A
Short _System_
OF
English GRAMMAR.
For the use of the
BOARDING SCHOOL
In WORCESTER.
_By_ HENRY BATE _A. B._
_Worcester:_ Printed by R. LEWIS, Bookseller, in _High-Street_.
THE PREFACE.
_Usage and Custom are the Rules and Measures of every_ Language, _and the Rules of_ GRAMMAR _have nothing more to do, than to teach it. The_ GRAMMAR _is to be fashioned from the particular_ Language, _it treats of, and not the Language from the_ GRAMMAR. _For want of following this regular Plan, our Modern_ GRAMMARIANS_ have introduced the_ GRAMMAR Rules _of other_ Languages _into their own; as if all_ Language _was founded on_ GRAMMAR, _and the Rules in one_ Language _would serve the same End and Purpose in another._
The Latin, _for Instance, has only_ eight Parts of Speech, _and the Writers of_ English GRAMMAR _have unthinkingly adopted the same Number; whereas with the Article, which the_ Latin _has not, and which is of great Service in a_ Language, _we have no less than nine. The_ Latin _admits of_ Cases; _but as different_ Cases, _properly speaking, are nothing more than the different Inflections and Terminations of Nouns_, English Nouns _have no_ Cases. _It is not agreeable to the Principles of_ GRAMMAR _to say that_--of a Rose--_is the Genitive Case of_--Rose, _or_--to a Rose, _the Dative; for_ of _and_ to _are no Part of the Word_ Rose, _but only_ prefix Particles _or_ Prepositions, _which shew the different Relation of the Word_ Rose. _So likewise when we say_ Alexander's Horse, _the Word_ Alexander's _is not the Genitive Case of_ Alexander; _for strictly speaking the_ 's _is no Part of the Word_ Alexander _but the final Letter of the Pronoun Possessive_ his, _and without the_ Apostrophe _we shou'd read it thus;_ Alexander his Horse. _If any of the_ Parts of Speech _have_ Cases, _the_ Pronouns _have, and some of the_ Pronouns _may perhaps have_ two; _but for the Sake of making every Thing as easy as I can to the Learner, I have taken the Liberty of distinguishing such_ Pronouns _into_ Prefix _and_ Subsequent, _and entirely laid aside_ Cases _as useless and unnecessary. The_ Latin _has_ Genders, _the_ Adjective _in that Language always varying to correspond with the_ Substantive; _but our_Adjectives _never vary, and therefore the Distinction of_ Genders _has nothing to do with_ English GRAMMAR, _but is idle, trifling, impertinent._
EXPERIENCE _shews, that this Sort of pedantick Ignorance and Folly, has made that dark and obscure, which it was intended to elucidate, and unhappily puzzled and perplexed a great many more, than it has ever instructed. Every attempt to make_ English easy _must be fruitless, that is not formed upon a different Plan, and such is the following_ short System of English GRAMMAR.
A Short _System_ OF English GRAMMAR.
_Of_ GRAMMAR _and it's_ DIVISIONS.
Grammar is the Science of Letters or Language, and is the Art of Speaking and Writing properly.
It's Divisions are four;
ORTHOGRAPHY ANALOGY PROSODY SYNTAX
_Of_ ORTHOGRAPHY.
Table of contents (by pages)
- 1: A Short System of English Grammar by Henry Bate
- 2: Prosody treats of Pronunciation with respect of Accent
- 3: Some Nouns have no Singular Number
- 4: The Preterperfect Tense expresses the Time Past perfectly
- 5: The auxiliary Verbs are only two
- 6: Present having Preterperfect having had
- 7: The Termination of the Infinitive Mood Present Tense
- 8: And the Preterpluperfect of the Indicative Mood
- 9: Preterperfect I have been loved
- 10: PREPOSITIONS used in APPOSITION
- 11: The prefix Pronouns are usually placed after
- 12: The Semicolon is marked thus