RULE III.-In English, the Case Absolute is always in the Nominative; thus, "Them being defeated, the troops advanced;" should be, " They being defeated, the troops advanced."

Observations (a.) The Case Absolute is a noun or pronoun, which coming before the Complete or the Incomplete Participle, neither agrees with a verb nor is governed by any word. (b.) When a Participle agrees with the nominative to a verb, the nominative cannot be taken absolutely; as, Hannibal, having raised a great army,. marched into Italy.'

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EXERCISE III.

(a.) He made as wise proverbs as any one since that time, him only excepted. Him destroyed, all this will soon follow. Us being exceedingly tossed, they lightened the ship. Her having told me, I must believe it. Them being absent, it is impossible to decide the question. (b.) There was a superstitious opinion, that the fourth book of the Iliad being laid under the head, it was a cure for the quartan ague.

Recapitulatory Exercise on preceding Rules.-Twenty-four pence is two shillings. The industrious is generally successful. How easily the eye, as well as the ear, may be deceived, are evident from the numerous stories of spectral phenomena. Which plan, if it had been adopted, all would have been well. The flowers, they are in full bloom. The terms are as follows. The agreement is as follow. These statements are, as appears, unworthy of belief.

POSITION OF THE NOMINATIVE.-The nominative generally precedes the verb; except :

1. In interrogative, exclamatory, imperative, and optative sentences; as, "Where is the book?" Long live the Queen!""Go and do thou likewise." 99 66 May he be happy."

2. When a supposition is made without the conjunction if; as, "Were I rich ;" that is, "[If] I were rich."

3. When a sentence depends on neither or nor, so as to be coupled with another sentence; as, "Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." "This was his fear, nor was his conjecture groundless."

4. When the pronoun it precedes the verb; as, "It is a fine day;" when an intransitive or a passive verb is preceded by a preposition and its case; or by the adverbs, here, hence, there, thence, now, then, hereafter; or the conjunction yet, &c.; as, "From this time was their enmity discovered." "Thus ended the contest.

5. When, for the sake of emphasis, some other important word is put first in the sentence; as, "Silver and gold have I none."

6. In quotations; as, "Come," said he, "let us commence business.'

RULE IV. (a.) Two or more nominatives singular, connected by and, expressed or understood, require a plural verb, and plural dependent nouns and pronouns; as, "Cato and Cicero were learned men, and they loved their country.

Exceptions.-The verb is singular (b). When the nominatives connected by and refer to one individual; as, "That warrior and states. man has returned from India." (c.) When each or every precedes the nominatives, as, Each day and each hour brings us employment;" "Every deed and every motive was good." (d.) When and is followed by a disuniting word; as, "His wisdom, and not his money, produces esteem."

EXERCISE IV.

(a.) Idleness and ignorance is the parent of many vices. Wisdom, virtue, happiness, dwells with the golden mediocrity. Reading and writing is useful, for it always produces advantages proportionate to the time employed in learning it. To live temperately, and to take moderate exercise, is the best means of preserving health. (b.) That poet and philosopher have written many books. (c.) Each command and each duty were forgotten. Every tree and every shrub were withered. (d.) Good order, and not mean savings, produce profit.

Exercise on the Notes. (1.) John, with three others, were present. The general, with his officers, have marched through London. Cæsar, as well as Cicero, were remarkable for eloquence. The following treatise, together with those that accompany it, were written, many years ago, for my own private satisfaction. (2.) The line A with the line B compose the angle. Two with three make five, He, with his brothers are well.3,

1 A singular nominative connected with other words by the preposition with, or the phrase as well as, requires a singular verb. With and the words joined to it, form a mere prepositional adjunct, and therefore it cannot control the agreement of the nominative with the verb. The phrase as well as, denotes comparison and not combination, therefore the verb is singular; as, "Shakespeare, as well as Milton, was a poet."

2 Nouns denoting combined agency must be connected not by with but by and, having a plural verb; as, "The sides A, B, C, and D form a square."

When two or more nominatives of different persons are connected by and, the verb agrees with the first person in preference to the se cond, and with the second person in preference to the third; as, Thou, he, and I have received our reward." "You and he have studied your lessons."

RULE V. Two or more nominatives singular, separated by or or nor, require the verb and dependent nouns or pronouns to be in the singular number; as, "John or James is the proper person, for each regards his duty." Obs. The verb and the dependent nouns and pronouns are in the singular number, because they refer to the preceding nominatives taken separately.

EXERCISE V.

Either the officer or the soldier deserve the reward. Neither the ship nor the cargo were saved. Man's happiness, or misery are, in a great degree, placed in his own power. When sickness, infirmity, or reverse of fortune come upon us, the sincerity of friendship is proved. Man is not such a machine as a clock or a watch, which moves merely as they are moved. The applause which is due to active beneficence, or the more valuable approba tion of a sound conscience, have always been the reward of an honest man. To write badly or spell incorrectly, are shameful

defects.

