A modern English grammar

Contents

PAGE

introduction >. i

£ PART I

Part II

I. Of the Recognition of the Parts of Speech 85

II. Of Nouns l 102

III. Of Pronouns 122

IV. Of Adjectives. 152

V. Of Articles 157

VI. Of Verbs : 161

VII. Of Adverbs 211

VIII. Of Prepositions 217

IX. Of Conjunctions 223

X. Of Interjections 225

Appendix 227

AS

1. language. — Everybody has an instinctive desire to tell his thoughts and feelings to others ; indeed, exchange of ideas is necessary in social life. One way of expressing thoughts is to make motions with the hands or other parts of the body, as children and deaf and dumb persons do. But the usual and very much better way is to make with the tongue and adjoining organs certain combinations of sounds which by common consent have certain meanings. These combinations of tongue-sounds, by which people express their thoughts and feelings, form Language (from Latin lingua, "tongue"). Combinations of sounds that stand for single ideas are called Words. These are in turn combined into thought-groups called Sentences.

2. Why Our Language is Called English. — Our

language is called English because it is the language

that has been spoken for more than fifteen hundred

years in England, whence it has been carried to

America and other parts of the world by English

colonists.

i

3. Tlie Early Home of English. — But the English language did not have its beginning in England. It was carried there in 449 A. D. by people who migrated from the banks of the river Elbe and the southwest coasts of the Baltic Sea. These people were from three tribes, called Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. Of the Jutes who moved to England nearly all trace has been

MAP SHOWING THE EARLY HOME OF ENGLISH.

lost. The Angles and the Saxons drove the original inhabitants — the Britons — into the mountainous parts of the island, and in course of time founded the Anglo-Saxon race. They called their new country " Angleland," or " England ;" themselves and their language they called " English/'

The wonderful way in which the English language has spread over the world is shown by the accompanying maps. The map on this page shows the early home of English, when it was a mere dialect of German, spoken by a few tribes. The shaded portions of the map below show the regions of the world in which English is now used.

i'ju izv ew |

Arctic: Ocean C^^gf^

Bormay &Co.,N.?.

MAP SHOWING THE SPREAD OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

How far English has outstripped other languages may be seen from the following table, which shows the number of people speaking the principal European languages in 1890: —

English in ,100,000

Portuguese 1 3,000,000

4. Old English Different from Modern English.

— The language carried to England by the Anglo-

Saxons was so unlike the English of to-day that at first glance it seems to be quite a different tongue. Here, for example, is the Lord's Prayer in Anglo- Saxon, or Old English, with the corresponding modern English words printed underneath : —

Fseder- ure, )?u £e eart on heofenum Father our, thou that art in heavens

Geweorjje )rin willa on eor)jan, swa swa on heofenum Be-done thy will on earth, so-as in heavens

Urne daeghwamlican hlaf syle us to dseg Our daily loaf give us to-day

And forgyf us tire gyltas, swa swa we forgifajj urum gyltendum And forgive us our debts, so-as we forgive our debtors

And ne gelaede ]?u us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfle And not lead thou us into temptation, but loose us of evil

Sojjlice.

Soothly (Amen).

5. Relation of Old English to Modern English.

— Strange-looking as this Old English is, it is the same language as that which we use. The difference between it and modern English is no more to be wondered at than the difference between a young child and the same child when grown to manhood. Some knowledge of how our language has grown and changed is helpful to the study of it as it is to-day.

6. How Our language has Grown. — When our language was carried to England, it consisted of probably not more than two thousand words ; now it contains more than two hundred thousand — a much larger number than any other language. These new words have come into the language in many interesting ways: —

(i) British Words. — When the Anglo-Saxons settled in England and drove off the Britons, they adopted some British words, just as the Americans have adopted some Indian w r ords. Of these words, adopted from the Britons, examples are: " cradle' ' and "crock."

ROMAN WALL IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND.

Built by the Romans as a defense against native tribes.

