Читать книгу The Grammar of English Grammars - Goold Brown - Страница 229

OBS. 1.—All words and signs taken technically, (that is, independently of their meaning, and merely as things spoken of,) are nouns; or, rather, are things read and construed as nouns; because, in such a use, they temporarily assume the syntax of nouns: as, "For this reason, I prefer contemporary to cotemporary."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 175; Murray's Gram., i, p. 368. "I and J were formerly expressed by the same character; as were U and V."—W. Allen's Gram., p. 3. "Us is a personal pronoun."—Murray. "Th has two sounds."—Ib. "The 's cannot be a contraction of his, because 's is put to female [feminine] nouns; as, Woman's beauty, the Virgin's delicacy."—Dr. Johnson's Gram. "Their and theirs are the possessives likewise of they, when they is the plural of it."—Ib. "Let B be a now or instant."—Harris's Hermes, p. 103. "In such case, I say that the instant B is the end of the time A B."—Ib., 103. "A is sometimes a noun: as, a great A."—Todd's Johnson. "Formerly sp was cast in a piece, as st's are now."—Hist. of Printing, 1770. "I write to others than he will perhaps include in his we."—Barclay's Works, Vol. iii, p. 455. "Here are no fewer than eight ands in one sentence."—Blair's Rhet., p. 112; Murray's Gram., Vol. i, p. 319. "Within this wooden O;" i.e., circle.—Shak.

OBS. 2.—In parsing, the learner must observe the sense and use of each word, and class it accordingly. Many words commonly belonging to other parts of speech are occasionally used as nouns; and, since it is the manner of its use, that determines any word to be of one part of speech rather than of an other, whatever word is used directly as a noun, must of course be parsed as such.

1. Adjectives made nouns: "The Ancient of days did sit."—Bible. "Of the ancients."—Swift. "For such impertinents."—Steele. "He is an ignorant in it."—Id. "In the luxuriance of an unbounded picturesque."—Jamieson. "A source of the sublime;" i.e., of sublimity.—Burke. "The vast immense of space:" i.e., immensity.—Murray. "There is none his like."—Job, xli, 33. "A little more than a little, is by much too much."—Shakspeare. "And gladly make much of that entertainment."—Sidney. "A covetous man makes the most of what he has."—L'Estrange. "It has done enough for me."—Pope. "He had enough to do."—Bacon.

"All withers here; who most possess, are losers by their gain, Stung by full proof, that bad at best, life's idle all is vain." —Young.

"Nor grudge I thee the much the Grecians give, Nor murm'ring take the little I receive." —Dryden.

2. Pronouns made nouns: "A love of seeing the what and how of all about him."—STORY'S LIFE OF FLAXMAN: Pioneer, Vol. i, p. 133. "The nameless HE, whose nod is Nature's birth."—Young, Night iv. "I was wont to load my she with knacks."—Shak. Winter's Tale. "Or any he, the proudest of thy sort."—Shak. "I am the happiest she in Kent."—Steele. "The shes of Italy."—Shak. "The hes in birds."—Bacon. "We should soon have as many hes and shes as the French."—Cobbet's E. Gram., Para. 42. "If, for instance, we call a nation a she, or the sun a he."—Ib., Para. 198. "When I see many its in a page, I always tremble for the writer."—Ib., Para. 196. "Let those two questionary petitioners try to do this with their whos and their whiches."—SPECT: Ash's Gr., p. 131.

"Such mortal drugs I have; but Mantua's law

Is death to any he that utters them."—Shak.

3. Verbs made nouns: "Avaunt all attitude, and stare, and start theatric."—Cowper. "A may-be of mercy is sufficient."—Bridge. "Which cuts are reckoned among the fractures."—Wiseman. "The officer erred in granting a permit."—"Feel darts and charms, attracts and flames."—Hudibras. "You may know by the falling off of the come, or sprout."—Mortimer. "And thou hast talk'd of sallies and retires."—Shak.

"For all that else did come, were sure to fail;

Yet would he further none, but for avail."—Spenser.

4. Participles made nouns: "For the producing of real happiness."—Crabb. "For the crying of the poor and the sighing of the needy, I will arise."—Bible. "Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife."—Prov., xxx, 33. "Reading, writing, and ciphering, are indispensable to civilized man."—"Hence was invented the distinction between doing and permitting."—Calvin's Inst., p. 131. "Knowledge of the past comes next."—Hermes, p. 113. "I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me."—Sol. Song, vii, 10. "Here's—a simple coming-in for one man."—Shak.

"What are thy rents? What are thy comings-in? O Ceremony, show me but thy worth."—Id.

5. Adverbs made nouns: "In these cases we examine the why, the what, and the how of things."—L'Estrange. "If a point or now were extended, each of them would contain within itself infinite other points or nows."—Hermes, p. 101. "The why is plain as way to parish church."—Shak. "'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter."—Addison. "The dread of a hereafter."—Fuller. "The murmur of the deep amen."—Sir W. Scott. "For their whereabouts lieth in a mystery."—Book of Thoughts, p. 14. Better: "Their whereabout lieth," or, "Their whereabouts lie," &c.

"Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind;

Thou losest here, a better where to find."—Shak.

6. Conjunctions made nouns: "The if, which is here employed, converts the sentence into a supposition."—Blair's Rhet. "Your if is the only peacemaker; much virtue is in if."—Shak.

"So his Lordship decreed with a grave solemn tone,

Decisive and clear, without one if or but— That whenever the Nose put his spectacles on, By daylight or candlelight—Eyes should be shut."—Cowper.

7. Prepositions made nouns: "O, not like me; for mine's beyond beyond."—Shakspeare: Cymb., iii, 2. "I.e., her longing is further than beyond; beyond any thing that desire can be said to be beyond."—Singer's Notes. "You whirled them to the back of beyont to look at the auld Roman camp."—Antiquary, i. 37.

8. Interjections or phrases made nouns: "Come away from all the lo-heres! and lo-theres!"—Sermon. "Will cuts him short with a 'What then?'"—Addison. "With hark and whoop, and wild halloo."—Scott. "And made a pish at chance and sufferance."—Shak.

"A single look more marks th' internal wo,

Than all the windings of the lengthen'd oh."—Lloyd.