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The English language

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SEP 12 1941

THE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

ITS GRAMMAR, HISTORY

AND LITERATURE

BY

J. M. D. MEIKLEJOHN, M.A.

PROFESSOR OF THE THEORY, HISTORY, AND PRACTICE OF EDUCATION

IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND

AMERICAN EDITION

REVISED

D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO

COPYRIGHT 1887 AND 1906 BY D. C. HEATH & COMPANY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

2 11 9

JUNE 15 '32

Printed in U. S. A.

PREFACE

This book is divided into four parts, arranged in the sequence in which they would naturally be studied. Each part,

however, is independent of the others, and may be studied by

itself.

It is hoped that the book will prove useful in high schools,

academies, and seminaries, as well as to candidates for teachers'

examinations and civil service examinations. The various

topics have been prepared upon the assumption that the stu-

dent has already studied a part of the work in an elementary

form.

The most salient features of the language have been de-

scribed, and minor details have been left for the teacher to

fill in as needed. The utmost clearness and simplicity have

been the aim of the writer, and he has been obliged to sacrifice

many interesting details to this aim.

The study of English grammar is necessarily becoming more

and more historical. There are scores of inflections and

constructions and idioms which cannot be truly or adequately

explained without a reference to the past states of the language,

to the time when it was a synthetic or inflected language, like

German or Latin.

The subject of syntax has been set forth in the form of rules.

This is thought to be better for young students who require

firm and clear dogmatic statements of fact, but the skilful

teacher will work up to these rules by the interesting process

of induction, and, when possible, will induce his pupils to draw

the general conclusions from the data given.

iii

iv

PREFACE

Another convenience that will be found by both teacher and student in this form of rules is that they can be compared with the rules of foreign languages, such as Latin, French, and German.

It is hoped that the sketch of the history of the English language and of its literature, contained in Parts III and IV, may not only give the student a general survey of the subject, but may also lead him to the attitude of mind of Oliver Twist, and induce him to "ask for more !"

The Index will be found useful in comparing the parts of each subject, as all separate paragraphs about the same subject will be found there grouped together.

J. M. D. M.

REVISED EDITION.

In making the present revision the needs of the better class of American educational institutions have been kept constantly in mind. Advantage has been taken of the opportunity to incorporate into the book the latest results of modern scholarship. Errors of fact and the occasional use of an obsolete nomenclature have been eliminated. All of the numerous changes made have been suggested by American scholars of note. It is hoped that the marked favor so long shown toward the book in its original form may be transferred to this revised American edition, which is in scholarly accuracy even more worthy of kindly regard.

April 1905.

CONTENTS

PART I.

LANGUAGE . . . . . . . . . 1

ORTHOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . 5

ETYMOLOGY . . . . . . . . . 8

Nouns . . . . . . . . . 9

Pronouns . . . . . . . . . 23

Adjectives . . . . . . . . . 28

Verbs . . . . . . . . . 34

Adverbs . . . . . . . . . 57

Prepositions . . . . . . . . . 58

Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . 60

Interjections . . . . . . . . . 60

Words and their Functions . . . . . . . . . 61

SYNTAX . . . . . . . . . 64

Noun . . . . . . . . . 64

Nominative Case . . . . . . . . . 64

Possessive Case . . . . . . . . . 67

Objective Case . . . . . . . . . 68

Dative Case . . . . . . . . . 69

Adjective . . . . . . . . . 71

Pronoun . . . . . . . . . 74

Verb . . . . . . . . . 76

Adverb . . . . . . . . . 83

Preposition . . . . . . . . . 83

Conjunction . . . . . . . . . 84

ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . 86

Simple Sentence . . . . . . . . . 87

Forms of Sentences . . . . . . . . . 87

Parts of the Sentence . . . . . . . . . 88

Nominative of Address . . . . . . . . . 97

Complex Sentence . . . . . . . . . 103

Cautions in the Analysis of Complex Sentences . . . . . 107

The Mapping Out of Complex Sentences . . . . . 109

Compound Sentence . . . . . . . . . 111

Co-ordinate Sentences . . . . . . . . . 112

Parenthetical Sentences . . . . . . . . . 115

vi

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Word-building and Derivation . . . . 116

Prefixes and Suffixes . . . . 119

English Prefixes . . . . 120

Latin Prefixes . . . . 123

Greek Prefixes . . . . 126

English Suffixes . . . . 128

Latin and French Suffixes . . . . 134

Greek Suffixes . . . . 141

Word-branching . . . . 143

English Roots . . . . 144

Latin Roots . . . . 147

Greek Roots . . . . 152

Words derived from the Names of Persons . . . 154

Words derived from the Names of Places . . . 158

Words disguised in Form . . . . 161

Words that have Changed in Meaning . . . 168

PART II.

Composition . . . . 175

Punctuation . . . . 187

Figures of Speech . . . . 189

Paraphrasing . . . . 192

Prosody . . . . 194

Exercises . . . . 207

Examination Questions . . . . 243

PART III.

The History of the English Language . . . 269

History of the Vocabulary . . . . 280

History of the Grammar . . . . 317

PART IV.

Outline of the History of English Literature . . 347

Tables of English Literature . . . . 429

Index . . . . 459

PART I.

THE GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

INTRODUCTION.

1. What a Language is.—A Language is a number of con

nected sounds which convey a meaning. These sounds, car-

ried to other persons, enable them to know how the speaker

is feeling, and what he is thinking. More than ninety per cent

of all language used is spoken language; that which is written

forms an extremely small proportion. But, as people grow more

and more intelligent, the need of written language becomes more

and more felt; and hence all civilised nations have, in course

of time, slowly and with great difficulty made for themselves a

set of signs, by the aid of which the sounds are, as it were,

indicated upon paper. But it is the sounds that are the

langiage, and not the signs. The signs are a more or less

artificial, and more or less accurate, mode of representing the

langiage to the eye. Hence the names language, tongue,

and speech are of themselves sufficient to show that it is the

spoken, and not the written, language that is the language,—

that is the more important of the two, and that indeed gives

life and vigour to the other.

2. The Spoken and the Written Language.—Every civilised

language had existed for unknown ages before it was written

or printed. Before it was written, then, it existed merely as

a spoken language. Our own tongue existed as a spoken

language for many centuries before any of it was committed

to writing. Many languages—such as those in the south of

Africa—are born, live, and die out without having ever been

written down at all. The parts of a spoken language are

called sounds; the smallest parts of a written language are

called letters. The science of spoken sounds is called Phonetics; the science of written signs is called Alphabetics.

3. The English Language.—The English language is the language of the English people. The English are a Teutonic

people who came to this island from the north-west of Europe in the fifth century, and brought with them the English tongue

— but only in its spoken form. The English spoken in the fifth century was a harsh guttural speech, consisting of a

few thousand words, and spoken by a few thousand settlers in the east of England. It is now a speech spoken by more

than a hundred millions of people—spread all over the world; and it consists of more than a hundred thousand words. It

was once poor; it is now one of the richest languages in the world : it was once confined to a few corners of land in the

east of England; it has now spread over Great Britain and Ireland, the whole of North America, the whole of Australia,

and parts of South America and Africa.

4. The Grammar of English.—Every language grows. It changes as a tree changes. Its fibre becomes harder as it grows

older ; it loses old words and takes on new—as a tree loses old leaves, and clothes itself in new leaves at the coming of every

new spring. But we are not at present going to trace the growth of the English Language; we are going, just now, to

look at it as it is. We shall, of course, be obliged to look back now and again, and to compare the past state of the language

with its present state ; but this will be necessary only when we cannot otherwise understand the present forms of our tongue.

A description or account of the nature, constitution, or structure of a language is called its Grammar.

5. The Parts of Grammar.—Grammar considers and examines language from its smallest parts up to its most complex

organisation. The smallest part of a written language is a letter; the next smallest is a word; and with words we make

sentences. There is, then, a Grammar of Letters; a Grammar of Words; and a Grammar of Sentences. The Grammar of Let-

ters is called Orthography; the Grammar of Words is called Etymology; and the Grammar of Sentences is called Syntax.

THE GRAMMAR OF LETTERS.

There is also a Grammar of Verse; and this grammar is called Prosody.

(i) Orthography comes from two Greek words : orthos, right ; and graphē, a writing. The word therefore means correct writing.

(ii) Etymology comes from two Greek words : etŭmos, true ; and logos, an account. It therefore means a true account of words.

(iii) Syntax comes from two Greek words : sun, together, with ; and taxis, an order. When a Greek general drew up his men in order of battle, he was said to have them "in syntaxis." The word now means an account of the structure of sentences.

(iv) Prosody comes from two Greek words : pros, to ; and ōdē, a song. It means the measurement of verse.

THE GRAMMAR OF SOUNDS AND LETTERS, or ORTHOGRAPHY.

6. The Grammar of Sounds.—There are two kinds of sounds in our language : (i) the open sounds; and (ii) the stopped sounds. The open sounds are called vowels; the stopped sounds consonants. Vowels can be known by two tests—a negative and a positive. The negative test is that they do not need the aid of other letters to enable them to be sounded ; the positive test is that they are formed by the continuous passage of the breath.

(i) Vowel comes from Old French vouel (Latin vŏcālis, sounding).

(ii) Consonant comes from Lat. con, with ; and sŏno, I sound.

(iii) Two vowel-sounds uttered without a break between them are called a diphthong. Thus oi in boil ; ai in aisle are diphthongs. (The word comes from Greek dis, twice ; and phthongē, a sound.)

7. The Grammar of Consonants : (1) Mutes.—There are different ways of stopping, checking, or penning-in the continuous flow of sound. The sound may be stopped (i) by the lips—as in ib and ip. Such consonants are called Labials. Or (ii) the sound may be stopped by the teeth—as in id and it. Such consonants are called Dentals. Or (iii) the sound may be stopped in the throat—as in ig and ik.

6

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

These consonants are called Gutturals. The above set of sounds

are called Mutes, because the sound comes to a full stop.

(i) Labial comes from Lat. labium, the lip.

(ii) Dental comes from Lat. dens (dents) a tooth. Hence also dentist.

(iii) Guttural comes from Lat. guttur, the throat.

(iv) Palatal comes from Lat. palatum, the palate.

8. The Grammar of Consonants : (2) Spirants. Some con-

sonants have a little breath attached to them, do not stop the

sound abruptly, but may be prolonged. These are called

breathing letters or spirants. Thus, if we take an ib and

breathe through it, we make it an iv—the b becomes a v. If

we take an ip and breathe through it, it becomes an if—the p

becomes an f. Hence v and f are called spirant Labials. The

following is a

TABLE OF CONSONANT SOUNDS.

(i) The above table goes from the throat to the lips—from the back to

the front of the mouth.

(ii) Another term for flat is voiced or sonant, and for sharp, voiceless

or surd.

THE GRAMMAR OF LETTERS.

9. The Grammar of Letters.—Letters are conventional

signs or symbols employed to represent sounds to the eye.

They have grown out of pictures, which, being gradually pared

down, became mere signs or letters. The steps were these :

picture; abridged picture; diagram; sign or symbol. The

sum of all the letters used to write or print a language is called

its Alphabet. Down to the fifteenth century, we employed a set

of Old English letters, such as a b c—x y z, which were the

Roman letters ornamented; but, from that or about that time,

we have used and still use only the plain Roman letters, as

a b c—x y z.

The word alphabet comes from the name of the first two letters in

the Greek language : alpha, beta.

10. An Alphabet.—An alphabet is, as we have seen, a code

of signs or signals. Every code of signs has two laws, neither

of which can be broken without destroying the accuracy and

trustworthiness of the code. These two laws are :

(i) One and the same sound must be represented by one and

the same letter.

Hence: No sound should be represented by more than one letter.

(ii) One letter or set of letters must represent only one and

the same sound.

Hence : No letter should represent more than one sound.

Or, put in another way :

(i) One sound must be represented by one distinct symbol.

(ii) One symbol must be translated to the ear by no more

than one sound.

(i) The first law is broken when we represent the long sound of a in

eight different ways, as in—fate, braid, say, great, neigh, prey, gaol,

gauge.

(ii) The second law is broken when we give eight different sounds to

the one symbol ough, as in—bough, cough, d:ugh, hiccough (= cup),

hough (=hock), tough, through, thorough.

11. Our Alphabet.—The spoken alphabet of English contains

forty-three sounds; the written alphabet has only twenty-six

symbols or letters to represent them. Hence the English al-

8

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

phabet is very deficient. But it is also redundant. For it

contains five superfluous letters, c, q, x, w, and y. The work

of the letter c might be done by either k or by s; that of q

by k; x is equal to ks or gs; w could be represented by oo;

and all that y does could be done by i. It is in the vowel-

sounds that the irregularities of our alphabet are most discern-

ible. Thirteen vowel-sounds are represented to the eye in more

than one hundred different ways.

(i) There are twelve ways of printing a short i, as in sit, Cyril, busy,

women, etc.

(ii) There are twelve ways of printing a short e, as in set, any, lury,

bread, etc.

(iii) There are ten ways of printing a long ē, as in mete, marine, meed,

meat, key, etc.

(iv) There are thirteen ways of printing a short u, as in bud, love,

berth, rough, flood, etc.

(v) There are eleven ways of printing a long ū, as in rude, move, blew,

true, etc

THE GRAMMAR OF WORDS, or ETYMOLOGY.

There are eight kinds of words in our language : (i) Names

or Nouns. (ii) The words that stand for Nouns, called Pro-

nouns. (iii) The words-that-go-with-Nouns or Adjectives.

(iv) The words-that-say-something-of-Nouns or Verbs.

(v) The words that go with Verbs or Adjectives or Adverbs,

salled Adverbs. (vi) The words that-show-relation, called

Prepositions. (vii) Those that-join-Words-and-Sentences,

called Conjunctions. (viii) Interjections, which are indeed

mere sounds without any organic or vital connection with

other words; and they are hence sometimes called extra-

grammatical utterances. Nouns and Adjectives, Verbs and

Adverbs, have distinct, individual, and substantive mean-

ings. Pronouns have no meanings in themselves, but merely

refer to nouns, just like a

in a book. Prepositions and

Conjunctions once had independent meanings, but have not

much now: their chief use is to join words to each other. They act the part of nails or of glue in language. Interjections have a kind of meaning; but they never represent a thought—only a feeling, a feeling of pain or of pleasure, of sorrow or of surprise.

NOUNS.

1. A Noun is a name, or any word or words used as a name.

Ball, house, fish, John, Mary, are all names, and are therefore nouns. “To walk in the open air is pleasant in summer evenings.” The two words to walk are used as the name of an action ; to walk is therefore a noun.

The word noun comes from the Latin nomen, a name. From this word we have also nominal, denominate, denomination, etc.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS.

2. Nouns are of two classes—Proper and Common.

3. A proper noun is the name of an individual, as an individual, and not as one of a class.

John, Mary, London, Birmingham, Shakespeare, Milton, are all proper nouns.

The word proper comes from the Latin proprius, one’s own. Hence a proper noun is, in relation to one person, one’s own name. From the same word we have appropriate, to make one’s own ; expropriate, etc.

(i) Proper nouns are always written with a capital letter at the beginning ; and so also are the words derived from them. Thus we write France, French, Frenchified ; Milton, Miltonic ; Shakespeare, Shake-spearian.

(ii) Proper nouns, as such, have no meaning. They are merely marks to indicate a special person or place. They had, however, originally a meaning. The persons now called Armstrong, Smith, Greathead, no doubt had ancestors who were strong in the arm, who did the work of smiths, or who had large heads.

(iii) A proper noun may be used as a common noun, when it is employed not to mark an individual, but to indicate one of a class. Thus we can say, “He is the Milton of his age,” meaning by this that he possesses the qualities which all those poets have who are like Milton.

(iv) We can also speak of “the Howards,” “the Smiths,” meaning a number of persons who are called Howard or who are called Smith.

10

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

4. A common noun is the name of a person, place, or thing, considered not merely as an individual, but as one of a class.

Horse, town, boy, table, are common nouns.

The word common comes from the Lat. communis, "shared by several"; and we find it also in community, commonalty, etc.

(i) A common noun is so called because it belongs in common to all the persons, places, or things in the same class.

(ii) The name rabbit marks off, or distinguishes, that animal from all other animals; but it does not distinguish one rabbit from another--

it is common to all animals of the class. Hence we may say : a common noun distinguishes from without; but it does not distinguish within its own bounds.

(iii) Common nouns have a meaning; proper nouns have not. The latter may have a meaning; but the meaning is generally not appropriate. Thus persons called Whitehead and Longshanks may be dark and short. Hence such names are merely signs, and not significant marks.

5. Common nouns are generally subdivided into--

(i) Class-names.

(ii) Collective nouns.

(iii) Abstract nouns.

(i) Under class-names are included not only ordinary names, but also the names of materials--as tea, sugar, wheat, water. The names of materials can be used in the plural when different kinds of the material are meant. Thus we say "fine teas," "coarse sugars," when we mean fine kinds of tea, etc.

(ii) A collective noun is the name of a collection of persons or things, looked upon by the mind as one. Thus we say committee, parliament, crowd; and think of these collections of persons as each one body.

(iii) An abstract noun is the name of a quality, action, or state, considered in itself, and as abstracted from the thing or person in which it really exists. Thus, we see a number of lazy persons, and think of laziness as a quality in itself, abstracted from the persons.

(From Lat. abs, from; tractus, drawn.)

(i) The names of arts and sciences are abstract nouns, because they are the names of processes of thought, considered apart and abstracted from the persons who practise them. Thus, music, painting, grammar, chemistry, astronomy, are abstract nouns.

(iv) Abstract nouns are (a) derived from adjectives, as hardness, dulness, sloth, from hard, dull, and slow; or (b) from verbs, as growth, thought, from grow and think.

(v) Abstract nouns are sometimes used as collective nouns. Thus we

say "the nobility and gentry" for "the nobles and gentlemen" of the

land.

(vi) Abstract nouns are formed from other words by the addition of

such endings as ness, th, ery, hood, head, etc.

6. The following is a summary of the divisions of nouns:-

THE INFLEXIONS OF NOUNS.

7. Nouns can be inflected or changed. They are inflected to

indicate Gender, Number, and Case.

We must not, however, forget that differences of gender,

number, or case are not always indicated by inflexion.

Inflexio is a Latin word which means bending. An inflexion, therefore, is a

bending away from the simple form of the word.

GENDER.

8. Gender is, in grammar, the mode of distinguishing sex by

the aid of words, prefixes, or suffixes.

The word gender comes from the Lat. yenus, yeneris (Fr. yenre); a

kind or sort. We have the same word in generac, general, etc. (The

d in yender is no organic or true part of the word; it has been in-

serted as a kind of cushion between the n and the r.)

(i) Names of males are said to be of the masculine gender, as master,

lord, Harry. Lat. mas, a male.

(ii) Names of females are of the feminine gender, as mistress, lady,

Harriet. Lat. femina, a woman. (From the same word we have

effeminate, etc.)

(iii) Names of things without sex are of the neuter gender, as head,

tree, London. Lat. neuter, neither. (From the same word we have

neutral, neutrality.)

(iv) Names of animals, the sex of which is not indicated, are said to

be of the common gender. Thus, sheep, bird, hawk, parent, servant, are

common, because they may be of either gender.

12 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

(v) We may sum up thus :-

Gender

Masculine. Feminine. Neuter (Neither) Common (Either)

(vi) If we personify things, passions, powers, or natural forces, we may make them either masculine or feminine. Thus the Sun, Time, the Ocean, Anger, War, a river, are generally made masculine. On the other hand, the Moon, the Earth (" Mother Earth "), Virtue, a ship, Religion, Pity, Peace, are generally spoken of as feminine.

(vii) Sex is a distinction between animals; gender a distinction between nouns. In Old English, mouth was masculine, tongue, feminine, and eye, neuter. But we have lost all these distinctions, and, in modern English, gender always follows sex.

9. There are three ways of marking gender :-

(i) By the use of Suffixes.

(ii) By Prefixes (or by Composition).

(iii) By using distinct words for the names of the male and female.

I. Gender marked by Suffixes.

A. Purely English or Teutonic Suffixes.

10. There are now in our language only two purely English suffixes used to mark the feminine gender, and these are used in only two words. The two endings are en and ster, and the two words are vixen and spinster.

(i) Vixen is the feminine of fox; and spinster of spinner (spinder or spinther, which, later on, became spider). King Alfred, in his writings, speaks of " the spear-side and the spindle-side of a house "--meaning the men and the women.

(ii) Ster was used as a feminine suffix very largely in Old English. Thus, webster was a woman-weaver; baxier (or bagster), a female baker; hoppester, a woman-dancer; redrster, a woman-reader; huckster, a female hawker (travelling merchant); and so on.

(iii) In Ancient English (Anglo-Saxon) the masculine ending was a, and the feminine e, as in wicca, wicce, witch. Hence we find the names of many Saxon kings ending in a, as Ida, Offa, Penda, etc.

GENDER INDICATED BY SUFFIXES AND PREFIXES.

13

B. Latin and French Suffixes.

11. The chief feminine ending which we have received from

the French is ess (Latin, issa). This is also the only feminine

suffix with a living force at the present day—the only suffix we

could add to any new word that might be adopted by us from

a foreign source.

12. The following are nouns whose feminines end in ess :-

Masculine. Feminine. Masculine. Feminine.

Actor Actress. Host Hostess.

Baron Baroness. Lad Lass.

Caterer Cateress. Marquis Marchioness.

Count Countess. Master Mistress.

Duke Duchess. Mayor Mayoress.

Emperor Empress. Murderer Murderess.

It will be noticed that, besides adding ess, some of the

letters undergo change or are thrown out altogether.

There are other feminine suffixes of a foreign origin, such as

ine, a, and trix.

(i) ine is a Greek ending, and is found in heroine. A similar ending in

landgravine and margravine, the feminines of landgrave (a German

count) and margrave (a lord of the Mark or of marches), is German.

(ii) a is an Italian or Spanish ending, and is found in donna (the

feminine of Don, a gentleman), infanta (= the child, the heiress to the

crown of Spain), sultana, and signora (the feminine of Signor, the

Italian for Senior, elder).

(iii) trix is a purely Latin ending, and is found only in those words

that have come to us directly from Latin; as testator, testatrix (a person

who has made a will), executor, executrix (a person who carries out the

directions of a will).

II. Gender indicated by Prefixes (or by Composition).

13. The distinction between the masculine and the feminine

gender is indicated by using such words as man, maid—bull,

cow—he, she—cock, hen, as prefixes to the nouns men-

tioned. In the oldest English, carl and cwen (= queen) were

employed to mark gender ; and carl-fugol is = cock-fowl, cwen-

fugol = hen-fowl.

14

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

14. The following are the most important words of this

kind :-

Masculine. Feminine.

Man-servant Maid-servant.

Man Woman (= wife-man)

He-goat She-goat

He-ass She-ass.

Jack-ass Jenny-ass.

Jackdaw

Masculine. Feminine.

Bull-calf Cow-calf.

Cock-sparrow Hen-sparrow.

Wether-lamb Ewe-lamb.

Pea-cock Pea-hen.

Turkey-cock Turkey-hen.

(i) In the time of Shakespeare, he and she were used as nouns. We

find such phrases as "The proudest he," "The fairest she," "That not

impossible she."

III. Gender indicated by Different Words.

15. The use of different words for the masculine and the fem-

inine does not really belong to grammatical gender. It may be

well, however, to note some of the most important :-

Masculine. Feminine.

Bachelor Spinster.

Boy Girl.

Brother Sister.

Foal Filly.

Drake Duck.

Drone Bee.

Earl Countess.

Father Mother.

Gander Goose.

Hart Hind.

Horse Mare.

Masculine. Feminine.

Husband Wife.

King Queen.

Lord Lady.

Monk Nun.

Nephew Niece.

Ram (or Wether) Ewe.

Sir Madam.

Sloven Slut.

Son Daughter

Uncle Aunt.

Wizard Witch.

(i) Bachelor, from Low Latin baccalarius, a holder or tenant of a

small farm.

(ii) Girl, Low German gör, a child.

(iii) Filly, the dim. of foal. (When a syllable is added, the previous

vowel is often modified : as in cat, kitten ; cock, chicken ; cook, kitchen.)

(iv) Drake, formerly endrake; end = duck, and rake = king. The

word therefore means king of the ducks. (The word rake appears in

another form in the ric of bishopric = the ric or kingdom or domain

of a bishop.)

(v) Earl, from A.S. eorl, a warrior. Countess comes from the French

word countesse.

(vi) Father = feeder ; cognate of fat, food, feed, fodder, foster, etc.

(vii) Goose ; in the oldest A.S. gons ; Gandr-a (the a being the sign of the masc.). Hence gander, the d being inserted as a cushion between n and r, as in thunder, gender, etc.

(viii) Hart = the horned one.

(ix) Mare, the fem. of A.S. mearh, a horse. Hence also marshal, which at first meant horse-servant.

(x) Husband, from Icelandic, husbuandi, the master of the house. A farmer in Norway is called a bonder.

(xi) King, a contraction of A.S. cyning, son of the kin or tribe.

(xii) Lord, a contraction of A.S. hláford—from hláf, a loaf, and weard, a ward or keeper.

(xiii) Lady, a contraction of A.S. hlaefdige, a loaf-kneader.

(xiv) The old A.S. words were nefa, nefe.

(xv) Woman = wife-man. The pronunciation of women (wimmen) comes nearer to the old form of the word. See note on (iii.)

(xvi) Sir, from French sire (Lat. senior, elder).

(xvii) Madam, from Lat. Mea domina (through the French Ma dame) = my lady.

(xviii) Daughter, probably means milker. Connected with dug.

(xix) Wizard, from old French guiscart, prudent. Witch has no connexion with wizard.

16. All feminine nouns are formed from the masculine, with four exceptions : bridegroom, widower, gander, and drake, which come respectively from bride, widow, goose, and duck.

(i) Bridegroom was in A.S. brýdguma = the bride’s man. (Guma is a cognate of the Lat. hom-o, a man—whence humanity.)

(ii) Widower. The old masc. was widuwa ; the fem. widuwe. It was then forgotten that widuwa was a masculine, and a new masculine had to be formed from widuwe.

Number.

17. Number is, in nouns, the mode of indicating whether we are speaking of one thing or of more.

18. The English language, like most modern languages, has two numbers : the singular and the plural.

(i) Singular comes from the Lat. singuli, one by one; plural, from

the Lat. plures, more (than one).

(ii) Mr Barnes, the eminent Dorsetshire poet, who has written an

excellent grammar, called 'Speech-craft,' calls them onely and somely.

19. There are three chief ways of forming the plural in

English:—

(i) By adding es or s to the singular.

(ii) By adding en.

(iii) By changing the vowel-sound.

20. First Mode.—The plural is formed by adding es or s

to the singular. The following are examples:—

Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural.

Box Boxes. Beef Beeves.

Gas Gases. Loaf Loaves.

Witch Witches. Shelf Shelves.

Hero Heroes. Staff Staves.

Lady Ladies. Thief Thieves.

(i) It will be seen that es in heroes does not add a syllable to the sing.

(ii) Nouns ending in f change the sharp f into a flat v, as in beeves,

etc. But we say roofs, cliffs, dwarfs, chiefs, etc.

(iii) An old singular of lady was ladie; and this spelling is preserved

in the plural. But there has arisen a rule on this point in modern

English, which may be thus stated:—

(a) Y, with a vowel before it, is not changed in the plural.

Thus we write keys, valleys, chimneys, days, etc.

(b) Y, with a consonant before it, is changed into ie when s is

added for the plural. Thus we write ladies, rubies, and also solilo-

quies.

(iv) Beef is not now used as the word for a single ox. Shakespeare

has the phrase 'beef-witted' = with no more sense than an ox.

21. Second Mode.—The plural is formed by adding en or

ne. Thus we have oxen, children, brethren, and kine.

(i) Children is a double plural. The oldest plural was cild-r-u, which

became childer. It was forgotten that this was a proper plural, and en

was added. Brethren is also a double plural. En was added to the old

Northern plural brether—the oldest plural being brothr-u.

(ii) Kine is also a double plural of cow. The oldest plural was cy,

and this still exists in Scotland in the form of kye. Then ne was

added.

22. Third Mode.—The plural is formed by changing the

vowel-sound of the word. The following are examples :—

Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural.

Man Men. Tooth Teeth.

Foot Feet Louse Lice.

Goose Geese. Mouse Mice.

(i) To understand this, we must observe that when a new syllable is

added to a word, the vowel of the preceding syllable is often weakened.

Thus we find nātion, nătional; fox, vixen. Now the oldest plurals of

the above words had an additional syllable ; and it is to this that the

change in the vowel is due.

23. There are in English several nouns with two plural

forms, with different meanings. The following is a list :—

Singular. Plural. Plural.

Brother brothers (by blood) brethren (of a community).

Cloth cloths (kinds of cloth) clothes (garments).

Die dies (stamps for coining) dice (cubes for gaming).

Fish fishes (looked at separately) fish (taken collectively).

Genius geniuses (men of talent) genii (powerful spirits).

Index indexes (ta books) indices (to quantities in algebra).

Pea peas (taken separately) pease (taken collectively).

Penny pennies (taken separately) pence (taken collectively)

Shot shots (separate discharges) shot (balls, collectively)

(i) Pea is a false singular. The s belongs to the root ; and we find in

Middle English “as big as a pease,” and the plurals pesen and peses.

24. Some nouns have the same form in the plural as in the

singular. Such are deer, shoep, cod, trout, mackerel, and

others.

(i) Most of these nouns were, in Old English, neuter.

(ii) A special plural is found in such phrases as: A troop of horse;

a company of foot ; ten sail of the line ; three brace of birds ; six gross of

steel pens; ten stone weight, etc. In fact, the names of numbers,

weights, measures, etc., are not put into the plural form. Thus we say,

ten hundredweight, five score, five fathom, six brace. In Old English we

also said forty year, sixty winter ; and we still say, a twelvemonth, a fort-

night (=fourteen nights).

25. There are in English several false plurals—that is, real

singulars which look like plurals. These are alms, riches, and

eaves.

8

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

(i) Alms is a compressed form of the A.S. aelmesse (which is from the Greek ἐλεημοσυνḗ). We find in Acts iii. 3, “an alms.” The adjective connected with it is eleemosynary.

(ii) Riches comes from the French richesse.

(iii) Eaves is the modern form of the A.S. efese, a margin or edge.

26. There are in English several plural forms that are regarded and treated as singulars. The following is a list:-

Amends.

Odds.

Smallpox.

Gallows.

Pains.

Thanks.

News.

Shambles.

Tidings.

(i) Smallpox = small pokcs.

27. There are many nouns that, from the nature of the case, can be used only in the plural. These are the names of hings (a) That consist of two or more parts; or (b) That are taken in the mass.

(a) The following is a list of the first:-

Bellows.

Pincers.

Shears.

Tweezers.

Drawers.

Pliers.

Snuffers.

Tongs.

Lungs.

Scissors.

Spectacles.

Trousers.

(b) The following is a list of the second:-

Annals.

Dregs.

Lees.

Oats.

Archives.

Embers.

Measles.

Staggers.

Ashes.

Entrails.

Mollasses.

Stocks.

Assets.

Hustings.

Mumps.

Victuals.

It must be noticed that several nouns—some of them in the above class—change their meaning entirely when made plural. Thus—

Singular.

Plural.

Singular.

Plural.

Beef

Beeves.

Iron

Irons.

Copper

Coppers.

Pain

Pains.

Good

Goods.

Spectacle

Spectacles.

28. The English language has adopted many foreign plurals. These, (a) when fully naturalised, make their plurals in the usual English way; (b) when not naturalised, or imperfectly, keep their own proper plurals.

(a) As examples of the first kind, we have—

Bandits, cherubs, dogmas, indexes, memorandums, focuses, formulas, terminuses, etc.

(b) As examples of the second, we find—

Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural.

(1) Latin Animalculum Animalcula. Radix Radices.

Datum Data. Series Series.

Formula Formulæ. Species Species.

Genus Genera. Stratum Strata.

(2) Greek Analysis Analyses. Ellipsis Ellipses.

Axis Axes. Parenthesis Parentheses.

Miasma Miasmata. Phenomenon Phenomena.

(3) French Monsieur Messieurs. Madam Mesdames.

(4) Italian Bandit Banditti. Libretto Libretti.

Dilettante Dilettanti. Virtuoso Virtuosi.

(5) Hebrew Cherub Cherubim. Seraph Seraphim.

(i) The Greek plurals acoustics, ethics, mathematics, optics, politics, etc., were originally adjectives. We now say logic—but logics, which still survives in the Irish Universities—was the older word.

29. Compounds attach the sign of the plural to the leading word, especially if that word be a noun. These may be divided into three classes :—

(a) When the plural sign is added to the Noun, as : sons-in-law, hangers-on, lookers-on, etc.

(b) When the compound word is treated as one word, as : attorney-generals, major-generals, court-martials, spoonfuls, handfuls, etc.

(c) When both parts of the compound take the plural sign, as : men-servants, knights-templars, lords-justices, etc.

CASE.

30. Case is the form given to a noun to show its relation to other words in the sentence. Our language has lost most of these forms; but we still use the word case to indicate the function, even when the form has been lost.

(i) The word case is from the Latin casus, and means a falling. The old grammarians regarded the nominative as the upright case, and all others as fallings from that. Hence the use of the words decline and declension. (Of course the nominative cannot be a real case, because it is upright and not a falling.)

20

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

31. We now employ five cases; Nominative, Possessive.

Dative, Objective, and Vocative.

(i) In Nouns, only one of these is inflected, or has a case-ending—the

Possessive.

(ii) In Pronouns, the Possessive, Dative, and Objective are inflected.

But the inflexion for the Dative and the Objective is the same. Him

and them are indeed true Datives: the old inflection for the Objective

was hine and hi.

32. The following are the definitions of these cases:-

(1) The Nominative Case is the case of the subject.

(2) The Possessive Case indicates possession, or some sim-

ilar relation.

(3) The Dative Case is the case of the Indirect Object,

and also the case following certain verbs.

(4) The Objective Case is the case of the Direct Object.

(5) The Vocative Case is the case of the person spoken

to. It is often called the Nominative of Address.

(i) Nominative comes from the Lat. nomināre, to name. From the

same root we have nominee.

(ii) Dative comes from the Lat dativus, given to.

(iii) Vocative comes from the Lat. vocativus, spoken to or addressed.

33. The Nominative Case answers to the question Who? or

What? It has always a verb that goes with it, and asserts

something about it.

34. The Possessive Case has the ending 's in the singular;

as in the plural, when the plural of the noun ends in n; and '

only when the plural ends in s.

The possessive case is kept chiefly for nouns that are

the names of living beings. We cannot say “the book's

page” or “the box's lid,” though in poetry we can say “the

temple's roof,” etc. There are many points that require to be

specially noted about the possessive:-

(i) The apostrophe (from Gr. apo, away, and strophē, a turning) stands

in the place of a lost e, the possessive in O.E. having been in many

cases es. In the last century the printers always put hop'd, walk'd,

etc., for hoped, walked, etc. The use of the apostrophe is quite modern.

(ii) If the singular noun ends in s, we often, but not always, write Moses' rod, for conscience' sake, Phœbus' fire; and yet we say, and ought to say, Jones's books, Wilkins's hat, St James's, Chambers's Journal, etc.

(iii) We find in the Prayer-Book, " For Jesus Christ his sake." This arose from the fact that the old possessive in es was sometimes written is; and hence the corruption into his. Then it came to be fancied that 's was a short form of his. But this is absurd, for two reasons :—

(a) We cannot say that " the girl's book " is = the girl his book.

(b) We cannot say that " the men's tools " is = the men his tools.

35. How shall we account for the contradictory forms Lord's-day and Lady-day, Thurs-day and Fri-day, Wednes-day and Mon-day, and for the curious possessive in Witenagemot?

(i) Lady-day and Friday are fragments of the possessive of feminine Nouns in O.E. An old feminine possessive ended in an, which was then shortened into ladyë, lastly into lady. So with Frija, the goddess of love; and with Moon, which was masculine. Thus we see that in Lady-day, Friday, and Monday we have old possessives. The word witenagemot means the meet or meeting of the witan, or wise men, the possessive of which was witëna.

36. The Dative Case answers to the question For whom? or To whom? It has no separate form for Nouns; and in Pronouns, its form is the same as that of the Objective. But it has a very clear and distinct function in modern English. This function is seen in such sentences as—

(1) He handed the lady a chair.

(2) Make me a boat !

(3) Woe worth the day ! ( = Woe be to the day !)

(4) Heaven send the Prince a better companion !

(5) Heaven send the companion a better Prince !

(6) "SIRRAH, knock me at this gate,

Rap me here, knock me well, and knock me soundly."

(Shakespeare, "Taming of the Shrew," I. ii. 31.)

(7) Methought I heard a cry !

(8) Hand me the salt, if you please.

Some grammarians prefer to call this the Case of the Indirect Object; but the term will hardly apply to woe and me in (3) and (7). In all the other sentences, the dative may be changed into an objective with the prep. to or for.

(i) In the sixth sentence, the me's are sometimes called Ethical Datives.

(ii) In the seventh sentence, methought is = it seemed to me. There were in O.E. two verbs—thyncan, to seem ; and thenean, to think.

(iii) In the eighth sentence the phrase if you please is. if it please you, and the you is originally a dative.

37. The Objective Case is always governed by an active-transitive verb or a preposition. It answers to the question Whom ? or What ? It is generally placed after the verb. Its form is different from that of the Nominative in pronouns; but is the same in nouns.

(i) The direct object is sometimes called the reflexive object when the nominative and the objective refer to the same person as, “ I hurt myself ;” “ Turn (thon) thee, O Lord ! ” etc.

(ii) When the direct object is akin with the verb in meaning, it is sometimes called the cognate object. The cognate object is found in such phrases as : To die the death ; to run a race ; to fight a fight, etc.

(iii) A second direct object after such verbs as make, create, appoint, think, suffer, etc., is often called the factitive object. For example : The Queen made him a general ; the Board appointed him manager ; we thought him a good man, etc.

Factitive comes from the Latin facere, to make.

38. The difference between the Nominative and the Vocative cases is this : The Nominative case must always have a verb with it ; the Vocative cannot have a verb. This is plain from the sentences :–

(i) John did that.

(ii) Don't do that, John !

39. Two nouns that indicate the same person or thing are said to be in apposition ; and two nouns in apposition may be in any case.

(i) But, though the two nouns are in the same case, only one of them has the sign or inflection of the case. Thus we say, “ John the gardener's mother is dead.” Now, both John and gardener are in the possessive case ; and yet it is only gardener that takes the sign of the possessive.

PRONOUNS.

1. A Pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun.

We say, "John went away yesterday ; he looked quite happy."

In this case the pronoun he stands in the place of John.

(i) The word pronoun comes from the Latin pro, for ; and nomen, a name.

(ii) The above definition hardly applies to the pronoun I. If we say I write, the I cannot have John Smith substituted for it. We cannot say John Smith write. I, in fact, is the universal pronoun for the person speaking ; and it cannot be said to stand in place of his mere name. The same remark applies to some extent to thou and you.

2. The pronouns are among the oldest parts of speech, and have, therefore, been subject to many changes. In spite of these changes, they have kept many of their inflexions ; while our English adjective has parted with all, and our noun with most.

3. There are four kinds of pronouns: Personal; Interrogative; Relative; and Indefinite. The following is a table, with examples of each :-

PRONOUNS.1

Personal Interrogative. Relative. Indefinite

I. Who ? Who. One.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

4. There are three Personal Pronouns: The Personal Pronoun of the First Person; of the Second Person; and of the Third Person.

5. The First Personal Pronoun indicates the person speaking; the Second Personal Pronoun, the person spoken to; and the Third, the person spoken of.

6. The First Personal Pronoun has, of course, no distinction of gender. It is made up of the following forms, which are fragments of different words :-

1 Demonstratives are treated under Adjectives.

24

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Singular.

Plural.

Nominative

I

We.

Possessive

Mine (or My)

Our (or Ours).

Dative

Me

Us.

Objective

Me

Us.

(i) We is not = I + I; because there can be only one I in all the world.

We is really = I + he, I + you, or I + they.

(ii) I can have no vocative as such. If you address yourself, you

must say Thou or You.

(iii) The dative is preserved in such words and phrases as "Me

thinks" ("it seems to me,"—where the think comes from thincan, to

seem, and not from thencan, to think); "Woe is me;" "Give me the

plate ;" "If you please," etc.

7. The Second Personal Pronoun has no distinction of

gender. It has the following forms :-

Singular.

Plural.

Nominative

Thou

You (or Ye).

Possessive

Thine (or Thy)

Your (or Yours).

Dative

Thee

You.

Objective

Thee

You.

Vocative

Thou

You (or Ye).

(i) Ye was the old nominative plural; you was always dative or

objective. "Ye have not chosen me ; but I have chosen you."

(ii) Thou was, from the 14th to the 17th century, the pronoun of

affection, of familiarity, of superiority, and of contempt. This is still

the usage in France of tu and toi. Hence the verb tutoyer.

(iii) My, Thy, Our, Your are used along with nouns; Mine, Thine,

Ours, and Yours cannot go with nouns, and they are always used alone.

Mine and Thine, however, are used in Poetry and in the English Bible

with nouns which begin with a vowel or silent h.

8. The Third Personal Pronoun requires distinctions of

gender, because it is necessary to indicate the sex of the person

we are talking of ; and it has them.

Singular.

Plural.

Masculine.

Feminine.

Neuter.

All Genders.

Nom.

He

She

It

They.

Poss.

His

Her (or Hers)

Its

Their (or Theirs).

