The order of parsing a PARTICIPLE, is—a participle, and why?—from what verb is it derived?—speak the three—present, perfect, or compound, and why?—to what does it refer or belong?—RULE.
"I saw a vessel sailing"
Sailing is a participle, a word derived from a verb, and partakes of the nature of a verb, and also of an adjective—it comes from the verb to sail—pres. sailing, perf. sailed, comp. having sailed—it is a present or imperfect participle, because it denotes the continuance of an unfinished action—and refers to the noun "vessel" for its subject, according to
RULE 27. The present participle refers to some noun or pronoun denoting the subject or actor.
"Not a breath disturbs the sleeping billow."
Sleeping is a participial adjective, a word added to a noun to express its quality—it cannot, with propriety, be compared—- it belongs to the noun "billow," agreeably to
RULE 18. Adjectives belong to, and qualify, nouns expressed or understood.
You will please to parse these two words several times over, and, by a little reflection, you will perfectly understand the 27th RULE. Recollect, the participle never varies its termination to agree with a noun or pronoun, for, as it has no nominative, it has no agreement; but it simply refers to an actor. Examples: I see a vessel sailing; or, I see three vessels sailing. You perceive that the participle sailing refers to a singular noun in the first example, and to a plural noun in the second; and yet the participle is in the same form in both examples. The noun vessel is in the objective case, and governed by the transitive verb see. But when a verb follows a noun, the ending of the verb generally varies in order to agree with the noun which is its nominative; as, the vessel sails; the vessels sail.
In this place it may not be improper to notice another Rule that relates to the participle. In the sentence, "The man is beating his horse," the noun horse is in the objective case, because it is the object of the action expressed by the active-transitive participle "beating," and it is governed by the participle beating, according to
RULE 26. Participles have the same government as the verbs have from which they are derived.
The principle upon which this rule is founded, is quite apparent. As a participle derived from a transitive verb, expresses the same kind of action as its verb, it necessarily follows, that the participle must govern the same case as the verb from which it is derived.
When you shall have studied this lecture attentively, you may proceed and parse the following exercises, containing five parts of speech. If, in analyzing these examples, you find any words which you cannot parse correctly and systematically by referring to your Compend for definitions and rules, you will please to turn back and read over again the whole five lectures. You must exercise a little patience; and, for your encouragement, permit me to remind you, that when you shall have acquired a thorough knowledge of these five parts of speech, only five more will remain for you to learn. Be ambitious to excel. Be thorough in your investigations. Give your reasoning powers free scope. By studying these lectures with attention, you will acquire more grammatical knowledge in three months, than is commonly obtained in two years.
In the following examples, the words purling, crusted, slumbering, and twinkling, are participial adjectives. There and its you may omit.
EXERCISES IN PARSING.
Orlando left the herd grazing. The hunters heard the young dog barking. The old fox heard the sportsman's horn sounding. Deep rivers float long rafts. Purling streams moisten the earth's surface. The sun approaching, melts the crusted snow. The slumbering seas calmed the grave old hermit's mind. Pale Cynthia declining, clips the horizon. Man beholds the twinkling stars adorning night's blue arch. The stranger saw the desert thistle bending there its lowly head.
REMARKS ON PARTICIPLES.
Participles frequently become nouns; as, "A good understanding; Excellent writing; He made a good beginning, but a bad ending."
Constructions like the following, have long been sanctioned by the best authorities: "The goods are selling;" "The house is building;" "The work is now publishing." A modern innovation, however, is likely to supersede this mode of expression: thus, "The goods are being sold;" "The house is being built;" "The work is now being published."
You may now answer these
QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED IN PARSING.
How many kinds of participles are there?—What is the ending of a present participle?—What does a perfect participle denote?—With what does the perfect participle of a regular verb correspond?—What is a compound participle?—From what word is the term participle derived?—Why is this part of speech thus named?—Wherein does this part of speech partake of the nature of a verb?—Do all participles participate the properties of adjectives?—In what respect?—When are participles called participial adjectives?—Give examples.—How may a present participle be known?—Repeat the order of parsing a participle.—What rule applies in parsing a present participle?—What Rule in parsing a participial adjective?—Do participles vary in their terminations in order to agree with their subject or actor?—What Rule applies in parsing a noun in the objective case, governed by a participle?—Do participles ever become nouns?—Give examples.
PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
Participles are formed by adding to the verb the termination ing, ed, or en. Ing signifies the same as the noun being. When postfixed to the noun-state of the verb, the compound word thus formed, expresses a continued state of the verbal denotement. It implies that what is meant by the verb, is being continued. En is an alteration of an, the Saxon verbalizing adjunct; ed is a contraction of dede; and the terminations d and t, are a contraction of ed. Participles ending in ed or en, usually denote the dodo, dede, doed, did, done, or finished state of what is meant by the verb. The book is printed. It is a print-ed or print-done book, or such a one as the done act of printing has made it. The book is written; i.e. it has received the done or finish-ed act of writ-ing it.
Participles bear the same relation to verbs, that adnouns do to nouns. They might, therefore, be styled verbal adjectives. But that theory which ranks them with adnouns, appears to rest on a sandy foundation. In classifying words, we ought to be guided more by their manner of meaning, and their inferential meaning, than by their primitive, essential signification. "I have a broken plate;" i.e. I have a plate—broken; "I have broken a plate." If there is no difference in the essential meaning of the word broken, in these two constructions, it cannot be denied, that there is a wide difference in the meaning—inferred by custom; which difference depends on the manner in which the term is applied. The former construction denotes, that I possess a plate which was broken, (whether with or without my agency, is not intimated,) perhaps, one hundred or one thousand years ago; whereas, the meaning of the latter is, that I performed the act of reducing the plate from a whole to a broken state; and it is not intimated whether I possess it, or some one else. It appears reasonable, that, in a practical grammar, at least, any word which occurs in constructions differing so widely, may properly be classed with different parts of speech. This illustration likewise establishes the propriety of retaining what we call the perfect tense of the verb.
QUESTIONS ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
How are participles formed?—What does the imperfect part express?— What do perfect participles denote?
LECTURE VI.
OF ADVERBS.
An ADVERB is a word used to modify the sense of a verb, aparticiple, an adjective, or another adverb.
Recollect, an adverb never qualifies a noun. It qualifies any of the four parts of speech abovenamed, and none others.
To modify or qualify, you know, means to produce some change. The adverb modifies. If I say, Wirt's style excels Irving's, the proposition is affirmative, and the verb excels expresses the affirmation. But when I say, Wirt's style excels not Irving's, the assertion is changed to a negative. What is it that thus modifies or changes the meaning of the verb excels? You perceive that it is the little word not. This word has power to reverse the meaning of the sentence. Not, then, is a modifier, qualifier, or negative adverb.
When an adverb is used to modify the sense of a verb or participle, it generally expresses the manner, time, or place, in which the action is performed, or some accidental circumstance respecting it. In the phrases, The man rides gracefully, awkwardly, badly, swiftly, slowly, &c.; or, I saw the man riding swiftly, slowly, leisurely, very fast, &c., you perceive that the words gracefully, awkwardly, very fast, &c., are adverbs, qualifying the verb rides, or the participle riding, because they express the manner in which the action denoted by the verb and participle, is done.
In the phrases, The man rides daily, weekly, seldom, frequently, often, sometimes, never; or, The man rode yesterday, heretofore, long since, long ago, recently, lately, just now or, The man will ride soon, presently, directly, immediately, by and by, to-day, hereafter, you perceive that all these words in italics, are adverbs, qualifying the meaning of the verb, rides, because they express the time of the action denoted by the verb.
Again, if I say, The man lives here, near by, yonder, remote, far off, somewhere, nowhere, everywhere, &c., the words in italics are adverbs of place, because they tell where he lives.
