the Participle: as, I had wrote, it was wrote, for I had written, it was written; I have drank, for I have drunk; bore, for borne; chofe, for chafen; bid, for bidden; got, for gotten, &c, This abuse has been long growing upon us, and is continually making further incroachments; as it may be observed in the example of those Irregular Verbs of the Third Class, which change i short into a and u; as, Cling, clang, clung, in which the original and analogical form of the Paft Time in a is almost grown obfolete; and, the u prevailing instead of it, the Past Time is now in most of them confounded with the Participle. The Vulgar Translation of the Bible, which is the best standard of our language, is free from this corruption, except in a few instances; as hid is used for hidden; held, for holden, frequently; bid, for bidden; begot, for begotten, once or twice: in which, and a few other like words, it may perhaps be allowed as a Contraction. And in some of these, Custom has established it beyond recovery: in the rest it

"Into those common-places look,

Which from great authors I have took." Prior, Alma. "A free Constitution when it has been book by the iniquity of former administrations." Bolingbroke, Patriot King, p. 11.

"Too ftrong to be shook by his enemies." Atterbury. "Ev'n there he should have fell." Prior, Solomon. " Sure some disafter has befell."

Gay, Fables. seems wholly inexcusable. The absurdity of it will be plainly perceived in the example of fome of these Verbs, which custom has not yet so perverted. We should be immediately shocked at I have knew, I have faw, I have gave, &c. but our ears are grown familiar with I have wrote, I have drank, I have bore, &c. which are altogether as ungrammatical.

There are one or two small Irregularities to be noted, to which some Verbs are subject in the formation of the Present Participle. The Present Participle is formed by adding ing to the Verb; as, turn, turning. Verbs ending in e omit the e in the Present Participle: as, love, loving. Verbs ending with a single confonant preceded. by a fingle Vowel, and if of more than one Syllable, having the accent on the laft Syllable, double the Consonant in the Present Participle, as well as in every Part of the Verb in which a Syllable is added: as put, putting, putteth; forget, forgetting, forgetteth; abet, abetting, abet bed [1].

[1] Some Verbs having the Accent on the last Syllable but one, as worship, council, are represented in the like manner, as doubling the last confonant in the formation of those parts of the Verb, in which a Syllable is added; as worshipping, counselling. But this I rather judge to be a fault in the spelling; which neither Analogy nor Pronunciation juftifies.

ADVERB.

A

ADVERB.

DVERBS

are added to Verbs, and to Adjectives, to denote some modification or circumftance of an action, or quality: as the manner, order, time, place, distance, motion, relation, quantity, quality, comparison, doubt, affirmation, negation, demonstration, interrogation.

In English they admit of no Variation; except fome few of them, which have the degrees of Comparison; as, [2] "often, oftener, ofteneft;" "foon, sooner, sooneft;" and those Irregulars, derived

[2] The formation of Adverbs in general with the Comparative and Superlative Termination seems to be improper; at least it is now become almost obfolete: as, "Touching things which generally are received,we are hardlieft able to bring such proof of their certainty, as may fatisfy gainsayers." Hooker, B. v. 2. "Was the eafilier perfuaded." Raleigh. "That he may the stronglier provide." Hobbes, Life of Thucyd. "The things highlieft important to the growing age." Shaftsbury, Letter to Molesworth. "The question would not be, who loved himself, and who not; but, who loved and served himself the rightest, and after the truest manner." Id. Wit and Humour. It ought rather to be, most hardly, more easily, more strongly, most highly, derived from Adjectives [3] in this respect likewife irregular; "well, better, best;" &c.

An Adverb is fometimes joined to another Adverb, to modify or qualify its meaning, as "very much; much too little; not very prudently."

P

PREPOSITION.

REPOSITIONS, so called because they are commonly put before the words to which they are applied, serve to connect words with one another, and to shew the relation between them.,

One great Use of Prepositions in English is to express those relations, which in some languages are chiefly marked by Cafes, or the different endings of the Noun.

Most Prepofitions originally denote the relations of Place, and have been thence transferred to denote by fimilitude other relations. Thus, out, in, through, under, by, to, from, of, &c.

highly, most right or rightly. But these Comparative Adverbs, however improper in prose, are fometimes allowable in Poetry.

" Scepter and pow'r, thy giving, I assume; " And gladlier shall resign." Milton, P. L. vi. 73.

[3] See above, p. 47.

9

Of

i

Of is much the same with from: " afk of me," that is, from me: "made of wood;" "Son of Philip;" that is, sprung from him. For, in its primary sense, is pro, loco alterius, in the stead, or place, of another. The notion of Place is very obvious in all the rest [4].

Prepositions

[4] The Particle a before Participles, in the phrases a coming, a going, a walking, a shooting, &c.; and before Nouns, as a-bed, a-board, a-shore, a-foot, &c.; seems to be a true and genuine Prepofition, a little disguised by familiar use and quick pronunciation. Dr. Wallis supposes it to be the Preposition at. I rather think it is the Prepofition on; the sense of which answers better to the intention of those expressions. At has relation chiefly to place: on has a more general relation, and may be applied to action, and many other things, as well as place. "I was on coming, on going,” &c.; that is, employed upon that particular action: fo likewise those other phrases above-mentioned, a-bed, &c. exactly answer to on bed, on board, on shore, on foot. Dr. Bentley plainly supposed a to be the fame with on; as appears from the following passage: "He would have a learned University make Barbarisms a purpose." Differt. on Phalaris, p. 223. "The depths on trembling fell." J. Hopkins, Pf. lxxvii. 16. That is, as we now say in common discourse, " they fell a trembling." And the preposition on has manifestly deviated into a in other instances: thus the Saxon compounded Prepofitions ongean, onmang, onbutan, are become in English, by the rapidity of pronunciation, against, among, about; and what is in the