AN ENGLISH GRAMMAR
FOR THE USE OF
HIGH SCHOOL, ACADEMY, AND COLLEGE CLASSES
BY
W.M. BASKERVILL
PROFESSOR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN VANDERBILT
UNIVERSITY NASHVILLE, TENN.
AND
J.W. SEWELL
OF THE FOGG HIGH SCHOOL, NASHVILLE, TENN.
1895
PREFACE.
Of making many English grammars there is no end; nor should there be
till theoretical scholarship and actual practice are more happily
wedded. In this field much valuable work has already been
accomplished; but it has been done largely by workers accustomed to
take the scholar's point of view, and their writings are addressed
rather to trained minds than to immature learners. To find an advanced
grammar unencumbered with hard words, abstruse thoughts, and difficult
principles, is not altogether an easy matter. These things enhance the
difficulty which an ordinary youth experiences in grasping and
assimilating the facts of grammar, and create a distaste for the
study. It is therefore the leading object of this book to be both as
scholarly and as practical as possible. In it there is an attempt to
present grammatical facts as simply, and to lead the student to
assimilate them as thoroughly, as possible, and at the same time to do
away with confusing difficulties as far as may be.
To attain these ends it is necessary to keep ever in the foreground
the _real basis of grammar_; that is, good literature. Abundant
quotations from standard authors have been given to show the student
that he is dealing with the facts of the language, and not with the
theories of grammarians. It is also suggested that in preparing
written exercises the student use English classics instead of "making
up" sentences. But it is not intended that the use of literary
masterpieces for grammatical purposes should supplant or even
interfere with their proper use and real value as works of art. It
will, however, doubtless be found helpful to alternate the regular
reading and æsthetic study of literature with a grammatical study, so
that, while the mind is being enriched and the artistic sense
quickened, there may also be the useful acquisition of arousing a keen
observation of all grammatical forms and usages. Now and then it has
been deemed best to omit explanations, and to withhold personal
preferences, in order that the student may, by actual contact with the
sources of grammatical laws, discover for himself the better way in
regarding given data. It is not the grammarian's business to
"correct:" it is simply to record and to arrange the usages of
language, and to point the way to the arbiters of usage in all
disputed cases. Free expression within the lines of good usage should
have widest range.
It has been our aim to make a grammar of as wide a scope as is
consistent with the proper definition of the word. Therefore, in
addition to recording and classifying the facts of language, we have
endeavored to attain two other objects,--to cultivate mental skill and
power, and to induce the student to prosecute further studies in this
field. It is not supposable that in so delicate and difficult an
undertaking there should be an entire freedom from errors and
oversights. We shall gratefully accept any assistance in helping to
correct mistakes.
Though endeavoring to get our material as much as possible at first
hand, and to make an independent use of it, we desire to express our
obligation to the following books and articles:--
Meiklejohn's "English Language," Longmans' "School Grammar," West's
"English Grammar," Bain's "Higher English Grammar" and "Composition
Grammar," Sweet's "Primer of Spoken English" and "New English
Grammar," etc., Hodgson's "Errors in the Use of English," Morris's
"Elementary Lessons in Historical English Grammar," Lounsbury's
"English Language," Champney's "History of English," Emerson's
"History of the English Language," Kellner's "Historical Outlines of
English Syntax," Earle's "English Prose," and Matzner's "Englische
Grammatik." Allen's "Subjunctive Mood in English," Battler's articles
on "Prepositions" in the "Anglia," and many other valuable papers,
have also been helpful and suggestive.
We desire to express special thanks to Professor W.D. Mooney of Wall &
Mooney's Battle-Ground Academy, Franklin, Tenn., for a critical
examination of the first draft of the manuscript, and to Professor
Jno. M. Webb of Webb Bros. School, Bell Buckle, Tenn., and Professor
W.R. Garrett of the University of Nashville, for many valuable
suggestions and helpful criticism.
W.M. BASKERVILL.
J.W. SEWELL.
NASHVILLE, TENN., January, 1896.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION
PART I.
_THE PARTS OF SPEECH_.
NOUNS
PRONOUNS
ADJECTIVES
ARTICLES
VERBS AND VERBALS
Verbs
Verbals
How to Parse Verbs and Verbals
ADVERBS
CONJUNCTIONS
PREPOSITIONS
WORDS THAT NEED WATCHING
INTERJECTIONS
PART II.
_ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES_.
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO FORM
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO NUMBER OF STATEMENTS
Simple Sentences
Contracted Sentences
Complex Sentences
Compound Sentences
PART III.
_SYNTAX_.
INTRODUCTORY
NOUNS
PRONOUNS
ADJECTIVES
ARTICLES
VERBS
INDIRECT DISCOURSE
VERBALS
ADVERBS
CONJUNCTIONS
PREPOSITIONS
INDEX
INTRODUCTION.
So many slighting remarks have been made of late on the use of
teaching grammar as compared with teaching science, that it is plain
the fact has been lost sight of that grammar is itself a science. The
object we have, or should have, in teaching science, is not to fill a
child's mind with a vast number of facts that may or may not prove
useful to him hereafter, but to draw out and exercise his powers of
observation, and to show him how to make use of what he observes....
And here the teacher of grammar has a great advantage over the teacher
of other sciences, in that the facts he has to call attention to lie
ready at hand for every pupil to observe without the use of apparatus
of any kind while the use of them also lies within the personal
experience of every one.--DR RICHARD MORRIS.
The proper study of a language is an intellectual discipline of the
highest order. If I except discussions on the comparative merits of
Popery and Protestantism, English grammar was the most important
discipline of my boyhood.--JOHN TYNDALL.
INTRODUCTION.
What various opinions writers on English grammar have given in answer
to the question, _What is grammar?_ may be shown by the following--
[Sidenote: _Definitions of grammar._]
English grammar is a description of the usages of the English
language by good speakers and writers of the present
day.--WHITNEY
A description of account of the nature, build, constitution, or
make of a language is called its grammar--MEIKLEJOHN
Grammar teaches the laws of language, and the right method of
using it in speaking and writing.--PATTERSON
Grammar is the science of _letter_; hence the science of using
words correctly.--ABBOTT
The English word _grammar_ relates only to the laws which govern
the significant forms of words, and the construction of the
sentence.--RICHARD GRANT WHITE
These are sufficient to suggest several distinct notions about English
grammar--
[Sidenote: _Synopsis of the above._]
(1) It makes rules to tell us how to use words.
(2) It is a record of usage which we ought to follow.
(3) It is concerned with the _forms_ of the language.
(4) English _has_ no grammar in the sense of forms, or inflections,
but takes account merely of the nature and the uses of words in
sentences.
[Sidenote: _The older idea and its origin._]
Fierce discussions have raged over these opinions, and numerous works
have been written to uphold the theories. The first of them remained
popular for a very long time. It originated from the etymology of the
word _grammar_ (Greek _gramma_, writing, a letter), and from an effort
to build up a treatise on English grammar by using classical grammar
as a model.
Perhaps a combination of (1) and (3) has been still more popular,
though there has been vastly more classification than there are forms.
[Sidenote: _The opposite view_.]
During recent years, (2) and (4) have been gaining ground, but they
have had hard work to displace the older and more popular theories. It
is insisted by many that the student's time should be used in studying
general literature, and thus learning the fluent and correct use of
his mother tongue. It is also insisted that the study and discussion
of forms and inflections is an inexcusable imitation of classical
treatises.
[Sidenote: _The difficulty_.]
Which view shall the student of English accept? Before this is
answered, we should decide whether some one of the above theories must
be taken as the right one, and the rest disregarded.
The real reason for the diversity of views is a confusion of two
distinct things,--what the _definition_ of grammar should be, and what
the _purpose_ of grammar should be.
[Sidenote: _The material of grammar_.]
The province of English grammar is, rightly considered, wider than is
indicated by any one of the above definitions; and the student ought
to have a clear idea of the ground to be covered.
[Sidenote: _Few inflections_.]
It must be admitted that the language has very few inflections at
present, as compared with Latin or Greek; so that a small grammar will
hold them all.
[Sidenote: _Making rules is risky_.]
It is also evident, to those who have studied the language
historically, that it is very hazardous to make rules in grammar: what
is at present regarded as correct may not be so twenty years from now,
even if our rules are founded on the keenest scrutiny of the
"standard" writers of our time. Usage is varied as our way of thinking
changes. In Chaucer's time two or three negatives were used to
strengthen a negation; as, "Ther _nas no_ man _nowher_ so vertuous"
(There never was no man nowhere so virtuous). And Shakespeare used
good English when he said _more elder_ ("Merchant of Venice") and
_most unkindest_ ("Julius Cæsar"); but this is bad English now.
If, however, we have tabulated the inflections of the language, and
stated what syntax is the most used in certain troublesome places,
there is still much for the grammarian to do.
[Sidenote: _A broader view_.]
Surely our noble language, with its enormous vocabulary, its peculiar
and abundant idioms, its numerous periphrastic forms to express every
possible shade of meaning, is worthy of serious study, apart from the
mere memorizing of inflections and formulation of rules.
[Sidenote: _Mental training. An æsthetic benefit._]
Grammar is eminently a means of mental training; and while it will
train the student in subtle and acute reasoning, it will at the same
time, if rightly presented, lay the foundation of a keen observation
and a correct literary taste. The continued contact with the highest
thoughts of the best minds will create a thirst for the "well of
English undefiled."
[Sidenote: _What grammar is_.]
Coming back, then, from the question, _What ground should grammar
cover?_ we come to answer the question, _What should grammar teach?_
and we give as an answer the definition,--
_English grammar is the science which treats of the nature of words,
their forms, and their uses and relations in the sentence_.
[Sidenote: _The work it will cover._]
This will take in the usual divisions, "The Parts of Speech" (with
their inflections), "Analysis," and "Syntax." It will also require a
discussion of any points that will clear up difficulties, assist the
classification of kindred expressions, or draw the attention of the
student to everyday idioms and phrases, and thus incite his
observation.
[Sidenote: _Authority as a basis_.]
A few words here as to the _authority_ upon which grammar rests.
[Sidenote: _Literary English_.]
The statements given will be substantiated by quotations from the
leading or "standard" literature of modern times; that is, from the
eighteenth century on. This _literary English_ is considered the
foundation on which grammar must rest.
[Sidenote: _Spoken English_.]
Here and there also will be quoted words and phrases from _spoken_ or
_colloquial English_, by which is meant the free, unstudied
expressions of ordinary conversation and communication among
intelligent people.
These quotations will often throw light on obscure constructions,
since they preserve turns of expressions that have long since perished
from the literary or standard English.
[Sidenote: _Vulgar English_.]
Occasionally, too, reference will be made to _vulgar English,_--the
speech of the uneducated and ignorant,--which will serve to illustrate
points of syntax once correct, or standard, but now undoubtedly bad
grammar.
The following pages will cover, then, three divisions:--
Part I. The Parts of Speech, and Inflections.
Part II. Analysis of Sentences.
Part III. The Uses of Words, or Syntax.
PART I.
_THE PARTS OF SPEECH_.
NOUNS.
1. In the more simple _state_ of the _Arabs_, the _nation_ is free,
because each of her _sons_ disdains a base _submission_ to the _will_
of a _master_.--GIBBON.
[Sidenote: _Name words_]
By examining this sentence we notice several words used as names. The
plainest name is _Arabs_, which belongs to a people; but, besides this
one, the words _sons_ and _master_ name objects, and may belong to any
of those objects. The words _state, submission,_ and _will_ are
evidently names of a different kind, as they stand for ideas, not
objects; and the word _nation_ stands for a whole group.
When the meaning of each of these words has once been understood, the
word naming it will always call up the thing or idea itself. Such
words are called nouns.
[Sidenote: _Definition_.]
2. A noun is a name word, representing directly to the mind an
object, substance, or idea.
[Sidenote: _Classes of nouns_.]
3. Nouns are classified as follows:--
(1) Proper.
(2) Common. (a) CLASS NAMES: i. Individual.
ii. Collective.
(b) MATERIAL.
(3) Abstract. (a) ATTRIBUTE.
(b) VERBAL
[Sidenote: _Names for special objects._]
4. A proper noun is a name applied to a particular object, whether
person, place, or thing.
It specializes or limits the thing to which it is applied, reducing it
to a narrow application. Thus, _city_ is a word applied to any one of
its kind; but _Chicago_ names one city, and fixes the attention upon
that particular city. _King_ may be applied to any ruler of a kingdom,
but _Alfred the Great_ is the name of one king only.
The word _proper_ is from a Latin word meaning _limited, belonging to
one_. This does not imply, however, that a proper name can be applied
to only one object, but that each time such a name is applied it is
fixed or proper to that object. Even if there are several Bostons or
Manchesters, the name of each is an individual or proper name.
[Sidenote: _Name for any individual of a class._]
5. A common noun is a name possessed by _any_ one of a class of
persons, animals, or things.
_Common_, as here used, is from a Latin word which means _general,
possessed by all_.
For instance, _road_ is a word that names _any_ highway outside of
cities; _wagon_ is a term that names _any_ vehicle of a certain kind
used for hauling: the words are of the widest application. We may say,
_the man here_, or _the man in front of you_, but the word _man_ is
here hedged in by other words or word groups: the name itself is of
general application.
[Sidenote: _Name for a group or collection of objects._]
Besides considering persons, animals, and things separately, we may
think of them in groups, and appropriate names to the groups.
Thus, men in groups may be called a _crowd_, or a _mob_, a
_committee_, or a _council_, or a _congress_, etc.
These are called COLLECTIVE NOUNS. They properly belong under common
nouns, because each group is considered as a unit, and the name
applied to it belongs to any group of its class.
[Sidenote: _Names for things thought of in mass._]
6. The definition given for common nouns applies more strictly to
class nouns. It may, however, be correctly used for another group of
nouns detailed below; for they are common nouns in the sense that the
names apply to _every particle of similar substance_, instead of to
each individual or separate object.
They are called MATERIAL NOUNS. Such are _glass_, _iron_, _clay_,
_frost_, _rain_, _snow_, _wheat_, _wine_, _tea_, _sugar_, etc.
They may be placed in groups as follows:--
(1) The metals: _iron_, _gold_, _platinum_, etc.
(2) Products spoken of in bulk: _tea_, _sugar_, _rice_, _wheat_, etc.
(3) Geological bodies: _mud_, _sand_, _granite_, _rock_, _stone_, etc.
(4) Natural phenomena: _rain_, _dew_, _cloud_, _frost_, _mist_, etc.
(5) Various manufactures: _cloth_ (and the different kinds of cloth),
_potash_, _soap_, _rubber_, _paint_, _celluloid_, etc.
7. NOTE.--There are some nouns, such as _sun_, _moon_, _earth_,
which seem to be the names of particular individual objects, but which
are not called proper names.
[Sidenote: _Words naturally of limited application not proper._]
The reason is, that in proper names the intention is _to exclude_ all
other individuals of the same class, and fasten a special name to the
object considered, as in calling a city _Cincinnati_; but in the words
_sun_, _earth_, etc., there is no such intention. If several bodies
like the center of our solar system are known, they also are called
_suns_ by a natural extension of the term: so with the words _earth_,
_world_, etc. They remain common class names.
[Sidenote: _Names of ideas, not things._]
8. Abstract nouns are names of qualities, conditions, or actions,
considered abstractly, or apart from their natural connection.
When we speak of a _wise man_, we recognize in him an attribute or
quality. If we wish to think simply of that quality without describing
the person, we speak of the _wisdom_ of the man. The quality is still
there as much as before, but it is taken merely as a name. So
_poverty_ would express the condition of a poor person; _proof_ means
the act of proving, or that which shows a thing has been proved; and
so on.
Again, we may say, "_Painting_ is a fine art," "_Learning_ is hard to
acquire," "a man of _understanding_."
9. There are two chief divisions of abstract nouns:--
(1) ATTRIBUTE NOUNS, expressing attributes or qualities.
(2) VERBAL NOUNS, expressing state, condition, or action.
[Sidenote: _Attribute abstract nouns._]
10. The ATTRIBUTE ABSTRACT NOUNS are derived from adjectives and
from common nouns. Thus, (1) _prudence_ from _prudent_, _height_ from
_high_, _redness_ from _red_, _stupidity_ from _stupid_, etc.; (2)
_peerage_ from _peer_, _childhood_ from _child_, _mastery_ from
_master_, _kingship_ from _king_, etc.
[Sidenote: _Verbal abstract nouns._]
II. The VERBAL ABSTRACT NOUNS Originate in verbs, as their name
implies. They may be--
(1) Of the same form as the simple verb. The verb, by altering its
function, is used as a noun; as in the expressions, "a long _run_" "a
bold _move_," "a brisk _walk_."
(2) Derived from verbs by changing the ending or adding a suffix:
_motion_ from _move_, _speech_ from _speak_, _theft_ from _thieve_,
_action_ from _act_, _service_ from _serve_.
[Sidenote: _Caution._]
(3) Derived from verbs by adding _-ing_ to the simple verb. It must be
remembered that these words are _free from any verbal function_. They
cannot govern a word, and they cannot _express_ action, but are merely
_names_ of actions. They are only the husks of verbs, and are to be
rigidly distinguished from _gerunds_ (Secs. 272, 273).
To avoid difficulty, study carefully these examples:
The best thoughts and _sayings_ of the Greeks; the moon caused fearful
_forebodings_; in the _beginning_ of his life; he spread his
_blessings_ over the land; the great Puritan _awakening_; our birth is
but a sleep and a _forgetting_; a _wedding_ or a festival; the rude
_drawings_ of the book; masterpieces of the Socratic _reasoning_; the
_teachings_ of the High Spirit; those opinions and _feelings_; there
is time for such _reasonings_; the _well-being_ of her subjects; her
_longing_ for their favor; _feelings_ which their original _meaning_
will by no means justify; the main _bearings_ of this matter.
[Sidenote: _Underived abstract nouns._]
12. Some abstract nouns were not derived from any other part of
speech, but were framed directly for the expression of certain ideas
or phenomena. Such are _beauty_, _joy_, _hope_, _ease_, _energy_;
_day_, _night_, _summer_, _winter_; _shadow_, _lightning_, _thunder_,
etc.
The adjectives or verbs corresponding to these are either themselves
derived from the nouns or are totally different words; as
_glad_--_joy_, _hopeful_--_hope_, etc.
Exercises.
1. From your reading bring up sentences containing ten common nouns,
five proper, five abstract.
--NOTE.--Remember that all sentences are to be _selected_ from
standard literature.
2. Under what class of nouns would you place (_a_) the names of
diseases, as _pneumonia_, _pleurisy_, _catarrh_, _typhus_,
_diphtheria_; (_b_) branches of knowledge, as _physics_, _algebra_,
_geology_, _mathematics_?
3. Mention collective nouns that will embrace groups of each of the
following individual nouns:--
man
horse
bird
fish
partridge
pupil
bee
soldier
book
sailor
child
sheep
ship
ruffian
4. Using a dictionary, tell from what word each of these abstract
nouns is derived:--
sight
speech
motion
pleasure
patience
friendship
deceit
bravery
height
width
wisdom
regularity
advice
seizure
nobility
relief
death
raid
honesty
judgment
belief
occupation
justice
service
trail
feeling
choice
simplicity
SPECIAL USES OF NOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Nouns change by use._]
13. By being used so as to vary their usual meaning, nouns of one
class may be made to approach another class, or to go over to it
entirely. Since words alter their meaning so rapidly by a widening or
narrowing of their application, we shall find numerous examples of
this shifting from class to class; but most of them are in the
following groups. For further discussion see the remarks on articles
(p. 119).
[Sidenote: _Proper names transferred to common use._]
14. Proper nouns are used as common in either of two ways:--
(1) _The origin of a thing is used for the thing itself_: that is, the
name of the inventor may be applied to the thing invented, as a
_davy_, meaning the miner's lamp invented by Sir Humphry Davy; the
_guillotine_, from the name of Dr. Guillotin, who was its inventor. Or
the name of the country or city from which an article is derived is
used for the article: as _china_, from China; _arras_, from a town in
France; _port_ (wine), from Oporto, in Portugal; _levant_ and
_morocco_ (leather).
Some of this class have become worn by use so that at present we can
scarcely discover the derivation from the form of the word; for
example, the word _port_, above. Others of similar character are
_calico_, from Calicut; _damask_, from Damascus; _currants_, from
Corinth; etc.
(2) _The name of a person or place noted for certain qualities is
transferred to any person or place possessing those qualities_;
thus,--
Hercules and Samson were noted for their strength, and we call a
very strong man _a Hercules_ or _a Samson_. Sodom was famous for
wickedness, and a similar place is called _a Sodom_ of sin.
_A Daniel_ come to judgment!--SHAKESPEARE.
If it prove a mind of uncommon activity and power, _a Locke_, _a
Lavoisier_, _a Hutton_, _a Bentham_, _a Fourier_, it imposes its
classification on other men, and lo! a new system.--EMERSON.
[Sidenote: _Names for things in bulk altered for separate portions._]
15. Material nouns may be used as class names. Instead of
considering the whole body of material of which certain uses are made,
one can speak of particular uses or phases of the substance; as--
(1) _Of individual objects_ made from metals or other substances
capable of being wrought into various shapes. We know a number of
objects made of iron. The material _iron_ embraces the metal contained
in them all; but we may say, "The cook made the _irons_ hot,"
referring to flat-irons; or, "The sailor was put in _irons_" meaning
chains of iron. So also we may speak of _a glass_ to drink from or to
look into; _a steel_ to whet a knife on; _a rubber_ for erasing marks;
and so on.
(2) _Of classes_ or _kinds_ of the same substance. These are the same
in material, but differ in strength, purity, etc. Hence it shortens
speech to make the nouns plural, and say _teas_, _tobaccos_, _paints_,
_oils_, _candies_, _clays_, _coals_.
(3) _By poetical use_, of certain words necessarily singular in idea,
which are made plural, or used as class nouns, as in the following:--
The lone and level _sands_ stretch far away.--SHELLEY.
From all around--
Earth and her _waters_, and the depths of air--
Comes a still voice.--BRYANT.
Their airy ears
_The winds_ have stationed on the mountain peaks.
--PERCIVAL.
(4) _Of detached portions_ of matter used as class names; as _stones_,
_slates_, _papers_, _tins_, _clouds_, _mists_, etc.
[Sidenote: _Personification of abstract ideas._]
16. Abstract nouns are frequently used as proper names by being
personified; that is, the ideas are spoken of as residing in living
beings. This is a poetic usage, though not confined to verse.
Next _Anger_ rushed; his eyes, on fire,
In lightnings owned his secret stings.--COLLINS.
_Freedom's_ fame finds wings on every wind.--BYRON.
_Death_, his mask melting like a nightmare dream, smiled.--HAYNE.
_Traffic_ has lain down to rest; and only _Vice_ and _Misery_, to
prowl or to moan like night birds, are abroad.--CARLYLE.
[Sidenote: _A halfway class of words. Class nouns in use, abstract in
meaning._]
17. Abstract nouns are made half abstract by being spoken of in
the plural.
They are not then pure abstract nouns, nor are they common class
nouns. For example, examine this:--
The _arts_ differ from the _sciences_ in this, that their power
is founded not merely on _facts_ which can be communicated, but
on _dispositions_ which require to be created.--RUSKIN.
When it is said that _art_ differs from _science_, that the power of
art is founded on _fact_, that _disposition_ is the thing to be
created, the words italicized are pure abstract nouns; but in case _an
art_ or _a science_, or _the arts_ and _sciences_, be spoken of, the
abstract idea is partly lost. The words preceded by the article _a_,
or made plural, are still names of abstract ideas, not material
things; but they widen the application to separate kinds of _art_ or
different branches of _science_. They are neither class nouns nor pure
abstract nouns: they are more properly called _half abstract_.
Test this in the following sentences:--
Let us, if we must have great _actions_, make our own
so.--EMERSON.
And still, as each repeated _pleasure_ tired, Succeeding _sports_
the mirthful band inspired.--GOLDSMITH.
But ah! those _pleasures_, _loves_, and _joys_
Which I too keenly taste,
The Solitary can despise.--BURNS.
All these, however, were mere _terrors_ of the night.--IRVING.
[Sidenote: _By ellipses, nouns used to modify._]
18. Nouns used as descriptive terms. Sometimes a noun is attached
to another noun to add to its meaning, or describe it; for example, "a
_family_ quarrel," "a _New York_ bank," "the _State Bank Tax_ bill,"
"a _morning_ walk."
It is evident that these approach very near to the function of
adjectives. But it is better to consider them as nouns, for these
reasons: they do not give up their identity as nouns; they do not
express quality; they cannot be compared, as descriptive adjectives
are.
They are more like the possessive noun, which belongs to another word,
but is still a noun. They may be regarded as elliptical expressions,
meaning a walk _in the morning_, a bank _in New York_, a bill _as to
tax on the banks_, etc.
NOTE.--If the descriptive word be a _material_ noun, it may be
regarded as changed to an adjective. The term "_gold_ pen" conveys the
same idea as "_golden_ pen," which contains a pure adjective.
WORDS AND WORD GROUPS USED AS NOUNS.
[Sidenote: _The noun may borrow from any part of speech, or from any
expression._]
19. Owing to the scarcity of distinctive forms, and to the
consequent flexibility of English speech, words which are usually
other parts of speech are often used as nouns; and various word groups
may take the place of nouns by being used as nouns.
[Sidenote: _Adjectives, Conjunctions, Adverbs._]
(1) _Other parts of speech_ used as nouns:--
_The great_, _the wealthy_, fear thy blow.--BURNS.
Every _why_ hath a _wherefore_.--SHAKESPEARE.
When I was young? Ah, woeful _When_!
Ah! for the change 'twixt _Now_ and _Then_!
--COLERIDGE.
(2) _Certain word groups_ used like single nouns:--
_Too swift_ arrives as tardy as _too slow_.--SHAKESPEARE.
Then comes the "_Why, sir_!" and the "_What then, sir_?" and the
"_No, sir_!" and the "_You don't see your way through the
question, sir_!"--MACAULAY
(3) Any part of speech may be considered merely as a word, without
reference to its function in the sentence; also titles of books are
treated as simple nouns.
The _it_, at the beginning, is ambiguous, whether it mean the sun
or the cold.--Dr BLAIR
In this definition, is the word "_just_," or "_legal_," finally
to stand?--RUSKIN.
There was also a book of Defoe's called an "_Essay on Projects_,"
and another of Dr. Mather's called "_Essays to do Good_."--B.
FRANKLIN.
[Sidenote: _Caution._]
20. It is to be remembered, however, that the above cases are
shiftings of the _use_, of words rather than of their _meaning_. We
seldom find instances of complete conversion of one part of speech
into another.
When, in a sentence above, the terms _the great_, _the wealthy_, are
used, they are not names only: we have in mind the idea of persons and
the quality of being _great_ or _wealthy_. The words are used in the
sentence where nouns are used, but have an adjectival meaning.
In the other sentences, _why_ and _wherefore_, _When_, _Now_, and
_Then_, are spoken of as if pure nouns; but still the reader considers
this not a natural application of them as name words, but as a figure
of speech.
NOTE.--These remarks do not apply, of course, to such words as become
pure nouns by use. There are many of these. The adjective _good_ has
no claim on the noun _goods_; so, too, in speaking of the _principal_
of a school, or a state _secret_, or a faithful _domestic_, or a
_criminal_, etc., the words are entirely independent of any adjective
force.
Exercise.
Pick out the nouns in the following sentences, and tell to which class
each belongs. Notice if any have shifted from one class to another.
1. Hope springs eternal in the human breast.
2. Heaven from all creatures hides the book of Fate.
3. Stone walls do not a prison make.
Nor iron bars a cage.
4. Truth-teller was our England's Alfred named.
5. A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little
courage.
6. Power laid his rod aside,
And Ceremony doff'd her pride.
7. She sweeps it through the court with troops of ladies.
8. Learning, that cobweb of the brain.
9. A little weeping would ease my heart;
But in their briny bed
My tears must stop, for every drop
Hinders needle and thread.
10. A fool speaks all his mind, but a wise man reserves something for
hereafter.
11. Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble
that he knows no more.
12. Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.
13. And see, he cried, the welcome,
Fair guests, that waits you here.
14. The fleet, shattered and disabled, returned to Spain.
15. One To-day is worth two To-morrows.
16. Vessels carrying coal are constantly moving.
17. Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest,
Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood.
18. And oft we trod a waste of pearly sands.
19. A man he seems of cheerful yesterdays
And confident to-morrows.
20. The hours glide by; the silver moon is gone.
21. Her robes of silk and velvet came from over the sea.
22. My soldier cousin was once only a drummer boy.
23. But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed.
24. All that thou canst call thine own Lies in thy To-day.
INFLECTIONS OF NOUNS.
GENDER.
[Sidenote: _What gender means in English. It is founded on sex._]
21. In Latin, Greek, German, and many other languages, some general
rules are given that names of male beings are usually masculine, and
names of females are usually feminine. There are exceptions even to
this general statement, but not so in English. Male beings are, in
English grammar, always masculine; female, always feminine.
When, however, _inanimate_ things are spoken of, these languages are
totally unlike our own in determining the gender of words. For
instance: in Latin, _hortus_ (garden) is masculine, _mensa_ (table) is
feminine, _corpus_ (body) is neuter; in German, _das Messer_ (knife)
is neuter, _der Tisch_ (table) is masculine, _die Gabel_ (fork) is
feminine.
The great difference is, that in English the gender follows the
_meaning_ of the word, in other languages gender follows the _form_;
that is, in English, gender depends on _sex_: if a thing spoken of is
of the male sex, the _name_ of it is masculine; if of the female sex,
the _name_ of it is feminine. Hence:
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
22. Gender is the mode of distinguishing sex by words, or
additions to words.
23. It is evident from this that English can have but two
genders,--masculine and feminine.
[Sidenote: _Gender nouns. Neuter nouns._]
All nouns, then, must be divided into two principal classes,--gender
nouns, those distinguishing the sex of the object; and neuter
nouns, those which do not distinguish sex, or names of things without
life, and consequently without sex.
Gender nouns include names of persons and some names of animals;
neuter nouns include some animals and all inanimate objects.
[Sidenote: _Some words either gender or neuter nouns, according to
use._]
24. Some words may be either gender nouns or neuter nouns, according
to their use. Thus, the word _child_ is neuter in the sentence, "A
little _child_ shall lead them," but is masculine in the sentence
from Wordsworth,--
I have seen
A curious _child_ ... applying to _his_ ear
The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell.
Of animals, those with which man comes in contact often, or which
arouse his interest most, are named by gender nouns, as in these
sentences:--
Before the barn door strutted the gallant _cock_, that pattern of
a husband, ... clapping _his_ burnished wings.--IRVING.
_Gunpowder_ ... came to a stand just by the bridge, with a
suddenness that had nearly sent _his_ rider sprawling over _his_
head--_id._
Other animals are not distinguished as to sex, but are spoken of as
neuter, the sex being of no consequence.
Not a _turkey_ but he [Ichabod] beheld daintily trussed up, with
_its_ gizzard under _its_ wing.--IRVING.
He next stooped down to feel the _pig_, if there were any signs
of life in _it_.--LAMB.
[Sidenote: _No "common gender._"]
25. According to the definition, there can be no such thing as
"common gender:" words either distinguish sex (or the sex is
distinguished by the context) or else they do not distinguish sex.
If such words as _parent_, _servant_, _teacher_, _ruler_, _relative_,
_cousin_, _domestic_, etc., do not show the sex to which the persons
belong, they are neuter words.
26. Put in convenient form, the division of words according to sex,
or the lack of it, is,--
(MASCULINE: Male beings.
Gender nouns {
(FEMININE: Female beings.
Neuter nouns: Names of inanimate things, or of living beings whose
sex cannot be determined.
27. The inflections for gender belong, of course, only to masculine
and feminine nouns. _Forms_ would be a more accurate word than
_inflections_, since inflection applies only to the _case_ of nouns.
There are three ways to distinguish the genders:--
(1) By prefixing a gender word to another word.
(2) By adding a suffix, generally to a masculine word.
(3) By using a different word for each gender.
I. Gender shown by Prefixes.
[Sidenote: _Very few of class I._]
28. Usually the gender words _he_ and _she_ are prefixed to neuter
words; as _he-goat_--_she-goat_, _cock sparrow_--_hen sparrow_,
_he-bear_--_she-bear_.
One feminine, _woman_, puts a prefix before the masculine _man_.
_Woman_ is a short way of writing _wifeman_.
II. Gender shown by Suffixes.
29. By far the largest number of gender words are those marked by
suffixes. In this particular the native endings have been largely
supplanted by foreign suffixes.
[Sidenote: _Native suffixes._]
The native suffixes to indicate the feminine were _-en_ and _-ster_.
These remain in _vixen_ and _spinster_, though both words have lost
their original meanings.
The word _vixen_ was once used as the feminine of _fox_ by the
Southern-English. For _fox_ they said _vox_; for _from_ they said
_vram_; and for the older word _fat_ they said _vat_, as in _wine
vat_. Hence _vixen_ is for _fyxen_, from the masculine _fox_.
_Spinster_ is a relic of a large class of words that existed in Old
and Middle English,[1] but have now lost their original force as
feminines. The old masculine answering to _spinster_ was _spinner_;
but _spinster_ has now no connection with it.
The foreign suffixes are of two kinds:--
[Sidenote: _Foreign suffixes. Unaltered and little used._]
(1) Those belonging to borrowed words, as _czarina_, _señorita_,
_executrix_, _donna_. These are attached to foreign words, and are
never used for words recognized as English.
