4. A Pronoun is a word used instead of a noun, to avoid the too frequent repetition of the same word; as, "The man is happy; he is benevolent; he is useful."

5. A Verb is a word which signifies to BE, to DO, or to SUFFER; as, I am, I rule, I am ruled."

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A Verb may generally be distinguished by its making sense with any of the personal 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 sometimes to another adverb, to express some quality or circumstance respecting it; 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 phrase He reads correctly," the answer to the question, How does he read? is, correctly.

7. Prepositions serve to connect words with one another, and to show the relation between them; as, "He went from London to York;"" she is above disguise;" "they are supported by industry."

A preposition may be known by its admitting after it a personal pronoun in the objective case; as, with, for, to, &c. will allow the objective case after them; with him, for her, to them, &c.

8. A Conjunction is a part of speech that is chiefly used to connect sentences; so as, out of two or more sentences, to make but one; it sometimes connects only words; as, "Thou and he are happy, because you are good.” " "Two and three are five." 9. Interjections are words thrown in between the parts of a sentence, to express the passions or emotions of the speaker; as, "O virtue! how amiable

thou art!"

ARTICLE.

An Article is a word prefixed to substantives, to point them out, and to show how far their signifi

cation extends; as, a garden, an eagle, the woman In English there are but two articles, a and the: a becomes an before a vowel, and before a silent h; as, an acorn, an hour. But if the h be sounded, the a only is to be used; as, a hand, a heart, a high

way.

A or an is styled the indefinite article: it is used in a vague sense to point out one single thing of the kind, in other respects, determinate or indeterminate; as, * "Solomon built a temple in Jerusalem." "The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden." "Give me a book;" "Bring me an apple."

The is called the definite article; because it ascertains what particular thing or things are meant; as, "Give me the book;" "Bring me the apples;" meaning some book, or apples, referred to.

A substantive, without any article to limit it, is generally taken in its widest sense; as, "A candid temper is proper for man;" that is, for all mankind.

SUBSTANTIVE.

A Substantive or noun is the name of any thing that exists, or of which we have any notion; as, London, man, virtue.

Substantives are either proper. or common.

Proper names or substantives, are the names appropriated to individuals; as, George, London, Thames.

*The definitive an or a, being merely one, in its English or thography, and precisely synonymous with it, limits a common name to an individual of the species. Its sole use is to express unity, and with respect to number, it is the most definite word imaginable; as, an ounce, a church, a ship, that is, one ounce, one ship, one church. It is used before a name which is indefinite, or applicable to any one of a species; as,

"He bore him in the thickest troop,

As doth a lion in a herd of neat.'

Here a limits the sense of the word lion, and that of herd to one; but does not specify the particular one;-" As any lion does, or would do in any herd." Borrowed.

Common names or substantives, stand for kinds containing many sorts, or for sorts containing many individuals under them; as, animal, man, tree, &c.

When proper names have an article annexed to them, they are used as common names; as, He is the Cicero of his age; he is

reading the lives of the Twelve Casars."

Common names may also be used to signify individuals, by the addition of articles or pronouns; as, "The boy is studious; that girl is discreet."

Nouns may also be divided into the following classes: Collective nouns, or nouns of multitude; as, "the people, the parliament, the army."

Abstract nouns, or the names of qualities abstracted from their substances; as, "knowledge, goodness, whiteness:" Verbal or participial nouns; as, beginning, reading, writing."

To substantives belong gender, number, and case; and they are all of the third person, when spoken of, and of the second, when spoken to; as,“ Blessings attend us on every side: Be grateful, children of men!" that is, "ye children of men.”*

GENDER.

Gender is the distinction of nouns, with regard to sex. There are three genders, the Masculine, the Feminine, and the Neuter.

The masculine gender denotes animals of the male kind; as, a man, a horse, a bull.

The feminine gender signifies animals of the female kind; as, a woman, a duck, a hen.

The neuter gender denotes objects which are neither males nor females; as, a field, a house, a garden.

* As soon as the learner has committed to memory the definitions of the article and substantive, he should be employed in parsing these parts of speech, as they are arranged in the correspondent Exercises, in the Appendix. The learner should proceed in this manner, through all the definitions and rules, regularly turning to, and parsing, the exercises of one definition or rule, before he proceeds to another. In the same order, he should be taught to correct the erroneous examples in the Exercises. For further directions, respecting the mode of using the Exercises, see "English Exercises," "Boston Improved Stereotype Edition," page,7...9.

Some substantives naturally neuter, are, by a Figure of Speech,* converted into the masculine or feminine gender; as, when we say of the sun, he is setting, and of a ship, she sails well, &c.

The English language has three methods of distinguishing the sex, viz.

1. By different words; as,

This Figure of Speech is called Personification or Prosopopeia, and is that figure by which we attribute life and action to inanimate objects.

Editor.

3. By a noun, pronoun, or adjective, being prefixed to the substantive; as,

Number is the consideration of an object, as one

or more.

Substantives are of two numbers, the singular and the plural.

The singular number expresses but one object; as, a chair, a table.

The plural number signifies more objects than one; as, chairs, tables.

Some nouns, from the nature of the things which they express, are used only in the singular form; as, wheat, pitch, gold, sloth, pride, &c. others, only in the plural form; as, bellows, scissors, ashes, lungs, riches, &c.

Some words are the same in both numbers; as, deer, sheep, swine, &c.

The plural number of nouns is generally formed by adding s to the singular; as, dove, doves; face, faces; thought, thoughts. But when the substantive singular ends in x, ch, sh, or ss, we add es in the plural; as, box, boxes; church, churches; lash, lashes; kiss, kisses.

Nouns ending in ƒ or fe, are generally rendered