THE PRINCIPLES OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR. COMPRISING THE SUBSTANCE OF ALL THE MOST APPROVED ENGLISH WITH COPIOUS EXERCISES IN PARSING AND SYNTAX. BY WILLIAM LENNIE. A NEW EDITION, CORRECTED AND ADAPTED TO MODERN USE. LONDON: WILLIAM TEGG. PREFACE. IN issuing a new edition of this favourite Grammar, care has been taken to adapt it thoroughly to the requirements of the present day, without impairing those distinctive excellences which first made it popular. Some few of Mr. Lennie's dicta as to Etymology and Syntax, having become obsolete, have been here replaced by others of better authority; whilst many additions have been made to the Exercises. A Grammar cannot fulfil its design, unless every part be read and studied attentively. It has, therefore, been the aim of the Publisher to make this a readable book, by using type which can be discerned without the use of a magnifying glass for it is a mistake to suppose that the young can and will read what is illegible to grown up persons. : The following sentences from Mr. Lennie's Preface will show what he conceived to be the special advantages of his Grammar; and they now bear additional weight, as having been, up to the present time, endorsed by the unvarying approval of the discerning public. It is probable, that the original design and principal motive of every teacher, in publishing a School-Book, is the improve ment of his own pupils. Such, at least, is the immediate object of the present compilation; which, for brevity of expression, neatness of arrangement, and comprehensiveness of plan, is, perhaps, superior to any other book of the kind. "My chief end has been to explain the general Principles of Grammar, as clearly and intelligibly as possible. In the definitions, therefore, easiness and perspicuity have been sometimes preferred to logical exactness." Orthography is mentioned rather for the sake of order, than from a conviction of its utility; for, in my opinion, to occupy thirty or forty pages of a grammar in defining the sounds of the alphabet is quite preposterous. On Etymology I have left much to be remarked by the teacher, in the time of teaching. My reason for doing this is, that children, when by themselves, labour more to have the words in their books imprinted on their memories, than to have the meaning fixed in their minds: but, on the contrary, when the teacher addresses them vivá voce, they naturally strive rather to comprehend his meaning, than to remember his exact expressions. In pursuance of this idea, the first part of this little volume has been thrown into a form more resembling Heads of Lectures on Grammar than a complete elucidation of the subject. That the teacher, however, may not be always under the necessity of having recourse to his memory to supply the deficiencies, the most remarkable Observations have been subjoined at the bottom of the page, to which the pupils themselves may occasionally be referred. The desire of being concise has frequently induced me to use very elliptical expressions; but I trust they are all sufficiently perspicuous. Syntax is commonly divided into two parts, Concord and Government; and grammarians in general have placed the rules respecting the former before those which relate to the latter. I have not, however, attended to this division, because I deem it of little importance; but have placed those rules first which are either more easily understood, or which occur more frequently. In arranging a number of rules, it is difficult to please every reader. I have frequently been unable to satisfy myself; and, therefore, cannot expect that the arrangement which I have at last adopted will give universal satisfaction. Whatever order be preferred, the one rule must necessarily precede the other; and since they are all to be learned, it signifies but little whether the rules of Concord precede those of Government, or whether they be mixed, provided no anticipations be made which may embarrass the learner. For Exercises on Syntax, I have not only selected the shortest sentences I could find, but printed the lines closely together, with the rules at the bottom in a small type; and by these means have generally compressed as many faulty expressions into a single page, as some of my predecessors have done into two pages of a larger size. Hence, though this book seems to contain but few Exercises on bad grammar, it really contains so many, that a separate volume of Exercises is quite unnecessary. OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR. ENGLISH GRAMMAR is the art of speaking and writing the English Language with propriety. It is divided into four parts; namely, Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody. ORTHOGRAPHY. ORTHOGRAPHY teaches the nature and powers of Letters, and the just method of spelling Words. A LETTER is the least part of a Word. There are twenty-six letters in English. Letters are either Vowels or Consonants. A Vowel is a letter, the name of which makes a full open sound. A Consonant is a letter that has a sound less distinct than that of a vowel. The Vowels are a, e, i, o, u. The Consonants are b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z. Wand y are used as vowels when they do not begin a word or syllable. A Diphthong is the union of two vowels; as, ou in out. A proper Diphthong is one in which both the Vowels are sounded; as, oy in boy. An improper Diphthong is one in which only one of the two vowels is sounded; as, o in boat. A Triphthong is the union of three vowels; as, eau in beauty. A Syllable is a part of a word, or as much as can be sounded at once; as, far in far-mer. |