_To_ is the sign of the _Infinitive_; as, "_To_ love, _to_ smile, _to_
hate, _to_ walk."
SIGNS OF THE TENSES.
The first form of the verb is the sign of the present tense; as, _love,
smile, hate, walk_.
_Ed_ - the imperfect tense of regular verbs; as, _loved, smiled, hated,
walked_.
_Have_ - the perfect; as, _have_ loved.
_Had_ - the pluperfect; as, _had_ loved. _Shall_ or _will_ - the first
future; as, _shall_ love, or _will_ love; _shall_ smile, _will_ smile.
_Shall_ or _will have_ - the second future; as, _shall have_ loved, or
_will have_ loved.
NOTE. There are some exceptions to these signs, which you will
notice by referring to the conjugation in the potential mood.
Now, I hope you will so far consult your own ease and advantage, as to
commit, perfectly, the signs of the moods and tenses before you proceed
farther than to the subjunctive mood. If you do, the supposed Herculean
task of learning to conjugate verbs, will be transformed into a few
hours of pleasant pastime.
The Indicative Mood has _six_ tenses.
The Subjunctive has also _six_ tenses.
The Imperative has only _one_ tense.
The Potential has _four_ tenses.
The Infinitive has _two_ tenses.
CONJUGATION OF VERBS.
The CONJUGATION of a verb is the regular combination and arrangement of
its several numbers, persons, moods, and tenses.
The Conjugation of an active verb, is styled the _active voice_; and
that of a passive verb, the _passive voice_.
Verbs are called Regular when they form their imperfect tense of the
indicative mood, and their perfect participle, by adding to the present
tense _ed_, or _d_ only when the verb ends in _e_; as,
Pres. Tense. Imp. Tense. Perf. Participle
I favor. I favor_ed_. favor_ed_.
I love. I love_d_, love_d_.
A Regular Verb is conjugated in the following manner.
TO LOVE. - INDICATIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.
_Singular_. _Plural_.
1. _Pers_. I love, 1. We love,
2. _Pers_. Thou lovest, 2. Ye _or_ you love,
3. _Pers_. He, she, _or_ it, loveth 3. They love.
_or_ loves.
When we wish to express energy or positiveness, the auxiliary _do_
should precede the verb in the present tense: thus,
_Singular_. _Plural_.
1. I do love, 1. We do love,
2. Thou dost love, 2. Ye _or_ you do love,
3. He doth _or_ does love. 3. They do love.
Imperfect Tense.
_Singular_. _Plural_.
1. I loved, 1. We loved,
2. Thou lovedst, 2. Ye _or_ you loved,
3. He loved. 3. They loved.
Or by-prefixing _did_ to the present: thus,
_Singular_. _Plural_.
1. I did love 1. We did love,
2. Thou didst love, 2. Ye _or_ you did love,
3. He did love. 3. They did love.
Perfect Tense.
_Singular_. _Plural_.
1. I have loved, 1. We have loved,
2. Thou hast loved, 2. Ye _or_ you have loved,
3. He hath _or_ has loved. 3. They have loved.
Pluperfect Tense.
_Singular_. _Plural_.
1. I had loved, 1. We had loved,
2. Thou hadst loved, 2. Ye _or_ you had loved,
3. He had loved. 3. They had loved.
First Future Tense.
_Singular_. _Plural_.
1. I shall _or_ will love, 1. We shall _or_ will love,
2. Thou shalt _or_ wilt love, 2. Ye _or_ you shall _or_ will
love,
3. He shall _or_ will love, 3. They shall _or_ will love.
Second Future Tense.
_Singular_. _Plural_.
1. I shall have loved, 1. We shall have loved,
2. Thou wilt have loved, 2. Ye _or_ you will have loved,
3. He will have loved, 3. They will have loved.
NOTE. Tenses formed without auxiliaries, are called _simple_ tenses;
as, I _love;_ I _loved;_ but those formed by the help of
auxiliaries, are denominated _compound_ tenses; as, I _have loved;_
I _had loved_, &c.
