1.  It—–­ seem possible. 2.  The captain—–­ know what it is to be afraid. 3.  John says he—–­ understand the problem on page 266. 4.  Why—–­ she come? 5.—–­ it seem strange that they—–­ come? 6.  Waldo—–­ improve in penmanship as fast as he should. 7.  It—–­ look like pure water. 8.  Why—–­ he answer? 9.  The boy will fail, but he—–­ seem to care much.

MAY (MIGHT) or CAN (COULD).[72]—­Can and could, which denote “ability” or “possibility,” are often wrongly used in the place of may and might, which are the proper words to denote “permission.”

[72] Ibid., pp. 82-83.

EXERCISE XLIII.

Fill the blanks with the right words:—­

1. ——­ I leave the room? 2.  You ——­ go to the concert, but I doubt whether you ——­ get a seat. 3. ——­ we by searching find out God? 4. ——­ I have some more lemonade? 5. ——­ I have another piece of cake? 6. ——­ you tell me which is Mr. Ames’s house? 7.  Mother says I—­invite the girls to tea. 8.  A man who knows himself to be right ——­ afford to await the judgment of
   posterity.
9. ——­ I write at your desk? 10.  You ——­ come to see me whenever you ——­ find time. 11.  They asked whether they ——­ have a holiday. 12.  They were wondering whether they ——­ be recognized in their disguises. 13. ——­ I have the use of your sled? 14. ——­ I trouble you to get me a glass of water?

WILL OR SHALL.[73]—­Some grammarians teach that the future tense of “go” is:  “I shall or will go,” “You shall or will go,” “He shall or will go,” etc.  The fact seems to be that there is only one form for the future; the other form, often given as an alternative, expresses something more than futurity, and is somewhat like a distinct mode.

A help to the proper use of shall and will is found in the original meaning of the words.  At first shall and will were notional verbs,[74] shall meaning “to owe,” “to be obliged,” and will meaning “to wish:”  as, “That faith I shall (owe) to God."[75] At present shall and will often retain some trace of their original meaning, will implying a reference to the will of the subject, and shall implying obligation or compulsion:  as, “I will follow him to the end;” “He shall be brought to justice;” sometimes they are mere auxiliaries, with no trace of their original meaning:  as, “It will rain to-day;” “I shall be glad.”

[73] “Foundations,” pp. 83-88. [74] By “notional verb” is meant a verb that has some distinct idea or notion of its own:  as, “I have a ball.”  Here “have” expresses the idea of possession.  In the sentence “I have lost my ball,” the word “have” does not express a distinct idea; it only helps to form a tense of the verb “lose”:  that is, it is not notional, but auxiliary. [75] Chaucer.