were away just then on a warpath I couldn’t determine.
13. What passes for laziness in a boy is very often an
unwillingness to farm in a particular way.
14. The direction of a man’s life follows the unseen influence
of what he admires and loves and believes in.
15. Her only noteworthy achievement was that she had named her
twin sons Marquis de Lafayette Randall and Lorenzo de Medici
Randall.
16. I wonder who could describe those wonderful coral gardens
on which we gazed through twenty fathoms of crystal water.
LXXIX. REVIEW OF CLAUSES
=313.= We have learned that clauses may be independent or dependent; that
dependent clauses may be used like nouns, adjectives, or adverbs; that
adjective clauses may be restrictive or unrestrictive; that adverbial
clauses may denote various circumstances, such as time, place, manner,
etc.; that dependent clauses are introduced by some word that indicates
their dependence.
=Exercise 1.=—Study again Lessons XVIII, XX, LXVI-LXXVIII, and then make
an outline of the subject, Clauses, having for your main topics,—
(1) Classification.
(2) Introductory word.
(3) Use.
Make a good original sentence to illustrate each point.
=Exercise 2.=—Analyze the following sentences:—
1. Though Diana looked very old, she looked exactly the same
during all the years in which I knew her; and Aunt Maria, who
had known her all her life, said that she had never looked any
younger.
2. The only difference between the sisters was that while
Miranda only wondered how they could endure Rebecca, Jane had
flashes of inspiration in which she wondered how Rebecca would
endure them.
3. Whether the pigeons dropped exhausted on some ship and were
helped across the ocean, or whether some storm at sea swept
them away forever, no one ever knew.
4. Did mother know who brought the scarlet-runner seeds from
Whittier’s birthplace?
5. I never quite understood why a girl who climbed trees, clung
to the tail end of carts, and otherwise deported herself as a
well-conditioned girl should not, was called a tomboy.
6. The boy remembers how his mother’s anxiety was divided
between the set of his turn-over collar, the parting of his
hair, and his memory of the Sunday-school verses.
7. Most people think that the best thing they can give to a
caged bird is his liberty.
8. The horrible thought came coldly over me that the tiger was
keeping me company until a good chance offered for a spring.
9. Possibly the reason why monkeys have been so little on
the stage is that their appearance there would emphasize too
strongly the striking similarity between man and monkey.
10. An elephant who will not work and is not tied up is about
as manageable as an eighty-one ton gun in a heavy seaway.
11. Nothing cleverer than was Moufflou had ever walked upon
four legs.
12. The truth is that boys have always been so plenty that they
are not half appreciated.
13. The professor was so pleased with his witticism that I was
let off without even a scolding.
14. Those Indian nations who still preserve their ancient mode
of life, have dogs which bear a strong resemblance to wolves.
15. The partridge remembered the time when the chickadees had
seemed such big, important creatures.
Criticize the use of _between_ in sentence 6.
LXXX. REVIEW OF PRONOUNS
=314.= We have learned that pronouns may be classified as follows:—
(1) Personal pronouns.
(2) Compound personal pronouns.
(3) Interrogative pronouns.
(4) Adjective pronouns.
(5) Relative pronouns.
(6) Indefinite pronouns.
=Exercise 1.=—Study again Lessons V, XXXIX-XLIII, XLVIII, LXXVI, LXXVIII,
and then be prepared to explain each class of pronoun, and to tell the
various uses of each class. Illustrate each point with an original
sentence or with one that you yourself have found in some book.
=Exercise 2.=—Parse all the pronouns in the following sentences. If there
is anything peculiar in the use of any pronoun, comment upon it. (See pp.
100, 106, 108, 122, 197.)
1. What was the Great Stone Face?
2. To make a quarrel needs, indeed, two; but to make peace
needs only one.
3. When the swarm comes out, it consists of both old and young
bees, and, indeed, some say that the old queen leads them, and
the young one takes her vacant throne.
4. We could easily surmise who the Halloween rascals were, but
what was the terrifying apparatus they applied to our window
panes we could not imagine.
5. All of this is mine and thine.
6. Attracted by the smell either of the newly killed waterbuck
or of ourselves, the hungry lions were storming our position.
7. Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again.
8. The interior of St. Paul’s is just what one would expect
after viewing the outside. A maze of grand arches on every side
encompasses the dome, which you gaze up at as at the sky; and
from every pillar and wall look down the marble forms of the
dead.
9. By the wholesome law of the prairie, he who falls asleep on
guard is condemned to walk all day.
