work. 6. Experience keeps a dear school. 7. Evil words corrupt good manners. 8. April showers bring May flowers. 9. Every man's business is no man's business. 10. A little leak will sink a great ship. 11. Few men can receive advice. 12. Some boys refuse guidance. 13. That tree is a white pine. 14. The stars are suns. 15. The stars' distance is inconceivable. 16. The general made the young man a first lieutenant. 17. You make me happy. CHAPTER VI VERBAL ADJECTIVES 388. The verbal adjective in “ing." The verbal1 in ing may be used either as a noun or as an adjective. We may say Hunting is a sport, or, a hunting dog. This verbal may be used either as an assuming or as a predicate adjective. We may say the hunting dog, or The dog is hunting. The predicate verbal adjective may take an object, as in The dog is hunting rabbits. The assuming verbal adjective can take an object if we put the adjective after the noun, as in The dog hunting rabbits is my dog. Notice that the dog hunting rabbits is a name. The dog hunting rabbits is a phrase (186). The dog hunting rabbits makes no statement, but assumes the hunting.2 In the dog hunting rabbits, hunting modifies dog; so does hunting rabbits. 1 Verbal nouns and adjectives are called verbals, for short. 2 Verbal adjectives are often called participles. A slangy boy, on hearing that only verbs make the speaker responsible, said: "I see. You can't be pinched for a participle.” Assuming verbal adjectives often become pure adjectives. When we speak of a charming scene, we do not stop to think that it means a scene charming us. And there is not much idea of action left when we speak of a thinking man, a rising young man, or a man lacking in good sense. 389. ANALYSIS EXERCISE. Tell of each verbal in ing whether it is a noun or an adjec tive. 1. A rolling stone gathers no moss. 2. Rolling up his bundle, the tramp started on. 3. Rolling is a name applied to a process in iron-making. 4. We are rolling along merrily. 5. Eating takes away the appetite. 6. Eating food takes away the appetite. 7. When the poet Horace spoke of an eating care, he meant destructive care, worry that eats into our hearts. 8. The prairie fire advanced swiftly, eating up everything in its course. 9. Cutting out well is better than sewing up well. 10. That cutting remark is cutting him to the heart. 11. Flying will some day be accomplished by man. 12. The yacht is flying a fying-jib. 13. I saw him running. 14. I saw his running. 15. She caught us going. 16. She objected to our going. 17. I approve of your acting as you do. 18. I hope you don't mind my saying so. 19. What's the matter with my doing that? 20. What is the objection to my going? 21. There was no chance of his succeeding. 22. His saying so shows that it probably was so. 23. Your answering that way reminds me of a story. 24. Your answer sets me to thinking. [Here thinking is a noun.] 25. I am sending you a book by this mail. 26. As we were saying, there is always a best way of getting a lesson. 390. People are sometimes puzzled whether to say me or my, you or your, him or his before the verbal in ing. Shall we say What's wrong with me doing that? or What's wrong with my doing that? Shall we use the adjective, or the noun? Doing is an adjective in me doing; it is a noun in my doing. If we stop to think, our own common sense will always answer this question. If we are thinking of the person in action, then we should say me, or him, or you. If we are thinking of the action itself, then we should say my, or your, or his. Study sentences 13 to 22 in 389. 391. PRACTISE EXERCISE. Each member of the class should repeat the following from memory. What's wrong in my going? What's wrong in our going? What's wrong in your, going? What's wrong in their going? What's wrong in his going? What's wrong in John's going? What's wrong in her going? What's wrong in anyone's going? 392. The freed or absolute noun. Examine two sentences: 1. John, being sick, could not play ball. 2. John being sick, Will had to pitch for him. In the first sentence the subject is John, and being modifies it. In the second sentence, the subject is Will, and the phrase John being sick tells the circumstances under which Will had to pitch for John. Notice the difference in punctuation between the two sentences. The phrase John being sick is composed of a noun, a verbal adjective modifying it, and a predicate adjective after the verbal. The noun is said to be freed from the sentence, because it is neither subject nor object. The absolute or freed noun is modified by a verbal adjective, but is neither a subject nor an object. Taken with its verbal adjective it usually shows the circumstances of some action. 393. The absolute noun is often an awkward construction. It is not good English to say John sickening, Will had to pitch for him. We say: 1. John was sick, and Will had to pitch for him; or, 2. Will had to pitch for John, because John was sick. 394. Nouns and pronouns should stand near the verbal adjectives that are meant to modify them. Otherwise the wrong noun may be modi |