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

actions."—Dr. Murray's Hist. of Lang., i, 326. "The connexion between words and ideas is arbitrary and conventional, owing to the agreement of men among themselves."—Jamieson's Rhet., p. 1. "The connexion between words and ideas may, in general, be considered as arbitrary and conventional, owing to the agreement of men among themselves."—Blair's Rhet., p. 53. "A man whose inclinations led him to be corrupt, and had great abilities to manage and multiply and defend his corruptions."—Swift. "They have no more control over him than any other men."—Wayland's Moral Science, 1st Ed., p. 372. "His old words are all true English, and numbers exquisite."—Spectator, No. 540. "It has been said, that not only Jesuits can equivocate."—Murray's Exercises, 8vo, p. 121. "It has been said, that Jesuits can not only equivocate."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 253. "The nominative of the first and second person in Latin is seldom expressed."—Adam's Gram., p. 154; Gould's, 157. "Some words are the same in both numbers."—Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 40; Ingersoll's, 18; Fisk's, 59; Kirkham's, 39; W. Allen's, 42; et al. "Some nouns are the same in both numbers."—Merchant's Gram., p. 29; Smith's, 45; et al. "Others are the same in both numbers; as, deer, swine, &c."—Frost's El. of Gram., p. 8. "The following list denotes the sounds of the consonants, being in number twenty-two."—Murray's Gram., p. 6; Fisk's, 36. "And is the ignorance of these peasants a reason for others to remain ignorant; or to render the subject a less becoming inquiry?"—Harris's Hermes, p. 293; Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 288. "He is one of the most correct, and perhaps the best, of our prose writers."—Lowth's Gram., Pref., p. iv., "The motions of a vortex and a whirlwind are perfectly similar."—Jamieson's Rhet., p. 131. "What I have been saying throws light upon one important verse in the Bible, which I should like to have read."—Abbott's Teacher, p. 182. "When there are any circumstances of time, place, or other limitations, which the principal object of our sentence requires to have connected with it."—Blair's Rhet., p. 115; Jamieson's Rhet., 98; Murray's Gram., i, 322. "Interjections are words used to express emotion, affection, or passion, and imply suddenness."—Bucke's Gram., p. 77. "But the genitive is only used to express the measure of things in the plural number."—Adam's Gram., p. 200; Gould's, 198. "The buildings of the institution have been enlarged; the expense of which, added to the increased price of provisions, renders it necessary to advance the terms of admission."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 183. "These sentences are far less difficult than complex."—S. S. Greene's Analysis, or Grammar, 1st Ed., p. 179.

   "Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife,
    Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray."—Gray's Elegy.

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE III.—OF DEFINITIONS.

(1.) "Definition is such a description of things as exactly describes the thing and that thing only."—Blair's Gram., p. 135.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because this definition of a definition is not accurately adapted to the thing. But, according to Critical Note 3d, "A definition, in order to be perfect, must include the whole thing, or class of things, which it pretends to define, and exclude every thing which comes not under the name." [453] The example may be amended thus: "A definition is a short and lucid description of a thing, or species, according to its nature and properties."]

