LET US SUM UP
117. Verbs have five form changes.
| Simple | S-Form | Past Time | Present Part. | Past Part. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| call | calls | called | calling | called |
| go | goes | went | going | gone |
Exercise 3
Write in columns like the above the five forms of the following verbs:
- do
- try
- give
- hope
- live
- rob
- have
- think
- sing
- get
- wave
- lose
- come
- make
Exercise 4
Study carefully the following quotation. You will find in it all five of the form changes of the verb—the present time form, the s-form, the past time form, the present participle and the past participle. In the verb phrases had been filled, has survived, has gone, has proved and be dismayed, you will find the past participle used in forming the verb phrase. We will study these verb phrases in later lessons.
In the verb phrases, was stumbling, was groping, is conquering, are carrying, the present participle is used in forming the verb phrases. Could reconcile is also a verb phrase. We will study these verb phrases also in later lessons.
The present participles, struggling, persevering and regaining are used as adjectives. Study them carefully and find the words which they describe. The present participles imagining, learning and suffering are used as nouns. Note their use.
The past participles rebuffed, self-reproached, discouraged and promised are used as adjectives. Find the words which they modify. There are several present time forms, several past time forms, and several s-forms. Find them and study carefully their usage.
OUT OF THE DARK
By Helen Keller
America's famous blind girl, who has come to see more than most people with normal eyes.
Step by step my investigation of blindness led me into the industrial world. And what a world it is. I faced unflinchingly a world of facts—a world of misery and degradation, of blindness, crookedness, and sin, a world struggling against the elements, against the unknown, against itself. How could I reconcile this world of fact with the bright world of my imagining? My darkness had been filled with the light of intelligence, and, behold, the outer day-lit world was stumbling, was groping in social blindness. At first, I was most unhappy, but deeper study restored my confidence. By learning the suffering and burdens of men, I became aware as never before of the life-power which has survived the forces of darkness—the power which, though never completely victorious, is continuously conquering. The very fact that we are still carrying on the contest against the hosts of annihilation proves that on the whole the battle has gone for humanity. The world's great heart has proved equal to the prodigious undertaking which God set it. Rebuffed, but always persevering; self-reproached, but ever regaining faith; undaunted, tenacious, the heart of man labors towards immeasurably distant goals. Discouraged not by difficulties without, or the anguish of ages within, the heart listens to a secret voice that whispers: "Be not dismayed; in the future lies the Promised Land."
List of Irregular Verbs
Here is a list of the principal irregular verbs—the present and past time forms and the past participle are called the principal parts of a verb.
(Those marked with an r have also the regular form.)
SPELLING
LESSON 6
Every vowel or every vowel combination pronounced as one vowel sound indicates a syllable (excepting final e in such words as fate, late, rode, etc.) Take the word combination, for example. In this word we have four syllables, thus: Com-bi-na-tion.
A syllable is that part of a word which can be uttered distinctly by a single effort of the voice. Remember that each syllable must contain a vowel or a vowel combination like oi or ou, which is pronounced as one vowel. Sometimes the vowel alone makes the syllable as in a-lone, e-qual, etc. The final e in words like late, and fate is not sounded. It is silent, we say.
All words ending in silent e have the long vowel sound, with a very few exceptions. Words without the final e have the short vowel sound as for example: fate, fat; mate, mat; hide, hid; rode, rod.
In dividing words into syllables the consonant is written with the preceding vowel when that vowel is short. If the vowel is long the consonant is written with the next syllable, as for example, de-fine and def-i-ni-tion. In de-fine the e is long therefore f, the consonant following, is written with the next syllable, fine. In def-i-ni-tion the e has the short sound, therefore the f is written with the e in the syllable, def.
When there are two consonants following the vowel, divide between the consonants, as for example, in-ven-tion, foun-da-tion, etc. Never divide a digraph, that is, two consonants which are sounded together as one sound, as for example, moth-er, catch-er, te-leg-ra-pher, etc.
In writing words containing double consonants like dd, ll, ss, divide the word into syllables between the double consonants, as for example, per-mit-ted, ad-mis-sion, sad-dest, etc.
Monday
- Important
- Accommodate
- Person
- Correspond
- Action
Tuesday
- Difference
- Notice
- Indicate
- Remember
- Irregular
Wednesday
- Mistake
- Conversation
- Correctly
- President
- Ordinary
Thursday
- Participle
- Passive
- Various
- Phrase
- Quotation
Friday
- Imagine
- Confidence
- Humanity
- Faith
- Future
Saturday
- Whisper
- Thought
- Ability
- Knowledge
- Genius
PLAIN ENGLISH
LESSON 7
Dear Comrade:
I wonder if you have ever thought as to how our language grew.
