The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown (read books for money TXT) 📖

E. Gram., p. 20; Pract. Les., 25. "If there are any old maids still extant, while mysogonists are so rare, the fault must be attributable to themselves."—Kirkham's Elocution, p. 286. "The second method used by the Greeks, has never been the practice of any part of Europe."—Sheridan's Elocution, p. 64. "Neither consonant, nor vowel, are to be dwelt upon beyond their common quantity, when they close a sentence."—Sheridan's Rhetorical Gram., p. 54. "IRONY is a mode of speech expressing a sense contrary to that which the speaker or writer intends to convey."—Wells's School Gram., 1st Ed., p. 196; 113th Ed., p. 212. "IRONY is the intentional use of words in a sense contrary to that which the writer or speaker intends to convey."—Weld's Gram., 2d Ed., p. 215; Imp. Ed., 216. "The persons speaking, or spoken to, are supposed to be present."—Wells, p. 68. "The persons speaking and spoken to are supposed to be present."—Murray's Gram., p. 51. "A Noun is a word used to express the name of an object."—Wells's School Gram., pp. 46 and 47. "A syllable is a word, or such a part of a word as is uttered by one articulation."—Weld's English Gram., p. 15; "Abridged Ed.," p. 16.

   "Thus wondrous fair; thyself how wondrous then!
    Unspeakable, who sits above these heavens."
        —Cutler's Gram., p. 131.

   "And feel thy sovereign vital lamp; but thou
    Revisitest not these eyes, that roll in vain."
        —Felton's Gram., p. 133.

   "Before all temples the upright and pure."
        —Butler's Gram., p. 195.

   "In forest wild, in thicket, break or den."
        —Cutler's Gram., p. 130.

   "The rogue and fool by fits is fair and wise;
    And e'en the best, by fits, what they despise."
        —Pope's Ess., iii, 233.

CHAPTER XIV.—QUESTIONS. ORDER OF REHEARSAL, AND METHOD OF EXAMINATION. PART THIRD, SYNTAX.

[Fist][The following questions, which embrace nearly all the important particulars of the foregoing code of Syntax, are designed not only to direct and facilitate class rehearsals, but also to develop the acquirements of those who may answer them at examinations more public.]

LESSON I.—DEFINITIONS. 1. Of what does Syntax treat? 2. What is the relation of words? 3. What is the agreement of words? 4. What is the government of words? 5. What is the arrangement of words? 6. What is a sentence? 7. How many and what are the principal parts of a sentence? 8. What are the other parts called? 9. How many kinds of sentences are there? 10. What is a simple sentence? 11. What is a compound sentence? 12. What is a clause, or member? 13. What is a phrase? 14. What words must be supplied in parsing? 15. How are the leading principles of syntax presented? 16. In what order are the rules of syntax arranged in this work?

LESSON II.—THE RULES.

1. To what do articles relate? 2. What case is employed as the subject of a finite verb? 3. What agreement is required between words in apposition? 4. By what is the possessive case governed? 5. What case does an active-transitive verb or participle govern? 6. What case is put after a verb or participle not transitive? 7. What case do prepositions govern? 8. When, and in what case, is a noun or pronoun put absolute in English? 9. To what do adjectives relate? 10. How does a pronoun agree with its antecedent? 11. How does a pronoun agree with a collective noun? 12. How does a pronoun agree with joint antecedents? 13. How does a pronoun agree with disjunct antecedents?

LESSON III.—THE RULES.

14. How does a finite verb agree with its subject, or nominative? 15. How does a verb agree with a collective noun? 16. How does a verb agree with joint nominatives? 17. How does a verb agree with disjunctive nominatives? 18. What governs the infinitive mood? 19. What verbs take the infinitive after them without the preposition to? 20. What is the regular construction of participles, as such? 21. To what do adverbs relate? 22. What do conjunctions connect? 23. What is the use of prepositions? 24. What is the syntax of interjections?

LESSON IV.—THE RULES.

1. What are the several titles, or subjects, of the twenty-four rules of syntax? 2. What says Rule 1st of Articles? 3. What says Rule 2d of Nominatives? 4. What says Rule 3d of Apposition? 5. What says Rule 4th of Possessives? 6. What says Rule 5th of Objectives? 7. What says Rule 6th of Same Cases? 8. What says Rule 7th of Objectives? 9. What says Rule 8th of the Nominative Absolute? 10. What says Rule 9th of Adjectives? 11. What says Rule 10th of Pronouns? 12. What says Rule 11th of Pronouns? 13. What says Rule 12th of Pronouns? 14. What says Rule 13th of Pronouns? 15. What says Rule 14th of Finite Verbs? 16. What says Rule 15th of Finite Verbs? 17. What says Rule 16th of Finite Verbs? 18. What says Rule 17th of Finite Verbs? 19. What says Rule 18th of Infinitives? 20. What says Rule 19th of Infinitives? 21. What says Rule 20th of Participles? 22. What says Rule 21st of Adverbs? 23. What says Rule 22d of Conjunctions? 24. What says Rule 23d of Prepositions? 25. What says Rule 24th of Interjections?

LESSON V.—THE ANALYZING OF SENTENCES.

