“They have of late, ’tis true, reformed, in some measure, the gouty joints and darning work of whereunto’s, whereby’s, thereof’s, therewith’s, and the rest of this kind.”—Shaftesbury. Here also the genitive singular is improperly used for the objective case plural. It should be, whereuntos, wherebys, thereofs, therewiths.
“Both those people, acute and inquisitive to excess, corrupted the sciences.”—Adams’s History of England.
“Two rival peoples, the Jews and the Samaritans, have preserved separate exemplars of it.”—Geddes’ Preface to his Translation of the Bible. The former of these passages involves a palpable error, the word “people,” here equivalent to nation, and in the singular number, being joined with both or “the two,” a term of plurality. In the latter, this error is avoided, the noun being employed in the plural number. This usage, however, though sanctioned by the authority of our translators of the Bible in two passages, seems now to be obsolete. States, tribes, nations, appear to be preferable.
“I bought a scissars,” “I want a tongs,” “it is a tattered colours,” involve a palpable solecism, the term significant of unity being joined with a plural word. It should be “a pair of scissars,” “a pair of tongs,” “a pair of colours.”
“They tell us, that the fashion of jumbling fifty things together in a dish was at first introduced, in compliance to a depraved and debauched appetite.”—Swift.
We say, “comply with;” therefore, by Rule xvii. “in compliance with” is the analogical form of expression, and has the sanction of classical usage.
“The fortitude of a man, who brings his will to the obedience of his reason.”—Steele. Analogy requires “obedience to.” We say, obedient to command: the person obeying is expressed in the genitive, or with the preposition of; and the person or thing obeyed with the preposition to, as, “a servant’s obedience,” or “the obedience of a servant to the orders of his master.”
“Give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”—Bible. “Attendance” and “attention” are verbal nouns, derived from “attend.” When the verb signifies “to regard,” or “to fix the mind upon,” it is followed by to, as, “he attends to his studies,” and the verbal noun is “attention,” construed, agreeably to Rule xvii. in the same manner as the verb. Thus, “he gives attention to his studies.” But when “to attend” signifies “to wait on,” or “be present at,” it is followed by on, upon, or at, and is sometimes used without the preposition.
Thus, “if any minister refused to admit a lecturer recommended to him, he was required to attend upon the committee.”—Clarendon.