SENTENCES.
ASentenceis an assemblage of words, expressed in proper form, and ranged in proper order, and concurring to make a complete sense.
Concord, or agreement of words, is when one word is required to be in like case, number, gender, or person, with another.
Regimen, or government, is when a word causeth a following word to be in some case, or mode.
Sentences are Simple, or Compounded.
A Simple Sentence hath in it but one Subject, and one Finite Verb; that is, a Verb in the Indicative, Imperative, or Subjunctive Mode.
A Phrase is two or more words rightly put together in order to make a part of a Sentence; and sometimes making a whole Sentence.
The most commonPhrasesused in simple Sentences are as follows:
1st Phrase: The Substantive before a Verb Active, Passive, or Neuter; when it is said what thingis,does, oris done: as, “I am;” “Thou writest;” “Thomas is loved:” whereI,Thou,Thomas,are the Nominative[42]Cases; and answer to the questionwho, orwhat?as, “Who is loved? Thomas.” And the Verb agrees with the Nominative Case in number and person[43];as,Thoubeing the Second Person Singular, the Verbwritestis so too.
2d Phrase: The Substantive after a Verb Neuter or Passive; when it is said, that such a thingis, oris made, orthought, orcalled, suchanother thing; or, when the Substantive after the Verb is spoken of the same thing or person with the Substantive before the Verb: as, “a calf becomes an ox;” “Plautus is accounted a Poet;” “I am He.” Here the latter Substantive is in the Nominative Case as well as the former; and the Verb is said to govern the Nominative Case: or, the latter Substantive may be said to agree in Case with the former.
3d Phrase: The Adjective after a Verb Neuter or Passive, in like manner: as, “Lifeis short, and Artis long.” “Exerciseis esteemed wholesome.”
4th Phrase: The Substantive after a Verb Active, or Transitive: as when one thing is said toactupon, ordosomething to another: as, “to open a door;” “to build a house;” “Alexander conquered the Persians.” Here the thing acted upon is in the Objective[44]Case; as it appears plainly when it is expressed by the Pronoun, which has a proper termination for that Case; “Alexander conqueredthem;” andthe Verb is said to govern the Objective Case.
5th Phrase: A Verb following another Verb; as, “boys love to play:” where the latter Verb is in the Infinitive Mode.
6th Phrase: When one thing is said to belong to another; as, “Milton’s poems:” where the thing to which the other belongs is placed first, and is in the Possessive Case; or else last with the Prepositionofbefore it; as, “the poems of Milton.”
7th Phrase: When another Substantive is added to express and explain the former more fully; as, “Paul the Apostle;” “King George:” where they are both in the same case; and the latter is said to be put in Apposition to the former.
8th Phrase: When the qualityof the Substantive is expressed by adding an Adjective to it: as, “a wise man;” “a black horse.” Participles have the nature of Adjectives; as, “a learned man;” “a loving father.”
9th Phrase: An Adjective with a Verb in the Infinitive Mode following it: as, “worthy to die;” “fit to be trusted.”
10th Phrase: When a circumstance is added to a Verb, or to an Adjective, by an Adverb: as, “you read well;” “he is very prudent.”
11th Phrase: When a circumstance is added to a Verb or an Adjective by a Substantive with a Preposition before it: as, “I write for you;” “he reads with care;” “studious of praise;” “ready for mischief.”
12th Phrase: When the same Quality in different Subjects is compared; the Adjective in the Positivehaving after it the Conjunctionas, in the Comparative the Conjunctionthan, and in the Superlative the Prepositionof: as, “white as snow;” “wiser than I;” “greatest of all.”
ThePrincipal partsof a Simple Sentence are the Agent, the Attribute, and the Object. The Agent is the thing chiefly spoken of; the Attribute is the thing or action affirmed or denied of it; and the Object is the thing affected by such action.
