Higher Lessons in English by Alonzo Reed and Brainerd Kellogg (small books to read TXT) 📖

deck heaven’s battlements.”-_Greene_. “What went ye out for to see?”-_Bible_. “Shut the gates for to preserve the town.”—_K. Hen. VI., Part III_.]

PARTICIPLES

PRESENT PAST PAST PERFECT. Pres.+ing+. Past Par. Having Past Par.

+May+, +can+, and +must+ are potential auxiliaries in the present and the present perfect tense; +might+, +could+, +would+, and +should+, in the past and the past perfect.

The +emphatic+ form of the present and the past tense indicative is made by prefixing +do+ and +did+ to the present. Do is prefixed to the imperative also.

TO THE TEACHES.—Require the pupils to fill out these forma with other verbs, regular and irregular, using the auxiliaries named above.

 

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LESSON 135.

FORMS OF THE VERB-CONTINUED.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB +BE+.

[Footnote: The conjugation of be contains three distinct roots—_as, be, was_. Am, art, is, are are from as. Am = as-m (m is the m in me). Art = as-t (_t_ is the th in thou).

Be was formerly conjugated, I be, Thou beest, He beth or bes; We be, Ye be, They be.]

+Direction+.—Learn the following forms, paying no attention to the line at the right of each verb:—

INDICATIVE MODE.

PRESENT TENSE. Singular. Plural.

1. (I) am –-, 1. (We) are –-, 2. (You) are –- or 2. (You) are –-, (Thou) art –-, 3. (He) is –-; 3. (They) are –-.

PAST TENSE.

1. (I) was –-, 1. (We) were –-, 2. (You) were –- or 2. (You) were –-, (Thou) wast –-, 3. (He) was –-; 3. (They) were –-.

FUTURE TENSE.

1. (I) shall be –-, 1. (We) shall be –-, 2. (You) will be –- or 2. (You) will be –-, (Thou) wilt be –-, 3. (He) will be –-; 3. (They) will be –-.

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE.

1. (I) have been –-, 1. (We) have been –-, 2. (You) have been –- or 2. (You) have been –-, (Thou) hast been –-, 3. (He) has been –-; 3. (They) have been –-.

PAST PERFECT

1. (I) had been –-, 1. (We) had been –-, 2. (You) had been –- or 2. (You) had been –-, (Thou) hadst been –-, 3. (He) had been –-; 3. (They) had been –-.

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE.

1. (I) shall have been –-, 1. (We) shall have been –-, 2. (You) will have been –- or 2. (You) will have been –-, (Thou) wilt have been –-, 3. (He) will have been –-; 3. (They) will have been –-.

POTENTIAL MODE.

PRESENT TENSE.

Singular. Plural. 1. (I) may be –-, 1. (We) may be –-, 2. (You) may be –- or 2. (You) may be –-, (Thou) mayst be –-, 3. (He) may be –-; 3. (They) may be –-.

PAST TENSE.

1. (I) might be –-, 1. (We) might be –-, 2. (You) might be –- or 2. (You) might be –-, (Thou) mightst be –-, 3. (He) might be –-; 3. (They) might be –-.

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE.

1. (I) may have been –-, 1. (We) may have been –-, 2. (You) may have been –- or 2. (You) may have been –-, (Thou) mayst have been –-, 3. (He) may have been –-; 3. (They) may have been –-.

PAST PERFECT TENSE,

1. (I) might have been –-, 1. (We) might have been –-, 2. (You) might have been –- or 2. (You) might have been –-, (Thou) mightst have been –-, 3. (He) might have been –-; 3. (They) might have been –-.

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE.

PBESENT TENSE.

Singular. Plural. 1. (If I) may have been –-, 1. (If we) may have been –-, 2. (If you) may have been –- or 2. (If you) may have been –-, (If thou) mayst have been –-, 3. (If he) may have been –-; 3. (If they) may have been –-.

PAST TENSE.

Singular. 1. (If I) were –—, 2. (If you) were –-, or (If thou) wert –-, 3. (If he) were –-;

IMPERATIVE MODE.

PRESENT TENSE.

Singular. Plural. 2. Be (you or thou) –-; 2. Be (you or ye) –-.

INFINITIVES.

PRESENT TENSE. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE. (To) be –-. (To) have been –-.

PARTICIPLES.

PRESENT. PAST. PAST PERFECT. Being –-. Been. Having been –-.

 

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LESSON 136.

FORMS OF THE VERB—CONTINUED.

CONJUGATION—PROGRESSIVE AND PASSIVE FORMS.

A verb is conjugated in the +progressive form+ by joining its present participle to the different forms of the verb be.

A transitive verb is conjugated in the +passive voice+ by joining its past participle to the different forms of the verb be.

+Remark+.—The progressive form denotes a continuance of the action or being; as, The birds are singing.

Verbs that in their simple form denote continuance—such as love, respect, know—should not be conjugated in the progressive form. We say, I love the child—not I am loving the child.

