Here, in the opinion of H. Tooke, our modern conjunction _that_, is
merely a demonstrative adjective, in a disguised form; and he
attempts to prove it by the following resolution: "I would not
wilfully hurt a fly. I wish you to believe _that [assertion_."] Now,
if we admit, that _that_ is an adjective in the latter construction,
it does not necessarily follow, that it is the same part of speech,
nor that its associated meaning is precisely the same, in the former
construction. Instead of expressing our ideas in two detached
sentences, by the former phraseology we have a quicker and closer
transition of thought, and both the mode of employing _that_, and
its _inferential_ meaning, are changed. Moreover, if we examine the
meaning of each of these constructions, taken as a whole, we shall
find, that they do not both convey the same ideas. By the latter, I
assert, positively, that "I would not wilfully hurt a fly:" whereas,
by the former, I merely _wish you to believe_ that "I would not
wilfully hurt a fly;" but I do not _affirm_, that as a fact.
_That_ being the past part, of _thean_, to get, take, assume, by
rendering it as a _participle_, instead of an adjective, we should
come nearer to its primitive character. Thus, "I would not wilfully
hurt a fly. I wish you to believe the _assumed [fact_ or
_statement_;] or, the fact _assumed_ or _taken_."
_If_, (formerly written _gif, give, gin_,) as previously stated, is
the imperative of the Anglo-Saxon verb _gifan_, to give. In
imitation of Horne Tooke, some of our modern philosophical writers
are inclined to teach pupils to render it as a verb. Thus, "I will
go, _if_ he will accompany me:" - "He will accompany me.
_Grant_ - _give_ that [fact] I will go." For the purpose of
ascertaining the _primitive_ meaning of this word, I have no
objection to such a resolution; but, by it, do we get the exact
meaning and force of _if_ as it is applied in our modern, refined
state of the language? I _trow_ not. But, admitting we do, does this
prove that such a mode of resolving sentences can be advantageously
adopted by learners in common schools? I presume it can not be
denied, that instead of teaching the learner to express himself
correctly in modern English, such a resolution is merely making him
familiar with an ancient and barbarous construction which modern
refinement has rejected. Our forefathers, I admit, who were governed
by those laws of necessity which compel all nations in the early and
rude state of their language, to express themselves in short,
detached sentences, employed _if_ as a verb when they used the
following circumlocution: "My son will reform. _Give that fact_. I
will forgive him." But in the present, improved state of our
language, by using _if_ as a _conjunction_, (for I maintain that it
is one,) we express the same thought more briefly; and our modern
mode of expression has, too, a decisive advantage over the ancient,
not only in point of elegance, but also in perspicuity and force. In
Scotland and the north of England, some people still make use of
_gin_, a contraction of _given:_ thus, "I will pardon my son, _gin_
he reform." But who will contend, that they speak pure English?
But perhaps the advocates of what _they_ call a philosophical
development of language, will say, that by their resolution of
sentences, they merely supply an ellipsis. If, by an ellipsis, they
mean such a one as is necessary, to the grammatical construction, I
cannot accede to their assumption. In teaching grammar, as well as
in other things, we ought to avoid extremes: - we ought neither to
pass superficially over an ellipsis necessary to the sense of a
phrase, nor to put modern English to the blush, by adopting a mode
of resolving sentences that would entirely change the character of
our language, and carry the learner back to the Vandalic age.
_But_ comes from the Saxon verb, _beon-utan_, to be-out. "All were
well _but (be-out, leave-out)_ the stranger." "Man is _but_ a reed,
floating on the current of time." Resolution: "Man is a reed,
floating on the current of time; _but (be-out_ this fact) he is not
a stable being."
_And - aned, an'd, and_, is the past part. of _ananad_, to add, join.
_A, an, ane_, or _one_, from the same verb, points out whatever is
_aned, oned_, or made _one. And_ also refers to the thing that is
_joined_ to, _added_ to, or _made one_ with, some other person or
thing mentioned. "Julius _and_ Harriet will make a happy pair."
Resolution: "Julius, Harriet _joined, united_, or _aned_, will make
a happy pair;" i.e. Harriet _made one_ with Julius; will make a
happy pair.
_For_ means _cause_.
_Because_ - _be-cause_, is a compound of the verb _be_, and the noun
_cause_. It retains the meaning of both; as, "I believe the maxim,
_for_ I know it to be true;" - "I believe the maxim, _be-cause_ I
know it to be true;" i.e. the _cause_ of my belief, _be_, or _is_, I
know it to be true.
