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199. Exercise.

1. Analyze the following examples, and parse the SUBJECTS:

Those who would give the highest training to the mind, must furnish to it deeds of excellence, tales of heroism. How beautiful an object is a tree growing with all its foliage, freely and fairly on a sheltered lawn! Ye hills, lift up your voices; let the shaggy woods upon your summits wave with adoration. Has reason fled from our borders? Have we ceased to reflect? It is madness to suppose that the Union can be preserved by force. There is great economy in giving pleasure to children. A trifling gift, a little kindness, goes a great way and is long remembered. It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. To err is human, to forgive divine. It was said that fifty guineas had been paid for a single ticket. It was determined to examine witnesses at the bar of the Commons. The doves besought the hawk to defend them. The captain commanded his company to march.

MODEL I. "Happiness depends upon the prudent constitution of the habits."-Paley.

This is a simple sentence, containing three sentence-elements. (a.) The subject,—“happiness.”

(b.) The predicate,—" depends ;" and

(c.) An adverbial element,-"upon the constitution of the habits." The adverbial element is complex,-having "upon constitution" for its basis or principal element,-"upon" being the connective, and "constitution" the object,—hence, it is of the second class. "Constitution" is limited by "the" and "of the habits," both adjective elements,—one of the first, and the other of the second class.

"Happiness" is a common noun, third, sing. neut. nom. and is used as the subject. Rule I.

MODEL II. "It is evident that his conduct was directed by a profound policy."-Macaulay.

This is a complex sentence.

Arranged in the natural order, it would be,—"That his conduct was directed by a profound policy is evident (198, 5)." In either form it contains two general elements.

(a.) The subject,-"That his conduct was directed by a profound policy."

(b.) The predicate-"is evident."

The subject in either form, is an element of the third class, having "that" for a connective, serving here to render the proposition subordinate, without joining it to a superior term (226, 2); it is used as a noun,

Models.

third, sing. neut., and since it is the subject, it must be in the nominative case, by Rule I. a. It is also represented by the expletive "it" (70, 4), of the same person, number, gender, and case as the clause, and is grammatically pleonastic, but is essential to this peculiar form, and is used to introduce the sentence in an agreeable way.

The predicate is of the second class, having "is" for the copula or connective, and "evident" for the attribute.

MODEL III. "The patriots not dispersing, Pitcairn ordered his men to fire."

This is a contracted complex sentence, that is, a simple sentence having abridged propositions for its elements. It contains four sentenceelements,

(a.) The subject-" Pitcairn"

(b.) The predicate-" ordered."

(c.) Objective element—“his men to fire."

(d.) Adverbial element—" the patriots not dispersing.

The subject is not modified. The predicate is modified by the double object, "his men to fire" (212, 1, a.). "Men" is the direct, and "to fire," the attributive object. The combination is derived from the objective proposition "that his men should fire”—"men" being the subject, and "should fire" the predicate.

"Men" is a common noun, third person, plural number, masculine gender, and is virtually the subject of "to fire,” by (198, 1, b.); but since the proposition is abridged (182, 6), it becomes, with "to fire," the object of "ordered." "To fire,” is a regular intransitive (82, 11) verb, infinitive mode, present tense, and is used as a noun to form the attributive object of "ordered."

The predicate is further modified by "the patriots not dispersing," an abridged proposition equivalent to "as the patriots did not disperse," and is used to show the occasion or reason for the order. In the full form, it would be connected with "ordered" by "as;" but in the abridged form, it is grammatically (not logically) (147, 4) set free, and hence is said to be absolute," patriots," the subject, still remaining in the nominative by (198, 1, b.), or Rule X., d.

2. Construct or select examples to illustrate the subject in either form, as given in the Models.

3. Correct, by the Caution, the following examples, and any others like them which you may speak or hear.

You and me will go together. Him that is studious will improve. She found the place sooner than us. Them that seek wisdom will be wise. They are people whom one would think might be trusted. Who

Models.

told you the story? Him and her. I know it as well as him or her. Who saw the eclipse? Us. They have more friends than me. Them are the ones. My brother is a much better singer than him. We are not so much to be blamed as him that upset the boat. Who came in at the door? Me. Scotland and thee did each in other live. Avoid whomsoever is in a passion. There were present only him and me. You are in fault and not me. I know not whom are expected.

MODEL.-"You and me will go together" is incorrect, because the objective pronoun me is made the subject of the verb will go; but by Caution I., the objective should never be used as the subject of a finite verb. Correct, You and I will go together.'

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200. A Noun or Pronoun as Attribute.

1. RULE II. A noun or pronoun used as the attribute of a proposition must be in the nominative case; as, "I am he;" "I, who walk queen of the gods."

(a.) A letter, mark, phrase, or clause, used substantively as the attribute of a proposition, must be regarded as a noun in the nominative case; as, "That letter is h;" "To steal is to purloin,” “A fourth mistake in relation to happiness is, that we make our provision only for the present world."-Buckminster.

(b.) A noun or pronoun used as the attribute in an abridged proposition, after the participle or the infinitive of the copula, must agree in case with the subject, or with any equivalent of the subject to which the abridged expression may be joined; except, when the subject is changed to the possessive, or is wholly dropped from the sentence, it remains in the predicate nominative absolute.

EXAMPLES.-(1.) In the nominative after a participle to agree with its subject; as, "You being the captain, I must obey": Since you are the captain, &c.

