4. Adjectives are often used to modify the sense of other adjectives, or the action of verbs, and to express the quality of things in connexion with the action by which that quality is produced; as, Red hot iron; Pale blue lining; Deep sea-green sash; The apples boil soft; Open your hand wide; The clay burns white; The fire burns blue; The eggs boil hard."

5. When an adjective is preceded by a preposition, and the noun is understood, the two words may be considered an adverbial phrase; as, "In general, in particular;" that is, generally, particularly.

6. Adjectives should be placed next to the nouns which they qualify; as, "A tract of good land."

7. We should generally avoid comparing such adjectives as do not literalby admit of comparison; such as, more impossible, most impossible; more unconquerable, more perfect, &c. See REMARKS on adjectives, page 76.

8. When an adjective or an adverb is used in comparing two objects, it should be in the comparative degree; but when more than two are compared, the superlative ought to be employed; as, "Julia is the taller of the two; Her specimen is the best of the three.""

FALSE SYNTAX.

Note 2. The boat carries thirty tun.

The chasm was twenty foot broad, and one hundred fathom in depth.

Note 6. He bought a new pair of shoes, and an elegant piece of furniture.

My cousin gave his fine pair of horses for a poor tract of land.

Note 7. The contradictions of impiety are still more incomprehensible.

It is the most uncertain way that can be devised.

This is a more perfect model than I ever saw before.
Note 8. Which of those two cords is the strongest?
I was at a loss to determine which was the wiser of the three.

RULE XIX.

Adjective pronouns belong to nouns, expressed or understood; as, "Any man, all men."

NOTE 1. The demonstrative adjective pronouns must agree in number with their nouns; as, "This book, these books; that sort, those sorts."

2. The pronominal adjectives, each, every, either, neither, another, and one, agree with nouns in the singular number only; as, "Each man, every person, another lesson;" unless the plural nouns convey a collective idea: as, "Every six months."

3. Either is often improperly employed instead of each; as, "The king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, sat either of them on his throne." Each signifies both taken separately; either implies only the one or the other taken disjunctively:-" sat each on his throne."

FALSE SYNTAX.

Note 1. Those sort of favours do real injury.

They have been playing this two hours.

These kind of indulgences soften and injure the mind.
He saw one or more persons enter the garden.

Note 2. Let each esteem others better than themselves. There are bodies, each of which are so small as to be invisible. Every person, whatever their station may be, are bound by the laws of morality and religion.

Note 3. On either side of the river was the tree of life.
Nadab and Abihu took either of them his censer.

RULE XX.

Active-transitive verbs govern the objective case; as, "Cesar conquered Pompey ;" " Čolumbus discovered America;" "Truth ennobles her."

FALSE SYNTAX

Ye who were dead, hath he quickened.

Ye, in the nominative case, is erroneous, because it is the object of the action expressed by the transitive verb "hath quickened ;" and therefore it should be you, in the objective case. You would then be governed by "hath quickened," agreeably to Rule 20. Active-transitive verbs govern the objective

case.

Who did they entertain so freely?

They who opulence has made proud, and who luxury has
corrupted, cannot relish the simple pleasures of nature.
He and they we know, but who are ye?
She that is negligent, reprove sharply.

He invited my brother and I to pay
Who did they send on that mission?

him a visit.

They who he has most injured, he had the greatest reason to love.

RULE XXI.

The verb to be may have the same case after it as before it; as, "I am the man," "I believe it to have been them;" "He is the thief."

NOTE 1. When nouns or pronouns next preceding and following the verb to be, signify the same thing, they are in apposition, and, therefore, in the same case. Rule 21 is predicated on the principle contained in Rule 7.

2. The verb to be is often understood; as, "The Lord made me man; He made him what he was ;" that is, "The Lord made me to be man; He made him to be that which he was." "They desired me to call them brethren;" i. e. by the name of brethren. "They named him John;" i. e. by the name of John or, by the name John: putting these two nouns in apposition.

FALSE SYNTAX.

I know it to be they.

Improper, because it is in the objective case before the verb "to be," and they is in the nominative after; consequently, Rule 21 is violated. They is in apposition with it, therefore they should be them, in the objective after to be, according to Rule 21. (Repeat the Rule.)

Be composed, it is me.

I would not act thus, if I were him.

Well may you be afraid; it is him, indeed.
Who do you fancy him to be?

Whom do men say that I am? Whom say ye that I am?
If it was not him, who do you imagine it to have been?
He supposed it was me; but you knew that it was him.

RULE XXII.

Active-intransitive and passive verbs, the verb to become, and other neuter verbs, have the same case after them as before them, when both words refer to, and signify, the same thing; as, "Tom struts a soldier;""Will sneaks a scrivener;" "He was called Cesar;" "The general was sa luted emperour;""They have become fools."

NCTE 1. Active-intransitive verbs sometimes assume a transitive form, and govern the objective case; as, "To dream a dream; To run a race; To

walk the horse; To dance the child; To fly the kite."

2. According to a usage too common in colloquial style, an agent not literally the correct one, is employed as the nominative to a passive verb, which causes the verb to be followed by an objective case without the possi bility of supplying before it a preposition: thus, " Pitticus was offered a large sum by the king," "She was promised them (the jewels) by her mother;" "I was asked a question." It would be better sense, and more agreeable to the idiom of our language, to say, "A large sum was offered to Pitticus;" "They were promised (to) her," "A question was put to me."

