The Grammar of English Grammars Part 112

"Their appearing foolishness is no presumption against this."--_Butler's a.n.a.logy_, p. 189. "But what arises from their being offences; _i. e_. from their being liable to be perverted."--_Ib._, p. 185. "And he entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that wors.h.i.+pped G.o.d."--_Acts_, xviii, 7.

UNDER NOTE II.--OF FALSE IDENTIFICATION.

"But to be popular, he observes, is an ambiguous word."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 307. "The infinitive mood, or part of a sentence, is often the nominative case to a verb."--_L. Murray's Index, Octavo Gram._, Vol. ii, p.

290. "When any person, in speaking, introduces his own name, it is the first person; as, 'I, James, of the city of Boston.'"--_R. C. Smith's New Gram._, p. 43. "The name of the person spoken to, is the second person; as, 'James, come to me.'"--_Ibid._ "The name of the person or thing spoken of, or about, is the third person; as, 'James has come.'"--_Ibid._ "The object [of a pa.s.sive verb] is always its subject or nominative case."--_Ib._, p.

62. "When a noun is in the nominative case to an active verb, it is the actor."--_Kirkham's Gram._, p. 44. "And the person commanded, is its nominative."--_Ingersoll's Gram._, p. 120. "The first person is that who speaks."--_Pasquier's Levizac_, p. 91. "The Conjugation of a Verb is its different variations or inflections throughout the Moods and Tenses."--_Wright's Gram._, p. 80. "The first person is the speaker. The second person is the one spoken to. The third person is the one spoken of."--_Parker and Fox's Gram._, Part i, p. 6; _Hiley's_, 18. "The first person is the one that speaks, or the speaker."--_Sanborn's Gram._, pp. 23 and 75. "The second person is the one that is spoken to, or addressed."--_Ibid._ "The third person is the one that is spoken of, or that is the topic of conversation."--_Ibid._ "_I_, is the first person Singular. _We_, is the first person Plural."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 51; _Alger's, Ingersoll's_, and _many others_. "_Thou_, is the second person Singular. _Ye_ or _you_, is the second person Plural."--_Ibid._ "_He, she_, or _it_, is the third person Singular. _They_, is the third person Plural."--_Ibid._ "The nominative case is the actor, or subject of the verb."--_Kirkham's Gram._, p. 43. "The noun _John_ is the actor, therefore John is in the nominative case."--_Ibid._ "The actor is always the nominative case."--_Smith's New Gram._, p. 62. "The nominative case is always the agent or actor."--_Mack's Gram._, p. 67. "Tell the part of speech each name is."--_J. Flint's Gram._, p. 6. "What number is _boy_?

Why? What number is _pens_? Why?"--_Ib._, p. 27. "The speaker is the first person, the person spoken to, the second person, and the person or thing spoken of, is the third person."--_Ib._, p. 26. "What nouns are masculine gender? All males are masculine gender."--_Ib._, p. 28. "An interjection is a sudden emotion of the mind."--_Barrett's Gram._, p. 62.

RULE VII.--OBJECTIVES.

A Noun or a p.r.o.noun made the object of a preposition, is governed by it in the objective case: as, "The temple of _fame_ stands upon the _grave_: the flame that burns upon its _altars_, is kindled from the _ashes_ of great _men_"--_Hazlitt_.

"Life is His gift, from _whom_ whate'er life needs, With ev'ry good and perfect _gift_, proceeds."--_Cowper_, Vol. i, p. 95.

OBSERVATIONS ON RULE VII.

OBS. 1.--To this rule there are no exceptions; for prepositions, in English, govern no other case than the objective.[364] But the learner should observe that most of our prepositions may take the _imperfect participle_ for their object, and some, the _pluperfect_, or _preperfect_; as, "_On opening_ the trial they accused him _of having defrauded_ them."--"A quick wit, a nice judgment, &c., could not raise this man _above being received_ only upon the foot _of contributing_ to mirth and diversion."--_Steele_. And the preposition _to_ is often followed by an _infinitive verb_; as, "When one sort of wind is said _to whistle_, and an other _to roar_; when a serpent is said _to hiss_, a fly _to buzz_, and falling timber _to crash_; when a stream is said _to flow_, and hail _to rattle_; the a.n.a.logy between the word and the thing signified, is plainly discernible."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 55. But let it not be supposed that participles or infinitives, when they are governed by prepositions, are therefore in the _objective case_; for case is no attribute of either of these cla.s.ses of words: they are indeclinable in English, whatever be the relations they a.s.sume. They are governed _as participles_, or _as infinitives_, and not _as cases_. The mere fact of government is so far from _creating_ the modification governed, that it necessarily presupposes it to exist, and that it is something cognizable in etymology.