[Sidenote: _Slightly changed and widely used._]
(2) That regarded as the standard or regular termination of the
feminine, _-ess_ (French _esse_, Low Latin _issa_), the one most used.
The corresponding masculine may have the ending _-er_ (_-or_), but in
most cases it has not. Whenever we adopt a new masculine word, the
feminine is formed by adding this termination _-ess_.
Sometimes the _-ess_ has been added to a word already feminine by the
ending _-ster_; as _seam-str-ess_, _song-str-ess_. The ending _-ster_
had then lost its force as a feminine suffix; it has none now in the
words _huckster_, _gamester_, _trickster_, _punster_.
[Sidenote: _Ending of masculine not changed._]
30. The ending _-ess_ is added to many words without changing the
ending of the masculine; as,--
baron--baroness
count--countess
lion--lioness
Jew--Jewess
heir--heiress
host--hostess
priest--priestess
giant--giantess
[Sidenote: _Masculine ending dropped._]
The masculine ending may be dropped before the feminine _-ess_ is
added; as,--
abbot--abbess
negro--negress
murderer--murderess
sorcerer--sorceress
[Sidenote: _Vowel dropped before adding_ -ess.]
The feminine may discard a vowel which appears in the masculine; as
in--
actor--actress
master--mistress
benefactor--benefactress
emperor--empress
tiger--tigress
enchanter--enchantress
_Empress_ has been cut down from _emperice_ (twelfth century) and
_emperesse_ (thirteenth century), from Latin _imperatricem_.
_Master_ and _mistress_ were in Middle English
_maister_--_maistresse_, from the Old French _maistre_--_maistresse_.
31. When the older _-en_ and _-ster_ went out of use as the
distinctive mark of the feminine, the ending _-ess_, from the French
_-esse_, sprang into a popularity much greater than at present.
[Sidenote: _Ending_ -ess _less used now than formerly._]
Instead of saying _doctress_, _fosteress_, _wagoness_, as was said in
the sixteenth century, or _servauntesse_, _teacheresse_,
_neighboresse_, _frendesse_, as in the fourteenth century, we have
dispensed with the ending in many cases, and either use a prefix word
or leave the masculine to do work for the feminine also.
Thus, we say _doctor_ (masculine and feminine) or _woman doctor_,
_teacher_ or _lady teacher_, _neighbor_ (masculine and feminine), etc.
We frequently use such words as _author_, _editor_, _chairman_, to
represent persons of either sex.
NOTE.--There is perhaps this distinction observed: when we speak of a
female _as an active agent_ merely, we use the masculine termination,
as, "George Eliot is the _author_ of 'Adam Bede;'" but when we speak
purposely _to denote a distinction from a male_, we use the feminine,
as, "George Eliot is an eminent _authoress_."
III. Gender shown by Different Words.
32. In some of these pairs, the feminine and the masculine are
entirely different words; others have in their origin the same root.
Some of them have an interesting history, and will be noted below:--
bachelor--maid
boy--girl
brother--sister
drake--duck
earl--countess
father--mother
gander--goose
hart--roe
horse--mare
husband--wife
king--queen
lord--lady
wizard--witch
nephew--niece
ram--ewe
sir--madam
son--daughter
uncle--aunt
bull--cow
boar--sow
Girl originally meant a child of either sex, and was used for male
or female until about the fifteenth century.
Drake is peculiar in that it is formed from a corresponding feminine
which is no longer used. It is not connected historically with our
word _duck_, but is derived from _ened_ (duck) and an obsolete suffix
_rake_ (king). Three letters of _ened_ have fallen away, leaving our
word _drake_.
Gander and goose were originally from the same root word. _Goose_
has various cognate forms in the languages akin to English (German
_Gans_, Icelandic _gás_, Danish _gaas_, etc.). The masculine was
formed by adding _-a_, the old sign of the masculine. This _gansa_ was
modified into _gan-ra_, _gand-ra_, finally _gander_; the _d_ being
inserted to make pronunciation easy, as in many other words.
Mare, in Old English _mere_, had the masculine _mearh_ (horse), but
this has long been obsolete.
Husband and wife are not connected in origin. _Husband_ is a
Scandinavian word (Anglo-Saxon _husbonda_ from Icelandic _hús-bóndi_,
probably meaning house dweller); _wife_ was used in Old and Middle
English to mean woman in general.
King and queen are said by some (Skeat, among others) to be from
the same root word, but the German etymologist Kluge says they are
not.
Lord is said to be a worn-down form of the Old English _hlaf-weard_
(loaf keeper), written _loverd_, _lhauerd_, or _lauerd_ in Middle
English. Lady is from _hlœ¯¯fdige_ (_hlœ¯¯f_ meaning loaf, and
_dige_ being of uncertain origin and meaning).
Witch is the Old English _wicce_, but wizard is from the Old
French _guiscart_ (prudent), not immediately connected with _witch_,
though both are ultimately from the same root.
Sir is worn down from the Old French _sire_ (Latin _senior_).
Madam is the French _ma dame_, from Latin _mea domina_.
[Sidenote: _Two masculines from feminines._]
33. Besides _gander_ and _drake_, there are two other masculine
words that were formed from the feminine:--
Bridegroom, from Old English _bry¯d-guma_ (bride's man). The _r_ in
_groom_ has crept in from confusion with the word _groom_.
Widower, from the weakening of the ending _-a_ in Old English to
_-e_ in Middle English. The older forms, _widuwa_--_widuwe_, became
identical, and a new masculine ending was therefore added to
distinguish the masculine from the feminine (compare Middle English
_widuer_--_widewe_).
Personification.
34. Just as abstract ideas are personified (Sec. 16), material
objects may be spoken of like gender nouns; for example,--
"Now, where the swift _Rhone_ cleaves _his_ way."--BYRON.
The _Sun_ now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came _he_.
--COLERIDGE.
And haply the _Queen Moon_ is on _her_ throne,
Clustered around by all her starry Fays.
--KEATS,
_Britannia_ needs no bulwarks,
No towers along the steep;
_Her_ march is o'er the mountain waves,
_Her_ home is on the deep.
--CAMPBELL
This is not exclusively a poetic use. In ordinary speech
personification is very frequent: the pilot speaks of his boat as
feminine; the engineer speaks so of his engine; etc.
[Sidenote: _Effect of personification._]
In such cases the gender is marked by the pronoun, and not by the form
of the noun. But the fact that in English the distinction of gender is
confined to difference of sex makes these departures more effective.
NUMBER.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
35. In nouns, number means the mode of indicating whether we are
speaking of one thing or of more than one.
36. Our language has two numbers,--_singular_ and _plural_. The
singular number denotes that one thing is spoken of; the plural, more
than one.
37. There are three ways of changing the singular form to the
plural:--
(1) By adding _-en_.
(2) By changing the root vowel.
(3) By adding _-s_ (or _-es_).
The first two methods prevailed, together with the third, in Old
English, but in modern English _-s_ or _-es_ has come to be the
"standard" ending; that is, whenever we adopt a new word, we make its
plural by adding _-s_ or _-es._
I. Plurals formed by the Suffix _-en_.
[Sidenote: _The_ -en _inflection._]
38. This inflection remains only in the word oxen, though it was
quite common in Old and Middle English; for instance, _eyen_ (eyes),
_treen_ (trees), _shoon_ (shoes), which last is still used in Lowland
Scotch. _Hosen_ is found in the King James version of the Bible, and
_housen_ is still common in the provincial speech in England.
39. But other words were inflected afterwards, in imitation of the
old words in _-en_ by making a double plural.
[Sidenote: -En _inflection imitated by other words._]
Brethren has passed through three stages. The old plural was
_brothru_, then _brothre_ or _brethre_, finally _brethren_. The
weakening of inflections led to this addition.
Children has passed through the same history, though the
intermediate form _childer_ lasted till the seventeenth century in
literary English, and is still found in dialects; as,--
"God bless me! so then, after all, you'll have a chance to see
your _childer_ get up like, and get settled."--QUOTED BY DE
QUINCEY.
Kine is another double plural, but has now no singular.
In spite of wandering _kine_ and other adverse
circumstance.--THOREAU.
II. Plurals formed by Vowel Change.
40. Examples of this inflection are,--
man--men
foot--feet
goose--geese
louse--lice
mouse--mice
tooth--teeth
Some other words--as _book_, _turf_, _wight_, _borough_--formerly had
the same inflection, but they now add the ending _-s_.
41. Akin to this class are some words, originally neuter, that have
the singular and plural alike; such as _deer_, _sheep_, _swine_, etc.
Other words following the same usage are, _pair_, _brace_, _dozen_,
after numerals (if not after numerals, or if preceded by the
prepositions _in_, _by_, etc, they add _-s_): also _trout_, _salmon_;
_head_, _sail_; _cannon_; _heathen_, _folk_, _people_.
The words _horse_ and _foot_, when they mean soldiery, retain the
same form for plural meaning; as,--
The _foot_ are fourscore thousand,
The _horse_ are thousands ten.
--MACAULAY.
Lee marched over the mountain wall,--
Over the mountains winding down,
_Horse_ and _foot_, into Frederick town.
--WHITTIER.
III. Plurals formed by Adding -s or -es.
42. Instead of _-s,_ the ending _-es_ is added--
(1) If a word ends in a letter which cannot add _-s_ and be
pronounced. Such are _box, cross, ditch, glass, lens, quartz_, etc.
[Sidenote: _-Es added in certain cases_.]
If the word ends in a _sound_ which cannot add _-s_, a new syllable is
made; as, _niche--niches, race--races, house--houses, prize--prizes,
chaise--chaises_, etc.
_-Es_ is also added to a few words ending in -o, though this sound
combines readily with _-s_, and does not make an extra syllable:
_cargo--cargoes, negro--negroes, hero--heroes, volcano--volcanoes_,
etc.
Usage differs somewhat in other words of this class, some adding _-s_,
and some _-es_.
(2) If a word ends in _-y_ preceded by a consonant (the _y_ being then
changed to _i_); e.g., _fancies, allies, daisies, fairies_.
[Sidenote: _Words in -ies._]
Formerly, however, these words ended in _-ie_, and the real ending is
therefore _-s_. Notice these from Chaucer (fourteenth century):--
[Sidenote: _Their old form._]
The _lilie_ on hir stalke grene.
Of _maladie_ the which he hadde endured.
And these from Spenser (sixteenth century):--
Be well aware, quoth then that _ladie_ milde.
At last fair Hesperus in highest _skie_
Had spent his lampe.
(3) In the case of some words ending in -_f_ or -_fe_, which have
the plural in _-ves_: _calf_--_calves_, _half_--_halves_,
_knife_--_knives_, _shelf_--_shelves_, etc.
Special Lists.
43. Material nouns and abstract nouns are always singular. When
such words take a plural ending, they lose their identity, and go over
to other classes (Secs. 15 and 17).
44. Proper nouns are regularly singular, but may be made plural
when we wish to speak of several persons or things bearing the same
name; e.g., _the Washingtons_, _the Americas_.
45. Some words are usually singular, though they are plural in
form. Examples of these are, _optics_, _economics_, _physics_,
_mathematics_, _politics_, and many branches of learning; also _news_,
_pains_ (care), _molasses_, _summons_, _means_: as,--
_Politics_, in its widest extent, is both the science and the art
of government.--_Century Dictionary_.
So live, that when thy _summons comes_, etc.--BRYANT.
It served simply as _a means_ of sight.--PROF. DANA.
[Sidenote: Means _plural_.]
Two words, means and politics, _may be plural_ in their
construction with verbs and adjectives:--
Words, by strongly conveying the passions, by _those means_ which
we have already mentioned, fully compensate for their weakness in
other respects.--BURKE.
With great dexterity _these means_ were now applied.--MOTLEY.
By _these means_, I say, riches will accumulate.--GOLDSMITH.
[Sidenote: Politics _plural_.]
Cultivating a feeling that _politics_ are tiresome.--G.W. CURTIS.
The _politics_ in which he took the keenest interest _were
politics_ scarcely deserving of the name.--MACAULAY.
Now I read all the _politics_ that _come_ out.--GOLDSMITH.
46. Some words have no corresponding singular.
aborigines
amends
annals
assets
antipodes
scissors
thanks
spectacles
vespers
victuals
matins
nuptials
oats
obsequies
premises
bellows
billiards
dregs
gallows
tongs
[Sidenote: _Occasionally singular words_.]
Sometimes, however, a few of these words have the construction of
singular nouns. Notice the following:--
They cannot get on without each other any more than one blade of
_a scissors_ can cut without the other.--J.L. LAUGHLIN.
A relic which, if I recollect right, he pronounced to have been
_a tongs_.--IRVING.
Besides this, it is furnished with _a forceps_.--GOLDSMITH.
The air,--was it subdued when...the wind was trained only to turn
a windmill, carry off chaff, or work in _a bellows_?--PROF. DANA.
In Early Modern English _thank_ is found.
What _thank_ have ye?--_Bible_
47. Three words were _originally singular_, the present ending _-s_
not being really a plural inflection, but they are regularly construed
as plural: _alms, eaves, riches_.
[Sidenote: _two plurals_.]
48. A few nouns have two plurals differing in meaning.
brother--brothers (by blood), brethren (of a society or church).
cloth--cloths (kinds of cloth), clothes (garments).
die--dies (stamps for coins, etc.), dice (for gaming).
fish--fish (collectively), fishes (individuals or kinds).
genius--geniuses (men of genius), genii (spirits).
index--indexes (to books), indices (signs in algebra).
pea--peas (separately), pease (collectively).
penny--pennies (separately), pence (collectively).
shot--shot (collective balls), shots (number of times fired).
In speaking of coins, _twopence_, _sixpence_, etc., may add _-s_,
making a double plural, as two _sixpences_.
[Sidenote: _One plural, two meanings._]
49. Other words have one plural form with two meanings,--one
corresponding to the singular, the other unlike it.
custom--customs: (1) habits, ways; (2) revenue duties.
letter--letters: (1) the alphabet, or epistles; (2) literature.
number--numbers: (1) figures; (2) poetry, as in the lines,--
I lisped in _numbers_, for the numbers came.--POPE.
Tell me not, in mournful _numbers_.--LONGFELLOW.
_Numbers_ also means issues, or copies, of a periodical.
pain--pains: (1) suffering; (2) care, trouble,
part--parts: (1) divisions; (2) abilities, faculties.
[Sidenote: _Two classes of compound words._]
50. Compound words may be divided into two classes:--
(1) _Those whose parts are so closely joined as to constitute one
word._ These make the last part plural.
courtyard
dormouse
Englishman
fellow-servant
fisherman
Frenchman
forget-me-not
goosequill
handful
mouthful
cupful
maidservant
pianoforte
stepson
spoonful
titmouse
(2) _Those groups in which the first part is the principal one,
followed by a word or phrase making a modifier._ The chief member adds
_-s_ in the plural.
aid-de-camp
attorney at law
billet-doux
commander in chief
court-martial
cousin-german
father-in-law
knight-errant
hanger-on
NOTE.--Some words ending in _-man_ are not compounds of the English
word _man_, but add _-s_; such as _talisman_, _firman_, _Brahman_,
_German_, _Norman_, _Mussulman_, _Ottoman_.
51. Some groups pluralize both parts of the group; as _man singer_,
_manservant_, _woman servant_, _woman singer_.
[Sidenote: _Two methods in use for names with titles._]
52. As to plurals of names with titles, there is some disagreement
among English writers. The title may be plural, as _the Messrs.
Allen_, _the Drs. Brown_, _the Misses Rich_; or the name may be
pluralized.
The former is perhaps more common in present-day use, though the
latter is often found; for example,--
Then came Mr. and Mrs. Briggs, and then _the three Miss
Spinneys_, then Silas Peckham.--DR. HOLMES.
Our immortal Fielding was of the younger branch of the _Earls of
Denbigh_, who drew their origin from the _Counts of
Hapsburgh_.--GIBBON.
The _Miss Flamboroughs_ were reckoned the best dancers in the
parish.--GOLDSMITH.
The _Misses Nettengall's_ young ladies come to the Cathedral
too.--DICKENS.
The _Messrs. Harper_ have done the more than generous thing by
Mr. Du Maurier.--_The Critic_.
53. A number of foreign words have been adopted into English
without change of form. These are said to be _domesticated_, and
retain their foreign plurals.
Others have been adopted, and by long use have altered their power so
as to conform to English words. They are then said to be
_naturalized_, or _Anglicized_, or _Englished_.
[Sidenote: _Domesticated words._]
The domesticated words may retain the original plural. Some of them
have a secondary English plural in _-s_ or _-es_.
Exercise.
Find in the dictionary the plurals of these words:--
I. FROM THE LATIN.
apparatus
appendix
axis
datum
erratum
focus
formula
genus
larva
medium
memorandum
nebula
radius
series
species
stratum
terminus
vertex
II. FROM THE GREEK.
analysis
antithesis
automaton
basis
crisis
ellipsis
hypothesis
parenthesis
phenomenon
thesis
[Sidenote: _Anglicized words._]
When the foreign words are fully naturalized, they form their plurals
in the regular way; as,--
bandits
cherubs
dogmas
encomiums
enigmas
focuses
formulas
geniuses
herbariums
indexes
seraphs
apexes
[Sidenote: _Usage varies in plurals of letters, figures, etc._]
54. Letters, figures, etc., form their plurals by adding _-s_ or
_'s_. Words quoted merely as words, without reference to their
meaning, also add _-s_ or _'s_; as, "His _9's_ (or _9s_) look like
_7's_ (or _7s_)," "Avoid using too many _and's_ (or _ands_)," "Change
the _+'s_ (or _+s_) to _-'s_ (or _-s_)."
CASE.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
55. Case is an inflection or use of a noun (or pronoun) to show its
relation to other words in the sentence.
In the sentence, "He sleeps in a felon's cell," the word _felon's_
modifies _cell_, and expresses a relation akin to possession; _cell_
has another relation, helping to express the idea of place with the
word _in_.
56. In the general wearing-away of inflections, the number of case
forms has been greatly reduced.
[Sidenote: _Only two_ case forms.]
There are now only two case forms of English nouns,--one for the
_nominative_ and _objective_, one for the _possessive_: consequently
the matter of inflection is a very easy thing to handle in learning
about cases.
[Sidenote: _Reasons for speaking of_ three cases _of nouns_.]
But there are reasons why grammars treat of _three_ cases of nouns
when there are only two forms:--
(1) Because the relations of all words, whether inflected or not, must
be understood for purposes of analysis.
(2) Because pronouns still have three case forms as well as three case
relations.
57. Nouns, then, may be said to have three cases,--the
nominative, the objective, and the possessive.
I. Uses of the Nominative.
58. The nominative case is used as follows:--
(1) _As the subject of a verb_: "_Water_ seeks its level."
(2) _As a predicate noun_, completing a verb, and referring to or
explaining the subject: "A bent twig makes a crooked _tree_."
(3) _In apposition_ with some other nominative word, adding to the
meaning of that word: "The reaper _Death_ with his sickle keen."
(4) _In direct address_: "_Lord Angus_, thou hast lied!"
(5) _With a participle in an absolute or independent phrase_ (there is
some discussion whether this is a true nominative): "The _work_ done,
they returned to their homes."
(6) _With an infinitive in exclamations_: "_David_ to die!"
Exercise.
Pick out the nouns in the nominative case, and tell which use of the
nominative each one has.
1. Moderate lamentation is the right of the dead; excessive grief, the
enemy of the living.
2. Excuses are clothes which, when asked unawares,
Good Breeding to naked Necessity spares.
3. Human experience is the great test of truth.
4. Cheerfulness and content are great beautifiers.
5. Three properties belong to wisdom,--nature, learning, and
experience; three things characterize man,--person, fate, and merit.
6. But of all plagues, good Heaven, thy wrath can send,
Save, save, oh save me from the candid friend!
7. Conscience, her first law broken, wounded lies.
8. They charged, sword in hand and visor down.
9. O sleep! O gentle sleep!
Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee?
II. Uses of the Objective.
59. The objective case is used as follows:--
(1) _As the direct object of a verb_, naming the person or thing
directly receiving the action of the verb: "Woodman, spare that
_tree_!"
(2) _As the indirect object of a verb_, naming the person or thing
indirectly affected by the action of the verb: "Give the _devil_ his
due."
(3) _Adverbially_, defining the action of a verb by denoting _time_,
_measure_, _distance_, etc. (in the older stages of the language, this
took the regular accusative inflection): "Full _fathom_ five thy
father lies;" "Cowards die many _times_ before their deaths."
(4) _As the second object_, completing the verb, and thus becoming
part of the predicate in acting upon an object: "Time makes the worst
enemies _friends_;" "Thou makest the storm a _calm_." In these
sentences the real predicates are _makes friends_, taking the object
_enemies_, and being equivalent to one verb, _reconciles_; and _makest
a calm_, taking the object _storm_, and meaning calmest. This is also
called the _predicate objective_ or the _factitive object_.
(5) _As the object of a preposition_, the word toward which the
preposition points, and which it joins to another word: "He must have
a long spoon that would eat with the _devil_."
The preposition sometimes takes the _possessive_ case of a noun, as
will be seen in Sec. 68.
(6) _In apposition with another objective_: "The opinions of this
junto were completely controlled by Nicholas Vedder, a _patriarch_ of
the village, and _landlord_ of the inn."
Exercise.
Point out the nouns in the objective case in these sentences, and tell
which use each has:--
1. Tender men sometimes have strong wills.
2. Necessity is the certain connection between cause and effect.
3. Set a high price on your leisure moments; they are sands of
precious gold.
4. But the flood came howling one day.
5. I found the urchin Cupid sleeping.
6. Five times every year he was to be exposed in the pillory.
7. The noblest mind the best contentment has.
8. Multitudes came every summer to visit that famous natural
curiosity, the Great Stone Face.
9. And whirling plate, and forfeits paid,
His winter task a pastime made.
10. He broke the ice on the streamlet's brink,
And gave the leper to eat and drink.
III. Uses of the Possessive.
60. The possessive case always modifies another word, expressed or
understood. There are three forms of possessive showing how a word is
related in sense to the modified word:--
(1) _Appositional possessive_, as in these expressions,--
The blind old man of _Scio's_ rocky isle.--BYRON.
Beside a pumice isle in _Baiæ's_ bay.--SHELLEY.
In these sentences the phrases are equivalent to _of the rocky isle
[of] Scio_, and _in the bay [of] Baiæ_, the possessive being really
equivalent here to an appositional objective. It is a poetic
expression, the equivalent phrase being used in prose.
(2) _Objective possessive_, as shown in the sentences,--
Ann Turner had taught her the secret before this last good lady
had been hanged for _Sir Thomas Overbury's_ murder.--HAWTHORNE.
He passes to-day in building an air castle for to-morrow, or in
writing _yesterday's_ elegy.--THACKERAY
In these the possessives are equivalent to an objective after a verbal
expression: as, _for murdering Sir Thomas Overbury_; _an elegy to
commemorate yesterday_. For this reason the use of the possessive here
is called objective.
(3) _Subjective possessive_, the most common of all; as,--
The unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display.
--ADDISON.
If this were expanded into _the power which his Creator possesses_,
the word _Creator_ would be the subject of the verb: hence it is
called a subjective possessive.
61. This last-named possessive expresses a variety of relations.
_Possession_ in some sense is the most common. The kind of relation
may usually be found by expanding the possessive into an equivalent
phrase: for example, "_Winter's_ rude tempests are gathering now"
(i.e., tempests that winter is likely to have); "His beard was of
_several days'_ growth" (i.e., growth which several days had
developed); "The _forest's_ leaping panther shall yield his spotted
hide" (i.e., the panther which the forest hides); "Whoso sheddeth
_man's_ blood" (blood that man possesses).
[Sidenote: _How the possessive is formed._]
62. As said before (Sec. 56), there are only two case forms. One is
the simple form of a word, expressing the relations of nominative and
objective; the other is formed by adding _'s_ to the simple form,
making the possessive singular. To form the possessive plural, only
the apostrophe is added if the plural nominative ends in _-s_; the
_'s_ is added if the plural nominative does not end in _-s_.
Case Inflection.
[Sidenote: _Declension or inflection of nouns._]
63. The full declension of nouns is as follows:--
SINGULAR. PLURAL.
1. _Nom. and Obj._ lady ladies
_Poss._ lady's ladies'
2. _Nom. and Obj._ child children
_Poss._ child's children's
[Sidenote: _A suggestion._]
NOTE.--The difficulty that some students have in writing the
possessive plural would be lessened if they would remember there are
two steps to be taken:--
(1) Form the nominative plural according to Secs 39-53
(2) Follow the rule given in Sec. 62.
Special Remarks on the Possessive Case.
[Sidenote: _Origin of the possessive with its apostrophe._]
64. In Old English a large number of words had in the genitive case
singular the ending _-es_; in Middle English still more words took
this ending: for example, in Chaucer, "From every _schires_ ende,"
"Full worthi was he in his _lordes_ werre [war]," "at his _beddes_
syde," "_mannes_ herte [heart]," etc.
[Sidenote: _A false theory._]
By the end of the seventeenth century the present way of indicating
the possessive had become general. The use of the apostrophe, however,
was not then regarded as standing for the omitted vowel of the
genitive (as _lord's_ for _lordes_): by a false theory the ending was
thought to be a contraction of _his_, as schoolboys sometimes write,
"George Jones _his_ book."
[Sidenote: _Use of the apostrophe._]
Though this opinion was untrue, the apostrophe has proved a great
convenience, since otherwise words with a plural in _-s_ would have
three forms alike. To the eye all the forms are now distinct, but to
the ear all may be alike, and the connection must tell us what form is
intended.
The use of the apostrophe in the plural also began in the seventeenth
century, from thinking that _s_ was not a possessive sign, and from a
desire to have distinct forms.
[Sidenote: _Sometimes_ s _is left out in the possessive singular._]
65. Occasionally the _s_ is dropped in the possessive singular if
the word ends in a hissing sound and another hissing sound follows,
but the apostrophe remains to mark the possessive; as, _for goodness'
sake, Cervantes' satirical work_.
In other cases the _s_ is seldom omitted. Notice these three examples
from Thackeray's writings: "Harry ran upstairs to his _mistress's_
apartment;" "A postscript is added, as by the _countess's_ command;"
"I saw what the _governess's_ views were of the matter."
[Sidenote: _Possessive with compound expressions._]
66. In compound expressions, containing words in apposition, a word
with a phrase, etc., the possessive sign is usually last, though
instances are found with both appositional words marked.
Compare the following examples of literary usage:--
Do not the Miss Prys, my neighbors, know the amount of my income,
the items of my _son's_, _Captain Scrapegrace's_, tailor's
bill--THACKERAY.
The world's pomp and power sits there on this hand: on that,
stands up for God's truth one man, the _poor miner Hans Luther's_
son.--CARLYLE.
They invited me in the _emperor their master's_ name.--SWIFT.
I had naturally possessed myself of _Richardson the painter's_
thick octavo volumes of notes on the "Paradise Lost."--DE
QUINCEY.
They will go to Sunday schools to teach classes of little
children the age of Methuselah or the dimensions of _Og the king
of Bashan's_ bedstead.--HOLMES.
More common still is the practice of turning the possessive into an
equivalent phrase; as, _in the name of the emperor their master_,
instead of _the emperor their master's name_.
[Sidenote: _Possessive and no noun limited._]
67. The possessive is sometimes used without belonging to any noun
in the sentence; some such word as _house_, _store_, _church_,
_dwelling_, etc., being understood with it: for example,--
Here at the _fruiterer's_ the Madonna has a tabernacle of fresh
laurel leaves.--RUSKIN.
It is very common for people to say that they are disappointed in
the first sight of _St. Peter's_.--LOWELL.
I remember him in his cradle at _St. James's_.--THACKERAY.
Kate saw that; and she walked off from the _don's_.--DE QUINCEY.
[Sidenote: _The double possessive._]
68. A peculiar form, a double possessive, has grown up and become a
fixed idiom in modern English.
In most cases, a possessive relation was expressed in Old English by
the inflection _-es_, corresponding to _'s_. The same relation was
expressed in French by a phrase corresponding to _of_ and its object.
Both of these are now used side by side; sometimes they are used
together, as one modifier, making a double possessive. For this there
are several reasons:--
[Sidenote: _Its advantages: Euphony_.]
(1) When a word is modified by _a_, _the_, _this_, _that_, _every_,
_no_, _any_, _each_, etc., and at the same time by a possessive noun,
it is distasteful to place the possessive before the modified noun,
and it would also alter the meaning: we place it after the modified
noun with _of_.
[Sidenote: _Emphasis._]
(2) It is more emphatic than the simple possessive, especially when
used with _this_ or _that_, for it brings out the modified word in
strong relief.
[Sidenote: _Clearness._]
(3) It prevents ambiguity. For example, in such a sentence as, "This
introduction _of Atterbury's_ has all these advantages" (Dr. Blair),
the statement clearly means only one thing,--the introduction which
Atterbury made. If, however, we use the phrase _of Atterbury_, the
sentence _might_ be understood as just explained, or it might mean
this act of introducing Atterbury. (See also Sec. 87.)
The following are some instances of double possessives:--
This Hall _of Tinville's_ is dark, ill-lighted except where she
stands.--CARLYLE.
Those lectures _of Lowell's_ had a great influence with me, and
I used to like whatever they bade me like.--HOWELLS
Niebuhr remarks that no pointed sentences _of Cæsar's_ can have
come down to us.--FROUDE.
Besides these famous books _of Scott's and Johnson's_, there is a
copious "Life" by Thomas Sheridan.--THACKERAY
Always afterwards on occasions of ceremony, he wore that quaint
old French sword _of the Commodore's_.--E.E. HALE.
Exercises.
(_a_) Pick out the possessive nouns, and tell whether each is
appositional, objective, or subjective.
(_b_) Rewrite the sentence, turning the possessives into equivalent
phrases.
1. I don't choose a hornet's nest about my ears.
2. Shall Rome stand under one man's awe?
3. I must not see thee Osman's bride.
4. At lovers' perjuries,
They say, Jove laughs.
5. The world has all its eyes on Cato's son.
6. My quarrel and the English queen's are one.
7. Now the bright morning star, day's harbinger,
Comes dancing from the East.
8. A man's nature runs either to herbs or weeds; therefore, let him
seasonably water the one, and destroy the other.
9. 'Tis all men's office to speak patience
To those that wring under the load of sorrow.
10. A jest's prosperity lies in the ear
Of him that hears it, never in the tongue
Of him that makes it.
11. No more the juice of Egypt's grape shall moist his lip.
12. There Shakespeare's self, with every garland crowned,
Flew to those fairy climes his fancy sheen.
13. What supports me? dost thou ask?
The conscience, Friend, to have lost them [his eyes] overplied
In liberty's defence.
14. Or where Campania's plain forsaken lies,
A weary waste expanding to the skies.
15. Nature herself, it seemed, would raise
A minster to her Maker's praise!
HOW TO PARSE NOUNS.
69. Parsing a word is putting together all the facts about its
form and its relations to other words in the sentence.
In parsing, some idioms--the double possessive, for example--do not
come under regular grammatical rules, and are to be spoken of merely
as idioms.
70. Hence, in parsing a noun, we state,--
(1) The class to which it belongs,--common, proper, etc.
(2) Whether a neuter or a gender noun; if the latter, which gender.
(3) Whether singular or plural number.
(4) Its office in the sentence, determining its case.
[Sidenote: _The correct method._]
71. In parsing any word, the following method should always be
followed: tell the facts about what the word _does_, then make the
grammatical statements as to its class, inflections, and relations.
MODEL FOR PARSING.
"What is bolder than a miller's neckcloth, which takes a thief by the
throat every morning?"
_Miller's_ is a name applied to every individual of its class, hence
it is a common noun; it is the name of a male being, hence it is a
gender noun, masculine; it denotes only one person, therefore
singular number; it expresses possession or ownership, and limits
_neckcloth_, therefore possessive case.
_Neckcloth_, like _miller's_, is a common class noun; it has no sex,
therefore neuter; names one thing, therefore singular number; subject
of the verb _is_ understood, and therefore nominative case.
_Thief_ is a common class noun; the connection shows a male is meant,
therefore masculine gender; singular number; object of the verb
_takes_, hence objective case.
_Throat_ is neuter, of the same class and number as the word
_neckcloth_; it is the object of the preposition _by_, hence it is
objective case.
NOTE.--The preposition sometimes takes the possessive case (see Sec.
68).
_Morning_ is like _throat_ and _neckcloth_ as to class, gender, and
number; as to case, it expresses time, has no governing word, but is
the adverbial objective.
Exercise.
Follow the model above in parsing all the nouns in the following
sentences:--
1. To raise a monument to departed worth is to perpetuate virtue.
2. The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good action by stealth, and
to have it found out by accident.
3. An old cloak makes a new jerkin; a withered serving man, a fresh
tapster.
4. That in the captain's but a choleric word,
Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy.
5. Now, blessings light on him that first invented ... sleep!
6. Necker, financial minister to Louis XVI., and his daughter, Madame
de Staël, were natives of Geneva.
7. He giveth his beloved sleep.
8. Time makes the worst enemies friends.
9. A few miles from this point, where the Rhone enters the lake,
stands the famous Castle of Chillon, connected with the shore by a
drawbridge,--palace, castle, and prison, all in one.
10. Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth,
And hated her for her pride.