Exercise on the Notes. (1. a.) Neither the soldiers nor the general has arrived. Neither the sailors nor the captain was saved. The cares of life, or avarice, has misled him. (1.b.) The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, are frequently seen. (2.) Neither he nor you was there. Neither he nor I intends to be present. (3.) Either he has been imprudent or his associates vindictive. Whenever England was distressed by factions at home or its forces called off to war abroad, the Welsh used to pour in their troops.4

i (a.) When a singular and a plural nominative are separated by or or nor, the verb must be plural, and the plural nominative must be placed next to the verb; as, "Neither the ship nor the sailors were saved." (b.) When the latter nominative is merely explanatory of the former, the verb agrees with the former nominative; as, The Pentateuch, or first five books of the Old Testament, ends with the death of Moses."

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2 When a verb has nominatives of different persons or numbers, separated by or or nor it generally agrees with that which is placed next to it; as, "Neither he nor his brothers were there." "Neither you nor I am concerned."

3 When the nominatives of different persons or numbers require different forms of the verb, it is better to express the verb or its auxiliary in connection with each nominative; as, "Neither were their numbers, nor was their destination known."

4 The speaker should generally mention himself last; as, "Thou or I must go." "He then addressed his discourse to my father and

to me."

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RULE VI. (a.) When a collective noun denotes unity of idea, the verb and pronoun must be singular; as, "The army was impeded in its movements."

(b.) But when it denotes plurality of idea, the verb and pronoun must be plural; as, "The public are divided in their opinions."

EXERCISE VI.

The assembly was divided in its opinions, one part espousing one side of the question, and the other the contrary. The nation are powerful by sea and land. The clergy has withdrawn themselves from the temporal courts. The council was divided in their sentiments. The whole number of the slain in both armies were six thousand. The fleet were seen sailing up the Channel. I have compassion on the multitude, for it is hungry, and has nothing to eat. The Roman people was at that time so addicted to pleasure, that they grew careless of their liberties.

Exercise on the Notes. (1.) The cavalry has crossed the river. The enemy's artillery has commenced the attack. The peasantry of England is industrious. (2.) The crowd was so great, that the soldiers with difficulty made their way through them. The British Parliament are composed of the Sovereign, the Lords, and the Commons. (3.) Part of the soldiers has surrendered, and part of them still defends the fortress. The majority of the electors was favourable to him. The train has just been thrown off the rails; part of the passengers has been killed, but the greater part of them has escaped without injury.

1 Collective nouns which have no variation in form generally require a plural verb; as, The infantry have defeated the enemy." These collectives are such words as, peasantry, public, infantry, cavalry, ar tillery, nobility, mankind, etc.

2 Collective nouns, having both a singular and a plural form, generally require a singular verb with the singular form, and a plural verb with the plural form; as, (sing.) "The army is defeated." (plur.) "The armies are defeated." These collectives are such words as, army, navy, crowd, multitude, parliament, council, assembly, etc. When we speak of an army, a crowd, etc., we speak only of the whole body, and although that body implies a number of persons, yet being one whole, the verb must be singular.

3 A Collective noun is sometimes attached to a plural adjunct the sense of which may require a plural construction; as, "Part of the ships were wrecked, and part of them were captured by the enemy," that is, "The ships were partly wrecked and partly captured."

RULE VII. (a.) The noun denoting the thing possessed governs the possessive case; as, "John's book;" "His house."

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Obs. (b) The governing noun is frequently omitted; as, "He went to St. Paul's," that is, to St. Paul's church." The possessive case precedes the governing noun. (c.) Such expressions as, "John his book, "for, John's book," are incorrect, because the possessive sign is a contraction of es or is, and not a corruption of his. (see 56. Obs. 1.) (d.) The proper form of the possessive must be observed, thus, ours, yours, hers, theirs, its, etc., must not be written with an apostrophe.

EXERCISE VII.

(a.) Have you read Horace Art of Poetry? (b.) Like Shakespeare, his genius is sublime, and his imagination unbounded. (c.) I have read Longinus his treatise on the Sublime. Copernicus, Atlas his successor, is of opinion that the earth is a planet. Asa his heart was perfect with the Lord. (d.) Every tree is known by it's fruit. These books are your's, those are our's. Mens' manners frequently influence their fortunes.

Exercise on the Notes. (1.) Give me James' book. Moses's rod was turned into a serpent. (2.) He did it for conscience's sake. He went into Felix' room. The witness' evidence convinced the jury. If ye suffer for righteousness's sake, happy are ye. (3.) Virtue's man is an estimable character. (4.) The Prince's daughter's child's death was greatly lamented by the nation. It was his mother's sister's son's house. Of some of the books of each of these classes of literature, a catalogue will be given at the end of the work. The news of the defeat of the army of the Turks was unfounded.

1 Nouns ending in s, take the apostrophe and 8 in the possessive, when no disagreeable sibilation (or hissing sound) would be occaaioned; as, James's horse," but otherwise and in poetry, they take the apostrophe only; as, "Achilles' wrath."

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2 Nouns ending in ence, x, or ss, (except witness) usually take the apostrophe only, (chiefly before the word sake,) in order to avoid the sibilation caused by the repetition of 8; as, "For conscience' sake." 'Ajax's armour.' "For righteousness' sake."

3 In modern English the possessive is generally applied to animate objects or things spoken of as persons. (see p. 39, note 1.) The objective case with of is frequently used instead of the possessive. Sometimes the two forms do not convey the same meaning; thus, "The Lord's Day" means "The Christian Sabbath," but "The Day of the Lord," means "The Day of Judgment.”

4 A frequent recurrence of the possessive case and also of the objective with the preposition of should be avoided.