10.
Who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of song?
11. The schoolhouse was a high brick building, and the yard
itself was made of brick.
12. The Eskimo dogs are of great use to their masters in
discovering by the scent the winter retreats which the bears
make under the snow.
13. The Taj Mahal is a Mohammedan tomb, the tomb of the
favorite wife of an Indian Mogul. It is her tomb, and also his
own, for he lies beside her, and it was built in compliance
with a request of hers before she died.
14. I procured a bowl of soup from the steward, but as I was
not able to eat it, I gave it to an old man whose hungry look
and wistful eyes convinced me it would not be lost on him.
15.
What’s a fair or noble face
If the mind ignoble be?
16.
Keep fresh the grass on Wordsworth’s grave,
O Rotha, with thy living wave!
Sing him thy best! for few or none
Hears thy voice right, now he is gone.
LXXXI. INFINITIVES
=315.= Look at the following sentences:—
Dare _to be_ true.
It is high time _to go_.
The bishop seemed _to have talked_ with angels.
You ought _to have been paying_ attention.
We have here certain verb forms,—_to be_, _to go_, _to have talked_, _to
have been paying_,—which are very familiar to all of us, but which we
have not yet studied. They are not forms of the indicative, subjunctive,
or imperative mode, nor are they like any of the verb phrases that we
have examined. They all begin with the word _to_, and they contain two,
three, or four words, the last of which is the important one. We call
these groups of words =infinitives=.
=316.= An intransitive verb has four infinitives, two of them denoting
a present action, hence called =present infinitives=; and the other two
denoting an action already completed, hence called =perfect infinitives=.
The four infinitives of the intransitive verb _laugh_ are these:—
PRESENT PERFECT
to laugh to have laughed
to be laughing to have been laughing
Which two of these infinitives belong to the progressive conjugation?
=317.= Transitive verbs have six infinitives. The infinitives of the
transitive verb _eat_ are these:—
PRESENT PERFECT
_Active_ to eat to have eaten
_Active Progressive_ to be eating to have been eating
_Passive_ to be eaten to have eaten
=318.= The infinitives above are called =infinitives with _to_=, because
they begin with the word _to_. This word is not used as a preposition,
but merely as a sort of handle, or introduction, to the infinitive.
=319.= Besides the infinitive with _to_ there is another form called the
=infinitive in _-ing_=. The infinitives in _-ing_ of the verb _eat_ are
these:—
PRESENT PERFECT
_Active_ eating having eaten
_Active Progressive_ having been eating
_Passive_ being eaten having been eaten
What are the infinitives in _-ing_ of the verb _laugh_? Which two forms
does it lack?
Find the infinitives in _-ing_ in these sentences:—
He was fined for losing his temper.
“Being a Boy” is the title of a book.
He was vexed at having misspelled so many words.
=320.= All infinitives are forms of verbs, but they cannot be predicate
verbs because they do not assert. They are spoken of as =verbals=.
=321.= A verbal is used in a sentence like some part of speech,—a noun,
an adjective, or an adverb. The infinitive is most frequently used like
a noun. The infinitive in _-ing_ is very much like a noun in another
respect too,—it _names_ the action or state that the predicate verb
_asserts_. If we should ask for the name of any action that we saw a
person performing, the answer would be an infinitive in _-ing_; as,
_reaping_, _mowing_, _plowing_, _driving_.
=322.= The infinitive in _-ing_ is so much like a noun that it can be
modified by a possessive noun or pronoun. We say, “_Your_ winning the
victory depends on your keeping cool.” “The farmer’s chagrin was due to
his _hay’s_ having spoiled.” Explain the use of all the possessives in
these sentences.
NOTE.—The infinitive in _-ing_ is often called a =gerund=.
=323.= The infinitive may take the same complements and modifiers that
any other form of the same verb might take. The infinitive, together
with all the words associated with it, makes an =infinitive phrase=. The
base word of an infinitive phrase is always an infinitive. What are the
infinitive phrases in all the illustrative sentences in this lesson?
=Summary.=—A =verbal= is a verb form that denotes action or being without
asserting it.
A verbal is used in a sentence as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
An =infinitive= is a verbal that is generally used as a noun.
There are two classes of infinitives,—the infinitive with _to_, and the
infinitive in _-ing_.
The infinitive has two tenses,—present and perfect.
The infinitive may be active or passive or progressive.
An =infinitive phrase= is a group of words consisting of an infinitive
together with its complement and modifiers.
