Chapter X: Prepositions

A Preposition is a word used to express some relation of different things or thoughts to each other, and is generally placed before a noun or a pronoun: as, "The paper lies _before_ me _on_ the desk."

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.--The relations of things to things in nature, or of words to words in discourse, are infinite in number, if not also in variety. But just classification may make even infinites the subjects of sure science. Every _relation_ of course implies more objects, and more terms, than one; for any one thing, considered merely in itself, is taken independently, abstractly, irrelatively, as if it had no relation or dependence. In all correct language, the grammatical relation of the _words_ corresponds exactly to the relation of the _things_ or _ideas_ expressed; for the relation of words, is their dependence, or connexion, _according to the sense._ This relation is oftentimes immediate, as of one word to an other, without the intervention of a preposition; but it is seldom, if ever, reciprocally equal; because dependence implies subordination; and mere adjunction is a sort of inferiority.

OBS. 2.--To a preposition, the _prior_ or _antecedent_ term may be a noun, an adjective, a pronoun, a verb, a participle, or an adverb; and the _subsequent_ or _governed_ term may be a noun, a pronoun, a pronominal adjective, an infinitive verb, or a participle. In some instances, also, as in the phrases, _in vain, on high, at once, till now, for ever, by how much, until then, from thence, from above_, we find adjectives used elliptically, and adverbs substantively, after the preposition. But, in phrases of an adverbial character, what is elsewhere a preposition often becomes an adverb. Now, if prepositions are concerned in expressing the various relations of so many of the different parts of speech, multiplied, as these relations must be, by that endless variety of combinations which may be given to the terms; and if the sense of the writer or speaker is necessarily mistaken, as often as any of these relations are misunderstood, or their terms misconceived; how shall we estimate the importance of a right explanation, and a right use, of this part of speech?

OBS. 3.--The grammarian whom Lowth compliments, as excelling all others, in "acuteness of investigation, perspicuity of explication, and elegance of method;" and as surpassing all but Aristotle, in the beauty and perfectness of his philological analysis; commences his chapter on conjunctions in the following manner: "Connectives are the subject of what follows; which, _according_ as they connect _either Sentences or Words_, are called by the different _Names_ of _Conjunctions_ OR _Prepositions._ Of these Names, that of the Preposition is taken from a _mere accident_, as _it_ commonly stands in connection before _the Part, which it connects._ The name of the Conjunction, as is evident, has reference to its essential character. Of these two we shall consider the Conjunction _first_, because it connects, _not Words_, but Sentences."--_Harris's Hermes_, p. 237.

OBS. 4.--In point of order, it is not amiss to treat conjunctions before prepositions; though this is not the method of Lowth, or of Murray. But, to any one who is well acquainted with these two parts of speech, the foregoing passage cannot but appear, in three sentences out of the four, both defective in style and erroneous in doctrine. It is true, that conjunctions generally connect sentences, and that prepositions as generally express relations between particular words: but it is true also, that conjunctions _often_ connect words only; and that prepositions, by governing antecedents, relatives, or even personal pronouns, may serve to subjoin sentences to sentences, as well as to determine the relation and construction of the particular words which they govern. Example: "The path seems now plain and even, _but_ there are asperities and pitfalls, _over which_ Religion only can conduct you."--_Dr. Johnson._ Here are three simple sentences, which are made members of one compound sentence, by means of _but_ and _over which_; while two of these members, clauses, or subdivisions, contain particular words connected by _and._

OBS. 5.--In one respect, the preposition is the _simplest_ of all the parts of speech: in our common schemes of grammar, it has neither classes nor modifications. Every connective word that governs an object after it, is called a preposition, _because it does so_; and in etymological parsing, to name the preposition as such, and define the name, is, perhaps, all that is necessary. But in syntactical parsing, in which we are to omit the definitions, and state the construction, we ought to explain what terms the preposition connects, and to give a rule adapted to this office of the particle. It is a palpable defect in nearly all our grammars, that their syntax contains NO SUCH RULE. "Prepositions govern the objective case," is a rule for _the objective case_, and not for the syntax of _prepositions._ "Prepositions show the relations of words, and of the things or thoughts expressed by them," is the principle for the latter; a principle which we cannot neglect, without a shameful lameness in our interpretation;--that is, when we pretend to parse syntactically.

OBS. 6.--Prepositions and their objects very often precede the words on which they depend, and sometimes at a great distance. Of this we have an example, at the opening of Milton's Paradise Lost; where "_Of_," the first word, depends upon "_Sing_," in the sixth line below; for the meaning is--"_Sing of man's first disobedience_," &c. To find the terms of the relation, is to find the _meaning_ of the passage; a very useful exercise, provided the words have a meaning which is worth knowing. The following text has for centuries afforded ground of dispute, because it is doubtful in the original, as well as in many of the versions, whether the preposition _in_ (i. e., "_in the regeneration_") refers back to _have followed_, or forward to the last verb _shall sit_: "Verily I say unto you that ye who have followed me, _in_ the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit _in_ the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."--_Matt._, xix, 28. The second _in_ is manifestly wrong: the Greek word is [Greek: epi], _on_ or _upon_; i. e., "_upon_ the throne of his glory."

OBS. 7.--The prepositions have, from their own nature, or from custom, such an _adaptation_ to particular terms and relations, that they can seldom be used one for an other without manifest impropriety. Example of error: "Proper seasons should be allotted _for_ retirement."--_Murray's Key_, p. 173. We do not say "_allotted for_," but "_allotted to_:" hence _for_ is either wrong in itself or misplaced. Such errors always vex an intelligent reader. He sees the terms mismatched, the intended connection doubtful, the sense obscured, and wishes the author could have valued his own meaning enough to have made it intelligible;--that is, (to speak technically,) enough to have made it a certain clew to his syntax. We can neither parse nor correct what we do not understand. Did the writer mean, "Proper seasons should be _allotted to_ retirement?"--or, "Proper _seasons for_ retirement should be allotted?"--or, "Seasons _proper for_ retirement should be alloted?" [sic--KTH] Every expression is incorrigibly bad, the meaning of which cannot be known. Expression? Nay, expression it is not, but only a mock utterance or an abortive attempt at expression.

OBS. 8.--Harris observes, in substance, though in other words, that almost all the prepositions were originally formed to denote relations of place; that this class of relations is primary, being that which natural bodies maintain at all times one to an other; that in the continuity of place these bodies form the universe, or visible whole; that we have some prepositions to denote the _contiguous_ relation of bodies, and others for the _detached_ relation; and that both have, by _degrees_, been extended from local relations, to the relations of subjects incorporeal. He appears also to assume, that, in such examples as the following,--"Caius _walketh with_ a staff; "--"The statue _stood upon_ a pedestal;"--"The river _ran over_ a sand;"--"He _is going_ to Turkey;"--"The sun _is risen_ above the hills;"--"These figs _came from_ Turkey;"--the antecedent term of the relation is not the verb, but the noun or pronoun before it. See _Hermes_, pp. 266 and 267. Now the true antecedent is, unquestionably, that word which, in the order of the sense, the preposition should immediately follow: and a verb, a participle, or an adjective, may sustain this relation, just as well as a substantive. "_The man spoke of colour_," does not mean, "_The man of colour spoke_;" nor does, "_The member from Delaware replied_," mean, "_The member replied from Delaware_"

