OBS. 21.—­By Chandler, as well as others, this new passive form is justified only on the supposition, that the simple participle in ing can never with propriety be used passively.  No plausible argument, indeed, can be framed for it, without the assumption, that the simpler form, when used in the same sense, is ungrammatical.  But this is, in fact, a begging of the main question; and that, in opposition to abundant authority for the usage condemned. (See OBS. 3d, above.) This author pretends that, “The RULE of all grammarians declares the verb is, and a present participle (is building, or is writing), to be in the active voice” only.—­P. 88.  (I add the word “only,” but this is what he means, else he merely quibbles.) Now in this idea he is wrong, and so are the several grammarians who support the principle of this imaginary “RULE.”  The opinion of critics in general would be better represented by the following suggestions of the Rev. W. Allen:  “When the English verb does not signify mental affection, the distinction of voice is often disregarded:  thus we say, actively, they were selling fruit; and, passively, the books are now selling.  The same remark applies to the participle used as a noun:  as, actively, drawing is an elegant amusement, building is expensive; and, passively, his drawings are good, this is a fine building.”—­Allen’s Elements of E. Gram., p. 82.

OBS. 22.—­Chandler admits, that, “When it is said, ’The house is building,’ the meaning is easily obtained; though,” he strangely insists, “it is exactly opposite to the assertion.”—­P. 89.  He endeavours to show, moreover, by a fictitious example made for the purpose, that the progressive form, if used in both voices, will be liable to ambiguity.  It may, perhaps, be so in some instances; but, were there weight enough in the objection to condemn the passive usage altogether, one would suppose there might be found, somewhere, an actual example or two of the abuse.  Not concurring with Dr. Bullions in the notion that the active voice and the passive usually “express precisely the same thing,” this critic concludes his argument with the following sentence:  “There is an important difference between doing and suffering; and that difference is grammatically shown by the appropriate use of the active and passive voices of a verb.”—­Chandler’s Common School Gram., p. 89.

OBS. 23.—­The opinion given at the close of OBS. 2d above, was first published in 1833.  An opposite doctrine, with the suggestion that it is “improper to say, ‘the house is building,’ instead of ’the house is being built,’”—­is found on page 64th of the Rev. David Blair’s Grammar, of 1815,—­“Seventh Edition,” with a preface dated, “October 20th, 1814.”  To any grammarian who wrote at a period much earlier