MOOD AND TENSE OF THE ENGL1SH VERB






MOOD AND TENSE OF THE ENGLISH VERB
BY
H. POUTSMA
ENGLISH MASTER IN THE MUNICIPAL "GYMNASIUM" OF AMSTERDAM
P. NOORDHOFF — 1922 — GRONINGEN






MOOD.






BOOKS AND TREATISES CONSULTED.
E. A. Abbot, A Shakespearian Grammar3, London, Mac-
millan and Co., 1888. henry Alford, The Queen's English8, London George
Bell and Sons, 1889. Ph. aronstein, Shall and Will zum Ausdrucke der ide-
alitat im Englischen, Anglia, XLI. Max Deutschbein, System der neu-englischen Syntax,
Cöthen, Verlag von Otlo Schulze, 1917. W. Franz, Shakespeare Grammatik2, Heidelberg, Carl
Winter's Universitatsbuchhandlung, 1909. E. Kruisinqa, A Handbook of Present-day English2,
Utrecht, Kemink en Zoon, 1915. C. P. mason, English Grammar34, London, Bell and Sons,
1892.
Eduard Matzner, Englische Grammatik2, Berlin, Weid-
mannsche Buchhandlung, 1875. Gerald Molloy, The Irish Difficulty, London, Glasgow
and Dublin, Blackie and Sons, 1897. C. T. ONIONS, An Advanced English Syntax, London,
Swan Sonnenschein and Co., 1904. Henry Sweet, A. New English Grammar, Oxford, at the
Clarendon Press, 1892—1898.



ORDER OF DISCUSSION.
Introduction 1 — 6.
The Subjunctive and Conditional in Principal Sentences 7—14
The Subjunctive and Conditional in Subordinate Statements 15—29
The Subjunctive in Subordinate Questions 30—31.
The Subjunctive and Conditional in Adverbial Clauses, 32—51
Final Observations 52—54.
The Imperative Mood 55—61.
Addenda and Corrigenda



THE SUBJUNCTIVE AND THE CONDITIONAL MOOD IN MODERN ENGLISH.
Introduction.
By mood we may understand a form of the finite verb, or a verb-group, by means of which the speaker expresses his mental attitude towards the fulfilment of the action or state expressed by the predicate.
a) This attitude is, in the majority of cases, one of considering the fulfilment of the action or state as a fact without any accessory notions, and the predication answering to this attitude may, accordingly, be termed predication of certainty. It is symbolized bythat form of the finite verb which is called the indicative mood.
The indicative mood is also frequently employed in what may be called a neutral way, i. e. without any thought of certainty or uncertainty on the part of the speaker.
b) This attitude may be one of conviction arrived at by the process of reasoning, and the predication answering to this attitude may be called predication of conviction. It is not symbolized by any particular form of the finite verb, but by the verb must, which, although primarily a subjunctive or conditional form, is now feit as an ordinary indicative.
I must have been mistaken. Mason, Eng. Gram., § 241.
The spirit must have heardhimthinking. Dick., Chrlstm. Car.
c) This attitude may be one of uncertainty, and the predi cation which expresses this attitude may, accordingly, be styled predication of uncertainty, or uncertain predication. It is symbolized by that form of the finite verb which is commonly called the subjunctive (mood), or by a variety of auxiliaries, which are



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frequently used in analpgous cases as the subjunctive (mood), but not seldom have an application of their own, i. e. one which is not shared by the subjunctive (mood).
Thus Long live the KingI and May the King live long.' have practically the same meaning, and may as used in the last sentence may, therefore, be called an auxiliary of the subjunctive mood or a subjunctive equivalent or substitute. But such a sentence as Jtmay rainto-morrow cannot be replaced by one with rain in the subjunctive mood, and the verb may, although certainly modal as marking uncertainty, cannot be called an a u x i 1 i a r y of the subjunctive mood or a subjunctive equivalent or substitute. The auxiliaries of the subjunctive mood are may and shall, or if the time-sphere of the circumstances described is the past, might and should. As will appear from the following discussions, should is frequently, and might occasionally, employed also independently of the time-sphere. AH these forms considered by themselves are subjunctive or conditional forms. Besides the above verbs the imperative let is often employed as a substitute for the subjunctive in so-called hortative sentences. (6, a, 2.)
A verb-group that serves as a substitute for a subjunctive mood may be styled a periphrastic subjunctive, in contradistinction to which the subjunctive proper may be called the inflectional subjunctive. d) The attitude of the speaker may be one of rejection, i. e. he may wish it to be understood that he rejects the fulfilment of the action or state, either as being contrary to some known fact, or as being a mere supposition with regard to the future or present, made merely for the sake of argument. The predication expressing this attitude may be called predication of rejection and is symbolized by a form of the finite verb which in these pages is called the conditional (mood), or by the auxiliaries should, would and were (to).
In English, as well as in many other languages, the



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conditional has seized on tense-forms which are at variance with the time-sphere of what is described to express the attitude of rejection, the preterite being used to describe present or future circumstances, the pluperfect to describe circumstances that are contemporaneous with or subsequent to a point of time in the past. (39,44.) Hence the conditional has been called a t e n s e-m o o d. A good illustration of various functions of the conditional is afforded by the following quotation: lf it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well | It were done quickly. Shak., Macb., I, 7, 1-2.
As in the case of the subjunctive we may distinguish an inf lectional and a periphrastic conditional.
Note a) Sweet (N. E. Gr., § 2279) uses the term conditional mood in a narrower sense, applying it to 'all combinations of would and should with infinitives which are not clearly future, even when their functions are not really conditional'. The inflectional form denoting rejected predication he calls preterite subjunctive. But it is difficult to see why different names should be given to two forms which, although somewhat divergent in application in their main functions, are practically identical in meaning.
P) Should is used not only as an auxiliary of the conditional, but also of the subjunctive, as a milder form than shall. Considered by itself it is then to be regarded as a conditional. It frequently has this function in a variety of subordinate statements, and in adverbial clauses of purpose introduced by lest. (21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 36Y>
A moves that the rate of postage should be reduced. B moves that the post-office authorities be allo wed time to consider the question. Cobham Brewer, Dict. of Phrase and Fable, s. v. question.
They set (present tense) a strong guard lest any one should escape. Bain, H. E. Gr., 113. e) Lastly this attitude of the speaker may be one of v o 1 i ti o n directed towards the conduct of the person(s) spoken to. The predication corresponding to this attitude may be called predication of volition: itis symbolized by that form of the finite verb which is called the i m p e r a t i v e (mood), which in Modern



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English is identical with the infinitive, and by the subject being normally ieft unexpressed, because there is no occasion for its being indicated in the majority of cases.
2. Obs. I. The speakers attitude with regard to the fulfilment of an action or state may be expressed not only by a certain form of the verb or a verb-group, but also by a variety of adverbial adjuncts, such as needs, of necessity, perhaps, probably, doubttess^ etc. Such adverbial adjuncts may, therefore.be called modal adverbial adjuncts. They mostly serve the purpose of expressing shades of meaning which are beyond the scope of the moods of verbs or the modal verbs, but some of them are also employed to emphasize, or to add precision to the notions indicated by the latter. Thus modal must is often accompanted by needs or of necessity, modal may by perhaps. My head is twice as big as yours, | They (sc. the nat and wig) therefore needs must fit Cowper, John Gilpin, 188. He held it as a thing quite settled and ordained by the laws of nature and Providcnce that anybody who said or did or thought otherwise must be inevitably and of necessity wrong. Dick., Barn. Rn d ge, Ch. I, 2b.
Perhaps she may be his daughter, though he is not married, ib., Ch. I, 4b.
It may be added that a modal adverbial adjunct denoting uncertainty never stands together with an inflectional subjunctive.
II. In many cases also the attitude of uncertainty on the part of the speaker with regard to the fulfilment of an action or state is sufficiently clear from the head-sentence of a complex sentence. In this case there is, strictly speaking, no necessity to express it, either by modal inflection or by a modal verb, in the clause, so that the indicative, as a neutral mood, is often used instead. Thus in: I suppose he w/Wbeawfully proud. Thack., Van. Fair, I, Ch VII, 68. (not: he may be awfully proud.)
I hope we shall never see you here again. Dick., Household W o r d s (Stof., Leesb., I, 52).
When an inflectional or periphrastic subjunctive is used in a clause of this description, it serves the purpose of emphasizing the notion of uncertainty. See also 15. God grant that some, less noble and less loyal, | Nearer in btoody



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thoughts, but not in blood, | Deserve not worse tban wretched
Clarence did. Shak., R i c h., III, II, 1, 93.
I wish he may be an honest man, that's all. Dick., Barn. Rudge,
Ch. III, 12a. . 3. a) Leaving the verb to be out of consideration, the English language has preserved special subjunctive forms only for the second and third persons singular present tense, which are distinguished from the corresponding indicative forms by the absence of inflectional endings. In many cases there are not, therefore, any visible signs betraying the speaker's attitude towards the fulfilment of the action or state described. This deficiency makes itself particularly feit in the preterite, which, except for the verb to be, has the same forms throughout for the subjunctive as the indicative. b) The conditional mood, on the other hand, employing as it does, tense-forms which are at variance with the time-sphere of the state of things described, has powerful and unequivocal means of marking the attitude of rejection. Strictly speaking this renders the use of a special conditional form (as opposed to the preterite indicative), which, however, is only available in the case of the verb to be, unnecessary, was being, in fact, as unequivocal as a tense-mood as were. Compare Sweet, N. E. Gr., § 301.
Nor is the use of was instead of were uncommon. We find it quite frequently, even in literary style, except in clauses introduced by if or as if (or as though), where it imparts a vulgar tinge to the language and is, accordingly, avoided by educated speakers. According to Sweet (N. E. Gr., § 2268) there was a tendency to substitute was for were in clauses of rejection in the colloquial language of the eighteenth century.
The noble Brutus. | Hath told you Caesar was ambitious; | If it were so, it was a grievous fault. Shak., J u 1. Caes., III, 2, 76. Oh I that I was safe at Clod Hall, or could be shot before I was aware I Sher., RI v., V, 2.
I wish there was somethlng you could eat after your ride. G Eliot, Dan. Der., III, VI, Ch. XLIV, &
It is high time that research was protected. Punch, 1882, 159a. Compare with the above the following quotations, in which the use of was instead of were is distinctly vulgar, oratieast bordering on the vulgar.



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i "If I was to be put upon my oath to-morrow," said Mrs. Chick, "I have no doubt I could venture to swear to those identical words. Dick., Domb., Ch. XVIII, 162.
Come in, you sneaking warmint (vulgar for 'vermin'); wot are you stopping outside for, as if you was ashamed of your master? ld., 01. Twist Ch. XIII, 123.
Mr. Rummer . bowed as gravely as if he was waiting upon the Lord Lieutenant of the county. Thack., P e n d., I, Ch. IV, 45. The people who protested against the blockade talked about starving women, as if it was, somehow, worse that women should starve than men. W e s t m. Ga z , No. 8203, 8a.
In the phrase as it were, in which as has the value of as if, substitution of was for were would hardiy be tolerated even by uneducated speakers.
My valour Is certainty goingt it is sneaking offt — I feel it oozing out as it were, at the palms of my hands. Sher., RI v., V, 3. 4. a) The paucity of subjunctive inflections is richly compensatedl by the availability of numerous periphrases with modal auxiliaries. These periphrases offer the material advantage of denoting with peculiar clearness and precision various shades of meaning of which mere modifications of the form of verbs are utterly incapable. The loss of inflections may, accordingly, be said to have occasioned an important and useful gain, the modern language having acquired a signal superiority over the old in the matter of unambiguous and accurate expression of human thought and feeling. b) Few as the exclusively subjunctive verb-forms are, they are but sparingly used. This is due to a variety of causes:
1) the notion of uncertain fulfilment, although inherent in the circumstances described, is not distinctly present to the speaker's mind;
2) the context or the general import of the sentence brings out this notion with sufficiënt clearness, so that the need of special verb-forms for this purpose is not feit by the speaker;
3) the inflections are totally inadequate to indicate the secondary ideas with which the notion of uncertainty is mostly attended;
4) the dearth of exclusively subjunctive forms in itself



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blunts the power of discriminating bel ween the subjunctive and the indicative. Compare Franz, Shak. G r a m.2, § 630. The result is that whenever the periphrastic forms are not put in requisition, the indicative as a neutral mood is used, although the nature of the circumstances described would appear to call for the use of the subjunctive. It should, however, be observed that the indicative, for obvious reasons, cannot take the place of the subjunctive in principal sentences (7,11); nor is substitution possiblein adverbial clauses of condition or concession that have the form of principal sentences with inverted word-order. (12, Obs. III.) Compare Sweet, N. E. Gr., § 2271. c) Since the earliest times in the history of English literature the use of the inflectional subjunctive seems to have been constantly on the decline. In the beginning of the Modern English period it was still fairly common. Shakespeare and nis contemporaries use it in many cases where, except for the higher flights of literature, it would be quite out of place now. In fact, apart from certain fossilized expressions, it may be said to have become extinct in ordinary spoken English. Nor can it always be said to fulfil the function for which it was originally intended. In numerous instances, indeed, it seems to be employed to give a certain refined tinge to the diction, in a similar way as ye is used for the ordinary you. This is shown by the comparatively rare occurrence of instances in the second person singular, the constructions with thou in themselves securing refinement and dignity of style. Compare the indicative thou art with the preceding if there be in the following quotation:
If there be any good thing to be done, | That may to thee do ease, and grace to me, | Speak to me: If thou art privy to thy country's fate, | Which, happily foreknowing may avoid, | O, speak 1 Shak., HamUU, 130—131. 5. In discussing the various moods in detail there seems to be no special call for a treatment of the indicative, it being understood that it is used whenever there is no occasion for any of the other moods. Nor will it be



necessary to devote any considerable space to the consideration of the imperative mood, its function and application in English tallying in all essential points with that in Dutch.
For the rest the most practical plan seems to be to separate the discussion of the inflectional subjunctive and conditional and their periphrastic substitutes from that of the modal verbs which do not answer to modal inflection. The latter having received detailed treatment in an early part of my Grammar of Late Modern English, it will be only the former for which the student's attention is requested in the following pages. 6. In Modern English either the subjunctive or the conditional is met with in:
a) principal sentences, especially:
1) optative sentences, i. e. such as express a wish or a hope. (7.)
A separate category of optative sentences is formed by such as express an i d 1 e wish, i. e. one which the speaker knows or thinks to be incapable of fulfilment, called by Sweet (N. E. Gr., § 2266) a wish of rejected fulfilment (9.) Whereas ordinary wishes are only expressed with regard to the future or the present, idle wishes may also refer to the past. Dealing with a state of things which, in the speaker's consciousness, is contrary to fact or a mere supposition regarding the future, the mood employed is the conditional.
2) hortative sentences, i. e. such as express an exhortation, an advice, an appeal or a command addressed to the you included in we, or to (a) person(s) other than the person(s) spoken to. (11.)
No te a) When the exhortation, appeal, etc. is addressed to the person(s) spoken to, the verb is placed in the imperati ve mood, which is characterized by the absence of all inflection and, in normal cases, by the subject being left unexpressed. As hortative sentences always have the verb in the present subjunctive, which also is characterized by the absence of all inflection, it follows that they are distinguished from imperative



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sentences with the subject expressed only by a difference of person.
/?) When the subject of a hortative sentence is a word denoting an inanimate thing, the appeal etc. is addressed to (a) person(s) that is (are) mostly not indicated by any word, being indefinite, or but vaguely present to the speaker's mind. This is also the .case when the predicate is in the passive voice, except forthe exceptional case that that (those) person(s) is (are) mentioned iii the so-called inverted subject. Thus in: I. I have passed over a great deal of the religious part of Mr. Brough's
behavlour: suffice it, that religion was always on hls Ups. Thack.,
S a m t11 m , Ch. VII. ii. Let honour be given to whom honour is due. y) Hortative sentences often more or less distinctly imply a wish and are not, accordingly, always easy to distinguish from optative sentences, so far as they contain an inflectional subjunctive. The difference mostly becomes apparent from the periphrasis of which the subjunctive is capable: optative sentences having may, hortative sentences let. Sometimes, however, there isambiguity, the subjunctive admitting of periphrasis with either may or let. Thus in:
Perish the Empire rather than that a Liberal Government should preval) I W e s t m. G a z., No. 6389, 16.
S) The following sentence expresses neither a wish, nor an
appeal, but rather an apprehension:
Woe betide us if we are latei Sweet, N. E. G r., § 2263. 3) consequent sentences (or consequenceclauses as they are called by Sweet), belonging to hypothetical clauses of rejected condition. The hypothetical clause or pro tas is expressing a mere conception of the mind, it follows that such is also the case with the head-sentence, consequent sentence or apodosis. In both the verb is, accordingly, placed in the conditional. (13.)
b) subordinate clauses, especially:
1) subordinate statements (15—29),
2) subordinate questions (30—31),
3) adverbial clauses (32—49).
Modern English affords no instances of the inflectional subjunctive or conditional being used in substantive or adnominal clauses, although the periphrastic subjunctive is frequently enough employed in the latter on the strength



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of their analogy to certain subordinate statements or adverbial clauses. Illustration will be given below.
The Subjunctive and Conditional in Principal Sentences.
7. a) In optative senten ces the subjunctive is now chiefly met with in invocations and imprecations, the subject of the sentence being:
1) the name of the Deity, or of some being or personified abstraction to whom some supernatural power is ascribed.
1* God save the King! God bless you! God help me! God forbidl
God rest you, merry gentlemen! G. Eliot, Sil. Mam.,
Ch. X, 74.
** Heaven forbidl
Now Heaven send she may be too sullen to look round Sher., Riv., IV, 2, (260).
*** Lord send you may be the better for her protection in
such mattersl Scott, Abbot, Ch. XIX, 191.
Lord preserve usl Dick., Pickw., Ch. IX, 73.
••••Some god direct myjudgment! Shak., Me ren. of Ve n.,
II, 7, 13.
Fortune forbid my outside have not charm'd her Md, Twelfth N i g h t, II, 2, 15. N o t e especially the formulas of oaths, as in: I didn't know it, so help me —. Thack., P e n d., II, Ch. XXXVIII, 408.
But if I live, | So aid me Heaven when at mine uttermost, | As 1 will make hertruly mytruewife. Ten., Mar. of Ger.,502. ii * Devil take you I Dick., C h u z , Ch. L 1, 392a. Deuce take the man! ld., Cop., Ch. XXXV, 249. The devil take that cat! Graph., 1892, 797. Each for himself and the Devil take the hindmost! Proverb. ** Plague take them! Thack., Van. Fair, I, Introd.. Perdition seize him! Reade, It is never too late to m e n d, I, Ch. V, 54. N o t e. Sometimes the subject is understood. Thus in Bless you! Curse you! Confound you! Beshrew you ! etc. Give you good night! Shak, Haml., I, 1, 16.
2) the name of the person or thing on which a curse is invoked, the sentence being mostly passive.
I Grammar be hanged! Onions, A d v a n c e d Eng. S y n t., § 42. Cursed be the social wants that sin against the strength of youth! Ten., Locksley Hall, 59.



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li Perish fortune I Goldsmith, She S t o o p s, V, (227).
b) For the rest we tïnd it only as a literary archaism.
Thy kingdom comel Thy will be donel The wills above be donel Shak., Temp., 1, 1, 71. Success altend you! Sher., Riv, IV, I, (258). Obs. I. A common substitute for the inflectional subjunctive in optative sentences, also confined, however, to literary language, is a periphrastic form with may, itself a subjunctive.
May every blessing walt on Beverley! Sher., Riv., III, 3, (251). God bless you, merry gentleman ! | May nothing you dismay ! Dick, C h r I s t m. C a r., I.
May you be happy in the life you have chosen I ib, II.
May he always be the samel Miss Yonoe, The Helr of
Rede, I, Ch. VI, 95. T.
May you succeedl May It please your Grace to hear mei Sweet, N. E. G r, § 2303.
No te the ironical Much good may it do to the governedt Kingslf.y, Westw. Hol Ch. XX, 105a.
II. When the subject of an optative sentence is not the third person singular, the use of may may be distinctly desirable, as obviating ambiguity .Thus it would promote clearness in: Now, most noble Brutus, | The gods to-day stand friendly; that we may, | Lovers in peace, lead on our days to age I Shak., J u I. Cïs, V, 1, 94.
III. The use of Dutch zullen in such optative sentences as Lang zal hij leven! God zal mij bewarenl is not without parallel in English.
God shall mend my soul, | You'll make a mutiny among my guests I Shak, Ro m. a n d J u!., I, 5, 82.
IV. In ordinary language wishes are expressed by means of complex sentences with / hope, I wish, etc. and their variations. For illustration see below, 17.
V. Sometimes also a wish is expressed by an exclamation which has the form of a conditional clause introduced by // with the principal sentence understood, and containing the adverb only or but as the expression of the speaker's misgiving about its fulfilment.
If I can only (but) come in time! If only (but) the garrison s., . holds out another week! In expressing an i d 1 e wish, or what Sweet (N. E. G r., § 2266) calls a wish of rejected fulfilment, the inflectional conditional is used, the sentence being



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introduced by the interjection Oh (or O) or Ah. The construction is used only in the higher literary style. O, had he Uvedl Ten., The Brook.
O, brother, had you known pur mighty hall, | Which Merlin built for Arthur long ago! id, H o I y G r a 11, 225.
Ahl were she a Httle less glddy than she is, and had she but the sterling qualities of Cherry, myyoungfriendl Dick., Chuz, Ch. XVIII, 1576.
Obs. I. Idle wishes are often expressed, especially in rhetorical English, by exclamations which have the form of subordinate statements introduced by that, or of adverbial clauses introduced by if, the principal sentence being understood or, to a certain extent, represented by the interjection Oh.' or Ah! In these //-clauses the ad verb only (or but) is regularly used to express modesty.
i 01 that we, then, could come by Caesar's spirit, | And not dismember Caesar! Shak., JuI. C ae s., II, 1, 179.
"Ol that you could stay longer, dear Rebeccal" said Amelia. Thack., V a n. F a i r, I, Ch. IV, 32.
O mother! mother, that you were here! id. Pen d., II, Ch. XXXVII, 389.
Ah, Christ, that it were possible For one short hour to see | The souls we loved, that they might teil us | What and where they be! Ten., Maud., II, IV, III.
Oh, that 't were possible, | After long grief and pain, | To flnd the arms of my true love | Round me once more! ib.. II, IV, I.
ii Oh! if he would bat attach himself to any living thing — were it an animal — for something man must love I Thack., P e n d., I, Ch. IV, 46.
If I had only been there! Onions, Advanced Eng. Synt, § 42, 5.
Ah, if I had only knownl Beatr. Harraden, Ships, I, Ch. VI, 24.
II. Other forms of elliptical sentences expressing an idle wish are such as contain a detached infinitive, or a prepositional word-group with for.
i Oh, to be in England | Now that April's there! Browning, Home-thougbts from abroad, I.
Oh! to have been there! Onions, Advanced Eng. Synt, § 42.
ii O for another glimpse of it! Murray, s. v. o, int. 2.
Oh, for that ancient spirit which curbed the senate's willl | Oh, for the tents which in old time whitened the Sacred Hilll Mac, Lays of Anc. Rome, Virg., 101—2. Ah, foi some retreat | Deep in yonder sbining Oriënt, where my life began to beat! Ten., Locksley Hall, 154.



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III. The ordinary way of expressing an idle wish is by meansof / wish placed before a subordinate statement with a conditional. For illustration see also 18.
/ wish it were true. Sweet, N. E. Q r, § 296.
Literary language often has / would in the same function as I wish. Before would the subject, when the first person singular, is often suppresscd.
/ would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear i would she were hearsed at my foot, and the ducats in hercoffin! Shak., Merch. of Ven., III, I, 92-94.
W e would that we could believe that it (sc. the appeal) will be accepted as a call to Irlshmen to realise that, if they will not help In composing their differences, then any English Government must remain powerless to do so. W e s t m. G a z, No. 8267, 2b.
N o t e especially Would to God! a corruption of an earlier would God, in which God is the subject. Whenitbecame unusual to place the subject after the predicate, would came to be mistaken for / would and God was apprehended as the object. On the analogy of / wish to God the preposition to was afterwards placed before God. Seë Jespersen, Progress in Lang., § 187; Franz, Shak. Gram.*, § 619, Anm. 3. Would to God I had done it! Thack, Henry Esmond, II, Ch.IV, 184. Also Would God\ is still occasionally met with. Would God that thou couldst hide me from myself! Ten, G u i n, 117. I needs must stay within this slothful home, | Whereto, would God, that ƒ had never come! W. Morris, TheEarthly Par, TheSonof C r oe s u s, XXX.
Would God that I did Hel I saw him fall with an arrow through his throat. Kinosley, Hereward the Wake, Ch. XVII, 716.
IV. Optative sentences expressing an idle wish are sometimes used in the function of:
a) adverbial clauses of condition. See my Gram. of Late M o d. Eng., Ch. XVII, § 78, a.
I am the best of them that speak this speech, were] but where 'tis spoken. Shak, Temp., I, 2, 429.
Were he more diligent, he would be more successful. Bain, H. E. Or., 175.
N o te the idiom in: All this would be almost too obvious to need statement, were it not for the Prime Mlnister's dictum that Ireland is not a nation but two natlons. Westm. Gaz, No. 8203, 2b.
b) adverbial clauses of concession. See my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng., Ch. XVII, 95, a.
I will cut his throat, were he my ownmother'sson. Lvtton Rienzi, I, Ch. X, 60.



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She is coming, my own, my sweet, | Were it ever so airy a tread, | My heart would hear her and beat. Ten., M a u d., I, XXII, XI. I will alter this: this shall be aitered, were there ten Mrs. Yorkes to do battle with. Ch. Brontë, S h i r 1 e y, II, Ch. XVI, 329. T. The sllly thing would cry... over the end of a novel, were it ever so stupid. Thack., Van. Fair, I, Ch. I, 5. V. Optative sentence which, like imperative sentences, have the subject implied in the predicate, such as the Dutch Had het maar liever niet gezegd! Was maar liever hier gebleven! are not represented in Modern English. 11. a) So far as hortative sentences are concerned, ordinary English has preserved the subjunctive only in certain idioms, such as are illustrated by the following sentences:
I So be it! Lytton, Pomp, II, Ch. III, 42b.
Be it so! Onions, Advanced Eng. Synt, § 43. If the Prime Minister must stay In Paris üntil the autumn in the interest of the settlement of peace, so be it. Westm. Gaz. No. 8109, 2b. (=French Soit!)
il Sufflce it to say. Thack, S a m. T11 m, Ch. VII, 70.
Suffice to say, she went away from home, a bouncing young lass. id, P e n d, 1, Ch. XVI, 160. (Observe the absence of it.)
iii Miss Crawley, be it known, did not leave her room until near noon. Id., Van. Fair., I, Ch. XVI, 169.
iv Not, be it understood, that there is the slightest air of familiarity in the attention she receives. G r a p h, 1889, 277.
v The literary works that have fascinated mankind and earned the lofty title of genius abound in strokes of invention; witness Homer, Shakespcare, etc. Bain, R h e t, 63.
The purely literary drama cannot now exist in England, as witness the failure of plays by Mr. James and Mr. Conrad, but the drama of literary moralising is growing increasingly, as witness the success of plays by Mr. Shaw, Mr. Barker, Mr. Galsworthy. Bookman, No. 266, 92o.
Our Lord Himself seems to have spent the greater part of His life in teaching that works were more than faith in the conduct of life, as witness the Sermon on the Mount and the Good Samaritan. Westm. Gaz, No. 8121, 26b.
N o t e. In this construction witness may originally have been a noun. Compare the use of instance as in, The arousing of a thought or feeling, always involves theovercoming of a certain resistance... instance the fact that during nervous prostration [etc], Spencer, In duet. Bi ol. (0
(i) Murray, s.v. instance.



15
b) For the rest hortative sentences have the inflectional subjunctive only in archaic style, the subject being
1) We. Do we so. Shak., Merch of Ven, II, 8, 54. Sit we down, | And let us hear Bernardo speak of this. id. Ha ml, I, \,34. Part we in friendship from your land. Scott, M a r m i o n, VI, XIII, 17. Praise we the Virgin all divine, | Who hath rescued thee from thy distress. Coleridge, Chrlstabel, I, 739.
Now then, return we to this all-important subject. Lytton, My N o v e 1, II, X, Ch. II, 154.
N o t e. We is implied in the preceding our in: Therefore our everlasting farewell take. Shak, J u 1. C ae s., V, I, 116. (= take we.) 2). a noun, or some pronoun other than we. Once more, on pain of death, all men depart. Shak, Rom. and J u I, I, 1, 107. Come, fill each man hls glass. Dryden, Love for Love, I, 1, (206). Laugh those that can, weep those that may. Scott, Marm, V, XVII, 3. The stage-scene has dropped. Settle yourselves, my good audience; chat each with his neighbour. Lytton, C a x t o n s, XVII, Ch. I, 448. Be this purse an earnest of my thanks. id. R i e n z i, I, Ch. III, 26. No te. Here mention may be made of the use of come in connection with a future date as the subject. The phrase bears a close resemblance to the French idiom illustrated by such an expression as dix-huitans, vienne laSaint-Mar tin— viennent les Piqués (— eighteen years old, come Martinmas — come Easter).
This use of come is now archaic and dialectal, and occurs in Shakespeare only in the language of the uneducated. See Murray, s.v. come, 35; Franz, Shak. G r a m.2, § 668, Anm. 2. Come Lammas Eve at night shall she be eighteen. Shak, Rom. and J u 1, I, 3, 17.
It would, perhaps, be his last harvest at Clinton Magna, where he had worked, man and boy, for sixty years come Michaelmas. Hrs. Ward, BessieCostrell, 3.
12. Obs. I. In ordinary English the subjunctive in hortative sentences is replaced by a construction with the imperative let. i Let us not be for ever calculating, devising, and plotting for the future. Dick, C h u z, Ch. II, 9a.
Ohl do not let us say that gold is dross, when it can buy such things as those. Ib, Ch. XIX, 165a. II Those that will hear me speak, letthemstay here; | Those that will follow Cassius, go with him. Shak, Jul. Cass., III, 2, 5—6. (Observe the alternative use of the periphrastic and inflectional subjunctive.)
Let the tyro be recommended to choose a golden mean. Let him not be too solicitous of a red coat till. he has earned it by some practice. Trol., Good Words.



16
Do not let my respected reader exclatm against this unselfishness as unnatural. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XXIII, 239.
II. Some varieties of hortative sentences bear a close resemblance to sentences indicating a moral obligation, or expediency, which are normally expressed by means of should or ought.
Thus such phrases as be it known, be it understood, etc, might be paraphrased not only by let it be known, let it be understood, etc, but also by it should be known, tt should be understood, etc. Thus also the ordinary translation of the literary, though common, Dutch phrases Men bedenke, De lezer vergete niet, enz., would be It should be remembered, The reader should not forget, etc.
In this connexion we also call attention to the ordinary English equivalent of Dutch hortative sentences with gelieve, as exhibited by the following quotations:
i The kind reader will please to remember that this history has 'Vanity Fair" for its subject. Thack., V a n. F a I r, I, Ch. VIII, 83. Intending subscribers will please to note the following termson which the Graphic will be posted to any part of the world. Grap h.
ii Our reader must now please to qtdt the woods and sea-shore of the West ... and transport himself with Art hu r Pendennis, on theAlacrity coach, to London. Thack, Pend, 1, Ch. XXVIII, 296.
III. Hortative sentences, i. e. sentences which have the form of hort. sent., are often used as substitutes for conditional clauses.
a) To-morrow night, please the gods, we will have then a snug carousal. Lytton, Pomp, II, Ch. II, 41o.
Well, if he be not dead, | Why wail ye for him thus? ye seem a child. | And be he dead, I count you fora fooi. Ten, Ger. and En, 548.
But enter a Frenchman or two, and a transformation effected itself immediateiy. Du Maurier, T r 11 b y, I, II, 122. T.
b) concessive clauses. We may distinguish:
1) Such as are equivalent to those which open with (at)though. If thou tak'st more | Or less than a just pound, — be't but so much | As makes it light or heavy in the substance | Orthe division of the twentieth part | Of one poor scruple.., | Thou dlest. Shak, M e r c h. o f V e n, IV, 1, 319.
Come death, come anguish, come a whole life of sorrow, as the end of this love, wouldst thou yet repent that thou hast loved ? Lytton, RI e n z i, II, Ch. II, 85.
2) Such as contain the adverb ever or never and have the function of concessive clauses with however. Thus Home is home, be it ever so homely is practically equivalent to Home is home, however homely it is (be or may be). Compare 46.



17
Creep time ne'er so slow, | Yet it shall come for me to do thee good. Shak, King John, III, 1, 31.
No man, be he ever so rich, can pass by those dismal walls, I think, without a shudder. Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. XI, 134. You couldn't get a place, come ever so early. id, Ne wc, I, Ch. XXV, 285.
3) Such as contain an adnominal, substantive or adverbial clause, the whole complex being equivalent to a concessive clause with a compound of ever. Thus do all I can, in which I can (do) is an adnominal clause modifying all, the whole equivalent to whatever I do.
happen what might, in which what might (happen) is a substantive clause in the subjective relation to happen, the whole equivalent, to whatever might happen, be the weather what it may, in which what it may (be) is a substantive clause representing the nominal part of the predicate, the whole equivalent to whatever the weather may be. be this as it may, in which as it may (be) is an adverbial clause of quality correlative to a predicative so understood, the whole equivalent to however this may be. See also my Gram. of Late M od. En g., Ch. I, 21, c.
i And I must think, do all I can, | That there was pleasure there. Wordsworth, Lines wrltten in Early Spring, 19.
ii Be their import (se of the words) what it might, one thing was quite certain. Watts Dunton, A y 1 w i n, XVII, 475.
Ui Look around her as she might, she could not turn back. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, II, IV, Ch. XXIX, 76.
Be the task as hard as it may. Mason, Eng. Gram.:«, § 487. c) clauses of alternative hypothesis or disjunctive concession. See my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng., Ch. XVII, 99. I charge thee walt upon me whilst I live, | To do whatever Faustus shall command, | Be it to make the moon drop from her sphere | , Or th'ocean to o'erwhelm the world. Marlowe, Doet. F a u s t, III, 39. Succeed or fall, live or die, thy name shall be among those with whom success or fallure is alike glorious, death or life allke desirable. Scott, A b b o t, Ch. IX, 90.
One peculiarlty of his black clothes and hls black stockings, be they silk or worsted, is that they never shine. Dick, Bleak House, Ch. II, 7.
Come luck or misfortune, good repute or bad, honour or shame, he (sc. the dog) is going to stick to you, to comfort you. Jbrome, Idle Thoughts, VIII, 126.
N o t e. It may be observed that in Shakespearè the use of such sentences as substitutes for conditional or concessive clauses is also extended to the lst and 2nd persons.



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Be you not ashamed to show, he'll not shame to teil you what it means. Shak, H a ra 1, III, 2, 155.
Live a thousand years, I shall not find myself so fit to die. id, J u L Cses, iO, 1, 159.
IV. Periphrasis with let is also the ordinary substitute for the subjunctive in hortative sentences that are used in the function of the above-mentioned adverbial clauses. Thus Home is home, be it ever so homely may be replaced not only by Home is home, however homely it may be (is or be), but also by Home is home, let it be ever so homely. 13. a) In the apodosis of conditional sentences of rejected condition the inflectional conditional is regularly used of can, may, must and will, these verbs having no infinitive, and the forms could, might, must and would admitting, accordingly, of no periphrasis with an infinitive. Compare Sweet, N., E. G r., § 2282. In conditional sentences of rejected condition the protasis is often understood or represented by an infinitive clause or an adverbial adjunct.
i. Not all the King's horses, nor all the King's men I, Could have set Mr. Pecksniff up again. Dick., Chuz., Ch. XXXI, 2516.
ii. It is certain that at this time he continued poor; and itisequally certain that by cruelty and dishonesty he might easily have become rich. Mac, War. Hast, (5996).
lil. There was such a joyous sound in her merry laugh, that the sternest misanthrope must have smiled to hear it. Dick., Pickw, Ch. XVII.
If it were not for that, I must reaily have a more expensive governess, and m asters besides. G. Euot, Dan. D e r, I, I, Ch. III, 48. iv. I would dig in the fields, I would go out and be a servant — l would die for her. Thack, Pe n d, I, Ch. XXVII, 291.
b) Also ought and should, as in He ought to (or should) come, are primarily conditionals, although now mostly used to express actual, not conditional, obligation.
c) Thus also had in the phrases / had need, I had rathér (sooner, lief er or liever), I had as soon (lief or lieve), I had better (or best), and their variations as to person or number, is originally a conditional, although often used without any connection with an hypothesis. With these phrases with had compare the older forms with were, as in
You were best teil Antonio what you hear. Shak, M e r c h. of Ven., II, 8, 33.



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For further illustration see Ch. I, 39; 43f; Ch. II, 27ff of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng. Compare also Sweet, N. E. G r., § 2292. d) Similarly in the archaic had like + perfect infinitive had is feit to be a conditional.
(This intrigue) had like to have ended in my utter destruction. Swift, Gul, I, (128a).
It had like to have cost the nursery-maid her place. Thack, F i t zboodie, Pref, (209).
For illustration see also my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng., Ch. B, 36, Obs. II.
Note. Ought and should are occasionally used to denote an obligation, expediency, etc, dependent on a condition.
i 'Mamma, have men generally children before they are married?" — 'No, dear no, ... why do you ask such a question?'' — 'If it were so, I ought to know." G. Eliot, Dan. Der., II, IV, Ch. XXIX, 84.
Had we not ourselves drawn up the document in question in obedience to Mr. VIncey's clear and precise instructions,.., we ought to teil you that its provisions seem to us so unnatural that [etc.]. Rid. Hao, She, Ch. II, 17.
ii If ladies were to be gained by sword and pistol only, what the devil should all thebeauxdo? Farquhar, Const. Coup le, I, 1, (51).
Were he to do such a thing In England, he should be hanged.
Bain, H. E. Gr, 175 14. Obs. I. Except for the above verbs the inflectional conditional is now normally replaced by the periphrastic conditional with should or would. As the distribution of should and
. would as conditional auxiliaries follows, in the main, the lines of that of should and would as tense-auxiliaries, it seems expediënt to deal with this subject in a chapter treating of tense.
If he knew it, he would teil me all about it. Sweet, Spoken E n g., 43.
If he had known It, he would have told me about it. ib. II. Archaically the inflectional conditional is still met With in fhe higher literary style, the* pluperfect being, apparently, more common than the preterite. Thus a) rather frequently of the verb to be,
i. It were damnation I To think so base a.thought. Shak., Merch. of Ven, II, 7, 49.
It were different if I had some independence, however small, to count on. Lytton, M y N o v e 1, I, III, Ch. XIX, 183.



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And to that end it were well to begin with a little reading, G. Eliot, Mid, I, Ch. VII, 44.
If only the ladies could all have their own way in this world and ■ never be thwarted, then were the Millennium near at hand. G r a p h., 1889, 278.
ii. It had been well both for England and Scotland that there had been more such good and moderate kings, Scott, T a I e s of a G r a n d f a t h e r, I, 9a.
It had been as well for Arthur, if the honest Foker had remained for some time at College. Thack., P e n d, I, Ch. XVIII, 193. The light upon the window of our room shone out upon the.,. mound and the ashes and the dust that once was he without whom I had never been. Dick., Cop, Ch. I, 7a.
Her anger frightened him. It had been no surprise to him if she had tallen dead at his feet. Max Pemberton, Doet Xavier, Ch. XX, 1126.
b) occasionally of the verb to dare, especially in the form durst, which is now antiquated in ordinary Standard English, but seems to be still common in certain dialects.
I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest Shak., O t h e 11 o, IV, 2, 12. I have no desire, and besides, if I had, I durst not. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, III, XX.
If hennyone was to orffer to bet a thousan poun that youil hend by bein a bishop yourself, I dussent take the bet Shaw, C a n d I d a, I, (128). T.
In the following quotation darent may be apprehended as a preterite conditional: Oh! the worse places arnt open; and even if they were, they darent be seen. Shaw, Candida, II, (160). T. The pluperfect conditional may be rather frequent, but no documentary evidence is available at the moment of writing to prove this. Here is an instance: - v. ;
Two months ago I should have scouted as mad or drunk the man who had dared teil me the like. Rudy. Kipling, The Phantom Rickshaw, 9.
The periphrastical conditional, however, appears to be the ordinary construction
i I should like to see the man who would dare to insult me'in Utiacombe's presence. Flor. Marryat, A Bankrupt Heart, II, 62. T.
ii He was not the kind of a man whom a servant would ever have dared to express any sympathy with. Sarah Grand, The Heavenly T w I n s, I, 85. T.
c) frequently of the verb to need; i. e. the pluperfect conditional seems to brook no periphrasis, while the preterite conditional is regularly constructed with the auxiliaries should or would.
i. One would need to be learhed in the fashions of those times toknow how far in the rear of them Mrs. Glegg's slate-coloured slik gown must have been. G. Eliot, M i 11, I, Ch. VII, 45.



21
li. My bat was so crushed that no old battered saucepan need have been ashamed to vie with it. Dick, C o p.
He (sc. Oliver) needn't have taken the trouble to shrink from Mr. Bumble's glance. id, 01. T w i s t, Ch. V.
You need not have tokt me that. Flor. Marryat, A Bankrupt H e a r t, I, 20. T.
He had spoken late, but he need not have spoken at all. Dor. Gerard, E x o t i c M a r t h a, Ch. XXII, 260. T.
more rarely of other verbs. Instances with the preterite conditional are very rare, at least in Late Modern English. I But if my father had not scanted me,... | Yourself, renowned prince,
then stood as fair. Shak, M er ch. of Ven., II, 1, 20. ii Had he not resembled | My father as he slept, I had done't. ib,
Macb, II, 2, 14.
The other was as pure of mind,! But form'd tocombat with his kind; | Strong in his frame, and of a mood I Which 'gainst the world in war had stood. Byron, P r I s. of C h 11., V, 4.
These letters had probably never been preserved, but for the affectionate thrift of one person. Thack., VI r g., Ch. I, 2. Had you found him at work, you had gtven him nothing. Lytton, Caxtons, I, IV, Ch. V, 104.
A stranger meeting them had surely thought, l They rode so slowly and they look'd so pale, I That each had suffer'd some exceeding wrong. Ten, Ger. and En., 34.
The work had been done in half the time,... had they given him a definite sum of money. una l. Silberrad, Success, Ch. I, 9.
The suppression of the protasis may lead to the obliterating of all notion of condition in the speaker's consciousness, with the result that where according to the practice of Present English the periphrastic pluperfect conditional would be required, we find the inflectional preterite or pluperfect, not as a conditional, but as an indicative.
a) Thus we find such a phrase as I had almost said (or written) used practically to the exclusion of / should almost have said (or written), which would be required by strict analysis. What we have to regret, I fear, is that your cousin.. should have brought contaminatlon — pollution, / had almost said — Into this'pure family. Thack., VIrg., Ch. L, 519.
Mrs. Ebley (ƒ had almost written the Reverend Mrs Ebley) was secretly enjoying herself. El. Glyn, The Point of View, Ch. I, 8. The face is a curious mixture: the soft dreamy eyes contrast so sharply with the firm, I had almost said, hard little mouth. Miss Montoomery, Thrown Toge th er, I, 72. T.
The annual ceremony of the Corporation of London has been in accordance with a tradition carried on with but little change from



22
generation to generation — / had almost said from century to century. T i m e s, No. 1976, 896a.
Also in other connections the use of almost, or some equivalent adverb, sometimes seems to be the occasion of the periphrastic pluperfect conditional being avoided.
Oolfs heart turned faint within him, and he had well-nigh let go his hold. Wash Irv., Dolf Heyl. (Stof., Hand!., I, 128). My brother had very nearly succeeded in hls suit. Thack., P e n d, I, Ch. VII, 85.
b) I had not thought (or dreamed, etc.) is not, apparently, unfrequently used instead of the grammatically more correct ƒ should not have thought (or dreamed), etc.
I had not thought. . . that the convent bred such good horsemen. Scott, Abbot, Ch. XXXVI, 404.
He had not dream'd she was so beautiful. Ten, Lanc. and El. 351.
Compare: / shouldn't have thought it of you. Frank Swinnerton, Nocturne, III, Ch. XII, VI, 259. e) Very common is the use of / thought and especiaily / did not think and / never thought, the preterite taking the place of the pluperfect conditional (I should have thought, etc). / did not think we had been so near Scotland. Sweet, N. E. O r, § 2247. / didn't think her romance could have made her so damned absurd either, Sher., R i v, IV, 3.
1 thought you would have been pleased. Dick, D o m b, Ch. III, 25. 1 never thought to have seen this day. Thack., Van. Fair, I, Ch. XIV, 138. / didn't think men were fond of putting poor harmiess girls to pain. ib, Ch. IV, 28.
/ never thought Harry Warrington would have joined against us. id, Virg, Ch. XCII, 984.
IV. The apodosis may express an actual fact and, accordingly, have its predicate in the indicative, although the protasis expresses a case which the speaker knows to be contrary to fact.
Surely if they had been zealous to pluck a brand from the burnlng, here was a noble opportunlty. W. Gunnyon, Biograph. Sketch of Burns, 41.
V. The periphrastic conditional often has a down-toning force, all notion of a rejected condition being, as a rule, practicaOy absent from the speaker's mind. As such we find it largely used
a) to impart modesty or diffidence to 1) a wish, a request or a question.
I should like to go for a walk. He says he would like to go for a walk. I should like a glass of water. He says he would like a glass of water. Wouldn't you rather have a cup of tea? Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2285.



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Would you be good enough to oblige me with a flve-pound note? Molloy, The Irish Diff iculty, Ch. VI, § 2, 54.
2) the expression of an opinion.
"How far is it?" — "t should say about two mi les." Mrs. Ward, The Mating of Lydia, I, Ch. IX, 187. Conversely in colloquial English / should think (or suppose) so often implies strong conviction, being used "as a strong affirmation in reply to a tentative suggestion, e. g.: Ishould (rather) think he did object'. Murray, s.v. shall, 10, d. I should (rather) think not. Sweet, N. E. O r., § 2286. 'The flrst time I heard lts (sc. the cricket"s) cheerful note, John, was on that night you brought me home — when you brought me to my new home here; lts little mistress. Nearly a year ago. You recollect, John?" — 'Oh 'yes, John remembered, I should think so." Dick., Cr lek, I, 17.
3) a piece of advice. Murray, s.v. shall, 19, f.
I should forswear his company (almost = You had better forswear his company, or, I would advise you to forswear his company).
b) to soften down the positiveness of a statement
The servants sleep so far off, Miss, they would not be llkely to hear. Ch. Brontë, J an e Eyre, Ch. XVI, 185.
In the natural spoken language the indicative would always be kept here. Sweet, n. E. Gr., § 2276.
The Squire once brought a niece of his down with him — but that would be years ago. Rich. Baoot, Darneley Place, I, Ch. II, 21. Note. // would appear (or seem) varies with it should appear (or seem), the latter being the original, but now, perhaps, the less common phrase. Compare Sweet, N. E. Gr., § 2290; Murray, s.v. shall, 9, d. The difference which Dean Alford (The Queen's English, § 327) tries to establish between the two phrases, seems to be fancifui. For illustration see also my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng., Ch. II, 34, Obs. II. It would appear that, when circumstances permitted, a quasi-religious formula was the custom. G r a p h
It was then perfoimed in Salisbury Court, but, as it should seem, with no better event. Mac, Com. Dram., (5746).
c) to qualify the certainty on the part of the speaker regarding the fulfilment of a future action or state.
I think you would like It (if you were to try it). (i am sure) I should like It — it would suit me exactly. I am going to call on some ladies, will you come too? (I have no doubt) they would be very happy to make your acquaintance. Sweet, n. E. Gr, § 2287.



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IV. Also the inflectional conditionals could, might and would often imply similar emotions. Compare ABBOT, Shak. Gram.', §329 and also my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng., Ch. I, 18, 19; 48, Obs. VIII and IX; 58; 59, Obs. III.
1. Could Miss Richland have set him at liberty? Goldsmith, The G o o d-n at. Man, IV.
My heart aches to think they could possibly be either fools orrascals. Dick., B1 e a k H o u s e, Ch. V, 37. ii. To prevent the confusion that might arise from our both addressing the same lady. Sher, R i v, III, 4.
Don't you think I might be of some use to you ? Mrs. Alexander, For his Sake, II, Ch. II, 32. T. ili. He that would hang his dog gives out first that he is mad. P r o v e r b. The stranger who would form a correct opinion of the English character, must not conflne his observations to the metropolis. Wash, Irv, Sketch-Bk., VIII, 61.
If you would be well served, you must serve yourself. Lonofellow, TheCourtship of Mi les Standish, IX. Dear Sir, — I would thank Mr. Robert Williamson for his article on •Sailor Talk". Westm. Gaz, No. 8179, 21o.
The Subjunctive and Conditional in Subordinate Statements.
15. When the subjunctive or conditional is used in a subordinate statement, the attitude of uncertainty or rejection on the part of the speaker expressed by it is already implied by the import of the head-sentence, i.e. by such words as hope, wish, command, desire, fear, propose, etc. found in some form or other in the latter. There is not, therefore, any strict necessity for its use, and its function is chiefly to denote this attitude emphatically. Compare 2, Obs. U. As to the modal auxiliaries used as periphrases of the subjunctive or conditional in subordinate statements it should be observed that they have the5 same meaning, although more or less toned down, as they have in principal sentences, where they may have no modal force at all. Thus may has only a slightly weaker meaning in / hope you may be happy in the life you have chosen than it has in May you be happy in the life you have chosen! and in both sentences it is distinctly modal.
But if we compare two such sentences as She shall come



25
back and / desire that she shall come back (= / desire that she come back), we find «) that shall is distinctiy weaker in the second sentence than it is in the first, and p) that it is not modal in the first sentence, whereas it may be understood as a subjunctive auxiliary in the second. Compare Ch. I, 40 of my Gram. of Lat e Mod. Eng. The weakened meaning of shall in subordinate statements may also be responsible for the fact that we often find it replaced by other auxiliary verbs, frequently for no apparent reason. See 21.
16. d) In Literary English the subjunctive is frequent in clauses
which express what is the subject of a h o p e or w i s h, especially after such phrases as God (or Heaven) grant or send, in which the verb is also in the subjunctive. Compare § 7, a.
God grant that some, less noble and less loyal, | Nearer In bloody thoughts, but not in blood, l Deserve not worse than wretched Clarence did! Shak, Rich. III, II, 1, 93.
Heaven send we be all alive this time to-morrow! Sher., Riv., IV, 1, (257).
God send I see the Lord High Admiral when I come home! Kingsley W e s t w. H o! Ch. I, 66.
God grant you become a braver man than he! ib, Ch. I, 76. b) There is no clear evidence that the preterite subjunctive takes the place of the present subjunctive in narrating past events, preterite forms giving the impression of being intended as conditionals, in other words they suggest idle wishes See 18. Thus the preterite forms in the following quotations are, most probably, to be apprehended as conditionals.
I thought upon Antonio when he told me, I And wished in silence that it were not his. Shak., Merch. of Ven, II, 7, 32. It was one of those glad times when we form, or ought to form, the wish that every one on earth were able to be happy. Dick, Chuz, Ch. XLVIII, 3696.
I expressed to Wordsworth a wish that his poems were printed in the order of their compositlon. A c a d e m y.
17. Obs. I. A common substitute for this inflectional subjunctive
is periphrasis with may, in narrating past events might. i. I wish the French levity of this young man may agree with
yOur father's Spanish gravity. Wycherley, The Gent.
Danc. Mast., I, 1, (139.)



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Now Heaven send she may be too sullen to look round. Sher., R i v, IV, 2.
I wish he may be an honest man, that's all. Dick., B a r n. Rudge, Ch. III, 12a.
"I hate the whole house", continued Miss Sharp in a fury, I hope I may never set eyes on it agaln. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. II, 9.
I pray Heaven I may never see you again. Reade, 11 is never too late to mend, I, Ch. II, 33. T. In your case. . both originality and inspiration may continue to flourish and bring forth fruit, — I trust they may. Marie Corelli, The S o r r o w s of S a t a n, I, Ch. IV, 42. T. ii. I hoped the time might come when he would cease to lead the loneiy life he naturally contemplated now. Dick, Cop, Ch. XXXII, 231 b.
I hoped we might get among a different sort of people. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, I, 111, Ch. XX, 321. I wished fervently he might not discover my hiding-place. Ch. Brontë, J a n e E y r e, Ch. I, 4.
When thy knights | Sware, I sware with them only in the hope | That, could I touch or see the Hoiy Grail, | They might be pluck'd asunder. Ten., H o 1 y Grail, 777. Note the idiom in: / wish I may die if I like It. Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll, Ch. VIII,62. (— Dutch Ik mag sterven als het mij bevalt)
The phrase may also be found incorporated in a conditional sentence of rejected condition. If I hadn't been by at the cooking, / wish I may die, if I should have known the dish again myself. Sher, R i v, III, 4. The speaker's uncertainty being indubitably denoted by the import of the head-sentence, there is, naturally, no call for any verb indicating this mental attitude in the subordinate statement, unless particular difh'dence as to the wish or hope coming into fulfilment istobe expressed. Hence shall or will, as auxiliaries of the future tense, is often found instead of modal may, should or would taking the place of might in narrating past events.
i. I hope we shall never see you here again. Dick, Household Words (Stof, L e e s b, I, 52).
She trusts that her mother will be found In the same unsought way. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, i, III, Ch. XX, 335. After this strange career we part with him with a desire that he will live to carry out his final resolve. A c a d e m y.
ii. I ventured to express a hope that she would not refuse to see him in his treubie. Dick, C o p, Ch. XXXII, 232a.



27
As has already been stated in 10, Obs. III, subordinate statements expressing what is the subject of an idle wish are in ordinary spoken and Standard English preceded by I wish, the higher literary language preferring (/) would. Here it may be added that these phrases admit of the ordinary variations for person or tense (See also the quotations under b), and that had rather (= would rather) is sometimes used in a similar function.
i. Poor Charles, I'm sure, I wish it were in my power to be of any essential service to himI Sher, School for Scand, I, 1, (365). "I am afraid", said she, "whichever I choose, I shall wish I had taken another". Mrs. Gask, Cranf., Ch. XIII, 241.
Don't you wish you were my brother? Dor. Gerard, Exotlc M a r t h a, Ch. II, 25.
ii. I would it were my fault.to sleep so soundly I Shak, J u 1. C ae s, II, 1,4. Would to Heaven it (sc. our house) were converted into a house of correction for your benefitI Goldsmith, Good-nat. Man, V.
iii. Had you rather that Caesar were living, and die all slaves; than that Caesar were dead, to live freemen? Shak, Ju 1. Caes, III, 2, 12.
Her father's an earl. — I'd rather he weren'i. Sutro, The Choice,I,(8). Note. Strictly speaking, the complex sentence with / would or / had rather, must be considered as the apodosis of a conditional sentence, the protasis being understood. Hence such a sentence as / would that it were true may be supplemented by some such addition as if I were allowed to have my wish. Such an addition is, however, feit to be absolutely superfluous in the majority of cases, there being no condition attaching to the hope or wish present to the speaker's mind. This may account for the use of the present indicative I wish .taking the place of the preterite conditional / should wish. That wish, as used in the above connection, is feit as an indicative is borne out by the fact that it takes the inflection of the present indicative when an idle wish is reported of a person other than the speaker, and also when one is used as a veiled I.
I. She says she wishes she were dead. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2266. II. One wishes it were not so. Jane Austen, Mansf. Park, Ch.IX,91.
b) In narrating past events / wish, etc. is changed into / wished, etc, the tense of the subordinate statement undergoing no change in consequence.
He wished, as he crept into his narrow bed, that that were his coffln. Dick, 01. T w I s t, Ch. V, 54.
At that moment she wished that she had not sent tor him. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, I, III, Ch. XXIII, 384.



28
I wished he could have seen her. Mrs. Craik, John Hal., Ch. XX, 200. He wished that Bretton had not mentioned Christmas. Barry Pain, The C u lm i nating Point.
c) In referring to an idle wish formed at a time prior to a point of time in the past, the pluperfect conditional is used both in the head-sentence and the subordinate statement.
I had often wished that I had been drowned when I was going away from my mother. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, I, Ut, Ch. XX, 321. Obs. I. In emotional language we often find idle wishes expressed by a bare subordinate statement, the principal sentence being understood or, to a certain extent, represented by the interjection 0(h)! or Ah! For illustration see also
10, Obs. I.
1.06/ that I had but known! Hall Caine, The Deemster, Ch. XVIII, 126.
11. Ah! that your excellency butsawthegreatduel which depends on you alone I Kinosley, H y p, Ch. II, 8a.
II. If the idle wish is one regarding the future or a period subsequent to a moment in the past, the verb in the subordinate statement is placed in the periphrastic conditiónal (with would), but only so far as the second and third persons are concerned.
i. • I wish you'd stay so! Thack., S a m. T i t m, Ch; IV, 46.
I wish you would fall in loveI Mar. Crawf, Don Orsino (Macm. Mag, 1892, 171ö). **I wish the day uw/ftf ne'er come back! W. Morris, The Earthly Par, TheProudKing, 906. I wish he would comel Sweet, Spoken Eng, 43.
ii. I . . only wished that a iion or a serpent, or any iil-disposed monster, would make an attack upon us. D i c k, C o p, Ch. X, 74ö. Nancy wished more and more that Godfrey would come in. O. Eliót, Si 1. Mam, Ch. XVII, 139.
He kissed her. I wished she would utter some hysterical cry. Ch. Brontë, V i 11 e 11 e, Ch. II, 112.
iii. We would that more of the London landlords would realise their responsibilitiesI Westm. Gaz, No 6447, 2c.
When the idle wish concerns the future of the speaker, the construction with the periphrastic conditional is not available. Thus, although we say / wish you (he, she or they) would succeedl we cannot say */ wish I should succeedl Instead of this another construction is chosen, e. g.: I should feel very happy tf I succeeded, I (do) hope I may (or shall) succeed!



29
sentences which do not, of course, offer exact parallels to those with / wish, or to the Dutch Ik wou dat ik slaagdel
It should be observed, however, that would is spmetimes found after we in reported speech.
(He says) he wishes we would not keep the door open. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2202, ƒ.
III. Might occurs as an occasional variant of would.
Would that my wanderings might end herel Would that these grateful tears with which I now mourn hope misplaced, and love despised, might flow in peace for everi Dick, Pickw, Ch. XXXVI, 335.
Would that neither might win! Would that they would devour and destroy, till there was none left of Frenchmen or of Norwegians! Kinosley, Hereward the Wake, Ch. XVII, 71a. (Note thevaried practice.)
In the adnominal clause contained in the following quotation might is employed on the strength of an idle wish being implied.
Oh for a lodge in some vastwilderness, | Some boundless contlguity of shade, | Where rumour of oppression and deceit, | Of unsuccessful or successful war, | Might never reach me more! Cowper, Ta sk, 11,5.
a)In literary English the subjunctive is frequent in subordinate statements expressing what is the subject of some movement of the human will, As will appear from the import of the head-sentences in the following quotations, movements of the human will, or of some equivalent agent, appear in different forms and in different degrees of intensity, from a stern command to a meek request.
For convenience of reference the following quotations have been arranged according to the alphabetical succession of the words on which the subjunctive depends. I heg my most humble duty and service be presented to my ladies, your Honour's lady and sister. Swift (Thack, Eng. Hum, I, 23). Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready, | She strike upon the belI. Shak, Macb, II, I, 32.
I charge thee | That thou attend me. Shak., Temp, I, 2, 435.
It is our charge to thee brother . . . that thou do thy battle manfully
Scott, I van hoe, Ch. XXXIII, 394. T.
Do not consent | That Antony speak in his funeral. Shak., J u 1. Caes, III, 1, 233.
The necessity of the time demands that our people put aside all



30
unnecessary things and stand united against such a peace. Westm. Qaz, No. 8057, 4a.
desire that she come back. Thack., Van. Fair, I, Ch. XVI, 170. Eari, entreat her by my love, | Albeit I give no reason but my wish, | That she rlde with me in her faded silk. Ten., Mar. of Ger., 762. Fortune forbid my outside have not charm'd her. Shak , T w e 1 f t h N g h t, II, 2, 15.
In Paris .. . the prostitute is not condemned to permanent degradatlon, as the puritans insist she be with us. Eng. Rev, No. 63,39. I order that the obsolete guns be returned into store. Punch, 1889,85c.
pray thee that thou assert thy Innocence. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2273. This settlement upon you is with a proviso that yow oncle have no children. Conoreve, The Doublé Dealer I, 1, (108). His (sc. the poefs) character requires that he estimate the happiness and misery of e*ery condition, observe the power of all passions in all their combinations. Johnson, R a s, Ch. X, 61. WÏII you stay no longer? nor will you not that \go with yotr? Shak., T w e 1 f t h N i g h t, II, 1, /.
It is my wish that it (sc. the picture) remain where it is. Anstey, A Fallen Idol, Ch. VII, 104.
b) No instances of the preterite subjunctive being used analogously in narrating past events have come to hand, the probability being that some periphrastic equivalent is regularly used instead. Thus in representing such facts as are expressed by / desire that she come back, I order that the obsolete guns be returned into store, etc. as happenings of the past, we could not say * / desired that she came back, * 1 ordered that the obsolete guns were returned into store, etc, periphrasis with one or another of the modal auxiliaries mentioned below being unavoidable.
Obs. I. a) Instead of the inflectional subjunctive we often find the periphrastic subjunctive with shall, should or'may, the choice depending, roughly speaking, upon the intensity of volition which is implted, shall denoting the strongest, may the weakest form. Compare also Murray, s.v. shall, 14, d; 22, a.
As to should it may be observed that it sometimes has approximately the same meaning as it has In He should (= ought to) come, sometimes may be understood to serve the purpose of representing an action or state as a mere contingency, as in / do not expect that you should owe me any good will now (Dick, Cop., Ch. XXXIII, 237a). Thus in the following quotations



31
under a) it bears the first interpretation af ter desire, love, wish, the second after care, endure, forbid. In some connexions the word may be apprehended either way. But whatever construction may be put upon it, should in this application is a conditional, either of the non-modal shall, as in the case of the first interpretation, or of the modal shall, as in the case of the second interpretation.
In the quotations under b), describing happenings of the past, should may often be apprehended as simply the preterite of shall, so that it sometimes admits of being interpreted in three different ways.
The arrangement of the following quotations is on the same principle as in 20, a). It is to be understood that when under a given word only one quotation is given, no others with either of the alternative verbs had come to hand at the moment of writing, from which it ought not, of course, to be necessarily concluded that the use of such a verb would have been objectionable.
We have agreed — he and I — that you shall choosc between us now Shaw, C a n d i d a, III, (188). T.
I am anxious at the first outset that the object of this work should not be misunderstood. Tom Hood, V e r s i f i c a t i o n, P r e f, 5. It has been arranged 'that the parliamentary point-to-point steeptechase shall take place on Saturday, April 9, near Warwick. Times.
The memorial asks that Parliament shall make it illegal to vivisect dogs. Westm. Gaz., No. 8080, 21.
I beg this may make no kind of distance between us. Goldsmith, Good-nat. Man, IV.
I beg I may not be interrupted. Sweet, R E. G r, § 2308.
They don't care that anybody should get a clandestine llvelihood but
themselves. Gay, The Beggar's Opera, I.
The Italians now claim that Fiume shall be included (sc. In the
territory to be ceded to them). Westm. Gaz, No. 8062, la.
Do you consent we shall aequaint him with It? Shak, Ha ml., F,
1, 172.
The committee have decided that no one shall be admitted without a ticket. Times.
The Court of Cassation have quashed and annulled the condemnation of Aifred Dreyfus and decreed that he shall be tried afresh by a Court-martial at Rennes. Times.
Itaty has a perfect right to demand that the engagements on which she enteredUre war shall be liunuuiabry fittfitted. Westm. Gaz., No. 8062, la.



