EXAMPLES OF PARSING,

In which all the parts of speech and their various divisions and modifications should be defined.

True cheerfulness makes a man happy in himself, and promotes the happiness of all around him.

Beauty is a short-lived flower, which is easily withered A cultivated mind is a treasure, which increases every moment; it is a rich soil, which produces an hundred fold.

Industry is needful in every condition of life: we cannot, without it, act in any state to the benefit or satisfaction of others, or to our own advantage and comfort.

Keep no company with a man who is given to detraction.

Modesty always appears graceful in youth; it doubles the lustre of every virtue which it seems to hide.

He who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows out that plan, carries on a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.

We should always consider how much we have more than we want.

The sun which seems to perform his daily stages through the sky, is, in this respect, fixed and immoveable.

Virtue is the universal preparation for every honourable station in life.

A suspicious spirit is the source of many crimes and calamities in the world.

Common failings are the strongest lessons of mutual forbearance.

Time, always precious, can never be more so than in our early years. The first ideas make the strongest and most lasting impressions.

Bless the Lord, O my soul! and forget not all his benefits!

SYNTAX.

Syntax treats of the agreement, government, and proper arrangement of words and

sentences.

There are two kind of sentences, simple and compound.

A simple sentence has but one subject, and one finite verb expressed or implied; as, "She reads well."

A compound sentence has more than one subject and one finite verb expressed or understood, and consists of two or more simple sentences joined together; as, "She reads well, but he does not write well."

A phrase is two or more words rightly put together, making sometimes part of a sentence, and sometimes a whole sentence.

Ellipsis is the omission of some word or words in a sentence, in order to avoid disagreeable repetitions, and to express our ideas with ease and elegance in few words.

Agreement is that similarity which one word has to another in number, person, mood, tense, gender, or case.

Government is that influence which one part of speech has over another in causing it to be in some particular mood, tense, or case.

To point out the proper uses of the different parts of speech, and to avoid or correct errors in the language, the following Rules, with the annexed Notes and Observations are necessary.

RULE 1.

When a noun or pronoun is the subject of a verb, it must be in the nominative case; as, "The bird flies;" "we walk."

The subject of a verb may be known by answering a question with who or what before the verb; as, "The boy learns;" ;" "who learns?" answer, the boy: thus boy is the subject of the verb learns.

The subject or nominative is generally placed before the verb: as, "He walks;" but sometimes it is put after the verb, if it is of a simple tense, and between the auxiliary and verb, if of a compound tense: as,

1. When a question is asked, a command given, or a wish expressed: as, "Believest thou this?" "Go thou;" ;" "May she be happy in her choice."

2. When a supposition is made without a conjunction expressed before the verb; as, "Had I been there, he would not have gone."

3. When a neuter verb is used; as, “On a sudden appeared the queen.'

4. When the adverb here, there, then, thence, hence, or thus precedes the verb; as, "Here am I;" "Then went Mordecai;" " Thus saith the king."

G

NOTE 1. There should be no nominative case in a sentence without a verb expressed or implied, unless it be addressed in the second person, connected with a participle independent, or following a neuter verb. In the following sentence the nominative he has no verb expressed or understood to answer to it; "He that will learn, let him learn." It should be," Let him learn that will learn."

NOTE 2. An adjective, without a noun expressed, having the definite article before it, is used as a noun, and is generally in the third person plural: as, “ The sincere are always esteemed;" "Providence rewards the good."

Examples of False Syntax."

Thee must be more attentive to thy studies. Him who is careless and inattentive, will not improve.

They know how to write as well as him; but he is a better graminarian than them.

Them that oppress the poor to increase their riches, shall come to want.

Her that is virtuous, deserves esteem. Whomsoever is contented enjoys happi

ness.

Who made the noise? Me.

Him that thinks twice before he speaks once, will speak twice the better for it.

He admonished all whom he thought had been disorderly, to be more watchful in fu

ture.

He and me are of the same age.

For the form of correcting false syntax, see Appendix.

They are two years older than us.

Are not he and thee intimate acquaintances?

NOTE 1.

He that hath a mind to work, let him work.
Many words they darken speech.

The cares of this world, they often choke the growth of virtue.

These people they are all very ignorant.

NOTE 2.

The generous never extols their good actions.
The wicked does not enjoy real happiness.

RULE 2.

A verb must agree with its subject or nominative in number and person; as, "He improves;" "the birds sing."

A phrase or sentence is sometimes the subject of a verb, and is always in the third person singular: as, "That it is our duty to promote harmony among mankind, admits of no dispute."

NOTE 1. The subject of a verb in the imperative mood is generally omitted; but with a verb in the indicative, the potential or subjunctive mood, the subject must be expressed, except where two or more verbs, of like mood and tense, are connected in the same sentence

NOTE 2. When a neuter verb is placed between two nouns of different numbers, it should agree with that which is more naturally the subject of it: as, "The wages of sin is death."

Although the verb generally agrees with the preceding nominative, yet when the nominative follow ing it is expressive of some priority of existence, or