Dat.

Him

Her

It

Them.

Obj.

Him

Her

It

Them.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS.

(i) She is really the feminine of the old demonstrative se, seo, thaet; and it has supplanted the old A.S. pronoun heo, which still exists in Lancashire in the form of hoo.

(ii) The old and proper dative of it is him. The old neuter of he was hit, the t being the inflection for the neuter.

(iii) Him, the dative, came to be also used as the objective. The oldest objective was hine.

9. The Personal Pronouns are often used as Reflexive Pronouns. Reflexive Pronouns are (i) datives; or (ii) objectives; or (iii) compounds of self with the personal pronoun. For example :-

(i) Dative : “I press me none but good householders,” said by Fal-staff, in “King Henry IV.,” I. iv. 2, 16. He sat him down.

“I made me no more ado,” I. ii. 4, 223.

“Let every soldier hew him down a bough.”—Macbeth, V. iv. 6.

(ii) Objective : Shakespeare has such phrases as I whipt me; I disrobed me; I have learned me

(iii) Compounds : I bethought myself; He wronged himself; etc.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS.

10. The Interrogative Pronouns are those pronouns which we use in asking questions. They are who, which, what, and whether.

(i) The word interrogative comes from the Latin interrogāre, to ask. Hence also interrogation, interrogatory, etc.

11. Who is both masculine and feminine, and is used only of persons. Its neuter is what. (The t in what, as in that, is the old suffix for the neuter gender.) The possessive is whose; the objective whom. The following are the forms :-

Singular and Plural.

Masculine. Feminine. Neuter.

Nominative Who Who What.

Possessive Whose Whose [Whose.]

Objective Whom Whom What.

26

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

(i) Whom is really a dative, like him. But we now use it only as an

objective.

(ii) Whose may be used of neuters; but it is almost invariably em-

ployed of persons only.

12. Which—formerly hwilc—is a compound word, made up

of hwi, the instr. case of the Old English hwá, who, and

lîc = like. It therefore really means, Of what sort? It now

asks for one out of a number; as, "Here are several kinds of

fruits : which will you have?"

13. Whether is also a compound word, made up of who +

ther; and it means, Which of the two?

(i) The ther in whether is the same as the ther in neither, etc.

RELATIVE OR CONJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS.

14. A Relative Pronoun is a pronoun which possesses two

functions : (i) it stands for a noun; and (ii) it joins two sen-

tences together. That is to say, it is both a pronoun and a con-

junction. For example, we say, "This is the man whose apples

we bought." This statement is made up of two sentences : (i)

"This is the man;" and (ii) "We bought his apples." The

relative pronoun whose joins together the two sentences.

(i) Relative Pronouns might also be called conjunctive pronouns.

(ii) Whose, in the above sentence, is called relative, because it relates

to the word man. Man is called its antecedent, or goer-before.

The word antecedent comes from the Lat. ante, before; and cedo, I go.

15. The Relative Pronouns are that; who, which; what.

As and but are also employed as relatives.

(i) Who, which, and what are also combined with so and ever, and

form Compound Relatives; such as whoso, whosoever, whatsoever,

and whichsoever.

(ii) That is the oldest of our relative pronouns. It is really the neuter

of the old demonstrative adj., se, seo, thaet. It differs from who in two

respects : (a) It cannot be used after a preposition. We cannot say,

"This is the man with that I went." (b) It is generally employed to

limit, distinguish, and define. Thus we say, "The house that I built is

for sale." Here the sentence that I built is an adjective, limiting or de-

fining the noun house. Hence it has been called the defining relative.

Who or which introduces a new fact about the antecedent; that only marks it off from other nouns.

(iii) Who has whose and whom in the possessive and objective—both in the singular and in the plural.

(iv) Which is not to be regarded as the neuter of who. It is the form used when the antecedent is the name of an animal or thing. After a preposition, it is sometimes replaced by where; as wherein = in which; whereto = to which.

(v) What performs the function of a compound relative=that + which. If we examine its function in different sentences, we shall find that it may be equivalent to—

(a) Two Nominatives ; as in ‘This is what he is’ (=the person that).

(b) Two Objectives ; as in “He has what he asked for” (=the thing that).

(c) Nom. and Obj.; as in “This is what he asked for” (=the thing that).

(d) Obj. and Nom.; as in “I know what he is” (=the person that).

(vi) As is the proper relative after the adjectives such and same. “This is the same as I had” is=“This is the same as that which I had.”

(vii) But is the proper relative after a negative; as “There was no man but would have died for her.” Here but = who + not. (This is like the Latin use of quin = qui + non).

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS.

16. An Indefinite Pronoun is a pronoun that does not stand in the place of a noun which is the name for a definite person or thing, but is used vaguely, and without a distinct reference.

17. The chief Indefinite Pronouns are one, none; any; other; and some.

(i) One is the best instance of an indefinite pronoun. It is simply the cardinal one used as a pronoun. In O.E. we used man; and we still find one example in the Bible—Zech. xiii. 5 : “Man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.” One, as an indefinite pronoun, has two peculiarities. It (a) can be put in the possessive case; and (b) can take a plural form. Thus we can say : (a) “One can do what one likes with one’s own ;” and (b) “I want some big ones.”

(ii) None is the negative of one. “None think the great unhappy but the great.” But none is generally plural. No (the adjective) is a short form of none; as a is of an; and my of mine.

(iii) Any is derived from an, a form of one. It may be used as an adjective also—either with a singular or a plural noun. When used as a pronoun, it is generally plural.

(iv) Other is = an ther. The ther is the same as that in either, whether; and it always indicates that one of two is taken into the mind.

(v) Some is either singular or plural. It is singular in the phrase Some one; in all other instances, it is a plural pronoun.

ADJECTIVES.

1. An Adjective is a word that goes with a noun to describe or point out the thing denoted by the noun—and hence to limit the application of the noun; or, more simply,—

Adjectives are noun-marking words.

(i) Adjectives do not assert explicitly, like verbs. They assert implicitly. Hence they are implicit predicates. Thus, if I say, “I met three old men,” I make three statements: (1) I met men; (2) The men were old; (3) The men were three in number. But these statements are not explicitly made.

(ii) Adjectives enlarge the content, but limit the extent of the idea expressed by the noun. Thus when we say “white horses,” we put a larger content into the idea of horse; but, as there are fewer white horses than horses, we limit the extent of the notion.

2. An adjective cannot stand by itself. It must have with it a noun either expressed or understood. In the sentence “The good are happy,” persons is understood after good.

3. Adjectives are of four kinds. They are (i) Adjectives of Quality; (ii) Adjectives of Quantity; (iii) Adjectives of Number; (iv) Demonstrative Adjectives. Or we may say,—

Adjectives are divided into

ADJECTIVES

Qualitative. Quantitative. Numbering. Demonstrative.

These four answer, respectively, to the questions—

(i) Of what sort? (ii) How much? (iii) How many? (iv) Which?

4. Qualitative Adjectives denote a quality of the subject or thing named by the noun; such as blue, white; happy, sad; big, little.

(i) The word qualitative comes from the Lat. qualis=of what sort.

(ii) Most of these adjectives admit of degrees of comparison.

ADJECTIVES.

5. Quantitative Adjectives denote either quantity or indefinite number; and they can go either (i) with the singular,

or (ii) with the plural of nouns, or (iii) with both. The following is a list:-

Any. Certain. Few. Much. Some.

All. Divers. Little. No. Whole.

Both. Enough. Many. Several.

(i) We find the phrases : Little need; little wool; much pleasure; more

sense ; some sleep, etc.

(ii) We find the phrases : All men; any persons; both boys; several

pounds, etc.

(iii) We find the phrases : Any man and any men; no man and no

men; enough corn and soldiers enough; some boy and some boys, etc.

6. Numbering or Numeral Adjectives express the number of

the things or persons indicated by the noun. They are generally

divided into Cardinal Numerals and Ordinal Numerals.

But Ordinal Numerals are in reality Demonstrative Adjectives.

(i) Numeral comes from the Lat. numerus, a number. Hence also

come numerous, numerical, and number (the b serves as a cushion between

the m and the r).

(ii) Cardinal comes from the Lat. cardo, a hinge.

(iii) Ordinal comes from the Lat. ordo, order.

7. Demonstrative Adjectives are those which are used to

point out the thing expressed by the noun ; and, besides indicating a person or thing, they also indicate a relation either to

the speaker or to something else.

(i) Demonstrative comes from the Lat. demonstro, I point out. From the same

root come monster, monstrous, &c.

8. Demonstrative Adjectives are of three kinds : (i) Articles ;

(ii) Adjective Pronouns (often so called) ; and (iii) the Ordinal

Numerals.

(i) There are two articles (better call them distinguishing adjectives)

in our language: a and the. a is a broken-down form of ane, the

northern form of one; and before a vowel or silent h it retains the n.

In some phrases a has its old sense of one; as in "two of a trade ;" "all

of a size," etc.

"An two men ride on a horse, one must ride behind." -

Shakespeare (Much Ado about Nothing, III. v. 40).

(ii) We must be careful to distinguish the article a from the broken-down preposition a in the phrase "twice a week." This latter a is a fragment of on; and the phrase in O.E. was "tuwa on wucan." Similarly, the in " the book " is not the same as the in " the more the merrier." The latter is an old case (instrumental) of thaet ; and is=by that.

(iii) Adjective Pronouns or Pronominal Adjectives are so called because they can be used either as adjectives with the noun, or as pronouns for the noun. They are divided into the following four classes :-

(a) Demonstrative Adjective Pronouns - This, these ; that, those ; yon, yonder.

(b) Interrogative Adjective Pronouns-Which ? what ? whether (of the two) ?

(c) Distributive Adjective Pronouns-Each, every, either, neither.

(d) Possessive Adjective Pronouns--My, thy, his, her, etc. (These words perform a double function. They are adjectives, because they go with a noun ; and pronouns, because they stand for the noun or name of the person speaking or spoken of.)

(iv) The Ordinal Numerals are : First, second, third, etc.

9. Some adjectives are used as nouns, and therefore take a plural form. Thus we have Romans, Christians, superiors, elders, ones, others, nobles, etc. Some take the form of the possessive case, as either's, neither's.

(i) The plural of one as an adjective is two, three, etc. ; of one as a noun, ones. Thus we can say, "These are poor strawberries, bring me better ones." Other numeral adjectives may be used as nouns. Thus Wordsworth, in one of his shorter poems, has-

"The sun has long been set ;

The stars are out by twos and threes ;

The little birds are piping yet

Among the bushes and trees."

(ii) Our language is very whimsical in this matter. We can say Romans and Italians ; but we cannot say Frenches and Dutches. Milton has (Paradise Lost, iii. 438) Chineses.

NUMERALS.

10. Cardinal Numerals are those which indicate numbers alone. Some of them are originally nouns, as dozen, hundred, thousand, and million ; but these may also be used as adjectives.

(i) One was in A.S. an or ane. The pronunciation wun is from a west-ern dialect. It is still rightly sounded in its compounds atone, alone, lonely. None and no are the negatives of one and o (= an and a).

(ii) Two, from A.S. twegen mas.; twa fem. The form twegen appears in twain and twin, the g having been absorbed.

(iii) Eleven = en (one) + lif (ten). Twelve = twe (two) + lif (ten).

(iv) Thirteen = three + ten. The r has shifted its place, as in third.

(v) Twenty = twen (two) + tig (ten). Tig is a noun, meaning "a set of ten." The guttural was lost, and it became ty.

(vi) Score, from A.S. sceran, to cut. Accounts of sheep, cattle, etc., were kept by notches on a stick ; and the twentieth notch was made deeper, and was called the cut—the score.

11. Ordinal Numerals are Adjectives of Relation formed mostly from the Cardinals. They are: First, Second, Third, Fourth, etc.

(i) First is the superlative of fore, with vowel-change.

(ii) Second is not Eng. but Latin. The O.E. for second was other. Second comes (through French) from the Latin, secundus, following—that is, following the first. A following or favourable breeze ("a wind that follows fast") was called by the Romans a "secundus ventus." Secundus comes from Lat. sequor, I follow. Other words from the same root are sequel, consequence, etc.

(iii) Third, by transposition, from A.S. thridda. A third part was called a thriding (where the r keeps its right place) ; as a fourth part was a fourthing or farthing. Thriding was gradually changed into Riding, one of the three parts into which Yorkshire was divided.

(iv) In eigh-th, as in eigh-teen, a t has vanished.

THE INFLEXION OF ADJECTIVES.

12. The modern English adjective has lost all its old inflexions for gender and case, and retains only two for number. These two are these (the plural of this) and those (the plural of that).

(i) The older plural was thise—pronounced these, and then so spelled. In this instance, the spelling, as so seldom happens, has followed the pronunciation. In general in the English language, the spelling and the pronunciation keep quite apart, and have no influence on each other.

(ii) Those was the oldest plural of this, but in the 14th century it came to be accepted as the plural of that.

13. Most adjectives are now inflected for purposes of comparison only.

14. There are three Degrees of Comparison: the Positive; the Comparative; and the Superlative.

(i) The word degree comes from the French degré, which itself comes from the Latin gradus, a step. From the same root come grade, gradual, degrade, etc.

15. The Positive Degree is the simple form of the adjective.

16. The Comparative Degree is that form of the adjective which shows that the quality it expresses has been raised one step or degree higher. Thus we say sharp, sharper; cold, colder; brave, braver. The comparative degree brings together only two ideas. Thus we may speak of "the taller of the two," but not "of the three."

Comparative comes from the Lat. compăro, I bring together.

17. The Comparative degree is formed in two ways: either (i) by adding er to the positive; or (ii) if the adjective has two syllables (the last ending in a consonant) or more, by placing the adverb more before the adjective.

Rules: I. A silent e is dropped; as brave, braver.

II. A y after a consonant is changed into i before er, etc.; as happy, happier.

III. A final consonant after a short vowel is doubled; as red, redder; cruel, crueller.

IV. In choosing between er and more, sound and custom seem to be the safest guides. Thus we should not say selecter, but more select; not infirmar, but more infirm. Carlyle has beautifulest, etc.; but his is not an example to be followed.

18. The Superlative Degree is that form of the adjective which shows that the quality it expresses has been raised to the highest degree. The superlative degree requires that three things, or more, be compared. Thus "He is the tallest of the two " would be incorrect.

Superlative comes from the Lat. superlativus, lifting up above.

ADJECTIVES.

19. The Superlative degree is formed in two ways: either (i) by adding est to the positive; or (ii) if the adjective has two syllables (the last ending in a consonant) or more, by placing the adverb most before the adjective.

(i) Happiest; most recent; most beautiful.

20. Some adjectives, from the very nature of the ideas they express, do not admit of comparison. Such are golden, wooden; left, right; square, triangular; weekly, monthly; eternal, perpetual, etc.

21. The most frequently used adjectives have irregular comparisons. The following is a list:-

Positive Comparative Superlative Positive Comparative Superlative

Bad worse worst. Late later latest.

Evil worse worst. Late latter last.

Ill worse worst. Little less least.

Far farther farthest. Many more most.

[Forth] further furthest. Much more most.

Fore former foremost. Nigh igher nighest (next).

Good better best. Old older oldest.

Hind hinder hindmost. Old elder eldest.

[Rather] rather [ratest.]

(i) Worse and worst come, not from bad, but from A.S. wyrsa. The s in worse is a part of the root; and the full comparative is really worser, which was used in the 16th century (Shakespeare, "Hamlet," III. iv. 157). Worst = worstest.

(ii) The th in farther is intrusive. Farther is formed on a false analogy with further; as could (from can) is with would (from will). Farther is used of progression in space; further, of progression in reasoning.

(iii) Former was in A.S. forma (=first). It is a superlative form with a comparative sense.

(iv) Better comes from A.S. bet = good—a root which was found in betan, to make good, and in the phrase to boot = "to the good."

(v) Later and latest refer to time; latter and last to position in space or in a series. Last is as by assimilation from latst; as best is from betst.

(vi) Less does not come from the lit in little; but from A.S. laës-sa, from the base las, weak. Least = laesest.

(vii) Nighest is contracted into next; as highest was into hext. Thus gh + s = k + s = x.

(viii) We say "the oldest man that ever lived," and "the eldest of

the family." Older and oldest refer to mere number; elder and eldest

to a family or corporate group.

(ix) Rathe is still found in poetry. Milton has "the rathe primrose,

that forsaken dies ;" and Coleridge, "twin buds too rathe to bear the

winter's unkind air." The Irish pronunciation rayther is the old Eng-

lish pronunciation.

(x) Hind is used as an adjective in the phrase "the hind wheels."

22. The following are defective comparatives and superla-

tives :-

Positive Comparative. Superlative.

[Aft] after —

[In] inner innermost.

[Out] outer (or utter) outermost (or uttermost).

— nether nethermost.

— over —

[Up] upper uppermost.

(i) After, as an adjective, is found in aftermath and afterthought.

(ii) In is used as an adjective in the word in-side; and as a noun in

the phrase "the ins and outs" of a question.

(iii) In the inns of law, the utter-bar (outer-bar) is opposed to the

inner-bar.

(iv) The neth in nether is the same as the neath in beneath.

(v) The ov in over is the ove in above, and is a dialectic form of up.

It is still found in such names as Over Leigh in Cheshire, and Over

Darwen in Lancashire.

(vi) Hindm·st, utterm·st, are not compounds of most, but are

double superlatives. There was an old superlative ending ema, which

we see in Lat. extrēmus, suprēmus, etc. It was forgotten that this was

a superlative, and est or ost was added. Thus we had hindema, mid-

ema. These afterwards became hindmost and midmost.

THE VERB.

1. The Verb is that "part of speech" by means of which

we make an assertion.

It is the keystone of the arch of speech.

(i) The word verb comes from the Lat. verbum, a word. It is so

called because it is the word in a sentence. If we leave the verb out

of a sentence, all the other words become mere nonsense. Thus we can

say, " I saw him cross the bridge." Leave out saw, and the other words

have no meaning whatever.

(ii) A verb has sometimes been called a telling word, and this is a

good and simple definition for young learners.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF VERBS.

2. Verbs are divided into two classes — Transitive and

Intransitive.

3. A Transitive Verb denotes an action or feeling which,

as it were, passes over from the doer of the action to the

object of it. "The boy broke the stick ;" "he felled the

tree ;" "he hates walking."

In these sentences we are able to think of the action of breaking and

felling as passing over to the stick and the tree.

Transitive comes from the Lat. verb transire, to pass over.

The more correct definition is this :-

A Transitive Verb is a verb that requires an object.

This definition covers the instances of have, own, possess, inherit, etc.,

as well as break, strike, fell, etc.

4. An Intransitive Verb denotes a state, feeling, or action

which does not pass over, but which terminates in the doer or

agent. "He sleeps ;" "she walks ;" "the grass grows."

5. There is, in general, nothing in the look or appearance

of the verb which will enable us to tell whether it is transitive

or intransitive. A transitive verb may be used intransitively ;

an intransitive verb, transitively. In a few verbs we possess

a causative form. Thus we have :-

Intransitive. Causative. Intransitive. Causative.

Bite1 Bait. Lie Lay.

Drink1 Drench. Rise Raise.

Fall Fell. Sit Set.

1 These are also used transitively.

The following exceptional usages should be diligently

noted :-

I. Intransitive verbs may be used transitively. Thus—

(i) (a) He walked to London. (b) He walked his horse.

(a) The eagle flew. (b) The boy flew his kite.

(ii) When the intransitive verb is compounded with a pre-

position either (i) separable, or (ii) inseparable.

(i) (a) He laughed.

(b) He laughed-at me.

(ii) (a) He came.

(b) He overcame the enemy.

(iii) (a) He spoke.

(b) He bespoke a pair of boots.

Such verbs are sometimes called "Prepositional Verbs."

II. Transitive verbs may be used intransitively—

(i) With the pronoun itself understood :-

(a) He broke the dish.

(b) The sea breaks on the rocks.

(a) She shut the door.

(b) The door shut suddenly.

(a) They moved the table.

(b) The table moved.

(ii) When the verb describes a fact perceived by the senses :-

(a) He cut the beef.

(b) The beef cuts tough.

(a) He sold the books.

(b) The books sell well.

(a) She smells the rose.

(b) The rose smells sweet.

The following is a tabular view of the

THE INFLEXIONS OF VERBS.

6. Verbs are changed or modified for Voice, Mood, Tense,

Number, and Person. These changes are expressed, partly by

inflexion, and partly by the use of auxiliary verbs.

(i) A verb is an auxiliary verb (from Lat. auxilium, aid) when its

own full and real meaning drops out of sight, and it aids or helps the

verb to which it is attached to express its meaning. Thus we say, "He

works hard that he may gain the prize ;" and here may has not its old

meaning of power, or its present meaning of permission. But—

(ii) If we say "He may go," here may is not used as an auxiliary,

but is a notional verb, with its full meaning ; and the sentence is =

"He has leave to go."

THE VERB.

37

Voice.

7. Voice is that form of the Verb by which we show whether the subject of the statement denotes the doer of the action, or the object of the action, expressed by the verb.

8. There are two Voices : the Active Voice, and the Passive Voice.

(i) When a verb is used in the active voice, the subject of the sentence stands for the doer of the action. "He killed the mouse."

(ii) When a verb is in the passive vo'ce, the subject of the sentence stands for the object of the action. "The mouse was killed."

Or we may say that, in the passive voice the grammatical subject denotes the real object.

(iii) There is in English a kind of middle voice. Thus we can say, "He opened the door" (active); "The door was opened" (passive); "The door opened" (middle). In the same way we have, "This wood cuts easily ;" "Honey tastes sweet ;" "The book sold well," etc.

9. An Intransitive Verb, as it can have no direct object, cannot be used in the passive voice. But, as we have seen, we can make an intransitive into a transitive verb by adding a preposition ; and hence we can say :-

Active. Passive.

(a) They laughed at him. (b) He was laughed-at by them.

(a) The general spoke to him. (b) He was spoken-to by the general.

10. In changing a verb in the active voice into the passive, we may make either (i) the direct or (ii) the indirect object into the subject of the passive verb.

Active. Passive.

1. They offered her a chair. (i) A chair was offered her.

(ii) She was offered a chair.

2. They showed him the house. (i) The house was shown him.

(ii) He was shown the house.

3. I promised the boy a coat. (i) A coat was promised the boy.

(ii) The boy was promised a coat.

The object after the passive verb is not the real object of that verb, for a passive verb cannot rightly take an object. It is left over, as it were, from the active verb, and is hence sometimes called a Retained Object.

38

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

11. The passive voice of a verb is formed by using a part

of the verb to be and the past participle of the verb. Thus

we say—

Active. Passive. Active Passive.

I beat. I am beaten. I have beaten. I have been beaten.

(i) Some intransitive verbs form their perfect tenses by means of the

verb to be and their past participle, as “I am come ;” “He is gone.”

But the meaning here is quite different. There is no mark of anything

done to the subject of the verb.

(ii) Shakespeare has the phrases: is run; is arrived; are marched

forth; is entered into; is stolen away.

Mood.

12. The Mood of a verb is the manner in which the state-

ment made by the verb is presented to the mind. Is a

statement made directly? Is a command given? Is a state-

ment subjoined to another? All these are different moods or

modes. There are four moods: the Indicative; the Impera-

tive; the Subjunctive; and the Infinitive.

(i) Indicative comes from the Lat. indicāre, to point out.

(ii) Imperative comes from the Lat. imperāre, to command. Hence

also emperor, empress, etc. (through French).

(iii) Subjunctive comes from Lat. subjungĕre, to join on to.

(iv) Infinitive comes from Lat. infinitus, unlimited; because the verb

in this mood is not limited by person, number, etc.

13. The Indicative Mood makes a direct assertion, or puts

a question in a direct manner. Thus we say: “John is ill ;”

“Is John ill?”

14. The Imperative Mood is the mood of command,

request, or entreaty. Thus we say: “Go!” “Give me the

book, please;” “Do come back!”

(i) The Imperative Mood is the simple form of the verb without any

inflexion.

(ii) It has in reality only one person—the second.

15. The Subjunctive Mood is that form of the verb which

is used mainly in a sentence subjoined to a principal

sentence,—and which does not express a fact directly, but

only the relation of a fact to the mind of the speaker.

Most often it expresses both doubt and futurity. Thus we

say: (i) “O that he were here!” (ii) “Love not sleep, lest

thou come to poverty.” (iii) “Whoever he be, he cannot be

a good man.”

(i) In the first sentence, the person is not here.

(ii) In the second, the person spoken to has not come to poverty ; but

he may.

(iii) In the third, we do not know who the person really is.

(iv) The Subjunctive Mood, in modern English, has lost many of its

older uses.

16. The Infinitive Mood is that form of the verb which

has no reference to any agent, and is therefore unlimited by

person or by number. It is the verb itself, pure and simple.

(i) The preposition to is not an essential part nor a necessary sign of

the infinitive. The oldest sign of it was the ending in an. After may,

can, shall, will, must, bid, dare, do, let, make, hear, see, feel, need, the

simple infinitive, without to, is still used.

(ii) The Infinitive is really a noun, and it may be (a) either in the

nominative or (b) in the obj. case. Thus we have: (a) (a) “To err is

human ; to forgive, divine ;” and (b) “I wish to go.”

(iii) In O.E. it was partly declined ; and the dative case ended

in anne or enne. Then to was placed before this dative, to indicate

purpose. Thus we find, “The sower went out to sow,” when, in O.E.

to sow was to sawenni. This, which is now called the gerundial infinitive,

has become very common in English. Thus we have, “I came to see

you ;” “A house to let.” “To hear him (= on hearing him) talk, you

would think he was worth millions.”

(iv) We must be careful to distinguish between (a) the pure Infinitive

and (b) the gerundial Infin tive. Thus we say—

(a) I want to see him. (b) I went to see him. The latter is the

gerundial infinitive—that is, the old dative.

(c) The gerundial infinitive is attached (1) to a noun; and (2) to an

adjective. Thus we have such phrases as—

(1) Bread to eat; water to drink; a house to sell.

(2) Wonderful to relate; quick to take offence, eager to go.

17. A Gerund is a noun formed from a verb by the addition

of ing. It may be either (i) a subject; or (ii) an object; or

(iii) it may be governed by a preposition. It has two functions :

that of a noun, and that of a verb—that is, it is itself a noun,

and it has the governing power of a verb.

(i) Reading is pleasant. (ii) I like reading. (iii) He got off by cross-

ing the river. In this last sentence, crossing is a noun in relation to by,

and a verb in relation to river.

Gerund comes from the Lat. gero, I carry on ; because it carries on

the power or function of the verb.

(ii) The Gerund must be carefully distinguished from three other

kinds of words : (a) from the verbal noun, which used to end in ung ;

(b) from the present participle ; and (c) from the infinitive with to.

The following are examples :-

(a) "Forty and six years was this tem-

(a) "He was punished for robbing the

ple in building." Here building is a

orchard." Here robbing is a gerund, be-

verbal noun.

cause it is a noun and also governs a noun.

(b) "Dreaming as he went along, he

(b) "He was tired of dreaming such

fell into the brook." Here dreaming has

dreams." Here dreaming is a gerund,

the function of an adjective agreeing with

because it is a noun and governs a noun.

he, and is therefore a participle.

(c) "To write is quite easy, when one

(c) "He comes here to write his letters."

has a good pen." Here to write is a pres-

Here to write is the gerundial infinitive ;

ent infinitive, and is the nominative to is.

it is in the dative case ; and the O.E.

(It must not be forgotten that the oldest

form was to writanne. Here the to has

infinitive had no to, and that it still exists

a distinct meaning. This is the so-

in such lines as "Better

called "infinitive of purpose ;" but it is

dwell in the midst of alarms, than reign

a true gerund. In the seventeenth cen-

in this horrible place."

tury, when the sense of the to was weak-

ened, it took a for,—"What went ye out

for to see?"

(iii) The following three words in ing have each a special function :-

(a) He is reading about the passing of Arthur (verbal noun).

(b) And Arthur, passing thence (participle), rode to the wood.

(c) This is only good for passing the time (gerund).

18. A Participle is a verbal adjective. There are two par-

ticiples : the Present Active and the Perfect Passive. The

former (i) has two functions : that of an adjective and that

of a verb. The latter (ii) has only the function of an adjective.

(i) "Hearing the noise, the porter ran to the gate." In this sentence,

hearing is an adjective qualifying porter, and a verb governing noise.

(ii) Defeated and discouraged, the enemy surrendered.

1. We must be very careful to distinguish between (a) the gerund in

ing, and (b) the participle in ing. Thus running in a "running stream"

is an adjective, and therefore a participle. In the phrase, "in running

along," it is a noun, and therefore a gerund. Milton says—

" And ever, against eating cares,

Lap me in soft Lydian airs !"

Here eating is an adjective, and means fretting; and it is therefore a

participle. But if it had meant cares about eating, eating would have

been a noun, and therefore a gerund. So a fishing-rod is not a rod

that fishes; a frying-pan is not a pan that fries; a walking-stick is not

a stick that walks. The rod is a rod for fishing; the pan, a pan for

frying; the stick, a stick for walking; and therefore fishing, frying,

and walking are all gerunds.

2. The word participle comes from Lat. participāre, to partake of.

The participle partakes of the nature of the verb. (Hence also par-

ticipate.)

Tense.

19. Tense is the form which the verb takes to indicate time.

There are three times : past, present, and future. Hence there

are in a verb three chief tenses: Past, Present, and Future.

These may be represented on a straight line :—

TENSES.

Past. Present. Future.

I wrote. I write. I shall write.

(i) The word tense comes to us from the Old French tens, which is

from the Lat. tempus, time. Hence also temporal, temporary, etc. (The

modern French word is temps.)

20. The tenses of an English verb give not only the time of

an action or event, but also the state or condition of that

action or event. This state may be complete or incomplete,

or neither—that is, it is left indefinite. These states are

oftener called perfect, imperfect, and indefinite. The con-

dition, then, of an action as expressed by a verb, or the con-

dition of the tense of a verb, may be of three kinds. It may

be—

(i) Complete or Perfect, as Written.

(ii) Incomplete or Imperfect, as Writing.

(iii) Indefinite, as Write.

42

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

We now have therefore—

TENSES.

Past.

Perfect. Indef. Imperf.

Had written. Wrote. Was writing.

Present.

Perfect. Indef. Imperf.

Have written. Write. Am writing.

Future.

Perfect. Indef. Imperf.

Shall have written. Shall write. Shall be writing.

(i) The only tense in our language that is formed by inflexion is the past indefinite. All the others are formed by the aid of auxiliaries.

(a) The imperfect tenses are formed by be + the imperfect participle.

(b) The perfect tenses are formed by have + the perfect participle.

(ii) Besides had written, have written, and will have written, we can say had been writing, have been writing, and will have been writing. These are sometimes called Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Continuous, Perfect Continuous, and Future Perfect Continuous.

(iii) “I do write,” “I did write,” are called Emphatic forms.

NUMBER.

21. Verbs are modified for Number. There are in verbs two numbers : (i) the Singular and (ii) the Plural.

(i) We say, “He writes” (with the ending s).

(ii) We say, “They write” (with no inflectional ending at all).

PERSON.

22. Verbs are modified for Person—that is, the form of the verb is changed to suit (i) the first person, (ii) the second person, or (iii) the third person.

(i) “I write.” (ii) “Thou writest.” (iii) “He writes.”

CONJUGATION.

23. Conjugation is the name given to the sum-total of all the inflexions and combinations of the parts of a verb

The word conjugate comes from the Lat. conjugare, to bind together.

24. There are two conjugations in English—the Strong and the Weak. Hence we have: (i) verbs of the Strong Conjugation, and (ii) verbs of the Weak Conjugation, which are more usually called Strong Verbs and Weak Verbs. These verbs are distinguished from each other by their way of forming their past tenses.

25. The past tense of any verb determines to which of these classes it belongs; and that by a twofold test—one positive and one negative.

26. (i) The positive test for the past of a Strong Verb is that it changes the vowel of the present. (ii) The negative test is that it never adds anything to the present to make its past tense.

(i) Thus we say write, wrote, and change the vowel.

(ii) But in wrote there is nothing added to write.

27. (i) The positive test for the past tense of a Weak Verb is that d or t is added to the present. (ii) The negative test is that the root-vowel of the present is generally not changed.

(i) There are some exceptions to this latter statement. Thus tell, told; buy, bought; sell, sold, are weak verbs. The change in the vowel does not spring from the same cause as the change in strong verbs. Hence—

(ii) It is as well to keep entirely to the positive test in the case of weak verbs. However, “strong” or “irregular” may seem to be the verbs teach, taught; seek, sought; say, said, we know that they are weak, because they add a d or a t for the past tense.

(iii) In many weak verbs there seems to be both a change of vowel and also an absence of any additicn. Hence they look like strong verbs. In fact, the long vowel of the present is made short in the past. Thus we find meet, met; feed, fed. But these verbs are not strong. The old past was mette and fedde; and all that has happened is that they have lost the old inflexions te and de. It was owing to the addition of another syllable that the original long vowel of the verb was shortened. Compare nation, national; vain, vanity.

(iv) The past or passive participle of strong verbs had the suffix en and the prefix ge. The suffix has now disappeared from many strong verbs, and the prefix from all. But ge, which in Chaucer’s time had become y (as in ycomen, yronnen), is retained still in that form in the one word yclept. Milton’s use of it in star-y-pointing is a mistake.

44

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

28. The following is an

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF STRONG VERBS.

(All strong verbs except those which have a prefix are monosyllabic.)

The forms in italics are weak.

Pres. Past. Pass. Part. Pres. Past. Pass. Part.

Abide abode abode. Fly flew flown.

Arise arose arisen. Forbear forbore forborne.

Awake awoke awoke Forget forgot forgotten.

(awaked) (awaked). Forsake forsook forsaken.

Bear bore born. Freeze froze frozen.

(bring forth) Get got got, gotten.

Bear bore borne. Give gave given.

(carry) Go went gone.

Beat beat beaten. Grind ground ground.

Begin began begun. Grow grew grown.

Behold beheld beheld Hang hung hung,

(behelden). (hanged) hanged.

Bid bade, bid bidden, bid. Hold held held.

Bind bound bound. Know knew known.

Bite bit bitten, bit. Lie lay lain.

Blow blew blown. Ride rode ridden.

Break broke broken. Ring rang rung.

Burst burst burst. Rise rose risen.

Chide chid chidden, Run ran run.

chid. See saw seen.

Choose chose chosen. Seethe sod(seethed) sodden.

Cleave clove cloven. Shake shook shaken.

(split) Shine shone shone.

Climb clomb (climbed). Shoot shot shot.

Cling clung clung. Shrink shrank shrunk.

Come came come. Sing sang sung.

Crow crew crown Sink sank sunk,

(crowed). sunken.

Dig dug dug. Sit sat sat.

Do did done. Slay slew slain.

Draw drew drawn. Slide slid slid.

Drink drank drunk, Sling slung slung.

drunken. Slink slunk slunk.

Drive drove driven. Smite smote smitten.

Eat ate eaten. Speak spoke spoken.

Fall fell fallen. Spin spun spun.

Fight fought fought. Spring sprang sprung.

Find found found. Stand stood stood.

Fling flung flung. Stave stove staved.

Pres. Past. Pass. Part. Pres. Past. Pass. Part.

Steal stole stolen. Thrive throve thriven

Stick stuck,1 stuck. Throw threw thrown.

Sting stung stung. Tread trod trodden,

Stink stank stunk. Wake woke (waked).

Stride strode stridden. Wear wore worn.

Strike struck struck. Weave wove woven.

String strung strung. Win won won.

Strive strove striven. Wind wound wound.

Swear swore sworn. Wring wrung wrung.

Swim swam swum. Write wrote written.

Swing swung swung.

Take took taken.

Tear tore torn.

It is well for the young learner to examine the above verbs

closely, and to make a classification of them for his own use.

The following are a few suggestions towards this task :--

(i) Collect verbs with vowels a, e, a ; like fall, fell, fallen.

(ii) Verbs with o, e, o ; like throw, threw, thrown.

(iii) Verbs with i, a, u ; like begin, began, begun.

(iv) Verbs with i, n, u ; like fling, flung, flung.

(v) Verbs with i, ou, ou ; like find, found, found.

(vi) Verbs with ea, o, o ; like break, broke, broken.

(vii) Verbs with i, a, i ; like give, gave, given.

(viii) Verbs with a, o or oo, a ; like shake, shook, shaken.

(ix) Verbs with i (long), o, i (short) ; like drive, drove, driven.

(x) Verbs with ee or oo, o, o ; like freeze, froze, frozen ; or choose,

chose, chosen.

29. Weak Verbs are of two kinds: (i) Irregular Weak ;

and (ii) Regular Weak. The Irregular Weak are such verbs

as tell, told; buy, bought. The Regular Weak are such

verbs as attend, attended; obey, obeyed.

(i) The Irregular Weak verbs are, with very few exceptions, mono-

syllables, and are almost all of purely English origin.

(ii) The Regular Weak verbs are generally of Latin or of French

origin. Since the language lost the power of changing the root-vowel

of a verb, every verb received into our tongue from another language

has been placed in the Regular Weak conjugation.

1 The past tenses of dig and stick were formerly weak.

30. Irregular Weak verbs are themselves divided into two

classes : (i) those which keep their ed, d, or t in the past

tense ; (ii) those which have lost the d or t. Thus we find

(i) sleep, slept; teach, taught. Among (ii) we find feed, fed,

which was once fed-dĕ; set, set, which was once set-tĕ.

It is of the greatest importance to attend to the following

changes :-

(i) A sharp consonant in the spoken language follows a sharp, and a

flat a flat. Thus p in sleep is sharp, and therefore we cannot say sleeped.

We must take the sharp form of d, which is t, and say slept.

(ii) Some verbs shorten their vowel. Thus we have hear, heard;

flee, fled; sleep, slept, etc.

(iii) Some verbs have different vowels in the present and past : as

tell, told; buy, bought; teach, taught; work, wrought. But it is not

the past tense, it is the present that has changed.

(iv) Some have dropped an internal letter. Thus made is=maked;

paid=payed; had=haved.

(v) Some verbs change the d of the present into a t in the past. Thus

we have build, built; send, sent.

(vi) A large class have the three parts—present, past, and passive

participle—exactly alike. Such are rid, set, etc.

The following is an

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF IRREGULAR WEAK VERBS.

Class I.

Pres. Past. Pass. Part. Pres. Past. Pass. Part.

Bereave bereft bereft. Dwell dwelt dwelt.

Beseech besought besought. Feel felt felt.

Bring brought brought. Flee fled fled.

Burn burnt burnt. Grave graved graven.

Buy bought bought. Have had had.

Catch caught caught. Hew hewed hewn.

Cleave cleft cleft. Hide hid hidden.

(split)

Creep crept crept. Keep kept kept.

Deal dealt dealt. Kneel knelt knelt.

Dream dreamt dreamt. Lay laid laid.

Lean leant leant.

Pres. Past. Pass Part. | Pres. Past. Pass. Part.

Learn learnt learnt. Shear sheared shorn.

Leap leapt leapt. Shoe shod shod.

Leave left left. Show showed shown.

Lose lost lost. Sleep slept slept.

Make made made. Sow sowed sown.

Mean meant meant. Spell spelt spelt.

Pay paid paid. Spill spilt spilt.

Pen pent pent. Strew strewed strewn.

(penned) Sweep swept swept.

Rap (to rapt rapt. Swell swelled swollen.

transport) Teach taught taught.

Rive rived riven. Tell told told.

Rot rotted rotten.1 Think thought thought.

Say said said. Weep wept wept.

Seek sought sought. Work wrought wrought.1

Sell sold sold. worked worked.

Shave shaved shaven.

1 Rotten and wrought are now used as adjectives, and not as passive participles ; cp. wrought iron, rotten wood.

Pres. Past. Pass. Part. | Pres. Past. Pass. Part.

Bend bent bent. Meet met met

Bleed bled bled. Put put put.

Blend blent blent. Read read read.

Breed bred bred. Rend rent rent.

Build built built. Rid rid rid.

Cast cast cast. Send sent sent.

Clothe clad clad Set set set.

(clothed) (clothed). Shed shed shed.

Cost cost cost. Shred shred shred.

Cut cut cut. Shut shut shut.

Feed fed fed. Slit slit slit.

Gild gilt gilt (gilded). Speed sped sped.

Gird girt girt. Spend spent spent.

Hear heard heard. Spit spit spit.

Hit hit hit. Split split split.

Hurt hurt hurt. Spread spread spread.

Knit knit knit. Sweat sweat sweat.

Lead led led. Thrust thrust thrust.

Lend lent lent. Wend wended wended.

Let let let. or went

Light lit (lighted) lit (lighted). Wet wet wet.

48

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

31. Before we can learn the full conjugation of a verb, we

must acquaint ourselves with all the parts of the auxiliary

verbs—Shall and Will ; Have and Be.

(i) If be means existence merely (as in the sentence GOD IS), it is

called a notional verb ; if it is used in the formation of the passive

voice, it is an auxiliary verb. In the same way, have is a notional

verb when it means to possess, as in the sentence, “I have a shilling.”

32. The following are the parts of the verb Shall :—

Indicative Mood.

Present Tense.

Singular.

1. I shall.

2. Thou shal-t.

3. He shall.

Plural.

1. We shall.

2. You shall.

3. They shall.

Past Tense.

Singular.

1. I shoul-d.

2. Thou shoul-d-st

3. He shoul-d.

Plural.

1. We shoul-d.

2. You shoul-d.

3. They shoul-d.

Imp. Mood ——. Inf. Mood ——. Participles ——.

