The principles of English grammar : comprising the substance of the most approved English grammars extant : with copious exercises in parsing and syntax : a new edition, revised, re-arranged and improved for the use of schools

Front matter

J

1 ^ /

PKINCIPLES

Preface

A knowledge of English Grammar is very properly considered an indispensable part of an English education; and is now taught as such, in all our Academies and Common Schools. The great number of elementary works which have recently appeared on this subject, is a pleasing evidence of the attention which has been I bestowed upon it. Among these, none has enjoyed greater favor than the Grammar of Lindley Murray •, and the high rank which it still holds among the numerous works which have appeared since its publication, is a decided testimony to the soundness of its principles and the excellence of the system. With all its excellence, however, it is far from being incapable of improvement; and the attempt to add to its value as a manual for schools, by correcting what is erroneous, retrenching what is superfluous or unimportant, compressing what is prolix, elucidating what is obscure, determining what was left doubtful, supplying what is defective, and bringing up the whole to that state of improvement to which the labours of eminent scientific and practical writers of the present day have so greatly contributed, can hardly fail, if well executed, to prove acceptable to the public. Such was my design; and though there may be reason to regret that it has not been undertaken by some one more capable of doing justice to the subject, still it is hoped that the labor bestowed, in order to carry it into effect, will not be altogether in vain.

In endeavoring to avoid the minutise and diffuseness of the larger Grammar, care has been taken to guard against the opposite extreme. The abridgments of Murray now in use, are little more than a synopsis of the larger work; presenting a mere outline of the subject, altogether too meagre to be of much service to the learner. The same remark is applicable to a great number of smaller works which have been published with a similar view; namely, to serve as an introduction to a more extended system, They are incapable themselves of imparting a satisfactory knowledge of the subject; and yet it often happens, perhaps even in a majority of cases, that those who have commenced with the " introduction," have neither the time nor the means to get beyond it : and besides, unless the "introduction" be constructed on the

PREFACE.

Hciple of arrangement and expression with the one which [ to succeed it, it will probably be found worse than useless •, for when a particular arrangement and phraseology have become familiar to the mind, there is great difficulty in studying another work on the same subject, in which the arrangement ana expression are materially different. A Grammar, to be really valuable, ought to be simple in its style and arrangement, so as to be adapted to the capacity of youth, for whose use it is designed •, comprehensive, so as to be a sufficient guide in the most difficult, as well as in easy cases-, and its principles and rules should be rendered familiar to the learner by numerous examples and exercises.

To meet these views of what a Grammar for the use of Schools ought to be, the present compilation has been made : with what success, a discerning public, to whose judgment it is respectfully submitted, will decide. Utility, not novelty, has been aimed at. In collecting materials, I have freely availed myself of the labors of others who have treated on the subject since the days of Murray, and particularly of those whose object has been similar to my own. Lennie's u Principles of English Grammar,' 1 deservedly esteemed in Britain the best compend for the use of schools which has yet appeared, I have adopted as the ground plan of my work. The works of Murray, Angus, Connel, Grant, Crombie, Hiley, and others in the extensive collection of my friend Dr. Beck:, to which I have enjoyed free access, have been consulted; and from all of them has been carefully selected, condensed, and arranged, whatever seemed to be suitable to my purpose. For several valuable suggestions, also, I am indebted to Dr. T. R. Beck, and several other literary friends, who kindly examined my MSS. before they were sent to press, and freely communicated their sentiments. On the whole, it is believed that there is nothing of much importance in Murray's larger Grammar, or in the works of subsequent writers, that will not be found condensed here.

On the subject of Etymology, much expansion has been deemed unnecessary; I have therefore generally contented myself with stating results, without embarrassing the work with the processes, often tedious and obscure, which have led to them. In the classification of words, almost all writers differ from one another; and though on this subject there has been much discussion, nothing has yet been proposed which, on the whole, appears less objeo preface: v

tionable in principle, or more convenient in practice, than that of Murray, which is therefore generally retained.

