connected as those which are separated by a comma, nor yet so little dependent on each other, as those which are distinguished by a colon: as, Straws swim on the surface; but pearls lie at the bottom." 66 COLON. The Colon is used to divide a sentence into two or more parts, less connected than those which are separated by a semicolon; but not so independent as separate, distinct sentences: as, "Do not flatter yourselves with the hope of perfect happiness: there is no such thing in the world." PERIOD. When a sentence is complete and independent, and not connected in construction with the following sentence, it is marked with a period : as, "Fear God. Honour the King. Have charity towards all men." Besides the points which mark the. pauses in discourse, there are others that denote a different modulation of voice, in correspondence to the sense. These are, The Interrogative point, ? The Exclamation point, ! The Parenthesis, () as, "Are you sincere ?" "How excellent is a grateful heart!” "Know then this truth, (enough for man to know,) "Virtue alone is happiness below." The following characters are also frequently used in composition. An Apostrophe, marked thus': as, "tho', judg'd." am A Caret, marked thus A: as, “I A diligent." A Hyphen, which is thus marked-: as, "Lapdog, to-morrow." The Acute Accent, marked thus': as, "Fan'cy." The Grave Accent, thus: as, "Favour." The proper mark to distinguish a long syllable is this: as, "Rōsy:" and a short one, this ˇ: as, "Folly." This last mark is called a Breve. A Diæresis, marked thus", shows that two vowels form separate syllables; as, "Creätor." A Section is marked thus §. A Paragraph, thus ¶ A Quotation has two inverted commas at the beginning, and two direct ones at the end of a phrase or passage: as, "The proper study of mankind is man. Crotchets or Brackets serve to enclose a particular word or sentence. They are marked thus [ An Index or Handpoints out a remark able passage. A Brace } unites three poetical lines; or connects a number of words, in prose, with one common term. An Ellipsis is thus marked "Kg," for King. : as An Obelisk, which is marked thus †, an Asterisk, thus *, Double Dagger, thus ‡, and Parallels thus |, together with the letters of the alphabet, and figures, are used as references to the margin. The Dash (-) is used to denote a pause or abruptness in the sentence. 91 CAPITALS. THE following words should begin with capitals:— 1st, The first word of every book, chapter, letter, paragraph, &c. 2d, The first word after a period, and frequently after the notes of interrogation and exclamation. 3d, The names of the Deity: as God, Jehovah, the Supreme Being, &c. 4th, Proper names of persons, places, ships, &c. 5th, Adjectives derived from the proper names of places as Grecian, Roman, English, &c. 6th, Common names when personified; as, "Come, gentle Spring." 7th, The first word of an example, and of a quotation in a direct form: as, "Always remember this ancient maxim: 'Know thyself." 8th, The first word of every line in poetry. 9th, The pronoun I, and the interjection O! 10th, Words of particular importance: as, the Reformation, the Restoration, the Revolution. CONTAINING EXERCISES IN ORTHOGRAPHY, ETYMOLOGY, SYNTAX, PROSODY, ETC. PART I. EXERCISES IN ORTHOGRAPHY. 1. WHAT is English Grammar? Into how many parts is it divided? Name them. What is the first part of grammar? Of what does orthography treat? What is a letter? How many letters are there? What do letters represent? What is an articulate sound? 2. How are letters divided? What is a vowel? What is a consonant? Which of the letters are vowels? What are the rest of the letters called? When are w and y consonants? When are w y vowels? 3. How are consonants divided? mute? Describe a semi-vowel? Describe a Which are the liquids? Why are they called liquids? |