(2) Latin Words Found in Britain. — For several hundred years before the arrival of the Anglo- Saxons, England had been in the possession of the Romans. When the Romans withdrew from the island in 410 A. D., they left behind a few Latin words, which were adopted by the Anglo-Saxons. Examples are: " street •" (Latin: strata via, " paved way"), " mile " (Latin milia passuum, " a thousand paces"), and "wall" (Latin vallum).

iMS*^

ANCIENT DANISH BOAT FOR FOURTEEN PAIRS OF OARS. 78 feet long, 10 feet broad. Found in a peat bog in Jutland.

(3) Missionary Words. — About the year 600 A. D. Christianity began to be received by the Saxons through Roman missionaries; and with the missionaries came many new words from the Latin. Examples are: "monk" (Latin monachus) and " clerk " (Latin clericus).

(4) Danish Words. — Toward the end of the eighth century Norsemen or Danes overran parts of England, and many of their words were adopted by the English. Examples are : " sky " and " ugly."

(5) Norman-French Words. — In 1066 William of Normandy conquered England in the great movement known as the Norman Invasion. The Normans, who came from France, spoke Norman- French, which was for the most part modified Latin.

In England they seized the land and all the political power, filled all the offices, and made their language the language of the court, the law, the schools, and the church. We cannot dwell on the particulars of the tremendous change in our language which was wrought by this Norman Invasion. It is enough to say that after three hundred years of contact with Norman-French the English language was very much richer in vocabulary and softer in sound. Of the many hundreds of Norman-French words in our language examples are: "battle," "forest," "duke," and "family."

(6) Words from Latin Books. — In the sixteenth century, through the influence of what is called the Revival of Learning, the study of Latin became very popular in England. No one was considered well educated unless he could read Latin ; nearly all important books were written in Latin ; and Latin words began to appear in English conversation and writing. Since these Latin-English words were learned from books, they closely resembled in spelling the original Latin words. Examples are: "example " (Latin exemplum), "fact" (Latin factum), and "quiet" (Latin quietus).

(7) Imported Words. — The descendants of the Anglo-Saxons have always been great travelers and traders; and in their traveling and trading they have collected words from all parts of the world. Examples are : from Spain, ' ' mosquito ; " from Italy, "piano;" from Holland, "skate;" from Germany, ' ' zinc ; " from Africa, ' ' gorilla ; " from the American Indian, " hammock" and "tomato;" from Arabia, ' ' sofa ; " from China, * i silk ; " from India, ' ' sugar ; " from Persia, * ' awning ; " from Turkey, "tulip."

(8) New Words for New Things. — New discoveries and inventions, as they have occurred, have given new words to our language. Examples are : " photograph " and "telephone."

7. Proportion of Foreign Words in Modern English. — The proportion of words in modern English which have been drawn from the sources just described may be roughly represented as follows : —

Old English Words

Latin Words (including Norman-French)

Greek Words

8. Changes in Our Xiangnage. — Our language has not only grown ; it has changed.

(i) In Inflections. — Old English was what is called a highly inflected language. An inflected language is one that joins words together in sentences by means of " inflections " or changes in the words themselves. For example, in Old English oxan meant "oxen," oxena meant "of oxen," oxum meant "with oxen." Accordingly, instead of saying as we do " tongues <?/oxen," our Anglo-Saxon ancestors said " tungan oxen^r." Traces of these wordchanges or inflections still remain in our language : as, " sing," " singi*."

(2) In Order of Words. — The order of words in Old English was clumsy and involved. For example, instead of saying as we do, —

When DaVius saw that he would be overcome,

our Anglo-Saxon ancestors would have said, — When Darius saw that he overcome be would.

