[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the pronoun who is in the nominative case, and is made the object of the preposition for. But, according to Rule 7th, "A noun or a pronoun made the object of a preposition, is governed by it in the objective case." Therefore, who should be whom; thus, "But I do not remember whom they were for.">[
"But if you can't help it, who do you complain of?"—Collier's Antoninus, p. 137. "Who was it from? and what was it about?"—Edgeworth's Frank, p. 72. "I have plenty of victuals, and, between you and I, something in a corner."—Day's Sandford and Merton. "The upper one, who I am now about to speak of."—Hunt's Byron, p. 311. "And to poor we, thine enmity's most capital."—Beauties of Shakspeare, p. 201. "Which thou dost confess, were fit for thee to use, as they to claim."—Ib., p. 196. "To beg of thee, it is my more dishonour, than thou of them."—Ib., p. 197. "There are still a few who, like thou and I, drink nothing but water."—Gil Blas, Vol. i, p. 104. "Thus, I shall fall; Thou shalt love thy neighbour; He shall be rewarded, express no resolution on the part of I, thou, he."—Lennie's E. Gram., p. 22; Bullions's, 32. "So saucy with the hand of she here—What's her name?"—Shak., Ant. and Cleop., Act iii, Sc. 11. "All debts are cleared between you and I."—Id., Merchant of Venice, Act iii, Sc. 2. "Her price is paid, and she is sold like thou."—Milman's Fall of Jerusalem. "Search through all the most flourishing era's of Greece."—Brown's Estimate, ii, 16. "The family of the Rudolph's had been long distinguished."—The Friend, Vol. v, p. 54. "It will do well enough for you and I."—Castle Rackrent, p. 120. "The public will soon discriminate between him who is the sycophant, and he who is the teacher."—Chazotte's Essay, p. 10. "We are still much at a loss who civil power belongs to."—Locke. "What do you call it? and who does it belong to?"—Collier's Cebes. "He had received no lessons from the Socrates's, the Plato's, and the Confucius's of the age."—Hatter's Letters. "I cannot tell who to compare them to."—Bunyan's P. P., p. 128. "I see there was some resemblance betwixt this good man and I."—Pilgrim's Progress, p. 298. "They by that means have brought themselves into the hands and house of I do not know who."—Ib., p. 196. "But at length she said there was a great deal of difference between Mr. Cotton and we."—Hutchinson's Mass., ii, 430. "So you must ride on horseback after we." [370]—MRS. GILPIN: Cowper, i, 275. "A separation must soon take place between our minister and I."—Werter, p. 109. "When she exclaimed on Hastings, you, and I."—Shakspeare. "To who? to thee? What art thou?"—Id. "That they should always bear the certain marks who they came from."—Butler's Analogy, p. 221.
"This life has joys for you and I,
And joys that riches ne'er could buy."—Burns.
UNDER THE NOTE—OF TIME OR MEASURE.
"Such as almost every child of ten years old knows."—Town's Analysis, p. 4. "One winter's school of four months, will carry any industrious scholar, of ten or twelve years old, completely through this book."—Ib., p. 12. "A boy of six years old may be taught to speak as correctly, as Cicero did before the Roman Senate."—Webster's Essays, p. 27. "A lad of about twelve years old, who was taken captive by the Indians."—Ib., p. 235. "Of nothing else but that individual white figure of five inches long which is before him."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 288. "Where lies the fault, that boys of eight or ten years old, are with great difficulty made to understand any of its principles."—Guy's Gram., p. v. "Where language of three centuries old is employed."—Booth's Introd. to Dict., p. 21. "Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high."—Esther, v. 14. "I say to this child of nine years old bring me that hat, he hastens and brings it me."—Osborn's Key, p. 3. "He laid a floor twelve feet long, and nine feet wide; that is, over the extent of twelve feet long, and of nine feet wide."—Merchants School Gram., p. 95. "The Goulah people are a tribe of about fifty thousand strong."—Examiner, No. 71. RULE VIII.—NOM. ABSOLUTE.
A Noun or a Pronoun is put absolute in the nominative, when its case depends on no other word: as, "He failing, who shall meet success?"—"Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live forever?"—Zech., i, 5. "Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?"—1 Cor., ix, 6. "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?"—Rom., ix, 20. "O rare we!"—Cowper. "Miserable they!"—Thomson.
"The hour conceal'd, and so remote the fear, Death still draws nearer, never seeming near."—Pope.
OBSERVATIONS ON RULE VIII.
OBS. 1.—Many grammarians make an idle distinction between the nominative absolute and the nominative independent, as if these epithets were not synonymous; and, at the same time, they are miserably deficient in directions for disposing of the words so employed. Their two rules do not embrace more than one half of those frequent examples in which the case of the noun or pronoun depends on no other word. Of course, the remaining half cannot be parsed by any of the rules which they give. The lack of a comprehensive rule, like the one above, is a great and glaring defect in all the English grammars that the author has seen, except his own, and such as are indebted to him for such a rule. It is proper, however, that the different forms of expression which are embraced in this general rule, should be discriminated, one from an other, by the scholar: let him therefore, in parsing any nominative absolute, tell how it is put so; whether with a participle, by direct address, by pleonasm, or by exclamation. For, in discourse, a noun or a pronoun is put absolute in the nominative, after four modes, or under the following four circumstances: (of which Murray's "case absolute," or "nominative absolute," contains only the first:)
I. When, with a participle, it is used to express a cause, or a concomitant fact; as, "I say, this being so, the law being broken, justice takes place."—Law and Grace, p. 27. "Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea." &c.—Luke, iii, 1. "I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren."—Gen., xxiv, 27.