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RR E C T E N G LIS H A C O MPL E TE GR AMMAR
T E N T H O S AND WO R D S H O
T O P R O N O N C E TH E M
AR T O F C O N VE RS A TI O N TWE L VE G O L DE N R L E S
T H E C O RR E C T E NGL I S H D R IL L B O O
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T O R O F T H E MAG A Z I
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RR E C T E NGLIS H
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O RR E C T E NG LI S H P B LIS H ING C OMPA NY
C H IC A G O I LL IN O I S
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SH I
N T H E S C H OO L
C O R R E C T E N GL I
T
E L VE G O L DE N H E L P S
GO L D E N H E LP N UM B E R 1
T r an s it ive
n t ran s it ive Verb s—H o w t o D is t inguish T h em
I
an d
.
—
Pupil I s till have som e diffi cul ty with transitive
verbs N o w of course I un d e r s t an d s u ch constructions
“
as J o h n struck J a m e s
that is I know that s tr u ck i s
transitive b e cau s e it ha s a direct obj ect to receive it s
—
action ; J a m es being t h e object t h e receiver of the
action
—
Tea ch er T h at is right Now ca n yo u not fo rmul at e
a s im ple rule for trans itive verbs ?
—
l
A transitive verb is a v
Pupi
erb that ha s a n object
to receive its action I suppo se then that trans itive
verbs are a lway s followed by obj ect nouns ; that is
nouns in th e obj ective case that rece ive the action of the
verb
—
Teach er No ; th a t is not s o A better rule i s a s
“
fol lows : A transitive verb is a verb that has a r eceiv
er
”
for its a ction
—
hy is t h at w o rding of the rul e better tha n
Pupil
“
mine
—
T ea cher B e c a use it is broader i n its a ppl ication,
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5
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W
CO R RE C T
E N GLI S H
TH E S C H O O L
I
N
for the reason that th e receiver of the action
ei th e r
th e
j
o b ect n o u n o r
t he
j
s u b e ct n o u n
m a y be
.
—
Pupil T h at is just the po int wh i ch confuses
.
me
.
You m ean that whenever there is a receiver for
—
—
b
the action subj ect o r o ject noun the v
erb is then
trans it ive
—
T hat is ri ght
Now give som e exam pl es
T eacher
in wh ich the subject is the rece iver
“
”—
—
Pup il
J ohn was struck by J am es
J o hn th e
“
subject is the receiver ; T he pup il w a s reprim and e d
” —
l
e
i
by hi s teacher
i
the
subj
ct
s
the
receiver
u
p p
—
Teacher
h en the object rece ives the action what
is the v
o i ce of the verb ?
Pup il —The active voice ; and of course when the
subject of the verb is acted upon receives the action ,
the verb is in th e passive voi c e S o m ewhere I have seen
the rul e that som e verbs in the passive voice are fol
l o wed by predicate co m ple m ents
I know n ow why I
have never understood that It is because I h ave always
thought that a v
erb was tr a n s itv
e onl y whe n the o bj e ct
n o u n received the action and I could not see how a verb
c oul d h ave an object noun and a predi cate co m ple m ent
‘
at the sam e tim e
—
Teacher But you can understan d how the verb i n
“
”
the sentence He wa s e l e ct ed president can have a
rec e iver for its action in the subject he and at the sam e
t im e have a predicate co m plem ent in the noun p r es id en t
—
i
Pup l Yes ; I s ee that now but I used to th ink that
transit ive verbs were never followed by predicate co m
l
m
n
e
e
t
s
s
l
o
m
l
and
for
er
y
I
s
ho
d
no
t
h
ve
c
le d
u
l
a
a
;
p
erb
el ected a t r ansitiv e v
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T WE L VE GO LD E N H E L P S
7
Teach er —
You understand perfectly n o w why it is ?
—
Pup il Yes ; because it ha s a receive r for its action
in the subject he
—
Teacher And why is p r es id en t the predicate co m
‘
pl em ent ?
Pupil —
Bec a use it de no tes t h e s am e person a s the
s ubject
—
Teacher Now g ive m e further exa m p l es of transi
t ive verbs that m a y be fo ll owed by predicate co m p l e
m ents
”
“
Pup il — H e was m ade s ecr eta ry and t r ea s u r e r
” “
“
T he boy wa s nam ed J o hn ;
T h e baby was christened
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—
Teach er S o we s ee t h at a tr a n s tiv
e verb is not nec
.
fol l owed by an object noun ; that it may be f o l
l owed by a predicate co m p l em ent and t h at wh en it is
the subject noun is t h e receiver of th e acti o n But of
course you understand t h at wh e n t h e re c eiver of the
action i s th e subject t h e verb 1 s n o t ne c essaril y foll o wed
by a predi c ate co m pl em ent
—
Pupil O h yes I understand t h at perfectly
—
Teach er G ive som e s entences in which the transi
tive verb i s not fo ll owe d either by a predi c ate com pl e
m ent or by a direct object
”
“
“
l
Pupi
T he
J o h n wa s pun is h ed by h is tea ch er ;
”
door wa s opened softl y
I see th at wh enever a noun
i n the objective case fo ll o w s a t r a n sitiv
e v
erb th at h as
the subject n ou n fo r t h e re ceiver o f it s a c ti o n the n th e
noun in th e o bje c tive c ase i s a lways t h e o bject o f a prep
o s itio n a nd not t h e direct object of t h e verb
—
T ea ch e r T here i s an a pp are nt e x ce p ti on to this rul e
e s s a r ily
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CO
8
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RRE C T E N GL I S H
I
N TH E
SC H O O L
“
“
sentences l ik e these : He was given a b enefit
The
”
nat ions should have b een given warning ; b u t constru o
t ions of thi s kind are censured b y g ram m ari ans f or the
reason that the indirect object i s m ade the subj ect and
“
rec e iver o f the act ion T hus : in the sentence He was
”
“
i
i
m
s
b
i
v
n
a
nefit
the
r
e
al
e
an
n
A
enefit
was
b
e
e
g
g
“
”
T
h
i
ven
to
i
In
h
e
sentence
nat
i
ons
should
m
h
t
e
g
“
”
have b e en gi v e n warni n g the m e aning is
a rnin g
”
should hav e b e en giv e n to the nati ons
In other words
i n the or iginal construct i ons th e re are apparently two
r e ce ivers f or the action nam ely the subject and th e
obj e ct noun whereas there i s in real ity but one It i s
b e tt e r pro b ably to avoid for m s of this ki nd and m ak e
the sub ject the indirect object
—
Pup il O h T here i s one construction that I m ust
“
n ot for g e t to a s k you about In the sentence
I g av e
”
there se em s to b e two d ir e ct obj e cts
t he child an apple
—
Teacher Yes ; but there i s only o n e na m ely the
word a pp l e chi ld be in g the indirect object the o b ject of
“
the prepo sit ion t o understo o d ; thus :
I g ave to the
”
ch ild an apple
—
Teacher N o w give sentences exem pl ifying all the
points cons idered in th i s di scussion
”
T
h
b
Pupi 1
su
ject
e
J ohn was struck b y J am es
(
is the rece iver of the act ion and the v e rb is f ollowed by
on in di r ect ob j e ct ; that is the obj e ct of a preposition )
“
”
i
J ohn struck J a m es
o
ject
noun
is
the
rece
ver
T
h
b
e
(
“
”
u
b
of the act ion )
H e was appo inted secretary
S
(
j c et i s the receiver of the act ion and the v e rb i s follow e d
by a predicate com pl em ent ; that i s a noun that denotes
“
or re fers to the sa m e person as th e subject )
T h ey
in
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TW ELVE GOLDE N
H
EL P S
9
”
call ed him J o hn
The
obj
ect
is
t
h
e
r
e
c
eiver
of
the
(
acti on and i s fo l lowed by a noun th at denotes t h e sam e
person as the object )
—
Teacher N o w we m ust discuss the last co n s tr u c
tion ; that i s where the object i s the rece iver of the
acti on and is followed by a noun in the sam e case
—
Pup il G ra m m ar i ans seem to have so m e trouble in
a g reeing upon the nam e to give the noun that fol l ows
th e obj e ct noun in construct i ons o f thi s kind
—
T each e r
Yes so m e g ram m ari ans call the noun
under cons i d e rat ion the f a cti tiv
e object ; so m e call i t th e
s u p p l e m en t but whatever its na m e i t denotes or refers
to the sam e person or th ing a s the object I see that
you understand thi s p e r fe ctly Now t e ll m e what i s the
d if ference between the factitive obj ect o r supplem ent
and the predicate co m pl em ent
Pupil — The fact it ive obj ect or supp l em ent denotes
or refers to the sam e p e rson or thing as the obj ect wh ile
the predicate com plem ent denotes or refers to the sam e
person o r thing as the subject
—
T eacher
T h at is right Then the factitive obj ect
i s in t h e objective case while the predicate co m ple m ent
i s in the sam e case as the subj ect
—
Pupil Then it is al ways in t h e no mi native ca se
isn t it ?
—
Teacher Yes unl ess we desi gnate as the predicate
com pl em ent the noun or pronoun that follows the in fin i
tive t o be wh en the infinit ive has a subject
“
—
Pupil O h ye s In such sentences a s I supposed
”
it to be him him is in the obj ective case for the reason
that i t is i n the obj ective c ase It i s of c ourse in the
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CO
10
RRE C T E N GL I S H IN
objective case because
,
t o be
it
SC H O O L
TH E
is the subject of the infinitive
.
—
T eacher
Yes ; there are two rules invo lved in that
.
construct ion : R ule 1 T he subject of an infin itiv e i s
always in the obj e ctive case R ule 2 T he noun or pro
noun after the verb t o b e i s always in the sam e case as
the noun or pronoun before the verb t o be
—
i
Pup 1 S om e g ram m arians always call the predicate
com pl em ent the predi cate n o m in a tiv
e
How then can a
noun in the object iv e case be a predi cate co m plem ent ?
—
T eacher
G ram m ar i ans d if fer as to the appl i cation
“
of these term s In such construct i ons a s I supposed it
”
to be him we m ight call him s im ply the co m ple m ent
“
”
and use the term pre di cate co m ple m ent onl y when
i t can be used synonym ously with the term predicate
no m inative It i s nec e ssary for us to adopt specific
term s and then to use them understandingly
—
i
1
Ishould l ik e to adopt the term s used in C O R
Pup
RE C T E N GLI S H in the chapter e ntitled T he Com plem ent
—
Teacher N o w define an intransit ive v e rb
—
Pupi1 A n intrans itive v e rb i s a verb that expresses
e xistence
state ( condition ) or action that re quires no
object to rec e ive i t
—
T each e r
G ive so m e exa m ples of intransitive verbs
”
“
“
“
”
”
—
Pupil
Ia m he ; I f e el sad ; He l o o ks ill
—
Teach e r That is correct Now do not forget that the
d i st in gu i sh in g charact e ristic of the transitive verb is
—
that it always has a receiver for its action the rece iver
—
b ein g either the subject or the object noun while the
intran sitive verb either stands alone or is fol lowed by
s o me wo r d th at m o difies it o r is r el a ted to th e subject
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GO L D E N H E LP N UM B E R I I
vN
nfinit i
T he I
e
o un
C l aus e t he R eceiver
of
W
t he
A ction
.
