.

6. Nescio quis forms a compound indefinite pronoun with the force of _some
one or other_; as,--

causidicus nescio quis, _some pettifogger or other_;

misit nescio quem, _he sent some one or other_;

nescio quo pacto, _somehow or other_.

* * * * *

CHAPTER V.--_Syntax of Verbs._

AGREEMENT.

With One Subject.

254. 1. Agreement in Number and Person. A Finite Verb agrees with its
subject in Number and Person; as,--

vos videtis, _you see_;

pater filios instituit, _the father trains his sons_.

2. Agreement in Gender. In the compound forms of the verb the participle
regularly agrees with its subject in gender; as,--

seditio repressa est, _the mutiny was checked_.

3. But when a predicate noun is of different gender or number from its
subject, the verb usually agrees with its nearest substantive; as,--

Tarquinii materna patria erat, _Tarquinii was his native country on his
mother's side_;

non omnis error stultitia est dicenda, _not every error is to be called
folly_.

a. Less frequently the verb agrees with an appositive; as,--

Corioli, oppidum Volscorum, captum est, _Corioli, a town of the Volsci,
was captured_.

4. Construction according to Sense. Sometimes the verb agrees with its
subject according to sense instead of strict grammatical form. Thus:--

a) In Number; as,--

multitudo hominum convenerant, _a crowd of men had gathered_.

b) In Gender; as,--

duo milia crucibus adfixi sunt, _two thousand (men) were crucified_.

With Two or More Subjects.

255. 1. Agreement in Number. With two or more subjects the verb is
regularly plural; as,--

pater et filius mortui sunt, _the father and son died_.

2. But sometimes the verb agrees with the nearest subject; viz.,--

a) When the verb precedes both subjects or stands between them; as,--

mortuus est pater et filius;

pater mortuus est et filius.

b) When the subjects are connected by aut; aut ... aut; vel ... vel;
neque ... neque; as,--

neque pater neque filius mortuus est, _neither father nor son died_.

3. When the different subjects are felt together as constituting a whole,
the singular is used; as,--

temeritas ignoratioque vitiosa est, _rashness and ignorance are bad_.

a. This is regularly the case in senatus populusque Romanus.

4. Agreement in Person. With compound subjects of different perso