Page:The grammar of English grammars.djvu/467

 ily understood in order to complete the construction, (and only such,) must be supplied in parsing.

The leading principles to be observed in the construction of sentences, are embraced in the following twenty-four rules, which are arranged, as nearly as possible, in the order of the parts of speech.

THE RULES OF SYNTAX.

RULE I.--ARTICLES.

Articles relate to the nouns which they limit.

RULE II.--NOMINATIVES.

A Noun or a Pronoun which is the subject of a finite verb, must be in the nominative case.

RULE III.--APPOSITION. A Noun or a personal Pronoun used to explain a preceding noun or pronoun, is put, by apposition, in the same case.

RULE IV.--POSSESSIVES.

A Noun or a Pronoun in the possessive case, is governed by the name of the thing possessed.

RULE V.--OBJECTIVES.

A Noun or a Pronoun made the object of an active-transitive verb or participle, is governed by it in the objective case.

RULE VI.--SAME CASES.

A Noun or a Pronoun put after a verb or participle not transitive, agrees in case with a preceding noun or pronoun referring to the same thing.

RULE VII.--OBJECTIVES.

A Noun or a Pronoun made the object of a preposition, is governed by it in the objective case.

RULE VIII.--NOM. ABSOLUTE.

A Noun or a Pronoun is put absolute in the nominative, when its case depends on no other word.

RULE IX.--ADJECTIVES.

Adjectives relate to nouns or pronouns.

RULE X.--PRONOUNS.

A Pronoun must agree with its antecedent, or the noun or pronoun which it represents, in person, number, and gender.

RULE XI--PRONOUNS.

When the antecedent is a collective noun conveying the idea of plurality, the Pronoun must agree with it in the plural number.

RULE XII.--PRONOUNS.

When a Pronoun has two or more antecedents connected by and, it must agree with them jointly in the plural, because they are taken together.

RULE XIII.--PRONOUNS.

When a Pronoun has two or more antecedents connected by or or nor, it must agree with them singly, and not as if taken