Page:The grammar of English grammars.djvu/747

 p. 68. (33.) "The possessive case is governed by the person or thing possessed; as, 'this is his book.'"—P. E. Day's Gram., p. 81. (34.) "A noun or pronoun in the possessive case, is governed by the noun which it possesses."—Kirkham's Gram., Rule 12th, pp. 52 and 181; Frazer's Gram., 1844, p. 25; F. H. Miller's, 21. (35.) "Here the boy is represented as acting. He is, therefore, in the nominative case."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 41. (36.) "Some of the auxiliaries are themselves principal verbs, as: have, do, will, and am, or be."—Cooper's Grammars, both, p. 50. (37.) "Nouns of the male kind are masculine. Those of the female kind are feminine."—Beck's Gram., p. 6. (38.) "'To-day's lesson is longer than yesterday's:' here to-day and yesterday are substantives."—Murray's Gram., p. 114; Ingersoll's, 50; et al. (39.) "In this example, to-day and yesterday are nouns in the possessive case."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 88. (40.) "An Indian in Britain would be much surprised to stumble upon an elephant feeding at large in the open fields."—''Kames, El. of Crit.'', Vol. i, p. 219. (41.) "If we were to contrive a new language, we might make any articulate sound the sign of any idea: there would be no impropriety in calling oxen men, or rational beings by the name of oxen."—Murray's Gram., p. 139. (42.) "All the parts of a sentence should correspond to each other."—Ib., p. 222; Kirkham's, 193; Ingersoll's, 275; Goldsbury's, 74; Hiley's, 110; Weld's, 193; Alger's, 71; Fisk's, 148; S. Putnam's, 95; Merchant's, 101; Merchant's Murray, 95. (43.) "Full through his neck the weighty falchion sped,         Along the pavement roll'd the mutt'ring head." —Odyssey, xxii, 365.

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE VII.—OF SELF-CONTRADICTION.

(1.) "Though the construction will not admit of a plural verb, the sentence would certainly stand better thus: 'The king, the lords, and the commons, form an excellent constitution.'"—Murray's Gram., p. 151; Ingersoll's, 239. [FORMULE.—Not proper, because the first clause here quoted is contradicted by the last. But, according to Critical Note 7th, "Every writer or speaker should be careful not to contradict himself; for what is self-contradictory, is both null in argument, and bad in style." The following change may remove the discrepance: "Though 'The king with the lords and commons,' must have a singular rather than a plural verb, the sentence would certainly stand better thus: 'The king, the lords, and the commons, form an excellent constitution.'"]

(2.) "L has always a soft liquid sound; as in love, billow, quarrel. It is sometimes mute: as in half, talk, psalm."—Murray's Gram., p. 14; Fisk's, 40. (3.) "L has always a soft liquid sound; as in love, billow. It is often silent; as in half, talk, almond."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 22. (4.) "The words means and amends, though formerly used in the singular, as well as in the plural number, are now, by polite writers, restricted to the latter. Our most distinguished modern authors say, 'by this means,' as well as, by these means.'"—Wright's Gram., p. 150. (5.) "'A friend exaggerates a man's virtues: an enemy inflames his crimes.' Better thus: 'A friend exaggerates a man's virtues: an enemy his crimes.'"—Murray's Gram., Vol. i, p. 325. "A friend exaggerates a man's virtues, an enemy inflames his crimes"—Key, Vol. ii, p. 173. (6.) "The auxiliary have, in the perfect tense of the subjunctive mood, should be avoided."—Merchant's Gram., p. 97. "Subjunctive Mood, Perfect Tense. If I have loved, If thou hast loved," &c.—p. 51. (7.) "There is also an impropriety in governing both the indicative and subjunctive moods, with the same conjunction; as, "If a man have a hundred sheep, and if one of them be gone astray,' &c. It should be, and one of them is gone astray, &c."—Ib., p. 97. (8.) "The rising series of contrasts convey inexpressible dignity and energy to the conclusion."—Jamieson's Rhet., p. 79. (9.) "A groan or a shriek is instantly understood, as a language extorted by distress, a language which no art can counterfeit, and which conveys a meaning that words are utterly inadequate to express."—Porter's Analysis, p. 127. "A groan or shriek speaks to the ear, as the language of distress, with far more thrilling effect than words. Yet these may be counterfeited by art."—Ib., p. 147. (10.) "These words [book and pen] cannot be put together in such a way as will constitute plurality."—James Brown's English Syntax, p. 125. (11.) "Nor can the real pen, and the real book be expressed in two words in such a manner as will constitute plurality in grammar."—Ibid. (12.) "Our is an adjective pronoun of the possessive kind. Decline it."—Murray's Gram., p. 227. (13.) "This and that, and likewise their Plurals, are always opposed to each other in a Sentence."—Buchanan's Syntax, p. 103. "When this or that is used alone, i.e. not opposed to each other, this is written or spoken of Persons or Things immediately present, and as it were before our Eyes, or nearest with relation to Place or Time. That is spoken or written of Persons or Things passed, absent and distant in relation to Time and Place."—Ibid. (14.) "Active and neuter verbs may be conjugated by adding their present participle to the auxiliary verb to be, through all its variations."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 159. "Be is an auxiliary whenever it is placed before the perfect participle of another verb, but in every other situation, it is a principal verb."—Ib., p. 155. (15.) "A verb in the imperative mood, is always of the second person."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 136. "The verbs, according to an idiom of our language, or the poet's license, are used in the imperative, agreeing with a nominative of the first or third person."—Ib., p. 164. (16.) "Personal Pronouns are distinguished from the relative, by their denoting the person of the nouns for which they stand."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 97. "Pronouns of the first person, do not agree in person with the nouns they represent."—Ib., p. 98. (17.) "Nouns have three cases, nominative, possessive, and objective."—Beck's Gram., p. 6. "Personal pronouns have, like nouns, two cases, nominative and objective."—Ib., p. 10. (18.). "In some instances the preposition suffers no change, but becomes an adverb merely by its application: as, 'He was near falling.'"—Murray's Gram., p. 116. (19.) "Some nouns are