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, "Ūt ēode se sǣdere his sæd
tō sāwenne" (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.
306. Since the object of a preposition is most often a noun, the
statement is made that the preposition usually precedes its object; as
in the following sentence, "Roused _by_ the shock, he started _from_
his trance."
Here the words _by_ and _from_ are connectives; but they do more than
connect. _By_ shows the relation in thought between _roused_ and
_shock_, expressing means or agency; _from_ shows the relation in
thought between _started_ and _trance_, and expresses separation. Both
introduce phrases.
[Sidenote: _Definition_.]
307. A preposition is a word joined to a noun or its equivalent to
make up a qualifying or an adverbial phrase, and to show the relation
between its object and the word modified.
[Sidenote: _Objects, nouns and the following_.]
308. Besides nouns, prepositions may have as objects--
(1) _Pronouns_: "Upon _them_ with the lance;" "With _whom_ I traverse
earth."
(2) _Adjectives_: "On _high_ the winds lift up their voices."
(3) _Adverbs_: "If I live wholly from _within_;" "Had it not been for
the sea from _aft_."
(4) _Phrases_: "Everything came to her from _on high_;" "From _of old_
they had been zealous worshipers."
(5) _Infinitives_: "The queen now scarce spoke to him save _to convey_
some necessary command for her service."
(6) _Gerunds_: "They shrink from _inflicting_ what they threaten;" "He
is not content with _shining_ on great occasions."
(7) _Clauses_:
"Each soldier eye shall brightly turn
To _where thy sky-born glories burn_."
[Sidenote: _Object usually objective case, if noun or pronoun_.]
309. The object of a preposition, if a noun or pronoun, is usually
in the objective case. In pronouns, this is shown by the form of the
word, as in Sec. 308 (1).
[Sidenote: _Often possessive_.]
In the double-possessive idiom, however, the object is in the
possessive case after _of_; for example,--
There was also a book _of Defoe's_,... and another _of_
_Mather's_.--FRANKLIN.
See also numerous examples in Secs. 68 and 87.
[Sidenote: _Sometimes nominative_.]
And the prepositions _but_ and _save_ are found with the nominative
form of the pronoun following; as,--
Nobody knows _but_ my mate and _I_
Where our nest and our nestlings lie.
--BRYANT.
USES OF PREPOSITIONS.
[Sidenote: _Inseparable._]
310. Prepositions are used in three ways:--
(1) _Compounded with verbs_, _adverbs_, or _conjunctions_; as, for
example, with verbs, _with_draw, _under_stand, _over_look, _over_take,
_over_flow, _under_go, _out_stay, _out_number, _over_run, _over_grow,
etc.; with adverbs, there_at_, there_in_, there_from_, there_by_,
there_with_, etc.; with conjunctions, where_at_, where_in_, where_on_,
where_through_, where_upon_, etc.
[Sidenote: _Separable._]
(2) _Following a verb_, and being really a part of the verb. This use
needs to be watched closely, to see whether the preposition belongs to
the verb or has a separate prepositional function. For example, in the
sentences, (_a_) "He broke a pane _from_ the window," (_b_) "He broke
_into_ the bank," in (_a_), the verb _broke_ is a predicate, modified
by the phrase introduced by _from_; in (_b_), the predicate is not
_broke_, modified by _into the bank_, but _broke into_--the object,
_bank_.
Study carefully the following prepositions with verbs:--
Considering the space they _took up_.--SWIFT.
I loved, _laughed at_, and pitied him.--GOLDSMITH.
The sun _breaks through_ the darkest clouds.--SHAKESPEARE.
They will _root up_ the whole ground.--SWIFT.
A friend _prevailed upon_ one of the interpreters.--ADDISON
My uncle _approved of_ it.--FRANKLIN.
The robber who _broke into_ them.--LANDOR.
This period is not obscurely _hinted at_.--LAMB.
The judge _winked at_ the iniquity of the decision.--_Id._
The pupils' voices, _conning over_ their lessons.--IRVING.
To _help out_ his maintenance.--_Id._
With such pomp is Merry Christmas _ushered in_.--LONGFELLOW.
[Sidenote: _Ordinary use as connective, relation words._]
(3) As _relation words_, introducing phrases,--the most common use, in
which the words have their own proper function.
[Sidenote: _Usefulness of prepositions._]
311. Prepositions are the subtlest and most useful words in the
language for compressing a clear meaning into few words. Each
preposition has its proper and general meaning, which, by frequent and
exacting use, has expanded and divided into a variety of meanings more
or less close to the original one.
