GRAMMAR PARTICLES

• Time or pause to be observed in the pronouncing of several words or sentences
  • general name
    • interpunctuation , period
    • hyphen
  • particular kinds
    • colon , semicolon
    • comma
• manner of pronunciation
  • distinction
    • emphasis
    • parenthesis
  • prolongation of vowels
    • accent

CHAP. VIII. Of the Accidental Difference of words. I. Inflexion. II. De∣rivation. III. Composition. THE next thing to be treated of, is concerning the Accidental Differences of words; and amongst these

*1. Concerning the Inflexion of them, which doth consist in the se∣veral ways of varying the same word to sundry modes of significati∣on. This is not arbitrary, as it is used in several Languages; much less should the rules to this purpose, which belong to the Latin, be ap∣plied to Vulgar Tongues, to which they are not suited (as many Grammarians use to do) but it ought to be founded upon the Philo∣sophy of speech and such Natural grounds, as do necessarily belong to Language.

Integral words are all capable of Inflexion.

1. Noun Substantives are inflected in a threefold respect.

• By Number - singular and plural (Intrinescal ) not by affix
• By Gender - Male , female or bisexual or neuter sex ( Intrinescal ) or for species by the genitals indicators .
• By cases - Not so essential

And besides these three ways of Inflexion, I have shewed before how Substantives are capable likewise of Active and Passive voice, and of Tenses.

Noun Adjectives need not have any note to express Number, Gen∣der, Case, because in all these they agree with their Substantives; unless such Adjectives as are used Substantively, by reason of their composition with the Transcendental marks of Person, Thing, Time, Place, &c. In which case they have the same kinds of Inflexion with Substantives. But there is belonging to them,

1. A transverse Inflexion by degrees of Comparison, which may be best denoted by the extrinsical affixes of more, most; less, least.

2. An Inflexion by Voice Active and Passive, which makes them of the same nature with those words which we call Participles.

3. An Inflexion by Tenses.

Pronoun Substantives are inflected by Number and Gender, and by Case, as Noun Substantives are; besides that kind of improper Inflecti∣on, whereby they are made Possessives; which is rather a kind of Deri∣vation, and reduplicative, which consists only in the doubling of them for the greater Emphasis.

The other Particles are not capable of Inflexion, because they do not denote any Essence or Act, which is capable of several modes or re∣spects, as Integrals, and two of the Particles do: but only the Circum∣stances or Modifications of other words; and therefore may be stiled indeclinable or invariable.