Plain English Part 30

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.

PARTICIPLES

+147.+ We have found that the verb has five forms, made by internal changes in the verb itself,--the present time form, the s-form, the past time form, the present participle and the past participle.

We have also found that we can express various time forms by verb phrases formed by using the helping verbs, _shall_, _will_, _have_ and _be_ with one of the verb forms. All of these forms are used as the a.s.serting word in the sentence. So long as the verb or verb phrase forms the predicate--the word or words that a.s.sert something of the subject--it still remains a verb. But we have found that the participle forms of the verb may be used as other parts of speech while still retaining some of the qualities of the verb.

+148.+ You remember a sentence which we used when we studied participles, _Making shoes is his work_. Here we have the present participle _making_, with its object _shoes_, used as the subject of the verb _is_. Now a noun never takes an object, so _making_ in this sentence is partly a verb, partly a noun, and is called a participle, which means _partaker_.

We have studied and used two forms of participles, the present and the past participle. The present participle always ends in _ing_ and expresses action or existence in the present, or at the time mentioned in the sentence. For example, _being_, _bringing_, _working_, _seeing_, _loving_, _hating_, etc.

The past participle we found to be one of the princ.i.p.al parts of the verb. It expresses action or existence which is past or completed, at the time mentioned in the sentence. It is formed by adding _d_ or _ed_ to the regular verbs and by a change in the form in irregular verbs. For example, regular verbs: _learned_ from _learn_, _defeated_ from _defeat_, _watched_ from _watch_. Irregular verbs: _taught_ from _teach_, _seen_ from _see_, _won_ from _win_.

+We have found that these participles may be used either as nouns or as adjectives.+ As for example:

The _crying_ of the child annoyed the people.

The _crying_ child ran to its mother.

The _coming_ of the new day will bring peace.

We await the _coming_ day of peace.

PARTICIPLE PHRASES

+149.+ The present and the past participles are each single words; but we may also have participle phrases; that is, two or more words used as a participle, as for example:

His _having joined_ the strikers caused him to lose his job.

The man, _having been discharged_, left the mill.

In these sentences we have the participle phrases, _having joined_ and _having been discharged_. _Having joined_ is a participle phrase used as a noun, the subject of the verb _caused_. _Having been discharged_ is a participle phrase used as an adjective to modify the noun _man_. Notice that _having joined_ is an active participle describing the action performed by the man who is referred to by the p.r.o.noun _his_. _Having been discharged_ is a pa.s.sive participle expressing an action of which the subject of the sentence, _man_, is the receiver.

These are both perfect participles, expressing actions which are complete at the present time.

+150.+ We have also progressive participles expressing action which is continuing or progressing. These progressive participles are also used in both the active and the pa.s.sive forms. The progressive active participle is formed by using _having been_ with the present participle, as _having been working_. The progressive pa.s.sive participle is formed by using _being_ with the past participle, as for example, _being watched_, _being driven_, _being gone_, etc. So we have six participles, three active and three pa.s.sive.

Note the following table:

+Active+

_Present._ Sending.

_Perfect._ Having sent.

_Progressive._ Having been sending.

+Pa.s.sive+

_Past._ Sent.

_Perfect._ Having been sent.

_Progressive._ Being sent.

+These participle phrases may be used either as nouns or as adjectives.+

Exercise 1

In the following sentences mark the participles and the participle phrases. Underscore those used as _nouns_ with a single line; those used as _adjectives_ with two lines.

1. He denies having been hired by the employer.

2. Our friends, having arrived, joined us at dinner.

3. The rain, falling incessantly, kept us from going.

4. Having often seen him pa.s.sing, I judged he lived near.

5. The man, being discouraged and ill, was unable to do his work well.

6. Happiness shared is happiness doubled.

7. Having finished his work, he rests at last.

8. The army, beaten but not vanquished, waited for the morrow.

9. The men, having been unemployed for months, were desperate.

10. Being prepared will not save us from war.

11. "Rest is not quitting this busy career; Rest is the fitting of self to its sphere.

It's loving and serving the highest and best; It's onward, not swerving; and that is true rest."

Exercise 2

Write the six participle forms of the verbs _see_ and _teach_, and use in sentences of your own construction.

INFINITIVES

+151.+ We have found that the various forms of the participles may be used as other parts of speech. They partake of the nature of a verb and either of a noun or an adjective. Notice the following sentences:

Traveling is pleasant.

Eating is necessary.

Can you think of any other way in which you could express the same thought? Do you not sometimes say,

To travel is pleasant.

To eat is necessary.

We have expressed practically the same thought in these two sentences, which is expressed in the sentences above, where we used the participle.

_To travel_ and _to eat_ are used as nouns, subjects of the verb _is_ just as _traveling_ and _eating_ are used as nouns, the subjects of the verb _is_.

Here we have another form of the verb used as a noun. When we use the verb in this way, we are not speaking of the _traveling_ or _eating_ as belonging to or being done by any particular person, nor do we indicate whether one person or more than one is concerned in the action. It might be anyone doing the traveling or eating, and it might be one person or a thousand. We are making a general statement of everybody in the world, so we call this form the _infinitive_.

+152.+ Infinite means _unlimited_, without limit as to persons or number. Almost every verb in the language may be used in this way, and since _to_ is generally used before the infinitive, _to_ is often called the sign of the infinitive. For example: