An English grammar : comprehending the principles and rules of the language, illustrated by appropriate exercises and a key to the exercises

Front matter

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CLASSICAL SCHOOL BOOKS

The Rev. J. E. RIDDLE’S COMPLETE LATIN- ENGLISH and ENGLISH-LATIN DICTIONARY. 8vo. 21.

Part 1. Orthography

Page Cuap. 1. Of Letters. secT. 1, Of the nature of Letters, of Language, and of a

perfect Alphabet... was . 26

2. General Observations on the Sautids of the Taters 36

3. Of the organs of Articulation as es ate. 40

Caap. 2. OfSyllables, and the Rules forarranging them... 53 Cuap. 3, Of Words in general, and the Rules for spelling them te soa he vii . OO PART If.

ETYMOLOGY.

Cuap. 1. A general view of the Parts of Speech saa. OL Cuap. 2. Of the Articles ... sas ie ea ee OE

Xvi

Go

CONTENTS.

Page Of Substantives.

Of Substantives in general ... “its i w. «675 Of Gender sg oa fs oe oe we 76 Of Number _... ie eas si se ... 80 Of Case ae a Sai Se ae oe. BS Of Adjectives.

Of the nature of Adjectives, and the degrees of Comparison eee ee va seis - 6&8 Remarks on the sabhest of Conipelitaos ae .. 90

Of Pronouns.

Of the Personal Pronouns ‘ bs ee - 94 Of the Relative Pronouns _... ea aes sia OF Of the Adjective Pronouns ... set som ... 100 Of Verbs.

Of the nature of Verbs in general ... ae ... 107 Of Number and Person See ass Pe sce LIL Of Moods and Participles _..... sie ae ion ELI Remarks on the Potential Mood __... ale wv. 117 Of the Tenses ... .. 119 The Conjugation of thie Ausiiny Verbs | to have

The Auxiliary Verbs Conjugated i in 1 their simple form ; with observations on their peculiar nature and force a ee “et .. 14] The Conjugation of Regular Verls re we. 147 Observations on Passive Verbs ee ete ... 159 gle

— ry - een

CONTENTS. XVli

Pago SECT. 10. Of Irregular Verbs .., ve - ... 162 11. Of defective Verbs; and of the different ways in which Verbs are conjugated _... . 168 12. Theory respecting the inflections of Latinas 172 CHap. 7. Of Adverbs... ms a ee eae i | CHap. 8. Of Prepositions e 3 Se. .. 181 Cap. 9. Of Conjunctions es ae ee ... 189 Cuap, 10. Of Interjections ae os es se 197 Cuap. 11. Of Derivation. sEcT. 1. Of the various ways in which words are derived from one another wae .. 199 2. A sketch of the steps by which the English Language has risen to its present state of refinement wee oes dies vidi ses «ee 208 Cuap. 12. Number and variety of words, &c.... . 211 PART III.

SYNTAX.

Of the Syntax of the Article ad si ade .. 254 Of the Syntax of the Noun.

Of several Nouns joined by Copulatives ae a5. 225 Of Nouns connected by Disjunctives sad ye sve 229 Of Nouns of Multitude on is 2. 230

Of one Noun governing another in the Phsseadive ius. we. 259

VOL. I.

A 2

XVill CONTENTS.

Of the Syntax of the Pronoun.

Of Pronouns agreeing with their Antecedents... eee

Of the Relative being Nominative to the Verb ...

Of the Relative preceded by Nominatives of different persons a Si. : its

Of the Syntax of the Adjective aa. tees cas 22; Of the Syntax of the Verb.

Of the Verb’s agreement with the Nominative Case

Of Verbs active requiring the Objective Case - Of one Verb governing another in the Infinitive Mood .. Of Verbs related in point of time ... .

Of the Syntax of the Participle Of the Rules respecting Adverbs.

Of the position of Adverbs ...

Of two Negatives

Of the Syntax of Prepositions Of the Syntax of Conjunctions.

Of Conjunctions connecting the same Moods, Tenses, and

Cases a des boi abs he oe Of Conjunctions requiring the Subjunctive Mood, &c.

Of the Syntax of Interjections isi Of comparisons by the Conjunction than or as Directions respecting the Ellipsis

General Rule of Syntax

Directions for Parsing

Page ae

CONTENTS. XIX

PART IV.

PROSODY.

Page CHap. 1. Of Pronunciation.