Take, for example, the word _over_. It expresses place, with motion,
as, "The bird flew _over_ the house;" or rest, as, "Silence broods
_over_ the earth." It may also convey the meaning of _about_,
_concerning_; as, "They quarreled _over_ the booty." Or it may express
time: "Stay _over_ night."
The language is made richer and more flexible by there being several
meanings to each of many prepositions, as well as by some of them
having the same meaning as others.
CLASSES OF PREPOSITIONS.
312. It would be useless to attempt to classify all the
prepositions, since they are so various in meaning.
The largest groups are those of place, time, and exclusion.
PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE.
313. The following are the most common to indicate place:--
(1) PLACE WHERE: _abaft_, _about_, _above_, _across_, _amid_
(_amidst_), _among_ (_amongst_), _at_, _athwart_, _below_, _beneath_,
_beside_, _between_ (_betwixt_), _beyond_, _in_, _on_, _over_, _under_
(_underneath_), _upon_, _round_ or _around_, _without_.
(2) PLACE WHITHER: _into_, _unto_, _up_, _through_, _throughout_,
_to_, _towards_.
(3) PLACE WHENCE: _down_, _from_ (_away from_, _down from_, _from
out_, etc.), _off_, _out of_.
Abaft is exclusively a sea term, meaning _back of_.
Among (or amongst) and between (or betwixt) have a difference
in meaning, and usually a difference in use. _Among_ originally meant
in the crowd (_on gemong_), referring to several objects; _between_
and _betwixt_ were originally made up of the preposition _be_ (meaning
_by_) and _twēon_ or _twēonum_ (modern _twain_), _by two_, and _be_
with _twīh_ (or _twuh_), having the same meaning, _by two_ objects.
As to modern use, see "Syntax" (Sec. 459).
PREPOSITIONS OF TIME.
314. They are _after_, _during_, _pending_, _till_ or _until_; also
many of the prepositions of place express time when put before words
indicating time, such as _at_, _between_, _by_, _about_, _on_,
_within_, etc.
These are all familiar, and need no special remark.
EXCLUSION OR SEPARATION.
315. The chief ones are _besides_, _but_, _except_, _save_,
_without_. The participle _excepting_ is also used as a preposition.
MISCELLANEOUS PREPOSITIONS.
316. Against implies opposition, sometimes place where. In
colloquial English it is sometimes used to express time, now and then
also in literary English; for example,--
She contrived to fit up the baby's cradle for me _against_
night.--SWIFT
About, and the participial prepositions concerning, respecting,
regarding, mean _with reference to_.
[Sidenote: _Phrase prepositions._]
317. Many phrases are used as single prepositions: _by means of_,
_by virtue of_, _by help of_, _by dint of_, _by force of_; _out of_,
_on account of_, _by way of_, _for the sake of_; _in consideration
of_, _in spite of_, _in defiance of_, _instead of_, _in view of_, _in
place of_; _with respect to_, _with regard to_, _according to_,
_agreeably to_; and some others.
318. Besides all these, there are some prepositions that have so
many meanings that they require separate and careful treatment: _on_
(_upon_), _at_, _by_, _for_, _from_, _of_, _to_, _with_.
No attempt will be made to give _all_ the meanings that each one in
this list has: the purpose is to stimulate observation, and to show
how useful prepositions really are.
At.
319. The general meaning of at is _near_, _close to_, after a verb
or expression implying position; and _towards_ after a verb or
expression indicating motion. It defines position approximately, while
_in_ is exact, meaning _within_.
Its principal uses are as follows:--
(1) _Place where._
They who heard it listened with a curling horror _at_ the
heart.--J.F. COOPER.
There had been a strike _at_ the neighboring manufacturing
village, and there was to be a public meeting, _at_ which he was
besought to be present.--T.W. HIGGINSON.
(2) _Time_, more exact, meaning the point of time at which.
He wished to attack _at_ daybreak.--PARKMAN.
They buried him darkly, _at_ dead of night.--WOLFE
(3) _Direction._
The mother stood looking wildly down _at_ the unseemly
object.--COOPER.
You are next invited...to grasp _at_ the opportunity, and take
for your subject, "Health."--HIGGINSON.
Here belong such expressions as _laugh at_, _look at_, _wink at_,
_gaze at_, _stare at_, _peep at_, _scowl at_, _sneer at_, _frown at_,
etc.
We _laugh at_ the elixir that promises to prolong life to a
thousand years.--JOHNSON.
