2. In an Interrogative Sentence, or when a Question is asked, the Nominative Cafe follows the Principal Verb, or the Auxiliary: as, "was it he?" did Alexander conquer the Perfians ?" And the Adverb there, accompanying the Verb Neuter, is also placed after the Verb: as, "was there a man?" So that the Question depends intirely on the order of the words [8].

3. In an Imperative Sentence, when a thing is commanded to be, to do, to fuffer, or not; the Nominative cafe follows the Verb, or the Auxiliary: as, "Go, thou traytor;" or, “ do thou go;" "do or the Auxiliary let, with the Objective [9] case after it, is ufed: as, "let us be gone [1]."

The

[8]" Did he not fear the Lord, and befought the Lord, and the Lord repented him of the evil, which he had pronounced against them ?" Jer. xxvi. 19. Here the Interrogative and Explicative forms are confounded. It ought to be, "Did he not fear the Lord, and befeech the Lord? and did not the Lord repent him of the evil?" "If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone aftray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and feeketh that which is gone aftray?" Matt. xviii. 12. It ought to be, go, and feek; that is, doth he not go, and seek that which is gone aftray ?”

[9]

"For ever in this humble cell

Let Thee and I, my fair one, dwell." Prior. It ought to be Me.

[1] It is not eafy to give particular rules for the ma

F

nagement

The ADJECTIVE in English having no variation of Gender or Number, cannot but agree

with

nagement of the Modes and Times of Verbs with refpect to one another, fo that they may be proper and confiftent; nor would it be of much ufe; for the best rule that can be given is this very general one, to obferve what the fenfe neceffarily requires. But it may be of ufe to confider a few examples, that seem faulty in these reípects; and to examine where the fault lies. "Some, who the depths of eloquence have found, In that unnavigable stream were drown'd.”

Dryden, Juv. Sat. x.

The event mentioned in the first line is plainly prior in time to that mentioned in the fecond; this is fubfequent to that, and a confequence of it. The first event is mentioned in the Prefent Perfect Time; it is present and completed; "they have [now] found the depths of eloquence." The fecond event is expreffed in the Paft Indefinite Time; it is past and gone, but, when it happened, uncertain :

they were drown'd." We observed, that the last mentioned event is fubfequent to the first; but how can the Paft Time be fubfequent to the Prefent? It therefore ought to be, in the second line, are, or have been drown'd, in the Prefent Indefinite, or Perfect, which is confiftent with the Present Perfect Time in the first line: or, in the first line, had found in the Paft Perfect; which would be confiftent with the Paft Indefinite in the fecond line.

Friend to my life, which did not you prolong,
The world had wanted many an idle fong."

with the Subftantive in those refpects; fome of the Pronominal Adjectives only excepted, which

have

It ought to be, either, had not you prolonged; or, would want.

There feems to be a fault of the like nature in the following paffage :

"But oh! 'twas little that her life

O'er earth and waters bears thy fame." Prior. It ought to be bore in the fecond line.

Again:

Him portion'd maids, apprentic'd orphans bleft, The young who labour, and the old who reft."

Pope, Moral Ep. iii. 267. "Fierce as he mov'd his filver shafts refound."

Iliad, B. i.

The first Verb ought to be in the fame Time with the following.

"Great Queen of Arms, whofe favour Tydeus won, As thou defend'ft the fire, defend the fon." Pope, Iliad, x. 337.

It ought to be defendedft.

--

"Had their records been delivered down in the vulgar tongue, they could not now be understood, unless by Antiquaries, who made it their study to expound them." Swift, Letter on the English Tongue. Here the latter part of the fentence depends intirely on the Suppofitionexpreffed in the former, "of their records, being, delivered down in the vulgar tongue;" thereføre made in the Indicative Mode, which implies no fuppofition, and in the Past Indefinite Time, is improper: it would be much better in the Paft Definite and Perfect,

F 2

have the Plural number: as, those, these which

must

Perfect, had made; but indeed ought to be in the Subjunctive Mode, Prefent or Paft Time, fhould make, or fhould have made.

"And Jesus answered, and said unto him, What wilt thou, that I should do unto thee? The blind man faid unto him; Lord, that I might receive my fight." Mark, x. 51. "That I may know him, and the power of his refurrection, and the fellowthip of his fufferings, being made conformable unto his death: If by any means I might attain unto the refurrection of the dead." Phil. iii. 10, 11. It ought to be may in both places. See also John, ix. 39. Ephef. iii. 19. Col. i. 9, 10.

"On the morrow, because he should have known the certainty, wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loofed him." Acts, xxi. 30. It ought to be, becaufe he would know; or rather, being willing to Αηιαν ; βελομενος γνωναι.

"I thought to have written last week," is a very common phrase: the Infinitive being in the Paft Time, as well as the Verb which it follows. But it is certainly vicious: for how long foever it now is fince I thought, to write was then present to me; and muft ftill be confidered as prefent, when I bring back that time, and the thoughts of it. It ought to be therefore,

I thought to write laft week." "I cannot excufe the remiffness of those, whose business it should have been, as it certainly was their intereft, to have interpofed their good offices." Swift. There were two circumftances, which would have made it neceffary for them

་་

to

muft agree in number [2] with their Subftantives.

Nouns

to have loft no time." Ibid. " History Painters would have found it difficult, to have invented such a species of beings." Addison, Dial. I. on Medals. It ought to be, to interpose, to lofe, to invent.”

[2] "By this means thou shalt have no portion on this fide the river." Ezra iv. 16. "It renders us careless of approving ourselves to God by religious duties, and by that means feeing the continuance of his goodness." Atterbury, Sermons. Ought it not to be, by these means, by those means? or by this mean, by that mean, in the fingular number? as it is used by Hooker, Sidney, Shakespear, &c.

"We have strict statutes, and most biting laws, Which for this nineteen years we have let fleep." Shakespear, Meaf. for Meaf. "I have not wept this forty years." Dryden. "If I had not left off troubling myself about those kind of things." Swift, Letter to Steele. "I fancy they are those kind of Gods, which Horace mentions in his alle gorical veffel." Addifon, Dail. II. on Medals. " I am not recommending those kind of fufferings to your liking." Bishop Sherlock, Vol. II. Difc. 11. The foregoing phrafes are all improper. So the Pronoun must agree with its Noun: in which respect let the following example be confidered. "It is an unanswerable argument of a very refined age, the wonderful Civilities that have paffed between the nation of authors and that of readers." Swift, Tale of a Tub, Sect. x. As to those wonderful Civilities, one might