025 USE OF PLURAL-PAST-SUPPORTING VERB 'WERE' IN SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD

Subjunctive mood expresses the mood of a verb.

*A verb in subjunctive mood can express a wish.
Example: God bless you.
Long live the Queen.

Observation:

Note the use of simple tense without any conjugations, here.

*A verb in subjunctive mood makes statements of impossibilities and improbabilities.

Examples

If I were the President of U.S., I would have stopped the attacks on civilian targets.

ObservationMy becoming the President of U.S. is an impossibility.
Note the use of the plural-past-supporting-verb "were" for the first person I.

Blogger's comment:

It is not clear, who first started the use of plural-past-supporting-verb "were", in subjunctive mood. It unnecessarily confuses users, because 'were' is a supporting verb which indicates past tense.

"I shall stop the attacks on civilian targets, if I am the President of U.S."
"I would have stopped the attacks on civilian targets, if I was the President of U.S."

The above sentences would have also been correct, had English been a logical language. English occasionally throws away logic into garbage dump.

See the following statement:

I shall donate one dollar, if I get ten dollars.

The mood is not subjunctive here. Reason: I have a probability or possibility of getting ten dollars. It is not impossible. I have, hence, used the right tense i.e. the future tense "I shall donate". "If" when used in conditions, is normally followed by a verb in simple present tense.

SOME QUOTES OF IMPOSSIBILITIES

I have more memories than if I were a thousand years old. ? Charles Baudelaire.

If I were a girl , I'd despair. The supply of good women far exceeds that of the men who deserve them. ? Robert Graves.

If I were a grave-digger or even a hangman, there are some people I could work for with a great deal of enjoyment ? Douglas Jerrold.

If I were a writer, how I would enjoy being told the novel is
dead? Don Delillo.

If I were a man I wouldn't bother to change while there are women like that around. ? Ann Oakley.
If I were a man I would always be laughing at myself. ? Yoko Ono.

If I were a side dish , he hadn't ordered. ? Ring Lardner.

If I were a woman I would kiss as many of you as had beards that
pleased me, complexions that liked me and breaths that I defied not ?
William Shakespeare.

I would want him to do everything for me and wait on me as
if I were a princess. But that is not the way at all. ?

If I were a piece in a game of chess, when my opponent says of it: That piece cannot be moved. ? Soren Kierkegaard.

017 DOERS - TRANSITIVE VERBS - OBJECTS

TRANSITIVE VERB

transit = movement or transfer.
transitive= the person/thing which transfers.
transitive verb = A verb which transfers the effect of its action to an object.

Basic principles

*The object of the transitive verb should follow the verb as closely as possible. The meaning may get distorted , if the distance between the two increases.

*The transitive verb should refer to its 'doer' (performer of the action , often the subject), as directly as possible. The doer should precede the transitive verb, and they must be as close as possible.

*Short crisp sentences following the word order subject + transitive verb + object (SVO) will do this job very effectively.

This world, unfortunately, is not such a simple world. Great authors wrote lengthy sentences. Publishing houses patronise lengthy sentences. Examination-paper-setters use lengthy sentences.

The following GMAT question demonstrates it:

`Studying the fruit fly, a household nuisance but a time-honored experimental subject, has enabled the secrets of how embryos develop to begin to be unraveled by scientists.
(A) Studying the fruit fly, a household nuisance but a time-honored experimental subject, has enabled the secrets of how embryos develop to begin to be unraveled by scientists.

(B) By the study of the fruit fly, a household nuisance and also a time-honored experimental subject, it was possible for the secrets of how embryos develop to begin to be unraveled by scientists.

(C) By studying a household nuisance but a time-honored experimental subject, the fruit fly enabled scientist to begin to unravel the secrets of how embryos develop.

(D) By studying the fruit fly, a household nuisance and also a time-honored experimental subject, the secrets of how embryos develop are beginning to be unraveled by scientist.

(E) The study of the fruit fly, a household nuisance but a time-honored experimental subject, has enabled scientist to begin to unravel the secrets of how embryos develop.

Ans: E. A is incorrect because secrets cannot be the object of the transitive verb enable. Enable whom? the scientist. C and E have this combination. Who enabled? C says that the fruit fly enabled. 'Study' is the doer of the action enable.

I invite your views and corrections, if I have gone wrong anywhere.

#014 USE OF PLURAL-PAST-SUPPORTINGVERB 'WERE' IN SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD

Subjunctive mood expresses the mood of a verb.

*A verb in subjunctive mood can express a wish.
Example: God bless you.
Long live the Queen.

Observation:

Note the use of simple tense without any conjugations, here.

*A verb in subjunctive mood makes statements of impossibilities and improbabilities.

Examples

If I were the President of U.S., I would have stopped the attacks on civilian targets.

ObservationMy becoming the President of U.S. is an impossibility.
Note the use of the plural-past-supporting-verb "were" for the first person I.

Blogger's comment:

It is not clear, who first started the use of plural-past-supporting-verb "were".