This display of the verb shows you, in the clearest light, the
application of the _signs_ of the _tenses_, which signs ought to be
perfectly committed to memory before you proceed any farther. By looking
again at the conjugation, you will notice, that _have_, placed before
the perfect participle of any verb, forms the perfect tense; _had_, the
pluperfect; _shall_ or _will_, the first future, and so on.
Now speak each of the verbs, _love, hate, walk, smile, rule_, and
_conquer_, in the first person of each tense in this mood, with the
pronoun _I_ before it; thus, indicative mood, pres. tense, first pers.
sing. I love; imperf. I loved; perf. I have loved; and so on, through
all the tenses. If you learn thoroughly the conjugation of the verb in
the indicative mood, you will find no difficulty in conjugating it
through those that follow, for in the conjugation through all the moods,
there is a great similarity.
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.
Present Tense, or elliptical future. - _Conjunctive form_.
_Singular_. _Plural_.
1. If I love, 1. If we love,
2. If thou love, 2. If ye _or_ you love,
3. If he love. 3. If they love.
Look again at the conjugation in the indicative present, and you will
observe, that the form of the verb differs from this form in the
subjunctive. The verb in the present tense of this mood, does not vary
its termination on account of number or person. This is called the
_conjunctive_ form of the verb; but sometimes the verb in the
subjunctive mood, present tense, is conjugated in the same manner as it
is in the indicative, with this exception, _if, though, unless_, or some
other conjunction, is prefixed; as,
_Indicative form_.
_Singular_. _Plural_.
1. If I love, 1. If we love,
2. If thou lovest, 2. If ye _or_ you love,
3. If he loves, 3. If they love.
The following general rule will direct you when to use the _conjunctive_
form of the verb, and when the _indicative_. When a verb in the
subjunctive mood, present tense, has a _future_ signification, or a
reference to _future_ time, the conjunctive form should be used; as, "If
thou _prosper_, thou shouldst be thankful;" "He will maintain his
principles, though he _lose_ his estate;" that is, If thou _shalt_ or
_shouldst_ prosper; though he _shall_ or _should_ lose, &c. But when a
verb in the subjunctive mood, present tense, has _no_ reference to
future time, the indicative form ought to be used; as, "Unless he
_means_ what he says, he is doubly faithless." By this you perceive,
that when a verb in the present tense of the subjunctive mood, has a
future signification, an _auxiliary_ is always understood before it, for
which reason, in this construction, the termination of the principal
verb never varies; us, "He will not become eminent, unless he _exert_
himself;" that is, unless he _shall_ exert, or _should_ exert himself.
This tense of the subjunctive mood ought to be called the _elliptical
future_.
The imperfect, the perfect, the pluperfect, and the first future tenses
of this mood, are conjugated, in every respect, like the same tenses of
the indicative, with this exception; in the subjunctive mood, a
conjunction implying doubt, &c. is prefixed to the verb. In the second
future tense of this mood, the verb is conjugated thus:
Second Future Tense.
_Singular._ _Plural_.
1. If I shall have loved, 1. If we shall have loved,
2. If thou shalt have loved, 2. If you shall have loved,
3. If he shall have loved. 3. If they shall have loved.
Look at the same tense in the indicative mood, and you will readily
perceive the distinction between the two conjugations.
IMPERATIVE MOOD.
_Singular._ _Plural_.
2. Love, _or_ love thou, _or_ do 2. Love, _or_ love ye _or_ you, _or_
thou love. do ye _or_ you love.
NOTE. We cannot command, exhort, &c. either in _past_ or _future_
time; therefore a verb in this mood is always in the _present_
tense.
POTENTIAL MOOD.
Present Tense.
_Singular._ _Plural_.
1. I may, can, _or_ must love, 1. We may, can, or must love,
2. Thou mayst, canst, _or_ must 2. Ye _or_ you may, can, _or_
love, must love,
3. He may, can, _or_ must love. 3. They may, can, _or_ must love.
Imperfect Tense.
_Singular._ _Plural_.
