An English Grammar Part 98

The genius and merit of a rising poet _was_ celebrated.--GIBBON.

When the cause of ages and the fate of nations _hangs_ upon the thread of a debate.--J.Q. ADAMS.

(_b_) Not joined by a conjunction, but each one emphatic, or considered as appositional; for example,--

The unbought grace of life, the cheap defense of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise, _is_ gone.--BURKE.

A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a loss of wealth, a loss of friends, _seems_ at the moment unpaid loss.--EMERSON

The author, the wit, the partisan, the fine gentleman, _does_ not take the place of the man.--_Id._

To receive presents or a bribe, to be guilty of collusion in any way with a suitor, _was_ punished, in a judge, with death.--PRESCOTT.

[Sidenote: _Subjects after the verb._]

This use of several subjects with a singular verb is especially frequent when the subjects are after the verb; as,--

There _is_ a right and a wrong in them.--M ARNOLD.

There _is_ a moving tone of voice, an impa.s.sioned countenance, an agitated gesture.--BURKE

There _was_ a steel headpiece, a cuira.s.s, a gorget, and greaves, with a pair of gauntlets and a sword hanging beneath.--HAWTHORNE.

Then _comes_ the "Why, sir!" and the "What then, sir?" and the "No, sir!"--MACAULAY.

For wide _is_ heard the thundering fray, The rout, the ruin, the dismay.

--SCOTT.

(_c_) Joined by _as well as_ (in this case the verb agrees with the first of the two, no matter if the second is plural); thus,--

Asia, as well as Europe, _was_ dazzled.--MACAULAY.

The oldest, as well as the newest, wine _Begins_ to stir itself.

--LONGFELLOW.

Her back, as well as sides, _was_ like to crack.--BUTLER.

The Epic, as well as the Drama, _is_ divided into tragedy and Comedy.--FIELDING

(_d_) When each of two or more singular subjects is preceded by _every_, _each_, _no_, _many a_, and such like adjectives.

Every fop, every boor, every valet, _is_ a man of wit.--MACAULAY.

Every sound, every echo, _was_ listened to for five hours.--DE QUINCEY

Every dome and hollow _has_ the figure of Christ.--RUSKIN.

Each particular hue and tint _stands_ by itself.--NEWMAN.

Every law and usage _was_ a man's expedient.--EMERSON.

Here _is_ no ruin, no discontinuity, no spent ball.--_Id._

Every week, nay, almost every day, _was_ set down in their calendar for some appropriate celebration.--PRESCOTT.

[Sidenote: _Plural verb._]

441. The plural form of the verb is used--

(1) When the subject is plural _in form and in meaning_; as,--

These _bits_ of wood _were_ covered on every square.--SWIFT.

Far, far away thy children _leave_ the land.--GOLDSMITH.

The Arabian poets _were_ the historians and moralists.--GIBBON.

(2) When the subject is a _collective noun_ in which _the individuals_ of the collection are thought of; as,--

A mult.i.tude _go_ mad about it.--EMERSON.

A great number of people _were_ collected at a vendue.--FRANKLIN.

All our household _are_ at rest.--COLERIDGE.

A party of workmen _were_ removing the horses.--LEW WALLACE

The fraternity _were_ inclined to claim for him the honors of canonization.--SCOTT.

The travelers, of whom there _were_ a number.--B. TAYLOR.

(3) When the subject consists of _several singulars connected by and_, making up a plural subject, for example,--

Only Vice and Misery _are_ abroad.--CARLYLE

But its authors.h.i.+p, its date, and its history _are_ alike a mystery to us.--FROUDE.

His clothes, s.h.i.+rt, and skin _were_ all of the same color--SWIFT.

Aristotle and Longinus _are_ better understood by him than Littleton or c.o.ke.--ADDISON.

[Sidenote: _Conjunction omitted._]

The conjunction may be omitted, as in Sec. 440 (5, _b_), but the verb is plural, as with a subject of plural form.

A shady grove, a green pasture, a stream of fresh water, _are_ sufficient to attract a colony.--GIBBON.

The Dauphin, the Duke of Berri, Philip of Anjou, _were_ men of insignificant characters.--MACAULAY