TO TEACHERS.

THIS work is intended to succeed the author's PRIMARY GRAMMAR. It is designed, however, to be complete in itself, and does not necessarily require an acquaintance with its predecessor, although such acquaintance will essentially facilitate the study with all learners, and with young pupils is especially important.

The title analytical is given to it, because that method of teaching is introduced to a far greater extent than is usual in books of this kind.

The attention of the teacher is respectfully invited to the following prominent peculiarities of this work:

1. A COMPLETE VIEW of the well established principles of the English language, in their practical bearing on analysis and construction, is intended to be here presented. No space is wasted with the discussion of curious or unimportant points, which, however interesting to the critical student, can not but encumber an elementary work.

2. SIMPLICITY in definitions, examples, exercises, and arrangement, has been carefully studied. A particular preference has been given to English words as technical terms, whenever practicable; and when this is not so, familiar explanations and illustrations are given, so that the learner may understand every step as he advances.

3. INTEREST in the study, it is hoped, is secured by the variety and attractive nature of the exercises. The didactic, illustrative, and practical methods of teaching are united, that each point, being presented in these several ways, may interest and impress the mind.

4. THE EXERCISES are very full and numerous, much exceeding those in other works on this subject.

5. ANALYSIS is taught much more minutely and extensively than usual, except in those treatises which are devoted exclusively to this subject.. It is introduced in an early part of the study, and exercises and explanations are continued to the close. Its terms, and the arrangement of its parts, are also very much simplified.

6. COMPOSITION is taught in all its elementary principles, and the construction of sentences is introduced at the commencement and continued throughout the work. A large portion of the exercises are designed to teach, at the same time, the nature, properties, and relations of words, and the analysis and construction of sentences.

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Although the leading object of the work is, as already stated, to present, in a simple, concise, and interesting manner, the well established principles of our language, a few novel features have been introduced.

7. The subject of the ARRANGEMENT of words in a sentence, is treated of by itself in a separate chapter, with copious rules, illustrations, and exercises. See page 219, and onward.

8. ERRORS TO BE AVOIDED in the use of words and in construction, (commonly called FALSE SYNTAX) are classed separately and prominently, and under them very full exercises in false syntax are given.

A slight departure from the usual method of naming the three past tenses will be observed, which seems required in order to give a correct view of that subject, and to make the minor divisions correspond with the three elementary distinctions of time, the present, past, and future. The reasons for this are given more particularly in the proper place. What appear to be the more correct definitions of the adjective and the adverb are also given, the former in accordance with De Sacy, and the latter as following legitimately from that.

SUGGESTIONS.-The following suggestions are respectfully commended to the notice of the teacher:

1. The pupil should be required to explain, very particularly, every example, stating which word illustrates the principle, and how it illustrates it.

2. The exercises should always be written on a slate or a blackboard, or on paper.

3. As soon as the pupil is sufficiently advanced, it will be found profitable to give him exercises for parsing and analysis, appropriately selected from the reading lessons of the day, and illustrating the particular part of Grammar he may be studying.

4. It may be found necessary, sometimes, to divide the exercises into several lessons. Sometimes, also, it may be found profitable to extend them. This can easily be done by taking those given as a model, and it will be found, it is believed, very interesting both to the teacher and pupil.

5. Frequent reviews will be found very profitable. This is provided for, to a considerable extent, in the work itself, but there is still room for the teacher to add, indefinitely, to this part of the study.

6. After the subject of analysis is introduced, it is confidently believed, that the teacher will find the labor of instruction greatly diminished, and interest in the study increased, by carrying out fully in all its details this method of instruction, requiring the pupil to analyze every example and sentence presented, and selecting from his reading lessons and other sources, numerous appropriate exercises for practice. Those given in the book, are numerous and varied, but there can scarcely be any danger of increasing them too much.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

TO THE TEACHER.-That portion of this book which is in the two larger kinds of type, and all the Exercises, may be studied as the first course. The questions to this part are in Roman letters. The portion in small type, (the same as this note,) may be omitted until the whole book is reviewed. The questions to this part are in Italics.

ART. 1. ENGLISH GRAMMAR is the art of speaking and writing the English language in accordance with established usage.

ART. 2. Established usage is that use which is authorized by a majority of good speakers and writers.

ART. 3. ENGLISH GRAMMAR is treated of under four heads; ORTHOGRAPHY, ETYMOLOGY, SYNTAX, and PROSODY.

I. ORTHOGRAPHY.

ART. 4. ORTHOGRAPHY treats of letters and syllables, and teaches the spelling and pronunciation of words.

The word Orthography is from the Greek words orthos, (correct,) and grapho,.(I write,) and means correct writing.

Orthoepy, which treats of pronunciation, is included in Orthography, because it is always taught with it.

Letters are marks, or characters, used to represent the elementary sounds of language.

The letters of the English language, called the Alphabet, are twentysix in number, and are divided into vowels and consonants.

ART. 5. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, w, and y.

QUESTIONS.-What is English Grammar? What is established usage? Under what heads is English Grammar treated of? Of what does Orthography treat? Which are the vowels?

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ART. 6. All the letters of the alphabet except the vowels, and sometimes, also, the vowels i, u, w, and y, are consonants.

A syllable is a letter or letters, pronounced by a single impulse of the voice, and forming a word or part of a word, as I, man, though.

A word is composed of one syllable or more, and is used as the sign of an idea, as man, manly, manliness.

Spelling is expressing words by their proper letters and syllables.

Orthography is fully taught in spelling-books and dictionaries. It is, therefore, introduced here merely to show its connection with the other branches of Grammar.

NOTE. For rules for spelling, see McGuffey's Eclectic Spelling-Book. For numerous exercises on the elementary vowel and consonant sounds, see McGuffey's Eclectic Third Reader, pages 8 to 21 inclusive.

II. ETYMOLOGY.

ART. 7. ETYMOLOGY treats of the classification, properties, and derivation of words.

The word Etymology is formed from the Greek etymos, (true,) and logos, (word.)

ART. 8. This branch is so called, because it teaches the real or true nature of words.

ART. 9. Etymology will be treated of under the three following heads:

CHAPTER 1. Classification of words.

CHAPTER 2. Properties of words.

CHAPTER 3. Derivation of words.

CHAPTER I.

CLASSIFICATION OF WORDS.

ART. 10. THE several kinds, or classes of words, are called by the general name of PARTS OF SPEECH.

QUESTIONS.-Which are consonants? Of what does Etymology treat? Why is it so called? Under what three heads is it treated of? By what general name are the different classes of words called?