_Nor_ is a contraction of _ne or. Ne_ is a contraction of _not_, and
_or_, of _other. Nor_ is, _not other_-wise: _not_ in the _other_ way
or manner.
_Else_ is the imperative of _alesan, unless_, of _onlesan_, and
_lest_, the past part. of _lesan_, all signifying to dismiss,
release, loosen, set free. "He will be punished, _unless_ he
repent;" - "_Unless, release, give up_, (the fact) he repents he will
be punished." _Though_ is the imperative of the Saxon verb
_thafigan_, to allow, and _yet_ of _getan_, to get. _Yet_ is simply,
_get_; ancient _g_ is the modern _y_. "_Though_ he slay me, _yet_
will I trust in him: - _Grant_ or _allow_ (the fact) he slay me,
_get_, or _retain_ (the opposite fact) I will trust in
him."
* * * * *
QUESTIONS ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
From what parts of speech are prepositions and conjunctions
derived? - What is Horne Tooke's opinion of that? - From what is each of
the following words derived, _that, if, but, and, because, nor, else,
unless, lest, though_, and _yet?_
LECTURE X.
OF INTERJECTIONS. - CASES OF NOUNS.
INTERJECTIONS are words which express the sudden emotions of the
speaker; as, "_Alas!_ I fear for life;" "_O_ death! where is thy sting?"
Interjections are not so much the signs of thought, as of feeling.
Almost any word may be used as an interjection; but when so employed, it
is not the representative of a _distinct_, idea. A word which denotes a
distinct conception of the mind, must necessarily belong to some other
part of speech. They who wish to speak often, or rather, to make
_noises_, when they have no useful information to communicate, are apt
to use words very freely in this way; such as the following expressions,
_la, la me, my, O my, O dear, dear me, surprising, astonishing_, and the
like.
Interjections not included in the following list, are generally known by
their taking an exclamation point after them.
A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL INTERJECTIONS.
1. Of _earnestness_ or _grief_; as, O! oh! ah! alas!
2. _Contempt;_ as, Pish! tush!
3. _Wonder;_ as, Heigh! really! strange!
4. _Calling;_ as, Hem! ho! halloo!
5. _Disgust_ or _aversion;_ as, Foh! fy! fudge! away!
6. _Attention_; as, Lo! behold! hark!
7. _Requesting silence_; as, Hush! hist!
8. _Salutation_; as, Welcome! hail! all hail!
NOTE. We frequently meet with what some call an _interjective
phrase_; such as, Ungrateful wretch! impudence of hope! folly in the
extreme! what ingratitude! away with him!
As the interjection is the least important part of speech in the English
language, it will require but little attention. You may, however, make
yourself well acquainted with what has been said respecting it, and then
commit the
SYSTEMATIC ORDER OF PARSING.
_The order of parsing an_ INTERJECTION, is - an interjection, and
why?
"O virtue! how amiable thou art!"
_O_ is an interjection, a word used to express some passion or emotion
of the speaker.
The ten parts of speech have now been unfolded and elucidated, although
some of them have not been fully explained. Before you proceed any
farther, you will please to begin again at the first lecture, and read
over, attentively, the whole, observing to parse every example in the
exercises systematically. You will then be able to parse the following
exercises, which contain all the parts of speech. If you study
faithfully _six_ hours in a day, and pursue the directions given, you
may become, if not a critical, at least, a good, practical grammarian,
in _six weeks_; but if you study only _three_ hours in a day, it will
take you nearly _three months_ to acquire the same knowledge.
EXERCISES IN PARSING.
True cheerfulness makes a man happy in himself, and promotes the
happiness of all around him.
Modesty always appears graceful in youth: it doubles the lustre of every
virtue which it seems to hide.
He who, every morning, plans the transactions of the day, and follows
out that plan, carries on a thread that will guide him through the
labyrinth of the most busy life.
The king gave me a generous reward for committing that barbarous act;
but, alas! I fear the consequence.
E'en now, where Alpine solitudes ascend,
I set me down a pensive hour to spend;
And, placed on high, above the storm's career,
Look downward where a hundred realms appear: -
Alas! the joys that fortune brings,
Are trifling, and decay;
And those who mind the paltry things,
More trifling still than they.
