English Grammar in Familiar Lectures Part 46

Who did you go with?

Who did you receive instruction from?

RULE x.x.xII.

_Home_, and nouns signifying _distance_, time _when_, _how long_, &c.

are generally governed by a preposition _understood_; as, "The horse ran a mile;" "He came _home_ last June;" "My friend lived four _years_ at college;" that is, ran _through the s.p.a.ce of_ a mile; or, ran _over a s.p.a.ce called_ a mile; _to_ his home _in_ last June; _during_ four years, &c.

NOTE 1. The prepositions _to_ and _for_ are often understood, chiefly before the p.r.o.nouns; as, "Give [to] _me_ a book; Get [for]

_him_ some paper."

2. _To_ or _unto_, is, by some, supposed to be understood after _like_ and _unlike_; as, "He is _like_ [unto] his brother; She is _unlike_ [to] him." Others consider this mode of expression an idiom of the language, and maintain that _like_ governs the objective following it.

3. Nouns signifying extension, duration, quant.i.ty, quality, or value, are used without a governing word; as, "The Ohio is one thousand _miles_ long; She is ten _years_ old; My hat is worth ten _dollars_." These are sometimes considered anomalies. See page 163.

RULE x.x.xIII.

Conjunctions connect nouns and p.r.o.nouns in the same case; as, "The master taught _her_ and _me_ to write;" "_He_ and _she_ are a.s.sociates."

FALSE SYNTAX.

My brother and him are grammarians.

You and me enjoy great privileges.

Him and I went to the city in company; but John and him returned without me.

Between you and I there is a great disparity of years.

RULE x.x.xIV.

Conjunctions generally connect verbs of like moods and tenses; as, "If thou sincerely _desire, and_ earnestly _pursue_ virtue, she _will_ a.s.suredly _be found_ by thee, _and prove_ a rich reward."

NOTE 1. When different moods and tenses are connected by conjunctions, the nominative must be repeated; as, "He _may return_, but _he will_ not _tarry_."

2. Conjunctions implying contingency or doubt, require the subjunctive mood after them; as, "_If_ he _study_, he will improve."

See pages 135, 145, and 155.

3. The conjunctions _if_, _though_, _unless_, _except_, _whether_, and _lest_, generally require the subjunctive mood after them.

4. Conjunctions of a positive and absolute nature, implying no doubt, require the indicative mood; as, "_As_ virtue _advances, so_ vice _recedes_."

FALSE SYNTAX.

Did he not tell me his fault, and entreated me to forgive him?

Professing regard, and to act differently, discovers a base mind.

_Note_ 1. He has gone home, but may return.

The attorney executed the deed, but will write no more.

_Note_ 2. I shall walk to-day, unless it rains.

If he acquires riches, they will corrupt his mind.

RULE x.x.xV.

A noun or p.r.o.noun following the conjunction _than_, _as_, or _but_, is nominative to a verb, or governed by a verb or preposition, expressed or understood; as, "Thou art wiser _than_ I [_am_."] "I saw n.o.body _but_ [_I saw_] him."

NOTE 1. The conjunction _as_, when it is connected with _such_, _many_, or _same_, is sometimes, though erroneously, called a _relative p.r.o.noun_; as, "Let _such_ as presume to advise others,"

&c.; that is, Let _them who_, &c. See page 116.

2. An ellipsis, or omission of some words, is frequently admitted, which must be supplied in the mind in order to pa.r.s.e grammatically; as "Wo is me;" that is, _to_ me; "To sleep all night;" i.e.

_through_ all _the_ night; "He has gone a journey;" i.e. _on_ a journey; "They walked a league;" i.e. _over a s.p.a.ce called_ a league.

3. When the omission of words would obscure the sense, or weaken its force, they must be expressed.

4. In the use of prepositions, and words that relate to each other, we should pay particular regard to the meaning of the words or sentences which they connect: all the parts of a sentence should correspond to each other, and a regular and clear construction throughout should be carefully preserved.

FALSE SYNTAX.

They are much greater gainers than me.

They know how to write as well as him; but he is a better grammarian than them.

They were all well but him.

None were rewarded but him and me.

Jesus sought none but they who had gone astray.

REMARKS ON THE TENSES.

1. In the use of verbs, and other words and phrases which, _in point of time_, relate to each other, a due regard to that relation should be observed.

Instead of saying, "The Lord _hath given_, and the Lord _hath taken_ away;" we should say, "The Lord _gave_, and the Lord _hath taken_ away."

Instead of, "I _remember_ the family more than twenty years;" it should be, "I _have remembered_ the family more than twenty years."

2. The best rule that can be given for the management of the tenses, and of words and phrases which, in point of time, relate to each other, is this very general one; _Observe what the sense necessarily requires_.

To say, "I _have_ visited Was.h.i.+ngton last summer; I _have seen_ the work more than a month ago," is not good _sense_. The constructions should be, "I _visited_ Was.h.i.+ngton, &c.; I _saw_ the work, &c." "This mode of expression _has been_ formerly much admired:"--"_was_ formerly much admired." "If I _had have_ been there;" "If I _had have_ seen him;"

"_Had_ you _have_ known him," are solecisms too gross to need correction. We can say, I _have_ been, I _had_ been; but what sort of a tense is, _had have been_? To place _had_ before the _defective_ verb ought, is an error equally gross and illiterate:--"_had_ ought, _hadn't_ ought." This is as low a vulgarism as the use of _theirn_, _hern_, and _hizzen_, _tother_, _furder_, _baynt_, _this ere_, I _seed_ it, I _tell'd_ him.

3. When we refer to a past action or event, and no part of that time in which it took place; remains, the _imperfect_ tense should be used; but if there is still remaining some portion of the time in which we declare that the thing has been done, the _perfect_ tense should be employed.