OBS. 9.--To make this matter more clear, it may be proper to observe further, that what I call the order of the sense, is not always that order of the words which is fittest to express the sense of a whole period; and that the true antecedent is that word to which the preposition, and its object would naturally be subjoined, were there nothing to interfere with such an arrangement. In practice it often happens, that the preposition and its object cannot be placed immediately after the word on which they depend, and which they would naturally follow. For example: "She hates the means _by which_ she lives." That is, "She hates the means which she _lives by_." Here we cannot say, "She hates the means she _lives by which_;" and yet, in regard to the preposition _by_, this is really the order of the sense. Again: "Though thou shouldest bray a fool _in a mortar among wheat with a pestle_, yet will not his foolishness depart from him."--_Prov._, xxvii, 23. Here is no transposition to affect our understanding of the prepositions, yet there is a liability to error, because the words which immediately precede some of them, are not their true antecedents: the text does not really speak of "_a mortar among wheat_" or of "_wheat with a pestle_." To what then are the _mortar_, the _wheat_, and the _pestle_, to be mentally subjoined? If all of them, to any one thing, it must be to the _action_ suggested by the verb _bray_, and not to its object _fool_; for the text does not speak of "_a fool with a pestle_," though it does _seem_ to speak of "_a fool in a mortar_, and _among wheat_." Indeed, in this instance, as in many others, the verb and its object are so closely associated that it makes but little difference in regard to the sense, whether you take both of them together, or either of them separately, as the antecedent to the preposition. But, as the instrument of an action is with the agent rather than with the object, if you will have the substantives alone for antecedents, the natural order of the sense must be supposed to be this: "Though _thou with_ a pestle shouldest bray a, _fool in_ a mortar [and] _among_ wheat, yet will not his _foolishness from_ him depart." This gives to each of the prepositions an antecedent different from that which I should assign. Sanborn observes, "There seem to be _two kinds_ of relation expressed by prepositions,--an _existing_ and a _connecting_ relation."--_Analyt. Gram._, p. 225. The latter, he adds, "_is the most important_."--_Ib._, p. 226. But it is the former that admits nothing but _nouns_ for antecedents. Others besides Harris may have adopted this notion, but I have never been one of the number, though a certain author scruples not to charge the error upon me. See _O. B Peirce's Gram._, p. 165.

OBS. 10.--It is a very common error among grammarians, and the source of innumerable discrepancies in doctrine, as well as one of the chief means of maintaining their interminable disputes, that they suppose _ellipses_ at their own pleasure, and supply in every given instance just what words their fancies may suggest. In this work, I adopt for myself, and also recommend to others, the contrary course of avoiding on all occasions the supposition of any _needless_ ellipses. Not only may the same preposition govern more than one object, but there may also be more than one antecedent word, bearing a joint relation to that which is governed by the preposition. (1.) Examples of joint objects: "There is an inseparable connection BETWEEN _piety and virtue_."--_Murray's Key_, 8vo, p. 171. "In the conduct of Parmenio, a mixture OF _wisdom and folly_ was very conspicuous."--_Ib._, p. 178. "True happiness is an enemy TO _pomp and noise_"--_Ib._, p. 171. (2.) Examples of joint antecedents: "In unity consist the _welfare and security_ OF every society."--_Ib._, p. 182. "It is our duty to be _just and kind_ TO our fellow--creatures, and to be _pious and faithful_ TO Him that made us."--_Ib._, p. 181. If the author did not mean to speak of being _pious to God_ as well as _faithful to Him_, he has written incorrectly: a comma after _pious_, would alter both the sense and the construction. So the text, "For I am meek, and lowly in heart," is commonly perverted in our Bibles, for want of a comma after _meek_. The Saviour did not say, he was _meek in heart_: the Greek may be _very literally_ rendered thus: "For gentle am I, and humble in heart."

OBS. 11.--Many writers seem to suppose, that no preposition can govern more than one object. Thus L. Murray, and his followers: "The ellipsis of the _preposition_, as well as of the verb, is seen in the following instances: 'He went into the abbeys, halls, and public buildings;' that is, 'He went into the abbeys, he went into the halls, and he went into the public buildings.'--'He also went through all the streets, and lanes of the city;' that is, 'Through all the streets, and through all the lanes,' &c."--_Murray's Gram._, 8vo, p. 219. See the same interpretations in _Ingersoll's Gram._, p. 155; _Merchant's_, 100; _Picket's_, 211; _Alger's_, 73; _Fish's_, 147; _Guy's_, 91; _Adams's_, 82; _R. C. Smith's_, 183; _Hamlin's_, 105; _Putnam's_, 139; _Weld's_, 292. Now it is plain, that in neither of these examples is there any such ellipsis at all. Of the three prepositions, the first governs three nouns; the second, two; and the third, one only. But the last, (which is _of_,) has two antecedents, _streets_ and _lanes_, the comma after _streets_ being wrong; for the author does not speak of all the streets in the world, but of _all the streets and lanes_ of a particular city. Dr. Ash has the same example without the comma, and supposes it only an ellipsis of the preposition _through_, and even that supposition is absurd. He also furnished the former example, to show an ellipsis, not of the verb _went_, but only of the preposition _into_; and in this too he was utterly wrong. See _Ash's Gram._, p. 100. Bicknell also, whose grammar appeared five years before Murray's, confessedly copied the same examples from Ash; and repeated, not the verb and its nominative, but only the prepositions _through_ and _into_, agreeably to Ash's erroneous notion. See his _Grammatical Wreath_, Part i, p. 124. Again the principles of Murray's supposed ellipses, are as inconsistent with each other, as they are severally absurd. Had the author explained the second example according to his notion of the first, he should have made it to mean, '_He also went_ through all the streets _of the city_, and _he also went_ through all the lanes _of the city_.' What a pretty idea is this for a principle of grammar! And what a multitude of admirers are pretending to carry it out in parsing! One of the latest writers on grammar says, that, "_Between him and me_" signifies, "_Between him, and between me_!"--_Wright's Philosophical Gram._, p. 206. And an other absurdly resolves a simple sentence into a compound one, thus: "'There was a difficulty between John, and his brother.' That is, there was a difficulty between John, and _there was a difficulty between_ his brother."--_James Brown's English Syntax_, p. 127; and again, p. 130.

OBS. 12.--Two prepositions are not unfrequently connected by a conjunction, and that for different purposes, thus: (1.) To express two different relations at once; as, "The picture of my travels _in and around_ Michigan."--_Society in America_, i, 231. (2.) To suggest an alternative in the relation affirmed; as, "The action will be fully accomplished _at or before_ the time."--_Murray's Gram._, i, 72. Again: "The First Future Tense represents the action as yet to come, _either with or without_ respect to the precise time."--_Ib._; and _Felton's Gram._, p. 23. _With_ and _without_ being direct opposites, this alternative is a thing of course, and the phrase is an idle truism. (3.) To express two relations so as to affirm the one and deny the other; as, "Captain, yourself are the fittest to live and reign not _over_, but next and immediately _under_ the people."--_Dryden_. Here, perhaps, "_the people_" may be understood after _over_. (4.) To suggest a mere alternative of words; as, "NEGATIVELY, adv. _With or by_ denial."--_Webster's Dict._ (5.) To add a similar word, for aid or force; as, "Hence adverbs of time were necessary, _over and above_ the tenses."--See _Murray's Gram._, p. 116. "To take effect _from and after_ the first day of May."--_Newspaper_.

OBS. 13.--In some instances, two prepositions come directly together, so as jointly to express a sort of compound relation between what precedes the one and what follows the other: as, "And they shall sever the wicked _from among_ the just."--_Matt._, xiii, 49. "Moses brought out all the rods _from before_ the Lord."--_Numb._, xvii, 9. "Come out _from among_ them."--_2 Cor._, vi, 17. "From Judea, and _from beyond_ Jordan."--_Matt_. iv, 25. "Nor a lawgiver _from between_ his feet."--_Gen._, xlix, 10. Thus the preposition _from_, being itself adapted to the ideas of motion and separation, easily coincides with any preposition of place, to express this sort of relation; the terms however have a limited application, being used only between _a verb_ and _a noun_, because the relation itself is between _motion_ and _the place_ of its beginning: as, "The sand _slided from beneath_ my feet."--_Dr. Johnson_. In this manner, we may form _complex prepositions_ beginning with _from_, to the number _of about_ thirty; as, _from amidst, from around, from before, from behind_, &c. Besides these, there are several others, of a more questionable character, which are sometimes referred to the same class; as, _according to, as to, as for, because of, instead of, off of, out of, over against_, and _round about_. Most or all of these are sometimes resolved in a different way, upon the assumption that the former word is an adverb; yet we occasionally find some of them compounded by the hyphen: as, "Pompey's lieutenants, Afranius and Petreius, who lay _over-against_ him, decamp suddenly."--_Rowe's Lucan_, Argument to B. iv. But the common fashion is, to write them separately; as, "One thing is set _over against_ an other."--_Bible_.

