for each tense, instead of six forms.
INDICATIVE MODE
_Present_ I am seeing
_Past_ I was seeing
_Future_ I shall be seeing
_Present Perfect_ I have been seeing
_Past Perfect_ I had been seeing
_Future Perfect_ I shall have been seeing
SUBJUNCTIVE MODE
_Present_ I be seeing
_Past_ I were seeing
_Present Perfect_ I have been seeing
_Past Perfect_ I had been seeing
IMPERATIVE MODE
be seeing (you, thou, ye)
=231.= The progressive conjugation may be made interrogative by changing
the position of the auxiliary; as, _am I seeing?_ _was I seeing?_ etc.
=Summary.=—The =progressive conjugation= is used to denote a continued
action.
It is made by joining the present participle of a given verb to the
conjugation of the verb _be_.
=Exercise.=—Conjugate the verbs _lift_, _dine_, and _get_ in the
progressive form, both declaratively and interrogatively.
LVIII. THE EMPHATIC CONJUGATION
=232.= In the indicative mode, present tense, we may say, _I study_,
which is the common form, or _I am studying_, which is the progressive
form, or _I do study_, which is the =emphatic form=.
=233.= The emphatic conjugation is made by using the auxiliary verb _do_.
It is found only in the present and past tenses of the indicative mode,
and in the imperative mode.
=234.= Conjugation of the verb _try_ in the emphatic form.
INDICATIVE MODE
PRESENT TENSE
I do try we do try
thou dost try you do try
he does try they do try
PAST TENSE
I did try we did try
thou didst try you did try
he did try they did try
IMPERATIVE MODE
do try (thou, you, or ye)
=235.= The two tenses of the indicative mode, emphatic form, may be made
interrogative, as we learned in Lesson LI.
=236.= The emphatic form is used for other purposes than for emphasis.
It is generally used instead of the ordinary forms when the adverb _not_
modifies the predicate. We say, “I do not love thee, Dr. Fell,” instead
of “I love thee not.” And in the imperative mode with _not_ we say, “Do
not run with the ball,” instead of “Run not with the ball.”
LIX. PARSING OF VERBS
=237.= When we parse a verb, we should tell,—
(1) Its class as to form,—regular or irregular.
(2) Its principal parts.
(3) Its class as to use,—transitive or intransitive.
(4) Its voice,—active or passive.
(5) Its mode,—indicative, subjunctive, or imperative.
(6) Its tense.
(7) Its person.
(8) Its number.
(9) Its form of conjugation,—interrogative, progressive, or emphatic.
(10) Its simple subject.
(11) Its complement (if any),—direct object, subjective complement, or
objective complement.
=Exercise.=—Parse each verb in the following sentences:—
1. What are you smiling at, Lady Mother?
2. The shades were lowered at the windows, the lamps were
lighted, the great family table was drawn towards the fire.
3. When he went out from the village at the head of his men one
fine day, while the sun was shining brightly, and the birds
were singing, he did not neglect a single one of the many
things which he had been told always brought good luck to the
hunting.
4. “No,” said Mrs. Howe, “I don’t enjoy moving, but the
children do. They have been transporting clocks, and pictures,
and lamps all the forenoon, when they haven’t been loading the
dray, but they don’t seem a bit tired.”
5. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and
lose his own soul?
6. Child, was not your father called Mustapha the tailor?
7. Do look at those gateposts!
8. The hens had been mysteriously disappearing for over a month.
9. Stir not a step till I come again.
10. Do you wonder that I missed a word in spelling?
11. Son, have any told thee that thou art beautiful beyond all
men?
12. Hadn’t you been putting on airs?
LX. THE AUXILIARY VERBS _SHALL_ AND _WILL_
=238.= In conjugating a verb in the future tense, indicative mode, we
make use of the auxiliaries _shall_ and _will_.
_Singular_ _Plural_
I shall go we shall go
thou wilt go you will go
he will go they will go
These verb phrases express simple futurity,—they assert an intention on
the part of the person indicated by the subject, but not a promise.
=239.= We have another set of verb phrases belonging to the future tense,
indicative mode:—
I will go we will go
thou shalt go you shall go
he shall go they shall go
These phrases are used to express a promise, a vow, or a threat on the
part of the speaker; that is, the speaker will see to it that the action
is carried out. There is more of certainty in these phrases than in those
of the first set.
=240.= _Shall_ and _will_ with _have_ are used also in forming the future
perfect tense; as, _I shall have gone_, _he will have come_, etc. There
is much less occasion to use the future perfect tense than there is to
use the simple future tense, so we shall discuss the use of _shall_
and _will_ only in the future tense. When that is mastered, the future
perfect tense will present no difficulties.
