Grammar made easy, with complete examination questions and answers

Introduction

Grammar is merely an orderly exposition of _ the correct forms in speech. It has nothing to do with the graces of expression, the beauty of language. Its sole office is to present a method through which we may determine just what is a proper usage of words in their various relationships to one another.

Correct speech depends for its authority wholly on the fact that it is the kind of speech employed by persons of education and refinement. One who has been reared in a better class of society, and has had the advantages of education and of constant association with cultured persons, speaks naturally with a certain degree of elegance. On the other hand, one not thus fortunate in the method of his bringing up naturally speaks a ruder language. Here, indeed, hypocrisy is quite impossible. Most sins are capable of being more or less concealed, but there is no hiding the offenses of an illiterate tongue. The ambitious individual, who speaks badly from lack

INTRODUCTION of training, must set himself to serious study if he would improve his condition in this matter and must avail himself of all possible opportunities to read and hear English of the better sort.

First and foremost, the student should master the elements of grammar. Nor need he be alarmed by this necessity. The task is by no means a hard one. There is, in fact, very little to be learned, if only the essentials are considered.

The usual grammar displays a mass of technical terms that may well dismay the student. The multiplied details of this new vocabulary are confusing, and they are, as well, quite unnecessary. In the pages that follow, the author has omitted such terminology whenever he deemed their omission judicious. He has included technical terms whenever necessary, but only after such explanations as should render understanding easy.

In the study of grammar, the student has as advantage unknown in connection with any other subject for learning. This advantage lies in the fact that he is already master of grammar as a whole. He has now to learn only a few details. Such mastery is the result [6]

INTRODUCTION of his having learned to talk. In ordinary speech, he unconsciously applies all the principles of grammar. Compared with the total of his utterances, the amount of error is very small. If the student will bear this gratifying truth in mind, he will avoid any danger of discouragement, and he will find particular pleasure in the discovery of his faults. For he will know that they are so few in number as to place the correcting of them easily within his power.

STUDY OF DETAILS

I. Masculine and Feminine Forms ... loi

II. Distinctive Features 103

IIL Vulgarisms 132

IV. Punctuation 136

V. Capitals 139

VI. Conclusion 140 part I ELEMENTS OF GRAMMAR

Chapter I The Noun

All the words in our language are divided into eight classes. Grammar is the science that deals with these eight classes of words, in their various phases, and especially in their relations to one another.

The eight divisions are as follows :

Noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection.

The word noun means literally merely a name. The use of the term is conveniently limited to designate the name of anything. Thus, the word water is the name given to that liquid which is made up of two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen. The word water is a noun. A great body of salt water is called a sea. That word sea also is a noun. When water freezes, the term ice is used to describe it in the solid state. Ice^ again, is a noun. So, too, is the word steam. And as of watery so of everything that is, or has been, or shall be. Whatever the name, it is a noun. The thing named may be the most abstract of abstract ideas, or it may be the most concrete among the substantial things about us. Whatever it is, the name is a noun. The word economy is a noun ; likewise, the word prodigality. Equally nouns are the words caty dogy Leviathan.

It is usual to separate nouns broadly as being either common or proper. Common nouns are those names applied to describe individual members of groups. Cat and dog are common nouns. Indeed, the vast preponderance of the names are common nouns. This will be instantly appreciated when the fact is understood that the proper noun is the special name given to a certain person or thing. In the example given above, the name Leviathan is a proper noun. It is spelled with a capital, as being the name of a ship. It is the proper name of the vessel, and because it is the proper name, we made use of the same word, proper, in describing the noun.

If we were to ^pell the word with a small /, using it, not as the name of a modern ship, but as the name of a prehistoric sea monster — • that old leviathan of which the Hebrew Scriptures tell — then the name would designate only an individual in an animal group, and it would be a common noun.

When we speak of a man named Smithy the word Smith is a proper noun. But when we speak of the smith at his forge, the word smith is a common noun. Jack and Jill and every other name of a person, first name, middle name, last name, all are proper nouns. The distinctive name given to either a person or a thing which is the individual appellation of that object, is a proper noun.

Nevertheless, the distinction between common nouns and proper nouns is of no vital importance in the study of grammar. The student requires a knowledge of the terms as a matter of convenience, rather than for any practical benefit in the mastery of language.