OBS. 14.--It is not easy to fix a principle by which prepositions may in all cases be distinguished from adverbs. The latter, we say, do not govern the objective case; and if we add, that the former do _severally_ require some object after them, it is clear that any word which precedes a preposition, must needs be something else than a preposition. But this destroys all the doctrine of the preceding paragraph, and admits of no such thing as a _complex preposition_; whereas that doctrine is acknowledged, to some extent or other, by every one of our grammarians, not excepting even those whose counter-assertions leave no room for it. Under these circumstances, I see no better way, than to refer the student to the definitions of these parts of speech, to exhibit examples in all needful variety, and then let him judge for himself what disposition ought to be made of those words which different grammarians parse differently.

OBS. 15.--If our prepositions were to be divided into classes, the most useful distinction would be, to divide them into _Single_ and _Double_. The distinction which some writers make, who divide them into "_Separable_ and _Inseparable_," is of no use at all in parsing, because the latter are mere syllables; and the idea of S. R. Hall, who divides them into "_Possessive_ and _Relative_," is positively absurd; for he can show us only _one_ of the former kind, and that one, (the word _of_,) is not always such. A _Double Preposition_, if such a thing is admissible, is one that consists of two words which in syntactical parsing must be taken together, because they jointly express the relation between two other terms; as, "The waters were dried up _from off_ the earth."--_Gen._, viii, 13. "The clergy kept this charge _from off_ us."--_Leslie, on Tithes_, p. 221. "Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble, is like a broken tooth, and a foot _out of_ joint."--_Prov._, xxv, 19. "The beam _out of_ the timber shall answer it."--_Hab._, ii, 11. _Off_ and _out_ are most commonly adverbs, but neither of them can be called an adverb here.

OBS. 16.--Again, if _according to_ or _as to_ is a preposition, then is _according_ or _as_ a preposition also, although it does not of itself govern the objective case. _As_, thus used, is called a conjunction by some, an adverb by others. Dr. Webster considers _according_ to be always a participle, and expressly says, "It is never a preposition."--_Octavo Dict._ The following is an instance in which, if it is not a preposition, it is a participle: "This is a construction _not according_ to the rules of grammar."--_Murray's Gram._, Vol. ii, p. 22. But _according to_ and _contrary to_ are expressed in Latin and Greek by single prepositions; and if _to_ alone is the preposition in English, then both _according_ and _contrary_ must, in many instances, be _adverbs_. Example: "For dost thou sit as judging me _according to_ the law, and _contrary_ to law command me to be smitten?" (See the Greek of Acts, xxiii, 3.) _Contrary_, though literally an adjective, is often made either an adverb, or a part of a complex preposition, unless the grammarians are generally in error respecting it: as, "Ha dares not act _contrary to_ his instructions."-- _Murray's Key_, p. 179.

OBS. 17.--J. W. Wright, with some appearance of analogy on his side, but none of usage, everywhere adds _ly_ to the questionable word _according_; as, "We are usually estimated _accordingly to_ our company."-- _Philosophical Gram._, p. 127. "_Accordingly to_ the forms in which they are employed."--_Ib._, p. 137. "_Accordingly to_ the above principles, the _adjective_ ACCORDING (or _agreeable_) is frequently, but improperly, substituted for the adverb ACCORDINGLY (or _agreeably_.)"--_Ib._, p. 145. The word _contrary_ he does not notice; but, on the same principle, he would doubtless say, "He dares not act _contrarily_ to his instructions." We say indeed, "He acted _agreeably_ to his instructions;"--and not, "He acted _agreeable_ to his instructions." It must also be admitted, that the adverbs _accordingly_ and _contrarily_ are both of them good English words. If these were adopted, where the character of _according_ and _contrary_ is disputable, there would indeed be no longer any occasion to call these latter either adverbs or prepositions. But the fact is, that _no good writers have yet preferred them_, in such phrases; and the adverbial ending _ly_ gives an additional syllable to a word that seems already quite too long.

OBS. 18.--_Instead_ is reckoned an adverb by some, a preposition by others; and a few write _instead-of_ with a needless hyphen. The best way of settling the grammatical question respecting this term, is, to write the noun _stead_ as a separate word, governed by _in_. Bating the respect that is due to anomalous usage, there would be more propriety in compounding _in quest of, in lieu of_, and many similar phrases. For _stead_ is not always followed by _of_, nor always preceded by _in_, nor always made part of a compound. We say, _in our stead, in your stead, in their stead_, &c.; but _lieu_, which has the same meaning as _stead_, is much more limited in construction. Examples: "In _the stead_ of sinners, He, a divine and human person, suffered."--_Barnes's Notes_. "Christ suffered in _the place_ and _stead_ of sinners."--_Ib._ "_For_, in its primary sense, is _pro, loco alterius_, in _the stead_ or _place_ of _another_."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 65.

"If it may stand him more in _stead_ to lie."
--_Milt., P. L._, B. i, l. 473.

"But here thy sword can do thee little _stead_."
--_Id., Comus_, l. 611.

OBS. 19.--_From forth_ and _from out_ are two poetical phrases, apparently synonymous, in which there is a fanciful transposition of the terms, and perhaps a change of _forth_ and _out_ from adverbs to prepositions. Each phrase is equivalent in meaning to _out of_ or _out from. Forth_, under other circumstances, is never a preposition; though _out_, perhaps, may be. We speak as familiarly of going _out doors_, as of going _up stairs_, or _down cellar_. Hence _from out_ may be parsed as a complex preposition, though the other phrase should seem to be a mere example of hyperbaton:

"I saw _from out_ the wave her structures rise."--_Byron_.

"Peeping _from forth_ their alleys green."--_Collins_.

OBS. 20.--"_Out of_ and _as to_," says one grammarian, "are properly prepositions, although they are double words. They may be called _compound_ prepositions."--_Cooper's Gram._, p. 103. I have called the _complex_ prepositions _double_ rather than _compound_, because several of the single prepositions are compound words; as, _into, notwithstanding, overthwart, throughout, upon, within, without_. And even some of these may follow the preposition _from_; as, "If he shall have removed _from within_ the limits of this state." But _in_ and _to, up_ and _on, with_ and _in_, are not always compounded when they come together, because the sense may positively demand that the former be taken as an adverb, and the latter only as a preposition: as, "I will come _in to_ him, and will sup with him."--_Rev._, iii, 20. "A statue of Venus was set _up on_ Mount Calvary."--_M'Ilvaine's Lectures_, p. 332. "The troubles which we meet _with in_ the world."--_Blair_. And even two prepositions may be brought together without union or coalescence; because the object of the first one may be expressed or understood _before_ it: as, "The man whom you spoke _within_ the street;"--"The treatment you complain _of on_ this occasion;"--"The house that you live _in in_ the summer;"--"Such a dress as she had _on in_ the evening."

