Plain English

Passive

Various

Phrase

Quotation

Friday

Imagine

Confidence

Humanity

Faith

Future

Saturday

Whisper

Thought

Ability

Knowledge

Genius

PLAIN ENGLISH

LESSON 7

Dear Comrade:

I wonder if you have ever thought as to how our language grew.

We get the words in our language from many sources. The English language today is a development of the early Anglo-Saxon. England was called originally Angle-land which was gradually shortened into England. So we have in our language what are called pure English or Anglo-Saxon words. These words form the bulk of our every day vocabulary, being simple, strong, forceful words. Then we have in our English many foreign words which we have adopted from other languages. There are many Latin and Greek words; these we use in our more elegant speech or writing.

There is an interesting bit written by Sir Walter Scott in his novel of early England, "Ivanhoe," which illustrates the manner in which words have come into our language and also the difference in speech which marks the working class and the exploiting class. As those who do the work of the world rid themselves of the parasites who have appropriated the produce of their labor, through the ages, they will demand that which belongs to them—the best—the best in language as in everything else.

"'… I advise thee to call off Fangs and leave the herd to their destiny, which, whether they meet with bands of traveling soldiers, or of outlaws, or of wandering pilgrims, can be little else than to be converted into Normans before morning, to thy no small ease and comfort.'

"'The swine turned into Normans to my comfort!' quoth Gurth. 'Expound that to me, Wamba, for my brain is too dull and my mind too vexed to read riddles.'

"'Why, how call you these grunting brutes running about on their four legs?' demanded Wamba.

"'Swine, fool, swine,' said the herd; 'every fool knows that.'

"'And swine is good Saxon,' said the jester; 'but how call you the sow when she is flayed, and drawn, and quartered, and hung by the heels like a traitor?'

"'Pork,' answered the swineherd.

"'I am glad every fool knows that too,' said Wamba; 'and pork, I think, is good Norman-French, and so when the brute lives and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes a Norman and is called pork when she is carried to the castle-hall to feast among the nobles. What dost thou think of that, friend Gurth, ha?' … "

So you see even in words the distinction is made between those who produce and those who possess.

But the day is at hand when those who work shall also enjoy. We have fought for religious and political freedom. Today we are waging the battle for industrial freedom. It is your struggle. Study—prepare yourself to do battle for your rights.

    Yours for Freedom,
    THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.

FUTURE TIME

118. We have learned how to express present time and past time, by changes in the form of the verb. But we very often desire to make a statement in which we do not express either present or past time, thus we may say:

We shall enjoy our rights some day.

He will join us in the struggle.

We do not mean to say that we do enjoy our rights now, in the present, or that we did in the past, but that we shall enjoy our rights some time in the future. In the second sentence, will join expresses the same idea of future time. To indicate future time, we do not make a change in the verb form, but we use shall and will with the simple form of the verb.

119.We denote future time by use of a verb phrase made by placingshallorwillbefore the simple form of the verb.

120. The rule of some grammarians is to use shall always in the first person, the person speaking, to denote future time, and will with the second person, the person spoken to, and with the third person, the person spoken of, to denote future time. But common usage does not always follow the rules of the grammarians, and, in the course of time, affects and changes these rules. So our common usage of today uses will in the first person to express future time, as well as shall.

This rule of grammarians marks a nicety of speech and conveys a distinction of meaning which it really seems worth while to retain. The idea of the grammarians is that when we use will with the first person and shall with the second or third person, we express a promise or determination. Thus if I say, I shall go, I simply mean that my going will be in the future. But if I say, I will go, I either mean that I am promising to go or that I am expressing my determination to go. So also if we use shall in the second and third persons. If we say, You will go or He will go, we are simply stating that the going will be in the future, but if we say, You shall go, or He shall go, we mean that we promise or are determined that you or he shall go.

To be technically correct this distinction should be observed. Shall in the first person, and will in the second and third express simple futurity. Will in the first person and shall in the second and third express promise or determination. But in every day conversation this distinction is not observed, and many of our best writers do not follow this rule.

Exercise 1

Mark the future time forms in the following sentences:

1. I shall speak of liberty.

2. I will never give up.

3. I shall write to him.

4. He shall not starve.

5. We shall expect you.

6. They shall suffer for this.