OBS. 4.—­Grammarians, of course, do not utter falsehoods intentionally; but it is lamentable to see how often they pervert doctrine by untruths uttered ignorantly.  It is the design of this pandect, to make every one who reads it, an intelligent judge of the perversions, as well as of the true doctrines, of English grammar.  The following citations will show him the scope and parts which have commonly been assigned to our syntax:  “The construction of sentences depends principally upon the concord or agreement, and the regimen or government, of words.”—­Lowth’s Gram., p. 68; Churchill’s, 120.  “Words in sentences have a twofold relation to one another; namely, that of Concord or Agreement; and that of Government or Influence.”—­Dr. Adam’s Latin and English Grammar, p. 151.  “The third part of Grammar is SYNTAX, which treats of the agreement and construction of words in a sentence.”—­E.  G. Greene’s Grammatical Text-Book, p. 15.  “Syntax principally consists of two parts, Concord and Government.”—­Murray’s Gram., p. 142; Ingersoll’s, 170; Alger’s, 51; R.  C. Smith’s, 119; and many others.  “Syntax consists of two parts, Concord and Government.”—­Kirkham’s Gram., p. 175; Wright’s, 124.  “The Rules of Syntax may all be included under three heads, Concord, Government, and Position.”—­Bullions’s E. Gram., p. 87. “Position means the place which a word occupies in a sentence.”—­Ib. “These rules may be mostly ranked under the two heads of agreement and government; the remainder may be termed miscellaneous.”—­Nutting’s Gram., p. 92.  “Syntax treats of the agreement, government and proper arrangement of words in a sentence.”—­Frost’s El. of Gram., p. 43.  This last-named author, in touching the text of my books, has often corrupted it, as he does here; but my definitions of the tenses he copied without marring them much.  The borrowing occurred as early as 1828, and I add this notice now, lest any should suppose me the plagiarist.

OBS. 5.—­Most of our English grammars have more rules of syntax than are needed, and yet are very deficient in such as are needed.  To say, as some do, that articles, adjectives, and participles, agree with nouns, is to teach Greek or Latin syntax, and not English.  To throw, as Nutting does, the whole syntax of adverbs into a remark on such a rule of agreement, is to choose disorder for its own sake.  To say, with Frost, Hall, Smith, Perley, Kirkham, Sanborn, Rand, and others, “The nominative case governs the verb in number and person,” and again, “A verb must agree with its nominative case in number and person,” is to confound the meaning of government and agreement, to say the same thing in different words, and to leave the