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forbidden. Perspicuity requires a style at once clear and comprehensive
and entirely free from pomp and pedantry and affectation or any straining
after effect.
_Precision_ requires concise and exact expression, free from redundancy
and tautology, a style terse and clear and simple enough to enable the
hearer or reader to comprehend immediately the meaning of the speaker or
writer. It forbids, on the one hand, all long and involved sentences,
and, on the other, those that are too short and abrupt. Its object is to
strike the golden mean in such a way as to rivet the attention of the
hearer or reader on the words uttered or written.
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CHAPTER II
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ESSENTIALS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Divisions of Grammar--Definitions--Etymology.
In order to speak and write the English language correctly, it is
imperative that the fundamental principles of the Grammar be mastered,
for no matter how much we may read of the best authors, no matter how
much we may associate with and imitate the best speakers, if we do not
know the underlying principles of the correct formation of sentences and
the relation of words to one another, we will be to a great extent like
the parrot, that merely repeats what it hears without understanding the
import of what is said. Of course the parrot, being a creature without
reason, cannot comprehend; it can simply repeat what is said to it, and
as it utters phrases and sentences of profanity with as much facility as
those of virtue, so by like analogy, when we do not understand the
grammar of the language, we may be making egregious blunders while
thinking we are speaking with the utmost accuracy.
DIVISIONS OF GRAMMAR
There are four great divisions of Grammar, viz.:
_Orthography_, _Etymology_, _Syntax_, and _Prosody_.
_Orthography_ treats of letters and the mode of combining them into words.
_Etymology_ treats of the various classes of words and the changes they
undergo.
_Syntax_ treats of the connection and arrangement of words in sentences.
_Prosody_ treats of the manner of speaking and reading and the different
kinds of verse.
The three first mentioned concern us most.
LETTERS
A _letter_ is a mark or character used to represent an articulate sound.
Letters are divided into _vowels_ and _consonants_. A vowel is a letter
which makes a distinct sound by itself. Consonants cannot be sounded
without the aid of vowels. The vowels are _a_, _e_, _i_, _o_, _u_, and
sometimes _w_ and _y_ when they do not begin a word or syllable.
SYLLABLES AND WORDS
A syllable is a distinct sound produced by a single effort of
[Transcriber's note: 1-2 words illegible] shall, pig, dog. In every
syllable there must be at least one vowel.
A word consists of one syllable or a combination of syllables.
Many rules are given for the dividing of words into syllables, but the
best is to follow as closely as possible the divisions made by the organs
of speech in properly pronouncing them.
THE PARTS OF SPEECH
ARTICLE
An _Article_ is a word placed before a noun to show whether the noun is
used in a particular or general sense.
There are two articles, _a_ or _an_ and _the_. _A_ or _an_ is called the
indefinite article because it does not point put any particular person or
thing but indicates the noun in its widest sense; thus, _a_ man means any
man whatsoever of the species or race.
_The_ is called the definite article because it points out some particular
person or thing; thus, _the_ man means some particular individual.
NOUN
A _noun_ is the name of any person, place or thing as _John_, _London_,
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