NOTE. In the second sentence of the foregoing exercises, _which_ is
governed by the verb _to hide_, according to RULE 16. _He_ is nom.
to _carries; who_ is nom. to _plans. Follows_ agrees with _who_
understood, and is connected to _plans_ by _and_; RULE 34. What did
the king give? A _reward to_ me. Then _reward_ is in the _obj_.
case, gov. by _gave_; RULE 20. _Me_ is gov. by _to_ understood; NOTE
1, RULE 32. The phrase, _committing that barbarous act_, is gov. by
_for_; NOTE 2, under RULE 28. _Hour_ is in the _obj_. case, gov. by
_to spend_; RULE 20. _Look_ is connected to _set_ by _and_; RULE 34.
_Joys_ is nom. to _are. That_ is gov. by _brings_; RULE 16. _Those_
is nom. to _are_ understood. _They_ is nom. to _are_ understood;
RULE 35.
CASES OF NOUNS.
In a former lecture, I promised to give you a more extensive explanation
of the cases of nouns; and, as they are, in many situations, a little
difficult to be ascertained, I will now offer some remarks on this
subject. But before you proceed, I wish you to parse all the examples in
the exercises just presented, observing to pay particular attention to
the remarks in the subjoined NOTE. Those remarks will assist you much in
analyzing.
A noun is sometimes nominative to a verb placed many lines after the
noun. You must exercise your judgment in this matter. Look at the
sentence in the preceding exercises beginning with, "He who, every
morning," &c. and see if you can find the verb to which _he_ is
nominative. What does _he_ do? He carries on a thread, &c. _He_, then,
is nominative to the verb _carries_. What does _who_ do? Who _plans_,
and who _follows_, &c. Then _who_ is nom. to _plans_, and _who_
understood, is nominative to _follows_.
"A soul without reflection, like a pile
Without inhabitant, to ruin runs."
In order to find the verb to which the noun _soul_, in this sentence, is
the nominative, put the question; What does a _soul_ without reflection
do? Such, a soul _runs_ to ruin, like a pile without inhabitant. Thus
you discover, that _soul_ is nominative to _runs_.
When the words of a sentence are arranged according to their natural
order, the nominative case, you recollect, is placed before the verb,
and the objective, after it; but when the words of a sentence are
transposed; that is, not arranged according to their natural order, it
frequently happens, that the nominative comes _after_, and the
objective, _before_ the verb; especially in poetry, or when a question
is asked: as, "Whence _arises_ the _misery_ of the present world?" "What
good _thing shall_ I _do_ to inherit eternal life?" Put these
expressions in the declarative form, and the nominative will _precede_,
and the objective _follow_ its verb: thus, "The _misery_ of the present
world _arises_ whence; I _shall do_ what good _thing_ to inherit eternal
life."
"Now came still _evening_ on, and twilight gray
Had, in her sober livery, all _things_ clad."
"Stern rugged nurse, thy rigid _lore_
With patience many a _year_ she bore."
What did the _evening_ do? The evening _came on_. Gray _twilight_ had
clad what? Twilight had clad all _things_ in her sober livery.
_Evening_, then, is nom. to _came_, and the noun _things_ is in the
objective case, and gov. by _had clad_: RULE 20. What did _she_ bear?
She bore thy rigid _lore_ with patience, _for_, or _during_, many a
year. Hence you find, that _lore_ is in the objective case, and governed
by _bore_, according to RULE 20. _Year_ is gov. by _during_ understood:
RULE 32.
A noun is frequently nominative to a verb understood, or in the
objective, and governed by a verb understood; as, "Lo, [_there is_] the
poor _Indian!_ whose untutored mind." "O, the _pain_ [_there is!_] the
_bliss_ [_there is_] in dying!" "All were sunk, but the wakeful
_nightingale_ [_was not sunk_."] "He thought as a _sage_ [_thinks_,]
though he felt as a _man_ [_feels_."] "His hopes, immortal, blow them
by, as _dust_ [_is blown by_."] Rule 35 applies to these last three
examples.
In the next place I will explain several cases of nouns and pronouns
which have not yet come under our notice. Sometimes a noun or pronoun
may be in the nominative case when it has no verb to agree with it.
OF THE NOMINATIVE CASE INDEPENDENT.
Whenever a direct address is made, the person or thing spoken to, is in
the _nominative case independent_; as, "_James_, I desire you to study."
