[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/nesfield-1898-english-grammar-past-present/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [docs](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/) / [papers](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/) / [English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/en/) / English Grammar Past and Present, with appendices on prosody, synonyms, and other outlying subjects # English Grammar Past and Present, with appendices on prosody, synonyms, and other outlying subjects **Authors:** John Collinson Nesfield · **Year:** 1898 · **Venue:** London: Macmillan **Link:** [archive.org/details/englishgrammarpa00nesfuoft](https://archive.org/details/englishgrammarpa00nesfuoft) · **Licence:** [public domain](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/) (author died 1919; published 1898) grammar-book[licence](https://archive.org/details/englishgrammarpa00nesfuoft) - [Publisher's page](https://archive.org/details/englishgrammarpa00nesfuoft) - [PDF](https://archive.org/download/englishgrammarpa00nesfuoft/englishgrammarpa00nesfuoft.pdf) **Authors (1)** 1. John Collinson Nesfield Citations and author metrics from OpenAlex (); authors with the same name are not always told apart. ## What it is about A school and university grammar in three parts. Part I covers modern grammar: accidence, analysis of sentences, syntax and punctuation. Part II treats idiomatic use of each part of speech, with reference to older English where that explains a usage. Part III is historical word-building: borrowings, sounds, spelling, accent, compounds and prefixes. The preface states the plan as a move "from the more easy to the less easy". Chapter X analyses sentences: it defines a simple sentence as one with a single finite verb, then compound and complex sentences as those with more than one, and it breaks a simple sentence into four elements, starting with the subject, before the clause analysis. The book is descriptive, with worked exercises, and gives no measurements. ## Ideas - I1. Use the Chapter X definition as a rule for clause type: count the finite verb heads in a UD tree (tokens with `VerbForm=Fin` that are not dependents of a `conj` or a complement) and label the sentence simple, compound or complex. Measure the agreement of this label with a hand-checked sample of EWT dev sentences. - I2. Build the Part II idiom list (for example "both ... and", "as well as", "no sooner ... than") as a multi-word conjunction table, and check that the tagger keeps those spans together. - I3. Use the analysis chapter's examples as a regression set for the sentence analyser: each example has a fixed answer, so a change that breaks one shows up at once. ## For Mova The chapters are [21. The simple clause](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/en/21-clause-structure/) (for the clause-type rule), [24. Coordination and subordination](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/en/24-coordination-subordination/) (for the idiom table) and [19. The lexicon: vocabulary, multiword expressions and register](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/en/19-lexicon-mwe-register/) (for multi-word units). The code is `en/src/parse.rs` with the `VerbForm` feature from `en/src/udreg.rs`. Measure: the clause-type accuracy on a small hand-labelled EWT dev sample, run twice for identical output, plus a negative control in which the labels are taken from shuffled sentences, which must score near chance. ## Cite The paper itself, not this card. BibTeX from the library's record of the work. ``` @book{nesfield1898english, title = {{English Grammar Past and Present, with appendices on prosody, synonyms, and other outlying subjects}}, author = {Nesfield, John Collinson}, year = {1898}, url = {https://archive.org/details/englishgrammarpa00nesfuoft} } ``` - [← previous Coreference meets Universal Dependencies – a pilot experiment on harmonizing coreference datasets for 11 languages](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/nedoluzhko-2021-coreference-meets-universal-dependencies/) - [next → Supervised Noun Phrase Coreference Research: The First Fifteen Years](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/ng-2010-supervised-noun-phrase-coreference-research/) - [↑ back to English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/en/) ## References 5 references, 0 of them with a card of ours. ↗ leads to the work, «find» searches for one we have no id for yet. 1. (June 1894.) 152. In what various ways, besides borrowing from foreign languages, may the vocabulary of a language be increased ? Give examples. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%28June+1894%2E%29+152%2E+In+what+various+ways%2C+besides+borrowing+from+foreign+languages%2C+may+the+vocabulary+of+a+language+be+increased+%3F+Give+examples%2E) 2. (June 1894.) 