PART III-SYNTAX. 194. SYNTAX is that part of grammar which treats of the grammatical relation of words to each other. Note.-Syntax comes from the Greek, syn, together, and taxis, arrangement. 195. Syntax may be divided into two parts-Concord and Government. 196. Concord is when one word agrees with another. 197. Government is when one word requires another to be put in a certain Case or Mood. CONCORD. 198. In English, there are three leading Concords : I. The Concord of the verb with its subject. II. The Concord of one noun with another. 199. FIRST CONCORD. 1. A verb agrees with its subject in number and personage: e.g., I love, thou lovest; the man runs, the men run. Notes.-(a). The Subject usually precedes the verb; as, Brutus (subject) killed (verb) Cæsar. (b). In Interrogative Sentences the subject comes either after the verb, or between the verb and its auxiliary Stands Scotland where it did? Have you heard the news? : (c). In Imperative Sentences the subject is almost always understood: Come (thou) hither, Evan Cameron. Come, stand beside my knee. (d). The subject is placed after the verb, or between the verb and its auxiliary, when the sentence begins with an emphatic Adjective, Adverb, or Adverbial Phrase : Great is Diana of the Ephesians. Then rose from sea to sky the wild farewell. To the left lay a beautiful valley. (e). The subject is placed after the verb, or between the verb and its auxiliary, when a supposition is expressed by the Subjunctive Mood, with no conjunction expressed :— Had I the wings of a dove, I would fly. Had it pleased Heaven to try me with affliction. (ƒ). The subject is placed after the verb when the sentence begins with here, there, neither, nor, and in sentences which relate a dialogue. EXERCISE LIV. Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rule: The bird sings. Birds sing. The river rushes past. The rivers overflow their banks. The horse flew past with the speed of lightning. The horses scent the battle from afar. Thou art the man. Ye are my friends. I have left my home in the country. We purpose starting for the continent to-morrow. He sinks beneath the load. They sink beneath the burden of their misery. They dug his grave e'en where he lay, Time's wasting hand has done away The simple cross of Sybil Gray, And broke her font of stone. -Scott. G EXERCISE LV. Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rule and Observations: The sun has risen an hour ago. Has the sun risen? Were the sun risen, we might find our road. The wind had suddenly died away, and the sails hung motionless from the yards. Hast thou a charm to stay the morning star? There was a sound of revelry by night. Stand by me now in this my hour of need. Flow on, cold rivulet, to the sea, No more by thee my steps shall be And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony For Cassius is a-weary of the world.—Shakespeare. EXERCISE LVI. Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rule and Observations: Here comes the schoolboy late as usual. There goes the old tub steaming down the river. You must not torment the dog, neither ought you to throw stones at the hens. There was a sound of revelry by night. Now stood Eliza on the woodcrowned height. Then comes the father of the tempest forth. Knew he but the happiness of his friend in his quiet country home, he would never solicit him to come to town. The story was interesting, nor was it badly told. "Come along, boys," shouted Dick, "Here's old Grim close at hand." "He cannot stand it," said the Corporal. "He shall be supported," said my Uncle Toby. "He'll drop at last," said the Corporal; and what will become of his boy? "He shall not drop," said my Uncle, firmly. "To-night" said the youth, "we'll shelter there; 2. Two or more Singular Nominatives, connected by a conjunction so as to form a plural, require a verb in the plural-John and his sister have come home. Notes.-(a). Sometimes the verb is made to agree with the subject next to it, being understood to the rest-as, Now was there bustle in the vicar's house And earnest expectation.— Wordsworth. (b). When two nouns connected by and are used to express not two different things, but two sides of the same thing, the verb is frequently used in the singular; as, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings. (c). Several phrases, composed of two singular nouns connected by and, are followed by a singular verb; as, Two and sixpence is the price of the book. EXERCISE LVII.. Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rules:: The shepherd and his dog were seen following the sheep. William and Mary ascended the throne. Hill and valley lay bathed in sunshine. The sun and the moon revolve in the heavens. My confident hope and expectation is that the worst is now over. Hostility and civil tumult reigns. Punch and Judy is most amusing. Bread and butter is sweet to the hungry. Bread and butter have risen in price. While all along the crowded way The primrose pale, and violet flower, Found in each cliff a narrow bower.-Scott. 3. When two Singular Nominatives are connected by or or nor, the verb remains singular; as, Neither the day nor the hour has been fixed. Note. When two nominatives, the one singular, the other plural, are connected by or or nor, the verb agrees with the nominative nearest-as, Neither the king nor his soldiers were set at liberty. EXERCISE LVIII. Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rules: The cat or the dog has stolen the cheese. Either you or your sister has taken away my knife. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days. For a laggard in love and a dastard in war Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.-Scott. Neither the king nor the queen was ever seen to smile again. Neither the general nor his officers were able to bear up against the overwhelming odds against them. His best friend and lifelong companion has been suddenly snatched from him. James and John carry a bag. James and John carried the parcel. Not marble nor the gilded monument Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme.—Shakespeare. 4. Collective Nouns are followed by a verb in the singular, when the subject is regarded as a whole; but when the separate individuals composing the subject are considered, the verb is in the plural :— The congregation was dispersing. The infantry were compelled to retire. EXERCISE LIX. Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rules: The government has begun to consider the whole question. The assembly of the wicked have inclosed me. The king's army kept marching on parallel lines. The people were greatly excited on the receipt of this intelligence. The English fleet was ordered to remain in the immediate neighbourhood. But times are altered; trade's unfeeling train Usurp the land, and dispossess the swain.-Goldsmith. |