R

“ Derivation, like etymology, is a word used in a wide and in a limited sense. In the wide sense of the term, every word, except it be in the simple form of a root, is a derived word. In this sense the cases, numbers, and genders of nouns, the persons, moods, and tenses of verbs, the ordinal numbers, the diminutives, and even the compound words, are alike matters of derivation. In the wide sense of the term the word fathers, from father, is equally in a state of derivation with the word strength from strong. ”

“ For a full and perfect construction whether of an adjective or a genitive case, the possessive pronouns present the phenomenon of being, singly, incomplete, but, nevertheless, complementary to each other when taken in their two forms.
§ 450. In the absolute construction of a genitive case, the term is formed by the single word, only so far as the expression is concerned. A substantive is always understood from what has preceded.—This discovery is Newton's = this discovery is Newton's discovery. ”

“ All the world over, e and i have a tendency to convert a k or g, when it precedes them, into s, z, sh, zh, ksh, gzh, tsh, and dzh, or some similar sibilant. Hence, as often as a sign of tense consisting of k, is followed by a sign of person beginning with e or i, an s has chance of being evolved. ”

“ The same series of derivative verbs occurs in G. and R. as in H. Thus, we have a potential passive (a simple passive in G.) formed by adding ā to the base, as in G. lakhavũ, to write, lakhāvũ, to be written; and a causal by adding āv or āḍ, as in lakhāvavũ, to cause to write; besavũ, to sit, besāḍavũ, to seat. ”

“ It is the sign of the dative case plural. The -um in smiðum, is the part of a word. The preposition to is a separate word with an independent existence. Smiðum is the radical syllable smið + the subordinate inflectional syllable -um, the sign of the dative case. The combination to smiths is the substantive smiths + the preposition to, equivalent in power to the sign of a dative case, but different from it in form. ”

“ Verbs and adjectives are made plural by a peculiar process of lengthening the word in its middle, for which purpose the letter r, and sometimes l, is generally associated with a cognate vowel of the word with which it comes in contract, and which R or l and its cognate vowel is generally duplicated, unless the consonant R or L already occurs in the crude and singular from of the word. ”

“ That when it is the first word of the proposition it determines the concord of the verb, unless its character of a noun of the singular number and third person be disguised by the prominence of some plural form, or some pronoun of the first or second person in the latter part of the term.
5. That in a simple disjunctive proposition (i.e., one where either does not occur) all nouns are subordinate to the first. ”

“ But as they are now mostly understood as the signs of single things, the English method of adding s or es as a plural termination, should be generally followed as the best method; unless substantives and their articles should be restored to their original sense and use; but in either case the particles, an or en, as terminations of plural names, when the sense will admit of their being singular, and en does not express the male and female of the same kind, as men does both man and woman, seem to be improper. ”

“ CHAPTER XXXVII. ON THE GRAMMATICAL POSITION OF THE WORDS MINE AND THINE.
§ 446. The inflection of pronouns has its natural peculiarities in language; it has also its natural difficulties in philology. These occur not in one language in particular, but in all generally. The most common peculiarity in the grammar of pronouns is the fact of what may be called their convertibility. Of this convertibility the following statements serve as illustration:—
1. Of case.—In our own language the words my and thy, although at present possessives, were previously datives, and, earlier still, accusatives. ”

“ Words where the singular termination -on is changed in the plural into -a:—
SECOND CLASS.
Words where the plural is formed from the original root by adding either -es or -a, but where the singular rejects the last letter of the original root.
§ 83. Miscellaneous elements.—Of miscellaneous elements we have two sorts; those that are incorporated in our language, and are currently understood (e.g., the Spanish word sherry, the Arabic word alkali, and the Persian word turban) , and those that, even amongst the educated, are considered strangers. ”

“ Verbs, then, of the first sort, may be said to form their præterites out of themselves; whilst verbs of the second sort require something from without. To speak in a metaphor, words like sang and fell are comparatively independent. Be this as it may, the German grammarians call the tenses formed by a change of vowel the strong tenses, the strong verbs, the strong conjugation, or the strong order; and those formed by the addition of d or t, the weak tenses, the weak verbs, the weak conjugation, or the weak order. ”

