studies. Your son behaves so well that he pleases every person that sees him. The snow, falling from the houses, hurt that child very much. You employ all your time in study and exercise; that strengthens the mind, and this the body.

NOTE. The prepositions to and for are frequently understood; but they govern the objective case then, as well as when expressed, as you will perceive by the following sentences, which you must parse.

He gives a book to me. He gives me a book. them assistance. You give me many presents.

We lend

Modesty makes large amends for the pain, it gives the persons, who labour under it, by the prejudice, it affords every worthy person in their favour.

NOTE. In this last sentence, you will observe, that the relative which is understood twice the first after pain, and is governed by gives, the second after prejudice, and is ed by affords, according to the latter part of Rule XII.

govern

The friends whom you treat politely, often call at your house; and they sometimes visit me, and my brothers and sisters. I often see good people bestowing charity on the poor. The rich, giving employment to the needy, afford, to the latter, the means of support, and keep them from ildleness and dissipation.

I will now give you a few general

REMARKS ON CONJUNCTIONS.

The same word is occasionally used both as a conjunction and as an adverb; and sometimes, as a preposition. "I rest, then, upon this argument :" then is here a conjunction: in the following phrase, it is an adverb: "He arrived then, and not before." "I submitted; for it was vain to resist :" in this sentence, for is a conjunction; in the next it is a preposition: "He contended for victory only." In the first of the following sentences, since is a conjunction; in the second it is a preposition; and in the third, an adverb: "Since we must part, let us do it peaceably;" "I have not seen him since that time;" "Our friendship commenced long since."

Relative pronouns, as well as conjunctions, serve to connect sentences: as, "Blessed is the man who feareth the Lord, and keepeth his commandments,"

A relative pronoun possesses the force both of a pronoun and a connective. Nay, the union by relatives is rather closer, than that by mere conjunctions. The latter may form two or more sentences into one; but, by the former, several senten

ces may be incorporated into one and the same clause of a sentence. Thus, "thou seest a man, and he is called Peter," is a sentence consisting of two distinct clauses, united by the copulative and: but "the man whom thou seest is called Peter," is a sentence of one clause, and not less comprehensive than the other.

Conjunctions very often unite sentences, when they appear to unite only words; as in the following instances: "Duty and interest forbid vicious indulgences;" "Wisdom or folly governs us. Each of these forms of expression contains two sentences, namely; "Duty forbids vicious indulgences; interest forbids vicious indulgences;" "Wisdom governs us, or folly governs us.”

Though the conjunction is commonly used to connect sentences together, yet, on some occasions, it merely connects words, not sentences: as, "The king and queen are an amiable pair;" where the affirmation cannot refer to each; it being absurd to say, that the king or the queen only, is an amiable pair. So in the instances, "two and two are four;" "the fifth and sixth volumes will complete the set of books." Prepositions also, as before observed, connect words; but they do it to show the relation which the connected words have to each other: conjunctions when they unite words only, are designed to show the relations which those words, so united, have to other parts of the sentence.

As there are many conjunctions and connective phrases appropriated to the coupling of sentences, that are never employed in joining the members of a sentence; so there are several conjunctions appropriated to the latter use, which are never employed in the former; and some that are equally adapted to both those purposes: as, again, further, besides, &c. of the first kind; than, lest, unless, that, so that, &c. of the second; and but, and, for, therefore, &c. of the last.

Conjunctions are those parts of language, which, by joining sentences in various ways, mark the connexion, and various dependences, of human thought. And therefore, if our thoughts be really connected and mutually dependent, it is most likely, (as every man in speaking and writing wishes to do justice to his ideas,) that conjunctions will be employed, to make that connexion, and those dependences obvious to ourselves, and to others. And where there is, in any discourse, a remarkable deficiency of connecting particles, it may be presumed, either that there is a want of connexion, or that sufficient pains have not been taken to explain it.

Relatives are not so useful in language, as conjunctions.

The former make speech more concise; the latter make it more explicit. Relatives comprehend the meaning of a pronoun and conjunction copulative; conjunctions, while they couple sentences, may also express opposition, inference, and many other relations and dependences.

Till men began to think in a train, and to carry their reasonings to a considerable length, it is not probable that they would make use of conjunctions, or of any other connectives. Ignorant people, and children, generally speak in short and separate sentences. The same thing is true of barbarous nations and hence uncultivated languages are not well supplied with connecting particles. The Greeks were the greatest reasoners that ever appeared in the world; and their language, accordingly, abounds more than any other in connectives.

