Amsterdam to be cut into shape.
15. It was Long Tom who taught Harvey to shoot at a mark with a
revolver.
16. He’s gone to fight the French for King George upon his
throne.
17. We heard the meadow larks singing their wistful songs, but
always instead of the black hearts upon their yellow breasts
they showed us just the two white feathers in their tails.
Change sentences 2, 4, 10, 11, 13, 17 to the passive voice, and explain
the change in the use of the infinitive.
LXXXV. OTHER USES OF INFINITIVES
=338.= The most frequent use of the infinitive in _-ing_ is as the object
of a preposition; as, “I am tired of _doing_ nothing,” “He earned a
living by _sharpening_ scissors.”
=339.= The infinitive in _-ing_, like the noun, may be the object of any
preposition, but the infinitive with _to_ is used as the object of very
few prepositions, only _about_, _except_, _but_, and _save_, the last two
meaning _except_.
In the sentence, “He ate nothing but bananas,” the object of the
preposition _but_ must be a noun because it must be the name of a food.
But in the sentence, “He did nothing but play tennis,” the object of
_but_ must be an infinitive because it must be the name of an action.
NOTE.—We often hear the expression “I was about to say.” In
this familiar idiom the prepositional phrase _about to say_ is
used as the subjective complement of the verb _was_. How do we
know this? What is the use of the infinitive _to say_?
=340.= In the sentence, “The gentleman drew out the chair for the lady to
sit down,” if we ask the question _for what?_ we get the answer _the lady
to sit down_, hence the group of words _the lady to sit down_ must be the
object of the preposition _for_. But this group of words consists of two
parts, _the lady_ and the infinitive phrase _to sit down_, which have the
logical relation of subject and predicate, hence we conclude that the
preposition _for_ may take a double object.
=341.= The sentences, “Sheep are apt,” “I am sorry,” “The traveler was
glad,” are all incomplete. We wish to know in what respect sheep are apt,
what I am sorry about, what the traveler was glad of. In other words,
the adjectives _apt_, _sorry_, and _glad_ need a modifier to make the
sentence complete in meaning. This modifier may be an infinitive, “Sheep
are apt _to get lost_,” “I am sorry _to leave Warwick_,” “The traveler
was glad _to see his home again_.” We learn from these sentences that an
infinitive phrase may modify an adjective.
=Exercise.=—Complete the following sentences by infinitive phrases. What
do your phrases modify? How do you know?
1. This child is too young—
2. A man of twenty-five is old enough—
3. The water was so deep as—
4. The general was anxious—
5. Some lessons are not easy—
=342.= The infinitive may be used independently; as, “_To be frank_, I do
not like it.” “_To make a long story short_, we were utterly defeated.”
=343.= A common error is the use of the perfect infinitive for the
present. It is proper to say, “I ought to have gone,” when we mean that
the time of the going was in the past; as, “I ought to have gone then,
or yesterday, or a year ago.” But when we mean that the going is at the
present time or is to be in the future, then we should use the present
infinitive, and say, “I ought to go.”
What is the difference in the meaning of the following pairs of sentences?
1. I am sorry to offend you.
I am sorry to have offended you.
2. I am glad to see you.
I am glad to have seen you.
3. The train is reported to be late.
The train is reported to have been late.
4. The man is said to be a candidate.
The man is said to have been a candidate.
It is evident from the four pairs of sentences above that some verbs
in the present tense may be followed by either a present or a perfect
infinitive. This is likewise true of some verbs in the past tense. We
say, “He seemed to be sleeping,” meaning that he was sleeping at the time
we noted his appearance. We also say, “He seemed to have been sleeping,”
meaning that he had slept before we noted his appearance.
What is the difference in the meaning of the following pairs of
sentences:—
1. Washington was never known to fight a duel.
Hamilton was known to have fought a duel.
2. The ship was reported to be wrecked.
The ship was reported to have been wrecked.
3. The child appeared to lead the old man.
The child appeared to have led the old man.
Since the verbs _desire_, _expect_, _hope_, _want_, and _wish_ refer
to something in the present or the future, but never in the past, they
cannot be followed by a perfect infinitive. It is absurd to say, “I hoped
to have seen you,” “I expected to have gone,” “I wished to have stayed.”
We should say:—
I desire to go. I desired to go.
I expect to be there. I expected to be there.
