How does the potential represent the act or state?

The potential mood affirms merely the power, liberty, liability, necessity, will, duty, or a similar relation of the subject, in regard to the act or state.

Ex.-"God can destroy this world." "You may play."
They who would be happy, must be virtuous."

away."

their teachers.'

"Youth may be trifled "Children should obey

How can this mood be known, or what words are used to express it?

May, can, must, might, could, would, and should.

When is a verb in the imperative mood, or what does the imperative mood express?

The imperative mood expresses command, exhortation, entreaty, or permission.

Ex.-"John, study your lesson." "Go where glory waits thee." "Oh! then remember me." "Return to your friends."

We command inferiors, cxhort equals, entreat superiors, and permit in compliance with the will of others.

What is the subject of every verb in the imperative mood?

Thou, you, or ye, usually understood.

Ex.-"Know thyself"-Know thou thyself. "My young friends, be pure and cautious"-My young friends, be ye pure and cautious.

When is a verb in the infinitive mood, or how does this mood express the act or state? The infinitive mood does not affirm the act or state. It comprises the participle and the infinitive.

Ex.-" Corn to grind." "The clouds dispersing." "Be careful to avoid the danger."

Which of the moods can be used interrogatively?

The indicative and the potential.

Ex.- "Shall we slight this decisive moment?”. "How can I?"

How are they made interrogative?

"Who is the culprit?"

By placing the subject after the verb, or after some part of it. Ex.-"Thou art he;" "ART thou he?" "You can help us;" "Can you HELP US?"

How many moods, and what are they?

C. Time may naturally be divided into present, past, and future; and we may consider an act or state as simply taking place in each of these periods, or as completed: thus, "I write, I have written; "I wrote, I had written," "I shall write, I shall have written." Hence verbs have what grammarians call tenses.

When is a verb in the present tense, or what does this tense express?

The present tense expresses the act or state in present time.

"Let

Ex.-"I write." "I am writing." "It snows." "You may commence." me see your new book." "St. Louis is situated on a plain bordering on the Mississippi."

In what peculiar sense is this tense sometimes used?

To express what is always so from the very nature or condition of things.

Ex.-"Heat melts ice." "A fool and his money are soon parted." "Moles burrow in the ground." "Traveling is expensive." "People must die." "Man is

made to mourn."

When is a verb in the past tense, or what is the meaning of this tense?

The past tense refers the act or state simply to past time. Ex.-"God created the world." "Troy was, but is no more." "Away went Gilpin." "Bonaparte was banished to St. Helena." "She died this morning." "I soon saw that he could not see." "The ship arrived before day."

This tense is usually called the imperfect tense, but inappropriately. It may be well to call it the aorist tense, in the subjunctive and the potential mood, whenever it does not denote past time.

When is a verb in the future tense, or what is the meaning of this tense?

The future tense refers the act or state simply to future time.

Ex. "The cars will come this evening." "Merit will be rewarded." "The trees will shed their leaves." "There will be a final judgment day."

When is a verb in the perfect tense, or what does this tense express?

The perfect tense represents something as past, but still connected with present time.

"He

Ex.-" This magnificent city has been built within one hundred years." has practised law two years." "I have just sold my horse." "The mail may have arrived." ." "This house appears to have been a church." "Though severely wounded,

he still lives."

When is a verb in the pluperfect tense, or what does this tense express?

The pluperfect tense represents something as finished or ended by a certain past time.

Ex.-"I had already sent my trunk to the river, when I received your letter." "A fish had been on the hook." "A fish might have been on the hook."

When is a verb in the future-perfect tense, or what does this tense express?

The future-perfect tense represents something as finished or ended by a certain future time.

Ex.-" The flowers will have withered, when winter returns."

GENERAL ILLUSTRATION.-I write (now). I have written (just now). I wrote (at some past time). I had written (by or before a certain past time). I shall write at some time hereafter). I shall have written (by or before a certain future time). So, The tree blossoms-has blossomed-blossomed-had blossomed-will blossom -will have blossomed. The three perfect tenses are sometimes called the relative tenses, because they relate from one point of time to another; and the other three tenses, which have not this relation, are called the absolute tenses.

Every perfect tense, except sometimes a participle, must have what two parts?

Have, or some one of its variations, and the perfect participle of some verb.

Ex.-Have written; having written; to have written; may have written; has been writing; should have been writing; had written; shall have written; shall have been written.

How does the present, the past, or the future tense, sometimes express an act or state?

As something habitual or customary in present, past, or future time.

"The dead are

"The wolf also

Ex." He chews tobacco." "People go to church on Sunday." put into the ground." "There would he spend his earnings." shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid."

When the act or state is expressed as ideal rather than real, as in the subjunctive mood, and frequently in the potential, what may be observed of the tenses, in respect to the time of the event?

That they move forward, one tense or more, in time.

Ex.-" If I am"-now; "If I be"-hereafter. "If I was"-at any past time; "If I were"-now. "I had been there"-before that time; "Had I been there"at that time. I am paying you"-now; "I may or can pay you"-next Christ"I paid you"-then; "I might or could pay you"-now. "I had paid you" -before a certain past time; "I might have paid you"-at a certain past time. "Such governments could not last, if they contained ever so much wisdom and virtue."-P. Henry. At any time. See 2d def. of present tense.

mas.

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In most of the tenses, a verb may be expressed in several different ways: as, "He strikes ;""He does strike" "He is striking; "He is struck;" .99 66 He striketh." These, grammarians usually dístinguish, by calling them, emphatically, the FORMS of the verb.

When is a verb in the common form, or what is the common form?

The common form is the verb expressed in the most simple and ordinary manner.