11. Mrs. Jarley's back being towards him, the military gentleman shook
his forefinger.
PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _The need of pronouns._]
72. When we wish to speak of a name several times in succession, it
is clumsy and tiresome to repeat the noun. For instance, instead of
saying, "_The pupil_ will succeed in _the pupil's_ efforts if _the
pupil_ is ambitious," we improve the sentence by shortening it thus,
"The pupil will succeed in _his_ efforts if _he_ is ambitious."
Again, if we wish to know about the ownership of a house, we evidently
cannot state the owner's name, but by a question we say, "_Whose_
house is that?" thus placing a word instead of the name till we learn
the name.
This is not to be understood as implying that pronouns were _invented_
because nouns were tiresome, since history shows that pronouns are as
old as nouns and verbs. The use of pronouns must have sprung up
naturally, from a necessity for short, definite, and representative
words.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
A pronoun is a reference word, standing for a name, or for a person
or thing, or for a group of persons or things.
[Sidenote: _Classes of pronouns._]
73. Pronouns may be grouped in five classes:--
(1) Personal pronouns, which distinguish person by their form (Sec.
76).
(2) Interrogative pronouns, which are used to ask questions about
persons or things.
(3) Relative pronouns, which relate or refer to a noun, pronoun, or
other word or expression, and at the same time connect two statements
They are also called conjunctive.
(4) Adjective pronouns, words, primarily adjectives, which are
classed as adjectives when they modify nouns, but as pronouns when
they stand for nouns.
(5) Indefinite pronouns, which cannot be used as adjectives, but
stand for an indefinite number of persons or things.
Numerous examples of all these will be given under the separate
classes hereafter treated.
PERSONAL PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Person in grammar._]
74. Since pronouns stand for persons as well as names, they must
represent the person talking, the person or thing spoken to, and the
person or thing talked about.
This gives rise to a new term, "the distinction of _person_."
[Sidenote: Person _of nouns_.]
75. This distinction was not needed in discussing nouns, as nouns
have the _same form_, whether representing persons and things spoken
to or spoken of. It is evident that a noun could not represent the
person speaking, even if it had a special form.
From analogy to pronouns, which have _forms_ for person, nouns are
sometimes spoken of as first or second person by their _use_; that is,
if they are in apposition with a pronoun of the first or second
person, they are said to have person by agreement.
But usually nouns represent something spoken of.
[Sidenote: _Three persons of pronouns._]
76. Pronouns naturally are of three persons:--
(1) First person, representing the person speaking.
(2) Second person, representing a person or thing spoken to.
(3) Third person, standing for a person or thing spoken of.
FORMS OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS.
77. Personal pronouns are inflected thus:--
FIRST PERSON.
_Singular._
_Nom._ I
_Poss._ mine, my
_Obj._ me
_Plural._
_Nom._ we
_Poss._ our, ours
_Obj._ us
SECOND PERSON.
_Singular._
_Old Form_ _Common Form._
_Nom._ thou you
_Poss._ thine, thy your, yours
_Obj._ thee you
_Plural._
_Nom._ ye you
_Poss._ your, yours your, yours
_Obj._ you you
THIRD PERSON.
_Singular._
_Masc._ _Fem._ _Neut._.
_Nom._ he she it
_Poss._ his her, hers its
_Obj._ him her it
_Plur. of all Three_.
_Nom._ they
_Poss._ their, theirs
_Obj._ them
Remarks on These Forms.
[Sidenote: _First and second persons without gender._]
78. It will be noticed that the pronouns of the first and second
persons have no forms to distinguish gender. The speaker may be either
male or female, or, by personification, neuter; so also with the
person or thing spoken to.
[Sidenote: _Third person_ singular _has gender_.]
But the third person has, in the singular, a separate form for each
gender, and also for the neuter.
[Sidenote: _Old forms_.]
In Old English these three were formed from the same root; namely,
masculine _he_, feminine _heo_, neuter _hit_.
The form _hit_ (for _it_) is still heard in vulgar English, and _hoo_
(for _heo_) in some dialects of England.
The plurals were _hi_, _heora_, _heom_, in Old English; the forms
_they_, _their_, _them_, perhaps being from the English demonstrative,
though influenced by the cognate Norse forms.
[Sidenote: _Second person always plural in ordinary English._]
79. _Thou_, _thee_, etc., are old forms which are now out of use in
ordinary speech. The consequence is, that we have no singular pronoun
of the second person in ordinary speech or prose, but make the plural
_you_ do duty for the singular. We use it with a plural verb always,
even when referring to a single object.
[Sidenote: _Two uses of the old singulars._]
80. There are, however, two modern uses of _thou, thy_, etc.:--
(1) _In elevated style_, especially in poetry; as,--
With _thy_ clear keen joyance
Languor cannot be;
Shadow of annoyance
Never came near _thee_;
_Thou_ lovest; but ne'er knew love's sad satiety.--SHELLEY.
(2) _In addressing the Deity_, as in prayers, etc.; for example,--
Oh, _thou_ Shepherd of Israel, that didst comfort _thy_ people of
old, to _thy_ care we commit the helpless.--BEECHER.
[Sidenote: _The form_ its.]
81. It is worth while to consider the possessive _its_. This is of
comparatively recent growth. The old form was _his_ (from the
nominative _hit_), and this continued in use till the sixteenth
century. The transition from the old _his_ to the modern _its_ is
shown in these sentences:--
1 He anointed the altar and all _his_ vessels.--_Bible_
Here _his_ refers to _altar_, which is a neuter noun. The quotation
represents the usage of the early sixteenth century.
2 It's had _it_ head bit off by _it_ young--SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare uses _his_, _it_, and sometimes _its_, as possessive of
_it_.
In Milton's poetry (seventeenth century) _its_ occurs only three
times.
3 See heaven _its_ sparkling portals wide display--POPE
[Sidenote: _A relic of the olden time._]
82. We have an interesting relic in such sentences as this from
Thackeray: "One of the ways to know '_em_ is to watch the scared looks
of the ogres' wives and children."
As shown above, the Old English objective was _hem_ (or _heom_), which
was often sounded with the _h_ silent, just as we now say, "I saw
'_im_ yesterday" when the word _him_ is not emphatic. In spoken
English, this form '_em_ has survived side by side with the literary
_them_.
[Sidenote: _Use of the pronouns in personification._]
83. The pronouns _he_ and _she_ are often used in poetry, and
sometimes in ordinary speech, to personify objects (Sec. 34).
CASES OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS.
I The Nominative.
[Sidenote: _Nominative forms._]
84. The nominative forms of personal pronouns have the same uses as
the nominative of nouns (see Sec. 58). The case of most of these
pronouns can be determined more easily than the case of nouns, for,
besides a nominative _use_, they have a nominative form. The words
_I_, _thou_, _he_, _she_, _we_, _ye_, _they_, are very rarely anything
but nominative in literary English, though _ye_ is occasionally used
as objective.
[Sidenote: _Additional nominatives in spoken English._]
85. In spoken English, however, there are some others that are added
to the list of nominatives: they are, _me_, _him_, _her_, _us_,
_them_, when they occur in the _predicate position_. That is, in such
a sentence as, "I am sure it was _him_," the literary language would
require _he_ after _was_; but colloquial English regularly uses as
predicate nominatives the forms _me_, _him_, _her_, _us_, _them_,
though those named in Sec. 84 are always subjects. Yet careful
speakers avoid this, and follow the usage of literary English.
II. The Possessive.
[Sidenote: _Not a separate class._]
86. The forms _my_, _thy_, _his_, _her_, _its_, _our_, _your_,
_their_, are sometimes grouped separately as POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS, but
it is better to speak of them as the possessive case of personal
pronouns, just as we speak of the possessive case of nouns, and not
make more classes.
[Sidenote: Absolute _personal pronouns._]
The forms _mine_, _thine_, _yours_, _hers_, _theirs_, sometimes _his_
and _its_, have a peculiar use, standing apart from the words they
modify instead of immediately before them. From this use they are
called ABSOLUTE PERSONAL PRONOUNS, or, some say, ABSOLUTE POSSESSIVES.
As instances of the use of absolute pronouns, note the following:--
'Twas _mine_, 'tis _his_, and has been slave to thousands.
--SHAKESPEARE.
And since thou own'st that praise, I spare thee _mine_.--COWPER.
My arm better than _theirs_ can ward it off.--LANDOR.
_Thine_ are the city and the people of Granada.--BULWER.
[Sidenote: _Old use of_ mine _and_ thine.]
Formerly _mine_ and _thine_ stood before their nouns, if the nouns
began with a vowel or _h_ silent; thus,--
Shall I not take _mine_ ease in _mine_ inn?--SHAKESPEARE.
Give every man _thine_ ear, but few thy voice.--_Id._
If _thine_ eye offend thee, pluck it out.--_Bible._
My greatest apprehension was for _mine_ eyes.--SWIFT.
This usage is still preserved in poetry.
[Sidenote: _Double and triple possessives._]
87. The forms _hers_, _ours_, _yours_, _theirs_, are really double
possessives, since they add the possessive _s_ to what is already a
regular possessive inflection.
Besides this, we have, as in nouns, a possessive phrase made up of the
preposition _of_ with these double possessives, _hers_, _ours_,
_yours_, _theirs_, and with _mine_, _thine_, _his_, sometimes _its_.
[Sidenote: _Their uses._]
Like the noun possessives, they have several uses:--
(1) _To prevent ambiguity_, as in the following:--
I have often contrasted the habitual qualities of that gloomy
friend _of theirs_ with the astounding spirits of Thackeray and
Dickens.--J.T. FIELDS.
No words _of ours_ can describe the fury of the conflict.--J.F.
COOPER.
(2) _To bring emphasis_, as in these sentences:--
This thing _of yours_ that you call a Pardon of Sins, it is a bit
of rag-paper with ink.--CARLYLE.
This ancient silver bowl _of mine_, it tells of good old times.
--HOLMES.
(3) _To express contempt, anger, or satire_; for example,--
"Do you know the charges that unhappy sister _of mine_ and her
family have put me to already?" says the Master.--THACKERAY.
He [John Knox] had his pipe of Bordeaux too, we find, in that old
Edinburgh house _of his_.--CARLYLE.
"Hold thy peace, Long Allen," said Henry Woodstall, "I tell thee
that tongue _of thine_ is not the shortest limb about
_thee_."--SCOTT.
(4) _To make a noun less limited in application_; thus,--
A favorite liar and servant _of mine_ was a man I once had to
drive a brougham.--THACKERAY.
In New York I read a newspaper criticism one day, commenting upon
a letter _of mine_.--_Id._
What would the last two sentences mean if the word _my_ were written
instead of _of mine_, and preceded the nouns?
[Sidenote: _About the case of absolute pronouns._]
88. In their function, or use in a sentence, the absolute possessive
forms of the personal pronouns are very much like adjectives used as
nouns.
In such sentences as, "_The good_ alone are great," "None but _the
brave_ deserves _the fair_," the words italicized have an adjective
force and also a noun force, as shown in Sec. 20.
So in the sentences illustrating absolute pronouns in Sec. 86: _mine_
stands for _my property_, _his_ for _his property_, in the first
sentence; _mine_ stands for _my praise_ in the second. But the first
two have a nominative use, and _mine_ in the second has an objective
use.
They may be spoken of as possessive in form, but nominative or
objective in use, according as the modified word is in the nominative
or the objective.
III. The Objective.
[Sidenote: _The old_ dative _case._]
89. In Old English there was one case which survives in use, but not
in form. In such a sentence as this one from Thackeray, "Pick _me_ out
a whip-cord thong with some dainty knots in it," the word _me_ is
evidently not the direct object of the verb, but expresses _for whom_,
_for whose benefit_, the thing is done. In pronouns, this dative
use, as it is called, was marked by a separate case.
[Sidenote: _Now the objective._]
In Modern English the same _use_ is frequently seen, but the _form_ is
the same as the objective. For this reason a word thus used is called
a dative-objective.
The following are examples of the dative-objective:--
Give _me_ neither poverty nor riches.--_Bible._
Curse _me_ this people.--_Id._
Both joined in making _him_ a present.--MACAULAY
Is it not enough that you have _burnt me_ down three houses with
your dog's tricks, and be hanged to you!--LAMB
I give _thee_ this to wear at the collar.--SCOTT
[Sidenote: _Other uses of the objective._]
90. Besides this use of the objective, there are others:--
(1) _As the direct object of a verb._
They all handled _it_.--LAMB
(2) _As the object of a preposition._
Time is behind _them_ and before _them_.--CARLYLE.
(3) _In apposition._
She sate all last summer by the bedside of the blind beggar,
_him_ that so often and so gladly I talked with.--DE QUINCEY.
SPECIAL USES OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Indefinite use of_ you _and_ your.]
91. The word _you_, and its possessive case _yours_ are sometimes
used without reference to a particular person spoken to. They approach
the indefinite pronoun in use.
_Your_ mere puny stripling, that winced at the least flourish of
the rod, was passed by with indulgence.--IRVING
To empty here, _you_ must condense there.--EMERSON.
The peasants take off their hats as _you_ pass; _you_ sneeze, and
they cry, "God bless you!" The thrifty housewife shows _you_ into
her best chamber. _You_ have oaten cakes baked some months
before.--LONGFELLOW
[Sidenote: _Uses of_ it.]
92. The pronoun _it_ has a number of uses:--
(1) _To refer to some single word preceding_; as,--
Ferdinand ordered the _army_ to recommence _its_ march.--BULWER.
_Society_, in this century, has not made _its_ progress, like
Chinese skill, by a greater acuteness of ingenuity in
trifles.--D. WEBSTER.
(2) _To refer to a preceding word group_; thus,--
If any man should do wrong merely out of ill nature, why, yet
_it_ is but like the thorn or brier, which prick and scratch
because they can do no other.--BACON.
Here _it_ refers back to the whole sentence before it, or to the idea,
"any man's doing wrong merely out of ill nature."
(3) _As a grammatical subject, to stand for the real, logical
subject, which follows the verb_; as in the sentences,--
_It_ is easy in the world _to live after the world's opinion_.
--EMERSON.
_It_ is this _haziness_ of intellectual vision which is the
malady of all classes of men by nature.--NEWMAN.
_It_ is a pity _that he has so much learning, or that he has not
a great deal more_.--ADDISON.
(4) _As an impersonal subject in certain expressions which need no
other subject_; as,--
_It_ is finger-cold, and prudent farmers get in their barreled
apples.--THOREAU.
And when I awoke, _it_ rained.--COLERIDGE.
For when _it_ dawned, they dropped their arms.--_Id._
_It_ was late and after midnight.--DE QUINCEY.
(5) _As an impersonal or indefinite object of a verb or a
preposition_; as in the following sentences:--
(_a_) Michael Paw, who _lorded it_ over the fair regions of
ancient Pavonia.--IRVING.
I made up my mind _to foot it_.--HAWTHORNE.
A sturdy lad ... who in turn tries all the professions, who
_teams it, farms it, peddles it_, keeps a school.--EMERSON.
(_b_) "Thy mistress leads thee a dog's life _of it_."--IRVING.
There was nothing _for it_ but to return.--SCOTT.
An editor has only to say "respectfully declined," and there is
an end _of it_.--HOLMES.
Poor Christian was hard put _to it_.--BUNYAN.
[Sidenote: _Reflexive use of the personal pronouns._]
93. The personal pronouns in the objective case are often used
_reflexively_; that is, referring to the same person as the subject of
the accompanying verb. For example, we use such expressions as, "I
found _me_ a good book," "He bought _him_ a horse," etc. This
reflexive use of the _dative_-objective is very common in spoken and
in literary English.
The personal pronouns are not often used reflexively, however, when
they are _direct_ objects. This occurs in poetry, but seldom in prose;
as,--
Now I lay _me_ down to sleep.--ANON.
I set _me_ down and sigh.--BURNS.
And millions in those solitudes, since first
The flight of years began, have laid _them_ down
In their last sleep.--BRYANT.
REFLEXIVE OR COMPOUND PERSONAL PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Composed of the personal pronouns with_ -self, -selves.]
94. The REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS, or COMPOUND PERSONAL, as they are also
called, are formed from the personal pronouns by adding the word
_self_, and its plural _selves_.
They are _myself_, (_ourself_), _ourselves_, _yourself_, (_thyself_),
_yourselves_, _himself_, _herself_, _itself_, _themselves_.
Of the two forms in parentheses, the second is the old form of the
second person, used in poetry.
_Ourself_ is used to follow the word _we_ when this represents a
single person, especially in the speech of rulers; as,--
Methinks he seems no better than a girl;
As girls were once, as we _ourself_ have been.--TENNYSON.
[Sidenote: _Origin of these reflexives._]
95. The question might arise, Why are _himself_ and _themselves_ not
_hisself_ and _theirselves_, as in vulgar English, after the analogy
of _myself_, _ourselves_, etc.?
The history of these words shows they are made up of the
dative-objective forms, not the possessive forms, with _self_. In
Middle English the forms _meself_, _theself_, were changed into the
possessive _myself_, _thyself_, and the others were formed by analogy
with these. _Himself_ and _themselves_ are the only ones retaining a
distinct objective form.
In the forms _yourself_ and _yourselves_ we have the possessive _your_
marked as singular as well as plural.
[Sidenote: _Use of the reflexives._]
96. There are three uses of reflexive pronouns:--
(1) _As object of a verb or preposition, and referring to the same
person or thing as the subject_; as in these sentences from Emerson:--
He who offers _himself_ a candidate for that covenant comes up
like an Olympian.
I should hate _myself_ if then I made my other friends my asylum.
We fill _ourselves_ with ancient learning.
What do we know of nature or of _ourselves_?
(2) _To emphasize a noun or pronoun_; for example,--
The great globe _itself_ ... shall dissolve.--SHAKESPEARE.
Threats to all;
To _you yourself_, to us, to every one.--_Id._
Who would not sing for Lycidas! he knew
_Himself_ to sing, and build the lofty rhyme.--MILTON.
NOTE.--In such sentences the pronoun is sometimes omitted, and the
reflexive modifies the pronoun understood; for example,--
Only _itself_ can inspire whom it will.--EMERSON.
My hands are full of blossoms plucked before, Held dead within
them till _myself_ shall die.--E.B. BROWNING.
As if it were _thyself_ that's here, I shrink with
pain.--WORDSWORTH.
(3) _As the precise equivalent of a personal pronoun_; as,--
Lord Altamont designed to take his son and _myself_.--DE QUINCEY.
Victories that neither _myself_ nor my cause always deserved.--B.
FRANKLIN.
For what else have our forefathers and _ourselves_ been
taxed?--LANDOR.
Years ago, Arcturus and _myself_ met a gentleman from China who
knew the language.--THACKERAY.
Exercises on Personal Pronouns.
(_a_) Bring up sentences containing ten personal pronouns, some each
of masculine, feminine, and neuter.
(_b_) Bring up sentences containing five personal pronouns in the
possessive, some of them being double possessives.
(_c_) Tell which use each _it_ has in the following sentences:--
1. Come and trip it as we go,
On the light fantastic toe.
2. Infancy conforms to nobody; all conform to it.
3. It is an ill wind that blows nobody good.
4. Courage, father, fight it out.
5. And it grew wondrous cold.
6. To know what is best to do, and how to do it, is wisdom.
7. If any phenomenon remains brute and dark, it is because the
corresponding faculty in the observer is not yet active.
8. But if a man do not speak from within the veil, where the word is
one with that it tells of, let him lowly confess it.
9. It behooved him to keep on good terms with his pupils.
10. Biscuit is about the best thing I know; but it is the soonest
spoiled; and one would like to hear counsel on one point, why it is
that a touch of water utterly ruins it.
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Three now in use._]
97. The interrogative pronouns now in use are _who_ (with the forms
_whose_ and _whom_), _which_, and _what_.
[Sidenote: _One obsolete._]
There is an old word, _whether_, used formerly to mean which of two,
but now obsolete. Examples from the Bible:--
_Whether_ of them twain did the will of his father?
_Whether_ is greater, the gold, or the temple?
From Steele (eighteenth century):--
It may be a question _whether_ of these unfortunate persons had
the greater soul.
[Sidenote: _Use of_ who _and its forms._]
98. The use of _who_, with its possessive and objective, is seen in
these sentences:--
_Who_ is she in bloody coronation robes from Rheims?--DE QUINCEY.
_Whose_ was that gentle voice, that, whispering sweet,
Promised, methought, long days of bliss sincere?--BOWLES.
What doth she look on? _Whom_ doth she behold?--WORDSWORTH.
From these sentences it will be seen that interrogative _who_ refers
to _persons only_; that it is not inflected for gender or number, but
for case alone, having three forms; it is always third person, as it
always asks _about_ somebody.
[Sidenote: _Use of_ which.]
99. Examples of the use of interrogative _which_:--
_Which_ of these had speed enough to sweep between the question
and the answer, and divide the one from the other?--DE QUINCEY.
_Which_ of you, shall we say, doth love us most?--SHAKESPEARE.
_Which_ of them [the sisters] shall I take?--_Id._
As shown here, _which_ is not inflected for gender, number, or case;
it refers to either persons or things; it is selective, that is, picks
out one or more from a number of known persons or objects.
[Sidenote: _Use of_ what.]
100. Sentences showing the use of interrogative _what_:--
Since I from Smaylho'me tower have been,
_What_ did thy lady do?--SCOTT.
_What_ is so rare as a day in June?--LOWELL.
_What_ wouldst thou do, old man?--SHAKESPEARE.
These show that _what_ is not inflected for case; that it is always
singular and neuter, referring to things, ideas, actions, etc., not to
persons.
DECLENSION OF INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS.
101. The following are all the interrogative forms:--
SING. AND PLUR. SING. AND PLUR. SINGULAR
_Nom._ who? which? what?
_Poss._ whose? -- --
_Obj._ whom? which? what?
In spoken English, _who_ is used as objective instead of _whom_; as,
"_Who_ did you see?" "_Who_ did he speak to?"
[Sidenote: _To tell the case of interrogatives._]
102. The interrogative _who_ has a separate form for each case,
consequently the case can be told by the form of the word; but the
case of _which_ and _what_ must be determined exactly as in nouns,--by
the _use_ of the words.
For instance, in Sec. 99, _which_ is nominative in the first sentence,
since it is subject of the verb _had_; nominative in the second also,
subject of _doth love_; objective in the last, being the direct
object of the verb _shall take_.
[Sidenote: _Further treatment of_ who, which _and_ what.]
103. _Who_, _which_, and _what_ are also relative pronouns; _which_
and _what_ are sometimes adjectives; _what_ may be an adverb in some
expressions.
They will be spoken of again in the proper places, especially in the
treatment of indirect questions (Sec. 127).
RELATIVE PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Function of the relative pronoun_.]
104. Relative pronouns differ from both personal and interrogative
pronouns in referring to an antecedent, and also in having a
conjunctive use. The advantage in using them is to unite short
statements into longer sentences, and so to make smoother discourse.
Thus we may say, "The last of all the Bards was he. These bards sang
of Border chivalry." Or, it may be shortened into,--
"The last of all the Bards was he,
_Who_ sung of Border chivalry."
In the latter sentence, _who_ evidently refers to _Bards_, which is
called the antecedent of the relative.
[Sidenote: _The antecedent._]
105. The antecedent of a pronoun is the noun, pronoun, or other
word or expression, for which the pronoun stands. It usually precedes
the pronoun.
Personal pronouns of the third person may have antecedents also, as
they take the place usually of a word already used; as,--
The priest hath _his_ fee who comes and shrives us.--LOWELL
In this, both _his_ and _who_ have the antecedent _priest_.
The pronoun _which_ may have its antecedent following, and the
antecedent may be a word or a group of words, as will be shown in the
remarks on _which_ below.
[Sidenote: _Two kinds._]
106. Relatives may be SIMPLE or INDEFINITE.
When the word _relative_ is used, a simple relative is meant.
Indefinite relatives, and the indefinite use of simple relatives, will
be discussed further on.
The SIMPLE RELATIVES are _who_, _which_, _that_, _what_.
[Sidenote: Who _and its forms._]
107. Examples of the relative _who_ and its forms:--
1. Has a man gained anything _who_ has received a hundred favors
and rendered none?--EMERSON.
2. That man is little to be envied _whose_ patriotism would not
gain force upon the plain of Marathon.--DR JOHNSON.
3. For her enchanting son,
_Whom_ universal nature did lament.--MILTON.
4. The nurse came to us, _who_ were sitting in an adjoining
apartment.--THACKERAY.
5. Ye mariners of England,
That guard our native seas;
_Whose_ flag has braved, a thousand years,
The battle and the breeze!--CAMPBELL.
6. The men _whom_ men respect, the women _whom_ women approve,
are the men and women _who_ bless their species.--PARTON
[Sidenote: Which _and its forms._]
108. Examples of the relative _which_ and its forms:--
1. They had not their own luster, but the look _which_ is not of
the earth.--BYRON.
2. The embattled portal arch he pass'd,
_Whose_ ponderous grate and massy bar
Had oft roll'd back the tide of war.--SCOTT.
3. Generally speaking, the dogs _which_ stray around the butcher
shops restrain their appetites.--COX.
4. The origin of language is divine, in the same sense in _which_
man's nature, with all its capabilities ..., is a divine
creation.--W.D. WHITNEY.
5. (_a_) This gradation ... ought to be kept in view; else this
description will seem exaggerated, _which_ it certainly is
not.--BURKE.
(_b_) The snow was three inches deep and still falling, _which_
prevented him from taking his usual ride.--IRVING.
[Sidenote: That.]
109. Examples of the relative _that_:--
1. The man _that_ hath no music in himself,...
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
--SHAKESPEARE
2. The judge ... bought up all the pigs _that_ could be
had.--LAMB
3. Nature and books belong to the eyes _that_ see them.--EMERSON.
4. For the sake of country a man is told to yield everything
_that_ makes the land honorable.--H.W. BEECHER
5. Reader, _that_ do not pretend to have leisure for very much
scholarship, you will not be angry with me for telling you.--DE
QUINCEY.
6. The Tree Igdrasil, _that_ has its roots down in the kingdoms
of Hela and Death, and whose boughs overspread the highest
heaven!--CARLYLE.
[Sidenote: What.]
110. Examples of the use of the relative _what_:--
1. Its net to entangle the enemy seems to be _what_ it chiefly
trusts to, and _what_ it takes most pains to render as complete
as possible.--GOLDSMITH.
2. For _what_ he sought below is passed above, Already done is
all that he would do.--MARGARET FULLER.
3. Some of our readers may have seen in India a crowd of crows
picking a sick vulture to death, no bad type of _what_ often
happens in that country.--MACAULAY
[_To the Teacher._--If pupils work over the above sentences carefully,
and test every remark in the following paragraphs, they will get a
much better understanding of the relatives.]
REMARKS ON THE RELATIVE PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: Who.]
111. By reading carefully the sentences in Sec. 107, the following
facts will be noticed about the relative _who_:--
(1) It usually refers to persons: thus, in the first sentence, Sec.
107, _a man...who_; in the second, _that man...whose_; in the third,
_son_, _whom_; and so on.
(2) It has three case forms,--_who_, _whose_, _whom_.
(3) The forms do not change for person or number of the antecedent. In
sentence 4, _who_ is first person; in 5, _whose_ is second person; the
others are all third person. In 1, 2, and 3, the relatives are
singular; in 4, 5, and 6, they are plural.
[Sidenote: Who _referring to animals_.]
112. Though in most cases _who_ refers to persons there are
instances found where it refers to animals. It has been seen (Sec. 24)
that animals are referred to by personal pronouns when their
characteristics or habits are such as to render them important or
interesting to man. Probably on the same principle the personal
relative _who_ is used not infrequently in literature, referring to
animals.
Witness the following examples:--
And you, warm little housekeeper [the cricket], _who_ class With
those who think the candles come too soon.--LEIGH HUNT.
The robins...have succeeded in driving off the bluejays _who_
used to build in our pines.--LOWELL.
The little gorilla, _whose_ wound I had dressed, flung its arms
around my neck.--THACKERAY.
A lake frequented by every fowl _whom_ Nature has taught to dip
the wing in water.--DR. JOHNSON.
While we had such plenty of domestic insects _who_ infinitely
excelled the former, because they understood how to weave as well
as to spin.--SWIFT.
My horse, _who_, under his former rider had hunted the buffalo,
seemed as much excited as myself.--IRVING.
Other examples might be quoted from Burke, Kingsley, Smollett, Scott,
Cooper, Gibbon, and others.
[Sidenote: Which.]
113. The sentences in Sec. 108 show that--
(1) _Which_ refers to animals, things, or ideas, not persons.
(2) It is not inflected for gender or number.
(3) It is nearly always third person, rarely second (an example of its
use as second person is given in sentence 32, p. 96).
(4) It has two case forms,--_which_ for the nominative and objective,
_whose_ for the possessive.
[Sidenote: _Examples of_ whose, _possessive case of_ which.]
114. Grammarians sometimes object to the statement that _whose_ is
the possessive of _which_, saying that the phrase _of which_ should
always be used instead; yet a search in literature shows that the
possessive form _whose_ is quite common in prose as well as in poetry:
for example,--
I swept the horizon, and saw at one glance the glorious
elevations, on _whose_ tops the sun kindled all the melodies and
harmonies of light.--BEECHER.
Men may be ready to fight to the death, and to persecute without
pity, for a religion _whose_ creed they do not understand, and
_whose_ precepts they habitually disobey.--MACAULAY
Beneath these sluggish waves lay the once proud cities of the
plain, _whose_ grave was dug by the thunder of the
heavens.--SCOTT.
Many great and opulent cities _whose_ population now exceeds that
of Virginia during the Revolution, and _whose_ names are spoken
in the remotest corner of the civilized world.--MCMASTER.
Through the heavy door _whose_ bronze network closes the place of
his rest, let us enter the church itself.--RUSKIN.
This moribund '61, _whose_ career of life is just coming to its
terminus.--THACKERAY.
So in Matthew Arnold, Kingsley, Burke, and numerous others.
[Sidenote: Which _and its antecedents_.]
115. The last two sentences in Sec. 108 show that _which_ may have
other antecedents than nouns and pronouns. In 5 (_a_) there is a
participial adjective used as the antecedent; in 5 (_b_) there is a
complete clause employed as antecedent. This often occurs.
Sometimes, too, the antecedent follows _which_; thus,--
And, which is worse, _all you have done
Hath been but for a wayward son_.
--SHAKESPEARE.
Primarily, which is very notable and curious, I observe that _men
of business rarely know the meaning of the word "rich_."--RUSKIN.
I demurred to this honorary title upon two grounds,--first, as
being one toward which I had no natural aptitudes or predisposing
advantages; secondly (which made her stare), _as carrying with it
no real or enviable distinction_.--DE QUINCEY.
[Sidenote: That.]
116. In the sentences of Sec. 109, we notice that--
(1) _That_ refers to persons, animals, and things.
(2) It has only one case form, no possessive.
(3) It is the same form for first, second, and third persons.
(4) It has the same form for singular and plural.
It sometimes borrows the possessive _whose_, as in sentence 6, Sec.
109, but this is not sanctioned as good usage.
[Sidenote: What.]
117. The sentences of Sec. 110 show that--
(1) _What_ always refers to things; is always neuter.
(2) It is used almost entirely in the singular.
1. The man _that_ hath no music in himself,...
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
--SHAKESPEARE
(3) Its antecedent is hardly ever expressed. When expressed, it
usually follows, and is emphatic; as, for example,--
What I would, _that_ do I not; but what I hate, _that_ do
I.--_Bible_
What fates impose, _that_ men must needs abide.--SHAKESPEARE.
What a man does, _that_ he has.--EMERSON.
Compare this:--
Alas! is _it_ not too true, what we said?--CARLYLE.
DECLENSION OF RELATIVE PRONOUNS.
118. These are the forms of the simple relatives:--
SINGULAR AND PLURAL.
_Nom._ who which that what
_Poss._ whose whose -- --
_Obj._ whom which that what
HOW TO PARSE RELATIVES.
119. The _gender_, _number_, and _person_ of the relatives _who_,
_which_, and _that_ must be determined by those of the antecedent; the
_case_ depends upon the function of the relative in its own clause.
For example, consider the following sentence:
"He uttered truths _that_ wrought upon and molded the lives of
those _who_ heard him."
Since the relatives hold the sentence together, we can, by taking them
out, let the sentence fall apart into three divisions: (1) "He uttered
truths;" (2) "The truths wrought upon and molded the lives of the
people;" (3) "These people heard him."
_That_ evidently refers to _truths_, consequently is neuter, third
person, plural number. _Who_ plainly stands for _those_ or _the
people_, either of which would be neuter, third person, plural number.
Here the relative agrees with its antecedent.
We cannot say the relative agrees with its antecedent in _case_.
_Truths_ in sentence (2), above, is subject of _wrought upon and
molded_; in (1), it is object of _uttered_. In (2), _people_ is the
object of the preposition _of_; in (3), it is subject of the verb
_heard_. Now, _that_ takes the case of _the truths_ in (2), not of
_truths_ which is expressed in the sentence: consequently _that_ is in
the nominative case. In the same way _who_, standing for _the people_
understood, subject of _heard_, is in the nominative case.
Exercise.
First find the antecedents, then parse the relatives, in the following
sentences:--
1. How superior it is in these respects to the pear, whose blossoms
are neither colored nor fragrant!
2. Some gnarly apple which I pick up in the road reminds me by its
fragrance of all the wealth of Pomona.
