A Grammar Containing the Etymology and Syntax of the English Language

(4). Some verbs ending in d or t shorten the root vowel, but take no addition: as, feed, fed; lead, led.*

(5.) Some verbs ending in d or t make no change whatever; as, cut, cut, cut.

Some verbs, such as-

leave, left;

lose, lost;

teach, taught;

buy, bought;

sell, sold;
tell, told;

and others of the like sort, though presenting marked departures from the type of the so-called regular verb, nevertheless belong originally to that conjugation, for the reason that the ed inflection is, substantially, found in them.

3. Strictly Irregular.-Verbs belonging, in the strict sense, to the irregular, old, or strong conjugation, have, in the text, been subdivided into the following classes:

CLASS 1.-Root-vowel modified for past, and -en or -n added for participle:

break

broke

broken

CLASS 2.-Root-vowel modified for past, and no suffix in participle: as

CLASS 3.-Regular in past; irregular in participle: as

4. Go-went— gone. -The past went is not formed from the root go, but is a contraction of wended, the past tense of the Anglo-Saxon verb wendan, to wend or go: thus, "He went his way"-He wended his way.

5. Have-had-had.-The past had is a contraction of the AngloSaxon haefde or haefed (past tense of habban, to have), and hence is equivalent to haved; accordingly, this verb belongs properly to the regular, or weak, conjugation.

6. Make-made-made.-Made is a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon macode (=maked), and the past participle is a contracted form of gemacod; so that "make" is originally a regular verb.

7. Double forms.-In the list on pages 245-249 will be found a considerable number of verbs of double form (redundant verbs), that is,

*Forms like lead, led are accounted for as follows: The Anglo-Saxon verb was læde (I lead), ledde (I led). As the Anglo-Saxon passed into modern English the final e ceased to be pronounced, and with it the additional d disappeared as useless.-Bain: English Grammar.

verbs that make their past and participle both regularly and irregularly: as

thrive,
dig,

thrived, or throve,
digged, or dug,

thrived, or thriven;
digged, or dug.

Of such pairs the irregular form is the older; but in the progress of language there is a constant tendency for the regular to displace the irregular form. Many verbs that are now conjugated solely in the regular way were at first irregular; then a secondary (regular) form appeared; and this at last wholly displaced the irregular form. Thus the now regular verb to heat had formerly het for its past tense; and to clothe had clad for its past tense, and yclad for its past participle.

New verbs introduced into our language are always conjugated in the regular manner: as, telegraph, telegraphed, telegraphed.

8. Drank or drunk, etc. —A considerable number of verbs with two irregular forms of the past are found. The present tendency of the language is to give the preference to the forms drank, sprang, began, etc., for the past, and use drunk, sprung, begun, etc., solely as past participles.

ORIGIN OF THE INFINITIVE WITH "TO."

To is not found in Anglo-Saxon before the nominative and accusative of the infinitive, and even in modern English it is not inserted after the following verbs: may, can, shall, will, dare, let, bid, make, must, see, hear, feel, do, need, and have. The cause of its later appearance may be thus explained. In Anglo-Saxon the infinitive was declined as follows: Nominative and accusative, writ-an, to write. Dative, to writ-ann-e, for writing.

When, in later times, the inflectional endings were lost, the origin of the separate forms write and to write was forgotten, and the preposition was inaccurately applied to all cases of the infinitive. The dative to writ-ann-e, by the omission of the case-ending, appears as to writ-an, and the nominative and accusative writ-an, in consequence of this accidental resemblance, improperly received the preposition to.

The nominative and accusative writ-an afterwards assumed the forms writ-en, writ-in, and finally writ-ing, and thus arose the form called the gerund. Hence the identity of meaning in writing and to write.

INDEX.

[The numbers indicate the pages.]

129.

Absolute construction, rule for, 141.
Abstract noun, definition of, 8.
"A-building," explanation of, 77.
Adieu," etymology of, 196.
Adjective, definition of, 35; etymology
of word, 35; function, 35; limiting,
definition of, 36; numeral, 39; pro-
nominal, 37-39; syntax of pronomi-
nal, 154; qualifying, 40; proper, 40;
participial, 40; comparison of, 41;
parsing of, 113; uses of, 113-117; as
complement, 170, 173; syntax of,
153; misuse of, for adverb, 157.
Adjuncts, definition of, 205; of subject,
213, 214.

Adverb, definition of, 85; office of, 81;
classification of, 81; conjunctive, 85;
modal, 86; derivation of, from pro-
nouns, 88; uses of, 123; parsing of,
123; syntax of, 175; position of, 175,
176; misuse of, for adjective, 177.
Adverbial-objective, syntax of, 178; re-
lation, 137, 141.

