LESSON'S IN 



He produced on argument ojaiiut Motet ltin>) the author of the 

 Pentateuch. 



oiples sometimes oooor oa simple participles, when in 

 truth th.-> have the force and should hare the construction of 



i tho follpwing sontonoo: 

 ; . Cyrus did not wait for tho Babylonians coining to attack 



lii-jht. Cyrus did not wait for the Babylonians' coming to attack 



him. 



Compound or adverbial subjects require the verb in the singu- 

 lar number. Respecting pronouns considered as subjects, a 

 few details are necessary. Pronouns that denote one person or 

 object must have their verb in tho singular number. Pronouns 

 that denote more than one person or object must have their 

 verb in the plural number. When two or more pronouns occur 

 in one sentence, and refer to the same person or tiling, they 

 must be in tho same gender, number, and person ; as 



I saw my dog bite tho man. | She came to show me her bonnet. 



But if different parsons or things are intended, the proper 

 pronouns must be employed ; as 



I saw his dog bite the man. | She oame to show me your hat. 



Tho distributive pronouns each, every, whoever, etc., being 

 singular in form, should have a verb in the singular number ; 

 they should also have corresponding pronouns in the singular 

 number ; as 



Each man is coming for his wages. 



. " Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh* down from above." 

 (James i. 17.) 



Whoever comes, let him enter. 



Inaccurate speakers are wont to put the second pronoun in 

 the plural, saying 



Whoever comes, let them enter. 



The error is the more to bo guarded against, because every 

 one, etc., implies a number, and is nearly equivalent to all. 



POSITION OF THE SUBJECT AND ITS AGREEMENT WITH 

 THE VEKB. 



Position of the Subject. Tho ordinary place of the subject is 

 immediately before the verb ; as 



The sicfc man drinks. 



^One word or more may intervene before the subject. 

 *The subject, however, comes after the verb (1) in questions ; 

 as in this example : 



Does the sick man drink wine ? 



(2)" With the imperative mood ; as 

 Go thou ; come ye. 

 (3) On the expression of a strong wish ; as 



May they learn wisdom by what they suffer. 

 (1) When the conjunction if is dropped ; as 



Were my father alive, for " if my father were," etc. 



(5) With the conjunction nor ; as 



Nor can your turpitude be denied. 



(6) In cases of emphasis ; as 



Rich is the reward of the righteous. 



(7) After an adverb or adverbial phrase ; as 



After the infantry marched the grenadiers, then followed the horse. 



(8) With an interposed verb ; as 



" My children," replied the dying father, " I entreat you." 



The imperative mood of the first and third person singular 

 and plural is formed with the assistance of let ; as 

 Let him go ; let them eat. 



Here it will be observed the pronouns are in the objective 

 case. The reason is that let is really an independent verb, and 

 as such governs the objects him and them in the objective case, 

 go and eat being infinitives depending on let. This is the true 

 analysis of such sentences. 



An adverb, when it begins a sentence, puts the subject after 

 its verb ; as 



" There will I plead with you face to face." (Ezek. xx. 35.) 



Yet by no means universally; as 



"There the<j buried Abraham and Sarah." (Gen. xlix. 31.) 



When, however, there is o*ed u an expletive, the subject 

 follows the verb ; as 



" There ihall be no night then." (Rr. xxi. 25.) 



" An expletive " is a word which, according to its derivation, 

 signifies a word which jitlt up or i* redundant. A regard to 

 idiom may sometimes require the retention of expletive*. 



Adverbial phrases have great force in canting the subject t 

 take place after the verb. 



AGREEMENT OF THE SUBJECT AND VERB. 



While the subject of a proposition may agree with a qualifying 

 adjective and a limiting or defining article, it specially agrees 

 with tho verb. Tho agreement is of two kinds, one of form, 

 another of substance ; one flexional, another logical. 



Wo may express these facts differently, by Maying that if the 

 verb is in the plural number, its subject must be in the plural 

 number ; and if the subject is in the plural number, the verb 

 must be in the plural number. In other words, both subject 

 and verb take the same condition ; and this is what I mean by 

 stating that the subject and the verb must agree. In general, 

 then, the rule is this : 



The subject and the verb must be in the same number and 

 person; or, to state the name fact differently, the subjectt and 

 their verb must agree in number and person. 



Nouns of multitude, that is, nouns signifying many, take 

 their verbs in the plural. 



When, however, the idea of one predominates that is, when 

 you regard the object spoken of as a v:lwle, and not as con- 

 sisting of parts then a collective noun requires its verb to be 

 in the singular number ; as 



The Parliament tros dissolved ; but 

 The people were admitted to the Queen's presence ; 

 for the word people gives the idea of many persons. 



Nouns are of the third person. But some grammarians have 

 ascribed all the three persons to nouns. In only one form of 

 construction, however namely, the form that bears the name of 

 apposition can nouns have a first, a second, as well as a third 

 person. For example -. 



Nouns tn the First Person. It is I, your old friend. 



Nouns in the Second Person. Thou, the man of my heart. 



Nouns in the Third Person. He, the king of the Jews. 



Two or more nouns, or a noun and a pronoun, are said to be 

 in apposition, when, being in the same number, person, and 

 case, they refer to the same person or thing, and when the 

 second is put in order to explain or add something in meaning 

 to the first. 



The essence of apposition is in the fact that a word or words 

 are apposed (ad, to, and pono, / put), with a view to explain, 

 enlarge, or qualify a foregoing noun or pronoun. 



Observe that in every case of apposition there are two parts, 

 the apposed part, and the part to which the apposition is made. 

 Thus, in the sentence, " Richard, the king, lost his crown," the 

 king is the apposed part, and Richard is the part to which the 

 apposition is made. 



ADVERBS : SYNTAX OF THE PREDICATE COMPLETED. 



In the following phrase 



The sick man drinks copiously, 



copiously is the adverb of the proposition. Instead of an adverb 

 we may have in the proposition an adverbial phrase ; as 

 The sick man drinks with freedom. 



Whatever affects the affirmation of a sentence performs the 

 office, and may be said to hold tho place, of an adverb. Phrases 

 which in some way affect the affirmation are numerous, as they 

 vary with the variation of time, place, and manner ; as 



* An instance of two nouns combining to form one thought, and so 

 putting the verb in the singular. 



( yesterday drank. 

 Tim.-The sick man | OQ {a , ling ^ d] 



Plo.-The sick man 



drank. 

 ( drank in his chamber. 



jn his ^d. 



( drank with eagerness. 

 Manner.-The sick man j drank at OJje draugbt . 



Position of the Adverb. The ordinary place for the adverb ia 

 immediately before or after tho verb. Euphony, as well as 

 idiom, has an influence in determining the position of the adverb 

 Sometimes an adverb is placed before the verb in order to allow 

 the verb and its object to stand together ; as 

 The sick man copiously drank water. 



