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

i, 245, "Pronouns must agree with their antecedents, or nouns which they represent, in gender, number, and person."—Merchant's Gram., pp. 86, 111, and 130. "The adverb where, is often improperly used, for the relative pronoun and preposition."—Ib., 94. "The termination ish imports diminution, or lessening the quality."—Ib., 79. "In this train all their verses proceed: the one half of the line always answering to the other."—Blair's Rhet., p. 384. "To an height of prosperity and glory, unknown to any former age."—Murray's Sequel, p. 352. "HWILC, who, which, such as, such an one, is declined as follows."—Gwilt's Saxon Gram., p. 15. "When a vowel precedes y, an s only is required to form a plural."—Bucke's Gram., p. 40. "He is asked what sort of a word each is, whether a primitive, derivative, or compound."—British Gram., p. vii. "It is obvious, that neither the 2d, 3d, nor 4th chapter of Matthew is the first; consequently, there are not four first chapters."—Churchill's Gram., p. 306. "Some thought, which a writer wants art to introduce in its proper place."—Blair's Rhet., p. 109. "Groves and meadows are most pleasing in the spring."—Ib., p. 207. "The conflict between the carnal and spiritual mind, is often long."—Gurney's Port. Ev., p. 146. "A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful."—Burke's Title-page.

   "Silence, my muse! make not these jewels cheap,
    Exposing to the world too large an heap."—Waller, p. 113.

CHAPTER III.—NOUNS.

A Noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned: as, George, York, man, apple, truth.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.—All words and signs taken technically, (that is, independently of their meaning, and merely as things spoken of,) are nouns; or, rather, are things read and construed as nouns; because, in such a use, they temporarily assume the syntax of nouns: as, "For this reason, I prefer contemporary to cotemporary."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 175; Murray's Gram., i, p. 368. "I and J were formerly expressed by the same character; as were U and V."—W. Allen's Gram., p. 3. "Us is a personal pronoun."—Murray. "Th has two sounds."—Ib. "The 's cannot be a contraction of his, because 's is put to female [feminine] nouns; as, Woman's beauty, the Virgin's delicacy."—Dr. Johnson's Gram. "Their and theirs are the possessives likewise of they, when they is the plural of it."—Ib. "Let B be a now or instant."—Harris's Hermes, p. 103. "In such case, I say that the instant B is the end of the time A B."—Ib., 103. "A is sometimes a noun: as, a great A."—Todd's Johnson. "Formerly sp was cast in a piece, as st's are now."—Hist. of Printing, 1770. "I write to others than he will perhaps include in his we."—Barclay's Works, Vol. iii, p. 455. "Here are no fewer than eight ands in one sentence."—Blair's Rhet., p. 112; Murray's Gram., Vol. i, p. 319. "Within this wooden O;" i. e., circle.—Shak.

OBS. 2.—In parsing, the learner must observe the sense and use of each word, and class it accordingly. Many words commonly belonging to other parts of speech are occasionally used as nouns; and, since it is the manner of its use, that determines any word to be of one part of speech rather than of an other, whatever word is used directly as a noun, must of course be parsed as such.

1. Adjectives made nouns: "The Ancient of days did sit."—Bible. "Of the ancients."—Swift. "For such impertinents."—Steele. "He is an ignorant in it."—Id. "In the luxuriance of an unbounded picturesque."—Jamieson. "A source of the sublime;" i. e., of sublimity.—Burke. "The vast immense of space:" i. e., immensity.—Murray. "There is none his like."—Job, xli, 33. "A little more than a little, is by much too much."—Shakspeare. "And gladly make much of that entertainment."—Sidney. "A covetous man makes the most of what he has."—L'Estrange. "It has done enough for me."—Pope. "He had enough to do."—Bacon.

   "All withers here; who most possess, are losers by their gain,
    Stung by full proof, that bad at best, life's idle all is vain."
        —Young.

   "Nor grudge I thee the much the Grecians give,
    Nor murm'ring take the little I receive."
        —Dryden.