OBS. 2.--The brief a.s.sertion, that, "Prepositions govern the objective case," which till very lately our grammarians have universally adopted as their sole rule for both terms, the governing and the governed,--the preposition and its object,--is, in respect to both, somewhat exceptionable, being but partially and lamely applicable to either. It neither explains the connecting nature of the preposition, nor applies to all objectives, nor embraces all the terms which a preposition may govern.

It is true, that prepositions, when they introduce declinable words, or words that have cases, always govern the objective; but the rule is liable to be misunderstood, and is in fact often misapplied, as if it meant something more than this. Besides, in no other instance do grammarians attempt to pa.r.s.e both the governing word and the governed, by one and the same rule. I have therefore placed the _objects_ of this government here, where they belong in the order of the parts of speech, expressing the rule in such terms as cannot be mistaken; and have also given, in its proper place, a distinct rule for the construction of the preposition itself. See Rule 23d.

OBS. 3.--Prepositions are sometimes _elliptically_ construed with _adjectives_, the real object of the relation being thought to be some objective noun understood: as, _in vain, in secret, at first, on high_; i.

e. _in a vain manner, in secret places, at the first time, on high places_.

Such phrases usually imply time, place, degree, or manner, and are equivalent to adverbs. In parsing, the learner may supply the ellipsis.

OBS. 4.--In some phrases, a preposition seems to govern a _perfect participle_; but these expressions are perhaps rather to be explained as being elliptical: as, "To give it up _for lost_;"--"To take that _for granted_ which is disputed."--_Murray's Gram._, Vol. i, p. 109. That is, perhaps, "To give it up for _a thing_ lost;"--"To take that for _a thing_ granted," &c. In the following pa.s.sage the words _ought_ and _should_ are employed in such a manner that it is difficult to say to what part of speech they belong: "It is that very character of _ought_ and _should_ which makes justice a law to us; and the same character is applicable to propriety, though perhaps more faintly than to justice."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, Vol. i, p. 286. The meaning seems to be, "It is that very character of _being owed_ and _required, that_ makes justice a law to us;" and this mode of expression, as it is more easy to be _pa.r.s.ed_, is perhaps more grammatical than his Lords.h.i.+p's. But, as preterits are sometimes put by _enallage_ for participles, a reference of them to this figure may afford a mode of explanation in parsing, whenever they are introduced by a preposition, and not by a nominative: as, "A kind of conquest Caesar made here; but made not here his brag Of, _came_, and _saw_, and _overcame_"--_Shak., Cymb._, iii, 1. That is,--"of _having come_, and _seen_, and _overcome_." Here, however, by a.s.suming that a _sentence_ is the object of the preposition, we may suppose the p.r.o.noun _I_ to be understood, as _ego_ is in the bulletin referred to, "_Veni, vidi, vici_."

For, as a short sentence is sometimes made the subject of a verb, so is it sometimes made the object of a preposition; as,

"Earth's highest station ends _in, 'here he lies;'_ And '_dust to dust_,' concludes her n.o.blest song."--_Young_.

OBS. 5.--In some instances, prepositions precede _adverbs_; as, _at once, at unawares, from thence, from above, till now, till very lately, for once, for ever_. Here the adverb, though an indeclinable word, appears to be made _the object_ of the preposition. It is in fact used substantively, and governed by the preposition. The term _forever_ is often written as one word, and, as such, is obviously an adverb. The rest are what some writers would call _adverbial phrases_; a term not very consistent with itself, or with the true idea of _parsing_. If different parts of speech are to be taken together as having the nature of an adverb, they ought rather to coalesce and be united; for the verb to _pa.r.s.e_, being derived from the Latin _pars_, a _part_, implies in general a distinct recognition of the elements or words of every phrase or sentence.

OBS. 6.--Nouns of _time, measure, distance_, or _value_, have often so direct a relation to verbs or adjectives, that the prepositions which are supposed to govern them, are usually suppressed; as, "We rode _sixty miles_ that day." That is,--"_through_ sixty miles _on_ that day." "The country is not a _farthing_ richer."--_Webster's Essays_, p. 122. That is,--"richer _by_ a farthing." "The error has been copied _times_ without number."--_Ib._, p. 281. That is,--"_on_ or _at_ times _innumerable_." "A row of columns _ten feet_ high, and a row _twice that height_, require different proportions." _Kames, El. of Crit._, ii, 344. That is,--"high _to_ ten feet," and, "a row _of_ twice that height." "_Altus s.e.x pedes_, High _on_ or _at_ six feet."--_Dr. Murray's Hist of Europ. Lang._, ii, 150.