(2.) "Language, in general, signifies the expression of our ideas by certain articulate sounds, which are used as the signs of those ideas."—Blair's Rhet., p. 53. (3.) "A WORD is an articulate sound used by common consent as the sign of an idea,"—Bullions, Analyt. and Pract. Gr., p. 17. (4.) "A word is a sound, or combination of sounds, which is used in the expression of thought"—Hazen's Gram., p. 12. (5.) "Words are articulate sounds, used as signs to convey our ideas."—Hiley's Gram., p. 5. (6.) "A word is a number of letters used together to represent some idea."—Hart's E. Gram., p. 28. (7.) "A Word is a combination of letters, used as the sign of an idea."—S. W. Clark's Practical Gram., p. 9. (8.) "A word is a letter or a combination of letters, used as the sign of an idea."—Wells's School Gram., p. 41. (9.) "Words are articulate sounds, by which ideas are communicated."—Wright's Gram., p. 28. (10.) "Words are certain articulate sounds used by common consent as signs of our ideas."—Bullions, Principles of E. Gram., p. 6; Lat. Gram., 6; see Lowth, Murray, Smith, et al. (11.) "Words are sounds used as signs of our ideas."—W. Allen's Gram., p. 30. (12.) "Orthography means word-making or spelling.'"—Kirkham's Gram., p. 19; Smith's New Gram., p. 41. (13.) "A vowel is a letter, the name of which constitutes a full, open sound."—Hazen's Gram., p. 10; Lennie's, 5; Brace's, 7. (14.) "Spelling is the art of reading by naming the letters singly, and rightly dividing words into their syllables. Or, in writing, it is the expressing of a word by its proper letters."—Lowth's Gram., p. 5; Churchill's, 20. (15.) "Spelling is the art of rightly dividing words into their syllables, or of expressing a word by its proper letters."—Murray's Gram., p. 21; Ingersoll's, 6; Merchant's, 10; Alger's, 12; Greenleaf's, 20; and others. (16) "Spelling is the art of expressing words by their proper letters; or of rightly dividing words into syllables."—Comly's Gram., p. 8. (17.) "Spelling is the art of expressing a word by its proper letters, and rightly dividing it into syllables."—Bullions's Princ. of E. Gram., p. 2. (18.) "Spelling is the art of expressing a word by its proper letters."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 23; Sanborn's, p. 259. (19.) "A syllable is a sound either simple or compounded, pronounced by a single impulse of the voice, and constituting a word or part of a word."—Lowth, p. 5; Murray, 21; Ingersoll, 6; Fisk, 11; Greenleaf, 20: Merchant, 9; Alger, 12; Bucke, 15; Smith, 118; et al. (20.) "A Syllable is a complete Sound uttered in one Breath."—British Gram., p. 32; Buchanan's, 5. (21.) "A syllable is a distinct sound, uttered by a single impulse of the voice."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 20. (22.) "A Syllable is a distinct sound forming the whole of a word, or so much of it as can be sounded at once."—Bullions, E. Gr., p. 2. (23.) "A syllable is a word, or part of a word, or as much as can be sounded at once."—Picket's Gram., p. 10. (24.) "A diphthong is the union of two Vowels, both of which are pronounced as one: as in bear and beat."—Bucke's Gram., p. 15. (25.) "A diphthong consists of two vowels, forming one syllable; as, ea, in beat."—Guy's Gram., p. 2. (26.) "A triphthong consists of three vowels forming one syllable; as, eau in beauty."—Ib. (27.) "But the Triphthong is the union of three Vowels, pronounced as one."—Bucke's Gram., p. 15. (28.) "What is a Noun Substantive? A Noun Substantive is the thing itself; as, a Man, a Boy."—British Gram., p. 85; Buchanan's, 26. (29.) "An adjective is a word added to nouns to describe them."—Maunder's Gram., p. 1. (30.) "An adjective is a word joined to a noun, to describe or define it."—Smith's New Gram., p. 51. (31.) "An adjective is a word used to describe or define a noun."—Wilcox's Gram., p. 2. (32.) "The adjective is added to the noun, to express the quality of it"—Murray's Gram., 12mo, 2d Ed., p. 27; Lowth, p. 6. (33.) "An adjective expresses the quality of the noun to which it is applied; and may generally be known by its making sense in connection with it; as, 'A good man,' 'A genteel woman.'"—Wright's Gram., p. 34. (34.) "An adverb is a word used to modify the sense of other words."—Wilcox's Gram., p. 2. (35.) "An adverb is a word joined to a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, to modify or denote some circumstance respecting it."—Bullions, E. Gram., p. 66; Lat. Gram., 185. (36.) "A Substantive or Noun is a name given to every object which the senses can perceive; the understanding comprehend; or the imagination entertain."—Wright's Gram., p. 34. (37.) "GENDER means the distinction of nouns with regard to sex."—Bullions, Prin. of E. Gram., 2d Ed., p. 9. (38.) "Gender is a distinction of nouns with regard to sex."—Frost's Gram., p. 7. (39.) "Gender is a distinction of nouns in regard to sex."—Perley's Gram., p. 10. (40.) "Gender is the distinction of nouns, in regard to sex."—Cooper's Murray, 24; Practical Gram., 21. (41.) "Gender is the distinction of nouns with regard to sex."—Murray's Gram., p. 37; Alger's, 16; Bacon's, 12; R. G. Greene's, 16; Bullions, Prin., 5th Ed., 9; his New Gr., 22; Fisk's, 19; Hull's, 9; Ingersoll's, 15. (42.) "Gender is the distinction of sex."—Alden's Gram., p. 9; Comly's, 20; Dalton's, 11; Davenport's, 15; J. Flint's, 28; A. Flint's, 11; Greenleaf's, 21; Guy's, 4; Hart's, 36; Hiley's, 12; Kirkham's, 34; Lennie's, 11; Picket's, 25; Smith's, 43; Sanborn's, 25; Wilcox's, 8. (43.) "Gender is the distinction of Sex, or the Difference betwixt Male and Female."—British Gram., p. 94; Buchanan's, 18. (44.) "Why are nouns divided into genders? To distinguish their sexes."—Fowle's True Eng. Gram., p. 10. (45.) "What is meant by Gender? The different sexes."—Burn's Gram., p. 34. (46) "Gender, in grammar, is a difference of termination, to express distinction of sex."—Webster's Philos. Gram., p 30; Improved Gram., 22. (47.) "Gender signifies a distinction of nouns, according to the different sexes of things they denote."—Coar's Gram., p. 2. (48.) "Gender is the distinction occasioned by sex. Though there are but two sexes, still nouns necessarily admit of four distinctions[454] of gender."—Hall's Gram., p. 6. (49.) "Gender is a term which is employed for the distinction of nouns with regard to sex and species."—Wright's Gram., p. 41. (50.) "Gender is a Distinction of Sex."—Fisher's Gram., p. 53. (51.) "GENDER marks the distinction of Sex."—W. Allen's Gram., p. 37. (52.) "Gender means the kind, or sex. There are four genders."—Parker and Fox's, Part I, p. 7. (53.) "Gender is a property of the noun which distinguishes sex."—Weld's Gram., 2d Ed., p. 57. (54.) "Gender is a property of the noun or pronoun by which it distinguishes sex."—Weld's Grammar Abridged, p. 49. (55.) "Case is the state or condition of a noun with respect to the other words in a sentence."—Bullion's, E. Gram., p. 16; his Analyt. and Pract. Gram., p. 31. (56.) "Case means the different state or situation of nouns with regard to other words."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 55. (57.) "The cases of substantives signify their different terminations, which serve to express the relation of one thing to another."—L. Murray's Gram., 12mo, 2d Ed., p. 35. (58.) "Government is the power which one part of speech has over another, when it causes it or requires it to be of some particular person, number, gender, case, style, or mode."—Sanborn's Gram., p. 126; see Murray's Gram., 142; Smith's, 119; Pond's, 88; et al. (59.) "A simple sentence is a sentence which contains only one nominative case and one verb to agree with it."—Sanborn, ib.; see Murray's Gram., et al. (60.) "Declension means putting a noun through the different cases."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 58. (61.) "Zeugma is when two or more substantives have a verb in common, which is applicable only to one of them."—B. F. Fisk's Greek Gram., p. 185. (62.) "An Irregular Verb is that which has its passed tense and perfect participle terminating differently; as, smite, smote, smitten."—Wright's Gram., p. 92. (63.) "Personal pronouns are employed as substitutes for nouns that denote persons."—Hiley's Gram., p. 23.

