(i) Let darkness keep her raven gloss.

(ii) Bid the porter come.

(iii) I saw him run after a gilded butterfly.

(iv) We heard him cry.

(v) They made him go, etc., etc.

It was the Danes who introduced a preposition before the infinitive. Their sign was at, which was largely used with the infinitive in the Northern dialect.

RULE XXXIX.—The Gerund is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it is governed by a verb or preposition; as a verb, it governs other nouns or pronouns.

There are two gerunds—(i) one with to; and (ii) one that ends in ing.

(i) The first is to be carefully distinguished from the ordinary infinitive. Now the ordinary infinitive never expresses a purpose; the gerund with to almost always does. Thus we find—

"And fools who came to scoff remained to pray."

This gerund is often called the gerundial infinitive.

(ii) The second is to be distinguished from the present participle in ing, and very carefully from the abstract noun of the same form. The present participle in ing, as loving, hating, walking, etc., is always an adjective, agreeing with a noun or pronoun. The gerund in ing is always a noun, and governs an object. "He was very fond of playing cricket." Here playing is a noun in relation to of; and a verb governing cricket in the objective. In the words walking-stick, frying-pan, etc., walking and frying are nouns, and therefore gerunds. If they were adjectives and participles, the compounds would mean the stick that walks, the pan that fries.

(iii) The gerund in ing must also be distinguished from the verbal noun in ing, which is a descendant of the verbal noun in ung. "He went a hunting" (where a=the old an or on); "Forty and six years was this temple in building;" "He was very impatient during the reading of the will." In these sentences hunting, building, and reading are all verbal nouns, derived from the old verbal noun in ung, and are called abstract nouns. But if we say, "He is fond of hunting deer;" "He is engaged in building a hotel;" "He likes reading poetry,”—then the three words are gerunds, for they act as verbs, and govern the three objectives, deer, hotel, and poetry.

RULE XL. The Gerundial Infinitive is frequently construed with nouns and adjectives. Thus we say: "A house

to sell or let; "Wood to burn;" "Deadly to hear, and deadly to tell;" "Good to eat."

V.-SYNTAX OF THE ADVERB.

RULE XLI.-The Adverb ought to be as near as possible to the word it modifies. Thus we ought to say, "He gave me only three shillings," and not "He only gave me three shillings," because only modifies three, and not gave.

This rule applies also to compound adverbs, such as at least, in like manner, at random, in part, etc.

RULE XLII.—Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs; but they can also modify prepositions. Thus we

have the combinations out from, up to, down to, etc.

In the sentence, "He walked up to me," the adverb up does not modify walked, but the prepositional phrase to me.

VI.-SYNTAX OF THE PREPOSITION.

RULE XLIII.-All prepositions in the English language govern nouns and pronouns in the objective case.

The prepositions save and except are really verbs in the imperative mood.

RULE XLIV.-Prepositions generally stand before the words they govern; but they may, with good effect, come after them. Thus we find in Shakespeare

"Ten thousand men that fishes gnawed upon."

'Why, then, thou knowest what colour jet is of."

And, in Hooker, with very forcible effect—

"Shall there be a God to swear by, and none to pray to?"

RULE XLV. Certain verbs, nouns, and adjectives require special prepositions. Thus we cannot say, "This is different to that," because it is bad English to say "This differs to that." The proper preposition in both instances is from.

Agree to (a proposal).

Bestow upon.

Change for (a thing).
Change with (a person).
Confer on (=give to).
Confer with (=talk with).
Confide in (=trust in).
Confide to (intrust to).
Conform to.

In conformity with.
Comply with.

Convenient to (a person).
Convenient for (a purpose).

Conversant with.

Correspond with (a person).

Correspond to (a thing).

Dependent on (but independent of).

Derogatory to.

Differ from (a statement or opinion).
Differ with (a person).

Different from.

Disappointed of (what we cannot get).

Disappointed in (what we have got).

Dissent from.

Exception from (a rule).
Exception to (a statement).
Glad of (a possession).
Glad at (a piece of news).
Involve in.

Martyr for (a cause).
Martyr to (a disease).
Need of or for.
Part from (a person).
Part with (a thing).
Profit by.

Reconcile to (a person).

Reconcile with (a statement).
Taste of (food).

A taste for (art).

Thirst for or after (knowledge).

VII.-SYNTAX OF THE CONJUNCTION.

RULE XLVI.-The Conjunction does not interfere with the action of a transitive verb or preposition, nor with the mood or tense of a verb.

(i) This rule is usually stated thus: "Conjunctions generally connect the same cases of nouns and pronouns, and the same moods and tenses of verbs, as 'We saw him and her,' 'Let either him or me go!'" But it is plain that saw governs her as well as him; and that or cannot interfere with the government of let. Such a rule is therefore totally artificial.

(ii) It is plain that the conjunction and must make two singulars= one plural, as "He and I are of the same age."

RULE XLVII.-Certain adjectives and conjunctions take

after them certain special conjunctions. Thus, such (adj.) requires as, both (adj.), and; so and as require as; though, yet; whether, or; either, or; neither, nor; nor, nor; or, The following are a few examples :

or.

(i) “Would I describe a preacher such as Paul!”

(ii) “Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull."

omitted.

RULE XLVIII.-The subordinating conjunction that may be Thus we can say, "Are you sure he is here?" Shakespeare has, "Yet Brutus says he was ambitious!"

THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

When a group

A

1. Words are gregarious, and go in groups. of words makes complete sense, it is called a sentence. sentence is not a chance collection of words; it is a true organism, with a heart and limbs. When we take the limbs apart from the central core or heart of the sentence, and try to show their relation to that core, and to each other, we are said to analyse the sentence. The process of thus taking a sentence to pieces, and naming and accounting for each piece, is called analysis.

(i) Analysis is a Greek word which means breaking up or taking apart: its opposite is Synthesis, which means making up or putting together.

(ii) When we examine a sentence, and look at its parts, we are said to analyse the sentence, or to perform an act of analysis. But when we make sentences themselves, we perform an act of composition or of synthesis.

2. A sentence is a statement made about something, as, The horse gallops.

(i) The something (horse) is called the Subject.

(ii) The statement (gallops) is called the Predicate.

3. Every sentence consists, and must consist, of at least two parts. These two parts are the thing we speak about and what we say about that thing.

(i) The Subject is what we speak about.

(ii) The Predicate is what we say about the subject.

(i) There is a proverb of Solomon which says: "All things are double one against another." So there are the two necessarily complementary ideas of even and odd;