33. The following are the parts of the verb Will :—

Indicative Mood.

Present Tense.

Singular.

1. I will.

2. Thou wil-t.

3. He will.

Plural.

1. We will.

2. You will.

3. They will.

Past Tense.

Singular.

1. I woul-d.

2. Thou woul-d-st.

3. He woul-d.

Plural.

1. We woul-d.

2. You woul-d.

3. They woul-d.

Imp. Mood ——. Inf. Mood ——. Participles ——.

(i) Shall and will are used as Tense-auxiliaries. As a tense-auxiliary,

shall is used only in the first person. Thus we say, I shall write ;

thou wilt write ; he will write—when we speak merely of future time.

(ii) Shan't is = shall not. Won't is = wol not, wol being another form of will. We find wol also in wolde—an old spelling of would.

(iii) Shall in the 1st person expresses simple futurity ; in the 2d and 3d persons, authority. Will in the 1st person expresses determination ; in the 2d and 3d, only futurity.

34. The following are the parts of the verb Have:-

Indicative Mood.

Present Indefinite Tense.

Singular.

1. I have.

2. Thou ha-st.

3. He ha-s.

Plural.

1. We have.

2. You have.

3. They have.

Present Perfect Tense.

Singular.

1. I have had.

2. Thou hast had.

3. He has had.

Plural.

1. We have had.

2. You have had.

3. They have had.

Past Indefinite Tense.

Singular.

1. I had.

2. Thou had-st.

3. He had.

Plural.

1. We had.

2. You had.

3 They had.

Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Tense.

Singular.

1. I had had.

2. Thou hadst had.

3. He had had.

Plural.

1. We had had.

2. You had had.

3. They had had.

Future Indefinite Tense.

Singular.

1. I shall have.

2. Thou wilt have.

3. He will have.

Plural.

1. We shall have.

2. You will have.

3. They will have.

Future Perfect Tense.

Singular.

1. I shall have had.

2. Thou wilt have had.

3. He will have had.

Plural.

1. We shall have had.

2. You will have had.

3. They will have had.

50

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Subjunctive Mood.

Present Indefinite Tense.

Singular.

1. I have.

2. Thou have.

3. He have.

Plural.

1. We have.

2. You have.

3. They have.

Present Perfect Tense.

Singular.

1. I have had.

2. Thou have had.

3. He have had.

Plural.

1. We have had.

2. You have had.

3. They have had.

Past Indefinite Tense.

Same in form as the Indicative.

Past Perfect Tense.

Same in form as the Indicative.

Imperative Mood.—Singular Have !

Plural: Have !

Infinitive Mood.—Present Indefinite : (To) have.

Perfect : (To) have had.

Participles.—Imperfect : Having.

Past (or Passive) : Had.

Compound Perfect (Active) : Having had.

35. The following are the parts of the verb Be :-

Indicative Mood.

Present Indefinite Tense.

Singular.

1. I am.

2. Thou art.

3. He is.

Plural.

1. We are.

2. You are.

3. They are.

Present Perfect Tense.

Singular.

1. I have been.

2. Thou hast been.

3. He has been.

Plural.

1. We have been.

2. You have been.

3. They have been.

THE VERB.

Past Indefinite Tense.

Singular.

1. I was.

2. Thou wast or wert.

3. He was.

Plural.

1. We were.

2. You were.

3. They were.

Past Perfect (Pluperfect) Tense.

Singular.

1. I had been.

2. Thou hadst been.

3. He had been.

Plural.

1. We had been.

2. You had been.

3. They had been.

Future Indefinite Tense.

I shall be, etc.

Future Perfect Tense.

I shall have been, etc.

Subjunctive Mood.

Present Indefinite Tense.

Singular.

1. I be.

2. Thou be.

3. He be.

Plural.

1. We be.

2. You be.

3. They be.

Present Perfect Tense.

Singular.

1. I have been.

2. Thou have been.

3. He have been.

Plural.

1. We have been.

2. You have been.

3. They have been.

Past Indefinite Tense.

Singular.

1. I were.

2. Thou wert.

3. He were.

Plural.

1. We were.

2. You were.

3. They were.

Past Perfect (Pluperfect) Tense.

(Same in form as the Indicative.)

Singular.

1. I had been.

2. Thou hadst been.

3. He had been.

Plural.

1. We had been.

2. You had been.

3. They had been.

52

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Imperative Mood.—Singular : Be !

Plural : Be !

Infinitive Mood.—Present Indefinite : (To) be.

Present Perfect : (To) have been

Participles.—Present : Being.

Past : Been.

Compound : Having been.

We find the short simple form BE ! in Coleridge's line—

" Be, rather than be called, a child of God!"

(i) It is plain from the above that the verb Be is made up of fragments

of three different verbs. As when, in a battle, several companies of a

regiment have been severely cut up, and the fragments of those that

came out safely are afterwards formed into one company, so has it been

with the verb be. Hence the verb ought to be printed thus :-

Am

was

been.

(ii) Am is a different verb from was and been. The m in am is the

same as the m in me, and marks the first person. The t in art is the

same as the th in thou, and marks the second person. Compare wil-t

and shal-t. Is has lost the suffix th. The Germans retain this, and say

ist. Are is not the O.E. plural, which was sind or sindon. The word

are was introduced by the Danes.

(iii) Was is the past tense of the old verb wesan, to be. In some of

the dialects of England it appears as war—the German form.

(iv) Be is a verb without present or past tense.

(v) (a) Be is a notional or principal verb when it means to exist, as

" God is." (b) It is also a principal verb when it is used as a joiner or

copula, as in the sentence, "John is a teacher," where the is enables us

to connect John and teacher in the mind. In such instances it is called

a Copulative Verb or Copula.

36. The Auxiliary Verbs have different functions.

(i) The verb Be is a Voice (and sometimes a Tense) Auxiliary. It enables us to turn the active into the passive voice, and to form the imperfect tenses.

(ii) May, should, and let are Mood Auxiliaries. May and should help us to make the compound subjunctive tenses ; and let is employed in the Imperative Mood to form a kind of third person. Thus Let him go is = Go he!

(iii) Have, Shall, and Will, are Tense Auxiliaries. With the aid of have, we form the perfect tenses ; with the help of shall and will, the future tenses.

(iv) Can is a defective verb with only one mood, the Indicative, and two tenses, the Present and the Past.

Present. I can ; thou canst, etc.

Past. I could ; thou couldst, etc.

Could is a weak form. The l has no right there : it has crept in from a false analogy with should and would. Chaucer always writes coude or couthe.

(v) May is also defective, having only the Indicative Mood and the Present and Past Tenses.

Present. I may ; thou mayest, etc.

Past. I might ; thou mightest, etc.

The O.E. word for may was maegan. The g is still preserved in the gh of the past tense. The guttural sound indicated by g or gh has vanished from both.

(vi) Must is the past tense of an old verb motan, to be able.

It is used only in the Indicative Mood, sometimes in the Present, sometimes in the Past Tense ; but the form is the same for both tenses.

It expresses the idea of necessity.

54

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

37. The following is the full conjugation of a verb :-

ACTIVE VOICE.

Indicative Mood.

1 - I. Present Indefinite Tense.

I strike.

Present Imperfect Tense.

I am striking.

24 - Present Perfect Tense.

I have struck.

Present Perfect Continuous.

I have been striking.

2 - II. Past Indefinite Tense.

I struck.

Past Imperfect Tense.

I was striking.

5 - Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Tense.

I had struck.

Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Continuous.

I had been striking.

3 - III. Future Indefinite Tense.

I shall strike.

Future Imperfect Tense.

I shall be striking.

lo - Future Perfect Tense.

I shall have struck.

Future Perfect Continuous.

I shall have been striking.

Subjunctive Mood.

I. Present Indefinite Tense.

(If) I, thou, he strike.

Present Imperfect Tense.

(If) I, thou, he be striking.

THE VERB.

Present Perfect Tense.

(If) I, thou, he have struck.

Present Perfect Continuous.

(If) I, thou, he have been striking.

II. Past Indefinite Tense.

(If) I, thou, he struck.

Past Imperfect Tense.

(If) I, thou, he were striking.

Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Tense.

(Same in form as the Indicative.)

Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Continuous.

(Same in form as the Indicative.)

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

Present Tense.

Singular. 2. Strike (thou)! Plural. 2. Strike (ye)!

INFINITIVE MOOD.

1. Present Indefinite, . . (To) strike.

2. Present Imperfect, . . (To) be striking.

3. Present Perfect, . . . (To) have struck.

4. Present Perfect Continuous, (To) have been striking.

5. Future Indefinite, . . (To) be about to strike.

PARTICIPLES.

1. Indefinite and Imperfect, . Striking.

2. Present Perfect, . . . Having struck.

3. Perfect Continuous, . . Having been striking.

GERUNDS.

1. Striking. 2. To strike.

PASSIVE VOICE.

Indicative Mood.

I. Present Tense.

I am struck (am being struck).

Present Perfect Tense.

I I have been struck.

56

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

II. Past Tense.

I was struck (was being struck).

Past Perfect Tense.

I had been struck.

III. Future Indefinite Tense.

I shall be struck.

Future Perfect Tense.

I shall have been struck.

Subjunctive Mood.

I. Present Tense.

(If) I, thou, he be struck.

Present Perfect Tense.

(If) I, thou, he have been struck.

II. Past Tense.

(If) I, thou, he were struck (were being struck).

Past Perfect Tense.

(If) I had been struck.

Imperative Mood.

Present Tense.

Singular. 2. Be struck ! Plural. 2. Be struck !

Infinitive Mood.

1. Present Indefinite, . . (To) be struck.

2. Imperfect, . . . (None.)

3. Present Perfect, . . . (To) have been struck.

Participles.

1. Past Indefinite, . . . Struck.

2. Imperfect, . . . Being struck.

3. Present Perfect, . . . Having been struck.

4. Future, . . . Going or about to be struck.

Gerunds.

(None.)

ADVERBS.

ADVERBS.

1. An Adverb is a word which goes with a verb, with an adjective, or with another adverb, to modify its meaning :-

(i) He writes badly. Here badly modifies the verb writes.

(ii) The weather is very hot. Here very modifies the adjective hot.

(iii) She writes very rapidly. Here rapidly modifies writes, and very, rapidly.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERBS.

2. Adverbs—so far as their function is concerned—are of two kinds : (i) Simple Adverbs and (ii) Conjunctive Adverbs.

(i) A Simple Adverb merely modifies the word it goes with. A Conjunctive Adverb has two functions : (a) it modifies, and (b) joins one sentence with another. Thus, if I say “ He came when he was ready,” the adverb when not only modifies the verb came, and shows the time of his coming, but it joins together the two sentences “ He came” and “he was ready.”

3. Adverbs—so far as their meaning is concerned—are of several kinds. There are Adverbs : (i) of Time, (ii) of Place, (iii) of Number, (iv) of Manner, (v) of Degree, (vi) of Assertion, and (vii) of Reasoning :-

(i) Of Time : Now, then ; to-day, to-morrow ; by-and-by, etc.

(ii) Of Place : Here, there ; hither, thither ; hence, thence, etc.

(iii) Of Number : Once, twice, thrice ; singly, two by two, etc.

(iv) Of Manner : Well, ill ; slowly, quickly ; better, worse, etc.

(v) Of Degree : Very, little ; almost, quite ; all, half; etc.

(vi) Of Assertion : Nay, yea ; no, aye ; yes, etc.

(vii) Of Reasoning : Therefore, wherefore ; thus ; consequently.

THE COMPARISON OF ADVERBS.

4. Adverbs, like adjectives, admit of degrees of comparison. Thus we can say, John works hard ; Tom works harder ; but William works hardest of all.

58

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

5. The following are examples of

Irregular Comparison in Adverbs.

Positive. Comparative. Superlative.

Ill (or Badly) worse worst.

Well better best.

Much more most.

Little less least.

Nigh (or Near) nearer next.

Forth further furthest.

Far farther farthest.

Late later last.

latter latest.

(Rathe) rather

(i) Worse (adv.) comes from A.S. wyrs. Shakespeare has worser.

(ii) Much is an adverb in the phrase much better.

(iii) Little is an adverb in the phrase little inclined.

(iv) Next = nighest; and so we had also hext = highest. Near is really the comparative of nigh.

(v) Farrer would be the proper comparative. Chaucer has farré, and this is still found in Yorkshire. The th in farther comes from a false analogy with forth, further, furthest.

(vi) Late is an adverb in the phrase He arrived late.

(vii) "Till rathe she rose, half-cheated in the thought."—Tennyson ('Lancelot and Elaine').

CONNECTIVES.

1. There is, in grammar, a class of words which may be called joining words or connectives. They are of two classes :

(i) those which join nouns or pronouns to some other word ;

and (ii) those which join sentences. The first class are called Prepositions ; the second Conjunctions.

PREPOSITIONS.

2. A Preposition is a word which connects a noun or pronoun with a verb, an adjective, or another noun or pronoun.

(It thus shows the relation between things, or between a thing and an action, etc.)

(i) He stood on the table. Here on joins a verb and a noun.

(ii) Mary is fond of music. Here of joins an adjective and a noun.

(iii) The man at the door is waiting. Here at joins two nouns.

The word preposition comes from the Lat. præ, before, and positus, placed. We have similar compounds in composition and deposition.

3. The noun or pronoun which follows the preposition is in the objective case, and is said to be governed by the preposition.

(i) But the preposition may come at the end of the sentence. Thus we can say, “This is the house we were looking at.” But at still governs which (understood) in the objective. We can also say, “Whom were you talking to ?”

4. Prepositions are divided into two classes : (i) simple ; and (ii) compound.

(i) The following are simple prepositions : at, by, for, in, of, off, on, out, to, with, up.

(ii) The compound prepositions are formed in several ways :-

(a) By adding a comparative suffix to an adverb : after, over.

(b) By prefixing a preposition to an adverb : above, about, before, behind, beneath, but (=be-out), throughout, within, etc.

(c) By prefixing a preposition to a noun : aboard, across, around, among, beside, outside, etc.

(d) By prefixing an adverb or adverbial particle to a preposition : into, upon, until, etc.

(iii) The preposition but is to be carefully distinguished from the conjunction but. “All were there but him.” Here but is a preposition. “We waited an hour ; but he did not come.” Here but is a conjunction. But, the preposition, was in O.E. be-ûtan, and meant on the outside of, and then without. The old proverb, “Touch not the cat but a glove,” means “without a glove.”

(iv) Down was adown=of down=off the down or hill.

(v) Among was =on gemong, in the crowd.

(vi) There are several compound prepositions made up of separate words : instead of, on account of, in spite of, etc.

(vii) Some participles are used as prepositions : notwithstanding, concerning, respecting. The prepositions except and save may be regarded as imperatives.

5. The same words are used sometimes as adverbs, and sometimes as prepositions. We distinguish these words by their function. They can also be used as nouns or as adjectives.

60 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

(i) .Thus we find the following words used either as

Adverbs or as Prepositions.

(1) Stand up ! (1) The boy ran up the hill.

(2) Come on ! (2) The book lies on the table.

(3) Be off ! (3) Get off the chair.

(4) He walked quickly past. (4) He walked past the church.

(ii) Adverbs are sometimes used as nouns, as in the sentences, “I have met him before now.” “He is dead since then.”

(iii) In the following we find adverbs used as adjectives : “thine often infirmities ;” “the then king,” etc.

(iv) A phrase sometimes does duty as an adverb, as in “from beyond the sea ;” “from over the mountains,” etc.

CONJUNCTIONS.

6. A Conjunction is a word that joins words and sentences together.

E.g.—“Two and three are five,” or “John came and James left.” In the first case it is obvious that “and” joins words only, as, in the second case, it joins sentences.

7. Conjunctions are of two kinds: (i) Co-ordinative; and (ii) Subordinative.

(i) Co-ordinative Conjunctions are those which connect co-ordinate sentences and clauses—that is, sentences neither of which is dependent on the other. The following is a list : And, both, but, either—or, neither—nor.

(ii) Subordinative Conjunctions are those which connect subordinate sentences with the principal sentence to which they are subordinate. The type of a subordinative conjunction is that, which is really the demonstrative pronoun. “I know that he has gone to London” is=“He has gone to London : I know that.”

(iii) The following is a list of subordinative conjunctions : After, before; ere, till; while, since; lest; because, as; for; if; unless; though; whether—or; than.

INTERJECTIONS.

1. Interjections are words which have no meaning in themselves, but which give sudden expression to an emotion of the mind. They are no real part of language ; they do not enter into the build or organism of a sentence. They have no grammatical relation to any word in a sentence, and are there-

fore not, strictly speaking, "parts of speech." Thus we say, Oh !

Ah ! Alas ! and so on; but the sentences we employ would be

just as complete--in sense--without them. They are extra-

grammatical utterances.

(i) The word interjection comes from the Lat. inter, between, and

jactus, thrown.

(ii) Sometimes words with a meaning are used as interjections. Thus

we say, Welcome ! for "You are well come." Good-bye ! for God be with

you ! The interjection "Now then !" consists of two words, each of

which has a meaning ; but when employed interjectionally, the compound

meaning is very different from the meaning of either.

(iii) In written and printed language, interjections are followed by the

mark (!) of admiration or exclamation.

WORDS KNOWN BY THEIR FUNCTIONS,

AND NOT BY THEIR INFLEXIONS.

1. The Oldest English. —When our language first came over

to this island, in the fifth century, our words possessed a large

number of inflexions; and a verb could be known from a noun,

and an adjective from either, by the mere look of it. Verbs

had one kind of inflexion, nouns another, adjectives a third;

and it was almost impossible to confuse them. Thus, in O.E.

(or Anglo-Saxon) thunder, the verb, was thunrian—with the

ending an; but the noun was thunor, without any ending at

all. Then, in course of time, for many and various reasons,

the English language began to lose its inflexions; and they

dropped off very rapidly between the 11th and the 15th cen-

turies, till, nowadays, we possess very few indeed.

2. Freedom given by absence of Inflexions.—In the 16th

century, when Shakespeare began to write, there were very

few inflexions; the language began to feel greater liberty,

greater ease in its movements ; and a writer would use the same

word sometimes as one part of speech, and sometimes as another.

Thus Shakespeare himself uses the conjunction but both as a

verb and as a noun, and makes one of his characters say, "But

me no buts ! " He employs the adverb askance as a verb, and

says, "From their own misdeeds they askance their eyes." He

has the adverb backward with the function of a noun, as in the

phrase "The backward and abysm of time." Again, he gives

us an adverb doing the work of an adjective, as in the phrases

"my often rùmination," "a seldom pleasure." In the same

way, Shakespeare has the verbs "to glad" and "to mad." Very

often he uses an adjective as a noun; and "a fair" is his phrase

for "beauty," — "a pale" for "a paleness." He carries this

power of using one "part of speech" for another to the most

extraordinary lengths. He uses happy for to make happy;

unfair for to deface; to climate for to live; to bench for to sit;

'9 false for to falsify; to path for to walk; to verse for to speak

of in verse; and many others. Perhaps the most remarkable is

where he uses tongue for to talk of, and brain for to think of. In

"Cymbeline" he says :-

" 'Tis still a dream ; or else such stuff as madness

Will tongue, and brain not. . . ."

3. Absence of Inflexions.—At the present time, we have lost

almost all the inflexions we once had. We have only one for

the cases of the noun ; none at all for ordinary adjectives (ex-

cept to mark degrees) ; a few in the pronoun ; and a few in the

verb. Hence we can use a word sometimes as one part of

speech, and sometimes as another. We can say, "The boys had

a good run ;" and "The boys run very well." We can say,

"The train travelled very fast," where fast is an adverb, modi-

fying travelled; and we can speak of "a fast train." We can

use the phrase, "The very man," where very is an adjective

marking man; and also the phrase "A very good man," where

very is an adverb modifying the adjective good.

4. Function.—It follows that, in the present state of our

language, when we cannot know to what class a word belongs

by its look, we must settle the matter by asking ourselves what

is its function. We need not inquire what a word is; but we

must ask what it does. And just as a bar of iron may be used

as a lever, or as a crowbar, or as a poker, or as a hammer, or as

a weapon, so a word may be an adjective, or a noun, or a verb,

—just as it is used.

5. Examples.—When we say, “He gave a shilling for the

book,” for is a preposition connecting the noun book with the

verb gave. But when we say, “Let us assist them, for our case

is theirs,” the word for joins two sentences together, and is hence

a conjunction. In the same way, we can contrast early in the

proverb, “The early bird catches the worm,” and in the sentence

“He rose early.” Hard in the sentence “He works hard ” is an

adverb; in the phrase “A hard stone” it is an adjective. Right

is an adverb in the phrase “Right reverend;” but an adjective

in the sentence “That is not the right road.” Back is an adverb

in the sentence “He came back yesterday;” but a noun in the

sentence “He fell on his back.” Here is an adverb, and where

“Thou losest here, a better where to find,”

Shakespeare employs these words as nouns. The, in ninety-nine

cases out of a hundred, is an adjective ; but in such phrases as

“The more, the merrier,” it is an adverb, modifying merrier and

more. Indeed, some words seem to exercise two functions at

the same time. Thus Tennyson has—

“Slow and sure comes up the golden year,”—

where slow and sure may either be adverbs modifying comes, or

adjectives marking year; or both. This is also the case with

the participle, which is both an adjective and a verb; and with

the gerund, which is both a verb and a noun.

6. Function or Form ?—From all this it appears that we are

not merely to look at the form of the word, we are not merely

to notice and observe; but we must think—we must ask our-

selves what the word does, what is its function? In other

words, we must always—when trying to settle the class to which

a word belongs—ask ourselves two questions—

(i) What other word does it go with? and

(ii) What does it do to that word?

S Y N T A X.

INTRODUCTORY.

1. The word Syntax is a Greek word which means arrangement. Syntax, in grammar, is that part of it which treats of the relations of words to each other in a sentence.

2. Syntax is usually divided into two parts, which are called Concord and Government.

(i) Concord means agreement. The chief concords in grammar are those of the Verb with its Subject; one Noun with another Noun; the Pronoun with the Noun it stands for; the Relative with its Antecedent.

(ii) Government means the influence that one word has upon another. The chief kinds of Government are those of a Transitive Verb and a Noun; a Preposition and a Noun.

I.—SYNTAX OF THE NOUN.

1.—THE NOMINATIVE CASE.

Rule I.—The Subject of a sentence is in the Nominative Case.

Thus we say, I write; John writes: and both I and John—the subjects in these two sentences—are in the nominative case.

Rule II.—When one noun is used to explain or describe another, the two nouns are said to be in Apposition; and they are always in the same case.

SNTAX OF THE NOUN.

65

Thus we find in Shakespeare's Henry V., i. 2. 188 :-

" So work the honey-bees,

Creatures that by a rule in Nature teach

The art of order to a peopled kingdom."

Here bees is the nominative to work ; creatures is in apposition with

bees, and hence is also in the nominative case. (Of course, two nouns

in apposition may be in the objective case, as in the sentence, "We met

John the gardener.")

(i) The words in apposition may be separated from each other, as in

Cowper's well-known line about the postman :-

" He comes, the herald of a noisy world."

RULE III.—The verb to be, and other verbs of a like nature,

take two nominatives—one before and the other after.

Thus we find such sentences as—

(i) General Wolseley is an able soldier.

(ii) The long-remembered beggar was his guest.

In the first sentence Wolseley and soldier refer to the same person ;

beggar and guest refer to the same person ; and all that the verbs is

and was do is to connect them. They have no influence whatever upon

either word. When is (or are) is so used, it is called the copula.

RULE IV.—The verbs become, be-called, be-named, live,

turn-out, prove, remain, seem, look, and others, are of an

appositional character, and take a nominative case after them

as well as before them.

Thus we find :-

(i) Tom became an architect.

(ii) The boy is called John.

(iii) He turned out a dull fellow.

(iv) She moves a goddess ; and she looks a queen.

On examining the verbs in these sentences, it will be seen that they

do not and cannot govern the noun that follows them. The noun be-

fore and the noun after designate the same person.

RULE V.—A Noun and an Adjective, or a Noun and a Par-

ticiple, or a Noun and an Adjective Phrase,—not syntactically

connected with any other word in the sentence,—are put in the

Nominative Absolute.

Thus we have:—

(i) “She earns a scanty pittance, and at night

Lies down secure, her heart and pocket light.”—Cowper.

(ii) ‘The wind shifting, we sailed slowly.

(iii) “Next Anger rushed, his eyes on fire.”—Collins.

(iv) Dinner over, we went up-stairs.

The word absolutus means freed; and the absolute case has been freed from,

and is independent of, the construction of the sentence.

Remarks.—1. In the oldest English (or Anglo-Saxon), the

absolute case was the Dative; and this we find even as late as

Milton (1608-1674), who says—

“Him destroyed,

All else will follow.”

2. Caution! In the sentence, “Pompey, having been de-

feated, fled to Africa,” the phrase having been defeated is at-

tributive to Pompey, which is the noun to fled. But, in the

sentence, “Pompey having been defeated, his army broke up,”

Pompey—not being the noun to any verb—is in the nominative

absolute. Hence, if a noun is the nominative to a verb,

it cannot be in the nominative absolute.

Remarks on Exceptions.

1. The pronoun It is often used as a Preparatory Nomina-

tive, or—as it may also be called—a Representative Subject.

Thus we say, “It is very hard to climb that hill,” where it

stands for the true nominative, to-climb-that-hill.

2. The nominative to a verb in the Imperative Mood is

usually omitted. Thus Come along ! = Come thou (or ye) along !

SYNTAX OF THE NOUN.

67

2.—THE POSSESSIVE CASE.

Rule VI.—When one Noun stands in the relation of an

attribute to another Noun, the first of these nouns is put in

the Possessive Case.

(i) The Possessive Case originally denoted mere possession, as John's

book ; John's gun. But it has gradually gained a wider reference ; and

we can say, “The Duke of Portland's funeral,” etc.

(ii) The objective case with of is= the possessive ; and we can say,

“The might of England,” instead of “England's might.”

Rule VII.—When (i) two or more Possessives are in apposi-

tion, or (ii) when several nouns connected by and are in the

possessive case, the sign of the possessive is affixed to the

last only.

(i) Thus we find : (i) For thy servant David's sake. (ii) Messrs Simp-

kin & Marshall's house.

The fact is, that Messrs Simpkin-&-Marshall, and other such phrases,

are regarded as one compound phrase.

(ii) The sentence, “This is a picture of Turner's,” is =“This is a

picture (one) of Turner's pictures.” The of governs, not Turner's, but

pictures. Hence it is not a double possessive, though it looks like it.

The phrase, “a friend of mine,” contains the same idiom ; only mine is used

in place of my, because the word friend has been suppressed.

3.—THE OBJECTIVE CASE.

1. The Objective Case is that case of a noun or pronoun

that is “governed by ” a transitive verb or by a preposition.

It is only the pronoun that has a special form for this case.

The English noun formerly had it, but lost it between the years 1066

and 1300.

68

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

2. The Objective Case is the case of the Direct Object;

the Dative Case is the case of the Indirect Object—and

something more.

(i) The Direct Object answers to the question Whom? or What?

(ii) The Indirect Object answers to the question To whom? To what?

or For whom? For what?

3. The object of an active-transitive verb must always be a

Noun or the Equivalent of a Noun.

Rule VIII.—The Direct Object of an Active-Transitive

Verb is put in the Objective Case.

Thus we read: (i) We met the man (Noun). (ii) We met him

(Pronoun). (iii) We saw the fighting (Verbal Noun). (iv) I like to

work (Infinitive). (v) I heard that he had left (Noun clause).

Rule IX.—Verbs of teaching, asking, making, appoint-

ing, etc., take two objects.

Thus we say: (i) He teaches me grammar. (ii) He asked me a

question. (iii) They made him manager. (iv) The Queen appointed

him Treasurer.

In the last two instances the objects are sometimes called factitive

objects.

Rule X.—Some Intransitive Verbs take an objective case

after them, if the objective has a similar or cognate meaning

to that of the verb itself.

Thus we find: (i) To die the death. (ii) To sleep a sleep. (iii) To

go one's way. To wend one's way. (iv) To run a race. (v) Dreaming

dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.

Such objects are called cognate objects.

Rule XI.—The limitations of a Verb by words or phrases

expressing space, time, measure, etc., are said to be in the

objective case; as (i) he walked three miles; (ii) he travelled all night; (iii) the stone weighed three pounds.

1. Because these words limit or modify the verbs to which they are attached, they are sometimes called Adverbial Objectives.

2. The following phrases are adverbial objectives of the same kind :

(i) They bound him hand and foot. (ii) They fell upon him tooth and nail. (iii) They turned out the Turks, bag and baggage. Such phrases are rightly called adverbial, because they modify bound, fell, and turned; and show how he was bound, how they fell upon him, etc.

Remarks on Exceptions.

1. The same verb may be either Intransitive or Transitive, according to its use. Thus—

Intransitive.

(i) The soldier ran away.

(ii) The man works very hard.

(iii) We walked up the hill.

Transitive.

(i) The soldier ran his spear into the Arab.

(ii) The master works his men two hard.

(iii) The groom walked the horse up the hill.

2. An Intransitive verb performs the function of a Transitive verb when a preposition is added to it. Thus—

Intransitive.

(i) The children laughed.

(ii) The man spoke.

Transitive.

(i) The children laughed at the clown.

(ii) The man spoke of wild beasts.

3. The preposition may continue to adhere to such a verb, so that it remains even when the verb has been made passive.

Thus we can say : (i) He was laughed-at. (ii) Whales were spoken-of. (iii) Prosecution was hinted-at. And this is an enormous convenience in the use of the English language.

4.—THE DATIVE CASE.

1. The Dative is the case of the Indirect Object.

Thus we say : He handed her a chair. She gave it me.

2. The Dative is also the case which is used with

such verbs as be, worth, seem, please, think (= seem); and

with the adjectives like and near.

Thus we have the phrases, meseems; if you please (=if it please

you); methought (=it seemed to me); woe is me! and, she is like

him; he was near us.

"Woe worth the chase! woe worth the day

That cost thy life, my gallant grey!"

—"Lady of the Lake."

"When in Salamanca's cave

Him listed his magic wand to wave,

The bells would ring in Notre-Dame."

—"Lay of the Last Minstrel."

3. N.B.—It is to be noted that the Dative survives ety-

mologically (as in meadow from A.S. méd-we, dative of médlu,

or as in whilom and seldom, where the om represents a dative

case-ending in um, etc.) but not grammatically, so far as

the present form of the case is concerned.

RULE XII.—Verbs of giving, promising, telling, showing,

etc., take two objects; and the indirect object is put in the

dative case.

Thus we say: He gave her a fan. She promised me a book. Tell us

a story. Show me the picture-book.

RULE XIII.—When such verbs are turned into the passive

voice, either the Direct or the Indirect Object may be turned

into the Subject of the Passive Verb. Thus we can say

either—

Direct Object used as Subject. Indirect Object used as Subject.

(i) A fan was given her. (i) She was given a fan.1

(ii) A book was promised me. (ii) I was promised a book.1

(iii) A story was told us. (iii) We were told a story.1

(iv) The picture-book was shown (iv) I was shown the picture-book.1

me.

1 This has sometimes been called the Retained Object. The words

fan, etc., are in the objective case, not because they are governed by the

passive verbs was given, etc., but because they still retain, in a latent

form, the influence or government exercised upon them by the active

verbs, give, promise, etc.

SYNIAX OF THE ADJECTIVE.

71

Remarks on Exceptions.

1. The Dative of the Personal Pronoun was in frequent use

in the time of Shakespeare to add a certain liveliness and in-

terest to the statement.

Thus we find, in several of his plays, such sentences as—

(i) “He plucked me ope his doublet.”

(ii) “Villain, I say, knock me at this gate, and rap me well.”

(iii) “Your tanner will last you nine year.”

Grammarians call this kind of dative the ethical dative.

2. The Dative was once the Absolute Case.

“They have stolen away the body, us sleeping.”

—Wyclif's Bible.

II.—SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE.

1. In our Old English—the English spoken before the coming

of the Normans, and for some generations after—every adjec-

tive agreed with its noun in gender, number, and case; and

even as late as Chaucer (1340-1400) adjectives had a form for

the plural number. Thus in the Prologue to the ‘Canterbury

Tales,’ he writes—

“And smale fowles maken melodie,”

where e is the plural inflexion.

2. In course of time, partly under the influence of the Nor-

mans and the Norman language, all these inflexions dropped

off; and there are now only two adjectives in the whole lan-

guage that have any inflexions at all (except for comparison),

and these inflexions are only for the plural number. The two

adjectives that are inflected are the demonstrative adjectives

this and that, which make their plurals in these (formerly thise)

and those.

(1) The, which is a broken-down form of thai, never changes at all.

(ii) When an adjective is used as a noun, it may take a plural inflec-

tion; as the blacks, goods, equals, edibles, annuals, monthlies, weeklies, etc.

3. Most adjectives are inflected for comparison.

72

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

4. Every adjective is either an explicit or an implicit predicate. The following are examples :-

Adjectives used as Explicit Predicates.

1. The way was long ; the wind was cold.

2. The minstrel was infirm and old.

3. The duke is very rich.

Adjectives used as Implicit Predicates.

1. We had before us a long way and a cold wind.

2. The infirm old minstrel went wearily on.

3. The rich duke is very niggardly.

4. When an adjective is used as an explicit predicate, it is said to be used predicatively; when it is used as an implicit predicate, it is said to be used attributively.

Adjectives used predicatively.

1. The cherries are ripe.

2. The man we met was very old.

Adjectives used attributively.

1. Let us pluck only the ripe cherries.

2. We met an old man.

Rule XIV.—An adjective may qualify a noun or pronoun predicatively, not only after the verb be, but after such intransitive verbs as look, seem, feel, taste, etc.

Thus we find: (i) She looked angry. (ii) He seemed weary. (iii) He felt better. (iv) It tasted sour. (v) He fell ill.

Rule XV.—After verbs of making, thinking, considering, etc., an adjective may be used factitively as well as predicatively.

Thus we can say, (i) We made all the young ones happy. (ii) All present thought him odd. (iii) We considered him very clever.

Factitive comes from the Latin facio, I make.

Rule XVI.—An adjective may, especially in poetry, be used as an abstract noun.

Thus we speak of “the True, the Good, and the Beautiful;” “the sublime and the ridiculous;” Mrs Browning has the phrase, “from the depths of God’s divine”; and Longfellow speaks of

“A band

Of stern in heart and strong in hand,”

SYNTA X OF THE ADJECTIVE.

73

RULE XVII.—An adjective may be used as an adverb in poetry.

Thus we find in Dr Johnson the line—

“Slow rises worth, by poverty depressed;”

and in Scott—

“Trip it deft and merrily;”

and in Longfellow—

“The green trees whispered low and mild;”

and in Tennyson—

“And slow and sure comes up the golden year.”

(i) The reason for this is that in O E. adverbs were formed from adjectives by adding e. Thus brightæ was=brightly, and deepe=deeply. But in course of time the e fell off, and an adverb was just like its own adjective. Hence we still have the phrases : “He works hard;” “Run quick!” “Speak louder!” “Run fast!” “Right reverend,” etc.

(ii) Shakespeare very frequently uses adjectives as adverbs, and has such sentences as: “Thou didst it excellent!” “’Tis noble spoken!” and many more.

RULE XVIII.—A participle is a pure adjective, and agrees with its noun.

Thus, in Pope—

“How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot,

The world forgetting, by the world forgot!”

where forgetting, the present active participle, and forgot, the past passive participle, both agree with vestal (“the vestal’s lot” being=the lot of the vestal).

(i) But while a participle is a pure adjective, it also retains one function of a verb—the power to govern. Thus in the sentence, “Respecting ourselves, we shall be respected by the world,” the present participle respecting agrees with we, and governs our“selves.

RULE XIX.—The comparative degree is employed when two things or two sets of things are compared; the superlative when three or more are compared.

Thus we say “James is taller than I; but Tom is the tallest of the three.”

(i) Than is a dialectic form of then. “James is taller; then I (come).”

(ii) The superlative is sometimes used to indicate superiority to all others. Thus Shakespeare says, “A little ere the mightiest Julius fell;” and we use such phrases as, “Truest friend and noblest foe.” This is sometimes called the “superlative of pre-eminence.”

(iii) Double comparatives and superlatives were much used in O.E., and Shakespeare was especially fond of them. He gives us such phrases as, “a more larger list of sceptres,” “more better,” “more nearer,” “most worst,” “most unkindest cut of all,” etc. These cannot be employed now.

74

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Rule XX.—The distributive adjectives each, every, either, neither, go with singular nouns only.

Thus we say : (i) Each boy got an apple. (ii) Every noun is in its place. (iii) Either book will do. (iv) Neither woman went.

Either and neither are dialectic forms of other and nother, which were afterwards compressed into or and nor.

III.—SYNTAX OF THE PRONOUN.

Rule XXI.—Pronouns, whether personal or relative, must agree in gender, number, and person with the nouns for which they stand, but not (necessarily) in case.

Thus we say : “I have lost my umbrella: it was standing in the corner.”

(i) Here it is neuter, singnlar, and third person, because umbrella is neuter, singular, and third person.

(ii) Umbrella is in the objective case governed by have lost; but it is in the nominat ve, because it is the subject to its own verb was standing.

Rule XXII.—Pronouns, whether personal or relative, take their case from the sentence in which they stand.

Thus we say : “The sailor whom we met on the beach is ill.” Here sailor is in the nominative, and whom, its pronoun, in the objective.

(i) Whom is in the objective, because it is governed by the verb met in its own sentence. “The sailor is ill” is one sentence. “Him (whom = and him) we met” is a second sentence.

(ii) The relative may be governed by a preposition, as “The man on whom I relied has not disappointed me.”

Rule XXIII.—Who, whom, and whose are used only of rational beings ; which of irrational; that may stand for nouns of any kind.

(i) Whose may be used for of which. Thus Wordsworth, in the ‘Laodamia,’ has—

“In worlds whose course is equable and pure.”

SYNTAX OF THE PRONOUN.

Rule XXIV.—The possessive pronouns mine, thine, ours, yours, and theirs can only be used predicatively; or, if used as a subject, cannot have a noun with them.

Thus we say: “This is mine.” “Mine is larger than yours.” But in older English mine and thine are used for my and thy before a noun :

“Who knoweth the power of thine anger?”

Rule XXV.—After such, same, so much, so great, etc.: the relative employed is not who, but as.

Thus Milton has—

“Tears such as angels weep.”

(i) Shakespeare uses as even after that—

“That gentleness as I was wont to have.”

This usage cannot now be employed.

Remarks on Exceptions.

1. The antecedent to the relative may be omitted.

Thus we find, in Wordsworth’s “Ode to Duty”—

“There are Λ who ask not if thine eye Be on them.”

And Shakespeare, in “Othello,” iii. 3, 157, has—

“Λ Who steals my purse, steals trash.”

And we have the well-known Greek proverb—

“Λ Whom the gods love, die young.”

2. The relative itself may be omitted.

(i) Thus Shelley has the line—

“Men must reap the things Λ they sow.”

(ii) And such phrases as, “Is this the book Λ you wanted ?” are very common.

76

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

3. The word but is often used for who + not. It may hence be called the negative-relative.

Thus Scott has—

"There breathes not clansman of my line

But (= who not) would have given his life for mine."

4. The personal pronouns, when in the dative or objective case, are generally without emphasis.

(i) If we say "Give me your hand," the me is unemphatic. If we say "Give me your hand !" the me has a stronger emphasis than the give, and means me, and not any other person.

(ii) Very ludicrous accidents sometimes occur from the misplacing of the accent. Thus a careless reader once read : "And he said, 'Saddle me the ass;' and they saddled him." Nelson's famous signal, "England expects every man to do his duty," was once altered in emphasis with excellent effect. A midshipman on board one of H.M.'s ships was very lazy, and inclined to allow others to do his work ; and the question went round the vessel : "Why is Mr So-and-so like England ?"

"Because he expects every man to do his duty."

IV.—SYNTAX OF THE VERB.

1.—CONCORD OF VERBS.

We cannot say I writes, or He or The man write. We always say I write, He writes, and The man writes. In other words, certain pronouns and nouns require a certain form of a verb to go with them. If the pronoun is of the first person, then the verb will have a certain form; if it is of the third person, it will have a different form. If the noun or pronoun is singular, the verb will have one form ; if it is plural, it may have another form. In these circumstances, the verb is said to agree with its subject.

All these facts are usually embodied in a general statement, which may also serve as a rule.

Rule XXVI.—A Finite Verb must agree with its subject in Number and Person. Thus we say: "He calls," "They walk."

(i) The subject answers to the question Who? or What?

(ii) The subject of a finite verb is always in the nominative case.

Or and nor are conjunctions which do not add the things mentioned

to each other, but allow the mind to take them separately—the one

excluding the other. We may therefore say :-

Rule XXVII.—Two or more singular nouns that are subjects,

connected by or or nor, require their verb to be in the singular.

Thus we say : “Either Tom or John is going.” “It was either

a roe-deer or a large goat !”

On the other hand, when two or more singular nouns are connected

by and, they are added to each other ; and, just as one and one make

two, so two singular nouns are equal to one plural. We may therefore

lay down the following rule :-

Rule XXVIII.—Two or more singular nouns that are sub-

jects, connected by and, require their verb to be in the plural.

We say : “Tom and John are going.” “There were a roe-

deer and a goat in the field.”

(i) When two or more singular nouns represent one idea, the verb is

singular. Thus, in Milton’s “Lycidas,” we find—

“Bitter constraint and sad occasion dear

Compels me to disturb your season due.”