I hope to pass. I hoped to pass.
I want to know. I wanted to know.
I wish to speak. I wished to speak.
=Summary.=—The infinitive phrase may be used as the object of a
preposition. The preposition _for_ may take a double object.
The infinitive phrase may modify an adjective.
The infinitive phrase may be used independently.
=Exercise.=—Explain the use of each infinitive phrase. Classify each
infinitive.
1. The cat was just about to spring upon the window sill where
the bird cage sat, when Paul shouted out a warning.
2. I am perfectly willing to dine in the kitchen beside this
cool north window.
3. The gay youths spent their time in walking, hunting,
fishing, feasting, and dancing.
4. It was so cold at Petoskey in July that the hotel proprietor
furnished a large lamp for us to heat our room by.
5. The cherries grew too high to be picked except by the robins.
6. My lot was indeed a hard one; I was too old to play out of
doors with my brothers, and too young to go to parties with my
sisters.
7. After supper, the boy who has done nothing all day but
turn grindstone, and spread hay, and run his little legs off
at everybody’s beck and call, is sent on some errand or some
household chore lest time may hang heavy on his hands.
8. Bark is only good to sharpen claws.
9. John was hungry enough to have eaten the New England Primer.
10. Franklin was employed in cutting wicks for the candles,
filling the molds for cast candles, attending the shop, going
of errands, etc.
11. To tell the truth, I prefer to stay at home.
12. The only way to make the world better is for each man to do
his best.
13. A dog is good to bite peddlers and small children, and to
run out and yelp at wagons that pass by, and to howl all night
when the moon shines.
14. To sum up, the infinitive is used chiefly as a noun, but
also as an adjective and an adverb.
15. The teacher’s eyes glanced half a dozen different ways at
once,—a habit probably acquired from watching the boys.
16.
None knew thee but to love thee,
Nor named thee but to praise.
17. To see the sparks rush like swarms of red bees skyward
through the smoke is an experience long to be remembered.
18. To make way for hemp the magnificent forests of Kentucky
were felled.
19. The crow and the blackbird seem to love these plants.
20. It takes a hundred days to lift out of the tiny seed these
powerful hollow stalks.
21. The seeds fall to the ground, there to be folded in against
the time when they shall rise again.
Classify the dependent clauses in sentence 1. What is the object of
_except_ in sentence 5?
LXXXVI. SUMMARY OF INFINITIVES
=344.=
I. DEFINITION.—An infinitive is a verbal noun.
II. FORMS.
1. The infinitive with _to_.
(a) Intransitive verbs.
_Present_, to go, to be going.
_Perfect_, to have gone, to have been going.
(b) Transitive verbs.
_Present_, to see, to be seeing, to be seen.
_Perfect_, to have seen, to have been seeing, to have been
seen.
2. The infinitive in _-ing_.
(a) Intransitive verbs.
_Present_, going.
_Perfect_, having gone, having been going.
(b) Transitive verbs.
_Present_, seeing, being seen.
_Perfect_, having seen, having been seeing, having been
seen.
III. USES.
1. As a =noun=.
(a) _Subject of a verb._
To err is human.
Hunting is a sport.
(b) _Object of a verb._
He expects to win.
They stopped working.
(c) _Subjective complement._
My desire is to own a boat.
His task is feeding the sheep.
(d) _Appositive._
His idea, to use coal ashes, was carried out.
His work, running a machine, is monotonous.
(e) _Object of a preposition._
The patient did nothing but eat and sleep.
The child was praised for telling the truth.
2. As an =adjective=.
(a) _Modifying a noun._
I have a garden to make.
(b) _Completing a verb._
These boats are not to let.
3. As an =adverb=.
(a) _Modifying a verb._
I went back to get some matches.
(b) _Modifying an adjective._
We are sure to succeed.
4. As part of a =double object=.
(a) _Of a verb._
I made her tell me.
(b) _Of a preposition._
I made room for her to sit with me.
5. =Independent use.=
To speak plainly, I don’t believe it.
LXXXVII. ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES CONTAINING INFINITIVE PHRASES
=345.= The infinitive phrase is analyzed very much like a predicate.
First, the infinitive should be given as the base word; then its
complement and modifiers should be given.
MODEL.—_By the law of the jungle the tiger has no right to change his
quarters without fair warning._
This is a simple, declarative sentence.