You notice that, in this expression, I address myself to _James_ that
is, I speak to him; and you observe, too, that there is no verb, either
expressed or implied, to which James can be the nominative; therefore
you know that _James_ is in the nom. case independent, according to Rule
5. Recollect, that _whenever a noun is of the second person_, it is in
the nom. case independent; that is, independent of any verb; as,
_Selma_, thy halls are silent; Love and meekness, my _lord_, become a
churchman, better than ambition; O _Jerusalem, Jerusalem_, how often
would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings, but ye would not! - For a farther illustration
of this case, see Note 2, under the 5th Rule of Syntax.
NOTE. When a pronoun of the _second_ person is in apposition with a
noun independent, it is in the same case; as, "_Thou traitor_, I
detest thee."
OF THE NOMINATIVE CASE ABSOLUTE.
A noun or pronoun placed before a participle, without any verb to agree
with it, is in the nominative case _absolute_; as, "The _sun being
risen_, we pursued our journey."
_Sun_ is here placed before the participle "being risen," and has no
verb to agree with it; therefore it is in the nominative case absolute,
according to RULE 6.
NOTE 1. A noun or pronoun in the nominative case independent, is always
of the _second_ person; but, in the case absolute, it is generally of
the _third_ person.
2. The case absolute is always nominative; the following sentence is
therefore incorrect; "Whose top shall tremble, _him_ descending," &c.;
it should be, _he_ descending.
OF NOUNS IN APPOSITION.
Two or more nouns or pronouns signifying the same person or thing, are
put, by _apposition_, in the same case; as, "_Cicero_, the great
_orator, philosopher_, and _statesman_ of Rome, was murdered by Antony."
_Apposition_, in a grammatical sense, means something added, or names
added, in order more fully to define or illustrate the sense of the
first name mentioned.
You perceive that _Cicero_, in the preceding example, is merely the
proper name of a man; but when I give him the three additional
appellations, and call him a great _orator, philosopher_, and
_statesman_, you understand what kind of a man he was; that is, by
giving him these three additional names, his character and abilities as
a man are more fully made known. And, surely, you cannot be at a loss to
know that these four nouns must be in the same case, for they are all
names given to the same person; therefore, if _Cicero_ was murdered, the
_orator_ was murdered, and the _philosopher_ was murdered, and the
_statesman_ was murdered, because they all mean one and the same person.
Nouns and pronouns in the objective case, are frequently in
_apposition_; as, He struck _Charles_ the _student_. Now it is obvious,
that, when he struck _Charles_, he struck the _student_, because Charles
was the _student_, and the _student_ was _Charles_; therefore the noun
_student_ is in the objective case, governed by "struck," and put by
apposition with Charles, according to RULE 7.
Please to examine this lecture very attentively. You will then be
prepared to parse the following examples correctly and systematically.
PARSING.
"Weep on the rocks of roaring winds, O _maid_ of Inistore."
_Maid_ is a noun, the name of a person - - com. the name of a sort - fem.
gender, it denotes a female - second pers. spoken to - sing. num. it
implies but one - and in the nominative case independent, because it is
addressed, and has no verb to agree with it, according to
RULE 5. _When an address is made, the noun or pronoun addressed, is put
in the nominative case independent_.
"The _general_ being ransomed, the barbarians permitted him to
depart."
_General_ is a noun, the name, &c. (parse it in full:) - and in the
nominative case absolute, because it is placed before the participle
"being ransomed," and it has no verb to agree with it, agreeably to
RULE 6. _A noun or pronoun placed before a participle, and being
independent of the rest of the sentence, is in the nominative case
absolute_.
_"Thou man_ of God, flee to the land of Judah."
_Thou_ is a pronoun, a word used instead of a noun - personal, it
personates "man" - second pers. spoken to - mas. gender, sing. num.
because the noun "man" is for which it stands; RULE 13 (Repeat the
Rule.) - _Thou_ is in the nominative case independent and put by
_apposition_ with _man_, because it signifies the same thing, according
to
RULE 7. _Two or more nouns, or nouns and pronouns, signifying the same
thing, are put, by apposition, in the same case_.
_Man_ is in the nominative case independent, according to Rule 5. _Flee_
agrees with _thou_ understood.
"Lo! _Newton, priest_ of Nature, shines afar,
Scans the wide world, and numbers every star."
_Newton_ is a noun, (parse it in full,) and in the nominative case to
"shines." RULE 3.
_Priest_ is a noun, (parse it in full,) and in the nom. case, it is the
actor and subject of the verb "shines," and put by apposition with
"Newton," because it signifies the same thing, agreeably to Rule 7.
(Repeat the Rule.)
EXERCISES IN PARSING.