1. I might, could, would, _or_ 1. We might, could, would, _or_
should love, should love,
2. Thou mightst, couldst, 2. Ye _or_ you might, could,
wouldst, _or_ shouldst love, would, _or_ should love,
3. He might, could, would, _or_ 3. They might, could, would,
should love, _or_ should love.
Perfect Tense.
_Singular._ _Plural_.
1. I may, can, _or_ must have 1. We may, can, _or_ must have
loved, loved,
2. Thou mayst, canst, _or_ must 2. Ye _or_ you may, can, _or_
have loved, must have loved,
3. He may, can, _or_ must 3. They may, can, _or_ must
have loved. have loved.
Pluperfect Tense.
_Singular._ _Plural_.
1. I might, could, would, 1. We might, could, would,
_or_ should have loved, _or_ should have loved,
2. Thou mightst, couldst, wouldst, 2. Ye _or_ you might, could,
_or_ shouldst have loved, would, _or_ should have loved,
3. He might, could, would, 3. They might, could, would,
_or_ should have loved, _or_ should have loved.
By examining carefully the conjugation of the verb through this mood,
you will find it very easy; thus, you will notice, that whenever any of
the auxiliaries, _may, can_, or _must_, is placed before a verb, that
verb is in the potential mood, _present_ tense; _might, could, would_,
or _should_, renders it in the potential mood, _imperfect_ tense; _may,
can_, or _must have_, the _perfect_ tense; and _might, could, would_, or
_should have_, the _pluperfect_ tense.
INFINITIVE MOOD.
Pres. Tense. To love. Perf. Tense. To have loved.
PARTICIPLES.
Present _or_ imperfect, Loving.
Perfect _or_ passive, Loved.
Compound, Having loved.
NOTE. The perfect participle of a regular verb, corresponds exactly
with the imperfect tense; yet the former may, at all times, be
distinguished from the latter, by the following rule: In
composition, the imperfect tense of a verb _always_ has a
nominative, either expressed or implied: the perfect participle
_never_ has.
For your encouragement, allow me to inform you, that when you shall have
learned to conjugate the verb _to love_, you will be able to conjugate
all the regular verbs in the English language, for they are all
conjugated precisely in the same manner. By pursuing the following
direction, you can, in a very short time, learn to conjugate any verb.
Conjugate the verb _love_ through all the moods and tenses, in the first
person singular, with the pronoun _I_ before it, and speak the
Participles: thus, Indicative mood, pres. tense, first pers. sing. I
_love_, imperf. tense, I _loved_; perf. tense, I _have loved_; and so
on, through every mood and tense. Then conjugate it in the second pers.
sing, with the pronoun _thou_ before it, through all the moods and
tenses; thus, Indic. mood, pres. tense, second pers. sing, thou
_lovest_; imperf. tense, thou _lovedst_; and so on, through the whole.
After that, conjugate it in the third pers. sing, with _he_ before it;
and then in the first pers. plural, with _we_ before it, in like manner
through all the moods and tenses. Although this mode of procedure may,
at first, appear to be laborious, yet, as it is necessary, I trust you
will not hesitate to adopt it. My confidence in your perseverance,
induces me to recommend any course which I know will tend to facilitate
your progress.
When you shall have complied with my requisition, you may conjugate the
following verbs in the same manner; which will enable you, hereafter, to
tell the mood and tense of any verb without hesitation: _walk, hate,
smile, rule, conquer, reduce, relate, melt, shun, fail_.
* * * * *
PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
The changes in the termination of words, in all languages, have been
formed by the _coalescence_ of words of appropriate meaning. This
subject was approached on page 49. It is again taken up for the
purpose of showing, that the moods and tenses, as well as the number
and person, of English verbs, do not solely depend on inflection.
The coalescing syllables which form the number and person of the
Hebrew verb, are still considered pronouns; and, by those who have
investigated the subject, it is conceded, that the same plan has
been adopted in the formation of the Latin and Greek verbs, as in
the Hebrew. Some languages have carried this process to a very great
extent. Ours is remarkable for the small number of its inflections.