(3) In Sound. — Old English was a guttural speech, full of harsh, choking sounds. For example, our " holy" was once "halig," our "bridge" was once << brigg" (as in Scotland to this day), our " day " was once "daeg," our "light" was once pronounced like the Scotch "licht." ■

9. How Changes Came About. — The greatest changes in our language occurred between 1 100 and 1500 A. D., that is to say, during the four centuries that followed the Norman Conquest. The story of the changes is too long to be told here ; but some idea of how they came about may be gained by noticing what happens to-day when a foreigner who has only half learned English tries to speak it. He mispronounces the words, arranges them after the manner of his own language, neglects the inflections. In somewhat the same way, when the Anglo-Saxons and the Norman-French became one people, and their languages were fused into modern English, sounds were modified, the order was changed, and inflections were dropped.

IO

10. ^Language Still Subject to Change. — Since the invention of printing, changes in English have not been numerous ; for the vast number of printed

EARLY PRINTING PRESS.

books and papers, and the immense spread of the ability to read and write, have given to our language a rigidity of form which it could not have so long as it existed chiefly on men's tongues. For example, the language of the English Bible, which is sixteenth-century English, differs little from the English of to-day. But some change is still going on, for modifying influences are still at work. English-speaking people in different parts of the world do not talk exactly alike ; new words are coming in ; old words are dropping out ; the forms and uses of other words are changing. An example of this modern change is found in the word " whom." The

INTRODUCTION n

" m " in -this word is an inflection, once useful in conveying meaning ; and we still say, when we wish to speak very accurately, " Whom did you see? " But since the "m" is no longer necessary to the meaning, people have become very careless about using it, and even good speakers often say, :" Who did you see? "

11. Good English.. — Good English is the English used by the best speakers and writers ; and the use of such English is " only a phase of good manners." Bad English, that is, English unlike that which is used by well-informed and careful writers, produces in the mind of a well-informed reader an impression of vulgarity or ignorance similar to that which we get from seeing a person eat with his knife. It is with language as with clothes and conduct. Persons who wish to be classed as cultivated people must not only dress and act like cultivated people ; they must also speak and write like them. A help toward this end is the study of grammar.

12. Grammar. — Grammar is an account of the relations which words bear to one another when they are put together in sentences. An understanding of these relations requires some knowledge of the nature, the forms, and the history of words, but only so far as these bear on the uses of words in sentences. The proper starting point of English grammar is the sentence. The discussion of words considered by themselves belongs to the dictionary.

13. Uses of Grammars — It is not by grammar, however, that we learn to speak or write. Speaking and writing our mother tongue are habits, formed by imitation long before we acquire that knowledge which is the subject-matter of grammar. The object of the study of grammar is to learn the uses of words in sentences, so that we may test the habits of speech which we have already acquired, and make them conform to the best models. Incidentally the study of grammar affords invaluable mental training.

14. Grammars Old and New. — Among Englishspeaking peoples grammar was first studied as a step toward the learning of Latin, and the first English grammar was called an ' ' Introduction to Lily's Latin Grammar. ,, The author of that first English grammar, keeping his eye on Latin rather than on English, and making his work conform to Latin models, treated English as if it were in all important respects like Latin and Greek, with no history or laws of its own. As a matter of fact, English differs greatly from other languages. In structure it is essentially Anglo-Saxon. Yet the mistake of the first English grammar was followed by succeeding books for nearly four hundred years. Now we have learned better, and study our language with reference to its own nature and history.

Chapter I Of Sentences In General

15. Ideas. — The word " dog/' when heard or seen, instantly creates in the mind a mental picture of a well-known animal. This mental picture is called an idea. The idea may be made more definite by the addition of other words : as, " The big bulldog in Mr. Smith's yard."

16. Thoughts and Sentences. — The words " The big bulldog in Mr. Smith's yard " are satisfactory as an expression of a mental picture or idea ; but as a remark made by someone they are incomplete, for we at once find ourselves asking, " Well, what about that dog?" We are satisfied when we hear that " The big bulldog in Mr. Smith's yard barked." From this group of words we get, first, the idea of a certain dog, and, secondly, we get an idea of what the dog did. Two ideas of this kind — something thought of and an assertion about it — together form a complete thought.

Definition. — A group of related words expressing a complete thought is called a Sentence.