And, in Shakespeare’s “Tempest” (v. 104), we read—

“All torment, trouble, wonder, and amazement

Inhabits here.”

In this case we may look upon the statement as = “A condition which

embraces all torment,” etc.

(ii) When the verb precedes a number of different nominatives, it is

often singular. The speaker seems not to have yet made up his mind

what nominatives he is going to use. Thus, in the well-known passage

in Byron’s “Childe Harold ” we have—

“Ah ! then and there was hurrying to and fro,

And gathering tears, and tremblings of distress.”

And so Shakespeare, in “Julius Cæsar,” makes Brutus say, “There is

tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honour for his valour, and death

for his ambition.” And, in the same way, people say, “Where is my

hat and stick ?”

78 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Cautions.—(i) The compound conjunction as well as does not require a plural verb, because it allows the mind to take each subject separately.

Thus we say, “ Justice, as well as mercy, allows it.” We can see the truth of this remark by transposing the clauses of the sentence, and saying, “ Justice allows it, as well as mercy [allows it].”

(ii) The preposition with cannot make two singular subjects into one plural. We must say, “The Mayor, with his attendants, was there.”

Transposition will show the force of this remark also: “The Mayor was there with his attendants.”

Rule XXIX.—Collective Nouns take a singular verb or a plural verb, as the notion of unity or of plurality is upper-most in the mind of the speaker.

Thus we say : “ Parliament was dissolved.” “ The committee are divided in opinion.”

Rule XXX.—The verb to be is often attracted into the same number as the nominative that follows it, instead of agreeing with the nominative that is its true subject.

Thus we find : “ The wages of sin is death.” “ To love and to admire has been the joy of his existence.” “ A high look and a proud heart is sin.”

2.—GOVERNMENT OF VERBS.

Rule XXXI.—A Transitive Verb in the active voice governs its direct object in the objective case.

Thus we say : “ I like him ;” “ they dislike her.”

The following sub-rules are of some importance :—

(i) The participle, which is an adjective, has the same governing power as the verb of which it is a part—as, “ Seeing the rain, I remained at home ”—where seeing agrees with I as an adjective, and governs rain as a verb.

(ii) The gerund, which is a noun, has the same governing power as the verb to which it belongs.

Thus we say : “ Hating one’s neighbour is forbidden by the Gospel,” where hating is a noun, the nominative to is forbidden, and a gerund governing neighbour in the objective.

Rule XXXII.—Active-transitive Verbs of giving, promising, offering, and suchlike, govern the Direct Object in the

objective case, and the Indirect Object in the dative. "I gave him an apple." "He promises me a book."

(i) In turning these active verbs into passive, it is the direct object that should be turned into the subject of the passive verb ; and we ought to say, "An apple was given me." But custom allows of either mode of change ; and we also say, "I was given an apple ;" "I was promised a book." Dr Abbott calls the objectives apple and book retained objects, because they are retained in the sentence, even although we know that no passive verb can govern an objective case.

Rule XXXIII.—Such verbs as make, create, appoint, think, believe, etc., govern two objects—the one direct, the other factitive. Thus we say : "They made him king ;" "the king appointed him governor ;" "we thought her a clever woman."

(i) The second of these objectives remains with the passive verb, when the form of the sentence has been changed ; and we say, "He was made king ;" "he was appointed governor."

Rule XXXIV.—One verb governs another in the Infinitive Or,

The Infinitive Mood of a verb, being a pure noun, may be the object of another verb, if that verb is active-transitive. Thus we say : "I saw him go ;" "we saw the ship sink."

(i) In these sentences, him and ship are the subjects of go and sink. But the subject of an infinitive is always in the objective case. The infinitives go and sink have a double face. They are verbs in relation to their subjects him and go ; they are nouns in relation to the verbs that govern them.

(ii) An Infinitive is always a noun, whether it be a subject or an object. It is (a) a subject in the sentence, "To play football is pleasant." It is (b) an object in the sentence, "I like to play football."

Rule XXXV.—Some Intransitive Verbs govern the Dative Case. Thus we have “Methought,” “meseems,” “Woe worth the day !” “Woe is me !” “If you please !”

(i) Worth is from an old English verb, weorthan, to become. (The German form of this verb is werden.)

(ii) Shakespeare even construes the verb look with a dative. In

"Cymbeline," iii. 5, 32, he has—

She looks us like

A thing more made of malice, than of duty,

3.—MOODS OF VERBS.

1. The Indicative Mood is the mood of direct assertion or statement.

The Subjunctive Mood is the mood of assertion also, but with a modification given to the assertion by the mind through which it passes.

If we use the term objective as describing what actually exists independently of our minds, and súbjective as describing that which exists in the mind of the speaker,—whether it really exists outside or not,—we can then say that—

(i) The Indicative Mood is the mood of óbjective assertion.

(ii) The Subjunctive Mood is the mood of súbjective assertion.

The Indicative Mood may be compared to a ray of light coming straight through the air; the Subjunctive Mood to the effect produced by the water on the same ray—the water deflects it, makes it form a quite different angle, and hence a stick in the water looks broken or crooked.

2. The Imperative Mood is the mood of command or of request.

3. The Infinitive Mood is the substantive mood or noun of the verb.

It is always equal to a noun; it is always either a subject or an object; and hence it is incapable of making any assertion.

4. The Subjunctive Mood has for some years been gradually dying out.

Few writers, and still fewer speakers, use it.

Good writers are even found to say, "If he was here, I should tell him." But a knowledge of the uses of the subjunctive mood is necessary to enable us to understand English prose and verse anterior to the present generation.

Even so late as the year 1817, Jane Austen, one of the best prose writers of last century, used the subjunctive mood in almost every dependent clause.

Not only does she use it after if and though, but after such conjunctions as till, until, because, and others.

Rule XXXVI.—The Subjunctive Mood was used—and ought to be used—to express doubt, possibility, supposition, consequence (which may or may not happen), or wish, all as moods of the mind of the speaker.

SNTAX OF THE VERB.

81

(i) “If thou read this, O Cæsar, thou mayst live.” (Doubt.)

(ii) “If he come, I will speak to him.” (Possibility.)

(iii) “Yet if one heart throb higher at its sway,

The wizard note has not been touched in vain.” (Supposition.)

(iv) “Get on your night-gown, lest occasion call us

And show us to be watchers.” (Consequence.)

(v) “I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her

ear !” (Wish.)

In all of the above sentences, the clauses with subjunctives state feelings or

notions of what may or might be.

RULE XXXVII.—The Subjunctive Mood, being a subjoined

mood, is usually dependent on some other clause antecedent

in thought, and generally also in expression. The antecedent

clause, which contains the condition, is called the conditional

clause ; and the clause which contains the consequence of the

supposition is called the consequent clause.

(i) If it were so, it was a grievous fault.

Condition Consequence

(ii) If it were done when 'tis done,

Condition

Then 'twere well it were done quickly.

Consequence

Remarks on Exceptions.

1. Sometimes the conditional clause is suppressed. Thus we

can say, “I would not endure such language” [if it were ad-

dressed to me = conditional clause].

2. The conjunction is often omitted. Thus, in Shakespeare's

play of “Julius Cæsar,” we find—

“Were I Brutus,

And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony

Would ruffle up your spirits.”

RULE XXXVIII.—The Simple Infinitive—without the sign

to—is used with auxiliary verbs, such as may, do, shall, will,

etc. ; and with such verbs as let, bid, can, must, see, hear,

make, feel, observe, have, know, etc.

F

(i) Let darkness keep her raven gloss.

(ii) Bid the porter come.

(iii) I saw him run after a gilded butterfly.

(iv) We heard him cry.

(v) They made him go, etc., etc.

Rule XXXIX.—The Gerund is both a noun and a verb.

As a noun, it is governed by a verb or preposition ; as a verb, it governs other nouns or pronouns.

There are two gerunds—(i) one with to; and (ii) one that ends in ing.

(i) The first is to be carefully distinguished from the ordinary infinitive. Now the ordinary infinitive never expresses a purpose; the gerund with to may do so. Thus we find—

"And fools who came to scoff remained to pray."

This gerund is often called the gerundial infinitive.

(ii) The second is to be distinguished from the present participle in ing, and very carefully from the abstract noun of the same form. The present participle in ing, as loving, hating, walking, etc., is always an adjective, agreeing with a noun or pronoun. The gerund in ing is always a noun, and governs an object. "He was very fond of playing cricket." Here playing is a noun in relation to of; and a verb governing cricket in the objective. In the words walking-stick, frying-pan, etc., walking and frying are nouns, and therefore gerunds. If they were adjectives and participles, the compounds would mean the stick that walks, the pan that fries.

(iii) The gerund in ing must also be distinguished from the verbal noun in ing, which is a descendant of the verbal noun in ung. "He went a hunting" (where a=the old an or on) ; "Forty and six years was this temple in building ;" "He was very impatient during the reading of the will." In these sentences hunting, building, and reading are all verbal nouns, derived from the old verbal noun in ung, and are called abstract nouns. But if we say, "He is fond of hunting deer ;" "He is engaged in building a hotel ;" "He likes reading poetry,"—then the three words are gerunds, for they act as verbs, and govern the three objectives, deer, hotel, and poetry.

Rule XL.—The Gerundial Infinitive is frequently construed with nouns and adjectives. Thus we say: "A house

, sell or let ;" " Wood to burn ;" " Deadly to hear, and

badly to tell ;" " Good to eat."

V.—SYNTAX OF THE ADVERB.

Rule XLI.—The Adverb ought to be as near as possible to

the word it modifies. Thus we ought to say, " He gave me

only three shillings," and not " He only gave me three shil-

lings," because only modifies three, and not gave.

This rule applies also to compound adverbs, such as at least, in like

manner, at random, in part, etc.

Rule XLII.—Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other

dverbs ; but they can also modify prepositions. Thus we

ave the combinations out from, up to, down to, etc.

In the sentence, " He walked up to me," the adverb up does not

modify walked, but the prepositional phrase to me.

VI.—SYNTAX OF THE PREPOSITION.

Rule XLIII.—All prepositions in the English language

overn nouns and pronouns in the objective case.

The prepositions save and except are really verbs in the imperative

mood.

Rule XLIV.—Prepositions generally stand before the words

hey govern ; but they may, with good effect, come after them.

hus we find in Shakespeare—

" Ten thousand men that fishes gnawed upon."

" Why, then, thou knowest what colour jet is of."

nd, in Hooker, with very forcible effect—

" Shall there be a God to swear by, and none to pray to ?"

Rule XLV.—Certain verbs, nouns, and adjectives require

pecial prepositions. Thus we cannot say, " This is different

o that," because it is bad English to say " This differs to that."

he proper preposition in both instances is from.

84

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

The following is a list of some of these

Special prepositions:-

Absolve from.

Abhorrence for.

Accord with.

Acquit of.

Affinity between.

Adapted to (intentionally).

Adapted for (by nature).

Agree with (a person).

Agree to (a proposal).

Bestow upon.

Change for (a thing).

Change with (a person).

Confer on (=give to).

Confer with (=talk with).

Confide in (=trust in).

Confide to (=intrust to).

Conform to.

In conformity with.

Comply with.

Convenient to (a person).

Convenient for (a purpose).

Conversant with.

Correspond with (a person).

Correspond to (a thing).

Dependent on (but independent of).

Derogatory to.

Differ from (a statement or opinion).

Differ with (a person).

Different from.

Disappointed of (what we cannot get).

Disappointed in (what we have got).

Dissent from.

Exception from (a rule).

Exception to (a statement).

Glad of (a possession).

Glad at (a piece of news).

Involve in.

Martyr for (a cause).

Martyr to (a disease).

Need of or for.

Part from (a person).

Part with (a thing).

Profit by.

Reconcile to (a person).

Reconcile with (a statement).

Taste of (food).

A taste for (art).

Thirst for or after (knowledge).

VII.—SYNTAX OF THE CONJUNCTION.

Rule XLVI.—The Conjunction does not interfere with the

action of a transitive verb or preposition, nor with the mood or

tense of a verb.

(i) This rule is usually stated thus : “Conjunctions generally connect

the same cases of nouns and pronouns, and the same moods and tenses

of verbs, as ‘We saw him and her,’ ‘Let either him or me go!’” But

it is plain that saw governs her as well as him; and that or cannot

interfere with the government of let. Such a rule is therefore totally

artificial.

(ii) It is plain that the conjunction and must make two singulars =

one plural, as “He and I are of the same age.”

Rule XLVII.—Certain adjectives and conjunctions take

after them certain special conjunctions. Thus, such (adj.)

requires as; both (adj.), and; so and as require as; though,

yet; whether, or; either, or; neither, nor; nor, nor; or,

or. The following are a few examples :-

(i) "Would I describe a preacher such as Paul!"

(ii). "Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull."

RULE XLVIII.—The subordinating conjunction that may be

omitted. Thus we can say, "Are you sure he is here?"

Shakespeare has, "Yet Brutus says he was ambitious !"

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

1. Words are gregarious, and go in groups. When a group

of words makes complete sense, it is called a sentence. A

sentence is not a chance collection of words ; it is a true

organism, with a heart and limbs. When we take the limbs

apart from the central core or heart of the sentence, and try to

show their relation to that core, and to each other, we are said

to analyse the sentence. The process of thus taking a sen-

tence to pieces, and naming and accounting for each piece, is

called analysis.

(i) Analysis is a Greek word which means breaking up or taking

apart : its opposite is Synthesis, which means making up or putting

together.

(ii) When we examine a sentence, and divide it into its component

parts, we are said to analyse the sentence, or to perform an act of

analysis. But when we put words or phrases together to make a

sentence, we perform an act of composition or of synthesis.

2. A sentence is a statement made about something, as,

The horse gallops.

(i) The something (horse) is called the Subject.

(ii) The statement (gallops) is called the Predicate.

3. Every sentence consists, and must consist, of at least two

parts. These two parts are the thing we speak about and

what we say about that thing.

(i) The Subject is what we speak about.

(ii) The Predicate is what we say about the subject.

(i) There is a proverb of Solomon which says: "All things are double one

against another." So there are the two necessarily complementary ideas of even

and odd ; of right and left; of north and south; and many more. In language, the

two ideas of Subject and Predicate are necessarily coexistent; neither can exist

without the other; we cannot even think the one without the other. They are

the two poles of thought.

(ii) Sometimes the Subject is not expressed in imperative sentences, as in "Go!" = "Go you!"

(iii) To make a complete statement, the Predicate must always be expressed.

4. There are three kinds of sentences : Simple, Compound, and Complex.

(i) A simple sentence contains only one subject and one predicate.

(ii) A complex sentence contains a chief sentence, and one or more sentences that are of subordinate rank to the chief sentence.

(iii) A compound sentence contains two or more simple sentences of equal rank.

I.—THE SIMPLE SENTENCE.

5. A Simple Sentence is a sentence which consists of one subject and one predicate.

(i) A Simple Sentence contains, and can contain, only one finite verb. If we say, "Baby likes to dance," there are two verbs in this simple sentence. But to dance is not a finite verb; it is an infinitive; it is practically a pure noun, and cannot therefore be a predicate.

(ii) If we say, "John and James ran off," the sentence is = "John ran off" + "James ran off." It is therefore a compound sentence consisting of two simple sentences, with the predicate of one of them suppressed. Hence it is called a contracted compound sentence—contracted in the predicate.

In this case the sentence may be treated as Simple, "James and John" forming a Compound Subject to the Predicate "ran off."

FORMS OF SENTENCES.

6. Sentences differ in the Form which they take. As regards form they may be classified as follows :-

(i) Assertive—

(a) Positive :—The night grows cold.

(b) Negative :—I am not going.

Not a drum was heard.

They caught never a one.

(ii) Interrogative :-Whom seek ye?

(iii) Exclamatory :-How swiftly the river flows !

In the cases of Interrogative or Exclamatory sentences, in which the usual order of the words is changed for the sake of emphasis or effect, the sentences should be put in assertive straightforward order for the purpose of analysis, thus :-

Ye seek whom?

The river flows how swiftly !

(iv) Imperative :-Sir, look to your manners.

In imperative sentences the subject is usually omitted. In this sentence “Sir” is really a nominative of address, and the real subject “you” is not expressed.

(v) Optative, expressing a wish or invocation :-

“God bless us every one !”

“Oh, could I flow like thee !”

In Greek there is a special mood of the verb, called the optative, for expressions of this kind, but in English the verb is in the subjunctive.

Note how the Optative differs from the merely Assertive. Compare :-

God bless us, i.e. May God bless us (Optative); and

God blesses us (Assertive).

PARTS OF THE SENTENCE.

7. The Subject of a sentence is what we speak about. What we speak about we must name.

If we name a thing, we must use a name or noun. Therefore the subject must always be either—

(i) A noun ; or

(ii) Some word or words equivalent to a noun.

8. There are eight kinds of Subjects—

(i) A Noun, as, England is our home.

(ii) A Pronoun, as, It is our fatherland.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

89

(iii) A Verbal Noun, as, Walking is healthy.

(iv) A Gerund, as, Catching fish is a pleasant pastime.

(v) An Infinitive, as, To swim is quite easy.

(vi) An Adjective, with a noun understood, as, The prosperous are sometime cold-hearted.

(vii) A Quotation, as, "Ay, ay, sir!" burst from a thousand throats.

(viii) A Noun-clause, as, That he was a tyrant is generally admitted.

(a) The verbal noun, as we have seen, originally ended in ung. See page 40.

(b) Catching is a gerund, because it is both a noun (nominative to is) and a verb, governing fish in the objective.

NOTE (i) The Subject is sometimes composite—consisting of two or more words.

The house, the homestead, the very fences, all were destroyed.

To seize my gun and (to) fire was the work of a moment.

To them his heart, his love, his griefs, were given.

(ii) The Subject sometimes stands in apposition to "it" or "this." Thus in the sentence :—"It is my resolve to succeed," the effective subject is "to succeed."

Similarly in the sentence :—"This ruined him, his inordinate love of riches," the effective subjeet is "His inordinate love of riches." Compare also :—"That was their sole reward, the approval of their king."

In these cases, "it," "this," and "that" are simply temporary subjects, the real subject coming afterwards out of its natural order. "It," or any word thus used, is called the Provisional Subject.

(iii) Sometimes, especially in poetry, an unnecessary or redundant pronoun is put in with the Subject, and may be regarded as forming part of it.

My banks, they are furnished with bees.

Tired Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep,

He, like the world, his ready visit pays

Where fortune smiles.

9. The Predicate in a sentence is what we say about the subject. If we say anything, we must use a saying or telling word. Now a telling word is a verb.

Therefore the Predicate must always be a verb, or some word or words equivalent to a verb.

90 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

10. There are six kinds of Predicate—

(i) A Verb, as, God is. The stream runs.

(ii) “To be” + a noun, as, He is a carpenter.

(iii) “To be” + an adjective, as, They are idle.

(iv) “To be” + an adverb, as, The books are there.

(v) “To be” + a phrase, as, She is in good health.

(vi) “To be” + a clause or sentence, as, His cry was, I die for my country.

note (i) Only Finite or Complete Verbs can form Predicates. When the Verb is incomplete or infinite, as in the case of—

(a) A Participle,

(b) An Infinitive,

it cannot form the Predicate of a sentence except by the addition of other completing words. Thus “loving” or “to love” could never form a predicate, although “loving,” when converted into a finite verb by prefixing “was,” may form a predicate.

(ii) The Verb is sometimes modified by an Adverb or Preposition which is closely attached to it, and which for the purpose of analysis may be regarded as part of the Predicate.

They agreed to (=accepted) my proposal.

The subject was well thrashed out (=debated).

The pirates stove in (=broke) the cabin-door.

11. Cautions :—

(i) There is a large class of verbs known as Copulative Verbs, which being connective rather than notional in their character, require another word or phrase to be associated with them to make the predicate complete. Thus :—

He appears healthy.

The apprentice became a merchant.

The girl grew tall.

The poor creature seems to be dying.

John stands six feet.

note.—Some of these verbs are also used transitively, and then take an object like other transitive verbs :—Stand it on the table.

(ii) The frequently occurring verb “to be” (except in the few cases where it means “to exist”), and some

other copulative verbs, as, to seem, to become,

etc., can never form predicates by themselves.

(iii) Beware of associating two dissimilar verbs as predi-

cate. Thus in the sentence: “He refused to leave

the ship,” the predicate is not “refused to leave,”

but simply “refused.”

12. When the predicate consists of an active-transitive

verb, it requires an object after it to make complete sense.

This object is called either the object or the completion. As

we must name the object, it is plain that it must always, like

the subject, be a noun, or some word or words equivalent to a

noun.

13. As there are eight kinds of Subjects, so there are eight

kinds of Objects. These are:-

(i) A Noun, as, All of us love England.

(ii) A Pronoun, as, We saw him in the garden.

(iii) A Verbal Noun, as, We heard the reading of the

will.

(iv) A Gerund, as, The angler prefers taking large fish.

(v) An Infinitive, as, We hate to be idle.

(vi) An Adjective with a noun understood, as, Good

men love the good.

(vii) A Quotation, as, We heard his last “Good-bye,

Tom !”

(viii) A Noun-clause, as, I knew what was the matter.

Note (i) The words it, this, and that may form Provisional Objects,

just as they form Provisional Subjects:-

They consider it infamous to desert.

This I command, no parley with the foe.

That he abhors, the sale of flesh and blood.

(ii) The Object, like the Subject, may consist of an unlimited number of these parts of speech.

At non the outlaw reached his glen,

His gathered spoils, his merry men.

At twelve the poor lad began to learn a trade and (to) help his parents.

14. Verbs of giving, promising, offering, handing, and many such, take also an indirect object, which is sometimes called the dative: We gave the man a shilling. We offered him sixpence.

15. The following may be regarded as special kinds of Objects :—

(i) A Factitive Object:—

They made him President.

Milton did not hesitate to call Spenser a better teacher than Socrates or Aquinas.

It should be noted that the words “made” and “call” have a more restricted meaning than when followed by ordinary simple objects.

Compare :—“They made him President” with “They made a boat,” “Milton . . . Aquinas,” with “Call them quickly.”

In the latter cases “made” and “call” have a fuller meaning than in the former.

Note.—Sometimes it may appear as an Adjective.

Exercise made him strong.

They painted the house white.

(ii) A Cognate Object, in which the Predicate and Object are words of kindred meaning :—

Let me die the death of the righteous.

He ran his godly race.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

(iii) When an active verb with two objects is changed into the passive form, that object which is retained while the other becomes the subject is termed the Retained Object :-

A shilling was given the man.

The door was denied him.

16. The Subject or the Object must always be either—

(i) A Noun; or

(ii) Some word or words equivalent to a noun.

A Noun may have attached to it any number of adjectives or adjectival phrases. An adjective or adjectival phrase that goes with a subject or with an object is called, in Analysis, an Enlargement.

It is so called because it enlarges our knowledge of the subject. Thus, if we say, “The man is tired,” we have no knowledge of what kind of man is spoken of ; but if we say, “The poor old man is tired,” our notion of the man is enlarged by the addition of the facts that he is both poor and old.

17. There are seven kinds of Enlargements :-

(i) An Adjective—one, two, or more—That big old red book is sold.

(ii) A Noun (or nouns) in apposition, William the Conqueror defeated Harold.

(iii) A Noun (or pronoun) in the Possessive Case, His hat flew off.

(iv) A Prepositional Phrase, The walk in the fields was pleasant.

(v) An Adjectival Phrase, The boy, ignorant of his duty, was soon dismissed.

(vi) A Participle (a), or Participial Phrase (b)—Sobbing and weeping, she was led from the room (a). The merchant, having made a fortune, gave up business (b).

(vii) A Gerundial Infinitive—Anxiety to succeed (= of succeeding) wore him out. Bread to eat (= for eating) could not be had anywhere.

18. It is plain that all these seven kinds of Enlargements may go with the Object as well as with the Subject.

19. An Enlargement, being a word or phrase that goes with a noun or its equivalent, must always be an adjective or equivalent to an adjective.

Note (i) An Enlargement may itself be enlarged by the same parts of speech as form the primary enlargements.

(a) The handle of this sword forged by Indians is richly jewelled.

(b) The Romans crossed a stream fed by a glacier of the Southern Alps.

The phrases "forged by Indians," and "of the Southern Alps," are enlargements of "sword" and "glacier" respectively, which are themselves parts of qualifying phrases.

(ii) A Subject or Object may have an unlimited number of enlargements of various kinds :-

The poor King, an outcast from his own domain, suffering the pangs of hunger and stung by bitter reproaches, ended his days in misery.

Here King is enlarged by—

(a) An Adjective

(b) A Noun in Apposition.

(c) Two Participial phrases.

20. The Predicate is always a Verb, standing alone if complete, or accompanied by other words if a verb of incomplete predication.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

95

The part of the sentence that goes with the verb is either a simple adverb, a compound adverb, or a phrase adverbial in its character.

21. The adverbs or adverbial phrases that go with the predicate are called, in Analysis, the Extensions of the Predicate.

22. There are seven kinds of Extensions :-

(i) An Adverb, as, The time went slowly.

(ii) An Adverbial Phrase, as, Mr Smith writes now and then.

(iii) A Prepositional Phrase, as, Mr Smith spoke with great effect.

(iv) A Noun Phrase, as, We walked side by side.

(v) A Participial Phrase, as, The mighty rocks came bounding down.

(vi) A Gerundial Phrase, as, He did it to insult us ( = for insulting us).

(vii) An Absolute Infinitive Phrase, as, To tell you the truth, I think him very stupid.

Under (v) may come also the Absolute Participial Phrase, such as, "The clock having struck, we had to go".

23. Extensions of the predicate are classified in the above section from the point of view of grammar; but they are also frequently classified from the point of view of distinction in thought.

In this latter way Extensions are classified as extensions of—

(i) Time, as, We lived there three years.

(ii) Place, (a) Whence, as, We came from York.

(b) Where, as, He lives over the way.

(c) Whither, as, Go home!

96

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

(iii) Manner (a) Manner : He treads firmly.

(b) Degree : She writes better.

(c) Accompanying circumstances : They went forward under a heavy fire.

(iv) Agent : James was represented by his minister.

(v) Instrument : They ravaged the land with fire and sword.

(vi) Magnitude (a) Order : He stood first in his class.

(b) Number : The field measured ten acres.

(vii) Mood (a) Affirmation : He certainly returned.

(b) Negation : The enterprise will never succeed.

Never is here a more emphatic form of not, and therefore comes under the head of Negation rather than of Time.

(c) Doubt : Perhaps you will meet your friend.

(viii) Cause : The clerk was dismissed for idleness.

(ix) Purpose : They went abroad to better their condition.

(x) Condition : Without me ye can do nothing.

(xi) Concession : With all thy faults, I love thee still.

Here the sense is obviously "Notwithstanding all thy faults," etc.

NOTE (i) Just as a Subject or Object may have an unlimited number of Enlargements, so a Predicate may have any number of Extensions.

For three years the widow dwelt quietly in the lonely cottage. Here we have three extensions of time, manner, and place respectively. Care should be taken to keep the various extensions quite distinct in analysing; the student should letter or number them (a), (b), (c), etc., or (1), (2), (3), etc., and state after each its kind.

(ii) Where two or more extensions of the same class appear they should be kept distinct. At nightfall, during a heavy snowstorm, they wandered forth.

Here the two extensions of time should be taken separately.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

NOMINATIVE OF ADDRESS.

25. The Nominative of Address may relate to—

(a) The Subject: Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour.

(b) The Object: I welcome you, good Masters.

(c) An Extension: We shall pull towards you, Sir Knight.

Or it may be detached : The castle keep, my Lord, I hold.

The Nominative of Address is interjectional in its nature,

and just as the Interjection is a part of speech standing apart

from the family formed by the others, so a Nominative of

Address really forms no part of the logical sentence. Regarded

as somewhat appositional, it may be placed with that part of

the sentence to which it specially belongs, or the rule may be

adopted of placing it in the same column as the Subject, care

being taken to indicate that it forms no part of the logical

subject.

26. The following cautions are of importance :—

(i) The Noun in an absolute phrase cannot be the

Subject of a simple sentence. We can say, “The

train having started, we returned to the hotel.”

Here we is the subject.

The phrase “the train having started” is an adverbial phrase

modifying returned, and giving the reason for the returning.

(ii) A subject may be compound, and may contain an

object, as, “To save money is always useful.” Here

the subject is to save money, and contains the

object money—the object of the verb “to save.”

An object may also contain another object, which is not the

object of the sentence. Thus we can say, “I like to save money,”

when the direct object of like is to save, and money is a part only

of that direct object.

98

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

(iii) An Absolute Participial Phrase (or Nominative Absolute) is always an Extension of the Predicate, and may express—

(a) Time : The clock having struck one, we proceeded.

(b) Cause : Darkness coming on, the wanderers quick-ened their pace.

(c) Circumstances : I crossed the moor, the snow falling heavily.

(iv) Not usually forms an Extension of the Predicate, but it may also form—

(a) Part of the Subject : Not a drum was heard. (Nega-tive Enlargement.)

(b) Part of the Object : We carved not a line. (Negative Enlargement.)

They heard never a sound. (Negative Enlargement.)

As an Extension of the Predicate, not is usually independent of other extensions, as,

They moved { not during the storm } (Extension of Negative) (Extension of Time)

but sometimes it simply negatives another Extension, and must not be dissociated from it ; as, Not in vain he wore his sandal-shoon.

(v) There is generally—

(a) An Extension of Place : There they rested.

But it is sometimes—

(b) An Indefinite Extension (a mere Expletive).

There were twenty present.

The shadowy and vague character of there is shown by the paraphrase " Twenty were present," and also by the fact that in translating the sentence into many languages no equivalent would be put for "there."

(vi) Distinguish between various uses of the Infinitive.

(a) Subject : To quarrel is not my wish.

(b) Part of the Predicate : He might win the shield.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

99

(c) Object : They love to wander.

(d) Extension of the Predicate : She came to learn.

In this case " to learn " is not an ordinary infinitive, but a gerundial infinitive or infinitive of purpose, and is equivalent to " for learning." See p. 40.

(vii) Care must be taken to distinguish between the same word when used as--

(a) An Adjective, forming part of the Predicate with an Intransitive Copulative Verb—

The king plays well.

This apple tastes sweet,

or (b) An Adverb, forming an Extension of the Predicate after a Verb—

The king eats well.

How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank.

Students must be very careful to discriminate between these cases. Where the word indicates quality, it is adjectival in nature, and will form part of the Predicate ; where it indicates manner, it is adverbial in nature, and forms an Extension of the Predicate.

(viii) In the case of qualifying or limiting phrases (especially participial phrases), it is sometimes difficult to determine whether they are simple Enlargements of the Subject or Extensions of the Predicate.

Returning then the bolt he drew

A widow bird sat mourning for her love.

In the first sentence "returning" is an enlargement of "he"; in the second sentence mourning does not enlarge " bird," but shows how it sat mourning, i.e. sadly, sorrowfully.

The safest plan in cases of this kind is to determine what principal part of the sentence the qualifying or limiting word or phrase is most closely connected with. If it is essentially qualifying in nature, it is probably an Enlargement of the Subject or Object ; if, on the other hand, it expresses some modification of, or condition in respect to, the Predicate, it is an Extension of the Predicate.

100

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

THE MAPPING-OUT OF SIMPLE SENTENCES.

27. It is of the greatest importance to get the eye to help the

mind, and to present to the sight if possible—either on paper

or on the black-board—the sentence we have to consider. This

is called mapping-out.

Let us take two simple sentences :—

(i) “From the mountain-path came a joyous sound of some person

whistling.”

(ii) “In the Acadian land, on the shores of the Basin of Minas,

Distant, secluded, still, the little village of Grand-Pré

Lay in the fruitful valley.”

28. These may be mapped out, before analysing them, in the

following way :—

(i) A

(ii) The

VILLAGE

LAY

distant, secluded, still

in

the Acadian land

on

the shores of the Basin, etc.

Grand-Pré

the fruitful valley.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

FORMS OF ANALYSIS.

29. The sentences may then be analysed in either—

(a) the Detailed form.

or (b) the Tabular form.

(a) The Detailed form is analogous to that adopted for parsing, and gives us scope for subdividing the sentence to an unlimited extent, and giving the maximum amount of detail.

(b) The Tabular form does not provide for so much detail, but it has the advantage of great clearness, and, as it greatly facilitates the examination of an exercise, it is the form usually preferred by public examiners.

30. Detailed Analysis.

(i) a. A sound

b. joyous

c. of some person whistling

d. came

e. from the path

f. mountain

(ii) a. The village

b. little

c. distant

d. secluded

e. still

f. of Grand-Pré

g. lay

h. in the land

i. Acadian

j. on the shores

k. of the basin

l. of Minas

m. in the valley

n. fruitfnl

Subject.

Adjectival Enlargement of Subject

Prepositional Phrase, Enlargement of Subject.

Predicate.

Extension of Predicate. Place whence.

Adjectival Enlargement of e.

Subject.

Adjectival Enlargement of Subject.

Part of the Predicate.

Prepositional Phrase, Enlargement of Subject.

Predicate.

Extension of Predicate. Place where.

Adjectival Enlargement of h.

Extension of Predicate. Place where.

Prepositional phrase, enlarging j.

Extension of Predicate. Place where.

Adjectival Enlargement of m.

102

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Tabular Analysis.

Subject

Enlarge- ment of Subject.

Predicate.

Object.

Enlarge- ment of Object.

Extension of Predicate.

A sound

(a) joyous ( ) of some person whistling

came

from the mountain path (place whence)

The village

(a) little (b) of Grand-Pré

lay (distant, secluded, still)

(a) in the Acadian land (place where) (b) on the shores of the Basin of Minas (place where) (c) in the fruitful valley (place where)

II.—THE COMPLEX SENTENCE.

32. A Complex Sentence is a statement which contains one Principal Sentence, and one or more sentences dependent upon it, which are called Subordinate Sentences. There are three kinds—and there can be only three kinds—of subordinate sentences—Adjectival, Noun, and Adverbial.

A subordinate sentence is sometimes called a clause.

33. A Subordinate Sentence that goes with a Noun or

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

103

Pronoun fulfils the function of an Adjective, is equal to an

Adjective, and is therefore called an Adjectival Sentence.

"Darkness, which might be felt, fell upon the city."

Here the

clause, "which-might-be-felt," goes with the noun darkness, belongs

to it, and cannot be separated from it; and this sentence is therefore

an adjectival sentence.

34. A Subordinate Sentence that goes with a Verb fulfils

the function of an Adverb, is equal to an Adverb, and is

therefore called an Adverbial Sentence.

"I will go whenever you are ready." Here the clause, "whenever

you are ready," is attached to the verb go, belongs to it, and cannot be

separated from it ; and hence this sentence is an adverbial sentence.

35. A Subordinate Sentence that forms the Subject of a

Predicate, or the Object, or that is in apposition with a noun,

fulfils the function of a Noun, and is therefore called a Noun

Sentence.

"He told me that his cousin had gone to sea." Here the clause

"his cousin had gone to sea," is the object of the transitive verb told.

It fulfils the function of a noun, and is therefore a noun sentence.

36. An Adjectival Sentence may be attached to—

(i) The Subject of the Principal Sentence; or to

(ii) The Object of the Principal Sentence; or to

(iii) Any Noun or Pronoun.

(i) The book that-I-bought is on the table : to the subject.

(ii) I laid the book-I-bought on the table : to the object.

(iii) The child fell into the stream that-runs-past-the-mill : to the

noun stream—a noun in an adverbial phrase.

37. Note.—(i) As may in certain cases be regarded as a

relative introducing an Adjectival Sentence. In

such cases it is usually a correlative of such or

same.

I never saw such fish as he caught in the Avon.

This is the same bag as you gave me last year.

104 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

(ii) But in certain cases may be taken as a negative rela-

tive introducing an Adjectival Sentence.

(a) There is no man here but loves you.

This = “There is no man here who does not love you.”

(b) “No land but listens to the common call.”

“But” is equivalent to “which does not.”

38. An Adverbial Sentence may be attached to—

(i) A Verb;

(ii) An Adjective; or to

(iii) An Adverb.

(i) To a Verb. It does not matter in what position the verb is.

It may be (a) the Predicate, as in the sentence, “I walk when I

can.” It may be (b) an Infinitive forming a subject, as, “To get up

when one is tired is not pleasant.” It may be (c) a participle, as in

the sentence, “Having dined before he came, I started at once.”

(ii) To an Adjective. “His grief was such that all pitied him.”

Here the clause “that all pitied him” modifies the adjective such.

(iii) To an Adverb. “He was so weak that he could not stand.”

Here the clause “that he could not stand” modifies the adverb so,

which itself modifies the adjective weak.

39. Just as there are many classes of Adverbs, so there are

many different kinds of Adverbial Sentences.

(i) Time. I will go, when you return.

(ii) Place. Where the bee sucks, there suck I.

(iii) Manner. He strode, as though he were in pain.

(iv) Degree. I spoke as loudly as I could (speak).

(v) Proportion. The sooner you complete your

task the sooner you can leave.

(vi) Condition. If you stand by me, I will oppose

him.

(vii) Concession—Provided this is done, I will consent.

(viii) Cause. Avoid him, because he is dishonest.

(ix) Effect or Consequence. I carefully tended him;

consequently the wound soon healed.

(x) Purpose. He worked very hard, for he wished

to do well.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES

105

Cautions :-

(i) In nearly every case the word introducing the adverbial sentence, as when, where, if, etc., helps

us to recognise it, but occasionally there is no introductory word, and we must judge by the

sense alone.

In the sentence—

"Pass that line, and I fire upon you,"

it is evident that the first clause is Adverbial, and that the real

meaning would be accurately expressed by the form "If you pass

that line," etc.

(ii)

"Ye meaner fowl, give place,

I am all splendour, dignity, and grace."

Here the second sentence is Adverbial to the first, and sense

demands "for," "because," or "since," as a connecting word.

(iii) Avoid the mistake of calling a sentence Adverbial

simply because it begins with an adverb.

"First (he) loves to do, then loves the good he does."

The second sentence is not adverbial, but co-ordinate with the

first.

40. Adjectival and Adverbial Sentences are easily recognised

from the fact that they have no complete meaning in them-

selves apart from the Principal Sentence to which they are

attached. Of some Principal Sentences—as, e.g., those begin-

ning with who, which, etc.—the same thing may be said, but

in the vast majority of cases a Principal Sentence is independent

in sense and self-contained in meaning.

Take two of the sentences given above.

"Which might be felt." (Adjectival.)

"When I can." (Adverbial.)

Their incompleteness is at once perceived. Their function is

to qualify, extend, modify, or limit the master sentence to

which they are attached; they are distinctly subordinative.

The subordinate character of Noun-sentences is best per-

ceived when they are introduced by their ordinary connective

"that"; in other cases their true nature may be recognised

from their relationship to the principal sentence.

106

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

41. A Noun Sentence may be—

(i) The Subject of the Principal Sentence; or

(ii) The Object of the main verb; or

(iii) The Nominative after is; or

(iv) In Apposition with another Noun.

(i) “That-he-is-better cannot be denied”: the subject. Here

the true nominative is that. “That cannot be denied.” What?

“That = he is better.” (From usage that in such sentences acquires

the function and force of a conjunction.)

(ii) “I heard that-he-was-better:” the object.

(iii) “My motive in going was that.I-might.be-of-use”: nominative after was.

(iv) “The fact that-he-voted-against-his-par'y is well known”:

in apposition with fact.

Impersonal Coustruction—

And methought, while she liberty sang,

'Twas liberty only to hear.

“'Twas-liberty-only-to-hear” is a Noun sentence, subject to the

impersonal verb “methought,” and forming with it a principal

sentence.

42. Any number of Subordinate Sentences may be attached

to the Principal Sentence. The only limit is that dictated by

a regard to clearness, to the balance of clauses, or to good taste.

The best example of a very long sentence, which consists entirely

of one principal sentence and a very large number of adjective

sentences, is “The House that Jack built.” “This is the house

that-Jack-built.” “This is the malt that-lay-in-the-house-that-Jack-

built,” and so on.

Co-ordinate Subordinate Sentences. Two or more subor-

dinate sentences of the same kind may be attached to the

same principal sentence.

Type of the wise, who soar but (who) never roam.

If tie day be fine and (if) I am free, I will go over the common.

John knew that the farmer had cut his corn and (that he had)

stacked it.

In the first sentences we have two Adjectival sentences, subordin-

ate to the principal and co-ordinate with one another. In the other

sentence we have Adverbial and Noun-sentences of a corresponding

character. The words within parentheses are understood and

should be shown in your analysis.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

107

43. Principal and Subordinate. The same sentence may

be subordinate to a principal sentence, and at the same time

principal to another sentence.

The man who hesitates when danger is at hand, is lost.

The sentence "who hesitates" is adjectival to the principal

sentence, and principal to "when danger is at hand."

The sentence would not be properly analysed unless its twofold

character and relationship were fully shown.

Compare :—Tell her that wastes her time and me,

That now she knows,

When I resemble her to thee,

How sweet and fair she seems to be.

44. Connectives :

(i) Care must be taken to associate introductory and

connective words with their proper sentences ;

otherwise confusion will result and the nature

of the sentences may be misunderstood.

Yet he who reigns within himself, and rules

Passions, desires, and fears, is more a king.

The Principal sentence here is "Yet he is more a king."

Thus, while I ape the measure wild

Of tales that charmed me as a child,

Rude though they be, still with the chime

Return the thoughts of early time.

"Thus" in the first line introduces the principal sentence "Still

. . . time."

Note the inversion in "Rude though they be," and remember

that inversions are very common in poetry.

