Christes cote without seme, onlesse certeyn great men were brought out of the way.Trial of Sir John Oldcastle, anno 1413. This peticion cannot take effect onles man be made like an aungel.-Lupset, Treatise of Charitie, p. 66. We have the change of on to un in un-to for on-to, un-til for on-till. Less is the comparative adjective; and in form, Continuative Conjunction.-Morell. until. The same word as the preposition until, that is, on-till. Termed: Continuative Conjunction.-Morell. 467. when. A.-S. hwanne, hwenne, hwonne 'when,' 'at what time.' Termed: Continuative Conjunction.Morell. Conjunctive, Connective, or Relative Adverb.-Mason. Relative or Conjunctive Adverb; or Subordinating Conjunction. The Relative-Adverbs introducing clauses of Time, may be called Subordinating Conjunctions of Time: when,' 'while,' 'as,' 'until,' 'ere,' 'before,' 'after.'-Bain, p. 72. where, whither, whence. where. A.-S. hwar, 'at what place.' whither. A.-S. hwæder, 'to what place.' whence. A.-S. hwanan, hwanon.-Old English whannes, whennes, from what place?' Termed: Continuative Conjunctions.-Morell. Conjunctive, Connective, or Relative Adverbs. Mason. Relative or Conjunctive Adverbs.-Bain. wherefore. 'for which,' 'for which cause,' 'for which reason.' Termed: Conjunctive Adverb of the Illative Class.-Morell. Demonstrative Adverb (see therefore).-Mason. Adverb denoting Cause and Effect.-Bain, p. 45. Co-ordinating Conjunction of the Illative Class.Id. p. 67. whether. A.-S. hwæðre, called by Dr. Bosworth a Conjunctive Adverb; derived from the pronoun hwader 'whether?'' which of two?' Termed: Subordinative Conjunction.-Mason. while. This word is derived from the A.-S. noun hwil hwile, a while, 'time,' 'duration.' In Anglo-Saxon we find the phrase tha hwile, 'the while,' and tha hwile the, the while that.'-Matth. v. 25. Termed: Continuative Conjunction.-Morell. Conjunctive or Connective Adverb.-Mason. Relative or Conjunctive Adverb; or Subordinating Conjunction.-Bain. why. A.-S. hwi, 'why,' 'wherefore,' 'for what cause,' 'for what reason.' According to Dr. Bosworth, it is the ablative case of the interrogative pronoun hwa, hwæt, 'who?' 'what?' Termed: Conjunctive or Connective Adverb.—Mason. 468. yet. A.-S. gyt. Horne Tooke would derive this word from getan or gytan, 'to get;' but this is doubtful. Sir John Stoddart calls the word an Adverb, but remarks, 'where yet is used for "also," "moreover," or "nevertheless," it is properly to be considered as a Conjunction; but the distinction between a Conjunction and a Relative Adverb is not always easy to be drawn.'-Universal Grammar, p. 87. Termed: Continuative Conjunction.-Morell, p. 90. Conjunction or Conjunctive Adverb of the Adversative Class.-Id. p. 98. Co-ordinating Conjunction of the Arrestive Class.— Bain, p. 66. CHAPTER XV. PREPOSITIONS. 469. Prepositions were originally, and for a long time, classed with conjunctions; and when first separated from them, were only distinguished by the name of Prepositive Conjunctions. Some of the Greek grammarians, considering that prepositions connect words, as conjunctions connect sentences, ranked both the preposition and the conjunction under the common head of connective (ovvdeoμos); and the Stoics called the preposition the 'preposed connective' (ovvdeoμos πPOƉETIKÓS). In the Greek and Latin languages, the words thus distinguished were most commonly placed immediately before the substantives which they governed; and this accidental circumstance was unfortunately selected by some grammarians to give name to the pre-position. If this was their notion, the view was inaccurate; for even in Latin, tenus was always placed after the noun which it governed. So Plautus has mederga for erga me; and cum occupies a similar position in the words mecum, tecum, nobiscum, vobiscum. To meet these variations, some grammarians were not ashamed to make a class of postpositive prepositions, which is a manifest contradiction of terms; for the same word cannot be at once after-placed' and 'fore-placed.' There is, however, one aspect of the case, which may account for the origin of the term. In composition with verbs, in Greek and Latin, the preposition generally precedes the verb, and forms one word with it; whereas in English (and this we shall find to be a very important fact), the preposition usually follows the verb, and is written separately. 