=Exercise 1.=—Write all the infinitives of the verbs _be_, _bring_,
_come_, _find_, _freeze_, _go_, _leave_, _seem_, _taste_, _turn_.
=Exercise 2.=—Select all the infinitive phrases in the following
sentences. Tell the voice and tense of each infinitive.
MODEL—_It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks._ _To teach an old dog
new tricks_ is an infinitive phrase. _To teach_ is the present active
infinitive of the transitive verb _teach_.
1. Am I to give a reason for all I choose to do?
2. The cherry pie seemed to have been left in the refrigerator
for that hungry young pair.
3. Driving between these long lines of dainty-flowering and
sweet-smelling rows of hedges is very delightful.
4. All the lines of pain smoothed out of her brow, and she
seemed to be peacefully sleeping.
5. The lights had been extinguished, the buoys removed, and the
whole coast seemed to have gone back hundreds of years.
6. Your having given me the opera glasses is no reason that you
have a right to borrow them continually.
7. Any child should know that a hot stove is a thing to be
avoided, but I did not seem to realize the fact.
8. The boy would like to have thrown a stone at the wagon.
9. Did you mind being reproved by your mother for sitting up so
late?
10. It was already past the appointed hour for Mr. Cobb and his
coach to be lumbering down the street.
11. From her having been staying at the Antlers the entire
season, I should judge her to be wealthy.
12. Scrooge was not a man to be frightened by echoes.
13. There’s no use in making two bites of a cherry.
14. The fact of the letter’s having been opened was evident,
but it could not be proved against the mail carrier.
Tell the part of speech and use of _your_, sentence 6, _her_ 11,
_letter’s_ 14.
LXXXII. INFINITIVES AS SUBJECTS OR COMPLEMENTS
=324.= If we wish to make an assertion about a person, a place, or an
object, we use a noun for the base word of our subject; but if we wish to
make an assertion about an action, we use an infinitive or an infinitive
phrase for subject; as, “Just to breathe the air and feel one’s self
alive was enough,” “Going after the cows was a serious thing in my day.”
=325.= We have seen that a noun clause used as subject may be thrown to
the end of the sentence by means of the anticipative subject _it_; as,
“It is a good thing _that somebody likes to cook_.” In the same way an
infinitive phrase used as subject may come after the predicate; as, “It
pleased the jackal to see Mother and Father Wolf look uncomfortable.”
Recast this sentence, omitting _it_.
=326.= The infinitive phrase is often used as the object of a verb. Not
all transitive verbs, however, can be completed by infinitives—only those
which can take for an object the name of an action or a condition; as,
“The cloud began to sink softly down to the earth,” “After a struggle
Bess gave up using two lumps of sugar in her coffee.”
Why cannot the verbs _break_, _bring_, _buy_, _cut_, _eat_, and _plow_
take infinitives for objects?
=327.= The infinitive is used as a subjective complement of an
intransitive verb in two ways that differ slightly; as, “The hunter’s
first impulse was to laugh at his own folly,” “No trees of any magnitude
were to be seen.”
In the first sentence the infinitive phrase, _to laugh at his own folly_,
completes the verb _was_ and explains just what the impulse was, hence it
denotes identity with the subject. Its use is precisely like that of the
word _dime_ in the sentence, “My ‘lucky penny’ is a silver _dime_,” hence
we say that it is used like a noun.
In the second sentence it is clear that the infinitive _to be seen_
completes the verb _were_ and tells something about the subject, hence it
must be a subjective complement. But instead of being used like a noun
to denote identity with the subject, it is equivalent to the adjective
_visible_, hence may be said to be used like an adjective.
=Summary.=—The infinitive phrase may be the subject of a verb, the object
of a verb, or a subjective complement.
By means of the anticipative subject _it_, the real subject, an
infinitive phrase, may be placed at the end of the sentence.
As subjective complement the infinitive phrase may have the use of a noun
or of an adjective.
=Exercise.=—Tell the grammatical use of all infinitive phrases in these
sentences, and classify all infinitives:—
1. Mowgli said that he never wished to see, or hear, or smell
man again.
2. That which most resembles living one’s life over again is
recalling all the circumstances of it and recording them in
writing.
3. To fit out a fleet, and to levy and equip an army, and to
continue the forces thus raised in action during a long and
uncertain campaign would cost a large sum of money.
4.
When the days begin to lengthen,
Then the cold begins to strengthen.
