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

farther that he searches, the firmer will be his belief."—Keith's Evidences, p. 4. "I deny not, but that religion consists in these things."—Barclays Works, i, 321. "Except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name."—Esther, ii, 14. "The proper method of reading these lines, is to read them according as the sense dictates."—Blair's Rhet., p. 386. "When any words become obsolete, or at least are never used, except as constituting part of particular phrases, it is better to dispense with their service entirely, and give up the phrases."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 185; Murray's Gram., p. 370. "Those savage people seemed to have no element but that of war."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 211. "Man is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, masculine gender, and in the nominative case."—J. Flint's Gram., p. 33. "The orator, according as circumstances require, will employ them all."—Blair's Rhet., p. 247. "By deferring our repentance, we accumulate our sorrows."—Murray's Key, ii, p. 166. "There is no doubt but that public speaking became early an engine of government."—Blair's Rhet., p. 245. "The different meaning of these two first words may not at first occur."—Ib., p. 225. "The sentiment is well expressed by Plato, but much better by Solomon than him."—Murray's Gram., p. 214; Ingersoll's, 251; Smith's, 179; et al. "They have had a greater privilege than we have had."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 211. "Every thing should be so arranged, as that what goes before may give light and force to what follows."—Blair's Rhet., p. 311. "So as that his doctrines were embraced by great numbers."—UNIV. HIST.: Priestley's Gram., p. 139. "They have taken another and a shorter cut."—SOUTH: Joh. Dict. "The Imperfect Tense of a regular verb is formed from the present by adding d or ed to the present; as, 'I loved.'"—Frost's El. of Gram., p. 32. "The pronoun their does not agree in gender or number with the noun 'man,' for which it stands."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 182. "This mark denotes any thing of wonder, surprise, joy, grief, or sudden emotion."—Bucke's Gram., p. 19. "We are all accountable creatures, each for himself."—Murray's Key, p. 204; Merchant's, 195. "If he has commanded it, then I must obey."—Smith's New Gram., pp. 110 and 112. "I now present him with a form of the diatonic scale."—Dr. John Barber's Elocution, p. xi. "One after another of their favourite rivers have been reluctantly abandoned."—Hodgson's Tour. "Particular and peculiar are words of different import from each other."—Blair's Rhet., p. 196. "Some adverbs admit rules of comparison: as Soon, sooner, soonest."—Bucke's Gram., p. 76. "From having exposed himself too freely in different climates, he entirely lost his health."—Murray's Key. p. 200. "The Verb must agree with its Nominative before it in Number and Person."—Buchanan's Syntax, p. 93. "Write twenty short sentences containing only adjectives."—Abbot's Teacher, p. 102. "This general inclination and tendency of the language seems to have given occasion to the introducing of a very great corruption."—Lowth's Gram., p. 60. "The second requisite of a perfect sentence, is its Unity."—Murray's Gram., p. 311. "It is scarcely necessary to apologize for omitting to insert their names."—Ib., p. vii. "The letters of the English Language, called the English Alphabet, are twenty-six in number."—Ib., p. 2; T. Smith's, 5; Fisk's, 10; Alger's, 9; et al. "A writer who employs antiquated or novel phraseology, must do it with design: he cannot err from inadvertence as he may do it with respect to provincial or vulgar expressions."—Jamieson's Rhet., p. 56. "The Vocative case, in some Grammars, is wholly omitted; why, if we must have cases, I could never understand the propriety of."—Bucke's Classical Gram., p. 45. "Active verbs are conjugated with the auxiliary verb I have; passive verbs are conjugated with the auxiliary verb I am."—Ib., p. 57. "What word, then, may and be called? A Conjunction."—Smith's New Gram., p. 37. "Have they ascertained the person who gave the information?"—Bullions's E. Gram., p. 81. UNDER CRITICAL NOTE X.—OF IMPROPER OMISSIONS.

"All qualities of things are called adnouns, or adjectives."—Blair's
Gram., p. 10.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because this expression lacks two or three words which are necessary to the sense intended. But according to Critical Note 10th, "Words necessary to the sense, or even to the melody or beauty of a sentence, ought seldom, if ever, to be omitted." The sentence may be amended thus: "All words signifying concrete qualities of things, are called adnouns, or adjectives."]

