2 ll
6 a
9. nd will are not to be taken as separate verbs, but with the infinitive as one tense of a verb; as, "He will choose," "I
shall have chosen," etc.
Also do may be considered an auxiliary in the interrogative, negative, and emphatic forms of the present and past, also in
the imperative; as,—
What! doth she, too, as the credulous imagine, learn [doth learn is one verb, present tense] the love of
the great stars? —Bulwer.
Do not entertain so weak an imagination—Burke.
She did not weep—she did not break forth into reproaches.—Irving.
The
2
7in
0 f
. initive is sometimes active in form while it is passive in meaning, as in the expression, "a house to let." Examples
are,—
She was a kind, liberal woman; rich rather more than needed where there were no opera boxes to rent.
—De Quincey.
Tho' it seems my spurs are yet to win.—Tennyson.
But there was nothing to do.—Howells.
They shall have venison to eat, and corn to hoe.—Cooper.
Nolan himself saw that something was to pay.—E. E. Hale.
The
2
7va
1. rious offices which the infinitive and the participle have in the sentence will be treated in Part II., under "Analysis,"
as we are now learning merely to recognize the forms.
GERUNDS.
The
2 g
7 e
2. rund is like the participle in form, and like a noun in use.
The participle has been called an adjectival verbal; the gerund may be called a noun verbal. While the gerund expresses
action, it has several attributes of a noun,—it may be governed as a noun; it may be the subject of a verb, or the object of
a verb or a preposition; it is often preceded by the definite article; it is frequently modified by a possessive noun or
pronoun.
It di
2 ff
7 e
3 r
. s from the participle in being always used as a noun: it never belongs to or limits a
Distinguished from participle and
noun.
verbal noun.
It differs from the verbal noun in having the property of governing a noun (which the verbal noun has not) and of
expressing action (the verbal noun merely names an action, Sec. II).
The following are examples of the uses of the gerund:—
(1) Subject: "The taking of means not to see another morning had all day absorbed every energy;" "Certainly dueling is
bad, and has been put down."
(2) Object: (a) "Our culture therefore must not omit the arming of the man." (b) "Nobody cares for planting the poor
fungus;" "I announce the good of being interpenetrated by the mind that made nature;" "The guilt of having been cured of
the palsy by a Jewish maiden."
(3) Governing and Governed: "We are far from having exhausted the significance of the few symbols we use," also (2,
b), above; "He could embellish the characters with new traits without violating probability;" "He could not help holding out
his hand in return."
Exercise.—Find sentences containing five participles, five infinitives, and five gerunds.
SUMMARY OF WORDS IN -ING
Wor
2 d
7 s
4
. in -ing are of six kinds, according to use as well as meaning. They are as follows:—
(1) Part of the verb, making the definite tenses.
(2) Pure participles, which express action, but do not assert.
(3) Participial adjectives, which express action and also modify.
(4) Pure adjectives, which have lost all verbal force.
(5) Gerunds, which express action, may govern and be governed.
(6) Verbal nouns, which name an action or state, but cannot govern.
Exercise.
Tell to which of the above six classes each -ing word in the following sentences belongs:—
1. Here is need of apologies for shortcomings.
2. Then how pleasing is it, on your leaving the spot, to see the returning hope of the parents, when, after examining
the nest, they find the nurslings untouched!
3. The crowning incident of my life was upon the bank of the Scioto Salt Creek, in which I had been unhorsed by the
breaking of the saddle girths.
4. What a vast, brilliant, and wonderful store of learning!
5. He is one of the most charming masters of our language.
6. In explaining to a child the phenomena of nature, you must, by object lessons, give reality to your teaching.
7. I suppose I was dreaming about it. What is dreaming?
8. It is years since I heard the laughter ringing.
9. Intellect is not speaking and logicizing: it is seeing and ascertaining.
10. We now draw toward the end of that great martial drama which we have been briefly contemplating.
11. The second cause of failure was the burning of Moscow.
12. He spread his blessings all over the land.
13. The only means of ascending was by my hands.
14. A marble figure of Mary is stretched upon the tomb, round which is an iron railing, much corroded, bearing her
national emblem.