All such nouns are in the _objective case_, and, in parsing them, the learner may supply the ellipsis;[365] or, perhaps it might be as well, to say, as do B. H. Smart and some others, that the noun is an objective of time, measure, or value, taken _adverbially_, and relating directly to the verb or adjective qualified by it. Such expressions as, "A board of six feet _long_,"--"A boy _of_ twelve years _old_," are wrong. Either strike out the _of_, or say, "A board of six feet _in length_,"--"A boy of twelve years _of age_;" because this preposition is not suited to the adjective, nor is the adjective fit to qualify the time or measure.

OBS. 7.--After the adjectives _like, near_, and _nigh_, the preposition _to_ or _unto_ is often understood;[366] as, "It is _like_ [_to_ or _unto_]

silver."--_Allen_. "How _like_ the former."--_Dryden_. "_Near_ yonder copse."--_Goldsmith_. "_Nigh_ this recess."--_Garth_. As similarity and proximity are _relations_, and not _qualities_, it might seem proper to call _like, near_, and _nigh_, prepositions; and some grammarians have so cla.s.sed the last two. Dr. Johnson seems to be inconsistent in calling _near_ a preposition, in the phrase, "_So near_ thy heart," and an adjective, in the phrase, "Being _near_ their master." See his _Quarto Dict._ I have not placed them with the prepositions, for the following four reasons: (1.) Because they are sometimes _compared_; (2.) Because they sometimes have _adverbs_ evidently relating to them; (3.) Because the preposition _to_ or _unto_ is sometimes expressed after them; and (4.) Because the words which _usually_ stand for them in the learned languages, are clearly _adjectives_.[367] But _like_, when it expresses similarity of _manner_, and _near_ and _nigh_, when they express proximity of _degree_, are _adverbs_.

OBS. 8.--The word _worth_ is often followed by an objective, or a participle, which it appears to govern; as, "If your arguments produce no conviction, they are _worth_ nothing to me."--_Beattie_. "To reign is _worth_ ambition."--_Milton_. "This is life indeed, life _worth_ preserving."--_Addison_. It is not easy to determine to what part of speech _worth_ here belongs. Dr. Johnson calls it an _adjective_, but says nothing of the _object_ after it, which some suppose to be governed by _of_ understood. In this supposition, it is gratuitously a.s.sumed, that _worth_ is equivalent to _worthy_, after which _of_ should be expressed; as, "Whatsoever is _worthy of_ their love, is _worth_ their anger."--_Denham_.

But as _worth_ appears to have no certain characteristic of an adjective, some call it a _noun_, and suppose a double ellipsis; as, "'My knife is worth a s.h.i.+lling;' i. e. 'My knife is _of the_ worth of a s.h.i.+lling.'"--_Kirkham's Gram._, p. 163. "'The book is worth that sum;' that is, 'The book is (_the_) worth (_of_) that _sum_;' 'It is worth _while_;'

that is, 'It is (_the_) worth (_of the_) while.'"--_Nixon's Pa.r.s.er_, p. 54.

This is still less satisfactory;[368] and as the whole appears to be mere guess-work, I see no good reason why _worth_ is not a _preposition_, governing the noun or participle.[369] If an _adverb_ precede _worth_, it may as well be referred to the foregoing verb, as when it occurs before any other preposition: as, "It _is richly worth_ the money."--"It _lies directly before_ your door." Or if we admit that an adverb sometimes relates to this word, the same thing may be as true of other prepositions; as, "And this is a lesson which, to the greatest part of mankind, is, I think, _very well worth_ learning."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 303. "He sees let down from the ceiling, _exactly over_ his head, a glittering sword, hung by a single hair."--_Murray's E. Reader_, p. 33. See Exception 3d to Rule 21st.

