Toe, of the foot as Tow, to draw along Tour, a journey Tower, a fortified place Tray, a butcher's tray Veil, a covering Vane, to shew the wind Vice, ill habit Vice, a screw Undo, to take to pieces Wade, to go in the water. Wale, the mark of a whip Whale, a sea-fish PART III. A PRACTICAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR. CHAP. I. OF GRAMMAR IN GENERAL. Q. WHAT is grammar? A. Grammar is the science of letters, or the art of writing and speaking properly and syntactically.. Q. What do you mean by English Grammar? A. The art of writing and speaking the English tongue properly and syntactically. Q. How is grammar divided? A. Grammar is divided into four parts; orthography, prosody, analogy, and syntax. OF ORTHOGRAPHY. Q. What is Orthography? A. Orthography teacheth the true characters and powers the letters, and the proper division of syllables, words and sentences. A. A letter is a significant mark or note, of which syllables are compounded. Q. How many English letters are there? A. Six and Twenty. Q. Which are they? A. They are these following, with their powers and names. Their names, and powers or sounds. A long (a) as in cape: short (a) as in cap: broad (a) as in hall Bee Letters. A or a B C C Cee E e PR Dee E long (e) as in mete: short (ě) as in met* *Note. When e is not sounded at the end of a word, it is called final: which sometimes serves to lengthen the sound of the foregoing vowel; as in save; and sometimes is redundant, as in give. Letters. i m Em u X X Y y Z En O long (6) as in note: short (2) as in not q Cu W Vee Yu long (u) as in tune: short (u) as in tun. Eks : Wi long (y) as in my short (y) as in Egypt. Q. Do these letters always keep their own natural sound? A. No. Q. What letters are those which do not always keep their own natural sound? A. They are b, c, e, f, g, i, l, o, s, t, u, x, y, and the double letters, ch, gh, and ph. Q. Give me an example of each? A. 1. Bis sounded like t in subtil. 2. C before a, o. u, l, and r, is always sounded like k; as in cat, card, cup, cloth, cramp: but before e, i, and y, is always sounded like s; as in cellar, civil, cypress; it is also sounded like s in muscle: and in words derived from the French, having h after it, as in machine. 3. E is sounded like a in there, where; and like u in her. 4. F is sounded like v, in of. 5. G before e and i in some words, and almost always before y, is sounded likej; as in gentleman, giant, Egyptian. 6. I in words derived from the French, sounds like ee; as in machine: it also sounds like u; as in bird, third, &c. 7. L is sounded like m in salmon. 8. O is sounded like a in alloy: like e in women; and like u in worm. 9. Sis frequently sounded like s, as in present, presume 10. T is sounded like s in whistle, thistle. Ti before a vowel is sounded like si or sh; as in nation; except when s goes immediately before it; as celestial: or at the beginning of a word, as tied, or in derivatives; as mightier, mightiest, emptied. 11. U is sounded like ě in bury; and like i in business. 12. X hath no sound of its own; but at the beginning of a word is always sounded like z; as in Xenophon: and in the middle and end of words, like ks; as in wax, Xerxes. 13. Y at the end of monosyllables is sounded like i; as in by, my; but in the middle of words of more than one syllable, it is sounded ; as in Egypt: and at the end of words of more than one syllable, it usually sounds like e; as in many. 14. Ch is sounded like qu, as in choir, chorister. 15. Gh sometimes at the end of a word, and always ph when they come together in the same syllable, sound like f; as in laugh, elephant; except when ph sounds like v, as in Stephen. Q. Where are the capital letters to be used, and where the small letters. A. The capitals are to be used in front of sentences, and in the beginning of verses; of all proper names of persons, places, rivers, &c. of arts and sciences; of dignities, festivals and games; and of all words put for proper names, or that have any great emphasis in a sentence; also after a full stop, and at the beginning of a quotation, though it be not immediately after a full stop: likewise whole words, and sometimes sentences are written in capitals, and then something is expressed extraordinary great. They are sometimes used in the title of books, for ornament sake: and always the pronoun I, and the interjection O, are written in capitals, and in all other places the small letters must be used. Q. When capital letters are placed single in a sentence, what do they stand for? A. Sometimes they stand for whole Words; as B. A. Bachelor of Arts; B. D. Batchelor of Divinity; D. D. Doctor in Divinity, or the like; as you may find more at large at the end of this third part; or else they stand for numbers, and are called numeral letters: thus, I. One 11. Two 111. Three IV. or IIII. Four V. Five VI. Six VII. Seven X. Ten XI. Eleven XII. Twelve XIV. Fourteen XV. Fifteen XVI. Sixteen XCIII. Ninety-three. C. An hundred XVII. Seventeen CC. Two hundred XVIII. Eighteen CCC. Three hundred XIX. Nineteen CCCC. Four hundred Q. How are the letters naturally divided? A. Into vowels and consonants. Q. What is a vowel? A. A vowel is a letter which gives a full and perfect sound of itself, and without which there can be no syllable. Q. How many vowels are there in English? A. There are six; a, e, i, o, u, and y, when it follows a consonant, Q. What is a consonant? A. A consonant is a letter, that cannot be sounded without a vowel as b without e: therefore all letters except the Vowels are consonants. OF SYLLABLES. ́ Q. What is a syllable? A. A syllable is either one letter, as a; or more than one as a man. Of spelling or division of syllables. Q. How do you divide your syllables? A. By taking words asunder into convenient parts, in order to shew their true pronunciation, and original formation, which is commonly called spelling, Q. In how many rules may the doctrine of spelling be contained? A. All spelling, or division of syllables, may be compre. hended in seven general rules. RULE I. Q. What is the first general rule for division of syllables? A. A consonant between two vowels, goes to the latter syllable: as ba-nish. Q. What is the first exception to this rule? A. These consonants w and x, go to the former syllable; as, flow-er, ex-ile. H |