An English Grammar The First Section * Chapter I THE SUBJECT AS A WHOLE Introductory. Purpose of the Study of English Grammar. We think in language, and it is the most important means or tool which we use in communicating with our friends and other people. The mastery of it is, therefore, of the utmost importance to every one of us. Skill in its use enables us to think clearly, to read understandingly, and to speak and write with grace, ease, and force. There are several subjects of study which help us directly in obtaining a command of the English language. English grammar is one of these, and it is therefore closely allied to our home life, our social life, and our school life. Do you know which of the following sentences are correct, and why? * Chapter One may simply be read carefully. It is preliminary. The real study of the subject begins with Chapter Two. 1. I saw my friend, who I once thought would succeed in business, fail. 2. I saw my friend, whom I once thought would succeed in business, fail. 3. One of the children are going. 4. One of the children is going. Some of you may have to ask your teacher or some older person to tell you which sentences are grammatically correct, or if you do know which are correct, perhaps you may not know why. The study of English grammar will enable you to determine right and wrong forms of language for yourself, and to know why they are right or wrong. How do you distinguish an educated from an uneducated person? When you meet a stranger, do you not judge him largely by his language? If he uses good English, and seems to be fairly well-informed, you decide that he is an educated person. If he uses poor English, you think he is illiterate. This method of judging people is often unjust, for many very well-educated people use incorrect English; but people generally will judge you in this way. The use of incorrect English,, then, has a tendency to injure one's chances in life and to destroy one's usefulness. Besides, the English language is the mother tongue in this country and we should all have pride enough in it, and patriotism enough to learn to speak it, and write it well. The German people love their language. They enter into long dis cussions to show that the German spoken at. Court, or the German used on the stage is the purer form of the language. Why should not American boys and girls be proud of their mother tongue and desire to use it well? The subject of English grammar also forces. us to think logically. There is no better subject to train the mind to make distinctions and to reach conclusions from the consideration of facts. It is, therefore, a means of education aside from its practical uses. 1. The Literal Meaning of Words. We are often helped to understand a subject by discovering the literal meaning of the word that names it. To obtain the literal meaning of a word, we must: I. Find the language from which it is derived; as, Greek, Latin, French, or whatever it may be. 2. Obtain the parts of the word in the language from which it is derived. 3. Find the meaning of each part in the language from which the word is derived. 4. Then summarize, or put the meaning of these parts together. This gives the literal or original meaning of the word. To illustrate, we may take the word, definition. In our study of grammar, we shall be constructing and dealing with definitions of many different topics; as, subject, predicate, noun, case, and voice. It |