—I wond e r wh et h er I t h oroughl y un d erstan d
”
“
suc h constructions a s
They m ade him pres i dent
“
”
D o these sentences m ean
T h ey c h ose him captain
“
” “
T hey m ade him t o b e presi d ent
T h ey cho se hi m t o
”
b e captain ?
—
Teach er Virtually yes ; but grammarians g ener
a lly do not s o construe sentences of this kind
—
Pupil In one of the text-book s in the L ibrary I find
t h e rul e : Verbs of cho o s in g ca llin g n a m in g m a kin g
and t hin king m ay tak e two o bjects r eferring to t h e sam e
person or thing
As I have said t his secon d s o-c all ed object i s nam ed
by so m e gram m arians t h e factitive obj ect ; by others the
predicate objective o r th e co m plem entary obj ect A n
ot h er gram m arian c al l s it t h e s u p p l em en t
h enev
er it
is pos sibl e we s ho ul d supp l y the verb t o be and the n
construe th e words that fo ll ow t h e principal verb a s con
s t itu tin g a n in finitive noun cl ause
T h is cl ause can the n
be regarded a s t h e obj ect an d receiver of th e action
—
Pupil T h en you woul d not re g ard the noun t h at
fol l ows t h e verb th e object noun
—
Teach er No ; because wh ile it m i ght be in accord
ance w ith the gramm ar of t h e l angua g e to do s o in so m e
instances there are many constructions where the s o
c al l ed o b ject n o u n or pron o un can not be s o c on s t ru e d
Pupil
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11
RRE C T E N GL I S H
CO
12
SC H O O L
IN T H E
—
l
i
s
Pupi
That
so ; for in the text book to which I
.
have just referred under the sam e rule —Verbs of
the
cho o s in g ca l lin g n a m in g m a kin g and t hin king etc
“
”
exam ple
I thought him a rascal i s given to Show
that the verb t hin k can tak e a direct object him and a
co m plem entary obj ect r a s ca l
—
T h i s instruct ion is incorrect
T eacher
As C O RRE C T
E N GL I S H i nd i cates the verb t hin k can not have a pro
noun as it s object O ne can think t ho ug hts but one can
not think him ; one can however think him t o b e a r a s ca l
“
”
In other words him to b e a rascal can be construed as
the rece iver of the thought whil e him alone can not b e
for the reason that t he r es u l t d o es n o t
s o construed
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m a ke
s en s e
.
—
i
Pup l Then ,
I suppose you reason that the word
“
wh i ch follows the verb in such sentences as T hey m ade
“
”
”
him pres i dent
and T hey chose him captain Should
not be construed as the object
—
T eacher
It would be l o gical to re g ard the infinitive
“
“
”
noun clau s es him to be pres i dent and him to be
”
captain as the real objects and receivers of the actions
You will g e t m y m eaning if you will com pare these sen
” “
“
ten o es with the following
I
S he m ade a dress ;
”
chose this ring
You can s ee that wh ile the nouns d r es s
and r in g are the objects respectively of the verbs m a d e
and cho s e in the oth e r sentences the pronoun hi m is not
i n i ts e l f the receiver of the action and hence ; t he en ti r e
cl a u s e ( infin it ive ) should be construed as the object
Of
course som e of the verbs in your list m a y be said to tak e
a d irect object ; as for exa m ple the verb ca ll T hus : in
“
”
t h e s entence They cal l ed him John him m ay be c o n
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W
COR
14
Pup il
RE C T E N G LI S H IN
TH E
SC H O O L
-
h at Shall we do w ith the adjectives in such
“
”
sentences a s He m ade the chi ld qu i et ?
—
Teache r R egard qui et as a n adjective m odifier of
“
”
chi l d thus :
He m ade the ch ild to b e quiet qui e t being
“
the co m pl eme n t i n the in fin itive no un cl ause chil d to
”
be quiet
.
,
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,
.
T h e O mis s i on
of
t he S ign of t he
v
I
nfini t i
e.
—
Teach er A few m inutes since we dis cu sse d ai l su ch
“
” “
c onstru c ti on s a s
They el ected him president
They
”
th ought h im a g entl em a n ; an d in analyzing t h e s en
“
t en ce s we supp l ied the in finitiv e t o b e ; thus :
They
” “
el e c ted him t o be presiden t ;
Th ey th o ugh t h im to b e
”
a gentl em an
Now can you giv
e me so m e e x am p l es of
sente n c es in which only the S ign of the in finitive the
prepo sitio n t o is o m itted ?
“
—
Pupil D o you mean such c onst ru c tions a s I s h all
”
” “
” “
” “
You
m
a
go
He
must
go
He
can
go
?
I
o
g
y
rem em ber reading in one of our text book s that the Si gn
of the infini tive the preposit ion t o is o m itted after the
verbs m a y ca n s ha ll will and m u s t and that these verbs
are now reg arded as au xil iaries While the in fin itiv
e s are
parsed as the principal verbs
—
Teacher Idid not have in mind constructions of this
ki nd for we no l onger think of the Sign of t h e infin itive
”
“
” “
as bein g omitted ; t hus : I m ay t o go
I ca n t o go
“
“
etc I m eant su ch sentences a s I l et him g o
You
”
d a r e not g o
etc
—
Pupil O h yes I was studying th e rul e th at go v
erns these constructions only to day I think I can
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T W ELVE G O LDE N
W
EL P S
H
15
repeat it : The S ign o f the infinitive the preposit i on t o
i s o m itted in special construct i ons after the verbs l e t
“
I
d a r e d o bid m a ke s e e hea r f e e l n ee d e tc T hus :
“
”
”
“
t
r
o
You
a
not
do
it
do
I
t
o
d
e
o
l e t him g o
)
;
(
( g );
”
“
l
r
h
e
k
e
a
d
t
l
wa
the
io
n
o
m a d e the child wa lk
;
)
(
”
“
”
“
t
e
t
l
b
a
o
roar
I
f
h
er
h
eart
beat
You
e
t
t
roa r
o
)
(
)
(
”
need not g o ( t o g o ) etc
—
Teache r T hat i s ri ght Now parse the infinitiv
e in
“
”
the sentence I l et him g o ; in fact you m a y analyz e
the entire construction
“
”
—
Pupil
Il et him go is a sim p l e sentence of wh ic h
“
“ ”
I i s both the co m plete and the sim p l e subj ect ; l e t
”
i s the co m plete predicate ; l et is t h e predi c ate
hi m go
verb and him t o g o i s the object and receiver of th e action
“
”
expressed by th e verb l et ; him to g o i s an infin itive
noun clause of wh ich him i s the subject and t o g o is the
verb ; him i s in t h e objective case because it is th e subject
—
of an infinitive R ul e T h e subject of an in finitive is i n
the objective case
—
Teac h er There is so m ethin g very pecul iar about
this construction and oth ers of a l ike nature C a n you
tell m e what i t is ?
—
il
Pup
No ; I can not
—
Teacher There i s an incongruity in your analysis
You called t h e sentence s i m p l e and you al so sai d that
“
”
hi m to go was an i nfinitive noun cla us e ; now how ca n
you reconcil e your two stat em ents ?
“
”
—
Pupil Isuppo se I Shoul d have ca l l ed him to g o
an infinitive noun p hr a s e I note th at in one of our text
book s t h e i nfin itive v
erb W it h its subject i s call e d a
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r
h
s
a
e
p
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,
CO
16
R R E C T E N GL I S H
I
N TH E
S C H OOL
—
eacher T hat i s incorrect ; for if we concede that
the infinitive is a verb when it has a subject in the o bje c
t ive case then th e infinit ive and i t s sub ject constitute a
clause N o w if it i s true that th e infinit ive and its s ub
je ct should be re garded as form in g a cl ause it i s evident
“
”
that the sentence I let him go is not a sim pl e s en
tence
—
l
Pupi
S urel y g ram m arians regard a ll suc h con
s t r u ctio n s as those which we are discussing as s im ple
T eacher
That is wherein t h e incongruity lies In
strict analysis inas m uch as the infinitive is a verb and
with its subject constitutes an infinitive noun cla u s e and
“
as sentences in which other noun clauses such a s I know
”
that I Shal l go are reg arded as com p l ex it shoul d seem
t h at c onstructions l ik e the fore going Shoul d be regarded
a s co m p l ex
—
Pupil S h all I call t h ese sentences co m plex ?
—
Teach er I Shoul d cal l them com pl ex for there are
—
real ly two clauses a principal and a subordinate clause ;
” “
”
“
thus : in th e senten ce I let him ( to ) go
I let him go
”
“
is the principal and him ( to ) go i s th e subordinate
cl ause
—
l
Pupi
But t h ere is no connective
T each er —
Not every com pl ex sentence contains a con
‘
“
H e sa i d I shall go to
n e ctiv
T hus : in the sentence
e
the c i ty to -m orrow
there is no connective between the
”
“
subordinate clause I Shall go to the city to m orrow
“
”
and the princ ipal cl ause He said etc
—
Pupi1 In connection with the verb n eed is not the
form of th e third person always th e sam e a s that of th e
T
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T WE LVE G O LD E N
H
EL P S
17
“
”
e c on d an d the third ? In other wor d s is n t th e S
“
” “
” “
H e
usually o m itted ; a s I need go
Yo u n eed go
”
n e ed go
?
—
Teacher Yes ; wh en n e ed expresses n ece s sity the
“ ”
is usu ally o mitte d befo re the infinitiv
e
s
’
S
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
GO L D E N H E LP N UM B E R I
I
I
v
T he I
nfinit i
e as a
M o difier
O b ject :
an d as an
t inguis h T hem
H
ow
t o D is
.
—
Pupil Al th ough you h ave e xpl ain ed som e special
uses o f the infinitive I still f ail to see or rather to d is
t in gu i s h the d if f erence between the infin it ive when used
a s a m od ifier of the verb and the infi nitive when used as
an object noun
—
T eacher
You understand do you not that when the
i nfin i t ive i s used as a m o difie r —adject ive or adverb i al it
is then construed as a noun with the preposition f o r u n
d er s t o o d but not expressed ?
—
Pupil Ihave no trouble wit h this but there are som e
Special constructions that bother m e
—
Teacher G ive m e so m e exam ples in order that I m a y
bett e r understand your d ifficulty
—
Pup il In C O RRE C T E N GLI SH the infinitive t o l ea rn is
“
i
ven
as
an
adverbia
l
m
odifier
of
r
i
in
the
sentence
I
t
e
d
g
“
”
tri ed to l ea rn t his ; while in the sentence I l ik e to
”
the in fin itive to s in g is given as the obj ect of the
s in g
v e rb lik e Now why is not t o l ea rn the obj ect of t ri ed ?
I do not s e e any difi er en ce between the verbs t r i ed and
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lik e
.
—
Teacher L ike i s a transitive verb ; that is it re quires
a receiver f or i t s act ion ; t ri ed wh en used in the sense of
en d e a v
o r is an intransitive verb and h en c e it ca n not be
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18
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W
T WE L VE G O LDE N H E L P S
19
fol l owe d by a n o bject ; that i s it ha s no re c eiver for its
“
”
act ion F o r exam ple if I s a y I lik e
the questio n
“
“
”
”
h a t o r who m do I l ike ?
arises what ?