=241.= Frequent errors are made in the use of _shall_ and _will_.
Perhaps the commonest occur in interrogative sentences. Many persons
say carelessly, “Will I open this window for you?” This question means,
“Am I going to open this window for you?” and the only possible answer
is, “I am sure I don’t know.” What is really intended by the question
is this, “Do you wish me to open this window?” hence we should say,
“_Shall_ I open this window for you?” The rule is,—When the subject of an
interrogative sentence is _I_ or _we_, the auxiliary _shall_ should be
used instead of _will_.
=242.= In questions where the subject is a word of the second or the
third person, we should use in the question the form we expect in the
answer. A boy should say to his employer, “Shall you be in your office
this afternoon?” because he expects the reply, “I shall,” meaning, “I
intend to be there.” But a boy says to another boy, “Will you pitch
for us to-morrow?” because he expects the reply, “I will,” meaning “I
promise.”
=Summary.=—Rules for the use of _shall_ and _will_:—
(1) To assert simple futurity use _shall_ in the first person, and
_will_ in the second and third persons.
(2) To assert determination, a promise, or a threat, use _will_ in the
first person, _shall_ in the second and third persons.
(3) In questions use _shall_ in the first person. In the second and third
persons use _will_ or _shall_ according to the answer you should get. The
form of the answer is to be determined by rules 1 and 2.
=Exercise 1.=—Account for the use of _shall_ and _will_ in the following
sentences:—
1. “What shall we do next?” said I, with a long breath.
2. Thou shalt hang for laying thy hand upon me.
3. Will you please tell me whether Mrs. Josiah Wheeler lives on
this road?
4. You shall have a birthday party on the lawn, and I will
make you a soldier suit, and papa will get you a drum, and the
supper table shall be set under the balm-of-Gilead tree.
5. “No,” said the fairy, “this is my ax, and it shall lie upon
the shelf, while you must dive for yours, yourself.”
6. “We will come into the crop lands to play with thee by
night,” said Gray Brother to Mowgli.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the
children of God.
8. The first social problem is the problem of rule: who shall
exercise it, how far shall it go, and by what means shall it be
enforced?
9. Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
10. Let us rest ourselves, and then we shall be better able to
pursue our walk.
11.
When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
12. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, whence cometh my
strength.
13.
Who will fill our vacant places?
Who will sing our songs to-night?
14.
The daisies will be there, love.
The stars in heaven will shine;
But I shall not feel thy wish, love,
Nor thou my hand in thine.
Tell the part of speech and use of _thy_, sentence 2, _me_ 3, _you_ 4,
_this_ 5, _yours_ 5, _yourself_ 5, _children_ 7, _we_ 11, _mine_ 12.
=Exercise 2.=—Fill the blanks with the proper auxiliary, and give your
reason in each case.
1. O mother dear, Jerusalem, when —— I come to thee?
2.
We —— meet, but we —— miss him,
There —— be one vacant chair.
3. There is no market in the world in which money —— buy brains.
4. You —— always have this little blue Wedgwood tea set to
remember her by.
5. —— you wear the hat even if it is not becoming?
6. I —— know him when he comes, happy youth.
7. —— you get my watch that was left at the jeweler’s?
8.
Oh, who —— walk a mile with me
Along life’s merry way?
9. If you do not promise to be home before midnight, you —— not
go to the ball.
10.
Three years she grew in sun and shower,
Then Nature said, “A lovelier flower
On earth was never sown;
This Child I to myself —— take;
She —— be mine, and I —— make
A Lady of my own.
“The stars of midnight —— be dear
To her; and she —— lean her ear
In many a secret place
Where rivulets dance their wayward round,
And beauty born of murmuring sound
—— pass into her face.
“And vital feelings of delight
—— rear her form to stately height,
Her virgin bosom swell;
Such thoughts to Lucy I —— give
While she and I together live
Here in this happy dell.”
LXI. DEFECTIVE VERBS. VERB PHRASES
=243.= Some verbs lack one or more of their principal parts. Such verbs
are called =defective verbs=.
A very common defective verb, which has only one form, is _ought_. (See
page 135.)
Other defective verbs are _can_, _may_, _must_, _shall_, and _will_. The
past tense forms of these verbs are _could_, _might_, _must, should_,
and _would_, respectively. No one of these verbs is ever used as a
principal verb, except _would_, as in the familiar expressions, “I
_would_ I were a bird,” “_Would_ that he were here!”
