“An Interrogative Pronoun is one that is used in asking a question; as, ‘who is he, and what does he want?’”—Day’s School Gram., p. 21. “Who is generally used when we would inquire for some unknown person or persons; as, who is that man.”—Ib., p. 24. “Our fathers, where are they, and the prophets, do they live forever?”—Ib., p. 109.
“It is true, that some of our best writers have used than whom; but it is also true, that they have used other phrases which we have rejected as ungrammatical: then why not reject this too.—The sentences in the Exercises [with than who] are correct as they stand.”—Lennie’s Gram., 5th Ed., 1819, p. 79.
“When the perfect participle of an active-intransitive verb is annexed to the neuter verb to be? What does the combination form?”—Hallock’s Gram., p. 88. “Those adverbs which answer to the question where, whither or whence, are called adverbs of place.”—Ib., p. 116.
“Canst thou, by searching, find out God; Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection; It is high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know?”—Blair’s Rhet. p. 132.
“Where, where, for shelter
shall the guilty fly,
When consternation turns the
good man pale.”—Ib., p. 222.
UNDER RULE II.—QUESTIONS UNITED.
“Who knows what resources are in store? and what the power of God may do for thee?”
[FORMULE.—Not proper, because an eroteme is set after store, where a comma would be sufficient. But, according to Rule 2d for the Eroteme, “When two or more questions are united in one compound sentence, the comma, semicolon, or dash, is sometimes used to separate them, and the eroteme occurs after the last only.” Therefore, the comma should here be preferred, as the author probably wrote the text. See Key.]
“The Lord is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said it? and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken it? and shall he not make it good?”—Murray’s Gram., 8vo, p. 353; 12mo, 277; Hiley’s, 139; Hart’s, 181. “Hath the Lord said it? and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken it? and shall he not make it good?”—Lennie’s Gram., p. 113; Bullions’s, 176.
“Who calls the council, states
the certain day?
Who forms the phalanx, and
who points the way.”
—Brit.
Poets, vi, 376.
UNDER RULE III.—QUESTIONS INDIRECT.
“To be, or not to be?—that is the question.”—Enfield’s Sp., p. 367; Kirkham’s Eloc., 123.[466]
[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the note of interrogation is here set after an expression which has neither the form nor the nature of a direct question. But, according to Rule 3d for the Eroteme, “When a question is mentioned, but not put directly as a question, it loses both the quality and the sign of interrogation.” Therefore, the semicolon, which seems adapted to the pause, should here be preferred.]