15. The exertion left me in a state of languor and sinking.
16. Thackeray did not, like Sir Walter Scott, write twenty pages without stopping, but, dictating from his chair, he
gave out sentence by sentence, slowly.
HOW TO PARSE VERBS AND VERBALS.
I. VERBS.
In p
2a
7rs
5. ing verbs, give the following points:—
(1) Class: (a) as to form,—strong or weak, giving principal parts; (b) as to use,—transitive or intransitive.
(2) Voice,—active or passive.
(3) Mood,—indicative, subjunctive, or imperative.
(4) Tense,—which of the tenses given in Sec. 234.
(5) Person and number, in determining which you must tell—
(6) What the subject is, for the form of the verb may not show the person and number.
It ha
2 s
7
6b
. een intimated in Sec. 235, we must beware of the rule, "A verb agrees with its subject
Caution.
in person and number." Sometimes it does; usually it does not, if agrees means that the verb
changes its form for the different persons and numbers. The verb be has more forms than other verbs, and may be said
to agree with its subject in several of its forms. But unless the verb is present, and ends in -s, or is an old or poetic form
ending in -st or -eth, it is best for the student not to state it as a general rule that "the verb agrees with its subject in
person and number," but merely to tell what the subject of the verb is.
II. VERB PHRASES.
Verb
2
7 p
7 h
. rases are made up of a principal verb followed by an infinitive, and should always be analyzed as phrases, and
not taken as single verbs. Especially frequent are those made up of should, would, may, might, can, could, must,
followed by a pure infinitive without to. Take these examples:—
1. Lee should of himself have replenished his stock.
2. The government might have been strong and prosperous.
In such sentences as 1, call should a weak verb, intransitive, therefore active; indicative, past tense; has for its subject
Lee. Have replenished is a perfect active infinitive.
In 2, call might a weak verb, intransitive, active, indicative (as it means could), past tense; has the subject government.
Have been is a perfect active infinitive.
For fuller parsing of the infinitive, see Sec. 278(2).
III. VERBALS.
(1) P
27a
8r
. ticiple. Tell (a) from what verb it is derived; (b) whether active or passive, imperfect, perfect, etc.; (c) to what word
it belongs. If a participial adjective, give points (a) and (b), then parse it as an adjective.
(2) Infinitive. Tell (a) from what verb it is derived; (b) whether indefinite, perfect, definite, etc.
(3) Gerund. (a) From what verb derived; (b) its use (Sec. 273).
Exercise.
Parse the verbs, verbals, and verb phrases in the following sentences:—
1. Byron builds a structure that repeats certain elements in nature or humanity.
2. The birds were singing as if there were no aching hearts, no sin nor sorrow, in the world.
3. Let it rise! let it rise, till it meet the sun in his coming; let the earliest light of the morning gild it, and parting day
linger and play on its summit.
4. You are gathered to your fathers, and live only to your country in her grateful remembrance.
5. Read this Declaration at the head of the army.
6.
Right graciously he smiled on us, as rolled from wing to wing,
Down all the line, a deafening shout, "God save our Lord the King!"
7. When he arose in the morning, he thought only of her, and wondered if she were yet awake.
8. He had lost the quiet of his thoughts, and his agitated soul reflected only broken and distorted images of things.
9.
So, lest I be inclined
To render ill for ill,
Henceforth in me instill,
O God, a sweet good will.
10. The sun appears to beat in vain at the casements.
11. Margaret had come into the workshop with her sewing, as usual.
12.
Two things there are with memory will abide—
Whatever else befall—while life flows by.
13. To the child it was not permitted to look beyond into the hazy lines that bounded his oasis of flowers.
14. With them, morning is not a new issuing of light, a new bursting forth of the sun; a new waking up of all that has
life, from a sort of temporary death.