Another attribute of nouns to which grammarians usually give considerable attention is the gender. This may be either masculine,

[IS]

feminine, or neuter. Whatever is neither masculine nor feminine, must be neuter. As everyone knows, human beings are divided into two sexes: the masculine and the feminine. The same distinction of sex is indicated by the words male and female, which include in their scope not only humanity, but all living creatures. The name of each individual creature has its gender in accordance with the sex of that creature. The noun king is masculine gender; the noun queen is feminine gender. The noun bull is masculine gender; the noun cow is feminine gender.

It should be noted that where the sex is deemed unimportant, as sometimes in reference to animals or children, they are treated as neuter.

A vast advantage is enjoyed by the student of English over his fellow students of other languages by reason of the simplicity that characterizes our use of genders. In those other languages, the distinctions as to the different genders are artificial. Moreover, they demand distinctive changes in the forms of words according to the variations in gender. Indeed, in many foreign tongues, the matter of gender presents enormous difficulties to the [16]

student. Our own speech, however, is wonderfully blest in this regard. The English gender is determined absolutely by the sex of the object named — or by its lack of any sex. The names of all males are masculine nouns; of all females, feminine nouns. And, if a thing is neither male nor female, its name is a noun of neuter gender. Furthermore, there are practically no variations in the forms of English nouns to represent the different genders. The student may well be thankful.

Another attribute of the noun is called person, which may be either, the first, second, or third. When the noun is the name of the one who speaks, it is in the first person ; when it is the name of the one to whom the speech is addressed, it is in the second person; when it is the name of a person or thing concerning which the speech is uttered, it is in the third person.

The foregoing brief statement is sufficient for the present. The usefulness of this method of classification will become apparent later on.

The third attribute of nouns is number. The number may be either singular or plural. Where only a single person or thing is concerned, the noun is in the singular number. When there are more than one person or thing concerned, the noun is in the plural number. The plural of English words is formed by adding either s, or esy to the singular. There are some exceptions to this rule, but they are very few comparatively, and most of them are so familiar to everybody that they need no enumeration.

Another attribute of the noun is the case. This may be the nominative, or the possessive, or the objective. In our language, the form of the noun is precisely the same whether it is in the nominative case, or in the objective. The difference between the two is concerned with the noun's relations to other words. Thus, the subject of a verb is described always as being in the nominative case, while the object of a verb or preposition is always in the objective case. A full explanation of these relationships and the significance of the nominative and the objective cases will be given in connection with those two parts of speech, the verb and the preposition.

The possessive case is the only one for English nouns that has a distinctive form of its own. This is secured by adding 's to the Ci8]

noun. The sign indicates possession. We write the boy^s hat, and the 's, following the noun boy, shows that the hat belongs to the boy. The usage for the possessive case in connection with plural words makes the addition of the (0 alone suffice. Ordinarily, too, when a singular noun ends in s^ the possessive case is formed by adding merely the ('). In England, however, it is customary to follow the (') with an s in such words. Thus we write James' hat ; but a London street sign reads St. James's Street.

A noun may be used to define another noun in some manner by being placed immediately after such other noun, with which it is then said to be in apposition. Thus in the sentence, "The newcomer, a stranger, bowed,'' the noun stranger is in apposition with the noun newcomer^ which it defines. Such a noun in apposition has the same case as the principal noun, whether this case be the nominative, the possessive, or the objective.

A pronoun also may be thus used in apposition.

Chapter II

The nature of a pronoun is much more complex than that of the noun, and it would offer serious difficulty to the student, were it not for the fact that in learning to talk he has really mastered the various uses of all the different pronouns, so that now he has to acquire only a little knowledge in description of things already practically familiar. He is well acquainted with the pronouns; even the diverse forms in the declension of them have been mastered. He needs, in addition, merely an understanding of certain terms that serve in explaining grammatical relationships.

The literal meaning of the word pronoun exactly defines it. It is a word used for a noun — that is, it is employed as a substitute. By the use of a pronoun, we have a simple and convenient means of speaking or writing clearly, while avoiding tiresome repetitions of a particular word.

The noun in place of which a pronoun is used is called the antecedent. > This word means literally that going before. Ordinarily, a noun is first used, and afterward the pronoun takes its place. But, in certain cases to which attention will be given later on, a pronoun is used without any antecedent having been expressed. Sometimes, too, a pronoun may itself serve as the antecedent for a following pronoun.

Like nouns, pronouns have gender, person, number and case. It is a rule in all languages that a pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender, person and number. In English, the application of this rule is very simple, owing to the fact that our language is not highly inflected.

A personal pronoun is one that varies in its form according as it is a substitute for a noun of the first person, or of the second, or of the third. The inflection of these pronouns is the most elaborate that we have in our English tongue. These pronouns are: /, thou^ he, shcy ity wCy you and they. Of these, the first five are in the singular number, and the other three are in the plural. These are declined as follows :

Nominative :

I we

Possessive :

my^ mine our, ours

Objective:

me Second Person us

Nominative :

thou you

Possessive :

thy, thine your, yours

Objective:

thee you

In the declensions of the first person and of the second, there is no distinction for the pronouns to indicate gender. The gender of the nouns for which the pronouns stand may be either masculine or feminine, but only the one form of the pronouns is employed. The matter is otherwise in reference to the third person. In the instance of these pronouns, the form in the singular varies in accordance with the gender of the noun represented by the pronoun, whether masculine, feminine or neuter.

Third Person Singular

Mascuiine Feminine Neuter Nominative: he she it

Possessive: his her^ hers its

Objective: him her it

Plural All genders Nominative : they Possessive: their ^ theirs

Objective: them

It will be understood, of course, that when a pronoun of the third person is used, its gender must be the same as that of the noun for which it stands.

Our language permits the use of a neuter pronoun in the third person when it is intended to disregard the sex of the noun for which the pronoun stands. Thus it and its are commonly employed when referring to an animal, when the sex of the creature is unimportant. Similarly, too, it and its are often used when the reference is to a child. Although, in such cases, a neuter pronoun is permissible, this fact by no means implies that the antecedent noun is of the neuter gender. The noun animal or the noun child is usually described as of a common gender. This really means that the animal or the child is of an indeterminate gender. There is a gender possessed by such a noun, but we are not taking heed to it for the moment, and so save ourselves trouble by substituting a neuter pronoun. The student must observe, however, that as a rule nouns of common gender are not represented by neuter pronouns, but, instead, the gender of the pronoun varies according to the circumstances. Thus, in using a pronoun of the third person in place of the noun friend^ he or his or him would be right, if the individual referred to were a man; while shcy or hers^ or her would be right, if the individual were a woman. So, too, of similar nouns, such as neighbor^ enemy , teacher^ and the many others like, for which the pronouns are either masculine or feminine. It should be noted, also, that when the gender of such a noun is unknown, it is customary to use the masculine pronoun.

Where alternate forms are given in the declension for the possessive case, there is a [24]

distinction in their use. Ordinarily, the forms myy ouTy thy^ your^ her and their arc employed when the pronoun is followed by a noun. Thus, we say: ^'My hai^' ''our hat^' etc. The mine, ours^ yours^ hers^ and theirs are employed when there is no noun following them. Thus, we say: "The cap is mine^'' "'The cap is oursy'' etc.

But both his and its are used with a noun following, or without a noun following. For example, "The man has his treasure, and that treasure is his'' In this sentence, the first his is followed by a noun, while the second is not.

A compound personal pronoun is formed by adding self or selves to either the nominative or the objective case of the personal pronoun. Thus we have my self y ourselves y thy self y yourself y yourselves y himself y her s elf y its elf y themselves. It will be observed that in the making of these compounds the possessive case of the prefix is used in some instances, but not in all. The objective case of the prefix is used in himself and themselves simply as a matter of convenience, since the words hisself and theirselves would be awkward either to speak or to hear.

THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN

A demonstrative pronoun refers directly to the noun for which it stands. There are but two pronouns of the sort : this and that in the singular, these and those in the plural. This is used in reference to an antecedent that is somehow close; while that distinguishes something farther away. For example, we say, '' This is my seat, and that is yours.'' " This is the day we celebrate,'' is spoken of the present time. For the more distant date, that would usually be employed. Thus: '' That wzs a wonderful day." It should be noted that these demonstrative pronouns may be used to indicate a clause or a sentence instead of a single noun. For example, in such a sentence as the following: "Will he ever return? Answer me ^^a^." Here, the antecedent of that is the entire interrogative sentence.

THE INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN

The interrogative pronouns are for use in

questions. They are only three in number,

and all of them are employed also as relative

pronouns. They are, who, which and what.

The only one of the three that has a declension is who. The forms are as follows:

Nominative: who Possessive : whose Objective: whom

These forms remain the same whether the interrogative pronoun is masculine or feminine, whether singular or plural.

And as the forms of this one interrogative pronoun remain the same whatever the gender, person and number, so which and what are invariable. They remain wholly unchanged also in the different cases. Possession in the case of these two pronouns is signified by of preceding the pronoun.

