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ought to be the same; yet the one is in the subjunctive mood, and the other in the indicative. We should read,

or,

If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember, &c.,

If thou bringest thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest, &c.

The same mood should be employed in both clauses.

399. When two or more auxiliaries are used in reference to one principal verb, care should be taken that the form of the principal verb be applicable to each of the auxiliaries. this sentence:

Take

This dedication may serve for almost any book, that has, is, or shall be published.

The auxiliary has makes no sense in connection with published. It requires the addition of been. We should read:

This dedication may serve for almost any book, that has been or shall be published.

The word is, adding nothing to the sense, may advantageously be omitted.

So in this passage:

I shall do all I can to persuade others to take the same measures for their cure which I have.

Here, we find have referred to the verb take. Yet it is not the word take which the sense demands, but taken. The participle, therefore, ought to have been added: 'which I have taken.'

See Campbell, Philosophy of Rhetoric, p. 186.

POSITION.

400. In Indicative sentences the verb generally follows the subject-nominative; but in Interrogative sentences the subjectnominative follows the principal verb or the auxiliary: as, 'Was he there?' 'Did Alexander conquer?'

In older English, and in poetry, the use of the principal verb, in the first place of an interrogative sentence, is not un

common:

Says the king so?

Stands Scotland where it did?-Macbeth, iv. 3.

Breathes there the man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,

This is my own, my native land?

Scott, Lay of the Last Minstrel, vi. 1–3.

401. When several interrogative clauses follow one another, care must be taken to use all the verbs consistently. Take this example:

Did he not fear the Lord, and besought the Lord, and the Lord repented him of the evil, which he had pronounced against him?-Jeremiah xxvi. 19.

Here the interrogative and indicative forms are confounded. It ought to be:

Did he not fear the Lord, and beseech the Lord? and did not the Lord repent him of the evil?

So in this passage:

If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?-Matt. xviii. 12.

It ought to be go and seek; that is, 'doth he not go and seek that which is gone astray?'

402. In negative sentences the adverb not is placed after the auxiliary, or sometimes after the principal verb itself: as, 'it did not touch him,' 'it touched him not.'

Older writers frequently place the negative before the principal verb: as,

For men

Can counsel and speak comfort to that grief

Which they themselves not feel.

Much Ado about Nothing, v. i.

Iago. Good name, in man and woman, dear my lord,

Is the immediate jewel of their souls:

Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;

But he that filches from me my good name,

Robs me of that which not enriches him,

And makes me poor indeed.

Othello, iii. 3.

The merry Greek, tart Aristophanes,
Neat Terence, witty Plautus, now not please,

But antiquated and deserted lie,

As they were not of nature's family.

Ben Jonson, To the Memory of Shakespeare.

I hope, my lord, said he, I not offend.

Dryden, Fables.

CHAPTER XI.

GENERAL REMARKS ON PARTICLES.

403. Under the term 'Particles,' we include the words commonly called Adverbs, Conjunctions, and Prepositions.

It is not always possible to draw the line between these, as the same word may be at one time a preposition, at another an adverb or a conjunction. Thus before, in the phrase 'before sunset,' is a preposition; but in the sentence 'before the sun sets,' it is commonly called a conjunction. Dr. Morell terms it a continuative conjunction. Mr. Mason thinks that it should rather be classed among the adverbs. Professor Bain calls it a relative adverb, or a subordinating conjunction.

Now, if grammarians would candidly confess that the socalled Parts of Speech cannot always be discriminated, they would save themselves and their followers a world of perplexity. Instead of this, they lay down dogmatic rules, which are not always applicable, and then they try to make their cause good by numerous exceptions and counter-exceptions. It is no wonder that young persons are utterly distracted, or that they consider the study of grammar dull and unpro

fitable.

But if the inductive method were followed, much of this perplexity would vanish. Pupils should be taught to observe the usage of words in their reading; to compare one phrase with another; to suspend judgment; and gradually to arrive at general principles. In this way they would acquire the habits of observation and comparison; they would learn to think and to reason; and Grammar would form an excellent introduction to Logic.

404. In order to concentrate the difficulties which pervade this part of the subject, we shall devote a separate chapter to

those doubtful words, which are variously termed Conjunctive Adverbs, Adverbial Conjunctions, Relative Adverbs, Subordinating Conjunctions, Continuative Conjunctions, &c., &c.

Thus, we shall be able to obtain a clearer view of Adverbs and Conjunctions properly so called; and the student will perceive wherein the difficult part of the investigation specially consists.

CHAPTER XII.

ADVERBS.

Omnis pars orationis, quando desinit esse quod est, migrat
in Adverbium.-SERVIUS.

405. The passage quoted from Servius is thus humorously construed by Horne Tooke:-Omnis pars orationis, 'every word,' quando desinit esse quod est, 'when a grammarian knows not what to make of it,' migrat in Adverbium, 'he calls an Adverb.'

But, according to Sir John Stoddart, the expression of Servius is literally true: Omnis pars orationis migrat in Adverbium, 'Every part of speech is capable of being converted into an Adverb.'

Servius saw part of the truth; and his remark is capable of a wider application. The character of a word is determined by its function or usage in a sentence: hence every part of speech, when 'it ceases to be what it is,' undergoes a change of function, and partakes of a new character. There can be little doubt, as Horne Tooke has shown, that the particle if was originally gif, the imperative of the verb gifan, 'to give,' and was used in making a supposition, or asking for an admission, 'grant,' 'suppose.' In course of time its verbal power was forgotten; its initial g was lost; and the word remained as an introductory particle. But Horne Tooke was wrong in supposing that because all particles were originally nouns or verbs, they remain so still, and that their function is not changed. For he keeps out of sight, as self-evident, the other premiss, which is absolutely false-namely, that the meaning and force of a word, now, and for ever, must be that

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which it, or its root, originally bore. See Whateley, Logic, iii. § 14. Compare §§ 445, 461.

406. The usual definition given of an Adverb is to this effect:

'An Adverb is a word used to qualify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.'

But a distinction is set up between two kinds of adverbs:(1) Simple Adverbs, (2) Relative or Conjunctive Adverbs.

(1) A Simple Adverb qualifies the word with which it is used: They came yesterday,' 'He is always ready.' Here the definition is immediately applicable.

(2) A Relative or Conjunctive Adverb is said to be one which not only qualifies the word with which it is used, but also serves to connect clauses in a sentence: as, 'He comes when he likes.'

In the present chapter we shall confine our attention to Simple Adverbs, reserving the second class for consideration in Chapter XIV.

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407. A question may arise, how we ought to treat those sentences, where an adverb is used with a verb which merely expresses existence: as, 'he is well,' he is asleep.' It may be asked, for example, whether the word well is here an adverb or an adjective. In the English language, this word is so far adverbial, that it cannot be used to qualify a substantive: we cannot say a well man,' any more than we can say 'an asleep man.' Yet these words stand in the place of predicates, and have the force of adjectives. We may allow that they are adverbs used as predicates: see §§ 5, 6. But after all, this is only another proof how difficult it is to draw a sharp line between the various parts of speech.

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In Greek, an adverb placed between an article and a noun, or with the article alone, has the force of an adjective. A similar construction is sometimes found in English: as,

Our then dictator,

Whom with all praise I point at, saw him fight.

Coriolanus, ii. 2.

Drink no longer water, but use a little wine, for thy stomach's sake, and thine often infirmities.-1 Timothy, v. 23.

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