5. It is delightful to look upon the charming country which
springs up under a watering-pot sky.
6. One of the best things in farm life is gathering the
chestnuts, hickory nuts, butternuts, and beechnuts.
7. Speaking of Latin reminds me that I once taught my cows
Latin.
8. The quaint, picturesque old town seems to bristle with forts.
9. When I wanted to hit a mark, my usual way was to aim at
something else.
10. The one idea in Mowgli’s head was to get Messua and her
husband out of the trap.
11. This boy was so forward in domestic arts that he undertook
sewing on the machine when he was only five years old.
12. It is bad manners to find fault with your food at the table.
13. To climb a tree and shake it, to club it, to strip it of
its fruit, and pass to the next, is the sport of a brief time.
14. One of Jakie’s amusements was dancing across the back of
a tall chair, taking funny little steps, coming down hard,
jouncing his body, and whistling as loud as he could.
15. The Englishman learned to fight from behind a tree, to
follow a trail, and to cover his body with hemlock boughs for
disguise.
16. It exactly suits the temperament of a real boy to be very
busy about nothing.
17. Trotting on city pavements is very hard on the dray horses.
18. The reward of a good sentence is to have written it.
Tell the part of speech and use of _that_ and _which_ in sentence 2,
_sum_ 3, _then_ 4, _years_ 11. What is the object of _from_ in sentence
15? Think of similar expressions.
LXXXIII. INFINITIVES AS MODIFIERS OF NOUNS
=328.= The infinitive phrase is often a modifier of a noun, and may be
used either like an adjective or like an appositive.
In the sentence, “Ulf still had a name to win,” what noun does the
infinitive modify? How do you know?
In the sentence, “The mayor gave the order to close the skating rink,”
the infinitive phrase _to close the skating rink_ modifies the noun
_order_ by telling exactly what the order was; hence we must say that it
is in apposition with _order_.
=329.= The infinitive in _-ing_ is not used as an adjective modifier
of a noun except in some compound words like these: _rolling-pin_,
_laughingstock_, _meetinghouse_, _drawing-room_.
=330.= Often the infinitive in _-ing_ is used in apposition, as in the
sentence, “Her household tasks, keeping the bedrooms tidy and caring for
the canary birds, left her little time for music practice.”
=Summary.=—The infinitive phrase may modify a noun either as an adjective
or as an appositive.
=Exercise.=—Select all the infinitive phrases, and explain the use of
each. Classify also each infinitive, as in the preceding exercise.
1.
Is this a time to be cloudy and sad
When our Mother Nature laughs around?
2. As the Cloud became larger, this wish to do something for
the people of earth was ever greater in her heart.
3. This is your last chance to see Chicago, Tom.
4. Day after day mother sat at the east window engaged in her
favorite pastime—making something dainty and beautiful with her
needle.
5. Almost all persons who travel in Switzerland have a great
desire to go to the top of at least one of the towering peaks
they see about them.
6. Now bring us something to eat. I have not patience to wait,
for I am ravenously hungry.
7. The first tracks to meet our eyes were the delicate
footprints of the red squirrel.
8. The Colonel’s only form of exercise, riding horseback every
evening, made him a familiar figure throughout the city.
9. Nothing pleased the dog more than an order to go and fetch
the cow.
10. To the deer a mystery means something to be solved.
11. A strange longing to follow the swan took possession of
each of the young birds.
12. A queer freak of my chewink was her determination to get
her feet into her food.
13. Never lose an opportunity to see anything beautiful.
14. This father was the comrade of his son, made so by the
memory of his own boyhood sports,—playing baseball on the
common, swimming in the lake off Miller’s Point, skating out to
Garlic Island, and gathering hickory nuts and hazelnuts in the
autumn woods.
Classify the dependent clauses in sentences, 1, 2, 5, 9. Tell the part of
speech and use of _figure_, sentence 8.
LXXXIV. INFINITIVES AS PARTS OF “DOUBLE OBJECTS.” AS MODIFIERS OF VERBS
=331.= In the sentence, “I want my friends to believe in me,” we find the
verb to be _want_. If we ask the question _want what_? the answer is the
group of words _my friends to believe in me_; hence we are sure that this
group of words is the object.
But this object is different from any group of words that we have studied
hitherto. It does not consist of a base word and modifiers, but instead
it consists of two parts that are equally important. These are _my
friends_ and the infinitive phrase _to believe in me_. The phrase is not
a modifier of _friends_, but has the logical relation of predicate to
_friends_, as may be proved by changing the whole group of words to a
noun clause, _that my friends should believe in me_.
