A NEW ENGLISH GRAMMAR. ENGLISH GRAMMAR is the art of speaking, reading, and writing the English language, according to established rules. It is divided into four parts; namely, Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody. Orthography treats of the nature and power of letters, and their formation into words. Etymology treats of the different parts of speech, into which words are divided, and their classes and modifications. Syntax treats of the relation, agreement, government, and arrangement, of words in sentences. Prosody treats of punctuation, utterance, figures, and versification. Obs.—As our grammatical terms are derived from the Greek language, it may assist the pupil in more thoroughly comprehending them, to know their literal meaning. Grammar is derived from gramma, a letter,—and the term is applied generally, because letters are the component parts of language. Orthography is composed of orthos, right, and graphe, writing. Etymology is composed of etymos, true, and logos, speech. Syntax is derived from syn, together, and taxis, placing,—applicable to the putting together of words to form a sentence. Prosody is derived from prosodia, a song,—thus referring to the melody and pronunciation of language, which it is the object of prosody to regulate. What is English Grammar? How is it divided? Of what does Orthography treat? Of what does Etymology treat? or what does Syntax treat? Of what does Prosody treat? B PART I.—ORTHOGRAPHY. Orthography treats of the nature and power of letters, and their formation into words. OF LETTERS. A Letter is a character used in printing or writing, to represent an articulate sound. An articulate sound, is a distinct sound produced by the organs of speech. The English alphabet consists of twenty-six letters; Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, LI, Mm, Nn, o o, P p, Q q, B r, S s, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Z z.* Zz: CLASSES OF LETTERS. The letters are divided into vowels and consonants. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y; and are so called because they form a perfect sound when uttered alone.. The consonants are all the other letters of the alphabet; and are so called because they cannot be uttered without the aid of a vowel. Wand y are consonants when they go before a vowel heard in the same syllable; as in wine, twine, whine, ye, yet, youth in all other cases they are vowels; as in newly, dewy, eyebrow. CLASSES OF CONSONANTS. The consonants are divided into mutes and semivowels. A mute is a consonant which cannot be sounded at all without a vowel. The mutes are b, d, k, p, q, t, and c and g hard. A semivowel is a consonant which can be imperfectly For the names and powers of letters, see Appendix, Chap. III. Of what does Orthography treat? What is a Letter' What is an articulate sound? How many letters are there in English? Repeat them. How are the letters divided? What letters are vowels? Why are they called vowels? Repeat them. What letters are consonants? Why are they called consonants? Repeat them. When are w and y consonants? and when, vowels? How are the consonants divided? What is a mute? what consonants are mutes? What is a semivowel? what consonants are semivowels? sounded without a vowel. n, r, s, v, x, z, and c and The semivowels are ƒ, h, j, l, m, g soft. Four of the semivowels, /, m, n, and r, are termed liquids, on account of the fluency of their sounds. FORMS OF THE LETTERS. In the English language, the Roman characters are generally employed; sometimes, the Italic; and occasionally, the Old English. The letters have each two forms, by which they are distinguished as capitals and small letters. Small letters constitute the body of every work; and capitals are used only for distinction. RULES FOR THE USE OF CAPITALS. RULE I. TITLES OF BOOKS. The titles of books and the heads of their principal divisions, should be printed in capitals. When books are merely mentioned, the chief words in their titles begin with capitals, and the other letters are small; as, "Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel." RULE II. FIRST WORDS. The first word of every sentence should begin with a capital. RULE III.—NAMES OF THE DEITY. All names of the Deity should begin with capitals; as, God, Jehovah, the Almighty, the Eternal, the Supreme Being. RULE IV.