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No one in England has the slightest desire that general Boulanger should betome the ruler of France. G r a p h i c. A solid mass of opinion . . takes the League (sc. of Nations) very seriously and is determined that it shall be a reality. Westm. Gaz., No. 8080, 5a.
Restl the good house, tho' ruin'd, | O my son, | Endures not that her guest should serve himself. Ten, Mar. of Ger, 379. Mr. Labori addressed an appeal to the German Emperor entreating that Colonel Schwarzkoppen may be allowed to give evidence. Times. God forbid that you should take any road but one where you will find and givehappinessi G.Eliot, Dan. Der, I, III, Ch. XXIII, 393. Th? Prince has given instructions that medical bulletins shall be issued twice a day. Times.
I. I hope you don't intend that Macheath shall be executed. Gay, The Beggars' Opera, III, 2.
I don't intend that you shall leave me. Thack, P e n d, I, Ch. IV, 51. ii. I don't intend that there should be (sc. any shilly-shaily). G. Eliot, Dan. Der, II, III, Ch. XXV, 15.
Give me leave that I may turn the key that no man enter. Sweet, N. E. G r, § 2274.
I love that beauty should go beauüf ully. Ten, Ger. and Eri, 680. It is a maxim of English law that every man shall be held innocent until he is proved .to be guilty. Molloy, The IrishDifficulty, Ch. IV, 41.
1. I shall give orders that my doors may no longer be open to you. Fielding, j o s. Andrews, IV, Ch. II, 206.
ii. I have ordered that a lunch of bread and cheese shall be served to all. Ch. Bronte, j a n e E y r e, Ch. V, 52.
A law passcd in 1873 provides that eligibility to academie office
shall not depend upon creed. Daily Chron.
It is particularly requested that Miss Sharp's stay in Russell Square
may not exceed ten days. Thack, V a n. F a i r, I, Ch. I, 3.
He further requires that the old girl shall do nothing all day long.
Dick, B1 e a k H o u s e, Ch. XLIX, 409.
I have resolved she shall have her own way. Sher, School for S c a n d, IV, 3, (413).
It Is a good rule that olficers in the Service shall not engage
In public controvérsy. Westm. Gaz, No. 8121, 3a.
It is now settled that Mr. Chamberlain shall lead the Liberal
Unionist party in the House of Commons. Standard.
Nor can I suffer that a man should trust me. Coleridoe, PI c,
ÜI, 3, (523).
i. What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? B i b 1 e, L u ke, XVIII, 41. (Thus also shall in Matth, XX, 32; but should in Mark X, 51. The Revlsed Version of 1881 has should in all three passages.)



33
ii. Will you that I should sing of love? Lytton, Pomp, H, Ch. ft, 64a.
Haven't you ambition enough to wish that your husband should be something better than a Middlemarch doctor? G. Eliot, Mid, V, Ch. XLIII, 323.
Note a. Shall may have a similar force in adnominal clauses and in adverbial ones of result (or consequence) modifying so as an adverb of quality. Compare also Ch. I, 40, c, 5 of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng, and Murray, s.v. shall, 11, b.
i I wish to publish a book that shall create a stir and make me famous. Marie Corelli. The Sor. of Satan.
ii I have placed the money out of the reach of Robert Gates; and placed it so that it shall be a blessing to his family at his death. Thack. Sam, Titm, Ch. VI, 61.
p. Mtght as a milder form than may seems to be only occasionally used.
We will make it our sart to the duke that the wrestling might not go forward. Shak, A s y o u 1 i k e i t, I, 2, 166. b). In narrating past events shall and may are, of course, replaced by respectively should or might. Should may, however, also have the milder meaning referred to above. The arrangement of the following quotations is again on the same principle as in 20, a).
All I asked in return was that Campion should in future do his best, by amending his ways, to avoid such degrading necessity. Anstey, A F all en Idol, Ch. XII, 158.
I did not choose that my wife should be passed over by them. Thack., Sam. Titm, Ch. X, 117.
He destred that the boy might be lef t betond under his care. Fieldino, J o s. A n d r e w s, I, Ch. III, 7.
Fate did not intend that I should remain long an English soldier. Thack, Barry Lyndon, Ch. IV, 65.
William did not like she should come away. Jane Austen, M a n s f. Park, Ch. II, 14.
They established the rule that all poor people should have the alternative of being starved by a gradual process in the house, or by a quick one out of it. Dick, 01. T w i s t.
Burke with his last brealh urged that Ireland should be suprème over her own domestic affairs. P e r i o d i c a 1.
She did not want that Harry should quarrel with his aunt for her sake. Thack, Virg, Ch XVIII, 187.
I didn't wish that any one should suppose a shadow of self-interest •could move me in any way. Thack, Sam. T11m, Ch VI, 63. All I wished for was that one of those saucy grinningfootmen should say or do something to me that was the least uncivil ib, Ch III. 37.
3



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c). A mere glance through the above quotations reveals the fact that the principle supposed to underlie the use of shall, should and may as subjunctive equivalents after words denoting some movement of the human will is far from being regularly observed. Here follow some quotations exhibiting utter disregard of the principle.
i. I desire — / insist — /order that Mrs. Hoggarty of Castle Hoggarty's trunks should be placed this instant in my carriage. Thack, S a m. T i t m, Ch. IX, 98.
Lady Southdown rose up as magnihcent as Mrs. Siddons in Lady Macbeth, and ordered that horses might be put to her carriage. id. Van. Fair, II, Ch. V, 54.
ii, The Russian deiegatcs report that they have requested that the next meeting shall be on Russian soil, and that there shall be an interval of seven days in order that they may return to Petrograd. Westm. Gaz, No. 7637, la.
. The uncertainty prevailing about the verb to be used in subordinate statements which depend on words denoting a movement of the human will is, no doubt, responsible for the occasional use of to be (to) and must in like connexions to express other forms of volition. Compare Ch. I, 30; 31, Obs. III of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng. i. It was determined by the pair that the journey to Rome was to be made when their means would admit. E. J. Hardy, How to be happy though married, Ch. III. 35. T. (The use of would in this sentence is at variance with a rule observed with great regularity.)
He expressly stipulated that he was to remain unknown. Jean Webster, D a d d y-L o n g-L e g s, I, 12.
Convocation at Oxford has voted that Greek is, for the present, stilt to be asked for at Responsions. Westm. Gaz, M. 8109, 8b.
ii. Inexorably, without pity, Clrcumstance decreed that they must cross those forty yards of silence before they could speak. Temple Thurston, The City of Beautiful Nonsense, Ch.XIV, 105. The demand was that Austria miisf cease to be a Balkan Power, and Servia's national programme must be 'the emancipation of Bosnia". Westm. Gaz.
III. Also will as a verb of weak volition, as opposed to an auxiliary of the future tense, is not unfrequently employed in connexions like the above, especially after verbs denoting a mild request, apparently from motlves of courtesy. A very high degree of courtesy or modesty may prompt the use of the conditional would.
i. I desire you will do no such thing. Jane Austen, P r i d e and P r e j, Ch. I, 9.



35
I desire you will do your duty. Thack, V i r g, Ch. V, 52.
I beg that you will draw your chair up to the fire. Con. Doyle,
S h e r I. Hol m, I, 193. T.
It is especially requested that visitors will be careful not to leave paper or other lifter in these gardens. Notice in St. PauI's Churchyard.
ii. * She wishes that you would set this diamond neatly. Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. II, 23. ** He then... desired they would sit down and talk together til! he returned. Lamb, T a I e s, Temp, 21. T. The writer had expressed a wish that I would do a preface to the book. Westm. Gaz, No. 8057, 19a. Note. Observe the regular use of will in the phrase / beg you won't mention it.
Acres. Thank you, my dear friend, my dear Jack; but it is giving you a great deal of trouble. Abs. Not in the least - 1 beg you won't mention it. Sher, RI v, IV, l, (257).
IV. Also will as an auxiliary of the future tense is occasionally met with, the occasion of its use being, apparently, the desire of removing from the action or state referred to the notion of compulsoriness which the use of shall or should would imply. This will is especially met with in connexions in which to be (to), the weakest of the compulsion-expressing verbs, would also be feit to be a suitable verb. Compare
I. It has been decided that the King will open Parliament with full
state ceremonial. Daily News, 1907, 9 Jan. ii. It was settled that I was to write to my father. Mrs Gask
Cranf., XIV, 256.
It seems to be flxéd that Fred is to go to college. G. Eliot M i d Ch. XL, 303.
Note. The tense-auxiliary will also varies with shall in the adnominal clauses referred to in 21,a Note a) For illustration see also Ch. I, 40, c, 5 of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng. A great deal of time has been spent in efforts to discover a formula which will effectually guard agricultural land from the operation of these taxes. W e s t m. G a z, No. 5048, 1 c.
V. In conclusion it should be observed that in not a few of the connexions instanced by the above quotations the construction with a subordinate statement is more or less unusual. In connexion with to choose, to intend, to wish and especially to want, it may even be pronounced exceptional.
These verbs and also to desire, to endure, to require and to suffer are mostly construed with an accusative + infinitive. Others such as to ask, to charge, to order, to pray and to request mostly take a similar construction with an infinitive.



36
For detailed discussion and illustration see Ch. XVIII, 30ff. of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng.
The constructions with the auxiliaries, although mostly purely literary, however, offer the substantial advantage of enabling us to indicate nice shades of meaning which the infinitive is utterly incapable of expressing. 22. In literary English we not unfrequently find the subjunctive in subordinate statements expressing what is thought necessary, -desirable, advisable, just, fair, or the reverse.
The arrangement of the following quotations is on the same principle as in 20, a).
It is not essential... that a cheque be written on one of these printed forms. Hoop. and Grah., Mod. Bus. Meth, Ch. XVIII, 91. 'Tis but just thou serve | Thy friend, before thyself. Dryden, A11 f o r Love, V, 1, (101).
'Tis not meet | They be alone. Shak., J u 1. C ae s, IV, 3, 126. According to Hindoo belief it is needful for a man's eternal welfare that he leave a son behind him to perform his funeral rites. Mc. Carthy, Short Hist, Ch. XIII, 183.
It s high time that the task be undertaken of promoting international
good feeling. Rev., of Rev. No. 193, 10a. ■ b) If what the speaker thinks necessary, advisable, etc. or the reverse, is represented as contrary to fact, the conditional is used, the whole sentence partaking of the character of an idle wish.
It is time we were gone off. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2267. It is time that a more reasonable distribution of the burdens of revenue were permanently established. Times. It is time that a Chancellor of the Exchequer had settled ideas on some at least of the greater problems. Westm. Gaz, No. 8068, la. c) No conclusive evidence is available at the time of writing of the preterite subjunctive being used in the case of the time-sphere being the past, the preterite forms admitting of being apprehended as indicatives, subjunctives or conditionals.
It was high time that the old man died. G. Eliot, M i d, IV, Ch. XXXIV, 241.
It was quite time that the public had a life of Mr. Angus. L i t. World, 1891, 252c.
Also was which seems to be the usual form of the verb to be in sentences of this type may be regarded as the colloquia! substitute for a subjunctive or conditional were.



37
The Chairman had said that it was quite time this poaching nuisance was stopped. Punch, No. 3995, 666.
It is certainly time that a definite term was set to our commitments in Russia. Westm. Gaz, No. 8221, 26. 23. Obs , a). The ordinaty substitutes for the subjunctive or conditional in these subordinate statements are periphrases with shall, or the conditional should, the latter being the milder and by far the more frequent, and often approaching the meaning of should in He should (i. e. ought to) come. The arrangement of the following quotations is on the same principle as in 20, a).
He has to judge whether it is advisable that repairs in any farm-buildings shall be undertaken this year or shall be postponed until the next. Escott, E n g I a n d, Ch. III, 30. The best change for them all (sc. the nationalities to be set up in Eastern Europe) is that they should start demilitarised. Westm. Gaz., No. 8098, la.
Until I come to you it will be better that you should not try to come to me. Hardy, T e s s, V, Ch. XXXVII, 327. The one condition of descriptive poetry is that it shall have distinctivety human connections and human interests. Gummere, H a n d b k. of P o e t, 29.
It is not fair that I should suffer for other people's misconduct. Sweet, N. E. G r, § 2295.
It is imperattve that the Government should take some immediate step in the direction of Irish self-government. Westm. Gaz., No. 8103, 4a.
It is just that they should pay compensation in kind.Westm. Qaz, No. 8046, 16.
In such a time as this it is not meet | That every nice offence should bear his comment. Shak., J u I. Caes., IV, 3, 8.
i. It will be necessary also that the medlcai management of the two shall be combined. G. Eliot, MI d, Ch. LXVII, 506. It is necessary that the Nationalists shall be absolutely independent. G r a p h.
It is necessary that a few of the Strand shops shall be pillaged. Times.
ii. It is not necessary that every one should be first-rate — either actresses or singers. G.Eliot, Dan. Der, I,III,Ch.XXIII,383.
i. What is needed for the transformation of the Legislatures, both of the Old World and the New, is that the electors shall change their ideals. G r a p h.
ii. For the stability of a figure it is needful that the perpendi- cular from the centre of gravity — 'the line of direction", as
it is called —should fall within the base of support. Spencer, E d u c, Ch. I, 32a.



38
It is quite right that he should bear the expense. Sweet, N. E. Gr. § 2295.
It is time that the Liberal Party should make it clear that Liberalism must apply to the Colonial Office as much as to other Departments of State. Oaily News and Leader, 1906, 19 July. b) In narrating past events these clauses, of course, have no other auxiliary than should.
They expressed their opinion that it was better that they should stay away. Dick., C o p, Ch. XXXVIII, 2786.
Because her education had been less expensive than theirs, it did not follow that she should have wider emotions or a keener inteliectual vision. G. Eliot, Dan. Der., I, III, Ch. XXIV, 415. Pen... dectined to teil Laura what the play was about. in fact it was quite as well that she should not know. Thack., P e n d., I, Ch. IV, 52.
24. In literary English the subjunctive is fairly common in subordinate statements expressing what is the subject ofa proposal, a suggestion or advice. Thus especially in the language of deliberative assemblies or bodies.
Lord Spencer moved a resolution to the effect that the First Lord of the Treasury be asked to receive a deputation on the subject Times. I propose that the matter be put to the vote at once. G. Eliot, M i d, II, Ch. XVIII, 136.
I also suggest that the ceremony take place before the departure. Dor. Gerard, Exotic Mart ha, Ch. XXIV, 286.
25. Obs. I. a) Ordinary language prefers periphrasis with shall or
the conditional should, the latter being a milder and more frequent form than the former, and approaching the meaning of should in He should (i. e. ought to) come. A moves that the rate of postage should bereduced, B moves that the post-office authorities be allowed to consider the question. Cobham Brewer, Dict, s.v. question. (Observe the alternate use of the periphrastic and inflectional subjunctive in this quotation.)
i. The proposal is that London shall become one borough, like Birmingham or Manchester. Westm. Gaz, No. 4983.26. They (sc. the Germans) propose that a neutral tribunal shall be set up to try all violations of thelawsand usages of war. ib„ No. 8092, la.
ii. I propose that he should be recelved into the Brewery, that a shop with all that he wants should be fltted up for him, and that' he attend daily, until anything better offers, to do all that may be required in his trade. Besant, All Sorts and Cond. of Men, Ch.XV, 118.(Observe the alternate use of the periphrastic and inflectional subjunctive.)



39
i. It is also suggested that the Saar Valley question shall be settled by givlng France the right to exploit the coal-mines. Westm. Gaz, No. 8046, 16.
ii. The Morning Post suggests that Japanese troops should be brought over. Eng. Rev, No. 110, 70.
Note. To suggest takes the ordinary indicative future in thesense of to give it as one's opinion. Thus in: They welcome the investigation ot internal Russian conditions, and suggest that this will be more authoritative if carried out by the Council of the League of Nations. Westm. Gaz, No. 8321, 2a. b) In narrating past events should is, of course, the only posible modal auxiliary.
The carrier., proposed that my pocket- h an dker ch ief should be spread upon the horse's back to dry. Dick, Cop, Ch. V, 32a. II. Also the indicative seems to be occasionally used, especially in colloquia! language.
You propose that Ellean leaves Highercoombe almost at once and remains with you some months. Pinero, The Second Mrs Tanqueray, II. (92).
26. In literary English the subjunctive is fairly common in subordinate statements expressing what is the subject of a person's care or solicitude.
Take heed the Queen come not within hissight. Shak, Mids, II, 1, 19. Let good Antonio look he keep his day. Id, Merch, of Ven, II 8, 21.
Look that he hlde no weapon. Sweet, N. E. G r, § 2273. Remember that you call on me to day. Shak, Jul. Caes, II, 1,723. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day. Book of Common P r a y e r.
I mean to see . . that justice be done to the poor of the city of Barchester generally. Trol, The W a r d e n, Ch. VI, 73. See that eveiything be in readiness. Mason, Eng. Gram.'m, 192, N. See there be no traitors in your camp. Sweet, N. E. G r, § 2273.
27. Obs. I, d) Periphrasis with shall, or occasionally should as a milder
variant and implying propriety etc, as in the connexions mentioned in 21, Obs. I, a, is the ordinary substitute for this subjunctive.
i. Boney will take care that it (sc. the fight) shall be a hard one. Thack, Van. Fair, 1, Ch. XXIV, 242. I will take care that you shall learn all .you want to know. Shaw, You never can teil, I, I. (225). There is only one way to ensure that committees shall be formed in such a way as to conform to a prescribed model. The New Statesman, No. 252, 419a. What is the best way to make sure that such things as



40
happen nightly at Wyndham's Theatre shall never happen in reality? Westm. Gaz, No. 4919, 16c.
I don't let you off, mind, under a week; and undertake that you shall
see everything worth seeing. Dick, P i c k w, Ch. IV, 37. ii. The Government must use its every power to see that a minority by the
aid of disorganisation and starvation should not dictate policy to the
country. Westm. Gaz, No. 8144, \b. b) In narrating past events should would naturally take the place
of shall, as in He took care that the task should be promptly
accomplished, but documentary evidence of this usage is not
available at the time of writing. II. In ordinary written and spoken English neither the inflectional
nor the periphrastic subjunctive is at all common in these clauses,
the indicative being used instead. i Be careful that the iron chest is passed on to him by will. Rid. Hao,
S h e, I, 13.
Steps should be taken to ensure that the primary needs of the community are properiy served. Westm. Gaz, No. 8103, 4a. See that your father is kept perfectly quiet. Edna Lyall, D o n, I, 42. T. See that everything is in readiness. Mason, Eng. Gram.34, § 182, N. In narrating past events the indicative preterite seems to be the only form in actual use.
John went out to see that the boy with the lantern . . took due care of the house. Dick, Crick, I, 11.
As for the child he would see that it was cared for. G. Eliot, S i i. Mam., I, Ch. XIII, 105.
28. a) In literary English occasional instances are met with of
the subjunctive in subordinate statements introduced by lest which express what is the subject of an app re hension.
I have great fear lest you suffer tot my death. Green. Why wilt thou ever scare me with thy tears ] And make me tremble lest a saying learnt, | In days far off, on that dark earth, be true. Ten, T i t h o n u s, 48.
I tremble lest he be discovered. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2274.
b) No instance is available of were being used as a preterite subjunctive after lest in narrating past events. In the following quotation the preterite may, however, be understood as a subjunctive.
She had no alarm lest he meant to kiss her. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, II, III, Ch. XXVII, 43.
29. Obs. I. In the majority of cases periphrasis with the conditional
should is used instead, independently of the time-sphere. In narrating past events might varies with should. The



41
use of may as a variant seems to be less common. So far as the evidence goes, there is no apparent difference in meaning between the periphrasis with should and that with might (or may), both implying, as Murray (s.v. a/raid, 2, c) puts it "a deprecated contingency of which there is danger". See also Murray, s.v. shall, 22, e. Alphabetical arrangement of the quotations as indicated in 20, a)
i. * Darneley Place is so near London that I am always af raid
lest some fine and valuable picture should be missing. Rich. Baoot, Darneley P1 a c e, Ch. IV, 42. When ladies leave the Gallery for tea there is no need for them to fear lest they should lose their seats. Grap h, 1889, 279.
a girl with large possessions is always suspicious lest a man should pretend to love her for the sake of hermoney. Besant, All Sorts and Cond. of Men, Ch. V, 45. ** I dreaded lest any stranger should nottce me and speak to me. G. Eliot, Dan. Der., I, III. Ch. XX, 332. I feared lest I should be deceived. Bain, H E. Gr., 113. My only tenor was lest my father should follow me. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, I, III, Ch. XX, 329. Pen trembled lest the other should discover hls emotion. Thack., P e n d, I. Ch. V, 60.
ii. * There is considerable anxiety lest the evacuation may be
in some way evaded or modified. Westm. Gaz, No. 8179, 2a.
I fear lest they may be won already. Lytton, M y N o v e I, II, VIII, Ch. IV, 32. ** Robert saw that she was afraid lest she might have said something discourteous.Mrs.Ward, Rob. E1 sm, I,.68.T. She was taken with such anxious, earnest alarm lest the temptation might some day prove too strong for me that [etc] Mrs. Gask, C r a n f, Ch. XIV, 258. A horrible doubt came into my mind lest the dog might be loose. Con. Doyle, S h e r 1. H o 1 m, II, 269. T. She was urged by the fear lest her anticipated misfortunes might be held retributive. G. Eliot, M111, I. Ch. IX, 84. His terror was excited lest he might aclually have setn his ancestor's ghost. Miss Yonqe, The Heir of Rede, f, Ch. V, 76. T.
Also would, as a tense-auxiliary, is occasionally met with in subordinate statements introduced by lest. Of the analogous use of shall or will no instances have come to hand. I was afraid test she would be displeased. Mrs. Gask, Cranf, Ch. D, 44.



42
He feared lest every fresh question would throw a fiercer light into the discreetly shadowed corners of his history. Con. Doyle, The Return of Sherl. Holm. d) No instances have turned up of the inflectional subjunctive after that, the ordinary con ju net ion to introducé subordinate statements denoting what is the subject of an apprehehsion. The periphrastic subjunctive with may or might, the latter in narrating past events, is, however, common enough. See also Ch. I, 21,6 of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng. Murray (s.v. afraid, 2,c) states that "that, with subjunctive, (introducés) an unpleasant possibility", but fails to give a single instance. Nor are any offered under to apprehend, to fear, to dread and the corresponding nouns or any of their synonyms.
Has he, perhaps, committed some crime in Italy and fears that I may be an Italian detective who has traced him here? Rich. Baoot, Darneley PI a c e, I, Ch. II, 26.
Being apprehensive that it might spoil the sate of the book. Swift, Ta 1 e of a Tnb. (')
b) Should appears as a rather frequent variant of might when the apprehension concerns the future from a point of view in the past. Compare Murray, s.v. shall, 22, e.
He dreaded that Sir Christopher should surmise or discover the true state of Caterina's feeiings. G. Eliot, Scènes, II, Ch. XII, 145. I have hid my feeiings, fearing they should do me wrong. Ten, Locksley Hall, 29.
Having rung the bell, she leaned against the stone parapet for support, dreading that the door should be opened. Westm. Gaz, No. 8057, 106.
c) The indicative is, however, distinctly the rule.
He is afraid that his dishonesty will be discovered. I am afraid that it is too true; afraid that we are not in time. Murray, s.v. afraid, 2,c.
The Subjunctive in Subordinale Questions.
a) Literary English affords frequent instances of the subjunctive in subordinate questions, especially such as open with if or whether. The occasion of the subjunctive often appears to be a doubt on the part of the speaker that the question must be answered in the affirmative.
i. We doubt whether there 6e a hundred genuine Bengalees in the whole army of the East India Company. Mac, C1 i v e, (512a).
Murray.



43
We doubt whether it be possible to mention a state which on the whole has been a gainer by a breach of faith. ib., (5206). (I) have not used my power: | Nor know I whether I be very base | Or very manful. Ten», Mar. of O er., 468. The controversy as to whether ceiibacy or wedlock 6e the happier state is a very old one, perhaps as oid as what may be called the previous question — whether life itself öe worth living. E.J.Hardy, H o w t o b e happy t h o u g h m a r r i e d, Ch. II, 19. T. He feels if the axe be sharp. I know not whether it be true or not. Sweet, N. E. O r, § 2273. ii. The blowing of the horn ... made me hesitatingly inquire... if there were anything to pay. Dick., C o p, Ch. V, 35a. Even those who had often seen him were at first in doubt whether this were truly the bril Mant and graceful Monmouth. Mac, Hist, II, Ch. V, 185. T.
That's just the answer Tertius gave me, when I first asked him if she were handsome. G. Eliot, Mid, V, Ch. XLIII, 321. After he had made all things ready, he was visited with a doubt whether he were not mistaking her. id. Dan. Der, III, VI, Ch. XLVII, 50.
(Esther) trembled like one grown suddenly cold. She did not know whether it were with pleasure or fear. Max Pemb, Doet. X a v, Ch. IX, 48a.
b) Instances of the subjunctive in subordinate questions opening with interrogative adverbs or pronouns appear to be rare.
Take care how thou reach it (sc. the castle) before me. Lytton R i e n z i, III, Ch. II, 127.
A wise horseman should, in such a case, take care how he pull the rein. ib, II, Ch. III, 90.
Ah, Christ, that It were possible | For one short hour to see | The souls we loved, that they might teil us I What and where they 6e. Ten, M a u d, II, IV, III.
Obs. I. There are no periphrastic equivalents for the inflectional subjunctive in subordinate- questions.
II. In ordinary spoken English the indicative as a neutral mood (1, a) is used with no, or hardly any, exception. You won't know whether the frosty wind is hot or cold. Miss Braddon, My First Happy Cbristm. (Stof, Handl, I.)
III. In such sentences as the following might is applied in no other way than it is in Might not an answer have arrived?, i. e. although marking uncertainty on the part of the speaker and, consequently, distinctly modal, it is not employed as a substitute for modal inflection.



44
I gladly would go somewhere to essay | /ƒ I perchance a nightingale might hear. Wordsw, The Cuck. and the Night XI.
Nancy said she would go and see if, by any chance, an answer to her application might not have arrived. Temple Thurston, Traffic, III, Ch. III, 140.
The Subjunctive and Conditional in Adverbial Clauses.
32. o) In adverbial clauses of place the inflectional
subjunctive seems to be very rare.
a thousand thousand sighs to save, | Lay me, o, where | Sad true lover never find my grave | Toweepthere! Shak., Twelfth Night, II, 4, 65.
b) Also the periphrastic subjunctive in these clauses can hardly be instanced in the whole range of Modern English. Such a sentence as Where the tree shall fall, there it shall lie, cited by Onions (Adv. Eng. Synt., §48), is scarcely a case in point, where having the value of wherever and, accordingly, importing a concession.
33. a) In adverbial clauses of time describing an
action or state of the future the subjunctive is fairly common in literary English, especially after ere and, in a less degree, after against, before and until (or tilt), instances after the familiar when being comparatively rare. Compare Onions, Adv. Eng. Synt., § 47.
i. By some illusion see thou bring her here: | i'll charm his eyes against she do appear. Shak, M1 d, III, 2, 99.
ii. I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it id, M e r c h. of Ven, IV, 1, 361.
This night before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice, Bible, Matth, XXVI, 34.
The tree will wither long before it fall. Byron, C h i I de Har, III, XXXII.
But in scarce longer time | Than at Caerleon the full-tided Usk, | Before he turn to fall seaward again, | Pauses [etc.]. Ten, Ger. and En, 117.
iii. The most forward bud | Is eaten by the canker ere it blow. Shak, Two Gent, I, 1, 45.
And all his prospects brightening to the last, | His heaven commences ere the world be past Goldsm, Des. Vil, 112. But ere it fall, that thundering balt | Must pause for my command. Byron, Mant, I, 1.



45
Bethink ere thou dismiss us. ib.
Ere you be old, learn to love and pray. Thack., Van. Fair, I, Ch. XIV, 140.
iv. Time goes on crutches till love have all his rites. Shak., Much ado, II, 1, 373.
By Heaven, I will not drink I Till my dear lord arise and bid me do it. Ten, Oer. and En, 664.
Meanwhile he will be watched, until he lose his present habits of stealing and lying. Besant, The Bell of St Paul's, I, 25.T.
v. When he please to make commotion, | 'Tis to be fear'd they all will follow him. Shak, H e n ry VI, B, III, 1, 29.
b) No conclusi ve evidence has come to hand of the preterite —subjunctive in adverbial clauses of time whose timesphere is the past.
Such a sentence as the following hardly affords a case in point, the relation of time being distinctly blended with that of condition or hypothesis, which occasions the use of the conditional; in other words whenever is equivalent to if at any time, and were corresponds to the Dutch mocht z ij n. Compare 39, a, 2 and 40, Obs. I.
He as readily engaged to fetch her away again at half-an-hour's notice, whenever she were weary of the place. JaneAusten, Mansf. Park, Ch. IV, 41.
There is, of course, no lack of instances of a preterite being used in these clauses when the action or state they describe belongs to the past time-sphere, but, as, except for the verb to be, there are no distinctive forms for the preterite subjunctive (2), these instances may also be apprehended as indicatives.
34. Obs. I, a) In temporal clauses describing an action or state of the future the inflectional subjunctive is not unfrequently replaced by periphrasis with shall, especially in literary language of a solemn cast, to represent the fulfilment of the action or state as uncertain or of uncertain date. The periphrastic subjunctive seems to occur particularly after until (or //'//) and when. Compare Murray, s. v. shall, 10, c i. I have undertaken the duty here until the living shall be filled up. Reade, It is never too late to mend, I, Ch. VI, 75.,T. Read just the verses I have marked, for these verses have dropped comfort on the poor, the aged and the distressed for more than eighteen hundred years and will till time shall be no more. ib, I, Ch. VI, 81.
Is she going to keep a lonely vigil till that time shall come? Miss Montgomery, T h r o w n T og e t h e r, I, 77.



46
This camp will not be moved until Gen. Bulier shall deern the moment opportune. Mom. Leader.
ii. I have the same dagger for myseif, when it shall please my country to need my death. Shak, ju). Caes, III, 2, 44.
Let us cease to consider what perhaps may never happen, and what, when it shall happen, will laugh at human speculation. Johnson, R a s, Ch. XXVIII, 162.
And she (sc. the Roman Catholic Church) may still exist in undimtnished vigour when some traveller from New Zealand shall, in the midst of a vast solitude, take his stand on a broken arch of London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St.Paul's. Mac, Popes (542 b).
When you shall have read this book,... you will be at no loss to discover why I have dedicated it to you. Kingsley, H y p, D e d i c.
Do my errand when it shall be most convenient for you in the course Of the day. Stevenson, Dr. J e k y 11, Ch. IX, 84.
iii. As long as mankind shall continue to bestow more liberat applause on their destroyers than on their benefactors, the thirst of military glory will ever be the vice of the most exalted characttrs. Gibbon. ')
What time the German and Italian, Turk and Greek, shall be contented with each other; when 'the lion and the sheep shali abide together'... then, it will be argued, will there be a good understanding between the two nations (sc. England and Ireland) so contradictory the one to the other. Newman. ') b) In narrating past events should takes the place of shall. In contradistinction to the latter it is quite usual also in ordinary Standard English, Compare Onions, Adv. Eng. Synt, § 47, c.
i. Miss Sharp was in observation until Mr. joseph's great form should heave in sight. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. VI, 61.
She remained standing until the coughing should cease. G. Eliot, Mid, I, Ch. XII, 79
He was cast into prison till he should pay the debt. Bain, Comp., 190.
ii. He would decide how to deal with that crisis when it should arrivé. Mrs. Ward, The Mating of Lydla, I, Ch. IX, 186. When Cecilia Cricklander should once be his wife, he would not permlt her to lead this life of continuous racket. El. Glyn, H a 1 c y o n e, Ch. XXXI, 268.
iii. As soon as the carrier's cart of Long Whindale... should have arrived, Mrs. Thornburgh would be a proud woman. Mrs; Ward Rob. Elsm, I, 31. T.
Molloy, The Irish DIfficulty, 169.



47
Also the conditional should (- Dutch mocht) may be met with in these clauses, i. e. in such as imply an additional notion of condition or hypothesis. Thus not only when the time-sphere is the past, but also when it is the present.
i. This decided him to part' with the boy whenever he should be found. Lytton, Night and Mom., 140. T. (whenever — if at any time.)
Mr. Merton came forward and invited him to stay at his house whenever he should come to the parish. Reade, 11 is never, too late t o m e n d, I, Ch. VI, 75. T.
ii. In pursuance of my intention of referring to my ficiions only when their progress should inddentally connect itself with the progress of my story, I do not enter on the aspirations, the delights and triumphs of my art. Dick, Cop., Ch. LXI, 421a. (when = whenever = if at any time.)
When the time-sphere is the past, should in clauses introduced by whenever may be ambiguous, i. e. correspond to either the Dutch z o u (d e) or mocht, the meaning depending on that of whenever, which may have the value of as soon as ever and if at any time. Thus, perhaps, in the above quotations, and also in:
Then the gentleman who had been at Crockford's all night... came forward to teil his fellow-countrymen what a speech he meant to make in favour of that petltlon whenever it should be presented, and how desperately he meant to taunt the Parliament if they rejected the bill. Dick, Nich. Nick., Ch. II, 9a.
I undertook to partially fill up the office of parish-clerk by Mr. Crackenthorp's desire whenever your infirmities should make you unfitting. G. Eliot, SiI. Mam., Ch. VI, 40.
The indicative is, however, now the usuai form in these temporal clauses in ordinary spoken English, even when the uncertainty of the action or state or the time of its happening must have been quite clear to the speaker, the periphrastic subjunctive (or conditional) with should, as has already been observed, being a rather frequent variant.
i. I am quite out of cash till my father tips up. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XIII, 125.
You must live on your pay till your fatherrelents. ib, I, Ch.XXV, 257.
ii. I had fixed on a very snug little cottage in Camden Town, where there was a garden that certain small people might play in when they came. ii., Sam. Titm, Ch. IX, 95.
Thus also when the head-sentence of the temporal clause is subordinate to another head-sentence.



48
I was sure he would agree with me... when he learned what sort of person she is. Trol., Framl. Pars., Ch. I, 7.
Similarly in clauses introduced by whenever.
i. Acres. I shall have your good wishes, however, Jack ? — Abs. Whenever he meets you, believe me. Sher., R i v, IV, 2, (258). Whenever I have the ability, you may depend upon hearing from me. id., School for Scand, V, 1, (423).
ii. I could, I feit sure, grope my way to the front-door, let mysetf out, and, whenever I chose, return by aid of the latch-key. Conway, Called Back, Ch. I, 9.
In the following quotalion the periphrastic subjunctive seems to be used for the purpose of relieving the monotony in the three successive temporal clauses:
Here comes the bride with her father. Think of being tied to her until a merciful death part you. Think of being son-in-law to that old man until Heaven shall be pleased to remove him. Think of calling that stout English lady mother-in-law, until she is at last overtaken by apoplexy. Mar. Crawpord, 'Sant' II ar i o. Ch. XVII.')
IV, a) Also will (would) as an auxiliary of the future tense is occasionally met with, especially in Scottish, Irish, Provincial or extra-British English. In this connexion it may be observed that a large numberof Irish writers are engagedon the English press. The late Mr. Labouchere used to say, in a joking way, that several of the leading London newspapers were almost entirely manned by Irishmen, "only one or two Englishmen being kept on the premises to look after the shalls and wills." See Molloy, The Irish Difficulty, 107.
i. We must ask ourselves what victory will cost the Russian people when af length it will become possible to conclude the peace so ardently desired. Times.
ii. li was determined by the pair that the journey to Rome was to be made when their means would admit. E. J. Hardy, How t o be happy though married, Ch. III, 36.
b) Shall and will are, however, normally employed as ordinary auxiliaries of tense in adverbial clauses of time introduced by before which are in the subjective relation to the predicate in the head-sentence, in which they are announced by it. It will not be fong now before Tremaine will be here. Mrs Alexander, For his Sake, II, Ch. VII, 129. T. Tobacco, it is said, is gradually being ousted by sweets We fancy,
i) De Drie. Talen, XXXIV, 12.



49
however, that it will be some little time before it will be a common sight to see men about town walking down Pall Mail with a sugarstick in the mouth Instead of a cigarette. Punch, 1909, Sept. 15, 181.1)
In these clauses the present tense sometimes takes the place of the future.
It is only a matter of days before the brokers seize even my personal effects. Marj. Bowen, The Rake's Progress, Ch. IV, 44.
c) There is not, of course, anything out of the common in the use of the tense-auxiliaries in continuative temporal clauses, which are, indeed, only disguised principal sentences and are, accordingly, subject to the ordinary rules about the employment of the auxiliaries of the future tense.
Come! sing me to sleep — be thou my frlend, and stay with me till sunset, when Judas will be here. Marie Corelli, B a r a b b a 8, II, Ch. XVIII. i)
d) Prophetic or solemn language may entail the use of shall in the third person.
Karl... goes with his English wife to America to await the dawn of the new world, when Qermany shall have shaken off the shackles of militarism. Eng. Rev, No. 110, 95.
e) In the following quotation should is used as the symbol of the preterite future, because shall would be used in the direct statement of which it is the indirect representative.
Of this matter he intended to speak to the prince in due time, when * he should have secured the first requisite to his marriage by establishing himself firmly in society. Mar. Crawf, Sant' 11 a r i o, Ch, III, 37. i)
V. d) Care should be taken to distinguish from adverbial clauses of time adnominal clauses introduced by the a d v e r b when. Also in these latter clauses the use of shall and will differs in no way from that in ordinary principal sentences.
i. I have begun several times many things, and I have succeeded at last; ay, sir, and though I sit down now, the time will come when you will hear me. Disraeli, Speech (Mc. Carthy, Short H i s t, Ch. VII, 80).
The time will come when you will ask my forgiveness for your deeds. Mar. Crawf., Sant' 11 a r i o, Ch. X. i)
ii. In Mr. Brooke the heredltary strain of Puritan energy was clearly in abeyance; but in his niece Dorothy it glowed alike through
») De Drie Talen, XXXIV, 12.
4



50
faults and vices... making her long all the more for the time when she would be of age and have some command of money for generous schemes. G. Eliot, M i d, I, Ch. I, 2.
b) In such clauses the prophetic shall may, of course, be met with, its application in no respect differing from the way in which it may be used in ordinary principal sentences. Thus in the following quotation, in which it varies with will as the normal symbol of futurity in Present English:
A day will come when you shall be punished. You think your position is a strong one, but you are wrong, wrong, and in your heart you know it. The whole fabric that you have built up for yourself is false, its foundations are on the sand. The day is not far distant when it will all be swept away A. and C. Askew, The Stolen Lady.1)
Another instance of prophetic shall in adnominal clauses introduced by when is afforded by:
I hope there may be no degree of age or experience to which mortal may attain, when he shall become such a glum philosopher as not to be pleased by the sight of a happy youth. Thack, P e n d, I, Ch. XVII, 173.
c) In the following quotations the use of should seems to be due to the writer wishing to apply the principle that in indirect speech the same auxiliary should be used as in direct speech:
It wanted but very few days before that blissful one when Foker should call Blanche hls own. Thack., Pend, I, Ch. XXXVIII, 403. Yet all the time She dreaded with-ever-increasing shrinking of the heart the hour when she should have to act indeed, when her husband would come to, and begin to ask questions. E. F. Benson, The Angel of P a I n, Ch. XX.
This is not the place to discuss the varied ways in which the principle is applied. The following quotation may, however, find a place here as a speaking instance of the fact that some writers feel little bound by it:
She thought of the future, of that time when they both would be free, when they should no longer be checked and bounded by the fear of not having enough food. Frank Swinnerton, Nocturne, II, Ch. IX, V, 195.
e) A special kind of adnominal clauses is formed by such as modify a noun that is part of an adverbial adjunct of time,
De Drie Talen, XXXIV, 12.



51
their opening word forming with the adverbial adjunct a word-group that has the value of a conjunction. Thus until (or till) such time as, until (or till) the time when (or that) may have the value of the conjunction until (or till); by the time (that) and at any time (that) may be grammatically equivalent to when.
ht the clauses here referred to the nature of the predicate and, accordingly, the force of shall and should is the same as that of adverbial clauses introduced by the ordinary conjunctions until or till.
1. Thai functlonary thought that the subject was better avoided until such time as he (sc. Oiiver) should be firmly bound for seven years and all danger of his being returned upon the hands of the parish should be effectually overcome. Dick, 01. Twist, Ch V.
Meadows was wandering about the premises until such time as Robinson should return. Reade, It is never too late to mend, I, Ch. I, 16. T.
It was a distant grave, far from his home and kindred, but in a hallowed spot, and a most fair one; and there might his mortal frame meetly rest till the day when he should rise. Miss Yonoe, Heir of Rede, II, Ch. XIV, 203—4. ii. By the time you have washed and dressed, breakfast will be ready. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2243.
By mach contrivance Dick got it (sc. the handkerchief) handed over to him, to' leave with her at any time he should be near the school. Hardt, Under the Greenwood Tree, I, Ch. IX, 79.
Should may have the same force in other adnominal clauses
introduced by when.
Keith unfastened one of the settees and wheeled it forward so that it stood under the light, and in great comfort for the time when they should sit to hear his story. Frank Swinnerton, Nocturne, II, Ch. vn, n, 152.
a) Adverbial clauses of purpose sometimes have the predicate in the inflectional subjunctive when introduced by that, rarely when opening with the more colloquial so that, and rather frequently after the purely literary lest.
To emphasize the notion of purpose in order that, for the purpose that and, more or less archakally, to the intent that or to the end that, are sometimes used instead of the simple that. As to clauses introduced by so that it Is often hard to teil whether it is a relation of purpose or of result (or consequence)



52
which is intended or has been foremost in the speaker's thoughts. This also applies to such as open with the vulgar so as.
Clauses introduced by lest may often be apprehended to express rather a relation of cause (reason or ground) than purpose, this conjunction frequently appearing to have the value of because it is (or was) feared or a phrase of like import. The causal meaning of these clauses opening with lest sometimes becomes evident from their being exchangeable for sentences or clauses with modal may (or might) opening with for or because, and vice versa.
0, Faustus, lay that damned book aside, | And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul. Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, I, 69. (=... for [or because] it may tempt thy soul.)
You were best teil Antonlo what you hear; j Yet do not suddenly for it may grieve him. Shak, Merch of Ven, II, 8, 34. (=... lest it [should] grieve him.)
The relation of purpose always stands out most dlstinctly when the head-sentence contains an imperative or a verb denoting some form of compulsion, such as must, tobe obliged, etc. This is shown by the following quotations with the inflectional subjunctive:
1. Come, thick night, And pall thee In the dunnest smoke of heli, | That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, I Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, | To cry 'Hold, holdl' Shak, Macb, I, 5, 51—53.
Not enjoy ment and not sorrow, | Is our destlned end or way; I But to act, that each to-morrow | Find us farther than to-day. Lonof, Psalm, III.
And charge the gardeners now I To piek the faded creature from the pool, I And cast it on the mixen, that it die. Ten, Mar. of Q e r, 6, 72.
And busy caterpillars basten, I That no time be lost. Christ.
Rossetti, S u m m e r. II. Doubt not but I will use my utmost skill, I So that the Pope
attend to your complaint Shelley, The C e n c I, I, 2, 42. iii. Most mighty Caesar, let me know some cause, I Lestlbe laughed
at when I teil them so. Shak, J ui. Caes, II, 2, 69.
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he
fall. B i b I e, C o r, A, Ch. X, 12.
Govern well thy appetite, I lest sin surprise thee. Milton, P a r. Lost, VB, 545.
Take heed, lest passion sway thy judgment. ib, VIII, 635. Drug thy memories, lest thou learn it, lest thy heart be put to proof. Ten, Locksley Hall, 77.



53
I myself must mix with action, lest I wither by despair. ib, 98. Let me lose no more time lest the thread of life be snapped before this plain duty has been performed. Walt. Besant, St. Kath, Prol.
o) Only a few instances have come to hand of the preterite subjunctive (or indicative) being used after lest in narrating past events, the periphrastic forms being, apparently, almost regularly used instead.
I told him to look out lest she brought an action against him. Thack., Van. Fair, I, Ch. XV, 161
All they would do was to give a loaded pistol, lest we were attacked. Stevenson, T r e a s. I s 1, Ch. IV, 39.
36. Obs. I. After (in order, for the purpose or to the end) that and so that (or so as) the inflectional subjunctive is mostly replaced by the perisphrastic with may or, in narrating past events, might. Instead of might we sometimes find the conditional should, especially when the clause is negative. The use of should instead of may appears to be rare. For the rest there is not any apparent difference between the two auxiliaries in the above connections. Compare what has been said about might and should after words or word-groups denoting apprehension (29). i. * He has left me full of rage, and ril fight this evenlng, that
so much good passion mayn't be wasted. Sher, Riv, IV, 1.
He labours, that he may become rich. Mason, Eng. Gram.*4
425.
** He sat with the door wide open at all times, that he might hear the footsteps as theyentered. Dick, Chuz, Ch.XL,314a. All I wished for was that one of those saucy, grinning footmen should say or do something to me that was the least uncivil, that I might have the pleasure of knocking him down. Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. III, 37.
She drew up towards the performer, keeping behind the hedge, that he might not guess her presence. Hardt, Tess, III, Ch. XIX, 158.
*** I speak not this, that you should bear a good opinon of my knowledge. Shak., As you like i t, V, 2, 59. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israël, therefore am I come baptizing with water. B i b 1 e, J o h n I, 31.
**** Was Milan thrust from Milan, that his issue j Should become kings of Naples? Shak, Temp, V, 205 His head well armed with pointed spears, | That no one should him wrong. Burns, John Barieycorn.



54
She pronounced it (sc the word 'heart') without the 'h', but that there should be no mistake, laid her her hand upon the place meant Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. IV, 44. II. I should be glad to fix what has brought us to Bath, in order that we may lie a little consistently. Sher, Riv, II, 1. **I was sent to stay with my aunt Prue in London, in order that I might attend one of the Schools of Art. Watts Dunton, Aylwin, II, Ch. II, 54.
No one supposes for a moment that they gave anything in order that the gift might be talked about A c a d, 1891, 1776. *** It (sc. St Petersburg) was... the wlndow which Peter the Qreat made in order that Russia should look out upon Europe Rev. of Rev, No. 190,3736.
iii. * In brief, this Henry | Stirs up your land against you, to the intent | That you may lose your English heritage. Ten, Queen Mary, V, 1, (638a)
** And in the den there were seven lions, and they had given them every day twocarcases, and two sheep: which then were not given them, to the intent they might devour Daniël. Bib ie, Bel and the Dragon, 32.
Business disposed of, Mr. Swiveller was inwardly reminded of its being nigh dinner-time, and to the intent that his health might not be endangered by long abstinence, dispatched a message to the nearest eating-house, requiring an immediate supply of bolled beef and greens for two. Dick, Old Cur. Shop, Ch. VIII, 296.
iv. * Throw up your chin a little, so that I may cateh the profile of your face better. Rid. Hao, J e s s, Ch. I.
They will not suffer the people to meet so that they may speak
with each other. Walt. Bes, S t. K a t h, Ch. II.
** They upset buckets and benches so that he might break his
shins over them. Thack, Van. Pair, I, Ch. V, 41.
H a search were made, he would like to be at hand, so that
Mrs Meyrick might not be unaided in meeting any such conse-
quences. G- Eliot, Dan. Der, I, III, Ch. XX, 335.
***The physician dexterously caught the blood in his basin, so
that not one drop should be spilled. Walt. Besant, St. Kath,
64a. T.
Colonel Middleton drew his friend on one side, so that the children should not hear the conversation. Miss Montoomery, Thrown Together, I, 53. T.
She was enjoined to buy one picture post-card and put it in the album, so that the customs-officials should not charge duty. Compton Mackenzie, S y 1 v i a Scarlett, I, Ch. I, 30.
v. * I should like Tom to be a bit of a schoiard, so as he might be up to the tricks o'these fellows as talk fine and write with a flourish. G Eliot, M i 11, I, Ch. II, 3.



55
*• "What have you done to your neck?" — "Oh, my wife put that knot in it, so's ld remember to get some things from town." Punch.
An interesting instance of the alternate use of might and should after that is afforded by the following quotation:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everiasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. B i b 1 e, J o h n, III, 16-17.
After lest the ordinary subjunctive equivalent is should, irrespective of the time-sphere; may and, in narrating past events, might being used as occasional variants. The variable practice is found not only when thfe clause is purely or mainly final, lest being practically equivalent to that... not, but also when it is predominantly causal, lest havingapproxlmately the value of because It ts feared that or some such phrase. In the following material the quotations in which the clause introduced by lest is purely or predominantly causal are marked with a dagger f:
i. f But lest you should not understand me well,... I would detain you here some month or two. Shak, Merch. of Ven, III, 2, 7. t D. Pedro. You have put him down, lady, you have put him down. Beat. So I would not he should dq me, my lord, lest I should prove the mother of fools. id, Much ado, II, 1, 295. f He would have been afraid to offer more (sc. than two pounds), lest he should off end the latter's delicacy. Thack, P e n d, I, Ch. V, 38.
f Tom Smart (dared not) stir . . . lest he should be seen. Mrs. Woód, O r v. Col, Ch. I, 21. T.
They set a strong guard lest any one should escape. Bain, H. E. Gr, 113.
They took away the knlfe lest he should cut hlmself. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 296.
II. Mend your speech a little, lest It may mar your fortune. Shak, Lear, I.
iii. fLest that might not be sufficiënt, the housekeeper gave him the Heidelberg Catechism by way of dagger. Wash. Irv, Dolf Heyl. (Stof, H a n d 1, I, 120).
f He carried a brown-paper parcel, which he tried to cover with his trencher, kst curious eyes might be about. Mrs. Wood, O r v. C o 1, Ch. I, 16. T.
As a last word the Father begged of John to abstain from reference to anything that had happened at the hospital, /es/Brother



56
Paul might hear of ft Hall Caine, The Christian, I, 182.T. It was excessively comic, but he had better not follow her, lest he might cry too. Am. Bennett, Buried alive, Ch. VII, 158. III. What has been said about lest also appiies to for fear (that), which mostly fakes its place in ordinary Standard English. Sweet, commenting on clauses opening with for fear (that) or lest in N. E. G r. § 2310, ƒ, seems to mix up the relations of result and purpose and to overlook the fact that both lest and for fear (that) not rarely introducé clauses which express rather cause than either purpose or result. As to the difference between should and might ai'ter for fear (that) he observes that should in such a clause as for fear he should drink it all up "suggests the idea of the result being in itself inevitable, or as probable, while might suggests it only as a possibility", a distinction which it seems difficult to appreciate or endorse.
i. Let us leave the house this instant for fear he should ask farther questions. Goldsmith, Good-nat. man, IV.
t She sent me after you for fear you should off end Mr. Pendennis. Thack., P e n d , II, Ch. XXXVI, 376.
f He rushed headlong under his bed again for fear they should change their mlnds. Hughes, Tom Brown, I, Ch. VI, 124—5. He must bold his tongue, it seemed, in presence of the impostor, for fear the truth should hart her delicate feeiings. Grant Allen, Tents of Shem, Ch. XXII.
ii. Let us bide the brandy, for fear he may drink it all up. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2310.
ili. He fixed his eye on me longer than I cared to return the stare, for fear I might be tempted either to box his ears or render my hilarity audible. Em. Brontë, Wuth. H e i g h t s, Ch. II, 10 b. We put the milk on the shelf, for fear the cat might get at it. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 117. IV, a) Shakespeare sometimes has shall after that in clauses which may, indeed, be understood to convey a notion of purpose, but are, probably, feit to express a relation of result or consequence. If this interpretation be correct, shall may be apprehended as a tense-auxiliary. Compare Franz, Shak. G r a m.*, § 608, d.
That thou shalt see the difference of our spirits, | I promise thee thy life before thou ask it. Merch of Ven, IV, 1, 368. And I will sing that they shallhear I am not afraid. Mi d s.-N i g h t's Dream, III, 1, 126.
I will teach you how to humour your cousin that she shall fall in love with Benedick. M uc h ado, II, 1, 396. They watch the door, that none shall issue out. Merry w i v e s, IV, 2, 53.



57
But it is dif heult to see another relation than that of purpose in; i. And furry caterpillars hasten, | That no time shall be lost.
Christ. Georo. Rossbtti, S u m m e r. II. Take the dish off the table, darling, so that he shall not see we
have had strawberrles, for they are his favourite fruit. E. F. Benson,
Arundel, Ch. II, 46. 6) Less common is the use of shall after lest.
But reason with the fellow, | Before you punish him, where he heard this, | Lest you shall chance to whip your Information | And beat the messenger who bids beware | Of what is to be dreaded. Shak., Coriol., IV, 6, 52. V. Also will and would as tense-auxiliaries are occasionally found after lest and for fear (that).
i. It were not good she knew his love, lest she'11 make sport of it.
Shak., M u c h a do III, 1, 58. (The Folios have: lest she make.) Ii. I told her to hush and not stir, for fear she would wake him.
Em. Brontë, Wuth. Heights, V, 24o. . a) In clauses introduced by that or so that, or any of their variants, may often implies a potential capability; in other words may often has the value of may be able to.
i. Awake your senses that you may the better judge. Shak, Jul. Caes, III, 2, 17.
Let the dog loose that he may have a run. Sweet, N. E. Q r, § 2310.
ii. It roused some bitter feellng, too, to think that Mr. Carpe's wish to reside at Shepperton was merely a pretext for removing Mr. Barton, in order that he might ultimately give the curacy of Shepperton to his own brother-in-Iaw, who was known to be wanting a new position. G. Eliot, Scènes, I, Ch. IX, 67. She had left the door an inch or two ajar in order that she might catch my faintest call. Conway, Called Back, Ch. I, 8. I had bought one (sc. a repeater) that I might at least know the time. Ib.
Compare: She always leaves one (sc. riding-hablt) here, in order that she may be able to ride when she comes. Trol., Framl. Pars, Ch. XIII, 128. b) Instead of may tinged with this meaning we also find "can,
especially after so that, when the clause also admits of being
understood as one of result or consequence.
Let me have a copy of their Statutes, so that I can examine them
before I give my final decision. Rev. of Rev, No. 214, 138a.
In order that you can thoroughly onderstand what you are to do,
I will give the full and complete facts of the case. Alvarez,
Mexican Bill.



58
When can is followed by a passive voice, such a clause hardly admits of another interpretation. Thus in: *I hate grammar. What's the use of it?" — "To teach you to speak and write correctly, so that you can be understood." G. Eliot, M i d, III, Ch. XXIV, 179. VII. On the strength of a notion of purpose being implied may (or might) may be used in:
a) subordinate statements: The reason for this doubllng of the consonant is that the quantity or length of the preceding vowel may be preserved. Mason, Eng. Gram3*, 22. (Under!ving notion: The consonant is doubled that the quantity or length of the preceding vowel may be preserved.)
b) adverbial clauses of 1) consequence: The principle tobekeptin view should be to divide words so that the syllabic division may, as far as possible, coincide with the etymological division. Mason, Eng. Gram.34, 11, Note. (Underlying notion: The syllabic division of words should be effected in a given way that it may coincide with the etymological division.)
2) place: Elaine... | Guarded the sacred shield of Lancelot; | Which first she placed where morning's earliest ray | Might strike it. Ten, Lanc. and El, 6.
37. o) Literary English rather frequently has the inflectional subjunctive in conditional or hypothetical clauses, especially of the verb to be. In the majority of cases it seems to be used: 1) to express doubt or diffidence on the part of the speaker or writer as to the action or state being in accordance with fact. Compare Sweet, N. E. Gr., § 2272.
My friend should, perhaps, have taken you along with him. But the slight, if there be one, was unintentional. Stevenson, T r e a s. Isl a n d.
If further evidence be required, which I do not think likely, I can add that I have been a gentleman connected with thepress. Jerome, Idle Thoughts, I, 15. T.
It is not necessary to let other nations into all our secrets and exposé all our weaknesses, //such there be. Graph, 1889, 158c. An action or state is sometimes represented as doubtful from motives of modesty.
If the books I have written be of any worth, they will supply the rest. Dick., C o p, Ch. LXI, 421.
If my brief essay contribute to bring home this conviction to other persóns, I shall feel that I have done them a service. Davidson, Prol. to Ten.'s In Mem, Pref.



59
2) to express doubt or diffidence on the part of the speaker or writer as to a future action or state coming into fulfilment.
If ii assume my noble father's person, | 111 speak to it, though heli itself should gape | And bid me hold my peace. Shak, Ha ral, 1,2,243.
3) to express that the fulfilment of the condition is necessary for the action or state in the apodosis becoming matter of fact, if ha ving the value of provided, Dutch mits. Ordinary verse may pass muster if lts manner be finished, but comlc verse must have some matter as well. TomHood, Versification, 54 I will come to-morrow, //the weather be fine. Mason, Eng. O r a m.34, § 435.
4) to express the fact that a case is assumed for argument or is put in a general way.
If thy right eye off end thee, pluek it out. Bib le, Matth, V, 29. If England be the heart of international and cosmopolitan finance and London be the heart of England, the City is the heart of London. Escott, England, Ch. VIII, 105.
If the bill pass the second reading, the House proceeds to conslder and vote upon each clause in the bill separately. Royal Readers (Stof, Leesb, I, 49).
Note. a) In not a few cases the subjunctive appears to be used for no other purpose than that of imparting a dignified tinge to the language. Compare Sweet, N. E. Or., §§ 2272 and 2275. Thus clearly in:
O Lancelot, get thee hence to thine own land, | For if thou tarry we shall meet again. Ten, O u I n, 89. If thou love me, get thee hence. ib, 94.
It ought to weigh heavlly on a man's consclence, if he have been the cause of another's deviating from sincerity. W. J. Fox, Works, III, 283. i)
B) The subjunctive is regularly used in the phrase ifneedbe, in which be is, perhaps, partly feit as an Infinitive, i. e. if need be is understood more or less as a variant of if it need be. See aiso Ch. I, 37 of my Gram. of Late Mod. E n g., and Murray, s. v. need, 3.
My heart must break too, if need be. Grant Allen, The T e n t s of Shem, Ch. XXVÜ.
b) One or other of the above notions underlies the use of
) Hodoson, Errors in the Use of Eng.8, 95.



60
the subjunctive after other conjunctions than if in the following conditional clauses:
i. An'tplease the Gods, I II hide my master. Shak., Cymb., IV, 2,356.
An he take the least alarm in that quarter, we are but lost men.
Scott, I v a n h o e, Ch. II, 27. T. li. But in this tournament can no man tilt, | Except the lady he
laves best be there. Ten, Mar. of Ger, 481.
iii. *Yet thoroughly to believe in one's self, | So one's seif be thorough, were to do | Great things, my Lord. id, Queen Mary, II, 1, (601a).
Make wat nolse you will with your tongues, so it be not treason. ib, I, 1.
So the need of the moment be met and the deed of the day be done, the concern of the practical man is ended. The New Age, No. 1176, 553a.
** I take any part you choose to give me, so as it be comic. Jane Austen, M a n s f. Park, Ch. XIV, 137. *•* It is something to look upon enjoyment, so that it be free and wild and in the face of nature, though it is but the enjoyment of an idiot. Dick, Barn. Rudge, Ch. XXV, 956.
iv. I wonder, too, what 'tis the Iadies can see in them to be so proud of, unless it be a touch of the old serpent Sher, RI v, IV, 3. 'Are we then to understand, Mr. Leslie, that your intention is not to resign?" — "Unless your lords hip actually urge me to the contrary, I should say, 'Let the election go on, and all take our chance.'" Lytton, M y N o v e I, II, XII, Ch. XXXII, 552. Unless It be that you learn French for the requirements of your trade, you use it sparingly, and only for the exigencies of that trade itself. Temple Thurston, M i r a g e, Ch. IV, 31.
They will not do it, unless he bid them. Sweet,N.e. Gr, §2272.
Thus also after certain conjunctive phrases, as in:
i. You have (sc. my promise); but on condition that there pass no words between you and Audley that can end but in the strife which —. Lytton, My No vel, II, XII, Ch. XIV, 433.
ii. The Squire might as well keep me still in the entail after Frank — supposing Frank die childless. ib, II, XII, Ch. XII, 422. Supposing that be true, shall 1 possess myself of that taberna among the Myropotla? Id, Pomp, IV, Ch. XI, 1166.
c) In the case of the time-sphere being the past, the preterite subjunctive takes the place of the present, but its employment is more limited than the latter, were being apt to raise a notion of rejected condition and suggesting an apodosis with a conditional. Sweet (N. E. Gr., § 2276) even goes so far as to say, "the



61
sequence of tenses in if he were here, I did not see him makes nonsense". This may apply to this particular sentence, but it must certainly not be inferred from Sweet'S statement that the preterite subjunctive is particularly rare in conditional clauses of open condition. 1. It would be unjust to say that Lady Lufton had determined not to invite the Robartses if she were not allowed to have her own way about Sarah Thompson. Trol., F r a m 1. Pars, Ch. 1, 7. (Thé royal widows) even declared that they would throw themselves from the palace Windows if any harm were done to the prisoners. McCarthy, Short Hist, Ch. XIII, 188.
Our folly, if it were folly, was expiated by the foolish Emperor at Sedan. Buchanan, That Winter Night, Ch. I, 4. This eccentric Englishman... (was) possessed of a beautiful old place and, if the landlady of the Darneley Arms were not exaggerating, a very large income. Rich. Bagot, D a r n e 1 e y Place, I Ch. IV, 55. T.
ii. Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at alt against me, except it were given thee Irom above. B i b I e, John, XIX, 11.
iii. The dispute ended in the guard assuring the passengers that they should have seats in a heavy coach which would pass that spot In less than half an hour, providing it were not full. Scott, The Heart of Mid-Lothian. Ch. I, 21.
iv. With rare delicacy he (sc. Clive) refuséd to receive this token of gratitude unless a slmilar compliment were paid to his friend and and commander Lawrence. Mac, Clive, (510a).
He was not consclous of wishing harm to any one else; unless, perhaps, it were just now a little harm to the inconvenient and impertinent Gwendolen. G. Eliot, Dan. Der., II, III, Ch. XXV, 10. Not a sound broke the summer stillness, unless it were the rustllng of the great willow-trees by the river-side. Rich. Baoot, Darneley Place, I, Ch. V, 70. T.
Note a) The preterite subjunctive is reguiar in the phrase if need were, corresponding to if need be. He was a splendid performer, he could dance a British hornpipe, a German waltz, or a Spanish fandango, if need were. Thack., Pend, I, Ch. XXVI, 273.
Lord Kitchener went to Paris, prepared, if need were, to relieve Lórd French of hls command. Westm. Gaz, No. 8103, 9a. ' B) The use of the preterite subjunctive strikes us as distinctly inappropriate when the apodosis has the predicate in the present, as in:
"He seemed vexed. Do you think he disliked her seeing him at our house?" — "No, no; it must be something else if he were really vexed." G. Eliot, MI d, V, Ch. XLIII, 322.