“ Syntactic convertibility.—The combination to err, is at this moment an infinitive verb. Nevertheless it can be used as the equivalent to the substantive error.
To err is human = error is human. Now this is an instance of syntactic conversion. Of the two meanings, there is no doubt as to which is the primary one; which primary meaning is part and parcel of the language at this moment.
The infinitive, when used as a substantive, can be used in a singular form only. ”

“ The demonstrative or personal pronoun is the substantive in another form.—The two propositions (1) the man is come; (2) he rides= (1) the man is come; (2) the man rides.
4. Hence the relative is the equivalent to a demonstrative pronoun, or to a substantive, indifferently.
5. But the relative is the equivalent to the pronoun and substantive, and something more. In sentences like
The man is come—he rides—
The man is come—the man rides.
The identity between the person mentioned in the two propositions is implied, not expressed. ”

“ Yet, to this general rule for the verb, the author of a certain "English Grammar on the Productive System," (a strange perversion of Murray's compilation, and a mere catch-penny work, now extensively used in New England,) is endeavouring to establish, by his own bare word, the following exception: "Every is sometimes associated with a plural noun, in which case the verb must be singular; as, 'Every hundred years constitutes a century.'"--Smith's New Gram., p. ”

“ And it is this superadded idea of action that superadds to the verb the phenomena of tense, mood, person, and voice; in other words, the phenomena of conjugation.
§ 343. A noun is a word capable of declension only. A {290}verb is a word capable of declension and conjugation also. The fact of verbs being declined as well as conjugated must be remembered. The participle has the declension of a noun adjective, the infinite mood the declension of a noun substantive. Gerunds and supines, in languages where they occur, are only names for certain cases of the verb. ”

“ Plural numbers, signs of tense, and other grammatical elements, are evolved by means of the juxtaposition of similar but not identical elements, e. g. one plural may be formed by the affix signifying many; another, by the affix signifying with or conjointly; one preterite may be the root plus a word meaning then; another the root plus a word meaning there. Futures, too, may be equally evolved by the [Pg 232] incorporation or juxtaposition of the word meaning after, or the word meaning to-morrow. ”

“ So J. W. WRIGHT: "In truth, number and person are not properties of verbs. Mr. Murray grants that, 'in philosophical strictness, both number and person might (say, may) be excluded from every verb, as they are, in fact, the properties of substantives, not a part of the essence of the verb.'"--Philosophical Gram., p. 68. This author's rule of syntax for verbs, makes them agree with their nominatives, not in person and number, but in termination, or else in nobody knows what: "A verb must vary its terminations, so as to agree with the nominative to which it is connected."--Ib., p. ”

“ The classical grammarians express their feet by symbols; [ˉ] denoting length, [ ̆] shortness. Forms like [ ̆ˉ ˉ ̆ ˉ ̆ ̆ ̆ˉ ̆ ̆ ̆ˉ] &c., are the symbolical representations of the classical feet.
The classical grammarians have names for their feet; e.g., iambic is the name of [ ̆ˉ] , trochee of [ˉ ̆] , dactyle of [ˉ ̆ ̆] , amphibrachys of [ ̆ˉ ̆] , Anapæst of [ ̆ ̆ˉ] , &c. ”

“ V. All derived words are inflected weak. The intransitive forms drink and lie, are strong; the transitive forms drench and lay, are weak.
The fourth statement will again be recurred to. The present object is to show that the division into strong and weak is natural.
§ 387. Obsolete forms.—Instead of lept, slept, mowed, snowed, &c., we find, in the provincial dialects and in the older writers, the strong forms lep, step, mew, snew, &c. This is no more than what we expect. Here there are two forms, and each form is of a different conjugation. ”