In othe r
”
“
words I m ust h ave an obj ect to l ik e ; a s I l ik e him ;
”
“
“
“
”
I l ik e thi s bo o k
he n I s a y
I try o r I en
”
deavor I do not re quire an obj ect to receive m y action
I a m m akin g this eff o r t in order to a cc om pl is h som et hing
In oth er words I a m trying or en d eavoring f o r the p u r
m
l
f
m
D
s
o
a
c
co
p
is
h
ing
so
ethi
n
g
you
n
ot
tha
t
o
e
o
s
e
e
p
whil e I c a n l ik e him o r l ike this bo o k I c annot t ry o r
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en d e a
v
him
or
and
t ry
or
en d e a
v
,
or
C on s e
t his bo o k ?
r
t
uently
t
h
e
in
n
itive
t
h
at
fol
ows
t
h
e
verb
o
r
fi
l
q
y
e n d ea v
o r i s use d as a m odifier ; it co m p l etes the m eaning
of th e v
erb by expressing it s p u r po s e
“
—
Pupil S o m etim es we u s e such expressions as He
” “
”
I am going to tr y m y l uck
Isn t
t r i es m y patience
t ry a transitive verb in these senten ce s ? It surely h a s an
object in eac h ca se to receive it s action
—
Teach er Yes ; but t ry in t h ese sentences is used i n
“
the sense of to put to the test or proof
w hile in the
sentence given in C O RRE C T E N GLI S H t ry i s used onl y i n
the sense of en d ea v
or
—
l
It seem s to m e t h at in so m e dictionary o r
Pupi
text book I h ave seen t rg given a s a transitive verb whe n
used in the s en se of en d e a v
or
—
Teach er Y e s ; but th at does n t mak e it transitive
My e xpl anatio n S h o ws concl usivel y th at th ere i s no r e
ceiv
e r for t h e actio n wh en t r y i s u se d i n t h e sense of
en d ea v
Century D ictionary gives th e c orrect exp o
or
s itio n of t h is
n d e r t r y ( intra n sitiv
e u s e ) it says :
—
e:
T ry In tr a n s itiv
T o ex er t s t r en g th; m a ke a n eflo r t
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W
W
CO R
20
v;
v
RE C T E NGLI S H IN TH E S C HO O L
”
“
to try f o r a situation ; while unde r
—
n
E
e d ea o r
n tr a n s i
ndeav or I
( int r ansitive ) it says :
t ive : T o la bo r o r ex er t o n e s s elf t o d o o r elf ect s o m e
t hing ; t r y ; m a k e a n eflo r t ; f o llo we d by a n infin i tiv
e
You can readily s e e th at any ot h er version or e xpo
s i tio n of t h e infin i tive af te r t ry or en d ea v
o r is in correct
m
no att e r in wh at diction a ry or in what te xt book it m a y
be f ound
—
hy do g ram m ari ans dif fer so fro m one a n
Pup il
other ? I should think that in a case of thi s kind they
would a l l a gree
T eac h er —O ne woul d think s o ; but not all g ra m
m arians are logi cal ; so m etim es they are incons i stent ; but
they a l l have one point in com m on nam ely t h ey are a ll
hum an and h ence are apt to err
—
Pupil There is another po int with which I have
difficul ty I cannot tell wh en an infin it ive is a verb and
“
when it is a m odifier F o r exam ple i n the sent ence I
”
brought water to drink I don t know whether t o d r in k
i s a verb in the infinitive m o de or a n adjective m odifier
It i s preceded by a noun in the obj ective ca se and for
t hi s reason the infinit ive h as the appearance o f a verb ;
on th e other hand it do es not seem to be difi e r en t fro m
“
the infinitive in the sentence in C O RRE C T E N GL I S H
a ter
”
t o d r in k is scarce
T o d r in k i s given as an adject ive
m odifier of wa t e r in th i s sentence and s o it s h ould be
re g arded as an adjective m odi fier o f wa t er in th e s en
”
“
tence I have so m e water t o d r in k
—
Teacher It i s a m odi fier of water in both co n s tr u c
”—
“
tions the m eaning being water ( for ) to drink
wa te r
r
r
i
n
n
k
i
purposes
o
d
f
g
en d ea
or
as,
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W
GO L D E N H E LP N U M B E R
T he G er un d
e
l
V
r
a
N
b
(
oun
)
a nd
r
I
V
t he P a t icipl e : H ow t o
D is t inguis h T h em
.
—
Pupil Ih ave difficul ty in distinguis hing th e differ
ence between p a rticipl es and gerun ds I kno w that they
are bot h verbals ; that i s words form ed fro m verbs and
having a doubl e function and I kn ow al s o that the n oun
or pronoun preceding the gerun d must be in the pos
s e s s iv
e case ; but ho w can I te ll whe n t h e gerundial con
struction i s re quired a n d when the p a r ticip al ? for you
s ee
without an understanding of this dif fe r en ce one
cannot de te rmine wh e n to u s e t h e possessiv
e case before
t h e verb a l
—
Teach er L et us cite s ome e x am ples
hich do you
”
“
think i s c orrect :
I a m surprised at J o hn g oing or
”
“
I am surpri s e d at J o hn s g oing ?
Pupil — I s uppose t h at th e se co nd construction is
c o rrect
Teach er -C a n yo u tell why ?
Pupil —I suppose it is because t he speaker i s sur
prised a t th e g o in g of J o hn a n d no t at J o hn him self
—
eacher
Now give a sente n ce i n which the posses
T
sive case is n o t re quired before the verbal
“
—
Pupil
J ohn g o in g to t h e o ffice unexpe c tedly found
”
that it was cl o sed
”
—
Tea ch er Now why is it not J o hn s going ?
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22
T W E L VE G O LDE N
H
EL P S
—
Pupil Because it is J o hn , a n d not
.
that
23
i
n
o
g,
g
who
f o un d
o ffice was clo sed
—
T eacher
You s e e then t h at i n order to determ ine
when the verbal i s a parti ciple and when a g erund i t i s
necessary o nl y to ascertain the m eaning to be conveyed
O f course one rarely has difficulty wi th t h e part i cip i al
construct ion ; it is the g erundia l that troub l e s one N o w
tell m e why it is so ne cessary to distingui sh the participle
fro m the g erund ?
—
Pupil Because the noun or pronoun preceding the
m
erund
ust
be
put
into
the
pos
sessive
case
g
“
—
T eacher
You m a y add wh ile the noun o r prono u n
preceding the partic iple m ust be in either th e nom inat ive
”
or the o b ject ive case
Now l e t u s f orm ulate the rul e
and give severa l exa m ples
—
A noun o r pronoun preced ing a participl e is
R ul e
a l ways in either the no m inat iv e o r the objectiv e case ;
wh ile a noun or pronoun pre ceding a g erund is a lways in
the possessive case
t he
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E A M P LE S
(
v
TH E
J o hn , l e a in g h o m e
.
PAR T I C IP LE )
.
without the perm i ssion of his
parents soo n beg an to re g ret hi s folly
M ary g o in g to the o f fice unexpe ctedly found that
h er e m p l oyer h ad returned
.
,
,
,
.
E
G
R ND )
(
I am surpri s ed at J o hn s l ea v
ing ho me
permi ssion of his parents
TH E
.
’
.
wit ho ut
th e
24
W
CO
RRE C T E N GL I S H
IN T H E
SC H O O L
I s e e no reason why M ary s g o in g shoul d a f fect you r
pl a ns
e m a y for m ulate another rul e :
—
R ul e
T he g erund i tsel f i s always in e ither the
nom inative or the objective case while the parti ciple
does not possess the property of cas e it being always
construed a s a m odifier T hus :
’
.
#
,
,
.
PAR T I C IPLE
TH E
S ingin g m erry
weary hour
songs the ch ild whiled away
,
.
TH E
S ing in g m erry
l onel in e ss
.
GE R N D
m any
a
.
son g s caused the chil d to
f o r g e t hi s
'
.
—
Pup il Yes ; I see
“
In the sentence S in g in g m erry
”
son g s the child whiled away m any a weary hour s in g
in g would be re g arded as an adjective modifier of child ;
“
”
that i s a s ingin g ch ild
“
—
T eacher
Yes ; or the participial phrase S ingin g
”
m erry son g s
would be parsed as an adj ectiv e m od ifier
of child ; s in g in g be in g f orm ed fro m a trans itive verb
has an object in the noun s o n g s ; for o f course as you
know a participle po ssesses the functions o f bot h a verb
and an adjective ; wh ile a g er u nd possesses those of both
a verb and a noun Because of their verb nature when
derived from tran sitive verbs they always re quire a
re ceiver for th eir action
—
l
Pupi
Hith erto I h ave always had difficul ty i n dis
tingu i sh in g between the g erund , wh en used as an obje c t
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TW ELV E GOLDE N H EL P S
25
of a tra n sitive verb and the participle when used to
m od ify a noun in the obj ective case
—
Teacher G ive m e so m e exam ples
—
Pup il My difficulty form erly wa s in co nstructions
l ike these :
I enj oyed J o hn s p la yin g
I s a w J ohn p l a yin g ball
Now I coul d never tell whic h was the g erund and
which the particip l e O f course I know now
—
Teach er The test i s R ule 1 ; a noun or pronoun pre
cedin g a participle is always in either the no m inative
o r the objective case whil e a noun or pronoun precedin g
a gerund is a l ways in the possessive case
—
i
Pup l Now I want to g o one step farther S uppo se
th at I a m in doubt as to th e construction in quest ion ; for
exam p l e suppose that I wish to revise m anuscr ipt for
others a s I intend do ing after I a m graduated
—
Teacher E xa m ine the constructi on by the fol l ow in g
test : If you can expand it s o a s to m ak e the verbal a
v
er b p r o p e r t h en the verbal is a part i c ip l e ; otherw i se
“
it is not Thus the sentence I s a w J ohn p l aying ball
“
m a y be expanded to m ean
I s a w J ohn a n d he wa s
”
“
l
l
i
n
a
l
l
a
n
l
h
i
l
a
b
l
or
I
ohn
a
i
a
w
h
e
w
s
a
s
J
w
e
b
p y g
p y g
”
“
w hil e the senten c e I enjoyed J o hn s playi n g cannot be
“
I en
s o e xp an d ed for it is evident that the m ean in g i s
”
other
words
in
the
j oyed th e p l aying done by J o h n
In
“
”
first sente nc e the object of the verb i s
in the
J o hn ;
second it is p layin g Now yo u can readily see that ina s
m uch as t h e geru n d is al ways a noun if it is preceded by
a no th er no un or a pronou n that no un or p r onoun m ust
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C
26
be
O RR E C T E N G LI S H
conve r ted into an adj ective
b e i n t he p o s s e s s i
v
e ca s e
—
Pupil Yes ; I
S C HO O L
I
N TH E
m odi fier ,
and hence
,
,
m us t
.
that perfectly N o w in the sen
”
“
tence I adm ired her dancing is he r in the object ive
cas e or is it in the possessive ? In ot her words i s d a n cin g
a g erund or a parti ciple ?
