."

OBS. 27.--Wells and Weld, whose grammars date from 1846, being remarkably
chary of finding anything wrong in "respectable writers," hazard no opinion
of their own, concerning the correctness or incorrectness of either of the
usages under discussion. They do not always see absurdity in the
approbation of opposites; yet one should here, perhaps, count them with the
majorities they allow. The latter says, "The participle in _ing_ is
sometimes used passively; as, forty and six years was this temple in
_building_; not in _being built_."--_Weld's English Gram._, 2d Ed., p. 170.
Here, if he means to suggest, that "_in being built_" would "not" be good
English, he teaches very erroneously; if his thought is, that this phrase
would "not" express the sense of the former one, "_in building_," he
palpably contradicts his own position! But he proceeds, in a note, thus:
"The form of expression, _is being built, is being committed_, &c., is
almost universally condemned by grammarians; but it is _sometimes_ met with
in respectable writers. It occurs most frequently in newspaper paragraphs,
and in hasty compositions."--_Ibid._ Wells comments thus: "Different
opinions have long existed among critics respecting this passive use of
the imperfect participle. Many respectable writers substitute the compound
passive participle; as, 'The house is _being built_;' 'The book is _being
printed_.' But the prevailing practice of the best authors is in favor of
the _simple form_; as, 'The house _is building_.'"--_Wells's School Gram._,
1st Ed., p. 148; 113th Ed., p. 161.[273]

OBS. 28.--S. W. Clark, in the second edition of his Practical Grammar,
stereotyped and published in New York in 1848, appears to favour the
insertion of "_being_" into passive verbs; but his instructions are so
obscure, so often inaccurate, and so incompatible one with an other, that
it is hard to say, with certainty, what he approves. In one place, he has
this position: "The Passive Voice of a verb is formed by adding the
_Passive Participle_ of that verb, to the verb _be_. EXAMPLES--To _be_
loved. I _am_ feared. They _are_ worshipped."--Page 69. In an other, he has
this: "When the Subject is to be represented as receiving the action, _the
Passive Participle_ should be used. EXAMPLE--Henry's _lesson_ is BEING
RECITED."--P. 132. Now these two positions utterly confound each other; for
they are equally general, and "_the Passive Participle_" is first one
thing, and then an o