"You never mean to say," pursued Dot, sitting on the floor and
_shaking_ her head _at_ him.--DICKENS.
(4) _Source_ or _cause_, meaning _because of_, _by reason of_.
I felt my heart chill _at_ the dismal sound.--T.W. KNOX.
Delighted _at_ this outburst against the Spaniards.--PARKMAN.
(5) Then the idiomatic phrases _at last_, _at length_, _at any rate_,
_at the best_, _at the worst_, _at least_, _at most_, _at first_, _at
once_, _at all_, _at one_, _at naught_, _at random_, etc.; and phrases
signifying state or condition of being, as, _at work_, _at play_, _at
peace_, _at war_, _at rest_, etc.
Exercise.--Find sentences with three different uses of _at_.
By.
320. Like _at_, by means _near_ or _close to_, but has several
other meanings more or less connected with this,--
(1) The general meaning of _place_.
Richard was standing _by_ the window.--ALDRICH.
Provided always the coach had not shed a wheel _by_ the
roadside.--_Id._
(2) _Time._
But _by_ this time the bell of Old Alloway began tolling.--B.
TAYLOR
The angel came _by_ night.--R.H. STODDARD.
(3) _Agency_ or _means_.
Menippus knew which were the kings _by_ their howling
louder.--M.D. CONWAY.
At St. Helena, the first port made _by_ the ship, he stopped.
--PARTON.
(4) _Measure of excess_, expressing the degree of difference.
At that time [the earth] was richer, _by_ many a million of
acres.--DE QUINCEY.
He was taller _by_ almost the breadth of my nail.--SWIFT.
(5) It is also used in _oaths and adjurations_.
_By_ my faith, that is a very plump hand for a man of
eighty-four!--PARTON.
They implore us _by_ the long trials of struggling humanity; _by_
the blessed memory of the departed; _by_ the wrecks of time; _by_
the ruins of nations.--EVERETT.
Exercise.--Find sentences with three different meanings of _by_.
For.
321. The chief meanings of for are as follows:--
(1) _Motion towards_ a place, or a tendency or action toward the
attainment of any object.
Pioneers who were opening the way _for_ the march of the
nation.--COOPER.
She saw the boat headed _for_ her.--WARNER.
(2) _In favor of_, _for the benefit of_, _in behalf of_, a person or
thing.
He and they were _for_ immediate attack.--PARKMAN
The people were then against us; they are now _for_ us.--W.L.
GARRISON.
(3) _Duration of time_, or _extent of space_.
_For_ a long time the disreputable element outshone the
virtuous.--H.H. BANCROFT.
He could overlook all the country _for_ many a mile of rich
woodland.--IRVING.
(4) _Substitution_ or _exchange_.
There are gains _for_ all our losses.--STODDARD.
Thus did the Spaniards make bloody atonement _for_ the butchery
of Fort Caroline.--PARKMAN.
(5) _Reference_, meaning _with regard to_, _as to_, _respecting_, etc.
_For_ the rest, the Colonna motto would fit you best.--EMERSON.
_For_ him, poor fellow, he repented of his folly.--E.E. HALE
This is very common with _as_--_as for_ me, etc.
(6) Like _as_, meaning _in the character of_, _as being_, etc.
"Nay, if your worship can accomplish that," answered Master
Brackett, "I shall own you _for_ a man of skill indeed!"
--HAWTHORNE.
Wavering whether he should put his son to death _for_ an
unnatural monster.--LAMB.
(7) _Concession_, meaning _although_, _considering that_ etc.
"_For_ a fool," said the Lady of Lochleven, "thou hast counseled
wisely."--SCOTT
By my faith, that is a very plump hand _for_ a man of
eighty-four!--PARTON.
(8) Meaning _notwithstanding_, or _in spite of_.
But the Colonel, _for_ all his title, had a forest of poor
relations.--HOLMES.
Still, _for_ all slips of hers,
One of Eve's family.--HOOD.
(9) _Motive, cause, reason, incitement to action._
The twilight being...hardly more wholesome _for_ its glittering
mists of midge companies.--RUSKIN.
An Arab woman, but a few sunsets since, ate her child, _for_
famine.--_Id._
Here Satouriona forgot his dignity, and leaped _for_
joy.--PARKMAN.
(10) _For_ with its object preceding the infinitive, and having the
same meaning as a noun clause, as shown by this sentence:--
It is by no means necessary _that he should devote his whole
school existence to physical science_; nay, more, it is not
necessary for _him to give up more than a moderate share of his
time to such studies_.--HUXLEY.
Exercise.--Find sentences with five meanings of _for_.
