The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown (free ebook reader .txt) 📕

"Many of your readers have mistook that passage."—Steele, Spect., No. 544.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the preterit verb mistook is here used for the perfect participle. But, according to the table of irregular verbs, we ought to say, mistake, mistook, mistaking, mistaken; after the form of the simple verb, take, took, taking, taken. Therefore, the sentence should be amended thus: "Many of your readers have mistaken that passage."]

"Had not my dog of a steward ran away."—Addison, Spect. "None should be admitted, except he had broke his collar-bone thrice."—Spect., No. 474. "We could not know what was wrote at twenty."—Pref. to Waller. "I have wrote, thou hast wrote, he has wrote; we have wrote, ye have wrote, they have wrote."—Ash's Gram., p. 62. "As if God had spoke his last words there to his people."—Barclay's Works, i, 462. "I had like to have came in that ship myself."—N. Y. Observer, No. 453. "Our ships and vessels being drove out of the harbour by a storm."—Hutchinson's Hist. of Mass., i, 470. "He will endeavour to write as the ancient author would have wrote, had he writ in the same language."—Bolingbroke, on Hist., i, 68. "When his doctrines grew too strong to be shook by his enemies."—Atterbury. "The immortal mind that hath forsook Her mansion."—Milton. "Grease that's sweaten from the murderer's gibbet, throw into the flame."—Shak., Macbeth. "The court also was chided for allowing such questions to be put."—Col. Stone, on Freemasonry, p. 470. "He would have spoke."— Milton, P. L., B. x, 1. 517. "Words interwove with sighs found out their way."—Id., ib., i, 621. "Those kings and potentates who have strove."—Id., Eiconoclast, xvii. "That even Silence was took."—Id., Comus, l. 557. "And envious Darkness, ere they could return, had stole them from me."—Id., Comus, 1. 195. "I have chose this perfect man."—Id., P. R., B. i, l. 165. "I will scarce think you have swam in a gondola."—Shak., As You Like It. "The fragrant brier was wove between."—Dryden, Fables. "Then finish what you have began."—Id., Poems, ii, 172. "But now the years a numerous train have ran."—Pope's Odyssey, B. xi, l. 555. "Repeats your verses wrote on glasses."—Prior. "Who by turns have rose."—Id. "Which from great authors I have took."—Id., Alma. "Ev'n there he should have fell."—Id., Solomon.

   "The sun has rose, and gone to bed,
    Just as if Partridge were not dead."—Swift.

    "And though no marriage words are spoke,
    They part not till the ring is broke."—Id., Riddles.

"When the word is stript of all the terminations."—Dr. Murray's Hist. of
En. L., i, 319.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the participle stript is terminated in t. But, according to Observation 2d, on the irregular verbs, stript is regular. Therefore, this t should be changed to ed; and the final p should be doubled, according to Rule 3d for Spelling: thus, "When the word is stripped of all the terminations."]

"Forgive him, Tom; his head is crackt."—Swift's Poems, p. 397. "For 'tis the sport, to have the engineer hoist with his own petar."—Hamlet, Act 3. "As great as they are, I was nurst by their mother."—Swift's Poems, p. 310. "If he should now be cry'd down since his change."—Ib., p. 306. "Dipt over head and ears—in debt."—Ib., p. 312. "We see the nation's credit crackt."—Ib., p. 312. "Because they find their pockets pickt."—Ib., p. 338. "O what a pleasure mixt with pain!"—Ib., p. 373. "And only with her Brother linkt."—Ib., p. 387. "Because he ne'er a thought allow'd, That might not be confest."—Ib., p. 361. "My love to Sheelah is more firmly fixt."—Ib., p. 369. "The observations annext to them will be intelligible."—Philological Museum, Vol. i, p. 457. "Those eyes are always fixt on the general principles."—Ib., i, 458. "Laborious conjectures will be banisht from our commentaries."—Ib., i, 459. "Tiridates was dethroned, and Phraates was reestablisht in his stead."—Ib., i, 462. "A Roman who was attacht to Augustus."—Ib., i, 466. "Nor should I have spoken of it, unless Baxter had talkt about two such."—Ib., i, 467. "And the reformers of language have generally rusht on."—Ib., i, 649. "Three centuries and a half had then elapst since the date."—Ib., i, 249. "Of such criteria, as has been remarkt already, there is an abundance."—Ib., i, 261. "The English have surpast every other nation in their services."—Ib., i, 306. "The party addrest is next in dignity to the speaker."—Harris's Hermes, p. 66. "To which we are many times helpt."—Walker's Particles, p. 13. "But for him, I should have lookt well enough to myself."—Ib., p. 88. "Why are you vext, Lady? why do frown?"—Milton, Comus, l. 667. "Obtruding false rules prankt in reason's garb."—Ib., l. 759. "But, like David equipt in Saul's armour, it is encumbered and oppressed."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 378.

