17. If impressment were the law of the world, if it formed part
of the code of nations and were usually practiced, then it
might be defended as a common right.
LIII. THE IMPERATIVE MODE
=208.= We learned in Lesson XIV that sentences expressing a command or an
entreaty are called imperative sentences; that the subject of the verb in
an imperative sentence is a pronoun of the second person,—_you_, _thou_,
or _ye_; and that this subject is seldom expressed. The verb in an
imperative sentence is said to be in the =imperative mode=; as, “_Sleep_,
baby, _sleep_.”
=209.= There is only one form for the imperative mode, hence it is not
said to have tense at all.
Conjugation of _be_ in the imperative mode:—
_Singular_ _Plural_
be (_you_ or _thou_) be (_you_ or _ye_)
Conjugation of _see_ in the imperative mode:—
_Singular_ _Plural_
see (_you_ or _thou_) see (_you_ or _ye_)
=Summary.=—The =imperative mode= is used in expressing a command or an
entreaty. It has but one form. Its subject is always the pronoun _you_,
_thou_, or _ye_.
=Exercise.=—From these sentences select the verbs in the imperative mode.
Conjugate these verbs in the indicative, subjunctive, and imperative
modes.
1. Ring, happy bells, across the snow.
2. Break, break, break, on thy cold, gray stones, O sea!
3. Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
4. Run upstairs and get my glasses.
5. Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks.
6.
Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul!
As the swift seasons roll.
Leave thy low-vaulted past,
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast....
7. Laugh, and the world laughs with you.
8.
Work till the last beam fadeth,
Fadeth to shine no more.
9. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.
11. Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come
unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
12. Honor thy father and thy mother.
13.
Tell me not in mournful numbers
Life is but an empty dream.
Find all the terms of address in the sentences above.
LIV. PRINCIPAL PARTS OF VERBS. REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS
=210.= If we examine the conjugation of the verb _see_, we shall discover
that most of the tenses are formed by the use of auxiliary verbs, and
that only four forms of the verb _see_ itself are made use of; namely,
_see_, _sees_, _saw_, _seen_. The form _sees_ occurs only once, but the
other three forms occur often. These three forms—_see_, _saw_, _seen_—are
called the =principal parts= of the verb _see_.
The principal parts of any verb are the present indicative, as, _go_,
_take_; the past indicative, as, _went_, _took_; and another form, as,
_gone_, _taken_, called the =past participle=.
=211.= The past participle is used in forming all the perfect tenses.
It is plain, then, that we should say _I have gone_ (not _have went_),
_I had taken_ (not _had took_); since _went_ and _took_ are past tense
forms, not past participles.
The past participle is never used in the primary tenses. That is why we
say _I saw_ (not _seen_), _I did_ (not _done_).
NOTE.—The very common word _ought_ is, as we use it to-day,
an old past tense form of the verb _owe_, and not a past
participle. Hence, we should say _ought to go_, or _ought not
to go_ (not _had ought to go_ or _hadn’t ought to go_).
=212.= Most verbs form their past tense and past participle by adding _d_
or _ed_ to the present tense. The past tense and the past participle of
_move_ are _moved_ and _moved_; of _plow_ are _plowed_ and _plowed_; of
_lift_ are _lifted_ and _lifted_. Such verbs are called =regular verbs=.
=213.= Many verbs in very common use form their past tense or past
participle, not by the addition of a suffix, but by some change within
the word, such as a change in the vowel. The past tense and past
participle of _sing_ are _sang_ and _sung_ respectively; of _leave_ are
_left_ and _left_; of _write_ are _wrote_ and _written_. These verbs are
called =irregular verbs=.
=214.= Some verbs, like _put_ and _set_, have the same form for each of
their principal parts. These also are irregular verbs.
=215.= The verb _be_ is very irregular. Its principal parts are: present
tense _am_, past tense _was_, past participle _been_.
=216.= If we know the proper auxiliaries for the different tenses, we can
conjugate any verb correctly by first ascertaining its principal parts.
These can always be found in a dictionary.
=Summary.=—The =principal parts= of a verb are the present tense, the
past tense, and the past participle.
A =regular verb= is one that forms its past tense and past participle by
adding _d_ or _ed_ to the present tense.
An =irregular verb= is one whose past tense or past participle is formed
in some other way than by adding _d_ or _ed_ to the present tense.
NOTE.—Webster’s New International Dictionary gives the present
tense form of every verb. If the verb is irregular, the
dictionary gives also the past tense form preceded by _pret._,
and the past participle preceded by _p.p._ The abbreviation
_pret._ stands for _preterit_, which means past tense. If the
verb is regular, the abbreviations are omitted, and the form
_d_ or _ed_ is printed but once.