Adverbs likewise qualify adjectives, and sometimes other adverbs; as, more wise, most wise; or more wisely, most wisely. When an adverb is joined to an adjective or adverb, it generally expresses the degree of comparison; for adverbs, like adjectives, have degrees of comparison. Thus, in the phrase, A skilful artist, you know the adjective skilful is in the positive degree; but, by placing the adverb more before the adjective, we increase the degree of quality denoted by the adjective to the comparative; as, A more skilful artist: and most renders it superlative; as, A most skilful artist. And if we place more and most before other adverbs, the effect is the same; as, skilfully, more skilfully, most skilfully.
COMPARISON OF ADVERBS.
| Positive. | Comparative. | Superlative. |
| soon, | sooner, | soonest. |
| often, | oftener, | oftenest. |
| much, | more, | most. |
| well, | better, | best. |
| far, | farther, | farthest. |
| wisely, | more wisely, | most wisely. |
| justly, | more justly, | most justly. |
| justly, | less justly, | least justly. |
You will generally know an adverb at sight; but sometimes you will find it more difficult to be distinguished, than any other part of speech in the English language. I will, therefore, give you some signs which will assist you a little.
Most words ending in ly are adverbs; such as, politely, gracefully, judiciously. Any word or short phrase that will answer to any one of the questions, how? how much? when? or where? is an adverb; as, The river flows rapidly; He walks very fast; He has gone far away; but he will soon return; She sings sweetly; They learn none at all. How, or in what manner does the river flow? Rapidly. How does he walk? Very fast. Where has he gone? Far away. When will he return? Soon. How does she sing? Sweetly. How much do they learn? None at all. From this illustration, you perceive, that, if you could not tell these adverbs by the sense, you would know them by their answering to the questions. However, your better way will be to distinguish adverbs by considering the office they perform in the sentence; or by noticing their grammatical relation, or their situation, with respect to other words. To gain a thorough knowledge of their real character, is highly important. Rapidly, fast, far away, soon, sweetly, &c. are known to be adverbs by their qualifying the sense of verbs. "A very good pen writes extremely well." Well, in this sentence, is known to be an adverb by its qualifying the sense of the verb writes; extremely, by its ending in ly, or by its being joined to the adverb well to qualify it; and very is known as an adverb by its joining the adjective good.
Expressions like these, none at all, a great deal, a few days ago, long since, at length, in vain, when they are used to denote the manner or time of the action of verbs or participles, are generally termed adverbial phrases.
Adverbs, though very numerous, may, for the sake of practical convenience, be reduced to particular classes.
1. Of Number; as, Once, twice, thrice, &c.
2. Of Order; as, First, secondly, lastly, finally, &c.
3. Of Place; as, Here, there, where, elsewhere, anywhere, somewhere, nowhere, herein, whither, hither, thither, upward, downward, forward, backward, whence, thence, whithersoever, &c.
4. Of Time. Present; as, Now, to-day, &c. Past; as, Already, before, lately, yesterday, heretofore, hitherto, long since, long ago, &c. Future; as, To-morrow, not yet, hereafter, henceforth, henceforward, by and by, instantly, presently, immediately, ere long, straightways, &c. Time indefinite; as, Oft, often, oft-times, often-times, sometimes, soon, seldom, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, always, when, then, ever, never, again, &c.
5. Of Quantity; as, Much, little, sufficiently, how much, how great, enough, abundantly, &c.
6. Of Manner or quality; as, Wisely, foolishly, justly, unjustly, quickly, slowly, &c. Adverbs of quality are the most numerous kind; and they are generally formed by adding the termination ly to an adjective or a participle, or by changing le into ly; as, Bad, badly; cheerful, cheerfully; able, ably; admirable, admirably.
7. Of Doubt; as, Haply, perhaps, peradventure, possibly, perchance.
8. Of Affirmation; as, Verily, truly, undoubtedly, doubtless, certainly, yea, yes, surely, indeed, really, &c.
9. Of Negation; as, Nay, no, not, by no means, not at all, in no wise, &c.
10. Of Interrogation; as, How, why, wherefore, whither, &c., and sometimes when, whence, where.
11. Of Comparison; as, More, most, better, best, worse, worst, less, least, very, almost, little, alike, &c.
NOTES.