But they who reject the passive verb, and those moods and tenses
which are formed by employing what are called "auxiliary verbs,"
_because they are formed of two or more verbs_, do not appear to
reason soundly. It is inconsistent to admit, that walk-_eth_, and
walk-_ed_, are tenses, because each is but one word, and to reject
_have_ walked, and _will_ walk, as tenses, because each is composed
of two words. _Eth_, as previously shown, is a contraction of
_doeth_, or _haveth_, and _ed_, of _dede, dodo, doed_, or _did_;
and, therefore, walk-_eth_; i.e. walk-_doeth_, or _doeth_-walk, and
walk-_ed_; i.e. walk-_did_, or _doed_ or _did_-walk, are, when
analyzed, as strictly compound, as _will_ walk, _shall_ walk, and
_have_ walked. The only difference in the formation of these tenses,
is, that in the two former, the associated verbs have been
contracted and made to coalesce with the main verb, but in the two
latter, they still maintain their ground as separate words.
If it be said that _will walk_ is composed of two words, each of
which conveys a distinct idea, and, therefore, should be analyzed by
itself, the same argument with all its force, may be applied to
walk-_eth_, walk-_ed_, walk-_did_, or _did_ walk. The result of all
the investigations of this subject, appears to settle down into the
hackneyed truism, that the passive verbs, and the moods and tenses,
of some languages, are formed by inflections, or terminations either
prefixed or postfixed, and of other languages, by the association of
auxiliary verbs, which have not yet been contracted and made to
coalesce as _terminations_. The auxiliary, when contracted into a
_terminating syllable,_ retains its distinct and intrinsic meaning,
as much as when associated with a verb by juxtaposition:
consequently, an "auxiliary verb" may form a part of a mood or
tense, or passive verb, with as much propriety as a _terminating
syllable_. They who contend for the ancient custom of keeping the
auxiliaries distinct, and parsing them as primary verbs, are, by the
same principle, bound to extend their dissecting-knife _to every
compound word in the language_.
Having thus attempted briefly to prove the philosophical accuracy of
the theory which recognises the tenses, moods, and passive verbs,
formed by the aid of auxiliaries, I shall now offer one argument to
show that this theory, and this _only_, will subserve the purposes
of the practical grammarian.
As it is not so much the province of philology to instruct in the
exact meaning of single and separate words, as it is to teach the
student to combine and employ them properly in framing sentences,
and as those _combinations_ which go by the name of compound tenses
and passive verbs, are necessary in writing and discourse, it
follows, conclusively, that that theory which does not explain these
verbs in their _combined_ state, cannot teach the student the
correct use and application of the verbs of our language. By such an
arrangement, he cannot learn when it is proper to use the phrases,
_shall have walked, might have gone, have seen_, instead of, _shall
walk, might go_, and _saw_; because this theory has nothing to do
with the combining of verbs. If it be alleged, that the speaker or
writer's own good sense must guide him in combining these verbs,
and, therefore, that the directions of the grammarian are
unnecessary, it must be recollected, that such an argument would
bear, equally, against every principle of grammar whatever. In
short, the theory of the compound tenses, and of the passive verb,
appears to be so firmly based in the genius of our language, and so
practically important to the student, as to defy all the engines of
the paralogistic speculator, and the philosophical quibbler, to
batter it down.
But the most plausible objection to the old theory is, that it is
encumbered with much useless technicality and tedious prolixity,
which are avoided by the _simple_ process of exploding the passive
verb, and reducing the number of the moods to three, and of the
tenses to two. It is certain, however, that if we reject the _names_
of the perfect, pluperfect, and future tenses, the _names_ of the
potential and subjunctive moods, and of the passive verb, in writing
and discourse we must still employ those _verbal combinations_ which
form them; and it is equally certain, that the proper mode of
employing such combinations, is as easily taught or learned by the
old theory, which _names_ them, as by the new, which gives them _no
name_.