=244.= _Shall_ and _will_ are used as auxiliary verbs to form the future
tenses. _Can_, _could_, _may_, _might_, _must_, _should_, and _would_ are
used to form certain very useful verb phrases that are in the present,
the past, or the future perfect tense, and in either the indicative or
the subjunctive mode according to their meaning.
=245.= Using these verb phrases in the indicative mode we say,—
I _may go_ to Japan. He _may have gone_ home early.
I _can see_ seven stars. It _cannot have come_ yet.
We _must go_ early. He _must have sold_ it.
You _might hurry_ a little. We _might have hurried_.
He _could not tell_ a lie. I _could have eaten_ more.
She _would talk_ in church. He _would have helped_ me.
We _should honor_ the flag. You _should have earned_ it.
If we look closely at the meaning of these sentences, and think of others
containing the same auxiliaries, we shall conclude (1) that _may_ and
_might_ denote possibility or permission, (2) that _can_ and _could_
denote power or ability, (3) that _must_ denotes necessity, (4) that
_would_ denotes determination, (5) that _should_ denotes obligation or
duty.
Any one of the verb phrases just studied may be made interrogative by
transposition; as,—_May I borrow_ your knife?
=246.= _Can_ and _must_ are used only in the indicative mode. Using
_may_, _might_, _could_, _would_, and _should_ in subjunctive verb
phrases, we say,—
Long _may_ it _wave_!
Oh, that he _would help_!
Though he _might be telling_ the truth, he would not be
believed.
If I _could go_ with father, I should be happy.
If it _should freeze_, we could go skating.
If we look closely at these sentences, we shall see that the verbs denote
(1) a wish, (2) something contrary to fact, (3) something uncertain. (See
Lesson LII.)
=247.= The seven auxiliaries just studied may be used in making passive
verb phrases. Use the following phrases or similar ones in sentences:—
may be broken may have been taken
can be cut can have been heard
must be paid must have been bought
might be driven might have been kept
could be seen could have been done
would be hurt would have been stung
should be met should have been thrown
=248.= Other verb phrases in very common use in speech are formed by
means of the participle _going_. It is easy to imagine the following
conversation as really taking place.
“I _am going to go_ to Niagara Falls next summer.”
“Why, _you were going to go_ there last summer. In fact, you
_have been going to go_ there every summer since I have known
you.”
“True enough. My intentions are good, but my purse is light.
Perhaps I _shall be going to go_ all my life, and then get to
heaven first after all.”
Each of the four groups of italicized words is a verb phrase denoting an
intention. Make ten similar phrases; as, _am going to sing_, _was going
to eat_. Notice that _going_ does not denote the act of going anywhere to
sing or to eat, as it does in “I am going to the Park to hear the band
play,” but only the _purpose_ or _intention_ of singing or eating.
=249.= Just as we denote an intended future action by using the word
_going_, so we often denote a customary past action by a phrase in which
we employ the verb _used_; as, “She _used to wear_ a little red cape,”
“Johnson _used to touch_ every fence post that he passed.” The italicized
words should not be separated here, but should be considered as one
group or verb phrase.
=250.= In speaking of any of the verb phrases described in this lesson,
we may call them verbs; we decide their person and number by their
subject, their voice and mode by their meaning, and their tense by their
form.
=251.= The verbs _have_ and _do_ are not always auxiliaries. They are
sometimes principal verbs, and as such are conjugated in the various
ways. What are the principal parts of _have?_ of _do_?
Conjugate _have_ in the indicative mode; _do_ in the emphatic form;
_have_ in the progressive form; _do_ in the passive voice, in the third
person, singular number, using _it_ for the subject.
=252.= Verbs like _rain_, _snow_, _hail_, etc., are sometimes called
=impersonal verbs=, because they are used only in the third person
singular with the pronoun _it_.
=Summary.=—A =defective verb= is one that lacks one or more of its
principal parts.
Defective verbs are used as auxiliary verbs.
The auxiliaries _may_, _can_, _must_, _might_, _could_, _would_, and
_should_ are used to form certain common verb phrases.
These verb phrases may be active or passive, declarative or
interrogative, indicative or subjunctive mode, present, past, or present
perfect tense.
_Going_ is used to form verb phrases that denote a future or intended
action.
_Used_ is employed to form verb phrases that denote a customary past
action.
_Have_ and _do_ may be principal verbs as well as auxiliary verbs.
=Impersonal verbs= are used only in the third person singular, with the
neuter pronoun _it_.
=Exercise 1.=—Select all the verb phrases in the following sentences.
