1. She was sitting before the fire and dreaming dreams. 2. They will be wondering what has become of us. (Exercise XVIII, § 563.) 176. Direct and indirect quotation. When a person's language or thought is repeated without change, the repetition is called a direct quotation; when it is expressed in a that-clause, depending on a verb of saying, thinking, knowing, perceiving, or the like, it is called an indirect quotation: 1. I have a position. 2. Anna says, "I have a position." (Direct quotation.) 3. Anna says that she has a position. (Indirect quotation.) 4. It is said that Anna has a position. (Indirect quotation.) NOTE 1. The that introducing a clause in indirect quotation may be omitted without affecting the construction; it is by origin the demonstrative pronoun (§§ 70, 71), with a clause in apposition (§ 47, N.): 'Anna says that she has a position' = 'Anna says that: she has a position'. That is called a subordinating conjunction (§ 303, 9). NOTE 2. In the fourth example the personal subject (Anna) may be made the subject of the verb of saying: 'Anna is said to have a position'. This is called the personal construction in indirect quotation. 177. Sequence of tenses. When the principal verb (the verb of saying, etc.) is in the past or the past perfect tense, the present tense in a direct quotation or direct question (§ 77) is changed to the past in the indirect, and the present perfect is changed to the past perfect; except that if the quotation expresses a general truth, the tense is not changed : 1. "He sings." They said that he sang. "Fire burns." They said that fire burns. (General truth.) 2. "I can use more books than I own." She said that she could use more books than she owned. 3. When is he coming? If I know when he is coming, I will meet him. If I knew when he was coming, I would meet him. 4. You act as if you thought it was cold. NOTE. In 3 and 4 was does not agree in tense with knew and thought; for knew and thought are in the past subjunctive, and refer to present time (§§ 335, 346). This seeming agreement is called attraction of tense. It occurs frequently. 178. Shall, will, of simple futurity. In the conjugation of the future and the future perfect the verbs shall and will are used (without emphasis) merely as auxiliaries, to denote that the action or state expressed by the verb will take place in future time. Read aloud the future and the future perfect in §§ 623, 629, 635, 641, 647, but do not ordinarily emphasize shall or will. To express simple futurity, therefore, in a declarative sentence, use shall in the first person (I, we), and will in the second and third; in an interrogative sentence use shall in the first and second persons (I, we, thou, you), and will in the third. Read aloud and learn by heart the following forms, but do not ordinarily emphasize shall or will: DECLARATIVE 1. I shall be glad. 2. You will be glad. INTERROGATIVE WITH ANSWER Shall I be glad? Yes, you will. NOTE. I'll and we'll are contractions of I will and we will (§ 180), and are not to be used for I shall and we shall; see isn't, § 417. 179. Person of verb. When pronouns of different persons are joined (§ 58, N.), the verb is put in the first person instead of the second or the third, and in the second person instead of the third; that is, you (or he) + I= we, and you + he = you ; this rule is important in determining the use of shall, will, should, and would (§§ 178, 180, 181, 187-195): 1. You (or He) and I shall be glad to be in the country; shall you (or he) and I be able to catch the train? 2. You and he are glad; shall you and he be glad ? Read aloud the following sentences (see § 361): 1. I shall walk to town. Shall you walk, or drive? ('I will walk to town' expresses a promise or determination, §§ 180, 191; 'I will be drowned' means 'I wish to be drowned', § 191.) 2. Tomorrow will be Saturday. I shan't be sorry. Shall you? 3. I'm afraid you'll miss your train. Shan't you? 4. Will he be happy there? No, he will not. 5. Shall we be late? No, we shall be early. 6. Shan't you and he be at home this evening? No, we shan't. 7. By Friday you (or, he) and I shall have seen everything. 8. Shall you be happy there? Yes, I shall. Is it a place where you will be happy? (Here will is not changed to 'shall', because it is in a subordinate clause and is not affected by the question. The answer, of course, has shall: 'Yes, it is a place where I shall be very happy'. See § 187, 8, and § 195, 15.) 