17. Caution. — " The big bulldog barking in the yard " is not a sentence, for it contains no assertion. " Barking " does not assert. The words as they stand will become a sentence if we add an assertion : as, " The big bulldog barking in the yard frightened me;" or if we connect "dog" and " barking " by an asserting word like " is : " as, " The big bulldog is barking in the yard."

i. Tell which of the following groups of words are sentences. Make sentences out of the other groups by adding appropriate asserting words : —

i. The man in the moon.

2. The man in the moon came down too soon.

3. The boy in blue.

4. The boy is reciting his lesson.

5. The boy in blue reciting his lesson.

6. The boy reciting his lesson is my brother.

7. His attempt to catch the ball.

8. A rolling stone gathers no moss.

9. The children playing in the street.

10. The apples hanging on the tree.

11. Wounds made by words are hard to heal.

12. Charles, seeing a crowd in the street.

2. Construct five sentences about things in the schoolroonty and show that they are sentences.

18. Sentences Classified. — Examine the sentences in the following conversation : —

Donald :. I found these big apples in grandfather's barn. Dorothy: Show us where you got them.

OF SENTENCES IN GENERAL 17

Jack : Are there any more left ?

Helen : Aren't they beauties !

You observe that, in the first sentence, Donald's thought is an assertion ; in the second, Dorothy's thought is a request or a command; in the third, Jack's thought is a question ; in the fourth, Helen's thought seems at first glance to be a question about the beauty of the apples ; but a little reflection shows that she is merely expressing her delight by an exclamation, which has the interrogative form.

Definitions. — Sentences that assert or declare are called Declarative Sentences.

Sentences that ask are called Interrogative Sentences.

Sentences that command are called Imperative Sentences.

When declarative, interrogative, and imperative sentences are used as exclamations expressing strong feeling, they are called Exclamatory Sentences.

Tell the kind of each sentence in the following selections : —

1. We all do fade as a leaf.

2. Fear God. Honor the king.

3. The king is dead ! Long live the king !

4. A living dog is better than a dead lion.

5. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

19. Punctuation. — Every sentence should begin with a capital letter.

The end of a declarative or an imperative sentence is marked by a period (.).

The end of an interrogative sentence is marked by an interrogation point (?).

When the sentences are exclamatory, these marks are changed to exclamation points (!).

I. Write two declarative sentences about noted men. 2. Write two interrogative sentences. 3. Write two imperative sentences. 4. Write an exclamatory sentence. 5. Change your declarative sentences into questions. 6. Change one of your interrogative sentences into a command.

Chapter II

20. Subject and Predicate Defined. — Examine the following sentences : —

Naming Part. Asserting Part.

Fire burns.

I cut myself.

The school bell has just rung.

The big bulldog in Mr. Smith's yard barked at me.

You observe that each sentence has two parts— the naming part and an asserting part — and that both parts are necessary.

Definition. — The part of a sentence which denotes that about which an assertion is made is called the Subject.

Definition — The asserting part of a sentence is called the Predicate (Latin, "thing said").

In an interrogative sentence the predicate asks something about the subject.

In an imperative sentence the predicate commands, and the subject is generally omitted, because the subject of a command is always the person or persons spoken to, and to name it is unnecessary: as, "Listen [ye];" "Don't [you] forget."

Write sentences expressing a thought or feeling suggested by each of the following subjects : — i. Flowers . 4. Chalk . 7. I .

2. Lions . 5. Farmers . 8. He .

3. Indians . 6. Chickens . 9. Who ?

With what subjects would the following predicates be appropriate ?

1. sing. 5. grow.

2. climb. 6. will be here soon.

3. spin. 7. Is coming?

. 4. trot. 8. Can ride a bicycle?

21. Position of the Subject. — The subject does not always come first. Thus : —

Predicate. Subject.

. A A .

Up went the balloon.

Then burst his mighty heart.

In the shade of the great elm trees stands a weather-beaten house.

Sometimes the subject is put between parts of the predicate like a wedge. In the following sentences, for example, the subjects are printed in italics : —

Is Fred coming?