OBS. 9.--Both Dr. Johnson and Horne Tooke, (who never agreed if they could help it,) unite in saying that _worth_, in the phrases, "Wo _worth_ the man,"--"Wo _worth_ the day," and the like, is from the imperative of the Saxon verb _wyrthan_ or _weorthan_, to _be_; i. e., "Wo _be_ [_to_] the man," or, "Wo _betide_ the man," &c. And the latter affirms, that, as the preposition _by_ is from the imperative of _beon_, to _be_, so _with_, (though admitted to be sometimes from _withan_, to join,) is often no other than this same imperative verb _wyrth_ or _worth_: if so, the three words, _by, with_, and _worth_, were originally synonymous, and should now be referred at least to one and the same cla.s.s. The _dative case_, or oblique object, which they governed as _Saxon verbs_, becomes their proper object, when taken as _English prepositions_; and in this also they appear to be alike. _Worth_, then, when it signifies _value_, is a common noun; but when it signifies _equal in value to_, it governs an objective, and has the usual characteristics of a preposition. Instances may perhaps be found in which _worth_ is an adjective, meaning _valuable_ or _useful_, as in the following lines:

"They glow'd, and grew more intimate with G.o.d, _More worth to_ men, more joyous to themselves."

--_Young_, N. ix, l. 988.

In one instance, the poet Campbell appears to have used the word _worthless_ as a preposition:

"Eyes a mutual soul confessing, Soon you'll make them grow Dim, and _worthless your possessing_, Not with age, but woe!"

OBS. 10.--After verbs of _giving, paying, procuring_, and some others, there is usually an ellipsis of _to_ or _for_ before the objective of the person; as, "Give [_to_] _him_ water to drink."--"Buy [_for_] _me_ a knife."--"Pay [_to_] _them_ their wages." So in the exclamation, "Wo is _me_!" meaning, "Wo is _to_ me!" This ellipsis occurs chiefly before the personal p.r.o.nouns, and before such nouns as come between the verb and its direct object; as, "Whosoever killeth you, will think that he doeth [_to_]

_G.o.d_ service."--_John_, xvi, 2. "Who brought [_to_] her _masters_ much gain by soothsaying."--_Acts_, xvi, 16. "Because he gave not [_to_] _G.o.d_ the glory."--_Ib._, xii, 23. "Give [_to_] _me_ leave to allow [_to_]

_myself_ no respite from labour."--_Spect._, No. 454. "And the sons of Joseph, which were born [_to_] _him_ in Egypt, were two souls."--_Gen._, xlvi, 27. This elliptical construction of a few objectives, is what remains to us of the ancient Saxon dative case. If the order of the words be changed, the preposition must be inserted; as, "Pray do my service _to_ his majesty."--_Shak_. The doctrine inculcated by several of our grammarians, that, "Verbs of _asking, giving, teaching_, and _some others_, are often employed to govern two objectives," (_Wells_, --215,) I have, under a preceding rule, discountenanced; preferring the supposition, which appears to have greater weight of authority, as well as stronger support from reason, that, in the instances cited in proof of such government, a preposition is, in fact, understood. Upon this question of ellipsis, depends, in all such instances, our manner of parsing one of the objective words.

OBS. 11.--In _dates_, as they are usually written, there is much abbreviation; and several nouns of place and time are set down in the objective case, without the prepositions which govern them: as, "New York, Wednesday, 20th October, 1830."--_Journal of Literary Convention_. That is, "_At_ New York, _on_ Wednesday, _the_ 20th _day of_ October, _in the year_ 1830."

NOTE TO RULE VII.

An objective noun of time or measure, if it qualifies a subsequent adjective, must not also be made an adjunct to a preceding noun; as, "To an infant _of_ only two or three years _old_."--_Dr. Wayland_. Expunge _of_, or for _old_ write _of age_. The following is right: "The vast army of the Canaanites, _nine hundred chariots strong_, covered the level plain of Esdraelon."--_Milman's Jews_, Vol. i, p. 159. See Obs. 6th above.

IMPROPRIETIES FOR CORRECTION.

FALSE SYNTAX UNDER RULE VII. UNDER THE RULE ITSELF.--OF THE OBJECTIVE IN FORM.

"But I do not remember who they were for."--_Abbott's Teacher_, p. 265.

[FORMULE.--Not proper, because the p.r.o.noun _who_ is in the nominative case, and is made the object of the preposition _for_. But, according to Rule 7th, "A noun or a p.r.o.noun made the object of a preposition, is governed by it in the objective case." Therefore, _who_ should be _whom_; thus, "But I do not remember _whom_ they were for."]

"But if you can't help it, who do you complain of?"--_Collier's Antoninus_, p. 137. "Who was it from? and what was it about?"--_Edgeworth's Frank_, p.

