LESSON 6
Reading edition
Dear Comrade:
We have this week another lesson in verbs. Do not be discouraged if you do not understand it all at once. Little by little, it will grow clearer and you will master this important word.
The verb may seem involved to you, but a little application will soon make it clear. It is the most important word in the language to master. It almost seems as though the verb were a living, thinking thing. It changes outward form to accommodate itself to its subject in the number form and person form change. If it is entertaining a subject in the singular it adopts one dress; if it is entertaining a plural subject, more than one, the verb wears a different dress.
So also if the subject is the first person, the person speaking, or the second person, the person spoken to, or the third person, the person spoken of, the verb accommodates itself to the subject. The verb is the most agreeable thing for it changes its form to agree with its subject! So watch your verb and see that it agrees.
Refer constantly to your list of irregular verbs given in this lesson for we so often make mistakes in the use of these verb forms.
Then, too, the verb kindly changes its form to accommodate itself to the time of the action—action in the present, in the past, in the future—action completed before the present time—before some time past—or before some future time—and action progressing and not yet completed in the present, in the past or in the future. Then it can also change to show whether its subject is acting or being acted upon. Isn't the verb a wonderfully accommodating member of the co-operative commonwealth of words?
And can you not see hidden under all this, a marvelous development in the intellectual needs of men from the day of the savage's signs and grunts to the day when we can express such shades of meaning? This tool of expression, language, has had a wonderful evolution side by side with the evolution of the other tools by which man expresses his creative genius; from the forked stick with which man scratched the soil to the great machine-driven plow of today; from the simple threshing flail to the monster threshing machine of modern times.
There is nothing so wonderful as man's ability to express himself. Add a little to your knowledge every day and the sum total will soon surprise you.
Yours for Education,
THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.
INFLECTION—CHANGES IN FORM
104. You remember that nouns have certain changes in form to indicate changes in use. Verbs also have several changes in form to correspond with changes in their use or meaning. Notice the following sentences:
I think.
I thought.
I work.
I worked.
What is the difference in the meaning of I think and I thought? of I work and I worked? When we say, I think, or I work, we mean that the action is now, to-day, in the present; but when we say, I thought, or I worked, we mean that now is not the time of the action, but that the action was performed sometime in the past. So we have a change in the verb form to denote time. The simple form of the verb, like think or work, is used to denote present time. When we wish to express past time we do it by changing the form of the verb. Now note the following:
I, We, You, They, The men } call send fall bring hide
He, She, It, The man } calls sends falls brings hides
Now let us write this in another way.
Present Time
Singular Plural
1st person—I call. We call.
2nd person—You call. You call.
3rd person He She It The man } calls. They, or The men } call.
105. You notice in this table we use the expressions first person, second person, and third person. I and we indicate the person or persons speaking and are called the first person. You indicates the person or persons spoken to and is called the second person. He, she, it, they, and the person or persons or things spoken of, are called the third person.
We use the word you when speaking to one or more than one now-a-days. It used to be that when speaking to a single person, people said thou, and in speaking to two or more they said you. But we today have dropped the old form thou, and use you for both singular and plural.
106. Now note, in the above table, that there is only one form change in the verb, and this is in the third person singular. We say I call, You call, We call, They, or The men call, but we say He, or the man calls, in speaking of one person or thing. So we change the form of the verb with any subject which denotes the third person and the singular number. This form is made by adding s to the simple form of the verb, therefore we may call it the s-form because it always ends in s.
Remember that this s-form is used to express present time with a third person, singular subject. BE CAREFUL NOT TO USE THIS FORM WITH ANY PLURAL SUBJECT. There is no other change in the verb form in expressing the present time in any verb, except in the verb be.
107. This little verb be is one of the most troublesome verbs in our language, and since it is used in forming verb phrases, it will be well to commit the following table to memory. Watch closely your use of this bothersome little word. Note that it has a change in form for the first person singular, as well as for the third person singular. All other verbs have just the one change, the s-form for the third person singular. The verb be has a form also to use with the first person singular, the pronoun I.
Present Time Past Time
Singular Singular
1. I am. 1. I was.
2. You are. 2. You were.
3. He is. 3. He was.
Plural Plural
1. We are. 1. We were.
2. You are. 2. You were.
3. They are. 3. They were.
108. The present time form is the form which expresses present time. It is expressed by the simple form of the verb with the exception of the third person singular, which is expressed by the s-form.
PAST TIME
109. To express past time we change the form of the verb. Notice the following:
I She He It The man } called sent fell brought hid We You They The men } called sent fell brought hid
Notice that these various forms of the verb which express past time are all made by changes from the simple form, which expresses present time. You will also notice that these five verbs used in the above table all form their past time form in different ways. For example, call adds ed; send changes the final letter from d to t; fall changes the vowel in the middle of the word from a to e; bring changes both the vowel and the final letter from bring to brought; hide drops the final letter e.
