.

Declined--Sing. nom. John, poss. John's, obj. John. Plural--nom.
Johns, poss. Johns', obj. Johns.

_Hand_ is a noun, the name of a thing--common, the name of a sort or
species of things--neuter gender, it denotes a thing without sex--third
person, spoken of--sing. number, it implies but one--and in the
nominative case, it is the actor and subject of the verb "trembles," and
governs it agreeably to

RULE 3. _The nominative case governs the verb:_--that is, the nominative
determines the number and person of the verb.

Declined--Sing. nom. hand, poss. hand's, obj. hand. Plur. nom. hands,
poss. hands', obj. hands.

_Trembles_ is a verb, a word which signifies to do--active, it expresses
action--third person, singular number, because the nominative "hand" is
with which it agrees, according to

RULE 4. _The verb must agree with its nominative in number and person_.

You must not say that the verb is of the third person because _it is
spoken of_. The verb is never spoken of; but it is of the third person,
and singular or plural number, because its nominative is.

Conjugated--First pers. sing. I tremble, 2 pers. thou tremblest, 3 pers.
he trembles, or, the hand trembles. Plural, 1 pers. we tremble, 2 pers.
ye or you tremble, 3 pers. they or the hands tremble.

Government, in language, consists in the power which one word has over
another, in causing that other word to be in some _particular case,
number, person, mood_, or _tense_.

ILLUSTRATION.

RULE 3. _The nominative case governs the verb_.

If you employ the pronoun _I_, which is of the _first_ person, singular
number, as the nominative to a verb, the verb must be of the first pers.
sing, thus, I _smile_; and when your nominative is _second_ pers. sing,
your verb must be; as, thou smil_est_. Why, in the latter instance, does
the ending of the verb change to _est_? Because the nominative changes.
And if your nominative is _third_ person, the verb will vary again;
thus, he smiles, the man smiles. How clear it is, then, that _the
nominative governs the verb_; that is, the nominative has power to
change the _form_ and _meaning_ of the verb, in respect to num. and
person. Government, thus far, is evinced in the _form_ of the words, as
well as in the sense.

RULE 4. _The verb must agree with its nominative in number and person_.

It is improper to say, thou _hear_, the men _hears_. Why improper?
Because _hear_ is _first_ pers. and the nominative _thou_ is _sec