In English the Nominative Case denoting the Agent, usually goes before the Verb, or Attribution, and the Objective Case, denoting the Object, follows the Verb; and it is the order that determines the cases in Nouns: as, “Alexander conquered the Persians.” But the Pronoun, having a proper form foreach of those cases, sometimes when it is in the Objective Case is placed before the Verb, and when it is in the Nominative Case follows the Object and Verb: as, “Whom ye ignorantly worship,him declare Iunto you.” And the Nominative Case is sometimes placed after a Verb Neuter: as, “Upon thy right handdid stand the Queen:” “On a suddenappeared the King.” And frequently with the Adverbsthereand then: as, “Therewas a man:” “Thencameunto himthe Pharisees.” The reason of it is plain: the Neuter Verb not admitting of an Objective Case after it, no ambiguity of case can arise from such a position of the Noun.
Who,which,what, and the Relativethat, though in the Objective Case, are always placed before the Verb; as are also their Compounds,whoever,whosoever, &c: as, “Hewhomyouseek.” “This iswhat, or the thingwhich, orthat, youwant.” “Whomsoeveryou pleaseto appoint.”
When the Verb is a Passive, the Agent and Object change places in the Sentence; and the thing acted upon is in the Nominative Case, and the Agent is accompanied with a Preposition: as, “The Persians were conquered by Alexander.”
A Noun of Multitude[45], or signifyingmany; and two Nouns in the Singular Number, joined together by a Conjunction Copulative; have Verbs, Nouns, and Pronouns, agreeing with them in the Plural Number: as, “When the King’s trump, themob arefor the King.” Dryden. “Socrates and Plato werewise;they werethe most eminentPhilosophersof Greece.”
If the Singulars so joined together are of several Persons, in making the Plural Pronoun agree with them in Person, the second Person takes place of the third, and the first of both: “He and You and Iwon it at the hazard ofourlives:You and Heshared it betweenyou.”
The Verbto Behas always a Nominative Case after it; as, “itwas I, and notHe, that did it:” unless it be in the InfinitiveMode; “though you took itto be Him[46].”
The Adverbswhen,while,after, &c. being left out, the Phrase is formed with the Participle independently of the rest of the Sentence: as, “The doors being shut, Jesus stood in the midst.” This is called the Case Absolute. And theCase is in English always the Nominative: as,
“God from the mount of Sinai, whose gray topShall tremble,He descending[47], will himself,In thunder, lightning, and loud trumpet’s sound,Ordain them laws.”Milton, P. L. xii. 227.
“God from the mount of Sinai, whose gray topShall tremble,He descending[47], will himself,In thunder, lightning, and loud trumpet’s sound,Ordain them laws.”Milton, P. L. xii. 227.
“God from the mount of Sinai, whose gray topShall tremble,He descending[47], will himself,In thunder, lightning, and loud trumpet’s sound,Ordain them laws.”
“God from the mount of Sinai, whose gray top
Shall tremble,He descending[47], will himself,
In thunder, lightning, and loud trumpet’s sound,
Ordain them laws.”
Milton, P. L. xii. 227.
Milton, P. L. xii. 227.
Tobefore a Verb is the sign of the Infinitive Mode: but there are some few Verbs, which have other Verbs following them in the Infinitive Mode without the signto: as, bid, dare, need, make, see, hear; and, let, have, not used as Auxiliaries: as, “I bade him do it; youdare not do it; I saw him[48]do it; I heard him say it.”
The Infinitive Mode has much of the nature of a Substantive, expressing the Action itself which the Verb signifies; as the Participle has the nature of an Adjective. Thus the Infinitive Mode does the office of a Substantive in different cases; in the Nominative; as, “to play ispleasant:” in the Objective; as, “boyslove to play.” In Greek itadmits of the Article through all its cases, with the Preposition in the Oblique cases: in English the Article is not wanted, but the Preposition may be used: “Forto will ispresent with me; butto performthat which is good I find not[49].” “All their works they dofor to be seenof men[50].”
“For notto have been dip’din Lethe’s lakeCould save the Son of Thetisfrom to die.”Spenser.
“For notto have been dip’din Lethe’s lakeCould save the Son of Thetisfrom to die.”Spenser.
