RULE XVIII. NOTE II. The adverb only, and the conjunctions either and neither should always be placed near that word which is contrasted with some other word: as, I yesterday saw your brother only, but your sister. not EXERCISE ON RULE XVIII. NOTE II. 1. He not only sought honour, but wealth. 2. He sought not only honour, but obtained it. 3. Not only his interest and power were asked, but obtained. 4. Neither would the dog in the manger eat the hay himself, nor suffer the ox to eat it. 5. I neither expect to like the house nor the grounds. 6. My father either said you should go, or I. RULE XIX. SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE SUBSTANTIVES. By a peculiarity in our language it often occurs, that the case of a substantive following a neuter verb in the infinitive can only be found, by resolving the possessive adjective pronoun, expressed or understood, into the personal pronoun and the preposition governing it: as, My, of me; thy, of thee, &c. It will then be seen, that the substantive is in the objective case, in apposition to the personal pronoun so found, which is by implication in the possessive adjective pronoun: us, EXERCISE ON RULE XIX. Obs. In this and the following Exercise there is no error. 1. That it is our duty to promote the purity of our minds and bodies, to be just and kind to our fellowcreatures, and to be pious and faithful to Him that made us, admits not of any doubt in a rational and wellinformed mind. 2. To be of a pure and humble mind, to exercise benevolence towards others, to cultivate piety towards God, are the sure means of our becoming peaceful and happy. RULE XX. SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE SUBSTANTIVES. A noun of measurement, following a neuter verb, is not in apposition to the nominative of that verb, but is the object of a preposition understood: as, The chasm made by the earthquake was twenty feet broad, and a 1. The house was two hundred feet in width, by one hundred in depth; and the garden was five hundred yards long, by two hundred and fifty wide. 2. Noah's ark was three hundred cubits long, fifty broad, and thirty high. 3. That man is six feet, two inches high. 4. That piece of cloth is three ells long and six quarters wide. RULE XXI. SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE PRONOUNS. At the close of Note II., to Rule VII., Page 89, the improper use of the objective case of the personal pronoun for the possessive adjective pronoun was noticed, because it most frequently occurs in sentences of the form then under consideration, and in sentences of a similar form of construction. As there seemed no appropriate place for the consideration of this error in the body of the work, it is introduced here. When a possessive adjective pronoun precedes and qualifies a participle present, used substantively, and is itself preceded by a preposition, the preposition is prepositive to the present participle used substantively, and the possessive adjective pronoun must not be changed into the objective case of the personal pronoun: as, I have no hope of his succeeding, not of him succeeding. EXERCISE ON RULE XXI. 1. There is no danger of them going too soon. 2. They have no idea of us coming. 3. You need have no fear of me being there. 4. He is so clever I never thought of him being in a difficulty to solve the problem. 5. Who would have thought of you presiding at the • meeting? 6. There is no occasion for them studying so very hard. RULE XXII. SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE VERBS. The infinitive mood is sometimes elegantly substituted at the close of a compound sentence, for the concluding sentence, the conjunction being retained. This use of the infinitive appears to have been introduced to avoid a circumlocution: as, However virtue may be neglected for a time, men are C. u. * & V so constituted as inf. inf. ultimately to acknowledge and respect genuine merit: for, as that they shall ultimately, &c., or, as that genuine merit shall be ultimately acknowledged and respected by them. EXERCISE ON RULE XXII. Obs. In this and the following Exercise there is no error. 1. There is no condition so secure as not to admit of change. 2. No errors are so trivial as not to deserve correction. 3. Purity has its seat in the heart, but extends its influence over so much of the outward conduct as to form a great and material part of the character. In RULE XXIII. SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE VERBS. many sentences of frequent occurrence in familiar language, the present tense of the infinitive of active verbs is used instead of the present tense of the infinitive of passive verbs, in which case they generally have a future signification: as, There are many things a. v. inf. m. plant, fences to make, &c.; (for, to be done, &c., conveying an idea of futurity.) H The infinitive present of some neuter verbs also denotes futurity: as, I hope to rejoice through ages to come. EXERCISE ON RULE XXIII. 1. The house is to build. 2. Her sufferings are hard to bear. 5. He is to blame. 6. There is a house to let in the next street. Explanatory Note to the preceding Exercise. a. v. u. p. inf. 1. To build; used passively. |