First lessons in English grammar and composition

Front matter

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Preface

Children are every-where taught, that they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, &c. Philosophers have made the structure of these organs the subjects of investigation, and they are presented as objects of study to the young ; but how few know any thing about the organization of the human voice ! of that machinery that makes the soul visible, and which forms the most distinguishing characteristic of man !

Children not only may, but ought to be taught, how they do that which is required of them, and that they may understand how they speak, as well as what they speak, these exercises have been prepared.

The Grammar i3 an abstract from the best authorities, according to ''present national and reputable use" of those rules or principles which lie at the foundation of the structure of our language, and which may be easily comprehended by pupils.

The lessons for " Dictation and Grammatical Analysis," form interesting reading lessons, while the exercises in the elements of Pronunciation, and subjects for Composition, give the orthography of over ten thousand of the most important words in the English language, divided and accentuated according to the most approved standards.

IV PREFACE.

The Analysis and Classification of the Alphabet is new ; it is arranged, according to the organic construction of the English Language.

By this, it will be seen, that the radical vowel sounds, are only three, and the radical consonant sounds seven, making altogether ten primitive sounds, which enter into the composition of all the other sounds of the language.

The value of this Analysis and Classification for Mnemonical associations, will be seen, by those who can use it for that purpose.

The uniform sounds, according to the one given in the Lesson which precedes it, are generally placed at the commencement of the words, of which that sound makes a part, and exhibit the Elements of the Language, in a more simple form, than, as the author believes, has ever been given.

A few of the words are unaccented ; the proper placing of the accents belonging to them will serve, as a new and useful exercise for young people.

Years of experience have taught, that Children can only be made acquainted with Language, by first teaching them, thoroughly, the elements of it, and then combining these according to acknowledged laws.

The whole Book is intended to be written and studied by the Pupil, (divided into such portions as may be deemed expedient,) after the Dictation and Oral explanation of the Teacher; and if it make plain and interesting, a generally abstruse and dry subject, and form a manual that shall aid beginners in acquiring the elements of their own language, one great object of the Author will be obtained.

New York, 1846.

THE INDEX.

Page.

Organic Formation of the Elements of the English Language, 5 Organic Classification of the Letters, - '- - 8

Pure Vowels, - - - - - - 8

Diphthongs, - - - - - 9

Consonants, in the order of their Organic Formation, - 9

Radical Consonant Sounds, - - •• - - 10

Derived Consonant Sounds, - - - - - 10

Superfluous Letters, - - - - - - 10

The number of Sounds in the English Language, - - 10

Alphabet, according to the Organic Arrangement of the Letters, - - - - - - -11

Compound Consonants, representing one sound, - - 12

Compound Vowels, representing one sound, - - - 12

Substantives or Nouns, - - - - - 13

The first Sound of E, as heard in the word Ear, with Lesson, 13 Words containing the first Sound of E, - - - 14

Exercises on Nouns, - - - - - - 16

Adjectives, - - - - - - -16

The second Sound of E, as heard in the word Nests, with

Words containing the second Sound of E, - - 17

Exercises on Adjectives, - - - - - 23

The first sound of A, as heard in the word Babe, with Lesson, 23 Words containing the first Sound of A, - - - 24

Exercises on Pronouns, - - - - - 24

THE INDEX.

Page.

The second Sound of A, as heard in the word Heart, with Lesson, - - - - - - -25

Words containing the second Sound of A, - - -26

The third Sound of A, as heard in the word Ball, with Lesson, 27 Words containing the Third Sound of A, - - - 27

Exercises on Adverbs, - - - - - 28

Prepositions, - - - - - - -28

The fourth Sound of A, as heard in the word Hand, with Lesson, - - - - - - - 29

Words containing the fourth Sound of A, - - - 29

Exercises on Prepositions, - - - - - 37

Conjunctions, - - - - - - 37

The first Sound of 0,as heard in the word Home, with Lesson, 38 Words containing the first Sound of O, - - - 38

Exercises on Conjunctions, - - - - - 39

The second Sound of O, as heard in the word Broom, with

Words containing the second Sound of O, - - 41

Exercises on the Articles, - - - - - 41

Interjections, - - - - - -41

The third Sound of O, as heard in the word Fork, with Lesson, 41 Words containing the third Sound of O, - - - 42

Exercises upon Interjections, - - - - 42

Common and Proper Nouns, - - - - 43

The fourth Sound of O, as heard in the word Clock, with

Words containing the fourth Sound of O, - - 44

Exercises on Common Nouns, - - - - 45

Diphthongs, - - - - - - - 46

The first Sound of I, as heard in the word Hive, with Lesson, 40 Words containing the first Sound of 1", - - - 47

Exercises on the Gender of Nouns, - 47

THE 1 N .1) E X .