OBS. 21.--Some grammarians assume, that, "Two prepositions in immediate succession require a noun to be _understood_ between them; as, 'Hard by, a cottage chimney smokes, _From betwixt_ two aged oaks.'--'The mingling notes came softened _from below_.'"--_Nutting's Gram._, p. 105. This author would probably understand here--"From _the space_ betwixt two aged oaks;"--"came softened from _the region_ below _us_." But he did not consider all the examples that are included in his proposition; nor did he rightly regard even those which he cites. The doctrine will be found a very awkward one in practice; and an other objection to it is, that most of the ellipses which it supposes, are entirely imaginary. If there were truth in his assumption, the compounding of prepositions would be positively precluded. The terms _over-against_ and _round-about_ are sometimes written with the hyphen, and perhaps it would be well if all the complex prepositions were regularly compounded; but, as I before suggested, such is not the present fashion of writing them, and the general usage is not to be controlled by what any individual may think.

OBS. 22.--Instances may, doubtless, occur, in which the object of a preposition is suppressed by ellipsis, when an other preposition follows, so as to bring together two that do not denote a compound relation, and do not, in any wise, form one complex preposition. Of such suppression, the following is an example; and, I think, a double one: "They take pronouns _after instead of before_ them."--_Fowler, E. Gram._, §521. This may be interpreted to mean, and probably does mean--"They take pronouns after _them_ in _stead_ of _taking them_ before them."

OBS. 23.--In some instances, the words _in, on, of, for, to, with_, and others commonly reckoned prepositions, are used after infinitives or participles, in a sort of _adverbial_ construction, because they do not govern any objective; yet not exactly in the usual sense of adverbs, because they evidently express the relation between the verb or participle and a nominative or objective going before. Examples: "Houses are built to live _in_, and not to look _on_; therefore let use be preferred before uniformity, except where both may be had."--_Ld. Kames_. "These are not mysteries for ordinary readers to be let _into_."--ADDISON: _Joh. Dict., w. Let._ "Heaven is worth dying _for_, though earth is not worth living _for_."--_R. Hall_. "What! have ye not houses to eat and to drink _in_?"--_1 Cor._, xi, 22. This is a very peculiar idiom of our language; and if we say, "Have ye not houses _in which_ to eat and to drink?" we form _an other_ which is not much less so. Greek: "[Greek: Mæ gar oikias ouk echete eis to esthiein kai pinein];" Latin: "Num enim domos non habetis ad manducandum et bibendum?"--_Leusden_. "N'avez vous pas des maisons pour manger et pour boire?"--_French Bible_.[315]

OBS. 24.--In OBS. 10th, of Chapter Fourth, on Adjectives, it was shown that words of _place_, (such as, _above, below, beneath, under_, and the like,) are sometimes set before nouns in the character of adjectives, and not of prepositions: as, "In the _above_ list,"--"From the _above_ list."--_Bullions', E. Gram._, p. 70. To the class of adjectives also, rather than to that of adverbs, may some such words be referred, when, without governing the objective case, they are put _after_ nouns to signify place: as, "The _way_ of life is _above_ to the wise, that he may depart from _hell beneath_."--_Prov._, xv, 24. "Of any thing that is in _heaven above_, or that is in the _earth beneath_."--_Exod._, xx, 4.

"Say first, of _God above_ or _man below_,
What can we reason but from what we know?"--_Pope_.

LIST OF THE PREPOSITIONS.

The following are the principal prepositions, arranged alphabetically: _Aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, amid_ or _amidst, among_ or _amongst, around, at, athwart;--Bating, before, behind, below, beneath, beside or besides, between_ or _betwixt, beyond, by;--Concerning;--Down, during;--Ere, except, excepting;--For, from;--In, into;--Mid_ or _midst;--Notwithstanding;--Of, off,[316] on, out, over, overthwart;--Past, pending;--Regarding, respecting, round;--Since;--Through, throughout, till, to, touching, toward_ or _towards;--Under, underneath, until, unto, up, upon;--With, within, without_.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.--Grammarians differ considerably in their tables of the English prepositions. Nor are they all of one opinion, concerning either the characteristics of this part of speech, or the particular instances in which the acknowledged properties of a preposition are to be found. Some teach that, "Every preposition requires an _objective case_ after it."--_Lennie_, p. 50; _Bullions, Prin. of E. Gram._, p. 69. In opposition to this, I suppose that the preposition _to_ may take an _infinitive verb_ after it; that _about_ also may be a preposition, in the phrase, "_about to write_;" that _about, above, after, against, by, for, from, in, of_, and some other prepositions, may govern _participles_, as such; (i. e. without making them nouns, or cases;) and, lastly, that after a preposition an _adverb_ is sometimes construed substantively, and yet is indeclinable; as, _for once, from afar, from above, at unawares_.

OBS. 2.--The writers just quoted, proceed to say: "When a _preposition does not govern_ an objective case, it becomes an adverb; as, 'He rides _about_.' But in such phrases as, _cast up, hold out, fall on_, the words _up, out_, and _on_, must be considered as _a part_ of the _verb_, rather than as prepositions or adverbs."--_Lennie's Prin. of E. Gram._, p. 50; _Bullions's_, p. 59; _his Analyt. and P. Gram._, p. 109. Both these sentences are erroneous: the one, more particularly so, in expression; the other, in doctrine. As the preposition is chiefly distinguished by its regimen, it is absurd to speak of it as governing nothing; yet it does not always govern the objective case, for participles and infinitives have no cases. _About, up, out_, and _on_, as here cited, are all of them _adverbs_; and so are all other particles that thus qualify verbs, without governing any thing. L. Murray grossly errs when ha assumes that, "The distinct component parts of such phrases as, _to cast up, to fall on, to bear oat, to give over, &c._, are _no guide_ to the sense of the whole." Surely, "to cast _up_" is to cast _somehow_, though the meaning of the phrase may be "_to compute_." By this author, and some others, all _such adverbs_ are absurdly called _prepositions_, and are also as absurdly declared to be _parts_ of the preceding verbs! See _Murray's Gram._, p. 117; _W. Allen's_, 179; _Kirkham's_, 95; _R. G. Smith's_, 93; _Fisk's_, 86; _Butler's_, 63; _Wells's_, 146.

OBS. 3--In comparing the different English grammars now in use, we often find the primary distinction of the parts of speech, and every thing that depends upon it, greatly perplexed by the _fancied ellipses_, and _forced constructions_, to which their authors resort. Thus Kirkham: "Prepositions are sometimes erroneously called adverbs, when their nouns are understood. 'He rides _about_;' that is, about the _town, country_, or _something_ else. 'She was _near_ [the _act_ or _misfortune_ of] falling;' 'But do not _after_ [that _time_ or _event_] lay the blame on me.' 'He came _down_ [the _ascent_] from the hill;' 'They lifted him _up_ [the _ascent_] out of the pit.' 'The angels _above_;'--above _us_--'Above these lower _heavens_, to us invisible, or dimly seen.'"--_Gram._, p. 89. The errors of this passage are almost as numerous as the words; and those to which the doctrine leads are absolutely innumerable. That _up_ and _down_, with verbs of motion, imply ascent and descent, as _wisely_ and _foolishly_ imply wisdom and folly, is not to be denied; but the grammatical bathos of coming "_down [the ascent] from the hill" of science_, should startle those whose faces are directed upward! _Downward ascent_ is a movement worthy only of Kirkham, and his Irish rival, Joseph W. Wright. The _brackets_ here used are Kirkham's, not mine.

OBS. 4.--"Some of the _prepositions_," says L. Murray, "have the _appearance and effect_ of conjunctions: as, '_After_ their prisons were thrown open,' &c. '_Before_ I die;' 'They made haste to be prepared _against_ their friends arrived:' but if the noun _time_, which is _understood_, be added, they will lose their _conjunctive form_: as, 'After [_the time when_] their prisons,' &c."--_Octavo Gram._, p. 119. Here, _after, before_, and _against_, are neither conjunctions nor prepositions, but conjunctive _adverbs of time_, referring to the verbs which follow them, and also, when the sentences are completed, to others antecedent. The awkward addition of "_the time when_," is a sheer perversion. If _after, before_, and the like, can ever be adverbs, they are so here, and not conjunctions, or prepositions.