The subject is _the tiger_. The predicate is _has by the law of the
jungle no right to change his quarters without fair warning_.
The predicate verb is _has_; it is completed by the direct object _no
right to change his quarters without fair warning_, and then modified by
the prepositional phrase _by the law of the jungle_.
The base word of the object is the noun _right_; it is modified by the
infinitive phrase _to change his quarters without fair warning_, and then
denied by the adjective _no_.
The base word of the infinitive phrase is the infinitive _to change_;
it is completed by the direct object _his quarters_ and modified by the
prepositional phrase _without fair warning_. The base word of the object
is the noun _quarters_, modified by the possessive pronoun _his_. The
base word of the object of the preposition _without_ is the infinitive
_warning_, which is modified by the adjective _fair_.
The base word of the object of the preposition _by_ is the noun _law_,
which is modified by the prepositional phrase _of the jungle_ and the
article _the_.
=Exercise.=—Analyze the following sentences:—
1. Turning grindstones to grind scythes is one of those heroic
but unobtrusive occupations for which one gets no credit.
2. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and
some few to be chewed and digested.
3. When Kotick felt his skin tingle all over, his mother told
him he was learning the feel of the water.
4. Mother made and embroidered a white linen pocket for me to
wear at my belt.
5. The neighbors and friends did not wait for an invitation to
go to the house of the young wife, so impatient were they to
see her treasures.
6. The Boy had no desire to investigate further, with the risk
of finding the lynx at home.
7. It seems hard any day to think what to have for dinner.
8. The next thing was to cord up the trunk, and Mr. Peterkin
tried to move it.
9. I have seen wild bees and butterflies feeding at a height of
13,000 feet above the sea.
10. If you wear an automobile veil to pick cherries in, I must
get an automobile to take you to the cherry trees.
11. No person but yourself is permitted to lift this stone or
enter the cave.
12. Very sweet were the child’s ways of loving her
father,—putting flowers on his study table, learning to read
so that she could read his books, reaching up to rub her cheek
against his, praying for him, and letting him put her to bed.
13. The Oldest Inhabitant refused to go to bed on any terms,
but persisted in sitting up in a rocking-chair until daybreak.
14. The Eskimo never knows when his own time may come to beg.
15. Fate tried to conceal him by naming him Smith.
16. The only department of life in which Mr. Randall failed to
shine was the making of sufficient money to live upon.
17. He saw an eagle swoop across the gigantic hollow, but the
great bird dwindled to a dot ere it was halfway over.
18. After she began wearing the bracelet, she was unwilling to
go without it even for a day.
19. Hewing wood and sawing plank leave me no time to take part
in disputes.
20. The one object of Polly’s life was to get out of her cage.
21. The skipper had taken his little daughter to bear him
company.
22. Every boy is anxious to be a man.
23. A man has no more right to say a rude thing to another than
to knock him down.
24. To travel in Switzerland it is generally necessary to cross
the mountains, to go around the sides, or to go through them.
25. Even the blind men’s dogs appeared to know Scrooge.
26. Let dogs delight to bark and bite.
27. When a bear kills a sheep, he skins it deftly and has the
politeness to leave the pelt in a neat bundle, just to indicate
to the farmer that he has been robbed by a gentleman.
28. The first tracks to meet their eyes were the delicate
footprints of the red squirrel.
29. It is not good to make a jest of thy teacher.
30. Angels seemed to have sat with Ernest by the fireside.
31. My joy was greater than I can express when I saw the tiger
rise and slink into the jungle.
LXXXVIII. PARTICIPLES
=346.= In Lesson LIV we learned that the perfect tenses of any verb are
formed by combining certain auxiliaries with the =past participles= of
the verb; as, “I have _heard_,” “I had _heard_,” “I shall have _heard_.”
We learned also that the past participle is one of the principal parts of
a verb.
In Lesson LV we learned that the passive voice of any transitive verb is
formed by adding its past participle to the conjugation of the verb _be_;
as, “It is _caught_,” “It was _caught_,” “It will be _caught_.”
In Lesson LVI we learned that the past participle of a verb may be used
like an adjective as the subjective complement of a verb; as, “The
potatoes seem _done_,” “The flowers are _withered_ now.”
=347.= In Lesson LVII we learned that the =present participle= of a verb
always ends in _-ing_, and that this participle is used in forming the
progressive conjugation, as, “I am _sleeping_,” “I was _sleeping_,” “I
shall be _sleeping_.”
