ARTICLES. 10. A, An, and The, are ARTICLES. A is used before words beginning with a consonant; as, a top, a marble. An is used before words beginning with a vowel, or a silent h; as, an acorn, an hour. Correct the errors in the articles in the following expressions. A end, a army, an heart, an horn, an bed, a hour, a adder, a honour, an horse, an house, an pen, a ox, a eel, a ant, a inch, a eye. NOUNS. 11. The word Noun means a name. All words which signify any thing which we can see, hear, feel, smell, taste, or talk about, are called NoUNs; as, a top, a song, pride, honour, John, America. 12. Nouns have Person, Number, Gender, and Case. PERSON. 13. Nouns have three persons; the first, the second, and the third. The first person is the speaker; as, I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, &c. The second person is the one spoken to; as, Boys, give your attention. The third person is the one spoken of; as, Washington was the first President of the United States. Tell the person of the nouns in the following sentences. O virtue! how amiable thou art! scholar. Harriet, bring me your book. We, the people of these United States. peace! These are thy gifts, O sickness! John is an attentive Lo! these are what God has set before thee, child of reason, son of woman: unto which does thy heart incline? NUMBER. 14. Nouns have two numbers; the Singular, and the Plural. 15. The singular number expresses but one object; as, a boy, a girl, an hour, the book. 16. The plural number expresses more than one object; as, boys, girls, hours, the books. 17. The plural number of nouns is generally formed by adding s to the singular; as, Tell the number of the following nouns. Books, hours, paper, pen, ink, boy, girl, table, house, cart, horse, cow, dogs, cats, sea, rivers, mountains, chair, pencil, coat, eye, nose, mouth, chin, hairs, wood, desk, school, fathers, mothers, brother, sister. GENDER. 18. Gender means the kind, or sex. There are four genders; the Masculine, the Feminine, the Neuter, and the Common Gender. 19. The masculine gender denotes animals of the male kind; as, man, brother, father, son. 20. The feminine gender denotes animals of the female kind; as, a woman, a sister, a mother, a daughter. 21. The word neuter means neither. The neuter gender denotes objects which are neither males nor females; as, a field, a house, a garden. 22. The common gender is applied to those words which signify both males and females; as, parent, child, friend, person. Tell the gender, number, and person, of the following nouns. Father, sister, brother, mother, boy, girl, book, loaf, arms, wife, hats, sisters, bottles, brush, goose, wings, echo, mouse, geese, queens, bread, rings, shoe, candle, tongs, chair, house, boots, pens, ink, paper, table, tumbler, uncle, aunt, cousin, parent, relation, neighbour, person, cat, kitten, squirrel, rabbit, deer. John, tell Mary to bring her book to me. *For the various irregularities in the formation of the plural number of nouns, and, in general, for other irregularities, See the Appendix. CASE. 23. Nouns have three Cases; the Nominative, the Possessive, and the Objective. 24. The nominative and objective cases of a noun are always spelt alike; as, nominative, boy; objective, boy. 25. The possessive case of a noun is formed by adding an apostrophe, and the letter s, to the nominative; as, 26. To decline a noun, means to tell its cases and num 27. When the plural ends in s, the possessive is formed by adding only an apostrophe; as, Tell the person, number, gender, and case, of the following nouns. Father, brothers, mother's, boys, book, loaf, arms, wife, hats, sisters', bride's, bottles, brush, goose, eagles' wings, echo, ox's horn, mouse, kings, queens, bread, child's, glass, tooth, tongs, candle, chair, Jane's boots, Robert's shoe, horse. FIRST RULE OF SYNTAX. 28. THE ARTICLE A, OR AN, AGREES WITH NOUNS OF THE SINGULAR NUMBER ONLY. THE ARTICLE THE AGREES WITH NOUNS OF THE SINGU LAR OR PLURAL NUMBER. To parse an article, means to tell what noun it agrees with, and to give the rule of syntax which shows the agree ment. Parse the following articles. hunter. An A horse. A tree. The house. A man. The trees. The houses. An altar. The Hudson. A hour. An acorn. A lioness. The truth. The justice. The virtues. ADJECTIVES. 29. An Adjective expresses the kind, number, or quality, of a noun; as, a good boy, a bad boy, a tall boy, one boy, four boys. 30. Adjectives have three degrees of comparison; the Positive, Comparative, and Superlative. 31. The comparative degree is formed by adding er to the positive; and the superlative degree is formed by adding est to the positive; as, 32. If the adjective end in e, the comparative is formed by adding r only; and the superlative is formed by adding st; as, 34. Adjectives of more than one syllable are generally compared by placing the adverbs more and most before the adjective. Thus, Compare the following adjectives. Fair, grave, tall, bright, long, short, white, deep, sweet, strong, poor, rich, great, amiable, moderate, disinterested, favourable, grateful, studious, attentive, negligent, industrious, perplexing. Tell the comparative degree of the following. Low, indifferent, ardent, cold, feeble, worthy, convenient, cold, bare, strong, contented, diligent, insufferable. Tell the superlative degree of the following. Beautiful, sensible, hot, intelligent, precise, particular, attentive, desirable, warm, clean, neat, sweet, nice. 35. Adjectives are sometimes used as nouns; as, The good are happy. The learned are respected. The virtuous will be rewarded. Good comes out of evil. 36. Nouns are often used as adjectives; as, a gold ring, a silver cup. SECOND RULE OF SYNTAX. 37. EVERY ADJECTIVE BELONGS TO SOME NOUN OR PRONOUN, EXPRESSED OR UNDERSTOOD. To parse an adjective, is to compare it, to tell what degree it is in, to what noun it belongs, and to give the rule of syntax. Parse the following adjectives. An honest man. An excellent pen. An interesting young lady. Great men. Outrageous behaviour. A shady retreat Beautiful children. Industrious boys. Careless men. White paper. Black ink. Long stories. Higher houses. Taller trees. Whiter clothes. More excellent reasons. The highest house. The tallest man. The shortest boy. The simplest tale. The most beautiful woman. Wonderful stories. The straitest sect. Wider streets. Longer roads. The most impudent conduct. The most persevering char acter. Irregular Comparison. 38. The following adjectives are compared in an irregular manner, as follows: |