“For notto have been dip’din Lethe’s lakeCould save the Son of Thetisfrom to die.”
“For notto have been dip’din Lethe’s lake
Could save the Son of Thetisfrom to die.”
Spenser.
Spenser.
Perhaps therefore the Infinitive and the Participle might be more properly called the Substantive Mode and the Adjective Mode[51].
The Participle with a Preposition before it, and still retaining its Government, answers to what is called in Latin the Gerund: as, “Happiness is to be attained, by avoiding evil, and by doing good; by seeking peace, and by pursuing it.”
The Participle, with an Article before it, and the Prepositionofafter it, becomes a Substantive, expressing the action itself which the Verb signifies[52]: as, “These are theRules of Grammar, bythe observing ofwhich you may avoid mistakes.”Or it may be expressed by the Participle, or Gerund; “byobservingwhich:” not, “byobserving ofwhich;” nor, “bythe observingwhich:” for either of those two Phrases would be a confounding of two distinct forms.
I will add another example, and that of the best authority: “The middle station of life seems to be the most advantageously situated forthe gaining ofwisdom. Poverty turns our thoughts too much uponthe supplying ofour wants, and richesupon enjoying oursuperfluities.” Addison, Spect. Nᵒ 464.
The Participle frequently becomes altogether an Adjective; when it is joined to a Substantive merely to denote its quality; without any respect to time; expressing, not an Action, but a Habit; and as such it admits of the degrees of Comparison: as, “a learned, a more learned,a most learned, man; a loving, more loving, most loving, father.”
Simple Sentences are 1. Explicative, or explaining: 2. Interrogative, or asking: 3. Imperative, or commanding[53].
1. An Explicative Sentence is when a thing is said to be, or not to be; to do, or not to do; to suffer, or not to suffer; in a direct manner; as in the foregoing examples. If the Sentence be Negative, the Adverbnotis placed after the Auxiliary, or after the Verb itself when it has no Auxiliary: as, “itdid nottouch him;” or, “ittouchedhimnot[54].”
2. In an Interrogative Sentence, or when a Question is asked, the Nominative Case follows the Principal Verb, or the Auxiliary: as, “was ithe?” “did Alexanderconquer the Persians?” So that theQuestion depends intirely on the order of the words[55].
3. In an Imperative Sentence, when a thing is commanded to be, to do, to suffer, or not, the Nominative Case follows the Verb or the Auxiliary: as, “Go, thou traytor;” or, “do thou go:” or the Auxiliaryletwith the Objective[56]Case after it is used: as, “Let us be gone[57].”
The Adjective in English, having no variation of Gender or Number, cannot but agree with the Substantivein those respects; some of the Pronominal Adjectives only excepted, which have the Plural Number:as,these,those, andthey; which must agree in Number[58]with their Substantives.
The Adjective generally goes before the Noun: as, “a wise man; a good horse;” unless something depend on the Adjective; as, “food convenient for me:” or the Adjective be emphatical; as, “Alexander the great.” And the Article goes before the Adjective: except the Adjectivessuchandmany, and others subjoined to the Adverbsso,as, andhow: as, “such aman;” “many aman;” “sogood aman;” “asgood aman as ever lived;” “howbeautiful aprospect is here!” And sometimes when there are two or more Adjectives joined to the Noun: as, “a man learned and religious.”
Every Verb, except in the Infinitive or the Participle, hath its Nominative Case, either expressed or implied[59]; as,
“Awake, arise, or be for ever fall’n:”
“Awake, arise, or be for ever fall’n:”
“Awake, arise, or be for ever fall’n:”
“Awake, arise, or be for ever fall’n:”
that is, “Awakeye, &c.”
Every Nominative Case, except the Case Absolute, and when an address is made to a Person, belongs to some Verb, either expressed orimplied[60]: as in the answer to a Question; “Who wrote this book; Cicero:” that is, “Cicerowrote it.” Or when the Verb is understood; as,“To whom thus Adam:” that is,spake.