We are ready now to study participles in all their relations.
=348.= Intransitive verbs have four participles:—
PRESENT PAST PERFECT
coming come having come
_Progressive_ having been coming
Transitive verbs have six participles:—
PRESENT PAST PERFECT
_Active_ writing having written
_Active Progressive_ having been writing[1]
_Passive_ being written written having been written
[1] This form is rarely used.
The active participles denote action performed; they make us think of the
doer of the action. On the other hand, the passive participles denote
action received; they make us think of the receiver of the action.
The present participle expresses action as still in progress; the
past participle expresses action completed in past time; the perfect
participle expresses past action completed before some particular past
time.
=349.= The participle, like the infinitive, is a verbal, because it is a
verb form without the power to assert. Just as an infinitive is oftenest
used as a noun, so the participle is oftenest used as an adjective;
that is, it is usually associated with some noun. Indeed, it is by
their adjective use that we are able to distinguish participles from
infinitives in _-ing_, for in form they are almost exactly the same.
What nouns do the participles belong with in the following sentences?
I hear the sound of trickling water.
The lost child had wandered far.
The diamonds sparkling in her dark hair rivaled the stars.
The chair made two hundred years ago tilted one forward very
uncomfortably.
=350.= The participles used oftenest are the simplest of all, the present
active participle and the past passive participle.
=351.= A participle, like an infinitive, may have all the complements
and modifiers that a verb may have; as, “The man _turning the switch_ is
faithful,” “_Feeling sleepy after lunch_, I took a nap.”
The participle and all its accompanying words form together a
=participial phrase=.
=Summary.=—A =participle= is a verbal that is generally used as an
adjective.
Participles may be active or passive or progressive in meaning.
Participles have three tenses,—present, past, and perfect. The present
participle expresses continuing action, the past participle completed
action, and the perfect participle past action completed before a
particular time.
Participles have the same complements and modifiers as verbs.
A =participial phrase= is a group of words consisting of a participle and
its complement and modifiers.
=Exercise 1.=—Form all the participles of the verbs _choose_, _draw_,
_drink_, _go_, _find_, _know_, _tell_, _think_, _turn_, _shine_.
=Exercise 2.=—Select all the participial phrases in these sentences. Tell
what noun or pronoun they belong with. Classify the participles.
1. Two children sat on the grass under the lilacs, making
dandelion chains and talking happily.
2. Those three tall poles now being lifted to position will
enable us to have a telephone.
3. From a little hill called Hutchinson’s Hill you could look
over three and a half miles of ground covered with fighting
seals.
4. Having given away the old candle mold, she was anxious to
get it back again.
5. Mrs. Merrithew, knowing well that little folk are generally
troubled with a wonderful thirst, had also brought a cup and a
bottle of lemonade.
6. The floors were bird’s-eye maple, and having been lately
waxed, they looked too fine for my desecrating tread.
7. The workmen, having been painting for hours on the sunny
side of the house, grew faint and dizzy.
8. The boy took his seat, frowning and blinking at the candle
light, while his mother, placing his coffee before him, let her
hand rest on his shoulder.
9. Having passed at the turnstile into the campus, David stood
before the college.
10. In one hand he carried a faded valise made of Brussels
carpet sprinkled with pink roses.
11. The old peasant woman, having eaten three meals with the
servants and three with the mistress, declared at evening that
she was satisfied.
12. If all the money being spent for ice-cream sodas were put
to some useful purpose—cement sidewalks, for instance,—few of
us would be stubbing our toes on old board walks.
13. A snowball soaked in water and left out to cool was a
projectile which had been resorted to with disastrous results.
14. No flying or crawling creature escapes the sharp little
eyes of the birds.
15. Its roots having been cut, the top of the tree suffered.
16. The tourists, having watched the bears nose about among the
tin cans in the garbage piles, went back to the hotel to avoid
being devoured by mosquitoes.
17. Very soon their path led them out into a wide glade, fenced
all about with the serried and formal ranks of the young firs.
18. That log just being sawed will produce eight hundred feet
of lumber.
19. The whale is the largest animal now living in the world.
20. Having been told by his master that he too could go to the
village, Shep bounded away down the road like mad.
21. Sleep, having descended upon him, spread a quiet mist
through his brain.