62
38. Obs. 1. a) In the higher literary style periphrasis with shall sometimes takes the place of the inflectional subjunctive in conditional clauses, naturally only when the reference is to a future action or state. Compare Murray, s. v. shall, 10, a.
i. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it orseliit; heshall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. B i b 1 e. Exodus, XXII, 1.
If you shall hereafter • have the goodness to forgive me, I hope I
shall deserve it. Fieldino, T o m J o n e s, IV, Ch. XI, 576.
He may claim the right of refusing duel to any man, /ƒ he shall so
think fit Kinosley, Westw. Hol Ch. XII, 1086.
The author will indeed be glad if the book shall contribute in any
degree to the solution of the many problems of statecraft that must
be settled satisfactorily before there can be assurance that never
again shall humanity be subjected to such an ordeal as it will have
passed through during the terrible years of this war. Raleioh C.
Minor, A Republic of Nations, Pref.
ii. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven. B i b 1 e, M a 11 h, V, 20.
iii. Therefore. mind you, Sir Schoolmaster, unless you shall promlseme never to hint word of what passed between us two, and that neither you nor yours shall carry tales of my godson,... look to it, if I do not — Kinosley, Westw. Hol. Ch. II, 136.
iv. The same lady pays for ihe education and clothing of an orphan from the workhouse on condition she shall aid her mistress [etc ]. Ch. BrontE, J a n e E y r e, Ch. XXX, 436
b) Should, of course, takes the place of shall, when the timesphere is the past. It is not confined to the higher literary style, but is not clearly distinguished from the conditional should in hypothetical clauses of rejected condition. They plighted their faith, and they vow'd to wed, | If Qilbert should e'er be free. The En'g. Merch. and the Saracen Lady, V.
II. a) The indicative present or perfect is, however, used practically without any exception in ordinary Spoken English, also when the reference is to a future action or state. See especially Bradley (The Making of English Ch. 11,53) and H. W. and F. G. Fowler (The King's English, 155), who are practically in accord in predicting the extinction of the subjunctive in conditional clauses in another generation.
i. If he does it, he will be punished. Murray, s.v. if I, a, §.
ii. Provided that all Is safe, you may depart. Bain, H. E. Gr., 113.
iii. Something must be fixed on. No matter what, so that something is chosen. Jane Austen, Mansf. Park, Ch. XIV, 137.



63
Iv. When I leave my dear home... it will be never to come back,
unless he brings me back a lady. Dick, C o p, Ch. XXXI, 2246. v. The artist, of whatever kind, cannot produce a truthfui work without
he understands the iaws of the phenomena he represents. Spencer,
Education, Ch. I, 336. 6) Thus especially 1) when the speaker only wishes to express
his ignorance whether the action or state is in accordance
with fact.
If the prisoner has committed the crime, he deserves death. Mason, Eng. Gram34, § 427. /ƒ he is at home, I shall see him. ib.
2) when the relation of condition is blended with one of time or quality. See also Ch. XVII, § 65, Obs. III of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng.
i. Was it well done, sir, if you're upon the subject, to deliver what I entrusted to you yourself. Goldsmith, She StoopsIV, (218). (if approaches to now that.)
If there is a thunderstorm some way off, we see the iightning some time before we hear the thunder. Sweet, N. E. Gr, §2272. (//might be replaced by when.) ii. If the veneration for his grandfatber is characteristic of the Kaiser so no less is the friendship which ties him to his brother. W i n dsor Mag, No. 140, 350c. (if has approximately the value of in like manner as.)
If his desires are many, so his deserts are great. Thomas Lodoe, Rosalynde (Pref. to 'As you like it' in Clar. Press.).
3) in certain familiar expressions.
i. Tom will not enter a room where Philip is, if he knows it, G. Eliot, MUI, VI, Ch. I, 336.
ii. That old lady must be eighty, if she is a day. Dor. Gekard, The Eternal Woman, Ch VII.
iii. If there isn't Captain Donnithorne a-coming into the yard. G. Eliot, Adam Bede, 65 »).
III. a) Also will and would as tense-auxiliaries are occasionally met with. In late Modern English the practice seems to be due to extra-British influences.
Yes, here I tender't for him in the court, j Yea, thrice the sum: if that will not suffice, | I will be bound to pay it ten times o'er. Shak, Merc h. of Ven, IV, I, 203.
If it will please you I To show us so much gentry and good will | As to expend your time with us awhlle | For the supply and profit of our hope, | Your visitation shall receive such thanks | As fits a king's remembrance. id, H a m 1, II, 2, 21.
!) Jespersen, Negation, 27.



64
Candida. And you'U go to Freeman Founders to dine with him, won't you? — Marchbanks. Yes, if it will please you. Shaw, Candida, I, (133). T.
I assure you it hurts me awfully if this will not turn out all right. El. Olyn, The Re ason Why, Ch. XXXII, 301. If you will be ready about eleven, I will show you the gardens. ib, Ch. XXXV, 328.
I will be quite glad to go, if it will make you happier, id, H a 1cyon e, Ch. XI, 93.
b) In the following quotations will (would) is most probably to be understood as a verb of volition:
I. One party must not say to the other, "I will only confer, providing you, on your part, wilt first subscribe to this that or the other genera! principle or particular method." Westm. Gaz, No. 5329, 16. II. (The judge told him that) he would see what the lad was fit for, and bind him apprenUce to some honest tradesman, providing he would mend his manners. Smol, R o d. Rand, Ch. III, 19.
c) A curious instance of divided practice in the A u t h o r i z e d Version, Matth, XVIII, 15 and 16 is pointed out by Molloy (The Irish Difficulty, Ch. XI, 96 f). There we find:
Moreover, if thy brotber shall trespass against thee, go and teil him his fault between thee - and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brottier. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. It is, of course, easy to explain the use of the different verbs and say that shall stands for a subjunctive equivalent, will for a volition-expressing verb, and that there is more plausibility for the use of the latter in a negative than in an affirmative context. But the distinction is not justified by the original Greek text1), which in both cases has the conjunctive so that the text as it stands in the A u t h o r i z e d Version may be said to be one of the numerous instances which may be adduced to show that the use of shall and will, the subtleties of which the English claim to know by a peculiar instinct denied to other Britishers, is to no inconsiderable extent a matter of pure taste or caprice. As a curiosity it may here be added that Wycliffe in both the above passages has the indicative he heareth, while the authors of the R e v i s e d Text of the year 1885 similarly
iar aov axovot] and sav dè /tij axovaij.



65
observe no difference, using the subjunctive he hear in both places.
d) Sometimes the use of will as a tense-auxiliary in a conditional clause may be accounted for by assuming the suppression of a clause containing a verb of judging or declaring. Thus If it will be useless, I shall pref er not to do it may be understood to stand for If I am (or shall be) convinced that it will be useless, I shall pref er not to do it.
I shall walt for fine weather tf that will ever come. R. O. White. (= I shall walt for fine weather; [at least I should say so] if II were sure that] that will ever come). i)
Also when the //-clause otherwise does not express the condition upon which the fulfilment of what is expressed in the head-sentence depends, it may have will as a tense-auxiliary. If annihilation will end our Joys It will also end our griefs. (= Oranted that annihilation etc), i) II. On the strength of the uncertain fulfilment of a condition being implied, modal shall may be met with in adnominal clauses, "the antecedent denoting an as yet undetermlned person or thing." Murray, s.v. shall, 10, b. Compare also Ch. I, 25, ö of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng. Speak harshly to no soul whom you may meet, and stand by the word which you shall speak. Kinosley, The He roes, II, II, 112. How heavy their punlshment will be who shall at any time reslst Bain, H. E. G r„ 173
a) The inflectional conditional is used, also in the
ordinary language of the educated, 1) in hypothetical clauses expressing a supposition contrary
to some fact known to the speaker, the time-sphere
of the suppositional action or state being «) the present,
in which case the preterite is used. i. /ƒ he were present (which he is not), I would speak to him. Mason,
Eng. Gram.**, § 431.
if I knew his address, I would write to him. Sweet N E Gr
§301. f"
If I were you, I would nol do it. 1b., § 2280.
/ƒ it were not that I must get some money, I would rather be there
than go te be a governess. G. Eliot, Dan. Der., I, III, Ch.XXIII,400.
// there were anything solid to be gained by the marriage, that would
be a different affair. ib., II. IV, Ch. XXV, 14.
Yet, /ƒ she were oot a cheat, | If Maud were all that she seem'd, |
The King's English, 151.
5



66
And her smlle were all that I dream'd, | Then the world were not so bitter, | But a smile could make it sweet Ten., M a u d, I, v, v. ii. Suppose that I were an eminent author whose works were read and known wherever the English language goes. Should I enjoy what Emerson calls the saucy homage of parody? Westm. Gaz., No. 8057, 6a.
P) the past, in which case the pluperfect is used. If our horse had not fatten (which he did), we should not have missed the train. Mason, Eng. Gram.**, § 431. If we had missed the train, it would have been very awkward. * Sweet, N. E. G r, § 2283. If we had started in proper time, we should have been thêre by this time. ib, § 2280.
The pluperfect is also occasionally used with regard to a rejected hypothesis óf the time of speaking. Compare jespersen, Tid og Tempus, 389.
If I had now had my purse about me, I should have paid you. 2) hypothetical clauses expressing a supposition regarding the future or the present made merely for the sake of argument.
I. If he were rewarded, he would be encouraged to persevere. Mason, Eng. Gram.3i, § 435.
If we missed the train, we should have to Walt an hOur at the station. Sweet, N. E. G r, § 2283.
I was speaking of what you would have to go through if you aimed at becoming a real artlst — If you took muslc and the drama as a higher vocation, in which you would strlve for excellence. G. Euot, Dan. Der, I, III, Ch. XXIII, 389. If this treaty came into force, it would mean a fresh catastrophe for the whole world. Westm. Gaz, No. 8092, la. H. And (I) would be altogether happy. Madam, | So that your sister
were but look'd to closer. Ten, Queen Maryl, 5, (592a). b) In these clauses the tense is independent of the timesphere of the utterance.
' if I knew his address, I would write to him. I have told her that if our horse had not fatten, we should not I told her that have missed the train.
I shall teil her that if he were rewarded, he would be encouraged to persevere.
(He thought) that he could compass these designs better if I were his wife. Dick, Chuz, Ch. XXXI, 251a.,
He delivered what he asserted to be the considered verdict of the owners, that they could not carry on if any sort of control by the



67
workers over management were instituted. Westm. Gaz, No. 8086, 2b.
Obs. I. In the second kind of hypothetical clauses of rejected condition, i.e. those which express a supposition regarding the future or present made merely for the sake of argument, we often find a periphrastic conditional with either should or were to, the same periphrases being also found in hypothetical clauses with inverted word-order which have the form of optative sentences expressing an idle wish (10, Obs IV). As to the varied shades of meaning implied by the inflectional, as compared with either of the periphrastic conditionals, different views are held.
Murray (s.v. be, 18) observes, "The past subjunctive were with the infinitive makes an emphatically hypothetical condition: cf. the degrees of uncertainty in If I went, Ifl should go, If I were to go."
Lloyd (Northern English, 57) delivers himself as follows, "Feasible suppositions are generally expressed by primary tenses, e.g.: If I see your brother, Fll Invite hint to dinntr. But If I should see, If I were to see, If I saw, your brother, I would invite him represents a rising scale of improbability." For what is understood by a primary tense see Sweet, N. E. G r, § 279.
Observe that Murray and Lloyd disagree as to the degree of improbability implied by the inflectional conditional as compared with that expressed by either periphrastic conditional. They are in accord in assigning to periphrasis with were to great er improbability than to periphrasis with should. Sweet misses the point when he observes (N. E. G r, § 2299), 'In a hypothetical clause the preterite was to (sic) does not, as the simple preterite would do, imply rejection of the hypothesis so much as its remoteness or improbability, as in What should we do if it were to rain? = if it by c ha nee comes on to rain. So also compare If I were to see more of him, I could speak to him about It with If l saw more of him.... While the second implies / do not see much of htm, the first implies / may see more of him In the future." Here'there is not only no comparison between the periphrasis with should and that with were to, but the contrast established is one between a suppositional future and a rejected present, not one concerning two suppositional futures. Sweet's comment on If he should see me, he would know me, which, in



68
his N. E. G r., § 2291, he represents to be equivalent to If by chance he sees me, he will recogntze me, leads one to think that he sees no difference beween the two periphrases, his interpretation of them being practically identical. Due consideration of the three constructions, as used by various writers of indubitably pure English seems to show that: should mostly implies that the contingency is one whose fulfilment is thought improbable. Compare the meaning of should after lest in subordinate statements denoting what is the subject of an apprehension (29 Obs. 1). See also Murray s.v. shall, 21, where the great lexicographer observes that should is used in hypothetical clauses, "when the supposition, though entertained as possible, is viewed as less likely or less welcome than some alternative."
were to represents a contingency as one that is a mere conception of the mind, the speaker being aware of its possible or probable rejection or even of its impossibility and prepared to its being viewed with some surprise, annoyance or dismay. Compare Ph. Aronstein, shall and will z u m ausdrucke der idealitat im Englischen (Anglia, XLI, I, 378—9). From what Murray observes, s.v. shall, 20, b, it may be inferred that should is sometimes employed with the same force; in this application, however, "now somewhat rare, modern usage preferring were to." the inflectional conditional represents a contingency as merely suppositional without any of the secondary notions conveyed by either should or were to.
The Dutch student will find some help in distinguishing between the two periphrastic conditionals by remembering that should corresponds to mocht, were to to zou(de), which latter word is, however, only used when the reference is to a future contingency and even then is far from regularly employed, the inflectional conditional being far more frequent. The force of the Dutch zou(de) may appear from the following quotation: Indien wij in Frankrijk andere middelen zouden toepassen, b.v. een algemeene staking, dan zou het tijdstip voor de algemeene internationale actie tamelijk lang uitgesteld moeten worden. HandeIsbIad, No. 29886, lc (= If we were to apply other means in France etc.) It should further be observed, «) that hypothetical clauses with should are only exceptionally connected with a consequent



69
sentence with a (periphrastic) conditional (13/), the predicate in the latter being mostly an indicative or imperative, or one with may or some such verb; 6) that hypothetical clauses with were to, on the other hand, are mostly connected with a consequent sentence with a (periphrastic) conditional, the predicate in the latter being only exceptionally an indicative or imperative. Should. i. I would not believe it, unless I should see it. Mason, Eng. Oram.34, § 434.
If the sun and moon should doubt, | They'd immediately go out. Blake (Eng. Rev., No. 60, 573).
ii • If one of these (sc. sons of the soil) should be a little uncouth in speech, and apt to utter impertinent truths, he confesses that he . is a real John Buil. Wash. Irv, Sketch-Bk, XXIX, 309. But should he venture upon the dark story of their wrongs and wretchedness,... posterity will either turn with horror and increduiity from the tale, or blush with indignation at the inhumanity of their forefathers, ib. XXVII, 289.
He apparentiy thought it as well to say nothing in case he should, get the worst of it Dick., P i c k w, Ch. XXXVII, 344. I had promised a dozen of them a treat down the river, should the promised riches have come to me. Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch.II, 20. Even should I take you at your word, it is hardly sufficiënt ground for [etc.]. Edna Lyall, D o n, II, 25. T.
I'll Just put it (sc. the letter) away safely in case Martha should ever want it. Dor. Qerard, Exotic Martha, Ch. VI, 68. D o n 't forget that there is a British consul at Batavia— just in case you should get into diffïculties. ib, 80.
If it (sc. the evil) should rise again, as the prophets of gloom say it will, then it will have to be put down again. Westm. Gaz., No.8086,9a. The real change lies in the future character of war, should war occur. ib.
** If he should come while i am out, ask him to walt Sweet, Spoken Eng, 39.
If you should happen to see him, teil him to expect me this evening about eight. id, N. E. Gr, N. 2291.
Should her appearance be inquired after, let it be said that she had reddish blond hair. O. Eliot, Dan. Der., II, IV, Ch. XXVIII, 68. If, by any chance, you should come across any of my people, explain to them that you are my guest Rich. Baoot, Darnely Place, I, Ch. V, 69.
*** If; perchance, some dubious memorial of them (sc. the Indians) should survtve, it may be in the romantic dreams of the poet, to people in imagination his glades and groves. Wash. Irv, SketchB k, XXVII, 289.
w e r e t o. I. If we were to miss the train, it would be very awkward. Sweet, Spoken Eng, 44.



70
Were he to do such a thing in England, he would behanged. Bain, H. E. Or., 175.
If I were to endeavour to describe how she ran down the street by
the side of the coach I should enter on a task of some difficulty.
Dick, Cop, Ch. XXXII, 231o.
I should very imperfectly execute the task which 1 have undertaken, if I were tnerely to treat of battles and sieges, of the rise and fall of administrations, of intrigues in the palace, and of debates in the parllament. Mac, H i s t, I, Ch. I, 3. T.
Were he to disclose it (sc. the secret), the discovery would but bring greater grief upon those whom he loved best in the world. Thack., Henry Esm, II, Ch. I, 153.
With all your grace and charm, if you were to present yonrself as an aspirant to the stage, a manager would either require you to pay as an amateur for being allowed to perform, or he would teil you to go and be taught G. Eliot, Dan. Der, I, III, Ch. XXIII, 387. It would be most remarkable... if he were to become Lord Stannery in addition to everything. ib, II, IV, Ch. XXVIII, 49. His person would present no marks of indentiflcation for his Wend Mrs. Hackit, if she' were to see him. id, S c e n e s, I, C o n c 1, 69. He (sc. the florist) bestows every care in rearing a heatthy plant, and knows it would be folly if, in his anxiety to obtain the flower, he were to neglect the plant Spencer, Education, Ch.1, 31a. How queer it would be if this glrl were to turn out a member of the same family. Grant Allen, The Tents of Shem, Ch. LX, It Is now proved to demonstration that even if the House of Commons were to sit all the year round, business would be just as liable to deadlocks as at present. G ra p h.
If France or Russia, or both combined, were to begin a war of revenge or a war of ambition, the moral Innuence of Great Britaln would certainly be thrown into the scale against the aggressors. Ib. France would be a Httle dismayed, if we were to take her at her word. ib.
ii. If It were to rain, I don't know what we shall do. Sweet, N.E.Gr. § 300.
My health was, after all, my only capital, and, if that were to fail me permanently, what was to become of us — of you? Dor.Gerard, Exotic Martha, Ch. X, III. II a) Should may be met with in adverbial clauses blending a relation of time with that of condition. But hollow men, like horses hot at hand, | Make gallant show and promise of their mettle; | But when they should endure the bloody spur, | They fall their crests and, Hke deceltful jades, | SInk In the trial. Shak, Jat. Caes, IV, 2, 25. b) Shakespeare uses should in a hypothetical clause describing



71
a state of things which the speaker knows to be contrary to fact (39, a, I, 3) in:
Gods! if you | Should have ta'en vengeance on my faults, I never |
Had lived to put on this. C y m b, V, I, 8.
Of this practice no further instances have come to hand.
The conditional were (fo)t infinitive is also found in adverbial
clauses in which the relation of condition is blended with
that of purpose. Compare, Ch. I, 17; Ch. XVII, 65, Obs III
of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng.
And now again it seemed that if ever I were to find my mother
again, death was the way to her. O. Eliot, Dan. Der, I, III
Ch. XX, 331.
The diffidence or modesty which often induces a speaker to use the periphrastic conditional in the apodosis (14, Obs. V), may also affect the form of the protasis, causing the inflectional conditional to be used, instead of present indicative (or subjunctive). This practice, however, appears to be rare. The last thing I would do, is to importune you. I should not hope to win you by making myself a bore. If there were no hope for me, I would ask you to teil me so at once, that I might just ride away to — no matter where. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, II, III, Ch. XXVII, 38. Sometimes there is an unjustifiable discrepancy between the moods used in the different members of a conditional sentence. If aught happen to my dear boy, I would adopt Hereward for my son. Kinosley, Hereward, Ch. II, 23a. (The discrepancy would be removed by changing happen into happened, or would into will.) Surely if they had been zealous to pluck a brand from the burning, here was a noble opportunity. W. Gunnyon, Biograph. Sketch of Burns, 41. (Change was into would have been.) If ever poet were a master of phrasing, he (sc. Tennyson) was so. A. C. Braoley, Comment. on Ten.'s In Mem, Ch, VI, 75. (Change were into was.)
If the cavern into which they entered were of artificial construction, considerable pains had been taken to make it look natural. W. Black, A. Dauohtbr of Heth, II, Ch. XVI, 228. *) (Change were into was.) Sometimes the discrepancy is only on the surface, i. e.' the real apodosis of the hypothetical clause is a sentence which, on account of its vagueness, is understood. He's safe enough, sir, an he were but as sound. Conoreve, Love for Love, IV, 1, (267). (With the ellipsis filled up the sentence
Hodgson, Errors in the Use of Eng, 95.



72
might run: He's safe enough, sir, and I should not be uneasy about him, an he were but as sound).
The annual which Father Tuck presents each year is always popular, and the one he has produced this year lags not at all behind its predecessor. In fact it appears to be even better printed and more interesting, if that were possible. Rev. of Rev, No. 228, 608a. (Possible ellipsis: it would be more interesting.) 2) the real apodosis may be evolved from a subordinate statement (or equivalent clause) contained in the head-sentence. Art you were to go now to Clod-Hall, I am certain the old lady wouldn't know you. Sher, RI v, III, 4. (=... the old lady wouidn't know you; of this I am certain.)
If you should happen, by any unlikely chance, to know a man more biest in a laugh than Scrooge's nephew, all 1 can say is | I should like to know him too. Dick., Christin. Car, III. (=... I should like to know him too; that is all I can say.) If he knew it, I do not know what he would do. Sweet, N, E. Gr, § 2280. (=... he would do I do not know what) VI. a) Foreign students are cautioned against the use of would in a hypothetical clause of rejected condition, unless it is to be understood as the head-sentence of another hypothetical clause expressed or understood.
Thus in such a sentence as I should not take this medicine, if it would upset me, the use of would is justified, because the sentence suggests some such addition as if I took it, which, naturally enough, is suppressed as being readily understood from the context.
Stof. (in Handl, III, 83) sets the two following sentences to be translated into Dutch: Take another grammar if this one would not snit you, and Take another grammar if this one should not suit you. In the first he evidently wants the student to translate would by zou(de), in the second he expects mocht as the translation of should. Compare also 45, Obs. II, a. There is not, of course, anything peculiar about the use of would as a volition-expressing verb, as in: It would be much better if you would not be so hypocritical, Captain Wybrow. G. Eliot, Scènes, II.
It would be valuable if he would somewhat expand his ideas regarding local defence by Volunteers. Times b) Another mistake that the Dutch student should guard against is to use might as the equivalent of the Dutch mocht in clauses of rejected condition. Might, indeed, is not uncommon in these clauses, but in them serves a totally different purpose from the Dutch mocht or the English should.



73
An I might live to see thee married once, | I have my wish. Shak, R o m. and J u 1, I, 3, 61.
Now, Brutus, thank yourself: | This tongue had not offended so today, | /ƒ Cassius might have ruled. id, Jul. Caes, V, 1, 47.
In the following quotation, however, might may have the same function as Dutch mocht, English should:
She said that she would die a maid; — | Yet, might the bloody feud be stay'd, | Henry of Cranstown, and only he, | Margaret of Branksome's choice should be. Scott, Lay of the Last Minst r e I, II, XXIX.
VII. d) Hypothetical clauses of rejected condition sometimes stand
by themselves, i. e- their apodosis is not expressed as not being clearly present to the speaker's mind. Thus especially such as are introduced by suppose.
i. Suppose Mirah knew how you are behaving. G. Eliot. Dan Der, III, IV, Ch. XLVII, 54.
ii. Suppose it should not be done enough! Suppose it should break in turning outl Suppose somebody should have got over the wall of the back-yard, and stolen it, while they were merry with the goose: a supposition at which the two young Cratchits became livid. All sorts of horrors were supposed. Dick, Christm. Car, III, 71. But suppose the whole scheme should turn out to be a castle in the air. G. Eliot, M i d. V, Ch. XLV, 334.
iii. Suppose I were to try it. Sher, R i v, III, 3.
Suppose we were to go — Shakespeare, you know, mother — we can get horses from the Clavering Arms. Thack, Pend,I,Ch.VI,68. b) Also such as open with // and have the value of optative sentences denoting an idle wish (10, Obs. I) are common enough, at least in literary language. /ƒ I had only been there I Onions, Adv. Eng. S y n t, § 42, 5. Note. It may here be observed in passing that also hypothetical clauses of open condition, i. e. such as have the verb in the indicative (or subjunctive), frequently have the apodosis suppressed. For illustration see also Ch. XVII, 72 of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng.
Suppose you come down to us for a week. THack, Sam. Titm, Ch. VI, 68.
VIII. Should is often met with in subordinate statements and adnominal clauses which imply rejected condition. It deserves attention that its meaning in this case corresponds rather to were to than should as used in conditional clauses of rejected condition.



74
i. I can bardly imagine anything more unfortunate than that he should become attached to either of your sisters. Miss Yonoe, The H e I r of Rede, 1,'Cb. VII, 117. (Underlying notion: If he were to become attached to either of your sisters, it would be very unfortunate.) We are convinced that it would be bad for Europe and worse for Poland that It should be started with three Ulsters Inside it. Westm. Gaz, No. 8092, 16.
ii. I knew they would have made use of my credit to cheat those who should buy their wares. Johnson, R a s, Ch. IX, 56.
I was prepared to shed the blood of anybody who should asplre to her affections. Dick, C o p, Ch. X, 736.
A survey of English nouns would indeed be deficiënt which should omit that curt, stunt, slang element to which we as a nation are so remarkably prone. Earle, P h 11, 5 § 374.
She sat there long in silence, alert for any noise that should come from the house. E. F. Benson, A r u n d e I, Ch. XIV, 380.
41. With regard to modal possibilities adverbial clauses of
concession may be divided into:
a) such as are introduced by (aTythough, or a similar conjunction, or such as open with no conjunction, but have inverted word-order and are equivalent to clauses opening with (at)though.
b) such as open with a compound of (so)ever, or are like these in import, and either open with though and contain an adverb modified by (n)ever, or with the material part of the predicate followed by though. or as.
42. a) In concessive clauses of the first description, the sub¬
junctive is frequent when the clause d esc rib es an action or state of the future. Accordlng to Mason (Eng. G r a m.34, § 435) "a concessive clause relating to the future should always have the subjunctive." We will start to-morrow, though it rain cats and dogs. Mason, Eng. Gram,3* § 435.
This night 1*11 conjure, though I die therefore. Marlowe, Doet Faustus, I, 165.
The first thing she looks upon when she opens her eyes, she will fall in love with, even though it be a lion or a bear. Lamb, T a I e s, MI d s, 30. T.
I'U beat 'em, though it cost me a thousand guineas. Thack, Van Fair, I, Ch. VII, 71.
b) In concessive clauses relating to the present the subjunctive is only legitimate and common, if they express



75
a case assumed for the sake of argument, or a general fact, the subjunctive being, in a manner, a symbol of the vagueness which attachés to the case. Thus often in proverbs.
Though the sore be healed, yet a scar may remaln.
Though the enemy seem a mouse, yet watch him like a Iion.
A diamond is valuable, though it lie on a dung-hlll.
Though modesty be a virtue, bashfulness is a vice.
Although a woman be not actually In love, she seldom hears without
a blush the name of a man whom she might love. Cowper. i)
c) Some, especially older, writers affect the use of the subjunctive also in concessive clauses describing a special present fact.
i. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death | The memory be green [etc.]. Shak, Haml, I, 2, 2.
Here some forms of business are still kept up, though the soul be long since dead. Lamb, Es of E1, the South-Sea House,(3). How he became so rich is almost a puzzle; for, though the farm be his own, it is not large. Miss Mitford, Our V i 11 a g e, Ch. III, 29. Am I mad, that I should cherish that which bears but bitter fruit? | I will pluck it from my bosom, tho' my heart be at the root. Ten, L o c k s 1 e y Hall, 66.
ii. We must have him of our society tf it be only that I may win my money back from him. Thack, VIrg, Ch. XXVII, 28*.
d) In narrating past events the preterite subjunctive is used. Instances are, however, distinctly uncommon. Charming also (was) Mr Coffln, though he were a little proud and stately. Kinosley, Westw. H o.; Ch. IV, 326.
Obs. I. A frequent variant of the inflectional subjunctive in concessive clauses opening with though is a periphrasis with may (might). In this function may has the same meaning as it has in such sentences or clauses as The train may be late, as the train may be late, so that the train may be late, etc. Although it may seem incredlble, it is nevertheless true. Sweet, N. E. Gr., § 2307,
Tho' men may bleker with the things they love, | They would not make them laughable In all eyes. Ten, Ger. and En, 325. In general this document is a sound statement, and though it may please neither jingoes nor pacificists, it probably represents the views of the great body of middle opinion. At hen, No. 4625, 8a.
i) Matzn, Eng. Gram.,-' II, 134.



76
Thus also frequently in the first of two sentences in arrestive adversative relation.
i. I may not be a brilliant woman, but I am endowed with common sense. W. J. Locke, S t e 11 a M a r i s, Ch. UI, 31.
ii. His lips might gatver and his cheek might blanch, butno expression of fear or concern escaped the lips of that immortal man. Dick, PI c k w, Ch. IV, 32.
II. In Older English shall is sometimes used in apparently the same meaning.
But Peter said unto hün, | Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. B i b 1 e, Mark, XIV, 29.
III. In ordinary spoken language the indicative is the usual form in these concessive clauses, inclusive of those mentioned under a and b,
I suppose if one lives to be a hundred, there are certain passages of one's early life whereof the recoilection will always carry us back to youth again. Thack, P e n d, I, Ch. VII, 85. A man can make the attempt (sc of writing books), though he has not a coat fit to go out into the street with; or a woman though she ' be almost in rags. Trol, Thack, Ch. I, II. (Note the varied practice.)
44. a) The inflectional conditional is used, in an analogous way as in hypothetical clauses of rejected condition (39):
1) to represent a concession as contrary to the facts known to the speaker.
i. Even though (or if) he were present (which he is not), I would not change my mind.
Even though (or if) I knew his address (which I do not), I would not write to him.
ii. Even though (or if) he had been present, 1 would not havechanged my mind.
Even though (or if) I had known his address, I would not have written to him.
2) to represent a concession as a supposition regarding the future or the present, made merely for the sake of argument.
Even though (or if) he were rewarded, he would not apply himself more energetically.
He would give his soul to the devil for a shoulder of mutton, though it were blood-raw. Marlowe, Doctor F a u s t u s, IV, 9. O, if thou wert the noblest of thy strain, | Young man, thou couldst not die more honourable. Shak, J u 1. C * s, V, 1, 59.



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Better thou wert dead before me, tho' I slew thee with my handi Ten, L o c k s I e y Hall, 56,
"Ooi" she cried ... "if it were my last word, I say gol" Max Pemberton, Doet. Xavier, Ch. XX, 1126.
b) Also in these clauses the tense is independent of the time-sphere of the utterance. Compare 39, b. He said that... if he found the slightest taint of dissipation, he would cast the offender from him — yea, though he were his own son, he would cast him from him! Thack., Sam. Titm, Ch.II, 13. Martha didn't like to see him disappointed if it were only in joke. Dick, Christm. Car," III, 69.
45. Periphrastic conditionals with either should or were to are often used as substitutes for the inflectional in concessive clauses as described under 44, a, 2. So far as the evidence goes, these auxiliaries convey the same secondary notions as they do in hypothetical clauses of rejected condition. Should. If it assume my noble father's person, | 1*11 speak to it though heil itself should gape | And bid me hold my peace. Shak, H a m L, I, 2, 244.
He would sit on a wet rock with a rod as long and heavy as a Tartar*s lance, and fish all day without a murmur, even though he should not be encouraged by -a single nibble. Wash. Irv, SketchB k, V, 34.
Never, tho' my mortal summers to such length of years should come \ As the many-winter'd crow that leads the clanging rookery home Ten, LocksleyHall, 67.
There was something chlldiike in her face; and there will be, I think, tiil she dies though she should live a hundred years. Mrs. Gask, Cranf, Ch. I, 17.
That I will never do though the heavens should crack. Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan.
Were to. Never could I forget the change that came upon it (sc. his face) when he saw us, if I were to live five hundred years. Dick , Cop, Ch. XXXI, 2246.
Even though Niklas were to propose to her to-morrow, I give you my word for it that she wouldn't take him. Dor. Gerard, Exotic Martha, Ch. XVI, 197.
II a) The auxiliaries used in the apodosis of a conditional sentence (14, Obs. I), I. e. would in the second and third persons and should in the first person, are employed in a concessive clause if it is to be understood as the head-sentence of a conditional clause expressed or understood. Compare 40, Obs. VI, a.



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Faitb, she's quite the queen of the dictionaryl— for the devil a word dare refuse coming at her call — though one would think it was quite out of hearing. Sher, R i v, II, 2, (237). (may be supplemented thus: if one were called upon to give one's opinion.) b) Shakespeare uses would, where modern practice would require should in:
Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, | Yet grace must still look so. Mac b, IV, 3, 23. (The Clar. Press editors explain: Though all foul things should put on the garb of grace, etc. Thus also Hudson: would for should). III. As in the case of hypothetical clauses of rejected condition (40, Obs. V), there is sometimes a discrepancy between the moods of the verbs in the two members of a concessive sentence, which may be unjustifiable as in the first of the following quotations.
Cas. A friendly eye could never see such faults. Brut. A flatterer's would not, though they do appear | As huge as high Olympus. Shak, Jul. Ca?s, IV. 3, 91,
And I, were she the daughter of a kfng, | Yea tho' she were a beggar from the hedge, | IV/// clothe her for her bridals like the sun. Ten, Mar. of Oer, 229—231.
Though he were Admiral Hawke, he shall pay his score. Stevenson, Treas. Isl, 69.
46. Concessive clauses containing a compound of (só)ever, or such as are identical with these in import, often imply uncertainty on the part of the speaker as to the nature or attendant circumstances of an action or state of either the present or fature. In literary English they, consequently, frequently have the verb in the subjunctive. i* However it be, it seems to me, I 'Tis only noble to be good. Ten,
Lady Clara Vere de Vere, VIII. ** Whatever be our fate, let us not add guitt to our misfortunes. Goldsmith, Good-nat. Man, V.
It would be cheap to me whatever it cost. Dick, C riek, 1, 22. Only this I know, | That whatsoever evil nappen to me, | I seem to suffer nothing heart or limb. Ten, Mar. of Ger, 471.
ii. Though a coat be ever so fine that a fooi wears, 't is but a fool's coat. P r o v e r b.
"After all", thought I, "a diamond pin is a handsome thing and will give me a distingué air, though my clothes be never so shabby." Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. I, 8.
iii. You are in your sphere in this village, humble though it be. Lytton >)•
i) Matzn, Eng. Gram,* II, 134.



79
It is a marked peculiarity Of the Lancashire mlll-owner, educated and travelled though he be, to affect a certain humlllty and homeliness in his native place. Escott, England, Ch. VI, 88. 47. Obs. I. In these clauses we often meet with may (might) in a meaning not appreciably differing from that of may in concessive clauses introduced by (at)though (43, Obs. I). Whatsoever his former conduct may have been, his circumstances should exempt him from censure. Goldsmith, V i c, Ch. VI, (267). "He's a scoundrelf" exclaimed Tom, "whoever be may be". Dick., Chuz., Ch. XXXI, 2506.
Whatever the reason may be, the fact remains. Sweet, N. E. Gr. § 2307.
Incredible as it may seem, there is no provision for the teaching of phonetics. ib.
II. a) May (might) is also common in substantive clauses, introduced by what, and adverbial clauses opening with as, which are contained in a hortative sentence that has the value of a concessive clause. See 12, Obs. III, b, 3.
i. Come what come may, time and the hour run through the roughest day. Shak, M a c b, I, 3, 146. (= Let there come what may come, or Whatever may come )
Go there at what hour you may, you are sure to find it (sc. the Athenaeum at Liverpool) filled with grave-looking personages, deeply absorbed in the study of newspapers. Wash. Irv, Sketch-Bk, III, 17. Since happiness is irrevocably denied me, I have a right to get it, cost what it may. Ch. Brontë, J a n e E y r e, Ch. XIV, 164. He determined that come what might he would develop the state of his feeiings without further delay. Dick., P i c k w, Ch. V, 93.
ii. Look around her as she might, she could not turn back. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, II, IV, Ch. XXIX, 76.
6) Will (would) occurs as a frequent variant of may (might).
I. Say what I will to the contrary, he tells the story every where. Thack., Sam. T11m, Ch. V, 55.
ii. Soften it as they would, their hearts were lighter. Dick., C h r i s t m. Car, IV, 86.
Do has he might, and ride where he would, the fairy princesswhom he was to rescue, had not yet appeared to honest Pen. Thack, Pen d, I, Ch. III, 4a
III. Older English and, to a certain extent, also Present English, sometimes employ shall (should) in a similar function, when the reference is to an action or state yet future. i. And whatsoever else shall hap to-night, | Give it an understanding, but no tongue. Shak, H a m 1, I, 1, 24%.
II. However severe it (sc. the winter) should be, there was always the spring-time following. El. Glyn, H a 1 c y o n e, Ch. XXII, 183.



80
Thus also in substantival clauses opening with a compound of (so)ever. Compare Ch. I, 25, c of my Gram. of Late Mod-Eng.
Whatsoever you shall command, I shall perform Kinosley, Westw. Hol, Ch. XII, 1076.
You shall... rule the kingdom after me and marry whtchsoever of my daughters you shatt choose. id., The Heroes, II, II, 118. I command that whosoever shall be guilty of subverting my sovereign rights shall be immediately transported to SIberia. Rev. of Rev, No. 191, 463.
48. Also in clauses of disjunctive concession (or alternative
hypothesis), the inflectional subjunctive is fairly common. I. Whether it 6e beast or man, it shall not live. Bib Ie, Exod, XIX, 13.
Whether this 6e the reason or not, there they are, frowning upon you from each side of the gateway. Dick, N i c h. Nick, Ch. IV, 16a. Whether he succeed or fall, it will not matter to me. Mason, Eng. Gram,»* § 587.
ii. Whether she were right or wrong, what is it to mé? Kinosley, Alton L o c k e, Ch. I, 4.
6) ln clauses of this kind with inverted word-order, no conjunction being used, the subjunctive is unavoidable. Compare 3, b, 4 and 12, Obs. III, c, and see also Ch. XVII, 99 of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng. But 6e it hap, or be it harm, | We tread the pathway arm in arm. Scott, Brid. of Triermain, III, I ntrod, III. Be it scroll or be it book, | Into it, knight, thou must not look. id. Lay, I, XXIII.
49. Obs. I. In the case of the hypothesis concerning the future,
periphrasis with shall is sometimes used instead in the higher literary language.
But whether the extensive changes which I have recommended shall be thought desirable or not, I trust that we shall reject the Bill of of the noble lord. Macaulay '). II. Ordinary English has the indicative present also when the reference is to a future action or state. Whether he succeeds or fails, I wilt stand by him. The following quotation is a remarkable instance of, divided practice, containing as it does an indicative, an inflectional subjunctive and a periphrastic subjunctive in succession, all of them in the same function:
i) Molloy, The Irish D i f f i c u 11 y, 49.



81
The fundamental principles of an international government would. be much the same whether Russia constimtes one great nation or many small independent states; whether or not there be a shift of population from the control of one state to that of another; whether or not forms of government shall have changed from monarchy to republic. Raleioh C. Minor, A Republic of Nation s, Pref.
50. The inflectional conditional is the rule, also in ordinary
spoken English, in clauses of hypothetical similarity. As has been stated in Ch. XVII, 109-111 of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng., these clauses, when complete, are now normally introduced by as if or as though, the conjunction as being also used in the same function in older English and, archaically, in Present English.
a) The tense is the preterite or the pluperfect, according as the suppositional action or state belongs to the present or the past time-sphere.
i. He is always (alking about honesty, as If he were the only honest man in the world. Sweet, N. E. O r, § 2265.
They argue as if (though) the matter were doubtful. Onions, A dvanced Eng. Synt, §65, c.
I treat her as tenderly as if she were my daughter. The K i n g's English, 156.
ii. So far from intending you any wrong, I have always loved you as well as if you had been my own mother. Fieldino, Jos. Andrews, I, Ch. VI, 13.
You look as if you had been frightened. Onions, Adv. Eng. O r a m, § 65. c.
b) In these clauses the tense is independent of the timesphere of the utterance. Compare 39, b and 44, b. They stood upon a bleak and desert moor, where monstrous masses of rude stone were cast about, as though it were the burial place of giants. Dick., C h r i s t m. C a r, III, 65.
He shaved his beard as close as if it were one of bis grand national
companies. Lytton, C a x t o n s II, Ch. II, 36.
Qwendolen feit as if her heart were making a sudden gambol.
O. Eliot, Dan. Der., II, IV, Ch. XXIX, 77.
He feit as if he were being suffocated. Onions, Adv. Eng. Synt
§ 65, c.
51. Obs. I. By the . side of as it were, in which the use of as has
become a fixed idiom, we occasionally find as if it were.
i. My valour is certainty golng! it is sneaking off! — I feel it oozing out, as it were, at the palms of my hands. Sher, RI v, V, 3.
ii. Heaven places in his soul, as if it were, a compass, a needie that
6



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always points to one end, — viz, to honour that which those around him consider honourable. Lytton, C a x t o n s, III, Ch. II, 58
II. In like manner as in the phrase as it were the indicative was is never substituted for the conditional were, the latter would not bear replacing by the former in a clause of hypothetic similarity with inverted word-order introduced by as.
A man lived who could measure it (sc. love) from end to end; foretell its term; handle the young cherub, as were hea shotowl. Mered, O r d. of Rich. F e v, Ch. XXIV, 176.
III. Sometimes we find the present indicative in clauses introduced
by as if or as though, if they are intended as emphatic statements of actuai fact. See the King's English (157), from which we quote the following instances: We will not appear like fools in this matter, and as if we have no authority over our own daughter. Richardson. (Underlying notion: We have authority over our own daughter.)
As if the fruit or the flower not only depends on a root as one of the conditlons among others of its development, but isitseif actually the root Morley. (Underlying notion: The fruit or the flower distinctly depends on a root as one of the conditions, among others, of its development. The use of is instead of were appears to be utterly indefensible.)
In narrating past events the preterite indicative is sometimes analogously used instead of the preterite co n d i t i o n a 1. He wanted me to cut off my hair. The old story about its sapping up my strength. As if it wasn't just my hair that keeps me alive. Dor. Gerard, E x o t i c Martha, Ch. XIV, 175.
Final Observations.
It should be remembered that be as a finite verb is used not only as a subjunctive, but also as an indicative.
a) As a singular the indicative be is now confined to dialects, especially such as are spoken in the Southern and some Midland counties. See Murray, s. v. be, page 716, a.
Good night, good rest. Ahl neither be my share. Shak., The Passionate Pilgrim, 181.
Ha-ha — how cust odd it is! Here be I, his former master, working for him as man, and he the man standing as master [etc] Hardy, The Mayor of C a s t, Ch. XXXII, 276. Now I be poot, I can't have what I need. ib, Ch. XXXIII, 282. How be ye, Mr. Henchard? Quite a stranger here? ib, Ch. XXXIII, 279. (Compare: Where beest thee, Joe, under or top? ib, 310.)



83
You be no longer a babe and suckling. id, Far from the Madding Crowd, Ch. xxiii, 262.
What! be thee parson Davis' son? Hughes, Town Brown, I, Ch.
iv, 80. (Compare: Thee bCst a brave young chap. ib.)
Lawk a' massey, Mr. Benjamin,... be that you? ib, i, Ch. II, 29.
i beant a fooi: | Git ma my aale, fur I beant a-gawin' to break my
ruie. Ten, North. Farm., I.
Also were occurs, vulgarly, as an indicative.
Whatever servant David were thinking about when he made a
Psalm.. Ican'tfathom.Hardy,The Mayor of Cast, Ch.xxxiii.281.
He were quite upset. ib.
b) As a plural the indicative be seems at all times to have been more common. In Present English it sunrives chiefly as an archaism or vulgarism. Compare Murray, s. v. be, page 716a.
Where is thy Husband now? Where be thy Brothers? Shak, Rich. III, iv, 4, 93.
Some there be that shadows kiss; | Such have but a shadow's Wiss: | There be fools alive, i wis, | Silver'd o'er; and so was this. id, Merch. of Ven, II, 9, 66-69.
Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. B i b i e, k i n g s, B, vi, 16.
For such there be, but unbelief is blind. Milton, Conus, 519. Those be such desperate, bloody-minded weapons. Sher, Riv, iv, i, (256).
Oh, naughty little Mahomet! in what Turkish paradise afe you now, and where be your houris? Thack, The Four Georges, II, 55. Jigglng parties be all very well, and this, that, and therefore; but a jigging party looks suspicious now. Hardy, Under theGreenw o o d T r e e, i, Ch. vii, 58.
There be times and seasons. Pro v e r b (Thusfrequently in this proverb.) Note the regular use of be in the combination the powers that be, as in:
The shops in Pretoria are still kept open by order of the powers that be. Times.
Shakespeare has a good many instances of be instead of is after to think and one after to hope, but, as he is anything but strict in the use of the subjunctive and indicative, we have no certainty that in these placeswe have to deal with an intentional subjunctive. Compare FRANZ, Shak. G r a m.2, §§ 771, 640; ABBOT, Shak. G r a m.s § 299; and A. Schmidt, S h a k. Lex., s. v. be, 2.
i. I think it be no other but even so. Ha ml, i, 1, 108.



84
li. I hope he be in love. Much a d o, III, 2, 75.
The following is a typical instance of Shakespearean irregularity: By the world, | I think my wile be honest and think she is not. Oth., III, 3, 384.
Scott has be as a possible subjunctive after to think in: I think my daughter Catharine be an exception. Fair Maid, Ch. XXIX, 298.
54. The use of the inflectional or periphrastical subjunctive or conditional in a given sentence or clause may entail the use of the same mood in clauses depending on them, which would otherwise have the indicative. Compare Abbot, Shak. Gram.3, § 368.
i. If it be proved against an alien | That, by direct or indirect attempts, | He seek the life of any citizen [etc.]. Shak, Merch. of Ven, IV, I, 343.
If a thief be found breaking up and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. Bible, Exodus, XXII, 2.
ii. One would think his mother's milk were scarce out of him. Shak, T weifth Night, I, 5, 171.
If you were cominced that Julia were well, you would be entlrely content? Sher, Riv, II, I, (226).
Were I but sure the lady Isabelle were fit for travel after the horrors of last night, we would not increase the offence by remaining here an instant longer. Scott, Quentin Durward, Ch. XXIII, 293. Nothing would please him more than to think I were serving in Parliament... those great interests which neither health nor leisure... altow hlmself to defend with hls wonted energy. Lytton, My No vel, II, XII, Ch. XXXII, 552.
Thus they become rlpe for enterprises which would at once be pronounced hopeless by any man whose passions had not deprived him of the power of calculating chances. Mac, H i s t, II, Ch. V, 95. You could mention, if you like, that the hand which. rocks the cradle ought to rule the world; or any other little thing that occurred to you. Birminoham, The Adventures of Dr. Whitty, Ch. 111,67. if I thought there were anything between Molly and Mc. Lever, d'you suppose I'd have him in the house. Galsworthy, J o y, II, (132). T.



THE IMPERATIVE MOOD.
55. The applications of the imperative in English are essentially
the same as those of the imperative in Dutch. It should, however, be observed that in ordinary language it is rarely, if ever, used in English to express a hope or a wish. Thus for the Dutch Leef gelukkig! Slaap wel! we could hardly say Live happy! (or happily!) Sleep well!
In literary English instances of the imperative in this function occur occasionally. In the first of the following quotations it stands side by side with the construction which is mostly used instead.
Be prosperous in this journey, as in all, | And may you light on all things that you love, | And live to wed with her whom first you love. Ten, Mar. of Oer, 225—227.
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber, | Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies, | Which busy care draws in the brains of men. Shak., Jul. Cses, II, 1, 230.
"Good friend," said Hal, and sighed the while, I Farewell I and happy be. Charles Mackay, The Miller of the Dee, IV.
56. The imperative expressing a command sometimes varies
with a construction with shall.
You, Capulet, shall go along with me; | And Montague, come you this afternoon. | To know our farther pleasure in this case. Shak, Rom. and Jul, I, 1, 103-5.
57. a) The imperative, from the nature of its meaning, is used
only in the present tense. When the imperative let is found in a description of past events, it is, for all that, a present, standing as it does, in a direct quotation depending on a sentence which has to be supplied.
I had been unusually restless, cross and exacting during the day, and my old nurse — Heaven reward her! — was serving me for love, not for money. Why should I disturb her? Let me begin to learn to help myself like others in my wretched plight. Conwat



86
Called Back, Ch. I, 9. (Supply some such sentence as / was saying (or thinking) to myself.)
b) Have done, now more or less unusual, is, perhaps, the only instance of a perfect imperative.
Have done, for more I hardly can endure. Shak, Henry VI, 13, I, Therefore ha' done with words: | To me she's manled, not unto my clothes. id. Taming of the S h r e w, III, 2, 118.
58. When the pronoun is added to the imperative, this is now
mostly done for emphasis, i. e. to indicate the fact that what is expressed by the predicate is intended for the person(s) spoken to in particular. The pronoun is placed either afler or before the verb. Post-position of the pronoun, often occasioning the use of to do, is frequent when a contrast of persons is intended, a notion which, however, may also underlie the sentence, if the pronoun precedes the imperative. See the last of the following quotations.
i* Tattycoram, stick you close to your young mistress. Dick., Little D o r r i t, Ch. II, 9b.
Barnaby, take you that other candle, and go before. id, Barn. Rudge, Ch. XII, 50a.
'Speak you", said Mr. Chester, "speak you, good fellow." id, Ch. XXIII, 99a.
Stand you with your bow by the side of the coppice. Reade, The Cloister and the Hearth, Ch. XX, 82. "I think I'd better get out and give her a bit of a tow," he said. 'Take you hold of the tiller!" Bradby, Dick, Ch. VII, 70. ** David, do you look for Sir Anthony! Sher, Riv, V, 1. Lucy, do you watch I ib, I, 2.
Do you give me a minute's calm attention without looking at Rick! Dick, Bleak House, Ch. XXIV, 208.
He must want a secretary. He would be shy at an offer of one from me. Do you hint it, if you get a chance. Meredith, Lord Ormont, Ch. III, 62. ii* You let that dog alone! Sweet, N. E. Or., § 1806.
You take my advice: give him a pint of old ale before you start! Jerome, Idle Thoughts.
Never you dare to darken my doorstepagain! Du Maurier, Trilby, II. 60. '** *„
•* Oh, you leave that to me. Don't you, any of you, worry yourselves about that. Jerome, Three Men in a B o a t, Ch. III, 24.
59. Obs. I. In older English the ordinary place of the pronoun
seems to have been after the verb, and this word-order is



87
still regularly observed in the phrases look you, mark you, mind you and, perhaps, a few others. Here the addition of the pronoun is not, mostly, intended to mark emphasis, but rather to soften down the imperiousness of the imperative. Thus also in:
Go and do thou tikewisel Bible, Luke. X, 37.
Save, save me Moot Ten, Merl and Vi v , 77
Vex not thou the poefs mind | with thy shaliow wit. id, The
Poefs Mind.
This craven tongue, | These features which refuse the soul its way, | Reclaim thou! Browning, Sou I's Trag, I. When the pronoun precedes the verb, the imperative sentence, when affirmative, has the same word-order as an ordinary declarative sentence. In the printed or written language it can then only be told by the context. In the spoken language the intonation, the stressing of the pronoun and the slight pause observed after the latter are unmistakable characteristics to prevent all confusion.
When the sentence is negative and, consequently, is constructed with to do, the imperative sentence has the same word-order as a question, from which in the printed or written language it is only distinguished by the context, and the kind of stop placed of the end, the spoken language having in the intonation alone a sufficiënt expediënt to preclude all misunderstanding.
The use of thee, instead of thou, in connection with an imperative may be due to the influence of the reflexive thee, and is, perhaps, furthered by the same vowel-sound being heard in go we!, look yet and similar phrases. Shakespeare and his con temporaries seem to have used thou and thee after an imperative almost indiscriminately. In some cases Mee may also be understood as an objective, i.e. its use may be regarded as a survival of the once common practice, not quite extinct in Present English, to place a reflexive personal pronoun after the verb by way of ethical object. For illustration see also Ch. XXXIV, 2, Obs. II; 23, Note a. Compare Franz, Shak. Gram.2, § 283, 307; Abbot, Shak. Gram.8, § 212, and especially Jespersen, Progress, § 188ff. Hear thee, Oratiano! Shak, Merch. of Ven, H, 2, 163. Peace, break thee off! id, Haml, I, 1, 40.
But, hark thee, Adam... if there was a dozen vacant abbacies in-' your road,... draw thou never one of their mitres over thy brows Scott, Abbot, Ch. XX, 207.



88
Fare thee well! and if for ever, | Stlll for ever fare thee well! Byron.
IV. It has already been observed (6, a, 2, Note) that imperative sentences with the subject expressed beara close resemblance to hortative sentences, the main difference often being no other than a difference of person. Even this distinction is not always a sure test, a noun or an indefinite pronoun being sometimes used as a substitute for a personal pronoun of the second person.
Harris said: "Now, the first thing to settle is what to take with us. Now you get a bit of paper and write down, J, and you get the grocery catalogue, George, and somebody give me a bit of penei!, and then 1*11 make out a list Jerome, Three Men in a Boat, Ch. III, 24.
I said: „No; you get the paper and the pencil and the catalogue, and George write down, and 1*11 do the work. ib, Ch. III, 28.
60. Imperative sentences, either without or with the subject expressed, are largely used as substitutes for: a) Conditional clauses. For illustration see also Ch. XVII, 78, c.
i. Give John an inch, and he was sure to take several ells. Dick, Chuz, Ch. XXXIV, 311a.
Give me fortune, I will strike him dead. Ten, Lan c. and El, 1064.
See het on a Sunday In her simplicity and her white frock, and she might pass for an earl's daughter. Miss Mitford, Our V i 11 a g e, Ch. I, 12.
Give a man the secure possession of a bleak rock, and he will turn .. .. .vi || jn(0 a gar(jen. gjve njm a njne years' lease of a garden, and he will turn it into a desert. Westm. Gaz, No. 5388, 12a.
ii. Go Hercules! | Live thou, I live. Shak, Merch. of Ven, III, 2, 61. Find you the heart to go, 1*11 find the mearis. Reade, The C1 o i s t and the H e a r t h, Ch. IX, 48.
The imperative bar may assumethecharacterof apreposition.
Bar Milner's speech, there has scarcely been a word about our policy in the whole of the debate. Westm. Gaz, No. 5173, 5a.
Also except may be understood as an imperative that has assumed the function of a preposition. Primarily the word is, however, a contracted form of excepted. Compare Onions, Adv. Eng. Synt, § 61c, 4, iii. 6) Concessive clauses. For illustration see also Ch. XVII, 95, b.



89
i. Take any form but that, and my firm nerves shall never tremble Shak, M a c b, III, 4, 102. (= Whatever form you (may) take).
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, | That, seek through the world, is not met elsewhere. Payne, Home Sweet Home, I.
You couldn't get a place, come ever so early. Thack, N e w c, I, Ch. XXV, 285.
ii. Well, she's asleep now; and have you a hundred gallants, neither they nor you can insult her any more. Hardy, Return of the N a t i v e, V, Ch. III, 409.
61. Some idomatic imperatives deserve special mention.
a) Catch mei (or Catch me at iti) Murray, s. v. catch, 40. (= You won't catch me doing it. See Jespersen, N e g a t i o n, 29).
b) Fancy marrying a woman of a low rank of life, and havlng your house filled with her confounded tag-rag-and-bob-tail relationsl Thack, P e n d, I, Ch. VII, 85.
Fancy flnding you in the train! Punch.
c) 1) Look, where he has not turned his colour and has téars in's eyes. Shak, H a m 1, II, 2, 542.
Look, here he comes. Lonof, Span. S t u d, II, VI. Look here, if A broke B's head, then A's girl was a pretty girl; but if B broke A's head, then A's girl was not a pretty girl, but B's girl was. Jerome, Idle T h o u g h t s, V, 80. T. 2) Look you, Master Wyatt, | Tear up that woman's work there. Ten , Q u e e n M a r y, II, 1, (595a).
Look ye, said I, I must not rashly give my Judgment. Steele, T a t1 e r, No. 34.
LooKee, Jack, I have heard thee sometimes talk like an Oracle, ib, No. 206.
d) Say I should succeed at the Bar, is that fame which would satisfy my longings? Thack, Pend, II, Ch. XXXVI, 380. (Say has the value of a conjunction).
Early in the week, or say Wednesday, you might do what you know of, if you feit disposed to try it Dick, Great E x p e c t, Ch. LU, 494.
Suppose now that we have arrived at the pronunciation of our placename as it was, say, a thousand years ago. Henry Bradi.ey, Eng. P i a c e-N a m e s, 10. (Say has the value of an adverb.) The widow, sir came with her money: nine hundred and four, ten and six — Say 904 1. 10 s. 6 d. Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. II, 16.
e) 1) If there be a quarrel in the market to-morrow, see if I do not — Kinosley, Westw. H o 1, Ch. V, 386 (= I certainty shall.. )
2) See you, sir... I have changed my garb from that of a farrier to a serving-man. Scott, K e n i I w, Ch. XII.
He'll teil you hlmself quickly enough that he can't work when he



90
comes. You see if he doesn't. Temple Thurston, The City of Beautiful Nonsens e, III, Ch. II, 230. ƒ) Mine a yellow face? Stop till you see Dobbin. Thack.. Van. Fair I, Ch. V, 49. (= Wait, see below.)
g) He was not coming to Kensington Gardens any more. But suppose he did comel Suppose there were the sense of regret in the heart of him, as it was with her; and suppose he came to see the place where they had sat together. Temple Thurston, The City of Beautiful Nonsens e, Ch. XV, 117. (Suppose has the value of a conjunction).
h) Take it altogether, now that we have been into most of the houses hereabouts and can judge, there is not one we like better than this. Jane Austen, Pers., Ch. XIII, 129. (— All things considered). Take such a play as "The Woman in the Case", which is now in its 2ooth odd night. Westm. Gaz, No. 5179, 7a.
i) Talk of the Garden of Eden! I believe it was nothing to Mr. Fubsby's house. Thack, a Little Dinner at Ti m m i n s's, Ch. V. Talk of the Prince's bowl what was it to George's? id, Van Fair, t, Ch. XII, 120.
Talk of povertyi I was rich — rich with a hundred pounds made out of my own brain-labour. Marie Corelli, Sor. of Sat, II, Ch. XLII, 281.
j) Think of Charley Mirabel, the old fooi, marrying that flame of his ;
that Fotheringay! Thack, Pend, I, Ch. XXVIII, 302. k) Wait till you see her in the sunlight. Hornung, No H ero, Ch.HL
(= Stop, see above).
ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA.
to 3, cl. To obviate the inconvenience of there being no special forms for the preterite subjunctive, as compared with the preterite indicative, except in the case of the verb to be, some writers have recently resorted to the present subjunctive as a make-shift to satisfy their desire of marking the uncertainty attaching to the fulfilment of the action or state expressed by the predicate. Compare Kruisinga, Handb.,2 § 129, Note 1, and § 130, Note 1, where several instances are given.
She insisted that he accept, and, indeed, take her with him. Edoar Rice Burrouohs, Tarzanof the Apes4, Ch. 1,3. (Methuen & Co). When they had a trench of ample size to bury the chest, Tarrant suggested that they enlarge it and inter Snipe's body on top of the chest. ib, Ch. XVil, 151.



91
It was sbe, though, who suggested that arms, ammunition, supplies, and comforts be left behind in the cabin. ib.. Ch. XXIV, 224.
to 37, a, 4, Note j3 and 37, c, Note«. The phraser/ need be, owing to its component parts not being understood separately, and also to its grammatical construction not being apparent at the first blush, seems to be often used instead of if need were, which would be required in strict grammar.
What happened to her own heart did nod matter so long as he was happy and had all that he wanted with her and away from her — // need be — always away from her. Qalsworthy, B e y o n d, IV, Ch. IX, 411.
Emily knew but one arlicle of religion, and that bade her preserve, if need be, at the cost of life, the purity of her soul. Gissing, A Life's Morning, Ch. XI, 172.
to 38, Obs. III. It is here stated that the use of will and would as tense-auxiliaries in adverbial clauses of open condition is due to dialect influences. This statement is only partly correct, Standard English employing these verbs regularly in this function if the conditional clause, in its turn, is feit to be the head-sentence of another conditional clause, which, as it is implied in the context, is not expressed. Thus such a sentence as / will come to-morrow if it will please you may be understood to stand for / will come to-morrow if it will please you if I come. The subject is also discussed in Tense, 81, Obs. II, to which the student is referred for further discussion and illustration.






TENSE.






BOOKS AND TREATISES CONSULTED.
E. A. Abbot, A Shakespearian Grammar8, London, Macmillan and Co., 1888.
Henry Alford, The Queen's English8, London, George Bell and Sons, 1889.
Ph. Aronstein, Shall and Will, zum ausdrucke der idealitat im Englischen, Anglia, XLI.
Alexander Bain, A Higher English Grammar, London, Longmans and Co., 1879.
Henry Bradley, The Making of English, London, Macmillan and Co, 1904.
G. Caro, Das Englische Perfectum and Praeteritum in ihrem Verhaltnis zu einander historisch untersucht, Anglia, XXI, 56/J.
MaxDeutschbein, System der neu-englischen Syntax,Cöthen,
Verlag von Otto Schulze, 1917. John Earle, The Philology of the English Tongue5, Oxford,
at the Clarendon Press, 1892. L. P. H. Eijkman, Shall and Will in indirecte aanhalingen,
De Drie Talen, XXIX, No. 10. Id., The Pluperfect Tense, De Drie Talen, XXVII, No. 8,9,10. P. Fijn van Draat, The Adverb since, Anglia, XXI, \45ff. Id, The Preposition since, Anglia, XXIII, 155jfj. Id., The Loss of the Prefix ge in theModernEnglish Verb,
and some of its consequences, Englische Studiën,
XXXI, III.
Id, The Conjunction since, Englische Studiën, XXXII, III.
Id, Recently Englische Studiën, XXXIV, I.
Id., After, Englische Studiën, XXXVI, 100ff.
Id, Lately, late, of late, latterly, Englische Studiën, XLI, II.
H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler, The King's English, Oxford,
at the Clarendon Press, 1906. W. Franz, Shakespeare Grammatik2, Heidelberg, Carl Winter's Universitatsbuchhandlung, 1909.



