The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown (free ebook reader .txt) 📕

6. When the adjective and its noun both follow a verb as parts of the predicate, either may possibly come before the other, yet the arrangement is fixed by the sense intended: thus there is a great difference between the assertions, "We call the boy good," and, "We call the good boy"

OBS. 8.—By an ellipsis of the noun, an adjective with a preposition before it, is sometimes equivalent to an adverb; as, "In particular;" that is, "In a particular manner;" equivalent to particularly. So "in general" is equivalent to generally. It has already been suggested, that, in parsing, the scholar should here supply the ellipsis. See Obs. 3d, under Rule vii.

OBS. 9.—Though English adjectives are, for the most part, incapable of any agreement, yet such of them as denote unity or plurality, ought in general to have nouns of the same number: as, this man, one man, two men, many men.[372] In phrases of this form, the rule is well observed; but in some peculiar ways of numbering things, it is commonly disregarded; for certain nouns are taken in a plural sense without assuming the plural termination. Thus people talk of many stone of cheese,—many sail of vessels,—many stand of arms,—many head of cattle,—many dozen of eggs,—many brace of partridges,—many pair of shoes. So we read in the Bible of "two hundred pennyworth of bread," and "twelve manner of fruits." In all such phraseology, there is, in regard to the form of the latter word, an evident disagreement of the adjective with its immediate noun; but sometimes, (where the preposition of does not occur,) expressions that seem somewhat like these, may be elliptical: as when historians tell of many thousand foot (soldiers), or many hundred horse (troops). To denote a collective number, a singular adjective may precede a plural one; as, "One hundred men,"—"Every six weeks." And to denote plurality, the adjective many may, in like manner, precede an or a with a singular noun; as, "The Odyssey entertains us with many a wonderful adventure, and many a landscape of nature."—Blair's Rhet., p. 436." There starts up many a writer."—Kames, El. of Crit., i, 306.

   "Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
    And waste its sweetness on the desert air."—Gray.

OBS. 10.—Though this and that cannot relate to plurals, many writers do not hesitate to place them before singulars taken conjointly, which are equivalent to plurals; as, "This power and will do necessarily produce that which man is empowered to do."—Sale's Koran, i, 229. "That sobriety and self-denial which are essential to the support of virtue."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 218. "This modesty and decency were looked upon by them as a law of nature."—Rollin's Hist., ii, 45. Here the plural forms, these and those, cannot be substituted; but the singular may be repeated, if the repetition be thought necessary. Yet, when these same pronominal adjectives are placed after the nouns to suggest the things again, they must be made plural; as, "Modesty and decency were thus carefully guarded, for these were looked upon as being enjoined by the law of nature."

OBS. 11.—In prose, the use of adjectives for adverbs is improper; but, in poetry, an adjective relating to the noun or pronoun, is sometimes elegantly used in stead of an adverb qualifying the verb or participle; as; "Gradual sinks the breeze Into a perfect calm."—Thomson's Seasons, p. 34. "To Thee I bend the knee; to Thee my thoughts Continual climb."—Ib., p. 48. "As on he walks Graceful, and crows defiance."—Ib., p. 56. "As through the falling glooms Pensive I stray."—Ib., p. 80. "They, sportive, wheel; or, sailing down the stream, Are snatch'd immediate by the quick-eyed trout."—Ib., p. 82. "Incessant still you flow."—Ib., p. 91. "The shatter'd clouds Tumultuous rove, the interminable sky Sublimer swells."—Ib., p. 116. In order to determine, in difficult cases, whether an adjective or an adverb is required, the learner should carefully attend to the definitions of these parts of speech, and consider whether, in the case in question, quality is to be expressed, or manner: if the former, an adjective is always proper; if the latter, an adverb. That is, in this case, the adverb, though not always required in poetry, is specially requisite in prose. The following examples will illustrate this point: "She looks cold;"—"She looks coldly on him."—"I sat silent;"—"I sat silently musing."—"Stand firm; maintain your cause firmly." See Etymology, Chap, viii, Obs. 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th, on the Modifications of Adverbs.

OBS. 12.—In English, an adjective and its noun are often taken as a sort of compound term, to which other adjectives may be added; as, "An old man; a good old man; a very learned, judicious, good old man."—L. Murray's Gram., p. 169; Brit. Gram., 195; Buchanan's, 79. "Of an other determinate positive new birth, subsequent to baptism, we know nothing."—West's Letters, p. 183. When adjectives are thus accumulated, the subsequent ones should convey such ideas as the former may consistently qualify, otherwise the expression will be objectionable. Thus the ordinal adjectives, first, second, third, next, and last, may qualify the cardinal numbers, but they cannot very properly be qualified by them. When, therefore, we specify any part of a series, the cardinal adjective ought, by good right, to follow the ordinal, and not, as in the following phrase, be placed before it: "In reading the nine last chapters of John."—Fuller. Properly speaking, there is but one last chapter in any book. Say, therefore, "the last nine chapters;" for, out of the twenty-one chapters in John, a man may select several different nines. (See Etymology, Chap, iv, Obs. 7th, on the Degrees of Comparison.) When one of the adjectives merely qualifies the other, they should be joined together by a hyphen; as, "A red-hot iron."—"A dead-ripe melon." And when both or all refer equally and solely to the noun, they ought either to be connected by a conjunction, or to be separated by a comma. The following example is therefore faulty: "It is the business of an epic poet, to form a probable interesting tale."—Blair's Rhet., p. 427. Say, "probable and interesting;" or else insert a comma in lieu of the conjunction.

   "Around him wide a sable army stand,
    A low-born, cell-bred, selfish, servile band."
        —Dunciad, B. ii, l. 355.