=Exercise.=—Find in the dictionary the past tense and the past participle
of each of the following verbs. Use the three forms of each verb
correctly in sentences.
awake
bear
beat
begin
bid
bind
bite
bleed
blow
break
bring
build
buy
catch
choose
cling
come
cost
creep
cut
dare
dig
do
draw
drink
drive
eat
fall
feed
fight
find
flee
fling
fly
forget
freeze
get
give
go
grind
grow
hang
have
hide
hit
hold
hurt
keep
kneel
knit
know
lay
lead
lend
let
lie
lose
make
meet
pay
read
ride
ring
rise
run
say
seek
sell
shake
shed
shine
shoot
show
shrink
shut
sink
sit
slay
sleep
slide
sling
smite
speak
spend
spin
spread
spring
stand
steal
stick
sting
stride
strike
string
strive
swear
sweat
sweep
swim
swing
take
tell
think
throw
tread
wear
weave
weep
wet
win
wind
wring
=217.= Many errors are made in using the different forms of irregular
verbs.
Certain verbs, the meaning and principal parts of which are somewhat
alike, occasion a good deal of trouble to some persons. The most
important of these are _lie_ and _lay_, _sit_ and _set_, and _rise_
and _raise_. The first word of each pair, _lie_, _sit_, and _rise_ is
an intransitive verb. The second verb of each pair, _lay_, _set_, and
_raise_, is a transitive verb.
=Exercise 1.=—Supply the correct form of _lie_ or _lay_ in each of these
sentences, and give your reason in each case.
_Lie_ means to be at rest in a reclining position.
_Lay_ means to place a thing down in a reclining position.
1. —— down, Phiz, and be a good dog.
2. Phiz —— at the foot of my couch and gazed out of the nearest
window.
3. After he had —— there an hour or more, he whined to go out
on the street.
4. Phiz brought in a notebook and —— it at my feet.
5. Go and —— it on your master’s chair, Phiz.
6. Did the soldiers —— on the damp ground?
7. This land —— too low for grain fields.
8. How long has my fan been —— on the window sill?
9. Grant —— in bed dictating his Memoirs.
10. The tools have —— here in the wet and are rusted.
=Exercise 2.=—Supply the correct form of _sit_ or _set_ in each of these
sentences, and give your reason in each case.
_Sit_ means to be in a sitting position.
_Set_ means to place a thing down in a position of rest.
1. By and by we looked in, and there —— Miss Eugene.
2. Have you —— here long, or did you just come?
3. I will —— my suit case here, and then —— in your seat.
4. Why did you —— there so long without speaking?
5. Father —— the white hen to-day, so she will be —— for about
three weeks.
6. The little bird —— and sings at his door in the sun.
7. Who has been —— in my chair?
=Exercise 3.=—Supply the correct form of _rise_ and _raise_ in each of
these sentences, and give your reason in each case.
_Rise_ means to move from a lower to a higher position.
_Raise_ means to cause to rise.
1. The bread —— very slowly that cold day.
2. Bread —— because of the yeast in it.
3. After the bread had ——, we set the pans in the oven.
4. They —— the old house so as to put a furnace in the cellar.
5. The Black River —— sixteen inches yesterday.
6. If the river continues to ——, the dam will go out.
7. Shall we —— the flag at sunrise?
The present tense form of some verbs is misused for the past tense. We
should say, “The tailor _came_ (not _come_) last night,” “I _ran_ (not
_run_) a mile yesterday,” “And then he _said_ (not _says_), ‘Hurry up.’”
The verbs oftenest misused in this way are _come_, _give_, _run_, _say_,
and _see_.
Study the following correct sentences:—
He _came_ last night.
She _came_ to meet me.
It _came_ without warning.
I _ran_ a mile yesterday.
He _ran_ in front of me.
She _ran_ out of sugar.
At last he _said_, “I will go.”
John _said_, “The schoolhouse is on fire.”
I _said_, “Ring the bells.”
He _gave_ me a dollar.
I _gave_ the child a penny.
She _gave_ it to me.
They _ran_ up a bill.
The dog _ran_ behind.
The baby _ran_ to his mother.
I _saw_ the parade yesterday.
He _saw_ me go out.
She _saw_ them at the window.
I _came_, I _saw_, I _conquered_.
Some persons make a wrong past tense for certain verbs, and use such
forms as _blowed_ and _drawed_, when they should use _blew_ and _drew_.
