originally 'all, John having been excepted.' Save, as a pre exhibits the same absolute construction: the word is here an a equivalent to safe. So, ‘all, save one' was ‘all, one being safe.” 201. The beginner will find little difficulty in distinguishing between the functions of the same word as Preposition and as Adverb, if he remembers that a Preposition is used with a noun or its substitute and governs it: where there is no noun thus governed, the word in question is not a preposition. A few examples will make this clear: the following words are used as Prepositions He is on the roof. He is gone down the town. QUESTIONS. Adverbs Put it on. He is gone down. Go along. I. Give the definition and derivation of (a) pronoun, (b) preposition. Shew how your answers apply to the words printed in italics in the following: "To be, or not to be,—that is the question.' "They had nothing to amuse themselves with.' ['Pronoun' from Latin, pro, 'for,' nomen, 'name'. 'Preposition' from prae, 'in front', positus, 'placed', not because prepositions are usually placed before nouns, for they often come after them, but because in Greek and Latin they were prefixed to verbs to form compounds. The derivation of the name is only a source of embarrassment to beginners, as it suggests order in a sentence, with which it has nothing to do. Remember that the infinitive is equivalent to a noun. can we substitute for 'to be,' 'not to be '?] What nouns 2. Specify the notions expressed by the preposition on in the following examples of its use:— -'It rests on the earth'-'Weston is on the sea''He lectures on medicine'-'We returned on Saturday'-'The dew descended on the parched earth'-'He made an attack on the enemy'— 'He started on receiving the telegram'-'He gave up business on account of his health.' [See Bain's Higher English Grammar, pp. 90-1.] 3. Construct sentences illustrating some of the principal uses of for and of. 4. In the following quotations from Shakespeare substitute prepositions in accordance with modern idiom1: 'Have we eaten on the insane root?' 'From out the fiery portal of the East.' 'I stay here on my bond.' 'The lady Beatrice hath a quarrel to you.' 5. Express with the aid of a preposition the idea represented by the first part of these compound nouns :-gravy-spoon, steam-ship, warship, land-breeze, sea-captain, Convalescent-Home, ground-swell, playground, life-preserver, wheel-barrow. 6. What idea was originally represented by prepositions in English? [Relations in space. These purely local meanings were then extended to express relations of time and of cause. So, of and off were once the same word; by meant 'close to'; for meant 'before.' See Mason's English Grammar, pp. 116—9.] 7. In the following phrases, is the use of the preposition inconsistent with its definition?—(a) in short, after all, at last, for better, for worse: (b) till now, for ever, since then, from here. [In (a) the preposition is joined to adjectives which are used without the noun which they limit. In (b) the preposition is joined to adverbs employed as nouns: now is equivalent to 'the present time,' ever, to 'all time.' When these words are parsed, the adjectives should be described as adjectives used for nouns, or as adjectives with the ellipsis of nouns, and the adverbs as adverbs used for nouns.] 8. Write down the prepositions in the following lines and make short sentences to illustrate different uses of each : 'As when upon a tranced summer night, Those green-robed senators of mighty woods, 1 Selected from Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar. 9. Paraphrase the meanings of the prepositions in (a) 'Have it ready by to-morrow.' (b) 'I shall do my duty by him.' (c) 'It lies south by west.' (d) 'He married for love.' (e) 'For all his efforts, he remained poor.' (f) The soldiers were under arms: at the word of command they stood at attention.' IO. Give four examples to show that the meaning of a verb may be differently modified by a preposition or an adverb according as the preposition or adverb is attached to the verb as a prefix or written after it. [As, e.g. understand and stand under.] II. Interpret the following pairs of sentences and comment on the idiomatic use of but which they exemplify: I. (a) "This specimen is all but perfect.' 2. (b) 'This specimen is anything but perfect.' (c) 'I can but feel sorry.' (d) I cannot but feel sorry.' From its literal [The idiomatic uses of but are full of difficulty. sense 'outside of' (by-out) the preposition but came to mean 'without,' 'except.' In the first pair of sentences substitute except for but. We can understand how the phrases all but and anything but arose, but it is curious that their meanings should be diametrically opposite. See Abbott's How to Parse, p. 259. In the second pair of sentences the presence or absence of the not leaves the meaning unaffected. In (c) we may substitute only for but, and in (d) we may supply an ellipsis: 'I cannot do anything but (i.e. except) feel sorry.' See Mason's English Grammar, § 538, where however it is maintained that in (c) a negative is improperly omitted.] 192 CHAPTER XX. CONJUNCTIONS AND INTERJECTIONS. 202. A Conjunction is a word, other than a relative pronoun or conjunctive adverb, which joins words and sentences. All conjunctions can join sentences together, but all words which join sentences are not conjunctions. "This is the man who stole the money' contains two clauses, "This is the man: (he) stole the money'; the two clauses are united by the relative pronoun who and form one complex sentence. The reader will remember that the distinguishing mark of a relative pronoun is this, that it has the force of a conjunction. But it is not itself a conjunction. Again, 'I know where he lives' contains two clauses, 'I know (the fact): he lives there'; the two clauses are united by the conjunctive adverb where and form one complex sentence. 203. What do Conjunctions join,-Sentences, or Words, or both ? Conjunctions usually connect sentences even when they appear to connect only words. 'John and Mary are good players' is an elliptical or abbreviated way of saying 'John is a good player,' 'Mary is a good player.' But in some cases and connects words only, and there is no contraction or abridgement of two separate sentences. 'John and Mary are a handsome couple' cannot be resolved into 'John is a handsome couple,' 'Mary is a handsome couple.' 'Two and two make four' is not a compact way of saying 'Two makes four,' 'Two makes four.' With the exception however of the occasional use of and to join words, conjunctions join sentences. Thus 'He was poor but honest' contains two statements; 'He was poor: he was honest.' 'He is neither a knave nor a fool' means 'He is not a knave: he is not a fool.' 'He is either a knave or a fool' means 'He is either a knave, or he is a fool.' 204 Conjunctions are classified as (1) Coordinating and (2) Subordinating. (1) Co-ordinating Conjunctions join co-ordinate or independent clauses: e.g. and, but, either...or, neither... nor. (2) Subordinating Conjunctions join a dependent clause to the principal clause: e.g. that, after, till, because, though, if. 205. The reader must now prepare himself to grapple with a part of the subject which will present greater difficulties and call for the exercise of more intelligence than any of the problems which he has hitherto encountered in the study of grammar. Before going further, we must explain the meaning of the terms co-ordinate, dependent, clause, which have been introduced into the definitions of conjunctions and classes of conjunctions. The discussion of these words belongs indeed to syntax rather than to etymology. But we have reached the threshold of syntax and may cross the threshold without straying far beyond the strict limits of our present subject; for it is only by saying now some of the things which would more properly be said in the concluding chapters of the book, that we can hope to make the treatment of conjunctions intelligible. A Sentence is a collection of words by which we say something about a thing. The word which stands for the 13 W. E. G. |