In Syntax, greater dullness has been considered proper. In the arrangement of the Rules, scarcely two writers have followed the same order; and that here adopted is somewhat different from any other. Without regarding much the usual livision of Syntax into Concord and Government, those rules are placed first which appear to be most simple, and of most frequent occurrence. Care has been taken, however, to connect with a leading rule those of a subordinate character allied to it, and to add under every rule such notes and observations as appeared necessary to its illustration. Numerous examples of false syntax follow each rule, generally on the same page-, also examples adapted to the notes, etc. are subjoined, distinguished by the number of the note to which they belong. For the purpose of better exercising the judgment of the pupil, there have been introduced at intervals, exercises on the preceding rules promiscuously arranged; and at the end, promiscuous exercises are furnished on all the rules and observations •, the whole forming a body of exercises, containing perhaps not fewer examples than Murray's separate volume of Exercises on the Rules of Syntax. In this, economy as well as convenience has been consulted. The leading principles have been made so prominent by being printed on a large type, that they may be easily studied by the youngest classes without a separate compend. Every thing necessary for the fuller expansion and illustration of these principles, has been introduced in its place ; and the whole furnished with questions and appropriate exercises, in order to render every part familiar to the mind of the pupil as he advances, so that no larger treatise, and no separate book of exercises, will be necessary. The arrangement of the exercises on gyntax on the same page with the rule which they are designed to illustrate, it is believed, will greatly diminish the labor, both of teacher and pupil, in going over this important part of the subject.

Another object steadily kept in view in this compilation, is to render it a profitable introduction to classical studies. While all languages differ from one another in their modes of inflexion, and in some forms of expression peculiar to themselves, usually denominated idioms, their general principles are, to a very great extent, the same. It would seem, therefore, to be proper, in

VI ' PREFACE.

constructing grammars for different languages, that the pnnci pies, so far as they are the same, should be arranged in the same order, and expressed as nearly as possible in the same words. Were this carefully done, the study of the grammar of one language would be a very important aid in the study of another 5 and the opportunity thus afforded, of seeing wherein they agree and wherein they differ, would of itself furnish a profitable exercise in comparative grammar. But when a Latin grammar is put into the hands of a boy, differing widely in its arrangement or phraseology from the English grammar which he had previously studied, and then in due time a Greek grammar different from both, not only is the benefit derived from the analogy of the different languages in a great measure lost, but the whole subject is made to appear intolerably intricate and mysterious. To remedy this evil, I resolved, some time ago, to publish a series of Grammars of the English, Latin, and Greek languages, arranged in the same order, and expressed as nearly in the same words as the genius of the languages would permit.

This series has now been some time before the public, and has been received with a degree of favor far surpassing my expectations.

Preface To The Revised Edition

New plates for this work having become necessary, the opportunity has been embraced to improve the work in such a way as to render it still more worthy of public favor. Several of the definitions and rules have been rendered more strictly accurate. In many places, observations and remarks have been introduced, where they seemed to be necessary to complete or elucidate the subject. The etymology of the article which stood before, is now, as it should be, placed after the noun ; and that of the participle is placed with the moods and tenses, before the inflection of the verb, instead of coming after it. In these two instances only, is the order of the sections changed. In the verb, the designation and arrangement of tenses first adopted in this Grammar, but which were subsequently changed, are here resumed, being considered as altogether better, because more natural and appro priate. The former designations, however, are placed in parentheses, (except the imperfect, which does not correctly express the import of that tense), that teachers may adopt those which

.

PRE

FACE. VII they prefer. In the observations on the tenses, an attempt has been made to render them more full and explicit-, and in the > inflection of the verb, negative and interrogative forms have

been introduced after the active voice.

In Syntax, two or three rules have been altered, where it seemed desirable for the sake of greater accuracy and simplicity. 80 much of Rules IV., V., and VI. as referred to the pronoun, has been omitted, to avoid the confusion occasioned by uniting two subjects (the verb and personal pronoun) under one rule, and all that relates to the Syntax of the personal pronoun has been placed together in special rules under Rule X. The exercises under these rules have been revised and made to correspond to these changes. In Prosody, several defects have been supplied, and the article on Composition has been considerably enlarged.

To make room for these improvements, the lists of questions heretofore interspersed through the work, and the utility of which has been questioned by distinguished teachers, have been removed to the end of the book, where they are placed together, so that they may be used or not, as the teacher may direct. For the same purpose, all discussions of grammatical questions have been removed from the body of the work to the Appendix, and suitable reference made to them in the text. In this position, they interfere less with the regular progress of the work, and may be consulted at pleasure. By this means, also, an opportunity is afforded of discussing the several subjects, when it was thought important, at greater length than would have been proper in their place j and hence, it will be seen, the Appendix has been considerably enlarged.

