as, "Time to come." "A desire to go." "A hope to recover." to stay." (f.) An adverbial element used to denote purpose, or motive; as, went ye out to see?" "A wish "What NOTE. In this use the infinitive is sometimes said, though not properly, to be absolute; "To confess the truth, I was in fault" That I may confess the truth, I was in fault." = (9.) To denote a result, after too, than, so-as; as, "He is too proud to beg." "He is wiser than to attempt such an enterprise." "Be so good as to hear me." 7. The preposition for should never be used before the infinitive employed to express motive or purpose; also, the sign to should not be used at the close of a sentence; as, "He went to see," not "for to see." "He spoke, or intended to speak," not, "intended to." 8. The infinitive is often understood; as, "They considered him [to be] upright." 229. Exercise. 1. Analyze the following sentences, and parse the infinitives : I have brought a book for you to read. Johnson declared wit to consist in finding out resemblances. These passages prove that materialists will sometimes find Hume to be a very dangerous ally. For him to assert and deny the same sentiment on different pages, is proof of the instability of his opinions. It was well for him to die at his post, with his armor on. I heard him repeat whole pages of poetry. Few things are more destructive to the best interests of society than the prevalent but mistaken notion that it requires a vast deal of talent to be a successful knave. It is a disgrace to be the author of such a report. To take away the benevolent affections from the moral world, would be like extinguishing the sun from the natural. I love to roam over the green fields. He seems to think the rule inapplicable to his case. They appear to rest upon the solid earth. A desire to see his face once more induced us to attempt the journey. The work is to be commenced tomorrow. To be good is to be happy. They remained to see what was to be done. He was too feeble to write a letter. Will you be so good as to pass me that book? MODEL I. "To see the sun is pleasant." This is a simple sentence. "To see" is the simple, and "to see the sun" is the complex subject. "To see" is limited by "the sun,' a complex objective element of the first class. Here, though "to see" has the construction of a noun, that An adverbial element denoting purpose, result. Models. is, is in the nominative, it has the limitation of the verb, according to Rule XV. "To see" is an irregular transitive verb, infinitive mode, present tense, and is used as a noun of the third pers., sing., neut., nom., and is made the supject of the proposition. Rule XV. MODEL II. "I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.”—Bible. This complex sentence has an infinitive in each clause. 66 Say" is an irregular transitive verb, having "of thee" for an indirect, and the subordinate clause for a direct object; infinitive mode, present tense, and, with its objective subject (men understood), forms the object of "have heard." Rule XV. See also (5, c.). It is put in the infinitive without the sign to, by Rule XV., a. "To interpret" is a regular transitive verb, infinitive mode, present tense, and is used to limit "canst understand" as its object, by Rule XV. By an ancient idiom, its proper object is made the object of the principal verb, and is then pleonastically represented by "it." In modern style it would be, "understand how to interpret a dream," or "understand a dream so as to interpret it." 2. Construct examples of your own to illustrate the uses of the infinitive. 230. Participles. 1. RULE XVII. Participles have the construction of adjectives and nouns, and are limited like verbs; as, “He, stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.” "A habit of sincerity in acknowledging faults is a guard against committing them." 2. The participle used as an adjective assumes of its subject what the verb asserts; as, "Hyacinths blooming." "Hyacinths bloom." (a.) When the participle is used wholly as an adjective (184, I., a.), it is called a participial adjective, and is placed before the noun; as, “The rising sun.' "The roaring billows." 66 (b.) When the participle is used like an adjective, having the same signification and limitations as the verb, the participle, with the words which limit it, is then called the participial construction; as, Encouraged by this magnificent invitation, the inhabitants of the globe considered labor as their only friend." Participles. Used to assume an act. Used wholly as an adjective. Used as an adjective, with the limitations of the verb. (c.) The participle of the copulative verbs may be followed by the predicate nominative, (1.) When the noun or pronoun to which it belongs is nominative. (2.) When the noun or pronoun to which it logically belongs is changed to the possessive; as, "He being an accomplished writer." "I have heard of his being an accomplished writer.” (d.) The participle of copulative verbs may be followed by a predicate objective when the noun or pronoun to which it belongs is in the objective; as, "We regarded him as being a good writer." He intrusted his son to a gentleman named Edric." (e.) The participle, like the adjective, may be used with the copula, to form the predicate; but in this construction it is regarded as a form of the verb; as, "They were riding." "He was deceived." (f) Participles, such as admitting, speaking, granting, and others, are used, as some say, independently; more properly they belong to some noun or pronoun understood; as, "Properly speaking, there is no such thing as chance": We speaking properly, &c. 3. The participle may be used either wholly as a noun, or as a noun having the meaning and limitations of the verb; as, "It is pleasant to walk at the rising of the sun." giving pain to others." "We should avoid (a.) The participle, used wholly as a noun, is preceded by an article or adjective, and followed by of; as, "The sighing of the poor.' "The crying of the needy." In this case the participle cannot be limited, like the verb. (b.) The participle having the construction of the noun, with the meaning and limitations of the verb, may be the subject or predicate nominative, or the object of a transitive verb or preposition; as, “Loving our neighbor as ourselves is fulfilling the law." "Stealing is taking without liberty." "We should avoid breaking a promise." "On approaching the house, the sound of a bell was faintly heard." (c.) In this construction the participle is called the participial noun, and, as such, may be limited by a noun or pronoun in the possessive; "What do you think of his writing a letter—his being a writer?" as, 4. The participle, like the Latin gerund, may limit the predicate by expressing a concomitant action, yet may belong, grammatically, to the subject; as, "They remain standing;" "The Son of Man came eating and drinking." 