On philosophical principles, we might, perhaps, dispense with the
_future_ tenses of the verb, by analyzing each word separately; but,
as illustrated on page 79, the combined words which form our perfect
and pluperfect tenses have an _associated_ meaning, which is
destroyed by analyzing each word separately. That arrangement,
therefore, which rejects these tenses, appears to be, not only
_unphilosophical_, but inconsistent and inaccurate.
For the satisfaction of those teachers who prefer it, and for their
adoption, too, a modernized _philosophical_ theory of the moods and
tenses is here presented. If it is not quite so convenient and
useful as the old one, they need not hesitate to adopt it. It has
the advantage of being _new_; and, moreover, it sounds _large_, and
will make the _commonalty stare_. Let it be distinctly understood,
that you teach _"philosophical grammar, founded on reason and common
sense_," and you will pass for a very learned man, and make all the
good housewives wonder at the rapid march of intellect, and the vast
improvements of the age.
MOOD.
Verbs have three moods, the indicative, (embracing what is commonly
included under the _indicative_, the _subjunctive_, and the
_potential_,) the imperative, and the infinitive. - For definitions,
refer to the body of the work.
TENSE OR TIME.
Verbs have only two tenses, the present and the past. A verb
expressing action commenced and not completed, is in the present
tense; as, "Religion _soars_: it _has_ gained many victories: it
_will_ [to] _carry_ its votaries to the blissful regions."
When a verb expresses finished action, it is in the past tense; as,
"This page (the Bible) God _hung_ out of heaven, and _retired_."
A verb in the imperative and infinitive moods, is always in the
_present_ tense, high authorities to the contrary notwithstanding.
The _command_ must _necessarily_ be given in time present, although
its _fulfilment_ must be future. John, what are you doing? Learning
my task. Why do you learn it? Because my preceptor _commanded_ me to
do so. When _did_ he command you? _Yesterday_. - Not _now_, of
course.
That it is inconsistent with the nature of things for a command to
be given in _future_ time, and that the _fulfilment_ of the command,
though future, has nothing to do with the tense or time of the
command itself, are truths so plain as to put to the blush the gross
absurdity of those who identify the time of the fulfilment with
that of the command.
* * * * *
EXERCISES IN PARSING.
You _may read_ the book which I _have printed_. _May_, an irregular
active verb, signifying "to have and to exercise might or strength,"
indic. mood, pres. tense, second pers. plur. agreeing with its nom.
_you. Read_, an irregular verb active, infinitive mood, pres. tense,
with the sign _to_ understood, referring to _you_ as its agent.
_Have_, an active verb, signifying to _possess_, indic. present, and
having for its object, book understood after "which." _Printed_, a
perf. participle, referring to book understood.
Johnson, and Blair, and Lowth, _would have been laughed at, had_
they _essayed_ to _thrust_ any thing like our modernized
philosophical grammar down the throats of their contemporaries.
_Would_, an active verb, signifying "to exercise volition," in the
past tense of the indicative. _Have_, a verb, in the infinitive,
_to_ understood. _Been_, a perfect part. of to _be_, referring to
Johnson, Blair, and Lowth. _Laughed at_, perf. part, of to _laugh
at_, referring to the same as _been. Had_, active verb, in the past
tense of the indicative, agreeing with its nom. _they. Essayed_,
perf. part, referring to they.
Call this "_philosophical_ parsing, on reasoning principles,
according to the original laws of nature and of thought," and the
_pill_ will be swallowed, by pedants and their dupes, with the
greatest ease imaginable.
* * * * *
LECTURE XII.
OF IRREGULAR VERBS.
Irregular verbs are those that do not form
their imperfect tense and perfect participle by the
addition of _d_ or _ed_ to the present tense; as,
_Pres. Tense. Imperf. Tense. Perf. or Pass. Part._
I write I wrote written
I begin I began begun
I go I went gone
The following is a list of the _irregular_ verbs. Those marked with an R
are sometimes conjugated _regularly_.
