The Grammar of English Grammars Part 171

SECTION II.--THE SEMICOLON.

The Semicolon is used to separate those parts of a compound sentence, which are neither so closely connected as those which are distinguished by the comma, nor so little dependent as those which require the colon.

RULE I.--COMPLEX MEMBERS.

When two or more complex members, or such clauses as require the comma in themselves, are constructed into a period, they are generally separated by the semicolon: as, "In the regions inhabited by angelic natures, unmingled felicity forever blooms; joy flows there with a perpetual and abundant stream, nor needs any mound to check its course."--_Carter_. "When the voice rises, the gesture naturally ascends; and when the voice makes the falling inflection, or lowers its pitch, the gesture follows it by a corresponding descent; and, in the level and monotonous p.r.o.nunciation of the voice, the gesture seems to observe a similar limitation, by moving rather in the horizontal direction, without much varying its elevation."--_Comstock's Elocution_, p. 107.

"The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me; But shadows, clouds, and darkness, rest upon it."--_Addison_.

RULE II.--SIMPLE MEMBERS.

When two or more simple members, or such clauses as complete their sense without subdivision, are constructed into a period; if they require a pause greater than that of the comma, they are usually separated by the semicolon: as, "Straws swim upon the surface; but pearls lie at the bottom."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 276. "Every thing grows old; every thing pa.s.ses away; every thing disappears."--_Hiley's Gram._, p. 115. "Alexander asked them the distance of the Persian capital; what forces the king of Persia could bring into the field; what the Persian government was; what was the character of the king; how he treated his enemies; what were the most direct ways into Persia."--_Whelpley's Lectures_, p. 175.

"A longer care man's helpless kind demands; That longer care contracts more lasting bands."--_Pope_.

RULE III.--OF APPOSITION, &C.

Words in apposition, in disjunct pairs, or in any other construction, if they require a pause greater than that of the comma, and less than that of the colon, may be separated by the semicolon: as, "p.r.o.nouns have three cases; the nominative, the possessive, and the objective."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 51. "Judge, judgement; lodge, lodgement; acknowledge, acknowledgement."--_Butler's Gram._, p. 11. "Do not the eyes discover humility, pride; cruelty, compa.s.sion; reflection, dissipation; kindness, resentment?"--_Sheridan's Elocution_, p. 159. "This rule forbids parents to lie to children, and children to parents; instructors to pupils, and pupils to instructors; the old to the young, and the young to the old; attorneys to jurors, and jurors to attorneys; buyers to sellers, and sellers to buyers."--_Wayland's Moral Science_, p. 304.

"_Make, made; have, had; pay, paid; say, said; leave, left; Dream, dreamt; mean, meant; reave_ and _bereave_ have _reft_."

--_Ward's Gr._, p. 66.

IMPROPRIETIES FOR CORRECTION.

FALSE PUNCTUATION.--ERRORS CONCERNING THE SEMICOLON.

UNDER RULE I.--OF COMPLEX MEMBERS.

"The buds spread into leaves, and the blossoms swell to fruit, but they know not how they grow, nor who causes them to spring up from the bosom of the earth."--_Day's E. Gr._, p. 72.

[FORMULE.--Not proper, because the two chief members which compose this period, are separated only by the comma after "_fruit_." But, according to Rule 1st for the Semicolon, "When two or more complex members, or such clauses as require the comma in themselves, are constructed into a period, they are generally separated by the semicolon." Therefore, the pause after "_fruit_" should be marked by a semicolon.]

"But he used his eloquence chiefly against Philip, king of Macedon, and, in several orations, he stirred up the Athenians to make war against him."--_Bullions, E. Gram._, p. 84. "For the sake of euphony, the _n_ is dropped before a consonant, and because most words begin with a consonant, this of course is its more common form.'"--_Ib._, p. 192. "But if I say 'Will _a_ man be able to carry this burden?' it is manifest the idea is entirely changed, the reference is not to number, but to the species, and the answer might be 'No; but a horse will.'"--_Ib._, p. 193. "In direct discourse, a noun used by a speaker or writer to designate himself, is said to be of the _first_ person--used to designate the person addressed, it is said to be of the _second_ person, and when used to designate a person or thing spoken of, it is said to be of the _third_ person."--_Ib._, p. 195.

"Vice stings us, even in our pleasures, but virtue consoles us, even in our pains."--_Day's Gram._, p. 84. "Vice is infamous though in a prince, and virtue honorable though in a peasant."--_Ib._, p. 72. "Every word that is the name of a person or thing, is a _Noun_, because 'A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing.'"--_Bullions, Pract. Les._, p. 83.

"This is the sword, with which he did the deed, And that the shield by which he was defended."--_Bucke's Gram._, p. 56.

UNDER RULE II.--OF SIMPLE MEMBERS.

"A deathlike paleness was diffused over his countenancee [sic--KTH], a chilling terror convulsed his frame; his voice burst out at intervals into broken accents."--_Principles of Eloquence_, p. 73.