3. Some passive verbs are formed by using the participles of compound active verbs. To smile, to wonder, to dream, are intransitive verbs, for which reason they have no passive voice; but, to smile on, to wonder at, to dream of, are compound active-transitive verbs, and, therefore, admit of a passive voice; as, "He was smiled on by fortune; The accident is not to be wondered at;"

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
"Than are dreamed of in your philosophy."

RULE XXIII.

A verb in the infinitive mood may be governed by a verb, noun, adjective, participle, or pronoun; "Cease to do evil;" "We all have our talent to be improved;" "She is eager to learn ;" "They are preparing to go;" "Let him do it."

as,

ILLUSTRATION. The supposed principle of government referredato in this rule, may be thus illustrated. In the sentence, "Cease to do evil," the peculiar manner in which cease is introduced, requires or compels us to put the verb do in the infinitive mood; and, according to the genius of our language. we cannot express this act of doing, when thus connected with case, ir other mood, unless we change the construction of the sentence. Hense

say, that cease governs the mood of the vero do. Similar remarks may be applied to the words talent, eager, preparing, and him, in the respective ex amples under the rule.

Many respectable grammarians refer the government of this mood invariably to the preposition to prefixed, which word they do not, of course, consid a part of the verb. Others contend, and with some plausibility, th this mood is not governed by any particular word. If we reject the idea government, as applied to the verb in this mood, the following rule, if su stituted for the foregoing, might, perhaps, answer all practical purposes. RULE.

A verb in the infinitive mood, refers to some noun or pronoun, as its subject or actor.

"To do" refers to

66

ILLUSTRATION of the examples under Rule XXIII. thou understood for its agent; "to be improved" refers to talent; to learn," to she; "to go," to they; and "to do," refers to him.

NOTE 1. The infinitive mood absolute stands independent of the rest of the sentence; as, "To confess the truth, I was in fault."

2. The infinitive mood is sometimes governed by conjunctions or adverbs; as, 66 An object so high as to be invisible;" "He is wise enough to de ceive;""The army is about to march."

RULE XXIV.

The infinitive mood, or part of a sentence, is frequently put as the nominative case to a verb, or the object of an active-transitive verb; as, "To play is pleasant;" "Boys love to play," "That warm climates shorten life, is reasonable to suppose;" "He does not consider how near he approaches to his end."

it."

NOTE. To, the sign of the infinitive mood, is sometimes properly omitted; as, I heard him say it ;" instead of, "to say RULE XXV.

The verbs which follow bid, dare, need, make, see, hear, feel, help, let, and their participles, are in the infinitive mood without the sign to prefixed; as, "He bids me come," "I dare engage," "Let me go," "Help me do it ;" i. e. to come, to go, to do it, &c. "He is hearing me recite.”

Bid him to come.

FALSE SYNTAX.

He durst not to do it without permission.

Hear him to read his lesson.

It is the difference in their conduct, which makes us to approve the one, and to reject the other.

It is better live on a little, than outlive a great deal

I wish him not wrestle with his happiness.

RULE XXVI.

1

Participles have the same government as the verbs have from which they are derived; as, "I saw the tutor instructing his pupils."

NOTE. The present participle with the definite article the before it, becomes a noun, and must have the preposition of after it. The and of must both be used, or both be omitted; as, " By the observing of truth, you will command respect;" or, "By observing truth," &c.

FALSE SYNTAX.

Note. We cannot be wise and good without the taking pains for it.

The changing times and seasons, the removing and setting up kings, belong to Providence alone.

These are the rules of grammar, by observing of which you may avoid mistakes.

RULE XXVII.

The present participle refers to some noun or pronoun denoting the subject or actor; as, "I see a boy running."

RULE XXVIII.

The perfect participle belongs, like an adjec tive, to some noun or pronoun, expressed or understood; as, "I saw the boy abused."

NOTE 1. Participles of neuter verbs have the same case after them as before them; as, "Pontius Pilate being Governour of Judea, and Herod being Tetrarch," &c.

2. A participle with its adjuncts, may sometimes be considered as a substantive or participial phrase, which phrase may be the subject of a verb, or the object of a verb or preposition; as, "Taking from another without his knowledge or assent, is called stealing; He studied to avoid expressing himself too severely; I cannot fail of having money, &c.; By promising much and performing but little, we become despicable."

3. As the perfect participle and the imperfect tense of irregular verbs, are sometimes different in their form, care must be taken that they be not indiscriminately used. It is frequently said, 'he begun,' for 'he began ;' 'He run,' for, he ran;' 'He come,' for 'he came;' the participles being here used instead of the imperfect tense; and much more frequently is the imperfect tense employed instead of the participle; as, 'I had wrote,' for 'I had written ;' 'I was chose,' for 'I was chosen ;'I have eat,' for 'I have eaten.' He would have spoke ;'-spoken. 'He overrun his guide ;'-overran. The sun had rose ;'-risen.

FALSE SYNTAX.

I seen him. I have saw many a one.

Seen is improper, the perfect participle being used instead of the imperfect tense of the verb. It ought to be, "I saw him," according to Note 3. Have