_Pres. Tense. Imperf. Tense. Perf. or Pass. Part._
Abide abode abode
Am was been
Arise arose arisen
Awake awoke, R. awaked
Bear, _to bring forth_ bare born
Bear, _to carry_ bore borne
Beat beat beaten, beat
Begin began begun
Bend bent bent
Bereave bereft, R. bereft, R.
Beseech besought besought
Bid bade, bid bidden, bid
Bind bound bound
Bite bit bitten, bit
Bleed bled bled
Blow blew blown
Break broke broken
Breed bred bred
Bring brought brought
Build built built
Burst burst, R. burst, R.
Buy bought bought
Cast cast cast
Catch caught, R. caught, R.
Chide chid chidden, chid
Choose chose chosen
Cleave, _to adhere_ clave, R. cleaved
Cleave, _to split_ cleft cleft,
_or_
clove cloven
Cling clung clung
Clothe clothed clad, R.
Come came come
Cost cost cost
Crow crew, R. crowed
Creep crept crept
Cut cut cut
Dare, _to venture_ durst dared
Dare, _to challenge_ REGULAR
Deal dealt, R. dealt, R.
Dig dug, R. dug, R.
Do did done
Draw drew drawn
Drive drove driven
Drink drank drunk, drank[6]
Dwell dwelt, R. dwelt, R.
Eat eat, ate eaten
Fall fell fallen
Feed fed fed
Feel felt felt
Fight fought fought
Find found found
Flee fled fled
Fling flung flung
Fly flew flown
Forget forgot forgotten
Forsake forsook forsaken
Freeze froze frozen
Get got got[7]
Gild gilt, R. gilt, R.
Gird girt, R. girt, R.
Give gave given
Go went gone
Grave graved graven, R.
Grind ground ground
Grow grew grown
Have had had
Hang hung, R. hung, R.
Hear heard heard
Hew hewed hewn, R.
Hide hid hidden, hid
Hit hit hit
Hold held held
Hurt hurt hurt
Keep kept kept
Knit knit, R. knit, R.
Know knew known
Lade laded laden
Lay laid laid
Lead led led
Leave left left
Lend lent lent
Let let let
Lie, _to lie down_ lay lain
Load loaded laden, R.
Lose lost lost
Make made made
Meet met met
Mow mowed mown, R.
Pay paid paid
Put put put
Read read read
Rend rent rent
Rid rid rid
Ride rode rode, ridden[8]
Ring rung, rang rung
Rise rose risen
Rive rived riven
Run ran run
Saw sawed sawn, R.
Say said said
See saw seen
Seek sought sought
Sell sold sold
Send sent sent
Set set set
Shake shook shaken
Shape shaped shaped, shapen
Shave shaved shaven, R.
Shear sheared shorn
Shed shed shed
Shine shone, R. shone, R.
Show showed shown
Shoe shod shod
Shoot shot shot
Shrink shrunk shrunk
Shred shred shred
Shut shut shut
Sing sung, sang[9] sung
Sink sunk, sank[9] sunk
Sit sat set
Slay slew slain
Sleep slept slept
Slide slid slidden
Sling slung slung
Slink slunk slunk
Slit slit, R. slit
Smite smote smitten
Sow sowed sown, R.
Speak spoke spoken
Speed sped sped
Spend spent spent
Spill spilt, R. spilt, R.
Spin spun spun
Spit spit, spat spit, spitten [10]
Split split split
Spread spread spread
Spring sprung, sprang sprung
Stand stood stood
Steal stole stolen
Stick stuck stuck
Sting stung stung
Stink stunk stunk
Stride strode, strid stridden
Strike struck struck _or_ stricken
String strung strung
Strive strove striven
Strow strowed strown,
_or_ _or_ strowed _or_
strew strewed strewed
Sweat swet, R. swet, R.
Swear swore sworn
Swell swelled swollen, R.
Swim swum, swam swum
Swing swung swung
Take took taken
Teach taught taught
Tear tore torn
Tell told told
Think thought thought
Thrive throve, R. thriven
Throw threw thrown
Thrust thrust thrust
Tread trod trodden
Wax waxed waxen, R.
Wear wore worn
Weave wove woven
Wet wet wet, R.
