Page images
PDF
EPUB

penultimate adjective and verb; that is, the verb or adjec tive connected with the last one by the word and. If we consult the ear, which is sometimes the best judge of such matters, the writers spoken of would certainly appear to be right; no necessity existing for a pause in such cases; indeed, the very use of and as a copula would indicate the absurdity of separating, even in appearance, words thereby directly connected.

4. All phrases which cause any break whatever in the expression of the ideas which are naturally connected, should be stopped off by themselves, and isolated, as it were, from every other clause by a comma at the commencement and end thereof. Thus-" A portion of the sap, he said, is conveyed to the flower;" "He came, I believe, yesterday;" "The juice, it is true, cannot be so carried from a lower to a higher level."

NOTE. Words such as, however, notwithstanding, should be stopped off with a comma before and after, when they suggest something which, if expressed, would form a clause which, according to the principles already enunciated, would be so stopped. Thus "You did not transact the matter judiciously; if, however, you now somewhat retrace your steps, it is not yet too late :" "however" and "notwithstanding" not so used, should not be so stopped; thus― "However wet the day, he takes his usual exercise."

5. The several members of a complex sentence are all separated from each other by a comma; thus-" Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt, thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it."

6. Two words of the same class, coupled by a conjunction, are not separated by the comma; as, “James and John were the beloved disciples;" "He is an industrious and frugal man;" "He called and asked for you."—[This Rule may be considered as supplementary to Rule 3, and Note 2 under that Rule.]

7. Nouns in apposition are separated by the comma; and names of individuals addressed take it before and after them; thus, "Alexander, the son of Philip, was a great warrior;" I understood, Sir, that you would arrive at five o'clock;" "I tell you, William, you must not go out to-day."

[ocr errors]

NOTE. The latter part of this Rule has reference to the names of individuals directly addressed, no others. In the expression, "I told William not to go out to-day," there should be no comma after William.

8. In a complex sentence, where the predicate of a former subject is understood with the latter, that latter must have a comma after it; thus-"Esau delighted in hunting; Jacob, in tending flocks."

NOTE. The words each other are written without a separating comma; as, "They killed each other." They are frequently, however, separated by the word the, and then each must have a comma after it; as, "Brutus and Aruns Tarquin killed, each, the other." The necessity for the comma after each is determined by Rule 8; each being the subject of the verb killed, understood.

9. All relative clauses, and explanatory clauses of any kind, have a comma before and after them; as, "Copper, which is found in a great variety of forms, is the most sonorous, and, except iron, the most elastic metal;" "Light is thrown off or reflected, when it falls on a looking-glass or a piece of polished metal."

THE SEMICOLON.

On the Semicolon no more general rule can be laid down than the following:-" The semicolon is used, not to separate single words, but the several members of a complex sentence, which, though they are related to each other in sense, are yet less so than members or clauses which are separated by the comma.'

The use of the semicolon, as distinct from that of the comma, will be clearly discerned in the following quotation: "By a series of criminal enterprises, the liberties of Europe have been gradually extinguished; and we are the only people in the eastern hemisphere, who are in possession of equal laws and a free constitution. Freedom, driven from every spot on the Continent, has sought an asylum in a country, which she always chose for her favourite abode; but she is pursued even here, and threatened with destruction. The inundation of lawless power, after covering the whole earth, threatens to follow us here; and we are most

exactly, most critically placed in the only aperture, where it can be successfully repelled.

THE COLON.

The Colon is used when the sense is nearly complete; and when the connection between the parts of a sentence separated thereby is scarcely, if at all, perceptible. For practical purposes the colon is useless, and therefore seldom used, especially by the more modern writers; the semicolon being quite sufficient to make every necessary gradation in the pause between the comma and the period. Of this stop, therefore, it is unnecessary to furnish any example.

THE PERIOD.

This word, from two Greek words, which signify “A path around" (something), is an astronomical term, and applied as a name for that portion of time which a planet occupies in revolving about the sun. When a planet completes an entire revolution, it begins another; and from the similarity, of what takes place, we apply the word period, as a name for that stop made use of when a sentence is completed, and a new one about to be commenced. Of the use of this stop, sufficient examples occur in the quotation under the head Semicolon.

Besides the foregoing stops, there are others, such as— 1. The Note of Interrogation (?), placed at the end of every sentence which asks a question.

2. The Note of Admiration (!), placed after all single words-such as Ah! O!-indicating surprise, grief, or any other strong and sudden emotion; also placed after clauses wherein the same emotions are expressed.

Parenthesis () is employed to enclose some necessary remark in the body of another sentence: thus—“But should Providence determine otherwise, should the nation fall in this struggle, you will have the satisfaction (the purest allotted to man) of having performed your part."

NOTE.-From this quotation, it appears that the words

parenthetically introduced are not grammatically connected with any member of the sentence; and may, or may not be omitted, at the option of the writer.

NOTE ALSO.-Commas at the beginning and end of such words are sometimes used instead of the parenthesis, and answer the purpose intended equally well.

NOTE ALSO.-A Dash before and after such words, answers the same purpose: thus-" As far as the interests of freedom are concerned-the most important by far of sublunary interests-you, my countrymen, stand in the capacity of the federal representatives of the human race." Parenthetical expressions are wholly unnecessary, and generally resorted to by writers who do not think beforehand of what they are going to write, and those whose thoughts flow faster than their words. In the orator such expressions are indispensable, and even elegant.

Inverted Commas ("-") are used at the beginning and end of a quotation: thus-"Christ inculcated the danger of temptation by saying, 'Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.'

[ocr errors]

NOTE. The inverted commas are sometimes used before and after an example given to illustrate a rule. Sometimes such example is indicated by a dash under the words which express the example; and if in print, the words so underlined would be in italics, which a single word is printed in, when it refers to something considered very important.

NOTE ALSO. If the substance, and not the literal words of a passage be given, the inverted commas should not be used: thus-Christ sufficiently indicated the danger of temptation, by inculcating the necessity of watchfulness and prayer in order that men may not fall into it, or fall in it."

ON CAPITALS.

THE question of Capitals does not, properly speaking, belong to Grammar; as the meaning of a word is not in

any measure affected by its being written with or without a capital letter at the beginning thereof. Still, as the usage is to write words, in some instances, with capitals at the commencement, and, in others, without them, it may appear not superfluous in a Grammar to take some notice of the subject.

The usage which prevails with respect to the use of capitals may be laid down in a very few remarks

:

1. They are employed in all words which commence a sentence.

2. At the commencement of every line in poetry. 3. All particular or proper nouns, as well as names for the Deity, as Omnipotence, commence with capitals.

4. All adjectives derived from proper nouns commence with a capital letter.

5. The first personal pronoun I is always a capital. 6. Words used by the figure personification begin with capitals.

7. Nouns which, though not proper, yet refer to something of more than ordinary importance, are sometimes commenced with capitals.

8. Titles, sirnames, &c. &c. commence with capitals. 9. The first word of a quotation usually commences with a capital.

10. The initials of words standing for the words themselves, are capitals: as A. D. for "Anno Domini," in the year of our Lord; A. B. for "Artium Baccalaureus,” Bachelor of Arts.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES ON THE SYNTACTICAL PRINCIPLES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, AS LAID DOWN IN THE FOREGOING RULES AND OBSERVATIONS.

[NOTE. In the Exercises to be corrected, there will be found sentences which involve no violation of principle.

« PreviousContinue »