Do thy duty; that is best;
Leave unto thy Lord the rest.

We are but minutes; use us well,

For how we are used you must one day tell.

'Tis a fearful thing in winter

To be shattered by the blast
And to hear the rattling trumpet
Thunder" Cut away the mast."

If 'twere done when 'tis done then 'twere [
It were done quickly.

it would be] well

I had [ = should have] fainted unless I had believed.
I were [should be] a fool .. if she escape me.

Should he be roused out of his sleep to-night.
It were would be] not well.

He had [

If he had killed me

would have] done a kinder deed.

Hadst thou been killed when first thou didst presume,
Thou hadst not lived to kill a son of mine.

In Scotland they have narrow open ditches which they call sheepdrains. A man was one day riding a donkey across a sheep-pasture. When the animal came to a sheep-drain he would not go over it. So the man rode him back a short distance, turned him round and began to use the whip sharply. He thought the ass when going at full speed would jump the drain before he knew it; but when the creature came to the drain he stopped all at once, and the rider was thrown over his head right across the drain. The man got up quickly and called out to the beast, "That was very well pitched, but how are you going to get over?"

VERBALS.

319. It is necessary at this point again to notice certain words which are derived from Verbs and are called Verbals. (Read again pars. 57 and 58.) Verbals express action or being in a general way, but without asserting it. There are three kinds of Verbals, two of which we have already learned to know.

INFINITIVES.

Read again par. 24, and work again Exercise 24, a.

320. Besides the simple Infinitive, as to make, there are others, some Active and some Passive. The complete list is as follows:

Active Voice:

Present Infinitive, to make (to be making).

Perfect Infinitive, to have made (to have been making). Passive Voice: 3

Present Infinitive, to be made.

Perfect Infinitive, to have been made.

321. An Infinitive may be used as Subject, Attribute, or Object in a sentence, or as the object of a Preposition, thus:

Pick out the Infinitives and say how they are used.

The

The traveler promised to return. I mean to write home. girl intends to call. Do you know how to hold a pen? The vessel is

1 The word Present, in grammar, means, "showing action as going on now, at the present time." In the case of Verbals, however, the term Present is, as we shall learn (see page 159, par. 347, Note), not strictly accurate.

2 The word Perfect, in grammar, means, “showing finished or completed (perfected) action."

Only Transitive Verbs have Passive Infinitives. An Intransitive Verb, as look, has only to look (to be looking), to have looked (to have been looking).

about to sail. The father hopes to meet his son.

The workman tries to work. To succeed is pleasing. To err is human, to forgive [is] divine. It is sometimes better to remain silent. To move is to stir, and to be valiant is to stand. The dog is to be shot. Harry is beginning to learn Greek. Mrs. Brown is teaching her girls to sew. If you wish to master a language you ought to work hard. The poor mother refused to be comforted. The general tried to take the town. It is good to confess a fault. He is to be shot. To travel is to know the world. You are to be praised for that. He seems to be following us. Nothing could be done for the animal but to kill him.

Read again par. 25, and work again Exercise 24, b.

322. Some Verbs are followed by the Infinitive without to. The most common of these Verbs are

(a) The Auxiliary Verbs: be, have, do, shall, will, may, can, must, might, could, would, should (see pars. 12, 14, 20, and 315);

(b) Other Verbs, of which the following are the most common bid, dare, help, let, make, need, please, see, watch, feel, hear.

Who saw him die? I heard Mary sing. Let us haste away. The keeper makes the lion obey. You need not fear that the mother will forget her children. The messenger need not wait. You must watch

1 NOTE.-An Auxiliary joined to an Infinitive is regarded as making with it simply one Verb.

me write this. That man dared swim a mile from the shore. Few men dare face a furious bull. Bid the servant come here. I saw the merchant fall on the pavement. We felt the wind blow on our cheeks.

us go home at once. They bid me fetch aid.

Let the long, long procession go,

And let the sorrowing crowd about it go,

And let the mournful martial music blow.

Let

323. Besides taking the places of Nouns (as Subjects, Objects, etc.) Infinitives are frequently used as Adjectives, limiting Nouns; or as Adverbs.

Infinitives used as Adjectives:

It is time to go (i.e. "going or leaving time ").

He is a man to honor (i.e. "honorable man, or man worthy of honor ").

We have the intention to succeed ("to succeed" tells what kind of intention).

Infinitives used as Adverbs:

(a) Modifying Verbs:

He called to see you (called why ?).

The minister came, only to find you had gone away (came with what result?).

I was going to repeat my remarks (going or moving toward what action, or whither ?).

(b) Modifying Adjectives :

It is late to return.

We were sorry to part.

(c) Modifying Adverbs:

You are not tall enough to reach that (to reach modifies the
Adverb enough enough for what?).

I am too tired to talk (to talk modifies the Adverb too-too
tired for what?).

(d) Modifying a statement:

He is, to be sure, a skillful oarsman. (To be sure modifies the whole statement.)

324. A Subject of an Infinitive is sometimes expressed; as, They want me to carry the basket.

It is high time for us to be going.

In the first of these sentences me is not the Object of the Verb want (they do not want “me”); what they want is the carrying of the basket by me. So in the second sentence, it is not time for us, but for our going. "To carry" is the Object of "want," and "to be going" is the Object of the Preposition "for."

325. The Subject of an Infinitive is in the Objective Case.

326. An Infinitive may, like a Verb, take an Object or an Attribute after it, or be modified by an Adverb. Examples: It is too warm to read a book (Object).

The boy tries to be good (Adjective Attribute).

The child is pretending to be a horse (Noun Attribute).

You must learn to run more swiftly (Adverb).

327. An Infinitive with its Subject (if expressed), its Adjuncts (if any), and its Object or its Attribute (if any) forms an Infinitive Phrase.

Exercise 151.

Pick out the Infinitives in the following sentences, and tell how each is used.

He is a man to swear by. We are apt to be mistaken. I am going to swim. Charles wants to leave now. Why do you ask me to read? Do you wish to have me with you? When are we to have dinner? I hope to be there. I wonder to see you here. What is to be done about it? They were glad to see us. The Davises are about to leave for the summer. When are you to go? It is time to be dismissed. To go a-fishing is my favorite sport. You are to be congratulated on your speech. That is too good to be true. How soon shall you be old enough to vote?

I did not know whether to go or not. I do not understand how to parse that word. Let me show you. That is a strange remark to have been made by such a man.