In the preparation of this little work the writer has kept one end in view, viz.: To make it serviceable for those for whom it is intended, that is, for those who have neither the time nor the opportunity, the learning nor the inclination, to peruse elaborate and abstruse treatises on Rhetoric, Grammar, and Composition. Edited by Theodore Waters.
/em>, book. Nouns are proper and common.
Proper nouns are names applied to particular persons or places.
Common nouns are names applied to a whole kind or species.
Nouns are inflected by number, gender and case.
Number is that inflection of the noun by which we indicate whether it represents one or more than one.
Gender is that inflection by which we signify whether the noun is the name of a male, a female, of an inanimate object or something which has no distinction of sex.
Case is that inflection of the noun which denotes the state of the person, place or thing represented, as the subject of an affirmation or question, the owner or possessor of something mentioned, or the object of an action or of a relation.
Thus in the example, "John tore the leaves of Sarah's book," the distinction between book which represents only one object and leaves which repres
Interesting for historical value, but a poor choice for someone learning the art of composition today. While it is unlikely that anyone following the advice given in this work will be marked down for grammatical errors, they may get marked down for being too dry or wooden if they were to follow Mr. Devlin's advice too closely.
His persistant use of "viz." would be considered archaic by most American readers, as would his inclusion of "shall" as a helping verb.
I have tried unsuccessfully to determine when this book was written, but it reads as though it were written about 50 or 70 years ago, which is why I found out fascinating from an historical point of view.