The purpose of this book is to set forth the elements of English grammar in their relation to thought and the expression of thought. This object has been the guiding principle in the selection of material, in the treatment of forms and constructions, and in the fashioning of the very numerous illustrative exercises. The Introduction explains in simple language certain general conceptions too often ignored in the study of grammar: the nature of language, its relation to thought and to style, the processes which affect its growth and decay, the province of grammar, and the relation of grammar to usage. The Grammar is divided into two Parts. Part I treats of the Sentence and its Elements. The subject is developed in a natural order, beginning with the sentence in its simplest form. Part II treats of the Classification, Inflection, and Offices of the Parts of Speech. It includes all the important phenomena of English inflection, which are explained, not as isolated facts, but as means of expressing varieties of human thought. The Appendix contains lists of irregular verbs and other material intended for reference. The "Selections to be Committed to Memory," prescribed for the Seventh and Eighth Years by the Education Department of the State of New York, are found at the end of the book.