From.
322. The general idea in from is separation or source. It may be
with regard to--
(1) _Place._
Like boys escaped _from_ school.--H.H. BANCROFT
Thus they drifted _from_ snow-clad ranges to burning
plain.--_Id._
(2) _Origin._
Coming _from_ a race of day-dreamers, Ayrault had inherited the
faculty of dreaming also by night.--HIGGINSON.
_From_ harmony, _from_ heavenly harmony
This universal frame began.--DRYDEN.
(3) _Time._
A distrustful, if not a desperate man, did he become _from_ the
night of that fearful dream--HAWTHORNE.
(4) _Motive_, _cause_, or _reason_.
It was _from_ no fault of Nolan's.--HALE.
The young cavaliers, _from_ a desire of seeming valiant, ceased
to be merciful.--BANCROFT.
Exercise.--Find sentences with three meanings of _from_.
Of.
323. The original meaning of of was separation or source, like
_from_. The various uses are shown in the following examples:--
I. The _From_ Relation.
(1) _Origin or source._
The king holds his authority _of_ the people.--MILTON.
Thomas à Becket was born _of_ reputable parents in the city of
London.--HUME.
(2) _Separation_: (_a_) After certain verbs, such as _ease_, _demand_,
_rob_, _divest_, _free_, _clear_, _purge_, _disarm_, _deprive_,
_relieve_, _cure_, _rid_, _beg_, _ask_, etc.
Two old Indians cleared the spot _of_ brambles, weeds, and
grass.--PARKMAN.
Asked no odds _of_, acquitted them _of,_ etc.--ALDRICH.
(_b_) After some adjectives,--_clear of_, _free of_, _wide of_, _bare
of_, etc.; especially adjectives and adverbs of direction, as _north
of_, _south of_, etc.
The hills were bare _of_ trees.--BAYARD TAYLOR.
Back _of_ that tree, he had raised a little Gothic chapel.
--GAVARRE.
(_c_) After nouns expressing lack, deprivation, etc.
A singular want _of_ all human relation.--HIGGINSON.
_(d)_ With words expressing distance.
Until he had come within a staff's length _of_ the old dame.
--HAWTHORNE
Within a few yards _of_ the young man's hiding place.--_Id._
(3) _With expressions of material_, especially _out of_.
White shirt with diamond studs, or breastpin _of_ native
gold.--BANCROFT.
Sandals, bound with thongs _of_ boar's hide.--SCOTT
Who formed, _out of_ the most unpromising materials, the finest
army that Europe had yet seen.--MACAULAY
(4) _Expressing cause, reason, motive._
The author died _of_ a fit of apoplexy.--BOSWELL.
More than one altar was richer _of_ his vows.--LEW WALLACE.
"Good for him!" cried Nolan. "I am glad _of_ that."--E.E. HALE.
(5) _Expressing agency._
You cannot make a boy know, _of_ his own knowledge, that Cromwell
once ruled England.--HUXLEY.
He is away _of_ his own free will.--DICKENS
II. Other Relations expressed by _Of_.
(6) _Partitive_, expressing a part of a number or quantity.
_Of_ the Forty, there were only twenty-one members present.
--PARTON.
He washed out some _of_ the dirt, separating thereby as much of
the dust as a ten-cent piece would hold.--BANCROFT.
[Sidenote: _See also Sec. 309._]
(7) _Possessive_, standing, with its object, for the possessive, or
being used with the possessive case to form the double possessive.
Not even woman's love, and the dignity _of_ a queen, could give
shelter from his contumely.--W.E. CHANNING.
And the mighty secret _of_ the Sierra stood revealed.--BANCROFT.
(8) _Appositional_, which may be in the case of--
(_a_) Nouns.
Such a book as that _of_ Job.--FROUDE.
The fair city _of_ Mexico.--PRESCOTT.
The nation _of_ Lilliput.--SWIFT.
(_b_) Noun and gerund, being equivalent to an infinitive.
In the vain hope _of_ appeasing the savages.--COOPER.
Few people take the trouble _of_ finding out what democracy
really is.--LOWELL.
(_c_) Two nouns, when the first is descriptive of the second.
This crampfish _of_ a Socrates has so bewitched him.--EMERSON
A sorry antediluvian makeshift _of_ a building you may think
it.--LAMB.
An inexhaustible bottle _of_ a shop.--ALDRICH.
(9) _Of time._ Besides the phrases _of old_, _of late_, _of a sudden_,
etc., _of_ is used in the sense of _during_.