   "And when their merchants are blown up, and crackt,
    Whole towns are cast away in storms, and wreckt."
        —Butler, p. 163.

"The lands are holden in free and common soccage." —Trumbull's Hist, i, 133.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the participle holden is not in that form which present usage authorizes. But, according to the table of irregular verbs, the four parts of the verb to hold, as now used, are hold, held, holding, held. Therefore, holden should be held; thus, "The lands are held in free and common soccage."]

"A stroke is drawed under such words."—Cobbett's E. Grammar, Edition of 1832, ¶ 154. "It is striked even, with a strickle."—Walkers Particles, p. 115. "Whilst I was wandring, without any care, beyond my bounds."—Ib., p. 83. "When one would do something, unless hindred by something present."—Johnson's Gram. Com., p. 311. "It is used potentially, but not so as to be rendred by these signs."—Ib., p. 320. "Now who would dote upon things hurryed down the stream thus fast?"—Collier's Antoninus, p. 89. "Heaven hath timely try'd their growth."—Milton, Comus, l. 970. "O! ye mistook, ye should have snatcht his wand."—Ib., p. 815. "Of true virgin here distrest."—Ib., p. 905. "So that they have at last come to be substitute in the stead of it."—Barclay's Works, i, 339. "Though ye have lien among the pots."—Psal., lxviii, 13. "And, lo, in her mouth was an olive-leaf pluckt off."—FRIENDS' BIBLE, and BRUCE'S: Gen., viii, 11. "Brutus and Cassius Are rid like madmen, through the gates of Rome."—Shak. "He shall be spitted on."—Luke, xviii, 32. "And are not the countries so overflown still situate between the tropics?"—Bentley's Sermons. "Not trickt and frounc't as she was wont, But kercheft in a comely cloud."—Milton, Il Penseroso, l. 123. "To satisfy his rigor, Satisfy'd never."—Id., P. L., B. x, l. 804. "With him there crucify'd."—Id., P. L., B. xii, l. 417. "Th' earth cumber'd, and the wing'd air darkt with plumes."—Id., Comus, l. 730. "And now their way to Earth they had descry'd."—Id., P. L., B. x, l. 325. "Not so thick swarm'd once the soil Bedropt with blood of Gorgon."—Ib., B. x, l. 527. "And in a troubled sea of passion tost."—Ib., B. x, l. 718. "The cause, alas, is quickly guest."—Swift's Poems, p. 404. "The kettle to the top was hoist"—Ib., p. 274. "In chains thy syllables are linkt."—Ib., p. 318. "Rather than thus be overtopt, Would you not wish their laurels cropt?"—Ib., p. 415. "The hyphen, or conjoiner, is a little line, drawed to connect words, or parts of words."—Cobbett's E. Gram., 1832, ¶ 150. "In the other manners of dependence, this general rule is sometimes broke."—Joh. Gram. Com., p. 334. "Some intransitive verbs may be rendered transitive by means of a preposition prefixt to them."—Grant's Lat. Gram., p. 66. "Whoever now should place the accent on the first syllable of Valerius, would set every body a-laughing."—Walker's Dict. "Being mocked, scourged, spitted on, and crucified."—Gurney's Essays, p. 40.

   "For rhyme in Greece or Rome was never known,
    Till by barbarian deluges o'erflown."—Roscommon.

    "In my own Thames may I be drownded,
    If e'er I stoop beneath a crown'd-head."—Swift.

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.