OBS. 5.--But the great Compiler proceeds: "The _prepositions, after, before, above, beneath_, and several others, sometimes _appear to be adverbs_, and may be _so considered_: as, 'They had their reward soon _after_;' 'He died not long _before_;' 'He dwells _above_;' but if the nouns _time_ and _place_ be added, they will lose their adverbial form: as, 'He died not long _before that time_,' &c."--_Ib._ Now, I say, when any of the foregoing words "_appear_ to be adverbs," they _are_ adverbs, and, if adverbs, then not prepositions. But to consider prepositions to be adverbs, as Murray here does, or seems to do; and to suppose "the NOUNS _time_ AND _place_" to be understood in the several examples here cited, as he also does, or seems to do; are singly such absurdities as no grammarian should fail to detect, and together such a knot of blunders, as ought to be wondered at, even in the Compiler's humblest copyist. In the following text, there is neither preposition nor ellipsis:

"Above, below, without, within, around,
Confus'd, unnumber'd multitudes are found."--_Pope, on Fame_.

OBS. 6.--It comports with the name and design of this work, which is a broad synopsis of grammatical criticism, to notice here one other absurdity; namely, the doctrine of "_sentential nouns_." There is something of this in several late grammars: as, "The prepositions, after, before, ere, since, till, and until, frequently govern _sentential_ nouns; and after, before, since, notwithstanding, and some others, frequently govern a noun or pronoun _understood_. A preposition governing a sentential noun, is, by Murray and others, considered a _conjunction_; and a preposition governing a noun understood, an _adverb_."--J. L. PARKHURST: _in Sanborn's Gram._, p. 123. "Example: 'He will, _before he dies_, sway the sceptre.' _He dies_ is a sentential noun, third person, singular number; and is governed by _before_; _before he dies_, being equivalent in meaning to _before his death_."--_Sanborn, Gram._, p. 176. "'_After they had waited_ a long time, they departed.' After _waiting_."--_Ib._ This last solution supposes the phrase, "_waiting a long time_," or at least the participle _waiting_, to be a _noun_; for, upon the author's principle of equivalence, "_they had waited_," will otherwise be a "_sentential_" _participle_--a thing however as good and as classical as the other!

OBS. 7.--If a preposition can ever be justly said to take a sentence for its object, it is chiefly in certain ancient expressions, like the following: "For _in that_ he died, he died unto sin once; but _in that_ he liveth, he liveth unto God."--_Rom._, vi, 10. "My Spirit shall not always strive with man, _for that_ he also is flesh."--_Gen._, vi, 3. "For, _after that_, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."--_1 Cor._, i, 21. Here, _in, for_, and _after_, are all followed by the word _that_; which Tooke, Webster, Frazee, and some others, will have to be "a substitute," or "pronoun," representing the sentence which follows it, and governed by the preposition. But _that_, in this sense, is usually, and perhaps more properly, reckoned a conjunction. And if we take it so, _in, for_, and _after_, (unless the latter be an adverb,) must either be reckoned conjunctions also, or be supposed to govern sentences. The expressions however are little used; because "_in that_" is nearly equivalent to _as_; "_for that_" can be better expressed by _because_; and "_after that_," which is equivalent to [Greek: epeide], _postquam_, may well be rendered by the term, _seeing that_, or _since_. "_Before that_ Philip called thee," is a similar example; but "_that_" is here needless, and "_before_" may be parsed as a conjunctive adverb of time. I have one example more: "But, _besides that_ he attempted it formerly with no success, it is certain the Venetians keep too watchful an eye," &c.--_Addison_. This is good English, but the word "_besides_" if it be not a conjunction, may as well be called an adverb, as a preposition.

OBS. 8.--There are but few words in the list of prepositions, that are not sometimes used as being of some other part of speech. Thus _bating, excepting, concerning, touching, respecting, during, pending_, and a part of the compound _notwithstanding_, are literally participles; and some writers, in opposition to general custom, refer them always to their original class. Unlike most other prepositions, they do not refer to _place_, but rather to _action, state_, or _duration_; for, even as prepositions, they are still allied to participles. Yet to suppose them always participles, as would Dr. Webster and some others, is impracticable. Examples: "They speak _concerning_ virtue."--_Bullions, Prin. of E. Gram._, p. 69. Here _concerning_ cannot be a participle, because its antecedent term is a _verb_, and the meaning is, "they _speak_ of virtue." "They are bound _during life_." that is, _durante vitâ_, life continuing, or, as long as life lasts. So, "_Notwithstanding this_," i.e., "_hoc non obstante_," this not hindering. Here the nature of the construction seems to depend on the order of the words. "Since he had succeeded, _notwithstanding them_, peaceably to the throne."--_Bolingbroke, on Hist._, p. 31. "This is a correct English idiom, Dr. Lowth's _criticism_, to the contrary _notwithstanding_."--_Webster's Improved Gram._, p. 85. In the phrase, "_notwithstanding them_," the former word is clearly a preposition governing the latter; but Dr. Webster doubtless supposed the word "_criticism_" to be in the nominative case, put absolute with the participle: and so it would have been, had he written _not withstanding_ as two words, like "_non obstante_;" but the compound word _notwithstanding_ is not a participle, because there is no verb _to notwithstand_. But _notwithstanding_, when placed before a nominative, or before the conjunction _that_, is a conjunction, and, as such, must be rendered in Latin by _tamen_, yet, _quamvis_, although, or _nihilominus_, nevertheless.

OBS. 9.--_For_, when it signifies _because_, is a conjunction: as, "Boast not thyself of to-morrow; _for_ thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."--_Prov._, xxvii, 1. _For_ has this meaning, and, according to Dr. Johnson, is a conjunction, when it precedes _that_; as, "Yet _for that_ the worst men are most ready to remove, I would wish them chosen by discretion of wise men."--_Spenser._ The phrase, as I have before suggested, is almost obsolete; but Murray, in one place, adopts it from Dr. Beattie: "For _that_ those parts of the verb are not properly called tenses."--_Octavo Gram._, p. 75. How he would have parsed it, does not appear. But both words are connectives. And, from the analogy of those terms which serve as links to other terms, I should incline to take _for that, in that, after that_, and _besides that_, (in which a known conjunction is put last,) as complex conjunctions; and also, to take _as for, as to_, and _because of_, (in which a known preposition is put last,) as complex prepositions. But there are other regular and equivalent expressions that ought in general to be preferred to any or all of these.

OBS. 10.--Several words besides those contained in the list above, are (or have been) occasionally employed in English as prepositions: as, _A_, (chiefly used before participles,) _abaft, adown, afore, aloft, aloof, alongside, anear, aneath, anent, aslant, aslope, astride, atween, atwixt, besouth, bywest, cross, dehors, despite, inside, left-hand, maugre, minus, onto, opposite, outside, per, plus, sans, spite, thorough, traverse, versus, via, withal, withinside_.