CAUTIONS IN THE ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX

SENTENCES.

45. (i) Find out, first of all, the Principal Sentence.

(ii) Secondly, if the sentence is complicated or of

more than average difficulty, look out the finite

verbs; these are the kernels of the various sen-

tences; remember that each finite verb means

a sentence. When you are sure of your verbs

you will be able to connect with each its sub-

ject, object, and extensions.

108

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

(iii) Thirdly, look for the sentences, if any, that attach

themselves to the Subject of the Principal Sen-

tence.

(iv) Fourthly, find those sentences, if any, that belong

to the Object of the Principal Sentence, or to

any other Noun or Pronoun in it.

(v) Fifthly, look for the subordinate sentences that

are attached to the Predicate of the Principal

Sentence.

When a subordinate sentence is long, quote only the first and last

words, and place dots . . . . between them.

46. The following Cautions are necessary :-

(i) A connective may be omitted.

In Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure," Isabella says—

"I have a brother is condemned to die,"

Here who is omitted, and "who . . . die" is an adjectival sen-

tence qualifying the object brother.

(ii) Do not be guided by the part of speech that in-

troduces a subordinate sentence. Thus :-

(a) A relative pronoun may introduce a noun sentence, as, "I do

not know who-he-is" ; or an adjectival sentence, as, "John, who-

was-a-soldier, is now a gardener."

(b) An adverb may introduce a noun sentence, as, "I don't

know where it has gone to ;" or an adjectival sentence, as, "The

spot where he lies is unknown." In the sentence, "The reason why

so few marriages are happy is because young ladies spend their time

in making nets, not in making cages"—the subordinate sentence

"why . . . happy" is—though introduced by an adverb—in appo-

sition to the noun reason, and is therefore a noun sentence.

(iii) It is sometimes difficult to decide whether a given

sentence is Adjectival or Noun.

Whoever first reaches the fort gains the prize.

I will reward whoever first reaches the fort.

In these sentences some would prefer to regard the subordinate

sentence as qualifying "he" or "him," and would class them as

adjectival, but, inasmuch as they stand in the one case for subject

and in the other for object, it is preferable to take them as noun

sentences.

We speak that we do know.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

109

Here, instead of taking "that we do know" as a noun sentence, it

is better to split up "that" (a compound relative) into "that which"

and take "which we do know" as an Adjectival sentence.

THE MAPPING-OUT OF COMPLEX SENTENCES.

47. Complex Sentences should be mapped out on the same

principles as Simple Sentences. Let us take a sentence from

Mr Morris's " Jason " :-

" And in his hand he bare a mighty bow,

No man could bend of those that battle now."

This sentence may be drawn up after the following plan :-

He bare a mighty

in his hand bow

which

no man could bend

of those

who battle now.

(The single line indicates a preposition; the double line a con-

junction or conjunctive pronoun.)

48. The larger number of subordinate sentences there are,

and the farther away they stand from the principal sentence,

the larger will be the space that the mapping-out will cover.

Let us take this sentence from an old Greek writer :-

" Thou art about, O king! to make war against men who wear

leathern trousers, and have all their other garments of leather; who

feed not on what they like, but on what they can get from a soil

that is sterile and unkindly; who do not indulge in wine, but drink

water; who possess no figs, nor anything else that is good to eat."

This would be set out in the following way :-

Thou art about . . . against men

who

(i) wear . . . trousers

(ii) have . . . leather

(iii) feed not on that

which

(a) they like

110

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

(iv) feed on that

which

(b) they can get from a soil

that

(b1) is sterile and unkindly

(v) do not . . . wine

(vi) drink water

(vii) possess no figs

(viii) possess not anything else

that

(c) is good to eat.

49. Sentences may also be pigeon-holed, or placed in marked-off spaces or columns, like the following :-

"Thro' the black Tartar tents he passed, which stood

Clustering like bee-hives on the low black strand

Of Oxus, where the summer floods o'erflow

When the sun melts the snow in high Pamir."

Sentences

Kind of Sentence

Subject

Enlargement

Predicate

Extension

Object

A. He passed thro' the black Tartar tents

A. Prin. sentence

He

passed

thro' the tents

(a) which clustering like bee - hives stood on the strand of Oxus,

(a) Adj. sentence to A.

which

clustering

stood

on the low black strand

(b) [in the place] which the floods o'erflow

(b) Adj. sent. to place under stood

floods

the summer

o'erflow

(which)

(c) when . . . melts

(c) Adv. sent. to o'erflow

the sun

melts

when in high Pamir

snow

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

111

50. There is a kind of Continuous Analysis, which may often—not without benefit—be applied to longer passages, and especially to passages taken from the poets. For example :-

" Alas ! the meanest herb that scents the gale,

The lowliest flower that blossoms in the vale

Even where it dies, at spring's sweet call renews

To second life its odours and its hues "

1. Alas ! an interjection, with no syntactical relation to any word in the sentence.

2. the meanest, attributive or enlargement to 3.

3. herb, Subject to 4.

4. renews, Predicate to 3.

5. odours and hues, Object to 4.

6. at . . . call, Extension of renews, to 4.

7. to . . . life, Extension of renews, to 4.

8. the lowliest, attributive or enlargement to 9.

9. flower, Subject to 10.

10. renews, Predicate to 9.

11. odours and hues, Object to 10.

12. at . . . call, Extension to 10.

13. to . . . life, Extension to 10.

14. that, Subject to 15 and connective to 3.

15. scents, Predicate to 14.

16. gale, Object to 15.

17. that, Subject to 18 and connective to 9.

18. blossoms, Predicate to 17.

19. in the vale, Extension to 18.

20. even, Adverb modifying 21.

21. where it dies, Extension to 18.

22. it, Subject of 23.

23. dies, Predicate of 22.

III.—THE COMPOUND SENTENCE.

51. A Compound Sentence is one which consists of two or more Simple Sentences packed, for convenience' sake, into one.

Thus, in the " Lay of the Last Minstrel," Sir Walter Scott writes :-

" The way was long, the wind was cold,

The minstrel was infirm and old."

He might have put a full stop at long and at cold, for the sense ends

112

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

in these places, and, grammatically, the two lines form three

separate and distinct sentences. But because in thought the three

are connected, the poet made one compound sentence out of the three

simple sentences.

52. A Compound Sentence may be contracted.

(i) If we say, "John jumped up and ran off, the sentence is =

"John jumped up" + "John ran off." It is therefore a compound

sentence consisting of two simple sentences, but, for convenience

sake, contracted in the subject.

It may be taken as a Compound Contracted Sentence, and should

be analysed as two connected sentences.

Compare :- And out again I curve and flow

To join the brimming river.

(ii) In the sentence, "Either a knave or a fool has done this,"

the sentence is contracted in the predicate for the purpose of avoid-

ing the repetition of the verb has done.

(iii) In "The troops caught, and the King executed the rebels,"

the sentence is contracted in the object, "the rebels " being the

object of both sentences.

(iv) Sometimes both Subject and Predicate are omitted, as-

"Who grewest not alone in power

And knowledge; but from hour to hour

In reverence and in charity."

Here "who grewest " must be inserted after "but."

(v) Some sentences require modification or addition before they

can be satisfactorily analysed.

"No land but listens to the common call,

And in return receives supply from all."

This may be rendered

There is no land | which listens not to the common call, |

And which in return receives not supply from all."

Alterations, however, should never be made unless they are un-

avoidable.

CO-ORDINATE SENTENCES.

53. The Principal Co-ordinate Sentences of a Compound

Sentence are connected in various ways by different classes of

Conjunctions. The relationship of a sentence to a co-ordinate

one preceding it is either—

(a) Copulative or continuative.

(b) Disjunctive.

(c) Adversative.

(d) Illative.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

54. A Copulative Sentence is so connected with a preceding

one that the idea expressed by it agrees with or simply carries

further the thought going before.

Each change of many-coloured life he drew,

Exhausted worlds, and then imagined new.

The connectives of copulative sentences are: And, also, likewise,

moreover, further, furthermore; and correlatives such as : both—and ; not merely—but, etc.

note (i) The sense of the sentences and their relationship to one

another must be the chief guide in deciding the nature of the con-

nection. In many cases the connecting word in itself is mis-

leading.

We met a man at the gate, who told us the way.

Here the function of the sentence “who told,” etc., is not to

qualify the preceding sentence, but to express an additional fact,

which is co-ordinate with the preceding. Who = and he, and is

really copulative.

(ii) He was not at home, which was a great pity.

“Which ” does not introduce a subordinate qualifying sentence,

but is really copulative, introducing a co-ordinate sentence. It is

equivalent to “ and this.”

(iii) Nor and neither, when they are equivalent to “ are not,” are

copulative.

The enemy will not fight, nor will they even prepare for battle.

They refused to pay, neither did they offer to explain.

(iv) While and whilst are sometimes only copulative—

“The greater number laid their foreheads in the dust, whilst a

profound silence prevailed over all.”

The second sentence is noway subordinate to the first ; it is not

used to modify the first adverbially in regard to time, but to

introduce a sentence of equal rank, the two sentences being

co-ordinate.

(v) Sometimes the connective is entirely omitted, but the logical

connection of the sentences shows that the second is co-ordinate with,

and stands in copulative connection with, the first.

Her court was pure ; her life serene ;

God gave her peace ; her land reposed.

55. A Disjunctive Sentence is a sentence which implies

exclusion, or presents an alternative to the one before it.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

The breath of heaven must swell the sail,

Or all the toil is lost.

114 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

The connectives of disjunctive sentences are: Either, or: neither, nor; and sometimes "else" and "otherwise."

56. An Adversative Sentence is one which expresses an idea in opposition to or in contrast with that of a preceding one.

To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given;

But all his serious thoughts had rest in heaven.

The connectives of adversative sentences are: But, however, nevertheless, notwithstanding, only, still, yet; and such correlatives as: on the one hand—on the other hand, now—then.

note.—Sometimes the connective is not expressed:

They resent your honesty for an instant; they will thank you for it always.

57. An Illative Sentence expresses a reason or inference in reference to one before it. Illative sentences may be—

(a) Illative Proper: when the idea expressed is a natural inference from or implied consequence of what is previously expressed.

The leaves are falling; therefore the swallows will soon be gone.

(b) Causative: when the idea expressed forms the grounds of a certain inference expressed in the preceding sentence.

The swallows will soon be gone; for the leaves are falling.

The connectives are (a) Illative Proper: Therefore, hence, so, consequently, etc.

(b) Causative: For.

Caution.—Great care is necessary in distinguishing between an Illative Sentence and an Adverbial Sentence of Consequence.

Thus in the sentence, The leaves are falling; therefore the swallows will soon be gone, the second sentence is a fair inference from, but not a necessary consequence of, the first, and is an Illative Sentence.

Whereas in the sentence, The leaves are falling; therefore the trees will soon be bare, the second sentence is a necessary consequence of the first, and is an Adverbial Sentence of Effect or Consequence.

The student may draw for himself a corresponding distinction between

The swallows will soon be gone; for the leaves are falling.

and

The trees will soon be bare; for the leaves are falling.

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

115

58. Note.—(i) In some cases an introductory “for” is

simply a preposition, and the sentence is neither Illative

nor Adverbial.

For pathless marsh and mountain cell

The peasant left his lonely shed.

(ii) The connection in the following is exceptional :-

And out again I curve and flow

To join the brimming river ;

For men may come, and men may go,

But I go on for ever.

“For men may come ” is neither an Illative nor an Adverbial

Sentence, but a co-ordinate sentence, copulative to the preceding

ones.

In Illative Sentences the connective is very rarely omitted, but

examples are not unknown.

Milton ! thou shouldst be living at this hour :

England hath need of thee ; she is a fen

Of stagnant waters.

The second and third sentences are in illative relationship to the

first ; they give the grounds of the first statement, and might fitly

begin with for.

PARENTHE TICAL SENTENCES.

59. Sometimes sentences are interposed in a way that com-

plicates the analysis.

These are the very people who you thought were lost.

Here “ who were lost ” is really a noun sentence to its principal

“ you thought ”; but it is an adjectival sentence to the real prin-

cipal “ These are the very people.” “ You thought ” is therefore best

taken as a parenthetical sentence, having a principal relationship to

“ who were lost.”

In other cases the relationship of the interposed sentence to the

rest of the sentence is less clear.

Then I stood up—and I was scarcely conscious of my surroundings

—and fired my gun.

The interposed sentence may be regarded as principal and co-

ordinate with the other two, but on account of its loose relationship

it is better taken as simply “ parenthetical.”

WORD-BUILDING AND DERIVATION.

1. The primary element—that which is the shortest form—

of a word is called its root. Thus tal (which means number) is

the root of the words tale and tell

2. The stem is the root + some modification. Thus love

(=lov + e) is the stem of lov.

3. It is to the stem that inflexions are added, and thus to

love we add d for the past tense.

4. If to the root we add a suffix, then the word so formed is

called a derivative. Thus by adding ling to dar (=dear),

we make darling.

5. In general, we add English prefixes and English suffixes

to English words; but this is not always the case. Thus we

have cottage, where the Latin ending age is added to the Eng-

lish word cot; and covetousness, where the English ending

ness is added to the Latin word covetous. Such words are

called hybrids.

6. When two words are put together to make one, the one

word so made is called a compound.

7. The adding of prefixes or of suffixes to words, or the

making one word out of two, is called word-formation.

COMPOUND NOUNS.

8. Compound Nouns are formed by the addition of :—

(i) Noun and Noun, as—

Bandog (=bond-dog).

Bridal (=bride-ale).

Brimstone (=burn-stone).

Bylaw (=law for a by or town).

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES.

117

Daisy (=day's eye).

Evensong.

Garlic (=gar-leek=spear-leek ;

O.E. gár, spear).

Gospel (=God's spell=story).

Housetop.

Huzzy (=housewife).

Icicle (=is-gicel=ice-jag).

Lapwing (=leap-wing).

Nightingale (=night-singer).

Orchard (=ort-yard=wort-yard, i.e., herb-garden).

Stirrup (=stig-ráp=rising rope).

Tadpole (=toad-head. Pole=poll, a head, as in poll-tax).

Wednesday (=Woden's day).

(ii) Noun and Adjective, as—

Blackbird. Midnight Quicksilver.

Freeman. Midsummer. Twilight (=two lights).

Black'bird has the accent on black, and is one word. A black'bird need not be a black' bird'.

(iii) Noun and Verb, as—

Bakehouse. Grindstone. Spendthrift.

Cutpurse. Pickpocket. Wagtail.

Godsend. Pinfold. Washtub.

(iv) Noun and Adverb, as offshoot.

(v) Noun and Preposition, as afterthought.

(vi) Verb and Adverb, as—

Castaway. Drawback. Income.

Welfare. Farewell. Welcome.

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES.

9. There are in the language a great many compound adjectives, such as heart-whole, sea-sick, etc.; and these are formed in a large number of different ways.

Compound adjectives may be formed in the following ways :—

(i) Noun + Adjective, as purse-proud, wind-swift, way-weary, sea-green, lily-white.

(ii) Noun+Present Participle, as ear-piercing, death-boding, heart-rending, spirit-stirring, sea-faring, night-walking, home-keeping.

(iii) Noun+Passive Participle, as moth-eaten, worm-eaten, tempest-tossed, way-laid, forest-born, copper-fastened, moss-clad, sea-girt.

(iv) Adverb+Present Participle, as far-darting, everlasting, high-stepping, well-meaning, long-suffering, far-reaching, hard-working.

(v) Adverb+Passive Participle, as high-born, "ill-waved," well-bred, thorough-bred, high-strung, ill-pleased.

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GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

(vi) Noun + Noun + ed, as hare-brained, dog-hearted, beetle-headed,

periwig-pated, club-footed, lily-livered, trumpet-tongued, eagle-eyed.

(vii) Adjective + Noun + ed, as evil-eyed, grey-headed, thin-faced,

empty-headed, tender-hearted, thick-lipped, two-legged, three-cornered,

four-sided, high-minded, bald-pated.

(viii) Noun + Noun, as bare-foot, lion-heart, iron-side.

(ix) Adverb + Noun + ed, as down-hearted, under-handed.

COMPOUND VERBS.

10. There are not many compound verbs in the English

language. The few that there are are formed thus:-

(i) Verb and Noun, as -

Backbite.

Browbeat.

Hamstring.

Henpeck.

Hoodwink.

Kiln-dry.

(ii) Verb and Adjective, as-

Dumfound.

Fulfil (=fill full).

Whitewash.

(iii) Verb and Adverb, as-

Doff (=do off).

Don (=do on).

Dout (=do out).

Dup (=do up).

Cross-question.

Outdo.

THE FORMATION OF ADVERBS.

11. Adverbs are derived from Nouns, from Adjectives, from

Pronouns, and from Prepositions.

a. Adverbs derived from Nouns are either: (i) Old Posses-

sives, or (ii) Old Datives, or (iii) Compounds of a Noun and

a Preposition :-

(i) Old Possessives : Needs = of need, or of necessity. The Calendrer

says to John Gilpin about his hat and wig-

" My head is twice as big as yours,

They therefore needs must fit "

Of the same class are : always, nowadays, betimes.

(ii) Old Datives. These are seldom and the old-fashioned whilom

(=in old times).

(iii) Compounds : anon = (in one moment), abed (=on bed) asleep,

aloft, abroad, indeed, of a truth, by turns, perchance, perhaps.

b. Adverbs derived from Adjectives are either : (i) Old

Possessives, or (ii) Old Datives, or (iii) Compounds of an

Adjective and a Preposition :-

(i) Old Possessives : else (ell-es, possessive of al = other), unawares,

once (=ones), twice, thrice, etc.

(ii) Old Datives. The old English way of forming an adverb was simply to use the dative case of the adjective—which ended in ĕ. Thus we had deepĕ, brightĕ, for deeply and brightly. Then the ĕ dropped away. Hence it is that there are in English several adverbs exactly like adjectives. These are: fast, hard, right (in “Right Reverend”), far, ill, late, early, loud, high, etc.

(iii) Compounds of an Adjective and a Preposition : on high, in vain, in short, at large, of late, etc.

c. Adverbs derived from Pronouns come from the pronominal stems : who, the (or this), and he. The following is a table, and it is important to note the beautiful correspondences :-

Pronominal Stems. Place In. Place To. Place From. Time In. Manner. Cause

Wh-o Whe-re Whi-ther Whe-nce Whe-n Ho-w Wh-y

Th-e or th-is The-re Thi-ther The-nce The-n Th-us Th-e

He He-re Hi-ther He-nce

(i) How and why are two forms of the same word—the instrumental case of who. How = in what way? Why = with what reason?

(ii) The, in the last column, is the adverbial the (A.S. thý) before a comparative. It is the instrumental case of that (A.S. thaet). “The more, the merrier” = by that more, by that merrier. That is, the measure of the increase in the number is the measure of the increase in the merriment.

d. Compound Adverbs are formed by adding together—

(i) Noun and Noun, as lengthways, endways.

(ii) Noun and Adjective, as —

Always. Head-foremost. Otherwise.

Breast-high. Meanwhile. Sometimes.

(iii) Preposition and Noun, as Aboveboard, outside.

(iv) Adverb and Preposition, as—

Therein. Whereupon.

PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES.

12. The Prefixes used in our language are of English, French, Latin, and Greek origin.

(i) French is only a modified Latin. Hence French prefixes fall naturally under Latin prefixes, as the one is only a form of the other,

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GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

13. English Prefixes are divided into Inseparable and

Separable. Inseparable Prefixes are those that have no mean-

ing by themselves and cannot be used apart from another word.

Separable Prefixes may be used and are used as independent

words.

14. The following are the most important

English Inseparable Prefixes:-

1. A (a broken-down form of O.E. an=on), as-

Abed. Aloft (=in the lift or sky). A-building.

Aboard. Away. Athwart.

2. Be (an O.E. form of by), which has several functions:-

(i) To add an intensive force to transitive verbs, as-

Bedaub. Beseech Besmear.

Besprinkle. (= beseek). Besmirch.

(ii) To turn intransitive verbs into transitive, as-

Bemoan. Bespeak. Bethink.

(iii) To make verbs out of nouns or adjectives, as-

Befriend. Beguile. Benumb. Betroth.

Besiege (= to take a siege or seat beside a town till it surrenders).

(iv) To combine with nouns, as-

Behalf. Bequest. Bypath.

Behest. Byname. Byword.

(v) To form part of prepositions and adverbs, as before, besides, etc.

3. For (O.E. for=Lat. per) means thoroughly, and has two func-

tions:-

(i) To add an intensive meaning, as in--

Forbid. Forget Forswear.

Fordone (=ruined). Forgive. Forlorn (=utterly lost).

Forswear means to swear out and out, to swear to anything, hence falsely.

Compare the Latin perjurare; hence our perjure.

(ii) To give a negative meaning, as in forgo (wrongly spelled forego),

to go without.

4. Fore = before ; as forebode, forecast.

5. Gain (O.E. gegn, back, again), found in gainsay (to speak

against).

PREFIXES.

121

6. Mis (O.E. mis, wrong ; and connected with the verb to miss), as in –

Misdeed. Mislead. Mistrust. Mistake.

Caution.—When mis occurs in certain words of French origin, it is a shortened form of minus, less ; as in mischief, mischance, miscount, miscreant (=non-believer).

7. Un=not, as

Unholy. Undo. Unbind.

8. Wan (O.E wan, wanting ; and connected with wane), which is found in—

Wanton (=wantowen, lacking education). Wanhop (= despair). Wantrust.

9. With (a shortened form of O.E. wither=back or against) is found in—

Withstand. Withdraw. Withhold.

It exists also in a latent form in the word drawing-room = withdrawing room.

15. The following are the most important

English Separable Prefixes:—

1. After, which is found in—

Aftergrowth. Aftermath (from mow). After dinner.

2. All (O.E. al, quite), which is found in—

Almighty. Alone (quite by one's self). Almost.

3. Forth, found in forthcoming, etc.

4. Fro (a shortened form of from), in froward.

5. In appears in modern English in two forms, as:—

(i) In, in—

Income. Insight. Instep. Inborn Inbred. Inlay.

(ii) En or em (which is a Frenchified form), in—

Endear. Entwine. Embolden. Enlighten. Embitter.

122

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

6. Of or off (which are two spellings of the same word), as—

Offspring. Offset. Offshoot. Offal (that which falls off).

7. On, as in onset, onslaught, onward.

8. Out, which takes also the form of ut, as in—

Outbreak. Outside. Utter. Outcast. Outpost. Utmost.

9. Over (the comparative of the ove in above), which combines :—

(i) With nouns, as in—

Overcoat. Overflow. Overhand.

(ii) With adjectives, as in—

Over-bold. Over-merry. Over-proud.

(Shakespeare is very fond of such forms.)

(iii) With verbs, as in—

Overthrow. Overspread. Overhead.

10. Thorough or through, two forms of the same word, as in—

Throughout. Through-train. Thorough-bred. Thoroughfare.

Shakespeare has “thorough bush, thorough brier, thorough flood, thorough fire.

11. Twi = two, in twilight, twin, twist, etc.

12. Under, which goes :—

(i) With verbs, as in—

Underlie. Undersell. Undergo.

(ii) With nouns, as in—

Underhand. Underground. Undertone.

(iii) With other words, as in—

Underneath. Underlying.

13. Up, which goes :—

(i) With verbs, as in—

Upbear. Upbraid. Uphold.

(ii) With nouns, as in—

Upland. Upstart. Upshot.

(iii) With other words, as in—

Upright. Upward.

16. There are in use in our language many Latin Prefixes;

and many of them are of great service. Some of them, as

circum (about), come to us direct from Latin;

others, like counter (against), have come to us through the medium of

French. The following are the most important

Latin Prefixes:-

1. A, ab, abs (Fr. a, av), away from, as in-

Avert. Abjure. Absent. Abstain.

Avaunt. Advantage (which ought to be avantage).

2. Ad (Fr. a), to, which in composition becomes ac, af, ag, al, an, ap,

ar, as, at, to assimilate with the first consonant of the root. The fol-

lowing are examples of each :-

Adapt. Affect. Accord. Agree.

Aggression. Allude. Annex. Appeal.

Arrive. Assimilate. Attain. Attend.

All these words come straight to us from Latin, except agree, arrive, and

attain. The following are also French: Achieve (to bring to a chef or head),

amount, acquaint.

3. Amb, am (ambi, about), as in-

Ambition. Ambiguous. Amputate.

4. Ante (Fr. an), before, as in-

Antedate. Antechamber. Ancestor (= antecessor).

5. Bis, bi, twice, as in-

Bisect. Biscuit (= biscoctus, twice baked).

6. Circum, circa, around, as in-

Circumference. Circulate. Circuit.

7. Cum, with, in French com, which becomes col, con, cor, coun, and

co before a vowel, as in-

Compound. Collect. Content. Correct.

Counsel. Countenance. Coeval. Coöperate.

(i) In cost (from constare, to "stand"); couch (from collōco, I place); cull

(from collĭgo, I collect); and cousin (from consobrīnus, the child of a mother's

sister), the prefix has undergone great changes

(ii) Co, though of Latin origin, can go with purely English words, as in co-

worker.

8. Contra (Fr. contre), against, which also becomes contro and

pounter, as in-

Contradict. Controvert. Counterbalance.

(i) In counterweigh and counterwork we find it in union with English roots.

(ii) In encounter we find it converted into a root.

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GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

9. De (Fr. de), down, from, about, as in—

Decline. Describe. Depart.

It has also two different functions. It is—

(i) negative in destroy, deform, desuetude, etc.

(ii) intensive in desolate, desiccate (to dry up), etc.

10. Dis, di (Fr. des, de), asunder, in two, as in—

Dissimilar. Disarm. Dismember.

Differ (s becomes f). Disease. Divorce.

Defy. Defer. Delay.

(i) Dis is also joined with English roots to make the hybrids disown, dislike, distrust, distaste.

11. Ex, e (Fr. es, e), out of, from, as in—

Exalt. Exhale. Expatriate (patria, one's country).

Elect. Evade. Educe.

(i) ex has a privative sense in ex-emperor, etc.

(ii) In amend (emend), astonish (etonner), the e is disguised.

(iii) In sample (short for example), scorch (O. Fr. escurcer), and special (for especial), the e has fallen away.

12. Extra, beyond, as in—

Extraneous. Extraordinary. Extravagant.

(i) In stranger (O. Fr. estranger, from Lat. extraneus) the e has fallen away.

13. In (Fr. en, em), in, into, which changes into il, im, ir, as in—

Invade. Invent (to come upon). Infer.

Illusion. Improve. Immigrate.

Irritate. Irrigate. Irradiate.

Enchant. Endure. Envoy.

(i) It unites with English roots to make the hybrids embody, embolden, endear, entrust, enlighten, etc.

(ii) In ambush (Ital. ambasciarsi, to put one's self in a wood), the in is disguised.

14. In, not, which becomes il, im, ir, and ig, as in—

Inconvenient. Illiberal. Impious. Irrelevant.

Incautious. Illegal. Impolitic. Ignoble.

(i) The English prefix un sometimes takes its place, and forms hybrids with Latin roots in unable, unapt, uncomfortable.

(ii) Shakespeare has unpossible, unproper, and many others.

15. Inter, intro (Fr. entre), between, among—as in

Intercede. Interpose. Interfere.

Introduce. Entertain. Enterprise.

16. Male (Fr. mau), ill, as in—

Malediction, (contracted through French into)

Malison (opposed to Benison). Maugre.

PREFIXES.

17. Mis (Fr. mes, from Latin minus), less, as in—

Misadventure. Mischance. Mischief.

Caution.—Not to be confounded with the English prefix mis in mis-take, mistrust, etc.

18. Non, not, as in—

Nonsense. Non-existent. Nonsuit.

(i) The initial n has dropped off in umpire, formerly numpire=O. Fr. nonper= Lat nonpar, not equal.

(ii) The n has fallen away likewise from norange, napron (connected with nap-kin, napery), etc., by wrongly cleaving to the indefinite article a.

19. Ob, against, becomes oc, of, op, etc., as in—

Obtain. Occur. Offend. Oppose.

20. Pene, almost, as in—

Peninsula. Penultimate (the last but one).

21. Per (Fr. par), through, which becomes pel, as in—

Pellucid. Perform. Perjure.

Perfect. Permit. Pilgrim.

(i) Pilgrim comes from peregrinus, a person who wanders per agros, through the fields,—by the medium of Ital. pellegrino.

(ii) Perhaps is a hybrid.

22. Post, after, as in—

Postpone. Postdate. Postscript.

(i) The post is much disguised in puny, which comes from the French puis né =Lat. post natus, born after. A “puny judge” is a junior judge, or a judge of a later creation.

23. Præ, pre (Fr. pré), before, as in—

Predict. Presume. Pretend. Prevent.

(i) It is shortened into a pr in prize, prison, apprehend, comprise (all from pre-hendo, I seize).

(ii) It is disguised in provost (prepositus, one placed over), in preach (from præ-dico, I speak before), and provender (from præbeo, I furnish).

24. Præter, beyond, as in—

Preternatural. Preterite (beyond the present). Pretermit.

25. Pro (Fr. pour), which becomes pol, por, pur, as in—

Pronoun. Proconsul. Procure. Protest.

Pollute. Portrait. Pursue. Purchase.

26. Re (Fr. re), back, again, which becomes red, as in—

Rebel. Reclaim. Recover. Refer.

Redeem. Redound. Readmit. Recreant.

(i) It is much disguised in rally (=re-ally), in ransom (a shortened Fr. form of re-demption), and in runagate (=renegade, one who has denied—negavit—his faith).

(ii) It combines with English roots to form the hybrids relay, reset, recall.

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GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

27. Retro, backwards—as in retrograde, retrospect.

(i) It is disguised in rear-guard (Ital. retro-guardia), rear, and arrears.

28. Se (Fr. se), apart, which becomes sed, as in —

Secede. Seclude. Seduce. Sedition.

29. Sub (Fr. sous or sou), under, which becomes suc, suf, sud, sum, sup, sur, and sus, as in—

Subtract. Succour. Suffer. Suggest.

Summon. Supplant. Surrender. Suspend.

(i) Sub is disguised in sojourn (from O. Fr. sojorner, from Low Latin subdiurnāre), and in sudden (from Latin subitaneus).

(ii) It combines with English roots to form the hybrids sublet, subworker, sub-kingdom, etc.

30. Subter, beneath—as in subterfuge.

31. Super (Fr. sur), above, as in—

Supernatural. Superpose. Superscription.

Surface (superficies). Surname. Surtout (over-all).

(i) It is disguised in sovereign (which Milton more correctly spells sovran), from Low Latin superanus.

32. Trans (Fr. trés), beyond, which becomes tra, as in —

Translate. Transport. Transform. Transitive.

Tradition. Traverse. Travel. Trespass.

(i) It is disguised in treason (the Fr. form of tradition, from trado (=transdo), I give up), in betray and traitor (from the same Latin root), in trance and entrance (Latin transitus, a passing beyond), and in trestle (from Latin diminutive transtillum, a little cross beam).

33. Ultra, beyond, as in—

Ultra-Liberal. Ultra-Tory. Ultramontane.

(i) In outrage (O. Fr. outrage) the ultra is disguised.

34. Unus, one, which becomes uni and uni, as in—

Unanimous. Uniform. Unicorn.

35. Vice (Fr. vice), in the place of, as in—

Viceroy. Vicar. Vice-chancellor. Viscount.

17. Our language possesses also a considerable number of prefixes transferred from the Greek language, many of which are very useful. The following are the most important

Greek Prefixes:—

1. An, a (ἀν, ἀ), not, as in—

Anarchy. Anonymous. Apteryx (the wingless). Atheist.

2. Amphi (ἀμφί), on both sides, as in—

Amphibious. Amphitheatre.

3. Ana (ἀνά), up, again, back, as in—

Anatomy. Analysis. Anachronism.

4. Anti (ἀντί), against or opposite to, as in—

Antidote. Antipathy. Antipodes. Antarctic.

5. Apo (ἀπό), away from, which also becomes ap, as in—

Apostate. Apostle. Apology. Aphelion.

6. Arch, archi, arche (ἀρχή), chief, as in—

Archbishop. Archangel. Architect. Archetype.

7. Auto (αὐτός), self, which becomes auth, as in—

Autocrat. Autograph. Autotype. Authentic.

8. Cata, cat (κατά), down, as in—

Catalogue. Catapult. Catechism. Cathedral.

9. Dia (διά), through, across, as in—

Diameter. Diagram. Diagonal.

(i) This prefix is disguised in devil—from Gr. diabolos, the accuser or slanderer, from Gr. diaballein, to throw across.

10. Dis, di (δίς), twice, as in—

Dissyllable. Diphthong. Dilemma.

11. Dys (δυσ), ill, as in—

Dysentery. Dyspeptic (contrasts with Eupeptic).

12. Ec, ex (ἐκ, ἐξ), out of, as in—

Eccentric. Ecstasy. Exodus. Exotic.

13. En (ἐν), in, which becomes el and em, as in—

Encyclical. Encomium. Ellipse. Emphasis.

14. Epi, ep (ἐπί), upon, as in—

Epitaph. Epiphany. Epoch. Ephemeral.

15. Eu (εὖ), well, which also becomes ev, as in—

Euphemism. Eulogy. Evangelist.

16. Hemi (ἡμι), half as in—

Hemisphere. Hemistich (half a line in poetry).

17. Hyper (ὑπέρ), over and above, as in—

Hyperborean. Hyperbolé. Hypercritical. Hypermetrical.

18. Hypo, hyp (ὑπό), under, as in—

Hypocrite. Hypotenuse. Hyphen.

19. Meta, met (μετά), after, changed for, as in—

Metaphor. Metamorphosis. Metonymy. Method.

20. Mono, mon (μόνος), alone, as in—

Monosyllam. Monody. Monad. Monk.

21. Pan (πᾶν), all, as in—

Pantheist. Panacea. Panorama. Pantomime.

22. Para (παρά), by the side of, which becomes par, as in—

Parallel. Parish. Parody.

23. Peri (περί), round, as in—

Perimeter. Period. Perigee. Periphery.

24. Pro (πρό), before, as in—

Prophet. Prologue. Proboscis. Problem.

25. Pros (πρός), towards, as in—

Prosody. Proselyte.

26. Syn (σύν), with, which becomes syl, sym, and sy, as in—

Syntax. Synagogue. Syllable. System.

Sympathy. Symbol.

18. The Suffixes employed in the English language are much more numerous than the Prefixes, and much more useful. Like the Prefixes, they come to us from three sources—from Old English (or Anglo-Saxon); from Latin (or French); and from Greek.

19. The following are the most important

English Suffixes to Nouns:-

1. Ard or art (= habitual), as in—

Braggart. Coward. Drunkard. Dullard.

Laggard. Niggard. Sluggard. Wizard.

2. Craft (skill), as in—

Leechcraft (= medicine). Priestcraft. Witchcraft.

Woodcraft. Rimecraft (old name for Arithmetic).

3. D, t or th (all being dentals), as in—

(i) Blood (from blow, said of flowers). Blade (from the same). Deed (do).

Flood (flow). Seed (sow). Thread (throw).

(ii) Drift (drive). Drought (dry). Draught (draw).

Flight (fly). Height (high: Milton uses highth). Shrift (shrive).

Rift (rive). Theft (thieve). Weft (weave).

(iii) Aftermath (mow). Berth (bear). Dearth (dear).

Death (die). Earth (ear = plough). Health (heal).

Mirth (merry). Sloth (slow). Tilth (till).

4. Dom (O.E. dôm=doom), power, office, as in—

Dukedom. Kingdom. Halidom (=holiness).

Christendom. Thraldom. Wisdom.

(i) In O.E. we had bisceopdôm (=bishopdom) and Carlyle has accustomed us to rascalldom and scoundreldom.

5. En (a diminutive), as in—

Chicken (cock). Kitten (cat). Maiden.

(i) The addition of a syllable has a tendency to modify the preceding vowel—as in kitchen (from cook), vixen (from fox), and nâtional (from nătion).

6. Er, which has three functions, to denote—

(i) An agent, as in—

Baker. Dealer. Leader. Writer.

(ii) An instrument, as in—

Finger (from O.E. fangan, to take). Stair (from stigan, to mount).

( The ending er has become disguised in liar and sailor (not sailer, which is a ship), but not, however, in beggar, in which the suffix is not English at all. Beggar is derived from the Low Latin beg-hardus, so burglar from the Low Latin burgulator. Under the influence of Norman-French, an i r y creeps in before the r, as in collier (from coal), lawyer, glazier (from glass), etc.

7. Hood (O.E. hâd), state, rank, person, as in—

Brotherhood. Childhood. Priesthood. Wifehood.

(i) In Godhead, this suffix takes the form of head.

8. Ing (originally=son of) part, as in—

Farthing (fourth). Riding (trithing=thirding). Tithing (tenth).

(i) This suffix is found as a patronymic in many proper names, such as Browning. Harding; and in Kensington, Whittington, etc.

(ii) Lording (=the son of a lord) and whiting (from white) are also diminutives.

(iii) This ing is to be carefully distinguished from the ing (=ung) which was the old suffix for verbal nouns, as clothing, learning, etc.

9. Kin (a diminutive), as in—

Bodkin. Firkin (from four). Lambkin. Mannikin.

(i) It is also found in proper names, as in Dawkins (=little David), Jenkins (=son of little John), Hawkins (=son of little Hal), Perkins (=son of little Peter).

10. Ling = l + ing (both diminutives), as in—

Darling (from dear). Duckling. Gosling (goose).

Firstling. Hireling. Nestling.

(i) Every diminutive has a tendency to run into depreciation, as in groundling, underling, worldling, etc.

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GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

11. Le or l, as in-

Beadle (from beodan, to bid). Bundle (bind). Saddle (seat).

Settle (seat). Nail. Sail.

12. Lock (O.E. lâc, gift, sport), which also becomes ledge, as in-

Knowledge. Wedlock. Feohtlâc (battle).

(i) This is not to be confused with the lock and lick in the names of plants,

which in O.E. was leac, and which we find in hemlock, charlock; garlick (=spear plant) and barley (=berelic).

13. Ness forms abstract nouns from adjectives, as in-

Darkness. Holiness. Weakness. Weariness.

(i) Witness differs from the above in two respects : (a) it comes from a verb-

witan, to know ; and (b) is not always an abstract noun.

(ii) This English suffix combines very easily with foreign roots, as in acute-

ness, commodiousness, graceful ess, remoteness, and many others.

14. Nd (which is the ending of the present participle in O.E.), found in-

Friend (=the loving one). Fiend (=the hating one).

Errand. Wind (from a root wâ, to blow).

15. Ock (a diminutive), as in-

Bullock. Hillock. Ruddock (=redbreast).

(i) In hâwk (=the seizor, from have) this suffix is disguised.

(ii) It is also found in proper names, as in-

Pollock (from Paul). Maddox (from Matthew). Wilcox (from William).

16. M or om, which forms nouns from verbs, as in -

Bloom (from blow). Qualm (from quell).

Gloom (from glow). Seam (from sew).

Gleam (from glow). Team (from tow).

(i) This suffix unites with the Norman-French word rêl (royal) to form the

hybrid realm.

17. Red (mode, fash on—and also counsel), as in-

Hatred. Kindred. Sibrede (relationship).

(i) This ending is also found in proper nouns. Thus we have Mildred=mild

in counsel; Ethelred=noble in counsel, called also Unredle, which does not mean

unready, but without counsel.

18. Ric (O.E. ríce, power, dominion)—as in bishopric.

(i) In O.E. we had âbotric, hevenricke, and kingric.

19. Ship (O.E. scípe, shape or form), which is also spelled scape and skíp, makes abstract nouns, as in-

Fellowship. Friendship. Lordship

Landscape. Workmanship. Worship (=worthship).

(i) Milton writes landskip for landscape

SUFFIXES.

20. Stead (O.E. stéde, place), as in—

Bedstead. Homestead.

Hampstead. Berkhamstead.

21. Ster was originally the feminine of er, the suffix for a male agent : it has now two functions :-

(i) It denotes an agent, as in—

Huckster (hawker). Maltster.

Songster. Roadster.

(ii) It has an element of depreciation in—

Gamester. Punster.

Oldster. Youngster.

(iii) We had, in Old English, baxter (fem. of baker), webster (weaver), 3rewster, fithelstre (fiddler), seamestre (sewer), etc. Most of these are now used as proper names.

(iv) Spinster is the feminine of spinner, one form of which was spinder, which then became spider.

22. Wright (from work, by metathesis of the r), as in—

Shipwright. Wainwright (= waggonwright). Wheelwright.

23. Ward, a keeper, as in—

Hayward. Steward (= sty-ward). Woodward.

(i) Ward has also the Norman-French form of guard.

(ii) In steward, the word stige or sty meant stall for horses, cows, etc.

20. The following are the most important

English Suffixes to Adjectives :-

1. Ed or d, the ending for the passive participle, as in—

Cold (= chilled). Long-eared. Lauded. Talented.

2. En, denoting material, as in—

Golden. Silvern. Flaxen. Hempen.

Oaken. Wooden. Silken. Linen (from lin, flax).

3. En, the old ending for the passive participle, as in—

Drunken. Forlorn. Molten. Hewn.

4. Ern, denoting quarter, as in—

Eastern. Western. Northern. Southern.

5. Fast (O.E. fæst, firm), as in—

Steadfast. Rootfast. Shamefast (wrongly shamefaced).

6. Fold (O.E. feald), as in—

Twofold. Threefold. Manifold.

(i) Simple, from Lat. simplex, has usurped the place of anfeald = onefold.