[FORMULE.--Not proper, because the first pause in this sentence is not marked by a suitable point. But, according to Rule 2d for the Semicolon, "When two or more simple members, or such clauses as complete their sense without subdivision, are constructed into a period; if they require a pause greater than that of the comma, they are usually separated by the semicolon." Therefore, the comma after "_countenance_" should be changed to a semicolon.]

"The Lacedemonians never traded--they knew no luxury--they lived in houses built of rough materials--they lived at public tables--fed on black broth, and despised every thing effeminate or luxurious."--_Whelpley's Lectures_, p. 167. "Government is the agent. Society is the princ.i.p.al."--_Wayland's Moral Science_, 1st Ed., p. 377. "The essentials of speech were anciently supposed to be sufficiently designated by the _Noun_ and the _Verb_, to which was subsequently added, the _Conjunction_"--_Bullions, E. Gram._, p.

191. "The first faint gleamings of thought in its mind are but the reflections from the parents' own intellect,--the first manifestations of temperament are from the contagious parental fountain,--the first aspirations of soul are but the warmings and promptings of the parental spirit."--_Jocelyn's Prize Essay_, p. 4. "_Older_ and _oldest_ refer to maturity of age, _elder_ and _eldest_ to priority of right by birth.

_Farther_ and _farthest_ denote place or distance: _Further_ and _furthest_, quant.i.ty or addition."--_Bullions, E. Gram._, p. 148. "Let the divisions be _natural_, such as obviously suggest themselves to the mind, and as may aid your main design, and be easily remembered."--_Goldsbury's Manual of Gram._, p. 91.

"Gently make haste, of labour not afraid: A hundred times consider what you've said."--_Dryden's Art of Poetry_.

UNDER RULE III.--OF APPOSITION, &c.

(1.) "Adjectives are divided into two cla.s.ses: _Adjectives denoting quality_, and _Adjectives denoting number_."--_Frost's Practical Gram._, p.

31.

[FORMULE.--Not proper, because the colon after the word "_cla.s.ses_," is not the most suitable sign of the pause required. But according to Rule 3d for the Semicolon, "Words in apposition, in disjunct pairs, or in any other construction if they require a pause greater than that of the comma, and less than that of the colon, maybe separated by the semicolon." In this case, the semicolon should have been preferred to the colon.]

(2.) "There are two cla.s.ses of adjectives--_qualifying_ adjectives, and _limiting_ adjectives."--_Butler's Practical Gram._, p. 33. (3.) "There are three Genders, the _Masculine_, the _Feminine_, and the _Neuter_."-- _Frost's Pract. Gram._, p. 51; _Hiley's Gram._, p. 12; _Alger's_, 16; _S.

Putnam's_, 14: _Murray's_, 8vo, 37; _and others_. (4.) "There are three genders: the MASCULINE, the FEMININE, and the NEUTER."--_Murray's Gram._, 12mo. p. 39; _Jaudon's_, 25. (5.) "There are three genders: The _Masculine_, the _Feminine_, and the _Neuter_."--_Hendrick's Gram._, p. 15.

(6.) "The Singular denotes ONE, and the Plural MORE THAN ONE."--_Hart's Gram._, p. 40. (7.) "There are three Cases viz., the _Nominative_, the _Possessive_, and the _Objective_"--_Hendrick's Gram._, p. 7. (8.) "Nouns have three cases, the nominative, the possessive, and the objective."-- _Kirkham's Gram._, p. 41. (9.) "In English, nouns have three cases--the nominative, the possessive, and the objective."--_R. C. Smith's New Gram._, p. 47. (10.) "Grammar is divided into four parts, namely, ORTHOGRAPHY, ETYMOLOGY, SYNTAX, PROSODY."--_Ib._, p. 41. (11) "It is divided into four parts, viz. ORTHOGRAPHY, ETYMOLOGY, SYNTAX, and PROSODY."--_L. Murray's Grammars all; T. Smith's Gram._, p. 5. (12.) "It is divided into four parts: viz. Orthography--Etymology--Syntax--Prosody."--_Bucke's Gram._, p.

3. (13.) "It is divided into four parts, namely, Orthography. Etymology, Syntax and Prosody."--_Day's Gram._, p. 5. (14.) "It is divided into four parts: viz. _Orthography, Etymology, Syntax_ and _Prosody_."--_Hendrick's Gram._, p. 11. (15.) "Grammar is divided into four parts: viz. Orthography, Etymology. Syntax and Prosody."--_Chandler's Gram._, p, 13. (16.) "It is divided into four parts: Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody."--_Cooper's Pl. and Pract. Gram._, p. 1; _Frost's Pract. Gram._, 19. (17.) "English grammar has been usually divided into four parts, viz: Orthography, Etymology, Syntax and Prosody."--_Nutting's Gram._, p. 13.

