CHAPTER V CORRECT FORMS OF CERTAIN VERBS OF ACTION 64. The "principal parts." Verbs change their forms to show different times or "tenses." Later we shall study these forms systematically. Just now we are concerned with only those forms which in vulgar usage are often confused. Each verb has three "principal parts." The principal parts of the verb begin are: begin, began, begun. 65. The first principal part of a verb shows present time, as in "I begin now." 66. The second principal part of a verb shows past time, as in "I began yesterday." 67. The third principal part of the verb is called the "past participle." The following forms are examples of past participles: begun, taken, drunk, broken, frozen. The past participle is never used by itself, but always has before it a helping word like have, has, had, be, am, is, are, was, or were. Usually this word is have, has, or had, as in I have begun, He has begun, I had begun, I may have begun, I could have begun. 68. The forms of the verb containing the past participle show various shades of time. In "I had come before nine yesterday," had come shows a past time earlier than another past time ("nine o'clock yesterday "). In "I have just come," have come shows a time just now past. "I shall have conquered," speaks of an act as finished in the future. But in "I may perhaps have conquered" the thought of future time is almost swallowed up in the thought of the speaker's doubting mood, expressed in the words may and perhaps. 69. Our chief business for the present is to learn to use the principal parts of certain verbs without confusing them. There are hundreds of verbs in using which nobody is likely to make a mistake; the verb look, for example. The parts of look are look, looked, looked, as every one knows. There are, however, about forty verbs in using which we are obliged to think very carefully of the principal parts. The forty verbs that need our especial study at this time are as follows: awake, begin, blow, break, bring, burst, catch, come, do, drink, eat, flow, fly, freeze, give, go, grow, know, lay, lie (to recline), ride, ring, rise, run, see, set, shake, show, sing, sink, sit, spring, steal, swim, swing, take, teach, throw, wring, write. We shall do well to proceed to study these, some briefly and some fully. 70. Awake. The three principal parts of awake are awake, awoke or awaked, awaked. We say "I awake usually about six o'clock; I awoke yesterday at seven, or I awaked yesterday at seven; I have awaked some mornings as late as eight." We may say "I woke up," or "I waked up," but we may not say "I have woke up." 71. ORAL EXERCISE. Use I, we, and they in turn before the following: wake up, woke up, waked up, have awaked, had awaked. Use he and she in turn before the following: wakes up, woke up, waked up, has waked up, had waked up. 72. Begin. The principal parts of begin are begin, began, begun. We say: "School began today; recitations have already begun." 73. ORAL EXERCISE. Use He began before. the following: (1) to help; (2) to get ready; (3) getting ready; (4) to study; (5) studying; (6) to study to be a doctor; (7) studying to be a doctor; (8) drilling to be a soldier ; (9) to find fault; (10) to look pleased; (11) to lose his way; (12) to answer; (13) to recite ; (14) to laugh; (15) to make believe; (16) to be afraid; (17) a reply; (18) a composition; (19) once more; (20) over again. 74. ORAL EXERCISE. Use He has begun before each of the numbered expressions in section 73. 75. ORAL EXERCISE. Use It has begun before the following: (1) to rain; (2) to snow; (3) to clear up; (4) to look cloudy; (5) to sprinkle; (6) to threaten snow; (7) grow cold; (8) to cloud over; (9) to be misty; (10) to thunder. 76. Blow. The principal parts of blow are blow, blew, blown. The form "blowed" is a vulgarism. When you wish to say that a person made a great fuss and talk, say he blustered, or he was blustering, about it. Keep blow for such things that move in things as the wind, and the wind. Use bluster to express the act of a person, unless you mean that the person's breath was coming short and thick, as in "He came out of the water blowing like a porpoise, and lay down on the bank quite blown." Use blew in the blanks. furiously. 2. Ita gale. 77. ORAL EXERCISE. 1. The wind 3. It the helmsman's cap off. the jib away. 5. It hour. 6. The Maine breeze 4. It about fifty miles an up. 7. "The fair the white foam flew, the furrow followed free." Use the participle blown in the blanks. 1. The helmsman's cap was jib was off. 2. The off. 3. His hair was about his face. 4. The Maine was perhaps up. 5. The nipple of the musket out. 6. The breech of the fowling was |