rect. All the pronouns, except the personal may indeed, in a general view of them, be definitive pronouns, because they define or extent of the common name, or general term, refer or are joined; but as each class of the more or less exactly, or in a manner peculiar vision adapted to this circumstance appears to the nature of things, and the understandin It is the opinion of some respectable gran the words this, that, any, some, such, his, their pronouns, when they are used separately fror which they relate; but that, when they are nouns, they are not to be considered as be species of words, because, in this sssociation ascertain a substantive, than supply the place assert that, in the phrases, "give me that," " and such were some of you," the words in inouns; but that in the following phrases, th nouns ; "this book is instructive," "some l ious," my health is declining," "our hearts &c. Other grammarians think, that all t pure adjectives; and that none of them c called pronouns; as the genuine pronounwithout the aid of a noun expressed or unde are of opinion, that in the expressions, " "this is John's," &c., the noun is always must be supplied in the mind of the reader that book;" this book is John's;" and suci some persons amongst you "

Some writers are of opinion that the prom classed into substantive and adjective pro the former, they include the personal and th der the latter all the others. But this div neat one, does not appear to be accurate. pronouns will not range under the substant have distributed these parts of grammar in we think most correct and intelligible; but mation of students, and to direct their inqui ject, we state the different opinions of s grammarians. See the Octavo Grammar,

VERB is a word which signifies to be BE, to or to SUFFER: as, "I am, I rule, I am ruled.” erbs are of three kinds; ACTIVE, PASSIVE, NEUTER. They are also divided into REGUIRREGULAR, and DEFECTIVE.

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

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

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

The verb active is also called transitive, because the acpasses over to the object, or has an effect upon some er thing: as," The tutor instructs his pupils ;" "I esm the man."

Verbs have been distinguished by some writers into the followkinds.

st. Active-transitive, or those which denote an action that passed m the agent to some object; as, Cæsar conquered Pompey. ed. Active-ntransitive, or those which express that kind of action, ich has no effect upon any thing beyond the agent himself; as, sar walked.

3d. Passive, or those which express, not action, but passion, hether pleasing or painful; as, Portia was loved; Pompey was quered.

4th. Neuter, or those which express an attribute that consists ither in action nor passion; as, Cæsar stood.

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

because the effect is confined within the sub not pass over to any object: as, "I sit, he live

Some of the verbs that are usually ranke ters, make a near approach to the nature of but they may be distinguished from it by the sitive: as, to run, to walk, to fly, &c. The re viously neuter, and more clearly expressive o between action and passion: as, to stand, to li

In English, many verbs are used both in neuter signification, the construction only which kind they are: as, to flatten, signifyin or level, is a verb active; but when it signi or insipid, it is a verb neuter.

A neuter verb, by the addition of a prep come a compound active verb. To smile i it cannot, therefore, be followed by an obj be construed as a passive verb. We smiled him, or he was smiled. But to smile pound active verb, we properly say, she sn was smiled on by fortune in every undertak

Auxiliary or Helping Verbs, a help of which the English verbs a conjugated. They are, do, be, ha may, can, with their variations; an which have no variation.*

In our definition of the verb, as a part signifies to be, to do, or to suffer. &c. we ery thing, either expressly or by neces that is essential to its nature, and nothing tial to it. This definition is warranted Dr. Lowth, and of many other respectab mar. There are, however, some gram sider assertion as the essence of the participle and the infinitive, if included insuperable objections to their scheme, hesitation, denied the former a place i clared the latter to be merely an abstr pears to be going rather too far in su】

Let, as a principal verb, has lettest and le verb it admits of no variation.

part instantly improve your time: forgive us our Will it be said, that the verbs in these phrases are -tions?

reply to these questions, it has been said, that " Denstantly," is an expression equivalent to, "I desire o depart instantly ;" and that as the latter phrase imaffirmation or assertion, so does the former. But, osing the phrases to be exactly alike in sense, the reang is not conclusive. 1st. In the latter phrase, the onrt implying affirmation, is, "I desire." The words depart," are in the infinitive mood, and contain no asser: they affirm nothing. 2d. The position is not tena that "Equivalence in sense implies similarity in gramcal nature." It proves too much, and therefore noth

This mode of reasoning would confound the acknowled grammatical distinction of words. A pronoun, on principle, may be proved to be a noun; a noun, a verb; dverb, a noun and preposition; the superlative degree, comparitive; the imperative mood, the indicative; the tre tense, the present; and so on: because they may pectively be resolved into similar meanings. Thus, in sentence, "I desire you to depart," the words to depart, y be called a noun, because they are equivalent in sense he noun departure; in the following sentence, "I desire ir departure." The words "Depart instantly," may be oved to be, not the imperative mood with an adverb, but indicative and infinitive, with a noun and preposition; they are equivalent to "I desire you to depart in an innt." The superlative degree in this sentence, "Of all quirements virtue is the most valuable," `may pass for the mparative, because it conveys the same sentiment as Virtue is more valuable than every other acquirement." We shall not pursue this subject any further, as the readmust be satisfied, that only the word desire, in the equivent sentence, implies affirmation; and that one phrase ay, in sense, be equivalent to another, though its gramatical nature is essentially different.

To Verbs belong NUMBER, PERSON, MOOD, and

ENSE.

F

Verbs have two numbers, the Sing Plural: as, 66 I

run, we run," &c.

In each number there are three pers

Singular.
I love.

Pl

W

Second Person. Thou lovest. "Third Person. He loves.

Ye

Th

Thus the verb, in some parts of it, varies express, or agree with, different persons of ber: as, "I love, thou lovest; he loveth, or so to express different numbers of the sa "thou lovest, ye love; he loveth, they love. number of the verb, there is no variation press the different persons; and the verb, sons plural, is the same as it is in the first Yet this scanty provision of terminations is the purposes of discourse, and no ambigui the verb always attended, either with the the subject acting or acted upon, or with th senting it. For this reason, the plural term loven, they wern, formerly in use, was laid sary, and has long been obsolete.

SECT. 3. Of Moods and Part Mood or Mode is a particular fo showing the manner in which the b passion, is represented.

The nature of a mood may be more int to the scholar, by observing that it cons which the verb undergoes, to signify va the mind, and various modifications and action: which explanation, if compared account and uses of the different mood agree with and illustrate them.

There are five moods of verbs, the IMPERATIVE, the POTENTIAL, and the INFINITIVE.