1. This catalogue contains but a small portion of the adverbs in our language. Many adverbs are formed by a combination of prepositions with the adverbs of place, here, there, where; as, Hereof, thereof, whereof; hereto, thereto, whereto; hereby, thereby, whereby; herewith, therewith, wherewith; herein, therein, wherein; therefore, (i.e. there-for,) wherefore, (i.e. where-for,) hereupon, hereon, thereupon, thereon, whereupon, whereon, &c.
2. Some adverbs are composed of nouns or verbs and the letter a, used instead of at, an, &c.; as, Aside, athirst, afoot, asleep, aboard, ashore, abed, aground, afloat, adrift, aghast, ago, askance, away, asunder, astray, &c.
You will now please to read this lecture four times over, and read slowly and carefully, for unless you understand well the nature and character of this part of speech, you will be frequently at a loss to distinguish it from others in composition. Now do you notice, that, in this sentence which you have just read, the words slowly, carefully, well, and frequently, are adverbs? And do you again observe, that, in the question I have just put to you, the words now and just are adverbs? Exercise a little sober thought. Fifteen minutes spent in reflection, are worth whole days occupied in careless reading.
In the following exercises six parts of speech are presented, namely, Nouns, Verbs, Articles, Adjectives, Participles, and Adverbs; and I believe you are now prepared to parse them all agreeably to the systematic order, four times over. Those words in italics are adverbs.
SYSTEMATIC ORDER OF PARSING.
The order of parsing an ADVERB, is—an adverb, and why?—what sort?—what does it qualify?—RULE.
"My friend has returned again; but his health is not very good."
Again, is an adverb, a word used to modify the sense of a verb—of time indefinite, it expresses a period of time not precisely defined—it qualifies the verb "has returned," according to
Rule 29. Adverbs qualify verbs, participles, adjectives, and other adverbs.
Not is an adverb, a word used to modify the sense of an adverb—of negation, it makes the assertion negative; that is, it changes the proposition from an affirmative to a negative—and it qualifies the adverb "very," agreeably to Rule 29. Adverbs qualify verbs, &c.
Very is an adverb, a word used to qualify the sense of an adjective—of comparison, it compares the adjective "good," and qualifies it according to Rule 29. Adverbs qualify adjectives, &c.
EXERCISES IN PARSING.
The traveller described a lofty castle decaying gradually. Very few literary men ever became distinguished poets. The great Milton excels not Homer. The Roman women, once voluntarily contributed their most precious jewels to save the city.
Many small streams uniting, form very large rivers. The river Funza falling perpendicularly forms a vast cataract. Attentive servants always drive horses very carefully; negligent servants often drive horses very carelessly. Assiduous scholars improve very fast; idle scholars learn none at all. Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship, never.
NOTE. Several adverbs frequently qualify one verb. Have you walked? Not yet quite far enough, perhaps. Not, yet, far, and enough, qualify "have walked" understood; perhaps qualifies not; and quite qualifies far. The adverbs always and carefully both qualify the verb "drive:" the former expresses time, and the latter, manner. Once and voluntarily qualify the verb "contributed;" the former expresses number, and the latter, manner. The word their you need not parse. The active verb to save has no nominative. The nouns love and friendship, following in, are in the objective case, and governed by that preposition.
REMARKS ON ADVERBS.
When the words therefore, consequently, accordingly, and the like, are used in connexion with other conjunctions, they are adverbs; but when they appear single, they are commonly considered conjunctions.
The words when and where, and all others of the same nature, such as whence, whither, whenever, wherever, till, until, before, otherwise, while, wherefore, &c. may be properly called adverbial conjunctions, because they participate the nature both of adverbs and conjunctions; of adverbs, as they denote the attributes either of time or place; of conjunctions, as they conjoin sentences.
