"They slew Varus, whom I mentioned before."—L. Murray cor. "Maria rejected Valerius, whom she had rejected before." Or: "Maria rejected Valerius a second time."—Id. "In the English language, nouns have but two different terminations for cases."—Churchill's Gram., p. 64. "Socrates and Plato were the wisest men, and the most eminent philosophers in Greece."—Buchanan's Gram., Pref., p. viii. "Whether more than one were concerned in the business, does not yet appear." Or: "How many were concerned in the business, does not yet appear."—L. Murray cor. "And that, consequently, the verb or pronoun agreeing with it, can never with propriety be used in the plural number."—Id. et al. cor. "A second help may be, frequent and free converse with others of your own sex who are like minded."—Wesley cor. "Four of the semivowels, namely, l, m, n, and r, are termed LIQUIDS, on account of the fluency of their sounds."—See Brown's Inst., p. 16. "Some conjunctions are used in pairs, so that one answers to an other, as its regular correspondent."—Lowth et al. cor. "The mutes are those consonants whose sounds cannot be protracted; the semivowels have imperfect sounds of their own, which can be continued at pleasure."—Murray et al. cor. "HE and SHE are sometimes used as nouns, and, as such, are regularly declined: as, 'The hes in birds.'—BACON. 'The shes of Italy.'—SHAK."—Churchill cor. "The separation of a preposition from the word which it governs, is [censured by some writers, as being improper."—C. Adams cor. "The word WHOSE, according to some critics, should be restricted to persons; but good writers still occasionally use it with reference to things."—Priestley et al. cor. "New and surpassing wonders present themselves to our view."—Sherlock cor. "The degrees of comparison are often inaccurately applied and construed."—Alger's Murray. Or: "Passages are often found in which the degrees of comparison have not an accurate construction."—Campbell cor.; also Murray et al. "The sign of possession is placed too far from the name, to form a construction that is either perspicuous or agreeable."—L. Murray cor. "The simple tenses are those which are formed by the principal verb without an auxiliary."—Id. "The more intimate men are, the more they affect one another's happiness."—Id. "This is the machine that he invented."—Nixon cor. "To give this sentence the interrogative form, we must express it thus." Or: "This sentence, to have the interrogative form, should be expressed thus."—L. Murray cor. "Never employ words that are susceptible of a sense different from that which you intend to convey."—Hiley cor. "Sixty pages are occupied in explaining what, according to the ordinary method, would not require more than ten or twelve."—Id. "The participle in ing always expresses action, suffering, or being, as continuing, or in progress."—Bullions cor. "The first participle of all active verbs, has usually an active signification; as, 'James is building the house.' Often, however, it takes a passive meaning; as, 'The house is building.'"—Id. "Previously to parsing this sentence, the young pupil may be taught to analyze it, by such questions as the following: viz."—Id. "Since that period, however, attention has been paid to this important subject."—Id. and Hiley cor. "A definition of a word is a brief explanation of what it means."—G. BROWN: Hiley cor.
UNDER CRITICAL NOTE XIV.—OF IGNORANCE.
"What is a verb? It is a word which signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon." Or thus: "What is an assertor? Ans. 'One who affirms positively; an affirmer, supporter, or vindicator.'—WEBSTER'S DICT."—Peirce cor. "Virgil wrote the Æneid."—Kirkham cor. "Which, to a supercilious or inconsiderate native of Japan, would seem very idle and impertinent."—Locke cor. "Will not a look of disdain cast upon you throw you into a ferment?"—Say cor. "Though only the conjunction if is here set before the verb, there are several others, (as that, though, lest, unless, except,) which may be used with the subjunctive mood."—L. Murray cor. "When proper names have an article before them, they are used as common names."—Id. et al. cor. "When a proper noun has an article before it, it is used as a common noun."—Merchant cor. "Seeming to rob the death-field of its terrors."—Id. "For the same reason, we might, without any detriment to the language, dispense with the terminations of our verbs in the singular."—Kirkham cor. "It removes all possibility of being misunderstood."—Abbott cor. "Approximation to perfection is all that we can expect."—Id. "I have often joined in singing with musicians at Norwich."—Gardiner cor. "When not standing in regular prosaic order." Or:—"in the regular order of prose."—O. B. Peirce cor. "Regardless of the dogmas and edicts of the philosophical umpire."—Kirkham cor. "Others begin to talk before their mouths are open, prefixing the mouth-closing M to most of their words; as, 'M-yes,' for 'Yes.'"—Gardiner cor. "That noted close of his 'esse videatur,' exposed him to censure among his contemporaries."—Dr. Blair cor. "A man's own is what he has, or possesses by right; the word own being a past participle of the verb to owe, which formerly signified to have or possess."—Kirkham cor. "As requires so; expressing a comparison of manner; as, 'As the one dieth, so dieth the other.'"—L. Mur. et al. cor. "To obey our parents, is an obvious duty."—Parker and Fox cor. "Almost all the political papers of the kingdom have touched upon these things."—H. C. Wright cor. "I shall take the liberty to make a few observations on the subject."—Hiley cor. "His loss I have endeavoured to supply, so far as by additional vigilance and industry I could."—Id. "That they should make vegetation so exuberant as to anticipate every want."—Frazee cor. "The guillemets, or quotation points, ["">[ denote that one or more words are extracted from an other author."—P. E. Day cor. "Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was one of the most noted cities of ancient times."—Id. "It may, however, be rendered definite by the mention of some particular time; as, yesterday, last week, &c."—Bullions cor. "The last is called heroic measure, and is the same that is used by Milton, Young, Thomson, Pollok. &c."—Id. "Perennial ones must be sought in the delightful regions above."—Hallock cor. "Intransitive verbs are those which are inseparable from the effect produced." Or better: "Intransitive verbs are those which express action without governing an object."—Cutler cor. "The Feminine gender belongs to women, and animals of the female kind."—Id. "Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"—ALGER'S BIBLE: Luke, xi, 44. "A pyrrhic, which has both its syllables short."—Day cor. "What kind of jessamine? A jessamine in flower, or a flowery jessamine."—Barrett cor. "LANGUAGE, a word derived from LINGUA, the tongue, now signifies any series of sounds or letters formed into words, and used for the expression of thought."—Id. See this Gram. of E. Grammars, p. 145. "Say 'none,' not 'ne'er a one.'"—Staniford cor. "'E'er a one,' [is sometimes used for 'any'] or 'either.'"—Pond cor.
