Chapter 11

Participles

Participles relate to nouns or pronouns, or else are governed by prepositions. Those ending in _ing_ should not be made the subjects or objects of verbs while they retain the government and adjuncts of participles. They may often be converted into nouns or take the form of the infinitive.

“Not _attending_ to this rule is the cause of a very common error.” Better, _“Inattention_ to this rule,” etc. “He abhorred _being_ in debt.” Better, “He abhorred _debt,” “Cavilling_ and _objecting_ upon any subject is much easier than _clearing_ up difficulties.” Say, “_To cavil_ and _object_ upon any subject is much easier than _to clear _up difficulties.”

Omit “of”

Active participles have the same government as the verbs from which they are derived. The preposition _of,_ therefore, should not be used after the participle, when the verb would not require it. Omit _of_ in such expressions as these: “Keeping _of_ one day in seven,” “By preaching _of_ repentance,” “They left beating _of _Paul,” “From calling _of_ names they came to blows,” “They set about repairing _of_ the walls.”

If the article _the_ occurs before the participle, the preposition _of _must be retained; as, “They strictly observed _the keeping of_ one day in seven.”

When a transitive participle is converted into a noun, _of_ must be inserted to govern the object following. “He was very exact in _forming _his sentences,” “He was very exact in _the formation of_ his sentences.”

Omit the possessive

The possessive case should not be prefixed to a participle that is not taken in all respects as a noun. It should, therefore, be expunged in the following sentences: “By _our_ offending others, we expose ourselves.” “She rewarded the boy for _his_ studying so diligently.” “He errs in _his_ giving the word a double construction.”

The possessives in such cases as the following should be avoided: “I have some recollection of his _father’s_ being a judge.” “To prevent _its _being a dry detail of terms.” These sentences may be improved by recasting them. “I have some recollection that his father was a judge.” “To prevent it from being a dry detail of terms.”

When the noun or pronoun to which the participle relates is a passive subject, it should not have the possessive form; as, “The daily instances of _men’s _dying around us remind us of the brevity of human life.” “We do not speak of a _monosyllable’s_ having a primary accent.” Change _men’s_ to _men,_ and _monosyllable’s_ to _monosyllable._

After verbs

Verbs do not govern participles. “I intend _doing_ it,” “I remember _meeting_ Longfellow,” and similar expressions should be changed by the substitution of the infinitive for the participle; as, “I intend _to do it,” _“I remember _to have met_ Longfellow.”

After verbs signifying _to persevere, to desist,_ the participle ending in _ing_ is permitted; as, “So when they _continued asking_ him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them.”

Place

In the use of participles and of verbal nouns, the leading word in sense should always be made the leading word, and not the adjunct, in the construction.

“They did not give notice of the _pupil_ leaving.” Here, the leading idea is _leaving. Pupil_ should, therefore, be subordinate by changing its form to the possessive; as, “They did not give notice of the _pupil’s _leaving.” Better still, “They did not give notice that the pupil had left.”

Clearness

The word to which the participle relates should stand out clearly. “By giving way to sin, trouble is encountered.” This implies that trouble gives way to sin. The relation of the participle is made clear by saying, “By giving way to sin, we encounter trouble.”

“By yielding to temptation, our peace is sacrificed.” This should be, “By yielding to temptation we sacrifice our peace.”

“A poor child was found in the streets by a wealthy and benevolent gentleman, suffering from cold and hunger.” Say, “A poor child, suffering from cold and hunger, was found,” etc.

Awkward Construction

Such awkward sentences as the following should be avoided. In most cases they will require to be recast.

“But as soon as the whole body _is attempted to be carved,_ a disproportion between its various parts results.”

“The offence _attempted to be charged_ should be alleged under another section of the statute.” The following is a better arrangement:

“But as soon as an attempt is made to carve the whole body,” etc. “The offence which it is attempted to charge,” etc.

Is building

The active participle in a passive sense is employed by many excellent writers and is condemned by others.

“Corn _is selling_ for fifty cents a bushel.”

“Corn _is_ _being sold_ for fifty cents a bushel.”

The commercial world evidently prefers the former sentence. There is a breeziness and an energy in it that is lacking in the latter. It must, however, be used with caution. In the following examples the passive form is decidedly better than the active: “The foundation _was_ _being laid,”_ “They _are being educated,” “_While the speech _was being delivered,” _etc.