180. Shall, will, of obligation, etc. The primary meaning of shall is to owe or be under obligation (denoting what is bound to happen); the primary meaning of will is willingness (denoting what is willed or desired). To express such obligation and willingness (as seen in prophecy, command, intention, desire, promise, and the like) in declarative sentences, use will in the first person, and shall in the second and third; in interrogative sentences use will in the first and second persons, and shall in the third : DECLARATIVE 1. I will go. 1. We will go. 2. You shall go. 3. They shall go. INTERROGATIVE WITH ANSWER 1. Will I go? Of course I will. NOTE. In the interrogative form, in the first person, will is improper unless the question merely repeats in substance a question addressed to the speaker (the repetition may be made for the sake of emphasis or clearness): (question) "Will you go?" (answer) "Will I go? Indeed I will." Read aloud the following sentences (see § 361): 1. The sun shall be darkened. (Prophecy.) 2. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Command.) 3. You shall meet him soon. (Promise.) 4. He shall go in spite of the storm. (Intention.) 5. He intends that you shall see him. (Intention.) 6. I will have you be a gentleman. (Desire.) 7. Tomorrow shall be our holiday in the country. 8. Well, you shan't say I do things by halves. 9. Will you and he meet me there? We will wait near the door. 10. Will you be kind enough to direct me to his house ? 11. He shall go with us. I will see to that. 12. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life : and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. PSALMS. (King James Bible, 1611; Revised Version, 1881.) (Here shall denotes prophecy or promise; will denotes determination. The American Standard Version changes will to shall, which changes the determination to simple futurity; this may or may not be closer to the meaning of the original Hebrew.) (Exercise XIX, a, § 564.) 181. Shall or will. In the following sentences either shall or will is correct, according to the sense intended (whether simple futurity or willingness, etc.); explain the meanings: 1. You shall (will) never get such a secret from me. 2. She shall (will) have a two weeks' vacation. 3. Shan't (Won't) you be at your office tomorrow? 4. Where shall (will) he entertain his friends? 5. I shall (will) be in town next Friday. 6. Shall (Will) you write to him? Shall (Will) you meet him? 7. We shan't (won't) see him. He shall (will) hear from us. (Exercise XX, a, § 565.) 182. Will in commands. By courtesy will is commonly used in commands and in requests : 1. You will proceed at once to headquarters. 2. The audience will remain seated. 183. Defective verbs, can, etc. A defective verb lacks one or more of the usual forms of conjugation. The defective auxiliary verbs can, could, may, might, must, ought, should, and would are used in verb phrases denoting ability, permission, necessity, or the like (the subjunctive has become like the indicative in form, § 653; all these verbs except ought take the infinitive without to): 1. I must (can, could, may, might, ought to, should, or would)go. 2. Thou must (canst, couldest or couldst, mayest, etc.) go. 3. He must (can, could, may, might, etc.) go. 4. We (You, They) must (can, could, may, might, etc.) go. 5. I must (can, could, may, might, etc.) have gone. 6. Thou must (canst, couldest or couldst, etc.) have gone. 184. Can, could; may, might. Can and could denote ability; cannot is the usual form of can with the negative; when the not is emphatic, as in Lincoln's address at Gettysburg, the words are separated, can not; may and might denote permission or possibility: 1. Brown can not (or could not) lift three hundred pounds. 2. This story may (or might) have been told. 3. May (or Might) she go with you? Yes, she may (or might). 4. Mayn't we go? You may go soon, but you mayn't go now. 5. It can't be true. Such a thing can't be done. 185. Must. Must denotes necessity or obligation. The past tense is now regularly expressed by must with the perfect infinitive (§ 220), or by was obliged to or had to with the present infinitive; but in indirect quotation (§ 177), and in expressions like the fifth example, must is used as a past tense : |