Where do pineapples grow?

How fast the snow falls!

Slowly and sadly we laid him down.

At the appointed time the gladiators marched into the arena.

Has every pupil in the class brought his book?

When the subject comes first, the sentence is said to be in the natural order. When the subject does not come first, the sentence is in inverted order.

When in doubt about the subject of a sentence, look first for the predicate or asserting part. The subject is always the answer to the question formed by putting who or what before the predicate. For example, in the sentence, "Up flew the windows all," in which the asserting part, or predicate, is "up flew," the subject is the answer to the question, "Who or what up flew?"

To the Teacher. — At this stage of the work no attention should be paid to the simple subject and the simple predicate, — a more difficult step in analysis which should be deferred till the next chapter. In the exercises in this chapter attention should be fixed exclusively on the complete subject and the complete predicate.

Tell the subject and the predicate of each of the following sentences : —

1. Down went the Royal George.

Model for Oral Exercise. — The subject is "the Royal George;" the predicate is "down went." (Either subject or predicate may be named first.)

Model for Written Exercise. — Copy the sentence and underline the subject. Thus: Down went the Royal George.

2. Our revels now are ended.

3. A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.

4. The way of transgressors is hard.

6. The memory of the just is blessed.

7. Doubtful seemed the battle.

8. Wise are all His ways.

9. That gale I well remember.

10. Where did you find your book?

11. Are your friends coming?

12. Great is your reward in Heaven.

13. Of noble race the lady came.

14. At the door, on summer evenings, Sat the little Hiawatha.

15. Her wing shall the eagle flap O'er the false-hearted.

16. To seek thee did I often rove Through woods and on the green.

1.7. The pavement damp and cold No smiling courtiers tread.

18. Under the walls of Monterey

At daybreak the bugles began to play.

19. Meanwhile, from street and lane, a noisy crowd Had rolled together, like a summer cloud.

20. In the Acadian land, on the shores of the Basin of Minas, Distant, secluded, still, the little village of Grand-Pre Lay in the fruitful valley.

Construct two sentences in which the subjects come first ; two in which the subjects come last ; two in which the sitbjects come between parts of the predicate.

22. Compound Subjects. — Very often the same predicate is used with two or more connected subjects : as,

Connected Subjects. Predicate.

Flowers and ferns grow beside the brook. The mountain and the squirrel had a quarrel.

Definition. — Two or more connected subjects having the same predicate form a Compound Subject,

23. Compound Predicates. — Very often the same subject has several connected predicates : as, Subject. Connected Predicates.

States rise and fall.

Charity suffer eth long and is kind.

Definition. — Two or more connected predicates having the same subject form a Compound Predicate.

24. Compound Subject and Predicate. — Sometimes both subject and predicate are compound : as, Compound Subject. Compound Predicate.

Spring and summer came and' went.

In the following sentences separate the subjects from the predicates. If a subject or a predicate is compound^ separate it into its parts : —

1. She and her brother were there.

Model for Oral Exercise. — The predicate is "were there;" the subject is "She. and her brother," a compound subject consisting of "She" and "her brother," connected by "and."

S. P.

She )

and > were there.

her brother )

2. Copper and tin are found in England.

3. Spring and summer, autumn and winter, rush by in quick succession.

4. Scepter and crown Must' tumble down.

5. Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water.

6. The lion and the unicorn Were righting for the crown.

7. The stranger came with iron hand And from our fathers reft the land. .

8. Little Bo-Peep fell fast asleep

And dreamt she heard them bleating.

9. The horses and the cattle were fastened in the same stables and were fed at the same time.

10. The natives of Ceylon build houses of the trunks of cocoanut palms and thatch the roofs with the leaves.

n. Dragoons were armed with muskets, and were also provided with bayonets, fitted into the muzzles of the guns.

12. The fine horses of the Life Guards, their rich housings, their cuirasses, and their buff coats adorned with ribbons, velvet, and gold lace, made a splendid appearance in St. James's Park.