Sect.1. Of Accent es ils Ses ie ae we «= 45 2. Of Quantity... Mis ses aa ae we dol 3. Of Emphasis 000. wee wee we BE 4. Of Pauses be eae ae cs oe oo. 304 5. Of Tones bes ‘i coat ad “ « «367 Cuap, 2. Of Versification ... Sex wie a .. 310 OF PUNCTUATION.

Cap. 1. Of the Comma ae oe ona rN ... O92 Cuap. 2. Ofthe Semicolon ... ne ae a ... 402 Cuap. 3. Of the Colon... ac sae ed ade ... 403 Cuap, 4. Of the Period ee . 405

Cuap. 5. Of the Dash, Notes of Tateneapation aad Exclamation, and the Parenthesis ... Se ... 406 Cuap. 6. Of the Apostrophe, Caret,&. ... .. «. 411 Cuap. 7. Directions respecting Capital Letters ... ... 414 Cuap. 8. Of Ferseraphs ee ae ee ee VINDICATION OF THE STUDY OF GRAMMAR ... 420

XX CONTENTS.

Appendix

RULES AND OBSERVATIONS FOR PROMOTING PER- SPICUITY AND ACCURACY IN WRITING.

PART I.

Of Perspicuity and Accuracy of Expression, with respect to swnrgle Words and Phrases, | Pago Cuap. 1. Of Purity a site us one .. 428 Cuap. 2. Of Propriety ... —... cee sie ww. 429 Cuap, 3. Of Precision ... sae ies aoe .. 438 PART II.

Of Perspicuity and Accuracy of Expression, with respect to the Construction of Snentences.

Cuap. 1. Of the Clearness of a Sentence ei we 445 Cap. 2. Of the Unity ofa Sentence... sae . 402 Cuap. 3. Of the Strength of a Sentence Se ... 409 Cuap. 4. Of Figures of Speech ... ae be ... 486

CONTENTS. XX1

Part III

Of Perspicuity and Accuracy of Expression, with respect to the great principle which, on all occasions, decides the Propriety of Language.

Cuap. 1. The Nature and Characters of the use which gives Law to Language... ... .. «520

Sect.1. Of Reputable use — an ei igs we 521 2. Of National use say sae ats ‘i .. 624

3. Of Present use i ae ee. Hes ». 526

Cap, 2. The Nature and Use of Verbal Criticism, with its principal Canons... = «ws www OSL

Sect. 1. Good use not always uniform in her decisions ... 532 2. Every thing favoured by good use, not on that account worthy to be retained ... eee wv. 535

ADDRESS TO YOUNG STUDENTS see 255 .. 593

— : Ea, ye

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

—— — eee, OO”

OO?

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

Enciish Grammar is the art of speaking and writing the English language with propriety.

It is divided into four parts, viz.

1, ORTHOGRAPHY, 3. SYNTAX, 9. ETYMOLOGY, 4, PROSODY.

Tus division may be rendered more intelligible to the student, by observing, in other words, that Grammar treats,

First, of the form and sound of the letters, the combination of letters into syllables, and syllables into words ;

Secondly, of the different sorts of words, their various modifications, and their derivation ;

Thirdly, of the union and right order of words in the formation of a sentence; and

Lastly, of the just pronunciation, and poetical construction, of sentences.

Grammar may be considered as consisting of two species, Universal and Particular. Grammar in general, or Universal Grammar, explains the principles which are common to all languages. Particular Grammar applies those general principles to a particular language, modifying them according to the genius of that tongue, and the established practice of the best speakers and writers by whom it is used.

VOL. I. B:

Section I. Of The Nature Of Letters, Of Language, And Of A Perfect Alphabet

ORTHOGRAPHY teaches the nature and powers of letters, and the just method of spelling words.

A letter is the first principle, or least part, of a word.

The letters of the English language, called the English Alphabet, are twenty-six in number.

These letters are the representatives of certain articulate sounds, the elements of the language. An articulate sound, is the sound of the human voice, formed by the organs of speech.

‘*‘ LANGUAGE, in the proper sense of the word, signifies the expression of our ideas, and their various relations, by certain articulate sounds, which are used as the signs of those ideas and relations. The faculty of speech is one of the distinguishing characters of our nature; none of the inferior animals being in any degree possessed of it. For we must not call by the name of speech that imitation of human articulate voice, which parrots and some other birds are capable of: speech implying thought, and consciousness, and the power of separating and arranging our ideas, which are faculties peculiar to rational minds.

