third person singular, that should be go to Spain among polite people, he may know how to speak. CHAPTER XV. Rule 127. When the present of the indicative is used. THE present of the indicative, as hablo, I speak; hago, I do; doy, I give, &c. is used in Spanish: 1. To express an action or thing present at the time in which we are speaking. Example: Llueve, it rains; estoy málo, I am ill. 2. To express a thing we do habitually, though not at the moment we are speaking, as: Estudio la lengua Griega; I learn the Greek. You go very often to the play. 3. To express a thing of eternal truth. Dios es misericordioso; God is merciful. Example: Los hombres son mortales; men are mortal. 4. To express in a more lively and emphatical manner a thing happened in a time quite past. 5. To express a future tine not distant, when there is in the sentence a word which denotes futurity. Example: Salgo esta tarde para Londres (for partivé). I shall set out to-night for London. Estoy pronto en un momento; I am ready in a moment. Rule 128. When the imperfect of the indicative is used. The imperfect of the indicative, as hablaba, I did speak; recibía, I did receive, &c. is used in Spanish : 1. To express a thing which is past with regard to the time in which we are speaking, but which was present when another thing mentioned in the same sentence 1 happened. The verb which is, or could be, rendered in English by the gerund, with was or were, is invariably put in the imperfect in Spanish, and the other most commonly in the preterite; as: Le escribía una carta a vm. quando recibí la suya. I was writing you a letter when 1 received yours. Estábamos comiendo quando recibímos esa funesta no tícia. We were dining when we received that sad news. 2. To express the inclination, habits, customs, manners, profession, titles, good and bad qualities of the nations, or of the particular individuals we are speaking of, when they are dead, and there is no specification of time in the sentence; as: Los Romanos cultivaban las artes, animaban las ciencias, y premiaban la virtud, The Romans cultivated the arts, encouraged sciences, and rewarded virtue. Nuestros abuelos iban a cazar todos los dias, y vivían de sus presas. Our ancestors went a-hunting every day, and lived upon their preys. Cesar era un gran general; Cæsar was a great general. Louis the Sixteenth was a beneficent king. 3. If the persons are living, we use the imperfect when the time is determined, and the compound of the present when it is not; as: Su madre de vmd. era hermosa antes de casarse. When I was young I frequented the playhouse. Rule 129. When the preterite indicative is to be used. The preterite indicative, as, hablé, I spoke; hice, I did; vendt, I sold, &c. is used in Spanish to express a particular fact or event which has happened but once or very seldom, and in a time quite past. Example: Los Romanos desterrarón a Tarquino de Roma. Cæsar was killed in the senate. Ciceron tubó la cabeza cortada. I sung yesterday in the assembly-room. Rule 130. When the compound of the present is used. The compound of the present, as he hablado, I have spoken; he acabado, I have finished; he recibido, I have received, &c. is used in Spanish to express a thing past, but in a time not quite elapsed. A time is not elapsed when the pronoun this or our are or could be prefixed to the words age, year, month, week, or day, mentioned in a sentence; as: Nuestro siglo ha producído hombres ilustres. Our age has produced illustrious men. Hemos recibido mucha compañía este invierno. We had much company this winter. Observations. From the three preceding rules it appears, that a verb which is in the imperfect tense in English, may sometimes be put in three different tenses in Spanish. 1. In the imperfect, when it expresses an habitual thing, or which was present when another thing happened; as: Quando estába en el campo, me paseaba todos los dias. When I was in the country, I walked every day. Estába muy malo quando vm. vino. I was very ill when you came. 2. In the preterite, when it denotes a particular fact which happened in a time quite past. A time is quite past when the pronoun this or our cannot be prefixed to it; as: Examiné ayer los papeles de su pleyto. I examined yesterday the writings of your law-suit. Estúve málo la semana pasáda. I was ill last week. 3. In the compound tense of the present, when the time is not quite past. Example: Me he paseado esta mañana durante una hora.. Observation. These examples have been repeated, in order to render more obvious the distinction between the imperfect, the preterite, and the compound of the present. Rule 131. When the future of the indicative is to be used. The future of the indicative, as hablaré, I shall or will speak; haré, I will do; recibiré, I shall receive, &c. is used in Spanish,, as well as in English, to express a future time. Example: Nuestros cuerpos resucitarán el ultimo dia. CHAPTER XVI. Of the use of the subjunctive mood. THIS chapter is divided into three sections. The first enumerates the adjectives, pronouns, verbs, and conjunc tions which always govern the subjunctive mood. The second, the verbs and conjunctions which govern the following verb, sometimes in the indicative and sometimes in the subjunctive, and points out in what circumstances each mood must be used. The third explains when the verbs governed in the subjunctive must be put in the present, when in the preterite, and when in the compound tenses; with some observations on the imperfect and future of the said mood. SECTION 1. Words which always govern the subjunctive mood. Rule 132. The subjunctive is used after a superlative. 1. A verb preceded by que is put in the subjunctive; as: La mejor guardia que un rey puede tener es el corazón de sus vasallos. The best guard a king can have, is the heart of his subjects. Vm, es el mas docto que conozca esta ciudad. You are the most learned man I know in this city. 2. After these three words-ningúno, nádie, nada— as we have said before in speaking of indeterminate pronouns; as: No conozco á ninguno que séa tan dichoso como vm. No he visto nada que pueda ser reprehendido en su conducta. I have seen nothing that can be blamed in his conduct. 3. After the ordinal numbers, as el priméro, the first; el segundo, the second, &c., as Vm. es el primer amigo que haya encontrado en Londres. You are the first friend I have met with in London. Rule 133. The subjunctive is used after the verbs of fear or doubt. A verb preceded by que is always put in the subjunctive |