Page

The second Sound of 7, as heard in the word Indian, with

Words containing the second Sound of J, - - 49

Exercises on the Number and Person of Nouns, - - 63

Words containing the second Sound of £7, as heard in the word

Lute, with Lesson, - - - - - 64

Words containing the first Sound of U, - - - 65

Exercises on the Cases of Nouns, - - - -65

Degrees of Comparison, - - - - - 65

The second Sound of U, as heard in the word Church, with

Words containing the second Sound of U, - - 67

Exercises on the Degrees of Comparison, - - - 74

The Diphthong 01, as heard in the word Boy, with Lesson, 76

Words containing the Diphthong Oh - ' - 78

Exercises on Pronouns, - " " - - 79

Adjective Pronouns, - - * - - 79

The Diphthong O U, as heard in the word House, with Lesson, 79

Words containing the Diphthong OU, - - - 80

Exercises on Adjective Pronouns, - - - 82

Active, Passive, and Neuter Verbs, - - - - 82

The Sound Ch, as heard in the w T ord Churn, with Lesson, - 83

Words containing the Sound of Ch, - - - - 84

Moods, - - 86

The Sound SA, as heard in the word Ship, with Lesson, - 87

Words containing the Sound of Sh, - - - - 88

Exercises on the Moods of Verbs, - - - - 91

The Sound Zh, as heard in the word Asia, with Lesson, - 91

Words containing the Sound of Zh, - - - - 93

Exercises on the Tenses of Verbs, - - - - 93

Tense continued, - - - - - - 93

The Sound Ng, as heard in the word King, with Lesson, - 94

Words containing the Sound of Ng, - - - - 95

THE INDEX.

Pa?e

Exercises on the Tenses, - - - - - 95

The Sound of Th sharp, as heard in the word Truth, with

Words containing the sharp Sound of Th, - - 97

Exercises on the Participles, ----- 100

Number and Person of Verbs, - 100

Conjugation of Verbs, ----- 101

The Sound Th flat, as heard in the word Mother, with Lesson, 101 Words containing the flat sound of Th, -, 103

Exercises on the Number and Person of Verbs, - - 103

Auxiliary Verbs, ------ 104

The Verb, To Be, - - - - - - 104

The Sound of P, as heard in the word Printing, with Lesson, 106 Words containing the Sound of P, - - - 108

Exercises on the Verb, To Be, - - - - 117

The Verb, To Have, 117

The Sound B, as heard in the word Book, with Lesson, - 120 Words containing the Sound of B, - - - - 122

Exercises on the Verb, To Have, - 127

Regular Verbs, - - - - - - 128

The Verb, To Love, - - - - - 128

The Sound M, as heard in the word Moon, with Lesson, - 130 W T ords containing the Sound M, - - - - 131

Exercises on Regular Verbs, - 137

Irregular Verbs, - - - - - -138

The Sound F, as heard in the word Flowers, with Lesson, - 140 Words containing the Sound of F, - - - - 141

Exercises upon Irregular Verbs, - 149

Defective Verbs, __-,-- 149

The Sound V, as heard in the word Violin, with Lesson, - 150 Words containing the Sound V, - - - -151

Exercises upon the Auxiliaries, - - - - 153

The sound T, as heard in the word Tea, with Lesson, - 154

Words containing the Sound T, 155

Exercises on Adverbs, - - - - - 161

ft

THE INDEX,

Page

Prepositions, - - - - - - -161

The Sound D, as heard in the word Diamond, with Lesson, 162 Words containing the Sound D, 163

Exercises on Prepositions, - 169

Conjunctions, ------ \qq

The Sound JV, as heard in the word Number, with Lesson, - 169 Words containing the Sound N, 171

Exercises on Conjunctions, ----- 173

The Sound L, as heard in the word Library, with Lesson, - 174 Words containing the Sound L, 175