“That some inferior animals should be able to mimic human articulation, will not seem wonderful when we recollect, that even by machines certain words have been expressed in this manner. But that the parrot should annex thought to the word he utters, is scarcely more probable than that a machine should do so. Rogue and hnave are in every parrot’s mouth: but the ideas they stand for, are incomprehensible by any other beings than those endued with reason and a moral faculty.

‘It has however been a common opinion, and it is sufficiently probable, that, among irrational animals, there is something which, by a figure, we may call Language, as the instinctive economy of bees is figuratively called Government. This at least is evident, that the natural voices of one animal are, in some degree, intelligible, or convey particular feclings, or impulses, to others of the same species. But these, and other animal voices that might be mentioned, have no analogy with human speech.—For, jirst, men speak by art and imitation, whereas the voices in question are wholly instinctive. That a dog, which had never heard another bark, would, notwithstanding, bark himself, admits of no doubt: and that a man, who had never heard any language, would not speak any, is equally certain. Secondly, the voices of brute animals are not broken, or resolvable, into distinct elementary sounds, like those of man when he speaks; nor are they susceptible of that variety, which would be necessary for the communication of a very few sentiments: and it is pretty certain, that, previously to instruction, the young animals comprehend their meaning, as well as the old ones. Thirdly, these voices seem intended by nature to express, not distinct ideas, but such feelings only as it may be for the good of the species, or for the advantage of man, that they should have the power of uttering: in which, as in all other respects, they are analogous, not to our speaking; but to our weeping, laughing, groaning, screaming, and other natural and audible expressions of appetite and passion.”

Buffon, in his account of the ouran-outang, says, “The tongue, and all the organs of the voice, are similar to those of men, and yet the animal cannot articulate; the brain is formed in the same manner as that of man, and yet the creature wants reason: an evident proof that the parts of the body, how nicely soever formed, are formed to very limited ends, when there is not infused a rational soul to direct their operations.”

Name.

Op Enatisi.

ITatic, Cap. Small.

ORTHOGRAPHY.

A

Romax. a

Cap. Small

ITALIC, AND OLD ENGLISH CHARACTERS.

A

Saxox, Cap. Small.

THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE ANGLO-SAXON, ROMAN, A

@ or ev7é. wu Or you. ble u.

jay kay el em. en, 0 pee Cue. ar ess tee.

hexanal bee.

~ on os*L Ma. ma.&&do mn S MND SP RH DN

WD i I ae MHEZOH MnHRADPBKRHN

Bb L D

(Go C le

A perfect alphabet of the English language, and indeed of every other language, would contain a number of letters, precisely equal to the number of simple articulate sounds belonging to the language. Every simple sound would have its distinct character; and that character be the representative of no other sound. But this is far from being the state ofthe English alphabet. It has more original sounds than distinct significant letters; and consequently some of these letters are made to represent, not one sound alone, but several sounds. This will appear by reflecting, that the sounds signified by the united letters th, sh, ng, are elementary, and have no single appropriate characters, in our alphabet: and that the letters a and w represent the different sounds heard in hat, hate, hall; and in but, bull, mule.

To explain this subject more fully to the learners, we shall set down the characters made use of to represent all the elementary articulate sounds of our language, as nearly in the manner and order of the present English alphabet, as the design of the subject will admit; and shall annex to each character the syllable or word which contains its proper and distinct sound. And here it will be proper to begin with the vowels.

Letters denoting the Words containing the slinple sounds, simple sounds, a long as heard in ale, pale. a short as in at, bat. a middle as and arm, farm. a broad as Lid all, call. e long as an me, bee. e short as an met, net. i long as die pine, pile. i short as an pin, tin. o long as an No, so, o short as an not, lot. o middle as in move, prove. u long as Ae muse, use. u short as aie but, nut. u middle us a bull, full.

By the preceding list it appears, that there are in the | English language fourteen simple vowel sounds: but as t and wz, when pronounced long, may be considered as diphthongs, or diphthongal vowels, our language, strictly speaking, contains but twelve simple vowel sounds; to represent which we have only five distinct characters or letters. If a in arm, is the same specific sound as a in at, and «in dull, the same as 0 in move, which is the opinion of some grammarians; then there are but ten original vowel sounds in the English language.

The following list denotes the sounds of the consonants, being in number twenty-two.

Letters denvting the Words containing the simple sounds, simple sounds.

b as heard in bat, tub. d as an dog, sod. f as in for, off. v a8 in van, love. g as mn go, egg. h* as an hop, ho. k as in kill, oak. ] as in lop, loll. m as in my, mum.