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE IV.—OF COMPARISONS.

"We abound more in vowel and diphthong sounds, than most languages."—Blair's Rhet., p. 89.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the terms we and languages, which are here used to form a comparison, express things which are totally unlike. But, according to Critical Note 4th, "A comparison is a form of speech which requires some similarity or common property in the things compared; without which, it becomes a solecism." Therefore, the expression ought to be changed; thus, "Our language abounds more in vowel and diphthong sounds, than most other tongues." Or: "We abound more in vowel and diphthongal sounds, than most nations."]

"A line thus accented, has a more spirited air, than when the accent is placed on any other syllable."—Kames, El. of Crit., Vol. ii, p. 86. "Homer introduceth his deities with no greater ceremony than as mortals; and Virgil has still less moderation."—Ib., Vol. ii, p. 287. "Which the more refined taste of later writers, who had far inferior genius to them, would have taught them to avoid."—Blair's Rhet., p. 28. "The poetry, however, of the Book of Job, is not only equal to that of any other of the sacred writings, but is superior to them all, except those of Isaiah alone."—Ib., p. 419. "On the whole, Paradise Lost is a poem that abounds with beauties of every kind, and that justly entitles its author to a degree of fame not inferior to any poet."—Ib., p. 452. "Most of the French writers compose in short sentences; though their style in general, is not concise; commonly less so than the bulk of English writers, whose sentences are much