What is the present tense ?—the imperfect tense ?-the perfect tense ?—the pluperfect tense ?—the first-future tense ?—the second-future tense? What are the Person and Number of a verb? How many persons and numbers belong to verbs? How are the second and third persons singular formed? What is the conjugation of a verb? What are the principal parts in the conjugation of a verb? What is a verb called which wants some of these parts? What is an auxiliary verb? What verbs are used as auxiliaries? XII.-CONJUGATION. What is the simplest form of an English conjugation? What is the first example of conjugation? What are the principal parts of the verb LOVE! How many and what tenses has the infinitive mood ?—the indicative?—the potential?—the subjunctive?—the imperative? What is the compound form of active and neuter verbs? What peculiar meaning does this form convey? How are passive verbs formed? How is a verb conjugated negatively? How is a verb conjugated interrogatively and negatively? What tenses are wanting in these verbs? What verbs are called impersonal? XIII.-PARTICIPLES. What is a PARTICIPLE? and how is it generally formed? How is the perfect participle formed? How is the preperfect participle formed? How many participles has the active verb ?—the passive verb? Into what other classes may participles be separated? Which class are called gerundives? XIV.-ADVERBS AND CONJUNCTIONS. What is an ADVERB ?-What is the example? To what classes may adverbs be reduced? Which are adverbs of time?-of place?-of degree?—of manner? Have adverbs any modifications? Compare well, badly or ill, little, much, far and forth. What is a CONJUNCTION ?-How are conjunctions divided? What is a copulative conjunction?—a disjunctive conjunction ?—a corresponsive conjunction ? What are the copulative conjunctions ?--the disjunctive ?—the corresponsive? XV.-PREPOSITIONS AND INTERJECTIONS. What is a PREPOSITION ?-How are the prepositions arranged? What are the prepositions beginning with a ?-with b?-with c?-with d? -with e?-with ƒ?-with i?—with m ?—with n ?—with o?—with p ?—with r?-with 8?-with t?-with u?-with w? What is an INTERJECTION?-How are interjections arranged? What are the interjections of joy ?-of sorrow ?-of wonder?—of wishing or earnestness?—of praise ?— of surprise ?—of pain or fear?-of contempt ?— of aversion ?-of expulsion ?-of calling aloud?—of exultation ?—of laughter? --of salutation ?-of calling to attention ?-of calling to silence ?—of surprise? -of languor?-of stopping ?-of parting ?-of knowing or detecting ?-of interrogating? What is a phrase? XVI.-ANALYSIS AND PARSING. How may a phrase be used ?-What is a substantive phrase? What is an independent phrase ?—the principal part of a phrase? What is a simple phrase?-What is a complex phrase? What is a compound phrase? How are phrases classified as to their form? Of what form are attribute phrases ?-Explanatory phrases? PART III. SYNTAX. Syntax treats of the relation, agreement, government, and arrangement of words in sentences. OBS. 1.-The word syntax is derived from two Greek words-syn, meaning together, and taxis, arrangement. It is equivalent, in meaning, to synthesis or construction, which is the reverse of analysis. Syntax has reference only to those principles and rules which serve to guide us in the construction of sentences. The principles of analysis lie much deeper in the subject of grammar-are much more fundamental, than the technical considerations which form the groundwork of syntactical rules. Sentential analysis is founded upon the general laws of language; and, therefore, its principles are as applicable to one language as another; syntactical rules, on the other hand, can, as a general thing, have reference only to the particular language, the use of which they are designed to direct. In order to be skilled in syntax, or the construction of sentences, we must know how the words are related to each other in the expression of thought. For example, if the words John and book are to be joined, and we know that they are to denote that the book belongs to John, we say John's book, expressing in this way the relation of property. Again, if we are to join the words the teacher, he, and love together, to form a sentence, we must know the relations. Thus suppose the teacher is the subject of the action expressed by the verb love, and he is the object of the action; then the sentence must be, The teacher loves him, giving to the verb and pronoun their proper forms according to the relations. But suppose he is to be the subject, and the teacher the object; then the sentence would be, He loves the teacher. This, as will be seen, requires a different arrangement of the words, as well as a different inflection of the pronoun. Usually the subject is placed before the verb, and the object after it. When a word standing in a certain relation to another word is required, on that account, to undergo some inflection or modification, it is said to be governed by the other word. Thus, in the above, John, standing as the possessor of book, was changed to John's; and he, when used as the object of the verb, was required to assume the objective form, him. In the former case, John's is said to be governed by book, and him by loves. Again, it would not do to say Birds flies, because the form of the verb is singular, while the subject is plural; and the two must agree. Hence, the expression should be Birds fly. This will illustrate what is meant by agreement. Hence the following definitions. The relation of words, is their dependence, or connection, according to the sense. The agreement of words, is their similarity in person, number, gender, case, mood, tense, or form. The government of words, is that power which one word has over another, to cause it to assume some particular modification. The arrangement of words, is their collocation, or relative position, in a sentence. Rules of Syntax. The Rules of Syntax are designed to guide in the application of the principles of grammar to the construction of sentences. As given below these rules are classified and arranged according to the syntactical topics to which they respectively relate. Rules of Relation. I.-Articles relate to the nouns which they limit. II.-Adjectives relate to nouns or pronouns. III.-Adverbs relate to verbs, participles, adjectives, or other adverbs. IV.-Participles relate to nouns or pronouns, or else are governed by prepositions. V.-Prepositions show the relation of things. Rules of Agreement. VI.—A noun or a pronoun which is the subject of a finite verb, must be in the nominative case. VII.-A noun or a personal pronoun used to explain a preceding noun or pronoun, is put, by apposition, in the same case. VIII.—A finite verb must agree with its subject, or nominative, in person and number. IX.-When the nominative is a collective noun conveying the idea of plurality, the verb must agree with it in the plural number; but when it conveys the idea of unity, the verb must be singular. X.-When a verb has two or more nominatives connected by and, it must agree with them in the plural number. XI. When a verb has two or more singular nominatives connected by or or nor, it must agree with them in the singular number. XII. When verbs are connected by a conjunction, they must either agree in mood, tense, and form, or have separate nominatives expressed. XIII.-Active-intransitive, passive, and neuter verbs, and their participles, take the same case after as before them, when both words refer to the same thing. XIV.-A pronoun must agree with its antecedent, or the noun or pronoun which it represents, in person, number, and gender. XV. When the antecedent is a collective noun conveying the idea of plurality, the pronoun must agree with it in the plural number; but when it conveys the idea of unity, the pronoun must be singular. XVI.-When a pronoun has two or more antecedents connected by and, it must agree with them in the plural number. XVII.—When a pronoun has two or more singular antecedents connected by or or nor, it must agree with them in the singular number. |