(2.) In the objective after the participle to agree with an equivalent of the subject; as, "Ananias descended with the elders, and with a certain orator [who was] named Tertullus ;" who, the true subject, being dropped by (182, 6). (3.) In the objective case after the infinitive to agree with the subject; as, "I believed him to be a traitor" = I believed that he was a traitor.

(4.) In the nominative absolute after the participle preceded by the possessive of the subject; as, "I was not aware of his being a foreigner" I was not aware that he was a foreigner.

(5.) In the nominative absolute after the participle or infinitive, the subject of the full proposition having no equivalent, and being wholly dropped from the sentence; as, "To be a king is to be a sovereign;" "Being a scholar is

The attribute. A letter, mark, &c. The attribute in abridged propositions.

not being an idler." See a parallel construction of the predicate adjective (205, 19).

2. A noun or pronoun is the attribute of a proposition when it is used with the copula, or any copulative verb (82, 9), to form the predicate. It usually denotes the same person or thing as the subject, and when it denotes a person, it agrees with the subject not only in case, but in gender and number. In the case of copulative verbs, the predicate seems to have two attributes; the one the participle or attributive part of the verb, and the other the following noun or adjective; as, "He was called John." "The boy was made sick."

3. "It," used in a vague sense, not unlike the algebraic symbol for an unknown quantity, is made the subject representing a noun or pronoun as attribute in any number, person, or gender; as, "It is I," "It is they," "It is James;" "It is she."

4. The number and person of the verb are affected by the subject, and not by the predicate noun; as, "Apples are fruit;" "His meat was (not were) locusts and wild honey."

5. After the copulative verbs regard, consider, reckon, name, and some others, the connective "as" precedes the attribute when the verb is passive, and the attributive object when it is active, to denote the capacity in which the subject or direct object is to be taken; as, "He was regarded as an able advocate;" "They regarded him as an able advocate."

6. The predicate nominative is commonly placed after the verb, and the subject nominative before it; but in questions both direct and indirect, in poetry, and in sentences arranged for rhetorical effect, this order is changed; as, "Is it I?" "Who is he?" "And I thy victim now remain ;" "I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame."

7. The subject may be a noun, and the attribute a clause, as in (199, 1, a.), or the subject may be a clause, and the attribute a noun in the same case as the clause; as, "Will he do it? is the question."

CAUTION I. Never use the objective as the attribute after a FINITE verb, nor the nominative after an INFINITIVE preceded by its objective subject. Say, It is I,"-not It is me; "I knew it to be him,”—not I knew it to be he.

CAUTION II. Avoid constructions in which the thing denoted by the subject is falsely identified by the attribute. Say, "The noun James is the NAME of the actor,"-not "The noun James is the actor."

201. Exercise.

1. Analyze the following sentences, and parse the ATTRIBUTES:John was called the beloved disciple. Rhetoric, logic, and grammar are three arts that should always walk hand in hand. Embarrassed, obscure, and feeble sentences are, generally, if not always, the result

A noun or pronoun as attribute. "It." "As," after copulative verbs. Predicate nominative sometimes before the verb. Subject or attribute a clause.

of embarrassed, obscure, and feeble thought. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? He returned a friend, who came a foe. It still remains a monument of his greatness. Warsaw was the capital of Poland. Mecca is regarded by the Mohammedans as (200, 5) a holy city. The inhabitants of the Arabian deserts are styled Bedouins.

A second mistake upon the subject of happiness is, that it is to be found in prosperity. The truth is, that of the objects of human acquisition, very few are, beyond a certain limit, even the means of happiness. To be an Englishman in London, a Frenchman in Paris, a Spaniard in Madrid, is no easy matter; and yet it is necessary. I did not dream of its being he. Do you take it to be her? For him ever to become a correct writer is out of the question. Widowhood is the state of being a widow. A second objection raised against our Lord's being the Son of God and King of Israel, was taken from his mean condition."

MODEL I. "Talent is something, but tact is every thing."London Atlas.

This is a compound sentence, consisting of two coördinate clauses. "Talent is something" is the first, and "tact is every thing" is the second; it is joined to the first by "but," a coördinate adversative conjunction, used here to denote a contrast between the two thoughts. 'Something" is a common noun, of the third pers.—sing. num.—neut. gen. and in the nominative case, being used as the attribute of the proposition "Talent is something," according to Rule II. Repeat it. In the same manner parse "thing," in the second clause.

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MODEL II. "The reason is, that the outward signs of a dull man and a wise man, are the same."-Sydney Smith.

This is a complex sentence. "Reason" is the simple, and "the reason" the complex subject. The rest of the sentence, "is, that the outward signs, &c.," is the predicate; "is" is the copula, and the substantive clause, "that the outward signs of a dull man and a wise man are the same," is the attribute, and is used as a noun in the nominative case, according to Rule II., a. The attribute is an element of the third class, having "that" for its connective, and "signs" for its simple subject, and "are same" for its simple predicate. "The outward signs of a dull man and a wise man" is the complex subject,—and “are the same," the complex predicate. Let the learner point out the modifications of the simple subject. "That," in this case (see 199, Model II.), may be considered as joining the clause as a dependent element to the subject, while the copula joins it only as a predicated element. If the clause were assumed of the subject, "that" would be the only connectThus, "The reason that the outward signs, &c." The preposition

ive.

Models.

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