With the omission of this unimportant distinction, it was, however, scrupulously retained by Dilworth, by the author of the British Grammar, by William Ward, by Buchanan, and by some others now little known, who chose to include both the article and the adjective with the noun, rather than to increase the number of the parts of speech beyond eight.

Dr.Priestley says, "I shall adopt the _usual distribution_ of words into eight classes; viz.

Nouns, Adjectives, Pronouns, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections.[71] I do this in compliance with the practice of most Grammarians; and because, _if any number, in a thing so arbitrary, must be fixed upon_, this seems to be as comprehensive and distinct as any.

All the innovation I have made hath been to throw out the _Participle_, and substitute the _Adjective_, as more evidently a distinct part of speech."-- _Rudiments of English Gram._, p.3.All this comports well enough with Dr.Priestley's haste and carelessness; but it is not true, that he either adopted, "the usual distribution of words," or made an other "as comprehensive and distinct as any." His "_innovation_," too, which has since been countenanced by many other writers, I have already shown to be greater, than if, by a promotion of the article and the adjective, he had made the parts of speech ten.

Dr.Beattie, who was Priestley's coeval, and a much better scholar, adopted this number without hesitation, and called every one of them by what is still its right name: "In English there are _ten_ sorts of words, which are all found in the following short sentence; 'I now see the good man coming; but, alas! he walks with difficulty.' _I_ and _he_ are pronouns; _now_ is an adverb; _see_ and _walks_ are verbs; _the_ is an article; _good_, an adjective; _man_ and _difficulty_ are nouns, the former substantive, the latter abstract; _coming_ is a participle; _but_, a conjunction; _alas!_ an interjection; _with_, a preposition.