PREFACE TO THE FIFTH AND ENLARGED EDITION.

IN issuing the Fifth Edition of this Grammar, the Author begs to express his obligations to those teachers and others who have suggested improvements in the work. They will find many of their suggestions embodied in this edition. The Author is highly gratified with the opinions of many eminent scholars, as well as those of the press. He would also express his obligations to those principals of schools and School Boards, who have adopted this Grammar as a class-book.

Considerable modifications and extensions, rendered necessary by the growing requirements of teachers and students, have been inserted in this edition. An additional chapter on Word-Building, embracing the Primary and Secondary Derivatives, has been added; also an extensive list of Anglo-Saxon roots, with their derivatives; the Latin and Greek lists have been greatly enlarged; a fuller account of the origin and history of the Language, with the earlier and later writers; specimens of Anglo-Saxon, Old English, Middle English, etc.

The original characteristics of the work, which have gained for it a large and increasing circulation, have been retained.

C. DUXBURY.

LONDON, N.W., 1884.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

1. English Grammar is the science of the English language, and the art of speaking and writing the English language correctly.

2. Its four principal divisions are Orthography, Etymology, Syntax and Prosody.

PART I.

ORTHOGRAPHY.

3. Orthography treats of letters, and the proper method of combining them into syllables and words.

4. There are twenty-six letters in English, called the alphabet.

CAPITAL LETTERS.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W

X Y Z.

SMALL LETTERS.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxy z.

5. Letters are divided into vowels and consonants. 6. A vowel is a letter that can be sounded by itself. 7. A consonant is a letter that cannot be sounded by itself. 8. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, with w andy when they do not begin a word or syllable. 9. All the other letters are consonants. W and y are semi-consonants when they begin a word or syllable. 10. Consonants may be divided into mutes and semi-vowels. 11. The mutes are b, d, p, t, k and g hard. The letter h is called an aspirate, or breathing. The semi-vowels are ƒ, l, m, n, r, s, v, x, z..

12. The remaining three letters are redundant, c, j, and 9, having the same sounds as s, g, and k. 13. L, m, n, and r, are called liquids, because they so easily combine with other letters. The sibilants or hissing sounds, are s, z, z=zh (in azure) and the liquids and r. 14. A diphthong is the combination of two vowels; as, ou in shout.* 15. It is called a proper diphthong when the two vowels are sounded; as oi in toil. 16. It is called an improper diphthong when only one of the vowels is sounded; as oa in coat. 17. A triphthong is the combination of three vowels; as, iew in view. 18. A syllable is a word or part of a word which can be pronounced by a single effort of the voice; as, good in goodness. 19. A word of one syllable is called a monosyllable; as, just. 20. A word of two syllables is called a dissyllable; as, justly. 21. A word of three syllables is called a trisyllable; as, justify. 22. A word of four or more syllables is called a polysyllable; as, justification.

23. In dividing words into syllables, let the following be observed:

(1.) As far as possible let every syllable begin with a consonant; as, confis-cate.t

(2.) Let two consonants between two vowels be divided, unless they form a combined sound; as, mar-ket.

Note. The two consonants in ble form one combined sound in such words as fable, table, stable, etc.

(3.) Let two vowels not forming a diphthong be divided; as, pi-e-ty.

(4.) Let augments and grammatical terminations, such as full, less, er, etc., form separate syllables; as. faith-ful, faith-less, mis-take.

* The whole system of letters may be thus represented in a tabular form :—

The mutes have also been classified according to the organs by which they are pronounced. Thus

have been termed labials, or lip-letters.

B and P

V and F

D and T

Z and S

gutturals, or throat letters.-Morell.

It is sometimes better, however, to let the consonants end the syllables; as lib-er-al.