4
J. H. Kern, De met het Participium Praeteriti omschreven werkwoordsvorm in 't Nederlands. Verhandelingen der Koninklike Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam, Afdeling Letterkunde, Nieuwe Reeks,XII, No. 2, Amsterdam, Johannes Müller, 1912.
E. Kruisinga, A Handbook of Present-Day English2, Utrecht,
Kemink en Zoon 1915. G. Lely, Enkele Opmerkingen in verband met het Gebruik
van het Preteritum en den Voltooid Tegenwoordigen
Tijd in het Engelsch en in het Nederlandsch, De Drie
Talen, XXXIII, No. 11—12. C. P. Mason, English Grammar34, London, Bell and Sons, 1982. Eduard MStzner, EnglischeGrammatik2,Berlin,Weidmannsche
Buchhandlung, 1875. GERALD molloy, The Irish Difficulty, London, Glasgow and
Dublin, Blackie and Sons, 1897. Rev. Richard Morris, Historical Outlines of English Acci-
dence, London, Macmillan and Co., 1877. nesbit, Use of the Tenses, Englische Studiën, XXXI, 384/. C. T. Onions, An Advanced English Syntax, London, Swan
Sonnenschein & Co, 1904. Hermann Paul, Prinzipien der Sprachgeschichte3, Halle,
Max Niemeyer, 1898. Johan Storm, Englische Philologie2, Leipzig, Reisland, 1892.
F. A. Stoett, Middelnederlandsche Spraakkunst2, 'sGra-
venhage, Martinus Nijhoff, 1909. C. Stoffel, Shall and Will, Taalstudie, II. Henry Sweet, A New English Grammar, Oxford, at the Clarendon
Press, 1892—1898. Wilhelm Uhrström, Studies on the Language ofSamuel
Richardson, Upsala, 1907. W. WiLMANNS, Deutsche Grammatik, III, 1, Strassburg, Karl
J. Trübner, 1906.
Henry Cecil Wyld, The Growth of English, London, John Murray, 1907.
Id, AHistory of Modern Colloquial English, London, Fisher Unwin.



ORDER OF DISCUSSION.
I. Tense as the Expression ot the Time-sphere 1—11.
II. Form of the Tenses 12—76.
a. Formation of the Perfect Tenses 13—18.
b. Formation of the Future Tenses 19—76.
1. Historical survey and preliminary observations 19—27. ' 2. Shall (should) and will (would) in non-reported declarative sentences or clauses 28—34.
3. Shall (should) and will (would) in non-reported questions 35—40.
4. Shall (should) and will (would) in reported statements 41—51.
5. Shall (should) and will (would) in reported questions 52—58.
6. Shortenings 59—61.
7. Peculiar applications of shall (should) and will (would) in Elizabethan English 62—67.
8. Further expedients to express Futurity 68—76.
III. Use of the Tenses 77—148.
a. The Present Tense doing duty for the Future 78—88.
b. The Present Tense doing duty for the Perfect or the Preterite 89—92.
c. The Perfect compared with the Preterite 93—118.
d. The Perfect compared with the Present 119—134.
e. The Pluperfect corresponding to the Perfect in the second function 135—137.
ƒ. The Tenses of Completed Action compared with the Tenses of Incompleted Action 138—148.



TENSE AS THE EXPRESSION OF THE TIME-SPHERE.
1. By tense we understand a particular form of a verb, or a verbgroup, by means of which we show to what time-sphere an action or state belongs.
We distinguish three main time-spheres, viz.: the present, the past and the future.
2. a) The present time-sphere may be defined to be that which
includes the present moment, i. e. the moment of speaking or writing. From this definition it follows that it stands for an endless variety of durations, which however, fall into two main groups, viz.:
1) one limited to the time of speaking or writing. Thus, for example, that of the action or state expressed by such sentences as / have a pencil in my hand. I am rather tired.
2) one limited to the life of a person, the prevalence of a custom, the force of a law, etc. Thus, for example, that of the action or state expressed by such sentences as He gets up every morning at six o'clock. He has a robust constitution. The trains are heated in winter. The streets are lighted by electricity. England is a monarchy. This law applies only to aliens.
It is hardly necessary to observe that a present in the strict sense of the word is a purely imaginary point of time: that which we call the present necessarily including a portion of both the past and the future.
b) The past time-sphere and the future time-sphere comprise, respectively, the time prior and subsequent to the present moment. Thus that of the action denoted, respectively, by such sentences as Last year we took possession of this house and Next year we shall take possession of this house.
c) Both in the past and the future time-sphere a further moment may be thought of as a dividing-point. Thus The evening had f allen before we reached home and Before the evening feil, we



7
had reached home make us think of a moment in the past as the dividing-point of two time-spheres in the past. Similarly Before the evening has f allen (or shall have f allen), we shall reach home and Before we have (or shall havé) reached home, the evening will fall call forth to our minds a moment of the future as the dividing-point of two time-spheres in the future.
The time-spheres here referred to may, respectively, be called the anterior and posterior past and the anterior and posterior future.
d) There is nothing to prevent us from assuming an ulterior moment in the past, a point that is, which is anterior to that spoken of before. The time-sphere preceding this dividingpoint might be called the pre-anterior past. Thus in such a sentence as He remembered that, before he had droppedthe letter into the box, he had thought of the way in which it might affect his future, the action expressed by had thought is anterior to that denoted by had dropped, which, in its turn, is prior to that indicated by remembered.
The difference of the time-spheres of the actions mentioned in the above sentence becomes quite clear when the whole is moved forward to the present moment as the point of time measured from: He remembers that, before he dropped the letter into the box, he had thought of the way in which it might affect his future. See, however, 1426. Similarly we may assume an ulterior moment in the future and imagine a time-sphere succeeding this dividing-point, which we might call the post-posterior future. Thus in When he comes, he will be told everything before the other guests arrivé two successive dividing-points in the future are thought of, besides the dividing-point separating the past from the future. If the "forward-flowing tide of time" (Ten., Arab. Nights, I) is represented by a straight line as under, the points a), b), and c)" may be taken to mark the different dividing-points here referred to: the action of coming being represented as falling after a), that of telling after b) and that of arriving after c); thus:
abc
I 1 1 f
e) To the above we may add what may be called the neutral time-sphere, the action or state described not being confined to any particular time-sphere, but belonging to all. Thus that of the action or state expressed by such sentences as A cipher placed after an integer increases its value tenfold.



Platinum is the heaviest metal. The sun rises in the east The monkey is a mammal.
In the neutral time-sphere some indefinite point may be assumed to which an action or state is either anterior or posterior. Thus in When the steed has been stolen, the stable-door is locked, the stealing of the steed is represented as anterior to some indefinite point of time, to which the locking of the stable-door is posterior. Compare Paul, Prinz.3, § 190; Deutschbein, Sprachpsychologische Studiën, I.
3. The dividing-point which separates the past from the future, i. e. the present moment in the strictest sense of the word, may be called primary, the others, respectively, secondary and tertiary.
A succession of events may be described with no other than the primary dividing-point being observed, i. e. without their order of succession being expressed by different tenses. Thus in Towards evening it left off raining, and we took a walk. Observing a secondary dividing-point the same succession of events would be described as follows: Towards evening it had left off raining, and we took a walk. See also 139.
4. The form of the verb which is used in describing an action or state belonging to the present time-sphere is called the present (tense), that which is used in describing an action or state prior to the primary dividing-point is called the preterite (tense), while the verb-group which is used in describing an action or state subsequent to the primary dividing-point is called the future (tense).
The word-groups which are employed in describing an action or state prior or subsequent to a secondary dividing-point either of the past or the future may be, respectively, called the ante-preterite, post-preterite, ante-future, post-future (tenses).
The present tense is also used in describing an action or state which belongs to no particular time-sphere (2, e). This may be called the neutral present.
The present, preterite and future tenses may be called primary tenses, the others secondary tenses. Compare Sweet N. E. Gr, § 279.
5. Obs. I. When the predicate is attended by an adverbial adjunct or clause denoting a particular point or space of time, there is, strictly speaking, no need for a special tense-form to indicate the time-sphere to which the action or state belongs. Thus such adjuncts as now, at the present moment, etc.; yesterday, years ago, during the Thirty Years? War, etc; to-morrow, next week, soon, etc, denote



9
unequivocally that the action or state mentioned in the sentence belongs, respectively, to the present, past or future time-sphere.
II. It should also be observed that we may extend the present time-sphere either backward or forward so far as to include a given point of time of the past or future. Thus in Yesterday he unexpectedly comes to me and asks for the loan of a shilling the speaker thinks of the happenings as falling within the present time-sphere extending backward at least as far as yesterday, in other words he has not observed the primary dividing-point separating the past from the future (3). See also 91. If in his consciousness there is a distinct wish to do so, he places the verbs in such an utterance as the above in the preterite tense: Yesterday he unexpectedly came to me and asked for the loan of a shilling. The same reasoning applies, mutatis tnutandis, to such a sentence as We all start tomorrow on our holiday tour. Compare Deutschbein, System, § 52; 54, 2.
it follows that there is not anything'particularly surprising in the fact that the present tense, which is more or less vague as to the time-sphere implied in it, should be frequently used together with an adverbial adjunct or clause denoting an indubitable future. See also 78.
III. Conversely the mere use of a different tense is often resorted to as an expediënt to indicate the shifting of the time-sphere.
He was not the dogged Scrooge he had been. Dick, Christm. Car, 111. Lucie was more at ease than she had been. id, A Tale of Two Cities, III, Ch. VII, 324.
I don't believe in love as 1 did. You can't expect me to. Mar. Crawf, Adam Johnstone's Son, Ch. XIII.
Things are much livelier here than they were. Wells, Mr. Britling, II, Ch. IV, § 14, 336.
And in the chair where she had sat last night conjuring up memories, he, too, now conjured. How he had loved her, did love her! Galsworthy, Beyond, IV, Ch. IV, 374.
The phrase used to is sometimes used for the same purpose.
"Do you know her very well?" — "Oh yes — used to." ib, IV, Ch. III, 378.
IV. Sometimes there is a discrepancy between the time-sphere indicated by the adverbial adjunct and that implied in the tenseform of the predicate; i. e. the former is one measured from the primary dividing-point, the latter from a secondary dividing-point either in the past or the future. Thus yesterday is sometimes used instead of the day before, i. e. the day before a given day in the past, to-morrow instead of the day after, i. e. the day after a given day in the anterior future. Similarly last night sometimes stands for the night before; some time (some days, a day, etc.) ago for some time (some days, a day, etc.) before. It may, of course, be urged that the above view amounts to an unwarrantable narrowing of the sense-area of the words and word-groups in question.



10
i. The mind so soon accommodates itseif to the necessities of the body, that this poor waggoner's house-of-call, which he would have despisedyesterday, became now quite a choice hotel. Dick, Chuz, Ch. XIII, lila.
Daisy had ordered the coffee from the Army and Navy Stores in plenty of time, and it was not her fault if it had not been delivered yesterday. E. F. Benson, Mr. Teddy, Ch. V, 105.
She remembered the words she had overheardyesterday. Williamson, The Underground Syndicate, Ch. XII.
ii. Lucie was to be married to-morrow. Dick, A Tale of Two Cities, II, XVII, 212.
Everybody seemed to eat hls utmost in self-defence, as if a famine were expected to set in before breakfast-time to-morrow-morning. id, Chuz., Ch. XVI, 139Ö.
The inquest was adjourned till to-morrow. Times.
In the following quotation both yesterday and to-morrow are used out of their ordinary meanings.
In the black prison of the Concier^erie, the doomed of the day awaited
their fate Before tflelr blood ran into the blood spilled yesterday, the
blood that was to mingle with theirs to-morrow was already set apart. Dick, A Tale of Two Cities, III, Ch. XIII, 386.
iii. They went down to the landing-place where they had left their goods last night. Dick, Chuz., Ch. XXIII, 195a.
One new mound was there which had not been last night. ib, Ch. XIX, 167a. Mine (sc. my eyes) encountered the personage who had received me last night. Ch. Brontë, Jane Eyre, Ch. V, 51.
The next day, at ten o'clock, Tom was on his way to St. Ogg's, to see his uncle Deane, who was to come home last night. G. Eliot, M i 11, III, Ch. V, 204.
I refiect that it would have been much better if I had stopped up last night. Jerome, Idle Thoughts, VI, 77. T.
iv. Mother goes, and I fall into a meditation. Bobby Gerard is an orphan. A
few years ago his mother feeling her end drawing nigh, had sent for
father, and had asked him with eager dying tears to take as much care of her pretty forlorn boy as he could. Rhoda Brouohton, Tales for Christmas Eve, Poor Pretty Bobby.
How she had admired this room a week ago, and how proud she had been of it. Williamson, The Underground Syndicate, Ch. XI. Carrington saw his face, I know, and must have recognlzed it as only a few hours ago the man had sent for him. ib, Ch. XXII.
With the above sentences compare: i. Major Pendennis knew the letter too. He had put it into the post himself in Chatteris the day before. Thack, Pend, 1, Ch. XIII, 135. At the place where I had last enquired I had been told he had passed through a day before. Conway, Called Back, Ch. XI, 130.
ii. Mr. Bingley was obliged to be in town the following day. Jane Austen, Pride and Prej, Ch. III, 13.
iii. The event had only occurred the night before. Mrs. Gask, Cranf, Ch. X, 190.
iv. She had taken a large rambling house, which had been usually considered, to confer a patent of gentility upon its tenant, because once upon a time seventy or eighty years before, the spinster daughter of an earl had resided in it. Mrs. Gask, Cranf., Ch. VII, 128.



11
Major.Pendennis actually found himself in company with Mr. Bows...
and Miss Costigan, whose father had wanted to blow out his brains afew hours before. Thack, Pend, I, Ch. XIII, 134.
No exception seems to he taken to the genitive of yesterday, last night, etc. denoting a time-sphere measured from a secondary dividing-point, although, of course, the alternative word-group would mostly be preferred.
Catherine took the opportunity of asking the other for some particulars of their yesterdays party. Jane Austen, North. Ab, Ch. XV, 109. He made a scanty breakfast on the remains of the last nighfs provisions. Wash. Irv, Dolf Heyl, (Stof, Handl, I, 123).
Miss Mercy — silently deplored the commercial gentleman and yawned
over yesterday's newspaper. Dick, Chuz, Ch. XI, 94ö.
Having delivered his manifesto (which formed a portion of his last week's
leader)— the editor paused to take breath. id, Pickw., Ch. LI, 471.
Compare: Small beer — will it be believed! — was the only drink with which unhappy gentlemen soothed the lever of theirprevious n(gftf s potation. Thack, Van. Fair, i, Ch. VI, 59.
There is no occasion to change yesterday, some days ago, etc, or last night into, respectively» the day before, some days before, etc, or the night before, in reported speech. Thus / wrote the letter yesterday becomes, for example, / told him that I had written the ietter yesterday.
He telt so well convinced that Jonas was again the Jonas he had known a week ago.... that [etc.]. Dick, Chuz., Ch. XIX, 1666. The Qeneral — made answer that he might fully enlighten himself on those points to-morrow, by attending a Great meeting of the Body. ib. Ch. XXI.
Martha.... then told them how she meant to lie a-bed to-morrow
morning for a good long rest. id, Christm. Car, III.
Nor is there anything unusual in the morrow being used in the sense of the next day.
This inferiority would have been changed on the morrow into an over-
whelming superiority. Motley, Rise, IV, Ch. I, 558a.
She was duly informed that Mrs. D'Urberville was glad of her decision
and that a spring cart should be sent to meet her and her iuggage on
the day after the morrow. Hardy, Tess, I, Ch. VI, 57.
The use of the present is not the only device to represent an action or state as unrestricted to any particular time-sphere. The same effect can be obtained in' English by the numerous words and wordgroups expressing indefinite repetition of an action or state, such as can, use, will and their approximate periphrastic equivalents to be apt (or given) to, to have a trick (or way) of, to be accustomed (used, or wont) to, to be in the habit of ,etc. These words and wordgroups, indeed, express other notions besides that of perpetuity, but these notions are sometimes highly vague or shadowy so as to be almost negligible. Ample illustration of the above words and word-groups has already be offered in Ch. I, 50—56. The following quotations may, therefore, be deemed sufficiënt in this place.



12
It can be bitter cold in Carlisle. Hal. Sutcl., The Lone Adventure, Ch. XIX, 380.
The weather can be very hot, even in winter, in Egypt, but it is not always hot. T. P.'s Weekly, No. 486, 2576.
The world behaves itself as it uses to do on such occasions. Conoreve, Love for Lov e, I, 1.
Foul deeds tw7/ rise, | Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. Shak., Ha ml, i, 3, 256.
Muiberries will fall when over-ripe. Walt. Besant, By Celia's Arbour.
I, 27, T.
All these Jbills arrived in a week, as they have a knack of doing. Thack., Sam. Titm., Ch. x, 126.
Life is short, and Lives havea way of being too long. At hen., No. 4453,404a. Men are apt to acquire peculiarities that are continually ascribed to them. Wash. Irv., Sketch-Bk, xxix, 309.
It may here be observed that it will not do to regard will as used in the above sentences as an auxiliary of the future tense, as is done by most grammarians.
Also the preterite is sometimes used in English in the same function as the neutral present, apparently only in connection with ever or never.
Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more, | Men were deceivers ever, | One foot in sea and one on shore, | To one thing constant never. Shak, Much ado,
ii, 3, 65. (Compare: Youth is ever hot and rash. Lytton, My No vel, ii, xi, Ch. xiii, 303.)
Ay me I for aught that i could ever read, | Could ever hear by tale or history, | The course of true love never did run smooth. id, Mids, i, 1, 134. When wanton Wealth her mightiest deeds hath done, | Meek Peace voluptuous lures was ever wont to shun. Byron, Childe Har., i, xxii.
This use of the neutral preterite may be compared to that of the so-called gnomic or empire aorist in the Greek and the gnomic or empirie perfect in the Latin language. In the employment of these tenses, as applied in the above function, it is assumed that what has always proved true in the past will also hold good for the future.
Ovèele êxairov rjdovatg ixr^aazo (= Nobody (ever) earned praise by (indulging in) pleasures) ')■
Omne tulit punctum qui miscu i t utile dulci. Hor, Ars Po et,343. (=He carries away all the points, i.e. reapsuniversalapplause, who unites the useful with the sweet.)
It must not be thought that the forms of the verb which we now call its tenses were primarily used to place an action or state in a particular time-sphere. Rather did they serve to denote different characters of action. This function, now lost in the Germanic languages, they have preserved in the Slavonic languages. See Wilmanns, Deutsche Gram, III, I, § 1, 2; Deutschbein, System, § 52.
Kaeoi, Grieksche Gram, § 165, 2, b.



13
6. Time being represented by a straight line:), we may set up
the following scheme of the time-spheres:
past present future
anterior posterior anterior posterior
The tenses corresponding to this scheme may be represented thus:
neutral present tense
preterite tense present tense future tense
ante-preterite tense post-preterite tense ante-future tense post-future tense
The arrows in the above lines are meant to denote the fact that the time-spheres extend indefinitely in a certain direction. Thus, for example, the posterior past may extend forward beyond the point dividing the past from the future. In such a sentence, indeed, as He told me that peace would soon be concluded, the time-sphere of the conclusion of peace is placed beyond the point dividing the anterior from the posterior past, but there is no hint as to whether or no it extends beyond the moment of speaking.
7. a) The ante-preterite (tense) is called the pluperfect tense in English Grammars. It is formed by periphrasis, in present English exclusively with had, in earlier English sometimes with was (or were) (14), e. g.: When I had walked all that distance, I sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree to have a rest.
The pluperfect is also used when the happenings are thought of in a time-sphere that is shifted a further stage backward, i. e. when a tertiary dividing-point in the past is observed. Thus: He told me that when he had walked all that distance he had sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree to have a rest. Compare 148.
b) In representing an action or state as belonging to the posterior past the same expedients are employed as those which serve to place it in the future time-sphere, only modified according to the altered circumstances. The commonest of these expedients is the use-of should or would as the preterite forms of the tense-auxiliaries shall and will. The verb is then said to stand in the preterite future tense.
I knew... I should remain hungry all night. Dick., Cop., Ch. V 35ö. I knew how it would turn out. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2252.
Should and would not being available in principal sentences, other idioms are put into requisition to supply their place
J) Jespersen, Ti d og Tempus.



14
Among these was (or were) to is the most common. Compare 74.
We were to go in a carrier's cart. Dick, Cop., Ch. II, 14a.
He was to leave that night, after supper, in a post-chaise for Gravesend.
ib. Ch. XVI, 121a.
c) The ante-future tense, the futurum exactum of Latin grammars, is mostly called the f u t u r e-p erfect (tense) by English grammarians. It requires the use of two auxiliaries, viz. shall (or will) to mark futurity, and to have (formerly also to be (14) to denote priority to a secondary dividing-point in the future.
By this time to-morrow I shall have crossed the Channel. Sweet, N. e. Gr., § 2253.
Mr. Asquith will have spoken tot himself before this is in the hands of our readers. Westm. Gaz, No. 8515, 2a.
If it (sc. the offensive) serves to crumble up a further section of the German defences, its purpose will have been achieved. ib, No. 7571, 2b.
d) If the happenings as expressed in the above sentences are viewed from a dividing-point in the past instead of the primary dividing-point, shall (or will) is replaced by should (or would). The tense used in this case may be called the preterite future-perfect. v'--.-;i" Four o'clock! In another hour the Whitsuntide party for which the house stood ready would have arrived. Mrs. Ward, C o u s. P h i 1, Ch. VIII, 123.
e) There is no special tense-form for the posterior future. To represent an action or state as belonging to this time-sphere, we may use the word-group not yet, together with the auxiliaries required for the anterior future, e. g.: If you come at seven o'clock we shall not yet have finished dinner.
It is evident that in such a sentence it is not the form of the predicate, but the context which assigns to the action or state described the time-sphere it belongs to.
8. a) In the above scheme there is no place for what is called the perfect tense in English grammars. This is owing to the fact that this tense in its primary application expresses a blending of two elements, viz. it States «) that the action or state referred to belongs to the past time-sphere, P) that this action or state produced a result belonging to the present time-sphere. Thus / have written a letter places.the action of writing in the past time-sphere, but at the same time implies the finished state of a letter in the present. Thus also / have come here stands for / was on my way to this place + / am here now. It follows that, in using the perfect tense, the speaker thinks distinctly of both the present and the past. Compare Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 275; Paul, Prinz.3, § 1891



15
Deutschbein, System §53; Wilmanns, Deutsche Gram., III, I, § 97, 3.
In / have been writing a letter there is, indeed, no reference to any definite result having been obtained, but yet the sentence distinctly implies that the letter is in a more or less advanced stage towards completion. The very fact that it indicates an unfinished state of the letter and, consequently, foreshadows a continuation of the act of writing, brings the present even more distinctly to the mind than is done by / have written a letter.
The reference to a state of things belonging to the present timesphere is especially prominent when the sentence contains, as it often does, some such adverbial adjunct as non', as in / have now come to apologize for my rudeness. I have now read the whole of Shakespeare's plays. Also the fact that in the subordinate statement or question standing after a sentence with a perfect the verb is placed in the present tense, indicative or subjunctive, or in the future tense, goes far to show that the perfect is distinctly associated with present circumstances. Thus / have seen to it that everything is (be or shall be) in readiness. He has expressed a hope that peace will (or may) soon be restored. Placing the verb of the head-sentence of complexes like the above in the preterite entails the use of the preterite or preterite future: I saw to it that everything was for should be) in readiness. He expressed a hope that peace would (or might) soon be restored.
What distinguishes the perfect from the present is that the former represents the action or state as having come to a conclusion, i. e. as an accomplished fact, while the latter implies that it will be continued into the future. This is distinctly brought out by the following quotations:
The staidest opinions have modtfied or seek correction. Eng. Rev., No. 103, 544a.
There are other sldes to the picture, not so conspicuous to the eye. Silently, but certainty, we have been returning to the ways of industry. Trade is improving, more work is being done. With every month we can see the dawn of the new era. Men are beginning once more to work out their own salvation, and vast as are the tasks that iie before humanity, they will be conquered by that indomitable faith which has never deserted mankind. Westm. Gaz., No. 8267, lö.
The close affinity which the perfect bears to the present justifies its sometimes being called the present perfect. The action or state referred to by the perfect may be one that has reached its completion,



16
at the moment of speaking as in:
Those sonnets of yours have perfectly addled me. Shaw, Candida, III, (161). T.
at a moment previous to that of speaking, as in:
Thank you for the trouble you have taken. Sweet, N. e. Gr., § 2242. You have not lied it tight enough: it is sure to come undone again. ib. It is but natural that in the minds of some persons it is the past, in those of others, the present element that occupies the most prominent place. Those who, in using the perfect, think first of all of what befell in the past time-sphere will naturally be inclined to employ it also when the only reference is to past happenings. Thus the Latin perfect is often employed in narrating what happened in the past, such a form as s c r i p s i corresponding not only to / have written, but also to / wrote: In some languages the old perfect has even entirely lost the power of marking present results. Thus the French passé défini, the lineal descendant of the Latin perfect, has become a pure preterite. Also such forms as wrote, came, gave, etc, and their equivalents in other Germanic languages, which seem, primarily, to have been perfects, have entirely lost the present element, being now only used as preterites. Compare Jespersen, Tid og Temp, (391); Paul, Prinz.3, § 189; Wilmanns, Deutsche Gram, Ut, I, § 97.
Some perfects have gone in the opposite direction and have become'pure presents. Such are the Latin memini, novi, o d i, and the English can, dare, may, must, shall, the so-called preterite-present verbs, which, according to Jespersen (Tid og Tempus, (391), it would be better to term perfee t-present verbs.
The old perfects having lost the power of marking present results, the modern languages have adopted periphrastic forms with to have or to be to supply the want. But also these have, to a large extent, shared the fate of the old perfects, being in some languages frequently employed in describing an action or state belonging to the past time-sphere without any connotation of present results. Thus the French passé indéfini has ousted almost entirely the passé defini in the latest French, especially' of the Northern provinces, e.g. Je 1'ai vu hier. Ils se sont mariés en 1910. According to Wilmanns (Deutsche Gram, III, I, § 98, 2) a similar process may be observed in the dialects of Southern Germany and Austria. Also Standard Dutch has lk heb hem gisteren gezien. Ze zijn in 1910 getrouwd, etc. Such constructions as Ik zag hem gisteren. Wij waren ver-



17
leden zomer in Zwitserland, wrdch are affected by some, especially uneducated, speakers, perhaps in imitation of the German, in which they are very common, are still considered at variance wtth idiom. Even in purely narrative style the perfect is often used in Dutch, especially in colloquial diction. Kern (Part. Pr ast, § 49, foot-note, 3) gives the following sentences as instances: Toen is hij mijn kamer binnengekomen en heeft mij uitgescholden. En ik liet dat niet op mij zitten, en heb hem eens flink de waarheid gezegd. It will be observed that the perfect tense in these sentences corresponds exactly to the Passé Indefini in Northern French.
Conversely we have in the Present English colloquialism / have got, and its variations, an instance of a perfect assuming a present meaning, e. g.: / have got no time. He has got to do it. Compare Jespersen, Tid og Tempus, VI, (391). It will be shown in the following discussions that English practice as to the use of the perfect and preterite differs materially from that observed in Dutch.
9. Another function of the perfect tense is that of representing an action or state as continuing from a point of time in the past up to the moment of speaking or writing, with the implication that it will extend into the future. The sentence or clause then contains an adverbial adjunct or clause denoting that length of time, e. g.: I have known him two years (already). In some languages, such as Dutch, German and French, the present tense is normally used to express these circumstances, e.g.: Ik ken hem sedert twee jaar. Ich kenne ihn seit zwei Jahren. Je le connais depuis deux ans. As will be shown lower down, the present tense is, in this case, the exception in English. Compare Sweet, N. E. Gr., § 281; Paul, Prinz.8, § 190; and especially jespersen, Tid og Tempus, VI, (394).
In the case of momentaneous verbs it is continued repetition of the action during a given space of time, which is expressed by the English perfect; in other words the verb assumes an iterative character. \ "*.■.'
The skirts of her ancestors' garments have been kissed for centuries. Thack., Van. Fair, II, Ch. XVI, 167.
a) When the point of time from which happenings are viewed is shifted in the speaker's mind from the moment of speaking to a moment in either the past or future, in other words when the primary dividing-point is exchanged for either of the



18
secondary dividing-points, the pluperfect or future perfect, respectively, takes the place of the present perfect.
i. * As soon as Mr. Carnaby opened his eyes, she (sc. Mrs. Carnaby) told him
of her plans, and before breakfast they had setfled the whole thing. Sweet, The Picnic.
ii. If the stroke serves to crumble up a further section of the German defences, its purpose will have been achieved. Westm. Gaz, No. 7571, 2b.
b) The observant student will have remarked that the pluperfect has two values, i. e. not only does it, on a change of dividingpoint, take the place of the perfect, but also of the preterite. Thus both / thank you that you have done all this for me and / thank you that you did all this for me become / thanked you that you had done all this for me.
c) The pluperfect, perfect and future perfect having certain features in common, it will sometimes be convenient to comprise them under the general denomination of the perfect tenses. When necessary the perfect proper will be called the present perfect.
11. It remains to make a few observations about the tenses used in indirect speech.
a) If we compare the preterite, perfect and pluperfect tenses of direct statements with those of the corrësponding indirect statements after a preterite, as in:
I met her some time ago. — He said that he had met her some time ago.
I have not yet met her. — He said that he had not yet met her.
I had already met her before. — He said that he had already met her before.
we find that there is no shifting of tense in the latter following that of the former, the pluperfect being used independently of the tense in the direct statement.
b) Nor is the difference between open and rejected condition shown by different forms in indirect statements depending on preterites, as becomes apparent form a comparison of the following sentences:
I w/7/ pay you if I can — He said that he would pay me if he could. I would pay you if I could — He said that he would pay me if he could.
c) When the reported statement is one that applies to all times, the present tense is mostly preserved after a preterite.
He denied that Electricity and Magnetism are (not were) the same agent. Bain, Comp, 203.
Such a man would not admit that two and two is four. ib.
I was thinking how terrible is war. Buchanan, That Winter Night,
Ch. I, 4.
But owing to the fact.that the shifting from the preterite in the reporting sentence to the present in the reported statement



19
requires some effort of the mind, the predicate in the lattter is not seldom placed in the preterite also.
I was her flrm belief that all unhappy marriages dated from the wife only.
Mrs. Lynn Sinton, S o w i n g the Wind, I, Ch. X, 245.
I thought iii news came fast enough. Mrs. Gask, Cranf, Ch. XIII, 238.
The shifting of the tense is sometimes all the more objectionable, because it may imply that the statement is false, as in:
He taught us that the earth was as flat as a pancake. Jespersen, T i d o g Temp, VII, 399.



FORM OF THE TENSES.
12. a) The • only tenses that are not formed by means of auxiliaries are the present and the preterite. We may assume the present to be a kind of base from which the preterite is formed or, which comes to the same thing, the absence of preterite inflection may be said to constitute the present tense, Thus (l) saw and (I) learned may be understood as inflected forms of, respectively, (I) see and (I) learn.
b) Verbals having no inflection for tense, the fact that the action or state expressed by them belongs to a time-sphere anterior to that of the action or state expressed by the finite verb, with which they are syntactically connected, is expressed by means of the auxiliary to have, formerly also to be. (14.) Compare:
1) I know that he was here a minute with I know him to have been here a ago. minute ago.
2) I thank you that you did alt this — I thank you for having done all for me when I was away. this for me when I was away.
3) As he was bom on May 3th 1900, — Having been bom on May 4th 1900, he has now completed his twentieth he has now completed histwehyear. tieth year.
c) A change of tense of the finite verb does not affect the tense of the verbal syntactically connected with it.
1) He wants (wanted, will want) him to apologize.
He regrets (regretted, will regret) to have been absent.
2) In coming home, he takes (took, will take) his way through the park. He remembers (remembered, will remember) having seen him.
3) His father being a soldier, he wants (wanted, will want) to go into the army. His father having been a soldier, he wants (wanted, will want) to go into the army.
d) Complex predicates, however, substitute the perfect infinitive for the imperfect when the primary dividing-point is exchanged for the secondary dividing-point of the past. Compare:
It is strange that we should meet here, with: It was strange that we should
have met there. 'v



21
Formation of the Perfect Tenses.
13. As every student knows, the present formation of the perfect tenses with to have goes back to a construction in which to have is followed by a (pro)noun + past participle, the parti. ciple being, in the earliest stages of the language, often placed in the accusative, in concord with the preceding (pro)noun, but in later English left uninflected. Compare Sweet, N. E. Gr., § 1185, § 2165; Bradley, The Making of Eng. Ch. II, 68; jespersen, Growth and Struct.2, § 206. hê haefb hine gefundenne. (literally: he has (or possesses) him found)1) hïe hasfdon hira cyning ïrworpenne. (literally: they had their king in a state of being deposed.)2)
| a hê hïe of'slaegene haefde. (literally: when he had them in a state of being killed.)2)
There is, indeed, a considerable difference between two such sentences as He has a man killed and He has killed a man, as will at once be seen when object and participle are transposed in the following quotation: *fe#-V'
How stand 1 then, | That have a father kill'd a mother stain'd? Shak., Haml., IV, 5, 17.
The former construction is as distinctly durative as the latter is momentaneous (or perfective), but it is not difficult to understand how the one construction led to the other, when we bear in mind that the two constructions sometimes have practically the same meaning or are, at least, difficult to distinguish. Thus transposition of object and participle would not materially alter the meaning of the following quotations. Some of them even seem to have been modelled on the Old-English plan.
Almost the first remarkable thing I observed in Miss Murdstone was her being constantly haunted by a suspicion that the servants had a man secreted somewhere on the premises. Dick. C o p., Ch. IV, 24a. He did not even ride part of the way homewards by the side of his friend's carriage. He had some other party arranged for that afternoon. Thack, Virg, Ch. XXXV, 361.
From Mr. Warrington I could have nothing concealed henceforth, and spoke freely to him. ib, Ch. XXXVI 371.
Also such a construction as the following, in which a break may be observed before the participle, instead of after it, as in the preceding quotations, may have operated towards establishing the modern practice:
I have a room upstairs furnlshed for him in handsome style. Em. Brontë W u t h. H e i g h t s, Ch. X, 105a
Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 1185; 2) ib, § 2165.



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Let it also be remembered that the two notions represented, respectively, by two such sentences- as He has a man killed and He has killed a man cannot be differentiated by wordorder when the object is placed in front-position, as is, for example, regularly the case when it is an interrogative or relative pronoun. Thus the following sentences are ambiguous: Whom had he killed? The man whom he had killed was not his long-sought enemy. What party had he arranged? The party which he had arranged was a failure.
Note a) Instances of to have + (pro)noun + the past participle of an intransitive verb, as in the following quotation, seem toberare:
I had several men died in my snip of calentures. Swift, G u L, IV, Ch. I, (I88fi).
/ff) Aljeady in the oldest English perfects and pluperfects formed after the Modern English pattern seem to have been common enough. According to Kern (1. c, § 15) no fewer than forty instances have been found in Beowulf. As similar formations are, besides, met with in the earliest documents of all the other West-Germanic, and also of the Scandinavian languages, it may confidently be stated that the formation of the perfect tenses as described above is not, as was at one time believed, due to the influence of the Latin combinations with h a b e r e, which have served as the prototypes of the perfect tenses in the Romance languages, but has taken place quite independently of the latter.
y. According to A. G. van Hamel (On Anglo-Irish Synt., E. S, XLV, 276) the Old-English way of forming the perfect tenses seems to have been preserved in Anglo-Irish.
The doctor has his business learned well. Yeats, The Unicorn from the Stars.
Barring that she seldom says a word about anything but the way therheu' • matism has her tormented her Irish is a good as you'd hear. Birminoham, The Advent, of D r. Whitty, Ch. V, 122.
14. a) It stands to reason that the construction was at first only applicable to transitive verbs. Of intransitive verbs, especially those of a mutative meaning, i. e- expressing a change of place or state, the perfect tenses were formed in Old English by the help of to be, the participle being in concord with the subject, e. g.: hie wcêron a farene (= they had departed), he is hider cumen (= he has come hither)l). b) Non-mutative intransitives early adopted to have to form the perfect tenses. See Kern, i. c, 37. The difference between mutative and non-mutative was not, apparently, always distinctly feit. Anyhow in the following sentences, quoted by
i) Sweet, N. E. G r., § 2166.



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Kern (1. c, § 44), the predicates strike the modern reader rather as mutative than the reverse.
syctrtan hïe togaedre gegan haïfdon. Beowulf, 2630.
sydctan... we tö-symble geseten tuefdon. ib, 2104.
bonne hïe tö hüsle gegangen haefdon. B I i c k 1. Hom, 209, 6.
c) Certain it is that, when the construction with to have was no longer associated with its original meaning and had become firmly established in its modern application, it was gradually extended to mutative intransitives as well. For a discussion of the various causes which may have operated to bring about this state of things see especially Franz, Shak. Gram.2, §631, Compare also Deutschbein, System, § 38. 15. Modern-English combinations of the verb to be with the past participle of an intransitive subjective verb mostly express the result of an action rather than the action itself. In them to be then appears as a copula, the participle assuming the character of an adjective denoting a state. Compare murray, s. v. to be, IV, 14. The difference between combinations of such participles with to have and to be is aptly illustrated by:
Ye have come late - but ye are come! The distance, | Count Isolan, excuses your delay. Coleridoe, Pic, I, I,
The fact that a state is meant by the past participle when combined with a form of to be, often becomes apparent from its readily suggesting an adjective or adnominal phrase denoting a state. Thus in the above quotation, and also in the following, arranged alphabetically:
Lady Russell had not been arrived five minutes the day before, when a full account of the whole had burst on her. Jane Austen, Pers., Ch. XIII, 125. An hour later, when most of the visitors were departed, he went to Beatrice's corner of the room. Gissino, A Life's Morning, Ch. XX, 275. When he awoke, the boys of the village were gathered round him. Sweet, N. e. G r, § 2168.
While I am gone, I wish you to read over what 1 have marked in these
books. Dick.. Domb, Ch. XII 109.
I won't be gone a minute. id, Chuz. Ch. XXIII, 106a.
The mistress has been gone out over two hours. Galsw, Beyond, IV,
Ch. VIII. 404.
. Helena... looked down into the hall. Was everybody gone to bed? No, there were movements in a distant room... If Cousin Philip were still up he was alone. Mrs. Ward, Cousin Philip, Ch. II, 45. (Note the contrast between gone to bed and up, which shows that gone to bed is meant to be understood in the meaning of in bed.)
You knew I ïvas returned to London, Major Winton? Galsw, Beyond, I Ch. VI, 57.
16. a) In Early Modern English the use of the verb to be to form the perfect tenses was still common enough. The practice has,



24
indeed, become more and more unusual since, but even the latest English cannot be said to be entirely devoid of instances. My life is run his compass. Shak, Jul. Caes.. V, 3, 25. (in which his compass is nol an object, but an adverbial adjunct.) The poor world is almost six thousand years old, and in all this time there was not any man died in his own person, videlicet, in a love-cause. id., As you 1 i k e i t, IV, I, 96.
I am now grown as calm as ever. Richardson, C I a r. H a r 1.1). I am now stolen up again to teil you howitis. id. Sir Charl. Grand.1). He is so much altered lately that his nearest relations would not know him. Sher, School for Scand, III. 3 (400).
Young man, I rejoice that I was not yet set off again on my travels, and that you are come in time for me to see the image of my friend as he was in his youth. G. Eliot, Dan. Der.. III VIII. Ch. LX 269. Why should I remind you of what is passed? Temple Thurston, Mi rage, Ch. V, 40
James and roe is come to a nunnerstandin — a honourable unnerstandin. Shaw, C a n d i d a, I, (129). T.
Of particular interest are the rather frequent intances of to become, and some of its synonyms, forming their perfect tenses with to be.
i. I find my visits here are become troublesome. Goldsmith, Vic, Ch. XIII. By remaining in the neighbourhood 1 am become inuredtoit. Jane Austen, Pers, Ch. XIII, 126.
My father was become interesting to him since he had seen Rosamond. G. Eliot, M i d, L 223. T.
I couldn't think what was become of him. ib, 331. T. I am become a name. Ten, U1 y s s e s, 11.
Clyn Yeobright is become a real perusing man, with the strangest notions about things. Hardy, Return of the Native, II, Ch. I, 129. The guarantee of Turkey's integrity, which Austria-Hungary was willing to accord in 1907, and which Italy may be asked for in 1912, is become a manifest impossibility. Dillon, The Breakdown of Turkey (Eng. Rev., Febr. 1912, 510). II. Her eyes must be grown very dim. G. Eliot, Scènes, I, Concl, 69. Its voice was grown faint. Gissing, A Life's Mom., Ch VI, 97.
6) The following Late Modern English quotations are disputable . instances, i. e. they may have been meant to describe the state resulting from the action rather than the action itself. The arangement is designedly alphabetic.
It was Miss Murdstone who was arrived. Dick, C o p, Ch. IV, 25a.
I am come to take a long farewell. Sher, R i v, V, 1.
Now Clara, my dear, I am come here, you know, to relieve you of all the
trouble I can. Dick, C o p, Ch. IV, 24ö.
But, Mary, for the sake of him that's gone | And for your sake, the woman that he chose, | And for this orphan, I am come to you. Ten, Do ra, 89. A great wind rises and the summer is gone in a moment. Dick, C o p, Ch. II, 8ö.
Uhrström, Stu d. on the Lang. of Sam. Rich, 19.



25
I will wait if he is only gone to the post. James Joyce, E x i 1 es, I, 21. The man thus... saiuted was already passed into the autumn of his years. Lytton, Pomp., II, Ch. I, 38a.
Dickens is not merely alive: he is risen from the dead. Chesterton (II. Lond. News, No. 3844, 9196).
c) The uncertainty as to the exact nature of the predicate some. times appears also from to have being connected with the past
participle, although to be would seem to be more in harmony with the circumstances described.
Still the camera has gone, and I don't suppose that the reward I have offered will bring it back. Bradby, Dick, Ch. XII, 126. When they had gone, the very vibrations seemed more still, and a greater quietness feil with their absence. Temple Thurston, The City of Beautiful Nonsens e, III, Ch. XIII, 331.
Now that the fever had gone, the white transparency of her cheeks and forehead against the dark lashes and hair was too startling. Qalsworthy . Beyond, IV, Ch. XI, 433. The time for compromises and half-measures has gone. Westm. Gaz No. 8297, 2a.
d) Different from the above are those predicates in which the perfect denotes the state which has continued from a certain moment in the past, marked by a certain event, to the moment of speaking, e. g.:
The sun has set a long time. Miss Mitford, O u r V i 11 a g e, Ch. IV, 55. Such a sentence may be understood as the contraction of two others, viz.: The sun set a long time ago and The sun has been set (= under) a long time. For further discussion see 122, a.
17. Except for certain sentences and clauses of emphatic affirmation or denial (Ch. XXXII, 37), the auxiliary to have is utterly unstressed, its ordinary forms have, has and had being in the spoken language normally reduced to the final consonant. The literary forms hast, hath and hadst are, naturally, less subject to this weakening. The weakened forms are, indeed, hardly more than enclitic particles, which may, in a manner, be considered as a kind of inflectional endings attached to the* (pro)noun subject instead of the verb, and fulfilling a simjlar function as the tense and person endings of (weak) verbs. In colloquial and, especially, vulgar English they are not unfrequently dropped altogether, their function being relegated to the following participle.
Though I say it, I'm better than the best collector he ever done business with. Shaw, Widowers' Houses, II, 33.
I just been reading one of your books. Temple Thurston, T h e C i t y o f B e a u t. N o n s, II, Ch. I, 205.



26
I got to go to a funeral... an' I want to get a bit o'sieep first. Herbert
Jenkins, b i n d 1 e, Ch. v, 77.
d'you know what you done? ib, Ch. vi, ii, 93.
We got to save food. Punch, No. 3995, 66ö.
As in vulgar language the past participle of some verbs is often made to do duty for the preterite, the perfect and the preterite are sometimes indistinguishable. Three years ago you done me a hill turn. Shaw, Candida, i, (123). T.
18. a) A very common and useful expediënt to indicate distinct discontinuance of an action or state of the past is afforded by the combination used to + infinitive.
"You used to know Johnson the dairyman, William?" — "Ay, sure, that i did." Hardy, Under the Greenwood Tree, i, Ch. iii, 24.
b) A peculiar method of indicating completed action, practised in Anglo-Irish, is that in which the verb to be is followed by af ter + gerund. Compare Wyld, The Growth of Eng, 64; id, A Hist. of Mod. Col. Eng, Ch. I, 13. She be just afther comin'. Temple Thurston, Traffic, Ch. i, 8. There's one (sc. cloud) over there afther changin' into a littleen lamb. ib. No one would be afther callin' ye a fooi, because ye didn't know how to milk a cow. ib, Ch. vii, 52.
Herself's afther going to bed this half-hour. ib, Ch. XI, 76.
Formation of the Future Tenses. Historical Survey and Preliminary Observations.
19. The future tense is formed by means of the auxiliaries shall and will.
20. The modern way of indicating futurity by means of shall and will was practically unknown in the earliest stages of the language.
a) In Old English the present tense was mostly used in describing an action or state belonging to the future time-sphere, in like manner as this was done in Gothic, Old High German, Middle Dutch. See Murray, s.v. shall 8; Sweet, N. E. Gr, §2198; Paul, Prinz.3, § 190; Wilmanns, Deutsche Gram.2, 111,1, § 91, Stoett, Middelned. Spraakkunst2, § 242e. The following extract from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew (Ch. XII, 18—21), edited by Kemble, as itistobe found in Sweet, Anglo-Saxon Reader3, 51, may serve to show the Old-English practice, as compared with that of the Authorized Version of the year 1611, the Dutch of the



27
Statenbijbel, finished in 1637, and the Latin of Theod. Beza, published it. 1642.
Hér is min cnapa, ppne ic gecéas; min gecorena, on am wel gelicode minre sawle: ic asette minne gast ofer hyne, and dóm hé bodaef péodum. Ne fiit hé ne hé ne hrynvf; ne nan mann ne gehyreT hys stemme on strajtum. Tócwysed hréod hé ne forbrytt, and sméocende flex hé ne ddw£èsc<f aér pam be hé awurpe dóm tó sige. And on his naman . éoda gehyhtact
is well pleased: 1 will put my spirit upon him, and he shallshewjudgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break; and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
Zie, mijn knecht welken ik verkoren heb, mijn beminde in welken mijne ziele een welbehagen heeft; ik zal mijnen Geest op hem- leggen, en hij zal het oordeel den heidenen verkondigen. Hij zal niet twisten, noch roepen, en daar zal niemand zijne stemme op de straten hooren. Het gekrookte riet zal hij niet verbreken, en de rookende vlaswiek zal hij niet uitblusschen, totdat hij het oordeel zal uitbrengen tot overwinning. En in zijnen naam zullen de heidenen hopen.
Ecce servus ille meus, quem elegi; dilectus ille meus, in quo acquiescit anima mea: ponam Spiritum meum super eum, et judicium gentibus annunciabit. Non litigabit, neque clamitabit, neque audiet quisquam in plateis vocem ejus. Arundinum quassatam non confringet, et linum fumigans non extinguet, usquedum protulerit ad victoriam judicium. Et in ejus nomine gentes sperabunt.
b) Occasionally we find instances of shall and also, although much more rarely, of will, employed to express pure futurity.
Hïe wëndon paet hïe scolden mare on-fön. Sweet, N. E. G r, § 2198. (= They expected that they should receive more.)
Ic wat baet pis folc miclum blissian wile mïnes dëapes. ib. (= I know that this nation will rejoice greatly at my death.)
See also Bain, H. E. Gr, 167; Morris, Hist. Outl. of Eng. Accid, § 40, c, (14); Bradley, The Making of Eng, 66; Murray, s.v. shall, 8; Stof, Taaist, II, 225.
Also in Middle and Modern Dutch willen is sometimes used to form the future. See Stoett, Middeln-Spraakk.2, § 243. Ic wil slapen in den vrede (= In pace dormiam.)
Wat hoor ick? een bazuin? gewis hier wil een stem | Op volgen: zie eens uit, terwijl wij hier verbeien. Vondel, Lucifer, 196.
c) The Old-English sceal, the preterite of sculan, from which the Modern shall has descended, was used in two functions, viz: 1) it formed the predicate by itself, 2) it entered into combination with an infinitive without to, in like manner as shall in Modern English.
1) When used to form the predicate by itself, it had the same meaning as the Modern English to owe.



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Hu mycel scealt bu minum hlaforde? Ags. Oosp, Luke, XVI, 5.')(=How much owest thou unto my lord?)
Chaucer has shall in thé same function and meaning in:
Freend, as I am trewe knight, | And by that feyth I shall to god and yow, | I hadde it never half so hote as now. t r o i 1. and c r e s, iii, 1649. This Troilus... | Is thurgh a goter, by a privé wente, | In-to my chaumbre come in al this reyn, | Unwist of every maner wight, certeyn, | Save of my-self, as wisly have I joye, | And by that feith I shall Pryam of Troye. ib, 791.
2) In combination with an infinitive it mostly expressed the same meaning as in Modern English is ordinarily denoted by ought or should. In the last-mentioned verb the original meaning of shall has, accordingly, been preserved. For illustration of this application in Middle English see also Ch. I, 44, Obs. V.
ba Iudeas him andswaredon and cwaTdon, Wë habbad x, and be ure £ hë sceal sweitan, for {jam be hê cwaed paet hê waere Godes Sunu. The Gospel of Sa i n t J o h n, XIX, 72). (Auth. verb: The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.) '
Sëo cyrice sceal fëdan da pe ast hire eardiap. B1 icki. Hom, XLI, 27 The church ought to feed those that dweil therein.) He us leerde, hu we us gebiddan sceoldon. ib, XIX, 36. (= He taught us how we ought to pray.)
Hwaet sculon we nu don to dam dael we maegon cumon to dam sopum gesaelbum ? B o e t h i u s (ed. Fox), cxxvi, 32. (= What ought we now to do, in order that we may come to the true goods?) Dama i us hwylcum deade we sweitan sceulon, for dam de we done Haslend to deade geseaiden. S t. Andrew, XXXVI, 16. (= Judge us, by what death we ought to die, because we gave up the Saviour to death.)
Also Chaucer, sometimes uses shall in the same function and meaning.
An housbond 'shal nat been inquisitif of goddes privetee, nor of his wyf. Cant. Ta les, A, 3163.
d) In Middlle English shall and will came to be used as tensesigns for a long time without the modern difference in their application, shall being the more frequent auxiliary. Thus in wycliffe'S translation of the Bible (± 1380), shall is regularly used where the Vulgate, from which it was made, has the future, will being employed to render the meaning of volo. See Molloy, The Irish Difficulty, Ch. VII; Stof, Taalstudie, II, 225.
Molloy, modernizing Wycliffe's spelling, quotes:
!) Murray, s. v. shall, I, 1.
2) edited by James Wilson Brioht in the The Belles-Lettres Series.



29
i. When the.eventide is come, ye say, It shall be clear. (s e r e n u m erlt), for heaven is ruddy. M a 11 h., XVI, 2. (A u t h. Vers.: When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.)
ii. f will not leave them fasting (dimittere eos jejunos nolo), lest they fail in the way. Matth, XV, 32. (Auth. Vers.: I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.)
Take thou that that is thine and go; for I will give to this last man as to thee (volo autem et huic novissimo dare si.cut et tibi). Matth, XX, 14. (Auth. Vers.: Take that thine is, and go thy way: i will give unto this last, even as unto thee.)
Wycliffe often has / shall where the Vulgate has the future and the Auth. Vers. / will, evidently because the text suggests to him a movement of the human will. Thou art Peter, and on this stone I shall build (aedificabo) my church. Matth, XVI, 18. (Auth. Vers.: Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.)
After three days I shall rise again (resurgam). Matth, XXVII, 63. (Auth. Vers.: After three days I will rise again.)
Every man that shall acknowledge me before men (omnis qui confitebitur me coram hominibus), I shall acknowledge him (confitebor et ego eum) before my Father that is in heaven. Matth, X, 32. (Auth. Vers.: Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him willl confess also before my Father which is in heaven.)
Wycliffe has occasional instances of would corresponding to a Latin imperfect subjunctive. Molloy quotes: AU the city went out to meet Jesus; and when they had seen him. they prayed that he would pass from their coasts (ut transiret a finibus eorum). Matth, VIII, 34. (Auth. Vers.: The whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts)
But he also has should in exactly analogous connexions. Thus in:
And lo, a man to whom the name was Jairus, and he was a prince of a synagogue, and he feil down at the feet of Jesus, and prayed him that he should enter into his house (ut intraret in domum suam). (Luke, VIII, 41. (Auth. Vers.: And, behold there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he feil down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house.) As distinct from Wycliffe, Chaucer seems to have used shall and will, in the main, in the same way as is the rule in Present English.
i. And now thou woldest falsly been aboute | To love my lady, whom I love
and serve. I And ever shal. c a n t. T a 1 e s, A, 1144. ii. But I was hurt right now thurgh-out myn yë | In-to myn herte, that wol my
bane be. ib.. A, 1097.
In the following quotation Chaucer's use of shall, however, is at variance witfi modern practice:
And now, sith I have declared yow what thing is Penitence, now shul ye understonde that ther been three acciouns of Penitence. The Persones Tale, § 3.



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In the days of Shakespeare the use of shall and will was already in a fair way of settling down into an established system. Shakespeare's English, however, affords many instances of what appear to be inconsistencies, so that it may fairly be assumed that, at that period in the history of the language, even educated speakers did not conform to strict rules as to the use of the verbs. Nor does it require extensive reading to observe that Shakespeare more frequently uses shall (should) in the second and third person to mark a plain future than is the case in Standard English of the present day, and also that he sometimes employs this verb in functions which would now be denoted by other verbs. Also his applications of will (would) are, in some respects, at variance with present usage, but the difference is less striking. For illustration see 62.
In post-Elizabethan English instances of shall being used in the second and third persons to denote mere futurity were becoming more and more rare, and by the middle of the seventeenth century the distribution of shall and will had become essentially the same a« it is at the present day. As appears from the foregoing survey, the general current observable in the use of shall and will as tense-signs is that in process of time, will has taken upon itself a great deal of the duty formerly exclusively or chiefly assigned to shall. The spread of will at the expense of shall may, indeed, be said to be going on still. In some dialects, such as Scotch and AngloIrish, it has practicaliy ousted the latter as a pure auxiliary of tense. Thus Earle (Phil.6 § 304) writes, "The entrance of will into this function (sc. of marking futurity) is the latest event of mark in the history of the verb; will lias carved all the area it occupies out of the domain of shall; it is still pushing and gaining ground." Compare also Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2199; Molloy, The Irish Difficulty, Ch. UI. It is not improbable that, now that the modern means of locomotion will bring ever larger crowds from all parts of the globe into daily contact, the practice of the multitudes who use will as> the only auxiliary of the future tense will in the end break down the English system of using two auxilaries for this purpose. The process will, no doubt, be accelérated by the fact that the verbs are used in a great variety of other functions as well, the many subtleties of which are, indeed, difficult to grasp and to apply consistently. The other functions of shall and will roughly fall into two groups, viz.:



31
that of representing a person, animal or thing as acted upon by the will of some person, or some power thought of as a person;
that of expressing the speaker's attitude of uncertainty or rejection towards the fulfilment of the action or state denoted by the main verb of the predicate. In this function they may be called modal verbs or auxiliaries.
It must not be supposed that the three values of shall and will can be rigidly distinguished. On the contrary their functions are frequently highly mixed.
It stands to reason that representing an action or state as the aim of a person's will implies that the possible fulfilment of the action or state can only be expected in the future. The important thing to be borne in mind is whether the notion of volition is the prevailing one, or is distinctly subservient to that of futurity. Thus there can be no doubt that such sentences as Thou shalt honour thy father and mother. You shall smart for this. Shall I show the gentleman into the parlour? I will not marry Dora. I will punish you if you neglect your duties, etc. describe a movement of the human will, the futurity of the actions expressed by the main verbs of the predicates being hardly matter of the speaker's thoughts. But as volition often appears in a weakened meaning, the notion of futurity may, consequently, come distinctly to the fore. Thus in To-morrow I will teil you more details it is rather the future telling of more details than the present intention or promise to do so which is the main subject of the communication. Similarly in It shall be done to-morrow without fail, which is only another form for I will do it to-morrow without fail. If, on the other hand, the intention or the promise had been foremost in the speaker's thoughts, he would have expressed himself in some such may as It is my intention (or / promise) to teil you more details to-morrow. I will see to it that it shall be done without fail. The following example, quoted by Molloy, distinctly brings out the difference between / shall expressing a pure future, and I will denoting weak volition:
i shall be in town on Sunday next, and will call and have some conversation on the subject of Westall's designs. Byron.
Kruisinoa, in his Handbook of Present-Day English2, § 206—211, has proposed to call word-groups with shall and will implying weakened volition mixed future and mixed conditional respectively. The terms are aptly chosen, but



34
celebrated historian) could, undoubtedly, have written a luminous
dissertation on the use of those words. Yet, even in his latest
work, he sometimes misplaces them ludicrously.
And again in his Essay on the Life and Writings of
Addison:
Do we believe that Erasmus and Fracastorius wrote Latin as well as Dr. Robertson and Sir Walter Scott wrote English? And are there not in the Dissertation on India, the last of Dr. Robertson's works, in Waverley, in Marmion, Scotticisms at which a London apprentice would laugh?
There can be no reasonable doubt that the sober words of the late Lord Coleridoe, elicited by Molloy, the writer of the Irish Difficulty, from the eminent lawyer on the occasion of an apparently indiscriminate use of the phrases Should you be surprised to hear? and Would you be surprised to hear? in his Lordship's cross-questionings of the Claimant in the famous Tichborne Trial, as they appeared in the report of the Times, come nearer to the actual state of things in this matter. He writes:
Your letter and the paper which came with it have interested me extremely. I wish I could help you with anything substantial, or, still more, authoritative; but I have no clain whatever to be an authority, and I have often been exceedingly puzzled myself as to what rule to lay down. I trust to the instinct of the moment; and having been brought up among a people who have the same instincts as I have, I dare say I appear to them and, therefore, to myself to speak correctly. But I was never taught any rule, and I cannot pretend to give one to any one else. As to Would you be surprised? and Should you be surprised? I should say that both are equally and absoluteiy correct; although to say I would be surprised is, I think, imperfect English. But if you ask me why, I am afraid 1 can go no further than that I feel it to be so. I wish I could be of more use to you, and I thank you for your letter. We have also the candid confession of an eminent American philologer, Prof. Gildersleeve, that the majority of Americans are unable to grasp the principles underlying the 'correct' use of shall and will, and especially should and would. He says (Journ. of Phil., Vol. XIX (1898), 351): It is a matter of notoriety that nine-tenfhs of American writers for the press are hazy and capricious, when they are not absoluteiy incorrect, in their use of would and should. Even those who keep their skirts fairly clean as to shall and will, show temselves perfect draggletails in the adjacent domain.
To show that not all Englishmen who have given continued thought to the subject share the belief of a 'London apprentice'



36
Sweet, (N. E. Gr., § 2202,/)) gives the following rule, "Such combinations as you and 1, we two, we three, we all take will instead of shall: We shall get there first, but / expect you and I wilt get there first. We two will be able to manage it quite well. I shall dream about those dogs to-night, I am sure I shall. So shall I. So we all will. Then he goes on to say, "If we put the all of the last example after the verb, the shall must be restored: So shall we all." Sweet does not account for the varied practice in the two last sentences, which, it will be admitted, is rather bewildering. It is not elucidated by what follows, "The explanation of this anomaly is that you and the other words added to we divert the attention frcrm the first person and make the idea of the second person prominent enough to suggest the more frequent will. It would be interesting to ascertain whether this last rule of Sweet's is borne out by the practice observed in Standard English. How far the discordant views of the two eminent grammarians are in harmony with commonly observed practice will beshownbelow(32).
25. The variety in the function of shall and will, and the way in which these functions are often blended, cause great difficulty as to the method of treatment. Most grammarians do not clearly distinguish between the three main functions of the verbs, with the result that the matter is left in a hopeless tangle, highly perplexing to the student. In this Grammar the words are discussed under three separate headings, according to the functions which come most prominently to the fore. This arrangement, although admittedly involving the making of some arbitrary distinctions, offers the advantage of enabling the student to form an outlined survey of the subject. In the following pages, accordingly, only those applications of shall and will are dealt with which exhibit futurity unmixed with other notions, or in which the tinge of futurity by other notions is so faint as to be practically negligible.
For detailed discussion of shall and will as volition-expressing verbs, and as modal verbs or auxiliaries, see, respectively, Ch. I of my Grammar of Late Modern English, and the treatise on Mood annexed to this paper.
26. The present use of we shall and will as auxiliaries of the future tense is said to be a compromise between historical and psychological principles. Enough has already been said of the historical principle which may have influenced the usage prevailing at the present day. Nor need the psychological principle occupy us long.



