EXAMPLES FOR PARSING.

PRAXIS II. ETYMOLOGICAL.

In the Second Praxis, it is required of the pupil-to distinguish and define the different parts of speech, and the classes and modifications of the articles and nouns.

The definitions to be given in the Second Praxis, are two for an article, six for a noun-and one for an adjective, a pronour, a verb, a participle, an adverb, a conjunction, a preposition, or an interjection. Thus :

EXAMPLE PARSED.

"James is a lad of uncommon talents."

James is a proper noun, of the third person, singular number, masculine gender, and nominative case.

1. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned.

2. A proper noun is the name of some particular individual, or people, or group.

3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of.

4. The singular number is that which denotes but one.

5. The masculine gender is that which denotes persons or animals of the male kind.

6. The nominative case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which usually denotes the subject of a finite verb.

Is is a verb.

1. A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon. A is the indefinite article,

1. An article is the word the, an, or a, which we put before nouns, to limit their signification.

2. The indefinite article is an or a, which denotes one thing of a kind, but not any particular one.

Lad is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, masculine gender, and nominative case.

1. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be

known or mentioned.

2. A common noun is the name of a sort, kind, or class, of beings or things.

3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of.

4. The singular number is that which denotes but one.

5. The masculine gender is that which denotes persons or animals of the male kind.

6. The nominative case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which usually denotes the subject of a finite verb.

Of is a preposition.

1. A preposition is a word used to express some relation of different things or thoughts to each other, and is generally placed before a noun or a pronoun.

Uncommon is an adjective.

Talents is a common noun, of the third person, plural number, neuter gen

der, and objective case.

1. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned.

2. A common noun is the name of a sort, kind, or class, of beings or things.

3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of.

4. The plural number is that which denotes more than one.

5. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female.

6. The objective case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which usually denotes the object of a verb, participle, or preposition.

LESSON I.

Science strengthens and enlarges the mind.-Murray. A large ship, traversing the ocean by the force of the wind, is a noble proof of the power and ingenuity of man.

When spring returns, the trees resume their verdure, and the plants and flowers display their beauty.

I John saw these things and heard them.-Bible.

And the king spake and said to Daniel, 'O Daniel! servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?'-Ib.

LESSON II.

And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed and reverenced Haman; but Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.-. -Bible.

Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house.-Ib.

A mother's tenderness and a father's care are nature's gifts for man's advantage.—Murray.

Then shall man's pride and dulness comprehend
His actions', passions', being's use and end.-Pope.

CHAPTER IV.-OF ADJECTIVES.

An Adjective is a word added to a noun or pronoun, and generally expresses quality: as, A wise man; a new book. You two are diligent.

CLASSES.

Adjectives may be divided into six classes; namely, common, proper, numeral, pronominal, participial, and compound.

I. A common adjective is any ordinary epithet, or adjective denoting quality or situation; as, Good, bad, peaceful, warlike-eastern, western, outer, inner.

II. A proper adjective is one that is formed from a proper name; as, American, English, Platonic.

III. A numeral adjective is one that expresses a definite number; as, One, two, three, four, five, six, &c.

IV. A pronominal adjective is a definitive word which may either accompany its noun, or represent it understood; as, “All join to guard what each desires to gain." -Pope. That is, All men join to guard what each man desires to gain.

V. A participial adjective is one that has the form of a participle, but differs from it by rejecting the idea of time; as, An amusing story.

VI. A compound adjective, is one that consists of two or more words joined together; as, Nut-brown, laughterloving, four-footed.

OBS. 1.-Numeral adjectives are of three kinds: namely,

1. Cardinal; as, One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, &c.

2. Ordinal; as, First, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, &c.

3. Multiplicative; as, Single or alone, double or twofold, triple or threefold, quadruple or fourfold, quintuple or fivefold, sextuplé or sixfold, septuple or sevenfold, octuple or eightfold, &c.

OBS. 2.-Compound adjectives, being formed at pleasure, are very numerous and various. Many of them embrace numerals, and run on in a series; as, one-leaved, two-leaved, three-leaved, four-leaved, &c.

MODIFICATIONS.

Adjectives have, commonly, no modifications but the forms of comparison.

Comparison is a variation of the adjective to express quality in different degrees; as, hard, harder, hardest. There are three degrees of comparison; the positive, the comparative, and the superlative.

The positive degree is that which is expressed by the adjective in its simple form; as, hard, soft, good.

The comparative degree is that which exceeds the itive; as, harder, softer, better.

pos

The superlative degree is that which is not exceeded; as, hardest, softest, best.

Those adjectives whose signification does not admit of

different degrees, cannot be compared; as, two, second, all, total, immortal, infinite.

Those adjectives which may be varied in sense, but not in form, are compared by means of adverbs; as, skillful, more skillful, most skillful-skillful, less skillful, least skillful.

REGULAR COMPARISON.

Adjectives are regularly compared, when the comparative degree is expressed by adding er, and the superlative, by adding est to them; as,

The regular method of comparison is chiefly applicable to monosyllables, and to dissyllables ending in y or mute e.

