1. The Present or Imperfect Participle, ending in ing, expresses an action, state, or being, as continuing or progressing; as, He was observing; the Perfect Participle expresses action, state, or being, as finished or completed; as, observed, having observed, having been observed. The last two forms are denominated compound.
2. The Imperfect or Present Participle may describe a present, past, or future action; as, "I am observing," "I was observing," "I will be observing." It describes an action as present at the time specified by the auxiliary verb prefixed to it. So the Perfect Participle always expresses the action as completed at the time referred to by the principal verb; as, "The book is printed," "it was print ed," "it will be printed." Hence the imperfect and the perfect participles do not express time abstractly, but by means of auxiliaries.
Some grammarians designate the Participle as the Participial Mood-a mood which does not assert but merely assumes the attribute as existing.
3. It is called Participle, because it partakes of the na ture of a verb in marking time, and of an adjective in ex pressing an attribute of an object. It has the same form in application to nouns, whatever gender, number, case, or person they may be of.
To avoid ambiguity, it must usually be placed near the noun of which it expresses the attribute. The following sentence is ambiguous: "All the people followed him trembling." It was the people that trembled: hence the participle should have followed people.
4. The participle is often used as an adjective, to express quality or kind: thus, a learned man; a loving friend; an acknowledged fact.
The participle in ing is also often used as a noun, either in the nominative or objective case.
It is generally, though not always, preceded by the article, and followed by the preposition of with an object; as, "A rising of the ple is certain." "Study is essential to the gaining of learning." "Rising early conduces to health." "Stopping at this place is abandoning all you have done."
5. When the imperfect participle has the force of a verb, that is, has an object depending on it, it should not be pre ceded by an article nor followed by a preposition; as,
"By keeping God's commandments, you will prove your love to Him." It should not be written either "By the keeping God's," &c., nor "By keeping of God's, &c.
6. When the participle has no verbal force-no object depending on it-if an article or adjective go before it, a preposition should follow, but if not, not; as,
"Previous to the closing of the bargain." "A final closing of the bargain took place." It must be noticed then, that the arti cle and the of may be both omitted, or neither of them may with out the other.
7. To avoid ambiguity in certain sentences, an important rule should be observed that where the participial noun expresses an act of which the following noun is the agent, it should have the article and the preposition; but where the following noun is the object of the act expressed by the participial, both the article and the preposition should be omitted.
As an example of the first: "He mentioned the first in the hearing of the philosopher;" of the second: "In hearing the philosopher, he learned the fact. The sense is often quite different, with these different modes of expression. "In the hearing of the philosopher," means quite a different thing from "In hearing the philosopher."
8. Care must be taken, in the use of Irregular Verbs, not to employ the past tense for past participle. See the Lesson on Irregular Verbs, for illustration
9. Participles changed into or used ds nouns may be modified by adjectives but not by adverbs:
Thus, we may say, "For the easy grasping of a subject;" but not, "For the easily grasping of a subject." The correct form of the latter clause is, "For grasping a subject easily." Here the participle has the force of a verb, while it is also the object of a preposition.
When a participle (used as a noun) has a possessive noun or pro noun before it, the preposition of should follow it; as, their wor shipping of idols, or the Jews' worshipping of idols was sinful.
10. A great dispute has within a few years past existed, and is not yet settled, on the question, whether the imperfect participle should ever be used in a passive sense, and whether instead of this, the passive participle with the im. perfect active participle preceding it, should not be used. For instance, the question is whether we should say, "The house is building," or "The house is being built." Present use is inclining to the latter form of expression, though plausible reasons are urged against it. Thus, Mr. Harrison :
If we use the phrase, "The house is building," we speak of it as a thing from its very nature not acting itself, and we use the term building as expressive of a passive progressive condition of the house. If we say, "The men are building," we then have active instruments, and the term building is an active participle requiring to be followed by a noun. No mistake can therefore arise from the use of such phrases as, "The house is building." "Preparations are making." We use the participle ed both actively and passively: as, "I have loved," "I am loved." If the passive form ed can thus be used both actively and passively, the active form, on the same grounds, may be used passively and actively. Besides, built, or builded, implies a thing effected, an act accomplished; whereas being implies something continuously present, a continuous condition. Where a verb denotes continuous action, being may properly be applied to it, as consentaneous with the action of the verb; as, being feared, expressive of a continuous condition; but a house is either built or not built. Being built includes incompatible terms, progression and accomplishment. It combines perfect and imperfect action. Becoming built-the house is becoming built, that is, approximating to accomplishment, would come nearer to the intended meaning. Mr. Pichburn says, "Whenever the imperfect participle is joined, by. an auxiliary verb, to a nominative capable of the action, it is taken actively. but, when joined to one incapable of action, it becomes passive."
