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Exposition of the grammatical structure of the English language
Exposition of the grammatical structure of the English language Author:John Mulligan Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: In a class, let each pupil try who can construct the greatest number of appropriate propositions consisting of two words. Note.—These exercises must be contin... more »ued till the learner clearly comprehends what constitutes a proposition, and can readily distinguish the terms which form its essential parts. Here let a sure foundation for the work of grammatical analysit be laid. This being done, we trust the learner will be able, on the plan we propose, to pursue this study with ease, satisfaction, and rapid improvement. In performing these exercises, and all the exercises prescribed hereafter, let the pnpil be strictly enjoined to oft'er no proposition that is not consistent with truth, and which docs not express au appropriate thought—in other words, good xense. If this suggestion is duly regarded, the performance of these tasks will lead to the easy development and improvement of the rational powers of younger pupils; it will help them to aequire facility in that difficult and most valuable accomplishment—the correct and clear expression of their thoughts in writing, whilst they are pursuing, at the same time, what we belicve to be the most effective and systematic course of training in the grammatical knowledge of their own language. § 16. (1) Tke use or purpose which a word (or a class of words) serves in discourse, that is, in forming propositions, we shall hereafter, for the sake of greater precision and brevity, call the Function of the word, or class of words. (2) Words are divided into several classes, in reference to the distinct functions which they perform. (3) These classes are commonly called " The Paets of Speech." (4) In our survey of the essential parts of an assertive proposition in its most simple form, two of these classes of words (and these lh two most i...« less