There are many words that are sometimes used as adjectives, and, sometimes as adverbs; as, "More men than women were there; I am more diligent than he." In the former sentence more is evidently an adjective, for it is joined to a noun to qualify it; in the latter it is an adverb, because it qualifies an adjective. There are others that are sometimes used as nouns, and sometimes as adverbs; as, "to-day's lesson is longer than yesterday's." In this example, to-day and yesterday are nouns in the possessive case; but in phrases like the following, they are generally considered adverbs of time; "He came [to his] home yesterday, and will set out again to-day." Here they are nouns, if we supply on before them.
"Where much [wealth, talent, or something else] is given, much [increase, improvement] will be required; Much money has been expended; It is much better to write than starve." In the first two of these examples, much is an adjective, because it qualifies a noun; in the last, an adverb, because it qualifies the adjective better. In short, you must determine to what part of speech a word belongs, by its sense, or by considering the manner in which it is associated with other words.
An adjective may, in general, be distinguished from an adverb by this rule: when a word qualifies a noun or pronoun, it is an adjective, but when it qualifies a verb, participle, adjective, or adverb, it is an adverb.
Prepositions are sometimes erroneously called adverbs, when their nouns are understood. "He rides about;" that is, about the town, country, or some-thing else. "She was near [the act or misfortune of] falling;" "But do not after [that time or event] lay the blame on me." "He came down [the ascent] from the hill;" "They lifted him up [the ascent] out of the pit." "The angels above;"—above us—"Above these lower heavens, to us invisible, or dimly seen."
Before you proceed to correct the following exercises in false Syntax, you may answer these
QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED IN PARSING.
Does an adverb ever qualify a noun?—What parts of speech does it qualify?—When an adverb qualifies a verb or participle, what does it express?—When an adverb qualifies an adjective or adverb, what does it generally express?—Compare some adverbs.—By what signs may an adverb be known?—Give examples.—Repeat some adverbial phrases.—Name the different classes of adverbs.—Repeat some of each class.—Repeat the order of parsing an adverb.—What rule do you apply in parsing an adverb?
QUESTIONS ON THE NOTES.
Repeat some adverbs that are formed by combining prepositions with adverbs of place.—Repeat some that are composed of the article a and nouns.—What part of speech are the words, therefore, consequently, &c.?—What words are styled adverbial conjunctions?—Why are they so called?—Is the same word sometimes used as an adjective, and sometimes as an adverb?—Give examples.—What is said of much?—By what rule can you distinguish an adjective from an adverb?—Do prepositions ever become adverbs?
PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
As the happiness and increasing prosperity of a people essentially depend on their advancement in science and the arts, and as language, in all its sublime purposes and legitimate bearings, is strictly identified with these, it may naturally be supposed, that that nation which continues, through successive generations, steadily to progress in the former, will not be neglectful of the cultivation and refinement of the latter. The truth of this remark is illustrated by those who have, for many ages, employed the English language as their medium for the transmission of thought. Among its refinements may be ranked those procedures by which verbs and nouns have been so modified and contracted as to form what we call adverbs, distributives, conjunctions, and prepositions; for I presume it will be readily conceded, that conciseness, as well as copiousness and perspicuity in language, is the offspring of refinement. That an immense amount of time and breath is saved by the use of adverbs, the following development will clearly demonstrate. He who is successful in contracting one mode of expression that is daily used by thirty millions, doubtless does much for their benefit.
Most adverbs express in one word what would otherwise require two or more words; as, "He did it here," for, He did it in this place; there, for, in that place; where, for, in what place; now, for, at this time. Why means for what reason; how—in what mind, mood, mode, or manner; exceedingly—to a great degree; very—in an eminent degree; often and seldom signify many times, few times.
The procedures by which words have been contracted, modified and combined, to form this class of words, have been various. The most prolific family of this illegitimate race, are those in ly, a contraction of like. Gentleman-ly, means gentleman-like, like a gentleman. We do not yet say, ladily, but lady-like. The north Britons still say, wiselike, manlike, instead of, wisely, manly.
Quick comes from gwick, the past part. of the Anglo-Saxon verb gwiccian, to vivify, give life. Quick-ly or live-ly, means, in a quick-like or life-like manner; in the manner of a creature that has life. Rapid-ly—rapid-like, like a rapid; a quick-ly or swift-ly running place in a stream.