Exercises upon the Articles, - 179

Interjections, - - - -- - -179

The Sound i?, as heard in the word Rocking, with Lesson. - 179 Words containing the Sound R, - - - - 180

Exercise upon Interjections, ----- 185

The Sound S, as heard in the word Soul, with Lesson, - 186

Words containing the Sound S, 187

General Exercise, ------ 194

Rules I, II, and III. - - - - - - 194

The Sound Z, as heard in the word Zoophytes, with Lesson, 195 Exercises on Sentences, - 195

Words containing the Sound Z, 196

Exercises on the above Rules, - 196

Rules IV and V, - - - - - 196

The Sound of J, as heard in the word Jerusalem, with Lesson, 197 Words containing the Sound of J, - - - 198

Exercises on the above Rules, - 199

The Sound of K, as heard in the word Kremlin, with Lesson, 200 Words containing the Sound JT, > - - ~ - 200

Exercise upon the above Rule, - - - - 201

Rules VII and VIII, - 201

The Sound of G, as heard in the word Glass, with Lesson, 202 Words containing the Sound G, - - - 203 t H B i N B I *

Paft

Exercises upon the above Rules, - 20-1

Kulo IX. - - 805

The Sound V consonant, aa heard in Year, with Lesson, - 905 Words containing the Sound V, 806

Rules X and XI, - - - - - 8W

The Sound Of W consonant, as heard in the word 'Wealth,

with Lesson, - - - - - - k J0>

Words containing the Sound of W % - - - -00/

Exercises on the above Rules, - 810

The Sound or Aspiration IT, as heard in the word Hiero-

glyphios, with Lesson, - - - - - Oil

Words containing the Sound of 27, - - - ■ 811

Exercise upon the Rules, ----- %1&

Ub% of Capital Letters, - - - ir>

Punctuation^ ------- 017

Semieolon, - - - -"- - -CIS

Colon. 816

Period, 218

Note of Interrogation, - - - - - ois

Note oi Exclamation, - - - - -CIS

Kxereisos on Punetuation, ----- 219

Appendix, The Formation of the Plural Number of Nouns, - - 881

The Formation of the Gender of Nouns, - - -000

GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION.

ORGANIC FORMATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

An articulate sound is the sound of the human voice, formed by the organs of speech.

Speech is made up of articulate sounds, and what we call articulation is performed by the action of the throat, palate, teeth, tongue, and lips.

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

The letters of the English language, called the English Alphabet, are 26 in number.

The simplest articulate voices, or sounds, are those which proceed from an open mouth, without any alteration in the position, or any motion of the organs of speech, from the moment the sound commences, until it ends : as E, A, O, which are pure vowel sounds.

When these sounds, in passing through the mouth, are interrupted or intercepted, a consonant, or sound with another sound, is formed : as, eb, ad, on, &c.

P and B are formed by closing the lips, until the breath is collected, and then letting it issue, by forming e : as, be,pe.

F and V are formed by pressing the upper teeth upon the under lip, and sounding the vowel e before the former, and after the latter : as, ef, ve. 1*

D GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION.

T and D are formed by pressing the tip of the tongue to the gum of the upper teeth, and then separating them, by pronouncing the letter e: as, te, de.

S and Z are formed by placing the tongue in the same position as T and D, but riot so close to the gums as to stop the breath ; a space is left between the tongue and the palate for the breath to issue, which forms the hissing and buzzing sounds of these letters : as, es, zed.

Sh, as heard in mission, and sh in evasion, are formed in the same seat of sound as S and Z, but in the former the tongue is drawn a little inward, and at somewhat greater distance from the palate, which occasions a fuller emission of the breath from the hollow of the mouth than in the latter, which are formed nearer the teeth.

Th in think, and- the same letter in that, are formed by protruding the tongue between the fore teeth, pressing it against them, and at the same time endeavouring to sound the S or Z; the former to sound th, as in think, and the latter to sound th as in that.

K and G hard, are formed by pressing the middle of the tongue to the roof of the mouth near the throat, and separating them quickly, to form the first, and more gently to form the last of these letters.

Ch in chair, and J in jail, are formed by pressing t to sh, and d to zh.

Mis formed by closing the lips, as in P and B, and letting the voice issue by the nose.