I used often to linger _of_ a morning by the high gate.--ALDRICH
I delighted to loll over the quarter railing _of_ a calm day.
--IRVING.
(10) _Of reference_, equal to _about_, _concerning_, _with regard to_.
The Turk lay dreaming _of_ the hour.--HALLECK.
Boasted _of_ his prowess as a scalp hunter and
duelist.--BANCROFT.
Sank into reverie _of_ home and boyhood scenes.--_Id._
[Sidenote: _Idiomatic use with verbs._]
_Of_ is also used as an appendage of certain verbs, such as _admit_,
_accept_, _allow_, _approve_, _disapprove_, _permit_, without adding
to their meaning. It also accompanies the verbs _tire_, _complain_,
_repent_, _consist_, _avail_ (one's self), and others.
Exercise.--Find sentences with six uses of _of_.
On, Upon.
324. The general meaning of on is position or direction. _On_ and
_upon_ are interchangeable in almost all of their applications, as
shown by the sentences below:--
(1) _Place_: (_a_) Where.
Cannon were heard close _on_ the left.--PARKMAN.
The Earl of Huntley ranged his host
_Upon_ their native strand.--MRS. SIGOURNEY.
(_b_) With motion.
It was the battery at Samos firing _on_ the boats.--PARKMAN.
Thou didst look down _upon_ the naked earth.--BRYANT.
(2) _Time._
The demonstration of joy or sorrow _on_ reading their letters.
--BANCROFT.
_On_ Monday evening he sent forward the Indians.--PARKMAN.
Upon is seldom used to express time.
(3) _Reference_, equal to _about_, _concerning_, etc.
I think that one abstains from writing _on_ the immortality of
the soul.--EMERSON.
He pronounced a very flattering opinion _upon_ my brother's
promise of excellence.--DE QUINCEY.
(4) _In adjurations._
_On_ my life, you are eighteen, and not a day more.--ALDRICH.
_Upon_ my reputation and credit.--SHAKESPEARE
(5) _Idiomatic phrases_: _on fire_, _on board_, _on high_, _on the
wing_, _on the alert_, _on a sudden_, _on view_, _on trial_, etc.
Exercise.--Find sentences with three uses of _on_ or _upon_.
To.
325. Some uses of to are the following:--
(1) _Expressing motion_: (_a_) To a place.
Come _to_ the bridal chamber, Death!--HALLECK.
Rip had scrambled _to_ one of the highest peaks.--IRVING.
(_b_) Referring to time.
Full of schemes and speculations _to_ the last.--PARTON.
Revolutions, whose influence is felt _to_ this hour.--PARKMAN.
(2) _Expressing result._
He usually gave his draft to an aid...to be written over,--often
_to_ the loss of vigor.--BENTON
_To_ our great delight, Ben Lomond was unshrouded.--B. TAYLOR
(3) _Expressing comparison._
But when, unmasked, gay Comedy appears,
'Tis ten _to_ one you find the girl in tears.
--ALDRICH
They are arrant rogues: Cacus was nothing _to_ them.--BULWER.
Bolingbroke and the wicked Lord Littleton were saints _to_
him.--WEBSTER
(4) _Expressing concern, interest._
_To_ the few, it may be genuine poetry.--BRYANT.
His brother had died, had ceased to be, _to_ him.--HALE.
Little mattered _to_ them occasional privations--BANCROFT.
(5) _Equivalent to_ according to.
Nor, _to_ my taste, does the mere music...of your style fall far
below the highest efforts of poetry.--LANG.
We cook the dish _to_ our own appetite.--GOLDSMITH.
(6) _With the infinitive_ (see Sec. 268).
Exercise.--Find sentences containing three uses of _to_.
With.
326. With expresses the idea of accompaniment, and hardly any of
its applications vary from this general signification.
In Old English, _mid_ meant _in company with_, while _wið_ meant
_against_: both meanings are included in the modern _with_.
The following meanings are expressed by _with_:--
(1) _Personal accompaniment._
The advance, _with_ Heyward at its head, had already reached the
defile.--COOPER.
For many weeks I had walked _with_ this poor friendless girl.--DE
QUINCEY.
(2) _Instrumentality._
_With_ my crossbow I shot the albatross.--COLERIDGE.
Either _with_ the swingle-bar, or _with_ the haunch of our near
leader, we had struck the off-wheel of the little gig.--DE
QUINCEY.
(3) _Cause, reason, motive._
He was wild _with_ delight about Texas.--HALE.
She seemed pleased _with_ the accident.--HOWELLS.
