A similar error occurs in the following sentence: “Some of our principal public schools have each a grammar of their own.”—Barrow on Education. It ought to be, “each a grammar of its own.” The expression is elliptical, for “schools have each (has) a grammar of its own.” Thus we say, “Simeon and Levi took each man his sword,” not their swords.—Gen. xxxiv. 25.
“Let each esteem other better than themselves.”—Bible. For the reason just given, it ought to be himself.
“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”—Bible. Here is a manifest solecism, the pronoun their referring to “his brother,” a singular subject.
“I wonder that such a valiant hero as you should trifle away your time in making war upon women.”—Essay on the Writings of Pope. Here the pronoun disagrees in person with the noun to which it refers, hero being of the third person, and your of the second. The connexion is, “I wonder that such a valiant hero should trifle away his time.”
“The venison, which I received yesterday, and was a present from a friend,” &c. Which is here in the objective case, and cannot properly be understood as the nominative to the verb was: better, therefore, “and which was a present.” The following sentence is still more faulty: “It was happy for them, that the storm, in which they were, and was so very severe, lasted but a short time.” This is ungrammatical, the verb “was” having no nominative. It should be, “which was.”
“There is not a sovereign state in Europe, but keeps a body of regular troops in their pay.” This expression, to say the least of it, is inelegant and awkward. Better, “its pay.” “Is any nation sensible of the lowness of their own manners?”—Kames. Nation is here improperly construed as both singular and plural. It should be rather “its own.”
“The treaty he concluded can only be considered as a temporary submission, and of which he took no care to secure the continuance of it.”—Dryden. The redundancy of the words of it, renders the sentence somewhat ungrammatical. It should run thus, “The treaty he concluded can only be considered as a temporary submission, of which he took no care to secure the continuance.”
An improper reference occurs in the following sentence: “Unless one be very cautious, he will be liable to be deceived.” One here answers to the indefinite word on in French, and cannot be represented by any pronoun. It must, therefore, be repeated, thus, “Unless one be very cautious, one will be liable to be deceived.”
IMPROPRIETY.
“Give me them books.” Here the substantive pronoun is used adjectively, instead of the demonstrative those or these. The substantive pronouns, which are, strictly speaking, the only pronouns, cannot be construed as adjectives agreeing with substantives. We cannot say, “it book,” “they books,” “them books:” but “this” or “that book,” “these” or “those books.” The former phraseology may be deemed solecistical.