110. Verbs whose past time forms are made by adding d or ed to the simple form are called regular verbs.
Verbs whose past time forms are made in some other way than by adding d or ed are called irregular verbs.
111. There are about two hundred of these irregular verbs which form their past time in the following ways:
1. By change in the vowel letter, as fall, fell; write, wrote; see, saw; sing, sang; come, came.
2. By dropping the final vowel; as hide, hid; slide, slid; bite, bit.
3. By dropping a vowel from the middle of the word; as bleed, bled; feed, fed; lead, led.
4. By changing the final letter or letters; as send, sent; lose, lost; spend, spent.
5. By changing the vowel and final letters; as bring, brought; seek, sought; catch, caught.
6. By changing the vowel sound and adding t or d; as sleep, slept; feel, felt; flee, fled.
There are some irregular forms which we must learn and be exceedingly careful in their use. Study the list in this lesson.
Exercise 1
Write the present and past time forms of the following verbs as the verb think is written in the table given below.
think
ride
have
give
write
ask
make
try
speak
run
see
do
Present Time Past Time
Singular Singular
1. I think 1. I thought
2. You think 2. You thought
3. He thinks 3. He thought
Plural Plural
1. We think 1. We thought
2. You think 2. You thought
3. They think 3. They thought
112. Be very careful not to use the s-form except for the third person singular. Be especially careful in the use of different forms of the verb be. It is in the use of this verb that we so frequently make mistakes. Watch your own language and the conversation of your friends and note these mistakes and correct them in your own mind. These common blunders in the use of English mark us as careless or uneducated by everyone who hears us speak. We have fallen into bad habits oftentimes and make these mistakes when we know better, and only constant watchfulness for a time can overcome the habit. After a time we learn to speak correctly without effort, and then these mistakes made by others offend the ear like a false note in music.
Exercise 2
Cross out the wrong form in the following:
They was—were not here.
The clouds has—have gathered.
People is—are indifferent.
The train was—were on time.
The men was—were armed.
Our school building is—are inadequate.
The workers earn—earns their wages.
The voters elect—elects the President.
They do—does as they please.
We was—were there on time.
DOING DOUBLE WORK
113. We have found now three forms of the verb, the simple form, the s-form, and the past time form, and, in addition, the I-form, or the first person form of the verb be. There are no other real verb forms, but there are two other changes made in the form of the verb when it ceases to be used as the predicate, the asserting word of the sentence, and becomes, in part, another part of speech.
Notice in the following sentences:
Making shoes is his work.
He enjoys making shoes.
In each of these sentences the word making, from the verb make, is used as a noun. In the first, Making shoes is his work, making is used as the subject of the sentence. In the second, He enjoys making shoes, making is used as the object of the verb enjoys. But making is not like the ordinary noun, for it has an object making—what?—making shoes. Shoes is the object of the action expressed in making. A noun never takes an object; so while the word making is used as a noun, it is also partly a verb. It is a form of the verb used as a noun, but keeping in part its verb nature, partaking of the nature of two parts of speech at the same time.
Hence these forms of the verb are called participles. Participle means partaker.
The participle may also be used as an adjective. Notice the following:
The crying child came toward us.
The rescuing party arrived.
In these sentences crying and rescuing are formed from the verbs cry and rescue, and are used as adjectives to describe the noun child and the noun party. So a participle is a mixed part of speech. It is partially a verb, but is not a true verb. A true verb is always used as the predicate, the asserting word in the sentence and always has a subject. The participle never has a subject; it may have an object, but not a subject.
114. There are two forms of the participle. The active form or the present form as it is sometimes called, ends in ing, as, waiting, walking, saying. It expresses action, existence, or possession as going on at the time mentioned in the sentence.
115. The other form of the participle is the passive form or the past form of the participle. This ends in ed in the regular verbs, and has various forms in the irregular verbs. It is formed in regular verbs by adding d or ed to the simple form, hence has the same form as the past time form, as for example, present time form, call—past time form, called—past participle, called. You will find the past participle forms of irregular verbs in the list of irregular verbs given in this lesson, as for example—present time form, go—past time form, went—past participle, gone.
116. You will find as we study the verb phrases in later lessons that these participles are used in forming verb phrases. As for example:
He is coming.
They are trying.
He has gone.
A participle is a word derived from a verb, partaking of the nature of a verb and also of an adjective or a noun.
LET US SUM UP
117. Verbs have five form changes.
Simple S-Form Past Time Present Part. Past Part.
call calls called calling called
go goes went going gone
Exercise 3
Write in columns like the above the five forms of the following verbs:
do
try
give
hope
live
rob
have
think
sing
get
wave
lose
come
make
Exercise 4
Study carefully the following quotation. You will find in it all five of the form changes of the verb—the present time form, the s-form, the past time form, the present participle and the past participle. In the verb phrases had been filled, has survived, has gone, has proved and be dismayed, you will find the past participle used in forming the verb phrase. We will study these verb phrases in later lessons.
In the verb phrases, was stumbling, was groping, is conquering, are carrying, the present participle is used in forming the verb phrases. Could reconcile is also a verb phrase. We will study these verb phrases also in later lessons.
