AN ABRIDGMENT OF L. MURRAY's ENGLISH GRAMMAR. WITH ALTERATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS. Defigned for the Ufe of the YOUNGER CLASS OF LEARNERS. BY A TEACHER OF YOUTH. 0000000 Improvements fecured according to Law. FOURTH BOSTON EDITION. BOSTON: PRINTED AND SOLD BY MANNING & LORING, No. 2, CORNHILL. June, 1808. MARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY GIFT OF GEORGE ARTHUN PLIMPTON DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS DISTRICT, to wit: L. S. BE E IT REMEMBERED, That on the fecond day of October, in the twenty-feventh year of the independence of the United States of America, MANNING & LORING, of the faid diftrict, have depofited in this office the title of a Book, the right whereof they claim as Proprietors, in the words following, to wit:-"An Abridgment of L. Murray's English Grammar. With Alterations and Improvements. Defigned for the Ufe of the younger Clafs of Learners.-By a Teacher of Youth." In conformity to the Act of the Congrefs of the United States, entitled, "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by fecuring the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the Authors and Proprietors of fuch copies, during the times therein mentioned."' A true copy of Record. N. GOODALE, Clerk of the N. GOODALE, Clerk. ENGLISH GRAMMAR. ENGLISH GRAMMAR is the art of fpeaking and writing the English language with propriety. It is divided into four parts, viz. ORTHOGRAPHY, ETYMOLOGY, SYNTAX, and PROSODY. ORTHOGRAPHY. LETTERS. ORTHOGRAPHY teaches the nature and powers of letters, and the juft method of spelling words. [A letter is the first principle, or least part, of a word. Letters are divided into vowels and confonants. A vowel is a fimple articulate found, formed by the impulfe of the voice. A confonant cannot be perfectly founded by itfelf; but, joined with a vowel, forms an articulate found. The vowels are, a, e, i, o, u, and fometimes w and y. W and y are confonants when they begin a word or fyllable; but in every other fituation they are called vowels. A diphthong is the union of two vowels, pronounced by a fingle impulfe of the voice; as, ea in beat, ou in found, A proper diphthong is that in which both the vowels are founded; as, oi in voice, ou in ounce. An improper diphthong has but one of the yowels founded; as, ea in eagle, oa in boat.] SYLLABLES. [A fyllable is a found either fimple or compounded, pronounced by a fingle impulfe of the voice, and conftituting a word, or part of a word; as, man, man-ful.] WORDS. Words are articulate founds, ufed, by common confent, as figns of our ideas. All words are either primitive or derivative. Primitive words cannot be reduced to any fimpler words in the language; as, man, good, content. Derivative words may be reduced to other words in English of greater fimplicity; as, man ful, goodness, contentment, ETYMOLOGY. Etymology treats of the different forts of words, their derivation, and their various modifications. There are in English nine sorts of words, called PARTS OF SPEECH; namely, the ARTICLE, the SUBSTANTIVE or NOUN, the PRONOUN, the ADJECTIVE, the VERB, the ADVERB, the PREPOSITION, the CONJUNCTION, and the INTERJECTION. 1. An Article is a word prefixed to fubftantives to point them out, and to fhow how far their fignification extends; as, a garden, an eagle, the woman. 2. A Subftantive or noun is the name of any thing that exifts, or of which we have any notion; as, man, virtue, London, A fubftantive may, in general, be diftinguished by its taking an article before it, or by its making fenfe of itself; as, a book, the fun, an apple; temperance, induftry, chastity. 3. A Pronoun is a word ufed instead of a noun, to avoid the too frequent repetition of the fame word; as, The man is happy; he is benevolent; he is useful. 4. An Adjective is a word added to a subftantive, to express its quality; as, an industrious man, a virtuous woman. An Adjective may be known by its making sense with the addition of the word thing; as, a good thing, a bad thing; or of any particular fubftantive; as, a feet apple, a pleafant prospect. 5. A Verb is a word which fignifies to BE, to Do, or to SUFFER; as, "I am, I rule, I am ruled," A verb may be distinguished by its making fenfe with any of the perfonal pronouns, or the word to before it ; as, I walk, he plays, they write; or, to walk, to play, to write. 6. An Adverb is a part of speech joined to a verb, an adjective, and fometimes to another adverb, to exprefs fome quality or circumstance; as, he reads well; a truly good man; he writes very correctly. An adverb may be generally known, by its answering to the question, How? How much? When? or Where? as, in the phrafe," He reads correctly," the answer to the queftion, How does he read? is, correctly. 7. Prepofitions ferve to connect words with one another, and to fhow the relation between them; as, "He went from London to York;" |