N is formed by resting the tongue in the same position, as in T and D, and breathing through the nose, with the mouth open.

L is formed by nearly the same position of the organs as T or D, but more with tfce tip of the tongue, which is brought a little forward to the teeth, while the breath issues from the mouth.

i2 is formed by placing the tongue in nearly the same position as T, but at such a distance from the palate, as suffers it to jar against it, when the breath is propelled from the throat to the mouth.

Ng in ring and sing, &c, is formed in the same seat of sound as hard G, but while the middle of the tongue presses the roof of the mouth, as in (?, the voice passes principally through the nose, as in N.

Y consonant is formed by placing the organs in the same position as long e, and squeezing the tongue against the roof of the mouth, which produces ee, which is equivalent to y : as, ee-outh.

W is formed by placing the organs in the position of oo, and closing the lips a little more, in order to propel the breath upon the succeeding vowel, which it articulates : as, oo-ater.

QUESTIONS.

What is an articulate sound ?

What is speech made up of?

How is articulation performed ?

What is a letter ?

What are the letters of the English language called ?

How many are they in number ?

How are the simplest articulate sounds made ?

Which are they ?

What are they called ?

How is a consonant formed ?

Which are the consonants ?

How are P and B formed ?

F and V ?

T and D ?

S and Z ?

Sh and Zh ?

b GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION

How are Th sharp and th flat formed ?

K and G ?

Ch and J ?

M?

N?

L?

R?

NG?

Y consonant ?

W consonant ?

ORGANIC CLASSIFICATION OF THE LETTERS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Those which are formed by the lips are called Labials, by the teeth Dentals,

by the palate Palatal,

by the nose Nasal,

by the throat Guttural.

VOWELS.

Different Sounds of the pure Vowels, E, A, O. E has two sounds, 1 as heard in me, scene, &c.

2 in met, let, &c.

A has four sounds, 1 as heard in fate, paper, &c.

2 in far, father, &c.

3 in fall, wall, &c.

4 in fat, mat, &c.

O has four sounds, 1 as heard in no, not, &c.

2 in move, prove, &c.

3 in nor, for &c.

4 in not, got, hot, &c.

10 Vowel sounds.

Some of these coalesce, and form what grammarians call diphthongs, or the union of two vowel sounds in one syllable.

ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. \t

DIPHTHONGS.

M form I, as heard in pine, title, &c, or pin, tittle, &c.

E and the third sound of O, form XJ, as heard in bull, full,

or U as in tub, or U as in tube.

O, as heard in nor, and I in pin, form the sound oi in voice.

as heard in nor, and U in pull, form the sound ou in house.

QUESTIONS.

Which letters are Labials ?

Dentals ?

Palatals ?

Nasals ?

Gutturals ?

How many sounds has the letter E ?

A?

O?

What is the number of vowel sounds ?

What is a diphthong ?

How many are there ?

CONSONANTS IN THE ORDER OF THEIR ORGANIC FORMATION.

P as heard in pay ; B as heard in bay ; M as heard in may.

F in fine, and V in vine.

T in tone, D in dome, N in none, L in loam, E in roam. and Ng in ring.

S in sun, Z in 2<me, Sh in shine, Zh in uiisifl, Th in think, Th in thine, Ch in chair, and J in ^^7.

K in king, and G in gzm.

Y in youth.

W in wind.

RADICAL CONSONANT SOUNDS.

P.

F.

T.

S.

K.

W.

3 Pure vowels.

10 Radical sounds.

DERIVATIVE CONSONANT SOUNDS.

B, M.

V.

D, N, L, R, NG.

Z, Sh, Zh, Th s, Th f, Ch. J.

G.

16 Consonants.

7 Radical sounds. 10 Vowel sounds.

7 Diphthongal sounds.

1 Aspirate.

In all 41 sounds.

C, Q, X, are superfluous letters, their sounds being represented by other letters.

QUESTIONS.

Which are the radical consonant sounds ? How many pure vowel sounds ?

* Y and W are consonants when they begin a word or syllable ; in every other combination they are vowels, and are equivalent to either E, I, or U.

How many radical sounds belong to the English language ?

How many derived sounds ?

Which letters are superfluous ? Why ?

How many sounds belong to the English language ?

ALPHABET ACCORDING TO THE ORGANIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE LETTERS.

E.

A.

O.