SYNTAX*.

YNTAX fhews the Agreement and right Difpofition of Words in a Sentence.

110. The Articles, a, and an, are ufed only before Nouns of the fingular Number: an, before a Word that begins with a Vowel; a, before a Word that begins with a Confonant; an, or a, before a Word that begins with h as, "A Chriftian, an Infidel, an Hea"then, or a Heathen." But if the h be not founded, then the Article an is only used: as, "An Hour, an Herb."

From Syntaxis, a Joining.

111. A

111.4 and an are indefinite: as, “A Man, a Houfe;" i. e. any Man, any House, without diftinction. But the is definite: as, "The Man, the House;" i. e. fome one Man, fome one House. in particular.

112. The is likewife ufed to diftinguish two or more Perfons or Things mentioned before; as, "The Men" (not the Women.) "The Lords" (as diftinguished from the Commons.)

113. The Verb agrees with its Noun, or Pronoun, i. e. with its Agent, or Subject, in Number and Perfon: as, "The Boys write; I love; He, who reads."

114. In the complaifant Style, it is common to ufe you inftead of thou, when we fpeak to one Perfon only; and

NOTE 113. This Agent, or Subject, is always found by afking the Queftion, who, or what, on the Verb; as, Who write? The Anfwer to the Question is, Boys; which Word as the Agent of the Verb, write,

im that Cafe it has a plural Verb joined with it: as, "You are my

brother."

115. A Noun of Multitude, of the fingular Number, may have a Verb either fingular or plural: as, "The People is mad;" or, "The People are mad." The latter Expreffion feems to be the more elegant.

116. When two or more Nouns, or Pronouns, are connected together in a Sentence, as joint Agents, or Subjects, they must have a plural Verb, though they should be each of the fingular Number: as, "The Man and his Wife are happy; I and He were there; Richard and I have been very busy."

117. Sometimes a Sentence, or an infinitive Mode, is the Subject of a Verb; and then the Verb must be put in the fingular Number and third Perfon: as, "The King and Queen appearing in public was the Cause of my going; To fee the Sun is pleasant."

118. When

118. When the Agent and Object of a Verb are not diftinguifhed (as in Nouns) by different Cafes, the Agent is always fet before, and the Object after the Verb; this being the natural Order, and neceffary to determine the Senfe: as, "Alexander conquered Darius." If Darius had been the Conqueror, it is plain that the Order of the Nouns must have been inverted.

119. The Agent, or Subject, is most commonly fet immediately before the Verb, or the Sign of the Verb: as, "The Man lives; The City hath stood a thousand Years." In the imperative Mode, however, it is fet after the Verb: as, "Love thou; Be thou happy." Alfo, when a Question is afked, it is fet after the Verb, or between the Sign and the Verb: as, "Are you there? Doth the King live?"

120. The Pronouns I, We, Thou, Ye, He, She, They, and Who, are always used when they ftand asthe Agent of an active, or the Subject of the neuter Verb: as, "I fee; He loves; We

are;

are; They go; That is the Perfon who paffed us Yesterday."

121. The Noun, or Pronoun, which receives the Force of the active Verb, is moft commonly fet after the Verb: as, "I love the Man." But the Relative, whom, or whomfoever, is always fet before the Verb: as, "The Man, whom I love, is abfent."

122. The accufative Cafe of a Pronoun is always used, when it receives the Force or Impreffion of the active Verb, or active Participle, or comes after the infinitive Mode of the neuter Verb: as, "He calls me; She is beating them; I fuppofe it to be him."

123. When à Pronoun is fet alone in Answer to a Qeftion, or follows the prefent or imperfect Tenfe of the neuter Verb, it must be put in the nominative Cafe: as, "Who did it? I, i. e. I did it; I was he that faid fo."

124. The paffive Participle, and not the paft Tenfe, fhould be always used

H

when