1. What is it, "to analyze a sentence?" 2. What are the component parts of a sentence? 3. Can all sentences be divided into clauses? 4. Are there different methods of analysis, which may be useful? 5. What is the first method of analysis, according to this code of syntax? 6. How is the following example analyzed by this method? "Even the Atheist, who tells us that the universe is self-existent and indestructible—even he, who, instead of seeing the traces of a manifold wisdom in its manifold varieties, sees nothing in them all but the exquisite structures and the lofty dimensions of materialism—even he, who would despoil creation of its God, cannot look upon its golden suns, and their accompanying systems, without the solemn impression of a magnificence that fixes and overpowers him." 7. What is the second method of analysis? 8. How is the following example analyzed by this method? "Fear naturally quickens the flight of guilt. Rasselas could not catch the fugitive, with his utmost efforts; but, resolving to weary, by perseverance, him whom he could not surpass in speed, he pressed on till the foot of the mountain stopped his course." 9. What is the third method of analysis? 10. How is the following example analyzed by this method? "Such is the emptiness of human enjoyment, that we are always impatient of the present. Attainment is followed by neglect, and possession, by disgust. Few moments are more pleasing than those in which the mind is concerting measures for a new undertaking. From the first hint that wakens the fancy, to the hour of actual execution, all is improvement and progress, triumph and felicity." 11. What is the fourth method of analysis? 12. How are the following sentences analyzed by this method? (1.) "Swift would say, 'The thing has not life enough in it to keep it sweet;' Johnson, 'The creature possesses not vitality sufficient to preserve it from putrefaction.'" (2.) "There is one Being to whom we can look with a perfect conviction of finding that security, which nothing about us can give, and which nothing about us can take away." 13. What is said of the fifth method of analysis?

[Now, if the teacher choose to make use of any other method of analysis than full syntactical parsing, he may direct his pupils to turn to the next selection of examples, or to any other accurate sentences, and analyze them according to the method chosen.]

LESSON VI.—OF PARSING.

1. Why is it necessary to observe the sense, or meaning, of what we parse? 2. What is required of the pupil in syntactical parsing? 3. How is the following long example parsed in Praxis XII? "A young man studious to know his duty, and honestly bent on doing it, will find himself led away from the sin or folly in which the multitude thoughtlessly indulge themselves; but, ah! poor fallen human nature! what conflicts are thy portion, when inclination and habit—a rebel and a traitor—exert their sway against our only saving principle!"

[Now parse, in like manner, and with no needless deviations from the prescribed forms, the ten lessons of the Twelfth Praxis; or such parts of those lessons as the teacher may choose.]

LESSON VII.—THE RULES.

1. In what chapter are the rules of syntax first presented? 2. In what praxis are these rules first applied in parsing? 3. Which of the ten parts of speech is left without any rule of syntax? 4. How many and which of the ten have but one rule apiece? 5. Then, of the twenty-four rules, how many remain for the other three parts,—nouns, pronouns, and verbs? 6. How many of these seventeen speak of cases, and therefore apply equally to nouns and pronouns? 7. Which are these seven? 8. How many rules are there for the agreement of pronouns with their antecedents, and which are they? 9. How many rules are there for finite verbs, and which are they? 10. How many are there for infinitives, and which are they? 11. What ten chapters of the foregoing code of syntax treat of the ten parts of speech in their order? 12. Besides the rules and their examples, what sorts of matters are introduced into these chapters? 13. How many of the twenty-four rules of syntax are used both in parsing and in correcting? 14. Of what use are those which cannot be violated in practice? 15. How many such rules are there among the twenty-four? 16. How many and what parts of speech are usually parsed by such rules only?

LESSON VIII.—THE NOTES.

1. What is the essential character of the Notes which are placed under the rules of syntax? 2. Are the different forms of false construction as numerous as these notes? 3. Which exercise brings into use the greater number of grammatical principles, parsing or correcting? 4. Are the principles or doctrines which are applied in these different exercises usually the same, or are they different? 5. In etymological parsing, we use about seventy definitions; can these be used also in the correcting of errors? 6. For the correcting of false syntax, we have a hundred and fifty-two notes; can these be used also in parsing? 7. How many of the rules have no such notes under them? 8. What order is observed in the placing of these notes, if some rules have many, and others few or none? 9. How many of them are under the rule for articles? 10. How many of them refer to the construction of nouns? 11. How many of them belong to the syntax of adjectives? 12. How many of them treat of pronouns? 13. How many of them regard the use of verbs? 14. How many of them pertain to the syntax of participles? 15. How many of them relate to the construction of adverbs? 16. How many of them show the application of conjunctions? 17. How many of them expose errors in the use of prepositions? 18. How many of them speak of interjections?

[Now correct orally the examples of False Syntax placed under the several Rules and Notes; or so many texts under each head as the teacher may think sufficient.]

LESSON IX.—THE EXCEPTIONS.

1. In what exercise can there be occasion to cite and apply the Exceptions to the rules of syntax? 2. Are there exceptions to all the rules, or to how many? 3. Are there exceptions in reference to all the parts of speech, or to how many of the ten? 4. Do articles always relate to nouns? 5. Can the subject of a finite verb be in any other case than the nominative? 6. Are words in apposition always supposed to be in the same case? 7. Is the possessive case always governed by the name of the thing possessed? 8. Can an active-transitive verb govern any other case than the objective? 9. Can a verb or participle not transitive take any other case after it than that which precedes it? 10. Can a preposition, in English, govern any other case than the objective? 11. Can "the case absolute," in English, be any other than the nominative? 12. Does every adjective "belong to a substantive, expressed or understood," as Murray avers? 13. Can an adjective ever relate to any thing else than a noun or pronoun? 14. Can an adjective ever be used without relation to any noun, pronoun, or other subject? 15. Can an adjective ever be substituted for its kindred abstract noun? 16. Are the person, number, and gender of