72. "I have plenty of victuals, and, between you and I, something in a corner."--_Day's Sandford and Merton_. "The upper one, who I am now about to speak of."--_Hunt's Byron_, p. 311. "And to poor we, thine enmity's most capital."--_Beauties of Shakspeare_, p. 201. "Which thou dost confess, were fit for thee to use, as they to claim."--_Ib._, p. 196. "To beg of thee, it is my more dishonour, than thou of them."--_Ib._, p. 197. "There are still a few who, like thou and I, drink nothing but water."--_Gil Blas_, Vol. i, p. 104. "Thus, I _shall_ fall; Thou _shalt_ love thy neighbour; He _shall_ be rewarded, express no resolution on the part of _I, thou, he_."--_Lennie's E. Gram._, p. 22; _Bullions's_, 32. "So saucy with the hand of she here--What's her name?"--_Shak., Ant. and Cleop._, Act iii, Sc.

11. "All debts are cleared between you and I."--_Id., Merchant of Venice_, Act iii, Sc. 2. "Her price is paid, and she is sold like thou."--_Milman's Fall of Jerusalem_. "Search through all the most flouris.h.i.+ng era's of Greece."--_Brown's Estimate_, ii, 16. "The family of the Rudolph's had been long distinguished."--_The Friend_, Vol. v, p. 54. "It will do well enough for you and I."--_Castle Rackrent_, p. 120. "The public will soon discriminate between him who is the sycophant, and he who is the teacher."--_Chazotte's Essay_, p. 10. "We are still much at a loss who civil power belongs to."--_Locke_. "What do you call it? and who does it belong to?"--_Collier's Cebes_. "He had received no lessons from the Socrates's, the Plato's, and the Confucius's of the age."--_Hatter's Letters_. "I cannot tell who to compare them to."--_Bunyan's P. P._, p.

128. "I see there was some resemblance betwixt this good man and I."--_Pilgrim's Progress_, p. 298. "They by that means have brought themselves into the hands and house of I do not know who."--_Ib._, p. 196.

"But at length she said there was a great deal of difference between Mr.

Cotton and we."--_Hutchinson's Ma.s.s._, ii, 430. "So you must ride on horseback after we." [370]--MRS. GILPIN: _Cowper_, i, 275. "A separation must soon take place between our minister and I."--_Werter_, p. 109. "When she exclaimed on Hastings, you, and I."--_Shakspeare_. "To who? to thee?

What art thou?"--_Id._ "That they should always bear the certain marks who they came from."--_Butler's a.n.a.logy_, p. 221.

"This life has joys for you and I, And joys that riches ne'er could buy."--_Burns_.

UNDER THE NOTE--OF TIME OR MEASURE.

"Such as almost every child of ten years old knows."--_Town's a.n.a.lysis_, p.

4. "One winter's school of four months, will carry any industrious scholar, of ten or twelve years old, completely through this book."--_Ib._, p. 12.

"A boy of six years old may be taught to speak as correctly, as Cicero did before the Roman Senate."--_Webster's Essays_, p. 27. "A lad of about twelve years old, who was taken captive by the Indians."--_Ib._, p. 235.

"Of nothing else but that individual white figure of five inches long which is before him."--_Campbell's Rhet._, p. 288. "Where lies the fault, that boys of eight or ten years old, are with great difficulty made to understand any of its principles."--_Guy's Gram._, p. v. "Where language of three centuries old is employed."--_Booth's Introd. to Dict._, p. 21. "Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high."--_Esther_, v. 14. "I say to this child of nine years old bring me that hat, he hastens and brings it me."--_Osborn's Key_, p. 3. "He laid a floor twelve feet long, and nine feet wide; that is, over the extent _of_ twelve feet long, and _of_ nine feet wide."--_Merchants School Gram._, p. 95. "The Goulah people are a tribe of about fifty thousand strong."--_Examiner_, No. 71. RULE VIII.--NOM. ABSOLUTE.

A Noun or a p.r.o.noun is put absolute in the nominative, when its case depends on no other word: as, _"He failing, who shall meet success?"_--"Your _fathers_, where are they? and the _prophets_, do they live forever?"--_Zech._, i, 5. "Or _I_ only and _Barnabas_, have not we power to forbear working?"--_1 Cor._, ix, 6. "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against G.o.d?"--_Rom._, ix, 20. "O rare _we!_"--_Cowper_.

"Miserable _they!_"--_Thomson_.

"The _hour_ conceal'd, and so remote the _fear_, Death still draws nearer, never seeming near."--_Pope_.