Part 18
Note that although the participial phrase may take the place of a clause of time or cause, it is still an adjective element; for, as shown in the sentences just studied, such a participial phrase may modify a noun.
=Summary.=—The participle may be used alone to modify a noun precisely like an adjective.
The participial phrase may modify a noun, taking the place of a clause.
The participial phrase sometimes comes before, and sometimes after, the noun it modifies.
A participial phrase is set off by a comma when it is unrestrictive, whether it follows or precedes the word it modifies.
=Exercise.=—Explain the use of all the participial phrases. Classify the participles. Account for the punctuation.
1.
The breaking waves dashed high On a stern and rock-bound coast.
2. Being direct descendants of Adam and Eve, we had much of their inquiring turn of mind.
3. Worms are elongated, soft-bodied animals, differing greatly in form and habits.
4. The books bound in red morocco belonged to my mother, and the “Iliad” illustrated by Flaxman was one of my father’s treasures.
5. The Temple School was a two-story brick building, standing in the center of a great square piece of land, surrounded by a high picket fence.
6.
Then [comes] the whining schoolboy with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school.
7. That tree toad squatting on the trellis and peering down at us reminds me of the gargoyles on the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
8. The boys looked like a legion of imps, coming and going in the twilight, busy in raising some infernal edifice.
9. At last, finding himself hungry and weary, and seeing that there were herds of wild asses in the plain which he was traversing, Rustum thought that he would catch one of them for his meal, and rest for the night.
10. It is only he who is weary of life that throws himself in the way of a roaring lion.
11. Like most things connected in their first associations with schoolbooks and schooltimes, the Leaning Tower of Pisa seemed much too small.
12. In the morning it was raining, with little prospect of fair weather, but having expected nothing better, we set out on foot for the Causeway.
13. In this tavern the visitor may derive good entertainment from real Genoese dishes,—sausages, strong of garlic, sliced and eaten with fresh green figs; cocks’ combs and sheep kidneys, chopped up with mutton chops and liver; small pieces of some unknown part of a calf, twisted into small shreds, fried, and served up in a great dish; and other curiosities of that kind.
14. Having supposed the Giant’s Causeway to be of great height, I was somewhat disappointed at first for I found the Loom, which is the highest part of it, to be but fifty feet from the water.
XC. PARTICIPIAL PHRASES IN THE PREDICATE
=353.= Although the participial phrase is in the sentence for the purpose of telling something about some person or thing, still it does not always go with the noun that names that person or thing. In the sentence, “The children stood watching them out of the town,” the participial phrase _watching them out of the town_ tells something about the _children_, but it is not a direct modifier of the noun _children_, for it belongs in the predicate of the sentence. It does not modify the verb _stood_, for it does not tell how the standing was done. It really takes the place of a second predicate, _watched them out of the town_, but participles are not asserting words, hence we cannot call this phrase a predicate. The best way to tell about it is this: The verb _stood_ is accompanied by the participial phrase _watching them out of the town_, which denotes an action taking place at the same time as the standing.
Tell about the participial phrases in these sentences:—
Fred entered the house _calling as usual for his mother_.
The Indians advanced, _shouting their war cries_.
She gazed forward, _shading her eyes with both hands_.
NOTE.—Sometimes the participle is used adverbially to modify a verb; as in the sentence, “The children went scampering off to the woods.” This sentence does not mean that the children went _and_ scampered. They only scampered, and the scampering was what made them go. Since the participial phrase tells just how the children did the going, it must be a modifier of the verb _went_.
What is the difference between the sentence just given and the following?—“The children went singing to the woods.” It is plain that not every verb can be modified by a participle. Usually only a verb meaning _come_ or _go_ may be so modified.
=354.= In Lesson LV it was shown that the past participle is often used as a subjective complement; as, “This dress is _soiled_,” “My money is _spent_.”