37
It is the innate courtesy of the Englishman, it is said, which causes him to use shall in making the future known about himself, and will in announcing the future of others. This courtesy principle has found an able advocate in Alexander Bain, the well-known author of A Higher English Grammar and other works on the English language. In the above-mentioned work (page 168) he delivers himself as follows, "When a person says / shall come, he uses a phrase which originally means that he is to be under external influence or compulsion, and he, so far, speaks humbly of himself, a thing quite becoming. But the case is altered when, addressing a second person, we say you shall come; this is equal to saying the power of external events will leave you no choke but to come. To use this form of language to another person has seemed want of courtesy and consideration for the feeiings of others; and accordingly we have departed from it, and adopted will, which is the same as to say your (or their) free will and pleasure will induce you (or them) to come. This has been considered polite and deferential and has become the form of futurity when persons other than / or we are concerned. Hence the correct usage is / shall be at the gardens, and so will you and fames."
The theory is further elaborated in the writer's comments on the other combinations: / will, thou shalt, shall I, shalt thou, he will, he shall, etc, etc, but, although it must be admitted that there is a good deal of sense in the reasoning, it seems to break down entirely when combinations with subjects denoting things are in question. See also MaTZN, Eng. Gram.2, II, 87.
Deutschbein (System, § 56, 1) alleges that in Early Modern English shall expresses a more definite future (eine bestimmtere Zukunft) than will, and finds in his proposition an intelligible explanation of the distribution of shall and will in later English. He argues that the speaker is naturally in a better position to state something definite about his own future circumstances and proceedings than he is with regard to those of other persons or of things, and also that the person(s) spoken to when questioned about his (their) own future can give more definite information than when he (they) is (are) questioned about (a) third person(s), or about that of (a) thing(s). Hence we say. / shall go, Shall you go? Will he go?
A good instance' of the alleged superior definiteness of shall in Early Modern English is afforded by:



39
i. I shall never have such a rlde again. Dick., C o p., Ch. XXXIII, 240a.
I shall be very happy, indeed, to take a drive in the Park. Thack, Sam. Titm., Ch. III, 28.
I shall have sincere pleasure in cutting mutton with him. ib, Ch. III, 36. 1 am uncertain when I shall be able to make the journey from Spezia, where I shall be staying. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, III, VII, Ch. L, 109. "Do you think you will care to go on with it (sc. literary work)?" — "Certainly I shalt." Marie Corelli, The Sor. of Sat, I, Ch. IV, 41.
ii. I should very imperfectly execute the task which I have undertaken if I were merely to treat of battles and sieges, of the rise and fall of administrations, of intrigues in the palace, and of debates in the parliament. Mac, Hist, I, Ch. I, 3.
29. Obs. I. As compared with will, shall is often to be understood as a word of particular significance, indicating as it often does, absolute certainty on the part of the speaker as to a future state of things coming about or not coming about. Thus / will never leave you, which expresses the outcome of a determination or intention formed at the moment of speaking, is mild in comparison with / shall never leave you, which implies a state of mind in which the speaker pronounces his possible disloyalty as absoluteiy out of the question. See Molloy, 1. c. I, § I, 19.
Compare also the passionate and vehement / shall never be your wife. I shall write to the Times about this (from an exasperated traveller who has met with unfair or insolent treatment at the hands of, say, an hotel or railway official) with the comparatively tame ƒ wilt never be your wife. I will write to the Times about this. "Don't be unhappy about me," she said in a tone of affectionate assurance. "I shall remember your words-— every one of them. I shall remember what you believe about me; \ shall\ry. O. Eliot, Dan. Der, III, VIII, Ch. LXV, 347. "Ii you should miss one dose, or quit his (sc. the patient's) side for only one short hour, I will not answer for his life. If you should fall asleep..." "I shall not sleep! said the girl firmly, as if under inspiration. Buchanan, T h a t W i n t e r N i g h t, Ch. XI, 95.
Thus even in the following-sentence in which the head-sentence expresses a promise:
I pledge you my word I shall never tap a cask of that bliss again. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, III, VIII, Ch. LXVII, 365.
Similarly the determined / shall not (colloquially / shan't, often heard from an exasperated schoolboy in reply to an offensive command or commission) represents disobedience as an absolute certainty.
"Come, Darcy, ... I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupld manner. You had much better dance." — "1 certainly shall not. You know how I detest it." Jane Austen, Pride and Prej, Ch. III, 15.
I was going to teil him, but I shan't now. Westm. Gaz, No. 8179, 7a. Again a writer or lecturer, starting to carry into effect a longconceived plan, may use shall in announcing his intentions, thereby intimating that no deviation from it can be contemplated. Aclassi-



45
If we can avert war with Qermany for twenty years, we shall nol have to fight the Qermans, but will be fighting alongside of them and the French on the frontiers of Poland. Oraph, No. 2309, 351a.
32. When the subject is made up of / or we and a pronoun of either the "second or third person, or a noun, the ordinary practice is to use will (would) as the auxiliary of the future tense, shall (should) appearing as a rather frequent variant. Will (would) is naturally the regular auxiliary when there is the least tinge of volition (intention) on the part of the speaker, the fulfilment being represented as depending on the pleasure of the other person(s) concerned in the action or state (31, Obs. VI).
i. * Cornet be of good heart! You, and I, and Tib will all see better days.
Wash. Irv., D o 1 f H e y 1. (Stof., H a n d 1., II, 149).
You and 1 will get on excellently well. Dick., Chuz., Ch. V, 3S.
You and I will perform a little business on our private account, id., Nich.
Nick, Ch. IV, 196.
David, you and I will go upstairs. id, C o p, Ch. IV, 29a.
To retrieve his losses, he hit upon the peopling of Fiorida, which thou and
I will see done some day. Kinosley, Westw. Ho! Ch, I, 76.
Perhaps some day you and I h>/7/ go for a walk round the wide earth.
Rudy. Kipl, T h e L i g h t t h a t f a i 1 e d, Ch. IV, 51.
No, Dad; you and I will go off with the wind and the sun, and the trees
and the waters, like Procris in my picture. Galsworthy, Beyond, IV,
Ch. V, 389.
You and I, Gracie, will fight for a decent life for everybody. id, S a i n t's Progress, I, Ch. IV, § 3.
Neither you nor I will be on the deputation. Birmingham, Advent, of Dr. Whitty, Ch. I, 7. ** At last, however, he began to think — as you or I would have thought at first... — ... that the source and secret of this ghostly light might be in the adjoinlng room. Dick, Christin. Car.5, III, 56.
ii. * You and I never shall be as old — as he was in long clothes. Lytton,
My Novel, II, X, Ch. II, 156.
Qood-bye, Carlo... you and I shall never go after the partridges again. Reade, It is never too late to mend, I, Ch. III, 48. T. Now you and I shall never quarrel again. id, A Simpleton, I, Ch. III, 65. ** Emily would always have been a remarkable girl, no doubt; but, without her education you and I should not have been talking about her like this, even if we had known her. Gissing, A Life's Morning, Ch. XIV, 212.
iii. I have sent him a letter that 111 troubie him to attend to, or he and I will fall out. Dick, Cep, Ch. XIV, 1006.
David and I will come down. ib, Ch. VI, 23a.
She must do it... or she and I will quarrel. Trol, F r a m 1. Pars, Ch. XL1II, 422.
You had better not be here to-morrow afternoon, because the Nilghai and I will be in possession. Rudy. Kiplino, The Light that faiied, Ch. X, 131.
Cooper and I will be sorry to lose you. Rich. Baoot, Darneley Place, I, Ch. II, 25.
iv. Comerio and I shall be happy. EdnaLyall, Knight Errant, Ch. XXVII, 251.



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In the second and third persons, either singular of plural, the ordinary auxiliary is now will (would). Thus, naturally, also when the subject is a compound one and contains no pronoun of the first person. Ample illustration is hardly necessary.
,* You will be here, I suppose. Sweet, Spoken Eng., 39.
You will break your neck if you fall over the cliff. Molloy, 1. c, § 2, 20.
"* 'Suppose I were to die", goes on George, "and you saw Harry in grief, you would be seeing a genüine affiiction, a real tragedy; you would grieve, too. But you wouldn't be affected if you saw the undertakers in weepers and a black cloak". — "Indeed, but I should, sir," says Mrs. Lambert; and so, 1 promise you, would any daughter of mine." Thack, Virg.j).
.* They will be surprised when they hear the noise. Molloy, 1. c § 2, 20. What will be, will be. Galsworthy. S a i n t's Progress. II. VI. 2 S. 154.
** "I don't want a shilling more than I have got," said my father resolutely, "My wife would not love me better; my food would not nourish me more; my boy would not, in all probability, be half so hardy. Lytton, Caxt, II, Ch. III, 44.
ii. I shall be at the gardens, and so will you and James. Bain, H. E. Gr., 160.
i aouot it you and the idol will get much further than Monaco, anstey APallen Idol, Ch. XVI, 214.
Obs. I. In the solemn language used in addressing the Suprème Being the ordinary auxiliary is still shall, in conformity with the older practice. See Molloy, 1. c, Ch. II, § 1. 29 and Ch. IX.
Thou shalt endure and thy years shall not change. Bain, H. E. Gr. 169, Note.
Similarly in prophetic or oracular announcements of the future, and in solemn assertions of the certainty of a future event. Thus frequently in the Authorized Version of the Bible (1611). Compare Murray, s. v. shall, 8, a; Molloy, 1. c, Ch. II, § 1.
Macb, Your children shall be kings. Ban. You shall be king. Shak, M a c b, I, 3, 87.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. B i b 1 e, M a 11 h, XXIV, 35.
The time is at hand when none shall be disturbed any longer by the sighs of Nekayah. Johns., 'Ras, Ch. XXXV, 202.
The time shall come when Egypt shall be avenged i Lytton, Pomp, II, Ch. VIII, 546.
Under the cross of gold | That shines over city and river, | There he shall rest for ever. Ten, Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wel., 51. What a woman appears to be before marriage is no indication of what she shall turn out to be afterwards. Westm. Gaz, No. 8503, 66.
ii. A still more exact and plausible tradition, derived from Scripture, was that which asserted that, when the Roman Empire should fall to pieces, Antichrist should appear, who should be followed at once by the Second Coming. Newman !).
Molloy, 1. c. Appendix. Molloy, 1. c, 167.



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It seems futile to attempt bringing this application of shall (should) into linc with the use of shall in the second and third persons to express volition on the part of the speaker. The theory put up by some grammarians that shall is the proper word here because the Suprème Being is here introduced as the speaker expressing his will has been conclusively refuted by Molloy, 1. c. Ch. IX. The idiom is simply a survival of the ancient practice of Wycliffe, in part followed by subsequent translators of the B i b 1 e, Ty'ndalp and the authors of the Authorized Version, and, no doubt, owés its long life to the reverential associations with the sacred origin of the Scriptures. For discussion of the so-called prophetic shall see also abbot, Shak. Gram.3, § 317. Even apart from the solemn language of prophecy, we sometimes find writers of comparatively recent times deliberately seize on should to give to their style an archaic colouring.
And if, indeed, I cast the brand away, | Surely a precious thing, one worthy note, | Should thus be lost for ever from the earth. Ten, Morte d'Artli u r, 85. What good should follow this, if this were done? ib, 87.
The following quotation may show that even when there seems to be every occasion for the prophetic shall, it is not always used.
• If you can look into the seeds of time, | And say which grain will grow, and which will not, | Speak, then, to me. Shak, Macb., I, 3, 60.
A curious application of will, as a tense-auxiliary in the second person, which may, in a manner, be regarded as the counterpart of the use of shall in the first person discussed in 29, Obs. I, is that in which it takes the place of the commanding shall, and represents the fulfilment of the speaker's wish as an absolute certainty, not in any way depending on the pleasure of the party concerned, his obedience being taken as a matter of course. We find it used from what are practically opposite motives, i. e. either from a courteous reluctance to make anybody feel that he has to obey, or from a domineering temper which brooks no opposition. See also Ch. I, 40, a, 1, Note, of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng, and compare Molloy, 1. c, Ch. I, § 2, 23. Also Paul (Prinz.s, § 192) points out that the context aided by intonation may impart an imperative meaning to a future. Abbot (Shak. Gram.3,§320) makes a simiiar observation.
You will see that due precautious are taken. Bain, H. E. Gr, 169. Mt. Titmarsh, you will come down on Thursday to Mrs. Brough's party, where you will see some relations of yours. Thack, Sam. Titm., Ch. V, 51.
Dymock will manage the parish very well, and you wiU stay with your mother, or, at least, go up and down again, till I come back. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, III, VIII, Ch. LVIII, 254.
Of course you'll come to us atChristmas. Percy White, To-day, Ch. II, 18. You'll stay to lunch, Marchbanks, of course. Shaw, Candida, I, (134). T. You iv/7/ dine here to-morrow, and every day Miss Swartz comes, you will be here to pay your respects to her. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XXI, 218.



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You will find yourself disappointed in my will, 1 can teil you: and you will have the goodness to write to Mr. Waxy, and say that I desire to see him immediately. ib., 1, Ch. XXXIII, 356.
I expect obedicnce, I have done all a father can for a son. You will wed, sir, as I wish; you will espouse my politics. H. J. Byron, Our Boys, I. (The author has / printed in italic type.)
You will be kind enough to be quiet Abbot, Shak. Gram.8 § 320. An interesting instance of both shall and will being used in the pecuiiar applications referred to above is found in: He (sc. Mr. Foker) always makes a point of having some of the family porter served round after dinner, which you will on no account refuse, and which I shall drink myself, though all beer disagrees with me confoundedly. Thack., P e n d, I, Ch. XVII, 175.
BI. Shall seems to be mostly retained when in a direct quotation the third person is substituted for the first.
A year later Goldsmith is writing mysteriously to his friend Bob Bryanton, of Balleymuley, in Ireland, about "a Chinese whom he shall soon make talk like an Englishman". Dobson, Eighteenth Century Vignettes, 152J). In the preface Mr. Sadler excuses himself on the plea of haste. Two thirds of his book, he tells us, were written in a few months. If any terms have escaped him which can be construed into personal disrespect, he shall deeply regret that he had not more time to revise them. Macaulay*).
IV. "Down to the 18th century shall, the auxiliary appropriate to the first person, was sometimes used when a person spoke or wrote of himself in the third person. Compare the formula And your petitioner shall ever pray." Murray, s. v. shall, 8, e. See also Franz, Shak. Gram.2, § 612, Anm.
Far from this country Pindarus shall run, | Where never Roman shall take note of him. Shak., Jul. Caes, V, 3, 49.
Mr. Kemble presents his respectful compliments to the proprietors of the "Monthly Mirror", and shall have great pleasure at being at all able to aid him. Kemble, Let. in Pearson's Cat., 45.8)
V. In sentences stating the result of the fulfilment of a condition, literary English, in conformity with older practice, sometimes has shall where ordinary English now prefers will. See Murray, s. v. shall, 8, g.
Even in the Old Testament, if you listen to David's harp, you shall hear as many hearse-like airs as carols. Francis Bacon. (*). , An't please you to go up, sir, you shall find him with two cushions under hts head, and his cloak wrapt about him, as though he had neither won or lost. Ben Jonson, Every Man in his Humour.5). Examine the book-shelves, and you shall find the novelisfs favorite authors. Harper's Mag, 1882, Dec. 24/2 6).
') Kruisinga, Handbook-'.
2) Molloy, 1. c. Appendix.
3) Murray, s. v. shall, 8, e.
4) Molloy, 1. c, Ch. XI, 101. 3) Murray, s. v. shall, 8, g.



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I thought it was all over with me and every one who saw me thought I would die. Rev. of Rev, 1892, 15 July.
The matron told me that, if I dëclined to rise as a mark of respect to the chaplain, I would not be allowed to take part in the service. Daily News.
46. From what Sweet observes in N. E. Gr., § 2202, e — his exposition is, however, far from clear — it may be inferred that, in his opinion, will (would) is the normal auxiliary in doubly reporied statements. His examples are He says he hopes I will be there and He said he was afraid we would not (be able to) come. About these two sentences he goes on to observe, "In both of these instances shall (should) is admissible, and would probably be substituted by many on second thoughts, but the construction with will is the genuinely colloquial one."
Notwithstanding the authority due to the words of so eminent a judge of English idiom, it may be doubted whethir they represent ordinary practice. Judging from the available material bearing on the subject, it would appear that shall (should) is distinctly more usual than will (would).
i. * He hoped that with intelligent assistance I should meet with little to dis¬
courage me. Dick., Great Expect, Ch. XXIV, 234. She informed me she expected Miss Pole and Mrs. Forrester, and she hoped I should not feel myself too tired to join the party. Mrs. Gask, C r a n f. i)
Dick had been to see Mr. St. Leonard to arrange about lessons in farming. He said he thought I should like the old man, who wasn't a bit like a farmer. Jerome, T h e y a n d I, Ch, IV, 92 T.
He began at once to speak of Isabel, and said he knew how much I should feel her death. He said he knew I should like to hear every particular. Emma Marshall, Mrs. Mai n war i n g's J ou r n a 1, I, 20. T. It is strange how little she says about Lancelot. 1 do no ask her any questions, but she says that she hopes I shall always pray for him as a brother. ib, 92.
** The jailer, who was one of the most humane of his profession hoped I would not be displeased, as what he did was but his duty. Goldsmith, V i c., Ch. XXX, (449).
Miss Murdstone was good enough to say that she hoped 1 would repent. Dick, Cop, Ch. IV. 31.
ii. She never thought that we should be parted this way. Reade, It is never too late to mend.
She was so anxious to know exactly how much Lancelot had given us for taking care of little Lance; she hoped it was enough, and that we should not find the child a burden. Emma Marshall, Mrs. Mainwaring's J o u r n, I, 98. T.
My husband and she had been such friends, she said, ... and she hoped' we should meet later on. El. Glyn, Reflect. of Am bros, III, Ch. 111.
l) Molloy, 1. c, A p p e n d i x.



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47. Combinations of / or we with a noun or another pronoun, most probably, take will (would) in the language of most speakers and writers (32) Next to no evidence is, however, availabe at the time of writing to substantiate this conjecture.
Do you think... that it will seem long to me, while I wait for her in the better land where I trust both you and I will be mercifuily sheltered. Dick., Tale of Two Cities, HL Ch. XV, 414.
I have always expected that he and I would be brought together again In the course of business, id, Chuz., Ch. LI, 3986.
48. When the subject of the reported statement is a noun or a pronoun of either the second or third person, both principies require will (would), in case the subject of the head-sentence is not identical with that of the statenjent. Thus: / (or my father) said that you (or föhn) would soon be a rich man.
i. I hope that before the evening you will find that ali opposition has been removed. Walt. Besant, The Ivory Qate, Ch. VI, 129.
He hopes you will forgive him for his rudeness, he says. Frankf. Moore, Thejessamy Bride, Ch. XXXII, 301. T.
I hope you will teil her that, from the very first, I was unwllling to enter on this subject with her. Reade, A S i m p 1 e t o n, I, Ch. III, 61. T.
ii. I said he would be sure to approve my choice. id, I, Ch. I, 14. T.
How could anybody teil — she would turn out such acreature? Mrs. Ward, Del ia B1 a n c h f 1 o w e r, Ch. VI.
Should is used contrary to the rule in:
Are you the girl that George said should marry him? Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. V, 50.
Should may be understood to be the preterite of the 'prophetic' shall in:
Hush, 'tis vain, I feel my end approaching. | This is what my mother said should be. Matth. Arn, Trist. and I se uit, II, 78.
In the following quotation the use of shall may be due to the preceding right, which implies the imposition of a duty on the persons denoted by the subject of the reported statement. I have some that love me yet, and whom I love, without expecting or having a right to expect that they shalt perfectly understand me. Mrs. Gask, Life of Ch. Brontë, 306.
49. Usage is divided in reported statements whose subject is you, when the subject of the head-sentence is also you. According to Molloy (1. c, Ch. IV, § 2, 44), whose exposition of the point in question is far from clear, "we should say You know you will be punished, if you break the law. You were afraid you would be drowned. You feit that you would be unequal to the task." So far as the available evidence goes, this does not, however, appear to be the ordinary practice of most writers. Possibly the interrogative form of the head-sentence



59
in most of the following quotations accounts for the use of shall (should).
i. You, my .dear, believe you shall be unhappy if you have Mr. Solmes. Richardson, CI a r. H a r 1.1).
You have cause then, to think that you shall be — rich? Lytton, My No vel, VIII, Ch. III, 20.
"Well, sir," said Mrs. Pipchin, "how do you think you shall like me?" Dick., D o m b, Ch. VIII, 70.
"Do you think you shall like Morton?" — "i hope I shall." Ch. Brontë, Jane Eyre, Ch. XXXI, 446.
Do you think you shall like Sir GÜy? Miss Yonoe, The Heir of Rede, Ch. II, 16. T
*» But teil me candidly, Julia, had he never saved your life, do you think you should have been attached to him as you are? Sher, Riv, I, 2.
II.* A compulsory Eight Hours' Day for all men in all tradesl... You know you won't get itl Mrs. Ward, Mare, III, Ch. IX, 400.
** You thought you would do without me, did you? Well — you shall see — you shall see. Walt. Besant, The Ivory Qate,Ch. VII, 136. How do you know, my friend, but what you would have been every bit as bad? Em. Lawless, A Colonel of the Empire, Ch. IV.
50. Also when the subject of the reported statement is a noun or a pronoun of the third person, singular or plural, or a wordgroup containing no pronoun of either the first or second person, shall (should) varies with v/ill (would) in the case of the subject of the head-sentence denoting the same person or thing. MURRAY (s. v. shall, 8, d) commenting on such a sentence as He says he shall not have time to write observes, "Even in this case will is still not uncommon, but in some contexts leads to ambiguity; it is, therefore, preferable to use he shall as the direct rendering of I shall." According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary will (would) is in this case now more usual than shall (should).
Sweet, curiously enough, practically ignores the point. What he observes in N. E. Gr. (§ 2288) hardly tends to make us much the wiser regarding the point in question. There it says, "The absolute conditional (i. e. the conditional with the protasis understood) — which, of course, does not irhply rejection of any kind — is necessarily kept in preterite constructions as regards tense, but with a tendency to substitute should for would: He said he should (or would) like to go for a walk. He said he was sure he should like it. But would must be kept in / said I was sure he would like it.u Query: Why is would given as an alternative auxiliary in the first example and not in the second?
Molloy (1. c. Ch. IV, § 2, 45) has "no doubt" that observing
i) The King's Eng., 147.



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the second principle (41) "represents the general usage of the best English writers and speakers... But passages will be found occasionally in purely English writers which are certainly at variance with the rule." He then proceeds to quote passages from seven Standard writers, among whom are Dickens, Thackeray, George Eliot, Froude, in which would is used, although strict observance of the second principle would require should.
Onions (Adv. Eng. Synt, § 202) observes, "In the 3rd person that auxiliary is commonly used which reflects the form of the independent statement. He was afraid he should be drowned. [Independent statement: / shall be drowned.] But it is also possible to say: He was afraid he would be drowned, with no difference of meaning." What foreign student shall presume to decide when English scholars fail to give satisfactory enlightenment? The present writer may, perhaps, be excused for diffidently stating:
) that in Standard English shall is far more frequent than will. Indeed, but very few quotations with will have come to hand.
) that should is distinctly preferred to would by most writers of recognized standing, the latter appearing especially in connexion with to be glad, to like and words or word-groups of a similar import (29, Obs. IV).
.* Sir Hugo says he shall come to stay at Diplow. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, iii, viii, Ch. lxv, 346.
He thinks he shall be more happy if he keeps out of mischief. Molloy, l.c, Ch. iv, § 2, 43.
Sir Edward Grey says very explicitly that he is opposed, and shall remain
opposed, to sending Britisn troops into Albania. Westm. Gaz, No.6576,3a. * People do not really believe that... they shall be punished by God, any
more than by man. Mill, Three Es. utii. re 1 ig, 92i). i. As for Pen he thought he should die. Thack, P e n d, i, Ch. xiii, 137.
He answered that i was very polite, and that he should be very happy to
see Hoskins, id, Sam. Titm., Ch. iv, 41.
But Clive well knew that he should not be suffered to retain undistuibed possession of his conquest. Mac, Clive, (506a).
Will was conscious that he should not have been at Mfddlemarch, but for Dorothea. G. Eliot, Mid, v, Ch. xliii, 321.
He told her plainly he should be a prince before he died. Kinosley,'Westw. Ho! Ch. i, 7ö.
Mary made a face and said she should wonder who was the fashionable lady she should meet at A. Miss Yonoe, The Heir of Rede, i, Ch. vii, 119. The next day a line from Mr. Miles to say that he should not be back for a week. Reade, It is never too late to mend, ii, Ch. xi, 64. He even went so far as to declare that he should be miserable, were he to regain his eyesight. E.J Hardy, How to be happy though married, Ch. 111, 36. T.
Murray.



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Undershaw knew very well that he should never be forgiven the forcing of the house. Mrs. Ward. The Mating of Lydia, I, Ch. VI, 124. He hoped they should meet again under happier circumstances. G. Eliot, Brother Jacob.
Lady Homartyn... is incapable of believing that she won't always be able to have week-end parties at Claverings. Wells, Mr. Britling, I, Ch. II, § 5, 46.
Mr. Spenlow told me this day week was Dora's birthday, and that he would be glad if I would come down and join a little picnic on the occasion. Dick., C o p„ Ch. XXXIII, 230a.
There to be sure, in the back drawing-room, where he said he would be, we found Bob at the head of the tabte. Thack., Sam. Titm., Ch. II, 19. Perhaps he feit that he would have liked to have something on his own arm besldes a shawl. id.. Van. Fair, I, Ch. VI, 54. Mrs. jamieson most kindly and condescendingly said she would be happy to come. Mrs. Gask., Cranf., Ch. VII, 126.
Did Dora think she would ever bestrong again? Mrs. Ward, Dav. Grieve, II, 39, T.
The old woman told him that she would be glad to see him. Reade, It is never too late to mend, I, Ch. III, 57.
He was not so entirely certain that he would miss if anything like a fair chance presented itself. W. Black, The New Prince Fortunatus, Ch. IX.
He even feit sure he would never tire. Galsw, Beyond, IV, Ch. VIII, 401. Jenny shivered, for she knew that she would be drowned. Frank Swinnerton. Nocturne. II, Ch. VI, III, 128.
She said she would love to travel. Wells, M r. Britling, I, Ch. V, § 2,126. Everybody feit how cruel her lot was, and how sorry they would be to part with her. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. IV, 32.
He did not teil her how improbable it was that he and the old man would ever meet again. Dick, Chuz, Ch. XXXVI, 296a.
Dick was quite certatn that If he ever took to wife that dear impossible Fancy, he and she would never be so dreadfully practical and undemonstrative of the Passion as his father and mother were. Hardy, Under the Greenwood Tree, I, Ch. VIII, 78.
Jenny feit that if they might live apart from the busy world,... they would be able to be happy. Frank Swinnerton, Nocturne, II, Ch. IX, V, 195. The consciousnes that she would have to be dressed before dawn to catch the train for Beni-Mora, prevented Domini Enfilden from sleeping. Hichens Gard. of Allah, I, Ch. I, 7. T.
Obs. I. In doubly-reported statements practice most probably follows the same lines as that discussed in the preceding section.
The man in blue... said he hoped he should be better acquainted with him. Dick, Pickw., Ch. XXXVII, 343.
She said that she hoped she should hear from him in his new principality. Kinosley, Westw. Ho!, Ch. II, 8a.
Mamma told me to say that she will be ready in a moment. Rudy. Kipl, The Gadsbys, 10.
He thinks he will be able to return to his post early in February. Daily News.
Mr. George says Captain Pendyce told him he wouldn't be down till the nlne-thirty. Galsworthy, T h e C o u n t r y H o u s e, I Ch. I. 4.



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The inquest was adjourned until to-morrow afternoon, when, the coroner said, they hoped they would be able to conclude the evidence. Times, 1920, 21 Sept.
Thus also when the head-sentence of the reported statement is understood.
Tickell declared that he should not go on with the lliad. That enterprise he should leave to powers, which he admitted to be superior to his own. Mac, A d d i s o n, (767e).
Thank heaven, he should never see Jacob any more. G. Eliot, Brother Jacob, Ch. I, (493)
She could not bear the sight of all these things that reminded her of Anthony and of her sin. Perhaps she should die soon; she feit very feeble. id. Scènes, II, Ch. XVI, 160.
The collections were for himself only, and for the few dealers and experts to whom he chose to show them. And the more hugger-mugger they were, the less he should be pestered to let people see them. Mrs. Ward. The Mating of Lydia, Prol., Ch. II, 44.
In an hour he would be meeting the eyes of one he loved much more. Galsworthy, B e y o n d, IV, Ch. VIII. 402.
He could not say he loved her. He would never be able to bring himself to say that to any woman. Frank Swinnerton, Nocturne, I, Ch. III, II, 68. He considered whether it wouldn't be wiser to go to his own room and lock himself in, or stroll for a walk through Claverings Park. But then he would miss Miss Corner. Wells, M r. Britling, I, Ch. III, § 3, 78.
Finally we append a few quotations exhibiting varied practice, not, apparently, warranted by the circumstances described. The man says that he would know that gentleman anywhere. He was old and had grey hair. He says that he should know him wherever he saw him. Walt. Besant, The Ivory Gate, Ch. IX, 174.
I set my face against the sea-trip. Not, as I explained, upon my own account. I was never queer. But I was afraid for George. George saidhe should be all right, and would rather like it, but he would advise Harris and me not to think of it, as he feit sure we should both be IN. Jerome,. Three Men in a Boat. Ch. I, 11. (The use of would may be due to the following like. (29, Obs. IV.)
Meanwhile, the amazing proposal itself was before him. If it were accepted, he should be at once a comparatively rich man... If not free to marry immediately, he would certainly be free... to prepare for marriage. Mrs. Ward, T h e M a t i n g o f L y d i a, I, Ch. IX, 186.
hall (should) and will (would) in reported questions.
In reported questions the grammarians' principle mentioned int 41 seems to determine the choice of auxiliary in the majority of cases.
Naturally shall (should) is the normal auxiliary in Standard English when the subject of the head-sentence and that of the reported question are both of the first person. [ I'm sure I don't know what I shall ever do, if I have to see much of youDick, Chuz, Ch. XX.



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I doubt whether I shall ever many. Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan, I. Ch. IV. 51. ** I returned to my father's quiet rectory to pause and consider what path I should take to fame. Lytton. ')
I wondered what I should do myself if I were in his shoes. Con. Doyle, The Sign of Four, Ch. X. ii.* We are pretty much masters what books we shall read. Hume, E s, I, 4. I doubt if we shall find him alive. Con. Doyle, Mem. of S h. H o 1 ra, The Gloria Scott.
I wonder if we shall ever see any of those fine fellows again. Bar. Orczy, The Bronze Eagle, Ch. II. IV.
I am thinking whether we shall be able to recover our property. Molloy, 1. c, Ch. VI, § 4, 60. ** I don't know whether, under those circumstances, we shouldn't do better in the wild parts than in the tame ones. Dick, Chuz, Ch. XVII. I wonder whether... we should have quarrelled. G, Eliot. Dan. Der, III, VIII, Ch. LUI, 184.
I was wondering whether perhaps we shouldn't be seeing you after what's transpired. Galsw, Beyond, III, Ch. XII, 334.
54. Also when only the reported question has for its subject a pronoun of the first person, the normal auxiliary of the future tense in it would, on both principles (41), be shall (should). Next to no documentary evidence is, unfortunately, available at the moment of writing to substantiate tnis proposition. The following examples may be given to exhibit the practice assumed to be ordinarily observed:
He has asked me when I shall come of age.
He wondered whether we should ever be able to recover our property. The doctor says it is a question whether / shall live a month. Con. Doyle, Adv. of Sherl. Holra, The Boscombe Valley Mystery.
In the following quotations would is, probably, meant as a volitionexpressing verb.
If a friend were to ask us whether we would advise him to risk his all in a lottery of which the chances were ten to one against him, we should do our best to dissuade him from running such a risk. Mac. A d d i s o n, (767a).
Do you know what I would do with you If you were a baby again. Shaw, Mrs. Warren's Prof, IV.
55. You appears to take will (would) as the ordinary auxiliary of the future tense or conditional mood, irrespective of the person of the subject of the head-sentence. Molloy (1. c. Ch. VI, § 4, 61) commenting on such a sentence as You were deliberating with yourself whether you would go to Paris this summer observes that "should sounds pedantic and good usage seems to be against it."
i. Can you teil me, Sophia, my dear, whether you should know him again. Goldsmith, V i c, Ch. XXX, (457).
i) Molloy, 1. c. Appendix, Series N, § 4.



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After pausing a little, she added, abruptly; "And now teil me what you shall do." G. Eliot, Dan. Der., III. VII, Ch. LUI, 176. ii * I doubt whether you iw7/ do in he House of Commons all that I expected from your address and readiness in private life. Lytton, MyNovel, II, XII, Ch. XXI, 480
I don't know now — what you iv/// feel towards me. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, III, VII, Ch. LI, 123.
** I wonder whether you would have turned your heart to the old things... and you would have hampered my life with your own young growth from the old root. ib, III, VII, Ch. LUI, 184.
I do not know what you would have done — but for that. Stanley Weyman, TheLongNight, Ch. XIX.
I doubt if you'd do anything at the law. Wells, The Passionate Friends, Ch. II § 3.
In connection with to like, to wish and similar verbs the ordinary auxiliary would naturally be will (would). Compare 29, Obs. IV, and 38, Obs. IV.
I only wondered how long you would like this. G. Eliot, Dan. Der, III, VII, Ch. LIV, 198
Now, ma'am, and no offence I hope, I ask what dance you would like next. Hardy, Far from theMaddingCrowd, Ch. XXXVI 283.
56. In the third person, both singular and plural, shall (should) is preferred by most writers, when the subjects of the two members of the sentence wholly or partly indicate the same person(s).
i* The London Police... are holding a mass meeting in Hyde Park on Sunday to decide whether they shall undertake another strike. Westm. Gaz., No. 8092, lö.
** She hesitated whether she should break in upon his affliction. Hor. Walpole, Castte of Otranto. 25.
He paused to look round uncertain to which of the two houses he should repair. Dick, Chuz, XXXIII, 261a,
She walked down-stairs, without pausing to think what she should say or do. Miss Yonoe H e i r o f R e d c, II, Ch. XIV, 196. Mrs. Lauderdale seemed to hesitate as to whether she should say more. Mar. Crawf, Kath. Laud., II, Ch. V, 83.
He stood in silence for a second as if considering whether he should speak. W. Black, The New Prince Fortunatus, Ch. XX. The young man stood a moment, and, hearing no footsteps or movement, wondered what he should do. Stanley Weyman, The Long Night, Ch. II.
He had simply asked her whether he should try to match for her when he went up, to-morrow. Galsw, Beyond. IV. Ch. IX, 414. ii.* She doesn't say when she will arrivé. E. Maria Albanesi, The Cap of Youth, Ch. XIX.
** Cromwell had to determine whether he would put to hazard the attachment of his party. Mac. Hist, I Ch. I, 125.
Before he could decide what he would do, Anne, ignoring the need of explanation, had taken the matter into her own hands. Stanley Weyman, The Long Night, Ch. XIV.
He wondered ... whether he would have any vdice in choosing it. Jerome, Malvina of Brittany, The Lesson.



65
Sir Willam Harcourt observed that before they (sc. he and his friends) moved a vote of censure, they must ask whether they would be allowed to debate it in this House. Times.
She doubted if ever again she would be free of the Grange in daughterly fashion..Theo Douolas, A Marriage Bargaln (Oaily News).
57. Obs. I. The same practice is observed when it is the subject of a preceding verbal with which the subject of the reported question wholly or partly coincides.
The host... had heard one of them ask the other in the evening what they should have done if they were taken when they had noarms. Fielding.1) II. Similarly when the psychological subject of the head-sentence coincides with the subject of the reported question, shall (should) appears to be the ordinary auxiliary. i. It was a toss-up with Tom Pinch whether he should laugh or cry. Dick., Chuz, Ch. XII, 102ö. -(Approximately — Tom Pinch was wavering whether etc).
But this gaiety of spirit soon died away confronted by the problem of what she should do next. Galsw, Country House, III, Ch. VIII, 281. (Underlying notion: She was confronted by the problem of what etc). And now came the question as to whether they should let John know of it. Temple Thurston, City of Beau t. Non s, III, Ch. II, 236. (Underlying notion: They now asked each other the question whether etc), ii. It was never very clear to him what he would do if he found a motor-car full of armed enemies engaged in undermining aculvert. Wells, Mr. Britling, II, Ch. II, § 7, 248.
III. Care should be taken to distinguish shall and should as auxiliaries from shall and should as volition-expressing verbs as in: He asked where he should send the pin. Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. II, 24. (= He asked where I wanted him to send the pin.)
58. a) When the subjects of the head-sentence and the reported
question are not identical, will (would) is naturally the ordinary auxiliary if the direct question would also have a subject of the third person.
i. I look curiously round at them, specuiating as to which of them will be my companion or companions through the night. Rhoda Broughton, Tal es for Christmas Eve, Under the Cloak.
What do you think they will do first? Stanley Weyman, The Long Night, Ch. XIX.
ii. The rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how soon he would return Mr. Bennet's visit. Jane Austen, Pride and Prej, Ch. II, 12. Mr. Spavin could not say when his friend would return. Thack, Pend., I. Ch. V, 53.
The day after my arrival at Cranford, I went to see her, much wondering what the house would be like without Miss Jenkyns. Mr. Gask., Cranf. I know of course what they would say. Walt. Besant, The Ivory Gate, Ch. VI, 120.
1 wonder what she would think of us. Galsw, Saint's Prog, II, III,
2 §, 130.
*) Molloy, 1. c. Appendix.
5



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She asked no questions as to where, orto whom, he wou ld go. id, Beyond IV, Ch. V, 379.
He stood pondering what she would say. Stanley Weyman, The Long Night, Ch. XIX.
b) When, however, the subject of the reported question corresponds to you in the direct question, shall (should) is preferably retained if will (would) would make the sentence ambiguous. Thus shall you do it? would mostly become in reported speech (/ asked him) whether he should do it, because whether he would do it is liable to be mistaken for the report of Will you do it ? which is a request. If, however, there is little risk of misunderstanding, the shall of direct speech is more commonly turned into will (would). Thus Shall you be there would commonly yield (/ asked him) whether he would be there, there being little likelihood of the sentence suggesting anoriginalrequest. Seeespecially The King's English, 144. Observing that she did not drink the wine, he asked her if she would iike any other kind better. G. Eliot, Dan. Der., III, VII, Ch. LIV, 193. The use of should instead of would is uncalled for in: One of the jailer's servants ... came to inform us that a person of distinction... sent his respects to the gentleman that was with us, and begged to know when he should think proper to be waited upon. Goldsmith, Vic., Ch. XXX. (455).
Shorteukigs.
59. a) A plain future is sometimes hard to distinguish from weak volition expressed by will, in the spoken language usually shortened to [al] or [1], which is mostly printed or written '11, moré rarely uil. Weak volition mostly implies a dimmed < notion of intention or promising (Ch. I, 47, d and e; 48, Obs. VI). It may be obser ed that in the case of a dimmed intention the Dutch, as a rule, simply uses the present tense, leaving, accordingly, this notion unexpressed. When, on the other hand, a promise is implied Dutch practice mostly has zullen, not willen. Thus I'll (or / will) write you word as soon as I know more about the matter would correspond to Ik schrijf u (wel) or Ik ^al u schrijven, zoodra ik meer van de zaak weet, according as an intention or a promise is meant.
Similarly would as the preterite indicative orconditionalofvolitionexpressing will may, in its weakened form, differ but slightly from would as the auxiliary of the preterite future or preterite conditional. Being weak-stressed, it is, in the spoken language, usually shortened to [d], printed or written 'd, occasionally 'ud. For distinctive names which various grammarians have proposed for weak-volition will and would see 22, a.



67
It is hardly necessary to add that also will and would as pure auxiliaries often undergo the above-mentioned shortenings. Many instances of will expressing weak volition are given by Molloy, 1. c, Appendix A. Here are a few more:
I suppose, you must be a Methodist to know what a Methodist 'uil do. o. Eliot, Adam Bede, VI, Ch. XLIX, 417.
I think I will go round outside the park. Wells, Mr. Britling, I, Ch. I, § 4, 13.
I don't think ril get upto-day. J.K.Leys. A Dark Secret (Daily News). Your father has left me as your guardian ... and VU see what can be done. Percy White, To-day, Ch. II, 18.
b) It is doubtful whether the corresponding shall in the second and third person of direct speech, even in its weakest form, is ever sufficiently divested of the notion of imperativeness to justify the term mixed future or any of the designations mentioned in 22, a. This naturally applies, mutatis mutandis, also to should as a mixed conditional.
Weak shall, either as a pure tense-sign or a volition-expressing verb, often loses its vowel in the spoken language. Thus I shall becomes [aisl] with syllabic [1], or aisal].
. a) The use of such forms as I'll and wéll, when a plain future is intended, seems objectionable, but is by no means unfrequent.
"Rush the boats", sung out a coarse voice "or ive'M be drowned. Rid. Hao, Mees. Will, Ch. VII, 75.
I'll be summoned by telegram to-mqrrow. Mrs. Oliphant, Neighb. on the Green, My Neighb. Nelly, Ch. II.
We'll be having you ill next, ma'am. ib, The Scientific Gent, Ch. X. Don't — don't look at me I Go away a little, and I'll — I'll be all right. Galsw, Beyond III, Ch. VI, 282.
b) Similarly the use of I'd or I'ud, when the full form required by the sense would be / should, is not to be recommended.
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me. Stevenson, M y Shadow.
It'ud be like living in the garden of Eden. Gissing, A Life's Mom., Ch. XI, 160.
61. Shall not and will not are in the spoken language often modified into respectively [sa:nt] and [wount], spelled shan't and won't. These changes are not confined to their applications as auxiliaries, but to the others as well.
Peculiar applications of shall (should) and will (would) In Elizabethan English.
62. One of the first points of difference between Elizabethan and Present English as to use of shall and will, which cannot fail



68
to strike the attention of the observant student, is the frequent use of shall in the second, and especially the third person, to mark a plain future. As has already been observed (20, e), this use of shall is to be regarded as a survival of the ancient practice, which,' with some exceptions, employed shall in all persons to denote pure futurity.
She gives it out that you shall marry her. Shak, Oth, IV, 1, 115.
Our feast shall be much honoured in your presence. ld. Meren, of Ven,
HL 2, 214.
Of all days in the year, | Come Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen. id, Rom. and Jul, I, 3, 17.
"Shall she marry him?" — "No." — "How then? shall he marry her?" id, Two Gent, II, 5, 13.
Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shali I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me, shall slay me. B ib 1 e, Gen, IV, 14. (This is not the so-called prophetic shall, Cain in this passage expressing his fear that he will be killed by whosoever shall find him. Thus also in the following quotation.) Saui also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay film in the morning: and Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to-night to-morrow thou shalt be slain id, Sam., A, XIX, 11.
Also should as an auxiliary of the conditional is often met with in connections where Present English would have would.
Thou shouldst have better pleased me with this deed, | Hadst thou descended from another house. Shak, As you like it, I, 2, 239. If he should offer to choose, and choose the right casket, you should refuse to perform your father's will, if you should refuse to accept him. id, Merch. of Ven., I, 2, 99.
I find thee apt; i And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed | Thatroots itself in ease on Lethe wharf, | Wouldst thou not stir in this. id, H a ml,
1, 5, 32.
The following quotations illustrating a use of would in parallel cases are appended to exhibit the unsettled nature of Shakespeare's practice:
Had I but served my God with half the zeal | I served my king, He would not in mine age | Have left me naked to mine enemies. Henry VIII, III,
2, 456.
"A friendly eye could never see such faults." — "A flatterer's would not,though they do appear | As huge as high Olympus." Jul. Caes., IV, 3, 91.
Sometimes shall may have been intended as an auxiliary of a plain future, although to the present generation it would appear to be tinged with other notions, and accordingly, be replaced by other verbs, specially employed to express these notions, i. e. by:
modal to be, found in certain adverbial clauses in which the relation of condition is blended with a relation of purpose (Ch. I, 17).



69
Generally all warlike people are a little idle, and love danger better than travail (= work); neither must they be too much broken of it, if they shall be preserved in vigour. Bacon, E s., XXIX, 87. (Observe that the Dutch has zuilen in this function.)
to be as a volition-expressing verb, representing an action or state as influenced by an arrangement or a leading of Providence, etc. (Ch. I, 28).
It is so; the count Claudio shall marry the daughter of Leonato. Shak, Much ad o, I, 1, 262.
Indeed, they say the senators to-morrow | Mean to establish Caesar as a king; | And he shall wear his crown by sea and land. id, Jul. Caes., I, 3, 87.
I whipt me behind the arras; and there heard it agreed upon that the prince should woo Hero for himself, and, having obtained her, give her to Count Claudio. id, Much a d o, I, 3, 63.
to be certain (or sure).
If you much note him, | You shall offend him. Shak, Macb., III, 4, 36. Our son shall win. id, H a m 1, V, 2, 29S.
Let good Antonio look he keep his day, | Or he shall pay for this. id, Merch. of Ven., II, 8, 25.
He that questioneth much shall learn much. Bacon, Es.1)
will, expressing willingness to perform a command or request
(Ch. I, 47, c).
"Coilect them all together at my tent: I'll before thee." — "I shall do't, my lord." Shak, Henry V, IV, 1, 305.
"Go forth, Agrippa, and begin the fight: | Our willisAntonybetookalive; | Make it so known." — "Caesar, I shall." id, Ant. and Cleop., IV, 6, 3. "Brothers both, | Commend me to the princes in our camp; | Do my good morrow to them, and anon | Desire them all to my pavïlion." — "We shall, my liege." id, Henry V, IV, 1, 28.
Thus also when a person speaks of himself in the third person. "Effect it with some care that he may prove | More fond on her than she upon her love: | And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow." — "Fear not, my lord, your servant shall do so." id, M i d s, II, 1, 268.
will expressing that an action or state is of common occurrence (Ch. I, 55, a).
Look, what is done cannot be now amended: | Men shall deal unadvisedly sometimes, | Which after hours give leisure torepent. Shak, Rich. III, IV,4,292. You shall mark | Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave,-1 That, doting on his own obsequious bondage, | Wears out his time, much like his master's ass, | For nought but provender, and when he's old, cashier'd. id, Othello, I, 1, 45,
To see, now, how a jest shall come about! id, Rom. and Jul, I, 3, 45. Sureiy a man shall see the noblest works and foundations have proceeded from childless men. Bacon, E s, VII, 18.
A man shall see, where there is a house full of children, one or two of the eldest respected, and the youngest made wantons. ib.
Franz, Shak. Gram.2, § 611.



70
Sometimes the notion of recurrency is vaguely blended with the notion that a certain condition has to be fulfilled for an action or state to come about. Shall then approximates to modal shall, as in You shall learn music, and forthwith all the world will be transformed for you (Ch. I, 25, a).
A dog of that house shall move me to stand. Shak, Rom. and Jul., I, 1, 11Sometimes also there is a secondary notion that a desirable or undesirable result will come about, if a certain condition is not complied with.
That young men travel under some tutor or grave servant, I allow well;... for else young men shall go hooded and look abroad little. Bacon, E s, XVIII, 51.
As for the acquaintance which is to be sought in travel, that which is most of all profitable, is acquaintance with the secretaries and employed men of ambassadors; for so in travelling in one country he shall suck the experience of many ib, 52.
In accordance with Present English practice Shakespeare has will when the notion of recurrency is attended by that of volition. What great ones do the less will prattle of. T w e I f t h Night, I, 2, 33, Foul deeds will rise, | Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. H a m 1, I. 2, 256.
may as a modal verb, especially in clauses introduced by as, or by what as a condensed relative.
You can play no part but Pyramus; for Pyramus is a sweet-faced man; a proper man, as one shall see in a summer's day. Shak, Mids.-Nlght's Dream, I, 2, 89.
Be merry, and employ your chiefest thoughts | To courtship and such fair ostents of love | As shall conveniently become you there. id, Merch. of Ven, II, 8, 45.
What Antony shall speak, I will protest | He speaks by leave and by permission. id, Jul. Caes, III, 1, 238.
Conversely Elizabethan English also affords frequent instances of will (would) being used in the first person, apparently as a pure auxiliary of the future tense or conditional mood. TPerhaps I will return immediately. Shak, Merch. of Ven, li, 5, 52. Perchance I will be there as soon as you. id. Com. of Er.. IV, 1, 39. I would be loath to foil him. id. As you like it, I, 1, 136. I would have thought her spirit had been invincible against all assaults of affection. id, Much ado, II, 3, 119.
Inconsistencies, too, are frequent.
I will sooner have'a beard grow in the palm of my hand than he shall get one on his cheek. Shak, Henry IV, B, I, 2, 23. (Observe that in this quotation the auxiliaries are used diametrically opposite to present practice.) And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it... And they will teil itto the inhabitants of this land. Bible, Numbers, XIV, 13-14. The so-called 'prophetic' shall has in several passages been replaced by will in the Authorized Vers ion, but also here consistency is not seldom far to seek.



74
Master thought that another fit of the gout was coming to make him a visit. Sher, Riv, I, 1, (213).
70. In the second place it is numerous combinations consistingof to be and a preposition or a prepositional phrase, which are frequently used to express a near or immediate future, together with a variety of secondary notions. The preposition, or prepositional phrase, in these combinations expresses a state, and has, accordingly, the • value of an adjective. The most important of these combinations are such as contain:
a) the preposition about, near (or ni< h).
1) To be about is distinguished from to be going in that it is less colloquial than the latter and is more distinctly used to express a near or immediate future. Nor is it, apparently, ever used in connection with the indefinite pronoun it. Thus It is going to rain could hardly be replaced by It is about to rain. We mostly find' it construed with an infinitive, occasionally with a gerund. Earle (Phil.5, § 580, f) observes, "About + gerund is not generally approved, yet it is met with in authors of repute." For illustration see also Ch. XIX, 22.
i. She created so much confuslon in the congregatlon, that if Squire Allworthy had not silenced it, it would have interrupted the service, for I was once about to stop in the middle of the first lesson. Fieldino, Tom Jones, IV, Ch. X, 55ó
He was about to speak; but with her head turned from him she resumed [etc 1. Dick , C h r i s t m. C a r, II.
He made no attempt to get his Arab out of the way, although the train was Just about to start. Hichens, The Garden of Allah, 1, Ch. II, 35. As she got in, the man who had caused all the bother was leaning forward with a bit of silver in his hand, looking as if he were about to leave his seal. ib, I, Ch. II, 36. ii I was Just about falling into a doze, when he suddenly started up. Poe, a. Oordon Pym, Ch. I, 11.
He was about retracing his 'steps, when he was suddenly transfixed to the spot by a sudden appearance. Dick, P i c k w, Ch. XXIII, 206. Her son had not written to herself to ask a fond mother's blessing for that step which he was about taking. Thack, Henry Esm., III, Ch. II, 320.
Note. According to Murray (s.v. about, 11), to be about (for) to do in the sense of to bé engaged in, to be busied in preparation for, to be scheming, preparing or Mending is now obsolete. Possibly it is to be apprehended in this meaning in:
The Squire demanded of her who was the father. but she pertinaciously refused to make any response. So that he was about to make hermittimus to Bridewell when I deparled. Fieldino, Tom Jones, IV, Ch. X, 55o.
2) To be near regularly governs a gerund, but to be near to is occasionally followed by an infinitive instead of the more common gerund. For illustration of the constructions of which near (nigh) is capable see also Ch. XIX, 21.



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i. The sun was near setting. G. Eliot, Dan. Der., II, Ch. XVII, 282.
ii. * He was unusually angry and near to losing his self-control. Marj. Bowen,
I will maintain, II, Ch. III, 187. ** I at first was near to laugh. Emerson, Eng. Traits, 80a. Note a) Instead of to be, also to go and to come are sometimes found together with near (nigh) to express with it an impending action or state.
i. To flee from the agonies that went nigh to tearing soul from body would have been to flee from all that 1 had left of life. Watts Dunton, Aylwin, XII, Ch. IV, 355.
ii. There be some women, Silvius, had they mark'd him | In parcels as I did, would have gone near | To fall in love with him. Shak., As you like it, III, 5, 124.
B) The fact that near (nigh), also in these combinations, is feit as an
adjective is evident from its admiting of being modified by an adverb
of degree and placed in the degrees of comparison. i. I have been for some time persuading my aunt to let me wear them (sc.
the jewels). I fancy I'm very nearsucceeding. Goldsmith, She Stoops, II.
I am afraid to think how long it is since fan-shaped caps were worn —
they must be so near coming in again. G. Eliot, M i 11, I, Ch. II, 3.
Your schoolmaster came very near inconveniencing us and you too. Anstey,
Vice Versa, Ch. XVI, 319. II. The nation was never nearer to thinking seriously of compulsory service.
Westm. Gaz.. No. 4943, 16. b) the prepositional phrases in act to, upon the brink of, (up)on
(occasionally at) the eve of, (up)on (occasionally at) the point
of, (up)on the verge of.
1) To be in act to, regularly followed by an infinitive, is chiefly found in literary language. For illustration see also Ch. XIX, 39.
Sprung from a race whose rising blood, | When stirr'd beyond its calmer mood, | And trodden hard upon, is like I The rattle-snake's in act to strike, | What marvel if this worn out trunk I Beneath its woes a moment sunk? Byron, Mazeppa, XIII, 16
He gazed so long | That both his eyes were dazzled as he stood, | This way and that dividing the swift mind, | In act to throw. Ten., Morte d'Arthur, 61.
He lifted the cup and was in act to pledge them. when he suddenly dropped it on the table. Kinosley, Westw. Ho!, Ch. I, 66.
His finger was upon the trigger, and he was in act to fire. But suddenly his companion uttered a cry of warning, and, riding quickly to his side. placed a hand upon hjs arm. Buchanan, That Winter Night, Ch. III. 35.
Note. To be in act to + infinitive should be carefully distinguished from to be in the act of + gerund, wich is used to represent an action as actually going forward. For illustration see also Ch. XIX, 39. The Chevalier has his glass charged and was in the act of giving a toast. Buchanan, That Winter Night, Ch. XVI, 131.
2) To be (up)on the brink of requires no comment.



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He has been on the brink of marrying her. G. Eliot, Dan. Der., II, Ch. XV, 241.
It seemed that her darling was brought back to her not merely with ali the old affection, but with a conscious cherishing of her mother's nearness, such as we give to a possession that we have been on the brink of losing. ib., III, VIII, Ch. LXIV, 323.
3) To be on the eve of requires no comment. To be at the eve of seems to be archaic.
i. He was on the eve of marrying a young lady. Trol, Frami. Pars, Ch. XXXVI, 355.
He was on the eve ofdeparting for the Continent. Watts Dunton, Aylwin, IX, Ch. I, 271.
She was on the eve of doing something which was hardiy ever done by the people amongst whom she lived. Mar. Crawf., Kath. Laud, I, Ch. XII, 211.
ii. The wench appeared to be, as it were, at the eve ofbringing forth a bastard. Fieldino, Tomjones, IV, Ch. X, 55ö.
4) To be on the point of requires no comment. To be at the point of appears to be unusual.
i. Once or twice Jos had beeri on the point of saying something very important. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. VI, 53.
Shelley died when he was on the point of completing his thirtieth year. Symonds, Shelley, Ch. I, 2
ii. I was just at the point of proposing to her. Thack, Van. Fair, II, Ch. VIII, 83.
Note. By the side of the above we also meet .with at point to followed by an infinitive, now used only archaicaily. For illustration see also Ch. XIX, 39, and compare Franz, Shak. G r a m.2, § 622, Anm.
Now 1 think on thee, | My hunger's gone; but even before, I was | At point to sink for food. Shak, Cymb, III, 6, 17.
The foemen seemed at point to gain the rampart. W. Morris, The Earthly Par., The Wand., 27a.
5) 7b be (up)on the ver ge of requires no comment.
We now find him upon the verge of contracting marriage with a woman whom he did not passionately love. Symonds, Shelley, Ch. II, 49. He was on the verge of emigrating to the United States. II. Lond. News, No. 3905, 304.
The trade negotiations with M. Krassin are on the verge of breakingdown. Westm. Gaz, No. 8547, 3a.
71. in the third place attention is drawn to some miscellaneous phrases which also, in a manner, represent an action or state as impending, and, accordingly, bear a close affinity to those mentioned above. i. Yorick was this parson's name ... it had been exactly so spelt for near — I was within an ace of saying nine hundred years. Sterne, Tristr. Shand., I, Ch. XI, 7a.
ii. If by chance, a huge blockhead of a beetle came winging his blundering flight against him, the poor variet was ready to give up the ghost Wash. Irv, Sketch-Bk. No. 32, 348.



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iii. I was very nearly offering a large reward. Osc. Wilde, The Importance of being Earnest, I, 11.
iv. It (sc. my time) never did run out, however, but was brought to a premature end, as I proceed to relate. Dick., Great Expect., Ch. XVII, 160.
v. I stand to win a lot of money to nothing. Galsw, The Country House, I, Ch. II, 21.
It is a fact which cannot be blinked that Austria stands to lose by the establishment of a Balkan Confederation on her southern border. Westm. Gaz, No. 6165, lö.
72. Also the expanded form of the verb is often employed to represent an action as prospective, or as lying in the immediate or near future. For, fuller discussion and illustration see my treatise on the Expanded Form, § 29 ff. Compare also Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2232, and Deutschbein, System, § 54, 4.
But to return to what I was relating. Fieldino, T o m J o n e s, IV, Ch. X, 55ö. (= about to relate, Dutch, zou vertellen.)
He was beginning to teil that he came that moment from Mr. Allworthy's, when the sight of the roast beef struck him dumb. ib, IV, Ch. X, 55a. Note a) It may here be observed, in passing, that the expanded form sometimes seems to imply some form of compulsion. Thus especially when connected with a negative.
You are certainly not staying with me for a whole week as a guest or anything else. Osc. Wilde, The Importance of being Earnest, II, 97. (= You shall certainly not stay with me etc.) You sit down. Yoa're not going yet. Shaw, C a n d i d a, III, (184). T. 8) We also find it sometimes trespassing on the province of to be, the typical verb of representing an action or state as consequent on an arrangement or dispensation of Providence. Mrs. Markey, an astute woman, understood that she had to go out and shop because the gov'nor ïvas dining out. Galsworthy, Beyond, I, Ch. I, 4. (= was to dine out.)
73. In conclusion it should be pointed out that there are a great many verbs which, from their meaning, necessarily place the action or state of the verb with which they are connected in the future time-sphere. Such are the numerous verbs which express some form of ability, compulsion, hoping, intending, permission, or volition.
Some of these are mostly regarded as forming a kind of unit with the following verb, as in He can (may, must, has to, is to, should, ought to, will) leave the country. Some are feit as forming the predicate by themselves, the following verb standing in the objective relation to them. Thus in He hopes (intends, wishes etc.) to leave the country. It stands to reason that also the mental or physical attitudes expressed by the above verbs may be thought of as belonging



78
to the future time-sphere. The verbs standing for them are then furnished with the ordinary auxiliaries of the future tense, so far as they have an infinitive. Thus in: He will hope (intend, wish, etc.) to leave the country if the difficulties of earning a decent living keep on increasing. Those which have not an infinitive are replaced by various words or phrases approximately expressing the same meaning. Thus in The patiënt will have (be obliged, etc.) to leave the hospital to-morrow. It will be the patiënt's duty (will be incumbent on the patiënt, etc.) to leave the hospital to-morrow. The patiënt will want (be determined, be willing, etc.) to leave the hospital to-morrow. 74. ö) The weakest of the above verbs, i. e. that in which the primary function is most distinctly subservient to that of marking futurity, is to be. Indeed this verb sometimes is a mere variant of shall and will as tense-verbs. Thus int "We are not in a way to know what Mr. Bingley likes... since we are not to visit." — "But you forget, mamma,... that we shall meet him at the assemblies, and Mrs Long has promised to introducé him." Jane Austen, Pri d e a n d Pr e j., Ch. II, 10,
It is probable that we shall not hear of her (sc. Miss Jemima) again from this moment to the end of time, and that when the great filigree iron gates are once closed on her, she and her awful sister will never issue therefrom into this little world of history But as we are to see a great deal of Amelia, there is no harm in saying at the outset of our acquaintance, that she was a dear little creature; and a great mercy it is, both in life and in novels, which (and the latter especially) abound in villains of the most sombre sort, that we are to have for a constant companion, so guileless and good-natured a person. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. I, 5.
b) In the following quotation the construction with to be has the same value as the expanded form, which, as has been pointed out in my treatise on the Expanded F orm (32) is often used,. in the-case of certain verbs, to represent the action as forthcoming or in course of preparation.
He was sailing for India next week. His wife was to remain in England for some months and then join him out there. Max Beerbohm, Seven Men, , IV, 156,
c) To be also is peculiarly adapted to express futurity in constructions where shall or will is not available.
We do not yet feel very much frightened as to the politica! effects, or even as to the direct social effects, wrought and to be wrought by the International Council of Women. Times.
d) Here follow some further quotations in which to be may be regarded as some expediënt to denote futurity.
As the young gentleman who has just gone to bed is to be the hero of the following pages, we had best begin our account of him with his family history. Thack, N e w c, I, Ch. II, 14.



79
Although there was to be the length of two human generations more of warfare ere Spain acknowledged the new government, yet before the termination of that period the United States had become the first naval power and one of the most considerable commonwealths in the world. Motley, ' Rise . VI, Ch. VII, 898a. Miss Matty and I feit quite proud as we looked round us on the evening before the shop was to be opened. Martha had scoured the boarded floor to a white cleanness, and it was adorned with a brilliant piece ofoil-cloth, on which customers were to stand before the table-counter. Mrs. Gask, Cranf, Ch. XV, 283.
The newly established Stockholm Firm, Severniya Ogni, is to publish a Russian translation of Mr. J. M. Keynes' "Economie Consequences of the Peace." Times, Lil. Sup, No. 990, 126.
75. a) It is of some special interest to observe that also should is frequently enough met with to express futurity mixed with a notion of weak compulsion proceeding from an arrangement or a dispensation of Providence. In this function we find it not only in the first, but also in the second and, especially, in the third person. It will be observed that in the case of the sentence suggesting a dispensation of Providence should may be understood as the preterite of the 'prophetic' shall. For the rest its function hardly differs from that of was (or were) to.
i. But when the days drew nigh that I should wed. Ten , P r i n c., I, 39.
ii. "What! is she off?" —"Who off?" —"The lady you should meet to-night." Bridoes, Humours of the Court, I, 679.
iii. The justice... forthwith issued out his warrant to take me, and,., in the mean time to keep a very strong watch about the house where the meeting should be kept. Bunyan, Relation of the Imprisonment, (105).. There, were first | The tented winter-field was broken up | Into that phalanx of the summer spears | That soon should wear the garland [etc.]. Ten, Aylmer's Field, 112.
One had devoted her whole energies unreservedly towards the attainment
of an object from which others should benefit, id, Princ, Introd., 53.
Hush, 'tis vain, I feel my end approaching. | This is what my mother said
should be. Matthew Arnold, T r i s t. and I s e u 11, I!, 78.
Many a man strained his ears to listen to voices which should never again
be heard. Edna Lyall, A Hardy Norseman, Ch. XVII, 158.
She dressed for dinner and the concert that should follow. Flor. Barclay,
The Rosary, Ch. V, 51.
Thus also in reported statements:
One thought alone reconciled her to the promised visit — she should meet Glaucus. Lytton, Pomp, IV, Ch. II, 946. (The head-sentence on which the subordinate statement depends is understood.)
So groan'd Sir Lancelot in remorseful pain, | Not knowing he should die a holy man. Ten, Lanc. and El, 1418.
The following is an instructive example of should and were to being used in strictly identical functions:
Who would have thought that the Linncea gathered all those years ago should prove 'the first link in the chain that was to bind us for ever. Edna Lyall, A Hardy Norseman, Ch. XL, 351.



80
In conclusion it may be remarked that would is sometimes used where, from the purport of the sentence, either should or was (or were) to would, apparently, have been equally appropriate.
Between him and this high-hearted woman had come that which would never be removed. Gissing, A L i f e's Morning, Ch. XI, 168. She feit as though sleep would never come again. Ib, Ch. XI, 173.
Like the verbs expressing a physical or mental attitude referred to in the preceding sections, the phrases to be certain (or sure) and to be likely imply that the action or state expressed by the infinitive with which they are connected, belongs to the future time-sphere.
We are certain to meet him in the course of our rambles. Murray.
If we both stay, we both are sure to die. Shak., Henry VI, A, IV, 5, 20.
We are likely to have some rain. Flügel.
There is no occasion to place these phrases in the future tense, the likelihood they express being understood to be already existent at the time of speaking. Occasionally, however, we find them furnished with the auxiliaries of the future tense. We shall be sure to meet there. Lytton, C a x t o n s, III, Ch. V, 103. I shall be sure to find the house. Edna Lyall, We Two, i, 31. T.
The use of the auxiliaries may be due to the analogy with constructions with the adverbs certainly, surely or likely, which approximately convey the same meaning, e. g.:
We shall very likely be up with another covey in five minutes. Dick, Piekw, Ch. XIX, 164.
Possibly also the practice is due to the adjective being feit to form a kind of unit with the following infinitive. The prefixing of shall or will to this unit may then be compared to the suffixing of the ending for the genitive to a compound noun or a word-group (Ch. XXIV, 3). The form might, accordingly, be called a group future.



