to the eye. The teacher may here, however, take his own option, whether at this stage to introduce those rules which relate to the use or omission of the apostrophic s, or to reserve them for attention after the subject of analysis is fully understood. The adjective, with its degrees of comparison, may follow the possessive case, and the conjunction connecting several adjectives belonging to the same noun, will then be easily understood. The interjection, having an easy syntax, may follow the conjunction; and the pronouns, personal and adjective, will find a ready place after the interjection, or rather, perhaps, may be taken in connexion with it. The relative pronoun, with its antecedent, should be reserved for consideration after the nominative case with its verb. Thus, by removing the smaller articles in the crowded room, as I have already called the sentence, greater freedom of motion is allowed for the more cumbrous furniture, and the pupil will more readily distinguish the nominative case and its verb, without perplexity arising from the nature of most of the other words in a sentence. And, in teaching the pupil to recognise the nominative case, I have found the following direction, or rather, more properly speaking, explanation, a great aid to the pupil. "The noun or pronoun which is the subject of the verb, is the nominative case to the verb, and may generally be known by asking the question, Who? or What? Thus, in the sentence, "The child cries;" if we ask, Who cries? the answer is, the child. Therefore, the word child is the nominative case to the verb cries." A similar explanation will enable the pupil, in any sentence, readily to find the nominative case; and, by pursuing a similar course, the verb may as easily be distinguished. Thus, in the same simple sentence, if the question be asked, what is said of the child, or what does the child do? the answer is readily made, that the child cries. As the word cries, therefore, expresses what is said of the child, it becomes evident to the pupil, that cries is the verb. In a manner somewhat similar, the pupil may be taught to ascertain the object of a verb, or the objective case of an active verb, by an explanation as follows: "The noun or pronoun which is the object of the verb, is in the objective case, and governed by the verb. It may generally be known by asking the question, Whom? or What? as in the sentence, "John struck Charles." If the question be asked, Whom did John strike? the answer is, Charles. Therefore, Charles is in the objective case and governed by the verb struck. It may here be questioned whether those verbs which by most grammarians are called active verbs would not more appropriately be termed objective verbs; and thus, by their very name expressing a part of their office, lead the pupil to search for the word, the government of which depends upon them. The terms Transitive, and Intransitive, I reject as useless, and as being to the child, wholly unintelligible sounds. It is true that many grammarians contend in favor of these terms, as expressive and appropriate, because the action of the verb passes over to the object. But I would ask what action passes over, in the expressions, "I heard a sound," " I smelt the odor of the gale," &c. All terms which are not absolutely necessary in the art of teaching to speak properly and write correctly are useless, and should be discarded from the subject of Grammar. Next to the verb and its nominative, the subject of neuter and passive verbs, with the nominative after them may be considered. The participles may then be explained, and the manner in which they may be distinguished from the adjective. And here it is very important that the teacher should convey to the pupil a clear idea of the name, and double character of this class of words—that they are called participles because they participate or partake of the nature both of the verb and the adjective like verbs they have tenses like adjectives they belong to some noun. The explanation given by Murray cannot be improved; it can only be illustrated by examples-thus: The participle is distinguished from the adjective by expressing the idea of time, and generally signifying an action; while the adjective expresses only a quality, thus, in the expression "a wheel moving rapidly"- the word moving is a participle, because it implies an action, — but in the phrase "a moving wheel," the word moving is an adjective because it describes the kind of wheel. In connexion with the participle may be taken the objective case, governed by the active participles, and the nominative case absolute with a participle. The pupil is then prepared to consider the adverb, and its appropriate syntax; after which the infinitive mode should be taken up; and as this is, perhaps, the most difficult and most complicated part of analysis, it will be well to dwell longer upon it than upon any other part. In the Progressive Exercises in English Grammar, to which I have already referred, there are twenty-seven short and simple rules of syntax, without any exceptions, remarks, observations, &c. and by these few rules the authors maintain that they can analyze any English sentence. Of these rules, seven apply to the infinitive mode alone. So that it will readily be seen that the infinitive mode is, as I have asserted, the most difficult and complicated of all the parts of a sentence to analyze. And yet by means of examples, and practice in those examples, children, at a very early age, may be made to comprehend this, as well as every other principle of analysis. "Breve iter per exempla," is an adage that any teacher will acknowledge to be just, who will try it. But if the teacher separate precept from practice, if he attempt to carry a pupil through the grammar, without allowing him to practice on its principles as he proceeds, and thus make the study of the science a mere exercise of memory alone, he will have a task to perform, to which the fabled labors of Tantalus and Sisyphus will be mere pastime. After a proper attention has been devoted to the infinitive mood, the pupil should