=355.= In a few idiomatic expressions the participle is used adverbially to modify an adjective; as, _freezing_ cold, _steaming_ hot, _hopping_ mad, _dripping_ wet. Here the participle tells how cold, how hot, etc., and thus denotes degree.
=356.= Sometimes the noun that a participle modifies is omitted, and the participle is said to be used as a noun; as, “The loving are the daring,” which means that loving persons are daring persons. We also speak of the _killed_ and _wounded_.
=Summary.=—The participle or the participial phrase may be a part of the predicate in three ways.
(1) It may be an accompaniment of the verb.
(2) It may be a subjective complement of the verb.
(3) It may be a modifier of a few verbs, denoting the way in which an action was performed.
The participle may be used adverbially to modify an adjective and thus denote the degree of some quality.
The participle may be used as a noun.
=Exercise.=—Explain the use of all participles and participial phrases. Classify the participles.
1. The little mare gave me all the sympathy I could ask, repeatedly rubbing her soft nose over my face, and lapping up my salt tears with evident relish.
2.
Three fishers went sailing out into the west, Out into the west as the sun went down.
3. The warriors of the king were little pleased to hear such talk from his lips.
4. After her conference with the superintendent, this undignified young schoolmistress went dancing and skipping home to tell her mother of her promotion.
5. The sun shining on the rippling water made it so dazzling bright that we were almost blinded.
6.
Little white Lily sat by a stone, Drooping and waiting till the sun shone.
7. On my first day in Tangiers the spectacle was bewildering, and only by concentrating my attention on detached groups could I form any distinct impression of it.
8. Then Rustum made his way to the bazaar, taking his camel drivers with him.
9. After licking his lips and polishing his whiskers, the lynx went loping off through the woods with the limp body of the mink in his jaws, to eat it at leisure in his lair.
10. In October the woods were a blaze of color,—clear gold, flaming scarlet, crimson, amber, and coppery brown.
11.
I watch him as he skims along, Uttering his sweet and mournful cry.
12. Society may be divided into two classes—the bores and the bored.
13.
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weathered every rock, the prize we sought is won.
14. Three kings came riding from far away.
15. One day as the king sat drinking in one of the chambers of his palace, and boasting after his custom, a genius, disguised as a minstrel, desired to be admitted to the royal presence.
16. The underfed dogs snapped and growled in the passages, glaring at the cold stars, and snuffing into the bitter wind, night after night.
17. Drops of nightly dews trickle down to the seeds, moistening the dryness, closing up the little hollows of the ground, drawing the particles of maternal earth more closely.
18. The barley and the rye are garnered and gone, the landscape is bare and deserted.
19. The air was stinging cold and felt like ice upon the boy’s bare, hot throat.
20. Her heart overflowed with sympathy for all the weary, the beaten, the oppressed.
Explain the use of the infinitive phrases in sentences 3, 4, 7, 9, 15.
XCI. ABSOLUTE PARTICIPIAL PHRASES
=357.= In the sentence, “When the snow had left the lawns bare, the crocuses appeared,” we have an adverbial clause. What is it? What does it denote? Such a clause is frequently condensed into a group of words like this, _the snow having left the lawns bare_. In this group there are two parts,—the noun element _the snow_, which was subject of the clause, and the participial phrase _having left the lawns bare_, which is made out of the predicate of the clause. It is clear then that the two parts of this group of words have the logical, though not the grammatical, relation of subject and predicate.
Such a group of words is called an =absolute phrase=.
=358.= The absolute phrase is generally spoken of by grammarians as an independent element; that is, it is not a modifier of any part of the sentence.
=359.= Occasionally, as in the example given, the absolute phrase is an abridgment of an adverbial clause of time. Oftener it is used instead of a clause of cause, as in the sentence, “_The drought having lasted so long_, the foliage began to turn yellow.”
