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pted to innovate."

his Dictionary, however, contains some orthographical onsistencies, which ought to be rectified: such as imable moveable, chastely chastness, fertileness fertily, slislyly, fearlessly fearlesness, needlessness needlesly. If se, and similar irregularities, were corrected by spelling words analogically, according to the first word in each t of the series, and agreeably to the general rules of lling, the dictionary would doubtless, in these respects, improved.

PART II

ETYMOLOGY.

CHAPTER I.

A GENERAL VIEW of the PARTS of SPEECH. THE second part of grammar is ETYMOLOGY, hich treats of the different sorts of words, their arious modifications, and their derivations.

There are, in English, nine sorts of words, or, they are commonly called, PARTS OF SPEECH : amely, the ARTICLE, the SUBSTANTIVE or NOUN, he ADJECTIVE, the PRONOUN, the VERB, the ADERB, the PREPOSITION, the CONJUNCTION, and he INTERJECTION.

1. An Article is a word prefixed to substantives, o point them out, and to show how far their sigification extends; as, a garden, an eagle, the

woman.

2. A Substantive or Noun is the name of any Ching that exists, or of which we have any notion : as, London, man, virtue.

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an apple; temperance, industry, chastity.

3. An Adjective is a word added to tive, to express its quality: as, "an i man; a virtuous woman."

An adjective may be known by its making sense tion of the word thing; as, a good thing; a bad thi particular substantive; as, a sweet apple, a pleas lively boy.

4. A Pronoun is a word used instea to avoid the too frequent repetition o word: as, "The man is happy; he

lent, he is useful."

5. A Verb is a word which signifi DO, or to SUFFER: as, "I am; I rule;

A verb may generally be distinguished, by its ma any of the personal pronouns, or the word to befor he plays, they write; or, to walk, to play, to write

6. An Adverb is a part of speech verb, an adjective, and sometimes to verb, to express some quality or circ specting it as, "He reads well; man; he writes very correctly."

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An adverb may be generally known, by its answ tion, How? how much? when? or where? as, in reads correccly," the answer to the question, H is, correctly.

7. Prepositions serve to connec one another, and to show the rela them as, "he went from Londo "she is above disguise;" "they a by industry."

A preposition may be known by its admitting pronoun, in the objective case; as, with. for, to objective case after them; with him, for her, t

es connects only words: as, "Thou and he e happy, because you are good." "Two and ree are five."

9. Interjections are words thrown in between e parts of a sentence, to express the passions or notions of the speaker: as, "O virtue! how niable thou art !59

The observations which have been made, to aid learners distinguishing the parts of speech from one another, may ord them some small assistance; but it will certainly be uch more instructive, to distinguish them by the definions, and an accurate knowledge of their nature.

In the following passage, all the parts of speech are exmplified:

1

2

7 2

5 1

2

3

7 2 The power of speech is a faculty peculiar to man;

3 5

5

7 4

7 4

3

2

7

nd was bestowed on him by his beneficent Creator, for

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he greatest and most excellent uses; but alas; how often 4 7 1 3 7 2

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o we pervert it to the worst of purposes !

In the foregoing sentence, the words the, a, are articles ; cower, speech, faculty, man, Creator, uses, purposes, are ubstantives; peculiar, beneficent, greatest, excellent, worst, re adjectives; him, his, we, it, are pronouns; is, was, betowed, do, pervert, are verbs; most, how, often, are adverbs; of, to, on, by, for, are prepositions; and, but, are conjunctions; and alas is an interjection.

The number of the different sorts of words, or of the parts of speech, has been variously reckoned by different grammarians. Some have enumerated ten, making the participle a distinct part; some eight, excluding the participle, and ranking the adjective under the noun; some four, and others only two, (the noun and the verb,) supposing the rest to be contained in the parts of their division. We have followed those authors, who appear to have given

are contained in the first section of the eleven etymology.

The interjection, indeed, seems scarcely w ing considered as a part of artificial languag being rather a branch of that natural languag possess in common with the brute creation, an express the sudden emotions and passions tha frame. But as it is used in written as well guage, it may in some measure, be deem speech. It is, with us, a virtual sentence, noun and verb are concealed under an imp gested word. See this chapter in the Octavo

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CHAPTER II.

Of the ARTICLES.

An Article is a word prefixed to to point them out, and to show how nification extends; as a garden, a

In English, there are but two a the; a becomes an before a vowel, a silent h; as, an acorn, an hour. be sounded, the a only is to be used a heart, a highway.

The inattention of writers and printers to distinction, has occasioned the frequent use when it is to be pponounced; and this circ than any other, has probably contributed t utterance, or total omission of the sound s letter, which very often occurs amongst rea ers An horse, an husband, an herald, many similar associations, are frequently works of taste and merit. To remedy th should be taught to omit, in all similar cas the n, and give to the / its full pronunciatio

A instead of an is now used before words beg See page 23, letter U. It is also used before one

five me a book; "Bring me an apple.”

The is called the definite article; because it ertains what particular thing or things are ant: as, "Give me the book;" "Bring me apples;" meaning some book, or apples, rered to.

A substantive without any article to limit it, is nerally taken in its widest sense: as, "A canI temper is proper for man;" that is, for all nkind.

The peculiar use and importance of the articles will be n in the following examples: "The son of a king-the of the king-a son of the king." Each of these three rases has an entirely different meaning, through the difent application of the articles a and the.

• Thou art a man," is a very general and harmless posin; but, “Thou art the man," (as Nathan said to David,} an assertion capable of striking terror and remorse into

e heart.

The article is omitted before nouns, that imply the differt virtues, vices, passions, qualities, sciences, arts, metals, rbs, &c; as, prudence is commendable; falsehood is ious; anger ought to be avoided;" &c. It is not prefixto a proper name; as, "Alexander," (because that of elf denotes a determinate individual or particular thing) cept for the sake of distinguishing a particular family; "He is a Howard, or of the family of the Howards;" or way of eminence: as, "Every man is not a Newton ;" He has the courage of an Achilles :" or when some noun understood; "He sailed down the (river) Thames, in the hip) Britannia.”

When an adjective is used with the noun to which the ticle relates, it is placed between the article and the noun; =,"a good man," ," "an agreeable woman," "the best friend." n some occasions, however, the adjective precedes a or *; as, “such a shame," " as great a man as Alexander," too careless an author."

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