Tell their voice, person, number, subject, and complement if they have
any.
1. What a bird it must be that could utter such wondrous sounds!
2. From time to time the two rabbits would halt, sit up on
their hind quarters, erect their long, attentive ears, and
glance about warily with their bulging eyes.
3.
The rich man’s son inherits cares;
The bank may break, the factory burn,
A breath may burst his bubble shares,
And soft white hands could hardly earn
A living that would serve his turn.
4. All the girls in the class are going to wear pink chambray
dresses, and mother is going to make mine by hand.
5. We can go by the North Road, the South Road, or the Middle
Road.
6. Instead of candy, mother used to give him sugar in a cup,
and then he would stretch out on the sunny doorstep and feed
his sweet crystals to the flies.
7. The Cottontails were now sole owners of the holes, and did
not go near them when they could help it, lest anything like a
path should be made that might betray their last retreats to an
enemy.
8. If you are going to make orange marmalade to-morrow, you
must peel the oranges this evening.
9. I should think that something might be done about covering
the cow’s horns; perhaps they might be padded with cotton.
10. Governor Winthrop wrote his third wife tender messages in a
way that could only have come of long practice.
11. The children used to stand at the window in the twilight,
and watch the lights appear in the houses; and when they had
counted ten, they used to clap their hands, and say, “Now,
mother, it is time to light the lamp.”
12. On the usual crisp mornings of sugar season the snow at
such an hour would have borne a crust to crackle sharply under
every footstep.
13. I had not told the horse that I was going to whip him, so
he was taken by surprise and started forward.
14. Grandpa would not be helped into his overcoat.
=Exercise 2.=—Select all the verb phrases containing any form of _have_
or _do_. Tell whether this form is used as an auxiliary or as a principal
verb.
1. Shere Khan does us great honor.
2. Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember the
Kaatskill Mountains.
3. Do you ever wonder how so much sin and wrong and suffering
can be in God’s world?
4. Mother never forgot the millionaire’s daughter who said that
she did up her father’s shirts.
5. All the Offal Court boys had this same hard time, so Tom
supposed it was the correct and comfortable thing.
6. Where does amber get its strange, poetic charm?
7. I never had the pleasure of meeting a crowing hen; but I
have known a great many whistling girls, and I cannot recall an
instance where their ends were any worse than those of other
girls.
8. If I could have committed suicide without killing myself, I
should certainly have done so.
9. She had eaten as many mouthfuls of breakfast as she possibly
could in her excited condition, had kissed everybody good-by
twice over, and now thought it was time to be starting.
10. I can’t write a composition unless I have something to say,
can I?
11. On these hard, smooth roads one horse will do the work of
two.
12. I do not feel wholly sure that my Pussy wrote these letters
herself.
13. The Boy had no fear of the undisputed Master of the Woods,
the big black bear.
14. Do the duty that lies nearest thee; thy second duty will
already have become clearer.
15. Jakie had been stolen from the nest before he could fly.
16. I do wish that you and your father would turn around
directly and come home.
17. Jane had had the inestimable advantage of a sorrow.
18. The old bell had things all its own way up in the steeple.
19. Boys always do the nice splendid things, and girls can only
do the nasty dull ones that get left over.
20. After the twins had had measles and mumps, whooping cough
descended on the household.
Tell the part of speech and use of _us_, sentence 1, _honor_ 1, _shirts_
4, _same_ 5, _great_ 7, _two_ 11, _wholly_ 12, _herself_ 12, _bear_ 13,
_clearer_ 14, _father_ 16, _home_ 16.
=253.= Many errors are made in the use of the auxiliaries _may_ and
_can_, _would_ and _should_.
We should use _may_ to denote permission, liberty, or possibility, and
_can_ to denote power or ability.
=Exercise 1.=—Supply the correct word in each of these sentences, and
give your reason in each case:—
1. What —— I do to help you?
2. You —— have a watch when you graduate.
3. I —— go by boat, but it is doubtful.
4. —— you run an automobile?
5. —— we have a school paper?
6. Do you think that I —— earn ten dollars a week?
7. Fred, you —— open the east windows.
8. If we walk fast, we —— surely get there in time.
9. We —— get there in time, but we shall have to hurry.
Make three good sentences containing _may_ and three containing _can_.
_Would_ is used to denote,—
(1) Determination; as, “Albert _would_ leave school.”
(2) Inclination; as, “I _would_ read more if I could.”
(3) Customary past action; as, “We _would_ listen to her songs hour after
hour.”
_Should_ is used to denote,—
(1) Simple intention; as, “I _should_ come often if you did not live so
far.”