=360.= Sometimes an absolute phrase is used instead of an independent clause, thus changing a compound sentence to a simple sentence; as, “The crew escaped from the ship in three boats, _only two reaching Siberia_.” What clause would you make out of the absolute phrase here? By what conjunction would you join it to the first independent proposition?
=361.= The noun or the pronoun that is the base word of the noun element in an absolute phrase is said to be in the =nominative case=, used =absolutely=.
=Summary.=—An =absolute phrase= is a group of words used independently and consisting of a noun or a pronoun and a participle, having to each other the logical relation of subject and predicate.
An absolute phrase is an abridgment of an adverbial clause or an independent clause.
=Exercise.=—Select all the absolute phrases. Separate them into their two parts. Expand them into adverbial clauses or independent clauses.
1. His feet were clad in half slippers of red leather, the toes being pointed and turned upward.
2. She had paused in reverie, her hands clasped behind her head.
3. Jack telling his condition, the giant bade him welcome.
4. Grandma and Norman were sitting on the floor in front of the ice box, the child having manifested a peculiar desire for cold boiled potato.
5. From a balcony above leaned the lovely Ermengarde, her golden tresses crowned with a nightcap of rare and curious design.
6. The Frey home was made up of cheery workers, even little Dorothea having her daily self-assumed tasks.
7. The laws of that country being very severe against slaves, Androcles was sentenced to be torn in pieces by a furious lion.
8. Through wild and desolate scenes, by forests, rocks, and waterfalls, we pass, the little locomotive always puffing and pushing vigorously behind us.
9. Mowgli had been looking from one to the other of his friends, his chest heaving and his eyes full of tears.
10. These eggs being sold, Jack and his mother got plenty of money.
11. Everywhere, scattered about the country, we have seen windmills, their great arms moving slowly around.
12. Under Rebecca’s delicately etched brows her eyes glowed like two stars; their dancing lights half hidden in lustrous darkness.
13. The eagerness of Barnum to obtain a white elephant is easily understood, that animal being considered by showmen the greatest attraction in the country.
XCII. AGREEMENT OF PARTICIPLES. OTHER WORDS IN -ING
=362.= A sentence containing a participial phrase should be so constructed that there is no doubt as to what noun or pronoun the phrase modifies.
In the sentence, “I had a fine view of your new hospital coming in on the train this morning,” the participial phrase seems by its position to modify the noun _hospital_; but it really modifies the pronoun _I_, and hence should be placed at the beginning of the sentence. If the phrase is expanded into an adverbial clause of time, it may remain where it is.
=363.= In the sentence, “_Opening the door_, my lamp went out,” the participial phrase has nothing to modify.
This is called a =dangling= or a =floating participle=. The best way to deal with such a sentence is to expand the participial phrase into an adverbial clause,—“When I opened the door.”
=Exercise.=—Point out the error in each of these sentences. Reconstruct each sentence.
1. We never once thought of the baby, rushing out of doors to see the fire.
2. I heard the whistles plainly, sailing across the bay.
3. I met your sister coming home from my music lesson.
4. Mother saw the flames first sitting on the veranda.
5. Entering the hall, her foot slipped on the waxed floor and she fell.
6. Putting two and two together, it is quite plain that he wants an appointment.
7. Knitting mittens and piecing quilts, I think Grandmother is very happy.
8. Having been recently painted, Mr. Graham did not recognize his own house.
9. Grasping the rope and plunging into the surf, the huge receding wave carried him out almost to the wreck.
=364.= We have seen that certain participles are in form precisely like infinitives in _-ing_, and can be distinguished from them only by their use. The participle is used like an adjective, and the infinitive in _-ing_ is used like a noun.
Take, for instance, the word _running_ in the following sentences:—
Water _running_ down hill acquires great force.
_Running_ races is a small boy’s pastime.
_Running_ water is clear.
I shall never forget the _running_ of that race.
In the first sentence it is clear that _running_ is a participle, because the participial phrase _running down hill_ modifies the noun _water_ and is, therefore, used like an adjective.