(18.) "Temperance leads to happiness, intemperance to misery."--_Hiley's Gram._, p. 137 _Hart's_, 180. (19.) "A friend exaggerates a man's virtues, an enemy his crimes."--_Hiley's Gram._, p. 137 (20.) "A friend exaggerates a man's virtues: an enemy his crimes."--_Murray's Gram._, 8vo., p. 325 (21.) "Many writers use a _plural noun_ after the second of two numeral adjectives, thus, 'The first and second pages are torn.'"--_Bullions, E.

Gram._, 5th Ed., p. 145 (22.) "Of these, the Latin has six, the Greek, five, the German, four, the Saxon, six, the French, three, &c."--_Id., ib._, p. 196.

"In (_ing_) it ends, when _doing_ is express'd, In _d, t, n_, when _suffering's_ confess'd."

--_Brightland's Gram._, p. 93.

MIXED EXAMPLES OF ERROR.

"In old books _i_ is often used for _j, v_ for _u, vv_ for _w_, and _ii_ or _ij_ for _y_."--_Hart's E. Gram._, p. 22. "The forming of letters into words and syllables is also called _Spelling_."--_Ib._, p. 21. "l.a.b.i.als are formed chiefly by the _lips_, dentals by the _teeth_, palatals by the _palate_, gutturals by the _throat_, nasals by the _nose_, and linguals by the _tongue_."--_Ib._, p. 25. "The l.a.b.i.als are _p, b, f, v_; the dentals _t, d, s, z_; the palatals _g_ soft and _j_; the gutturals _k, q_, and _c_ and _g_ hard; the nasals _m_ and _n_; and the linguals _l_ and _r_."--_Ib._, p. 25. "Thus, 'the man _having finished_ his letter, will carry it to the post office.'"--_Ib._, p. 75. "Thus, in the sentence 'he had a dagger _concealed_ under his cloak,' _concealed_ is pa.s.sive, signifying _being_ concealed; but in the former combination, it goes to make up a form, the force of which is active."--_Ib._, p. 75. "Thus, in Latin, 'he had concealed the dagger' would be '_pugionem abdiderat_;' but 'he had the dagger concealed' would be '_pugionem abditum habebat_.'"-- _Ib._, p. 75. "_Here_, for instance, means 'in this place,' _now_, 'at this time,' &c."--_Ib._, p. 90. "Here _when_ both declares the _time_ of the action, and so is an adverb, and also _connects_ the two verbs, and so is a conjunction."--_Ib._, p. 91. "These words were all no doubt originally other parts of speech, viz.: verbs, nouns, and adjectives."--_Ib._, p. 92.

"The princ.i.p.al parts of a sentence are the subject, the attribute, and the object, in other words the nominative, the verb, and the objective."-- _Ib._, p. 104. "Thus, the adjective is connected with the noun, the adverb with the verb or adjective, p.r.o.nouns with their antecedents, &c."--_Ib._, p. 104. "_Between_ refers to two, _among_ to more than two."--_Ib._, p.

120. "_At_ is used after a verb of _rest, to_ after a verb of motion."--_Ib._, p. 120. "Verbs are of three kinds, Active, Pa.s.sive, and Neuter."--_Lennie's Gram._, p. 19; _Bullions, Prin._, 2d Ed., p. 29 "Verbs are divided into two cla.s.ses: Transitive and Intransitive."--_Hendrick's Gram._, p. 28 "The Parts of Speech in the English language are nine, viz.

The Article, Noun, Adjective, p.r.o.noun, Verb, Adverb, Preposition.

Interjection and Conjunction."--_Bullions, Prin. of E. Gram._, p. 7 "Of these the Noun, p.r.o.noun, and Verb are declined, the rest are indeclinable."--_Id., ib._, p. 7; _Practical Lessons_, p. 9. "The first expression is called the 'Active form.' The second the 'Pa.s.sive form.'"--_Welds Gram._, 2d Ed., p. 83; Abridged, p. 66.

"O 'tis a G.o.dlike privilege to save, And he that scorns it is himself a slave."--_Cowper_, Vol. i., p. 123

SECTION III.--THE COLON.

The Colon is used to separate those parts of a compound sentence, which are neither so closely connected as those which are distinguished by the semicolon, nor so little dependent as those which require the period.

RULE I.--ADDITIONAL REMARKS.

When the preceding clause is complete in itself, but is followed by some additional remark or ill.u.s.tration, especially if no conjunction is used, the colon is generally and properly inserted: as, "Avoid evil doers: in such society, an honest man may become ashamed of himself."--"See that moth fluttering incessantly round the candle: man of pleasure, behold thy image!"--_Art of Thinking_, p. 94. "Some things we can, and others we cannot do: we can walk, but we cannot fly."--_Beanie's Moral Science_, p.

112.

"Remember Heav'n has an avenging rod: To smite the poor, is treason against G.o.d."--_Cowper_.