Page:The grammar of English grammars.djvu/1021



UNDER CRITICAL NOTE IV.--OF COMPARISONS.

"Our language abounds more in vowel and diphthong sounds, than most other tongues." Or: "We abound more in vowel and diphthongal sounds, than most nations."--Dr. Blair cor. "A line thus accented has a more spirited air, than one which takes the accent on any other syllable."--Kames cor. "Homer introduces his deities with no greater ceremony, that [what] he uses towards mortals; and Virgil has still less moderation than he."--Id. "Which the more refined taste of later writers, whose genius was far inferior to theirs, would have taught them to avoid."--Dr. Blair cor. "As a poetical composition, however, the Book of Job is not only equal to any other of the sacred writings, but is superior to them all, except those of Isaiah alone."--Id. "On the whole, Paradise Lost is a poem which abounds with beauties of every kind, and which justly entitles its author to be equalled in fame with any poet."--Id. "Most of the French writers compose in short sentences; though their style, in general, is not concise; commonly less so than that of most English writers, whose sentences are much longer."--Id. "The principles of the Reformation were too deeply fixed in the prince's mind, to be easily eradicated."--Hume cor. "Whether they do not create jealousy and animosity, more than sufficient to counterbalance the benefit derived from them."--Leo Wolf cor. "The Scotch have preserved the ancient character of their music more entire, than have the inhabitants of any other country."--Gardiner cor. "When the time or quantity of one syllable exceeds that of the rest, that syllable readily receives the accent."--Rush cor. "What then can be more obviously true, than that it should be made as just as we can make it."--Dymond cor. "It was not likely that they would criminate themselves more than, they could not avoid."--Clarkson cor. "In their understandings they were the most acute people that have ever lived."--Knapp cor. "The patentees have printed it with neat types, and upon better paper than was used formerly."--John Ward cor. "In reality, its relative use is not exactly like that of any other word."--Felch cor. "Thus, in stead of having to purchase two books,--the Grammar and the Exercises,--the learner finds both in one, for a price at most not greater than that of the others."--''Alb. Argus cor. "They are not improperly regarded as pronouns, though they are less strictly such than the others."--Bullions cor. "We have had, as will readily be believed, a much better opportunity of becoming conversant with the case, than the generality of our readers can be supposed to have had."--Brit. Friend cor.''

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE V.--OF FALSITIES.

"The long sound of i is like a very quick union of the sound of a, as heard in bar, and that of e, as heard in be."--Churchill cor. "The omission of a word necessary to grammatical propriety, is of course an impropriety, and not a true ellipsis."--Priestley cor. "Not every substantive, or noun, is necessarily of the third person."--A. Murray cor. "A noun is in the third person, when the subject is merely spoken of; and in the second person, when the subject is spoken to; and in the first person, when it names the speaker as such."--Nutting cor. "With us, no nouns are literally of the masculine or the feminine gender, except the names of male and female creatures."--Dr. Blair cor. "The apostrophe is a little mark, either denoting the possessive case of nouns, or signifying that something is shortened: as, 'William's hat;'--'the learn'd,' for 'the learned.'"--''Inf. S. Gram. cor. "When a word beginning with a vowel coupled with one beginning with a consonant, the indefinite article must not be repeated, if the two words be adjectives belonging to one and the same noun; thus, 'Sir Matthew Hale was a noble and impartial judge;'--'Pope was an elegant and nervous writer.'"--Maunder cor.[555] "W and y are consonants, when they precede a vowel heard in the same syllable: in every other situation, they are vowels."--L. Mur. et al. cor. See Inst.'', p. 16. "The is not varied before adjectives and substantives, let them begin as they will."--Bucke cor. "A few English prepositions, and many which we have borrowed from other languages, are often prefixed to words, in such a manner as to coalesce with them, and to become parts of the compounds or derivatives thus formed."--Lowth cor. "H, at the beginning of syllables not accented, is weaker, but not entirely silent; as in historian, widowhood."--Rev. D. Blair cor. "Not every word that will make sense with to before it, is a verb; for to may govern nouns, pronouns, or participles."--Kirkham cor. "Most verbs do, in reality, express actions; but they are not intrinsically the mere names of actions: these must of course be nouns."--Id. "The nominative denotes the actor or subject; and the verb, the action which is performed or received by this actor or subject."--Id. "But if only one creature or thing acts, more than one action may, at the same instant, be done; as, 'The girl not only holds her pen badly, but scowls and distorts her features, while she writes.'"--Id. "Nor is each of these verbs of the singular number because it denotes but one action which the girl performs, but because the subject or nominative is of the singular number, and the words must agree."--Id. "And when I say, 'Two men walk,' is it not equally apparent, that walk is plural because it agrees with men?"--Id. "The subjunctive mood is formed by using the simple verb in a suppositive sense, and without personal inflection."--Beck cor. "The possessive case of nouns, except in instances of apposition or close connexion, should always be distinguished by the apostrophe."--Frost cor. "'At these proceedings of the Commons:' Here of is a sign of the objective case; and Commons is of that case, being governed by this preposition."--A. Murray cor. "Here let it be observed again, that, strictly speaking, all finite verbs