In the second sentence it is equally clear that _running_ is an infinitive, for the infinitive phrase _running races_ is subject of the sentence and is therefore used like a noun.
In the third sentence _running_ is a participle, because it is derived from a verb and cannot be compared. (See § 352.) In other respects it resembles a pure descriptive adjective. In the phrase “an interesting book” _interesting_ is a pure adjective; it can be compared.
In the fourth sentence _running_ is an infinitive in _-ing_. It is modified by an article and is used, like a noun, as the object of the verb.
In the sentences, “It is a wise _saying_,” “Take my _blessing_,” _saying_ and _blessing_ are pure nouns without verbal force, as is shown by the fact that they have plural forms.
=Exercise 1.=—Classify the _-ing_ words in the following sentences as infinitives, participles, adjectives, or nouns:—
1. The half back was cheered by the admiring crowd.
2. The time of the singing of birds is come.
3. I distinctly said that I wanted a singing bird.
4. Singing hymns was her favorite diversion.
5. Painting high buildings is a dangerous occupation.
6. The old lady painting in the Louvre was an excellent copyist.
7. Mr. Morgan paid a large sum for this small painting.
8. The child was pleased with the painting book.
9. A setting hen looks very placid.
10. They should have been arrested for setting fire to the old house.
11. I will ask the photographer when he can give you a sitting.
12. The child sitting on the curbing said sweetly, “Hello, old lady.”
13. The smiling days are not always the friendliest.
14. “I am better,” said Agnes, smiling brightly.
15. A short saying oft contains much wisdom.
16. Ever charming, ever new, when will the landscape tire the view?
17. Health is a blessing that money cannot buy.
18. Another duty the robin took upon himself,—to assist me in seeing that every bird in the room had his daily outing.
19. Turning a canary out into the world is about like turning a two-year old baby out to get its own living.
20. We require from buildings as from men two kinds of goodness: first, the doing their practical duty well; then that they be graceful and pleasing in doing it.
=Exercise 2.=—Explain the use of each verbal in the following sentences. Analyze sentences 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21.
1. The garret is a fine place to sit of an afternoon and hear the rain pattering on the roof.
2. To be called to the principal’s office filled the stoutest heart with alarm.
3.
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea.
4. The old German carpenter packed Mrs. Howe’s heavy furniture in an empty store beneath her apartment, and when she refused to pay him an exorbitant sum, he locked the door on her and her boxes and went off to find a policeman.
5. I had views of many interesting scenes in this family of crows, supposed by the wary parents to be visible only to the cows stolidly feeding on the hillside.
6. The chickens seemed to be well cared for by the women; but the men appeared to be the laziest of mortals.
7. Let us stand on the long iron bridge that spans the St. Lawrence just above Montreal, the very place to study the river as it narrows and runs swifter for its smashing plunge through yonder rapids to the east,—the dreaded Lachine Rapids, whose snarling teeth flash white in the sun.
8. To keep Jim from following the regiment or from staying and getting lost in search of it, the wagoner had tied him to the rear axle of his wagon with a strong twine.
9. The engine mounted the curve faster and faster, roaring through a tunnel, growling over a bridge, and snarling at a paling alongside, but no glimpse of the runaway locomotive could the pursuers get.
10. Daddy felt, like the midshipman, sadly perplexed when the dog was finally missing, but he could suggest no mode of revenge which was not too dangerous for them to put in practice.
11. The thought of my shortcomings in this life falls like a shadow on my life to come.
12. Launching majestically from the edge of the nest, the great eagle had swooped down into the cold shadow, and then, rising into the light by a splendid spiral, he had taken a survey of the empty, glimmering world.
13. Our terrier was never known to spend a night away from home.
14. It is inexplicable to me that any bird should be either so unobservant as not to recognize a foreign egg at sight, or so easy-tempered as not to insist on straightway being rid of it.