"A hundred," explanation of, 158.
Alas," etymology of, 196.

"All," use of, 150.

"Alms," number of, 240.

Amen," etymology of, 196
"Amends," number of, 13.
"Among," use of, 188.

Analysis, definition of, 204; distin-
guished from syntax, 139; of simple
sentence, 216; written models of, 220-
228; of complex sentence, 223-229;
of compound sentence, 231.
Anglo-Saxon declension of noun, 240;
of pronouns, 241, 242

"An historical work," 37, note.
"Annals," number of, 13.
Antecedent, definition of, 31.
'Any," etymology of, 37, note; use of,
150.

Apposition, definition of, 102.
Appositives, syntax of, 163.
Articles, 36; definite, 36; indefinite,
36; syntax of, 155, 156.

"As," use of, marking apposition, 164;
as a relative, 186.

"Ask and teach," construction of, 170.
Attributive, explanation of relation,
113, 114; nature of, 137; rules of syn-
tax for, 140.

Auxiliary verbs, definition of, 50; con-
jugation of, 67-71.

Comparison of adjectives defined, 41;
comparative, 41; superlative, 42; for-
mation of degrees, 42, 43; irregular,
43; adjectives incapable of, 44; in ad-
verbs, 87.

Complement, definition of, 49; of tran-
sitive verb, 49, 212; of intransitive
verb, 49, 172, 213; of infinitives, 173;
of participles, 173.
Complementary relation, 137; rules of
syntax for, 140.
Complex sentence, 211.
Compound sentence, nature and analy-
sis of, 231-233.
Conjugation, definition of, 66; regular,
66; irregular, 66; styles (forms) of
progressive, 75, 76; emphatic, 78; in-
terrogative, 78, 79; negative, 79.
Conjunction, definition of, 93; classifi-
cation of, 93; uses of, 125; syntax of,
189-192; correlative, 191.
Conjunctive adverb, 85.

Connective relation, 137; rules of syn-
tax for, 141.

Connectives, definition of, 207.
Co-ordinate conjunction, definition of,
93.

"Conscience' sake," use of apostrophe
in, 21.

Constructions, regular, 138; irregular,

138.

'Could," origin of, 70, note.

Declarative sentence, 210.
Declension, of noun, 21, 22; of pro-
noun, 29.
Defective verb, 79.

Demonstrative adjective and pronoun,
38.
Distributive, adjective and pronoun, 38.
"Do" (auxiliary), conjugation of, 69; in
"How do you do?" origin of, 69, note.
"Doctress," 19.

"Drank" or "drunk," distinction be-
tween, 252.

"During," explanation of, 92.

"Each other," explanation of, 164.
"Each," syntax of, 155.

Eaves," number of, 238.

"-Ed," origin of, in verbs, 58, note.
"Editress," 19.

"Either" (pro.), possessive use of, 39;
(conjunction), misuse of, 155.
"Elder,"
," "eldest," use of, 44.
Element, principal, 205; subordinate,
205; independent, 206; degree of,
208; substantive, 208; adjective, 208;
adverbial, 208.

Feminine gender, 16.
"First two," use of, 158.
Forms in -ing, notes on, 62-64.
"Further" and "farther," distinction
between, 44.

"Gallows," number of, 13.
"Gander," etymology of, 239.
Gender, definition of, 16; masculine,
16; feminine, 16; neuter, 16; how
marked, 17; natural and grammati-
cal, 17; use of, 17; suffix -ess, 18, 19;
feminine innovations, 19.

Genders, different, use of pronoun to
represent, 184; philological notes
on, 238, 239.

Gerund, the, 52, 53; use of, 62; origin
of, 63, note; compound, 62; tests of,
63; uses of, 121; modification of, by
possessive, 162; syntax of, 197.
"Good-bye," etymology of, 196.
Grammar, definition of, 1; English,
divisions of, 2.

Grammatical forms, definition of, 3;
how denoted, 4; explanation of, 5;
of noun, 11-23; of pronoun, 29; of
verb, 53, 54.

Idiom, definition of, 138.
Imperative mood, definition of, 57;
tenses of, 61; person in, 65.
Imperative sentence, 210.
Indefinites, adjective and pronoun, 38.
Indicative mood, tenses of, 57, 58.
Infinitive, definition of, 52; forms of,
52; in-ing, 52, 62, 63, note; compound,
62; uses of, 121; parsing of, 121; syn-
tax of, 197; absolute, 197.
Inflection, definition of, 4.
Interjection, definition of, 95; parsing
of, 126; rule of syntax for, 141, 196.
Interrogative sentence, 210.
Intransitive verb, definition of, 49;
complement of, 172.