Who and its variants, whose and whom^ are employed when the pronoun refers to a person or persons, whether the noun be masculine or feminine.

Which, on the other hand, is much broader in scope, and is commonly used in its interrogative significance for both human beings and for animals, and also for objects of any sort.

The student must bear in mind that the interrogative pronoun lacks always an antecedent. This is necessarily so from the nature of its function. It serves to direct the inquiry as to some person or thing unknown.

THE RELATIVE PRONOUN

A relative pronoun is one that refers to an expressed antecedent of which something is said. These pronouns are who^ which, what, and that. The only one of these that has varying forms for the different cases is who, which as a relative pronoun follows exactly its forms as an interrogative pronoun — namely:

Nominative: who

Possessive : whose

Ob j ect i ve : whom

These forms are the same for masculine and feminine, for singular and plural. There is no change for gender or number or case for which, what and that. Of before the pronoun takes the place of the possessive case. Examples of the use of these pronouns are as follows: ^'I knew a boy who sang.'" "I knew many boys who sang.'' ^'Behold the scene that all patriots love.'' ''There are many countries that I like." "Swimming, which is most pleasant, is also capital exercise." ''The monkey eats nuts, which are a nourishing food."

The relative pronoun may have a clause for its antecedent, as well as a noun. Thus: *'He is a lover of all sports, which keeps him from growing old."

The distinctions in the matter of gender concerning relative pronouns are exactly those already set forth as to the interrogative pronouns.

Which and zvhat are used only in the third person, but who and that are employed for any one of the three persons.

The terminations ever znd soever are sometimes added to zvhoy which and whaty thus broadening the scope of the pronoun. They are added also to the objective case of who to form whomever 2ind whomsoever. These combinations are called compound relative pronouns.

THE INDEFINITE PRONOUN

Where the object to which the pronoun refers is indefinite, the pronoun itself is termed indefinite. Such pronouns are another^ any^ both, eachy either, neither, none, one, other, some, such.

There are no variations for cases in these words. Another, each, either, and neither are singular pronouns, having no plural. Some and such are used in both numbers. Any and both are limited to the plural. There are distinctive forms for singular and plural for the pronouns one, ones and other, others. None is strictly a singular pronoun, but it is commonly used also in a plural sense.

PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES

Most of the pronouns may be used before a noun or pronoun as adjectives to qualify the meaning. In this use, they are also termed adjective pronouns. All of the indefinite pronouns may be thus employed, with the single exception of none. Of the interrogatives and relatives, which and what serve as pronominal adjectives; so, also, the demonstratives, this, these and that, those.

It should be noted that neither who nor none is thus used.

Chapter III

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. In the phrases, a big dogy the small horsey the thin woody the open seUy the words higy small y thiny open, are adjectives, since each of them serves to define in some particular way the noun following it. But it should be noted that the adjective is not necessarily next to the noun or pronoun which it modifies or limits. Thus, descriptive adjectives are often found separated from the noun or pronoun by a verb. "'The house is warmy' offers an example, for in this sentence warm is an adjective that describes the noun house, but it is separated from the noun by the word is.

The numbers, oney twOy three y foury fivey and so on, are commonly employed as adjectives. Thus we say, three meny or seven womeny etc. Such adjectives are often termed limiting adjectives, and in this same class are included other adjectives of quantity or measure, either in space or time. Examples are such words as single^ doubley hourly^ annually^ and the like.

While an adjective ordinarily precedes its noun, it always follows a pronoun. For example, ''We saw him alive and well an hour before it happened.'' In this sentence, the words alive and well are adjectives modifying the pronoun him.

Adjectives in English, contrary to the usage in most other languages, never change their form, to indicate gender, person, number or case.

The only change made in an adjective is in order to signify more or less effect from its qualifications of a noun or pronoun. There are three degrees in the comparison of adjectives, as it is termed. In the positive degree, no comparison with another object is presented by the use of the adjective. In using the words, the smart hoy, no reference is made to any other boy, and the adjective, smarty has its simple form, unmodified. But when we speak of the smarter hoy^ the words carry with them a distinct reference to another boy less smart. Here, the ending er is added to the adjective smarts and this termination is the sign of the comparative degree, in which C32]

one person or thing is compared with another. The word more preceding the adjective has the same meaning as the suffix er added to the adjective. In such comparative use, the adjective may indicate either more or less of its quahty, but in the latter use, it is preceded by the word less. Thus, in the sentence above, the phrase, another boy less smarts shows the comparative degree of the adjective, but indicated here by the word less preceding it.