_Turn_ from your evil ways, O house of Israel! Ye fields of light,
celestial plains, ye scenes divinely fair! proclaim your Maker's
wondrous power. O king! _live_ for ever. The murmur of thy streams, O
Lora, brings back the memory of the past. The sound of thy woods,
Garmallar, is lovely in my ear. Dost thou not behold, Malvina, a rock
with its head of heath? Three aged pines bend from its face; green is
the plain at its feet; there the flower of the mountain grows, and
shades its white head in the breeze.
The General being slain, the army was routed. Commerce having thus got
into the legislative body, privilege must be done away. Jesus had
conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. I being in great
haste, he consented. The rain having ceased, the dark clouds rolled
away. The Son of God, while clothed in flesh, was subject to all the
frailties and inconveniences of human nature, sin excepted; (that is,
sin being excepted.)
In the days of Joram, king of Israel, flourished the prophet Elisha.
Paul the apostle suffered martyrdom. _Come_, peace of mind, delightful
guest! and _dwell_ with me. Friends, Romans, countrymen, _lend_ me your
ears.
Soul of the just, companion of the dead!
Where is thy home, and whither art thou fled?
Till Hymen brought his love-delighted hour,
There dwelt no joy in Eden's rosy bower: -
The world was sad, the garden was a wild,
And man the hermit sighed, till woman smiled.
NOTE. Those verbs in _italics_, in the preceding examples, are all
in the imperative mood, and _second_ person, agreeing with _thou,
ye_, or _you_, understood. _House of Israel_ is a noun of multitude.
_Was routed_ and _must be done_ are passive verbs. _Art fled_ is a
neuter verb in a passive form. _Clothed_ is a perfect participle.
_Till_ is an adverbial conjunction.
When you shall have analyzed, systematically, every word in the
foregoing exercises, you may answer the following
QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED IN PARSING.
Repeat the list of interjections. - Repeat some interjective
phrases. - Repeat the order of parsing an interjection. - In order to
find the verb to which a noun is nom. what question do you put? - Give
examples. - Is the nominative case ever placed after the
verb? - When? - Give examples. - Does the objective case ever come before
the verb? - Give examples. - Is a noun ever nom. to a verb
understood? - Give examples. - When is a noun or pronoun in the nom. case
independent? - Give examples. - Are nouns of the _second_ person always in
the nom. case independent? - When a pronoun is put by apposition with a
noun independent, in what case is it? - When is a noun or pronoun in the
nom. case absolute? - Give examples. - When are nouns or nouns and
pronouns put, by apposition, in the same case? - Give examples. - In
parsing a noun or pronoun in the nom. case independent, what Rule should
be applied? - In parsing the nom. case absolute, what Rule? - What Rule in
parsing nouns or pronouns in apposition? - Do real interjections belong
to written language? - (_Phil. Notes_.) - From what are the following
words derived, _pish, fy, lo, halt, farewell, welcome, adieu!_
* * * * *
PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
The term INTERJECTION is applied to those _inarticulate_ sounds
employed both by men and brutes, not to express distinct ideas, but
emotions, passions, or feelings. The sounds employed by human beings
in groaning, sighing, crying, screaming, shrieking, and laughing, by
the dog in barking, growling, and whining, by the horse in snorting
and neighing, by the sheep in bleating, by the cat in mewing, by the
dove in cooing, by the duck in quacking, and by the goose in
hissing, we sometimes attempt to represent by words; but, as
_written_ words are the ocular representatives of _articulate_
sounds, they cannot be made clearly to denote _inarticulate_ or
_indistinct noises_. Such indistinct utterances belong to natural
language; but they fall below the bounds of regulated speech. Hence,
_real_ interjections are not a part of written language.
The meaning of those words commonly called interjections, is easily
shown by tracing them to their roots.
_Pish_ and _pshaw_ are the Anglo-Saxon _paec, paeca_; and are
equivalent to _trumpery_! i.e. _tromperie_, from _tromper_.
_Fy_ or _fie_ is the imperative, _foe_, the past tense, and _foh_ or
_faugh_, the past part. of the Saxon verb _fian_, to hate.
_Lo_ is the imperative of _look. Halt_ is the imperative of
_healden_, to hold. _Farewell - fare-well_, is a compound of _faran_,
to go, and the adverb _well_. It means, to _go well.
Welcome - well-come_, signifies, it is _well_ that you are _come.
Adieu_ comes from the French _a Dieu_, to God; meaning, I commend
you _to God_.
* * * * *
LECTURE XI.