Weep wept wept
Win won won
Wind wound wound
Work wrought, wrought,
worked worked
Wring wrung wrung
Write wrote written
[6] The men were drunk; i.e. inebriated. The toasts were drank.
[7] Gotten is nearly obsolete. Its compound forgotten, is still in
good use.
[8] Ridden is nearly obsolete.
[9] Sang and sank should not be used in familiar style.
[10] Spitten is nearly obsolete.
In familiar writing and discourse, the following, and some other verbs,
are often improperly terminated by _t_ instead of _ed_; as, "learnt,
spelt, spilt, stopt, latcht." They should be, "learned, spelled, spilled,
stopped, latched."
You may now conjugate the following irregular verbs, in a manner similar
to the conjugation of regular verbs: _arise, begin, bind, do, go, grow,
run, lend, teach, write_. Thus, to _arise_ - Indicative mood, pres.
tense, first person, sing. I arise; imperf. tense, I arose; perf. tense,
I have arisen, and so on, through all the moods, and all the tenses of
each mood; and then speak the participles: thus, pres. arising, perf.
arisen, comp. having arisen. In the next place, conjugate the same verb
in the second person sing. through all the moods and tenses; and then in
the third person sing. and in the first pers. plural. After that, you
may proceed in the same manner with the words _begin, bind_, &c.
Now read the eleventh and twelfth lectures _four_ or _five_ times over,
and learn the order of parsing a verb. You will then be prepared to
parse the following verbs in full; and I presume, all the other parts of
speech. Whenever you parse, you must refer to the Compendium for
definitions and rules, if you cannot repeat them without, I will now
parse a verb, and describe all its properties by applying the
definitions and rules according to the systematic order.
"We _could_ not _accomplish_ the business."
_Could accomplish_ is a verb, a word which signifies to do - active, it
expresses action - transitive, the action passes over from the nom. "we"
to the object "business" - regular, it will form its imperfect tense of
the indic. mood and perf. part, in _ed_ - potential mood, it implies
possibility or power - imperfect tense, it denotes past time however
distant - first pers. plural, because the nom. "we" is with which it
agrees, agreeably to RULE 4. _A verb must agree_, &c. Conjugated - Indic.
mood, present tense, first pers. sing. I accomplish; imperfect tense, I
accomplished; perfect, I have accomplished; pluperfect, I had
accomplished; and so on. - Speak it in the person of each tense through
all the moods, and conjugate, in the same manner, every verb you parse.
EXERCISES IN PARSING.
_These exercises contain a complete variety of Moods and Tenses_.
I learn my lesson well. Charles, thou learnest thy lesson badly. John,
do you write a good hand? Those ladies wrote a beautiful letter, but
they did not despatch it. Have you seen the gentleman to whom I gave the
book? He has gone. They had received the news before the messenger
arrived. When will those persons return? My friend shall receive his
reward. He will have visited me three times, if he come to-morrow.
If Eliza study diligently, she will improve. If Charles studies he does
not improve. Unless that man shall have accomplished his work, by
midsummer, he will receive no wages. Orlando, obey my precepts, unless
you wish to injure yourself. Remember what is told you. The physician
may administer the medicine, but Providence only can bless it. I told,
him that he might go, but he would not. He might have gone last week,
had he conducted himself properly; (that is, _if he had conducted_, &c.)
Boys, prepare to recite your lessons. Young ladies, let me hear you
repeat what you have learned. Study, diligently, whatever task may be
allotted to you. To correct the spirit of discontent, let us consider
how little we deserve. To die for one's country, is glorious. How can we
become wise? To seek God is wisdom. What is true greatness? Active
benevolence. A good man is a great man.
NOTE 1. _Man_, following _great_, and _what_, in the last two
examples, are nom. after _is_: RULE 21. _To seek God_, and _to die
for one's country_, are members of sentences, each put as the nom.
case to _is_ respectively: RULE 24. The verb _to correct_ is the
infinitive mood absolute: NOTE under RULE 23. _May be allotted_ is a
passive verb, agreeing with _which_, the relative part of _whatever.