"The—signifies the long or accented syllable, and the breve indicates a short or unaccented syllable."—Blair's Gram., p. 118. "Whose duty is to help young ministers."—N. E. Discipline, p. 78. "The passage is closely connected with what precedes and follows."—Philological Museum, Vol. i, p. 255 "The work is not completed, but soon will be."—Smith's Productive Gram., p. 113. "Of whom hast thou been afraid or feared?"—Isaiah, lvii, 11. "There is a God who made and governs the world."—Butler's Analogy, p. 263. "It was this made them so haughty."—Goldsmith's Greece, Vol. ii, p. 102. "How far the whole charge affected him is not easy to determine."— Ib., i, p. 189. "They saw, and worshipped the God, that made them."— Bucke's Gram., p. 157. "The errors frequent in the use of hyperboles, arise either from overstraining, or introducing them on unsuitable occasions."—Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 256. "The preposition in is set before countries, cities, and large towns; as, 'He lives in France, in London, or in Birmingham.' But before villages, single houses, and cities which are in distant countries, at is used; as, 'He lives at Hackney.'"—Ib., p. 204; Dr. Ash's Gram., 60; Ingersoll's, 232; Smith's, 170; Fisk's, 143; et al. "And, in such recollection, the thing is not figured as in our view, nor any image formed."—Kames, El. of Crit., Vol. i, p. 86. "Intrinsic and relative beauty must be handled separately."—Ib., Vol. ii, p. 336. "He should be on his guard not to do them injustice, by disguising, or placing them in a false light."—Blair's Rhet., p. 272. "In that work, we are frequently interrupted by unnatural thoughts."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 275. "To this point have tended all the rules I have given."—Blair's Rhet., p. 120. "To these points have tended all the rules which have been given."—Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 356. "Language, as written, or oral, is addressed to the eye, or to the ear."—Lit. Conv., p. 181. "He will learn, Sir, that to accuse and prove are very different."—Walpole. "They crowded around the door so as to prevent others going out."—Abbott's Teacher, p. 17. "One person or thing is singular number; more than one person or thing is plural number."—John Flint's Gram., p. 27. "According to the sense or relation in which nouns are used, they are in the NOMINATIVE or POSSESSIVE CASE, thus, nom. man; poss. man's."—Blair's Gram., p. 11. "Nouns or pronouns in the possessive case are placed before the nouns which govern them, to which they belong."—Sanborn's Gram., p. 130. "A teacher is explaining the difference between a noun and verb."—Abbott's Teacher, p. 72. "And therefore the two ends, or extremities, must directly answer to the north and south pole."—HARRIS: Joh. Dict., w. Gnomon. "Walks or walketh, rides or rideth, stands or standeth, are of the third person singular."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 47. "I grew immediately roguish and pleasant to a degree, in the same strain."—SWIFT: Tattler, 31. "An Anapæst has the first syllables unaccented, and the last accented."— Blair's Gram., p. 119. "An Anapæst has the first two syllables unaccented, and the last accented."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 219; Bullions's Principles, 170. "An Anapæst has the two first syllables unaccented, and the last accented."—L. Murray's Gram., p. 254; Jamieson's Rhet., 305; Smith's New Gram., 188; Guy's Gram., 120; Merchant's, 167; Russell's, 109; Picket's, 226. "But hearing and vision differ not more than words spoken and written."—Wilson's Essay on Gram., p. 21. "They are considered by some prepositions."—Cooper's Pl. and Pr. Gram., p. 102. "When those powers have been deluded and gone astray."—Philological Museum, i, 642. "They will soon understand this, and like it."—Abbott's Teacher, p. 92. "They have been expelled their native country Romagna."—Leigh Hunt, on Byron, p. 18. "Future time is expressed two different ways."—Adam's Gram., p. 80; Gould's, 78. "Such as the borrowing from history some noted event."—Kames, El. of Crit., Vol. ii, p. 280. "Every Verb must agree with its Nominative in Number and Person."—Burke's Gram., p. 94. "We are struck, we know not how, with the symmetry of any thing we see."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 268. "Under this head, I shall consider every thing necessary to a good delivery."— Sheridan's Lect., p. 26. "A good ear is the gift of nature; it may be much improved, but not acquired by art."—Murray's Gram., p. 298. "'Truth,' A noun, neuter, singular, the nominative."—Bullions, E. Gram., p. 73. "'Possess,' A verb transitive, present, indicative active,—third person plural."—Ibid., 73. "Fear is a noun, neuter, singular, and is the nominative to (or subject of) is."—Id., ib., p. 133. "Is is a verb, intrans., irregular—am, was, been; it is in the present, indicative, third person singular, and agrees with its nominative fear. Rule 1. 'A verb agrees,' &c."—Ibid., 133. "Ae in Gælic, has the sound of long a."—Wells's School Gram., 1st Ed., p. 29.