(4) _Estimation, opinion._
How can a writer's verses be numerous if _with_ him, as _with_
you, "poetry is not a pursuit, but a pleasure"?--LANG.
It seemed a supreme moment _with_ him.--HOWELLS.
(5) _Opposition_.
After battling _with_ terrific hurricanes and typhoons on every
known sea.--ALDRICH.
The quarrel of the sentimentalists is not _with_ life, but _with_
you.--LANG.
(6) _The equivalent of_ notwithstanding, in spite of.
_With_ all his sensibility, he gave millions to the
sword.--CHANNING.
Messala, _with_ all his boldness, felt it unsafe to trifle
further.--WALLACE
(7) _Time._
He expired _with_ these words.--SCOTT.
_With_ each new mind a new secret of nature transpires.--EMERSON.
Exercise.--Find sentences with four uses of _with_.
HOW TO PARSE PREPOSITIONS.
327. Since a preposition introduces a phrase and shows the relation
between two things, it is necessary, first of all, to find the object
of the preposition, and then to find what word the prepositional
phrase limits. Take this sentence:--
The rule adopted on board the ships on which I have met "the man
without a country" was, I think, transmitted from the
beginning.--E.E. HALE.
The phrases are (1) _on board the ships_, (2) _on which_, (3) _without
a country_, (4) _from the beginning_. The object of _on board_ is
_ships_; of _on_, _which_; of _without_, _country_; of _from_,
_beginning_.
In (1), the phrase answers the question _where_, and has the office of
an adverb in telling _where_ the rule is adopted; hence we say, _on
board_ shows the relation between _ships_ and the participle
_adopted_.
In (2), _on which_ modifies the verb _have met_ by telling where:
hence _on_ shows the relation between _which_ (standing for _ships_)
and the verb _have met_.
In (3), _without a country_ modifies _man_, telling what man, or the
verb _was_ understood: hence _without_ shows the relation between
_country_ and _man_, or _was_. And so on.
The parsing of prepositions means merely telling between what words
or word groups they show relation.
Exercises.
(_a_) Parse the prepositions in these paragraphs:--
1. I remember, before the dwarf left the queen, he followed us
one day into those gardens. I must needs show my wit by a silly
illusion between him and the trees, which happens to hold in
their language as it does in ours. Whereupon, the malicious
rogue, watching his opportunity when I was walking under one of
them, shook it directly over my head, by which a dozen apples,
each of them near as large as a Bristol barrel, came tumbling
about my ears; one of them hit me on the back as I chanced to
stoop, and knocked me down flat on my face; but I received no
other hurt, and the dwarf was pardoned at my desire, because I
had given the provocation.--SWIFT
2. Be that as it will, I found myself suddenly awakened with a
violent pull upon the ring, which was fastened at the top of my
box for the conveniency of carriage. I felt my box raised very
high in the air, and then borne forward with prodigious speed.
The first jolt had like to have shaken me out of my hammock. I
called out several times, but all to no purpose. I looked towards
my windows, and could see nothing but the clouds and the sky. I
heard a noise just over my head, like the clapping of wings, and
then began to perceive the woeful condition I was in; that some
eagle had got the ring of my box in his beak, with an intent to
let it fall on a rock: for the sagacity and smell of this bird
enabled him to discover his quarry at a great distance, though
better concealed than I could be within a two-inch board.--_Id._
(_b_) Give the exact meaning of each italicized preposition in the
following sentences:--
1. The guns were cleared _of_ their lumber.
2. They then left _for_ a cruise up the Indian Ocean.
3. I speak these things _from_ a love of justice.
4. _To_ our general surprise, we met the defaulter here.
5. There was no one except a little sunbeam _of_ a sister.
6. The great gathering in the main street was _on_ Sundays, when,
after a restful morning, though unbroken _by_ the peal of church
bells, the miners gathered _from_ hills and ravines _for_ miles around
_for_ marketing.
7. The troops waited in their boats _by_ the edge of a strand.
8. His breeches were _of_ black silk, and his hat was garnished _with_
white and sable plumes.
9. A suppressed but still distinct murmur of approbation ran through
the crowd _at_ this generous proposition.
10. They were shriveled and colorless _with_ the cold.
11. On every solemn occasion he was the striking figure, even _to_ the
eclipsing of the involuntary object of the ceremony.
12. _On_ all subjects known to man, he favored the world with his
opinions.
13. Our horses ran _on_ a sandy margin of the road.
14. The hero of the poem is _of_ a strange land and a strange
parentage.