15. Whatever ground you sow or plant, see that it is in good condition.
16. However that be, it is certain that he had grown to delight in nothing else than this conversation.
17. The soul having been often born, or, as the Hindoos say, "traveling the path of existence through thousands of
births," there is nothing of which she has not gained knowledge.
18. The ancients called it ecstasy or absence,—a getting-out of their bodies to think.
19. Such a boy could not whistle or dance.
20. He had rather stand charged with the imbecility of skepticism than with untruth.
21. He can behold with serenity the yawning gulf between the ambition of man and his power of performance.
22. He passed across the room to the washstand, leaving me upon the bed, where I afterward found he had
replaced me on being awakened by hearing me leap frantically up and down on the floor.
23. In going for water, he seemed to be traveling over a desert plain to some far-off spring.
24. Hasheesh always brings an awakening of perception which magnifies the smallest sensation.
25. I have always talked to him as I would to a friend.
26. Over them multitudes of rosy children came leaping to throw garlands on my victorious road.
27. Oh, had we some bright little isle of our own!
28.
Better it were, thou sayest, to consent;
Feast while we may, and live ere life be spent.
29. And now wend we to yonder fountain, for the hour of rest is at hand.
ADVERBS.
The
2
7w
9 o
. rd adverb means joined to a verb. The adverb is the only word that can join to a verb
Adverbs modify.
to modify it.
When action is expressed, an adverb is usually added to define the action in some way,—
A verb.
time, place, or manner: as, "He began already to be proud of being a Rugby boy [time];" "One
of the young heroes scrambled up behind [place];" "He was absolute, but wisely and bravely ruling [manner]."
But this does not mean that adverbs modify verbs only: many of them express degree, and
An adjective or an adverb.
limit adjectives or adverbs; as, "William's private life was severely pure;" "Principles of
English law are put down a little confusedly."
Sometimes an adverb may modify a noun or pronoun; for example,—
Sometimes a noun or pronoun.
The young man reveres men of genius, because, to speak truly, they are more himself
than he is.—Emerson.
Is it only poets, and men of leisure and cultivation, who live with nature?—Id.
To the almost terror of the persons present, Macaulay began with the senior wrangler of 1801-2-3-4,
and so on.—Thackeray.
Nor was it altogether nothing.—Carlyle.
Sounds overflow the listener's brain So sweet that joy is almost pain.—Shelley.
The condition of Kate is exactly that of Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner."—De Quincey.
He was incidentally news dealer.—T. B. Aldrich.
NOTE.—These last differ from the words in Sec. 169, being adverbs naturally and fitly, while those in Sec. 169 are felt to
be elliptical, and rather forced into the service of adjectives.
Also these adverbs modifying nouns are to be distinguished from those standing after a noun by ellipsis, but really
modifying, not the noun, but some verb understood; thus,—
The gentle winds and waters [that are] near, Make music to the lonely ear.—Byron.
With bowering leaves [that grow] o'erhead, to which the eye Looked up half sweetly, and half
awfully.—Leigh Hunt.
An adverb may modify a phrase which is equivalent to an adjective or an adverb, as shown in
A phrase.
the sentences,—
They had begun to make their effort much at the same time.—Trollope.
I draw forth the fruit, all wet and glossy, maybe nibbled by rabbits and hollowed out by crickets, and
perhaps with a leaf or two cemented to it, but still with a rich bloom to it.—Thoreau.
It may also modify a sentence, emphasizing or qualifying the statement expressed; as, for
A clause or sentence.
example,—
And certainly no one ever entered upon office with so few resources of power in the past.—Lowell.
Surely happiness is reflective, like the light of heaven. —Irving.
We are offered six months' credit; and that, perhaps, has induced some of us to attend it.—Franklin.
An a
2 d
8 v
0. erb, then, is a modifying word, which may qualify an action word or a statement, and
Definition.
may add to the meaning of an adjective or adverb, or a word group used as such.
NOTE.—The expression action word is put instead of verb, because any verbal word may be limited by an adverb, not
simply the forms used in predication.
Adv
2 e
8 rb
1. s may be classified in two ways: (1) according to the meaning of the words; (2) according to their use in the
sentence.