By means of these arrangements, the leading parts of the Grammar are made to occupy nearly the same place as before, being seldom more than one page distant from their former position. This revisal of the work has been gone into more thoroughly now, to avoid the necessity of ever hereafter making any changes j but no change has been made which will occasion any difficulty in using this edition with the other, as the parts introduced foi the most part belong to the Notes and Observations, very seldom to the leading parts.

For further information, reference is occasionally made to the Analytical and Practical Grammar, in which the subjects generally are treated of with greater fullness, especially in Syntax, than ii this compend.

nil PREFACE.

PLAN OF THIS WORK.

1 . In this work the leading principles, definitions, and rules, forming by themselves an epitome of Grammar, are printed in larger type, and expressed in brief, accurate, and simple language, bo as to be easily committed to memory.

2. All that is necessary to fill up this outline, and with it to forrr a complete school grammar, is inserted in its place in smallei type in Observations and Remarks, not to be committed to memory, but to be studied more fully in connection with the leading parts, in subsequent reviews.

3. The whole is perspicuously arranged under distinct sections and heads, all of which are numbered separately-, ..and now, in addition to this, all the paragraphs are numbered by a running series of numbers, rendering it easy to refer to any particular part.

4. At the close of each part of speech, and frequently at intervals under different heads, Exercises, simple and easy, are introduced, for the purpose of rendering the pupil familiar with each step as he goes along, and better prepared for entering on that which is to follow.

5. The leading rules of Syntax always stand at the top of the page-, and under each is presented, in special rules, in small type, or in observations and remarks in type still smaller, all that is necessary to complete or explain the subject of which it treats-, and then,under these are furnished examples of false Syntax to be corrected — an exercise of great importance, to render the principles previously studied, and their use, familiar to the pupil.

6. For the same purpose, numerous examples of false Syntax under all the rules are furnished at the end, promiscuously arranged. In correcting these, it will always be proper to shew wherein they are wrong, mention the rule which they violate, and give the rule or the reason for the change made.

7. In Analysis and Parsing, it is important that one uniform method, the shorter the better, provided it be accurate and full, should be pursued: either that here recommended, or such other as the teacher may prefer-, and that the rules, when repeated, be repeated accurately in the very words of the text.

8. The subject of Composition, at the end of the book, will be a profitable study for the pupil after he has studied the grammar, and furnish the means of constantly applying its principles.

By pursuing this method, the study of Grammar, instead of being, as it is usually considered, a dry and laborious exercise of memory, becomes, from the first, practical, intellectual, and interesting-, so that with but little labor, almost imperceptibly, and in a very short time, the pupil becomes a proficient in this important branch of study.

INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Grammar — as a Science — as an Art page *}

Parts of 1

Questions on • 219

PART I. — ORTHOGRAPHY. Orthography, Definition of 2

Letters, of 2

ovllables, of; Division of words into 3

Spelling « • • 3

General rules for 4

PART II. — ETYMOLOGY. Etymology, Definition of • 7

Words, Divisions of • 7

Parts of 6?eech.. 8

P'*v ■ q vvbat; Different kinds of 8

- Wcvjw, different kinds of 8, 9

Accidents of. 9

Person of .9

Gendei of 10

Number of. Plural, Rules for 12

Irregular .13

Observation.? on 15

Case of.- 16

^Nominative, use of. 16

Construction of, a<? the subject 89

As the predicate. 104

Independent 12?

Possessive, how formed, use of 16

Objective, use of 16

Governed by Transitive Active Verbs 90

By Intransitive Verbs 90

By Prepositions • 92

Of time, place, weight, value, &c. 92

Parsing of, Method of 17

Construction of, in apposition ■ 103

D Article, Definition and use of. 18

' Parsing of the, Method of 19

III. A-djective, Definition of, Observations on, Numerals 19

Comparison of, and Observations on 20

Irregular 21

Of the Comparative and Superlative««'«115, 116

Parsing of the, Method of, Exercises on • • 22

IV. Proncttj^s, Definition and division of 22

Personal, Declension of 22

Relative, Definition of, &c 24

Imenqpulve, what; Ortfervattofia on >. 33

X CONTENTS.

