SYNTAX OF PARTICIPLES. § 520. RULE XXXVI.-The Present, the Past, and the Compound Participles of Transitive and of Intransitive verbs, like adjectives, belong to substantives; as, "He, watching the coming storm, prepared to meet it;" "The risen sun has scattered the collected clouds;" "Having slept during the night, the traveler went on his way." When used in this way, the participle is an adjective, expressing an attribute, though it differs from the adjective in expressing time. Like adjectives, participles belong to sentences and parts of sentences. A participle with the prefix un often becomes an adjective; as, unbidden. If the verb also has the prefix, the participle retains the quality of a verb, instead of becoming an adjective; as, unfolding, from unfold. Many words originally participles have in use become adjectives; as, "Writing paper;" "looking glass." Note I.—The Present and the Compound participles of Transitive verbs in the active voice govern the objective case; as, "He was striking him," "Having struck him, he proceeded to other acts of violence." In cases like these, the participle performs one of the offices of the verb, as well as that of an adjective. EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXXVI. PARTICIPLES. RULE XXXVI.-a. He, loving his work, performed it successfully. C. S. b. Loved and admired by his friends, he fell a sacrifice to inordinate ambition. C. S. c. Having lost his health, he was obliged to relinquish his profession. C. S. d. Rasing, like Shakspeare's pirate, the eighth commandment from the Decalogue, the minstrels praised their chieftains for the very exploits against which the laws of the country denounced a capital doom.-WALTER SCOTT. C. S. Note I.-a. Esteeming themselves wise, they become fools C. S. b. After defeating his army, he took possession of the kingdom. C. S. c. Having studied law at Litchfield, he devoted himself to his profession in his native state. C. S. PARTICIPLES. § 521. RULE XXXVII.—The Present and the Compound Participles of Transitive and of Intransitive verbs, like nouns, are put in the Nominative case, or in the Objective case, or govern the Possessive case; as, "The reading of the report occupied an hour;" "Writing requires more effort than talking;" "Its excesses may be restrained without destroying its existence;" "He was displeased with the king's having disposed of the of fice, or with his having bestowed it upon an unworthy man ;" "This did not prevent John's being acknowledged and solemnly inaugurated Duke of Normandy." When the present participle is preceded by a or the, it always takes the character of a Noun, and is generally followed by the preposition of; as, "We are expecting a rising of the people;" "The middle station of life seems to be advantageously situated for the gaining of wisdom." Without the article preceding it, this participle becomes a noun in certain constructions; as, "Rising early is healthy;" "This is the advantage of early rising.” The forms by sending them, by the sending of them, are preferable to the forms by sending of them, by the sending them; though these latter are frequently met with in the language. The form what do you think of my horse's running to-day? is a correct form of expression, rather than the form what do you think of my horse running to-day? Note I. The present participles of Transitive verbs are not unfrequently used in a Passive sense; as, "The nation had cried out loudly against the crime while it was committing.”—BOLINGBROKE on History, Letter 8. "My Lives are reprinting." -Dr. JOHNSON. "The house is building." If we use the phrase "the house is building," we speak of it as a thing, from its very nature, not acting itself, and we use the term building as expressive of a passive progressive condition of the house. If we say the "men are building," we then have active instruments, and the term building is an active participle, requiring to be followed by a noun; as, "Building a wall, a castle." Expressions like the following have for some years been stealing into the language: "While the house was being burned," instead of "while the house was burning;" "while the battle was being fought," instead of "while the battle was fought." Some expressions like these are awkward, and difficult to be dealt with. Is it not better to say, "He will find the house will be building," than to say, "He will find the house will be being built?" Is it not better to say, "I knew the house to be building," than to say, "I knew the house to be being buill?" These expressions are not yet sanctioned by the highest authority. On the other hand, the best writers of the present time use expressions like " is making," "is doing," instead of "is being made," "is being done." The analogous use of verbs in the active form with a passive meaning we have in the following expressions: "The verses you sent me read well;" "you will easily find a house to let." See § 511. Note II. A participle is sometimes used absolutely, without any noun, pronoun, or sentence on which it depends; as, "It is not possible to act otherwise, considering the weakness of our nature;" "Generally speaking, the heir at law is not bound by the will of the testator." Note III.