SYSTEMATIC ORDER OF PARSING.
The order of parsing a PARTICIPLE, is—a participle, and why?—from what verb is it derived?—speak the three—present, perfect, or compound, and why?—to what does it refer or belong?—RULE.
"I saw a vessel sailing"
Sailing is a participle, a word derived from a verb, and partakes of the nature of a verb, and also of an adjective—it comes from the verb to sail—pres. sailing, perf. sailed, comp. having sailed—it is a present or imperfect participle, because it denotes the continuance of an unfinished action—and refers to the noun "vessel" for its subject, according to
RULE 27. The present participle refers to some noun or pronoun denoting the subject or actor.
"Not a breath disturbs the sleeping billow."
Sleeping is a participial adjective, a word added to a noun to express its quality—it cannot, with propriety, be compared—- it belongs to the noun "billow," agreeably to
RULE 18. Adjectives belong to, and qualify, nouns expressed or understood.
You will please to parse these two words several times over, and, by a little reflection, you will perfectly understand the 27th RULE. Recollect, the participle never varies its termination to agree with a noun or pronoun, for, as it has no nominative, it has no agreement; but it simply refers to an actor. Examples: I see a vessel sailing; or, I see three vessels sailing. You perceive that the participle sailing refers to a singular noun in the first example, and to a plural noun in the second; and yet the participle is in the same form in both examples. The noun vessel is in the objective case, and governed by the transitive verb see. But when a verb follows a noun, the ending of the verb generally varies in order to agree with the noun which is its nominative; as, the vessel sails; the vessels sail.
In this place it may not be improper to notice another Rule that relates to the participle. In the sentence, "The man is beating his horse," the noun horse is in the objective case, because it is the object of the action expressed by the active-transitive participle "beating," and it is governed by the participle beating, according to
RULE 26. Participles have the same government as the verbs have from which they are derived.
The principle upon which this rule is founded, is quite apparent. As a participle derived from a transitive verb, expresses the same kind of action as its verb, it necessarily follows, that the participle must govern the same case as the verb from which it is derived.
When you shall have studied this lecture attentively, you may proceed and parse the following exercises, containing five parts of speech. If, in analyzing these examples, you find any words which you cannot parse correctly and systematically by referring to your Compend for definitions and rules, you will please to turn back and read over again the whole five lectures. You must exercise a little patience; and, for your encouragement, permit me to remind you, that when you shall have acquired a thorough knowledge of these five parts of speech, only five more will remain for you to learn. Be ambitious to excel. Be thorough in your investigations. Give your reasoning powers free scope. By studying these lectures with attention, you will acquire more grammatical knowledge in three months, than is commonly obtained in two years.
In the following examples, the words purling, crusted, slumbering, and twinkling, are participial adjectives. There and its you may omit.
EXERCISES IN PARSING.
Orlando left the herd grazing. The hunters heard the young dog barking. The old fox heard the sportsman's horn sounding. Deep rivers float long rafts. Purling streams moisten the earth's surface. The sun approaching, melts the crusted snow. The slumbering seas calmed the grave old hermit's mind. Pale Cynthia declining, clips the horizon. Man beholds the twinkling stars adorning night's blue arch. The stranger saw the desert thistle bending there its lowly head.
REMARKS ON PARTICIPLES.
Participles frequently become nouns; as, "A good understanding; Excellent writing; He made a good beginning, but a bad ending."
Constructions like the following, have long been sanctioned by the best authorities: "The goods are selling;" "The house is building;" "The work is now publishing." A modern innovation, however, is likely to supersede this mode of expression: thus, "The goods are being sold;" "The house is being built;" "The work is now being published."
You may now answer these
QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED IN PARSING.
How many kinds of participles are there?—What is the ending of a present participle?—What does a perfect participle denote?—With what does the perfect participle of a regular verb correspond?—What is a compound participle?—From what word is the term participle derived?—Why is this part of speech thus named?—Wherein does this part of speech partake of the nature of a verb?—Do all participles participate the properties of adjectives?—In what respect?—When are participles called participial adjectives?—Give examples.—How may a present participle be known?—Repeat the order of parsing a participle.—What rule applies in parsing a present participle?—What Rule in parsing a participial adjective?—Do participles vary in their terminations in order to agree with their subject or actor?—What Rule applies in parsing a noun in the objective case, governed by a participle?—Do participles ever become nouns?—Give examples.
PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
Participles are formed by adding to the verb the termination ing, ed, or en. Ing signifies the same as the noun being. When postfixed to the noun-state of the verb, the compound word thus formed, expresses a continued state of the verbal denotement. It implies that what is meant by the verb, is being continued. En is an alteration of an, the Saxon verbalizing adjunct; ed is a contraction of dede; and the terminations d and t, are a contraction of ed. Participles ending in ed or en, usually denote the dodo, dede, doed, did, done, or finished state of what is meant by the verb. The book is printed. It is a print-ed or print-done book, or such a one as the done act of printing has made it. The book is written; i.e. it has received the done or finish-ed act of writ-ing it.
Participles bear the same relation to verbs, that adnouns do to nouns. They might, therefore, be styled verbal adjectives. But that theory which ranks them with adnouns, appears to rest on a sandy foundation. In classifying words, we ought to be guided more by their manner of meaning, and their inferential meaning, than by their primitive, essential signification. "I have a broken plate;" i.e. I have a plate—broken; "I have broken a plate." If there is no difference in the essential meaning of the word broken, in these two constructions, it cannot be denied, that there is a wide difference in the meaning—inferred by custom; which difference depends on the manner in which the term is applied. The former construction denotes, that I possess a plate which was broken, (whether with or without my agency, is not intimated,) perhaps, one hundred or one thousand years ago; whereas, the meaning of the latter is, that I performed the act of reducing the plate from a whole to a broken state; and it is not intimated whether I possess it, or some one else. It appears reasonable, that, in a practical grammar, at least, any word which occurs in constructions differing so widely, may properly be classed with different parts of speech. This illustration likewise establishes the propriety of retaining what we call the perfect tense of the verb.
QUESTIONS ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
How are participles formed?—What does the imperfect part express?— What do perfect participles denote?