Conjunctions are not equally necessary in all sorts of writing. In poetry, where great conciseness of phrase is required, and every appearance of formality avoided, many of them would have a bad effect. In passionate language too, it may be proper to omit them because it is the nature of violent passion, to speak rather in disjointed sentences, than in the way of inference and argument. Books of aphorisms, like the Proverbs of Solomon, have few connectives, because they instruct, not by reasoning, but in detached observations. And narrative will sometimes appear very graceful, when the circumstances are plainly told, with scarcely any other conjunction than the simple copulative and: which is frequently the ease in the historical parts of Scripture. When narration is full of images or events, the omission of connectives may, by crowding the principal words upon one another, give a sort of picture of hurry and tumult, and so heighten the vivacity of description. But when facts are to be traced down through their consequences, or upwards to their causes; when the complicated designs of mankind are to be laid open, or conjectures offered concerning them; when the historian argues either for the elucidation of truth, or in order to state the pleas and principles of contending parties; there will be occasion for every species of connective, as much as in philosophy itself. In fact, it is in argument, investigation, and science, that this part of speech is peculiarly and indispensably necessary.

H 2

CONVERSATION XIII.

Tutor. I have now noticed all the different parts of speech, and I have shown you some of the relations in sentences; and have also furnished you with information sufficient to enable you to parse them in those relations. But there are several

other relations, which you do not yet understand.

George. If those which remain, are not more difficult than those we have had, I think we shall easily comprehend them.

Tutor. Be patient, and make yourself completely acquainted with whatever I tell you, as we advance, and all difficulties will give way before you.

When I spoke of the conjunction in the last Conversation, I told you that some connect single words. When the copus lative conjunction and, connects two or more actors, you may perceive that the verb, which is used to declare the action, expresses the action of both or all the actors, and is therefore a plural verb; as, the boy and his sister study-not studies. The man and horse walk-not walks; because the verbs study and walk in each example, express the action of both the nominatives, and it must therefore be plural. But, if I say, the boy or his sister, I must use the verb studies, in the singular number. The man or horse walks.

Caroline. I see the difference very clearly; for when the disjunctive conjunction or, is used, the expression does not mean that both nominatives act together, but that only one acts it means, that the boy studies, or his sister studies; but that they do not both study. And in the other sentence, the meaning is, that either the man walks, or the horse walks, but not both.

George. And it is quite plain, that when the verb expresses a single action of an individual person or thing, it must be of the singular number, as well as the noun, when that denotes a single person or thing. But when the copulative conjunction is used, the sense is quite different, the verb then expresses the action of all the actors.

Tutor. Very well. I perceive that you begin to understand something of your subject. I will give you a rule concerning this matter.

RULE XV.

Nouns and pronouns of the singular number, connected by AND, expressed or understood, must have verbs, nouns, and pronouns in the PLURAL number to agree with them but connected by any other conjunction, they must have verbs, nouns, and pronouns in the SINGULAR number to agree with them.

Caroline. Will you please to illustrate this rule by a few examples, showing us why the nouns and pronouns must be plural, when other nouns or pronouns are connected by and, and why they must be singular, when such other nouns or pronouns are connected by any other conjunction.

Tutor. I will. George and William, who obey their father are dutiful sons. In this sentence, the relative who is third person, plural, because its two antecedents, George and William, are connected by and; therefore, the verb obey, must be plural, to agree with who; and the adjective pronoun their, is plural for the same reason that who is ; are is plural, to agree with its two nominatives George and William; and sons is plural, because it means both George and William.

But let us use or. George or William who obeys his father is a dutiful son. Here you perceive, that the verbs, nouns, and pronouns must be singular.

George. These examples sufficiently illustrate the rule, and I now perfectly comprehend it.

Tutor. I will now give an exception to the first part of this rule. When a distributive adjective pronoun belongs to each of the nominatives, the verbs, nouns, and pronouns must be in the 'singular number as, every man, and every boy, exerts himself. Sometimes an adjective pronoun is used with the first noun, and is understood with those that follow as, every leaf, and twig, and drop of water, teems with life.

George. I see the propriety of this exception to the general rule, because, although several things are referred to, yet each is taken separately, and the verb agrees with each nominative separately. The sense is, that, Every leaf teems, every twig teems, every drop of water teems, &c.

Tutor. That is right. And when you parse such sentences, supply a verb for each nominative, as you have now. I will now give you another rule.

RULE XVI.

Nouns and pronouns in apposition, must be in the same case. Caroline. What is meant by apposition?

Tutor. Apposition, in grammar, means the addition of