OF THE MOODS AND TENSES OF VERBS.
You have now acquired a general, and, I may say, an extensive, knowledge
of nine parts of speech; but you know but little, as yet, respecting the
most important one of all; I mean the VERB. I will, therefore, commence
this lecture by giving you an explanation of the Moods and Tenses of
verbs. Have the goodness, however, first to turn back and read over
Lecture II., and reflect well upon what is there said respecting the
verb; after which I will conduct you so smoothly through the moods and
tenses, and the conjugation of verbs, that, instead of finding yourself
involved in obscurities and deep intricacies, you will scarcely find an
obstruction to impede your progress.
I. OF THE MOODS.
The MOOD or MODE of a verb means the _manner_ in which its action,
passion, or being, is represented.
When I wish to assert a thing, positively, I use the _declarative_ or
_indicative_ mode; as, The man _walks_; but sometimes the action or
occurrence of which I wish to speak, is doubtful, and then I must not
declare it positively, but I must adopt another _mode_ of expression;
thus, _If_ the man _walk_, he will refresh himself with the bland
breezes. This second mode or manner of representing the action, is
called the _subjunctive_ or _conditional_ mode.
Again, we sometimes employ a verb when we do not wish to _declare_ a
thing, nor to represent the action in a _doubtful_ or _conditional_
manner; but we wish to _command_ some one to act. We then use the
_imperative_ or _commanding_ mode, and say, _Walk_, sir. And when we do
not wish to command a man to act, we sometimes allude to his _power_ or
_ability_ to act. This fourth mode of representing action, is called the
_potential_ mode; as, He _can walk_; He _could walk_. The fifth and last
mode, called the _infinitive_ or _unlimited_ mode, we employ in
expressing action in an unlimited manner; that is, without confining it,
in respect to number and person, to any particular agent; as, _To walk,
to ride_. Thus you perceive, that the mood, mode, or manner of
representing the action, passion, or being of a verb, must vary
according to the different intentions of the mind.
Were we to assign a particular name to _every_ change in the mode or
manner of representing action or being, the number of moods in our
language would amount to many hundreds. But this principle of division
and arrangement, if followed out in detail, would lead to great
perplexity, without producing any beneficial result. The division of Mr.
Harris, in his Hermes, is much more curious than instructive. He has
fourteen moods; his _interrogative, optative, hortative, promissive,
precautive, requisitive, enunciative_, &c. But as far as philosophical
accuracy and the convenience and advantage of the learner are concerned,
it is believed that no arrangement is preferable to the following. I am
not unaware that plausible objections may be raised against it; but what
arrangement cannot be objected to?
There are five moods of verbs, the Indicative, the Subjunctive, the
Imperative, the Potential, and the Infinitive.
The INDICATIVE MOOD simply indicates or declares a thing; as, "He
_writes_;" or it asks a question; as, "_Does_ he _write_? Who _wrote_
that?"
The term _indicative_, comes from the Latin _indico_, to _declare_.
Hence, the legitimate province of the indicative mood, is to _declare_
things, whether positively or negatively; thus, _positively_, He _came_
with me; _negatively_, He _came not_ with me. But in order to avoid a
multiplication of moods, we extend its meaning, and use the indicative
mood in asking a question; as, Who _came_ with you?
The subjunctive mood being more analogous to the indicative in
conjugation, than any other, it ought to be presented next in order.
This mood, however, differs materially from the indicative in sense;
therefore you ought to make yourself well acquainted with the nature of
the indicative, before you commence with the subjunctive.
The SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD expresses action, passion, or being, in a doubtful
or conditional manner or,
When a verb is preceded by a word that expresses a condition, doubt,
motive, wish, or supposition, it is in the SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD; as, "_If_
he _study_, he will improve; I will respect him, _though_ he _chide_ me;
He will not be pardoned, _unless_ he _repent; _Had_ he _been_ there, he
would have conquered;" (that is, _if_ he _had been_ there.)
The conjunctions _if, though, unless_, in the preceding examples,
express condition, doubt, &c.; therefore, the verbs _study, chide,
repent_, and _had been_, are in the subjunctive mood.
NOTE 1. A verb in this mood is generally attended by another verb in
some other mood. You observe, that each of the first three of the
preceding examples, contains a verb in the indicative mood, and the
fourth, a verb in the potential.
