But Adverbs with adverbs we sometimes find,
And ly for le, to adjectives subjoin'd,
All able masters, do not ably teach,
Too subtly taught, save subtle minds to reach.
Still there are some, not comprehended here,
Affirmative, and Negative appear:
Affirmative is Yes-though often Yea,
The Negative is No,—and sometimes Nay.
The PREPOSITIONS,* which connection show
Of Noun with noun,--or pronoun, see below;
Monosyllabic-prepositions ten,
At, By, For, From, Through, To With, On, Of, In, * Pre, before; position, pono, to place.
The Dissyllabic, are Above, About,
Before, Behind, Beneath, Within, Without,
After, Against, Among, and you must know
Beside, are others which we'll rhyme Below.
Beyond, what's written Over, 'twill be seen
Into, Unto, Until, Upon, Between,
Toward, and Under, are of this class found,
When verbs they follow, or precede a noun.
EXAMPLE.
In no case ever speak Against the truth,
For lying makes detested, age or youth;
With those who swear, On no account be seen,
Before, Behind, Among them, or Between.
CONJUNCTIONS,* Words and Sentences unite,
Like Prepositions, they appear at sight;
But differ much, as we shall quickly see,
Some aptly join, but some disjunctive be.
Con, with; junctions, jungo, to join.
The Copulative, strive to comprehend,
Are Therefore, Wherefore, If, Both, That, For, And, Because, Since, Than: mark now this list is done, These link our sentences, and make them one.
"Shun Sloth," say some, because 'tis rust of mind,
But Sloth with innocence we seldom find;
Shun Sloth, therefore, of guilt and crime the source,
If you would never feel their deep remorse.
Disjunctives, though connective, stand revers'd,
The latter sentence differs from the first,
This class of words, Where, Whence, While, Whither, Why,
May soon be learnt, When we're dispos'd to try.
To those above, we also add these few,
Except, Or, Nor, But, Notwithstanding, Though,
Else, Either, Neither, these, as all the rest,
Lest you should err, are in Italics dress'd.
In work or play,-whatever others do,
Let no dishonest act be done by you:
Nor work or play, no never but in truth,
Integrity's the shining grace of youth.
INTERJECTIONS.
The last are INTERJECTIONS, which you'll find
Express the sudden passions of the mind:
The Passive those, O fie! alas! pish! woe!
And Social these, behold! ha ha! so-ho!
Now, youthful Students, make these rhymes your own, And think not by mere memory 'tis done;
But comprehend what these united teach,
And Composition lies within your reach.
SYNTAX, a System-teaches to combine,
These various Words, our meaning to define,
Their just arrangement, in each sentence plac'd,
Convey our thoughts, by pen, or tongue express'd.
A Sentence does two words, or more contain,
In which our thoughts to others are made plain.
A Simple Sentence, thus, "I am sincere,"
One Verb and Subject has, as doth appear.
But Sentences Complex, conjunctions take,
Which Verbs with verbs in happy union make;
Likewise two Subjects, or like sort with sort,
Are thus connected, and with like import.
Redeem and prize, the golden hours of youth,
Seek wisdom as hid treasure, seek for truth,
Now lay in knowledge, for the vessel well
"With liquor season d, long retains the smell."
The Subject, Predicate, and Object are
The parts important, in a Sentence clear.
The Subject's spoken of,- and hence it holds
And nominates the Verb, which it controuls.
* Or Attribute.
The Predicate affirms, or, it denies
The Subjects act, or that which it supplies:
The Object is the thing, affected then
By Words or Actions,-as," I honour men.'
The Pronoun I, the Subject here is seen,
And honour, is the Predicate, we mean;
Men are the objects-honour'd, hence its place
Follows the Verb,-in the Objective Case
CONCORD, is an agreement-word with word, That Gender, Case, and Person must afford: GOVERNMENT too, must also have its place, Directing all in Mood, in Tense, and Case. RULE I.
VERBS, must agree with Nominative Case,
In Number, and in Person, thus, their place,
I hope you will improve, for well I know
That none more care, and labour can bestow.
Two NOUNS or more, when Singular conjoin'd,
Must plural verbs, and nouns, and pronouns find;
Example mark, conjunctive if you please,
Plato and Thales were wise, they were of Greece.
But if disjunctive the conjunction be,
Contrary the effect, you'll plainly see:
The terms preceding thus disjoin'd, demand,
A Single Verb, or Noun therewith to stand.
Parents who spoil their children, rarely are
Respected by them, after all their care;
Neglect, or idol love, has lost the reins,
Now John, norJane obeys, Mama exclaims.
A noun of multitude, may pronoun have
Or verb in either number, if it give
The proper import, as, the flock is small;
The School is present, they are happy all.
Pronouns in Gender, Number, must agree
With Nouns, or that which has priority,
This is the friend, whom I sincerely love :
That is the friendship, which I long to prove.
The Relative doth nominate the Verb,
When nothing stands between them to disturb,
The Friend who taught me, is by me belov'd,
He gave me precepts, which are well approv'd.
But when a Nominative comes between
The Relative and Verb, as 'twill be seen;
The Relative is govern'd by some word
In its own member, of the sentence stor❜d.
EXAMPLE.
He who preserves me, and to whom I owe
My life, and all I can enjoy below,
And whose I am, and whom I hope to see;
He was, and is, and evermore will be.
But when the Relative's preceded by
Two Nominatives, different persons they,
With either, Relative and Verb may stand,
As, I'm the Youth who took the chief command.
An Adjective, whatever way 'tis view'd,
Must have a noun express'd, or understood.
If few there be,-who counsel well receive,
Tis oft because we indiscreetly give.
The Pronoun Adjectives must all
In number with their Substantives you'll see,
This plant, Those plants; That sort, Those sorts of trees, Another shrub, or, Other shrubs may please.
The A, or An, we place with single Nouns,
A House, An Orchard, each a Thousand Pounds;
But in both numbers,- The correctly stands,
The Bridge, The Wharfs, The Vessels, on The Thames.
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