2. Pronouns made nouns: "A love of seeing the what and how of all about him."—STORY'S LIFE OF FLAXMAN: Pioneer, Vol. i, p. 133. "The nameless HE, whose nod is Nature's birth."—Young, Night iv. "I was wont to load my she with knacks."—Shak. Winter's Tale. "Or any he, the proudest of thy sort."—Shak. "I am the happiest she in Kent."—Steele. "The shes of Italy."—Shak. "The hes in birds."—Bacon. "We should soon have as many hes and shes as the French."—Cobbet's E. Gram., Para. 42. "If, for instance, we call a nation a she, or the sun a he."—Ib., Para. 198. "When I see many its in a page, I always tremble for the writer."—Ib., Para. 196. "Let those two questionary petitioners try to do this with their whos and their whiches."—SPECT: Ash's Gr., p. 131.

   "Such mortal drugs I have; but Mantua's law
    Is death to any he that utters them."—Shak.

3. Verbs made nouns: "Avaunt all attitude, and stare, and start theatric."—Cowper. "A may-be of mercy is sufficient."—Bridge. "Which cuts are reckoned among the fractures."—Wiseman. "The officer erred in granting a permit."—"Feel darts and charms, attracts and flames."—Hudibras. "You may know by the falling off of the come, or sprout."—Mortimer. "And thou hast talk'd of sallies and retires."—Shak.

   "For all that else did come, were sure to fail;
    Yet would he further none, but for avail."—Spenser.

4. Participles made nouns: "For the producing of real happiness."—Crabb. "For the crying of the poor and the sighing of the needy, I will arise."—Bible. "Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife."—Prov., xxx, 33. "Reading, writing, and ciphering, are indispensable to civilized man."—"Hence was invented the distinction between doing and permitting."—Calvin's Inst., p. 131. "Knowledge of the past comes next."—Hermes, p. 113. "I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me."—Sol. Song, vii, 10. "Here's—a simple coming-in for one man."—Shak.

   "What are thy rents? What are thy comings-in?
    O Ceremony, show me but thy worth."—Id.

5. Adverbs made nouns: "In these cases we examine the why, the what, and the how of things."—L'Estrange. "If a point or now were extended, each of them would contain within itself infinite other points or nows."—Hermes, p. 101. "The why is plain as way to parish church."—Shak. "'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter."—Addison. "The dread of a hereafter."—Fuller. "The murmur of the deep amen."—Sir W. Scott. "For their whereabouts lieth in a mystery."—Book of Thoughts, p. 14. Better: "Their whereabout lieth," or, "Their whereabouts lie," &c.

   "Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind;
    Thou losest here, a better where to find."—Shak.

6. Conjunctions made nouns: "The if, which is here employed, converts the sentence into a supposition."—Blair's Rhet. "Your if is the only peacemaker; much virtue is in if."—Shak.

   "So his Lordship decreed with a grave solemn tone,
      Decisive and clear, without one if or but—
    That whenever the Nose put his spectacles on,
      By daylight or candlelight—Eyes should be shut."—Cowper.

7. Prepositions made nouns: "O, not like me; for mine's beyond beyond."—Shakspeare: Cymb., iii, 2. "I. e., her longing is further than beyond; beyond any thing that desire can be said to be beyond."—Singer's Notes. "You whirled them to the back of beyont to look at the auld Roman camp."—Antiquary, i. 37.

8. Interjections or phrases made nouns: "Come away from all the lo-heres! and lo-theres!"—Sermon. "Will cuts him short with a 'What then?'"—Addison. "With hark and whoop, and wild halloo."—Scott. "And made a pish at chance and sufferance."—Shak.

   "A single look more marks th' internal wo,
    Than all the windings of the lengthen'd oh."—Lloyd.

CLASSES.

Nouns are divided into two general classes; proper and common. I. A proper noun is the name of some particular individual, or people, or group; as, Adam, Boston, the Hudson, the Romans, the Azores, the Alps.