—
T eacher
You tell m e
—
Pup il L e t m e s ee I m ust determ ine that by ex
“
panding the construct ion :
I admi red her and s h e was
”
No I di dn t adm i re her I a dm ired her
d anc ing
d a n cin g ; that i s, I adm i red the dancin g d o n e by he r ;
d a n cin g then is a g erund and not a part i cip l e ; so of
cours e her i s in the poss e ssive case
—
Teacher Yes that i s r ight O f course the f orm of
t he possess ive and th e o b jective case is the sam e for the
f e m inine g ender O ne would not have the sam e trouble
in constru ing the case of pronouns i n the m ascul in e
k
e
m
nder
Now
ive
another
exa
ple
but
a
e
the
pro
m
g
g
noun m ascul ine
“
”
T his
Pupil
I saw him r u n n in g down the street
”
“
can be expanded
I s a w him a n d he wa s r u n n in g
“
”
etc or whi le he wa s running
It is evident that r u n
n in g is a particip l e
and that the objective for m of the
pronoun is correct It is evident too that the g erund
i tself is either a subject noun an object noun or a predi
cate com pl em ent and h ence is al ways in either the nom i
native or the objective case I s ee very pla inly that if
the gerund is preceded by a noun or a pronoun that noun
or pronoun must b e put in the po ssessive c ase
Now for a drill you m a y c o rrect th e errors in the
fol l o win g :
.
s ee
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,
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’
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T WELV E G O LDE N
H
W
EL P S
27
I mu st n ot forg et ho w at t h e age of sev
e n teen I
be came a l and o wner t h ank s to my n a m e b eing on t h e
—
k
in s t o n C hu r chi ll i n
s r egiment
r o ll of Co l o ne l C l ar
,
,
,
’
T h e C r o s s in g
Th ere wa s
v
.
Ibi d
n o c h anc e of
H
a m il t o n
m o in g
at present
.
.
”
“
T h e c omm on r ep or t wa s I bel ieve
pursued the
“
l awyer
th at t h e ol d man didn t kn ow of th e p l a ce b ein g
for sal e until h e h eard th e auctioneer s h am m er on the
—
l awn and t h at hi s m ind l eft him fro m t h e m o m ent this
”— '
E ll en G la s co w i n T he
was of course me r e i dl e t alk
,
,
’
,
’
,
v
,
D eli
erance.
,
.
#
W
G O LD E N
T h e N o m in at ive
or
H E LP N UM B E R V
the O b ject ive C as e
h en t o
se
Af t er
T h an
As :
an d
I
t
.
—
Pup il I often have difficulty wit h the conjunction
.
that i s I do not know in a ll cases when to use
the nom in a t ive a fter it and when to use the o b jective
T eacher —T he no m inat ive f orm i s re quired a f ter t ha n
when there is an ell ips i s of the v e rb following the noun
or pronoun express e d The obj e ctive f or m i s re quir e d
after t ha n wh e n th ere is an ell ips i s o f both subject and
verb after tha n T hus :
“
“
I l ik e he r better than he
I l ik e her better
than him ( I l ik e her better than Id o
—
Pup il I understand this perfectly ; but that is not
I have trouble wi th such constructions as
m y d ifficulty
”
“
I s a w a tree l a r ger than a ho u s e
Now t r ee i s in the
object ive case i t being the object o f the verb s a w; now
should not ho u s e be in the objective case too ? IS it not
”
connect e d with t r e e by the conjunction tha n ?
Teacher No ; for the reason that the conjunction
t ha n unl ik e the conjunction a n d o r o r ( or n o r ) f or
exam ple d o es n o t co n n e ct wo r d s ; it connects cla u s e s
“
T he sentence expanded reads
I saw a tree taller than a
”
h ouse is
“
—
Pupil
I saw a
hy ca n we not expand it to read
”
tree taller than I s aw a house ? In this construct i on
hou s e woul d be i n t h e object ive case
t ha n ;
,
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28
C
30
O RR E C T E NGL I S H
IN T H E
S C H OO L
T here
is no other reason for his g o ing than this
—
Pupil I fear that I shall not be able to dia gra m
“
than m y steps
D oes the construct ion m ean
m in e
”
were ?
T eacher — Yes ; but you m a y dia g ram m in e as in
—
the no m inat ive case the sub ject of the verb we r e
understood
—
Pup il But m in e is po ssessive in form
—
T eacher
T hat is true but the form s m in e t hin e
o u rs you rs
t hei r s and so m etim es his and he r s thou gh
poss e ss ive in form have com e to be used only in the
nom inative and objective cases
—
Pup il How should m in e be parsed ?
—
T e acher M in e is a personal pronoun first person
S ingular num ber no m inat ive case subject of the verb
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,
w er e
W
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
be i n the s ingular num ber
,
,
.
—
Pupil But ho w can
.
m in e
and its verb in the plural ?
—
T eacher
G ra m m arians h ardly know what to do in
cases of th i s kind for m in e refers to one person the sa m e
”
“
i n the sentence H i s ste p s were l on g er than m in e a s it
”
“
does i n the senten c e
This h at is m in e
It would
“
probab ly be best to say Singul ar num ber but used for
”
the t im e bein g in the p l ural
e have a l ik e di fficulty
”
“
in parsin g Yo u in the sentence You are m y pup il
Now you refers to only one person and yet it is th e s u b
i
n
c
e
of
a
plura
l
erb
It
is
also
true
that
the sentence
t
V
j
”
“
Your steps are l on g er than m in e m in e refers to bu t
o ne pe r s o n and h en c e is virtua lly s in gul ar
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#
W
GO L D E N H E LP S N UM B E R V I
Adject ive
T he
an d
t he
Adverb Af t er
to
se
T h em
Verb s
I
n a ct i o n : H o w
of
.
—
Pupil I know that the adjective is re quired after
.
verbs of inaction when the reference i s to the condit i on
“
”
of the subj ect as f e el or l o o k s a d g la d but there are
so m e pecul i ar constructions that trouble me I h ave m ade
out a li st of them :
,
,
,
,
,
.
1
.
2
.
3
.
4
.
5
.
6
.
7
I always feel w a r m ly at such a tim e
I always feel w a r m ly on th i s sub j ect
H i s fr i ends l o o k ed coldly on him
e wer e s i tt in g qu i e t ly around the fire
He sat s il en tly until S h e breathed m ore calm ly
S he loo k ed co l d ly on hi s o ff er of m arr i a g e
D on t f eel s o ba d ly about it
.
.
.
.
.
.
’
.
.
Are these sentences correct and are No s 1 2 an d 3
parall e l ? Are 4 and 5 parallel ?
T each e r — S o far a s t he g ram m atical construction i s
conc e rned the first thr e e sentences are parallel i sm s ; but
“
”
while one would say
I f e el wa r m ly on the subj e ct just
“
as one would say I feel d e ep ly on the subject one would
“
”
h ardly say
I feel warm ly a t s u ch a tim e
In other
words wa r m ly does not l end i tself to the m eanin g to be
“
conveyed O ne mi ght s a y
I feel d eep ly at suc h a
”
time me a ning th at m y feel in g s are d eepl y aroused on
.
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31
W
COR
32
RE C T E N G L IS H IN T H E S C H O O L
such occasions T he rule that governs constructions of
th i s kind i s as f ollows :
—
R ul e
h en act ion i s expressed by the verb the
—
adv e rb i s re qu ired ; when action i s not expressed the
v e rb be ing used in the sense o f b e ( a m wa s i s
the
adj e ctive i s re quired T he following co m parat ives a r e
i llustrat ive o f the rules i nvolved :
“
”
m
I always f e el wa r m in the su mm er
I
warm )
a
(
“
I always f e el d e ep ly ( in t en s e ly ) at such a t im e or
“
I always f e el w a r m ly ( d eep ly in t en s ely ) on the subje c t
”
o f r e ligion action being expressed by the verb f eel
“
N ote that one would not say
I a m warm on the s ub
“
”
i
i
i
c
m
o
f
rel
on
on
the
other
hand
I
enthus
astic
e
a
t
;
j
g
”
”
“
on the sub j ect or I feel enthusiastic on the s ub jject
i s correct
”
“
T he water l o o ks d e ep
I
deep
s
)
(
“
”
l
F
He f e els d e ep ly on the subject
e
e
s to a deep
(
de gree )
“
”
I
k
He f e els a wkwa r d in com pany
aw
ward
s
)
(
“
”
He f el t a wkwa r d ly in hi s po ckets for his ti cket
F
l
k
in
an
aw
ward
m
anner
e
t
)
(
”
“
T he air f e els k e en
T
h
i
is
not
doing
the
a
e
r
(
fe el ing )
“
”
l
i
n
k
F
e
i
He f elt t h e dis grace k eenly
a
een
t
t
(
m anner )
In m any instances only the adjectival form of a word
—
can b e used not its adverb ial T hus :
“
”
r
H
l
a
n
I f eel s o r ry about th i s
a
a
a
d
s
d
g y
(
ppy
g
r
l
i
h
i
t
s
a
e
f
u
eu
t
us
a
t
c )
g
”
“
3
H i s frie n ds l o o ked co l d ly upon him
is c o r rect
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W
#
W
#
T W ELVE G O LDE N
H
EL P S
33
”
“
Co m pare with His friends lo o ked s u s pi cio us ly at him
Note the following :
”
“
i
He l o o ks co l d
Appears
to
be
or
s cold )
(
”
“
L
k
i
He l o o ked co ld ly at her
oo
ed
at
her
n a co l d
(
m anner )
”
“
He l o o ks s u s p i ci ou s
Appears
to
be
an
object
of
(
susp i cion )
”
“
L
k
s
u
s
d
He lo o ked at h er s us p i ciou s ly
c
e
in
a
o
(
i
i
u
m
anner
c
o
s
)
p
“
”
4
is cor
e were s i t tin g qu i e tly around t h e fir e
rect if t h e meanin g i s m aki n g no m ovem ents of the body
u i et i s re quired when the reference i s to the person ; a s
“
”
He s a t qui et or s il en t unt il the Speak er had fini shed
”
“
5
He s a t s il en t not s il en t ly is correct because
the subject he i s m o dified ( He wa s s il en t ) Note that
wh ile one m a y s i t qu i e tly one cannot s it s il en tly a s
s ilently m eans without Speaking
6
The appl ication of sam e princip l e as in No 3
“
“
”
”
7
Neith er fee l badly nor feel bad is in accord
ance with the genius of our lan guage ; but be c ause of the
“
univers a l em ploym ent of ba d in the sense of ill fe e l
”
ba d m a y be sanctioned
h en used however ly should
not be added for it i s the subject and not the Ve rb that
is m odified Note that the f eelin g is not done in a ba d
.
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'
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,
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m a n n er
.
—
Pupil How about
.
“
The
s un
Shines
br ig ht ?
”
Is
it
or br ig htly ?
—
Teach er S o m e authorities distin guis h as fo ll ows :
s e b r ig ht w h en s hin e is construed a s m ean in g i s ; use
b r ig ht ly wh en s hin e 1 s re g arded as express in g action ;
”
“
“
t hus : T h e s un S hines br ig ht ( i s br ight ) ; The s u n
b r ig ht
.
C O RR
34
E C T E NGL I S H
SC H O O L
I
N TH E
Shi nes br ig htly ( in a bright m anner ) B r ig htly woul d
“
be o b l ig atory in the fol l owing : T he sun Sh ines br ig htly
”
on the h il l tops
.
.