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GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

7. Ful = full, as in—

Hateful. Needful. Sinful. Wilful.

8. Ish (O.E. isc) has three functions ; it denotes :—

(i) Partaking in the nature of, as in—

Boorish. Childish. Churlish. Waspish.

(ii) A milder or sub-form of the quality, as in—

Blackish. Greenish. Whitish. Goodish.

(iii) A patrial relation, as in—

English. Irish. Scottish. Welsh.

9. Le, with a diminutive tendency, as in—

Little (lyt). Brittle. Fickle.

10. Less (O.E. leâs), loose from, as in—

Fearless. Helpless. Sinless. Toothless.

11. Like (O.E. lîc), softened in ly, as in—

Childlike. Dovelike. Wifelike. Warlike.

Godly. Manly. Womanly. Ghastly (=ghostlike).

12. Ow (O.E. u and wa), as in—

Narrow. Callow. Fallow. Yellow.

13. Right, with the sense of direction, as in—

Forthright. Downright. Upright.

14. Some (O.E. sum, a form of same, like), as in—

Buzom (from bugan, to bend). Gladsome. Lissom (=lithesome).

Irksome. Gamesome. Winsome.

15. Teen (O.E. tyne) = ten by addition, as in—

Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen.

(i) In thirteen = three + ten, the r has changed its place by metathesis.

(ii) In fifteen; the hard f has replaced the soft v.

16. Ty (O.E. tîg) = tens by multiplication, as in—

Twenty (=twain-ty). Thirty (=three-ty). Forty.

17. Ward (O.E. weard, from weorthan, to become), denoting direction, as in—

Froward (from). Toward. Untoward.

Awkward (from awk, contrary). Homeward. Seaward.

(i) This ending, ward, has no connection with ward, a keeper. It is connected with the verb worth in the line, "Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day !"

SUFFIXES.

133

18. Y (O.E. ig, the guttural of which has vanished) forms adjectives from nouns and verbs, as in—

Bloody. Crafty.

Mighty. Silly.

Dusty. Heavy (heave).

Stony. Weary.

21. The following are the most important

English Suffixes for Adverbs :-

1. Ere, denoting place in, as in

Here. There. Where.

2. Es or s (the old genitive or possessive), which becomes se and ce, as in—

Needs. Besides. Sometimes. Unawares.

Else. Hence. Thence. Once.

(i) “I must needs go” = of need.

3. Ly (O.E. lîce, the dative of lîc), as in—

Only (=only). Badly. Willingly. Utterly.

4. Ling, long, denotes direction, as in—

Darkling. Grovelling. Headlong. Sidelong.

(i) Grovelling is not really a present participle; it is an adverb, and was in O.E. gruflynges.

(ii) We once had also the adverbs flatlings and noselings.

5. Meal (O.E. maelum = at times), as in—

Piecemeal. Limbmeal.

(i) Shakespeare, in “Cymbeline,” has the line—

“O that I had her here, to tear her limbmeal.”

(ii) Chaucer has stound-meal = hour by hour; King Alfred has styllcemaelum =stick-meal, or here and there.

6. Om (an old dative plural), as in—

Whilom (= in old times). Seldom (from seld, rare).

7. Ther, which denotes place to, as in—

Hither. Thither. Whither.

8. Ward or wards, which denotes direction, as in—

Homeward. Homewards. Backwards. Downwards.

9. Wise (O.E. wise, manner, mode), as in—

Anywise. Nowise. Otherwise. Likewise.

“Some people are wise; and some are otherwise.”

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GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

22. The following are the most important

English Suffixes for Verbs:-

1. Le or l has two functions :-

(i) Frequentative, as in-

Dabble (dab) Grapple (grab). Waddle (wade).

Dribble (drip). Drizsle (from dreósan, to fall). Jostle.

(ii) Diminutive, as in-

Dazzle (daze). Dubble (dip) Dwindle.

Gabble. Niggle. Sparkle.

2. Er or r adds a frequentative or intensive force to the original verb, as in-

Batter (beat). Chatter. Glitter (glow). Flutter (flit).

Glimmer (gleam). Clatter. Stammer. Sputter (spit).

Stagger. Stutter. Welter.

Er has also the function of making causative verbs out of adjectives, as linger (long), lower, hinder.

3. En or n makes causative verbs out of nouns and adjectives, as in-

Brighten. Fatten. Lighten. Lengthen.

Broaden. Gladden. Soften. Sweeten.

4. K has a frequentative force, as in-

Hark (hear). Stalk. Lurk.

5. S or se has a causative force, as in-

Cleanse (clean). Rinse (from hrein, clean).

23. The Suffixes of Latin origin are of great importance ; and they have been of great use for several centuries. Many of them—indeed, most of them—have been influenced by passing through French mouths, and hence have undergone considerable change. The following are the chief

Latin and French Suffixes for Nouns:-

1. Age (Lat. aticum), which forms either abstract or collective nouns, as in-

Beverage. Courage. Carnage. Homage.

Marriage. Personage. Vassalage. Vintagé.

(i) It unites easily with English roots to form hybrids, as in bondage, mileage, tonnage, poundage, tillage, shrinkage.

2. An, ain, or ane (Lat. ānus), connected with, as in-

Artisan. Pagan. Publican. Roman.

Chaplain. Captain. Humane. Mundane.

(i) The suffix is disguised in sovereign (O. Fr. soverain), which has been wrongly supposed to have something to do with reign; in warden, citizen, surgeon, etc.

Milton always spells sovereign, sovran.

3. Al or el (Lat. ālis), possessing the quality of, as in—

Animal. Cardinal. Canal. Channel.

Hospital. Hostel. Hotel. Spital.

(i) Canal and channel are two different forms—doublets—of the same. So are cattle and chattels (capitalia).

(ii) Hospital, spital, hostel, hotel, are four forms of the one Latin word hospit- alium. (Ostler is a shorter form of hosteller, with a dropped h.)

4. Ant or ent (Latin antem or entem), denotes an agent, as in—

Assistant. Servant. Agent. Student.

5. Ance, ancy, or ence, ency (Lat. antia, entia), form abstract nouns, as in—

Abundance. Chance. Distance. Brilliancy.

Diligence. Indulgence. Constancy. Consistency.

(i) Chance comes from late Lat. cadentia = an accident. Cadence is a doublet.

6. Ary, ry, or er (Lat. arium), a place where a thing is kept, as in—

Apiary (apis, a bee). Armoury. Granary. Sanctuary.

Ewer (aqu-aria). Vestry. Larder. Saucer.

(i) The ending ry unites freely with English words to form hybrids, as in cockery, piggery, robbery.

(ii) In Jewry, jewellery (or jeweiry), poultry, peasantry, cavalry, the ry has a col- lective meaning.

7. Ary, ier, eer, or er (Lat. arius), denotes a person engaged in some trade or profession, as in—

Commissary. Notary. Secretary. Statuary.

Brigadier. Engineer. Mountaineer. Mariner.

(i) This ending is disguised in chancellor (cancellarius), vicar, butler (= bottler), usher (ostiarius, a doorkeeper), premier, etc.

8. Ate (Lat. atus, past participle ending), becoming in French e or ée, denotes—

(i) An agent, as in— Advocate. Curate. Legate. Private.

(ii) The object of an action, as in— Grantee. Legatee. Trustee. Vendee.

• In grandee the passive signification is not retained.

9. Ce (Lat. cium, tium, or tia) forms abstract nouns, as—

Benefice. Edifice. Sacrifice. Grace.

Hospice. Palace.

10. El, le or l (Lat. ellus, etc.), a diminutive, as in—

Angle (a little corner). Buckle (from bucca, the cheek).

Castle. Chapel. Libel. Pommel. Title. Seal.

(i) Castle, from Lat castellum, a little fort, from castrum, a fort.

(ii) Libel, from Lat. libellus, a little book (liber).

(iii) Pommel, from Lat. pomum, an apple.

(iv) Seal, from Lat. sigillum.

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GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

11. Ern (Lat. erna), denoting place, as in—

Cavern.

Cistern.

12. Et, ette, and let (Fr. et, ette) all diminutives, as in—

Bassinette. Buffet. Chaplet. Coronet.

Goblet. Gibbet. Lancet. Leveret.

Puppet. Trumpet. Ticket. Turret.

(i) The let is=1 + et and is found in braceiet, fillet, cutlet, etc It also unites

with English words to form hybrids—as in hamlet, leaflet, ringlet, streamlet, etc.

(ii) This ending is disguised in ballot (a small ball), chariot (car), parrot

(=perroquet), etc.

13. Ess (late Lat. essa), a female agent, as in—

Empress. Governess. Marchioness. Sorceress.

(i) It unites with English words to form the hybrids murderess, sempstress

(The last is a double feminine, as seamestre is the old word.)

14. Ice, ise, or ess (Lat. tia ; Fr. esse), as in—

Avarice. Cowardice. Justice. Merchandise.

Distress. Largess. Noblesse. Riches.

(i) It is a significant mark of the carelessness with which the English language

has always been written, that the very same ending should appear in three

spellings in largess, noblesse, riches.

(ii) Riches is a false plural : it is an abstract noun, the French form being richesse.

15. Ice (Lat. icem acc. of nouns in x), which has also the forms of

ise, ace, as in—

Chalice. Pumice. Mortise. Furnace.

(i) The suffix is much disguised in radish (=the root, from radīcem).

(ii) It is also disguised in partridge and judge (judīcem).

16. Icle (Lat. iculus, ellus, ulus), which appears also as cel and sel,

a diminutive, as in—

Article (a little joint). Particle. Receptacle. Versicle.

Parcel (particella). Morsel (from mordco, I bite).

Damsel (dominicella, a little lady).

(i) The ending is disguised in rule (regula), carbuncle (from carbo, a coal), uncle

(avunculus), and vessel (from vas).

(ii) Parcel and particle are doublets.

17. Ine or in (Lat. inus) related to, as in—

Divine (noun). Cousin.

(i) Cousin is a contraction — through French—of the Latin consobrinus,

the child of a mother's sister.

(ii) The ending is disguised in pilgrim, from peregrinus = from per agros,

through the fields.

18. Ion (Lat. iōnem), which appears also as tion, sion, and, from

French, as son, som, denotes an action, as in—

Action. Opinion. Position. Vacation.

Potion. Poison. Benediction. Benison.

Redemption. Ransom. Malediction. Malison.

(i) Potion, poison, and the three other pairs are doublets—the first having

come through the door of books straight from the Latin, the second through

the mouth and ear, from French.

(ii) Venison (hunted flesh, from venationem), season (sationem, the sowing

time), belong to the above set.

19. Ment (Lat. mentum) denotes an instrument or an act, as in—

Document. Instrument. Monument. Ornament.

(i) It combines easily with English words to make hybrids, as atonement,

acknowledgment, bewitchment, fulfilment.

20. Mony (Lat. monium) makes abstract nouns, as—

Acrimony. Matrimony. Sanctimony. Testimony.

21. Oon or on (Fr. on; Ital. one), an augmentative, as in—

Balloon. Cartoon. Dragoon. Saloon.

Flagon. Million. Pennon. Glutton.

Clarion. Galleon. Trombone. Truncheon.

(i) Augmentatives are the opposite of diminutives. Contrast balloon and ballot;

galleon and galliot (a small galley).

(ii) A balloon is a large ball; a cartoon a big carte; a dragoon a large dragon;

a saloon a large hall (salle); flagon (O. Fr. flascon), a large flask; million, a big

thousand (mille); pennon, a large pen or feather; galleon, a large galley; trom-

bone, a large trump-et; truncheon, a large staff (or trunk) of office.

22. Ory, (Lat. orium), which appears also as or, our, and er, and denotes place, as in—

Auditory. Dormitory. Refectory. Lavatory.

Mirror. Parlour. Dormer. Manger.

(i) Mirror is contracted by the French from miratorium; parlour from par-

latorium; manger from manducatorium=the eating-place. Dormer is short

for dormitory, from dormitorium.

23. Our (Lat. or ; Fr. eur), forms abstract or collective nouns, as in—

Ardour. Clamour. Honour. Savour.

(i) The ending resumes its French form in grandeur.

(ii) It forms a hybrid in behaviour.

24. Or or our (Lat. orem ; Fr. eur) denotes an agent, as in—

Actor. Governor. Emperor Saviour.

(i) This ending is disguised in interpreter, labourer, preacher, etc.

(ii) A large number of nouns which used to end in our or or, took er through

the influence of the English suffix er. They were “attracted” into that form.

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GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

25. T (Lat. tus—the ending of the past participle) indicates a completed

act, as in —

Act. Fact. Joint. Suit.

(i) The t in Latin has the same origin and performs the same function as the d

in English (as in dead, finished, and other past participles, etc.)

(ii) The ending is disguised in feat, which is a doublet of fact, in fruit (Lat.

fruct-us), confit (= confect), counterfeit (= contrafact-um)

26. Ter (Lat. ter) denotes a person, as in—

Master (contracted from magister). Minister.

(i) Magister comes from magis, more, which contains the root of magnus, great;

minister from minus, less.

27. Tery (Lat. terium) denotes condition, as in—

Mastery. Ministry.

28. Trix (Lat. trix) denotes a female agent, as in—

Executrix. Improvisatrix. Testatrix.

(i) This ending is disguised in empress (Fr. impératrice from Lat. imperatrix);

and in nurse (Fr. nourrice, Lat. nutrix).

29. Tude (Lat. tudinem), denotes condition, as in—

Altitude. Beatitude. Fortitude. Multitude.

(i) In custom, from Lat. consuetudinem, the ending is disguised.

30. Ty (Lat. tatem ; Fr. té) makes abstract nouns, as in—

Bounty. Charity. Cruelty. Poverty.

Captivity. Frailty. Fealty. Vanity.

(i) Bounty (bonte), poverty (pauvreté), frailty, and fealty come, not directly

from Latin, but through French.

31. Ure (Lat. ura) denotes an action, or the result of an action, as

in—

Aperture. Cincture. Measure. Picture.

32. Y (Lat. ia; ; Fr. ie) denotes condition or faculty, as in—

Company. Family. Fury. Victory.

(i) This suffix unites easily with English words in er—as bakery, fishery, rob-

bery, etc.

(ii) It stands for Lat ium in augury, remedy, study, subsidy, etc.

(iii) It represents the Lat. ending atus in attorney, deputy, ally, quarry.

24. The Latin (or French) suffixes employed in our language

to make Adjectives are very useful. The following are the

chief

Latin Suffixes for Adjectives.

1. Aceous (Lat. aceus) = made of, as in—

Argillaceous (clayey). Farinaceous (floury).

2. Al (Lat. ālis) = belonging to, as in—

Legal. Regal. Loyal. Royal.

(i) Loyal and royal are the same words as legal and regal; but, in passing through French, the hard g has been refined into a y.

3. An, ane, or ain (Lat. anus and aneus) = connected with, as in—

Certain. Human (homo). Humane. Pagan (paganus, a district).

(i) This ending disguises itself in mizen (medianus); in surgeon (chirurgianus); and in sexton (contracted from sacristan).

(ii) In champaign (level), and foreign (foraneus), this ending greatly disguises itself. In strange (extraneus), still more. All have been strongly influenced in their passage through the French.

4. Ant, ent (Lat. antem, entem, acc. of pres. part.), as in—

Current (curro, I run). Distant. President. Discordant.

5. Ar (Lat. āris) which appears also as er = belonging to, as in—

Regular. Singular. Secular. Premier.

(i) Premier (Lat. primarius), has received its present spelling by passing through French.

6. Ary (Lat. ārius), which also takes the secondary formations of arious and arian = belonging to, as in—

Contrary. Necessary. Gregarious. Agrarian.

7. Atic (Lat. āticus) = belonging to, as in—

Aquatic. Fanatic (fanum). Lunatic.

8. Able, ĭble, ble (Lat. ābilis, ĭbilis, ĭbilis) = capable of being, as in—

Amiable. Culpable. Flexible. Movable.

(i) Feeble (Lat. flebilis, worthy of being wept over), comes to us through the O. Fr. foible.

(ii) This suffix unites easily with English roots to form hybrids, like eatable, drinkable, teachable, gullible. Carlyle has also doable.

9. Ple, ble (Lat. plex, from plico, I fold) = the English suffix—fold, as in—

Simple (=onefold). Double. Triple. Treble.

10. Esque (Lat. iscus ; Fr. esque) = partaking of, as in—

Burlesque. Grotesque (grotto). Picturesque.

(i) This ending is disguised in morris (dance)=Moresco (or Moorish)

11. Ic (Lat. ĭcus) = belonging to, as in—

Gigantic. Metallic. Public (populus). Rustic.

(i) This ending is disguised in indigo (from Indicus [colour] = the Indian colour.)

140

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

12. Id (Lat. Idus) = having the quality of, as in—

Acid. Frigid. Limpid. Morbid.

13. Ile, il (Lat. Ilis), often used as a passive suffix, as in—

Docile. Fragile. Mobile. Civil.

(i) Fragile, in passing through French, lost the g—which was always hard—and became frail.

(ii) The suffix ile is disguised in gentle and subtle.

(iii) Gentile, gentile, and genteel, are all different forms of the same word.

(iv) Kennel (= canile) is really an adjective from canis.

14. Ine (Lat. Inus) = belonging to, as in—

Canine. Crystalline. Divine. Saline.

(i) In marine, the ending, by passing through French, has acquired a French pronunciation.

15. Ive (Lat. Ivus) = inclined to, as in—

Abusive. Active. Fugitive. Plaintive.

(i) This ending appears also as iff, by passing through French, as in caitiff (= captivus); and in the nouns plaintiff and bailiff.

(ii) It also disguises itself as a y in hasty, jolly, testy, which in O. Fr. were hastif, jollif, testif (= heady).

(iii) It unites with the English word talk to form the hybrid talkative.

16. Lent (Lat. lentus) = full of, as in—

Corpulent. Fraudulent. Opulent (opes). Violent (vis).

17. Ory (Lat. ōrius) = full of, as in—

Amatory. Admonitory. Illusory.

18. Ose, ous (Lat. ōsus) = full of, as in—

Bellicose. Grandiose. Verbose. Curious.

(i) The form in ous has been influenced by the French ending eux.

19. Ous (Lat. us) = belonging to, as in—

Anxious. Assiduous. Ingenuous. Omnivorous.

(i) It unites with English words to form the hybrids wondrous, boisterous, righteous (which is an imitative corruption of the O.E. rihtwis).

20. Und (Lat. undus) = full of, as in—

Jocund. Moribund. Rotund.

(i) Rotund has been shortened into round. Second is, through French, from Lat. secundus (from sequor, I follow)—the number that follows the first. Ventus secundus is a favourable wind, or a "wind that follows fast."

(ii) This ending is slightly modified in vagabond and second.

21. Ulous (Lat. ūlus) = full of, as in—

Querulous (full of complaint). Sedulous.

SUFFIXES.

141

25. The following are the chief

Latin Suffixes for Verbs.

1. Ate (Lat. atum, supine), as in—

Complicate. Dilate. Relate. Supplicate.

(i) Assassinate (from the Arabic hashish, a preparation of Indian hemp, whose effects are similar to those of opium) is a hybrid.

2. Esce (Lat. esco), a frequentative suffix, as in—

Coalesce (to grow together). Effervesce (to boil up).

3. Fy (Lat. fico ; Fr. fie—from Lat. facio)=to make, as in—

Beautify. Magnify. Signify.

4. Ish (Fr. iss)=to make, as in—

Admonish. Establish. Finish. Nourish.

5. Ete, ite, t (Lat. itum, etum, tum), with an active function, as in—

Complete. Delete. Expedite. Connect.

26. The suffixes which the English language has adopted from Greek are not numerous; but some of them are very useful. Most of them are employed to make nouns. The following are the chief

Greek Suffixes.

1. Y (Gr. ια), makes abstract nouns, as in—

Melancholy. Monarchy. Necromancy. Philosophy.

(i) Fancy is a compressed form of phantasy (phantasia = imagination).

(ii) In dyspepsia and hydrophobia (late introduced words) the full Greek suffix is retained.

2. Ic (Gr. ικός)=belonging to, as in—

Aromatic. Barbaric. Frantic. Graphic.

Arithmetic. Logic. Music.

(i) With the addition of the Latin alis, adjectives are formed from some of these words, as logical, musical, etc.

(ii) The plural form of some adjectives also makes nouns of them, as in politics, ethics, physics. In Ireland we find also logics.

(iii) Arithmetic, logre, and music are from Greek nouns ending in icē.

3. Sis (Gr. σις)=action, as in—

Analysis. Emphasis. Genesis. Synthesis.

(i) In the following words sis has become sy, as hypocrisy, poesy, palsy (short for paralysis).

(ii) In the following the is has dropped away altogether—ellipse, phase,

142

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

4. Ma or m (Gr. μa), passive suffix, as in—

Diorama. Dogma. Drama (something done). Schism.

Baptism. Barbarism. Despotism. Egotism.

(i) In diadem and system the a has dropped off; in scheme and theme it has

been changed into an e.

(ii) Schism comes from schizo, I cut.

(iii) This ending unites freely with Latin words to form hybrids, as in deism,

mannerism, purism, provincialism, vulgarism, etc.

5. St (Gr. στης)=agent, as in—

Baptist. Botanist. Iconoclast (image-breaker).

(i) This suffix has become a very useful one, and is largely employed. It forms

numerous hybrids with words of Latin origin, as abolitionist, excursionist, educa-

tionist, journalist, protectionist, jurist, socialist, specialist, royalist.

6. T or te (Gr. της)=agent, as in—

Comet. Planet. Poet. Apostate.

(i) Comet means a long-haired star; planet, a wanderer; poet, a maker (in

Northern English poets called themselves “Makkers”); an apostate, a person

who has fallen away.

(ii) This ending is also found in the form of ot and it, as in idiot, patriot,

hermit.

7. Ter or tre (Gr. τρον), denotes an instrument or place, as in—

Metre. Centre. Theatre.

8. Isk (Gr. ισκος), a diminutive, as in—

Asterisk (a little star). Obelisk (a small spit).

9. Ize or ise (Gr. ιζω) makes factitive verbs, as in—

Baptise. Criticise. Judaize. Anglicize.

(i) This ending combines with Latin words to form the hybrids minimise,

realise, etc.

WORD - BRANCHING.

When our language was young and uninfluenced by other

languages, it had the power of growing words. These words,

like plants, grew from a root; and

all the words that grew from the same

root had a family likeness. Thus

byrn-an, the old word for to burn,

gave us brimstone, brown (which is

the burnt colour), brunt, brand,

brandy, and brindle. These we

might represent to ourselves, on the

blackboard, as growing in this way.

But, unfortunately, we soon lost this

power. From the time when the Nor-

mans came into this country in 1066, the language became less

and less capable of growing its own words. Instead of produc-

ing a new word, we fell into the habit of simply taking an old

and ready-made word from French, or from Latin, or from

Greek, and giving it a place in the language. Instead of the

Old English word fairhood, we imported the French word

beauty; instead of forewit, we adopted the Latin word cau-

tion; instead of licherest, we took the Greek word cemetery.

And so it came about that in course of time we lost the power

of growing our own new words. The Greek word asterisk

has prevented our making the word starkin; the Greek name

astronomy has kept out star-craft; the Latin word omnibus

has stopped our even thinking of folkwain; and the name

vocabulary is much more familiar to our ears than word-

hoard. Indeed, so strange have some of our own native

144

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

English words become to us, that sentences composed entirely

of English words are hardly intelligible; and, to make them

quickly intelligible, we have to translate some of the English

words into Greek or into Latin. It is well, however, for us to

become acquainted with those pure English words which grew

upon our own native roots, and which owe nothing whatever

to other languages. For they are the purest, the simplest, the

most homely and the most genuine part of our language; and

from them we can get a much better idea of what our language

once was than we can from its present very mixed condition.

The following are the most important

ENGLISH ROOTS AND BRANCHES (OR DERIVATIONS).

Bac-an, to bake—baker, baxter1 (a woman

baker), batch.

Ban-a, a slayer—bane, baneful; ratsbane,

henbane.

Beat-an, to strike—beat; beetle (a wooden

bat for beating clothes).

Beorg-an, to shelter—burrow, bury (noun

in Canterbury—and verb); burgh,

burgher; burglar (a house-robber); har-

bour, Cold Harbour;2 harbinger (a per-

son sent on in front to procure lodg-

ings); borrow (to raise money on secur-

ity).

Bér-an, to bear—bear, bier, bairn; birth,

berth; burden.

Bét-an, to make good—better, best; boot

(in “to boot” = “to the good”), boot-

less.

Bidd-an, to pray—bedesman; bead (“to

bid one's beads” was to say one's

prayers; and these were marked off by

small round balls of wood or glass—now

called beads—strung upon a string).

Bind-an, to bind—band, bond, bondage;

bundle; woodbine; bindweed.

Bít-an, to bite—bit; beetle; bait; bitter.

Bla'w-an, to puff—bladder, blain (chil-

blain), blast, blaze (to proclaim), blazon

(a proclamation), blare (of a trumpet);

blister.

Blow-an, to blossom—blow (said of flow-

ers); bloom, blossom; blood, blade;

blowsy.

Brec-an, to break—break, breakers; brake,

bracken; breach, brick; break-fast; bray

(where the hard guttural has been

absorbed).

Brew-an, to brew—brew, brewer; broth.

Bug-an, to bend—bow, elbow;3 bough;

bight; buxom (O.E. bocsom, flexible or

1 Compare brewster, a woman brewer, spinster, webster, and others. Brewster, Baxter,

and Webster are now only used as proper names.

2 Cold Harbour was the name given to an inn which provided merely shelter without

provisions. There are numerous places of this name in England. Many of them stand

on the great Roman roads; and they were chiefly the ruins of Roman villas used by

travellers who carried their own bedding and provisions. See Isaac Taylor's 'Words

and Places,' p. 256.

3 Elbow=ell-bow. The ell was the forepart of the arm,

WORD-BRANCHING.

obedient). The hard g in bigan appears

as a w in bow, as a gh in bough, as a y

in bay, as a k in buxom= buk -som.

Byrn-an, to burn—burn, brown ; brunt,

brimstone ; brand, brandy ; brindled.

Cat, a cat-catkin ; kitten, kutling ; cater-

pillar (the hairy cat, from Lat. pilosus,

hairy), caterwaul.

Ceapi-an, to buy—cheap, cheapen ; chop

(to exchange) ; a chopping sea; chap,

chapman ; chaffer ; Eastcheap, Cheap-

side, Chepstow (=the market stow or

place), Chippenham.1

Cenn-an, to produce—kin, kind, kindred ;

kindly ; kindle.

Ceow-an, to chew—chew ; cheek ; jaw

(= chaw) ; jowl ; chaw-bacon ; cud (=the

chewed). Compare seethe and suds.

Cleov-an, to split—cleave, cleaver; cleft.

Clifi-an, to stick to—cleave.

Cnáw-an, to know—ken, know ; know-

ledge.

Cnotta, a knot—knot, knit.

Cunn-an, to know or to be able—can, con,

cunning ; uncouth.

Cweth-an, to say—quoth ; bequeath.

Cwic, alive—quick, quicken ; quickset;

quicklime ; quicksilver ; to cut to the

quick.

D́el-an, to divide—deal (verb and noun),

dole ; dale, dell (the original sense being

cleft, or separated).

Dem-an, to judge—deem, doom ; demp-

ster (the name for a judge in the Isle of

Man) ; doomsday ; kingdom.

Deðr, dear—dearth; darling ; endear.

Doan, to act—do; don, doff, dup (=do up

or op -en) ; dout (=do out or put out);

deed. Compare mow, mead ; sow, seed.

Drag-an, to draw—drag, draw, dray

(three forms of the same word) ; draft

(draught) ; drain ; dredge ; draggle ;

drawl.

Drif-an, to push—drive; drove; drift,

adrift.

Drige, dry—dry (verb and adj.) ; drought;

drugs (originally dried plants).

Drinc-an, to soak—drink; drench (to

make to drink). Compare sit, set; fall,

fell, etc.

Drip-an, to drip—drip, drop, droop ;

dribble, driplet.

Dug-an, to be good for—do (in “That

will do”) ; doughty.

Eác, also—eke (verb and adv.) ; ekename

(which became a nickname ; the n hav-

ing dropped from the article and clung

to the noun).

Eáge, eye—Egbert (= bright -eyed) ; daisy

(= day's eye) ; window (= wind -eye).

Eri-an, to plough—ear (the old word for

plough) ; earth (=the ploughed).

Far-an, to go or travel—far, fare; welfare,

fieldfare, thoroughfare ; ferry ; ford.

Feng-an, to catch—fang, finger, new-

fangled (catching eagerly after new

things).

Feówer, four—farthing; firkin ; fourteen;

forty.

Fleóg-an, to flee—fly, flight ; flea ; fledged.

Fleót-an, to float—fleet (noun, verb, and

adj.) ; float ; ice -floe ; afloat ; floatsam 2

(things found floating on the water after

a wreck).

Fód-a, food—feed ; food, fodder, foster ;

fath-er ; forage (= fodderage), forayer ;

foray (an incursion to get food).

Freón, to love—freond= friend (the pres.

part.) a lover ; Fri day (the day of Friya,

the goddess of love) ; friendship, etc.

Gal-an, to sing—gale, yell ; nightingale.3

Gang-an. to go—gang, g ingway ; ago.

(The words gate and gait do nut come

from this verb, but from get.)

Gnag-an, to bite—gnaw (the g has be-

come a w) ; nag (to tease).

Graf-an, to dig or cut—grave, groove,

grove (the original sense was a lane cut

through trees) ; graft, engraft ; engrave,

engraver.

Grip-an, to seize—grip, gripe; grasp ;

grab ; grope.

Gyrd-an, to surround—gird, girdle; gar-

den, yard, vineyard, hopyard.

1 The same root is found in the Scotch Kippen and the Danish Copenhagen= Mer-

chants' Haven.

2 “Flotsam and jetsam” mean the floating things and the things thrown over-

board from a ship. Jetsam comes from Old Fr. jeter, to throw. (Hence also “jet of

water”; jetty, etc. Jetsam is a hybrid— sam being a Scandinavian suffix.

3 The n in nightingale is no part of the word. It is intrusive and non-organic; as

it also is in passenger, messenger, porringer, etc.

146

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Hael-an, to heal—hale; holy, hallow,

All-hallows; health ; hal; whole,1

wholesome; wassail (=Waes hál != Be

whole !)

Hebb-an, to raise—heave, heave-offering;

heavy (=that requires much heaving);

heaven.

Hlaf, bread—loaf; lord (hlaford = loaf-

riddle ; Ethelred (=nuble in counsel);

Unready (= Unrede, without counsel);

Mildred (=mild in counsel).

Reáf, clothing, spoil; reaf-an, torob—rob,

robber ; reave, bereave; reeever ; robe.

Rípe, ripe—reap (to gather what is ripe).

Scád-an, to divide—shed (to part the

hair); watershed.

Sceap-an, to form or fashion—shape; ship

(the suffix in friendship, etc.) ; scape

(the suffix in landscape, etc.)

Sceót-an, to throw—shoot, shot, shut

(= to shoot the bolt of the door); sheet

(that which is thrown over a bed); shut-

ter, shuttle ; scud.

Scér-an, to cut—shear, share, sheer, shire,

shore (all furms of the same word) ; scar,

scare ; score (the twentieth notch in

the tally, and made larger than the

others) ; scarify, sharp; short, shirt,

skirt (three forms of the same word) ;

shred, potshred (the same word, with

the r t ansposed); sheruff (= sceir-geréfa,

reeve of the shire). The soft form sh

belongs to the southern English dia-

lects : the hard forms, sc and sk, to

the northern.

Scuf-an, to push—shove, shovel, shuffle ;

scuttle; sheaf ; scoop.

Sett-an, to set, or make sit—set, seat ;

settle, saddle ; Somerset, Dorset.

Slag-an, to strike—slay (the hard g has

been refined into a y) ; slaughter ; slog,

sledge (in sledge-hammer).

Slip-an, to slip—slop; slipper, sleeve (into

which the arm is slipped)

Snic-an, to crawl—sneak, snake, snail

(here the hard guttural has been refined

away).

Spell, a story or message—spell (= to give

an account of or tell the story of the

letters in a word) ; spell-bound ; gospel

(= Gud's spell).

Stearc, stiff—stark ; strong (a nasalised

form of stark) ; string (that which is

strongly twisted) ; strength ; strangle.

Stede, a place—stead, instead, homestead,

farm-steading ; steady ; steadfast ; be-

stead ; Hampstead.

Stic'i-an, to stick—stick, stitch (two forms

of the same word), stake, stock, stock-

ade ; stock-dove ; stock-fish (fish dried

to keep in stock) ; stock-still.

1 The w in whole is intrusive and non-organic, as in whoop, and in wun (=one, so

pronounced, but not so written). Before the year 1500 whole was always written hole ;

and in this form it is seen to be a doublet of hale. Holy is simply hole+y.

Leác, a leek—house-leek; garlic; hem-

lock.

Licg-an, to lie—lie; lay, layer; lair; outlay.

Loda, a guide—lead (the verb); lode-star,

lode-stone (also written loadstone).

Mag-an, to be able—may, main (in “might

and main ”), might, mighty.

Mang, a mixture—a-mong; mongrel;

mingle.

Maw-an, to cut—mow; math, aftermath;

mead, meadow (the places where grass is

mowed)

Món-a, the moon—month; moonshine.

(This word comes from a very old root,

ma, to measure. Our Saxon forefathers

measured by nights, as

we see in the words fortnight, se'nnight.)

Naeddrë, a snake—adder. The n has

dropped off from the word, and has ad-

hered to the article. Compare apron,

from naperon (compare with napkin,

napery) ; umpire, from numpire. The

opposite example of the n leaving the

article and adhering to the noun, is

found in nag, from an äg ; nickname

from an ekename.

Nasu, a nose—nose, naze, ness (all three

different forms of the same word, and

found in the Naze, Sheerness, etc.);

nostril = nose-thirl (from thirlian, to

bore a hole), nozzle ; nosegay.

Penn-an, to shut up or enclose—pen, pin

(two forms of the same word); pound,

pond (two forms of the same word);

impound.

Pic, a point—pike, peak (two forms of the

same word) ; pickets (stakes dri:en into

the ground to tether horses to) ; pike,

pickerel (the fish); peck; pecker.

Ráed-an, to read or guess—rede (advice);

WORD-BRANCHING.

147

Stig-an, to climb—stair; stile; stirrup (=stigráp, or rope for rising into the saddle); sty (in pig-sty).

Stow, a place—bestow; stowage, stowaway; Chepstow (=the place where a cheap or market is held); Bristol (the 1 and w being interchangeable).

Stýr-an, to direct—steer, stern; steerage.

Sundri-an, to part—sunder; sundry; asunder. (Compare sever and several.)

Sweri-an, to declare—swear, answer (=andswerian, to declare in opposition or in reply to), forswear.

Taec-an, to show—teach, teacher; token (that which is shown); tau.ht (when the hard c reappears as a gh).

Tell-an, to count or recount—tell; tale,1 talk; toll; teller.

Teohh-an (or teón), to draw—tow, tug (two forms of the same word, the hard guttural having been preserved in the one); wanton (=without right upbringing). Compare wanhópe = despair; wantrust=mistrust.

Thaec, a roof—thatch; deck.

Tred-an, to walk—tread, treadle; trade; tradesman, trade-win.

Truwa, good faith—true, truth, troth, betroth.

Twá, two—two, twin, twain; twelve (= two + lufan, ten); twenty; between; twig; twiddle; twine, twist, etc.

Waci-an, to be on one's guard—wake, watch (two forms of the same word); awake, wakeful.

Wad-an, to go—wade; waddle; Watling Street (the road of the pilgrims). The Eng. word wade is of the same origin as the Lat. vade in evade, invade, etc.

Wana, a deficiency—wan, wane; want, wanton; wanhupe (the old word for despair).

Wef-an, to weave—weave, weaver; web, webster (a woman-weaver); cobweb; woof, weft (v, b, and f being all labials).

Werre, war—warfare (faring or going to war), warlike, warrior. War is from the Teutonic base wars, to twist. Worse is a cognate word, in which the s is part of the root or base.

Wit-an, to know—wit, to wit; wise, wisdom; wistful; witness; Witenagemote (=the Meeting of the Wise); y-wis (the past participle, wrongly written I wis).

Wraest-an, to wrest—wrest, wrestle; wrist.

Wring-an, to force—wring, wrong (that which is wrung out of the right course).

Wyrc-an, to work—work, wright (the r shifts its place).

Wyrt, a herb or plant—wort: orchard (=wort-yard); wart (on the skin); St John's wort, etc

LATIN ROOTS.

Those words with (F) after them have not come to us directly from Latin; but, indirectly, through French.

Acer (acris), sharp; acrid, acrimony, vinegar (sharp wine, F.), eager (F.)

Ædes, a building; edifice, edify.

Æquus, equal; equality, equàtor, equinox, equity, adequate, iniquity.

Ager, afield; agriculture, agrarian, peregriuate.

Ago (actum), I do, act; act, agent, agile, agitate, cogent.

Alo, I nourish; aliment, alimony.

Alter, the other of two; alternation, subaltern, altercation.

Altus, high; altitude, exalt, alto (It.), altar.

1 “And every shepherd tells his tale (=counts his sheep) Under the Hawthorn in the dale.”—Milton: Il Penseroso-

148

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Ambulo, I walk; amble, perambulator.

Amo, I love; amity, amorous, amiable (F.), inimical.

Angulus, a corner; angle, triangle, quadrangle.

Anima, life; animal, animate, animation.

Animus, mind; magnanimity, equanimity, unanimous, animadvert.

Annus, a year; annual, perennial, biennial, anniversary.

Aperio (apertum), I open; aperient, aperture, April (the opening month)

Appello, I call; appeal, appellation, appellant, peal (of bells).

Aqua, water; aqueduct, aquatic, aqueous, aquarium.

Arcus, a bow; arch, arc, arcade (Fr. It.)

Ardeo, I burn; ardent, ardour, arson (F.)

Ars (artis), art; artist, artisan (F.), artifice, inert.

Audio, I hear; audience, audible, auditory.

Augeo (auctum), I increase; augment, author, auctioneer.

Barba, a beard; barb, barber, barbel (all through F.)

Bellum, war; rebel, rebellious, belligerent, bellicose.

Bis, twice; biscuit, bissextile, bisect, bicycle.

Brevĭs, short; brevity, abbreviate, brief (F.), breviary, abridge (F.)

Cado (casum), I fall; casual, accident

Cædo (cæsum), I cut, kill; precise, excision, decide.

Candeo, I shine; candidus, white; candid, candidate, candle.

Cano (cantum), I sing; cant, canticle, chant (F.), incantation.

Capio (captum), I take; captive, accept, reception (F.), capacity.

Caput, the head; capital, captain, cape, chapter (F.)

Caro (carnis), flesh; carnal, carnival, carnivorous, carnation.

Causa, a cause; causative, accuse (F.), excuse (F.)

Cavus, hollow; cavity, cave, excavate, concave.

Cedo (cessum), I go, yield; proceed (F.), ancestor (F.), secede.

Centrum (Gr. κεντρον = a point), centre; centralise, centripetal, eccentric.

Centum, a hundred; century, centurion, cent.

Cerno (cretum), to distinguish; discern, discretion, discreet.

Cingo (cinctum), I gird; cincture, succinct, precinct.

Cito, I call or summon; citation, recite (F.), excite (F.), incite (F.)

Civis (F.), civic, civil, civilise, civilian.

Clamo, I shout; claim (F.), clamour, re-claim (F.), proclamation.

Clarus, clear; clarify, declare, clarion, claret (F.)

Claudo (clausum), I shut; clause, close (F.), exclude, seclusion.

Clino, I bend; incline, decline, recline.

Colo (cultum), I till; cultivate, arboriculture, agriculture.

Cor (cordis), the heart; courage (F.), cordial (F.), discord, record.

Corona, a crown; coronet, coroner, coronation, corolla.

Corpus, the body; corps, corpse (F.), corpulent, corporation.

Credo, I believe; credibility, credence (F.), miscreant (F.), creed, creditor.

Creo, I create; create, creation, recreation, creature.

Cresco, I grow; increase, decrease, increment.

Crux (crucis), a cross; crucial, crucifix, cruise (F.)

Cubo, I lie down; cubit, incubate, recumbent.

Culpa, a fault; culprit, culpable, exculpate, inculpate.

Cura, cure; curate, curator, accurate, secure, incurable.

Curro (cursum), I run; current, recur, excursion, cursory, course (F.), occur.

Decem, ten; decimal, December, decimate.

Dens (dentis), a tooth; dentist, dental, indent, trident.

Deus, God; deity, deify, divine.

Dico (dictum), I say; verdict, dictionary, dictation, indictment, ditto.

Dies, a day; diary, diurnal, meridian.

Dignus, worthy; dignity, dignify, indignant, deign (F.)

Do (datum), I give; date, data, donor, tradition.

Doceo (doctum), I teach; docile, doctor, doctrine.

Dominus, a lord; domineer, dominion, dominant, dame (F.), damsel (F.), madame (F.)

Domus, a house; domestic, domicile

Dormio, I sleep; dormitory, dormant, dormouse

Duco (ductum), I lead; induct, education, duke (F.), produce.

Duo, two; dual, duel, duplex, double (F.)

Emo (emptum), I buy; exemption, redeem.

Eo (itum), I go; exit, transit, circuit (F.), ambition, perish (F.)

Erro, I wander; err, error, aberration.

Facies, a face; facial, facet (F.), superficial.