OBS. 11.--Dr. Lowth says, "The particle _a_ before participles, in the phrases _a_ coming, _a_ going, _a_ walking, _a_ shooting, &c. and before nouns, as _a_-bed, _a_-board, _a_-shore, _a_-foot, &c. seems to be _a true and genuine preposition_, a little disguised by familiar use and quick pronunciation. Dr. Wallis supposes it to be the preposition _at_. I rather think it is the preposition _on_."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 65; _Churchill's_, 268. There is no need of supposing it to be either. It is not from _on_; for in Saxon it sometimes accompanied _on_: as in the phrase, "_on á weoruld_;" that is, "_on to ages_;" or, as Wickliffe rendered it, "_into worldis_;" or, as our version has it, "_for ever_." See _Luke_, i, 55. This preposition was in use long before either _a_ or _an_, as an article, appeared in its present form in the language; and, for ought I can discover, it may be as old as either _on_ or _at_. _An_, too, is found to have had at times the sense and construction of _in_ or _on_; and this usage is, beyond doubt, older than that which makes it an article. _On_, however, was an exceedingly common preposition in Saxon, being used almost always where we now put _on, in, into, upon_, or _among_, and sometimes, for _with_ or _by_; so, sometimes, where _a_ was afterwards used: thus, "What in the Saxon Gospel of John, is, 'Ic wylle gan _on_ fixoth,' is, in the English version, 'I go _a_ fishing.' Chap, xxi, ver. 3." See _Lowth's Gram._, p. 65; _Churchill's_, 269. And _a_ is now sometimes equivalent to _on_; as, "He would have a learned University make Barbarisms a purpose."--_Bentley, Diss. on Phalaris_, p. 223. That is,--"_on_ purpose." How absurdly then do some grammarians interpret the foregoing text!--"I go _on_ a fishing."--_Alden's Gram._, p. 117. "I go _on_ a fishing voyage or business."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 221; _Merchant's_, 101. "It may not be improper," says Churchill in another place, "to observe here, that the preposition _on_, is too frequently pronounced as if it were the vowel _a_, in ordinary conversation; and this corruption _is_ [has] become so prevalent, that I have even met with 'laid it _a oneside_' in a periodical publication. It should have been '_on one side_,' if the expression were meant to be particular; '_aside_,' if general."--_New Gram._, p. 345. By these writers, _a_ is also supposed to be sometimes a corruption of _of_: as, "Much in the same manner, Thomas _of_ Becket, by very frequent and familiar use, became Thomas _à_ Becket; and one _of the_ clock, or perhaps _on the_ clock, is written one o'clock, but pronounced one _a_ clock. The phrases with _a_ before a participle are out of use in the solemn style; but still prevail in familiar discourse. They are established by long usage, and good authority; and there seems to be no reason, why they should be utterly rejected."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 66. "Much in the same manner, John _of_ Nokes, and John _of_ Styles, become John _a_ Nokes, and John _a_ Styles: and one _of the_ clock, or rather _on the_ clock, is written one _o_'clock, but pronounced one _a_ clock. The phrases with a before participles, are out of use in the solemn style; but still prevail in familiar discourse."--_Churchill's New Gram._, p. 269.

OBS. 12.--The following are _examples_ of the less usual prepositions, _a_, and others that begin with _a_: "And he set--three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work."--_2 Chron._, ii, 18. "Who goeth _a_ warfare any time at his own charges?"--_1 Cor._, ix, 7. "And the mixed multitude that was among them fell _a_ lusting."--_Num._, xi, 4.

"And sweet Billy Dimond, _a_ patting his hair up."
--_Feast of the Poets_, p. 17.

"The god fell _a_ laughing to see his mistake."
--_Ib._, p. 18.

"You'd have thought 'twas the bishops or judges _a_ coming."
--_Ib._, p. 22.

"A place on the lower deck, _abaft_ the mainmast."--_Gregory's Dict._ "A moment gazed _adown_ the dale."--_Scott, L. L._, p. 10. "_Adown_ Strath-Gartney's valley broad."--_Ib._, p. 84. "For _afore_ the harvest, when the bud is perfect," &c.--_Isaiah_, xviii, 5. "Where the great luminary _aloof_ the vulgar constellations thick,"--See _Milton's Paradise Lost_, B. iii, l. 576. "The great luminary _aloft_ the vulgar constellations thick."--_Johnson's Dict., w. Aloft_. "Captain Falconer having previously gone _alongside_, the Constitution."--_Newspaper_. "Seventeen ships sailed for New England, and _aboard_ these above fifteen hundred persons."--_Robertson's Amer._, ii, 429. "There is a willow grows _askant_ the brook:" Or, as in some editions: "There is a willow grows _aslant_ the brook."--SHAK., _Hamlet_, Act iv, 7. "_Aslant_ the dew-bright earth."--_Thomson_. "Swift as meteors glide _aslope_ a summer eve."--_Fenton_. "_Aneath_ the heavy rain."--_James Hogg_, "With his magic spectacles _astride_ his nose."--_Merchant's Criticisms_.

"_Atween_ his downy wings be furnished, there."
--_Wordsworth's Poems_, p. 147.

"And there a season _atween_ June and May."
--_Castle of Indolence_, C. i, st. 2.

OBS. 13.--The following are examples of rather unusual prepositions beginning with _b, c_, or _d_; "Or where wild-meeting oceans boil _besouth_ Magellan."--_Burns_. "Whereupon grew that _by-word_, used by the Irish, that they dwelt _by-west_ the law, _which_ dwelt beyond the river _of the_ Barrow."--DAVIES: in _Joh. Dict._ Here Johnson calls _by-west_ a noun substantive, and Webster, as improperly, marks it for an adverb. No hyphen is needed in _byword_ or _bywest_. The first syllable of the latter is pronounced _be_, and ought to be written so, if "_besouth_" is right.

"From Cephalonia _cross_ the surgy main
Philætius late arrived, a faithful swain."
--_Pope, Odys._, B. xx, l. 234.

"And _cross_ their limits cut a sloping way,
Which the twelve signs in beauteous order sway."
--_Dryden's Virgil_.

"A fox was taking a walk one night _cross_ a village."--_L'Estrange_. "The enemy had cut down great trees _cross_ the ways."--_Knolles_. "DEHORS, prep. [Fr.] Without: as, '_dehors_ the land.' Blackstone."--_Worcester's Dict._, 8vo. "You have believed, _despite_ too our physical conformation."--_Bulwer_.

"And Roderick shall his welcome make,
_Despite_ old spleen, for Douglas' sake."
--_Scott, L. L._, C. ii, st. 26.

OBS. 14.--The following quotations illustrate further the list of unusual prepositions: "And she would be often weeping _inside_ the room while George was amusing himself without."--_Anna Ross_, p. 81. "Several nuts grow closely together, _inside_ this prickly covering."--_Jacob Abbot_. "An other boy asked why the peachstone was not _outside_ the peach."--_Id._ "As if listening to the sounds _withinside_ it."--_Gardiner's Music of Nature_, p. 214. "Sir Knight, you well might mark the mound, _Left hand_ the town."--_Scott's Marmion_. "Thus Butler, _maugre_ his wicked intention, sent them home again."--_Sewel's Hist._, p. 256. "And, _maugre_ all that can be said in its favour."--_Stone, on Freemasonry_, p. 121. "And, _maugre_ the authority of Sterne, I even doubt its benevolence."--_West's Letters_, p. 29.

"I through the ample air in triumph high
Shall lead Hell captive _maugre_ Hell."
--_Milton's P. L._, B. iii, l. 255.

"When Mr. Seaman arose in the morning, he found himself _minus_ his coat, vest, pocket-handkerchief, and tobacco-box."--_Newspaper_. "Throw some coals _onto_ the fire."--FORBY: _Worcester's Dict., w. Onto_. "Flour, at $4 _per_ barrel."--_Preston's Book-Keeping_. "Which amount, _per_ invoice, to $4000."--_Ib._ "_To Smiths_ is the substantive _Smiths, plus_ the preposition _to_."--_Fowler's E. Gram._, §33. "The Mayor of Lynn _versus_ Turner."--_Cowper's Reports_, p. 86. "Slaves were imported from Africa, _via_ Cuba."--_Society in America_, i, 327. "_Pending_ the discussion of this subject, a memorial was presented."--_Gov. Everett_.

"Darts his experienced eye and soon _traverse_
The whole battalion views their order due."--_Milton_.

"Because, when _thorough_ deserts vast
And regions desolate they past."--_Hudibras_.