2. Whenever the conjunctions _if, though, unless, except, whether,
lest_, or any others, denote contingency or doubt, the verbs that
follow them are in the subjunctive mood; as, "_If_ he _ride_ out
every day, his health will probably improve;" that is, if he _shall_
or _should_ ride out hereafter. But when these conjunctions do not
imply doubt, &c. the verbs that follow them are in the indicative,
or some other mood; as, "_Though_ he _rides_ out daily, his health
is no better." The conjunctive and indicative forms of this mood,
are explained in the conjugation of the verb to _love_. See page.
The IMPERATIVE MOOD is used for commanding, exhorting, entreating, or
permitting; as, _"Depart_ thou; _Remember_ my admonitions; _Tarry_
awhile longer; _Go_ in peace."
The verb _depart_ expresses a command; _remember_ exhorts; _tarry_
expresses entreaty; and _go_, permission; therefore they are all in the
imperative mood.
The _imperative_, from _impero_, to command, is literally that mood of
the verb used in _commanding;_ but its technical meaning in grammar is
extended to the use of the verb in exhorting, entreating, and
permitting.
A verb in the imperative mood, is always of the second person, though
never varied in its terminations, agreeing with _thou, ye_, or _you_,
either expressed or implied. You may know a verb in this mood by the
sense; recollect, however, that the nominative is always _second_
person, and frequently understood; as, George, _give_ me my hat; that
is, give thou, or give you. When the nominative is expressed, it is
generally placed after the verb; as, Go _thou_; Depart _ye_; or between
the auxiliary and the verb; as, Do _thou_ go; Do _ye_ depart. (_Do_ is
the auxiliary.)
The POTENTIAL MOOD implies possibility, liberty, or necessity, power,
will, or obligation; as, "It _may rain_; He _may go_ or _stay_; We _must
eat_ and _drink_; I _can ride_; He _would walk_; They _should learn_."
In the first of these examples, the auxiliary _may_ implies possibility;
in the second it implies liberty; that is, he is at liberty to go or to
stay; in the third, _must_ denotes necessity; _can_ denotes power or
ability; _would_ implies will or inclination; that is, he had a _mind_
to walk; and _should_ implies obligation. Hence you perceive, that the
verbs, may rain, may go, must eat, must drink, can ride, world walk, and
should learn, are in the _potential_ mood.
NOTE 1. As a verb in the indicative mood is converted into the
subjunctive when it is preceded by a conjunction expressing doubt,
contingency, supposition, &c., so a verb in the potential mood, may,
in like manner, be turned into the subjunctive; as, "_If_ I _could
deceive_ him, I should abhor it; _Though_ he _should increase_ in
wealth, he would not be charitable." I _could deceive_, is in the
potential; _If_ I _could deceive_, is in the subjunctive mood.
2. The potential mood, as well as the indicative, is used in asking
a question; as, "May I go? Could you understand him? Must we die?"
The INFINITIVE MOOD expresses action, passion, or being, in a general
and unlimited manner, having no nominative, consequently, neither person
nor number; as, _"To speak, to walk_."
_Infinitive_ means _unconfined_, or _unlimited_. This mood is called the
infinitive, because its verb is not confined or limited to a nominative.
A verb in any other mood is limited; that is, it must agree in number
and person with its nominative; but a verb in this mood has _no_
nominative, therefore, it never changes its termination, except to form
the perfect tense. Now you understand why all verbs are called _finite_
or _limited_, excepting those in the infinitive mood.
NOTE. _To_, the sign of the infinitive mood, is often understood
before the verb; as, "Let me proceed;" that is, Let me _to_ proceed.
See RULE 25. _To_ is not a preposition when joined to a verb in this
mood; thus, _to_ ride, _to_ rule; but it should be parsed with the
verb, and as a part of it.
If you study this lecture attentively, you will perceive, that when I
say, I _write_, the verb is in the indicative mood; but when I say, _if_
I write, or, _unless_ I write, &c. the verb is in the subjunctive mood;
_write_ thou, or _write_ ye or you, the imperative; I _may write_, I
_must write_, I _could write, &c._ the potential; and _to write_, the
infinitive. Any other verb (except the defective) may be employed in the
same manner.
* * * * *
II. OF THE TENSES.
TENSE means time.
Verbs have six tenses, the Present, the Imperfect, the Perfect, the
Pluperfect, and the First and Second Future tenses.
The PRESENT TENSE represents an action or event as taking place at the
time in which it is mentioned; as, "I _smile_; I _see_; I _am seen_."
NOTE 1. The present tense is also used in speaking of actions
continued, with occasional intermissions, to the present time; as,
"He _rides_ out every morning."