Facio (factum), I make; manufacture, factor, faction, fashion (F.), feature (F.), fact, feat (F.)

Fero (latum), I carry; infer, suffer, reference, difference; relative, correlative.

Fido, I trust; confide, diffident, infidel.

Filum, a thread; file, defile, profile, fillet (F.)

Finis, the end; finish, finite, infinite, infinitive.

Firmus, firm; infirm, affirm, confirm.

Flecto (flexum), I bend; inflect, inflection, flexible.

Flos (floris), a flower; floral, flora, floriculture.

Fluo (fluxum), I flow; fluent, fluid, flux, affluent.

Folium, a leaf; foliage, foil (F.), portfolio, trefoil (F.)

Forma, a form; form, formal, reform, conformity.

Fortis, strong; fortify, fortitude, fortress, force (F.)

Frango (fractus), I break; fragile (F.), fragmentary, infraction, infringe.

Fratcr, a brother; fraternal, fratricide, friar (F.)

Frons (frontis), the forehead; front, frontal, frontier, frontispiece.

Fugio, I flee; fugitive, refugee, subterfuge.

Fundo (fusum), I pour; fount (F.), foundry, funnel, fusible, diffusion.

Fundus, the bottom; foundation, profound (F.), founder.

Gens (gentis), a race, people; gentile, genteel (F.), gentle, congenial.

Gero (gestum), I bear, carry; gesture, suggestion, indigestion.

Gradus, a step; grádior (gressus), I go; grade, degrade, graduate; progress (F.), gradient.

Gratia, favour, pl. thanks; gratitude, ingratiate, gratis.

Gravis, heavy; grave, gravity, grief (F.), aggrieve (F.)

Habeo (habitum), I have; habit, able, exhibit, prohibition.

Hæreo (hæsum), I stick; adhere, adherent, cohesion.

Homo, a man; homicide, homage (F.), human, humane.

Ignis, fire; ignite, igneous.

Impero, I command; imperative, imperial, empire, emperor (F.)

Initium, a beginning; initiate, initial.

Insula, an island; isle, insular, peninsula.

Jacio (jectum), I throw; adjective, project, injection, object, subject.

Judex (judicis), a judge; judgment (F.), judicial.

Jungo (junctum), I join; junction, juncture, conjoin (F.), adjunct.

Jus (juris), right; justice (F.), jury, injury.

Labor (lapsus), I glide; lapse, relapse, collapse.

Lapis (lapidis), a stone; lapidary, dilapidated.

Laus (laudis), praise; laud, laudable, laudation, allow (F.)

Lego (lectum), I gather, read; collect, elector, select; lecture (F.), legend, legible.

Lego (legatum), I send; legate, delegate, legacy.

Levis, light; levity, alleviate, relief (F.), lever, leaven.

Lex (legis), a law; legal, legislate, legitimate.

Liber, free; liberal, liberty, libertine.

Liber, a book; library, librarian.

Ligo, I bind; ligament, religion, oblige (F.), liable (F.)

Linquo (lictum), I leave; relinquish, relict, relics.

Litera, a letter; literal, literary, literature.

Locus, a place; local, allocate, dislocate, locomotive.

Loquor (locutus), I speak; loquacious, elocution, colloquy.

Ludo (lusum), I play; elude, illusion, interlude, ludicrous.

Lumen, light; illuminate, luminous, luminary.

Luna, the moon; lunar, sublunary, lunacy.

Luo (lutum), I wash; ablution, dilute, antediluvian.

150

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Lux (lucis), light; lucid, elucidate, pel-lucid.

Magnus, great; magnitude, magnify, mag-nificent, magnanimous.

Malus, bad; malady, malice (F.), malaria, malevolent.

Maneo (mansum), I remain; manse, man-sion, permanent.

Manus, the hand; manuscript, manual, manufacture, amanuensis.

Mare, the sea; marine, mariner, maritime.

Mater, a mother; material, matricide, matron, matriculate.

Maturus, ripe; mature, immature, pre-mature.

Medius, the middle; medium, mediate, immediate, Mediterranean.

Memini, I remember; memor, mindful; memory, memoir (F.), commemorate, immemorial.

Mens (mentis), the mind; mental, de-mented.

Mergo (mersum), I dip; emerge, immer-sion, emergency.

Merx (mercis), goods; merchandise (F.), commerce (F.), merchant (F.)

Miles (milites), a soldier; military, mili-tant, militia.

Miror, I admire; admirable, miracle, mirage (F.)

Mitto (missum), I send; commit, missile, mission, remittance.

Modus, a measure; mood, modify, accom-modate.

Moneo (monitum), I advise; monition, monitor, monument.

Mons (montis), a mountain; amount (F.), dismount (F.), promontory, ultramon-tane.

Mors (mortis), death; mortify, mortal, immortality.

Moveo (motum), I move; mobile (F.), promote, motor, motive.

Multus, many; multitude, multiple, mul-tiply.

Munus (muneris), a gift; munificent, re-munerate, municipal.

Muto, I change; mutable, transmute.

Nascor (natus), to be born; nascent, natal, nativity, nature.

Navis, a ship; navy, naval, navigate, nave.

Necto (nexus), I tie; connect, connec-tion, annex

Nego (negatum), I deny; negative, nega-tion, renegade (Sp.)

Noceo, I injure; noxious, innocuous, in-nocent.

Nomen, a name; nominal, cognomen, no-mination

Novus, new; novel, renovate, novelty, innovation

Nox (noctis), night; nocturnal, equinoc-tial, equinox.

Nudus, naked; nude, denude, denudation.

Numerus, a number; numeration, in-numerable, enumerate.

Octo, eight; octave, octagon, October.

Omnis, all; omnibus, omnipotent, om-niscient.

Opus (operis), work; operation, co-oper-ate, opera.

Ordo (ordinis), order; ordinal, ordinary ordinance.

Oro, I pray; oration, orator, peroration.

Pando (pansum or passum), I spread; ex-pand, expanse, compass, pace.

Pareo, I appear; appearance, apparent, apparition.

Paro (paratum), I prepare; repair (F.), apparatus, comparison (F.)

Pars (partis), a part; particle, partition, partner, parcel (F.)

Pasco (pastum), I feed; pastor, repast, pasture.

Pater, a father; paternal, parricide (F.), patrimony.

Patior (passus), I suffer; impatient, pas-sive, passion.

Pax (pacis), peace; pacify, pacific.

Pello (pulsum), I drive; repel, expel, ex-pulsion, impulsive.

Pendeo (pensum), I hang; pendant, de-pend, suspend, suspense, appendix.

Pes (pedis), the foot; pedal, impede, ped-estrian, biped.

Peto (petitum), I seek; petition, petulant, compete, appetite.

Planus, level; plan (F.), plane, plain, ex-plain.

Plaudo (plausum), I clap the hands; ap-plaud, plausible (F.), explode.

Pleo (pletum), I fill; complete, comple-tion, supplement.

Plico (plicatum), I fold; complicated, pli-able(F.), reply (F.), display (F ), simple.

Poena, punishment; penal, repent, pen-alty, penitent, penance.

Pono (positum), I place; deponent, posi-tion, imposition, post.

Pons (pontis), a bridge; pontiff, transpon-tine.

WORD-BRANCHING.

151

Porto, I carry; export, deportment, re-port, portmanteau (F.)

Possum, I am able; potens, able; pos-sible, potency (F.), impotent.

Prehendo (prehensum), (Fr. prendre, pris), I take; prehensible, comprehend, apprise, comprise, apprentice (F.)

Primus, first; primary, primitive, prim-itive, primrose.

Probo, I try, prove; probe, probable, im-prove (F.), approve (F.)

Proprius, one's own; proper, property, ap-propriation

Pungo (punctum), I prick; pungent, ex-punge, punctual, poignant (F.)

Puto (putatum), I cut, think; compute, count (F), amputate, reputation.

Quatuor, four; quadra, a square; quart, quarter, quarry (F.), quadrant.

Radix, a root; radical, eradicate, radish (F.)

Rapio (raptum), I seize; rapture, rapine, surreptitious.

Rego (rectum), I rule; rex (regis), a king; regal, regulate, regent, rector, inter-reg-num, royal (F.), realm (N.-Fr. réal).

Rideo (risum), I laugh; ridicule (F.), de-ride, ridiculous (F.), risible.

Rogo (rogatum), I ask; rogation, interro-gation, derogatory.

Rota, a wheel; rotary, rotation, rotund -contracted into round (F.)

Rumpo (ruptum), I break; rupture, erup-tion, disruption.

Sacer, sacred; sacrament, sacrilege (F.), sacerdotal, sexton (contracted from sacristan).

Salio (saltum), I leap; sally (F.), assail (F.), salient, salmon.

Sanctus, holy; sanctuary, sanctify, saint (F.)

Scando (scansum), I climb; scala, a lad-der; scan, scale, descent, ascension.

Scio, I know; science, scientific, con-science, omniscient.

Scribo (scriptum), I write; scribe, scrib-le, scripture, inscription, postscript.

Seco (sectum), I cut; bisect, dissect, in-sect, section.

Sedeo (sessum), I set, sit; sediment, sub-side, see (F.), residence (F.), insidious.

Sentio, I feel; sense, sentiment, sensual, scent (F.)

Septem, seven; septennial, September.

Sequor (secutus), I follow; sequence (F.), sequel, consequent, prosecute.

Servio, I serve; service (F.), servant, ser-geant (F.)

Signum, a sign; signify, significant, des-ignation, ensign (F.)

Similis, like; similar, similitude, resemble (F.)

Socius, a companion; social, society, as-sociation.

Solus, alone; solitude, sole, solo (It.)

Solvo (solutum), I loose; dissolve, resolve absolute, resolution.

Specio (spectum), I see; aspect, spectator, specimen, spectre.

Spero, I hope; despair (F.), desperate.

Spiro, I breathe; inspire, aspire, con-spiracy.

Statuo, I set up; sto (statum), I stand; statue, statute, stature, institute.

Stringo (strictum), I bind; stringent, con-strain (F.), district.

Struo (structum), I build; structure, con-struct, obstruct, construe.

Sumo (sumptum), I take; assume, con-sume, assumption.

Tango (tactum), I touch; tangible, tan-gent, contact, contagious.

Tego (tectum), I cover; integument, de-tect, tile (F.); from Lat. tegula.

Tempus (temporis), time; temporal, con-temporary, extempore.

Tendo (tensum), I stretch; contend, ex-tend, attend, tense (F.), tendon.

Teneo (tentum), I hold; tenant, tenet, tendril, detain (F.), retentive.

Terminus, an end, boundary; terminate, term, interminable.

Terra, the earth; subterranean, terrestrial, Mediterranean.

Terreo, I frighten; terror, terrify, deter.

Texo (textum), I weave; textile, text, texture, context.

Timeo, I fear; timid, timorous.

Torqueo (tortum), I twist; torture, tor-ment, contortion, retort

Traho (tractum), I draw; traction, sub-tract, contraction, tract.

Tres (tria), three; trefoil, trident, trinity.

Tribuo, I give; tribute, tributary, con-tribution.

Tumeo, I swell; tumulus, a swelling or mound; tumult, tumour, tomb (F.)

Unus, one; union, unit, unite, uniform, unique (F.)

Urbs, a city; suburb, urbanity, urbane.

Valeo, I am strong; valour, valiant (F.), prevail (F.)

152

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Vanus, empty; vanity, vanish, vain (F)

Veho (vectum), I convey; vehicle, con-veyance (F.), convex.

Venio, I come; venture, advent, convene, covenant (F)

Verbum, a word; verb, adverb, verbose, verbal, proverb.

Verto (versum), I turn; convert, revert, divert, versatile.

Verus, true; verity, verify, aver, verdict.

Via, a way; deviate, previous, trivial.

Video (visum), I see; vision, provide, visit (F.), revise (F.)

Vinco (victum), I conquer; victor, con-vict, victory, convince.

Vitium, a fault; vice (F.), vitiate, vicious (F.)

Vivo (victum), I live; vivid, revive, viands (F.), survive.

Voco (vocatum), I call; vocal, vowel (F.), vocation, revoke, vociferate.

Volo, I wish; volition, voluntary, benevolence.

Volvo (volutum), I roll; revolve, involve, evolution, volume.

Vovoo (votum), I vow; vote, devote, vow (F.)

Vulgus, the common people; vulgar, di-vulge, vulgate.

GREEK ROOTS.

Agōn, a contest; agony, antagonist

Allos, another; allopathy, allegory.

Angelos, a messenger; angel, evangelist.

Anthrōpos, a man; misanthrope, philan-thropy.

Archo, I begin, rule; monarch, archaic, archbishop, archdeacon.

Arithmos, number; arithmetic.

Aster or astron, a star; astronomy, astro-logy, asteroid, disaster.

Atmos, vapour; atmosphere.

Autos, self; autocrat, autograph.

Ballo, I throw; symbol, parable.

Bapto, I dip; baptise, baptist.

Baros, weight; barometer, baritone.

Biblos, a book; Bible, bibliomania

Bios, life; biography, biology, amphi-bious.

Cheir, the hand; surgeon [older form, chirurgeon].

Cholē, bile; melancholy, choler.

Chrio, I anoint; Christ, chrism.

Chronos, time; chronology, chronic, chron-icle, chronometer.

Daktŭlos, a finger; dactyl, pterodactyl, date (the fruit).

Deka, ten; decagon, decalogue, decade.

Dēmos, the people; democrat, endemic, epidemic.

Dokeo, I think; doxa and dogma, an opinion; doxology, orthodox, hetero-dox, dogma, dogmatic.

Drao, I do; drama, dramatic.

Dunămis, power; dynamics, dynamite.

Eidos, form; kaleidoscope, spheroid.

Eikon, an image; iconoclast.

Electron, amber; electricity, electrotype.

Ergon, a work; surgeon (=chirurgeon), energy, metallurgy.

Eu, well; eucharist, euphony, evangelist.

Gamos, marriage; bigamy, monogamist, misogamy.

Gē, the earth; geography, geometry, geo-logy.

Gennao, I produce; genesis, genealogy, hydrogen, oxygen.

Grapho, I write; gramma, a letter; gra-phic, grammar, telegraph, biography, diagram.

Haima, blood; hæmorrhage, hæmorrhoïd.

Haireo, I take away; heresy, heretic.

Hecaton, a hundred; hecatomb, hecto-metre.

Helios, the sun; heliograph, heliotype.

Hemi, half; hemisphere.

Hieros, sacred; hierarchy, hieroglyphic.

Hippos, a horse; hippopotamus, hippo-drome.

Hŏdos, a way; method, period, exodus.

Hŏmos, the same; homœopathy, homo-geneous.

Hudor, water: hydranlic, hydrophobia, hydrogen.

Ichthus, a fish: ichthyology.

Idios, one's own: idiom, idiot, idiosyn-crasy.

Isos, equal: isochronous, isobaric (of equal weight), isosceles.

Kalos, beautiful: caligraphy, kaleidoscope.

Kephalē, the head: hydrocephalus.

WORD-PRANCHING.

Klino, I bend : clinical, climax, clinate.

Kosmos, order : cosmogony, cosmography, cosmetic.

Krino, I judge : critic, criterion, hypocrite.

Kuklos, a circle : cycle, cycloid, cyclone.

Kuon (kun-os), a dog : cynic, cynicism.

Legō, I say, choose : eclectic, lexicon.

Lithos, a stone : lithograph, aerolite.

Logos, a word, speech : logic, dialogue, geology.

Luo, I loosen : dialysis, analysis, paralysis.

Mētēr, a mother : metropolis, metropolitan.

Metron, a measure : metre, metronome, diameter, thermometer, barometer.

Mōnos, alone : monastery, monogram, monosyllable, monopoly, monarch.

Morphē, shape : amorphous, dimorphous, metamorphic.

Naus, a ship : nautical, nausea.

Nekros, a dead body : necropolis, necromancy.

Nomos, a law : autonomous, astronomy, Deuteronomy.

Oikos, a house : economy, economical.

Onōma, a name : anonymous, synonymous, patronymic.

Optōmai, I see : optics, synoptical.

Orthos, right : orthodoxy, orthography.

Pais (paid-os), a boy : pedagogue [lit. a boy-leader].

Pan, all : pantheist, panoply; pantomime.

Pathos, feeling : pathetic, sympathy.

Pente, five : pentagon, pentateuch, Pentecost.

Petra, a rock : petrify, petrel, Peter.

Phainōmai, I appear : phenomenon, phantasy, phantom, fantastic, fancy.

Phero, I bear : periphery, phosphorus [=the light-bearer].

Phileo, I love : philosophy, Philadelphia, philharmonic.

Phōnē, a sound : phonic, phonetic, euphony, symphony.

Phōs (phōt-os), light : photometer, photograph.

Phusis, nature : physics, physiology, physicist.

Poieo, I make : poet, poetic, pharmacopoeia.

Polis, a city : Constantinople, metropolis.

Polus, many : polytheist, Polynesia, polyanthus, polygamy.

Pous (pŏd-os), a foot : antipodes, tripod.

Protos, first : prototype, protoplasm.

Pur, fire : pyrotechnic, pyre.

Rheo, I flow : rhetoric, catarrh, rheumatic.

Skopēo, I see : microscope, telescope, bishop [from episkopos, an overseer].

Sophia, wisdom : sophist, philosophy.

Stello, I send : apostle, epistle.

Stratos, an army : strategy, strategic.

Strēpho, I turn : catastrophe, apostrophe.

Technē, an art : technical.

Tēle, distant : telegraph, telescope, telephone, telegram.

Temno, I cut : anatomy, lithotomy.

Tetra, four : tetrachord, tetrarch.

Theāomai, I see : theatre, theory.

Theos, a god : theist, enthusiast, theology.

Thermē, heat : thermal, thermometer, isotherm.

Tithēmi, I place : thesis, a placing : syn-thesis, hypo-thesis.

Treis, three : triangle, trigonometry, tripod, trinity.

Trēpo, I turn : trophy, tropic, heliotrope.

Tupos, the impress of a seal : type, stereo-type.

Zōon, an animal : zoology, zodiac.

WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF

PERSONS, ETC.

Argosy, a corruption of Ragosie, "a ship of Ragusa," Ragusa being a

port in Dalmatia, on the East Coast of the Gulf of Venice. Used by

Shakespeare, in the "Merchant of Venice," i. 1. 9, in the sense of

trading vessel.

Assassins, the name of a fanatical Syrian sect of the thirteenth century,

who, under the influence of a drug prepared from hemp, called has-

chisch, rushed into battle against the Crusaders, and slaughtered

many of their foes.

Atlas, one of the Titans, or earlier gods, who was so strong that he was said

to carry the world on his shoulders.

August, from Augustus Cæsar, the second Emperor of Rome.

Bacchanalian, from the festival called Bacchanalia; from Bacchus, the

Roman god of wine.

Boycott (to), from Captain Boycott, a land agent in the west of Ireland,

who was "sent to Coventry" by all his neighbours; they would neither

speak to him, buy from him, or sell to him–by order of the "Irish

Land League."

Chimera, a totally imaginary and grotesque image or conception ; from

Chimæra, a monster in the Greek mythology, half goat, half lion.

Cicerone, a guide ; from Cicero, the greatest Roman orator and writer of

speeches that ever lived. (Guides who described antiquities, etc., were

supposed to be as "fluent as Cicero.")

Cravat, from the Croats or Crabali of Croatia, who supplied an army

corps to Austria, in which long and large neck-ties were worn by the

soldiers.

Dahlia, from Dahl, a Swedish botanist, who introduced the flower into

Europe.

Draconian (code), a very severe code ; from Draco, a severe Athenian legis-

lator, who decreed death for every crime, great or small. His laws

were said to have been "written in blood."

Dunce, from Duns Scotus, a great philosopher (or "schoolman") of the

Middle Ages, who died 1308. The followers of Thomas Aquinas

called "Thomists," looked down upon those of Duns, who were called

"Scotists," and in course of time "Dunces."

WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PERSONS. 155

Epicure, a person fond of good living ; from Epicurus, a great Greek philosopher. His enemies misrepresented him as teaching that pleasure was the highest or chiefest good.

Euphuistic (style), a style of high-flown refinement ; from Euphues (the well-born man), the title of a book written in the reign of Elizabeth, by John Lyly, which introduced a too ingenious and far-fetched way of speaking and writing in her Court.

Fauna, the collective name for all the animals of a region or country ; from Faunus, a Roman god of the woods and country. (The Fauni were minor rural deities of Rome, who had the legs, feet, and ears of a goat, and the other parts of the body of a human shape.)

Flora, the collective name for all the plants and flowers of a region or country ; from Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers.

Galvanism, from Galvani, an Italian physicist, lecturer on anatomy at Bologna, who discovered, by experiments on frogs, that animals are endowed with a certain kind of electricity.

Gordian (knot), the knot tied by Gordius a king of Phrygia, who had been originally a peasant. The knot by which he tied the draught-pole of his chariot to the yoke was so intricate, that no one could untie it. A rumour spread that the oracle had stated that the empire of Asia would belong to him who should untie the Gordian knot. Alexander the Great, to encourage his soldiers, tried to untie it; but, finding that he could not, he cut it through with his sword, and declared that he had thus fulfilled the oracle.

Guillotine, an instrument for beheading at one stroke, used in France. It was invented during the time of the Revolution by Dr Guillotin.

Hansom (cab), from the name of its inventor.

Hector (to), to talk big; from Hector, the bravest of the Trojans, as Achilles was the bravest of the Grecian chiefs.

Hermetically (sealed), so sealed as to entirely exclude the outer air ; from Hermes, the name of the Greek god who corresponds to the Roman god Mercury. Hermes was fabled to be the inventor of chemistry.

Jacobin, a revolutionist of the extremest sort ; from the hall of the Jacobin Friars in Paris, where the revolutionists used to meet. Robespierre was for some time their chief.

Jacobite, a follower of the Stuart family ; from James II. (in Latin Jacobus), who was driven from the English throne in 1688.

January, from the Roman god Janus, a god with two faces, "looking before and after."

Jovial, with the happy temperament of a person born under the influence of the star Jupiter or Jove ; a term taken from the old astrology. (Opposed to saturnine, gloomy, because born under the star Saturn.)

July, from Julius, in honour of Julius Caesar, the great Roman general, writer, and statesman—who was born in this month.

Lazarettor or Lazar-house, from Lazarus, the beggar at the gate of

Dives, in Luke xvi. The word is corrupted into lizard in Lizard-point, where a lazar-house once stood, for the reception of sick people from on board ship.

Lynch-law, from a famous Judge Lynch, of Tennessee, who made short work of his trials, and then of his criminals.

Macadamise, to make roads of fragments of stones, which afterwards cohere in one mass ; from John Loudon Macadam, the inventor, who, in 1827, received from the Government a reward of £10,000 for his plan.

March, from Mars, the Roman god of war.

Martinet, a severe disciplinarian, with an eye for the smallest details ; from General Martinet, a strict commander of the time of Louis XIV. of France.

Mausoleum, a splendidly built tomb ; from Mausōlus, King of Caria in Asia Minor, to whom his widow erected a gorgeous burial-chamber.

Mentor, an adviser ; from Mentor, the aged counsellor of Télémāchus, the son of Ulysses.

Mercurial, of light, airy, and quick-spirited temperament, as having been born under the planet Mercury (compare Jovial, Saturnine, etc.)

Panic, a sudden and unaccountable terror ; from Pan, the god of flocks and shepherds. He was fabled to appear suddenly to travellers.

Parrot (= Little Peter, or Peterkin), from the French Perrot = Pierrot, from Pierre, Peter. Compare Magpie = Margaret Pie; Jackdaw; Robin-redbreast; Cuddy (from Cuthbert), a donkey, etc.

Petrel, the name of a sea-bird that skims the tops of the waves in a storm, the diminutive of Peter. It is an allusion to Matthew xiv. 29. These birds are called by sailors "Mother Carey's chickens."

Phaeton, a kind of carriage ; from Phäethon, a son of Apollo, who received from his father permission to guide the chariot of the Sun for a single day.

Philippic, a violent political speech directed against a person ; from the orations made by Demosthenes, the great Athenian orator, against Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great.

Plutonic (rocks), igneous rocks (created by the action of fire)—in opposition to sedimentary rocks, which have been formed by the depositing action of water ; from Pluto, the Roman god of the infernal regions.

Protean, assuming many shapes ; from Proteus, a sea-deity, who had received the gift of prophecy from Neptune, but who was very difficult to catch, as he could take whatever form he pleased.

Quixotic, fond of utterly impracticable designs ; from Don Quixote, the hero of the national Spanish romance, by Cervantes. Don Quixote is made to tilt at windmills, proclaim and make war against whole nations by himself, and do many other chivalrous and absurd things.

Simony, the fault of illegally buying and selling church livings ; from Simon Magus. (See Acts viii. 18.)

WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PERSONS. 157

Stentorian, very loud and strong ; from Stentor, whom Homer describes

as the loudest-voiced man in the Grecian army that was besieging

Troy.

Tantalise, to tease with impossible hopes ; from Tantalus, a king of

Lydia in Asia Minor. He offended the gods, and was placed in

Hades up to his lips in a pool of water, which, when he attempted to

drink it, ran away ; and with bunches of grapes over his head, which,

when he tried to grasp them, were blown from his reach by a blast of

wind.

Tawdry, shabby - a term often applied to cheap finery ; from St

Ethelreda, which became St Audrey : originally applied to clothes

sold at St Audrey's fair. (Compare Tooley from St Olave; Ted from

St Edmund ; etc.)

Volcano and Vulcanite, from the Roman god of fire and smiths, Vulcanus.

A volcano was regarded as the chimney of one of his workshops.

WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF

PLACES.

Academy, from Academia, the house of Acadēmus, a friend of the great

Greek philosopher Plato, who was allowed to teach his followers

there. Plato taught either in Academus's garden, or in his own

house.

Artesian (well), from Artois, the name of an old province in the north-

west of France, the inhabitants of which were accustomed to pierce

the earth for water.

Bayonet, from Bayonne, in the south of France, on the Bay of Biscay.

(Compare Pistol from Pistoia, a town in the north of Italy.)

Bedlam, the name for a lunatic asylum—a corruption of the word Beth-

lehem (Hospital).

Cambric, the name of the finest kind of linen ; from Cambray, a town in

French Flanders, in the north-west of France.

Canter, an easy and slow gallop ; from the pace assumed by the Canter-

bury Pilgrims, when riding along the green lanes of England to the

shrine of Thomas à Becket.

Carronade, a short cannon ; from Carron, in Stirlingshire, Scotland,

where it was first made.

Cherry ; from Cerasus, a town in Pontus, Asia Minor, where it was much

grown.

Copper and Cypress ; from the i-land of Cyprus, in the Mediterranean.

Currants, small dried grapes from Corinth, in Greece, where they are still

grown in large quantities. They are shipped at the port of Patras.

Damson, a contraction of damascene ; from Damascus = the Damascus

plum. (Hence also damask.)

Dollar, a coin—the chief coin used in America ; from German Thaler

(= Daler, or something made in a dale or valley). The first coins of

this sort were made in St Joachimsthal in Bohemia, and were called

Joachim's thaler.

Elysian (used with fields or bliss), from Elysium, the place to which the

souls of brave Greeks went after death.

Ermine, the fur worn on judges' robes ; from Armenia, because this fur

is "the spoil of the Armenian rat."

WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PLACES. 159

Florin, a two-shilling piece ; from Florence. Professor Skeat says :

"Florins were coined by Edward III. in 1337, and named after the

coins of Florence."

Gasconading, boasting ; from Gascony, a southern province of France, the

inhabitants of which were much given to boasting. One Gascon, on

being shown the Tuileries—the palace of the Kings of France—re-

marked that it reminded him to some extent of his father's stables,

which, however, were somewhat larger.

Gipsy, a corrupt form of the word Egyptian. The Gipsies were supposed

to come from Egypt. (The French call them Bohemians.)

Guinea, a coin value 21s. now quite out of use, except as a name—made

of gold brought from the Guinea Coast, in the west of Africa.

Hock, the generic term for all kinds of Rhine wine, but properly only the

name of that which comes from Hochheim, a celebrated vineyard.

Indigo, a blue dye, obtained from the leaves of certain plants ; from the

Latin adjective Indicus=belonging to India.

Laconic, short, pithy, and full of sense ; from Laconia, a country in the

south of Greece, the capital of which was Sparta or Lacedæmon.

The Laconian, and especially the Spartans, were little given to talk-

ing, unlike their lively rivals, the Athenians.

Lilliputian, very small ; from Lilliput, the name of the imaginary country

of extremely small men and women, visited by Captain Lemuel

Gulliver, the hero of Swift's tale called 'Gulliver's Travels.'

Lumber, useless things ; from Lombard, the Lombards being famous for

money-lending. The earliest kind of banking was pawnbroking ; and

pawnbrokers placed their pledges in the "Lombard-room," which, as it

gradually came to contain all kinds of rubbish, came also to mean and

to be called "lumber-room." In America, timber is called lumber.

Meander (to), to "wind about and in and out ;" from the Mæander, a

very winding river in the plain of Troy, in Caria, in the north-west

of Asia Minor.

Magnesia and Magnet, from Magnesia, a town in Thessaly, in the north

of Greece.

Milliner, originally a dealer in wares from Milan, a large city in the north

of Italy, in the plain of the Po.

Muslin, from Mosul, a town in Asiatic Turkey, on the Tigris.

Palace, from the Latin palatium, a building on Mons Palatīnus, one of

the seven hills of Rome. This building became the residence of

Augustus and other Roman emperors ; and hence palace came to be

the generic term for the house of a king or ruling prince. Palatīnus,

itself comes from Pales, a Roman goddess of flocks, and is connected

with the Lat. pater, a father or feeder.

Peach, from Lat. Persicum (malum), the Persian apple, from Persia.

The r has been gradually absorbed.

Pheasant, from the Phasis, a river of Colchis in Asia Minor, at the eastern

end of the Black Sea, from which these birds were first brought.

Port, a wine from Oporto, in Portugal. (Compare Sherry from Xeres, in the south of Spain.)

Rhubarb, from Rha barbarum, the wild Rha plant. Rha is an old name for the Volga, from the banks of which this plant was imported.

Solecism, a blunder in the use of words; from Soli, a town in Cilicia, in Asia Minor, the inhabitants of which used a mixed dialect.

Spaniel, a sporting-dog remarkable for its sense ; from Spain. The best kinds are said to come from Hispaniola, an island in the West Indies, now called Hayti.

Stoic, from Stoa Poikilé, the Painted Porch, a porch in Athens, where Zeno, the founder of the Stoic School, taught his disciples.

Utopian, impossible to realise ; from Utopia (= Nowhere), the title of a story written by Sir Thomas More, in which he described, under the guise of an imaginary island, the probable state of England, if her laws and customs were reformed.

WORDS DISGUISED IN FORM.

When a word is imported from a foreign language into our

own, there is a natural tendency among the people who use the

word to give it a native and homely dress, and so to make it

look like English. This is especially the case with proper

names. Thus the walk through St James's Park from Bucking-

ham Palace to the House of Commons was called Bocage Walk

(that is, shrubbery walk) ; but, as Bocuge was a strange word to

the Londoner, it became quickly corrupted into Birdcage Walk,

though there is not, and never was, any sign of birdcages in the

neighbourhood. Birdcage is a known word, Bocage is not--

that is the whole matter. In the same way, our English sailors,

when they captured the French ship Bellerophon, spoke of it as

the Billy Ruffian; and our English soldiers in India mentioned

Surajah Dowlah, the prince who put the English prisoners into

the Black Hole, as Sir Roger Dowler. The same phenomenon

is observed also in common names--and not infrequently. The

following are some of the most remarkable examples :-

Alligator, from Spanish el lagarto, the lizard. The article el (from Latin

ille) has clung to the word. Lat. lacerta, a lizard. (The Arabic

article al has clung to the noun in alchemy, algebra, almanac, etc.)

Artichoke (no connection with choke), from Ital. articiocco; from Arabic

al harshaff, an artichoke.

Atonement, a hybrid--atone being English, and ment a Latin ending.

Atone=to bring or come into one. Shakespeare has "Earthly things,

made even, atone together."

Babble, from ba and the frequentative le ; it means "to keep on saying" ba.

Bank, a form of the word bench, a money-table.

Belfry (nothing to do with bell), from M. E. berfray; O. Fr. berfroi, a

watch-tower.

Brimstone, from burn. The r is an easily moved letter—as in three, third;

turn, trunelle, etc.

Bugle, properly a wild ox. Bugle, in the sense of a musical instrument,

is really short for bugle-horn. Lat. buculus, a bullock, a diminutive

of bos.

Bustard, from O. Fr. oustarde, from Lat. avis tarda, the tardy or slow

bird.

Butcher, from O. Fr. bocher, a man who slaughters he-goats; from boc,

the French form of buck.

Butler, the servant in charge of the butts or casks of wine. (The whole

collection of butts was called the buttery; a little butt is a bottle.)

Buxom, stout, healthy; but in O. E. obedient. "Children, be buxom to

your parents." Connected with bow and bough. From A. S. bugan,

to bend; which gives also bow, bight, boat, etc.

Carfax, a place where four roads meet. O. Fr. carrefourgs; Latin quatuor

furcas, four forks.

Carausé, from German gar aus, quite out. Spoken of emptying a goblet.

Caterpillar = hairy-cat, from O. Fr. chate, a she-cat, and O. Fr. pelouse,

hairy. Lat. pilosus. Compare woolly-bear.

Causeway (no connection with way), from Fr. chaussée; Lat. calceata via, a

way strewed with limestone; from Lat. calx, lime.

Clove, through Fr. clou, from Lat. clavus, a nail, from its resemblance to

a small nail.

Constable, from Lat. comes stabuli, count of the stable; hence Master of

the Horse; and, in the 13th century, commander of the king's army.

Coop, a cognate of cup; from Lat. cupa, a tub.

Cope, a later spelling of cape. Cap, cape, and cope are forms of the same

word.

Costermonger, properly costard-monger; from costard, a large apple.

Counterpane (not at all connected with counter or with pane, but with

quilt and point), a coverlet for a bed. The proper form is contre-

pointe, from Low Lat. culcita puncta, a punctured quilt.

Country-dance, (not connected with country), a corruption of the French

contre-danse; a dance in which each dancer stands contre or contra or

opposite his partner.

Coward, an animal that drops his tail. O. Fr. col and ard; from Lat.

cauda, a tail.

Crayfish, (nothing to do with fish), from O. Fr. escrevisse. This is really

a Frenchified form of the German word Krebs, which is the German

form of our English word crab. The true division of the word into

syllables is crayf-ish; and thus the seeming connection with fish dis-

appears.

Custard, a misspelling of the M. E. word crustade, a general name for pies

made with crust.

Daisy = day's eye. Chaucer says: "The dayes eye or else the eye of'

day."

Dandelion = dent de lion, the lion's tooth ; so named from its jagged

leaves.

Dirge, a funeral song of sorrow. In the Latin service for the dead, one part

began with the words (Ps. v. 8) dirige, Dominus meus, in conspectu

tuo vitam meam, "Direct my life, O Lord, in thy sight ;" and dirige

was contracted into dirge.

Drawing-room = withdrawing-room, a room to which guests retire after

dinner.

Dropsy (no connection with drop), from O. Fr. hydropisce, from Gr

hudōr, water. (Compare chirurgeon, which has been shortened into

surgeon; example, into sample; estate, into state.)

Easel, a diminutive of the word ass, through the Dutch ezel; like the

Latin asellus.

Farthing = fourthing. (Four appears as fīr in firkin ; and as for in forty.)

Frontispiece (not connected with piece), that which is seen or placed in

front. Lat. specio, I see.

Gadfly = goad-fly (sting-fly).

Gospel = God-spell, a narrative about God.

Grove, originally a lane cut through trees. A doublet of groove, and

grave, from A. S. grafan, to dig.

Haft, that by which we have or hold a thing.

Hamper, old form, hanaper; from Low Latin hanaperium, a large basket

for keeping drinking-cups (hanapi) in.

Handsel, money given into the hand ; from A. S. sellan, to give.

Hanker, to keep the mind hanging on a thing. Er is a frequentative suffix,

as in batter, linger, etc.

Harbinger, a man who goes before to provide a harbour or lodging-place

for an army. The n is intrusive, as in porringer, passenger, and mes-

senger. (The ruins of old Roman villas were often used by English

travellers as inns. Such places were called "Cold Harbours." There

are seventy places of this name in England--all on the great Roman

roads )

Hatchment, the escutcheon, shield, or coat-of-arms of a deceased person,

displayed in front of his house. A corruption (by the intrusion of h)

of atch'ment, the short form of atchievement, the old spelling of

achievement, which is still the heraldic word for hatchment.

Hawthorn = hedge-thorn. Haw was in O. E. haga; and the hard g

became a w; and also became softened, under French influence, into

dg.Haha, older form Hawhaw, is a sunk fence.

Heaven, that which is heaved up ; heavy, that which requires much

heaving.

Horehound (not connected with hound), a plant with stems covered with

white woolly down. The M. E. form is hoar-hune ; and the second

syllable means scented. The syllable hoar means white, as in hoar-

frost. The final d is excrescent or inorganic--like the d in sound, bound

(= ready to go), etc.

164

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Humble-bee (not connected with the adjective humble), from M. E. hummelen, to keep humming — a frequentative; the b being in-organic.

Humble-pie (not connected with the adjective humble), pie made ofumbles, the entrails of a deer.

Husband, (not connected with bind), from Icelandic hustuandi, buandi, being the pres. participle of bua, to dwell ; and hus, house.

Hussif (connected with house, but not with wife), a case containing needles, thread, etc. From Icelandic, húsi, a case, a cognate of house. The f is intrusive,from a mistaken opinion that the word was a short form of housewife.

Hussy, a pert girl ; a corruption of housewife.

Icicle, (the ending cle is not the diminutive) a hanging point of ice. The A. S. form is isgicel, a compound of is, ice, and gicel, a small piece of ice ; so that the word contains a redundant element. (The ic in icicle is entirely different from the ic in art-ic-le and in part-ic-le.)

Intoxicate, to drug or poison ; from Low Lat. toxicum, poison ; from Gr. toxon, a bow, plural toxa, bow and arrows—arrows for war being frequently dipped in poison.

Island (not connected with isle) = water-land, a misspelling for iland (the spelling that Milton always uses). The s has intruded itself from a confusion with the Lat. insula, which gives isle.

Jaw, properly chaw, the noun for chew. Cognates are jowl and chaps.

Jeopardy, hazard, danger. M. E. jupartie, from O. Fr. jeu parti, a game in which the chances are even, from Low Lat. jocus partitus, a divided game.

Jerusalem artichoke (not at all connected with Jerusalem), a kind of sunflower. Italian girasole, from Lat. gyrus, a circle, and sol, the sun. (In order to clench the blunder contained in the word Jerusalem, cooks call a soup made of this kind of artichoke “Palestine soup !”)

Kickshaws, from Fr. quelquechose, something. There was once a plural —kickshawses.

Kind, the adjective from the noun kin.

edge, a place on which a thing lies. Hence also ledger.

Line (to line garments) = to put linen inside them. (Linen is really an adjective from the M. E. lin, just like woollen, golden, etc.)

Liquorice (not connected with liquor), in M. E. licoris ; from Gr. glykyrrhiza, a sweet root. (For the loss of the initial g, compare Ipswich and Gypneswich; enough and genoh; and the loss of ge from all the past participles of our verbs.)

Mead, meadow = a place mowed. Hence also math, aftermath, and moth (= the biter or eater).

Nostrils = nose-thirles, nose-holes. Thirl is a cognate of thrill, drill, through, etc. (For change of position of r, compare turn, trundle; work, wright ; wort, root ; bride, bird, etc.)

Nuncheon, a corruption of M. E. none-schencke, or noon-drink. Then

WORDS DISGUISED IN FORM.

this word got mixed up with the provincial English word lunch,

which means a lump of bread; and so we have luncheon.

Nutmeg, a hybrid compounded of an English and a French word. Meg is a

corruption of the O. Fr. musge, from Lat. muscum, musk.

Orchard = wort-yard, yard or garden for roots or plants. Wort is a

cognate of wart and root.

Ostrich, from Lat. avis struthio. Shakespeare spells it estridge in "Antony

and Cleopatra," iii. 13. 197, "The dove will peck the estridge." (Avis

is found as a prefix in bustard also.)

Pastime = that which enables one to pass the time.

Pea-jacket (not connected with pea), a short thick jacket often worn by

seamen; from the Dutch pije, a coarse woollen coat. Thus the

word jacket is superfluous. In M. E. py was a coat; and we find it

in Chaucer combining, with a French adjective, to make the hybrid

courtepy, a short coat.

Peal (of bells), a short form of the word appeal; a call or summons.

(Compare penthouse and appentis; sample and example; scutcheon

and escutcheon; squire and esquire; etc.)

Penthouse (not connected with house), in reality a doublet of appendage,

though not coming from it. O. Fr. appentis, from Lat. appendicium,

from appendix, something hanging on to. (Pendēre, to hang.)

Periwinkle, a kind of evergreen plant; formed, by the addition of the

diminutive le, from Lat. pervinca, from vincire, to bind.

Periwinkle, a small mollusc with one valve. A corruption of the A. S.

pinewincla, that is, a winkle eaten with a pin.

Pickaxe (not connected with axe), a tool used in digging. A corruption

of M. E. pickeys, from O. Fr. picois; and connected with peak, pike,

and pick.

Poach = to put in the poke, pocket, or pouch. So poached eggs are eggs

dressed so as to keep the yoke in a pouch. Cognates are pock, small-

pox (= pocks), etc.

