I have rode, for I have ridden; I have fat, for fitten; I have got, for gotten. This error is frequently committed by our best writers, and the vulgar translation of the Old and New Teftament, which is the best standard of the English grammar, is not free from this fault: held is there often used for holden; hid fometimes for hidden; and bid for bidden; and begot is twice used for begotten. This error is, however, an enormous folecifm; and the impropriety of it will appear by the abufe of some verbs which have not been fo corrupted: as, I have faw, for I have feen, I have did, for I have done; I have went, for I have gone; which are not a whit more ungrammatical than any other verbs which have the past time, inftead of the participle, after the auxiliary have.,

In the formation of the prefent participle, it is to be obferved, that if the verb end in a Gingle confonant, following a fingle vowel, and accented on the laft fyllable, if it confifts of more than one fyllable, it doubles the last confonant in forming the prefent participle; alfo in every other form of the verb in which a fyllable is added: as, cut, cutting, regret, regretting, regretteth, regretted. Verbs which end in e omit the e in the present participle: as, increase, increasing: all other verbs form the prefent participle by barely adding ing to the verb in its original form: as, turn, turning.

The ADVERB, as its name imports, is added to the verb, and alfo to the adjective, to express some modification, or other circumstance of the action expreffed by the verb, or the quality expreffed by the adjective: as, the time, he reads, now-distance, the countries lie wide apart;-relation, they are closely united;-quantity, an exceeding high mountain;-quality, to live foberly-comparison, they are much alike-doubt, possibly, perhaps ;-affirmation, yes, certainly; -negation, no-demonftration, evidently;-interrogation, how, what-manner, well, ill;-order, regularly-place, here, there motion, flow, fwift.

The adverb in English has no variation, except a few, which have the degrees of comparison; and in these the degrees

D 2

degrees of comparison should be formed by the words more and moft: as, right, more right, most right; and not by the terminations er and cft, like adjectives: as, right, righter, righteft: though the beft writers of the feventeenth century have frequently fallen into this error.

Some adverbs, which are derived from irregular adjectives, are alfo irregular in their degrees of comparison; as the adverb well (which is derived from the adjective good), and has better and beft in the comparative and fuperlative degrees. An adverb is fometimes joined to another adverb, to qualify or enforce its meaning: as, very well, much too large.

PREPOSITIONS are placed between words, to connect them together, and to fhew the relation between them....

Prepofitions originally denote the relation of place, but are now used to denote other relations: as, in, with, through, for, from, by, out, under, to, of, over, &c. Of has the fame meaning with from: learn of me, that is, from me: for fignifies in the place or ftead of another. All the others evidently convey the idea of place, according to the general meaning of the words.

Prepofitions are fometimes placed before verbs, and joined to them fo as to form but one word; în 'which cafe they always alter the fenfe of the verb: as, to land, fignifies a pofture-to' understand, intends comprehenfion: alfo, to go, to outgo; to look, to overlook. Sometimes they follow the verb, and are not joined to it; when they no lefs alter the meaning of the verb: as, to give, to give up; to caft, to caft off, to caft down, &c.

and

The prepofition on is fometimes converted into an a, that chiefly before the prefent participle: as, a walking, a going, &c. which are evidently derived from the phrafes, I was on walking, I was on going; that is, employed on that action. Alfo, twelve a clock, as it is commonly pronounced, but written twelve o'clock, was originally, twelve on the clock.

CON

CONJUNCTIONS are used to connect fentences together; fo as from two or more fimple fentences to form one, which is called a compound fentence.

What a fimple sentence is has been shewn in page 12. A compound fentence is formed of two or more fuch fimple fentences: as," John and Thomas love their book, but Edward is a dunce." This is a compound fentence, formed by uniting the three following fimple fentences together, `by the conjunctions and and but; John loves his book; Thomas loves his book; Edward is a dunce.