153. Give an account of the vowel-sounds now used in educated English (using some phonetic notations, if possible, but illustrating your symbols by words in which the corresponding sounds occur.) (June 1894.) 154. Point out the inflexions in then, than, win, tJiere, whence, why, sddo^ni, and show how far their force is traceable in the present meaning (June 1894.) of these words. 155. Comment on the marks of comparison in the following, and point worser, out which of them are, in modern usage, true comparatives (June 1894.) former, nearer, latter, inferric/r, elder, other. 156. Explain the forms of the first /o?fr ordinal numbers. (June 1894.) [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%28June+1894%2E%29+153%2E+Give+an+account+of+the+vowel%2Dsounds+now+used+in+educated+English+%28using+some+phonetic+notations%2C+if+possible%2C+but+illustrating+your+symbols+by+words+in+which+the+corresponding+sounds) 3. From what sources have we the suffix -y 1 Explain its occurrence (June 1894.) 158. Mention other English words cognate with cadence, hospikd, tradition, qtiiet, potion, pauper, stating what yoii know of the origin of (June 1894.) each. 159. Enumerate and account for the chief anomalies of modern English in the v/ords—dnchy, jflmvery, body, jelly, jolly. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=From+what+sources+have+we+the+suffix+%2Dy+1+Explain+its+occurrence+%28June+1894%2E%29+158%2E+Mention+other+English+words+cognate+with+cadence%2C+hospikd%2C+tradition%2C+qtiiet%2C+potion%2C+pauper%2C+stating+what+yoii+know+) 4. (Jan. 1895.) spelling. forlorn, alms, 160. Write etymological notes on the following words thunder, livelihood, went, pagan, alchemy, bask, Monday, island. (Jan. 1895.) [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%28Jan%2E+1895%2E%29+spelling%2E+forlorn%2C+alms%2C+160%2E+Write+etymological+notes+on+the+following+words+thunder%2C+livelihood%2C+went%2C+pagan%2C+alchemy%2C+bask%2C+Monday%2C+island%2E+%28Jan%2E+1895%2E%29) 5. '. 161. What is meant by gender in grammar ? Enumerate the various ways of indicating gender in English. Comment on gander, tapster, vixen, (Jan. 1895.) bridegroom, songstress. 162. Classify English adjectives according to (i.) their functions, and From what sources have we the suffix -ows? (ii.) their terminations. Explain its occurrence in coTiscious, glorious, wondrous, courteotis, righteous. (Jan. 1895.) 163. Trace, as fully as you can, the history of the inflexions of the 3rd (Jan. 1895.) pers. Pronoun, Singular and Plural. 164. Discuss the origin of the Relative Pronouns, and distinguish their use in modern English. What equivalents are there in English for the Relative ? (Jan. 1895.) Give illustrative sentences. 165. Account for the following forms told, sought, caught, could, must, wot, are, went, ought, hight. (Jan. 1895.) 166. Tabulate the Pronominal Adverbs, and explain their formation. (Jan. 1895.) 167. State what you know of the history of any six words in the following sentence " No man hardly is so savage, in whom the receiving kindnesses doth not beget a kindly sense." (June. 1895.) 168. Give some account of the Scandinavian element in English. (June 1895.) 169. Classify the vocalic sounds (not letters) in English, denoting each by means of some word in which it occurs. (Jime 1895.) 170. Distinguish accent and eviphasis, and illustrate the part played by the first in the history of English words. (June 1895.) 171. Illustrate the influence of the social and political institutions of the Normans on the English vocabulary. (June 1895.) 172. Account clearly for the difl"erences between a compound and (1) a derivative, (2) two words in syntactical connection, with instances. (June 1895.) 173. Analyse each of the following expressions with its component parts, and explain how its syntactical function arose lest, therefoi-e, therefor, nevertheless, besides, anent. (June 1895.) 174. Explain the terms auxiliary, past-present, strong -%oeak, as applied to certain classes of verbs. (June 1895.) 175. Give a short account of the origin of adverbs. (June 1895.) 176. State the source or sources of the suffixes -ate, -ish, -ling, -y, with instances of each. How far do they serve to distinguish diff"erent parts of speech ? (June 1895.) 177. Comment on the spelling of the following words broad, once, doubt, could, whose, right. (June 1895.) 178. Illustrate the chief varieties of Doublets. (June 1895.) [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%27%2E+161%2E+What+is+meant+by+gender+in+grammar+%3F+Enumerate+the+various+ways+of+indicating+gender+in+English%2E+Comment+on+gander%2C+tapster%2C+vixen%2C+%28Jan%2E+1895%2E%29+bridegroom%2C+songstress%2E+162%2E+Classify+English+a)