Al-ways, contraction of in all ways. By a slight transition, it means in or at all times. Al-one, contraction of all-one. On-ly—one-like. Al-so—all the same (thing.) Ever—an age. For ever and ever—for ages and ages. Ever is not synonymous with always. Never—ne ever. It signifies no age, no period of time. No, contraction of not. Not, a modification of no-thing, noth-ing, naught. "He is not greater"—is greater in naught—in no thing.
Adrift is the past part. adrifed, adrif'd, adrift; from the Saxon drifan, or adrifan, to drive. Ago, formerly written ygo, gon, agon, gone, agone, is the past part. of the verb to go. It refers to time gone by. Asunder, the Saxon past part. asundren, from the verb sondrian or asondrian, to separate. Aloft—on the loft, on luft, on lyft; lyft being the Anglo-Saxon word for air or clouds. Astray, the part. of straegan, to stray. Awry, part. of wry than, to writhe.
Needs—need-is; anciently, nedes, nede is. To-wit, the infinitive of witan, to know. It means, to be known. Ay or yea signifies have it, enjoy it. Yes is ay-es, have, possess, enjoy that. Our corrupt o-yes of the crier, is the French imperative, oyez, hear, listen. Straight way—by a straight way. While—wheel; period in which some thing whiles or wheels itself round. Till—to while. Per, Latin,—the English by. Perhaps—per haps, per chance.
These examples of derivation are given with the view to invite the attention of the intelligent pupil to the "Diversions of Purley, by John Horne Tooke."
QUESTIONS ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
How does the use of adverbs contribute to the conciseness of language?—Illustrate the fact.—What is said of ly, like, and quick?—How are the following words composed, always, alone, only, also?—What is the meaning of ever, never, not, adrift, ago, asunder, aloft, astray, awry?—Give the signification of needs, to-wit, ye, yes, o-yes, straightway, while, till, and per.
NOTE. Learners need not answer the questions on the Philosophical Notes, in this or any other Lecture, unless the teacher deem it expedient.
EXERCISES IN FALSE SYNTAX.
NOTE 3, TO RULE 29, Adjectives are sometimes improperly applied as adverbs; as, indifferent honest; excellent well; miserable poor:—She writes elegant; He is walking slow.
The adjectives indifferent, excellent, and miserable, are here improperly used, because adjectives do not express the degree of adjectives or adverbs, but such modifications are denoted by adverbs. The phrases should, therefore, be, "indifferently honest, excellently well, miserably poor." Elegant and slow are also inaccurate, for it is not the office of the adjective to express the manner, time, or place of the action of verbs and participles, but it is the office of the adverb. The constructions should be, "She writes elegantly; He is walking slowly."
You may correct the following examples several times over, and explain the principles that are violated.
FALSE SYNTAX.
He speaks fluent, and reasons coherent.
She reads proper, and writes very neat.
They once lived tolerable well, but now they are miserable poor.
The lowering clouds are moving slow.
He behaved himself submissive, and was exceeding careful not to give offence.
NOTE 4, TO RULE 29. Adverbs are sometimes improperly used instead of adjectives; as, "The tutor addressed him in terms rather warm, but suitably to his offence."
The adverb suitably is incorrect. It does not express the manner of the action of the verb "addressed," but it denotes the quality of the noun terms understood; for which reason it should be an adjective, suitable.
FALSE SYNTAX.
The man was slowly wandering about, solitarily and distressed.
He lived in a manner agreeably to his condition.
The study of Syntax should be previously to that of Punctuation.
He introduced himself in a manner very abruptly.
Conformably to their vehemence of thought, was their vehemence of gesture.
I saw him previously to his arrival.
LECTURE VII
OF PREPOSITIONS.
A PREPOSITION is a word which serves to connect words, and show the relation between them.
The term preposition is derived from the two Latin words, pre, which signifies before, and pono, to place. Prepositions are so called, because they are mostly placed before the nouns and pronouns which they govern in the objective case.