IV. Pronouns, Adjective, Division of 27

Possessive •• • • • • 27

Distributive... 27

Demonstrative 28

Indefinite 28

V. Verb. Definition and Division of « 30

Transitive and Intransitive, defined and distinguished"* • ••••30, 3L

Division of, in respect of form 31

Auxiliary, what; Observations on 32

Inflection of • - 34

Voice, Active and Passive defined 34

Moods, Definition and Distinction of 35

Subjunctive, Construction of 112

Infinitive, Construction of.---v • Ill

Tenses, Distinction and Definition of * • 37, 38

Participles, Definition and Use of.. 41, 42

Present Active, in a Passive sense 42

As a Verbal Noun 43

Number and Person of ' • • 43

Conjugation, and Forms of.. 43, 44

Regular, to love, Active voice, Inflection of 45

Parsing of the, Method of • 48, 49

Negative form of 50

Interrogative form of • 51

Progressive form of 55

Passive voice, Inflection of 55-57

Exercises on 58

Irregular, to be, inflection of.. 52

Exercises en 54

Irregular, list of. ••••. • -59-64

Defective 64

Impersonal 65

Exercises on 65

Construction or Concord of, with its Nominative * 88

With two nouns m connection 93

taken separately.. • • • • 84

With nominatives of different persons.. 95

With collective nouns • 96

VI Adverb, Definition and use of » 65

Classification of, and Observations on 66

Parsing of the, Method of, and Exercises on 68

Position of 118

VII. Prepositions, Definition and use of... 68

List of, and Observations on .....69

Parsing, Method of and Exercises on 70

V III. Interjections, List of, Use of, Observations on 70

DC. Conjunctions, Definition and Division of . • • • • * 71

Parmkg. Etymological, Definition of 72

Specimens of TjL 75

Rules for, antf Exercifies in» ••••• •«••••» »«7o^S5

Parsing, Syntactical, Definmon of. 132

Specimens of. 132-134

PART III. — SYNTAX. Syntax, Definition of 86

General Principles of, Parts of 87

Rules of — viz.