As the words imply, the superlative degree is that of an adjective expressing the greatest or the least of its quality for its noun or pronoun as compared with other objects. For example, the greatest man in the worlds contains the assertion that the man spoken of is superior to every other man. Est is here the ending by which the superlative degree is indicated.

Words of one syllable form the comparative by adding er to the adjective, and the superlative by adding est. Er and est are also used often with words of two syllables. More and most^ less and leasty are employed for the comparative and superlative respectively with words of two or more syllables.

Most is added to the word to form the superlative in the case of a few adjectives. Fore-^ most gives a familiar example of this usage.

It should be noted that the comparative degree includes only two objects or two groups of objects, but the superlative includes more than two. In the comparative degree, than precedes the object of the comparison. For example: ^'He is younger than she is.'' Of precedes the object in the superlative degree, ordinarily. Thus, we say: "the happiest oj men.'' But other words may be used, for example m — "the happiest man in the world." Often, the object may be omitted, and merely implied from the nature of the statement. For example, "The happiest man is he who knows peace."

THE NUMERAL

Numerals are adjectives of number. They are divided into two classes, cardinals and ordinals.

The cardinals merely indicate number, without any qualification. For example : one man^ seven women, a thousand children.

The numerals are employed also as nouns. For example: ''Seventy-five were killed in the accident." When serving as a noun, the cardinal may be used as a plural word.

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GRAMMAR MADE ESAY

The ordinals signify a certain place in a series of numbers. They are formed usually by a suffix to the cardinal. But the ordinals first and second are not derived from the cardinals one and two. The other ordinals are thirds fourth^ fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth, which show a close relation to the corresponding cardinals. The ordinals of the 'teens are formed by the addition of th to the cardinals — thirteenth, fourteenth, etc. The th is used also regularly for all the higher numbers, such as twentieth, thirtieth, hundredth, thousandth, etc.

Ordinals also are used as nouns, usually with the preceding. For example, " The first shall be last."

THE ARTICLE

There are two articles: the indefinite, which may be either a or an, and the definite the.

An is the form used before a word beginning with a vowel sound, while a is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound. The variation is simply a matter of convenience for pronunciation, since the meaning of the two words is exactly the same.

A or an signifies one of a group, but does this without any precise determination as to which one of the group is thus indicated. For example, "Give me a hand/'

The definite article, the^ in accordance with its name, refers to some one person or thing, which is thus specifically singled out for attention. For example: the hearty the truthy the old daysy etc. The article, whether indefinite or definite, invariably precedes the noun. If one or more adjectives precede a noun, the article precedes these. For example, a dayy the daySy the good old days.

Chapter IV

A VERB Is that part of speech which asserts something concerning Its subject. The subject may be one or more nouns, or pronouns, or any word used as a noun.

Thus in the statement: "The boy eats/' the word eats Is a verb, by means of which a fact is asserted concerning the boy, the subject.

There are two classes of verbs, transitive and intransitive. The transitive verb has an object of the action expressed by the verb, while the intransitive verb has no object. Thus, in the statement: ''The boy eats candy,'* the verb eats is transitive, since it has an object, the word candy. But In the statement, ''The boy sleeps,'' the verb sleeps is intransitive, because It has no object.

Verbs are also classified as either principal or auxiliary. A principal verb Is complete in itself. In the sentences quoted above, both eats and sleeps are principal verbs. An auxiliary verb, on the contrary, is not complete in itself. Its purpose is to define in some particular manner a principal verb with which it is associated. In the assertion, "I shall hope/' shall is an auxiliary verb.

Verbs are divided also into two classes, regular and irregular, according to the manner in which they change their form. The regular verbs are changed by the addition of ed for the past tense and the past participle; while the irregular verbs are changed in various other ways. An example of a regular verb is turn^ of which the form for the past tense and the past participle is turned. An example of an irregular verb is do^ for which the past tense is did^ and the past participle is done.

It should be noted that only a very small proportion of the verbs in our language are irregular.

A verb is described as being in the active voice when the subject is presented in a state of action. For example, in such an assertion as, ''The fire heats the room,'' the subject, fire^ is represented in action by the verb heatSy and the verb is therefore described as being in the active voice. When the subject is presented as being acted upon, the verb is declared to be in the passive voice. Thus, C38]