"Earth loses thy pattern for ever and aye;
O sailor-boy! sailor-boy! peace to thy soul."
—Dymond.
"His brow was sad; his eye beneath
Flashed like a falchion from its sheath."
—Longfellow's Ballads, p. 129.
[Fist] [The examples exhibited for exercises under Critical Notes 15th and 16th, being judged either incapable of correction, or unworthy of the endeavour, are submitted to the criticism of the reader, without any attempt to amend them, or to offer substitutes in this place.]
PROMISCUOUS CORRECTIONS OF FALSE SYNTAX.
LESSON I.—UNDER VARIOUS RULES.
"Why is our language less refined than that of Italy, Spain, or France?"—L. Murray cor. "Why is our language less refined than the French?"—Ingersoll cor. "I believe your Lordship will agree with me, in the reason why our language is less refined than that of Italy, Spain, or France."—Swift cor. "Even in this short sentence, 'why our language is less refined than those of Italy, Spain, or France,' we may discern an inaccuracy; the pronominal adjective 'those' is made plural, when the substantive to which it refers, or the thing for which it stands, 'the language of Italy, Spain, or France,' is singular."—Dr. H. Blair cor. "The sentence would have run much better in this way:—'why our language is less refined than the Italian, the Spanish, or the French.'"—Id. "But when arranged in an entire sentence, as they must be to make a complete sense, they show it still more evidently."—L. Murray cor. "This is a more artificial and refined construction, than that in which the common connective is simply used."—Id. "I shall present to the reader a list of certain prepositions or prefixes, which are derived from the Latin and Greek languages."—Id. "A relative sometimes comprehends the meaning of a personal pronoun and a copulative conjunction."—Id. "Personal pronouns, being used to supply the places of nouns, are not often employed in the same clauses with the nouns which they represent."—Id. and Smith cor. "There is very seldom any occasion for a substitute where the principal word is present."—L. Mur. cor. "We hardly consider little children as persons, because the term person gives us the idea of reason, or intelligence."—Priestley et al. cor. "The occasions for exerting these two qualities are different."—Dr. Blair et al. cor. "I'll tell you with whom time ambles withal, with whom time trots withal, with whom time gallops withal, and with whom he stands still withal. I pray thee, with whom doth he trot withal?"—Buchanan's Gram., p. 122. "By greatness, I mean, not the bulk of any single object only but the largeness of a whole view."—Addison cor. "The question may then be put, What more does he than mean?"—Dr. Blair cor. "The question might be put, What more does he than mean?"—Id. "He is surprised to find himself at so great a distance from the object with which he set out."—Id.; also Murray cor. "Few rules can be given which will hold good in all cases."—Lowth and Mur. cor. "Versification is the arrangement of words into metrical lines, according to the laws of verse."—Johnson cor. "Versification is the arrangement of words into rhythmical lines of some particular length, so as to produce harmony by the regular alternation of syllables differing in quantity."—L. Murray et al. cor. "Amelia's friend Charlotte, to whom no one imputed blame, was too prompt in her own vindication."—L. Murray cor. "Mr. Pitt's joining of the war party in 1793, the most striking and the most fatal instance of this offence, is the one which at once presents itself."—Brougham cor. "To the framing of such a sound constitution of mind."—Lady cor. "'I beseech you,' said St. Paul to his Ephesian converts, 'that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.' "—See Eph., iv, 1. "So as to prevent it from being equal to that."—Booth cor. "When speaking of an action as being performed." Or: "When speaking of the performance of an action."—Id. "And, in all questions of actions being so performed, est is added for the second person."—Id. "No account can be given of this, but that custom has blinded their eyes." Or: "No other account can be given of this, than that custom has blinded their eyes."—Dymond cor.
"Design, or chance, makes others wive;
But nature did this match contrive."—Waller cor.