Every Possessive Case supposes some Noun to which it belongs: as when we say, “St. Paul’s, or St. James’s,” we mean St. Paul’sChurch, or St. James’sPalace.
Every Adjective has relation to some Substantive, either expressed or implied: as, “The Twelve,” that is,Apostles; “the wife, the elect,” that is,persons.
In some instances the Adjective becomes a Substantive, and has an Adjective joined to it: as, “the chief Good;” “Evil, be Thou my Good!”[61]
Adverbshave no Government.[62]
Prepositionshave a Government of Cases; and in English they always require the Objective Caseafter them: as, “with him;from her;to me.”[63]
The Preposition is often separated from the Relative which it governs, and joined to the Verb at the end of the Sentence, or of some member of it: as, “Horace is an author,whomI am much delightedwith.” “The[64]world is too well bred to shock authors with a truth,whichgenerally their booksellers are the first that inform themof.” This is an Idiom which our language is strongly inclined to; it prevails in common conversation, and suits very well with the familiar style inwriting; but the placing of the Preposition before the Relative is more graceful, as well as more perspicuous; and agrees much better with the solemn and elevated Style.
Verbs are often compounded of a Verb and a Preposition; as,to uphold,to outweigh,to overlook: and this composition sometimes gives a new sense to the Verb; as,to understand,to withdraw,to forgive[65]. But in English the Preposition is more frequently placed after the Verb, and separate from it, like an Adverb; in which situation it is no less apt to affect the sense of it, and to give it a new meaning; and may still be considered as belonging tothe Verb, and a part of it. As,to castis to throw; butto cast up, or to compute,an account, is quite a different thing: thus,to fall on,to bear out,to give over; &c. So that the meaning of the Verb, and the propriety of the phrase, depend on the Preposition subjoined[66].
As the Preposition subjoined to the Verb hath the construction and nature of an Adverb, so the Adverbshere,there,where, with a Preposition subjoined, ashereof,therewith,whereupon[67], have the construction and nature of Pronouns.
The Prepositionstoandforare often understood; as, “give methe book; get me some paper;” that is,to me,for me[68].
Two or more Simple Sentences, joined together by one or moreConnective Words, become a Compounded Sentence.
There are two sorts of words which connect Sentences: 1. Relatives; 2. Conjunctions.
Examples: 1. “Blessed is the man,whofeareth the Lord.” 2. “Life is short,andart is long.” 1. and 2. “Blessed is the Man,whofeareth the Lord,andkeepeth his commandments.”
TheRelativeswho,which,that, having no variation of gender or number, cannot but agree with their Antecedents.Whois appropriated to persons; and so may be accounted Masculine and Feminine only:whichis used of things only; and so may be accounted Neuter.But formerly they were both indifferently used of persons: “Our Father,whichart in heaven.”Thatis used indifferently both of persons and things: but perhaps would be more properly confined to the latter.Whatincludes both the Antecedent and the Relative: as, “This waswhathe wanted;” that is, “the thing whichhe wanted[69].”
The Relative is the Nominative Case to the Verb, when no other Nominative comes between it and the Verb: but when another Nominative comes between it and theVerb, the Relative is governed by some word in its own member of the Sentence: as, “The Godwhopreserveth me;whoseI am, andwhomI serve[70].”
Every Relative must have an Antecedent to which it refers, either expressed, or understood: as, “Whosteals my purse, steals trash:” that is,the man, who⸺.
The Relative is of the same person with the Antecedent; and the Verb agrees with it accordingly: as, “Who isthis, that comethfrom Edom;this that isglorious in his apparel?⸺I that speakin righteousness.” Isaiah lxiii. 1. “O Shepherd of Israel,Thou that leadestJoseph like a flock;Thou that dwellestbetween the Cherubims.” Ps. lxxx. 1.[71]
The Relative is often understood,or omitted: as, “The man I love;” that is, “whomI love[72].”
The accuracy and clearness of the Sentence depend very much upon the proper and determinate use of the Relative, so that it mayreadily present its Antecedent to the mind of the hearer or reader without any obscurity or ambiguity. The same may be observed of the Pronoun and the Noun, which by some are called also the Relative and the Antecedent[73].
