PREFACE. THE study of modern languages is recognised on all hands as a matter of such general usefulness now-a-days, that it is unnecessary to advance any reasons for the appearance of a Spanish Grammar, or endeavour to introduce it to notice by a long dissertation on the beauty of the language or the advantages to be gained by acquiring its idiom. It is at length admitted in England, as it has long been in several countries of the Continent, that a knowledge of foreign languages should be considered as much a portion of a liberal education as an acquaintance with Geography or History, and when we reflect on the superiority which the possession of different tongues gives one man over another who has not such advantages, we are at a loss to discover a reason for the neglect of so essential a branch of instruction when the means of attaining it have been so long within our power. In composing this Grammar I have endeavoured to place before the pupil such matters only as are absolutely necessary for the acquiring a knowledge of the construction of the Spanish Language, and I have tried to impress them upon the memory in a plain and common-sense manner. I have bestowed considerable pains on the arrangement of the verbs, not merely trusting to my own personal experience, but consulting the best authorities on the subject; as a thorough acquaintance with this portion of the Grammar is obviously of the very highest importance. Themes of a practical character have been attached to the rules as exercises in writing, and the rules themselves will be found explained in the simplest terms which their nature would allow. KING'S ARMS YARD, MOORGATE STREET; AND LYNDHURST ROAD, PECKHAM. May, 1852. |