Bulk I. A verb must agree with its nominative.. 88

Special rules under Rule I .....89

n. A transitive verb in the active voice, &c 90

Special rules under Rule n. 91

in. Prepositions govern the objective case, &c 92

rv. Two or more substantives singular, in connection, &c. . 93

v. taken separately, &c 94

vi. A verb with nominatives of different persons 95

vii. A verb with a collective noun 96

vm. An adjective qualifies the substantive, &c 97

ix. When two persons or things are contrasted, &c 98

X. Pronouns agree with the nouns, &c 99

XI. The relative agrees with its antecedent, &c 101

Special rules and observations under Rule xi. • • • 102

xn. Substantives denoting the same thing, &c 103

xni. The predicate substantive after a verb, &c. 104

xrv. The possessive case 105

xv. "When the present participle is used as a noun, &c 103

xvi. The present participle with an article before it, &c»««'109

xvn. The past participle is used after have and be, &c 110

xviii The infinitive mood is governed, &c. Ill

xix. The subjunctive, mood 112

xx. Conjunctions connect words or sentences 113

xxi. Some conjunctions have corresponding conjunctives- •••114

xxii. Comparative degree, and the pronoun other, See 115

xxni. Double comparatives and superlatives, &c 116

xxiv. Adverbs modify verbs, &c. 117

xxv. Adverbs are for the most part placed, &c. 118

xxvi. Two negatives in the same sentence, &c -119

xxvii. Prepositions before names of places 120

xxvni. Certain words and phrases must be followed, &c. ••••■• 121

xxix. In the use of verbs, &c. the order of time, &c. •••124

xxx. When a member of a sentence refers to two different

clauses, it should be, &c. 126

xxxi. Case absolute. 127

xxxii. The article A, Sec. • 128

xxxin. An ellipsis is admissible when, &c. .••••• 130

xxxiv An ellipsis is not allowable when, &c 131

Syntax, Promiscuous Exercises on Rules of. 135-146

Miscellaneous Observations 1 46

Improper expressions corrected 150

Punctuation, Rules for 151-157

Abbreviations. * 158

Paragraphs 159

Capitals 159

Rhetorical divisions of a discourse 160

Composition, different kinds of, Prose • 160, 161

Poetry 162

Figures, viz. of Etymology 163

Of Syntax and of Rhetoric 164

Poetic license 166

PART IV. PROSODY. Prosody, Definition of. - 169

Elocution 168

Versification 179

Iambic Verse * ITS

CpOTCNT^. V ^ ^ ^

Prosody, Trochaic •*• 175

Anapaestic. 176

Dactylic 177

Mixed Verses 179

Composition, Art of. • 180

Use of Grammar in. 181

Law of Language 182

Hints for correct and elegant writing 184

Appendix

n. Classification of words •• ••••19.5

III. The noun or substantive. • 196

iv. Person • 197

v. Gender of nouns 197

vi. Case of nouns 198

vii. The article 199

vm. The adjective 201

IX. Comparison of adjectives . • 201

x. Pronouns 202

XI. The pronoun you 20?

xii. As not a relative 203

XIII. The relative vjhat •* 204

xiv. Adjective pronouns 205

xv. The verb 207

xvi. Division of verbs.. 208

xvii. Moods. 208

xviii. The subjunctive mood • 210

xix. The participle in ins; in a passive sense 211

xx. Two first, three last, &c 215

xxi. First and second • ••• «»»217

K<

GRAMMAR.

1. Grammar is both a Science and an Art.

2. As a Science, it investigates the principles of language in general. When thus used, it is denominated General or Universal Grammar ; and sometimes Comparative Grammar.

3. As an Art, it teaches the right method of applying these principles to a particular language, so as to express our thoughts in a correct and proper manner, according to established usage. App. I

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

5. Grammar is divided into four parts ; namely, Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody.

6. Orthography treats of letters and syllables , Etymology, of w T ords ; Syntax, of sentences ; and Prosody, of elocution and versification.

Part First

§ 1. ORTHOGRAPHY.*

7. Orthography treats of letters, and the mode of combining them into syllables and words.

8. A Letter is a mark or character used to represent an elementary sound of the human voice.

9. There are Twenty -six letters in the English Alphabet.

10. Letters are either Vowels or Consonants.

11. A Vowel is a letter which represents a simple inarticulate sound; and in a word or syllable may be sounded alone. The vowels are, a, e, i, o, w, and w and y, not before another vowel sounded in the same syllable.

12. A Consonant is a letter which represents an articulate sound; and in a word or syllable is never sounded alone, but always in connexion with a voweL The consonants are, b, c, d,f, g, h,j, k, I, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x f z, and w and y before a vowel sounded in the same syllable.

13. A Diphthong is the union of two vowels in one sound. Diphthongs are of two kinds, proper and improper.

14. A Proper Diphthong is one in which both the vowels are Bounded-, as ou in out, oi in oil, ow in cow.

15. An Improper Diphthong is one in which only one of the vowels is sounded •, as ou in court, oa in boat.

16. A Triphthong is the union of three vowels in one soimd as eau in beauty.

* Orthography is properly a part of Grammar, as it belongs to " the art t» speaking and writing a language with propriety.' ' Yet as the whole subject u treated more fully in the spelling-book and dictionary, a brief synopsis of its principles only is here given, rather as a matter of /orw, than with a view to its being particularly studied at this stage. The teacher may, therefore, if he thinks proper, pass over this part for the present, and begin with Part II.

§ 1. ORTHOGRAPHY. 3

SYLLABLES.

17. A Syllable is a distinct sound forming the whole of a word, as far ; or so much of it as can be sounded at once, as far in far-mer.

18. A word contains as many syllables as it has dis« tinct vocal sounds; as, gram-ma -ri-an.

19. A Monosyllable is a word of one syllables; as, fox.

20. A Dissyllable is a word of two syllables; as, far-mer.

21. A Trisyllable is a word of three syllable; as, pi-e-ty.

22. A Polysyllable is a word of many syllables.

DIVISION OF WORDS INTO SYLLABLES.

23. The division of words into syllables is called Syllabication-

GENERAL RULE.

24. Place together in distinct syllables, those letters which make up the separate parts or divisions of a word, as heard in its correct pronunciation.

25. Two separate words combined as one name, are usually separated by a hyphen; as, rail-road, glasshouse, bee-hive.

26. In writing, a word of more than one syllable may be divided at the end of a line ; but a monosyllable, or a syllable, never.