=Exercise 4.=—Supply the correct form for the past tense in each of these
sentences:—
1. _Blow._ The wind soon —— the smoke away.
2. _Draw._ The boat —— four feet of water.
3. _Grow._ Lucy —— too fast to be strong.
4. _Know._ Nobody —— the right date but me.
5. _Throw._ Who —— the ball last?
Some persons use the past participle of _see_ and _do_ for the past
tense. We should say, “I _saw_ (not _seen_) my duty, and I _did_ (not
done) it.”
Study these correct sentences:—
I _saw_ the boat go down.
Who _saw_ the star first?
We _saw_ the elephant dance.
He _did_ his own work.
She _did_ it too fast.
Everybody _did_ what he could.
Another common error is the use of the past tense of a verb for the past
participle, as in the expressions _is broke_ and _had froze_.
=Exercise 5.=—Supply the correct form in each of these sentences:—
1. _Begin._ First we must finish what we have ——.
2. _Break._ Dear me! I have —— the bird’s seed dish.
3. _Drink._ Have you —— all the milk?
4. _Freeze._ If the lagoon is ——, we can go skating.
5. _Steal._ Why do you think that the purse was ——?
6. _Swim._ Have you ever —— out to the island?
LV. VOICE
=218.= When we say, “The fish swallowed the worm,” we have a sentence
made up of a subject, a verb, and an object complement. The subject
names the doer of the action, while the object names the receiver of the
action. The verb _swallowed_ could have nothing for subject but some word
that indicates the doer of the action. How is it with the verbs _broke_,
_struck_, _whittled_? A verb that requires for its subject the name of
the doer of an action is said to be in the =active voice=.
=219.= When we say, “The worm was swallowed by the fish,” we have a
sentence made up of a subject, a verb, and a prepositional phrase. The
subject names the receiver of the action, and the phrase tells by whom
the action was performed. The verb _was swallowed_ could have nothing for
subject but some word that indicates the receiver of the action. How is
it with the verbs _was swept_, _has been eaten_, _will be cut_? A verb
that requires for its subject the name of the receiver of the action is
said to be in the =passive voice=.
=220.= When a verb is changed from the active to the passive voice, the
object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb. Hence
it is evident that only transitive verbs can have the passive voice.
=221.= A verb is conjugated in the passive voice by adding the past
participle of the verb to the conjugation of the verb _be_.
=222.= Conjugation of the verb _see_ in the passive voice:—
INDICATIVE MODE
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE
I am seen we are seen I was seen we were seen
thou art seen you are seen thou wast seen you were seen
he is seen they are seen he was seen they were seen
FUTURE TENSE
I shall be seen we shall be seen
thou wilt be seen you will be seen
he will be seen they will be seen
PRESENT PERFECT
I have been seen we have been seen
thou hast been seen you have been seen
he has been seen they have been seen
PAST PERFECT
I had been seen we had been seen
thou hadst been seen you had been seen
he had been seen they had been seen
FUTURE PERFECT
I shall have been seen we shall have been seen
thou wilt have been seen you will have been seen
he will have been seen they will have been seen
SUBJUNCTIVE MODE
PRESENT PAST
I be seen we be seen I were seen we were seen
thou be seen you be seen thou were seen you were seen
he be seen they be seen he were seen they were seen
PRESENT PERFECT
I have been seen we have been seen
thou have been seen you have been seen
he have been seen they have been seen
PAST PERFECT
I had been seen we had been seen
thou had been seen you had been seen
he had been seen they had been seen
IMPERATIVE MODE
be seen (_you_ or _thou_) be seen (_you_ or _ye_)
=223.= Conjugation of the verb _see_ in the passive voice, indicative
mode, interrogative form:—
INDICATIVE MODE
PRESENT PAST
am I seen are we seen was I seen were we seen
art thou seen are you seen wast thou seen were you seen
is he seen are they seen was he seen were they seen
FUTURE
shall I be seen shall we be seen
shalt thou be seen shall you be seen
will he be seen will they be seen
PRESENT PERFECT
have I been seen have we been seen
hast thou been seen have you been seen
has he been seen have they been seen
PAST PERFECT
had I been seen had we been seen
hadst thou been seen had you been seen
had he been seen had they been seen
FUTURE PERFECT
shall I have been seen shall we have been seen
shalt thou have been seen shall you have been seen
will he have been seen will they have been seen
=Summary.=—=Voice= is that property of a verb which shows whether the
subject names the doer or the receiver of an action.
The =active voice= shows that the subject names the doer of an action.
