FIRST CLASSIFICATION OF CONSONANTS,

Based upon the effect of the shaping movement on the vowel-sound. MUTES-Those which, at the end of a

syllable, completely stop the b, d, c (hard,) g (hard,) k, p, q, t. vowel-sound.

HALF-MUTES-Those, through which

the vowel-sound can be im-f, c (soft,) g (soft,) j, s, v, 2.
perfectly prolonged.

LIQUIDS-Those which combine softly

and easily with the Mutes.
They are also called Semi-

vowels, from the extent to, m, n, r.

which the voice can escape
through them.

Note.-The Mutes are related in pairs; thus:

SECOND CLASSIFICATION OF CONSONANTS,

Based upon the organs of speech chiefly used in the movement.

LIP-LETTERS-(Both lips,) b, p, m, w.—(
—(One lip,) ƒ, v.

TONGUE-LETTERS-(Tip of tongue,) d, l, n, s, t, z, c (soft.) Called also

BREATH-LETTER-h.

Dentals.

(Hard tongue,) k, q, r, c (hard,) g (hard.) Called also Gutturals.

(Soft tongue,) j, y, g (soft.) Called also Palatals. (Compound,) = ks.

Note. This second classification is important for the clear understanding of Derivation; since letters, marking the movements of the same organ, are often interchanged.

Words, made chiefly of Liquids and Vowels, have a softer and more musical sound than those formed chiefly of Mutes. Compare in this respect harmoniously with scratch.

Cand g are either hard, as in can and gun; or soft, as in city and gem. The double consonant ch is similarly distinguished hard, in some words, like character; soft, in others, as in church, chin. Besides ch, sh, th, and ng are regarded as double consonants.

Syllables.

(From Greek syn, together, and lambano, (lab,) I take.)

A spoken word consists of one or more distinct sounds. Each of these, or the letters that represent it in a written word, we call a Syllable. There must be at least one vowel in every written syllable.

A syllable, that does not close with a consonant, is called open; as, no.

A syllable, that ends with a consonant, is called shut or close; as, man.

A word of one syllable is called a Monosyllable.

A word of two syllables is called a Dissyllable.

A word of three syllables is called a Trisyllable.

A word of four or more syllables is called a Polysyllable.

Let the pupil give examples of each.

The part of Grammar dealing with letters and syllables is called Orthography, a Greek word which means correct writing.

ANGLO-SAXON.-The Anglo-Saxon Alphabet contained twenty-four letters. There was no q; but th was represented by p for its force in think; for its force in thing. As in the older English Alphabet, j and v were forms of i and w.

PART II.

OF WORDS.

The second part of Grammar is called Etymology. It deals with words taken singly. The word Etymology is often used in the same sense as Derivation; just as Orthography is sometimes adopted as a grander name for Spelling. But Derivation and Spelling are so important as elementary branches of the study of our language, that they are taught separately from Grammar.

In studying words we notice :

1. How many kinds there are. commonly called the Parts of Speech.

The kinds of words are

2. What changes certain words undergo. The changes a word undergoes are called its Inflections (from Latin in flecto, I bend into.)

There are eight Parts of Speech :

NOUN, Pronoun, Adjective, Inflected.

VERB, Adverb,

Preposition, Conjunction,

Interjection,

}

Not inflected.

PARTS OF SPEECH.

A Noun is the name of a thing; as, house, James, strength.

An Adjective is a word, which expresses a quality or attribute as existing in a thing or a set of things; as, a bright diamond, six tigers.

A Pronoun is a short word, used to prevent a noun from being repeated too often; as, Jane took the book, and she kept it.

A Verb is a word, whose chief use is to tell of the performance of an action; as, The knight mounted his steed, and rode away.

An Adverb is used chiefly to express the quality of an action; as, He galloped fast.

A Preposition expresses relation between things; as, My hat is on my head.

A Conjunction joins together words, clauses, and sentences; as, Peter and John lay in a trance.

An Interjection is a word forced from a speaker by some sudden feeling; as, Alas! what shall I do.

THE NOUN.

(From Latin nomen, a name.)

A Noun is the name of a thing; as, lion, book, Paris.

Note. The word thing is used here in its widest sense, as denoting every object we can think of, and including living as well as lifeless things.

The student must be careful not to confound a thing with its name. Suppose a book to be held up, and the question asked "What part of speech is this?" the proper answer would be-"That thing is no part of speech; but its name-the word book-is a Noun."

Kinds of Noun.

There are three kinds of Noun: Proper, Common, Abstract. 1. A Proper Noun is a name that belongs to one thing, and to no other in the same sense; as, Thames, Paris, Milton.

The use of the Proper Noun is to distinguish the different persons or things of the same kind from one another; i.e., shortly, to distinguish individuals.

2. A Common Noun is a name which can be given to any thing of a kind or class; as, river, city, man.

The use of the Common Noun is to denote by one word a class—that is, a collection of persons or things, having a common resemblance.

Note. Suppose a savage in a wood naming the beasts that run past him. At first he gives each beast a separate name; but soon, seeing that some have antlers, others a trunk and tusks, more a striped or spotted skin, he begins to repeat names he used before, until he observes that it will save him much trouble to call animals of the same kind by a common name-a name belonging equally to them all.

A Proper Noun becomes Common, when applied to more things than one. It then takes an article before it, and may be made plural; as, He is quite a Cicero; Thackeray lectured on the Four Georges.

On the other hand, a Common Noun may be made equivalent to a Proper Noun (i. e., may be made to denote an individual) by placing some distinguishing word or words with it; as, this horse; the Queen of England; the Norman Conquest.

Among the kinds of Common Noun we may notice :—
(1.) Collective Nouns, expressing groups or collections of
things, but not applicable, like ordinary Common
Nouns, to each individual in the group; as, army,
flock, gang.

Note.-These are always of the Neuter Gender.

(2.) Names of things which can be weighed or measured; as, tea, milk, gas.

These are not made plural, unless we wish to distinguish different kinds of the material; as, The grocer sells teas and wines; Water is composed of two gases.

3. An Abstract Noun is the name of a quality or action, considered as apart from the thing to which it belongs; as, whiteness, cruelty, flight.