Ex.-"He went home."

"Time flies." "No man has ever been too honest.”

When is a verb in the emphatic form, or what is the emphatic form?

The emphatic form has do or did as

verb, to give it greater force.

Ex.-"I did say so." "Really, it does move."

a part of the

"Do come to see mo."

When is a verb in the progressive form, or what is the progressive form?

The progressive form is be, or some variation of it, combined with the participle that ends in ing. It denotes continuance of the act or state.

Ex.-"I wrote;" "I was writing." "She goes to church;" "She is going to church."

When is a verb in the passive form, or what is the passive form?

The passive form is be, or some variation of it, combined with the perfect participle. It is generally passive in sense. Ex.-"The oak was shattered by lightning.' "The melancholy days are come." When is a verb in the ancient form, or solemn style, or how may this form be known?

The ancient form has the ending t, st, or est, and th or eth, and generally uses thou or ye in stead of you.

Ex.-" Thou barb'dst the dart that wounds thee."

man.'

"Adversity flattereth no

How many tenses, and what are they?—how many forms, and what are they?

"I

d. When I say, "I am, thou art, he is," "I write, thou writest, he writes" you see that the verb varies with the person of its subject: and when I am, we are," "He is, they are," "He writes, they write ;" you see that the verb

say,

varies with the number of its subject. Hence the verb is said to have person and number; that is, it is so expressed as to indicate the person and number of its subject, and thereby the subject itself.

What, then, is meant by the person and number of a verb?

The person and number of a verb are its form as being suitable to the person and number of its subject.

The term "a form of the verb," signifies, in its widest sense, any mode of expressing it

When is a verb singular, and when plural?

It is singular, when its form is proper for predicating of a singular subject; and plural, when proper for predicating of a plural subject.

Ex. "The NIGHT was serene, and the STARS were twinkling most brilliantly in their blue depths."

Define singular subjects and plural subjects.

A singular subject denotes one object, or more objects taken singly or separately; a plural subject denotes more than one, but not taken as one single thing.

Ex-Singular: "The boy

is studious;" "Every tree is known by its fruit;" "John, James, or Joseph, is studying;" "Neither John, James, nor Joseph, is studying." Plural: "T'he boys are studious;" "John, James, and Joseph, are studious;" The people

are fickle."

In correct discourse, of what person and number is the verb always said to be?

Of the same as its subject, or nominative.

Ex.-"I am." Here am is said to be of the first person and singular number, because its subject, 1, is of this person and number.

PARTICIPLES AND INFINITIVES.

What is a participle? What is an infinitive? See p. 12.

How many and what participles are there, and how many and what infinitives are there?

Two of each, the present and the perfect; and also a third participle, the compound.

How does the present participle represent the act or state?

The present participle represents the act or state as present and continuing at the time referred to.

Ex.—“ We saw the moon rising." “Who goes borrowing, goes sorrowing." How does the present infinitive represent the act or state?

The present infinitive represents the act or state as present at the time referred to, but oftener, as future.

Ex.-"He seems to study." "Man never is, but always to be, blest."-Pope. "I intended to say less, and certainly expected to hear more liberal sentiments offered on the other side."

How does the perfect participle or infinitive represent the act or state?

The perfect participle or infinitive represents the act or state as past or ended at the time referred to.

Ex.-"A fox, caught in a trap." "The river appears to have risen." "The Indians are supposed to have come from Asia or Siberia,"

The perfect participle is sometimes present in sense; as, "He lives loved by all." The present infinitive sometimes denotes simply the act or state; and the perfect infinitive, the completed act or state.

What is a compound participle?

A compound participle consists of two or more participles; and it is in sense generally a perfect, but sometimes a present, participle.

Ex." Having purchased a farm, he retired to the country." "The terms being Bettled, he produced the cash." "He, having been previously engaged, and being then engaged, in making surveys of the country, was the most suitable man we could find."

How is the participle sometimes used?

As an adjective, and then called a participial adjective.

Define a participial adjective.

A participial adjective ascribes the act or state to its subject as a quality.

Ex.-"A leaping and murmuring rivulet;"" Written laws."

Participles and infinitives are frequently used as what other parts of speech?

As nouns, and then often called verbal nouns.

When should a participle or an infinitive be considered a noun?

When it evidently takes the place, and is used in the sense, of a noun.

Ex.-"To live without being annoyed, is pleasant." What is pleasant? without what?-Life without annoyance is pleasant. "Successful studying requires exertion." "To have learned so beautiful an art, will be ever a pleasure to me." "My knowing him was of great advantage to me." "His having been there, was the ground of suspicion." "To live temperately, to avoid excitement, and to take alternate exercise and rest, are essential to health"-Temperance, tranquillity, and alternate exercise and rest, are essential to health. "Boys like to play." (Boys like apples.) "He began to work." (He began his work.) "To love is to obey." "To be or not to be, that is the question!" (Life or death,-that is the question!)

AUXILIARY VERBS.

No complete verb in our language can express all its properties, or be expressed in all its forms, without the aid of certain other little verbs. Thus, to express *strike" in future time, we say, "shall or will strike;" in the potential mood, •may, can, must, might, could, would, or should strike;" in the passive voice, struck, was struck, being struck," &c. These little helping verbs are therefore called auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary means helping.

How, then, would you define an auxiliary verb?

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An auxiliary verb helps another verb to express its meaning in a certain manner or time.

Which are the auxiliary verbs?

Be, and all its variations; do, did; can, could; have, had; may, might; must; shall, should; will, would.

For what are the auxiliaries be and its variations used?

They are used to express the verb progressively or passively.

Ex.-"The farmer is ploughing his field." "The field is ploughed."