“ Instrumental.—The following extracts from Rask's "Anglo-Saxon Grammar," teach us that there exist in the present English two powers of the word spelt t-h-e, or of the so-called definite article—"The demonstrative pronouns are þæt, se, seó (id, is, ea) , which are also used for the article; and þis, þes, þeós (hoc, hic, hæc) . They are thus declined:—
"The indeclinable þe is often used instead of þæt, se, seó, in all cases, but especially with a relative signification, and, in later times, as an article. ”

“ Within the lifetime of an individual, within even a very few years, those that look may find, not only that certain words are modified in respect to their meaning, and certain letters modified, in respect to their pronunciation, but they may also see how these modifications are brought about, ascertaining—of words the intermediate meanings, and of letters the intermediate sounds. ”

“ The “Practical Grammar,” by S. W. Clark, A.M., published by A. S. Barnes & Co., New York, gives the following rule: {p78}
“A phrase or sentence used as the subject of a verb, requires a comma between it and the verb.”
Of course the examples under the rule exhibit a corresponding difference.
“To be totally indifferent to praise or censure is a real defect in character.”—Wilson.
“To do good to others, constitutes an important object of existence.”—Clark. ”

“ The observations made on the conjugation of the progressive direct passive are applied to the above conjugation except in that the present, and gerund take the affix an, and that the past participle, the present, and past indicative, and the subjunctive, plural, take the prefix i, and in that the imperative has the affix an, and the subjunctive singular the affix on, and the future, imperative, and subjunctive have a g after the prefix i. ”

“ Some give its derivation thus; anomaly, from the Latin, ab, from, or out of, and norma, a rule, or law, means an outlaw; a mode of expression that departs from the rules, laws, or general usages of the language; a construction in language peculiar to itself. Thus, it is a general rule of the language, that adjectives of one syllable are compared by adding r, or er, and st, or est, to the positive degree; but good, better, best; bad, worse, worst, are not compared according to the general rule. ”

“ If the radical ends in a vowel, i is affixed, and sometimes e; e.g. sasa-i, 'a name;' vava-e, 'a word;' tuqe-i 'a garden;' roro-i, 'a report.'
b. If the radical ends in a consonant the termination iu or ui (according to dialect) is affixed; e.g. tol-iu, 'an egg;' qat-ui, 'head;' qeteg-iu, 'beginning.'
This termination, as above stated, is an addition to the radical word; and it drops when, in what corresponds to the inflection of a possessive case, the pronoun is affixed, thus na-sasa-k, 'my name;' na-tuqe-ma, 'your garden.' It also drops in composition with another word ”

“ Some, it seems, pronounce it an objective. Some, like Murray, say nothing about it. Following the analogy of our own language, I refer it to the nominative absolute, because there is nothing to determine it to be otherwise. In the examples. "Heu me miserum! Ah wretch that I am!"— (Grant's Latin Gram., p. 263.) and "Miser ego homo! O wretched man that I am!"— (Rom., vii, 24,) if the word that is a relative pronoun, as I incline to think it is, the case of the nouns wretch and man does not depend on any other words, either expressed or implied. ”

“ The current statement that the syllable -ed, rather than the letter -d is the sign of the præterite tense, is true only in regard to the written language. In stabbed, moved, bragged, whizzed, judged, filled, slurred, slammed, shunned, barred, strewed, the e is a point of spelling only. In language, except in declamation, there is no second vowel sound. The -d comes in immediate contact with the final letter of the original word, and the number of syllables remains the same as it was before. ”

“ That which is most commonly given in modern books, is certainly not the original one, because it concerns no other language than ours: "In order to avoid the unpleasant formality which accompanies the use of thou with a correspondent verb, its plural you, is usually adopted to familiar conversation; as, Charles, will you walk? instead of--wilt thou walk? You read too fast, instead of--thou readest too fast."--Jaudon's Gram., p. ”

“ Near the end of the second line, there is a remarkable passage, in which the three letters we know recur continually. Let us write it out, leaving blanks for the letters we do not know, and placing the ascertained letters instead of their symbols. Then it stands—eχtheχeth—heχeheχethe—. Now here I have a χ repeated four times, and from its position it must be a consonant. I will put in its place one consonant after another. You see r is the only one which turns the letters into words. ”