OBS. 15.--_Minus_, less, _plus_, more, _per_, by, _versus_, towards, or against, and _viâ_, by the way of, are Latin words; and it is not very consistent with the _purity_ of our tongue, to use them as above. _Sans_, without, is French, and not now heard with us. _Afore_ for _before, atween_ for _between, traverse_ for _across, thorough_ for _through_, and _withal_ for _with_, are obsolete. _Withal_ was never placed before its object, but was once very common at the end of a sentence. I think it not properly a preposition, but rather an adverb. It occurs in Shakspeare, and so does _sans_; as,

"I did laugh, _sans_ intermission, an hour by his dial."
--_As You Like It_.

"I pr'ythee, _whom_ doth he trot _withal_?"
--_Ib._

"_Sans_ teeth, _sans_ eyes, _sans_ taste, _sans_ every thing."
--_Ib._

OBS. 16.--Of the propriety and the nature of such expressions as the following, the reader may now judge for himself: "In consideration of what passes sometimes _within-side of_ those vehicles."--_Spectator_, No. 533. "Watch over yourself, and let nothing throw you _off from_ your guard."--_District School_, p. 54. "The windows broken, the door _off from_ the hinges, the roof open and leaky."--_Ib._, p. 71. "He was always a shrewd observer of men, _in and out of_ power."--_Knapp's Life of Burr_, p. viii. "Who had never been broken _in to_ the experience of sea voyages."--_Timothy Flint_. "And there came a fire _out from before_ the Lord."--_Leviticus_, ix, 24. "Because eight readers _out of_ ten, it is believed, forget it."--_Brown's Estimate_, ii, 32. "Fifty days after the _Passover_, and _their coming out of_ Egypt."--_Watts's Script. Hist._, p. 57. "As the mountains are _round about_ Jerusalem, so the Lord is _round about_ his people."--_Psal._, cxxv, 2. "Literally, 'I proceeded _forth from out of_ God and am come.'"--_Gurney's Essays_, p. 161. "But he that came _down from_ (or _from out of_) heaven."--_Ibid._

"Here none the last funereal rights receive;
To be cast _forth the camp_, is all their friends can give."
--_Rowe's Lucan_, vi, 166.

EXAMPLES FOR PARSING.

PRAXIS X.--ETYMOLOGICAL.

_In the Tenth Praxis, it is required of the pupil--to distinguish and define the different parts of speech, and the classes and modifications of the_ ARTICLES, NOUNS, ADJECTIVES, PRONOUNS, VERBS, PARTICIPLES, ADVERBS, CONJUNCTIONS, _and_ PREPOSITIONS.

_The definitions to be given in the Tenth Praxis, are, two for an article, six for a noun, three for an adjective, six for a pronoun, seven for a verb finite, five for an infinitive, two for a participle, two (and sometimes three) for an adverb, two for a conjunction, one for a preposition, and one for an interjection. Thus_:--

EXAMPLE PARSED.

"Never adventure on too near an approach to what is evil."--_Maxims_.

_Never_ is an adverb of time. 1. An adverb is a word added to a verb, a participle, an adjective, or an other adverb; and generally expresses time, place, degree, or manner. 2. Adverbs of time are those which answer to the question, _When? How long? How soon?_ or, _How often?_ including these which ask.

_Adventure_ is a regular active-intransitive verb, from _adventure, adventured, adventuring, adventured_; found in the imperative mood, present tense, second person, singular (or it may be plural) number. 1. A verb is a word that signifies _to be, to act_, or _to be acted upon_. 2. A regular verb is a verb that forms the preterit and the perfect participle by assuming _d_ or _ed_. 3. An active-intransitive verb is a verb that expresses an action that has no person or thing for its object. 4. The imperative mood is that form of the verb which is used in commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting. 5. The present tense is that which expresses what now exists, or is taking place. 6. The second person is that which denotes the hearer, or the person addressed. 7. The singular number is that which denotes but one.

_On_ is a preposition. 1. A preposition is a word used to express some relation of different things or thoughts to each other, and is generally placed before a noun or a pronoun.

_Too_ is an adverb of degree. 1. An adverb is a word added to a verb, a participle, an adjective, or an other adverb; and generally expresses time, place, degree, or manner. 2. Adverbs of decree are those which answer to the question, _How much? How little?_ or to the idea of _more or less_.

_Near_ is a common adjective, of the positive degree; compared, _near, nearer, 2.[sic--KTH] nearest_ or _next_. 1. An adjective is a word added to a noun or pronoun, and generally expresses quality. A common adjective is any ordinary epithet, or adjective denoting quality or situation. 3. The positive degree is that which is expressed by the adjective in its simple form.

_An_ is the indefinite article. 1. An article is the word _the, an_, or _a_, which we put before nouns to limit their signification. 2. The indefinite article is _an_ or _a_, which denotes one thing of a kind, but not any particular one.

_Approach_ is a common noun, of the third person, singular number, neuter gender, and objective case. 1. A noun is the name of any person, place, or thing, that can be known or mentioned. 2. A common noun is the name of a sort, kind, or class, of beings or things. 3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 4. The singular number is that which denotes but one. 5. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female. 6. The objective case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun which usually denotes the object of a verb, participle, or preposition.

_To_ is a preposition. 1. A preposition is a word used to express some relation of different things or thoughts to each other, and is generally placed before a noun or a pronoun.

_What_ is a relative pronoun, of the third person, singular number, neuter gender, and nominative case. 1. A pronoun is a word used in stead of a noun. 2. A relative pronoun is a pronoun that represents an antecedent word or phrase, and connects different clauses of a sentence. 3. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 4. The singular number is that which denotes but one. 5. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female. 6. The nominative case is that form or stats of a noun or pronoun, which usually denotes the subject of a finite verb.

_Is_ is an irregular neuter verb, from be, was, being, been; found in the indicative mood, present tense, third person, and singular number. 1. A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon. 2. An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the preterit and the perfect participle by assuming d or ed. 3. A neuter verb is a verb that expresses neither action nor passion, but simply being, or a state of being. 4. The indicative mood is that form of a verb, which simply indicates or declares a thing, or asks a question. 5. The present tense is that which expresses what now exists, or is taking place. 6. The third person is that which denotes the person or thing merely spoken of. 7. The singular number is that which denotes but one.

_Evil_ is a common adjective, of the positive degree; compared irregularly, bad, evil, or ill, worse, worst. 1. An adjective is a word added to a noun or pronoun, and generally expresses quality. 2. A common adjective is any ordinary epithet, or adjective denoting quality or situation. 3. The positive degree is that which is expressed by the adjective in its simple form.

LESSON I.--PARSING.

"My Lord, I do here, in the name of all the learned and polite persons of the nation, complain to your Lordship, as first minister, that our language is imperfect; that its daily improvements are by no means in proportion to its daily corruptions; that the pretenders to polish and refine it, have chiefly multiplied abuses and absurdities; and that, in many instances, it offends against every part of grammar."--_Dean Swift, to the Earl of Oxford_.

"Swift must be allowed to have been a good judge of this matter; to which he was himself very attentive, both in his own writings, and in his remarks upon those of his friends: He is one of the most correct, and perhaps [he is] the best, of our prose writers. Indeed the justness of this complaint, _as_ far as I can find, _hath_ never yet been questioned; and yet no effectual method _hath_ hitherto been taken to redress the grievance which was the object of it."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. iv.

"The only proper use to be made of the blemishes which occur in the writings of such authors, [as Addison and Swift--authors whose 'faults are overbalanced by high beauties'--] is, to point out to those who apply themselves to the study of composition, some of the rules which they ought to observe for avoiding such errors; and to render them sensible of the necessity of strict attention to language and style."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 233.

"Thee, therefore, and with thee myself I weep,
For thee and me I mourn in anguish deep."--_Pope's Homer_.

LESSON II.--PARSING.

