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W # # # W N TH E SH I CORRE CT E N GLI ’ T ’ SCHOOE ZO E L VE G O L DE N H E L P S # ## # BY NE T JO S E P H I RC A T H OR OF # W BA ER 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 CO : : NE AN D E D I T O R O F T H E MAG A Z I CO C RR E C T E NGLIS H : H O TO T SE I # 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 , W W # 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, . , . , , , . . . , . . , , , . . . . . . 5 i # 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 , , . . . . ' , , . , , . , , , . . , , , . , . . , , . . , , , , . , , , . 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 . . . . . . , . . . # , — 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 , . , , . . , . . . . . , , . . , CO 8 W # 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 , . , , , , . , , . , , , , . , , , , . . . , . , . , , , , . . . . . , . , . . . , , . 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 . . . , . , . . , . , , . . , , . . , , , , , , , . . . , . . , ’ . , . . , . , , . , , 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 . . . . . . , , . . , , . . . ’ . , . . . , , . . . . . . . , , , , . 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 . , , . , , . , , . , . , , , , , , , . , , , , . . , . . . . , . , . 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 , , , , , , , . , , , , . . . , . , , , . , , , 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 . , , , . . , . : . , , , , , , . , , , . , , 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 . , . , . 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 . , , , , , . , , , . , # , , , , , , , , , , . . , , ’ . , , . , . , . , 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , . . , . . , , . . , , , , , . . . , . . . . . , . . , r h s a e p . , 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 . , , . , , , , . . , . , . . , , , , , , , . . , . , , , , , . . . . . , , ’ , , , , . , . , 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 . , , , , . , . , , , , . , . . . . , , , , , . , 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 , . , , , 18 , , 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 , . , , , , , , . , . , . , . 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 , . . , ’ . , # . . , . . , , . ’ . . . . . , 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, . ’ . , . . , . . , , . , . . , . , , ’ , . , , , , . , , . . , . 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 ? . . , , ' , , , . . . , ’ . . . . . , . . , , . . ’ . , 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 . . , , , , . , . , . . . , . # # , . . 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 . , . , , . , . , , , , , , , . , , . . , 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 , . . . , , . ’ . . , , . . , . , . . , . , . , . , , ’ . , , , , , , ’ , , . # , , , , ' . , , , , 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 . , , , , , . . . . , ’ , . , , , , , . , . , . , . . , , . . . , . , , , . , , . , , , , . , . , , 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 ; , , , , . . W . . . . , , . , , , . , , , . , . . , , . 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 . . . . , . . . , . . . . , 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 , . , . , , . , . , , , , . , , , , . # 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 . , , , . , , , , , , , . , . , , 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 . , , , , , . . . , , , . , , , , . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . , . , . , , , , . , . 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 . , . , . . . . . . . . , , . , , . . , , , . . , , . . . . ' . , , , . , , , . 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 , . , , . . , , , , , . . . . , , , , , . . , , 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 , . , , . , . . , , . . . . , . . , . 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 , , , . . . , , ’ , , . , . , . . . , , . , , 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 ) , , . , , . , . , . , , . , , . , , . , . , , . , , , . , , , , , , . 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 , , , , , . , . , , , . , , , , , , , , . . , , , , . , , , , . , . , . . , , , . , , . . , . , 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 ) , , . , , , , , , , . , , . , , . , , , , , . , . , , . , , , , , . . . . . . , . , . . , 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 , . , . , , , , , . , , , . , , , . , , . . , , , , , , . , , . . 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 , , W W , , . , , , , , , , . . ’ . . , , , , , , , . , , . . . . . . . . 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 , , . . , , , , , , , , , , . , , , . , , . . . , , . . . , , . , , , , , , , . , . , , . . , . , , , , , . . , , , . , # # 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 ) , . . , . . , , . . . . , , , , , , , , . , , , , , , , . 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 . , . , , . , , # . , . . . . , , . . , . . , . , . . . . ’ . , . . , , , , , , 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 , . , , , , , , , , , , . . , , , , , . , . , . , W , , , , , , , . , . , . , , . , , , . , , . 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 ’ . , . , , , , . , , , ’ , . . , . . . , . . , , , , 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 . . , , , , , . , , , , . . . , , , , . , , , , , , . , . , , 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 , , . , , W W , , . , , , , , , , , . , , , . , . , . . , . , , . , , , , , . , , , , , , , . , , 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 . , . . , . , , , , . , , . . . , . , , . . . 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 . , . . , , , , . . . , . , , . . , , . . , . . , , , , , . , , , , . , , , , , . , , . . . . , 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 , , , . , . , , . . . . . . , . , . . , , . . , , . . , , . 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 . . , # , , . . . . . . W , . . , . . . . . . . ’ . , . . , 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 ? . . . . . . . . . , , , , . . . . . . . . , . , . . , , , . , , , . , , , , , . . , , , 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 , . , , , , , . , , , , , , , , , , # , , . , , , , , . . , , . , , , , . , . , , , , . , , , # , . , 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 . , , . , # W , , , , . , , , , . . , . . , . , , , . . . . , . . . , . . . . . . , , , ’ . . , , # 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 , , , , . , . , . , , . , . , , . , , , , , , . . , , , , , , , , . , , , , 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 . . , , . . . , , . . , , ’ . . . . . , . , . , . , , , . , , . , # 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 . . , . W , . . , , , , . , . , . , , , , . , , ,