With all thy geting, get understanding.

A man may have a verry good judgement, without being possessed of tallent.

Abridgements of historry are in most respects useles.

PUNCTUATION.

Note.-The rules for punctuation, for the use of capital letters, etc., will be given hereafter.

ETYMOLOGY treats of the classification of words, and their modifications.

Words are divided into eight classes, called Parts of Speech.

These parts of speech are called Noun, Adjective, Pronoun, Verb, Preposition, Adverb, Conjunction, and Interjection.

Note. The article belongs to the class of adjectives.

NOUN.

A noun is the name of an object; as, John, horse, whiteness.

Remark.-An object may have either a real existence, or merely an existence attributed to it by the mind. Thus, horse is the name of an object which has a real existence; but whiteness is the name of a quality which has no real existence independent of the object to which it belongs, and is merely considered by the mind as having an existence by itself.

The mind may consider even non-entity, or the absence of a thing, as a positive idea; as, non-existence, nought, nullity, nothing.

Of what does Orthoëpy treat?
Of what does Etymology treat?
Into how many classes are words divided?

What are the names of the parts of speech?
What is a noun?

EXERCISES.

Name the nouns among the following words. There are twelve in each division. 1. John is a boy. James met a beggar. The man and his horse are out in the rain. Thomas threw a snowball. George went to Cincinnati in a steamboat.

2. That tree is high. The cat scratched the dog. The sun gives light. The fixed stars are supposed to be suns. Fishes The snail does not move quite so fast as the

swim in the sea. eagle or hawk.

3. A big stick.

hands and shining

The long rope. Soft, silky hair. Clean faces. Frosty weather makes red noses. The cat ran off with a piece of meat in her mouth. Sharp claws.

4. The horse runs swiftly. The swiftness of the deer is wonderful. A virtuous man is loved. Virtue is lovely. The night is dark. Darkness is gloomy. Thomas has torn the cover, leaves, and back of his book.

5. These are beautiful flowers. The beauty of the plants in the garden. A brilliant light. The brilliancy of the color. Iron is hard. The hardness of stone. Howard was a good

man.

6. Cicero was an orator. Love is stronger than death. Lead is heavy. Flour is made of wheat. Falsehood is base. Wisdom is more precious than jewels. The stars were created by God.

7. The busy bee gathers honey from flowers. In the spring, the trees put out leaves. In the winter, snow falls, and water freezes. Walnuts have hard shells, but sweet kernels.

Note.-When two or more words are employed to designate one individual, they are considered as one name or noun; as, Robinson Crusoe, William Henry Harrison.

8. George Washington was the first president, and was succeeded by John Adams. The name of the present king of France is Louis Philippe. Daniel Boone was one of the first explorers of the western country. Napoleon Bonaparte was a great general.

CLASSES OF NOUNS.

Nouns are divided into two classes; proper and

common.

A proper noun is the name of an individual object; as, John, Vesuvius.

A common noun is a name applied to all objects belonging to the same class; as, boy, mountain.

Note.-Vesuvius is the name of an individual mountain; but mountain is a name belonging to each one of a whole class of objects. These objects are classed together, and have the same name on account of having certain properties in common.

Remarks.-1. The same proper name is often applied to each of several individuals, but not because they have certain properties in common, and form a class. Thus, several persons are called John, but these individuals do not form a class.

2. Proper names are sometimes used to designate a class, and then become common nouns; as, "The twelve Cæsars." Here twelve individuals are classed together, because they have the same name, at least, in common.

3. Proper names sometimes become common, when the names of distinguished individuals are applied to others possessing similar qualities. Thus we say of a great and good general, "He is a Washington," or, "The Washington of his country."

4. Proper nouns always begin with capital letters.

A common noun which designates two or more objects, considered as one collection, or body, is called a collective noun; as, pair, flock, army, multi

tude.

Note. The word army denotes a great many individuals, but they are considered as forming a single body.

EXERCISES.

1. Name the proper and common nouns in the exercises on page 15: also in the following.

The Ohio is a beautiful river. Frankfort is the capital of the state of Kentucky, but Louisville is the largest town. Henry

Into what classes are nouns divided?

What is a proper noun?

What is a common noun?

each of several individuals, why is it not a common noun?

When do proper nouns become common?

When the same proper name belongs to How do proper nouns always begin?

What is a collective noun ?

ABSTRACT AND SUBSTANTIAL NOUNS.

17

has a dog named Fido. George went down to New-Orleans on the steamboat Grey Eagle.

The Ben Sherrod was burned on the Mississippi, and many lives were lost. The falls of Niagara are between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The Andes are lofty mountains. The battle of Waterloo occurred in June. William Henry Harrison died on the third day of April.

2. Mention three proper nouns-three common.

3. Put a proper noun instead of each of the following dashes.

is a great country. The is a beautiful river. The steam

4. Put a common noun instead of each of the following dashes.

to-day.

is better than yours. Your is worth This is a red. She has a new -.

The sun rising above the

He

had gilded the

5. Put proper nouns in place of the common nouns in the following.

A man is larger than a boy. A liar is as bad as a thief. A drunkard injures himself. A horse can run fast. I saw a girl. The bird sings sweetly. A dog barks.

6. Put a collective noun in each of the following blank spaces. Alexander defeated the of Darius.

That is a large

The

agreed in their verdict. A large of cattle.

of birds. The was dismissed.

A small

Follow not the

evil.

ABSTRACT

AND

SUBSTANTIAL NOUNS.

An abstract noun is the name of a quality, or of action, or being, or of a mode of action or being; as, whiteness, goodness, haste, confusion, action, existence.

What is an abstract noun ?

Remarks.-1. These nouns are called abstract, because they are the names of qualities, etc., abstracted; that is, considered apart from the objects to which they belong. Thus, honesty does not really exist without being connected with some individual, but the mind abstracts it from all individuals, and considers it as an object existing by itself: as "Honesty is the best policy." So destruction is considered apart from any destroyer.

2. These are usually classed among common nouns, though not very properly. An abstract noun does not denote a class of objects. The word honesty, for example, denotes a quality which is found in many individuals, but it is always the same quality; but the word boy, when applied to Thomas, does not mean the same individual that it does when applied to John. Abstract nouns, when used as such, have no plural, and do not admit of a, or an, or one, before them, as every noun does which denotes a class. In these respects abstract resemble proper nouns.

3. The same word may be either an abstract or a common noun, according to the meaning attached to it. Thus, when we say, "Virtue is lovely," we use the word virtue as the name of a single quality; and it is an abstract noun; but when we speak of the virtues of charity, of justice, of temperance, etc., the word is applied to a class, and is a common noun.

Substantial nouns are such as denote the substance of which objects are composed. Such are the names of metals, grain, etc.; as, iron, gold, wheat, snow, fire.

common nouns.

Remarks.-1. These, as well as abstract nouns, are usually classed with But they do not, strictly speaking, denote classes of objects. Like abstract nouns, they have no plural, and do not admit a, or an, or one, before them.

2. Substantial, as well as abstract nouns, may become common nouns by varying the sense. Thus, when we say, "Snow is white," we use snow as a substantial noun; but when we say, "A snow fell last night," we mean a body of snow, and use the word as a common noun. The words cottons,

grasses, etc., are often used instead of kinds of grass, etc.; these words are in such cases used as common nouns.

To nouns belong number, gender, case, and person.

NUMBER.

Number is a modification of nouns to denote whether one object is meant, or more than one.

Why are abstract nouns so called?
What are substantial nouns?

What belong to nouns?
What is number?