3. Perhaps I talk with one who is selecting some choice barrels for
filling an order.
4. Ill blows the wind that profits nobody.
5. Alas! it is we ourselves that are getting buried alive under this
avalanche of earthly impertinences.
6. This method also forces upon us the necessity of thinking, which
is, after all, the highest result of all education.
7. I know that there are many excellent people who object to the
reading of novels as a waste of time.
8. I think they are trying to outwit nature, who is sure to be
cunninger than they.
[Sidenote: _Parsing_ what, _the simple relative_.]
120. The relative _what_ is handled differently, because it has
usually no antecedent, but is singular, neuter, third person. Its case
is determined exactly as that of other relatives. In the sentence,
"What can't be cured must be endured," the verb _must be endured_ is
the predicate of something. What must be endured? Answer, _What can't
be cured_. The whole expression is its subject. The word _what_,
however, is subject of the verb _can't be cured_, and hence is in the
nominative case.
"What we call nature is a certain self-regulated motion or change."
Here the subject of _is_, etc., is _what we call nature_; but of this,
_we_ is the subject, and _what_ is the direct object of the verb
_call_, so is in the objective case.
[Sidenote: _Another way._]
Some prefer another method of treatment. As shown by the following
sentences, _what_ is equivalent to _that which_:--
It has been said that "common souls pay with _what_ they do,
nobler souls with _that which_ they are."--EMERSON.
_That which_ is pleasant often appears under the name of evil;
and _what_ is disagreeable to nature is called good and
virtuous.--BURKE.
Hence some take _what_ as a double relative, and parse _that_ in the
first clause, and _which_ in the second clause; that is, "common
souls pay with _that_ [singular, object of _with_] _which_ [singular,
object of _do_] they do."
INDEFINITE RELATIVES.
[Sidenote: _List and examples._]
121. INDEFINITE RELATIVES are, by meaning and use, not as direct as
the simple relatives.
They are _whoever_, _whichever_, _whatever_, _whatsoever_; less common
are _whoso_, _whosoever_, _whichsoever_, _whatsoever_. The simple
relatives _who_, _which_, and _what_ may also be used as indefinite
relatives. Examples of indefinite relatives (from Emerson):--
1. _Whoever_ has flattered his friend successfully must at once
think himself a knave, and his friend a fool.
2. It is no proof of a man's understanding, to be able to affirm
_whatever_ he pleases.
3. They sit in a chair or sprawl with children on the floor, or
stand on their head, or _what_ else _soever_, in a new and
original way.
4. _Whoso_ is heroic will always find crises to try his edge.
5. Only itself can inspire _whom_ it will.
6. God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose.
Take _which_ you please,--you cannot have both.
7. Do _what_ we can, summer will have its flies.
[Sidenote: _Meaning and use._]
122. The fitness of the term _indefinite_ here cannot be shown
better than by examining the following sentences:--
1. There is something so overruling in _whatever_ inspires us
with awe, in _all things which_ belong ever so remotely to
terror, that nothing else can stand in their presence.--BURKE.
2. Death is there associated, not with _everything that_ is most
endearing in social and domestic charities, but with _whatever_
is darkest in human nature and in human destiny.--MACAULAY.
It is clear that in 1, _whatever_ is equivalent to _all things
which_, and in 2, to _everything that_; no certain antecedent, no
particular thing, being referred to. So with the other indefinites.
[Sidenote: What _simple relative and_ what _indefinite relative_.]
123. The above helps us to discriminate between _what_ as a simple
and _what_ as an indefinite relative.
As shown in Sec. 120, the simple relative _what_ is equivalent to
_that which_ or the _thing which_,--some particular thing; as shown by
the last sentence in Sec. 121, _what_ means _anything that_,
_everything that_ (or _everything which_). The difference must be seen
by the meaning of the sentence, as _what_ hardly ever has an
antecedent.
The examples in sentences 5 and 6, Sec. 121, show that _who_ and
_which_ have no antecedent expressed, but mean _any one whom_, _either
one that_, etc.
OTHER WORDS USED AS RELATIVES.
[Sidenote: But _and_ as.]
124. Two words, but and as, are used with the force of relative
pronouns in some expressions; for example,--
1. There is not a leaf rotting on the highway _but_ has force in
it: how else could it rot?--CARLYLE.
2. This, amongst such other troubles _as_ most men meet with in
this life, has been my heaviest affliction.--DE QUINCEY.
[Sidenote: _Proof that they have the force of relatives._]
Compare with these the two following sentences:--
3. There is nothing _but_ is related to us, nothing _that_ does
_not_ interest us.--EMERSON.
4. There were articles of comfort and luxury such _as_ Hester
never ceased to use, but _which_ only wealth could have
purchased.--HAWTHORNE.
Sentence 3 shows that _but_ is equivalent to the relative _that_ with
_not_, and that _as_ after _such_ is equivalent to _which_.
For _as_ after _same_ see "Syntax" (Sec. 417).
[Sidenote: _Former use of_ as.]
125. In early modern English, _as_ was used just as we use _that_ or
_which_, not following the word _such_; thus,--
I have not from your eyes that gentleness
And show of love _as_ I was wont to have.--SHAKESPEARE
This still survives in vulgar English in England; for example,--
"Don't you mind Lucy Passmore, _as_ charmed your warts for you
when you was a boy? "--KINGSLEY
This is frequently illustrated in Dickens's works.
[Sidenote: _Other substitutes._]
126. Instead of the phrases _in which_, _upon which_, _by which_,
etc., the conjunctions _wherein_, _whereupon_, _whereby_, etc., are
used.
A man is the facade of a temple _wherein_ all wisdom and good
abide.--EMERSON.
The sovereignty of this nature _whereof_ we speak.--_Id._
The dear home faces _whereupon_
That fitful firelight paled and shone.--WHITTIER.
PRONOUNS IN INDIRECT QUESTIONS.
[Sidenote: _Special caution needed here._]
127. It is sometimes hard for the student to tell a relative from an
interrogative pronoun. In the regular direct question the
interrogative is easily recognized; so is the relative when an
antecedent is close by. But compare the following in pairs:--
1. (_a_) Like a gentleman of leisure _who_ is strolling out for
pleasure.
(_b_) Well we knew _who_ stood behind, though the earthwork hid
them.
2. (_a_) But _what_ you gain in time is perhaps lost in power.
(_b_) But _what_ had become of them they knew not.
3. (_a_) These are the lines _which_ heaven-commanded Toil shows on
his deed.
(_b_) And since that time I thought it not amiss To judge _which_
were the best of all these three.
In sentences 1 (_a_), 2 (_a_) and 3 (_a_) the regular relative use is
seen; _who_ having the antecedent _gentleman_, _what_ having the
double use of pronoun and antecedent, _which_ having the antecedent
_lines_.
But in 1 (_b_), 2 (_b_), and 3 (_b_), there are two points of
difference from the others considered: first, no antecedent is
expressed, which would indicate that they are not relatives; second, a
question is disguised in each sentence, although each sentence as a
whole is declarative in form. Thus, 1 (_b_), if expanded, would be,
"Who stood behind? We knew," etc., showing that _who_ is plainly
interrogative. So in 2 (_b_), _what_ is interrogative, the full
expression being, "But what had become of them? They knew not."
Likewise with _which_ in 3 (_b_).
[Sidenote: _How to decide._]
In studying such sentences, (1) see whether there is an antecedent of
_who_ or _which_, and whether _what_ = _that_ + _which_ (if so, it is
a simple relative; if not, it is either an indefinite relative or an
interrogative pronoun); (2) see if the pronoun introduces an indirect
question (if it does, it is an interrogative; if not, it is an
indefinite relative).
[Sidenote: _Another caution._]
128. On the other hand, care must be taken to see whether the
pronoun is the word that really _asks the question_ in an
interrogative sentence. Examine the following:--
1. Sweet rose! whence is this hue
_Which_ doth all hues excel?
--DRUMMOND
2. And then what wonders shall you do
_Whose_ dawning beauty warms us so?
--WALKER
3. Is this a romance? Or is it a faithful picture of _what_ has
lately been in a neighboring land?--MACAULAY
These are interrogative sentences, but in none of them does the
pronoun ask the question. In the first, _whence_ is the interrogative
word, _which_ has the antecedent _hue_. In the second, _whose_ has the
antecedent _you_, and asks no question. In the third, the question is
asked by the verb.
OMISSION OF THE RELATIVES.
[Sidenote: _Relative omitted when_ object.]
129. The relative is frequently omitted in spoken and in literary
English when it would be the object of a preposition or a verb. Hardly
a writer can be found who does not leave out relatives in this way
when they can be readily supplied in the mind of the reader. Thus,--
These are the sounds we feed upon.--FLETCHER.
I visited many other apartments, but shall not trouble my reader
with all the curiosities I observed.--SWIFT.
Exercise.
Put in the relatives _who_, _which_, or _that_ where they are omitted
from the following sentences, and see whether the sentences are any
smoother or clearer:--
1. The insect I am now describing lived three years,--GOLDSMITH.
2. They will go to Sunday schools through storms their brothers
are afraid of.--HOLMES.
3. He opened the volume he first took from the shelf.--G. ELIOT.
4. He could give the coals in that queer coal scuttle we read of
to his poor neighbor.--THACKERAY.
5. When Goldsmith died, half the unpaid bill he owed to Mr.
William Filby was for clothes supplied to his nephew.--FORSTER
6. The thing I want to see is not Redbook Lists, and Court
Calendars, but the life of man in England.--CARLYLE.
7. The material they had to work upon was already democratical by
instinct and habitude.--LOWELL.
[Sidenote: _Relative omitted when_ subject.]
130. We often hear in spoken English expressions like these:--
There isn't one here ? knows how to play ball.
There was such a crowd ? went, the house was full.
Here the omitted relative would be in the nominative case. Also in
literary English we find the same omission. It is rare in prose, and
comparatively so in poetry. Examples are,--
The silent truth that it was she was superior.--THACKERAY
I have a mind presages me such thrift.--SHAKESPEARE.
There is a nun in Dryburgh bower,
Ne'er looks upon the sun.
--SCOTT.
And you may gather garlands there
Would grace a summer queen.
_Id._
'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view.--CAMPBELL.
Exercises on the Relative Pronoun.
(_a_) Bring up sentences containing ten instances of the relatives
_who_, _which_, _that_, and _what_.
(_b_) Bring up sentences having five indefinite relatives.
(_c_) Bring up five sentences having indirect questions introduced by
pronouns.
(_d_) Tell whether the pronouns in the following are interrogatives,
simple relatives, or indefinite relatives:--
1. He ushered him into one of the wherries which lay ready to attend
the Queen's barge, which was already proceeding.
2. The nobles looked at each other, but more with the purpose to see
what each thought of the news, than to exchange any remarks on what
had happened.
3. Gracious Heaven! who was this that knew the word?
4. It needed to be ascertained which was the strongest kind of men;
who were to be rulers over whom.
5. He went on speaking to who would listen to him.
6. What kept me silent was the thought of my mother.
ADJECTIVE PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Function of adjective pronouns._]
131. Most of the words how to be considered are capable of a double
use,--they may be pure modifiers of nouns, or they may stand for
nouns. In the first use they are adjectives; in the second they retain
an adjective _meaning_, but have lost their adjective _use_. Primarily
they are adjectives, but in this function, or use, they are properly
classed as adjective pronouns.
The following are some examples of these:--
_Some_ say that the place was bewitched.--IRVING.
That mysterious realm where _each_ shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death.
--BRYANT.
How happy is he born or taught
That serveth not _another's_ will.
--WOTTON
_That_ is more than any martyr can stand.--EMERSON.
[Sidenote: _Caution._]
[Sidenote: _Adjectives, not pronouns._]
Hence these words are like adjectives used as nouns, which we have
seen in such expressions as, "_The dead_ are there;" that is, a word,
in order to be an adjective pronoun, _must not modify any word,
expressed or understood_. It must come under the requirement of
pronouns, and _stand for a noun_. For instance, in the following
sentences--"The cubes are of stainless ivory, and on _each_ is
written, in letters of gold, '_Truth_;'" "You needs must play such
pranks as _these_;" "They will always have one bank to sun themselves
upon, and _another_ to get cool under;" "Where two men ride on a
horse, _one_ must ride behind"--the words italicized modify nouns
understood, necessarily thought of: thus, in the first, "each _cube_;"
in the second, "these _pranks_," in the others, "another _bank_," "one
_man_."
[Sidenote: _Classes of adjective pronouns._]
132. Adjective pronouns are divided into three classes:--
(1) DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS, such as _this_, _that_, _the former_, etc.
(2) DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS, such as _each_, _either_, _neither_, etc.
(3) NUMERAL PRONOUNS, as _some_, _any_, _few_, _many_, _none_, _all_,
etc.
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Definition and examples._]
133. A DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN is one that definitely points out what
persons or things are alluded to in the sentence.
The person or thing alluded to by the demonstrative may be in another
sentence, or may be the whole of a sentence. For example, "Be _that_
as it may" could refer to a sentiment in a sentence, or an argument in
a paragraph; but the demonstrative clearly points to that thing.
The following are examples of demonstratives:--
I did not say _this_ in so many words.
All _these_ he saw; but what he fain had seen He could not see.
Beyond _that_ I seek not to penetrate the veil.
How much we forgive in _those_ who yield us the rare spectacle of
heroic manners!
The correspondence of Bonaparte with his brother Joseph, when
_the latter_ was the King of Spain.
_Such_ are a few isolated instances, accidentally preserved.
Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness,
reap _the same_.
They know that patriotism has its glorious opportunities and its
sacred duties. They have not shunned _the one_, and they have
well performed _the other_.
NOTE.--It will be noticed in the first four sentences that _this_ and
_that_ are inflected for number.
Exercises.
(_a_) Find six sentences using demonstrative adjective pronouns.
(_b_) In which of the following is _these_ a pronoun?--
1. Formerly the duty of a librarian was to keep people as much as
possible from the books, and to hand _these_ over to his
successor as little worn as he could.--LOWELL.
2. They had fewer books, but _these_ were of the best.--_Id._
3. A man inspires affection and honor, because he was not lying
in wait for _these_.--EMERSON
4. Souls such as _these_ treat you as gods would.--_Id._
5. _These_ are the first mountains that broke the uniform level
of the earth's surface.--AGASSIZ
DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Definition and examples._]
134. The DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS are those which stand for the names
of persons or things considered singly.
[Sidenote: _Simple._]
Some of these are _simple_ pronouns; for example,--
They stood, or sat, or reclined, as seemed good to _each_.
As two yoke devils sworn to _other's_ purpose.
Their minds accorded into one strain, and made delightful music
which _neither_ could have claimed as all his own.
[Sidenote: _Compound_.]
Two are compound pronouns,--_each other_, _one another_. They may be
separated into two adjective pronouns; as,
We violated our reverence _each_ for _the other's_ soul.
--HAWTHORNE.
More frequently they are considered as one pronoun.
They led one another, as it were, into a high pavilion of their
thoughts.--HAWTHORNE.
Men take each other's measure when they react.--EMERSON.
Exercise.--Find sentences containing three distributive pronouns.
NUMERAL PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Definition and examples_.]
135. The NUMERAL PRONOUNS are those which stand for an uncertain
number or quantity of persons or things.
The following sentences contain numeral pronouns:--
Trusting too much to _others'_ care is the ruin of _many_.
'Tis of no importance how large his house, you quickly come to
the end of _all_.
_Another_ opposes him with sound argument.
It is as if _one_ should be so enthusiastic a lover of poetry as
to care nothing for Homer or Milton.
There were plenty _more_ for him to fall in company with, as
_some_ of the rangers had gone astray.
The Soldan, imbued, as _most_ were, with the superstitions of his
time, paused over a horoscope.
If those [taxes] were the only _ones_ we had to pay, we might the
more easily discharge them.
_Much_ might be said on both sides.
If hand of mine _another's_ task has lightened.
It felt the guidance that it does not claim.
So perish _all_ whose breast ne'er learned to glow
For _others_' good, or melt for _others_' woe.
_None_ shall rule but the humble.
[Sidenote: _Some inflected._]
It will be noticed that some of these are inflected for case and
number; such as _one other_, _another_.
The word _one_ has a reflexive form; for example,--
[Sidenote: One _reflexive_.]
The best way to punish _oneself_ for doing ill seems to me to go
and do good.--KINGSLEY.
The lines sound so prettily to _one's self_. HOLMES.
Exercise.--Find sentences containing ten numeral pronouns.
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _Definition and examples._]
136. Indefinite pronouns are words which stand for an indefinite
number or quantity of persons or things; but, unlike adjective
pronouns, they are never used as adjectives.
Most of them are compounds of two or more words:--
[Sidenote: _List._]
_Somebody_, _some one_, _something_; _anybody_, _any one_ (or
_anyone_), _anything_; _everybody_, _every one_ (or _everyone_),
_everything_; _nobody_, _no one_, _nothing_; _somebody else_, _anyone
else_, _everybody else_, _every one else_, etc.; also _aught_,
_naught_; and _somewhat_, _what_, and _they_.
The following sentences contain indefinite pronouns:--
As he had them of all hues, he hoped to fit _everybody's_ fancy.
_Every one_ knows how laborious the usual method is of attaining
to arts and sciences.
_Nothing_ sheds more honor on our early history than the
impression which these measures everywhere produced in America.
Let us also perform _something_ worthy to be remembered.
William of Orange was more than _anything else_ a religious man.
Frederick was discerned to be a purchaser of _everything_ that
_nobody else_ would buy.
These other souls draw me as _nothing else_ can.
The genius that created it now creates _somewhat else_.
_Every one else_ stood still at his post.
That is perfectly true: I did not want _anybody else's_ authority
to write as I did.
_They_ indefinite means people in general; as,--
At lovers' perjuries, _they_ say, Jove laughs.--SHAKESPEARE.
_What_ indefinite is used in the expression "I tell you _what_." It
means _something_, and was indefinite in Old English.
Now, in building of chaises, I tell you _what_,
There is always somewhere a weakest spot.
Exercise.--Find sentences with six indefinite pronouns.
137. Some indefinite pronouns are inflected for case, as shown in
the words _everybody's_, _anybody else's_, etc.
See also "Syntax" (Sec. 426) as to the possessive case of the forms
with _else_.
HOW TO PARSE PRONOUNS.
[Sidenote: _A reminder._]
138. In parsing pronouns the student will need particularly to
guard against the mistake of parsing words according to _form_ instead
of according to function or use.
Exercise.
Parse in full the pronouns in the following sentences:--
1. She could not help laughing at the vile English into which
they were translated.
2. Our readers probably remember what Mrs. Hutchinson tells us of
herself.
3. Whoever deals with M. de Witt must go the plain way that he
pretends to, in his negotiations.
4. Some of them from whom nothing was to be got, were suffered to
depart; but those from whom it was thought that anything could be
extorted were treated with execrable cruelty.
5. All was now ready for action.
6. Scarcely had the mutiny broken up when he was himself again.
7. He came back determined to put everything to the hazard.
8. Nothing is more clear than that a general ought to be the
servant of his government, and of no other.
9. Others did the same thing, but not to quite so enormous an
extent.
10. On reaching the approach to this about sunset of a beautiful
evening in June, I first found myself among the mountains,--a
feature of natural scenery for which, from my earliest days, it
was not extravagant to say that I hungered and thirsted.
11. I speak of that part which chiefly it is that I know.
12. A smaller sum I had given to my friend the attorney (who was
connected with the money lenders as their lawyer), to which,
indeed, he was entitled for his unfurnished lodgings.
13. Whatever power the law gave them would be enforced against
me to the utmost.
14. O thou that rollest above, round as the shield of my fathers!
15. But there are more than you ever heard of who die of grief in
this island of ours.
16. But amongst themselves is no voice nor sound.
17. For this did God send her a great reward.
18. The table was good; but that was exactly what Kate cared
little about.
19. Who and what was Milton? That is to say, what is the place
which he fills in his own vernacular literature?
20. These hopes are mine as much as theirs.
21. What else am I who laughed or wept yesterday, who slept last
night like a corpse?
22. I who alone am, I who see nothing in nature whose existence I
can affirm with equal evidence to my own, behold now the
semblance of my being, in all its height, variety, and curiosity
reiterated in a foreign form.
23. What hand but would a garland cull
For thee who art so beautiful?
24. And I had done a hellish thing,
And it would work 'em woe.
25. Whatever he knows and thinks, whatever in his apprehension is
worth doing, that let him communicate.
26. Rip Van Winkle was one of those foolish, well-oiled
dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown,
whichever can be got with least thought or trouble.
27. And will your mother pity me,
Who am a maiden most forlorn?
28. They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well.
29. I did remind thee of our own dear Lake,
By the old Hall which may be mine no more.
30. He sate him down, and seized a pen, and traced
Words which I could not guess of.
31. Time writes no wrinkle on thine azure brow:
Such as creation's dawn beheld, thou rollest now.
32. Wild Spirit which art moving everywhere;
Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh, hear!
33. A smile of hers was like an act of grace.
34. No man can learn what he has not preparation for learning.
35. What can we see or acquire but what we are?
36. He teaches who gives, and he learns who receives.
37. We are by nature observers; that is our permanent state.
38. He knew not what to do, and so he read.
39. Who hears me, who understands me, becomes mine.
40. The men who carry their points do not need to inquire of
their constituents what they should say.
41. Higher natures overpower lower ones by affecting them with a
certain sleep.
42. Those who live to the future must always appear selfish to
those who live to the present.
43. I am sorry when my independence is invaded or when a gift
comes from such as do not know my spirit.
44. Here I began to howl and scream abominably, which was no bad
step towards my liberation.
45. The only aim of the war is to see which is the stronger of
the two--which is the master.
ADJECTIVES.
[Sidenote: _Office of Adjectives._]
139. Nouns are seldom used as names of objects without additional
words joined to them to add to their meaning. For example, if we wish
to speak of a friend's house, we cannot guide one to it by merely
calling it _a house_. We need to add some words to tell its color,
size, position, etc., if we are at a distance; and if we are near, we
need some word to point out the house we speak of, so that no other
will be mistaken for it. So with any object, or with persons.
As to the kind of words used, we may begin with the common adjectives
telling the _characteristics_ of an object. If a chemist discovers a
new substance, he cannot describe it to others without telling its
qualities: he will say it is _solid_, or _liquid_, or _gaseous_;
_heavy_ or _light_; _brittle_ or _tough_; _white_ or _red_; etc.
Again, in _pointing out_ an object, adjectives are used; such as in
the expressions "_this_ man," "_that_ house," "_yonder_ hill," etc.
Instead of using nouns indefinitely, the _number_ is limited by
adjectives; as, "_one_ hat," "_some_ cities," "_a hundred_ men."
The office of an adjective, then, is to narrow down or limit the
application of a noun. It may have this office alone, or it may at the
same time add to the meaning of the noun.
[Sidenote: _Substantives._]
140. Nouns are not, however, the only words limited by adjectives:
pronouns and other words and expressions also have adjectives joined
to them. Any word or word group that performs the same office as a
noun may be modified by adjectives.
To make this clear, notice the following sentences:--
[Sidenote: _Pronoun._]
If _he_ be _thankful_ for small benefits, it shows that he weighs
men's minds, and their trash.--BACON.
[Sidenote: _Infinitives._]
_To err_ is _human_; _to forgive, divine_.--POPE.
With exception of the "and then," the "and there," and the still
less _significant_ "_and so_," they constitute all his
connections.--COLERIDGE.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
141. An adjective is a word joined to a noun or other substantive
word or expression, to describe it or to limit its application.
[Sidenote: _Classes of adjectives._]
142. Adjectives are divided into four classes:--
(1) Descriptive adjectives, which describe by expressing qualities
or attributes of a substantive.
(2) Adjectives of quantity, used to tell how many things are spoken
of, or how much of a thing.
(3) Demonstrative adjectives, pointing out particular things.
(4) Pronominal adjectives, words primarily pronouns, but used
adjectively sometimes in modifying nouns instead of standing for them.
They include relative and interrogative words.
DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES.
143. This large class includes several kinds of words:--
(1) SIMPLE ADJECTIVES expressing quality; such as _safe_, _happy_,
_deep_, _fair_, _rash_, _beautiful_, _remotest_, _terrible_, etc.
(2) COMPOUND ADJECTIVES, made up of various words thrown together to
make descriptive epithets. Examples are, "_Heaven-derived_ power,"
"this _life-giving_ book," "his spirit wrapt and _wonder-struck_,"
"_ice-cold_ water," "_half-dead_ traveler," "_unlooked-for_ burden,"
"_next-door_ neighbor," "_ivory-handled_ pistols," "the
_cold-shudder-inspiring_ Woman in White."
(3) PROPER ADJECTIVES, derived from proper nouns; such as, "an old
_English_ manuscript," "the _Christian_ pearl of charity," "the
well-curb had a _Chinese_ roof," "the _Roman_ writer Palladius."
(4) PARTICIPIAL ADJECTIVES, which are either pure participles used to
describe, or participles which have lost all verbal force and have no
function except to express quality. Examples are,--
_Pure participial adjectives_: "The _healing_ power of the Messiah,"
"The _shattering_ sway of one strong arm," "_trailing_ clouds," "The
_shattered_ squares have opened into line," "It came on like the
_rolling_ simoom," "God tempers the wind to the _shorn_ lamb."
_Faded participial adjectives_: "Sleep is a _blessed_ thing;" "One is
hungry, and another is _drunken_;" "under the _fitting_ drapery of the
jagged and trailing clouds;" "The clearness and quickness are
_amazing_;" "an _aged_ man;" "a _charming_ sight."
[Sidenote: _Caution._]
144. Care is needed, in studying these last-named words, to
distinguish between a participle that forms part of a verb, and a
participle or participial adjective that belongs to a noun.
For instance: in the sentence, "The work was well and rapidly
accomplished," _was accomplished_ is a verb; in this, "No man of his
day was more brilliant or more accomplished," _was_ is the verb, and
_accomplished_ is an adjective.
Exercises.
1. Bring up sentences with twenty descriptive adjectives, having some
of each subclass named in Sec. 143.
2. Is the italicized word an adjective in this?--
The old sources of intellectual excitement seem to be well-nigh
_exhausted_.
ADJECTIVES OF QUANTITY.
145. Adjectives of quantity tell _how much_ or _how many_. They have
these three subdivisions:--
[Sidenote: _How much._]
(1) QUANTITY IN BULK: such words as _little_, _much_, _some_, _no_,
_any_, _considerable_, sometimes _small_, joined usually to singular
nouns to express an indefinite measure of the thing spoken of.
The following examples are from Kingsley:--
So he parted with _much_ weeping of the lady.
Which we began to do with _great_ labor and _little_ profit.
Because I had _some_ knowledge of surgery and blood-letting.
But ever she looked on Mr. Oxenham, and seemed to take _no_
care as long as he was by.
Examples of _small_ an adjective of quantity:--
"The deil's in it but I bude to anger him!" said the woman, and
walked away with a laugh of _small_ satisfaction.--MACDONALD.
'Tis midnight, but _small_ thoughts have I of sleep.--COLERIDGE.
It gives _small_ idea of Coleridge's way of talking.--CARLYLE.
When _some_, _any_, _no_, are used with plural nouns, they come under
the next division of adjectives.
[Sidenote: _How many._]
(2) QUANTITY IN NUMBER, which may be expressed exactly by numbers or
remotely designated by words expressing indefinite amounts. Hence the
natural division into--
(_a_) _Definite numerals_; as, "_one_ blaze of musketry;" "He found in
the pathway _fourteen_ Spaniards;" "I have lost _one_ brother, but I
have gained _fourscore_;" "_a dozen_ volunteers."
(_b_) _Indefinite numerals_, as the following from Kingsley: "We gave
_several_ thousand pounds for it;" "In came some five and twenty more,
and with them _a few_ negroes;" "Then we wandered for _many_ days;"
"Amyas had evidently _more_ schemes in his head;" "He had lived by
hunting for _some_ months;" "That light is far too red to be the
reflection of _any_ beams of hers."
[Sidenote: _Single ones of any number of changes._]
(3) DISTRIBUTIVE NUMERALS, which occupy a place midway between the
last two subdivisions of numeral adjectives; for they are indefinite
in telling how many objects are spoken of, but definite in referring
to the objects one at a time. Thus,--
_Every_ town had its fair; _every_ village, its wake.--THACKERAY.
An arrow was quivering in _each_ body.--KINGSLEY.
Few on _either_ side but had their shrewd scratch to show.--_Id._
Before I taught my tongue to wound
My conscience with a sinful sound,
Or had the black art to dispense
A _several_ sin to _every_ sense.--VAUGHAN.
Exercise.--Bring up sentences with ten adjectives of quantity.
DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES.
[Sidenote: _Not primarily pronouns._]
146. The words of this list are placed here instead of among
pronominal adjectives, for the reason that they are felt to be
primarily adjectives; their pronominal use being evidently a
shortening, by which the words point out but stand for words omitted,
instead of modifying them. Their natural and original use is to be
joined to a noun following or in close connection.
[Sidenote: _The list._]
The demonstrative adjectives are _this_, _that_, (plural _these_,
_those_), _yonder_ (or _yon_), _former_, _latter_; also the pairs
_one_ (or _the one_)--_the other_, _the former_--_the latter_, used to
refer to two things which have been already named in a sentence.
[Sidenote: _Examples._]
The following sentences present some examples:--
The bashful virgin's sidelong looks of love, The matron's glance
that would _those_ looks reprove.--GOLDSMITH.
These were thy charms...but all _these_ charms are fled.--_Id._
About _this_ time I met with an odd volume of the
"Spectator."--B. FRANKLIN.
_Yonder_ proud ships are not means of annoyance to you.--D.
WEBSTER.
_Yon_ cloud with _that_ long purple cleft.--WORDSWORTH.
I chose for the students of Kensington two characteristic
examples of early art, of equal skill; but in _the one_ case,
skill which was progressive--in _the other_, skill which was at
pause.--RUSKIN.
Exercise.--Find sentences with five demonstrative adjectives.
[Sidenote: _Ordinal numerals classed under demonstratives._]
147. The class of numerals known as ordinals must be placed here,
as having the same function as demonstrative adjectives. They point
out which thing is meant among a series of things mentioned. The
following are examples:--
The _first_ regular provincial newspapers appear to have been
created in the last decade of the _seventeenth_ century, and by
the middle of the _eighteenth_ century almost every important
provincial town had its local organ.--BANCROFT.
These do not, like the other numerals, tell _how many_ things are
meant. When we speak of the seventeenth century, we imply nothing as
to how many centuries there may be.
PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
148. As has been said, pronominal adjectives are primarily
pronouns; but, when they _modify_ words instead of referring to them
as antecedents, they are changed to adjectives. They are of two
kinds,--RELATIVE and INTERROGATIVE,--and are used to join sentences or
to ask questions, just as the corresponding pronouns do.
[Sidenote: _Modify names of persons or things._]
149. The RELATIVE ADJECTIVES are _which_ and _what_; for example,--
It matters not _what_ rank he has, _what_ revenues or garnitures.
--CARLYLE.
The silver and laughing Xenil, careless _what_ lord should
possess the banks that bloomed by its everlasting
course.--BULWER.
The taking of _which_ bark. I verily believe, was the ruin of
every mother's son of us.--KINGSLEY.
In _which_ evil strait Mr. Oxenham fought desperately.--_Id._
[Sidenote: _Indefinite relative adjectives._]
150. The INDEFINITE RELATIVE adjectives are _what_, _whatever_,
_whatsoever_, _whichever_, _whichsoever_. Examples of their use are,--
He in his turn tasted some of its flavor, which, make _what_ sour
mouths he would for pretense, proved not altogether displeasing
to him.--LAMB.
_Whatever_ correction of our popular views from insight, nature
will be sure to bear us out in.--EMERSON.
_Whatsoever_ kind of man he is, you at least give him full
authority over your son.--RUSKIN.
Was there, as it rather seemed, a circle of ominous shadow moving
along with his deformity, _whichever_ way he turned
himself?--HAWTHORNE.
New torments I behold, and new tormented
Around me, _whichsoever_ way I move,
And _whichsoever_ way I turn, and gaze.
--LONGFELLOW (FROM DANTE).
151. The INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVES are _which_ and _what_. They may
be used in direct and indirect questions. As in the pronouns, _which_
is selective among what is known; _what_ inquires about things or
persons not known.
[Sidenote: _In direct questions._]
Sentences with _which_ and _what_ in direct questions:--
_Which_ debt must I pay first, the debt to the rich, or the debt
to the poor?--EMERSON.
But when the Trojan war comes, _which_ side will you take?
--THACKERAY.
But _what_ books in the circulating library circulate?--LOWELL.
_What_ beckoning ghost along the moonlight shade
Invites my steps, and points to yonder glade?--POPE.
[Sidenote: _In indirect questions._]
Sentences with _which_ and _what_ in indirect questions:--
His head...looked like a weathercock perched upon his spindle
neck to tell _which_ way the wind blew.--IRVING.
A lady once remarked, he [Coleridge] could never fix _which_ side
of the garden walk would suit him best.--CARLYLE.
He was turned before long into all the universe, where it was
uncertain _what_ game you would catch, or whether any.--_Id._
At _what_ rate these materials would be distributed and
precipitated in regular strata, it is impossible to
determine.--AGASSIZ.
[Sidenote: _Adjective_ what _in exclamations_.]
