cure, curable; sense, sensible, &c.: but if c or g soft comes before e in the original word, the e is then preserved in words compounded with able; as change, changeable; peace, peaceable, &c.

RULE X.

When ing or ish is added to words ending with silent e, the e is almost universally omitted; as, place, placing; lodge, lodging; slave, slavish; prude, prudish.

RULE XI.

Words taken into composition, often drop those letters which were superfluous in their simples; as handful, dunghil, withal, also, chilblain, foretel.

The orthography of a great number of English words, is far from being uniform, even amongst writers of distinction. Thus, honour and honor, inquire and enquire, negotiate and negociate, control and controul, expense and expence, allege and alledge, surprise and surprize, abridgment and abridgement, and many other orthographical variations, are to be met with in the best modern publications. Some authority for deciding differences of this nature, appears to be necessary: and where can we find one of equal pretensions with Dr. Johnson's Dictionary? though a few of his decisions do not appear to be warranted by the principles of etymology and analogy, the stable foundations of his improvements. "As the weight of truth and reason (says Nares in his "Elements of Orthoepy") is irresistible, Dr. Johnson's Dictionary has nearly fixed the external form of our language. Indeed, so convenient is it to have one acknowledged standard to recur to; so much preferable, in matters of this nature, is a trifling degree of irregularity, to a continual change, and fruitless pursuit of unattainable perfection; that it is earnestly to be hoped, that no author will henceforth, on slight grounds, be tempted to innovate.”

PART II.

ETYMOLOGY.

CHAPTER 1

A GENERAL VIEW of the PARTS of SPEECH.

THE second part of grammar is ETYMOLOGY: which treats of the different sorts of words, their various modifications, and their derivation.

There are, in English, nine sorts of words, or, as they are commonly 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 substantives, to point them out, and to show how far their signification extends: as, a garden, an eagle, the

woman.

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

A substantive may, in general, be distinguished by its taking an article before it, or by its making sense of itself; as, a book, the sun, an apple; temperance, industry, chastity.

3. 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."

4. An Adjective is a word added to a substantive 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 substantive; as a sweet apple, a pleasant prospect.

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

A Verb may 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 it: 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 ber, to them, &c.

8. A Conjunction is a part of speech that is chiefly used to connect or join together sentences; so as, out of two, to make one sentence: 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 !"

The observations which have been made, to aid learners. in distinguishing the parts of speech from one another, may afford them some small assistance; but it will certainly be much more instructive, to distinguish them by the definitions, and an accurate knowledge of their nature.

In the following passage, all the parts of speech are exemplified:

The power of speech is a faculty peculiar to man; 8 5 7 3 7 3

5

4

2

7

and was bestowed on him by his beneficent Creator, for

4 8

6

4.

2

8 9

6 6.

1 the greatest and most excellent uses; but alas! how often 5 3 7 1 4 7

5 3

2

do we pervert it to the worst of purposes.

In the foregoing sentence, the words the, a, are articles; power, speech, faculty, man, Creator, uses, purposes, are substantives; him, his, we, it, are pronouns; peculiar, beneficent, greatest, excellent, worst, are adjectives; is, was, bestowed, do, pervert, are verbs; most, how, often, are adverbs; of, to, on, by, for, are prepositions; and, but, are conjunctions; and alas is an interjection.

The number of the different sorts of words, or of the parts of speech, has been variously reckoned by different grammarians. Some have enumerated ten, making the participle a distinct part; some eight, excluding the participle, and ranking the adjective under the noun; some four, and others only two, (the noun and the verb,). supposing the

rest to be contained in the parts of their division. We have followed those authors, who appear to have given them the most natural and intelligible distribution. Some remarks on the division made by the learned Horne Tooke, are contained in the first section of the eleventh chapter of etymology.

The interjection, indeed, seems scarcely worthy of being considered as a part of artificial language or speech, being rather a branch of that natural language, which we possess in common with the brute creation, and by which we express the sudden emotions and passions that actuate our frame. But, as it is used in written as well as oral language, it may, in some measure, be deemed a part of speech. It is with us, a virtual sentence, in which the noun and verb, are concealed under an imperfect or indigested word..

CHAPTER I.

Of the ARTICLES..

AN Article is a word prefixed to substantives, to point them out, and to show how far their signification extends; as, a garden, an eagle, the woman.

In English, there are but two articles, a and the: a becomes anbefore a vowel,* and before a silenth; as, an acorn, an hour. But if the b be sounded, the a only is to be used; as, a hand, a heart, a highway.

The inattention of writers and printers to this necessary distinction, has occasioned the frequent use of an before h, when it is to be pronounced; and this circumstance, more than any other, has probably contributed to that indistinct utterance, or total omission, of the sound signified by this letter, which very often occurs amongst readers and speakers.

A instead of an is now used before words beginning with u long. See page 29, letter U.. It is also used before one; as, many a one.