"The southern corner of Europe, comprehended between the thirty-sixth and fortieth degrees of latitude, bordering on Epirus and Macedonia towards the north, and on other sides surrounded by the sea, was inhabited, above eighteen centuries before the Christian era, by many small tribes of hunters and shepherds, among whom the Pelasgi and Hellenes were the most numerous and powerful."--_Gillies, Gr._, p. 12.

"In a vigorous exertion of memory, ideal presence is exceedingly distinct: thus, when a man, entirely occupied with some event that made a deep impression, forgets himself, he perceives every thing as passing before him, and has a consciousness of presence, similar to that of a spectator."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, i, 88.

"Each planet revolves about its own axis in a given time; and each moves round the sun, in an orbit nearly circular, and in a time proportioned to its distance. Their velocities, directed by an established law, are perpetually changing by regular accelerations and retardations."--_Ib._, i, 271.

"You may as well go about to turn the sun to ice by fanning in his face with a peacock's feather."--_Shak_.

"_Ch. Justice_. I sent for you, when there were matters against you for your life, to come speak with me. _Falstaff_. As I was then advised by my learned counsel in the laws of this land-service, I did not come."--_Id._, 2. Hen. IV, Act i, Sc. 2.

"It is surprising to see the images of the mind stamped upon the aspect; to see the cheeks take the die of the passions and appear in all the colors of thought."--_Collier_.

----------"Even from out thy slime
The monsters of the deep are made."--_Byron_.

LESSON III.--PARSING.

"With a mind weary of conjecture, fatigued by doubt, sick of disputation, eager for knowledge, anxious for certainty, and unable to attain it by the best use of my reason in matters of the utmost importance, I _have_ long ago turned my thoughts to an impartial examination of the proofs on which revealed religion is grounded, and I am convinced of its truth."--_Bp. Watson's Apology_, p. 69.

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."--_Gen._, xlix, 10.

"Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you, Swear not at all: neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head; because thou canst not make one hair white or black."--_Matt._, v, 33--36.

"Refined manners, and polite behaviour, must not be deemed altogether artificial: men who, inured to the sweets of society, cultivate humanity, find an elegant pleasure in preferring others, and making them happy, of which the proud, the selfish, scarcely have a conception."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, i, 105.

"Bacchus, that first from out the purple grape
Crush'd the sweet poison of misused wine."--_Milton_.

IMPROPRIETIES FOR CORRECTION.

ERRORS RESPECTING PREPOSITIONS.

"Nouns are often formed by participles."--_L. Murray's Index, Octavo Gram._, ii, 290.

[FORMULE.--Not proper, because the relation here intended, between _are formed_ and _participles_, is not well signified by the preposition by. But, according to Observation 7th, on this part of speech, "The prepositions have, from their own nature, or from custom, such an adaptation to particular terms and relations, that they can seldom be used one for an other without manifest impropriety." This relation would be better expressed by _from_; thus, "Nouns are often formed _from_ participles."]

"What tenses are formed on the perfect participle?"--_Ingersoll's Gram._, p. 104. "Which tense is formed on the present?"--_Ibid._ "When a noun or pronoun is placed before a participle, independently on the rest of the sentence," &c.--_Ib._, p. 150; _Murray_, 145; and others. "If the addition consists in two or more words."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 176; _Ingersoll's_, 177. "The infinitive mood is often made absolute, or used independently on the rest of the sentence."--_Mur._, p. 184; _Ing._, 244; and others. "For the great satisfaction of the reader, we shall present him with a variety of false constructions."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 189. "For your satisfaction, I shall present you with a variety of false constructions."--_Ingersoll's Gram._, p. 258. "I shall here present you with a scale of derivation."--_Bucke's Gram._, p. 81. "These two manners of representation in respect of number."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 15; _Churchill's_, 57; "There are certain adjectives, which seem to be derived without any variation from verbs."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 89. "Or disqualify us for receiving instruction or reproof of others."--_Murray's Key_, 8vo, p. 253. "For being more studious than any other pupil of the school."--_Ib._, p. 226. "From misunderstanding the directions, we lost our way."--_Ib._, p. 201. "These people reduced the greater part of the island to their own power."--_Ib._, p. 261.[317] "The principal accent distinguishes one syllable in a word from the rest."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 236. "Just numbers are in unison to the human mind."--_Ib._, p. 298. "We must accept of sound instead of sense."--_Ib._, p. 298. "Also, instead for _consultation_, he uses _consult_."--_Priestley's Gram._, p. 143. "This ablative seems to be governed of a preposition understood."--_Walker's Particles_, p. 268. "That my father may not hear on't by some means or other."--_Ib._, p. 257. "And besides, my wife would hear on't by some means."--_Ib._, p. 81. "For insisting in a requisition is so odious to them."--_Robertson's Amer._, i, 206. "Based in the great self-evident truths of liberty and equality."--_Scholar's Manual_. "Very little knowledge of their nature is acquired by the spelling book."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 21. "They do not cut it off: except in a few words; as, _due, duly_, &c."--_Ib._, p. 24. "Whether passing in such time, or then finished."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 31. "It hath disgusted hundreds of that confession."--_Barclay's Works_, iii, 269. "But they have egregiously fallen in that inconveniency."--_Ib._, iii, 73. "For is not this to set nature a work?"--_Ib._, i, 270. "And surely that which should set all its springs a-work, is God."--ATTERBURY: _in Blair's Rhet._, p. 298. "He could not end his treatise without a panegyric of modern learning."--TEMPLE: _ib._, p. 110. "These are entirely independent on the modulation of the voice."--_Walker's Elocution_, p. 308. "It is dear of a penny. It is cheap of twenty pounds."--_Walker's Particles_, p. 274. "It will be despatched, in most occasions, without resting."--_Locke_. "'0, the pain the bliss in dying.'"--_Kirkham's Gram._, p. 129. "When [he is] presented with the objects or the facts."--_Smith's Productive Gram._, p. 5. "I will now present you with a synopsis."--_Ib._, p. 25. "The conjunction disjunctive connects sentences, by expressing opposition of meaning in various degrees."--_Ib._, p. 38. "I shall now present you with a few lines."--_Bucke's Classical Gram_, p. 13. "Common names of Substantives are those, which stand for things generally."--_Ib._, p. 31. "Adjectives in the English language admit no variety in gender, number, or case whatever, except that of the degrees of comparison."--_Ib._, p. 48. "Participles are adjectives formed of verbs."--_Ib._, p. 63. "I do love to walk out of a fine summer's evening."--_Ib._, p. 97. "An _Ellipsis_, when applied to grammar, is the elegant omission of one or more words in a sentence."--_Merchant's Gram._, p. 99. "The prefix _to_ is generally placed before verbs in the infinitive mood, but before the following verbs it is properly omitted; (viz.) _bid, make, see, dare, need, hear, feel_, and _let_; as, He _bid_ me _do_ it; He _made_ me _learn_; &c."--_Ib., Stereotype Edition_, p. 91; _Old Edition_, 85. "The infinitive sometimes follows _than_, after a comparison; as, I wish nothing more, _than to know_ his fate."--_Ib._, p. 92. See _Murray's Gram._, 8vo, i, 184. "Or by prefixing the adverbs _more_ or _less_, in the comparative, and _most_ or _least_, in the superlative."--_Merchant's Gram._, p. 36. "A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun."--_Ib._, p. 17; _Comly_, 15. "In monosyllables the Comparative is regularly formed by adding _r_ or _er_."--_Perley's Gram._, p. 21. "He has particularly named these, in distinction to others."--_Harris's Hermes_, p. vi. "To revive the decaying taste of antient Literature."--_Ib._, p. xv. "He found the greatest difficulty of writing."--HUME: _in Priestley's Gram._, p. 159.

"And the tear that is wip'd with a little address
May be followed perhaps with a smile."
_Webster's American Spelling-Book_, p. 78;
and _Murray's E. Reader_, p. 212.