§ 2. SPELLING.

27. Spelling is the art of expressing a word by its proper letters.

28. The orthography of the English language is so anomalous and in many cases arbitrary, that proficiency in it can be acquired only by practice, and the use of the spelling-book or dictionary. The following rules are of a general character, though even to these there may be a few exceptions*. —

GENERAL RULES FOR SPELLING WORDS.

RULE I.

29. Monosyllables ending with /, 1 or s, preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant ; as, staff, mill, pass.

Exceptions. Of, if, as, is, has, was, his, gas, yes, this, us, thus, pus.

RULE II.

30. Words ending with any consonant except/, I or s, do not double the final letter ; as, sit, not, up, put, that, in.

RULE III.

31. Monosyllables and words accented on the last syllable, ending with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double that consonant before an additional syllable beginning with a vowel ; as, rob, robber ; admit, admittance, admitted.

Exceptions. But x and h are never doubled.

32. But when a diphthong or double vowel precedes, or the accent is not on the last syllable, the consonant is not doubled ; as, boil, boiling, boiler ; wool, woolen ; fool, foolish ; visit, visited.

Exceptions. In about fifty words ending in I with a vowel before it, and not accented on the last syllable, many writers, contrary to analogy and without necessity, double the I improperly

§ 2. ORTHOGRAPHY. 5

before an additional syllable. These are such words as travel, traveller, travelling, travelled*

So also s and p are generally, though improperly, doubled in bias, worship, and kidnap; as Massing, worshipper, kidnapping. Webster, and many writers following him, in these words conform to the general rule.

RULE IV.

33. Words ending with 11 drop one I before the terminations less and ly, to prevent trebling; as, skill, skill ess ; full, fully; and some writers, before ness and ful; as, fulness, skilful.

34. But words ending in any other double letter, preserve the letter double before less, ly, ness, and ful ; as, harmlessly, stiffly, gruffness, etc.

rule v.

35. Words ending in y preceded by a consonant, change y into i before an additional letter or syllable ; as, spy, spies ; happy, happier, happiest ; carry, carrier, carried ; fancy, fanciful.

Exc. 1. But y is not changed before ing; as, deny, denying.

Exc. 2. Words ending in y preceded by a vowel, retaiu the y unchanged-, as, boy, boys, boyish, boyhood. But lay, pay, say, make laid, paid, said: and day makes daily.

RULE VI.

36. Silent e is preserved before the terminations, ment, less, ly, and ful; as, paleness, peaceful, abatement, &c.

Exceptions. Duly, truly, awful, and generally, judgment, acknowledgment, lodgment, abridgment, are excepted. Argument, from the Latin argumentum, is not an exception.

BULE VII.

37. Silent e is omitted before terminations beginning with a vowel; as, slave, slavish; cure, curable; sense sensible ; lodge, lodging ; love, lovest,

38. Blame, move, reprove, sale, and their compounds, some times, though improperly, retain c before able; as, blameable, etc.

39. But words ending in ge and ce retain e before able, in order to preserve the soft sound of g and c; as, changeable, peaceable, etc. For the same reason, we have singeing and swingeing. Dye has dyeing, to distinguish it from dying. So also words ending with c hard, insert k before a syllable beginning with e or i, to preserve the hard sound-, as, frolic, frolicked, frolicking.

40. The letters ie, at the end of a word, are changed into v before ing; as, die, dying; lie, lying,

RULE VIII.

41. Simple words ending in 11, when joined to other words, generally drop one I when they lose the accent ; as, awful, hopeful, handful, careful, already.

42. But when they are under the accent, the double I should be retained; as, fulfill, willful, recall, foretell. But until, welcome, always, also, withal, therewithal, wherewithal, have single I.

43. On the subject of this rule, however, usage is far from uniform : fulfil and fulfill, wilful and willful, recal and recall, foretel and foretell, and similar varieties are common.

44. Other compounded words are generally spelled in the same manner as the simple words of which they are formed -, as, glasshouse, mill-wright, thereby.

45. Many words in English admit of two or more different modes of spelling*, as, connection, connexion; enquire, inquire; chemistry, chymistry, etc. In such cases, prevailing usage and analogy must be our guides.