Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-12-07

A house is building for Mrs F.
Mr.. c., the sexton, is digging a grave
for the late Mr.. D.
A grave is digging for Mr.. d.
Charles is studying bis lesson.
The lesson is studying in Charles book
What are those men doing in that field 7
Mr.. E. is selling out and Mr.. G. is buying
the farm.
The farm is selling and the farm is
buying.
What is that noise2 Mrs s. is calling
her servant.
The servant is calling.
Now will those who use tits new form
of speech please to tell us what is the house
building2 What is the grave digging ?
What ia the lesson studying? What is
the farm buying2 If Mrs. S. is calling
her servant, then the servant is probably
calling Mrs. s. Perhaps, if Mr.. E. is sell
ling his farm, the farm is selling Mr.. g.
Very possibly, too, that the Lesson is
studying Charles as much as Charles is
studying the lesson. If the sexton is
digging grave, then it must be that the
grave is digging the sexton. If they dig
eq ually fast will the grave ever be dug,
or will the sexton be buried alive in the
grave he is digging.
1t is such a discomfort to meet with
these gross inaccuracies that I hope this
presentation of the two uses of these
phrases may do something to Danish them
from all our reading.
No one will object to "a ship is sailing"
on the ocean, "the river is running" in
the channel, but how q railroad can sur
vey itself, or bridge throw itself across
stream, or house build itself, is beyond
my comprehension. YER. SAP.
REPLY.
Editor Herald - Your correspondent
over. Sap" in your Daily of the Goth inst,
seeks to revive the old discussion in regard
to the use of the present indicative passive,
and the participle in ing in the passive
the matter in a very summary way, and
by illustrations that have no reference to
the use of the words in question or tend
to sustain him in his conclusions that the
use of the expression SIS being" is correct
And for the purpose of opening the ques-
ton and giving your correspondent a
chance to fully consider the subject, de.
sire you to give place to the following:
"There is properly no passive form in
English, corresponding to the progressive
form, in the active voice, except where it
is made by the participle in ing in pas
sive sense, thus: The house is building,
The garments are making Wheat
is selling" etc. An attempt has been
made by some gramarians, of late, to
Danish such expressions from the Ian
guage, though they have been used in all
times past by the best writers, and to JUS
tify and defend clumsy selicism, which
has been introduced within the last fifty
years, chiefly through the newspaper
press, but which has gained such cur
rency and is becoming so familiar to the
its uncouthness and def9rmity. l refer
to such expressions as 1.-THE house is being
built" "The letter is being written" etc.
Respecting this mode of expression, it may
be noticed that it had no existence in the
language till within the last half century.
This indeed would not meke it wrong
were it otherwise unexception able, but it
shows that it ia not ga ia pretended, 9
necessary form, and in some measure &C.
counts for the insolvenos and effront or Y
with which, like all upstairs, it seeks to
override and bear down that which is
vene cradle for its antiquity, and commend
ed for it's propriety.
This form of ex preston. wh+n snnlyzsd,
is found 10 express not what it is Intend
ed to express, and would BE- used only BY
such as are either ignorant of its import
or careless and loose in the use of their
language To make this manifest, let it
be considered first that there is no pro-
gressive form of the verb to be, and no
need OF it q: hence there is no such express
ion in English as as being. OF course the
expression ais being built" for example.
is not q compound of sis being" and
built, but of sis" and "being built" that
is of the verb to be and the present par.
ticiple passive. Now, let it be observed
that the only verbs in which the pre- sent
participle passive expresses continued
action are those in which TIE regular pas.
sive form expresses continuance of the
action, as sis loved" 'is deserved" etc,
and in which, of course, the form in ques-
ton ("is being huilt,'0 is not required
Nobody would think cf saying, "He is
being loved" The result is being de-
| sired"
In all other verbs, the present participle
passive, like the present tense, expresses
not continued action, or the continued
receiving of an action, but that the action
has ceased, and the result exists in fin.
ished state-"Thus cur work being finish.
GU We tSet, CIV III suCu t6-
pressions the present participle passive
represents the action as noao finished and
exists only in its results. This finished
act, then, cannot be made unfinished and
progressiue by being asserted of subject,
which is all the verb TO be as copula can
express. Hence it is manifest that sis
being built" if ii mean anything, can
mean nothing more than sis built" which
is not the idea intended to be expressed
For the same reason that Is being built,
etc., is contended for as a proper express.
sion we should contend, also, for, "Has
been being built Had been being
built "Shall have been being built"
and so on through the different moods and
lenses. When all these shall have been
introduced, our language will be rich in.
deed.