use
PRAXIS I--ETYMOLOGICAL
_In the first Praxis, it is required of the pupil--uish and define the different parts of speech