ADVERBS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO MEANING.
Thu
2 s
8 c
2. onsidered, there are six classes:—
(1) Time; as now, to-day, ever, lately, before, hitherto, etc.
(2) Place. These may be adverbs either of
(a) PLACE WHERE; as here,there,where,near,yonder, above, etc.
(b) PLACE TO WHICH; as hither,thither,whither, whithersoever, etc.
(c) PLACE FROM WHICH; as hence,thence,whence, whencesoever, etc.
(3) Manner, telling how anything is done; as well, slowly, better, bravely, beautifully. Action is conceived or performed in
so many ways, that these adverbs form a very large class.
(4) Number, telling how many times: once, twice, singly, two by two, etc.
(5) Degree, telling how much; as little, slightly, too, partly, enough, greatly, much, very, just, etc. (see also Sec. 283).
(6) Assertion, telling the speaker's belief or disbelief in a statement, or how far he believes it to be true; as perhaps,
maybe, surely, possibly, probably, not, etc.
The
2
8 i
3s
. an adverb of degree when it limits an adjective or an adverb, especially the
Special remarks on adverbs of
comparative of these words; thus,—
degree.
But not the less the blare of the tumultuous organ wrought its own separate creations.—De Quincey.
The more they multiply, the more friends you will have; the more evidently they love liberty, the more
perfect will be their obedience.—Burke.
This and that are very common as adverbs in spoken English, and not infrequently are found in literary English; for
example,—
The master...was for this once of her opinion.—R. LOUIS STEVENSON.
Death! To die! I owe that much To what, at least, I was.—Browning.
This long's the text.—Shakespeare.
[Sidenote The status of such.]
Such is frequently used as an equivalent of so: such precedes an adjective with its noun, while so precedes only the
adjective usually.
Meekness,...which gained him such universal popularity.—Irving.
Such a glittering appearance that no ordinary man would have been able to close his eyes there.—
Hawthorne.
An eye of such piercing brightness and such commanding power that it gave an air of inspiration.—
Lecky.
So also in Grote, Emerson, Thackeray, Motley, White, and others.
Pretty has a wider adverbial use than it gets credit for.
Pretty.
I believe our astonishment is pretty equal.—Fielding.
Hard blows and hard money, the feel of both of which you know pretty well by now.—Kingsley.
The first of these generals is pretty generally recognized as the greatest military genius that ever
lived.—Bayne.
A pretty large experience.—Thackeray.
Pretty is also used by Prescott, Franklin, De Quincey, Defoe, Dickens, Kingsley, Burke, Emerson, Aldrich, Holmes, and
other writers.
The adverb mighty is very common in colloquial English; for example,—
Mighty.
"Mighty well, Deacon Gookin!" replied the solemn tones of the minister.—Hawthorne.
"Maybe you're wanting to get over?—anybody sick? Ye seem mighty anxious!"—H. B. Stowe.
It is only occasionally used in literary English; for example,—
You are mighty courteous.—Bulwer.
Beau Fielding, a mighty fine gentleman.—Thackeray.
"Peace, Neville," said the king, "thou think'st thyself mighty wise, and art but a fool."—Scott.
I perceived his sisters mighty busy.—Goldsmith.
Aga
2 in
8 ,
4 . the meaning of words must be noticed rather than their form; for many words given
Notice meanings.
above may be moved from one class to another at will: as these examples,—"He walked too
far [place];" "That were far better [degree];" "He spoke positively [manner];" "That is positively untrue [assertion];" "I have seen you before [time];" "The house, and its lawn before [place]."
ADVERBS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO USE.
All 2a
8d
5v
. erbs which have no function in the sentence except to modify are called simple
Simple.
adverbs. Such are most of those given already in Sec. 282.
Som
2 e
8
6 a
. dverbs, besides modifying, have the additional function of asking a question.
Interrogative.
These may introduce direct questions of—
Direct questions.
(1) Time.
When did this humane custom begin?—H. Clay.
(2) Place.
Where will you have the scene?—Longfellow
(3) Manner.