152. In exclamatory expressions, _what_ (or _what a_) has a force
somewhat like a descriptive adjective. It is neither relative nor
interrogative, but might be called an EXCLAMATORY ADJECTIVE; as,--
Oh, _what a_ revolution! and _what a_ heart must I have, to
contemplate without emotion that elevation and that fall!--BURKE.
_What a_ piece of work is man!--SHAKESPEARE.
And yet, alas, the making of it right, _what a_ business for long
time to come!--CARLYLE
Through _what_ hardships it may attain to bear a sweet
fruit!--THOREAU.
Exercise.--Find ten sentences containing pronominal adjectives.
INFLECTIONS OF ADJECTIVES.
153 .Adjectives have two inflections,--number and comparison.
NUMBER.--_This_, _That_.
[Sidenote: _History of_ this--these _and_ that--those.]
154. The only adjectives having a plural form are _this_ and _that_
(plural _these_, _those_).
_This_ is the old demonstrative; _that_ being borrowed from the forms
of the definite article, which was fully inflected in Old English. The
article _that_ was used with neuter nouns.
In Middle English the plural of _this_ was _this_ or _thise_, which
changed its spelling to the modern form _these_.
[Sidenote: Those _borrowed from_ this.]
But _this_ had also another plural, _thas_ (modern _those_). The old
plural of _that_ was _tha_ (Middle English _tho_ or _thow_):
consequently _tho_ (plural of _that_) and _those_ (plural of _this_)
became confused, and it was forgotten that _those_ was really the
plural of _this_; and in Modern English we speak of _these_ as the
plural of _this_, and _those_ as the plural of _that_.
COMPARISON.
155. Comparison is an inflection not possessed by nouns and
pronouns: it belongs to adjectives and adverbs.
[Sidenote: _Meaning of comparison._]
When we place two objects side by side, we notice some differences
between them as to size, weight, color, etc. Thus, it is said that a
cow is _larger_ than a sheep, gold is _heavier_ than iron, a sapphire
is _bluer_ than the sky. All these have certain qualities; and when we
compare the objects, we do so by means of their qualities,--cow and
sheep by the quality of largeness, or size; gold and iron by the
quality of heaviness, or weight, etc.,--but not the same degree, or
amount, of the quality.
The degrees belong to any beings or ideas that may be known or
conceived of as possessing quality; as, "untamed thought, great,
giant-like, enormous;" "the commonest speech;" "It is a nobler valor;"
"the largest soul."
Also words of quantity may be compared: for example, "more matter,
with less wit;" "no fewer than a hundred."
[Sidenote: _Words that cannot be compared._]
156. There are some descriptive words whose meaning is such as not
to admit of comparison; for example,--
His company became very agreeable to the brave old professor of
arms, whose _favorite_ pupil he was.--THACKERAY.
A _main_ difference betwixt men is, whether they attend their own
affair or not.--EMERSON
It was his business to administer the law in its _final_ and
closest application to the offender--HAWTHORNE.
Freedom is a _perpetual, organic, universal_ institution, in
harmony with the Constitution of the United States.--SEWARD.
So with the words _sole_, _sufficient_, _infinite_, _immemorial_,
_indefatigable_, _indomitable_, _supreme_, and many others.
It is true that words of comparison are sometimes prefixed to them,
but, strictly considered, they are not compared.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
157. Comparison means the changes that words undergo to express
degrees in quality, or amounts in quantity.
[Sidenote: _The two forms._]
158. There are two forms for this inflection: the comparative,
expressing a greater degree of quality; and the superlative,
expressing the greatest degree of quality.
These are called degrees of comparison.
These are properly the only degrees, though the simple, uninflected
form is usually called the positive degree.
159. The comparative is formed by adding _-er_, and the superlative
by adding _-est_, to the simple form; as, _red_, _redder_, _reddest_;
_blue_, _bluer_, _bluest_; _easy_, _easier_, _easiest_.
[Sidenote: _Substitute for inflection in comparison._]
160. Side by side with these inflected forms are found comparative
and superlative expressions making use of the adverbs more and
most. These are often useful as alternative with the inflected
forms, but in most cases are used before adjectives that are never
inflected.
They came into use about the thirteenth century, but were not common
until a century later.
[Sidenote: _Which rule_,-- -er _and_ -est _or_ more _and_ most?]
161. The English is somewhat capricious in choosing between the
inflected forms and those with _more_ and _most_, so that no
inflexible rule can be given as to the formation of the comparative
and the superlative.
The general rule is, that monosyllables and easily pronounced words of
two syllables add _-er_ and _-est_; and other words are preceded by
_more_ and _most_.
But room must be left in such a rule for pleasantness of sound and for
variety of expression.
To see how literary English overrides any rule that could be given,
examine the following taken at random:--
From Thackeray: "The _handsomest_ wives;" "the _immensest_ quantity of
thrashing;" "the _wonderfulest_ little shoes;" "_more odd, strange_,
and yet familiar;" "_more austere_ and _holy_."
From Ruskin: "The sharpest, finest chiseling, and _patientest_
fusing;" "_distantest_ relationships;" "_sorrowfulest_ spectacles."
Carlyle uses _beautifulest_, _mournfulest_, _honestest_,
_admirablest_, _indisputablest_, _peaceablest_, _most small_, etc.
These long, harsh forms are usually avoided, but _more_ and _most_ are
frequently used with monosyllables.
162. Expressions are often met with in which a superlative form does
not carry the superlative meaning. These are equivalent usually to
_very_ with the positive degree; as,--
To this the Count offers a _most wordy_ declaration of the
benefits conferred by Spain.--_The Nation_, No 1507
In all formulas that Johnson could stand by, there needed to be a
_most genuine_ substance.--CARLYLE
A gentleman, who, though born in no very high degree, was _most
finished_, _polished_, _witty_, _easy_, _quiet_.--THACKERAY
He had actually nothing else save a rope around his neck, which
hung behind in the _queerest_ way.--_Id._
"So help me God, madam, I will," said Henry Esmond, falling on
his knees, and kissing the hand of his _dearest_ mistress.--_Id._
[Sidenote: _Adjectives irregularly compared._]
163. Among the variously derived adjectives now in our language
there are some which may always be recognized as native English. These
are adjectives irregularly compared.
Most of them have worn down or become confused with similar words, but
they are essentially the same forms that have lived for so many
centuries.
The following lists include the majority of them:--
LIST I.
1. Good or well Better Best
2. Evil, bad, ill Worse Worst
3. Little Less, lesser Least
4. Much or many More Most
5. Old Elder, older Eldest, oldest
6. Nigh Nigher Nighest, next
7. Near Nearer Nearest
8. Far Farther, further Farthest, furthest
9. Late Later, latter Latest, last
10. Hind Hinder Hindmost, hindermost
LIST II.
These have no adjective positive:--
1. [In] Inner Inmost, innermost
2. [Out] Outer, utter {Outmost, outermost
{Utmost, uttermost
3. [Up] Upper Upmost, uppermost
LIST III.
A few of comparative form but not comparative meaning:--
After Over Under Nether
Remarks on Irregular Adjectives.
[Sidenote: _List I._]
164. (1) The word good has no comparative or superlative, but takes
the place of a positive to _better_ and _best_. There was an old
comparative _bet_, which has gone out of use; as in the sentence (14th
century), "Ich singe _bet_ than thu dest" (I sing better than thou
dost). The superlative I form was _betst_, which has softened to the
modern _best_.
(2) In Old English, evil was the positive to _worse_, _worst_; but
later _bad_ and _ill_ were borrowed from the Norse, and used as
positives to the same comparative and superlative. _Worser_ was once
used, a double comparative; as in Shakespeare,--
O, throw away the _worser_ part of it.--HAMLET.
(3) Little is used as positive to _less_, _least_, though from a
different root. A double comparative, _lesser_, is often used; as,--
We have it in a much _lesser_ degree.--MATTHEW ARNOLD.
Thrust the _lesser_ half by main force into the fists of Ho-ti.
--LAMB.
(4) The words much and many now express quantity; but in former
times _much_ was used in the sense of _large_, _great_, and was the
same word that is found in the proverb, "Many a little makes _a
mickle_." Its spelling has been _micel_, _muchel_, _moche_, _much_,
the parallel form _mickle_ being rarely used.
The meanings _greater_, _greatest_, are shown in such phrases as,--
The _more_ part being of one mind, to England we
sailed.--KINGSLEY.
The _most_ part kept a stolid indifference.--_Id._
The latter, meaning _the largest part_, is quite common.
(5) The forms elder, eldest, are earlier than _older_, _oldest_. A
few other words with the vowel _o_ had similar change in the
comparative and superlative, as _long_, _strong_, etc.; but these have
followed _old_ by keeping the same vowel _o_ in all the forms, instead
of _lenger_, _strenger_, etc., the old forms.
(6) and (7) Both nigh and near seem regular in Modern English,
except the form _next_; but originally the comparison was _nigh_,
_near_, _next_. In the same way the word high had in Middle English
the superlative _hexte_.
By and by the comparative _near_ was regarded as a positive form, and
on it were built a double comparative _nearer_, and the superlative
_nearest_, which adds _-est_ to what is really a comparative instead
of a simple adjective.
(8) These words also show confusion and consequent modification,
coming about as follows: further really belongs to another
series,--_forth_, _further_, _first_. First became entirely
detached from the series, and _furthest_ began to be used to follow
the comparative _further_; then these were used as comparative and
superlative of _far_.
The word far had formerly the comparative and superlative _farrer_,
_farrest_. In imitation of _further_, _furthest_, _th_ came into the
others, making the modern _farther_, _farthest_. Between the two sets
as they now stand, there is scarcely any distinction, except perhaps
_further_ is more used than _farther_ in the sense of _additional_;
as, for example,--
When that evil principle was left with no _further_ material to
support it.--HAWTHORNE.
(9) Latter and last are the older forms. Since _later_, _latest_,
came into use, a distinction has grown up between the two series.
_Later_ and _latest_ have the true comparative and superlative force,
and refer to time; _latter_ and _last_ are used in speaking of
succession, or series, and are hardly thought of as connected in
meaning with the word _late_.
(10) Hinder is comparative in form, but not in meaning. The form
_hindmost_ is really a double superlative, since the _m_ is for _-ma_,
an old superlative ending, to which is added _-ost_, doubling the
inflection. _Hind-er-m-ost_ presents the combination comparative +
superlative + superlative.
[Sidenote: _List II._]
165. In List II. (Sec. 163) the comparatives and superlatives are
adjectives, but they have no adjective positives.
The comparatives are so in form, but not in their meaning.
The superlatives show examples again of double inflection, and of
comparative added to double-superlative inflection.
Examples (from Carlyle) of the use of these adjectives: "revealing the
_inner_ splendor to him;" "a mind that has penetrated into the
_inmost_ heart of a thing;" "This of painting is one of the
_outermost_ developments of a man;" "The _outer_ is of the day;"
"far-seeing as the sun, the _upper_ light of the world;" "the
_innermost_ moral soul;" "their _utmost_ exertion."
[Sidenote: -Most _added to other words_.]
166. The ending _-most_ is added to some words that are not usually
adjectives, or have no comparative forms.
There, on the very _topmost_ twig, sits that ridiculous but
sweet-singing bobolink.--H.W. BEECHER.
Decidedly handsome, having such a skin as became a young woman of
family in _northernmost_ Spain.--DE QUINCEY.
Highest and _midmost_, was descried The royal banner floating
wide.--SCOTT.
[Sidenote: _List III._]
167. The adjectives in List III. are like the comparative forms in
List II. in having no adjective positives. They have no superlatives,
and have no comparative force, being merely descriptive.
Her bows were deep in the water, but her _after_ deck was still
dry.--KINGSLEY.
Her, by the by, in _after_ years I vainly endeavored to
trace.--DE QUINCEY.
The upper and the _under_ side of the medal of Jove.--EMERSON.
Have you ever considered what a deep _under_ meaning there lies
in our custom of strewing flowers?--RUSKIN.
Perhaps he rose out of some _nether_ region.--HAWTHORNE.
_Over_ is rarely used separately as an adjective.
CAUTION FOR ANALYZING OR PARSING.
[Sidenote: _Think what each adjective belongs to._]
168. Some care must be taken to decide what word is modified by an
adjective. In a series of adjectives in the same sentence, all may
belong to the same noun, or each may modify a different word or group
of words.
For example, in this sentence, "The young pastor's voice was
tremulously sweet, rich, deep, and broken," it is clear that all four
adjectives after _was_ modify the noun _voice_. But in this sentence,
"She showed her usual prudence and her usual incomparable decision,"
_decision_ is modified by the adjective _incomparable_; _usual_
modifies _incomparable decision_, not _decision_ alone; and the
pronoun _her_ limits _usual incomparable decision_.
Adjectives modifying the same noun are said to be of the _same rank_;
those modifying different words or word groups are said to be
adjectives of _different rank_. This distinction is valuable in a
study of punctuation.
Exercise.
In the following quotations, tell what each adjective modifies:--
1. Whenever that look appeared in her wild, bright, deeply black
eyes, it invested them with a strange remoteness and
intangibility.--HAWTHORNE.
2. It may still be argued, that in the present divided state of
Christendom a college which is positively Christian must be
controlled by some religious denomination.--NOAH PORTER.
3. Every quaking leaf and fluttering shadow sent the blood
backward to her heart.--MRS. STOWE.
4. This, our new government, is the first in the history of the
world based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral
truth.--A.H. STEPHENS
5. May we not, therefore, look with confidence to the ultimate
universal acknowledgment of the truths upon which our system
rests?--_Id._
6. A few improper jests and a volley of good, round, solid,
satisfactory, and heaven-defying oaths.--HAWTHORNE.
7. It is well known that the announcement at any private rural
entertainment that there is to be ice cream produces an immediate
and profound impression.--HOLMES.
ADVERBS USED AS ADJECTIVES.
169. By a convenient brevity, adverbs are sometimes used as
adjectives; as, instead of saying, "the one who was then king," in
which _then_ is an adverb, we may say "the _then_ king," making _then_
an adjective. Other instances are,--
My _then_ favorite, in prose, Richard Hooker.--RUSKIN.
Our _sometime_ sister, now our queen.--SHAKESPEARE
Messrs. Bradbury and Evans, the _then_ and _still_ owners.
--TROLLOPE.
The _seldom_ use of it.--TRENCH.
For thy stomach's sake, and thine _often_ infirmities.--_Bible._
HOW TO PARSE ADJECTIVES.
[Sidenote: _What to tell in parsing._]
170. Since adjectives have no gender, person, or case, and very few
have number, the method of parsing is simple.
In parsing an adjective, tell--
(1) The class and subclass to which it belongs.
(2) Its number, if it has number.
(3) Its degree of comparison, if it can be compared.
(4) What word or words it modifies.
MODEL FOR PARSING.
These truths are not unfamiliar to your thoughts.
_These_ points out _what_ truths, therefore demonstrative; plural
number, having a singular, _this_; cannot be compared; modifies the
word _truths_.
_Unfamiliar_ describes _truths_, therefore descriptive; not inflected
for number; compared by prefixing _more_ and _most_; positive degree;
modifies _truths_.
Exercise.
Parse in full each adjective in these sentences:--
1. A thousand lives seemed concentrated in that one moment to
Eliza.
2. The huge green fragment of ice on which she alighted pitched
and creaked.
3. I ask nothing of you, then, but that you proceed to your end
by a direct, frank, manly way.
4. She made no reply, and I waited for none.
5. A herd of thirty or forty tall ungainly figures took their
way, with awkward but rapid pace, across the plain.
6. Gallantly did the lion struggle in the folds of his terrible
enemy, whose grasp each moment grew more fierce and secure, and
most astounding were those frightful yells.
7. This gave the young people entire freedom, and they enjoyed it
to the fullest extent.
8. I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice.
9. To every Roman citizen he gives, To every several man,
seventy-five drachmas.
10. Each member was permitted to entertain all the rest on his or
her birthday, on which occasion the elders of the family were
bound to be absent.
11. Instantly the mind inquires whether these fishes under the
bridge, yonder oxen in the pasture, those dogs in the yard, are
immutably fishes, oxen, and dogs.
12. I know not what course others may take.
13. With every third step, the tomahawk fell.
14. What a ruthless business this war of extermination is!
15. I was just emerging from that many-formed crystal country.
16. On what shore has not the prow of your ships dashed?
17. The laws and institutions of his country ought to have been
more to him than all the men in his country.
18. Like most gifted men, he won affections with ease.
19. His letters aim to elicit the inmost experience and outward
fortunes of those he loves, yet are remarkably self-forgetful.
20. Their name was the last word upon his lips.
21. The captain said it was the last stick he had seen.
22. Before sunrise the next morning they let us out again.
23. He was curious to know to what sect we belonged.
24. Two hours elapsed, during which time I waited.
25. In music especially, you will soon find what personal benefit
there is in being serviceable.
26. To say what good of fashion we can, it rests on reality, and
hates nothing so much as pretenders.
27. Here lay two great roads, not so much for travelers that were
few, as for armies that were too many by half.
28. On whichever side of the border chance had thrown Joanna, the
same love to France would have been nurtured.
29. What advantage was open to him above the English boy?
30. Nearer to our own times, and therefore more interesting to
us, is the settlement of our own country.
31. Even the topmost branches spread out and drooped in all
directions, and many poles supported the lower ones.
32. Most fruits depend entirely on our care.
33. Even the sourest and crabbedest apple, growing in the most
unfavorable position, suggests such thoughts as these, it is so
noble a fruit.
34. Let him live in what pomps and prosperities he like, he is no
literary man.
35. Through what hardships it may bear a sweet fruit!
36. Whatsoever power exists will have itself organized.
37. A hard-struggling, weary-hearted man was he.
ARTICLES.
171. There is a class of words having always an adjectival use in
general, but with such subtle functions and various meanings that they
deserve separate treatment. In the sentence, "He passes an ordinary
brick house on the road, with an ordinary little garden," the words
_the_ and _an_ belong to nouns, just as adjectives do; but they cannot
be accurately placed under any class of adjectives. They are nearest
to demonstrative and numeral adjectives.
[Sidenote: _Their origin._]
172. The article the comes from an old demonstrative adjective
(_se_, _seo_, _ðat_, later _the_, _theo_, _that_) which was also an
article in Old English. In Middle English _the_ became an article, and
_that_ remained a demonstrative adjective.
An or a came from the old numeral _an_, meaning _one_.
[Sidenote: _Two relics._]
Our expressions _the one_, _the other_, were formerly _that one_,
_that other_; the latter is still preserved in the expression, in
vulgar English, _the tother_. Not only this is kept in the Scotch
dialect, but the former is used, these occurring as _the tane, the
tother_, or _the tane, the tither_; for example,--
We ca' her sometimes _the tane_, sometimes _the tother_.--SCOTT.
[Sidenote: An _before vowel sounds_, a _before consonant sounds_.]
173. Ordinarily _an_ is used before vowel sounds, and _a_ before
consonant sounds. Remember that a _vowel sound_ does not necessarily
mean beginning with a vowel, nor does _consonant sound_ mean
beginning with a consonant, because English spelling does not
coincide closely with the sound of words. Examples: "_a_ house," "_an_
orange," "_a_ European," "_an_ honor," "_a_ yelling crowd."
[Sidenote: An _with consonant sounds_.]
174. Many writers use _an_ before _h_, even when not silent, when
the word is not accented on the first syllable.
_An_ historian, such as we have been attempting to describe,
would indeed be an intellectual prodigy.--MACAULAY.
The Persians were _an_ heroic people like the Greeks.--BREWER.
He [Rip] evinced _an_ hereditary disposition to attend to
anything else but his business.--IRVING.
_An_ habitual submission of the understanding to mere events and
images.--COLERIDGE.
_An_ hereditary tenure of these offices.--THOMAS JEFFERSON.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
175. An article is a limiting word, not descriptive, which cannot
be used alone, but always joins to a substantive word to denote a
particular thing, or a group or class of things, or any individual of
a group or class.
[Sidenote: _Kinds._]
176. Articles are either definite or indefinite.
The is the definite article, since it points out a particular
individual, or group, or class.
An or a is the indefinite article, because it refers to any one of
a group or class of things.
An and a are different forms of the same word, the older _an_.
USES OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE.
[Sidenote: _Reference to a known object._]
177. The most common use of the definite article is to refer to an
object that the listener or reader is already acquainted with; as in
the sentence,--
Don't you remember how, when _the_ dragon was infesting _the_
neighborhood of Babylon, _the_ citizens used to walk dismally out
of evenings, and look at _the_ valleys round about strewed with
_the_ bones?--THACKERAY.
NOTE.--This use is noticed when, on opening a story, a person is
introduced by _a_, and afterwards referred to by _the_:--
By and by _a_ giant came out of the dark north, and lay down on
the ice near Audhumla.... _The_ giant frowned when he saw the
glitter of the golden hair.--_Heroes of Asgard._
[Sidenote: _With names of rivers._]
178. _The_ is often prefixed to the names of rivers; and when the
word _river_ is omitted, as "_the_ Mississippi," "_the_ Ohio," the
article indicates clearly that a river, and not a state or other
geographical division, is referred to.
No wonder I could face _the_ Mississippi with so much courage
supplied to me.--THACKERAY.
The Dakota tribes, doubtless, then occupied the country southwest
of _the_ Missouri.--G. BANCROFT.
[Sidenote: _To call attention to attributes._]
179. When _the_ is prefixed to a proper name, it alters the force of
the noun by directing attention to _certain qualities_ possessed by
the person or thing spoken of; thus,--
_The_ Bacon, _the_ Spinoza, _the_ Hume, Schelling, Kant, or
whosoever propounds to you a philosophy of the mind, is only a
more or less awkward translator of things in your
consciousness.--EMERSON.
[Sidenote: _With plural of abstract nouns._]
180. _The_, when placed before the pluralized abstract noun, marks
it as half abstract or a common noun.
[Sidenote: _Common._]
His messages to _the_ provincial _authorities_.--MOTLEY.
[Sidenote: _Half abstract._]
He was probably skilled in _the subtleties_ of Italian
statesmanship.--_Id._
[Sidenote: _With adjectives used as nouns._]
181. When _the_ precedes adjectives of the positive degree used
substantively, it marks their use as common and plural nouns when they
refer to persons, and as singular and abstract when they refer to
qualities.
1. _The simple_ rise as by specific levity, not into a particular
virtue, but into the region of all the virtues.--EMERSON.
2. If _the good_ is there, so is _the evil_.--_Id._
[Sidenote: _Caution._]
NOTE.--This is not to be confused with words that have shifted from
adjectives and become pure nouns; as,--
As she hesitated to pass on, _the gallant_, throwing his cloak
from his shoulders, laid it on the miry spot.--SCOTT.
But De Soto was no longer able to abate the confidence or punish
the temerity of _the natives_.--G. BANCROFT.
[Sidenote: _One thing for its class._]
182. _The_ before class nouns may mark one thing as a representative
of the class to which it belongs; for example,--
The faint, silvery warblings heard over the partially bare and
moist fields from _the bluebird_, _the song sparrow_, and _the
redwing_, as if the last flakes of winter tinkled as they
fell!--THOREAU.
In the sands of Africa and Arabia _the camel_ is a sacred and
precious gift.--GIBBON.
[Sidenote: _For possessive person pronouns._]
183. _The_ is frequently used instead of the possessive case of the
personal pronouns _his_, _her_, etc.
More than one hinted that a cord twined around _the head_, or a
match put between _the fingers_, would speedily extract the
required information.--KINGSLEY.
_The_ mouth, and the region of the mouth, were about the
strongest features in Wordsworth's face.--DE QUINCEY.
[Sidenote: The _for_ a.]
184. In England and Scotland _the_ is often used where we use _a_,
in speaking of measure and price; as,--
Wheat, the price of which necessarily varied, averaged in the
middle of the fourteenth century tenpence _the bushel_, barley
averaging at the same time three shillings _the
quarter_.--FROUDE.
[Sidenote: _A very strong restrictive._]
185. Sometimes _the_ has a strong force, almost equivalent to a
descriptive adjective in emphasizing a word,--
No doubt but ye are _the_ people, and wisdom shall die with
you.--_Bible._
As for New Orleans, it seemed to me _the_ city of the world where
you can eat and drink the most and suffer the least.--THACKERAY.
He was _the_ man in all Europe that could (if any could) have
driven six-in-hand full gallop over Al Sirat.--DE QUINCEY.
[Sidenote: _Mark of a substantive._]
186. _The_, since it belongs distinctively to substantives, is a
sure indication that a word of verbal form is not used participially,
but substantively.
In the hills of Sacramento there is gold for _the
gathering_.--EMERSON.
I thought _the writing_ excellent, and wished, if possible, to
imitate it.--FRANKLIN.
[Sidenote: _Caution._]
187. There is one use of _the_ which is different from all the
above. It is an adverbial use, and is spoken of more fully in Sec.
283. Compare this sentence with those above:--
There was something ugly and evil in his face, which they had not
previously noticed, and which grew still _the more obvious_ to
the sight _the oftener_ they looked upon him.--HAWTHORNE.
Exercise.--Find sentences with five uses of the definite article.
USES OF THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE.
[Sidenote: _Denotes any one of a class._]
188. The most frequent use of the indefinite article is to denote
any one of a class or group of objects: consequently it belongs to
singular words; as in the sentence,--
Near the churchyard gate stands _a_ poor-box, fastened to _a_
post by iron bands and secured by _a_ padlock, with _a_ sloping
wooden roof to keep off the rain.--LONGFELLOW
[Sidenote: _Widens the scope of proper nouns._]
189. When the indefinite article precedes proper names, it alters
them to class names. The qualities or attributes of the object are
made prominent, and transferred to any one possessing them; as,--
The vulgar riot and debauchery, which scarcely disgraced _an
Alcibiades_ or _a Cæsar_, have been exchanged for the higher
ideals of _a Bayard_ or _a Sydney_.--PEARSON
[Sidenote: _With abstract nouns._]
190. _An_ or _a_ before abstract nouns often changes them to half
abstract: the idea of quality remains, but the word now denotes only
one instance or example of things possessing the quality.
[Sidenote: _Become half abstract._]
The simple perception of natural forms is _a delight_.--EMERSON
If thou hadst _a sorrow_ of thine own, the brook might tell thee
of it.--HAWTHORNE
In the first sentence, instead of the general abstract notion of
delight, which cannot be singular or plural, _a delight_ means one
thing delightful, and implies others having the same quality.
So _a sorrow_ means one cause of sorrow, implying that there are
other things that bring sorrow.
[Sidenote: _Become pure class nouns._]
NOTE.--Some abstract nouns become common class nouns with the
indefinite article, referring simply to persons; thus,--
If the poet of the "Rape of the Lock" be not _a wit_, who
deserves to be called so?--THACKERAY.
He had a little brother in London with him at this time,--as
great _a beauty_, as great a dandy, as great a villain.--_Id._
_A youth_ to fortune and to fame unknown.--GRAY.
[Sidenote: _Changes material to class nouns._]
191. _An_ or _a_ before a material noun indicates the change to a
class noun, meaning one kind or a detached portion; as,--
They that dwell up in the steeple,...
Feel a glory in so rolling
On the human heart _a stone_.
--POE.
When God at first made man,
Having _a glass_ of blessings standing by.
--HERBERT.
The roofs were turned into arches of massy stone, joined by _a
cement_ that grew harder by time.--JOHNSON.
[Sidenote: _Like the numeral adjective_ one.]
192. In some cases _an_ or _a_ has the full force of the numeral
adjective _one_. It is shown in the following:--
To every room there was _an_ open and _a_ secret
passage.--JOHNSON.
In a short time these become a small tree, _an_ inverted pyramid
resting on the apex of the other.--THOREAU.
All men are at last of _a_ size.--EMERSON.
At the approach of spring the red squirrels got under my house,
two at _a_ time.--THOREAU.
[Sidenote: _Equivalent to the word_ each _or_ every.]
193. Often, also, the indefinite article has the force of _each_ or
_every_, particularly to express measure or frequency.
It would be so much more pleasant to live at his ease than to
work eight or ten hours _a day_.--BULWER
[Sidenote: _Compare to Sec. 184._]
Strong beer, such as we now buy for eighteenpence _a gallon_, was
then a penny _a gallon_.--FROUDE
[Sidenote: _With_ such, many, what.]
194. _An_ or _a_ is added to the adjectives _such_, _many_, and
_what_, and may be considered a part of these in modifying
substantives.
How was I to pay _such a_ debt?--THACKERAY.
_Many a_ one you and I have had here below.--THACKERAY.
_What a_ world of merriment then melody foretells!--POE.
[Sidenote: _With_ not _and_ many.]
195 LIST III.
A few of comparative form but not comparative meaning:--
After Over Under Nether.
_Not_ and _never_ with _a_ or _an_ are numeral adjectives,
instead of adverbs, which they are in general.
_Not a_ drum was heard, _not a_ funeral note.--WOLFE
My Lord Duke was as hot as a flame at this salute, but said
_never a_ word.--THACKERAY.
NOTE.--All these have the function of adjectives; but in the last
analysis of the expressions, _such_, _many_, _not_, etc., might be
considered as adverbs modifying the article.
[Sidenote: _With_ few _or_ little.]
196. The adjectives _few_ and _little_ have the negative meaning of
_not much_, _not many_, without the article; but when _a_ is put
before them, they have the positive meaning of _some_. Notice the
contrast in the following sentences:--
Of the country beyond the Mississippi _little_ more was known
than of the heart of Africa.--MCMASTER
To both must I of necessity cling, supported always by the hope
that when _a little_ time, _a few_ years, shall have tried me
more fully in their esteem, I may be able to bring them
together.--_Keats's Letters_.
_Few_ of the great characters of history have been so differently
judged as Alexander.--SMITH, _History of Greece_
[Sidenote: _With adjectives, changed to nouns_.]
197. When _the_ is used before adjectives with no substantive
following (Sec. 181 and note), these words are adjectives used as
nouns, or pure nouns; but when _an_ or _a_ precedes such words, they
are always nouns, having the regular use and inflections of nouns; for
example,--
Such are the words _a brave_ should use.--COOPER.
In the great society of wits, John Gay deserves to be _a
favorite_, and to have a good place.--THACKERAY
Only the name of one obscure epigrammatist has been embalmed for
use in the verses of _a rival_.--PEARSON.
Exercise.--Bring up sentences with five uses of the indefinite
article.
HOW TO PARSE ARTICLES.
198. In parsing the article, tell--
(1) What word it limits.
(2) Which of the above uses it has.
Exercise.
Parse the articles in the following:--
1. It is like gathering a few pebbles off the ground, or bottling
a little air in a phial, when the whole earth and the whole
atmosphere are ours.
2. Aristeides landed on the island with a body of Hoplites,
defeated the Persians and cut them to pieces to a man.
3. The wild fire that lit the eye of an Achilles can gleam no
more.
4. But it is not merely the neighborhood of the cathedral that is
mediæval; the whole city is of a piece.
5. To the herdsman among his cattle in remote woods, to the
craftsman in his rude workshop, to the great and to the little, a
new light has arisen.
6. When the manners of Loo are heard of, the stupid become
intelligent, and the wavering, determined.
7. The student is to read history actively, and not passively.
8. This resistance was the labor of his life.
9. There was always a hope, even in the darkest hour.
10. The child had a native grace that does not invariably coexist
with faultless beauty.
11. I think a mere gent (which I take to be the lowest form of
civilization) better than a howling, whistling, clucking,
stamping, jumping, tearing savage.
12. Every fowl whom Nature has taught to dip the wing in water.
13. They seem to be lines pretty much of a length.
14. Only yesterday, but what a gulf between now and then!
15. Not a brick was made but some man had to think of the making
of that brick.
16. The class of power, the working heroes, the Cortes, the
Nelson, the Napoleon, see that this is the festivity and
permanent celebration of such as they; that fashion is funded
talent.
VERBS AND VERBALS..
VERBS.
[Sidenote: _Verb,--the word of the sentence._]
199. The term _verb_ is from the Latin _verbum_ meaning _word_:
hence it is _the_ word of a sentence. A thought cannot be expressed
without a verb. When the child cries, "Apple!" it means, _See_ the
apple! or I _have_ an apple! In the mariner's shout, "A sail!" the
meaning is, "Yonder _is_ a sail!"
Sentences are in the form of declarations, questions, or commands; and
none of these can be put before the mind without the use of a verb.
[Sidenote: _One group or a group of words._]
200. The verb may not always be a single word. On account of the
lack of inflections, _verb phrases_ are very frequent. Hence the verb
may consist of:
(1) _One word_; as, "The young man _obeyed_."
(2) _Several words of verbal nature, making one expression_; as, (_a_)
"Some day it _may be considered_ reasonable," (_b_) "Fearing lest he
_might have been anticipated_."
(3) _One or more verbal words united with other words to compose one
verb phrase_: as in the sentences, (_a_) "They knew well that this
woman _ruled over_ thirty millions of subjects;" (_b_) "If all the
flummery and extravagance of an army _were done away with_, the money
could be made to go much further;" (_c_) "It is idle cant to pretend
anxiety for the better distribution of wealth until we can devise
means by which this preying upon people of small incomes _can be put a
stop to_."
In (_a_), a verb and a preposition are used as one verb; in (_b_), a
verb, an adverb, and a preposition unite as a verb; in (_c_), an
article, a noun, a preposition, are united with verbs as one verb
phrase.
[Sidenote: _Definition and caution._]
201. A verb is a word used as a predicate, to say something to or
about some person or thing. In giving a definition, we consider a verb
as one word.
