AN ABRIDGMENT

OF THE

PUPIL TEACHER'S

ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND

ETYMOLOGY,

ADAPTED TO THE HIGHER CLASSES OF
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.

PUBLISHED FOR THE USE OF THE MODEL SCHOOLS OF THE CHELTENHAM
TRAINING INSTITUTION.

LONDON:

SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.

CHELTENHAM: WIGHT AND BAILEY.

Price Sixpence, or Eightpence bound in Limp Cloth.

1848.

30276

f.

80

PREFACE.

THE following little book is an abridged edition of "The Pupil Teacher's Grammar," in which it has been thought right to omit those portions of instruction which belong more particularly to the province of Master or Trainer. If the larger work be in the hand of the Master, this edition will be found sufficient for the Pupil.

The whole has been undertaken in more especial reference to the simultaneous or gallery system of education.

The peculiar feature of the work is the attempt to simplify the subject of Grammar; and with this view

(1) Technical expressions have been avoided and explained.

(2) The philosophy of the English language has been regarded, and all confusion with the principles of other languages avoided.

(3) The real deficiency to be supplied, viz. the means of correcting bad language, rather than of instructing a foreigner, has been kept in view.

B 2

The parsing exercises, with which most Grammars are burdened, have been omitted. Such exercises belong to the Trainer, not the writer of a Grammar.

The portions omitted in the abridgement, are "The suggestions to the Teacher," "Introduction on the best mode of conducting Classes," "The list of Saxon roots," and other promiscuous matter.

It is recommended that in all cases the memory should be taxed with nothing which has not passed through the understanding. After the paragraphs in larger type have been thoroughly drawn out by the Trainer, they are intended to be committed to memory.

PART I.

1. LANGUAGE (lingua, the tongue) is the power by which we make known to each other our wants, or ideas.

2. GRAMMAR (gramma, a letter) is the art of speaking, or writing our own language correctly.

ORTHOGRAPHY.

1. ORTHOGRAPHY (orthos correct, grapho to write) is that part of Grammar which teaches the nature and use of letters, and the correct method of spelling words.

2. There are twenty-six letters in the English Alphabet.

3. Alpha, Beta, are the first two letters of the Greek Alphabet, from which the word is derived, as we call it the A, B, C.

4. These letters are in two forms-capital and small letters. CAPITAL (caput, a head) or head letters are used at the beginning (1) of every sentence, (2) of every line of poetry, (3) of every name of persons and places, (4) of months, and days. (5) The pronoun I and the interjection O should be written also with capital letters, and all words of particular importance.