15. It is easier to do what you please than to do what you ought.
16. The blue-white moon of midwinter, sharply glittering like an icicle, hung high in a heaven clear as tempered steel.
17. Sometimes the fox resorts to numerous devices to mislead and escape the dog altogether,—walking in the bed of a small creek, running along a rail fence, or leaping into a hollow stump.
18. The elephants simply moved their legs mechanically up and down, and swung their trunks to and fro; but they were determined not to pull or exert the slightest power, neither did they move forward a single inch.
19. The only way to mitigate the hard lot of a canary is to make him so happy that he will not wish to be free.
20. The best part of a journey is getting home again.
21. Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to penetrate the vast regions west of the Mississippi.
22. While the old turkey perched upon a tree top to keep an eye on the enemy, the brood went sailing over the trees toward home.
23. The officers ordered the crape to be instantly cut off from the dogs’ legs.
XCIII. SUMMARY OF PARTICIPLES
=365.=
I. DEFINITION.—A participle is a verbal adjective.
II. FORMS.— 1. Of =intransitive verbs=. _Present_, going. _Past_, gone. _Perfect_, having gone, having been going. 2. Of =transitive verbs=. _Present_, seeing, being seen. _Past_, seen. _Perfect_, having seen, having been seeing, having been seen.
III. USES. 1. To form the =perfect tenses=, the =passive voice=, and the =progressive conjugation=. I have trusted you. You were trusted by me. I am trusting you. 2. As an =adjective modifier= of a noun or a pronoun. (a) _Restrictive._ Barking dogs seldom bite. The picture painted by Leonardo da Vinci was stolen. (b) _Unrestrictive._ (1) Used in place of an adjective clause. The silver moon, shining in the rosy eastern sky, must have looked upon the setting sun. (2) Used in place of a clause of time or cause. Having built a magnificent church, we had to have a magnificent organ. 3. As =subjective complement of a verb=. Christ is risen. Everybody is gone. 4. As an =accompaniment of a verb=. Then the blind girl came nearer, reaching out her hands toward my face. 5. As part of an =absolute phrase=. The roast turkey having received due attention, the boys were ready for mince pie. IV. MODIFIERS AND COMPLEMENTS. Participles have the same modifiers and complements as verbs. Having earned the money, I spent it. Growing tired, we walked slower. Calling me a coward, he went on. Turning sharply to the right, he struck the tree. V. AGREEMENT. 1. The construction of a sentence should leave no doubt as to what word a participial phrase modifies. 2. Dangling participles should be avoided.
Make two good sentences to illustrate each use of the participle.
XCIV. ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES
=366.= A participial phrase is analyzed very much like an infinitive phrase. First the participle should be given as the base, then its complement and modifiers.
MODEL.—_Behind each islet of tall reeds is a fishing boat held fast by two poles stuck in the bottom of the river._
This is a simple, declarative sentence. The subject is _a fishing boat held fast by two poles stuck in the bottom of the river_. The predicate is _is behind each islet of tall reeds_.
The base word of the subject is _boat_. It is modified by the infinitive _fishing_, the article _a_, and the participial phrase _held fast by two poles stuck in the bottom of the river_.
The base word of this phrase is the participle _held_. It is modified by the adverb _fast_ and by the prepositional phrase _by two poles stuck in the bottom of the river_. The base word of the object of the preposition _by_ is the noun _poles_. It is modified by the adjective _two_ and the participial phrase _stuck in the bottom of the river_. The base word of this phrase is the participle _stuck_. It is modified by the prepositional phrase _in the bottom of the river_, etc.
=367.= A sentence containing an absolute phrase should be analyzed as follows:—
MODEL.—_Amy having gone to Vermont, the lady was lonely._
This is a simple, declarative sentence containing the absolute phrase _Amy having gone to Vermont_, which is used instead of the adverbial clause of cause, _since Amy had gone to Vermont_.
The subject is _the lady_. The predicate is _was lonely_, etc.