When the object of a verb consists of two parts, a noun element and an
infinitive, having to each other the logical relation of subject and
predicate, we call the whole group a =double object=.
=332.= Although the relation between the two parts of a double object
is logically that of subject and predicate, still this relation is not
grammatically expressed. A double object does not make sense standing
alone, and we cannot speak of the infinitive in a double object as a
predicate, for an infinitive cannot assert. It is customary, however,
to speak of the noun element in a double object as the subject of the
infinitive. The subject of an infinitive is always in the objective case,
as may be plainly seen by substituting a pronoun for the noun used as
subject. In the sentence quoted, the pronoun that might take the place of
_my friends_ is the objective pronoun _them_.
=333.= An infinitive in _-ing_ is often used as part of a double object;
as, “I hear their voices _ringing_ in merry childish glee,” “I can see
his gallant figure _coming_ down the road.”
=334.= Notice that a double object is not two objects of equal rank, as
in the sentence, “I want _peace and quiet_;” but is one object consisting
of two equal parts so closely related, that neither of these parts could
be the object if used without the other.
=335.= When the infinitive with _to_ is used after the verbs _hear_ and
_see_, as well as after _feel_, _let_, _make_, the _to_ of the infinitive
is omitted; as, “Did you hear me (_to_) _rap_ at your door?” “Let us
(_to_) _be_ true to one another,” “The mosquitoes made us (_to_) _go_
indoors.”
Find and explain the double objects in each of these three sentences.
=336.= When a sentence containing a double object is changed to the
passive voice, the noun element of the double object becomes the subject
of the passive verb, and the infinitive phrase becomes the subjective
complement of the verb. Change this sentence to the passive voice and
explain the change, “We expected John to decorate the banquet room.”
=337.= We have seen that the infinitive may be used as the complement of
a verb in several ways: it may be the direct object of a verb, or the
subjective complement, or part of a double object. There is another very
common relation of the infinitive to a verb, as shown in the sentence,
“Some persons live to eat.” The infinitive _to eat_ is in the predicate,
but it is not an object of the verb _live_, neither is it a subjective
complement. How do we know this? As the infinitive answers the question
_for what purpose_? we conclude that it is a modifier of the verb _live_.
Furthermore, it could be expanded into the adverbial clause of purpose,
_that they may eat_.
The infinitive denoting purpose is very common, as seen in the familiar
sentences: “We go to school to learn,” “We stood up to see,” “I sat down
to rest.”
=Summary.=—An infinitive phrase and a noun, having the logical relation
of subject and predicate, may form the =double object= of some transitive
verbs.
An infinitive phrase denoting the purpose of an action may be used to
modify a verb.
=Exercise 1.=—Write sentences containing double objects of the verbs
_cause_, _desire_, _expect_, _feel_, _hear_, _let_, _make_, _order_,
_see_, _wish_.
Explain why there are no double objects in these sentences:—
1. They could get no water to drink.
2. He has an ax to grind.
3. We found plenty to eat.
4. She bought a rose to wear.
5. I made a cake to sell.
=Exercise 2.=—Explain the use of all infinitive phrases in these
sentences. Classify the infinitives.
1. The boy made up his mind that he would take two of
the whelps home with him to be brought up in the ways of
civilization.
2.
In happy homes he saw the light
Of household fires gleam warm and bright.
3. More rarely a fox or a hyena quickened his gallop to study
the intruder at a safe distance.
4. When the car stopped and I looked up at the window with the
pink geranium, I saw mother waiting to welcome me.
5. The whole family went to the station to see us off.
6. I do not quite know what caused me to lift my head from the
friendly shelter of the blanket.
7. He felt his swift craft quiver with life beneath him in
response to the rhythmic stroke of the oarsmen.
8. Jupiter bustled about to prepare some marsh hens for supper.
9. To keep the artillery dry, we stuffed wads of loose hemp
into the muzzles, and fitted wooden pegs to the touch holes.
10. Down the elm-bordered road we two walked toward the sunset,
and watched the mists rising ghostlike from the fields.
11. Mowgli heard the sound rumble, and rise, and fall, and die
off in a creepy sort of whine behind him.
12. At recess the next noon the Centipedes met in a corner of
the schoolyard to talk over the proposed lark.
13. Our Heavenly Father himself has planted that pea, and made
it grow and blossom to bring joy to you and hope to me, my
blessed child.