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The tutors who may adopt this abridgment, merely as an introduction to the larger Grammar, will perceive in it a material advantage, which the other short works do not posses; namely, that the progress of their pupils will be accelerated, and the pleasure of study increased, when they find themselves advanced to a grammar, which exactly pursues the plan of the book they have studied; and which does not perplex them with new definitions and discordant views of the subject. The scholars also, who, in other seminaries, may be confined to this epitome, will be more readily invited afterwards to pursue the study of Grammar, when they perceive, from the intimate connexion of the books, the facility with which they may improve themselves in the art.

It may justly be doubted, whether there is any ground for objection to the following compilation, on account of the additional cost it will occasion. The preservation of the larger Grammar, by using the abridgment, may in most instances, make a mends for the charge of the latter. But were this not the case, it is hoped the period has passed away, in which the important business of education was, too often, regulated or influenced by a parsimoni qus economy.

The Compiler presumes that no objection can properly be made to the phraseology, from an idea that, in books of this kind the language should be brought down to the level of what is familiar to children. It is indeed indispensable, that our words and phrases should, without requiring much attention and explanation, be intelligible to young persons; but it will scarcely be controverted that it is better to lead them forward, and improve their language, by proper examples, than to exhibit such as will confirm them in a feeble and puerile mode of expression. Children have language, as well as other things, to learn, and cultivate; and if good models are set before them, instruction and dili gence will soon make them understood, and habit

will render them familiar and pleasing. Perhaps there is no method by which this advantage may, in general, be more readily and effectual, produced, than by accustoming children to commit to memory sentences in which the words are properly chosen,and the construction and arrangment cor rect. This was one object which the compiler had in view, when he composed the Grammar of which this is an epitome; and he hopes that he has not altogether failed in his endeavors to at tain it.

But on this point, or on any other part of the work, it belongs not to h to determine; the wholemust be referred to the decision of the impar landjudicious reader. Holgate, near York, 1797.

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ADVERTISEMENT.

THIE Ninth edition of this work has had an ac Cession of eighteen pages of new matter; com→ prising exercises in parsing, in orthography and punctuation. The exercises in parsing have not only been very considerably augmented; they have also been inoulded into a new form and arrangement, which the author hopes will facilitate to young persons the acquisition of this fundamental part of grammatical knowledge.*

An abridgment must necessarily be concise, and it will, in some points, be, obscure. Those teachers, therefore, who do not make use of the author's larger grammar, in their schools, will find an advantage by consulting it themselves. Many of the rules and positions are, in that work supported, and illustrated by peculiar disquisitions; and the connexion of the whole system is clearly exhibited. The Sixteenth edition of the Grammar has, in these respects, received considerable improvements. Holdgate, 1803.

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*The Eleventh Edition has been improved, by inserting the irregular verbs; a list of nouns arranged according to their gender; and by many other articles correspondent to the latest improvements in the larger Gram

mar.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR is the art of speaking

priety.

and writing the English language with pro

It is divided into four parts, viz. ORTHOGRAPHY, ETYMOLOGY, SYNTAX and PROSODY.

ORTHOGRAPHY.

LETTERS.

An articulate sound, is the sound of the human voice, formed by the organs of speech.

Orthography teaches the nature and powers of letters, and the just method of spelling words..

A letter is the first principle, or least part, of a word.

The letters of the English language, called the English Alphabet, are twenty-six in number.

The following is a list of the Roman and Italic Characters.

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Letters are divided into vowels and consonants.

A vowel is an articulate sourd that can be perfectly uttered by itself: as a, e, o; which are formed without the help of any other sound.

A consonant is an articulate sound, which cannot be perfectly uttered without the help of a vow, el as b, d, f, l; which require vowels to express them fully.

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