OBS. 1.—Adverbs briefly express what would otherwise require several words: as Now, for at this time;—Here, for in this place;—Very, for in a high degree;—Diligently, for in an industrious manner. Thus the meaning of almost any adverb, may be explained by some phrase beginning with a preposition and ending with a noun.

OBS. 2.—There are several customary combinations of short words, which are used adverbially, and which some grammarians do not analyze in parsing; as, not at all, at length, in fine, in full, at least, at present, at once, this once, in vain, no doubt, on board. But all words that convey distinct ideas, and rightly retain their individuality, ought to be taken separately in parsing. With the liberty of supposing a few ellipses, an ingenious parser will seldom find occasion to speak of "adverbial phrases." In these instances, length, doubt, fine, and board, are unquestionably nouns; once, too, is used as a noun; full and all may be parsed either as nouns, or as adjectives whose nouns are understood; at least, is, at the least measure; at present, is, at the present time; and in vain, is, in a vain course, or manner.

OBS. 3.—A phrase is a combination of two or more separable parts of speech, the parsing of which of course implies their separation. And though the division of our language into words, and the division of its words into parts of speech, have never yet been made exactly to correspond, it is certainly desirable to bring them as near together as possible. Hence such terms as everywhere, anywhere, nowadays, forever, everso, to-day, to-morrow, by-and-by, inside-out, upside-down, if they are to be parsed simply as adverbs, ought to be compounded, and not written as phrases.

OBS. 4—Under nearly all the different classes of words, some particular instances may be quoted, in which other parts of speech seem to take the nature of adverbs, so as either to become such, or to be apparently used for them. (1.) ARTICLES: "This may appear incredible, but it is not the less true."—Dr. Murray's Hist., i, 337. "The other party was a little coy."—D. Webster. (2.) NOUNS: "And scrutiny became stone[306] blind."—Cowper. "He will come home to-morrow."—Clark. "They were travelling post when he met them."—Murray's Gram., p. 69. "And with a vengeance sent from Media post to Egypt."—Milton, P. L., B. iv, l. 170. "That I should care a groat whether he likes the work or not."—Kirkham. "It has snowed terribly all night, and is vengeance cold."—Swift. (3.) ADJECTIVES: "Drink deep, or taste not."—Pope. "A place wondrous deep."—Webster's Dict. "That fools should be so deep contemplative."—Shak. "A man may speak louder or softer in the same key; when he speaks higher or lower, he changes his key."—Sheridan's Elocution, p. 116. (4.) PRONOUNS: "What am I eased?"—Job. "What have I offended thee?"—Gen., xx, 9. "He is somewhat arrogant."—Dryden. (5.) VERBS: "Smack went the whip, round went the wheels."—Cowper. "For then the farmers came jog, jog, along the miry road."—Id. "Crack! went something on deck."—Robinson Crusoe. "Then straight went the yard slap over their noddle."—Arbuthnot. (6.) PARTICIPLES: "Like medicines given scalding hot."—Dodd. "My clothes are almost dripping wet."—"In came Squire South, stark, staring mad."—Arbuthnot. "An exceeding high mountain."—Matt., iv, 8. "How sweet, how passing sweet, the hour to me!"—Ch. Observer. "When we act according to our duty."—Dr. Johnson. "A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees."—Psal., lxxiv, 5. (7.) CONJUNCTIONS: "Look, as I blow this feather from my face."—Shak. "Not at all, or but very gently."—Locke. "He was but born to try the lot of man."—Pope. (8.) PREPOSITIONS: "They shall go in and out."—Bible. "From going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it."—Ib. These are actually adverbs, and not prepositions, because they govern nothing. (9.) INTERJECTIONS are never used as adverbs, though the Greek grammarians refer them nearly all to this class. The using of other words for adverbs, (i. e., the adverbial use of any words that we do not actually call adverbs,) may be referred to the figure enallage:[307] as,

"Tramp, tramp, across the land they speed, Splash, splash, across the sea."—Burger.

OBS. 5.—As other parts of speech seem sometimes to take the nature of adverbs, so adverbs sometimes, either really or apparently, assume the nature of other parts of speech. (1.) Of NOUNS: as, "A committee is not needed merely to say Yes or No;