leads: therefore, the definition of an active verb and that of a passive are false, because they lead to the absurd conclusion, that every verb active is passive, and every verb passive, active. No verb, strictly speaking, expresses being, action, or passion; nor can we express being, action, or passion by any verb: therefore, to say that a verb active expresses an action, when the speaker, and not the verb active expresses it, is nonsensical; nor does the speaker express the action by either the verb active or its subject, but by both conjointly; consequently, we cannot truly say, that a verb expresses an action. "A verb neuter expresses being, or a state or condition of being; when the agent and the object acted upon coincide, and the event is properly neither action nor passion, but rather something between both." For the reasons stated in testing the truth of the definition of an active or passive verb, no verb expresses being, nor a state or condition of being; as the speaker only can express being, and he can only do it by the joint use of a subject and verb. The Doctor was actually in one of his thoughtless moments when he wrote the second part of this definition, namely, “when the agent and object acted upon coincide, and the event is properly neither action nor passion, but rather something between both." That his verb neuter requires an agent and an object acted upon, appears from this part of the definition, because the object cannot be acted upon without an action, and every action must be performed by an agent; hence we express action by a neuter verb and its agent, the same as we do by a verb active and its agent, and each verb has an object acted upon; but by the definition, a verb neuter expresses neither action nor passion; and by the same definition, it expresses action, as we have shown, which is absurd. This is not the only absurdity in this definition. "The event is properly neither action nor passion, but rather something between both." What is the event mentioned in this definition, of which the Doctor strangely marks our preacquaintance, by prefixing the word the: and of which in the same sentence, he honestly declares his own ignorance, by virtually acknowledging he does not know what this event is? All he knows about it is that it is something between action and passion. Is this definition a direct, full, and perspicuous reply to the question, what is a verb neuter? Something is a singular explanation of the event. NECESSARY ORDERS AND QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 33. What is an assertive or interrogative? 34. How many different meanings can we express by an assertive, if we only use the subject I, thou, he, she, we, you, they, and the word if and not? 35. Into how many classes are the different meanings of an assertive divided? 36. Into how many classes are the assertives themselves divided? 37. Name each class of meanings, and define it. 38. Name each class of assertives, and define it. 39. What is the primitive signification of an assertive? 40. What is the auxiliary signification of an assertive? 41. What is the link signification of an assertive? 42. What is an auxiliary assertive? 43. What is its use? 44. Name the auxiliaries. 45. What auxiliaries change the primitive meaning of an assertive ? 46. What auxiliaries do not change the primitive signification? 47. What auxiliaries have no forms corresponding to the pas sing transit? 48. By what auxiliaries do we mark the time or transit of an assertive, without changing its primitive meaning? 49. What is time? 50. How many grammatical times? 57. What is the passing transit? 59. What is the future transit? 60. What is the difference between shall and will? 61. What is the best guide in the choice of auxiliaries? 62. Name the auxiliary used to mark the attached past time of the primitive signification. 63. By what auxiliary do we mark the past transit of the primitive meaning? 64. Name the times and transits of the primitive meaning. 65. What are the peculiarities of the assertive to be? 66. By what means can we express the link meaning of an assertive, and use the same form of the assertive, and the same auxiliaries, as we do to express either the primitive or auxiliary meaning? 67. How many assertives in the English language have two forms for the detached past time of the link meaning, and only one for the detached of the primitive? 68. Can one of these two forms be dispensed with on all oc casions, without any detriment or inconvenience? 69. Name the times and transits of the auxiliary meaning. 70. What is a regular assertive? 71. What is an irregular assertive? 72. What is a defective assertive? 73. How are assertives classed with regard to termination? 74. What is the exposition of an assertive? ANSWERS TO THE FOREGOING QUESTIONS. 33. See the definition of an assertive, or interrogative. 34. One thousand six hundred. 35. Into three classes. 36. Into two classes. 37. The primitive, the auxiliary, and the link meanings. The primitive meaning of an assertive is that which we express by its primitive form, or by any other form that only changes the time of the primitive meaning; as, I write, he wrote, they have written, etc. The following observation may here be beneficially re-inserted, namely, all the forms of the assertive that are used to assert, command, interrogate, or deny the same thing, even at different times, may justly be classed together, whether the subject is the same or not. See the observations on the subject in the third page on the assertive. The auxiliary meaning is that new meaning which an auxiliary gives to an assertive of the primitive signification; as, I may write, they must write, we might have written, etc. The link meaning is that which the link imparts to the assertives which it connects; as, if he go I shall stop at home, etc. 38. There are two classes, or kinds, of assertives; namely, the subject assertives and the requisite assertives. To define each, see its definition. 39. 40. 41. The answer to each of these three questions may be found in the answer to the 37th. 42. See the definition of an auxiliary assertive. 43. Its use is either to mark a time, or transit, or to give a new meaning to any assertive by which we express the primitive signification. 44. Do, did, have, had, shall, should, will, would, may might, can, could, let, and must, and the auxiliary to be in all its variations. 45. Shall, should, will, would, may, might, can, could, must, and let, change the primitive signification. See the explanation of each of them. 46. The auxiliary have, be, and do, and their variations. The auxiliary shall, will, may and can, have no forms coinciding with the passing transit. When they are prefixed to requisite assertives, and are the only auxiliaries, they always coincide with future time. 48. By the auxiliary do, did, have, and had. 49. See the definition of time. 50. Three grammatical times. 51. Three grammatical transits. 52. The attached past time, the detached past time, and future time. To define each of these, see its definition. 53. The transits are the passing transit, the past transit, and the future transit. To define each, see its definition. 54. The detached past time is any past time that is detached from the future; as, yesterday. 55. The definition of the attached past time is the answer to this. 56, 57, 58, 59. An answer similar to the last can be given to each of these four questions. 60. Shall is used to represent the subject of the compound assertive, under the influence of some cause, of which the signification of the assertion is the predicted consequence, or it is used to ascertain whether the subject shall, at a future time, be under that influence. Will is used to assert, or ascertain the future free-agency of personal subjects, or our conjectural predictions of all other subjects. 61. The meaning to be expressed is the best guide in the choice of auxiliaries, that is, the auxiliary by which we can best express the meaning, must be chosen. 62. The auxiliary have. 63. By the auxiliary had. 64. The passing transit, the detached past time, the attached past time, and the past transit. |