Can I not make this matter be understood?
Bid the officers to do their duty.

They have been bidden do it already.

Parsing.

Parse all the infinitives in the above sentences when corrected.

EXAMPLE. "Let love be without dissimulation."

Be is an irregular, neuter verb, from be, was, being, been. It is in the infinitive mood and present tense, being the predicate of the clause dependent on let, according to Obs. 3, under Rule XXI. The word to is omitted after let, according to the rule,-The active verbs bid, dare, etc.

Rule XXIII.—Subjunctive Mood.

A future contingency is best expressed by a verb in the subjunctive present; and a mere supposition with indefinite time, by a verb in the subjunctive imperfect : but a conditional circumstance assumed as a fact, requires the indicative mood; as, "If thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever."--" If it were not so, I would have told you.""If thou went, nothing would be gained."-Though he is poor, he is contented."

OBS.-The pupil must carefully study the three points involved in this rule, and the cases to which they apply. The subjunctive mood is required only when the event or fact is both future and contingent, that is, dependent upon the occurrence of some other future event. The time is indefinite, being, only relatively, present or past. The difference between the conditional statement of a fact and a future contingency will be obvious from these two sentences :

1. If he be sick, I will visit him. (Subjunctive.)

2. Though he is sick, he does not repine. (Indicative.)

In (1) the act of visiting is future and contingent upon his sickness; in (2) the sickness is a fact (he is sick), and he does not repine. The sentence, If he were sick, I would visit him, contains a supposition with indefinite time (if he were sick at any time). It is relatively past, as these sentences will show :-

1. If he be sick (and he may be), I will visit him.

2. If he were sick (but he is not), I would visit him.

3. If he had been sick (but he was not), I would have visited him.

False Syntax.

First Clause of the Rule.

EXAMPLE. He will not be pardoned, unless he repents.

FORMULE.-Not proper, because the verb repents, which is used to express a future contingency, is in the indicative mood. But, according to the first clause of Rule XXIII., "A future contingency is best expressed by a verb in the subjunctive present. Therefore, repents should be repent; thus, He will not be pardoned, unless he repent.

He will maintain his cause, though he loses his estate.
They will fine thee, unless thou offerest an excuse.

I shall walk out in the afternoon, unless it rains.
Let him take heed lest he falls.

On condition that he comes, I consent to stay.

If he is but discreet, he will succeed.

Take heed that thou speakest not to Jacob.

If thou castest me off, I shall be miserable.
Send them to me, if thou pleasest.

Watch the door of thy lips, lest thou utterest folly.

Second Clause.

EXAMPLE.-And so would I, if I was he.

FORMULE.-Not proper, because the verb was, which is used to express a mere supposition, with indefinite time, is in the indicative mood. But, according to the second clause of Rule XXIII., "A mere supposition, with indefinite time, is best expressed by a verb in the subjunctive imperfect." Therefore was should be were; thus, And so would I, if I were he.

If I was to write, he would not regard it.

If thou feltest as I do, we should soon decide.

Though thou sheddest thy blood in the cause, it would but prove thee sincerely a fool.

If thou lovedst him, there would be more evidence of it.
I believed, whatever was the issue, all would be well.
If love was never feigned, it would appear to be scarce.
There fell from his eyes as it had been scales.

If he was an imposter, he must have been detected.
Was death denied, all men would wish to die.

O that there was yet a day to redress thy wrongs!

Though thou was huge as Atlas, thy efforts would be vain.

Last Clause.

EXAMPLE.-If he know the way, he does not need a guide.

FORMULE.-Not proper, because the verb know, which is used to express a conditional circumstance assumed as a fact, is in the subjunctive mood. But, according to the last clause of Rule XXIII., "A conditional circumstance assumed as a fact, requires the indicative mood." Therefore, know should be knows; thus, If he knows the way, he does not need a guide.

Though he seem to be artless, he has deceived us.

If he be defeated, he has not given up all hope.

Though this event be strange, it certainly did happen.
If thou love tranquillity of mind, why engage in disputes?
If seasons of idleness be dangerous, what must a continued
habit of it prove.

Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.

I knew thou wert not slow to hear.

Analysis and Parsing.

