INTRODUCTION

Ꭲ Ꮕ

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

GRAM MA R.

RAMMAR is the Art of rightly expreffing our thoughts by Words.

GR

Grammar in general, or Univerfal Grammar, explains the principles, which are common to all languages.

The Grammar of any particular Language, as the English Grammar, applies thofe common principles to that particular language, according to the established ufage and custom of it.

Grammar treats of Sentences; and of the feveral parts, of which they are compounded.

Sentences confift of Words; Words, of one or more Syllables; Syllables, of one or more Letters.

So

So that Letters, Syllables, Words, and Sentences, make up the whole fubject of Grammar.

A

LETTERS.

LETTER is the first Principle, or leaft part, of a Word.

An Articulate Sound is the found of the human voice, formed by the organs of speech.

A Vowel is a fimple articulate found, formed by the impulfe of the voice, and by the opening only of the mouth in a particular manner.

A Confonant cannot be perfectly founded by itself; but joined with a vowel forms a compound articulate found, by a particular motion or contact of the parts of the mouth.

A Diphthong, or compound vowel, is the union of two or more vowels pronounced by a fingle impulfe of the voice.

In English there are twenty-fix Letters.

A, a; B, b; C, c; D, d; E, e; F, f; G, g; H, h; I, i; J, j; K, k; L, 1; M, m; N, n; O, o; P, p; Q, q; R, r; S, f; T, t; U, u; V, v; W, w; X, x; Y, y ; Z, z.

Jj, and Vv, are confonants; the former having the found of the foft g, and the latter that of a coarler

a coarfer f: they are therefore intirely different from the vowels i and u, and diftinct letters of themselves; they ought alfo to be diftinguished from them, each by a peculiar Name; the former may be called ja, and the latter vee.

The Names then of the twenty-fix letters will be as follows: a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, ja, ka, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, ess, tee, u, vee, double u, ex, y, zad.

Six of the letters are vowels, and may be founded by themselves; a, e, i, o, u, yo

y.

E is generally filent at the end of a word; but it has its effect in lengthening the preceding vowel, as bid, bide: and fometimes likewife in the middle of a word; as, ungrateful, retirement. Sometimes it has no other effect, than that of foftening a preceding g: as, lodge, judge, judgement; for which purpose it is quite neceffary in these and the like words.

r is in found wholly the fame with i; and is written instead of it at the end of words; or before i, as flying, denying: it is retained likewife in fome words derived from the Greek; and it is always a vowel [1].

[1] The fame found, which we exprefs by the initial y, our Saxon Ancestors in many inftances expreffed by the vowel e; as cower, your and by the voweli; as iw, yew; iong, young. In the word yeru, the initial y has precifely the fame found with i in the words view, lieu, adieu : the i is acknowledged to be a Vowel in these latter ;

Wis

Wis either a vowel, or a diphthong; its proper found is the fame as the Italian u, the French ou, or the English oo after o, it is fometimes not founded at all; fometimes like a fingle u.

The reft of the letters are confonants; which cannot be founded alone: fome not at all, and thefe are called Mutes; b, c, d, g, k, p, q, t: others very imperfectly, making a kind of obfcure found; and thefe are called Semi-vowels, or Half-vowels, l, m, n, r, f, s; the first four of which are also distinguished by the name of Liquids.

The Mutes and the Semi-vowels are diftinguished by, their names in the Alphabet; thofe of the former all beginning with a confonant, bee, cee, &c.; thofe of the latter all beginning with a vowel, ef, el, &c.

Xis a double confonant, compounded of c, or k, and s.

Z feems not to be a double confonant in English, as it is commonly fuppofed: it has the fame relation to s, as u has to f, being a thicker and coarfer expreffion of it.

His only an Afpiration, or Breathing: and fometimes at the beginning of a word is not founded at all; as, an hour, an honest man.

How then can the y, which has the very fame found, poffibly be a Confonant in the former? Its initial found is generally like that of i in fhire, or ee nearly it is formed by the opening of the mouth, without any motion or contact of the parts: in a word, it has every property, of a Vowel, and not one of a Confonant.

C is

t C is pronounced like k, before a, o, u; and foft, = likes, before e, i, y: in like: manner g is pronounced always hard before a, o, u; fometimes. hard and fometimes foft before i, and y; and for the most part foft before ..

The English Alphabet, like most others, is both -deficient and redundant; in fome cafes, the fame = letters expreffing different founds, and different letters expreffing the fame founds.

S

A

YLLABLE S.

SYLLABLE is a found either fimple or compounded, pronounced by a fingle impulfe of the voice, and conftituting a word oF part of a word.

Spelling is the art of reading by naming the letters fingly, and rightly dividing words into their Tyllables. Or, in writing, it is the expreffing of a word by its proper letters.

In fpelling, a fyllable in the beginning or middle of a word ends in a vowel, unless it be followed by x; or by two or more confonants: these are for the most part to be feparated; and at least one of them always belongs to the preceding syllable, when the vowel of that fyllable is pronounced fhort. Particles in Compofition, though followed by a vowel, generally remain undivided in spelling.

A mute