Conjunctionshave sometimes a Government of Modes. Some Conjunctions require the Indicative,some the Subjunctive Mode after them: others have no influence at all on the Mode.
Hypothetical, Conditional, Concessive,and Exceptive Conjunctions seem to require properly the Subjunctive Mode after them: as,if,tho’,unless,except,whether—or, &c. but by use they often admit of the Indicative. Examples: “Ifthoubethe Son of God.” Matt. iv. 3. “Tho’heslayme, yet will I put my trust in him.” Job xiii. 15. “Unlesshewashhis flesh.” Lev. xxii. 6. “No power,exceptitweregiven from above.” John xix. 11. “WhetheritwereIorthey, so we preach.” 1 Cor. xv. 11. The Subjunctive in these instances implies something contingent or doubtful; the Indicative would express a more absolute and determinate sense.
Thatexpressing the motive or end has the Subjunctive Mode, withmay,might,should, after it.
Lest; andthatwith a Negative following it; andifwithbutfollowing it; necessarily require the Subjunctive Mode: Examples; “Let him that standeth, take heed,lesthefall.” 1 Cor. x. 12. “Take heed,thatthouspeak notto Jacob.”Gen. xxxi. 24. “Ifhedo buttouch the hills, they shall smoke.” Ps. civ. 32.[74]
Other Conjunctions, expressing a Continuation, an Addition, an Inference, &c. being of a positive and absolute nature, require the Indicative Mode; or rather leave the Mode to be determined by the other circumstances and conditions of the Sentence.
When the Qualities of different things are compared, the latter Noun is governed, not by the Conjunctionthan, oras, (for a Conjunction hasno Government of Cases,) but by the Verb or the Preposition, expressed, or understood. As, “Thou art wiser thanI[am.]” “You are not so tall asI[am.]” “You think him handsomer than [you think]me; and you love him more than [you love]me.” In all other instances, if you complete the Sentence in like manner, by supplying the part which is understood, the Case of the latter Noun will be determined. Thus, “Plato observes, that God geometrizes; and the same thing was observed before by a wiser man thanhe:” that is, thanhe was. “It was well expressed by Plato; but more elegantly by Solomon thanhim:” that is, thanby him[75].
The Conjunctionthatis often omitted and understood: as, “Ibeg you would come to me:” “See, thou do it not:” that is,“thatyou would;” “thatthou do[76].”
The Nominative Case following the Auxiliary, or the Verb itself, sometimes supplies the place of the Conjunctionsifandtho’: as, “Had he done this, he had escaped:” “Charm he never so[77]wisely:” that is, “ifhe had done this;” “tho’he charm.”
Some Conjunctions have their Correspondent Conjunctions belongingto them; so that in the subsequent Member of the Sentence the latter answers to the former: as,although⸺,yet, ornevertheless;whether⸺,or;either⸺,or;neither⸺,nor;as⸺,as; expressing a Comparison of equality; “aswhiteassnow:”as⸺,so; expressing a Comparison sometimes of equality; “asthe stars,soshall thy seed be;” that is, equal in number: but most commonly a Comparison in respect of quality; “and it shall be,aswith the people,sowith the priest;aswith the servant,sowith his master:” “asis the good,sois the sinner;asthe one dieth,sodieth the other:” that is, in like manner:so⸺,as; with a Verb expressing a Comparison of quality; “To see thy glory,so asI have seen thee in the sanctuary:” butwith a Negative and an Adjective, a Comparison in respect of quantity; as, “Pompey had eminent abilities: but he was not eithersoeloquent and politic a statesman, orsobrave and skilful a general; nor was he upon the wholesogreat a man,asCæsar:”so⸺,that; expressing a Consequence: &c.[78]
Interjectionsin English have no Government.
Though they are usually attended with Nouns in the NominativeCase[79], and Verbs in the Indicative Mode, yet the Case and Mode isnot influenced by them, but determined by the nature of the sentence.