The =passive voice= shows that the subject names the receiver of an
action.
A verb is conjugated in the passive voice by adding the past participle
of the verb to the conjugation of the verb _be_.
No intransitive verb has a passive voice.
=Exercise 1.=—Conjugate the verbs _draw_, _take_, _find_, _forget_, and
_leave_ in the passive voice, both declaratively and interrogatively.
=Exercise 2.=—Select the verbs in the following sentences. Tell whether
they are transitive or intransitive. Give the tense, mode, voice, and
subject of each. Change the active verbs to the passive voice and the
passive to the active.
NOTE.—When the verb is passive, the name of the doer of the
action is often omitted. Sometimes we do not know who the doer
is; as, “The art of printing was invented in China long ago.”
Sometimes we do not wish to tell who the doer is; as, “A window
was broken in the basement yesterday.” Sometimes the subject is
so obvious as not to be worth telling; as, “Lying is despised.”
In changing sentences like these three to the active voice, we
must supply a subject for the verb. For instance, in changing
the sentence, “The pie was cut into four pieces,” we might say,
“Mother cut the pie into four pieces.”
1. The babe was conveyed to the church in a grand procession.
The road, all the way, was carpeted with green rushes. Over
this road the little infant Elizabeth was borne by one of her
godmothers. She was wrapped in a mantle of purple velvet, with
a long train. This train was trimmed with ermine, a very costly
kind of fur, and was borne by lords and ladies of high rank.
These dignitaries were appointed for the purpose by the king.
2. The height of the pinnacle is determined by the breadth of
the base.
3. Leicester Hospital supports twelve old soldiers and their
wives.
4. After the housework had been done, they went out to the
sunny garden, and picked the luscious red raspberries, not
forgetful of the time when Mrs. Howe had set out the bushes
with her own hands.
5. Many of these splendid castles on the Rhine have been
destroyed in modern times.
6. It is wonderful and beautiful how a man and his dog will
stick to one another through thick and thin.
7. The door had been very firmly fastened, but the crowd tore
it away bodily, and the light of the torches streamed into the
room.
8. This garden is shaded by long lines of trees, and adorned
with fountains and statues.
9.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.
10. Elephants are very strictly preserved by the English
government.
11. The farm boy picks up the potatoes after they have been
dug; he drives the cows night and morning; he brings wood and
water and splits kindling; he gets up the horse and puts out
the horse; whether he is in the house or out of it, there is
always something for him to do.
12.
They who do their souls no wrong,
But keep at eve the faith of morn,
Shall daily hear the angel song,
“To-day the Prince of Peace is born.”
13. Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years.
14. The Peterkins told how their mother had put salt in the
coffee, and how the chemist had made it worse instead of better.
15. We climbed the Alps, veiled our faces before the awful
splendors of Mont Blanc, trembled on the verge of dizzy
heights, shrank back from fathomless abysses, picked our way
across the _Mer de Glace_, and cowered beneath the weight of
the whole incumbent mass of mountains as we went through the
tunnel.
Tell the part of speech and use of _way_, sentence 1, _forgetful_ 4, _one
another_ 6, _open_ 9, _up_ 9, _souls_ 12, _years_ 13, _worse_ 14.
LVI. THE PASSIVE VOICE
=224.= Every combination of some form of the verb _be_ with the past
participle of a transitive verb is not necessarily a passive verb.
For example, one passive form of the verb _do_ is _is done_, but it does
not follow that _is done_ is always a passive verb. In the sentence, “The
meat is done now,” we do not mean that the meat is receiving an action,
hence _is done_ cannot be a passive verb. We mean to tell the condition
of the meat, that it is _done_ meat. The word _done_ is used in precisely
the same way as an adjective; as if we should say, “The meat is _good_
now,” In other words, the participle _done_ is a subjective complement.
Past participles are used as subjective complements to tell the condition
of something _after_ an action has been performed on it; as, “Every
window in the house is _broken_,” “My dress is badly _torn_,” “The old
house is _deserted_.”
=225.= When we are in doubt as to whether we have a true passive verb
or not, we may apply these tests: (1) Does the sentence mean that the
subject is acted upon? (2) Can we add a phrase, telling the performer of
the action? (3) Can we change the sentence to the active voice, keeping,
of course, the same tense?
Let us take, for instance, the sentence, “Courage is praised.” We do mean
that courage receives the praising. We can add the phrase _by everybody_.
And we can change the sentence to the active sentence, “Everybody praises
courage.” Hence _is praised_ is the verb, and is in the passive voice.
