ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

Thoughts are expressed by means of words.

Spoken language consists of spoken words, and written language of written words.

The English language is the language spoken by the people of England. It is spoken also by the people of the United States and wherever else English people are found.

English Grammar treats of the principles of the English language. It teaches us how to use the

English language correctly.

Remark.-Grammar does not make language; it is simply a record of the usage of the language as found in the speech and writings of the best authors.

The divisions of Grammar are four: ORTHOGRAPHY, ETYMOLOGY, SYNTAX, and PROSODY.

Orthography treats of letters.

Etymology treats of words, their classification, derivation and properties.

Syntax treats of sentences and their structure.

Prosody treats of the laws of verse-making, or versi fication.