Conjunctions are principally divided into copulative conjunctions, and disjunctive conjunctions. They both serve to connect the fentence; but the disjunctive conjunction expreffes an oppofition in the fenfe, as has been fseen by the conjunction but. Alfo the conjunctions or, than, except, unless, although (though), yet, nevertheless, &c. are disjunctives.

INTERJECTIONS, though reckoned one of the parts of speech, are only a kind of natural founds, thrown into a fentence by the speaker, as the result of his feeling, and to exprefs his own affections: as, O! alas! &c.

When the interjection O is placed before a fubftantive, it fhews that an addrefs is made to that particular perfon or thing of which the substantive is the name; and the fubflansive is, in what in Latin is called, the vocative case.

SECT

SECT. IV.

OF SYNTAX.

SYNTAX is the right ordering and framing of words, in order to form fentences with grammatical propriety. And for this purpose, words are faid to govern, or agree with each other.

When a word governs another, it caufes that particular word which it governs, to be in fuch a particular number, gender, cafe, perfon, time, or mode.

When a word agrees with another, it is in that particular mode, number, cafe, &c. which is required by the word that governs it. Thus: "And the fhall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name Jefus; for he fhall fave his people from their fins."-Matt. i. 21. In this fentence he is a pronoun of the third perfon, fingular, feminine gender, and ought to agree with the fubject foregoing, namely, the Virgin Mary;-hall bring, the future time of the active verb bring (referring to the time of the birth of the child), the third perfon, fingular number, to agree with the pronoun fhe, and indicative mode, as it fimply declares the event;-forth, a prepofition added to the verb bring, and which alters its meaning from bring, to bring forth, which fignifies to bear or produce;-a, the indefinite article ;-Son, noun fubftantive, fingular number, mafculine gender, objective cafe ;-and, a conjunction copulative, connecting the following and foregoing fentences together;—thou, the pronoun of the second perfon, fingular, and agent of this fentence ;-halt call, the future time of the active verb call, fecond perfon, fingular, being governed by thou, indicative mode, as it only foretels. or declares the name of the child, but does not command it; his, a poffeffive pronoun, third perfon, fingular, mafculine gender, governed by the noun Son;-name, a fubftantive

common,

common, and the object of the sentence;—Jesus, a substantive proper, mafculine gender, agreeing with the noun Son, and nominative cafe;-for, a còpulative conjunction ;-he, a pronoun, third perfon, fingular, mafculine gender, nominative case, being a substitute for the noun Jefus, and governed by it, and the agent of this fentence;-fhall fave, the future time of the active verb (agreeing in time with the other verbs in the fentence, which are all future), third perfon, fingular, governed by the pronoun hè, indicative mode;-his, a poffeffive pronoun-people, a plural noun, neuter gender, objective case ;—from, a prepofition, fhewing the relation between the nouns people and fins ;—their, a poffeffive pronominal adjective, and as such joined to the plural noun fins, objective cafe.

SENTENCES are either fimple or compounded.

A fimple fentence hath but one subject, or agent, and one verb in the indicative, imperative, or fubjunctive mode; and confifts of three parts, if the verb be active; the agent, the attribute, and the object: as was feen page 12.

A compound fentence confifts of two or more fimple feutences united together by the aid of conjunctions, as hath been fhewn before: or by relatives, as will be feen hereafter.

As language and style is only an affemblage of fentences, too much attention can hardly be bestowed upon their conftruction. We will therefore take a view of the rules of English Syntax, as they regard the feveral parts of fpeech refpectively.

The ARTICLE, as hath been feen, if definite, is placed before both the fingular and plural noun: as, the man, the men: the indefinite article a is placed before the fingular noun only: as, a man.

The SUBSTANTIVE governs both the pronoun and the verb for if the fubftantive be plural, it requires both the pronoun and verb to be plural alfo; and if fingular, they muft alfo be fingular: as, "nothing has fo much expofed men of learning to contempt and ridicule, as their ignorance of things which are known to all but themfelves."Johnson's

Rambler.