The principal prepositions are presented in the following list, which you may now commit to memory, and thus you will be enabled to distinguish them from other parts of speech whenever you see them in composition.
A LIST OF THE PREPOSITIONS.
| of | over | at | after | betwixt |
| to | under | near | about | beside |
| for | through | up | against | athwart |
| by | above | down | unto | towards |
| with | below | before | across | notwithstanding |
| in | between | behind | around | out of |
| into | beneath | off | amidst | instead of |
| within | from | on upon | throughout | over against |
| without | beyond | among | underneath | according to. |
This list contains many words that are sometimes used as conjunctions, and sometimes as adverbs; but when you shall have become acquainted with the nature of the preposition, and of the conjunction and adverb too, you will find no difficulty in ascertaining to which of these classes any word belongs.
By looking at the definition of a preposition, you will notice, that it performs a double office in a sentence, namely, it connects words, and also shows a relation between them. I will first show you the use and importance of this part of speech as a connective. When corn is ripe—October, it is gathered—the field—men—who go—hill—hill—baskets,—which they put the ears. You perceive, that in this sentence there is a total want of connexion and meaning; but let us fill up each vacancy with a preposition, and the sense will be clear. "When corn is ripe, in October, it is gathered in the field by men, who go from hill to hill with baskets, into which they put the ears."
From this illustration you are convinced, no doubt, that our language would be very deficient without prepositions to connect the various words of which it is composed. It would, in fact, amount to nothing but nonsense. There is, however, another part of speech that performs this office, namely, the conjunction. This will be explained in Lecture IX.; in which lecture you will learn, that the nature of a preposition, as a connective particle, is nearly allied to that of a conjunction. In the next place I will show you how prepositions express a relation between words.
The boy's hat is under his arm. In this expression, what relation does the preposition under show? You know that hat and arm are words used as signs of two objects, or ideas; but under is not the sign of a thing you can think of: it is merely the sign of the relation existing between the two objects. Hence you may perceive, that since the word under is the sign of the relation existing between particular ideas, it also expresses a relation existing between the words hat and arm, which words are the representatives of those ideas.
The boy holds his hat in his hand. In this sentence the preposition in shows the relation existing between hat and hand, or the situation, or relative position, each has in regard to the other. And, if I say, The boy's hat is on his head, you perceive that on shows the relation between hat and head. Again, in the expressions, The boy threw his hat up stairs—under the bed—behind the table—through the window—over the house—across the street—into the water—and so on, you perceive that the several prepositions express the different relations existing between the hat and the other nouns, stairs, bed, table, window, house, street, and water.
A preposition tells where a thing is: thus, "The pear is on the ground, under the tree."
Prepositions govern the objective case, but they do not express an action done to some object, as an active-transitive verb or participle does. When a noun or pronoun follows a preposition, it is in the objective case, because it is the object of the relation expressed by the preposition, and not the object of an action.
I can now give you a more extensive explanation of the objective case, than that which was given in a former lecture. I have already informed you, that the objective case expresses the object of an action or of a relation; and, also, that there are three parts of speech which govern nouns and pronouns in the objective case, namely, active-transitive verbs, participles derived from transitive verbs, and prepositions. A noun or pronoun in the objective case, cannot be, at the same time, the object of an action and of a relation. It must be either the object of an action or of a relation. And I wish you particularly to remember, that whenever a noun or pronoun is governed by a transitive verb or participle, it is the object of an action; as, The tutor instructs his pupils; or, The tutor is instructing his pupils; but whenever a noun or pronoun is governed by a preposition, it is the object of a relation; as, The tutor gives good instruction to his pupils.
Before you proceed to parse the following examples, please to review this lecture, and then the whole seven in the manner previously recommended, namely, read one or two sentences, and then look off your book and repeat them two or three times over in your mind. This course will enable you to retain the most important ideas advanced. If you wish to proceed with ease and advantage, you must have the subject-matter of the preceding lectures stored in your mind. Do not consider it an unpleasant task to comply with my requisitions, for when you shall have learned thus far, you will understand seven parts of speech; and only three more will remain to be learned.