5. The participle is often equivalent to the infinitive; as, "We saw them approaching the shore" = approach the shore. Participles of copulative verbs. The participle with the copula. Participles used independently. The participle used wholly as a noun-having the construction of the noun. Denoting concomitant action. 231. Exercise. Analyze the following examples, and parse the participles: We expect the dancing-master to teach our children "manners," as well as the act of cutting awkward capers to music. Why is the experiment of an extended republic to be rejected? He came near being devoured by a panther. The case is well worth considering. They came upon him without his being apprised of their approach. The urchin's becoming so respectable a man surprised every one. The gentleman's reputation as a scholar was the cause of his being appointed professor of rhetoric. They narrowly escaped being taken prisoners. Being convinced of his guilt, we resolved to punish him. We descried a vessel stripped of its masts. Having declined the proposal, I determined on a course suited to my own taste. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation. There is no doubt of his being a great statesman. The young maiden was seen standing on the shore, exposed to the merciless winds, and extending her hands towards heaven. Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice. In avoiding one error, do not fall into another. By consulting the best authors, he became learned. Stretching from horizon to horizon, losing itself like a limitless wall in the clouds above, it came pouring its green and massive waters onward, while the continual and rapid crash of falling forests, and crushed cities, and uptorn mountains, thus prostrated, one after another, under its awful power, and the successive shrieks that pierced the heavens, rising even above the roar of the on-rushing ocean, as city after city, kingdom after kingdom, disappeared, produced terror and horror inconceivable, indescribable. MODEL I. "Immured in cypress shades a sorcerer dwells."Milton. -or Let the learner analyze the sentence. It is a simple sentence,— may be regarded as a contracted complex. Immured is a passive participle, or past participle with a passive meaning (immure, immured, immured), and, like an adjective, belongs to "sorcerer," by Rule XVII., or Rule V. MODEL II. "The admiral was too desirous of presenting himself before the sovereigns to protract his stay long at Palos." Prescott. This is a simple declarative sentence. The subject is "the admiral ;” the simple predicate is "was desirous," of which "was" is the copula, and "desirous" the attribute. The attribute is limited by "of presenting himself before the sovereigns," an indirect objective element, com Models, plex,-of which "of presenting" is the basis; "of" is the connective, and "presenting" is the object. "Presenting" is limited, first, by the objective element "himself," and second, by the complex adverbial element "before the sovereigns." "Desirous" is further limited by "too," which intimates the degree or intensity of his desire, and points, as a kind of correlative, to the phrase "to protract his stay long at Palos," used to express the result of the desire. It expresses a kind of comparison, and is equivalent to another construction with so—as not, thus, -so desirous as not to protract, &c. "Presenting" is a present participle, from the verb present (present, presented, presented), used as a noun, and is the object of the preposition of, by Rule XIV., and is limited according to Rule XVII., like the verb "present," from which it is derived. Construct examples of your own illustrating the various uses of the participle. 232. General Exercises for Analysis and Parsing. 1. From London Atlas,―taken from Hillard's First Class Reader. Talent is something, but tact is everything. Talent is serious, sober, grave, and respectable: tact is all that and more too. It is not a sixth sense, but it is the life of all the five. It is the open eye, the quick ear, the judging taste, the keen smell, and the lively touch; it is the interpreter of all riddles, the surmounter of all difficulties, the remover of all obstacles. It is useful in all places, and at all times; it is useful in solitude, for it shows a man his way into the world; it is useful in society, for it shows him his way through the world. Talent is power, tact is skill; talent is weight, tact is momentum; talent knows what to do, tact knows how to do it; talent makes a man respectable, tact will make him respected; talent is wealth, tact is ready money. For all the practical purposes of life, tact carries it against talent, fen to one. Take them to the theatre, and put them against each other on the stage, and talent shall produce you a tragedy that will scarce live long enough to be condemned, while tact keeps the house in a roar, night after night, with its successful farces. There is no want of dramatic talent, there is no want of dramatic tact; but they are seldom together: so we have successful pieces which are not respectable, and respectable pieces which are not successful. 2. Joan of Arc.-Mrs. Hemans. That was a joyous day in Rheims of old, Models. General Exercises for Analysis and Parsing. 20* |