AN ENGLISH GRAMMAR

AND

READING BOOK

FOR LOWER FORMS IN CLASSICAL SCHOOLS

BY THE

sborne

REV. O. W. TANCOCK, M. A.

Assistant Master of Sherborne School

THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED

Oxford

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

M DCCC LXXVIII

[All rights reserved]

PREFACE.

THIS little book is intended to help those who are trying to solve the problem of teaching English systematically in classical schools. My object has been to supply an English grammar for lower forms which shall teach a boy to apply grammatical terms and explanations to his own language, and which may be learnt by the side of his Latin grammar with little additional trouble; and to supply a reading book which shall be to the study of English what a Latin Delectus is to the study of Latin. The Glossary explains the meaning and derivation of every word in the Extracts. I believe that a boy who has worked fairly through the book will have laid the foundation of an accurate knowledge of the structure of his mother tongue, and its relation to kindred languages, and will have learned to distinguish between its two great divisions of words-the words of Teutonic, and those of Latin origin. I have not attempted to teach everything, or to supply the place of advanced grammars; but I have great hope that those who use it will have nothing to unlearn when they come to use larger grammars, and to extend their study of English to the earlier stages of the language.

In the Introductory Chapter I have given-for teachers rather than for boys-a sketch of the growth of the language, with some notice of the laws of that growth, and of

the changes which have taken place. Much of what I have said is, of course, derived from Mr. Freeman's writings, in whose steps all must follow who deal with the times of our early forefathers. The chapter was written before Mr. Earle's 'The Philology of the English Tongue' was published, but I have been happy to be able to add a few references to his pages as giving support to what I had written.

In the Grammar in some places rather more of the form and nomenclature of Latin grammar is kept than is entirely pleasing to myself, but I have been obliged to bear in mind that the book is for boys who have their Latin grammars in their hands, and to whom no stumbling-block is greater than a variety of grammatical terms.

I have to acknowledge the courtesy of the owners of the copyrights of many of the Extracts, who have in all cases most kindly given their consent to the use of their works. If by mistake I have in any case made use of a copyright without obtaining permission, I hope the oversight will be excused.

I owe thanks to many friends for much advice and help, to the Rev. C. W. Boase, M.A., of Exeter College, Oxford; and especially to A. M. Curteis, Esq., M.A., AssistantMaster of Sherborne School, who has kindly read and corrected my proof-sheets, and assisted me much in every part of my work.

I gladly take the opportunity of a second edition to thank the Rev. W. W. Skeat for most kindly sending me many valuable criticisms and corrections.

March, 1874.