A

PRACTICAL

ENGLISH GRAMMAR

For Schools and Colleges

AND FOR STUDENTS PREPARING FOR EXAMINATIONS

BY THE REV.

W. TIDMARSH, B.A. LONDON

HEAD-MASTER OF PUTNEY SCHOOL

PREFACE

THE endeavour has been made in this book to combine brevity, as far as possible, with both lucidity and exhaustiveness.

On each subject of importance there are copious exercises, most of which may be extended to any length by following the instructions attached to them; so that the teacher need not allow his class to leave any subject before it is thoroughly comprehended. By shortening the exercises, an advanced or intelligent class may go rapidly through the book, while a juvenile or dull class may have an almost unlimited amount of practice on any one of the subjects treated.

The beaten track has been departed from only when it has been thought absolutely necessary either for the sake of accuracy or to avoid confusion: and novel terms have been introduced as sparingly as possible.

A few remarks may perhaps be necessary concerning the treatment of verbs. In the first place an auxiliary is never taken by itself, but is regarded as simply forming part of a verb, just as averunt and sunt are regarded as forming parts of the Latin verbs amaverunt and amati sunt: moreover infinitives and participles, when not joined to auxiliaries, are regarded not as verbs, but as verbal nouns

or verbal adjectives. With regard to the classification of verbs into facient, copulative, and attributive, if sections 119-126, including the notes, be carefully considered, the author believes that it will be found to possess peculiar and important advantages. The word 'active' would have been used instead of 'facient,' were it not that 'active' is already employed in reference to voice.

The classification of nouns, adjectives, and adverbs does not, strictly speaking, come within the province of grammar; nevertheless it will be found a great aid to the younger scholars in determining what words are nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

In the conjugation of a verb [sections 246, 247] no pronouns have been inserted, because the presence of the pronoun in other grammars has been found often to induce a learner to imagine that the pronoun is a part of the verb itself.

The N.B. of section 189 will apply to many other instances where old names have been retained in spite of their unsuitability.

Occasionally a slight knowledge of the matter treated at the end of the book is needed in order that the student may understand something at the beginning; e.g. the objective case [section 78] cannot be fully comprehended without some reference to prepositions [section 281]. Whenever this is the case, there will be found in brackets [] the number of the section where the later subject is treated. Generally speaking, however, the numerals in brackets refer to preceding parts of the book.

An unusually large space, in proportion to the size of the book, has been devoted to the moods and tenses of verbs; because a thorough comprehension of their force

in English is so very necessary in translating into any other language. Many of the difficulties which beset the student of Latin are owing to an imperfect acquaintance with the force of the verb in his own tongue. The multifarious uses of 'should' may be taken as an illustration.

When the author does not agree with other writers on grammar, he has not entered into any defence of his ideas, but has left the text and examples to speak for themselves.

About one-half of the examples are from the Authorised Version of the Bible, and these can readily be verified by reference to a concordance: of the rest, nearly all are from Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice."

Except in arrangement, the author lays no claim to originality he has availed himself of all the English Grammars which have come under his notice.

Many thanks are due from the author for the most valuable hints and advice which he has received from time to time from the Rev. Canon Evan Daniel, Principal of the National Society's Training College, Battersea ; and the Rev. E. Hobson, Principal of the S.P.C.K.'s Training College, Tottenham.

Any suggestions as to improvements or additions which might be made, or faults which might be corrected, in a subsequent edition, will be thankfully received by

THE AUTHOR.

PUTNEY SCHOOL, S. W.,

September, 1881.