We get the words in our language from many sources. The English language today is a development of the early Anglo-Saxon. England was called originally Angle-land which was gradually shortened into England. So we have in our language what are called pure English or Anglo-Saxon words. These words form the bulk of our every day vocabulary, being simple, strong, forceful words. Then we have in our English many foreign words which we have adopted from other languages. There are many Latin and Greek words; these we use in our more elegant speech or writing.
There is an interesting bit written by Sir Walter Scott in his novel of early England, "Ivanhoe," which illustrates the manner in which words have come into our language and also the difference in speech which marks the working class and the exploiting class. As those who do the work of the world rid themselves of the parasites who have appropriated the produce of their labor, through the ages, they will demand that which belongs to them—the best—the best in language as in everything else.
"'... I advise thee to call off Fangs and leave the herd to their destiny, which, whether they meet with bands of traveling soldiers, or of outlaws, or of wandering pilgrims, can be little else than to be converted into Normans before morning, to thy no small ease and comfort.'
"'The swine turned into Normans to my comfort!' quoth Gurth. 'Expound that to me, Wamba, for my brain is too dull and my mind too vexed to read riddles.'
"'Why, how call you these grunting brutes running about on their four legs?' demanded Wamba.
"'Swine, fool, swine,' said the herd; 'every fool knows that.'
"'And swine is good Saxon,' said the jester; 'but how call you the sow when she is flayed, and drawn, and quartered, and hung by the heels like a traitor?'
"'Pork,' answered the swineherd.
"'I am glad every fool knows that too,' said Wamba; 'and pork, I think, is good Norman-French, and so when the brute lives and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes a Norman and is called pork when she is carried to the castle-hall to feast among the nobles. What dost thou think of that, friend Gurth, ha?' ... "
So you see even in words the distinction is made between those who produce and those who possess.
But the day is at hand when those who work shall also enjoy. We have fought for religious and political freedom. Today we are waging the battle for industrial freedom. It is your struggle. Study—prepare yourself to do battle for your rights.
Yours for Freedom,
THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.
FUTURE TIME
118. We have learned how to express present time and past time, by changes in the form of the verb. But we very often desire to make a statement in which we do not express either present or past time, thus we may say:
- We shall enjoy our rights some day.
- He will join us in the struggle.
We do not mean to say that we do enjoy our rights now, in the present, or that we did in the past, but that we shall enjoy our rights some time in the future. In the second sentence, will join expresses the same idea of future time. To indicate future time, we do not make a change in the verb form, but we use shall and will with the simple form of the verb.
119. We denote future time by use of a verb phrase made by placing shall or will before the simple form of the verb.
120. The rule of some grammarians is to use shall always in the first person, the person speaking, to denote future time, and will with the second person, the person spoken to, and with the third person, the person spoken of, to denote future time. But common usage does not always follow the rules of the grammarians, and, in the course of time, affects and changes these rules. So our common usage of today uses will in the first person to express future time, as well as shall.
This rule of grammarians marks a nicety of speech and conveys a distinction of meaning which it really seems worth while to retain. The idea of the grammarians is that when we use will with the first person and shall with the second or third person, we express a promise or determination. Thus if I say, I shall go, I simply mean that my going will be in the future. But if I say, I will go, I either mean that I am promising to go or that I am expressing my determination to go. So also if we use shall in the second and third persons. If we say, You will go or He will go, we are simply stating that the going will be in the future, but if we say, You shall go, or He shall go, we mean that we promise or are determined that you or he shall go.
To be technically correct this distinction should be observed. Shall in the first person, and will in the second and third express simple futurity. Will in the first person and shall in the second and third express promise or determination. But in every day conversation this distinction is not observed, and many of our best writers do not follow this rule.
Exercise 1
Mark the future time forms in the following sentences:
- I shall speak of liberty.
- I will never give up.
- I shall write to him.
- He shall not starve.
- We shall expect you.
- They shall suffer for this.
- I shall go to New York.
- He will call for me.
- The hungry shall be fed.
- You will soon see the reason.
- You shall never want for a friend.
- They shall some day see the truth.
- We will not fight against our class.
- We will stand together.