PART III-SYNTAX. CONSTRUCTION OF SENTENCES. § 419. Syntax, which is divided into Concord and Government, is the arrangement of words in a sentence according to certain rules established by usage. 1. CONCORD. § 420. The verb agrees with its Nominative in number and person, as— NOTE.-The subject usually stands before the verb, but when" thi" or "thonne," then, is introduced before a consequent proposition, it is commonly placed after it; although, as in English, the particle in most cases is omitted, and the subject maintains its natural position in the sentence. Negation, in some instances, has also the effect of throwing it after the verb. § 421. A noun of multitude may have the verb either in the singular or the plural number, or two verbs of different numbers even in the same sentence, as: Eall thaet folc arás and All the people arose and stódon. stood. § 422. Two or more Nominatives in the singular connected by "and," and, either expressed or understood, have the verb in the plural, as :- Synderlice hine Pétrus and Iácobus and Ióhannes and Andréas acsodon Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately. NOTE.-The verb may be in the singular when the two Nominatives are closely connected in sense. § 423. The verbs of existence may have a Nominative both before and after them, as : God was the Word. That is God's work. God waes thaet Word They became friends. Hig wurdon gefrýnd § 424. The first of the two Nominatives may be one of the singular neuters, "this" and "thaet," belonging to the verb, and referring to a noun, both in the plural, as :— Ne synd ná this wódes⚫ mannes word These (this) are not the words of a madman. Thaet synd tha world- Those (that) are the worldly § 425. The article agrees with the noun which it defines, in gender, number, and case, as :— Se anwealda Thá haethenan Thaes lic-haman The governor. The heathen. Of the body. § 426. It also is frequently used before proper names, and after possessive and other pronouns, as:— Se Jóhannes The (said) John. On thínum thám hálgum In thy (the) holy name, naman § 427. All adjectives, including all other words having the nature of adjectives, agree with the nouns to which they belong, in gender, number, and case, as : NOTE. In such cases as the example given under § 432, “anlíc. nys" being feminine, "this" must be supposed to agree with "thing," a thing, understood. So also if "thaet" were used. § 428. The perfect participle with "habban," to have, as we have seen, § 179, Note 1, does not always agree with the Nominative, or help to constitute a compound tense, but is frequently inflected and made to agree with the governed word, as :— Aenne haefde he swá One had he made so strong. swithne geworhtne § 429. The relative agrees with its antecedent in gender and number, but its case depends upon some other word in the sentence, as : NOTE." Wíf," a woman, though neuter, sometimes takes the relative in the feminine. § 430. The relative is frequently omitted, as:— Thá waes sum consul Boe tíus waes háten Then was there a certain consul (who) was named Boethius. 431. The relative is sometimes elegantly expressed through "the" and the personal pronoun, as :— The thurh his willan The thurh hine Through whose will. Through whom. § 432. The interrogative and the word that answers to it, must be in the same case, as :— Hwaes anlícnys ys this? Whose image is this? (The) Hwám sealde he hit? Thám To whom did he give it? To the sheriff. scíre-geréfan § 433. Nouns signifying the same thing agree in case, as: Aelfred, Cyning Jóhannes se Fulluhtere King Alfred. John the Baptizer. NOTE. We not unfrequently find two pronouns in the like agreeinent with each other; as, "hí ealle," they all or a pronoun and a numeral; as, sume nigon," some nine. § 434. Sometimes a noun defined by the article is repeated after the pronoun which expresses it, agreeing with it in the same case, as : He se biscop Heó seó meowle He the bishop. She the virgin. 2. GOVERNMENT. § 435. One noun governs another, when a different person, or thing is signified, in the Genitive case, as:—— Mannes líf Thaes cildes faeder Man's life. The child's father. Waeteru saes NOTE. The personal pronoun as Waters of a sea. representing the noun, can take its place in the Genitive; as, "his modor," his mother. § 436. A noun united with an adjective, which expresses either a good or a bad quality, or which denotes condition, and the like, is put in the Genitive, as :— This folc is heardes módes He waes aethelre strýnde Aegṭheres hádes This people is of hard mind. He was of a noble race. Of either sex. NOTE 1.-The adjective occasionally appears in agreement with the subject; as, “fugel úrig fethera,” a bird hoary of wings, unless all such cases can be explained under § 444. NOTE 2. We sometimes find the article agreeing with the qualitative Genitive, instead of the noun on which this depends; as, “thaere eádigre gemynde mann," but more commonly, “se mann eádigre gemynde," the man of blessed memory. § 437. Nouns denoting measure, value, age, and the like, are put in the Genitive, as : Threóra mila brád Three miles broad. NOTE. The measure of extent is put independently in the Accusative, unless we suppose a preposition understood in every instance of the kind, and that preposition answering to the Latin “quoad,” as to, if the same is not "ymbe." § 438. Nouns answering the question when? are found in the Genitive, the Dative, or the Old Ablative; but how long? or how often? in the Accusative, as:— NOTE. Circumstances of time and place united are put in the Accusative, a rule preserved only in adverbial construction. |