But in the sentence, “Every seat in the balcony is taken,” if _is taken_
is a passive verb, it must mean, since it is present tense, that every
seat is receiving an action now. It does not mean this, but it does mean
that every seat is a _taken_ seat, hence _taken_ is used as a subjective
complement, and the verb is just the one word _is_.
=226.= We learned in Lesson XXXVII that some verbs like _make_, _elect_,
_appoint_, and _call_, are often followed by a direct object and an
objective complement; as, “We called our canary Buttercup.”
When such a sentence is changed to the passive voice, the direct object
becomes, of course, the subject, and we have the sentence, “Our canary
was called Buttercup.” The word _Buttercup_ has now become a subjective
complement. How do we know this?
When the objective complement is an adjective, as in the sentence,
“She kept the polished floor as _bright_ as a mirror,” if we change
the sentence to the passive voice, the adjective becomes a subjective
complement; as, “The polished floor was kept as bright as a mirror.”
=227.= We learned in Lesson XXXIV that certain verbs may be followed by
both an indirect and a direct object; as, “Fred told Arthur the news.”
In changing this sentence to the passive voice we may use the direct
object for the subject of the passive verb; as, “The news was told to
Arthur by Fred”; or we may use the indirect object for the subject of
the passive verb; as, “Arthur was told the news by Fred.” In the latter
case we have an idiomatic construction—a passive verb _was told_ taking
a direct object _the news_. The direct object of a passive verb is often
called a =retained object=, because it remains as an object after the
sentence has been changed to the passive voice.
Not all sentences containing a direct and an indirect object can be
changed to the passive voice in two ways. We say, “A rose was given to
me,” or “I was given a rose.” We say, “A holiday was promised to the
children,” or “The children were promised a holiday.” But we do not say,
“I was passed the bread,” “I was written a note,” or “I was poured a cup
of tea.”
=Summary.=—The past participle of a transitive verb may be used as the
subjective complement of some form of the verb _be_. In such a case it
denotes the condition of the subject.
When a sentence containing a direct object and an objective complement is
changed to the passive voice, the direct object becomes the subject, and
the objective complement becomes a subjective complement.
Some sentences containing both an indirect and a direct object may be
changed to the passive voice in two ways, either the direct object or
the indirect object becoming the subject.
=Exercise 1.=—Select each verb in the following sentences. Tell its
voice, and how it is completed.
1. The time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of
the turtle is heard in the land.
2. Queen Elizabeth is often familiarly called Queen Bess.
3. Rebecca’s face was so swollen with tears and so sharp with
misery that for a moment Uncle Jerry scarcely recognized her.
4. To put it mildly, Mrs. Howe was greatly pleased when she was
elected first president of the Murray Hill Society.
5. When the eggs had been beaten stiff, the little cook sifted
the sugar.
6. Christ the Lord is risen to-day.
7. The colonists were so disheartened and alarmed that they
sailed at once for England.
8. The youngest girl in the senior class was chosen
valedictorian.
9. When the automobile ran off the bridge, every one was
surprised at the driver’s escape.
10. The black colt had been named Odin, but he was always
called Teddy.
11.
The day is past and gone,
The evening shades appear.
12. Those people are mistaken who say that hard work does not
pay—they have never really tried it.
13. The room was made cool and dark, so that the lady might
sleep.
14. The roofs of the long red barns, which had been stained
green by the weather, were struck by the level rays of the low,
western sun.
15. The fabric of common order in America is sound and strong
at the center; the pattern is well marked, and the threads are
firmly woven.
16. Harvard College may be regarded as the legitimate child of
Emmanuel College at Cambridge in England.
=Exercise 2.=—Make either one or two passive sentences out of each
sentence in Exercise 2, page 90. Tell in each case what becomes of the
subject, the direct object, and the indirect object.
LVII. THE PROGRESSIVE CONJUGATION
=228.= We have learned to conjugate verbs both declaratively and
interrogatively, in both the active and the passive voice. There is
another form of conjugation, as shown in the statements, _I am laughing_,
_I was laughing_, _I shall be laughing_, _I have been laughing_, etc.
We use this form of conjugation when we wish to call attention to the
_continuance_ of the action asserted by the verb, and we call it the
=progressive conjugation=.
=229.= Just as we use the past participle in conjugating a verb in the
passive voice, so we use the =present participle= in conjugating a verb
in the progressive form. _Laughing_ is the present participle of the
verb _laugh_. The present participle of every verb ends in _ing_; as,
_running_, _hoping_, _tying_.
=230.= Synopsis of the progressive conjugation of the verb _see_:—