The Rudiments of English Grammar

Abstract

The English polymath Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) defined grammar as nothing more complicated than a system of rules for the correct use of language. This enlarged second edition of his influential 1761 textbook first appeared in 1769; it had by then established him as one of the major grammarians of his age. With little patience for the confusing and superfluous application of Latin rules to English, Priestley champions a simple style of grammatical explanation here, questioning even such fundamental concepts as an English future tense. The text follows a clear question-and-answer structure designed for students. Priestley's determination to modernise the teaching of English and to promote usage as the crucial linguistic standard remain relevant today. A companion work, A Course of Lectures on the Theory of Language and Universal Grammar (1762), is also reissued in this series, along with other works by Priestley ranging in coverage from oratory to oxygen.

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