Analyze and parse each of the foregoing sentences, after correction, according to preceding examples, and apply Rule XXIII.

Rule XXIV.-Independent Case.

A noun or a pronoun is put in the nominative, when its case depends on no other word; as, "He failing, who shall meet success?"-"Your fathers, where are they?"

Exception.

An independent pronoun is sometimes used in the objective case; as, "Me miserable! which way shall I fly ?"-Milton. "Ah me!" [See

Obs. 2, Rule XXVI.]

Observations.

1. A noun or a pronoun is independent under the following four circumstances :—

1. When, with a participle, it is used to express a cause or some other related event; as, "Thou looking on, I shall not fail." This is usually called the case absolute.

2. When it is used to indicate simply the person addressed; as, “O thou that dwellest in the heavens."

3. When, by pleonasm, it is introduced abruptly for the sake of emphasis; as, "He that is in the city, famine and pestilence

shall devour him."

4. When, by mere exclamation, it is used without address, and without other words expressed or implied to give it construction; as, "O, what folly!"

2. The nominative put absolute with a participle, is equivalent to a dependent clause commencing with when, while, if, since, or because ; as, “I being a child,”—equal to, "When [since or because] I was a child.” 3. The participle being is often understood after nouns or pronouns put absolute; as,

"Alike in ignorance, his reason [

-] such,

Whether he thinks too little or too much."-Pope.

4. The case of nouns used in exclamations, or in mottoes and abbreviated sayings, often depends, or may be conceived to depend, on something understood; and, when their construction can be satisfactorily explained on the principle of ellipsis, they are not put absolute. The following examples may perhaps be resolved in this manner, though the expressions will lose much of their vivacity: "A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!"

False Syntax.

EXAMPLE.-Him having ended his discourse, the assembly dispersed.

FORMULE.-Not proper, because the pronoun him, whose case depends on no other word, is in the objective case. But, according to Rule XXIV., "A noun or a pronoun is put absolute in the nominative, when its case depends on no other word." Therefore, him should be he; thus, He having ended his discourse, the assembly dispersed.

Me being young, they deceived me.

Them refusing to comply, I withdrew.

Thee being present, he would not tell what he knew.
The child is lost; and me, whither shall I go!

Oh happy us! surrounded thus with blessings!
"Thee too! Brutus, my son!" cried Cæsar, overcome.

But him, the chieftain of them all,
His sword hangs rusting on the wall.

Her quick relapsing to her former state,

With boding fears approach the serving train.

There all thy gifts and graces we display,
Thee, only thee, directing all our way.

Parsing.

Parse the independent nouns and pronouns in the foregoing sentences, when corrected.

Rule XXV.-Conjunctions.

Conjunctions connect either words or sentences; as, "John and James are studious, but William is idle."

Exceptions.

1. The conjunction that sometimes serves merely to introduce a sentence which is made the subject of a verb; as, "That mind is not matter, is certain." Its connective force consists in showing that the clause is dependent.

2. When two corresponding conjunctions occur in their usual order, the former should be considered as referring to the latter, which is more properly the connecting word; as, "Neither sun nor stars in many days appeared."

3. Either, corresponding to or, and neither, corresponding to nor or not, are sometimes transposed, so as to repeat the disjunction or negation at the end of the sentence; as, "Where then was their capacity of standing, or his either?"-Barclay. "It is not dangerous neither."Bolingbroke. "He is very tall, but not too tall neither.”—Spectator.

Observations.

1. Conjunctions are sometimes unnecessarily accumulated; as, "But and if that evil servant say in his heart."-Matthew xxiv. Omit and. 2. In the combination but that, the former seems to have the force of a preposition, being equivalent to except; as, "What rests, but that the mortal sentence pass?"-Milton. In this sentence, but seems to be a preposition, having the following clause for its object, the prepositional structure thus formed limiting what.

1 3. The conjunction as is sometimes used to connect the attribute and the subject; as, "He was employed as an usher." It may also connect the indirect attribute with an object to which it refers; as, "He offered himself as a journeyman." [In some cases of this kind, perhaps in the above sentences, as seems to have the force of a preposition, as it denotes a relation which may usually be expressed by in the capacity of,