D as in nod, nun. p as in pin, pup. r as an rap, tar, s as in 80, lass. z as an zed, buzz. t as in top, mat, w as mn wo, will. y as un ye, yes. ng as 17 king, sing. sh as an shy, ash, th as in thin, thick. th as un then, them. zh as wm pleasure.

* Some grammarians suppose fh to mark only an aspiration, or breathing; but it appears to be a distinct sound, and formed, in a particular manner by the organs of speech.— Encyclopedia Britannica.

Several letters marked in the English alphabet as consonants, are eithcr superfluous, or represent, not simple, but complex sounds. C, for instance, is, superfluous in both its sounds; the one being expressed by 4, and the other by s. G, in the soft pronunciation, is not a simple, but a complex sound; as age is pronounced aidge. J is unnecessary, because its sound, and that of the soft g, are in our language the same. Q, with its attendant w, is either complex, and resolvable into kw, as in quality; or unnecessary, because its sound is the same with &, as in opaque. .X is compounded of gs, as in example; or of ks, as In expect.

From the preceding representation, it appears to be a point of considerable importance, that every learner of the English language should be taught to pronounce perfectly, and with facility, every original simple sound that belongs to it. By a timely and judicious care in this respect, the voice will be prepared to utter, with ease and accuracy, every combination of sounds; and taught to avoid that confused and imperfect manner of pronouncing words, which accompanies, through life, many persons who have not, in this respect, been properly instructed at an early period.

Letters are divided into Vowels and Consonants.

A vowel is an articulate sound, that can be perfectly uttered by itself: as, a, e, 0; which are formed without the help of any other sound.

A consonant is an articulate sound, which cannot be perfectly uttered without the help of a vowel: as, b, d, f,/; which require vowels to express them fully.

The vowels are, a, @, 2, 0, u, and sometimes w and y.

W and y are consonants, when they begin a word or syllable; but, in every other situation, they are vowels.

Ir is generally acknowledged by the best grammarians, that w and y are consonants when they begin a syllable or word, and vowels when they end one. That they are consonants, when used as initials, seems to be evident from their not admitting the article an before them; as it would be improper to say, an walnut, an yard, &c.; and from their following a vowel without any hiatus or difficulty of utterance: as, frosty winter, rosy youth. That they are vowels in other situations, appears from their regularly taking the sound of other vowels: as, w has the exact sound of u in saw, few, now, &c.; and y that of t in hymn, fly, crystal, &c. See the letters W and Y, pages 42 and 43.*

We present the following as more exact and philosophical definitions of a vowel and consonant.

A. vowel is a simple, articulate sound, perfect in itself, and

formed by a continued effusion of the breath, and a certain conformation of the mouth, without any alteration in the position, or any motion of the organs of speech, from the moment the vocal sound commences, till it ends. ' A consonant is a simple, articulate sound, imperfect by itself, but which, joined with a vowel, forms a complete sound, by a particular motion or contact of the organs of speech.

Some grammarians subdivide vowels into the simple and the compound. But there does not appear to be any foundation for the distinction. Simplicity ia essential to the

* The letters w and y are of an ambiguous nature; being consonants at

the beginning of words, and vowels at the end.—Kacyclopedia Britannica, WALKER’S Critical Pronouncing Dictionary, page, 24, third edition. PERRY’S English Dictionary, Preface, page 7.

nature of a vowel, which excludes every degree of mixed or compound sounds. It requires, according to the definition, but one conformation of the organs of speech to form it, and no motion in the organs whilst it is forming.

Consonants are divided into mutes and semi-vowels.

The mutes cannot be sounded at all, without the aid of a vowel. They are 6, p, t, d,k, and c and g hard.

The semi-vowels have an imperfect sound of themselves. They are /, J, m,n, 17, v, 5, 2, 2, and c and g soft.

Four of the semi-vowels, namely, 4 m, n, 7, are also distinguished by the name of liquids, from their readily uniting with other consonants, and flowing as it were into their sounds.

We have shown above, that it is essential to the nature of a consonant, that it cannot be fully uttered without the aid of a vowel. We may further observe, that even the names of the consonants, as they are pronounced in reciting the alphabet, require the help of vowels to express them. In pronouncing the names of the mutes, the assistant vowels follow the consonants: as, be, pe, te, de, ka. In pronouncing the names of the semi-vowels, the vowels generally precede the consonants: as, ef, el, em, en, ar, e8, ex. The exceptions are, ce, ge, ve, zed.