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE XI.—OF LITERARY BLUNDERS.

"Repeat some [adverbs] that are composed of the article a and nouns."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 89.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the grammatist here mistakes for the article a, the prefix or preposition a; as in "aside, ashore, afoot, astray," &c. But, according to Critical Note 11th, "Grave blunders made in the name of learning, are the strongest of all certificates against the books which contain them unreproved." The error should be corrected thus: "Repeat some adverbs that are composed of the prefix a, or preposition a, and nouns."]

"Participles are so called, because derived from the Latin word participium, which signifies to partake."—Merchant's School Gram., p. 18. "The possessive follows another noun, and is known by the sign of 's or of."—Beck's Gram., p. 8. "Reciprocal pronouns are formed by adding self or selves to the possessive; as, myself, yourselves."— Ib., p. 10. "The word self, and its plural selves, must be considered nouns, as they occupy the places of nouns, and stand for the names of them."—Wright's Gram., p. 61. "The Dactyl, rolls round, expresses beautifully the majesty of the sun in his course."—Webster's Philos. Gram., p. 231; Webster's Imp. Gram., p. 165; Frazee's Imp. Gram., p. 192. "Prepositions govern the objective case; as, John learned his lesson."—Frazee's Gram., p. 153. "Prosody primarily signified punctuation; and as the name implies, related to stopping by the way."—Hendrick's Gram., p. 103. "On such a principle of forming modes, there would be as many modes as verbs; and instead of four modes, we should have forty-three thousand, which is the number of verbs in the English language, according to Lowth."—Hallock's Gram., p. 76. "The following phrases are elliptical: 'To let out blood.' 'To go a hunting:' that is,' To go on a hunting excursion.'"—Bullions, E. Gram., p. 129. "In Rhyme, the last syllable of every two lines has the same sound."—Id., Practical Lessons, p. 129. "The possessive case plural, ending in es, has the apostrophe, but omits the s; as, Eagles' wings."—Weld's Gram., p. 62; Abridg., p. 54. "Horses (plural) -mane, [should be written] horses' mane."—Weld', ib., pp. 62 and 54. "W takes its written form from the union of two v's, this being the form of the Roman capital letter which we call V."—Fowler's E. Gram., 1850, p. 157. "In the sentence, 'I saw the lady who sings,' what word do I say sings?"—J. Flint's Gram., p. 12. "In the sentence, 'this is the pen which John made,' what word do I say John made?"—Ibid. "'That we fall into no sin:' no, an adverb used idiomatically, instead of we do not fall into any sin."—Blair's Gram., p. 54. "'That all our doings may be ordered by thy governance:' all, a pronoun used for the whole."—Ibid. "'Let him be made to study.' What causes the sign to to be expressed before study? Its being used in the passive voice after be made."—Sanborn's Gram., p. 145. "The following Verbs have neither Preter-Tense nor Passive-participle, viz. Cast, cut, cost, shut, let, bid, shed, hurt, hit, put, &c."— Buchanan's Gram., p. 60. "The agreement, which every word has with the others in person, gender, and case, is called CONCORD; and that power which one person of speech has over another, in respect to ruling its case, mood, or tense, is called GOVERNMENT."—Bucke's Classical Gram., p. 83. "The word ticks tells what the noun watch does."— Sanborn's Gram., p. 15. "Breve ([~]) marks a short vowel or syllable, and the dash (—) a long."—Bullions, E. Gram., p. 157; Lennie, 137. "Charles, you, by your diligence, make easy work of the task given you by your preceptor.' The first you is used in the nom. poss. and obj. case."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 103. "Ouy in bouy is a proper tripthong. Eau in flambeau is an improper tripthong."—Sanborn's Gram., p. 255. "'While I of things to come, As past rehearsing, sing.' POLLOK. That is, 'While I sing of things which are to