22. Having been tramped down by the cattle, the snow was smooth
like a floor.
Tell the use of all the infinitive phrases in sentences 2, 4, 10, 13.
LXXXIX. PARTICIPLES MODIFYING NOUNS
=352.= The participle may be associated with a noun in several ways.
(1) The participle may modify a noun precisely like an adjective, as when
we say _boiling_ water, _pleading_ eyes, _revolving_ turret, _educated_
men, _hammered_ brass, _plowed_ land, _dried_ apples.
The participle in this use can be distinguished from a real adjective in
two ways:—(_a_) it comes from a verb, (_b_) it cannot be compared.
Apply these two tests to the seven participles just given.
Some participles have become real adjectives, as _loving, learned_,
_striking_ (in _striking appearance_), _annoying_, _exciting_. Any one of
these adjectives may be compared.
(2) The participle or participial phrase may take the place of an
adjective clause. Sometimes it is used instead of a restrictive clause,
thus pointing out a particular thing or class of things; as, “The men
_shoveling coal on the docks_ were prostrated by the heat.” Sometimes
the participial phrase takes the place of an unrestrictive clause, thus
adding a new thought to the sentence; as, “Here comes a turbaned negress,
_balancing a basket of lemons on her head_.”
In both the sentences just given the participial phrase comes after the
noun it modifies, thus taking in the sentence the same position as the
appositive adjective.
The restrictive participial phrase is not set off by a comma. The
unrestrictive participial phrase is set off by a comma.
(3) The participial phrase may take the place of a clause of time or
cause, and yet modify a noun, as in the following sentences:—
Those pens, _having been given to me by my dear master_, were
never put to any common uses.
_Having said these words_, Beowulf plunged into the water and
disappeared among the dark waves.
In the first sentence, change the phrase to a clause of cause. What noun
does the phrase modify?
In the second sentence, what does the participial phrase modify? What can
you say of its position? Change it to a clause of time.
Note that although the participial phrase may take the place of a clause
of time or cause, it is still an adjective element; for, as shown in the
sentences just studied, such a participial phrase may modify a noun.
=Summary.=—The participle may be used alone to modify a noun precisely
like an adjective.
The participial phrase may modify a noun, taking the place of a clause.
The participial phrase sometimes comes before, and sometimes after, the
noun it modifies.
A participial phrase is set off by a comma when it is unrestrictive,
whether it follows or precedes the word it modifies.
=Exercise.=—Explain the use of all the participial phrases. Classify the
participles. Account for the punctuation.
1.
The breaking waves dashed high
On a stern and rock-bound coast.
2. Being direct descendants of Adam and Eve, we had much of
their inquiring turn of mind.
3. Worms are elongated, soft-bodied animals, differing greatly
in form and habits.
4. The books bound in red morocco belonged to my mother, and
the “Iliad” illustrated by Flaxman was one of my father’s
treasures.
5. The Temple School was a two-story brick building, standing
in the center of a great square piece of land, surrounded by a
high picket fence.
6.
Then [comes] the whining schoolboy with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
7. That tree toad squatting on the trellis and peering down at
us reminds me of the gargoyles on the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
8. The boys looked like a legion of imps, coming and going in
the twilight, busy in raising some infernal edifice.
9. At last, finding himself hungry and weary, and seeing that
there were herds of wild asses in the plain which he was
traversing, Rustum thought that he would catch one of them for
his meal, and rest for the night.
10. It is only he who is weary of life that throws himself in
the way of a roaring lion.
11. Like most things connected in their first associations with
schoolbooks and schooltimes, the Leaning Tower of Pisa seemed
much too small.
12. In the morning it was raining, with little prospect of fair
weather, but having expected nothing better, we set out on foot
for the Causeway.
13. In this tavern the visitor may derive good entertainment
from real Genoese dishes,—sausages, strong of garlic, sliced
and eaten with fresh green figs; cocks’ combs and sheep
kidneys, chopped up with mutton chops and liver; small pieces
of some unknown part of a calf, twisted into small shreds,
fried, and served up in a great dish; and other curiosities of
that kind.
14. Having supposed the Giant’s Causeway to be of great height,
I was somewhat disappointed at first for I found the Loom,
which is the highest part of it, to be but fifty feet from the
water.
XC. PARTICIPIAL PHRASES IN THE PREDICATE