This distinction between the nature and the name of a consonant, is of great importance, and should be well explained to the pupil. They are frequently confounded by writers on grammar. Observations and reasonings on the name, are often applied to explain the nature of a consonant; and, by this means, the student is led into

(50 gle error and perplexity respecting these elements of language. It should be impressed on his mind, that the name of every consonant is a complex sound; but that the consonant itself is always a simple sound.

Some writers have described the mutes and semi-vowels, with their subdivisions, nearly in the following manner.

The mutes are those consonants whose sounds cannot be protracted; the semi-vowels, such whose sounds can be continued at pleasure, partaking of the nature of vowels, from which they derive their name.

The mutes may be subdivided into pure and impure.

The pure are those whose sounds cannot be at all prolonged: they are k, p,¢. The impure are those whose sounds may be continued, though for a very short space: they are 5, d, g.

The semi-vowels may be subdivided into vocal and aspirated. The vocal are those which are formed by the voice: the aspirated, those formed by the breath. There are eleven vocal, and five aspirated. The vocal are J, m, Ny Ty) V, 0, Y, cz, th flat, zh, ng: the aspirated, f, A, 8, th sharp, sh.

The vocal semi-vowels may be subdivided into pure and tmpure. The pure are those which are formed entirely by the voice: the impure, such as have a mixture of breath with the voice. There are seven pure, J, m,n, 7, w, y, ng: four impure 2, z, th flat, zh.

A diphthong is the union of two vowels, pronounced by a single impulse of the voice: as, ea in beat, ow in sound.

A triphthong is the union of three vowels, pronounced in like manner: as, eaw in beau, zew in view.

A proper diphthong is that in which both the vowels are sounded: as, 02 In voice, ow in ounce.

An improper diphthong has but one of the vowels sounded: as ea in eagle, oa in boat.

Each of the diphthongal letters, was doubtless originally heard in pronouncing the words which contain them. Though this is not the case at present, with respect to many of them, these combinations still retain the name of diphthongs; but, to distinguish them, they are marked by the term improper. As the diphthong derives its name and nature from its sound, and not from its letters, and properly denotes a double vowel sound, no union of two vowels, where one is silent, can, in strictness, be entitled to that appellation; and the single letters 7 and u, when pronounced long, must, in this view, be considered as diphthongs. The triphthongs, having at most but two sounds, are merely ocular, and are therefore, by some grammarians, classed with the diphthongs.

Section II. General Observations On The Sounds Of The Letters

A

A has four sounds; the long or slender, the broad, the short or open, and the middle.

The long; as in name, basin, creation.

The broad; as in call, wall, all.

The short; as in barrel, fancy, glass.

The middle; as in far, farm, father.

The diphthong aa generally sounds like -a@ short in proper names; as in Balaam, Canaan, Isaac; but not in Baal, Gaal.

Ae has the sound of long e. It is sometimes found in Latin words. Some authors retain this form; as, snigma, equator, &c.; but others have laid it aside, and write enigma, Cesar, Eneas, &c.

The diphthong ai has exactly the long slender sound of a: as in pail, tail, &c.; pronounced pale, tale, &c.; except plaid, again, raillery, fountain, Britain, and a few others.

Au is generally sounded like the broad a; as in taught, caught, &c. Sometimes like the short or open a; as in aunt, flaunt, gauntlet, &c. It has the sound of long 9, in hautboy; and that of o short, in laurel, laudanum, &c.

Aw has always the sound of broad @: as in bawl, crawl, crawl.

Ay, like its near relation at, is pronounced like the long slender sound of a; as in pay, day, delay.

B keeps one unvaried sound, at the beginning, middle, and end of words; as in baker, number, rhubarb, &c.

In some words it is silent; as in thumb, debtor, subtle, &c. In others, besides being silent, it lengthens the syllable; as in climb, comb, tomb.

C

C has two different sounds.

A hard sound like &, before a, o, u, r, 1, t; a8, in cart, cottage, curious, craft, tract, cloth, &c.; and when it ends a syllable; as, in victim, flaccid.

A soft sound like s, before e, 7, and y, generally; as in centre, face, civil, cymbal, mercy, &c. It has sometimes the sound of sh; as in ocean, social.

C is mute in czar, czarina, victuals, &c.