11. Mr. Grant (in his English Grammar) also says: "The imperfect participle is to be substituted when progression is to be denoted; as, The letter is writing, was writing, has been writing, will be writing; the house is building, was building, has been building, will be building. Written or built, would, on the contrary, denote perfection or completion."
If we object to participles in ing, as having an imperfect pas sive signification, on what principle do we justify such expressions as, "the verses read well," when an external agency is applied to the verses, and they in fact are read? Clearly, in such a case, read is an imperfect passive verb: that is, a verb denoting progression, or imperfect accomplishment. The same may be said of such phrases as, "the ingredients mix well," "the fields plough well," "the corn thrashes well," "this is good to eat," "a house to let," "an estate to sell." The agency in these cases is external, and the object does not act, but is acted upon.
12. According to most grammarians, therefore, and the usage of the best writers, the imperfect participle active of some verbs has a passive as well as an active sense, and is used with the auxiliary substantive verb to express the present tense of the passive progressively-a continuous act. This is true of verbs which in the present passive ex press the completion of an act, or an act finished.
Thus, The house is built." The process of building is ex pressed by the imperfect active participle and an auxiliary. "The house is building." When, however, in such verbs, this participle has not a passive sense, or where the use of it in a passive sense would create ambiguity, some other form of expression should be used. For example: This sentence, "The pirate is now punish ing for his iniquity" would not be admissible; hence the expression must be varied. "The pirate is now receiving (or suffering) the punishment of his crime." Care and judgment are required to decide what those imperfect participles are which may be used in a passive sense, consistently with the idiom of the language and the usage of good writers.
13. Notwithstanding the plausibility of the foregoing reasoning, there are, perhaps, equally strong reasons to be urged in favor of the more modern usage, which seems likely in a few years to set aside the other, having been adopted by some of the best writers, English and Ameri can, and very generally by the newspaper press.
The admitted circumstance that the imperfect participles of only a few transitive verbs can be properly used in a passive sense, while the other form of expression can be universally applied, s an important reason for adopting the latter; and those who are opposed to the latter may, perhaps, become reconciled to it when it is suggested that it may be easily and naturally regarded as a convenient and abbreviated method of expressing the process of any work; thus, "The house is being built," is a brief way of saying, "The house is in process of construction-"is (in process of) being built." "The book was being prepared"-"The book was (in process of) being prepared."
While, therefore, good usage admits the use of the imperfect participles of a few transitive verbs in a passive sense, it must now be acknowledged that perhaps equally respectable and far more general usage is in favor of employing the perfect participle preceded by the imperfect participle to denote the process or progression of any work.
14. The Participle is often used in an absolute manner, not depending on other words; for instance, "Returning home, I found my father sick."
15. A noun before an imperfect or perfect participle, used as a noun, must be in the possessive case; as, "Much will depend on the doctor's coming frequently." "His com ing may restore the patient."
EXERCISES ON PARTICIPLES
Write the following sentences in accordance with the observations in the last lesson.
I charge him with a forsaking his duty. Noah prepared an ark for the saving his house. By the obtaining wisdom you will secure esteem. In avoiding of one error, guard against its oppo site. By obtaining of money, you will have the means of travel ling. This was said in hearing of many persons. By the omit ting to attend to my commission, he caused me great loss. On hearing of his mistake, he offered an apology. The book is read ing by a friend. I could have saw them. Father come home an hour ago. Have the books came? The moon has rose. The lad der has fell. My faith was not shook by that event. The boat was drove ashore. The question is now discussing. A great scene is now enacting at Harper's Ferry. An effort is making to eject him. The bridge was building. Many elegant churches are now erecting in New York. While the ceremony was performing, many withdrew. Gold is found in California. Goods are now selling at very low prices. The court was then holding. A re port of the speech is now printing. Garments are now preparing. A brilliant victory was winning. In the hearing of the will read, much time was occupied. He was remarkable in the patient suffering calamities, or in patient suffering of ills. This was no bet ter than rejecting of the proposal.