-The Past participle and the Preterit are sometimes indiscriminately used: Thus, begun is improperly used for the preterit began, and the preterit spoke is improperly used for the past participle spoken. EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXXVII. PARTICIPLES. RULE XXXVII.-a. Ambition often puts men upon doing the meanest offices: so climbing is performed in the same posture as creeping.-SWIFT. C. S. b. The enjoying of the goods of fortune is more coveted than the winning of them. C. S. c. The public were dissatisfied with the President for having bestowed offices upon mere party grounds. C. S. d. The period of Napoleon's leading an army into Italy has already been described. C. S. e. The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping off our desires, is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes. C. S. Note I.-a. When in New York, I saw Trinity Church while it was building. C. S. b. In three months from this date the City Hall will be be ing built. F.S. c. The house has been being built for nine months. F. S. Note II.-a. The articles of this charge, considering by whom it was brought, were not of so high a nature as was to be expected. C. S. b. Speaking generally of that generation of authors, it may be said that, as poets, they had no force or greatness of fancy, no pathos, no enthusiasm; and as philosophers, no comprehensiveness, depth, or originality.-Lord JEFFREY. C. S. Note III.- -a. From liberty each noble science sprung, A Bacon brightened and a Spenser sung. F. S. b. Philosophers have often mistook the true source of happiC. S. ness. CERTAIN USES OF THE VERB. § 522. 1. He is DRINKING, indicates a Present action; he drinks, may indicate a habit. He drinks wine at dinner, means that he does so habitually; while he is drinking wine at dinner, confines the act to a particular occasion. 2. DOEST is a form which occurs when the verb is used as a principal; DOST, when it is used as an auxiliary: "Which doest great things past finding out ;" "He loves not plays as thou dost." 3. DON'T is a contraction of do not, and not of does not. Don't for does not is a vulgarism. Contractions like haven't= have not; isn't is not, should not be encouraged. 4. DoтH and HATH, in the place of does and has, are sometimes used to express solemn and tender associations, or to avoid the too frequent repetition of the letter s. 5. I WOULD RATHER and I had rather are both in use. The first is preferable, of which I'd rather is an abbreviation. 6. SHALL and WILL are sometimes improperly used the one for the other, as, in the case of the drowning Irishman, "I will be drowned, and nobody shall help me." 7. MIGHT is improperly used for MAY: "The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight." 8. The THIRD person is improperly used for the SECOND: "Thou great First Cause least understood, Who all my sense confined To know but this, that thou art good, And that myself am blind; Yet gave me, in this dark estate, To see the good from ill; Left free the human will.” 9. HAD is, in some instances, improperly omitted: "No respite was given; but, whenever the operation ceased, the whole table was covered and appeared perfectly black, as if so much soot thrown upon it." It should be had been thrown. 10. The form of the THIRD PERSON of the verb should not be changed in the same sentence: "It is for their sake that human law hath interposed in some countries of the world, and, by creating and ordaining a right for them, has endeavored to make good the deficiency of nature." 11. "Its tufted flowers and leafy bands In one continuous curve expands, The wrong number of the verb is here used. 12. "They deck it with silver and with gold, that it move not." Here an end is proposed, and the subjunctive is the proper form. 13. "Men do not despise a thief if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry." Here an individual fact is indicated, and not a confirmed habit. The subjunctive is therefore used. 14. "For these mid hours, till evening rise, I have at will." Rise, not rises, is used, because a future event is indicated. 15. "If any of my readers has looked with so little attention upon the world around him." Certainty is here implied. The indicative mode is therefore used. 16. "If the leg does not come off, take the turkey to yourself." "Madam," replied the man in black, "I don't care a farthing whether the leg or the wing comes off." It should be do and come; for the parties are disputing upon the result |