2. This tense is sometimes applied to represent the actions of
persons long since dead; as, "Seneca _reasons_ and _moralizes_ well;
An honest man _is_ the noblest work of God."
3. When the present tense is preceded by the words, _when, before,
after, as soon as_, &c. it is sometimes used to point out the
relative time of a future action; as, "_When_ he _arrives_ we shall
hear the news."
The IMPERFECT TENSE denotes a past action or event, however distant;
or,
The IMPERFECT TENSE represents an action or event as past and finished,
but without defining the precise time of its completion; as, "I _loved_
her for her modesty and virtue; They _were_ travelling post when he
_met_ them."
In these examples, the verbs _loved_ and _met_ express past and
_finished_ actions, and therefore constitute a _perfect_ tense as
strictly as any form of the verb in our language; but, as they do not
define the precise time of the completion of these actions, their tense
may properly be denominated an _indefinite past_. By defining the
present participle in conjunction with the verb, we have an _imperfect_
tense in the expression, _were travelling_. This course, however, would
not be in accordance with the ordinary method of treating the
participle. Hence it follows, that the terms _imperfect_ and _perfect_,
as applied to this and the next succeeding tense, are not altogether
significant of their true character; but if you learn to apply these
tenses _correctly_, the propriety or impropriety of their names is not a
consideration of very great moment.
The PERFECT TENSE denotes past time, and also conveys an allusion to the
present; as, "I _have_ finished my letter."
The verb _have finished_, in this example, signifies that the action,
though past, was perfectly finished at a point of time immediately
preceding, or in the course of a period which comes to the present.
Under this view of the subject, the term _perfect_ may be properly
applied to this tense, for it specifies, not only the completion of the
action, but, also, alludes to the particular period of its
accomplishment.
The PLUPERFECT TENSE represents a past action or event that transpired
before some other past time specified; as, "I _had finished_ my letter
before my brother arrived."
You observe that the verb _had finished_, in this example, represents
one _past_ action, and the arrival of my brother, another _past_ action;
therefore _had finished_ is in the pluperfect tense, because the action
took place prior to the taking place of the other past action specified
in the same sentence.
The FIRST FUTURE TENSE denotes a future action or event; as "I _will
finish_; I _shall finish_ my letter."
The SECOND FUTURE TENSE represents a future action that will be fully
accomplished, at or before the time of another future action or event;
as, "I _shall have finished_ my letter when my brother arrives."
This example clearly shows you the meaning and the proper use of the
second future tense. The verb "shall have finished" implies a future
action that will be completely finished, at or before the time of the
other future event denoted by the phrase, "_when_ my brother _arrives_."
NOTE. What is sometimes called the _Inceptive_ future, is expressed
thus, "I am going _to write_;" "I am about _to write_." Future time
is also indicated by placing the infinitive present immediately
after the indicative present of the verb _to be_; thus, "I am _to
write_;" "Harrison is _to be_, or ought _to be_, commander in
chief;" "Harrison is _to command_ the army."
You may now read what is said respecting the moods and tenses several
times over, and then you may learn to _conjugate_ a verb. But, before
you proceed to the conjugation of verbs, you will please to commit the
following paragraph on the _Auxiliary_ verbs and, also, the _signs_ of
the moods and tenses; and, in conjugating, you must pay particular
attention to the manner in which these signs are applied.
OF THE AUXILIARY VERBS.
AUXILIARY or HELPING VERBS are those by the help of which the English
verbs are principally conjugated. _May, can, must, might, could, would,
should,_ and _shall_, are always auxiliaries; _do, be, have_, and
_will_, are sometimes auxiliaries, and sometimes principal verbs.
The use of the auxiliaries is shown in the following conjugation.
SIGNS OF THE MOODS.
The _Indicative_ Mood is known by the _sense_, or by its having _no
sign_, except in asking a question; as, "Who _loves_ you?"
The conjunctions _if, though, unless, except, whether_, and _lest_, are
generally signs of the _Subjunctive_; as, "_If_ I _love; unless_ I
_love_," &c.
A verb is generally known to be in, the _Imperative_ Mood by its
agreeing with _thou_, or _ye_ or _you_, understood; as, _"Love_ virtue,
_and follow_ her steps;" that is, love _thou_, or love _ye_ or _you_;
follow _thou_, &c.
_May, can_, and _must, might, could, would_, and _should_, are signs of
the _Potential_ Mood; as, "I _may_ love; I _must_ love; I _should_
love," &c.