Now, it is indispensable to the nature of a verb that it is "a word
used as a predicate." Examine the sentences in Sec. 200: In (1),
_obeyed_ is a predicate; in (2, _a_), _may be considered_ is a unit in
doing the work of one predicate; in (2, _b_), _might have been
anticipated_ is also one predicate, but _fearing_ is not a predicate,
hence is not a verb; in (3, _b_), _to go_ is no predicate, and not a
verb; in (3, _c_), _to pretend_ and _preying_ have something of
verbal nature in expressing action in a faint and general way, but
cannot be predicates.
In the sentence, "_Put_ money in thy purse," _put_ is the predicate,
with some word understood; as, "Put _thou_ money in thy purse."
VERBS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO MEANING AND USE.
TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS.
[Sidenote: _The nature of the transitive verb._]
202. By examining a few verbs, it may be seen that not all verbs are
used alike. All do not express action: some denote state or condition.
Of those expressing action, all do not express it in the same way; for
example, in this sentence from Bulwer,--"The proud lone _took_ care to
conceal the anguish she _endured_; and the pride of woman _has_ an
hypocrisy which _can deceive_ the most penetrating, and _shame_ the
most astute,"--every one of the verbs in Italics has one or more words
before or after it, representing something which it influences or
controls. In the first, lone _took_ what? answer, _care_; _endured_
what? _anguish_; etc. Each influences some object, which may be a
person, or a material thing, or an idea. _Has_ takes the object
_hypocrisy_; _can deceive_ has an object, _the most penetrating_;
(can) _shame_ also has an object, _the most astute_.
In each case, the word following, or the object, is necessary to the
completion of the action expressed in the verb.
All these are called transitive verbs, from the Latin _transire_,
which means _to go over_. Hence
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
203. A transitive verb is one which must have an object to complete
its meaning, and to receive the action expressed.
[Sidenote: _The nature of intransitive verbs._]
204. Examine the verbs in the following paragraph:--
She _sprang up_ at that thought, and, taking the staff which
always guided her steps, she _hastened_ to the neighboring shrine
of Isis. Till she _had been_ under the guardianship of the kindly
Greek, that staff _had sufficed_ to conduct the poor blind girl
from corner to corner of Pompeii.--BULWER
In this there are some verbs unlike those that have been examined.
_Sprang_, or _sprang up_, expresses action, but it is complete in
itself, does not affect an object; _hastened_ is similar in use; _had
been_ expresses condition, or state of being, and can have no object;
_had sufficed_ means _had been sufficient_, and from its meaning
cannot have an object.
Such verbs are called intransitive (not crossing over). Hence
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
205. An intransitive verb is one which is complete in itself, or
which is completed by other words without requiring an object.
[Sidenote: _Study_ use, _not_ form, _of verbs here._]
206. Many verbs can be either transitive or intransitive, according to
their use in the sentence, It can be said, "The boy _walked_ for two
hours," or "The boy _walked_ the horse;" "The rains _swelled_ the
river," or "The river _swelled_ because of the rain;" etc.
The important thing to observe is, many words must be distinguished as
transitive or intransitive by _use_, not by _form_.
207. Also verbs are sometimes made transitive by prepositions.
These may be (1) compounded with the verb; or (2) may follow the verb,
and be used as an integral part of it: for example,--
Asking her pardon for having _withstood_ her.--SCOTT.
I can wish myself no worse than to have it all to _undergo_ a
second time.--KINGSLEY.
A weary gloom in the deep caverns of his eyes, as of a child that
has _outgrown_ its playthings.--HAWTHORNE.
It is amusing to walk up and down the pier and _look at_ the
countenances passing by.--B. TAYLOR.
He was at once so out of the way, and yet so sensible, that I
loved, _laughed at_, and pitied him.--GOLDSMITH.
My little nurse told me the whole matter, which she had cunningly
_picked out_ from her mother.--SWIFT.
Exercises.
(_a_) Pick out the transitive and the intransitive verbs in the
following:--
1. The women and children collected together at a distance.
2. The path to the fountain led through a grassy savanna.
3. As soon as I recovered my senses and strength from so sudden a
surprise, I started back out of his reach where I stood to view him;
he lay quiet whilst I surveyed him.
4. At first they lay a floor of this kind of tempered mortar on the
ground, upon which they deposit a layer of eggs.
5. I ran my bark on shore at one of their landing places, which was a
sort of neck or little dock, from which ascended a sloping path or
road up to the edge of the meadow, where their nests were; most of
them were deserted, and the great thick whitish eggshells lay broken
and scattered upon the ground.
6. Accordingly I got everything on board, charged my gun, set sail
cautiously, along shore. As I passed by Battle Lagoon, I began to
tremble.
7. I seized my gun, and went cautiously from my camp: when I had
advanced about thirty yards, I halted behind a coppice of orange
trees, and soon perceived two very large bears, which had made their
way through the water and had landed in the grove, and were advancing
toward me.
(_b_) Bring up sentences with five transitive and five intransitive
verbs.
VOICE, ACTIVE AND PASSIVE.
[Sidenote: _Meaning of active voice._]
208. As has been seen, transitive verbs are the only kind that can
express action so as to go over to an object. This implies three
things,--the agent, or person or thing acting; the verb representing
the action; the person or object receiving the act.
In the sentence, "We reached the village of Sorgues by dusk, and
accepted the invitation of an old dame to lodge at her inn," these
three things are found: the actor, or agent, is expressed by _we_; the
action is asserted by _reached_ and _accepted_; the things acted upon
are _village_ and _invitation_. Here the subject is represented as
doing something. The same word is the subject and the agent. This use
of a transitive verb is called the active voice.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
209. The active voice is that form of a verb which represents the
subject as acting; or
The active voice is that form of a transitive verb which makes the
_subject_ and the _agent_ the same word.
[Sidenote: _A question._]
210. Intransitive verbs are _always active voice_. Let the student
explain why.
[Sidenote: _Meaning of passive voice._]
211. In the assertion of an action, it would be natural to suppose,
that, instead of always representing the subject as acting upon some
person or thing, it must often happen that the subject is spoken of as
_acted upon_; and the person or thing acting may or may not be
expressed in the sentence: for example,--
All infractions of love and equity in our social relations are
speedily punished. They are punished by fear.--EMERSON.
Here the subject _infractions_ does nothing: it represents the object
toward which the action of _are punished_ is directed, yet it is the
subject of the same verb. In the first sentence the agent is not
expressed; in the second, _fear_ is the agent of the same action.
So that in this case, instead of having the agent and subject the same
word, we have the _object_ and _subject_ the same word, and the agent
may be omitted from the statement of the action.
_Passive_ is from the Latin word _patior_, meaning _to endure_ or
_suffer_; but in ordinary grammatical use _passive_ means _receiving
an action_.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
212. The passive voice is that form of the verb which represents the
subject as being acted upon; or--
The passive voice is that form of the verb which represents the
_subject_ and the _object_ by the same word.
Exercises.
(_a_) Pick out the verbs in the active and the passive voice:--
1. In the large room some forty or fifty students were walking about
while the parties were preparing.
2. This was done by taking off the coat and vest and binding a great
thick leather garment on, which reached to the knees.
3. They then put on a leather glove reaching nearly to the shoulder,
tied a thick cravat around the throat, and drew on a cap with a large
visor.
4. This done, they were walked about the room a short time; their
faces all this time betrayed considerable anxiety.
5. We joined the crowd, and used our lungs as well as any.
6. The lakes were soon covered with merry skaters, and every afternoon
the banks were crowded with spectators.
7. People were setting up torches and lengthening the rafts which had
been already formed.
8. The water was first brought in barrels drawn by horses, till some
officer came and opened the fire plug.
9. The exclusive in fashionable life does not see that he excludes
himself from enjoyment, in the attempt to appropriate it.
(_b_) Find sentences with five verbs in the active and five in the
passive voice.
MOOD.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
213. The word _mood_ is from the Latin _modus_, meaning _manner_,
_way_, _method_. Hence, when applied to verbs,--
Mood means the manner of conceiving and expressing action or being
of some subject.
[Sidenote: _The three ways._]
214. There are three chief ways of expressing action or being:--
(1) As a fact; this may be a question, statement, or assumption.
(2) As doubtful, or merely conceived of in the mind.
(3) As urged or commanded.
INDICATIVE MOOD.
[Sidenote: _Deals with facts._]
215. The term _indicative_ is from the Latin _indicare_ (to declare,
or assert). The indicative represents something as a fact,--
[Sidenote: _Affirms or denies._]
(1) _By declaring a thing to be true or not to be true_; thus,--
Distinction _is_ the consequence, never the object, of a great
mind.--ALLSTON.
I _do not remember_ when or by whom I _was taught_ to read;
because I _cannot_ and never _could recollect_ a time when I
_could not read_ my Bible.--D. WEBSTER.
[Sidenote: _Assumed as a fact._]
[Sidenote: _Caution._]
(2) _By assuming a thing to be true_ without declaring it to be so.
This kind of indicative clause is usually introduced by _if_ (meaning
_admitting that, granting that_, etc.), _though, although_, etc.
Notice that the action is not merely conceived as possible; it is
assumed to be a fact: for example,--
If the penalties of rebellion hung over an unsuccessful contest;
if America was yet in the cradle of her political existence; if
her population little exceeded two millions; if she was without
government, without fleets or armies, arsenals or magazines,
without military knowledge,--still her citizens had a just and
elevated sense of her rights.--A. HAMILTON.
(3) _By asking a question to find out some fact_; as,--
Is private credit the friend and patron of industry?--HAMILTON.
With respect to novels what shall I say?--N. WEBSTER.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
216 .The indicative mood is that form of a verb which represents a
thing as a fact, or inquires about some fact.
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.
[Sidenote: _Meaning of the word._]
217. _Subjunctive_ means _subjoined_, or joined as dependent or
subordinate to something else.
[Sidenote: _This meaning is misleading._]
If its original meaning be closely adhered to, we must expect every
dependent clause to have its verb in the subjunctive mood, and every
clause _not_ dependent to have its verb in some other mood.
But this is not the case. In the quotation from Hamilton (Sec. 215, 2)
several subjoined clauses introduced by _if_ have the indicative mood,
and also independent clauses are often found having the verb in the
subjunctive mood.
[Sidenote: _Cautions._]
Three cautions will be laid down which must be observed by a student
who wishes to understand and use the English subjunctive:--
(1) You cannot tell it always by the form of the word. The main
difference is, that the subjunctive has no _-s_ as the ending of the
present tense, third person singular; as, "If he _come_."
(2) The fact that its clause is dependent or is introduced by certain
words will not be a safe rule to guide you.
(3) The _meaning_ of the verb itself must be keenly studied.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
218. The subjunctive mood is that form or use of the verb which
expresses action or being, not as a fact, but as merely conceived of
in the mind.
Subjunctive in Independent Clauses.
I. Expressing a Wish.
219. The following are examples of this use:--
Heaven _rest_ her soul!--MOORE.
God _grant_ you find one face there You loved when all was
young.--KINGSLEY.
Now _tremble_ dimples on your cheek, Sweet _be_ your lips to
taste and speak.--BEDDOES.
Long _die_ thy happy days before thy death.--SHAKESPEARE.
II. A Contingent Declaration or Question.
220. This really amounts to the conclusion, or principal clause, in
a sentence, of which the condition is omitted.
Our chosen specimen of the hero as literary man [if we were to
choose one] _would be_ this Goethe.--CARLYLE.
I _could lie_ down like a tired child,
And _weep_ away the life of care
Which I have borne and yet must bear.--SHELLEY.
Most excellent stranger, as you come to the lakes simply to see
their loveliness, _might_ it not _be_ as well to ask after the
most beautiful road, rather than the shortest?--DE QUINCEY.
Subjunctive in Dependent Clauses.
I. Condition or Supposition.
221. The most common way of representing the action or being as
merely thought of, is by putting it into the form of a _supposition_
or _condition_; as,--
Now, if the fire of electricity and that of lightning _be_ the
same, this pasteboard and these scales may represent electrified
clouds.--FRANKLIN.
Here no assertion is made that the two things _are_ the same; but, if
the reader merely _conceives_ them for the moment to be the same, the
writer can make the statement following. Again,--
If it _be_ Sunday [supposing it to be Sunday], the peasants sit
on the church steps and con their psalm books.--LONGFELLOW.
STUDY OF CONDITIONAL SENTENCES.
222. There are three kinds of conditional sentences:--
[Sidenote: _Real or true._]
(1) Those in which an assumed or admitted fact is placed before the
mind in the form of a condition (see Sec. 215, 2); for example,--
If they _were_ unacquainted with the works of philosophers and
poets, they were deeply read in the oracles of God. If their
names _were not found_ in the registers of heralds, they were
recorded in the Book of Life.--MACAULAY.
[Sidenote: _Ideal,--may or may not be true._]
(2) Those in which the condition depends on something uncertain, and
_may or may not be regarded true, or be fulfilled_; as,--
If, in our case, the representative system ultimately _fail_,
popular government must be pronounced impossible.--D. WEBSTER.
If this _be_ the glory of Julius, the first great founder of the
Empire, so it is also the glory of Charlemagne, the second
founder.--BRYCE.
If any man _consider_ the present aspects of what is called by
distinction society, he will see the need of these ethics.
--EMERSON.
[Sidenote: _Unreal--cannot be true._]
(3) Suppositions _contrary to fact_, which cannot be true, or
conditions that cannot be fulfilled, but are presented only in order
to suggest what _might be_ or _might have been_ true; thus,--
If these things _were_ true, society could not hold together.
--LOWELL.
_Did not_ my writings _produce_ me some solid pudding, the great
deficiency of praise would have quite discouraged me.--FRANKLIN.
_Had_ he for once _cast_ all such feelings aside, and _striven_
energetically to save Ney, it _would have cast_ such an enhancing
light over all his glories, that we cannot but regret its
absence.--BAYNE.
NOTE.--Conditional sentences are usually introduced by _if_,
_though_, _except_, _unless_, etc.; but when the verb precedes
the subject, the conjunction is often omitted: for example,
"_Were I bidden_ to say how the highest genius could be most
advantageously employed," etc.
Exercise.
In the following conditional clauses, tell whether each verb is
indicative or subjunctive, and what kind of condition:--
1. The voice, if he speak to you, is of similar physiognomy,
clear, melodious, and sonorous.--CARLYLE.
2. Were you so distinguished from your neighbors, would you, do
you think, be any the happier?--THACKERAY.
3. Epaminondas, if he was the man I take him for, would have sat
still with joy and peace, if his lot had been mine.--EMERSON.
4. If a damsel had the least smattering of literature, she was
regarded as a prodigy.--MACAULAY.
5. I told him, although it were the custom of our learned in
Europe to steal inventions from each other,... yet I would take
such caution that he should have the honor entire.--SWIFT.
6. If he had reason to dislike him, he had better not have
written, since he [Byron] was dead.--N.P. WILLIS.
7. If it were prostrated to the ground by a profane hand, what
native of the city would not mourn over its fall?--GAYARRE.
8. But in no case could it be justified, except it be for a
failure of the association or union to effect the object for
which it was created.--CALHOUN.
II. Subjunctive of Purpose.
223. The subjunctive, especially _be_, _may_, _might_, and _should_,
is used to express purpose, the clause being introduced by _that_ or
_lest_; as,--
It was necessary, he supposed, to drink strong beer, that he
_might be_ strong to labor.--FRANKLIN.
I have been the more particular...that you _may compare_ such
unlikely beginnings with the figure I have since made
there.--_Id._
He [Roderick] with sudden impulse that way rode, To tell of what
had passed, lest in the strife They _should engage_ with Julian's
men.--SOUTHEY.
III. Subjunctive of Result.
224. The subjunctive may represent the result toward which an action
tends:--
So many thoughts move to and fro,
That vain it _were_ her eyes to close.
--COLERIDGE.
So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan...
Thou _go_ not, like the quarry-slave at night.
--BRYANT.
IV. In Temporal Clauses.
225. The English subjunctive, like the Latin, is sometimes used in a
clause to express the time when an action is to take place.
Let it rise, till it _meet_ the sun in his coming.--D. WEBSTER.
Rise up, before it _be_ too late!--HAWTHORNE.
But it will not be long
Ere this _be thrown_ aside.
--WORDSWORTH.
V. In Indirect Questions.
226. The subjunctive is often found in indirect questions, the
answer being regarded as doubtful.
Ask the great man if there _be_ none greater.--EMERSON
What the best arrangement _were_, none of us could say.--CARLYLE.
Whether it _were_ morning or whether it _were_ afternoon, in her
confusion she had not distinctly known.--DE QUINCEY.
VI. Expressing a Wish.
227. After a verb of wishing, the subjunctive is regularly used in
the dependent clause.
The transmigiation of souls is no fable. I would it _were_!
--EMERSON.
Bright star! Would I _were_ steadfast as thou art!--KEATS.
I've wished that little isle _had_ wings,
And we, within its fairy bowers,
_Were wafted_ off to seas unknown.
--MOORE.
VII. In a Noun Clause.
[Sidenote: _Subject._]
228. The noun clause, in its various uses as subject, object, in
apposition, etc., often contains a subjunctive.
The essence of originality is not that it _be_ new.--CARLYLE
[Sidenote: _Apposition or logical subject._]
To appreciate the wild and sharp flavors of those October fruits,
it is necessary that you _be breathing_ the sharp October or
November air.--THOREAU.
[Sidenote: _Complement._]
The first merit, that which admits neither substitute nor
equivalent, is, that everything _be_ in its place.--COLERIDGE.
[Sidenote: _Object._]
As sure as Heaven shall rescue me, I have no thought what men
they _be_.--COLERIDGE.
Some might lament that I _were_ cold.--SHELLEY.
[Sidenote: _After verbs of commanding._]
This subjunctive is very frequent after verbs of _commanding_.
See that there _be_ no traitors in your camp.--TENNYSON.
Come, tell me all that thou hast seen,
And look thou _tell_ me true.
--SCOTT.
See that thy scepter _be_ heavy on his head.--DE QUINCEY.
VIII. Concessive Clauses.
229. The concession may be expressed--
(1) In the nature of the verb; for example,--
_Be_ the matter how it may, Gabriel Grub was afflicted with
rheumatism to the end of his days.--DICKENS.
_Be_ the appeal _made_ to the understanding or the heart, the
sentence is the same--that rejects it.--BROUGHAM
(2) By an indefinite relative word, which may be
(_a_) _Pronoun._
Whatever _betide_, we'll turn aside,
And see the Braes of Yarrow.
--WORDSWORTH.
(_b_) _Adjective._
That hunger of applause, of cash, or whatsoever victual it _may
be_, is the ultimate fact of man's life.--CARLYLE.
(_c_) _Adverb._
Wherever he _dream_ under mountain or stream,
The spirit he loves remains.
--SHELLEY.
Prevalence of the Subjunctive Mood.
230. As shown by the wide range of literature from which these
examples are selected, the subjunctive is very much used in literary
English, especially by those who are artistic and exact in the
expression of their thought.
At the present day, however, the subjunctive is becoming less and
less used. Very many of the sentences illustrating the use of the
subjunctive mood could be replaced by numerous others using the
indicative to express the same thoughts.
The three uses of the subjunctive now most frequent are, to express a
wish, a concession, and condition contrary to fact.
In spoken English, the subjunctive _were_ is much used in a wish or a
condition contrary to fact, but hardly any other subjunctive forms
are.
It must be remembered, though, that many of the verbs in the
subjunctive have the same form as the indicative. Especially is this
true of unreal conditions in past time; for example,--
Were we of open sense as the Greeks were, we _had found_ [should
have found] a poem here.--CARLYLE.
IMPERATIVE MOOD.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
231. The imperative mood is the form of the verb used in direct
commands, entreaties, or requests.
[Sidenote: _Usually second person._]
232. The imperative is naturally used mostly with the second
person, since commands are directed to a person addressed.
(1) _Command._
_Call up_ the shades of Demosthenes and Cicero to vouch for your
words; _point_ to their immortal works.--J.Q. ADAMS.
_Honor_ all men; _love_ all men; _fear_ none.--CHANNING.
(2) _Entreaty._
Oh, from these sterner aspects of thy face
_Spare_ me and mine, nor _let_ us need the wrath
Of the mad unchained elements.
--BRYANT.
(3) _Request._
"_Hush_! mother," whispered Kit. "_Come_ along with me."--DICKENS
_Tell_ me, how was it you thought of coming here?--_Id._
[Sidenote: _Sometimes with_ first person _in the plural_.]
But the imperative may be used with the plural of the first person.
Since the first person plural person is not really I + I, but I + you,
or I + they, etc., we may use the imperative with _we_ in a command,
request, etc., to _you_ implied in it. This is scarcely ever found
outside of poetry.
_Part we_ in friendship from your land,
And, noble earl, receive my hand.
--SCOTT.
Then _seek we_ not their camp--for there
The silence dwells of my despair.
--CAMPBELL.
_Break we_ our watch up.--SHAKESPEARE.
Usually this is expressed by _let_ with the objective: "_Let_ us go."
And the same with the third person: "_Let_ him be accursed."
Exercises on the Moods.
(_a_) Tell the mood of each verb in these sentences, and what special
use it is of that mood:--
1. Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or
shall be unfurled, there will her heart and her prayers be.
2. Mark thou this difference, child of earth!
While each performs his part,
Not all the lip can speak is worth
The silence of the heart.
3. Oh, that I might be admitted to thy presence! that mine were
the supreme delight of knowing thy will!
4. 'Twere worth ten years of peaceful life,
One glance at their array!
5. Whatever inconvenience ensue, nothing is to be preferred
before justice.
6. The vigorous sun would catch it up at eve
And use it for an anvil till he had filled
The shelves of heaven with burning thunderbolts.
7. Meet is it changes should control
Our being, lest we rust in ease.
8. Quoth she, "The Devil take the goose,
And God forget the stranger!"
9. Think not that I speak for your sakes.
10. "Now tread we a measure!" said young Lochinvar.
11. Were that a just return? Were that Roman magnanimity?
12. Well; how he may do his work, whether he do it right or
wrong, or do it at all, is a point which no man in the world has
taken the pains to think of.
13. He is, let him live where else he like, in what pomps and
prosperities he like, no literary man.
14. Could we one day complete the immense figure which these
flagrant points compose!
15. "Oh, then, my dear madam," cried he, "tell me where I may
find my poor, ruined, but repentant child."
16. That sheaf of darts, will it not fall unbound,
Except, disrobed of thy vain earthly vaunt,
Thou bring it to be blessed where saints and angels haunt?
17. Forget thyself to marble, till
With a sad leaden downward cast
Thou fix them on the earth as fast.
18. He, as though an instrument,
Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls,
That they might answer him.
19. From the moss violets and jonquils peep,
And dart their arrowy odor through the brain,
Till you might faint with that delicious pain.
20. That a man parade his doubt, and get to imagine that debating
and logic is the triumph and true work of what intellect he has;
alas! this is as if you should overturn the tree.
21. The fat earth feed thy branchy root
That under deeply strikes!
The northern morning o'er thee shoot,
High up in silver spikes!
22. Though abyss open under abyss, and opinion displace opinion,
all are at last contained in the Eternal cause.
23. God send Rome one such other sight!
24. "Mr. Marshall," continued Old Morgan, "see that no one
mentions the United States to the prisoner."
25. If there is only one woman in the nation who claims the right
to vote, she ought to have it.
26. Though he were dumb, it would speak.
27. Meantime, whatever she did,--whether it were in display of
her own matchless talents, or whether it were as one member of a
general party,--nothing could exceed the amiable, kind, and
unassuming deportment of Mrs. Siddons.
28. It makes a great difference to the force of any sentence
whether there be a man behind it or no.
(_b_) Find sentences with five verbs in the indicative mood, five in
the subjunctive, five in the imperative.
TENSE.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
233. _Tense_ means _time_. The tense of a verb is the form or use
indicating the time of an action or being.
[Sidenote: _Tenses in English._]
Old English had only two tenses,--the present tense, which represented
present and future time; and the past tense. We still use the present
for the future in such expressions as, "I _go_ away to-morrow;" "If he
_comes_, tell him to wait."
But English of the present day not only has a tense for each of the
natural time divisions,--present, past, and future,--but has other
tenses to correspond with those of highly inflected languages, such as
Latin and Greek.
The distinct inflections are found only in the present and past
tenses, however: the others are compounds of verbal forms with
various helping verbs, called auxiliaries; such as _be_, _have_,
_shall_, _will_.
[Sidenote: _The tenses in detail._]
234. Action or being may be represented as occurring in present,
past, or future time, by means of the present, the past, and the
future tense. It may also be represented as _finished_ in present or
past or future time by means of the present perfect, past perfect, and
future perfect tenses.
Not only is this so: there are what are called definite forms of
these tenses, showing more exactly the time of the action or being.
These make the English speech even more exact than other languages, as
will be shown later on, in the conjugations.
PERSON AND NUMBER.
235. The English verb has never had full inflections for number and
person, as the classical languages have.
When the older pronoun _thou_ was in use, there was a form of the verb
to correspond to it, or agree with it, as, "Thou walk_est_," present;
"Thou walked_st_," past; also, in the third person singular, a form
ending in -_eth_, as, "It is not in man that walk_eth_, to direct his
steps."
But in ordinary English of the present day there is practically only
one ending for person and number. This is the third person, singular
number; as, "He walk_s_;" and this only in the present tense
indicative. This is important in questions of agreement when we come
to syntax.
CONJUGATION.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
236. Conjugation is the regular arrangement of the forms of the
verb in the various voices, moods, tenses, persons, and numbers.
In classical languages, conjugation means _joining together_ the
numerous endings to the stem of the verb; but in English, inflections
are so few that conjugation means merely the exhibition of the forms
and the different verb phrases that express the relations of voice,
mood, tense, etc.
[Sidenote: _Few forms._]
237. Verbs in modern English have only four or five forms; for
example, _walk_ has _walk_, _walks_, _walked_, _walking_, sometimes
adding the old forms _walkest_, _walkedst_, _walketh_. Such verbs as
_choose_ have five,--_choose_, _chooses_, _chose_, _choosing_,
_chosen_ (old, _choosest_, _chooseth_, _chosest_).
The verb _be_ has more forms, since it is composed of several
different roots,--_am_, _are_, _is_, _were_, _been_, etc.
238. INFLECTIONS OF THE VERB _BE_.
Indicative Mood.
PRESENT TENSE. | PAST TENSE.
|
_Singular_ _Plural_ | _Singular_ _Plural_
|
1. I am We are | 1. I was We were
2. You are You are | 2. You were You were
(thou art) | (thou wast, wert)
3. [He] is [They] are | 3. [He] was [They were]
Subjunctive Mood.
PRESENT TENSE. | PAST TENSE.
|
_Singular_ _Plural_ | _Singular_ _Plural_
|
1. I be We be | 1. I were We were
2. You (thou) be You be | 2. You were You were
| (thou wert)
3. [He] be [They] be | 3. [He] were [They] were
Imperative Mood.
PRESENT TENSE, _Singular and Plural_, Be.
[Sidenote: _Remarks on the verb_ be.]
239. This conjugation is pieced out with three different roots: (1)
_am_, _is_; (2) _was_, _were_; (3) _be_.
Instead of the plural _are_, Old English had _beoth_ and _sind_ or
_sindon_, same as the German _sind_. _Are_ is supposed to have come
from the Norse language.
The old indicative third person plural _be_ is sometimes found in
literature, though it is usually a dialect form; for example,--
Where _be_ the sentries who used to salute as the Royal chariots
drove in and out?--THACKERAY
Where _be_ the gloomy shades, and desolate mountains?--WHITTIER
[Sidenote: _Uses of_ be.]
240. The forms of the verb _be_ have several uses:--
(1) _As principal verbs._
The light that never _was_ on sea and land.--WORDSWORTH.
(2) _As auxiliary verbs_, in four ways,--
(_a_) With verbal forms in _-ing_ (imperfect participle) to form the
definite tenses.
Broadswords _are maddening_ in the rear,--Each broadsword bright
_was brandishing_ like beam of light.--SCOTT.
(_b_) With the past participle in _-ed_, _-en_, etc., to form the
passive voice.
By solemn vision and bright silver dream,
His infancy _was nurtured_.
--SHELLEY.
(_c_) With past participle of intransitive verbs, being equivalent to
the present perfect and past perfect tenses active; as,
When we _are gone_
From every object dear to mortal sight.
--WORDSWORTH
We drank tea, which _was_ now _become_ an occasional
banquet.--GOLDSMITH.
(_d_) With the infinitive, to express intention, obligation,
condition, etc.; thus,
It _was to have been called_ the Order of Minerva.--THACKERAY.
Ingenuity and cleverness _are to be rewarded_ by State
prizes.--_Id._
If I _were to explain_ the motion of a body falling to the
ground.--BURKE
241. INFLECTIONS OF THE VERB _CHOOSE_.
Indicative Mood.
PRESENT TENSE.
_Singular._ _Plural._
1. I choose We choose
2. You choose You choose
3. [He] chooses [They] choose
PAST TENSE.
_Singular._ _Plural._
1. I chose We chose
2. You chose You chose
3. [He] chose [They] chose
Subjunctive Mood.
PRESENT TENSE.
_Singular._ _Plural._
1. I choose We choose
2. You choose You choose
3. [He] choose [They] choose
PAST TENSE.
_Singular._ _Plural._
1. I chose We chose
2. You chose You chose
3. [He] chose [They] chose
Imperative Mood.
PRESENT TENSE, _Singular and Plural_, Choose.
FULL CONJUGATION OF THE VERB _CHOOSE_.
[Sidenote: _Machinery of a verb in the voices, tenses, etc._]
242. In addition to the above _inflected_ forms, there are many
periphrastic or _compound_ forms, made up of auxiliaries with the
infinitives and participles. Some of these have been indicated in
Sec. 240, (2).
The ordinary tenses yet to be spoken of are made up as follows:--
(1) _Future tense_, by using _shall_ and _will_ with the simple or
root form of the verb; as, "I _shall be_," "He _will choose._"
(2) _Present perfect_, _past perfect_, _future perfect_, tenses, by
placing _have_, _had_, and _shall_ (or _will_) _have_ before the past
participle of any verb; as, "I _have gone_" (present perfect), "I _had
gone_" (past perfect), "I _shall have gone_" (future perfect).
(3) The _definite form_ of each tense, by using auxiliaries with the
imperfect participle active; as, "I _am running_," "They _had been
running_."
(4) The _passive forms_, by using the forms of the verb _be_ before
the past participle of verbs; as, "I _was chosen_," "You _are
chosen_."
243. The following scheme will show how rich our language is in verb
phrases to express every variety of meaning. Only the third person,
singular number, of each tense, will be given.
ACTIVE VOICE.
Indicative Mood.
_Present._ He chooses.
_Present definite._ He is choosing.
_Past._ He chose.
_Past definite._ He was choosing.
_Future._ He will choose.
_Future definite._ He will he choosing.
_Present perfect._ He has chosen.
_Present perfect definite._ He has been choosing.
_Past perfect._ He had chosen.
_Past perfect definite._ He had been choosing.
_Future perfect._ He will have chosen.
_Future perfect definite._ He will have been choosing.
Subjunctive Mood.
_Present._ [If, though, he choose.
_Present definite._ lest, etc.] he be choosing.
_Past._ " he chose (or were to choose).
_Past definite._ " he were choosing
(or were to be choosing).
_Present perfect._ " he have chosen.
_Present perfect definite._ " he have been choosing.
_Past perfect._ " Same as indicative.
_Past perfect definite._ " " "
Imperative Mood.
_Present._ (2d per.) Choose.
_Present definite._ " Be choosing.
NOTE.--Since participles and infinitives are not really verbs, but
verbals, they will be discussed later (Sec. 262).
PASSIVE VOICE.
Indicative Mood.
_Present._ He is chosen.
_Present definite._ He is being chosen.
_Past._ He was chosen.
_Past definite._ He was being chosen.
_Future._ He will be chosen.
_Future definite._ None.
_Present perfect._ He has been chosen.
_Present perfect definite._ None.
_Past perfect._ He had been chosen.
_Past perfect definite._ None.
_Future perfect._ He will have been chosen.
_Future perfect definite._ None.
Subjunctive Mood.
_Present._. [If, though, he be chosen.
_Present definite._ lest, etc.] None.
_Past._ " he were chosen
(or were to be chosen).
_Past definite._ " he were being chosen.
_Present perfect._ " he have been chosen.
_Present perfect definite._ " None.
_Past Perfect._ " he had been chosen.
_Past perfect definite._ " None.
Imperative Mood.
_Present tense._ (2d per.) Be chosen.
Also, in _affirmative sentences_, the indicative present and past
tenses have emphatic forms made up of _do_ and _did_ with the
infinitive or simple form; as, "He _does strike_," "He _did strike_."
[_Note to Teacher_.--This table is not to be learned now; if learned
at all, it should be as practice work on strong and weak verb forms.
Exercises should be given, however, to bring up sentences containing
such of these conjugation forms as the pupil will find readily in
literature.]
VERBS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO FORM.
[Sidenote: _Kinds._]
244. According to form, verbs are strong or weak.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
A strong verb forms its past tense by changing the vowel of the
present tense form, but adds no ending; as, _run_, _ran_; _drive_,
_drove_.
A weak verb always adds an ending to the present to form the past
tense, and _may_ or _may not_ change the vowel: as, _beg_, _begged_;
_lay_, _laid_; _sleep_, _slept_; _catch_, _caught_.