Construct two sentences with compound subjects ; two with compound predicates ; two in which both subject and predicate are compound.

To the Teacher. — Power to distinguish the subject from the predicate is the foundation of grammatical analysis; and until the pupil has acquired this power, nothing else should be attempted. The end to be kept in view in the following exercise is the development of power to separate instantly the complete subject from the complete predicate. (See note to teacher, p. 21.)

(Review.)

In the following sentences separate the subject from the predicate : —

I

i. Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

2. Which way does the wind come?

3. Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

4. Ten spears he swept within his grasp.

5. Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield.

6. A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.

7. The precious morning hours should not be wasted.

8. The sentinel on Whitehall gate looked forth into the night.

9. The tails of some comets stretch to the distance of 100,000,000 miles.

10. The first standing army was formed in the middle of the fifteenth century.

11. Nansen got within two hundred and twenty-seven miles of the North Pole.

12. The first astronomical observatory in Europe was erected by the Saracens at Seville, in Spain.

II

1. Here stands the man.

2. Wide open stood the doors.

3. Sweet are the uses of adversity.

4. Adown the glen rode armed men.

5. Great and marvelous are Thy works.

6. In those days came John the Baptist.

7. In my Father's house are many mansions.

8. Into the valley of death rode the six hundred,

9. A little boy with crumbs of bread Many a hungry sparrow fed.

10. From floor to ceiling

Like a huge organ rise the burnished arms.

ii. On the British heart were lost

The terrors of the charging host. 12. Far down the beautiful river,

Past the Ohio shore and past the mouth of the Wabash,

Into the golden stream of the broad and swift Mississippi

Floated a cumbrous boat.

III

i. Come with me.

2. Give me your attention.

3. Overhead I heard a murmur.

4. Whom did the old man ask for?

5. The cat, prowling round the yard, caught a young robin.

6. On the first day of the battle of Gettysburg the Confederates captured several thousand prisoners.

7. Down the street with laughter and shout come the boys.

8. Forth the great campaigner came Slowly from his canvas palace.

9. Full many a gem of purest ray serene The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear.

10. Somewhat apart from the village, and nearer the Basin of Minas Benedict Belle.fontaine, the wealthiest farmer of Grand-Pre, Dwelt on his goodly acres.

To the Teacher. — The above carefully selected and graded exercises may be supplemented at will by requiring pupils to separate the subject from the predicate in sentences found in school readers, histories, etc. Such material is always at hand; and drill in the distinction between subject and predicate should not cease until the pupils are thoroughly familiar with it. The distinction is all-important, and should be dwelt on for weeks, if necessary.

25. Impersonal Subject. 1 — Examine the following sentences : —

It is snowing.

It is growing dark.

If we try to find the subjects of these sentences by asking cc What is snowing ? " " What is growing dark ? " the only answer is cc It." But " it " does not here denote any person or thing. Therefore it is called an Impersonal Subject.

Write three sentences of your own containing impersonal subjects.

26. " It " Expletive. — Compare the following sentences : —

(a) To find fault is easy.

(b) It is easy to find fault.

In meaning these sentences are exactly alike; but, they differ in form. The first sentence begins with the subject, " to find fault/' which is followed by the predicate, " is easy ; " the second sentence begins with " it," followed immediately by the predicate, which in turn is followed by the subject. In such sentences the introductory word u it " has no

1 To the Teacher. — Such sentences as " It is snowing," " It is wrong to lie," " There is a clock on the wall," are very frequent and perfectly familiar to children, whose attention should be drawn early to the peculiar treatment of subject and predicate which such sentences show. The peculiarity is easily learned by children, and the discussion of it properly belongs under "Subject and Predicate," not under "Parts of Speech " or " Apposition."

meaning, and is therefore commonly called an Expletive (Latin, " filling up ").

Tell the subject and the predicate of each of the following sentences : —

i. It is good to be here.

Model for Oral Exercise. — The subject is "to be here;" the predicate is "is good." "It" is an expletive.

Model eor Written Exercise. —

S P E

to be here is good It