USE OF THE TENSES.
77. The present tense is, in the main, used in English in the same cases as in Dutch. Its principal function is, accordingly, to represent the action or state referred to as belonging to the present time-sphere, this term to be understood in its widest sense so as to include also the neutral time-sphere (2, e).
The Present Tense doing duty for the Puture.
78. As in Dutch, the present tense is frequently employed in English in describing what belongs to the future time-sphere. This is a continuation of the Old-English practice, which, as has been observed in 20, made a sparing use of the auxiliaries of the future tense.
In the case of the time-sphere of the utterance being the past, the preterite, of course, may take the place of the preterite future.
When futurity appears from the context, there is nothing illogical or objectionable in the use of the present instead of the future tense, any more than there is in leaving adnominal words unaltered when they modify a plural noun. Nor is it strange that the present tense should be chosen, seeing that it is often used of a time-sphere which contains a portion of the future (5, Obs II).
It may also be observed that in such a sentence as / go to town to-morrow there is nothing to prevent us from understanding the time indicated by to-morrow as contained in the present time-sphere, which, as has been observed in 2, a, necessarily extends some way backward and forward from the present moment. In other words we may assume that we have to deal with a present time-sphere of which one extension, viz. the future extension, has been specially mentioned. It may, of course, be urged that this reasoning would lead us to consider yesterday, or some other time belonging to the
6



82
past, as part of the present timersphere in the opposite direction, which would render the use of the present tense intelligible also of predicates modified by adverbial adjuncts denoting such a time. From an early period, however, all languages belonging to the Indo-Germanic group have developed special forms in verbs to denote the fact that an action or state belongs to a time that we have done with. From this it would appear that the human mind grasps more easily the notion of the irrevocable and unalterable past than that of the unknown future. This being so, the use of adjuncts denoting some time of the past would naturally lead to the employment of special tense-forms associated with the past. Instances of the present tense being used in connection with adjuncts denoting some time of the past are not, however, entirely wanting. Paul (Prinz.3, § 190) states that the Sanscrit pura, and the Greek w«? « both answering to the English formerly, may be found together with a present. The use of what is termed the historical present (91), the result of a play of the imagination consisting in regarding past events as happening at the time of speaking is not, of course, a case in point. See also 5, Obs. II.
79. The English subjunctive having no future, the present is regularly used in this mood when the reference is to an action or state about whose possible fulfilment the speaker wishes to express his uncertainty. Thus in:
a) subordinate statements:
i. I pray thee that thou assert thy innocence. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2273. ii. Ifs high time that the task be undertaken of promoting international good feeling. Rev. of Rev, No. 193, 10a.
iii. I... suggest that the ceremony take place before the departure. Dor. Gerard, ExoticMartha, Ch. XXIV, 286.
iv. See there be no traitors in your camp. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2273.
v. I tremble lest he be discovered. ib. § 2274.
b) adverbial clauses:
i. I pardon thee thy life before thow ask it. Shak, Merch, IV, 1, 361.
ii. Govern well thy appetite lest sin surprise thee. Milton, P a r. Lost, VII, 545.
iii. I will come to-morrow, if the weather be fine. Mason, Eng. Gram.s*, §435.
iv. We will start to-morrow, though it rain cats and dogs. ib.
80. When, as is now mostly the case, the indicative takes the place of the subjunctive, the present tense is mostly preserved. Thus:
a) regularly in subordinate statements: i. Pray that no telegram... arrivés during the next five-and-twenty minutes. Oissino, A Life's Morning, Ch. IX, 132.



83
You propose that Ellean leaves Highercombe almost at once and remains with you some months? Pinero. The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, 11,(92). See that your father is kept perfectly quiet. Edna Lyall, D o n., I, 42. T.
mostly in adverbial clauses:
You must live on your pay till your father relents. Thack., Van. Fair, I Ch. XXV, 257.
If it is fine, i will come early. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2231.
Obs. I. It has already been pointed out in the treatise on Mood that in literary language shall largely figures as a substitute for the subjunctive. This shall, may be understood to serve the purpose of denoting futurity. But there are weighty reasons why it seems more appropriate to regard it as a modal auxiliary, i. e. as a symbol to mark the attitude of uncertainty on the part of the speaker.
It is used irrespective of person, and it may be confidently said that in the second and third persons it would now be replaced by will, if it were strongly feit as a tense-verb.
In some varieties it varies with should, in others it is replaced by may, both of which verbs fulfil functions which have nothing to do with tense.
Sometimes, especially in adverbial clauses of time or condition,
will is met with as the auxiliary of the future tense.
In adverbial clauses of time will appears to be unusual in Standard
English, but it is open to doubt that in them it has to be set
down, as is often done, as a dialectal solecism.
And who shall gaze upon | My palace with unblinded eyes, | While this
great bow will waver in the sun, | And that sweet incense rise Ten P a 1
of Art, 43.
We must ask ourselves what victory will cost the Russian people when at length it will become possible to conclude the peace so ardently desired. Times.
We go to press unfortunately before the Prime Ministers's speech at the Albert Hall will have been delivered. Westm. Gaz, No. 5179, lö. Will seems to be quite usuai in adverbial clauses introduced by before which stand after It will be.
It will not be long now before Tremaine will be here. Mrs. Alexander For his Sake, II, Ch. VII, 120.
In continuative temporal clauses shall and tv/Hare, naturally, applied according to the same rules as obtain in ordinary principal sentences. For discussion see also the treatise onMood 33 f, in which practically the same views are presented.
In an adverbial clause of condition will is normally used when it is feit as the head-sentence of another conditional clause, which, because it is implied in the context, is not actually expressed. Thus such a sentence as 1 will come to-morrow if it will please you may be supplemented if I come. The use of will is, accordingly, on a par with the use of would in hypothetical clauses expressing a supposition regarding the future as a mere conception of the



84
mind, which are understood as the head-sentence of another hypothetical clause. See the treatise on Mood, 40, Obs. VI, a. O Rome! I make thee promise, | If the redress will follow, thou receiyest 1 Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus. Shak., Jul. Caes., li, 1, 57. "Pray forgive me, Miss Manette. I break down before the knowledge of what I want to say to you. Will you hear me?" — "If it will do you any good, Mr. Carton, if it would make you happier, it would make me very glad." Dick., A Tale of Two Cities, I, Ch. XIII, 172, "Will you let me believe, when I recall this day, that the last confidence of my life was reposed in your pure and innocent breast, and that it lies there alone, and will be shared by no one?" — "If that will be a consolation to you, yes?" ib., II, Ch. XIII, 174.
I'll come down to your office after one o'clock if it will suit you. G. Eliot, Fel. Holt, I, Ch. II, 59.
"And you'll go to Freeman Founders to dine with him, won't you?" — "Yes, if it will please you." Shaw, Candida, I, (139). T. But the use of will is quite uncalled-for and distinctly dialectal in such sentences as:
If you will be ready about eleven, I will show you'the gardens. El. Glyn, The Reason Why, Ch, XXXV, 328.
For discussion of shall and will in conditional clauses see also the treatise on Mood, 37 f, in which, however, the legitimate use of will has, erroneously, been tentatively branded as dialectal. In the head-sentence of adverbial clauses of time or condition the verb is normally placed in the future tense, when what is described in them has yet to come into fulfilment. He will enter upon his duties as soon as his health is thoroughly restored. They will stay at home if this rain continues.
Sometimes we find this verb in the present tense, the implied futurity being mixed or unmixed with some other notion. (82 ff.) Then it is understood? When Wilfrid brings his wife to you, you receive her with all kindness? I have your promise? Gissing, A Life's Morning, Ch. XXV, 341.
If he come not, then the play ismarred: it goes not forward. Shak, Mids, IV, 2, 6
But you know if your son, when of age, refuses to marry his cousin, her whole fortune is then at her own disposal. Goldsmith, She Stoops, V, (231).
Unless I see Amelia's ten thousand down, you don't marry her. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XIII, 133.
Let your name be mentioned in the Gazette, and I'll engage the old father
relents towards you. ib, I, Ch. XXV, 258. (The Iogical apodosis is the old
father relents towards you, the phrase VU engage, although the grammatical
apodosis, is no more than an adverbial adjunct of mood, approximately
equivalent to certainly. Compare also 41.)
The following is a curious instance of divided practice:
Laugh and the world laughs with you: frown and you'll wrinkle your face,
P ro v e r b.



85
82. Apart from those cases in which a present indicative is substituted for a present subjunctive, the use of the present in describing what is yet to come is less common in English than in Dutch.
As will appear from the following illustrations, it is mostly a personal subject with which such a present is connected, and the probability is that in the majority of cases we have not to deal with mere futurity, but futurity blended with some other notion, mostly some form of volition, i. e. the force of an intention or arrangement existing at the moment of speaking. This view receives some support from the fact that the auxiliaries of the future tense can hardly be dispensed with when mere futurity is intended.
83. The use of the present for the future, mostly with the above connotation, is especially common with verbs which denote a moving to or from a place, i. e. the verbs to come and to leave and their synonyms; practically only when futurity apt pears from some adverbial adjunct or clause denoting or implying a future point of time.
i. Ask when the company arrivés at Naples. Edna Lyall, Knight Errant, Ch. IV, 37.
"When does he arrivé?" — "Next Tuesday... He leaves the same day, I'm thankful to say." Birminoham, The Advent, of Dr. Whitty, Ch. V, 108.
ii. The King comes here to night. Shak, Macb., I, V, 29.
Comes Caesar to the Capitol to-morrow? id, Jul. Caes, I, 3, 36.
iii. What time do you get back from the City to-morrow afternoon? Anstey, In brief Authority, Ch. II, 23.
iv. "Edward", said Miss Murdstone, "let there be an end of this. I go to-morrow." Dick, C o p, Ch. IV, 25b.
Does he r'eally go abroad next week ? Lytton, M y N o v e 1, I VII, Ch. XVI, 480.
I ask pardon for taking up your time so long. I go now. ib., I, VI, Ch. XVIII, 415.
I go to town to-morrow. Earle, P h i l.5, § 282.
Which ofyou goto London next Saturday? Onions, Adv. Eng. Synt, § 126.
v. I leave this place, in the fear lest my enemies discover me... But I should like none to know where we go. Lytton, My No vel, II, VIII, Ch. XII, 64. The train leaves in five-and-twenty minutes. Gissing, A Life's Morning, Ch. XV, 223.
vi. To-night we meet again. Lytton, Pomp., III, Ch. X, 866.
vü. I do not move from this room untii from Henric's own lips I hear that he
is your husband. Dor. Gerard. Exotic Martha, Ch. VIII, 101. viii. Mrs. Todgers, this day week we part, in consequence of the cheese. Dick, Chuz, Ch. IX, 69a.
ix. We sail to-morrow. Stevenson, Treas. Island.
x. He starts for the Continent to-night. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2231.
We start next Monday for (he Continent. Mason, Eng. Gram.34, 117. We all start in the morning for Paris. Onions, Advanced Eng. Synt., § 126.



86
These verbs may, of course, be placed in the future tense, like any other verb. In that case there is no association with the secondary notions mentioned above (82).
The Parson writes word that the iad will come to-day. Lytton, My No vel, IV, Ch. XXIII, 284.
See to what you wish to take with you; we shall leave to-night. ib, II, Ch. XIII, Ch, XII, 65.
Mr. J. Walton, M. P, will leave London for a seven months' trip to China. Times.
The British Diplomatic Agent and the members of his staff will leave tomorrow in two special trains. ib.
The use of the present for the future tense is by no means confined to the verbs of coming or leaving. But, although it would be hard to define the nature of the verbs which admit of this practice, there is no doubt that it is inadmissible with most verbs. Thus it would be difficult to produce documentary support for such sentences as */ write a letter to-morrow. *I light a cigar when the ladies have left. *I wait till he comes. *The servant cleans the room in a day or two, etc. etc. In the following quotations, arranged according to the alphabetical succession of the verbs concerned, the connotation referred to above (82) is clearly discernible. See also 81, Obs. III.
We begin work next morning. Onions, Advanced Eng. Synt., § 126.
With the rise of the sun you die. Lytton, R i e n z i, X, Ch. IV, 349.
I dine with him to-morrow. Lytton, M y N o v e 1, II, X, Ch. XX, 226.
To-morrow your Papa and I dine out. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. IV, 28.
I dine in an hour. Q. Eliot , Fel. Holt, I, Ch. I, 30.
Diomed gives a grand feast next week. Lytton, Pomp, 1, Ch. VII, 30a.
I don't let you off, mind, under a week. Dick, P i c k w., Ch. IV.
You are not married before noon. id., Cricket, III, 87.
The House of Cassell publish next week Prince von Bülow's great' work,
Imoerial Qermanv. At hen, No. 4500, 148.
i. sne receives mis eveninc. uïtun, my nu vei, ii, a, v~u. vu, im.
x. Do you remain long here? Dick, Pickw, Ch. II, 21.
The Queen remains at Windsor for the next three weeks. Qraph.
How long do you remain intown? Osc. Wilde, The Import, of being
Earnest, I, 59.
x. "Do you see the Bishop this morning, father?" — "No — this afternoon."
Mrs. Ward, The Case of Kien. Meyneii, i, lh. v, ».
. now long ao you szayr nuuti i^unway, tautu oati, i^t. i.
Do you stay in London long? Besant, All Sorts and Cond. of Men, Ch. XVII, 128.
Curious is the alternate use of the future and the present tense in: In the following pages we shall consider the organs of speech, the various classes of sounds, and how these are produced. Then we inquire into their combination to form words and combination of words in sentences, incidentally we notice colloquial tendencies, the requirements of public speaking. and other topics arising naturally from our subject. Rippmann, Sounds of Spoken English, 5.



87
85. A future without any clear connotation seems to be intended in the following quotations, some of which have a personal, some a non-personal subject.
i. It is ten one but you are thrown together again in the.course of a few years. Jane Austen. North. Ab., Ch. XXIX, 229.
Ten to one whether you ever see him again. ib., Ch. XXX, 233.
I bet you half-a-crown that before nightfall I have seen him. Sweet, N. E.
Gr, § 2243.
You don't seem to care whether you're ever married or not. Gissing, A L i f e' s Morning, Ch. VII, 110.
Miss Cardew does not come legally of age till she is thirty-five. Osc. Wilde, The Import, of being Earnest, III, 163.
ii. The grand match is played to-day. Dick, Pickw, Ch. VII, 58. When does the ceremony take place? id, Chuz, Ch. XXXV, 2796. Classes don't begin until Monday morning. Jean Webster, Daddy-LongLegs, II, 21.
It may be observed that the actions or states described in the above quotations appear more or less distinctly as predetermined in some way and that, accordingly, the verb to be would, apparently, have been appropriate in them. But it seems doubtful that any such notion was present to the writer's mind at the moment of composition. This idea of predetermination is, at least, hardly suggested by. the following quotations with the copula to be, least of all by those which denote a person's future age. i. The quarter is not due till Christmas. Dick, Pickw, Ch. XXVI, 234. Are you disengaged this evening? ib, Ch. II, 21.
This day fortnight, when Tm of age, I'll prove my confidence. Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. VII, 76.
I am orderly to-morrow. Hardy, Far f ro m t h e M a d d i ng C ro w d, Ch. XI, 98.
ii. She is eighteen in January. Buchanan, That Winter Night, Ch. VIII, 71. I am 55 next week. P u n c h, No. 3705, 226. Tm not twenty till September. Saki, (Westm. Gaz. No. 6017, 9a).
It is hardly necessary to add that the future tense is quite as frequent as the present in sentences of the above type. He will not be eighteen till next February. Thack, Pend, I, Ch. I, 12. The following is a curious instance of divided practice: The winter session commences on Thursday Octoberll, 1917. The preliminary examination will commence on September 14. Athen, No. 4620, 370a.
86. In all the above instances the futurity of the action or state described appears distinctly from some adverbial adjunct or clause. Occasionally such an indication is, however, entirely absent, so that futurity is to be inferred from the context alone.
Do you remain here? Dick,, Pickw, Ch. II, 19. Who lays the stone? ib, Chuz, Ch. XXXV, 2796.
I promised them that never a week should pass in future I did not visit them, and give them an hour's teaching in their school. Ch. Brontë, Jane Eyre, Ch. XXXIV, 478.



88
In referring to the happenings in a story left unrelated at the moment that the story-teller is interrupted, the future tense is not used, because it would place them in the actual future, instead of the future of the story.
"Haven't you been listening?" — "Oh yes. It's very nice. Go on Eugene. 1'm longing to hear what happens to the angel." Shaw, Candida, III, (170). T. (not: will happen.)
87. It remains to say something about certain cases in which futurity is doubtful, there being room for considering the matter spoken about as belonging to all times.
o) In such a sentence as To-morrow is bank holiday the wordgroup to-morrow is not an adverbial adjunct, as Sweet (N. E. Gr, § 2231) seems to think, but the subject of the sentence. Nor is this sentence descriptive of a happening belonging to the future time-sphere, but rather a statement that we are presented with an instance of a fact which obtains for an indefinite succession of years, the purport of the sentence being To-morrow is a certain date on which a bankholiday is observed. Thus also in:
To-morrow is the 25th. Kinosley, Westw. Ho!, Ch. IV, 31a.
b) A similar interpretation may be put upon a sentence like Does the moon shine to-night? In it the inquiry only indirectly concerns the action of shining, the information required being whether to-night is one of the nights on which the moon shines. Compare Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2231. Of a like nature are the following sentences:
Do we go through those ancknt gates? Wells, M r. Britling, I, Ch. I, § 4, 13. (= Are those gates the ones (or: among the gates) through which we have to go?)
"When's dinner, James?" — "Not for a couple of hours yet." Shaw, Candida, II, (153). T. (= What is the time set apart for dinner?)
c) A further instance of the present being the proper tense rather than the future is the following sentence:
Beg him' to see Mr. — before we meet — he will understand — all rests upon that interview. Lytton, My No vel, II, VIII, Ch. XIII, 71. Here our attention is not drawn to the interview which is yet to come about, so much as to its importance irrespective of any time-considerations.
88. In conclusion it should be observed that the expanded form of a verb is often resorted to to represent an action as prospective, i. e. to place it in the future time-sphere. It has already been pointed out in 72 that this form often implies a near future; but as has been shown in my treatise on the Expanded Form (29—33), it may also express other phases



89
of futurity. Here we will confine ourselves to the observation that it often represents an action as future with the connotation of its being in contemplation or in course of preparation. Thus with especial frequency in the case of verbs which express either a coming or a leaving. Compare Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2232.
When is he coming back from America? Sweet, Spoken Eng., 43.
I am leaving Rose Cottage to-day. Mrs. Craik, John Hal., Ch. XV, 149.
Messrs. Harper are issaing Mark Twain's newbook"Is Shakespeare Dead?"
within the next few days. Westm. Q a z, No. 5007, 46.
This connotation is, of course, vague or non-existent, when
it is connected with a non-personal subject. Thus in:
Her appearance as she entered the church in that guise (sc. in mourning)
was in itself a weekly addition to his faith that a time was coming — very
far off perhaps, yet surely nearing — when his waiting on events should
have its reward. Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd, Ch.XLIX,391.
Sometimes the expanded form can hardly be distinguished from an
ordinary future with shall on will.
He's not dining to-night, as he gets in very late. But he'll dine to-morrow. Maud Diver, Desmorfd's Daughter, II, Ch. II, 53.
The Present tense doing duty for the Perfect or the Preterite.
89. As in Dutch, momentaneous verbs denoting the receiving, giving or soliciting of information are sometimes placed in the present instead of the perfect, although the reference is to an action of the past. Compare Paul, Prinz.3, § 191.
i. * I hear you made a speech yesterday. Sweet, N. E. G r, § 2227.
We hear that you have been successful. Onions, Adv. Eng. Synt., § 126. I hear you are a good speaker. Mrs.Ward, Sir George Tres, Ch.V,34c. ** I learn from your letter, received this morning, that you intend returning
to town on Saturday. G. Eliot, Fel. Holt., I, Ch. XXI, 325. *** 1 am told he has had another execution in the house yesterday. Sher, School for Scand., I, 1, (365).
I am told she has six hundred thousand pounds in the Threes. Thack, Pend, I, Ch. XXXVI, 386.
ii. The Count tells me that he has a daughter. Lytton, My No vel, II, IX, Ch. IV, 91.
Thornhill tells me that that part of his property ... produces £ 2000 a year. ib, II, IX, Ch. XIV, 129. '<ï..\.
Miss Redwing tells me you saw her yesterday. Gissing, a Life's Morning, Ch. XIV, 209.
iii. He asks me to call and see her. Lytton, My No vel, II, X, Ch. III, 164.
90. Obs. I. Verbs denoting the receiving or giving of information thus used mostly imply an appeal to the interlocutor either to confirm or to deny the information contained in the statement. This evidently, does not apply to the following quotation:



90
I grieve to teil you that / hear this morning your mamma is very ill. Dick.. C o p., Ch. IX, 61Ö.
II. There is also substitution of the present for the perfect in phrases preceding statements which give the views, sentiments, experiences, etc. of writers of an earlier day than the present.
Gibbon tells us in his history that [etc], Sweet, N. E. Gr., § 2228. Shakespeare says something about worms, or it may be giants or beetles, turning if you tread on them too severely. Kiplino, Plain Tal es, XX, 152.
Thus also in such a sentence as:
The subject is considered in a very able article in the English Review for June last year. Eng. Rev., No. 63, 387.
III. Mention may here also be made of the rather unusual phrase you say it expressing the speaker's concurrence in his interlocutor's exposition of a given case.
"a most desirable marriage; and if made, i suppose that would suffice to obtain your cousin's amnesty and grace." — "You say it." Lytton, My n o v e i, ii, ix, Ch. HL 88.
91. In lively narrative the present is sometimes used in describing happenings of the past. This is the so-called historical present, or praesens historicum of grammarians. The name is rather a misnomer, the purpose of this application of the present being to remove the relating of past events from the domain of history, and describe them as happening under the very eyes of the listener(s) with a view of imparting to the narrative the vividness of a drama enacted before them. The term dramatic present, which has been proposed by Jespersen (Tid og Tempus, V, 385), on a suggestion of Brugmann, seems, therefore, to be a more apposite appelation. In English, so far as appears from the printed documents of the language, the historical or dramatic present is not particularly frequent, but it by no means follows that it is more or less foreign to the genius of the language, and that foreign influences should be at work when it appears in print. It is, indeed, highly probable that it is not peculiar to any particular language or group of languages, but is common to all human speech. The dearth of instances in the documents of certain periods of English literature does not prove that this device of lively description was little practised by the English of those days, but rather that the writers, wishing to preserve a literary character for their compositions, did not wish to use a form of speech which was in especial favour with the common people. See especially Jespersen, Tid og Tempus, V, 385; but compare Einenkel, Syntax, § 7; Sweet, n. E. Gr, § 2228; Wilmanns, Deutsche Gram, III, I, §96;



91
Deutschbein, System, § 53, 2. In Middle Dutch the historical present appears to have been quite common. See Stoett, Middelned. Spraakk.2, § 244.
At tast we shuttle along the crowded platform, board the packed train. The worst is over; panting and radiant, with haunting radiance of sighttess eyes, she sinks into the seat; the rain swishes against the carriage Windows; she heeds it not as silentty, with folded hands, she nears El-Dorado. Westm. Gaz, No. 8557, 106.
Obs. I. Writers sometimes fall rather abruptly into the historical present.
And Fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, | Show'd like a rebei's whore: but alts too weak. Shak, M a c b., i, 2, 15.
So from that spring whence comfort seem'd to come, | Discomfort swells. ib, I, 2, 28.
Nor is the historical present always regularly sustained in the recounting of a succession of events making up a dramatic whole, the historical style being often resumed in the middle of a narrative without any apparent reason.
The shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort, | Who Pyramus presented, in their sport | Forsook his scène and enter'd in a brake: | When i did him at this advantage take, | An ass's nole i fixed on his head: | Anon his Thisbe must be answered, | And forth my mimic comes. When they him spy, | As wild geese... I Sever themselves and madly sweep the sky, | So at this sight, away his feilows fly; | And at our stamp, here o'er and o'er one falls; | He murder cries and help from Athens calls. | Their sense thus weak, lost with their fears thus strong, | Made senseless things begin to do them wrong; | For briers and thorns at their apparel snatch; | Somesleeves, some hats, from yielders all things catch. i 1 led them on in this distracted tear, | And left sweet Pyramus translated there: | When in that moment, so it came to pass, | Titania waked and straightway loved an ass. Shak, M i d s, iii, 2, 13 - 34.
i woke — Where was i? — Do i see | A human face look down onme? | And doth a roof above me close? | Do these limbs on a couch repose? | Is this a chamber where i lie? | And is it mortal yon bright eye, | That watches me with gentle glance? I i closed my own again once more, | As doubtful that the former trance | Could not as yet be o'er. Byron, Mazeppa, xi.
On the distant hills came Cromwell; 1 Bessie sees him, andherbrow, | Full of hope and full of gladness, I Has no anxious traces now. | At his feet she tells her story, | Shows her hands all bruised and torn; I And her face, so sweet and pleading, | Yet with sorrow pale and worn, | Touched his heart with sudden pity, | Lit his eye with misty light: | "Go! your lover lives", said Cromwell; | "Curfew shall not ring to-night." Rose Hartwick Thorpe, Curfew must not ring to-night, ix.
Special mention may be made of the practice, frequent in colloquial and vulgar language, of using says I and says he, instead of said I or said he, in appended and parenthetic sentences accompanying quotations.
Here Mr. Brough was so affected that he actually burst into tears, and .1 confess i saw in its true light the negligence of which i had been guilty.



102
The King, attended by the hon. John Ward, visited to-day King Edward VII Hospital. ib.
In the Reichslag to-day the debate on the Army Bill was continued.
The eviction proceedings at Glenbeigh were suspended to-day in consequence
of the severity of the weather.
In the following quotation the perfect states a fact which is not part of the day's happenings.
Lady Iddlesleigh bore the journey fairly well, and favourable reports of her health have come from Upton Pynes this evening. The floral wreaths and crosses which were received in Exeter to-day were so numerous that they filled a large omnibus. Daily News.
103. Phrases containing the preposition within, such as within the last few weeks, years, etc, necessarily include the moment of speaking and, accordingly, cause de predicate to be placed in the perfect.
President Wilson's administration has within the last few weeks been overwhelmed with discredit. Rev. of Rev, No. 360, 369a. Liberals... can refer back with confidence to what has been achieved in South Africa within our own time. Westm. Gaz, No. 8263, 2a.
104. Also such adjuncts. as before, formerly, in former times, in the past, in past times, previously, etc, which cover the entire past, normally cause the predicate to be placed in the perfect fense.
i. You are an older hand at this than I thought you, Tupman, you have been out before. Dick, Pickw., Ch. XIX, 166.
Your voice betraysyou. We Aave met before. Lytton, Ken. Chil, I, 75. T. The work is not new to London, but it has only been given once before. 11. L o n d. N e w s, No. 3857, 3826.
Among the floral tributes sent was a wreath of true Greek laurel from Mr. G. F. Watts, R. A, with this message from Mrs. Watts, "It comes from our garden, and has been cut before three times only — For Tennyson, Leighton and Burne-Jones." Ruskin's Funeral (Acad, 1900, 27 Jan, 75).
ii. They are made to see the necessity of employing the rest of their lives in repairing the injuries they have formerly done to society. More, Utopia, 71. I've seen many a gentleman drunk formerly. Thack, Pend.
iii. Some worship such men as have been eminent in former times for virtue. More, Utopia, 149.
It was one of those epidemie frenzies which have fallen upon great cities in former ages of the world. Hall Caine, The Christian, II, 205. T. In fact we have given up the idea, which has been prevalent in former days, that a woman is an outlander by predestination. Daily News, 1907, 9 March. This is not the way in which great questions of finance have been dealt with in former times. Sir W. Harcourt, Speech.
iv. If it (sc spelling reform) were prescribed with never so much care, it would soon be deviated from in the future just as it Aas been in the past. Skeat. Not. and Quer, 1904, 17. Dec.
You will always do your duty as your predecessors Aai* done in the past. Daily News, 1899, 11 Nov.
v. I have in times past more than once taken my political life in my handsDa i I y T e 1, 1903, 8 Sept.



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In times past we have ignored our colonies. ib.
She does not attend the theatre, but has been seen at the opera occasionally in bygone years. Daily News, 1906, 17 Aug. vi An anabaptist is one who baptizes over again, whether frequently as a point of ritual, or once as a due performance of what has been ineffectually performed previously. Murray, s. v. anabaptist.
No te a) Even when may indicate a length of timeextending to the moment of speaking and, accordingly, be connected with a perfect. «I didn't ever think you would care to come, my little Humphrey." — "Oh I but I often should, though, only I knew you would rather have him." — "Oh! hush! hush! when have you wanted to come?" Flor. Monto, M i sunderstood, 257. T. 0) When the predicate modified by any of the above adjuncts is placed in the preterite, this is owing to its being also attended by other temporal modifiers, e. g. ever or never (105).
i. So you were never in London before. Dick, q r e a t E x p e c t., Ch. XXI, 203. The story is marred by some unliterary sentences as*: I nevér heard it before. L i t. World, 1901, 18 Oct.
ii. I have never before met any one quite like her. Beatr. Har, The Fowler, I, Ch. IV, 23.
The plea of "agricultural depression", usually very frequently urged, was not put forward in a single instance, perhaps because in the past it has never been favoürably received. Daily News, 1897, 13 Nov.
105. Also always, ever and never may denote a length of time beginning at some indefinite moment in the past and extending to the moment of speaking, and the normal tense to be used in connexion with these adverbs, when used in this application, would, accordingly, be the perfect. There is, however, a distinct tendency to use the preterite instead. i* The subject of this work has always appeared to us singularly interesting. Mac, Popes, (542a).
We have always thought it strange that, while the history of the Spamsn empire in America is familiarly known to all the nations of Europe, the great actions of our countrymen in the East should, even among ourseives, excite little interest, id, Clive, (497a).
I hate apologizing. I always have. Mrs. Ward, Cousin Philip, Ch. IX, 143. I love him, I think I have always loved him. Nat. Qould, The Lady Trainer, Ch. XXVII, 113. ** I was always of a communicative disposition. Sher, School for Scand., III, 3, (401).
The Esmonds were always of a jealous disposition. Thack, Virg, Ch.V,46. "Your dear father used to say so (sc. that I had such pretty feet) thirty yéars ago" - "And I say so, still: you always were beautiful: you are beautiful now." Kinosley, Westw. Ho!, Ch. Dl, 2\b.
I was always naughty to you, mamma. G. Eliot, Dan. Der., III, VIII,
Ch. LXIV, 324.
Always is understood in:
As some men gaze with admiration at the colours of a tulip, or the wing of a butterfly, so I was by nature an admirer of happy human faces. Ooldsmith, V i c a r, Ch. I.



104
ii.* Have you ever known what it is to be troubled in mind? Mrs. Ward, Rob. Els m., II, 215. T.
No, Sir, I do not know you, and I don't think we have ever met. Buchanan,
F a t h e r A n t h o n y, Ch. II. ** " Peggotty", says I suddenly, "were you ever married T Dick. , C o p., Ch. II, 8b.
Did you ever buy a sheet of letter-paper? ib, Ch. V, 35a.
I think it is one of the most deligbtful things that ever was written. El.
Olyn, R e f 1. of A m b r o s, II, Ch. XIII, 253. Til.* Pve never been able to have you a minute to myself. Miss Burney
E v e 1 i n a, LXIX, 337.
Has he never written you any poems? Thack, P e n d, I, Ch. XXIV, 256. He who has loved often has loveH never. Lytton, Pomp, I, Ch. II, 12a. You know we have it from her own lips... that she has never, first or last, breathed such a thing to him. Hardy, Under the Greenwood Tree, II, Ch. III, 96.
Violet and Mary have never heard a word from either of us. H. J. Byron, Our Boys, III, (69).
I have neyer written you any letters. Osc. Wilde, The Importance of being Earnest, II, 105.
I have never spoken better in my life. Shaw, Candida, III, (173). T. ** I never spoke to her in my life, and most probably never shail. Mrs. Craik, John Hal, Ch. XI, 115. I was never there. ib, Ch. XII, 121.
You never crossed our door-sill since we returned home. ib, Ch.XVI, 153. "Our governors are up in town, I'll swear". — "Mine never missed the show for forty years." H. J. Byron, Our Boys, III, (67). I never was the man to turn good money from his door. Moore, E s t h. Wat, Ch. XIII, 80,
He was never rich in this world's goods. Acad.
The relations between the Kaiser and the Tsar were never more cordial than they are at present. Rev. of Rev., No. 190, 338a.
Note a) Looking at the quotations with always one is tempted to snrmise that the perfect is in especiai favour with verbal, the preterite with nominal predicates. p) Ever, when used (archaically) in the sense of always, apparently causes the predicate to be placed in the preterite almost regularly.
i. My sight was ever thick. Shak, Jul. Caes, V, 3, 22.
1 was ever of opinion that the honest man who married and brought up a large family, did more service than he who continued single, and only talked of population. Goldsmith, V i c, Ch. I.
The Lynwoods were everthriftless. Marj. Bowen, The Rake's Progress, I, Ch. I, 2.
ii. Yet I have ever hoped you would amend. Shelley, The Cenci, I, 1, 55.
y) The following quotation clearly shows that the tense may be affected by ever.
But I think on the whole that no man ever impressed me quite so much as I have been impressed over and over again by Mr. Gladstone. McCarthy, (Daily News, 1898, 21 May).
106. a) The point of time denoted by just is understood to be so near the moment of speaking that it does not separate the



105
action or state appreciably from the present. Hence it requires the predicate to be placed in the perfect tense. I have just seen him pass. C o n c. O x f. D i c t.
Mts. Long has just been here. Jane Austen, Pride and Prej, Ch. I, 1. Mr. T. Heath Joyce, who Aas just quitted the post of editor of "The Graphic ", can look back on a long and most honourable career as a London journalist. Daily News.
b) Conversely the space intervening between the time indicated by just now, but now and even now, and the moment of speaking is feit to be long enough to justify the use of the preterite. Usage is, however, more or less variable. Under just now Murray gives two quotations with the preterite, one with the perfect.
i. When I have slain thee with my proper hand, | I'll follow those that even now fled hence. Shak., Cymb., IV, 2, 98.
i was with her just now when I met you. Hichens, The Fruitful Vine, Ch. D, 22.
ii. i have seen him but now on his way to the Hotel de Ville, a prisoner. Dick., a Tale of Two Cities, ii, Ch. xxii, 250.
Esther, my dear, this is Mr. Holt, whose acquaintance I Aave even now been making with more than ordinary interest. G. Eliot, Fel. Holt, i, Ch. V,99.
107. It is sometimes stated that the use of the preterite, as distinct from the perfect, may also depend upon whether the reference is to a deceased or a living person. Thus Nesbit (Use of the Tenses, E. S, XXXI, 384/) observes that we ought to say Schiller wrote many books, but Mommsen has written many books (This, of course, before the great historian died). It seems doubtful whether this principle has anything to do with the subject in hand. It is certainly defeated by a comparison with two sentences given by Lindley Murray (E n g. Gram, 74) to illustrate the use of the two tenses, viz.: Cicero wrote poems and Cicero has written orations. His argument is that the perfect in the second sentence is justified on the strength of the fact that the orations are still extant, while the preterite should be used in the first because the poems have not come down to us. In the light of this reasoning it is difficult to see why such a sentence as Schiller has written many books would be at variance with English idiom. Also Bradley's theory, so far as may be inferred from the two following sentences by which he illustrates the distinctive application of the two tenses, seems to be open to question. In his highly interesting book, The Making of English (Ch. II, 67, footnote) he remarks that "it is allowable to say Aristotle has treated this subject in his Ethics, just as we say Aristotle says so and so, but we cannot say Aristotle has written the Ethics." From this it follows that the writer would



113
"I came," said she, "on chance. Aren't you glad to see me?" Temple Thurston, The City of Beaut. Nons, 140. I came purposely to-day, in the hope that you might by chance be here. Gissing, A L i f e's M o r n i n g, Ch. XXII, 315. ii. I come here torestoreaparenthlschild. Dick., Nich. Nick, Ch.XLV,2956. Anyhow, I come here, not to rake up hold differences. Shaw, Candida, I, (123). T.
I come to you on very unpleasant business. J. A. Stewart, Quiksands. •I am here," he said, after two or three false starts, "without my brother's knowledge. This is a private and unofficial vislt. I come to advise [etc.]". Walt. Besant, The Ivory Gate, II, Ch. XIX, 31. III. / have come to bring you home, dear brother! Dick, Christm. Car, II, 34. That's the reason why 1've come. G. Eliot, Scènes, II, Ch, II, 88. You've come to fetch me, Amos? Pinero, The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith, III.
1've come to keep you company. Shaw, Candida, I, (149).
As a fourth variety of expression we also find to be come, which
is hardly distinguished from to have come. See, however, 15.
i. I am come with Mr. Athel's leave. Gissing, A Life's Morning, Ch. XXIV, 330.
ii. I have come, in fact, to put Mr. Athel at ease in his mind. ib.
117. It is interesting to observe the change of tense sometimes met with in a consecutive discourse.
Rose. But where can Catherine be? She went out directly alter lunch. Aones. She has gone out to see that youth who hurt his back at the Tysons.., and she went out with a basket that looked like beef-tea. Mrs, Ward, Rob. E1 sm, I, 15.!) (Unlike the two preterites, the perfect is not associated with a particular point of time, but states the result, 1. e. the absence, of the past action of going out.)
It is a beautiful place. Your papa has often told me about it. He loved it very much; and you will love it too. MIssBurnett, Little Lord. Ch. IV. (The perfect is distinctly suggestive of present results: I am acquainted with the beauty of the place. The preterite distinctly suggests a point of time in the past separated by a space of time from the moment of speaking: in his lifetime.)
Oh, 1've been so miserable all the evening, because I was doing right. Now I'm doing wrong; and I'm happy. Shaw, Candida, III, (172). T. (The 'doing right' is a thing that the speaker has done with, but its consequences still make themselves lelt in his spirits.)
Phyllis tells me that they (sc. she and her friends) found their seats without difficulty and that she has seldom enjoyed a procession more. Punch, 1902, 12 Nov. (The perfect is justilied by the verb being modified by seldom, which covers a length of time extending to the moment of speaking.)
The following quotations exhibiting a similar change of tense may be given without comment:
I have grown fonder and fonder of him all the time I was away. Shaw, Candida, II, (161). T.
She has been married and had two chlldren. Hichens, The Fruitful Vine, Ch. II, 22.
i) Caro, Anglia, XXI, 63.
8



114
Every one who has been to school and still remembers what he was taught there knows that RUgen is the biggest island Germany possesses.!). Boswell, Sir Thomas Lawrence and many other famous men have lodged in that Street (sc. Bondstreet). I called at the house in which Laurence Sterne died, but they told me they did not know the name. A. E. C, S tori es of London (Daily News, 1903, 27 April.)
118. Sometimes the tense is evidently influenced by the exigencies of metre or rhythm.
And when there came a pause | Of silence such as baffled his best skill; | Then sometimes in that silence, white he hung | Listening, a gentle shock of mild surprise | Has carried far into his heart the voice | Of mountain torrents. Wordsworth, There was a boy, 20. (The perfect would be unwarranted in ordinary prose.)
East and west and south and north | The messengers ride fast, | And tower and town and cottage | Have heard the trurapefs blast. Mac, Lays, Hor, II. (The historical present of the first verb might also have been used of the second).
For what am I? what profits me my name i Of greatest knlght? I f ought for it, and have it. Ten, Lanc. and El, 1403. (The sense seems to require the perfect have f ought: contraction of / have into 1've would, however, have saved the metre.)
The Perfect compared with the Present.
119. Also in representing an action or state as continuing from a moment in the past up to and, implicitly, beyond the moment of speaking (9), English occupies a unique position in the West-European languages, inasmuch as in this case it mostly places the predicate in the perfect tense, the latter more or less regularly employirrg the present. Thus / have known him for two years corresponds to the French Je le connais depuis deux ans, to the German Ich kenne ihn seit zwei Jahren, and to the Dutch Ik ken hem al twee jaar. The same -practice is observed when the reference is to a momentaneous action which is constantly repeated during such a space of time. Thus in / have met him daily for the last two years.
The following quotation clearly exhibits the function of the perfect, as compared with that of the present:
Our men are bearing and have for weeks past been bearing the chief part of the brunt of the struggle with Germany. Westm. Gaz, No. 7583, 2a. (Compare with this the Dutch practice, as exhibited in: In Londen staat een huis. Het staat er reeds eenigen tijd, eenige maandenAlgemeen Handelsblad, No. 30243, 2»)
The reason why in English the perfect is chosen, in preference to the present mostly used in Dutch and other European
i) Kruis, Handb.s, § 97.



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languages, is that the English mind, as distinguished from that of other West-European speakers, has, in the case here described, a distinct leaning to mark off a distinct period, terminating in the moment of speaking, in the action or state; this leaning being stronger than that of viewing that action or state as continuous or uninterrupted, which prevails in the Continental mind. A few quotations may suffice to illustrate the wellestablished English usage. For further examples see also Ch. XXXVI, 10.
i I have been up this hour. Shak, Jul. Caes, II, 1, 88.
I am afraid you have been long desiring my absence, Jane Austen, Pride and Prej, Ch. XLVI, 271.
As to dinner being ready, its been ready this half hour. Dick, Domb., Ch. IV, 29.
Can we be attached to people whom we have known only a little while? Max Pemberton, Doet. Xavier, Ch. IX, 46a.
Wilfrid, how long I have loved you! I was quite a young girl when I loved you. Gissing, A Life's Morning, Ch. XX,286. (Observethe momentaneous character which the preterite loved has imparted to it by the context.) ii. I have not seen him these three years. Lytton, Night and Morn., 372. T. Not for a long time has a year of peace produced so few houses. Westm. Gaz, No. 8267, 2b.
120. Obs. I. The word(-group) denoting the length of time during which the action or state has continued, is sometimes, for emphasis, placed in a phrase opening with It is (or was).
It is now four years that I have meditated this work. Byron, Pref. to Mar. F a L, 351 (L o n d. E d.).
II. Adjuncts containing a demonstrative may also denote a similar space of time as this morning, at present, now, etc, and, accordingly, have the predicate they modify placed in the present.
I have to kill for two, these days. Rudy. Kipl, jungle Book, 3. T.
I can't work these days at all. Temple Thurston, The City of Beaut.
Nons, Hl, Ch. II. 229.
III. Occasionally we find the preterite taking the place of the perfect, owing, perhaps, to the speaker thinking of a space of time intervening between the termination of the action or state and the moment of speaking (95, Obs. I).
I saw him not these many years, and yet | I know 'tis he. Shak, C y m b., IV, 2, 66.
He was in France, I think, for these late years, so that I saw him not at Holyrood, Scott, Abbot, Ch. XXXIV, 383.
The use of the preterite may be due to the influence of never (105) in:
"Our governors are up in town, I'll swear." — "Mine never missed the show for forly years." H. J. Byron, Our Boys, III.
121. Although the perfect is by far the most common tense in which predicates as here described are placed in English, it must not



116
be supposed that the present is at all rarely met with. Nor must it be thought, as is sometimes done (Caro, Anglia, XXI, 58), that it is only in English of questionable purity that the present is used. Evidently some Englishmen, in not a few cases, have no pronounced tendency to consider the moment of speaking as a point marking off a distinct period in the action or state, any more than Dutchmen, Germans and Frenchmen. How does your honour for this many a day? Shak, Haml., UI 1, 91. Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy' commandment, and yet thou never gavest me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. B i b i e, L u k e, XV, 29. (Thus also in the Revised Edition of 1884.)
Nicholas Vedder! why he is dead and gone these eighteen years. Wash. Irv., Sketch-Bk, V.
Our government is crushed under Frederick's heel these five years. Thack, Barry Lyndon, Ch. VI, 92.
Don't I know Vienna... all these years? Aon. and Eo. Castle, Panther's C u b, I, Ch. VII, 77.
Now that you are back in England nearly Six months... I rather wanted to hear from your own lips that the policy of Jelfs.., will be sustained as heretofore. Vachell, J e 1 f's, I, (15).
Trafford's dead these twenty years. L. C. Davjdson, The Scapegrace. 122. d) Sometimes the predicate, although primarily expressing an event happening at a moment of the past indicated by an adverbial adjunct or clause, is really intended to describe a subsequent state continuing from that moment to the moment of speaking. In this case the perfect appears to be the ordinary tense in English also. Thus in The birds have deserted them (sc. the nests) a tong while (Dick, Cop., Ch. I, 4a) the predicate first of all states the happening of an event a long while ago, i. e. the desertion of the birds, but at the same time is chiefly meant to describe the state of desolation following upon this desertion, which has lasted from that deplorable event to the moment of speaking. In other words the context imparts a durative character to a predicate formed by an originally momentaneous verb. See also my paper on the Characters of the English verb, § 22.
It should, furthermore, be observed that in the case here referred to, 1) the adjunct of time by which the predicate is attended expresses; a) the starting-point of the state, as is, for example, done by such an
adjunct as long ago (or since), or some other combination with
ago (or since);
S) the duration of the state, as is, for example, done by such a wordgroup as these five years, or a similar combination with a demonstrative pronoun;
r) both the starting-point of the state and its duration, as is, for example done, by such word-groups as long, a long while, many



117
years, etc. which, indeed, primarily indicate a length of time, but, as they admit of being supplemented by ago (or since), are meant also to denote its starting-point.
the nature of the predicate is often hard to distinguish from that of the predicate described in 100, especially when it is modified by an adjunct containing ago (or since). Indeed such a sentehce as The ship hassaileda week ago (El. Glyn, Reflect. of Ambrosine, III, Ch. I, 275) may be understood to stand not only for the Dutch Het schip is een week geleden uitgezeild, but also for Het schip is al een week onder zeil. * "I have heard that your father left behind him a great quantity of massy
plate." — "O Lud! thats gone long ago.' öher., acnooi ior ai<tuu., III, 3, (401).
Our liltle party differences have been long ago composed. Burke, Works, I, 406.
Men of letters there still be: but I doubt whether any pipe-officers are left. The public has smoked them long ago. Thack, Eng. Hum., Con gr. and Ad, 57. T.
My mind has been made up about that a long while ago. G. Eliot, Fel. Holt, I, Ch. V, 93.
Every short vowel which ended a word of more than one syllable in Old English has long ago dropped off. Bradley, The Making of Eng, Ch. II, 23. And playing the fooi with Alf!... You always were... I wonderAlf'snever seen it long ago: Frank Swinnerton, Nocturne, I, Ch. III, III. 82. He hath gone home long ago. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, Ch. XXXVIII, 231. We have long ago given up the idea of exploiting them (sc. our Colonies) for our own exclusive benefit. Westm. Gaz., No. 5219, lift. It hath been long since observed that you may know a man by his companions. Fieldino, Tom Jones, II, Ch. VI, 24a.
I have found him ouf a long time since. Sher, School for Sc and., I, 1, (304).
All has long sincevanished. Sam. Butler, The Way of all Flesh, Ch.l, 3. The Lamarckian hypothesis has long since been justly condemned. Huxley, Darwinlana, Ch 1, 12. * I have forsworn and abjured the whole business these many years. Dick, BI eak House, Ch. LXII, 517.
She has departed these two days. Lytton, R i e n z i, VI, Ch. 249.
The Senator's lady, and all his train, have gone forth to meet him these two
hours. ib, IX, Ch. I, 308.
Vve given up skating these many years. Lloyd, Nortri, Eng, 114.
All the hours you have left me lonely, I have been thinking like this. Beatr.
Har.. Shi ps, Ch. XIII.
The roses of these cheeks have beengathered many years. Conoreve, Love f o r L o v e, IB, 4, (257).
I have long been wanted to beware of this place. Scott, Talisman, Ch. III.
Haven't our papas seft/edit ever so long? Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XIII, 131. It (sc. the Insurance Company) has been set up only four years. id, Sam. Titm., Ch. VII, 80.
His name, well-known, near a century ago, in the most splendid circles of London, has long been forgotten. Mac, Mad. d'Arblay, (705a). I declare to you on the faith of a gentleman that I have long dismissed it from my mind. Dick, A Tale of Two Cities, II, Ch. XX, 235.



118
The sun Aas set* a long time. Miss Mitford, Our Vil lage, Ch. VI, 55. Many of these words Aave long taken their place in the popular vocabulary.' Bradley, The Making of Eng., Ch. III, 101.
He's only left Oxford a few months. Osc. Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan, I, (233).
"Weren't you here when he was speaking?" — "No — 1've not long come in." Mrs. Ward, The C o r y s t o n Family, I, Ch. I, 10. He Aas only arrived back from the war about a week. Em. Qlyn, R e f 1. ofAmbrosine, II, Ch. XI, 226.
That tea Aas been made half an hour at least. Flor. Barclay, The Rosary, Ch. IV, 22.
b) Conversely a durative predicate is sometimes blended with a momentaneous predicate. Thus such a sentence as The war has long since been over may be understood to be contracted from The war has long been over and The war came to a conclusion long since (or ago). Constructions of this kind are, however, distinctly uncommon,"being, apparently, confined to durative predicates modified by long since.
Beauties that have been long since in their graves. Addison, Speet, No. 260Their famous captain hath long since been dead. Besant, The World went very well then, Ch. I, 9.
The following is a doubtful instance:
The standards they apply to-day Aave been hopelessly impracticable fifteen years ago. Pa 11 Mali Mag, 1901, Jan.
Although in the following quotation the durative predicate is modified by long (not long since), the use of home instead of at home seems td imply that the speaker had also a momentaneous predicate, Did the others get home long ago, in his mind.
Have the others been home long? Mrs. Ward, Sir George Tres, 1, Ch I, 4b.
123. Obs. I. Predicates of the above mixed nature, apparently only such as are made up of the copula to be and a (participial) adjective, are not unfrequently placed in the present tense when modified by an adjunct of time containing ago or since, or suggesting either of these adverbs.
i. That large decayed oak... marks the boundaries over which Front-de-Bceuf claims authority — we are long since far from those of Malvoisin. Scott, I van hoe, Ch. VI, 60. T.
Our lots are shaped for us, and mine is ordained long ago. Thack, Pend., II, Ch. XVI, 175.
One of these, who afterwards rose to some distinction in America, and is long since dead, wrote a poem about the time when the Young Ireland movement was at its height. McCarthy, Hist. of our own Times,
II, 22. T.
"I think I'll go out and take a walk in the park." — "Nonsense, ifs shut long ago." Shaw, Candida, III, (171). T.



119
Long since the tave that fired my 4>reast kt dead. Punch, 1901, 10 April. This is long since a matter of history. Acad, 1899, 21 Oct. ii. The unhappiness of those days is long forgiven. Thack, Henry Esm, I, Ch. III, 19.
Doubtless the invalid mother is long at rest. Mrs. Craik, Dom. Stor., IX, Ch. VI, 267.
Pm not very longretired. MaudDiver, Desmond's Daughter, I, Ch. 11,9. II. In the language of history or narrative it is the preterite, and not the pluperfect, which appears to be normal tense of predicates modified by long since (or ago) which denote a state of things continuing up to a moment in the past.
The Colonel of the — regiment... was an old General who had made his first campaign under Wolfe at Quebec, and was long since quite too old and feeble for command. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XXIV, 251. William's sally had quite broken and cast her down. Her assault was long since over and beaten back. ib, II, Ch. XXXI, 354.
124. Of some special interest'is the use of the perfect, occasionally varying with either the present or the preterite tense, in predicates which are modified by certain adverbial adjuncts or clauses denoting a length of time measured either forward from a starting-point, or backward from a finishing-point, i. e.
a) such as contain the preposition from (or of), or the adverb, preposition or conjunction since;
b) such as contain the preposition to or till.
Momentaneous verbs naturally assume a durative or iterative character when used in the perfect in connection with any of these adjuncts or clauses.
125. When the predicate is modified by a word-group containing the preposition from, its normal tense is, naturally, the perfect, the present appearing as an occasional variant.
From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures. Bible, Tim, II, III, 15. From the first you have said we are in the wrong. Buchanan, That Winter Night, Ch. I, 4.
Marjory has been my enemy from the first. Mrs. Alex, A Life Int, I, Ch. IV, 76. T.
From my earllest infancy I have been a martyr to it (sc. a general disinclination to work). Jerome, Three Men in aBoat, Ch. I, 6. The Tennysons have been settled in Hol derness from a very early period. B oo k m an.
ii. Take me out of these streets, where the whole town knows me from a child. Dick, Cop, Ch. XXII, 1686. .
126. Obs. I. Also some phrases with of, in which this preposition has its old value of from, may cause the predicate to be placed in the perfect or present tense. This applies to of late, of late years, of recent times (years, days, etc.) For illustration see 111 en 115. But the force of the preposition to denote the starting-point of an action or state is considerably weakened in these phrases, with the result that it is feit as a variant of during (for) or in. Thus of recent



120
years and in recent years seem to be used with equal frequency (115); in late years is an occasional variant of of late years; of later days and of latter years , used respectively by Thackeray and Trollope, are now exceedingly rare, having been superseded by in these later (latter or last) days (or years). For illustration see Ch. XXX, 11. For these late years is used by Scott. He was in France for these late years. Abbot, Ch. XXXIV, 383. Of old is now mostly used in the sense of long ago, so that we now even meet with from of old.
i. Old tales I heard of woe or mirth... I Of patriot battles, won of old | By Wallace wight and Bruce the Bold. Scott, Marm, III, Introd., 196.
For Romans in Rome's quarrels | Spared neither land nor gold, | Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, | In the brave days of old. Mac, Hor., XXXI.
ii. From of old they had been zealous worshippers. Carlyle, On Heroes, II, 45.
Here follow some quotations in. which the predicate, either in the perfect or the present, is modified by a phrase containing the preposition of.
i. I must own that of late days I have found this a limited source of information. Scott, Old Mort, Ch. I, 21
ii. You always end with a jade's trick; I know you of old. Shak, Much ado, I, 1, 146.
In this light I have always regarded the biographers who have recorded the actions of great and worthy persons of both sexes; not to mention those ancient writers, which, of late days, are little read. Fieldino, Jos. Andrews,
I, Ch. I, 1.
II. Through the influence of ever or never the perfect sometimes gives way to the preterite.
Those be such desperate bloody-minded weaponsl Well, I never could abide 'em — from a child I never could fancy 'em. Sher, R i v, IV, 1, (256).
III. The thought of a starting-point in from the first sometimes appears to be dimmed, so that the phrase is but little distlnguished from at the first, at the outset, and may have the predicate it modifies in the preterite tense.
I am not worthy to jnarry you. I told you so from the first Flor. Mar, A Bankrupt Heart, II, 15. T.
From the first two facts were obvious to me. Con. Doyle, Sherl. Holm.,
II, 180. T.
Similarly of a child in the following quotation has practically the value of when (or as) a child, i.e. the phrase is but dimly suggestive of a starting-point.
And me thought myself to be in the meantime, not only at home in my country, but also through the remembrance of the Cardinal in whose house I was brought up of a chiid, to wax a child again. Thomas More, Utopia, The First Book, 101. (Scott Library.)
IV. In the language of narrative or history in which the action or state is represented as continuing up to a point of time in the past, the pluperfect is the normal tense, the preterite appearing but occasionally.
i. From a child Surajah Dowlah had hated the English. Mac, Clive, (513a).



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She had been,.. of pale mealy complexion from her youth up. G. Eliot, Fel. Holt, 1, Ch. I, 37. ii. He was weak and sickly from his cradle. Green. 1).
How he fared Is fresh in our memories. Hls task was from the first hopeless. Froude, Oceana, Ch. III, 57.
127. In connection with the adverb since, as an adjunct denoting a length of time with a distinct starting-point continuing up to the moment of speaking, the perfect is the normal tense, but the present is by no means rare. The notion of uninterrupted continuance is often emphasized by the adverb ever.
i. You know since Pentecost the sum is due, | And since I have not much importun'd you. Shak, Com. of Er, IV, 1, 2.
The ground opened beneath the Prince's feet; he sunk into the chasm; and instantaneously it closed upon his head for ever, save where his hot tears welled up through the earth, and where they have continued to gush forth ever since. Dick, Pickw, Ch. XXXVI, 335.
Then it was that the great English people was formed, that the national character began to exhibit those peculiarities which it has ever since retained. Mac, Hist, I, Ch. I, 16.
It was... called first 'mobile vulgus", but feil naturally into the contraction of one syliable, and ever since is become proper English. Trench, S t u d y of Word s, V, 220.
ii. The first creature of God, in the works of the days, was the light of the sense: the last was the light of reason: and his sabbath work ever since, is the illumination of his Spirit. Bacon, Es, 1, Truth, 2.
I cannot abide the smell of hotmeatsince. Shak, Merry Wives, 1,1,297. That instant was 1 turn'd into a hart; | And my desires, like feil and cruel hounds, E'er since pursue me. id, Twetfth Night, I, I, 23.
128. Obs. I. The perfect is one of the first kind (8), when since has the value of at (or during) some (or any) time subsequently, afterwards, later on. The difference between this since and that referred to in 127 is aptly illustrated by a comparison of the two following sentences, drawn from the Concise Oxford Dictionary: The tree has since been cut down (since = at some time subsequently), and He has been healthy ever since (since = from that time to the present moment).
She saw him one morning at his own house, and has since dined in company with him tour times. Jane Austen, Pride and Prej, Ch. VI, 25. I have passed through the place since, and visited the church again, from a better motive than mere curiosity. Wash. Irv, Sketch-Bk, XXX, 330. It has since been settled that M. is a Dutchman. Academy, 1902, 22 Feb. One soldier has since died, and others are in danger. Westm. Gaz, No. 5077, 2b.
The French General has since made a public speech, in which he suggests that the Allies can now accept the 'fait accompli' without loss of dignity. ib, No. 8691, ib.
There is no difficulty in recognizing this meaning of since when the predicate denotes a single act in the past, as in the above
>) Foelsino-Koch, Wis. Gram, § 361.



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He sleeps since thirty years. Thack, F our Georges, IV, 88. T. My good father is dead since many years. id, N e w c, I, Ch. III, 31. 'He is a Frenchman" — "But a Protestant — and since many years in our service." Marj. Bowen, I will maintain, II, Ch. V, 226.
IV. The perfect is one of the first kind (8) when since has the value of at some time subsequent to, after, the predicate being of a momentaneous character.
It is the first bit of writing that Kipling has signed since his illness, which can be described as verse. Rev. of Rev, 1502, Feb, 147a. Since seeing you I have heard [etc.]. C o n c. O x f. D i c t. Nothing whatever has been done since last week to bridge the gulf between the miners on the one hand and the owners and the Government on the other. Westm. Gaz., No. 8691, 2a. V. In the language of history or narrative the pluperfect normally takes the place of the perfect in predicates modified by adjuncts containing the preposition since, but the preterite is-also met with.
i. On the other hand England, which, since the battle of Hastings, had been ruled generally by wise statesmen, always by brave soidiers, feil under the dominion óf a trifler and a coward. Mac, Hist, I, Ch. I, 15.
ii. Since Amelia's introduction to the regiment, George began to be rather ashamed of some of the company to which he had been forced to present her. Thack., Van. Fair, I, Ch. XXVIII, 296. (Compare the preterjte with the subsequent pluperfect.)
131. In the case of the length of time with a definite starting-point being designated by an adverbial clause introduced by the conjunction since, the perfect, which is the normal tense, is rather frequently replaced by the present. In the clause itself the most natural tense would seem to be the preterite, the predicate being formed by a momentaneous verb; for example, in such a sentence as She has lived in this house since her husband died. But sentences of this type with the perfect of a durative (or iterative) predicate in the head-sentence and a momentaneous predicate in the temporal clause are not, apparently, more frequent th^n others in which either the tense or the character, or both, of the predicate in either the head-sentence or the clause, or both, are different from those in the above sentence. This being so, it follows that a great many cases might be distinguished, and the observant student interested in the subject would, consequently, have to arm himself with no common discernment and patience, if he would go through the whole range of possibilities. In the arrangement of the following material it is only the distinctions of tense that are paid regard to, the discussion of the modifications of character which many verbs are subject to in these connecti'ons having been amply discussed in my treatise The Characters of the English Verb.



125
In the temporal clause the tense is mostly either the preterite or the perfect, the present being rare.
Since may have two different values, viz.: «) from the moment that; thus before the preterite of a momentaneous predicate; P) during (or alt) the time that; thus before the perfect or present of a durative or iterative predicate. In its second value since differs but slightly from the conjunction while, from which it is distinguished only in insisting on the presence of a distinct starting-point. Thus in the following sentence while could be replaced by since without much change of meaning being involved:
I bope nothing disagreeable has happened while I have been away. O. Eliot, Middlemarch.
in the head-sentence a perfect, in the temporal clause a preterite, *) of a momentaneous predicate: Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, I have not slept. Shak., Jul. Caes, II, 1, 61. You haven't been here, I believe, sincel fitted up this room. Sher., School for Sc and, IV, 3, (412).
What a part of confidante has that poor teapot played, ever since the kindly plant was introduced among us ! Thack, P e n d., I, Ch. XXXII, 347. She has been standing on just the same spot at the edge of the water since I paused on the bridge. G. Eliot, M i 11, I, Ch. I, 2. Though I have worn it (sc. the ring) constantly since I quitted Greece, it has not made me altOgether fortunate at sea. id, R o m, I, Ch. IV, 37. You have been reading to me lor more than two hours — ever since James went out. Shaw, Candida, Hl (171). T.
Nobody Aas cared for you since your old nurse died. ib, III, (190). Ever since it (sc. the sensational announcement of a 6s. rise) was made, Sir Auckland Aas been kept on the defensive. Westm. Gaz, No. 8245, 2a. of a durative verb: I Aave learned to be dangerous upon points of honour since I served the Spaniard. Scott, Keniiw, Ch. 1,17. (a Wending of: since I began to serve the Spaniard, and: during the time I have served the Spaniard.)
You Aave noticed this in Frank since he ivas here. Lytton, My No vel,
II, VIII, Ch. X 58. (a blending of: since he came here on a visit, and: during the time of his being here.)
Since I was a ripe man I Aave been what I am now. G.Eliot, Dan. Der,
III, VIII, Ch. LX, 274.
He and I Aave been close friends for a very long time, indeed since we were children. Gissing, A Li fe's Morning, Ch. XXIV, 330. a perfect in both the head-sentence and the temporal clause, in the latter «) a durative or iterative predicate: i cannot say that he Aas once broken my rest since we Aave been married. Conoreve, Love for Love, III, 4, (257).
My brain Aas been at fault, Tressillan, almost ever since thou Aasf been away. Scott, Keniiw., Ch. XII, 144.
There Aave not been any (sc. rooks) since we Aave ftVedhere. Dick, Cop, Ch. I, 4a.
I Aave never feit so strong physically as since I Aave lived in the sand. Hichens, The Gard en of Allah, II, IV, Ch. XXIV, 183. T.



