The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown (free ebook reader .txt) 📕

OBS. 11.—When the verbal noun necessarily retains any adjunct of the verb or participle, it seems proper that the two words be made a compound by means of the hyphen: as, "Their hope shall be as the giving-up of the ghost."—Job, xi, 20. "For if the casting-away of them be the reconciling of the world."—Rom., xi, 15. "And the gathering-together of the waters called he seas."—Gen., i, 10. "If he should offer to stop the runnings-out of his justice."—Law and Grace, p. 26. "The stopping-short before the usual pause in the melody, aids the impression that is made by the description of the stone's stopping-short.'"—Kames, El. of Crit., ii, 106. I do not find these words united in the places referred to, but this is nevertheless their true figure. Our authors and printers are lamentably careless, as well as ignorant, respecting the figure of words: for which part of grammar, see the whole of the third chapter, in Part First of this work; also observations on the fourth rule of syntax, from the 30th to the 35th. As certain other compounds may sometimes be broken by tmesis, so may some of these; as, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is."—Heb., x, 23. Adverbs may relate to participles, but nouns require adjectives. The following phrase is therefore inaccurate: "For the more easily reading of large numbers." Yet if we say, "For reading large numbers the more easily," the construction is different, and not inaccurate. Some calculator, I think, has it, "For the more easily reading large numbers." But Hutton says, "For the more easy reading of large numbers."—Hutton's Arith., p. 5; so Babcock's, p. 12. It would be quite as well to say, "For the greater ease in reading large numbers."

OBS. 12.—Many words of a participial form are used directly as nouns, without any article, adjective, or possessive case before them, and without any object or adjunct after them. Such is commonly the construction of the words spelling, reading, writing, ciphering, surveying, drawing, parsing, and many other such names of actions or exercises. They are rightly put by Johnson among "nouns derived from verbs;" for, "The [name of the] action is the same with the participle present, as loving, frighting, fighting, striking."—Dr. Johnson's Gram., p. 10. Thus: "I like writing."—W. Allen's Gram., p. 171. "He supposed, with them, that affirming and denying were operations of the mind."—Tooke's Diversions, i, 35. "'Not rendering,' said Polycarp the disciple of John, 'evil for evil, or railing for railing, or striking for striking, or cursing for cursing."—Dymond, on War. Against this practice, there is seldom any objection; the words are wholly nouns, both in sense and construction. We call them participial nouns, only because they resemble participles in their derivation; or if we call them verbal nouns, it is because they are derived from verbs. But we too frequently find those which retain the government and the adjuncts of participles, used as nouns before or after verbs; or, more properly speaking, used as mongrels and nondescripts, a doubtful species, for which there is seldom any necessity, since the infinitive, the verbal or some other noun, or a clause introduced by the conjunction that, will generally express the idea in a better manner: as, "Exciting such disturbances, is unlawful." Say rather, "To excite such disturbances,—The exciting of such disturbances,—The excitation of such disturbances,—or, That one should excite such disturbances, is unlawful."

OBS. 13.—Murray says, "The word the, before the active participle, in the following sentence, and in all others of a similar construction, is improper, and should be omitted: 'The advising, or the attempting, to excite such disturbances, is unlawful.' It should be, 'Advising or attempting to excite disturbances.'"—Octavo Gram., p. 195. But, by his own showing, "the present participle, with the definite article the before it, becomes a substantive."—Ib., p. 192. And substantives, or nouns, by an other of his notes, can govern the infinitive mood, just as well as participles; or just as well as the verbs which he thinks would be very proper here; namely, "To advise or attempt to excite such disturbances."—Ib., p. 196. It would be right to say, "Any advice, or attempt, to excite such disturbances, is unlawful." And I see not that he has improved the text at all, by expunging the article. Advising and attempting, being disjunct nominatives to is, are nothing but nouns, whether the article be used or not; though they are rather less obviously such without it, and therefore the change is for the worse.

OBS. 14.—Lennie observes, "When a preposition"—(he should have said, When an other preposition—) "follows the participle, of is inadmissible; as, His depending on promises proved his ruin. His neglecting to study when young, rendered him ignorant all his life."—Prin. of E. Gram., 5th Ed., p. 65; 13th Ed., 91. Here on and to, of course, exclude of; but the latter may be changed to of, which will turn the infinitive into a noun: as, "His neglecting of study," &c. "Depending" and "neglecting," being equivalent to dependence and neglect, are participial nouns, and not "participles." Professor Bullions, too, has the same faulty remark, examples and all; (for his book, of the same title, is little else than a gross plagiarism from Lennie's;) though he here forgets his other erroneous doctrines, that, "A preposition should never be used before the infinitive," and that, "Active verbs do not admit a preposition after them." See Bullions's Prin. of E. Gram., pp. 91, 92, and 107.

