(a) Verbs of calling; as, “The place is fitly called Inspiration Point.”—King.
(b) Verbs of deeming; as, “I have been counted a successful teacher.”—Annie Preston.
(c) Verbs of making; as, “The forlorn condition of the new settlers was made still worse by domestic feuds.”—Prescott.
Introductory Word.—After some verbs it is usage to precede the complement by as or for, sometimes even by the infinitive to be. These words are not connectives, nor do they add anything to the meaning of the sentence, though often they do serve to make it more clear; thus, “Chaucer undoubtedly began as an imitator, perhaps as mere translator.”—Lowell.
If as were omitted, it might not be clear at once that imitator is not a direct object of began.
Exercise 32
Explain how all verbs and verbals in the following sentences are completed.
1. Duck-hunting was my favorite sport, and the marshes on the river were fine grounds for them usually, but this season the weather had been so singularly warm that the sport had been poor.—Page.
2. It is not simply beets and potatoes and corn and string-beans that one raises in his well-hoed garden; it is the average of human life.—Warner.
3. The cultivation of this delightful and beautiful art of reading should be recognized as a part of a liberal education.—Brook.