Ad
vb
er
Ad
or
vb i
er
al
P hras e
A f t er t h e Verb T o B e
.
—
1
Pupi
T h ere is a no th er point about wh ich I wis h to
speak G ram m arians tell us that the erb to be c an not
tak e a m odifier If the verb t o be can not tak e a m odifier ,
v
.
.
.
what Shall we do with the adverb or adverbial phrase
” “
”
“
in such constr uctions a s He i s her e ;
I wa s t her e ;
” “
”
“
H e i s i n t h e wr o n g ;
He was her e la s t week ?
—
T he adverb that follows the verb t o b e in
T eacher
sentences of this kind is construed as a predicate co m pl e
m ent ; that is as an adjective o r adjective phrase in t h e
predi cate referring t o t h e subject noun or pro n oun and
m od ifying it
”
“
—
Pupil T h en in the senten c e
He is he r e her e
m ust be regarded as the pred i cate co m p l em e n t p a n d so
m ust be parsed as an adverb used for the t im e being a s
an adject ive m odifier of the sub ject he That seem s to be
a queer d i spos ition of the adverb her e
—
T eacher
It is ; but you can see wherein the difficulty
lies If we concede that the v e rb to be wh en not used as
“
”
an auxili ary is a m ere C opul a or joiner how can we
re g ard it as b e ing m odified as are verbs that are used not
m erely to co n n ect or to assist in expressing a state or con
d ition of the subject ? You can readily see the dilem m a
that g ram m arians are in and why a spec ial d i spos ition
m ust b e m ade of adverbs that follow the verb t o b e
—
Pup i1 T hen we are to parse her e a s an adverb used
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T WELVE G O L D E N H E L P S
35
for the tim e bein g a s an adj ect ive m od ifier of the subject
”
“
He i s h er e
O f course th e r e m ust
h e in the sentence
“
He i s
b e d i sposed o f in the sam e way i n the sentence
”
“
”
and in the sentence He i s in the wrong the
t her e ;
phrase in the wr o ng m ust be parsed a s an adj ect ive
phrase and m odifier of the subject he But what shall I
“
do with the words l a s t we ek in the sentence He wa s
”
here l a s t w e ek ? O f course her e i s the predicate co m ple
—
ent
th e e quiva l ent of an adj ective and modifies the
m
—
—
subject he but la s t week I Shall have to a s k you t o
dispo se of t h ese words
—
Teach er A prepo sit ion i s understood before the
”
“
words l a s t w e ek ; a s He was he r e du rin g l a s t we ek
Now can you pars e this phrase as well a s the adverb
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
.
,
he r e ?
Pup il
—H
is an adverb of place and d u r in g l a s t
T hey seem to have
w eek is an adverb i al phrase of tim e
the sa m e g ram m ati cal relation to the subj ect and I sup
po se that they Should both be parsed as the e quiva l ent of
adjective m odifiers of the subj ect ; that is for the t im e
“
bein g IS the rule : The verb t o be can not tak e a m odi
”
fie r
app l icable in a l l instances ?
—
Teacher Yes ; it is uni fo rm in its appl i cat i on
Now give m e sentences in wh ich the verb t o b e is f o l
l owed by an adverb that m ust be construed f or the t im e
bein g as an adjective
”
“
“
—
H e i s a wa y
Pupil
He is in
—
Teacher T hat is ri ght N o w give m e sentences in
whic h the verb t o b e is followed by an adverb i al phrase
that is used for th e tim e being a s an adjective phrase
”
“
“
—
H e is in t he n ex t r o o m ;
Pupil
S he wa s o n t h e
.
er e
,
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,
,
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W
W
CO
36
o the r s
ide
m o rro w
”
.
o
f
RRE C T E N GL I S H
the
s tr eet ;
”
“
I
N TH E
S he
SC H O O L
will be
in t he
city
to
“
But what shall I do wit h o n the other side of the
”
“
”
street ? O n the other side is I suppose the predi cate
—
co m plem ent the adjective m odifier of th e subject ; but
“
”
wh at about o f the street ?
—
Teacher It i s a pure adjective p h rase and m odifies
t h e noun s id e
—
i
Pup l
h at about the adverb to m o r r o w in the sen
“
”
tence S he w ill be in the city to m o r row ? O f course
”
“
in the city is the predicate co m plem ent, a n d so is an
—
adjective m odifier of s he but t o m o r r o w isn t t o
m o r r o w an a dverb ?
—
Teacher It is both an adverb and a noun In your
sentence you can parse it as adverb used as an adjective
or you can parse it as a noun with a prepos it ion before it
”
“
understood ; as S he will be in the city o n t o m o r r o w;
“
”
the phrase on to m orrow can then be parsed as an
adverb i al phrase used for the t im e being as an adject ive
phrase and m odifier of the subject
—
i
h y can I not m ak e it an adver b i al phras e
Pup l
m od ifyin g the m eanin g of the verb will b e and the co m
“
”
plem ent in the city ?
—
Teacher It seem s as if it should be so construed ;
but on th e other hand the two p h ras e s are really in the
sam e g ram m at i cal relation to the subject T h i s you can
s ee by substitutin g the verb g o for the ve rb wi ll b e and by
changing the prepo sition in to the preposition t o ; thus :
“
h
i
You can see that
S e w ll go to the c ity to m orrow
the adverbial phrases o r the adverbial p h rase and the
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CO
38
RRE C T E N GL I S H
SC H O O L
IN T H E
”
“
In the sentence He i s t her e ther e is an adverb and is
reg arded only for the tim e being as an adjective m odifier
“
o f the subject In the sentence S he will b e in the c ity
”
to m orrow the adverbs have the sa m e g ram m atical rela
t ion to the sub ject as do the adverb s to the v e rbs in the
“
”
s entence S he will g o to the city to m orrow
In m any o f our text -boo k s I find no reference whatever
to th i s subject
T e acher —I
t i s not an easy subj e ct for one to d i scuss
and at the sam e t im e to b e lo gi cal as to the di spos ition o f
all the elem e nts I re f e r o f course to the d i spos i tion o f
the words and phras e s that f ollow the verb t o b e when
that verb is a m ere copula
“
N o w you m a y analyz e the s e ntence
In t h e l exicon
”
o f youth th e r e i s no such word as f a il
“
”
—
In th e l e xicon of youth
Pup il
e tc
is a co m plex
“
s ent enc e of wh i ch In the lexi con o f youth ther e i s no
“
”
such word i s the pr inc ipal clause and as fa il ( i s such
”
a word ) i s the subordinate clause
O f th e princ ipal clause wo r d is the real subject m odi
fi e d by the adjective m odifiers n o and s u ch ; t h e r e is an
adverb used for the t im e being as a m ere expl e t ive o r
introductory word ; is is the pred i cat e verb ; in t he l exi co n
o f y o u t h is the pred i cat e co m ple m ent ( phrase used as an
adjective m odifier of the subject w o r d ) ; a s is a s u b o r d i
nate conjunction used to connect the sub ord inate clause
with the principal clause ; fa il i s the subject of the sub
ordinate clause ; is ( understood ) is the predicate v e rb ;
w o r d ( understood ) is the predicate c o m plem en t m od ified
b y s u ch an d a ( unde r s t o od )
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T WE L VE GO LD E N H E LP S
39
—
Te a ch er T h e c onstructi o n co ul d be expa nd e d s o as to
mak e a s a rel ativ
e p r on o un ; a s In the l e xicon of youth
”
A s w o ul d t h en be the
th ere i s n o suc h word as i s fai l
pre di cate c o m pl em ent ; fa il woul d be th e subject ; and i s
the predicate verb In fa c t after s u ch and s a m e it i s
cust o m a ry t o p a r s e as a s a r el ativ
e p rono un
.
“
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
G O LD E N
I
f I
s
t I
I
t Be ; I
t I
t
f I
an d
W
W
#
I
H E LP N U M B E R V I
I
f I
t
a s and
T hem
r
e e:
ow
H
to
se
.
—
Pupil D o I understand that when a supposition is
“
—
thought of
that i s when i t is sub junctive
m erely
.
,
” “
“
” “
” “
are to s a y If I b e
If i t b e
If he b e
If he
”
and other l ik e form s ?
s ee
—
Ia m pleased to have you a s k th i s quest ion
T eacher
for i t i s o n e that perplexes all students of E ngl i sh and
The special form s to whi ch you
m any teachers a s well
r e f er are pass ing into d isuse ; thus instead of the present
” “
” “
”
“
sub junctive form s : If I be
If you b e
If he b e
” “
”
“
If we be
I f they be and in the case of other verbs
” “
”
“
If he fin d
If it r a in etc the indi cative f or m s are
being very g enerally em ployed
”
“
“
—
Pup il T hen it i s correct to s a y : If I a m
If you
” “
” “
” “
” “
I f he i s
If we a r e
If they a r e
If he
a re
” “
”
i
n
i
n
i
s
If
t
r
i
s
etc
even
when
the
suppos
t
on is
d
a
fi
“
”
stated not a s a f act but as m erely thought of
—
T eacher
T hat is r ight
“
—
Pup il R ecently when readin g a novel entitled R ed
“
”
Potta g e I not iced th i s construction : It was an e ven
”
“
”
chance etc
but if it is he
T eacher —
In the sentence to which you refer the s u p
pos ition expresses doubt and h enc e i s sub junct ive But
“
as I have indicated inas m uch a s the subjunctive for m If
we
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40
,
T W ELVE G O LDE N
H
EL P S
41
”
it be is now rarely em p l oyed even by th e best speak ers
”
“
it i s no lon ger obl ig atory to use the for m If it b e
On
”
“
the other hand the sub junctive form s If I w er e and
”
“
If he s he or i t we r e are e m ployed by the best speak
“
ers and writ e rs To s a y If I wa s g o ing to E urop e I
”
”
“
would be incorrect If I w e r e
S hould study F rench
etc be in g the correct f orm T o exem plify the constru e
“
t ion further we say If I wa s in the wrong ( indi cat ive
”
m ode m ean in g Iw a s in t he w r o n g ) why I apolo gi z e
“
If I we r e in the wrong ( subjunctive m ode m eaning I a m
”
not ) I Should be will ing to apolo gi z e
Th i s d i stinct i on
in the u s e of the subjunctive and the indicative m ode i s
”
“
m ade by the best Speak ers wh ile
If i t is is now us e d
for both the indi cative and the subjunctive form You
“
”
can readily s ee that inas m uch a s If i t b e he is not
e m p l oyed o r is now rarely e m ployed
e ven b y the b e st
“
”
Speak ers and that If it is h e was us e d in a sol ilo quy
in t h e extract to wh ich you refer it would be incorrect to
”
“
insist upon the em pl oym ent of If it be even thou gh
the subjun ctive for m m i ght be expected
—
Pupi l D oes not the subjunctive present tense so m e
tim es indi cate future tim e ?
