Exercise.
Change each of the following sentences to accord with standard usage, as illustrated above (Secs. 440-444):—
1.
And sharp Adversity will teach at last
Man,—and, as we would hope,—perhaps the devil,
That neither of their intellects are vast.
—Byron.
2. Neither of them, in my opinion, give so accurate an idea of the man as a statuette in bronze.—Trollope.
3. How each of these professions are crowded.—Addison.
4. Neither of their counselors were to be present.—Id.
5. Either of them are equally good to the person to whom they are significant.—Emerson.
6. Neither the red nor the white are strong and glaring.—Burke.
7. A lampoon or a satire do not carry in them robbery or murder.—Addison.
8. Neither of the sisters were very much deceived.—Thackeray.
Nor wood, nor tree, nor bush are there,
Her course to intercept.
—Scott.
10. Both death and I am found eternal.—Milton.
11. In ascending the Mississippi the party was often obliged to wade through morasses; at last they came upon the district of Little Prairie.—G. Bancroft.
12. In a word, the whole nation seems to be running out of their wits.—Smollett.
SEQUENCE OF TENSES (VERBS AND VERBALS).
Lack of logical sequence in verbs.
446. If one or more verbs depend on some leading verb, each should be in the tense that will convey the meaning intended by the writer.
In this sentence from Defoe, "I expected every wave would have swallowed us up," the verb expected looks forward to something in the future, while would have swallowed represents something completed in past time: hence the meaning intended was, "I expected every wave would swallow" etc.
Also in verbals.
In the following sentence, the infinitive also fails to express the exact thought:—
I had hoped never to have seen the statues again.—Macaulay.
The trouble is the same as in the previous sentence; to have seen should be changed to to see, for exact connection. Of course, if the purpose were to represent a prior fact or completed action, the perfect infinitive would be the very thing.
It should be remarked, however, that such sentences as those just quoted are in keeping with the older idea of the unity of the sentence. The present rule is recent.
Exercise.
Explain whether the verbs and infinitives in the following sentences convey the right meaning; if not, change them to a better form:—
1. I gave one quarter to Ann, meaning, on my return, to have divided with her whatever might remain.—De Quincey
2. I can't sketch "The Five Drapers," ... but can look and be thankful to have seen such a masterpiece.—Thackeray.
3. He would have done more wisely to have left them to find their own apology than to have given reasons which seemed paradoxes.—R. W. Church.
4. The propositions of William are stated to have contained a proposition for a compromise.—Palgrave
5. But I found I wanted a stock of words, which I thought I should have acquired before that time.—Franklin
6. I could even have suffered them to have broken Everet Ducking's head.—Irving.
INDIRECT DISCOURSE.
Definitions.
447. Direct discourse—that is, a direct quotation or a direct question—means the identical words the writer or speaker used; as,—
"I hope you have not killed him?" said Amyas.—Kingsley.
Indirect discourse means reported speech,—the thoughts of a writer or speaker put in the words of the one reporting them.
Two samples of indirect discourse.
448. Indirect discourse may be of two kinds:—
(1) Following the thoughts and also the exact words as far as consistent with the rules of logical sequence of verbs.
(2) Merely a concise representation of the original words, not attempting to follow the entire quotation.
The following examples of both are from De Quincey:—
1. Reyes remarked that it was not in his power to oblige the clerk as to that, but that he could oblige him by cutting his throat.
Direct.
His exact words were, "I cannot oblige you ..., but I can oblige you by cutting your throat."
Indirect.
Her prudence whispered eternally, that safety there was none for her until she had laid the Atlantic between herself and St. Sebastian's.
Direct.
She thought to herself, "Safety there is none for me until I have laid," etc.
Summary of the expressions.
2. Then he laid bare the unparalleled ingratitude of such a step. Oh, the unseen treasure that had been spent upon that girl! Oh, the untold sums of money that he had sunk in that unhappy speculation!
Direct synopsis.
The substance of his lamentation was, "Oh, unseen treasure has been spent upon that girl! Untold sums of money have I sunk," etc.
449. From these illustrations will be readily seen the grammatical changes made in transferring from direct to indirect discourse. Remember the following facts:—
(1) Usually the main, introductory verb is in the past tense.
(2) The indirect quotation is usually introduced by that, and the indirect question by whether or if, or regular interrogatives.
(3) Verbs in the present-tense form are changed to the past-tense form. This includes the auxiliaries be, have, will, etc. The past tense is sometimes changed to the past perfect.
(4) The pronouns of the first and second persons are all changed to the third person. Sometimes it is clearer to introduce the antecedent of the pronoun instead.
Other examples of indirect discourse have been given in Part I., under interrogative pronouns, interrogative adverbs, and the subjunctive mood of verbs.