"I shall stop the attacks on civilian targets, if I am the President of U.S."
"I would have stopped the attacks on civilian targets, if I was the President of U.S."

The above sentences would have also been correct, had English been a logical language. English occasionally throws away logic into garbage dump.

See the following statement:

I shall donate one dollar, if I get ten dollars.

The mood is not subjunctive here. Reason: I have a probability or possibility of getting ten dollars. It is not impossible. I have, hence, used the right tense i.e. the future tense "I shall donate". "If" when used in conditions, is normally followed by a verb in simple present tense.

SOME QUOTES OF IMPOSSIBILITIES

I have more memories than if I were a thousand years old. ? Charles Baudelaire.

If I were a girl , I'd despair. The supply of good women far exceeds that of the men who deserve them. ? Robert Graves.

If I were a grave-digger or even a hangman, there are some people I could work for with a great deal of enjoyment ? Douglas Jerrold.

If I were a writer, how I would enjoy being told the novel is
dead? Don Delillo.

If I were a man I wouldn't bother to change while there are women like that around. ? Ann Oakley.
If I were a man I would always be laughing at myself. ? Yoko Ono.

If I were a side dish , he hadn't ordered. ? Ring Lardner.

If I were a woman I would kiss as many of you as had beards that
pleased me, complexions that liked me and breaths that I defied not ?
William Shakespeare.

I would want him to do everything for me and wait on me as
if I were a princess. But that is not the way at all. ?

If I were a piece in a game of chess, when my opponent says of it: That piece cannot be moved. ? Soren Kierkegaard.

008, VERBS NOT USED IN A CONTINOUS FORM

Are there verbs which do not have 'progressives'?

Some grammarians do not favor use of some verbs in continuous forms. The meaning of the verb is important, in choosing whether to use it in a continuous sense or not. The verbs can be used in a continuous form, if we intend a tangible meaning, instead of some abstract idea. The dividing line is very thin in this respect. The current tendency is to use continuous forms at user's discretion.

Verbs of 'appearance'
appear, look, seem etc.

Verbs of 'emotion'
desire, feel, like, love, hate, hope, prefer, refuse.

Verbs of 'perception'
hear, notice, recognise, see, smell.

Verbs of 'possession'
belong to, contain, consist of, have.

Verbs of 'thought'
agree, believe, consider, forget, imagine, know, mean, mind, remember, suppose, trust, understand.

E.g.:
Not preferred: The President is wanting to see you.
Preferred: The President wants to see you.


Not preferred: She is smelling something obnoxious and odious. She is wanting to clean the house.

Preferred: She smells something obnoxious and odious. She wants to clean the house.

Not preferred: He is having a flat.
Preferred: He has a flat.
Reason: A verb of possession cannot have a continous form.

See the difference below:

Acceptable: My wife is having lunch.
Reason: The intention here, does not appear to express possession of lunch.

Acceptable: I bought a house belonging to Smiths.
Reason: 'Belonging' here is a present participle i.e. adjective. It describes the house. 'Belonging' = 'which belongs to' here.

Example from Paradise Lost 5:

And all the sea, from one entire globose
Stretched into longitude; which having passed ,( PL- 5 ) .

Explanation: Here, 'having passed' does not indicate possession. The form is also not continuous. Hence, this is acceptable.

045 SPLIT INFINITIVE, MEANING and DISCUSSION ON USAGE

What is split infinitive?

The barest form of verb without any conjugations for number, person and tense, is 'bare infinitive'.

The preposition 'to' + bare infinitive = 'to infinitive'.

The to-infinitive is like a compound word. The preposition 'to' and its object (normally noun, but in this case 'verb'), we cannot separate.

Example

'to come' : We cannot insert a word between the two. Thus, the usage 'to kindly come' becomes incorrect, according to traditional grammar, because the adverb 'kindly' splits (separates) the two elements of the 'to-infinitive'.

Not acceptable, according to traditional grammarians: "I request you to kindly come".

They suggest the following rewritten sentences:

"I request you kindly to come."

or

"I request you to come kindly."

MY PERSONAL VIEW AS BLOGGER- of course not binding on readers

*We can prefer to avoid an adverb that modifies the bare form of a verb which is an integral part of a 'to-infinitive'.

*English is a syntactic language. Meaning: Word order is important. Change of word order, may change, meaning.

*The best position for an adjective or an adverb, is, before the word it describes. The practice of 'split-infinitive' might have emerged following this principle. Reason: The adverb 'kindly' describes the verb 'come'. 'To kindly come', is hence, logical, but grammar does not permit.

*The split infinitive does not fit well in many sentences, and placing the adverb elsewhere gives a clearer meaning.

Examples from George Bernard Shaw's play, 'The Doctor's Dilemma'

1. He pats Ridgeon on the shoulder and goes out, turning for a moment at the door to look meditatively at Emmy.


Usage of 'to meditatively look at Emmy', would have been probably awkward.

2. They have just telephoned from the hospital that you are to come instantly--a patient on the point of death.

Rem:Usage of 'to instantly come' may be awkward.

