marians have exhibited, respecting these parts of speech, and their occasional conformity with each other. But arrangements of this kind, are not likely to be of any use, or to meet with general approbation. An adherence to the established terms and arrangement, produces many advantages, and occasions. no material inconvenience. It is easy to advance plausible objections against almost every definition, rule, and arrangement of grammar. But in most cases of this nature, it is certainly much better, to supply the defects, and abridge superfluities, to correct errors, and suggest improvements, by occasional notes and observations, than by disorganizing, or altering, a system which has been so long established, and so generally approved *.-See pages 65, 66, and Chapter xi. Section 1. On "Derivation."

It is probable, that any attempt to establish a different classification of the parts of speech, from that which is commonly received, will be found of little utility, either in practice or in speculation.

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA

CHAPTER VI.

OF VERBS.

SECTION 1.

Of the nature of Verbs in general.

A VERB is a word which signifies to BE, to DO, or to SUFFER: as, "I am, I rule, I am ruled."

Verbs are of three kinds; ACTIVE, PASSIVE, and NEUTER. They are also divided into REGULar, IRREGULAR, and DEFECTIVE.

A Verb Active expresses an action, and necessarily implies an agent, and an object acted upon: as, to love; "I love Penelope."

A Verb Passive expresses a passion, or a suffering, or the receiving of an action; and necessarily implies an object acted upon, and an agent by which it is acted upon: as, to be loved; "Penelope is loved by me."

A Verb Neuter expresses neither action nor passion, but being, or a state of being: as, "I am, I sleep, I sit *."

Verbs have been distinguished by some writers, into the following kinds.

1st. Active-transitive, or those which denote an action that passes from the agent to some object: as, Cæsar conquered Pompey.

2d. Active-intransitive, or those which express that kind of action, which has no effect upon any thing beyond the agent himself: as, Cæsar walked. 3rd. Passive, or those which express, not action, but passion, whp! S or painful: as, Portia was loved; Pompey was conquered.

ing

4th. Neuter

THE verb active is also called transitive, because the action passes over to the object, or has an effect upon some other thing: as, "The tutor instructs his pupils;” “I esteem the man.”

Verbs neuter may properly be denominated intransitives, because the effect is confined within the subject, and does not pass over to any object: as, "I sit, he lives, they sleep."

Some of the verbs that are usually ranked among neuters, make a near approach to the nature of a verb active; but they may be distinguished from it by their being intransitive: as, to run, to walk, to fly, &c. The rest are more obviously neuter, and more clearly expressive of a middle state between action and passion: as, to stand, to lie, to sleep, &c.

In English, many verbs are used both in an active and a neuter signification, the construction only determining of which kind they are: as, to flatten, signifying to make even or level, is a verb active; but when it signifies to grow dull or insipid, it is a verb neuter.

A neuter verb, by the addition of a preposition, may become a compound active verb. To smile is a neuter verb: it cannot, therefore, be followed by an objective case, nor be construed as a passive verb. We cannot say, she smiled him, or he was smiled. But to smile on being a compound active verb, we properly say, she smiled on him; he was smiled on by fortune in every undertaking.

4th. Neuter, or those which express an attribute that consists neither in action nor passion: as, Cæsar stood.

This appears to be an orderly arrangement. But if the class of activeintransitive verbs were admitted, it would rather perplex than assist the learner: for the difference between verbs active and neuter, as transitive and intransitive, is easy and obvious; but the difference between verbs absolutely neuter and intransitively active, is not always clear. It is, indeed, often very difficult, if not impossible, to be ascertained.

Auxiliary or helping Verbs, are those by the help of which the English verbs are principally conjugated. They are, do, be, have, shall, will, may, can, with their variations; and let and must, which have no variation *.

IN our definition of the verb, as a part of speech which signifies to be, to do, or to suffer, &c. we have included every thing, either expressly or by necessary consequence, that is essential to its nature, and nothing that is not essential to it. This definition is warranted by the authority of Dr. Lowth, and of many other respectable writers on grammar. There are, however, some grammarians, who consider assertion as the essence of the verb. But, as the participle and the infinitive, if included in it, would prove insuperable objections to their scheme, they have, without hesitation, denied the former a place in the verb, and declared the latter to be merely an abstract noun. This appears to be going rather too far in support of an hypothesis. It seems to be incumbent on these grammarians, to reject also the imperative mood. What part of speech would they make the verbs in the following sentence? "Depart instantly: improve your time forgive us our sins." Will it be said, that the verbs in these phrases are assertions?

In reply to these questions, it has been said, that "Depart instantly," is an expression equivalent to, "I desire you to depart instantly;" and that as the latter phrase implies affirmation or assertion, so does the former. supposing the phrases to be reasoning is not conclusive.

But,

exactly alike in sense, the

1st. In the latter phrase,

Let, as a principal verb, has lettest and letteth; but as a helping verb

it admits of no variation.

the only part implying affirmation, is, "I desire." The words, "to depart," are in the infinitive mood, and contain no assertion: they affirm nothing. 2d. The position is not tenable, that "Equivalence in sense implies similarity in grammatical nature." It proves too much, and therefore nothing. This mode of reasoning would confound the acknowledged grammatical distinction of words. A pronoun, on this principle, may be proved to be a noun; a noun, a verb; an adverb, a noun and preposition; the superlative degree, the comparative ; the imperative mood, the indicative; the future tense, the present; and so on: because they may respectively be resolved into similar meanings. Thus, in the sentence, "I desire you to depart, the words to depart, may be called a noun, because they are equivalent in sense to the noun departure, in the following sentence, "I desire your departure." The words, "Depart instantly," may be proved to be, not the imperative mood with an adverb, but the indicative and infinitive, with a noun and preposition; for they are equivalent to, "I desire you to depart in an instant." The superlative degree in this sentence, "Of all acquirements virtue is the most valuable," may pass for the comparative, because it conveys the same sentiment as, "Virtue is more valuable than every other acquirement."

ཞ

We shall not pursue this subject any further, as we think the reader must be satisfied, that only the word desire, in the equivalent sentence, implies affirmation ; and that two phrases may be equivalent, in point of sense, though, in their grammatical nature, they may be essentially different.

To verbs belong

NUMBER, PERSON, MOOD, AND TENSE