Porpoise (not connected with the verb poise); from Lat. porcum, a pig,

and piscem, a fish.

Posthumous (work), a work that appears after the death of the author;

from Lat. postumus, the last. The h is an error; and the word

has no connection with the Lat. humus, the ground.

Privet, a half-evergreen shrub. A form of primet, a plant carefully cut and

trimmed; and hence prim. (For change of m into v (or p), compare

Molly and Polly; Matty and Patty, etc. V and p are both labials.)

Proxy, a contraction of procuracy, the taking care of a thing for another.

Lat. pro for, and cura, care.

Quick, living. We have the word in quicklime, quicksand, quicksilver;

and in the phrase "the quick and the dead."

Quinsy, a bad sore throat, a contraction of O. Fr. squinancie, formed, by

the addition of a prefixed and strengthening s, from Gr. kynanchē, a

dog-throttling.

Riding, one of the three divisions of Yorkshire. The oldest form is Trithing or Thrithing (from three and ing, part; as in fourthing = fourth part, etc.) The t or th seems to have dropped from its similarity and nearness to the th in north and the t in east; as in North-thrithing, East-trithing, etc.

Sexton, a corruption of sacristan, the keeper of the sacred vessels and vestments; from Lat. sacer, sacred. But the sexton is now only the grave-digger. (In the same way, sacristy was shortened into sextry.)

Sheaf a collection shoved together. Shove gives also shovel; and the frequentatives shufle and scufle.

Soup, a cognate of sop and sup.

Splice (to join after splitting), a cognate form of split and splinter.

Squirrel, from O. Fr. escurel; from Low Lat. sciuriolus; from Gr. skia, a shadow, and oura, a tail. Hence the word means "shadow-tail."

Starboard, the steering side of a ship—the right, as one stands looking to the bow.

Stew, the verb corresponding to stove.

Steward, from A. S. stiward, from the full form stigweard; from stige, a sty, and weard, a keeper. Originally a person who looked after the domestic animals.

Stirrup, modern form of A. S. stigrap, from stigan, to climb, and ràp, a rope. Cognates are sty, stile, stair.

Straight, an old past participle of stretch. (Strait is a French form of the word strict, from Lat. strictus, tied up.)

Strong, a nasalised form of stark. Derivatives are strength, strengthen, string, etc.

Sommerset (not connected either with summer or with set), or somersault, a corruption of Fr. soubresault, from Lat supra, above, and saltum, a leap. (There is a connection between the b and the m—the one sliding into the other when the speaker has a cold.)

Surgeon (properly a hand-worker), a contraction of chirurgion; from Gr. cheir, the hand, and ergein, to work.

Tackle, that which takes or grasps, holding the masts of a ship in their places. The le is the same as that in settle (a seat), girdle, etc.

Tale, from A. S. talu, number. Derivatives are tell and till (box for money), but not talk, which is a Scandinavian word.

Tansy, a tall plant, with small yellow flowers, used in medicine; from O. F. athanasie; from Gr. athanasia, immortality.

Thorough, a doublet of through. and found in thorough-fare, thoroughbred, etc. (The dr, thr, or tr is also found in door, thrill, trill, drill, nostril, etc.)

Treacle, from M. E. triacle, a remedy; from Lat. theriăca, an antidote against the bite of serpents; from Gr. thērion, a wild beast or poisonous animal. Milton has the phrase "the sovran treacle of sound doctrine." (For the position of the r, compare trundle and turn; brid and bird; etc.)

Truffle, an underground edible fungus : from Italian tartufola; tar

being=Lat. terræ, of the ground, and tuföla=tuber, a root. Truffle

is a doublet of truffle.

Twig, a thin branch of a tree. The tw here is the base of two, and is

found also in twin, twilight, twice, twine; and probably also in tweak,

twist, twinkle, etc. (Twit is not in this class; it comes from at-

witan, to throw blame on.)

Verdigris (not connected with grease), the rust of brass or copper. From

Lat. viride aeris, the green of brass. (The g is intrusive, and has not

yet been accounted for.)

Walrus, a kind of large seal; from Swedish vallross = a whale-horse.

The older form of ross is found in Icelandic as hross, which is a doub-

let of the A. S. hors. The noise made by the animal somewhat

resembles a neigh.

Wassail, a merry carouse; from A. S. wes haél = Be well! Wes is the

imperative of wesan to be (still existing in was); and hael is connected

with hail! hale (Scand.), whole (Eng.), and health.

Whole, a misspelling, now never to be corrected, of hale, the adjective

connected with hale, heal, health, healthy, etc. The w is probably an

intrusion from the S. W. of England, where they say whoam for home,

woat for oat, etc. If we write whole, we ought also to write wholy

instead of holy.

WORDS THAT HAVE GREATLY CHANGED

IN MEANING.

Abandon, to proclaim openly; to denounce; then to cast oft. (From Low Lat. bannus, an edict.) The earlier meaning still survives in the phrase, " banns of marriage."

Admire, to wonder at.

Allow, to praise (connected with laud).

Amuse, to cause to muse, to occupy the mind of. "Camillus set upon the Gauls, when they were amused in receiving their gold," says a writer of the sixteenth century.

Animosity, high spirits; from Lat. animosus, brave.

Artillery (great weapons of war), was used to include bows, crossbows, etc., down to the time of Milton. See P. L. ii. 715; and 1 Sam. xx. 40.

Awkward, going the wrong way. From M E. awk, contrary. "The awk end" was the wrong end. "With awkward wind "= with contrary wind.

Babe, doll. Spenser says of a pedlar—

" He bore a truss of trifles at his back, As bells, and babes, and glasses in his pack."

Blackguard, the band of lowest kitchen servants, who had to look after the spits, pots, and pans, etc.

Bombast (an inflated and pompous style of speaking or writing), cotton-wadding.

Boor (a rough unmannerly fellow), a tiller of the soil; from the Dutch boawen, to till. (Compound neighbour.) In South Africa, a farmer is still called a boer.

Brat (a contemptuous name for a child), a Celtic word meaning rag. In Wales it now means a pinafore.

Brave, showy, splendid.

By-and-by, at once.

Carpet, the covering of tables as well as of floors.

Carriage (that which carries) meant formerly that which was carried, or baggage. See Acts xxi 15.

Cattle, a doublet of chattels, property. Lat. capitalia, heads (of oxen, etc.) Chaucer says, "The avaricious man hath more hope in his catel than in Christ."

Censure (blame) meant merely opinion; from the Lat. censeo, I think. Shakespeare, in Hamlet i. 3. 69, makes Polonius say: "Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment."

Charity (almsgiving) meant love; from Lat. carus, dear, through the French.

Cheat (to deceive for the purpose of gain) meant to seize upon a thing as escheated or forfeited.

Cheer, face. "Be of good cheer" = " Put a good face upon it." " His cheer fell " = "His countenance fell."

Churl (an uncourteous or disobliging person) meant a countryman. Der. churlish. (Shakespeare also uses the word in the sense of a miser.)

WORDS THAT HAVE GREATLY CHANGED IN MEANING. 169

Clumsy, stiff with cold. "When thou clomest with cold," says Langland (14th century) = art benumbed. (Cognates, clamp, cramp.)

Companion, low fellow. Shakespeare has such phrases as "Companions, hence!"

Conceit (too high an opinion of one's self) meant simply thought. Chaucer was called "a conceited clerk" ="a learned man full of thoughts." From Lat. conceptus, a number of facts brought together into one general conception or idea. Shakespeare has the phrase "passing all conceit" = beyond all thought.

Count (to number) meant to think (2 with 3, &c.) with; from Lat. computo, I compute or think with. Count is a doublet, through French, of compute.

Cunning, able or skilled. Like the word craft, it has lost its innocent sense.

Danger, jurisdiction, legal power over. The Duke of Venice says to the Merchant, "You stand within his danger, do you not?" M. V. iv. l. 180.

Defy, to pronounce all bonds of faith dissolved. Lat. fides, faith.

Delicious, too scrupulous or finical. A writer of the seventeenth century says that idleness makes even "the soberest (most moderate) men delicious."

Depart, part or divide. The older version of the Prayer-Book has "till death us depart" (now corrupted into do part).

Disaster, an unfavourable star. A term from the old astrology.

Disease, discomfort, trouble. Shakespeare has, "She will disease our bitter mirth;" and Tyndale's version of Mark v. 35, is, "Thy daughter is dead: why diseasest thou the Master any further?"

Duke, leader. Hannibal was called in old English writers, "Duke of Carthage."

Ebb, shallow. "Cross the stream where it is ebbest," is a Lancashire proverb. (The word is a cognate of even.)

Essay, an attempt. The old title of such a book was not "Essay on" but "Essay at." From Lat. exagium, a weighing.

An older form is Assay. Shakespeare has such phrases as "the assay of arms."

Explode, to drive out by clapping of the hands. The opposite of applaud. Lat. plaudo, I clap my hands.

Explosion, a hissing a thing off the stage.

Firmament, that which makes firm or strong. Jeremy Taylor (seventeenth century) says, "Custom is the firmament of the law."

Fond, foolish. The past participle of A. S. fonnan, to act foolishly.

Frightful, full of fear. (Compare the old meaning of dreadful.)

Garbles, to sift or cleanse. Low Lat. garbellare, to sift corn.

Garland, a king's crown; now a wreath of flowers.

Gazette (Italian), a magpie. Hence the Ital. gazettare, to chatter like a magpie; to write tittle-tattle. (It was also the name of a very small coin, current in Venice, etc.)

Generous, high-born. Lat. genus, race. Compare the phrases "a man of family;" "a man of rank." Shakespeare has "the generous citizens" for those of high birth.

Gossip, sib or related in God; a godfather or godmother. It now means such personal talk as usually goes on among such persons. (Compare the French commère and commérage.)

Handsome, clever with the hands.

Harbinger, a person who prepared a harbour or lodging.

Heathen, a person who lives on a heath. (Cf. pagan, person who lives in a pagus, or country district.)

Hobby, an easy ambling nag.

Idiot (Gr. idiōtēs), a private person; a person who kept aloof from public business. Cf. idiom; idiosyncrasy; etc.

Imp, an engrafted shoot. Chaucer says: "Of feeble trees there comen wretched impes."

Spenser has "Well worthy impa."

170

GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Impertinent, not pertaining to the matter in hand.

Offal, that which is allowed to fall off.

Indifferent, impartial. "God is indifferent to all."

Officióus, obliging In modern diplomacy, an official communication is one made in the way of business, an officious communication is a friendly and irregular one. Burke, in the eighteenth century, speaks of the French nobility as " very officious and hospitable."

Insolent, unusual. An old writer praises Raleigh's poetry as " insolent and passionate."

Ostler=hosteller. The keeper of a hostel or hotel. (A comic derivation is that it is a contraction of oatstealer).

Kind, born, inborn ; natural ; and then loving.

Painful, painstaking. Fuller, in the seventeenth century, speaks of Joseph as " a painful carpenter."

Knave, boy. "A knave child "=a male child. Sir John Mandeville speaks of Mahomet as "a poure knave."

Palliate, to throw a cloak over. Lat. pallium, a cloak.

Lace, a snare. Lat. laqueus, a noose.

Pencil, a small hair brush. Lat. penecillus, a little tail.

Livery, that which is given or delivered. Fr. livrer; from Lat. liberare, to free. It was applied both to food and to clothing. "A horse at livery" still means a horse not merely kept, but also fed.

Peevish, obstinate.

Magnificent, doing great things ; large-minded. Bacon says, " Bounty and magnificence are virtues very regal."

Perspective, a glass for seeing either near or distant things.

Maker, a poet.

Pester, to encumber or clog From Low Lat. pastorum, a clog for horses in a pasture.

Manure, to work with the hand ; a doublet of manæuvre. (Lat. manus, the hand.)

Plantation, a colony of men planted.

Mere, utter. Lat. merus, pure. Shakespeare, in " Othello, " speaks of " the mere per-dition of the Turkish fleet." "Mere wine " was unmixed wine.

Plausible, having obtained applause. " Every one received him plausibly," says a seventeenth-century writer.

Metal, a mine.

Polite, polished. A seventeenth-century writer has " polite bodies as looking-glasses."

Minute, something very small. Lat. min-utus, made small; from minus, less. Cognates, minor : minish ; diminish ; etc

Pomp, a procession.

Miscreant, an unbeliever. Lat. mis (from minus), and credo, I believe ; through O Fr. mescréant.

Preposterous, putting the last first. Lat. præ, before ; and post, after.

Miser, a wretched person. Lat. miser, miserable.

Prevaricate, to reverse, to shuffle. Lat. prævaricari, to spread the legs apart in walking.

Nephew, a grandchild. (Lat. nepos.)

Prevent, to go before. Lat. præ, before, and venio, I come. The Prayer-Book has, " Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings."

Nice, too scrupulous or fastidious. Shakespeare, in " K. John, " iii. 4. 138, says—" He that stands upon a slippery place, Makes nice of no vile hold to stay him up."

Prodigious, ominous " A prodigious meteor," meant a meteor of bad omen.

'Niece, a grandchild. Lat. neptis.

Punctual, attending to small points. of detail. Lat. punctum; Fr. point.

Novelist, an innovator.

WORDS THAT HAVE GREATLY CHANGED IN MEANING. 171

Quaint, skilful. Prospero, in the "Tempest," calls Ariel "My quaint Ariel!"

Racy, having the strong and native qualities of the race. Cowley says of a poet that he is—

"Fraught with brisk racy verses, in which we

The soil from whence they come, taste, smell, and see."

Reduce, to lead back.

Resent, to be fully sensible of. Resentment, grateful recognition of.

Restive, obstinate, inclined to rest or stand still "To turn rusty" (=resty) is to turn obstinate.

Retaliate, to give back benefits as well as injuries.

Room, space, place at table. Luke xiv. 8.

Rummage, to make room.

Sad, earnest.

Sash, a turban.

Secure, free from care. Ben Jonson says: "Men may securely sin; but safely, never."

Sheen, bright, pure. Connected with shine.

Shrew, a wicked or hurtful person.

Silly, blessed.

Sincerity, absence of foreign admixture.

Soft, sweetly reasonable.

Spices, kinds—a doublet of species. (A grocer in French is called an épicier.)

Starve, to die. Chaucer says, "Jesus starved upon the cross."

Sycophant, "a fig-shower" or informer against a person who smuggled figs. Gr. sukon, a fig; and phaino, I show.

Table, a picture.

Tarpaulin, a sailor; from the tarred canvas suit he wore. Now shortened into tar.

Thews, habits, manners.

Thought, deep sorrow, anxiety. Matthew vii. 25. In "Julius Caesar," ii. 1 187, we find, "Take thought, and die for Caesar."

Trivial, very common. Lat. trivium, a place where three roads meet.

Tuition, guardianship. Lat. tuitio, looking at.

Uncouth, unknown.

Union, oneness; or a pearl in which size, roundness, smoothness, purity, lustre, were united. See "Hamlet," v. 2. 283. A doublet is onion—so called from its shape.

Unkind, unnatural.

Urbane, living in a city. Lat. urbs, a city.

Usury, money paid for the use of a thing.

Varlet, a serving-man. Low Lat. vassalettus a minor vassal. Varlet and valet are diminutives of vassal.

Vermin was applied to noxious animals of whatever size. "The crocodile is a dangerous vermin." Lat. vermis, a worm.

Villain, a farm-servant. Lat. villa, a farm.

Vivacity, pertinacity in living; longevity. Fuller speaks of a man as "most remarkable for his vivacity, for he lived 140 years"

Wit, knowledge, mental ability.

Worm, a serpent.

Worship, to consider worth, to honour.

Wretched, wicked. A. S. wrecca, an outcast.

PART II.

COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, PARAPHRASING,

AND PROSODY.

HINTS ON COMPOSITION.

1. Composition is the art of putting sentences together.

(i) Any one can make a sentence ; but every one cannot make a sen-

tence that is both clear and neat. We all speak and write sentences

every day ; but these sentences may be neat or they may be clumsy—

they may be pleasant to read, or they may be dull and heavy.

(ii) Sir Arthur Helps says : “A sentence should be powerful in its

substantives, choice and discreet in its adjectives, nicely correct in its

verbs ; not a word that could be added, nor one which the most fastid-

ious would venture to suppress ; in order, lucid ; in sequence, logical ;

in method, perspicuous.”

2. The manner in which we put our sentences together is

called style. That style may be good or bad; feeble or vigorous;

clear or obscure. The whole purpose of style, and of studying

style, is to enable us to present our thoughts to others in a clear,

forcible, and yet graceful way.

“Style is but the order and the movement that we put into our

thoughts. If we bind them together closely, compactly, the style be-

comes firm, nervous, concise. If they are left to follow each other

negligently, the style will be diffuse, slipshod, and insipid.”—Buffon.

3. Good composition is the result of three things : (i) clear

thinking ; (ii) reading the best and most vigorous writers ; and

(iii) frequent practice in writing, along with careful polishing of

what we have written.

(i) We ought to read diligently in the best poets, historians, and

essayists,—to read over and over again what strikes us as finely or nobly

or powerfully expressed,—to get by heart the most striking passages in

a good author. This kind of study will give us a large stock of appro-

priate words and striking phrases ; and we shall never be at a loss for

the right words to express our own sense.

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COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC.

Ben Jonson says : "For a man to write well, there are required

three necessaries : let him read the best authors ; observe the best

speakers ; and have much exercise of his own style."

(ii) "My mother forced me, by steady daily toil, to learn long chapters

of the Bible by heart ; as well as to read it every syllable through, aloud,

hard names and all, from Genesis to the Apocalypse, about once a-year :

and to that discipline,—patient, accurate, and resolute,—I owe, not only

a knowledge of the book, but much of my general power of taking pains,

and the best part of my taste in literature."—John Ruskin.

(iii) But, though much reading of the best books and a great deal of

practice in composition are the only means to attain a good and vigorous

style, there are certain directions—both general and special—which may

be of use to the young student, when he is beginning.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS.

4. We must know the subject fully about which we are going

to write.

(i) If we are going to tell a story, we must know all the circumstances ;

the train of events that led up to the result ; the relations of the persons

in the story to each other ; what they said ; and the outcome of the

whole at the close. These considerations guide us to

Practical Rule I.—Draw up on a piece of paper a short

skeleton of what you are going to write about.

(i) Archbishop Whately says : "The more briefly this is done, so that

it does but exhibit clearly the heads of the composition, the better ; be-

cause it is important that the whole of it be placed before the eye and

mind in a small compass, and be taken in, as it were, at a glance ; and it

should be written, therefore, not in sentences, but like a table of contents.

Such an outline should not be allowed to fetter the writer, if, in the

course of the actual composition, he find any reason for deviating from

his original plan,—it should serve merely as a track to mark out a path

for him, not as a groove to confine him."

(ii) Cobbett says : "Sit down to write what you have thought, and

not to think what you shall write."

5. Our sentences must be written in good English.

Good English is simply the English of the best writers ; and we can

only learn what it is by reading the books of these writers. Good writers

of the present century are such authors as Charles Lamb, Jane Austen,

Scott, Coleridge, Landor, Macaulay, Thackeray, Dickens, Matthew

Arnold, Froude, Ruskin, and George Eliot.

6. Our sentences must be written in pure English.

(i) This rule forbids the use of obsolete or old-fashioned words, such

as erst, peradventure, hight, beholden, vouchsafe, methinks, etc.

(ii) It forbids also the use of slang expressions, such as awfully, jolly,

rot, bosh, smell a rat, see with half an eye, etc.

(iii) It forbids the employment of technical terms, unless these are

absolutely necessary to express our meaning ; and this is sure to be the

case in a paper treating on a scientific subject. But technical terms in

an ordinary piece of writing, such as quantitative, connotation, anent,

chromatic, are quite out of place.

(iv) In obedience to this rule, we ought also carefully to avoid the use

of foreign words and phrases. Affectation of all kinds is disgusting ;

and it both looks and is affected to use such words as confrère, raison

d'être, amour propre, congé, etc.

(v) This recommendation also includes the Practical Rule : "When

an English-English (or 'Saxon') and a Latin-English word offer them-

selves, we had better choose the Saxon."

(vi) The following is from an article by Leigh Hunt : "In the Bible

there are no Latinisms ; and where is the life of our language to be

found in such perfection as in the translation of the Bible? We will

venture to affirm that no one is master of the English language who is not

well read in the Bible, and sensible of its peculiar excellences. It is the

pure well of English. The taste which the Bible forms is not a taste

for big words, but a taste for the simplest expression or the clearest

medium of presenting ideas. Remarkable it is that most of the subtleties

in the Bible are conveyed in monosyllables. For example, 'Let there be

light : and there was light.' Do these words want any life that Latin

could lend them? . . . The best styles are the freest from Latinisms ;

and it may be almost laid down as a rule that a good writer will never

have recourse to a Latinism if a Saxon word will equally serve his purpose.

We cannot dispense with words of Latin derivation; but there should

be the plea of necessity for resorting to them, or we wrong our English."

(vii) At the same time, it must not be forgotten that we very often

are compelled by necessity to use Latin words. Even Leigh Hunt, in

the above passage, has been obliged to do so while declaiming against it.

This is apparent from the number of words printed in italics, all of

which are derived from Latin. This is most apparent in the phrase

equally serve his purpose, which we could not now translate into "pure"

English.

7. Our sentences must be written in accurate English.

That is, the words used must be appropriate to the sense we

wish to convey. Accuracy is the virtue of using "the right

word in the right place."

(i) "The attempt was found to be impracticable." Now, impracticable

means impossible of accomplishment. Any one may attempt anything;

carrying it out is a different thing. The word used should have been

design or plan.

(ii) "The veracity of the statement was called in question." Veracity

is the attribute of a person ; not of a statement.

(iii) Accurate English can only be attained by the careful study of the

different shades of meaning in words ; by the constant comparison of

synonyms. Hence we may lay down the

Practical Rule II.—Make a collection of synonyms, and

compare the meanings of each couple (i) in a dictionary, and

(ii) in a sentence.

The following are a few, the distinctions between which are

very apparent :—

Abstain Forbear. Custom Habit.

Active Diligent. Delay Defer.

Aware Conscious. Difficulty Obstacle.

Character Reputation. Strong Powerful.

Circumstance Event. Think Believe.

8. Our sentences should be perfectly clear. That is, the

reader, if he is a person of ordinary common-sense, should not

be left for a moment in doubt as to our meaning.

(i) A Roman writer on style says : "Care should be taken, not that

the reader may understand if he will, but that he shall understand

whether he will or not."

(ii) Our sentences should be as clear as "mountain water flowing over

a rock." They should "economise the reader's attention."

(iii) Clearness is gained by being simple, and by being brief.

(iv) Simplicity teaches us to avoid (a) too learned words, and (b)

roundabout ways of mentioning persons and things.

(a) We ought, for example, to prefer—

Abuse to Vitiperation. Neighbourhood to Vicinity.

Begin " Commence. Trustworthy " Reliable.

Commence " Initiate. Welcome " Reception.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS.

179

(b) We ought to avoid such stale and hackneyed phrases as the

"Swan of Avon" for Shakespeare ; the "Bard of Florence" for

Dante ; "the Great Lexicographer" for Dr Johnson.

(v) Brevity enjoins upon us the need of expressing our meaning in as

few words as possible.

Opposed to brevity is verbosity, or wordiness. Pope says—

"Words are like leaves; and, where they most abound,

Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found."

(vi) Dr Johnson says : "Tediousness is the most fatal of all faults."

9. Our sentences should be written in flowing English.

That is, the rhythm of each sentence ought to be pleasant to

the ear, if read aloud. This axiom gives rise to two rules :-

Practical Rule III.—Write as you would speak !

(i) This, of course, points to an antecedent condition—that you must

be a good reader. "Good reading aloud is one of the chief conditions of

good writing. "Living speech," says a philosophic writer, "is the cor-

rective of all style."

Practical Rule IV.—After we have written our piece of com-

position, we should read it aloud either to ourselves or to some

one else.

Thus, and thus only, shall we be able to know whether each sentence

has an agreeable rhythm.

Practical Rule V.—"Never write about any matter you do

not well understand. If you clearly understand all about your

matter, you will never want thoughts ; and thoughts instantly

become words."—CobbetT.

"Seek not for words ; seek only fact and thought,

And crowding in will come the words, unsought."—Horace.

"Know well your subject ; and the words will go

To the pen's point, with steady, ceaseless flow."—Pentland.

10. Our sentences should be compact.

(i) That is, they ought not to be loose collections of words, but firm,

well-knit, nervous organisms.

(ii) A sentence in which the complete sense is suspended till the close

is called a period. Contrasted with it is the loose sentence.

180

COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION ETC.

(a) Loose Sentence.—The Puritans looked down with contempt on

the rich and the eloquent, on nobles and priests.

(b) Period.—On the rich and the eloquent, on nobles and priests

the Puritans looked down with contempt.

(iii) The following is a fine example of a loose sentence : “Notwith-

standing his having gone, in winter, to Moscow, where he found the cold

excessive, and which confined him, without intermission, six weeks to

his room, we could not induce him to come home.” This no more

makes a sentence than a few cartloads of bricks thrown loosely upon the

ground constitute a house.

EMPHASIS.

One object in style is to call the attention of the reader in a

forcible and yet agreeable way to the most important parts of

our subject—in other words, to give emphasis to what is

emphatic, and to make what is striking and important strike the

eye and mind of the reader. This purpose may be attained in

many different ways ; but there are several easy devices that

will be found of use to us in our endeavour to give weight and

emphasis to what we write. These are :-

1. The ordinary grammatical order of the words in a sentence

may be varied ; and emphatic words may be thrown to the

beginning or to the end of the sentence. This is the device

of Inversion.

Thus we have, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the

Lord.” “Jesus I know, and Paul I know : but who are ye ?” “Some

he imprisoned ; others he put to death.” “Go he must !” “Do it be

shall !” “They could take their rest, for they knew Lord Strafford

watched. Him they feared, him they trusted, him they obeyed.” “He

that tells a lie is not sensible how great a task he undertakes ; for, to

maintain one, he must invent twenty more.” In the last sentence, the

phrase to maintain one gains emphasis by being thrown out of its

usual and natural position. But

Caution 1.—Do not go out of your way to invert. It has a

look of affectation. Do not say, for example, “True it is,” or

“Of Milton it was always said,” etc. And do not begin an

essay thus : “Of all the vices that disfigure and degrade,” etc.

2. The Omission of Conjunctions gives force and emphasis.

Thus Hume writes: "He rushed amidst them with his sword drawn, threw them into confusion, pushed his advantage, and gained a complete victory." We may write: "You say this; I deny it."

3. The use of the Imperative Mood gives liveliness and emphasis.

Thus we find the sentence: "Strip virtue of the awful authority she derives from the general reverence of mankind, and you rob her of half her majesty." Here strip is equal to If you strip; but is much more forcible.

4. Emphasis is also gained by employing the Interrogative Form.

(i) Thus, to say "Who does not hope to live long?" is much more forcible and lively than "All of us hope to live long."

(ii) This is a well-known form in all impassioned speech. Thus, in the Bible we find: "Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live for ever?"

5. The device of Exclamation may also be employed to give emphasis; but it cannot be frequently used, without danger of falling into affectation.

Thus Shakespeare, instead of making Hamlet say, "Man is a wonderful piece of work," etc.—which would be dull and flat—writes, "What a piece of work is man!" etc.

6. Emphasis may be gained by the use of the device of Periphrasis.

(i) Thus, instead of saying "John built this house," or "This house was built by John," we can say: "It was John who built this house;" "It was no other than John who," etc.

7. Repetition is sometimes a powerful device for producing emphasis; but, if too frequently employed, it becomes a tiresome mannerism.

(i) Macaulay is very fond of this device. He says: "Tacitus tells a fine story finely, but he cannot tell a plain story plainly. He stimulates till stimulants lose their power. Again: "He aspired to the highest—above the people, above the authorities, above the laws, above his country."

182

COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC.

(ii) Its effect in poetry is sometimes very fine :-

" By foreign hands thy dying eyes were closed ;

By foreign hands thy decent limbs composed ;

By foreign hands thy humble grave adorned ;

By strangers honoured, and by strangers mourned."

8. The device of Suspense adds to the weight and emphasis

of a statement ; it keeps the attention of the reader on the

stretch, because he feels the sense to be incomplete.

(i) The suspense in the following sentence gives a heightened idea of

the difficulty of travelling : " At last, with no small difficulty, and

after much fatigue, we came, through deep roads, storms of wind and

rain, and bad weather of all kinds, to our journey's end."

(ii) This device is frequent in poetry. Thus Keats opens his " Hy-

perion " in this way :-

" D 'ep in the shady sadness of a vale,

Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn,

Far from the fiery noon and eve's one star—

Sat grey-haired Saturn, quiet as a stone."

Here the verb is kept to the last line.

9. Antithesis always commands attention, and is therefore a

powerful mode of emphasising a statement. But antithesis is

not always at one's command ; and it must not be strained after.

Macaulay employs this device with great effect. He has: " The

Puritans hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but

because it gave pleasure to the spectators." Swift was very fond of it.

Thus he says : " The two maxims of a great man at court are, always to

keep his countenance, and never to keep his word." Dr Johnson has

this sentence : " He was a learned man among lords, and a lord among

learned men." " He twice forsook his party ; his principles never."

10. A very sharp, sudden, and unexpected antithesis is called

an Epigram.

(i) Thus Lord Bacon, speaking of a certain procession in Rome, says that

" The statues of Brutus and Cassius were conspicuous by their absence."

Macaulay says of the dirt and splendour of the Russian Ambassadors :

" They came to the English Court dropping pearls and vermin."

(ii) The following are additional instances of truths put in a very

striking and epigrammatic way : " Verbosity is cured by a large vocab-

ulary " (because when you have a large stock of words, you will be

able to choose the fittest). " We ought to know something of every-

thing, and everything of something." " He was born of poor but dis-

honest parents." " When you have nothing to say, say it." " He

had nothing to do, and he did it." "The better is the enemy of the

good." "One secret in education," says Herbert Spencer, "is to know

how wisely to lose time." "Make haste slowly." "They did nothing

in particular ; and did it very well."

(iii) But no one should strain after such a style of writing. Such an

attempt would only produce smartness, which is a fatal vice,

DISTINCTNESS OF STYLE.

1. One great secret of a good and striking style is the art of

Specification.

Professor Bain gives us an excellent example of a vague and gen-

eral, as opposed to a distinct and specific style :-

(a) Vague.—" In proportion as the manners, customs, and amuse-

ments of a nation are cruel and barbarous, the regulation of their

penal codes will be severe."

(b) Specific.—" According as men delight in battles, bull-fights, and

combats of gladiators, so will they punish by hanging, burning,

and crucifying."

2. Specification or distinctness of style may be attained in

two ways: (i) by the use of concrete terms; and (ii) by the

use of detail.

3. A concrete or particular term strikes br(b the feelings

and imagination with greater force than an abstract or general

term can do.

(i) Let us make a few contrasts :-

Abstract. Concrete.

Quadruped. Horse.

Building materials. Bricks and mortar.

Old age. Grey hairs.

Warlike weapons. Sword and gun.

Rich and poor. The palace and the cottage.

A miserable state. Age, ache, and penury.

" I have neither the necessaries

of life, nor the means of pro-

curing them." " I have not a crust of bread,

nor a penny to buy one."

(ii) Campbell says : " The more general the terms are, the picture is

the fainter; the more special, the brighter." " They sank like lead in

the mighty waters " is more forcible than " they sank like metal."

4. Details enable the reader to form in his mind a vivid pic-

ture of the event narrated or the person described; and, before

beginning to write, we ought always to draw up a list of such

details as are both striking and appropriate — such details as

tend to throw into stronger relief the chief person or event.

The following is a good example from the eloquent writer and

profound thinker Edmund Burke. He is speaking of the philanthro-

pist Howard :—

"He has visited all Europe to dive into the depths of dungeons; to plunge

into the infections of hospitals ; to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain;

to take the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt; to

remember the forgotten, to attend to the neglected, to visit the forsaken, and

to compare and collate the distresses of all men in all countries."

GENERAL CAUTIONS.

1. Avoid the use of threadbare and hackneyed expressions,

Leave them to people who are in a hurry, or to penny-a-liners.

Instead of Write

At the expiration of four years. At the end, etc.

Paternal sentiments. The feelings of a father.

Exceedingly opulent. Very rich.

Incur the danger. Run the risk.

Accepted signification. Usual meaning.

Extreme felicity. Great happiness.

A sanguinary engagement. A bloody battle.

In the affirmative. Yes.

2. Be very careful in the management of pronouns.

(i) Cobbett says: "Never put an it upon paper without thinking

well what you are about. When I see many it's in a page, I always

tremble for the writer." See also 2 Kings, xix. 35 : "And when they

arose early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses."

(ii) Bolingbroke has the sentence: "They were persons of very moder-

ate intellects, even before they were impaired by their passions." The

last they ought to be these.

(iii) The sentence, "He said to his patient that if he did not feel

better in half an hour, he thought he had better return," is a clumsy

sentence, but clear enough ; because we can easily see that it is the

patient that is to take the advice.

SPECIAL CAUTIONS.

185

3. Be careful not to use mixed metaphors.

(i) The following is a fearful example : “This is the arrow of conviction, which, like a nail driven in a sure place, strikes its roots downwards into the earth, and bears fruit upwards.”

(ii) Sir Boyle Roche, an Irish member, began a speech thus : “Mr Speaker, I smell a rat, I see him floating in the air ; but, mark me, I shall yet nip him in the bud.” A similar statement is : “Lord Kimberley said that in taking a very large bite of the Turkish cherry the way had been paved for its partition at no distant day.”

4. Be simple, quiet, manly, frank, and straightforward in your style, as in your conduct. That is : Be yourself !

SPECIAL CAUTIONS.

1. Avoid tautology.

Alison says : “It was founded mainly on the entire monopoly of the whole trade with the colonies.” Here entire and whole are tautological ; for monopoly means entire possession, or possession of the whole. “He appears to enjoy the universal esteem of all men.” Here universal is superfluous.

2. Place the adverb as near the word it modifies as you can.

“He not only found her employed, but also pleased and tranquil.” The not only belongs to employed, and should therefore go with it.

3. Avoid circumlocution.

“Her Majesty, on reaching Perth, partook of breakfast.” This should be simply breakfasted. But the whole sentence should be recast into : “On reaching Perth, the Queen breakfasted in the station.”

4. Take care that your participles are attached to nouns, and that they do not run loose.

“Alarmed at the news, the boat was launched at once.” Here alarmed can, grammatically, agree with boat only. The sentence should be : “The men, alarmed at the news, launched their boat at once.”

5. Use a present participle as seldom as possible.

(i) “I have documents proving this” is not so strong as “to prove this.”

(ii) "He dwelt a long time on the advantages of swift steamers, thus accounting for the increase," etc. The phrase "thus accounting ' is very loose. Every sentence ought to be neat, firm, and compact.

6. Remember that who = and he or for he; while that introduces a merely adjectival clause.

"I heard it from the doctor, who told the gardener that-works-for-the-college." Here who = and he; and that introduces the adjectival sentence.

7. Do not change the Subject of your Sentence.

(i) Another way of putting this is: "Preserve the unity of the sentence !"

(ii) "Archbishop Tillotson died in this year. He was exceedingly beloved both by King William and Queen Mary, who nominated Dr Tenison to succeed him." The last statement about nominating another bishop has no natural connection with what goes before.

(iii) "After we came to anchor, they put me on shore, where I was welcomed by all my friends, who received me with the greatest kindness." This sentence ought to be broken into two. The first should end with on shore; and the second begin "Here I was met and, etc."

8. See that who or which refers to its proper antecedent.

"Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a yeoman, to whom he left his second-best bed." Here the grammatical antecedent is yeoman; but the historical and sense-antecedent is certainly daughter.

9. Do not use and which for which.

(i) "I bought him a very nice book as a present, and which cost me ten shillings." The and is here worse than useless.

(ii) If another which has preceded, of course and which is right.

10. Avoid exaggerated or too strong language.

Unprecedented, most extraordinary, incalculable. boundless, extremely, awfully, scandalous, stupendous, should not be used unless we know that they are both true and appropriate.

11. Be careful not to mix up dependent with principal sentences.

"He replied that he wished to help them, and intended to give orders to his servants." Here it is doubtful whether intended is co-ordinate with replied or with wished. If the former is the case, th^n we ought to say he intended.

12. Be very careful about the right position of each phrase

or clause in your sentence.

The following are curious examples of dislocations or misplace-

ments : “A piano fur sale by a lady about to cross the Channel in an

oak case with carved legs.” “I believe that, when he died, Cardinal

Mezzofanti spoke at least fifty languages.” “He blew out his brains

after bidding his wife good-bye with a gun.” “Erected to the memory

of John Phillips, accidentally shot, as a mark of affection by his

brother.” “The Board has resolved to erect a building large enough

to accommodate 500 students three storeys high.” “Mr Carlyle has

taught us that silence is golden in thirty-seven volumes.”

PUNCTUATION.

1. Certain signs, called points, are used in sentences to mark

off their different parts, and to show the relation of each part to

the organic whole.

(i) Putting in the right points is called punctuation, from the Latin

punctum, a point. From the same word come punctual and punctuality.

2. These points are the full stop, the colon, the semicolon,

the dash, and the comma.

3. The full stop (.) or period marks the close of a sentence.

4. The colon (:) introduces (i) a new statement that may

be regarded as an after-thought; or (ii) it introduces a cata-

logue of things ; or (iii) it introduces a formal speech.

(The word colon is Greek, and means limb or member.)

(i) “Study to acquire a habit of accurate expression : no study is

more important.”

(ii) “Then follow excellent parables about fame : as that she gathereth

strength in going ; that she goeth upon the ground, and yet hideth her

head in the clouds ; that in the day-time she sitteth in a watch-tower,

and flieth most by night.”—BACON.

(iii) “Mr Wilson rose and said: ‘Sir, I am sorry,’ etc.”

5. The semicolon is employed when, for reasons of sound or

of sense, two or more simple sentences are thrown into one.

(Semicolon is Greek, and means half a colon.)

(i) “In the youth of a state, arms do flourish ; in the middle age of

a state, learning ; and then both of them together for a time ; in the

declining age of a state, mechanical arts and merchandise."—BACON.

(ii) Learn from the birds what foods the thickets yield ;

Learn from the beasts the physic of the field ;

Thy arts of building from the bee receive ;

Learn of the mole to plough, the worm to weave."—POPE.

6. The dash is used (i) to introduce an amplification or ex-

planation ; and (ii) two dashes are often employed in place of

the old parenthesis.

(i) "During the march a storm of rain, thunder, and lightning came

on—a storm such as is only seen in tropical countries."

(ii) "Ribbons, buckles, buttons, pieces of gold-lace—any trifles he had

worn—were stored as priceless treasures."

7. The comma is used to indicate a strong pause, either of

sense or of sound.

(i) It is true that the comma is the weakest of all our stops ; but

there are many pauses which we ought to make in reading a sentence

aloud that are not nearly strong enough to warrant a comma.

(ii) It is better to understop rather than to overstrop. For example,

the last part of the last sentence in the paragragh above might have

been printed thus : "there are many pauses, which ought to make,

in reading a sentence aloud, that are not nearly strong enough to war-

rant a comma." This is the old-fashioned style ; but such sprinkling of

commas is not at all necessary.

(iii) Two things are all that are required to teach us the use of a

comma : (a) observation of the custom of good writers ; and (b) careful

consideration of the sense and build of our own sentences.

(iv) The following are a few special uses of the comma :—

(a) It may be used in place of and :—

" We first endure, then pity, then embrace."

(b) After an address : "John, come here."

(c) After certain introductory adverbs, as however, at length, at

last, etc. "He came, however, in time to catch the train."

8. The point of interrogation (?) is placed at the end of a

question.

9. The point of admiration (!) is employed to mark a state-

ment which calls for surprise or wonder ; but it is now seldom

used.

FIGURES OF SPEECH.

FIGURES OF SPEECH.

1. The mind naturally tends, especially when in a state of

excitement, to the use of what is called figurative language.

It is as if we called upon all the things we see or have seen to

come forward and help us to express our overmastering emotions.

In fact, the external shows of nature are required to express the

internal movements of the mind; the external world provides a

language for the internal or mental world. Hence we find all

language full of figures of speech. Though we do not notice

them at the time, we can hardly open our mouths without using

them. As Butler says in his famous poem :-

"For Hudibras,—he could not ope

His mouth, but out there flew a trope." 1

We speak of a town being stormed; of a clear head ; a hard

heart; wingĕd words; glowing eloquence; virgin snow; a torrent

of words; the thirsty ground; the angry sea. We speak of

God's Word being a light to our feet and a lamp to our path.

2. This kind of language has been examined, classified, and

arranged under heads ; and the chief figures of speech are called

Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Allegory, Synecdoche,

Metonymy, and Hyperbolé.

3. A Simile is a comparison that is limited to one point.

"Jones fought like a lion." Here the single point of likeness

between Jones and the lion is the bravery of the fighting of

each.

(Simile comes from the Latin similis, like.)

(i) "His spear was like the mast of a ship." "His salté terés striken

down like rain," says Chaucer. "Apollo came like the night," says

Homer. "His words fell soft, like snow upon the ground," are the

words used by Homer in speaking of Ulysses. "It stirs the heart

like the sound of a trumpet" said Sir Philip Sidney in speaking of

the ballad of "Chevy Chase." Tennyson admirably compares a miller

covered with flour to "a working-bee in blossom-dust."

1 A trope—from Greek tropos, a turning. A word that has been turned

from its ordinary and primary use. From the same root come tropics

and tropical.