Composition-Rhetoric Part 72

+53. Complete and Incomplete Verbs.+--Some intransitive verbs make a complete a.s.sertion or statement without the aid of any other words. Such verbs are said to be of _complete predication_: [The snow melts].

All transitive verbs and some intransitive verbs require one or more words to complete the meaning of the predicate. Such verbs are said to be incomplete. Whatever is added to complete the meaning of the predicate is termed a _complement_. The complement of a transitive verb is called the _object complement_, or simply the _object_: [She found the _book_].

Some transitive verbs, from the nature of their meaning, take also an _indirect_ object: [I gave _her_ the book]. When a word belonging to the subject is added to an intransitive verb in order to complete the predicate, it is termed an _attribute complement_. This complement may be either a noun or an adjective: [He is our _treasurer_ (noun). This rose is _fragrant_ (adjective)]. Among the incomplete intransitive verbs the most conspicuous are the copula and the copulative verbs.

+54. Auxiliary Verbs.+--English verbs have so few changes of form to express differences in meaning that it is often necessary to use the so-called _auxiliary_ verbs. The most common are: _do, be, have, may, must, might, can, shall, will, should, would, could_, and _ought_. Some of these may be used as princ.i.p.al verbs. A few notes and cautions are added.

_Can_ is used to denote the ability of the subject.

_May_ is used to denote permission, possibility, purpose, or desire. Thus the request for permission should be, "May I?" not "Can I?"

_Must_ indicates necessity.

_Ought_ expresses obligation.

_Had_ should never be used with _ought_. To express a moral obligation in past time, combine _ought_ with the perfect infinitive: [I ought _to have done_ it].

_Should_ sometimes expresses duty: [You should not go].

_Would_ sometimes denotes a custom: [He would sit there for hours].

Sometimes it expresses a wish: [Would he were here!]. For other uses of _should_ and _would_, see Appendix 60.

+55. Princ.i.p.al Parts.+--The main forms of the verb--so important as to be called the _princ.i.p.al parts_ because the other parts are formed from them-- are the _root infinitive_, the _preterite_ (_past_) _indicative_, and the _past participle_ [move, moved, moved; sing, sang, sung; be, was, been].

The _present_ participle is sometimes given with the princ.i.p.al parts.

+56. Inflection.+--As is evident from the preceding paragraph, verbs have certain changes of form to indicate change of meaning. Such a change or _inflection_, in the case of the noun, is called _declension;_ in the case of the verb it is called _conjugation_. Nouns are _declined_; verbs are _conjugated_.

+57. Person and Number.+--In Latin, or any other highly inflected language, there are many terminations to indicate differences in person and number, but in English there is but one in common use, _s_ in the third person singular: [_He runs_], _St_ or _est_ is used after _thou_ in the second person singular: [_Thou lovest_].

+58. Agreement.+--Verbs must agree with their subjects in person and number. The following suggestions concerning agreement may be helpful:--

1. A compound subject that expresses a single idea takes a singular verb: [Bread and milk _is_ wholesome food].

2. When the members of a compound subject, connected by _neither ... nor_, differ as regards person and number, the verb should agree with the nearer of the two: [Neither they nor I _am_ to blame].

3. When the subject consists of singular nouns or p.r.o.nouns connected by _or, either ... or, neither ... nor_, the verb is singular: [Either this book or that _is_ mine].

4. Words joined to the subject by _with, together with, as well as_, etc., do not affect the number of the verb. The same is true of any modifier of the subject: [John, as well as the girls, _is_ playing house. One of my books _is_ lying on the table. Neither of us _is_ to blame].

5. When the article _the_ precedes the word _number_, used as a subject, the verb should be in the singular; otherwise the verb is plural: [_The_ number of pupils in our schools _is_ on the increase. _A_ number of children _have_ been playing in the sand pile].

6. The p.r.o.noun _you_ always takes a plural verb, even if its meaning is singular: [You _were_ here yesterday].

7. A collective noun takes a singular or plural verb, according as the collection is thought of as a whole or as composed of individuals.

+59. Tense.+--The power of the verb to show differences of time is called _tense_. Tense shows also the completeness or incompleteness of an act or condition at the time of speaking. There are three _primary_ tenses: _present, preterite_ (_past_), and _future_; and three _secondary_ tenses for completed action:_present perfect, past perfect_ (_pluperfect_), and _future perfect_.

English has only two simple tenses, the present and the preterite: _I love, I loved_. All other tenses are formed by the use of the auxiliary verbs. By combining the present and past tenses of _will, shall, have, be_, or _do_ with those parts of the verb known as infinitives and participles, the various tenses of the complete conjugation of the verb are built up. The formation of the _preterite_ tense, and the consequent division of verbs into _strong_ and _weak_, will be discussed later.

+60. The Future Tense.+--The future tense is formed by combining _shall_ or _will_ with the root infinitive, without _to_.

The correct form of the _future tense_ in a.s.sertions is here given:--

SINGULAR PLURAL

1. I shall fall 1. We shall fall 2. Thou wilt fall 2. You will fall 3. He will fall 3. They will fall

_Will_, in the _first_ person, denotes not simple futurity, but determination: [I will (= am determined to) go].

_Shall_, in the _second_ and _third_ persons, is not simply the sign of the future tense in declarative sentences. It is used to denote the determination of the speaker with reference to others.

Notice:--

1. In clauses introduced by _that_, expressed or understood, if the noun clause and the princ.i.p.al clause have _different_ subjects, the same auxiliary is used that would be used were the subordinate clause used independently: [I fear we _shall_ be late. My friend is determined that her son _shall_ not be left alone].

2. In all other subordinate clauses, _shall_, for all persons, denotes simple futurity; _will_, an expression of willingness or determination: [He thinks that he _shall_ be there. He promises that he _will_ be there].

3. In questions, _shall_ is always used in the first person; in the second and third persons the same auxiliary is used which is expected in the answer.

(NOTE.--_Should_ and _would_ follow the rules for _shall_ and _will_.)

+61. Tenses for the Completed Action.+

1. To represent an action as completed at the _present_ time, the past participle is used with _have_ (_hast, has_). This forms the _present perfect_ tense: [I _have finished_].

2. To represent an action as completed in _past_ time, the past participle is combined with _had_ (_hadst_). This forms the _past perfect_, or _pluperfect_, tense: [I _had finished_].

3. To represent action that will be completed _in future_ time, _shall have_ or _will have_ is combined with the past participle. This forms the _future perfect_ tense: [I _shall have finished_].

+62. Sequence of Tenses.+--It is, in general, true that the tense of a subordinate clause changes when the tense of the main verb changes. This is known as the Law of the Sequence (or _following_) of Tenses: [I know he means well. I knew he meant well].

The verb in the main clause and the verb in the subordinate clause are not necessarily in the same tense.

[I think he _is_ there. I thought he was there.

I think he _was_ there. I thought he had been there.

I think he _will be_ there. I thought he would be there.]

In general, the principle may be laid down that in a complex sentence the tense for both princ.i.p.al and subordinate clauses is that which the sense requires.