Practical Grammar and Composition Part 22

35. I think I ---- like to go.

EXERCISE 50

_Write five sentences in which SHOULD is used independently, and five in which SHOULD is used dependently._

_Write five sentences in which WOULD is used independently, and five in which WOULD is used dependently._

_Write five sentences in which SHOULD is used in questions, and five in which WOULD is used in questions._

69. USE OF MAY AND MIGHT, CAN AND COULD. _May_, with its past tense, _might_, is properly used to denote permission. _Can_, with its past tense, _could_, refers to the ability or possibility to do a thing. These two words are often confused.

EXERCISE 51

_Fill the blanks in the following sentences:_

1. ---- I go home?

2. ---- we get tickets at that store?

3. ---- the mountain be climbed?

4. ---- we come into your office?

5. You ---- stay as long as you wish.

6. ---- you finish the work in an hour?

7. How ---- you say such a thing?

8. Several people ---- use the same book.

9. We ---- afford to delay a while.

10. ---- John go with me?

11. You ---- often hear the noise.

12. What ---- not be done in a week?

13. That ---- be true, but it ---- not be relied on.

14. What ---- he do to prevent it?

15. When ---- we hand in the work?

70. PARTICIPLES AND GERUNDS. The past participle has already been mentioned as one of the princ.i.p.al parts of the verb. Generally, the PARTICIPLES are those forms of the verb that ARE USED ADJECTIVELY; as, _seeing, having seen, being seen, having been seen, seen, playing, having played_, etc. In the following sentences note that the verb form in each case modifies a substantive: _He, HAVING BEEN INVITED TO DINE, came early, John, BEING SICK, could not come_. The verb form in all these cases is called a participle, and must be used in connection with either a nominative or objective case of a noun or p.r.o.noun.

The GERUND is the same as the participle in its forms, but differs in that, while the participle is always used adjectively, the GERUND IS ALWAYS USED SUBSTANTIVELY; as, _I told OF HIS WINNING the race, AFTER HIS a.s.sERTING it, I believe the statement_.

71. MISUSES OF PARTICIPLES AND GERUNDS.

1. A participle should not be used unless it stands in a grammatical and logical relation to some substantive that is present in the sentence. Failure to follow this rule leads to the error known as the "dangling participle." It is wrong to say, _The dish was broken, RESULTING from its fall_, because _resulting_ does not stand in grammatical relation to any word in the sentence. But it would be right to say, _The dish was broken as a result of its fall_. Examine, also, the following examples:

Wrong: I spent a week in Virginia, _followed_ by a week at Atlantic City.

Right: I spent a week in Virginia, _following_ it by a week at Atlantic City.

Right: I spent a week in Virginia, _and then_ a week at Atlantic City.

2. A participle should not stand at the beginning of a sentence or princ.i.p.al clause unless it belongs to the subject of that sentence or clause. Compare the following:

Wrong: Having been sick, it was decided to remain at home.

Right: Having been sick, I decided to remain at home.

3. A participle preceded by _thus_ should not be used unless it modifies the subject of the preceding verb. Compare the following:

Wrong: He had to rewrite several pages, _thus causing_ him a great deal of trouble.

Right: He had to rewrite several pages, _and was thus caused_ a great deal of trouble.

Right: He had to rewrite several pages, _thus experiencing_ a great deal of trouble.

4. The gerund is often used as the object of a preposition, and frequently has a noun or p.r.o.noun modifier. Owing to confusion between the gerund and the participle, and to the failure to realize that the gerund can only be used substantively, the objective case of a modifying noun or p.r.o.noun is often wrongly used before the gerund.

A substantive used with the gerund should always be in the possessive case. Say, _I heard OF JOHN'S COMING_, not, _I heard OF JOHN COMING_.

5. When a gerund and a preposition are used, the phrase should be in logical and immediate connection with the substantive it modifies, and the phrase should never introduce a sentence unless it logically belongs to the subject of that sentence. Exception: When the gerund phrase denotes a general action, it may be used without grammatical connection to the sentence; as, _In traveling, good drinking water is essential_. Compare the following wrong and right forms:

Wrong: _After seeing his mistake_, a new start was made.

Right: _After seeing his mistake_, he made a new start.

Wrong: _By writing rapidly, the work_ can be finished.

Right: _By writing rapidly, you_ can finish the work.

Wrong: _In copying the exercise_, a mistake was made.

Right: _In copying the exercise, I_ made a mistake.

EXERCISE 52

_In the following sentences, choose the proper form of the substantive from those italicized:_

1. He spoke of _John John's_ coming down.

2. The idea of _his him_ singing is absurd.

3. Do you remember _me my_ speaking about it?

4. What is the use of _you your_ reading that?

5. _He his him_ being arrested was a sufficient disgrace.

6. _He him his_ being now of age, sold the farm.

7. _He him his_ selling it was very unexpected.

8. You should have heard _him his_ telling the story.

9. You should have heard _his him_ telling of the story.

10. To think of _them they their_ having been seen there!

11. What is the object of _Mary Mary's_ studying French?

12. _It its_ being John was a great surprise.

13. What is the use of _them they their_ talking so much?

14. _John John's_ going to school takes all his evenings.

15. The beauty of _James James's_ writing got him the position.

16. He had heard about _me my_ coming to-day.

17. _John John's_ coming was a surprise.

EXERCISE 53