Irregular verb, definition of, 66; con-
jugation of, 75; classification of, 80;
list of, 246-251.

"Is being," remarks on, 77.
"Is building" (passive), explanation
of, 77.

"It," use of, as anticipative subject,
141.

"Its," origin of, 243.
Language, definition of, 1.
"Last," etymology of, 44.
"Like," misuse of, for as, 158.

"Many a," explanation of, 158.
Masculine gender, 16.
"Methinks," explanation of, 80.
Modal adverb, 86.
Mode (sce Mood).

Mood, definition of, 55; number of
moods, 55; indicative, 55; potential,
56; subjunctive, 56; imperative, 57;
use of, 198.

Negatives, use of two, 178.
"Neither," syntax of, 155.
Neuter gender, 16.

66 News," number of, 13.
"No," as responsive, 175.
Nominative case, definition of, 20; in-
dependent, 101, 141, 194; absolute,
104, 194.

"None," construction of, 150.
"Notwithstanding," explanation of, 92.
Noun, the, definition of, 6; tests of, 6;
logical definition of, 6; classification
of, 7; proper and common distin-
guished, 7; proper, 7, 10; grammati-
cal forms of, 11; abstract, 8, 10;
common, 79; with plural only, 13;
declension of, 21, 22; person in, 23;
in -ing, 62; method of parsing, 98;
uses of, 99-105; subject of verb, 99;
possessive, 99; object, 100; indirect
object, 101; in phrases, 101; in ap-
position, 102; as predicate nomina-
tive, 103; independent and absolute,
104; objective adverbial, 105; equiv-
alents of, in analysis, 212.
Number, in nouns, 11-13; peculiarities
of, 13; definition of, in verbs, 64;
notes on, in nouns, 237.
Numeral adjective, 39; cardinal, 39;
ordinal, 40.

Object, definition of, 49; of preposition,
90; government of, by transitive verb,
166; by verbals, 166; direct and in-
direct government of, 168: as com-
plement of passive verb, 169; double
after some verbs, 169; use of, after
passive verbs, 171.

Objective adverbial, 105, 178.
Objective case, definition of, 20; cog-
nate, 51; use of, denoting time, dis-
tance, value, etc., 105, 178; govern-
ment of, by preposition, 187, 188.

"Odds," number of, 13.

"O dear!" etymology of, 196.
"O" and "oh," distinction between,
196.

"One another," explanation of, 164.
"Only," use of, 177.

"Other," declension of, 39.

'Oxen," formation of plural in, 237.

"Pains," number of, 13.
Paradigm "to love," 71-74.
Parsing, of nouns, 98-105; of pronouns,
method of, 109, 110; of verbs, 118;
of adjectives, 113-117; of infinitives,
121; of participles, 122; of adverbs,
123; of prepositions, 125; of interjec-
tions, 126; of conjunctions, 126; ab-
breviated, method of, 127-129.
Participle, definition of, 53; simple, 53;
compound or perfect, 62; in -ing, 63;
uses of, 122; syntactical rule for, 153;
syntax of, 198.

Parts of speech, definition and enume-
ration of, 3.

Parts, principal, of verb, 66.
Person, in nouns, 23; in pronouns, 28,
29; in verbs, 64.
Personal pronouns, 28, 29.
Phrase, definition of, 207; preposi-
tional, 207; participial, 207.
Pleonasm defined, 139.
Plural, of nouns, 11; foreign, 13; double
forms, 13; Latin, 13, 14; Greek, 14.
Possessive case, 20; rules for, 21; syn-
tax of, 160; special rules for use of,
161, 162; origin of 's, 240.
Potential mood, 56, 59, 60.
Predicate nominative, syntax of, 172.
Predicate, definition of, 205; grammat-
ical, 206; logical, 206; adjuncts of,
214, 215; "to," meaning of, 48.
Predicative relation, 116, 117; adjec-
tives in, 137; rule of syntax for,
140.

Preposition, definition of, 89; govern-
ment of, 89; function of, 89; list of,

90-92; use of, 124; parsing of, 125;
syntax of, 187, 188.

Principal parts, enumeration of, 66.
Progressive form, 75, 76.
Progressive passive, notes on, 77.
Pronominal adjectives, 37-39.
Pronoun, definition of, 28; classifica-
tion of, 28; personal, 28; relative,
29; declension, 29; compound, 30;
(adjective), use of, 165; uses of, 108,
109; (relative), use of, 109; case of,
179; syntax of, 179.

Pronouns (personal), order of arrange

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A Grammar Containing the Etymology and Syntax of the English Language: For ...