245. TABLE OF STRONG VERBS.
NOTE. Some of these also have weak forms, which are in parentheses
_Present Tense._ _Past Tense._ _Past Participle._
abide abode abode
arise arose arisen
awake awoke (awaked) awoke (awaked)
bear bore {borne (active)
{born (passive)
begin began begun
behold beheld beheld
bid bade, bid bidden, bid
bind bound {bound,
{[_adj._ bounden]
bite bit bitten, bit
blow blew blown
break broke broken
chide chid chidden, chid
choose chose chosen
cleave clove, clave (cleft) cloven (cleft)
climb [clomb] climbed climbed
cling clung clung
come came come
crow crew (crowed) (crowed)
dig dug dug
do did done
draw drew drawn
drink drank {drunk, drank
{[_adj._ drunken]
drive drove driven
eat ate, eat eaten, eat
fall fell fallen
fight fought fought
find found found
fling flung flung
fly flew flown
forbear forbore forborne
forget forgot forgotten
forsake forsook forsaken
freeze froze frozen
get got got [gotten]
give gave given
go went gone
grind ground ground
grow grew grown
hang hung (hanged) hung (hanged)
hold held held
know knew known
lie lay lain
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
run ran run
see saw seen
shake shook shaken
shear shore (sheared) shorn (sheared)
shine shone shone
shoot shot shot
shrink shrank or shrunk shrunk
shrive shrove shriven
sing sang or sung sung
sink sank or sunk sunk _[adj._ sunken]
sit sat [sate] sat
slay slew slain
slide slid slidden, slid
sling slung slung
slink slunk slunk
smite smote smitten
speak spoke spoken
spin spun spun
spring sprang, sprung sprung
stand stood stood
stave stove (staved) (staved)
steal stole stolen
stick stuck stuck
sting stung stung
stink stunk, stank stunk
stride strode stridden
strike struck struck, stricken
string strung strung
strive strove striven
swear swore sworn
swim swam or swum swum
swing swung swung
take took taken
tear tore torn
thrive throve (thrived) thriven (thrived)
throw threw thrown
tread trod trodden, trod
wear wore worn
weave wove woven
win won won
wind wound wound
wring wrung wrung
write wrote written
Remarks on Certain Verb Forms.
246. Several of the perfect participles are seldom used except as
adjectives: as, "his _bounden_ duty," "the _cloven_ hoof," "a
_drunken_ wretch," "a _sunken_ snag." _Stricken_ is used mostly of
diseases; as, "_stricken_ with paralysis."
The verb bear (to bring forth) is peculiar in having one participle
(_borne_) for the active, and another (_born_) for the passive. When
it means _to carry_ or to _endure_, _borne_ is also a passive.
The form clomb is not used in prose, but is much used in vulgar
English, and sometimes occurs in poetry; as,--
Thou hast _clomb_ aloft.--WORDSWORTH
Or pine grove whither woodman never _clomb_.--COLERIDGE
The forms of cleave are really a mixture of two verbs,--one meaning
_to adhere_ or _cling_; the other, _to split_. The former used to be
_cleave_, _cleaved_, _cleaved_; and the latter, _cleave_, _clave_ or
_clove_, _cloven_. But the latter took on the weak form _cleft_ in the
past tense and past participle,--as (from Shakespeare), "O Hamlet!
thou hast _cleft_ my heart in twain,"--while _cleave_ (to cling)
sometimes has _clove_, as (from Holmes), "The old Latin tutor _clove_
to Virgilius Maro." In this confusion of usage, only one set remains
certain,--_cleave_, _cleft_, _cleft_ (to split).
Crew is seldom found in present-day English.
Not a cock _crew_, nor a dog barked.--IRVING.
Our cock, which always _crew_ at eleven, now told us it was time
for repose.--GOLDSMITH.
Historically, drunk is the one correct past participle of the verb
_drink_. But _drunk_ is very much used as an adjective, instead of
_drunken_ (meaning intoxicated); and, probably to avoid confusion with
this, drank is a good deal used as a past participle: thus,--
We had each _drank_ three times at the well.--B. TAYLOR.
This liquor _was_ generally _drank_ by Wood and Billings.
--THACKERAY.
Sometimes in literary English, especially in that of an earlier
period, it is found that the verb eat has the past tense and past
participle _eat_ (et), instead of _ate_ and _eaten_; as, for
example,--
It ate the food it ne'er had _eat_.--COLERIDGE.
How fairy Mab the junkets _eat_.--MILTON.
The island princes overbold
Have _eat_ our substance.--TENNYSON.
This is also very much used in spoken and vulgar English.
The form gotten is little used, _got_ being the preferred form of
past participle as well as past tense. One example out of many is,--
We _had_ all _got_ safe on shore.--DE FOE.
Hung and hanged both are used as the past tense and past
participle of _hang_; but _hanged_ is the preferred form when we speak
of execution by hanging; as,
The butler _was hanged_.--_Bible._
The verb sat is sometimes spelled _sate_; for example,--
Might we have _sate_ and talked where gowans blow.--WORDSWORTH.
He _sate_ him down, and seized a pen.--BYRON.
"But I _sate_ still and finished my plaiting."--KINGSLEY.
Usually shear is a weak verb. _Shorn_ and _shore_ are not commonly
used: indeed, _shore_ is rare, even in poetry.
This heard Geraint, and grasping at his sword,
_Shore_ thro' the swarthy neck.--TENNYSON.
_Shorn_ is used sometimes as a participial adjective, as "a _shorn_
lamb," but not much as a participle. We usually say, "The sheep were
_sheared_" instead of "The sheep were _shorn_."
Went is borrowed as the past tense of _go_ from the old verb _wend_,
which is seldom used except in poetry; for example,--
If, maiden, thou would'st _wend_ with me
To leave both tower and town.--SCOTT.
Exercises.
(_a_) From the table (Sec. 245), make out lists of verbs having the
same vowel changes as each of the following:--
1. Fall, fell, fallen.
2. Begin, began, begun.
3. Find, found, found.
4. Give, gave, given.
5. Drive, drove, driven.
6. Throw, threw, thrown.
7. Fling, flung, flung.
8. Break, broke, broken.
9. Shake, shook, shaken.
10. Freeze, froze, frozen.
(_b_) Find sentences using ten past-tense forms of strong verbs.
(_c_) Find sentences using ten past participles of strong verbs.
[_To the Teacher_,--These exercises should be continued for several
lessons, for full drill on the forms.]
DEFECTIVE STRONG VERBS.
247. There are several verbs which are lacking in one or more
principal parts. They are as follows:--
PRESENT. PAST. | PRESENT. PAST.
|
may might | [ought] ought
can could | shall should
[must] must | will would
248. May is used as either indicative or subjunctive, as it has two
meanings. It is indicative when it expresses _permission_, or, as it
sometimes does, _ability_, like the word _can_: it is subjunctive when
it expresses doubt as to the reality of an action, or when it
expresses wish, purpose, etc.
[Sidenote: _Indicative Use: Permission. Ability._]
If I _may_ lightly employ the Miltonic figure, "far off his
coming shines."--WINIER.
A stripling arm _might_ sway
A mass no host could raise.--SCOTT.
His superiority none _might_ question.--CHANNING.
[Sidenote: _Subjunctive use._]
In whatever manner the separate parts of a constitution _may_ be
arranged, there is one general principle, etc.--PAINE.
[Sidenote: (_See also Sec. 223._)]
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
_May_ violets spring!
--SHAKESPEARE.
249. Can is used in the indicative only. The _l_ in _could_ did
not belong there originally, but came through analogy with _should_
and _would_. _Could_ may be subjunctive, as in Sec. 220.
250. Must is historically a past-tense form, from the obsolete
verb _motan_, which survives in the sentence, "So _mote_ it be."
_Must_ is present or past tense, according to the infinitive used.
All _must concede_ to him a sublime power of action.--CHANNING
This, of course, _must have been_ an ocular
deception.--HAWTHORNE.
251. The same remarks apply to ought, which is historically the
past tense of the verb _owe_. Like _must_, it is used only in the
indicative mood; as,
The just imputations on our own faith _ought_ first _to be
removed_.... Have we valuable territories and important
posts...which _ought_ long since _to have been surrendered_?--A.
HAMILTON.
It will be noticed that all the other defective verbs take the pure
infinitive without _to_, while _ought_ always has _to_.
Shall and Will.
252. The principal trouble in the use of _shall_ and _will_ is the
disposition, especially in the United States, to use _will_ and
_would_, to the neglect of _shall_ and _should_, with pronouns of the
first person; as, "I think I _will_ go."
[Sidenote: _Uses of_ shall _and_ should.]
The following distinctions must be observed:--
(1) With the FIRST PERSON, shall and should are used,--
[Sidenote: _Futurity and questions--first person._]
(_a_) In making simple statements or predictions about future time;
as,--
The time will come full soon, I _shall_ be gone.--L.C. MOULTON.
(_b_) In questions asking for orders, or implying obligation or
authority resting upon the subject; as,--
With respect to novels, what _shall_ I say?--N. WEBSTER.
How _shall_ I describe the luster which at that moment burst upon
my vision?--C. BROCKDEN BROWN.
[Sidenote: _Second and third persons._]
(2) With the SECOND AND THIRD PERSONS, _shall_ and _should_ are
used,--
(_a_) To express authority, in the form of command, promise, or
confident prediction. The following are examples:--
Never mind, my lad, whilst I live thou _shalt_ never want a
friend to stand by thee.--IRVING.
They _shall_ have venison to eat, and corn to hoe.--COOPER.
The sea _shall_ crush thee; yea, the ponderous wave up the loose
beach _shall_ grind and scoop thy grave.--THAXTER.
She _should_ not walk, he said, through the dust and heat of
the noonday;
Nay, she _should_ ride like a queen, not plod along like a
peasant.--LONGFELLOW.
(_b_) In _indirect quotations_, to express the same idea that the
original speaker put forth (i.e., future action); for example,--
He declares that he _shall_ win the purse from you.--BULWER.
She rejects his suit with scorn, but assures him that she _shall_
make great use of her power over him.--MACAULAY.
Fielding came up more and more bland and smiling, with the
conviction that he _should_ win in the end.--A. LARNED.
Those who had too presumptuously concluded that they _should_
pass without combat were something disconcerted.--SCOTT.
(_c_) With _direct questions_ of the second person, when the answer
expected would express simple futurity; thus,--
"_Should_ you like to go to school at Canterbury?"--DICKENS.
[Sidenote: _First, second and third persons._]
(3) With ALL THREE PERSONS,--
(_a_) _Should_ is used with the meaning of obligation, and is
equivalent to _ought_.
I never was what I _should_ be.--H. JAMES, JR.
Milton! thou _should'st_ be living at this hour.--WORDSWORTH.
He _should_ not flatter himself with the delusion that he can
make or unmake the reputation of other men.--WINTER.
(_b_) _Shall_ and _should_ are both used in _dependent clauses_ of
condition, time, purpose, etc.; for example,--
When thy mind
_Shall_ be a mansion for all stately forms.--WORDSWORTH.
Suppose this back-door gossip _should_ be utterly blundering and
untrue, would any one wonder?--THACKERAY.
Jealous lest the sky _should_ have a listener.--BYRON.
If thou _should'st_ ever come by chance or choice to
Modena.--ROGERS.
If I _should_ be where I no more can hear thy voice.--WORDSWORTH.
That accents and looks so winning _should_ disarm me of my
resolution, was to be expected.--C.B. BROWN.
253. Will and would are used as follows:--
[Sidenote: _Authority as to future action--first person._]
(1) With the FIRST PERSON, _will_ and _would_ are used to express
determination as to the future, or a promise; as, for example,--
I _will_ go myself now, and _will_ not return until all is
finished.--CABLE.
And promised...that I _would_ do him justice, as the sole
inventor.--SWIFT.
[Sidenote: _Disguising a command._]
(2) With the SECOND PERSON, _will_ is used to express command. This
puts the order more mildly, as if it were merely expected action;
as,--
Thou _wilt_ take the skiff, Roland, and two of my people,... and
fetch off certain plate and belongings.--SCOTT.
You _will_ proceed to Manassas at as early a moment as
practicable, and mark on the grounds the works, etc.--_War
Records._
[Sidenote: _Mere futurity._]
(3) With both SECOND AND THIRD PERSONS, _will_ and _would_ are used to
express simple futurity, action merely expected to occur; for
example,--
All this _will_ sound wild and chimerical.--BURKE.
She _would_ tell you that punishment is the reward of the
wicked.--LANDOR.
When I am in town, _you'll_ always have somebody to sit with you.
To be sure, so you _will_.--DICKENS.
(4) With FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD PERSONS, _would_ is used to express
a _wish_,--the original meaning of the word _will_; for example,--
[Sidenote: _Subject_ I _omitted: often so._]
_Would_ that a momentary emanation from thy glory would visit
me!--C.B. BROWN.
Thine was a dangerous gift, when thou wast born, The gift of
Beauty. _Would_ thou hadst it not.--ROGERS
It shall be gold if thou _wilt_, but thou shalt answer to me for
the use of it.--SCOTT.
What _wouldst_ thou have a good great man obtain?--COLERIDGE.
(5) With the THIRD PERSON, _will_ and _would_ often denote an action
as customary, without regard to future time; as,
They _will_ go to Sunday schools, through storms their brothers
are afraid of.... They _will_ stand behind a table at a fair all
day.--HOLMES
On a slight suspicion, they _would_ cut off the hands of numbers
of the natives, for punishment or intimidation.--BANCROFT.
In this stately chair _would_ he sit, and this magnificent pipe
_would_ he smoke, shaking his right knee with a constant
motion.--IRVING.
Conjugation of _Shall_ and _Will_ as Auxiliaries (with _Choose_).
254. To express simply expected action:--
ACTIVE VOICE. PASSIVE VOICE.
_Singular_. _Singular_.
1. I shall choose. I shall be chosen.
2. You will choose. You will be chosen.
3. [He] will choose. [He] will be chosen.
_Plural_. _Plural_.
1. We shall choose. We shall be chosen.
2. You will choose. You will be chosen.
3. [They] will choose. [They] will be chosen.
To express determination, promise, etc.:--
ACTIVE VOICE. PASSIVE VOICE.
_Singular_. _Singular_.
1. I will choose. I will be chosen.
2. You shall choose. You shall be chosen.
3. [He] shall choose. [He] shall be chosen.
ACTIVE VOICE. PASSIVE VOICE.
_Plural_. _Plural_.
1. We will choose. 1. We will be chosen.
2. You shall choose. 2. You shall be chosen.
3. [They] shall choose. 3. [They] shall be chosen.
Exercises on _Shall_ and _Will_.
(_a_) From Secs. 252 and 253, write out a summary or outline of the
various uses of _shall_ and _will_.
(_b_) Examine the following sentences, and justify the use of _shall_
and _will_, or correct them if wrongly used:--
1. Thou art what I would be, yet only seem.
2. We would be greatly mistaken if we thought so.
3. Thou shalt have a suit, and that of the newest cut; the wardrobe
keeper shall have orders to supply you.
4. "I shall not run," answered Herbert stubbornly.
5. He informed us, that in the course of another day's march we would
reach the prairies on the banks of the Grand Canadian.
6. What shall we do with him? This is the sphinx-like riddle which we
must solve if we would not be eaten.
7. Will not our national character be greatly injured? Will we not be
classed with the robbers and destroyers of mankind?
8. Lucy stood still, very anxious, and wondering whether she should
see anything alive.
9. I would be overpowered by the feeling of my disgrace.
10. No, my son; whatever cash I send you is yours: you will spend it
as you please, and I have nothing to say.
11. But I will doubtless find some English person of whom to make
inquiries.
12. Without having attended to this, we will be at a loss to
understand several passages in the classics.
13. "I am a wayfarer," the stranger said, "and would like permission
to remain with you a little while."
14. The beast made a sluggish movement, then, as if he would have more
of the enchantment, stirred her slightly with his muzzle.
WEAK VERBS.
255. Those weak verbs which add _-d_ or _-ed_ to form the past tense
and past participle, and have no change of vowel, are so easily
recognized as to need no special treatment. Some of them are already
given as secondary forms of the strong verbs.
But the rest, which may be called irregular weak verbs, need some
attention and explanation.
256. The irregular weak verbs are divided into two classes,--
[Sidenote: _The two classes of irregular weak verbs._]
(1) Those which retain the _-d_ or _-t_ in the past tense, with some
change of form for the past tense and past participle.
(2) Those which end in _-d_ or _-t_, and have lost the ending which
formerly was added to this.
The old ending to verbs of Class II. was _-de_ or _-te_; as,--
This worthi man ful wel his wit _bisette_ [used].--CHAUCER.
Of smale houndes _hadde_ she, that sche _fedde_ With rosted
flessh, or mylk and wastel breed.--_Id._
This ending has now dropped off, leaving some weak verbs with the same
form throughout: as set, set, set; put, put, put.
257. Irregular Weak Verbs.--Class I.
_Present Tense_. _Past Tense_. _Past Participle_.
bereave bereft, bereave bereft, bereaved
beseech besought besought
burn burned, burnt burnt
buy bought bought
catch caught caught
creep crept crept
deal dealt dealt
dream dreamt, dreamed dreamt, dreamed
dwell dwelt dwelt
feel felt felt
flee fled fled
have had had (_once_ haved)
hide hid hidden, hid
keep kept kept
kneel knelt knelt
lay laid laid
lean leaned, leant leaned, leant
leap leaped, leapt leaped, leapt
leave left left
lose lost lost
make made (_once_ maked) made
mean meant meant
pay paid paid
pen [inclose] penned, pen penned, pent
say said said
seek sought sought
sell sold sold
shoe shod shod
sleep slept slept
spell spelled, spelt spelt
spill spilt spilt
stay staid, stayed staid, stayed
sweep swept swept
teach taught taught
tell told told
think thought thought
weep wept wept
work worked, wrought worked, wrought
258. Irregular Weak Verbs.--Class II.
_Present Tense_. _Past Tense_. _Past Participle_.
bend bent, bended bent, bended
bleed bled bled
breed bred bred
build built built
cast cast cast
cost cost cost
feed fed fed
gild gilded, gilt gilded, gilt
gird girt, girded girt, girded
hit hit hit
hurt hurt hurt
knit knit, knitted knit, knitted
lead led led
let let let
light lighted, lit lighted, lit
meet met met
put put put
quit quit, quitted quit, quitted
read read read
rend rent rent
rid rid rid
send sent sent
set set set
shed shed shed
shred shred shred
shut shut shut
slit slit slit
speed sped sped
spend spent spent
spit spit [_obs._ spat] spit [_obs._ spat]
split split split
spread spread spread
sweat sweat sweat
thrust thrust thrust
wed wed, wedded wed, wedded
wet wet, wetted wet, wetted
[Sidenote: _Tendency to phonetic spelling._]
250. There seems to be in Modern English a growing tendency toward
phonetic spelling in the past tense and past participle of weak verbs.
For example, _-ed_, after the verb _bless_, has the sound of _t_:
hence the word is often written _blest_. So with _dipt_, _whipt_,
_dropt_, _tost_, _crost_, _drest_, _prest_, etc. This is often seen in
poetry, and is increasing in prose.
Some Troublesome Verbs.
[Sidenote: Lie _and_ lay _in use and meaning._]
260. Some sets of verbs are often confused by young students, weak
forms being substituted for correct, strong forms.
Lie and lay need close attention. These are the forms:--
_Present Tense._ _Past Tense._ _Pres. Participle._ _Past Participle._
1. Lie lay lying lain
2. Lay laid laying laid
The distinctions to be observed are as follows:--
(1) _Lie_, with its forms, is regularly _intransitive_ as to use. As
to meaning, _lie_ means to rest, to recline, to place one's self in a
recumbent position; as, "There _lies_ the ruin."
(2) _Lay_, with its forms, is always _transitive_ as to use. As to
meaning, _lay_ means to put, to place a person or thing in position;
as, "Slowly and sadly we _laid_ him down." Also _lay_ may be used
without any object expressed, but there is still a transitive meaning;
as in the expressions, "to _lay_ up for future use," "to _lay_ on with
the rod," "to _lay_ about him lustily."
[Sidenote: Sit _and_ set.]
261. Sit and set have principal parts as follows:--
_Present Tense._ _Past Tense._ _Pres. Participle._ _Past Participle._
1. Sit sat sitting sat
2. Set set setting set
Notice these points of difference between the two verbs:--
(1) _Sit_, with its forms, is always _intransitive_ in use. In
meaning, _sit_ signifies (_a_) to place one's self on a seat, to rest;
(_b_) to be adjusted, to fit; (_c_) to cover and warm eggs for
hatching, as, "The hen _sits_."
(2) _Set_, with its forms, is always _transitive_ in use when it has
the following meanings: (_a_) to put or place a thing or person in
position, as "He _set_ down the book;" (_b_) to fix or establish, as,
"He _sets_ a good example."
_Set_ is _intransitive_ when it means (_a_) to go down, to decline,
as, "The sun has _set_;" (_b_) to become fixed or rigid, as, "His eyes
_set_ in his head because of the disease;" (_c_) in certain idiomatic
expressions, as, for example, "to _set_ out," "to _set_ up in
business," "to _set_ about a thing," "to _set_ to work," "to _set_
forward," "the tide _sets_ in," "a strong wind _set_ in," etc.
Exercise.
Examine the forms of _lie_, _lay_, _sit_ and _set_ in these sentences;
give the meaning of each, and correct those used wrongly.
1. If the phenomena which lie before him will not suit his purpose,
all history must be ransacked.
2. He sat with his eyes fixed partly on the ghost and partly on
Hamlet, and with his mouth open.
3. The days when his favorite volume set him upon making wheelbarrows
and chairs,... can never again be the realities they were.
4. To make the jacket sit yet more closely to the body, it was
gathered at the middle by a broad leathern belt.
5. He had set up no unattainable standard of perfection.
6. For more than two hundred years his bones lay undistinguished.
7. The author laid the whole fault on the audience.
8. Dapple had to lay down on all fours before the lads could bestride
him.
9. And send'st him...to his gods where happy lies
His petty hope in some near port or bay,
And dashest him again to earth:--there let him lay.
10. Achilles is the swift-footed when he is sitting still.
11. It may be laid down as a general rule, that history begins in
novel, and ends in essay.
12. I never took off my clothes, but laid down in them.
VERBALS.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
262. Verbals are words that express action in a general way,
without limiting the action to any time, or asserting it of any
subject.
[Sidenote: _Kinds._]
Verbals may be participles, infinitives, or gerunds.
PARTICIPLES.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
263. Participles are _adjectival_ verbals; that is, they either
belong to some substantive by expressing action in connection with it,
or they express action, and directly modify a substantive, thus having
a descriptive force. Notice these functions.
[Sidenote: _Pure participle in function._]
1. At length, _wearied_ by his cries and agitations, and not
_knowing_ how to put an end to them, he addressed the animal as
if he had been a rational being.--DWIGHT.
Here _wearied_ and _knowing_ belong to the subject _he_, and express
action in connection with it, but do not describe.
[Sidenote: _Express action and also describe._]
2. Another name glided into her petition--it was that of the
_wounded_ Christian, whom fate had placed in the hands of
bloodthirsty men, his _avowed_ enemies.--SCOTT.
Here _wounded_ and _avowed_ are participles, but are used with the
same adjectival force that _bloodthirsty_ is (see Sec. 143, 4).
Participial adjectives have been discussed in Sec. 143 (4), but we
give further examples for the sake of comparison and distinction.
[Sidenote: _Fossil participles as adjectives._]
3. As _learned_ a man may live in a cottage or a college
commmon-room.--THACKERAY
4. Not merely to the soldier are these campaigns _interesting_
--BAYNE.
5. How _charming_ is divine philosophy!--MILTON.
[Sidenote: _Forms of the participle._]
264. Participles, in expressing action, may be active or
passive, incomplete (or imperfect), complete (perfect or past),
and perfect definite.
They cannot be divided into tenses (present, past, etc.), because they
have no tense of their own, but derive their tense from the verb on
which they depend; for example,--
1. He walked conscientiously through the services of the day,
_fulfilling_ every section the minutest, etc.--DE QUINCEY.
_Fulfilling_ has the form to denote continuance, but depends on the
verb _walked_, which is past tense.
2. Now the bright morning star, day's harbinger,
Comes _dancing_ from the East.--MILTON.
_Dancing_ here depends on a verb in the present tense.
265. PARTICIPLES OF THE VERB _CHOOSE_.
ACTIVE VOICE.
_Imperfect._ Choosing.
_Perfect._ Having chosen.
_Perfect definite._ Having been choosing.
PASSIVE VOICE.
_Imperfect._ None
_Perfect._ Chosen, being chosen, having been chosen.
_Perfect definite._ None.
Exercise.
Pick out the participles, and tell whether active or passive,
imperfect, perfect, or perfect definite. If pure participles, tell to
what word they belong; if adjectives, tell what words they modify.
1. The change is a large process, accomplished within a large and
corresponding space, having, perhaps, some central or equatorial line,
but lying, like that of our earth, between certain tropics, or limits
widely separated.
2. I had fallen under medical advice the most misleading that it is
possible to imagine.
3. These views, being adopted in a great measure from my mother, were
naturally the same as my mother's.
4. Endowed with a great command over herself, she soon obtained an
uncontrolled ascendency over her people.
5. No spectacle was more adapted to excite wonder.
6. Having fully supplied the demands of nature in this respect, I
returned to reflection on my situation.
7. Three saplings, stripped of their branches and bound together at
their ends, formed a kind of bedstead.
8. This all-pervading principle is at work in our system,--the
creature warring against the creating power.
9. Perhaps I was too saucy and provoking.
10. Nothing of the kind having been done, and the principles of this
unfortunate king having been distorted,... try clemency.
INFINITIVES.
266. Infinitives, like participles, have no tense. When active,
they have an indefinite, an imperfect, a perfect, and a perfect
definite form; and when passive, an indefinite and a perfect form, to
express action unconnected with a subject.
267. INFINITIVES OF THE VERB _CHOOSE._
ACTIVE VOICE.
_Indefinite._ [To] choose. _Imperfect._ [To] be choosing.
_Perfect._ [To] have chosen.
_Perfect definite._ [To] have been choosing.
PASSIVE VOICE.
_Indefinite._ [To] be chosen. _Perfect._ [To] have been chosen.
[Sidenote: To _with the infinitive._]
268. In Sec. 267 the word _to_ is printed in brackets because it is
not a necessary part of the infinitive.
It originally belonged only to an inflected form of the infinitive,
expressing purpose; as in the Old English, "Ut eode se s?dere his sæd
to sawenne" (Out went the sower his seed _to sow_).
[Sidenote: _Cases when_ to _is omitted._]
But later, when inflections became fewer, _to_ was used before the
infinitive generally, except in the following cases:--
(1) After the auxiliaries _shall_, _will_ (with _should_ and _would_).
(2) After the verbs _may (might), can (could), must_; also _let_,
_make_, _do_ (as, "I _do go_" etc.), _see_, _bid_ (command), _feel_,
_hear_, _watch_, _please_; sometimes _need_ (as, "He _need_ not _go_")
and _dare_ (to venture).
(3) After _had_ in the idiomatic use; as, "You _had_ better _go_" "He
_had_ rather _walk_ than _ride_."
(4) In exclamations; as in the following examples:--
"He _find_ pleasure in doing good!" cried Sir
William.--GOLDSMITH.
I _urge_ an address to his kinswoman! I _approach_ her when in a
base disguise! I _do_ this!--SCOTT.
"She _ask_ my pardon, poor woman!" cried Charles.--MACAULAY.
269. _Shall_ and _will_ are not to be taken as separate verbs, but
with the infinitive as one tense of a verb; as, "He _will choose_," "I
_shall have chosen_," etc.
Also _do_ may be considered an auxiliary in the interrogative,
negative, and emphatic forms of the present and past, also in the
imperative; as,--
What! _doth_ she, too, as the credulous imagine, _learn_ [_doth
learn_ is one verb, present tense] the love of the great stars?
--BULWER.
_Do_ not _entertain_ so weak an imagination--BURKE.
She _did_ not _weep_--she _did_ not _break forth_ into
reproaches.--IRVING.
270. The infinitive is sometimes active in form while it is passive
in meaning, as in the expression, "a house _to let_." Examples are,--
She was a kind, liberal woman; rich rather more than needed where
there were no opera boxes _to rent_.--DE QUINCEY.
Tho' it seems my spurs are yet _to win_.--TENNYSON.
But there was nothing _to do_.--HOWELLS.
They shall have venison _to eat_, and corn _to hoe_.--COOPER.
Nolan himself saw that something was _to pay_.--E.E. HALE.
271. The various offices which the infinitive and the participle
have in the sentence will be treated in Part II., under "Analysis," as
we are now learning merely to recognize the forms.
GERUNDS.
272. The gerund is like the participle in form, and like a noun in
use.
The participle has been called an adjectival verbal; the gerund may
be called a _noun verbal_. While the gerund expresses action, it has
several attributes of a noun,--it may be governed as a noun; it may be
the subject of a verb, or the object of a verb or a preposition; it is
often preceded by the definite article; it is frequently modified by a
possessive noun or pronoun.
[Sidenote: _Distinguished from participle and verbal noun._]
273. It differs from the participle in being always used as a noun:
it never belongs to or limits a noun.
It differs from the verbal noun in having the property of governing a
noun (which the verbal noun has not) and of expressing action (the
verbal noun merely names an action, Sec. II).
The following are examples of the uses of the gerund:--
(1) _Subject_: "The _taking_ of means not to see another morning had
all day absorbed every energy;" "Certainly _dueling_ is bad, and has
been put down."
(2) _Object_: (_a_) "Our culture therefore must not omit the _arming_
of the man." (_b_) "Nobody cares for _planting_ the poor fungus;" "I
announce the good of _being interpenetrated_ by the mind that made
nature;" "The guilt of _having been cured_ of the palsy by a Jewish
maiden."
(3) _Governing and Governed_: "We are far from _having exhausted_ the
significance of the few symbols we use," also (2, _b_), above; "He
could embellish the characters with new traits without _violating_
probability;" "He could not help _holding_ out his hand in return."
Exercise.--Find sentences containing five participles, five
infinitives, and five gerunds.
SUMMARY OF WORDS IN _-ING_.
274. Words in -ing are of six kinds, according to use as well as
meaning. They are as follows:--
(1) _Part of the verb_, making the definite tenses.
(2) _Pure participles_, which express action, but do not assert.
(3) _Participial adjectives_, which express action and also modify.
(4) _Pure adjectives_, which have lost all verbal force.
(5) _Gerunds_, which express action, may govern and be governed.
(6) _Verbal nouns,_ which name an action or state, but cannot govern.
Exercise.
Tell to which of the above six classes each _-ing_ word in the
following sentences belongs:--
1. Here is need of apologies for shortcomings.
2. Then how pleasing is it, on your leaving the spot, to see the
returning hope of the parents, when, after examining the nest, they
find the nurslings untouched!
3. The crowning incident of my life was upon the bank of the Scioto
Salt Creek, in which I had been unhorsed by the breaking of the saddle
girths.
4. What a vast, brilliant, and wonderful store of learning!
5. He is one of the most charming masters of our language.
6. In explaining to a child the phenomena of nature, you must, by
object lessons, give reality to your teaching.
7. I suppose I was dreaming about it. What is dreaming?
8. It is years since I heard the laughter ringing.
9. Intellect is not speaking and logicizing: it is seeing and
ascertaining.
10. We now draw toward the end of that great martial drama which we
have been briefly contemplating.
11. The second cause of failure was the burning of Moscow.
12. He spread his blessings all over the land.
13. The only means of ascending was by my hands.
14. A marble figure of Mary is stretched upon the tomb, round which is
an iron railing, much corroded, bearing her national emblem.
15. The exertion left me in a state of languor and sinking.
16. Thackeray did not, like Sir Walter Scott, write twenty pages
without stopping, but, dictating from his chair, he gave out sentence
by sentence, slowly.
HOW TO PARSE VERBS AND VERBALS.
I. VERBS.
275. In parsing verbs, give the following points:--
(1) Class: (_a_) as to _form_,--strong or weak, giving principal
parts; (_b_) as to _use_,--transitive or intransitive.
(2) Voice,--active or passive.
(3) Mood,--indicative, subjunctive, or imperative.
(4) Tense,--which of the tenses given in Sec. 234.
(5) Person and number, in determining which you must tell--
(6) What the subject is, for the form of the verb may not show the
person and number.
[Sidenote: _Caution._]
276. It has been intimated in Sec. 235, we must beware of the rule,
"A verb agrees with its subject in person and number." Sometimes it
does; usually it does not, if _agrees_ means that the verb changes its
form for the different persons and numbers. The verb _be_ has more
forms than other verbs, and may be said to _agree_ with its subject in
several of its forms. But unless the verb is present, and ends in
_-s_, or is an old or poetic form ending in _-st_ or _-eth_, it is
best for the student not to state it as a general rule that "the verb
agrees with its subject in person and number," but merely to _tell
what the subject of the verb is_.
II. VERB PHRASES.
277. Verb phrases are made up of a principal verb followed by an
infinitive, and should always be analyzed as phrases, and not taken as
single verbs. Especially frequent are those made up of _should_,
_would_, _may_, _might_, _can_, _could_, _must_, followed by a pure
infinitive without _to_. Take these examples:--
1. Lee _should_ of himself _have replenished_ his stock.
2. The government _might have been_ strong and prosperous.
In such sentences as 1, call _should_ a weak verb, intransitive,
therefore active; indicative, past tense; has for its subject _Lee_.
