English Grammar in Familiar Lectures / Accompanied by a compendium, embracing a new systematic order of parsing, a new system of punctuation, exercises in false syntax, and a system of philosophical grammar, in notes, to which are added an appendix and a key to the exercises : designed for the use of schools and private learners

by Samuel Kirkham

"Stern rugged nurse, thy rigid lore
With patience many a year she bore."

What did the evening do? The evening came on. Gray twilight had clad what? Twilight had clad all things in her sober livery. Evening, then, is nom. to came, and the noun things is in the objective case, and gov. by had clad: RULE 20. What did she bear? She bore thy rigid lore with patience, for, or during, many a year. Hence you find, that lore is in the objective case, and governed by bore, according to RULE 20. Year is gov. by during understood: RULE 32.

A noun is frequently nominative to a verb understood, or in the objective, and governed by a verb understood; as, "Lo, [there is] the poor Indian! whose untutored mind." "O, the pain [there is!] the bliss [there is] in dying!" "All were sunk, but the wakeful nightingale [was not sunk.">[ "He thought as a sage [thinks,] though he felt as a man [feels.">[ "His hopes, immortal, blow them by, as dust [is blown by.">[ Rule 35 applies to these last three examples.

In the next place I will explain several cases of nouns and pronouns which have not yet come under our notice. Sometimes a noun or pronoun may be in the nominative case when it has no verb to agree with it.

OF THE NOMINATIVE CASE INDEPENDENT.

Whenever a direct address is made, the person or thing spoken to, is in the nominative case independent; as, "James, I desire you to study."

You notice that, in this expression, I address myself to James that is, I speak to him; and you observe, too, that there is no verb, either expressed or implied, to which James can be the nominative; therefore you know that James is in the nom. case independent, according to Rule 5. Recollect, that whenever a noun is of the second person, it is in the nom. case independent; that is, independent of any verb; as, Selma, thy halls are silent; Love and meekness, my lord, become a churchman, better than ambition; O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not!—For a farther illustration of this case, see Note 2, under the 5th Rule of Syntax.

NOTE. When a pronoun of the second person is in apposition with a noun independent, it is in the same case; as, "Thou traitor, I detest thee."