That_, the first part of whatever, is an adj. pronoun, agreeing with
_task_; and _task_ is governed by _study._ _Hear_, following _let_,
and _repeat_, following _hear_, are in the infinitive mood without
the sign _to_, according to RULE 25. _To recite_ is governed by
_prepare_: RULE 23. _Is told_, is a passive verb, agreeing with
_which_, the relative part of _whatever_; and _you_, following, is
governed by _to_ understood: NOTE 1, under RULE 32.
2. In parsing a pronoun, if the noun for which it stands is not
expressed, you must say it represents some person or thing
understood.
LECTURE XIII.
OF THE AUXILIARY, PASSIVE, AND DEFECTIVE VERBS.
I. AUXILIARY VERBS.
Before you attend to the following additional remarks on the Auxiliary
Verbs, you will do well to read again what is said respecting them in
Lecture XI. page 140. The short account there given, and their
application in conjugating verbs, have already made them quite familiar
to you; and you have undoubtedly observed, that, without their help, we
cannot conjugate any verb in any of the tenses, except the present and
imperfect of the indicative and subjunctive moods, and the present of
the imperative and infinitive. In the formation of all the other tenses,
they are brought into requisition.
Most of the auxiliary verbs are defective in conjugation; that is, they
are used only in some of the moods and tenses; and when unconnected with
principal verbs, they are conjugated in the following manner:
MAY.
Pres. Tense _Sing_. I may, thou mayst, he may.
_Plur_. We may, ye _or_ you may, they may.
Imperf. _Sing_. I might, thou mightst, he might.
Tense. _Plur_. We might, ye _or_ you might, they might.
CAN.
Pres. _Sing_. I can, thou canst, he can.
Tense. _Plur_. We can, ye _or_ you can, they can.
Imperf. _Sing_. I could, thou couldst, he could.
Tense. _Plur_. We could, ye _or_ you could, they could.
WILL.
Pres. _Sing_. I will, thou wilt, he will.
Tense. _Plur_. We will, ye _or_ you will, they will.
Imperf. _Sing_. I would, thou wouldst, he would.
Tense. _Plur_. We would, ye _or_ you would, they would.
SHALL.
Pres. _Sing_. I shall, thou shalt, he shall.
Tense. _Plur_. We shall, ye _or_ you shall, they shall.
Imperf. _Sing_. I should, thou shouldst, he should.
Tense. _Plur_. We should, ye _or_ you should, they should.
TO DO.
Pres. _Sing_. I do, thou dost _or_ doest, he doth _or_ does.
Tense. _Plur_. We do, ye _or_ you do, they do.
Imperf. _Sing_. I did, thou didst, he did.
Tense. _Plur_. We did, ye _or_ you did, they did.
_Participles_. Pres. doing. Perf. done.
TO BE.
Pres. _Sing_. I am, thou art, he is.
Tense. _Plur_. We are, ye _or_ you are, they are.
Imperf. _Sing_. I was, thou wast, he was.
Tense. _Plur_. We were, ye _or_ you were, they were.
_Participles_. Pres. being. Perf. been.
TO HAVE.
Pres. _Sing_. I have, thou hast, he hath _or_ has.
Tense. _Plur_. We have, ye _or_ you have, they have.
Imperf. _Sing_. I had, thou hadst, he had.
Tense. _Plur_. We had, ye _or_ you had, they had.
_Participles_. Pres. having. Perf. had.
_Do, be, have_, and _will_, are sometimes used as principal verbs; and
when employed as such, _do, be_, and _have_, may be conjugated, by the
help of other auxiliaries, through all the moods and tenses.
DO. The different tenses of _do_, in the several moods, are thus formed:
Indicative mood, pres. tense, first pers. sing. I do; imperfect tense, I
did; perf. I have done; pluperfect, I had done; first future, I shall or
will do; sec. fut. I shall have done. Subjunctive mood, pres. tense, If
I do; imperf. if I did; and so on. Imperative mood, do thou. Potential,