(2) Obligation or duty; as, “We _should_ honor our parents.” Perhaps
these auxiliaries are oftenest misused when associated with the verb
_like_. The expression, “I would like to go,” is wrong, because it means
“I am inclined or determined to like something,” which is not good
sense. We should say,—
I should like to go We should like to go
You would like to go You would like to go
He would like to go They would like to go
In a dependent clause _should_ denotes merely an imaginary condition, and
_would_ denotes inclination as well as an imaginary condition.
The clauses, “If I should lose my watch,” “If you should lose your
watch,” “If he should lose his watch,” are equivalent to the present
tense of the subjunctive mode, and denote merely an imaginary condition.
The clauses, “If I would study harder,” “if you would study harder,” “if
he would study harder,” denote an imaginary condition that may become
real according to the inclination of the subject.
What is the meaning of the familiar dependent clause in the following
sentence: “If it would only snow, we could have a sleigh ride?”
=Exercise 2.=—Supply the correct word in each of these sentences, and
give your reason in each case:—
1. You —— study the text before you undertake the exercise.
2. What —— you do with him, Mr. Dick?
3. I —— wash him and put him to bed.
4. Neither of the boys —— obey me.
5. As soon as day broke, the canary —— begin to sing.
6. I —— like to meet your grandfather.
7. Any girl —— be satisfied with two new hats.
8. They —— all like to come, I am sure.
9. I —— not take one cent of his money.
10. I —— think that you —— be glad to work.
11. Each man —— keep himself loyal to truth.
12. If I —— tell the story, the children —— not be satisfied.
13. If I —— tell them stories all day long, they —— not be
satisfied.
Make five good sentences containing _would_, and five containing _should_.
The verb _have got_ is often misused for the verb _have_. “I have it”
means “I possess it,” while “I have got it” means “I have procured
it.” “I have to go” means “I must go,” while “I have got to go” is an
incorrect expression.
=Exercise 3.=—Supply _has_ or _have_, _has got_, or _have got_ in each
of the following sentences, and give your reason in each case. Use the
negative word _not_, if necessary.
1. —— you tickets for the entertainment?
2. No, I —— them yet.
3. Can he buy a farm if he —— no money?
4. —— you a chisel, Albert?
5. No, I —— one, but Herman —— one.
6. At last he —— a position on the police force.
7. We —— a fruit farm and father —— a new tenant on it.
8. We —— to practice at four o’clock.
9. I can’t go to the football game for I —— to work Saturday
afternoons.
10. Nobody —— to leave before nine o’clock.
What correct expressions can you substitute for _has got_ in the familiar
sentence, “Madge has got to do as I say”?
LXII. DIRECT AND INDIRECT DISCOURSE
=254.= In the sentence,—Ruth said, “_I like your cake_,” we have a
=direct quotation=, the exact words spoken by Ruth. A direct quotation is
often called =direct discourse=.
In the sentence,—_Ruth said that she liked my cake_, we have an =indirect
quotation= containing the substance, or thought, of Ruth’s remark, but
not her exact words. An indirect quotation is often called =indirect
discourse=.
=255.= In changing from direct to indirect discourse, we are likely to
make a change in personal pronouns, as well as in the tense of verbs.
An indirect quotation usually takes the form of a dependent clause
beginning with the word _that_. If the verb of saying that usually
precedes an indirect quotation is in the present tense, then the verb in
the quotation is likely to be in the present or the future tense; but if
the verb of saying is in the past tense, then the verb in the quotation
is likely to be in the past tense; as,
Father _says_ that he _is_ on the jury.
Father _said_ that he _was_ on the jury.
Can you account for the tense of the verb in the indirect quotation in
this sentence,—Somebody once said that the pen is mightier than the sword?
=256.= When a direct quotation containing the word _shall_ is changed
to an indirect quotation, _shall_ is retained if the verb of saying
preceding the quotation is in the present tense; but if this verb is
in the past tense, then _shall_ is changed to _should_. In like manner
_will_ is changed to _would_; as,—
Mother says, “I shall be voting soon.”
Mother says that she shall be voting soon.
Mother said that she should be voting soon.
Mother says, “I will make him a pillow.”
Mother says that she will make him a pillow.
Mother said that she would make him a pillow.
=257.= If a direct quotation is a question, it becomes an indirect
question when changed to indirect discourse; as,—
He asked, “Why do you tremble so?”
He asked me why I trembled so.
=258.= A command may be changed from direct to indirect discourse; as,—
Christ said, “Love your enemies.”
Christ said that we should love our enemies.