C, says Dr. Johnson, according to English orthography, never ends a word; and therefore we find in our best dictionaries, stick, block, publick, politick, &c. But many writers of later years omit the & in words of two or more syllables; and this practice is gaining ground, though it is productive of irregularities; such as writing mimic and mimickry, traffic and trafficking.

Ch, is commonly sounded like teh; aa in church, chin, chaff, charter; but in words derived from the Greek, it has the sound of k; as in chymist, scheme, chorus, chyle, distich; and in foreign names; as, Achish, Baruch, Enoch, &c.

Ch, in some words derived from the French, takes the sound of sh; as in chaise, chagrin, chevalier, machine.

Ch in arch, before a vowel, sounds like &; as in archangel, archives, Archipelago; except in arched, archery, archer, and arch-enemy; but before a consonant it always sounds like tch; as in archbishop, archduke, archpresbyter, &c. Ch is silent in schedule, schism, and yacht.

D

D keeps one uniform sound, at the beginning, middle, — and end of words; as in death, bandage, kindred; unless it may be said to take the sound of ¢, in stuffed, tripped, &c., stuft, tript, &c.

E

E has three different sounds.

A long sound; as in scheme, glebe, severe, behave, prejudge. See Prosopy. Chapter I. Section II. “ Of Quantity.”

A short sound; as in men, bed, clemency.

An obscure’and scarcely perceptible sound; as, open, lucre, participle.

It has sometimes the sound of middle a; as in clerk, sergeant; and sometimes that of short 7; as in England, yes, pretty.

EF is always mute at the end of a word, except in monosyllables that have no other vowel; as, me, he, she; or in substantives derived from the Greek; as, catastrophe, epitome, Penelope. It is used to soften and modify the foregoing consonants; as, force, rage, since, oblige;

or to lengthen the preceding vowel; as, can, cane; pin, pine; rob, robe.

The diphthong ea is generally sounded like e long; as in appear, beaver, creature, &c. It has also the sound of short e; as in breath, meadow, treasure. And it is sometimes pronounced like the long and slender a; as in bear, break, great.

au has the sound of long o; as in beau, flambeau, portmanteau. In beauty, and its compounds, it has the sound of long u.

i, in general sounds the same as long and slender a; as in deign, vein, neighbour, &c. It has the sound of long e, in seize, deceit, receive, either, neither, &c. It is sometimes pronounced like short; as in foreign, forfeit, - sovereign, &c.

Eo is pronounced like e long ; as in people: and sometimes like e short; as in leopard, jeopardy. It has also the sound of short u; as in dungeon, sturgeon, puncheon, &c.

Eu is always sounded like long u or ew; as in feud, deuce.

Ew is almost always pronounced like long u; as in few, new, dew.

Ey, when the accent is on it, is always pronounced like along; as in bey, grey, convey; except in key, and ley, where it is sounded like long e.

When this diphthong is unaccented, it takes the sound of ¢ long: as, alley, valley, barley. See Prosopy. Chapter I. Section 2. “Of Quantity.”

F F keeps one pure unvaried sound at the beginning, middle, and end of words: as, fancy, muffin, mischief, &c., _ except in of, in which it has the flat sound of ov; but not in composition; as, whereof, thereof, &c. We should not pronounce, a wive’s jointure, a calve’s head; but a wife's jointure, a calf: head.

G

G has two sounds; one hard; as in gay, go, gun: the other soft; as in gem, giant.

- At the end of a word it is always hard ; as in bag, snug, frog. It is hard before a, o, u, 1, and r; as, game, gone, gull, glory, grandeur.

G before e, i, and y, is soft; as in genius, gesture, ginger, Egypt; except in get, gewgaw, finger, craggy, and some others.

G is mute before n; as in gnash, sign, foreign, &c.

Gn, at the end of a word, or syllable accented, gives the preceding vowel a long sound; as in resign, impugn, oppugn, impregn, impugned ; pronounced resine, impune, imprene, &c.

Gh, at the beginning of a word, has the sound of the hard g; as, ghost, ghastly; in the middle, and sometimes at the end, it is quite silent; as in right, high, plough, mighty.

At the end, it has often the sound of f; as in laugh ‘cough, tough. Sometimes only the g is sounded; as in burgh, burgher.

H

The sound signified by this letter is, as before observed, an articulate sound, and not merely an aspiration. It is heard in the words, hat, horse, Hull. It is seldom mute at the beginning of a word. It is always silent after r; as, rhetoric, rheum, rhubarb.