15. He locked his door _from_ mere force of habit.
16. The lady was remarkable _for_ energy and talent.
17. Roland was acknowledged _for_ the successor and heir.
18. _For_ my part, I like to see the passing, in town.
19. A half-dollar was the smallest coin that could be tendered _for_
any service.
20. The mother sank and fell, grasping _at_ the child.
21. The savage army was in war-paint, plumed _for_ battle.
22. He had lived in Paris _for_ the last fifty years.
23. The hill stretched _for_ an immeasurable distance.
24. The baron of Smaylho'me rose _with_ day,
He spurred his courser on,
Without stop or stay, down the rocky way
That leads _to_ Brotherstone.
25. _With_ all his learning, Carteret was far from being a pedant.
26. An immense mountain covered with a shining green turf is nothing,
in this respect, _to_ one dark and gloomy.
27. Wilt thou die _for_ very weakness?
28. The name of Free Joe strikes humorously _upon_ the ear of memory.
29. The shout I heard was _upon_ the arrival of this engine.
30. He will raise the price, not merely _by_ the amount of the tax.
WORDS THAT NEED WATCHING.
328. If the student has now learned fully that words must be studied
in grammar according to their function or use, and not according to
form, he will be able to handle some words that are used as several
parts of speech. A few are discussed below,--a summary of their
treatment in various places as studied heretofore.
THAT.
329. That may be used as follows:
(1) _As a demonstrative adjective._
_That_ night was a memorable one.--STOCKTON.
(2) _As an adjective pronoun._
_That_ was a dreadful mistake.--WEBSTER.
(3) _As a relative pronoun._
And now it is like an angel's song,
_That_ makes the heavens be mute.--COLERIDGE.
(4) _As an adverb of degree._
_That_ far I hold that the Scriptures teach.--BEECHER.
(5) _As a conjunction_: (_a_) Of purpose.
Has bounteously lengthened out your lives, _that_ you might
behold this joyous day.--WEBSTER.
(_b_) Of result.
Gates of iron so massy _that_ no man could without the help of
engines open or shut them.--JOHNSON.
(_c_) Substantive conjunction.
We wish _that_ labor may look up here, and be proud in the midst
of its toil.--WEBSTER.
WHAT.
330. (1) _Relative pronoun._
That is _what_ I understand by scientific education.--HUXLEY.
(_a_) Indefinite relative.
Those shadowy recollections,
Which be they _what_ they may,
Are yet the fountain light of all our day.--WORDSWORTH.
(2) _Interrogative pronoun_: (_a_) Direct question.
_What_ would be an English merchant's character after a few such
transactions?--THACKERAY.
(_b_) Indirect question.
I have not allowed myself to look beyond the Union, to see _what_
might be hidden.--WEBSTER.
(3) _Indefinite pronoun:_ The saying, "I'll tell you _what_."
(4) _Relative adjective._
But woe to _what_ thing or person stood in the way.--EMERSON.
(_a_) Indefinite relative adjective.
To say _what_ good of fashion we can, it rests on reality.--_Id._
(5) _Interrogative adjective_: (_a_) Direct question.
_What_ right have you to infer that this condition was caused by
the action of heat?--AGASSIZ.
(_b_) Indirect question.
At _what_ rate these materials would be distributed,...it is
impossible to determine.--_Id._
(6) _Exclamatory adjective._
Saint Mary! _what_ a scene is here!--SCOTT.
(7) _Adverb of degree._
If he has [been in America], he knows _what_ good people are to
be found there.--THACKERAY.
(8) _Conjunction_, nearly equivalent to _partly_... _partly_, or _not
only...but_.
_What_ with the Maltese goats, who go tinkling by to their
pasturage; _what_ with the vocal seller of bread in the early
morning;...these sounds are only to be heard...in Pera.--S.S.
Cox.
(9) _As an exclamation._
_What_, silent still, and silent all!--BYRON.
_What_, Adam Woodcock at court!--SCOTT.
BUT.
331. (1) _Coördinate conjunction_: (_a_) Adversative.
His very attack was never the inspiration of courage, _but_ the
result of calculation.--EMERSON.
(_b_) Copulative, after _not only_.
Then arose not only tears, _but_ piercing cries, on all sides.
--CARLYLE.
(2) _Subordinate conjunction_: (_a_) Result, equivalent to _that_ ...
_not_.
Nor is Nature so hard _but_ she gives me this joy several
times.--EMERSON.
(_b_) Substantive, meaning _otherwise_ ... _than_.
Who knows _but_, like the dog, it will at length be no longer
traceable to its wild original--THOREAU.