be taught to analyze phrases of all kinds, whether adverbial, prepositional, conjunctional, interjectional, or substantive. In the analysis of phrases, it is proper that each word should be taken separately at first, and afterwards the office which the entire phrase performs should be considered. At this stage of his progress, the pupil may, with advantage, be required to pay particular attention to the relative and compound relative pronouns, especially in exercises where their antecedents are phrases. Particular attention should likewise be given to the construction of collective nouns, or nouns of multitude; and here it is exceedingly important that the pupil should be taught to distinguish such as convey unity from those which express plurality of idea. We come now to a principle of much importance, and one which must be clearly understood, in order to avoid the necessity of many rules which encumber the pages of a great majority of those who have written upon English syntax. I refer to Ellipsis. It has been stated that twenty-seven short and simple rules embrace all the varieties of pure English construction. Many authors have deemed it necessary to prepare special rules for elliptical sentences. As an intellectual exercise, however, I know of nothing more useful than the practising of pupils in supplying the ellipses, so as to reduce a form of expression to grammatical rule. It will be found by the teacher, that the pupil will very readily acquire a facility in this exercise which will make him conversant with the various shades of meaning that may be expressed by any elliptical form of words. Besides which, the pages of the grammar are unencumbered by useless rules, perplexing the student, and retarding his progress. The English language has a syntax peculiarly its own free on the one hand from those intricacies of relation expressed in the learned languages by variety of termination in case and mode, while it is sufficiently rigid on the other hand, to exact from the learner a proper degree of care and attention. Take, for instance, an example of the difference of meaning produced by the use or omission of the article. Thus, if I should say, my respected auditors paid a little attention to my remarks, I should feel honored by their notice. But if I were informed that they paid little attention to my observations, I should think, indeed, that I was addressing them to little purpose. Again, if I am told that I have thrown little light on the art of teaching grammar, I should be mortified in having detained you so long. On the contrary, if I am flattered by the assurance, that I have thrown a little light on the darkness in which any one has been shrouded, I shall feel that all my labors have been abondantly repaid. The subject of ellipses presents, as I have already hinted, an exercise of great use and importance to the pupil; and a rigid practice of the analysis of elliptical sentences affords great facility to correctness in rhetorical delivery. It is thus we render one branch of science subservient to the purposes of another, and thus show the beauty and the propriety of those classical representations which picture out the harmonious nine, dancing hand in hand. In the details of instruction, when a class is before me in the exercise of analysis, it is my custom, when a word presents itself which may be analyzed in a variety of ways, according as the sentence is read, to require the pupil to read it in the various ways in which it can be parsed. I thus unite a lesson in rhetorical reading with grammatical analysis. In selecting examples of this kind, I prefer, at first, those where the grossest errors will occur in the variety of reading, so that no doubt may remain in the pupil's mind as to the proper reading and appropriate analysis. Thus, in the sentence taken from Mr. Jeffrey's character of James Watt, we have the following expression: "This name, fortunately needs no commemoration of ours." I require the pupil to read the expression so as to make the adverb fortunately, a noun in apposition with name; and he reads it thus: This name fortunately, needs no commemoration of ours, &c. He at once sees that the pause made before the adverb, preserves the propriety of the syntax, but that if the pause be made after the adverb, the adverb is converted into a noun. A lesson is thus given in the three departments of reading, syntax, and punctuation, while the pupil appears to be attending to syntax alone. Again, in those beautiful lines of Byron "Adieu to thee, fair Rhine! how long delighted if the pause be made after stranger, the next word, fuin, is manifestly an adverb, qualifying would linger, but if the pause be made after fain, that word immediately appears to be a noun in apposition with stranger An exercise of this kind is furnished by every book, and by almost every sentence which is assigned as an exercise in analysis; and goes very far to prove that a knowledge of grainmar is indispensable for correct reading. It may here be remarked that the teacher of Grammar has many difficulties to encounter in the idioms and gradual changes in a language. Perhaps, however, it may safely be asserted that the English language has as few of these obstacles to correct classification and standard rules, as any language that has been as widely diffused, and extensively spoken. It must be admitted that an arbitrary standard, uncontrolled by popular caprice, and barbarous innovations, must be set up; and, although the simplicity of English syntax guards the language in a great degree from these difficulties, yet when they do occur it is more safe that the departures from grammatical propriety should be rejected, than that the copiousness of the language should be extended at the expense of propriety and correct taste. There is a wide distinction between dignified written discourse, and the cant phrases which party politics, or technical allusions frequently introduce into popular expressions; and it will at once be seen, that a language will lose its stability, if the boor and the demagogue, instead of the scholar |