6. A verb having several subjects agrees with the nearest; but a verb having two subjects, one affirmative and one negative, agrees with the affirmative subject.

The common soldiers, not the general, have [not has] won this battle.

7. A collective noun has a singular verb when it conveys the idea of unity; a plural verb, when it conveys the idea of plurality.

The army have shouldered their knapsacks.

The army has won a victory.

8. Adjectives that imply number must agree with their nouns.

Every man is worthy.

Many soldiers were wounded.

Each, every, either, neither, many a, this, that, much, little, less, and least are singular; these, those, many, few, fewer, and fewest are plural; all, some, no, any, and other may be either singular or plural.

9. A pronoun agrees with its antecedent in number, person, and gender.

Every hen knows her own chicks.

The most frequent and perhaps the most disagreeable inconsistency in the use of pronouns is the use of the plural to represent such words as anybody, nobody, everybody, one, singular nouns separated by or or nor, and singular nouns qualified by such adjectives as each, every, etc.

Anybody can get his [not their] old shoes repaired here.

People who live [not lives] in glass houses should not throw stones.

RULES FOR THE USE OF FORMS.

10. The subject of a verb is in the nominative case. You and I [not me] went to Europe.

11. The object of a transitive verb or of a preposition is in the objective case.

He saw her and me [not I].

He bought it for you and me [not I].
Whom [not who] were you talking to?

12. The verb to be has the same case after it as before it.

I think it to be him.

It is he.

The predicate word has not necessarily the same person, number, or gender.

This rule applies also to the verb become and to several other intransitive verbs, and to the passive voice of the transitive verbs, to be named, to be called, etc.

13. In joint ownership, the last noun only takes the possessive sign.

Smith and Brown's store is large.

14. In separate ownership, every noun takes the possessive sign.

Smith's and Brown's stores were burned.

15. When a noun in the possessive is immediately followed by an appositive, it omits the possessive sign, and the appositive retains it. The appositive of a noun in the possessive should not be separated from its subject.

I bought the spice at Brown [not Brown's] the grocer's.

16. A complex substantive expression adds the possessive sign to the last word only.

Henry the First's successor.

Anybody else's horse would have been frightened.

17. Use the possessive case before gerunds. I have no faith in his [not him] paying his debts.

18. Be careful not to use the past tense for the perfect participle, or the perfect participle for the past

tense.

I began [not begun] in the morning.
He had eaten [not ate] his dinner.

19. A proposition true for all time is stated in the present tense, even when the rest of the report is in the past.

He told me that truth is beyond all price.

20. When an infinitive refers to a time earlier than that referred to by the finite verb, the perfect infinitive should be used.

He is said to have set fire to the house.

21. The infinitive omits the sign after bid, let, feel, need, make, see, and a few other verbs.

He bade me go [not to go].

22. When the infinitive refers to the same time as the principal verb, or to a subsequent time, it is put in the present tense.

He was said to be ill.

23. The future tense is used in two ways, called by Dr. Latham the predictive and the promissive.

In the predictive form, shall is the auxiliary of the first person, will of the second and third persons; thus,

SINGULAR.

1. I shall write.

2. Thou wilt write.
3. He will write.

PLURAL.

We shall write.

You will write.

They will write.

In the promissive form, will is the auxiliary of the first person, shall of the second and third persons; thus,

SINGULAR.

1. I will write.

2. Thou shalt write.
3. He shall write.

PLURAL.
We will write.
You shall write.
They shall write.

The predictive form of the future tense is used in simple assertions of futurity; the promissive form is used to express the purpose of the speaker.

In questions the same auxiliary is to be used that is expected in the answer. In clauses, shall is used as the predictive auxiliary in all persons, and will as the promissive auxiliary.

Shall you go?

Will you go?

I shall.

I will.

[Predictive.]
[Promissive.]

When you [shall] find him, you will rejoice.

NOTE. Rule 23 does not include all the distinctions in the use of shall and will.

24. Would and should follow the rules for shall and will in similar circumstances.

If he should go, he would find his friend.
If I should go, I should find my friend.

RULES FOR THE RELATION OF WORDS.

25. Every word should have some recognized grammatical use.

Incorrect: Having failed in this, no further trial was made.

26. Every finite verb should have a subject expressed or understood.

Incorrect: This proved better than was expected.

27. Every transitive verb requires an object, expressed or understood.

Incorrect: Smith is a vain fellow who if we do not flatter he will annoy us.

28. Do not use an intransitive verb transitively.

The yeast will raise [not rise] the bread.

29. Do not use a word as the object of two prepositions, or of a verb and a preposition; repeat the noun, or insert a pronoun.

He was a friend of Mr. Brown and often visited him; not He was a friend of and often visited Mr. Brown.

30. The personal pronouns of the third person, except the indefinite it, should have an antecedent expressed in the context.

People [not they] who live in glass houses should not throw

stones.

This rule is not always observed even by careful writers.

31. The antecedent of a relative pronoun should be a noun or pronoun in the nominative or in the objective