Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/9

 in the arrangement of the subject-matter, which may at first sight strike the reader as somewhat peculiar. As instances of this, may be mentioned the explanation in para. 68 of the pronunciation of the first consonant, after the explanation of several letters which precede it in the alphabet—the insertion of syntax in Chapter VI—the reservation of information to the supplementary Chapter XI, etc.

Though, in some instances, it might have been advisable somewhat to alter the terms used, e.g. the word stem in many places for the word root, etc., yet to prevent any confusion, the author has thought it best to retain those terms which have been already adopted in his own Telugu Grammar, and in the Tamil works of Dr. Pope.

The examples given have been chiefly selected from the textbooks prescribed for the I.C.S. examinations.

The first chapter, on the alphabet and orthography, may perhaps seem to be somewhat long, and to be written in a style, which strictly speaking, may not be quite suited to the pages of a Grammar. But after some years of experience in teaching Tamil, the author has found that, owing to the peculiarities of the Tamil language, the system here adopted is at once the easiest and the shortest. He therefore does not hesitate to insert it. It enables the student, with the indispensable assistance of a qualified teacher, to acquire the power to read and to pronounce Tamil correctly, which is the first great and essential step in mastering the language.

Much time and labour have been spent upon the verbs and the rules for the formation of their tenses. All the verbs in Winslow's Dictionary have been collected and arranged under rules; and thus a regular classification has been made, which, when once mastered, will give the student a clear and comprehensive view of the subject.