—
Teacher Yes ; the present tense of the subjunct ive
m ode m a y refer to either pr e sent o r future t im e
T he
past tense of this m ode refers to present t im e ; the past
p e rfect to past tim e I will write som e exam ples on the
blackboard :
If it be h e I Shal l speak to him ( I do not know
wh ether it is he )
If it we r e he I Should speak to him ( It is not he
th erefor e I s h a ll n o t Speak to him )
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C
42
O R RE C T E N GLI S H IN TH E S C H O O L
If it ha d be en h e I Should h ave spoken to him ( It
wa s not he therefore I d id not speak to him )
Now i n connection with the last sentence note that
“
”
the principal clause I should not have Spok en to him
also takes the subjunctive form the rule being that the
pr incipal clause in a conditional statem e nt tak es the s u b
junctive form when i t refers e ither to what i s f uture and
cont ingent or to what is past and uncertain or denie d
In connect ion with the future tense f or m s ho u l d of
the subjunct ive m ode note that it is interchan g eable in
its use with the present tense of the subjunctive m ode
when the latter re f ers to future tim e T hus if one pre
f e rs to use the subjunctive m ode to express doubt or
“
uncertainty one m ay s a y If this be in accordance w ith
“
”
your approval et c or If this s ho u ld be in ac c ordance
”
with your approval
i
i
Pup l Ith nk th at the s o call ed future perfect tense
of the subjunctive m ode is very confusin g ; for exam ple
“
”
I s ho u ld go to E urope if I had the m oney is a con
struction that conveys the idea of contingent futur ity ;
“
b u t the future perfect tense as in the sentence
I s ho u ld
”
ha v
seem s to
e g o n e to E urope if I had had the m oney
m e to convey not future perfect but past perfect tense
T each er — I
t does in a sense for it expresses what one
would have done i n t h e past had one bee n abl e to perfo rm
the action
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GO L D E N H E LP N UM B E R V I I I
I
s C om e
and
H
as
s G on e
C om e ; I
an d
H
as
G one
.
—
Pup il Ihave trouble in d i spo sin g of the parti c iple in
.
”
“
“
T h e teach e r
such construct ions as T he box is co m e
”
Now o f course I know what to do w ith the
is gon e
”
“
“
—
T he box ha s co m e
T he
part i c iple when ha s is used
”
teacher ha s g o n e f or co m e and g o n e are the princ ipal
—
i
verbs and ha s is in each sentence the aux l i ary but
“
“
”
”
i s co m e
and is g one what shall I do w ith these
f or m s ?
—
T eacher
Im ust l e t you tel l m e
—
Pup il But I don t know about th ese constructions
“
Now i f the verb were transitive as
T he teacher i s
”
lo v
I should know of course that l o v
e d by her pup ils
ed
i s the principal verb and that i s is the auxil i ary for the
verb l o v
e is in the present tense and the pass ive vo i ce
—
i
the noun t ea che r be ng the receiver o f the action but
“
“
” —
”
Ican not te ll how to di spose
i s co m e and i s gone
of these form s
—
Teach er
h at kin d of v
erbs a r e g o an d co m e ?
—
Pupil Intransitive
T eacher —Are t h ey in th e pas sive v o i c e ?
—
l
Pupi
No ; be c ause intransitive verbs do not h ave
voice
—
hy do t h ey not have voi c e ?
Te a c h e r
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W
W
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43
#
CO
44
RRE C T E N GL I S H IN T H E S C H O O L
—
Pupil Because
th ey express action th ey do
not express action th at is r eceiv
ed by any t hi n g
“
—
Teacher That i s ; in the sentence T he teacher is
”
lo v
ed
the noun t e a cher receives the action of the verb
and hence is in the passive voice ; whereas in the sen
”
“
tence T he teacher is g o n e the noun t ea cher does not
receive the act ion of the verb and hence is not in the
passive voice In fact it h as no voice at all because it i s
an intrans itive verb
“
”
In the sentence The tea ch er is l oved what is l o v
ed
and what i s i s ?
—
e d i s the past part i ciple of the verb l o v
Pup il L o v
e
and i s us e d as the principal verb ; is i s the a u xil i ary
—
T eacher
Now whenever the past parti c iple of a
transit ive verb i s used trans itively and i s preceded by
“
”
the auxil i ary
is the two form what kind of verb ?
—
Pupil A verb in the passive voice
—
Teacher N o w conjugate l o v
e present tense active
and passive
“
”—
” “
” “
Pupil
I l ove
you l ove
he loves
active
”
“
” “
” “
present ; I a m loved
you a r e l oved
he i s loved
— passive present ; sa m e in the plural
—
T eacher
N o w conju g ate co m e and g o n e i n the pres
e n t tense
” “
“
” “
—
Pup il Active I com e
you com e
he com es
”—
“
sam e in the plural Pa ssive I a m co m e
but I r e co l
—
l ect
co m e and g o n e are intransit ive and so can not
b e conju g ated in t h e passive voice
T eacher — T hen if they can not what shall we do w ith
i s ? It is evident that it is not an aux il i ary for if it were
i t would form wit h t h e particip l e a tra n sitive v
e rb i n t h e
passive v
oi c e
.
wh il e
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#
#
GO L D E N H E LP N U M B E R I
A ct ive
P r o gr ess ive
vF
P ass i
an d
e
T hem
o
rms :
H ow t o
n
derst an d
.
—
Pupi l Inever in the world can underst and a ll about
.
tenses ; at l east I cannot understand about them from a
study of our text book
Teacher Ifear you are l ike the woman that al ways
had bad neighbors and in conse quence fel t obl ig ed to
m ove every year
You seem to have troubl e wit h al l your
text book s and especially with your gram m ar You m i ght
study the conjug ation of the verb s ee in C O RRE C T E N GLI SH
and thus fam iliari z e yourself with a ll Sim ple and p r o g r e s
sive tense form s of thi s verb
—
Pupil Y e s ; but there are s o many tenses t h at they
confuse m e
T eacher —A very Sim pl e way to study the subject i s
a s follows : ( 1 ) There are three m ain tenses called
r
i
m
r
m
r
l
r
n
t
u
e
:
r
s
tense
na
e
y
f
thus
e
a
e
s
e
t
t
u
a
s
s
;
p
y
p
p
p
“
“
”
”
“
”
2
en t
I see ; p a s t I s a w ; fu tu r e I Shall S ee
( )
T hese p r im a ry tenses h ave eac h a co m pleted form cal led
t h e p e r f ect tense nam el y p r es en t p e rf ect p a s t p er f ect
”
“
fu tu r e p erf ect ; t hus : p r es en t p erf ect I have seen ( a c
“
t ion co m pleted up to the present t im e ) p a s t p erf ect I
”
had seen ( action co m p l eted up to past tim e ) fu tu r e p er
“
”
f ee t I shal l h ave See n ( a c tion c ompl eted up to future
t im e )
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46
TWELVE G O LDE N H EL P S
47
Pupil —E ith er ha v
e or ha d see m s to be used in a ll the
perfect tense form s but o m itted in all the sim ple or p r i
m ary tense form s
—
Teacher Y e s ; but in the th i rd person S ingular of
t h e present perfect tense you will note that ha s i s
“
” “
” “
e seen
re quired ; t hus : I ha v
You ha v
He
e seen
”
h
e
h
or
seen
s
a
s
)
(
“
”
—
Pupil Inote t h at you g ave Y o u ha v
for
e seen
“
t h e second person s ingular I thou ght that T ho u ha s t
”
seen was the correct form
—
Teacher Yes ; in poetry and in o ccasional utter
a n ces ; but inas m uc h a s y o u is re q u i red for the S ing ular
a s wel l a s for the p l ural num ber I thi nk that we shoul d
really conju g ate t h e verb in th i s way
—
Pupil T h en ha v
e o r ha s i s a l ways used in the pres
ent and future perfect tense form s and ha d in the
past perfe c t tense form s
—
Teacher Y es ; or you can rem em ber the very sim ple
ha s or ha d wit h the part i ciple and
rul e :
s e ha v
e
re m em ber that these words m ust not be used with words
spelled with a Thus : I be g an ; I have be gun I drank ;
I have drunk I san g ; I have sung I cam e ; I have co m e
—
Pup il In other words the two a s m ust never b e
used to g eth er
—
T each er
Yes ; now l e t us di scus s the pro g ress iv e
tense form s : ( 3 ) E ach tense ha s a p r o g r es s iv
e for m ; or
as we m a y s a y a co n tin u o u s f orm showing that the
“
act ion or state i s in p r o g r es s or is co n tin u o us ; as I
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a m s e e in g
”
.
—
Pupil D o I understand you to
.
m ean
that every
CO
48
RRE C T E N GL I S H IN T H E S C H O O L
t ense form whether p r i m a r y or p erf ect has a pro gress ive
or continuous f or m ?
—
T each e r
Yes ; that i s every tense form in the active
“
”
voice ; thus : the p r im a ry p r es en t tense I s ee becom es
“
”
the p r og r es s iv
e present tense
I a m seeing ; the p r i
“
”
“
m a ry p a s t
I s a w becom es the p r o g r es s iv
I
e past
”
“
”
was seeing ; the p rim a ry fu tu r e I shal l s e e beco m es
“
”
the p r og r es s iv
I Shall be seeing
Now can
e future
you give the pro g ressive tense form s o f the perfect tense ?
“
”
—
Pup il The p r es en t p erf e ct tense I have seen b e
“
co m es the p r es en t p erf ect p r o g r es s iv
I h ave been see
e
”
“
”
in g ; the p a s t p e r f e ct tense
I had seen beco m es the
“
r
i
u
r
r
s
er
f
ec
I
h
ad
been
seeing
the
f
u
t
e
a
t
t
o
es
s
v
e
p
p
p g
“
”
r
e
r
l
m
e
f
tense
I
Shal
have
seen
beco
es
the
f
e
c
t
u
t
u
p
“
”
r
i
r
r
s
i
f
I
shal
have
been
see
ng
e
e
c
t
o
e
s
v
e
l
p
p g
—
Pupil T he exam ples that you have been g ivin g are
all in the act ive vo i ce ; that is the act ion is not perform ed
on the subj ect Now when the verb is in the pass iv e
vo i ce that i s when the subject is bein g acted upon can
all the tenses tak e a pro g ressive tense form ?
—
Teacher No ; only the present and the past t e ns e i n
“
the pass ive voice have a pro gress ive form ; thus : Ia m
“
”
”
b e ing seen
and I was be ing seen etc
—
i
Pup l Iknow that there has been and is m ore or
less controversy rel ative to the pro g ressive form b ein g
hy do so m e
when used in constructions of th i s kind
“
cr it i cs object to such constructions as
T h e h ous e is
” “
”
b ein g bu ilt
I a m bein g seen and l ike sentences ?