470. A preposition is a word which is used: 1. To express the relation in which one substantive stands to another: as, 'The middle of the street,'' The hat on the table,' 'the crumbs under the table.' 2. To connect a substantive with a verb: as, 'He went through the city,' 'They passed under the bridge.' 3. To connect a substantive with an adjective: as, 'He is ready for anything.' 4. In composition with verbs; most commonly after the verb: as, 'carry off,'' run through,' 'take out.' In some cases, however, the preposition is prefixed, as 'overthrow,' 'under-go.' It is curious to observe, that to 'set up' is to establish;' but to 'upset' is to 'overturn; and to 'take up' a cause is to undertake' it. Certain prepositions correspond to the case-endings of nouns in Greek and Latin. Thus of answers to the genitive case; to and for to the dative; from, by, and with to the ablative. As English is a mixed language, we shall find it necessary to consider the English prepositions, strictly so called, and the Latin prepositions. The necessity of this will fully appear when we discuss the subject of Composition. 471. The simple original prepositions in English are these: a, at, but, by, for, fore, from, in, on, of, over, out, till, to, through, up, with. Down and since are employed as prepositions. 472. a. The word a appears to be a remnant of the AngloSaxon preposition an, 'in,' 'on.' It is used before the gerund (or infinitive) in -ing: as, 'a-coming,' 'a-going,' a-walking,' 'a-shooting;' and before nouns, as 'a-bed,' 'a-board,' 'a-shore,' 'a-foot.' Our sailors have preserved many specimens of this, and of other old English forms. Dr. Wallis supposes a to be the preposition at. Dr. Lowth rather thinks it is the preposition on. For at has relation chiefly to place; whereas on has a more general relation, and may be applied to action, as well as to place: I was on coming, on going, &c.' So, likewise, the phrases above-mentioned, 'a-bed,' &c., exactly answer to 'on bed,' 'on board,' on foot.' Dr. Bentley plainly supposed a to be the same with on, as appears from the following passage: He would have a learned University to make barbarisms a purpose.-Dissertation on Phalaris, p. 223. See Lowth, English Grammar, p. 95. at. A.-S. æt. after. A.-S. after. The root is af: Gothic afar, 'after,' 'behind: ' A.-S. æft, aftan, æfter. According to Grimm, the final tar is the comparative termination, and the root af is the equivalent of the Greek áno, Latin ab. 473. but. This is a true preposition, and is originally be-out, 'by-out;' A.-S. be-utan, butan, without,' except,' 'besides.' It is curious that but (be-out) has almost lost its power as a preposition, and remains in force as a conjunction; while with-out is used as a preposition, and not, in modern English, as a conjunction. In the Scottish dialect we find ben, from A.-S. binnan, 'within,' the precise correlative of but, without;' 'but and ben,' 'without (the house) and within.' Then the terms but and ben' are applied to the outer and inner rooms of a house consisting of two apartments. See Wedgwood, Dictionary of English Etymology. Horne Tooke quotes several passages from Gawin Douglas, where the word is used as a preposition. He tries to distinguish between but, be out,' and bot, moreover,' 'to boot;' but the distinction is now considered untenable. Among the passages quoted from Gawin Douglas we read, Bot thy werke shall endure in laude and glorie, Preface to Translation of Virgil, p. 3. Although but is no longer used as a preposition before nouns, we have instances of its usage with pronouns: as, There was no one present but me,' 'They all went away but him.' So entirely has the prepositional use of but been forgotten, that many grammarians regard the word as a conjunction only. Hence they consider the phrases but me' and 'but him' violations of grammar. They regard but as a conjunction in all cases; and they condemn such sentences as these: They correct thus: There was no one present but me. There was no one present but I. They all went away but he. i.e. but I [was present],' 'but he [went not].' See § 193. Compare § 550. by. A.-S. be, bi, big, 'near,' 'beside.' down. See adown, § 416. |