3. I did not mean to behave badly.

Rem:Usage of 'to badly behave' may be awkward.

4. He completely loses his temper and begins to walk excitedly.

Rem: May be awkward to say 'to excitedly walk'.

*We have the second best practice of placing the adverb, after the verb it describes.

'I request you to come kindly.' does not result in an awkward construction, when the adverb is a 'complement' (completes the sentence). We shall suppose that there is another adverb, a time-adverb, at the end:

Example:
"I request you to come kindly tomorrow."

Here, though kindly is supposed to qualify the verb 'come', we get an impression that 'kindly' is qualifying 'tomorrow'.

Discussion of the first suggested sentence

"I request you kindly to come."

We get an impression, that the adverb 'kindly' is describing the verb 'request', whereas 'kindly' is intended for 'come'.

SUMMARY

We have to avoid 'split infinitive', if we wish to adhere to grammar.

We have to avoid awkward / ambiguous constructions, if we wish to concentrate on clarity.

I suggest that we can go for simpler constructions:

Example
"Please come tomorrow."

We can go for 'Could you please+ construction', if we wish to show utmost courtesy.

"Could you please come tomorrow?"

Some communicators use, slightly lengthy constructions such as:

"We shall appreciate if you will please come tomorrow."

or

"We shall be obliged if you will please come tomorrow."

Some communicators add the adverb 'greatly' to sound 'greater courtesy':

"We shall greatly appreciate..."
"We shall be greatly obliged..."
etc.

040 FOUR WAYS OF USING A VERB

We can use a verb in four ways. 1: as verb. 2: as noun (also called "verbal noun or gerund" ). 3: as an adjective in present tense, called "present participle". 4: as an adjective in past tense + passive voice, called "past participle".

When a verb with 'ing' is used as a 'noun', it has four applications:

1: using as subject.
2: using as object.
3: using as a preposition's object.

Examples:
Smoking is bad for health. ("Smoking" is used as a noun, and subject.)
Another example, a proverb:
"The moon does not heed the barking of dogs."

The moon- is the subject; does not heed- is the verb. Heed- is a transitive verb. Heed what? Heed the barking- is the answer. It is the object. Hence barking is the object and noun here. It is gerund.

VERBS AS ADJECTIVES.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

The word 'sleeping' describes the condition of the dogs. Hence is is adjective. The act of sleeping is continuing (dogs which sleep or which are sleeping) i.e. present. Hence, sleeping- here is a present participle.

Past Participles- need greater discussion. We shall take them up in a separate post.

WHY DOES ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEED GERUNDS AND PRESENT PARTICIPLES?

Some users may experience difficulties in identifying a right noun, while making sentences. Adding 'ing' to a verb and using it as a noun, might have led to the evolution of gerunds.

Eg: Smoking is injurious. What other alternative noun is available if we do not use 'smoking' as gerund?

Some users may experience hardships in in identifying a right adjective while describing nouns. Adding 'ing' to a verb and using it as an adjective is practically convenient.

Eg: a moving train (the train which is moving/in motion).


Now, here is the quiz part- a list of ten verbs, with the suffix 'ing'. Fill up the blanks in the Question Box, selecting a suitable word. The sentences are proverbs. Click 'show ANS' button to see suggested answers. Please also determine for yourself whether the verb is used as a gerund (verbal noun) or as a prssent participle (verbal adjective) or as simply a verb.

SELECTION BOX:
beginning ,
being ,
borrowing ,
falling ,
fishing ,
going ,
growing ,
killing ,
reading ,
speaking.

QUESTION BOX:
1- An honest tale speeds best, ___ plainly told.
2- It is good ___ in troubled waters.
3- Nothing must be done hastily but ___ of fleas.
4- He who likes ___ dislikes paying.
5- The camel ___ to seek horns, lost his ears.
6- Be not afraid of ___ slowly, be afraid only of standing still(Chinese Proverb).
7- A bad ____ makes a bad ending.
8- The ____ out of lovers is the renewing of love.
9- He that has a great nose thinks everybody is ___ of it.
10- Drink nothing without seeing it; sign nothing without ___ it(Spanish Proverb).

SUGGESTED ANSWERS: 1- being (present participle, describes the honest tale),2- fishing (gerund) ,3- killing (gerund) ,4- borrowing (gerund) ,5- going (describes the camel, hence present participle).,6- growing (Preposition's object i.e. noun/gerund) ,7- beginning (gerund) ,8- falling (gerund) ,9- speaking (verb) ,10- reading (preposition's object i.e. noun).

036 THREE RULES FOR DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN VERB+ PREPOSITION COMBINATIONS AND PHRASAL VERBS

Here is a beautiful lesson from the Georgia State University, Atlanta, library. The piece is by Pat Byrd at the University. Very clear and crisp piece. With examples. Worth reading. Click the link below to read it:-

Georgia State University - Pat Byrd - Three rules to distinguish between verb + prep. combinations and phrasal verbs.