1470 examples of participles in sentences
Ing for the first participle, er for the comparative degree, and est for the superlative, are indeed added as whole syllables; but the rest, as d or ed for preterits and perfect participles, s or es for the plural number of nouns, or for the third person singular of verbs, and st or est for the second person singular of verbs, nine times in ten, fall into the sound or syllable with which the primitive word terminates.
In old books, all verbs and participles that were intended to be contracted in pronunciation, were contracted also, in some way, by the writer: as, "call'd, carry'd, sacrific'd;" "fly'st, ascrib'st, cryd'st;" "tost, curst, blest, finisht;" and others innumerable.
2. See [ye or you,] or Do you see. PARTICIPLES.
Be [ye or you,] or Do you be. PARTICIPLES.
The gentlemen who affirm that this new form of conjugation "is being introduced into the language," (since they allow participles to follow possessive pronouns) may very fairly be asked, "What evidence have you of its being being introduced?"
In participles, ing denotes continuance: thus being usually means continuing to be; loving, continuing to love; building, continuing to build,or (as taken passively) continuing to be built: i. e., (in words which express the sense more precisely and certainly,) continuing to be in process of construction.
But Dr. Bullions, who, after making "is being built precisely equivalent to is built," classes the two participles differently, and both erroneously,the one as a "present participle," and the other, of late, as a "past,"has also said above, "'Built,' is a perfect participle: and THEREFORE cannot, in any connexion, express an action, or the suffering of an action, now in progress."
11.These criticisms being based upon the meaning of certain participles, either alone or in phrases, and the particular terms spoken of being chiefly meant to represent classes, what is said of them may be understood of their kinds.
With a marvellous instability of doctrine, for the professed systematizer of different languages and grammars, Dr. Bullions has recently changed his names of the second and third participles, in both voices, from "Perfect" and "Compound Perfect," to "Past" and "Perfect."
Worse interpretation, or balder absurdity, is scarcely to be met with; and yet the reverend Doctor, great linguist as he should be, was here only trying to think and tell the common import of a very common sort of English participles; such as, "being loved" and "being seen."
Now, of these misnamed "present participles," we have here one "active," one "passive," and two others(one in each form) that are neuter; but no present time, except what is in the indefinite date of "pertaining.
Yet each of the participles denotes continuance: not, indeed, in or to the present time, but for a time.
But when we say, The house is building, or, Patents are preparing, the participles building and preparing must necessarily be understood in a passive sense; because neither the house nor the patents are capable of action.
PARTICIPLES.
In the Eighth Praxis, it is required of the pupilto distinguish and define the different parts of speech, and the classes and modifications of the ARTICLES, NOUNS, ADJECTIVES, PRONOUNS, VERBS, PARTICIPLES, and ADVERBS.
Dr. Priestley pretends to appreciate the difference between participles and participial nouns, but he rather contrives a fanciful distinction in the sense, than a real one in the construction.
His only note on this point,a note about the "horse running to-day," and the "horse's running to-day,"I shall leave till we come to the syntax of participles.
13.As prepositions very naturally govern any of our participles except the simple perfect, it undoubtedly seems agreeable to our idiom not to disturb this government, when we would express the subject or agent of the being, action, or passion, between the preposition and the participle.
This amender of grammars omits the of which Murray and others scrupulously insert to govern the noun servant, and boldly avows at once, what their rule implies, that, "Participles are sometimes used both as verbs and as nouns at the same time; as, 'By the mind's changing the object,' &c."Ib., p. 134; so Emmons's Gram., p. 64.
17.The foregoing observations tend to show, that the government of possessives by participles, is in general a construction little to be commended,
WITH PARTICIPLES.
Maunder's rule is, "Transitive verbs and participles govern either the objective case or the infinitive mode.
5.If we admit that sentences, parts of sentences, infinitives, participles with their adjuncts, and other phrases, as well as nouns and pronouns, may be "in the objective case;" it will be no easy matter, either to define this case, or to determine what words do, or do not, govern it.
The construction of infinitives and participles will be noticed hereafter.
21.So far as I know, it has not yet been denied, that to before a participle is a preposition, or that a preposition before a participle governs it; though there are not a few who erroneously suppose that participles, by virtue of such government, are necessarily converted into nouns.