126
a momentaneous predicate: The disagreement subsisting between yourself and my late honoured father always gave me much uneasiness, and since I have had the misfortune to lose him, I have frequently wished to heal the breach. Jane Austen, Pride and Prej, Ch. XIII, 65.
a perfect in the head-sentence, a present in the temporal clause: Since Tm married... I give you my honour /'venot/oucAerfabitofstamped paper. Thack., Van. Fai r, I, Ch. XXX, 318.
I suppose a woman is never in love with any one she has always known ever since she can remember. G. Eliot, M i d, I, 32. (Thus, apparently, regularly in predicates containing can.)
Ever since I can remember, the Irish have deafened the world by appeals to history. Academy, 1901, 2 Nov., 4136.
in the head-sentence a present, in the temporal clause <*) a preterite: Thy face is valanced since i saw thee last. Shak, Haml, II, 2,450. is Sir Hugh then worse since / went away, Will? Scott, Keniiw., Ch. XII, 140. •
Since Miss C. was took UI, she won't have nobody near her but Miss Sharp. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XIV, 138.
It is dull in our town since my playmates left. Browning, P i e d P i p e r. The ouse aint worth livin in since you left it Shaw, Candida, i, (130). T. a perfect: Georgy's house is not a very lively one since uncle Jos's annuity has been withdrawn. Thack, Van. Fair, II, Ch. XV, 152. Since he's been home, they say he's a regular Don Giovanni, by Jove. ib, i, Ch. xiii, 122.
Are you afraid of walking by yourself since you have been frightened by the conjuror? G. Eliot, Rom, I, Ch. X, 91.
a present in both the head-sentence and the temporal clause. Instances appear to be very rare. The following, cited by Fijn van Draat (The Conjunction Since, E.S, XXXII, 111), is the only one that has come to hand:
How often do I wish, since I am absent from you, that i was under the protection of Mrs. Mirvan. Miss Burney, Evelina, 339-.
Obs. I. The tense is naturally the present in the head-sentence which merely states the length of time that has elapsed since the event mentioned in the temporal clause. In the latter the predicate is mostly placed in the preterite sometimes in the perfect. It often undergoes a change of character.
It is ten hours since I had anything to eat. Thack, Pend, II, Ch. IX, 109. But since I heard him make reply | is many a weary hour. Ten, The Talking Oak, VII.
It is four years since you were here. Gissing, ALife's Morning, Ch. xv, 220. It's a long while since I have been at home. Jane Austen, Sense and Sens., 142. T.
It is some time since i have known that he is not in earnest. Thack, Newc. It is positively more than eight weeks since I have exchanged a word with any one. Beatr. Har, The Fowler, I, Ch. iv.
It is a long time since so many varied costumes have been seen. Times. Note a) The conjunction that often takes the place of since in these clauses.



131
due to the fact that the mention of some event is the result of an afterthought, or is regarded necessary to explain some fact mentioned in the preceding members. Thus in the above sequence the event mentioned in the second place might be mentioned in the fourth place, which would cause it to run as follows: My friend arrived last night; we went to the theatre afterwards; had a quiet little supper at a City restaurant. We had dined sumptuously at the Clarendon hotel. The following extract will be deemed sufficiënt to illustrate this practice:
The desert ran down almost to the banks, where among gray, red and black hillocks, a camel corps was encamped. No man dared, even for a day, lose touch of the slow-moving boats; there had been no fighting for weeks past; and throughout all that time the Nile had never spared them. Rapid had followed rapid, rock rock, and island group island group, till the rank and file had long since lost all count of direction and nearly of time. They were moving somewhere; they did not know why, to do something they did not know what. Rudy. Kiplino, The Light that failed, Ch. Ii, 18.
The use of the preterite where, in strict grammar, the pluperfect would be required is mostly feit as an incongruity. Thus in:
Away I went, as happy as a lark, with a couple of bran new suits from Von Stiltz's in my trunk (I had them made, looking forward to a certain event). Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. VIII, 89.
Miss S.'s own fortune was 70 1. a year, mine was 150 I, and when we had 300 1, we always vowed we would marry. ib, Ch. VI, 66.
A lengthy succession of clumsy pluperfects is, however, objectionable from the point of view of euphony. This may account for the use of the preterites, the first exceptèd, in: The Princess (sc. the Princess Alexandrina Victoria) was at this time (sc. at her accession) little more than eighteen years of age. The Duke of Kent died a few months after the birth of hls daughter, and the child was brought up under the care of his widow. She was well brought up: both asregards her intellect and her character — her training was excellent. She was taughi to be self-reliant, brave, and systematical. Prudence and economy, were inculcated on her as though she had been bom to be poor. McCarthy, Short HI s t, Ch. I, "2.
The prior event may be implied in an adverbial adjunct. Thus in the following quotation before breakfast may be understood to stand for before they sat down to breakfast:
As soon as Mr. Carnaby opened hls eyes, she (sc. Mrs. Carnaby) told him of her plans, and before breakfast they had settled the whole thing. Sweet, The P i c n i c.
140. When in a complex with a temporal clause the reference is to two actions or states, one of which has come to a conclusion before the other comes about, the predicate in the former is normally placed in one of the perfect tenses. This



134
When you grow a little older,... you will know better than to believe all the gossip you hear. Mrs. Ward, The Case of Rich. Meyn, II, Ch VII, 151.
Time for him to take another look at Candida before she grows out of his knowledge. Shaw, Candida, I, (118). T.
142. In the case of the concluded action or state being expressed by the head-sentence, substitution of the simple for the perfect tenses is less common
a) Thus we mostly find the perfect tenses retained when the head-sentence contains a negative or negative-implying adverbial adjunct, such as no sooner, barely, hardly, scarcely. Indeed predicates modified by any of these adverbs mostly denote an activity culminating in a result.
1. He had not read half-a-dozen pages, when the expression of his countenance .
began to change. Dick., Chuz., Ch. XXXVIII, 2986.
His lordship had no sooner dtsappeared behind the trees of the forest, but
lady Randolph begins to explain to her confidante the circumstances of
her early life. Thack., V i r g., Ch. LIX, 614. ii.» He had barely completed his surgical operation, when Tom's gardener-
coachman appeared. Habberton, Helen's Babi es, 45. ** Hardly had he done so, when the Boers came on in great numbers at a
furious gallop, II. Lond. News. • *** Randal had scarcely left the house, before Mrs. Riccabocca... rejoined her
husband. Lytton, My No vel, II, ix, Ch. XII, 121.
I had scarcely escaped from the warm clasp of her friendly hand, before I
was in the arms of my mother. id, Caxton s, I, Bi, Ch. I, 54.
b) Instances of the alternative practice are, however, far from unusual, the preterite being often used instead of the pluperfect when the predicate is of the nature described in 141.
Your brother and my sister no sooner met but they looked, no sooner looked but they loved, no sooner loved but they sighed, no sooner sighed but they asked one another the reason, no sooner knew the reason but they sought the remedy. Shak, Asyoulikeit, V, 2, 35—40. The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch, | But we will ship him hence. id, Haml, IV, 1, 30.
No sooner a captain comes to town, but ail the young fellows flock about him. Farquhar, TheRecruitingOf., III, 2, (293). No sooner did his business prosper, than he went down into the north, like a man, to a pretty girl whom he had left there, and whom he had promised to marry. Thack, N e w c, I, Ch. II, 16.
No sooner does one bring out a book of travels, or poems.., butthenval is in the field with something similar. id, P e n d, I, Ch. XXXI, 340.
143. o) It stands to reason that nominal predicates which 'per se'
express the result of the action to which the subject is sub•jected stand in the simple tenses. Thus As soon as the door had been opened, the crowd rushed into the hall corresponds to As soon as the door was open, the crowd rushed into the hall.



136
Rasselas gave her a hundred ounces of gold, which she presented to the Arab for the fifiy that were promised. Johnson, R a s., Ch. XXXIX, 231. How well she remembered the Inn Yard, and the ostler to whom she refused money, and the insinuating Cambridge lad who wrapped her in his coat on the journey! Thack, Van. Fair, II, Ch. VI, 61. Nor, indeed, did the Doctor's silver dish-covers, of which he was so proud,... come out of the plate-chest again for long, long years. id, Pend, 1, Ch. III, 39. (The reference is to a deceased person.) While England was thrilling with its triumph over the Armada, its Queen was... making her profit out of the spoiled provisions she had ordered for the fleet that saved her. Green, Short. Hist., Ch. VII, Sect. III, 376. He spoke about an anonymous denunciation, which reached the public prosecutor that morning. Bar. Orczy, I will repay, Ch. XIV.
c) adverbial clauses not expressing a relation of time.
i. The marker was put at the place where reading had ceased. Gissing, A Life's Mom, Ch. XV, 221.
ii. I found, after we had had a little conversation, that it was as Martha said, and that Miss Matty had no idea of the approaching household event. Mrs. Gask, Cranf., Ch. XV, 288.
The nation was not ungrateful. It heaped honours on Wellington; it would have heaped more on him if it knew how. McCarthy, Short Hist., Ch. X, 125.
Eyes followed her now as they followed her two hours ago. Max Pemberton, D o c t. X a v i e r, Ch. X, 52a.
145. a) When the time-sphere of such a sentence as It is ten hours
since (or that) I had (or have had) anything to eal (132, Obs. I) is shifted back to the past, the tense in the subordinate clause ought, in strict grammar, to be the pluperfect. Thus the above sentence would, in that case, run It was ten hours since (or that) I had had anything to eat. This practice has been observed in: • It was not three months ago since; wild with joyful expectation, she had there run backwards and forwards some ten times a-day. Jane Austen, N o r t h. A b b e y, Ch. XXIX, 229.
b) The principle, however, appears to the rather frequently disregarded, the preterite being used in place of the pluperfect.
Let's see, it was fifteen days ago, that we first met. Max Pemberton, Doet. Xavier, Ch. IX, 46.
It was forty years since I read the Winter's Tale. Rev. of. Rev, No. 202,359a.
146. a) In a narrative of a series of events the pluperfect should
be consistently used throughout, when the reference is to actions or circumstances that had already come to a conclusion at a time prior to a secondary dividing-point (3). This has been done in:
Amelia and the Major's wife had rushed down to him, when the latter Aad recognized him from the balcony. Thack, Van. Fair, 1, Ch. XXXII, 349. Wliilst she Aad been Hl, they Aad been busily at work on mattere social and educational and politica). Beatr. Har, S h i p s, 239. T,



137
He had called to-day to speak to him of a specially pressing case, and as he had walked up the avenue, he had, for two reasons, dreaded his visit more than usual. Miss Burnëtt, Little Lord, Ch. Vi, 107.
b) The correct practice, however, is far from being regularly observed. Almost every page of narrative prose or poetry affords instances of the writer quietly disregarding the principle, either from mere carelessness, or from a reluctance to be hampered by the ponderous pluperfect any longer than is necessary for the right understanding of the facts represented.
He had been deeply concerned in those dark and atrocious parts of the Whig plot which had been carefully concealed from the most respectable Whigs. Nor is it possible to plead, in extenuation of his guilt, that he was misled by inordinate zeal for the public good. Mac, Hist., II, Ch. V, 98. He had subsequently been concerned in the Whig plot; but there is no reason to believe that he was a party to the design of assassinating the royal brothers. ib, II, Ch. V, 96.
Perhaps he had had a love affair in early life which he had to strangle. Thack, Pen d, I, Ch. II, 18.
He had seen this very Rlcketts arrayed in crimson and gold, with an immense bearskin cap on his head, staggering under the colours of the regiment. Tom had recognized him, and gave him a patronizing nod; — Tom, a little wretch whom he had cut over the back with a hockey-stick last quarter — and there he was in the centre of the square rallying round the flag of his country, ib, I, Ch. III, 82.
This news at once dispatched my poor mother on her travels, and she had only Just come from the prison where she learned my address. id,, Sam. Titm, Ch. XII, 167.
A soon as he could speak for sobbing, he told them that he had gone for a little walk and saw a jolly donkey... and he just got on his back, as they used to do at Margate. Sweet, The P i c n i c. He had lost nothing of that attractive personality which so won her interest five months ago. Max Pemberton, Doet. Xavier, Ch. X, 49a.
c) Sometimes the inconsistency appears to be due to the requirements of metre.
For here two brothers, one a king. had met | And fought together; but their names were lost; | And each had slain his brother at a blow; | And down they feil and made the glen abhorr'd. Ten, Lanc. and El, 39—41.
d) In all the above quotations the irregular preterites follow after correct pluperfects. It is but rarely that we find an irregular preterite preceding a correct pluperfect.
Milly did not take all her love from the earth when she died. She had left some of it in Patty's heart. Q. Eliot, Scènes, I, Co nel, 69.
147. Sometimes the pluperfect seems to have been used in preference to the preterite, as representing the facts described in more lively colours than the latter. Thus SWEET, (N. E. Gr., § 2247) observes that in / did not think we had been so near Scotland "the pluperfect is more graphic than the preterite (would have been), as heightening the surprise by the reminder



138
that it was too late to take advantage of the knowledge." It may have been from similar, perhaps vaguely conscious, considerations that the pluperfect is used instead of the, apparently, more apposite preterite in:
"You have such pretty feet, mother 1" Instantly, with a woman's instinct, she had hidden them. Kinosley, Westw. Ho! Ch. III, 21ö. He did not mend matters much by saying he should have thought it had been about half-past nine. Miss Montoomery, Misunderstood.
148. As has been observed in 7, a, the pluperfect is used, for want of a pre-pluperfect, in describing an action or state further than two stages removed from the moment of speaking. The Court found that the vessel was unseaworthy, that she was over-insured, for a very large sum, and there was a conspiracy to cast the steamer away, and that her running on the rocks was a wilful act of the master. We had hoped we had heard the last of a practice that was at one time common enough. Westm. Gaz., No. 8515, 4a. (Shifled one stage forward the sentence would run: ... We hoped we had heard the last of a practice...)
b) When in a narrative the preterite has taken the place of a pluperfect, we find the relative time-spheres of the anterior past and pre-anterior past expressed by the use of the pluperfect for the latter. Thus in the following quotation, in which the writer starts with many pluperfects in the normal application, but in the sequel uses several pseudo-preterites (printed in italics) side by side with one genuine preterite (printed in spaced type), while the pluperfect had served (printed in spaced italics) has the value of a pre-pluperfect.
Far superior in station to those exiles who have hitherto been named was Lord Grey, Lord Grey of Wark. He had been a zealous Exclusionist; had concurred in the design of insurrection, and had been committed to the Tower, but had succeeded in making his keepers drunk, and in effecting his escape to the Continent. His abilities were respectable, and his manners pleasing: but his life had been sullied by a great domestic crime. His wife w a s a daughter of the noble house of Berkeley. Her sister, the Lady Henrietta Berkeley, was allowed to associate and correspond with him as with a brother by blood. A fatal attachment sprang up. The high spirit and strong passions of Lady Henrietta broke through all restraints of virtue and decorum. A scandalous elopement disclosed to the whole kingdom the shame of two illustrious families. Grey and some of the agents who had served him in his amour were brought to trial on a charge of conspiracy [etc.]. Mac, Hist, II, Ch. V, 99.



H. FOUTSAVA.
A GRAAAAR OF LATE AODERN ENGLISH
FOR THE USE OF CONTINENTAL, ESPECIALLY DUTCH, STUDENTS.
Fart. ï. The Sentence.
Section I. The Elements of the Sentence ƒ 3.25.1 In één deel Section II. The Composite Sentence . ƒ 4.25. (geb. ƒ8.75.
Fart. II. The Farts of Speech.
Section I, A. Nouns, Adjectives and Articlesƒ 8.70. Geb. ƒ 10.— Section I, B. Pronouns and Numerals ƒ 10.25. Geb. ƒ 11.50
BEOORDEELING:
.... Man hat gesagt, wie es unmöglich ist, das Meer auszuschöpfen und auf Fiaschen zu ziehen, so sei es unmöglich, eine lebende Sprache in allen ihren Eigentümlichkeiten zu erfassen und in Regeln zu bringen. Die Reichhaltigkeit, ja Ueberfülle der Belege, die Potjtsma für das English der letzten sechs bis sieben Jahrzehnte, aber sehr ausgiebig zurückgreifend bis auf Adisson, Pope, Shakespeare und the Authorized Version, gibt, und die Feingliederichkeit des Schemas in das er sie bringt, lassen einen diese Erkenntnis fast vergessen. Es macht sein groszes werk, dessen vorhergehende Teile hier 1906 und 1914 angezeigt wnrden, zu einer Schatzkammer des modernen Englischen Sprachgebrauchs, die uns geschicht gearbeitete indices in allen ihren Teilen schnell erschlieszen. Wir haben in ihm ein nachschlagebuch dem an vollstindigkeit nichts gleichzustellen Ist.
Neuphilologische Blötter, Dec./Jan. 1919/1920.
THE CHARACTERS OF THE ENGLISH VERB AND THE EXPANDED FORA and equivalent or analogous constructions of the verb in English and cognate Languages
by
H. POUTSMA.
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UITGAVEN VAN P. NOORDHOFF TE GRONINGEN.



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■









110
having come to hand. In late Modern English the word in the above meaning is used only in poetry.
i. He shall do this, or else I do recant | The pardon that I late pronounced here. Shak., Meren., IV, 1, 392.
I saw thee late at the Count Orsino's. id, Twelfth Night, III, 1, 42. in their palaces, I Where luxury late reigned, sea-monsters whelped | And stabled. Milton, Par. Lost, XI, 751.
Fresh feeres will dry the bright blue eyes | We late saw streaming o'er. Byron, Ch. Har., I, XIII, 8.
Get hencel get hence! there's dwarflsh Hildebrand: | He had a fever late, and in the fit | He cursed thee and thine. KeATs,The Eve of St. Agnes, XII. Peace, it is a day of pain l For one about whose patriarchal knee | Late the littlechildrenclung. Ten., Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wel., 237. i. She hath been reading late | The tale of Tereus. Shak, C y m b, II, 2, 44. (Probably to be understood in the sense of late in the evening.)
In the following quotation late stands with an historical present:
rui sianuing uy lier smc, | nis eye, wwiu iaie uus muuny resirums, I uiuu
a greater uproar tempts his veins. Shak, Lucrece, 426.
Latterly, an occasional variant of lately, is a late formation, Murray's earliest instance is dated 1734. It is doubtful whether it is at all used to denote a point of time, no clear instances having come to hand. Compare also Ch. XXX, 11.
a languid tone of health info which I have latterly fallen. J. Foster, Life an d Cor, II, 46. i)
She has latterly suffered the worst tortures that American newspaper notoriety can bring upon a sensitive person. Morning Leader. Latterly officials have been breaking into closed stores, and removing whatever they thought necessary. Times.
Recently, like lately, may have the predicate in the perfect as well as in the preterite when it denotes a point of time. Thé perfect is used all but regularly when it indicates a length of time, the present occurring but very rarely. In the first meaning, more often than not, it • is preceded by intensives, such as quite, just, but, very, etc.
L* A number of unpublished letters of Boswell were discovered recently, Acad., 1902, 14 June.
"You are not the only people who have misjudged us." — "No, others who were here but recently actually —." H. J. Byron, Our Boys, III, 88. His death occurred just recently. Westm. Gaz, No. 8309, 286. Quite recently I called his lordship's attention to the damaging article. Not. and Quer.
Olie nua uuiy Li/mc iroc nuiit itvsiiuj. unni/i, ~-r.
Mr. a, who Aas recently been married for the second time, is assisting his wife to show a book of photographic portraits to a girl onavisit Punch.
Murray.



111
Mr. Maeterlinck Aas recently finished two plays, both of which are to be produced in Paris, during the course of next year. Acad, 1902, 13 Dec. I have been reading this play (sc. Titus Adronicus) recently with a view to tracé signs of Shakespeare's share in its compositon. Westm. Gaz, No. 8691, 19a.
ii* is he the good-looking boy I have seen in your box at the opera several times recently. Pinero, Iris, I, (91).
Those who seek for information on that point must turn to other books which have recerttly appeared. A t h e n, No. 4466, 586Ö. Mme. Albani, who has recently shown herself in only indifferent voice, suddenly seemed to have become her own self again. Daily Mail. ** She is only quite recently a widow. Punch, 1900, 17 Oct.
115. Adverbial word-groups containing late, later, latter, last, past, or recent ïndicate a length of time including the moment of speaking and, naturally, cause the predicate they modify to be placed in the perfect tense (119).
I Aave heard allude, in late years, to Lord Palmerston as one who had often been associated with him then in mimic military duties which they had to perform. Mrs. Gask, Life of Ch. Brontë, Ch. III. Of late years there Aas been a sort of reaction against her (sc. George Eliot's) influence. McCarthy, Hist. of our own Ti mes, III, Ch. LXXII, 211. Barrel-organs... Aave come in terribly of late years. Hardy, Under the Greenwood Tree, I Ch. IV, 30.
We have been little more than friends of late years. Pinero, Mid.-Channel, III, (190).
II. We have restored Egypt to a position of prosperity such as she Aas never known in these later ceniuries. Times.
The House of Lords Aas been active in these later days of the Sessions. Westm. Gaz., No. 8569, 2a.
III. In these latter days of civilisation, however, we see that in the dress of men the regard for appearance Aas in a Consideiable degree yielded tothe regard for comfort. Spencer, E d u c a t i o n, Ch. I, 10a.
Of latter years the opinion Aas gained ground that the fishes are not quite so much affected, in their appetites, by the exact quarter of the wind. Westm. Gaz, No. 6552, 12a.
iv. I do not know what Aas come over George in these last days. Thack, V i r g, Ch. IX, 93.
How strange is it ... that for the last several days yonder cloud Aas hang motionless over Vesuvius! Lytton, Pomp, III, Ch. II, 65a.
v. Inter-urban trolleys Aave made greater progress in the past few years in America than the railways. Rev. of Rev., No. 231, 240a.
vi. Its (sc. the Government's) conduct of the House of Commons Aas in recent years been a perpetual journey of discovery between shoals and snags. Westm. Gaz., No. 8239, 2a.
Of recent years the bad feeling upon both sides Aas increased. Times, No. 1813, 783.
Note. Instead of the perfect, the present, especially in the expanded form, appears rather frequently, apparently because these phrases are viewed much in the same light as such adjuncts as this morning, this week, this quarter, etc.



127
It is now four years that I have meditated this work. Byron, Pref. t o Mar. F a 1, 351 (Lond. Ed.).
The use of the perfect in the head-sentence, as in the following quotations, seems unjustifiable, and is distinctly uncommon. It has been a long time since the custom began. Swift, Dir. to Serv., I. You understand women well, though it may have been a long time since you were con versant among them. Scott, Keniiw, Ch. XVIII, 232.
The perfect is one of the first kind (8) when the temporal clause answers the question when ? at what time since (the event mentioned in it)?, since being equivalent to after. Its predicate. may stand in the preterite or the perfect.
I have had an adventure since I saw you. Lytton, My No vel, I, VIII, Ch. XX, 495.
We have advanced some way in this direction since M. Zola wrote this. Lit. World, 1902, 3 Oct.
Since I wrote to you on the 17th inst , the facts set out in my letter
have been confirmed by the Attorney General. Daily News, 1903, 1 July. He has broken his neck since we have been married. Sher., School for S c a n d, III, 2, (394).
Since she has discovered her own frailty, she is become more suspicious of mine. id, Riv, I, 2.
Everything of that sort has slipped away from me since I have been married. G. Eliot, Mid, II, 12. T.
She's lost ten pounds in weight since she's been hete. - Temple Thurston, Mi rage, Ch. III, 23.
It is hardly necessary to add that also in the head-sentence the perfect varies with the preterite.
Since I wrote these papers, I found two very striking instances. Burke, TheSublimeand Beautiful, V, V.
She Aas absoluteiy fallen in love with a tall Irish baronet she met one night since she has been here. Sher, Riv, I, 1. (The temporal clause may be understood to modify Aas fallen in love as weli as met.) The perfect is also one of the first kind (8) in sentences answering the question how much time?, the temporal clause having the predicate in either the preterite or the perfect.
Sweetly, most sweetly, Aave two days more passed since I wrote. Miss Burney, Evelina, LXIX, 336. T.
Considerable time Aas elapsed since we Aave seen our respectable friend. Thack, V a n. F a i r, II, Ch. VII, 73.
When the predicate is modified by an adjunct denoting a length of time measured backward from a finishing-point (124), its normal tense is the perfect, but the present is frequent enough, especially when the permanence of the action or state, i. e. an expected continuance in the future, is distinctly present to the speaker's mind.
The British names of rivers and of cities Aave in many cases been preserved to modern times. Bradley, The Making of English, Ch. III, 83. Have you always lived in town until now? Mar. Crawf, A Tale of a Lonely Parish, Ch. III.



128
All's been smooth and pleasant with me hitherto, but when I do cut up rough, Charley, I cut up that rough as [etc.]. H. J. Byron, Our Boys, II. What is happening in your Colonies, where, up to the present time, you have had by far the iargest portion of this valuable trade? Jos. Chamberlain, (D a i I y N e w s, 1905, 22 Nov.). ii. A very powerful household god he is to this day. Lytton, My No vel, I, Ch. I, 8.
The place from the day of that illustrious visit took the name of Queen's Crawley, which it holds up to the present moment. Thack., Van. Fair, I, Ch. VII, 66.
And herewith Mrs. Stokes gave me a letter, which my wife keeps to this day. id,, Sam. Titm, Ch. III, 40.
The woman, to this day, thinks her husband an angel, and loves him a thousand times better for his misfortunes. ib, Ch. X, 133. I labour under the same kind of astonishment to this day. Dick, C o p., Ch, V, 36a.
It is a delightful poem to this day: Saintsbury, Nineteenth Cent., Ch. II, 89.
134. Obs. I. Momentaneous predicates assume a durative character when modified by an adverbial adjunct of this description. How we came there I have never discovered to this day. Miss Braddon, MyFirstHappyChristm. (Stof, H a n d 1, I, 75). (= has remained unrevealed to me.)
II. The adverb (n)ever may cause the perfect to be replaced by the preterite.
The accident of my birth was never discovered to this day. Spectator, XII.
The Pluperfect corresponding to the Perfect in the Second Function.
135. a) In like manner as the English perfect in the second function mostly corresponds to the present in Dutch (and most other West-European languages), the English pluperfect answers to the Dutch preterite, when the predicate is modified by an adverbial adjunct or clause denoting the duration of the action or state it expresses.
I had not been long at the university, before I distingulshed myself by a most profound silence. Addison, Spectator, I.
Mr. Bingley had not been of age two years*, when he was tempted by an accidental recommendation to look at Netherfield House. Jane Austen, Pride and Prej, Ch. IV, 19.
The captives had not long enjoyed their refreshment, however, ere their attention was disturbed even from this most serious occupation by the blast of a horn. Scott, I van hoe, Ch. XXI, 205.
Clive had been only a few months in the army, when intelligence arrived that peace had been concluded between Great Britain and France. Mac, Clive, (501a).
He had not been statlonary half a minute, when he heard his own name eagerly pronounced by a voice which he at once recognised as Mr. Tupman's. Dick, Pickw, Ch. IV.



129
He had not been in the snug little corner five mlnutes before he began to nod. ld, C h uz., Ch. XXXI, 2486.
When Thomas Newcome had been some time in London, he quitted the house of Hobson. Thack, N e w c, I, Ch. II, 16.
She said that it only eonvinced her of what she had known from the first. Mrs. Gask, Cranf, Ch,. XV, 291.
The family had objected to the marriage from the first. Mar. Crawf, Adam Johnstone's Son, Ch. V. b) It should be observed that when the length of time during which the action or state has continued is indicated by a temporal clause opening with since, the tense of the predicate in the latter is not affected by the change of the time-sphere. Thus She has lived here since her husband died becomes / was told that she had lived there since her husband died. My condition had lost much of its terror, since l found that the Arabranged the country merely to get riches. Johnson, R a s, Ch. XXXLX, 325. She had never been a girl, she said; she had been a woman since she was eight years old. Thack, Va n. Fa i r, I, Ch. II, 12. (Note that the context imparts an ingressive character to was eight years old.) It was raining, had rained since she sat there. Gissing, A Life's Morning, Ch. XII, 181. (Note the change of character in sat.)
His eyes had followed Esther restlessly since she entered the room. Max Pemberton, Doctor Xavier, Ch. X, 49.
In the following quotation the pluperfect corresponds to a perfect in the first function (8). As in the above quotations there is no change of tense in the temporal clause.
The night was a memorable one for Esther in many ways. She had been introduced by Doctor Xavier to splendid scènes abundantly since she arrived in Paris, ib, Ch. X, 49a.
136. In the same way as the present is not seldom used instead of the perfect (121), the preterite rather frequently takes the place of the pluperfect.
He spoke to me as if he knew me all his life before. Goldsmith, She Stoops, III, (197).
Scrooge and. he were partners for I don't know how many years. Dick, Christm. Car.s, I, 6.
They were only a week married, and here was George already suffering ennui, and eager for others' society. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XXV, 260. Pen remembered that there was a letter from Mr. Tatham these three days. id, P e n d„ II, Ch. XXXVII, 392.
She observed that Clara didn't appear well for some time. Marryat, 011 a Pod r i d a.
Usually, indeed, they stood uninhabited, all except one, which for years was occupied by a queer little old woman, named Hender. Ascott R. Hope. How long was he in your room before you came to me. Shaw, Arms and the Man, 40.
137. The change of character which a primarily momentaneous predicate undergoes when, modified by an adjunct denoting
9



130
a length of time, it is placed in the perfect tense (122), may also be observed when such a predicate is placed in the pluperfect.
I had scarce taken orders a year, before I began to think seriously of matrimony. Goldsmith, Vic., Ch. I. (= Ihad scarce been in orders a year.) From that time Cousin Philip had been very much forgotien. Jane Austen, Pe rs, Ch. IX, 75.
He seemed still to consider himself a vigorous man, with the trivial exception that he had nearly lost the use of his legs for a few years past Wash. Irv., Sketch-Bk, XXVI, 261.
Major Pendennis had not quitted the house many hours when Arthur Pendennis made his appearance at the well-known door. Thack, Pend, II, Ch. XXXII, 346.
The truth is, she had quitted the premises for many hours. id. Van. Fair, II, Ch. XX, 211.
The Tenses of Completed Action compared with the Tenses of Incompleted Action.
138. The (present) perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect have a feature in common which distinguishes them from the present, preterite and (simple) future; i. e. they represent an action or state as having come to a conclusion at a certain time present, past, or future. Compare He has lived at Oxford, He had lived at Oxford, and He will have lived at Oxford, with, respectively, He lives at Oxford, He lived at Oxford, and He will live at Oxford.
The simple tenses are, however, frequently used instead of the perfect tenses, owing to the notion of conclusion not being distinctly apprehended, and it is chiefly this imperfection, as exhibited in the language, that will form the main subject of the following discussions. The imperfection here referred to attachés to these tenses only so far as they are applied in the first function (8). Perfects and pluperfects used in the second function (9) which, for the reason mentioned in 121, are sometimes replaced by presents and preterites, more or less contrary to English idiom, will, therefore, be excluded from the following illustrations.
139. In complexes relating events of the past in chronological order, the preterite is regularly used in all its members. Thus in My friend arrived last night; we dined samptuoasly at the Clarendon hotel, went to the theatre and afterwards had a quiet little supper in a City restaurant (3 Note). If the recounting of the events in their chronological succession is interfered with, occasion arises for the use of the pluperfect This is mostly



132
predicate may stand either .in the temporal clause or in the head-sentence.
As soon as he has finished his letters, he usually takes them to the post himself.
As soon as he had finished his letters, he (usually) took them to the post himself. ., Xf£*
As soon as he has (or shall have) finished his letters, he will take them to the post himself.
As soon as he had tor should have) finished his letters, he was to take them to the post himself.
Before he goes to bed, he has usually finished all his correspondence. Before he went to bed, he had (usually) finished all his correspondence. Before he goes to bed, he wilt have finished all his correspondence. Before he went to bed, he was to have finished all his correspondence. We confine ourselves to a few quotations illustrating the use of the pluperfect as opposed to the preterite. 1 looked to Heaven, and tried to pray, | But or ever a prayer had gusht, I A wicked whisper came, and made | My heart as dry as dust. Col., Anc. M a r., IV, vi.
The church clock pealed out two, before I had done. Mrs. Gask., trant, Ch. VIII, 250. _ When I had seen everything in Edinburgh, I went on to Glasgow. Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 276.
Before I left Miss Matty at Cranford, everything had been comfortably arranged for her. Mrs. Gask, Cranf, Ch. XV, 281. Master Carnaby had jumped out... and had climbed half-way up a tree, before his mother discovered at a single glance that he was tearing his trousers. Sweet, ThePicnic. utJ Dick was standing outside, unchanged in his condition from what he had been before he called. Hardy, Under the Greenwood Tree, I,Ch.IX,82. He wished that before he called, he had realized more fully than he did the pleasure of being about to call. ib. (did ought, in strict grammar, to have been had done).
When, however, the predicate in the temporal clause is purely momentaneous, or suggestive of no activity culminating in a result, there is a distinct tendency to place it in one of the simple tenses. Thus it would appear to be mere pedantry to insist on the perfect instead of the present in the temporal clause contained in:
When morning comes, the fog usually clears away. Onions, Adv. Eng. S y n t, § 136.
Similarly the preterite came would ordinarily be used instead of the pluperfect had come in: When morning came, the fog cleared away. ib. Also in the future tenses the notion of completion is often left unexpressed. Ordinary English rejecting, besides, the auxiliaries of the future tense in these clauses (79-81), we mostly find them in two respects deficiënt in marking the time-sphere



133
of the action or state. Thus we ordinarily say As soon as he comes (instead of shall come or shall have come), teil him the news. Similarly As soon as he came (instead of should come or should have come), he was to be told the news. The reason why the notion of completion is left unexpressed is that no necessity is feit to consider the two time-spheres in mutual relation, the mind being satisfied with both being measured from one dividing-point. This is what sweet (N. E. Gr, § 2236) seems to mean when, in commenting on such sentences as One morning when they woke up, they saw a ship at anchor in the boy; and The donkey never stopped till he came to a tent of gypsies; he argues that the pluperfect could not be used in either of the examples, the two events being regarded as a simple sequence: they woke up, and then they saw.
Kern (Part. Prat, § 49, foot-note) goes a step further, observing that in a sentence like When he saw me, he came up to me, the two actions are represented as occurring simttjtaneously: when he saw me being equivalent to seeing me. This view may, be plausible in the case of the temporal clause being introduced by when, as soon as, or even till, but cannot, of course, be held when the conjunction is after or before (or ere), although also in this case, as some of the following quotations show, the preterite is frequent enough. And when this hail some heat from Hermia feit, | So he dissolv'd and showers of oaths did melt, Shak, Mids, I, 1, 245. The lions brake ail their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. B i b 1 e, D a n, VI, 24.
The next day as soon as the house met... it resoived itself into a grand committee. Clarendon, R e b e 11 i o n, I, 193.
When he reached his own hotel, he found a score of its numerous inhabitants on the threshold discoursing of the news. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XXXII, 348.
About a year after Miss Matty set up shop, I received one of Martha's hieroglyphics, begging me to come to Cranford very soon. Mrs. Gask, Cranf., Ch. XV, 287.
One morning, within a week after I arrived, I went to call Miss Matty. ib, Ch. XV, 289.
That night after Miss Matty went to bed, I treacherously lighted the candle again. ib, Ch. XIII, 250.
And or ever that evening ended, a great gale blew. Ten, Re ven ge, XIV, 10. He never spoke after he feil. Mason, Eng. Gram, § 416. As soon as Mr. Carnaby opened his eyes, she told him of her plan. Swêet, The P i c n i c.
When they got out, they found they had got out at the wrong station, ib. When Edward Pierson ... left the twilit nursery, he slipped into his own room. Galsworthy, S a i n t 's P r o g,, III, n, 1 §, 225. I drink the air before me, and return | or ere your pulse twice beat. Shak, Temp, V, 1, 102.



135
The words were no sooner out of his mouth, when Lambourne again made at him. Scott, Kenilworth, Ch. XXIII, 337.
The meal was scarcely over, before a chaise and pair came to the door. Lytton, My No vel, I, IV, Ch. XXV, 290.
Scarce was he in his place, ere he ordered couriers. id., Rienzi, V, Ch. II, 197.
Thus also when the predicate is made up of to be and a participle that is understood as an adjective.
When Martha's wages and the rent are paid, 1 have not a farthing owing. Mrs. Gask , C r a n f., Ch. XIII, 250.
After the vote was taken, the assembly broke up. Bain, H. E. Gr, 113. b) Nominal predicates which have assumed an ingressive character are, however, placed in the pluperfect.
The two great statesrhen to whom mankind had owed many years of tranquillity disappeared about this time from the scène, but not till they had been guilty of the weakness of sacrificing their sense of justice and their love of peace to the vain hope of preserving their power. Mac, Fred, (6686).
144. Also the predicates of subordinate clauses, other than temporal clauses, are normally placed in one of the perfect tenses when the action or state they express is to be represented as having come to a conclusion before the commencement of that indicated by the predicate of the head-sentence. As is shown by the following material, anomalies are, however, not unfrequent. In each group of the following quotations a few exhibiting the normal practice are placed first.
a) subordinate statements:
Arthur said he had forced the curate back to dine. Thack, Pen d, I, Ch. V, 66.
Perhaps Addison thought that jokes enough had been made about physic in the Tatler. S. Arnold, Intro d. to Addison, 17. ii. She thought... that Count Anteoni's garden was long since left behind. Hichens, The Garden of Allah, II, Ch. XVII, 51. He reminded the House that in 1893 seventy-six or seventy-seven days were allotted to the Bill of that year. Times.1)
b) adnominal clauses:
i. The whole countryside was pleased to think of the prosperous London tradesman returning to keep his promise to the penniless girl whom he had loved in the days of his poverty. Thack, Ne wc, I, Ch. II, 16.
His wife had nothing but a pale face, that had grown older and paler with long waiting. ib, I, Ch. II, 16.
I just stayed long enough to establish Miss Matty in her new mode of life and to pack up the library, which the rector had purchased. Mrs. Gask, Cranf., Ch. XV, 284.
ii. The discourse was altogether on the robbery which was commilted the night before. Fieldino, Jos. Andrews,!, Ch. XIV, 34.
i) Kruisinga, H a n d b. *, § 99.



32
it seems doubtful that much is gained by the coining of these names. It adds another difficulty to the numerous difficulties attending the discussion of shall and will inasmuch as it places the student before the trouble of deciding whether in a given case the notion of volition is sufficiently weakened to justify the term. Besides it seems objectionable to apply the term exclusively to combinations with shall and will, and not to extend it to those consisting of an infinitive with other verbs, such as to be, to have, can may, and, for that matter, to hope, to intend and a host of others, which also imply futurity and may also present the notion denoted by these verbs in a weakened form.
Nor is there, apparently, much need for the term voluntative Futurum, used by deutschbein, (System, § 56, 3). It is not easy to see why a special name should be required for combinations like / will go, you (or hé) shall go, and not for such as / must go, I am to go, I have to go, I may go, and a great many others, in which also the notion of futurity attaching to the main verb may be subservient to the meaning expressed by the first verb.
Equally needless seem the terms pure system, colouredfuture system and plain-future system used by the writers of The King's English, 134 ff. The various forms of . volition, and the ways in which they are expressed, have been discussed in considerable detail in Ch. I, 40 ff, and the student interested in the subject may, accordingly be referred to that chapter. Also the modal and tense values of shall and will are often inseparable. On the face of it, it is only natural that this should be so, it being a distinct feature of the future that it is often thought of as uncertain. Thus in the celebrated passage from Macaulay's Essay on Ranke's History of the Popes And she (sc. the Roman Catholic Church) may still exist in undimished vigour when some travelier from New Zealand shall, in the midst of a vast solitude, take his stand on a broken arch of London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St. Paul's, the indubitable function of shall is to mark the attitude of uncertainty on the part of the writer with regard to a certain event.
For a discussion of the close relation between futurity and modaüty see also Paul, Prinz.3, § 192. Nor is it always possible to draw a strict line of demarcation between shall and will as volition-expressing verbs and modal verbs. Thus we may discern distinct volition in shall in such



33
a sentence as The Committee have decided that no one shall be admitted without a ticket. But the attitude of uncertainty on the part of the speaker with regard to the admission is also manifest, which is proved by the fact that the inflectional subjunctive is admissible as an alternative form. Let it also be observed that the notion of futurity is also clearly implied in the above sentence, so that it affords an instance of shall conveying a blending of the three different functions of which it is capable.
The above exposition makes it clear that the idiomatic use of shall and will must be singularly difficult to all speakers and writers 'who are not to the manner born'. It has already been pointed out (20, g) that most non-English Britishers utterly fail in their attempts to comform to the rules laid down by English grammarians, and have, at all events, long since given up distinguishing between shall and will, so far as futurity is concerned, will being used by them throughout in this function. But it may also be doubted that the 'true-born Englishman', even when he constantly moves in enlightened circles, strictly observes the rules, whatever care he bestows on his utterances. On the face of it it seems incredible that he should be privileged, so to speak, with a sixth organ enabling him to tread unerringly in the maze of this bewildering problem. We have, indeed, the pronouncements of several eminent Englishmen that this is really the case. Thus William Cobbett in his English Grammar, published in 1818 states re shall and will:
Their uses are as well known to us as the uses of our teeth and noses, and to misapply them argues not only a deficiency in the reasoning faculties, büt also a deficiency in instinctive discrimination.
Dean Alford in his amusing, but instructive The Queen's English is scarcely less positive. He says:
I never knew an Englishman who misplaced shall and will. ihardly ever have known an Irishman or a Scotchman who did not misplace them sometimes.
Macaulay seems to have had an equally exaggerated opinion of an Englishman's intellectual superiority with regard to this subject. In his Essay on Lord Bacon he delivers himself as follows:
We cannot perceive that the study of grammar makes the smallest difference in the speech of people who have always lived in good society. Not one Londoner in ten thousand can lay down the rules for the proper use of will and shall. Yet not one Londoner in a million ever misplaces his will and shall. Doctor Robertson (the
3



35
knowing its intricacies by a kind of instinct, we may quote the words of Francis Adalbert Blackburn in his dissertation (Leipzig, 1892) On the English Future; its origin and development. This Englishman observes:
The exact and actual use of these verbs is one of the delicate points of the English language, difficult not only to foreigners, but also a stumbling block to the majority of those whose mothertongue is English.
The exasperated language of a certain Scotch critic in the Edinburgh Review (Vol. XLVII, 492 ff.) need not, however, be taken quite seriously. It may have been prompted by his having been repeatedly chaffed about his misuse of the verbs in question. This Caledonian delivers himself as follows: This shibboleth (is) an intolerable system of speech, one of the most capricious and inconsistent of all thinkable irregularities, which •is in contradiction with elyrpology and with former usage, nay even with itself, comparatively new, not two centuries old 1).
In conclusion we give the considered pronouncement of GEORGE
0. CuRME, Professor of Germanic Philology in Northwestern University, who in his treatise Has English a Future Tense? (Journal of English and German Philology, XVII, 4 Oct. 1913) praises the so-called mistakes in the use oï .shall and will as a further development of the usage of the verbsl).
However this may be, aforeigner, hearing the divergent opinions of many Britishers, may be excused for thinking that the belief of some Englishmen that their nation are possessed of some mysterious instinct enabling them to make an unerring choice between shall and will, may be branded as no better than a pleasing fiction or harmiess delusion. Compare also Molloy,
1. c. 100.
24. It should further be observed that English grammarians do not agree in all points as to the rules to be observed. To give an instance: Mason (Eng. Gram.84, § 483) states, "When subjects differing in number or person, or both, are connected by and, the verb must always be in the plural; and in the first person, if one of the subjects is of that person; in the second person, if one of the subjects is of that person, and none of the first, as / and he are of the same age. You and I shall be late." Curiously enough, we find Mason in § 386 of the same Grammar writing, " You and I will travel together."
quoted by Ph. Aronstein.



38
SiciNius.lt is a mind | That shall remain a poison where itis, | Notpoison any further. Coriolanus. Shall remain I | Hear you this Triton of the minnows? mark you | His absolute shall? Shak, Coriol, III, 1, 90.
Also this theory would fail to explain the prevailing use of the verbs in many of the numerous cases that offer themselves. Indeed it seems futile to lay down any psychological principle which would satisfactorily account for the varied and variable practice observed in speech and written composition. This being so, there is no alternative but to ascribe the present usage of the auxiliaries of the future tense, in the main, to the dictates of an inscrutable convention, and to confine ourselves to a mere statement of facts.
27. As has already been hinted at (20, ƒ; 24; 26), the choice between shall and will as tense-auxiliaries depends, in the main, on the person and, in a less degree, on the number of the subject with which the verbs are connected. It also depends, to a considerable extent, on the nature of the sentence in which they are used, i. e. usage is not the same in non-reported speech, as it is in reported speech, and again declarative sentences exhibit another practice than questions. Should and would, either as ténse-auxiliaries to form the preterite future, or as modal auxiliaries to form the conditional mood in the apodosis of conditional sentences, follow, in the main, the lines of shall and will. In the following discussions, therefore, it is understood that, unless the reverse is stated, the observations r,egarding shall and will apply also to should and would as used in the above functions.
We may, accordingly, draw up the following scheme of discussion:
Shall (should) and will (would).
a) in non-reported speech,
1) in declarative sentences or clauses,
2) in questions,
b) in reported speech,
1) in reported statements,
2) in reported questions.
Shall (should) and will (would) in non-reported declarative sentences and clauses.
28. In these sentences and clauses shall (should) is used with great regularity when the subject is the personal pronoun of the first person singular. The rule is applied with particular stringency when a word is introduced implying doubt or uncertainty, or the reverse, on the part of the speaker (29, Obs. IV).



40
cal instance of this practice is afforded by the opening lines of MACAULAY's History of England.
I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of KingJames the Second to a time which is within the memory of men still living. / shall recount the errors which, in a few months, alienated a royal gentry and priesthood from the House of Stuart. / shall tracé the course of that revolution which terminated the long struggle between our sovereigns and their parliaments. [etc.].
But the occasion of the use of shall in preference to will is sometimes far from apparent. Thus in:
Far be it from me to deny the incomparable grandeur and simplicity of Holy Scripture, but i shall maintain that the classics are, as human compositions, simple and majestic, and natural too. Newman. "You must talk to her, sir," said the Marquis. — "I will", said my father angrily, "and scold her too — foolish woman I I shall teil her Luther's advice to the Prince of Anhalt." Lytton.
II. According to the authors of The King's English (page 140) usage is variable in sentences expressing assent to, or rejection of what has been stated about the speaker by his interlocutor. Thus You would think so yourself if you were in my position may be followed by either No, I should not or No, I would not.
III. The use of will in the first person (singular) to express a mere future, and also the corresponding use of the conditional would, is set down by Murray (s. v. shall, 8, b) as a "mark of Scottish, Irish, provincial or extra-British idiom". But in face of the frequent instances of the practice one meets with in the works of a host of writers, many of whom may be supposed to write pure English, it is open to doubt that the assertion is quite justified. For abundant illustration see also Molloy, 1, c. Series G.
i. I have little doubt that 20 volumes of 70) pages will hold all the novels etc. that are worth reprinting, but I will be a better judge when 1 see the catalogues. Scott, Let. to Murray 1)
My name is Pendennis, and I will be obliged to you not to curse it too loudly. Thack., P e n d., II, Ch. I, 14.
"I wish he had never seen you." — "Very well; then I will be the miserablest
woman in the world". Hardy, R et u r n of the Nat, I, Ch. V, 47.
"1 do not want any of your money, Cis," he said, "I will be quite glad to
go, if it will make you happier." El. Glyn, Halcyone, Ch. XI, 93.
I believe it is I who will not be able to sleep now. Shaw, Mrs. Warren's
Prof., II, (198).
I will now endeavour to jot down as faithfully as I can a few reminiscences of the father to whom... I owe all that I am, all that I have, and all that I ever will be. Rev. of Rev., No. 217, 18a. ij. I would soon have beat him into courtesy. Scott, I van hoe, Ch. II, 19. I wouldn't wonder, if he'd sleep the night there. Birmingham, The Advent, of Dr. Whitty, Ch. I, 2.
I wouldn't be able to pay it in three months. ib, Ch. II, 50.
) Li t. World, 1891, 307a.



41
If it wasn't for Bunbury's extraordinary bad healtli,... I wouldn't be able to dine with you at Will's to-night. Osc. Wilde, The Importance of b e i n g E a r n e s t, I, 19.
I have never undeceived him on any question. I would consider it wrong, ib, III, 150.
It is certain that I would have had a bettcr plum-pudding, if I could have made up my mind to become Mrs. Maclean. Dor. Gerard, The Eternal Woman, Ch. IX.
I wouldn't make a good dectective, would I, Daddy? Jean Webster, DaddyLong-Legs, 248.
I was afraid they would intern me, and so I wouldn't be able to come home Wells, M r. B r i 11 i n g, III, Ch. I, § 12, 404.
I would have been a more wonderful fooi than my friends teil me I look if [etc.]. Eng. Rev, No. 108, 562.
For a certainty I would not get off easily. W. J. Locke, The Joyous Advent, of Arist. Pu jol, Ch. I, 14.
IV. Very frequent, also in English which appears to be absoluteiy innocent of dialect influences, is the use of would instead of should before the infinitive of verbs denoting a wishing or liking, such as to choose, to desire, to want, to wish; to (dis)tike, to hate, to pref er: See Murray, s.v. shall, 19, c; Molloy, 1. c, Ch. X, 89 and Appendix, Series G and R; Fowler, The King's Eng., 141 ƒ.
I would by no means wish a daughter of mine to be a progeny (read: prodigy) of learning. Sher, R i v, I, 2.
I would wish not to be hasty in censuring any one; but 1 always speak what I think. Jane Austen, Pride and Prej., Ch. IV, 18. I would have liked a night at the Turk's Head, even though bad news had arrived trom the colonies, and doctor Johnson was growling against the rebels. Thack, The Four Georges.
I would like to come and show you my den. Mrs. Ward, The Case of Rich. Meyn, II, Ch X, 275. (would printed in italics to mark emphasis.) Exactly the woman I would have chosen for John myself. Temple Thurston, The City of Beau t. Non s, III, Ch. IX, 292.
I would dearly love to accompany you, but I have business in the town. W. J. Locke, The Joyous Advent. ofAristidePujol, Ch. I, 20. I would have liked to have asked the driver what this all meant. Bram ■ Stoker, Dracula, Ch. I, 11.
If I marry a charming girl like Gwendolen, I certainly won't want to
know Bunbury. Osc. Wilde, The Imp. of being Earnest, I, 22.
IV. Dutch students are cautioned against translating such sentences as Ik schrijf u wel wanneer ik meer van de zaak weet or ik zal u schrijven wanneer ik meer van de zaak weet by I shall write to you etc. In the translation of both the first sentence, which implies an intention, and the second, which implies a promise, weak will as a voütion-expressing verb should be used (59, a). The addition of some such word as misschien (= perhaps) would, however, impartto the predicates in these sentences the character of a pure future, necessitating the use of shall: I shall, perhaps, write to you when I know more about the matter (28).



42
Also when the subject is we, the ordinary auxiliary is shall (should), irrespective of the meaning of we, which may include or exclude the person(s) spoken to. See, however, 31, Obs. VI.
We shall have the first of the fight, sir; and depend on it, Boney will take care that it shall be a hard one. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XXIV, 242. "Then, perhaps, we may meet. I, too, am going to town." — "Oh, we shall be sure to meet there." Lytton, Caxtons, IV, Ch. V, 103. "Shall I be given up to him?" I faltered. — "I don't know", said my aunt. "We shall see." Dick, C o p, Ch. XIV, lOOö.
We shall not be separated long. id, A Tale of Two Cities, III, Ch. XI, 371.
We should only spoil it (sc. the quarrel) by trying to explain it. Sher, The Ri vals. IV, 3
We shall not hurt you, my lord, as you have only employed words, but we shall put it out of your power to hurt us. Marryat, The Three Cutters.
We shall always be happy of your company. Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. III, 35.
When my wife and I settle down at Wlilowmere, it's possible that we shall come together. Pinero, The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, I, (8). Besides, we shall do well together, after all, 1 believe — she and I. id, ■ The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith, II.
Obs I. It stands to reason that shall (should) is also the normal auxiliary of the future tense after we,
when meant to indicate only the speaker himself, i. e. when it is a plural of majesty or modesty. Ch. XXXV, 4.
"I have no doubt, Mrs. Raddie", said Bob Sawyer, "that before the middie of next week we shall be able to set ourselves quite square." Dick, Pickw, Ch. XXXII, 286.
when used indefinitely as one of the approximate equivalents of the Dutch men, German man or French o n, or in another equally comprehensive meaning.
Whe shall never have friends if we expect to find them without fault. P r o v e r b.
We know what we are, but we know not what we shall be. id. If we compare the English of the present day with the English of King Alfred, we shall find that many of the sounds of Old English have been lost in the present Standard English. Sweet, Sounds of Eng., § 172. It may be that we shall have a Labour Government. Westm. Gaz, No. 8569, 2a.
It will be in the autumn that we shall get the answer to the many interesting speculations about the Prime Minister's intenUons. ib, No. 8121, 4a.
Sweet (Prim. of Spoken Eng, 40; N. E. Gr, § 2202,6) observes that such combinations as we two, we three, we all take will as the auxiliary of the future tense. He gives the following instances: We three will get there first. We two will be able to manage it quite well. It is, however, doubtful that this rule is observed with anything like regularity by the majority of English speakers and writers. The tendency seems to be rather the other way, i. e. to use shall (should) after these combinations



43
The evidenqe available at the time of writing is, however, too scanty to draw any reliable conclusions from.
I.* The division will be called directly, and then we will all thank our stars and go to bed. Mrs. Ward, Mare, UI, Ch. IX, 410. "We'11 all have to tramp home again", thought Dick. Jerome, They and I, Ch. VII. T.
** We would all of us have time then to think and play a bit. ib, Ch. VIII. ii.* But the chief thing is that we shall bolh grow old. Walt. Besant, The Ivory Qate, Ch. I, 50.
"We shall grow old together, George", she went on. ib, Ch. IX, 171. He will want to take off all his clothes, as we all shall, if it goes on being so hot. E. F. Benson, The Angel of Pain, Ch. f. Unless we strike and strike quickly, that Bill will become law, and we shall all have to print a European address upon our note-paper if we get as far. E. Phillips Oppenheim. The Governors, Ch. V. ** We should all of us, I am sure, have liked to see the Major's grln, when the worthy old gentleman made his time-honoured joke. Thack, P e n d, I, I, Ch. XVII, 176.
I wish you had not been in such a hurry, and had left me to arrange your temper for you. We should all of us have preferred mine. It had all the attractions of a temper without the drawbacks of the ordinary temper. Jerome, They and I, Ch. VI. T.
If that paper were given to the Press, we should all of us be ruined men. E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Governors, Ch. IX.
III. What has been observed about / shall, as compared with / will in 29, Obs I, may be assumed to apply also to we shall as compared with we will.
In the following quotation the passionateness of the utterance would have led one to expect we shall instead of we will:
You've come here kindly to let us lick your boots, I suppose. Is that it? Well, we're not going to do it. We never have, and we never will. Never 1 Frank Swinnerton, Nocfurne, I, Ch. III, II, 75.
IV. As in the case of I (29, Obs. III), Scottish, Irish, American, and some English dialects mostly have we will (would), instead of we shall (should). Even Englishmen who may bè assumed to write and speak pure English, are not unfrequently found guilty of this socalled misuse of language. For ample illustration see Molloy, 1. c. Appendix, Series G.
i. Pitt and his little boy will die, and we will be Sir Rawdon and my lady. Thack, Van. Fa i r.i)
Our scout informs us that to-morrow night at sunset we will have reached the spot. Alvarez, Mexican Bill.
We won't get the pier without him. Birminoham, The Adventures of Dr. Whitty, Ch. I, 9.
"We can't help it, Dick dear", she told him. "Clever parents always have duffing children. But we'11 be of some use in the world after all, you and I." Jerome, They and I, Ch. II, 43. T.
4) quoted by Molloy, 1. c, 99.



44
If ever you will deign to come again to the Café de 1'Univers at Carcassone, we will esteem it a great honour. W. J. Locke, The Joyous Advent, of Arist. Pu jol, Ch. I, 23. ii. Had any of us ventured upon a whispered congratulation, we would have had our head punched, I feel confident. Jerome, Paul Keiver.
V- Again, as in the case of /, the use of would instead of should may be less exceptionable before verbs expressing a wishing or liking.
VI. In this connection mention may be made of the all but regularuse of will (would) after we when the speaker wishes to express an intention whose fulfilment, from motives of courtesy, he represents to be dependent on the pleasure of his interlocutor(s). In this case the notion of volition is so slight as to be almost negligible. The Dutch, accordingly, has zullen, not willen. Compare 32.
To-morrow is our wedding-day, | And we will then repair | Unto the Bell of Edmonton | All in a chaise and pair. Cowper, John Gilpin. We will resumé our studies, Mr. Feeder, in half an hour. Dick, D o m b, Ch. XII, 107.
I'il raise your salary and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon. id, C h r i s t m. C a r, V. "We will resumé yesterday's discourse, young ladies," said he," and you shall each read a page by turns. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. VIII, 82. Something or some one has been troubiing you. But we will not talk of it now, you shall rest first. Edna Lyall, K n i g-h t E r r a n t, Ch. V, 38. If you are ready, we will start at once. Sweet, N. E. G r, § 457.
The force of we will appears clearly from a comparison with a subsequent we shall in:
I teil you what we'11 do. You shall pretend that you are engaged to somebody else, and 111 pretend that I am not engaged to anybody, and then we shan't quarrel. Dick, Edw. Drood, Ch. UI, 34.
The following quotation shows that will {wouutj is also met with when there is no question of the interlocutor's pleasure being consulted.
"After we have been in the Park, we can walk to Kensington Gardens, if Mr. Titmarsh will be good enough to accompany us." — "Indeed Fanny, we will do no such thing," says Lady Jane. — "Indeed, but we will though!" shrieked out Lady Drum. Thack, Sam. Titm., Ch. III, 28.
VII. Sometimes we find we will alternating with with we shall in one and the same sentence, or sequence of sentences, although the functions to be expressed appear to be absoluteiy identical, so that one can hardly suppress the thought that the difference between the two verbs has faded to such a degree as to justify the writer in using them alternately for the sake of variety.
Til answer for that boy's truth with my life!" saidMr.Brownlow,knocking the table. — "And I for his ialsehood with my head!" rejoined Mr. Grim wig, knocking the table also. — "We shall see", said Mr. Brownlow, checking his rising anger. — "We will", replied Mr. Grimwig, with a provoking smile; we will." Dick, 01. Twist, Ch. XIV, 138.



49
VI. Should is regularly used in the archaic as who should say preceding a quotation.
The honest man bestowed a glance on Mr. Chuzzlewlt, as who should say, "You see!" and addressed himself to Tom in these terms [etc.]. Dick, C h u z , Ch XXXI, 253a.
And Miss Mills smiied thoughtfully, as who should say, "Ye May-flies, enjoy your brief existence in the bright morning." id, C o p, Ch. XXIII, 240a.
VII. It should seem (or appear) is used alternatively with it would seem (or appear), the latter being now, apparently, the more usual. Macaulay regularly has it should seem (or appear). Compare Murray, s.v. shall, 19, d; Molloy, 1. c. Ch. X; Dean Alford, The Queen's Eng.8, § 327. For illustration see also Ch. II, 34, Obs. II of my Gram. of Late Mod. Eng.
i. It (sc Wycherley's the Gentleman Dancing-Master) was then performed in Salisbury Court, but, as it should seem, with no better event. Mac, Com. - Dram, (574Ö).
Wycherley was at length thrown into the Fleet and languished there during seven years utterly forgotten, as it should seem, by the gay and lively circle [etc.], ib, (575ft). ii. It would seem — to look at the man as he sat there — that he had grown old before his time, Mrs. Wood, East Lynne, I, Ch. I, 1. It would appear that, when circumstances permitted, a quasi-religious formula was the custom. G r a p h.
Observe also the use of should in a similar function with another subject than the pronoun it.
(Those slums were) places of torture for innocent men and women; or worse, stews for rearing and breeding men and women in such degradation that that torture should seem to them tnere ordinary and natural life. Morris, News from Nowhere, Ch. X. 72. VIII. The use of should in the phrase one should think is now somewhat archaic, and is, perhaps, sometimes interpreted in the sense of ought. See Murray, s. v. shall, 19, d.
It might, one should think, have crossed the mind of a man of fifty, who had seen a great deal of the world. Mac, Sir James Mackintosh. IX. A curious instance of divided usage is the alternate use of will and shall in the two phrases a reward will be given and he shall be rewarded, with their variations, will being used when the thingobject is made the subject of the passive construction, shall when the person-object is used in this function, although both admit of the same interpretations, viz. that of conveying either a statement regarding a plain future, or a promise. Compare Molloy, 1. c. XI, 96; Dean Alford, 1. c, § 332, lil,
Shall (should) and will (would) in non-reported questions.
35. In questions shall is the normal tense-auxiliary when the subject is either / or we. i.» Shall I not take mine ease in mine inn ? Wash. Irv, S k e t c h - B k, XXVI, 257. *• What should I have been but for his generosity? H. J. Byron, Our Boys, 1 (15).
4



50
ii.* Scarcely among the packed scoundrels of Newgate could men be found for such a work; and shall we believe it of men like these? J. A. Froude *).
** What should we do if Mr. Hoggins had been appointed Physician-in-ordinary to the Royal family? Mrs. Gaskell !).
The above quotations express an appeal to the opinion of the person(s) spoken to. They should be distinguished from such as imply an appeal to the will of the person(s) addressed. In the latter shall is not an auxiliary of tense, but a volitionexpressing verb.
i. Sir, there is a gentleman below desires to see you; shall I show him into the parlour? Sher., R i v, I, 2. (= Do you want me to show him into the , parlour?)
Come ladies, shall we sit down to cards in the next room? id. Schooi for Scand, 11, 2.
We were very comfortable at the table; shall we all sit down again? El. Glyn, R e fl e c t. o f A m b r o s, II, Ch. X.
What shall we do with the rest of the evening? Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan, X, Ch. IV, 47.
36. Obs I. What shall I do! with strong-stressed shall expresses helplessness or perplexity. See Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2202, a. God help me! Oh! God help me! What shall Ido? v/hatshall I do? Reade, Itis never too late to mend.I, Ch. III, 49. (The author has shall printed in italics.)
"What shall I do?" Nobody to turn to; no help from any hand. To stay was to give up the chance of happiness. Fr. Swinnerton, Nocturne, II, Ch. V, III, 113. (The author has shall printed in italics.) A similar note of despair is sometimes struck in sentences with strong-stressed to be. Thus in the following quotation, in which the writer has am printed in italic type:
What am I to do about it? Louis Goldino, How Pinto met Smith. (Westm. Gaz, No. 8679, 10a.) 11. Should is retained in direct questions addressed by the speaker to himself, which are reported in narrative style, so that the predicate is placed in the preterite tense, and the pronoun of the first person is replaced by that of the third person. Compare also 40. Where should he find Peggy? W.J. Locke, The Rough Road, Ch. XXI, 266. Should she pretend to feel faint and slip into the hotel? Galsw, Beyond, IV, Ch. II, 359.
She rang again. What should she do? Leave the letter? Not see him after all? ib, IV, Ch. VII, 39o.
Would he get up and strangle her? Should she dash tothe door —escape? ib, III, Ch. VIII, 294.
In the following quotations would implies volition. The speaker is represented as wavering between two steps and trying toascertain to which her inclination points.
Which would she give up? Which follow — her lover or herchild? Galsw, Beyond, III, Ch. XIII, 340.
i) Molloy, 1. c, Ch. VI, § 1, 50.



