intention; and, "Shall I go?" refers to the will of another. But," He ball go," and "ball he go?" both imply will; expreffing or referring to a command.

When the verb is put in the fubjunctive mood, the meaning of these auxiliaries likewife undergoes fome alteration; as the learners will readily perceive by a few examples: "If he shall proceed;" "If he will not defift;" "unless he ball acknowledge ;"" If you shall confent ;" "If you will perfift."

Would, primarily denotes inclination of will; and fhould obligation but they both vary their import, and are often ufed to express simple event.

:

SECT. 8. The Conjugation of regular Verbs.

ACTIVE.

VERBS Active are called Regular, when they form their imperfect tenfe of the indicative mood, and their perfect participle, by adding to the verb, ed, or d only when the verb ends in e; as,

2. Ye or you

love.

3. He, fhe, or it, loveth or loves. 3. They love.

In the present and imperfect tenfes, we ufe a different form of the verb, when we mean to exprefs energy and pofitivenefs: as" I do love; thou dost love; he does love; I did love; thou didst love; he did love."

1. I fhall or will have loved. 1. Wefhall or will have loved.

Those tenfes are called fimple tenfes, which are formed of the verb itself, without the affistance of any other verb : as, "I love, I loved." The compound tenfes are fuch as cannot be formed without the affiftance of fome other verb: as, "I have loved; I had loved; I shall or will love; I may love; I may be loved; I may have been loved;" Thefe compounds are, however, to be confidered as only different forms of the fame verb.

&c.

The remaining tenfes of this mood, are, in every refpect, fimilar to the correspondent tenfes of the indicative mood. See the following notes, and page 90.

Infinitive Mood.

Prefent. To love. Perfed. To have loved.

Participles.

Prefent. Loving. Perfect. Loved.
Compound Perfect. Having loved.

The active verb may be conjugated differently, by adding its prefent or active participle to the auxiliary verb to be, through all its moods and tenfes; as, instead of "I teach, thou teacheft, he teaches," &c. ; we may fay, "I am teaching, thou art teaching, he is teaching," &c. : and instead of "I taught," &c. "I was teaching," &c. and so on, through all the variations of the auxiliary. This mode of conjugation has, on particular occafions, a peculiar propriety; and contributes to the harmony and precifion of the language. Thefe forms of expreffion are adapted to particular acts, not to general habits, or affections of the mind. They are very frequently applied to neuter verbs " I am mufing; he is fleeping."*

; as,

Some grammarians apply, what is called the conjunctive termination, to the perfons of the principal verb, and to its auxiliaries, through all the tenfes of the fubjunctive mood. But this is certainly contrary to the practice of

*As the participle, in this mode of conjugation, performs the office of a verb, through all the moods and tenfes ; and as it implies the idea of time, and governs the objective cafe, of pronouns in the fame manner as verbs do; is it not manifeft, that it is a fpecies or form of the verb, and that it cannot properly be confidered as a difinct part of speech?

good writers. Johnfon applies this termination to the prefent and perfect tenfes only. Lowth reftricts it entirely to the present tense; and Priestley confines it to the present and imperfect tenfes. This difference of opinion amongst grammarians of fuch eminence, may have contributed to that diverfity of practice, so observable in the use of the fubjunctive mood. Uniformity in this point is highly defirable. It would materially affift both teachers and learners; and would conftitute a confiderable improvement in our language.

On this fubject we adopt the opinion of Doctor Lowth; and conceive we are fully warranted by his authority, and that of the most correct and elegant writers, in limiting the conjunctive termination to the second and third perfons fingular of the present tense. But, for the convenience of teachers who think that the persons of all the three tenfes, in the fubjunctive mood, are entitled to this distinctive termination, and for the inspection of the curious student, we shall add here the form of conjugating those three tenfes according to the views of fuch tutors.