A long syllable requires double the time of a short one in pronouncing it; thus, mate and note should be pronounced as slowly again as mat and not. Emphasis. By emphasis is meant a stronger and fuller sound of voice, by which we distinguish some word or words on which we design to lay particular stress, and to show how it affects the rest of the sentence. Sometimes the emphatic words must be distinguished by a particular tone of voice, as well as by a greater stress. Pauses. Pauses or rests, in speaking and reading, are a total cessation of the voice, during a perceptible, and, in many cases, a measurable space of time. Tones. Tones are different both from emphasis and pauses; consisting in the modulation of the voice, the notes or variations of sound which we employ, in the expression of our sentiments. Versification. Versification is the arrangement of a certain number and variety of syllables, according to certain laws. Rhyme is the correspondence of the last sound of one verse, to the last sound or syllable of another. PUNCTUATION. PUNCTUATION is the art of dividing a written composition into sentences, or parts of sentences, by points or stops, for the purpose of marking the different pauses, which the sense and an accurate pronunciation require. The Comma represents the shortest pause; the Semicolon, a pause double that of the comma; the Colon, double that of the semicolon; and the Period, double that of the colon. The points are marked in the following manner : The Comma, The Semicolon; The Colon: The Period. Comma. The comma usually separates those parts of a sentence which, though very closely connected in sense, require a pause between them; as, "I remember, with gratitude, his love and services." "Charles is beloved, esteemed, and respected." Semicolon. The semicolon is used for dividing a compound sentence into two or more parts, not so closely connected as those which are separated by a comma, nor yet so little dependent on each other, as those which are distinguished by a colon; as," Straws swim on the surface; but pearls lie at the bottom." Colon. The colon is used to divide a sentence into two or more parts, less connected than those which are separated by a semicolon; but not so independent as separate, distinct sentences; as, "Do not flatter yourselves with the hope of perfect happiness: there is no such thing in the world." Period. When a sentence is complete and independent, and not connected in construction with the following sentence, it is marked with a period; as, "Fear God. Honour the King. Have charity towards all men." Besides the points which mark the pauses in discourse, there are others that denote a different modulation of voice, in correspondence to the sense. These are, The Interrogative point? The Exclamation point ! as, Are you sincere? How excellent is a grateful heart! Know then this truth (enough for man to know) Virtue alone is happiness below. The following characters are also frequently used in composition. An Apostrophe, marked thus'; as, tho', judg'd. am A Caret, marked thus a; as, I diligent. A A Hyphen, which is thus marked -; as lap-dog, to morrow. The Acute Accent, marked thus'; as, fan'cy. The Grave Accent thus'; as, fàvour. The proper mark to distinguish a long syllable is this; as, rosy and a short one, this"; as, folly. This last mark is called a Breve. A Diæresis, thus marked, shows that two vowels form separate syllables; as, Creator. A Section is thus marked §. A Paragraph thus ¶. A Quotation has two inverted commas at the beginning, and two direct ones at the end of a phrase or passage; as, "The proper study of mankind is man. Crotchets or Brackets serve to enclose a particular word or sentence. They are marked thus []. An Index or Handpoints out a remarkable passage. A Brace unites three poetical lines; or connects a number of words, in prose, with one common term. An Asterisk, or little star*, directs the reader to some note in the margin. An Ellipsis is thus marked; as K-g, for King. An Obelisk, which is marked thus †, and Parallels thus ||, together with the letters of the alphabet, and figures, are used as references to the margin. CAPITALS. THE following words should begin with capitals: 1st. The first word of every book, chapter, letter, paragraph, &c. 20 The first word after a period, and frequently after the notes of interrogation and exclamation. 3d. The names of the Deity; as, God, Jehovah, the Supreme Being, &c. 4th. Proper names of persons, places, ships, &c. 5th. Adjectives derived from the proper names of places; as, Grecian, Roman, English, &c. 6th. The first word of a quotation in a direct form; as, "Always remember this ancient maxim,' Know thyself." 7th. The first word of every line in poetry. 8th. The pronoun I, and the interjection O! 9th. Words of particular importance; as, the Reformation, the Restoration, the Revolution. PARSING. WHEN the pupil has passed through the whole of the preceding rules, and gained a thorough knowledge of the parts of speech, in all their moods, cases, &c. she should then proceed to some examples, in order to familiarize the subject to her mind, and be able to answer correctly, on being asked the grammatical construction of any word or sentence. This is done by what is called parsing, a few specimens of which are given in the following sentences. Hope animates us. A peaceful mind is virtue's reward. Vice degrades us. He who lives virtuously prepares for all events. EXERCISES IN PARSING. Hope animates us. Hope is a common substantive, of the neuter gender, the third person, in the singular number, and the nominative. case. Animates is a regular verb active, indicative mood, present tense, third person singular. Us is a personal pronoun, first person plural, and in the objective case. A peaceful mind is virtue's reward. A is the indefinite article. Peaceful is an adjective. Mind is a common substantive, of the neuter gender, the third person, in the singular number, and the nominative case. Is is an irregular verb neuter, indicative mood, present tense, and the third person singular. Virtue's is a common substantive, of the third person, in the singular number, and the possessive case. Reward is a common substantive, of the third person, in the singular number, and the nominative case. Vice degrades us. Vice is a common substantive, of the neuter gender, the third person, in the singular number, and the nominative case. Degrades is a verb active, indicative mood, present tense, third person singular, agreeing with its nominative vice. [See Rule 1.] Us is a personal pronoun, first person plural, in the objective case, and governed by the active verb degrades. He who lives virtuously prepares for all events. He is a personal pronoun, of the third person, singular number, and masculine gender. Who is a relative pronoun, which has for its antecedent he, with which it agrees in gender and number. [Rule 5.] Lives a regular verb neuter, indicative mood, present tense, third person singular, agreeing with its nominative who. [Rule 6.] Virtuously is an adverb. Prepares a verb neuter, indicative mood, present tense, third person singular, agreeing with its nominative, he. For is a preposition. All is an adjective pronoun, of the indefinite kind, the plural number, and belongs to its substantive events, with which it agrees. [Rule 8.] Events is a common substantive of the third person, in the plural number, and the objective case governed by the preposition for. [Rule 17.] If folly entice thee reject its allurements. If is a copulative conjunction. Folly is a common substantive of the third person, in the singular number, and the nominative case. Entice is a verb active, subjunctive mood, present tense, third person singular, and is governed by the conjunction if. [Rule 19.] Thee is a personal pronoun, of the second person singular, in the objective case, governed by the active verb entice. [Rule 11.] Reject is a regular active verb, imperative mood, second person singular, and agrees with its nominative case, thou, implied. Its is a personal pronoun, third person, singular number, and the neuter gender, to agree with its substantive folly. Rule 5] It is in the possessive case, governed by the noun allurements. [Rule 10.] Allurements is a common substantive, of the neuter gender, the third person, in the plural number, and the objective case, governed by the verb reject. [Rule 11.] |