OBS. 15.—The participle in ing is, on many occasions, equivalent to the infinitive verb, so that the speaker or writer may adopt either, just as he pleases: as, "So their gerunds are sometimes found having [or to have] an absolute or apparently neuter signification."—Grant's Lat. Gram., p. 234. "With tears that ceas'd not flowing" [or to flow].—Milton. "I would willingly have him producing [produce, or to produce] his credentials."—Barclay's Works, iii, 273. There are also instances, and according to my notion not a few, in which the one is put improperly for the other. The participle however is erroneously used for the infinitive much oftener than the infinitive for the participle. The lawful uses of both are exceedingly numerous; though the syntax of the participle, strictly speaking, does not include its various conversions into other parts of speech. The principal instances of regular equivalence between infinitives and participles, may be reduced to the following heads:

1. After the verbs see, hear, and feel, the participle in ing, relating to the objective, is often equivalent to the infinitive governed by the verb; as, "I saw him running"—"I heard it howling."—W. Allen. "I feel the wind blowing." Here the verbs, run, howl, and blow, might be substituted. 2. After intransitive verbs signifying to begin or to continue, the participle in ing, relating to the nominative, may be used in stead of the infinitive connected to the verb; as, "The ass began galloping with all his might."—Sandford and Merton. "It commenced raining very hard."—Silliman. "The steamboats commenced running on Saturday."—Daily Advertiser. "It is now above three years since he began printing."—Dr. Adam's Pref. to Rom. Antiq. "So when they continued asking him."—John, viii, 7. Greek, "[Greek: Os epemenon erotontes auton.]" Latin, "Cum ergo perseverarent interrogantes eum."—Vulgate. "Cùm autem perseverarent eum interrogare."—Beza. "Then shall ye continue following the Lord your God."—1 Sam., xii, 14. "Eritis sequentes Dominum Deum vestrum."—Vulgate. "As she continued praying before the Lord."—1 Sam., i, 12. "Cùm ilia multiplicaret preces coram Domino."—Vulgate. "And they went on beating down one an other."—2 Sam., xiv, 16. "Make the members of them go on rising and growing in their importance."—Blair's Rhet., p. 116. "Why do you keep teasing me?"

3. After for, in, of, or to, and perhaps some other prepositions, the participle may in most cases be varied by the infinitive, which is governed by to only; as, "We are better fitted for receiving the tenets and obeying the precepts of that faith which will make us wise unto salvation."—West's Letters, p. 51. That is—"to receive the tenets and obey the precepts." "Men fit for fighting, practised in fighting, proud of fighting, accustomed to fighting."—W. Allen's Gram., p. 172. That is, "fit to fight," &c. "What is the right path, few take the trouble of inquiring."—Murray's Key, 8vo. ii, 235. Better, perhaps:—"few take the trouble to inquire."

OBS. 16.—One of our best grammarians says, "The infinitive, in the following sentences, should be exchanged for the participle: 'I am weary to bear them.' Is. i, 14. 'Hast thou, spirit, perform'd to point the tempest?' Shak."—Allen's Gram., p. 172. This suggestion implies, that the participle would be here not only equivalent to the infinitive in sense, but better in expression. It is true, the preposition to does not well express the relation between weary and bear; and, doubtless, some regard should be had to the meaning of this particle, whenever it is any thing more than an index of the mood. But the critic ought to have told us how he would make these corrections. For in neither case does the participle alone appear to be a fit substitute for the infinitive, either with or without the to; and the latter text will scarcely bear the participle at all, unless we change the former verb; as, "Hast thou, spirit, done pointing the tempest?" The true meaning of the other example seems somewhat uncertain. The Vulgate has it, "Laboravi sustinens," "I have laboured bearing them;" the French Bible, "Je suis las de les souffrir," "I am tired of bearing them;" the Septuagint, "[Greek: Ouketi anæso tas hamartias humon,]" "I will no more forgive your sins."

OBS. 17.—In the following text, the infinitive is used improperly, nor would the participle in its stead make pure English: "I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt-offerings, to have been continually before me."—Ps. 1. 8. According to the French version, "to have been" should be "which are;" but the Septuagint and the Vulgate take the preceding noun for the nominative, thus: "I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices, but thy burnt-offerings are continually before me."

OBS. 18.—As the preposition to before the infinitive shows the latter to be "that towards which the preceding verb is directed," verbs of desisting, omitting, preventing, and avoiding, are generally found to take the participle after them, and not the infinitive; because, in such instances, the direction of effort seems not to be so properly to, or towards, as from the action.[419] Where the preposition from is inserted, (as it most commonly is, after some of these verbs.) there is no irregularity in the construction of the participle; but where the participle immediately follows the verb, it is perhaps questionable whether it ought to be considered the object of the verb, or a mere participle relating to the nominative which precedes. If we suppose the latter, the participle may be parsed by the common rule; if the former, it must be referred to the third exception above. For example:

1. After verbs of DESISTING; as, "The Cryer used to proclaim, DIXERUNT, i. e. They have done speaking."—Harris's Hermes, p. 132. "A friend is advised to put off making love to Lalage."—Philological Museum, i, 446. "He forbore doing so, on the ground of expediency."—The Friend, iv, 35. "And yet architects never give over attempting to reconcile these two incompatibles."—Kames, El. of Crit., ii, 338. "Never to give over seeking and praying for it."—N. Y. Observer. "Do not leave off seeking."—President Edwards. "Then Satan hath done flattering and comforting."—Baxter. "The princes refrained talking."—Job, xxix, 9. "Principes cessabant loqui."—Vulgate. Here it would be better to say, "The princes refrained from talking." But Murray says, "From seems to be superfluous after forbear: as, 'He could not forbear from appointing the pope,' &c."—Octavo Gram., p. 203. But "forbear to appoint" would be a better correction; for this verb is often followed by the infinitive; as, "Forbear to insinuate."—West's Letters, p. 62. "And he forbare to go forth."—1 Sam., xxiii, 13. The reader will observe, that, "never to give over" or "not to leave off," is in fact the same thing as to continue; and I have shown by the analogy of other languages, that after verbs of continuing the participle is not an object of government; though possibly it may be so, in these instances, which are somewhat different. 2. After verbs of OMITTING; as, "He omits giving an account of them."—Tooke's