+Remarks+.—The progressive form is sometimes used with a passive meaning; as, The house is building. In such cases the word in ing was once a verbal noun preceded by the preposition a, a contraction from on or in; as, While the ark was a preparing; While the flesh was in seething. In modern language the preposition is dropped, and the word in ing is treated adjectively.

Another passive progressive form, consisting of the verb be completed by the present passive participle, has recently appeared in our language—The house is being built, or was being built. Although condemned by many linguists as awkward and otherwise objectionable, it has grown rapidly into good use, especially in England, Such a form seems to be needed when the simpler form would be ambiguous, i.e., when its subject might be taken to name either the actor or the receiver; as, The child is whipping; The prisoner is trying. Introduced only to prevent ambiguity, the so-called neologism has pushed its way, and is found where the old form would not be ambiguous. As now used, the new form stands to the old in about the ratio of three to one.

+Direction+.—_Conjugate the verb choose in the progressive form by filling all the blanks left after the different forms of the verb be, in the preceding Lesson, with the present participle choosing; and then in the passive form by filling these blanks with the past participle chosen_.

Notice that after the past participle of the verb be no blank is left. The past participle of the passive is not formed by the aid of be; it is never compound. The past participle of a transitive verb is always passive except in such forms as have chosen, had chosen. (See have written, Lesson 138.) In the progressive, the past participle is wanting. All the participles of the verb choose are arranged in order below.

Present. Past. Past Perfect.

Simplest form. Choosing, chosen, having chosen. Progressive form. Being choosing,* ––, having been choosing. Passive form. Being chosen, chosen, having been chosen.

[Footnote *: This form is not commonly used.]

+Direction+.—_Write and arrange as above all the participles of the verbs break, drive, read, lift_.

TO THE TEACHER.—Select other verbs, and require the pupils to conjugate them in the progressive and in the passive form. Require them to give synopses of all the forms. Require them in some of their synopses to use it or some noun for the subject in the third person.

 

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LESSON 137.

CONJUGATION—CONTINUED.

INTERROGATIVE AND NEGATIVE FORMS.

A verb may be conjugated +interrogatively+ in the indicative and potential modes by placing the subject after the first auxiliary; as, Does he sing?

A verb may be conjugated +negatively+ by placing not after the first auxiliary; as, He does not sing. Not is placed before the infinitive and the participles; as, not to sing, not singing.

A question with negation is expressed in the indicative and potential modes by placing the subject and not after the first auxiliary; as, Does he not sing?

+Remark+.—Formerly, it was common to use the simple form of the present and past tenses interrogatively and negatively thus: Loves he? I know not. Such forms are still common in poetry, but in prose they are now scarcely used. We say, Does he love? I do not know. The verbs be and have are exceptions, as they do not take the auxiliary do. We say, Is it right? Have you another?

+Direction+.—_Write a synopsis in the third person, singular, of the verb walk conjugated_ (1) interrogatively, (2) negatively, and (3) so as to express a question with negation. Remember that the indicative and the potential are the only modes that can be used interrogatively.

To THE TEACHER.—Select other verbs, and require the pupils to conjugate them negatively and interrogatively in the progressive and in the passive form. Require the pupils to give synopses of all the forms.

 

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LESSON 138.

MODE AND TENSE FORMS.

COMPOUND FORMS—ANALYSIS.

The +compound+, or +periphrastic, forms+ of the verb consisting of two words may each be resolved into an +asserting word and a participle+ or an +infinitive+.

If we look at the original meaning of the forms +I do write, I shall write, I will write+, we shall find that the so-called auxiliary is the real verb, and that write is an infinitive used as object complement. +I do write = I do+ or +perform+ the action (to) write. +I shall write = I owe+ (to) +write. I will write = I determine+ (to) +write+.

+May write, can write, must write, might write, could write, would write+, and +should write+ may each be resolved into an asserting word and an infinitive.

The forms +is writing, was written+, etc. consist each of an asserting word (the verb be), and a participle used as attribute complement.

The forms +have written+ and +had written+ are so far removed from their original meaning that their analysis cannot be made to correspond with their history. They originated from such expressions as I have a letter written, in which have ( = possess) is a transitive verb taking letter for its object complement, and written is a passive participle modifying letter. The idea of possession has faded out of have, and the participle has lost its passive meaning. The use of this form has been extended to intransitive verbs—Spring has come, Birds have flown, etc. being now regularly used instead of the more logical perfect tense forms, Spring is come, Birds are flown. (_Is come, are flown_, etc. must not be mistaken for transitive verbs in the passive voice.) [Footnote: A peculiar use of had is found in the expressions had rather go and had better go, condemned by many grammarians who suppose had to be here used incorrectly for would or should. Of these expressions the “Standard Dictionary,” an authority worthy of our attention, says:—

“Forms disputed by certain grammatical critics from the days of Samuel Johnson, the critics insisting upon the substitution of would or should, as the case may demand, for had; but had rather and had better are thoroughly established English, idioms having the almost universal popular and literary sanction of centuries. ‘I would rather not go’ is undoubtedly correct when the purpose is to