_Number_ is the distinction of one from more than one. There are two numbers, singular and plural; the singular denotes one, the plural two or more. The plural is generally formed from the singular by the addition of _s_ or _es_.

_Gender_ has the same relation to nouns that sex has to individuals, but while there are only two sexes, there are four genders, viz., masculine, feminine, neuter and common. The masculine gender denotes all those of the male kind, the feminine gender all those of the female kind, the neuter gender denotes inanimate things or whatever is without life, and common gender is applied to animate beings, the sex of which for the time being is indeterminable, such as fish, mouse, bird, etc. Sometimes things which are without life as we conceive it and which, properly speaking, belong to the neuter gender, are, by a figure of speech called Personification, changed into either the masculine or feminine gender, as, for instance, we say of the sun, _He_ is rising; of the moon, _She_ is setting.

_Case_ is the relation one noun bears to another or to a verb or to a preposition. There are three cases, the _Nominative_, the _Possessive_ and the _Objective_. The nominative is the subject of which we are speaking or the agent which directs the action of the verb; the possessive case denotes possession, while the objective indicates the person or thing which is affected by the action of the verb.

An _Article_ is a word placed before a noun to show whether the latter is used in a particular or general sense. There are but two articles, _a_ or _an_ and _the_.

An _Adjective_ is a word which qualifies a noun, that is, which shows some distinguishing mark or characteristic belonging to the noun.

DEFINITIONS

A _Pronoun_ is a word used for or instead of a noun to keep us from repeating the same noun too often. Pronouns, like nouns, have case, number, gender and person. There are three kinds of pronouns, _personal_, _relative_ and _adjective_.

A _verb_ is a word which signifies action or the doing of something. A verb is inflected by tense and mood and by number and person, though the latter two belong strictly to the subject of the verb.

An _adverb_ is a word which modifies a verb, an adjective and sometimes another adverb.

A _preposition_ serves to connect words and to show the relation between the objects which the words express.

A _conjunction_ is a word which joins words, phrases, clauses and sentences together.

An _interjection_ is a word which expresses surprise or some sudden emotion of the mind.

THREE ESSENTIALS

The three essentials of the English language are: _Purity_, _Perspicuity_ and _Precision_.

By _Purity_ is signified the use of good English. It precludes the use of all slang words, vulgar phrases, obsolete terms, foreign idioms, ambiguous expressions or any ungrammatical language whatsoever. Neither does it sanction the use of any newly coined word until such word is adopted by the best writers and speakers.

_Perspicuity_ demands the clearest expression of thought conveyed in unequivocal language, so that there may be no misunderstanding whatever of the thought or idea the speaker or writer wishes to convey. All ambiguous words, words of double meaning and words that might possibly be construed in a sense different from that intended, are strictly forbidden. Perspicuity requires a style at once clear and comprehensive and entirely free from pomp and pedantry and affectation or any straining after effect.

_Precision_ requires concise and exact expression, free from redundancy and tautology, a style terse and clear and simple enough to enable the hearer or reader to comprehend immediately the meaning of the speaker or writer. It forbids, on the one hand, all long and involved sentences, and, on the other, those that are too short and abrupt. Its object is to strike the golden mean in such a way as to rivet the attention of the hearer or reader on the words uttered or written.

CHAPTER II

ESSENTIALS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR

Divisions of Grammar--Definitions--Etymology.

In order to speak and write the English language correctly, it is imperative that the fundamental principles of the Grammar be mastered, for no matter how much we may read of the best authors, no matter how much we may associate with and imitate the best speakers, if we do not know the underlying principles of the correct formation of sentences and the relation of words to one another, we will be to a great extent like the parrot, that merely repeats what it hears without understanding the import of what is said. Of course the parrot, being a creature without reason, cannot comprehend; it can simply repeat what is said to it, and as it utters phrases and sentences of profanity with as much facility as those of virtue, so by like analogy, when we do not understand the grammar of the language, we may be making egregious blunders while thinking we are speaking with the utmost accuracy.

DIVISIONS OF GRAMMAR

There are four great divisions of Grammar, viz.:

_Orthography_, _Etymology_, _Syntax_, and _Prosody_.

_Orthography_ treats of letters and the mode of combining them into words.

_Etymology_ treats of the various classes of words and the changes they undergo.

_Syntax_ treats of the connection and arrangement of words in sentences.

_Prosody_ treats of the manner of speaking and reading and the different kinds of verse.

The three first mentioned concern us most.

LETTERS

A _letter_ is a mark or character used to represent an articulate sound. Letters are divided into _vowels_ and _consonants_. A vowel is a letter which makes a distinct sound by itself. Consonants cannot be sounded without the aid of vowels. The vowels are _a_, _e_, _i_, _o_, _u_, and sometimes _w_ and _y_ when they do not begin a word or syllable.

SYLLABLES AND WORDS

A syllable is a distinct sound produced by a single effort of [Transcriber's note: 1-2 words illegible] shall, pig, dog. In every syllable there must be at least one vowel.

A word consists of one syllable or a combination of syllables.

Many rules are given for the dividing of words into syllables, but the best is to follow as closely as possible the divisions made by the organs of speech in properly pronouncing them.

THE PARTS OF SPEECH

ARTICLE

An _Article_ is a word placed before a noun to show whether the noun is used in a particular or general sense.

There are two articles, _a_ or _an_ and _the_. _A_ or _an_ is called the indefinite article because it does not point put any particular person or thing but indicates the noun in its widest sense; thus, _a_ man means any man whatsoever of the species or race.

_The_ is called the definite article because it points out some particular person or thing; thus, _the_ man means some particular individual.

NOUN

A _noun_ is the name of any person, place or thing as _John_, _London_, _book_. Nouns are proper and common.

_Proper_ nouns are names applied to _particular_ persons or places.

_Common_ nouns are names applied to a whole kind or species.

Nouns are inflected by _number_, _gender_ and _case_.

_Number_ is that inflection of the noun by which we indicate whether it represents one or more than one.

_Gender_ is that inflection by which we signify whether the noun is the name of a male, a female, of an inanimate object or something which has no distinction of sex.

_Case_ is that inflection of the noun which denotes the state of the person, place or thing represented, as the subject of an affirmation or question, the owner or possessor of something mentioned, or the object of an action or of a relation.

Thus in the example, "John tore the leaves of Sarah's book," the distinction between _book_ which represents only one object and _leaves_ which represent two or more objects of the same kind is called _Number_; the distinction of sex between _John_, a male, and _Sarah_, a female, and _book_ and _leaves_, things which are inanimate and neither male nor female, is called _Gender_; and the distinction of state between _John_, the person who tore the book, and the subject of the affirmation, _Mary_, the owner of the book, _leaves_ the objects torn, and _book_ the object related to leaves, as the whole of which they were a part, is called