COMPARISON BY ADVERBS.

The different degrees of a quality may also be expressed, with precisely the same import, by prefixing to the adjective the adverbs more and most: as, wise, more wise, most wise; famous, more famous, most famous; amiable, more amiable, most amiable.

by

The degrees of diminution are expressed, in like manner, the adverbs less and least: as, wise, less wise, least wise; famous, less famous, least famous; amiable, less amiable, least amiable.

OBS. 1.-Adjectives of more than one syllable, except dissyllables ending in y or mute e, rarely admit a change of termination, but are rather compared by means of the adverbs: thus we say, virtuous, more virtuous, most virtuous; but not virtuous, virtuouser, virtuousest.

OBS. 2.-The prefixing of an adverb can hardly be called a variation of the adjective; the words may with more propriety be parsed separately, the degree being ascribed to the adverb or, if you please, to both words; for both are varied in sense by the inflection of the former.

OBS. 3.-The degrees in which qualities may exist in nature, are infinitely various; but the only degrees with which the grammarian is concerned, are those which our variation of the adjective or adverb enables us to express. Whenever the adjective itself denotes these degrees, they properly belong to it; as, worthy, worthier, worthiest. If an adverb is employed for this purpose, that also is compared, and the two degrees formed are properly its own; as, worthy, more worthy, most worthy. But these same degrees may be otherwise expressed; as, worthy, in a higher degree worthy, in the highest degree worthy. Here also the adjective worthy is virtually compared as before; but only the adjective high is grammatically modified. Many grammarians have erroneously parsed the adverbs more and most, less and least, as parts of the adjective.

*See Rules for Spelling III. and VI.

IRREGULAR COMPARISON.

The following adjectives are compared irregularly good, better, best; bad or ill, worse, worst; little, less, least; much, more, most; many, more, most.

OBS. 1.-In English, and also in Latin, most adjectives that denote place or situation, not only form the superlative irregularly, but are also either redundant or defective in comparison. Thus :

I. The following nine have more than one superlative: far, further, farthest, furmost or farthermost; near, nearer, nearest or next; fore, former, foremost or first; hind, hinder, hindmost or hindermost; in, inner, inmost or innermost; out, outer or utter, outmost or utmost, outermost or uttermost; up, upper, upmost or uppermost; low, lower, lowest or lowermost; late, later, or latter, latest or last.

II. The following five want the positive: [aft, adv.,] after, aftmost, or aftermost; [forth, adv.,] further, furthest or furthermost; hither, hithermost; nether, nethermost; under, undermost.

III. The following want the comparative: front, frontmost; rear, rearmost; head, headmost; end, endmost; top, topmost; bottom, bottommost; mid or middle, midst, midmost or middlemost; north, northmost; south, southmost; northern, northernmost; southern, southernmost; eastern, easternmost; western, westernmost.

OBS. 2.-Many of these irregular adjectives are also in common use, as nouns, adverbs, or prepositions; the sense in which they are employed will show to what class they belong.

OBS. 3.-The words fore and hind, front and rear, head and end, right and left, in and out, high and low, top and bottom, up and down, upper and under, mid and after, are often joined in composition with other words; and some of them, when used as adjectives of place, are rarely separated from their nouns; as, in-land, mid-sea, after-ages, &c.

OBS. 4.-It may be remarked of the comparatives, former and latter or hinder, upper and under or nether, inner and outer or utter, after and hither; as well as of the Latin superior and inferior, anterior and posterior, interior and exterior, prior and ulterior, senior and junior, major and minor; that they cannot, like other comparatives, be construed with the conjunction than, introdcuing the latter term of comparison; for we never say, one thing is former, superior, &c., THAN an other.

OBS. 5.-Common adjectives, or epithets denoting quality, are more numerous than all the other classes put together. Many of these, and a few that are pronominal, may be varied by comparison; and some participial adjectives may be compared by means of the adverbs. But adjectives formed from proper names, all the numerals, and most of the compounds, are in no way susceptible of comparison.

OBS. 6.-Nouns are often used as adjectives; as, An iron bar-An evening school-A mahogany chair-A South-Sea dream. These also are incapable of comparison.

OBS. 7.-The numerals are often used as nouns; and, as such, are regularly declined; as, Such a one-One's own self-The little ones-By tens-For twenty's sake-By fifties-Two millions.

OBS. 8.-Comparatives, and the word other, are sometimes also employed as nouns, and have the regular declension; as, Our superiors-His bettersThe elder's advice-An* other's wo-Let others do as they will. But, as adjectives, these words are invariable.

OBS. 9.-Pronominal adjectives, when their nouns are expressed, simply relate to them, and have no modifications: except this and that, which form

*There seems to be no good reason for joining an and other. An here excludes any other article; and analogy and consistency require that the words be separated. Their union has led sometimes to an improper repetition of the article; as, 'Another such a man,'-for, An other such man.'