And how looks it now?—Hawthorne.
(4) Degree.
"How long have you had this whip?" asked he.—Bulwer.
(5) Reason.
Why that wild stare and wilder cry?—Whittier
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?—Coleridge
Or they may introduce indirect questions of—
Indirect questions.
(1) Time.
I do not remember when I was taught to read.—D. Webster.
(2) Place.
I will not ask where thou liest low.—Byron
(3) Manner.
Who set you to cast about what you should say to the select souls, or how to say anything to such?—
Emerson.
(4) Degree.
Being too full of sleep to understand
How far the unknown transcends the what we know.
—Longfellow
(5) Reason.
I hearkened, I know not why.—Poe.
The
2 r
8e
7 .is a class of words usually classed as conjunctive adverbs, as they are said to have the office of conjunctions in
joining clauses, while having the office of adverbs in modifying; for example,—
When last I saw thy young blue eyes, they smiled.—Byron.
But in reality, when does not express time and modify, but the whole clause, when...eyes; and when has simply the use
of a conjunction, not an adverb. For further discussion, see Sec. 299 under "Subordinate Conjunctions."
Exercise.—Bring up sentences containing twenty adverbs, representing four classes.
COMPARISON OF ADVERBS.
Man
2 y
8
8a
. dverbs are compared, and, when compared, have the same inflection as adjectives.
The following, irregularly compared, are often used as adjectives:—
Positive.
Comparative. Superlative.
wel
better
best
il or badly
worse
worst
much
more
most
little
less
least
nigh or near nearer
nearest or next
far
farther, further farthest, furthest
late
later
latest, last
(rathe, obs.) rather
Mos
2 t
8 m
9. onosyllabic adverbs add -er and -est to form the comparative and superlative, just as adjectives do; as, high,
higher, highest; soon, sooner, soonest.
Adverbs in -ly usually have more and most instead of the inflected form, only occasionally having -er and -est.
Its strings boldlier swept.—Coleridge.
None can deem harshlier of me than I deem.—Byron.
Only that we may wiselier see.—Emerson.
Then must she keep it safelier.—Tennyson.
I should freelier rejoice in that absence.—Shakespeare.
The
2
9fa
0.ct that a word ends in -ly does not make it an adverb. Many adjectives have the same
Form vs. use.
ending, and must be distinguished by their use in the sentence.
Exercise.
Tell what each word in ly modifies, then whether it is an adjective or an adverb.
1. It seems certain that the Normans were more cleanly in their habits, more courtly in their manners.
2. It is true he was rarely heard to speak.
3. He would inhale the smoke slowly and tranquilly.
4. The perfectly heavenly law might be made law on earth.
5. The king winced when he saw his homely little bride.
6.
With his proud, quick-flashing eye,
And his mien of kingly state.
7.
And all about, a lovely sky of blue
Clearly was felt, or down the leaves laughed through.
8. He is inexpressibly mean, curiously jolly, kindly and good-natured in secret.
Aga
2 in
9 ,
1 .many words without -ly have the same form, whether adverbs or adjectives.
The reason is, that in Old and Middle English, adverbs derived from adjectives had the ending -e as a distinguishing
mark; as,—If men smoot it with a yerde smerte [If men smote it with a rod smartly].—Chaucer.
This e dropping off left both words having the same form.
Weeds were sure to grow quicker in his fields.—Irving.
O sweet and far from cliff and scar The horns of Elfland faintly blowing.—Tennyson.
But he must do his errand right.—Drake
Long she looked in his tiny face.—Id.
Not near so black as he was painted.—Thackeray.
In some cases adverbs with -ly are used side by side with those without -ly, but with a different meaning. Such are most,
mostly; near, nearly; even, evenly; hard, hardly; etc.
Freq
2 u
9 e
2. ntly the word there, instead of being used adverbially, merely introduces a sentence,
Special use of there.
and inverts the usual order of subject and predicate.
This is such a fixed idiom that the sentence, if it has the verb be, seems awkward or affected without this "there
introductory." Compare t