The present participles, struggling, persevering and regaining are used as adjectives. Study them carefully and find the words which they describe. The present participles imagining, learning and suffering are used as nouns. Note their use.
The past participles rebuffed, self-reproached, discouraged and promised are used as adjectives. Find the words which they modify. There are several present time forms, several past time forms, and several s-forms. Find them and study carefully their usage.
OUT OF THE DARK
By Helen Keller
America's famous blind girl, who has come to see more than most people with normal eyes.
Step by step my investigation of blindness led me into the industrial world. And what a world it is. I faced unflinchingly a world of facts—a world of misery and degradation, of blindness, crookedness, and sin, a world struggling against the elements, against the unknown, against itself. How could I reconcile this world of fact with the bright world of my imagining? My darkness had been filled with the light of intelligence, and, behold, the outer day-lit world was stumbling, was groping in social blindness. At first, I was most unhappy, but deeper study restored my confidence. By learning the suffering and burdens of men, I became aware as never before of the life-power which has survived the forces of darkness—the power which, though never completely victorious, is continuously conquering. The very fact that we are still carrying on the contest against the hosts of annihilation proves that on the whole the battle has gone for humanity. The world's great heart has proved equal to the prodigious undertaking which God set it. Rebuffed, but always persevering; self-reproached, but ever regaining faith; undaunted, tenacious, the heart of man labors towards immeasurably distant goals. Discouraged not by difficulties without, or the anguish of ages within, the heart listens to a secret voice that whispers: "Be not dismayed; in the future lies the Promised Land."
List of Irregular Verbs
Here is a list of the principal irregular verbs—the present and past time forms and the past participle are called the principal parts of a verb.
(Those marked with an r have also the regular form.)
Present T. Past T. Past Part.
abide abode abode
arise arose arisen
awake awoke, r awaked
be or am was been
bear bore borne
beat beat beaten
begin began begun
bend bent, r bent, r
bereave bereft, r bereft, r
beseech besought besought
bet bet bet
bid bid or bade bid (den)
bind bound bound
bite bit bit (ten)
bleed bled bled
blow blew blown
break broke broken
breed bred bred
bring brought brought
build built, r built, r
burn burnt, r burnt, r
burst burst burst
buy bought bought
cast cast cast
catch caught caught
chide chid chid (den)
choose chose chosen
cling clung clung
clothe clad, r clad, r
come came come
cost cost cost
creep crept crept
cut cut cut
deal dealt, r dealt, r
dig dug, r dug, r
do did done
draw drew drawn
dream dreamt, r dreamt, r
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
dwell dwelt, r dwelt, r
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fight fought fought
find found found
flee fled fled
fling flung flung
fly flew flown
forget forgot forgotten
forgive forgave forgiven
forsake forsook forsaken
get got got (ten)
give gave given
go went gone
grind ground ground
grow grew grown
hang hung, r hung, r
have had had
hear heard heard
hew hewed hewn, r
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
keep kept kept
kneel knelt, r knelt, r
knit knit, r knit, r
know knew known
lay laid laid
lead led led
leave left left
lend lent lent
let let let
lie lay lain
light lit, r lit, r
lose lost lost
make made made
mean meant meant
meet met met
mistake mistook mistaken
mow mowed mown, r
pay paid paid
plead pled, r pled, r
put put put
quit quit, r quit, r
read read read
rend rent rent
rid rid rid
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run ran run
saw sawed sawn, r
say said said
see saw seen
seek sought sought
sell sold sold
send sent sent
set set set
shake shook shaken
shape shaped shapen, r
shave shaved shaven, r
shear sheared shorn, r
shed shed shed
shine shone, r shone, r
shoe shod shod
shoot shot shot
show showed shown, r
shrink shrank shrunk (en)
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
slay slew slain
sleep slept slept
slide slid slid (en)
sling slung slung
slink slunk slunk
slit slit slit
smite smote smitten
sow sowed sown, r
speak spoke spoken
speed sped sped
spend spent spent
spill spilt, r spilt, r
spin spun spun
spit spit spit
split split split
spoil spoilt, r spoilt, r
spread spread spread
spring sprang sprung
stand stood stood
stave stove, r stove, r
steal stole stolen
stick stuck stuck
sting stung stung
stink stunk stunk
strike struck struck
strike struck stricken
stride strode stridden
string strung strung
strive strove striven
strew strewed strewn, r
swear sworn sworn
sweat sweat, r sweat, r
sweep swept swept
swell swelled swollen, r
swim swam swum
swing swung swung
take took taken
teach taught taught
tear tore torn
tell told told
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
thrust thrust thrust
tread trod trod (den)
wake woke, r woke, r
wear wore worn
weave wove woven
wed wed, r wed, r
weep wept wept
wet wet, r wet, r
whet whet, r whet, r
win won won
wind wound wound
work wrought, r wrought, r
wring wrung wrung
write wrote written