II. A common noun is the name of a sort, kind, or class, of beings or things; as, Beast, bird, fish, insect,—creatures, persons, children.

The particular classes, collective, abstract, and verbal, or participial, are usually included among common nouns. The name of a thing sui generis is also called common.

1. A collective noun, or noun of multitude, is the name of many individuals together; as, Council, meeting, committee, flock.

2. An abstract noun is the name of some particular quality considered apart from its substance; as, Goodness, hardness, pride, frailty.

3. A verbal or participial noun is the name of some action, or state of being; and is formed from a verb, like a participle, but employed as a noun: as, "The triumphing of the wicked is short."—Job, xx, 5.

4. A thing sui generis, (i. e., of its own peculiar kind,) is something which is distinguished, not as an individual of a species, but as a sort by itself, without plurality in either the noun or the sort of thing; as, Galvanism, music, geometry.

OBS. 1.—Through the influence of an article, a proper name sometimes acquires the import of a common noun: as, "He is the Cicero of his age;" that is, the great orator. "Many a fiery Alp;" that is, high volcanic mountain. "Such is the following application of famous names; a Solomon for a wise man, a Croesus for a rich man, a Judas for a traitor, a Demosthenes for an orator, and a Homer for a poet."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 326.

   "Consideration, like an angel, came,
    And whipp'd th' offending Adam out of him."—Shak.

OBS. 2.—A common noun, with the definite article before it, sometimes becomes proper: as, The Park; the Strand; the Gharmel; the Downs; the United States.

OBS. 3.—The common name of a thing or quality personified, often becomes proper; our conception of the object being changed by the figure of speech: as, "My power," said Reason, "is to advise, not to compel."—Johnson. "Fair Peace her olive branch extends." For such a word, the form of parsing should be like this: "Peace is a common noun, personified proper; of the third person, singular number, feminine gender, and nominative case." Here the construction of the word as a proper noun, and of the feminine gender, is the result of the personification, and contrary to the literal usage.

MODIFICATIONS.

Nouns have modifications of four kinds; namely, Persons, Numbers,
Genders, and Cases.

PERSONS.

Persons, in grammar, are modifications that distinguish the speaker, the hearer, and the person or thing merely spoken of.

There are three persons; the first, the second, and the third.

The first person is that which denotes the speaker or writer; as, "I
Paul have written it."

The second person is that which denotes the hearer, or the person addressed; as, "Robert, who did this?"

The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of; as, "James loves his book."

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.—The distinction of persons is founded on the different relations which the objects mentioned in any discourse may bear to the discourse itself. The speaker or writer, being the mover and maker of the communication, of course stands in the nearest or first of these relations. The hearer or hearers, being personally present and directly addressed, evidently sustain the next or second of these relations; this relation is also that of the reader, when he peruses what is addressed to himself in print or writing. Lastly, whatsoever or whosoever is merely mentioned in the discourse, bears to it that more remote relation which constitutes the third person. The distinction of persons belongs to nouns, pronouns, and finite verbs; and to these it is always applied, either by peculiarity of form or construction, or by inference from the principles of concord. Pronouns are like their antecedents, and verbs are like their subjects, in person.

OBS. 2.—Of the persons, numbers, genders, cases, and some other grammatical modifications of words, it should be observed that they belong not exclusively to any one part of speech, but jointly and equally, to two or three. Hence, it is necessary that our definitions of these things be such as will apply to each of them in full, or under all circumstances; for the definitions ought to be as general in their application as are the things or properties defined. Any person, number, gender, case, or other grammatical modification, is really but one and the same thing, in whatever part of speech it may be found. This is plainly implied in the very nature of every form of syntactical agreement; and as plainly contradicted in one half, and probably more, of the definitions usually given of these things.

OBS. 3.—Let it be understood, that persons, in grammar, are not words, but mere forms, relations, or modifications of words; that they are things, thus named by a figure; things of the neuter gender, and not