INTRODUCTION EVERY English-speaking person should know the general terms and the leading facts of English grammar. I. WORDS The Parts of Speech. A child who is beginning to talk - does not say "I want my mamma; "I like to hear that dog bark; ""The monkey-man has come with his organ." He merely says "mamma," "bow-wow," "monkey-man." The single word he uses calls attention to the person or thing that he is thinking of, but it does not express a complete thought. To say anything definite which is not a command or an entreaty, two words, at least, are needed. When I say "Hero barks," I mean that what barks is called "Hero," and that what "Hero" does is to "bark." Hens cackle. Chanticleer crows. We see at a glance that the first word in each of these examples differs in kind from the second word. The first names something; the second asserts something about the thing named. Words which name things are called Nouns ; words which assert or declare something about the things named are called VERBS. Instead of saying "Hero barks; Hero howls," I may say "Hero barks; he howls." By using "he" instead of "Hero," I avoid repetition and save space. Hens cackle; they roost. Snow fell; it drifted. Chanticleer crows; he flaps his wings. Truth prevails; it triumphs. In these examples, the words in italics stand in place of nouns. Words which stand in place of nouns are called PRONOUNS. If I say "A dog is barking," I speak of any dog that happens to be barking. If I say "The dog is barking," I speak of some particular dog. A hen lays eggs. The snow is falling. Chanticleer is an upstart In these examples, a or an speaks of any one of a class; the points to some particular one or to a particular group or class. "A" or "an" is called the INDEFINITE ARTICLE: "the," the DEFINITE ARTICLE. When I "The black dog is barking," I say to indicate a peculiarity of the distinguishes him from dogs not These hens lay white eggs. "black use dog, a quality which Chanticleer is a bold upstart. In these examples, the words in italics, except these, tell what kind of "eggs," "snow," "upstart," "truth," is spoken of. These limits "hens" to the particular hens spoken of. Words added to nouns in order to describe them or to limit their meaning are called ADJECTIVES. When I say "The black dog barks furiously," I use 'furiously" to tell how the dog barks. Hens lay daily. Perfectly white snow is falling. Chanticleer crows very boldly. In these examples, the words in italics qualify or limit the words with which they are joined in sense. Words added to verbs, to adjectives, to other words of the same kind as themselves, or to groups of words, to qualify or limit their meaning, are called ADVerbs. When I say "The black dog barks furiously at stran gers," I use "at" to show the connection between "barks and "strangers." Hens lay daily in spring. Snow is falling through the air. Chanticleer crows with ardor. In each of these examples, the word in italics shows the connection between some word or words that precede and a noun or pronoun that follows. Words so used to connect other words are called PREPOSITIONS. Among the more common prepositions are: Across, after, against, amid or amidst, among or amongst, at, before, behind, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond, but, by, concerning, during, except, excepting, for, from, in, into, inside, notwithstanding, of, off, on or upon, outside, over, past, respecting, round or around, since, through, throughout, till or until, to, towards, under, with, within, without. Sometimes two or more words together are used as a preposition. Such prepositions are: According to, as for, as to, because of, by dint of, by the side of, by way of, for the sake of, in front of, in respect to, in spite of, on account of, on this side, on that side, out of. When I say "The dog barks and howls," I use "and" to connect the verbs "barks" and "howls." Hens cackle because they are frightened. Snow fell though it was very cold. Chanticleer crows but does not flap his wings. Truth is to be spoken at all times and in all places. In these examples, the words in italics connect words or groups of words. Words so used to connect words or groups of words are called CONJUNCTIONS. |