You have already been informed, that verbs are the most important part of speech in our language; and to convince you of their importance, I now tell you, that you cannot express a thought, or communicate an idea, without making use of a verb, either expressed or implied. Verbs express, not only the state or manner of being, but, likewise, all the different actions and movements of all creatures and things, whether animate or inanimate. As yet I have given you only a partial description of this sort of words; but when you are better prepared to comprehend the subject, I will explain all their properties, and show you the proper manner of using them.
A word that is generally a noun, sometimes becomes a verb; and a verb is frequently used as a noun. These changes depend on the sense which the word conveys; or, rather, on the office it performs in the sentence; that is the manner in which it is applied to things. For instance, glory is generally a noun; as "The glory of God's throne." But if I say, I glory in religion; or, He glories in wickedness, the word glory becomes a verb. The love of man is inconstant. In this sentence, love is a noun; in the next, it is a verb: They love virtue. He walks swiftly; Scavengers sweep the streets; The ship sails well. In these phrases, the words walks, sweep, and sails, are verbs; in the following they are nouns: Those are pleasant walks; He takes a broad sweep; The ship lowered her sails.
Thus you see, it is impossible for you to become a grammarian without exercising your judgment. If you have sufficient resolution to do this, you will, in a short time, perfectly understand the nature and office of the different parts of speech, their various properties and relations, and the rules of syntax that apply to them; and, in a few weeks, be able to speak and write accurately. But you must not take things for granted, without examining their propriety and correctness. No. You are not a mere automaton, or boy-machine; but a rational being. You ought, therefore, to think methodically, to reason soundly, and to investigate every principle critically. Don't be afraid to think for yourself. You know not the high destiny that awaits you. You know not the height to which you may soar in the scale of intellectual existence. Go on, then, boldly, and with unyielding perseverance; and if you do not gain admittance into the temple of fame, strive, at all hazards, to drink of the fountain which gurgles from its base.
EXERCISES IN FALSE SYNTAX.
NOTE 1, TO RULE 12. A noun in the possessive case, should always be distinguished by the apostrophe, or mark of elision; as, The nation's glory.
That girls book is cleaner than those boys books.
Not correct, because the nouns girls and boys are both in the possessive case, and, therefore, require the apostrophe, by which they should be distinguished; thus, "girl's, boys'" according to the preceding NOTE. [Repeat the note.]
Thy ancestors virtue is not thine.
If the writer of this sentence meant one ancestor, he should have inserted the apostrophe after r, thus, "ancestor's"; if more than one, after s, thus, "ancestors' virtue;" but, by neglecting to place the apostrophe, he has left his meaning ambiguous, and we cannot ascertain it. This, and a thousand other mistakes you will often meet with, demonstrate the truth of my declaration, namely, that "without the knowledge and application of grammar rules, you will often speak and write in such a manner as not to be understood." You may now turn back and re-examine the "illustration" of Rules 3, 4, and 12, on page 52, and then correct the following examples about five times over.
A mothers tenderness and a fathers care, are natures gift's for mans advantage. Wisdoms precept's form the good mans interest and happiness. They suffer for conscience's sake. He is reading Cowpers poems. James bought Johnsons Dictionary.