—
Teacher M ainly because it is onl y i n th e present
and past tenses that th e progressive form c a n be used ;
that is when the v
erb is in th e passive v
oice Critics s a y
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T WE L VE G O LD E N
H E LP S
49
that it is an innovat i on not based on the gram m ar of our
langua ge ; but it has be e n clearly shown that t h ese con
e been in accordanc e w i th the best usa g e of
s t r u cti o n s h a v
the langua g e for a century Before the i r introduction
i nto our lan gua g e there was no t e nse form that di s cr im i
“
”
activity fro m w ithout and one fro m
n a t e d between an
“ ”
within unless the letter a m ight be said to indicate th i s
Thus even in Anglo S axon the sentence
d ifi e r e n ce
”
“
The h ouse was a buildi ng di d not correspond to our
“
”
present construct i on T he h ouse was being buil t
The
use of these present and past progressive tense for m s has
i
i
i
reatly
increased
the
versat
l
ty
of
our
lan
ua
e
for
t
g
g
g
has enabled us to indicate action fro m with out as dif f er
ent from acti on from within ; t hus : the s im p l e present
tense form in the active voice a s in the sentence T he d o g
”
is shoot ing o r the S im ple present tense form in the p as
“
S ive vo i ce The d o g i s Shot certainly cannot express the
i dea of present pro gr ess ive passive action as in the sen
“
”
tence T he d o g i s b ein g Shot
—
Pupil Then we are to reg ard these constructions as
correct and in accordance w ith m odern g ra mm ar
—
Teacher Certainly The crit i cs who obj ect to this
“
”
innovation as unwarranted have no form that they
can substitute for this construction The present and
past progressive uses in the passive voice have beco m e
ra
m
m
atica
l
and
are
s
recorded
in
our
aut
h
oritative
o
g
te x t-boo k s on E ngl ish
S tandard D ictionary in its supp l em ent sancti o ns t hi s
construction and quotes from Fitz edwa r d Hall a s f o l
lows :
“
Prior to the evo l ution of i s bein g built and wa s
’
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C O R R E C T E N GL I S H
50
IN
THE
W
W
S C H O OL
p o ssesse d n o discrim inate e quival ents o f
a edifica ba tu r ; i s bu il t a n d was bu i l t by
which they were rendered corresponding exactly t o
b eing buil t, we
a edifica tu r an d
,
,
ca tu s e s t an d a edi
fi
a edi
fi
ca tu s e r a t
”
.
—
Pup il Ia m glad that we have had this discussion
for I was aware that such critics as R i chard h ately
hite had objected
G eorg e P M arsh and R ichard G rant
i
k
n
reatly
to
t
h
is
construction
but
I
no
w
that
the
r
o
w
g
;
criticism s are unwarranted
T each er —T h at is s o ; f o r y o u c an r ea d ily s ee t h at the
gram m ar of our l anguage and the best usa g e of the best
writers and speak ers m ust be in accordance with each
other ; or wh at better expresses the thou ght the g ram
m a r o f our l a n gu age i s in reality based upon it s best
usag e
.
,
,
.
,
.
.
,
.
GO L D E N H E LP N UM B E R
T h e N oun C l a us e
t he R el at ive C l a us e : H
an d
T h em
ow
#
t o D is t in guis h
.
—
l
Pupi
I h ave
difficulty i n determin in g wh en tha t
is a relative pronoun and when it is a conjun ct ion In
one of the e x ercises t h at I sent in a few days Since I
dia gram m ed tha t as a rel ative pro no un in t h e sentence
“
”
I kn ow tha t h e i s th e man and w h en my papers wer e
returned I foun d t h at you h ad marked t ha t a s a con
junction N o w why is tha t a c onjuncti o n in the s en
“
”
tence I kno w tha t he i s the m a n and a relative pro
“
noun in the sentence I know the m a n tha t c a ll ed h ere
yesterday
—
Teacher A r el ative pronoun is a l ways used as a
pronoun and a conjun ction at the sam e t im e The con
junct ion i s used m erely a s a connective Thus in the
“
”
sentence I know the m a n t ha t called here yesterday
tha t is a rel ative pronoun because it re l ates to an ante
“
cedent ( m a n ) In t h e sentence I kn o w t ha t he is the
”
m an
t ha t is used a s a c onjunction to c onnect t h e noun
“
”
clause that h e is the m an wh ic h it introduce s wit h
“
”
the principal clause I know that h e is th e m a n
In
other words t ha t i s construed as a rel ative pronoun
only when it relates to an antecedent It is construed a s
a conjuncti o n w h e n it introdu c es a n oun cl ause or i s
“
” “
used in th e se n se of i n order t h a t
fo r th e purpo se
.
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51
C
52
O RR E C T E NG L I S H IN TH E S C H OOL
” “
”
to th e e ff e c t t h at or to introduce a reas o n ( in
t ha t b e ca u s e ) or a result or conse quence ( s o t ha t )
In
constructions where the rel ative pronouns who whi ch
“
etc introduce a noun clause as in the sentence I know
”
who m st ill retains in a sense its func
who m you m ean
t i on as a relat ive pronoun for the reason that there i s
“
always a n i m plied antecedent a s I kn ow the p er s o n
”
who m you m ean
O f course in dia gram m ing this con
“
”
struct ion who m you m ean is dia gram m ed as a noun
“
”
Yo u is the subje c t ; d o m ea n
clause obj ect of kno w
is the verb ; who m is t h e object
—
Pup il Iwish that yo u woul d give m e so m e test that
will enable me to d eterm in e wh en a word i s a pronoun
and when it is m erely a conjunction
T eacher — You can al ways tell the difl e r en ce betwee n
a relative pronoun and a conjunction by the fo ll o win g
test :
h en the word in question is used both as a pronoun
and as a c onjunction at t h e same ti m e it is a relative
pronoun
h en it is used n ot a s a pronoun but m erely
a s a con ne c tive it i s a c onjun c tion
N o w a pronoun i s
al ways use d i n t h e p l a c e o f a noun ; a n d as a noun m ust
al ways be eith er a subject a n object o r a predi c ate co m
plem ent t h e rel ative pron o u n must al ways be used in
“
the sam e wa y In th e senten c e I kn o w t h e man tha t
”
was here yester d ay n ote th a t t ha t i s used as t he sub
“
j c et of the verb wa s while in th e sentence I know tha t
”
he is the m a n t ha t ha s the fun c tion onl y of a connec
tive as it is used as neith er a subject nor an o bject n o r
a predi cate c o m pl eme n t N o w c omp a re t h e f o l l o wi ng
c o nstructi o ns
that
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GO L D E N H E LP N UM B E R
C oncord
Verb
of
#
I
with Ant ecedent of R elative P ronoun :
t
t o D et ermi n e I
H ow
.
—
Pupil I h av
e m uch diffi culty i n determ ining the
num ber of the verb whe n it h as for its subject a relative
pronoun I a m fam iliar with the rul e —T he verb that
has for its subject a relative pronoun is sin gul ar or plural
according as it s antecedent is s ingular or plural ; but m y
trouble i s that I cannot a lways determ ine what is the
antec e dent
—
L e t us cite exa m ples where in the verb has
T eacher
for its subject a relative pronoun and in thi s way we can
arrive at an understandin g of the points involved In
“
e
the sentence T hi s is one of the best book s that ha v
”
“
”
“
ever been written why is h ave been and not has
”
been the correct form ?
—
Pupil Because the antecedent of the rel ative pro
noun t ha t is the p lural noun bo o ks and hence the verb
m ust be plural
—
Teacher An d the rul e ?
—
Pupi l A verb that ha s for i t s subject a rel ative p ro
noun i s Singul ar or plural acc o rding as its antecedent
i s Singul ar or p l ural
—
Teacher Now tell m e why bo o ks a n d not o n e is t he
ante c edent of the rel ative pronoun t ha t
—
er
Pupil Because o n e of the best b ook s c oul d not ev
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54
W
WW
W
W
T W E L VE GO LDE N H EL P S
h ave been written
55
The m eanin g is th at of a ll the book s
e ever been written the one cited is of the best
that ha v
“
—
Teacher Now in the sentence This i s the onl y one
”
of the boo k s t h at i s wort h reading why i s i s and not
a r e correct ?
—
Pup il Because t h e ante c edent of the relative pro
n oun IS o n e
—
hy is it o n e and not b o o ks ?
Teacher
—
Pup il Because the m eanin g is that o f all t h e book s
t his is the only one that is worth readi ng
“
—
T ea ch er
I
n the sentence
S he w a s one of tho se
”
l adies who we r e h ere yesterday
why i s w er e correct ?
—
Pup il Because the antecedent of who is l a di es
h enever the word t ho s e is used does it follow that the
verb i s plural ?
—
Teacher No not necessaril y O f course in the sen
“
tence S he was one o f tho se ladies who ca ll ed yester
”
day it is evident that the rel ative pronoun can refe r
only to th e antecedent l a di es and not to o n e Thus the
“
m aid says to her m istress
A l ady called wh en you were
“
”
”
ho ?
away
The m istress ask s
The m a i d
“
responds
It was one of t h o se l adie s who w e r e here
yesterday
Now on the other hand l e t us as sum e that
the m aid says to h er m i stress indicating a g roup of lad ies
“
in the drawin g roo m O ne of the ladies who cal l ed yes
‘
”
T h e m istres s a sk s
h i ch
t e r d a y is h ere a g ain to day
“
”
one ?
Th e m a i d responds It was one of those l adies
”
in th e corner who wa s here yesterday
Pupil —It does not seem di ffic ul t t o as c ertain t h e
a nte c edent It seem s n e c essary onl y to get at th e r eal
mea nin g
hy I am sure t h at I s h all h a ve n o d ifficul ty
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C
56
O RR E C T E N GL I S H IN
TH E
SC H O O L
h ereafter i n co nstructions of th is kind I s ee, too , b y
the infie ctio n o f your voice that , when the e m phas i s i s
.
“
especially on the word t hos e as in the sentence It was
”
one of thos e la di es who wa s here yesterday the verb
Shoul d be singular T his determ ines the num ber of the
verb in spo k en langua g e but how can we dec ide the
m atter when we encounter the construct i on in l ite r ature ?
—
Teach er B y exam ining the context just a s we de
cided a f ew m i nutes s inc e t h at t h e plural verb wa s
“
re quired i n such constructions a s T hi s is one of the
”
best book s that ha v
e ever been written
Tak e further
“
exa m ples
It is one of those l ibraries whic h ha v
e been
“
”
ere cted by Carnegie
It is o ne of those h appy i n ci
“
”
It i s one
d en ts whic h o ccu r onl y once in a l ife tim e
of those unfortunate a ccid en ts wh ich ha pp en now and
“
”
then
It was one of those n o v
e ls whic h a r e found o nl y
”
in the libraries of the cultured
—
Pupil T hen in referring to the characters in a
—
novel Ican s ee why the construction given in C O RRE C T
“
E N GLI S H is correct
It i s o ne of those cha r a ct ers whi ch
”
ha v
It is evident that inas m uch a s
e been dragged in
one could not p oin t o u t the characters in the sense that
one woul d p o in t o u t the l adies in the drawing roo m the
reference is not sin gul ar
—
Teacher B y am pl ifying the c onstru ction one can
readi ly s e e why t he p l ural verb is re quired : T hus :
“
e
Betty Bro wn was one of those cha r a ct er s which ha v
been dragged in by the author for the purpose of giving
”
a touch of hum or to t h e story
—
Pup il After all as I said a few m inutes since it i s
n ecessary only t o understand the real m eaning
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TW E LVE GO L DE N H EL P S
57
Teacher —L e t us have a little drill on t hi s po int
You see it is only a case of lo gi c ; for you can arriv e at
the conclusion very readily if you w ill only stop and
think Now is the Sin gular or the plural verb re quired
i n the follow ing :
“
T hi s i s one of those prob l e m s whic h a r e o r i s eas ily
”
solved
“
e or ha s ev e r
S h e is one of the best wo m en that ha v
”
l ived
“
It is one of the m ost beautiful pictures that w e r e or
”
wa s ever painted
“
He was one of those m en who s eem or s e e m s to find
”
faul t with out any provo cati on
—
Pupil
n doubte dl y the plural verb is re qui red in
each c onstruction
—
Teach er Now gi ve m e so m e sentences in whi ch the
singular verb i s re qui red
“
—
Pupi l
Thi s is the only one of the problem s i n
”
arithm etic th at s e em s dif ficu l t
—
Teach er Very good
“
—
1
Pupi
S he wa s t h e onl y wo m an a m on g all those
”
present wh o wa s able to give the correct answer
“
It wa s one of the beautiful pictures of Mil lais that
”
wa s o n e xh ibition
I am sure th at I Sh al l never again have dif ficul ty wit h
constructions of this kind but I a m not so confident that
I Sh a ll know wh e n to use th e Singul ar and when th e p lural
verb in senten c es wh e r e th e ante c edent is a personal
pron o un
—
Teach er
h en the antecedent of t h e rel at ive pro
no un i s a pe r s o na l pron o un the verb a grees with that
.