51
Why, in all these years, had she never got to know his secrets so that she might fight against what threatened her? But would she have fought? ib., IV, Ch. VII, 395.
III. Conversely would appears to be the ordinary auxiliary in such reported direct questions as are addressed to the speaker by another person, so that the pronoun of the second person is replaced by that of the first person. Compare also 40.
I was waited upon with the utmost obsequiousness, in spite of my shabby clothes... When would I be pleased to lunch? At what hour wouldIdine? Should my apartment be retained? — or was it not satisfactory? Would I prefer a "suite" similar to that occupied by his excellency? Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan, I, Ch. V, 55.
Thus also in similar questions addressed by the speaker to the you inciuded in we.
"Madame will see that the dinners are quite simple", said M. Cavalcadour. "Oh quite!" said Rosa, dreadfully puzzled. "Which would Madame like?" — "Which would we like mamma?" Rosa asked. Thack., A Little Dinner a t T i m m i n s's, Ch. IV, (318).
IV. For the rest the use of will (would)as mere auxiliaries of the future tense or the conditional mood is, apparently, distinctly dialectal in questions in connection with pronouns of the first person.
i. * W/7/ I find her at her office still, I wonder? Dor. Gerard, The Eternai
Woman, Ch. II.
"W/7/ I get well? W/7/ I not get well?" was the questiontickinglikeaclock in each one of these biack or blonde, old or young, heads. id, E x o t i c Martha, Ch. III, 34. T. ** James. Do you stand there and say you're in love, David Wylie ? —David. Me; what would I do with the thing? J. M. Barriê, What every woman knows, I, 7.
ii. Most of us want to know, "Where will we be after the war?" Westm.
0 a z, No. 7162, 36.
The stigma of vulgarity does not, apparently, attach to would we on the strength of the analogy with would you (38, Obs. III). Would we have liked to live with him? Thack, Eng. Hum., I, 6. Would implies volition in:
"Would I marry him ?" she thought, "if he asked me?" Oalsworthy, Saint's Pr o gr., II, v, 134.
There is not, of course, any thing dialectal in the use of will (would)
1 (we), when the question is merely an echo of the preceding statement.
"I suspect you; you will betray me." — "Will II No; never." Molloy. 1. o, 51.
37. Also in the second person shall is the normal tense-auxiliary in questions. The analogous should is far less regular (38, Obs. III). This use of shall tallies with that of shall in the expected answer: "Shall you be going to church?" — "Ishall or 7 shall not." i. Shall you be there? Sweet, Spoken Eng, 39.



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How old shall you be your next birthday? Molloy, i. c, VI, § 2, 54.
Where shall you be found? Lytton, Caxtons, IV, Ch. V, 103.
Master Davy, how should you like to go along with me and spend a fort-
night at my brother's at Yarmouth? Dick., C o p, Ch. II, 136.
Davy dear, what should you think if I was to think of being married? ib,
Ch. X, 696.
I shouldn't like to fix about the garden and her not knowing everything from the first — should you, father? G.Eliot, Sil. Marn., II,Ch.XVI, 121. Should you like that, Eppie? ib, II, Ch. XIV 130.
There's a plantation of sugar-canes at the foot of that rock; should you like to look? id. Dan. Der, III, VII, Ch. LIV, 193. Should you have any particular objection, Doctor, to my taking those three young ones home with me? MIssBraddon, My First Happy Christmas (Stof, Handl, I, 71).
Obs. I. The conditional should is not "a pure auxiliary" of the conditional mood, as Sweet (N. E. G r, § 2293) makes it out to be, but a verb expressing some form of necessity, in questions, direct or indirect, introduced by why "implying the speaker's inability to conceive any reason or justification for something actual or contemplated, or any ground for believing something to be fact." Murray. s. y. shall, 23, a. Compare also Ch. I, 43, 6, 2.
Why should you wish to comfort folks who, out of their own sheer stupidity generally, get into trouble? Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan, I, Ch. IV, 46.
You're not in love with me. Why sftouWyoube? Mrs, Ward, The Mating of Lydia, II, Ch. X, 211.
Old Glubb does not know why the sea should make me think of my mamma. Dick, D o m b, Ch. XII, 103.
I cannot see why money should have been referred to. G. Eliot, M i d, Ch. XLVI, 345.
This should is, of course, independent of person, i. e. it may have I or we as its subject as well as you or he (they). "Are you astonished?"... "Why should I be astonished; — "You approve?".|.. — "Why should I not approve?" Dick. Tale of Two Cities, II, Ch. XI, 161.
In enclitic questions which "are questions in form only, not in meaning" (Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2202, c), the auxiliary is will (would), the same, that is, which is used in the preceding statement.
You will be there, won't you? Sweet, Spoken Eng, 39. You will do it yourself, will you? id, N E. Gr, § 2202, c. You would think so, wouldn't you? id. Spoken Eng, 39.
Sometimes we find another auxiliary in the enclitic question than in the preceding statement. Thus, apparently, not unfrequently in the works by G. Eliot.
You will like to play, shan't you. G. Eliot, M i 11, VI, Ch. VII, 385. You wouldn't like to keep her, should you? id, SU. Marn, I, Ch. XIII, 103. "We don't want everybody , said Miss Winnifred, "But you would like Miss Garth, mother shouldn . you?" id, Mid, V, Ch. LH, 378.



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III. Also in other questions anomalies are rather frequent: would you even appears to be more frequent than should you. For illustration see also Molloy, 1.c, Ch. VI, § 2, 55; Fijn van Draat, De Drie Talen, XIV. Some of the following quotations have been taken from writers who are anything but free from dialect influences.
i. Will you be at home at tea-time to-morrow? Pinero, Iris, I, (39). Will you be in to 'me in the morning? ib., (47).
Will you like to look forward to it? Frank Swinnerton, Nocturne, II, Ch. IX, V, 194.
Will you want winter things? Wells, Mr. Brittling, II, Ch. IV, §7, 313.
ii. WhatI wouldn't you like to be a book-writer? Dick. *),
Would you ever have thought it now? Thack, Sam. Titm, Ch. III, 27. Would you like me to be married, father? Q. Eliot, Sit Marn., II, Ch. XVI, 130.
Would you be afraid to go? Hichens, The Garden of Allah, I, Ch. V, 82.
What shall we do with the rest of the evening?... Shall we go and watch the admirable contortions with which she is wriggling into a fixed position among the English aristocracy? Or are you tired, and would you prefer a long night's rest? Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan, I, Ch. IV, 47.
Commenting on the variable practice as to the use of shall and will as tense-auxiliaries in the second person in questions, the writers of the King's English (page 139) make out that the correct auxiliary may depend on whether the answer is expected from the person(s) addressed or the speaker himself. They take such a sentence as Will (shall) you, now so fresh and fair, be in a hundred years nothing but mouldering dust? and argue that shall is the right auxiliary if the answer to the question is expected from the person spoken to: Yes, I shall; whereas will would be required if the speaker himself intends to give the answer: Alas, yes, you, will. The latter case would naturally, be the more usual.
In a similar way the use of either shall or will would be justtft'ed in:
Ah, yes, that ls all very well; but will (shall) you be able to do it? The reasoning would also explain the use of would you in the exclamatory Would you believe it? (Answer, No, of course, you would not). As compared with this, Should you believe it? would be of less frequent occurrence, implying, as it does, a rather surprising curiosity on the part of the speaker as to his interlocutor's readiness to believe his statements.
39. In the third person, whether singular or plural, questions have will (would).
i. Will there be a large assembly? Bain, H. E. Gr, 171.
Will there be a general election next year? Molloy, 1. c, Ch. VI, § 3, 57.
ii. 'She would scorn to powder it (sc. the red nose) says Edwin, becoming heated". — "Would she?" Dick, Edw. Drood, Ch. III, 36.
') Molloy, 1. c. Appendix.



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Obs. In narratives of past events subordinate questions are sometimes, so far as word-order is concerned, changed into direct questions, the preterite tense being, however, preserved. Thus often when the head-sentence is understood. The change does not, of course, affect the choice of the. auxiliary. Compare Ch. XIV, 8 and also 36, Obs. II and III of this treatise.
Mr. Bacon... said he heard that Mr. Pendennis had a manuscriptnovel... What would be his price for it? Thack., Pend., II. Ch. IV, 46. Would no coach be coming up soon ? he inquired. G. Eliot, Brother J a c o b Ch. t (461).
When I presented myself at my cousin's ... door, curiosity (was) the uppermost feeling in my mind. What would be my reception? Now that my cousin was about to shift the burden of his patent medicines to a company's shoulders, should I still be able to keep my fortunes under the protective shadow of his weath? Percy White, To-day, Ch. IV, 34. And then, in the mirror, she saw Rosek's dark-circled eyes fasten on her and betray their recognition by a sudden gleam... What would he do? Galsw., Beyond, IV, Ch. II, 360.
Shall (should) and will (would) in reported statements.
In reported statements the auxiliaries of tense and those of the periphrastic conditional are applied partly on the same principle as in direct speech, partly on the principle that the same auxiliary should be employed as would be used if the indirect statement were replaced by the direct statement. The latter principle seems to be in favour with grammarians, and appears to have guided most writers of earlier generations. Compare Murray, s. v. shall, 8. As will be seen in the following pages, the two principles sometimes operate in harmony, sometimes clash.
Variable practice may also be observed in what may be termed doubly reported statements, i. e. reported statements which are contained in other reported statements, as in He says he hopes I will be there (Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 2202, e). The head-sentence of such a complex of reported statements is often understood. Thus in He was afraid we would not be able to come (ib.), before which such a sentence as He said may be said to be understood.
In doubly reported statements there are a variety of possibilities. If the subjects of the members of which they are composed are respectively called a, b, and c, the possibilities are: a = ft = c; a = ö, both differing from c; a = c, both differing from b; b = c, both differing from a. It may be assumed that a grammatically schooled writer, if he at all pauses to consider what auxiliary he ought to use, will settle the problem by



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answering the question what auxiliary would be used if the last reported statement were converted into a direct statement. The reason why the grammarians' rule of employing in reported statements the same auxiliary as would have been used in the corresponding direct statement is often disregarded, is the difficulty of its observation in rapid speech and writing, and also the frequently doubtful function of the head-sentence, which in many cases has the value of a mere adverbial adjunct. Thus the head-sentences in such sayings as You will be here, I suppose, I have no doubt, I daresay, I hope, etc. are, in the main, expressive of mere degrees of probability. As to should and would it may again be observed that they follow, in the main, the rules observed in the use of shall and will, irrespective of their function, i. e. whether they are used as indicative or conditional preterites.
42. a) When the subject of the head-sentence, as well as that of the reported statement, are both / or we the auxiliary in the latter is naturally the same as that used in direct speech, e.g.: / (we) think, "/ (wé) shall soon be quite well again" becomes I (we) think that I (wé) shall soon be quite well again.
i. 1 think we shall go on always, like the Flying Dutchman. O. Eliot, Dan. D e r., HL VII, Ch. LIV, 209.
Jessie, I'm afraid we shall not do much good if we always spend our mornings like this. Qissino, A Llfe's Morning, Ch. VII. 110. li. I had an instinct that we should find him an unpleasant person. Q. Eliot, Fel. Holt, I. Ch. VII, 144
I hoped we should not meet again, Mr. Dagworthy. Gissing, A Llfe's Morning, Ch. X, 151.
b) Thus also in doubly reported speech.
He asked me if I thought I should mind Increaslng my income by the Pearl fishery in Columbia. Emma Marshall, Mrs. Mainwaring's Journ., I, 83.
43. Obs I. The use of will (would) is regarded as 'incorrect', but is the rule in Irish and Scottish English, and in some dialects spoken in Engtand. For copious illustration see Molloy, 1. c. Appendix, Series I.
I think that if the matter were handed over to the parish councils... we would within a twelvemonth have exactly such a network of rlfle clubs as is needed. Conan Doyle ')
I could not foresee that I would be asked to defeat the ends of justice. J. K: Leys, A Dark Secret (Daily News).
II. As in the case of direct speech (29, Obs. IV), would is not unfrequently found before verbs of wishing or liking in the works of writers of pure English.
i) The King's English, 149.



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I thought that, if I were to choose, I would like this best. Dick, BI e a k H o u s e, Ch. LXIV, 524
Indeed I am not sure that I would desire to reclaim him. Oscar Wilde, The Importance of being Earnest, H, 67. Oh, I don't think I would care to catch a sensibie man. I shouldn't know what to talk to him about. ib, II, 80.
When the subject of the head-sentence is a noun or a pronoun of either the second or third person, or any combination of these, there might be some hesitation as to which auxiliary should properly be used after / or we in the reported statement. Thus the Doctor's words You will soon be quite well again would, on the second principle, run (The doctor has said) that I will soon be quite well again.
A few pages of careful reading will satisfy the observant student that the first principle is almost regularly followed, shall (should) being, accordingly, used after I or we regardless of any consideration of direct or indirect speech.
I say, sir, you — you don't think I shall die? Mrs. Wood, Orv. Col, Ch. II, 24.
Teil him that I shall be ready in ten minutes. Rudy.Kipl, The Gadsbys,8. Where do you think I shall overtake the party? Huoh Conway, Called Back, Ch. XI, 125
You said, that I should be drowned if I went beyond my depth. Molloy, f. c, Ch. IV, § I, 39.
The Boots... good-naturedly informed me that I might save a mile of the journey, ... if I took the foothpath through a gentleman's park, the lodge of which I should See about seven miles from the town. Lytton, Caxt, V, Ch' I, 106.
Aunt Edmonstone said I should find you here. Miss Yonoe, The H e i r of Rede, I, Ch. VII, 113. T.
Do you think I should be happy? Temple Thurston, The City of B e a u t. N o n s, III, Ch. IX, 297.
You were pretty sure I should come. Frank Swinnerton, Nocturne, II, Ch. IV, V, 132.
The skipper says we shall have to stay at Genoa for a week. O. Eliot, Dan. Der, III, VII, Ch. LIV, 198
One half of the theologians teil us that we shall be happy if we are good. Mar. Crawford, Don Orsino (Macm. Mag., 1982, 171a) When Miss Pole heard of this, she nodded her head in great satisfaction. She had been sure we should hear of something happening in Cranford that night. Mrs. Gask, Cranf, Ch. X, 186.
Mrs. Bouverie would not have asked us, if she thought we should feel underdressed. Philips, Mrs. Bou ver i e, 68.
Obs. In the following quotations the use of will (would) is, most probably, due to dialect influences.
She has told me that I will never succeed in painting. Marie Corelli, Ziska, 167.
As the doctor bade me adieu, he predicied that I would be on the books of the company until I was eighty. Punch.



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And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of Qod is with' men, and he will dweil with them; and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. R e v e 1, XXI, 3.
I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not unworthy to unloose; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his 'floor, and will gather the wheat in his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. Luke, III, 16—17.
The Revisers of 1885 have changed many shalls into wills, but seem, on the whole to have set to work rather inconsistently. See Molloy, 1. c, Ch. VH1, 77 ff.
67. Finally it may be observed that shall as now understood in the second and third persons can hardly be considered as a strict rendering of the future tense in the Hebrew, Greek or Latin texts from which the Authorized Version has been translated. This may sometimes be regarded as an advantage, since secondary notions implied in the latter are now explicitly expressed. Thus shall appears to be quite appropriate in In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen, II, 17), because the words are intended as a threat; or in He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matth, XXIV, 13), because a promise is meant.
But the use of shall may also be open to grave objection, because the translation may be made to express a meaning which is foreign to the original text. Thus the words / send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues (Matth, XXIII, 34), judged by the modern idiom, must be understood as a command, while they are evidently meant only as a simple future. A similar objection may be raised against Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice (Matth, XXVI, 34), and a great many other passages in which the so-called prophetic shall is used.
Further Expedients to express Futurity.
68. Contingent fulfilment of an action or state in the future or in the posterior past, mostly with the secondary notion of great proximity, may also be expressed by a variety of phrases, which offer the advantage of being free from the notions of compulsion or volition which are apt to be associated with shall and will, but mostly have the disadvantage of marking rather the impending nature of the action or state than merely



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its futurity. Indeed the implication often is that, owing to circumstances expressed or unexpressed, the action or state does not come into fulfilment, so that it is open to doubt whether the phrase in question may be regarded as an expediënt to mark futurity.
69. In the first place mention may be made of combinations of
the verb to be with the participles going and coming, a) To be going primarily expresses a getting ready, but is often extended to denote a purposing, and hence a contingent happening in the future. The notion of getting ready or purposing is clearly discernible in:
What are you going to do now? I am going to call on some tadies: will you come too? Sweet, N. e. Gr., § 2255.
What were you going to do when I came in? I was going to take a walk. ib, § 2258.
Our youngest boy Bill... climbed up to Sir William's neck in order to kiss him. His mother was immediately going to chastise his familiarity, but the worthy man prevented her. Goldsmith, V i c, Ch. XXX, (448).
Sweet (N. E. Gr., § 2255) and Murray (s. v. go, 47, b) are agreed as to the phrase being used especially with regard to a near or immediate future. Sweet compares / am afraid it is going to rain with / am afraid it will rain to-morrow, and again I am going to call on him soon with / shall call on him as soon as I can — in a few days. He adds that "the immediate future might be used in the last sentence as well." Indeed it can hardly be doubted that the notion of nearness or immediateness, which is said to be implied in the phrase, sometimes appears to be remote from the speaker's or writer's thoughts.
Did you ever find out, miss, who you are going to marry by means of the Bible and key? Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd, Ch, XIII, 107. I don't believe he remembers more than once in a year that he's going to be rich some day. Dor. Ger, The Eternai Woman, Ch. XVIII. Even in the country how are you to know who you're going to run up against. Wells, B e a 1 b y, Ch. II, § 3, 39
He was very disappointed at iosing Vienna. He quite thought he was going to have it, and that he would do wonders there. Hichens, The Fr ui tf ul Vine, Ch. I, 15.
Note a) To be going when expressing a near future naturally occurs only in the present and preterite tenses. The phrase can be used in the perfect or pluperfect only on the strength of the notion of getting ready or purposing being implied.
He's been going to leave every term for the last year. Anstey, Vice Versa, Ch. IV, 82.
fl) According to Aronstein (Die periphr. Form im Eng, Anglia, XLII, 14, foot-note) to be going had not yet faded into



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an expression denoting mere futurity in the days of Shakespeare. The contention is, however, open to doubt. See also A. Schmidt (s. v. go, page 481a), who apprehends to be going in the meaning of to be about in:
Are you now go ing to dispatch this deed? Shak, Rich. III. I, 3, 341. I am going to visit the prisoner. id, Meas. for Meas, III, 2, 272. Sir, the Germans desire to have three of your horses: the duke himself will be to-morrow at court, and they are going to meet him. id, Merry Wives, IV, 3, 3.
To be going sometimes implies a movement of the human will. Thus you are not going to sometimes approximates to you shall not. "Now, Hans," said Mab, with what was really a sister's tenderness cunningly disguised, "you are not going to walk home with Mirah. I am sure she would rather not. You are so dreadfully disagreeable to-day." G. Eliot, Dan. Der, III, VIII, Ch. LXI, 281.
To be going is occassionally found construed with a participle instead of an infinitive, even when little more than mere futurity appears to be in the speaker's mind.
I am going travelling upon a round of visits. Thack, V i r g, Ch. XXXVI, 374. I am going prospecting. Reade, It is never too late to mend, I, Ch. XXVI, 174.
I'm not going flghting tor England. Tm going fighting for Cisslc — and justice and Belgium, — and all that, Wells, Mr. Britling, III, Ch. I, § 13, 406.
Rather difficult to distinguish from the above are constructions of to go + infinitive or participle, which are frequently used torepresent an action or state in course of preparation, but naturally place the contingent fulfilment of that action or state in the near future. For illustration see also my paper on Hendiadys in Neophilo1 o g u s II, 207 ff.
Why, friends, you go to do you know not what. Shak, Jul. Caes., III, 2, 240.
I go to watch thy slumbers, and woe with him that shall intrude on them. Scott, F a i r M a i d, Ch. V, 51.
In the next picture there's little frogs and devils sitting on the edge of the pot as 'e goes to drink. W. W. Jacobs, O d d C r a f t, A, II. T. Altogether the man who goes sailing in the clouds is not likely to have too good a time. Westm. Gaz, No. 6017, 2a.
Think how bad it is for the poor soldiers if we women go crying, Galsworthy, T a 11 e r d e m a 1 i o n, I, 1, 24.
The fact, however, that these combinations are also found in the future (/ shall go to watch thy slumbers, I shall go sailing) or in connection with verbs which imply that the action referred to falls in the future time-sphere. (/ must go to watch thy slumbers, I must go sailing) is sufficiënt proof that they express more than mere futurity. To be coming is far less frequent than to be going as a futureindicating phrase. It does not, apparently, differ appreciably, from the latter. The following is unfortunately, the only instance which has come to hand.



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"Sir," says I, "I am very — very sorry: it was a matter of delicacy, rather than otherwise, which induced me not to speak to my aunt about the West Diddlesex."...
"It was folly and ingratitude, Mr. Brough," says I; "I see it all now; and I'll write to my aunt this very post"
"You had better do no such thing", says Brough bitterly; "the stocks are at ninety, and Mrs. Hoggarty can get three per cent for her money." Thack, Sam. Titm., Ch. Vf.
Thus passim in this work of fiction, and many others by Thackeray. In dialects says he is often used as a needless piece of padding.
My old master, as War a knowin' man, used to say, says he, "If e'er I sow my wheat wi'out brinin', I'm a Dutchman", says he. G. Eliot, Mi 11, I, Ch. IV, 23.
"Reub", he said, says he, "that there cask, Reub, is as good as new." Hardy, U n d e r t h e G r e e n w o o d Tree, I, Ch. II, 13.
III- Different from the above are descriptions of past events in the present tense which are introduced by a statement giving notice that what follows happened in the past.
Let me remember how it used to be and bring one morning back again. I come into the second-best parlour after breakfast, with my books, and an exercise-book and a slate. My mother is ready for me at her writing-desk, but not half so ready as Mr. Murdstone in his easy-chair by the window (though he pretends to be reading a book) or as Miss Murdstone, sitting near my mother, stringing steel beads...
I hand the first book to my mother. Perhaps ft is a grammar, perhaps a history or geography. I take a last drowning look at the page as I give it into her hand, and start off aloud at a racing pace while I have got it f resh. I trip over a word. Mr. Murdstone looks up. 1 trip over another word. Miss Murdstone looks up. I redden, tumble over half-a-dozen words and stop. I think my mother would show me the book if she dared, but she does not dare, and she says sof tl y: "Oh, Davy, Davy!" Dick, Cop., Ch. IV.
Similar to the above is the practice of placing the outline of a story or the plan of a literary composition in the present tense.
The story of the poem is briefly this: — Sir Aylmer Aylmer is one of the English landed gentry, proud of his birth and station; his wife, once a vvellknown beauty, is a mere shadow of himself. They have one lovely daughter, Edith, sole heiress to their wealth and name, [etc.]. Webb, lhtrod. to T e n.'s Aylmer's Field (Macmiilan's Eng. Cla s). In the Tatler there had been no machinery or next to none; theautborship is supposed to be in the hands of the snuffy astrologer, mountebank, and quack-doctor, Isaac Bickerstaff, assisted sometimes by his half-sister Jenny Distaff; no one else Aas anything to do with it T. Arnold, Introd, to Addison, 16 (Clar. Press).
IV. Shifting from the past to the present tense is often practised in picturing a string of incidents and circumstances which is to serve as a background for the representation of subsequent events. It is the evening of the 21 st of June 1788. The day has been bright and the sun will be more than an hour above the horizon, but his rays, broken by the leafy fretwork of the elms that border the park, no longer prevent the iadies from carrying out their cushions and embroidery, and seating



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themselves to work on the lawn in front of Cheverel Manor... (Here foliows a long description of the appearence and the doings of the two ladies, the present tense being used throughout. Then the narrative beglns, and the preterite is used in describing the successive events). "Put the cushions lower, Catarina, that we may not have so much sun upon-us", she called out, in a tone of authority when still at a distance. Caterina obeyed and they sat down. G. Eliot, Scènes of C1 er. Life, II, Ch. II.
A similar process may be observed in the language of stage directions, which also are meant,as a kind of background of the drama proper.
He goes out hurriedly. And Barthwick, placing a chair, motions to the visitor to sit; then with pursed lips, he stands and eyes her fixedly [etc.]. Galsworthy, The Silver Box, I. 3, (31). T. V. Sometimes a pluperfect is followed by the present instead of the preterite of a word(-group) of declaring, such as to say, to telt, to explain, etc, the relation of what forms the theme of the communication being continued in the preterite.
His lordship had no sooner disappeared behind the trees of the forest, but Lady Randolph begins to explain to her confidante the circumstances of her early life. The fact was she had made a privatejmarriage [etc,]. Thack, Virg, Ch. LIX, 614. VI. Finally it may be observed that the present tense is also frequently employed to represent a prospective action as being enacted before person(s) spoken to.
Good, speak the word: my followers ring him round: I He sits unarm'd; I hold a finger up; | They understand. Ten , G e r. and E n, 337,
The Perfect compared with the Preterite.
93. Also as to the use of the preterite, English practice is, in the main, like that followed in Dutch and German. Its most important function is to state distinctly that the action or state referred to belongs to the past time-sphere. It is, accordingly, the natural tense of narrative and history. Compare Wilmanns, Deutsche Gram, 9, i, § 97, 3.
While the present century was in its teens, and on one sunshiny morning in June, there drove up to the great iron gate of Miss Pinkerton's academy for young ladies, on Chiswick Mali, a large family coach [etc.]. Thack, Van. Fair, i, Ch. i, 1.
There was once a time when the sun used to shine brightef than it appears to do in this latter half of the nineteenth century; when the zest of life was certainly keener; when tavern wines seemed to be delicious, and tavern dinners the perfection of cookery, etc. Thack, n e w c, i, Ch. i, 6.
94. a) English practice, however, differs materially from that of Dutch, and most of the other West-European languages, in its use of the preterite as compared with the perfect tense.



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It has been observed in 8 that one of the functions of the perfect is to describe an action or state of thé past whose results or consequences extend to the present; e. g. / have written aletter(=\k heb een brief geschreven); result: I have a letter in a finished state. He has received a good education; result: He is a well-educated man. / have lost my watch; result: I am now without my watch. / have read Pickwick; result: Piek wiek is one of the books read by me. / have been in London; result: I am not strange in London.
But, according to Skeat, we could hardly say Chaucer has been in Italy. This is clear if we bear in mind that we could not say Chaucer is not strange in Italy >), Chaucer having died long ago.
It is in accordance with the above principle that the perfect is used in:
Neither among Christians, nor among Muslims has the Turk done other than destroy whenever he has conquered. Never has he shown himself able to develop in peace what he has Won in war. Westm. Gaz, No. 8273, lo.
Sometimes the present result of the past action or state is expressly stated or, at least, shadowed forth.
The reaper once more stoops to his work: the cart-horses have moved on and all are again in motion. Dick, Pickw, Ch. XVI, 137, The raiiway men have accepted te Government terms, and the crisis is at an end. Westm. Gaz, No. 8285, 2b.
The use of the perfect, as distinct from the preterite, may be necessitated by the expanded form, as the latter tense would stamp the action referred to as unfinished.
She has been telling me an extraordinary story. Gissing, A Life's Morning, Ch. XXV, 337. (Compare: She was telling me an extraordinary story, which is not a complete statement, and represents the telling of the story as unfinished.)
Note. ƒ have said (=1 have had my say, Dutch Ik heb gezegd), sometimes heard at the end of a speech or a lengthy exposition. It has been my object for many years to have no Private Life — to dispense with its sorrows, joys, affections; and as to its duties they did not exist for me. — 1 have said. Lytton, My No vel, II, X, Ch. XVII, 213.
Now to the English mind the placing of an adjunct or clause denoting a point of time in the past in the sentence or clause mostly severs, or at least weakens (100), the connexion of the past action or state with the present state of things, with the result that the preterite takes the place of the perfect. To a Dutchman this is not necessarily the case, any more than to a Frenchman or a German, and therefore in their language the use of such an
Caro, Anglia, XXI, 64.



95
adjunct or clause does not, as a rule, affect the application of the perfect. Thus / wrote a letter yesterday corresponds to the Dutch Ik heb gisteren een brief geschreven. Ample illustration of the normal use of the preterite being afforded by practically every page of prose or poetry, we may here confine ourselves to a few quotations.
He asked me to be his wife two years ago. Pinero, Iris, I, (51).
I was two years ago in France, and a year and a half in Germany, when I
was a girl. Mrs. Ward, Cousin Phil., Ch. III, 42.
He broke his vows long since. Westm. Gaz., No. 5335, 9a.
Less than a fortnight since the Prime Minister claimed for a Coalition that
it provides the speedy and effective way of getting things doné. ib.,
No. 8263, la.
Note the idiom in:
Time was when a poet sat upon a stool in a public place, and mused in . the sight of men. Dick, Tale of Two Cities, ft, Ch. XIV, 176.
Time was when this plan of two legislatures for Ireland... might have been accepted. That was in the days when there was a great body of moderate opinion in Ireland. Westm. Gaz, No. 8267, 2a.
95. Obs. I. The time denoted by the adverbial adjunct or clause which involves the use of the preterite, is feit to be separated from the moment of speaking by a longer or shorter space of time. This is not the case with adjuncts or clauses denoting a length of time subsequent to an event in the past, i. e. to the adverb s&ice, or to word-groups containing the preposition or conjunction since when denoting a length of time measured from the time of a certain event (127 ff). Thus we may find the perfect in such sentences as / have not seen him since. I have not seen him since (or after) his departure. I have not seen him since (or after) he left the country. Nor is there any notion of a dividing space in the speaker's mind when he uses such an adverb as always, ever, never, often, rarely, etc, which imply indefinite continuance or repetition of an action or state; or again, such an adverbial adjunct as before, in times past, in former times, formerly, which denote a length of time that may extend to the moment of speaking. These adverbial adjuncts, and others of like import may, accordingly, be met with in sentences with the predicate in the perfect tense. Detailed discussion and illustration of the tense-possibilities in connection with the above adjuncts will be given below. It It follows also that when no intervening space is assumed between two states of things one belonging to the present, the other to the past time-sphere, the perfect is used in describing the latter. She (sc. nature) leaves these objects to a slow decay, | That what we are, and have been, may be known. Wordsworth, H ar t-1 e a p-well, 174. It is sureiy unnecessary to class pewter-pots among the things that have been. Pewter is not dead. Notes and Quer.
It all came back to him like a dream, a dim recollection from the land of shadows, the illimitable regions of the Has been. Daily News.



96
Thus also in such a sentence as:
i certainly have had my share of beauty, but i do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. Jane Austen, Pride and Prej., Ch. 1. Substitution of the preterite for the perfect would raise expectations of an adjunct or clause denoting an epoch of the past, such as when I was a young woman.
It should furthermore be observed that sentences with the perfect may stand, and often do stand, isolated, i. e. not followed by other sentences, nor necessarily raising any expectations of any other sentences to follow. This applies equally to those in which the preterite takes the place of the perfect owing to the presence of an adjunct or clause denoting a point of time in the past. Conversely sentences with the narrative or historical preterite (93) normally do not stand by themselves, but are followed by others describing the ensuing happenings or states of things, or, at any rate, raise expectations of such to follow. Thus / have read David Copperfield and / read David Copperfield when I was a boy are in themselves complete statements, not necessarily calling for further Communications. Such may, indeed, follow in some such terms as / (have) found many beauties in the novel. I (have) admired the humorous passages more than the sentimental ones, etc, but the mind would not be unsatisfied, if the speaker were to stop at the first mention of his literary activity.
But the case is different when we read the opening sentence of narrative or history, e. g.:
There once. lived in a sequestered part of the county ot Devonshire one Mr. Godfrey Nickleby. Dick., N i c h. Nick, Ch. i, la. This we distinctly apprehend as the fore-runner of the relation of a succession of events and incidents. From the above it follows that we should distinguish two varieties of preterites, which may, respectively, be styled the isolated and the narrative or historical preterite. The latter is "in its function like the Preterite in German, as described by Wilmanns in his Deutsche Gram., III, 1, § 97, 4. He writes: "Das Prateritum ist das Tempus der Erzahlung, in der das einzelne Ereignis nur als Glied in der zusammenhangenden Reihe vergangener Ereignisse aufgefasst wird; das Perfectum braucht man, wenn man ein Ereignis als Faktum von selbstandiger Bedeutung hinstellen will." Now that the principles underlying the use of the perfect and preterite tenses have received due attention, it remains to discuss some cases in which doubts may arise as to the way in which these principles are applied.



97
98. When the predicate is not attended by an adjunct or clause answering the question when?, there may yet be in the speaker's mind a more or less distinct thought of a point of time in the past with which the action or state described is associated. Thus when we say He lived here for some time, we have in our minds some such adjunct or clause as in his lifetime, some time ago, or before 'he settled at Paris, etc. If in the above sentence the perfect is substituted for the preterite, the implication is He lives here still.
Some adjunct denoting a point of time in the past is associated with the preterites used in:
i. "I have been very ill." — "I thought you looked pale." Onions, Adv. Eng. Synt., § 127. (i. e. Even before the moment you told me, 1 thought to myself that you looked pale.)
"I have got a head-ache" — "I thought you were not looking well." Sweet, N. E. O r., § 2234.
"I hardly ever see him now." — "I thought he was an intimate friend of yours." ib. (i. e. Until you set me right (told me my mistake), I thought that he was an intimate friend of yours.)
I thought you liked nothing that came to you without a bargain. O. Eliot, Rom, I, Ch. I, 10.
We said that the history of England is the history of progress. Mac, Hist. of the Rev., (323Ö). (i. e. when we were on the subject.) "Well, what do you think of Cousin Philip?' Mrs. Priend roused herself. 'Tve only seen him for half an hour. But he was very kind". Mrs. Ward, Cousin Philip, Ch. II, 20. (i. e. at (or during) the time when I saw him.)
ii. "I am afraid we have kept you waiting." — "Oh no, not at all: we were looking at these photographs". Sweet, N. E. Or., § 2238. (The preterite in we were looking "refers to an implied while we were waiting for you".) I am not frightened ... only I was thinking how terrible is war! Buchanan, T h a t W i n t e r N i g h t, Ch. I, 4.
UI. And these three days — 1 saw you were changed — but I said [etc.]. Sutro, The Choice, II, (61). (i. e. whenever I looked in your face in the course of the last three days.)
I was jealous when you brought in Ann Knapp — yes, I was jealous! I was vexed with you, these three days, because you were so — distant — and showed no sign. ib, IV, (99). (i. e. whenever I met you.)
99. When the action referred to falls within a certain undefined space of time past not distinctly thought of as severed from the moment of speaking, the perfect appears to be the normal tense.
I have been infinitely more affected in many English cathedrals when the organ has been playing, and in many English country churches when the congregation have been singing. Dick, Piet. from Italy, Rome'),
Caro, commenting on this sentence, observes that Dickens would have used the preterite in the two last predicates if, at the time of
!) MStzn, Eng. Q rara?, II, 77.
7



98
.writing, the playing of the organ and the singing of the congregation had been abolished, say by act of Parliament, while, in that case, instead of I have been infinitely more affected, he would have written some such turn of expression as / often used to be affected. It is on similar considerations that the perfect may be explained in:
I have seen him in by-lanes a dozen miles distant from the town when I have been riding back from the hunt. Lytton, Ken. Chi 1., II, 83. T. Some of the most pleasant evenings I have ever spent have been when we have sat up, after a great dinner, 'en petit comité', and abused the people who are gone. Thack, N e w c.
The right honourable gentleman, once or twice, when I have inquired into these things, has sheltered himself behind the plea that this is a selfgoverning colony. Daily News, 1902, 17 Jan.
One some occasions when I and others have complained of the lack of information from which we suffer, the Government have said, "What do you complain of? We teil you all we know, we know no more than you, everything is told!" Campb. Bannerman, Speech. Sometimes, in referring to different actions falling within a certain undefined space of time, there is a variety of tense which it seems difficult to account for.
There have been times in my life when 1 required soothing, and then I have feit that a whiff of tobacco stills and softens one like the kiss ot a little child. Lytton, Ken. Ch 11, II, 120. T.
100. Although English is reputed to be very strict in the use of preterite, as distinct from the perfect, when the action or state is thought of as cut away from the moment of speaking, as appears from the use of an adjunct denoting an epoch of the past, yet observant reading will soon bring to light a goodly number of instances in which the rule is disregarded. Nor can it be urged, as some grammarians are fond of doing, that the English in which such instances are met with is of questionable purity. Compare especially CARO, Anglia, XXI, 158. As to the following quotations, in which the perfect is used contrary to the rule, it should be observed that in almost all of them the adjunct denoting the point of time has backposition or is, at least, placed after the predicate. It is not improbable that in these the deviation from the ordinary practice is sometimes due to this fact: the speaker starting to make a statement without any clear thought of a past epoch, the latter occurring to him almost in the way.of an afterthought as he approaches the conclusion. This conjecture we sometimes find actually confirmed by the quotation itself. Thus in: There is something of a doleful air about that room to me, for Peggotty has told me — I don't know when, but apparently ages ago — about my father's funeral, and the company having their black cloaks put on. Dick, Cop., Ch. II, 7b.



99
Such a sentence as / have read that book ages ago may, indeed, be regarded as, in a manner, contracted from / have read that book, I read it ages ago, which would, of course, be intolerable from its utter clumsiness. The above view is supported by the fact that we rarely find the perfect in questions opening with when or an equivalent expression. It may be added that, according to jespersen (Tid og Tempus, VI, 393), the preterite is used in Danish when such a word as iga-r (= yesterday) opens the sentence, whereas there is nothing unidiomatic in the use of the perfect when it is placed at the end of the sentence. Accordingly only Igdr sa jeg ham ( Yesterday I saw him), but either Jeg har set ham igdr (= i have seen him yesterday) or Jeg sd ham igdr(= I saw him yesterday). The same scholar remarks that the like variable practice has been observed in Swedish by Noreen, (V&rt Spr&k, 677). The same explanation has also been suggested by Miss G. Lely in De Drie Talen, XXXIII, XII, 162.
Furthermore it shouid be borne in mind that it is not always easy, or even possible, to separate an action from its conseqirenees; indeed, as will be shown lower down (101), it rather frequently appears ïhat in mentioning an action which took place in the past, the speaker reaRy wishes to indicate the consequences which have obtained since that event up to the moment of speaking. Perhaps, when all is said, the use of an adjunct denoting an epoch of the past does not necessarily dissolve the connection of the past action with the present moment in the minds of a good many Englishmen, any more than this is the case in the thoughts of Dutchmen, Germans or Frenchmen.
Here follow, in chronological arrangement, some quotations from a goodly number of different writers exhibiting an, apparently, unjustifiable departing from the rule. Students interested in the subject can find many more in the abovementioned paper by Miss G. Lely. A comparison with those in 122 is highly recommended.
Some things have been told us yesterday. Richardson, Clar. Hart, 11,308. I am told he has had another execution in the house yesterday. Sher., School for Sc and, I. 1, (365).
I have done that a long time — a minute ago. ib, V, 3, 437.
The Englishman... has murdered young Halbert Glendinning yesterday
morning. Scott, M o n, Ch. XXX, 330.
He has been executed an hour since. id. Fair M a i d.
Many a beauty of Little Brltain, who has long, long since bloomed, faded,
and passed away. Wash. Irv, Sketch-Bk, XXV, 243,



100
I have heard him mentioned by friends of mine long ago - long ago. Lytton, K e n. C h i 1.. III, 219. T.
I have made the same remark when I was younger. id., Night and Mor n.,
hideed I have seen Blanche, six or seven years ago, when she was a girl of eighteen. She came here to a Christmas ball and party Mr. Rochester gave Ch. Brontë, Jane Eyre, Ch. XVI, 191.
I need not swear to that oath, for I have sworn it long ago. Kinosley, Westw. Hol, Ch. XXVI, 202a.
All these instances have been given in Notes and Queries many years ago.
Skeat, N o t. a n d q u e r., 1899, 1 March.
Some of them (sc. English earls) have been brave men and have Jought in great battles in the old days. Miss' Burnett, L i 111 e L o r d, 29. T. I have worked at the harvest in Brittany when I was a boy. Temple Thurston, Mi rage, Ch. V, 42. * -
Long ago fveeiVenalilhadtoyou. Hichens, Gard. of Al, II,Ch.XVUl, u. One of the minor uses of Royalty Aas been illustrated last month by the attention which Princess Ena's change of ecclesiastical allegiance has d«wn to the claims of the Roman Catholic Church. Rev. of Rev, CXCVI, 3436. I have often during my professional career, which has come to an end several years ago, stood up against operative intemperance. Times, No. 1851, 491c. p We Aave Aad well over 800.000 casualties in France last year. Eng. Kev.,
No. 111, 186.
It is especially when there is a distinct reference to a state of things resulting from an activity befalling in the past that the presence of an adjunct denoting a point of time in the past fails to cause the preterite to-be used. Thus in such a sentence as Evidently it has thawed during the night (Murray, s. v. it, 3, a) the attention is directed to the moisture on the grass, shrubs etc, as the result of the phenomenon of thawing. In the following quotations the use of the perfect may be similarly accounted for:
It is for a poor gentleman who Aas been taken UI at my house four days ago. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, 118.
The flagon last night Aas addled my poor headsadly. Wash.Irv, bKetcn-
Wel'l, Sir, how isit? Have you rested well to-night? Nev.lle, Plato Rediv. 15 (Murray, s. v. it, 3, d.).
Among the first facts of the present election was this that out of eight university seats seven have been filledon Friday orSaturday last. Gladstone, Speech.
Similarly when the adjunct is suggested by some other element of the sentence.
-Good morning! I hope you have slept well" - "No, I've had a very bad night." Rich. J. Lloyd, North. Eng., 108.
The Prime Minister Aas Aad a distinctly better night and several hours oi continuous sleep. Times, 1918, 20 Sept, 737a. The use of the preterite in sentences of this type seems abnormal. What sort of a night did you Aave?. E. F. Benson, Mr. Teddy, Ch. 1, 20.



101
Sometimes the state of things resulting from the past event is more or less distinctly shadowed forth by a subsequent or preceding part of the sentence.
i. The unfinished romance of rosy cheeks and bright eyes seems sometimes of feeble interest and significance, compared with that drama of hope and love which Aas long ago reached its catastrophe, and left the poor soul, like a dim and dusty stage, with all its sweet garden-scenes and fair perspectives overturned and thrust out of sight. G. Eliot, Scènes, D, Ch. 1,19. Those who in childhood Aave Aad solitary communings with the sea know the sea's prophecy. Watts Dunton, Aylwin, I, Ch. I, 1.
ii. If a man gives ten, twenty, thirty, or fifty thousand pounds to some great object, it is almost certain that he is a man who Aas worked very hard in his young days, and Aas denied himself many a happy holiday and many a lawful pleasure. Chesterton, (Daily News, 1907, 1 Aug.).
102. English is wavering between the perfect and the preterite when the epoch mentioned in the sentence or clause is one which contains the moment of speaking, as is the case with that indicated by to-day, to-night, or one of the many possible combinations with this, such as this morning (afternoon, evening, week, month, year, etc). .
i. I have never lived so wicked a life as I Aave done this twelvemonth. Wych, Gent Danc. Mast, I, 1, (139).
I Aave Aad a twinge of the gout this morning. Lytton, Night and Morn, 375. T.
I Aave received a letter to-day from Mr. Courvoisier. Temple Thurston, Mirage, Ch. V, 42.
Are you perfectly sure that they Aave been married this morning? Gissing, A L i f e's M o r n i n g, Ch. XXV, 336.
We will assume that our readers are familiar with the general trend of the historical debate which Aas taken place this week in the House of Lords. Westm. Gaz, No. 5167, 16,
ii. The following morning about noon, Rose ... closed the school-room door behind her with a sigh of reliëf, and tripped up the road to Burwood. "How abominably they sang this morning!" Mrs. Ward, Rob. Elsm., I, 151. T.i).
How did you like the speech to-night? id. Mare, III, Ch. IX, 406.
This summer I Aad typhus fever, and could not work. Mrs. Craik, John
Hal, Ch. I, 40.
I'm afraid now I disliked you before: that was why I shrank from your touch. But I saw to-day — when she tortured you — that you love her. Shaw, Candida, III, (177). T.
I'm afraid she isn't well. She didn't sing to-night. Didn't dine with us either. Gissing, A L i f e 's Morning, Ch. XXIV, 32tt
In the language of reporters, writing in the evening about the day's happenings, the preterite is, naturally, the ordinary tense.
His Majesty the King this morning received the Rev. William Booth. Daily News, 1904, 23 June.
i) Caro, Anglia, XXI, 62.



106
take exception to such sentences as Dickens has Written The Tale of Two Cities, Columbus has discovered America, etc, although they are practically equivalent to Dickens is the writer of the The Tale of Two Cities, Columbus is the discoverer of America, etc.
The real foundation on which the use of the' two tenses in this disputed case rests is that already mentioned in 8 and 94; i. e. the answer to the question whether or no the activity expressed by the predicate is in its results associated with the present state of things. If the answer is in the affirmative, the perfect is used; if in the negative, the preterite is chosen. Nesfield (Errors in Eng. Composition, 78) is, therefore, right in observing that it is correct to say The British Empire in India has succeeded to the Mogul, but "if the has were cancelled, the sentence would mean that the British Empire succeeded to the Mogul in some past time, but has since been itself superseded by some other empire." The theory is also in harmony with Jespersen's illustration of the employment of the two tenses. He contrasts (Tid og Tempus, VI, 392) Newton has explained the movements of the moon (i. e. The movements of the moon have been explained — namely by Newton), with Newton believed in an omnipotent God. Thus also with what Bradley, 1. c, observes, "We can say England has had many able miers, but if we substitute Assyria for England, the tense must be changed." It should, furthermore, be observed that in the case of the perfect, as opposed to the preterite, the time-associations are but vaguely, or not at all, a subject of the speaker's thoughts.
In conclusion it may here be expressly stated, as has already been vaguely hinted at in the preceding exposition, that it is not what is denoted by the grammatical subject of the sentence, but the real or psychological subject of the statement, which is meant to be concerned in the lasting results of the activity expressed by the predicate. Thus in Cicero has written orations it is the orations for which our attention is claimed, and which are represented as having endured up to the moment of speaking.
The presence in our dictionaries of such terms as aria, basso, etc. would be sufficiënt to inform us... that the Italians have been our masters in music and the fine arts. Bradley, The Making of Eng., Ch.lil, 102. (But: That the Dutch were once our masters in nautical matters may be learned from the terms aloof, avast, boom, doek, huil, skipper, orlop, flyboat, euphroe, rover, and many others. ib.) Firm, resolute, watchful, and self-controlled, Elizabeth, as a Queen, has had few equals among the sovereigns of England. Collier, Hist, 183. (But: Elizabeth had few equals among the contemporary rulers in Europe.)



107
108. There is a great variability in the tense of predicates modified by the adverbs lately, latterly, of late, late and recently, which may denote either a point of time or a length of time extending to the moment of speaking.
109. a) When lately denotes a point of time, i. e. when it has the
value of a short time ago, the other day, Dutch onlangs, the ordinary tense is the preterite, but also the perfect is quite frequently used, apparently for the secondary purpose of indicating the state of things resulting from the action.
i. There is a gay captain here who put a jest on me lately, at the expense Of my country. Sher., R i v.. III, 4, (254).
Charlotte Brontë at the present hour is little read by the outer public, and an American writer lately said that people in America do not talk much about Nathaniel Hawthorne now. McCarthy, Hist. of our own Times, IJl, Ch. LXXII, 211.
1 lately met with the following phrase. Not. and Quer.
ii. He has lately arrtved from Italy. Webst, Dict. s. v. lately (underlying notion: He is now here.)
I have only quite lately known who were my parents. G.Eliot, Dan. Der., III, VIII, Ch. LXIX, 395. (The context imparts a momentaneous character to the durative to know.)
Has Sir Michael Audley lately married? Miss Braddon, Lady Andley's
Secret, II, Ch. III, 49. (underlying notion: Is he a married man?)
A most extraordinary event has lately occurred. Punch, No. 3748, 353Ö.
(underlying notion: lts consequences are stiil noticeable.)
I have seen the wooden box quite lately. Notes and Quer., 1901,27Ju!y.
b) When lately denotes a length of time, i. e. when it has the value of in these later (latter or last) days (weeks or months, etc), Dutch in de laatste tijd, the normal tense is the perfect, the present appearing as an occasional variant (121). The predicate is frequently placed in the expanded form.
i. * Lady Teazle has lately suspected my views on Maria. Sher, School for
S c a n d, IV, 3, (409).
Have you been abroad lately? Pinero, Iris, I, (29).
Dear mamma has been quite cordial lately. Flor. E. Barklay, The
R o s a r y, 79.
I have been to Teddington several times lately, but only to-day came into the park. Gissing, A Life's Mom, Ch. XXII, 304. Nothing has been heard lately of the movements of De Wet. Times. ** Lately the King has been receiving a number of deputations. Rev. of Rev, 1901, April.
He has lately been writing an appreciation of Oliver Twist. Truth, 1902, 5 Juiy.
He has not been sending me any books lately. Punch, 1902, 12 Feb.
ii. I don't like your mamma lately. Hardy, A Pair of Blue Ey es, II, 27.
110. Obs. I. The uncertainty attaching to the meaning of lately may give rise to ambiguity when the perfect is used. Thus in the following quotation there is no certainty whether the reference is to an isolated or a continued (or repeated) action:



108
There is an affair in which you have lately employed me, wherein, I confess, 1 am at a loss to guess your motives. Sher., School for Scand., I, 1, (364).
I have lately visited some of the most distant parts of the kingdom. Cowper, Country Congregations (Peacock, Se 1. Eng. Es., 168).
II. Primarily durative predicates may become momentaiieous when modified by lately in the first meaning and placed in the perfect tense.
You have been lately in Rome, I think. G. Eliot, M i d, I, 273. T. I have lately, before I had any true suspicion of my parentage, been led to study everything belonging to their history with more interest than any other subject, id. Dan. Der, III, VIII, Ch. LX, 272.
Conversely primarily momentaneous predicates may assume a durative or iterative character when modified by lately in the second meaning and placed in the perfect tense.
You've adopted such a tone regarding me lately that I'm — if I'll bear it any more. Thack., Van. Fair, I, Ch. XIII, 124.
Sometimes there appears to be a blending of momentaneousness and durativeness or iterativeness. Thus in:
All the daily papers have taken lately to publishing a column about birds. Punch, 1902, 3 Sept. (To take is a distinctly momentaneous verb, and lately in connection with it can only be understood in the first meaning; yet the whoie sentence has a durative purport, its evident meaning being that all the daily papers have been publishing a column about birds for some time past, which, naturally, imparts the second meaning to lately.
Thus also in:
Attention Aas been directed lately to that common foundation of social welfare, the public security. Westm. Gaz, No. 8251, 6b.
III. The present tense, instead of the perfect, is common in connection with lately in the first meaning, in the case of to be dead, which, however, has the value of to have died.
One of your tenants whose mother is lately dead. Goldsmith, Vic, Ch. XVI.
IV. It may also be observed that, whereas in the affirmative / have been abroad lately the adverb lately would mostly be understood in the first meaning, it would almost inevitably be taken in the second meaning in the corresponding interrogative Have you been abroad lately? and the negative / have not been abroad lately.
V. When the action or state described by the predicate is thought of as falling in a time-sphere prior to the secondary dividing-point in the past (3), the pluperfect takes the place of either the preterite or the perfect, irrespective of the meaning of lately. (10, b.)
It seemed a much finer thing to fight material Appollyons ... than to convert heathens by meekness — at least if true meekness was at all like that of the missionary whom I had lately seen. Kinosley, Alton Locke, Ch. 1,16.
VI. The above observations also apply, in a large measure, to predicates modified by the variants of lately or by word-groups containing late, later, latter, last, past or recent discussed below.



109
111. Of late sometimes denotes a point of time, but far more frequently a length of time. In the first meaning it appears to have the predicate in the preterite regularly. When it has the second meaning, the predicate, as a rule, is placed in the perfect tense, but, unlike lately, it is found rather frequently with a present.
i. She did commend my yellow stockings of late. Shak., Twelfth Night,
H, 5, 180.
The Jews of late sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither again? Bible.
Prince, when of late ye pray'd me for my leave 1 To move to your own land, and there defend | Your marches, I was prick'd with some reproof. Ten, Oer. and En, 887.
ii. * 'Tis told me, he hath very oft of late | Given private time to you. Shak.,
Haml.. I, 3, 91.
He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders | Of his affection to# me. ib,
I, 3, 99.
We will proceedno further fn this business: | He hath honoufd me of late; and 1 have bought | Golden opinions from all sorts of people. id. Mach., 1,7,32. Sir Peter is grown so ill-natured to me of late. Sher, School for Sc and, IV, 3, (409).
Lady Teazle's conduct of late has made me very unhappy. ib, IV, 3, (412). The hooligan has of late been far to much in evidence. Times. ** Vexed I am | Of late, with passions of some difference. Shak, Jul. Caes.,
I, 2, 39.
Brutus, I do observe you now of late: | I have not from your eyes that
gentleness | And show of love, as I was wont to have. ib, I, 2, 33.
Of late a great improvement in this respect is observable in our most
popular writers. Coleridoe, B i o g. L i t, Ch. XVI, 157.
And now of late I see him less and less. Ten, Com. of Arth, 355.
It is of late somewhal the fashion to disparageMacaulay. McCarthy, Hist.
of our own Times, II, 275. T.
There is justice in the criticism that of late more especially the pages of Punch give no idea whatever of the emotions of the English people, ib,
II, Ch. XXIX, 38.
I am doing better of late than I expected. Mrs. Alexander, For his Sake, I, Ch. XIV, 229.
Nothing could give these worthy Englishmen greater pleasure than to setüe the perennial problem of a discontented Erin, whom they ot late regard with lofty magnanimity, as more sinned against than sinning. Eng. Rev, No. 105, 185.
In the following lines, in a narrative in which the poet compares his reception at Branksome Hall with that accorded to his predecessors in former times, of late is to be understood in the meaning of in the days gone by : hence the preterite.
Of late before each martial clan | They blew their death-note in the van. Scott, Lay, VI, III.
112. Late, as a variant of lately, appears to be used only in the first sense of the latter. It has the predicate in the preterite practically regularly, only one (doubtful) instance of the perfect



112
They were rough, but they had rude virtues, which are not the less virtues, because in these latter days they are growing scarce. Froude, O c e a n a, Ch. Ui, 46.
Manifestly toys are becoming too elaborate and far too costly in these latter days. Times.
What is happening is that, in the last few years, foreigners are sending more goods, are increasing their exports to our Colonies more rapidly than we are. Jos. Chamberlain (Daily News, 1905. 22 Nov.). 116. Sometimes the preterite, present, and perfect may be used in referring to one and the same action, but with various elements in it thrown to the fore, the preterite bringing out that part of it which belongs to the past time-sphere, the present its present result, and the perfect these two elements combined. Compare Sweet, N. E. Gr, § 275 and § 2235. This applies especially to certain verbs which express a moving or conveying to a certain place.
to bring. i. Well, it is very handsome of you, Mr. Holmes. I brought the bust up with me, as you asked me to do. Here it is. Con. Doyle, Return of Sherl. Hol m, (Strand Mag, XXVII). Oh, Patty! Did you bring us some wedding-cake? Jean Webster, Just Patty, Ch. IV, 77.
"What might you be wanting gentlemen?" he said gruffly. "Why, you know me, Daunt. I brought a friend up to look at your wonderful place. We can walk through, can't we ?" Mrs. Ward, Delia Blanchflower, Ch. X. ii. What brings him here? Lytton, My No vel, I, VII, Ch. XX, 494
What brings you up to town? Osc. Wilde, The Importance of being Earnest, I, 4.
"Brother", said Sir Samuel, "I bring you a young gentleman who has a communication to make of great importance." Walt Besant, The 1 v o r y G a t e, II, Ch. XIX, 35. iii. What has happened? What has brought you here? Dick, A Taie of Two Cities, III, Ch. II, 292.
I have brought you a book, Miss Blanchflower," Lathrop nervously began, diving into a large and sagging pocket. Mrs. Ward, Delia Blanchflower, Ch. XXIII.
to call. i. "I am sorry, Mr. C is "not in." — "Oh, I only called to see how he was. Onions, Adv. Eng. Synt, § 127.
"But there's enough of my father," said Jonas, "ifs of no use to go putting oneself out of the way by talking about him. I called to ask you to come and take a walk, cousin." Dick, Chuz, Ch. XI.
The inspector sat down at his desk. "What can I do for you, Mr. Holmes?"— "I called about that beggarman, Boone [etc.]." Con. Doyle, Adv. of Sherl. Hol m, The Man with the twisted Lip. ii.. I have called to see you, in pursuance of a promise given to your brother, Thomas Pinch. Dick, Chuz, Ch. IX, 706.
"I Aave called", said the visitor, hurriedly, "to teil you of something important that happened this morning." Walt. Bessant, The Ivory Qate Ch. XIII, 241.
to come. i. Is that all you came to say, Sir Samuel? Walt. Besant. The Ivory Qate, II, Ch. XIX, 35.
Did ye come on purpose to teil me this ?" — "Of course, i did, ye silly man." Rudy. Kipl, S t a 1 k y and C o, 23. t.



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quotations. But when the reference is, or may be, to a succession of like acts, i. e. when the predicate is iterative or may be understood to be iterative, there is often no certainty in which meaning since is to be apprehended.
Blood hath been shed ere now, i' the olden time, | Ere humane statute
purged the gentle weal; I Ay, and since too, murders have been perform'd |
Too terrible for the ear. Shak., M a c b., III, 4, 77.
He has never been heard of since. Scott, K e n i 1 w., Ch. II.
They made that well-known journey which almost every Englishman of
middle rank has travelled since. Thack, Van. Fair, I, Ch. XXVIII, 296.
I have often wondered since why all cannot read the same Iesson, as I did
in those old Hebrew Scriptures. Kinosley, Alton Locke, Ch. 1, 10.
Its recommendations (sc. of Lord Durham's report) were in full operation
in Canada within two or three years, and have been since extended to
nearly all the other colonies of European race. McCarthy, Hist. ofour
own Times, I, Ch. III, 54.
I finished the poem about the angel quarter of an hour ago. fve read you several things since. Shaw, Candida, III, (171). T. Scarcely a Parliamentary day has passed since that has not witnessed the crushing of some part of the Government programme. Westm. Gaz., No. 8263, la.
The predicate is sometimes placed in the preterite, especially when modified by (n)ever.
"Where is he?" — "I did not see him since." Shak., Ant. and Cleop., I, 3, /.
So hand in hand they passed, the loveliest pair | That ever since in love's embraces met. Milton, Par. Lost, IV, 322. (Observe that ever is a sentence-modifier, not a word-modifier as in the quotations cited in 127; since could be separated from ever and placed at the end of the sentence. Observe also the incluslve superlative) (Ch. XXX, 47.) They never thought ofitsince. Marryat, Children of the New Forest, 353. T.
The use of the present as in the following quotation appears to be extremely rare:
I am since informed that swearing is perfectly unfashionable. Goldsmith, Vic, Ch. IX, (285).
There is, however, nothing unusual in the use of to be dead instead of to have died.
Sir Wigram Allen, I regret to see, is since dead. Froude, Oceana, Ch. XI, 177.
II. Since frequently occurs as a variant of ago. Predicates modified by adverbial adjuncts containing since in this meaning are, naturally, placed in the preterite in the majority of cases. But instances of the predicate standing in the perfect in the first application (8) are by no means uncommon. For illustration see also 94, b and 100.
i. Ha broke his vows long since. Westm. Gaz, No. 5335, 9a.
ii. He has been executed an hour since. Scott, Talisman, 278.
129. Also when the adverbial adjunct modifying the predicate is one containing the preposition since, the ordinary tense is



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the perfect. But the present occurs rather frequently as a variant. As in the case of the adverb since, the phrase is sometimes preceded by ever to emphasize the notion of uninterrupted continuance of the action or state referred to. Predicates primarily momentaneous naturally assume an iterative character when modified by an adverbial adjunct containing the preposition since. The change of character seems to be confined to the perfect tense, the present being, apparently, used only of durative predicates.
i. The Lord hath blessed thee since my coming. Bib le, Gen, XXX, 30. Even our good chaplain, as I ween, | Since our last siege we have not seen. Scott, M a r m., 1, XXI, 10.
(The) title... has been accorded to the head of the family since time immemoriai. Wash. Irv, S k e t c h-B k.
I saw to-day — when she tortured you — that you love her. Since then I
have been your friend. Shaw, Candida, III, (178). T.
I have eaten nothing since yesterday. Conc. Oxf. Dict.
The Bill that is now awaited comes immediately on top of coercive measures
in Ireland, such as have not been applied since the eighties. Westm. Gaz.,
No. 8257, 2a.
ii. You know since Pentecost the sum is due, | And since I have not much . itnportun'd you. Shak, Com. of Er, IV, 1 1.
Since the loss of my poor unhappy brother I dread every evil. Mary Wortley Montague, Let, 43.
I'm as great as they, I trow, | Since the day I found thee out. Wordsworth, TothesmallCelandine, 13.
Since the period when your countrymen diffused the light of his teaching in the chief cities of Italy, no man is held worthy of the name of scholar. G. Eliot, R o m o 1 a.
No others since Wordswordth's death in 1850 can pretend to stand beside these four. Nineteenth Cent, 1809, Aug, 226.
130. Obs. I. It seems difficult to bring such a sentence as the following into line with dear thinking:
Since when have you become so highly fastidious? Beatr. Har, The Fowler, Ch. III.
The ingressive have you become seems to be incompatible with the adjunct since when, which denotes a length of time. The sentence could be 'improved' in two ways, viz.: Since when have you been so fastidious? or When did you become so fastidious? II. In older English the predicate seems to have been sometimes placed in the preterite.
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. Bible, Matth, XXIV, 21. (The Revised Editon of 1884 has hath not been, in harmony with modern practice.)
III. As distinct from the Dutch sedert or sinds, the English since is rarely found before a word(-group) denoting a length of time, i. e. in the sense of during. Predicates modified by since in this meaning seem to prefer the present.