—PROPER NAMES. Titles of office or honour, and proper names of every description, should begin with capitals; as, Queen Victoria, Archbishop of Canterbury, William, London, the Park, the Thames, the British Museum, the Parliament. What letters are called liquids, and why? What characters are employed in English? What distinction of form do we make in each of the letters? What is said of small letters? and why are capitals used? How many rules for capitals are there? and what are their heads? What says Rule 1st of titles of books?Rule 2d of first words?-Rule 3d of names of the Deity?-Rule 4th of proper names? RULE V. OBJECTS PERSONIFIED. The name of an object personified, when it conveys an dea strictly individual, should begin with a capital; as, "O Winter, ruler of th' inverted year." RULE VI. WORDS DERIVED. Words derived from proper names of persons or places, should begin with capitals; as, English, French, Italian. RULE VII.—I AND O. The words I and O should always be capitals. RULE VIII. IN POETRY. Every line in poetry should begin with a capital. RULE IX. EXTRACTS. The first word of a full extract, of a distinct speech, or of a direct quotation, should begin with a capital; as, "Death is certain." "Judge not, that ye be not judged." "Solomon says, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowedge.'" RULE X. CHIEF WORDS. Other words of particular importance, and such as denote the principal subjects of discourse, may be distinguished by capitals. Proper names frequently have capitals throughout; as, VICTORIA, or Victoria. OF SYLLABLES AND WORDS. A Syllable is a sound pronounced by a single impulse of the voice; it is represented by one or more letters, and is either a word or a part of a word; as, a, an, ant, strength. A Word is an articulate sound used by common consent as the sign of an idea. In every word there are as many syllables as there are distinct sounds; as, con-grat-u-late. What says Rule 5th of objects personified?—Rule 6th of words derived?— Rule 7th of 1 and 0— Rule 8th of poetry?-Rule 9th of examples?-Rule 10th of chief words? What is a Syllable? How is a sound represented? What is a Ford? Can the syllables of a word be perceived by the ear? A word of one syllable is called a monosyllable; a word of two syllables, a dissyllable, a word of three syllables, a trissyllable; and a word of four or more syllables, a polysyllable. Obs.—Mono-syllable is derived from the Greek word monos, one. Tris-syllable from treis, three. Poly-syllable from polys, many. A diphthong is two vowels joined in one syllable; as, ea in beat, ou in bound: they are divided into proper and improper. A proper diphthong, is a diphthong in which both the vowels are sounded at once; as, oi in noise. An improper diphthong, is a diphthong in which only one of the vowels is sounded; as, ie in friend. A triphthong is three vowels joined in one syllable; as, eau in beau, rem in view. A proper triphthong is a triphthong in which all the vowels are sounded at once; as, uoy in buoy. An improper triphthong, is a triphthong in which only one or two of the vowels are sounded; as, eau in beauty, iou in anxious. Obs. 1. The proper diphthongs are thirteen; ay—ia, ie, io—oi, ou, ow, oy—ua, ue, ui, uo, uy. Obs. 2.—The improper diphthongs are twenty-five; oa, ae, at, ao, an, aw, ay—ea, ee, ei, eo, eu, ew, ey—ie—oa, oe, oi, oo, on, ow—ua, us, ui, uy. Obs. 3.—The only proper triphthong is uoy, given in the example above. Obs. 4.-The improper triphthongs are eleven; awe, aye--eau, eou, ewe, eye—ieu, iew, iou—oeu, owe. SPECIES AND FIGURE OF WORDS. Words are distinguished as primitive or derivative, and as simple or compound. The former division is called their species; the latter, their figure. A primitive word is one that is not formed from any simpler word in the language; as, wise, great, connect. A derivative word is one that is formed from some simpler word in the language; as, wisely, greatly, connected. A simple word is one that is not compounded; as, watch, man, never. What is a word of one syllable called? What is a word of two syllables called? What is a word of three syllables called? What is a word of four or more syllables called? What is a diphthong? How are they divided? What is a proper diphthong ?---an improper diphthong? What is a triphthong? What is a proper triphthong ?---an improper triphthong? How are words distinguished in regard to species and figure? What is a primitive word? What is a derivative word? simple word? What is a |