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W
W
W
CO
58
RRE C T E NGL I S H I N
S C HO OL
TH E
antecedent in both person and num ber Now give m e an
exam ple
”
“
—
i
1
It is I who s p ea k
Is it s p ea k or s p ea ks ?
Pup
—
T eacher
h at i s the antecedent o f who ?
—
i
Pup l I
T eacher —
T hen of course s p ea k and not s p ea ks i s
correct G ive som e m ore exa m ples
“
”
Pupil
It is I wh o a m to b lam e
“
”
It i s you who a r e in the wrong
“
”
It i s h e who is at fault
T eacher —Very g ood
—
Pup il
h e n th e r e lat ive pronoun has a com pound
anteced e nt connect e d b y o r or n o r Should not the verb b e
s ingular ?
—
T eacher
Yes if b oth the nouns or th e pronouns are
“
It i s e ith e r he or s he that
singular as in the sentenc e :
”
ha s m ade th i s error
—
Pupil T hen I suppose if the nouns or the pronouns
were plural the verb would b e plural as in th e s e nt e nce :
“
”
It i s e ither we or t hey that ha v
e m ade th i s error
Now suppose that only one of the nouns i s plural Should
the verb be plural ?
—
ach
r
R e asoning fro m analogy we find that the
Te
e
plural verb would be re quired ; and then of course the
plural noun and the pronoun when poss ib l e should
i m m ediately pr e cede th e relative pronoun as in the sen
“
It i s either he or his friends who have m ade
t en ce s :
” “
e m ade th i s
the e rror ;
It is either h e or they that ha v
”
error
Pup i1 — h ich is correct a m or is in the sentence
”
“
It i s e ither he or I that a m ( or i s ) to go ?
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T W ELVE G O LDE N H EL P S
59
Teach e r —
R easo ni n g fro m anal ogy we fin d th at t h e
”
“
sentence shoul d read It is e ither he or I that a m to g o
for the reason that in the Sim me form the constructi on
”
“
sho ul d read E ither h e or I a m to g o ; but all con
s t r u ctio n s of t h is kind are awkward ; it is better to use
“
”
the com pound form E ither h e is to go or I a m to go
”
“
The construction It is either h e or I that a m to g o i s
of course very awkward ; but accor di n g to the rul es of
“
lo gi c a s I h ave just in dicated if E ither he or I a m
“
”
—
—
to go i s gram m atical and it i s t h en It is either
”
he or I that a m to g o m ust be c orrespondi ngl y cor
rect ; but all sentences t h at are g ram m atical are not nec
e s s a r il y in accordance wit h the best usa g e of the l a n
a
i
ua
e
T
h
is
state
m
ent
sound
paradox
cal
but
what
m
g
g
y
I wi sh to express i s that a construct ion m ay be g ram
m a ti ca l s o far as it confor m s to the ru l es of g ra m m ar
and yet it m a y not be in a ccord a nce w ith the rules of
rhetor i c whi ch re qui re that a construct i on shal l be not
only g ram m at i cal b u t e u p ho n e o u s
—
i
Pup l Now in the case of nouns in appo s it i on used
as explanatory nouns what should b e r e g ard e d as the
ant e cedent of the relative pronoun ?
—
T eac her
S tr i ctly speak in g the noun or pronoun to
which the apposit ional noun i s appos e d is the a n t e ce
“
”
dent ; thus It is I your teacher who a m in the wrong
—
Pupil But so m ewhere I h ave seen the rul e that
for the sak e of e m phasis the verb som et im es a grees
with the appositional noun which would m ak e the con
“
struction read
It is I your teacher who s p e a ks to
”
“
you
I think that the exa m p l e g1 v
It is I your
e n is
”
father wh o s p ea ks
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CO
60
RRE C T E N GL I S H
I
N TH E
S C HO O L
—
Teach er Yes ; but the noun in apposit ion a grees
in person as well as in num b er with the noun or pro
noun to wh i ch it i s apposed Conse quently even if f or
the sak e of e m phas i s the verb were to a gree w ith the
appos it i onal noun the num ber and the person would be
”
“
“
t he sam e ; thus :
It is I your f ather who s p ea k ; It
”
is I your teacher who s p ea k to you
It i s safe to m ak e
the verb a gree sim ply with the noun o r the pronoun to
wh i ch t h e appos iti onal noun i s appo sed and then it will
not be c o m e necessary to construe the person of the appo
noun N o w you m ay give so m e exam ples
s iti o n a l
exem pl ifying th i s rule
”
“
C a n you not trust m e I who a m your fr iend ? is the
verb a m correct ?
T eacher —Yes but th e pronoun Iis in c orrect
—
Pupil O h yes it Should be m e accordin g to the
rule —A noun or prono un in appos iti on with another i s
in the sam e case But m e w h o a m T hat seem s a queer
construction
—
eacher
h at is the n um ber and person of m e ?
T
—
Pup il S ingul ar num ber and first person
Teacher — S o what num ber and person of the verb i s
th en re quired ?
Pupil —
S ingular num ber and first person
Teacher —
Now give furth er ex
T hat i s correct
a mp l es
“
Pupil
It was M r B la n k the S uperintendent who
“
”
r
a
e
m
u
in
t
h
e
o
ce
It
is
o
teacher
w
h
o
ffi
a
s
w
y
y
;
instructin g m e
Pupil — N o w as to t h e predicate com pl em ent ; we
h av
e decided that t h e predicate com pl em ent is the ante
.
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#
W#
W
#
W
I
I
GO L D E N H E LP N U M B E R
hich,
h o,
Pup il
.
T h a t : H ow t o
an d
se
T h em
.
— Iwonder wh ether I S h al l ever understa nd just
how to use the relative pronouns who which and t ha t
I know that g ra m m ari ans prefer t ha t when the sense i s
restri ctive and who or which when a new fact is added ;
but som ehow I cannot fully co m prehend thi s subject
—
Teacher Co m m i t thi s rule :
s e t ha t u nl es s the
“
” “
”
“
”
m ean in g is
and he
and she or and it
In the
“
latter case use who or whi ch
T hi s is the m an
e s ay
“
I g ave the m oney to the driver
t ha t called yesterday
“
I brought h er a book
who will give i t to hi s em ployer
”
f ro m the l ibrary whi ch She enjoyed very m uch
You
will observe that in the sentences where who and w hi ch
“
”
“
”
are used and he and and it can be respectively
suppl ied ; and a g a in that in writing out the sentenc e s
the co m m a i s used b efore who and whi ch showing that a
new fact is add e d
“
”
—
Pup il Is ee that and he cannot be substitu te d fo r
“
T hi s is the m a n t ha t called yester
t ha t in the sentence
”
day but that these words can be subst ituted for who in
“
the sentence I g ave the m oney to the drive r who wil l
”
i
h
i
ive
t
to
e
m
ployer
for
one
can
wit
h
e
ua
l
pro
s
g
;
q
“
i
r
i
n
e
a
h
e
I
ave
the
oney
to
t
h
e
driver
w
ll
t
s
m
d
a
p
y
y
g
“
”
I
S o too i n the sentence
give it to hi s e m ploy e r
br o ugh t h er a boo k fro m the l ibrary which s he enjoyed
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62
T
ery
v
W
E LVE G O LDE N H E L P S
63
W
W
W
W
W
m uch ,
“
”
“
”
it ;
one m a y substitute and
as
I
brought her a book f ro m the library a n d s he enjoyed i t
”
very m uch
—
Now you m a y g ive a few illustrat ive s en
T eacher
,
,
.
,
.
t e n ce s
e me
studied the l essons t ha t y o u g a v
The boy tha t wa s her e y es t e r d a y c a lled a g ain to day
I g ave the boo k to your brother who will r etu r n i t I
wrote several letters whi ch y o u will fin d o n m y d es k
T he m a n who s e n a m e I ca n n o t r e ca l l s a ys that h e i s
related to m e The d o g whi ch is a S t B ern a r d s av
ed
the chi l d s l ife
—
Teacher Very g ood T here are a f ew instances
C O RRE C T
where the g eneral rul e i s hardl y app l icable
E N GLI S H gives the following
ho and whi ch are preferable to t ha t in the fo l l o wi n g
cases :
h
l
h
e
is
preferab
e
to
when
its
anteced
nt
i
s
a
t
t
a
o
)
(
“
a l ready restricted T hus My friend fro m New York
”
who m I had invited to v i sit m e is unab l e to co m e
The
antecedent of who m is fr i en d F r i en d is l im ited by m y
hence w ho m i s preferred to t ha t
h
b
i
c
h
is preferable to t ha t wh en it is necessary
)
(
to repeat the pronoun in a subse quent cl ause in such con
“
s tru cti o n s as
The book whi ch you l ent m e and to which
”
“
you have just referred are preferab l e to Th e book
”
t ha t you l ent m e and to whi ch
et c
( h en a preposition i s not re quired that is prefer
“
abl e ; as The boo k t ha t you l ent and t ha t I have just
”
finis h ed
etc )
h
l
h
t
o
0
o
is
preferab
e
afte
r
i
nd
e
nite
p
ro
t
a
t
fi
)
(
.
—
Pup il Ihave
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,
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’
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#
C
64
O RR E C T E NGL I S H IN
TH E
S C H OOL
”
“
nouns T hus T h e r e are m a n y who coul d not com e
“
”
“
T here are s ev
T here are tho s e
e r a l who are a b sent
w ho would h es itate to a ccept su ch terms wh ile there are
”
o the r s w ho would not
—
i
Pup l O f course all t h ese cl au ses a r e restri ctive ;
“
” “
”
“
”
that is and h e
and She or and i t cannot be
used in the place of the relative pronoun If i t were n o t
for the ex ceptio n s h ow easy it would be to l earn the
rul es
T each e r —
T h at is tru e ; but you need h ave no diffi
culty In this instance as th e exceptions to th e rul e are
f ew and easy to understand
h
o
v
w
If
the
re
ative
is
separated
f
r
om
its
erb
d
l
( )
“
o r which is preferabl e to tha t ; thus : T here are m en
w ho althou gh tem pted never fal l and who no m atter
what influences surround them n ever c om pro m ise with
”
th e i r ideals
h
h
i
is
more
euphonious
t
h
an
t
in
such
c
on
c
h
t
a
(
“
s t r u ctio n s as
T he objective co m p l em ent is t h e word
that com p l etes the m eaning o f the verb which it f o l
.
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