Nesfield Grammar Book

[Barb Magario]

Anyword thus added to a noun is called an Adjective (Lat. adjectivus, used for adding on). The noun and adjective thus combined make a kind of compound noun. Sometimes this compound noun can be written as a single word, as greatcoat, blackguard, nobleman, halfpenny, quicksands, sweet-heart, etc., every one of which can easily be broken up into a simple noun and an adjective that precedes it.

Enlargement of meaning is necessarily accompanied by a narrowing of application. This is a vital point. Thus the noun house, so long as its meaning remains unenlarged, that is, so long as no adjective is added to it, can be applied to an almost countless number of things called by the general name of house. But if I add to the noun the adjective fourth, the noun so enlarged can be applied to only one house, viz. to that house which stands fourth in a certain row or terrace.

This shorter definition is intended to signify exactly the same thing as the longer one. On account of its shortness it is more convenient for parsing. Thus in parsing fourth house we can say that fourth is an adjective qualifying the noun house.

Verb is from Latin verbum, a word. A verb has been called pre-eminently the word, because it is the chief word in a sentence. In fact, it is the most important kind of word in human speech. James laughs: we might designate James by pointing to him with our finger; but we cannot express any fact about him, as laughs, without using our voice and saying the word laughs.

In (a) the preposition on shows the relation between the thing denoted by table and the action denoted by put. The hand might be held above the table, or under it, or on it. It is the preposition which defines the relation.

In (b) the preposition in shows the relation between the thing denoted by the noun bird and the thing denoted by the noun hand; also between the things denoted by the noun birds and the thing denoted by the noun bush.

Nor is it enough to say that a preposition connects a noun with a verb, an adjective, or other noun. In the phrase "time and tide, we have one noun connected with another noun; and in the sentence men are mortal, we have a noun connected with an adjective by the copulative are." Yet neither and, nor are is a preposition.

In (a) the notion of humility expressed by humble-minded is connected (in the sense of addition) with the notion of contentment expressed by contented. The one notion is simply added to the other. The conjunction used for this purpose is and.

In (b) the notion of poverty expressed by poor is connected (in the sense of contrast) with the notion of honesty expressed by honest. The one notion is contrasted with the other. The conjunction used for this purpose is but.

In (c) the thought expressed by the sentence he is ill-tempered is connected (in the sense of cause or reason) with the thought expressed by the sentence that man is disliked. The one thought is given as the reason for the other.

Example (d). Here the meaning of the conjunction because is extended, not altered, by the adverb merely. The phrase merely because expresses all that is implied in because, and something more. It shows that the relation of cause denoted by the conjunction because is to be understood in a sense that excludes every other cause. If we change the order of the words and say, He was merely despised, because he was poor, the meaning of the sentence is not the same: this would mean, He was merely despised (not hated or attacked), because he was poor. Or, if we leave out the adverb merely, the sense would again be different. The sentence would then imply that there may have been other reasons besides poverty for which he was despised.

Observe that a sentence substituted for an interjection is always parenthetical. The sentence I am sorry to say is as completely isolated from the sentence My son died yesterday by the parenthesis as the interjection alas! is isolated from it by its own nature.

Here when is an adverb, because it qualifies the verb is. It has also the character of a conjunction, because it connects the thought expressed by we shall be glad with the thought expressed by the risk is over.

1. A square thing does not fit into a round hole. Draw a circle round a given centre. The flies are flying round and round. Men must go their daily round of duty. Vasco da Gama was the first to round the Cape of Good Hope.

The result, then, is that any combination of words which can be substituted for some part of speech may be called a phrase; and we have seen that nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections may all be expressed by phrases.

Observe that qualify simply means modify. In grammar it means precisely the same thing that it does in ordinary language, and is not by any means limited to adjectives that express some quality or attribute.

When the mind apprehends a single object, as father, son, honesty, poverty, the result is called a notion; and this is expressed by a single word or phrase. When the mind compares two notions and connects them by a Finite verb, the result is called a thought; and this is expressed by a sentence (Latin, sententia, a thought).

In 17 it is shown that an interjection is, properly speaking, not a Part of Speech. Hence no mention is made of interjections in this definition. An interjection, being absolute or isolated, cannot be qualified by any other word.

Thus, man does not point out any particular man, such as James, but can be used for any and every man. Book does not point out any particular book, such as Kenilworth, but can be used for any and every book. Country does not point out any particular country, such as France, but can be used for any country in any part of the world.

For instance, there may be many sheep in a field, but only one flock. Here sheep is a Common noun, because it may stand for any and every sheep; but flock is a Collective noun, because it stands for all the sheep at once, and not for any one sheep taken separately.

The four kinds of nouns first named are all Concrete; i.e. they denote objects of sense, viz. what can be seen, heard, touched, smelt, or tasted, or what can be perceived by the muscular sense, as weight, extension, etc. But an abstract noun relates to qualities, states, etc., which cannot be seen or touched, etc., and which are thought of apart from any object of sense.

For example: We know that a stone is hard. We also know that iron is hard. We also know that a brick is hard. We can therefore speak of hardness apart from stone, or iron, or brick, or any other object having the same quality. Abstract (Lat. abstractus) means drawn off (abstracted in thought) from the object. Hence hardness is an abstract noun; while stone or brick or iron is a concrete noun.

In (2) industry means some special kind of industry, as cotton-spinning. Thus an industrial training means a training which will prepare a man for some branch of industry, such as cotton-spinning. An industrious training would not express this. We can say an industrious man, but not an industrious training.

Ouch! How I feel for those who needed to teach grammar using the Nesfield volume. That said, the guidelines for the teaching grammar in the modern National Curriculum got off to a shaky start and were in need of revision.

I carefully pointed out differences between the grammar of English and Jamaican. At the end of one of the classes, an attentive man asked, "Why nobody never teach us like this before?" Perhaps, because the Ministry of Education is satisfied with the status quo.

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