English Grammar in Familiar Lectures Part 39

_Re_--again or back; as, _re-peruse_, to peruse again; _re-trade_, to trade back.

_Retro--_backwards; as, _retro-spective_, looking backwards.

_Se_--aside, apart; as, _se-duce_, to draw aside.

_Sub_--under; as, _sub-scribe_, to write under, or _sub-sign_.

_Subter_--under; as, _subter-fluous_, flowing under.

_Super_--above or over; as, _super-scribe_, to write above; _super-vise_, to overlook.

_Trans_--over, beyond, from one place to another; as, _trans-port_, to carry over; _trans-gress_, to pa.s.s beyond.

II. GREEK PREFIXES.

_A_--signifies privation; as, _anonymous_, without name.

_Amphi_--both or two; as, _amphi-bious_, partaking of both or two natures,

_Anti_--against; as, _anti-masonry_, against masonry.

_Dia_--through; as, _dia-meter_, line pa.s.sing through a circle.

_Hyper_--over; as, _hyper-critical_, over or too critical.

_Hypo_--under, implying concealment or disguise; as, _hypo-crite_, one dissembling his real character.

_Meta--_denotes change or trans.m.u.tation; as, _meta-morphose_, to change the shape.

_Para_--contrary or against; as, _para-dox_, a thing contrary to received opinion.

_Peri_--round about; as, _peri-phrasis_, circ.u.mlocution.

_Syn, syl, sym_--together; as, _syn-tax_, a placing together; _syn-od_, a meeting or coming together; _syl-lable_, that portion of a word which is taken together; _sym-pathy_, fellow-feeling, or feeling together.

RULES OF SYNTAX,

WITH ADDITIONAL EXERCISES IN FALSE SYNTAX.

The third part of Grammar is SYNTAX, which treats of the agreement and government of words and of their proper arrangement in a sentence.

SYNTAX consists of two parts, _Concord_ and _Government_.

CONCORD is the agreement which one word has with another, in gender, person, number, or case.

For the ill.u.s.tration of agreement and government, see pages 52, and 53.

For the definition of a sentence, and the transposition of its words and members, see pages 119, 124, 128, and 167.

The princ.i.p.al parts of a simple sentence are the _nominative_ or subject, the _verb_ or attribute, or word that makes the affirmation, and the _object_, or thing affected by the action of the verb; as, "A wise _man governs_ his _pa.s.sions_." In this sentence, _man_ is the subject; _governs_, the attribute; and _pa.s.sions_ the object.

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

ELLIPSIS is the omission of some word or words, in order to avoid disagreeable and unnecessary repet.i.tions, and to express our ideas concisely, and with strength and elegance.

In this recapitulation of the rules, Syntax is presented in a condensed form, many of the essential NOTES being omitted. This is a necessary consequence of my general plan, in which Etymology and Syntax, you know are blended. Hence, to acquire a complete knowledge of Syntax from this work, you must look over the whole.

You may now proceed and pa.r.s.e the following additional exercises in false Syntax; and, as you a.n.a.lyze, endeavor to correct all the errors without looking at the Key. If, in correcting these examples, you should be at a loss in a.s.signing the reasons why the constructions are erroneous, you can refer to the manner adopted in the foregoing pages.

RULE I.

The article _a_ or _an_ agrees with nouns in the _singular_ number only, individually or collectively; as, "_A_ star, _an_ eagle, _a_ score, _a_ thousand."

RULE II.

The definite article _the_ belongs to nouns in the _singular_ or _plural_ number; as, "_The_ star, _the_ stars; _the_ hat, _the_ hats."

NOTE 1. A nice distinction in the meaning is sometimes effected by the use or omission of the article _a_. If I say, "He behaved with _a_ little reverence," my meaning is positive. But if I say, "He behaved with little reverence," my meaning is negative. By the former, I rather praise a person; by the latter, I dispraise him.

When I say, "There were few men with him," I speak diminutively, and mean to represent them as inconsiderable; whereas, when I say, "There were a few men with him," I evidently intend to make the most of them.

2. The indefinite article sometimes has the meaning of _every_ or _each_; as, "They cost five shillings _a_ dozen;" that is, '_every_ dozen.'

"A man he was to all the country dear, And pa.s.sing rich with forty pounds _a_ year!"

that is, '_every_ year.'

3. When several adjectives are connected, and express the various qualities of things individually different, though alike in name, the article should be repeated; but when the qualities all belong to the same thing or things, the article should not be repeated. "_A_ black and _a_ white calf," signifies, A black _calf_, and a white _calf_; but "_A_ black and white calf," describes the two colors of _one_ calf.

RULE III.

The nominative case governs the verb; as, "_I_ learn, _thou_ learnest, _he_ learns, _they_ learn."

RULE IV.

The verb must agree with its nominative in number and person; as, "The bird _sings_, the birds _sing_, thou _singest_."

NOTE 1. Every verb, when it is not in the infinitive mood, must have a nominative, expressed or implied; as, "Awake, arise;" that is, Awake _ye_; arise _ye_.

2. When a verb comes between two nouns, either of which may be considered as the subject of the affirmation, it must agree with that which is more naturally its subject; as, "The wages of sin _is_ death; His meat _was_ locusts and wild honey;" "His pavilion _were_ dark _waters_ and thick _clouds_."

EXAMPLES OF FALSE SYNTAX.

Frequent commission of sin harden men in it.

Great pains has been taken to reconcile the parties.

So much both of ability and merit, are seldom found.