OR, EXERCISES ON THE ETYMOLOGY, SYNTAX, AND PROSODY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. ADAPTED TO EVERY FORM OF TUITION. BY G. F. GRAHAM, AUTHOR OF "ENGLISH COMPOSITION," ENGLISH STYLE," &c. 30275. f. 41. LONDON: LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS. 1862. 500.a. 117 PREFACE. THE want of a sufficiently practical book on English Grammar has induced the author to compile the present work. Most English grammars consist exclusively of rules and explanations, intended to be studied or learnt by heart. But it may be reasonably doubted whether rules are, of themselves, of much value to a young student, more especially, as in many cases, they are not very clearly understood. To be of real utility, a grammatical rule should be immediately followed by an exercise, in which the principle is practically applied and illustrated by repeated examples. In this case, it is much more likely to make an impression on the young mind; as it is the application of the general principle to the particular case that invests the rule with some interest, and partly removes from the study of grammar that dryness of the subject so commonly complained of by young people. |