OBS. 13.—Dr. Priestley has observed: "There is a remarkable ambiguity in the use of the negative adjective no; and I do not see," says he, "how it can be remedied in any language. If I say, 'No laws are better than the English,' it is only my known sentiments that can inform a person whether I mean to praise, or dispraise them."—Priestley's Gram., p. 136. It may not be possible to remove the ambiguity from the phraseology here cited, but it is easy enough to avoid the form, and say in stead of it, "The English laws are worse than none," or, "The English laws are as good as any;" and, in neither of these expressions, is there any ambiguity, though the other may doubtless be taken in either of these senses. Such an ambiguity is sometimes used on purpose: as when one man says of an other, "He is no small knave;" or, "He is no small fool."

   "There liv'd in primo Georgii (they record)
    A worthy member, no small fool, a lord."—Pope, p. 409.

NOTE I.—Adjectives that imply unity or plurality, must agree with their nouns in number: as, "That sort, those sorts;"—"This hand, these hands." [373]

NOTE II.—When the adjective is necessarily plural, or necessarily singular, the noun should be made so too: as, "Twenty pounds" not, "Twenty pound;"—"Four feet long," not, "Four foot long;"—"One session" not, "One sessions."

NOTE III.—The reciprocal expression, one an other, should not be applied to two objects, nor each other, or one the other, to more than two; as, "Verse and prose, on some occasions, run into one another, like light and shade."—Blair's Rhet., p. 377; Jamieson's, 298. Say, "into each other" "For mankind have always been butchering each other"—Webster's Essays, p. 151. Say, "one an other" See Etymology, Chap, iv, Obs. 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th, on the Classes of Adjectives.

NOTE IV.—When the comparative degree is employed with than, the latter term of comparison should never include the former; nor the former the latter: as, "Iron is more useful than all the metals"—"All the metals are less useful than iron." In either case, it should be, "all the other metals,"

NOTE V.—When the superlative degree is employed, the latter term of comparison, which is introduced by of, should never exclude the former; as, "A fondness for show, is, of all other follies, the most vain." Here the word other should be expunged; for this latter term must include the former: that is, the fondness for show must be one of the follies of which it is the vainest.

NOTE VI.—When equality is denied, or inequality affirmed, neither term of the comparison should ever include the other; because every thing must needs be equal to itself, and it is absurd to suggest that a part surpasses the whole: as, "No writings whatever abound so much with the bold and animated figures, as the sacred books."—Blair's Rhet., p. 414. Say, "No other writings whatever;" because the sacred books are "writings" See Etymology, Chap, iv, Obs. 6th, on Regular Comparison.

NOTE VII.—Comparative terminations, and adverbs of degree, should not be applied to adjectives that are not susceptible of comparison; and all double comparatives and double superlatives should be avoided: as, "So universal a complaint:" say rather, "So general."—"Some less nobler plunder:" say, "less noble"—"The most straitest sect:" expunge most. See Etymology, Chap, iv, from Obs. 5th to Obs. 13th, on Irregular Comparison.[374]

NOTE VIII.—When adjectives are connected by and, or, or nor, the shortest and simplest should in general be placed first; as, "He is older and more respectable than his brother." To say, "more respectable and older" would be obviously inelegant, as possibly involving the inaccuracy of "more older."

NOTE IX.—When one adjective is superadded to an other without a conjunction expressed or understood, the most distinguishing quality must be expressed next to the noun, and the latter must be such as the former may consistently qualify; as, "An agreeable young man," not, "A young agreeable man."—"The art of speaking, like all other practical arts, may be facilitated by rules,"—Enfield's Speaker, p. 10. Example of error: "The Anglo-Saxon language possessed, for the two first persons, a Dual number."—Fowler's E. Gram., 1850, p. 59. Say, "the first two persons;" for the second of three can hardly be one of the first; and "two first" with the second and third added, will clearly make more than three. See Obs. 12th, above.

NOTE X.—In prose, the use of adjectives for adverbs, is a vulgar error; the adverb alone being proper, when manner or degree is to be expressed, and not quality; as, "He writes elegant;" say, "elegantly."—"It is a remarkable good likeness;" say, "remarkably good."

NOTE XI.—The pronoun them should never be used as an adjective, in lieu of those: say, "I bought those books;" not, "them books." This also is a vulgar error, and chiefly confined to the conversation of the unlearned.[375]

NOTE XII.—When the pronominal adjectives, this and that, or these and those, are contrasted; this or these should represent the latter of the antecedent terms, and that or those the former: as,

   "And, reason raise o'er instinct as you can,
    In this 'tis God directs, in that 'tis man."—Pope.

    "Farewell my friends! farewell my foes!
    My peace with these, my love with those!"—Burns.

NOTE XIII.—The pronominal adjectives either and neither, in strict propriety of syntax, relate to two things only; when more are referred to, any and none, or any one and no one, should be used in stead of them: as, "Any of the three," or, "Any one of the three;" not, "Either of the three."—"None of the four," or, "No one of the four;" not, "Neither of the four." [376]

NOTE XIV.—The adjective whole must not be used in a plural sense, for all; nor less, in the sense of fewer; nor more or most, in any ambiguous construction, where it may be either an adverb of degree, or an adjective of number or quantity: as, "Almost the whole inhabitants were present."—HUME: see Priestley's Gram., p. 190.[377] Say, "Almost all the inhabitants." "No less than three dictionaries have been published to correct it."—Dr. Webster. Say, "No fewer." "This trade enriched some people more than them."—Murray's Gram., Vol. i, p. 215. This passage is not clear in its import: it may have either of two meanings. Say, "This trade enriched some