If you have complied with the foregoing request, you may commit the following order, and then proceed in parsing.
SYSTEMATIC ORDER OF PARSING.
The order of parsing a PREPOSITION, is—a preposition, and why?—what does it connect?—what relation does it show?
"He saw an antelope in the wilderness."
In is a preposition, a word which serves to connect words, and show the relation between them—it connects the words "antelope" and "wilderness"—and shows the relation between them.
Wilderness is a noun, the name of a place—com. the name of a sort or species—neut. gend. it denotes a thing without sex—third pers. spoken of—sing. num. it implies but one—and in the objective case, it is the object of a relation expressed by the preposition "in," and governed by it, according to
RULE 31. Prepositions govern the objective case.
The genius of our language will not allow us to say, Stand before he; Hand the paper to they. Prepositions require the pronoun following them to be in the objective form, position, or case; and this requisition amounts to government. Hence we say, "Stand before him;" "Hand the paper to them." Every preposition expresses a relation, and every relation must have an object: consequently, every preposition must be followed by a noun or pronoun in the objective case.
EXERCISES IN PARSING.
The all-wise Creator bestowed the power of speech upon man, for the most excellent uses. Augustus heard the orator pleading the client's cause, in a flow of most powerful eloquence. Fair Cynthia smiles serenely over nature's soft repose. Life's varying schemes no more distract the laboring mind of man. Septimius stabbed Pompey standing on the shore of Egypt.
A beam of tranquillity often plays round the heart of the truly pious man. The thoughts of former years glide over my soul, like swift-shooting meteors over Ardven's gloomy vales.
At the approach of day, night's swift dragons cut the clouds full fast; and ghosts, wandering here and there, troop home to church-yards.
NOTE.—The words my and and you need not parse. The noun "meteors," following the adverb "like," is in the objective case, and governed by unto understood, according to NOTE 2, under Rule 32. The noun "home" is governed by to understood, according to Rule 32.
REMARKS ON PREPOSITIONS AND VERBS.
A noun or pronoun in the objective case, is often governed by a preposition understood; as, "Give him that book;" that is, "Give that book to him;" "Ortugrul was one day wandering," &c. that is, on one day. "Mercy gives affliction a grace;" that is, Mercy gives a grace to affliction. See Note 1, under Rule 32.
To be able to make a proper use of prepositions, particular attention is requisite. There is a peculiar propriety to be observed in the use of by and with; as, "He walks with a staff by moonlight;" "He was taken by stratagem, and killed with a sword." Put the one preposition for the other, and say, "He walks by a staff with moonlight;" "He was taken with stratagem, and killed by a sword;" and it will appear, that the latter expressions differ from the former in signification, more than one, at first view, would be apt to imagine.
Verbs are often compounded of a verb and a preposition; as, to uphold, to withstand, to overlook; and this composition gives a new meaning to the verb; as, to understand, to withdraw, to forgive. But the preposition is more frequently placed after the verb, and separately from it, like an adverb; in which situation it does not less affect the sense of the verb, and give it a new meaning; and in all instances, whether the preposition is placed either before or after the verb, if it gives a new meaning to the verb, it may be considered as a part of the verb. Thus, to cast means to throw; but to cast up an account, signifies to compute it; therefore up is a part of the verb. The phrases, to fall on, to bear out, to give over, convey very different meanings from what they would if the prepositions on, out and over, were not used. Verbs of this kind are called compound verbs.
You may now answer the following
QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED IN PARSING.
From what words is the term preposition derived?—Why is it thus named?—Repeat the list of prepositions.—Name the three parts of speech that govern nouns and pronouns in the objective case.—When is a noun or pronoun in the objective case, the object of an action?—When is it the object of a relation?—Repeat the order of parsing a preposition.—What rule do you apply in parsing a noun or pronoun governed by a preposition?—Does every preposition require an objective case after it?—Is a noun or pronoun ever governed by a preposition understood?—Give examples.—What is said of verbs compounded of a verb and preposition?—Give the origin and meaning of the prepositions explained in the Philosophical Notes.