_Have replenished_ is a perfect active infinitive.
In 2, call _might_ a weak verb, intransitive, active, indicative (as
it means could), past tense; has the subject _government_. _Have been_
is a perfect active infinitive.
For fuller parsing of the infinitive, see Sec. 278(2).
III. VERBALS.
278. (1) Participle. Tell (_a_) from what verb it is derived;
(_b_) whether active or passive, imperfect, perfect, etc.; (_c_) to
what word it belongs. If a participial adjective, give points (_a_)
and (_b_), then parse it as an adjective.
(2) Infinitive. Tell (_a_) from what verb it is derived; (_b_)
whether indefinite, perfect, definite, etc.
(3) Gerund. (_a_) From what verb derived; (_b_) its use (Sec. 273).
Exercise.
Parse the verbs, verbals, and verb phrases in the following
sentences:--
1. Byron builds a structure that repeats certain elements in nature or
humanity.
2. The birds were singing as if there were no aching hearts, no sin
nor sorrow, in the world.
3. Let it rise! let it rise, till it meet the sun in his coming; let
the earliest light of the morning gild it, and parting day linger and
play on its summit.
4. You are gathered to your fathers, and live only to your country in
her grateful remembrance.
5. Read this Declaration at the head of the army.
6. Right graciously he smiled on us, as rolled from wing to wing,
Down all the line, a deafening shout, "God save our Lord the King!"
7. When he arose in the morning, he thought only of her, and wondered
if she were yet awake.
8. He had lost the quiet of his thoughts, and his agitated soul
reflected only broken and distorted images of things.
9. So, lest I be inclined
To render ill for ill,
Henceforth in me instill,
O God, a sweet good will.
10. The sun appears to beat in vain at the casements.
11. Margaret had come into the workshop with her sewing, as usual.
12. Two things there are with memory will abide--
Whatever else befall--while life flows by.
13. To the child it was not permitted to look beyond into the hazy
lines that bounded his oasis of flowers.
14. With them, morning is not a new issuing of light, a new bursting
forth of the sun; a new waking up of all that has life, from a sort of
temporary death.
15. Whatever ground you sow or plant, see that it is in good
condition.
16. However that be, it is certain that he had grown to delight in
nothing else than this conversation.
17. The soul having been often born, or, as the Hindoos say,
"traveling the path of existence through thousands of births," there
is nothing of which she has not gained knowledge.
18. The ancients called it ecstasy or absence,--a getting-out of their
bodies to think.
19. Such a boy could not whistle or dance.
20. He had rather stand charged with the imbecility of skepticism than
with untruth.
21. He can behold with serenity the yawning gulf between the ambition
of man and his power of performance.
22. He passed across the room to the washstand, leaving me upon the
bed, where I afterward found he had replaced me on being awakened by
hearing me leap frantically up and down on the floor.
23. In going for water, he seemed to be traveling over a desert plain
to some far-off spring.
24. Hasheesh always brings an awakening of perception which magnifies
the smallest sensation.
25. I have always talked to him as I would to a friend.
26. Over them multitudes of rosy children came leaping to throw
garlands on my victorious road.
27. Oh, had we some bright little isle of our own!
28. Better it were, thou sayest, to consent;
Feast while we may, and live ere life be spent.
29. And now wend we to yonder fountain, for the hour of rest is at
hand.
ADVERBS.
[Sidenote: _Adverbs modify._]
279. The word _adverb_ means _joined to a verb_. The adverb is the
only word that can join to a verb to modify it.
[Sidenote: _A verb._]
When action is expressed, an adverb is usually added to define the
action in some way,--time, place, or manner: as, "He began _already_
to be proud of being a Rugby boy [time];" "One of the young heroes
scrambled up _behind_ [place];" "He was absolute, but _wisely_ and
_bravely_ ruling [manner]."
[Sidenote: _An adjective or an adverb._]
But this does not mean that adverbs modify verbs _only_: many of them
express degree, and limit adjectives or adverbs; as, "William's
private life was _severely_ pure;" "Principles of English law are put
down _a little_ confusedly."
[Sidenote: _Sometimes a noun or pronoun._]
Sometimes an adverb may modify a noun or pronoun; for example,--
The young man reveres men of genius, because, to speak truly,
they are _more_ himself than he is.--EMERSON.
Is it _only_ poets, and men of leisure and cultivation, who live
with nature?--_Id._
To the _almost_ terror of the persons present, Macaulay began
with the senior wrangler of 1801-2-3-4, and so on.--THACKERAY.
Nor was it _altogether_ nothing.--CARLYLE.
Sounds overflow the listener's brain So sweet that joy is
_almost_ pain.--SHELLEY.
The condition of Kate is _exactly_ that of Coleridge's "Ancient
Mariner."--DE QUINCEY.
He was _incidentally_ news dealer.--T.B. ALDRICH.
NOTE.--These last differ from the words in Sec. 169, being adverbs
naturally and fitly, while those in Sec. 169 are felt to be
elliptical, and rather forced into the service of adjectives.
Also these adverbs modifying nouns are to be distinguished from those
standing _after_ a noun by ellipsis, but really modifying, not the
noun, but some verb understood; thus,--
The gentle winds and waters [that are] near, Make music to the
lonely ear.--BYRON.
With bowering leaves [that grow] _o'erhead_, to which the eye
Looked up half sweetly, and half awfully.--LEIGH HUNT.
[Sidenote: _A phrase._]
An adverb may modify a phrase which is equivalent to an adjective or
an adverb, as shown in the sentences,--
They had begun to make their effort much _at the same
time_.--TROLLOPE.
I draw forth the fruit, all wet and glossy, maybe _nibbled by
rabbits and hollowed out by crickets_, and perhaps _with a leaf
or two cemented to it_, but still _with a rich bloom to
it_.--THOREAU.
[Sidenote: _A clause or sentence._]
It may also modify a sentence, emphasizing or qualifying the
statement expressed; as, for example,--
And _certainly_ no one ever entered upon office with so few
resources of power in the past.--LOWELL.
_Surely_ happiness is reflective, like the light of heaven.
--IRVING.
We are offered six months' credit; and that, _perhaps_, has
induced some of us to attend it.--FRANKLIN.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
280. An adverb, then, is a modifying word, which may qualify an
action word or a statement, and may add to the meaning of an adjective
or adverb, or a word group used as such.
NOTE.--The expression _action word_ is put instead of _verb_, because
_any_ verbal word may be limited by an adverb, not simply the forms
used in predication.
281. Adverbs may be classified in two ways: (1) according to the
meaning of the words; (2) according to their use in the sentence.
ADVERBS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO MEANING.
282. Thus considered, there are six classes:--
(1) Time; as _now_, _to-day_, _ever_, _lately_, _before_,
_hitherto_, etc.
(2) Place. These may be adverbs either of
(_a_) PLACE WHERE; as _here_, _there_, _where_, _near_, _yonder_,
_above_, etc.
(_b_) PLACE TO WHICH; as _hither_, _thither_, _whither_,
_whithersoever_, etc.
(_c_) PLACE FROM WHICH; as _hence_, _thence_, _whence_,
_whencesoever_, etc.
(3) Manner, telling _how_ anything is done; as _well_, _slowly_,
_better_, _bravely_, _beautifully_. Action is conceived or performed
in so many ways, that these adverbs form a very large class.
(4) Number, telling _how many times_: _once_, _twice_, _singly_,
_two by two_, etc.
(5) Degree, telling _how much_; as _little_, _slightly_, _too_,
_partly_, _enough_, _greatly_, _much_, _very_, _just_, etc. (see also
Sec. 283).
(6) Assertion, telling the speaker's belief or disbelief in a
statement, or how far he believes it to be true; as _perhaps_,
_maybe_, _surely_, _possibly_, _probably_, _not_, etc.
[Sidenote: _Special remarks on adverbs of degree._]
283. The is an adverb of degree when it limits an adjective or an
adverb, especially the comparative of these words; thus,--
But not _the_ less the blare of the tumultuous organ wrought its
own separate creations.--DE QUINCEY.
_The_ more they multiply, _the_ more friends you will have; _the_
more evidently they love liberty, _the_ more perfect will be
their obedience.--BURKE.
This and that are very common as adverbs in spoken English, and
not infrequently are found in literary English; for example,--
The master...was for _this_ once of her opinion.--R. LOUIS
STEVENSON.
Death! To die! I owe _that_ much To what, at least, I
was.--BROWNING.
_This_ long's the text.--SHAKESPEARE.
[Sidenote _The status of such_.]
Such is frequently used as an equivalent of _so_: _such_ precedes an
adjective with its noun, while _so_ precedes only the adjective
usually.
Meekness,...which gained him _such_ universal
popularity.--IRVING.
_Such_ a glittering appearance that no ordinary man would have
been able to close his eyes there.--HAWTHORNE.
An eye of _such_ piercing brightness and _such_ commanding power
that it gave an air of inspiration.--LECKY.
So also in Grote, Emerson, Thackeray, Motley, White, and others.
[Sidenote: _Pretty._]
Pretty has a wider adverbial use than it gets credit for.
I believe our astonishment is _pretty_ equal.--FIELDING.
Hard blows and hard money, the feel of both of which you know
_pretty_ well by now.--KINGSLEY.
The first of these generals is _pretty_ generally recognized as
the greatest military genius that ever lived.--BAYNE.
A _pretty_ large experience.--THACKERAY.
_Pretty_ is also used by Prescott, Franklin, De Quincey, Defoe,
Dickens, Kingsley, Burke, Emerson, Aldrich, Holmes, and other writers.
[Sidenote: Mighty.]
The adverb mighty is very common in colloquial English; for example,--
"_Mighty_ well, Deacon Gookin!" replied the solemn tones of the
minister.--HAWTHORNE.
"Maybe you're wanting to get over?--anybody sick? Ye seem
_mighty_ anxious!"--H.B. STOWE.
It is only occasionally used in literary English; for example,--
You are _mighty_ courteous.--BULWER.
Beau Fielding, a _mighty_ fine gentleman.--THACKERAY.
"Peace, Neville," said the king, "thou think'st thyself _mighty_
wise, and art but a fool."--SCOTT.
I perceived his sisters _mighty_ busy.--GOLDSMITH.
[Sidenote: _Notice meanings._]
284. Again, the meaning of words must be noticed rather than their
form; for many words given above may be moved from one class to
another at will: as these examples,--"He walked too _far_ [place];"
"That were _far_ better [degree];" "He spoke _positively_ [manner];"
"That is _positively_ untrue [assertion];" "I have seen you _before_
[time];" "The house, and its lawn _before_ [place]."
ADVERBS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO USE.
[Sidenote: _Simple._]
285. All adverbs which have no function in the sentence except to
modify are called simple adverbs. Such are most of those given
already in Sec. 282.
[Sidenote: _Interrogative._]
286. Some adverbs, besides modifying, have the additional function
of asking a question.
[Sidenote: _Direct questions._]
These may introduce direct questions of--
(1) Time.
_When_ did this humane custom begin?--H. CLAY.
(2) Place.
_Where_ will you have the scene?--LONGFELLOW
(3) Manner.
And _how_ looks it now?--HAWTHORNE.
(4) Degree.
"_How_ long have you had this whip?" asked he.--BULWER.
(5) Reason.
_Why_ that wild stare and wilder cry?--WHITTIER
Now _wherefore_ stopp'st thou me?--COLERIDGE
[Sidenote: _Indirect questions._]
Or they may introduce indirect questions of--
(1) Time.
I do not remember _when_ I was taught to read.--D. WEBSTER.
(2) Place.
I will not ask _where_ thou liest low.--BYRON
(3) Manner.
Who set you to cast about what you should say to the select
souls, or _how_ to say anything to such?--EMERSON.
(4) Degree.
Being too full of sleep to understand
_How_ far the unknown transcends the what we know.
--LONGFELLOW
(5) Reason.
I hearkened, I know not _why_.--POE.
287. There is a class of words usually classed as conjunctive
adverbs, as they are said to have the office of conjunctions in
joining clauses, while having the office of adverbs in modifying; for
example,--
_When_ last I saw thy young blue eyes, they smiled.--BYRON.
But in reality, _when_ does not express time and modify, but the whole
clause, _when_..._eyes_; and _when_ has simply the use of a
conjunction, not an adverb. For further discussion, see Sec. 299 under
"Subordinate Conjunctions."
Exercise.--Bring up sentences containing twenty adverbs,
representing four classes.
COMPARISON OF ADVERBS.
288. Many adverbs are compared, and, when compared, have the same
inflection as adjectives.
The following, irregularly compared, are often used as adjectives:--
_Positive._ _Comparative._ _Superlative._
well better best
ill or badly worse worst
much more most
little less least
nigh or near nearer nearest or next
far farther, further farthest, furthest
late later latest, last
(rathe, _obs._) rather
289. Most monosyllabic adverbs add _-er_ and _-est_ to form the
comparative and superlative, just as adjectives do; as, _high_,
_higher_, _highest_; _soon_, _sooner_, _soonest_.
Adverbs in _-ly_ usually have _more_ and _most_ instead of the
inflected form, only occasionally having _-er_ and _-est_.
Its strings _boldlier_ swept.--COLERIDGE.
None can deem _harshlier_ of me than I deem.--BYRON.
Only that we may _wiselier_ see.--EMERSON.
Then must she keep it _safelier_.--TENNYSON.
I should _freelier_ rejoice in that absence.--SHAKESPEARE.
[Sidenote: _Form_ vs. _use._]
290. The fact that a word ends in _-ly_ does not make it an adverb.
Many adjectives have the same ending, and must be distinguished by
their use in the sentence.
Exercise.
Tell what each word in _ly_ modifies, then whether it is an adjective
or an adverb.
1. It seems certain that the Normans were more cleanly in their
habits, more courtly in their manners.
2. It is true he was rarely heard to speak.
3. He would inhale the smoke slowly and tranquilly.
4. The perfectly heavenly law might be made law on earth.
5. The king winced when he saw his homely little bride.
6. With his proud, quick-flashing eye,
And his mien of kingly state.
7. And all about, a lovely sky of blue
Clearly was felt, or down the leaves laughed through.
8. He is inexpressibly mean, curiously jolly, kindly and good-natured
in secret.
291. Again, many words without _-ly_ have the same form, whether
adverbs or adjectives.
The reason is, that in Old and Middle English, adverbs derived from
adjectives had the ending _-e_ as a distinguishing mark; as,--
If men smoot it with a yerde _smerte_ [If men smote it with a rod
smartly].--CHAUCER.
This _e_ dropping off left both words having the same form.
Weeds were sure to grow _quicker_ in his fields.--IRVING.
O _sweet_ and _far_ from cliff and scar The horns of Elfland
faintly blowing.--TENNYSON.
But he must do his errand _right._--DRAKE
_Long_ she looked in his tiny face.--_Id._
Not _near_ so black as he was painted.--THACKERAY.
In some cases adverbs with _-ly_ are used side by side with those
without _-ly_, but with a different meaning. Such are _most_,
_mostly_; _near_, _nearly_; _even_, _evenly_; _hard_, _hardly_; etc.
[Sidenote: _Special use of_ there.]
292. Frequently the word there, instead of being used adverbially,
merely introduces a sentence, and inverts the usual order of subject
and predicate.
This is such a fixed idiom that the sentence, if it has the verb _be_,
seems awkward or affected without this "_there_ introductory." Compare
these:--
1. _There_ are eyes, to be sure, that give no more admission into
the man than blueberries.--EMERSON.
2. Time was when field and watery cove With modulated echoes
rang.--WORDSWORTH.
HOW TO PARSE ADVERBS.
293. In parsing adverbs, give--
(1) The class, according to meaning and also use.
(2) Degree of comparison, if the word is compared.
(3) What word or word group it modifies.
Exercise.
Parse all the adverbs in the following sentences:--
1. Now the earth is so full that a drop overfills it.
2. The higher we rise in the scale of being, the more certainly we
quit the region of the brilliant eccentricities and dazzling contrasts
which belong to a vulgar greatness.
3. We sit in the warm shade and feel right well
How the sap creeps up and blossoms swell.
4. Meanwhile the Protestants believed somewhat doubtfully that he was
theirs.
5. Whence else could arise the bruises which I had received, but from
my fall?
6. We somehow greedily gobble down all stories in which the characters
of our friends are chopped up.
7. How carefully that blessed day is marked in their little calendars!
8. But a few steps farther on, at the regular wine-shop, the Madonna
is in great glory.
9. The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinion.
10. It is the Cross that is first seen, and always, burning in the
center of the temple.
11. For the impracticable, however theoretically enticing, is always
politically unwise.
12. Whence come you? and whither are you bound?
13. How comes it that the evil which men say spreads so widely and
lasts so long, whilst our good kind words don't seem somehow to take
root and blossom?
14. At these carousals Alexander drank deep.
15. Perhaps he has been getting up a little architecture on the road
from Florence.
16. It is left you to find out why your ears are boxed.
17. Thither we went, and sate down on the steps of a house.
18. He could never fix which side of the garden walk would suit him
best, but continually shifted.
19. But now the wind rose again, and the stern drifted in toward the
bank.
20. He caught the scent of wild thyme in the air, and found room to
wonder how it could have got there.
21. They were soon launched on the princely bosom of the Thames, upon
which the sun now shone forth.
22. Why should we suppose that conscientious motives, feeble as they
are constantly found to be in a good cause, should be omnipotent for
evil?
24. It was pretty bad after that, and but for Polly's outdoor
exercise, she would undoubtedly have succumbed.
CONJUNCTIONS.
294. Unlike adverbs, conjunctions do not modify: they are used
solely for the purpose of connecting.
Examples of the use of conjunctions:--
[Sidenote: _They connect_ words.]
(1) _Connecting words_: "It is the very necessity _and_ condition of
existence;" "What a simple _but_ exquisite illustration!"
[Sidenote: Word groups: _Phrases._]
[Sidenote: _Clauses._]
(2) _Connecting word groups_: "Hitherto the two systems have existed
in different States, _but_ side by side within the American Union;"
"This has happened _because_ the Union is a confederation of States."
[Sidenote: _Sentences._]
(3) _Connecting sentences_: "Unanimity in this case can mean only a
very large majority. _But_ even unanimity itself is far from
indicating the voice of God."
[Sidenote: _Paragraphs._]
(4) _Connecting sentence groups_: Paragraphs would be too long to
quote here, but the student will readily find them, in which the
writer connects the divisions of narration or argument by such words
as _but_, _however_, _hence_, _nor_, _then_, _therefore_, etc.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
295. A conjunction is a linking word, connecting words, word
groups, sentences, or sentence groups.
[Sidenote: _Classes of conjunctions._]
296. Conjunctions have two principal divisions:--
(1) Coördinate, joining words, word groups, etc., of the _same
rank_.
(2) Subordinate, joining a subordinate or dependent clause to a
principal or independent clause.
COÖRDINATE CONJUNCTIONS.
297. Coördinate conjunctions are of four kinds:
(1) COPULATIVE, coupling or uniting words and expressions in the same
line of thought; as _and_, _also_, _as well as_, _moreover_, etc.
(2) ADVERSATIVE, connecting words and expressions that are opposite in
thought; as _but_, _yet_, _still_, _however_, _while_, _only_, etc.
(3) CAUSAL, introducing a reason or cause. The chief ones are, _for_,
_therefore_, _hence_, _then_.
(4) ALTERNATIVE, expressing a choice, usually between two things. They
are _or_, _either_, _else_, _nor_, _neither_, _whether_.
[Sidenote: _Correlatives._]
298. Some of these go in pairs, answering to each other in the same
sentence; as, _both_..._and_; _not only_..._but_ (or _but also_);
_either_..._or_; _whether_..._or_; _neither_..._nor_; _whether_..._or
whether_.
Some go in threes; as, _not only_..._but_... _and_;
_either_..._or_..._or_; _neither_..._nor_... _nor_.
Further examples of the use of coördinate conjunctions:--
[Sidenote: _Copulative._]
Your letter, _likewise_, had its weight; the bread was spent, the
butter _too_; the window being open, _as well as_ the room door.
[Sidenote: _Adversative._]
The assertion, _however_, serves but to show their ignorance. "Can
this be so?" said Goodman Brown. "_Howbeit_, I have nothing to do with
the governor and council."
_Nevertheless_, in this mansion of gloom I now proposed to myself a
sojourn of some weeks.
[Sidenote: _Alternative._]
While the earth bears a plant, _or_ the sea rolls its waves.
_Nor_ mark'd they less, where in the air
A thousand streamers flaunted fair.
[Sidenote: _Causal._]
_Therefore_ the poet is not any permissive potentate, but is emperor
in his own right. _For_ it is the rule of the universe that corn shall
serve man, and not man corn.
Examples of the use of correlatives:--
He began to doubt whether _both_ he _and_ the world around him
were not bewitched.--IRVING.
He is _not only_ bold and vociferous, _but_ possesses a
considerable talent for mimicry, _and_ seems to enjoy great
satisfaction in mocking and teasing other birds.--WILSON.
It is...the same _whether_ I move my hand along the surface of a
body, _or whether_ such a body is moved along my hand.--BURKE.
_Neither_ the place in which he found himself, _nor_ the
exclusive attention that he attracted, disturbed the
self-possession of the young Mohican.--COOPER.
_Neither_ was there any phantom memorial of life, _nor_ wing of
bird, _nor_ echo, _nor_ green leaf, _nor_ creeping thing, that
moved or stirred upon the soundless waste.--DE QUINCEY.
SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTIONS.
299. Subordinate conjunctions are of the following kinds:--
(1) PLACE: _where_, _wherever_, _whither_, _whereto_, _whithersoever_,
_whence_, etc.
(2) TIME: _when_, _before_, _after_, _since_, _as_, _until_,
_whenever_, _while_, _ere_, etc.
(3) MANNER: _how_, _as_, _however_, _howsoever_.
(4) CAUSE or REASON: _because_, _since_, _as_, _now_, _whereas_,
_that_, _seeing_, etc.
(5) COMPARISON: _than_ and _as_.
(6) PURPOSE: _that_, _so_, _so that_, _in order that_, _lest_,
_so_..._as_.
(7) RESULT: _that_, _so that_, especially _that_ after _so_.
(8) CONDITION or CONCESSION: _if_, _unless_, _so_, _except_, _though_,
_although_; _even if_, _provided_, _provided that_, _in case_, _on
condition that_, etc.
(9) SUBSTANTIVE: _that_, _whether_, sometimes _if_, are used
frequently to introduce noun clauses used as _subject, object, in
apposition_, etc.
Examples of the use of subordinate conjunctions:--
[Sidenote: _Place._]
Where the treasure is, there will the heart be also.--_Bible._
To lead from eighteen to twenty millions of men _whithersoever_
they will.--J. QUINCY.
An artist will delight in excellence _wherever_ he meets it.
--ALLSTON.
[Sidenote: _Time._]
I promise to devote myself to your happiness _whenever_ you shall
ask it of me.--PAULDING.
It is sixteen years _since_ I saw the Queen of France.--BURKE.
[Sidenote: _Manner._]
Let the world go _how_ it will.--CARLYLE
Events proceed, not _as_ they were expected or intended, but _as_
they are impelled by the irresistible laws.--AMES.
[Sidenote: _Cause, reason._]
I see no reason _why_ I should not have the same
thought.--EMERSON.
Then Denmark blest our chief,
_That_ he gave her wounds repose.
--CAMPBELL.
_Now_ he is dead, his martyrdom will reap
Late harvests of the palms he should have had in life.
--H.H. JACKSON
Sparing neither whip nor spur, _seeing that_ he carried the
vindication of his patron's fame in his saddlebags.--IRVING.
[Sidenote: _Comparison._]
As a soldier, he was more solicitous to avoid mistakes _than_ to
perform exploits that are brilliant.--AMES.
All the subsequent experience of our race had gone over him with
as little permanent effect _as_ [_as_ follows the semi-adverbs
_as_ and _so_ in expressing comparison] the passing
breeze.--HAWTHORNE.
[Sidenote: _Purpose._]
We wish for a thousand heads, a thousand bodies, _that_ we might
celebrate its immense beauty.--EMERSON.
[Sidenote: _Result._]
So many thoughts moved to and fro,
_That_ vain it were her eyes to close.
--COLERIDGE.
I was again covered with water, but not so long _but_ I held it
out.--DEFOE.
[Sidenote: _Condition._]
A ridicule which is of no import _unless_ the scholar heed
it.--EMERSON.
There flowers or weeds at will may grow,
_So_ I behold them not.
--BYRON.
[Sidenote: _Concession_.]
What _though_ the radiance which was once so bright
Be now forever taken from my sight.--WORDSWORTH.
[Sidenote: _Substantive._]
It seems a pity _that_ we can only spend it once.--EMERSON.
We do not believe _that_ he left any worthy man his foe who had
ever been his friend.--AMES.
Let us see _whether_ the greatest, the wisest, the purest-hearted
of all ages are agreed in any wise on this point.--RUSKIN.
Who can tell _if_ Washington be a great man or no?--EMERSON.
300. As will have been noticed, some words--for example, _since_,
_while_, _as_, _that_, etc.--may belong to several classes of
conjunctions, according to their meaning and connection in the
sentence.
Exercises.
(_a_) Bring up sentences containing five examples of coördinate
conjunctions.
(_b_) Bring up sentences containing three examples of correlatives.
(_c_) Bring up sentences containing ten subordinate conjunctions.
(_d_) Tell whether the italicized words in the following sentences are
conjunctions or adverbs; classify them if conjunctions:--
1. _Yet_ these were often exhibited throughout our city.
2. No one had _yet_ caught his character.
3. _After_ he was gone, the lady called her servant.
4. And they lived happily forever _after_.
5. They, _however_, hold a subordinate rank.
6. _However_ ambitious a woman may be to command admiration abroad,
her real merit is known at home.
7. _Whence_ else could arise the bruises which I had received?
8. He was brought up for the church, _whence_ he was occasionally
called the Dominie.
9. And _then_ recovering, she faintly pressed her hand.
10. In what point of view, _then_, is war not to be regarded with
horror?
11. The moth fly, _as_ he shot in air, Crept under the leaf, and hid
her there.
12. Besides, _as_ the rulers of a nation are _as_ liable _as_ other
people to be governed by passion and prejudice, there is little
prospect of justice in permitting war.
13. _While_ a faction is a minority, it will remain harmless.
14. _While_ patriotism glowed in his heart, wisdom blended in his
speech her authority with her charms.
15. _Hence_ it is highly important that the custom of war should be
abolished.
16. The raft and the money had been thrown near her, none of the
lashings having given way; _only_ what is the use of a guinea amongst
tangle and sea gulls?
17. _Only_ let his thoughts be of equal scope, and the frame will suit
the picture.
SPECIAL REMARKS.
[Sidenote: As if.]
301. _As if_ is often used as one conjunction of manner, but really
there is an ellipsis between the two words; thus,--
But thy soft murmuring
Sounds sweet _as if_ a sister's voice reproved.
--BYRON.
If analyzed, the expression would be, "sounds sweet _as_ [the sound
would be] _if_ a sister's voice reproved;" _as_, in this case,
expressing degree if taken separately.
But the ellipsis seems to be lost sight of frequently in writing, as
is shown by the use of _as though_.
[Sidenote: As though.]
302. In Emerson's sentence, "We meet, and part _as though_ we parted
not," it cannot be said that there is an ellipsis: it cannot mean "we
part _as_ [we should part] _though_" etc.
Consequently, _as if_ and _as though_ may be taken as double
conjunctions expressing manner. _As though_ seems to be in as wide use
as the conjunction _as if_; for example,--
Do you know a farmer who acts and lives _as though_ he believed
one word of this?--H GREELEY.
His voice ... sounded _as though_ it came out of a
barrel.--IRVING.
Blinded alike from sunshine and from rain,
_As though_ a rose should shut, and be a bud again.
--KEATS
Examples might be quoted from almost all authors.
[Sidenote: As _for_ as if.]
303. In poetry, _as_ is often equivalent to _as if_.
And their orbs grew strangely dreary,
Clouded, even _as_ they would weep.
--EMILY BRONTE.
So silently we seemed to speak,
So slowly moved about,
_As_ we had lent her half our powers
To eke her living out.
--HOOD.
HOW TO PARSE CONJUNCTIONS.
304. In parsing conjunctions, tell--
(1) To what class and subclass they belong.
(2) What words, word groups, etc., they connect.
[Sidenote: _Caution_.]
In classifying them, particular attention must be paid to the
_meaning_ of the word. Some conjunctions, such as _nor, and, because,
when_, etc., are regularly of one particular class; others belong to
several classes. For example, compare the sentences,--
1. It continued raining, _so_ that I could not stir
abroad.--DEFOE
2. There will be an agreement in whatever variety of actions,
_so_ they be each honest and natural in their hour.--EMERSON
3. It was too dark to put an arrow into the creature's eye; _so_
they paddled on.--KINGSLEY
In sentence 1, _so that_ expresses result, and its clause depends on
the other, hence it is a subordinate conjunction of result; in 2, _so_
means provided,--is subordinate of condition; in 3, _so_ means
therefore, and its clause is independent, hence it is a coördinate
conjunction of reason.
Exercise.
Parse all the conjunctions in these sentences:--
1. When the gods come among men, they are not known.
2. If he could solve the riddle, the Sphinx was slain.
3. A lady with whom I was riding in the forest said to me that the
woods always seemed to wait, as if the genii who inhabit them
suspended their deeds until the wayfarer had passed.
4. The mountain of granite blooms into an eternal flower, with the
lightness and delicate finish as well as the aërial proportions and
perspective of vegetable scenery.
5. At sea, or in the forest, or in the snow, he sleeps as warm, dines
with as good an appetite, and associates as happily, as beside his own
chimneys.
6. Our admiration of the antique is not admiration of the old, but of
the natural.
7. "Doctor," said his wife to Martin Luther, "how is it that whilst
subject to papacy we prayed so often and with such fervor, whilst now
we pray with the utmost coldness, and very seldom?"
8. All the postulates of elfin annals,--that the fairies do not like
to be named; that their gifts are capricious and not to be trusted;
and the like,--I find them true in Concord, however they might be in
Cornwall or Bretagne.
9. He is the compend of time; he is also the correlative of nature.
10. He dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his.
11. The eye was placed where one ray should fall, that it might
testify of that particular ray.
12. It may be safely trusted, so it be faithfully imparted.
13. He knows how to speak to his contemporaries.
14. Goodness must have some edge to it,--else it is none.
15. I hope it is somewhat better than whim at last.
16. Now you have the whip in your hand, won't you lay on?
17. I scowl as I dip my pen into the inkstand.
18. I speak, therefore, of good novels only.
19. Let her loose in the library as you do a fawn in a field.
20. And whether consciously or not, you must be, in many a heart,
enthroned.
21. It is clear, however, the whole conditions are changed.
22. I never rested until I had a copy of the book.
23. For, though there may be little resemblance otherwise, in this
they agree, that both were wayward.
24. Still, she might have the family countenance; and Kate thought he
looked with a suspicious scrutiny into her face as he inquired for the
young don.
25. He follows his genius whithersoever it may lead him.
26. The manuscript indeed speaks of many more, whose names I omit,
seeing that it behooves me to hasten.
27. God had marked this woman's sin with a scarlet letter, which had
such efficacy that no human sympathy could reach her, save it were
sinful like herself.
28. I rejoice to stand here no longer, to be looked at as though I
had seven heads and ten horns.
29. He should neither praise nor blame nor defend his equals.
30. There was no iron to be seen, nor did they appear acquainted with
its properties; for they unguardedly took a drawn sword by the edge,
when it was presented to them.
PREPOSITIONS..
305. The word _preposition_ implies _place before_: hence it would
seem that a preposition is always _before_ its object. It may be so in
the majority of cases, but in a considerable proportion of instances
the preposition is _after_ its object.
This occurs in such cases as the following:--
[Sidenote: Preposition not before its object.]
(1) _After a relative pronoun_, a very common occurrence; thus,--
The most dismal Christmas fun _which_ these eyes ever looked
_on_.--THACKERAY.
An ancient nation _which_ they know nothing _of_.--EMERSON.
A foe, _whom_ a champion has fought _with_ to-day.--SCOTT.
Some little toys _that_ girls are fond _of_.--SWIFT.
"It's the man _that_ I spoke to you _about_" said Mr.
Pickwick.--DICKENS.
(2) _After an interrogative adverb, adjective, or pronoun_, also
frequently found:--
_What_ God doth the wizard pray _to_?--HAWTHORNE.
_What_ is the little one thinking about?--J.G. HOLLAND.
_Where_ the Devil did it come _from_, I wonder?--DICKENS.
(3) _With an infinitive_, in such expressions as these:--
A proper _quarrel_ for a Crusader to do battle _in_.--SCOTT.
"You know, General, it was _nothing_ to joke _about_."--CABLE
Had no harsh _treatment_ to reproach herself _with_.--BOYESEN
A _loss of vitality_ scarcely to be accounted _for_.--HOLMES.
Places for _horses_ to be hitched _to_.--_Id._
(4) _After a noun_,--the case in which the preposition is expected to
be, and regularly is, before its object; as,--
And unseen mermaids' pearly song
Comes bubbling up, the weeds _among_.
--BEDDOES.
Forever panting and forever young,
All breathing human passion far _above_.
--KEATS.