A Dictionary of Cont..

window is curved. Thus buy is the generic, bow
the specific term.
be. The verb to be is the only really irregular verb
in English. It is made up of remnants of three
separate verbs which meant, primarily, to occupy
space. Today, the present tense of this verb is
am when the subject is Z; is when the subject is
singular but not I or you: and are when the
subject is you or plural. The past tense is was for
a singular subject (except the word you) and
otherwise were. The past participle is been, and
the -ing form is being. The infinitive, imperative,
and present subjunctive is be. In the past subjunctive
were may be used as a singular or as a
plural, or the singular may be expressed by was.
See subjunctive mode and was; were.
Thomas Jefferson and his contemporaries
used the form yolc was in speaking to a single
person and you were in speaking to more than
one, but you was is no longer standard. (See
you; ye.) Formerly ain’t used in place of am not
was more acceptable than it is today. It is not
generally considered standard in the United
States, although a contraction of some sort is
badly needed here, especially in questions. (See
ain’t.)
The word do may be used with be to form an
imperative, as in do be quiet. But do, does, and
did cannot be used with be to make present or
past tense forms, as they can with other verbs.
In standard English we cannot say they do be
rich or they did be angry. The perfect tenses of
to be, formed with the auxiliary words have, has,
or had, may be used with the preposition to, as
in he has been to school, he will have been to
school. But the simple tenses cannot be used with
to in its literal, physical sense. In standard
English these require the preposition at. We
must say he is at school, he was at school, and
not he was to school.
To be is frequently used as an auxiliary verb.
It is used to form the progressive tenses. For this
we use the appropriate form of the verb to be
followed by the -ing form of the meaningful
verb, as in he was talking, he will have been
talking, to be talking. (For special uses of the
progressive forms, see past tense and present
tense.) It is also used to form the passive voice.
For this we use the appropriate form of the
verb to be followed by the past participle of the
meaningful verb, as in it was broken, it will have
been broken, to be broken. (See passive voice.)
At one time to be was used to form the perfect
tenses of intransitive verbs, as in the king was
gone to Camelot, but these forms are now
archaic. (See perfect tenses.)
When a form of to be is used as a full verb
and not as an auxiliary for some other verb it
merely links its subject and its complement. The
complement may be a noun or noun equivalent,
as in he is a philosopher, or it may be an adjective,
as in he is wise. See linking verbs and
subject of a verb.
If one is writing English according to the rules
of Latin grammar, a personal pronoun following
a form of the verb io be has the form that it
55 bear
would have if it were standing on the other side
of the verb. That is, it has the form that it would
have if it were in the subject position instead of
the position of complement. This means that the
subjective pronoun would be required after a
true verb form, such as it is I. The problem is
more complicated with to be and being.
A word that is the subject of an infinitive is
usually also the object of some other verb or of
a preposition, such as him in I asked him to
come and there is no reason for him to come.
When the subject of to be is the object of a verb
or preposition, a personal pronoun following
to be must have an objective form, as in Z took
it to be him. Sometimes the subject of an infinitive
is also the subject of a passive verb, as in
he was asked to come. When the subject of to be
is also the subject of a verb, a personal pronoun
following lo be would have a subjective form
according to these rules, as in it was thought to
be he.
The rules for the word being are the same. If
being is attached to a word that is the object of
a verb or preposition a following pronoun must
have the objective form, as in Z can’t imagine it
being him and I like to think of it being him.
Otherwise, the Latin rules require a subjective
form. A genitive or possessive form before being
is interpreted as a subject and would therefore
be followed by a subjective form, as in Z can’t
imagine its being he.
The rules just given represent correct Latin.
They do not represent good English. In the best
English, written as well as spoken, the subjective
form of a pronoun is used immediately before
a verb and the objective form in any other position.
See objective pronouns, subjective pronouns,
-ing, and participles.
bear. The past tense is bore. The participle is
borne or born.
Bare is an old literary past tense that is now
obsolete. Had bore, which was once a literary
form, is still heard but is no longer standard.
This verb may mean to bring forth. The participle
born (without an e) is used only in this
sense, only of mammals, only of the offspring,
and only in the passive, as in the child was born
on January 12th. When speaking of the mother,
the participle used is always home (with the e),
as in she had borne n child. This distinction between
born and borne dates from the latter part
of the eighteenth century, and is thoroughly artificial.
But it is also thoroughly established and
therefore has to be observed. At one time there
was an attempt to limit born to the human young
and a meticulous person would write the calf
was borne in the morning. But this refinement
has been abandoned.
The participle born may be followed by an
adjective describing the creature, as in born wise,
or by an adverb describing the process, as in
born easily.
When the verb has any other meaning than
bring forth, only the participle borne can be
used, as in air-borne diseases.
Beor may be followed by an infinitive, as in