(3) _Preposition_, meaning _except_.
Now there was nothing to be seen _but_ fires in every
direction.--LAMB.
(4) _Relative pronoun_, after a negative, stands for _that_ ... _not_,
or _who_ ... _not_.
There is not a man in them _but_ is impelled withal, at all
moments, towards order.--CARLYLE.
(5) _Adverb_, meaning _only_.
The whole twenty years had been to him _but_ as one
night.--IRVING.
To lead _but_ one measure.--SCOTT.
AS.
332. (1) _Subordinate conjunction_: (_a_) Of time.
Rip beheld a precise counterpart of himself _as_ he went up the
mountain.--IRVING.
(_b_) Of manner.
_As_ orphans yearn on to their mothers,
He yearned to our patriot bands.--MRS BROWNING.
(_c_) Of degree.
His wan eyes
Gaze on the empty scene _as_ vacantly
_As_ ocean's moon looks on the moon in heaven.
--SHELLEY.
(_d_) Of reason.
I shall see but little of it, _as_ I could neither bear walking
nor riding in a carriage.--FRANKLIN.
(_e_) Introducing an appositive word.
Reverenced _as_ one of the patriarchs of the village.--IRVING.
Doing duty _as_ a guard.--HAWTHORNE.
(2) _Relative pronoun_, after _such_, sometimes _same_.
And was there such a resemblance _as_ the crowd had
testified?--HAWTHORNE.
LIKE.
[Sidenote: _Modifier of a noun or pronoun._]
333. (1) _An adjective._
The aforesaid general had been exceedingly _like_ the majestic
image.--HAWTHORNE.
They look, indeed, _liker_ a lion's mane than a Christian man's
locks.-SCOTT.
No Emperor, this, _like_ him awhile ago.--ALDRICH.
There is no statue _like_ this living man.--EMERSON.
That face, _like_ summer ocean's.--HALLECK.
In each case, _like_ clearly modifies a noun or pronoun, and is
followed by a dative-objective.
[Sidenote: _Introduces a clause, but its verb is omitted._]
(2) _A subordinate conjunction_ of manner. This follows a verb or a
verbal, but the verb of the clause introduced by _like_ is _regularly
omitted_. Note the difference between these two uses. In Old English
_gelic_ (like) was followed by the dative, and was clearly an
adjective. In this second use, _like_ introduces a shortened clause
modifying a verb or a verbal, as shown in the following sentences:--
Goodman Brown came into the street of Salem village, staring
_like_ a bewildered man.--HAWTHORNE.
Give Ruskin space enough, and he grows frantic and beats the air
_like_ Carlyle.--HIGGINSON.
They conducted themselves much _like_ the crew of a man-of-war.
--PARKMAN.
[The sound] rang in his ears _like_ the iron hoofs of the steeds
of Time.--LONGFELLOW.
Stirring it vigorously, _like_ a cook beating eggs.--ALDRICH.
If the verb is expressed, _like_ drops out, and _as_ or _as if_ takes
its place.
The sturdy English moralist may talk of a Scotch supper _as_ he
pleases.--CASS.
Mankind for the first seventy thousand ages ate their meat raw,
just _as_ they do in Abyssinia to this day.--LAMB.
I do with my friends _as_ I do with my books.--EMERSON.
NOTE.--Very rarely _like_ is found with a verb following, but this is
not considered good usage: for example,--
A timid, nervous child, _like_ Martin _was_.--MAYHEW.
Through which they put their heads, _like_ the Gauchos _do_
through their cloaks.--DARWIN.
_Like_ an arrow shot
From a well-experienced archer _hits_ the mark.--SHAKESPEARE.
INTERJECTIONS.
[Sidenote: _Definition._]
334. Interjections are exclamations used to express emotion, and
are not parts of speech in the same sense as the words we have
discussed; that is, entering into the structure of a sentence.
Some of these are imitative sounds; as, tut! buzz! etc.
_Humph_! attempts to express a contemptuous nasal utterance that no
letters of our language can really spell.
[Sidenote: _Not all exclamatory words are interjections._]
Other interjections are _oh_! _ah_! _alas_! _pshaw_! _hurrah_! etc.
But it is to be remembered that almost any word may be used as an
exclamation, but it still retains its identity as noun, pronoun,
verb, etc.: for example, "Books! lighthouses built on the sea of time
[noun];" "Halt! the dust-brown ranks stood fast [verb]," "Up! for
shame! [adverb]," "Impossible! it cannot be [adjective]."